CHAPTER TWENTY.
ADVENTURE WITH A WITCH.
Master Clough punished me for what he was pleased to call my idlebehaviour, during the time of the breaking of the images, by making mecopy out the whole of a long letter he wrote to Sir Thomas Gresham,giving an account of the affair. He acknowledged that the mob, althoughhe called them ruffianly rascals, had evidently been influenced by onesole motive, that was--to do away with all the symbols of Popery; thatneither man nor woman had been in the slightest degree injured, nor asingle article (great as was the value of many of them) appropriated bythe image-breakers.
Shortly after this we were as usual seated at our desks working away,for Master Clough kept us well employed, when a courier entered theoffice. He brought the information that Sir Thomas Gresham had landedat Ostend two days before from England, accompanied by a lady, and thathe hoped to arrive the following day at Antwerp. Preparations wereinstantly made for his reception. A'Dale and I were not a littleinterested in trying to guess who the lady could be. Wecross-questioned the courier, but all we could learn from him was thatthe lady was not Lady Anne Gresham; indeed, he had supposed, from theway Sir Thomas treated her, that she must be his daughter. She wasalso, we discovered, young and fair. I had some hesitation in askingthe man these questions. Her name he did not know. I stronglysuspected that she must be Aveline Radford.
Madam Clough, however, at all events seemed to know all about her, andwas preparing a room, though I must own that I did not venture toinquire of that lady. I have said very little about Madam Cloughhitherto. She was a very good woman, but, in our estimation, not to becompared to Lady Anne. She demanded far more attention and respect asher due, and never allowed us the slightest approach to intimacy;indeed, she seemed to consider that we were in all respects herinferiors. Still she was, as I have said, a worthy woman, and knew howto do her duty. She was inclined to be charitable, as far as helpingthose who came to her in distress; and I have no doubt that in her ownplace at Plasclough, in Denbighshire, where she and her husband residedwhen making holiday, she acted the Lady Bountiful to perfection.
It must be confessed that, after the news we had received, I felt astrange trepidation at my heart, and made a variety of mistakes in theletters I was inditing, for which I received due verbal castigation fromMaster Clough. What other young lady could be coming besides Aveline?A'Dale, I rather suspect, hoped, for his own sake, that she might besome stranger; for though he admired Aveline, yet he was aware of myfeelings with regard to her, and he was too true a friend to wish tointerfere in the matter.
I slept very little, it must be owned, that night. I was thinking ofAveline--how she would appear; how she would treat me: whether, in thelight of an old friend, or, after having seen so many great and wealthypeople, be inclined to look upon me as her inferior. I kept twistingand turning the subject in every possible way, till I made myselfperfectly miserable; and it was not till at last I thought that perhaps,after all, the lady who was expected might not be Aveline, that Idropped to sleep.
A bright idea occurred to me in the morning. It would be but respectfulif A'Dale and I were to ride out to meet Sir Thomas Gresham as heapproached Antwerp. I suggested the same to Master Clough, and, havinggot through all the work he required of us at an early hour, we wereperfectly ready to set forth. He threw no objection in the way. Wetherefore ordered our horses, and as soon as we could with decency leavethe office, we rode forth by the northern gate from the city. We, Imust confess, had calculated, from the information gained from thecourier, that Sir Thomas would not arrive for at least two or threehours after that time. We should thus have an opportunity of meetinghim and his companions at some distance from the city, and enjoy thepleasure of riding back with them. We rode on for some distance, tillat length we began to hope that we might soon fall in with the expectedtravellers. Every cloud of dust which appeared rising ahead of us gaveus hopes that they were coming. As we drew nearer, and figures appearedthrough the cloud of dust, my heart beat quicker. A few minutes moreshowed us a party of travelling merchants, with their packs on ledhorses.
"That must be them!" exclaimed A'Dale, as another cloud rose in front ofus.
We pushed on eagerly. They were a band of a dozen or more horsemen.The serviceable swords, with the hilts ready to their hands, which theywore at their sides, the pistols in their belts, and the arquebusesslung across their saddles, gave them a somewhat suspicious appearance.They eyed us narrowly, but we put on a bold and independent look. Itstruck me that the traders we had passed a short time before would nothave been well pleased to have fallen in with them, nor would, Isuspect, Sir Thomas Gresham and his companions. Thus we were doomedseveral times to disappointment. At length we rode on for some distancewithout meeting any one. The day was advancing, and we began to fearthat Sir Thomas had for some reason stopped on the way.
