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THE
Weird of the Wentworths;
A TALE OF GEORGE IV.'S TIME.
BY JOHANNES SCOTUS.
All nations have their omens drear, Their legends wild of woe and fear. SIR WALTER SCOTT.
SANS CHANGER]
IN TWO VOLUMES.--VOL. II.
LONDON: SAUNDERS, OTLEY, AND CO., 66 BROOK STREET, HANOVER SQUARE 1862.
LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.
THE WEIRD OF THE WENTWORTHS;
A TALE OF GEORGE IV.'s TIME.
CHAPTER I.
"Oh! Liberty, inspire me! And eagle strength supply! Thou, love almighty, fire me, I'll burst my prison--or die!" _James Montgomery._
Perhaps the noble aspirations contained in the lines that head thischapter are misapplied to a murderer flying his just punishment, buteven to the felon-convict liberty is sweet. L'Estrange, as soon as hewas left alone, began to think what he should decide on,--whether toescape or remain. There lay the rope, and the file to burst open theprison bars! All was prepared for his flight. Why did he hesitate? Whydid he linger? Between the peals he heard the clock strike twelve; hethought too he heard the clatter of horse-hoofs, probably the Captain onhis way home. Why did he stay? he felt an irresistible inclination toawait his doom. Why? Because he would see Ellen once more! If hewent--if he escaped--he would perhaps never see her--he would have tofly his country. He would stay. Come what might--it was death at theworst! But alas! the Captain, what would he think? he cared not forthat. But what would he _do_? He who had gained admission to his cellcould again do so; he who had offered means of flight could also forcehim to fly; it was useless then, after all he must go! Oh, that he hadnever come! that man was his evil genius! "Farewell, then, to Scotland,farewell, Ellen, I must go and hide on a foreign strand." He then beganto think how he was to manage his escape. After all it was not so veryeasy. What if he should fail? he had already lost precious time! Billwould only wait till three--he must be up and doing.
We must leave him a few moments in order to follow the Captain home.When he had brought L'Estrange to see escape was after all not to betrifled with, slipping a cheque for a large sum into the turnkey's handhe was let out by a side door. It was raining torrents, and his onlylight were the rapid flashes that lit the Welkin, and disclosed for aninstant Arthur's Seat, and then swallowed all in the jaws of darknessagain. He strode along whistling; if he met a watchman made some casualremark, or damned the night, then walked on again, taking his soakingwith the utmost coolness, till he came opposite the High School. Therehe turned to the right, and descending a steep pathway dived into thenorth back of the Canongate, threading his way through the murky dirtyhabitations till Holyrood rose dimly before him. Here he was challengedby a sentry, but as he had possessed himself of the password andcountersign, was readily admitted. Passing through the courtyard heagain sallied forth, again gave the password, and was at last clear ofall buildings in the Park now called the Queen's Park. He walked on adozen paces, and then gave a shrill whistle: another, echo like,answered him, and he quickened his pace to where Archy stood holding ahorse.
"A soaker, by G--, Archy."
"'Deed, sir, it is a soft night for being out by!"
"Go and rout up old Stacy--he is at the King's Tavern in High Street;tell him to watch for L'Estrange at Hunter's Bog from one to three. Havethree horses, and ride to Prestonpans; there the smack is ready--don'tlet him stay behind, he must fly the country. It's no go about hissweetheart; he may perhaps carry her off a wedded dame--I never promisedher he shouldn't--but I did promise she should get spliced. If he isobstinate shoot him, do you hear--tell Bill to shoot him, 'Deaddogs'--you know the rest, Archy. Now off, you young devil; you are ascunning as a fox; away--be sharp--quick march!"
With these words the Captain mounted, telling Archy to get a glass ortwo of grog to warm him, then putting spurs to his horse he rodehomewards at a tremendous pace by a cross route for fear of beingrecognized. When he reached the Holly Walk, Archy's father met him, andtook away the horse, which belonged to his own farm.
The Captain then walked to the east tower of the castle, crossed thebridge, and whistled an air beneath one of the windows. He had not longto wait; soon a window above was gently opened, and a rope-ladderlowered, up which the gallant officer swung, entered the room, and shookhands with Sir Richard. The window was shut, and no one in the castleaware the Captain had been absent, as he had retired earlier than usualfrom his toddy, having a natural dislike to Sunday evening.
"Is it managed?" said Sir Richard.
"Bravely--I had a d--d work to get round the old turnkey, whose brutalpigheadedness was only equalled by his gormandizing cupidity. ThenL'Estrange was well nigh sobered by his solitary confinement, and thenthat accursed storm has soaked me through. Give me a glass of brandy forGod's sake. He must be gnawing through his cage now--and he'll have agood shake when he drops, for the rope wasn't half long enough!"
"Ha ha! what a joke! I should like to see his face after it; but howwill you know if he got through all right?"
"Archy comes with the news to-morrow morning. Now good night, I must getto bed; won't the judges look blue? Egad!"
