f^^: h^A K- % ^^^ ^^ 1 w» ^y^Mi^ ^^ HOLMBY HOUSE: A. TALE OF OLD NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. G. J. WHYTE IMELVILLE, AUTUOH Otf •digbt oraj;d,' 'the ixrERPRETEa,' ETC NEW EDITION. LONDON : LONGMANS, OREEN, AND CO. '^ 1 TO THE KEY. CHARLES H. HARTSHOENE, F.S.A. &.C. HOLMBY KECTORY. Dear Sir, In dedicating to you the following Tale of Old Northamptonshire, permit me to offer you my hearty thanka for the assistance I have derived in its details from your local knowledge and archaological research. I can only wish I had been better able to take advantage of those resources to which you have so kindly given me access ; but I may still hope that, however far I have fallen short of the mark I aimed at, with t/ou at least a story will find favour, of which the scene is laid in your owTi immediate neighbourhood, and the time of action chosen full two himdred years ago. Believe me to remain, Dear Sir, Yours very sincerely, G. J. Whyte Melvillk. BuLUHTON : Fehruary 18C0. CONTENTS. CHAP. I, THE OLD OAK TREE II. A OAST OF HAWKS III. THE QUARRY IV. 'FALKLAND' V. BRIDLED AND SADDLED TI. BOOTED AND SPURRED . VII. THE REVELLERS VIII. NEWBURY IX. ' ROSA QUO LOCORUM ' . X. ' ANCILL5; PUDORIS ' XI. JIERTON COLLEGE xiL 'night-hawks' XIII. ' FOR conscience' SAKE' XIV. MAN TO MAN XV. CROSS PURPOSES XVI. THE queen's APARTMENTS XVII. 'THE proselyte' XVIII. '8AUVE QUI PEUT' XIX. 'THE NEWS THAT FLIES APACE XX. THE MAN OF DESTINY . XXI. ' UNDER SENTENCE ' XXII. ' FATHER AND CHILD ' . XXni. ' THE TRUE DESP0TIS3I ' XXIV. 'FAREWELL' XXV. NASEBY FIELD . XXVI. ' THE WHEEL GOES BOUND ' xxviL 'holmby house' XXVIII. KEEPING SECRETS ' THE FALCON GENTLE' . ' A RIDE ACROSS A COUNTRY ' "FOR THE king' ' THE BEGINNING OF THE END ' ' THE BEACON AFAR ' . 'PAST AND gone' ' THE LANDING-NET ' * YES OH NO ' . XXXVII. 'WELCOME home' XXXVIII. ' WESTMINSTER HALL ' . XXXIX. 'THE MUSKETEER' XL. 'THE protest' . XLI. 'A FORLORN hope' XLIL 'THE WHITE KING' XLIIL A GRIM PENITENT XLIV. 'COMING home' XLV. ' LOST AND FOUND' XLVL 'Tin: FAIRV king' XXIX. XXX. XXXI. XXXII. XXXIII. xxxrv. XXXV. XXXVI. HOLMBY HOUSE, CHAPTER I. THE OLD OAK TREE, The Pytchley liounds have had a run. lo triumphe ! The Pytehley hounds have killed their fox. Once again, lo triumphe I Not that these are unusual events with that well-ordered and efficient pack, nor that the establishment is more than commonly exhilarated by success; but that such runs as this last do not occur oftener than two or tlu'ee times in the season, and deserve to be recorded accordingly. It is a curious mania, that fondness for hunting which pervades the rural population of Great Britain, from the peer to the pea- sant, and which we alone of all their progeny seem to have inherited from our Scandinavian ancestors — a mania that outlives love, friendship, literature, money-maldng, all the devices of poor human nature to squander its most priceless possession — time ; and which seems to llourish only tlie more vigorously Avhen the health and bodily strength indispensable to its enjoyment have passed away for evermore. We, too, in our ' hot youth,' were once inoculated with the malady, and its seeds have never since been thoroughly eradicated from our constitution. There 2vas a time when our heart used to beat thick and ilist at the first ^whimper of a hound ; when the colour mounted to our cheek, and our eye glistened bi-ighter, as we watched the gorse shaking above the busy pack ; Avhen the life blood coursed quicker through our veins as Ave listened for the distant ' View-holloa ' proclaiming him '■away!'' and the mad equestrian revel really about to commence. Then it was ecstasy to be borne along at speed by a gallant generous horse, himself giving and receiving the mutual pleasure enhanced by so confiding a partnership ; to jj 2 nOLMBT HOUSE. thread "with calm dexterity the rushing cavulcade, and reach, unbalked by restive steed or undecided rider, the spot we had marked o^^t many a stride back for our own. Large, black, and formidable, hand, seat, and eye combined to land us safely on the further side ; and then, with tightened rein, head up and hands down, to speed away after the streaming pack, good friends and true to right snd left, but not a soul between ourselves and the hounds ! Alas, alas ! ' post equitem sedet atra cura,^ she can cling even to the sportsman's scarlet, she can keep her seat even over a Northamptonshire ox-fence ; but though the good horse carry double, he feels not the extra load, and the rider's heart must indeed be heavy if it can ache at moments such as these. As the penitent highwayman remarked to the chaplain at the gallows-foot. ' Oh, I repent unfeignedly of my sins, but yet — a gallop across a common ! ^ou dor/, it ivas delicious ! ' So now, though the days of our pilgrimage are in the * sere and yellow leaf;' though boots and breeches have given way to flannel bandages and fleecy hosiery, whilst gout and rheuma- tism warn us that wet days and ' wet nights ' are equally danger- ous to our physique ; though our quiet cob, once the property of a Low Church bishop, is getting too much for us, and is coveted inwardly by our eldest gi'andson, who already considers his own Shetland pony ' hai'dly up to his weight,' we have still a hanker- ing after the golden joys of our youth, still a sneaking kindness for the tops and the scarlet, the crack of the whip, the echo in the woodland, and all the appliances and accessories of the chase. ' What a hunting day ! ' we remarked aloud to oiu" walking- stick, as we cUmbed the hill painfully towards Holmby, and stopped to admire'iifor the hundredth time the wide expanse of beauty and verdure stretching far away beneath our feet for many a mile to cast and west, dotted here and there with noble standard trees, and shut in by the dark stately woods of Althorpe that crown the rising ground to the south. * What a hunting day!' a sky of dappled grey, a balmy breeze just wooing into existence the hundred buds and beauties of early spring — a day to have gathered the first peeping violet ' long, long ago.' Eheu fugaces ! what's a violet, with no one to give it to ? — day of beauty and promise, a day such as George Herbert so charmingly describes : Sweot day, so cool and calm and bright, Sweet bridal of the earth and sky, Sweet dews shall weep thy fall to-night, For thou must die. THE OLD OAK TREE. 6 Bat nevertheless, rather too muggy a day for an elderly gentle- man nearly fifteen stone weight to walk up such a hill as that ; so we rested on our stick, mopped our heated brows, and leaned our back against the stem of a fine old oak that stands within a stone's throw of the wall surrounding all that is now left of the ancient palace of Holmby. We own to the practice of day- dreaming — ' mooning,' it is called by the irreverent — and we were soon lost in the long vistas of the past, threading the labyrinth by help of that delusive skein which we are pleased to term history, taking up one end at the period at Avhich we supposed this oak to have been planted ; and so winding it gently off from the Wars of the Koses to the jolly days of ' bluff King Hal ;' con- gi-atulating it on its inland position, which saved it from forming part of that fleet whose thunders helped to destroy the Invincible Armada, speculating on its size and luxuriance in the peaceful time of that crowned wiseacre whom Scottish parasites termed 'gentle King Jamie;' and thinking how fervently its beauties must have been appreciated by his ill-staiTcd son, to whose charge want of veneration could never have been laid as a fault. ' Here,' we thought, ' beneath these venerable arms, under the stately shade, how often has the unfortunate Stuart, the martyred Mon HuUoh ! Avhat is that ? — the note of a hound, as we are a living sinner and a gouty one ; but gout or no gout, we haven't seen hounds for a twelvemonth ; we must hobble on and have a look at them once more. But stay, there's their fox ! — a beaten fox, by all the beauties of Diana !' and forthwith we gave vent to a prolonged ani, we rather flatter ourselves, not unmusical yell, which Ave should despair of conveying to the reader by any other means than oral demonstration. We used to pique ourselves upon doing it rather well, and with one finger in the ear and a rubicund well-fed physiognomy, the effect is, to say the least of it, imposing, if not harmonious. Yes, there he was, steahng along, his back up, his fur draggled, tangled, and black with mire ; his brush drooping, his tongue out, his long knavish countenance wobegone and indicative of thorough physical ex- haustion, his whole instincts so intent on his pursuers that he scarcely tiu-ned aside at our salutation — there he was, dead-beat, and running short for his life, not a covert or an earth within two miles of him, and the best pack of hounds in England running frantic for his blood in the next field. See, he has nearly reached the old oak tree ! one, two, three white hounds are through the fence, the rest following, like a stream of water set free from a dam. How they strain across the ridge and 4 nOLMBY HOUSE. furrow, their bristles erect, tlieir sterns lowered, their hungry eyes flaring out upon him with instinctive hate ! He is creep- ing quite slowly now ; but as Plarmony and Fairplay near him he turns and shows a long, ominous, gleaming set of teeth. Over they roll, all three together. Marplot and Marygold are close upon them, hounds tumble over each other in hungry confu- sion, a crash is heard in the fence, and Charles Payne is off his horse in another moment and amongst them. A faint strident noise, like that of a smothered saw, grates upon the ear above the stifled ' worry,' ' worry,' of the hounds, and ere Charles, the pink of politeness, has time to touch liis cap to ourselves (for he takes us for the parson, and therefore a stanch fox preserver, if not fox pursuer), he holds him high up in air, and with aloud 'Who- whoop ' proclaims the conclusion ^f one of those ' best runs of the season ' which occur at least once a fortnight. Who- whoop ! indeed. Three more sportsmen have by this time arrived, one over and the other two through the fence, which still hides the rest of the field from our eager gaze. Soon a gate opens, and some half a dozen more, including a couple of black coats, make their appearance. There are a good many still coming^ and a large proportion of the original field that will never get hei'e at all. No wonder ; the pastures of Northamp- tonshire are full of them: they ai-e scattered all over the country. Those Avho have arrived look wild and heated, and intensely pleased •with themselves as they jump off their exhausted horses, and talk and laugh and gesticulate ; the while Charles Payne throws the fox to the hounds, with another encouraging * Who-Avhoop !' and the clamorous baying of expectancy is exchanged for the ' worry, Avorry, worry,' of fruition. ' Had a good thing V we inquire of the first whip, who is appeasing a diiference as to a tid-bit between Countess and Caroline. ' Carpilal thing, sir,' replies that affable functionary, whose cap and side are plastered with mud, and who looks as pleased as if some one liad given him a hundred pounds. ^Carpital thing, sir. Brought him from Sulby gorse over the finest part of our country ; never checked but once, down by Cottesbrooke ; never touched a covert the whole blessed while ! It's eleven miles if it's a yard, and I make it exactly an hour and fifteen minutes from the time I " holloed " him away till we inin into him in this here grass field justatween your reverence's legs. Whoop, my darlings ! Worry, worry, woriy ! tear him an' eat him ! ' Cigars arc lit, congratulations are exchanged, the bay horse and the brown horse and the chesnut horse receive their due share of praise, a reflective flattery somewhat in this THE OLD OAK TREE. 5 wise : ' How well he carried you, old fellow ; find what a stifF line ! / was close to you the whole time ! ' From diftercnt versions and many contradictory statements -we gather a tolerably correct no- tion of the run ; and as its glories gradually flood our still enthu- siastic imagination, it is with a pang of regret that we reflect we shall never see gallops such as these again. We were there in spirit, nevertheless ; we know every yard of the country, every field and every fence — though we can practise it no longer, Ave think we know every move in the game. "We can fancy ourselves astride of a good horse by the side of Jack Woodcock as he views the fox away from the lower corner of the gorse. What a long, wiry, tough-looking animal it is, with a white tag to that handsome brush, which, as he steals across the neighbouring pasture, he whisks in derision, as much as to say, ' Gallop away, my fine fellows ! according to your wont ; hurry and bustle, and jump and splutter ! The harder you ride the better for me ! ' ' Tally-ho ! ' shouts our friend Jack, erect in his stirrups. ' Twang ' goes Charles Payne's horn from the middle of the gorse. Already the owner of the covert is coming best pace round the corner. Trust him not to lose his start, and to make good use of it when he has got it. In twos and threes the hounds are pouring through the boimdary fence ; ten or twelve couple are settling to the scent ; the rest, Avith ears erect, are flying to the cry. Now they stoop together Avith collective energy, and drive along over the grass in all the mute ecstasy of pace. A burst such as this is pastime for the gods ! It sobers our imaginary steed, our pen-and-ink Pegasus ; he drops quietly to his bridle, and a turn in our fivour enables us to pull him into a trot, and to look about us. Seven or eight men are in the same field Avith the hounds ; half a dozen stiff fences and a couple of miles of grass have shaken off the larger portion of the field, but they are even noAV coming through a bridle-gate not far distant in the rear, and .'should a check un- fortunately occur at this critical moment, they Avill be up in plenty of time to do lots of mischief still. But no ; the pack is streaming on. ' ForAvard,' says Charles Payne, cramming his horn into its case, and gathering his horse for an * oxer.' ' For- ward !' echoes Mr. Villiers, 'doubling' it neatly on his right. ' Forward !' adds Mr. Cust, cracking the fir-rail as he SAvings over the obstacle in his stride. 'Line !' .shouts a Meltonian at an unfortunate aspirant Avhose horse is swerving to the thickest place in the fence. ' Serve him right !' remarks the Meltonian b HOLMBY HOUSE, to himself, landing safely in the next field, while the aspirant rolls headlong to the earth. Jack AVoodcock, with an amused smile, slips quietly by to the front. Three or four more men, one in a black coat, enter the field at different points ; that quiet gentle- man over, not through the gate. A loose horse with streaming reins gallops wildly after the chase ; and the hounds, with a burning scent, are pointing straight for Naseby Field. And now every man hugs his trusty hunter by the head, and spares his energies as much as possible ere he encounters the yielding soil of that classic ground. Many a tired horse has Naseby Field to answer for, fi-om the thundering battle-steeds of the Cavaliers, led by hot Prince Kupert, to the panting thorough- breds of Jersey and AUix, and Cooke and Knightley, and the heroes of fifty years ago, who urged the mimic war over that eventful plain. Aj, down to oiu- OAvn times, when, although the plough has passed over its marshy surface, and draining and high-farming have given secure foothold to man and beast, many a sobbing steed and dejected rider can still bear witness to the exhaustive pro- perties of that black adhesive soil, many a dirty coat and stationary hunter rues the noble impulse that ivoulcl follow the fleeting pack over such a country as this after a three-days' rain. Some of them begin to hope he may have entered the thick holding covert of Naseby Thorns, and that the conclusion of so rapid a burst may save their own and their horse's credit. But a countryman on the opposite hill is holloaing as if his throat must crack. Our fox is forward still ; he has not a notion of enter- ing the covert, warmed as he is by the merry pace of the last mile or so. * No occasion to lift them, Charles,' observes Mr. ViUiers, as he lends an ear to the far-off countryman, and points to the streaming pack wheeling with every turn of the scent, like pigeons on the wing. ' Couldn't get near enough if there was. Come up, horse ! ' mutters Charles in reply, as he bores through a black close-cut hedge, sinking i;p to the hocks on the taking-off side. There is no chance of a clieck now; and as the professed jester of the Hunt remai-ks, * If he don't stop at Tally-ho, he may go on to Texas !' The field, that enterprising body, whose self-dependence is so touchingly illustrated at every sign-post, arc already somewhat liopelessly behindhand and considerably puzzled by the coincidence of two safe practicable lanes, leading equally in the direction of the line of chase. It divides accordingly into two hui'rying columns, neither of which will in aU probability see a hound again to-day. THE OLD OAK TREE. 7 • So, ' on we go again,' leaving * Tally-Ho Gorse' to the left, and up the hill for Hazelbeech, threading the fine old trees that tower upon its heights, and pointing ever onwards for the wide grassy vale of Cottesbrooke, spread out like a panorama before us, shut in by wooded hills, dotted with fine old standard trees, and smiling beauteous and peaceful in the chequered light of a Feb- ruary Sim. TJiank Heaven ! a check at last. Pegasus was beginning to want it sadly. He struck that top-rail uncommonly hard, and has dropped his hind legs in the last two consecutive ditches. There are still some half-dozen men with the hounds, but their horses look as if they had had nearly enough, and we are inclined to beheve one or two of the riders are beginning to wish it was over. The country for miles back is dotted with equestrians of every rank and every hue. A child on a pony has turned, not headed the fox. Charles Payne opines he cannot have entered the gorse with so ' warm a jacket,' as he phrases it ; so he holds his hounds towards the plantations on his right. Fairplay Avhisks her stern about her sides, and drops a note or two to her comrades as they gather to the line. ' Yo-geote, old lady ! ' says Charles, in the inexplicable language of a huntsman. * She's always right, that old bitch,' remarks Mr. Villiers, who has just turned Olympian's head for an instant to the wind. * Twang' goes the horn once more, and away score the hounds through ' Pursar's Hills,' as if they were fresh out of the kennel, and over the wide grassy pastures below, and up the opposite rise, with untiring energy, leaving the foremost horseman toiling a field and a half behind them, till a pause and momentary hover in the Welford Koad enables Pegasus and his comrades to reach them once more. It is labour and sorrow now, yet is it a sweet and joyous pain. Still, we can hardly call that enjoyment which we wish was over ; and most devoutly now do we all hope that we may soon kill this gallant fox, before he kills our gallant horses. The best blood of Newmarket is but mortal, after all ; and Pegasus is by this time going most unreservedly on his own shoulders and his rider's hands. Down the hill between Creaton and Holywell we make a tolerable fight ; but though Olympian clears the brook at the bottom, the rest of us flounder through. We have no false pride now, and do not any of ns turn up our noses at gates or gaps, or other friendly egress. Everything is compai-ative. A country 8 MOLMBY HOUSE. doctor on his fresh hack, meeting us at this period, opines we are going quite slow, but 7ve know better ; so does Pegasus, so does old Fairplay, so does the fox. Hfe is not travelling so straight now. Up and down yonder laedgerow the pack turn like harriers, and we think we must be very near him. But see : the crows are stooping yonder over a low black object in the distance. 'Tis the hunted fox, pointing straight for the coverts of Althorpe. He will never reach them, for the hounds are now close upon his track, and they run into him in the large grass field by Holmby House under the old oak tree. ******* Our dream is over. Hounds and horses and sportsmen are all gone home. The excitement has evaporated, and left its iisual depression of spirits behind. We are left alone — all alone — under the old oak tree. What is life at best but a dream ? What is happiness but a dream ?— ^fauie, honour, love, ambition ? Dreams all. The bitterness is in the waking. Let us put the clock back a couple of centuries or so, when the old oak was stately and vigorous as now, his branches as spread- ing, his stem as gnarled and knotted, his growth as majestic. What a lesson to us creatures of a day, in our short span of earthly existence, is instilled by the comparative duration of these vege- table giants ! How they outlive us ! How their * winter of discontent,' imlike our own, is annually succeeded by a spring of promise ! How they spread and tower upwards into heaven, Avhilst we grovel upon earth. Vcb mild ! 'twere a Aveary world, my masters, if there were nothing beyond. A weary world I Let us put the clock back, I say, and dream again. CHAPTER H. A CAST OF HAWKS. She was hatched on a snow-topped, bluff-faced cliff, towering uver the iron-bound coast of Iceland. The parental eyrie, hundreds of feet above the level of the sea, Avas strewed with bones and feathers, and all tlie warlike spoils of her predatory jjrogeni^ors. Her infancy Avas fed on blood warm from the living victim, her youth trained in long flights over the dark A CAST OF HAWKS. 9 seething ocean; so her spirit knew not what it was to quail, nor )ier Aving to droop. But a daring clifTsman, one of those whose pastime and whose profession it is to undertake risks such as quiet men shudder even to read of, made his appearance one clear frosty night at the entrance of her home, and awed her with the immediate presence of the human face divine, never seen before. Well might she be astonished, for the cliff was a sheer precipice, rising perpendicularly from many a fathom deep of ocean, and the eyrie was securely placed some hundred feet or more below its landward edge, a giddy height indeed above the restless sea, heaving and surging down yonder in the darkness. Three strands of a rope in the numbed grasp of a comrade were between the cliftsman and eternity, yet his nerve Avas totally unmoved, his hand steady, his face not even pale. Quietly he selected the most promising bird from the eyrie ; and she, the very essence of whose existence had been freedom, wild as the winds and waves themselves, must be a captive now for evermore. At first she pined sadly : her bright keen eye greAV dim, her feathers lost their gloss, her wings their sweep and vigour. She was breaking her untamed heart, like a wild-hawk as she was, but custom and discipline at length prevailed. Her feminine spirit, half won and half subdued, yielded to the combined influence of kindness and coercion. Ere she reached England in a merchant- ship she would perch contentedly on the deck, sunning herself for hours in the pure sea air. She would take food eagerly from the hand at which she once fought and tore. She was tamed at last, that winsome wild-bird, ready for the lure, and the bells, and the jesses ; Avilling, under man's tuition, to become more than ever an inveterate enemy to her kind. So they sold her for ten gold pieces to a north-country lord, and the north-coxmtiy lord being more suorum, a judge of horse- flesh, exchanged her away to Sir Giles Allonby for a dapple grey palfrey ; and now she sits jessed and hooded, under the old oak tree at Holmby, far and away the best falcon within forty miles of fair Northampton town. So thinks the falconer standing yonder, with his perches slung from his broad shoulders, and his hooded pupils sitting contentedly thereon, who would wager his new doublet and his Christmas fee on the success of her, the pride of his mews. So thinks the lithe active lad his assistant, in whose gi'asp those handsome spaniels are straining at the leash, and who clings to his opinion with the glorious tenacity of sixteen. So think those two jolly-looking 10 HOLMBY HOUSE. sei-ving-men who are in waiting, and who seem to have no earthly thing to do save to crack broad English jokes, and to laugh at them with their broad English faces. So thinks fair Grace Allonby, whose nature it is to pet and love every mortal thing that comes within her reach. So thinks good Sir Giles himself, who only yester evening over his claret was loud in the praises of his favourite, and eager to match her against all and everj-thing on the wing. ' Let them come,' said the stout old knight, ' with their purses in their hands. My Lord Vaux, my Lord Montague, my Lord Goring, Colepepper, Carnarvon, and the rest, within fifty miles of this spot — ay, within the bounds of Britain itself — Peer or Puri- tan, Cavalier or Koundhead — always excepting the falcons of his most blessed Majesty. Let them come with their hawks, every feather of 'em, and " Diamond " shall have a flight at them all ! ' It was a glorious morning for the sport. The sky was clear and blue, softened here and there with light dappled cloud-s ; dewdrops sparkled in the sun from thorn and briar, while the earth exhaled new life and fragrance from her teeming bosom, moistened but not saturated with the late genial rain. How blithe and gladsome was the lark's shrill song as he mounted cheerily into the sky, such a speck against that glorious fathomless blue — how soft and mellow the sunlight on the uplands — how sweet the perfume of the free fresh air ! — sight, smell, and hearing all gratified at once. What a morning for hawking, or indeed for any manly, vigorous, out-of-door pursiiit. 'The knight is late this morning,' remarked the falconer, a man of few words, and whose whole energies were wrapped up in his profession ; ' and the wind is changing even now,' he added, with an anxious glance at the heavens, whilst ' Diamond ' stirred uneasily on her perch, jingling her bells, and moving her hooded head from side to side Avith characteristic impatience. ' Drinking the King's health overnight,' remarked one of the serving-men, with a leer at his comrade. ' Liquor and loyalty make sleepy heads in the morning ; is't not so, Will ? Thou wast ringing chimes in the buttery thyself, lad.' Will shook his head, as who should say, * I follow the example (if my betters,' but ansAvered not a word; and indeed in those days late sittings, large flagons, and bumper healths were the daily custom of the age ; and the strong ale flowed as freely in the hall as did the red Avine in the banquoting-room or the dinner-parlour. But there was a stir amongst the group under the old oak tree ; the falconer's eye brightened, the serving-men sprang to an atti - A CAST OP HAWKS. 11 tnde of respectful attention, and the spaniels fawned and whined, and strained in the leash, for a party of three equestrians were approaching ; up the hill they swung at a dashing hand -gallop, and cantering over the smooth sward with feathers waving, habits fluttering, bridles jingling, and palfreys snorting, pulled up under the oak, and returned the salutation of their inferiors with the frank courtesy that is always the stamp of good-breeding and high birth. ' What a morning for us, lads ! ' remarked Sir Giles to the retainers, with a kindly smile Hghting up his ruddy countenance, still handsome and high-bred, though marked with many a deep and furrowed line, the inevitable consequence of a hard life spent in much excitement, much anxiety, much danger, and some ex- cess. * We flushed a brace of herons as Ave came along the river- side at Brampton ; and a fairer flight than one of the beauties made I never wish to see. Ah, " Diamond ! " don't know the old man's voice ? Come to my wrist, old lass ? Soh ! Soh ! ' and Sir Giles caressed the hooded bird, and smoothed her neck plum- age with a loving hand as she fluttered sagaciously to take her well-known place on the glove of the old Cavalier. Sir Giles AUonby was a specimen of the old English gentleman such as no other country but England could produce ; such as the troublous times in which his lot was cast brought out in all its excellence, and all its faults. In person he was tall, spare, and sinewy, framed for a horseman, a swordsman, or a sportsman ; for success in any bodily exercise demanding strength, quickness, and agihty. Field-sports and campaigning had toughened him into the consistency of pin-wire ; but the same causes, coupled with a considerable amount of deep-drinking, had hardened the almost feminine beauty of his countenance into a type strangely at variance with the delicate chiselling of its small featiu-es, and the mirthful glances of its bright blue eyes. It seemed a contra- diction to see that oval face so rugged and war-worn, that well- trimmed moustache and carefully-pointed beard so Avhite, those soft curling locks so thin and grey. The man himself corresponded in his inward character to his outward appearance. Generous, enthusiastic, and chivalrous, he was passionate, prejudiced, and obstinate. Quick to resent insult with blow or sword-thrust, he would forgive and embrace the bitterest enemy who should move a hair's-breadlh towards reconciliation ; though he would lift his hat on entering a poor man's cottage, atid address his dame with as much courteous deference as a duchess, no Cavalier alive was such a thoroughgoing aristocrat in his reverence for what he called 12 HOLM BY HOUSE. ' blood ' — not one of his Norman ancestors could have expressed a greater contempt for the puddle that stagnated through the peasant's veins, as compared with the generous fluid that warmed his own ; though he would fling his gold pieces about to all that asked for them, he would screw his tenants to the uttermost, nor stop short of what we should now call acts of violence and rapine, to raise men and horses for the king; and when his wife died, whom he had loved with all the unrestrained ardour with Avhich such a nature could not but love a kindly, handsome, gentle, generous woman, although devotion to the crown, which he called loyalty, became the one guiding impulse of his life, Grace herself, his lovely daughter Grace, was second in his estimation to his sove- reign, and in that sovereign's cause he Avould not have scrupled to sacrifice even her, his sweet, dutiful, and loving child. She is reining in her horse with a graceful but somewhat timid air, and appears not too well pleased at the caresses and attentions of those busy spaniels, to which the steed replies with a degree of playful restlessness not quite agreeable to his rider. Grace is a sad coward, and though she spends much of her life on horseback, like other gentlewomen of her timb, she has never acquired the perfect self-possession and masculine ease Avhich sit so well upon her companion, yonder lady, whose long curls are waving in the wind, wlaose soft blue eyes are deepening and dancing with ani- mation, whose lip and cheek are bhishing carnation in the fresh morning air, under the rays of the bright morning sun. ' Give him a gallop, Gracey,' says she, with a ringing laugh at her friend's obvious misgivings. ' Why, Sir Giles himself could hardly ride my Bayard if I let him get as fresh as you do that riotous pet of yours. Silly Grace, you spoil everything you come near. What a tyrant you ivill make of your husband, my dear, if ever you get one ! ' and she bent her beautiful figure to pat her horse's neck in a bewitching attitude, Avhich was not lost, as it Avas not meant to be, on old Sir Giles, or the busy falconer, or the grinning serving-man, nay, not even on the lad of sixteen, who gazed on her open-mouthed, with a ludicrous expression of stupified amazement and delight. IMary Cave dearly loved admiration Avherever she could get it. Left early in life to her own devices, brought up chiefly abroad, and transferred from a foreign convent to a foreign court, she had acquired, even in the first flush of youth, a habit of self-reliance and a decision of character seldom to be observed in those of the softer sex Avho have not passed through the crucible of much pain and niucli tribulation. Clever and quick-witted, Avith strong A CAST OF HATVKS, 13 passions and strong feelings, she nursed an ambition whicli waa stronger than them all. She had the knack, partly natural, partly the result of keen observing powers, of detecting at once the mental value, and, so to speak, the moral weight, of those with whom she came in contact ; and this gift, so dangerous to a woman, necessarily imparted a harshness to her character, and robbed her of that trusting, clinging tendency which is woman's greatest charm. Young as she was, she busied herself in all the intrigues of the day, and her beauty, her fascinating manners, her extraordinary influence over everything that wore a beard, ren- dered her a most dangerous enemy, a most desirable and efficient partisan. From her kinsman's house at Boughton she corre- sponded with the leading men of the Cavalier party, and Lord Vaux himself, in all his wisdom of years and experience of in- trigue, was indebted to beautiful Mary Cave for many a happy resource, many a deep-laid and successful scheme. Every one in the hoiise adored her. The respectful and austere major-domo, a condition of whose very existence it was to pre- serve on all occasions a demeanour of supernatural decorum, would follow her about with his eyes, and dodge after her with Howers and porcelain and choice old glass, and every device he could think of, to win the reward of a word and a smile ; and the little page-boy, the lowest of all the varlets in the establishment, spent a whole night on the staii'case in darkness and tears, when he heard that * Mistress ]\Iary was ill at ease, and troubled with a slight cold.' So she turned and wound them all round her finger — and Avhy not ? The lower animals have their natm-al arms, offensive and defensive ; the ox his horns, the tiger his claws, the serpent his guile, man his obstinacy, and woman her beauty : the last is the most fearful weapon of all, and right well does she know its advantages and its use. Even now old Sir Giles, keen sportsman as he is, cannot but feel that his attention to the business of the day is much dis- tracted by his daughter's friend ; that if * Diamond ' could have a rival in his admiration and attention, it would be beautiful Mary Cave. She ought to be very happy, speeding along in all the enjoy- ment of health and power, and conscious charms, and the delight- ful motion of Bayard's easy gallop. And yet there is a little black imp sitting behind her that no gallop on earth can shake off — a secret sorrow nestling at that proud wayward heart which no triumphs of beauty and influence can stifle or eradicate. Both 14 HOLMBY HOUSE. girls laugh out merrily as they lly along, but timid Grace Allonby is alarmed about herself"; dauntless Mary Cave is uneasy about another : the latter's frame of mind is the least enviable of the two. And now the little party are winding slowly along the brook- side in the valley down by Althorpe. ]\Iany a noble elm and stately oak nods above their heads, many a patch of sedge and rushes shakes and rustles to the quest of the busy spaniels and the long poles of the falconer and his assistants. Far and wide, to right and left, extends a pi-airie-like and undulating pasture, nourishing here and there a few scattered flocks feeding in the sun. Near one or tAvo small hamlets, a few posts and rails, or an old straggling overgrown hedge, denote an attempt at cultivation and enclosure, but the general character of the district is wild, nomadic, and provocative of galloping. ' What a country for a flight !' says l\Iary Cave, bringing her obedient horse alongside of the old knight's well-trained steed, and loosening the jesses of the hawk upon her wrist, no unworthy rival to ' Diamond' herself. ' Look well to your laurels to-day, Sir Giles. " Dewdrop" and her mistress are both bent on vic- tory, and I shall wear the heron's plume to-night in my hair or never hawk again !' Even as she spoke the short shrill bark of a spaniel, and a rush of his companions towards a sedgy, marshy piece of ground, startled Grace Allonby and her palirey out of the pleasant mutual understanding to which they had arrived, and a glorious wide- winged heron rose slowly into the air, flapping his way with heavy measured strokes, his long legs tucked behind him, his little head thrown back, his sharp scissors-like beak protruding over the distended crop, heavy with the spoils of last night's fish- ing excursion. Mary's quick eye has caught him in an instant. Like lightning she has freed her hawk from hood and jesses, and with the same movement that urges her horse to a canter, * Dew- drop' is tossed alofl into the air. Sir Giles is not much slower in his aiTangements. Like an old sportsman, he is methodical in all matters connected with the £.rld, but ' Diamond ' understands her master, and her master can depend on ' Diamond,' so she is not three strokes of her wing behind her rival, and soaring at once high into the air, has caught sight of prey and competitor almost before the heron is aware of his two natural and implacable foes. Too soon, however, it strikes him that his position is one of imminent and mortal danger. With a grating harsh cry, a * crake, crake,' of mingled discomfort and alarm, he proceeds slowly A CAST OF HAWKS. 15 to disgorge from Lis pouch the weighty spoils of his overnight's sport. The dead fish glisten white and silvery as they fall through the sunny au-, and the lightened heron, whose instinct teaches Iiim there is no safety but on high, wheels upwards by a series of gyrations farther and farther still, till he seems but a speck in the bright element to the straining eyes that are watching the flight from below. But there is another higher still than he is, and yet another wheeling rapidly upward to gain the desired point of ' vantage.' The topmost speck falls suddenly headlong several hundred feet, past the pursued and his pursuer, down, down, nearly to the summit of a huge old elm, but recovering herself, once more resumes her flight, with even greater vigour and determination that at first. ' Peste ! elle a manqiiee !' exclaims Mary in the language of her youth, while a flush of vexation burns on her handsome features, and she admonishes her steed with hand and rein to make no more ' mistakes ' like that last, at a time when earthly considerations should not be allowed to divert his rider's attention from the business going on above. ' Dewdrop ' has indeed made a failure, and she seeks in vain to wipe out the disgrace, for ' Diamond ' has now gained the vantage point, and swooping down like a thunderbolt, beak and talons, and weight and im- petus, all brought to bear at once on the devoted heron, brings him headlong with her through the air, turning over and over in their fall to that green earth fi-om which he will never rise again. And now Sir Giles is riding for his life, spumng his good horse across the rushy pastures, keen and happy and triumphant as a boy at his falcon's success ; whilst Mary dashes along by his side, inwardly provoked, though she is too proud to show it, at the failure of her favourite ; and Grace, with fretting palfi-ey and secret misgivings, folloAvs carefully at a less break-neck pace in the rear. It is a service of danger to take a heron from a hawk, or a hawk from a heron, even after the most prolonged and ex- hausting flight. The victim, breathless and stunned though he be, has generally sufficient strength and energy left to make good use of the sharp and formidable weapon with which nature has provided him ; and as the thrusts of liLs long beak are delivered with extraordinary accuracy, and aimed always at tne eye of his captor, he is a formidable opponent even in the last struggles of defeat and death. ' A fair flight, Mistress Mary, and an honest victory,' said Sir Giles, as he plucked a long shapely feather from the dead IG nOLMBY HOUSE. bird's wing, and presented it -witli playful courtesy to his antago- nist. ' " Diamond " is still unconquered, and you shall wear the heron's plume to-night in your bonnie locks in token of forgive- ness ! Said I well, sweetheart ? ' ' Sir Giles, I might forgive a fault, but I 7iever forgive a failure,' was the laughing reply : yet to a keen observer the expression of her face, the curl of her ruddy lip as she spoke, would have denoted more truth in the sentiment than she would he]"self perhaps have been willing to admit. ' I am sorry for the poor heron,' was all Grace Allonby re- marked, as they remounted their horses to commence their homeward journey. CHAPTER III. THE QUARIiY. And a lovely ride they had over the wild moorland and the green undulations that waved between the wooded hill of Holraby, and the sweet i'ragrant valley along which the quiet None was stealing his silver Avay. Those were the days when the early morning air was esteemed the best cosmetic for the cheek of beauty, when ladies did not sit over the fire till dusk and then ilutter out like birds of night for a gentle stroll to the hothouses, or a half-liour's saunter in a pony-carriage. Our little party had breakfasted at daybreak, had been in the saddle since the sun Avas up, and had got their day's sport concluded by the time that we of the modern school would have finished breakfast. There is nothing like early rising. We have ourselves tried it, and we speak from experience Avhen we insist that it is profitable, poetical, healthy, and invigo- rating ; nevertheless candour compels us to admit that for its systematic practice we entertain a cordial detestation. A lovely r^de they had. In front of them extended the rich valley of the Nene, smiling with cultivation, dotted with trees and hdHgcrows, and standard thorns growing stunted and sturdy here and there, backed by the distant buildings of Northampton and the light cloud of white smoke that curled above the town. To their left Avide and uncultivated moorlands, Avith occasional stretches of vivid green pasture, and many a patch of gorse and clump of alders, sAvept aAvay over the rising eminence of Spratton (on the sky-line of Avhich a string of packhorses could clearly be THE QUAKRY. 7 7 /llstiniruisliod as they noaved the httle hamlet where they wcidJ stop and refresh), and melted into a dim haze of beauty ui^er the crest of Hazelbeech, crowned with a swarthy grove of giant ibrest trees, drowning down on the sunny valley below ; behind them, sharp cutting against tlie sky, a long level plain, that was ore long to earn its immortality under the name of Naseby Field, showed clear and hard and cheerless, as though its only harvest Avas to be the gathering of the slaughter ; while the towers and pinnacles of Holmby Palace itself shut in the picture in their im- mediate vicinity. On their right a bank of waving gorse hid all beyond its own wild beai;ties with its sharp dark verdure, and its little yellow blossoms scattered like the drops of a golden shower over its surface. Sir Giles plucked one as he passed with a sly smile, ' When the gorse is out of bloom, young ladies,' quoth Sir Giles, ' then is kissing out of fashion ! ' Grace Allonby laughed and blushed, and playfully bid her father ' not talk nonsense ; ' but Mary Cave, drawing her horse nearer to that of her gentle iriend, commenced moralising after her own fashion on the old knight's trite and somewhat coarse remark. ' Yes, Gracey,' said she, smoothing back the folds of her rich brown hair, which shone and glistened in the sun, ' Sir Giles is right. • So it is, and so it has ever been. There is no day in the year when the blossom is off the gorse, from the brightest splen- dours of July to the bitterest snowstorms of December. There is no phase of life, from the triumph of success to the agony of dis- appointment, Avhich is not affected by woman's influence and woman's smile. I used to wish, dear, that I had been born a man. I thank my fate now that I am a Avoman. I have more jjower as I am, and 2ioiver is what I love best in the world. They are only puppets, Gracey, after all ; and if we are but true to ourselves, it is for us to pull the strings and set the figures moving at our will. I saw a pretty toy once at the French Court that was brought there in a box by a certain Italian juggler, in which little drcssed-up dolls acted a mystery in dumb show, and the juggler, sitting in his dark corner, managed all the wires, and made each play its appointed part. Grace, I thought to myself, men are but dressed-up dolls after all ; it is women that have the strings in their hands, if they will but use them. I have never let one go yet, my dear, and I never will. Confess — is it not delightful to have one's own Avay ? ' ' I should think it must be,' replied Grace, who never could get hers, even with her horse ; ' and yet it must be a great responsi- bility, too,' she added, with a look of profound reflection. ' I think I c 18 HOLMBY HOUSE. would rather give way, tliat is, if I liked people ; and I don't tbinic I coiild like anybody very much that I wasn't a little afraid of.' Mary's lip curled contemptuously, yet a pang shot through her too. Was thfere one before whom her proud spirit would quail — for Avhom that eager undisciplined heart would ache with a pain only known to the strong tameless nature? It is the wild bird that beats itself to death against the bars of its cage ; the wild flower that droops and withers in the close confinement of a hot- house. Woe to him whom Mary loved, if he loved her too ! Nevertheless, she laughed merrily as she replied, ' Nonsense, Grace — afraid ? I never feared mortal thing yet, and least of all would I fear a man that jDi-ofessed himself to be my slave ; and yet, dear, I have my own ideas of what a man ought to be. Mind, I don't say I know one that comes up to them. He should be proud as Lucifer — not in appearance and demeanour — far from it. I would have him courteous and kindly to all, gentle and chival- rous and conciliating in his manners, but at heart unimpression- able and unyielding as adamant. I would have him cherish some high ambition, to which he would sacrifice all that was dearest to him in life, ay, sacrifice me myself if he loved me to madness ; and he should smile when he did it as if nothing could make him wince or waver in his purpose. He must be clever, of coui'se, and looked on with admii-ation and eirvj by his feUow-men, or he would be no mate for me ; and he must give way to me for an instant on no single point more than I would to him.' Grace opened her large dark eyes with astonishment : she haJ her mother's eyes, as Sir Giles often remarked, dark and soft and full like a fawn's. ' And if you were both so obstinate,' observed Grace, ' and you loved him so very much, what would you do if you disagi-eed ? ' * I would break my heart, but I Avould never yield an inch ! ' ■was the reply ; ' or I would break his, to hate myself ever after- wards, and love him, perhaps, none the worse for that.' While she spoke a light broke over Mary's coimtenance which softened it into beauty such as struck even her companion with a new and fervent admiration : but it laded as it came, and her features soon recovered their usual joyous, careless, and somewhat hard expression of self-dependence and self-satisfaction. But Grace's womanly nature, true to itself, recoiled fi-om such f5entiments as these. ' Lideed, Mary,' said she, * I think it would be very uncomfortable. If I liked anybody so much, I should wish him to like me too, and I would give in to him on every single point, and find out ev-erything he wanted, and try to make THE QUAKKV. 19 him happy ; and if I failed I should not be angry witli liim, but I think I sliould be very miserable, and I am sure I shovild sit down and cry. But I should not like him to be such a person as you describe. I Avould rather have him good looking and good natured, and cheerful, and brave certainly, and I should not mind his being a little hasty, and very loyal to the king, and — like my father, in short, but younger, of course, and — don't laugh at me, Mary — I think I should like him to have dark eyes and hair.' ' Oh, Grace, what a child you are ! ' was the repl)^ ; and Mary jjut her horse once more into a canter, and raised his mettle witli voice and hand, turning and winding him at her will, and seeking vent for the exuberance of her spirits or the depth of her feelings — for no mortal ever was allowed to penetrate her real sentiments — in the delightful exercise of skilful equitation. But to give our reader some slight insight into the character of this young lady, still young in years and beauty, though matured in knowledge of the world, we must be permitted to recoiuit a little scene that occuiTcd at the royal palace of Hampton Coxurt a year or two previous to the events we have now taken upon us to describe. One of the merry masks or pageants which were the delight of our ancestors, and which were keenly appreciated by royalty itself, had just been concluded ; the great nobles of the Court had left the Presence ; the King himself had retired to his ap)artments harassed and fatigued with the responsibilities of a ruler, and the many difficulties which in all ranks hedge in the movements of an opinionated man. None but the Queen and her immediate house- hold, with two or three especial favourites and high officers of the Coui't, were left ; and Henrietta's French love of gaiety and natural flow of spirits prompted her to seize the opportunity of relaxing I'or half an hour the decorum and formality which have ever been distinguishing characteristics of the English Court. * A game at forfeits ! A cotillon ! and a forfeit for the loser, to be decided by my ladies and myself. Marguerite ! — IMarie ! That will be charming,' exclaimed her Majesty, clapping her hands in the exuberance of her merriment, her keen eyes sparkling, and her little French person quivering Avith delight at the prospect. ' Dansez milor ! voila le jeu qui commence ! ' and she gave her liand with much dignity to the most accomj^lished young noble- man of his time, whose air of self-possession and gravity was somewhat at variance with the general mirth and festivity of the other courtiers, and herself commenced the measure, in which all were in duty bound to join. 20 HOL^IBY HOUSE. It was a foolish game, somewhat provocative of levity, and calculated to have given scandal to tlie Pnrilans of the time, involving much dancing, changes of partners, and the infliction of quaint forfeits on those who tailed in its complicated conditions. A venerable Lady of the Bedchamber was condemned to dance ' a saraband ' with a certain future Chancellor, whose forte was scarcely bodily grace or agility. A young maid of honour, blush- ing to the tips of her fingers, had to receive the homage, offered on their knees, of all the gentlemen there present. And lastly, Mary Cave, then attached to the person of the Queen, was adjudged to stand in the midst of the admiring throng, and accept a chaste salute from an individual of the opposite sex, to be chosen by lot. ' No, sir ! ' said the Queen, as the future Chancellor, who ima- gined himself to be the happy man, stepped IbrAvard, with a gay and debonair demeanour, to exact the penalty ; ' it is resei-ved for a younger man— and a better courtier,' she added, somewhat lower, but loud enough for the mortified candidate to overhear. ' Stand forward, Marie,' she proceeded, laughing roguishly ; ' and you, milor ! claim your rights ! ' It was the same young nobleman who had already been ho- noured with her Majesty's hand in the dance; who had acquitted himself with the ease and grace of an accomplished cavalier, but with a grave and preoccupied air, as of one Avhose thoughts were far away from scenes of mirth and revelry, and who now stepped forward with a profound rcA^erence to claim from IMistress ]\Iary Cave a penalty which any other gentleman in the presence would have readily given his best hawk, his best hound, or his best horse to exact. And this was the only man in the room on whom she would have hesitated for an instant to confer that which Avas in those times accounted a mere mark of courtesy and friendly regard. She Avould have offered her cheek to any one of them, from intri- guing Harry Jermyn to profligate George Goring, without moving a muscle of her proud cold face ; but when this young nobleman approached her with his chivalrous deference of manner, and hi.s simple, courteous, self-possessed air, Mary felt her heart beating, and knew her cheek was blushing, as heart and cheek had n(;ver beat and bludied before. lie was her master, and site knew it. Slight as was their acquaintance, she had seen and heard enough of him to be aware that his was a strong stern nature, keen of intellect and indo- mitable of will, which she had no chance of ever subjugating — ■ that his mind wa.s of that superior order wliich breaks through THE QUARRV. 21 the meshes of pleasure ;md dispels the illusions of romance. Her woman's instinct told her that he nourished some lofty purpose, which Avoman's influence would never be suffered to affect ; and simply because she knew it was quite impossible that she could ever win his homage, like a very woman, she would have given her heart's blood to possess it, if only for an hour. He stepped up to her, slowly and courteously. He did not even take her hand ; but he liflcd one of the long brown ringlets that fell heavily across her bosom, pressed it to his lips, dropped it, and retired, with another low reverence, and without ever raising his eyes to her face. He slept calmly and peacefully that night. "When he woke on tlie morrow, his thoughts were of the great Cause and the coun- try's good ; of measures and principles, and counsellors — of judi- cious laws and a happy people ; of ancient sages and classic patriotism ; a little of his fair young wife, whom he loved with a sober, temperate and rational love ; — and he rose to pray earnestly for strength and means to carry out the great work on which his heart and soul were bent. Iler rest was fitful and broken, disturbed by strange wild dreams, of which the central figure was still a slight and nervous form, a keen, dark intellectual face, a compressed and resolute li]} — the lip that had caressed her hair. She had detached that ringlet from the rest, and lay with her hands folded over it, and clasping it to her bosom. When she rose, it was to a new and strange sensation — to a wild keen thrill of pleasure, dashed Avith shame — to a galling feeling of subjection, that had yet in it a dependence most delightfiil. She would have been torn in pieces rather than confess it even to herself, but she loved Falk- land, and it was a changed world to Mary Cave from that night for ever after ! The gambols of one of them are apt to disturb the equanimity of all the rest of the equine race who are within hearing and sight of such vagaries. Nor Avas Grace Allonby's palfrey, on whom its mistress could never be induced to impose proper terms of coer- cion, any exception to this general rule of insubordination. Ere our little party had descended into the valley of Brampton, and reached the ford by which they Avere to cross the river, poor Grace Avas certainly no longer mistress of the animal she rode ; and it Avas Avith a pitiable expression of helplessness and ten'or on lier countenance, at Avhich even her father and her companion could scarce help laughing, that she plunged into the ford, now somcAvliat sAvollen and turbulent from the late rain. 22 HOLMBY HOUSE. ' Father ! what shall I do ? He's going to lie doAm ! ' screamed Grace, as the wilful palfrey, turning his head to the stream, plunged and pawed into deeper water, that already drenched his rider's skirts to the waist. Mary Cave was ere this on the opposite side with Sir Giles ; the latter, turning suddenly to his daughter's assistance, checked his horse so fiercely that the animal reared straight on end, and then struck his spui's so deep into its sides that the good horse grew restive and refused to face the water on such terms ; and Grace might at least have experienced a very complete wetting, had it not been for the assistance, ot another cavalier, Avho, coming tip at a smart trot from behind, dashed in to the rescue of the astonished girl, and himself guiding her palfrey to the bank, brought her, with many apologies for his timely interference, in safety to her father's side. ' Well and promptly done, young sir,' said Sir Giles, as, after wringing the wet from his daughter's habit, and replacing her on her horse, he tiu-ned to thank the new comer for his unexpected assistance. ' May I enqxiire to whom I have the honour of being so much indebted ? ' added the courteous old cavalier. The stranger reined in his horse, and lifting his hat, made a profomid bow as he replied, ' My name is Humphrey Bosville, cornet in Colepepper's Horse, and about to join his Majesty's forces at Newbury. I have orders to proceed to Boughton, with despatches for Lord Falkland. Am I in the right road ? ' Mary's eye sparkled and her cheek fluslied. ' For Lord Falkland ? ' she enquired ; ' is he, then, expected by Lord Vaux ? ' The cornet made another profound bow as he replied in the aflirmative ; but he too blushed to encounter the glance of those deep blue eyes, and the self-possession Avith Avhich he had com- menced the interview seemed to have entirely deserted him, though he accepted Avillingly and courteously the hospitable invitation of Sir Giles to his kinsman's house. 'You are just in time for dinner, sir. My lord will be Avell pleased to see you or any other gallant cavalier. Had we met you an hour sooner we could have shoAvn you as fair a flight as often falls to a sportsman's lot to behold. I can show you now the best hawk in Christendom. But you arc in time for dinner, sir; and We will give you a hearty welcome, and drink tlie King's health after it in a stoup of claret worthy of the toast ! ' As they mounted the hill toAvard Boughton, the ladies, Ave may be sure, did not lose the opportunity of closely inspecting the ' FALKLAND.' 23 person and general appearance of Grace's new acquaintance ; and truth to tell, Humphrey Bosville's exterior was one of those on which the feminine eye dwells with no slight complacency. A trifle above the middle size, well and strongly built, with a frame promising the vigour of manhood, added to the activity of \-outh, our cornet sat his strong chesnut, or, to use the language of the time, his sorrel horse, with the graceful ease of a man who lias from boyhood made the saddle his home. Like a true cavalier, his dress and arms exhibited as much splendour as was compatible with the exigencies of active service — a good deal more of variety than in these days of Prussian uniformity would be permitted to a soldier. On his head he wore a wide Spanish hat, adorned with a huge drooping feather, his buff coat was cut and slashed in the most approved fashion, and a rich silk scarf of deep crimson wound about his Avaist to mark the contour of his sym- metrical figure. His pistols were richly mounted, his sword of tlie longest, his spiu's of the heaviest ; all his appointments marked the gentleman and the man of war, dashed with the not inappro- priate or unpleasing coxcombry of youth. His oval face, shaded by the long curling lovelocks so much affected by his pai-ty, bore a winning expression of almost feminine softness, attributable to his large well-cut hazel eyes — such eyes as belong to dispositions at once imaginative and impressionable rather than judicious and discerning ; but his high, regular features, straight eyebrows, and determined lip, shaded by a heavy moustache, redeemed the countenance from a charge of effeminacy, and stamped on him the bold resolute character of ' a man of action,' one that could be depended on when the brave were striking for their lives. ' He is very well iavoured, your new friend,' Avhispered Maiy Cave, with a roguish smile ; ' and Gracey, there must be " some- thing in it." Look if he has not got dark eyes and hair.'' CHAPTER IV. ' FALKLAND.' Lord Vaux is pacing his old hall at Boughton, with a scroll in his hand, on which his attention seems but partially fixed. Ever and anon he lifts his eyes to the stained glass windows, through which the noonday light is streaming in floods of crimson, and purple, ^nd orange ; but his thoughts are far from armorial bearings and 24 HOLMBY HOUSE. ancestral pomp. Ever and anon lie rivets them on the polished oak floor beneath his feet, but .still he fails to derive the required inspiration for his task. Like the rest of his party, the cavalier is puzzled by the hopelessness of proving ' two and two to make five.' His fine benevolent head, from which the long hair falls in clusters over his starched ruff and black velvet doublet, is that of a philosopher and a sage, one Avhose natural element is study and contemplation rather than action and conflict w4th his kind ; yet must Lord Vaux calculate men, and means, and munitions of war, ay, don breastplate and backpiece, and if need be, leave the splen- dours of his home and the quiet retirement of his study for the hardships of campaigning — the wild alarums of a stricken field. He listens anxiously for an expected footstep. Like many another contemplative nature, he is prone to place dependence on those who shoAv no hesitation in taking the initiative. He is ca- pable of enthusiasm, generosity, and self-sacrifice, but an examjile must be set him ibr the exhibition of these virtues. Without some one to show him the way, his lordship would never move a step in any direction, right or Avrong. How many such natures were forced into the stream of political strife by the exigencies of the times in which they lived ! How many were willing to suffer fines, humiliation, and imprisonment for a cause which they esteemed sacred solely because their fathers did. Old men of fourscore years were simple and enthusiastic as boys. Lord Vaux, now past middle age, found himself, at a period of life when most men are willing to seek ease and repose, involved in all the in- trigues of statesmanship and the labours of civil war. Cavaliers and Roundheads, the two Avatchwords of party, had set merry England by the ears. The precise piu-itan, with his close-cropped hair, his sad -coloured raiment, his long sword, and biblical phra- seology, Avas up and in the field under the same discipline Avhich scarce served to control the excesses of his roystering enemy, the sAvaggcring, dissijoated, reckless, yet chivalrous caA^alier, Avhose code of duty and morality seemed but to consist of two principles, if so they could bo called, viz. to drink, and strike for the king. Such Avas the extreme type of either party, and to one or other must sober men of all ranks or ages more or less incline. But a step is heard in the outer hall, the tramp of horses strikes upon the ear, the bustle of servants marshalling an honoured and expected guest breaks on the stillness of the Avell-ordered house- hold, and a smile of inexpressible relief lights up Lord Vaux's face as he advances to greet his guest Avith all the ceremonious cor- diality of an old English Avelcomc. ' FALKLAND. 2^ *I liave ridden iar, my lord,' said the new arrival, 'to taste your hospitality ; and in these times we can scarce promise to repeat our visits to our friends. But, my lord, you seem anxious and ill at ease. You have suffered no affliction at home, I trust? You have no bad ne\vs of the Cause ? ' ' I am indeed harassed and at my wits' end,' was the reply, ' or I could scarce have failed to give yom- lordship a kinder and more hospitable welcome. But I am, in sooth, right glad to see you ; for to your ingenuity and to your advice I must look in my pre- sent straits. This is no question of a crabbed Greek reading, or a complicated equation, such as we delighted in happier days to grapj^le withal, but a serious requirement of men, horses, and money for his Most Sacred Majesty ; a rcqiiirement that, with all our resources, we shall be imable to fulfil, and yet without which the Cause is well-nigh hopeless. Does Goring think I am like the alchemist we have read of, and can transmute these old oak carvings to unalloyed gold ? or does that reckless adventurer believe me to be even as himself? to regard neither honour nor credit, mercy nor justice, and to fear neither God, nor man, nor devil ? ' ' Goring is a useful tool where he is placed, my lord,' was the reply ; ' and we could ill spare him in our present difficulties, tliough sad it is so fair a cause should require the support of such as he has proved himself Nevertheless, permit me to look over the requirement. It may be that we can see our way more plainly by our joint endeavours, than when we fight single-handed against tliat deadliest of foes, an empty military chest.' As he spoke he took the scroll from Lord Vaux's hand Avith a courteous bow, and retiring into one of the deej) windows of the hall, was soon busily engaged in the perusal of its contents. Lucius Carey, Viscount Falkland, was one of those men on whom no remarkable exterior stamps the superiority which they enjoy over their fellow-creatures. As he stands in the embrasure of that window, his countenance grave and heated, his dress dis- ordered with riding, his gestures of sui'prise and vexation awkward and ungainly, the superficial observer would pronounce him to be a mere ordinary, somewhat ill-looking mortal, plainly dressed, and bearing the marks neither of gentle birth nor mental culture. He is sliort and small of stature, of no imposing port, not even with the assumption of energy and bustling activity which so often characterises the movements of little men. His manner is unaffected and plain to simplicity ; he stoops and sways his body from side to side in ludicrou'i unconsciousness, as wave after wave 26 HOLMBY HOUSE. of thought comes rolling in upon his brain, pregnant with reflec- tion, calculation, and resource. Wlien he speaks his voice is harsh and unmusical, his countenance dark and iinprepossessing, for he is labouring in mind, wrestling with a difficulty, and bringing all the powers of his mighty intellect to bear upon the struggle. And now he grasps it — now the colossal enemy is overthro-wn, and as the words flow smoother and faster from his lips, as sentence after sentence pours itself forth, clearer, and more comprehensive, and more concise, the whole countenance changes as changes the aspect of a winter's day when the sim breaks forth ; flashes of intelli- gence beam from those deep-set falcon eyes, and light iip the stern, sallow face. Eapid and impressive action succeeds the slow awk- Avardness of his habitual movements ; the slight form seems to dilate and tower into dignity, as of one born to command, and the whole man is changed, by the mere influence of mind over matter, into a sage and a hero for the occasion. But the inspiration passes as quickly as it comes. The knot is now unravelled, the difficulty is solved. He has seen his own way to surmount it, and more than that, has explained it to the inferior intellect of his friend, and he relapses once more into the ordinary mortal, while an expression of deep weariness and melancholy settles again upon his features, as of one Avho is harassed and dis- tracted with the disappointments and heartburnings of life ; who would fain cast away shield and sword, and turn aside out of the battle, and lie down and be at rest. Yet was it not always so with this yoimg and gifted nobleman. His youth seemed to give promise of a brighter future than is often accorded to mortal man. Bred in his father's vice-regal court of Ireland, he enjoyed opportunities of learning and cultivation which were not thrown away upon such a mental organisation as his. At eighteen years of ago he was skilled beyond his fellows in all the exercises and accomplishments of the day. He was per- fected in the Latin and French languages, and had already shown that energy and perseverance in the acquisition of knoAvledge which formed so distinguishing a characteristic of his after-life. Added to this, he inherited already an ample fortune, independent of his father — no contemptible advantage at an age when all the generous and liberal feelings are still unwarped and unstifled by the sordid cares of life. He was thus relieved irorn the many anxieties consequent upon inadequate means, which are too apt to embitter the sparkling cup of youth, and had the more leisure to devote himself to those studies in which he took such delight. Firm and resolute to the verge of obstinacy when a point was to *FALKLANJ).' 27 bo gained, it is related of him that, wishing to obtain a thorougli knowledge of Greek, he absented himself rigidly from London xmtil he had acquired an intimate familiarity with that language, nor could all the persuasions oi his friends, nor the intellectual temptations of the capital, induce him to forego the determination on which he had once entered. The same disposition prompted liim to marry an amiable and excellent young lad}', in defiance ot f he wishes of his family ; and a generosity, by no means unnatural in such a character, indiTced liim at the same time to offer his wliole fortune for the liquidation of his father's embarrassments, he himself purposing to obtain a miUtary appointment in Holland, and win his o\vti livelihood and that of his family with the sword. In this scheme being disappointed, he abandoned the career of arms, and had chalked out for himself a path of study and scholar- ship when the trmnpet of civil Avar roused him from his dream of literary distinction to the absorbing realities of the strife. He was an ardent admirer of real and constitutional liberty, and although his rigid love of justice and regard to truth commanded tlie respect of the Coiurt party, as his affable demeanour and genuine kindliness of heart won him the affections of all men, it was only when the throne was really threatened in its justifiable prerogatives, that he declared himself openly and unreservedly for the king. When his part was once taken, Charles had no more devoted adherent, no more judicious adviser, than Lord Fallcland , but from that time, from the very date of his accepting office trader the Sovereign, a change was observed in the whole temperament and demeanour of the young nobleman. He who used to be so ready of wit, so fluent of discourse, so affable towards his associates, became reserved, morose, and taciturn. His countenance wore an aspect of continual dejection; he neglected his studies, his amuse- ments, nay, his very dress. All things became distasteful to him save ceaseless exertion for the sake of his country. Like some classic patriot, some Koman augur to whom Fate had vouchsafed a glimpse of futurity, he mourned in anticipation for those national woes Avhich he already hoped he might die rather than live to behold. But even in civil Avar, in public distress as in private affliction, man must dine ; nay, if he is one of the porcelain vessels of the earth, and has performed since daybreak a long journey on horse- back, he must also dross for dinner ; and therefore Cornet Bosville, Avhen, as in duty bound, he had delivered his despatclics, betook "jimself to the chamber Lord Vaux's hospitality had provided for him, and Avith the assistance of his faithful trooper and servant, 28 HOLMBY HOUSE. Hugh Dymcckc, proceeded to the important duty of adorning his already well-favoured person. Dymocke disapproved much of such waste of time. One led horse, to carry his own and his master's change of clothing, did not admit of his turning out the cornet in such splendour as he himself thought befitting, and were it not that he had already discovered the advantages of Lord Vaux's hospitality and the strength of his ale, he would probably have urged upon his master the necessity of proceeding on their journey directly their horses were fed and the tables drawn after the early dinner in the great hall. * And you must wear the pearl-coloured hose, I warrant me, and the point-lace collar of which we have but one with us, and dripping wet it would be had I pushed on when you bid mo, and followed that slip of quality into the river on a fool's errand,' grumbled Dymocke, as he bustled about, unpacking his master's wallets, and vainly regretting certain splendid apparel and a beautiful Toledo Avalking-rapicr which the rebels had eased them of when "Waller's horse last beat up their quarters at Tewkesbury. * They will serve directly, and the quality will be there, rustling in brocade and satins, and what not ; eating and drinking of the best, and the King's troops starving, and merry England going to the Puritans and the devil ! ' added Dymocke, who Avas in his Avorst of humours, albeit mollified to a certain extent by recollec- tions of the ale aforesaid. Bosville answered nothing. Pie Avas combing out his long love- locks, and thinking hoAV bright Avere the eyes and red the lips of the lady Avho had scarcely looked at him during their short ride, and Avishing he had dragged her instead of her companion out of the brook, and wondering Avhether she Avould observe him at dinner, and converse with him afterwards; and reflecting, half- unconsciously, on the important fact that pearl-silken hose and a point-lace collar Avcre no unbecoming adjuncts to the exterior of a Avell-looking young man. Many years afterwards that dinner Avas remembered by more than one of the party, Happy Humphrey Bosville, sitting next to Mary Cave, Avas delighted Avith the share of attention she vouchsafed to bestoAv upon him ; Avas intoxicated Avitli the radi- ance of her smiles, the A^ery atmosphere of her beauty. He could not mark, nor Avould he liave comprehended, the eager, restless glance she flashed ever and anon at the plain, reserved, dark man opposite to them, the pained expression and forced smile that overspread her countenance Avhen she failed to attract Falkland's attention. His discourse Avas directed chiefly to hiy host and Sir * FALKLAND/ 2D Giles Allonby, and he left his lovely neighbour Grace ample leisure to observe the cornet's good looks and pleasant smiles, Three of the party at least were drinking in poison -with their canary, laying up for themselves a store of future pain in the enjoyment and lascination of the moment. It is better so ; if to- day must never mortgage to-morrow, what becomes of the fee- simple of existence ? If the death's-head m?/si be present at all our feasts, in the name of Bacchus, hide him away under the table, there to remain till next morning at breakfast ! So the party ate and drank, and laughed and talked, and the conversation turned upon the scandal of the Court and the characters of the courtiers, and that prolific theme, the enormities and vagaries of wild Lord Goring. ' A good soldier ! ' said Sir Giles, pledging the cornet in a bumper ; ' and never loses his head, drunk or sober. You re- member what he said of Wilmot's charge at lioundway Down ? You were there ? ' The cornet acquiesced in a modest affirmative, glad that Mary should know he had been present at that engagement, whilst Grace looked more interested in her new friend than ever. ' Eash in council,' observed Lord Vaux, still thinking of his morning's work ; ' and totally unreasonable in his expectations and requirements.' ' A Aveak assailant,' laughed Mary ; ' he scaled a convent at Bruges, and was repulsed with a broken leg, which gives him that limp you all think so charming. He sliould confine himself to cavalry operations. It is indeed a forlorn hope against nuns' veils and stone walls.' ' I have heard him boast he never was foiled yet by man or woman,' said Falkland, absently fixing his dark eyes on Mary's countenance. She blushed all over her face and neck, seemed as if she wou d have spoken, then turned white and held her tongue; the while Sir Giles proposed a bumper health to his old commander, gay Georee Goring. CHAPTER V. BRIDLED AND SADDLED. We once heard a remark drop from a pair of the sweetest lip.«. that ever belonged to a gentle philosopher, of the truth of which 30 HOLMBY HOUSE. tve have been the more convinced the more we have watched the vagaries and eccentricities into which its victims are drawn by that aifection of the brain called by the wise folly, and by fools love. ' In all cases of attachment,' said our beautiful moralist, ' depend iipon it one must be always bridled and saddled, the other always booted and spurred.' Of the truth of this axiom experience has left us not the slightest doubt ; but what a les.son does it convey as to the inherent selfishness of mankind, and the insufficiency of any earthly blessing to confer perfect happiness. The one that is ' bridled and saddled ' has indeed ' a jade's time of it,' the one that is 'booted and spurred' uses the latter instru- ments ruthlessly and without remorse. Who would be the loser in the game ? Who would not wish to hold the bridle and apply the spurs ? And yet perhaps there may come a time when it will be unspeakable happiness to feel that we have had all the suffer- ing and all the sorrow, proudly conscious that we have been ' bridled and saddled ' all our lives, and are about to die honestly in our harness at the end. Woe to the ' booted and spm-red ' one then. When the kindly face will be seen never again but hi our dreams — Avhen the fond heart we have Avrung so often is at peace for evermore — when a world's wealth and an age of longing cannot imsay the cruel word, nor recal the cold glance — when hope is dead, and even wishing a bitter mockery, how much better to sleep peacefully beneath the daisies, wearied with the strife, subdued in the defeat, than to pluck them for a remem- brance which shall pass away indeed, but shall leave a blank more unendurable than the pain from Avhich we prayed so fervently to be delivered. A pair are walking on the terrace at Boughton in the golden flush of a fine September morning ; one is ' bridled and saddled,' the other ' booted and spurred.' Mary Cave, we need hardly observe, was a lady of no undeviat- ing habits, no precise observer of times and seasons. Some days she Avould idle away the whole morning in bed, reading her letters, stitching at her embroidery, and wasting her time; on other occasions she would bustle up with the lark — and when Maiy was busy, no one in the house, not even studious Lord Vaux himself, could be suffered to remain quiet. On the morning in question she was unusually wakeful, and this is the more unaccountable inasmuch as her sleep had been fitful and broken the whole night through, disturbed with dreams, and harassed with incongruous thoughtc and fancies. Was slie nillDLED AND SADDLED. 3l overlktigued, poor Mary ! witli her day's hawking, and the rapidity ot" Bayard's bounding movements ; or Avas it that hard-ibught game at chess played on till nearly midnight in the withdrawing- roora, with many a false move, and many a smothered sigh ? Why Avill that image never leave her brain ? The studious brow bent over the shining pieces, the slender hand clenched on the board's- edge, the long sheathed rapier meeting the point of its shadow on the polished oak iloor, and the weary, weary look on that face wlien its eyes were raised to hers in the intricacies of the game. Why Avas he so weary ? What was the secret reason of this over- powering melancholy, so diiferent from the characteristic jollity of Sir Giles and the other Cavaliers ? Could she ever penetrate it? Could she ever find her way deep, deep into that great, proud, inscrutable heart ? Had she already done so ? A thrill, keen enough to be painful, shot through her at the thought. Up and dressed, she walked to her window and looked out at the fair, calm, joyous morning, so full of hope and peace and happiness, so at variance with her own torn, restless, wayward mind ! The sun was even now a hand's-breadth above the horizon ; his light had already tinged the dark tops of the cedars on the opposite hill with a purple glow. Patches of the imdulating j^ark were gilded with his beams ; a skein of wild fowl, disturbed in their quiet refuge down amongst the osiers, were Avinging their arrowy flight, clear and distinct, against the peai'ly grey of the morning sky, flushing here and there into a faint pink tinge. The deer, rising to shake the dew-drops from their flanks, Avere still in diisky shadoAv, Avhile the Avoodpigeon, cooing softly from the topmost branches of a fir-tree, trimmed her sleek plumage in a flood of light from the morning sun. The fragi-ance of a himdred roses clustered round the basement of the old Manor House, stole in upon Mary, soothing her Avith associations and memories of the past. What are all the chronicles of history, all the diaries of the most inveterate journalists, to the vivid reality that a simple strain of music, the scent of the commonest AvildfloAver, can conjure up at a moment's notice ? Beneath her the smooth bowling-green, that necessary adjunct to every country-house in the olden time, stretched its shaven surface, innocent even of a daisy to mar its level uniformity, Avhile broad terraces, Avith here and there a rough stone vase, and here and there a standard rose-tree, carried the eye ouAvard into the forest beauties, and Avild irregularity of the thickly wooded park. A spare slight figure Avas already traversing these terraces, pacing to and Iro Avith SAvift determined strides, buried deep in 32 i[Ol:mby house. tliouglit, and plucking ever and anon a blossom or a leaf, "wliicii he crumbled nervously in his hand, and cast aside. Mary was this morning seized with an earnest desire to tend her roses. She stepped out upon the terrace, her white robe falling in graceful folds about her shapely figure, her broAvn hair waving in the breeze, her rich ripe beauty glowing in the sun, her proud head thrown back with an air of enforced indifference, her whole gait and bearing stately and majestic as a queen. Yet she trembled as she approached that plain impretending man ; and her voice shook audibly as she bid him ' good-morrow,' and interrupted his solitary musings. ' You are early, my lord,' said Maiy ; ' and eriuipped, I see, for a journey. Must we, then, lose our guest so soon ? It is not Lord Vaux's custom to suffer his friends to depart after one night's lodging ; and you will scarce get leave from any of us to bid farewell at such short notice.' Falkland was courtesy itself, and the gi'avest of mankind has no objection to his meditations being disturbed by a pretty woman at any hour of the day or night, so he smiled as he replied : — ' It would need no second bidding for a tired and unwilling soldier to remain in such pleasant quarters, and least of all from you. Mistress Mary, stanchest of loyalists, and kindest and oldest of friends.' Mary coloured with pleasure, and her eyes shone and moistened Avhile he spoke ; her every nerve thrilled to the tones of that harsh impressive voice. ' One more day,' she said ; ' we will only plead for one more day. There is still much to be done. I have a long coiTcspondence to show you. There are traitors even about the Queen ; and we must play another game at chess ! You know I never could bear to be beaten. I must have my revenge.' How soft and tender was her voice, how irresolute her gestures, how different her manner from that assured self-possessed air with which she addressed every one else in the world ! He could not see it ; he noticed no change ; he was not thinking about chess : his was the great game played on the squares tliat were slippery with blood. ' It must not be, gentle INIistress Mary,' he replied. ' These are days in which Ave must all of us put our shoulders to the wheel. Alas ! it need not have been so once. You know, none better, how the ruler of the slup has failed to shift his ballast, and to trim his sails. lie saw the course he felt it was his duty to steer, and he scorned to turn aside for shoal or quicksand. Yet I cannot b\it revere the man, be lie monarch or subject, wlio will BltlDLED AND SADDLED. 33 sacrifice lii.s all to a principle. The die is cast now, Mistress Mary ; it is too late to look back. We must throw the helve after the hatchet, and stand or fall together, one and all.' Her eyes sparkled, though her cheek paled. It was sweet to be thus associated with lum, no matter what the purpose, no matter what the result. She would stand or fall, womanlike, Avith her party, at all hazards ; that means, she would follow Falkland, right or wrong. She said as much, and he went on, more as it seemed to himself than to her : — ' Yes, Ave must stand or fall now. The last appeal, which I would cheerfully have laid my head on the block to avoid, has been resorted to, and by the decision of the God of battles must we now abide. War is surely excusable if it lead to peace. Oh, Peace ! Peace ! I see her in my dreams, Avith her olive-branch and her dove-like eyes, and the skirt of her pure white robe dabbled Avith blood from the carnage through Avhich she must pass. I stretch my arms to clasp her round the knees, and im- plore her to remain, and she A^anishes, and I Avake — wake to Avhat ? To see merry England devastated from sea to sea, her quiet home- steads smoking, her fertile valleys spoiled and trampled by the hoof of Avar. WidoAvs and orphans appealing to my Sovereign and his advisers to restore them their lost protectors. Thank God for my countrymen ! that the Avorst scenes of rapine and violence are spared us — that Avhen the fight is over, men cannot at once forget that they come of the same stock, and speak the same language. But hoAv long is this to last ? Hoav long Avill it be ere some unavoidable act of cruelty leads to reprisals, and all the horrors of ancient civil Avar are enacted over again ? What will England be then ? Oh, that I for one may not live to see those times ! — that I may die like a soldier under harness, and be spared a suffering Avorse a thousand times than such a death ! ' ' But these calamities Avill be averted,' she exclaimed eagerly ; for her heart bid her believe that Providence itself Avould inter- pose to save such a being as Falkland. ' Another victory or two, and the Parliament must succumb. Cannot Waller be cajoled ? Is not Essex Avavering ? Have Ave not the Avealth and the lands, and the old blood of England, all on our side ? Are Ave not pre- pared, every one of us, to die if need be in the Cause?' And she icould have died for it Avillingly then and there — she Avould have asked nothing better than to ' seal her testimony,' as her Puritan enemies Avould have termed it, ' with her blood,' but it must have been Avith her hand in Falkland's — Avith her eyes fixed on Falkland's face. Verily, a Avoman's patriotism is influenced D 34 HOLJIBY HOTJSE. by other than tho love of country. Nevertheless, if not sincere politicians, they are unfailing partisans : and Mary Avas as stanch a Cavalier as ever drew a sword. ' And therefore it is that I must away to-day before the stin is another hour higher in the sky,' said Falkland, with the rare smile that illuminated his plain features into actual beauty — that found its way straight to his companion's heart. ' If our forces should be engaged ; if the Parliament should be worsted, or we ourselves defeated ; in either case, Mistress Mary, you would not have me absent from my post ? ' ' In either case,' she replied, with her voice trembling, her eyes deepening and moistening once more, ' in either case. Lord Falk- land, I would be the last woman on earth to bid you stay. Ay ! — even if I had the right, the last on earth, because — because I ' She hesitated, changed colour, and stooped to pluck a rose, which she picked to pieces, unconscious Avhat she did ; but she averted her looks from her companion, and seemed to count the tender pink petals as they fell noiselessly on the gravel path. "Was he blind ? was he totally insensible ? was the man marble, that he could proceed so calmly and unconsciously — ' There must be no reserve ; we must cast all into the treasury, ;ind hold back nothing. It is a small thing that I give my liie ; there is more than life to be sacrificed — happiness and home, and all the holiest affections of a man. * I leave my duties,' he spoke musingly and dreamily now ; ' I leave my children — I leave my dear fond wife ' ' Hold, my lord ! ' interrupted Mary, with an abruptness Avhich, though it was lost on her companion, was none the less startling to herself, that her breath came quick and her heart seemed to stop beating — ' Hold I we have but little time before us ; let us attend to the business in hand. I have letters to show you here.' She drew a packet Irom her bosom as she spoke, one single missive detaching itself from the rest, and fluttering imobserved to their feet. * Letters from Jermyn ; letters from Walter Montague, who Avrites like a Jesuit as he is ; one from poor Marguerite, your old ])artner, my lord, in many a merry dance. There are traitors even in the Court, there are traitors about the Queen. We Avant the clear head, and the true heart, and the ready hand. Eead those, Lord Falkland, and tell us all Avhat is to be done next.' He took the papers from her hand and perused them attentively. Again the light from Avilhin seemed to break over his Avhole countenance ; and he returned them to her, quietly remarking, with an inquiring look, ' There is still a link wanting in the chain, Mistress ]Mary. Ha.ye I seeix them all ? ' BlUDIiED AND SADDLED. 35 The fallen missive lay under the skirt of her robe. For an instant she hesitated, and moved so as completely to cover the spot where it lay, then stooped to pick it np, and blushing scarlet, placed it open in Lord Falkland's hands. ' One more,' she said, ' from Lord Goring ; here it is. He always writes so foolishly ; he is so wild and thoughtless. Do not think — I mean, you cannot suppose ' Her confosion overcame her completely. He did not seem to notice it. Ere he had perused a dozen lines he gave a little start, and then his port became loftier, his manner more courteous than ever, as he folded up the document and returned it to her, coldly observing — * This letter is private, Mistress Mary ; and, pardon me for the remark, highly characteristic of the writer. I was not aware you knew Lord Goring so well.' She could bear it no longer ; pride, reserve, prudence, decorum — all gave way before the force of that hopeless passionate love, sweeping in its headlong violence over every rational consideration, every earthly obstacle. ' And you think I care for him ? ' she sobbed out wildly ; ' that profligate, that adventurer — that licentious, bold, bad man. Yoit think it — that / care for him. Only say so ! — only let me hear it from your oAvn lips, /, who have had but one ideal ever since I was a girl — /, who have dared to worship the best, the noblest, the greatest of mankind.' She had caught his hand while she spoke, covered it with kisses, and Avas pressing it almost fiercely against her own beating heart ; ' I, who have loved the very ground you trod on for your sake ; who have been content to toil and scheme and suffer in the Cause, only to have a share in your work, a claim to you?' notice. I, who have loved you — ^yes, loved you, Falkland ! — and I tell you so now boldly, for, come what may, I swear from henceforth never to see your face again — who have loved you for years fondly, madly, faithfully — without hope of a return. And you think lightly of me at the last. Oh ! what Avill become of me ; how shall I ever hold up my head again ? ' She brurst into tears as she spoke. She clasped his hand with both of hers closer and closer to her heart, murmuring over it fond, broken, unintelligible words : then suddenly drawing herself lip, looked him full in the face. 'Falkland,' she said, 'from this hour Ave never meet again ; but for your sake I give myself wholly and unreservedly to the Cause — for your sake I devote myself to it, body and soiil ! ' She swept past kim into the house with the stately bearing she 3G noLi\rEY nousE. knew so well liow to assume. The proud spirit bore her up the wide staircase and through the long passages to her own chamber. If she gave way when the door was locked, and she had to wrestle it out unassisted with the one great fatality of her life, what is that to us ? ' Verily the heart knoweth its own bitterness.' We do not assert that from the corner of her window she did not watch him ride away on his eventful and fatal journey ; but her oath Avas religiously kept from that hour, for on earth she never saw Lord Falkland's face again. And he paced once more up and down the terrace, and thought of the beautiful woman who had so unreservedly cast herself upon his generosity, and so fi-ankly confessed to him her wild and hope- less love. Then he remembered a fond, faithful face at home ; and a thrill of pain shot through him as he reflected how he might never see that face again. ' Alas, alas ! ' he said, almost aloud, ' is it even so ? Is there no peace, no happiness on earth ? Must there be nothing but conflict and sorrow, and envy and strife, in public as in private. Women's hearts sore and breaking, men grappling at each other's throats. Peace, Peace ! must I look for thee in vain, save in another world ? Oh ! I am weary of the times — God grant I may be out of them ere long ! ' They were soon motmted for the journey, and a gallant caval- cade they made. Lord Vaux himself, bareheaded, conducted his honoured guest to the door. Grace Allonby presented the stirrup- cup, at which good Sir Giles took a long and hearty pull. Habit is second nature after all ; and in those days men belted on their swords and thrust themselves into their stout buff coats on the eve of an engagement with as few misgivings and as little ceremony as would precede a stag-hunt or a hawking match. Even Grace postponed her tears till after their departure, and accepted the ceremonious farewells of the Cavaliers ; and admired the Cornet's sorrel horse, j)ei-haps also the sorrel's rider, as if her father were not bound on a hazardous enterprise, and engaged in a sinking cause. Ah, we may i)rate as we will of the prestif/e of success ; we may talk of the smile of prosperity, the favouring gale of fortune. It is ])leasantest, no doubt, and easiest, too, to ride a winning race ; Imt if we want to see examples of unflinching endurance, brilliant lieroism, and superhiunan devotion, Ave nmst look for them amongst the partisans of a sinking cause — amongst the Bonapartists of 1814 ; amongst the lloyalists of the Ilevolution ; amongst the adherents of Aveak, chivalrous, misguided Prince Charlie, and amongst the loyal centlcmen Avho closed their ranks around hi.'j BRIDLED AND SADDLED. 37 ili-fated ancestor, who grudged not to lavisli their treasui'e and their blood in support of a principle which their better sense told many of them, as it told Falkland, it was hopeless to attempt to establish. Cornet Bosville, however, was absent and preoccupied during all these courteous preparations for departure. To Sir Giles's pledge, which half emptied the stirrup-cup, he gave but a cold return. To Lord Vaux's hospitable entreaties that he Avould come back at some future time, and improve an acquaintance so aus- piciously begun, he replied indeed in an eager affirmative, but left off in the middle of his sentence, and looked about him with the air of a man who is expecting something or somebody that fails to aiTive. He was wondering where the bright vision of last night was hid ? Why did she not appear to bid them farewell ? Could she be watching them from the window of her chamber, and which was the happy window ? At least these roses were likely to be her peculiar care, and the Cornet plucked one from its stem and hid it away carefully in the breast of his buff coat. And Grace saw the movement, and wondered why he did it ? and blushed as she thought of one or two possible ' wherefores,* and admired the sorrel more than ever. C^ioss-purposes again. It is well we cannot look into one another's nearts. Would Grace pave been pleased or mortified could those soft dark eyes of hers nave pierced through the Cornet's buff coat, and point lace ker- chief, and Flanders linen, to read the secrets hid beneath those defences ? Would the young soldier himself have been gratified had he known which was really Mary Cave's own chamber, and could he have looked through some four feet of stonework and seen with the eyes of the flesh that lady's deep, wild, passionate distress? Why was he not up half an hour earlier, and in the garden, to overhear her conversation with Falkland, and her last long farewell ? Would it have altered the whole course of his after-life, and nullified the vagaries which it is the author's pro- vince to record ? — or is there no such thing as free will ; and ia the Cornet like his fellows, but a well-dressed puppet in the hands of destiny ? Sir Giles is right, after all. He attends to the busi- ness of the moment ; he returns to the stirrup-cup, which he finishes at a draught ; he marshals his own and Lord Falkland's retainers in military order outside the court. ' God bless thee, Gracey ! Take care of " Diamond," ' says the old man, in a broken whisper, and with tearful eyes, to his dar- ling ; but his voice rings out manly and cheerful the next instant, as he addresses Lord Falkland — ' Everything is prepared, my 38 nOLMBY HOUSE. lord. There is no time to be lost ; may I give the word to march ? ' A trumpet sounds. A small pennon, with the royal arms upon it, is hoisted by an lionest English-looking yeoman. Horses snort and trample ; steel and stirrup-ii-ons ring cheerily ; hats are waved and farewells exchanged once more, and the men ride off to fight and bleed, and the women remain to watch, and ^vecp, and pray. CHAPTER VI. BOOTED AND SPUKKED. In the sheds and outbuildings of an old straggling fai'nihouse upon the outskirts of the quiet town of Newbury, are quartered a squadron of Colepepper's regiment of horse. Cliargers are stamp- ing, and snorting, and munching the long yellow straw, of which they pull out and waste at least as much as they consume. Strong well-built yeoman-looking troopers are tramping about in their neavy boots, now in the dairy, now in the kitchen, jingling their spurs, clattering their swords, grinning at their own broad jokes, and making themselves very sufficiently at home. Buxom coun- try lasses, confused yet not altogether displeased by the number and fervency of their admirers, bustle here and there, with scarlet cheeks and laughing tones, and rustic rejoinders to the rustic gallantries of their giiests. The good man of the house, one of those prudent individuals who aspire to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds, being a stanch king's man for the nonce, bestirs himself to draw his strongest ale and slice his fattest bacon for the refreshment of tlie troops. His neighbour, a quarter of a mile off yonder, on the opposite hill, has got wild Lord Goring for a lodger, and he blesses his stars to think Avhat an escape he has himself had of such a visitation, and wonders whether neigh- bour Hodge has sent his pretty daughters out of the way. A month or two ago he had a visit of the same description from a few of Waller's godly cavalry, and he reflects that notwith- standing their rigid discipline, long faces, and pious ejaculations, the soldiers of the Pail lament were as eager to cat of the best and drink of the strongest as tlie noisy Cavaliers Avho are even now turning his house upside down. Nay, the exhortations and awakenings of the former were not confined exclusively to male converts : and black-browed, red- elbowed Joan had administered BOOTED AND SrURRED. 39 such a slap of the face to a certain proselytizing corporal as sent him down on the dairy floor with the suddenness and precision of a round-shot. Verily the man of war, under whatsoever banner he fights, is too apt to arrogate to himself the exclusive protection of Beauty ; nor whatever might be the shortcomings and back- slidings of the Puritan party, could the Cavaliers be held entirely blameless on this score. Our acquaintance Dymocke, grave and ill-favoured as is hid long weatherbeaten visage, scored with the lines of more than forty years, has yet a dry confident way with him that works wonders with the iemale sex. Let the daughters of Eve say what they will, there is no man in whom they take such an interest as a confirmed, sarcastic old bachelor. He is a riddle to be read, a rebel to be subjugated ; he begins by provoking, goes on to in- terest, and ends perhaps by tyrannizing over them most effectually. Joan's proselytizing admirer, notwithshmding his cropped hair and hideous orange scarf, was a likely well-looking youth enough, yet she knocked him down without a moment's hesitation when his blandishments became too personal ; but to judge by the ex- pression of that determined young woman's physiognomy, such an argument is the last to which she would at this moment resort, even should her colloquy with sly, experienced Hugh Dymocke terminate in as hazardous an enterprise as that which discomfited the unlucky corporal. ' More eggs,' said Joan, returning from a visit to the hen-roost, with flushed cheeks and an apronful of the spoils ; ' eggs and bacon and strong ale — better fare than you and your master get at home, I warrant me, and better than you deserve, for all your smooth speeches and come-over-me ways. Get along Avith you, do ! ' The latter ejaculation was consequent ujDon a })ractical remark made by Dymocke, with his usual gravity, but which led to no further result than a continuance of the flirtation on the part of the lady. ' Aye, it's all mighty well,' continued Joan, setting both arms akimbo, and looking boldly up at her companion ; ' you tell us this, and you tell us that, and you think we're fools enough to believe every word you say. Why now, for all your imjuidence, you durs'nt look me in the face and tell me yoii haven't got a sweetheart at home ! ' The expression which this flattering suggestion called into Dymocke's face was a study in itself. * Sweethearts here and sweethearts there, my bonny lass,' was the courteuus reply : ' it isn't often such a face as yours comes 40 nOLMBY HOUSE. across us, figlitinlight Avas in Avhat lio called a " cozy bit crack " Avith a fcAv kindred spirits, unaAved by his son, Avhom he respected, or the favourite, Avhom he feared ; Avho could drink, for that matter, like a fish, as all his family can, Avitness tliis boy here, Avho Avill have old Cole- pcppor doAvn Tunler tlie t.-iiilc imw before he has done Avith him ! TEE REVELLERS. 53 But to return to the nights at Holmby. I have seen Archie Armstrong so drunk that he could not sit upon his horse to go out hiuiting in the morning, and once he tumbled out of his saddle into the Nene, and when Ave set him up by the heels to dry, with the water running out of his boots into his neckerchief, and the King rode laughing fit to split his sides, and asked him, " How is it with thee, gossip ? Methinks at last thou hast liquor more than enough ! " he replied, sawing the air with his hand, as if depre- cating all further hospitality, " Enough, gossip ! I thank thee. Enough. I'm for nae mair this bout — neither het nor cauld 1 " The King laughed that you might have heard him at Northampton ; and, 'faith, Archie was a ridiculous figure as you should wish to see. But here comes the punch ; so now for one rousing health, and " Confusion to the Roundheads ! " After that, we have no more to-night, gentlemen, neither hot nor cold ! ' As Sir Giles spoke, neighbour Hodge entered the room, bearing aloft in person a huge bowl of the steaming compound, which was greeted with a shout of welcome by the Cavaliers, and soon went the way of its predecessors, amidst boisterous laughter, strange oaths, clapping of hands, stamping of feet, snatches of many a wild ranting chonis, and all the discordant jubilee of a debauch. And yet many an anxious heart far away Avas aching for these revellers ; many a little child had been taught to pray that very night for their Avelfare ; many a fond lonely woman Avas Aveeping and Avatching even then, picturing to herself the beloved one, not flushed and sAvolIen Avith Avine, but calm and hushed in peaceful sleep ; and many a one there present ere the same hour to-morroAV would be doAvn, stiff and stark, with a Avhite rigid face turned upwards to the stars of Heaven. Falkland, too, heard the dying shouts Avhich concluded the nightly festivities of liis comrades. He, too, had been aAvake and astir, but his vigils had been like those of some ancient knight Avho shrives himself and guards his armour ere the dawn of his great enterprise. He had Avatched and prayed and pondered, long and earnestly, looking intently at one bright star shining conspicuously amidst the glittering diadem that crowned the SAveet autumn night. Pie was purifying himself for the struggle, arming for tlie fight, — preparing his spirit imconsciously for the great unknown. And one at Boughton Avas gazing fixedly at the same star, and praying her heart out, womanlike — not for herself, but fpr Jdm. 54 nOLMBY HOUSE. CHAPTER VIII. ' How much longer are we to stand liei'e idle, mowed down by round shot and exposed to the fire of those crop-eared citizens ? ' exclaimed Bosville, as the sorrel paAved impatiently and shoolc hia bridle, Avhilst the men of his squadron miu-mured audibly behind him at an enforced inactivity, always so trying to the undisciplined troops of the Cavaliers. ' Steady, men ! ' was George Effingham's reply, as he confronted his little band, carelessly turning his back to the sharp fire poured in upon them by the Parliamentary artillery, admirably served, and in a commanding position, fi'om which they had got the range of their enemy to a nicety. ' Steady for a few minutes longer. Our time will come directly. I never knew Prince Rupert keep us so well in hand as he has done to-day. " He laughs best who laughs last," Humphrey ; and the game is none the worse for l)eing played accoi'ding to rule. See the pikes are deploying into line even now, and here comes Sunderland at a gallop Avitli f)rders.' Effingham's eyes were beginning to glitter, and his dark face to pale a shade or two, as was customary with him when the moment of action had arrived. They had Avaited for it long enough. The day was already beginning to wane, and Colepepper's Horse, with a strong suppoi-t of ' Byron's Blacks,' had been held in reserve so carefully, that they almost feai'cd they were destined to have no share in the stern conflict which they could themselves behold waged by their comrades with the Parliamentary army. Essex had taken up a strong position on an eminence called Bigg's Hill, disposing his troops in stationary masses as though unwilling to assume the oflensivc, and trusting to the well-known imprudence of the Cavaliers to attack him on ground most dis- advantageous to their principal arm — a fiery and impetuous cavalry. The King's troops, on the contrary, had it at their own option to give or decline battle ; and their obvious tactics would liave been to draw the enemy, if possible, fr-om his stronghold, and whilst manoeuvring on the plain, to fall upon him Avith their cavahy. The older officers saAv this at a glance, and Goring, smart and debonair as though turned out for a review, detached Sir Giles Allonby with a handful of veterans whom he could trust, to make a feint, ibllowcd by such a retreat as should tempt the Parliamentary leaders into a general advance of their whole line. NEAYUURT. 55 The old kuiglit acquitted himself admirably of his duty. But, alas ! the manoeuvre succeeded only too well. The lioundlieads detached a party of veteran horse to check him. A strong body of foot advanced to the assistance of their comrades. One or two headstrong young Cavalier officers, without waiting for orders, engaged the cavalry regiments they commanded. Prince Euperts never sufficienUy Fabian in his tactics, was nothing loth to offer the main body of his horse, and was soon to be seen conspicuous in the van leading a succession of those brilliant headlong charge, which have made his name proverbial as the bravest of the brave, and the rashest of the rash, — charges which must succeed trium- phantly or fail irrevocably, and to which, in their undisciplined impetuosity, the slighest check is too apt to prove fatal. Not- withstanding their advantage of position, notwithstanding their superior discipline and numbers, the Roundhead horse gave way before the furious onslaught of the enemy ; and the day must have ended in a triumph for the Eoyal cause had it not been for the unexpected steadiness and gallantry with which the pikemen stood their ground, — a gallantry the more siuprising both to fi-iend and foe, inasmvich as it was displayed b}' the hitherto un- tried trained bands of London, whom the Cavaliers, as was natural, held in unbounded derision and contemjDt, and in Avhom even the Parliamentary veterans had no great confidence as the champions of a doubtful day. ' The knaves stand fast with their yard-measures iii their hands,' quoth Goring, wiping his bloody sword on his horse's mane as he re-formed his brigade, and brought them once more into position, after leading them through and through a column of the enemy's horse, striking fiercely to right and left, like the veriest trooper, the grim smile deepening on his countenance at every blow. ' Those pikes will turn the tide of the action yet, my loid,' was Sir Giles's reply, as the experienced eye of the veteran detected the diminished ardour and failing horses of his own cavalry. ' Zounds,' added the old Cavalier, ' it shall never be said his Majesty's tx'oops were turned by their own tradesmen. If they would but deploy into line ! One more effort, and Ave might ba amongst 'em.' Goring laughed. ' Opportunity, you know. Sir Giles, opportu- nity is everything, both in love and war. The happy moment has at length arrived ; and here comes Sunderland with orders.' In effect, even as he spoke, the young Lord Sunderland rode up at a gallop, glancing eagerly at Colepepper's reserve, in which 5H IIOLMBY HOUSE. Kflingham and ITumjilirey Bosvillo -wore deploring their inactivity. As he pulled up at Goring's side "with a courteous bow, he delivered his message. * You will form the remains of your cavalry, my lord,' he said, 'upon Colepepper's reserve, and ad- vance "with the "whole up the hill. The pikes are even now deploying into line, and the Prince bids you ' Goring was drawing his girths a hole tighter ; his head Avas bent down to his pistol holsters, but he looked up quickly as the young Earl's voice ceased, and saw that a round shot had taken him off his horse, and that the intelligent, ardent messenger of an instant back, so full of life, and spirits, and gallantry, was now a ghastly, mutilated mass that would never speak again. ' I suppose he had nothing more to say,' observed Goring, draw- ing on his glove, and patting his horse carelessly on the neck, as he turned to Allonby with a calm, unmoved countenance. * Sir Giles, form your regiment on my left. We will advance at a trot up to yonder briishwood, and there I will give the Avord to charge. I think Ave can pay the reckoning yet.' In the mean time the trained bands, aa'Iio had already sustained ihc attacks of the Royalist cavalry Avith such determined obsti- nacy, and Avhose long j^ikes, held by strong English arms, and backed by stout English hearts, formed a bristling hedge of steel which not even the King's troopers could break through, Avere in the act of making a flank moA'cment to acquire a position more favourable than that Avhich they had already occupied. Prince Rupert's eagle eye, e\'er quick as lightning to detect an advan- tage, saAV their Avavering line, and seized the opportunity to order up his reserve for one last desperate effort. The rise of the hill Avas against the horses ; a minute sooner and they Avould have been in time, but ere the cavalry could reach their steady, rcsohite foes, they had again become a stationary mass of resistance, hedged Avith steel-, and pouring forth a deadly, Avithering fire, that enforced the Royalists to I'cturn, emptying many a saddle, and bringing many a ciu'lcd head to the dust. Old Colepepper stormed and SAVorc in vain. The most he could accomplish Avas to make an orderly reti-eat ; and as Humphrey Bosville, Avith tears of shame and indignation in his eyes, brought his troop back in good order to their ajipointed position, l^ilingham quietly observed, ' Another point in the game scored up against us, young one. Another opportunity lost ! Laurels, indeed, Humphrey ! better gather a handful of Aveeds, and lay your head doAvn here on the turf, and be at rest ! ' In another instant he had darted like lightning from his men, NEWiUJRY. 57 and was engaged hand to hand Avitli some half a dozen of the cMcmy's cavalry, who, like meaner birds abont a hawk, were besetting the gallant Earl of Carnarvon, and hemming him in on all sides with their swords. That officer had got detached from his own men, and was now returning, alone and on a tired horse, ihrouo:h the scattered troopers of the enemy. Strong, athletic, and a practised swordsman, he had already emptied moi'C than one of his opponents' vsaddles; but he was exhausted and out- niunbered, and George Effingham's assistance came too late. lie had received a pistol-shot, which had broken his bridle arm, and deprived him of all control over his failing steed. Still, liis fnie horsemanship, and thorough use of his weapon enabled him to hold at bay the troopers in his front ; but, alas ! a sword- thrust from the rear had run him through the body ; and as George Effingham cut down the successful assailant, and took tlie Earl's horse by the bridle to turn him out of the j^'ess, the life-blood was welling up through the rivets of his breastplate, and saturating the stout buff-coat with its frothy crimson stains. Courteous and gentle to the last, he thanked Effingham for his services. ' I am bounden to you, comrade,' he said, sinking forward on his horse's neck ; ' but it is too late. I am hurt to the death, for all my cunning of fence. I pray you leave me, and save your- self Even as he spoke he; fell heavily from his horse ; and Effingham, wirh many a shrewd blow and many a hairbreadth 'scape, fought his way back to his own men. Night was by this time drawing on : and as its dark mantle fell over the combatants, neither Cavaliers nor Roundheads could boast of a decided victory. The gallant trained bands bivouacked on the ground they had held with such stubborn valour ; and although they made an orderly retreat at daybreak, pursuing their line of march for the capital, and regardless of the harassing attacks made on their rear by the indefatigable Prince Rupert, with a thousand musketeers and such of his cavalry as were not incapacitated by the action of the jirevious day, they cotdd scarce plume themselves on having gained any positive advantage over their opponents. Humphrey Bosville and (,!eorge Effingham slept under the same cloak, the sorrel and the black picketed close to their feet. Their squadron formed a strong outpost of Prince Rupert's ad- vancing cohinui, and they were to be ready for the pursuit with the first dawn of the morning light. Goring returned to his quarters at the farmhouse on the hill, doubtless to receive 58 IIOLMBY HOUSE. a hospitable welcome from neiglibour llodgc and his pretty daugliters. Old Colepepper and Sir Giles Allonby Avaited on the King with their respective reports of losses and success. A few hours reconcile the survivors after an action to anything and everyfhing that has befallen. There are rations and forage to be issued, men and horses to be accounted for, reports to be drawn up, misadventure glossed over and successes made the most of; and then, when the fatigues of the day are past, the exigencies of the morrow provided for ; 'tis but another day gone by, after all, and the conquerors and conquered lay them down, The weary to sleep and the M-ouudeJ to die. So the trumpets sounded the reveilUe blithely ere the tirst streaks of the morrow's dawn ; and Effingham's squadron were up and mounted, and filing slowly over the ground of yesterday's hard-fought struggle in the early light of the soft autumn morning. A.bove their heads the heaven breathed of peace and beauty and holy calm ; the birds were singing in the copse and hedges, the sheep bleating on the distant hill ; but below their feet the very bosom of mother earth Avas torn and scarred by the fierce struggle of her wayward children. The ground occupied by the enemy was indeed vacant, for Essex was by this time in full and orderly re- treat ; but the traces of the confiict were but too apparent in broken wagons, dismounted guns, turi' poached and trodden by dinted hoof-marks and scoi-ed with Avheel-tracks ; worst of all, in helpless bodies of men and horses, lying as they fell, the dying and the dead. Bosville shuddered as he gazed ; a man must indeed be inured to Avar Avho can look unmoved on such a scene. Effingham's eye dilated as he touched his comrade's arm, and pointed to a heap of dead A\dio had evidently made a gallant attempt to storm an orchard surrounded by an old blackthorn hedge, and been shot doAvn man by man as they came up. ' The apples in the orchard are hanging ripe fi'om the bough, but the harvest of death is already gathered and carried home,' said Effingham. ' Humphrey, Ave are like the Assyrians Avhen they came up by thousands against the might of Judaea, and lo ! an unseen arm smote the horse and his rider. Have not these been kicking against the pricks ? Verily the Lord is against us ! ' ' I saAV them charge over this A-'ery ground yesterday,' Avas the young soldier's comment, 'and a nobler feat of arms I ncA'er Avit- nessed, nor a finer felloAv than the officer Avho led them ! It Avas not Byi'on, for Byron was on the right Avith the rest of his Blacks, * ROSA (JOO LOCORUM.' 