"Well, then, all we have to do is to turn our horses and ride backagain," said A'Dale.
As he spoke, however, I thought I saw another light cloud of dust. Ipointed it out to him.
"We will go on for ten minutes more, and then, if Sir Thomas does notappear, we will do as you propose," I said.
As we rode on, I more than once stood up in my stirrups, eagerly lookingforward, for I felt convinced that another party of travellers wereapproaching. I was not mistaken. The cloud of dust rose higher andhigher above the horizon, and beneath it, at length, horses and riderswere seen. We pushed on with more confidence. As we advanced, we coulddistinguish a tall cavalier on a stout horse, and a lady riding apalfrey by his side. About that there was no doubt. We felt sure itmust be Sir Thomas and his expected female companion. I thought I coulddistinguish another female behind the first, and several other horsemenand baggage animals. All doubts were set at rest directly afterwards,as we distinguished the well-known features of our patron; but withregard to the lady we were not so certain, as her face was concealed bythe veil which she wore to guard her from the dust. As we approached,however, and saluted Sir Thomas Gresham, she drew it aside, and I behelda lovely face, though somewhat pale, which, I felt sure, from theexpression, must be that of Aveline. Of this she gave me assurance, asshe replied to my salutation, and a gentle blush came over her features.In truth, I had no reason to be dissatisfied with the way she receivedme. But I was grieved to find that she was not in the enjoyment of herusual health. Of this also, Sir Thomas informed me, by observing thatshe had accompanied him, by the invitation of Madam Clough, who had longwished her to pay a visit to Antwerp, in the hope that the change of airand scenery might benefit her.
"Alas! however," observed Sir Thomas, "such a change has not alwaysproved as beneficial as we might have desired."
I knew by his remark that he was thinking of his son Richard. I wasglad when Sir Thomas addressed A'Dale, who rode by his side, leaving meto drop behind him with Aveline. We had much to speak about. Sheassured me with a smile that there was no cause for alarm about herhealth, but that she had been anxious to accept Madam Clough'sinvitation, and that Lady Anne had kindly consented to spare her for afew months.
"I have brought over a new waiting-woman," she observed. "You rememberher, though. She is the daughter of Farmer Hadden, whose hospitalityyou enjoyed when driven back on your voyage from Ipswich, of which youhave often told me. Her father and mother are dead, and she applied toLady Anne for employment as waiting-woman. She is very faithful andloving, and, better still, is a true Christian."
Among many private matters, interesting chiefly to ourselves, Avelinedescribed the improvements at Osterley which Sir Thomas had lately made,as also the beautiful appearance of the Bourse, which was now nearlycompleted. I, of course, had much to tell her, in return, of the eventswhich had lately occurred at Antwerp, especially of the image-breaking,and the destruction of the beautiful interiors of so many of thechurches.
"They were savage hands which performed the work," she observed; "yet weshould not regret the overthrow of idols, for idols they are, al
thoughin appearance full of grace and beauty. I pray that nothing worse mayhappen; but I fear much, that when King Philip hears of these doings, hewill take vengeance on the unhappy people who perpetrated them. Icannot but grieve also that so much rich carving and beautifuldecoration should have been destroyed."
I agreed with Aveline in that respect; at the same time I echoed herremark with regard to the idols which had been pulled down. So quicklypassed the time, that the shades of evening stole on us unawares, and wewere quite surprised when we saw the towers and stout walls of Antwerplooming through the gloom. It was almost dusk as we rode under the deepgateway, on either side of which was the entrance to the narrow passagebetween the two walls surrounding the city. The streets were morecrowded than usual, and we passed numerous groups of men talking eagerlytogether. News had arrived, we found, that the example set in Antwerphad been followed in many other cities; but of that I will speak anon.
I was well pleased with the reception which Madam Clough gave Aveline.Master Clough was thankful also to see Sir Thomas, for the difficulty ofobtaining money at that time was very great; and he knew that theQueen's agent would be better able personally to make the requiredarrangements than he could himself. One thing Sir Thomas saw--thatAntwerp would no longer be the city it formerly was for commerce withEngland; and I may here remark, that he shortly afterwards wrote home,advising that in such brabbling times as these were, some other cityshould be fixed on, to which British manufactures might be sent.
