Amidst the bosquet stood a listener to their converse — a little girl with high shoulders and sharp features, on which diabolical malice was stamped. Two yellow eyes glistened through the leaves beside her, marking the presence of a cat. As the lovers breathed their vows, and indulged in hopes never to be realised, the wicked child grinned, clenched her hands, and, grudging them their short-lived happiness, seemed inclined to interrupt it. Some stronger motive, however, kept her quiet.
What are the pair talking of now? — She hears her own name mentioned by the maiden, who speaks of her with pity, almost with affection — pardons her for the mischief she has done her, and hopes Heaven will pardon her likewise. But she knows not the full extent of the girl’s malignity, or even her gentle heart must have been roused to resentment.
The little girl, however, feels no compunction. Infernal malice has taken possession of her heart, and crushed every kindly feeling within it. She hates all those that compassionate her, and returns evil for good.
What are the lovers talking of now? Of their first meeting at Whalley Abbey, when one was May Queen, and by her beauty and simplicity won the other’s heart, losing her own at the same time. A bright unclouded career seemed to lie before them then. Wofully had it darkened since. Alas! Alas!
The little girl smiles. She hopes they will go on. She likes to hear them talk thus. Past happiness is ever remembered with a pang by the wretched, and they were happy then. Go on — go on!
But they are silent for awhile, for they wish to dwell on that hopeful, that blissful season. And a nightingale, alighting on a bough above them, pours forth its sweet plaint, as if in response to their tender emotions. They praise the bird’s song, and it suddenly ceases.
For the little girl, full of malevolence, stretches forth her hand, and it drops to the ground, as if stricken by a dart.
“Is thy heart broken, poor bird?” exclaimed the young man, taking up the hapless songster, yet warm and palpitating. “To die in the midst of thy song— ’tis hard.”
“Very hard!” replied the maiden, tearfully. “Its fate seems a type of our own.”
The little girl laughed, but in a low tone, and to herself.
The pair then grew sad. This slight incident had touched them deeply, and their conversation took a melancholy turn. They spoke of the blights that had nipped their love in the bud — of the canker that had eaten into its heart — of the destiny that so relentlessly pursued them, threatening to separate them for ever.
The little girl laughed merrily.
Then they spoke of the grave — and of hope beyond the grave; and they spoke cheerfully.
The little girl could laugh no longer, for with her all beyond the grave was despair.
After that they spoke of the terrible power that Satan had lately obtained in that unhappy district, of the arts he had employed, and of the votaries he had won. Both prayed fervently that his snares might be circumvented, and his rule destroyed.
During this part of the discourse the cat swelled to the size of a tiger, and his eyes glowed like fiery coals. He made a motion as if he would spring forward, but the voice of prayer arrested him, and he shrank back to his former size.
“Poor Jennet is ensnared by the Fiend,” murmured the maiden, “and will perish eternally. Would I could save her!”
“It cannot be,” replied the young man. “She is beyond redemption.”
The little girl gnashed her teeth with rage.
“But my mother — I do not now despair of her,” said Alizon. “She has broken the bondage by which she was enchained, and, if she resists temptation to the last, I am assured will be saved.”
“Heaven aid her!” exclaimed Richard.
Scarcely were the words uttered, than the cat disappeared.
“Why, Tib! — where are yo, Tib? Ey want yo!” cried the little girl in a low tone.
But the familiar did not respond to the call.
“Where con he ha’ gone?” cried Jennet; “Tib! Tib!”
Still the cat came not.
“Then ey mun do the wark without him,” pursued the little girl; “an ey win no longer delay it.”
And with this she crept stealthily round the arbour, and, approaching the side where Richard sat, watched an opportunity of touching him unperceived.
As her finger came in contact with his frame, a pang like death shot through his heart, and he fell upon Alizon’s shoulder.
“Are you ill?” she exclaimed, gazing at his pallid features, rendered ghastly white by the moonlight.