59 ami would have tiu'iied their flank had the crafty Koiindhead not placed a field-piece at the angle of the orchard. I could not recognise the officer at that disrance, but I saw him put himself at the head of a handful of cavalry, and lead them twice up to this old straggling hedge, and twice they were repulsed by the deadly fire of the musketeers who lined it. The third time he leapt his horse into the orchard, and I am certain I saw him fall Home twenty paces before any of his men. By St. George, there lie lies! — man and horse under that large tree. Let us go in, Effingham, and see who he is ! ' The two Cavaliers dismounted, and Avalked reverently and slowly up to the corpse. lie was lying away from his dead horse, on his back. The charger had evidently fallen riddled with bullets at the saiue instant that his rider was struck. The corpse was stretched at length, its right hand still grasping its sword, and an ineffable expression of peace on its pale upturned face. Yes ! in the midst of war he had found it at last. No more bitter Qiisgivings noAV — no more weary longing and harassing anxiety — no more aching heart and sickening hopes and fears for Falkland. There he lay, the good, the generous, the gifted ; born to be the oi'nament of a Court, the pillar of a state, the hope of a nation ; and there he lay, shot below the girdle by some obscure musketeer, himself perhaps all unconscious of the deed. Many were the good and great men that jomed the Eoyalist cause — many a noble heart shed its blood for King Charles ; many a Avise head ])lotted for the Crown ; many a stalwart arm struck its last to the war-cry of ' God and the King ; ' but there was but one Falkland, ;ind the morning after Newbury he Avas found a corpse. The tears started to Bosville's eyes. ' Let us send back a party to bury him,' said he. ' The Prince Avill Avillingly spare enough men for such a duty as this.' Effingham Avas not listening to him. ' The King had better have lost his right arm,' was his reply. ' Verily, the Lord is against us ! ' CHAPTER IX. ' ROSA QUO LOCORUM.' News travelled but slowly in the days of which we write. It was already a Aveek after the battle of Newbury, and the quiet party at Boughton had as yet no partictdars of the fight. Humours had 60 IIOLJIBT HOUSK. indeed arrived that a great action had taken place, but as each narrator coloured his own account according to the political opinions he professed, both the details and the result remained "wrapped in uncertainty. Some maintained that Essex had gained a complete victory, and was marching for London in the full tide of success, having dispersed and almost annihilated the royal army ; that the King himself had fled, and that his best generals having been either killed or taken prisoners, nothing now remained but an unconditional submission to the terms of the Parliament. For this crowning mercy, it was argued by those who adopted so decided a view of the case, thanksgivings ought to be rendered, and the downfall of the man Charles celebrated by a solemn festival: others, again, and these garnished their version with many strange oaths, and showed a strong disinclination to dis- course upon this, or any other topic, dry-lipped, avowed that the Parliamentary army had sustained a complete and unequivocal defeat, that the lloyalist cavalry had, as usual, covered themselves Avith glory, and his l^lesscd INIajesty, whose health they were always prepared to drink on their knees, or indeed in any other position, having thrown a garrison into Donnington Castle, so as to command the Avcstern road to the capital, had retired in triumph to Oxford, whence he would impose the most stringent and humi- liating terms on his vanquished enemies. Grace Allonby and Mary Cave listened alternately to these conflicting statements with anxious feces and beating hearts ; the former daily expecting some assurance of her father's safety, the latter vibrating between a sensation of crushing shame, as she recalled her last interview with Falkland, and all the tender mis- givings of a woman for the safety of the man she loves. And yet the days dnigged slowly on, in their routine of quiet occupations and homely duties. The women worked at their embroidery, and tended their roses, and rustled softly about the house, as if all were peace both within and without, as if life had no interests, no anxieties, beyond the taking up of a dropped stitch, or the nipping of a faded rosebud. They were, however, much together ; kindred hopes and fears seemed to draw closer day by day the links ol" friendship which had always bound these two dissimilar characters, and whilst Grace Allonby looked up to her more energetic friend for protec- tion and consolation, the weary spirit of Mary Cave seemed to rest upon her gentle companion, and to derive a soothing, purifying influence from her sympathy and aiFection. They were sitting together on a stone bench that terminated •rosa quo locorum.' G1 the terrace on which INIary's last interview witli Falkland had taken place. A soft, cloudy atmosphere dimmed the rays of the sun, struggling at intervals in downward sheets of light ; a gentle breeze moaned through the adjacent woods, claiming here and there its first autumnal tribiite in a crisp yellow leaf that floated noiselessly down to the sward. The last roses, already overblown, drooped thuir heads over the two women, shedding their petals thick and fast, to the insidious wooer that stole so softly across the distant meadow, and over the trim lawn, to win their perfume and waste their loveliness, and kiss them and pass on. There was music in the whispering breeze, and beavity in the dying roses, but it was a sad sweet music that seemed to mourn for the past, and a beauty that spoke of disappointment and decay. Each of them gathered one of the flowers, and placed it in her bosom ; each seemed to have some association connected with these autumn roses, some strangely-mingled memory of pain and pleasure, of hope and longing, and shame and sorrow, for Grace blushed scarlet, and IMary's blue eyes Avere filled with tears. She brushed them hastily away, and turned her head so as to hide her face from her companion ; she was ever ashamed of such womanly weaknesses, and indeed seldom gave way to her emo- tions, whatever might be their nature. ' Another day, Grace,' she said, ' and no news yet from the army. Oh, it wears one's heart out to sit waiting here when men are in their buff-coats and breastplates, up and armed for the King. I woidd I were amongst them, Grace, to take my share of danger like the rest. C'est Vliomme qui se haste, et qui conseille ; but as for us poor women, what are Ave good for but to clog their energies, and distract their attention, and Aveep and Avatch, and eat our own hearts in solitude ? ' ' You did not always say so, Mary,' replied her companion. ' I thought men Avere the puppets, and Ave Avere to pull the strings. Have you changed your note so soon about our power and in- fluence, and Avhy ? ' The proud look stole over Mary's face once more. ' Yes, Grace,' she ansAvered, ' ours is the dominion, if Ave only knew hoAV to keep it. It is our OAvn fault if Ave lose the upper hand. It does not answer to pull the rein too tightly, and so to break it once for all ; nor is it judicious to let the so-called lords of the creation discover hoAV necessary they really are to our happiness. To do them justice, they are AvonderfuUy obtuse on tliis point, and, in this single instance, strangely prone to underrate their OAvn value. And yet, dear, 1 sometimes think that ours Is but a tinsel royalty, 62 nOLMT!^ HOUSE. after all — a fairy splendour, that is visible to tlio dazzie(i eyes of those only over Avhom our glamour is cast ; that the real power, and ■wisdom, and glory is not with its, and the tiine may arrive at any moment when our subjects wake to find tliis out for them- selves, and then all that was life to us is but a dream to them, a dream from Avhich they do not even sorrow to be aroused ; a dream at Avhich they can smile when it is recalled to them, and ya^vn out some vague sentiment, half jDoetical, half philosoj^hical, of indulgent pity on their own past folly, and self-congratulation that it is over at last for evermore. They are not quite ashamed of it, neither do they wish it had never existed, but they talk of it (as even the best of them will of their boyhood's extravagancies) with a sort of melancholy triimiph, and comical self-pity and self- sympathy. " I was very fond of that woman once," they will say, without a particle of the feeling left. The Avoman does not speak so, but she carries her heartache about Avith her in silence, and every time his name is mentioned the old Avound smarts and bleeds afresh.' ' And do you believe there is no constancy ? ' ansAvercd Grace, in Avhose opinion her companion's thorough knoAvledge of such matters Avas deserving of the most implicit credence, and Avho felt much more alarmed than she Avould have been one short month ago at these discouraging A'ieAvs of the relations betAveen the sexes. ' iVre men all alike, and all equally heartless and variable ? ' 'God forbid,' Avas the reply; 'and yet, Grace, in all I haA^a seen of the Avorld, and you know that my girlhood has been passed amongst the gaieties and intrigues of a Court; Avell, in all I have seen, I can recall scarce one single instance of an attachment that has lasted more than tAvo years. You look astonished, Grace, but it is so, nevertheless. They are nearly all alike, and differ only in degree from Avild Lord Goring, Avho says that he requires a Aveok to conquer, a Aveek to triiunph, and a Aveek to Aveary, after which he allows himself a Aveek's repose, meaning simply a rotation of hard drinking, and the beginning of the next month finds him prepared for fresh follies and fresh duplicity.' ' "What a monster ! ' remarked Grace, lending an car, neverthe- less, with imconscious interest, to the escapades of Avild George Goring. ' And yet, Grace,' proceeded Mary, looking back dreamily, as it Avcre, into the past, ' there Avas once a time that even Goring AA'as ready to sacrifice his fortunes, his ambition, his life, and indeed his all, for a woman. She Avas my aunt, Grace, and once I think she loved him Avell. It Avas a foolish story. lie hoped to ♦ ROSA QUO locorum/ 63 win her against all obstacles, and with his energetic nature, his courage, and his recklessness, I cannot comprehend why he foiled, But so it was. During his absence abroad, where he was serving to win distinction only for her sake, others came betvfeen them, and she was lost to him for ever. It Avas years ago, my dear, and she is a cold, proud, stern woman now, biit I think she was not always so. They say she used to be a sweet-tempered, loveable, and beautiful girl ; they say she would have made Goring a good and happy wife. I have heard one person affirm that even he Avould have been a different man had she belonged to him ; that it was not his nature always to be bad amongst the worst ; that everything good and gentle in him changed in a day. But he who said so judged all men kindly, and saw everything through the clear atmosphere of his own pure, noble mind. There are few like him. But to return to Goring. I know that even after all hope was over, even at the foulest and blackest stage of his career, when my aunt was thought to be dying, he thrcAV up his command, he retunaed home with a stain upon his courage, he lost his dearest chance of distinction, to be near her ; and when she recovered he was heard of Avilder and wickeder than ever. There is no doubt he loved her fondly, and like a fool ; and yet listen, Grace, to what I lieard with my own ears. After a long absence, Lady St. Aubyn returned to Court. They had not met for years, not since I was a child, and at the time I speak of I was a grown woman, in attendance on the Queen. I was standing close to Harry Jermyn and Goring when my aunt was announced. 1 knew the story, and I watched the latter's face. It never altered in a muscle. I could have forgiven him if he had tiu'ned red or pale, or had even lost for an instant that hateful smile which seems to jeer at everything good and bad. No, he passed his hand through his long curls, and touched Jermyn with his elbow — " Egad, Harry," said he, " how these red and white women alter. "Would you believe it, I once run my best friend through the body for a light jest about that one ? And now look at her, my boy ! She's an old woman, and a fat one. Faith, and almost an ugly one too. Well, its lucky there are plenty of young ones always coming on." And this is the way men can talk of us, Grace; but not all — not aU ; there are a few, a very few noble hearts that a woman might be proud to win, or failing to win, might be proud to worship in silence and lifelong pain.' ' Are there ? ' observed Grace, absently, for her attention was occupied by an advancing horseman, mounted on a sorrel that even at a distance she seemed to recognise. Perhaps she was 64 nOLMBY HOUSE. tliinking, ' is this one of tlieiii ? ' perhaps she was speculating, with the prospective power of imagination, ' will this one ever care for vie? and liaving cared, Avill he ever laugh, like Goring, and say, " hoAv these women alter," and " how iat I am grown ? " ' The horseman was accompanied bv one servant, a tall spare figure, moimted on a stout useful palfrey, the spoil of some Parliamen- tarian whom Dymocke had deprived of his charger by the usage of war. It was indeed Bosville who Avas rapidly approaching the park, and the hearts of both women beat fast, and their cheeks turned pale, for he would have news of the great battle, and the Cause, and the King, and Sir Giles AUonby, and Lord Falkland. The young man reined uj) his horse at the door and dismounted, the reeking sides of the sorrel and the marks of disapprobation visible upon Dymocke's lean visage sufliciently denoting the speed at Aviiich he had been travelling. He gave the rein to his servant, and advanced to greet the ladies, with doffed beaver and slow dejected step. His dress was disordered and travel-stained, his tiice bronzed by exposure, and now suffused with a deep blush, and his countenance bore a saddened expression that was ominou3 of bad news. Grace jumped from her seat. ' My father ! ' she exclaimed, with clasped hands and eager face. ' Sir Giles is sale, ]\Iistress Grace,' was the reply ; ' he bids me commend him to you, and hopes soon to see his daughter once more.' Grace burst into tears, and covered her face with her hands, Mary Cave meanwhile remaining pale and cold as the stone balustrade against which she leaned. And yet she dared not ask the question that was nearest to her heart. ' And you have obtained a victory, a great victor}' ? ' she said, with lips that blanched and grew rigid while she spoke. ' A victory, indeed,' was the Cornet's reply, ' and a triumph for the Koyal Cause. I liave despatches here from the King himself to my Lord Vaux. I pray you give me leave, ladies; I must hasten to deliver them.' ' And they are safe ! ' exclaimed Grace, with her eyes full of tears ; ' all safe ! those that rode away so full of life and vigour such a short time ago, and whom we thought we might never see again ? ' The Cornet's face was very grave. He needed not to speak. Ere a word had crossed his lips Mary Cave knew the worst. Is it not so Avith all great griefs? with all those important moments ujton which lui'M the destinius of a lile — nay, it may be of an *ROSA QUO LOCORITM.' 65 eternity ? What is it that tells the sufferer there is no hope, whole seconds if you count by the clock, Avhole ages if you count by the racked and tortured heart, before the decree has gone forth ? Do you think the prisoner at the bar does not know the verdict before the foreman of the jury has delivered the thrilling word ' Guilty ? ' Do you think we are so constituted that by our physical oi'gans alone we can become conscious of outward facts ? Is there not in acute mental anxiety another and independent sense of prophetic nature ? Who has not suiTered has not lived. Is it better to vegetate in contented ignorance^ or to pluck. Eve- like, at the tree of knowledge, and taste the wild, bitter flavour of the fruit ? Alas ! the lesson of life must be learnt by one and all. Happy those who profit by it. Give them place ; let them take tlieir proper station at the head of the class ; but pity the poor dunce who is smarting in his ignorance, whose hot tears are falling thick and fast upon the page. ' We have bought our victory at too high a price,' said Hum- phrey ; ' some of the noblest heads in England lie low at Newbury. Carnarvon, Sunderland, Falkland, have met a soldier's death and found a soldier's grave.' Maiy spoke not a word. Her beautiful features took a set meaningless expression, like a mask, or like the face of a corpse. There was a dull stony look in her eye, like that of some dumb animal. Suffering pain and nei-ved to endure, her head was thrown proudly back till the muscles of the neck started out in painful tension. It seemed strange to see one of her cast of beauty so metamorphosed. Unbending physical resistance and acute stupi- fying suffering combined, seemed so out of character with her ripe womanly loveliness, her soft undulating form, her rich bro\\Tii hair. She who was formed to love, and laugh, and command with the imperious wilfulness of a spoiled child — it was sad to see her there, with a hard defiance, even of her own breaking heart, stamped upon her brow. She questioned Bosville again and again, unwavering and pitiless towards herself, she learned every particular he had to tell, she shrank from no incident of the action, no harrowing detail of Falkland's last charge, or the state in which he was found ; and then with quiet grave courtesy she thanked Humphrey for his narrative, and walked once more up the well-remembered Btairs with the stately step and queen-like gestures that became her so well. She had been a changed woman one short week ago, Avhen her F 66 HOLMBY HOUSE. chamber door had closed upon her after that interview which she could never forget. She was changed again now ; but it was a change that would influence her till she was at rest in her grave. Bosville followed her with his eyes as she stepped gracefully away, but with his body he accompanied Grace Allonby into the house, that he might deliver his despatches, as in duty bound, to that yomig lady's kinsman. Now that the first anxious inquiries were over, that Sir Giles's safety was ascertained, and the victory of Newbiuy — for as a victory it was claimed by the Royalists — jilaced beyond a doubt, they talked, as young people will, of lighter and more mirthful matters — of the Coui't at Oxford, of the last jest made by Wilmot, and the last new fashion introduced by Hany Jermyn, of the Queen's caprices, and Prince Eupert's retorts imcourteous, of the thousand topics which come so readily to the hps where the deeper chords of character have not yet been sounded, and which make a dialogue between a young gentleman and lady, both of them well born and well bred, so sparkling and agreeable, that we despair of conveying its purport to the reader through the medium of our staid and sober pen. Arrived at the threshold of Lord Vaux's own chamber, Grace bid her companion ' Good-bye,' with a half laughing, half formal courtesy. He turned as he closed the door for another glance at his guide. Oddly enough, at that very moment Grace turned too — it always does happen so — and as she tripped away to decorate her person in her own chamber, she felt happy and light-liearted as a bird. Of course it was the news of the great victory at Newbtiry and the safety of good Sir Giles that created this wondrous change in his daughter's spirits. Mary Cave was on her knees in the adjoining apartment. The struggle was over, the wild sickening feeling of despair alone re- mained, but the great agony had passed away, and a flood of tears had brought that relief to the overcharged heart and the overstrimg brain which alone saves the sufferer from madness. There are some natures that are at once utterly prostrated by sorrow, that make no effort to resist it, and yield at the first at- tack ; such know nothing of real misery. It is the proud imbend- ing spirit that has defied a thousand storms, which falls with a crash at last. Mary had been accustomed to conquer, had marchtsd in triumph over the necks of a host of captives ; hers Avas no meek yielding disposition, that clings where it attaches itself, and finds a pleasure in self-abasement and self-sacrifice. No ; she wa.s one of those wild birds that must bo tamed, and subjected, and re- ' ANCILL/E PUDORIS.' 67 strained, to stoop to the lure by a stronger will than their own ; and she had found her master long ago. Hopeless though it was, she had fixed her love upon Falkland : though he could never be hers, there had yet been a vague unacknowledged link that bound them together ; and now even this was broken, and he was dead. Dead ! the irrevocable, the fatal word, before which all other griefs seem so trifling, all other breaches so easily repaired, all other sorrows so open to consolation. Never, never to see him more ! It was a dull, stony, stupifying sensation. She was so glad, so thankful she had told him all before he went away. There was no shame now, no self-abasement, no womanly pride to come between her and the loved one in his cold grave : and Mary's tears welled up afresh, thick and hot, and the band that seemed to have compressed her heart to suffocation grew looser, and she rose from her knees with a firm resolve in her brain, and a giant's strength growing up in her steadfast will to struggle and endure. CHAPTER X. 'aNCILL^ PUDORIS.' Grace Allonby inhabited a pretty little room overlooking the terrace we have so often mentioned, and stored with the many knick-knacks that, even in the days of which we write, Avere affected by yoirng ladies to ' keep them beautiftd, and leave them neat.' Albeit the act of prying into such a boudoir may be deemed an impertinence, yet must we claim the historian's privi- lege to be at all times in all places, and take a peep at Grace imdergoing the various tortures of the toilet at the hands of her handmaid Faith, a pretty Puritan, whose duties as the souhrette of a Cavalier's daughter are continually at variance Avith her con- scientious opinions — a mental conflict which imparts to that damsel's conversation and general character a degree of acidity foreign to her real nature. She is combing and brushing her lady's hair with merciless energy, and those long dark masses fall over the white neck and bosom with a luxuriance of which the maid is prouder than her mistress. Yet is she reflecting even now, while with a turn of her skilful hand she adjusts a jetty ringlet, holding the comb meanwhile between her teeth, how the croAvning beauty of Absalom was a delusion and a snare ; and how, though a woman may be permitted to retain her abundant G8 HOLMBY nOtJSE. tresses, the long love-locks of the Cavaliers rmtst be wicked, they are so very becoming. ' Is the young officer fi-om Newbury going away to-day, ]\Iistress Grace, or doth he remain all night ? ' asks Faith, with an air and accent of the utmost simplicity. It is a strange coincidence, but Grace is thinking exactly the same thing. A shower of ringlets falls between her face and the mirror, so she blushes under them tmseen ; nevertheless her neck and shoulders crimson visibly, and Faith, although a Puritan, de- duces her own conclusions. Like a thorough waiting-maid, how- ever, she proceeds, without pausing for an answer — * He is a likely young gentleman enough ; of a fair countenance, and a gallant bearing too, as becomes a soldier. He cannot be as bad as the rest of them. Mistress Grace, or he would hardly have left them by his own desire to come here to our quiet place, where he knows nobody and can care for nobody.' ' He goes where he is oi-dered. Faith,' replies Grace, very quietly, and with a certain air of enforced dignity ; ' he is a brave and good officer,' she adds, her voice trembling a little, ' and has been sent here with despatches by the King himself.' ' I know Avhat I know,' resumes Faith, with some asperity. ' When it came to a question of who was to leave the army, and ride alone — leastways, him and his servant — through the ranks of the rebels, that's to say the Parliamentarians ' (Faith catches her- self i]p rapidly as she recollects her political and religious prin- ciples), ' facing dangers and what not, to come here to Boughton : ■ — nothing woidd serve Captain Bosville — for a captain he is and Avill be when he gets his due, as them that knows and told me is not misinformed— nothing would sei-ve him but down he goes on his knees before the King — I wonder he Avasn't ashamed to doit ; and says he, " Your Majesty," says he, " where the treasure is there Avill the heart be also ; and my soitcI," says he — that's tlie one he rode here that's got two fore-shoes off now in the great stable — " my sorrel can do the distance in half the time of e'er another in your Majesty's army ; and my servant," says he — tliat's good Master Dymocke, a Avorthy man and a right thinker, though backsliding for the time — " my servant knows the ways ])y track and ford, and none other ; and we crave leave to enter upon the duty, and so to kiss your Majesty's hand, and God be with you all." And with that,' continued Faith, now almost breathless, ' they up and saddled, and never drew rein till they rode in at our great gates, and as ]\Iasl.er Dymocke says, " laint heart never won fair lady," and " the labourer ia worthy of his hire." ' ' ANCILL.E rUDOIlIS.' 69 Grace listens well pleased to tliis somewhat improbable story ; drop by drop the poison is stealing gently into her veins. It is sweet to hear his name already ; soon it will be sweet to talk of him even to an uninterested listener ; then will come blushes and confusion, and a strange wild thrill of pleasure ; and then the reckoning must be paid for happiness thus taken up at interest. The lonely hours, the weary days, the sore heart, and the wan face, that never blushes now, but only contracts with a sickly smile and turns Avhiter than before. Is not this the course of ninety-nine love-tales out of a hundred ? Poor fools ! wasting your treasure for that which is not bread. But Grace is busy fastening a rose into her bodice, and Faith is stUl training the long tresses into two bewitching curls. ' They can't go to-night. Mistress Grace,' says the latter, answer- ing her previous quertion for herself. ' After such a ride as that, both man and beast are entitled to rest and refreshment, as Master Dymocke says ; and moreover, there's one of them as wouldn't be dragged from here by wild-horses except his duty for the King required him. Poor blinded creature ! I know what I know.' ' And is it the master or the man that is so wedded to a place he has only seen twice in his life ? ' asks Grace, half amused in spite of herself, although her heart is beating somewhat faster than usual. Faith is at once overcome by an access of propriety. ' Oh, madam,' rhe replies, ' it is not for me to make free with the young gentleman's thoughts; and as for Master Dymocke, though a worthy man and a personable, his gravity and his ex- perience puts him beyond all such vanities. Only there's some talk of their staying here for a convoy and a guard to take us all on to Oxford, where may we be preserved from the temptations of a Court ! ' adds Faith, piously. ' And now, madam,' she con- cludes,with a finishing twist to the curls and a toss of her oAvn head, * I have made a clean breast of it ; I have told you all I know, and of what may come of it, whether for good or for evil, I wash my hands.' With which solemn admonition Faith folds up her lady's things, smoothing them into squares with unusual accuracy and precision. She is evidently waiting to be further questioned, but in this she is disappointed, for Grace Allonby is in more hurry than common to attend upon her kinsman downstairs ; and it is with trembling steps, and breath coming quick and short that she proceeds to the great hall, where she already hears tlae voices of Lord Vaux and his lately arrived guest. Captain Bosville, as we must call him now — for Faith's infer- 70 irOLMBY nousE. niation, however obtained, is 2)erfectly correct, and his captain's commission is ah-eady made out and signed by the Soverc;ign — has performed an elaborate toilet, and one that even less prejudiced eyes than those of Grace Allonby would pronounce to be most becoming. His long love-locks, curled and perfumed with the greatest cai-e, droop over a point-lace collar, fitting high and close around tlie throat, but falling back in dazzling width over his broad shoulders. His velvet doublet, richly embroidered, and fastened down the front with tags and loops of gold, is slashed at the sleeves, so as to display the fine texture of his cambric garment underneath, and fitting tightly over the hands, admits of the broad wristbands being turned back so as to exhibit the whiteness and symmetry of those members to the greatest advantage. A ruby clasp fastens his doublet at the throat, a fellow stone, of equal size and radiance, is set in the pommel of his sword. These, too, will ere long be converted into men and horses for King Charles ; meantime they are very dazzling, very beautiful, and very viseless. A Avide rustling scarf, stiff with embroidery, crosses his breast, and is gathered into a huge knot over his left hip, Avhere it meets the broad baldric that sustains his long straight sword. His lower man is clothed in loose velvet pantaloons, reaching somewhat be- low the knee, to meet the wide -wrinkled riding-boots, pushed half-way down the leg, and forming with their high heels and heavy massive spurs a somewhat warlike termination to the festive air betrayed in the rest of his costume. Add to all this a hand- some face, embrowned by exercise, and wearing the keen forcible expression which all men of action insensibly acquire, and we aiTive at a general effect, which might indeed make sad havoc in a heart already predisposed to look upon it with favour and affection. Nor was Grace Allonby thrust upon an unequal war unfurnished with those weapons, both offensive and defensive, which women know how to use so skilfully. In the days of the first Charles a lady's dress nuich resembled that of the present era. There Avas the same display of confident beauty above, the same volu- minous series of defences below, as though the attack must be provoked only to be repelled. There Avas the same costly taste ibr jcAvellery, the same magnificence of texture and gorgeousncss of hue in silks and satins — nay, the very arms, bared nearly to tlie elboAV, Avere overhung by a cloudy, graceful fabric of muslin or lace, or Avhatever it is Avliich suits so well Avith a Avhite skin, a handsome hand, and a rich bracelet, and which is tc-day so much affected by those Avho are possessed of any or all of these advan- 'ANCILLiE PUDORIS.' 71 tages. Grace Allonby's light girlish figure borrowed a gracefiil dignity from the ample folds of the heavy brocade she wore — low at the bosom, and descending to a peak or stomacher, the upper part of the body was distinctly and beautifully defined ; whilst the spreading skii-t, falling in massive plaits from her slender waist, added that majestic sweep and volume which ladies consider BO necessary to complete the finish of their costume. Her hair, undisfigured by powder, Avhich had not yet come into use, curled in graceful clusters over her ivory forehead, and did Faith credit for the manner in v/hich she had dressed and disposed it. The girl wore a double row of pearls tight round her neck, and pearl bracelets round her Avrists. Sir Giles had not fought and foraged many a long year without obtaining some valuables to bestow upon his darling ; and those very pearls were a gift from lavish and ill-judging King Jamie for a deed that had required a silent tongue, a ready hand, and a heart stouter than most men possessed. So Su- Giles was asked to choose his reward, and he chose the casket of pearls lying on the trembling monarch's table, to store them up for his little Gracey. And the King gave them fi'ankly, and regretted them a moment afterwards ; but nevertheless, before all was done, they found their way back again to the service of the Stuarts. So liumphrey Bosville and Grace Allonby were as well-lookin"- a couple as you shall see in a summer's day ; and we may be sure the young lady was satisfied with their joint appearance, and laughed and talked with a gaiety foreign to her usually reserved and quiet demeanour. The Cavaher, on the contrary, was absent and distracted ; glancing uneasily at the door, and looking about him -vvith wandering eyes, as though he missed some accustomed face : by degrees the coldness of his manner threw a damp over the rest of the party. Grace began to feel chilled and disappointed, and withdrew into herself. Lord Vaux was distressed and unhappy at the news of the late action, and the price which a victory had cost. The three sat silent and moody ; and the afternoon, to Avhich poor Grace had so looked forward during her toilet, and which had promised to be so bright and sunshiny, terminated, as such antici- pated hours too often terminate, in clouds and disappointment. But it does not follow that because there are pique and vapours in the parlour, loud laugh and broad jest and noisy conversation should be wanting in the hall. There was no lack at Boughton of nut-brown ale brewed of the strongest, with which Lord Vaux's retainers had no objection to make merry wlienever occasion offered. Such an opportunity as the present could not of course be suffered /2 IIOLMBY HOUSE. to pass ovei" without an unusual amount of wassailing, a doublo health to the King, and many hearty pledges to worthy Master Dymocke, who, in his capacity of ambassador extraordinary from the army, and first accredited messenger with the news of victory, received all the compliments and congratulations poured upon him as no more than his due, and replied to the pledges of his admirers Avith a fervent cordiality that brought an unwonted colour to his cheek, and lustre to his eye. Not that Master Dymocke was ever known to succumb to the potent influence of John Barleycorn, or to lose the presence of mind and philosophical equanimity on which he prided himself: nothing of the kind ; his was one of those phlegmatic temperaments derived from the Saxon element in our constitutions, which, partaking of the nature of a sponge, hke that porous substance, become only the more dense and Aveighty the more liquid you pom* into them. Dymocke had already pledged the steward in many a foaming liorn, had emptied a beaker with the falconer in answer to that worthy's compliments and good wishes, had drunk to all the serving-men in turn, measure for measure and courtesy for courtesy, nor had shrunk from an extraordinaiy and overflowing bumper to the health of the king — and still his speech wa^ imfaltering, and his head clear. Nay, more ; although by general consent allowed to have all the conversation to himself — although he had told the story of the fight in all its different versions over and over again, each time long before the conclusion becoming the hero of his own tale, he had yet resisted the temptation of talking himself drunk ; and it was with a steady foot and a deportment more solemn than ordinary, that he rose from the hall-board to betake liimself to the stable, there, like a true soldier, to look after his oavu and liis master's steeds. As he fed and watered them, and littered them carefully down, and patted the good animals, of which none but a sportsman, or a soldier, or a highwayman, none but he whose life depends upon the merits of his horse, knows the real value, they seemed to be sleeker and fresher than usual, less Avearied with their long journey, smoother in their coats, brighter in their eyes, and cooler in their legs, than was customary. Many healths conscientiously emptied are apt to have this effect of enhancing the good quahties of our possessions, and Dymocke, as he departed from the stable and pro- ceeded towards the house, was in that frame of mind which sees everything in its brightest hues, and in which our weaknesses — if weaknesses we chance to have — are, as Avas once observed by an Irishman, at the strongest. Noav, Dymocke, though an elderly man, or Avhat he Avould himself have called in the prime of life, was, as we have already stated, still a bachelor, and like all other bachelors, of whatever age, an admirer of the fair. Marriage ia somewhat apt to damp the woman-worship which sits so well upon the stronger sex, more's the pity ! but Hugh being still unmarried, was more susceptible to the fascinations of beauty than would have been supposed by those who only contemplated his lean austere- looking face, and Avere not aware that, like a rough and wrinkled walnut, he was kernel all through. It was therefore with a grim smile, and a sensation entirely pleasurable, that he met the pretty Puritan Faith in the outer court, and assisted that good-looking damsel to carry a certain ponderous clothes-basket from the washing-green into the house. Ladies'-maids were not above hard work in the seventeenth century, and had not as yet arrived at the pitch of refinement now so essential to the dignity of the second table ; and so much in character with low evening dresses, white gloves, satin shoes, and short whist. Faith, too, although a Puritan, had no objection to make the most of those personal charms Avith which she was blessed by natm-e. Though her hair was prudishly gathered beneath a little lace cap, it was sleek and glossy as the plumage of a bird. Her gown, though sad-coloured in hue, and coarse in texture, fitted her fidl shape with coquettish accuracy, and was pulled through the pocket-holes so as to display her bright stuff petticoat to the greatest advantage. Her trim ankles Avere covered by the tightest and best fitting of scarlet hose, and her high-heeled shoes pro- tected a pair of neat little feet that many a Avell-born lady might have envied. She looked very nice, and Hugh Dymocke Avas thoroughly convinced of the fact, so it Avas no unpleasant re- iiection to remember that he was not immediately about to pursue his journey, and that the horses he had just been caring for Avould reap the full benefits of the comfortable stable in Avhich they Avere housed. He Avas a grave man, and he said as much with a staid air, balancing the clothes-basket the Avhile, and interposing hia long person betAveen the admiring damsel and her destination. Faith Avas nothing loth, too, for a chat ; like all Avomen, she was a hero-Avorshipper, and Avere not Bosville and his domestic heroes for tlie nonce ? but AvomanUke, she of course dissembled her gratification, and assumed the offensive. ' The sooner the better. Master Dymocke,' observed this seduc- tive damsel, pertly, in allusion to the departure of her solemn admirer, Avhich he informed her Avas to be postponed sine die. ' Soldiers only hinder Avork ; and Fve got my young lady's things to attend to, and no time to stand here gossiping Avith you. Not 74 HOLMBY HOUSE. but Avhat you're a well-informed man, and a sober, Master I>^- mocke, and too good for your evil trade, which is only murder in disguise, and for your comrades, which is men of Belial, and miserable sinners, one worse than another.' ' By your leave, good Mistress Faith,' answered Dymocke, ' this is a subject I should be happy to explain to you, and one on which, with your good will, I shall enter during our journey — for you and I are to be fellow-travellers, as I understand — for oTir mutual improvement and advantage.' ' Journey, good lack ! ' exclaimed the waiting-maid, clasping her hands in well-feigned astonishment ; ' and where be you about to take me, Master Dymocke, and have you the King's authority to do what you will with us all ? Forsooth, and I have a mind of my own, as you shall shortly find out ! ' ' His gracious Majesty,' replied Dymocke, with the utmost gravity, ' when he thought fit to despatch myself and Captain Bosville on this important duty, confided to me, through an old friend of my own, now a yeoman in his guard, that I was to take charge of the ladies of this family, doubtless accompanied by their kinsman, Lord Vaux, to his right royal Court at Oxford, where I shall make it my duty to place ye in safety and good keeping tiU these troublous times be overpast.' ' And were you entrusted with the charge of my young lady as well as myself. Master Dymocke ? ' asked Faith Avith extreme naivete, ' or was there no word of the capfeiin, youi' master, in these marchings and countermarchings, of which you soldiers make so little account ? ' ' My master's yotith and inexperience in the ways of woman- kind would make him a bad guide without myself to counsel and assist him,' was the reply ; ' but take comfort, Mistress Faith, for your lady's sake, at least. The lad is a good lad, and accompanies us to the Court.' ' And well pleased my lady will be ! ' burst out Faith, clapping her hands. ' And a sweet pretty couple they make as does one's heart good to see. A soldier and a soldier's daughter. Well, it's a bad trade, but " like will to like," Master Dymocke. Good lack ! it is aU vanity.' ' Like will to hke, as you observe, and it is vanity,' replied Dymocke, Avithout moving a muscle of his coimtenance ; but the clothes-basket had got by this time set on end in the narrow passage they were just entering ; and there seemed to be some difficulty, and a good deal of shnflling of feet ere Faith could get past the obstacle. When she did succeed, however, in effecting MKKTON COLLEGE. 75 this manoeuvre, she passed the back of her hand across her mouth, and set her cap to rights in a somewhat flurried manner, strongly in contrast with the staid demeanour from which Dymocke never wavered an instant. The hitter was something of a herbalist, and it is probable that he had been practically impressing on her the botanical fact, ' that the gorse is in bloom the whole year round.' CHAPTER XL MERTON COLLEGE. Old Oxford never looked more picturesque and beautiful that late on an autumnal evening of the year of Grace 1643, when its spires and towers, its stately halls and splendid colleges, formed the court of an unfortunate king, and a refuge for the flower of England's aristocracy. The western sky, a-flame with the de- parting glories of a gorgeous sunset, tinged with a crimson glow the domes and pinnacles of those stately edifices looming gigantic in the dim haze of evening, already creeping on. Here and there a light twinkling through the gloom shone out starlike over the porch of some lodging where the noble of a hundred manors and a score of castles Avas content to take xij) ^^^^ abode, or from some window where high-born dames, flowers and ornaments of the English court, now looked down like caged birds from their aviary over the busy street below. Groups of cavaliers. Avarlike re- tainers, peaceful citizens, grave and reverend churchmen, soldiers trained to war, and soldiers armed for the first time, from loyalty or necessity, filled the town to ovei-flowing. Scarfs and feathers waved and fluttered, spurs jingled, brocades rustled, and steel clanked in the once peaceful resort of study and the arts. The clatter of troop-horses, the ring of the smithy, the joyous peal of the trumpet-call, and the ready chorus of reckless voices shouting some Cavalier ditty, mingled strangely with the solemn swell of an organ in a neighbouring chapel, Avith the toll of a death-bell from a distant cathedral toAver. Stanch in her loyalty to the last, the old University town had willingly outraged all her OAvn habits of discipUne and decorum for the sake of her king, as she after- Avards mortgaged her revenues and paAvned her plate in the same failing cause. She Avas noAV filled to overfloAving, for the Queen, accompanied by her OAvn separate and special coiurt, had lately joined her hiTsband in the only refuge left to them, and still the iO HOLMBY HOUSE. Cavaliers were pouriug in to offer their liomage and their sworda to the devoted monarch. A party on horseback have just arrived, and are alighting at the door of the lodging already provided for them. They are dusty and travel-stained, as though they had come a considerable distance, and the old man, clad in a dai'k sober dress, who rides at their head, seems weary and ill at ease. Lord Vaux would fain rest from his labours, and be allowed to stay quietly at home. Not so Grace Allonby, whom Bosville assists from her horse and places in her father's arms, for Sir Giles, safe and sound, smiling and unscathed, is Avaiting to receive his daughter, and thanks Hum- phrey for the care he has taken of her, and greets them all, in- cluding Faith and Dymocke, with his usual soldiei'-like cordiality. Grace is delighted with the bustle of her arrival as she has been pleased with the events of her journey. All is new to her, and there is a varnish over everything che sees just now, which brings it out in its brightest colours. She pats the sorrel with a grateful smile as she Avishes its owner good-bye. Pie has performed his duty, and must take his leave for his own quarters, but whilst they inhabit the same towTi the chances are that they will often meet again. He shakes hands Avith her cordially, gnd looks straight into her face with hi? honest hazel eyes ; but when in turn he lifts Mary Cave off her horse, Avho has been riding somewhat in the rear, those eyes are averted and doAvncast, his colour comes and goes, and though he Imgers long over the pressure of that hand oiFered so frankly and would fain put it to his lips, he re- leases it abruptly, and walks away like a man in a dream. Honest Dymocke, Avith a mysterious grin, Avhispers Faith ; and the Avaiting-maid, Avho is convinced she has Avon a convert, bids him farcAvell Avith a Avarmth Avhich nothing apparently but the publicity of the occasion tones doAvn to the necessary degree of reserA'e and decorum. Our sedate fnend has clearly made a con- quest, but our business is at present Avith his master. Humphrey Bosville strides absently up the street, and revolves in his oAvn mind the events of the last feAV weeks, and the change that has come over him. He ruminates long and earnestly on one of the companions of his late journey. With the one-sided sharp-sightedness of love, lie has totally ignored that Avhich any other but himself must have detected, the interest he has created in the gentle heart of Grace Allonby ; but he has keenly felt that in Mary Cave's thoughts tlierc; are depths Avhich he has never .sounded, aspirations in Avhich he has no share, regrets Avhich he is powerless to console. She has been charming and Avinaing in MERTON COLLEGE. 77 her mauner towards liim, as it is her nature to cliarm and win all 'Mankind ; she has vouchsafed both himself and the sorrel far more attention than he had any right to expect ; and yet there was a something with which he was discontented — a want somewhere unfulfilled, a longing unsatisfied. It worried him — it goaded him ; manlike, it made him think about her all the more. As he strode moodily up the street a hand was laid upon his shoulder, and Effingham, paler and sterner than ever, stood before him : those wild eager eyes looked kindly as Avas their wont upon his comrade. ' Welcome, young one,' said George, in his deep stern tones ; * welcome to the city of the plain ! If ten righteous men could have averted the doom from Sodom, it may be that one honest heart can save Oxford. I have looked for it here in vain, imless you, Humphrey, have bought it with you.' BosviUe returned his greeting warmly, and questioned him eagerly as to the numbers and prospects of the Cavaliers. Effing- ham's answers showed the desponding view which he at least entertained of the success of his party. ' It is a sinking ship, Humphrey,' said he, in a low melancholy voice, ' and the crew are drugging themselves into apathy before they are engulfed in the waves. With eveiy ■wound of our bleeding country gaping afresh, nothing is thought of here but riot and wassailing, dicing and drinking, and masking and mumming, and the Frenchwomen dancing over the ruins of her husband's kingdom and the death of its bravest supporters, even as the daughter of Plerodias danced to the destruction of John the Baptist. Oh, it is a sickening struggle, and we are fighting in a Avrong cause ! Day by day the conviction grows stronger in my mind ; day by day I feel that I am acting against my conscience and to the loss of my own soul 1 Can such men as Goring and Wilmot and Lunsford be on the side of truth ? Will God prosper the cause of a faithless wife, with her bevy of minions, such as Holland and Jermyn and Digby ? Shall good men strive in the battle, and toil in the march, and leave home and duties and peril their lands and lives, nay, their very salvation, to be bought and sold by a painted traitress like Carlisle ? Must we have two Courts, forsooth, one opposed to the other ? and shall we serve both to be rewarded by neither, and give our all to a master who is himself subjected to the Jezebel of our day ? Verily, " a house divided against itself shall not stand," and I am sick and weary of it, and would fliin that it was over. But judge for yourself, Humphrey, by what you will see to-night. The Queen holds her accustomed reception at Merton 78 HOLMBY HOUSE. College, You will attend, as in duty bound, to kiss her hand, after so gallantly affording a convoy to these ladies who have come to join her court. Judge for yourself, and may God give you clearsightedness to choose the right path.' "With these words Effingham turned abruptly from his friend and strode rapidly away. But Humphrey was torn by none of these doubts and misgiv- ings as to the side which he had adopted in the great struggle of the day. He was a true Cavalier, and a characteristic type of the party to which he belonged. All the enthusiasm of a chivalrous nature was enlisted on behalf of the unfortunate monarch and of his beautiful and fascinating Queen. All the veneration which prevailed strongly in his disposition prompted him to reverence the old sentiments of loyalty in Avhich he had been brought up, the prestige of a crown for which his ancestors had ever been ready to suffer and to die. What mattered it to him that Goring was a profligate and Lunsford a mercenary ? The reckless prodigality of the one and the determined bravery of the other shed a halo even over their worst deeds, and he could not in his heart entirely repudiate the dashing courage so akin to his own, which checked at no obstacle and hesitated for no results. If Jei-myn was an intriguer, and Holland, with his handsome face, a mass of dupli- city, and Digby a most unworthy successor to the true and generous Falkland, there was a charm in their pohshed kindly manners, a dignity and chivalrous grace in their bearing, that forbade his youthfiil admiration fi'om judging them too harshly ; and even if Henrietta had sacrificed her husband's interests to her own caprices, had given him the most injudicious advice at the worst possible time, and had proved at all junctures and imder all cii'cumstances a clog roimd his neck and a difficulty in his path, was it for him to judge one who imited the charms of a woman to the dignity of a Queen, who, with the ready tact of her nature, had already won his heart at a review of Colepepper's brigade by a judicious compliment to his own horsemanship and the beauty of the sorrel he bestrode ? Above all, was not the idol of his heart a stanch Cavalier — a partisan, ready and willing to make any and every sacrifice for the royal cause ? Had not many a sentiment of loyalty dropped from her in chance conversation during their journey, and been garnered up in his heart as we garner up alone the words of those we love. They sink deeply, and we ponder on them long and earnestly. God help us ! we forget them never in a lifetime. So Mary Cave being a Cavalier, of course Humphrey Bosville MERTON COLLEQE. 79 was a Cavalier too (there are reasons for political as well as for other sentiments), and so it was but natural that he should don his most magnificent attire, and present himself at Merton College to pay his homage to his Queen. Sir Giles and Grace Allonby would surely be there, and it was probable that Mary, notwith- standing the deep and bitter grief under which he could not but see she was labouring, would accompany her kinsfolk to the Court. So his heart beat quicker than it had ever done in action, Avhen he found himself pacing tlu-ough the double rank of guards, furnished in rotation by the noblemen about the Coiu*t, who lined the passages and entrance of Merton College, and Ave think that as he entered the crowded reception-rooms it would have been almost a relief not to have been aware, as he intuitively was, of the pre- sence of his ladye-love. It was indeed a gay and gorgeous assemblage, and could not fail to strike even one so preoccupied as Bosville with interest and admiration. Like a diamond set in a circle of precious stones, Henrietta herself formed the centre of the sparkling throng, and cast her brilliance on all aroimd, as, with the wit for which she was so remarkable, she scattered amongst her courtiers those graceful nothings which cost so httle, and yet buy so much. Small in person, with fairy feet and beautifully formed hands and arms, with radiant black eyes and deUcate featiires, it was not difficult to understand the fascination wliich she exercised over the most loving and devoted husband that ever wore a crown ; nor were the liveliness of her manners, and the toss of her small weU-shaped head, out of keeping with the piquante and somewhat theatrical character of her beauty. Even as Bosville entered, she had taken Lord HoUand aside into a window, and by the well- pleased expression which pervaded the handsome face of the courtier, it was obvious that, not only was he flattered by the attention, but that he was yielding most unreservedly to the re- quest, whatever it might be, of his beautiful Sovereign. Harry Jermyn stood by, apparently not too well pleased. Handsome Harry Jermyn, who would never have been distin- guished by that epithet had he not been a Queen's minion, cer- tainly did not at this moment show to advantage, a threatening scoAvl contracting his features, and a paleness, more perhaps the result of dissipation than iU-health, overspreading his somewhat wasted face. A woman's tact saw the pain that a woman's pity was too ready to alleviate, and a woman's Avit Avas at no loss for an excuse to break itp the intcrvicAV Avith Holland, and release 80 HOLMBY HOUSE. Tier favourite servant from his uneasiness. Beckoning him to her side with a kind smile, of wliicli she knew well the power, she pointed to Bosville, Avho had just entered the presence-chamber, and bid him inquire the name of the yoimg Cavalier. ' I re- member his face,' she said, fastening her black eyes on Jermyn, * as I never forget a face that pleases me, and 1 will have him brought up and presented to me. I Avill be personally acquainted with all my comrades, for am not I too a soldier myself? ' And she pointed with her little hand, and laughed her sweet silvery laugh, and Harry Jermyn looked as if the sun Avas shining once again for him like the rest of the world. So Humphrey was led up to the Queen, and kissed her hand, and performed his obeisance, and Henrietta made a graceful allusion to the conduct of his brigade at Newbuiy, and bantered him on ' his new character,' as she was pleased to term it, of a ' Squire of Dames,' and beckoning to i\Iary Cave, bid her reward her guardian for the care he had taken of her, by now placing him au fait to all the gossip of the Court, ' in which no one is better versed than thyself, mcchante Marie^ added the Queen, and so turned away to her own intrigues and her own devices, having made at least one heart happy amongst her courtiers, and bought its life-long devotion at the price of a little ready tact and a few light words. Mary could not but be sensible of the influence she Avas rapidly obtaining over the young Cavalier captain. Women are usually sufficiently quick-sighted in these matters, and she was no excep- tion in this respect to the rest of her sex. Grieved and imhappy as she now Avas, her every hope destroyed, and the light of her life, as she felt, darkened for ever, there was yet something sooth- ing and consolatory in the considerate and unselfish devotion of this brave enthusiastic nature. She never considered that what was ' sport to her ' might be ' death to him ; ' that Avhilst she Avas merely leaning on him, as it Avere, for a temporary support, lulled and flattered by the romantic adoration Avhich she i'elt she had inspired, he might be twining round his heart a thousand links of that golden chain Avhich, Avhen it is torn aAvay, canues with it the lacerated fragments ol" the treasure it enclosed, might be anchor- ing all his trust and all his happiness on a dream, to Avake from Avhich might be a life's misery, might even be madness or death. ' Children and fools,' saith tlie proverb, ' should not meddle with edge-tools.' Are not all mankind more or less children, rather more than less fools ? ^V"hy AviU they persist in cuttmg their own lingers ; always ready to run the risk, however averse to paying MERTON COLLEGE. 81 the penalty ? ]\Iary thought but little of these things. If such a reflection did cross her mind, she saw in her victim a glorious instrument of the Cause — the Cause for -which Falkland had died, the Cause to which she had vowed her life, her energies, her all ! In the intoxicating atmosphere of a Court, amongst all the glitter of rank, and fame, and beauty, it seemed so natural to be wooed and idolised, so pleasant to possess the charm that subjugates all mankind, so noble to use it for a patriotic cause. They were placed in the embrasure of a window, somewhat apart from the throng. She was seated with her head resting on one rounded arm, over which a ringlet of her nut-brown hair fell to the dimpled elbow ; he was standing by her side leaning over her, and trembling in every fibre to the notes of her silvery voice ; he, a stout swordsman, a gallant soldier, a young, strong, hearty man, and yet his cheek paled, and he withdreAv his gaze every time she liiled her soft blue eyes to his face. ' We cannot fail,' she said, ' with such men as these on our side. See, Captain Bosville, look around yoi:, the noblest names in England are gathered here to-night, and there is not one oi them that will not risk his all, ay, and lose it too, contentedly, for the King. Yoxi men are strangely prejudiced,' she added, looking up at him with a smile, ' but you are very devoted to your prejudices ; if women are accused of being wilful, commend rae at least to a man for obstinacy ! ' ' And does not perseverance deserve to be rewarded ? ' asked he, witli a somewhat Altering voice. ' If a man \n\\ devote him- self body and soul, heart and energy, to the attainment of any one object, ought he not to prosper ? Does he not always succeed ? ' ' Generally, if he is sufficiently obstinate,' answered Mary, with a laugh, at which her companion's face brightened into a pleasant smile. ' But self-devotion is indeed the noblest quality of a man. If there is one I admire more than all the rest of the world, it is he who can propose to himself a glorious end and aim in life, and who can strive for it through all obstacles, whatever be the danger, whatever the difficulty ; who never takes his eyes from off the goal, and who if he dies in the pursuit, at least dies stanch and unconquered to the last ! ' ' And such a one,' exclaimed Bosville, with flashing eyes and quivering lip, ' such a one could command your admiration, could win your love ? ' ' 1 said not that, Captain Bosville,' she replied, but her counte- nance never changed colour, and her eye never drooped, as it would once have done at words like these. He mi'dit have 82 HOLMBT HOUSE. knoAvii then that she did not love him, that hera- was the master- mind of the two ; but he was blind, as those are always blind, who see through the glasses of Iheir own wilful affections. ' I said not that, but yet I may say that I never could care for one who lacked these qualities, and that if ever I could give my heart away, it would be to one such as I have described.' She sighed heavily while she spoke, and turned her head away. He did not hear the sigh, his blood was boiling, and his brain confused. He did not see the cold, rigid face of the dead at Newbury ; the face that was haimting liis fair companion day by day ; he did not see another sweet pale face looking at him from her father's side in the very presence-chamber, singUng him out fi-om amongst the crowd of coui'tly gallants and beauteous dames, from the mass of sUlts and satins, and rustling brocade and flashing jewellery; a pale sweet face,Avith a mournful smile and a reproachful expression in its dark, faAvn-like eyes. No, he had thoughts but for one, and the fingers that closed upon his sword-hilt were white with the pressure of his grasp, as he spoke almost in a whisper. ' And coxild such lifelong devotion Avin you, Mary, at the last ? Will you accept life and fortune, and all, to give in retiu-n but one little word, one Avord of kindness, encouragement, and hope ? ' She smiled sweetly up at him ; how could she do otherwise ? She must have been more or less than woman not to feel at least gratified by such admiration as his, and yet it was the smile of ]nty rather than affection, such a smile as Avreathes the lips of those who have lived out their life of passion here. ' Hush,' she said, ' Captain Bosville. Loyalty before all ; the King ! the King ! ' Even as she spoke a silence succeeded to the rustling of dresses and the hum of voices that had hitherto pervaded the presence- chamber, and a lane, formed by the bowing crowd, and extending from the large folding-doors up to the Queen herself, heralded llie approach of royalty. A lane formed of the noblest and the best-boni in England, of whom not one man or woman that bent the head in loyal reverence, but Avould have laid that head avlI- lingly to rest in the field, or forfeit it on the scaffold, for the sake of the unfortunate monarch who noAV paced up the hall, returning the obeisance of his subjects Avith the dignified and melancholy sweetness wliich never, even in his Avorst misfortunes, for an instant deserted him. Bosville Avas not familiar Avith the person of his Sovereign ; he had now an opportunity of studying the aspect of that man — ;i mere man like himself, after all, Avhose rank invested him with a MERTON COLLEGE. 83 magical interest that commanded the fortunes and the lives of his subjects. Charles bore on his whole exterior the impress of his character — nay, more — to a fanciful observer there was something in his countenance and manners that seemed to presage misfor- tune. Of no stately presence, he had yet a well-knit and graceful figure, hardened and trained into activity by those sports and exercises in which he had acquired no mean proficiency. Few of his subjects could vie with their monarch in his younger days at the games of baUoon, rackets, or tennis ; could handle the sword more skilfiilly, or ride ' the great horse ' with fairer grace and management ; even at middle age, despite a trifling and scarcely perceptible malformation of the limbs, his pedestrian powers were such as to inconvenience to a great extent those dutifid courtiers Avho were compelled to keep pace with him in his walks, and although in his childhood of a weakly constitution, he had acquired before he grew up a firm and vigorous physiqxie that was capable of sustaining, as he afterwards pi-oved repeatedly in his imfortu- nate career, not only the extremes of bodily fatigue and hardship, but what is infinitely more hard to bear, the gnawing and destruc- tive anxieties of daily failure and disappointment. But in Charles's face a physiognomist would too surely have discovered the signs of those mixed quaUties which rendered him the most ill-fated of monarchs as he was the most amiable of men. There was ideality without comprehensiveness in the high narrow forehead, there was vacillation in the arched and elevated eyebrow, the fuU, well-cut eye was clear, and open, and beautiful, but its expression was dreamy and abstracted, the gaze of a sage, a philosopher, or a devotee, not the quick eager glance of a man of action and re- source. His other features Avere well-formed and regular, but the upper hp was somewhat too curled and full for masculine beauty, whilst the jaw lacked that expression of power and finuness which is never absent from the face of a tridy great man. His long, dark locks curling dowTi upon his shoulders, his bushy moiistache and pointed beard, added to the pleasing yet melancholy expression of his countenance, and with his rich attire, his magnificent lace collar, and jewelled ' George ' hanging about his neck, perfected the- ideal of a chivah'ous high-minded monarch, Avho was worthy of the posi- tion he occupied and the devotion he commanded, who was no unfit centre around which grouped themselves the proudest, the bravest, the noblest, the most enthusiastic aristocracy that ever iailed to save a sovereign. They were thronging about him now. The chivalrous and princely Newcastle, who lavished fortunes for his monarch's 84 nOLMBY HOUSE. entertainment as ungrudgingly as he poured forth his blood in his service ; splendid in his apparel, stately in his person, mag- nificent in his bearing, a true specimen of the English nobleman ; a Paladin in the field, a grand seigneur in the drawing-room, kindly, and frank, and hearty in each ; wooing the Muses with no contemptible success during the intervals of his eventful career, and charging the Parliamentary troopers with a resolute energy that made the ' silken general,' as they were pleased to term him, the terror of all. Respected by the Prince of Wales, whose boy- hood had been committed to his care, trusted by the Queen, who ibund in him all those noble sentiments she most admired and looked for in vain amongst her other favourites, and beloved by Charles himself, who recognised in him the more splendid quali- ties of Buckingham without Buckingham's selfishness, reckless- ness, and Protean vacillation of character. And wc are best acquainted with Newcastle now as the author of a folio book upon horsemanship ! The scientific Leicester, skilled in classic lore, and a better mathematician than a soldier, as indeed the certainty of results exacted by the one is far removed from the haphazard readinesc of resource indispensable to the other. Somewhat jealous, it may be, and displeased that his appointment to the Lieutenancy of Ireland had been cancelled, yet faithful in his heart to his Sove- reign, and bearing next that heart a panacea for all bitterness and ill-feeling in a letter from his loving Countess, whose devoted attachment to the Earl was as proverbial in a Court more noto- rious for complicated intrigue than conjugal fidelity, as was that of the celebrated lady whose lord was alone qualified to drink out ofthe 'cup of gold' which stood on King Arthur's round table, and which, if we are to believe the scandal of the old romances, spilt its contents over every beard save that of Caradoc, so rare in those days was the crown which virtuous women placed upon the brows of their husbands. The courtly Wilraot, a professed wit, a finished gentleman, addicted to wine and debauchery, but a cool and scientific soldier, continually laboui-ing under some imputation against his courage, which lie was as continually wiping out by daring strategy and brilliant achievements. Looked upon with dislike by the Court, which yet feared him for the sting of his ready tongue, and mis- trusted by the King, who nevertheless employed him on the most important duties, he seemed to rely solely on himself; and whilst jiis serene visage and equable demeanour totally repudiated all romance and enthusiasm, the repose and self-confidence of his bearing denoted the man who was all in all to his own require- MKKTON COLLEGE. 85 nients, totus teres atque rotnndtis, impassable as a Stoic and con- tented as an Epicurean. Different indeed from liis next neigliboiir, who was describipg to him, with a vast amount of action and energy, completely- thrown away upon Wilmot's unresponsive apathy, a new-fashioned handle for that goodly weapon, the pike. Sir Jacob Astley was no cool philosopher, no sneering cynic, but a Avarm-hearted, warm-blooded, bold, hearty, and God-fearing man. A devoted soldier, an active and judicious officer, a conscientious councillor ; whatever his hand found to do, that did he with all his heart and all his soul. Threescore Avinters and more had shed their snoAvs upon his head, and Avherever hard blows Avere going he had taken fully his share, yet his eye Avas bright, his cheek was ruddy, and his frame Avas still square and strong. A good conscience is a wondrous specific for longeAdty ; and who but a soldier with a good conscience could have offered up Sir Jacob's famous prayer at the head of his column before the Battle of EdgehUl — ' Oh Lord ! thou knowest how busy I must be this day ; if I forget thee do not thou forget me. March on, boys ! ' ToAvering over Sir Jacob's grey head, his eagle eye Avandering far away into the distance, looking beyond that courtly Aveb of silk and satin, and his tall figure resting on his long straight SAVord, stood Prince Rupert — the fiery Hotspur of his day, the cavalry officer Avhose charge Avas ahvays victorious, and Avhose victory ahvays terminated in defeat ; of whom it has been said that he never failed to Avin ' his share of the battle,' yet whose success, by some fatality, invariably led to the discomfiture of his friends. The active partisan, Avhose element seemed to be Avar, and Avho had buckled on a SAvord and ridden side by side with distinguished generals and fierce troopers at an age when most boys are flying a kite or trundhng a hoop ; who, failing employment on land, Avas fain to seek bloodshed and fighting at sea, embarking on the duties of an admiral Avith the same bold recklessness that had equally distinguished him at the head of a column of iron-clad cavalry, or charging with a handful of Cavaliers in his shirt ; and Avho, when the sea refused to offer him opportunities of distinction, as the land had long ago failed to give him scope for his ambition, could sit doAvn contentedly in a peaceful capital, and occupy him- self Avith the gentle resources of chemistry and painting. His high aquiline features, according so Avell Avith a stature Avhich, though light and sincAvy, approached the gigantic, his' broad, clear, restless eye, and his Avide, massive broAv, shaded as, it was by a profusion of someAvhat tangled hair, denoted the man' of courage and aotion, the gallant spirit that kneAT no calculation 86 HOLMBY HOUSE. of odds, the indomitable heart that acknoAvledged neither failure nor reverse. Sir Jacob had better have been talking to the Prince about his pike handles, tor Eupert, like every real soldier, took a lively interest in them, as he had a thorough knowledge of details ; but in his heart the old man thought the young one somewhat hot-headed and inexperienced, so he would rather not enter upon a discussion in which he Avould feel tempted to disagree with his Sovereign's nephew. He had seen him tried too, and he could not but acknoAvledge that ' the lad,' as he called him, was brave and active, a zealous captain and a shrewd tactician, but he had one fault which elderly men are apt to consider unpardonable in their jimiors, although it is a fault which improves every day- he was too young. So Prince Rupert stood musing all alone amongst that brilliant assemblage ; gazing, in his mind's eye, on many a scene of rout and confusion, many a fancied skirmish and remembered victory ; the broken enemy, the maddened troopers striking right and left with the savage recklessness of fiends ; the compact columns of the reserve sweeping up like some strong Avave to complete the destruction which has been commenced by its predecessors ; the Avild hurrah of victoiy rising loud and stirring above the ringing pistol-shots, and the tramj? of squadrons, and the groans of the iallen ; the loose chargers with streaming reins, galloping at ran- dom here and there ; the plumes, and scarfs, and gUttering steel of the Cavaliers Avaving and flashing through the smoke ; all the fierce revelry and confusion of the battle he was pictiu-ing in his day-dream. Suddenly he started, and tiu-ned round to address one after his oAvn heart, to greet him Avith the frank cordiality peculiar to men of the sAvord. Sir Kalph Plopton, maimed and disabled, scorched and scarred by the explosion of a powder- barrel at the Battle of Lansdowne, and only just capable of hob- bling on crutches to pay his respects to the King, stood close to the Prince's elbow, and the dream of battle vanished, and the reality of Avarfare became more tangible as the tAvo stanch, keen soldiers plunged into a deep and interesting discussion on the one absorbing interest of their lives. And again Prince Kupert started, and the colour rose to his high broad forehead, and the eagle eye moved restlessly in its orbit. And to Sir Ralph's question upon the neAV cavalry for- mations lately introduced on the Continent, he returned an incoherent answer that hugely astonished the practical soldier; for the Queen, Avith her bevy of ladies, Avas moving through the hall ; and as she approached the spot where her husband's nephew had stationed himself, one of the fair dames in attendance shot a MERTON COLLEGE. 87 glance at Prince Rupert that confused him far more than could have done a volley of small-arms ; and the beautiful Duchess of Richmond passed on like some fairy vision, and Ruj^ert was rest- less and uneasy for the rest of the night. Yes ; if the King was surrounded by a band of high-minded and sincere noblemen, ready to risk life and fortune m his cause, the Queen, too, on her side, had provided herself with a body- guard of beauty, none the less stanch and uncompromising in the ]3olitics they espoused, that for push of pike and sweep of sword- blade they used the more fetal weapons of grace and fascination with which they were familiar, dissolving alliances with the flutter of a fan, and scattering coalitions with the artillery of a glance, ^leny Mrs. Kirke was there with her sparkling eyes and her dimpled smile, passing her jest, somewhat of the broadest, and laughing her laugh, somewhat of the loudest, with the daring ireedom and conscious immunity of an acknowledged beauty. There, too, was lovely Lady Isabella Thynne, whose dignity and grace, and sweet romantic charms, were said by the voice of scandal to have made an impression even on the true uxorious heart of Charles himself. That Henrietta felt no jealousy of this dangerous lady, no mistrust in her hold over the affections of her doating husband, may be gathered from the confidence with which she encouraged her about her person, and the opportunities of unreserved intercourse she aflbrded her with the King. Was the lively Frenchwoman a stranger to this feminine feeling of jealousy ? or Avas she like Queen Guenever, who was willing to concede the liberty she exacted, and who, lenient To human frailty, construed mild, Looked upon Lancelot, and smiled ? And there too, in her weeds for her gallant young husband, moved the graceful form of Kate, Lady D'Aubigny, the young and interesting widow, who was weeping for the imtimely fate of her chivalrous lord, yet whose witty sallies flashing occasionally through the gloom that overshadowed her, argued her not alto- gether inconsolable, and who was lending an ear already, with something more than a mere courteous interest, to Hawley's tender whispers and respectful adoration. And fair ' Mistress Watt ' stood by and seemed not to listen, and refrained, with congenial hypocrisy, from what she would have termed the offence of ' spoiling sport.' Pretty Mistress Watt . who had often herself been indebted to such consideration on the part of others, and whose charming lace and lively manners 88 irOLMBY HOUSE. and matchless impudence had conferred upon her a station at Court and an influence amongst courtiers to which neither her hirth nor her attainments would have entitled lier had she simply been demure and virtuous, instead of charming and good-for- nothing. But of all intrigud^s of the gentle sex — of all traitresses in love, friendship, and politics — who could compare Avith the soft, quiet, innocent-looking woman w^ho now stood next the Queen, and to whom Henrietta confided the inmost counsels of her husband, as she did the dearest secrets of her own heart ? Lucy, Countess of Carlisle, Avith her dove-like eyes and her sweet angelic smile, was formed by natiu-e to have deceived the very SerjDent that tempted our mother Eve. How madly had ambitious Strafford loved that calm, fair face ! hoAV had the harassed statesman, the impeached and fallen minister, rested on the love she had professed for him, as a jsolace for all his soitows, a refuge from all his dangers. For her he toiled, for her he was ambitious, for her he was long triumphant — and she betrayed him — first in love, then in politics ; betrayed him into the hands of his enemy, and transferred ]\er aflections to his destroyer. Who shall say that the bitterest drop in his cup, deserted as he felt himself by his Sovereign, and deceived by his peers, was not poured into it by the hand of the woman he had adored ? Keen were his pangs, but keener far to feel He nursed the pinion that impelled the .steel ; And the sani(» plumage that had warmed his nest, Now drank the life-drops from his bleeding breast. So she sacrificed him ruthlessly, and abandoned herself to the caresses of his enemy. And there was something about this woman that could subjugate even a bxtsy voluptuary like Pym, one who combined in his ovm person the two most hardened of all characters — tlie proiessed politician and the confirmed sensualist. He was as devoted to her as his natural organization would allow of his being devoted to anything ; and when she had thoroughly won him and subjugated him, and he trusted her, why, she deceived him too. And so she followed out her career of treachery, disloyal as a wife, heartless as a mistress, and false as a friend. Yet of all the ladies about the Court, the Countess of Carlisle had most influence Avith the Queen, was most conversant with her innermost thoughts, her secret intentions ; was the busiest Aveaver of that Aveb of intrigues and dissimulation in Avhich Henrietta, to do her justice, took as much delight as any Arachne of her Bex. MERTON COLLEGE. 89 And all this glitter and pagcautry, these beautiful women, these noble and distinguished men, passed before the eyes of Humphrey Bosville like a dream. Young as he was, scarcely a thrill of conscious pride shot through him to be recognised and kindly accosted by Prince Rupert as the daring soldier whose value was readily and generously acknowledged by the frank and outspoken Prince. Not an inch higher did he hold his head, to be conscious that amongst all these heroes and wamors he was of them as well as with them ; that he, too, had a station and a name, and a chance of distinction that might raise him to a level with the proudest. Nay, when old Colepepper brought him up to the sacred circle of which Majesty itself formed the centre, and with a glow of good-natured gratification on his scarred visage recalled him to the monarch's memory, and Charles j^Ieasantly reminded him of their last meeting at his simple bivouac, the day after Newbury, scarcely a flush of gratified vanity coloured the cheek of the young Cavalier. And no courtier of twenty years' standing could have sustained with a more unmoved air the favouring notice of the King, and the still more confusing glances from the bevy of beauties that surrounded the Queen, and on whom Humphrey's handsome exterior made no unpleasing impression. ' Who is he ? ' whispered Mv. Hyde to Lady Carlisle, bending his stiff and somewhat pompous figure to approach that dame with the air of a finished gallant — an air the lettered and accomplished historian much affected with indifferent success — an air that some- how is less easily caught by the brotherhood of the pen than those of the sword. ' Who is he, this imperturbable young gentleman, who seems as little affected by his Majesty's condescension as by the glances of yovu- ladyship's dazzling and star-like eyes ? ' Lady Carlisle laughed under the skin, but she was civil and conciliatory to all. It was part of her system never to throw a chance away ; so she professed her ignorance with a gracious sentence and a sweet smile, and such a glance from the eyes he had praised as sent Mr. Hyde away delighted, and convinced that he had made a conquest. Truly, ' the wisest clerks are not the wisest men,' And yet Humphrey had his dream too. Was he not young ? and is it not the privilege of youth to lay up a store of disappoint- ment for maturity ? His dream was of distinction truly, and of laurels to be gathered, and honours to be gained ; but it was not selfish distinction ; and the honours and the laurels were but to be flung at the feet of another. And then the dream was to have a happy conclusion. Peace, and repose, and happiness he hardly 90 HOLMBY HOUSE. dared to fancy, after he had done his duty and completed his task. A home of Love, and Beauty, and Content ; a pair of blue eyes that would always smile kindly upon him — that would alway.=> make his heart leap, as it leaped to meet them now. A form that he adored entrusted to his guardianship, sleeping and waking to watch over and care for, and cherish to the end. After that, a purer and holier, a more lasting but not more ardent love, in another and a better world. Dreams ! dreams ! Yet of all the dreamers that left Merton College that night — the scheming statesmen, the ambitious war- riors, the intriguing courtiers — perhaps Humphrey was the one whose vision most elevated his moral being ; whose awakening, vmlike that of the others, bitter as it must be, would leave him, if a sadder, at least a Aviser and a better man. CHAPTER XII. ' NIGHT-HAWKS.' From time immemorial — long ere poetiy had sung of bright haired Endymion sleeping on the mountain bathed in the lustre of his Goddess-Love, or told how gentle Romeo sighed, and longing Juliet leaned and listened to his vows, the moon has been the planet especially consecrated to the worship of lovers and lunatics. ' Arcades amho^'' which is the greater insanity of the two ? To sit in a cell, a straw-croAvned maniac, peopling the moonbeams as they stream in through the grated Avindows Avith visions of pomp and splendour and royalty, and all the picturesque pageantry of a madman's brain ? or to Avander at large a harmless and pensiA'e idiot, bareheaded, defiant of rheumatism, breathing sighs into the night-air, and identifying all the glories of the universe, the melloAV beauty of earth, and the brilliant Infinite of heaven, Avith llie image of a mere two-legged animal like himself, no Avhit loftier nor better than the rest of her kind, and exalted by the monomania of the Avorshipper alone into an idol, of which to hia distempered fancy, the \cvy stars of heaven do but glimmer in faint and envious rivalry ? Humphrey Bosville paced thoughtfiiUy along the quiet streets ; lie marked not hoAV the clear cold moonlight silvered the shafts and pinnacles of many a Gothic edifice, dcfinmg in bold relief the massive buttress and the stately toAver, the deep embrasure of the ' NIGHT-irAWKS.' 91 arched and pointed window, the delicate tracery of the elaborate and florid scroll ; shimmering over belfry and chancel, and quiver- ing as it lost itself amongst the dark foliage of the lofty elms that nodded and whispered over all ; or if he did turn his face ever and anon from the cold smooth pavement on Avhich his eyes were bent, and draw a full breath of the fresh night air, and feast his sight upon the lustrous heaven, it was but to relieve a heart over- charged with its late happiness ; to recall in the beauty of nature the magic of that witching face which was fast becoming heaven and earth, and all besides, to him. Pie was in the mood for Avhich solitude is an absolute necessity, and yet which chance excitement or adventure can drive into the wildest extremes — a mood in which the heart seems incapable of supporting the weight of its own happiness, and seeks relief even in tears from the intensity of its bliss. Does it not argue that the child of man is born to sorrow rather than joy, thus to be forced to acltnowledge that there is suffering in an excess of the latter — that poor weak human nature can but Aveep after all when it is best pleased ? But take comfort, such tears are not those which we are too often called upon to shed ; and he has not hved in vain Avho has known what it is to weep for joy — ay, if it be but once in a Hfetime ! Nevertheless, as honest lago says, or rather sings — A soldier's a man, A life's but a span, Why then let a soldier drink ! And the Cavaliers, if they were * lads that loved the moon,' loved her not so much for the peaceful and poetic thoughts that she in- spired, as for the assistance afforded by her hght to those home- ward-bound Avassailers Avho had been vindicating their loyalty by drinking deeply to the King's health and to the detriment of their own. Ere Humphrey was half way home to his lodging he was arrested by the soimds of revelry and good felloAvship issuing from the portals of a venerable edifice, where dwelt a grave and portly Churchman, now the courteous host of Avild Lord Goring, and for whom that reckless guest professed and entertained the pro- foundest respect, because, to use his oAvn Avords, 'the Doctor could drink like a trooper and behave like a King, besides being a thorough master of his OAvn profession, of which,' quoth Goring, ' I do not pretend to be so good a judge.' His lordship was even noAV at the height of his revelry, and Avas trilling forth in his rich Bweet voice, unimj)aired by all ins vices, a jingling Cavalier 92 llOLMRY HOUSE. melody, in the chorus of which the Avorthy Doctor's deep bass predominated, and to which, preoccupied as he was, Humphrey could not refrain from stopping to listen : — Ho ! fill nie a flagon as deep as you please, Ho ! pledge me the health that we quaif on our knees ; And the knave who refuses to drink till he fall, AVhy the hangman shall crop liim — ears, love-locks, and all. Then a halter we'll string, And the rebel shall swing. For the gallants of England are up for the King ! Ho ! saddle my horses as quick as you may, The sorrel, the black, and the white-footed bay ; The troop shall be mustered, the trumpets sliall peal. And the Eoundheads shall taste of the Cavalier's steel. For the little birds sing. There arc hawks on the wing "When the gallants of England are up for the King ! Ho ! fling me my beaver, and toss me the glove That but yesterday clung to tlie liand of my love, To be bound on my crest — to be borne in the van, And the rebel that reaps it must fight like a man ! For the sabre shall swing, And the head-pieces ring. When the gallants of England strike home for the King ! Ho ! crush me a cup to the queen of my heart ; Ho ! fill me a brimnier, the last ere we part ; A health to Prince Rupert ! Success and renown ! To the dogs with the Commons! and up with the Crown. Then the stirrup-cup bring, Quaflf" it round in a ring ! To your horses ! and ride to the death for the King ! As they shouted the concluding versus a party of five or six riotous Cavaliers emerged arm-in-arm from the deep archway of the gate ojjposite to where Humphrey stood. They were whoop- ing, laughing, and jesting; and although they had left their worthy entertainer staid and sober as became a Cliurchman, were themselves more than half drunk. Goring liad lighted a torch, and Avith mock gravity Avas brandishing it in the moonlight, as ho said, to see ' what sort of night it Avas.' Wild Tom Lunsford, leaning on his long sheathed rapier, Avhich bent and sAvaycd be- neath his Aveight, Avas ranting out some playhouse verses in praise of ' Cynthia's melloAV light ; ' and Black Will Scarthe, the fiercest of partisans and most savage of condotlieri, Avas rocking himself ' MGHT-HAAVKS.' 9" to tmd fro against the wall, muttering feai'fiil imprecations and vowing a deathless vengeance on some person or persons unknown, mingled with expressions of fervent admiration and iindying re- gard for young Lord Francis Villiers, whom by some strange per- version of his drunken brain he persisted in addressing as Prince Rupert, and clothing in the attributes and endowmients of that distinguished leader. Lord Francis laughed till his sides ached. ' Take him away, George,' said the young nobleman to Goring, * or he will be the death of me. Why, Will !— Black Will !— dost not know thy friends from thy foes, man ? Here be I, thy sworn comrade and companion for these three hours past, and thou canst mistake me for the Prince Palatine ; he who w^ould have tried thee at Edgehill for cowardice and hanged thee at Lansdowne for plunder. For shame, man, for shame ! ' Black Will scowled fearfully, and his right hand closed in- voluntarily on the hilt of his rapier : but drunk as he was, he knew he must pay the penalty of associating with his betters, and submit if necessary to be their butt. So, although he winced and ground his teeth, he ventured on no open demonstrations of re- sentment, even when Goring aimed another shaft at him tipped with the venom of truth, and bid him remember the woman whose ear-rings he tore from her head in the Low Countries. ' 'Fore George, Will, thou hadst a narrow escape that time of the riding-school and the strappado ! Had she gone with her complaint to Monk instead of me, thou hadst been sped — he would have hanged thee to the nearest tree ; and had she been a lilcely wench. Will, even I must have seen justice done, and the halberds up. But she was a swarthy quean, black-browed and ill-favoured as Will himself, my lads ! So we buckled to, and the Stadtholder's drunken chaplain married them ; and she followed the army as Dame Scarthe, and Will had the ear-rings for a mar- riage portion, and he never got rid of her till we lost all our baggage at Breda ; and she kicked Will out and took the com- mand of the enemy's ' woman troop.' Egad, she Mvas the veriest Tartar of them all ! And tliou wast not over sorry to be free once more. Will, for i'faith she was thy master I ' ' At least, General, she Avas never thy mistress,' answered Will, with a sneer and a savage scowl ; ' and that is more than can be boasted of many a daintier dame that rode a pillion in the rear of our troop. But enough said, my masters. Look you here — a sail, a sail ! ' And Black Will as he spoke staggered to his legs, and pointed to a white dress flitting rapidly away in the distance, ac- companied by the tall dark fip^ure of a man ; and signing to his 94 HOLMBY HOUSE. companions to follow him, proceeded rapidly in chase, thoiifrh with wavering and tmcertain steps. ' Let them go,' said Lord Francis, in whom, drunk or sober, the instincts of a gentleman predominated. ' 'Tis a lady from the Court or an honest citizen's wife at tlie least. If thou lay est a hand on her. Will, I will cudgel the soul out of thee, by all the gods of love and war ! ' ' After midnight, my lord,' laughed out Tom Limsford, recently returned from his imprisonment amongst the Puritans, and mad with delight to find himself once more surrounded by congenial spirits, wicked and reckless as his o-\vn, ' after midnight every sail's a prize ! Black Will has not been on the Spanish Main for nothing, and he knows buccaneer's law better than his prayers. Down with the bunting ! up Avitli the hatches ! — share and share alike, and no quarter ! ' ' Then here goes to be first aboard the prize ! ' exclaimed Goring, limping nimbly along despite his lameness, and waiving the rest on as he was used to waive his troopers forward in a charge, with shout and jeer, and strange, quaint, fearful oaths. The other Cavaliers whooped and laughed in the spirit of the jest, pushing and bantering each other as they hurried on in full piu-suit of the rapidly retreating chase, making such Avay, notwithstanding reeling steps and singing brains, as promised soon to bring them alongside. Meantime, pale and sick, her little heart beating fast against the arm of her protector, her knees knocking together, and her limbs failing at her need, the frightened woman, no other than OTir old acquaintance Faith, tripped ra})idly on. She was returning from her nightly duties with her mistress to her own lodging in another street, and escorted by her faithful cavalier, the imper- turbable Dymocke, had enjoyed and perhaps prolonged her moon- light walk to an unjustifiable extent. A moment ago she had been expatiating to her admirer on the beauties of Oxford, and tha bewitching delights of a town ; now she would have given all she possessed to be safe back at quiet Boughton, or anywhere else in the world out of hearing of those alarming footsteps 1 Like the hare closely pursued by the noisy pack, her heart sank within her, and her natural impulse was to sit down in despair and give in. The poor girl said as much as she clung closer and closer to the tall spare form against which she leaned. Dymocke was stanch to the backbone. * Don't ye leave go of my belt,' said he, grasping a goodly oak cudgel, the only weapon he had Avith him, in his brown bony hand, and preparing, with his usual grave demeanour, for a tough resistance. ' Keep you ' night-hawks/ 95 behind me, my lass : and if it's wild Lord Goring himself, or the devil, whose servant he is, I'll ring twelve o'clock on his pate if he offers to lay a finger on you. Only don't ye leave go of my bolt; The words were scarcely out of his mouth Avhen the foremost of their pursuers came alongside. ' By your leave, kind madam,' said a soft sweet voice, in the gentle accents of a courtier, while a white hand, adorned with a rich lace ruffle, unceremoniously lifted the veil which covered Faith's drooping head ; and a perfumed moustache and good- looking face, somewhat flushed with wine, approached closely to lier own, with the evident purpose of stealing a kiss. Dymocke's cudgel was aloft in an instant, but ere it could come down, Goring's quick eye had caught the movement, and his ready hand seized the uplifted wrist, and grappling with Faith's defender, he sought to trip him up with one of those tricks of wrestling which give the initiated such advantage in a personal conflict. The nobleman had, however, met with his match. Dymocke's tall, wiry person was toughened by constant exercise into the consistency of steel ; and whUe his length of limb gave him every facility for performing all feats of skill and agility, his extraordinary coolness of temper enabled him to detect the slightest weakness on the part of his adversary, and make ready use of it for his own benefit. They had scarcely closed ere Goring measured his length upon the pavement ; and though he regained his feet in an instant, that instant had sufficed to place Dymocke, Avitli the uplifted cudgel, once more upon his guard. Goring's smile was not pleasant to look upon as his right hand stole towards his sword. In another moment the wicked blade was flashing in the moonlight, winding under the guard of honest Dymocke's cudgel with quick glittering passes, all athirst for blood ; at the same time a blow fi-om Tom Lunsford's sheathed sAvord on the back of the serving-man's head somewhat stunned him ; while Black "Will Scarthe, winding his arm round poor Faith's Avaist, strove to detach her by main force from her pro- tector, to whose person she clung with a tenacity that much im- peded his efforts for their mutual defence. The other Cavaliers stood around, laughing and shouting, and laying wagers on the event of the skirmish. ' Fair play ! ' cried Lord Francis ; ' two to one is no even match. Give the loiave a sword, some one ; or do you, Goring, borrow my riding-wand ! ' ' Hand us over the wencli,' exclaimed another ; ' she does but 96 nOLMBY HOUSK. hamper her man ; and cold steel is an ugly neighbour for bodice and pinners.' ' Take her away lifom Black Will,' laughed a third. ' Look how she trembles, like a dove in the clutch of a night-hawk.' ' A rescue ! a rescue ! ' shouted a fourth : ' here comes a heron for the hawk. 'Ware beak and talons, general, this is one of your high-flyers, and he'll soar his pitch before he has done with you, I'll warrant him ! ' Even as he spoke, Humphrey Bosville, who in the outraged couple had recognised his own and Mistress Allonby's attendant, strode up, pale and breathless, his blood boiling with indignation, and all the soft feelings that had so lately pervaded his being turned to fierce and ungovernable AVTath. Tearing away a good yard of Flanders lace as he seized him by the collar, with one turn of his ^vTist he put Black Will down on his back in the kennel as if he had been shot. Giving Lunsford at the same time the benefit of a push from his muscular shoulder that sent the tipsy, laughing Cavalier staggering into the middle of the street, he confronted Goring with scowling brows and flashing eyes, and bade him put up his sword for shame, drawn as it was against an unaiTued man. * I claim the quarrel for myself, my lord,' he exclaimed, 'what- ever it may be. This man is my servant, this damsel belongs to the household of Sir Giles Allonby. Gentlemen, I take you all to witness ! Lord Goring has put an affront on me that I am com- pelled to resent.' With these words, he stepped quietly up to the astonished noble- man, who had now sheathed his rapier, and was listening to him Avith his usual air of amused nonchalance, and drawing his glove ti'om his left hand, smote Goring gently with it across the cheek ; then, erect and defiant, stood with his hand upon the guard of his sword, as if ready to draw and encounter the violence he had provoked. ' Gentlemen, dear gentlemen ! for the love of Heaven ! ' pleaded poor Faith, now fairly fi-ightened into tears. ' Oh, Captain Bos- ville, I entreat you, sir. The gentleman meant no harm. It was an accident ; nothing but an accident from beginning to end ! ' Faith was sufficiently a woman to feel very uncomfortable when fairly engaged in a broil, however ready she might be to enter upon its commencement ; and although she little thought to what ulterior disturbances the admiration she had excited might lead, her intuitive tact told her that there was danger in the Captain's flushed brow, and mischief in Gf)ring's pale, smiling iape. * NIGHT-HAWKS,' 97 He kept his temper beaiitifiilly : he always kept his temper when he was rcall// angry, that bold, bad man. Savhig that liis cheek was a shade paler, while the well-known smile deepened into furrows round his mouth, and that he caressed his sleek moustache witli one white hand, even his old associate, Tom Lnnsford, could not have told that aught had occurred to ruffle the general's equanimity, or that there was murder lurking beneath that passionless exterior. ' This is no case for chance medley. Captain Bosville ! ' he re- marked, in quiet and studiedly polite tones ; ' no offence that can be wiped out in a couple of passes, with a buff-coat on for defence, and perhaps a scratch of the arm for satisfiiction. Are you aware tluit a file of musketeers and ten yards of sward is the punishment for mutiny in the Royal army ? Are you aware that you have struck your superior officer ? ' ' I am aware that I have been insulted by a gentleman, and re- sented it as becomes a Cavalier,' was the bold and unhesitating reply. Such an answer was a conclusive argument in the daya of which we Avrite. Fairfax, Cromwell, Monk, some few of the Parliamentary generals, might have deemed their position ex- cluded them from the duty of causelessly hazarding their lives on a point of honour ; but perhaps there was hardly an officer of the Eoyal army who would not have felt, like Goring, that in a case of private brawl it was incumbent on him to waive all consider- ations of relative rank and military discipline ; to take and give that irrational and after all inconclusive satisfaction which the ordeal by battle affords. And yet there are many arguments to be urged by the advo- cates of duelling, which, in an imperfect state of society, it is difficult to refute. The practice has come down to us from the days of chivalry, when, in the absence of wholesome legal restraint, of an irresponsible tribunal to which to ajspeal, the God of battles was called upon to arbitrate between man and man, to vindicate the oppressed in the person of a champion, and to teach the oppressor, though backed bj scores of warriors sheathed in steel, that his own good sword and his own right hand alone could avail him in his quarrel. The combat, a Coutrance, Avas in those days the representa- tive of justice and tlie laws. It was never disputed that, upon the same principle by which nations were justified in going to war to protect their honour or their rights, private individuals might avenge their insults and redress their wrongs. Shriven by priest, and armed by squire, the champion rode into the lists, strong in his own rectitude and the justice of his cause. He had no morbid H 98 HOLMBY HOUSE. fear of bloodshed, no shrinking horror of death as the worst evil that can befal that compound of body and soul Avhich we call man. If he had less reason than his descendant of the present day, he had more faith : -which is the nobler quality of the two ? The former can scarcely compute time, the latter boldly grasps eternity. So he clasped his vizor down, and laid his lance in rest, and the marshal of the lists bid him good speed with the solemn adjuration, ' God defend the right.' But now we have the law to redress our ■\vrongs, and public opinion to avenge our insults. Well, if it were really so. If there were not many a mortal stab aimed at the defenceless, of whicli no legal tribunal can take cognizance, many a deep and lasting injury inflicted, for which pubhc opinion offers neither salve nor compensation, wounds dealt with a poi- soned weapon, which spread and throb and fester, and of which the world and its laws take neither notice nor account. Where is the ordeal by battle, then ? ' Why,' we are tempted to exclaim in our agony, ' why can we not have it out, man to man, as Na- ture's first law, the law of self-defence, would seem to prompt ? ' Policy, expediency, a high state of civiHzation, the inadequacy of the redress, the chances of the conflict, all these are empty terms, signifying nothing ; they do not in the least affect the combative impulse inherent in man. There is but one good reason, and that a conclusive one. If God hath said, ' thou shalt not kill,' Ave must beware how we presume to interpret his command to suit our own views. The question becomes one, not of moraliti/, but religion ; not of policy, but salvation. Hard is the struggle, bitter is the victory. God help him who has to encounter the one and win the other. And God ivill help him who makes His law the standard of his actions and the guide of his own rebellious heart. ' Well crowed ! ' remarked Goring aside to Lunsford, by no means displeased to find his antagonist thus disposed for combat, and involuntarily owning that respect for courage which is felt and acknowledged by every brave man, and that Goring was hrave as his sword none Avill be found to deny. ' Well crowed, indeed,' he repeated. ' Captain Bosville, I should be sorry to baullc you : Sir Thomas Lunsford has the length of my weapon ; he lodges over against the tall old gates yonder. By the way, there is an absui'd order about duelling, which will oblige us to go a mile or so outside the town. I told Crispe how it would be if he took the liberty of running Fred Aunion through the body within the precincts. 'Gad, the King would have shot him if we could have done without our useful " Nick." We must not fall into the same trap, Captain Bosville. Tom Limsford shall inform your friend 'for conscience' sake. 99 of the place, and for time, siippose wc say to-morrow morning, or rather this morning at daybreak. Fair damsel, I kiss your hands' (to Faith, who was hovering white and trembling on the skirts of the conversation) ; ' Captain Bosville, my service to you. Tom, I shall run him through the brisket as sure as he wears boots ' (aside to his friend) ; and with a courtly bow of his plumed hat, and a pleasant laugh, Goring strode olF on the arm of Sir Thomas Lunsford, leaving Humphrey standing, as it were, transfixed at the extraordinary coolness and carelessness of his formidable antagonist. Whilst they proceed to the lodgings alluded to, opposite the great gates, there to discuss their future measures over a posset of burnt sack and a pipe of tnie Virginian tobacco, we will accom- pany Bosville to the apartment of his comrade, EfEngham, on whose assistance he seemed instinctively to rely, and to whose friendship in any matter of real danger or difficulty he had never trusted in vain. Late as was the hour, Effingham had not yet returned to his lodging, and it was with a feeling of impatience and annoyance which none but those Avho have been similarly eituated can appreciate, that Humphrey sat him down on a hard high-backed chair to beguile the moments till his host's arrival with a dry discoirrse on cavalry tactics, the only literature the soldier's quarters afforded, and his own pleasant reflections on the scrape into which his chivalry had led him, and the dangerous enemy he had provoked, matter sufficient for grave cogitation, yet through it all there ran a golden thread of dreamy contentment, in the thought of Mary's approval and I\Iary's fair bewitching face. CHAPTER Xni. FOR conscience' SAKE. And where was George Effingham? The man of the sword, the upholder of tyranny, the confirmed malignant, an officer in the very army of Belial, a lost sheep, a brand deserving of the burn- ing, a sinner in the last extremity of reprobation, for whom there was neither hope nor pity ? Where had he spent his evening, that strange, dark, enthusiastic man ? Let us follow his footsteps after he bade Humphrey farewell, when the latter was on his way to Merton College, and discover what startling scenes, what con- trasts of life, and morals, and manners, and even men, loyal Oxford can afford. With a stealthier step than usual, and many a backward glniice, 100 nOLMBY HOUSE. strangely at variance with his wonted bold, frank bearing, Efling- liam strode swiftly along the most unfrequented streets and narrowest lanes of the fair old town, nor did he slacken his pace or stop to acknowledge the greeting of friend or comrade, till he found himself in front of a low, dismal habitation, adorned Avitli a heavy frowning porch, and a door ominously clamped and fastened with iron. Descending three very dirty steps, he pushed open the door, which gave Avay at once, and entered a small dingy apartment, to which a bare counter and a pair of rusty scales alone seemed to affix the character of a shop. An ill-favoured woman presided over the former, and to Effingham's mysterious inquiiy, ' Are the children gathered ? ' returned the equally mysterious reply, ' Even so, thou sojoiu-ner by the way, and there is water even in Zin for the children of the congregation ! ' This appeared a suffi- cient reason for the Cavalier officer to proceed, so passing through the shop, he traversed another door of equal strength and thick- ness, and descending a Avinding flight of steps, found himself in a roomy vaixit or cellar, supported upon strong massive arches, and lighted by the gloomy flicker of a few scattered torches, fixed at intervals in the damp reeking walls. The vault was full, nay, crowded to the very steps, down which the Cavalier made his way ; and though the contrast afforded by his gay habiliments with the sombre garb of those around him was sufficiently striking to excite remark, his arrival seemed to pro- voke no more attention than a momentary stir, and, as it were, a buzz of approbation amongst the assemblage. They were no weak enthusiasts, no empty fanatics, no vacillat- ing casuists, those men of iron gathered together in that dark vault, and now absorbed in prayer. 'Tis a strange compound, that Anglo- Saxon constitution, of which a dogged tenacity, an unconquer- able fixedness of purpose, constitutes so essential an element. In all relations of life, in all climes, imdcr all circumstances, in Avar, trade, art, or mechanics, it Avrests for itself the premium of suc- cess, and even religion, which softens the human character as it exalts the intellectual and diviner part of man, Avhich tempers the wayward will and subdues the mutinous heart, fusing the moral })eing into one harmonious Avhole, doth not totally eradicate that unbending fixedness of purpose to Avhich, imder Providence, it C)wcs its present purity, and the veneration Avith Avhich it is up- held by our determined countrymen. The flaring torches reddened many a bold and thoughtful broAV amongst those Avho noAv turned to scan Effingham, Avith an eager yet satisfied gaze. As his foot reached the loAvest step his hand •for conscience' sake.' 101 rested on the shoulder of one whose quiet smile, as he assisted the Cavalier's slight stumble, and whose Scriptural admonition to ' take heed lest he fall,' were characteristic of the confidence and self- dependence of his party, a confidence based iipon things not of tills Avorld, a self-dependence peculiar to those who are persuaded that ' God is on their side.' He was a low square-built man, with wide shoulders and deep chest, all the appearance of physical strength, without Avhich soHd foundation the finest moral structure is too apt to crumble to the ground. His wide forehead, jarominent about the temples, from which the thin iron grey hair receded daily more and more, denoted that ideal organization Avhich can derive from belief as full a satisfaction as coarser natures can from knowledge, Avhilst the broad cheek and firm wide jaw could only belong to one wdiose unconquerable resolution would prompt him to suffer for the Eight, ay, even unto death, without yielding a hair's-breadth of his tenets, or giving way an incli in his argument. His deep-set eyes of light grey, shaded beneath a pair of bushy eyebrows, glittered in the torchlight with a ray of enthusiasm such as those alone experience who live more in the inner than the outer life, and his smile as he greeted Effingham was calm, and even melancholy, as that of one who liad done with the empty vanities of the world, but paid his tribute to its courtesies, as one who rendered, though somewhat grudgingly, ' unto Csesar the things which were Caesar's.' He was dressed in a suit of the darkest hues, and simplest cut, with high riding-boots drawn midAvay up the leg ; his narrow band was of the plainest and coarsest linen, and he wore neither lace neckerchief nor ruffles, nor any such vanities, to relieve the sameness of his attire. A strong buff belt, how- ever, about his waist contained a pair of serviceable pistols, and a long straight cut-and-thrust sword com2:)leted the equip- ment of one who was never unwilling to carry out the prompt- ings of the spirit with the arm of the flesh. A black skull-cap sat close round his head, the closer that, in accordance with an inhuman decree of the Star Cliamber, he liad lost both his ears, and the contemptuovxs epitliets applied to his party by the Cavaliers bore with him a cruelly-appropriate signification. It was an ignoble pimishment, and yet who can Avithhold admiration from the Spartan constancy of the martyr ? A shouting populace, ready as the ' many-headed monster thing ' ever is, to heap ob- loquy and insult on those delivercd over to its tender mercies, Jire pelting with rotten eggs and dead cats, and other filthy 102 HOLMBY HOUSE. missiles, the helpless suiferer who has been subjected to the pillory for his political opinions. Does it exact no resolution, no con- stancy, none of that British quality for which we have no other word than^^ZwcZ:, to sustain the jeers, the violence, the aggravated nisults of a raob ? Yet the victim never quails nor winces. Erect and defiant he faces them all, and faces them the more creditably that his position is, to say the least of it, ridiculous as well as painful. So the officers of justice release him from the pillory, to usher him up a flight of steps on to a wooden stage, where stands a brazier, a table -with a volume lying thereon, and an ominous- looking figure in a mask, armed with a long knife. Here must he recant his heresies, burn Avith his own hands the book he has written to support them, or sustain the fuU amount of pimish- ment awarded for his misdemeanour by the collective wisdom of Church and State. Again the light gleams from his eye, the inner light that in the infancy of faith, illmnined the face of Stephen ' as it had been the face of an angel.' Again the head is reared erect, and a proud refusal hurled in the very teeth of jvidges and executioner. What though the quivering hand must be branded, and the cruel red-hot iron seethe and scorch into the hissing flesh? Not a groan escapes the martyr, and he raises the mutilated member as a testimony in the face of earth and heaven. But the penalty is not yet exacted — the sickening ceremony not yet over ; merciless as the Red Man's tomahawk, the bright steel flashes round his head. The red blood ilows fi'ee and fast, and a punish- ment degrading but for the offence of which it is the award, con- cludes, amidst the shudders and disgust of the spectators, moved from their previous brutality by the courage and constancy of the determined sufferer. Such an ordeal had Effingham's neighbour but lately undergone. Who shall say that forgiveness for his enemies formed one of the petitions he seemed so iervently and abstractedly to offer up ? He was a specimen of the highest order of those enthusiasts who, under tlie progressive denominations of Independents, Brownists, and Fifth-Monarchy Men, deluged England with blood for conscience' sake, and eventually by their fanaticism effected the Restoration of that very dynasty which they deemed synony- mous Avitb Antichrist and sin. All fanatics, liowcver, were not necessarily martyrs, nor indeed by any means willing to become so. Another step as he shifted his position brought Effingham in contact with a worthy of a far dillerent calibre, and one whose outward demeanour as it savoured of the extreme of stmctity, was but little in character, to use liis *FOR conscience' SAKE.' lOo own fiivourite expression, with the ' carnal self-seeking of the inner man.' He was a fat, iinctuous-looking personage, with a broad fiat face, to wliich the lank shining hair was plastered with grave precision, and on the surface of which a stereotyped expression of hypocritical gravity accorded ill Avith the humorous twinkle of the eye and the sensual curve of the thick full lip. Though his garments were of the darkest colour and the plainest Avorkmanship, they fitted closely round a plump Avell-fed figure such as argued no mean appreciation of the good things of this Avorld ; and while, in accordance with the exigencies of the times, he wore a long straight sword in his belt, the weapon was dull and badly cleaned ; and balanced on the other side by a huge clasped Bible, hung with no small amoimt of ostentation, and continually referred to on the most trivial occasions by the Avearer. Sanctimonious in his demeanour, wresting the words of Scrip- ture to the meanest and most practical affliirs of daily life, liis religion was but a cloak of convenience and affectation, under Avhich a course of self-indulgence could be carried on with the greater security and satisfaction. A man of peace by profession, his calling absolved him from the dangers of bearing arms in the civil war ; a man of God, as he impiously termed himself, his assumed sanctity forbade suspicion and remark. One of the elect in his OAvn estimation, he could indulge his sensual vices un- checked, and, as he strove to persuade himself, unpunished ; and lastly, though but an atom in his own proper person, as a com- ponent part of that mighty body which was then shaldng England to her very foundations, he enjoyed a sense of power and self- aggrandisement inexpressibly dear to the aspiring vanity of a selfish and ignoble nature. Such were the extreme types of the Puritan party, and of every shade and grade between the two — from the high devoted martyr to the base and cowardly hypocrite — Avas that poAverful faction constituted Avhich overturned the dynasty of the Stuarts, which recruited CromAvell's Ironsides, and sent its dogged representatives to the Rump Parliament, which raised the son of a Lincolnshire grazier to the throne of Britain, and then, bursting asunder like a shell from its own internal violence, after fiillilling its deadly mission, and shedding rivers of the best and noblest blood in England, recalled the son of the A'ery sovereign A\diose head it liad taken on the block, and handed over the coxmtry Avhose liberties it had saved to the mal-administration of a good-natured profligate, who inherited not one of the high and generous qualities that had cost his mis^-uided father life and crown. 