We had lately had a somewhat dull time in Master Clough's house. He wasout of spirits at the turn affairs were taking, not knowing what mightnext happen, although, England and Spain, having hitherto been onfriendly terms, he was under no apprehension that the English wouldsuffer personally. We had occasionally official banquets, but they werevery dull compared to those to which we had formerly been accustomed,while no maskers or mummers were allowed to present themselves. As maybe supposed, the arrival of Sir Thomas Gresham and Aveline Radfordproduced a very pleasant change. As Aveline had been advised to takehorse exercise, she rode out, by the desire of Sir Thomas, every day;and A'Dale and I were her constant attendants, Madam Clough occasionallyaccompanying her, while Mistress Margery was always her companion.
One bright morning Madam Clough had been tempted to ride forth; SirThomas and Master Clough, having business of importance to transact,deputed A'Dale and me as usual to escort the ladies. We had twoattendants, well-armed, while A'Dale and I carried pistols in ourholsters. We were both of us adepts in the use of the sword. A'Dalewas able to encounter any trooper, however skilful, with his favouriteweapon. Madam Clough was a good horsewoman, having learned the art inWales, where she had been accustomed to ride over her native mountains,and on the summits of the dizzy precipices. She generally took thelead, Aveline and I riding side by side. Margery often fell to theshare of A'Dale, for the damsel was in no way inclined to associate withthe serving-men, nor would she have been could she have understood theirlanguage; indeed, she was in all respects superior to an ordinarytire-woman. We had gone for some distance along the Mechlin road; soonafter passing the village of Berchem it was proposed that we should turnoff to the right, where we might enjoy a gallop over the open ground, itbeing there higher and drier than the surrounding country. The freshair gave us all spirits, and we rode on rapidly, little thinking of thedistance we were going. I was not sorry when Madam Clough took thelead, sitting her horse with an upright figure and stately air,apparently regardless of Aveline and me, who followed out of ear-shot.The rest of the party were still farther off. I enjoyed more than everbeing alone with Aveline; and she did not, so it seemed to me, object tomy society. There were many things we had to talk of, but I could notyet bring myself to speak of one subject which was at my heart. I feltmyself still a dependant on the bounty of Sir Thomas Gresham. Hesupported me, and supplied me liberally with the wherewithal to pay formy clothes and other expenses, and to leave me an ample supply ofpocket-money. But as yet he had never spoken of paying me a fixedsalary; and with the possession of that alone should I feel justified inproposing to marry Aveline. She was much in the same condition, foralthough Lady Anne had carefully preserved the document given to me byher mother, as yet it did not appear that she would benefit thereby.Still I did not despair. I knew that Sir Thomas was generous, and thathe had a true regard both for Aveline and for me; and I hoped that, if Iput the matter before him, he would enable me to carry out my wishes.Several times during this ride I was on the point of speaking toAveline, and asking her whether she could make up her mind to marry me;but as often as the words rose to my lips, I let them fall back againinto my heart without utterance. There they remained, preventing me forsome minutes afterwards from again speaking. On each occasion Avelinelooked at me with an inquiring glance, wondering what had thus tied mytongue. Perhaps she suspected the truth, when at length, growingbolder, I approached nearer and nearer the subject, for I saw, orfancied I saw, a blush suffuse her countenance. This gave me yetfurther boldness, and summoning all my resolution, I was on the point oftelling her the wishes of my heart, when a cry from Madam Clough made ushurry forward towards her.