Richard could make no reply, and Alizon, becoming dreadfully alarmed, was about to fly for assistance, but the young man, by a great effort, detained her.
“Ey mun now run an tell Mester Potts, so that hoo may be found wi’ him,” muttered Jennet, creeping away.
Just then Richard recovered his speech, but his words were faintly uttered, and with difficulty.
“Alizon,” he said, “I will not attempt to disguise my condition from you. I am dying. And my death will be attributed to you — for evil-minded persons have persuaded the King that you have bewitched me, and he will believe the charge now. Oh! if you would ease the pangs of death for me — if you would console my latest moments — leave me, and quit this place, before it be too late.”
“Oh! Richard,” she cried distractedly; “you ask more than I can perform. If you are indeed in such imminent danger, I will stay with you — will die with you.”
“No! live for me — live — save yourself, Alizon,” implored the young man. “Your danger is greater than mine. A dreadful death awaits you at the stake! Oh! mercy, mercy, heaven! Spare her — in pity spare her! — Have we not suffered enough? I can no more. Farewell for ever, Alizon — one kiss — the last.”
And as their lips met, his strength utterly forsook him, and he fell backwards.
“One grave!” he murmured; “one grave, Alizon!” — And so, without a groan, he expired.
Alizon neither screamed nor swooned, but remained in a state of stupefaction, gazing at the body. As the moon fell upon the placid features, they looked as if locked in slumber.
There he lay — the young, the brave, the beautiful, the loving, the beloved. Fate had triumphed. Death had done his work; but he had only performed half his task.
“One grave — one grave — it was his last wish — it shall be so!” she cried, in frenzied tones, “I shall thus escape my enemies, and avoid the horrible and shameful death to which they would doom me.”
And she snatched the dagger from the ill-fated youth’s side.
“Now, fate, I defy thee!” she cried, with a fearful laugh.
One last look at that calm beautiful face — one kiss of the cold lips, which can no more return the endearment — and the dagger is pointed at her breast.
But she is withheld by an arm of iron, and the weapon falls from her grasp. She looks up. A tall figure, clothed in the mouldering habiliments of a Cistertian monk, stands beside her. She knows the vestments at once, for she has seen them before, hanging up in the closet adjoining her mother’s chamber at Whalley Abbey — and the features of the ghostly monk seem familiar to her.
“Raise not thy hand against thyself,” said the phantom, in a tone of awful reproof. “It is the Fiend prompts thee to do it. He would take advantage of thy misery to destroy thee.”
“I took thee for the Fiend,” replied Alizon, gazing at him with wonder rather than with terror. “Who art thou?”
“The enemy of thy enemies, and therefore thy friend,” replied the monk. “I would have saved thy lover if I could, but his destiny was not to be averted. But, rest content, I will avenge him.”
“I do not want vengeance — I want to be with him,” she replied, frantically embracing the body.
“Thou wilt soon be with him,” said the phantom, in tones of deep significance. “Arise, and come with me. Thy mother needs thy assistance.”
“My mother!” exclaimed Alizon, clearing the blinding tresses from her brow. “Where i
s she?”
“Follow me, and I will bring thee to her,” said the monk.
“And leave him? I cannot!” cried Alizon, gazing wildly at the body.
“You must. A soul is at stake, and will perish if you come not,” said the monk. “He is at rest, and you will speedily rejoin him.”
“With that assurance I will go,” replied Alizon, with a last look at the object of her love. “One grave — lay us in one grave!”
“It shall be done according to your wish,” said the monk.
And he glided on with noiseless footsteps.
Alizon followed him along the terrace.
Presently they came to a dark yew-tree walk, leading to a labyrinth, and tracking it swiftly, as well as the overarched and intricate path to which it conducted, they entered a grotto, whence a flight of steps descended to a subterranean passage, hewn out of the rock. Along this passage, which was of some extent, the monk proceeded, and Alizon followed him.
At last they came to another flight of steps, and here the monk stopped.