When Edward L'Estrange had made up his mind for the attempt, he began toconsider his best plan of effecting it easiest; the window of course wasthe path to liberty; but the window was at least twelve feet above theground, how was it to be reached? L'Estrange was no fool, and soon hiton an expedient. He uncoiled the rope, and found it was about twentyfeet in length, and made of silk, being both thin and strong; he thentook up the file; it was a foot in length, and in the middle a smoothplace, with the edges rounded off. Why was it thus? It had evidentlybeen made so? There was a reason; the Captain told him he was no fool;he would find it out. He was not long in doing so. To establish acommunication between the window and the dungeon floor was the firstpoint; there were three stout bars, with iron points like teeth alongtheir edges placed uprightly in the window; if he could get the roperound one of them, or in any way catch it, so as to bear his weightscaling the wall? The reason for the file's shape then struck him; so hetied the silk cord tightly round the centre of the file, and threw therope lasso-fashion so as to fling the file through the bars, and drawingit back sharply fix the line. The first throw missed; the second timethe file went through, but as he drew the rope back, it slipped throughthe knot and fell. A thrill of horror ran through him,--but fortunatelyit fell inside. He seized the file as if it was his last friend, andresolved not to hazard it again. What was to be done now? The knife--yesit would do; so he made it secure much in the same way, and he had abetter hollow between the haft and the blade. Again he threw it; thelight from the window was very slight, but after two more failures hesucceeded, and, catching the rope, tried if it would bear his weight. Itdid, and he swarmed up, and was soon seated on the window sill. He tiedthe rope firmly round one of the bars, and then commenced filing. Therain dashed in upon him, and the vivid lightning once startled him somuch he nearly fell back; but he worked on, and after an hour's labourfiled through a bar; he forced it backwards and forwards till heloosened the upper end solder
ed into the stone; at last it fell out intohis hand, and he then dropped it below in order to gain from the lengthof time it took in falling a rough estimate of the depth. He calculatedit was at least thirty-five feet. He had twenty feet of rope; he wouldstretch nearly seven, leaving eight feet to drop,--nothing after all! Hedescended once more into his cell, secured his pistol, and climbed upagain. He could not suppress a laugh as he thought how scared hisgaolers would look when they found the bird flown. He then wound himselfthrough the bars and the wall, getting somewhat torn and clawed by thespikes; but liberty was before him, and he recked not of the pain. Aftermuch squeezing and exertion he at last got on the outside. He lookedonce more to see if the rope was firmly knotted, waited for a faintflash of the waning storm, and then began his descent. It was not longere he reached the _Ultima Thule_ of his line; then with a beatingheart, he let go. It was a horrid feeling, that letting go, and the fallin darkness! He had miscalculated the height; instead of thirty-five,the depth was forty-one or forty-two feet, and instead of droppingeight, he had fourteen or fifteen feet to fall. He fell with a heavyshock, bruising himself a good deal on the slippery rocks down which herolled. He was, however, not materially injured, and when he looked backat the perilous height he had come from, and looked at his befouledgarments dimly seen in the early dawning, he laughed heartily, and,losing no more time, dived into the Canongate, soon reaching theHunter's Bog, where he found his comrades waiting. At first he hardlydistinguished them from the rocks; then he saw the dark outlines ofhorses and men; by-and-by he distinguished Bill Stacy, Archy, and threehorses. He quickened his pace.
"Hillo, you young dog, so you've run the blockade? A rascally time youhave kept old Bill anchored in these d--d moorings."
"Bill, how are you? I was as quick as I could be. I thought I'd neversaw through those d--d bars. How they will gape when they find me off!"
"I have no time for words now; get aboard your craft and away, or thebloodhounds will overhaul us."
"Away--where to? The old Peel."
"Not likely; away to the sea. You must give the old land a wide berth.The Peel! good God! That would be a wise _cache_ to hit on."
"But I must not--will not leave this country. Can we not hide? Whatwould happen?--they would be married!"
"I don't care what would happen, or what wouldn't happen. The ship hasweighed anchor, and by it you go; and be d--d to the wench!"
"Stay, Bill,--what if I say I won't?"
"Then I say I will shoot you. I am in earnest. So you had better be led!What the devil makes you care about a gal that don't care a straw foryou?"
"Bill, what should you know of love?"
"What should I, or what shouldn't I,--up, I say, and off. G--'s name, itis gettin' light!"
Finding there was no remedy, L'Estrange mounted, and the three rodealong the shore till they got to Musselburgh, when Archy turned off tothe right; Bill and L'Estrange kept on till they reached a barrenstretch of sand and common, where three more men met them. The fivewalked to the beach, where a smuggler's craft was in readiness. Leavingone to take away the horses, the other four embarked, and set sail. Afresh breeze, which had sprung up after the storm, swelled the sails,and they soon rounded the bay, steering southward.
Leaving them, we now return to the Towers. Of course, the news of theescape was so unlooked for--so startling--that for some time it washardly credited. The Earl, the Captain, and one or two others rode in toEdinburgh, and found everyone at the prison in a vast state ofexcitement. A more audacious escape had never been perpetrated.Moreover, the turnkey was also missing, and the detectives could gain noclue. Hundreds of visitors saw the cell, the bars filed through, therope still hanging, and the tracks of the fall on the rocks. Here, as amatter of course, all traces were lost, and it was conjectured he mightbe hiding in some of the dens of the old town. The most vigilantinquiries ended, however, in nought. It was evident he had bold andpowerful confederates. The Earl was not without anxiety about Ellen, anddetermined to take her from the spot for some time. The marriage wasfixed for the first week in November, and meantime Lord and LadyArranmore invited the Earl, Lady Florence, and Miss Ravensworth to spenda month or two at their residence, Claremont Castle, close to Killarney.The Captain left for Brighton, promising to be up at the marriage, andbring Sir Harry Maynard, Major Forbes, young Pringle, and others. Therest of the visitors left for their respective homes, receiving aninvitation to come to Dun Edin Towers on the 8th of November, when thecastle would be all decked out for the ceremony. A letter from Frankalso announced he had got leave, and would come home from Corfu in timefor his brother's marriage.
The Weird of the Wentworths: A Tale of George IV's Time, Vol. 2 Page 1