She had at that instant turned the corner of a wood. She pointed to aspot a short distance from where she had reined in her horse, when wesaw spread out before us a large concourse of people. They weresurrounding a rough platform raised to the height of their heads. On itstood a man, who, with arms stretched out, one hand holding a book, fromwhich he occasionally read, and the other at times lifted towardsheaven, was earnestly addressing them. The words did not reach us; butso absorbed were the congregation in them, that for some time ourapproach was not observed. At length several horsemen, with arquebusesin their hands, galloped towards us. We without difficulty explainedwho we were, and the horsemen, turning round, accompanied us. The restof our party coming up, we collected in the outer circle of the vastmultitude who were listening to the preacher. He was, we found, anenthusiastic Protestant--Herman Modet by name. He was setting forth, inclear and forcible language, the great truths of Christianity, asopposed to the false teaching of Rome. He showed how the one must, whenreceived, elevate and ennoble the human mind; while the other wascalculated in every way to lower and debase it. He then, in eloquentlanguage, called upon his countrymen to unite in overthrowing thatfearful system, supported by the Pope and his cardinals, to which KingPhilip had completely subjected himself. "He who is a slave to such asystem is unfit to rule his fellow-men!" he exclaimed. "Already he andhis father have brought the most fearful miseries upon our country.What further trials is he not preparing for us? I would urge peace,forbearance, and long-suffering; and yet I cannot believe that we arecalled upon to submit without resistance to the horrible tyrannies towhich we have been subjected for so many years."
After a time, one of the hymns of Marot, translated into Flemish, wassung with wonderful enthusiasm. I thought that Madam Clough was warmedup by it; I know Aveline and I were, and joined in it with all ourhearts. Margery, although she could not understand the words, wascarried away by the air, and still more so when A'Dale translated themto her.
Again the preacher continued his address. I would willingly haveremained to hear more of it; but Madam Clough, who did not understandFlemish perfectly, made a sign to us to continue our ride.
We soon left the camp-meeting far behind, continuing our course in thedirection we had previously been pursuing. I do not know whether thediscourse we had heard made any impression on Madam Clough, for she didnot allude to it; indeed, she went on in front as she had before beendoing, leaving Aveline and me to follow. A'Dale, I conclude, found theconversation of Mistress Margery very much to his taste. Sometimes theylaughed long and loudly together, but at other times they spoke in amore serious tone, as far as I could judge by the words I heard when wewere together.
The two serving-men brought up the rear, wondering perhaps at theunusually long ride their mistress was taking. At length I thought itwould be prope
r to advise her to return, for, looking behind me, Iobserved that the horizon was already dark with a bank of clouds whichcame rapidly rising out of the distant ocean. As, however, the suncontinued shining brightly, Madam Clough was not aware of theapproaching storm. As soon as I saw what was likely to occur, I pushedon, and, overtaking her, pointed out the rising clouds. She seemedsomewhat astonished.
"You should have told me of this before," she observed.
I replied that I myself had not remarked the state of the sky, or Iwould have done so.
"Well, we shall perhaps be able to get back before it breaks," sheremarked, turning her horse round.
I doubted this very much; however, there was no help for it, so puttingspurs to our steeds, we galloped back, in the hopes of regaining thehigh road, in the neighbourhood of which we might possibly find shelter.Where we then were, we could see no house or building of any sort whichwould protect us from the fury of the storm. We had soon cause foranxiety, for the bank of clouds rose higher and higher every instant,and the sun became obscured, as it swept round towards the west. Andnow it appeared directly overhead. The wind, before soft and balmy,began to blow from the north, increasing every instant in strength, tillwe found a chill and furious blast in our faces. It rapidly increasedin strength. The wind might be endured, but the air grew damper, andmore and more chilling. I dreaded the effect on Aveline, to whom suchair as was then blowing was especially dangerous. I again looked roundin vain for shelter, and in a few minutes the expected storm burst, andthe water rushed down from the clouds in heavy sheets. I took off myown cloak, and placed it round Aveline, though she entreated me to wearit. I replied that that would be impossible while she was exposed to sopelting a storm, and that neither the wetting nor cold would have anyeffect on me. Madam Clough was tolerably well guarded, so that I didnot concern myself about her; and I let A'Dale look after MistressMargery.
The wind blew more furiously; the rain descended in torrents.Notwithstanding the protection my cloak afforded Aveline, I was surethat she would be wet through in a few minutes.
As we were pushing on, I thought I saw on the side of a slight mound ofearth, at a little distance, the roof of a cottage: I pointed it out toMadam Clough, and we pushed towards it. On a nearer approach, I sawthat the roof rose a very little way above the ground--that it was, infact, the covering of a sort of cave or hollow in the side of the hill,such as perhaps some shepherd or cattle-keeper might have formed toobtain protection during a similar storm to that which had overtaken us.It was somewhat larger, however, than might have been expected for thatpurpose; at all events, I welcomed the sight, as I was in hopes that theladies might find shelter within. As we got up to it, we saw that therewas a door to the hut, formed of rough planks. Helping the ladies fromtheir horses, we attempted to open it, but it resisted our efforts.