104 HOLMBY HOUSE. Effingham's entrance, ■\ve have said, causcil a momentary stir and excitement amongst the congregation, but it soon relapsed into the deep and mystical silence ■which had pervaded it before his arrival. To all appearance the members Avere absorbed in inward prayer, and an occasional sigh or broken interjection of more than common vehemence denoted the strength and fervency of their devotions. There were no women present, and the general aspect of the men was stern, preoccupied, and forbidding ; yet the Cavalier officer could not but remark that a feeling of deep though unexpressed satisiaction pervaded every countenance Avhen a loud sonorous cough and the rustling of a Bible's leaves heralded the principal event of the meeting — a discourse upon those topics of religion and politics Avhich, when mingled together, afford such stimulating food to the appetites of those who hunger for excite- ment as for their daily bread. How strange it is, how suggestive of man's fallen state, how disheartening, how humiliating, to re- flect that meek-eyed Keligion — she whose * ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace ' — should so often have been perverted to excuse the worst and fiercest passions of our nature, should have been made the mask of vice and the cloak of cruelty, should have been so disguised as to lead her votaries to the commission of nearly every crime that can most degrade and brutalize a man ! A feAV of the oldest and gravest of the assem- blage now cleared a space around a high-backed chair which had hitherto stood unoccupied, and a jiale thin man, on whose brow the sweat stood in large drops, and Avhose attenuated features seemed wasted with the inner workings of the spirit, whilst his glittering eye assumed a wild gleam not far removed from insanity, mounted this temporary pulpit and looked proudly around him Avith the commanding air of an orator Avho is sure of his own poAvers and the favourable attention of his audience. The light from a neighboiu-ing torch gleamed upon Caryl's high pale fore- head, and brought into bold relief the intellectual cast of his head and face, and the contour of his spare nerA'ous figure, Avhile the deep cavernous eyes flashed out from their recesses Avith a bril- liancy that had in it something more than human. Careless, almost si|iialid in his attire, no Aveapon of fleshly Avarfare glittered by his side; but those Avhite trembling fingers clasped the holy book Avith an energy and a grasp that seemed to say, ' this is my sword and my shield, my helmet and my breastplate, the Aveapon Avilli Avhich I can smite or heal, can destroy or save, can confoimd an army or hurl a sovereign from his throne ;' and Avhile he turned over its leaves Avith rapid and nervous eagerness, a deep ' hum * * FOR conscience' SAKE.' 1 05 of satisfaction and approval resounded from the grim, stern, defiant casuists that constituted his audience. For a minute or so lie stood erect, his eyes closed, his lips set tight, but the muscles of his face twitching and working with the strength of his emotions, as he wrapped his soul in the garment of silent and enthusiastic prayer ; then swooping from his high- wrought pitch and pouncing as it were on a text from the holy volume which quivered in his hand, he plunged at once into such a discourse as suited his own excited and transcendental imagina- tion no less than the fierce and dogmatic appetites of his con- gregation. ' My brethren,' he began in a low and tremulous voice, which gradually as he warmed with his subject rose into loud sonorous tones, clear and commanding as a trumpet-peal, ' my famished brethren, hungei-ing and thirsting after the truth, whom the minister of the Word must nourish, as the pelican in the wilder- ness nourisheth her brood with the life-blood of her own devoted breast. My brethren, who look to me for broad as the children of Israel looked to Moses in the days of their wanderings, when manna fell from heaven plenteous as the night-dews and " man did eat angels' food," who cry to me with parched lips and faint- ing souls for water even as the people of God cried to their leader on the arid plains of Kephidim, and chid him to his face for that there was no water and they must die — Avhat would ye here with me ? Am I Moses, to stand between you and the Lord ? Is this place Sin, between Elim and Sinai, that the deAvs from heaven should fall upon it as bread, white, like coriander seed, Avith a pleasant taste as that of wafers and wild honey ? Is there here a rock like Horeb from whence should flow living waters that ye might drink and be satisfied, and depart rt^joicing on your way ? I trow not. Even as the defilement of Sodom, so is the defilement of Oxford ; even as the punishment of Gomorrah, so shall be the fate of this accursed town ! Peradventure there may be ten righteous men in the city, yet it may be that to-day the city shall not be saved for ten righteous men's sake. And noAV again, Avhat would ye here with me ? Silver and gold have I none, yet such as I have will I freely bestow upon you.' He paused, wiped his brow, opened the Bible as if at random, yet a close observer might have remarked there was a leaf turned back- ward to mark the page, and hurried on. * " I will cut off the inhabitant fi'om Ashdod, and him th.at holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish." It is not Caryl, my 106 HOLMBY HOUSE. brethren, who speaks to yoii now — poor persecuted Caryl, sooiFed at and reviled by Malignants, beaten with stripes, outraged by men of blood, and brought here into Oxford manacled and guarded, with his feet tied under a horse's beUy. No ; Caryl's voice is weak and small, his frame is feeble, and his spirit faint, but this is the voice of prophecy, loud as the shouts of an army, clear as the trumpet-peal in the day of battle — a prophecy that shall not fail the children at their need, a prophecy that is even now working out its own fulfilment, a prophecy that shall avenge us of our enemies and put to shame them that despitefully use us and persecute tis. Who is the inhabitant of Ashdod — who is he that holdeth the sceptre in Ashkelon ? Hath not Ekron de- served punishment, and shall the Philistines not perish like the very dogs by tlie wayside ? Hearken unto me, and I will expotmd to you the interpretation thereof; ask your own hearts and they shall respond, even as the strings of a lute respond to the skilful fingers of the player. The inhabitant of Ashdod is he that cometh from afar to despoil the children of the congregation, to defile the holy places with his horses' hoofs, to work out his ap- pointed portion of wickedness here, and receive his reward from the master whom he serves hereafter. Who is the bitterest enemy of the chosen people? Who is the merciless wolf that ravens round the sheepfolds in the wilderness to rend the lamb from the shepherd and lap the warm blood of the innocent ? Who is he th?t ridcth upon horses through the slaughter, and halteth to drink strong drink, and ravisheth the poor and the fatherless? whose flesh shall be torn by eagles in the day ot battle, and his proud head laid low in the dust beneath the heel of his enemies ? I wot ye know him well, the man of war from liis youth upward, the spawn of her of Bohemia, Avhose Avords, like Jezebel's, are ever, " Take, take ! — slay, slay ! " and whose latter end shall be even as the latter end of Aliab's godless queen. Ye have seen him in his power and the pride of his might. Ye have fronted him, armed with the sword of the Lord and of Gideon ; ye have turned him back, though he came on at the head of his men of war like the whirlwind that sweeps every- thing before it save the rampart whose fomidations are in the living rock ; and ye have seen tlie weapons of Satan shiveied upon the panoply of Truth. But ye shall see mightier works than these ; ye shall see vengeance for the anointed, and the in- habitant of Ashdod cut off, and the wicked Kupert stretched like Sisera U})on the earth, and his horses and his horsemen scattered like chaff before the wind in the triumph of the children of the congregation.' *FOR conscience' SAKE.' 107 A deep hiim of applause here greeted the preacher, whose argumentum ad Jwminem met with the usual success of such ap- peals in popular assemblies. Many an eye was turned with looks of mingled triumph and curiosity on Effingham, whose interest, although externally he appeared unmoved, was powerfully awakened, and whose whole attention was riveted on Caryl as he resumed his discourse. ' And what of him that holdeth the sceptre in Ashkelon ? Shall he escape the vengeance of the pursuer, and yet abuse the trust that hath been confided to him by God and man ? Shall he break the strong fence of the vineyard, and trample down the vines and the wild grapes, and shall not the thorns rend his garments and pierce his feet, and justice overtake him, and his inheritance pass firom him and know him no more ? Hath not London been visited by the pestilence that waU-ceth at noonday ? — and is not Oxford like the scorpion's nest, which nourisheth only evil, and calleth aloud to be purged and cleansed from its iniquity by the hand of the avenger of blood, who maketh no long tarrying ? He who hath ruled over Ashlcelon should have swayed a righteous sceptre, and done justice between man and man, leaving to Naboth his vineyard and to the poor his ewe lamb ; but a hand hath held the scales, and the man Charles hath been found wanting. An eye hath meted out the measure, and hath seen that it is short, so the sceptre shall be taken away, and he that holdeth it shall be cut off", and Ashkelon shall acknow- ledge no human sovereign, for the fire that is sent upon Judah shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and a new kingdom shall be raised up — a structure not built with hands, imperishable and unfading, the true vineyard of which ye alone shall gather the vintage who are steadfast to the end — a Commonwealth of the Saints who shall inherit the earth, and have dominion here below, and own no lord and master save only the Lord of Hosts, whose servants and whose soldiers ye are. Will ye work in the heat of the noonday for wages such as these ? Will ye run with the swift for so noble a prize, and do battle with the strong, ankle- deep in blood, to obtain so glorious a victory ? I trow ye will ; the voice within me calls ye to the fight, and ye shall smite and spare not ; and he that attaineth to the end the same shall have his reward.' Once more the preacher paused, once more there Avas a deep stir amongst his audience — a nuu'mur of suppressed approbation, and then the solemn silence of profound attention. His eye was turned fuU upon Effingham now, and Avith the tact of a practised 108 HOLMBY HOUSE. orator who intuitively recognises a convert, he seemed to address his discourse more particularly to the Cavalier. ' " I will turn mine hand against Ekron," and what is Ekron that it shall prevail against the hand of the Lord ? Hath Ekron a talisman that shall insure her from pestilence and famine, from the hunger that Avasteth the cheek, and the dead-sickness that eateth the heart away ? Are her walls loftier, her defences stronger than those of Jericho, which crumbled into dust at the trumpet-blast of the hosts of Israel ? Hath she men of war that shall stand against Joshua, or a Goliath in whom she trusteth for her champion against the soldiers of the truth ? Even now is the young David herding his flocks who shall overthrow the boast of the heathen, even now is the running water smoothing the pebble that shall sink into the forehead of the Philistine, and bring his gigantic frame, ringing in its armour, to the ground. Shall Ekron stand, though her garners be filled with provender and her arsenals stored with arms ? Though she be garrisoned by cruel Lunsford, who hath sold himself to Satan that he may work deeds of blood, slaughtering the faithful at their very prayers, and burning their churches to light him on his own journey to the bottomless pit, where his Master awaiteth him with his wages ; and reckless pro- fligate Goring, who hath made a present of his soul to the devil, and refused for aught so valueless to accept any guerdon in ex- change ; and hoary Colepepper, on Avhose forehead is set the mark of the beast, gi-aven to the bone by the godly swordstroke of one of the troopers of the liiithful ; and zealous Lucas, who serveth the darkness rather than the light, and who verily shall have his re- ward ; and Astley, the high priest of Baal, whose head is Avhite Avith many winters, and Avho gnasheth Avith his teeth upon the prophets, and cutteth himself Avith knives, and calleth upon his gods to do him justice in the fore-front of the battle, as one Avho Avearieth of his life, and Avho knoAveth not of that which is to come ; and Rupert, Avith his magic and his Avitchcraft, his familiar spirit, and his spells of the black art — Avho eateth the substance of the faithful, and dasheth their children against the stones — shall his magic save him in the day of vengeance ? Shall the devil, in Avhom he trusteth, shield him from the outstretched ai-m and the consuming fire ? Though the evil spirit hath entered into the body of a Avhite dog,* and in that shape Avatcheth over him, * A well-known favourite that accompanied Rupert wherever he At'ent, and Avas stated by the Puritans to be a wizard or familiar Kpirit, furnished by the prince of darkness, to Avhom he had sold himself, as an auxiliary JB 'FOR conscience' SAKE.' 109 As well ye know, iu the battle and the leagvicr, in the camp and the council chamber, summer and winter, day and night, yet shall the time come at length that it shall turn and rend him ; and the latter end of the sorcerer shall be worse than the beginning. And shall men of war such as these save Ekron from the fate that is hanging over her ? or shall coimcillors whose wisdom is vanity, or priests who worship false gods, and at the best are but whited sepidchres, be a bulwark to stem the wrath of the Avenger ? I trow not. Ekron shall fall with a crash that shall shake the land to its extremities, and shall bury in her downfall the false pro- phets who liave reared her, and the councillors who have coun- selled evil in her palaces, and the men of blood who have defended her on her ramparts, and the daughters of Sin who have made mirth and revelry in her halls, and the Sovereign who hath forsaken his faith and abused his trust upon his throne. On her ruins shall be erected a new Jerusalem, another kingdom, of which no mortal head shall wear the crown; of which ye, the faithful and the abiding, shall be the princes and the peers, the priests and the senators, reigning upon earth in the radiant glory of those whose garments have been cleansed in the washing of blood, and purified by the ordeal of fire. WiU ye triumph over your enemies, and spurn beneath your feet him whose chariot- wheels have passed over your necks and crushed your children to the earth ? — stand to your arms and believe ! Will ye win the dominion here below, to the confusion of your enemies and the saving of your own souls? — stand to your arms and believe ! Will ye work out the task that has been predestined for you in the dark womb of Eternity, to be born in the fulness of time, and attain its maturity in the glowing splendour of an everlasting Future ? Will ye be princes and potentates on earth, and glorified saints in heaven, again I say unto you. Stand to your arms and believe ! — so shall ye scatter your enemies, as the chaff from the threshing-floor is scattered to the four winds of heaven, and " the remnant of the Philistines shall perish." The Philis- tines ! the accursed Philistines ! whom ye have fought and re- sisted day by day ; whose squadrons ye have heard thundering oa the plain, and seen charging and forming, and charging again, to shatter themselves and fallback.from your goodly stand of pikes, council and a defence in the field. Many years later a famous black charger of John Grahanio of Claverhouse, afterwards ' bonnie Dundee,' enjoyed the same unenviable notoriety. The Prince's favourita died a soldier's death at Margton Moor, where he was shot with many a nobler but not more faith' ful CaraHer. 110 HOLMBY HOUSE. even as the baffled breakers of the advancing tide from the bhiff face of the opposing rock. The Philistines ! who would fain make ye their bond-slaves and their victims ; who would ravish from ye your substance, and rob ye of yoiu' souls, yet whom ye shall de- spoil of their silver and gold, the needlework that they prize, and the armour in which they trust ; whose maidens ye shall make captives to your bow and spear, and on the neck of whose great ones ye, the soldiers of the congregation, shall set your foot. ' And who is he that would have his portion with the doomed remnant ? Wlio is he that would cast in his lot with the servants of darkness, and serve in that troop whose captain is the Prince of the Power of the Air ! Who would go iip against the armies of the Lord to the battle of Armageddon, in that great day when the hosts of heaven shall join in conflict with the children of men ; Avhen a voice louder than thunder on the mountains shall peal above the tramp of thousands, the clashing of arms, the rush of many wings, the hosannas of the conquering righteous, and the ghastly shrieks of the vanqidshed and the doomed, saying, " Who is on my side?" When darkness thall cover the face of the lieavens at noonday, and the earth shall quake for very fear, and amongst all her myriads the children of the congregation alone shall be saved, who would have his portion on that day with the remnant of the Philistines ? Behold, there is yet an eleventh hour. Behold, there is yet a ray of light in the titter darkness — a chink left open in the narrow gate. Ye that are bidden to the feast come hastily ere the door be shiit. Ye that woiild save yourselves and your households, bind your sandals on your feet, lift up your burdens, rise and go on your way. Again, it is not I, poor John Caryl, that speaketh to yoii. It is the Voice that cannot lie. Believe not me ; believe the Voice. It prophesieth to you ; it warneth you, it eutreateth you, it commandeth you. This is the way that leadeth to salvation ; this is the way that leadeth to righteousness ; this is the way that leadeth to ever- lasting glory. Turn ye ! turn ye ! Avhy iviLl ye die ? ' The preacher concluded with almost a shriek of entreaty. His face was deadly pale, and as he stretched his arms towards George EfEngham there was a wild appealing glance in those deep mom-n- inl eyes — a glance, as it were, of angelic pity and tenderness, that went straight to the Cavalier's heart. He .sank into the chair on which he had been standing, apparently exhausted by his oratory. A deep hum of applause, mingled with more open expressions of approbation, greeted the conclusion of hia sermon ; and the con- gregation, as they departed stealthily and silently, in twos and *FOR conscience' SAKE.' Ill threes, to tlieir respective homes, congratulated each other in their strange Scriptural parlance on the ' crumbs of comfort' they had received, ' the draughts of living water' which had slaked theii thirst, and the ' crowning mercy of such a brand being snatched from the burning' as the Cavalier officer who had joined in their devotions, and whose conversion they deemed as good as completed by the attention and interest with which he had listened to their favoiu-ite preacher. ' The Brand' himself was one of the last to leave the vault. The conchiding words of the sermon he had just heard seemed to ring on his ears ; the wild, eager, imploring lace to be still before his eyes. * Why ivill ye die ? ' The appeal seemed at once so appropriate and so natural, the admonition so friendly, the warn- ing so well-timed. It was the spark to the train of gunpowder, the corner-stone to the edifice, the appeal to the feelings where the Reason had long ago been satisfied. Effingham had been for months a Puritan from conviction ; he was now, as he was forced to confess to himself, a Eoundhcad and a rebel at his heart. As he ascended the steps leading from the vault into the shop, an arm was thrust imder his own, and looking round he discovered that the only remaining individual of the congregation was about to depart in his company, and signified his intention of so doing in this somewhat imceremonious manner. It was the same per- son who had stood next him on his first entrance, and whose mutilated head bore so fearfi.il a witness to the sincerity of his pro- fessions. ' You may trust me,' said he abruptly, and without any further apology or explanation ; ' I am a friend and brother. I can read your soul, young man ; and you are with us, though not o/us. "The voice is Jacob's voice, though the hands are the hands of Esau." I marked you when the shepherd invited you to the ilock ; and I cannot be deceived. Will you cast in your lot with the children of the congi-egation ? ' Contrary to his wont, Effingham felt confused, and, so to speak, taken by surprise at this sudden reading of his inmost feelings by a thorough stranger. He could not but acknowledge that they were interpreted aright; yet his bold, mascuhne mind shrank fi-om the avowal that his actual sentiments were so opposed to the pro- fession he had adopted, nay, to the very clothes he wore. A blush, half of eagerness, half of shame, clothed his bronzed features as he replied, ' I would fain see a more righteous party at the head of affairs. I would fain sec a Godly Government, and a people living in peace and morality, and the enjoyment of civil as well as rehgious liberty. But I am a soldier of the Crown ; I 112 HOLMBY HOUSE. bear the King's commission ; what am I to do ? And yet,' ho added abstractedly, and more as it were to himself than to his companion, ' I have often thought ere this that Heaven is not on our side.' ' Can you doubt it ? ' eagerly urged the stranger, his features lighting up with enthusiasm and excitement. ' Can you doubt that He whom we serve takes care of his own ? Am not I myself a living instance of his providence and his mercy ? Have I not .survived the degradation of the pillory, despising the shame, and endured the torment, regardless of the pain, in looking for the martyr's crown — the crown that shall be doubly set Avith brilliants because of this mutilated head ? Listen to me, George Effingham. I know you well, and I have watched you long. It was to snatch you like a brand from the burning that I ventured here into Ox- ford, into the very camp and stronghold of my enemies, and I will save you from destruction — save you for that my heart yearneth towards you as doth a mother's towards her first-born. They took me prisoner as I neared the godless city, and bound me on one of their war-horses, and brought me into their guard-rooms; and mocked me in the ribaldry of their mirth ; and I was dumb, and spake not. Then did one of their captains, a young and well-favoured Malignant, whom the soldiers accosted with the blasphemous title of Lord Francis, take pity on me, and bade his men of war to scourge me, and let me go. " Verily the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." I was stripped and bound to their acciu-scd halberds ; and two sons of Belial, tall and strong, and stimulated with strong drink, were appointed for my execu- tioners, when the young Malignant again interposed, and I was suffered to depart, an object of derision and scorn, and cruel mockerj-, which I pray may not be visited on my persecutors in another world. Then did I flee to the vault in which Ave met, athirst for the living water, of which to-night we have both drunk freely, and yet not athirst I'or myself alone. It Avas borne in upon me that he for whom I have prayed and Avrestled Avould be there too, and I found him for Avhom 1 looked seeking his portion Avith the children of the congregation. Verily, my prayers have been ansAvered. Verily, the truth hath prevailed ; and noAV Avill not you, George Effingham, cast in your lot Avith the elect lor time and for eternity ? ' They had already reached the street, and Avcre pacing thought- fully along in the moonlight. One solitary figure Avalked slowly on before them. It Avas the preacher ; his head bent doAvn, his whole being Avrapped in meditation. They neared him rapidly, * FOR conscience' SAKE. 1 1 Z and were in the act of passing liim when Effingham replied to the fervent appeal of his companion : — ' Could I do it with honoiu", I would shake to-morrow the very dust of the Court from off my feet. And yet what is earthly honour compared to eternal life ? My friend ! — if indeed you are my friend — I have never sought counsel yet from mortal man. 1 ask it now in my present strait, in the agony of my doubts. Are ye not too rash — too violent ? Is there no possibility of saving our country, ay, and our religion, Avithout bloodshed ? Must we be all at each other's throats, in the name of peace and goodwill? Counsel me, I pray, for I am sorely distracted even to the very harrowing of my soul.' The stranger looked at him with a satisfied air. * The seed has fallen on good groimd,' he muttered ; ' let it remain there and fractify.' Then added aloud, ' I Avill talk with you again on these matters. The night is now far advanced. To-morrow I will seek you at your own quarters. I know where you lie ; fear not, George Effingham, I wiU be with you in secret and unob- served.' With these words he turned up a bye-street, and was soon out of sight, leaving Effingham a few paces in advance of the preacher, who now walked quietly up to him, laid his hand on the young man's shoulder, and looking into his face once more with the same wild, imploring, mournful glance, whispered in his ear, * He that is not with me is against me. Turn ye, turn ye, why ivill ye die?' And he, too, disappeared like some uneartlily vision that leaves behind it only a feeling of dread uncertainty and suj)ernatural fear. Effingham paced on, absorbed in meditation. With a strong sense of rehgion, that Avanted but the stimulus of suffisring and a consciousness of oppression to be fanned into the flame of fana- ticism, he likewise entertained the feelings of a soldier on the point of honour and the sacred duty of remaining stanch to the banner under which he had once enlisted. It Avas a conflict that tore and vexed the strong man's mind to the verge of madness. Combining a wild and dreamy enthusiasm with keen reasoning powers, the imagination of a poet Avith the acute perspicuity of a logician, hisAvas a nature above all others calculated to suffer from religious doubts, appreciating as it did, on the one hand, tlie importance of the subject, and on the other, the probability of error, Avhere error Avas fatal and irremediable. lie longed ibr the solitude of his own chamber, there to compose his poAverful mind, and draAv his own conclusions, uninterrupted and alone ; and he I 114 HOLMBY HOUSE. never greeted liis friend Bosville with so inhospitable a welcome, as "when he found hini installed in that bare apartment which he had hoped was to alfbrd him a refuge for the solitary meditation he requii'ed. ' What have you been doing ? ' exclaimed Humphrey, grasping his friend's hand with a cordiality which had in it sometliing ominously suggestive of a desire for advice or assistance. ' Where have you been spending the livelong night ? I trust you have employed it better than I have. I have been waiting here for hours to see you; and have read through the whole of that blundering tactician's work Avithout understanding a word of it. George, I'm in a devil of a scrape, and I want you to see me ihroiagh it ! ' ' A woman, of course,' answered Effingham, jumping, at once, like the rest of mankind, to the most charitable conclusion. ' Oh, Humphrey 1 I thought you knew better. I thought that even in Oxford you were too good to be lured like a kestrel by the flutter of a petticoat or the flirt of a fan. Young one, I'm ashamed of you ! ' ' Nay,' replied Humphrey, ' it's not so bad as that. Hear me. I've got into a quarrel, and we must fight it out according to the laws of the duello, and I want you to be one of my witnesses on the occasion. The worst of it is, it's with Goring, and you see he is the general of our division.' Effingham drew a long breath, as if inexpressibly relieved. ' With Goring ? ' said he, ' and you know he's the best swordsman in the Royal army. Must you always fly at the highest game on tliG Aving ? Well, well, go thy ways, Humphrey ; for a quiet amiable lad with far too much mother's millv still left in his constitution, tbou certainly hast an inordinate liking for the whistle of hot lead, and the clink of cold steel. Nevertheless, if wo vmst fight him, we must ; and though it's contrary to my principles, and I had rather you had picked a quarrel with any one of them, except Lunsford, who has brought back a curious thrust in tierce from amongst the Puritans, that they boast no Eoyalist can parry, yet I cannotdeave thee, lad, in the lurch. So open that cupboard, where you will find a flask of mine host's canary, and a couple of tall glasses; and let me know all about it. In the first j^lacc, hast got the length of his weapon ? ' Truly, the human mind, hke the chameleon, takes its colouring from surrounding objects. A few minutes ago, and George Effingham was pondering deeply upon no less important a subject than hia Koul's salvation : l)ehold him now, at the spell of a few word?. MAN TO MAN. 115 busily engaged in planning a comhat a Voutrance between his dearest friend and his superior officer. So the young men filled theii- glasses and measured off the length of their weapons, and sat till daybreak arranging the preliminaries of the duel. CHAPTER XIV. MAN TO MAN. Morning broke with a thick fog, highly favourable to those who meditated such an imdertaking as that of Bosville and his friend. Notmthstanding the licence and immorality which pervaded the Court, and which the so-called laws of honour scarce restrained within the bounds of common decency, Charles, in a fit of con- scientiousness, had issued a most stringent order against the practice of duelling, and had threatened to inflict the punishment of mutilation by the loss of the right hand on any who should be found bold enough to transgress in this point — nay, under aggravated circumstances the penalty of death was to be exacted from the principals in the transaction. Such a state of things was not calculated to inspire -with confidence the anxious belligerent who found himself thus hemmed in by a variety of evils, of which it was scarcely possible for him to decide on choosing the least. The alternative of being scouted for a coward, or run through an empty stomach in the early morning, is sufiiciently impleasant without the further aggravation of a gallows in perspective, should superior ' cunning of fence ' or strength of body enable the suc- cessful combatant to turn the tables on his adversary ; and it is no wonder that Bosville wrapped himself in his cloak with a chill consciousness that the misty autumnal morning was more than usually raw and lowering, and a sort of dismal foreboding that the tufts of wet grass beneath his feet, saturated Avith the night dews, might prove a very cold and uncomfortable resting-place after some half a dozen passes with the keenest rapier in the Eoyal army. Perhaps it may have been reflections such as these which caused the young ofiicer to hum a loyal air, expressive of great devotion to his Majesty, a trifle louder than common, and to reply to his companion's eager inquiries with a little more than his usual gaiety and carelessness, though to do him justice every note was in tune, and his manner, though excited, was as courteous and kindly as ever. Mist or sunshine, up or down, in his stirrupa 116 nOLMBY HOUSE. Oil the good sorrel, or on liis back amongst the wet grass, there was no white feather aboiit Humphrey Bosville. He and Effingham were first upon the ground. It was a secluded spot at all times, and in a fog impervious at a hundred yards, offered every appearance of iminterrupted secrecy. A meadow some two acres square, surrounded by a high blackthorn liedge not yet denuded of its leaves by the early frosts, and teeming with hips and haws and huge ripe blackberries, overshadoAved moreover by a deep close copse of hazels, in which the nuts were ripening and the birds fluttering, and the quiet hares stealing about to crop the rank wet herbage, was no likely place for intruders at that early hour. A flat surface of thick, smooth turf aftbrded an excellent foothold for the combatants, and a distant farmhouse, from Avhich, although its buildings were themselves unseen, the lowing of cows, the cackling of fowls, and other bucolic sounds Avere distinctly audible, promised shelter and assistance in the event of fatal consequences to the laAvless rencontre. The two cavaliers looked about them, wi-apped themselves closer in their cloaks, and walked to and fro, making foot tracks in the wet grass to keep themselves warm. ' I like a short blade best, after all,' quoth George Efiingham, after a few minutes of deep cogitation, during which he had been perfectly silent, and his principal had hummed the same bars of his song over and over again. ' I like a short blade best against a delicate fighter. You must force Goring to close quarters, Humphrey, as soon as you can.' ' A short blade on foot, a long one on horseback,' answered his friend sententiously, and then relapsed into a profound silence. It was evident there was something on tlie minds of both foreign to the question of carte and tierce, and thrust and parry, and all the jargon of polite murder. * Not here yet,' observed Effingham, once more peering through the fog on the look-out for the enemy. ' Zounds, Humphrey, I must speak out, lad ! Thou and I are no two raw fledgelings to keep up an affectation of courage by pretending to ignore the presence of danger. Young as thou art I have seen thee tried, and I know thy mettle, man — ay, as well as I know my own sword. 'Twas but yesterday, so to speak, we held the old fiu-m- house against Ireton's pikes, and we've had many a ride together after Waller before our last affair at Newbury. Look ye here, lad ; Goring's a good blade. He's always in practice, and he's got a trick of turning liis wrist down and coming in here just under your elbow that has put many a tall fullow on the grass. MAN TO MAN. 117 You may get it in a queer plucc, Humphrey — mincl, I don't say you will. Is there anything I can do lor you, lad, any last word I can carry, if you should go back feet foremost into Oxford ? ' Bosville's face brightened considerably. He pressed his friend's hand as he repHed, ' I have been thinking of it all the morning, George, but it wasn't for me, you know, to begin on such a subject. I don't mind running my chance any more than my neighbours ; and somehow, tliough my life has become dearer to me in the last twenty-four hours than it ever was before, yet I feel as if I could lose it contentedly and happily too. There is one favour you can do me, George, and that I would entrust to no man alive but yourself; one that I Avould only entrust to you at a moment like the present. George, I can depend upon you, I know. Give me your hand again.' Effingham shook him cordially by the hand. ' Name it,' he said ; ' if I'm alive I'll fidfil it for you.' ' 'Tis but a few words, a short message to deliver,' replied Bosville, with a smile that softened his Avhole face. ' If I fall, and only if I fall, seek out a lady in the court — you have never seen her, but you know her by name — it is — it is Mistress Mary Cave ' (he blushed and hesitated when he mentioned her name) ; ' give lier a glove you Avill find in my doublet, and tell her that I could not as a gentleman avoid this foolish quaxrel, and that I regretted it chiefly because I had wished to devote my life wholly and ex- clusively to my Sovereign. Tell her I have not forgotten what she said to me ; that I repeated Avith my last breath, " Loyalty before all ! " And now, my dear Effingham, promise me that you will not fight if you can help it. It is a foolish custom, and leads to no good that the seconds should be involved in the quarrel of their principals. Do mc this favour — promise me this, quick ! — here they come.' Even while he spoke two Cavaliers cloaked and wrapped up like Humphrey and Effingham, loomed through the fog as they surmounted the stile which gave them admittance at one angle of the orchard. They were talking and laughing loudly. It seemed they had neither regard for consequences nor fear of detection. It was the fashion of the day to afiect a haughty carelessness of bloodshed, and to look upon a duel as a pleasant opportunity for the interchange of lively sallies and jocose remarks. Indeed, until the late Koyal edict it had been the practice fur each of the original combatants to appear upon the ground at- tended by two, three, sometimes even us numy as ibiir assistauta, 118 HOLMBY HOUSE. chosen as a mark of the deepest respect amongst liis own intimate friends. As these gentlemen esteemed it a high point of honour and an unspealcable privilege to engage their points with each other on their own accounts, and totally irrespective of the quarrel of their principals, it Avould sometimes happen that ten couples of reasoning beings, hitherto constant associates and sworn friends, would be doing battle to the death upon such weighty question of dispute as the length of a lady's eyelashes or the colour of her breast-knots. Now, however, the threats of death and muti- lation issued from the Council, and which extended to all con- cerned in a duel, whether principals or witnesses, had somewhat damped the ardour of the Royalists for this particular amusement, and Goring had considered himself sufficiently befriended by the single presence of his worthless associate, wicked Tom Lunsford, on Avhose arm he leaned heavily as he approached the ground, limping along with an affectation of more than his usual lameness, probably with a view of enhancing his adversary's astonishment at the activity which he would too surely display when stripped and w'ith steel in his hand. He doffed his hat till its plume swept the grass, with a bow of supreme com-tesy to his antagonist, who returned the salute with equally studied politeness ; it being scrupulously exacted by the laws of arms that the duellist should assume an attitude of the most deferential humility towards the individual whose blood he proposed to shed, whilst to all else on the ground it was considered good taste to behave with a boisterous cordiality bordering upon the jocose. Goring, too, Avas in the best of humours, for in addi- tion to the natural gratification which he derived from all scenes of this kind, he had passed the two or three previous hours much to his own satisfaction in imbibing burnt canary, and as it was too late to go to bed, in flinging a quiet main or two with his second, which resulted, as usual, in his winning largely. True, Tom Lunsford would never pay him ; but still there was the prestige of success, and he now proposed himself the pleasure of running Bosville gracefully through the body, as an appropriate wind-iip to his night's amusement and preparation for his day's duties and interview on business Avith the King. ' I fear we have kept you waiting, Captain Effingham,' he re- marked, with a cordial greeting to that gentleman, for Goring knew eveiy officer in his division, and his private pursuits and habits, better than those who only observed tlie surface of the general's character Avould have supposed. ' My lameness must be my excuse, though Tom and I have hiivried hither as fast as MAN TO MAN. 119 ■we coidd. Liinsford, let me present to yovi Captain George Effingham, with whom, if you mean to try any of your cursed Puritan tricks, you will meet with your match, for he has been with the crop-ears later than yourself.' Effingham started and coloured violently ; his last night's visit was then kno^^^l — and to Goring ! What if he should be de- nounced, seized, examined as a traitor ! perhaps lose his life with- out striking another blow on either side. For a moment he forgot the duel and all about it. The image of Caryl and his martyr-friend rose upon his mind. What would those good men think of him now — what was he even now about to do ? Never- theless habit, as it always is, was too strong for conscience : he manned himself with an eifort, returned Goring's malicious leer with a haughty though respectful stare, and saluted Sir Thomas Lunsford with the punctilious politeness due to one whose sword- point might probably that morning be at his throat. The latter, with a facetious remark anent the coldness of the weather, and a wish expressed with much unction, for a cup of burnt sack, pro- duced a small piece of tape from beneath his cloak, and proceeded to measure Avith it the swords of the combatants. ' Eight to a barleycorn,' remarked the Cavalier, returning to each the rapier he had borrowed of him with a courteous bow. ' The morning is too raw to waste your time in any further preliminaries, there- fore, gentlemen, if you please, we Avill strip and get to work at once.' ' Hold ! ' interrupted Effingham, as the duellists stripped to their doublets and hose, first baring their breasts to show that no imfair defences, no secret coat of mail or proof cuirass lurked beneath thciv garments, took up their positions with watchful eager eyes and bare quivering blades, and an ugly smile on each man's counte- nance, paler than his wont, though each was brave, and wearing the peculiar set look that may be seen any day on the human face, ay, even in a common street fight, when man is fairly pitted against man. * Hold, gentlemen ! this duel is not to the death. Sir Thomas Lunsford, by your leave Ave Avill draw and stand across our men ; at the first flesh-Avound Ave can then strike their SAvords up, and proclaim satisfaction given and received ! ' As he spoke the two principals loAvered their points, but etiquette forbade that cither should speak aAvord : strictly, they ought to have appeared totally unconscious that any remark had been made, but although their ground Avas taken they had not )-et crossed swords, and the duel had not begun. Lunsford laughed loudly as he replied, ' Ilnrdly, Captain Effing- 120 HOLMBY HOUSE. liaui ; and think it'hat cold work it would be for you and me standing to look on. Besides, sir,' he added, in a graver voice, ' consider the provocation, a blow struck and not returned ! Ecally, Captain, your notions of honour must have been somewhat tarnished amongst your Puritan friends, when you can talk of bring- ing out four Cavaliers such a long walk on such a damp morning for the mere child's-play you describe. No, sir, we decline anything but the last satisfaction. Be good enough to waste no more time about it, but place your man and begin ! ' ' Their blood be on their own head ! ' muttered Effingham, as he advanced to Bosville once more, and, squeezing his hand, placed him on the exact spot which the laws of the duello marked out for nim ; then casting his cloak and plumed hat upon the ground, drawing his trusty rapier and taking up his own position ' on guard,' exactly six paces- — the prescribed distance — on the right of his friend, he called upon Lunsford to do likewise, reminding him that ' when a duel is to be fought out to the death, it is in- cumbent on the seconds to mark their sense of the gravity of the business by engaging themselves,' and adding, with peculiar cour- tesy, ' I hope Sir Thomas Lunsford will not disappoint me of a lesson in fencing from the best blade now in Oxford.' 'At your service, sir,' replied Sir Thomas Lunsford, who could scarcely refuse to accept so rational an invitation, but whose secret inclinations for a ' pass or two ' were but little stimulated by George's square muscular figure, easy attitude of pi'actised swords- manship and dark determined face, on which a remarkably dan- gei-ous look was gathering about the brows. As he spoke he also drew, and placed himself in position, and the four men crossed their thirsty blades at the .same moment, with the same terrible expression, the family likeness inherited from Cain coming out fierce and ghastly on each forbidding face. Humphrey Bosville was a 3'oung, active man, a complete SAVords- man, and of a bold determined nature, but he was no match for his antagonist, who, to tlie confirmed strength of mature manhood, added the ready lacility of incessant practice, and the immovable calmness peculiar to his own cold vigilant nature. Man of pleasure, drunkard, debauchee as hewas, Goring's passions, however strongly tliey might be agitated, worked below the surface : nothing ever seemed to shake his nerve or discompose his equanimity. Even noAV, fighting to tlic death, an exasperated enemy in his front, and a glittering small-sword tliirsting for his blood within a few inches of tlie laced besom of his shirt, his eye Avas as steady, his colour us unvarying, his Avhole demeanour as cool and insolent, as though MAN TO MAN. 121 he had been standing in the presence-chamber or sitting at the council. In this he had a great advantage over his adversary, Avho, with all the exciteable feelings of youth, became less and less wary as he warmed to his work, and once or twice laid himself open to a thrust that might have put an end to the combat by inflicting on him a pretty smart flesh-wound, such as should incapacitate him from again holding a sword for a while. This, however, was not Goring's object. In a conversation Avith his second on their way to the ground, he had laid a bet of ten gold pieces that he would run his antagonist through the body without himself receiving a scratch, and he had made up his mind to do so by bringing into play a thrust in tierce for which he was celebrated, and which if unskilfully parried was a certainty. This deadly manoeuvre, how- ever, to be successfully carried out, demanded a very exact mea- surement of space, so, while Humphrey attacked fiercely again and again with all the impetuous ardour of his disoosition, the more practised duellist lunged and parried and returiicd and traversed here and there, and drew his man inch by inch Avithin the fatal distance. In the mean time, Sir Thomas Lunsford and George Effingham, exchanging, to use the language of the day, ' a friendly pass or two,' to fill up the time, were sufficiently engaged with their oAvn struggle to have but little observation to spare for their principals. The knight, however, weakened by his excesses, and of feebler frame than his antagonist, soon found liimself a mere child in the hands of so powerful a fighter as the Cavalier captain. TAvice he tried the 7'use he had learned amongst the Puritans, and each time he found himself foiled by the iron arm and Avrist opposed to him ; twice he Avas driven from his ground, and only regained it by making in turn a fiurious attack, Avhich left him each time more faint and breathless than before. Wicked Tom Lunsford thought his hour Avas come ; and so it Avould have come indeed had Effing- ham been such another as himself; but George's heart, though he kncAV it not, Avas softened by his last night's company and conversa- tion. Amidst the struggles of conscience had arisen a strange, aAvful sense of responsibility ; and even in the heat and hurry of the as- sault, something seemed to Avhisper, ' Shall this man's blood too be on thy head ? ' So he contented himself Avith forcing his adversary to a disadvantage, and then rapidly disarming liim by sheer supe- riority of strength. As Lunsford's sword liuw several paces rrom his hand, a heavy fall and a deep groan AvithdrcAV Effingham's attention from his own helpless enemy. Bosville Avas down at full length upon the wet 122 HOLMBY HOUSE. grass, and Goring was wiping his bloody rapier carefully upon his glove ere he returned it to its sheath. It was no time for punctilious courtesy. The accursed thrust had done its duty well. Humphrey's face was deadly pale ; there were livid circles round his eyes, and the dark blood was welUng up from his chest and saturating the white front of his delicate Flanders shirt. George's heart stopped beating as he knelt over his comrade to examine the wound. Even Goring was touched : and the man who had inflicted the injury — the man who but one short minute ago had hate burning in his eye and murder lurking in his heart — would have given his best horse, little as he valued human life, that he had left the deed undone. * Take care of him, Tom,' said he, wrapping his cloak round hini as he prepared to return to Oxford by another route, the only pre- caution he thought it necessary to take against discovery, ' and mind, yoii owe me ten gold pieces fairly won. D — it, I wish I hadn't, too,' he added, as he strode aAvay ; ' he was a fine bold lad, and the prettiest horseman I had in my whole division.' Lunsford and Effingham, now fast friends, lifted poor Humphrey between them, and obtaining assistance at the farmhouse, bore him back with them to Oxford. As they entered the old city, morning- service had but just concluded, and the bells were ushering in the day with a holy peaceful chime. And yet what a day's work had these men already finished ! what a host of evil passions had they called up only to be allayed with blood ! and now the blood was spilt, were the passions raging one whit less fiercely than before ? Would not fresh provocation produce fresh crime, and so on, ad infinitum ? Sin seems to be like hunger and thirst, repentance but the lassitude of repletion ; anon we hunger and thirst again, and eat and drink our fill once more — only this once more — and then we are sorry for it, and promise faithfully this transgression shall be the last — till the next time — and so audax omnia perpeti (jens huviana rnit ; and knowing this, we, who are never weary of re- quiring forgiveness, can refuse to forgive each other. Oh, man ! man ! created but a ' little lower than the angels,' how much higher wouldst thou be than the devils, if left to perish helpless by thyself? CROSS ruRPOSES. 123 CHAPTEK XV. CROSS PURPOSES. Sir Giles Allonby, whistling cheerfully as he emerged from his lodgings to commence the military duties of his day, was no less horrified than astonished at the first sight that met his eyes in the street. A limp, helpless body, fi'om which the life seemed to be ebbing rapidly away, covered with a dark cloak, was being borne upon a rude litter, formed hastily of a coiiple of hurdles, and a hedgestake or two, by four stout rustics, whom Sir Thomas Lims- ford, with many oaths and entreaties, was adjuring to move as easily as possible to their burthen. Eflingham, with a laced handkerchief in his hand, was wiping the froth from the lips of the sufferer, and the countenance of each Cavalier was darkened with an expression of ominous foreboding as to the result. Sir Giles, who expected to encounter nothing more alarming at that early hour than a tumbril of ammunition, a wagon-load of rations, or a drunken trooper deserving of the guard-room returning from his night's debauch, was fairly startled out of his self-command by the ghastly procession. ' Zounds, Tom,' said he, laying his hand upon Lunsford's arm, ' what mischief have you been at ah-eady since daybreak ? This is some of your accursed tilting- work, I'll be sworn. Your staccatos and passados, and cursed Italian tricks of fence, that leave a good back-swordsman as helpless as a salmon on a gravel-walk. Who is it now that your quij)s and your pimctiUos, and your feints and your ins-and-outs, have placed heels uppermost, Avhen the King sadly lacks soldiers, and every man's life is due to his sovereign ? Who is it ? Tell me, man, before I turn the guard out, and bring ye all up before the Council, who will take such order with ye that ye shall never so much as handle a riding-wand again ! ' Limsford, with all his impudence, was fairly brow-beaten by the old man's vehemence. ' Hold, Sir Giles,' he gasped out, quite humbly. ' The fight was a fair fight, and Captain Bosville brought it on himself. There is life in him still. Sir Giles, and leech-crafl: may bring him round yet. What, man, 'tis but a hole in his doublet, after all, and the fight was a fair fight, and fought with proper witnesses ; ask Captain Effingham if 'twas not.' ' Bosville ! ' exclaimed old Sir Giles, the tears filling fast in his keen blue eyes, though with the instinctive repugnance of a good heart to a bad one, he turned irom Lunsford, and dashed them 1?4 nOLMBY HOUSE. away with tlic back of liis hand. ' Bosville ; the best lad in tho whole Royal army. The bravest, the kindest, the cheeriest. Here the old man's voice faltered, and lie was forced, as it were, to bully himself into composure again. ' Had it been ranting "Will Scarthe, now, or fierce Nick Crispe, or thyself, Tom, Avho art never out of mischief save when the rest of us are fighting, I had said never a word. But Bosville,' he muttered under his breath, ' Bosville was worth a thousand of ye all. Within, there ! ' he cried, raising his voice, and turning back towards his own door. ' Grace ! Mary ! make ready the tapestry chamber. He lies nowhere but here. Steady there, men : bear him gently up the steps. Do you, sir,' to Effingham, ' run for a surgeon ; one practises at yonder shop, Avhere you see the pole. Sound a gallop, sir, and hasten, for your life. My service to you. Sir Thomas Lunsford ; if this turns out badly, it will be a black day for some of ye when Prince Rupert comes to hear of it, or my name's not Giles Allonby.' As he spoke, the old Cavalier officer busied himself in removing the cloak fi-om Bosville's helpless form, and assisted in bearing him up the steps, and into his oAvn house, where his servants relieved the rustics from their burthen. Those philosophers having been dismissed Avith a handsome gratuity, returned to their original obscurity, enlivened as long as the money lasted by a strenuous course of tippling, and many a revised version of the adventure in which they had been engaged : whilst Humphrey, now for the first time exhibiting signs of returning consciousness, was carefully conveyed to the tapestried chamber, and there laid under a magnificent canopy, adorned with ominously funereal feathers, on a huge state bed. As they bore him upstairs, a pale scared face was seen looking over the banisters, belonging to no less important a person than Faith herself, the conscioiTs cause of all this disturbance and bloodshed. Breathless and trembling, she rushed instinctively to Mary Cave's chamber, to bid her, as the bolder of the two, break the sad news to Grace Allonby ; but Mary had not returned from her early service about the person of the Queen, to whom she was again attached, and Faith, beside herself Avith mingled feelings of terror, pity, and remorse, was fain to seek her own pallet, and bury her face in the pillow in a fit of hysterical weeping, affording but little relief to her own agitation, and calculated to lead to no very decided result. 'f bus it came to pass that Grace Allonby, leaving her chamber, ueat, well dressed, and composed, to commence her daily dutie-6. CROSS ruRPosES. 125 was met in the passage by three or four servants bearing that ■which to all appearance Avas a corpse, and although Sir Giles considerately interposed his tall person between his daughter and the ghastly burthen, one glimpse which she caught was sufficient to assure her loving hea,rt that it was Humphrey, and none but he, who lay stretched out there before her eyes. Had Grace been a hei"oine of romance, she Avoiild have had two courses open to her. She might either have given vent to one piercing shriek, which should have rung in her listeners' ears till their dying day, and then, letting all her back hair down at once, have clasped both hands upon her heart, and fallen stone dead in the effort, but always with a tasteful regard to the disposition of her draperies, on the floor ; or, with a lofty disdain for all feeling in such an emergency, but Avith a stony glare and a Avhite statue- like face, she might have bled him herself on her OAvn responsi- bility with her own bodkin, and so, seeing he had already bled nearly to the verge of the next world on his OAvn account, have perfected the sacrifice of the man she loved, and exhibited at the same time her own presence of mind and mistaken notions of the healing art. But Grace Allonby was no heroine, only a loving, timid, trustful young Avoman, so her knees knocked together, and her lips grcAv quite Avhite and tAvitched while she spoke, but she managed to clai-.p her hands upon Sir Giles's shoulder, and to ask him Avhat she Avanted. ' Oh, father, father ! he's not quite — ' she could not bring her- self to say the Avord — * he's only Avounded ; only Avounded, father ! ' And as she could not ask if he Avas dead, so she could not bring herself to think him dead. 'Tis always so Avith the young, Avith those Avho have never knoAvn sorroAV. There is an elasticity about the heart that has never been broken doAvn, Avhich bears up and protests as it Avere against the possibility of despair. Who knoAvs hoAV often she had brooded over her love, the love she scarcely confessed even to herself in the depths of her virgin heart ; hoAv many probabilities she had calculated, and possibilities she had fancied ; hoAV many chances had occurred to her that he might not perhaps care for her- that he might think her too plain, though her glass gave the lie to that ; or too ignorant, or too humble and foolish and girlish for such a Paladin as she imagined him ; hoAV he might be separated from her by accident or duty, or her father's command, but by death — no, that had never entered her head ; it could not be, she loved him so : it could not be. When George Effingham returned Avith the doctor, and the man of science, afler shaking his oAvn head and feeling hia 126 HOLMBY HOUSE. patient's piilse, and px-obing liis wound, and otherwise putting him to no small pain and discomfort, declared that life was still hanging by a thread, a thread, moreover, that only required great care, and his own constant skill, to become once more the silver cord which Goring's rapier had so neai-ly severed, she felt scarcely grateiul enough for the good news, she had been so persuaded of it all along. Die ! she never thought he was going to die. He would get well, of course, quite well, and she would nurse him and wait upon him : there could be no harm in that, and it would take a long time to restore him, and when he Avas quite strong again, not before, he might leave them and go back to the army, to be Avounded perhaps again. AU this was consolatory, no doubt ; nevertheless she went to her chamber, and prayed her heart out upon her knees, weeping plentifully, you may be sure, and such prayers never hui't a wounded man yet, to our thinking, nor a strong one either, for the matter of that. Happy he for whom such tears are shed, such orisons oiFered up. She soon came back, Avith a pale steady face and red eyes, to take her place in the sick- chamber, where, according to the custom of the time, she quickly established herself as nurse and Avatcher, and general directress of the Avhole establishment. There Avas less mock-modesty in the days of Avhich Ave Avrite than in the present ; less fancied evil, less of that strange prudish virtue Avhich jumps at once to the most improper conclusions, and Avhich, if there be any truth in the old adage, that ' to the pure all things are pure,' must have some dark mental spots of its OAvn to justify its suspi- cions. Though the manners of the Court Avere sufficiently corrupt, the great bulk of the higher classes were to the foil as correct and decorous in their demeanour as those of the present time ; while for true purity and kindliness of heart, the charity that thinketh no evil, the generosity that forgiveth Avrong, Avho shall say that the keen, high-minded Cavahers, and their simple, straightforAvard dames, had not the best of it, as compared Avith the framework of our oAvn cold, conventional, and someAvhat cowardly state of society ? Avith whose members the prime moral maxim is founded, not on what you do, but Avhat people say of you ; who Avink conveniently enough at the infraction of every commandment in the Decalogue, provided you are scrupulous to keep the eleventh, which they have themselves added to it, and which says, * thou shalt not be found out 1 ' George ElEngham, returning fi-om the doctor's house, he having accompanied that skilful practitioner home to his surgery, with lint, bandages, divers curiously coloured phials, and other muni- CROSS PURPOSES. 127 tions of the pharmacopoeia, was somewhat startled to find an exceedingly fair and graceful young lady established in supreme command of the sick-room, and issuing her orders with the tact and decision of one to Avhom such a situation was neither new nor confusing. Indeed shrewd blows had been going now for some time between the Cavaliers and Eoimdheads, and Grace had already been often present at the healing of a broken-head, a sabre-cut, or the dangerous orifice of a musket-ball. Therefore George, as we have said, thrusting his grim face into the half- darkened chamber, started as though at the presence of an angel of light when his eyes encountered those of the young lady, and it was with a degree of bashfulness somewhat foreign to his nature that he assisted his new acquaintance in the disposition of the coverlets and pillows, and other arrangements for the ease of the suiFerer, question and reply passing at the same time in sub- dued whispers, which promoted a far closer acquaintance in a short half-hour than Avould have sprung up iinder ordinary cir- cumstances in a month. Perhaps a woman never appears to such advantage as when tending the sick, moving gently through the room, or bending tenderly over the couch of the sufferer. George followed her about with his eyes, and wondered as he gazed. This was the sort of woman he had never seen before, or, if he had, only in the conventional circles of society, never as now in her own home, that home's prime ornament and chiefest blessing. Like many another, he had not arrived at manhood without experienc- ing certain partialities for those of the other sex, — here dazzled by a sparkling eye, there Avooed by a saucy smile ; but his ex- perience had hitherto lain amongst women of a far different class and character from Grace Allonby. Phyllis Avas all he could "\\rish, nay, more boisterous in her glee than accorded with George's melancholy temperament ; but Phyllis must first of all have a purse of gold chucked into her lap — after that who so kind as Phyllis? Lalage, again, required constant devotion; but it must be offered at her shrine in piiblic for all the world to see, or it was valueless, and he Avho woidd win her smiles must be con- tent to take them as they came, share and share alike Avith fifty rivals. So George's higher feelings soon revolted from free, flaunting, flirting Lalage. He had got tired of Avomen's society altogether, had devoted himself ardently to his profession, Avas plimged heart and soul in the Avhirjpool of controversy, engaged in a struggle of conscience against habit, prejudice, loyalty, and Avorldly honour; and now, just at the moment Avhen of all tiniea 128 nOLMBT HOUSE, in bis career he had least leisure and least inclination to wear a woman's chain, burst upon him the vision of what had been hia ideal all his life — a pure, high-bred, high-minded girl, simple and sincere as the veriest wild flower in the woodland, yet culti- vated and refined as the most fashionable lady about the Court. Alas, poor George Effingham ! It was in short and broken Avhispers that he explained to her the origin of the duel which had terminated so seriously. For once George i'ound himself quite eloquent as he defended his friend, and threw all the blame of the affair on the aggressor. ' It was your maid, as I understand, Mistress Grace, who was so shamefully insulted by Goring, and Humphrey could not do otherwise, as a man of honour and a gentleman, than interpose in her behalf. Had it been any other swordsman in the army we should have had the best of it ; but I knew from the first that trick in tierce of the General's would be too much for the young one. You see he feinted twice, doubled, disengaged, and then came in under the arm — thus. Pardon me, madam,' said George, interrupting himself as he caught the bewildered expression of his listener's countenance, and half laughing that his OAvn clumsy enthusiasm should have betrayed him into a disquisition on swordsmanship with a young lady. ' Pardon me, you cannot be interested in such details, but indeed it was no fault of Humphrey's that he was led into this embroilment. He was always a chivalrous lad, and a gallant, and one who would face any odds to defend the weak against the strong.' And then he went on to tell her how the young soldier now stretched out so pale and helpless on that bed, had saved the child in a deadly cross fire at the attack of a small redoubt in Flanders, and had held the back door of the fiirm-house in Wiltshire so gallantly with his single rapier against half a score of Ireton's pikes; and how he had given quarter to the tall corporal that thrust at him from beliind after he had taken him prisoner at Kineton ; and sundry other anecdotes illustrative of Humphrey's chivalry and Humphrey's tender heart. Grace listened with clasped hands and streaming eyes. * I was sure it could not be his fault,' she said; and equally sure she would have been doubtless, had all the witnesses sworn and all the juries in England found the reverse. Will any amount of proof destroy a Avoman's faith in the man she has once taken into her heart? On the contrary, it seems that the worse hp behaves, the closer she huddles him up and hides him there, and defies all truth and reason to make her think ill of her nestling. Verily he who has a place in that sanctum should strive to bear himself CROSS-PURPOSES. 129 M'ortliily of such unbounded faith and constancy. ' I was sure it could not be his fault,' she repeated, and removed the locks thai had lallen across his brow, and propped the cushion under his shoulders with such a tender caressing hand that rough George Effingham turned his head away to hide his emotion ; yet there was a strange feeling as of pain creeping about his heart too. So they Avatched him silently a little longer, and presently he stirred and groaned and moved as if he Avould fain turn upon his couch, but the bandages prevented him, and the restraint seemed to arouse him, for he opened his eyes languidly, looked around as though in search of scfnie one who was missing, and muttered a i'ew indistinct words, of which his listeners only caught the sounds, ' Mary — loyalty — Maiy,' and then groaned once more and his eyes closed, and poor Grace, becoming more and more painfully alive to his danger, thought for a moment that he was gone. It was not so, however. A potion had been left by the surgeon to be given the instant the patient should show signs of vitality, and the two strangely assorted nurses administered it to the best of their abilities, and again sat silently doAvn in the darkened cham- ber to watch his slumbers and await his Avakening, for on that wakening, so said the leech, would hang the issues of life and death. They might not speak now even in Avhispers, for such a slumber Avas on no accoimt to be broken. Sir Giles, Avith a dis- cretion that did him credit, had alloAved no rumours of the re7i- contre to get about, dreading the disturbance visitors might occasion at his house. Mary, in fulfilment of her duties about the Queen, Avas ignorant that the man Avho had SAVom fealty to her only the night before, Avhose devotion conjured up the vision of her dear face CA'cn on the confines of life and death, Avas lying Avithin a leAv hundred paces, helpless, Avounded, in the extremity of danger, and Avorked on in happy unconsciousness at her embroidery, re- ceiving and returning the empty compliments of the flippant courtiers Avith her usual readiness and composure. Truth to tell, Mary had thought but little about him since the morning. So the house Avas quiet and the dark sick room silent as the grave, and the tAvo Avatchers sat busied Avith their own thoughts. George Effingham scanning his fair companion Avith an ever-increasing interest, and she sitting Avith averted face and drooping head buried deep in thought or mayhap in prayer. Had she heard those feAv muttered Avords ? could she interpret their meaning ? had they caused that quiet look of suffering Avhich contracted lier gentle features ? And yet to have liad him safe she Avould have given him up Avillingly, nay thankfully, and her tears f^oAved K 130 HOLMBY HOUSE. afresh at the thought ; so, womanlike, she waited and wept and Avatched. It was evening ere he woke, the crisis was past, and he was saved. Saved ! she could scarcely demonstrate her grati- tude sufficiently. With what a pleasant smile she gave George both her pretty hands, and shook his own large ones so kindly and cordially and tliankfully. How she played about Sir Giles with childlike glee, and despatched the servants here and there in search of every comfort and luxury that could be wanted during the next month, and tripped up and down stairs in person after everything she had ordered, and finally flung herself into INIary Cave's arms, and burst oiit Aveeping yet again, ' vowing she was s* happy — so happy ! she had never been so happy in her life before.' Deep and anxious thoughts had made their home too in the breast of that composed and dignified lady. From the moment of her return, when she had been informed of Humphrey's danger, she too had watched anxiously for the issues of life and death, had felt more than pity, more than interest, for the gallant warm-hearted youth who had given himself up to her "with such devotion and self-abandonment. She had crept to the chamber-door, and listened to the heavy breathing of the sleeper, had trembled from head to foot for the result of his awakening, and when the moment of relief at length arrived, had sent back the tears that longed to burst forth with an effort of which she alone was capable. Stately and unmoved she came to look at him once Avhere he lay : his eye brightened as it met hers, and, Aveak as he Avas, he strove to take her hand. He Avent to sleep again quite quietly after that, happy and peaceful like a child. George Effingham, going back to his quarters loaded Avith the thanks and gi-atitude of the Avhole household, crossed the street to look Tip at a certain windoAV, Avhere a dim light seen through the ciu-tain marked Avhere his sick comrade lay, and a figure flitting across it ever and anon shoAved that the Avounded man did not lie there uncared for. George must have been much attached to his brother officer, and much concerned for the care in Avhich he left him, to judge by the deep sigh which he heaved, as after a good five minutes' watching he turned aAvay and strode off to his own lodging. A good constitution, unimpaired by too much claret, and over which not more than fivc-and-tAventy summers have shed their TGses and their thorns, soon recovers even from such an aAvlcAvard injury as a thrust through the regions about the lungs, and the patient in such cases usually finds his relish and appetite for life enhanced in proportion to the narroAV risk he has run of losing it. CROSS-PURPOSES. 131 A fortnight had scarcely elapsed from the period of Humphrey's duel, ere he was out of bed and able to enjoy to the utmost the many comforts and pleasures of convalescence. True, all violent exercise was forbidden for a time, and the sorrel was condemned to remain idle in the stable, whilst militaiy duty of course was for the present not to be thought of; but there are certain circum- stances which can make the sofa a very pleasant exchange for the saddle, and that soldier must indeed be devoted to his profession who would not sometimes wish to find his temporary bivouac in a fair lady's withdi-awing-room. A first-floor even in Oxford, with a solemn look-out upon the massive architecture of an old grey college, enlivened ever and anon by a squadron of cavalry marching by, their trumpets sound- ing, their bridles and stirrup-irons ringing, and their royal pennons flamiting on the breeze, or a party of pkimed and brocaded cour- tiers sweeping haughtily up the street with the same air that be- came their stately persons and rich dresses so well in their own beloved Mall — an easy couch drawn to the window, and sur- rounded by all the little comforts that lady nurses alone know how to gather round the invalid — a few late autumnal flowers scattered tastefully about the room, a low wainscoated apartment, with carved and ornamented panels, elaborate cornices, Venetian mirrors, and strange quaint corners and cupboards, and fantastic ins and outs — two beautiful women pervading the whole, and shed- ding, as it were, an atmosphere of refined comfort around, the one worshipped and deified as a goddess, the other loving and devoted as a nymph — a tried and well-known comrade continually drop- ping in with the latest accounts from the army, the freshest news of the Court— and a merry, good-humorrred host, never satisfied unless his Avounded guest was supplied with the best of everything, and continually devising new indulgences and luxuries on his behalf — all this combined to make Humphrey's convalescence so delightful a process that we are fain to believe the only person who experienced a slight feeling of disappointment when he made his first journey round the room, with the aid of George Efl^ng- ham's strong arm and a crutch, Avas the restored sufferer himself, so happy had he been in his illness, so loth was he to become once more independent of the care and kindness to which he had got accustomed. Sir Giles was frequently absent on his military duties, so the two ladies and the two young Cavalier officers were thrown almost constantly together, for George Eflingham esteemed it prudent to keep as quiet as possible after the duel, and Mary Cave easily 132 nOLMBY HOUSE. obtained leave from her good-natiired mistress to devote as much time as she pleased to the amusement of the wovinded hero. Any- thing in the shape of sentiment found its Avay too surely to Hen- rietta's heart, and her lively imagination had already constructed a sufficiently interesting love tale out of the materials she was at no loss to gather from her gossiping courtiers. A beautiful woman, a pretty waiting-maid, a duel with Goring, and a handsome young soldier run through the body, constituted a framework on which to elaboi-ate a romance voluminous as the Grand Cyi'us itself. So the quartette sat and amused each other day by day, three of them rapidly and steadily imbibing that delicious poison Avhich, like the fruit gathered from the tree of knowledge, gives the first insight into the inner life, and darkens the outer one for ever afterwards. Mary alone seemed to boast immunity from the disease. She had had it, she thouglit, like the measles or the small-pox, and, exce^Jt in a very modified form, scarce Avorth apprehension. She was safe from a fresh attack. How it had scarred and altered her is no matter. The visible face Avas still fresh, and rosy, and ra- diant, if her heart had grown prematurely old, and hard, and withered ; the process of petrifaction had been painful, no doubt. Experience, however, had not blinded her, and she alone of the four companions saw clearly and judged rightly of what was going on. She said as much one afternoon over her embroidery, as they Bat watching the early sunset gilding the opposite wall, plunged in a delicious day-dream, from Avhich, even Avhilc she spoke, she felt it Avas cruelty to Avake them. It Avas the very day on Avhich Bosville had made his first tour round the room, having pre- viously received a ceremonious visit of congratulation from his late antagonist ; for Goring, as soon as he heard the Avounded man Avas out of danger, had thought it, as he said, but common politeness to inquire after him, and had spent half an hour by his couch, during Avhich he had made a thousand pro- fessions of regard and friendshij), and rendered himself vastly agreeable to the tAVo gentlemen. Of the ladies, Mary despised his character thoroughly, though she admired liis talents ; and as for Grace, if looks of scorn and liatred could kill, she Avould have run him through the body as he stood there upon the fioor. ' 'Tis an idle Avinter,' (|Uoth Mary, bending low over her seAving, and tiu-ning hf.r head aAvay, for she Avas not insensible to the pain her Avords Avould too surely inflict ; ' and yet, from Aviiat Lord Goring tells us, there is still Avork to be done down in the Avcst. What CROSS-ruKrosES. 133 say yoii, Captain Effingham, a squadron of Cavaliers with Prince Rupert in Gloucestershire were merrier company than two qviiet dames in an Oxford lodging-house ? — a good horse and a demi- pique saddle a more health-restoring resting-place than yonder easy couch by the vrindow ? ' Mary spoke quickly and uneasily, her colour went and came, and she could not forbear glancing towards Humphrey, whose pale cheek crimsoned immediately, and who turned on her a look of pain and reproach that Avell-nigh brought the tears to her eyes. Grace looked scared and confused. She did not think her patient Avas well enough yet for a demi- jji'que saddle. It was anything but an idle winter to her. She glanced fondly and gratefully at Effingham, and George felt his great strong heart thrill and bound with pleasure as he replied, ■ * We must not move him just yet. Mistress Mary. Such a wound as his might open again, and if it did, aU the doctors in Oxford could not save him. When he gets better, he is to have a troop of " The Lambs," * so Hopton tells me, and then he will probably soon qualify himself for your nursing once more. As for me,' added Effingham, darkly, ' I doubt if I shall ever draw sword to the old war-cry again.' ' You, too, have been idle long enough,' replied Mary, with a piercing glance, under which George winced and loAvered his eyes. ' The blade will get rusty that rests in the scabbard. There are other wounds to be taken than those dealt by a pair of dark eyes, Captain Effingham, and Oxford is a bad place for you, for more reasons than one. Listen.' She drew him aside into the window, and whispered so low as not to be overheard, though Humphrey's eyes wandered uneasily after her motions. ' You are too good to fight a losing battle all your days. You do not know what it is ; better not learn the lesson. Take my advice, strike your tents, sound " boots and saddles ! " Go back into active, stirring life, it is your element, and forget the dream you have been dreaming already too long.' Effingham started, glanced uneasily at Grace, and replied at once, ' My sword may rust, and Avelcome, Mistress Mary. It has been drawn too often already in a bad cause. Must we all think there is no duty to fulfil in life but to tilt at each other's throats ? Must * So called from their wearing whiie doublets. Sir John Suckling had a troop in them called tlie ' coxcomb troop,' from the splendour of their appointments. Like 'tlie Duke's' dandies in the Peninsula, these coxcombs were not found to be the last in the fray. 134 HOLMBY HOUSE. we all be as hot-"headed, and foolhardy, and inconsiderate a.s that romantic boy on the sofa yonder ? ' ' It is a pity yon are not,' she replied quicldy, with a glance of admiration, almost tenderness, at the wounded youth. ' Poor boy, he is one in a million ! but it is of you. Captain Effingham, that I wish to speak. You are watched here in Oxford ; your ojiinions are known. It was but last evening they talked of you in the Queen's apartments. They turned it all to jest, of course, as they do everything; but such jests ai'e pointed and dangerous; it is better not to be the subject of them. Take my advice, leave Oxford, keep your heart iinscathed and your head upon your shoulders ; another day or two and it may be too late ! ' Effingham bowed and sat down again. He seemed to be revolving her counsel thoughtfully in liis mind : but he gazed at Grace the while, and Grace looked anxiously at Humphrey, whose eyes wandered after Mary as she moved about the room ; and so the four played on their game at cross-purposes, and derived, doubtless, some incomprehensible satisfaction from the pastime. At length the fair distux'ber of their peace approached the sofa once more. * I am going into waiting to-night,' she said to Bosville, with One of her sunny, winning looks. ' The Queen will ask me how you are ; when shall I say you will be ready for your command ? ' His eye sparkled : he seemed a new man. ' In a week at farthest,' said he boldly. The day after I can get into the saddle I will be with them. Thank you for the interest you take in me — thank you for all your kindness.' He seized her hand, and Grace Avalkcd away to arrange the flowers at the other end of the room. ' I xvill be worthy,' he Avhispered, the tears starting to his eyes, for he was still weak from loss of blood. ' " Loyalty before all ! " ' * " Loyalty before all ! ' " she repeated in her sweet, Ioav voice, returning the jircssure of his thin, wasted fingers ; and from that moment the patient was a convalescent, and on the road to a rapid recovery. So Mary went off to dress for her courtly duties, and Effingham, with a heavy heart, took leave of his kind friends, and left the well-known room, with its many attractions, for his lonely lodging — how dreary by the contrast ! and Grace, who could not bear to-night oi" all nights to be left alone with the patient, betook herself to her chamber, whither, as we dislike to see young ladies in tears, we will not folloAv her ; and Humphrey, left alone in the darkening twilight, Kink into a refreshing sleep, gilded with CROSs-ruErosES. 135 dreams of a paix* of loving eyes, and a fair fond fiicc, and a soft voice that whispered ever, ' Loyalty before aU ! ' ' I'm sm-e I don't know what's come to my young lady,' observed Faith to a staid and sober personage, who now seldom left her side. ' She's been and locked herself into her room again, and when I knock at the door, it's " Presently, Eaith, presently," and I can't see through the keyhole, for she's gone and left the key in it, but by the sound of her voice I'll be sworn — that is.' amended the pretty Puritan, catching herself up — ' I would ven- ture to affirm, she's been crying ; and what that's for, with all she can want in the house, and the Captain out of danger — bless his handsome face and bold spirit (though sinful) — is clean past me ! ' ' Women is mostly unaccountable,' replied the individual addressed, "svrithing his grim features into the semblance of a smile. ' Yoimg ones 'specially, though I'm not sure that the middle-aged isn't the most tricksome. Perhaps they live and learn ; live and learn. Mistress Faith, like their betters, but they can't be expected to be reasonable like and understanding for all that, poor things ; it's a lower creation, there's no doubt it's a lower creation, and unaccountable accordingly.' It may be remarked that our friend Dymocke's philosophy, for Dymocke, we need hardly inform the reader, it was who spoke, was of a somewhat vague and misty natiu-e, inconsequent in its arguments and inconclusive in its results, and as such he doubtless considered it adapted for the softer sex, for Dymocke, thougli professing, and indeed demonstrating, a great regard and affection for that division of the species, still invariably assumed the atti- tude of superiority which he deemed becoming the dignity of the nobler variety, and was looked up to and reverenced by the women accordingly. He and Faith, since the midnight rencontre, and subsequent removal of Humphrey to Sir Giles Allonby's lodgings, had become inseparable, a sense of favour and protection on the one hand, acconipanied by a strong partiality for a yomig and pretty lace, and a consciousness of gratitude and inferiority, with a charitable desire for the conversion of a sinner on the other, cementing their friendship into an intimacy that every day assumed a more tender character. There is nothing makes a Avoman so keen as the chance of a proselyte. It stirs up in her the chief characteristics oi her organization — her natural bene- volence, her religious zeal, her unaccountable delight in upsetting all pre-existing arrangements, her little spice of contradiction, and her innate love of change. It is such a pleasing excitement, 136 HOLMBY HOUSE. and she persuades herself she is doing so much good all the time, BO she converts him, or perverts him, no matter which, and when bhe has turned him completely round to her own way of thinking, finds herself, after all, somewhat dissatisfied Avith the result. Many an argument did Faith hold with her admirer upon all the vexed questions of the day, standing, as she did now, with her mistress's garments thrown over her arm, and a lighted candle in her hand, wherewith she illumined passages, staircases, entrance halls, and such out-of-the-way places as she selected for the theatre of her discourse. Faith's strongest point had hitherto been the imlawfulness of using Aveapons of fleshly Avarfare, even in self- defence, but she had been beaten somewhat from this by the events of the last fortnight, and the gallant stand made by her protector Avith his oaken cudgel in her defence. Now, hoAvcA'cr, this attack of her admirer on the sex roused her to make use of her old argument, and she replied Avith considerable volubility and a heightened colour, ' LoAver creature or not. Master Hugh, and unaccountable, if you please, leastAvays we use the Aveapons of sense and reason in our behalf, not ranting like you men, Avith your Aveapons out at every Avry Avord, and a stout cudgel ready to enforce your arguments, as you call them : pretty arguments, forsooth ! And call yourselves reasoning creatures ; get along Avith you, do ! ' ' An oak cudgel Avas the best argument t'other night. Mistress Faith,' replied Dymocke ; ' d'ye think wild Goring and his troop of roaring fly-by-nights would have listened to any other ? What Avould you have had me to do less Avhen he lifted thy veil, the A'illain, and I tripped him up and laid him on his back on the paA^ement ere he could cry " hold ? " What Avouldst thou have done thyself, lass, answer me that, if I hadn't been too quick for him, general of horse though ho be ? ' ' I should not have offered him the other check, for sure,' replied Faith, demurely ; and Dymocke, taking the hint, put a period to the conversation by another of those practical rejoinders Av'hich the proverb informs us are only appropriate Avhen the ' gor.se is in bloom. ' THE queen's apartmfnts. 137 CHAPTER XVI. THE queen's apartments. In three days Humphrey was sufficiently recovered to go abroad and taste the fresh air out of doors, a cordial best appreciated by the sufferer who has been long confined to a sick room. In three more he was sent for by the Queen, whose curiosity had been much roused by the history of the quarrel and the duel, whose interest, moreover, had been excited by Mary's account of the wounded man's chivalrous and romantic character, and who had seen with her own eyes that he was well-favoured, which with Henrietta added considerably to the chances of a courtier's advancement. ' You must bring your young chevalier to my private receptions, Marie,' said the goodnatured Queen, with her arch smile. ' Not en the great nights Avhen his Majesty comes, and we are all ai grave as councillors, and retire when the clock strikes ten, but to one of my o\vn quiet evenings, when Ave Avill sup in the Round Room, and Lady Carlisle shall sing us a new " romon,^^ and Kirke tell us her wickedest stories, and we will console the poor youth that he has got well so soon, and lost the pleasure of being nursed by pretty Marie. Are you very fond of him, Mignonne ? ' 'I have never said so, IMadame,' answered Mary with quiet composure, but with a slight elevation of the head and neck that made her look far more hke a queen than the thoughtless little lady who questioned her. ' It is not my custom to make confes- sions, and if it were, I have here nothing to confess.' ' But there is another,' interposed Henrietta, eagerly. ' Ah, now I see it all ; Grace, that is her name. I know her, I have seen her ; dark-haired and gracieuse^ Avith a petite mine. You are jealoi;s, Marie ; jealous, and Avith good reason, the gracieuse is a dangerous rival, the Avounded man cannot run aAvay from her charms. She is always in the house, and my poor Marie has been obliged to be about our person here. She has lost him to the gracieuse, and she is jealous. My proud Marie jealous like any other Avonian, after all ; it is too good a joke ! ' And Henrietta, Avho Avas not jiarticular %ohy she laughed, so long as she did laugh, broke out into a peal of hilarity, and clapped her hands like a merry, mischicA'ous, light-hearted child. INIary laughed too, a Ioav, silvery, pleasant laugh. Had her mistress been a better judge of human nature she would have 138 HOLMCY HOUSE. detected in that laugh no Avoiiuded feelings, no jealous apprehen- sions, nothing but a proud consciousness of power, an unshaken security in her own dominion, perhaps a touch of pity, perhaps a shadow of regret that she was not more engrossed Avith her con- quest. Yet she had never liked Bosville so well as at that moment. They were pleasant little meetings, those private receptions of the Queen at Merton College. That they conduced in any degree to the stability of the Eoyal party few Avill be found to assert, but none can deny that they furthered to a considerable extent the consumption of well-cooked dishes and sparkling wines, the ex- penditure of much compliment and small-talk, not to mention a large amount of flirtation and inti-igue, political as well as private, and the occasional exchange of vows not sanctioned by the Church. The Puritans held these meetings in especial reprobation, and from Jezebel downwards, esteemed no reproachful name too abusive with which to vilify the royal lady who presided over them ; whilst many a wise head amongst the old Cavalier party, and the more experienced advisers of the King, opined that neither Ireton's pikes nor Cromwell's Ironsides had inflicted half such deadly wounds on their Sovereign's cause as the empty, scheming, underhand circle of selfish gallants and flaunting dames that sur- rounded his misguided wife. Yet Charles could never be brought to believe it. With the touching obstinacy of a weak, yet con- scientious and enthusiastic nature, he lavished on Henrietta a blind adoration that she seems thoroughly to have despised. He confided to her all his most secret schemes, even to the meditated treacheries that he seems to have persuaded himself were not only venial but meritorious ; he laid bare for her his whole heart, with all its shortcomings and all its weaknesses ; he reversed the order of the sexes in looking up to her for advice and assistance, and she despised him accordingly. It is a fatal mistake. Fend as women are of power, gladly as they see the man they love at their feet, thrilling as is the dehcious consciousness that their lightest word can tame and turn the rougher nature to their will, yet, when the moment of danger and difficulty really comes, if he cannot act for himself, and for her too ; if he cannot stand up and take the brunt of all, and shield her, so to speak, with his body ; if he quails beneath the storm and leans upon her, the weaker reed, for support, he is never a man to her again. Charles, in his council or his closet, writing in cipher to his generals, or armed in mail and plate at the head of his army, was never apart irom his Queen in spirit. Every action of his life, every one of his letters, every turn he made out of the judicioua THE queen's AI'ARTMEISTi5. 139 path, proves beyond a doubt the romantic affection he cherished for that empty flirting little Frenchwoman. She was never out of his thoughts. Let us see how she returned the love of the ill- fated king. Sitting on a low ottoman, sj^arkling with diamonds, a huge feathered fan in one hand, and setting down with the other an empty coffee-cup on a richly chased salver held by a black page- boy, Henrietta looked more brilliant than usual as she carried on a lively conversation Avith a plain, sallow gentleman, who appeared to occupy a high place in her Majesty's favoiu-. Lord Jermyn knew liis power well, and made unsparing use of it. With no A'ery pleasing exterior, none of the physical advantages which are generally supposed to make such way in a lady's good graces, and lo Avhich she was quite as fully aHve as the rest of her sex, he had obtained an ascendancy over the Queen Avhich can only be ac- counted for by his extraordinary knoAvledge of character, his facility for adapting himself to the tastes and adopting the opinions of those whose favour he thought it Avorth his Avhile to cultivate, and above all, his preeminent talent for, and miconquerable love of, that complicated system of intrigue Avhich ruled the Avhole Court, and originating in the Queen's OAvn private apartments, spread its meshes over the length and breadth of England, nullifying the deliberations of the Avdse, and paralysing the bloAvs of the strong. She Avas conversing Avith him in a Ioav A^oice, minghng the most important political topics, the secret counsels of her husband, and the private intelligence fi'om his generals, Avith the extraA'^agant language of gallantry then in vogue, with the lighest jests, the silliest gossip, and the emptiest laughter that ever floated through a draAving-room. His manner was that of respectful admiration while he listened, yet there was at times an expression of authority in his eye, and tone of sarcasm in his voice, that argued his con- sciousness of his OAvn poAver, and the value in Avhich he was held by the voluble Queen. As he leaned over her reclining figure, and replied in corresponding tones to her Avhispered confidences, the pair had far more the appearance of a lover and his mistress than a subject and a sovereign. Partly concealed by an old Japanese screen of grotesque carving and qiiaint ornament, but with ringing laugh and lively sally, declaring plainly their Avhereabout, Lord Bernard Stuart and Mrs. Kirke carried on an amicable Avarfare, according to their Avont, half jest half earnest, sparlding Avith quips and innuendoa and playful satire, and many a phrase implying far more than met the ear, Avith as much freedom from restraint as though they had 110 irOLMliY HOUSE. been a liundrcd leagues from the presence of royalty. The young nobleman was attending on hci* Majesty in the execution of hia duty ; and a very pleasant duty it seemed to be, judging by the expression of his handsome countenance, enhanced by the uniform of the Life Guai'ds, Avhich he commanded. A breast-plate, back- piece, and cuisses of steel, set off his fine figure and. chivalrous features to the best advantage, whilst the rich lace on his buff surcoat, the delicate embroidery of his collar, and gaudy folds of his crimson silk scarf, tempered with an air of courtly sjJendom- these warlike accessories of costume. Long fair curls, soft and perfimied like a woman's, floated over his shoulders ; as Mrs. Kirke looked up in his fiice from the Ioav couch on which she had placed herself, she could not withhold from that handsome smiling countenance a part of the admiration which she believed in her heart to be alone due to a certain pair of arch blue eyes and a certain mischievous dimpled smile that met her in the glass every day. Like many another carpet knight. Lord Bernard was no contemptible adversary to encounter when blows were falling thick and fast on a stricken field. On more than one occasion he had petitioned in his own name, and that of the brother coxcombs whom he commanded, for leave to abandon their peculiar duty of guarding the King's person, and to charge in the van Avith Prince Kupert and his desperadoes. The stanch stern L-onsides, the grim Presbyterian pikemen, found these curled IVIalignants very fiends in fighting ; and though they compared them energetically to Absalom and other good-looking reprobates, and cursed them with fervent piety, yet did they go down before them like barley in harvest-time notwithstanding. Now, however. Lord Bernard was on guard, and his own sense of responsibility not permitting him to retire to rest, whilst the Queen's partiality for handsome faces afforded him a certain Avelcome in her private apartments, he was combining duty with jileasure by flirting furiously Avith Mrs. Kirke — a lady for Avhom he openly avowed an ardent attachment, Avhich she as openly re- turned, and Avhich was not likely to do either of them the slightest harm . Some men might have been in danger, too, for the Syren Avas a fearfidly Avell-lavoured Syren, and sat upon her rock in the most bewitching of attitudes, and sang her .seducing song in the most enchanting of tones. Besides she had spent her Avhole life in the luring of mariners ; had stranded them by scores on different shoals and quicksands ; had frightened them, and teased them, THE queen's apartments. 141 and ducked them and drowned tliem, and never wet her own feet, so she boasted, in the process. If Lord Bernard had only admired blue eyes and golden locks, and smiles and dimples, and white skins and dazzling teeth, he had been in danger too ; but the Life-Guardsman's heart was of capacious propoi'tions — constructed, so to speak, in compartments, of which he could empty a di-awer at any time to make room for fresher contents ; or if need were, shut it up and desist from using it altogether. So the pair were but fencing with buttons on their foils, after all. Their engagement Avas at its height : she was shaking her curls like a shower of gold all over her siiucy face and white shapely neck and shoulders ; ho was picking up the fan she had purposely dropped, and pressing it enthusiastically to his lips, Avhen the Queen called him suddenly to her side ; and Lord Bernard, at once changing his manner for one of the most reserved and stately decorum, returned the fan with a profound bow, and stalked across the room to wait her Majesty's command with another solemn and reverential obeisance. She was determined to punish Jermyn for something he had said ; Avomanlike, she had no difficulty in finding an opportunity. Handsome Loi'd Bernard had been always rather a favourite, so she beckoned him across to her, and the Life-Guardsman obeyed accordingly. ' Lady Carlisle tells me you have a vacancy in the troop, my lord ! ' she said, pushing away the little black boy to make room for the young nobleman — an action not lost vipon Jermyn, and the obserA^ation of Avhich did not improve the expression of hia sallow face ; ' if so, I have already disposed of it.' ' If your Majesty condescends to review vis again, we shall have nothing but vacancies left,' was the rej^ly ; ' we cannot sustain the bright glances of yourself and your ladies ; they pierce our breast- plates, and wither us up like roses in the noon-day sun. With regard to a vacancy, thei-e was none in the force when I inspected it this evening at cvirfew. Lady Carlisle, however, Avas later than usual in the presence — she may have made one since then.' Lord Bernard Avas a courtier, but he Avas a commanding officer as Avell, and the instincts of the latter Avill ahvays j^redominate over every other consideration. lie did not approve of this in- terference Avith his prerogative, and he did not care if the Queen and Lady Carlisle both kncAV it. Henrietta laughed- ' What say you, Lucy ? ' she called out to 142 HOLMBY HOUSE. her favourite, who was working quietly with Mary Cave at the far end of the room, ' have you been tampering with Lord Ber- nard's command since nightlall ? If not, Ave want a vacancy, and you have our commands to go and kill \is a Life-Guardsman before supper time.' Lady Carlisle looked up with her calm innocent smile. ' Shall I begin Avith Lord Bernard himself, Madame ? ' she asked ; ' he seems half dead already ; unless you, Mrs. Kirke, will finish what you have nearly accomplished so well.' Mrs. Kirke did not like Lady Carlisle ; she was no match for her, and she knew it ; the peeress, in addition to an immovable countenance, possessing the immense advantage of hesitating at nothing. But she never refused an appeal to arms even when sure of being worsted, so she laughed merrily and answered — ' I only kill my foes, and that when I am angry. Now, Lord Bernard and I have hardly quarrelled once the Avhole night. I am not like Lady Carlisle : my ship is but a poor little privateer, with letters of marque against the enemy — not a pirate, that desti'oys both sides alike, and knows no distinction when she has hoisted the black flag ! ' ' You are quite right not to sail mider false colours,' answered Lady Carlisle, with such a clear, guileless look full into Mrs. Kirke's rouge — Avhich indeed Avaa put on a little too thick, and somewhat nearer the cheekbones than Natui'e plants her oAvn roses — that the discomfited little woman Avas fain to hide her face behind her fan, and retire into one of her explosions of laughter to cover her confusion. The Queen, however, Avas amused and delighted at this little passage of arms, and reverted to the subject. ' Our proud Marie,'' she observed, ' has a protege that Ave should Avish to have about our person. He is young, gallant, and good- looking,' Avith a glance at Jermyu, Avho either Avinced or pretended to do so — ' Marie and I Avould like him to be near us. What say you, my dear, shall I make Lord Bernard appoint him to the Life- Guards ? One Avord from either of us, and it is done ? ' 'Your Majesty is most kind,' ansAvered Mary, ^but I entreat you do nothing of the sort. He is pledged already to another service. His honour demands that he should be in the field the instant he is Avell. He Avishes to leave for the West immediately. Your Majesty cannot confer on him a greater kindness than by bidding him depart.' Mary spoke eagerly, though she retained her self-command. * Never ' (she thought in her oAvn heart), ' never shall he become selfish and intriguing, even if he be a courtier, like all of these.' THE queen's apartments. 143 Alas 1 slae would fain have made him a second Falklanl ; and if she had succeeded what Avould it have profited ? Was he not far too good for her even now ? The Queen laughed at her determination, and rallied her according to her wont. ' You dare not trust him with Lucy and I\Irs. Kii-ke,' she exclaimed ; ' you want to detach him from the gracieuse. You are jealous, Marie, jealous ! — and that is the best fun of all. Hush ! here he comes.' A stately yeoman here attended Bosville into the anteroom, through which he was conducted by a decorous gentleman usher in black, armed with a white wand, as far as the door of the presence chamber, where he was handed over to the care of Lord Jermyn, who in right of his office led him up to the Queen her- self Henrietta looked graciously upon the young soldier, and gave liim her hand to kiss. The ladies about a Court are no exception to the general rule of their sex. They prize a novelty as much as do the cheiTiest- cheeked maidens that take butter to the fair. When the novelty, too, is handsome, graceful, richly dressed, and imbued with a certain air of becoming softness and langour which recent ilhiess leaves upon the young, they are apt to give vent to their curiosity and interest with an ardour that borders upon admiration. This, by the way, is another quality which renders woman- worship so satisfactory and profitable a service. Mrs. Kirke's fan was down in an instant. * Who is he ? ' she whispered to Lord Bernard, who was again by her side ; ' very handsome for a bro"\vn man (Lord Bernard was fair and fresh- coloured) ; ' but what makes him so pale ? and why does he move as if he had stays on ? Bandaged, is he, and nearly killed by Goring? How wicked of Goring! — who is charming, too. By the Avay, why is he not here to-night ? ' So Mrs. Kirke ran on, keeping her admirer by her side to answer her questions, and ogling the new arrival the while with all the artillery of her mischief-loving eyes. Lady Carlisle, too, in her quiet modest way — that sofl, gentle demeanour, that she flattered herself no mortal man could resist, that left all her noisy, laughing, chattering rivals miles and miles l^ehind — vouchsafed to bestow no small share of attention upon Humphrey Bosville. He was the lion of the evening, and pro- voked his share of observation accordingly. It so happened that the duel took place at a period when the Court was unusually devoid of incident, and this m times when every week brought news of a battle foutrht or a town lost or won. Such a state cf 144 HOLMBY HOUSE. Btagnation as three days -without an event of some sort was tm- bearable ; and Bosville's rencontre witli Goring at so dead a time was a perfect windfall to the Aveary gossiping courtiers. Even the Queen vouchsafed to inquire particularly after his wounds : and when supper was announced, and the little party adjourned to discuss that merry meal in the Round Ivoom, her Majesty condescended to pour him out a glass of Hippocras with her own white hand, and desired him to quaff it, with a complimentary jeer at his blanched cheeks that brought the colour back to his face. He sat between Lady Carlisle and IMarv Cave. With the former he bore his share bravely enough in that fictitious species of dialogue which then as now constituted the language of fashion- able life, but which was essentially distasteful to the romantic temperament of the simple soldier. To the latter he scarcely spoke three words, but his voice was quite altered ; and Lady Carlisle, an experienced practitioner, found him out immediately. Therefore she could not of coiu-se let him alone. Too confident in her own charms, and too essentially heartless to be jealous of any Avoman on earth, she was yet rapacious of admiration. If nineteen men out of a score Avere paying her their homage, she could not rest till she had brought the tAventieth also to her feet. Humphrey Avas young, graceful, and good-looking ; but had he been old, misshapen, and ugly, he possessed an infallible charm in Lady Carlisle's eyes — he Avas evidently the proj^erty of another, and mvist be trespassed on accordingly. She had been too often at the game not to knoAV exactly hoAV to lay her snares. She Avaited till the Queen had done Avith him, and Mrs. Kirke had laughed him out of countenance, and then turned to him Avith her soft A^oice and her deep eyes, and talked to him of floAvers and music, and such topics as she thought most congenial to his temperament, sighiug gently bctAveen Avhiles, as giving him to understjind that she too Avas out of her element in that gay circle, and that he Avas the only man capable of imder- standing her, if he Avould but give himself the trouble to try. Had Bosville been ten years older, he Avould at once have fhmg himself into the spirit of the contest. He Avould haA'-e knoAvn that Avith a disposition like that of Mary Cave, to aAvaken her jealousy Avas the nearest road to her heart — that blind submission Avould never conquer the proud spirit Avhich bends alone to a prouder than itself. But he Avas too loyal, loo true-hearted to enter into such calculations. There Avas but one Avoman in the Avorld Ibr him ; BO he Avas stanch to Jiis iiiith, here in a Queen's drawing-room as THE QUEEN'S APARTMENTS. 145 he would have been in his lonely bivouac under the winter sky, or down amongst the horses' feet in a charge, with the life-blood ebbing fast, and everything but his great unconquerable love passing dreamily away. It was his nature to be tyrannized over, as it is the nature of many of the bravest, and gentlest, and noblest of God's creatures. The highest couraged horse winces the most readily trom the spurs. Do not drive them in too pitilessly, lest you rouse him once too often. He may fail at last, and fall with you some day to rise no more. The Queen clapped her hands as the repast concluded, and the black page handed round the grace-cup of spiced wine in a huge antique goblet. ' One of your sweetest songs, Lucy,' said her Majesty to Lady Carlisle, ' and then a fair good night to all.' As she spoke she signed to the little page to bring a guitar which rested in a corner for the Syren, and withdrawing some- Avhat apart with IMary Cave, lent a listening ear to the conversation of that lady, who by her animated gestures and eager face appeared to engross her mistress's attention with some subject of more than common importance. ' The Queen hates music,' said Lady Carlisle, bending languidly over the guitar, and looking softly into Bosville's eyes ; ' but I will sing to you. What do you like ? something about love and Avar, I am sure. Will you promise to observe the moral if I take the trouble to sing you the song ? ' Humphrey answered not much to the purpose. His eyes and thoughts were at the other end of the room, and he had not yet acquired the knack, so useful at Court, of attending to two people at once. Lady Carlisle swept her hand across the strings ; the gesture became her admirably, and with many a covert glance of sly allusion, sang in a low, sweet voice the not inappropriate ballad of The Proud L.\.dte. ' 'Tis a elaeerless morn for a gallant to sw'iin, And the moat shines cold and clear ; Sir knight I I was never yet baulked of my whira, And I long for the lilies that float on the brim : Go bring me those blossoms here ! ' Then I offered them low on my bended knee ; ' They are faded and wet,' said the proud Ladye L 146 HOLMBT HOUSE. A jay screamed out from the topmost pine That waved by the castle ■wall, And she vowed if I loved her I'd never aecliiifl To harry his nest for this mistress of mine. Though I broke my own neck in the fall. So I brought her the eggs, and she flouted me ; ' You would climb too high,' quoth the proud Ladya. The lists were dressed, and the lances iu rest, And our knightly band arrayed ; 'Twas stout Sir Hubert who bore him the best, With a Queen's white glove carried high on his crest, Till I shore it away with my blade. But I reeled as I laid it before her. — ' See ! It is soiled with your blood,' said the proud Ladye. ' You have sweet red lips and an ivory brow, But your heart is hard as a stone ; Though I loved you so long and so dearly, now I have broken my fetters, and cancelled my vow, — You may sigh at your lattice alone. There are women as fair, who are kinder to me ; Go look for another, my proud Ladye.' Her tears fell fast — she began to rue When she counted the cost of her pride ; Till she played, and lost it, she never knew The worth of a heart both kindly and true. And she beckoned me back to her side ; Wliile softly she whispered, ' I love but thee ! ' So I won her at last, my proud Ladye. She fixed her eyes on Bosville as she concluded ; but hi.-ij whole attention was taken uj) by Mary, who, from the comer in which she was established with the Queen, had been looking at liim with more than usual observation — he even flattered himself more than usual interest. As Henrietta rose to retire, and dis- tributed a general bow amongst her courtiers in token of dis- missal, Mary crossed the room to where he stood, and taking him liy the hand, spoke to him in a low agitated voice that thrilled every nerve in his body, weakened as he was by illness, and ex- cited by the scene, the music, the Koya. circle, and above all, the presence of her he loved. ' The Queen has promised me your majority,' she said, and her voice trembled a little : ' but you must join the army immediately. Perhaps we may not meet again, even to say, " Farewell ! " We sliall often think of you. Good-bye, Captain Bosville ' — she hesitated, as though about to s;iy something more, but only re- •the proselyte. 147 peated, ' Good-bye,' and vanished after the Queen and her retreat- ing ladies. So this was all ! The guerdon of how many thoughts, how much devotion, how deep a tenderness ! He was giving gold for silver, he felt it now. "Well, he did not grudge it ; but he de- cUned Lord Bernard's invitation to drink spiced canary with him in the guard room, and returned to his own quarters at Sir Giles Allonby's with a slow step and a saddened mien. Was he think- ing of his choice — his peerless, proud Ladye ? Come what might he would never change it now. CHAPTER XVn. 'the proselyte.' There are martyrs in every faith, ascetics of every denomination. 'Tis not by the sincerity of its worshippers that we must argue the infallibility of any creed. The macerated monk, flagellating his bleeding person in his cell, is not more in earnest than the Lidian faqueer, erect under a burning sun, his arm sti-etched out motionless, till the flesh withers from the bone, his hand clenched till the nails grow through the palm. The howHng Dervish bids his Moslem monastery echo to his cries at intervals as regular as matins, and complines, and vespers, and all the periods of me- lodious worship enjoined by the Catholic Church. The bonze of Tartary, the priest of Brahma, meditate for weeks on the In- efiable ; whilst the disciple of Juggernaut immolates himself unhesitatingly beneath the wheels of his monstrous idol. Even our own true Faith is not without its Hxnatics. The tortures of the Inquisition, the massacre of St. Bartholomew, the fires of Smithlield, were strange sacrifices Avith which to glorify the religion of Love. Laud presiding over the Council and signing the inhuman decree by which the culpi'it was sentenced to lose his ears, doubtless believed he was serving the cause of truth and morality, as fervently as did Leighton himself Avhen he pubhshed that abusive pamphlet against the Queen Avhich drew down upon him the hideous vengeance of the Star Chamber. His sentence, in addition to mutilation, had been imprisonment for life ; but a large sum of money furnished in high quarters had bought his escape from his gaolers, and he was even now in Oxford, luider the feigned name of Simeon — by which we must in future call 148 nOLliIBY HOUSE. him — snatching proselytes out of the lion's mouth ; or as he him- self termed it, ' labouring in the vineyard through the burden and heat of the day.' He had promised to meet Effingham again when last they parted at the door of the conventicle, and he had not forgotten his promise. Night after night had he visited the Cavalier officer at his quarters, argued with him, prayed with him, implored him, till, notwithstanding all his previous associations — notwithstand- ing the first real ardent passion he had ever cherished in his life — Effingham gave way, yielding to his new friend's persuasions and his own convictions ; and resolving to become not almost but altogether an adherent of the Puritan party, and a supporter of those zealots who had determined to go the farthest and fastest to the destruction of all government that was not based upon their own wild notions of a direct Theocracy. Truly, it needed a strong hand and a cool head to rule these stormy elements ; to reconcile the conflicting ideas of the specula- tive, the selfish, and the sincere ; to guide the turbulent enthusiast and urge the wavering time-sei-vers, and thus to rear at last a goodly edifice out of such various and chaotic materials ; but when the time comes it is generally foimd that the Man is also ready, and the Man was even now drilling his Ironsides at Gloucester whose destiny it was to ride rough- shod to power on the blind faith of those who deemed him as fanatical and short- sighted as themselves. Gaunt and thin, his fine frame square and angular from de- ficiency of covering, his features sharpened, and his dark eyes shining out more fiercely than usual from iinder their projecting brows, George Effingham sat alone in his dreary, comfortless room, wrapped in profound meditation, musing darkly on his recent doubts, his j)resent resolution, and the sacrifice he had determined to make of those hopes which were to him as the very light of his eyes — the very breath of his nostrils. Conflicting passions, the struggles of conscience, the ' worm that dieth not ' gnawing at his heart, had Avrought upon him in a few weeks the work of years. He looked a middle-aged man already, as the light fi-om the lamp above his head brought out his sunken features in high relief, and deepened the lines upon his forehead ;md about his mouth. His beard, too, was flecked with here and there a silvery streak ; his dre.ss was careless and disordered ; his whole bearing dejected, weaiy, and worn. With compressed lip and dilated nostril, as of one who sufllsrs inwardly, but is too prcnd to yield, though none bo there to witness, he seemed to THE rKOSELYTE. 149 watch and wait, tliough the clenched hand and the foot beating at regular intervals against the floor, denoted that his A'igil was one of impatience and anxiety, almost too irritating to be borne. At length a step was heard upon the stairs, and Avith a deep sigh of relief, Effingham opened the door and admitted his new friend Simeon, armed, as usual, to the teeth, and bearing on his coimtenance its wonted expression cf fervent zeal and rapt enthusiasm. * At last,' said George, as his guest seated himself, and disposed his arms in the most convenient position to be snatched up at a moment's notice ; * at last ! I have wearied for you as the sick man wearies for the visit of the Leech ; I have expected you since twilight. It is done — my brother, it is done at last. "What it has cost me, neither you nor any other man can imagine. But it is done. I am a disgraced and branded man, and " the place that hath known me shall know me no more." ' Simeon took him affectionately l)y the hand. ' No cross, no crown, my brother ! ' he replied. ' Would you buy the incal- culable treasure with that which costs you nothing ? See ! I have been in the hospitals, and beheld the wounded, maimed and writhing upon their stretchers. I have seen the strong man's limb shattered by gun-shot, and the surgeon's knife, merciful in that it spared not, lop off the agonised member, and save the patient from destruction. What though he shiver and faint when the operation is completed ? He is a living man instead of a senseless corpse ; so is it Avith the moral gangrene. If thou wouldst preserve thy soid, cut it out. Are we not told that it is better to sacrifice an eye or a limb than to risk the destruction of soul and body ? and shall we grudge to offer up the dearest treasures of our lives, the pride that was as the breath of our nostrils, the earthly honour that was as our daily bread : nay, the fonder, softer feelings that had become as the very life-blood of our hearts, when they are required of us by Him who gives and who takes away ? The gift we lay upon the altar, can it cost too much ? Suffer, brother — so shalt thou qualify for happi- ness. Weep and gnash Avith thy teeth here rather than here- after ? ' It was a high stern doctrine, and as such qualified to make a due impression on the nature to which it was addressed. Effing- ham reared his head proudly, and the resolute lip comj)ressed itself tighter than before as he detailed to his friend the doings of that day — doings which even now to his soldier nature could not but s-eem pregnant with physical degradation. 150 HOLMBY nOUSE. ' I took my commission back to Colepepper,' said he, ' and tlie old general laughed in my face. I have seen him laugh so, Simeon, when your musqueteers Avere making a target of his body. He accepted it, however, and then he spoke such Avords — such bitter Avords ! He dared not have used them to Captain Effingham of his oAvn brigade. General or no general, I had paraded him at point of fox, with a yard and a half of green turf betAveen us ; and to give him his due, I think he Avould fain haA^e provoked me to it even to-day. But I suppose every loyal CavaUer has a right to insult me now ! ' He spoke in bitter scorn, scarcely in accordance Avith the character he Avas fain to proi'ess. ' But you Avill meet him yet again in the field,' urged the war- like religionist ; ' you Avill meet him Avhere you can draAV the sword Avith a good conscience, and strike fair downright blows for the cause of Israel. You Avill meet him again, though he be hemmed in by his Amalekites ; and I, Simeon the persecuted, say mito you, " Smite and spare not ! " ' Apparently somewhat comforted by this reflection, Effingham, who had been indignantly pacing the narroAV room, sat doAvn again, and proceeded Avith his narratiA^e. ' When I left him I passed through the guard-room, and I thought the A^ery troopers — my OA\ai troopers, some of them iellows that I liave seen ere noAV flinch from folloAving Avhere I led — looked askance at me, as though I Avas traitor and coAvard both. CoAvard ! — psha ! the dogs knoAv better than that. But I bore it and passed on. Nay, the very citizens in the street — the knaves that have never handled Avcapon in their lives Aveightier than an ell-wand or a yard of satin velvet, seemed to take the wall of the disgraced officer, to shoulder the renegade Cavalier into the kennel — and I kept my riding-rod quiet in my hand and passed on. Then I met Sir Giles AUonby — good old Sir Giles, her father, Simeon — and he stopped and asked me if it Avas true ? Tie .spoke so kindly, so sorroAvfully. " I grieve for it, lad ! " said he, and he meant Avhat he said, I knoAV ; " I grieve for it, as if I had lost my falcon Diamond or the best horse in my stable. Zounds, man ! art not ashamed ? Some Avould be angiy Avith thee, and roundly too, but I grieve for it, lad — by St. George, I do ! We all liked thee so Avell — Grace and Mary, and all — and now Ave shall see thee no more. Fare thee Avell, lad ; I Avould give theo my blessing, Avcre't not clean against my conscience. Fare thee Avell ! " And now I shall see them no more. Simeon ! ' (and he seized his friend's arm fiercely as he looked him in the face) ' if 'THE TROSELYTE.' 