“We are now beneath the pavilion, where you will find your mother,” he said. “Mount! the way is clear before you. I have other work to do.”
Alizon obeyed; and, as she advanced, was surprised to find the monk gone. He had neither passed her nor ascended the steps, and must, therefore, have sunk into the earth.
* * *
CHAPTER XII. — THE LAST HOUR.
Within the pavilion sat Alice Nutter. She was clad in deep mourning, but her dress seemed disordered as if by hasty travel. Her looks were full of anguish and terror; her blanched tresses, once so dark and beautiful, hung dishevelled over her shoulders; and her thin hands were clasped in supplication. Her cheeks were ashy pale, but on her brow was a bright red mark, as if traced by a finger dipped in blood.
A lamp was burning on the table beside her. Near it was a skull, and near this emblem of mortality an hourglass, running fast.
The windows and doors of the building were closed, and it would seem the unhappy lady was a prisoner.
She had been brought there secretly that night, with what intent she knew not; but she felt sure it was with no friendly design towards herself. Early in the day three horsemen had arrived at her retreat in Pendle Forest, and without making any charge against her, or explaining whither they meant to take her, or indeed answering any inquiry, had brought her off with them, and, proceeding across the country, had arrived at a forester’s hut on the outskirts of Hoghton Park. Here they tarried till evening, placing her in a room by herself, and keeping strict watch over her; and when the shadows of night fell, they conveyed her through the woods, and by a private entrance to the gardens of the Tower, and with equal secresy to the pavilion, where, setting a lamp before her, they left her to her meditations. All refused to answer her inquiries, but one of them, with a sinister smile, placed the hourglass and skull beside her.
Left alone, the wretched lady vainly sought some solution of the enigma — why she had been brought thither. She could not solve it; but she determined, if her capture had been made by any lawful authorities, to confess her guilt and submit to condign punishment.
Though the windows and doors were closed as before mentioned, sounds from without reached her, and she heard confused and tumultuous noises as if from a large assemblage. For what purpose were they met? Could it be for her execution? No — there were strains of music, and bursts of laughter. And yet she had heard that the burning of a witch was a spectacle in which the populace delighted — that they looked upon it as a show, like any other; and why should they not laugh, and have music at it? But could she be executed without trial, without judgment? She knew not. All she knew was she was guilty, and deserved to die. But when this idea took possession of her, the laughter sounded in her ears like the yells of demons, and the strains like the fearful harmonies she had heard at weird sabbaths.
All at once she recollected with indescribable terror, that on this very night the compact she had entered into with the Fiend expired. That at midnight, unless by her penitence and prayers she had worked out her salvation, he could claim her. She recollected also, and with increased uneasiness, that the man who had set the hourglass on the table, and who had regarded her with a sinister smile as he did so, had said it was eleven o’clock! Her last hour then had arrived — nay, was partly spent, and the moments were passing swiftly by.
The agony she endured at this thought was intense. She felt as if reason were forsaking her, and, but for her determined efforts to resist it, such a crisis might have occurred. But she knew that her eternal welfare depended upon the preservation of her mental balance, and she strove to maintain it, and in the end succeeded.
Her gaze was fixed intently on the hourglass. She saw the sand trickling silently but swiftly down, like a current of life-blood, which, when it ceased, life would cease with it. She saw the shining grains above insensibly diminishing in quantity, and, as if she could arrest her destiny by the act, she seized the glass, and would have turned it, but the folly of the proceeding arrested her, and she set it down again.
Then horrible thoughts came upon her, crushing her and overwhelming her, and she felt by anticipation all the torments she would speedily have to endure. Oceans of fire, in which miserable souls were for ever tossing, rolled before her. Yells, such as no human anguish can produce, smote her ears. Monsters of frightful form yawned to devour her. Fiends, armed with terrible implements of torture, such as the wildest imagination cannot paint, menaced her. All hell, and its horrors, was there, its dreadful gulf, its roaring furnaces, its rivers of molten metal, ever burning, yet never consuming its victims. A hot sulphureous atmosphere oppressed her, and a film of blood dimmed her sight.