"Who is there, who comes to disturb me in my retreat?" said a voice fromwithin, in harsh, croaking accents.
It was that of a female, I thought.
"Good mother," I said, wishing to speak her fair, "there are delicatefemales here exposed to this raging storm--they entreat you to give themshelter."
"Let them go the way they came," answered the voice; "I shall treatothers as I myself have been treated. They would not allow me to entertheir gorgeous abodes; I now refuse them admittance into mine, albeit itmay not be of the most splendid character."
"That were cruel, mother," I answered; "we should return good for evil;and those for whom I plead have never wronged you--of that I amcertain."
"Go away, go away, I tell you!" she again cried out; "you have had myreply."
"This will never do!" I exclaimed to A'Dale, for every instant the rainwas coming down heavier and heavier.
The serving-men were holding our horses. Putting our shoulders againstthe door, we gave a shove together, and it flew open. The hut was muchlarger than we had expected to find it, and would afford, I saw at aglance, not only shelter for the ladies but for all our party, and forthe horses also. At the farther end sat an old crone, her white locksescaping from under her coif; and her bony arms, which were bare to theelbow, extended over a large pan, beneath which were burning coals. Sheglanced round at us with a look of anger.
"I pray thee, dame, be not offended," I said, approaching her, while theladies stood at a little distance. "We have entered your abode withscant ceremony, but have no desire to treat you with disrespect; gladlywill we pay, too, for the injury we may have done your door, though wecould not remain outside exposed to the pelting storm when shelter wasat hand. Had you admitted us without parley, the latch would haveremained uninjured, and our tempers would not have been aroused."
To these remarks she made no reply, but seizing a wand, which lay by herside, began to stir the contents of the pan. As our eyes got accustomedto the gloom of the hut, numerous articles were seen about, which showedus at once the character of the inmate.
"I wish that we had braved the storm rather than have come in here,"whispered Madam Clough. "Perchance, indeed, it was summoned at the beckof this old witch; and by her looks I fear she purposes to work usevil."
Nothing, could be more forbidding than the aspect of the old dame.Whether witch or not, that she wished to be thought so was very evident.I did not myself share the terror of Madam Clough, nor, I think, didAveline; still, when I asked the old woman to allow the ladies toapproach her fire, in order that they might dry their wet garments, theyall drew back, evidently not wishing to be nearer than they were to thewitch. She looked up, and uttered a low, croaking laugh, as she sawtheir terror.
"Ah! ah! ah!--your beauty and your wealth cannot guard you from thepower of a wretched old woman like me!" she cried out. "Well, well,when the storm is over, you will ride away, and think no more of me; butI can follow you wherever you go, and find out your thoughts, as I knowthem now. You think, perhaps, that you are strangers to me--ah! ah!ah!--but I know you well--whence you come, and your future fates. Youthree fair dames were born in a foreign land, and so was one of yougallant gentlemen, but the other first saw the light in this haplesscountry. I speak true, do I not? answer me, lady!" she exclaimed,looking towards Madam Clough.
"Yes, indeed you do," said the latter; "but you might have judged by ourtongues that we were not Flemings."
"Had you kept silence I should have known as well," said the old witch."And now would you like to know the future?"
"If you can tell it to us, there may be no harm in so doing," said MadamClough. "Can you tell me my fate?"
"Eh! that can I," answered the old woman. "Twice you have wedded, andonce been a widow; again a widow you will be, and once more wedded, tillthe green turf on which you have been wont to trip so lightly lies heavyabove your head. Think of that as you step forth over the green sward,when the air blows softly and the sun shines brightly--think what youwill ere long be."
I saw that Madam Clough did not at all like these remarks, and, willingto relieve her, I asked if she could tell the fortunes of the rest ofthe party.
"Ay! that will I," she answered, eyeing us keenly. "There are two fairdamsels here, who are ready to wed two bold youths; but danger andtrouble, and battle and tempest, will intervene ere their hopes will befulfilled. If their troubles are short, so may be their joys; but longtroubles may bring longer happiness. Choose you which you will, mymasters--I will read you a riddle; let me hear if you can answer it."