151 my f-acrifice be not accepted it had been better for me that I had never been bom ! ' The enthusiast led him to the window, and pointed out into the cold clear night, brilliant with a million stars. ' Shall He who hath the treasures of the universe in the hollow of His hand not reward thee ? oh, man of little faith ! Thou hast put thy hand to the plough, see that thou look not back. To-morrow we will Khake the dust of Oxford from off our feet, and journey hence, even as Lot journeyed into the desert from the accursed city of the plain ! ' With these -words, Simeon shook the proselyte warmly by the hand, and taking up his arms, departed stealthily as he had come. Fanatic as he was, Leighton had been in earnest all his life. He liad never llinched yet from that narrow and rugged path which he considered it his duty to follow, and his nerve was as unshaken, his confidence in the protection of Heaven as unbounded, here in Oxford, in the very stronghold of his enemies, as it had been when exposed to tlie jeers of the mob in the pillory at Newgate, or on the scaffold at Tower-hill under the knife of the executioner. With Leighton, as with many others who come from the northern side of the Tweed, the characteristic caution of his countrymen was completely overborne and nullified by that rehgious enthu- siasm which takes such a powerful hold of the Scottish character ; and although in trilling matters, such as the preparations for hia own and Effingham's journey, about which he proceeded to busy liimself, it produced a degree of forethought highly advantageous to a proscribed fugitive, it never checked him for an instant in the prosecution of any enterprise, however desperate, on which he thought his religion bade him embark. With the sword in one hand and the Bible in the other, he, and thousands such as he, were indeed invincible. So he hurried off to the stables, and saw to the feeding of his OAvn and Effingham's steeds, and looked carefully to the arms of fleshly warfare Avhich were too likely to be needed ; nor did he neglect those creature comforts, Avithout which saint and sinner must equally faint by the way on a long jounacy, doing everything in a spirit of trustful confidence, that all the dangers and sufferings he had already passed through were powerless to shake. And Effingham watched tlie stars die out one by one in the sky. The deep-toned clocks of the different colleges strilcing the morning hours each after each, smote with a dull, unmeaning sound upon his ear. His preparations for the journey were completed, and his apartment, never luxuriously furnished, was indeed cheerless 152 HOLMBY HOUSE. aud uncomfortable. His eye wanderGd round its bare Avails and took no heed. A few withered flowers, fresh and fragrant a week ago — stay, could it be only a week ago ? — stood in a drinking-cup on the chimney-piece. He had begged them of Grace at her father's house ; and indeed she had given them somewhat un- willingly. They caught his attention now — they looked so faded and unhappy. He started like a man who wakes up from a dream. Then he saw it all before him, as though he was standing by, a careless spectator : the woimded youth on the sofa, the graceful womanly forms, gliding about the room, his own stately figure erect by the low Avindow, and the soft sAveet face, Avith star-like eyes — the face that stood between his soul and its salvation — the face Avithout Avhich, Satan Avhispered in his ear, eternal glory itself Avould be no heaven to him. He seized his hat and cloak, girded on his rapier, and rushed forth into the street. A chill, moist Avind, moaning through the leafless trees, and round the pinnacles of the cathedral to Avers, blew refreshingly in his face. The first streaks of daAvn Avere already lightening the sky. A ncAv day Avas breaking, Avith its stores of sorroAvs and anxieties and troubles, and its leavening of hope. He drcAV a long, full breath of the fresh air, he Avallced faster noAV, and the colour luounted to his cheek. He Avould stand under Grace's AvindoAvs once again, and though he Avould not see her face, yet his tj^irit Avould bid her fareAvell. He Avas a strong, practical man unce, ay, not many Aveeks ago ; and noAv he could find relief, like any pitiful, sighing sAvain, in pacing a muddy street, and staring at a closed shutter. Something of his former self rose Avithin him as he smiled in scorn, but the smile Avastoo near akin to tears not to soften him ; and soon he thought that, hoAvcver contemptible such abject devotion might be in other cases, Grace Avas Avorth it all ; so he Avould Avatch liere for a Avhile, and this should be his IcaA'e-taking. Again the proud spirit rose — the master-Avill that Avould not be denied. Speculating vaguely on the future, a long vista seemed to open before him of fame and patriotism ; and the triumph of religious freedom Avrought out by the efforts of himself and such as he. Her party Avould fail ; it must yield to the voice of the country — the strong poAver of right. George Effingham, one of the pillars of the State, one of the Councillors of England, might aspire to the broken-down Cavalier's daughter. Aspire, forsooth ! it Avould be condescension, then. Still, she would always be a queen to him. Prejudice and party-feehng Avould vanish before the light of Truth. Sir Giles would respect the stout, 'THE PKOSELYTE.' 153 successful soldier, though an enemy and a conqueror ; the sage, conscientious statesman, though a rebel to the Crown. She could not say him nay, after years of absence and constancy, after fame had been won to do her honour, and victory achieved for her sake. Then the bright day would dawn at last ; the dreant that is dreamed by all, — to be realized by how many ? — the magic presence, the golden sunshine, and the happy home. If he could but see her just once again ! One more draught to slake that thirst which, like the longing of the dram-di'inker, grows the fiercer for indulgence, which unsatisfied, leaves but a dreary and shattered existence for the slave of its moral intoxication. If he could only take away with him for his long, long absence one more look, he would ask for nothing besides, not so much as a kind word : it would be enough to see her, and so depart upon his cheerless way. He started, and turned pale. It was already nearly light. The shutter was unclosed, and a hand from within the chamber dreAV aside the blind. At the sjmie instant, the tramp of horses was heard clattering up the street. Eflingham, Avho had good reasons of his own for not wishing lo be recognised, shrunk aside to take shelter in the deep archway of a college-gate. He was invisible to the two horse- men as they rode by. Cloaked and booted, it was no easy task to recognise the form or features of either of those cavaliers. Quick and sharp as is the glance of jealousy, it is far behind the intuitive perception of love. A pair of dark eyes that had not slept all night, were peering out from behind those curtains into the chill, dull morning ; they recognised in the leading horseman the person of Humphrey Bosville, long ere George, under his archway, had de- cided in his own mind that the strong shapely sorrel, with his light true action, was none other than his comrade's well-known charger. A thrill of mingled feelings shot through him as they passed. Something within told him that the hand he had seen at the win- dow belonged to Grace. It was a galling and a bitter thought that the woman he loved should have thus kept her vigil to obtain a iarewell glimpse of another : but there was comfort in the re- flection that the other was even now, like himself, bound on a long and dangerous journey, from which perhaps he might never return ; and though he could not conceal from himself the attach- icent, which his own observation had told him was springing up in Grace's heart for his young and handsome brother ofiicer, he took comfort in reflecting on all those sage aphorisms so rife amongst the male sex, which turn upon the fickle disposition of 154 nOLMBY HOUSE. ^voman, and her insatiable love of change — aphorisms which, whether just or tmjust, are as gall and wormwood to the successful lover. Insensibly, a kindly feeling sprang up in him towards his open- hearted, unconscious rival. He would fain have shaken hands with him, and bidden him farewell ; but even as the impulse arose, the white hand was withdraAvn, the curtain fell once more, and the two horsemen turned the corner of the street, and disappeared. With one longing look at the casement, with a prayer upon his lips, and his strong heart aching mth a strange, dull pain, George Effingham took his silent, solitary farewell of the only thing he cared for upon earth, and went his Avay drearily into the desert. Weep on ! pretty Grace ; turning your pale cheek down towards youi- pillow, and shedding the hot tears thick and fast, that you need not be ashamed of now, for you are alone. Weep on, and so calm and soothe yoiu' wounded spirit, and hush it off to sleep, and teach it that for it, as for any other babe, ' care comes Avith waking as light comes with day.' Good Sir Giles, snoring healthily on the floor beneath you, little dreams that his bonnie Grace, Avhom he remembers a year or two ago a prattling child, whom he still persists in considering a mere girl, is broad awake Avithin a fcAv yards of him, waging the fierce battle that is to teach her the veritable lesson how to struggle and endure. A woman's passions and a woman's pride are making wild work in yonder quiet chamber Avith the prostrate sufferer. The light streams in broader and broader, deepening into day, and every minute of day- light takes him farther and farther on his journey. Weep on ! it will do you good. And be thankful that you caii weep. Pray that the time may never come for you Avhen the fire that wastes blood and braiia alike, leaves the eyes diy. Weep on ! nor believe that you are the only sufferer. He, too, has left his heart behind him, but ]iot Avith you, pretty Grace — not Avith you. Bosville, too, had looked back at the house Avhich contained all he loved, ere he turned the corner of the street. By this time, he kncAV his mistress so Avell that he did not expect so much as the Avave of a handkerchief to cheer him on his journey, and yet he Avas disa])pointed too that she made no sign. IMary Cave had ]3rayed for him long and earnestly ere she slept. When he passed beneath her AvindoAV she was dreaming of the roses that had laded aAvay last autumn ; and Falkland stood Avith her on the terrace at Boughton once more. It was sad to awake to cold reality ft-om such a dream. *SA0 7E QUI PEUT.' 155 CHAPTER XVni. 'SAUVE QUI PEUT.' The sorrel was fresh and lively after his long rest ; he snorted and shook his head, ringing his bridle playfully in the clear frosty air, as though he too enjoyed the music that he made. Dymocke, albeit he had much improved his opportunities diiring his interval of repose at Oxford, was yet a man of ambition in a quiet way, fond of adventure, as is often the case with these diy, immovable natures, and as he set by no means too low a value on his own worth, he was not unwilling to impose upon pretty Faith a little more anxiety, a little more uncertainty, ere he yielded his grim person altogether a captive to her charms. ' A young man,' quoth Dy- mocke ' must not think of setthng too early in life.' It was a clear bright morning, the white hoar frost of early winter was rapidly evaporating in the sunshine ; a few straggling leaves, withered up by the nipping air, still clung to tree and coppice ; the lowing of cattle, the bleating of sheep, all the soiuids of a rural and culti- vated district, came shrill and sharp through the rarefied atmo- sphere upon the ear ; the partridge whirred away from her sedgy, grass-grown covert by the wayside ; the horses' hoofs rang cheerily on the road. Humphrey's spirits rose as he trotted along ; health and strength seemed to enter at every pore, as he breathed the pure cold air : the futiu'e looked bright and promising before him noAV. The sorrel moved lightly and nimbly along as he sat well down in his demi-pique saddle, swaying easily to every motion ot his favourite : it seemed that with his sword in his hand and his good horse under him, there was no task he would shrink to un- dertake, no prize he did not feel man enough to win. Honest Dymocke, too, was in his highest spirits and liis best of humours. When in such a happy frame of mind his discoiu'se, like that of a provident soldier, Avas apt to turn upon the victualling department, and to this topic he reverted again and again, dropping behind at intervals to pursue his own reflections undisturbed, and anon riding up alongside of his master to pour the result of his cogitations in his ear. ' The Pied Bull at the next hamlet is an excellent hostelry both for man and beast,' quoth Dymocke, who prided himself on his knowledge of such matters, much as a ' courier ' of the present day would deem it incumbent on him to point out the most fashionable hotel. ' Their oats weigh over two score the bushel ; 156 IIOLMBY HOUSE. the hay is won ofT the u])I;ind.s just above the hamlet, clean auJ ciry and sweet as a nnt ; there's a turkey and chine, I'll Avarrant nie, against Christmas in the larder ; and as for the ale, why ever since the war times they've brewed it with a double strike of malt to the hogshead, on jjurpose, as they say, for the Cavaliers ! I know it, master, for the hostess is a kinswoman of my own, though for the matter of that " the Puritans like it stiffish as well," quoth Nance ; " and I'd rather keep a regiment of Cavaliers for a month," says she, " than a troop of Waller's knaves for a fortnight ! " Ah, she's honest, is Nance, and a buxom lass, too, or ivas^'' added Dymocke, with a grim retrospective leer, ' afore she was buckled to old Giles Leatherhead.' ' It will make our journey to-day over short,' replied Humphrey absently, for his heart was at that moment many a mile away from good Dame Leatherhead. ' No, Hugh, there is no time to be lost ; Ave must push on Avhile daylight lasts,' and he tightened his rein as he spoke, and urged the sorrel forAvard at a rapid trot. He AA-^as already in imagination at Goring's head-cjuarters, assuming the command to Avhich his lately attained rank Avould entitle him, and furthering to the best of his abilities the great Avork Avhich he connected in his oAvn mind Avith the ever-recurring motto, * Loyalty before all.' This pushing on, hoAvever, is a process of much difficulty and some disappointment Avhen tlie traveller is provided Avith no relays of horses, and it is necessary to keep his own beast fresh and strong for future services. Eoads get deep and muddy as the day AA'anes and the frost melts, miles seem to lengthen themselves out, and hill and dale unexpectedly diversify the surface of a country that the wayfarer has hitherto believed to be a dead Hat. The steed that never before Avould trot less than nine miles an hour Avithout pressing, sinks shamelessly to seven, and clinks his feet against each other in a manner most distressing to the nerves of his rider and jarring to his ear. Just as darkness falls a shoe is nearly certain to come off, and as surely the blacksmith in the next village turns out to be drunk or absent, perhaps both. Then at a place Avhere tAvo ways meet, if there be any doubt it is odds that the traveller takes the Avrong direction, and though he soon discovers his error and turns back grumbling if not SAvearing, the distance has been lost and the dayliglit too. Bosvillc's journey was no exception to the general rule. Notwithstanding his impatience, he was forced to listen to the counsels of his servant, Avhich, though delivered in that person's quaint and oracular style, were not Avithout sense and forethousht. •sAUVE QUI PEUT.' 157 'The country hereabouts is "honest,"' observed Dymocko, ' so we mny travel slowly and run no risk. If we stay all night at the Pied Bull, we can refresh ourselves and rest our horses well after their first day's journey. To-morrow we shall be ready for whatever turns up; and to-morrow, master, before we can reach Goring, we must pass imder the very noses of Waller's outposts. There are haAvks abroad all over Gloucestershire, and we may have to fight, ay, and perhaps ride, for our lives before the sun sets. I like a fresh horse better than a tired one either way, and my kinswoman is a decent dame and a comely, and yonder swings the Bull, and the sun will be down in an hour — think better of it, master, and stop while you can.' A dark threatening cloud, heavy with a whole lapful of winter's rain, seconded Dymocke's arguments so forcibly that his master yielded to his entreaties and put up for the night at the friendly hostelry, where, it is but justice to the Pied Bull to record, he Avas regaled on the best of fare, and won golden opinions from his buxom hostess, whose interest in her OAvn kinsman, his grim serving-man, Avas largely shared by the handsome Cavalier major. An hour after daybreak Bosville was in the saddle once more, his reckoning Avas paid, Dymocke AA'as bringing his OAvn horse from the stable, everything Avas prepared for departure, Avhen Dame Leatherhead, looking very handsome in her Sunday bodice and striped stuff petticoat, Avith her silver holiday ear-rings large and weighty in her eai"s, made her appearance Avith the stirrup- cup in her hand, Avhich she mounted on the horse-block to administer in due form. As Humphrey received it Avith a kindly smile of thanks and put it to his lips, the fair hostess Avhispered in his ear, ' Waller lies Avithin six miles of us, at " The Ashes." Bold Prince Rupert beat up their quarters, and took seventeen of their horses o' Monday last. The rebels are up and stirring like a Avasp's nest. Ride Avith your beard over your shoulder, and make for the river at Little Fordham-bridge. If you can cross there you're safe, for Goring's " hell-babes " have got a post on the opposite bank, and Avhenever you come this way again don't ye forget the Pied Bull and old Giles Leatherhead and his dame, and so good speed ye, and fare ye Avell.' The young Major thanked her heartily for her coimsel and spurred on, Avhile Dame Leatherhead jumped doAvn from the horse-block Avith rather a disappointed look on her comely features, and watched the retreat- ing horsemen out of sight. Far be it from us to attribute motives to any of that inexplicable sex for which Ave pi-ofess so deep a reverence, or to speculate on the Avhims concealed beneath a 158 HOLMBY HOUSE. bodice, the flights of fancy tliat originate under maiden's snood or matron's cap. We Avould only venture to hint that a time- honoured custom in the seventeenth century permitted without scandal the process of osculation to take place in all such cere- monies as welcomes, leave-taldngs, and the administering of stirrup- cups ; and to remark, not without reproval, that Humphrey's inadvertence neglected to take advantage of this lilierality, not- withstanding the convenient proximity of a willing hostess on a horse-block to a departing Cavalier in the saddle. That such a salute was expected we do not presume to infer, but merely remark as an additional instance of the uncertainty of the female temper, that Dame Leatherhead was shorter Avith old Giles and sharper with her maids than usual during the whole subsequent fore- noon. With their flints carefully examined, their swords loose in the scabbard, and their horses well in hand, the two Cavaliers rode on in silent vigilance, keenly scanning every copse and hedgerow, and peering anxiously over every rising ground as they approached it. The way was somewhat difficult to find, crossed as it was by several narrow lanes in the low country, and occasionally merging into half a dozen separate tracks on the down. The river, how- ever, lay visible at a considerable distance below them, and they were descending the last hill into the vale which it fertilized, and congratulating themselves on having so satisfactorily performed the greater part of their march, when a ball singing over their heads, followed by the report of a musquetoon, and the sudden appearance of half a dozen bright head-pieces flashing above a rising ground on their flank, startled them from their security, and made them disagreeably aware that their safety was more likely to depend on the speed of their horses and the erring aim of their adversaries than on their own good swords, out-numbered as they saAV themselves three or four to one. Like that of his master, Dymocke's first impulse, to do him justice, was always for fighting, right or wrong. He counted the enemy in a twinkling : ' Six — seven — eight, and a corporal. Shall we turn and show our teeth, Major, or set spurs and show them our heels ? ' said honest Hngh, liis long lean countenance immoved as usual, and a gleam of gi-im humour in his eye. ' No use, Hugh,' answered his master, ' Four to one ! Sound a gallop and make for the bridge. Keep close to me ; we can always fight if we have to turn.' As he spoke he struck spurs into the sorrel, and sped away down the hill at a good hand gallop, closely followed by his servant, and pin-sued with a loud cheor by the party of 'SAUVE QUI PEUT. 159 Parliamentary cavalry, of whom ever and anon some godly Avarrior Avould halt and dismount, taking a long shot with his miisquetoon at the diniinisliing forms of the fugitives, over the heads of his own comrades, to whom indeed the angry missile was far more dangerous than to the Malignants it was intended to reach. ' Hold up ! ' exclaimed Humphrey, as the sorrel cleared a high wall, with a drop into a sandy lane which promised to shelter them somewhat from the fire of their piu-suers. ' Hold up ! ' echoed Hugh as the bay landed gallantly behind his stable com- panion. ' Trapped at last ! ' he added. 'Look yonder, master,' and Bosville, following the dii'ection of his glance, beheld to his dismay at the bottom of the hill a whole troop of Waller's well- armed cavahy, commanded by an officer whose gaudy-coloured gaiTnents, flashing breast-plate, and orange scarf, were plainly discernible, and Avho was even then employed in sending out ' flankers ' on each side of the lane to stop the fugitives should they attempt to emerge over its deep embankment. This, how- ever, was impracticable. To get in was a fair leap for a good horse ; to get out would have required the agility of a deer. There was but one chance left, and Bosville's practised eye saw it in an instant. * We must go slap through those fellows, Dymocke,' he said, setting his teeth a little, and settling himself in the saddle as a horseman does when about to encounter a large fence. ' Take fast hold of your horse's head, and when we get within tAventy yards, send him at it as hard as you can lay legs to the ground ! ' So speaking he drew his sword, waved it round his head, and shouting * God and the King ! ' galloped pell-meU into the leading files of the enemy, knocking over the first trooper he encountered with the very impetus of his charge, delivering so vicious a thrust at a second as sent him down amongst the horses' legs with six inches of steel through his midriff, and dealing a swinging sabre- cut at a third as he passed him that would have laid his back open from shoulder to loin had he been provided with no other defences than his stout buff coat and his faith in the righteousness of his cause. It was well for ' Ebenezer the Gideonite ' * that he carried his short horseman's musquetoon slung across his back. The iron barrel of the weapon tui-ned the edge of the sabre as it fell, and though Humphrey's bloAv was delivered with such good will as to Ivnock the Parliamentarian on to his horse's neck, he sustained no * Like Indian ' braves,' these sanctified warriors boasted each liis ' nom ie guer»s,' lf!0 KOLMItY HOUSE. further damage from the encounter, and passed on unscathed, to turn rein once more, and assume the offensive. Humphrey shot tlirough the first division of his enemy as a sportsman of modern times crashes throvigh a Northamptonsliire bull-finch, but lie had to do Avith an adversary skilled in all the wiles of war ; and Harrison, for it was no less a person that com- manded the opposing party, had calculated on this characteristic rush of the impetuous Cavalier, and taken his measures accord- ingly. So with his horse blown, the momenttim of his charge expended, and his servant separated from him in the melee, Hum- phrey found himself surrounded by a fresh dozen of troopers, with swords drawn, pistols cocked, and calm defiant looks of conscious strength that seemed to say escape was hopeless and resistance impossible. In a twinkling his sword was beaten down, his bridle seized, his arms pinioned, a stalwart trooper on either hand threatening instant death if he attempted farther violence, which was indeed physically impossible ; and thus, breathless, exhausted, and a prisoner, he was brought before the officer in command of the party who had taken him. Harrison was more of the soldier than the saint. Of a goodly presence, commanding figure, and honest expression of counte- nance, liis appearance formed a pleasing contrast to that of many who drew the sword by his side. He was not above the vanities of dress, and with a short velvet montero floating over his new buff coat, an orange scarf richly fringed about his waist, and a bur- nished helmet adorned with a drooping feather upon his head, his exterior presented an air of military coxcombry by no means common amongst the ranks of the Presbyterians. He affected, too, the hon camarade in his manners, and greeted his prisoner with an off-hand soldierlike cordiality that seemed to make no account of the prejudices of party and the chances of war. ' 'J'ake a piiU at my flask, young sir,' he said, heartily and good- humouredly, offering at the same time a horn measure of excellent brandy, which he drew from one of his holsters, and which balanced an ominous-looking horse-pistol in the other. ' Get your breath, give up your despatches, tell me your name and rank, and we'll make you as comfortable as we can imder the circumstances.' Humphrey answered courteously, and looking anxiously round fur Dymocke, bogged to know whether his servant had been slain in the affray. Harrison laughed outright. * The knave has got clear off, Major Bosville,' said he ; ' not one of my bunglers here could either catch him for speed, or drnp him at a long shot. 'SAUVE QUI TEUT.' IGl ' 'Tis a pity, too,' lie added reflectively ; ' I should like to have had that bay horse. Fairfax would have given nie any price I chose to asic for him. And now, sir, your despatches, if you please. Unbind the gentleman, you knaves ! My fellows are rough valets. Major ; but you will excuse the fortune of war.' Humphrey was obliged to submit with a good grace. He had one consolation in his disasters, Dymocke possessed a duplicate set of these despatches; and Dymocke, he had every reason to hope, was safe, so he bore his misfortunes with an outward air ol cheerful indifference, and won golden opinions of Harrison ac- cordingly. ' You have been lately wounded, you say,' observed the latter as he rode alongside of his prisoner, Avhom he had ordered his men to unbind, and for Avhose security the practised soldier relied on his own quick eye and ready hand, which never strayed far from the sorrel's head. ' Faith, you look pale and weak, and sit your horse as though you had had nearly enough. That was a gallant dash too of yours. If I hadn't expected it you might have got clear off. Ay, you're all alike, you officers of Prince Rupert. Undeniable at a dash, but you don't rally well after your first charge. There are but three cavalry officers in England : Crom- well's one, old Leslie's another, and I'll leave you to guess the third. My service to you, Major Bosville. Take another pull at the flask.' Humphrey declined the proffered courtesy, and his captor drank to him with an air of much satisfaction. He wiped his beard and moustaches on a delicate laced handkerchief after his draught, and resumed his discourse. ' You have a short ride before you to-day ; but if you are too weak to proceed I Avill order half an hour's halt for rest and refreshment. No? "Well, you'll have plenty of time to rest youi'self now for a while. Bah ! Avhat is it after all ? — a month or two, and then an exchange of prisoners, and you are free. You and I may meet again in the field before long ; and I promise you I wont forget the charge down the lane, and the swinging blow you lent "Ebenezer" yonder, though 'twas but the flat of the sword. See, the knave rides with his back up even now. It stings him, I'll be sworn. INIeantime, another hour will bring us in sight of Gloucester; and to Gloucester, Major Bosville, it is my duty to conduct you as a prisoner. When we near the town, I shall be unwillingly compelled to leave you bound once more.' In effect, a couple of hours' ride diversified by such light soldier's talk as the above, chequered in Humphrey's nund v.'ith u 102 HOLMUY HOUSE. many a sad and bitter reflection, brought iheiii to the gates of the godly town. Here the commander called a halt for the pur- pose of again pinioning his prisoner (an operation Avhich he good- naturedly insisted should be done as lightly as possible), and getting his men into order for their entrance. The sanctified inhabitants of Gloucester being rigid disciplinarians in all military matters, and moreover somewhat sore at present from the recent visits of Prince Rupert ahnost to the walls of the town, any laxity of discipline or appearance of indulgence towards a prisoner would have called down upon Hamson the strictures of the townsmen and the reproofs of his superior officers. As they rode up the principal street, the population seemed to have turned out for the express purpose of sharing in the triumph of the Parliamentarian's capture. Angry brows were bent, and bitter texts of Scripture levelled at the captive ' Malignant.' Grim, sour-faced elders, clad in sombre colours, pointed the finger, and gibed at him as he passed, launching into far-fetched anathemas drawn fi-om the Old Testament, and comparing the young Cavalier major, in a somewhat ludicrous and disrespectful manner, to every reprobate mentioned in holy writ. Little child- ren came out and spat at him with precocious virulence ; and rancorous old dames .sharpened their shrill tongues, and kept them, so to speak, edged and pointed for domestic use upon thia fortuitous Avhetstone. Only some of the younger and fairer daughters of Eve demonstrated feelings of natiu-al interest in tho, captive. His pale, handsome face, graceful figure, and long dark curls, were meet objects for compassion ; and ' Malignant ' as he was, glances were cast upon him as he rode by from the blackest and broAvnest and bluest eyes in Gloucester, of mingled pity and admiration, not always undiinmed by tears. A low stone archway, flanked by a long dismal bmlding that had all the appearance of a guard-room, and watched by two grim and warlike sentinels, received the prisoner. Satisfied that he will be well cared for, and not suffered to escape, we must here take leave of Major Bosville, and cast a retrospective glance at the fortunes of his iiiithful servant, the redoubtable Dymocke. Mounted on a high-couraged and excellent horse, that expe- rienced warrior had no difficulty in keeping pace with his master in the headlong charge which well nigh carried them both right through the Parliamentary party. Riding on the major's bridle-hand, he took his share of the buffets that were flying about somewhat at a disadvantage, yet with his usual coolness and philosophy. His head-piece wa3 'SAUVE QUI PEUT.' 163 fortunately thick and strong, the skull it defended by no means of soft materials, and the arm which should cover both, practised in every feint and trick of consummate swordsmanship. The cudgel-play of Old England was no bad training for the iise of the sabre, and many a broken sconce had Dymocke inflicted on his rustic adversaries in more peaceful times. It was only when ho saw his master surrounded and helpless, that the idea of escape and the responsibility of his own duplicate despatches flashed across his mind. Quick as thought, he espied a gap in the wall which flanked the deep narrow lane wherein the skirmish had taken place, and forcing his hox-se vigorously up the bank, he gained once more the open fields, and put his head straight for the bridge, now but a few hundred yards distant. With shout and cheer and the thimder of horses' hoofs ringing behind him, diversified by an occasional random shot whistling over his head, he sped down to the river, gaining at every stride upon his pursuers — for not a trooper in Waller's division could hold his own for speed with the gallant bay — and so reached the bridge with a fair start, and at least half a dozen of the enemy pretty close upon his heels. ' Confusion ! they've broke it down,' muttered the fugitive to himself, as he neared the dismantled masonry, and saw that a huge gap had been left in the middle arch which spanned the stream ; ' this is Goring's work, I'll be bound I Ay, he never throws a chance away. Well, it's " over shoes over boots now," and sink or swim, I won't give in for the fear of a ducking ! ' Thus muttering, and taldng his despatches from his breast to place them in his head-piece, he slid cautiously down the bank, and leaning his weight forward upon his horse's neck, forced the good animal into the stream. That which he had thought would prove his destruction turned out to be his salvation. The Puritans, who had made sure of their prey when he reached the broken bridge, shrunk from folloAving him into the deep and treacherous river. With an angry shout they pulled up and fired a parting volley at him from the brink. With characteristic coolness Dymocke halted on the opposite shore to dismount and wring the Avet from his dripping garments ; then, waving his disappointed enemies an ironical farewell, he trotted leisurely on in the direction of General Goring's head- quarters. Here as elsewhere in the ranks of the Cavaliers, laxity of dis- cipline, and, to use a military term which carries with it its own signification, a general slackness, seemed to pervade all alike, from 164 HOLMBY HOUSE. the chief to the trumpeter, neutralizing the courage and abilltiea which were so conspicuous in the Royal army, and giving to their stricter and better-trained foes an incalculable advantage. When Dymocke drew rein at the door of the General's quarters, the very sentry on duty seemed flustered with his noonday draught, and lounged about his post Avith an air of roystering joviality scarcely in accordance with Hugh's ideas of military etiquette, although he lent a ready ear to the new arrival's request to see Lord Goring forthwith, and even proffered an invitation to stroll away Avith him to the guard-room for something to drink, and so avoid the enormity of delivering his message dry-lij^ped. In the general's ante-room a couple of young Cavaliers Avere fulfilling their duties as ' aides-de-camp ' by shaking a dice-box A\dth alarming enei-gy, applying themselves meauAvhile to a tankard that stood betAveen them with impartial zeal. Goring himself, sitting in a luxurious apartment — ibr he had as usual taken the best house in the village, the property of a Puritan laAvyer, for his oAvn residence — Avas imbraced and slippered, surrounded by piles of papers, Avriting nevertheless Avith aU his natural facility, yet qiiaffing CA'er and anon deep draughts from a large silver measure at his elboAV, seeking, as it seemed in vain, to quench the feverish thirst left by his last night's debauch. ' Ha ! my late antagonist's serA-ant,' exclaimed the General, Avho never forgot a face, as he never remembei-ed a debt ; ' I may say my late antagonist himself. 'Slil'e, man, I have never paid thee the cudgelling I OAve thee; some of my knaA^es, doubtless, Avill take it off my hands ! But Avhat dost here ? — dripping, too, like a Avater-dog. Keep thy distance, man, and deliver up thy papers. Sure 'tis not another cartel i'rom the young feather-brain ! ' Dymocke kncAV his place right Avell, and feared neither man nor devil, or he had hesitated ere he presented himself to a general of division in his own quarters, Avhom he had struck so shrcAvdly Avith an oaken cudgel some fcAV Avceks before. He delivered liis papers, tidcing them out of his head-piece, where they had remained perfectly dry (a piece of caution not unremarked by Goring, Avhom nothing escaped), in severe and soldierlike silence, and stood gaiuit and dripping at ' attention ' till the latter had concluded their perusal. Twice he read them over Avith careful avidity, impressing them as it Avere indelibly on his memory, and then looked up and laughed outriglit at the solemn figure before him. ' And Avhaf brought thee ]iere, knave ? ' he inquired; ' is thy niaster killed, or Avounded, or taken prisoaer ? Hath he learned 'Till-: NEWS THAT FLIES APACE. 1G5 to parry that thrust in tierce yet, or hath he been practising liis SAVordsnianship anew amongst the Koundheads ? What brought thee here, and how came these letters in thy hands ? ' Still erect and rigid, Dymocke detailed to him in a few words the events of the skirmish, and his own escape from "Waller's pursuing cavalry. Goring listened with an expression of interest and approval on his face. * Thou hast done well ! ' he said, at the conclusion of Dymocke's narrative ; ' I will forgive thee the debt I owe thee in consideration of thy ready service. 'Tis not every trooper would have thought of keeping his papers dry, with Waller's saints singing " glory " behind him. Let me see thee here again to-morroAV at noon. Thy master shall be looked to. 'Tis a cockerel of the game, and will fly a fair pitch when his pin-feathers are grown. Zounds ! I had better spared many a better man, than that mettled lad with his smooth face. Ho ! without there — D'Arcy, Langdale ! — bid them take this knave to the guard-room, ration his horse, and give himself a drench of brandy, to dry him Avithin and without. Order up Master Quillet's housekeeper with another measure of burnt sack, and let no one else disturb me till supper time. So Goring went back to his correspondence ; and Dymocke, nothing loth, found himself before a huge measure of brandy and a roaring lire in the guard-room, surrounded by a circle of ad- miring comrades, listening open-mouthed to his exploits, and to whom he fully indemnified himself for the brevity of his narrative as reported to their busy General. CHAPTER XIX. * THE NEWS THAT FLIES APACE.' Deeper and deeper still, Mary Cave found herself engulphed in the whirlpool oi' political intrigue. Almost the only courtier f the Queen's party who united activity of brain to uncompromising resolution, Avho was capable of strong effort and sormd reflection, unwarped and unfettered by the promptings of self-interest, she had insensibly become the principal link that connected the policy of Merton College with the wiser counsels of the King's honest advisers. It was no womanly office she thus found herself com- pelled to undertake. False as is the position of a mediator 1G6 ]roL5n?Y house. between parties neither of whom are essentially quite sincere, it becomes doubly so, when that mediator is one of the softer sex. She must guide the helm with so skilful a hand, she must trim the boat with so careful an eye ; she must seize her opportunities so deftly, or make them so skilfully ; and through it all she must exercise so jealous a vigilance over her own weaknesses, and even her own reputation, distinguishing so nicely between public duty and private feeling — doing such constant violence to her own affections and her oAvn prejudices — that it is not too much to say nothing hut a Avoman is capable of reconciling all these conflicting necessities into one harmonious whole. Yet it is not womanly to encourage admirers up to a certain point, in order to obtain their secrets, and then make iTse of them for a pohtical purpose ; it is not womanly to promote likings and dislikings between indi- viduals of opposite sexes, or otherwise, for the furtherance of a State intrigue ; it is not womanly to be in correspondence Avith half a dozen ambitious and unpi'incipled men, some of them pro- fligates whose very names in connection with a lady were sufficient to blast her fair lame for ever ; and it is not Avomanly to have but one object in life, to which duty, inclination, happiness must be sacrificed, and that object a political one. Mary sat reading her letters on the very sofa that Bosville had occupied during his convalescence in Sir Giles Allonby's house at Oxford. It was a day off" duty Avith the Queen, and she had come to spend it with her kind old kinsman and his daughter. The tvfo ladies were alone ; and contrary to their ^vont, an unbroken silence, varied only by the pattering of a dismal Avinter rain against the AvindoAv, Avas preserved between them. Grace sat musing over her Avork, and seemed buried in thought. She looked paler and thinner than usual, and her eye had lost the merry sparkle that used so to gladden Sir Giles. It Avas less like her mother's noAv, so thought the old knight ; and his heart bounded after all those years to reflect how that mother had never knoAvn sorrow, and had told him on her death-bed that ' she was sure she Avas only taken aAvay because her lot in this Avorld had l)cen too happy.' Ay ! you may Avell laugh on, Sir Giles, and troll out your loyal old songs, and drink and ride and strilce for the King I Roystering, careless, Avar-Avorn veteran as you seem to bo, there are depths in that stout old heart of yours that fcAV have soixnded ; and Avhen 'little Gracy' is settled and provided for, you care not hoAV soon you go to join that gentle, loving lady, Avhom you still see many and many a night in your dreams, Avalking iu her Avhite dress in the golden summer evenings under ' THE NEWS THAT FLIES APACE.' l67 the lime-trees at lioiue : whom your simple faitli persuades you you shall look on again with the same angel-face, to part from never more. And where is the Sadducee that shall say you nay ? Meantime, Sir Giles is drilling a newly- raised levy of cavalry on BuUingdon Common, notwithstanding the wet ; and Grace sits pensive over her work ; and Mary reads her letters with a flushed cheek and a contracted brow, and a restless unquiet look in her deep blue eye that has got there very often of late, and that de- notes anything but repose of mind. Suddenly she starts and turns pale as she pei'uses one elaborately-written missive, scented and silk-bound, and inscribed ' These for Mistress Mary Cave. Eide, ride, ride ! ' according to the polite manner of the time. A look of consummate scorn passes over her features as she reads it through once more, but her face is still white, and she drops it from her hand upon the carpet, immarked by her pre-occupied companion. Here it is : — * These for Mistress Mary Gave. ' Gentle Mistress Mary — * Deign to accept the heartfelt good wishes, none the less sincere for that the heart hath been pierced and mangled by the glances of your bright eyes, of the humblest of your slaves ; and scorn not at the same time to vouchsafe your favoiu* and interest to one who, languishing to be parted from so much beauty as he hath left at Oxford, and specially at Merton College, where Mistress Mary reigns second to none, still endeavoureth to fulfil his duty religiously to the King, and to her Majesty, as Mistress Mary esteems to be the devoir of a knight who hath placed himself under her very feet. The good cause in Avhich it is my pride that we are fellow-labourers, languisheth somewhat here in Gloucester- shire, more from want of iinity in counsel than from any lack of men and munitions of war in the field. "Would his blessed Majesty but vouchsafe to confer upon your knight and slave a separate and independent command, it is not too much to say that it would be in my power to make short work and a speedy account of Waller, who lieth with a goodly force of cavalry within ten miles of me. It was but last Monday that a small body of my " Iambs," taking their orders directly from myself, beat up his quarters within a mile of Gloucester, and drove off seventeen of his horses, besides considerable spoil, of which I thought the less as compared with that Avhich might be done but for the impracti- cable nature of the Commander-in-Chief. Gentle Mistress Mary ! it would not be unbecoming in you to implore our gracious and 168 IIOLMBV HOUSE. paysionately-adored Queen to hint to his blessed Majesty that I do indeed but desire to receive my orders under his own hand, as I should in this wise have more authority to guide the council of the army thereby to obedience ; and as my requests are mostly denied out-of-hand by Prince Rupert, at whose disposal never- theless I remain for life and death, as his IMajesty's nephew and loving kinsman, I would humbly beg a positive order from his Majesty for my undertakings, to dispose the officers more cheer- fully to conduct them, and to assure his I\Iajesty that the least intimation of his pleasure is sufficient to make me run through all manner of difficulties and hazard to perform my duty, and to prove myself entirely and faithfully devoted to his sacred service. As Mistress Mary hath the key to the heart of her beauteous and beloved Sovereign, v/hose will must ever be law with all who come within the sphere of her enchantments, methinks that a word spoken in season under the roof of IMerton College Avill more than fulfil all my most ardent desires, and leave me nothing to grieve for save that which must ever cause me to kuiguish in hopeless sorrow — the adoration which it is alike my pride and grief to entertain for the fairest and proudest dame that adorns our English Court. ' From intelligence I receive at sure and friendly hands, I learn that Wilmot is wavering ; and some speech is even abroad of a treasonable correspondence with Essex, and an intercepted letter irom Fairfax, which is to be laid betbre the Council. ' Such treachery would merit a summary dismissal from his office, and clemency in this case could scarcely be extended to an officer of so high a rank. * Digby, too, is far from being imsuspected ; and should these two commands become vacant, it Avould be a fertile opportunity for the uniting of his Majesty's whole body of horse under one independent head, acting conjointly with Prince Rupert, who ■would still remain Commander-in-Chief, but deriving his autho- rity direct from the hand of his blessed Majesty himself * Should events work in this direction, I can safely confide in your discretion to select a proper time at Avhich to whisper in the Queen's ear the humble name of, sweet INIistress INIary, * Your most passionately-devoted 'and faithful knight and humble slave, ' GliOKGK GoiaNG. ' Post scriptum. — Tlie despatches alluded to in 106 Cipher liavo arrived. They are duplicate, and were delivered to me yesterday ' TirE ^■EWs THAT flies ArACE.' 169 by an honest serving-man, ■who narrowly escaped with his life and his letters from a party of Waller's horse. ' His master, it seems, was sorely Avounded, and led off prisoner into Gloucester. This is of less account as his despatches are in cipher, and the duplicates are safe. He is one Master Bosville, with whom I am personally Avell acquainted, and whom Mistress Mary may deign to remember when lying wounded by the weapon of her own true knight and slave. ' He is a good ofBcer, and a mettlesome lad too. I would fain have him back with us, but have nothing to exchange against him but a couple of scriveners and a canting Puritan divine ; the latter I shall probably hang. Once more — Fare thee well ! ' It was the jwst scriptum, written in her correspondent's own natural ofF-hand style, and very different from the stilted and ex- aggerated form of compliment and inuendo contained in the body of the letter, which drove the blood from Mary's cheek, and caused her bosom to heave so restlessly beneath her bodice, her slender foot to beat so impatiently upon the floor. Woimded and a prisoner ! — and this so soon after his illness, when weak and scarcely recovered from the consequences of his duel. And it was her doing — hers ! — whom he loved so madly, the foolish boy ! — who counted his life as nothing at the mere wave of her hand. Why was she so eager to get him this majority, for Avhich she had BO implored her vmwiUing and bantering mistress ? Why had she sent him off in such a hurry, before he Avas half recovered, and hardly strong enough to sit iipon his horse ? And then of course he had fought — so like him ! Avhen his servant Avisely ran away. And the stern Pm-itans had struck his weakened frame to the earth ! All ! he was a strong bold horseman when he Avas well, and a match for the best of them ; but now his arm Avas poAver- less, though his courage Avas as high as ever. And perhaps they had slashed his handsome face — hoAV handsome it Avas ! and Avhat kind eyes those Avere that used to meet hers so timidly and gently — and he Avas a prisoner — Avounded, perhaps dying. And she .shut her eyes and fancied she saw him, pale and faint, in his cell — alone, too, all alone. No, that should never be ! She j^icked the letter up, and once more she read it through from beginning to end, scarcely noting the fulsome compliments, the strain of selfish intrigue, and only dAvelling on the ill-omened and distress- ing j)ost scriptum Avhich Goring had Avritten so lightly ; but in Avhich, to do him justice, the reckless General shoAved more feeling than he generally did ; and even as she read she Avould fain have 170 HOLMBY HOUSE. given utterance to her grief, and wrung lier hands and wept aloiid. Self-command, however, we need not now obsei-ve, was a salient point in Mary Cave's character. Whatever she may have known, or whatever she may have suspected, she looked at Grace's pale face and dejected attitude and held her tongue. There was a sisterly feeling between these two far stronger than was war- ranted by their actual relationship. Ever since their late inti- macy, which had grown closer and closer in the quiet shades of Boughton, Mary had seemed to take care of her gentle friend, Grace in return looking up to her protectress with confidiug attachment ; and yet there was a secret between them — a secret at which neither ventured to hint, yet with which each could not but suspect the other was acquainted. But they never came to an explanation, notwithstanding. We believe women never do. We believe that, however imreservedly they may confide in a brother, a lover, or a husband, they never lay their hearts com- pletely bare before one of their own sex. Perhaps they are right ; perhaps they know each other too well. There Avas yet another difficulty in ]Mary's path, for to succour Bosville at all hazards we need hardly say she had resolved, even on her first perusal of the letter. In whom was she to confide ? to whom could she entrust the secret of his failure and capture Avithout letting the bad news reach Grace's ears ? Sir Giles ? — the stout old Cavalier never could keep a secret in his life ; his child Avould Avorm it all out of him the first time she sat on his knee for tAvo minutes after supper. The Queen? — that vola- tile lady Avould not only put the very Avorst construction upon her motives, but Avould detail the Avhole of the confidence re- posed in her to each of her household separately, under strict promises of secrecy, no doubt, Avhich Avould be tantamount to a general jiroclamation by the herald king-at-arms. Of the courtiers she could scarcely bethink herself of one Avho Avas not so busily engaged in some personal and selfish intrigue as to have no room for any other consideration AvhatsocA^er, who Avould not scruple to sacrifice honour and mercy and good feeling merely to score up, so to speak, another point in the game. What to do for Bosville and how to do it — this Avas the problem Mary had to solve ; and resolute as she generally Avas, fuU of ex- pedients and fertile in resources, she Avas now obliged to confess hersell" iairly at her Avit's end. It so fell out, hoAvever, that the blind deity Avhom men call chance and gods Destiny, Avho never helps us till Ave are at the *THE NEWS THAT FLIES APACE.' 171 veiy utmost extremity, befriended Mary thvongli the medium ol tlie very last person about the Court in Avhom she would have dreamt of confiding — an individual who perhaps was more selfish, intriguing, and reckless than all the rest of the royal circle put together, but ivho, being a woman, and consequently horn an angel, had still retained a scarce perceptible leavening of the celestial nature from which she had fallen. As Mary sat that evening, pensive and graver than her wont, in the Queen's withdramng-room. Lady Carlisle crossed the apartment ■with her calm brow and decorous step, and placed her- self by her side. She liked Mary Cave, as far as it was in her nature to like one of her own sex. Perhaps she recognised in Mary somewhat of her OAvn positive character — the uncompro- mising force of will that, for good or for evil, marches directly on towards its purpose steadfast and ixnwavering, not to be moved fi-om the path by any consideration of danger or of pity, and like the volume of a mighty river forcing its way through every obstacle with silent energy. She sat quietly down by Mary's side and heaved a deep sigh, with a sympathising and plaintive expression of coixntenance, like a consummate actress as she was. ' It is bad news I have to break to you, Mistress Cave,' she whispered, bending her graceful head over the other's Avork, ' if indeed you know it not already. That handsome Captain Bos- ville who Avas stabbed by Goring has fallen into the hands of the rebels ! Jermyn only heard it this evening ; I think he is telling the Queen now. They have got him in prison at Gloucester, aa far as we can learn. He must be saved by some means. Heaven forfend he should be sacrificed by those villains ! ' Mary's heart was full : she could only falter out the word ' exchanged.' ' ExchangedV repeatedLady Carlisle, now thoroughly in earnest. Do you not know — have you not heard ? Since they hanged our Irish officers in the north the Council has ordered reprisals. Fairfax, Ireton, Cromwell — all of them are furious. They will hang every Royalist prisoner they take now! It was but last Aveek Prince Eupert strung thirteen Roundheads upon one oak tree; they must have heard of it by this time. Poor Bosville is in the utmost danger. We talked of it but now in the presencc-chaiuber. Even Jermyn is in despair. Alas ! 'tis a sad business.' Mary turned sick and Avhite ! Was it even so ? The room seemed to spin round with her, and Lady Carlisle's voice was as the rush of many Avaters in her ear. 172 HOLMBY HOUSE. ' It is hopeless to talk of exchanges,' proceeded her ladyship in a tone of real pity for the too obvious distress of her listener. She had once had a soft place in that corrupted heart, ay, long before she was dazzled with Strafford's iame, or lured by Pym's political influence ; before she had sold her lovely womanhood for a coronet, and bartered the peace s'ne could never know again for empty splendour. ' Interest must be made with the Parlia- ment. Some of the rising rebels must be cajoled. Essex is in disgrace with them now, and Essex is of no use, or I had brought the prisoner safe off with my own hand in a week from this day. But they are all alike, my dear, Courtiers and Puritans, generals and statesmen, Cavaliers and Soundheads, all are men, weak and vain, all are alike fools, and all are alike to be won. An effort must be made, and we can save him.' * What Avould you do ? ' gasped poor Mary, her self-command now completely deserting her. * Do ! ' repeated her ladyship, with her soft lisping voice and dimpled smile ; ' I Avould beg him a free pardon if I dragged Cromwell rormd the room on my bare knees for it, or die with him,' she added beneath her breath, ' if I really cared one snap of the fingers about the man ! ' She was no coward, my Lady Carlisle, and there was more of the tigress about her thau the mere beauty of her skin. CHAPTER XX. THE MAN OF DESTINY. In an open space, long since built over by an increasing i)opiilation, but forming at the time of which we write alternately a play and drill-ground lor the godly inhabitants of Gloucester, is drawn up a regiment of heavy cavalry, singularly well appointed as to all the details of harness and horseflesh which constitute the efficiency of dragoons. The troopers exhibit strength, symmetry, and action, bone to carry the stalwart weight of their riders, and blood to execute the forced marches and rapid evolutions which are the very essence of cavalry tactics. The men themselves are worthy of a close inspection. Picked from the flower of England's yeomanry, from the middle class of farmers and petty squires of the northern and eastern counties, their fine stature and broad shoulders denote that physical strength which independent agri- TirR MAN OF DESTINY. 173 cultural labour so surely produces, Avliilst iheir stern brows, grave laces, and manly upright bearing, distinguish them from such of their fellows as have not yet experienced the inspiration derived from military confidence mingled with religious zeal. These are the men who are firmly persuaded that on their weapons depends the government of earth and heaven ; that they are predestined to Avin dominion here and glory hereafter Avith their own strong arms ; that their paradise, like that of the Moslem enthusiast, is to be won sword-in-hand, and that a violent death is the surest passport to eternal life. Fanatics are they, and of the wildest class, but they are also stern disciplinarians. Enthusiasm is a glorious quality, no doubt, but it has seldom turned the tide of a general action when imsupported by discipline : it is the com- bination of the two that is invincible. Thus did the swarms of the Great Arab Impostor OA'eiTun the fairest portion of Europe, and the chivalrous knights of the Cross charge home with their lances in rest at Jerusalem. Thus in later times were the high-couraged Koyalists broken and scattered at Marston Moor, and the tide of victory at Naseby turned to a sliameful and irrevocable defeat. Deep as is the influence of religious zeal, doubly as is that man armed who fights under the banner of righteousness, it is over life and not death that it exercises its peculiar sway. A high sense of honour, a reckless spirit of ambition, the romantic enthu- siasm of glory, will face shot and steel as fearlessly as the devout confidence of faith ; and the drinking, swaggering, unprincipled troopers of Goring, Lunsford, and such as they, for a long time proved a match, and more than a match, for the godly soldiers of the Parliament. It was the ' Threes Eight ! ' — the steady confi- dence inspired by drill, that turned the scale at last : that confidence and that drill the grim Puritan dragoons are now acquiring on the parade-grotmd at Gloucester. They sit their horses as only Englishmen can, the only seat, moreover, that is at all adapted to the propulsive powers of an English horse, a very different animal from that of any other country. They are armed with long straight cut-and-thrust swords, two-edged and basket-hilted, glittering and sharp as razors, with large horse-pistols of the best locks and workmanship, with the short handy musquetoon, deadly for outpost duty, and hanging readily at the hip. Breastplates and backpieces of steel enhance the confidence inspired by faith, and the men ride to and fro in their armour Avith the A'ery look and air of invincibles. Yes, these are the Ironsides — the famous Ironsides that tiu'ned the destinies of England. 174 HOLMBY HOUSE. They are drawn up in open column, waiting for the word of command. Theu* squadrons are dressed with mathematical pre- cision ; their distances correct to an inch — woe be to the culprit, officer or soldier, Avho fails in the most trifling of such minutice. The eye of the commander would discover him in a twinklmg — that commander sitting there so square and erect on his good horse. Like all gi'eat men, he is not above detail : he would detect a button awry as readily as the rout of a division. He scans his favourite regiment with a quick, bold, satisfied glance — the glance of a practised workman at his tools. There is no peculiarity in his dress or appointments to distinguish him from a simple trooper ; his horse is perhaps the most powei*ful and the speediest on the ground, and he sits in the saddle with a rare combination of strength and ease ; in every other respect his exterior is simple and unremarkable. He even seems to affect a plainness of attire not far removed from sloth, and in regard to cleanliness of Hnen and brightness of accoutrements presents a striking contrast to Fairfax, Harrison, and other of the Pai'lia- mentary officers, who vie with their Cavalier antagonists in the splendour of their apparel. It is the man's voice which arrests immediate attention. Harsh and deep, there is yet something so confident and impressive ir. its tones, that the listener feels at once its natiu'al element is command, ay, command, too, when the emergency is imminent, the storm at its greatest violence. It forces hina to scan the features and person of the speaker, and he beholds a square, powerful man of middle stature, loosely and awkwardly made, but in the liberal mould that promises great physical strength, with coarse hands and feet, such as the patrician pretends are never seen in his own race, and with a depth of chest which readily accounts for the powerful tones of that authoritative voice. This vigorous frame is sui-mounted by a countenance that, without the slightest pretensions to comeliness, cannot but make a deep impression on the beholder. The scoffing Cavaliers may jeer at * red-nosed Noll,' but Cromwell's face is the face of a great man. The sangtdne temperament, which expresses, if we may so speak, the material strength of the mind, is denoted by the deep ruddy colouring of the skin. The strong broad jaw belongs to the decided and immovable will of the man of action, capable of carrying out the thoughts that are matured beneath those pro- minent temples, from ■which the thin hair is already worn away ; and although the nose is somewhat large and full, the mouth somewhat coarse and wide, these distinguishing characteri'Htica THE MAN OF DESTINY. 175 seem less the brand of indulgence and sensuality than the adjuncts of a ripe, manly nature aknost always the accompaniment of great physical power. Though the eyes are small and deep-set, they glow like coals of fire ; Avhen excited or angered (for the General's temper is none of the sweetest, and he has more difficulty in commanding it than in enforcing the obedience of an army), they seem to flash out sparks from beneath his heavy head-piece. A winning smile is on his countenance now. The Ironsides have executed an ' advance in line ' that brings them up even and regular as a wall of steel to his very horse's head, and the reflection steals pleasantly across his mind, that the tools are fit for service at last, that the tedious process of discipline Avill ere long bring him to the glorious moment of gratified ambition. A new officer haa this moment been appointed to the regiment , He seems thoroughly acquainted with his duty, and manoeuvres his squadron with the ready skill of a veteran. Already George Effingham has caught the Puritan look and tone. Already he has made no little progress in Cromwell's good graces. Thafe keen observing eye has discovered a tool calculated to do good service in extremity. A desperate man, banki-upt in earthly hopes, and whose piety is far exceeded by his fanaticism, is no contemptible recruit for the ranks of the Ironsides, when he brings with him a frame of adamant, a heart of steel, and a thorough knowledge of the duties of a cavalry officer. Pale, gaunt, and worn, looking ten years older than when he last saw these same troopers at Newbury, Effingham still works with the eager, restless zeal of a man who would fain stifle remembrance and drive reflection from his mind. The line breaks into column once more — the squadrons wheel rapidly, the rays of a winter's sun flashing from their steel head- pieces and breastplates — the horses snort and ring their bridles cheerily — the word of command flies sonorous from line to line — the General gallops to and fro, pleased with the progress of the mimic war — the drill is going on most satisfactorily, when a small escort of cavalry is seen to approach the parade-ground, and re- mains at a cautious distance fi'om the manoeuvres. An ofllcer flaunting in scarf and feathers singles himself out, gaUops up to the General, and salutes with his drawn sword as he makes his report. Cromwell thunders out a ' Halt ! ' that brings every charger upon his haunches. The men are permitted to dis- mount; the officers gather round their chief, and Harrison — for it is Harrison — who has just arrived, sits immovable upon his hcTse, with his sword-point lowered, waiting to learn the 176 HOLMBY HOUSE. General's pleasure as to the disposal of his prisoner, whose sex makes it a somewhat puzzling matter to decide. ' They have made reprisals upon us,'' said Cromwell, in his deep, harsh tones, patting and making much of the good horse under him. ' Man or woman, let the prisoner be placed in secure ward. Verily, we are more merciful than just in that we spare the weaker sex. The Malignants deal more harshly with the saints. Their blood be on their own head ! ' he added solemnly. Harrison turned his horse's head to depart. Little cared he, that reckless soldier, how they disposed of the lady he had taken prisoner ; he was thinking how he should billet the men and horses he had brought in, not of the fate of his unhappy captive. ' Stay,' said Cromwell, ' dismiss the soldiers, and bring the Malignant woman hither. I will myself question her ere .she be placed in ward.' As he spoke he dismounted, and entered a large stone building converted into a barrack, attended by a few of his officers, amongst whom was Effingham, and followed by the pri-soner under escort of two stalwart troopers, who ' advanced ' their musqiietoons with a ludicrous disinclination thus to guard an enemy of the softer sex. The prisoner was a iair, handsome woman in the prime of her beauty. She was dressed in a lady's riding-gear of her time, which, notwithstanding its masculine character, was powerless to diminish her feminine attractions; and looked thoroughly ex- hausted and Avorn out by physical fatigue. Yet was there a haughty turn about her head, an impatient gesture of her gloved liand, that denoted the spirit Avithin was dauntless and indomitable as ever. The instant that the .short cloak she wore was removed, and the beaver hitherto slouched over her face taken off by Cromwell's orders, an operation which allowed a profusion of rich brown hair to fall nearly to her waist, Effinghaiu started as if he had been shot. He would have spoken, but an imperious glance from the prisoner seemed to freeze the words upon his lips. He held his peace, and stood there, deadly pale, and trembhng like a child. Harrison's report was soon made, and amounted to this : — That in his duty of patrolling the open country lying nearest to Goring's outposts, and visiting his videttes, he had espied a lady, mounted on a good horse, who had ridden boldly into the centre of his escort, and demanded to be conducted at once to Gloucester, and brought before Cromwell — that she avowed she belonged to the lioyalist party, but had abandoned their cau.se, and was the bearer of important papers, which were to be laid before CromAveU THE MAN OF DESTINY. 177 alone — that on his proposition that slie should be searched for these papers, and a corporal's attempting to do so, she had snapped a pistol in the sub-officer's face, which providentially flashing in the pan, only singed his beard and eyebrows — that out of respect to Cronawell he had brought her on without further violence, ' though that she has not some evil intentions I never can believe,' concluded Harrison, ' for she is the very first woman I ever came across yet that could ride nearly a dozen miles and never open her lips to speak a word, good or bad.' The General scanned his prisoner carefully. His usual tact and discernment were here at fault. ' "Woman ! ' he said, rudely and sternly, ' what want you here — Avhence came you — and why venture you thus amongst the people of the Lord ? ' ' I would see Cromwell alone,' replied Maiy Cave (for Mary Cave it was, as Effingham too surely knew), and she no longer looked exhausted and fatigued, but the blood came back to her cheek, the haughty turn to her head and neck, the indomitable curve to her lip, as she felt the crisis had come, and her spirit mounted with the occasion. ' I have ridden far and fast to see yox:, General,' she added, with a certain tone of ii-ony in her voice ; ' you will not refuse to grant an interview when a lady asks it.' Effingham felt a strange thrill to hear her voice. How it took him back to that which seemed now some other stage of existence, albeit so short a time ago. How associated she was in his mind with that other one. To him, though ' she was not the Rose, she had been near the Rose,' and he would willingly at that moment have given a year of his life to ask tidings of her whose name waa still nestling at his heart. Cromwell hesitated. Bold schemer, undaunted soldier as he was, he entertained a morbid dread of assassination, a dread that in later days, when in the full flush of his prosperity, and seated on the throne, caused him to wear proof-armour on all public occasions under his clothes. He had read, too, of women who would not scruple to sacrifice their lives in a political cause : his ovm. enterprising spirit told him how readily it was possible to encounter certain death for a great object ; and this lady did not look as if she was likely to shrink from any desperate deed because of its danger. And yet to fear a woman ! Pshaw ! it seemed absurd. He would grant her the interview she desired ; though, according to Harrison's report, she had been so ready with her pistol, she was now oli- viously disarmed ; besides, he was well guarded, surrounded by his troopers and his friends. He looked upon his officers, for the 178 HOLMBY HOUSE. most part trustworthy, feai-iess veterans, wliose courage and fidelity he had ah-eady tried on many a well-fought field. Effing- ham alone was a new acquaintance, and his quick eye caught the expression of George's countenance watching the prisoner's face. * Do you knoAV anything of the lady ? ' said he, in short, im- perious tones, and turning sharply round upon his new officer, with a fi-own of displeasure gathering on his thick brows. ' You may speak the truth, Captain Effingham ! ' said Mary, with a look of quiet contemjjt. Thus adjured, Effingham hesitated no longer to acknowledge his acquaintance with the beautiful ' Malignant.' ' Mistress Mary Cave is too Avell known at the Court not to have won the respect and confidence of all Avho have ever breathed that polluted atmosphere. I will answer for her faith and honesty with my head. If she fail you^ my life shall be for the life of her.' Mary thanked him with a gi'ateful glance. ' I have a boon to ask of you. General ; a bargain to drive if yciu will. Grant me the interview I require, and bid me go in peace.' Cromwell signed to her to follow him into a smaller apartment, in which a fire was burning, and which contained a chair, a writing-table, and a few articles of rough comfort. ' Captain Effingham,' he said, in his short, stern tones, ' place two sentries at the door. Remain youi'self within call. Madam, I am now at your service. Speak on ; we are alone.' He doffed his heavy head-piece, placed it on the writing-table, and was about to throw himself into the chair. The General was no polished coiu'tier — above all, no woman-worshipper — but there was that in Mary Cave's bearing which checked his first impulse, and bade him stand up respectfully before his prisoner. Never in all her life before had Mary such need to call up the presence of mind and resolution that formed so important a part of her character. Here she st(jod, a gentle, soft-nurtured lady, l)roxight up in all the exaggerated refinement of a court, before her bitterest enemy, the most uncompromising as he was the most power- ful champion of her adversaries' party. Completely in his power, dependent on his genej-osity for immunity, from exposure, insult — nay, death itself (for, alas ! the exasperated feelings aroused by the cruelties practised on both sides were not always restrained by consideration for age or sex) ; and, save for her accidental meeting with Effingham, whom she had little expected to see here, utterly friendless in the rebel camp. This was the interview that she had bee;i looking forward to for days, that she had so prayed and THE MAN OF DESTINY. 179 hoped might be accomplished ; that, seeming tolerably easy when seen from a distance, had been the goal to which all her schemes and wishes tended ; and now that she was actually £.ice to face with Cromwell, she shook fr-om head to foot as she had never trembled in her Hfe before — but once. His manner, though reserved, became less stern than at first. Show us the man of any profession, soldier, statesman, Puritan, or archbishop, from eighteen to eighty (a fair margin), on whom beauty, real womanly beauty, makes no impression, and we will show you the eighth wonder of the Avorld. ' Reassure yourself, madam,' said Ci'omwell, with a tone of kindness in his harsh voice ; ' I do not to-day hear the name of Mistress Mary Cave for the first time. I can safely affirm I would long ago have given much to obtain possession of the lady who thus voluntarily surrenders herself as a prisoner. I have yet to learn what brings her into the very stronghold of the enemy. Had she been a man, there had been a price on her head,' These words were alarming ; but the smile that stole over the General's face was softer and kindlier than liis wont. Mary began her answer with a degree of composure far too obvious not to be afiected. ' I am come,' said she, * to negotiate the exchange of a prisoner. A messenger might have lingered, letters been intercepted, even a white flag outraged, so. General — so — I came myself. Major Bosville is languishing, perhaps dying, in Gloucester gaol. May he not be ransomed, can he not be exchanged? Any sum of money, any number of prisoners — ay, ten for one.' Cromwell's brow grew dark. You ask too much, madam,' he replied, shaking his head sternly. ' That officer lies even now under sentence of death. He has refused to give any information concerning the strength or movements of the enemy. A con- firmed Malignant, he shall die the death ! Hath not Rupert slain in cold blood thirteen godly wan'iors taken with arms in their hands ? The blood of the Lord's anointed cries aloud for ven- geance ! God do so to me, and more also, if I smite not root and branch, tUl the Amalekite is destroyed out of the land ! ' He was chafing now — angry and restless, like some noble beast of prey. Mary fitted the last arrow to her bowstring. ' You know me. General,' she said, with something of her old proud air. ' You know my power, my influence, my information. Listen ; I will buy Bosville's life of you. You shall make your own terms.' 180 irOLMliY KOUSK. Cromwell smiled. Perhaps he had his private opinion of these lady politicians, tliese fair intriguers Avith the Queen at their head, who hampered the counsels of their friends far more effectually than they anticipated the designs of their enemies. He was perfectly courteous, but somewhat ironical in his reply. ' You cannot bribe me, madam,' said he, ' valuable as I doubt not is the price you offer. Your information may or may not be far superior to my own — your talent for intrigue doubtless many degrees finer. I am a simple soldier ; my duty lies plain belbre me. I will have blood for blood, and I have the warrant of Scripture for my determination.' Poor Mary ! she broke down altogether now. The bold warrior-spirit, the craft of statesmanship, the artificial pride of rank and station, all gave way before the overwhelming fiood of womanly pity and womanly fear. She seized the General's rough coarse hand in both lier own, so white and soft by the contrast. Ere he could prevent her she pressed it to her lips : she bent over it, and clung to it, and folded it to her bosom. Down on her knees she implored him, she besought him, she praijed to him, with tears and sobs, to spare the prisoner's life. Her pride was fallen altogether now, her humiliation complete. It was no longer the stately Mary Cave, the Queen's minion, the adviser of states- men, the ornament of a Court, but a broken-hearted woman pleading for life and death. ' Save him. General,' she gasped, gazing wildly up in his face, ' save him, for mercy's sake, as you hope to be saved yourself at the last day ! What is it to you, a life the more or less ? What is your authority worth if you can hesitate to exercise it for so trifling a matter ? Is Cromwell so completely under the orders of Fairfax, so subservient to Ireton, such a sworn slave of the Parliament, that in his OAvn camp he cannot extend mercy to whom he will ? ' Iler woman's instinct told her through all her distress and all her confusion where lay the weak point in the fortress she as- sailed ; bid her attack him through his pride, his self-respect, his jealousy of command ; and dimmed as were her eyes with tears, she saAV she had shot her aiTow home. Cromwell flushed a deeper red up to his very temples, the scowl upon his bent brows, and the conspicuous wart over his right eye, lending an ominous and sinister expression to his whole countenance. He spoke not, but the hand she grasped was rudely witlidrawn, and th(! high-born, gently-nurtured lady was fain to cJasp him rc.iind the knees, cased in those wide, solid THE BIAN OF DESTINY. 181 riding-hoots, witli their lieavy spurs, tliat rang and jingled as he stamped twice in his passion against the floor. ' Save him, General ! ' she repeated. ' Is there no considera- tion you will listen to, no appeal you will respect ? Hear me. I sent him on his errand. I got him his appointment. I bade him go forth wounded and helpless into the very jaws of yotup troopers, and now if he is to die his blood is on my head. Oh ! think of yoTU' own mother ! think of your own child ! think of any one that you have ever loved ! Would you see her kneeling as I do now? Avould you see her, lonely, helj)less amongst strangers and enemies, pleading for dear life, and bear to know that she was refused ? Think better of it, for the love of mercy, General, think better of it. Grant me this one boon, and I Avill pray for you, enemy though you be, night and morning, on my bended knees, till my dying day.' His A-oice sounded hoarser than usujj, and he loosened the plain linen band around his throat as he muttered the word — ' Reprisals ! ' She sprang fiercely from her knees, flung his hand, Avhich she had again taken, away from her in scorn, and flashed at him such a glance as made even Cromwell quail. ' Reprisals ! ' she repeated. ' It is the Puritan's English for murder. You have refused me — refused Mary Cave on her bended knees, Avho never knelt before to mortal man — beware of my revenge ! Oh ! I meant it not — forgive me ! ' she added, her whole manner changing once more to one of the softest, the most imploring entreaty, as the impotence and impoUcy of her anger struck chill and sickening to her heart : ' forgive my hasty words, my pride that has never yet learned to stoop. You talk of reprisals. General ; one life is worth another — take mine instead of his. Lead me out now — this minute — I am ready, and let him go free.' She had touched the keystone now ; the sympathy for courage and devotion which every brave man feels. He turned his face away that she might not see his emotion, for there were tears in Cromwell's eyes. She took the gesture for one of refusal, and it was in sad plaintive tones she proffered her last despairing request. ' At least grant me the one last boon I have ridden so flir to ask. It is not a little thing tnat win tempt a woman to the step I have taken. You cannot refuse me this — if I cannot save him, at least I can die with him. Shot, steel, or hempen noc'se, whatever penalty is exacted from Humphrey Bosyille shall be shared by 182 HOLMBT HOUSE. her Avho sent him here to die. I ask you no more favours — 1 claim it as a right — he shall not suffer for my sake alone. Do not think I shall ilinch at the last moment. See ! there is not a trooper ol' all your Ironsides that fears death less than Mary Cave ! ' She had conquered triumphantly at last. The brave spirit could not but recognise its kindi-ed natm-e. He had made up his mind now, and not a hair of Humphrey's head should have fallen had the whole Parliament of England voted his death to a man. Kindly, courteously, nay, almost tenderly, the rough Puritan soldier raised the kneeling lady to her feet. With a considera- tion she little expected, he placed her carefully in the chair, sent an orderly trooper for food and wine, and even bestirred himself to ascertain where she might be most safely lodged till her de- parture with a safe conduct iinder his own hand. ' I grant your request, Mistress Mary Cave, and I attach to my concession but two conditions. The one, it is needless to state, is that Major Bosville passes his jKirole never again to bear arms against the Parliament, and the other ' — his glance softened more and more as he proceeded — ' that you will not quite forget plain Oliver Cromwell, and that hereafter when you hear his harshness censured, and his rustic breeding derided, you will not be ashamed to say you have knoA\m him to show the courtesy of a gentleman and the feeling of a man ! ' With an obeisance, the respectful deference of which could not have been outdone by any plumed hat that ever swept the floors of Whitehall, Cromwell took his leave of his fair suppliant, con- signing her to the cai'e of George Effingham for the present, and promising her a written pardon in his own hand, and safe con- duct through his outposts for herself and Humphrey Bosville, by the morrow's dawn. Her spirit had kept her up hitherto, but fatigue, watching, and anxiety were too much for her woman's strength ; and as Crom- well's massive figure disappeared through the doorway, she laid her head upon the coarse deal table and gave way to a passion of tt-ar-s. •under sentence.' 183 CHAPTER XXI. 'under sentence.' Condemned to die ! Eeader, have yoii ever realised to yourself aU that is contained in those three words ? Have you ever con- sidered how large a share of your daily life is comprised in what we may term the immediate future, in the cares, so to speak, of ' what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, and wherewithal you shall be clothed ? ' Have you ever reflected how your own petty schemes and intrigues — equally petty when viewed at the supreme moment, whether you be a politician on the cross benches, or a grocer behind your counter — fiU up the measure of your hopes and wishes ? how your own financial budget, whether it affect the reventies of a kingdom or the contents of a till, is the .subject that occtipies most of your thoughts ? and hoAV, Avhen sa- gacity and foresight upon such matters become superfluous, there is a blank in your whole being, which you feel, perhaps for the first time, ought to have been filled up long ago with something that would not have deserted you at your need, that would have accompanied you into that terra incognita which the most material of us feel at some moments is really our home ? And yet at the crisis, it seems as though the spirit-wings were weaker than ever, and instead of soaring aloft into the blue heaven, can but flap heavily and wearily along the surface of earth, as though the mind were incapable of jirojecting itself into the Future, and must needs dwell mistily and inconclusively on the Past ; and there is no proverb truer than that ' the ruling passion is strong in death,' as all will readily admit whose lot it has ever been to look the King of Terrors in the face. Humphrey Bosville lay condemned to death in Gloucester gaol. His examination, after a short imprisonment, had been conducted by Cromwell himself, with the few rude formalities extended to the ti-ial of a prisoner-of-war. He had been questioned as to the strengtli of the King's army, and the deliberation of his councillors : like a soldier and a man of honour, he had steadfastly declined to divulge even the little he knew. The court that tried him was composed simply enough, consisting, besides Cromwell, of Harrison and another. The former of these two vainly endeavoured to persuade his prisoner, for whom he had taken a great liking, to turn traitor, and save his own life. Humphrey, however, was im- movable, and Harrison liked him all the better. The proceedingra 184 HOLMBY nOUtSE. Avere short, and not at all complicated. ' You refuse, then, to answer the questions put to you by the court?' said Cromwell, folding a sheet of paper in his hands with an ominous frown. ' I do, distinctly,' replied the prisoner, regardless of a meaning look from Harrison, and a strenuous nudge from that stout soldier's elbow. ' Sentence of death recorded. His blood be on his OAvn head ! ' commented Cromwell ; adding, with a look that lent a fearftd interest to the simple words, ' to-morrow morning, at gun-fire.' ' God and the King ! ' exclaimed Humphrey, in a loud, fearless voice, placing his plumed hat jauntily on his head, and marching off between lus gaolers, humming cheerfiilly the Koyalist air of * Cuckolds, come, dig ! ' So the court broke up. Cromwell went to drill his Ironsides ; Harrison to visit his outposts, with what result Ave have already learned ; and another CavaUer Avas to die. They placed food and Avine in his cell ; the grim troopers Avho guarded him looked on him no longer as an enemy. Already he Avas invested A\-ith the fearful interest of the departing traveller ; he who ei'e tAventy-four hours haA'C elapsed Avill be in that land of Avhich all of us have thought, and Avhich none of us have seen. They were soldiers, too, and they liked his pluck, his gallant bearing, his cheerful good humour, his considerate courtesy even to his escort ; for Humphrey Avas a gentleman at heart, and one essential peculiarity of the breed is, that it never shoAvs its purity so much as Avhen in extremis. Not a rough dragoon in the guard- room, including Ebenezer the Gideonite, Avho Avas still black and blue from shoulder to hij), but avotiUI have sliared his ration Avil- liiigly, * Malignant ' though lie Avas, Avilh the Cavalier officer. lie ate his portion of food Avith a good appetite, and drank off his Avine to the Kling's health. Tlie Avinter smi streamed in at the grating of his cell, the licavy tramp of the sentry at his door rung tlirough tlie silence of the long stone corridor. It Avas all over noAv. It Avas come at last, and Humphrey sat him doAvn to think. Yes, he had looked upon Death as a near neighbour for years; he had fronted him pretty often in Flanders before this unhappy civil Avar, and had improA'cd his acquaintance Avith him since at Edge-Hill, Roundway-Down, NcAvbury, and elsewhere ; nay, he had felt the grasp of his icy hand but very lately, Avhen he failed to parry that delicate thrust of Goring's. AYhat an aAvlovard thrust it Avas ! and should he not have met it in carte, rather than tierce, and so gone roimd his adversary's blade ? PshaAv I how his mind * UNDER SENTENCE.' 185 wandered. And Avhat was the use of thinking of such matters now ? — now that he had not twenty-four hours to live — noAv that he should fix his thoughts on the next Avorld, and pray ardently for the welfare of his soul ? Ay, 'twas well that he had not ne- glected this duty, and put it off till to-day ; do what he would he could not control his mind, and bid it obey his will. Thoughts after thoughts came surging in like ocean waves, and bore him on and swamped him, so to speak, in their resistless tide. Might he but have chosen, he would not have died quite like this. No ! he had hoped to go down in some victorious onset, stirrup to stirrup with hot Prince Rupert, the best blood in England, charging madly behind him to the old war-crj that made his blood boil even now — the stirring battle-word of ' God and the King ! ' — sword in hand, and the sorrel pulling hard ! — the poor sorrel. Harrison had promised his prisoner to take care of the good horse ; there was some comfort in that, and Harrison was a soldier, though a Roundhead. Ay, that had been a glorious death ; or, better still, to have dragged his wounded frame to Mary's feet and laid his head upon her knee, and died there so peaceful, so happy, like a child hushing off to its sleep. Mary would think of him — mourn him, surely — and never forget him now. How would she look when they told her of it in the Queen's chamber ? He tried to fancy her, pale and wobegone, bending to hide her face over the embroidery he knew so well — the embroidery he had told her playftdly was to be finished ere he came back again. He Avould never come back to her now ; and the large tears that his own fate had failed to draw from him, gathered in his eyes as he thought of that glorious lady's desolation, and fell unheeded on his clasped hands. Well, he had promised her, if need were, to give his life ungrudgingly for the Cause — and he had redeemed his word. Perhaps in another world he might meet her again, and be proud to show her the stainless purity of his shield. He thought over his past life — he was no casuist, no theologian ; his simple faith, like that of his knightly ancestors, was comprised in a few words — '■ Fur Gott undfilr ihr,' might have been engraved on his blade, as it was emblazoned on the banner of the chivalrous Lord Craven — he whose romantic attachment to the Queen of Bohemia was never outdone in the imagination of a Troubadour, who worshipped his royal ladye-love as purely and unselfishly as he risked life and fortune ungrudgingly in her cause. So was it with Humphrey — ' For God and for her ' was the sentiment that had ruled his every action of late — that consoled him and bore him up now, when he was about to die. It was not wisdom, it 186 HOLMBY HOUSE. was not philosophy, it Avasnot perhaps true religion ; but it served him well enough — it stood him in the stead of all these — it carried him forward into the spirit-life where, it may be, that some things we wot not of in our Avorldly forethought, are the true reality, and others that we have worshipped here faithfully and to our own benefit — such as pnidential considerations, external respectability, and ' good common-sense ' — are found to be the myths and the delusions, the bubbles that the cold air of death has dispelled for evermore. At least, Humphrey knew he had but another night to live , and when he had prayed, hopefully and resignedly, Avith but one small grain of discontent, one faint repining that he might not see her just once again, he drew his pallet from the corner of his cell, and with folded arms and calm placid broAv, laid him down peace- fully to sleep. So sound were his slumbers, that they were not disturbed by the armed tread of the captain of the Avard, a fierce old Puritan, Avho ushered up the corridor the cloaked and hooded figure of a woman, accompanied by an officer of the Ironsides, who had shown him an order signed by Cromwell's OAvn hand, Avhich he dared not disobey. The grim Avarder, hoAvever, infiuenced by the pri- soner's gallant and gentle demeanour, Avould fain have dissuaded the visitors from disturbing his repose. ' If you be friends of the Major's,' said he, in the gruff tones peculiar to all such custodians, ' you Avould act more kindly to let him be ; they mostly gets their little snooze about this time of night ; and if he's not roused, he'll sleep right on till to-morroAV morning ; and the nearer he Avakes to gun-fire, the better for him. You'll excuse my makmg so iree, madam ; the Major's got to be shot at daybreak. But if you're come to examine of him, or to get anything more out of him than what he told the Court, I tell ye it's no use, and a burning shame into the bargain. I can't keep ye out, seeing it's the General's order — and Cromwell's a man Avho will be obeyed ; but I can't bear to sec the Major put upon neither, and he such a nice, Avell-spoken gentleman, and the last night as he's to be Avith us and aU.' So grumbhng, the old gaoler, Avho Avas not Avithout a sort of rough coarse kindness of his own, opened the cell door, and admitting the visitors, set his lamp doAvn on the fioor for their service ; after Avhich civility he returned to cough and gi'umble by himself in the passage. Mary looked on the fiico of the sleeper, and for the first time since she had known him realised the unassuming courage of that honest heart. Could this be the man Avho, ere twelve hours should 'under sentence.' 187 elapse, was doomed to die ? this calm and placid sleeper, breathing so heavily and i-egularly, with a smile on his lips, and his fair brow smooth and unruffled as a child's ? She turned proudly to Effingham. ' Is he not worthy of the Cause ? ' was all she said ; and Effingham, looking there upon his comrade and his rival, wiped the dew from his forehead, for the conilict of his feelings was more than he could bear. Mary bent over him till her long hair swept across his face. * Humphrey,' she whispered, in the sweetest of her soft caressing tones, ' Humphrey, wake up ; do you not know me ? — wake up.' The sleeper stirred and turned. The well-known voice must have called up some association of ideas in his mind ; perhaps he was dreaming of her even then and there. He muttered some- thing. In the deep silence of the cell both his listeners caught it at once. Mary blushed crimson for very shame ; and Effingham felt his heart leap as it had never leapt before. The sleeper had but whispered three words — ' Mary, Loyalty, Mary,' was all he said ; and then he woke, and stared wildly upon his visitors. In another instant he had seized Mary's hand, and was folding it to his heart in a transport of alFection and delight. He knew not that his life had been spared — he still thought he was to die ; but he beUeved his prayers had been answered — that, whether in the body or out of the body, he was permitted to look on her once again — and that was enough for him. Effingham did as he would be done by, and left the cell. If * he jests at scars Avho never felt a wound,' on the other hand he is wondrously quick-witted and sympathizing who has himself gone through the peine, forte et dure of real affection. And Effingham, too, felt a weight taken off his heart. He could /ejoice now without a single drawback at his comrade's pardon. To do him justice, he would have given all he had in the world to save him yesterday ; but now he felt that though henceforth they would never again fight .side by side, Bosville was his friend and brother once more. He felt, too, that there was something to live for still, that Hope Avas not dead within him, and his arm would henceforth be nerved for the struggle by a nobler motive than despair. His future existed once more. Yesterday his life was a blank ; to-day, simply because a sleeping captive had muttered a prosier name, that blank was filled again with colours bright and rosy as the tints of the morning sky. Such are the ups and downs of poor mortality ; such is the weakness of what Ave are pleased to term the godlike mind that rules our mass of clay. 188 noLMBY HOUSE. We ^viIl follow Effingham's example ; -vve will not rob Humphrey of his tete-a-tete with his mistress, nor intrude upon his transportg •when he learned that the hand he loved so dearly was the one that had saved him from death. It Avas too delightful — it was almost maddening to reflect on all she had undergone for his sase : how she had pleaded with CroniAvell for his pardon, and having obtained it, had taken possession of him, as it were, at once, and passed her word for his parole as if he belonged to her, body and soul ; and so he did belong to her, and so he would. Oh, if she would but accept his devotion ! he longed to pour out his very heart's blood at her feet. Poor Humphrey ! he was young, you Bee, and of a bold honest nature, so he knew no better. The three left the prison together, with a cordial farewell from the kind old governor, and Avalkcd through the dark night to the hosteliy in the town. Mary was very silent. Did she regret what she had done ? did she grudge her efforts for the prisoner ? Far from it ! She was thinking of all he deserved at her hands, of how she never could repay him for all his fondness and devotion, of the debtor and creditor account between them, and how she wished he could be a little, ever so little, less infatuated about her. Again we say, poor Himiphrey ! CHAPTER XXII. * FATHER AND CHILD.' Grace Allonby is very sad and lonely now. Anxiety and distress have told upon her health and spirits, and the girl, once so fresh and elastic, goes about her household duties Avith a pale cheek and a listless step that worry her father to his heart's core. Sir Giles has but little time for speculation on private affairs, his duty to his sovereign keeps him constantly employed, and it requires no astute politician to discover that, Avhatever apprehensions he may have to .spare, are due to that sovereign's critical position. The Koyal Parliament has been convened at Oxford, and has voted anything and everything except supplies. Its sister assemblage at Westminster, bitter in successful rivaliy, has refused to treat for peace ; Hopton has sustained a conclusive defeat from Waller at Alresford. Oxford is no longer a secure haven ; and the King, deprived of the society and counsels of his wife, feels himself more than usually perplexed and disheartened. Sir Giles has enougli * FATHER AND CHILD. 189 to do with his own regimental duties, for, come what may, he never neglects for an instant that task of organization and disci- pline on which the old soldier feels that life and honour must depend. His advice, too, is constantly required, and as constantly neglected by the King ; but bitter and unpalatable as it may be, it is always pi-ofFered with the same frank honesty and singleness of purpose. He has succeeded in raising and arming no contemp- tible force of cavalry. With his own stout heart at their head, he thinks they can ride through and through a stand of pikes ■with a dash that shall win Prince Rupert's grim apjiroval on a stricken field. He cannot foresee that, ere long, they will prove the speed of their horses, rather than the temper of their blades, on the wide expanse of fatal Marston-Moor. In the meantime they are equipped and ready to march. An escort is provided to guard ' Gracey ' back to her kins- woman's house at Boughton, where she will remain in bodily safety, no doubt, and will fulfil her destiny as a woman, by wasting her own heart in anxiety for the fate of others. Oxford will be em-j.-tied soon of all but its loyal professors and stanch war-worn garrison. Grace does not seem to regret her departure, nor tr look forward to her journey with any anticipations of delight, nor to care much whether she goes or stays. Her father's return to active service seems to alarm and depress her, and she wanders about the house with her eyes full of tears ; but he has often left her to go campaigning before, and never seen her ' take on,' as he expresses it, like this. What can have come over the girl ? 'If she had but a mother now,' thinks Sir Giles, with a half bitter pang to feel that his own honest affection should be insuf- ficient for his daughter. He could almost reproach himself that he has not married a second time ; but no, Gracey ! not even for you could he consent to sacrifice that dream of the past, which is all the old man has left to him on earth. Why do we persist in cherishing the little we have, so much the more the less it is ? Why is the widow's mite, being her all, so much more than the rich man's stores of silver and gold, being Ids all too ? Perhaps it is that we must suffer before we can enjoy, must pine in poverty before we can revel in possession ; and therefore Lazarus devours his crust with famished eagerness, whilst Dives pushes his plate disdainfully away, and curses fretfully cook and butler, who cannot make him hungry or thirsty, albeit his viands are served on silver, and his wine bubbles in a cup of gold. Sir Giles loves a memory fifteen years old better than all the rest of the world, and Gracey into the bargain. 190 HOOIBY HOUSE. He sits after eupper -with a hiige goblet of claret untasted at hia elbow. Leaning bis bead on bis band be watcbes his daughter unobsei-ved. All day she has been busied about little matters for his comfort. He marches to-morrow at dawn, and she too leaves Oxford for Northamptonshire. She was more cheerful, he thinks, this afternoon, and the interest and bustle had brought a colour again to her cheek : but how pale and tired she looks now, bending over that strip of work. The delicate fingers, too, though they fly nimbly as ever in and out, are thinner than they used to be — and she always turns her face away from the lamp. A father's eyes, Grace, are sharper than you think for; he is watchmg you naiTowly from under his shaded brows, and be sees the tears raining doAvn thick upon your "work and your wasted hands. In the Avhole of her married life your mother never wept lilvc that. He can stand it no longer. ' Gracey,' says he, in his deep kind tones ; ' Gracey ! little woman ! what's the matter ? ' He took her on his knee, as he used to do when she was a little curly -headed thing, and she hid her face on his shoulder, her long dark hair mingUng Avith the old man's white locks and beard. She clung to him and sobbed Avearily, and told lum, ' it was nothing — she was tired, and anxious, and nervous, but well — quite well — and, it was nothing.' He had long lost his place in his daughter's heart, though he knew it not. He strove to cheer her up gently and warily, with a womanly tact and tenderness you could hardly have expected from the war- worn soldier, leading her insensibly irom domestic details to the hopes and proceedings of the Eoyalists, and she struggled to be calm, and appeared to lend an anxious ear to all his details. ' We shall have a largo army in the North, Grace,' said the old Cavalier ; ' and when Prince Kupert has relieved York — and relieve it he will, my lass, for hot as he is, there is not a better officer in the three kingdoms, when his hands are loose — he will effect a junction with the King, and we shall then be able to show the Roundheads a fi-ont that will keep their ragged Parhament in check once more. "What, girl, we have still Langdale and Lisle and the Shrewsbury Foot, and gallant Northampton with all his merry men at his back, not to mention my own knaves, whose rear-guard you saw march out this morning. I have taken some trouble with them, you know, and they're the best brigade I've commanded yet by a good deal. Why, what said young Bosville when be lay in this very room ? — ay, on the sofa where you 'FATHER AND CHILD. 191 always sit at your stitching — and saw them file past the windows before they were half-drilled. " Sir Giles," said he, " they're the only cavalry we have that can rideJ^ x\nd there's no better judge and no better soldier for a young man than Humphrey, whom I love as my own son. They'll win your old father his peerage yet before I've done with 'em. Fill me out the claret, my darling, and we'll drink a health to Lady Grace ! ' She did as she was desired, and he could not have accused her of paleness now. Was it the anticipation of her exalted rank that thus brought the blood in a rush to Grace's cheeks ? ' Ay ! if worst comes to worst,' proceeded the old knight, after a hearty pull at the claret, ' the rebels will be glad to come to terms. I am an old man now, sweetheart, and I want to live at peace with my neighboui-s. When I've had these new levies in a good rousing fire once and again, and seen the knaves hold their own with Cromwell and his men in iron, I shall be satisfied for my part. Besides, we fight vmencumbered now ; the Queen's safe enough down in the West. I heard from Mary this morning by Jermyn, who travelled here post with despatches ; and the Queen ' ' From Mary ! ' interrupted Grace, her eyes sparkling and her face flushing once more ; ' what says she ? Does she talk about herself ? — does she give you any news ? ' She spoke in a sharp quick tone ; and the slender fingers that rested on her father's glass clasped it tight round the stem. ' She writes mostly of the Cause, as is her wont,' replied Sir Giles, not noticing his daughter's eagerness. ' They have hopes of more men and horses down in the West. Ay, there is tallc too of foreign assistance ; but for my part I put little faith in that. The Queen's household is much diminished, — that's a good job at least. I read my Bible, Grace, I hope, like a good Christian, and I believe every word in it, but I have never yet seen that " in the midtitude of counsellors there is safety." Howsoever, there is but little pomp now iti the Queen's court at Exeter. Mary only mentions herself and Mrs. Kirke, and Lady Carlisle, whom I never could abide ; and Dormer and Bosville as gentle- men of the chamber ; and that is all.' Grace's breath came quick and short. She was still on her father's knee, but in such a posture that he could not see her face. She would have given much to be able to ask one simple question, but she dared not — no, she dared not. She held her peace, feeling as if she was stifled. ' The Queen were best on the Continent,' pursued Sir Giles, 192 HOLMBY HOUSE. * and Maiy seems to think she will go ere long, taking her house* hold Avith her. God be with them ! England is well rid of the half of them.' Grace laughed — such a faint, forced, miserable laugh. Poor Grace ! the blow had been long coming, and it had fallen at last. Of course he would accompany his Royal mistress abroad ; of course, she would never, never see him again ; of course he was nothing to her, and amidst all his duties and occupations she could have no place in his thoughts. The pertinacity with which she dwelt iipon this consolatoi-y reflection was sufl;iciently edify- ing ; and of course she ought to have foreseen it all long ago, and it was far better that she should know the w^orst, and accustom herself to it at once. Oh, far better! A positive relief! And the poor face that she put up to kiss lier father when he wished her ' Good night,' looked whiter and more drawn than ever ; the footfall that he listened to so wistfully going up the stairs dwelt wearily and heavily at every step. Sir Giles shook his head, finished his claret at a draught, and betook himself too to his couch ; but the old Cavalier was restless and uneasy, his sleep little less unbroken than his daughter's. Alas, Gracey ! — she Avas his own child no more. He re- membered her so Avell in her white frock, tottering across the room with her merry laugh, and holding his finger tight in the clasp of that Avarm little hand ; he remembered her a slender slip of girlhood, galloi^ing on her pony Avith a certain graceful timidity peculiarly her oAvn, her long dark ringlets floating in the breeze, her bright eyes sparkling Avith the exercise, and always, fright- ened or confident, trusting and appealing to ' Father ' alone. lie remembered her, scores and scores of times, sitting on his knee as she had done this evening, nestling her head upon his shoiilder, and A'OAving in her pretty ])ositive Avay — positive ahvays and only Avith him — that she Avould never marry and leave him, never trust her old father to any hands but her oAvn ; she Avas sure he couldn't do Avithout her, and ii*/;c wasn't .sure he ought to be ! And noAv somebody had come and taken aAvay all this affection from him that he considered his by right ; and she Avas no longer his child — his very OAvn — and never Avould be again. Sir Giles could not have put his thoughts explicitly into Avords, but he had a dim consciousness of the fact, and it saddened Avhile it almost angered him. Though he slept but little he Avas up and astir long before daybreak ; and the ' God bless thee, Gracey,' Avhich was always his last words at parting Avith his daughter, Avas de- liA'ered more hoarsely and solemnly than his Avont. The pale face with its red eyelids haunted him as he rode; and except once to *THE TRUE DESPOTISM.' 193 give a beggar an alms, and once to sweai* testily at his best horse for a stumble, Sir Giles never uttered a syllable for the first ten miles of his joui-ney. And Grace, too, in the train of her kinsman, Lord Vaux, travelled wearily back to his house at Boughton, which she con- sidered her home. Faith, riding alongside of her, to cheer her mistress's spirits, forgot her own griefs — for Faith too had lost a lover — in sympathy for the lady's meek uncomplaining sadness, * It's all along of the Captain ! ' thought Faith, whose own affairs had not dimmed the natural sharpness of her sight ; ' it's all along of the Captain, and he ought to be ashamed of himself, so he ought ! ' Faith, like the rest of her class, was not particular as to the amount of blame she laid upon the absent ; and with the happy impartiality of her sex, invariably considered and proclaimed the man to be in the wrong. In this instance she condemned Hvmi- phrey without the slightest hesitation. It was clear he had left her young mistress without distinctly promising marriage, and when she contrasted such lukewarm negligence with the ardent passages of leave-taking that had been reciprocated by Dymocke and herself, she could scarcely contain her indignation. ' If Hugh had used me so,' thought Faith, and the colour rose to her cheeks as she dwelt on the possible injustice, ' as sure as I've two bands I'd have scratched his eyes out ! ' CHAPTER XXIII. 'the true despotism.' 'Never to bear arms against the Parliament! — never to be a soldier again ! — scarcely to have a right to draw a sword ! Ah, Mary ! life would be dear at such a price, were it not that you had offered it ; Avere it not that your will, youi- lightest word, is omnipotent with me. But oh ! how I long to hear the trvmipets sounding a charge again, and to see the sorrel in headstall and holsters shaking his bit as he used to do. He's too good for any- thing but a charger. Oh, if I could but ride him alongside of Prince Rupert once more 1 ' Half ashamed of his enthusiasm, the speaker's colour rose, and he laughed as he glanced almost timidly at the lady he addressed. She was tending some roses that drooped over the garden bench 194 HOLMBY HOUSE. on Avhicli he sat. There was this attraction about IVIary Cave that jievhaps endeared her to the imagination more than all her wit and all her beauty — she was constantly occupied in some graceful womanly task, and fulfilled it in such a graceful womanly way. Were she ivr-itiug a letter, or threading a needle, or engaged in any other trilling occupation, her figure seemed to take insensibly the ipost becoming attitude, her rich brown hair to throw off the light at the exact angle you would have selected for a picture, the roseate bloom to deepen into the very tint that accorded best with her soft winning eyes. It was not her intellect, though that was of no inferior class ; nor her form and features, though both were dangerously attractive : it was h er icays that captivated and enslaved, that constituted the deadliest weapon in the whole armoury of which, womanlike, she knew so well the advantage and the iise. As she jjruned the roses and trained them downwards from their stems, shaking a shower of the delicate pink petals into the sun, she looked like a rose herself — a sweet, blooming moss-rose, shedding its fragrance on all that came within its sphere ; the type of pure loveHness and rich, bright, womanly beauty. He thought so as he looked up at her, and his heart thrilled to the tones of her melodious voice. It was all over with him now — Inch thick, knee-deep, o'er head and ears, — a forked one. She knew her power, too, and made no sparing use of it. They must be either slaves or tyrants, these women ; and, like fire, they make good servants but bad mistresses. ' You are better here than wasting your life in Gloucester gaol,' answered Mary, ' and you can serve the King as Avell with your head as with your hands. Any man with the heart of a man can be a soldier ; there is not one in a million that will make a states- man. Do you think I would have taken such care of you if I had thought you fit for nothing better than the front-rank of one of Prince Rupert's foolhardy attacks ? ' She asked the question Avith an inexpressibly mischievous and provoking air. She coidd not resist the temptation of teasing and irritating him on occasion ; she loved to strike the keys, so to speak, and evoke its every sound, at whatever cost of wear and tear to the instrument itself. He winced, and his coimtenance fell at once, so she was satisfied, and went on. ' If you cannot serve the King on the sorrel's back, do you think you ai"e of no use to the Queen at her need here in Exeter ? Tliat ])oor lady, with her inlimt daughter, has but few fi-icnds and ' THE TRUE DESPOTISM.' 1 95 protectors now. A loyal and cliivalrous gentleman always finds his post of honour in defending the weak. If you seek for danger you will find enough, and more than enough, in doing yonr duty by your Koyal mistress — in fulfilling the orders. Major Bosville, that I shall have the honour of conveying to you.' She laughed merrily and made him a grand courtesy as she spoke, spreading out her Avhite robes with a mock and playful dignity. Mary did not often thus unbend, and he could not but confess to himself that she was inexpressibly charming so ; yet would he have been better pleased had she been in a more serious mood too. He rose from the garden-bench and stood by her, bending down over the roses, and speaking in a low grave tone — ' I am ready, as you know, none better, to sacrifice life and all for the King's cause. Do me the justice to allow that I have never yet flinched a hair's-breadth from difficulty or danger. I desire no better fate than to shed my blood for his Majesty and the Queen. If I may not draw my sword with my old comrades, I may yet show them how to die like a Cavalier. My life is of little value to any one,' he added in a somewhat bitter tone, ' least of all to myself; and why should I be regretted when so many that were nobler and vAaer and better are forgotten ? ' It was a random shaft, but it quivered in the bulTs-eye. She shot a sharp quick glance at him. Did he mean it ? Was he too thinking, then, of Falkland ? No ! that pained, sorrowing coiui- tcnance forbade the sus23icion of any arriere pensee. Her heart smote her as she scanned it. She looked kindly and fondly at him. ' Are you nothing to me ? ' she said. ' Should not I miss you and mourn you — and oh ! do you think / could do without you at aU ? Hush ! here comes Lady Carlisle.' In effect that lady's graceful figure, with its courtly gait and rustUng draperies, was seen advancing up the gravel path to put an end to the tete-a-tete. Such interruptions are the peculiar lot of those who have anything very particular to communicate ; but we do not take upon ourselves to affirm that ]\Iary's quick ear had not caught the sound of a door opening from Lady Carlisle's apart- ments ere she permitted herself to bestow on Humphrey such words of encouragement as made the June sunshine and the June roses brighter and sweeter than roses and sunshine had ever seemed before. With his loyal heart bounding happily beneath his doublet, and a light on his handsome face that Lady Carlisle — no mean judge 19G HOLMBY HOUSE. of raagculine attractions — regarded with critical approval, he followed tlie two ladies into the antechamber of his lioyal mis- tress, now seeking with her new-born baby an asylum in the still faithful town of Exeter, one of the few strongholds in the kingdom left to the Royal cause ; and yet, alas ! but a short distance re- moved from the contamination of rebellion, for Essex was already establishing his head-quarters at Chard, and but two-and-twenty miles of the loveliest hiU and dale in Britain intervened betAveen the stern Parliamentary General and the now vacillating and in- timidated Queen. It was a strange contrast to the magnificence of Whitehall, even to the more chastened splendours of Merton College, that quiet residence of majesty in the beautiful old town — the town that can afford to challenge all England to rival it in the loveliness of its outskirts and the beauty of its women. Exeter has always par- ticularly plumed itself on the latter qualification ; and many a dragoon of the present day, whose heart is no harder under its covering of scarlet and gold than was that of the chivalrous Cavalier in buff and steel breastplate, has to rue his death-wound from a shaft that penetrated all his defences, when shot deftly home by a pair of wicked Devonshire eyes. Of the pic-nics in its vicinity, of the drives home by moonlight — of the stroUs to hear * our band play,' and the tender cloakings and shawlings, and puttings on of goloshes afterwards (for in that happy land our natural enemies likewise enjoy the incalculable advantage of an uncertain climate and occasional showers), are not the results chronicled in every parish register in England ? — and do not the beadle at St. George's, Hanover Square, and other hymeneal authorities, know ' the reason why ? ' The Queen occupied a large quiet house, that had formerly been a convent, on the outskirts of the town. Its roomy apartments ruid somewhat secluded situation made it a fitting residence for lloyalty, particularly for Koyalty seeking privacy and repose ; while the large garden adjoining, in which the holy sisters had been wont to stroll and ponder, yearning, it may be, for the worldly sunshine they had l(;ft ivithout the walls, formed a pleasant haunt for the Queen's diminished houseliold, and a resort on the fine June mornings of which Mary and Hum})hroy, who were both early risers, did not fail to make constant use. Their duties about tlic Queen's pei-son had of late been un- usually light. The birth, under circumstances of difficulty and danger, of' a daugliter, whc)se arrival on the worldly stage seemed to augur the misfortunes that, beautiful and gifted as she was, 'the true DESrOTISM. 