She endeavoured to pray, but her tongue clove to the roof of her mouth. She looked about for her Bible, but it had been left behind when she was taken from her retreat. She had no safeguard — none.
Still the sand ran on.
New agonies assailed her. Hell was before her again, but in a new form, and with new torments. She closed her eyes. She shut her ears. But she saw it still, and heard its terrific yells.
Again she consults the hourglass. The sand is running on — ever diminishing.
New torments assail her. She thinks of all she loves most on earth — of her daughter! Oh! if Alizon were near her, she might pray for her — might scare away these frightful visions — might save her. She calls to her — but she answers not. No, she is utterly abandoned of God and man, and must perish eternally.
Again she consults the hourglass. One quarter of an hour is all that remains to her. Oh! that she could employ it in prayer! Oh! that she could kneel — or even weep!
A large mirror hangs against the wall, and she is drawn towards it by an irresistible impulse. She sees a figure within it — but she does not know herself. Can that cadaverous object, with the white hair, that seems newly-arisen from the grave, be she? It must be a phantom. No — she touches her cheek, and finds it is real. But, ah! what is this red brand upon her brow? It must be the seal of the demon. She tries to efface it — but it will not come out. On the contrary, it becomes redder and deeper.
Again she consults the glass. The sand is still running on. How many minutes remain to her?
“Ten!” cried a voice, replying to her mental inquiry.— “Ten!”
And, turning, she perceived her familiar standing beside her.
“Thy time is wellnigh out, Alice Nutter,” he said. “In ten minutes my lord will claim thee.”
“My compact with thy master is broken,” she replied, summoning up all her resolution. “I have long ceased to use the power bestowed upon me; but, even if I had wished it, thou hast refused to serve me.”
“I have refused to serve you, madam, because you have disobeyed the express injunctions of my master,” replied the familiar; “but your apostasy does not free you from bondage. You have merely lost advantages which you might have enjoyed. If you chose to dismiss me I could not help it. Neither I nor
my lord have been to blame. We have performed our part of the contract.”
“Why am I brought hither?” demanded Mistress Nutter.
“I will tell you,” replied the familiar. “You were brought here by order of the King. Your retreat was revealed to him by Master Potts, who learnt it from Jennet Device. The sapient sovereign intended to confront you with your daughter Alizon, who, like yourself, is accused of witchcraft; but he will be disappointed — for when he comes for you, you will be out of his reach — ha! ha!”
And he rubbed his hands at the jest.
“Alizon accused of witchcraft — say’st thou?” cried Mistress Nutter.
“Ay,” replied the familiar. “She is suspected of bewitching Richard Assheton, who has been done to death by Jennet Device. For one so young, the little girl has certainly a rare turn for mischief. But no one will know the real author of the crime, and Alizon will suffer for it.”
“Heaven will not suffer such iniquity,” said the lady.
“As you have nothing to do with heaven, madam, it is needless to refer to it,” said the familiar. “But it certainly is rather hard that one so young as Alizon should perish.”
“Can you save her?” asked Mistress Nutter.
“Oh! yes, I could save her, but she will not let me,” replied the familiar, with a grin.
“No — no — it is impossible,” cried the wretched woman. “And I cannot help her.”
“Perhaps you might,” observed the tempter. “My master, whom you accuse of harshness, is ever willing to oblige you. You have a few minutes left — do you wish him to aid her? Command me, and I will obey you.”
“This is some snare,” thought Mistress Nutter; “I will resist it.”
“You cannot be worse off than you are,” remarked the familiar.
“I know not that,” replied the lady. “What would’st thou do?”
“Whatever you command me, madam. I can, do nothing of my own accord. Shall I bring your daughter here? Say so, and it shall be done.”
The Works of William Harrison Ainsworth Page 435