Chapter XXXV. Of the Devil in Wig and Gown
There was no delay in the work of slaughter. That very night the greatgallows was erected outside the White Hart inn. Hour after hour we couldhear the blows of mallets and the sawing of beams, mingled with theshoutings and the ribald choruses of the Chief Justice's suite, who werecarousing with the officers of the Tangiers regiment in the front room,which overlooked the gibbet. Amongst the prisoners the night was passedin prayer and meditation, the stout-hearted holding forth to theirweaker brethren, and exhorting them to play the man, and to go totheir death in a fashion which should be an example to true Protestantsthroughout the world. The Puritan divines had been mostly strung upoff-hand immediately after the battle, but a few were left to sustainthe courage of their flocks, and to show them the way upon the scaffold.Never have I seen anything so admirable as the cool and cheerful braverywherewith these poor clowns faced their fate. Their courage on thebattlefield paled before that which they showed in the shambles of thelaw. So amid the low murmur of prayer and appeals for mercy to God fromtongues which never yet asked mercy from man, the morning broke, thelast morning which many of us were to spend upon earth.
The court should have opened at nine, but my Lord Chief Justice wasindisposed, having sat up somewhat late with Colonel Kirke. It wasnearly eleven before the trumpeters and criers announced that he hadtaken his seat. One by one my fellow-prisoners were called out by name,the more prominent being chosen first. They went out from amongst usamid hand-shakings and blessings, but we saw and heard no more of them,save that a sudden fierce rattle of kettledrums would rise up now andagain, which was, as our guards told us, to drown any dying words whichmight fall from the sufferers and bear fruit in the breasts of those whoheard them. With firm steps and smiling faces the roll of martyrs wentforth to their fate during the whole of that long autumn day, until therough soldiers of the guard stood silent and awed in the presence ofa courage which they could not but recognise as higher and nobler thantheir own. Folk may call it a trial that they received, and a trial itreally was, but not in the sense that we Englishmen use it. It was butbeing haled before a Judge, and insulted before being dragged to thegibbet. The court-house was the thorny path which led to the scaffold.What use to put a witness up, when he was shouted down, cursed at,and threatened by the Chief Justice, who bellowed and swore until thefrightened burghers in Fore Street could hear him? I have heard fromthose who were there that day that he raved like a demoniac, and thathis black eyes shone with a vivid vindictive brightness which was scarcehuman. The jury shrank from him as from a venomous thing when heturned his baleful glance upon them. At times, as I have been told, hissternness gave place to a still more terrible merriment, and he wouldlean back in his seat of justice and laugh until the tears hopped downupon his ermine. Nearly a hundred were either executed or condemned todeath upon that opening day.
I had expected to be amongst the first of those called, and no doubt Ishould have been so but for the exertions of Major Ogilvy. As it was,the second day passed, but I still found myself overlooked. On thethird and fourth days the slaughter was slackened, not on account ofany awakening grace on the part of the Judge, but because the great Torylandowners, and the chief supporters of the Government, had still somebowels of compassion, which revolted at this butchery of defencelessmen. Had it not been for the influence which these gentlemen broughtto bear upon the Judge, I have no doubt at all that Jeffreys would havehung the whole eleven hundred prisoners then confined in Taunton. Asit was, two hundred and fifty fell victims to this accursed monster'sthirst for human blood.
On the eighth day of the assizes there were but fifty of us left inthe wool warehouse. For the last few days prisoners had been triedin batches of ten and twenty, but now the whole of us were taken ina drove, under escort, to the court-house, where as many as could besqueezed in were ranged in the dock, while the rest were penned, likecalves in the market, in the body of the hall. The Judge reclined in ahigh chair, with a scarlet dais above him, while two other Judges, inless elevated seats, were stationed on either side of him. On the righthand was the jury-box, containing twelve carefully picked men--Toriesof the old school--firm upholders of the doctrines of non-resistance andthe divine right of kings. Much care had been taken by the Crown inthe choice of these men, and there was not one of them but would havesentenced his own father had there been so much as a suspicion that heleaned to Presbyterianism or to Whiggery. Just under the Judge was abroad table, covered with green cloth and strewn with papers. Onthe right hand of this were a long array of Crown lawyers, grim,ferret-faced men, each with a sheaf of papers in his hands, which theysniffed through again and again, as though they were so many bloodhoundspicking up the trail along which they were to hunt us down. On the otherside of the table sat a single fresh-faced young man, in silk gown andwig, with a nervous, shuffling manner. This was the barrister, MasterHelstrop, whom the Crown in its clemency had allowed us for our defence,lest any should be bold enough to say that we had not had every fairnessin our trial. The remainder of the court was filled with the servantsof the Justices' retinue and the soldiers of the garrison, who used theplace as their common lounge, looking on the whole thing as a mightycheap form of sport, and roaring with laughter at the rude banter andcoarse pleasantries of his Lordship.