197 dogged hci- to her grave, liad confined Henrietta to her chamber, and precluded her from her usual interference in affairs of State. The instincts of maternity were in the ascendant, and what were crowms and kingdoms in comparison with that little pink morsel of humanity lying so helplessly in her bosom ? Well is it for us that we cannot foresee the destinies of our children ; merciful the blindness that shuts out from lis the long perspective of the future — the coming struggles Ave should none of us have courage to con- front. Could Henrietta have foretold that daughter's fate, bound in her beauty and freshness for a weary lifetime to the worst of the evil dukes who bore the title d'Orleans, would she have hung over the tiny treasure with such quiet happiness ? Would she have neglected all besides in the Avorld at the very faintest cry of the little new-born Princess ? We must return to Humphrey Bosville and Mary Cav^e, and the terms of close friendship, to call it by no softer name, on which they now found themselves. Since his rescue from imminent death by her exertions, his devotion to her had assumed, if possible, a more reverential character than before. To owe his life to a Avoman for Avhom he had felt a slight attachment, Avould have been an obligation rather galling and inconvenient than otherAvise ; but to OAve his life to the Avoman Avhom alone of all on earth he had loved Avith the deep absorbing fervour of Avhich such a nature was capable, brought Avitli it a sensation of delight Avhich Avas truly intoxicating. It was such an additional link to bind him to her for ever ; it made him seem to belong to her noAV so thoroughly , it was such a good excuse for giving Avay to her most trifling ca- prices, and obeying her lightest Avhim. Come Avhat might, he felt that they could never noAV be entirely independent of each other ; so he entered the Queen's service immediately on his return to Oxford, giving up his commission in the Royal army, and resigning his right to Avear a SAVord, as indeed the terms of his parole en- joined, Avith as little hesitation as he Avould have displayed in jumping Avith his hands tied into the Isis, had Mary only told him to do the one instead of the other. It Avas no small inducement either to serve his Royal mistress assidiiously, that his situation in her household brought him into close and daily contact with his ladye-love. Probably at no period of his life before had Humphrey been so happy as during the feAV golden Aveeks of Henrietta's confinement at Exeter. To meet Mary day by day in the performance of his duty; to see her in every phase of courtly life, from the strict observance of etiquette to the joyous moments of relaxation, over Avhich, nevertheless, the atmosphere 198 IIOLMBY HOUSE. ol' Royalty shed a certain relinement and reserve ; to admire her ready tact and Avinning bearing in all the different relations of a courtier's life ; and above all, to walk "with her morning after morning in those happy gardens, feeling that she too enjoyed and counted on their half-hour of uninterrupted conversation, and ■was little less punctual at the trysting-place than himself; aU this constituted an existence for which it was very seldom he repined that he had bartered his life's ambition, his visions of military distinction and renown. Mary, too, whose knowledge of human nature was far deeper than that of the generality of her sex, whose organisation forced her to be calculating, so to speak, and provi- dent even in her affections, Mary felt herself day by day losing much of the hard, stern, practical force of character that had en- crusted and petrified her woman's heart. She was often surprised in her moments of reflection (for Mary was a rigid and severe self- examiner) to find how little interested she was comparatively in the progress of the Royal Cause — how satisfied she could be to remain idle week after week at Exeter — how happily she could bask away her time in the summer sunshine, wandering, but not alone, through those shady gardens. She was ashamed — yes, ashamed — to confess to herself how often the image of a certain kindly, handsome face, with its long love-locks and dark droojjing moustaches, rose between her mental vision and all considerations of duty, loyalty, and interest — ay, even between her deep sorrow and the memory of the dead. Yet the shame had in it a burning, thrilling happiness too ; and though she threw up her haughty head, and a scornful smile curled her full lips as she pondered, she would not have had it otherwise if she could. But she ruled him, nevertheless, with an iron hand. It is un- necessary to admit that the prominent and chief fault in this lady's character was that destructive quality which, forming, as it does, a principal ingredient in the noblest spirits, is yet perhaps the cause of more sorrow and suffering than all the cardinal vices (if such there be) put together — Pride, the bane of that resplendent being whom the angels themselves called ' the Son of the Morning ; ' the awful and eternal curse of him who made his election ' rather to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven.' Pride was with Mary Cave as the very air she breathed. It prompted her to conceal and stifle, nay, even to mock at, the better feelings of her nature ; to grudge the man that loved her the full and free confession, to which, if lie deserved anything at all, he was fully entitled, and which would have made him the happiest Cavalier in England ; to check and warp even his kind feeluags, overflo-vving as they did •THE TRUE DESPOTISM.' 199 w^ith a fond and chivalrous devotion, that would have made a humbler woman's heaven, that she herself would have felt it a weary blank to be without ; to embitter for him many a moment that but for this would have been tinged with golden hues ; and to goad and madden him for no fault of his own when most he needed soothing and repose. He too had his share of pride, Avhich she never seemed to ac- knowledge ; but in his singleness of heart he sacrificed it to hers, as he did everything else he had. She never knew, and he would never tell her, the long hours and days of grief that she had cost him. If he was sad, he suffered uncomplaining by himself The kind look was always there to greet her ; she never read reproach in the fond, frank eyes. She was his first love and his last, that was enough for him. It was a brave, confiding nature, this young gentleman's ; simple and honest, and one that it had been a pity to see delivered over to bitter disappointment, reckless guilt, and wild remorse. He did not understand women, poor boy ! God forbid he ever should ! A council had been assembled, and the increasing hopelessness of the Royal Cause had called up a rueful expression of dismay on the faces of the Queen's advisers as they stared blankly at each other. Jermyn had returned with but Httle encouragement fi-om the King. Charles Avas hardly the man to see the shortest way out of a difficulty, and had been so accustomed to rely upon his Queen for advice and assistance, that when he found himself in turn appUed to by his wife, he was more than usually helpless and imdecided. The Queen's own advisers consisted but of the refiise of her party. Jermyn and a few subordinate courtiers were scarcely a crew to weather the storm v.dien the ship was so crazy and the navigation so intricate. Goring's pregnant brain and reckless hand might have been useful now ; but Goring was far away, di-inking and countermarching in the West Eiding of Yorkshire. Ashburnham had retired from "Weymouth before ' the Coming Man,' whose Ironsides had ere this perfected their drill on many a stricken field. Prince ]\Iaurice had lost so many men in the siege of Lynn, he could show no front to the dreaded and determined Essex. The enemy was near, ay, even at the very gates, and what was to be done ? At this crisis, weakened in body and disheartened in mind, Henrietta's royal spirit gave way. The determination was arrived at to sue the Parliamentary General for mercy, and on the most plausible gi-ouiids of common courtesy and chivalrous forbearance 200 HOLMBY HOUSE. towards a woman, to entreat Essex to tamper Avith his duty towards the Parliament, and to forfeit his own character by conniving at the Queen's escape. Like many another measure of policy, this step originated, not in the council, but in the bedchamber. Supported by a few of her weeping ladies, the Queen came to the resolution of thus humbling herself before the Parliamentary General ; and of those frightened and despairing women, among whom even Lady Carlisle had lost heart and courage, there was but one dissentient voice to this humiliating proposition. Need Ave say it was INIary Cave's ? ' I Avould rather take my child in my arms,' said she, when called on by her Majesty to give her unbiassed opinion, * and placing myself at the head of our garrison here, march at once upon Essex's head-quarters. I Avould cut ;ny Avay through them, or leave my body on the field. If Ave succeeded, Ave should make a junction Avith the King in the north, and maybe restore the prestige of the Royal arms ; if Ave failed, 'tis but an honourable death after all, and one right Avorthy of a Queen.' The old Bourbon blood rose for an instant to Heni-ietta's cheek, and she almost AvaA^ered in her purpose ; but it ebbed back again chill about her heart as she thought of her helpless condition and her little crying child. ' It could not be,' she said : ' there Avas a limit to all thi-ngs, even the courage of a Queen. No ; she Avould send a ilag of truce to Essex, and a message he could not refuse to consider. But whom to send ? Which of her courtiers Avould imdertake the task ? Savage reprisiils Avere noAv the daily custom of the Avar : the Avhite flag did not always secure the life of its bearer. AVho Avould risk himself in the lion's den ? ' ' Perhaps Mrs. Mary Avill go herself? ' suggested Lady Carlisle in her soit, smooth tones. ' She fears nothing, so she says, but dishonour. She Avould be safe enough, methinks, Avith Essex,' Mary smiled proudly. ' I have been in the rebel camp ere this,' she said, ' and it was your ladyship's self that bade me go ; for that counsel I shall always feel grateful. Your Majesty has one servant at least that Avill be proud to execute your Avill.' She glanced as she spoke to Avhere Bosville, Avith another gentleman of the chamber, stood in attendance in the next room. The Queen smiled faintly and stretched her thin hand toAvarda ]\Iary Avith a gesture of caress. ' He is a p?-cxix chevalier, mtanie,^ she said, ' and Avould go to the death, I believe, for you or me ; though I think I knoAV Avhiclj is the queen that oavus all his loyalty. 1 have Avatched him often, 'FAREWELL.' 201 Marie, and I know.'' She nodded her head with something of her old playful air, but she sighed after she spoke, and relapsed into the melancholy silence that was becoming habitual to her. Was she thinking that, Princess and Sovereign though she were, in the bloom of her beauty and the hey-day of her pros2:)erity, she liad never enjoyed such an tmqualified dominion as was possessed by her undemonstrative waiting-woman, proud Mary Cave ? CHAPTER XXIV. ' FAREWELL.' Effingham had ere this made considerable progress in the favour of the party he had espoused. His knowledge of his profession, coupled with a certain reckless daring of temperament, had won him the good opinion of Cromwell, whilst his readiness of resource, deep reflection, and powerful intellect rendered him indispensable to Essex, Fairfax, and such of the Parliamentary Generals as cherished liberal views of policy and an unselfish desire for the liberation of their countrymen. He had fought his way in a short space of time to the colonelcy of a regiment of pikes, and was now advancing with Essex on Exeter at the head of some five hvmdred stout hearts, such as have made British soldiers from time imme- morial the best infantry in the world. Proud of his command, conscious of doing his duty, rising rapidly in his profession and in the opinion of those who were in the fair road to guide the destinies of England, there was yet in Effingham's bearing a restlessness and a reserve that denoted a mind ill at ease with itself — an unquiet sadness that spoke of some deep anxiety — some bitter disappoint- ment. His friendship with Simeon had grown to a close intimacy, and he seemed to derive much consolation and refreshment from the conversation of that stern enthusiast. They were walking up and down in front of Essex's head- qiiarters at Chard — a square brick house in the centre of the village, fi-om which the proprietor had been ejected with as little ceremony by the Puritan General as he could have been by any one of his noisy Cavalier opponents. They formed a strange contrast, that pair, as they paced to and fro, buried in deep dis- course — the stalwart iron-looking soldier, with his tall figure and warlike air and dress, thus listening with such respectful deference to the soberly-clad divine, whose eager gestures and speaking 202 IIOLMBY HOUSE. countenance betrayed the flame of enthusiasm that consumed him, body and soul. The guard was being relieved, witli the customary noise and pomp of all military proceedings, not to be dispensed with even by the staid and sober Puritans ; but the pair heeded not the clash of arms noi' the clang of trumpets, and piirsued their walk and their conversation regardless of aught but the topic which seemed to engi-oss their whole attention. ' There is yet a black drop in thy heart, my brother,' said Simeon, in his deep impressive tones ; ' there is yet one jewel left that thou hast grudged to cast into the treasury — and if thou givest not thine all, of what avail is thy silver and gold, thy flocks and herds, thy raiment of needle-work and thy worldly possessions ? The daughter of the Canaanite is a fair damsel and a comely, but the children of the congregation have no dealings with the heathen, and she must henceforth be to thee as the forbidden food, and the plague-spot of leprosy — unclean ! unclean ! ' ' It is hard,' answered Effingham, and his voice betrayed how bitterly hard it was — ' it is hard to give up my only dream of earthly happiness — the one bright ray that has lightened my existence all these Aveary months — that has cheered me in the bivouac, and encouraged me in the field. I am not like you, Simeon ; would that I were ! I cannot hold to the future alone, and resign this world and all it contains without a pang. I fear I am of the doomed — predestined to guilt — jiredestined to punish- ment. Lost ! lost ! ' He shuddered as he spoke, and yet something of the old Titan instinct, the daring of despair that bade the sons of Earth confront the power of Heaven, in those old days when good and evil bore gigantic fruit here below — made him rear his head more proudly, tower above his comrade more erect and bold, as he seemed in his rebellious imagination to ' stand the shot.' ' Whom He loveth He chasteneth,' was Simeon's answer. ' I tell thee, brother, once and again, it is not so. Thy fight is a .stern and severe conflict, but it has been borne in upon me that thou shalt be victorious ; and to him that prevaileth is given the crown of glory. I have wrestled for thee long and earnestly, and I shall not fail. Thou art as the drowning man, whose struggles serve but to drag down into the depths the fifiend that would save him from perdition. I tell thee, Avatch and pray ! ' ' I can watch,' answered Effmgham, l^itterly ; ' none better. Sh.'ep seldom visits my eyelids, and my waking is sad and painful indeed ; but I can 7wt pray ! ' ' FAREWELL.' 203 It was even so. The stubborn human will might be bent and warped from that which was, after all, a holy and God-given instinct, though fanaticism and superstition might vote it folly and sin ; but the poor aching hunuui heart could not force itself to p.upplicate at the throne of Mercy for that forgetfuhiess which it felt would be a more bitter curse than all the pain it was now becoming inured to bear. Fallible sons of men ! Simeon felt he was right ; Effingham thought himself to be wrong. Both were arguing foolishly and presumptuously from strong hv:man passions interpreted by ianaticism into revelations from on high. George had struggled on Avearily for months. In occupation and danger he had been striving hard to forget. He thought he was making sufficient progress in the lesson, when the sight of his old friend Bosville riding into Essex's camp under a flag of truce re-awakened all those feelings which he had fondly hoped were stifled, if not eradicated, and made him too painfully conscious that time and distance were not quite such effective auxiliaries as he had hoped. The General had called in some of his principal officers to aid him in his deliberations ; nor could he, according to his custom, come to any decision without the assistance of one or two Puritan divines. Caryl had already been sent for ; and ere long a grim orderly trooper, who had been expoimding to his comrades a knotty text of scripture with interpretations peculiarly his own, was despatched to siunmon Simeon to the Council, and Effingham was left to pursue his walk and his meditations alone. He did not remain iminterrupted for long. A bustle at the door of Essex's quarters, the clash of arms as the sentries saluted their departing officers, and the roll of a drum mustering a regi- ment of foot for inspection, announced that the Council was over ; and Bosville, who, contrary to his expectation, had found himself treated with all the respect and consideration due to the bearer of a flag of truce, advanced toward his old comrade with his hand extended, and a frank air of greeting upon his face. He looked somewhat flushed and disconcerted too — a thought angry, perhaps, and a little discontented besides, as he cast a soldier's eye up and down the ranks of an efficient battalion of pikemen, and thought he must never measure swords with the Roundheads again ; but he was glad to see Effingham, neverthe- less; and the latter's heart leapt within him, for many reasons, to grasp a ' Malignant ' by the hand once more. ' I thought not we should ever have come to this, George,' observed BosviUe, half bitterly, half laughingly, after their first 204 HOLMBY HOUSE. greeting was over. ' When thou and I rode through Ramsay's pikes at Edge-hill side by side, and drove them pell-mell right through their reserve and off the field, I little thought I should live to see myself a messenger of peace fit to be clad only in boddice and pinners — for 'ifaith 'tis but a woman's work, after all — and thee, George, a rank rebel, openly in arms against the King. And yet, 'slife, man, were't not for thy company, I could find it in my heart to envy thee, too. They behave well these pikemen — hey, George ? Dost renaember how close the knaves stood upon the slope at Newbury ? ' Effingham smiled absently. He was chafing to ask a hundred questions of his old comrade ; and yet, bold stout soldier as he was, his heart failed him like a girl's. Bosville, too, was indignant at the ill-success of his embassy ; in the presence of Essex he had had the good taste and prudence to dissemble his generous wrath, but it required a vent, and blazed up afresh as he took the Parliamentary Colonel by the arm, and they strolled out of ear-shot of the listening escort, already under arms to conduct the embassy back to his own lines. ' There is no chivalry amongst thy new friends, George,' he proceeded, the blood rising to his handsome face. ' You can fight, to do you justice, but there's nothing more of the lion about you than his courage. And as for your ministers ! men of peace are they ? More like croaking ravens and filthy birds of prey. Don't be offended, George : I am like a woman, you know, now, and the only weapon I have to use is my tongue. 'Faith, my blood boils when I think of the last hoiu''s work. Essex is a gentleman, I grant you — I always thought so. "We have both of us seen him walk his horse coolly along his line under a raking fire from our culverins ; and he received my message with all the coux'tesy due to the emissary of a queen. It was not much we required. A safe conduct for herself and child to Bath, or maybe Bristol, for lier health's sake. She has suffered much, poor lady, and looks .so thin and weak — so unlike what she was when we saw her at ]Merton, George, whilst thou Avert honest. Well, he seemed to entertain the proposal at first ! and one of his Generals, a stout bluff-faced man — Ireton, was it ? — voted point-blank in her favour, with some remarks, I am bound to admit, not flattering to the stability of our jjarty, or the efficiency of her IMajcsty's defenders. Had my position allowed it, I had taken leave to differ with him on that point, but I thought the bowl seemed to trundle with the bias, so I held my peace. Then liis lordship turned to a sjjarc pale man in a Geneva ' FAREWELL.' 205 band and black cassock, and asked him wliat he thought of the matter. Was that Caryl ? So, I wouldn't be in his cassock, when the charity that covereth a midtitude of sins is Avanted to ward off punishment from ]dm ! ]\Iy hands were bound, so to speak, or no man living, minister or layman, should have applied such terms to my royal mistress. Jezebel was the best name he called her; and if blasphemy and indecency be religion, my ser- vice to Dr. Caryl ! Goring hasn't a match for him among his " hell-babes " ibr piety ! They seemed to believe in him de- voutly, though, for all that ; and I saw Essex waver as I can see iliee, George, wince. Well, one ecclesiastic I suppose wasn't enough, for there came in another knave, without his ears too ; would the hangman had done his work yeomanly when he was about it, and cut his tongue out as well. They asked his advice, man (grant me patience), as he had been a bishop ! And what said the Crop- ear in reply ? " Go see now this cursed woman," quoth he, " and bury her, for she is a king's daughter." And again — " What peace so long as the witchcrafts of Jezebel are so many ? " The devil can quote holy writ, we all know ; but it was Avell they turned me out, to deliberate with closed doors, for I was almost beside myself with passion.' The Cavalier paused to take breath. His listener gazed at him wistfully, with a sort of pitiful interest. ' And what was the result of their deliberations ? ' he inquired. ' I see they came to a speedy conclusion, for the escort is waiting even now to take you back.' ' When I returned,' answered Bosville, ' the General looked grave and stern, I thought a little pained and gi-ieved too. " Tell those that sent you, Major Bosville," he said, in a slow, deliberate voice, " that if her INIajesty pleases, I will not only give her a safe conduct, but wait upon her myself to London, where she may have the best advice and means for the recovery of her licalth ; but as for either of the other places, I cannot obey her ]\[ajesty's desires without directions from the Parliament. W been on him now — his eyes sparkling with delight and a choerful smile curling his moustaches as he thinks of his pet brigade behind him, and chuckles to reflect how he wiU have the knaves through a stand of pikes yet ; for he sees the grim steel-headed forest dark and lowering between the squadrons of the enemy. Every man has his favourite theory, and Sir Giles holds that cavalry properly led 218 nOLMBY HOUSE. ought to break any infantry iu the Avorld. He is spurring to its demonstration even now. Ireton is too good an officer not to rectify his mistake. He forms line like hghtning, and advances to meet them ; but the Royalists are irresistible, and although the hill is somewhat against them, those gallant horses fail not in their pace, and they ride down the wavering EoundJieads with the very impetus of their charge. In vain Ireton shouts and gesticulates and curses, Puritan though he be, both loud and deep. A pistol shot disables his bridle arm, and a sabr§-cut slashes his brave stern face. ' God with us ! ' gasps the General — for the rebels, too, have their battle-word — and he cleaves the last assailant to the brisket : but he is faint and exhausted, and his share of the battle is well nigh lost. Through and through the Eoundhead horse ride the mad- dened Cavaliers, shouting, striking, spurring wildly on, every heart afire to follow to the death where the short red cloak flashes like a tongue of flame through the dust and smoke of the encounter. But the torrent is checked — the tide is turned at last. Sir Giles Allonby, catching sight of Effingham's regiment, calm and im- movable like a rock amongst the breakers, shouts to his men to foUow him, and makes a fiirious dash at the enemy. Another voice, clear and full as a trumpet-blast, rings above the confusion of the melee. ' Steady, men ! — form four deep ! Advance your pikes ! — stand to your pikes ! ' are the Colonel's confident orders ; and the resolute veterans he commands know only too Avell that, il once broken, they have nothing to hope for. They have met Prince Rupert before : so they set their teeth and stand shoulder to shoulder, fierce and grim, like the old ' Die-hards ' they are. The wet ditches and yielding nature of the ground, sapped by springs of running water, destroy the impetus of Sir Giles's charge, and the fiery old soldier can but reach his enemy at a trot. Nevertheless, so good is the sorrel, so resolute his rider, and so well backed up by a few of his gallant followers, that the old knight, striking madly right and left, forces his way completely through the front rank of the pikemen, and only finds himself unhorsed and bleeding in the very midst of the enemy, Avlien it is too late to do aught but meet the death he has so long tempted, fearless and unshrinking, like a man. A dozen pike-heads are flashing round the prostrate Cavalier ; a dozen faces with the awful expression, not of anger, but of stern, pitiless hatred, are bending their brows and setting their NASEBY FIELD. 219 .eeth for the death- thrust, when Effingham's arm strikes up the weapons, and Effingham's voice interposes to the rescue. ' Quarter, my lads,' exclaims the Colonel. ' For shame, men ! — spare his grey head. He is my father ! ' If ever falsehood counted to the credit side of man's account, surely this one did ; and it speaks well for Effingham's control over his men and their affection to his person, that even at such an appeal they could spare a foe red-handed. ' Sir Giles,' whispered the Colonel, ' with me you are safe. Your wounds shall be looked to. You are my prisoner, but I Avill answer for your life with my own. We shall stand our ground here, I think ; ' then added in a louder tone to a sergeant, ' Catch that sorrel horse ! 'Tis the best charger in England, and 1 would not aught should befal him for Humphrey's dear old sake ! ' Sir Giles sat ruefully on the ground, and uttered not a word, for he was pondering deeply. He was wounded in two places, and the blood streamed down his white locks and beard, but o^' this he seemed utterly rmconscious. At last he spoke, in the thoughtful tone of a man who balances the pros and cons of some knotty argument : — ' It was those wet ditches that did it,' quoth the old Cavaher, with a sigh. ' They broke our stride and so disordered us ; otherwise, if we'd come in at a gallop, I still maintain we should have gone through ! ' The check sustained by Sir Giles's brigade had meantime somewhat damped the success of the Eoyalist wing. Half the horses were blown, and from the very nature of cavaliy it is im- possible to sustain the efficiency of a charge for any lengthened period. Some horses tire sooner than others ; men get excited and maddened ; some go too far — others have had enough ; — aU separate. And that which, half a mile back, was an irresistible and well-ordered onset, becomes a mere aimless and undisciphned rush, like a scatter of beads when tlie string breaks. Ere Eupert had reached the baggage under Naseby village, he found himself accompanied by scarce half his force. The bag- gage guard, entrenched behind their waggons, met him Avith a dropping fire. They presented a resolute and formidable fi:ont ; the examj)le of their comrades encouraged them to resistance, and their defences and position rendered them a dangerous enemy for blown and disordered cavalry to attack. The Prince summoned them to surrender. From the centre of his fortress rose the grim reply, in Bartlett's loud fearless tones — 220 HOLMBY ROUSE. ' God with us 1 Make ready, men, and fire a volley ! ' A few Cavalier saddles were emptied. The Prince knew well that he had gone too far. With voice and gesture he strove to rally his follower*, who had now got completely ' out of his hand ; ' and wheeling the small body that he could retain in his command rapidly along the eminence, he turned to see how fared the battle in the plain below. Eupert was a thorough soldier. It needed no second glance to satisfy him that the day was indeed lost ; and that all he could do now was to hasten back Avith his division on the centre, where the King himself commanded in person, and endeavour to cover that retreat which was fast degenerating into a rout. The same courage, the same dash and metal of man and horse, that had demoralized Prince Rupert's division, had, when tem- pered by discipline, crowned the Ironsides with victory. The future Protector, advancing his cavalry by alternate brigades, and retaining a strong reserve to turn the tide in the event of any unforeseen catastrophe, moved steadily upon the left wing of the enemy almost at the same moment that the corresponding onset of the Royalists sustained its first check from the grim resistance of Effingham's pikemen. Cromwell's thorough familiarity with cavahy manoeuvres enabled him to take every advantage of the ground, and liis leading squadrons came down upon Sir Marma- duke Langdale's division with the force and velocity of a torrent. Regardless of a withering voUey from Carey's musketeers, placed in support of the Royalist cavalry, he drove the latter from their position, and their further movements being impeded and dis- ordered by tlie nature of the ground into which he had forced them — a treacherous rabbit warren and a young plantation — they fell back in confusion upon their supports, consisting of tAvo regi- ments of North-country horse, Avhom they carried with them to the rear, despite of the efforts and entreaties of the gallant Sir INIarmaduke and the Yorkshire oflicers. Cromwell saw his advantage, but was not to be led aAvay by the brilliancy of his success into a departure fi-om those tactics which he had studied so long and so eifectually. Despatching a less formidable brigade in pursuit, he kept the Ironsides well in hand; and perceiving an advance of the King's centre, already checked and disordered by the heavy fire of Fairliix's ordnance, let them loose upon the fiank of the lioyalists at the happy moment when their cavalry were Avavering and their infantiy deploying into line. Now came the fiercest of the carnage. The famous ' Blue Regiments,' forming witli Lord Bernard Stuart's Life Guards the NASEBY FIELD. 221 ilower of the King's cavalry, sustained the charge of the rebels witli their usual devoted courage and gallantry. Half the noblest names in England Avere striking for their lives — ay, and more than that, their honour and their order, and their King ! The gentle Norman blood was llowing free and fast, as it has ever flowed when deeds of chivalry and daring have been required ; but the stubborn Saxon element was boiling too in the veins of many a stalwart fi-eeman ; and those iron-clad warriors, in their faith and their enthusiasm, and the flush of their success, Avere vot to be denied. Hand to hand and steel to steel, it was the death-grapple of the war ; and he who played his bold stake to win a kingdom on that ghastly board spared not his OAvn person in the encounter. Wherever blows were going thickest, there was Cromwell's square form and waving arm ; there was the eagle eye, the loud confident voice, the cool head, unmoved and resolute on the field as in the Council ; while not a lance's length behind him, smiting like a blacksmith on the anvil, and pouring with every blow a prophet's malediction on the enemy he struck to earth, Simeon the persecuted took ample vengeance on the Koyalists for the inhumanity of their Star Chamber and his own cruel mutilation. Like all non-combatants, Avhen his blood was really up he fought as madly as a Berserkar; and many a goodly warrior, many a pi*actised swordsman, went down to rise no more before the sweeping arm and the deadly thrust of him who represented a teacher of that religion which has long- suffering for its founda- tion, and mercy for its crown. And now the Ironsides are almost upon the King's centre, where, pale, yet firm, the monarch rides in person, longing, for all his stately demeanour and enforced reserve, to strike in amongst the fray. With the one exception of his father, not a Stuart of the line ever shrank from personal danger ; and had Charles's moral courage been equal to his physical, the gi'azier's son had not been now within a hundred paces, stretching with bloody grasp at his crown. A desperate rally is made by the Cavaliers, and Colonel St. George, recognising Cromwell, deals him such a sabre stroke on the helmet as knocks the morion from his head and leaves him bare and defenceless, but cool and courageous as ever. The effect upon liis Ironsides i« encouraging rather than the reverse ; they believe him to be under the especial protection of Heaven, as they beUeve themselves to be the veritable saints that shall inherit the earth. A reversion they seem well content to fight lor to the 222 HOLMBY HOUSE. death ; the enthusiastic Simeon perceives his pHght, and bringing his horse alongside of him, unfastens liis own helmet and forces it on his chief In the hurry Cromwell places it reversed on his head, and thus armed, fights on more fiercely than before. Does no secret sympathy tell him he is battling over his very grave ? — not to-day, bold unswerving man ; not till thou hast fulfilled thy destiny, and, to use thine own language, hast ' purged the threshing-floor and trodden out the Avine-press,' shalt thou lif iown on Naseby field to take thy rest I In the dead of night, in secrecy and apprehension, shall he be brought here again who was once more than a king ; and the man who ruled for years the destinies of England shall be buried in ehame and .sorrow, like some obscure malefactor, on the spot where the grass grows thick and tangled, because of the crimson rain that fell so heavily on the field of his greatest victory. And Simeon, bare-headed and maddened, fights fiercely on. His devotion costs him dear. The goodly head-piece would have saved him from that SAvingiug sabre-stroke that lays open cheek and temple, and deluges neck and shoulder Avith the hot red stream. His arm flies aimlessly up, and the sword drops from his grasp. The battle swims before his eyes ere they seem to darken and fill with blood; he reels in liis saddle ; he is down amongst the woinided and the dying, and his horse gallops masterless out of the melee. And now Charles sees with his own eyes that all is lost. His right is scattered and disordered. Kupert is returning with but the shattered remnants of his glorious force. His left is swept from the field and flying in hopeless confusion nearly to Leicester. His centre is broken and dismayed ; hia very baggage unprotected and at the mercy of the enemy. The blood of a king rises for the effort ; he will put himself at the head of his reserve and make one desperate struggle for his crown, or die like a Stuart in his harness. He has drawn his royal sword, and waves his last de- voted remnant on. ' Od's heart, sire ! ' exclaims the Scottish Earl of Carnewath ; ' will ye go upon your death in an instant ? ' and turns the King's bridle out of the press. Degenerate carl ! it was not thus thy steel-clad ancestor backed his father's great-grandsire at Flodden ! But the deed is done ! the King turns round ; the rout becomes a ilight, and, save the wounded and the dead, the helpless women and the dogged prisoners, not a Royalist is left upon the field. Effingham's regiment of Pikes has ere this moved to the very centre of the plain. When Fairfax saw and seized the opportunity S) advance his Avhole line, the Colonel moved with the rest of the NASEBY FTKLD. 223 infantry in support of a large cavalry reserve, and thus reached the spot the King had so recently quitted, where the fight had been deadUest and the carnage most severe. Marching in close column, and still keeping Sir Giles and the sorrel in the centre of (lis P^kes, Effingham took wp a position where the dead lay thick in heaps, and at the spot from whence the track of the distant flight might be marked by the rising dust and the occasional shots fired by the pursuers, he placed Sir Giles once more upon his horse, and bade him escape in the confusion. The old Cavalier grasped him heartily by the hand. ' I wouldn't have believed it of thee, lad,' said Sir Giles. * I never thought much of thee after thou changed sides ; but fliith ! thou'rt a good lad still, I see, though thou be'st on the winning side, and a mur- rain to it ! Well, well, I've lived long enough when I've seen the coil of to-day. I wouldn't care to be there with many an honest fellow,' pointing to a heap of corpses, ' were't not for Grace's sake.' ' It is for Grace's sake,' answered Effingham, and, squeezing him by the hand, bade him ride for his life. Sir Giles tru-ned his horse's head, but checked him for one last word. ' I think I could have broken in, too, lad, if I'd come up at a gallop,' said he, argumentativejy. In another minute he was striding away amongst pursuers and pursued over the plain. A deep groan caused Effingham to start as he looked down. Simeon lay dying at his feet. ' Too late, my brother,' gasped the enthusiast, as the Colonel propped him on his knee, and strove to Btanch the gaping death-wounds. ' Fare thee well, my brother : we meet no more on earth.' Then faintly pushing away the flask George pressed to his lips, and pointing to a dying Cavalier, mur- mured, 'If thine enemy thirst, give him drink; ' and so, his features setting and darkening, his hps muttering faint words and texts of Scripture, in which George caught the accents of self-reproach and regret, and the awful emphasis of fear on the words, ' Whoso smiteth with the sword shall perish by the sword ; ' and ' Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy,' the soul of the enthusiast passed to its account. George stood and gazed upon the ghastly harvest gathered in on Naseby field, and not for the first time a shudder of horror seemed to chill his very soul as the thought swept across it, ' Can this be true religion, after all ? — the religion of peace on earth and good-will amongst men ? ' 224 HOLMBY llUUiiE. CHAPTER XXVI. ' THE WHEEL GOES ROUND.' The cultivated enclosures round Naseby village liave been reaped and Kown once and again. The grass on the wide expanse of Naseby field, so poached and trodden down scarce two short years ago, has yielded one heavy crop, and promises again to enrich the peasant with its luxurious produce. In certain spots the sheep refused to feed, so rank and coarse grows the herbage where the earth has been fattened with the blood of her children. The shep- herd tending his flocks, or the herd watching his drowsy cattle, scarce stoops to notice sword or helmet, pike-head or musket- barrel, stained with rust, and protruding from the surface of the moor, so tliickly are they strewn, these implements of slaughter that flashed bravely in the summer sun when he shone on the gi-eat battle only the year before last. Nay, there are ghastlier tokens than these of man's goodly handiwork and tlie devil's high festival. Bones of horse and rider still lie bleaching on the slopes, and skulls of the half-buried combatants grin at the labourer as he passes, whistling cheerfully, to his work. He heeds them not. Why should he ? What though yon mouldering sphere of bone, with its broad white teeth and vacant sockets, was once the type of manly beauty and divine intellect, Avas once so fair and gallant, with its love-locks flaunting xmder its burnished head-piece, was once tended so carefully, and prized so highly, and kissed so fondly by lips that are even now perhajjs Avrithing in their misery at the thought of the loved one lying where he fell on Naseby field — why should the laboui-er care ? He has his daily toil to urge, his daily pittance to receive, his daily wants to provide for. He turns the skull over with coarse raillery and a kick from his heavy boot. A peasant's jest is the epitaph of him wlio died with his blood aflame for victory and renown, his heart beating high with the noblest impulses of chivalry and romance. What matter ? Were he any better lapped in lead, under a marble monument, side by side with his knightly ancestors in the old church at home, than lying here under the wide clianging sky, to rot, a nameless skeleton on Naseby field ? Time tiikes no note of human life and worldly chanj.jes. The old mower works steadily on, stroke by stroke, and furrow by furrow ; when he reaches the end of the ridge he pauses not to wipe the toil-drops from his brow, but turns and applies him to ♦ THE WHEEL GOES ROUND. 225 his task iiiicliecked and unwearied, sparing the shrinking -wild flower no :nore than the tall rank weed, and sweeping do^vn all indiscriminate!}', level wdth the short close sward. And yet, Destroyer though he be, he is the great Restorer too — at least in the natural world. Where the storm of civil war lias passed over merry England, sullying many a fair scene and blighting many a happy homestead, the lull of even one short twelvemonth has done much to bring back fertility to the meadow and comfort to the hearth. Spring has thrown her fair green mantle over the horrors of many a battle-held ; and the daily recurring hopes and fears of Life have choked the pangs of sorrow, and dried the tears of many a weeping mourner. All but the few desolate ones that refuse to be comforted by Time, trusting, not unwisely, in the sure consolation of Eternity. The months that have passed over since the battle of Naseby have indeed been pregnant with great events ; but ever since that fatal struggle the Ivoyal Cause has been hastening step by step to its final downfall. The flame has flickered up in the north and west with a fitful and delusive flash, but in middle England a sombre and melancholy apathy seems to brood over the land. It is peace where there is no peace — a fusion of opposite interests into a hollow truce, a stifling under the strong hand of discontent that rankles now, and will burst into hatred hereafter. Still the Northamptonshire peasant goes to his work unstarLlcd by the tramp of squadrons or the clash of steel — undisturbed by tlie apprehension that his best team-horse may be taken from him to drag a gun, or himself snatched rudely away from wife nnd supper to act as a trembling guide, strapped behind some goaJess trof)per, and stimulated to the better exercise of his local faculties by the cold circle of a pistol-barrel pressed ominously against his temple. The traders of Northampton's goodly town can ride abroad in security with their comely dames mounted on pillions orreclining in litters, Avithout fear of exposure to scurrilous jests or rude insolence from Eupert's troopers and Goring's ' hell-babes.' Al- though the knaves mourn the decrease of the unnatural stimulus given to trade by the war, and the consequent waning of their own profits, they cannot but congratulate themselves on the com- bination of advantages offered to their town by the protection of a strong Parliamentary government, and the return of their own lawful Sovereign to their neighbourhood at his Koyal Palace of Ilolmby. Yes, the old oak at Holmby spreads its gaunt arms again over the plumed heads and rich dresses of courtly gallants, and puts H 226 HOLMBY HOUSE. forth its fresh green leaves to rest the aching eyes of a weary monarch who will see but one more earthly spring. Charles is holding mimic state in his own fair palace ; and, although he is to all intents and purposes a prisoner, the outward semblances of royalty are faithfiilly preserved, and the pleasant fiction still adhered to, that even in acts of coercion and opposition on the part of the Commons, it is his Majesty's Parliament which, under the authority of his Majesty, makes arrangements for the security of his Majesty's person ; nay, actually denoimces vmder pains of treason those Avho should harbour or conceal that sacred property, and, in truth, sets a price on his Majesty's head. The game is indeed lost now. After the flight from Naseby, when camp-followers and baggage and all fell into the hands of the conquerors, even Charles's private cabinet did not escape. His letters were made public by the Parliament, and the sacred motives of a bigoted though conscientious nature, warped by the influence of an injudicious ■wife, and constantly acted on by the opinions of selfish and intriguing statesmen, were submitted to the judgment of the English people — perhaps of all people in the Avorld the least disposed to make allowances for motives, and the most prone to decide entirely from results. It may be questioned v/hether such a defeat, even as that of Naseby, inflicted so deadly a blow on the Royal Cause as the publication of these papers. It never again held up its head tiU the atonement had been made in a king's blood. '^leantime, disaster after disaster marked its decline and fall. Bridgewater surrendered to Fairfax without a blow. Even Kupert counselled peace ; and, as though the very counsel had unmanned him, lost Bristol at the first assault. At Rowten Heath, the King narrowly escaped with his life, and saw his favourite cousin, the gallant Earl of Lichfield, struck down by his very side. Then came misunderstandings and heartburnings ; even faithful Rupert made terms for himself to abandon the sinking ship, though he retm-ned in compimction to throw himself at the royal feet and demand forgiveness for his derehction. Monmouth and Hereford^ Wales and all the north-coimtry, were lost ; Chester, Newark, and Belvoir besieged ; Glamorgan's treaty with the Irish Catholics discovered, and that faithfid scapegoat bearing his im- prisonment and attainder on the charge of high treason with loyal resignation. Gallant old Astley, the last remaining prop, was beaten and taken prisoner at Stow-in-the-Wold, and Charles was compelled to make preparations to deliver himself up to the victorious Parliament. Then came the negotiations with the Scottish people, conducted 'THE WHEEL GOES ROUND.' 227 through the interventiou of the French agent, Montreuil ; the consequent escape of the King and Lord Ashburnham from Oxford, and their arrival at tlie quarters of the Scottish army — • an army that, to their eternal disgrace, fairly and literally sold the person of their Sovereign for the amount of arrears of pay due to them. Foui' hundred thousand pounds was thus established to be the market value of an English monarch's head. Some of the grim old northern Covenanters hugged themselves over their bargain, Avhilst the Independent party south of the Border doubtless esteemed Charles Stuart very dear at the money. Nevertheless the sale Avas concluded, and the King, accompanied by certain Parliamentary Commissioners, jom-neyed in royal state, though de facto a prisoner, to take up his temporary residence in Holmby House. With politic clemency the Parliament had granted the most liberal terms of amnesty and forgiveness to the vanquished Royalists. Lives were spared, estates rarely sequestered, and but few fines imposed on the ' I\Ialignants,' who indeed had by this time little ready money left. The adherents of Charles Edward suffered far more severely from the tender mercies of the House of Hanover than did the Cavaliers of the most unfortunate of his unfortunate line at the hands of the stern Parliamentarians whom they had encountered on so many battle-fields. The adviser of the ruling-party was as subtle a politician as he was a skilful soldier, and Cromwell possessed not only the daring intellect that can seize a Crown, but the consistent wisdom which keeps it firm on the head. Far and near the inhabitants of Northamptonshire flocked to Holmby to pay their respects to their Sovereign. Peasants cheered him as he walked or rode in the neighbourhood of his Palace. Honest yeomen and sturdy farmers, who had ridden not so long ago in ' buff and bandeliers ' to the sound of his trumpets, sent in their humble offerings of rural produce to his household ; and the gentry, flaunting in as much state as their reduced circumstances would allow, crowded in their coaches and on horseback to pay their last tribute of loyalty to a monarch in whose cause many of them had sacrificed all they loved best on earth. What was the charm about these Stuarts that men would thus poiu' out bcfc)re them their treasure as readily as their blood, would offer up to them their hberties as ungrudgingly as their lives ? Is it a peculiarity in their race that has thus served them ? or is it simply the fact of their misfortunes? simply that they have been the only family who have found it necessary to draw 228 HOLMBY HOUSE. iipnii the loyalty of the English people, whose drafts that people have never suftered to be dishonoured ? Let the materialist ccorf as he Avill, this same loyalty, like many another abstract sentiment, is a glorious quality, and has originated some of the noblest deeds which human natui'e can boast. ' I never thought to see him again,' soliloquized Sir Giles Allonby, as he reined in the well-broke sorrel, and looked back at a huge swinging vehicle, splashing and lumbering through Brampton ford. ' Never again ! at least in courtly state like this. How pleased those foolish wenches will be too. Oh, if it be only not too good to last ! ' Sir Giles sits in the saddle gallantly enough still, but the defeat on Naseby field, to say nothing of the accompanying hard knocks and subsequent reverses, has aged the bold Cavalier sadly. The blue eye is dim now, the furrows deep and numerous on his sunken face, and the hand on Avhich Diamond is still encouraged to perch trembles till her bells and jesses ring and jingle again. Nevertheless he loves a hawk, a hound, and a horse as dearly as of old : — nor was Humphrey's sorrel ever better taken care of than in the stable at Boughton, Avhere he is fed and littered by his former attendant, Hugh Dymocke, and regaled with many a choice morsel by two indulgent ladies, each of whom pays her visit to his stable at an hour when her friend is otherwise engaged. They have not forgotten his master, though they rarely speak of him now. He has been long absent in France and elsewhere ; no tidings have reached them for many a weary month. He has done his duty nobly by the Queen, that is all they know, and that is surely enough. Grace is satisfied, and so ought the loyal ]\Iary to be, and so she affirms with umiecessary energy she is ; yet her cheek looks a shade paler, her manner is a thought less stately and more restless than her wont. The two ladies are decked out in the utmost splendour of Court dress, and roomy as is the interior of the old coach, they occupy the whole of it. Notwithstanding its four horses driven in hand, with a postillion and pair in front of these, they make but a slow five miles an hour, for the roads even in summer are rough and treacherous; while divers sturdy serving-men, armed to the teeth — of whom our friend Hugh is not the least prominent — cling to the outside of the vehicle. They are about to pay a visit of state to their sovereign, and should be overloaded accordingly. Two handsomer specimens of English beauty were hard to be ^et with than the fair inmates of the coach. Grace, rejoicing in ihe elasticity of youth, has recovered her health and spirits. She * THE WHEEL GOES HOUND.'' 229 has got her father safe back from the wars, and this is a wonderful cordial to poor Gracey. Moreover, she is at that period of hfe Avhen every year adds fresh charms to the development of woman- hood ; and the long months that with their attendant anxieties have tarnished ever so little the freshness of her companion's beauty, have but rounded the lines of Grace's bewitching form, deepened the colour on her cheek, and brightened the lustre of her eye. The dress she wears, much like the Court costume of the present day, is peculiarly adapted to her charms. For a description of this voluminous fabiic of lace, brocade, tulle, transparency, and other dangerous materials, we must refer our reader to the columns of that daily organ of fashionable life which describes in glowing colours and accurate detail the costly armour decorating our en- slavers at any of her gracious Majesty's drawing-rooms. If a gentleman, let him peruse the inventory therein set forth of the articles of clothing Avorn on such high festival by the prettiest woman of his acquaintance ; if a lady, by the rival for whom she entertains the most cordial aversion (probably it may be the same individual in both cases), and let each profit accordingly. Mary contemplates her friend, and wonders in her own heart how any man can resist the attractions of that beautiful young face. To do her justice, the element of jealousy lies deep below the surface in Mistress Cave's character. Like many a woman of strong intellect, high coui'age, and a somewhat masculine turn of thought and ideas (an organization - that is apt to be accompanied by the utmost womanly gentleness of bearing and refinement of manner), she is above the petty feelings and little weaknesses that disfigure the generality of her sex. She can and does admire beauty in another without envy or detraction. She does not at first sight set down to the worst of motives every word and action of an attractive sister ; nay, she can even pardon that sister freely lor winning the admiration of the opposite sex. Conscious of her own worth, and proud it may be in her secret heart to knoAV of a certain shrine or so where that Avorth is worshipped as it deserves, she can afford to see another win her share of incense without grudging or discontent. In the abstract she is not of a jealous disposition. Individually, as she is never likely to have cause, God forbid she .should ever become so ! Such a passion in such a nature would work a wreck over which devils might" smile in triumph, and angels weep for very shame. Despite the jolting of the coach, it would be unnatural to suppose tliat an unbroken silence is preserved between the two. Far fi-om 230 nooiBY irousE. it. They talk incessantly, and laugh merrily enough at intervals. Whatever may be the subject lying deepest at their hearts, what- ever hopes or fears, secrets or intrigues, private or political, may be nestling in those sanctuaries, we are boimd to confess that their dialogue is frivolous as the veriest Avoman-hating philosopher could imagine. It turns upon dress, ribbons, courtly forms, and such trivial topics. Even now, as they jingle down into the ford, though each is thinking of a certain return from hawking that took place at this very spot some few years ago, and the con- sequent introduction of a young Cavalier officer, who has since occupied a large share of each lady's thoughts, neither reverts by word or sign to the reminiscence ; and, to judge by their con- versation and demeanour, it would be supposed that neither of those liiir heads contained an anxiety or an idea beyond the preser- vation of their curls and dresses from that untidy state which is termed ' rumpled ' in the expressive language of the female vocabulary. ' I wish they would mend the bridge,' observed Grace, as a tremendous jolt over a stone under water brought a ludici'ous ex- pression of dismay to her pretty features ; ' father says it's not safe for a coach since the parapet tumbled down ; but they will surely repair it now the King's come.' ' I wish they Avould, indeed ! ' assented Mary ; ' it's hardly fit for horse-folk now, and Bayard and I have many a quarrel about going so near the edge. It's wide enough for a coach too,' she added, ' and I dread the water coming in every time we go through this treacherous ford. Of all days in my life, I wouldn't have a fold out of place to-day, Grace. I should like to make my courtesy to him in his reverses with more ceremony than I ever did at White ' The word was never finished. Another jolt, accompanied by much splashing, struggling, and a volley of expletives from Sir Giles, who had turned his horse back into the water, and was swearing lustily by the carriage window, interrupted the speaker, and announced that some catastrophe had taken place. It was even so. A spring had given way in the ford, and on arriving at the further bank it was moreover discovered that an axle was injured so much as to necessitate a halt for the repair of damages. Sir Giles dismounted, the ladies alighted ; and Dy- mocke, who was provided with the necessary tools — without which indeed none ever dreamed of travelling — commenced his operations ; the party, congratulating themselves on the fine summer's day which, notwithstanding their Court dresses, made *THE WHEEL GOES ROUND.' 23] half an hour's lounge in the pleasant meadows not even an in- convenience. In the seventeenth century such trifling mishapa were the daily concomitants of a morning's drive. ' Woa, my man ! ' said Sir Giles, who was holding the sorrel by the bridle, whilst Alary patted and smoothed his glossy neck, and Grace gathered a posy of wildilowers by the river's brim. The horse erected his ears, snorted and neighed loudly, fidgeting, moreover, despite of Mary's caresses and Sir Giles's impatient jei'ks, and describing circles round the j^air, as if he would fain break from his restraint and gallop off. ' The devil's in the beast ! ' quoth Sir Giles, testily, as a shabbily-dressed man with a rod and Ime, apparently intent upon liis angling, moved slowly down the river bank to where they stood, and the horse whinnied and pawed, and became more un- easy every moment. The fisherman was clad in a worn-out suit of coarse brown stuff, his hat was slouched completely over his eyes ; the upper part of his face — all that could be seen, however — was deadly pale ; and the unsteadiness of his hand imparted a tremulous motion to his angle, Avhich seemed either the result of inward agitation or the triumph of manual art. Sir Giles was a brother of the craft — as indeed in what depart- ment of field-sports had the old Cavalier not taken his degree ? Of course he entered into conversation with the angler despite the restlessness of his charge. ' What sport, master ? ' quoth Sir Giles in his cheery, boisterous tones ; ' methinks the sun is somewhat too bright for your fishing to-day, and indeed the weight of your basket will scarce trouble you much if you have not better luck after your morning's draught. Zounds, man ! have you caught never a fish since daybreak ? ' The basket, as Sir Giles could see, was indeed open and — empty ! Thus adjured, the fisherman halted within ten paces of the knight, but apparently he was so intent on his occupation that he could not spare breath for a reply. He spoke never a word, and the sorrel was more troublesome than ever. Sir Giles's Avrath began to rise. 'The insolent Roundhead knave ! ' muttered the old Cavalier ; 'shall he not answer Avhen a gentleman accosts him thus civilly? Let me alone. Mistress Mary ; I will cudgel the soul out of him, and fling liim into the river afterwards, sweetheart, as sure m he stands there ! ' 232 IIOLMBY HOUSE. Mary suggested that the poor man might perliaps "be really deaf, and succeeded in pacifying her companion ; whilst the angler, slouching his hat more than ever over his i'ace, fished on, apparently quite imconscious of their presence. Sir Giles and the sorrel — the latter most unwillingly — strolled off toAvards the coach, and Marj^ remained Avatching the fisher- man's movements Avith a sort of dreamy satisfaction ; she had become subject to these idle absent fits of late, and something about this man's coarsely-clad figure seemed to embark her thoughts upon a tide of pleasing associations that carried her far, far back into the past. PshaAV ! this dreaming is a pernicioiTS habit, and must be broken through. She Avould accost the fisherman, and ascertain if he re- mained as deaf to a lady's voice as he had been to that of old Sir Giles. Just then, hoAvever, Grace called to her to say the carriage was ready, and Mary Avith a heaA^y sigh turned sloAvly to depart. The fisherman's line trembled as though a hundred perches Avere tugging at it from the depths of the sluggish Nene. He Avatched her retreating figure, but never moved from his position She reached her party, and they mounted once more into tha coach, compressing as much as possible their spreading dresses to make room for Sir Giles, Avho Avas easily fatigued noAv, and Avho handed over the still refractory sorrel to the care of Dymocke, and proceeded to perform the rest of the journey on Avheels. As the coach lumbered heavily aAvay, it passed the \'ery spot where the angler still stood intent on his fishing. Both ladies glanced at his ill-dressed form as they drove by, and Avatched long afterAvards from opposite Avindows the unusual proceedings of the sorrel, who, instead of suffering Dymocke to mount him (juietly as Avas his Avont, broke completely aAvay from that attend- ant, and after a frolic round the meadoAV trotted quietly up to the stranger, and proceeded to rub his head against the broA\'n jerkin Avith a violence that threatened to push its Aveai'er bodily into the Avater. The last the ladies saAV as they ascended the hill toAvards the small hamlet of Chapcl-Brampton Avas their serving-man in close couA'ersation Avith the angler whom they had erroneously inferred to be deaf. Though it nuist have struck each of them as a strange circumstance, it is remarkable that neither expressed an opinion on the subject, and a silence broken only by the snores of Sir Giles, Avho ahvays Avent to sleep in a carriage, reigned betAveen them ffH" at least tAvo miles. At the termination of that distance^ hoAvever, Oi'ace, rousing herself from a fit of abstraction, addressed ' iroLMDV HOUSE.' 233 licr no lesa absent companion : ' Did you notice that fisherman's dress, l\Iary ? ' was her innocent and appropriate observation, ' Shabby as it was, he had got a knot of liided pink ribbon imder liis doublet. I saw it quite plain when he lifted his arm to throw his line. Wasn't it strange ? ' ]\fnry grew as white as the laced handkerchief in her hand, and in proportion as the blood forsook her cheeks her companion flushed to the very temples. Each turned to her own window and her own thoughts once more. Despite the jolting. Sir Giles slept on. Dymocke, too, overtook the carriage ; but it would have been indeed hopeless to question that functionary, whose gravity and resei-ve became deeper day by day, and who, since his interview with the King the night before Naseby, was never known to unbend even under the influence of the strongest potations. Sir Giles snored comfortably on, and thus, without another word being exchanged, the Royalists arrived to pay their respects to their unhappy sovereign under the slaeltering roof of Holmby House. CHAPTER XXVH. ' HOLMBY HOUSE.' On the fairest site perhaps in the whole fair country of North- ampton stand to this day the outward walls, the lofty gates, and an inconsiderable remnant of what Avas once the goodly edifice of Holmby House. The slope of the ground which declines from it on all sides, offers a succession of the richest and most pastoral views which this rich and pastoral country can afford. Like the rolling prairie of the Far West, valley after valley of sunny meadows, dotted with oak and elm and other noble trees, un- dulates in ceaseless variety far as the eye can reach ; but imlike the boundless prairie, deep dark copses and thick luxuriant hedgerows, bright and fragrant with wild floAvcrs and astir with the glad song of birds, diversify the foreground and blend the distance into a mass of woodland beauty that gladdens alike the fastidious eye of the artist and the stolid gaze of the cloAvn. In June it is a dream of Fairyland to wander along that crested emi- nence, and turn from the ruins of those tall old gateways cutting their segments of blue out of the deep summer sky, or from the flickering masses of still tender leaves vipon the lofty oaks, yeDowing in the floods of golden light that stream through the 234 HOLMBY HOUSE. network of their tangled branches, every tree to the up-gazing eye a study of forest scenery in itself, and so to glance earthward at the fair expanse of homely beauty stretching away from one's very feet. Down in the nearest valley, massed like a solid square of Titan warriors, and scattered like advanced champions from the gigantic array profusely up the opposite slope, the huge old oaks of Althorpe quiver in the summer haze, backed by the thickly- wooded hills that melt in softened outlines into the southern sky. The fresh light green of the distant larches blooming on far Harlestone Heath, is relieved by the dark belt of firs that draws a thin black line against the horizon. A light cloud of smoke floats above the spot where lies fair Northampton town, but the intervening trees and hedgerows are so clothed in foliage that scarce a building can be discerned, though the tall sharp spire of Kingsthorpe pierces upward into the sky. To the west, a confusion of wooded knolls and distant copses are bathed in the vapoury haze of the declining sun, and you rest your dazzled eyes, swimming with so much beauty, and stoop to gather the Avild flower at your feet. Ah, 'tis a pleasant season, that same merry month of June ! Then in December — who doth not know and appreciate the merits of December at such a spot as Holmby ? Of all climates upon earth, it is well known that none can produce the equal of a soft mild English winter's day, and such a day at Holmby is Avorth living lor through the gales of blustering October and the fogs of sad Novembei-, Avith its depressing atmo- sphere and continuous drizzle. Ay, these are rare pastures to breathe a goodly steed, and there are fences too hereabouts that will prove his courage and yoiu' own ! But enough of this. Is not Northamptonshire the very homestead of horse and hound, and Pytchley but a synonym of Paradise for all who delight therein ? Lord Chancellor Hatton — he whose skilful performances in the dance so charmed our Royal Ehzabeth, and whose ' shoestrings green,' ' whose bushy beard and satin doublet ' Moved tlio stout heart of Eugland's Queen, Though Pope and Spaniard could not trouble it — seems to have been a nobleman of \indoubted taste in architec- ture as well as a thorough master of the Terpsichorean art. At a sufficiently mature age he built the fair palace which was destined hereafter for the residence of a jdng, to be, as he coxcombically expressed it, ' the last and greatest monviment of his youth.' Its exterior was accordingly decorated with all the quaint ins and *HOLMBY HOUSE/ 235 outs, iniillioued ■\vindoAVS, superfluity of chimneys, and elaborate ornaments which distinguisli the ' earlier and lesser monuments ' of the agile Lord Keeper. A huge stone gateway, with the Hatton arms carved on a shield above their heads, admitted our coach and its occupants into a large court-yard, around two sides of which extended the state and reception-rooms of the palace. This court itself Avas now filled with oilicers of the King's house- hold and other joersonal retainers of a peaceful character ; there were even a few goodly beef-eaters, but no clash of swords nor waving of standards ; none of the gallant troop of Life Guards that seemed so appropriate to the vicinity of a sovereign. Alas ! liow many of them were sleeping where they fell, a couple of leagues away yonder, where the flat skylme of Naseby field bounds the horizon to the north. Not even a blast of trumpets or a roll of kettledrums aroused Sir Giles from his slumbers, and Grace Avas forced to wake him with a merry jest anent his drow- siness as they lumbered in beneath the archway, and sent their names on fi-om one official to another, waiting patiently for their turn to alight, inasmuch as the forms and ceremonies of a court were the more scrupulously observed the more the fortunes of the monarch were on the Avane, and an old family coach of an- other coimtry grandee was immediately before them. The dis- embarkation of these honest courtiers was a matter of time and trouble. Loyalty and valour had de^arived them of their coach- horses, six of which had failed to save one of the King's guns in the fiight from Naseby, and four huge uuAvieldy animals from the plough had been substituted for the team of Flanders mares Avith their long plaited tails and their sIoav but shoAvy action. One of these agricultural animals, a colt, Avho seemed to feel that neither by birth nor appearance Avas he entitled to the position he noAv occupied, could in no wise be induced to face the glories of the royal serving-men Avho croAvded round the door of reception. In vain the coachman flogged, the grooms and running-footmen kicked and jerked at the bridle, the ladies inside screamed, and the Cavalier in charge of them SAvore a volley of the deepest lioyalist oaths ; the colt was very refractory, and pending his re- duction, Sir Giles had ample time to look around him at the Avails he knew so Avell, and reflect hoAV unaltered they Avere Avhen everything else Avas so changed. Many a cup had he emptied here with gentle King Jamie, Avho to his natural inefficiency and stupidity added the disgusting tendencies of a sot. Many a jest had he exchanged Avith Archie Armstrong, the King's fool — like others of his profession, not half 236 HOLMBY HOUSE. such a fool as his master. Many a rousing night had he passed in yonder turret, where was the little round chamber termed the King's Closet, and many a fair morn had he ridden out through this very gateway to hunt the stag on the moorlands by Haddon, or the Avild hills of Ashby, far away with hound and horn to Fawsley's sheltering coverts, or the deep woodland of distant Castle-Dykes. Ay, 'twas the very morrow of the day when Grace's mother had made him a certain confession and a certain promise, that he saw the finest run it Avas ever his lot to enjoy with an outlying deer that had escaped fi"om this very park, and though he killed his best horse in the chase, it was the happiest day in his life. He looked at Gracey, and the old man's eyes filled with tears. Sir Giles Avas getting a good deal broke noAv, so his neighboiu's said. The country grandees are disembarked at last. Tlie succeed- ing coach lumbers heavily up to the palace-door, and as their names are passed from official to official, Sir Giles and his tAvo ladies stand once more under the roof of tlieir soA'ereign, Avho, de- spite all his rcA'erses, still holds royal state and semblance in his OAvn court. Tliey like to think so, and to deceive themselves and him, if only lor an hour. As far as actual hixury or pleasure Avas concerned, Charles's daily habits, Avherever he Avas, partook cf a sufficiently self- denying and ascetic character to make his enforced residence at Holmby no more secluded than had been his life in the full flush of his early prosperity at Whitehall. The King Avas ahvays, even in his youthful days, of a remarkably studious turn of mind, regular in his habits, and punctilious of all such small obserA'ances on the part of his household as preserved that regulai'ity in its most unbroken course. The hours of devotion, of study, of state, of exercise, and of eating, Avcre strictly portioned out to the verj' minute, and this arrangement of his time enabled the monarch, even in the midst of his busiest and most pressing avocations, to devote his leisure to those classical studies of Avhich he Avas so fond. From his Avarlike ancestors — Avho indeed liad been used to keep their croAvn Avith the strong hand, and Avho, thanks to Armstrongs and Elliotts on the border, not to mention a refractory Douglas or tAvo nearer home, ncA'er left off their mail and plate, or forgot to close steel gauntlet on ashen spear for many months together — he had inherited a certain muscular energy of body and vigour of constitution Avhich he strove to retain by the regular observance of daily exercise. ' It is Avell worth our observation,' says his faithful chronicler, Avorthy 'holmdy house.' 237 Sir Thomas Herbert, ' that in all the time of his Majesty's re- straint and solitude he was never sick, nor took anything to pre- vent sickness, nor had need of a physician, ■which, under God, is attributed to his quiet disposition and unparalleled patience, to his exercise (when at home walking in the gallery and privy garden, and other recreations when abroad), to his abstemiousness at meat, eating but of few dishes, and, as he used to say, agreeable to his exercise, drinking but twice every dinner and supper, once of beer, and once of wine and water mixed, only after fish a glass oi French wine; the beverage he himself mixed at the cupboard, so he would have it. He very seldom ate and drank before dinner, nor between meals.' Thus did the captive monarch keep himself, so to speak, in training, both of body and mind, for whatever exercises either of effort or endurance might be required of him ; and thus perhaps rendered more tolerable that period of restraint and surveillance which is so calculated to enervate the physical as well as the in- tellectual powers, and to resist the effects of which requires perhaps a combination of nobler qualities tlian to conquer armies and sub- iugate empires with the strong hand. But the Stuart, though in reality worsted, conquered, and in ward, was permitted to enjoy all the outward semblance of royalty ; was served with all the strict observances and ceremonious etiquette due to a sovereign. He had a household, too, and a Court, though neither were of his own choosing ; and Court and household vied with each other in respectful deference to their charge. The Par- liamentary Commission, stated, in the document which gave them their authority, to be his Majesty's loyal subjects, was composed, partially at least, of noblemen and gentlemen who were not per- sonally obnoxious to their Sovereign, and who had for long sujj- ported him in his claims, till their better judgment convinced them those claims were unconstitutional and subversive of real liberty. The Earls of Pembroke, of Denbigh, and Lord Montague, were no violent Roundheads; whilst of the inferior members who repre- sented the Lower House, Major-General Browne was an especial favourite with the King ; and Sir James Harrington came of a family on whose loyalty the slightest imputation had never hitherto been cast. It rested witli the discretion of tliis Committee to nominate the principal officers of his Majesty's household ; and the list of their selection, including as it does the name of Herbert, afterAvards Sir Thomas, who filled the post of Groom of the Chambers to the King, and attended him, an attached and faithful servant to the 238 HOLMBY HOUSE, Ust, betrays at least a respect for Charles's prejudices, and a con- eideration for his comfort. Dr. Wilson was retained as the Royal physician ; and the accustomed staff of cup-bearers, carvers, cooks, and barbers, were continued in their offices, with the single pro- viso, that such alone should be dismissed as had borne arms against the Parliament. The duties of roasting, boiling, filling, serving, and shaving, being of no warhke tendency, it is not to be supposed that this exception would weed the household of more than a very few familiar faces ; and Charles found himself at Holmby sur- romided by much the same number and class of domestics that would have been eating his Royal substance at Whitehall. With a liberality that does credit to the rebellious Parliament, we find in their records a sumptuous provision for the maintenance of the King's table, and the payment of his attendance here. The roll of officials indispensable to a Court, comprises a variety of subordinates charitably presumed to be necessary to the daily wants of royalty ; and the ' clerks of green cloth, clerks of the assignment, of the bakehouse, pantrie, cellar, butterie, spicerie, confectionary, chaundrie, ewrie, landrie, and kitchen,' must have had but little to do, and plenty of time to do it, in the rural re- tirement of this Northamptonshire residence. Cooks — head and subordinate — ' turn-brouches, porters and scowrers, Avith knaves of the boiling-house, larder, poultrie, scaulding-house, accaterie, pastrie, wood-yard, and scullerie,' help to swell the himgry phalanx ; nor must the ' gate-ward ' be forgotten, and another functionary termed the ' harbinger,' who, like the ' odd man ' of modern times in large establishments, was probably the deliverer of messages, and did more work than all the rest put together. ' It is conceived that there be a number of the guard proposed to carry upp the King's meat,' quoth the record ; imd for this purpose was daily told off a goodl}' detachment, consisting of two yeomen-xishers, two yeomen-hangers, and twenty yeomen of the guard ; when to this numerous force was added the swarm of ' pages of the bedchamber and back-stairs, gentlemen-ushers, gentlemen of the privy-chamber, cup-bearer, carver, server, and esquire of the body, grooms of the robes and privy-chamber, daily wayters, and quarter wayters, pages of the presence, and the removing wardrobe, grooms of the chamber, messengers of the chamber, physician, apothecary barber, chirurgeon, and laundresse,' the King's hoixse- hold in his captivity will, we submit, bear comparison with that of any of his Royal brethren in the full enjoyment of their power. Thirty pounds sterling a day for his ^Majesty's ' diet of tAventy- eight dishes,' was the very handsome allowance accorded by the 'HOLMBY house/' 2S9 Parliament ; and the aniouRt of expenses incurred by the lloyal household at Hoimby for the twenty days commencing on the 13th February, and ending on the 4ih of March, reaches the large sum of 2990/., between 50,000Z. and 60,000Z. a year. There being a deficiency, too, of plate for the Royal table, that article of festive state having been long ago converted into steel, horseflesh, gimpowder, and such mimitions of war, it was suggested by the inventive genius of the Committee, that the communion - plate formerly set on the altar of his Majesty's chapel of Whitehall — consisting of ' one gilt shyppe, two gilt vases, two gilt euyres, a square bason and fountain, and a silver rod ' — should be melted down to make plate for the King's use at Hoimby, there being none remainiog in the jewel-office fit for service ; and this some- what startling, not to say sacrilegious, proposal seems to have been entertained, and acted on accordingly. For the bodily wants of the Sovereign no demand seems to have l.ieen considered too exorbitant, but for his spiritual needs the Parliament would not hear of any but their own nominees, and instead of the Bishops of London, Salisbury, or Peterborough, or such other divines as his Majesty desired to consult, they substi- tuted the bigoted Marshall and the enthusiastic Caryl to be the keepers of the King's conscience, and trustees for the welfare of his soul. Perhaps this arrangement Avas of all the most galling to Charles's feehngs, and the most distasteful to the very strong tendency which he had always shown for casuistry and contro- versial religion. Though these chaplains preached alternately, in the chapel attached to the palace, every Sunday morning and afternoon to the Commissioners and the Royal household, the King, Avhile he permitted such of his retinue to attend as were so disposed, preferred to perform his own devotions in private, rather than sanction vrith his presence the Presbyterian form of worship to which he was so opposed ; and even at his meals the conscien- tious Monarch invariably said ' grace ' himself rather than accept the services of either chaplain, both of whom were nevertheless always in close attendance tipon his Majesty. The King's daily Hfe at Hoimby seems to have been studious and regular to a degree. An early riser, he devoted the first hours of the morning to his religious exercises, praying with great fervour in his closet, and there studying and reading such works of controversial divinity as most delighted his somewhat narrow intellect and formal turn of mind. At the s;ime hour every morning a poached egg was brought him, and a glass of fair water • after which, accompanied cither by the Earl of Pembroke or 240 HOLMBY HOUSE. General Browne, lie took his regular exercise by wallcing to and fro for an allotted time, in fair weather, up and down the green terraces which lay smooth and level to the south of the palace, and in wet, through the long corridors and spacious chambers which adorned its eastern wing. At the expiration of the exact period, the King again retired to his own private apartments, where such public business as he still conceived himself em- powered to undertake, the study of the classics, and the prosecutioxi of a correspondence which indeed seldom reached its destination, occupied him till the hour of dinner, in those days punctually at noon. This meal, we need hardly say, was served with great state and ceremony. Ewer-bearers with napkin and golden bason, ushers with their white wands, preceded the entrance and presided over the conclusion of the banquet. No form was omitted which could enhance the stately nature of the ceremony ; and the King dined on a raised dais six inches above the level floor of the dining-hall. After dinner a quarter of an hour exactly Avas devoted to conversation of a light and fi-ivolous character, the only period in the day, be it observed, that such conversation Avas encouraged, or even tolerated, by the grave Charles ; but anything approaching to levity, not to say indecency, was severely rebuked by that decorous Monarch, who could not endure that a high ofticer of his household should once boast in his presence of his proficiency in hard drinking, but inflicted on him a caustic and admonitory reprimand for his indiscretion. What a contrast to his successor ! A game at chess, played with the due attention and silence which befit that pastime, succeeded to this short space of relaxa- tion ; and we can imagine the reflections that nuist have obtruded themselves on the Monarch's mind Avhen the ivory king Avas reduced to his last straits, cooped up to the three or four squares Avhich formed his only battle-ground — his queen gone, his bishops, knights, and castles all in the hands of the adversary — now checking him at eveiy turn, and the issue of the contest too painfully like that catastrophe in real life, Avhich he 7>iHSt have seen advancing to meet him Avith giant strides. At the conclusion of this suggestive pursuit, it Avas his Majesty's custom, Avhen the Aveather permitted, to ride out on horseback, accompanied by one or more of the Commissioners, and attended by an armed escort, Avhich might more properly be termed a guard. The King's rides usually took the direction of the Earl of Sunderland's house at Althorpe, or that of Lord Vaux at Bonghton, at cither of Avliich places he could enjoy his favourite 'holmbt house.' 241 diversion of ' bowls ; ' for the green at Holniby, though level and Fpacious enough, did not run sufficiently true to please the critical eye and hand of so eminent a performer at this game as wan. Charles I. The evening passed off in the like formal and somewhat tedious routine. An hour of meditation succeeded the ride, and supper was served with the same observances as the noonday meal. Grave discourse, turning chiefly upon the Latin classical authors, and studiously avoiding all allusion to those political topics which probably formed the staple of conversation in every other house- hold in the kingdom, furbished up the schoolboy lore of the Commissioners, and gave the Koyal pedant an opportunity of exhibiting his superiority to his keepers in this department of literature. The King's devotions then occupied him for a consi- derable period in his closet, and he retired to rest at an early hour, with a degree of languid composiu-e surprising to witness in one so circumstanced, and which never seems to have deserted him even in the last extremity. Such Avas the daily life ol' the vanquished King, varied only by such a public reception as the present, when his earlier glories seemed to flicker up once more in an illusive flash ere they were quenched in darkness for ever. We have left Sir Giles and his fair charges in an inner-hall, which led directly to the presence of Royalty. This chamber, lined with beautifully carved oak, and adorned with escutcheons and other heraldic devices, presented a quaint and pleasing appearance, not out of keeping with the rustling dames and plumed gallants that crowded its polished floor. In its centre stood three carved pyramids, of which the middle over- topped its two supporters by several feet ; and around this shrine tif heraldry were emblazoned the difterent coats of arms of the nobility and gentry of the sui'rounding districts. At the further extremity of the hall stood a high wooden screen, such as in cathedrals portions off" the altar from the nave, wrought into elaborate and lantastic ornaments, in which the grotesque nature of the imagery was only equalled by the excellence of the carving ; and as the recess behind this framework communicated directly with the Presence Chamber, IMaxwell, the Usher of this Black Rod, was here stationed to announce the names of those loyal gentlefolks who came to pay their respects to his Majesty. 'It reminds one of Whitehall,' whispered Mary to Sir Giles, as the latter delivered their names in the subdued and reverential whisper becoming the atmosphere of a Court, ' only there are some R 242 HOLMBY HOUSE. ludicrous figures amongst the ladies' dresses,' she added, woman- like, "witli a downward glance of satisfaction at her own well- chosen costume, and another of admiration at her companion'H beautiful figure. Sir Giles did not answer. He was thinking of the many Royal receptions he had attended during the troubles, and how each after each seemed thinner of the old familiar faces, the hearty friends and good blades that had hedged their Sovereign round with the wall of steel in vain ; whose bones -were strewed far and wide over the surface of merry England ; whose estates Avere gone, their families scattered, their hearths desolate. How few were left now ! and those few, like himself, rusty, worn-out, dis- used, yet retaining the keen temper of the true steel to the last. ' Welcome, Sir Giles,' Avhispered Maxwell, a courtier of forty years' standing, who had spent many a merry hour Avith the old knight under this very roof in days of yore, and who, albeit a man of peace fi-om his youth upward, showed the marks of Time as plainly on his wrinkled face and snoAvy locks as did his more adventurous comrade, without however attaining the dignified and stately bearing of the veteran warrior. ' Welcome ! The King spoke of you but yesterday. His Majesty will be indeed glad to see you. Fair ladies, you may enter at once. The dragon that watched over the gardens of the Hesperides neglected his post iinder the dazzling rays of beauty, whilst he was but Jupiter's Usher of the Black Rod ! ' Maxwell esteemed himself only second to his royal master in classical lore, and piqued himself on two things in the world — the whiteness of his laced ruffles and the laborious pedantry of his compliments. Grace smiled. ' What a formidable dragon ! ' she whispered, Avith an arch glance at the ancient courtier, that penetrated through brocade and embroidery — ay, and a flannel bulwark against rheumatism — to his susceptible old heart. Such shafts were never aimed at him in vain, but invariably reached their mark. Need Ave add that Maxwell was a confirmed bachelor of many years' standing ? Grace pursed up her pretty mouth into an expression of the gravest decorum, lor slie had noAV entered the magic circle, of Avhich the centre Avas the King. It Avas indeed a sad contrast to the assembly she remembered so Avell at Merton College. Where Avere the NcAVcastlcs, the Winchesters, and the AVorcesters ? — the brilliant aristocracy that had once formed the brightest jcAvels of the Crown ? Where Avas ' HOLMBY HOUSE.' 243 Ormond's sagacious courage and Eupert's ready gallantry ? Lich- field's goodly person and Sir Jacob Astley's fine old war-worn face ? Where were the nobility and the chivalry of England ? Alas ! not here in Holmby, rallying round their King ; and there- fore dead, scattered, and swept away from the face of the earth. Constrained and gloomy countenances surround him now, instead of those frank haughty fronts that quailed not before a .Sovereign's eye, but ever greeted him with manly looks of loyalty and friendship — faces in which he could confide, and before which it was no shame even for a monarch to u.nbend. His manner, always stately, has now become gloomy and reserved to the extreme of coldness. He cannot but be aAvare that every word of his lips, every glance of his eye, is watched with the utmost vigilance, noted down, and in all probability reported for the behoof of his bitterest enemies; yet must he never betray his consciousness of surveillance — must never for an instant lose his judgment and self-command. 'Twas but this very morning that, taking his accustomed exercise abroad, accompanied by Major-General Browne and the devout Caryl, whose zeal to convert his Sovereign never suiFered him to be absent a moment from his side, a poor squalid woman, carrying a child in her arms, marked and scarred with that .scrofulous disease which, though its superstitious remedy has been long ago discarded, bears to this day the name of * king's evil,' approached the person of her Sovereign, and begged him, in tones of piteous appeal, only to touch her child, that it might be healed. Poor woman ! she had watched, and waited, and dodged the park-keepers, and stilled her own panting heart many a weary hour, ere she could penetrate to the King's presence ; and she pleaded earnestly now, for she had implicit faith in the remedy. Charles, ever merciful, ever kindly, and, like all his family, ever good-natured, listened patiently to the poor woman's tale ; and whilst he bestowed on her a broad piece or two, borrowed from the General for the occasion, stretched forth his own royal hand to heal the whining infant of its malady. * Hold, woman ! ' exclaimed Caryl, indignantly interposing his person between the royal physician and the little sufferer. ' Worddst thou blaspheme before the very face of a minister of the Word ? Who can heal save He alone, whose .sei-vants we are ? And thou, sii-e ! ' he added, turning roughly upon the King, ' what art thou that thou shouldest arrogate to thyself the issues of life and death ? Thou — a man ! a worm ! — a mere insect 244 IIOLMBY HOUSE. crawling on the face of the earth ! Away with thee, Charles Stuart ! in shame and penitence, lest a worse thing befal thee I Have we not read the Scriptures ? — do they not enjoin ns to "fear God?'" ' And " honom* the king," ' added Cliarles, verj' quietly, and passing his hand gently over the child's forehead. Caiyl sank back abashed, and the Major-General gave vent to his indignation in a volley of stifled oaths, which, Parliamentarian though he was, his militiuy education called up at this instance of what he was pleased to term in his mutterings, ' a conceited parson's insubor- dination, worthy of the strappado ! ' The King's gloomy countenance, however, broke into a me- lancholy smile when he recognised the honest face of Sir Giles Allonby advancing into the presence. He made a step forward, and extending both hands as the old Cavalier sank upon his knee, raised him to his feet, and led him a little aside from the sur- rounding throng, as though anxious to distinguish him by some especial mark of his royal favour. The devoted Koyalist's Avliole face brightened at this instance of his Sovereign's condescension, and Sir Giles looked ten years younger for the moment as lie basked in the rays of this declining sun of roj-alty. ' Express to good Lord Vaux oiu- sympathy and sorrow for his malady, which confines him thus to his chamber. He must indeed be ill at ease when he fails to attend our Court, as well we know. Tell him that we Avill ourselves visit him ere long at his own good house at Boughton. Hai"k ye, Sir Giles ! I have heard much of the excellence of your bowling-green yonder ; we will play a set once more for a broad piece, as Ave did long ago, in days that were somewhat merrier than these are now.' He sighed as he spoke ; and Sir Giles professed himself, as indeed he was, overpowered at the condescension of his Sovereign. The King Avarmed to the subject. He could interest himself in trifles still. ' The green below these windows,' said he, ' is so badly levelled that the bowl runs constantly against the bias. Even my Lord Pembroke can make nothing of it, and you and I can remember him. Sir Giles, many a point better than either of us. 'Tis a game I love well,' added Charles, abstractedly ; ' and yet methinks 'tis but a type of the life of men — and kings. How many are started fair upon their object Avith the surest aim and the best in- tentions ; how fcAV ever reach the goal. How the bias turns this one aside, and the Avant of force lets another die out in mid career, and an ijich more avouM make a third *.he Avinner, but that * IIOLMBY HOUSE.' 245 it fails at the last liair's-brcadth. That is the truest bowl that can best sustain the rubs of the green. 'Tis the noblest heart that scorns to escape •from its crosses, but can endure as well as face the ills of life — Kebus in adversis facile est contemnere vitam, Fortiter ille facit qui miser esse potest.' ' Very true, your Majesty — quite correct,' observed the de- lighted Sir Giles, whose Latin had been long effaced by far more important pursuits. ' Everything shall be ready for your Majesty and in order. We cannot thank your Majesty enough.' The old Cavalier was quite overcome by his emotion. 'And this is your daughter,' pursued Charles, gravely and courteously saluting the young lady, who followed close upon her father's steps ; 'a fair flower from a stanch old stem ; and Mistress Mary Cave too, whom I rejoice once more to welcome to my Coiurt.' But a cloud passed across the King's brow as he spoke, and the deep melancholy expression darkened his large eyes as Mai-y's face recalled to him the light of happier days and the image of his absent Queen. He turned from them with a sigh, and they passed on, whilst a fresh arrival and a fresh presentation took their place. His great-grandfather or his son would have detained somewhat longer in conversation the two fairest ladies that adorned the Court ; but Charles I. was as insensible to female beauty as James V. and Charles H. were too dangerously susceptible of its attractions. The party from Boughton sauntered through the lofty apart- ments of the palace, and entered into conversation wdth such of their friends and acquaintance as had passed through the Presence Chamber. Then the heavy coach once more lumbered through tlie courtyard, and they returned the way they came. Sir Giles was in high spirits at the anticipation of his Majesty's visit, and talked of nothing else the -whole way home. Mary, contrary to her wont, looked pale and tired, whilst Grace seemed somewhat abstracted and occupied with her own thoughts. As they traversed Brampton ford they both looked for the strange fisherman, but he Avas nowhere to be seen. The river stole on quiet and undisturbed, its surface burnished into gold by the hot afternoon, sun, and rippled only by the kiss of the stooping Bwallow, or the light track of the passing water-fly. 246 HOLMBY HOUSE. CHAPTER XXVm. KEEPING SECRETS. Hard held in the sineAvy grasp of honest Dymocke, whose features expanded into grim smiles with the excitement of a rousing gallop, the soiTel's regular stride swept roimd the park at Boughton, despite the heat of the afternoon sun and the hardness of the ground. Such a proceeding was indeed a flagrant departure from the rules of stable discipline, which would have enjoined the serving-man to bring his charge quietly home, and bed him up incontinently for the night. To judge, however, by Hugh's countenance, he had good reasons for this unusual measure, and after half-an-hour's walk through the cool shade of the avenues, he jumped from the saddle in the stable-yard, and contemplated the still reeking sides of his favourite Avith an expression of grave and critical approval. ' Ay,' said he, as the sorrel, after snorting once or twice, raised his excited head, as if ready and willing for another gallop, ' you could make some of them look pretty foolish even now. Regular work and good food has not done you any harm since you left off your soldierin' ; and after this bit of a breather to-night, if you should be wanted to-morrow, why — whew ! ' The prolonged whistle which concluded this soliloquy denoted an idea of such rapidity as Avords Avere totally inadequate to con- vey ; and Dymocke proceeded to wash his charge's feet, and rub down his bright glossy sides in the cool air of the spacious stable- yard, with a demeanour of mysterious importance Avhich argued the most alarming restdtS. Now by a curious coincidence it so happened that Faith, despising the allurements of the buttery, in which the other servants were partaking of one of their many repasts, tripped softly through the yard on her way to the laundry, one of those domestic offices the vicinity of which to the stables offers the men and maids of an establishment many opportunities of innocent gaiety and improving conversation. It Avas not surprising that Faith should loiter for a fcAV minutes to enjoy the society of an individual Avith Avhom she avoAvediy ' kept company,' or that liereditary curiosity should prompt her to demand the cause of tlic liorse's heated appearance, and the unusual care bestowed on liim by his rider. ' You do frighten one so, Sergeant,' said Faith, addressing her KEEPING SECKETS. 247 swain by his title of brevet rank, with a coy look and one of her sweetest smiles — such a look and smile as argued ulterior inten- tions. ' It gave me quite a turn to see you as I did from Mistress Grace's window coming round the Cedars at such a break-neck rate. Is anything the matter, Hugh ? ' she added, anxiously, ' You're not going to leave us again for sure ? ' Dymocke was splashing and hissing for hard life. He paused, winked ominously in his questioner's face, and shifting the bucket of water to the off side, set to work again more vigorously than before. She had not ' kept company ' with him all these months Avithout knowing exactly how to manage him. She pulled a bunch of green leaves for the sorrel, caressed him admiringly, and looking askance at Dymocke's stooping figure, addressed her conversation to the horse. ' Poor fellow ! ' she said, smoothing his glossy neck, ' how you must miss yoiu master. He wouldn't have rode you so unmer- cifully such a baking day as this. I wonder where he is now, poor young man. Far enough away, I'll be bound, or you wouldn't be put upon as you have been this blessed afternoon.' The taunt rankled. Hugh looked up fi-om his operations. ' There's reason for it. Mistress Faith ; take my word, there's reason for it, though you can't expect to be told the whys and the wherefores every time as one of our horses gets a gallop.' There ivas a mystery, then. To a woman such an admission was in itself a challenge. Faith vowed to know all about it ere she slept that night. A sprig of green remained in her hand. She pulled it asunder pensively, leaf by leaf, and heaved one or two deep sighs. She knew her man thoroughly ; despite his vinegar face his heart was as soft as butter to the sex. ' Ah, Hugh,' she said, ' it's an anxious time for us poor women, that sits and cries our eyes out, when you men you've nothing to brood over. I was in hopes the troubles was all done now. Whatever should I do to lose you again, dear ? Tell me, Hugh, 'eastways, it's nothing up about yourself, is it ? ' Faith's eyes were very soft and pretty, and she used them at this juncture with considei'able skill. Dymocke looked up, undoubtedly mollified. 'Well, it's nothing about myself — there ! ' he grunted out, in a rough voice. A step was gained ; he had made an admission. She would wheedle it all oiit of him now before the supper-bell rang. 248 IIOLMBY HOUSE. ' Nor yet the Captain,' exclaimed Faith, clasping her hands in an agony of affected alarm. ' Say it's not the Captain, Hugh, lor any sake. Oh, my poor young mistress ! Say it's not the Captain, or IMajor, or whatever he be ; only say the word, Hugh, that he's safe.' ' Well, he's safe enough as yet, for the matter of that,' answered Hugh, saying the Avord, however, with considerable unwilling- ness. Li such a ' pumping ' process as the present the struggles of the victim are the more painful from his total inability to escape. ' As yet, Hugh ? ' repeated the operator : ' as yet ? Then you knoAv something about him ? you know where he is ? you've heard of him ? he's alive and Avell ? He's come back from abroad ? he's in England ? perhaps he's in Northamptonshire even now ? ' Dyraocke's whole attention seemed bent on his currycomb and accompanying sibilations. Faith set her lips tight. ' Sergeant Dymocke,' she said, with an air of solemn warning, ' you and me has kept company now for many a long day, and none can say as I've so much as looked over my shoulder at ever a young man but yourself There's INfaster Snood, the mercer in Northampton, and long Will Bucksfoot, the wild forester at Kockingham, as has been down scores and scores of times on their bended knees to me to say the word, and I never said the word, and I never wouldn't. I won't say what I've thought, and I Avon't say what I've hoped ; but if things is to end as they've begun between you and me, I wouldn't answer for the con- sequences ! ' With this mysterious and comprehensive threat, Faith biu'st into a passion of tears, and burying her face in her apron, wept aloud, refusing to be comforted. Another point gained. She had dexterously shifted her ground, and put him in the position of the suppliant. Pie was forced to abandon his horse and console her to the best of his abilities, with awkward caresses and blunt assurances of affection. By degrees the sobs became less frequent; certain vague hints, tending to hymeneal results, produced, as usual, a sedative effect. Peace was established, and Faith returned to the attack much invigorated by the tears that had so relieved her feelings. ' Of course you'd trust a wife with everything you knew,' observed Faith, in answer to an observation of Dymocke's, which KEEPING SECIJETS. 249 we arc boimd to admit was not marked by his usual caution. ' And the Major is come back ? ' she added, in her most coaxing accents and Avith her sunniest smile. ' Yes, he's back,' said Hugh, laconically. ' And you've seen him ? ' added Faith, who felt she Avas winning t'asy. Hugh nodded. ' This afternoon ? ' Another nod, implying a cautious affirmative. ' Where ? ' ' Close by, at Brampton. The horse knowcd liim at once, for all his disguise. It was beautiful to see the dumb creatui-e's affection,' urged Hugh, emphatically. ' Disguised, was he ? ' echoed Faith, delighted with the result of her perseverance. ' Where had he come from? where was he going to ? what was he doing ? You may as Avell tell me all about it now, Hugh. Come, out with it ; there's a dear.' Out it all came, indeed, as a secret generally does, much to the relief of the proprietor and the satisfaction of the curious. Like a goat-skin of Spanish wine in which the point of a mountaineer's knife has been dexterously inserted, there is a little frothing and bubbling at iirst, then a few precious di'ops ooze through the orifice, and anon a fine generous stream comes flowing out con- tinuously till the skin is emptied. So Faith learned that the shabby fisherman at Brampton ford was none other than Major Bosville ; that he Avas Availing there Avith a political object, Avhich it Avould be more than his life's Avorth to disclose ; that he had been fishing there for tAvo Avhole days, and had not achieved the object for Avhich he had come ; that the ladies and Sir Giles had been within ten yards of him, and never recognised him ; and lastly, that the sorrel's attach- ment to his master Avas not to be obliterated by time, nor to be deceived by appearances. ' It icas a sight to do your eyes good, my dear,' said Hugh, stroking the horse's nose, ' to see him break aAvay fi-om me and gallop all round the miller's close, as if he'd never be caught nor tamed again, and then trotting up to Major Humphrey as if he'd been a dog, and neighing for joy, and rubbing his head against his master, and the Major looking a'most as pleased as the liorse. They've more sense and more affection too than many human beings,' added Hugh, impressively ; ' and noAV you needn't to be told, my dear, Avhy I gave him this bit of a turn to keep his pipes clear in case of accidents. He might be wanted to-morroAv, 250 HOLMBY HOUSE. or he- might not ; but if so be that he were, it shall never be said that he came out of this stable and wasn't fit to save a man's hie. They're like the female sex, my dear, in many particulars, but in none so much as this. It's ruling them well and working of them easy that makes them good ; but it's ruling them strict and Avorking of them hard that makes them better.^ With this philosophical axiom, the result, doubtless, of much attentive observation, Dymocke clothed up the sorrel, and led him into the stable, wliilst Faith, with an expression of deeper anxiety than often troubled her pretty face, tripped away to her mis- tress's room, and to the best of our belief never visited the laundry after all. Grace had to be dressed for supper. In those simple days people supped by daylight in the summer, and revised their toilets carefully for the meal, much as they dress for dinner now ; and in those days, as in the present, a lady's ' back hair ' was a source of much manual labour to her maid, and much mental anxiety to herself. Though Faith worked away at the ebon masses with an un- merciful number of jerks and twitches and an unusually hard bx'ush, she did not succeed in exciting the attention of the suf- ferer, who sat patient and motionless in her hands — not even looking at herself in the glass. Faith heaved one or two surprisingly deep sighs, and even ven- tured upon a catching of the breath, such as with ladies of her profession is the usual precursor to a flood of tears, but without the slightest effect. Grace never lifted her eyes from the point of her foot, which peeped out beneath her robe. At length the Avaiting-maid pressed her hand against her side, with an audible expression of pain. ' What's the matter, Faith ? ' said her mistress, turning round, with a wondering abstracted gaze, which brightened into one of curiosity, as she marked the excited expression of her attendant's countenance. ' Nothing, ma'am,' replied Faith, with another catching of the breath, real enough this time ; ' leastways nothing's the matter at present, though what's to come of it, goodness only knows. Oh, ^listress Grace ! Mistress Grace ! ' she added, letting all the ' back hair ' down en masse, and clasping her two hands upon her bosom, 'who d'ye think's come back again? who d'ye think's within a mile of this house at this blessed minute ? who d'ye think's been disguised and fishing by Bramjiton mill this A^ery day ? and the Borrel knew him though nobody else didn't, and all tlie troubles KEEPING SECKETS. 251 that Avas clean gone and over is to begin again ; and who d'ye think it is, Mistress Grace, that might be walking up the stairs and into this very room even now ? ' Startling as was the possibility, Grace seemed to contemplate it with wondrous calmness. Though she was blushing deeply, she exhibited no signs of siu-prise or alarm as she asked very quietly, 'Who?' 'Why, Avho but Major Humphrey?' replied Faith, tl-iumph- antly. ' Now, don't ye take on. Mistress Grace, my sweet young lady, don't you go for to frighten youi-self, there's a dear ! It's Dymocke that saAV him ; and the sergeant's a discreet man, you know, and as true as steel. And he says, the Major looked so worn and thin, and as pale as a ghost. But the horse he knew him, bless his sorrel skin ; and the sergeant says he wouldn't have discovered the Major himself, if it hadn't been for the dumb animal. It's as much as liis life's worth to be here. Mistress Grace, so the sergeant says; and the Roundheads — that's the rebels, as we Avas used to call them — the Pai-liamentai'ians (wise and godly men, too, some of them) would shoot him to death as soon as ever they set eyes on him ; but don't you worrit and fret yoiu-self, Mistress Grace, don't ye now ! ' Grace received the intelligence with surprising composure. ' He was looking dreadfully altered,' she muttered to herself; but she only told Faith that if this very improbable story were really true, it was incumbent on the possessor of so deadly a secret to bridle her tongue, and not allow the slightest hint to escape that might be the means of throwing Bosville into the hands of his enemies ; and she went down to supper with an unfaltering step and an air of outward composure that astonished, and even some- what displeased, her susceptible handmaiden. ' She can't care for him one morsel,' said Faith, as she folded up her lady's things, and put them carefully away. The girl had no idea of the power possessed by some natures to ' suiFer and be still.' In a parallel case she would have cried her own eyes out, she thought, and it would have done her good. She did not know, and would not have appreciated, the ' enduring faculty ' that seems most fully developed in the two extreme races of the patrician and the savage, and esteemed herself doubtless happier without the pride that dries our tears, 'tis true, but dries them much in the same way that the red-hot searing-iron scorches up and stanches the stream from a gaping wound. Grace possessed her share of this well-born quality, for all her gentle manner and her quiet voice ; nor did she ever draw more largely ujion her stores of 252 HOLM BY HOUSE. self-command than wliile she sat opposite Sir Giles at supper that evening, and filled out his ' dish of claret ' again and again with -ler OAvn pretty hands. She thought the meal never would be over. This stanch old Cavalier was in unusual spirits with the prospect of his Majesty's visit, and laughed and joked with his thoughtful 'Gracey' so perseveringly as almost to drive her wild. She absohitely thirsted for solitude, and the enjoyment, if such it could be called, of her own thoughts. But supper was over at last. Sir Giles, leaning back in his high carved chair, sank to his usual slumber, and Grace was free to come and go unnoticed, for Lord Vaux was still on a sick bed, and Mary Cave, pleading fatigue and indisposition, had remained in her own chamber. Now, it is a singular fact, that although neither of the ladies who occupied Lord Vaux's roomy old coach had immediately recognised the disguised fisherman at Brampton mill, a certain instinctive consciousness of his identity had come upon each of them at the same instant ; and it is no less singular that neither of them should have offered the slightest hint of her suspicions to her companion ; and that although the manner of each was more affectionate than usual, by a sort of tacit understanding they should have avoided one another's society for the rest of tlie day. Thus it came to pass that Mary, Avho never used to be tired, went to her own room immediately she returned from Hohiiby, and begged she might not be disturbed even by the ' burnt pos- set,' which was our ancestors' jolly substitute ibr a ' cup of tea.' It may seem strange that Mistress Cave should have been so ignorant of Bosville's movements, and that she of all women should have been so startled by his unexpected appearance in Northamptonshire ; but truth to tell, INIary had long ceased to know his intentions, or to be consulted as of old about his every action. Though he had written to her irequently, all correspond- ence from the Queen's Court was so carefully watched, that his letters never reached their destination ; and the same cause had intercepted an epistle which, after a long interval of suspense, proud Mary Cave had brought herself to write to the man whose absence she was astonished to find slie bore so impatiently. It was galling, doubtless, but it was none the less true. When she parted from him at Exeter, there Avas indeed every probability that in those troublous times they might never meet again on earth ; and this separation she could not but feel was a most un- pleasant contingency. Nay, it was actually painful, and many a secret tear it cost her. This it Avas -which had made her so cold and haughty till he actually bid her farewell ; and how often since KEEPING SECRETS. 2.')3 had she wished, till her heart ached, that slie could live those few days over again ! As month ailer month passed on without further tidings, she seemed to feel her loss more and more. Self- reproach, curiosity, and pique combined to make her think and ponder on the absent one, whose merits, both of mind and body, seemed to come out so vividly now that it was possible they belonged to her no longer. Mary was no dull observer of human nature, and she knew well that if she really cared to retain his affections, she had been playing a somewhat dangerous game. Had he been employed in the alarms and excitement of warfare, subjected day by day to the ennobling influence of danger, his higher and better feelings kept awake by the inspiring stimulus of military glory, and the deepest, truest affections of his heart, enhanced as they always are by the daily habit of looking death in the face, she felt she would have reigned in that heart more imperiously than ever ; but the case was quite different now. He was living in the atmosphere of a pleasure-loving and profligate Court. He was subjected to just so much excitement and dissi- pation as would serve to distract his thoughts, just so much interesting employment as would forbid his mind from dwelling continuously upon any single topic. From his position he was sure to be courted by the great, and with his person to be wel- comed by the fair. To do him justice, he had ever shown him- self sufficiently callous to the latter temptation, and yet Mary remembered the wit and the attractions of those French ladies amongst whom she had spent her youth ; she even caught lierself recalling his admiration of one or two of her own accom- plishments derived from that source. He might find others fairer than she was now — kinder than she had ever been ; some gentle heart would be sure to love him dearly, and the very intensity of its affection would win his in return ; and then indeed he would be lost to her altogether ; she would rather he was lying dead and buried yonder on Nasehy field ! And yet, no ! no ! — anything were better than that. Mary was startled at the bitterness and the strength of her OAvn passions. It was frightfid ! it was humiliating ! it was unwomanly ! to feel like this. Was she weaker as she grew older, that she could thus confess to herself so deep an interest in one who might perhaps already have for- gotten her ? She had not loved Falkland so — that was a pure, lofty, and ennobling sentiment — there Avas much more of the earthly element in this strange, wild fascination. Perhaps it was none the less dear, none the less dangerous on that account. So she resolved that whatever cause had brought him back at 254 HOLMBY HOUSE. last (for too surely she felt the disguised fisherman was no other than Bosville), she at least "would appear to be ignorant and care- less of his movements. Till his long silence was explained, of course he could be nothing to her ; and even then, if people could Ibrget for two whole years, other people could forget altogether. Yes, it would be far better so. He must be changed indeed not to have spoken to her that very day by the water side. Then she remem- bered what Grace had said about the knot of pink ribbon ; and womanlike, after judging him so harshly, her heart smote her for her unkindness, and she wept. The sun was sinking below the horizon when Grace stepped out upon the terrace at Boughton, and wrapping a scarf around her shoulders, paced slowly away for a stroll in the cool atmo- sphere and refreshing breezes of the park. It was delicious to get into the pure evening air after the hot drive and the croAvded court, and Sir Giles's interminable supper ; to be alone once more under God's heaven, and able to think undisturbed. The deer were already couching for the night amongst the fern, the rooks had gone home hours ago, but a solitary and belated heron, high up in the calm sky, was winging his soft, silent way towards the flush of simset which crimsoned all the Avest. It was the hour of ' peace and repose, when nature subsides to a dreamy stillness ere she sinks to her majestic sleep, Avhen the ox lies down in his pasture, and the wild bird is hushed on the bough, when all is at rest on earth save only the restless hmnan heart, which will never know peace but in the grave. Grace threaded the stems of the tall old trees, her foot falling lightly upon the mossy sward, her Avhite figure glancing ghost- like in and out the dusky avenues, her fair brow, from which she put back the masses of hair with both hands, cooling in the evening breeze. What did she here? She scarce knew herself Avhy she had sought this woodland solitude — why she had been so restless, so impatient, so dissatisfied Avith eveiything and everybody, so longing to be alone. Deeply she pondered on Faith's narrative, though indeed she had guessed the truth long before her hand- maiden's confidences. Much she Avondered Avhat he was doing liere — whence had he come ? — Avhen Avas he going away ? — Avhat Avas this political mystery in Avhicli foolish Faith believed so implicitly? Wliy Avas he in Northamptonshire at all? Was there a chance of his Avandering here to-night to visit his old haunts ? — and if he should, Avhat Avas that to her ? The girl's clieek flushed, thougli she Avas alone, Avith mingled pain and pride TvKEPING SECRETS. 255 as she reflected that she had given her heart unasked. No ! not quite given it, biit suffered it to wander sadly out of her own control ; and that though she was better now, there had been a time when she cared foi- him a great deal more than was good for her. Well, it was over, and yet she should like to see him once again, she confessed, if it Avere only to wish him ' good-bye.' Were there fairies still on earth ? Could it be possible her wish was granted ? There he was ! Grace's heart beat violently, and her breath came and went very quick as the dark figure of a man emerged from the shade of an old oak under which he had been standing, not ten paces fi-om her. She almost repented of her wish, that seemed to have been accorded so readily. Poor Grace ! there was no occasion for penitence ; ere he had made three strides towards her she had recognised him ; and it was with a voice in which disappointment struggled with imfeigned surprise, that she exclaimed, ' Captain Effingham ! ' He doffed his hat, and begged her, with the old manly courtesy she remembered so well, not to be alarmed. ' His duty,' he said, ' had brought him into the neighbourhood, and he could not resist the temptation of visiting the haunts of those who had once been so kind to him before these unhappy troubles had turned his best friends to strangers, if not to enemies.' His voice shook as he spoke, and Grace could not forbear extending her hand to him ; as she touched his it was Hke ice, and he trembled, that iron soldier, as if he was cold. Darkness was coming on apace, yet even in the fading light Grace could not but see how hardly Time had dealt with her old admirer — an admirer of whom, although undeclared, her womanly instinct had been long ago conscious as a very devoted and a very worthy one. George's whole countenance had deepened into the marked lines and grave expression of middle age. The hair and beard, once so raven black, were now grizzled ; and altliough the tall strong form was square and erect as ever, its gestures had lost the buoyant elasticity of youth, and had acquired the slow and some- what listless air of those who have outlived their prime. He seemed to have got something to communicate, yet he walked by her side without uttering another sj/Ilablc. Grace looked down at the ground, and could not mark the sidelong gaze of deep, melancholy tenderness with which he regarded her beautiful profile and shapely form. The silence became very embarrassing ; after the second turn she began to get quite frightened. 