"We want no riddles, mother," said A'Dale; "but if you are a truesorceress, tell us plainly what is about to happen."
"A true sorceress, indeed!" exclaimed the old woman. "If I was to tellyou what was about to occur, your hair would stand on end, and you wouldrush forth shrieking with terror amid the raging tempest. The future Isee looming, and not far off. Bloodshed and destruction, fierceconflagrations, war, famines and miseries unspeakable, the graveyardoverflowing, the country depopulated. All this, you Anabaptists, youpreachers of the new religion, you promulgators of strange doctrines,are about to bring upon thi
s country. Had matters been allowed to go onas they were, had the Catholic faith been undisturbed, quiet, peace, andprosperity would still have existed in the land."
"As to that, mother, you are speaking of the past, not foretelling thefuture!" exclaimed A'Dale. "I will not bandy words with you; and as Iknew not the country during the happy times you speak of, I cannot replyto you; but it seems to me as much as saying that the man who is asleepcan do no harm. Therefore, as long as the country submitted to thepriests, the priests were not inclined to find fault with them."
I must observe here that Margery did not understand a word that wassaid; Aveline, indeed, scarcely comprehended the meaning of the oldwoman's remarks. She, like most persons of her class, seeing two youngpeople together, at once pronounced them lovers. But I have an ideathat her words did not fall altogether unheeded on A'Dale's ears.Whatever he might have been thinking of before, I suspected, from aglance which I saw him give Mistress Margery, that from that time hebegan to entertain affectionate feelings for her. The old woman had notall this time offered us seats, or shown any inclination to treat uswith courtesy. It struck me, however, that the latter might probably bepurchased. I therefore, taking a piece of money from my leather purse,approached her and said, "We must pay you, dame, for telling ourfortunes, or we cannot hope that they will come true. Let me cross yourpalm with this piece of money, and we may have some expectation offinding your predictions fulfilled."
The expression of the old woman's countenance immediately changed, and,rising from her seat, she drew forth a bench and some stools, on whichshe begged we would rest ourselves. I saw, as she moved about, that shewas far more active than her appearance betokened; and, after a littletime I could not help thinking that I had seen her before. Suddenly itstruck me that she was no other than Barbara Trond--the old woman whoused to sell tapers and other Popish trickeries in front of thecathedral. If so, as she had frequently seen us, I had no doubt thatfrom the first she knew who we were. I immediately guessed that,finding her old calling valueless, she had betaken herself to herpresent mode of life, in the hopes of preying on the superstition andcredulity of her fellow-creatures. And I found that I was correct in mysuspicions.
The rain meantime continued pouring down with unabated violence, and webegan to fear that it would not hold up in time to allow us to return toAntwerp before nightfall. Several times I went to the door of the hutto look forth, but the heavens were still dark as at first, not a gleamof light being visible in any direction. Finding the good effect of thefirst piece of money, I bestowed a second of about the same value on theold woman, telling her that, as we had occupied her abode so long, Ithought we were in duty bound to pay her rent. I saw that this secondgift had completely secured her services; and she now seemed as anxiousto please us as she had at first appeared surly and morose.
"Listen to me, young sir," she said; "for you seem to understand mylanguage better than the rest of the party. Do not trust toappearances. You think that the Reformers have gained the upper hand.I know King Philip and his advisers too well not to be sure that theywill wreak a bitter vengeance on the cities in which the churches of thefaith they hold have been desecrated. He may appear indifferent for atime, for the sake of lulling the people to sleep; but, depend upon it,he only bides his time, and he will speedily spring forth like a tigerof the Far East, to crush with his mighty paws all who have ventured tooppose him."
I was afraid the old woman spoke too truly, though it required noprophet to say the same. Madam Clough seemed very little disposed totalk with her, while Aveline could only partially understand what shesaid. Thus the weight of the conversation fell on me; for A'Dalethought fit to endeavour to entertain Mistress Margery, who, of course,could not comprehend a single word that was spoken. I was very thankfulwhen at last the loud pattering sound, which had continued for so long,ceased; and, looking forth, I found that it was no longer raining.Wishing old Dame Trond farewell, we led the horses out of the hut, and,quickly mounting, made the best of our way home.
The Golden Grasshopper: A story of the days of Sir Thomas Gresham Page 20