250 nOLMBT HOUSE. He spoko. at last as it seemed witli a mighty effort, anJ in z. low, choking voice. ' You are surprised to see me, Mistress Grace, and with reason ; perhaps I am guilty of presumption in even entering your kins- man's domain. Well, it is for the last time. Forgive me if I have startled you, or intruded on your solitude. May I speak to you for five minutes? I will not detain you long. Believe me, I never expected to see i/ou here to-night.' ' Then why on earth did you come ? ' was Grace's very natural reflection, but she only bowed and faltered out a few words expressive of her willingness to hear all he had got to say. ' I only arrived to-day at Northampton,' he proceeded, calming as he went on ; 'I have been appointed to the conmiand of a division of the army, to watch this district, and preserve the peace of his Majesty and his Parliament. We have reason to believe that a conspiracy is being organized to plunge this country once more in civil war. Suspicious persons are about.' Grace glanced sharply at him. ' My ti'oopers are even now scouring the country to arrest a messenger from France, of whom I have received information. It is sad work ; my duty will compel me to hang him to the nearest tree.' It was fortunate that the failing light prevented his seeing how pale she had turned. ' Believe me. Mistress Grace, it is hopeless for the " Malignants " to stir up civil war again. His i\Iajesty's Parliament will act for the safety of his Majesty's person, and it will be my duty, with the large force I command, to escort him in security to the neigh- bourhood of London.' Grace listened attentively — the little Royalist Avas half fi-ight- ened, and half indignant at the calm tone of conscious power in which the successful soldier of the Parliament announced hia intentions. Eflingham paused, as if to gather courage, then proceeded, speaking very rapidly, and looking studiously away from the person he addressed. * You have never known, Mistress Grace — God forbid you ever should know- — such suffering and such anxiety as I have expe- rienced now for many long months. I did not come here to-night to tell you this. I did not come here expecting to see you at all. It was weak, I grant you, and immanly ; but I could not resist the tem^Jtation of wandei'ing near }oiu- home once again, of watching the house in ■\vhicli you were, and perhaps looking on KEEPING SECRETS. 257 the light that shone from your window. I am no love-sick swain, Mistress Grace,' he added smiling bitterly, 'with my rough soldier's manners and my gray hair ; but I plead guilty to this one infatuation, and you may despise me for it if you will. Well ! as I have met you to-night I will tell you all — listen. Ever since T have known you, I have loved yoii — God help me ! — better than my own soul. You will never know, Grace, you shall never know, how truly, how dearly, how worse than madly — I feel it is hopeless — I feel it is no use — that I can never be more to you than the successful rebel, the enemy that is only not hated because you are too gentle and kind to hate any human being. Many a weary day have I longed to tell you this, and so to bid you fare- well, and see you never more. It is over now, and I am happier for the confession. God bless you, Grace ! If you could have cared for me I should have been worthy of you — it cannot be — I shall never forget you — farewell ! ' He raised her hand, pressed it once to his lips, and ere she had recovered from her astonishment he was gone. Grace looked wildly around her, as one who wakes from a dream. It seemed like a dream indeed, but she still heard the tramp of Ills step as he walked away in the calm night, and listening for a few minutes after he Avas gone, distinguished the clatter of a horse's hoofs on the hard road leading to Northampton. Grace was utterly bewildered and confused. There was something not impleasant in the sensation too. Long ago, though she was a good deal afraid of it, she had hugely admired that stern enthu- siastic nature, but the image of another had prevented the im- pression ripening into any feeling deeper than interest and esteem. And now to discover for a certainty that she had subjugated that strong, brave heart, that the rebel warrior liad been worshipping her in secret all those long months, in the midst of his dangers and his victories, that her influence had softened his rigour to many a Eoyalist, and that he had .saved her own dear old father at Naseby for her sake, — all this was anything but disagreeable to that innate love of dominion which exists in the gentlest of her sex, and such a conquest as that of the famous Parliamentary general (for to that rank George had speedily risen) was one that any woman might be proud of, and was indeed a soothing salve to her heart, wounded and mortified by the neglect of another. But then the danger to that other smote her with a chill and sickening appre- hension. It could be none but Bosville that had been seen and suspected by the keen-eyed Parliamentarians. He might be a prisoner even now, and she shuddered as she reflected on tliat s 258 HOOrBY HOUSE. ghastly observation of Effingliam's about tlie nearest tree. Word by word she recalled his conversation, and the design iipon the King's liberty, which she had somewhat overlooked in the contemplation of more personal topics, assumed a frightful import- ance as she remembered that she was the depositary of this im- portant intelligence. What ought she to do ? Though Effingham had trusted her, he had extorted no promise of secresy, and as she had always been taught besides that her first duty was towards her Sovereign, there was no time for consideration. What was to be done ? The King was in danger — Bosville Avas in danger — and she alone had the Icnowledge, though without the power of j^revention. What was she to do ? What could she do ? She was completely at her wits' end ! In this predicament Grace's proceedings were characteristic, if not conclusive ; she first of all began to cry, and then resoh^ed upon consulting Mary, and making a ' clean breast of it,' which she felt would be an inexpressible relief. With this object, she returned at once to the house, and hurried without delay to her friend's chamber. That lady's indisposition had apparently not been severe enough to cause her to go to bed. On the contrary, she was sitting up, still completely dressed, and with a wakeful, not to say harassed, expression on her countenance, which prechided all idea of sleep for many hours to come. She welcomed Grace with some little astonishment, ' her headache was better, and it was kind of dear Gi-acey to come and inquire after her — she was just going to bed — she had been sitting up Avriting,' she said. There was a sheet of paper on the table, only it was blank. Grace flung herself into her arms, and had ' the cry ' fairly out, which had been checked Avhilst she ran into the house. ' And the thing must be told,' sobbed the agitated girl, Avhen she had detailed her unexpected meeting with Eifingham, and its startling results ; * and father mustn't know it, or it Avdl all be worse than ever ; he'll be arming the servants and the few tenants that have got a horse left, and all the horrors will have to begin again, and he'll be killed some day, Mary, I know he will. What shall I do ? What shall I do ? ' Mary's courage always rose in a difficulty ; her brow cleared now, and her head went up. * He must not be told a word, and the King must ! Leave that to me, Gracey.' Grace looked unspeakably comforted for a moment, but the tide of her troubles surged in again irresistibly, as she thought of the suspected fisherman and the noose at the nearest tree. 'the falcon gentle.' 259 'But Bosville, Mary — Bosville — think of him, close by here, and those savages hunting for him and thirsting for his blood. Oh ! Mary, I 7mist save him, and I will. What can be done ? advise me, Mary — advise me. If a hair of liis head is hurt, I shall never sleep in peace again.' ' I wish -we had .sitopped and spoken to him to-day,' observed Mary, abstractedly ; ' and yet it might only have compromised Lim, and done no good.' Grace looked up sharply through her tears. ' Did you know it was Bosville, Mary, in that disguise ? So did I ! ' Notwithstanding Mistress Cave's self-command, a shadow as of great pain passed over her countenance. It faded, nevertheless, as quickly as it came. She took Grace's hand in her own, and looked quietly and sadly in the girl's weeping face. ' Do you love him, Gracey ? ' she said, very gently, and witli a sickly sort of smile. Grace's only answer was to hide her face between her hands and sob as if her heart would break. Till she had sobbed herself to sleep in her chamber, her friend never left her. It was midnight ere she returned to her own room, and dotted the blank sheet of paper Avith a few short words in cipher. "When this Avas done, Mary leaned her head upon her liand, and pondered long and earnestly. We have all read of the pearl of great price in the holy parable, and how, Avhen the seeker had found it, he went and sold all tliat he had, and bought it and made it his own. Lightly he thought of friends, and fame, and fortime, compared to the treasure of his heart. We have often imagined the weary look of utter desolation which would have overspread his features, could he have seen tliat pearl shivered into fragments, the one essential object of his life existent no more — the treasure destroyed, and with it the heart also. Such a look Avas on Mary's pale face as she sat by her bed- side watchino: for the first flush of the siimmer dawn. CHAPTER XXIX. ' THE FALCON GENTLE.' The sun shone bright on the level tei-races of Holmby House- huge stone vases gi-otesqviely carved and loaded with garden- flowers studded the shaven lawns and green slopes that adorned 260 HOLMBY HOUSE. the southern front of tlie palace — here and there a close-chpped yew or stunted juniper threw its black shadow across the sward, and broke in some measure the uniformity of those long formal alleys in which our forefathers took such pleasure, flalf-way doAvn the hill, through the interstices of their quivering screen of leaves, tiie fishponds gleamed like burnislied gold in the morning light ; and far belcAV the sunny vale, broken by clumps of forest timber, and dotted with sheep and oxen, stretched away till it lost itself in the dense woodlands of Althorpe-park. Two figures paced the long terrace that immediately fronted the mansion. To and fuo they walked Avith I'apid strides, nor paused to contemplate the beauties of the distant landscape, nor the stately magnificence of the royal palace — shafted, mullioned, and pinnacled like a stronghold of romance. It was Charles and his attendant, the Earl of Pembroke, taking their morning ex- ercise, which the methodical King considered indispensable to his health, and which was sufficiently harassing to the old and en- feebled frame of the noble commissioner. Charles, hke his son, was a rapid and vigorous pedestrian. His bodily powers were wonder- fully unsusceptible to fatigue ; and perhaps the concentrated ii-ritation awakened by a Hfe of continuous surveillance and restraint may have found vent in thus fiercely pacing like some Avild animal the area of his cage. Poor old Lord Pembroke, on whom the duty of a state-gaoler to his Sovereign had been thrust, sorely against his will, and for whom ' a good white pillow for that good white head ' had been more appropriate than either steel headpiece or gilded coronet, had no such incentive to exertion, and halted breathlessly after the King, witli a ludicrous mixture of deference and dismay, looking wistfully at the stone dial Avhich stood midway in their course every time they passed it, and ardently longing for the time of his dismissal from this the mo.st fatiguing of all his unwelcome duties. The King, whose lungs, like his limbs, were little affected by his accustomed exercise, strode manfully on, talking, as was hia wont, upon grave and weighty subjects, and anon waiting with gentle patience for the answers of the lagging courtier. His Majesty was this morning in a more than usually moralizing mood. ' Look yonder, my Lord Earl,' said he, pointing to the beauteous scene around him — the smiling valley, the trim pleasure-groimds, the sparkling waters, AvIth the lazy pike splashing at interi'als to the surface, and the blossoms showering pink and white in the soft summer breeze. ' Look yonder, and see how the sun pene- trates every nook and cranny of the copsewood, even as it ilooda *THE FALCON GENTLE.' 261 tho open meadows in its golden glory. That sunlight is every - ■where, my lord, in the lowest depths of the castle-vaults, as on yon bright pinnacle, around which the noisy daws are wheeling and chattering even now. 'Tis that sunlight which offers day, dim though it be, to the captive in the dungeon, even as it bathes in its lustre the eagle on the cliff. Is there no moral in this, my lord ? Is there no connexion, think you, between the rays which give w\irmth to the body, and the inner light which gives life to the .soul ? ' Lord Pembroke was out of breath, and a little deaf into the bargain. * Very true, your Majesty,' he assented, having caught just enough of the King's discourse to be aware that it related in some measure to the Aveather. ' Very true, as your Majesty says, we shall have rain anon ! ' And the old Earl looked tip at the .skies, over Avhich a light cloud or two were passing, with a side- long glance, like some weatherwise old raven, devoutly hoping that a shower might put an end at once to the promenade and the conversation. * Ay ! it is even so,' proceeded the King, apparently answering his own thoughts, rather than the inconsequent remark of his sittendant. * There is indeed a cloud athwart the sun, and yet he is shining as brightly behind it upon the rest of the universe, as though there Avere no A'eil interposed between our petty selves and his majestic light. And shall Ave murmur because the dark hour Cometh and Ave must grope in our blindness aAvhile, and mayhap Avander from the path, and stumble and bruise our feet, till the day breaks in its glory once more ? Oh man ! man ! though thou art shrinking and shivering in the storm, the sun shines still the .same in its Avarmth and dazzling light ; though thou art cowering in adversity, God is everywhere alike in Avisdoro, poAver, and goodness.' As the King spoke, he turned and paced the length of the terrace once more. The clouds passed on, and the day Avas bright as ever. It seemed a good omen ; and as the unhappy are prone to be superstitious, it Avas accepted as such by the meditative monarch. In .silence he AA^alked on, deeply engrossed Avith many a sad and solemn subject. His absent Queen, fi"om Avhom he had been long expecting tidings, Avhom he still loved Avith the un- demonstrative Avarmth of his deep and tender nature — his ruined party and proscribed adherents — his lost CroAvn, for he could bcarce now consider himself a Sovereign — his imperilled life, for already had he suspected the intentions of the Parliament, and resolved to oppose them if necessary, even to the death — lastly. 262 HOLMBY HOUSE. liis trust in God, which, weak, imprudent, injudicious as he may have been, never deserted Charles Stuart even in the last ex- tremity — which never yet failed any man who relied upon it in his need, from the Iving on the throne to the convict in the dungeon. But the Monarch's walk was doomed to be interrupted, and Lord Pembroke's penance brought to an earlier close than usual, by a circumstance the origin of which we must take leave to retrograde a few hours to explain, affecting as it does the proceed- ings of a fair lady, Avho, in all matters of difficulty or danger, A\as accustomed to depend on no energies and consult no will but her own. We left Mary Cave in her chamber at Boughton, watching weaiily for the da^vn, which came at length, as it comes alike to the bride, blushing welcome to her wedding-morn, and to the pale criminal, shrinking from the sunlight that he will never see more — which will come alike over and over again to our children and to our children's children, when we are dead and forgotten, but which shall at last be extinguished too, or rather swallowed up in the Eternal Day, when Darkness, Sin, and Sorrow shall be destroyed for evermore. Pale and resolute, Mary made a careful toilet with the first streaks of day. Elaborately she aiTanged every fold of her riding- gear, and with far more j^ains than common pinned up and secured the long tresses of her rich brown hair. Usually they "were accustomed to escape from their fastenings, and wave and float about her when disordered by a gallop in provokingly attrac- tive profusion ; but on this occasion they were so disposed that nothing but intentional violence was likely to disturb their shining masses. Stealthily she left her apartment, and without rousing the household sought the servants' offices — no difficult task, as liolts and bars in those simple times were usually left unfastened, except in the actual presence of some recognised danger; and although such an old-fashioned manor-house as that of Boughton might be fortified securely against an armed force, it was by no means so impregnable to a single thief who should simply use the precaution of taking off his shoes. Not a single domestic did Mary meet, as she took her well-known way towards the stables ; and even Bayard's loud neigh of recognition, echoed as it Avas by tlie delighted sorrel, failed to disturb the slumbers of Dymocke and his satellites. With her own fair hands Mary saddled and bridled her fjivourite, liurting her delicate fingers against the straps and buckles of liis appointments. AVith her own lair hands 'THE FALCON GENTLE.' 263 she jessed and hooded ' Dewdrop,' and took her from her perch ill the- falconer's mews, without leave asked of that still uncon- scious functionary ; and thus dressed and mounted, with foot in stirrup and hawk on hand, Mary emerged through Boughton- park like some female knight- errant, and took her well-known way to Brampton-ford. We are all more or less self- deceivers, and this lady was no exception to the rule of humanity. Secresy was no doubt judicious on such an expedition as that Avhich she had now re- solved to take in hand ; yet it is probable that Dymocke at least might have been trusted so far as to saddle her horse and hood her falcon ; but something in Mary's heart bid her feel shame that any one, even a servant, should know Avhither she was boimd ; and although other and imacknowledged motives besides the obvious duty of warning Charles of his danger prompted her to take so decided a step, she easily persuaded herself that zeal for the King's safety, and regard for his person, made it impera- tive on her to keep religiously secret the interview she proposed extorting from his Majesty ; and that in so delicate and dangerous a business she ought to contide in no one but herself So she rode gently on towards Brampton-ford, Bayard stepping lightly and proudly over the spangled sward, and 'Dewdrop' shaking her bells merrily imder the inspiriting influence of the morning air. A few short years ago she would have urged her horse into a gallop in the sheer exuberance of her spirits ; nay, till within the last twenty-four hours, she would have paced along at least with head erect, and eye kindling to the beauties of the scene ; but a change had come over her bearing, and her brow wore a look of depression and sadness, her figure stooped listlessly on her saddle ; her whole exterior denoted that weary state of dejection which overcomes the player in the great game of life, Avho has thrown the last stake — and lost ! As she neared the river, she looked anxiously and furtively around, peering behind every tree and hawthorn that studded the level surface of the meadow. In vain : no fisherman disturbed the quiet Avaters of the Nene — no solitary figure trampled the long grass, Avet with the dews of morning. There was no chance of a recognition — an explanation. Perhaps he avoided it on pur- pose — perhaps he felt aggrieved and wounded at her long silence — perhaps he had forgotten her altogether. Two years was a long time. Men Avere proverbially inconstant. Besides, had she not resolved in her OAvn heart that this folly should be terminated at once and for ever ? Yes, it Avas providential he Avas not there. 264 irOLMBY HOUSE. It was far better — their meeting would have been painful and awkward for both. She could not be sufficiently thankful tliat she had been spared the trial. All the time she would have given her right arm to see him just once again. With a deep sigh she roused Bayard into a gallop, and the good steed, nothing loth, stretched away up the hill with the long, regular stride that is indeed the true ' poetry of motion.' A form couching low behind a clump of alders Avatched her till she was out of sight, and a shabbily-dressed fisherman, with sad brow and lieavy heart, then resumed his occupation of angling in the Nene with the same studious pertinacity that he had displayed in that pursuit for the last two days. It would have required indeed all the instincts of a loving heart, such as the sorrel, in common with his generous equine brethren, undoubtedly possessed, to recognise in the wan, travel- stained angler the comely exterior of Humphrey Bosville. The drooping moustaches had been closely shaved, the long lovelocks shorn off by the temples to admit of the short flaxen wig which replaced the young Cavalier's dark, silky hair. His worn-out beaver too, slouched down over his eyes, and his rusty jerkin, with its high collar devoid of linen, completed the metamorphosis, AvhiJe the small feet were encased in huge, shapeless wading boots, and the hands, usually so white and Avell kept, were now em- browned and stained by the influence of exposure and hard usage. His disguise, he flattered himself, was perfect, and he was not a little proud of the skill by which he had escaped suspicion in the port at which he landed, and deceived even the wary soldiers of the Parliament as to his real character, at several military posts Avhich they occupied, and where he had been examined. Humphrey Bos- ville, as we kuoAv, had passed his parole never again to bear arms against the Parliament ; but his word of honour, he conceived, did not prohibit him from being the ])rime agent in every hazard- ous scheme organised by the Eoyal Party at that intriguing time. True to his faith, lie missed no opportunity of risking life in tlie service of his Sovereign, and he was even now waiting in the heart of an enemy's country to deliver an important letter from the Queen to her wretched and imprisoned husband. For this cause he prowled stealthily about the river Nene, wait- ing for the chance of Charles's crossing the bridge in some of hia riding expeditions, and the sport of fishing in Avhich he seemed to be engaged enabled him to remain in the same spot for several liours, unsuspected of aught save a characteristic devotion to that most patience -wearing of amusements. *TI1E FALCON GENTLE.' 265 Though he saw his ladye-love ride by alone in the early morning, a feeling of duty, still paramount in his soldier nature, prevented his discoA'ering himself even to her. So he thought and persuaded himself there was no leaven of pique, no sense of irritation at long and unmerited neglect, embittering the kindly impulses of his honest heart. He watched her receding form Avitli aching eyes, *Ay,' thought poor Humphrey, all his long- cherished love welling up in that deep tide of ' bitter waters' which is so near akin to hate, ' ride on as you used to do in your beauty and your heartlessness, as you would do without drawing rein or turning aside, though my body were beneath your horse's feet. What care you that you have taken from me all that makes life hopeful and happy, and left me instead darkness where there should be light, and listless despair where there should be courage, and energy, and trust ? I gave you all, proud, heartless Mary, little enough it may be, and valueless to you, but still my all, and what have I reaped in exchange ? A fevered worn-out frame, that can only rest when prostrated by fatigue, a tortured spirit that never knows a respite save in the pressure of immediate and imminent danger. Well, it will soon be over now. This last stroke Avill probably finish my career, and there will be repose at any rate in the grave. I will be true to the last. Loyalty before all. You shall hear of him when it is too late, but of his own free will, proud, heartless woman, he will never look upon your face again ! ' Our friend was very much hurt, and quite capable of acting as he imagined. These lovers' quarrels, you see, though the wise rate them at their proper value, are sufficiently painful to the poor fools immediately concerned, and Major Bosville resumed his sport, not the least in the fi-ame of mind recommended by old Izaak Walton to the disciple who goes a-fishing. Meanwhile Mary Cave stretched on at Bayard's long easy gallop till she came in view of the spires and chimneys of Holmby House towering into the summer sky, when, with a gleam of satisfaction such as she had not yet displayed kindling on her beautiful face, she drew rein, and prepared for certain active operations, which she had been meditating as she came along. Taking a circuit of the Palace, and entering the park at its westernmost gate, she loosed Dewdrop's jesses, and without un- hooding her. Hung the falcon aloft into the air. A soft west wind was blowing at the time, and the bird, according to the nature of its kind, finding itself free from restraint, but at the same time deprived of sight, opened its broad wings to the breeze and soansd 266 llOLMBY HOUSE. away towards the pleasure-grounds ol' tlic Palace, in which Charles and the Earl of Pembroke Avere taking their accustomed exercise. Alary was no bad judge of falconry, and the very catastrophe she anticipated happened exactly as she intended. The hawk, sailing gallantly doAvn the wind, struck heavily against the branches of a tall elm that intervened, and fell lifeless on the sward almost at the King's feet. Mary at the same time urging Bayard to his speed, came scouring rapidly down the park as though in search of her lost favourite, and apparently unconscious of the presence of royalty or the proximity of a palace, put her horse's head straight for the srmken fence which divided the lawns from the park. Bayard pointed his small ears and cleared it at a bound, his mistress reining short up after perfonning this feat, and dismounting to bend over the body of her dead falcon Avith every appearance of acute and pre-occupied distress. The King and Lord Pembroke looked at each other in mute astonishment. Such an apparition was indeed an unusual variety in those tame morning Avalks, and the drooping figure of the lady, the dead bird, and the roused, excited horse, Avould have made a fit group for the sculptor or the painter. ' Gallantly ridden, fair dame ! ' said the King, at length break- ing the silence, and discovering himself to the confused equestrian. ' Although this is a someAvhat sudden and unceremonious intru- sion on our privacy, Ave are constrained to forgive it, in considera- tion of the boldness of the feat, and the heavy nature of your loss. Yoiir falcon, I fear, is quite dead. Ha ! ' added the monarch, with a start of recognition ; ' by my faith it is Mistress Mary Cave ! You are not here for nothing,' he proceeded, becoming visibly pale, and speaking in an agitated tone ; * are there tidings of the Queen ? ' Mary Avas no contemptible actress ; acting is, indeed, an ac- complishment that seems to come naturally to most Avomen. She noAV counteri'eited such violent confusion and alarm at the breach of etiquette into Avhich her thoughtlessness had hm-ried her, that the old Earl of Pembroke began to make excuses for her impetuosity, and Avhilst Mary, affecting extreme faintness, only murmured ' Avater, Avater,' the old cointier kept ru-ging upon the King that ' the lady Avas probably ignorant of court forms — that she did not knoAV she Avas so near the palace — that her horse was running aAvay Avith her,' and such other incongruous excuses as his breathless state admitted of his enumerating. The King lost patience at last. *THE FALCON OENTLE.' 267 * Don't stand prating there, man,' said he, pointing to Mary, who seemed indeed to be at the last gasp ; ' go and fetch the lady- some water — can you not see she will laint in two minutes ? ' And while the old Earl hobbled off in quest of the reviving element, Charles raised Mary from her knees, and repeated, in a voice trembhng with alarm, his previous question, ' Are there tidings from the Queen ? ' ' No, my liege,' replied Mary, whose faintness quitted her with extraordinary rapidity as soon as the Earl was out of ear-shot, ' This business concerns yoiu^self. There is a plot to carry off yom* Majesty's person, there is a plot to lead you to London a prisoner, this veiy day. I only discovered it at midnight. I had no means of communicating miwatched with my Sovereign, and I took this unceremonious method of intruding on his privacy. Forgive me, my liege, I did not even know that I should be so fortunate as to see you for an instant alone ; had you been ac- companied by more than one attendant, I must have taken some other means of placing this packet in your hands.' As Mary spoke she unbound the masses of her shining hair, and taking a paper from its folds, presented it to the King, tailing once more upon her knees, and kissing the royal hand extended to her with devoted loyalty. ' I have here communicated to your Majesty in cipher all I have learned about the plot. I might have been searched had I been compelled to demand an interview, and I knew no better method of concealing my packet than this. Oh, my liege ! my liege ! confide in me, the most devoted of your subjects. It is never too late to play a bold stroke; resist thia measure with the sword — say but the word, lift but your royal hand, and I will engage to raise the country in sufficient force to bring your Majesty safe off, if I, Mary Cave, have to ride at their head ! ' The King looked down at the beautiful figure kneeling there before him, her cheek flushed, her eyes bright with enthusiasm, her long soft hair showering over her neck and shoulders, her horse's bridle clasped in one small gloved hand, whilst the other held his oAvn, which she had just pressed fervently to her lips ; an impersonation of loyalty, self-abandonment, and unavailing heroism, of all the nobler and purer qualities which had been wasted so fruitlessly in the lloyal cause ; and a sad smile stole over his countenance, whilst the tears stood in his deep, melan- choly eyes, as he looked from the animated living figure, to the dead falcon that completed the group. ' Enough blood has been shed,' said he ; ' enough losses sus- 268 HOLMHY HOUSE. tained by the Cavaliers of England in my quan-el. Charles Stuart •will never again kindle the torch of war — no, not to save liis crown — not to save his head ! Nevertheless, kind Mistress Mary, forewarned is forearmed, and your Sovereign offers you his heart- felt thanks, 'tis all he has now to give, ibr your prompt resolution and your tmsAverving loyalty. Would that it had cost you no more than your falcon — Avould that I could replace your favourite with a bird from my o^vn royal mews. Alas ! I am a King now only in name — I believe I have but one faithful subject left, and that is Mistress Mary Cave ! ' As the King spoke. Lord Pembroke returned with the water, and Mary, Avith many acknowledgments of his Majesty's condes- cension, and many apologies and excuses, mingled Avith regrets for the loss of her falcon, remounted her horse, and leaving the pleasure-grounds by a private gate or postern of Avhich the Earl had the key, returned to Boughton by the Avay she had come, pondering in her own mind on the success of her enterprise and the impending calamities that seemed gathering in to crush the unhappy King. Much to the relief of the aged nobleman, this adventure closed the royal promenade for that morning, and Charles, giving orders for his attendants to be in readiness after dinner, as it Avas his in- tention to ride on horseback and indulge himself in a game of bowls at Lord Vaux's house at Boughton — .an intention Avhich may perhaps have accounted for his abrupt dismissal of Mary Cave — retired to the privacy of his closet, there to deliberate, not on the stormy elements of his political future, not on the Avarning he had just received, and the best means of averting an imprison- ment Avhich now indeed threatened to be no longer merely a matter of form ; not on the increasing poAver of his sagacious enemy, Avho Avas even then taking his Avary, uncompromising measures for his doAvnfall, and Avhose mighty Avill Avas to that of the feeble Charles as his long cut-and-thrust broadsAvord to the walking rapier of a courtier ; not of CromAvell's ambition and his OAvn incompetency ; not of his empty throne and his imperilled head — but of an abstruse dispute on casuistical divinity and the unfinished tag of a Latin A'ersc ! Truly in Aveaker natures constant adversity seems to have the effect of blunting the faculties and loAvering the Avhole mental organisiition of the man. The metal must be iron in the first instance, or the blast of the furnace will never temper it into steel. *A RIDE ACROSS A COUNTRY.' 2ti9 CHAPTER XXX. * A HIDE ACROSS A COUNTRY.' Ok the day during -which the events recorded in our last chapter were taking place, the good sorrel horse, with the instinctive s;igacity peculiar to his kind, ini;st have been aware that some trial of his mettle was imminently impending. Never before in the wliole course of his experience had the same care been be- stowed on his feeding, watering, and other preparations for an appointed task; never before had Dymocke so minutely ex- amined the soimdness of every strap and buckle of his appoint- ments, inspected so rigidly the state of his shoes, or fitted the bit in his mouth, and the links of bis curb-chain with such judicious delicacy. Horses are keenly alive to all premonitory symptoms of activity, and the sorrel's kindling eye and dilated nostril showed that he was prepared to sustain his part, Avhatever it might be, in the impending catastrophe. Dymocke, too, had discarded the warlike air and pompous bearing which he usually affected ; he had considerably shortened his customary morning draught, and as he was well known to be a man of lew words and an austere demeanour, none of his fellow-servants dared take upon themselves to question him when he left the stable-yard in a groom's ordinary undress, and rode the sorrel carefully out as it were for an airing. ' Patrolling ! ' quoth Dymocke to himself, as he emerged from the park -gates, and espied at no great distance two well-mounted dragoons joacing along the crest of a rising ground, and appar- ently keeping vigilant watch over the valley of the None below. ' A picket ! ' he added with a grim leer, and a pat on his horse's neck, as the sun glinted back from a dozen of carbines and the sjime number of steel breastplates drawn up near a clump of trees, Avhere the officer in command flattered himself he was completely hidden from observation. ' Well, they've no call to say nothing to me,' Avas his concludmg remark as he jogged quietly down to- wards the river-side, affecting as mucli as possible the air and manner of a groom training a horse about to run for some valu- able stake — a process sure to meet with the sympathies of Englishmen, whatever might be their class and creed, and one which even the most rigid Presbyterian would be unwilling to embarrass or inteiTupt. It was a good stake, too, that the sorrel was about to run for — J? 70 nOLMBY HOUSE. a stake of Life and Death, a match against Time, with the course marked out by Chance, and the winning-post placed by Destiny. The steed was sound aud trim, his condition excellent, his blood irreproachable ; to use the language of Newmarket, would he slay the distance and get home ? There was a marshy meadow by the river's brink, which even at this dry season of the year was moist and cool, grateful to the sensations of horse and rider. As the sorrel approached it, he snorted once or twice, erected his ears, and neighed long and loudly. The neigh was answered in more directions than one, for dragoons were patrolling the road in pairs, and no less than two outposts of cavalry were distinctly visible. It seemed as though the war had broken out afresh. Dymocke rode quietly round and round the meadow, apparently attending solely to his horse, and an indefatigable angler, who ought ere this to have caught every fish in the Nene, looked up in a startled manner for an in- stant, and resumed his sport with redoubled energy and per- severance. Meanwhile a goodly cavalcade was approaching the half-ruined bridge of Brampton, which here spanned the Nene, and which, although impassable to carriages, admitted of the safe transit of equestrians riding in single file. Bit and bridle rang merrily as the troop wound downwards to the river side ; feathers waved, scarfs and cloaks floated gaudily in the breeze, and gay apparel ghstened bright in the summer sun. It was the King and his courtiers bound for their afternoon's amusement at Bougliton, discoursing as they rode along on every topic save the one that lay deepest in each man's heart, with that mixture of gay sarcasm and profound reflection which was so pleasing to the sovereign's taste, and hazarding opinions with that happy audacity stopping short of freedom which always met with encouragement from the kindly disposition of the Stuarts. It seemed to be no captive monarch surrounded by his gaolers that reined his good horse so gallantly in fi-ont of the trampling throng ; not one of his royal ancestors in the plenitude of his power could have been treated with greater outward show of respect than was Charles by the attendants who spied his most secret actions, and the commissioners who were employed by the Parliament to deprive him of his personal liberty. Old Lord Pembroke, riding on his right hand a little in rear of the King, bowed his venerable head to his horse's mane at every observation of his sovereign, llie Lords Denbigh and Montague, Avith the ceremonious grace which they had acquired years be- A RIDE ACROSS A COUNTRY/ 271 fore at Whitehall, remained at the precise distance prescribed by etiquette from the person of i-oyalty, and conversed when spoken to with the ready wit of coiu'tiers and the frank bearing of English noblemen. Dr. Wilson as physician, and Mr. Thomas Herbert as groom of the bedchamber in waiting, made up the tale of the King's personal attendants, whilst servants with led horses, and one or two yeomen of the guard, completed the cavalcade. No armed escort surromided the King, no outward display of physical force seemed to coerce his will or fetter his actions ; yet the Parliament had chosen their emissaries so well that for all tlicir decorous observances and simulation of respect, with the exception of Herbert, not an inhabitant of Holmby House, from the earl in the presence to the scidlion in the kitchen, but was more or less a traitor to his sovereign. Charles beckoned his groom of the bedchamber to ride up alongside, and old Lord Pembroke fell respectfully to the rear. It might have been remarked, however, that Montague immedi- ately spurred on and remained within earshot. Herbert was a favourite with the monarch. His affectionate disposition was not proof against that fascination which Charles undoubtedly exercised over those with whom he came in daily contact, and a similarity of tastes and habits, a congeniality of disposition between master and servant, each being of a speculative temperament deeply imbued with melancholy, laid the foimdation of a friendship Avhich seems to have been a consolation to the one in the darkest hours of adversity, the pride and glory of the other to the latest day of his life. ' What sayest thou. Master Herbert ? ' said Charles, laying his hand famiUarly on the neck of his servant's horse as he paced slowly down towards the bridge. ' Did not the Stoics aver that the wise man is alone a king ? and was not their ideal of wisdom the nil admirari of the satirist ? Did they not hold that it Avaa a quality which made its possessor insensible to pain or pleasure, pity or anger ; alike impervious to the sunshine of prosperity aa immovable by the storms of adversity ; that the wise man knew neither hope nor fear, neither tears nor laughter ; that he was essentially all-in-all to himself, and from his very nature equally a prophet, a priest, a cobbler, and a king ? ' 'Even so, yoiu- Majesty,' answered Herbert; 'and it has always appeared to me that the ox browsing contentedly in his pasture, satisfied to eat and drink, and ruminate and die, ap- proaches more nearly to the philosopher's ideal of wisdom, than 272 HOLMBY HOUSE. Socrates with his convictions of the future, and Plato, with his speculations on the soul.' ' Kight, jNIaster Herbert,' answered the King, readily losing himself as was his Avont in the labyrinth of abstract discussion which he delighted to provoke. ' The two schools of ancient philosophy arrived, but by different paths, at the same destina- tion. " Eat and drink," urges the Epicurean, " for to-morrow you die." " lic.st and ponder," quoth the Stoic, " for there is no reality even in life." Either maxim is directly opposed to the whole apparent scheme of the natural Avorld. The one Avould im- press you with the uselessness of sowing your grain ; the other convince you of the absurdity of reaping your harvest. Did either really prevail among men, the wcrld could scarce go on a year. ' Doth it not show us that without the light of Revelation, our own intrinsic blindness leads us but iiulher and farther into error .'' That man, with all his self-sufficient pride, is but a child in lead- ing-strings at his best ; that he must have his hopes and fears, his tears and smiles, like a child ; and that though he wince from the chastening Hand, it deals its stripes in mercy, after all. Yet, Herbert, have I often found it in my heart to envy these callous natures, too. Would that I could cither place complete reliance on Heaven, or steel myself entirely against the anxieties and af- fections of earth. Would that I could keep do'WTi the turbiilent heart that rises in wrath against the treatment it feels it has not deserved ; that longs so wearily for the absent, that aches so pain- fully for the dead, that cannot stifle its repinings for the past, nor cease to hope in a future, which becomes every day darker and more threatening. No tidings, and yet no tidings,' proceeded the King, in a lower voice, and musing as it Avere aloud, whilst his large eyes gazed far ahead into the horizon ; ' and yet letters may have been sent, may have been intercepted. I am so watched, so surrounded. Still there might be means. There are loyal hearts left in England, tliough many are lying cold. Alas, it is a weary, weary Avorld ! Yonder is a happy man, Herbert, if you will,' added Charles, brightening up, and once more addressing his conversation to his companion. ' He has not a care for aught but the business in hand. He is a Stoic, a king, a cobbler — what you will. Good faith ! he should be a successful fisherman at the worst : I have watched him for the last ten minutes as we rode along. Doth he see kings and courts every day that he hath not once liited his head from his angle to observe us, or is he in- deed the sage of whom Ave have been talking — the " sutor bonu3 et solus formosus, et est rex?"' *A RIDE ACROSS A COUNTRY.' 273 As the King spoke he pointed to an angler who, having taken up a position on Brampton-bridge, had been leaning there im- mcvable, undisturbed by the noise of the approaching cavalcade. and apparently totally devoid of the two sentiments of admiration and curiosity Avhich the neighbourhood of a sovereign is accus- tomed to provoke. The man seemed deaf or stupid. Pie remained leaning against the broken parapet, apparently unconscious of everything but his rod and line, Avhich he watched vigilantly, with his hat drawn over his brows, and his cloak muffling his face to the eyes. Lord Montague pressed forward to bid the angler stand out of the way, and leave room for Royalty to pass ; but the King, who was an admirable horseman, edged his lordship so near the un- defended brink of the half-ruined bridge, that Montague was fain to fall back with a bow and an inward thanksgiving that he was not overhead in the river. Etiquette forbade any one else to ride in front of the Sovereign, and Charles was consequently at the head of the party, who now defiled singly across the bridge. The angler's back was turned, and he fished on without looking roimd. ' By your leave, good man,' quoth Charles, who, though some- what haughty, particularly since his reverses, with his nobility, was ever courteous and good-humoured to those of humbler birth : * there is scant room for us both, and the Aveakest, well we know, must go to the wall.' While the King spoke, his knee, as he sat in the saddle, touched the back of the preoccupied fisherman. The latter started and turned round ; quick as thought he thrust a small pp.cket into his Majesty's hand, and almost with the .same movement flung himself upon his knees at tlie royal stirrup in a paroxysm of pretended agitation and diffidence as unreal as the negligence for which it affected to atone. Kapid as was the movement, it sufficed for Charles to recog- nise Ids trusty adherent. He crumpled the paper hurriedly into his glove. ' Faithful and true !' he whispered, * save thyself!' and added aloud, for the edification of his attendants, ' Nay, good man ! we excuse thy rudeness on account of thy bodily infirmity. Look that thou be not trodden down by less skilful riders and less manageable steeds.' As he spoke the King passed on to the other side, followed by all hvs attendants save only the Lord Montague, Avho liad turned back to give directions to a patrol of the Parliamentary cavalry which '1' 274 HOLME Y HOUSE. had arrived at the bridge at the same moment as the Eoyal caval- cade, and had drawn up to pay the mihtary compliments due to a sovereign. The patrol, consisting of two efficient-looking dragoons, wei-e remarkably well-mounted, and armed, in addition to swords and pistols, with long deadly carbines. They listened attentively to Lord Montague's directions ; and while his lordship rode off in pursuit of the Iving and his party, scanning the fisherman as he passed him with a strange look of malicious triumph, each soldier unslung his cai'bine, and shook the powder carefully up into its pan. The King looked back repeatedly, as he rose the hill in the direction of Boughton. Once he beckoned Lord Montague to ride alongside of him. ' We thought we had lost your good company, my lord,' quoth his Majesty; 'what made you turn back down yonder by Bramp- ton Mill ? ' ' I dropped my glove, your Majesty,' replied the nobleman, scarcely concealing a smile. ' Whoever picks it up, my lord, will find a bitter enemy ! ' answered Charles ; and he spoke not another word till he reached the great gates of Lord Vaux's hospitable hall. Meanwhile the angler, resuming his occupation, fished steadily on, glancing ever and anon at the retreating troop of horsemen who accompanied the King. When the last plumed hat had dis- appeared over the verge of the acclivity, he took his rod to pieces with a deep sigh of relief; and exchanging his slow listless demeanour for one of resolution and activity, strode briskly away, with the air of a man who has peribrmed a good days work, and is about to receive for the same a good day's wages. He thought, now that he had accomplished his task, he would„linger about her residence and see Mary Cave once more — just once more — ere he Avent into exile again. He trusted none but the King had recognised him ; and he had delivered his packet with such secrecy and rapidity that he could not con- ceive it possible for any other eye to have perceived the move- ment. He little knew Montague's eagle glance. He little knew that, in spite of his disguise, he had been suspected for more than four-and- twenty hours, and that measures had already been taken for his capture. He would know it all time enough. Let him rest for a moment on the thought of his Bnticipated meeting with his ladye-love. The wished-for two minutes that Avere to repay the longings and misgivings of as many years, that he mxist live upon perhaps for another twelvemonth, and be grateful that he 'A RIDE ACROSS A COUNTRY.' 275 has had even such a crumb of comfort for the sustenance of his 9ouL Strange hunger of the heart, that so little can alleviate, bo much fails to satisfy ! He walked swiftly on through the fragrant meadows, waving with their long hei-bage, and bright with but- tercups and field-flowers ; his head erect, his eye gazing far into the horizon, as is ever the glance of those who look forward and not back. Bosville had still a future ; he had not yet thoroughly learned the bitterest of all life's lessons — to live only in the past. No ; he was a man still, with a man's trust and hope, a man's courage and self-reliance, a man's energy and endurance. He would want them all before the sun went down. Suddenly a shout smote upon his ear ; a voice behind him called on him to stop and sui-render. Halting, and turning suddenly round, he beheld a mounted trooper, the tramp of whose horse had been smothered in the long grass, close upon him ; an- other was nearing him from the river side. Both had their car- bines unslung, and even in the confusion of the moment he had time to perceive an expression of calm confidence on each man's countenance, as though he was sure of his prey. For an instant his very heart seemed to tighten with a thrill of surprise and keen disappointment ; but it was not the first time by a good many that Humphrey had looked a catastrophe in the iace, and in that instant he had time to think what he should do. Twenty yards in front of him grew a high luxuriant hedge ; in that hedge was a gap fortified by a strong oaken rail. The foremost horseman's hand Avas almost on his shoulder when he dashed forward and cleared it at a bound. Accustomed to make up his mind in a moment, his first idea was to run under shelter of the fence down to the river, and place the stream between himself and his pursuers, trusting that neither heavily-armed trooper would choose to risk man and horse in deep water. Alas ! on the opposite bank he spied another patrol gesticulating to his comrades, and watch- ing for him should he attempt to land. In the mean time his first pursuers, both remarkably Avell mounted, had ridden their horses boldly over the fence, and were once more close upon his tracks. In another stride he must be struck down and made a prisoner ! But, as is often the case, at the supreme moment succour was at hand. Not twenty yards in front of the fugitive stood Htigli Dymocke, holding the sorrel by the bridle. The wily old soldier had anticipated this catastrophe the whole morning, and was not to be taken unawares at the crisis. He had been watching the movements of the fisherman and the patrol, nor, except for a chance shot, had he much fear of the result. With a rush and 27n HOLMBY HOUSE. a bound, like that of some stricken wild deer, Humphrey reached the sorrel and vaulted into the saddle. As he turned the horse's head for the open meadow with a thrill of exultation and delight, Dymocke let go the bridle and hurriedly whispered in his ear, ' God speed ye, master ! Never spare him for pace ; he had a gallop yesterday, and he's fit to run for a man's life ! ' Ere the sentence was finished they Avere a hundred yards off, and the good horse, flinging his head into the air and snatching wildly at his bridle, indulged in a few bomids and plunges in his gallop ere he settled down into the long sweeping stride his rider remembered so well. With a bitter curse and a shrewd blow fi.-om the butt of his carbine, Avhich Dymocke avoided like a practised tactician, the foremost trooper swept by the old soldier, calling to his comrade in the rear to secure him and take him to head quarters. Both were, however, so intent on the pursuit tliat Dymocke, greatly to his surprise, found himself totally unnoticed, and walked quietly home with his iisual air of staid gravity, reflecting, much to his own satisfaction, on the speed and mettle of his favourite and the probable safety of his young master. And now the chase began in serious earnest. It was a race foi life and death, and the competitors Avere Avell aware of the value of the stakes dependent on tlieir own skill and the speed of the liorses they bestrode. Each trooper knew that a large sum of money and speedy pro- motion would reward his capture of the Royalist, Avhom they had now succeeded in identifying. Each was mounted on a thoroughly good horse whose powers he had often tested to the utmost, and each was moreover armed to the teeth, whilst the fugitive possessed no more deadly Aveapon than the butt of his fishing-rod, which he had retained unconsciously in his hand. Being two to one they had also the great advantage of being able to assist each other in the pursuit, and like greyhounds coursing a hare, could turn the quarry Avherever opportunity offered into each other's jaAvs. Despite of broken ground, of blind ditches choked with grass, and high leafy hedges rich in Midsummer luxuriance, through Avhich they crashed, bruising a thousand fragrant blossoms in their transit, they sped fiercely and recklessly on. All jdong the low grounds by Brampton, Avhere the rich meadoAvs Avere divided by strong thorn fences, the constiintly recurring obstacles compelled Humphrey, bold rider as he Avas, to diverge occasionally from a straight coui-se, and tliis Avas an incalculable advantage to his two pursuei's, Avho, by playing as it Avere into each other's 'A KIDE ACROSS A COUNTRY.' 277 hands, were enabled to keep within sight and even within shot of tlie pursued, though the pace at which they were all going for- bade any appeal to fire-arms, or indeed to any weapons except the spurs. But on emerging from the low grounds into a comparatively open country and rising the hill towards Brixworth, the greater stride and speed of tlie sorrel began to tell. His condition, more- over, was far superior to that of the troopers, and it was with a glow of exultation not far removed from mirth, that Humphrey, finding at last a hand to i5pare with which to caress his favourite, looked back at his toiling pursuers, whose horses Avere now beginning to show undoubted symptoms of having had enough. Even in mid-winter, when the leaves are off those formidable blackthorns, and the ditches, cleared of Aveeds and grass, yawn in all their naked avidity for the reception and ultimate sepulture of the horse and his rider, it is no child's play to cross one of these strongly-fenced Northamptonshu-e valleys. Ay, with all the fictitious excitement produced by the emulation of hunting, and the insatiable desire to be nearer and nearer still to that fleeting vision which, like happiness, is always just another stride beyond our reach ; though the hounds are streaming silently away a field in front of us ; though the good horse between our legs is fresh, ardent, and experienced ; though we have already disposed of our dearest friend on his best himter at that last ' double,' and are sanguine in our hopes of getting well over yonder strong rail, for which we are even now ' hardening our heart ' and shortening our stride ; though we hope and trust we shall go triumphantly on, from fence to fence, rejoicing, and at last see the good fox run into in the middle of a fifty-acre grass field, — yet for all this we cannot but feel that when we have traversed two or three miles of this style of country, without prostration or mishap, we have effected no contemptible feat of equitation, we have earned for the nonce a consciousness of thorough self-satisfiiction intensely gratifying to the vanity of the human heart. And so perhaps it was one of the pleasantest moments of Humphrey's life when he pulled the sorrel into a trot and looked back upon the vale l^elow. The horse snorted and shook his head. He was only In-eathed by the gallop that had so distressed the steeds of the two Parliamentarians. His master patted him fondly and exultingly once again. What a ride he had enjoyed ! how the blood coursed through his veins Avith the anxiety, and the excitement, and the exercise. For two years he had not mounted what could be called a horse, certainly not one 278 HOLMBY HOUSE. that could be .compared with the sorrel. How delightful it was to feel his favourite bound under him as he used to do, once more ! What a sensation to speed along those rich meadows, scanning fence after fence as he approached it, and ilying over the places he had marked out, like a bird on the wing, to the un- speakable discomfiture of the dragoons toiling in his track. How gallantly he had cleared the rivulet that the two soldiers had been forced to flounder through. Well for them that it had shrunk to its summer limits, or they would have been there still. And now in another mile or so he would be safe. His pursuers' horses were too much exhausted even to continue on his track. They Avould soon lose all traces of him. Near Brixworth village was a cottage in which he had already passed two or three nights whilst waiting to fulfil his mission. Its OAvner was a veteran who had fought in his ovm troop at Edge-hill and Newbury, who would think little of imperilling his life for his old officer and King Charles. Arrived at the cottage, he would disguise himself again, and sending the sorrel out of the way, would lie hid till the search Avas past ; he might then venture a few miles from his hiding- place, and at last reach the seashore and embark scatheless for the Continent. In this manner, too, he would have a chance of seeing Mary once more before he departed. Trotting gently along, he was thus busily weaving the thread of his schemes and fancies, his hopes and fears, when alas ! the Aveb was suddenly dispelled by a shot ! The crafty Parlia- mentarians finding themselves completely outstripped by the sorrel, and aware of a picket of their comrades stationed close imder the village of Brixworth, had turned their attention to driving their quarry teis much as possible towards the hill. In this they had been successful, and Humphrey's line of flight had already brought him within a few hundred yards of the enemy's post. As is often the case, however, their strict anxiety to pre- serve themselves unseen, had somewhat abated the vigilance of their look-out, and Bosville, accidentally changing his direction, narrowly escaped passing the neghgent picket without observation or interruption. But the veterans who pursued him Avere skilled in all the various practices of Avar ; the leading horseman, quietly dismount- ing from his jaded steed, sloAvly levelled his carbine, and took a long roA'ing shot at the fast diminishing figure of the fugitive. The bullet Avhistled harmlessly over Humphrey's head, but the report roused the inattentive sentry in advance of the picket, and the Avell-known sound of a trumpet rang out within musket *A RIDE ACROSS A COUNTRY.' 279 range, whilst a dozen horsemen emerging from a chimp of tree;? not two hundred yards to his right, dashed forward at a gallop, with the obvious intention of intercepting or riding him down. Unarmed as he was, and notwithstanding the number of his foes, Humphrey never lost heart for a moment. ' Not trapped yet, my lads ! ' he ground out between his teeth, as with a grim smile he caught the sorrel fast by the head, and urged him once more to his speed, reflecting with fierce exulta- tion on the mettle and endurance of his favourite, still going fresh and strong beneath him, and on the ' neck or nothing ' nature of the chase, in Avhich his only safety lay in placing some insur- mountable obstacle between himself and his piu-suers. They, for their part, seemed determined to make every effort for his capture, dividing into parties so as to cover as large an extent of country as possible, and so prevent any attempt at turning or dodging on the part of the quarry, and forcing him by this means into a line of difficult and broken ground, such as mtist at last tell even on the power and stride of the indefatigable sorrel. The two original pursuers, moreover, whose horses had by this time recovered their wind, laboiired on at a reduced pace along the low grounds, so that a diversion in that direction was impossible. There was nothing for it but to go straight ahead, and straight ahead he went, laughing a strange wicked laugh to himself, as he thought of the Northern Water, no mean tributary to the Nene, which was even now gleaming in the distance a mile or so in fi'ont of him, and reflecting that if he Avere once Avell over such a ' yawner ' as that, he might trot on and seek safety at his leisure, for not a dozen horses in England could clear it from bank to bank ! He trusted, nevertheless, that the sorrel was one of them. So he spared and nursed him as much as possible, choosing his ground with the practised eye of a sportsman, and bringing into use every one of the many methods which experience alone teaches, and by which the perfect horseman, can assist and ease his steed. At the pace he led his pursuers, he cared but little to be out of musket-shot, and he reserved all the energies both of himself and his horse for a dash at the Northern Water.* * A fair leap in the present day, when, under its later appellation of the 'Erixworth Brook,' it spoils many a silk jacket, as the flower of the British army can testify, who, in their modern substitute for Tilt and Tournament, yclept ' The Grand Military Steeple-Chase,' plunge into its profound with a reckless haste truly edifying to the less adventm-ous civilian. 280 HOLMBY HOUSE. Down the lull they come at headlong pace : the troopers, espying Bosville's object, now tax aU their energies to catch him ere he can reach the brook, and spurs are plied and bridles shaken with all the mad recklessness of a neck-and-neck race. Humphrey's spirits rise with the situation. He longs to give vent to his excitement in a wild ' hurrah ! ' as a man does in a charge, but he is restrained from the fear of maddening his horse, already roused by the shouts and clatter behind him, and pulling harder than his Avont. Were he to get the least out of his hand now it would be fatal. He steadies liim gradually till within a hundred yards of the brink, and, regardless of his followers' close vicinity, pulls him back almost into a canter — then tightening his grasp on the bridle, and urging him with all the collective energies of knee, and thigh, and loins, he sets him going once more, the horse pointing his small resolute ears, the rider marking with his eye a sedgy patch of the soundest ground from which he intends their efforts shall be made. Straining on his bridle, the sorrel bounds high into the air, the Avaters flash beneath them, and they are landed safe on the far side with half a foot to spare ! Humphrey gives a cheer now, and a hearty cheer it is, in answer to the yell of rage and dis- appointment that rises from the baffled Parliamentarians. Was there ever man yet that could ' leave well alone ? ' Alas ! that we should here have to record the only instance of bravado on the part of our hero during the whole of his perilous and adventurous career. What demon prompted him to waste the precious moments in jeering at a defeated foe ? Humphrey could not resist the temptation of pvdling up to wave an ironical ' fare- Avell ' to his pursuers. The movement was fatal ; in making it, he turned his broadside to the enemy, and half a dozen carbines were discharged at him on the instant. One bullet truer than the rest found its home in the honest heart of the good sorrel. The horse plunged Avildly forward, fell upon his head, recovered him- self — fell once more, and rolling over his rider, lay quivering in the last convulsions of death. When Humphrey had extricated himself from the saddle and risen to his feet, he had no heart to make any further effort for his escape. He might perhaps have still had time to elude his enemies even on foot, but the strongest nature can only resist a given amount of difficulty and disappointment. 'Tis the last drop that bids the cup brim over, the last ounce that sinks the labouring camel in the Kind. ' FOU THE KING I ' 281 Ho was weak, too, from mental anxiety as from bodily privation, from the conflict of his feelings as from the harassing nature of his task. Brave, generous, hopeful as he was, something seemed to give way within him at this last stroke of fortune, and when his captors, after making a long circuit to cross over by a ford, arrived to take him prisoner, they found him sitting on the groimd, with the sorrel's head upon his knees, weeping like a woman or a child over the dead horse he had loved so well. CHAPTER XXXI. * FOR THE KING ! ' We left our honest friend Dymocke, with the sweep of the trooper's carbine still whistling in his ears, sauntering quietly homewards, his grim visage bespeaking more than usual satisfac- tion, his mental reflections sometimes rising into soliloquy, and taking much such a form as the following. ' Ah ! Hugh ! Hugh ! ' quoth the old soldier, apostrophizing the individual whom of all in the world he should have known best, ' there's few of them can hold a candle to thee, old lad ! when the tackle's got fairly in a coil. Brave ! — there's plenty of 'em brave enough — leastways there's plenty of 'em afraid not to seem so — bvit it's discretion, lad, it's discretion that's wanting; and thankful ought thou to be, that thou'st gotten enough for thyself and the whole household. There's not a man of 'em, now, could have managed this business, and not made a botch of it ! Take the old lord to begin with. He'd have gone threatening and petitioning, and oiFering money, and what not, till the Major was blown just the same as if he'd had him cried in the market. That's the way Avith your quality ; they can't abide to see a thing Rtand simmering; they must needs go shaking the frying-pan, and then they Avonder that all the fat's in the fire ! The women ! I'll not deny but the women are keen hands at plotting and planning, and many's the good scheme they hit upon, no doubt, but where theif fail is in the doing of it. It's " not now," or " I'm so frightened ! " or a fit of crying just in the nick of time ; and then the clock strikes or the bell rings, and it's too late. For the women must either wait too long, or else they'll not wait long enough, so it's as well they wasn't trusted to have anything to do with it. As for the steward, it's my opinion he's a rogue ! and a 282 nOLMBY HOUSE. rogue was never good for anything yet that wanted a bit of " heart " to set it straight ; and tho rest of 'em's fools one bigger than another, there's no gainsaying that. ' No ! there was just one man that could do it, and he's gone and done it. To think of the sense of the dumb animal, too I Never but once did he neigh the whole blessed morning, though there was his master fishing within a pistol shot of him ; and every time he came by the turn of the meadow, he laid his ears back, as much as to say, " I see you ! I am ready for you when you want me." Eeady ! I believe he loas ready. I should know a good horse when I'm on him ; but the way he came round the park with me yesterday afternoon Oh ! it's no use talking. A hawk's one thing, and a round shot's another ; but he's the fastest horse in Northamptonshire at this blessed moment, and well he need to be. St. George ! to see the example he made of those two ! and the Major sitting down upon him so quiet, the way I always told him I liked to see him ride, popping here and popping there, with the horse as steady as a psalm-singer, and every yard they went the soldiers getting farther and farther behind. Well, the ladies will be best pleased to hear the Major's safe off, no doubt of that ; and my pretty Faith, she won't cry her eyes out to see me come back in a whole skin — poor little woman ! she hasn't the nerves of a hen. It was a precious coil, surely, and precious well I've got 'em all out of it. There's few things that can't be done by a man of discretion, 'specially when he's got the care of such a horse as that ! ' Dymocke had arrived at home by the time he reached this conclusion. His self-satisfaction was tmbounded. His triumph complete. It was well for him that his powers of vision were limited by distance — that he possessed no intuitive knowledge of the events of the day. It would have broken honest Hugh down altogether to know that the good sorrel was lying within four miles of him, down there by the Northern Water, with a bullet throngh his heart. But the news he brought was right gladly received by every one of the anxious inhabitants of the old house of Boughton. * Safe ! ' shouted Sir Giles with a loud ' huiTah ! ' that shook the very rafters of the hall. 'Ay ! safe enough, no doubt, with that good horse beneath him, if he did but get a fair start ! We'U drmk the sorrel's health, my lord, tliis very night, after the King's.' ' Safe ! ' echoed Lord Vaux : * delivered out of the jaws of death. Blood has been shed more than enough in these disastrous * FOR THE KING ! ' ' 283 times, and I thank a merciful Providence that his young life haa been spared.' ' Safe ! ' repeated Grace Allonby, Avith a sparkling glance at her father, and the old smile dimpling her triumphant face. ' Far out of danger by this time, and pei-haps not recognised, after all.' ' Safe ! ' whispered Mary Cave, keeping out of observation as much as possible, her hands clasped tight upon her bosom, and her eyes looking np to heaven, filled -with tears. When the intelligence thus reached them, the party were assembled in the great hall immediately subsequent to the King's departure. Whilst honoured by the presence of Eoyalty, Dymocke had no opportunity of communicating with any of the family, and being, as he himself opined, a particularly discreet individual, he wisely abstained from dropping the slightest hint of his errand that might in any way compromise his employers, or afford a clue to his connexion with the fugitive fisherman. Even Faith was not esteemed worthy of his confidence till he had made his report to her superiors; and to do her justice, that deserving damsel was so much taken up by the presence of Royalty, and her own multifarious duties of assisting to provide refresh- ments for the attendants who waited on the King, that the only notice she vouchsafed her admirer was a saucy inquiry as to whether ' he had been courting all the morning ? ' to which Hugh replied with a grim leer, ' It was like enough, since he confidently expected to be married next month ; ' whereat she blvished, and bade him ' go about his business,' returning with much composure to the prosecution of a demure flirtation, on which she had even now entered, with a solid and sedate yeoman of the guard. The King's visit was short and ceremonious enough. His manner to Lord Vaux and Sir Giles Allonby was as gracious as usual, the few words he addressed to the young ladies Idndly and paternal as his wont; but his Majesty was evidently pre-occupied and ill at ease ! The intelligence he had that morning received from Mary harassed and disturbed him, though indeed, some- what to her surprise, he had made no fiu-ther allusion to it, and indeed addressed but a few commonplace remarks to that lady. It was evident to her that he was brooding over the threatened violation of his personal liberty, which was in effect about to take place that same night, and that this apprehension imited with other causes to make him very anxiovis and unhappy. The letter from the Queen, which Humphrey had delivered at such risk, was also unsatisfactory and distressing. He had looked for this epistle 284 HOLMBY HOUSE. for weeks, and when it came at last, behold 1 he had been happier not to have received it. It is often thus -with subjects as well as kings. Under these circumstances, Charles was unable, according to his custom, to forget all other considerations in the trifles on which he was immediately employed — could not as usual throw himself heart and sovd into the fluctuations of the game, as though life offered no other interests than a bowl and bias — did not, even for the short half-hour of his relaxation, succeed in stifling the bitter consciousness that he was a prisoner, though a king. With his usual grave demeanour and mild dignified bearing, he played one set with the old Earl of Pembroke and a few others of his suite^ Lord Vaux and Sir Giles Allonby standing by to hand his Majesty the implements of the game, and then taking his leave with sad and gentle courtesy, the Monarch called for his horses to depart, resisting his host's humble entreaties that he would re-enter the house and partake of a collation ere he rode. Walking down the terrace to the gate at which his horses awaited him, accompanied by Lord Vaux and the two ladies, and followed at the prescrilxid distance by his personal attendants, a damask rose-tree, on which Mary had expended much time and care, caught the King's attention, and elicited his admiration, tinged as usual with the prophetic melancholy that imbued his temperament. ' 'Tis a fair tree and a fragrant,' observed Charles, stopping in his progress ; ' grateful to those who, like myself, love the simple beauties of a garden better than the pomps and splendours of a Court. In faith, the husbandman's is a happier lot than the King's. Yet hath he, too, his anxieties and his disappointments. Frosts nip the hopes of his earliest blossoms ; and the pride even of successful maturity is but the commencement of decay.' As the King spoke, Mary, from an impulse she could not resist, plucked the handsomest flower from its stem, and presented it to her Sovereign. He accepted it with the grave courtesy pecuhar to him. ' If we ever meet at Whitehall, Mistress Mary,' said Charles, with his melancholy smile, ' neither you nor 1 will forget the blood-red rose presented to me this day by the most loyal of all my loyal subjects. Had other hearts been true as yours,' he added, in a low solemn voice, ' I had not been a mimic king, soon to lose even the shade and semblance of royalty.' As he spoke, with a courtly obeisance he mounted his horse and departed, riding slowly and dejectedly, as though loth to return to hia ' For. THE KING ! 285 palace, where he already anticipated the insults and liumiliaiions to -which he was about to be subjected. She coloured deeply •with gratified pride, and a sense of duty strenuously and consistently fulfilled. Poor Mary ! it Avas the last act of homage she was destined ever to pay the Sovereign in whose cause she would cheerfully have laid down her life. The damask-rose was fresh, and bright, and fragrant — the very type of beauty and prosperity, and a worm was eating it away, silently and siirely, at the core. After the King's departure, however, Dymocke's intelligence was imparted to rejoice the hearts of the somewhat dejected Royalists. When people are thoroughly ' broken in,' so to speak, and accustomed to misfortune, it is wonderflil how small a gleam of comfort serves to shed a hght upon their track, and dissipate the gloom to which they have become habituated. Everything goes by comparison, and a scrap of broken meat is a rich feast to a starving man ; nevertheless, the process of training to this enviable state is painful in the extreme. So the ladies sauntered out into tlie park, and enjoyed the balmy summer afternoon, and the luxuriant summer fragrance of leaf and blossom, and the hum of the summer insects all astir in the warmth of June. Grace laughed out merrily, as she used to do years ago ; and IMary's step w^as lighter, her cheek rosier than it had been of late as they discoursed. The King's visit, and the peculiarities of the courtiers, formed their natural tojiica of conversation ; but each lady felt a weight taken from her heart, and a sensation of inexpressible relief which had nothing to do with kings or courtiers, save in as far as the actions of those im- portant personages affected the fortunes of one Major Humphrey Bosville. We must now return to that adventurous gentleman, gradually awakening to a sense of his situation as he sat on a raw-boned troop- horse between two stern-visaged Koundhead dragoons, his elbows strapped tight to his sides, his feet secured beneath his horse's belly ; and notwithstanding such impediments to activity, his attempts to escape, if indeed any Avere practicable, threatened ■with instant death by his rigorous custodians. The Major accepted it as a compliment that not less than eight men ajid a sergeant were esteemed a sufficient force to secure the person of the unarmed fisherman. This formidable escort was commanded by his old acquaintance, ' Ebenezer the Gideonite,' who still shmg his cai'bine across his back in the manner that had once saved his life; and who, to do him justice, bore his old 286 nOLMBY HOUSE. antagonist not the slightest malice for his own discomfiture on that occasion. It was composed, moreover, of picked men and horses from the very flower of the Parliamentary cavahy. Humphrey rode in the midst of them, and tried to recal his scattered senses, and realize the emergency of his present position. Weak and worn-out, Ave have already said that after his horse was shot he had fallen an easy prey to his pursuers. When brought before the officer in command of the party that had captured him, he was neither in a mood nor a condition to answer any questions that might be put. The subaltern's orders, however, seemed sufficiently peremptory to absolve him from the vain task of cross-examining a fainting and unwilling prisoner. In the event of capturing a certain mysterious agent described, he was strictly enjoined to forward him at once to the Parliament, with as much secrecy and despatch as was consistent with the security of the captive. So after providing Humphrey with the food and drink of which he stood so much in need, and suffering him to take a short interval of repose, whilst men were mustered and horses fed, the officer started prisoner and escort without delay on the road to London. Thus it came to pass that while Grace AUonby and Mary Cave were taking their afternoon stroll through the park at Boughton, Humphrey Bosville and his escort were winding slowly down the hill on the high road to the metropolis. The Major's eye brightened as he caught sight of their white dresses, and recognised the form of the woman he had loved so long and so dearly. He started Avith an involuntary gesture that brought the hands of his guardians to trigger and sword-hilt. Although at a distance, it was something to see her just once again. The ladies were turning homewards when, startled by the tramp of horses, both were aware of an armed party advancing in their immediate vicinity. An unconscious presentiment prompted each at the same moment to stop and see the troop pass by. The captive's heart leapt within him as he rode near enough to scan every lineament of the dear face he might never hope to look iipon again. ' They have a prisoner ! ' exclaimed Maiy, turning as white a3 her dress. ' God's mercy / it is Humphrey.' Not another word did either speak. They looked blankly in each other's faces, and Grace burst into a flood of tears. *THE BEGINNING OF THE END.' 267 CHAPTER XXXIT. 'the beginning of the end.' The soft June niglit sank peacefully upon Holmby Palace, with all its conflicting' interests, all its complications of intrigue and treachery, as it sank upon the yeoman's adjoining homestead, and the shepherd's humble cottage in the vale below. The thrush had liuished the last sweet tones of her protracted even-song, and not a sound disturbed the suiTounding stillness, save an occasional note from the nightingale in the copse, and the murmxir of a fountain playing drowsily on in the garden. Calmly the stars shone out in mellow lustre, looking down, as it seemed, mild and reproachfiil on the earth-worms here below. What are all the chances and changes, all the sorrows and struggles, of poor grovel- ling mortality in the sight of those spirit eyes ? Age after age have they glimmered on, careless as now of man's engrossing troubles and man's predestined end. They shone on Naseby field, whitening in their faint light, here a grinning skull, there a bleached and fleshless bone turned up by the hind's careless ploughshare, or the labourer's busy spade, as they shone on Holmby Palace, stately in its regal magnificence, sheltering under its roof a circle of plotting courtiers, with a doomed King ; and their beams fell the same on both, cold, pitiless, and mivarying. What are they, these myriads of flaming spheres? Are they worlds ? are they inhabited ? are they places of probation, of reward, of punishment ? are they solid anthracite, or but lumi- nous vapour ? material masses, or only an agglomeration of par- ticles ? Can their nature be gi-asped by the human intellect, or defined in the jargon of science ? Oh for the child's sweet simple faith once more, that they are but chinks in the floor of Heaven, from which the light of eternal day shines through I The King was preparing to retire for the night. Notwithstanding all the anxieties and apprehensions that had arisen from the warning he had that morning received, notwithstanding the re- ception of his Queen's letter — a document by no means calculated to soothe his feelings or alleviate his distress — the force of habit was so strong that the numerous preparations for his Majesty's ' coucher ' were made with as scrupulous an attention to the most trifling minutiae as when he Avas indued with all the pomp of real royalty and conscious of actual power long ago at Whitehall. After ' the word for the night ' had been given, a word which 2fi8 nOLMHY HOUSE. it seemed a mockery to ask the prisoner himself to select, and the other attendants had been dismissed, after Doctor Wilson had paid his customary visit and received to his respectful inquiries the customary answer that nothing was amiss with the royal health, preserved as it was by rigid and undeviating temperance, Mr. Herbert, as groom-in-waiting, presented the King with an ewer and cloth, making at the same time the prescribed obeisance, and setting a night-lamp, consisting of a round cake of wax in a silver basin, on a chair, proceeded himself to retire to the couch prepared for him in a small anteroom opening into the apartment occupied by his Majesty, so that the King might not, even in the watches of the night, be left entii-ely alone. We have often thought that this habit of being constantly, to a certain extent, before the public, may account in a great measure for the fortitude and dignity so often displayed in critical momenta by sovereigns who have never before be^n suspected of possessing these Spartan virtues. Never, like a humbler individujU, in his most unguarded hours of privacy entirely throwing off the cha- racter which it is his duty to sustain, a sovereign, even a weak- minded one, acquires a habit of reticence and self-command which becomes at last second nature ; and he who is every day of his life obliged to appear a hero to his valet de chambre, finds little difficulty in sustaining the part to which he is so well accustomed tinder the gaze of a multitude, even in a moment of general con- fusion and dismay. As Herbert backed respectfully from the room, the King re- called him, as though for a few minutes' confidential conversation. ' Herbert,' said he, taking up at the same time his jewelled George and Garter, which, with his customary attention to trifies, he insisted should be placed near his bed-head, ' Herbert, you arc becoming negligent ; you have omitted to lay these gauds — empty vanities that they are ! — in their accustomed place. Also this morning you neglected to observe the command I gave last night.' His Majesty spoke with a grave and somewhat haughty air, Avhich concealed a covert smile. The attendant, in some confusion and no little surprise at the unusual disjjleasure of the King's tone, admitted that he had aroused his Majesty five minutes too late, and pleaded in extenu- ation the usual excuse of a discrepancy amongst the clocks. The King preserved an ominous frown. ' You are aware,' said he, ' that I never pardon a fault, nor overlook even the most trilling mistake. Have you not often heard me called harsh, vindictive, and exacting? T have prepared your ' THE BEOINNIxXG OF THE END.' 289 punishment; I trust it "will admonii^h you foi* the future. Here is a gold watch,' he added, his assumed displeasure vanishing at once in a hearty burst of laughter at the scared expression of his attendant's countenance, ' a gold alarm-watch, which as there may be cause shall awake you. Wear it for Charles Stuart's sake ; and years hence, perhaps when he is no more, may it remind you of the stern, unkindly sovereign, who, albeit he valued to the ut- most the affection and fidelity of his servant, could not pass over the slightest omission without some such token of his displeasure as this.' So speaking, and good-humouredly pusliing Herbert from the room, he bade him a cordial ' good-night,' leaving his groom of the bedchamber moi-e devoted to his person, if possible, than before. Such was one among many instances of Charles's benevolent disposition ; such little acts of kindness as this endeared him to all with Avhom he came in daily contact, and the charm of such a temperament accounts at once for the blind devotion on the part of his followers, commanded by one who was the most amiable and accomplished of private gentlemen, as he was the most injudicious and inefficient of kings. Alusing upon the fortunes of his master, and regretting in his affectionate nature his own powerlessness to aid the sinking monarch, Herbert fell into a broken and disturbed slumber, from which, however, he soon awoke, and observed, somewhat to his dismay, that the King's chamber was in perfect darkness. The door of communication being left open, in case his services should be required during the night, the attendant's first impulse was to rise and re-light the lamp, which he concluded had been acci- dentally extinguished. He was loth, however, to distui-b the King's rest, and whilst debating the point in his own mind, fell off to sleep. jVfter a short slumber, he Avas again aroused by the King's voice calling to him, and was surprised to see that the lamp had been rekhidled. ' Herbert,' siud his master, ' I am restless, and cannot sleep. Thou wilt find a volume on yonder table ; read to me, I prithee, ibr a space. It may be the good bishop's discourses will lull mo to repose. Thou, too, art wakeful and watchful. I thank thee for thy vigilance in so readily rekindling my light, which had gone out.' Herbert expressed his surprise. ' I have not entered your IMujesty's chamber,' said he. * I have never left my couch since I lay down ; but being restless, I u 290 nOLlIEY HOUSE. observed your Majesty's room was dark, and when I woke even now reproached myself that your Majesty must have risen to perform a duty that should have devolved upon your servant.' ' I also awoke in the night,' replied the King, ' and took notice that all was dark. To be fully satisfied, I put by the curtain to look at the lamp. Some time after I found it light, and concluded then that thou hadst risen and set it upon the basin lighted again.' Herbert assured liis Majesty it was not so. Charles smiled, and his countenance assumed that mystical and rapt expression it so often wore. ' I consider this,' said he, ' as a prognostic of God's future favour and mercy towards me and mine — that although I am at this time so eclipsed, yet either I or they may shine out bright again ! ' Even as he spoke a loud knocking was heard at the outer door, communicating as it did with a back staircase that led to a private entrance into the court. Sounds of hurry and confusion at the same time pervaded the palace, and the tramp of horses mingled with the clash of steel Avas distinctly audible outside the walls. Major-General Browne's voice was heard, too, above the confusion, calling on the few yeomen of the guard and other officials who formed the garrison to ' stand to their arms,' exhorting them at the same time to preserve the King's person from injury, and the majesty of the ParHament, as represented by the Commissioners, from insult. Meantime, MaAvl, IMaxwell, and Harrington, all personal attendants of the Sovereign, rushed to his bedchamber, scared, pale, and half-dressed, but ready, if need were, to sacrifice their lives in defence of the King. Charles alone preserved his usual composure. The knocking at the door of his private apartments being violently repeated, he desired Maxwell to hold converse with this unmannerly distui'ber of his repose. Reconnoitring the assailant through a panelling iu the door, the old courtier was horrified to observe a Cornet of the Parliamentary dragoons standing at the head of the stairs in complete armour, Avith a cocked pistol iu his hand, and clamouring for, admittance. The dialogue was carried on with a military sternness and brevity shocking to the prejudices of the Gentleman-Usher, more accustomed to the circumlocutions of diplomacy and the compli- ments of a court. 'What would you? ' inquired Maxwell, through the panelling. * Wlio are you, and by whose orders do you come here ? ' The Cornet was a stout, resolute-looking man, with all the appearance of having risen from the ranks. His voice was deep *THE BEGINNING OF THE END.' 291 and harsh, his countenance of that dogged nature which seta argument and persuasion alike at defiance. His answers were short and categorical. ' I would see Charles Stuart,' he replied. ' My name is Joyce, Cornet in the service of the Parhament. I am here on my own responsibility.' * Have you the authority of the Commissioners for your intru- sion ? ' gasped out Maxwell, totally aghast at the unheard-of breach of etiquette, in which he felt himself aiding and abetting. * No ! ' thundered the Cornet ; ' I have placed a sentry at the door of every man of them. Keep quiet, old gentleman — I take my orders from them that fear neither Commissioners nor Par- liament.' In effect, the Cornet's entrance into Holmby House, and his rapid occupation of every post in its vicinity, as of the palace itself, had been achieved in a masterly manner that showed him to be no inexperienced practitioner in war. With a numerous body of cavalry at his disposal, he had been all day occupied in concentrating them silently and stealthily aroimd the beleaguered palace. His main body had that after- noon bivouacked on Harleston Heath, strong pickets had been placed in every secluded spot which admitted of concealment within a circuit of a few miles, and constant patrols had been watching every road by which an escape from Holmby was practicable. As darkness fell he had pushed forward his several posts to one common centre, and by the hour of midnight a summer moon shone do^vn on the court-yard of Holmby Palace, filled with a mass of iron-clad cavalry, whose numbers rendered resistance hopeless and impossible. Colonel Graves and General Bro-\vne, however, two old Parlia- mentary officers, seemed to have had some inkling that an attack was meditated : for without any apparent reason they had doubled the guards around the King's person, and contrary to their wont had remained astu- till midnight. When the first files of the approaching cavalry marched into the court, they had called upon the handful of soldiers and yeomen that formed the garrison to resist to the death, and had themselves held a parley Avith the redoubtable Cornet. When asked his name and business, he had replied, with the same bluntness that so discomfited Max- well, that ' his name was Joyce, Cornet in Colonel Whalley'a regiment of horse, and his business was to speak with the King.' ' From whom ? ' said Brqwne, with rising indignation. 'From myself! ' replied the Cornet, with provoking coolness. 292 HOLMBY HOUSE. The two old soldiers burst into a derisive laugh. ' It's no laughing matter,' said the unabashed intruder ; ' I came not hither to be advised by you, nor have I any business with the Commissioners. My errand is to the King, and speak with him I must and will.' ' Stand to your arms,' exclaimed Browne, to the handful of soldiers inside the palace : but these had in the meantime held some conference with the intruders, and finding that they all belonged to the same party, and that several were old comrades •who had charged together many a day under the same banner, they refused to act against their friends, and drawing bolts and bars, admitted them without further parley, bidding them welcome, and shaking them cordially by tlae hand. Thus it was that the Cornet obtamed admittance even to the very door of his Majesty's bedchamber. A certain sense of propriety, however, which almost always accompanies the respon- sibility of a command, forbade him from offering any further violence, and with a most iingracious acquiescence he consented to leave the King undisturbed till morning, stipulating, however, that he should himself take up a position for the night on the staircase, Avhich in effect he did, being Avith difficiilty persuaded to lay down his firearms and return his sword to its sheath. Charles sought his couch once more in that frame of placid helplessness which seems usually to have taken possession of him Avhen in the crisis of a difficulty. He slept soundly, and awoke with characteristic regularity, little before his ordinary hour. His toilet was performed Avith elaborate care, liis devotions not curtailed of a single interjection, his poached egg and glass of fair Avater leisurely discussed, and then, but not till then, his Majesty expressed his readiness to hold an intervicAV Avith the personage Avho seemed to have power of life and death over his Sovereign. The King's simplicity of manner and quiet dignified bearing overawed even the rough and loAV-born officer of the Pai'liament. Half-ashamed of his insolence, half bullying himself into his naturally offensive demeanour, Cornet Joyce Avas ushered into the pi-esence with a far different aspect from that Avliich he had assumed the night before. Such is the innate dignity afforded by true nobility of soul, that Charles and his captor seemed to have changed places. The King appearing to be the offended though placable judge, the Coi-net Avearing the sullen, apprehen- sive, and abashed look of a guilty prisoner. Charles's good-nature, hoAvever, soon restored the official to hie Belf-possession, and by an easy transition, to a large portion of hi& *TIIE BEGIN.MKa OF THE END.' 2L'3 original insolence. In reply to the monarch's gentle interrogative as to the cause of the last night's outrage, he answered boldly, ' My orders are to remove your Majesty at once, without further delay.' This frank avowal created no small dismay in the little circle then assembled in his Majesty's outer apartment. Herbert turned pale, and trembled. Maxwell, as red as fire, seemed to doubt the evidence of his senses ; Avhilst General Browne, stepping aside into the recess of a Avindow, swore fearliilly for five consecutive minutes in tones not loud but deep. The King remained totally unmoved. ' Let the Commissioners be sent for,' said he, with a dignified air, * and let these orders be communicated to them.' The Cornet was fast recovering his former audacity. ' I have taken measures with them already,' said he ; ' they are in watch and ward even now, and must return, will they, nill they, to the Parliament.' ' By Avhose authority ? ' demanded the King, sternly, but with visible uneasiness. The Cornet shook his head, laughed rudely, and pointed with his forefinger to his ovm. coarse person. ' I would ask you, sir, as a favour,' said the King, * to set them at liberty ; and I demand, as a right,' he added, drawing himself up, and flushing Avith a sense of impotent anger and outraged dignity, ' to be permitted a sight of your instructions.' ' That is easily done,' answered Joyce, ' if your Majesty will take the trouble to step as far as this window.' And opening the casement, he pointed into the court-yard below, where indeed was drawn up as goodly a squadron of cavalry as the whole Parliamentary army could boast, well armed, Avell mounted, bold, and bronzed, with stalwart frames and stern, unflinching faces, possessed, moreover, of the self-confidence and disciplined valour inspired by a career of hard-won victories. They Avere the same material, some of them the same men, that confronted Charles at Edge-hill, routed him at Marston Moor, and finally vanquished him at Naseby. The finest cavalry in the Avorld, and, bitterest thought of all, his OAvn subjects. The King's heart Avas sore as he looked doAvn into the court, but he had ]ilayed the part of royalty too long not to knoAV hoAV to dissemble his feelings, and he turned to the Cornet Avith a smile as he said, ' Your instructions, .sir, are in fair characters, and legible Avith- out spelling. The language, though someAvhat forcible, is suffi- ciently intelligible, and admits of no further argument. I am ready to attend your good pleasure, Avith this proviso, that I stir 294 HOLMBY HOUSE. not unless accompanied by the Commissioners. You have haa your audience, sir ; you may wthdraw.' The Comet, somewhat to his own surprise, found himself making a respectful obeisance and retiring forth Avith ; but the King's coach was ordered to be got in readiness without delay, and that very day Charles Stuart, accompanied, as he had stipu- lated, by the Commissioners, commenced the journey which led him, stage by stage, to his final resting-place — the liital window at AYhitehall — the scaffold and the block. CHAPTER XXXIII. 'the beacon afar.' * Ebenezf.r the Gideonite ' was no bad specimen of the class he represented — the soiir-visaged, stern, and desperate fanatic, who allowed no consideration of fear or mercy to turn him from the path of duty ; whose sense of personal danger as of personal re- sponsibility was completely swallowed up in his religious enthu- siasm ; who would follow such an officer as George Effingham into the very jaws of death ; and of whom such a man as Crom- WL'll knew how to make a rare and efficient instrmnent. Ebenezer's orders were to hold no communication wdth his prisoner, to neglect no precaution for his security; and having reported his capture to the general in command at Northampton, to proceed at least one stage further on his road to London ere he halted for the night. iliimphrcy's very name was consequently unknown to the party Avho had hini in charge. As he had no papers whatever upon his ]U'rson when captured, the subaltern in command of the picket at lirixworth had considered it viseless to ask a question to which it was so easy to give a fictitious answer ; and Ebenezer, although recognising him personally as an old acquaintance, had neglected to ascertain his name even after their first introduction by means of the flat of the Cavalier's sabre. Though his back had tingled for weeks from the effects of a blow so shrewdly administered ; though he had every opportimity of learning the style and title of the prisoner whom ho had helped to bring before Cromwell at his lioad-quarters ; yet, with an idiosyncrasy peculiar to the British Boldicr, and a degree of Saxon indifference amounting to stupidity, he had never once thought of making inquiry as to who or wliat ' THE BEACON AFAr.. 295 was this hard-hitting Malignant that had so nearly knocked him off his horse in the Gloucestershire lane. Erect and vigilant, he rode conscientiously close to his prisoner, eyeing him from time to time with looks of curiosity and interest, and scanning his figure from head to heel with obvious satisiac- tion. Not a word, however, did he address to the captive; his conversation, such as it was, being limited to a few brief sentences interchanged with his men, in which Scriptural phraseology was strangely intermingled with the language of the stable and the parade-ground. Strict as was the discipline insisted on amongst the Pai-liamentary troops by Cromwell and his officers, the escort, as may be supposed, followed the example of their superior with stern faces and silent tongues ; they rode at ' attention,' their horses well in hand, their weapons held in readiness, and their eyes never for an instant taken off the horseman they surrounded. Humphrey, we may easily imagine, was in no mood to enter into conversation. He had indeed enough food for sad forebodings and bitter reflections. Wild and adventurous as had been his life for many weeks past — always in disguise, always apparently on the eve of discovery, and dependent for his safety on the fidelity of utter strangers, often of the meanest class — not a day had elapsed without some imminent hazard, some thrilling alter- nation of hope and fear. But the events of the last few hours had outdone them all. To have succeeded in his mission ! — to have escaped when escape seemed impossible, and then to fail at the last moment, when safety had been actually gained ! — it seemed more lilce some Avild and feverish dream than a dark hopeless reality. And the poor sorrel ! How sincerely he mourned for the good horse ; how well he had always carried him ; how gentle and gallant and obedient he was ; how he turned to his master's hand and sprang to his master's voice. How fond he was of him ; and to think of him lying dead yonder by the water- side ! It was hard to bear. Sti-ange how a dumb animal can wind itself roimd the human heart ! What associations may be connected with a horse's arch- ing crest or the intelligent glance of a dog's eye. How they can bring back to us the happy ' long, long ago ; ' the magic time that Bccms brighter and brighter as we contemplate it from a greater and greater distance ; how they can recal the soft tones and kindly glances that are hushed, perhaps, and dim for evermore : perhaps, the bitterest stroke of all, estranged and altered now. ' Love me, love my dog ! ' — there never was a truer proverb. Ay ! love my dog, love my horse, love all that came about me ; the dress I wore, 296 HOLMBY IIOC^E. the words I have spoken, the very ground 1 trod upon, — but do not be surprised that horse and dog, and dress and belongings, all are still the same, and I alone am changed. So Humphrey loved the sorrel, and grieved for him sincerely. The rough Puritan soldiers could understand his dejection. Many a charger's neck was caressed by a rough hand on the march, as the scene by the Northern Water presented itself vividly to the dragoons' untutored minds ; and though the vigilance of his guardians was unimpeachable, their bearing towards Humphrey Avas all the softer and more deferential that these veteran soldiers could appreciate his feelings and sympathise with his loss. He had but one drop of comfort, one gleam of sunshine now, and even that was dashed with bitter feelings of pique and a con- sciousness of unmerited neglect. He had seen Mary once again. He liked to think, too, that she must have recognised him ; must have been aware of his critical position ; must have known that he was being led off to die. ' Perhaps even her hard heart will ache,' thought the prisoner, ' when she thinks of her handiwork. Was it not for her sake that I undertook this fatal duty — for her sake that I have spent years of my life in exile, risked that life ungrudgingly a thou- sand times, and shall now forfeit it most imquestionably to the vengeance of the Parliament? Surely, surely, if she is a woman, she must be anxious and unhappy now.' It was a strange morbid sensation, half of anger, half of triumjih ; yet through it all a tear stole to his eye from the fond heart that could not bear to think the woman he loved should suffer a moment's uneasiness even for his sake. Silently they rode on till they reached Northampton town. The good citizens were too much inured to scenes of violence, too well accustomed to the presence of the Parliamentary troojjs, to throw away much attention on so simple an event as the arrival of an escort with a prisoner. Party-feeling, too, had become considerably weakened since the continued successes of the Parliament. Virtually the war was over, and the Commons now represented the governing poAver throughout the country. The honest townsmen of Northampton were only too thankful to obtain a short interval of peace and quiet for the prosecution of ' business ' — that magic word, which speaks so eloquently to the feelings of the middle class in England — and as their majority had from the very conmiencement of the disturbances taken the popular side in the great civil contest, they could afford to treat tlieir fallen foes with mercy and consideration. ' THE BEACON AFAR.' 297 Unlike his entry on a previous occasion into the good city of Gloucester, Humphrey found his present plight the object neither of ridicule nor remark. The passers-by scarce glanced at him as he rode along, and the escort closed round him so vigilantly that a careless observer would hardly have remarked that the troop encircled a prisoner. In consequence of their meditatcid movement against the King's liberty, the Parliament had concentrated a large force of all arms at Northampton, and the usually smiling and peaceful town presented the appearance of enormous barracks. Granaries, manutiictories, and other large buildings were taken up for the iise of soldiers ; troop-horses Avere picketed in the streets, and a park of artillery occupied the market-place ; whilst the best houses of the citizens, somewhat to the dissatisfaction of their owners, were appropriated by the superior officers of the division. In one of the largest of these George Effingham had established himself. An air of military simplicity and discipline pervaded the general's quarters : sentries, steady and immovable as statues, guarded the entrance ; a strong escort of cavalry occupied an ad- joining building, once a flour-store, now converted into a guard- house. Grave upright personages, distinguished by their orange scarfs as officers of the Parliament, stalked to and fro, intent on mihtary affairs, here bringing in their reports, there issuing forth charged Avith orders ; but one and all affecting an austerity of demeanour which yet somehow sat unnaturally upon buff coat and steel head-piece. The general himself seemed immersed in business. Seated at a table covered with papers, he wrote with unflinching energy, looking up, it is true, ever and anon with a weary abstracted air, but returning to his work with reneAved vigour after every interruption, as though determined by sheer force of will to keep his mind from wandering off its task. An orderly-sergeant entered the room, and, standing at ' atten- tion,' announced the arrival of an escort Avith a prisoner. The general looked up for a moment from his papers, ' Send in the officer in command to make his report,' said he, and resumed his occupation. Ebenezer stalked solemnly into the apartment : gaunt and grim, he stood bolt upright and commenced his narrative : ' I may not tarry by the Avay, General,' he began, ' for verily the time is short and the night cometh in Avhich no man can Avork ; even as the day of grace, Avhich passeth like the shadoAf on the sim-dial ere a man can say, Lo ! here it cometh, or lo I there.' 298 HOLMBY HOUSE. Effingham cut him short with considerable impatience. * Speak out, man,' he exclaimed, ' and nay what thou'st got to say, with a murrain to thee ! Dost think I have nought to do but sit here and listen to the prating of thy fool's tongue ? ' Ebenezer was one of those preaching men of war Avho never let slip an opportunity of what they termed ' improving the occa- sion ; ' but our friend George's temper, which the imhappiness and uncertainty of the last few years had not tended to sweeten, was by no means proof against such an infliction. The subordi- nate perceived this, and endeavoured to condense his communi- cation within the bounds of military brevity, but the habit was too strong for him : after a few sentences he broke out again — ' I was ordered by Lieutenant Allgood to select an escort of eight picked men and horses, and proceed in chai-ge of a prisoner to London. My instructions were to pass through Northampton, rej^orting myself to General Effingham by the way, and to push on a stage further without delay ere I halted my party for the night. With regard to the prisoner, the cap- tive, as indeed I may say, of our bow and spear, who fell a prey to us under Brixworth, even as a bird faUeth a prey to the fowler, and who trusted in the speed of his horse to save him in the day of wrath, as these Malignants have ever trusted in their snortings and their prancings, forgetting that it hath been said — ' ' Go to the devil, sir ! ' exclaimed George Effingham, with an energy of impatience tliat completely dissipated the thread of tht. worthy sergeant's discourse ; ' are you to take up my time stand- ing preaching there, instead of attending to your duty ? You have your orders, sir ; be off, and comply with them. Your horses are fresh, your journey before you, and the sun going down. I shall take care that the time of your arrival in London is reported to me, and woe be to you if you " tarry by the way," as you call it in your ridiculous hypocritical jargon. To the right — face ! ' It was a broad hint that in an orderly-room admitted of but one interpretation. Ebenezer's instincts as a soldier predominated over his temptations as an orator, and in less than five minutes he was once more in the saddle, wary and vigilant, closing his files carefully round the captured Royalist as they wound down the stony street in the direction of the London road. George Effingham returned to his writing, and with a simple memorandum of the iact that a prisoner had been rejiorted to him as under escort for London, dismissed the whole subject at once from his mind. * THE EEACON AFAR.' 299 Thus it came to pass that the two friends, a« still they may be called, never knew tliat they were within a hundred paces of each other, though in how strange a relative position ; never knew that a chance Avord, an incident however trifling, that had be- trayed the name of either, would have brought them together, and perhaps altered the whole subsequent destinies of each. George never suspected that the nameless prisoner, reported to him as a mere matter of form, under the charge of Ebenezer, was his old friend Humphrey Bosville ; nor could the Cavalier Major guess that the General of Division holding so important a com- mand as that of Northampton, Avas none other than his former comrade and captain, dark George Effingham. The latter woi-ked hard till nightfall. It was his custom now. He seemed never so uneasy as when in repose. He acted like a traveller who esteems all time wasted biit that which tends to the accomplishment of his journey. Enjoying the confidence of Cromwell and the respect of the whole army, won, in despite of his antecedents, by a career of cool and determined bravery, he seemed to be building up for himself a high and influential station, stone by stone as it were, and grudging no amount of sacrifice, no exertion to raise it, if only by an inch. The enthusiasm of George's temperament was counterbalanced by sound judgment and a highly perspicuoiis intellect, and conseqiiently the tendency to fanaticism Avhich had first impelled him to join the Revolu- tionary party, had become considerably modified by aU he saAV and heard, Avhen admitted to the councils of the Parliament, and better acquainted Avith their motives and opinions. He no longer deemed that such men as Fairfax, Ireton, even CromAvell, were directly inspired by Heaven, but he could not conceal from him- self that their energies and abilities Avere calculated to Avin for them the high places of the earth. He kncAV, moreover, none better, the strength and the Aveaknesses of either side, and he could not doubt for a moment Avhich must become the dominant party. If not a better, the ci-devant Cavalier had become im- questionably a Aviser man, and having determined in his own mind Avhich of the contending factions was capable of saving the country, and Avhich Avas obviously on the high road to poAver, he never now regretted for an instant that he had joined its ranks, nor looked back as Bosville Avould have done under similar cir- cumstances, with a Avistful longing to all the illusions of romance and chivalry which shed a glare over the doAvnfall of the dashing Cavaliers. Effingham's, Ave need hardly say, Avas a temperament of extraordinary perseverance and unconquerable resolution. He 300 nOLMT51 HOUSE. had now proposed to liimsclf a certain aim and end in life. From the direction wliich led to its attainment he never swerved one inch, as he never halted for an instant by the way. He had determined to win a high and influential station. Such a station as should at once silence all malicious remarks on his Koyalist antecedents, as should raise him, if not to wealth, at least to honour, and above all, such as should enable him to throw the shield of his protection over all and any whom he should think it Av'orth his while thus to shelter and defend. Far in the distance, like some strong swimmer battlmg successfully against wind and tide, he discerned the beacon Avhich he had resolved to reach, and though he husbanded his sti-ength and neglected no advantage of eddy or back-Avater, he never relaxed for an instant from his efforts, convinced that in the moral as in the physical conflict, he who is not advancing is necessarily losing way. Such tenacity of purpose xoill be served at last, as indeed it fully merits to be, and this Saxon quality Effingham possessed for good or evil in its most exaggerated form. The weaknesses of a strong nature, like the flaws in a marble column, are, hoAvever, a fit subject for ridicule and remark. The general, despite his grave appearance and his powerful intellect, was as childish in some matters as his neighbours. Ever since the concentration of a large Parliamentary force around North- ampton, and the investment, so to speak, of Holmby House by the redoubtable Cornet Joyce, it had been judged advisable by the authorities to stjition a strong detachment of cavalry at the village of Brixworth, a lonely hamlet within six miles of head-quarters, occupying a commanding position, and with strong capabilities for defence. This detachment seemed to be the general's peculiar care ; and who should gainsay such a high military opinion aa that of George Effingham ? Whatever might be the press of business during the day, however numerous the calls upon hi.s time, activity, and resources, he could always find a spare hour or two before sundown, in Avhich to visit this important outpost. Accompanied by a solitary dragoon as an escort, or even at times entirely alone, the general would gallop over to beat up Lieute- nant Allgood's quarters, and returning leisurely in the dark, would drop the rein on his horse's neck, and sufl'or him to walk quietly through the outskirts of the park at Boughton, whilst his master l(joked long and wistfully at the casket containing the jcAveJ which he had sternly resolved to win. On the day of Hum- ])hrey's capture, the very eagerness on the part of Effingham to fulfil his daily duty, or rather, we should say, to enjoy the only * THE BEACON AFAK.' 301 relaxation he permitted himself, served to render him somewhat impatient of Ebenezer's long-winded communications; and by cutting short the narrative of that verbose official, perhaps pre- vented an interview Avith his old friend, wliich, had he believed in its possibility, he would have been sorry to miss. A bright moon shone upon the waving fern and fine old trees of Boughton Park as George returned from his customary visit to the outpost. He was later than usual, and the soft southern breeze wafted on his ear the iron tones that were tolling mid- night from Kingsthorpe Church. All was still, and balmy, and beautiful, the universe seemed to breathe of peace, and love, and repose. The influence of the hour seemed to soothe and soften the ambitious soldier, seemed to saturate his whole being with kindly, gentle fe>iUngs, far different from those which habitually held sway in that weary, careworn heart ; seemed to whisper to him of higher, holier joys than worldly fame and gratified pride, even than successful love — to i;rge upon him the beauty of humility, and self-sacrifice, and hopeful, child-like trust — the triumph of that resignation which far outshines all the splendours of conquest, which Avrests a victory even out of the jaws of defeat. Alas ! that these momentary impressions should be transient in proportion to their strength ! What is this flaw in the human organization that thus makes man the very puppet of a passing thought ? Is there but one rudder that can guide the bark upon her voyage, veering as she does with every changing breeze ? but one course that shall bring her in safety to the desired haven, when all the false pilots she is so prone to take on board do but run her iipon shoals and quicksands, or let her drift aimlessly out seaward througli the night ? We know where the charts are to be found' — we know where the rudder can be fitted. Wliose fault is it that we cannot bring our cargo safe home to port ? The roused deer, alarmed at the tramp of George's charger, sprang hastily from their lair under the stems of the spreading beeches, bkinched in the moonlight to a ghastly white. As they coursed along in single file under the horse's nose, he bounded lightly into the air, and with a snort of pleasure rather than alarm broke voluntarily into a canter on the yielding moss-grown sward. The motion scattered the train of thought in which his rider was plunged, dispelled the charm, and brought him back fi-om his visions to his own practical, resolute self. He glanced t)nce, and once only, at the turrets of the hall, from which a light was still shining, dimly visible at a gap in the fine old avenue ; and then with clenched hand and stern, compressed smile, turned 302 HOLMBY HOUSE. his horse's head liomeward, and galloped steadily on toAvards his own quarters in Northampton town. CHAPTER XXXIV. 'past and gone.' Perhaps had Effingham known in whose room was twinkling that light which shone out at so late an hour from the towers of the old manor-house ; could any instinctive faculty have made him aware of the council to which it was a silent witness ; could he have guessed at the solemn conclave held by two individuals in that apartment, from which only a closed casement and a quarter of a mile of avenue separated him, even his strong heart would have beat quicker, and a sensation of sickening anxiety would have prevented him from proceeding so resolutely homewards, would have kept him lingering and hankering there the livelong night. The solitary light was shining fi-om Grace Allonby's apartment. In that luxurious room Avere the two ladies, still in full evening costume. One was in a sitting posture, the other, with a pale, stony face, her hair pushed back from her temples, and her lips, usually so red and ripe, of an ashy white, walked iri'egularly to and fro, clasping her hands together, and twisting the lingers in and out with the imconscious contortions of acute suffering. It Avas IMary Cave Avho seemed thus driven to the extremity of appre- hension and dismay. All her dignity, all her self-possession had deserted her for the nonce, and left her a trembling, weeping, harassed, and afflicted Avoman. Grace Allonby, on the other hand, sate in her chair erect and motionless as marble. Save for the action of the little foot be- neatli her dress, Avhich tapped the floor at regular intervals, she might, indeed, have been a statue, Avith her fixed eye, her curved, defiant lip and dilated nostril expressive of mingled wrath and scorn. Brought up as sisters, loving each other Avith the undemon- strative affection Avhich dependence on one side and protection on the other surely engenders betAveen generous minds, never before had the demon of discord been able to sow the slightest dissension betAvcen these Iavo. Noav, hoAvever, they seemed to have changed natures. Mary was Avrithing and pleading as for dear life. Grace *rAST AND aoNE.' 303 sat stem and pitiless, hei* dark eyes flashing fiercely, and her fair brow, usually so smooth and open, lowering with an ominous scowl. For five minutes neither had spoken a syllable, though Mary continued her troubled walk up and down the room. At last Grace, turning her head haughtily towards her companion, stiffly observed, ' You can suggesfe, then, no other method than this unwomanly and humiliating course ? ' ' Dear Grace,' replied Mary, in accents of imploring eagerness, ' it is oiu* last resource. I entreat you — think of the interest at stake. Think of him even now, a prisoner on his way to execu- tion. To execution I Great Heaven ! they will never spare him now. I can see it all before me — the gallant form walldng erect between those stern, triumphant Pviritans, the kmdly face blind- folded, that he may not look upon his death. I can see him standing out fi-om those levelled muskets. I can hear his voice firm and manly as he defies them all, and shouts his old battle-cry — " God and the King ! " I can see the wreaths of white smoke floating away before the breeze, and down upon the greensward, Humphrey Bosville — dead ! — do you understand me, girl ? dead — stone dead ! and we shall never, never see him more ! ' Mary's voice rose to a shriek as she concluded, towering above her companion in all the majesty of her despair ; but she could not sustain the horror of the picture she had conjured up, and sinking into a chair, she covered her face with her hands, and shook all over like an aspen leaf. Grace, too, shuddered visibly. It was in a softened tone that she said, ' He must be saved, Mary. I am willing to do all that lies in my power. He shall not die for his loyalty, if he can be rescued by any one that bears the name of Allonby.' ' Bless you, darling, a thousand, thousand times ! ' exclaimed Mary, seizing her friend's hand, and covering it with kisses ; ' I knew your good, kind heart would triumph at the last. I knew you would never leave him to die without stretching an arm to help him. Listen, Gracey. There is but one person that can interpose with any chance of success on his behalf — I need not tell you again who that person is, Gracey ; you used to praise and admii-e my knowledge of the world ; you used to place the utmost faith in my clearsightedness and quickness of j^erception. I am not easily deceived, and I tell you George Effingham loves the very ground beneath your feet. Not as men usually love, Grace, with a divided interest, that makes a hawk or a hound, a place at 304 HOLMBY HOUSE. court, or a brigade of cavalry, too dangerous and successful a rival, but with all the energy of his whole enthusiastic nature, ■with the reckless devotion that would iling the world, if he had it, at your feet. He is your slave, dear, and I cannot wonder at it. For your lightest whim he would do more, a thousand times more, than this. He has influence with our rulers (it is a bitter drop in the cup, that we must term the Eoundhead knaves our rulers at last) ; above all, he has Cromwell's confidence, and Cromwell governs England now. If he can be prevailed on to exert himself, he can save Bosville's life. It is much to ask him, I grant you. It may compromise him with his party, it may give his enemies the means of depriving him of his command, it may ruin the whole future on which his great ambitious mind is set. I know him, you see, dear, though he has never thought it worth his while to open his heart to vie ; it might even endanger hia safety at a future period, but it vnist be done, Grace, and you are the person that must tell him to do it.' ' It is not right,' answered Grace, her feminine pride rousing itself once more. ' It is not just or fair. What can I give him in exchange for such a favour ? How can I, of all the women upon earth, ask him to do this for me ? ' ' And yet, Grace, if you refuse, Humphrey must die ! ' said Mary, in the quiet tones of despair, but with a ■\\Tithing lip that could hardly utter the fatal word. Grace was driven from her defences now. Conflicting feelings, reserve, pride, pity, and affection, all were at war in that soft heart, which so few years ago had scarcely known a pang. Like a true woman, she adopted the last unfailing resource — she put herself into a passion, and burst into tears. ' Why am I to do all this ? ' sobbed Grace. ' Why are my father, and Lord Vaux, and you yourself, Mary, to do nothing, and I alone to interfere ? What especial claim has Humphrey on me ? What right have I, more than others, over the person of Major Bosville ? ' ' Because you love him, Grace,' answered IMary, and her eyo never wavered, her voice never faltered, when she said it. The stony look had stolen over her face once more, and the rigidity of the full white arm that peeped through her sleeve showed how tight her hand was clenched, but the woman herself was as steady as a rock. The other turned her eyes away from the quiet searching glance that was reading her heart. ' And if I did,' said poor Grace, in the petulance of her distress, ' I should not be the only person. You like hira yourself, Mary, you know you do — am 1 to save him for your sake ? ' * PAST AND GONE.' 305 The girl laughed in bitter scorn Avhile she spoke, hut tears of shame and contrition rose to her eyes a moment afterwards, as she reriected on the ungenerous words she had spoken. Mary had long nerved herself for the task, she was not going to fail now. She had resolved to give Mm iip. Three little simple words ; very easy to say, and comprising after all — what ? a mere nothing ! only a heart's happiness lost for a life-time — only a cloud over the sim for evermore — only the destruction of hope, and energy, and all that makes life worth having, and distinguishes the intellectual being from the brute. Only the exchange of a ^utiu-e to pray for, and dream of, for a listless despair, torpid and benumbed, — fearing nothing, caring for nothing, and Avelcoming nothing but the stroke that shall end life and suffex'ings together. This was all. She would not flinch — she was resolved — she could do it easily. ' Listen to me, Grace,' she said, speaking every word quite dowly and distinctly, though her very eyebrows quivered with the violence she did her feelings, and she was obliged to grasp the arm of a chair to keep the cold, trembling fingers still. ' You are mistaken if you think I have any sentiment of regard for Major Bosville deeper than friendship and esteem. I have long known him, and appreciated his good qualities. You yourself must acknowledge how intimately allied we have all been in the Avar, and how stanch and faithful he has ever proved himself to the King. Therefore I honour and regard him, therefore I shall always look back to him as a friend, though I should never meet him again. Therefore I would make any exertion, submit to any sacrifice to sixve his life. But, Grace, / do not love him.'' She spoke faster and louder now. ' And, moreover, if you believe he entertains any such feelings on my behalf, you are wrong — I am sure of it — look at the case yourself, candidly and impartially. For nearly two years I have never exchanged words with him, either by speech or writing — never seen him but twice, and you yourself were present each time. He may have admired me once. I tell you honestly, dear, I think he did, but he does not care two straws for me now.' Poor Mary ! it was the hardest gulp of all to keep back the tears at this ; not that she quite thought it herself, but it was so cruel to be obliged to say it. After all, she was a woman, and though she tried to have a heart of stone, it quivered and bled like a heart of flesh all the while, but she went on resolutely with a tighter hold of the chair. I think you and he are admirably suited to each other, i X 306 HOLMBY nousE. think you would be very happy together. I thlnlc, Grace, you like him very much — you cannot deceive me, dear. You have already excited his interest and admiration. Look in your glass, my pretty Grace, and you need not be surprised. Think Avhat will be his feelings when he owes you his life. It requires no prophet to foretell how this must end. He will love you, and you shall marry him. Yes, Grace, you can surely trust vie. I swear to you from henceforth, I will never so much as speak to him again. You shall not be made imeasy by me of all people — only save his life, Grace, only use every effort, make every sacrifice to save him, and I, Mary Cave, that was never foiled or beaten yet, promise you that he shall be yours.' It is peculiar to the idiosyncrasy of women that they seem to ihink that they have a perfect right to dispose of a heart that belongs to them, and say to it, ' you shall be enslaved here, or enraptured there, at our good pleasure.' Would they be more surprised or angry to find themselves taken at their word ? Grace listened with a pleased expression of countenance. She believed every syllable her friend told her. It is very easy to l)elieve what we wish. And it was gratifying to think that she nad made an impression on the handsome young Cavalier, for Avhom she could not but own she had once entertained a Avarm feeling of attachment. Like many another quiet and retiring woman, this consciousness of conquest possessed for Grace a charm dangerous and attractive in proportion to its rarity. The timid are sometimes more aggressive than the bold ; and Grace was sufficiently feminine to receive considerable gratification from that species of admiration which Mary, who was surfeited with it, thoroughly despised. It was the old story between these two : the one was courteously accepting as a trifiing gift that which constituted the whole worldly possessions of the other. It is hard to offer up our diamonds, and sec them valued but as paste. ' There is no time to be lost, Mary,' observed Grace, after a \\'.\f moments' retlection. ' I will make it my business to see General Effingham before twenty-four hours have elapsed. If, as you say, he entertains this — this infotuation about me, it will perhaps make him still more anxious on behalf of his old friend, to provide tor whose sjifety I should think he would strain every nerve, even if there Avere no such person as Grace Allonby in the wr.rld. "We will save Major Bosville, Mary, whatever happens, if I have to go down on my bonded knees to George Effingham. Not that I think such a measure will be needful,' added Grace, *PAST AND GONE.' 307 tvith. a smile ; * he is very courteous and considerate, notwith- standing his stern brows and hauglity manner. Very chivah-ous, too, for a Puritan. My father even avows he is a good soldier ; and I am sure he is a thorough gentleman. Do you not think so, Mary ? ' But Mary did not answer. She had gained her point at last. Of course it was a great comfort to know that she had succeeded in her object. Had the purchase not been Avorth the price, she would not sm-ely have offered it ; and now the price had been accepted, and the ransom was actually paid, there was nothing more to be done. The excitement was over, and the reaction liad already commenced. ' Bless you, Grace, for your kindness,' Avas all she said. ' I am tired now, and will go to bed. To-morrow we Avill settle every- thing. Thank you, dear, again and again.' With these words she pressed her cold lips upon her friend's hand ; and hiding her face as much as possible from observation, walked quietly and sadly to her room. It was an unspeakable relief to be alone, face to face ■with her great sorroAV, but yet alone. To moan aloud in her agony, and speak to herself as though she were some one else, and fling herself down on her knees by the bed-side, burying her head in those white arms, and weep her heart out while she poured forth the despairing prayer that she might die, the only prayer of the afflicted that falls short of the throne of mercy. Once before in this very room had Mary wrestled gallantly with suffering, and been victorious. Was she weaker now that she was older ? Shame ! shame ! that the woman should give way to a trial which the girl had foimd strength enough to overcome. Alas ! she felt too keenly that she had then lost an ideal, whereas this time she had voluntarily surrendered a reality. She had never known before all she had dared, if not to hope, at least to dream, of the future with hi7n that was still possible yesterday — and now — Lost, too, by her own deed, of her own free "will. Oh ! it was hard, very hard to bear ! But she slept, a heavy, sotmd, and exhausted sleep. So it ever is with great and positive affliction. Happiness Avill keep us broad awake for hours, to rise with the lark ; gladsome, notwith- standing our vigils, as the bird itself, refreshed and invigorated by the srmshine of the soui. "Tis an unwilling bride that is late astir on her wedding-morn. Anxiety, with all its harassing effects, admits of but feverish and fitftil slimibers. The dreaded crisis is never absent from our thoughts ; and though the body 308 HOLMBY HOUSE. may be prostrated by weariness, the mind refuses to be lulled to rest. We do not envy the merchant prince his bed of down, especially when he has neglected to insure his argosies: but when the blow has actually fallen, when happiness had spread her wings and flown away, as it seems, for evermore, when there is no room for anxiety, because the worst has come at last, and hope is but a mockery and a myth, then doth a heavy sleep descend upon us, like a pall upon a coffin, and mercy bids us take our rest for a time, senseless and forgetful like the dead. But there was a bitter drop still to be tasted in the full cup of Mary's sorrows. Even as she laid her down, she dreaded the moment of waking on the morrow ; she wished — how wearily ! — that she might never wake again, though she knew not then that she would dream that night a golden dream, such as should make the morning's misery almost too heavy to endure. She dreamed that she was once again at Falmouth, as of old. She walked by the seashore, and watched the narrow line of calm blue water and the ripple of the shallow wave that stole gently to her feet along the noiseless sand. The sea-bird's wing shone white against the summer sky as he turned in his silent flight ; and the huslied breeze scarce lifted the folds of her own Avhite dress as she paced thoughtfully along. It was the dress he liked so much ; she had worn it because he was gone, far away beyond those blue waters, with the Queen, loyal and true as he had ever been. Oh that he were here now, to walk hand-in-hand with lier along those yellow s-'mds ! Even as slie wished he stood by her, his breath was on her cheek, his eyes were looking into hers, his arm stole round her waist. She knew not how, nor Avhy, but she was his, his very own, and for always now. ' At last,' she said, putting the hair back from his forehead, and printing on the smooth brow one long, clinging kiss, ' at last ! dear. You will never leave me now ? ' and the dream answered * Never, never- more ! ' Yet when she woke, she did not waver in her resolution. Though alary Cave looked ten years older than she had done but twenty -four hours before, she said to her own heart, ' I have decided : it shall be done ! ' *THE LANDING-HET.* 309 V CHAPTER XXXV. 'the landing-net.' i'AiTH li;id excited Dymocke's jealousy. This was a great point gained ; perhaps with the intuitive knowledge of man's weak- nesses, possessed by the shallowest and most superficial of her sex, she had perceived that some decisive measure was required to land her fish at last. Though he had gorged the bait greedily enough, though the hook was fairly fixed in a vital spot, and nothing re- mained — to continue our metaphor — but to brandish the landing- net, and subsequent frying-pan, the prize lurked stolidly in deep waters. This state of apathy in the finny tribe is termed ' sulk- ing ' by the disciples of Izaak Walton ; and the great authorities who have succeeded that colloquial philosopher, in treating of the gentle art, recommend that stones should be thrown, and other offensive measures practised, in order to bring the fish once more to the surface. Let us see to what description of stone-throwing Faith resorted to secure the prey, for which, to do her justice, she had long been angling Avith much craft, skill, and untiring patience. Dymocke, we need hardly now observe, was an individual who entertained no mean and derogatory opinion of his own merits or his own charms. An essential article of his belief had always been that there was at least one bachelor left, who was an extraordi- narily eligible investment for any of the weaker sex below the rank of a lady ; and that bachelor bore the name ' Hugh Dymocke.' AVith such a creed, it was no easy matter to bring to book our far-sighted philosopher. His good opinion of himself made it useless to practise on him the usual arts of coldness, contempt, and what is vulgarly termed ' snubbing.' Even jealousy, that last and usually efficacious remedy, was not easily aroused in so self- satisfied a mind ; and as for hysterics, scenes, reproaches, and appeals to the passions, all such recoiled from his experienced nature, like hailstones from an armour of proof He was a dif- ficult subject, this wary old trooper. Crafty, callous, opinionated, above all, steeped in practical as well as theoretical wisdom. Yet, when it came to a trial of wits, the veriest chit of a silly waiting- maid could turn him round her finger at will. We have heard it asserted by sundry idolaters, that even ' the worst woman is better than the best man.' On the truth of this axiom we would riot venture to pronounce. Flattering as is ouf 310 HOLMBY HOUSE. opinion of the gentle sex, we should be sorry to calculate the amount of evil which it would require to constitute the worst of those fascinating natures which are so prone to run into extremes ■, but of this we are sure, that the silliest woman in all matters of finesse and subtlety is a match, and more than a match, for the ■\\aseet of mankind. Here was Faith, for instance, who, with the exception of her journey to Oxford, had never been a dozen miles from her own home, outwitting and outmanoeuvring a veteran toughened by ever so many campaigns, and sharpened by five- and-twenty years' practice in all the stratagems of love and war. After revolving in her o^vn mind the different methods by which it would be advisable to hasten a catastrophe that should terminate in her own espousals to her victim, the little woman resolved on jealousy as the most prompt, the most efficacious, and perhaps the most merciful in the end. Now, a man always goes to woi'k in the most blundering manner possible when he so far forgets his own honest dog-like nature as to play such tricks as these. He invariably selects some one who is diametricaUy the opposite of the real olDJect of attack, and proceeds to open the war with such haste and energy as arc perfectly unnatural in them- selves, and utterly transparent to the laughing bystanders. When he thinks he is getting on most swimmingly, the Avorld sneers ; the fictitious object, who has, indeed, no cause to be flattered, despises ; and the real one, firmer in the saddle than ever, laughs at him. It serves him right, for dabbling with a science of which he does not know the simplest rudiments. This was not Faith's method. We think we have ah-eady mentioned that in attendance upon the King at Holmby was a certain yeoman of the guard on whom that damsel had deigned to shed the sunshine of her smiles, in which the honest fimctionary basked ■with a stolid satisfaction edifying to witness. He was a steady, sedate, and goodly person- age ; and, save for his bulk, the result of little thought combined with much feehng, and his comeliness, which he inherited from a Yorkshire mother, Avas the very counterpart of Dymocke himself ile was nearly of the same age, had served in the wars on the King's side with some little distinction, was equally a man of few words, wise saws, and an outward demeanour of profound sagacity, but lacked, it must be confessed, that prompt wit and energy of action which made amends for much of the absurdity of otu- friend Hugh's pretensions. He was, in short, such a personage as it seemed natural for a woman to admire who had been capable of appreciating the good qualities of the sergeant; and in ihisl-'nith showed a tact and dis- *TnE LANDING-NET.' 311 cernment essentially feminine. Neither did she go to work * hiimmer-and-tongs,' as if there were not a moment to be lost ; on the contrary, she rather suftered than encouraged the yeoman'n unwieldly attentions ; and taxed her energies, not so much to captivate him as to watch the effect of her behaviour on the real object of attack. She had *but little time, it is true, for her operations, which were limited to the period of the King's short visit at Boughton ; but she had no reason to be dissatisfied Avith the success of her efforts, even long before the departure of his Majesty and the unconscious rival. Dymocke, elated with his last exploit, and full of the secret intelligence he had to communicate, at first took little notice of his sweetheart, or indeed of any of the domestics ; and Faith, wisely letting him alone, played on her own game with persevering steadiness. Afler a time she succeeded in arousing his attention, then his anxiety, and lastly his wrath. At first he seemed simply surprised, then contemptuous, afterwards anxious, and lastly un- doubtedly and unreasonably angry, with himself, with her, with her new acquaintance, with the whole world ; and she looked so confoundedly pretty all the time ! When the yeoman went away. Faith gazed after the departing cavalcade from the buttery-window with a deep sigh. She remarked to one of the other maids ' that she felt as if she could die for the King ; and what a becoming uniform was worn by the yeomen of the guard.' Dymocke, who had approached her with some idea of an armistice, if not a treaty of peace, turned away with a smothered curse and a bitter scowl. All that night he never came near her, all the next morning ho never spoke to her, yet she met him somehow at every turn. He was malleable now, and it was time to forge him into a tool. It was but yesterday we watched two of our grand-childi-en at play in the corridor. The little girl, with a spirit of unjust acquisitiveness, laid violent hands upon her brother's toys, taking from him successively the whole of his marbles, a discordant tin trumpet, and a stale morsel of plum-cake. The boy, a sturdy, curly-headed, open-eyed urcliin, rising five, resented this Avhole- sale spoliation with considerable energy; and a grand quarrel, not without violence, was the result. The usual declaration of liostility, ' then I ivonH play,'' was followed by a retreat to different comers of the gallery; and a fit of 'the sulks,' lasting nearly twenty minutes, afforded a short interval of peace and quiet to the household. A child's resentment, however, is not of long duration ; and we are bound to admit that in this instance the aggressor made the 312 IIOLMBY HODSE. first advances to a reconciliation. ' You began it, dear,' lisped the little vixen, a thorough woman already, though she can hardly speak plain. 'Kiss and make up, brother : you began it! ' And we are persuaded that the honest little fellow, with his masculine softness of head and heart, believed himself to have been from the commencement wholly and solely in the wrong. So Faith, lying in Avait for Dymocke at a certain angle of the back-yard, where there Avas not much likelihood of interruption, stood to her arms boldly, and commenced the attack. ' Are you never going to speak to me again, sergeant ? ' said Faith, with a half-mournful, half-resentful expression on her pretty face. * I know what neAv acquaintances are — the miller's daughter's a good girl and a comely ; but it's not no far from here to Brampton Mill that you need to be in such a huny as not to .spare a Avord to an old friend, Hugh ! ' The last monos3'llable Avas only Avhispered, but accompanied by a soft stolen glance fj-om imder a pair of long eyelashes, it did not fiiil to produce a certain effect. ' The miller's daughter ! Brampton Mill ! ' exclaimed Hugh, aghast and open-mouthed, dumbfoundered, as Avell he might be, at an accusation so devoid of the slightest shadow of justice. ' Oh ! I know Avhat I knoAV,' proceeded Faith, Avith increased agitation and alarming volubility. ' I knoAV Avhere you were spend- ing the day yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that! I kuoAV Avhy you leave your Avork in the morning, and the dinner stands till it's cold, and the horse is kept out all day, and comes home in a muck of SAveat; and it's "where's the sergeant?" and "has anybody seen Hugh?" and "Mistress Faith, can you tell Avhat's become of Dymocke ? " all over the house. But I answer them, " I've nothing to do Avith Dymocke ; Dymocke don't belong to me. Doubtless he's gone to see his friends in the neighbourhood ; and he knoAvs his oAvn Avays best." Oh ! / don't Avant to pry upon you, sergeant ; it's nothing to me Avhen you come and go : and no doubt, as I said before, she's a good girl, and a comely ; and got a bit of money too ; for her sister that married Will Jenkins she's gone and quarrelled with her father ; and the brother, you knoAv, he's in hiding ; and they're a bad lot alto- gether, all but her\ and I hope you'll be happy. Sergeant Dymocke; and you've my best wishes; and (sob) prayers (sob), for all that's come and gone yet (sob), Hurjh ! ' To say that Dymocke Avas astonished, stupefied, at his wits' end, is but a Aveak mode of expressing his utter discomfiture ; the eld soldier Avas completely routed, Ji-ont, flanks, and rear, dis- 'TJIE LAx\DING-NET. 313 amied and taken prisoner, he was utterly at the mercy of his conqxioror. ' It's not much to ask,' pursued Faith, her cheeks flushing, and lier bosom heaving as she wept out her plaint ; ' it's not much to aslc, and I should like to have back the broken sixpence, and the silver buckles, and the — the — bit of sweet marjoram I gave you yesterday was a fortnight, if it's only for a keepsake and a remembrance when you're married, Hugh, and you and me are separated for ever ! ' "W^ith these desponding words, the disconsolate damsel buried her face in her apron and moaned aloud. What a brute he felt himself ! how completely she had put him in the wrong — how his conscience smote him, innocent as he was concerning the miller's daughter, for many little instances of inattention and neglect towards his affianced bride, who was now so unselfishly giving him up, with such evident distress. Hoav his heart yearned towards her now, weeping there in her rustic beauty, and he pitied her, pitied her, whilst all the time, with his boasted sagacity and experience, he was as helpless as a baby in the little witch's hands. * Don't ye take on so. Faith,' he said, attempting an awkward caress, from which she snatched herself indignantly away, * don't ye take on so. I never Avent veca- the miller's daughter. Faith — I tell ye I didn't, as Fm a living man ! ' * Oh ! it's nothing to me, sergeant, whether you did or whether you didn't,' returned the lady, looking up for an instf.nt, and incontinently hiding her face in her apron for a fresh burst of grief. ' It's all over between you and me now, Hugh, for evermore ! ' ' Never say such a word, my dear,' returned Dymocke, waxing considerably alarmed, as the possibility of her being in earnest occurred to him, and the horrid suspicion dawned on his mind that this might be a 7-use to get rid of him in favour of the comely yeoman, ailer all ; 'and if you come to that, lass, you weren't so true to your colours yourself yesterday, that you need to turn the tables this way upon me.' She had led him to the point now. Then he was jealoits, as she intended he should be, and she had got him sale. ' I'm sure I don't know what you mean. Sergeant Dymocke,' answered INIistrcss Faith, demurely, sobbing at longer intervals, and drying her eyes while she spoke. ' If you aUude to my con- versation with one of his blessed Majesty's servants yesterday, I answer you that it was in the presence of yourself and all my 314 HOLMBY HOUSE. lord's servants ; and if it hadn't been, I'm accountable to no one. A poor lone woman like me can't be too careful, I know ; a poor lone woman that's got nobody to defend her character, speak up for her, or take care of her, and that's lost her best friend, that quarrels -with her whether she will or no. Oh ! what shall I do ? — what shall I do ? ' The action was very nearly over now. Another flood of tears, brought up like a skilful general's reserve, in the nick of time, turned the tide of affairs, and nothing Avas left for the sergeant but to sm-render at discretion. ' It's your own fault if it be so,' whispered Hugh, Avith that peculiai-ly sheepish expression which pervades the male biped's countenance when he so far humiliates himself as to make a bond fide proposal. ' If you'll say the Avord, Faith, say it noAv, lor in- deed I love you, and I'll never be easy till you're my Avife, and that's the truth ! ' But Faith wouldn't say the Avord at once, nor indeed could she be brought to put a period to her admirer's sufferings, in Avhich, like a very Avoman, she found a morbid and inexplicable gratifi- cation, until she had Avell-nigh Avorried him into a AvithdraAval of his offer, Avhen she said it in a great hurry, and sealed her sub- mission with a kiss. On the subsequent festivities held both in the parlour and the hall — for Sir Giles drank the bride's health in a bumper, and the ladies of the family thought nothing too good to present to their favourite on the happy occasion of her marriage — it is not our province to enlarge. In compliance Avith the maxim that * happy's the wooing that's not long in doing,' the nuptials took place as soon as the necessary preparations covdd be made, and a prettier or a happier-looking bride than Faith never knelt before the altar. The sergeant, however, betrayed a scared and somcAvhat startled appearance, as that of one who is not completely convinced of his own identity, bearing his part nevertheless as a In'idegroom bravely and jauntily enough. At his own private opinion of the catastrophe Ave can but guess by a remark Avliich he Avas overheard to address to himself imme- diately after his acceptance by the pretty Avaiting-maid, and her consequent departtire to acquaint her mistress. ' You've done it noAV, old lad,' observed the sergeant, shaking his head, and speaking in a deliberate, reflectiA^e, and someAvhat sarcastic tone. ' What is to be must be, I suppose, and all things turn out for the best. But there's no question about it— ?/<9M're — (io?i€ — it — new ! ' •yes or no.' 31.5 CHAPTER XXXVI. *TES on NO.' Old Sir Giles never refused his daughter anything now. He had always been an indulgent parent, but it seemed that of late years Grace had more than ever wound herself round his heart. The old Cavalier was getting sadly broken and altered of late. Day by day his frame became more bent and more attenuated ; the eye that used to gleam so bright was waxing dim and uncertain ; the voice that had rung out so clear and cheerful above the tramp of squadrons and the din of battle, now shook and quivered with the slightest exertion, and the once muscular hand that used to close so vigorously upon sword and bridle-rein, had wasted down, thin, white, and fragile like a girl's. The spirit alone was un- altered — bold, resolute, and unyielding as of old ; the stanch Cavalier drank the King's health as unshrinkingly every night as was his Avont ; and lacked opportunity only to lead the King's troops into action as undauntedly as ever. Ay, although too feeble to sit upright in a saddle, he had waved them on to certain death from a sick man's litter. It is glorious to think how the spirit outlives the clay. But with Grace it seemed as if he could not be tender and gentle enough. Whether it was an instinctive feehng that lois child was not happy, or an inward presentiment that they must soon take leave of each other in this world, some- thing seemed to prompt him to lavish all theaifection of his Avarm old heart on his darling, and bade him grant her all she asked, and anticipate her lightest wish while it was yet in his power. Thus it befel that to Grace's uuexi^ected proposal, ' Father, may I write in your name to bid General Effingham to the Hall ? ' he answered feebly in the affirmative, and the young lady found her- self in consequence sitting down for the lirst time in her life to pen a formal letter to the Parliamentary General. Now this invitation, albeit unnatural and unexpected enough, scarcely did as much violence to Sir Giles's feelings as might have been supposed. Years before, at Oxford, he had imbibed a strong personal liking for George Effingham ; and although the latter's desertion of his colours had been a grievous offence to the loyal old Cavalier, he could not but respect the successful and dis- tinguished soldier, who had won such laurels on the side he had espoused too late ; he could not forget that he owed his life to Effingham on the fatal field of Naseby, nor could he be insensible 318 HOLMBY HOUSE. to the many kindnesses conferred upon him and his by the General since he had entered upon his higli command at Northampton. It was bitter, truly, thus to be beholden to a renegade, and a Kound- head to boot; but then the rebel, though a political enemy, Avaa a personal friend, and it was doubtless pleasant to be exempt from the fines, penalties, domiciliary visits, and other inconveniences to which those Cavaliers were liable who were not so fortunate as to possess a protector on the winning side. So Sir Giles answered in the affirmative, though a little testily, considering it was Grace to whom he spoke. * As theu wilt, Avench, as thou Avilt. Let him come and see the two poor old cripples, an' he choose. Vaitx is a-bed, and I'm little better, but the time has been that he's ridden alongside of us in buff and steel, the renegade. 'Slife, he's seen us front, and flanks, and rear, and all,' laughed the old knight, grimly, reverting to the defeats at Marston Moor and Naseby. ' Let him come and have a look at us, now Ave're laid upon the shelf and he's got the sun his own side o' the hedge, with a murrain to it ! But write him a civil cartel, Grace}^ too, for Ave're beholden to the black- muzzled A^arlet, Roundhead though he be.' And thus it came to pass that Grace sat alone in the great hall at Boughton, Avith her colour coming and going, and her heart beating a A'ery quick march the Avhile George Effingham's orderly led his horse from the door, and the General himself Avalked into her presence, trembling in every limb, and in a state of nervous alarm sufficiently contemptible for a man Avho could face a battery Avithout Avincing. The usual ceremonious obserA'ances Averc gone through. Grace presented a cold cheek to her visitor's salute as she bade him Avelcome. And the latter dropped the hand extended to him as if it Avere some poisonous reptile, instead of the A'ery treasure on earth for Avhich he Avould have given every tlrop of blood in his body. They did not speak much of the Aveather, but according to the custom of the time, the gentleman made the most minute and circumstantial inquiries as to the state of health enjoyed by each se])arate member of her family, and the lady ansAvered categorically, and by rule. Then there Avas a dead silence, very aAvlcAvard, very painful, apparently interminable. Grace began almost to Avish he hadn't come. She broke it at last Avith an effort. ' I have to thank you, General Eilingham, for so promptly attending to my request. Were you not surprised to receive my letter? ' she added, with an attempt to lapse into a more playful veJQ. *TES OK NO.' 317 George muttered something unintelligible in reply. He was no carpet-knight, our honest friend, and the last man on earth to help a lady either out of, or into, a difficulty. She was ol)liged to go on unassisted. It was not so formidable as she fancied, now that the ice was broken, and she had recovered the alarm of hearing her own voice. ' I can count upon you as a friend, General,' she said, one of her frank, cordial smiles lighting up the whole of her pretty face ; * and I am about to put your friendship to the test. You can do me a kindness that will make me the happiest girl in the world — can I depend upon you? If you promise me, I know I can.' He coloured with a swarthy glow of pleasure. This frank Jealing accorded well with his honest earnest nature. ' I am a plain soldier. Mistress Grace,' he replied ; ' I would give my life to serve you, and you know it.' Grace's head began to turn. Now for it — she must plead with her lover to save one whom he could not but consider his rival, and perhaps the eftbrt would cost the mediator all that makes life most valuable. "Well, she was in deep water now, and must sink or swim. She struck oiit boldly at once. * Do you know that your old comrade, Humphrey Bosville, ia a prisoner in London, on a charge of high treason ? ' He had not heard a word of it. He was grieved beyond measure. Bosville was so devoted, so persevering, had been so stanch to the Royal cause, had been concerned in every plot and every scheme, luid been pardoned once by the Parliament. It would go hard with him this time — he was very, very sorry to hear of it. ' And that is exactly what I ask you to prevent,' she broke in. * I have sent for you that I might implore you to save him. George Effingham, you are the only man alive that I would ask to do so much. Grant me my desire as freely and frankly as I entreat it of you.' It was exactly the way to take him. Had she beat about the bush and finessed and coquetted with him, he would probably have refused lier sternly, although such a refusal would have forbidden him ever to see her again. He would have set up some objection of duty or principle, and hardened himself to resistance, even against her, but he was not proof against this open-hearted, confiding, sisterly kind of treatment, and had she asked him to ride to London incontinently, and beard Cromwell to his face, he must have yielded on the spot. Where had Grace acquired her knowledge of human nature? Surely it is by intuition that 318 HOLMBY HOUSE. Avomen thus readily detect and take advantage of oiu' most assailable points. They need no Vauban to teU them that ' a fortress is no stronger than its weakest part,' but direct their attack unhesitatingly where the wall is lowest, and carry every- thing before them by a coup de main. George saw all the difficulties in his path plainly enough. He knew that to ask for his old comrade's life Avould subject him to much suspicion and misrepresentation on the part of his colleague* Like all successful men, he had no lack of rivals, and now that the fighting was over it had already begun to be whispered that the converted Cavalier Avas but a lukcAvarm partisan after all, nay, the fanatics averred that he Avas, alas ! but ' a whited sepulchre,' and little better than a ' Malignant ' in his heart. CromAvell indeed, Avhose religious enthusiasm Avas strongly dashed with pohtical far-sightedness, kncAV his valour, and to CromAvell he trusted ; but he could not conceal from himself that he Avas about to stake on one throAV the Avhole of that influence and position he had so ardently coveted, and Avhich it had cost him such strenuous and unceasing efforts to attain. But George's AA^as a generous nature, and the instant he had determined to make this sacrifice for the woman he loved, he had resolved that she should be the last person to learn its value and importance. ' Is it to save my old friend's life. Mistress Grace,' he said, ' that you think it necessary thus to entreat me ? I should indeed be grateful to ?/o?i for informing me of his danger. I will lose no time in making every exertion on his behalf, ay, even should I have to give my life for his. I only Avish you had proposed to me some more unAvelcome task, that I might have shown you how ready I am to comply Avith your CA'ery Avish.' He spoke with a playful, for him, even Avith a courtly air. He marked the glistening eye and the flush of pleasure with which she listened, nor did he wince for a moment, and though his lip trembled a little, the brave face was as firm as marble. Did he think he could blind her ? Could he believe she did not calculate his danger, and appreciate his unselfishness ? Did he not feel hoAv her woman-nature must respond to a generosity so akin to its OAvn ? If ever you would Avin her, George Effing- ham, open your arms now, and take her to your heart ! The tears were coining to his eyes, but he drove them back with a strong effort, as, seeing she was too much moved to speak, he proccedorl — * I Avill bring him back to you AVithout a hair of his head being * YES OR NO.' 319 harmed, Mistress Grace. Perhaps in happier days you will both think kindly of the renegade Cavalier.' She put her hand in his, smiling sweetly through her tears. ' Do this,' she murmured, ' and ask me what you will in re- compense.' Pie was too proud to understand her. ' There is not a moment to be lost,' he said ; ' make my ex- cuses to Sir Giles and good Lord Vaux, that I must take my leave without waiting on them. Farewell, Mistress Grace; fear not. Farewell ! ' Without another word, without even touching her hand, he made a profound obeisance and left the room. Grace's knees Avere knocking together, and she shook in every limb. She sank into Sir Giles's huge arm-chair, and there she .sat and pondered the momentous question that some day or another presents itself to every woman's heart. ' IIow noble,' thought Grace, ' how generous, how chivalrous, and how good I Never to show that he was conferring a kindness, never to place me under the sense of an obligation ; and all the time he is willing to give up his fame and his command and his position ; nay, a dearer, fonder future stiU, and for my sake.' Grace blushed up to her temples though she was alone. ' This is in- deed true affection — the affection I have heard of and dreamt of; that I never thought any one would be found to feel for me. For nie ! — what am I that that brave, determined, goodly man sho^^ld thus be at the disposal of my lightest word ? ' Grace went to the end of the hall, peeped in the glass, and sat down again, appa- rently a little more satisfied and composed. ' If their positions were reversed, would Humphrey have acted so ? I trow not. Has he the firmness and the energy and the strength of mind of this one ? Oh I why did I not love George Effingham instead ? Stay ! do I not love him now ? Shame, shame ! — and I almost told him so. And perhaps he sees how wavering and unworthy I am, and despises me after all.' Grace sat back in her chair, in a most unenviable frame of mind — provoked with the past, im- patient of the present, and undecided as to the future. George stepped calmly along the terrace, with the sad composure of a man who has nothing more to fear on earth. He had long known it must come to this at last; had long anticipated the moment when the frail cobwebs of self-deception which weave themselves insensibly aroimd the human heart miLst be swept away in a breath ; when the vain imitation of Hope tliat had beguiled its loneliness must be surrendered once for all ; and he accepted his 320 HOLMBY HOUSE. lot with a protid, quiet resignation. At least he would make her happy, ay, though it cost him every treasure he had in the world: and when he could bear it he would see her again, and in her welfare should be his reward. The rustle of a lady's dress behind him caused him to start and stop. Could she have followed him for one more last word ? Could his self-sacrifice have touched and softened her ? No ; as he turned his head it Avas Mary Cave that hurried up to him with trembling steps, and accosted him in the faltering accents of ex- treme anxiety and distress. She was so altered he hardly knew her, She. whose manner used to be so composed and queenly, dashed it may bo with a little too much self-confidence and assumption, was now nervous and pre-occupied ; app:u-ent!y humbled in her own esti- mation, and abrupt, almost incoherent, in her address. She had lost her rich colour, too, and there were lines on the brow he remembered so smooth and lair ; while the soft blue eyes that formerly laughed and sparkled, and softened all at once, hail grown fixed and dilated, even fierce in their expression of defiance and endurance. ' One Avord with you, General Effingham,' she said, without Avaitiug to go through any of the common forms of salutation ; ' have you seen Mistress AUonby ? ' He answered in the affirmative with a bow. She seemed to know it, for she scarcely waited for a reply. ' You have heard it all,' she hurried on, speaking very fast and energetically, with a certain action of the hand and wrist that was habitual to her, but never (and this was so unlike her), never looking her companion in the face. ' Grace has made no subter- fuge, no concealment; she has told yoii everything — everything? And you are going to London immediately ? — this very day ? You will not lose an instant? He will be saved, Efilngham — don't you think he Avill ? ' ' I sliall be on the road before the sun goes down,' he rephed courteoixsly, aflecting to ignore her agitation ; ' I have already promised Mistress Allonby that I will leave no stone unturned to save Humphrey Bosville. I think I can answer for his life being spared.' She could not help it ; she burst into tears. Alas ! they came easier every time, and she had so often cause to weep now I But it relieved her, and after this display of weakness she relapsed into something of her old air of comjwsure and superiority. * He is a very dear friend,' she said, the colour gradually stealing *YES OR NO.' 321 over her pale face ; ' a very dear friend to us all. You will command Grace's eternal gratitude, and Sir Giles's and Lord Vaux's — and mine.' He was only too happy to serve them, he said ; and he, too, valued Humphrey as much as any of them — so brave, so kindly; above all, so gentle and true-hearted. ' Hush ! ' she stopped him, quite eagerly, the while she laid her hand in his with a frank cordial pressure, but her face worked as though she would fain burst out crying once more. ' There is not a moment to lose ; I must detain you no longer. There is one thing more I had to say. You will see him ; you will tell him how anxious we have all been for him, and you will give him this packet yourself,' she drew it from her bosom as she spoke, ' and you will entrust it to no hand but his own. It is only a matter of — of — business,' she faltered out, ' but I wish it to arrive safe at its destination. Thank you — God bless you.' She would not have been a woman had she not reserved this one little bit of concealment. Effingham must not know, no one must ever know, how she had loved Humphrey Bosville. The packet was but a matter of business — business, forsooth ! — ex- change and barter, and dead loss and utter bankruptcy ; but none must fathom it. They are all alike ; reeling from a death-blow they can find a moment to dispose their draperies decently, nay, even tastefully, around them. And whilst on the subject of drapery we may remark, that even in the deepest affliction they preserve no slight regard to the amenities of dress. Though Mary's heart was breaking, her robe was not disordered, neither was her hair out of curl. As Effingham ordered out his horses and betook himself to the saddle, he little thought how he had created so deep an interest in the two gentle hearts he left behind him. Grace was already studiously comparing him with a previous idol, a comparison which generally ai-gues the dethronement of the prior image from its pedestal in the female breast ; and Mary, of all people, could most thoroughly enter into his feelings, pity his loneliness, and appreciate his self-sacrifice. Humphrey's case was indeed one of extreme peril. Heavily manacled, and committed to Newgate like a comjuon malefactor, his only prospect of release was when he should be brought before the Parliament and placed on trial for his life. Scant mercy, too, could he expect from that conscientious assemblage. A confirmed Malignant, a brave and zealous officer, an adherent of the Queeu; lastly — setting at naught his previous pardon — an emissary from y 322 HOLMBT HOUSE. the French Court to the imprisoned King, nothing was wanting to prove him guilty of high treason against the majesty of the Commons House of Parliament by law assembled, — nothing but an extraordinary reversal of the usual sentence could prevent his paying the extreme penalty attached to that heinous offence. In vain he pleaded the innocence of the letters with which he was charged ; in vain he urged that tliey contained a simple application to his Majesty from the Prince, his son, for permission to accompany the Duke of Orleans to the Avars. In vain he pleaded his own position as a mere domestic functionary attached to the person of the Queen. His well-known character for loyalty and reckless daring, accompanied by his steady refusal to sign Ixis name to a written statement embodying the above explanations, utterly nullified all that could be said in his defence, and left him nothing to anticipate but an adverse verdict, a short shrift, and a speedy end. It was evident, however, that some strong influence was at work below the surface in favour of the Royalist prisoner. Power- ful debaters in the House of Commons itself urged the policy of clemency, and the antecedents of the culprit, as arguments for a mitigated sentence, if not a free acquittal. Shrewd lawyers reserved points of law in his behalf. One eminent patriot boldly expressed his admiration of such devoted constancy even in an enemy ; and although the case was too clear to admit of doubt, and Lenthall (the Mr. Speaker of his day) was compelled to do his duty and commit the prisoner for trial on the Capital charge, he was not even then abandoned by friends, who must indeed have felt themselves secure to make such exertions in his behalf. On his return to Newgate from Westminster, the coach in which he sat Avas curiously enough upset. Two of his guards appeared strangely stupefied, a third was drunk, and the fourth, slipping a note into his hand, bade him run for his life the while he extricated the horses and rated the driver soundly for their misfortune. Perhaps Humphrey was not so surprised as he might have been, had he not previously held an interview Avitli Effing- ham in his prison, Avhose Avriting he recognised in the slip of paper in his hand. Its contents were short and pithy : ' Keep quiet and in hiding,' it said, ' for a few months. You will be purposely overlooked, but remain Avhere you are not known, and above all — keep still.' There Avas no signature, but Hura})hrey AviBely tore it into shreds as he made his escape through the increasing darkness. And now Effingham was anticipating his reward. Aa h? jour- WELCOME HOME.' 323 neyed rapidly back to Northampton, riding post, and urging the good horses beneath him to tlieir swiftest pace, he was thinking of Grace's grateful smile when he should assure her that her lover had been saved by his exertions ; and his own gratification, in which indeed there was no inconsiderable leaven of pain, at her delight. He was to see her just once again — that once which, contrary to all the rules of arithmetic, is multiplied by itself into so many, many times — to witness her happiness with his own eyes, and feel that henceforth he was never so much as to think of her again. For this he had worked and fawned, cajoled and promised, intrigued and threatened ; done constant violence to his stern, true nature, and lost that position wdth his party which it had cost him so much to attain. And for this he would have done as much and twice as much again, because, you see, he was going to have his Reward. How even this consolation was denied him, we must detail in another chapter. CHAPTEK XXXVII. ' WELCOME HOME.' There was hurrying to and fi-o in the old house at Boughton ; a hushed confusion seemed to pervade the establishment, and though the servants rushed here and there in aimless anxiety, everything was done as noiselessly as possible, and they did not even venture to express in words that which their scared faces and white lij)s told only too well. Horses had been saddled hastily, and ridden off at speed in search of medical assistance. With the strange piteous earnest- ness to do something which pervades us helpless mortals when we feel that nothing can avail, mounted messengers had been dis- patched in needless repetition. There was little to be done but to wait for the leech and summon fortitude to endure his con- firmation of their worst fears. The sick man said himself there was no hope. He seemed less affected than any in the household by the recent catastrophe. Sir Giles was down under a mortal stroke. He preserved his senses and his speech ; the rest of the man was a mere helpless shell ; but his mind was as vigorous as ever, and the old knight's courage had not given way even now — no, not an inch. 324 HOLMBT iroT\=;K. He had often looked on Death before, and fronted him in the field, spiiiTing his good horse against him, with a jest on his lips, and told him that he feared him not, to his face. He had seen all he loved best on earth fast in the skeleton's embrace, and he had not quailed even then. "Would he shrink from him now ? PshaAV ! let him do his worst. We have said it before, and we say it again, that the mind which has never prepared itself for the great change, is usually incapable of doing so when that change is actually present. Far be it from us to aver that it is ever too late whilst there is life ; we only remark that it seems ill-advised to make no preparation ibr a long, what if it be an endless, journey ? till the foot is actually in the stirrup. Grace was weeping by his bedside, her hand in his, her face turned from him to hide the big drops that coursed each other down her cheeks. Poor Gracey ! Many a true friend loves you well, many a heart leaps to the glance of your kind eyes, and wai'ms to yoiu- gentle voice ; but where will you find an affection so constant, so unwavering, so regardless of self, so patient of ingratitude, as his Avho lies gasping there on his death-bed ? Where will you find another love that shall be always Avilling to give everything and receive nothing ? that shall pour on you its unceasing stores of care and tenderness, nor ask even for a word of thanks in return ? ' I've been a kind old father to thee, lass,' said the dying man, * and thou'st been a rare daughter to me ; but I must leave thee now.' What could Grace do but bow her head down \ipon the poor thin hand she held, and Aveep as if her heart would break ? He folded the pretty head to his bosom as he iised to do when slie was a little child, stroking the hair down, and fondling and consoling her. ' Don't ye cry so, my darling,' said the old Avarrior. ' What ! Gracey, little woman, cheer up ! 'tis not for long, lass, not for long.' She seemed to be the dying one of the two. She lay motion- less, her head buried in his breast. She was praying for him to his Father and hers. He Avas still for a time. Conscious of his failing poAvers, he Avas gathering himself, as it Avere, for an effort. When he spoke again she looked up astonished at his strength of voice. ' Is Mary here ? ' he asked — ' Mary Cave ? bid her come round here. God bless thee, Mistress Mary.' She had been sitting afar off at the AvindoAv, quietly waiting, aa ' WELCOME HOME.' 325 was licT custom, till she could be of use. She came to the bedside now, and put her arm round Grace, and looked down upon the helpless knight Avith a calm, sad lace. The greater grief absoi'bs the less, and constant pain will make callous the most sensitive nature. Poor Mary ! two short years ago she Avould hardly have stood so composed and statue-like at good Sir Giles's death-bed. ' Care for her, sweet Mistress Mary,' he resumed, with some- thing of his old energy of voice and manner ; ' take charge of my pretty one when I am gone. I thought sometimes to see her married to yon good lad, him that rode the sorrel horse so fairly — my memory fails me now, I think — how call you him ? Ay, I thought to have seen her married and all ; but she's young, very young yet. I am failing fast, Mistress Mary ; don't ye speak to (^racey about it ; she loves her old father, and it might distiu-b the child ; but I'm not for long here. I know not if my senses may be spared me. I must speak out whilst I can. Gracey, are you there ? Where is Gracey ? ' She was close to him still, j^rcssing her wet cheek to his. ' Here, father,' she Avhispered, ' dear father ; ' and her voice seemed to revive him for the time. ' Mary will take care of thee, my little lass,' he said, feebly stretching his hand to hers, and trying to place it in that of her friend. ' Thou wilt not leave her, ]\Iary ; never leave her till she's married to some good man — not a rebel, Gracey, never a rebel, for the old father's sake. I loved that bold lad well ; Avhy doth he never come to see us now ? Kiss me, Gracey. I shall see thee again, my child. God forgive my sins ! I have never sinned by thee. I shall see thee again, and thy mother too. God bless thee, Gracey ! ' He sank into a stupor. The leech had not arrived yet. Some- thing told their hearts that all the leechcraft on earth would be of no avail, and the two women sat noiselessly Aveeping in the silence of the death -chamber. He spoke again after a while ; but his eyes shone with a strange brightness, and the indescribable change was on him — the change which we cannot but instinctively acknowledge, and which jter- vades the dying, like a gleam of pale light from the land beyond the grave. He spoke of the old times now. Anon he was charging once more at the head of his brigade on Naseby field ; the tramp of squadrons and the rattle of small arms were in his ears, and Effingham's steel-headed pikes lowered grimly in his front. Alaa ! the battle shout was but a hoarse labouring whisper, yet 326 HOLMBY HOUSE. the two pale listeners could recognise the tactics of an action and the stirring old war-cry, ' God and Queen Mary ! For the King ! for the King ! ' Then he prayed for his Sovereign, fervently, loyally, prayed that he might recover his power and his throne, intermingling short pithy phrases from the ritual of his Church, and expressing himself proud, happy, privileged, that he might die for his King. Yet a thread of consciousne'iS seemed to run through these fitful wanderings of departing reason. It was pitiful to hear him urge on his fancied retainers to ease his saddle and curb his good horse tighter, as he flew his hawk once more in the green meadows under the summer sky. ' He was getting infirm,' he said, ' and the days were long at this time of year ; but it was evening at last, and he was glad, for he was tired, very tired. It would be dark before they got home. It was very dark even now.' There was a dead silence. The startled women thought he was gone ; but he breathed yet, though very faintly, and with parted lips. His eyes were closed, but he was wandering still. He called to his hawk, his horse, and his hounds. He must see Gracey, too, he said, ' before he took his boots off' — ' She was very little, surely, very little to run alone ; ' and he spoke fondly and tenderly to another Grace — a Grace that had been treasured up many a long year in the depths of his stout old heart, a Grace that would almost weary expecting him, even in heaven — that was surely waiting for him now on the other side. He opened his eyes once more, but they rolled aimlessly around, fixing themselves at last feebly upon his daughter. Grace felt tc her heart's core that his last look was one of consciousness upon Jier — that he knew hei' even while that look was glazing into death — that the ' God bless thee, Gracey ! ' which he gasped out with his last breath, was tlie same old fond familiar farewell with which he was always used to depart upon a journey. So he went upon his way, and surely Avhen ho reached tha prom.ised land he fotmd a fond face there, waiting to welcome him home. Ere the surgeon arrived in hot haste there was nothing left on earth of the stout old Cavalier but a goodly Avar-worn frame, a fixed marble face, smooth and placid, renovated, as it were,>to the sculptured beauty of its prime. He shook his head as he acknowledged himself to be too late, and left the mourners to the sacred indulgence of their grief. Grace Allonby wept in her friend's arms, clinging to her in her distress with the helpless 'WESTMINSTER HALL.' 327 abandonment of a child, and Mary, roused fi-om her oAvn sorrows by the necessity for exei'tion, soothed her gently and pitifully like a mother. Lord Vaux was liy this time a helpless invalid, and both women felt they had at last lost their only protector, as well as their best and kindest friend. ' You must never leave me, Mary,' sobbed out Grace again and again, as a fresh burst of grief broke wildly forth, ' never leave me now, for I have but you in the world.' It was a goodly funeral with which they did honour to the brave old Cavalier. Many a stout yeoman came from far and near to see him laid in his last resting-place, and told, not with- out pride, as he quaffed the ale which ever flowed freely on such occasions, how he had charged to the old knight's battle-cry at Naseby, or followed him through serried columns and levelled pikes at Edgehill or Roundway-down. Not a brave heart within three counties but when he heard of Sir Giles's death said, ' God rest him ! he teas a bold one.' The King himself, the harassed, careworn Charles, wrote a letter of condolence Avith his own royal hand to the daughter of his faithful servant ; and Prince Rupert, pining in exile, vowed that ' the last of the real old Cavaliers was buried with Sir Giles.' But better than troopers' admiration, prince's approval, and king's autograph, there Avas more than one poor friendless widow that cameAvith her orphans in her hand, whilst the turf was fresh and ere the stone was up, to weep over the grave of her kind friend and benefactor. Epitaphs may lie, monuments may crumble, deeds of arms and mortal fame may pass away, but the tears of the widoAV and the fatherless are treasured up as a lasting memorial in a certain, stronghold, where ' neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.' CHAPTER XXXVm. * WESTMINSTER HALL.' ' Wrap thy cloak well round thee, Gracey ; the wind strikes chill to the very marrow.' It Avas Mary Cave Avho spoke, and suiting the action to the word, drcAV Avith a tender hand the fold>s of a large dark mantle round the form of her companion. Grace shivered I'rom head to foot, her teeth chattered, and she tottered as she Avalked, supported by her friend, Avho, faithful to 328 nOLMBY HOUSE. the trust ho left her, seemed to take a maternal charge of Sir Giles's orphan diuighter. ' I never thought they would have dared to do it,' observed Mary, pursuing the train of her own rellections, ' but it has come at last. lie was brought from Windsor last night. I saw liim myself by torchlight as he descended fi-om the coach — so altered, Grace, so altered, in a short eighteen months ! ' The expression of Grace's countenance was as that of one who Bees some horrible deed of sacrilege committed, which the witness is powerless to prevent. She hurried on nervously, and without answering a word. More than a year had elapsed since the events recorded in the preceding chapter — a year of trouble and anxiety to the nation — a year of sorrow and seclusion to these two hapless mourners. Lord Vaux, whose failing health had long been a subject for alarm, seemed utterly unable to recover the shock occasioned by his. old friend's death. His kinswomen had brought him to the capital in search of the best medical assistance, and the two Eoyalist ladies were naturally anxious to be near the centre of those despe- rate measures Avhich agitated the politics of the day. A powerful hand, too, seemed to protect this Malignant family. They came and went unquestioned where they would, and were free from the annoyances to which so many of their friends were subjected. It is possible that Grace may have been able to guess the shield which thus guarded her ; but if so, gratitude did but add another painful ingredient to the total of her sufferings. Her father'n kind old face Avas ever before her eyes as she saw it last, and the dying whisper, ' not a rebel, Gracey, never a rebel, for the old father's sake ! ' seemed to ring in her ears day and night. She shivered again as she drew the dark heavy folds tight around her : it was so cold — bo bitter cold. A keen black frost, very different from his gladsome brother who comes sparlding down upon us, his stiff crisp raiment glittci- ing Avith diamonds in the stmshine, bound the shrinking earth in a churlish embrace. A cutting north-easter, sweeping over her surface in fitful gusts, whirled up clouds of dust that stimg and irritated the unprotected face like pin-points, and a dull leaden sky, against which the leafless trees of the Mall seemed to wave their .skeleton branches as it were in mockery, lowered over all, London wore her blackest, her most forbidding look, and the pinnacles and spires of proud old Westminster frowned hard and threatening in the dense cold atmosphere. Yet people were standing about in groups, some talking in * WESTMINSTER HALL.' 329 wliispers Avith suppressed though eager gestures ; others waiting patiently, as i£ for some show or pageant. As is usual in a crowd, the women slightly predominated, yet was there but little sarcastic questioning and shrill reply, while the gambols of the London urchin — a race never on any public occasion to be sought in vain — failed to excite more than a transient smile in the grave and preoccupied multitude. As Mary and Grace passed rapidly on they heard many an ominous whisper and broken phrase respecting the great event which was thus collecting the agitated citizens. Strange impro- bable rumours flew from lip to lip ; hints of impossible com- binations and contradictory circumstances obtained implicit credence. Here a sedate-looking personage assured his auditors that ' his Majesty Avas never firmer on the throne ; that he was coming in state to Westminster to open his faithfiil Parliament in person ; that the Lords at Windsor, the greatest personages in the kingdom, served him daily on their knees ; and that he knew this to be a fact, he who now spoke to them at the present time, for his sister's son, a gardener by trade, had the King's own com- mands for the sowing of certain Spanish melons at Wimbledon. And is it likely,' added the orator, looking up to the gloomy sky, ' that his Majesty Avould be sowing melons, especially Spanish ones, and in this weather too, imless he felt confident of seeing them ripen ? ' ' God bless him ! ' he Avould have added, but he caught the scowl of a wild fanatical-looking personage glaring so fiercely at him that the words died upon his lips. Then a little dirty man, a cobbler by trade, something of a demagogue by profession, and a drunkard by choice, gave it as his own opinion, with much unnecessary circumlocution, that ' Charles,' as lie called him, was about to place himself unreservedly in the hands of his Parliament. ' Do we not know,' said the little man, brandishing aloft a pair of much-begrimed hands, and steadying his Avhole person by fixing his lack-lustre eye on a quiet indi- vidual in the crowd, Avho thus found himself, much to his annoy- ance, an object of considerable interest — ' do we not know that the people, under God, are the original of all just power ? that the Commons, chosen by and representing its ' (the little man smote his shabby breast violently with his dirty hands) ' are the foun- tain of all power and authority, so that what the Commons de- clared law is law and nothing bid law ? and all the people of this nation are concluded thereby, although the consent and concur- rence of the King and the House of Peers be not had thereunto ! ' The little man had got the last clause of the Parliament'^ 330 HOLMBY HOUSE. proclamation carefully by rote, and used the same for his peroration with considerable skill, much to the delight of his auditors, wha very generally expressed themselves satisfied with the soundness of his reasoning and the correctness of his principles. But still, amongst all the conflicting reports alluded to, all the different opinions expressed by this motley assemblage, not a whisper was breathed as to the di-eadful event which was really impending, not a suspicion seemed to exist even amongst the strongest partisans of the Parliament, that the people of England Avould exact the penalty of a king's blood. It was only the well-educated and the far-seeing — those, in fact, who might be said to be behind the scenes — that could anticipate the worst ; those who knew that the Commons had declared them- selves independent of the Lords, that a commission had already been nominated for the trial of Charles Stuart on the chaj-ge of high treason, and that out of the hundred and thirty-five members appointed, scarce eighty consented to act, might indeed acknow- ledge the signs of the coming storm — the blast that was so soon to level the loftiest head in England with the dust. As the hour of noon approached the crowd thickened con- siderably, and as it drew into its vortex more and more of the loAvest rabble, the feeling against the King seemed to gain greater strength. Coach after coach rolled by, bearing the magnates of the country to the important scene in Westminster Hall, and as these were mostly well knoAvn to the populace, it might be re- marked that such as were suspected even of a leaning toAvards royalty were assailed vnth gi-oans and execrations, sometimes even with missiles of a more injurious nature, Avhilst those whose levelling principles were beyond doubt received a perfect ovation of cheers and congratulations, sometimes ridiculously personal, but always intended to be complimentary in the higliest degree. Amongst the rest one equipage in particular aroused a perfect tumult of applause : it was the coach of General Fairfax, contain- ing his lady, seated alone in all the pomp of her native dignity and her robes of state. Like every successful man for the mo- ment, Fairfax was at that period an immense favourite with the mob, and they clustered round the carriage that conveyed his wife Avith coarse and boisterous expressions of goodwill. The face inside was a study of strong suppressed feeling. Sitting there in the majesty of her beauty, she could scarce restrain the over- powering sentiments of hatred and contempt with Avhich slie re- garded those who now suiTOundcd her with such demonstrations of afi'ection. The blood of the Veres boiled within her as she ' WESTMINSTER HALL. 331 thought of her husband's forfeited loyalty, and the scene from which she had pei'suaded him to be absent, but to which she was herself hurrying. Her face turned red and white by turns, she bit her lip and clenched her hand as she bid her coachman lash his horses recklessly and drive on. Like the proud Tarquin's prouder wife, she would scarce have stopped had a human form been do"\vn beneath her feet. Jostled by the crowd, notwithstanding her haughty step and imperious gestures, Mary could scarce make her way, and Grace's visible agitation increasing more and more, rendered her position one of peculiar annoyance and discomfort. They narroAvly escaped being rim over by the rapidly approach- ing carriage, but as it passed so close that its wheels brushed Mary's garments, a well-knoAvn face appeared at the window, a familiar voice she had not heard for many a year called to the coachman to stop, and Lady Fairfax bade them enter and como with her, in her usual accents of command. ' Mary Cave ! I thought it was you,' she exclaimed. ' What are you doing amongst this canaille ? Jump in, and your friend too. Let us see the end of this shameftil business in Westminster Hall.' The unconscious canaille gave her ladyship and fi-iends three hearty cheers as they drove off. Under such protection as that of Lady Fairfax, Avith Avhoni Mary had been intimate in girlhood's brighter days, the two ladies found no difficulty in obtaining access to the Hall. Seats had been apportioned, and what were even then termed ' boxes ' partitioned off for the wives and families of the chief actors to witness the proceedings, and one of the principal of these had been reserved for the lady of the powerful Parliamentary General. It was an awful and a solemn scene which burst upon the sight of our two devoted loyalists as they entered. The King's trial Avas about to commence, and already had the commissioners taken their seats, "vvith more than the usual pomp of form and ceremony. The stern and able Bradshaw, he whose sense of duty has earned him an unenviable immortality under the title of 'The Regicide,' stood erect as President, supported by his assessors. Lisle and Say, skilful lawyers both, and bold, uncompromising men. All heads were turned, all eyes directed towards the bar, at which was set a velvet chair of state. This inanimate object seemed to excite universal interest. It was to receive the royal prisoner, but it was still empty. 332 iioLMBY nnusE, Anon the vague munuui- that pervades all large assemblies in- creased audibly, and a certain stir was apparent at the far end of the Hall ; then succeeded the deep hush of intense expectation, and many a heart heard nothing but it.s own thick beating, as it strained for a forward glimpse of but a few hours. A sedan-cliair was carried slowly up the Hall ; many -uncovered as it passed them ; one or two voices were even heard to murmur a blessing. But that chair contained Charles Stuart, and his judges sat doggedly with tlaeir hats on, neither rising nor showing the slightest mark of respect to their imfortunate Sovereign. When the King reached the bar he alighted, and without re- moving liis hat, seated himself at once in the chair appointed for him ; but presently rising again, looked sternly about him, at the president, at the court, at the people in the galleries ; liis nerve Avas as unshaken as it had ever been in the presence of phi/sical danger. He was at bay now, and he was every inch a king. But he was altered, sadly altered too. Mary's heart sank within her as she traced the furrows that suffering and anxiety had ploughed in those royal lineaments, for which she had all her life been taught to cherish an affectionate veneration. His well- knit figure was firm and upright as ever ; nor were his locks, though slightly tinged with {rrey, much thinner than of old ; but his features were sharpened, and his eyes hollowed, as if he had been suffering acute physical pain ; while tlie doomed expression that had always been the chief characteristic of his face, had deep- ened to an intensity of melancholy that it was piteous to look upon. When Bradshaw spoke, however, his features hardened into defiance once more. Silence was proclaimed, and a whisper might have been heard from one end to the other of that vast hall. Then the clerk, in a sonorous and business-like voice, read over the ordinance for the King's trial, a formal document, couched in terms of legal obscurity. When the ceremony was concluded, the list of connuissioners waa called over by the same functionary, those present answering to their names. ' John Bradshaw ! ' ' Here,' replied the President, in a lovid undaunted voice, look- ing sternly at the King, who returned his glance with a haughty and contemptuous froAvn. ' Thomas Fairfiix ! ' There was no response. A stir pervaded the hall as men turned and stared, and whispered their neighbours with eager, inxious faces. ' WESTMINSTER HALL.' 333 Again the clerk called in a lovid voice, ' Thomas Fairfax ! ' * He has more wit than to be here,' was answered, in distinct confident tones ; bnt though Bradshaw bent his brows in anger, and the commissioners made hasty inquiries, and gave peremptory orders to their officials to secure the offender, it was not easy, in the increasing confusion, to ascertain whence the bold reply had come. It originated, however, a murmur and a disturbance which it took some minutes to quell. Signs of disapprobation were swamped by a strong inclination to applaud ; and it Avas evident that a powerful leeling in favour of the royal prisoner existed even in the very court in which he was to be tried. The impeachment was then read over, accusing the monarch of ' designs to erect to himself an illimited and tyrannical power, to overthrow the rights and liberties of the people ; of high treason in respect of the levying war against the present Parliament, and the people therein represented ; ' as denoted by his appearance at York and Beverley with a guard ; by the setting up of the standard at Nottingham ; by the battle of Edgehill ; and so on in order enumerating the different battles at Avhich the King had been present. The document then went on to say, that he had caused the death of thousands of free-born people ; that after his forces had been defeated, and himself made prisoner, he had stirred up insurrection in the country, and given a commission to the prince, his son, to raise a new war against the Parliament ; and that, ' as he was the author and contriver of these unnatural, cruel, and bloody wars, so was he therein guilty of all the treasons, murders, rapines, burnings, spoils, desolation, damage, and mischief to the nation which had been committed in the said wars, or been oc- casioned thereby ; and that he was therefore impeached for the said treasons and crimes, as a tyrant, traitor, and murderer, and a public implacable enemy to the Commonwealth, on behalf of the good people of England.' The King had siit perfectly silent and composed during the read- ing of the above strangely-worded impeachment, save that at the terms ' tyrant and traitor ' as applied to himself, he had smiled con- temptuously in the faces of the court. He raised his head, how- ever, as the clerk paused to take breath after enunciating the last paragraph, and seemed about to make some objection or remark, but was aiTested in the act, for the same female voice that had already interrupted the proceedings of the court, now rose onco more, distinct and forcible through the hush of the attentive audience. 334 HOLMBY HOUSE. ' The good people of England ! ' it exclaimed, in clear mocking tones. ' No ! nor one hundredth part of them ! ' Great was the disturbance that ensued ; several members rose hurriedly from their seats, and a tumultuous rush in the body of the hall added to the general confusion. Some even thought a rescue was impending ; and a few of the more timorous were already glancing about for a speedy egi'ess. Colonel Placker, who com- manded the guard of musketeers, and to whom was confided the custody of the King's person, gave orders to fire into the box Avhence these sounds of disapproval had arisen ; and the stern soldiers had already levelled their muskets to obey this unmilitary command. Lady Fairfax rose undauntedly and faced their muzzles with a bold imperious brow. Mary, too, rushed to the front to share the danger of her friend. Grace, trembling and weeping, shrank behind them, half paralysed with fear. For a few moments all Avas breathless confusion ; but a voice, that even in her terror the frightened girl recognised only too plainly, was heard to ex- claim, in loud reproving tones, ' Shame ! shame ! Recover your arms ! Cowards ! would you fire upon your countrywomen ? ' and George Effingham, in his uniform as a general of the Parlia- ment, struck up the barrels of the muskets, and threatened to put Hacker imder immediate arrest. An usher of the court, however, came round to the box oc- cupied by Lady Fairfax, and endeavoured to prevail upon her to withdraw. It was only under a promise that she would remain tranquil, extorted from her by the entreaties of her companions, that she was permitted to remain. With clenched hands and angry brow she sat out the remainder of the proceedings. When order was once more restored, Mr. Cook, the Attorney- General, being about to speak, the King laid the long amber- headed cane which he usually carried, upon his shoulder, and bade him ' hold ; ' but the Lord President requiring him to pro- ceed, his Majesty folded his arms, and bending his brows fixedly upon him, listened attentively to a summary of the charges against him, which was now repeated. His Majesty then required to know by what authority he was brought hither. ' 1 have,' said Charles, ' a Trust committed to mc by God by old and lawful descent ; I Avill not betray it to answer to a new unlawful authority; therefore, resolve me that, and you shall hear more of me.' ' Sir,' replied the President, ' you are required to answer these charges in the name of the people of England, of whom you are the elected king.' 'WESTMINSTER HALL.' 335 * I deny that,' interrupted the indignant monarch. ' England has been no elective kingdom, but a hereditary monarchy for near u thousand years. I dispute your authority. I do stand more /or the liberty of my people than any here that come to be my pretended judges.' BradshaAV in an insolent tone bade him interrogate the court with becoming deference and humility. His pride aroused, his royal dignity insulted, Charles lost his assumed calmness and that presence of mind for which he was not always too conspicuous. With intemperate voice and gesture, he inveighed against the injustice of the proceedings, calling on Divine Providence, in no measured language, to avenge him of his enemies, and right him in the face of the Avhole world. Wliilst thus declaiming, the amber-head of his stuff fell off, and this little incident, ominous as it might have appeared to a super- stitious mind, served to change the current of his ideas, and to moderate the violence of his deportment. INIary's loyal heart swelled with indignation as, sitting unob- served behind Lady Fairfax, she could not but remark how no obedient courtiers pressed to pick it up — how the King, with a gesture of patient surprise, was fain to stoop for it himself, and as though reminded by the very act of the friendlessness of his posi- tion, and the necessity for resignation, rose once more with the calm brow and the air of quiet long-suffering that had become habitual to that careworn face. But IMary, too, with all her Cavalier enthusiasm and exagger- ated sentiments of the devotion due to her Sovereign, had other matters to occupy her wandering thoughts, other causes for agita- tion and excitement, apart from the great political tragedy of which she was then and there witnessing the first act. Each one of us Lives an inner as well as an outer existence. How curious would it have been to have analysed the thoughts of the different individuals who thronged that spacious hall ! Met there for a common object, and that an object of vital im^Dortance, not only to the destinies of their country, but to the personal safety of the lieges, how many minds amongst them were bent, to the exclu- sion of all other images, solely on the affair in hand ! How many even of the judges but had a large share of their attention preoc- cupied by matters solely personal and interesting to themselves — by a farm far off in Lincolnshire, a wife sickening at Bath, a child unhappily married in Scotland ; nay, even by such trifling annoy- ance as domestic difficulties with a servant, or the lameness of a favourite horse ! How many but had some overpowering interest 336 nOLMBT nOTTSE. at licart, to •wliich the justice of the trial and the guilt or in- nocence of the royal pi-isoner was a mere gossamer, and who could scarce withdraw their minds for a few minutes at a time from the one engrossing object, to bend them on the paramount duty they had sworn to fulfil ! What was Charles's condemna- tion or acquittal, to the idol each had privately raised up and worshipped, as men worship false idols alone — the schemes of selfisli aggrandizement, the acquisition of wealth, the fascinating temptations of intrigue, or the thrilling satisfaction of revenge '! Even Lady Fairikx, wrathfid and defiant as she was, pitying with a woman's pity the innocent victim, and chafing Avith a Avoman's indignation at the palpable injustice, could not forbear a glance into the possible future, when that royal prisoner should be no longer the llrtit personage in England, could not keep back a swell of pride as she bethought her of one who had no slight prospect of assuming the reins of power, who might rise fi'om a Parlia- mentary General (as his comrade really did) to be a Parha- mentary Dictator ; and how for such an one she was herself no unworthy mate. And Mary, too, no longer bent her Avhole attention on that velvet chair and its hapless occupant. In glancing wearily round the hall, searching, as it Avere, for a friendly face on which to rest, her eye had caught a glimpse of a countenance that reminded her — oh ! so painfully — of one which even now to think of brought the blood to her cheek, and left it paler than before. Yes, though lost again instantaneously in the crowd, there was a face somewhere, she was sure of it, that resembled his. That it Avas himself, of course, Avas impossible. He Avas in strict hiding, no doubt, and probably had taken refuge on the Continent ; at all events, the last place in the Avoi'ld to Avhich even his reckless- ness Avould bring him, Avas the very stronghold of his enemies in Westminster Hall. But Aveak, cliildish, humiliating as it Avas, there would be something gratifying, something of a strange in- definable pleasure, mixed Avith pain, in looking once more on lineaments Avhich could recall those that all the schooling in the world had not taught her to forget ; so her eyes Avandered over the Hall, and refused to rest initil they had found that Avhich they desired. A momentary stir among.st the grouj) immediately sur- rounding the Sovereign exposed tlie object of her search once more. It Avas but one of the musketeers Avho formed the escort, after all, that had so reminded her for an instant of one now lost to her for ever, and on regarding him attentively, though there was something in the air and figure that resembled HumpVirey *TnE MUSKETEER. 337 Bosville, the colour and complexion were so totally different from those of the proscribed Cavalier, that the resemblance became evei-y moment more indistinct, and Mary smiled to herself, a faint, heart -sick smile, as she thought how harmless in its utter hopelessness was folly such as hers. But it beguiled her mind from the afflicting present, it led her fancy wandering away through the enamelled mnadows and by the golden streams of that fairy land in which it is so dangerous to linger, and it was Avith a start of returning consciousness and the confused sensations of one awaking from a deep slumber, that she was aware of the general stir created by the departure of the prisoner from the Hall. The proceedings had terminated for the day. Charles, after A'ainly protesting against the authority of his judges, had relapsed into the quiet dignified bearing of one who, while he feels the in- justice to which he is subjected, resolves bravely and patiently to sustain his fate. As he was conducted do^vn the hall, loud ex- pressions of loyalty greeted him from many an unknown and unsuspected partisan even amongst those therein assembled, although a strong majority of his enemies strove to drown these ebullitions by violent cries for 'justice.' When the King passed the sword of state, placed conspicuously in the sight of the whole assemblage, he manned himself Avith an air of dignity, and facing the court, pointed to the emblem of death, Avhile he exclaimed in a loud, firm tone, ' I do not fear that ! ' It was no empty boast. How little Charles Stuart feared the extreme moment from which poor human nature instinctively recoils, he proved nobly and resignedly on the scaffold. CHAPTER XXXIX. ' THE MUSKETEER.' The Guard was strengthened more than common at St. James's. Sentries were doubled in all the principal avenues to the Palace, not only for the increase of vigilance, but for the nullifying of any attempt at tampering with those unmoved functionaries. Stringent orders were given as to the exclusion of strangers, and a watchful expression pervaded the coimtenance of sergeants and corporals as they visited their respective posts with unusual z 338 HOLMBY HOUSE. frequency and circumspection. Nevertheless, within the guard- room the men off duty for the time lounged and laughed and smoked as soldiers will whether they have a crowned head in ward or an enemy at the gates. Small respect did these rude men of war pay to the former consideration. Their commander, Colonel Hacker, was a stern and coarse-minded person: a leveller m politics and a fanatic in religion, he was not likely to insist on any inordinate reverence for his illustrious captive; and the private soldiers, taking their cue from their chief, lighted their pipes and laughed out their ribald jokes in the presence of patient and outraged Royalty itself It was the fii-st day of the King's trial. The escort which had conducted him back to St. James's were off duty for the nonce, and the guard-room was thronged Avith the usual complement of idle, talking, preaching, and smoking champions who constituted the flower of Hacker's redoubtable musketeers. Here a stalwart warnor, lying at his lazy length along the coarse oaken form, and puffing forth volumes of tobacco- smoke, expressed his own opinions as to the proceedings of the day with a degree of iiTevereuce for aU concerned— judges, prisoner, and spectators— such as nothing but a guard-room could produce. There a grim war-worn cor- poral, Avith an open Bible in his hand, and a stern, dogmatic fro^ra upon his brow, waited impatiently for a moment's silence to com- mence what he termed an ' exercise,' and to vilify and vituperate m every possible manner ' the man Charles Stuart,' ' for the im- provement of the occasion.' Some were rubbing up their belts, inspecting the pans of their firelocks, or exploring the contents of their haversacks previous to going again on duty ; whilst others, fatigued with watch and ward, and regardless alike of King and Commons, right and wrong, accusers and accused, were stretched supine in sound and snoring sleep. One soldier, however, stood at the grated window of the guard- room, apart from the rest, seemingly immersed in thought. His eyes, fixed on vacancy, were looking back far into the Past ; his dark face, strangely at variance with the light flaxen curls that stole from under his iron head-piece, wore an expression of acute pain, borne with resolute endurance— such an expression as be- trays tlie existence of a fatal malady, bodily or mental, to which the .sufferer scorns to give way. His spare and muscular figure was cast in a more graceful mould than generally pertains to those of humble birth ; and the hand, 111 which he crumpled a much-creased letter, though strong and unewy, was shapely as a woman'.s. He seemed struggling with 'THE MUSKETEER.' 339 Bome powerlul influence or temptation : ever and anon a soft, tender expression swept across his swarthy features, but a glance at the paper in his hand hardened them into bronze once more. This soldier had but lately joined the corps of Hacker's mus- keteers. He was no raw recruit, as was soon apparent by his thorough knowledge of military details ; and more than one scar on his neck and arms argued the presumption that he had been a brave front-rank man in his time. His own account was that he had served for a while in the Netherlands, and afterwards sailed as a buccaneer on the Spanish Main ; and this story tallied well with his soldierlike habits and the imnatnrally dark colour of his skin where it had been exposed to the sun. He won the good opinion of the sergeant who enhsted him by one or two feats of strength and agihty ; and in those days of tumult few questions were asked as to the antecedents of a soldier who brought into the ranks an iron frame and a thorough familiarity with his profession. But his comrades scarcely knew what to make of their new acqui- sition. With a peculiar Irankness and kindliness of manner, he was more prompt than is the custom of that boisterous class to check a liberty or resent an insult. And his personal strength, added to the self-evident daring of his character, made them chary of rousing him by any of those rude aggressions or disagreeable jests which the rough musketeers loved to practise on one another. Of the soundness of his religious views there were grave suspicions. The preaching corporal opined that he was one of those predestined backsUders who fall into vitter and hopeless reprobation ; but this uncharitable opinion, biassed as it seemed to be by the impatience he had frequently manifested of that Avorthy's long-winded dis- courses, was scarcely shared by his comrades in so unmodified a form. That he was a stanch anti-Monarchy man was apparent less from his words, for he seldom enlarged much upon that or any other topic, than from the anxiety he displayed to lose no opportunity of witnessing the humiliations to which Charles was subjected. For all duties of guard or escort about the person of the monarch, Henry Brampton, as he called himself, was an eager volunteer. His comrades liked him, too ; there was a nameless fascination in his pleasant manner that told on those rude, good- humoured natures ; and then — he treated one and all to liquor whenever there was an opportunity. Undistui'bed by the noise and confusion in the guard-room, Brampton stood gazing long and fixedly into the narrow paved yard Avhich bounded his view fi'om that grated Avindow. Onca only a large tear gathered in liis eyelashes, and dro]ij)ed heavily 340 noLMnv house. on the back of his hand. Startled, as it seemed, and bitteiJy shamed by the incident, he fell to one more perusal of the letter he had been ci-ushing in his grasj) — a letter that had reposed inside his bufF-coat for months ; that had been read and re-read day by day, again and again ; that had opened the old wound afresh at each repetition; and yet a letter that now constituted all his wealth on earth. It was cold, cruel, bitterly ungratelul and un- feeling. Why did he treasure it so ? We will peep over the musketeer's shoulder, and read Avith him the words he knew so well by heart : — ' General Effingham will bear you this paper ; you will easily recognise the hand of one who has always looked upon you, who always tvill look upon you, as an esteemed and valued friend. ' The General will spare no exertions to save you from the consequences of that last rash act of yours, to which I of all people cannot but offer my tribute of admiration and approval. It i.s right you should know that to Grace's influence with him, and to Grace alone, you owe your life. It is right you should be made aware of her great regard and esteem for you — of the effort she has made for your sake ; of the claim she must always have upon your gratitude — nay, upon a warmer, holier feeling still. As a man of honour I entrust you with her secret ; as a man of honour you must feel that you owe everytlung to her, and that she lias a right to your affection and devotion such as no other ever has had, or ever could have. You will do as you have always done — follow the path of duty and gratitude and loyalty ; and you will be very, veri/ happy together, for you know what she is, and you have proved her regard for you. Indeed, I hope and pray you have a long and happy life before you. You are still young, though old enough for tlie follies and illusions of youth to have passed away for evermore ; and with such a companion as dear Grace, you have every cause to anticipate a bright imclouded lot. I shall perhaps not see you again — I will not pretend that it is without regret I wish you farewell ; but surely friends may be parted by the force of circumstances, and yet remain true and faithful friends. My own prospects are very uncertain ; you will, however, hear of me, thougli it is better that you should not hear fiwii me again. You have my earnest prayers for your welfare. You will like to know that I am well, and shall be quite happy when I hear of your safety, about wliich we are all sg anxious — quite happy. Farewell ! ' It was indeed a cruel letter. Had she been a surgeon, and the recipient an insensible patient under the knife, she could scarce 'the MUSKETEEIU' 341 have laid her cuts straightcr, cleaner, deeper, than she did. How his honest heart bled when he received it ; how it ached after- wards in the daily self-inflicted penance of its perusal. Could she give him up so calmly, so coldly, without an effort and without a pang ? Could she thus transfer to another the wealth of an affection which she could surely not calculate, not appreciate ? Was he nothing in the compact — he whose destiny she had been, who had built the Avhole fabric of his life on that faithless, heart- less woman ? and now what was all this glorious superstructure, Avith the noble elevation of its hope, and the golden embellishments of its romance ? A wreck — and oh, what a wreck ! Poor Humphrey ! — for we need scarcely say that Henry Brampton, with his dyed skin and his flaxen curls, was none other than the disguised Cavalier — poor Humphrey ! it was the first real well-delivered thrust that had ever reached his heart ; he might be excused for Avincing Avhen it pierced home to the core. He was a boy in his affections still, and he felt it very keenly, like a boy. He did not know — how should he ? — Avhat it had cost the writer. He could not fathom the inscrutable depths of the female character, or comprehend the morbid satis- faction with which it can inflict suffering on those it loves, if only feeling that it is undergoing pangs tenfold more unendurable itself. He only knew that he had lost the light of his life, and he felt sorely inclined to sit him down in the darkness without an effort for evermore. And now it Avas Avell for Humphrey that he had long proposed to himself one great object on Avhich to direct all his energies and all his thoughts. A heart thus driven back upon itself, Avhether it belong to man or Avoman, is a fatal possession ; and the better it Avas originally, the worse is likely to be its eventual fate. De- prive a human being of hope, and you drive that being into physical or moral suicide. What is the cause of nine-tenths of the vice and immorality in the Avorld ? The absence of a glimpse of something brighter in the future than adorns the present. The material becomes all-in-all to him ibr Avhom the ideal is a blank ; and the desperate man is nearly ahvays a sensualist. When dis- appointment is keen enough to upset the foundations of a reason not originally very strong, the fool Avho Avas so Aveak as to hang all his hopes on an earthly thread, Avho built, in fact, ' his house upon the sand,' slips quietly out at a side door of the tenement, Avith an ounce of lead to the brain, or an edge of steel to the throat ; but is he much less to be pitied Avho droAvns the whole mansion that he loathes to live in, though he dare not quit it, iu 342 HOLMBY HOUSE. Hoods of wine and revehy, content to Avallow in the swine's filth, so as he may but purchase the swine's insensibility ? It is the salvation of a noble nature to have some task of self- denial, some motive for self-sacrifice left, when all that made the daily burden of life endurable has passed away. Happy he who has habituated himself to look upon his whole earthly career but as a task of which the reAvard, though not given Aere, is as priceless as it is certain. Our Cavalier, however, had long considered that, next to his God, he owed his whole service to his Sovereign. Wliilst Charles Avas a dethroned monarch, and indeed a helpless prisoner, there was no room in Humphrey's mind for despair. ' Loyalty before all ! ' was still the motto of his shield, though the blazoning that adorned it Avas defaced, and the flowers that had graced and charmed it with their sweetness were withered away. After the first stunning effects of the bloAV Avhich prostrated him had passed ofl^, he summoned his whole energies to return once more to the task he had set himself in happier times. That he should feel utterly lonely and miserable Avas to be expected. His was a disposition on which a disappointment of the aflfections tells most severely. Naturally confiding, Avhere he trusted at all he trusted entirely, ignoring, as most sincere men do, the existence of deceit. Constant and sensitive himself, he could not conceive the jwssi- bility of change or unkindness in another ; nor, although the last to overrate his own value, could he be blind to the merit of his unswerving truth and fidelity. Above all, inexperienced as he was in the ways of women, his straightforward honesty of purpose could not understand how they delight in the generous duplicity which, for the beloved one's Avelfare, feigns to yield of its own fVee will all that it best delights to keep, and veils its sufl'erings with a smile, the sweeter in proportion to the pain it afiects to hide. Well, come what might, as long as Charles Stuart was in adversity, so longAvas Humphrey IJosville hisrecldess and devoted servant. Cautiously Avalking in the most crowded parts of Lon- don, which then even more than noAv aflbrded the securest hiding- place for a fugitive, he had passed a few Aveeks subsequent to his intervicAv Avith Effingham and release fi"om NcAvgate in the enforced inactivity Avhich he loathed. This Avas the period at Avhich he felt most keenly the disappointment he had iindergone. It was during these long leaden Aveeks that Vice stretched her ghastly arms to enfold him, not in her most alluring, but in her most dangerous form. When she offers her treacherous goblet, spark- ling Avith nectar and Avreathed Avitli floAvers, though thirsty nature *THE MUSKETEER.' 343 may quaff greedily at the poison, there is yet an instinctive anti- patliy to the draught, a speedy reaction when its intoxicating effects have passed away. All happiness is heaven-born, and even its spurious copy, mere enjoyment, cannot entirely divest itself of the reflected light shed by that which it strives to imitate ; so he who in the exuberance of youth, and health, and animal spirits, laughs the meiTiest laugh, and drains the fullest cup of riot and revelry, feels inwardly conscious the while that he is meant for better things. But it is when she assumes the garb, not of the garlanded Goddess, but of the dark and shrouded Fate, Avhen she says to her votary, ' My child, here is the deadly opiate ; drink, and feel no more ! Mine is the dull trance of oblivion ; come to my arms, poor wretch, to slumber and forget ! ' that she offers her most fatal temptation, that she drags the devoted sufferer headlong into her whirlpool, to wheel a few giddy turns in A'ain around its edges, and then sink into its vortex without hope for evermore. But Humphrey was saved by his devotion to his King. While something womanly in his natui-e caused him to shrink from grosser vices, the noble ambition to serve the Stuart to the last bade him preserve to the utmost his mental and bodily poAvers for that sacred purpose ; and so the while he waited his opportunity, he led a weary life of solitude and self-denial. It was a long time to be immured in an obscure lodging, uncheered by comrades, forgotten by friends, with nothing but that cruel letter for a solace and a study — a long time, but it came to an end at last. After much consideration, it appeared to Hiunphi-ey that the only method by which he could have a chance of assisting his royal master was to obtain some appointment, if possible, about his person, and then trust to accident for an opportunity either of effecting his escape or communicating between him and his friends. For one so well known, however, as the young Cavalier officer, whose daring attempts had already marked him out as the most dangerous ' Malignant ' of them all, this was no such easy matter ; and he resolved at length to disguise his person and enlist in one of the Parliamentary regiments quartered in the metropolis, by which means he hoped at one time or another to be in immediate attendance on Charles himself. Fortune favoured him, as she often does those who trust in her guidance while they make light of her favours; and it was not long before the name of Henry Brampton was added to the roll- call of Hacker's musketeers, that worthy commander remarking when the recruit was brought up for inspection, that * The Spanish Main was no bad school for a soldier of the Parliament ; and ho 344 lI0L5rBY HOUSE. would scarce boggle at anything demanded of him to lurthev the good cause here, who had stuck at nothing in the service of the devil yonder.' So Brampton mormted his bufF and bandeliers, shouldered his shining musket, took his round of fatigue duty, and tramped up and dovm his post on sentry, as though he had not been a few short years ago one of the most promising officers in Prince Eupcrt's cavalry division. It was seldom, though, that he had an opportunity of being near the person of the monarch. It was not till the first day of the royal prisoner's trial that he was permitted to come actually into his presence. He could not but think, however, that Charles had recognised him. Like the rest of his line, the latter possessed an extraordinary memory for faces, and a wonderful facility in identifying those which he had once seen ; it was not therefore surprising that he should have penetrated the disguise of one whom, indeed, he would scarce have been justified in forgetting, and whose features he had once before detected under the fisher- man's slouched hat at Brampton Mill. Yes, he felt sure the King must have known him again, but it was dui'ing a moment of great confiision, and even Humphrey's coolness had not kept his head as clear as it shoidd have been at that trying period. It was after the keen bitter tones of Lady Fairfax had for a second time disturbed the judicial proceedings in Westminster Hall. Hacker had just delivered his brutal command to fire into the box occupied by that lady, and the musketeers were preparing to obey. Like the rest, Brampton was compelled to step to the front, and bring his firelock to the ' Present ; ' not that he dreamed for an instant of fulfilling so barbarous an order, but that any appearance of hesitation or unwillingness might have invited detection. It was at this moment that he caught Charles's eye fixed upon him with a peculiar and impressive glance. It seemed at once to instil caution, patience, and forbearance; but all was lost in the mist that came before his eyes and the Avhirl that stupified his brain, occasioned by the iace that met his OAvn as he levelled his musket in the direction of Lady Fairfax. Standing Ibrward in the old attitude he kncAV so well, looking just as she used to do, only graver and paler, but still, as his heart told him, even in that moment of surprise and confusion, as dear, as beautiful as ever, appeared the woman he had voAved he would love no longer, he had resolved he would never see again. There she was, ready to confront danger, ready to die if need be, rather ' THE PROTEST.' 34.'l than show tho slightest symptom of cowardice ; and hurt, angry, maddened as he had been, he felt proud of her even then. As he stood at the guard-room window it required many a perusal of the fatal letter to harden him into indifference once more ; and it was with a feeling of no small relief and satisfaction that he heard his name read out by the sergeant on duty as one of the permanent escort told off to guard the person of the im- prisoned Sovereign. CHAPTEK XL. ' THE TROTEST.' As a venturous SAvimmer striking out fearlessly from the bank finds himself carried downward by the current far lower than he intended, and discovers that all his energies, all his powers, will be severely taxed to make good his landing on the opposite shore, so doth he Avho embarks on the stream of j^olitical life learn to his cost that the river runs swifter still as it gets deeper, and that if he Avoukl keep Ins head above the surface, rather than siidc into oblivion, he must consent to be borne onwards, in defiance of his own better judgment, at the mercy of the flood. George Effingham had long ago cast in his lot with the Parlia- ment ; of what avail was his single arm to arrest the desperate measiu-es which had now become necessary to the existence of that body, clinging as it did to the shadow of power whereof the sub- stance was already in the iron grasp of the Dictator. Effingham had won a position such as would have satisfied the ambition of any ordinary man, such as any ordinary man would have made considerable sacrifices of conscience and feelings to retain ; but George was not an ordinary man, and his character Avas altered, his heart softened by the ordeal he had undergone. Long ago he had dreamt of religious freedom, of personal and political liberty, of a monarchy based on those Utopian principles Avhich form the foundations of all theoretical governments, which men will see carried out Avhen the golden age comes back once more ; and for the realisation of these visions he had been con- tent to give up friends, party, military honour, all the hopes that make life dearest and sweetest, and to wade knee-deep in blood and guilt for the establishment of peace and holiness on earth. It was sad to find the conviction growing stronger on him day by 346 noLMBY HOUSE. day that lie had been mistaken — tliat the party he had joined ivas no whit less ambitious, less selfish, less intolerant, and less tyran- nical, than that Avhich he had left ; to see the leaven of ambition, the restless thirst for self-aggrandisement, as strong in the formal Puritan as in the dissolute Cavalier, to be forced to acknowledge that the son of the Lincolnshire grazier could be no less regard- less of principles and defiant of consequences than the scion of the Stuarts, and to watcli Avith horrified gaze the inevitable approach of that tragedy in which it was never his intention to participate. He had been a stern pitiless man once, a man who would have hesitated at nothing in the execution of a purpose which he had determined it was his duty to ftdfil, bvit many influences had com- bined to temper the strength and harshness of his original character ; the habits of high command h?,d accustomed him to a broader and consequently a more tolerant A'^iew of men and things ; the prac- tice of that true religion of which the very essence is the * Charity that tliinketh no evil,' had brought out, as it never fails to do, the kindlier impulses of his nature, and the chastening hand of sorrow had taught even proud George Eflingham that he must bow resignedly to a stronger will than his own. There was little left of the haughty unbending soldier, save the gallant spirit that stiU could not be brought to acknowledge fear of any man that ever stepped the earth. He had been present during the ICing's trial in Westminster Hall. He had loudly remonstrated against the disrespect with which his Majesty Avas treated during the ceremony. He had rebuked Hacker sufficiently sharply for his intemperate and un- officer-like conduct, and he had even recognised the Avell-known form of Grace Allonby shrinking behind the two Cavalier ladies Avho stood forward so proudly to vindicate their loyalty even in that moment of danger. It Avas painful to see her again, but George Avas accustomed to jiain noAV — Avhat did it matter ? She was married to his old comrade by this time, of course, his old comrade whom he had himself saved to give her, his old comrade who Avas Avithin tliree paces of him all the time, but Avhom he did not detect under the disguise of a Parliamentary musketeer. From feelings of delicacy he had kept aloof from all communica- tion Avith the family of her Avhom he felt he had lost ; it Avas enough that he had done all in his poAver to make her liappy, and he hoped she ivas happy, and had forgotten him altogether, at least so he told himself; and yet perhaps it Avould not have affected him inconsolably to have knoAvn that she Avas pining and 'THE PROTEST.' 347 solitary, and that Humphrey Bosville had neither seen her nor lieard from her since his release. Each day Effingham attended the trial, and when it was con- cluded, contrary to his wont, he made no comment or remark upon a topic which engaged all voices and occupied all thoughts ; but next morning he issued from his lodging dressed in full uniform as a Parliamentary General, and with a darker broAV and more compressed lip than usual took his way, silent and pre- occupied, towards the residence of the most powerful man at that moment in England, OUver Cromwell. It was perhaps, with one exception, the saddest day of his life. Each by each his visions had all departed from him, each by each he had given up, first his enjoyments, then his hopes, lastly his consolations. When he had resigned his command, and repu- diated all further connexion ^vith those Avhom he had deserted his colours to join, what would be left to him on earth? He could see before him the weary useless life, the long leaden days, wanting even the distraction of professional occupation and the stimulus of professional exertion. He would have no position, no station in the world — he who was at that very moment one of the most important men in the kingdom ; but he never wavered : it was right, and he would do it. God would find him some task to fulfil, if it was good that he should have an appointed task, and if not, he would accept a humble lot without repining. Once only he thought how different things might have been, thought of a happy, quiet home, with domestic duties and domestic pleasures, and a smile that could make a sanded floor brighter and fairer than a palace ; but he drove these visions from him with an effort, and resolved to carry his burden, heavy as it might be, without shrinking from the labour. He had gone through the crucible at last, and had learned — bold, powerful, and successful as he was — the most difficult task of all, to been- humbly, resignedly, and Avithout a murmur. As he strode resolutely along he overtook a female figure that he seemed instinctively to recognise, although, pre-occupied as he was, he had scarcely noticed its movements or appearance. It stopped as he approached, and putting back its hood, disclosed an extremely comely face, blushing to the very edge of its cap at its recognition in the open street by so distinguished a person as General Effingham. ' No offence, General,' exclaimed Faith curtseying, for indeed it was no other than Grace Allonby's waitmg-maid, grown into a sedate and matronly personage. ' No oflfence, I hope, but Avhen 318 IIOLMUY HOUSE. 1 looked back and s{uv it was you and none other, I couldn't help stopping, just for old times' sake. Ah ! great changes have taken place. General, since you've seen me and my young lady ; but, dear me, it's a world of change, and who'd ever have thought of my taking up at last Avith Hugh Dymocke ! but no offence. General, 1 humbly hope.' Faith dropped another curtsey, and looked very demure and pretty as she did so. George muttered a few unintelligible words of greeting. The distinguished officer was far more agitated at this chance meeting than the humble waiting-maid. He stammered out at last a con- fused enquirj' as to the well-being of ' Mistress Cave, and — and Mistress Grace,' he could not tritst himself to add her maiden surname now, lest she should have changed it for another. 'Alack ! General,' answered Faith, 'truly they are ill at ease. Indeed, the world never seems to have gone rightly with us since poor Sir Giles Allonby went to his account ; and there's my Lord lying sick in his lodging down here by Whitehall, and my good- man, that's Dymocke — Hugh Dymocke — asking your pardon. General, you remember him,' quoth Faith, with another blush and another curtsey ; ' he's an altered man since they took tlie poor young Major, and Mistress Grace, she takes on sadly to get no news of him, for dead or alive he might be, and none of us one whit the wiser ; and as for Mistress Cave, it's never a word, good nor bad, she says to any one, but walks about pale and silent like a ghost ; and I'm scarcely half so merry as I used to be, though that's not to be expected, of coiu-se; and indeed I never thought to see such days as these, thoitgh I'm siu-e, when I tcok Hugh Dymocke, I humbly hoped it was all for the best.' She stopped to take breath, and George, who had by this time recovered his composure, observed Avith considerable simplicity, ' I thought your young lady had by this time followed your good exam])le, INIistress Dymocke, and was married.' ' Married ! ' echoed Faith, with a laugh of derision ; ' not she — and never likely to be ; she's a sweet young lady. Mistress Grace, and a winsome, but she's been looking too long for the straight slick in the wood, and after rejecting this one and that one, here and there, alie'll come out into the fields again and never find Avhat she seeks. It was but yesterday I said to her as I Avas doing her hair — for leave her I never will till I see the colour in her cheeks once more — " Out of such a number," says I, " Mistress Grace, it ought not to be so hard to choose." " Never speak of 'TTIE PROTEST. 349 it, Faith," says she, taking me up mighty short, and turning so pale, poor thing. " And why not ? " says I, for I can be bold enough when I like, and I was determined once for all I'd know how and about it. " Isn't there gallants here and gallants there, all ready to fling themselves at your feet ? Wasn't there Major Bosville, and many another of the Cavaliers, that would have gone barefoot to Palestine and back again, only for a touch of your hand ; and now that the Parliament's uppennost, and the land is purged, as they call it, irom vanity, couldn't you pick and choose among the saints, God-fearing men though they be ? " With that she fired up as red as scarlet. " How dare you. Faith ! " says she ; " leave me this instant ! " but she turned quite white again, and was all of a tremble, and I heard her muttering-like, " Never a Iwebel, for the old father's sake," and though I was forced to do as she bid me, jmd go out of the room, I made bold to peep through the kejdiole, and she had flung herself down on her knees by the bedside, and was weepiiig as if her heart Avould break. Oh she'U never marry now, wont Mistress Grace. And as for the poor young Major, that they make such a talk about, it's my belief that Mistress Cave loves him a deal better than my young lady ever did, though I durstn't ask her such a question, not to save my life ! ' Having arrived at her destination and the end of her disclosures at the same moment, Faith deemed it incumbent on her to point out the house now occupied by Lord Vaux and his relatives, which was indeed on the opposite side of the street, and to invite the General on her own account to step in and see his old friends once more. George was sorely tempted to break through all his good resolutions ; but he had a dut}^ to fulfil, and he determined imtil that task was accomplished he Avould suffer no human Aveaknesses, no earthly considerations, to turn him aside from the path of truth and honoiu-. The waiting-maid's revelations had indeed made sad havoc of the dull mental equilibrium he had sworn to preserve. It was much to learn that Grace was still fi-ee ; much to hear that her antipathy to a rebel could create such a turmoil in her feelings. He Avas no fool, George Effingham, and who shall blame him if he drew his own conclusions, and became conscious that hopes which he had stifled and eradicated with the strong hand only waited a favourable opportunity to germinate and blossom once more ? Nevertheless, he would not permit himself to dwell for more than an instant on the dream that had 80 affected his outer life ; but taking a courteous leave of Faith, 350 HOLMBY HOUSE. ami forcing on lior at the same time a munificent wedding-present, Jie pursued liis Avulk with even a firmer step and a more resolute brow than before. If one short hour ago he was strung to a dogged, obstinate defiance of danger, he could have faced the deadliest peril now with positive exultation and delight. It was the 29th of January, and Lieutenant-General Cromwell's leisure was not likely to be at the disposal of the first comer ; nevertheless the sentry at his door made room for Effingham to ])ass with a military salute, and after a very brief interval of Avaiting in an ante-room, a pale and agitated secretary ushered George into the presence of the Lieutenant-General, with a grave apology that so distinguished a servant of the Parliament should be kept in attendance even for a few minutes. Cromwell was standing in the middle of the room, attired with his usual plain simplicity, but somewhat more carefully than his wont. The pale secretary reseated himself after the entrance of Effingham, and continued his occupation of writing from the Lieutenant-General's dictation, but liis hand was so unsteady that it shook even the massive table on Avhicli he leaned his arm. His master took a short turn or two up and down the room, and for some minutes did not appear to notice the new arrival. George had time to scan him minutely. He had been familiar with him for a long period, had Avatched him in many an emergency ol difficulty and danger, yet had he never seen him quite like what he was now. In the turmoil of battle, in the critical moments on which his own destiny and that of England depended, it was a part of the man to become cooler and cooler as the plot thickened. His cheek would glow and his eye Avould brighten when leading the Iron- sides to a successful charge ; but should their advance be checked and the scales of victory hang doubtful in the balance, those plain heavy features seemed to settle into lineaments of iron. Now, though the orders he was enunciating were but trifling matters of military detail, a faint sallow flush came and went over his coun- tenance, and the large lips twitched and trembled, Avhile the broad jaw beneath them closed ever and anon with a convulsive clasp. He seemed to speak mechanically, and with his thoughts fixed on some topic far distant from the strategical movements he was directing, and he started — positively started — when in one of his short restless turns he encountered George Effingham. There were but those three in the room — the pale secretary bowing his head over his writing ; the Parliamentary ofHcer loftilv 'the protest.' 351 confronting his cliief ; and the Dictator himself, hiding an air of remorse, irritation, and perplexity under an assumption of more than military brevity and decision. ' What would you,' demanded Cromwell, his brow darkening as, with the perspicuity of aU great men, he read Effingham's face like a book — ' what would you with us in this press of business ? Be brief, for the time is short, and lo 1 even now the hour is at hand.' ' I come to resign my commission into your Excellency's hands, answered Effingham in slow, steady tones, emphatic as they were sorrowful. ' I come to demand my dismissal from your Excel- lency's service. I come to protest against the murder of Charles Stuart.' Cromwell's brow had grown darker and darker as the officer went on ; but when he reached his climax, all the wrath he had so long repressed, all the accumulated feelings of self-reproach which had burdened him for days, broke forth in a burst of incon- trollable fury. His face became purple, his features swelled, and his eyes glowed like coals, as, with a shout that made the pale secretary start out of his chair, he thundered forth — ' Out upon you, George Effingham ! vile traitor and doubly- dyed renegade — will you put your hand to the plough and dare now to look back ? Will you come into the Lord's vineyard, and shrink Uke a coward from your share of the work ? God do so to me and more also if I lay not your head as low before evensong as that of Charles Stuart will lie to-morrow, to spare whom I take heaven to witness I would give my right arm — yea, the very apple of mine eye ! ' George had nerve as well as courage. He remained perfectly calm and erect during this outbreak, and at its conclusion repeated, in tones if possible more distinct and accusatory than before, ' I protest against the murder of Charles Stuart ! ' We have already said that a stern daring akin to his own never failed to touch the keystone of Cromwell's character. His wrath abated as rapidly as it had risen. With the inevitable self-decep- tion of all who would fain stretch conscience too far, he was willing to vindicate his actions to his subordinate, though he felt he could not justify them to himself Perhaps something within told him that, had he been in Effingham's position, he would have acted in the same manner. ' Nay, I do "wrong thus to chafe that thou art still in darkness,' sjiid he, with a strong effort at composure, and a countenance paling rapidly now that his natural violence of temper hud 352 noLMny house. expended itself. 'Thou art a tried comrade, EflTinglKim, and a fellow-labourer in the good work ; yet it may be that thine eyes have not been opened, and thou canst not aee the hand of the Lord in our dealings Avith this man of blood. I would not be hasty with thee, my trusty friend. Take back thy resignation, and forget that thou hast thus bearded one of the Lord's appointed servants in the execution of his work.' Cromwell turned to his secretary as if to continue the previous employment which Effingham's presence had interrupted, and made as though the subject was now concluded between them ; but George was not to be thus put off. Eyeing the Lieutenant- General gravely and sternly, he once more placed his written i-esignation in his hands. ' I will no longer serve,' said he, ' with those who set at nouglit the Divine ordinance, and dip their hands in blood for the security of their temporal power. How shall I answer at the Great Day when the life of Charles Stuart, king though he be, is required at my hands, and I stand convicted of aiding and abetting in his murder — ay, his murder. General Cromwell, of whom the Scrip- ture itself hath said, " Touch not mine Anointed ? " How wilt thou answer for it thyself there, who canst not give an account of it that shall satisfy mankind even here ? ' CroniAvell paced the room with rapid and irregular strides, his hands folded together, and the fingers entwining each otlier as of one in the extreme of pei'plexity. His features worked and trem- bled with the conflict of his emotions, and his breath came short and quick as he muttered out his vindication partly to himself and partly to the brave captain, whose defiance he could not but admire. ' It is not for me to answer it — surely not only for mc ! Do I stanu alone amongst the people of England ? Am I at once accuser, judge, and executioner in my own person ? By the verdict of sixty just men ; by the decree of a nation pronounced through its Parlia- ment ; by the laws of God and man — the liead of the unrighteous hath been doomed to fall, and shall I alone be called to give account for it liere and hereafter ? And yet can you divide blood- guiltiness by figures, and mete out the portions of crime as one meteth out corn in a bushel ? Nay, it is a just decree, and by its justice must we stand or fall — Council and Commons, Peers and Parliament, down to the meanest trooper of the army — and let none shrink from his share of the great work in wliich all are alike bound to take a part.' ' You can save him if you will,' .said Effingham, fixing his eye ' THE PROTEST. 353 c calmly on the tsgltated countenance of his powerful superior, tho pale Secretary looking at the pleader the while as one v/ho watches a man placing his head voluntarily in the lion's maw. ' None can save him now,' answered Cromwell in grave pro- phetic tones, ' but He in Avhose hands are the issues of life and death. What am I but a sword in the grasp of the slayer — an instrument forged to do the bidding of the saints, the despised and jeered saints, that liave yet triumphed in despite of their enemies ? Albeit the lowest and the humblest in that goodly communion, I will not flinch fi-oni the duty that wiser and holier men than I liave set me to perform. " It is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not." Enough of this, George Effingham — thou in whom I have trusted, who Avert to me even as a brother, go out from among us, if it must be so, lest a worse thing befall thee. He that is not with us is against us. Go out from among us, George Effingham, false and unprofitable servant ! Begone and see my face no more.' Cromwell turned from him angrily and abruptly. He had lashed himself into wrath again, and the imploring looks of the Secretary Avarned Effingham to withdraAV. He placed his resig- nation on the table, and keeping his eye on CromAvell, whose averted face and troubled gestures betrayed the storm Avithin, walked steadily from the room. As he reached the door, the Lieutenant-GeneralAvas heard to mutter, ' It is the Lord's doings ! It is the atonement of blood ! ' The Council Avere already assembled in the Painted Chamber, and Avere Availing but for him Avho A\'as indeed as their very right arm and the breath of their nostrils. While Effingham Avalked home afoot, a ruined, and in the eyes of his OAvn Avorld a degraded man, Lieutenant-General CromAvell stepped from his coach amidst the clang of arms and the deferential stare of the populace, the most poAverful individual in England. Which of the tAvo looked back on the 29th of January Avith the most tranquil heart? But the I'liture Lord Protector Avas by this time fully nerved for the stern measures he had undertaken to carry out. If his conscience told him that the life of Charles Stuart Avould be re- quired at his hands, Avas not the iron Avill poAverful enough to stifle the still small voice ? Could not Ambition and Eanaticism, the ambition tliat had originated in Patriotism, the Fanaticism that had once been piety, march hand-in-hand to their triiimph, calling themseh'es Duty and Necessity ? Was CromAvell the first Avho ever forced himself to belicA'c that honour and interest pointed to the same path, or the only man who has persuaded liimself he 354 HOLMBY HOUSE. was a tool in the hands of the Almighty whilst he ^vas doing the devil's work ? Saint or hypocrite, patriot or usurper — perhaps a mixture of all — can we judge of his temptations or realise to our- selves the extremity to which he found himself reduced ? Sacrilege or justice, crime or duty, he went about it with a bold brow and a steady hand. Small deliberation did they hold, those gloomy men Avho met in the Painted Cliamber. Their nerves were strung, their minds made up, they liad even leisure to trifle with their a\vful task ; ' and the ink that -was to witness the shedding of a king's blood was ilirted from one to another in ghastly mockery of sport. The Death Warrant Jay before them, the merciless document that pronounced ' Charles Stuart, King of England, to stand convicted, attainted, and condemned of high treason, and other high crimes ; ' that sentenced him * To be put to death by the severing of his head from his body, of which sentence execution yet remaineth to be done. These are therefore to will and require you to see the said sentence executed in the open street before Whiteliall upon the morrow, being the thirtieth day of this instant month of January, between the hours of ten in the morning and five in the afternoon, with full effect. And for so doing this shall be yout warrant. ' And these are to require all oflicers and soldiers, and others the good people of this nation of England, to be assisting unto you in this service. Given luider our hands and seals.' And then they signed their names in full, thus : — * Joim Bradshaw. ' Thomas Grey, Lord Groby. ' Oliver Cromwell.' (And fifty-six others.) And the third signature was written in the steadiest hand amongst them all. CHAPTER XLI. * A FORLORN HOPE.' OuARLES Stuart's last day was come. He had undergone his trial with a dignity and calmness which many attributed to his conviction that even at the last the Parliament dare not proceed to extremities, that at least the j^crson of a sovereign must always ' A FORLORN HOPE.' 355 he respected in England. If sucli was the reed on which he leaned, he must have found it broken in his hand. If he had cherisliod any expectations of a reprieve or commutation of his sentence, had been deceived by any of those visions which are so apt to take the place of Hope Avhen Hope herself is stricken to the earth, he must have seen them now completely cleared away ; and yet his courage never failed him. The King was as composed, as gentle, as majestic, in his warded chamber at St. James's on that bitter 29 th of January, as though he had been the most powerful monarch in Europe seated triumphantly on a throne. In the ante-room of the prisoner's apartment was stationed a guard of Hacker's musketeers : rough, careless soldiers were they, opposed to royalty both from interest and inclination ; and yet, now that the sentence was passed, now that the prisoner whom they guarded was no longer a monarch on his trial, but a human soul that would be in eternity to-morrow, their boisterous jests were checked, their rude voices hushed, and all appeared to feel alike the influence of that majesty with which the King of TeiTors clothes him whom he is about to visit. One amongst them, indeed, seemed more restless than his comrades. Henry Brampton, with his dark face and flaxen curls, had omitted no opportunity of approaching the prisoner ; and yet even now the last hour was almost come, and his duty had not yet brought him in immediate contact with Charles's person. The suspense was getting absolutely maddening; and the dis- guised Cavalier's feelings, outraged and lacerated by the sufferings he saw his sovereign compelled to undergo, worked upon him to a degree that it cost him all the efforts of Avhich he was cajDable to hide from the observation of his companions. Brampton had laid his plans with the energy and decision of his character. For weeks he had been ingratiating himself with the more dissolute and desperate men in the company to which he belonged. He had prayed with them, preached with them, jested "with them, and, above all, drank with them, till he could coimt some dozen or so of choice spirits with whom he felt his influence to be all-powerfld. These he had sovmded cautiously and by degrees. Like most men with nothing to lose, he had found them totally without fixed principles, and perfectly ready for any vmdertaking which promised to conduce to their own advantage. Without committing himself to any one of them, or letting them into his confidence, he had given them to understand that he meditated some bold stroke at a fitting opportunity, in which he counted upon their adhesion, and which, if successful, Avould 356 IIOLMBY HOUSE. rendci" them indeiieuJcnt of military service foi- life, and give tlicm %vlierewith to drinlv to their heart's content for the rest of their days. These myrmidons he had contrived with infinite pains to unite in one squad, or division, which generally wont on guard together, and which formed in rotation the escort of his INIajesty. Could he but depend upon them at the important moment, a plan for the King's escape was practicable. Kelays of horses were ready at all hours to carry his Majesty to the coast; and if the fidelity of his guards could once be seduced, it would be no impossibility to hurry him out of St. James's, and away to a place of safety under cover of night. Two obstiicles stood in the way of the dauntless Cavalier. The first Avas so to arrange as that this escort, and no other, should guard him dui'ing the hours of darkness, a difiiculty which appeared at length to be overcome, as they had been told olF for duty this very evening ; the second, to apprise the King of his intentions, no easy matter, guarded as was the royal prisoner, every word scrupulously noted, and every action rigidly watched. The great stake must be played out to-day. To-mon-ow it would be too late ; and Brampton's manifest restlessness and per- turbation began to excite the remarks of his reckless companions. ' Thy conscience pricks thee, Henry,' said one rude musketeer. ' Overboard with it, man ! as thou didst with the Dons yonder on the Spanish Main.' ' Nay,' quoth another, ' the time hath come at last ; and Bramp- ton's plot, whatever it be, is about hatching just now.' ' Well, I for one am tired of doing nothing,' observed a third. ' Have with thee, lad, be it to rob a church or to skin a bishop ! ' ' Or to put Fairfax in irons,' said a fourth. ' Or to take the New Jerusalem by escalade. Hurrah ! for three hours' plunder of those streets, my boys, after the storm,' shouted a fifth. They were ripe for anything now, and the ' huiTah ! ' was re-echoed more than once through the guard- room, when the last speaker, the wildest reprobate amongst them all, raised his hand with a warning gesture, and a wistful look xxpon his dissipated war-worn face. ' Hush, lads ! ' he said, in a hoarse whisper ! and wliilst he spoke the guard-room became still as death. ' Hush, for pity's sake. His children are going into him even now. God help them, poor things ! I've got young ones of my own ! ' There was a tear on more than one shaggy eyelash, as the rrincess Elizabeth and her little brother, the infant Duke of * A FORLOKN HOrE.' 357 Gloucester, were led by faithCul Herbert through the guard-room, to see their father for the last time on this side the grave. Charles sat at a small table on which lay a Bible, a work of controversial divinity — for even at this extreme hour he could not take his religion pure from the fountain-head— and a casket containing a few small diamond ornaments and other jewels. This casket had been sent to him the night before, in return for a signet-ring Avhich he had forwarded to its guardian as a voucher, and had been religiously kept by that custodian, the Lady Wheeler, until such time as the King's necessities should force him to ask for it. Its contents were scarcely of royal value, being but a few dilapidated ' Georges ' and ' Garters ; ' but as they lay spread out upon the table before him, they constituted all the Avorldly possessions left to Charles Stuart. He Avas looking at them wistfully, and Avith a sad j)ensive ex- pression on his brow. Many a gorgeous scene did those glittering toys recal, many an hour of royal state and courtly splendour when he Avho Avas noAv a prisoner Avaiting for his doom, needed but to lift his hand to bid the proudest heads in England bend lowly before him, Avhen he Avas the centre of that charmed circle Avhich numbered in its ranks the floAver of the noblest aristocracy in the Avorld, noAV, alas ! scattered, exiled, ruined, and desti'oyed — Avhen he Avas the first personage in its peerage, the first knight in its chivalry, the poAverful sovereign, the happy husband, the laAvgiver, the benefactor, the fountain-head of honour, and Avealth, and renoAvn. Where had it all fled ? Could those times have ever been real ? or Avas it not some vision that had melted dreamily aAvay ? Alas ! those broken ornaments typified too truly the broken fortunes of him Avho noAV gazed on them for the last time. It is said that on the near approach of death, especially a death of violence undergone Avhile body and mind are still untouched by decay, thcAvhole of a man's life passes before him like a pageant. What a strange eventful pageant must it have been that thus glided across the spiritual vision of the doomed King ! His careless boy- hood, his indulgent father's kindly smile and aAvkward ungainly form ; the romantic expedition to IMadrid, the gorgeous feasts, the tournaments and bull-fights of chivalrous old Spain ; the face of Buckingham, beautiful exceedingly, and the sparkling smile of his OAvn young Bourbon bride ; the assembled Parliaments, a I'oyal figure standing out in relief as that of one Avith Avhom he Avas not personally identified, calling them together and proroguing them at Avill ; Laud's stately bearing, Llampden's goodly presence, re- spectful even in defiance, and scapegoat Sti'afFord's pale reproachful 358 HOLMBY HOUSE. smile ; then the Scotch progress, and the magnificence of New- castle's princely liospitality, the unfurling of the standard, the marches and counter-marches of civil wariare ; the Court at Ox- ford, Avith its narrowing circle of the loyal and true, stanch Or- mond's noble iirow, hot Rupert's towering form, Goring's long love-locks, and stout old Astley's honest war-worn face ; then the midnight bivouac and the morning alarm, the sweeping charge, the thrilling war-ciy, the shattered rout of Naseby's fatal field ; a prisoner, still a king, at Ilolmby House, Hampton Court, Caris- brooke Castle, Windsor itself; the poor bird beating its winga more and more hopelessly against the bars of each successive cage ; to end in Bradshaw's pitiless frown and the final sentence read out to consenting hundreds in Westminster Hall. Ay, it was reality, after all, else Avhy this sombre apartment, with its barred doors and lofty window-sills ? why the sad faces of his few per- sonal attendants ? why the rude oath and jest and clang of arms in the adjoining guard-room? above all, why the chill dull fore- boding, creeping and curdling even round liis brave heart, the stunned consciousness that to-moiTow he must be in another world. It is a splendid pageant, truly, that of a king's life ; yetj^erhaps at the extreme hour its scenes appear no whit more important, no whit more satisfactory to look back upon, than those which flit through the brain of a beggar, laying him down to die homeless by the Avayside. It was pitiful to see the children as they came gently into their father's presence. On each little face there was a dim prescience of evU ; a dread of something felt but not understood — fear for themselves, sorrow for him, although they knew not why, mingled with childish wonderment, not altogether painful, and interest, and awe. Charles had need of all his fortitude now. He took the Princess lovingly on his knee, and the child looked up wistfully and fondly in his lace. Something that crossed it caused her to burst out a-crying, and she hid her Avet cheek on her father's shoulder in a passion of tears. Her little brother, frightened at her distress, wept plentifully for company. The rough soldiers in the guard- room had rather have fronted the King's culverins at point-blank distance, than entered that cliamber sanctilicd by sorrow. They herded together as far as might be from the door, and if they exchanged words it Avas not above their breath. The King took his few diamond ornaments from the table. * My children,' said he, ' behold all the wealth I have it now in my poAver to give you.' *A FOJRLORN HOPE.' 359 With that he placed the gauds in theu- little hands, reserving only a ' George,' cut in an onyx and set with diamonds, the which he wore on his breast like a true knight, as he walked steadfastly to death on tlie morrow. Then he blessed them Avith a father's blessing. ' My children,' said Charles, ' I shall be with you no more : you -vvill never again see your earthly father in this world. But you have a Father in Heaven of whom none can rob you. To Him I commend you — to Him I bid you commend yourselves. Observe your duty to the Queen your mother. Swerve never in your loyalty to the Prince your brother, who is, and who always must be, my rightful successor. Fear not the face of man ; fear only to do evil in the sight of Heaven. Farewell, my children ! Be comforted, and farewell ! ' Then hfling his little son upon his knee, a boy that could scarce speak plain, he bade him for the love of his lather never to sup- plant either of his brothers ; never to believe that he could be a rightful sovereign while they lived ; never to alloAv wicked de- signing men to tempt him to the throne ; and the little one understood him, and kindled as he spoke, lisping out that he never would — ' I will be torn in pieces first ! ' said the sturdy child. So he dismissed them ; and calling them back once more folded them in one long parting embrace, and blessed them for the last time. Then he turned away to the window ; and when the door closed upon them it seemed to him that the bitterness of death was past. Good Bishop Juxon was then admitted to the Royal presence, and Charles Stuart's last evening on earth was passed in penitence and trustful prayer. Henry Brampton's suspense was becoming too painful to endure ; but the welcome order came at last, and our Cavaher found himseh' once more on the eve of one of those desperate enterprises in which it was his destiny to be continually engaged; in Avhich, indeed, only he seemed now to live. Personal danger had for long been a stimulant of which he could ill forego the use, and it had become his normal existence to work in a per- petual plot on the King's behalf. With a brutality which was hardly characteristic even of that stern conuuandant, Hacker had issued an order that two mus- keteers should remain in the prisoner's chamber the whole niglit previous to his execution ; and it was with a deep, thrilling sense of triumph that Brampton heard liis assumed name read out by 360 HOLMBY HOUSE. the corporal of the guard as selected for this otherwise iinwel come duty. As he ran over in his own mind the arrangements he had completed — the adherents on Avhom he could calculate as sufficiently numerous to overpower any refractory sentinel ; the coacli wliich was in waiting night alter night, on some pretext or another, in the Mall ; the relays of the best horses then in Eng- land, i'urnished from many a nobleman's and gentleman's stable, stationed at short intervals along a direct and unfrequented cross country road to the coast ; the raking corvette, that stood off and on from an obscure seaport during the day, and coming into har- bour at night, was kept ready at any hour to trip her anchor, shake out her topsail, and, fair wind or foul, beat out to sea; the disguise prepared for the well-known person of the King; nay, the very papers which should vouch for his assumed character in case he Avere stopped at any of the numerous armed posts ])er- vading the country, and ibr which friends in high places had actually procured the impression of the new Parliamentary seal, Avith the English arms and the Irish harp, and the inscription, 'In the first year of fruedom, by God's blessing restored ; ' — as he ran over all these well -assorted arrangements in his mind, he felt that the moment could no longer be delayed, and that now or never he must make proof of the inferior instruments with the assistance of which his plan must necessarily be caiTied out. One by one he sounded them in different corners of the guard- room ; one by one he found them, as he had anticipated, men ready to imdertake any mcasin-e, hoAvever desperate, lor an ade- quate consideration. All of them loved adventure for its own siike ; none of them were inaccessible to a bribe. There was something about Brampton, too, that made its Avay rapidly Avith men\ a certain Avoinanly kindliness Avhich — joined to obvious daring and reckless contempt Jbr consequences, has an inispeakable charm ibr the grosser sex — had invested him Avith a high degree of interest in those imtutored minds ; and the stories they told each other of his miraculous adventures and romantic crimes on the .Sjjanish ]\Tain and elscAvhere — stories Avhich origi- nated solely in their own imaginations — liad surrounded him Avith a halo of renown and mystery by Avhich they Avere completely dazzled. lie was not sIoav to take advantage of this spurious lliscination. Singly and collectively he bound them by an oath to do his bidding, Avhatever it might be, ibr that one night; and pledged himself equally solemnly to endoAv them severally Avith Bums Avhich, to private soldiers, represented imheard-of affluence on the morrow. His own patrimony Avas well nigh exliausted, it *A FORLORN HOPE.' .361 is true, but the King's adherents had not yet been completely rooted out of the land. Broken, dispersed, sequestered, ruined as was the Cavalier party, he had no fear that the money would not be forthcoming. When Brampton belted on his bandeliers and shouldered his musket to take his post in the King's bed- room, his heart bounded imder his buff-coat to think that at last he had saved his Sovereign. Good Bishop Juxon had taken leave of his beloved master for the night ; faithful Herbert had prepared the pallet on which, as an act of especial favour to the prisoner, he was permitted to repose by the King's bedside. Charles had completed his usual devotions, and had busied himself in the observance of all the accustomed miriutice of his toilet, as though it were but one of the many ordinary evenings which lead up surely and successively to the last. When he was ready to undress he seemed to indulge in a short interval of contemplative repose — calm, resigned, nay, even hopeful, like a man who is about to undertake a journey on which he has long speculated, and for which, now that his depar- ture is near at hand, he has neither repugnance nor fear. Herbert busied himself about divers matters in the chamber, to hide his troubled countenance and overflowing eyes, which the King observing, spoke to him cheerfully and Avitli a smile, bidding him rouse himself at an early hour on the following morning, * for,' said Charles, ' I must be astir betimes ; I have a great Avork to do to- morrow.' The attached servant's fortitude here gave way completely, and clasping his master's hand to his bosom, he burst into a passion of grief. ' Nay,' said the King, ' be comforted ; to-morrow is a day of rejoicing rather than of sorrow. Is it not my second marriage- day ? To-morrow I would be as trim as may be, for before night I hope to be espoused to my blessed Jesus.' For even now, on the verge of eternity, trifling matters wrested their share of attention from the grief of the one and the pre- occupation of the other. Herbert asked his master what clothes he would be pleased to wear on the moiTow, and the warrior-spirit of the old English kings flashed up for the last time, tempered, but not extinguished, by the resignation of the Christian — ' TiCt me have a shirt on more than ordinary,' said Charles, ' by reason the season is so sharp as may j^robably make me shake, which some observers will imagine proceeds from fear. I would have no such imputation. I fear not death ; death is not terrible to me. I ble«s my God I am prepared ! ' These last words tlie 302 HOLME Y HOUSE. King uttered in a low, devout, and solemn tone. He had done with everything now, on this side of eternity. Yet is life passing sweet, even to him who has most manned himself for its loss; and one more trial was in store for the prisoner ere tlie gates of earthly hope were closed upon him for ever. A loud knock was heard at the door of his apartment, and without waiting for permission to enter, a file of musketeers marched steadily into the room, and stationed themselves one on each side of the King's couch. In vain Herbert stormed and expostulated ; in vain he threat- ened the vengeance of the Colonel, the General, the Council, and the Parliament : the soldiers had their orders, they said ; and the King, calming his servant's indignation, gently bade him be still and submit with patience, as he did himself, to this last indignity. One of the musketeers seemed stupified with drink, as was indeed the case, and remained like a statue on his post ; but the door had scarcely closed upon the stir and clang of the guard- room ere the other, flinging his musket on the floor, was prostrate at the King's feet, covering his hand with kisses, and pouring forth expressions of loyalty and devotion such as the Sovereign had not heard for many a long month. Despite the flaxen curLs and the dyed skin, the King recognised him at once; and to the Cavalier's hurried entreaties tiiat he would save himself, as he poured forth a torrent of explanations and adjurations that not an instant was to be lost, did but reply — ' It was like thee, Humphrey Bosville, bold, gallant heart !• — loyal to the last. It is no fault of tliine that Charles Stuart must wear no more an earthly crown. But it is not to be. Listen, good BosvUle ; already they arc changing the guard in the ante- room. Thy plot hath failed thee even at the eleventh hour. God grant they may not have suspected thee and thy comrades. Surely, ere this time to-morrow enough blood will have been shed. Fare thee well for ever, my truest, bravest servant. It is the will of (jod — God's will be done 1 ' It was indeed too true. The last chance had I'ailed, like all the rest. No sooner had Lieutenant-General Cromwell been informed of Hacker's directions that the prisoner's last liours should be subject to intrusion, than he rescinded the brutal order; but the practised warrior at tlio same time commanded that the guard in the ante-room should be relieved every four hours, and that the same men should not bo Avarned twice for this duty until after the execution — thus nullifying any attempt at tampering with the *THE WHITE KING.' 363 poldiers fidelity, unless the seducer was prepared to corrupt the whole refriment. Humphrey had but time to resuxne his arms and his soldierlike attitude, when he was recalled to his comrades in the ante-room, and with them marched back to his regimental quarters. He carried off Avith him, however, one of the King's gloves, whicli Charles, with his accustomed kindliness in trifles, had taken from the table and slipped into his hand as he bade him farewell. That glove was treasured by Bosville's descendants as the most precious relic of their house. At roll-call on the following morning some dozen or so of Hacker's musketeers were missing. Amongst the deserters vv^as one Henry Brampton, of whom no further intelligence was ever obtained, though, unlike the rest, he had left his buff-coat, his arms and accoutrements, for the benefit of his successor in the ranks. CHAPTEE XLH. 'the white king.' With gi-ave and doubting looks the people in the streets asked each other if it Avould really be ? In twos and threes, and small distinct groups, they conversed in low tones, glancing anxiously noAv towards St. James's, now in the direction of Whitehall. No crowd was collected, no circulation stopped. Ere a knot of per- sons, gathering like a snowball, could exceed a score, they found themselves insensibly dispersed and moving on. Compact bodies of soldiers, horse and foot, paraded to and fro in all directions, Avhile St. James's Park was hned with a double row of muske- teers, in review order, their drums beating, their coloiU"S flying, and their ranks opened. Officers and men wore a grave deter- mined air ; there was little of triumph, much of sorrow, in their honest English faces. The day had broken gloomily enough — not a ray of sunshine lighted the lowering sky. The wind swept up the streets and across the open Mall in moaning fitfiil gusts, and it was bitter cold. Masons had been knocking and scraping- all night long at the wall of the banqueting-house in Whitehall, and carpenters in paper caps had concluded their work in front of the King's palace. The multitude looked up at that solemn fabric with a dull stupified air. It was the scaffold. One man amongst the crowd in St. James's Park, habited in 364 HOLMBY HOUSE. the. dress of a plain country gentleman, and muffled in a sombre- coloured cloak, Avas recognised by several of the officers and men on duty. They would have accosted him, but he shunned all their greetings, and exchanged not a Avord with any of them. His countenance bore the impress of a deep sadness and contrition ; his very gait Avas that of one Avho is boAved down by sorrow and re- morse. Though he had thi-oAvn up his part, George Effingham had come to see the end of the tragedy played out. The moments seemed to move like lead to the expectant thousands ; perhaps to one they passed more swiftly, perhaps even he could haA^e Avished the agony of expectation were over at last. Many a false alarm, many a stir about St. James's, caused every head to turn in that direction ; but the drums beat up at last, the colours Hcav out once more, the long line of soldiers brought their firelocks to the ' shoulder,' and in the open space between their ranks a small group of persons moved sloAvly, solemnly, steadily, tOAvards the place of doom. The good Bishop on his riglit hand trembled like a leaf Her- bert's face Avas blanched and SAvollen Avith Aveeping ; even the Parliamentary Colonel Avho attended him, drilled soldier though he Avas, marched not Avith so firm a step as he. Ay, look at him Avell, George Effingham ; you haA^c not been so near him since he revicAved your squadron on the eve of NeAvbury ; Avas his eye brighter, his mien more stately Avhen he sat his charger, in mail and plate, beibre your draAvn sAvords, than it is noAV ? Look at liim Avell ; Avould you ever have deserted his service had you thought it Avould come to this ? As the King passed on, the musketeers on either side Avheeled up behind him, closing in their ranks and Ibrming an impassable barrier to the nuiltitude in their rear. By tiivour of a stahvart sergeant Avho had served in his oAvn stand of pikes at Naseby, Effingham Avas permitted to advance Avith this unbroken column. An inexpressible fascination compelled him to see out the end of that Avhich his very soul abhorred. On arriving at "Whitehall, his Majesty passed along the galleries to his bedchamber, Avhere he halted for a Avhile to take a short iuterA'al of repose. Here he Avas served Avith a morsel of bread and a goblet of claret Avine, upon a silver sidver. Charles broke off a corner of the manchet and drardc from the cup. Herbert meanAvhile gave to the Bishop a Avliite sjitin cap Avhich he had in readiness for his master ; he could not endure to see him under the axe of the executioner. * THE WniTE KING.' 3G5 It was now time. Colonel Hacker, who was in attendance, and on whose stem nature the patience and dignity of the royal sufferer liad made no slight impression, knocked respectfully at the chamber door. It Avas the signal of leave-taking. Herbert and the Bishop sank on their knees before their Sovereign, cover- ing his hand with kisses. The latter, old and infirm, bowed down moreover Avith excessive grief, had scarcely strength to rise again. Gentle and kindly to the last, Charles helped the jjrelate up with his OAvn hand. He bade the door be opened, and followed the Colonel out Avith the free step and the majestic bearing of an English King. The galleries and banquetiug-house Avere lined Avith soldier.s. Firm and unAA-avering, they stood upon their posts, but those Avar- like faces bore an expression of unusual dejection : glances of pity, changing fast to admiration and even reverence, Avere cast upon the King from iinder their steel head-pieces, and the duty Avas evidently little to the minds of those frank bold men. They had confronted him in battle, they had fought him, and beaten him, and reviled him, but they had never tliought it A\'as to end like this ! J\len and Avomen croAvded in behind them, peering and peeping imder their elboAvs and betAveen their heads at the doomed mon- arch. Fervent expressions of loyalty and goodAviU greeted him from these bystanders, expressions not rebuked, nay, sometimes even echoed, by the very guards aa'Iio kept them back. ' God bless your Majesty ! ' exclaimed George Effingham, in loud, fearless tones, baring his head at the same time Avith studied reverence. The blessing Avas caught up and repeated by many a broken voice, and the King, returning his salutation, looked his old officer kindly and steadily in the face. Whether he recognised him or not, George Avas the happier for that glance during his lifetime. He Avould fain have remained near him noAV, Avould fain have dene him homage and retm-ned to his allegiance CA'en at the block, but the press became more and more resistless, and he Avas SAvept aAvay by the croAvd to a distance from Avhich he could Avith difficidty Avatcli the last actions and catch the last words of the King against Avhom he had rebelled. He saAV him emerge upon the fatal platform Avith the same dig- nified bearing, the same firm step. He saw liim expostulate for an instant Avith those around him as he asked for a higher block, that he might not stoop loAver than became a Stuart even in his death. He could see, though he could not hear, that the King 366 HOLMBY HOUSE. Avas apeaking with animated gestures in vindication of his conduct throughout tlae war ; but the royal voice rose audibly with the last sentence it ever spoke on earth, and every syllable struck loud and distinct as a trumpet-blast, while it declared in the face of earth and heaven — ' I have a good cause — I have a gracious God, and I will say no more ! ' Had Effingham lived to a hundred, he could never have for- gotten the picture that was then stamped indelibly on his brain. For many a year after he never shut his eyes that it did not pre- sent itself in all the firm strokes and glo-wing colours of reality. The sea of white faces upturned and horror bound, as the face of one man — the spars and props of the scafiold — the little groups that broke its level line — the sparrow that flitted across his vision and diverted his eye and his thoughts for an instant even then — the Bishop's white rochet and the Parliamentary Colonel's bur- nished helmet — the masked headsman's gigantic figure and the clean sliarp outline of the axe — the satin doublet and the veiled head bowed down upon the block — the outstretched hand thai gave the signal — * * » * * * Effingham was a brave stout soldier, but he grew sick ami faint, and tirrned his eyes away. A hollow groan, more terrible, more ominous in its stifled earnestness, than the loudest shout that ever shook the heavens, told how Charles I. had been be- headed, and the reaction that placed Charles II. on the throne had already commenced. And one more scene closed the event- ful drama. The laithful servants who had attended him to the threshold of eternity did not desert his mortal remains when he had passed its portal. The Parliament was memorialised and petitioned till that body, already startled at what it had done, gave permission for his burial. The decency and respect that had too often been refused the living oionarch were not denied to his senseless corpse. It was brought from St. James's to Windsor in a hearse with six horses, like that of any private gentleman, and attended by four mourning coaches and the remnant of his Ma- jesty's household. The service for the burial of the dead appointed by the Church of England was not permitted to be read ; but good Bishop Juxon, .stanch to his post even when all y^aa lost, stood ready with the Prayer Book in his hand to have used the pre- scribed ritual. In a vault at Windsor Castle — his own old Windsor — amongst ]ils kingly ancestors, he was laid in his last resting-place. A few high-born Cavaliers chose the spot for his A QHni PENITENT. 3G7 burial ; a few devoted servants attended the obsequies of the master whom they loved. He lay, like a tnxe knight, in St. George's Hall, with the banners of the noblest order of chivalry waving over him, and winter sunbeams struggling through the emblazoned windows to gild his rest. When they carried him thence to the vault wherein he was to lie, the sky that had been bright and serene clouded over ; a heavy storm of snow came on, and fell so iast that it covered coffin and hangings and pall with a pure and spotless robe — fit emblem of his innocence who slept so sound beneath. The mourners looked significantly in each other's faces, and so they bore the White King reverently to his grave. CHAPTER XLIII. A GRIM PENITENT. It is never too late to make reparation for evil, and George Effingham, although he had put it off till the eleventh hour, felt a stem satisfaction in remembering that he had thrown up his appointment on the King's condemnation, and that lie at least was guiltless of Charles Stuart's death. His case was not unlike that of other powerful champions of liis party. Many a grim Puritan, though prepared to resist with the strong hand and to the death all assumption of irresponsible power, all aggressive interference on the part of the Crown, shrank with hoiTor fi-om so desperate a measiire as the sentence of his sovereign to a criminal's death upon the scaifold, turned away with disgust from those who had completed the ghastly work when it Avas over. The very men who had fronted him so boldly in battle entertained a certain respect for the brave antagonist they had defeated, and the soldierlike feeling Avith which years of warfare had saturated their English hearts, especi- ally revolted from the slaughter in cold blood of a vanquished foe. Fairfax himself — ' the General,'' as he was theo termed ^9ar ex- cellence by his party, and supposed at that juncture to be the most powerful man in England — was not aware of the execution till it was over ; but Fairliix could not have stopped it even had he knoAvn in time, for with all his prestige and all his popularity, the Man of Destiny was twice as powerful as he. The deed waa 368 HOLMBY HOUSE. now fairly done, and Effingham, shocked, repentant, and sick at heart, resolved to bear arms no more. It is a serious matter for a man of middle age — by middle age we do not mean thirty or forty, or fifty, or any term of actual years, but simply that period at which the bloom is olF the fruit ouce for all — it is a serious matter, we insist, for such an one; to have lost his profession. A fortune kicked down can be built up again, like a child's house of cards; the same skill, the same labour, and the same patience, will not fail to erect a similar fabric, while tliose Avho liave studied most deeply the enjoyment of wealth affirm that the pleasure of 7na king -money far exceeds that of spending it. Friends may fail or die, old and tried friends, but the gap they leave closes oi" itself far sooner than we could have supposed possible, and although we cannot quite Go to the coffee-house and take another, we resign ourselves to the inevitable with sufficient calmness, and go on much as we did before. Even a lost love may be replaced; or should the old wound be too deep to stanch, we cover it wp and hide it away, ashamed, as well we may be, to oa\ti an incur- able sore. But the profession, if realli/ a profession, is a part of the man ; other privations are but forbidding him Avine, this is denying him water : it is an every day Avant, a perpetual blank that irritates him at every turn. He Avould fain be in mischief rather than remain idle ; be doing harm rather than doing nothing. Effingham Avas very restless, very unhappy. Tlie dull de- spondency of resignation that had oppressed him for so many months, that he had soothed and blunted Avith constant duty and imremitting labour, Avas indeed gone, but in its place Avas a feA'erish irritation, a morbid desire for change, an intense thirst for happiness, Avhich is of itself tlie most painful of longings, and a i-ebellious encouragement of that discontent Avhich asks repin- ingly, ' Why arc these things so ? ' He could not forget Grace Allonby, that Avas the truth ; AA-^orse still, he felt that he Avould not if he could. To deceive another is often, as indeed it ought to be, a task of considerable difficulty ; to deceiA'C oneself the easiest thing in the Avorld. One knoAvs the dupe so well, his petty weaknesses, his contemptible pliancy, his many faults, Avhich he cultivates and cherishes as virtues. It is a poor triumph truly over a disarmed and helpless adversary, so Ave do it every day. A GRIM PENITENT. 2C)9 Edingham considered himself a proud man ; it was the quality on which he most plumed himself. Never to bow his lofty head to human being, never to yield an inch of his self-sustaining dignity, this was his idea of manhood, tliis was the character he had trained himself to support. Perhaps it was for his pride that meek Grace AUonby loved him. Well she might. She had humbled it, and put her little foot upon it, and trod it into dust. After his last interview with her, this pride forbade him ever to see her more. Even alter he heard she was still free, after gossiping Faith had poured such balm unconsciously into his heart, something told him that it was not for him to sue again, that he must leave everj'thing now to he?' ; and that as she did not seem anxious to communicate with him, and he was de- termined to remain stern and immovable towards her, the proba- bility was that they would never meet again. This point finally settled, it was no Avonder that an irresistible longing came over liim to visit Lord Vaux at the lodging wherein he lay on a sick bed ; to request, nay, if necessary to demand, an interview with Mistress Cave, Avho inhabited the sjmie house ; not to shun — why should he ? — the presence of any other lady who might happen to be with them at the time. That would indeed be ridiculous, It would look as though there ivere something between them, as thongli she could inlluence proud George Effingham in any one hair's-breadth of his conduct, as thovigh he cai'ed for her, whicli of course he did not now — not the least in the world — and this was the proof. Also a morbid desire came to possess him of justifying his conduct before these old Royalist friends, of dis- avowing his share in the King's death, a crime on Avhich they must look with immitigated horror, and of proving to them that, though a strict Puritan and a determined adherent of the Parlia- ment in its previous resistance, he was no regicide ; nay, he was now no rebel. He had but fought for liberty, not revolution ; he had opposed, not the King, but the King's dishonest advisers. Under proper restrictions, he would wish to see the monarchy restored, and in the person of the late King's natural successor. Certainly he was no rebel. Sincere, earnest George Effingham was turning sophist. He was turning coxcomb too, it seemed, else why did he linger so long over his preparations to go abroad that fine winter's morning ? Why did he put on his sad-coloured raiment with so much care, and comb out those iron-grey locks and that gi-izzled beard with such an unpleasant consciousness that he Avas indeed 2B 370 HOLMBY HOUSE. turning very grey. He had not heeded his appearance for years : it set him well now, a worn and broken man, to be taking thought of his looks Hke a girl. He turned from the mirror with a gi-im sardonic smile, but he smothered a sigh too as he recalled a comely brown face that was not so bad to look at less than twenty years ago, and he wished, he knew not why, he had it back again just for to-day. Pshaw ! he was not going wooing now. He began to think he was turning foolish. Why did his hand shake so as he tied his points, and at that early hour why so restless and eager to be oif ? Then, although the day was fine for Avalking, keen and bracing as a Avinter's day should be, Eflingham felt very hot as he turned the corner of that street once so unin- teresting and so imdistinguished from the thousand and one adjacent streets, its fellows. There must have been some pecu- liarity in the street, too, else why should he have traversed it so often, examining its difierent houses so minutely ere he stopped carelessly, and qiiite by accident as it were, at the one he sought? It Avas reassuring, however, to be admitted by Faith, with her in- spiriting glances and well-known smile ; it was not reassuring to be turned loose in an empty room, to await my Lord's leisure, on whom, by a pleasant fiction, this visit was supposed to be made, and who, as an invalid, could scarcely be expected to be astir at half-after nine in the morning, the early hour, even for those early times, at which George arrived. How the room reminded him of that other room at Oxford, of which every detail was printed so indelibly on his memory. Photography, forsooth, is no invention of this or any other century. It came with mankind fresh and perfect upon earth. When Adam left the garden and knew he should see it no more, he took Avith him into the dreary waste of the outer world an im- pression of his Paradise that had not faded when his eyes were dim and his years had numbered nine hundred one score and ten. Eve, too, carried another in her aching bosom, though she could scarcely see it througli her tears. Their children, one and all, possess the art and its appliances. Effingham's ' positive ' Avas no less vivid than that of his felloAV creatures. INIen inhabit a room as an Arab pitches his tent in the desert, careful only for immediate shelter and conA^enience, as a place that, when they have left it and done Avilh it, shall know them no more. Women, on the contrary — at least some women, and these, Ave think, are not seldom the gentlest and most loveable of their sex — seem to pervade it, as it Avere, Avitli their influence, though ior the time they may be absent indeed in the body; shedding, A GRIM PENITENT. 371 8o to speak, an atmosphere of beauty and refinement about tliem which cHngs around the place when they are gone. 'Tis an old hackneyed quotation, though none the worse for that, about ' The vase in Avhich roses have once been distilled ; ' but it de- scribes as poetically and as adequately as language can, the charm we all know so well, the spell that a loved and loving woman casts upon the threshold of her home. Mary Cave possessed this faculty in a higli degree. Any one who knew Mary intimately could tell at a glance on entering a room whether she was in the habit of stationing herself there ; and the something that George recognised here in the London lodging, which he had learned to appreciate in his Oxford ex- periences, was but one of the many attractions belonging to that lady of which he had never made any account. Lover-like, he attributed it all to Grace, and looked round the apartment with a softening eye, believing that it was here she sat and Avorked and pondered, thinking perhaps sometimes, and not unkindly, of liim. Poor Grace ! she was generally too restless now to sit still any- where. When not occupied with the invalid, to whom both the Avomen devoted themselves as only women can, she spent most of her time in wandering to and fro about the house, looking out of all the windows that commanded the street, and turning away from them as if she expected somebody who never came, varying this dreary amusement by long political discxissions with her friend, in which she sought to prove the Parliament not so far in the wrong, shocking that Cavalier lady much by the disloyalty of her opinions, which seemed to incline daily more and more towards Puritanism, and as Mary told her, almost with indignation, ' flat rebellion.' Plad George Effingham known all this, perhaps he would hardly have trembled so ridiculously as he stood bending his sheathed rapier about unconsciously in that sacred apartment. No ; he was a bold man, George, and he loved her very honestly. It would have made him more nervous still. In his stiiTing and eventful career he had faced as miich danger as most men, not only the open dangers of the battle-field, which to one of his calibre were indeed no great trial of courage, but the more thrilling hazards of advanced outposts, night attacks, and such uncertain duties, when a moment's relaxation of vigilance, a moment's loss of coolness, might not only have destroyed himself, but imperilled the very existence of the army for whose safety he was answerable. Never in his Avhole life, however — as George once confessed, many a long day afterwards to a certain individual, 372 HOLMBY HOUSE. who received the confession with happy smile?, mehing into happier tears — never before, on picket, with Rupert hovering about his Hanks at midnight, or detached with a handful of men to make his way in broad daylight between Goring's keen-sighted vigilance and Astley's unerring tactics, no. not even when he stood face to lace with old Sir Giles at Naseby, and bore the brunt of that impetuous charge in which the stout knight fell wounded, had he felt his lips blanch and his heart leap to his mouth as they did on this eventful day simply to hear a light footfall coming along the passage, and a gentle hand lifting the latch of the door. To him entered no more important a personage than his friend Faith, whose sense of the ludicrous, damped, yet not altogether smothered, by the grave realities of matrimony, was sorely tried by George's open-mouthed expression of countenance, denoting anything but coolness or self-command. ' My Lord prays the General wdll excuse his waiting on him in this apartment,' quoth Faith, demurely, ' and begs the favour of his company in the sick chamber to Avhich his Lordship is still confined ; ' with that she bade him follow her guidance, and make as little noise as possible, in consideration of the invalid — an un- necessary injunction to a man who, though conscious of no evil intention, felt already like a convicted thief. George, however, was too experienced a .soldier not to recognise the inspiriting in- fluence of locomotion ; his courage came gradually back as he advanced to the attack. She Avas in the room. He knew it somehow without seeing her. lie was conscious of a presence, and a grave, formal courtesy and the old stupifying sensation, that was yet so fascinating. He Avas conscious also of another lady, pale and faded, Avho greeted him Avith stately coldness, and of the suffering nobleman himself reclining languidly on his couch. Poor George KfUngham ! they Averc draAvn up in battle order to receive him, horse, foot, and dragoons. For an instant he Avas coAvard enough to Avish he hadn't come ! There is nothing like a j)lunge at once in mcd/'ns res to brace the nerves for an encounter. To his Lordship's distant salutation, and somcAvhat haughty inquiry as to the cause Avhich had obtained him the honour of the General's A'isit, thovigh he could not forbear adding, courteously enough, ' that he trusted it Avas to give them some opportunity of returning the many favours they had received from the Parliamentary officer,' — George replied Avith manly frankness at once, ' that he had come to see his old friends, in order to do himself justice. He had but feAV noAV,' he said, * and A GltlM PENITENT. 373 could not afFord to lose one of them. He was no longer in a position either to ask or to confer a flivour. He was neither a general now, nor an officer in the service of the Parliament.' The party looked fi-om one to the other in some perturbation. Grace turned very red and very Avhite again in less than a second. Lord Vaux feebly signed to the ladies to withdraw. One of them could not, and the other would not, sec the signal. Au embarrass- ing silence succeeded : the three were at what is termed a ' dead m: Mary was the first to break it. He quite started at her voice ; it was so changed from the full, steady tones he remembered ; he looked attentively in her face, and was sorry to see how time and grief had altered her. It Avas a beautiful face still, but it had lost for ever the rounded outlines and the bright comeliness of youth. ' We are glad to know that it is so,' said Mary, assuming for the nonce the old queenly air that sat so well upon her. ' You can understand our feelings. You see our loyalty is no whit shaken even now. Mourning for him as we do, ay, even in our outward garb ' — she glanced as she spoke at her own dress, for all there were in the deepest black — ' how is it possible for us to forgive his murderers ? Had you come here with the King's blood on your hands, George Effingham, not one of us could have spoken a kind word to you again.' Grace looked up at him with one rapid, speaking glance ; the next instant her eyes were fixed intently on the floor. She at least would listen to his justification with no imfavourable ear. In a few manly, simple words George told his tale. Addressing himself to the old Cavalier nobleman, he detailed his early ex- periences of the royal army and the royal party, his scruples of conscience, his change of faith, the moral obligation he felt to join the champions of liberty, and the contagious enthusiasm kindled in his mind by their religious zeal. Without dwelling on his own deeds or his own feelings, he confined himself to a .simple narrative of facts, relating how he had served his country and his party at once ; how he had mitigated the rigorous measures of the Parlia- ment towards the loyalists, as indeed they themselves knew, to the utmost of his poAver ; and liow even at the very last he had gone to Cromwell with his commission in his hand, and protesting against the sacrilege which he was powerless to prevent, had thrown it at the Dictator's feet, and stripped off the uniform which he had resolved from henceforth he would never wear again. ' And now,' said George, kindlhig as he spoke, and fixing 374 HOLMBY HOUSE. his eyes unconsciously on Grace, wlio sat blushing and trembUng, drinking in ever}^ word, ' I see, too late, the error into which we have fallen. I see that we have trusted too little to the people, too much to the sword. I see that we have ourselves built up a power we are unable to control; and that, setting aside every question of right, Ave must return within those limits we ought never to have overstepped, resume the allegiance that we have never intentionally shaken off, and re-establish a monarchy to tave our country. I may have gone too far ; but in these times there has been no middle course. I have borne arms not against my sovereign, but against those who would have persuaded him to be a tyrant. No ! There is not a drop of Charles Stuart's blood on my hands, and I have never been a rebel, my Lord, never a rebel, as I am a living man ! ' Grace thanked him with a look that made Effingham's heart leap for joy. Poor Lord Vaux, sadly weakened and broken down, had listened courteously and Avith a well-pleased air to a man for whom in his heart he had always entertained a high respect, and to whose kind offices he had often of late owed his own welfare and secimty. He bowed his head feebly, and said, ' he was glad to hear it ; ' then looked wearily around as though to ask when his noonday draught would be ready, and when his visitor Ava going aAvay. Mary alone remained obdurate and uncom- promising. * You have justified yoTirself,' she said, ' of the Blessed Martyr's blood, but you can never deny that you, and such as you, have been the unconscious instruments of this odious sacrilege. You are not of us, George Effingham, and you must not be loith us. We are glad to have heard you in your defence ; to have seen you once more ; to thank you for the favours Ave have received at your hands ; and to bid you farcAvell. We Avish you no evil, Ave bear you no malice ; but bctAveen us and you stands the scaffold at Whitehall. It is a barrier that can never be removed. I speak for Sir Giles Allonby's daughter as Avell as myself. Come, Grace, you and I have no business here ! ' IIoAV could she say such hard, such cruel words ? What Avas this impulse that bade her do violence to her own better feelings, and trample so laithlessly on those of her ff-iend ? Her tone, too, Avas unnaturally calm and constrained; and she pressed her hand upon her bo.som, as if in jihysical pain. ile had bent hi.s head down, doAvn to his very sAvord-hilt while she was speaking, but he raised it more lol'iily than liis Avont A GRIM PENITENT. 375 when she had done, and Grace observed that he looked sterner than usual, and had turned very pale. Her woman's heart was rising rapidly ; her Avoman-nature rebelled fiercely against this assumption of authority by her friend. She sat swelling Avith love, pride, anger, pity, a host of turbulent feelings. It Avanted but little to create an outbreak. He rose slowly, and bade Lord Vaux a courteous farewell. He bowed to the ground before Mary, who acknowledged his salutation Avith one of those miraculous courtesies which the dames of that period performed to such perfection. Then he tm'ned to the door, and in doing so he must pass close by Grace's chair. How her heart beat. Once she thought he Avould pass without speaking. For more than a minute she had never taken her eyes off his face, and a sad, liopeless expression crossed it noAv that made her thrill Avith pain. He stopped before her chair, and took her by the hand. ' FareAvell,' he said, ' a long farewell, Grace ! ' There Avas a world of quiet sorroAv in the tone with which he spoke that last word ; a world of hopeless love in the deep eyes that looked doAvn so reproachfully, yet so fondly, into hers. The girl's heart Avas full to suffocation. She could bear it no longer ; the room seemed to swim before her eyes. The next moment she was sobbing on his breast like a child. Effingham Avalked out of that London lodging perhaps the happiest man that day in England. He was no accepted suitor, no affianced lover, it is true; but for the first time he knew now beyond a doubt that the blessing for which he had pined so long was his oAvn ; that even if she might never be his, Grace Allonby loved him dearly in her heart ; and the light which the poet affirms * never Avas on sea or shore,' but without Avhich both sea and shore are but dull and dreary Avastes, began to shed its golden gleams on a life that only too joyfully accepted this one boon in lieu of everything else Avhich it had lost. TrembUng, Aveeping, agitated, horribly ashamed, yet by no means repentant of Avhat she had done, Grace retired to her chamber, Avhither, fi-om the sheer force of habit, she Avas folloAved by her friend ; and Avhere, in broken sentences and frequent sobs, not imniingled Avith smiles, she told her hoAV she had loved their enemy so long, ever so long, ay, even before she had entreated him to save Bosville's life, only she Avas not quite sure he cared for her ; and hoAV she had nevertheless ahvays believed it was for her sake Effingham had been so kind to the Royalists ; and hoAv proud she ahvays Avaf, though she knew it A\'as veiy wrong, of liis proAvess and his successes ; lastly, how she had 376 HOI-MBY HOUSE. feared she must never sou him nor speak to liim again ; and how to-day was the happiest day in licr life ; ' for, you see, Mary, he is not a rebel, after all — he says so himself — not a rebel at all ; and even, if I never see liim again, I shall always love him better than any one else in the world.' And INIary listened, and soothed her, and remonstrated, like a confirmed hypocrite as she was. (AU good women are, far, far more so than the bad ones.) And even urged the claim of another, with a pale smiling face too, and dissuaded her in every way she could think of from what she termed ' this wicked folly ; ' and Grace, cheering up rapidly, laughed at the latter argument, and said with a mocking voice, ' If ever he turns up, you Avill have to marry him yourself, Mary. You have taken charge of him ever since we have knoA\Ti him. It is very careless of ycu to have lost him now ! ' They reached home, those unconscious friendly stabs, dealt so innocently by a loving hand — home to the very quick, every one of them. Grace could not guess why her iHend bent down to kiss her so assiduously at this moment, and talked on so volubly im- mediately afterwards ; but the conversation was resumed again and again ; the argument against marriage, so resolutely urged by the elder lady, becoming weaker and weaker at every fresh attack. The contest ended as such contests usually do Avhen the one side is thoroughly in earnest, the other fighting against its own convictions. Lord Vaux, an easy good-tempered man, devotedly ibnd of Grace, and in the intervals of his malady only too glad to make every one happy about him, was soon brought to think that George Effingham would be an extremely fit person to take charge of his dear Grace, provided always they would both come and live with him in the old Hall at Boughton. With much reluctance — so much indeed as to seem more feigned than sincere — ]\Iary Avithdrew her opposition, and the spring, gloomy and disastrous as it proved to the Koyalist party, smiled on at least one happy heart amongst the despondent and ruined ( 'avaliers. CHAPTER XLIV. 'coming home.' Masteii Dy.mockk sat basking in the beams of an early Bummer's ami on the terrace at Boughton. He had been left in trustworthy •COMING HOME.' 377 charge of that establishment for several months, as was indeed well known to the inferior domestics of the household, on whom his militaiy strictness and somewliat peevish disposition, by no means improved after matrimony, had produced an impression tlie reverse of agreeable. The males held him in considerable awe ; the females, excepting one or two of the prettiest, to whom he relaxed considerably, opined, and, womanlike, freely expressed their opinion, that he Avas ' a thankless old curmudgeon.' Perhaps as he was now altogether out of the game, the single ladies may have regarded him with a peculiarly unfavourable eye. He seemed, however, thoroughly satisfied with the current of liis own rejections. The family were expected to return that A'ery day, and although he was sufficiently habituated to his pretty wife's absence to bear it with conjugal composure, he had no objection on earth to see her smiling face again. Though tirmly convinced in his own mind that he had paid too high a price for that treasure, Dymocke, we need scarcely repeat, was a philoso- pher, and the last man to be guilty of such an absurdity as that of undervaluing a piirchase because it had cost him pretty dear. No, Faith belonged to hitn, and that was of itself a very con- siderable merit. It is only right to add that the little Avoman ruled him most thoroughly, and tyrannized over him as only such a little Avoman can. The afternoon Avas rapidly verging toAvards CA^ening, and the sun Avas already beginning to shed that golden haze athAA^art the distant A'alleys Avhich makes our English scenery, dotted Avith timber, and clothed Avith copse and hedgeroAv, like a dream of faiiyland, and yet they had not arrived. Well ! It Avas three good days' journey from London to Northampton for a horse litter, and thankful they might be that my Lord Avas sufficiently recovered to come home at all, and a merry home-coming it Avould turn out, Avith Miss Grace's happy face, as -pleased Avith her dark grim lover as if he had been a bran-ncAV gallant from the French Court ; and Mistress Mary, Avhom the poor old folk for many a mile round had missed sadly during her absence, and his OAvn little vixen's saucy smiles, and my Lord's calm Aveary approval of all that had been done Avhilst he Avas aAvay. Dymocke had im- perceptibly usurped the authority of every other functionary in the establishment, and had constituted himself butler, gardener, groom, and steward, Avitli a grave tenacity peculiarly his own. It Avaa noAV most gratifying to reflect that the house Avas clean, the garden trim, the stable in order, and the very pigsties arranged Avith militar.y method and precision ; also to be convinced that he, Hugh 378 HOLMBT HOUSE. Dymocke, was the only man in England who could so completely have set everything to rights. Thus absorbed in his self-satisfied meditations, honest Hugh rose from the bench over which Mary's roses were already jDutting forth a thousand tiny buds, and strolled into the park to catch the first glimpse of the expected cavalcade. Dazzled with the slanting sunbeams, he shaded his eyes with his liand as he perceived the figure of a man in the park appa- rently threading the old trees so as to avoid observation. ' Something wrong,' thought Dymocke. ' Some one here for mischief, I'll be sAvorn. 'Tis too tall for old Eobin the mole- catcher, and "Forester Will" is away psalm-singing at Harborow, with a murrain to him ! He'd better not come home drunk as he did the last time, a prick-eared knave ! It must be some poaching scoimdrel looking after the young faA\Tis. I'll raddle his bones for him if I catch him, I'll warrant ; and I can run a bit still for as old as I am, and wrestle too with here and there a one.' Thus soliloquizing, our veteran, in whom the pugnacious pro- pensity was still strongly developed, hastened towards the intruder with long swift strides, craftily careful, however, to keep every advantage of ground in case his neAV acquaintance should take fright and make a run for it. This, however, seemed to bo the last thing in the stranger's mind. He leaned his back against a tree, with his eyes fixed on the ground, as though the young fern springing up beneath his feet were a study of absorbing interest and importance. If ho were really a botanist, he seemed a most attentive one, and took not the slightest notice, as indeed he was probably quite uncon- scious, of the sturdy sergeant's approach. That worthy's conduct was, to say the least of it, remarkable. On perceiving that the stranger's dress and exterior denoted a gentleman, he had halted at a distance of about a hundred yards and reconnoitred. Then, without liirthcr preliminary, he sent an excellent new beaver spinning high into the air, bounded three feet from the ground, as if he were shot, and witli a howl of mingled triumph, affection, and astonishment, ran the intervening distance at the very top of his speed, and seizing the strangel's hand with famished eagerness, mouthed and kissed it much as ii dog would do a bone, Avhile down his brown cheek and on to that hand, stole the first and only tear the stout sergeant is ever re- corded to have .slvsd. ' He's alive and well I he's alive and well I ' gasped the old soldier as if a giant's fingers were griping his throat. ' God bless 'COMING HOME.' 379 tliee, Master Humphrey — my dear young master ! ' and he burst out with a snatch of one of their jolly Cavalier songs in a hoarse hysterical voice that would have tempted a bystander to laugh had he not indeed been more inclined to weep. It was sad to see how little Humphrey responded to the ser- geant's affectionate welcome. He pressed his hand indeed kindly, for it was not in Bosville's natui'e to hurt the feelings of a single soul, but his countenance never for an instant lost the expression of deep melancholy that had become habitual to it, and he looked so sadly in his old servant's face that the latter's triumph soon turned to apprehension and dismay, 'What is it, Master Humphrey?' he asked eagerly, and using imconsciously the old familiar appellation of long ago ; ' you are safe here — quite safe ; surely the bloodhounds are not after you now ? Oh, Master Plimiphrey, d'ye mind how we gave them the slip, and what an example the sorrel made of 'em that blessed day ? We've got his half-brother now ; goes in my Lord's coach ; and I've kept one of his hoofs. I went and cut it off myself when he lay dead do-ivn yonder by the waterside, and it's stood ever since over the corn-bin against you should come home ! ' Humphrey smiled a forced, sad smile. ' Thanks, Honest Hugh,' he answered ; * I have not many treasures left. I should like the sorrel's hoof, for your sake and that of the good old horse. Go and fetch it me now. I will Avait here till you come back. I must be in the saddle again to-night, and in a few more hours I shall leave England for ever. Hugh, you're an old soldier ; I can trust you. Do not let any of the family know you have seen me here to-day.' ' Why, bless you, there isn't a soul of them at home,' answered Dymocke, and his master's face fell visibly the Avhile. ' They're all expected back to-night. I was out looking for them just now, when I saw you. My Lord's getting quite hearty again. Heaven be praised ! and you've heard the news ? Our young lady's going to be married, and to our old Captain, too. Ah, Major, there wasn't as smart a ti'oop in the King's army as ours. D'ye mmd what the Prince said at Newbvuy when he bid the whole brigade take up a fresh alignement upon us ? " Dress," says he, " upon Captain Effingham's troop, and be d — d to ye ! " He was a hearty free-spoken gentleman, was Prince Eupert; "for they stand," says he, " like a brick wall," says he; and so we did, and a pelt- ing shower we got from Essex's culverins before they'd done with us ; but we never broke oiu- line ! Well, well, it's a world of change ; and I'm married, too, Major — married and settled and 380 nOLMBY HOUSE. all. Oh, my dear Master Humphrey, don't ye be in too great a hurry ! But that's neither here nor there; and you've heard doubtless of Mistress Mary's good luck, and the fortune that's fallen to her ? ' He had, indeed. We must be more than estranged from those we love when we cease to hear of them if not from them, to make inquiries, needlessly disguised and indirect, about their welfare — to take an interest all the keener that we ai'c ashamed to o-vvn it in the remotest trifles that can affect them. He had heard Avhat Avas indeed true, that by the death of a relative Mary Cave had become possessed of broad lands away by the winding Avon, waving Avoods, and smiling farms and acres of goodly pasturage ; nor, though he rejoiced in aught that was likely to benefit her, could he stifle a bitter and unworthy pang to feel that this succession was but another barrier raised between himself and the woman from whom he felt he Avas hopelessly separated. If he had been voluntarily discarded by her before, could he con- descend to sue her now that she Avas a Avealthy heiress ? Not he. That at least was a folly he had done Avitli for evermore, and when his softer nature got the better of him, and he felt too keenly how sweet that foUy Avas, he would fall to reading the letter once more that he still carried in his bosom, thin and almost illegible now from frequent perusals, yet perhaps scarcely so frayed and Avorn as the heart against Avhich it lay. Had he knoAvn — had he only knoAvn ! But such is life. Can Ave Avonder at the bumps and knocks Ave receiA'e when Ave think Avhat a game at Blind-man's- buff the Avholo thing is ! And Mary's pleasure in her succession to this heritage Avas of a strangely sober nature. ' Too late — too late ! ' Avas all that lady said Avhen she heard of it. Too late, indeed ! The cause Avas irretrievably lost that had been Avith one exception the thing nearest and dearest to her heart, and he for A\'hom alone she feared she Avould liave been capable of abandoning that cause itself, Avas parted from her for ever ! She could not even gain tidings that he Avas aliA^e noAv. No AVonder j\Iary had groAvn so pale and haggard ! No Avonder she Avas so altered fi*om the proud, careless, fi-ee-spoken Mary Cave Avho had asserted her independence so haughtily Avhile she ficAV her haAvk at Holmby Avith stout Sir Giles not so many years ago. The Avheels of Old Time run smoothly enough, but they leave their marks as surely dinted on the baiTcn sand as on the fresh green turf, alike impartial Avhether they grind weed and thistle into theii* beaten track, or bruise tlie AvildfloAver to the earth never to lift its gentle head again. * COMING HOME.' 381 It was with no small difficulty that Humphrey could impi-psg ■upon his old servant the necessity ol' his remaining mcor/. ; could persuade him it was really his wish that none of the family should be informed of his presence ; or could make him believe that he was in sober earnest' in the intention he had expressed of leaving England forthwith. Dymocke was even sorely tempted to throw up his own comfortable and lucrative situation in order to follow once more the fortunes of a master to whom he had been always attached, but the thought of his lately-married wife and his fresh ties stifled this new-born impulse even as it rose. Dymocke put it in this way — ' If I should once get back to my bachelor habits, I should never be able to settle down again. Perhaps I'd best stay as I am. What's done can't be undone ; and maybe it's easier to keep the barrow trundling, than to stop, once and again, for a ii-esh start ! ' ' Not a word more at present, Hugh,' said the Major, after a few further inquiries and observations about old times had been made ; ' 1 have good reasons for wishing my visit here to remain a secret. See ! they are arriving even now. Meet me to-night under the cedars when they are all gone to bed. Bring the old horse's hoof with you for a keepsake, and we will wish each other a last farewell.' As he spoke he disappeared amongst the old trees ; and Dymocke, vainly endeavouring to settle his countenance into its habitual calmness, hurried back to receive his master at the hall. It was indeed a happy party. The old lord, benefited by the advice of his London physician, and no longer harassed by the share he had so long sustained in that unequal conflict, which for the present was terminated by unequivocal defeat, had regained some- Avhat of his former strength and spirits, was able to alight from his litter Avithout assistance, and gladdencid Master Dymocke's heart with an appropriate jest and a kindly smile as he trod once more the threshold of his home. Happy Grace, still young enough to possess that elasticity of temperament which makes light of past suffering as though it had never been, blushed and sparkled as she did at sixteen, pressing her lover's hand with shy aftection as he assisted lier fi-om her horse, but already beginning to treat him with that playful tyranny which a young wife is apt to assume over a grave and superior husband in whom she has perfect con- fidence, and of whom in her heart of hearts she is immensely proud. George's dark face beamed with a light which had been a stranger to it for yeai's. Happiness is a wonderful restorative, and already the lines were beginning to fade from his rugged 382 HOLMBY HOUSE. brow, the harsh defiant expression was changing for one of deep grateful contentment ; the dark eyes, no longer glittering with repressed feelings and feverisli excitement, shone with the lustre of health and strength ; while the swarthy glow upon his cheek accorded well with his bold, frank bearing, and square, well-built frame. It was a manly, vigorous beauty still, thought Grace, and none the worse for the grizzled hair and beard. He looked joyous and light-hearted, although in the false position of a man ' about to marry.' The practice of hiimiliating the lords of the creation, when thus disarmed and at the mercy of their natural enemies, ia by no means peculiar to the present era. From time immemorial, ay, since Father Laban imposed so cruelly upon Jacob, the bride- groom expectant has ever been discomfited as much as possible by the bride and her auxiliaries. It may be that this dishearten ing process is considered a salutary purgatory, such as shall en- hance the paradise of the subsequent honeymoon, or it may bo simply intended as a jiidicious foretaste of conjugal discipline hereafter ; but that it has existed among all civilised nations as a great social institution, we take every Benedick to witness who has found, like George Effingham, that bodice and pinnei'S are a match, and more than a match, for doublet and hose. Dymocke's face as he lifted his pretty Avife from her horse was worth a mine of gold. There were tenderness, self-restraint, a comical consciousness of shame, and a sly glance of humour, all depicted at once on his rugged features. ' Welcome home, lass ! ' he whispered, winding his arm round her trim waist, ' welcome home ! I can do well enough without thee ; but it warms my heart like a tass of brandy to see thy bonny face again ! ' This was a great deal from Hugh, and Faith stooped her pretty head and kissed him accordingly. But ' some must work while others sleep ;' and although the majority of the party were basking merrily in the sunshine, one was drooping visibly in the shade. Kindly, gentle, and forbear- ing — trying to forget her own grief in the joy of others — purified and softened by sorrow — there was yet on Mary Cave's brow a weight of care which it was sad to see in one still in the prime of life and the meridian of beauty. Her temperament, like that of many who possess abilities above the average, Avas impressionable enough on the surface, but hard as adamant beneath. In her younger days she was quite capable of enjoying and even recipro- cating the empty and harmless gallantries which were the fashion of the Court ; but though it was always easy enough to attract 'COMING HOME.' 383 Mary Cave's attention, none save Falkland could boast that he had won her interest ; and this attachment to an ideal, strong as it undoubtedly was, had in its very nature a false and morbid fascination which would too surely pass away. When it was gone it left her colder, haughtier, more inwardly reserved than ever. Then came the daily association with one possessed of many winning qualities ; above all, of that which in the long run can- not fail to be appreciated — a faithful, loving heart ; whom she had accustomed herself to consider as her own peculiar joroperty; whose affection she regarded as neither obtaining nor expecting a return ; whom she had taught herself to look upon as a devotee, a slave — always true, always unchanging, never to assume any other cha- racter. Little by little the unyielding disposition became satu- rated with an insidious and delightful sentiment. The wilful heart, so difficult to tame, fomid itself enclosed in meshes it had been weaving insensibly for its oAvn subjection. In time it began to hint to her that she could ill afford to part with her secret trea- sure ; at last it told her that it must break at once if she was to lose him altogether. Then arose the fearful struggle out of which she came a victor indeed, but too surely conscious that such a victory was more crushing than any defeat. For Grace's sake, for the sake of every one — nay, for his own sake — she voluntarily gave him up : and while she did so she knew and felt she gave up all her hojjes this side of eternity. Subsequent events added but little to her despondency. The one great fact was ever before her — that of her own free will she had discarded the man she loved ; and Mary's love, once won, was no hght matter. She would look at her hand — the shapely hand he used to admire and praise with a lover's childish folly, and wish it had withered to the bone ere it had penned that fatal letter. For of course he could never forgive her now. Even his kindly nature Avould be estranged by heartlessness such as hers. He would avoid her and forget her — nay, he had avoided and forgotten her. It was all over at last — he was lost to her for ever, and she had done it herself! It was a mockery to see George and Grace so happy ; to feel how utterly she had sacrificed her own future in vain. It was a mockery to hear the joyous girl prattling of her future household and her wedding-dress, and to be asked for grave matronly advice, as though she herself were indeed without the pale of the loving and the hopeful. Above all, it Avas a bitter mockery to have in- herited broad lands, and wealth that was valueless to her now, since she miffht not share it with the ruined Cavalier. 384 HOLMBY HOUSE. It was cruel work. What could she do ? Tliere was but one resource — there never has been but one resource for human sorrow since the Avorld began. When the bui-den became too heavy to bear, she knelt beneath it, and she rose again, if not hopeful, yet resigned ; humbled but consoled as those alone rise who ask for comfort meekly on their knees. She was often in that position now ; had she never known sorrow, she had never sought Heaven. Providence leads us like children through the wilderness, by many a devious track towards our Home. Joy brightens the path for one, and he Avalks on thankfully and happily in its rosy light. Grief takes another by the hand, and clutching him in her stern gripe, points with wasted arm along the narrow way. What matter lor so short a distance, how we reach the goal ? Brother ! help me Avith my knapsack the Avhile I guide thy feebler steps, and .share Avith thee the crumbs in my homely Avallet. Let us assist rather than hinder one another. Yonder, Avhere the lights are tAvinkling, is a Avelcome for us all. Dark is the night, and sore the Aveary feet, and rough the Avay. Cheer up ! — toil on ! — we shall net there at last. CHAPTER XLV. ' LOST AND FOUND.' Dymocke Avas uneasy and fuU of care. ' There's something Avrong,' muttered the old trooper in his beard, as he Avent fidgeting about the house and offices, putting everybody out under pretence of seeing things done correctly Avith his oAvn eyes. A sumptuous supper was soon served in the great hall for the travellers, and Lord Vaux looked round him Avith an air of thorough comfort and enjoyment to be at home once more. The flush of sunset softening in the south to a pale transparent green, but edging the light clouds that roofed the meridian Avith flakes of fire, flooded the quaint old Hall in crimson light richer than the very hues of the stained glass above the casements, opened Avide to the fragrant evening air. A solitary star tAvinkled already in the pure clear dcptlis of the in- finity above, Avhile the highest twigs and branches of tlie old trees, not yet clothed in their summer garments to their very tops, cut clear and marked against the pale, calm sky. The rooks Avere droAvsily caAving out their evensong, and a young moon peeping shyly above the horizon, afforded no more light to the outer Avorld •lost and found.' 385 than did the needless lamp bui-ning on the supper table to the domestic circle Avithin. Lord Vaux was a quiet studious man of earnest temperament but of few words. He saw his fine old home preserved to him, his oaks uninjured, his fortune, though impaired, still amply sufficient for his wants ; above all, his old retainers around him, and the two last of his kinsfolk left alive sitting at his board. He stretched his hand across the table to Efiingham. ' God help the Cavaliers ! ' said he in a broken voice ; ' George, I owe all this to you ! ' It was the first time he had called him by his Christian name, and Grace thanked him with such a happy, gi-ateful glance. Then she stole a look at her lover, proud, radiant, full of tender- ness and trust. George blushed, stammered, looked down — and finally said nothing. It was all he had to say — would he not have given his heart's blood long ago for anyone connected, how- ever remotely, with the name of Allonby, and never asked for thanks ? There was nothing to be grateful for, he did but follow his nature. The three talked quietly, but cheerily, not laughing much, nor jesting, but in the soft, low tones of those who have a deep store of happiness within. For two indeed the cup was brim full, and running over. Mary, too, joined in the conversation, but Dymocke, bringing in a tapering flask of Hippocras, could not but observe her absent manner and pale dejected looks. ' There's something wrong,' muttered the old soldier once more, And he fell to reflecting on all the circumstances he could think of which bore in any way on that lady's case, for whom, like the rest of the household, he felt and professed a chivalrous devotion. He had obtained a few vague hints from Faith that Mistress Mary was ' sadly changed — not herself, by any means — took the King's death much to heart,' and ' was over-anxious also about absent friends;' but Faith, besides holding the pei-son of whom she spoke in considerable awe, was one of those women who are far more discreet in entrusting .secrets to their husbands than to their own sex, and Dymocke's conjecture.s, Avhatever they might be, were but little assisted by the penetration of his wife. True to his profession, however, his ideas naturally reverted to the sorrel, as indeed they were apt to do whenever the old trooper fell into a despondent mood. He bethought him how, although the two ladies had both been in the habit of petting and fondling so good and handsome an animal, IMistress IMary's attention to that chestnut favourite were paid much more secretly than her friend's -how, going in and out of the stable at odd times, he ■2 C 386 HOLMBY HOUSE. had come unexpectedly on the latter lady making her accustomed visit when the servants were at meals or otherwise engaged, and how upon one occasion, noiselessly descending a ladder from the hay-loft diuring the important hour of dinner, he had seen her Avith his own eyes lay her soft cheek against the horse's neck, and he could have sworn he heard her sob, though she walked away with a statelier step than ever when she found herself dis- turbed, and as the stout soldier confessed to himself, he dared not have looked in her face for a king's ransom. Then he remem- bered sundry little weaknesses of the Major's, which, being his personal attendant and valet, he had not failed to remark. How he had often been surprised at the A^alue that careless young officer seemed to attach to the most insignificant trifles. What a fuss he made about a worn-out riding-glove, which had been un- accountably lost by one of the ladies on a journey to Oxford, and as unaccountably found with the thrust of a rapier right through the palm, a few hours after the duel with Goring ; also how hia master's usually sweet temper had been ruffled, and he had sworn great oaths totally unwarranted by the occasion, when Dymocke, in his regard for cleanliness and order, had emptied a vase of a few roses, which had been kept there in water till indeed by any other name they could scarcely have smelt less sweet. All these matters he revolved and pondered in his mind, till at last, having, as he termed it, * put stock and barrel together,' he came to his own conclusions, and resolved to act, soldier-like, on his own de- cision. It required, however, a good deal of courage to cany out his undertaking. The affection with which Mary inspired her subordinates, and indeed her equals, was tempered with awe. There are some natures with which no one ever presumes to take a liberty, some persons, often the most amiable and best-tempered of their kind, who, without the least effort or self-assertion, in- spire general respect. It required no little courage and effrontery even for an old soldier to go up and tell Mary Cave, if not in so many words, at least in substance, that she was over head in love with a ruined Cavalier, and that if she didn't go out to-night and meet him under the cedars, she would probably never set eyea on him again ! Dymocke manned hims(;lf for his task. After supper, Effing- ham and Grace, lover-like, strolled out upon the terrace to look at the young summer moon : much of her they saw — neither of them found out she rose the other side of the house I Lord Vaux, fatigued with his journey, hobbled quietly off to bed. Mai-y, with her head upon her hand, seemed lost in thought. She had 'LOST AND FOUND.' 387 no heart for her embroidery to-night, to-morrow she would begin uew duties, new tasks ; she must not sink, she thought, into a useless apathetic being, but this one night may surely be given to remembrance and repose. Dymocke made two efforts to speak to her, but each time his courage failed him. She thought the man lingered somewhat about the room, but she was in that mood which we have all of us known, when the spirit is so weary that any exertion, even that of observation, becomes a task ; when we are too much heat even to be astonished or annoyed. She rose as if to go away, and Dymocke felt that now or never he must take his plunge. He coughed with such preposterous violence that she could not but hft her sad eyes to his face. She might reasonably have expected to see him in the last stage of suffocation. ' Mistress Mary,' said the sergeant, blank and gajjing with agitation, and there he stopped. She thought he was drunk, and eyeing him with a calm, sorrowful contempt, passed on to leave the room. ' Mistress Mary ! ' gasped the sergeant once more, * good ^Mistress Mary — no offence — he's here — I've seen him ! ' No need to tell her who. Her limbs trembled so that she was fain to sink into a chair, and she gi'asped its arms in each hand like an old palsied woman, as, true to her mettled heart, she turned her face to Dymocke, and tried to steady her voice to speak. Not a sound would come save a husky stiHed murmur in her throat — not a sound, and the soldier in very j^ity hurried on with what he had got to say. ' He's to meet me to-night in the Park — under the cedars — he's there now — he's going away at once, for good and all — going over sea — we'll never see him more. Oh ! Mistress Mary, for pity's sake ! ' She smiled on the honest sergeant, such a wild, strange smile. Never a word she spoke, but she rose steadily to her feet, and walked away with her owti proud step ; only he noticed that her face was deadly white, and she kept one hand clasped tight about her throat. Humphrey sat under the cedars in the misty moonlight, and mused dreamily and sadly enough on his past hfe, which indeed seemed to be gone from him for evermore. A man's strong heart is seldom so hopeful as a woman's ; it is harder for hia more practical nature to cling, like hers, to a shadow ; perhaps he has not so studiously reconciled himself to suffering as his daily lot ; perhaps his affections are less ideal, but his despondency is 388 HOLMBY HOUSE. usually of a fiercer and less tractable kind than her meek sorrow- ing resignation. Humphrey had gone through the Avhole ordeal, the trial by fire, which scorches and destroys the baser metal, but from which the sterling gold comes out purified and refined. He had sufiered bitterly ; he sometimes wondered at himself that he could have endured so much ; but his faith had not wavered : to use the language of that old chivalry which has never yet died out in England, though it might cover his death wound, his shield was bright and spotless still. Afl;er the King's martyrdom, as the Royalists termed the fatal execution at Whitehall, Bosville, a deserter and a conspirator, •was fain to hold himself concealed in one of the many hiding- places provided by the Cavaliers for their more conspicuous friends. It took time, and cosmetics too, for the dye to wear itself out of his natural skin. It took time for his comely locks and dark moustache to grow once more, and thus efface all re- semblance to the flaxen-haired Brampton, whilome a private in Idacker's redoubtable musketeers. Although when he was at length able to go abroad again, it was a nice question whether tho proscribed Cavalier major did not incur as much peril by being recognised in his own real character, as in that of the sentinel who had plotted for the King's rescue, and then absconded from the ranks of the Parliamentary army. Many long weeks he remained in hiding, and it was during this interval of inaction that he heard of Effingham's projwsed marriage to Grace, and of INIary's suc- cession to her goodly inheritance. It was bitter to tliink how little she must have ever cared for him, that she should have made not the slightest effort to discover his lurking-place. He judged her, and rightly, by his own heart, when he reflected that slie ought to know he could not sue to her now — that if ever they were to become even fi'iends again, the advances must come from her. His spirit sank within him when he thought that heai-t- lessness such as this affected even the past, that she never could have loved him for five minutes to forget him so easily now, and that he had bartered his life's happiness for that Avhich was more false and illusive tlian a dream. God help the heart that is sore enough to .say of the loved one, ' I had rather he or she had died than used me thus ! ' and yet poor Bosville had thought so more than once. As is often the case with blind mortality, much of this self- torture was wholly uncalled-for and unjust. While Humphrey was blaming her with sucli bitter emphasis, Mary busjr-d heiself day by day and hour by hour in endeavouring to find cut what *LOST AND FOUND.' 389 had become of him. Without compromising his safety, she was bringing into play all her abilities, all her experience of political intrigue, all her new wealth and old personal influence for this purpose, but in vain. The Cavaher party was so completely broken-up and disorganised, that it was almost impossible to obtain information concerning any one of the proscribed and scattered band. Mary was iain to give up her search in despair, concluding that he had either fled the country or was dead. The latter possibility she combated with a reasoning all her own. She was not sviperstitious, only very fond and very sorrowful. ' It was all my fault, I know,' she used to think, that humbled, contrite woman ; ' and yet he loved me so once, he could not surely rest in his grave if he knew how anxious and unhappy I am.' She would rather have seen him thus than not at all. After a time, his pride came to his assistance, and he resolved to seek in other lands, if not forgetfulness, at least distraction and employment. His fortunes were nearly ruined with the ruined cause he had espoused. He had little left save his brave empty heart and the sword that had never failed him yet. In the golden tropics there were spoils to be won and adventures to be found. Many a bold Cavalier who, like himself, had been more used to bit and bridle than bolt-sprit and mainstay, Avas already afloat for the Spanish Main, with a vague thirst for novelty and a dim hope of romantic enterprise. Fabuloiis accounts were rife of those en- chanted seas, w'ith their perfumed breezes and their coral shores, their palm trees and their spice islands, their eternal summers and their radiant skies. Nothing was too extravagant to be credited of the Spanish Main, and many an enthusiast, gazing at sunset on the flusliing splendour of the Western heaven, was persuaded that he might realize on earth just so gorgeous a dream far away in yonder hemisphere to Avhich his eyes were turned. So the Cavaliers clubbed their diminished means together, and chartered goodly brigantines, and loaded them with merchandise, looking well to their store of arms and ammunition the while, and launched upon the deep with mingled hopes of trade and con- ([uest, barter and rapine ; the beads to tempt the dusky savage in the one hand, the sword to lay him on his golden sands in the other. And Bosville had a share in one of these pirate-ships, lying, with her fore-topsail loosed, in the Thames. She was well found, well manned, well freighted, and ready to sail at a moment's notice. Before he left England for ever, he thought he would go and take one more look at the old haunts that had always been so 390 noLMisy house. dear, that had witnessed the one great turning-point of his life ; and thus it came to pass that Humphrey had met his former servant that afternoon in the park at Boughton, and sat at night- fall under the cedar, musing dreamily in the misty moonlight. He was not angry with her now. The bitterness had all passed away. He could no more have chid her than one can chide the dying or the dead. Already they were parted as if the past had never been. He could never again suffer as he had done. The worst was over now. Ay, there was the light glimmering in her chamber ; he could see it through the trees. Well, well ; he had loved her very dearly once. It was no shame to confess it, he loved her very dearly still. Large tears welled up in his eye.s. He knelt upon the bare turf, with his forehead against the gnarled trunk of the old cedar, and prayed for her from his heart, God bless her ! God in heaven bless her ! He should never see her more 1 A dark figure rushed swiftly across the park. She stood before him in that pale moonlight, white and ghastly like a corpse in those mourning garments she had worn ever since the King's murder. As he rose to his feet she grasped his hand. How long those two stood there without speaking, neither ever knew. It might have been a moment, it might have been an hour. Each heart beat thick and fast, yet neither spoke a syllable. She broke the silence first. ' You would not go without bidding me good-bye ? ' she said, and he felt her grasp tighten ; then the proud head sank lower, lower still, till it rested upon his hand, and the hot tears gushed over it as she pressed it to her eyes, and she could say never another word than ' Forgive me, forgive me, liumjihrey !' again and again. These scenes are all alike. Most of us have dreamt them ; to some they have come true. None dare ignore them from their hearts. The moon rose higher and higher in the sky, and still they stood, those two, undc^r the cedar, her wet face buried in his breast, his arm around her waist. They nuist have had much to tell each other, yet is it our own opinion that but little was said, and that little sufficiently unintelligible ; but Humphrey Bosville never Bailed for the Spanish IMain, and that he had good reasons to forego his departure, we gather from the following reply to one of his whispered interrogatories under the cedar, murmured out in soft broken tones by weeping, blushing, happy Mary Cave — ' My own, yoii never knew it, but I loved you so fondly all the time.' *THE FAIRY RING.' 391 CHAPTER XLVI. 'the fairy ring.' Once more we gather the friends, from whom we are al:)out to part, in a fairy-ring under the old oak-tree at Hohnby. More than two lustres have elapsed, with their changes, political and private, since we saw them last, — lustres that have stolen on insensibly over many a birth and many a burial, over much that has been brought gradually to perfection, much that has wasted silently to decay. The Man of Destiny has gone to his account. The Man of pleasure reigns, or rather revels, on his father's throne. All over England bells have rung, and barrels been broached, to cele- brate the Restoration. A strong reaction, to which our countrymen are of all others in Europe the most subject, has set in against Puritanism, propriety, everything that infers moderation or re- straint. Wine and wassail, dancing and drinking, quaint, strange oaths, and outward recklessness of demeanour, are the vogue ; and Decency, so long boiind hand and foot in over-tight swaddling clothes, strips off her wrappers one by one, till there is no saying where she may stop, and seems inclined to strike hands and join in with the frantic orgy, nude and shameless as a Bacchanal. As Avith boys fresh out of school, there is a mad whirl of liberty all over the playground ere each can settle steadily to his peculiar pleasure or pursuit. And the old oak looks down on all, majestic and unchanged. There may be a little less verdure about his feet, a few more tender chaplets budding on his lofty brows, a feAV less drops of sap in the hardening fibres of his massive girth, but what ai'e a couple of lustres to him ? He stands hke a Titan, rearing his head to heaven, and yet his time too will come at last. He spreads his mighty arms over a happy party ; not so noisy perhaps (with one exception), as most such parties are in these roaring times, but one and all bearing on their countenances the Btamp, which there is no mistaking, of a destiny worked out, of worthy longings fulfilled, above all, of a heart at peace with itself. They are well mounted, and have had to all appearance an excel- lent afternoon's sport ; a brace of herons lie stricken to death on the sward, and Diamond herself, that long-lived child of air, proud, beautiful, and cruel, like a Venus Victrix, perches on her mistress's wrist, unhooded, to gaze upon the spoils. Grace Effingham takes but little notice of Diamond beyond an unconscious caress to her father's old favourite ; for her attention, like that of the others, 392 HOLMBY HOUSE. is taken up by an addition to this familiar party, wlio seems indeed, as doubtless he esteems himself, the most important personage of the -whole. He is a bright laughing child, of frank and sturdy bearing, not ■\\dthout a certain air of defiance. He has his mother's soft blue eyes and rich clustering hair, Avith something of the wilful tones and playfully imperioxis gestures which sat so well on the loveliest lady that adorned Henrietta's court, but his father's kindly dispo- sition is stamped on his open, gentle brow, and his bonny, rosy mouth. He has his father's courage, too, and physical delight in danger, as Mary often thinks with a glow of pride and happiness, while she watches him riding his pony hither and thither over fortuitous leaps, and galloping that obstinate little animal to and fi-Q with reckless and uncalled-for speed. A tall old man, his visage jjuckered into a thousand wrinkles, his spare form somewhat bent, but active and sinewy still, bends over the boy with assiduotis tenderness, adjusting for the twentieth time the pony's saddle, which is always slipping out of its place. Hugh Dymocke has no children of his own — an omission on the part of Faith which does not, however, disturb their married har- mony — and of all people on earth he is most devoted to the urchin, who never allows him to have a moment's peace. The two are inseparable. The child knows the whole history of the Civil "War, and the details of each of its battles, as furnished with considerable embellishments by his friend, far better than his ABC. He be- lieves stoutly that his father and Hugh are the two greatest and bravest men that ever lived, inclining to award the superiority, if anything, to the latter, and that his own destiny must be neces- sarily to do precisely as they have done. Besides all this, Dymocke has taught him to ride, to fish, to play balloon, to use his plaything Bword, and a host of bodily accomplishments ; also he has promised to give him a crossbow on his seventh birthday. AVherever little Master Humphrey is seen (and heard too, we may be sure), there is Dymocklj not very far off. Faith, grown stout, easy, and slip- shod, having moreover deteriorated in good looks as she has im- proved in amiability, gives her husband his own Avay on this single point and no other. ' Indeed, he's crazed about the child, and that's the truth,' says Faith ; generally adding, ' I'm not surprised at it, for you won't see such another, not on a summer's day ! ' They are all proud of him. Uncle Effingham, as the boy per- sists in calling George, with half-a-dozen little black-eyed darlings of his own, spoils him almost as much as Grace does. He is not a man of quips and cranks, and such merry conceits ; but he has •the faiky king.' 393 one or tAVo private jests of their own with the little fellow, in which, judging from the explosions of laughter by which they are followed, there must be something irresistibly humorous, apparent only to the initiated. George's beard is quite white now, and the snowy locks which peep from under his beaver form no unpleasing contrast to his coal-blacTc eyes, glittering with fire and intellect, and the swarthy glow on his firm healthy cheek. He is very happy, and obeys Grace implicitly in the most trifling matters. The only fault to be found in his strong sensible character is, that he defers too much to the whims and fancies of his pretty wife. Need we observe she has plenty of them ready for the purpose. The neighbours say she ' rules him with a rod of iron,' that she * bullies him,' and ' worries his life out,' and ' abuses his good- nature ; ' that ' his stable contains a grey mare better than any horse,' &c. &c. ; but George knows better. He knows the depths of that fond true heart ; he knows that a word of tenderness from him can at any time bring the tears into those fawn-like eyes, Avhich he still thinks as soil and beautiful as ever. What though he does give her her OAvn way in everything ? Does he not love her, and is she not his own ? So he works on manfully and fearlessly, doing his duty in that public life to which he has returned. His fanaticism has been disciplined to piety, his enthusiasm toned to patriotism ; he is an able statesman and a valuable member of society. Probably little Humphrey is the only person in the world w^ho thinks George Effingham ' the funniest man he ever saw in his life ! ' The young gentleman is an only child ; need we say what is his parents' opinion of their treasure ? Need we say how his father watches every turn of his countenance, every gesture of his graceful, childish limbs, and loves him best — if indeed he can be said to love him at any one time more than another — when he is a little wilful and a little saucy, when the blue eyes dance and sparkle, and the rosy lip curves upward, and the tiny hand turns outward from the wrist, with his mother's own gesture and his mother's own beauty blooming once more, and radiant as it used to be, lono-, long ago ? He is Sir Humphrey Bosville now, knighted at Whitehall by his Sovereign's hand ; for prone as was the Second Charles to forget faithful services, he could not for very shame pass over such devotion as Bosville's unnoticed and unrewarded. ' Odd's fish, man ! ' said the Merry Monarch, as he gave him the accolade with hearty good-will ; ' many a shrewd blow have you and I seen struck in our time, but never was one given and received so deservedly as this ! ' 394 HOLMBY HOUSE. But Sir Humphrey is all unchanged from the Humphrey Bosville of the Queen's household and the King's guard-room. He rides maybe a stone heavier or so upon his horse, but he rides him still like a true knight, fearless and loyal to his devoir, faithful and devoted to his ladye-love — yes, she is his ladye-love still — as dear, as precious now after years of marriage as when he took leave of her at Falmouth, and watched for the very glimmer of her taper to bid her his tacit farewell from under the cedar at Bough ton. He has got the foolish sleeve-knot still, he has got one or two other equally trilling absurdities ; perhaps they represent to him a treasure that is beyond all value here ; that, unlike other treasures, he may peradventure take away with him hereafter. And Mary, riding by her husband's side with calm contented face, is no longer the proud imperious Mary of the Court — the spoiled beaut}', whose intellect no statesman was to overreach, whose heart no gallant was to be able to touch. She has known real sorrow now, ay, and real exquisite joy — such joy as dries up the very memory of pain with its searching beams. They have each loft their traces on her countenance, and yet it is beautiful still Avith the placid and matronly beauty of the prime of womanhood. There may be a line or two on the sweet fair brow — nay, a thread of silver in the glossy rippling hair ; but there is a depth of un- speakable tenderness in the comely mask through which the spirit beams with more than its pristine brightness; and the love- light in her eyes as she looks in her husband's face is imquenched, vinquenchable. Mary laughs, and says ' she has grown into a fat old woman now ; ' and no doubt the graceful figure has become statelier in its proportions, and the Court dresses of Oxford and Exeter would scarcely be induced to meet round the still sliapely waist ; but Humphrey cannot yet be brought to consider her as a very antiquated personage. He says, ' She has always been exactly the same in his eyes; ' and perhaps indeed the face he has learned so thoroughly by lieart will never look like an old face to him. She spoils him dreadfully — watches his eveiy look, anticijates his lightest whim, and follows him about with her eyes with a fond admiration that she does not even try to conceal. She is always a little restless and out of spirits when away from him if only for a few hours ; but she brightens up the moment they come together asain. It seems as if she could never forget how near she once was to losing him altogether. }^he would not say a wry word to him to save iier life ; and she is angry with herself, 'THE FAIRY KING.' 395 though she cannot but confess its existence, at her jealousy of his lavishing too much affection even on her boy. With all a mother's fondness she knows she loves the child tea times better that he is so like his father. So the little fellow shoots out from amongst the gi'oup upon his pony, careering away over the upland like a wild thing, amidst the laughter and cheers of the lookers-on ; and they too move off at a steadier pace behind him, for the sun is already sinking, and the old trees' shadows are creeping and lengthening gradually to the eastward. They move off, and the old oak stands there, as he did in King James's time, when Sir Giles Allonby was young ; as he will when that bright-haired child shall become a feeble grey-headed man ; when the actors and actresses in our historical drama shall be dead and buried and forgotten. He is standing there now, though the scenes which we have shifted are scenes of full two hundred years ago. He will be stand- ing there, in all probability, two hundred years hence, when we shall assuredly be passed away and gone — passed away from this earth and a;one elsewhere — Where ? PRINTED BY BALLANTVNE AND COMFANY EDINBURGH AND LONDON H73 THE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW. v r^^'ys ::':lZ .. '" :: r^Tn J Series 9482 m!««!n'«iiroi^'VMAn I ivA m' i Wjm-. Ll.'