The clerk having gabbled through the usual form that we, the prisonersat the bar, having shaken off the fear of God, had unlawfully andtraitorously assembled, and so onwards, the Lord Justice proceeded totake matters into his own hands, as was his wont.
'I trust that we shall come well out of this!' he broke out. 'Itrust that no judgment will fall upon this building! Was ever so muchwickedness fitted into one court-house before? Who ever saw such anarray of villainous faces? Ah, rogues, I see a rope ready for everyone of ye! Art not afraid of judgment? Art not afraid of hell-fire? Yougrey-bearded rascal in the corner, how comes it that you have not hadmore of the grace of God in you than to take up arms against your mostgracious and loving sovereign?'
'I have followed the guidance of my conscience, my Lord,' said thevenerable cloth-worker of Wellington, to whom he spoke.
'Ha, your conscience!' howled Jeffreys. 'A ranter with a conscience!Where has your conscience been these two months back, you villain androgue? Your conscience will stand you in little stead, sirrah, whenyou are dancing on nothing with a rope round your neck. Was ever suchwickedness? Who ever heard such effrontery? And you, you great hulkingrebel, have you not grace enough to cast your eyes down, but must needslook justice in the face as though you were an honest man? Are you notafeared, sirrah? Do you not see death close upon you?'
'I have seen that before now, my Lord, and I was not afeared,' Ianswered.
'Generation of vipers!' he cried, throwing up his hands. 'The best offathers! The kindest of kings! See that my words are placed upon therecord, clerk! The most indulgent of parents! But wayward childrenmust, with all kindness, be flogged into obedience. Here he broke intoa savage grin. 'The King will save your own natural parents all furthercare on your account. If they had wished to keep ye, they should havebrought ye up in better principles. Rogues, we shall be merciful toye--oh, merciful, merciful! How many are here, recorder?'
'Fifty and one, my Lord.'
'Oh, sink of villainy! Fifty and one as arrant knaves as ever lay ona hurdle! Oh, what a mass of corruption have we here! Who defends thevillains?'
'I defend the prisoners, your Lordship,' replied the young lawyer.
'Master Helstrop, Master Helstrop!' cried Jeffreys, shaking his greatwig until the powder flew out of it; 'you are in all these dirty cases,Master Helstrop. You might find yourself in a parlous condition, MasterHelstrop. I think sometimes that I see you yourself in the dock, MasterHelstrop. You may yourself soon need the help of a gentleman of the longrobe, Master Helstrop. Oh, have a care! Have a care!'
'The brief is from the Crown, your Lordship,' the lawyer answered, in aquavering voice.
'Must I be answered back, then!' roared Jeff
reys, his black eyes blazingwith the rage of a demon. 'Am I to be insulted in my own court? Is everyfive-groat piece of a pleader, because he chance to have a wig and agown, to browbeat the Lord Justice, and to fly in the face of the rulingof the Court? Oh, Master Helstrop, I fear that I shall live to see someevil come upon you!'
'I crave your Lordship's pardon!' cried the faint-hearted barrister,with his face the colour of his brief.
'Keep a guard upon your words and upon your actions?' Jeffreys answered,in a menacing voice. 'See that you are not too zealous in the causeof the scum of the earth. How now, then? What do these one and fiftyvillains desire to say for themselves? What is their lie? Gentlemen ofthe jury, I beg that ye will take particular notice of the cut-throatfaces of these men. 'Tis well that Colonel Kirke hath afforded the Courta sufficient guard, for neither justice nor the Church is safe at theirhands.'
'Forty of them desire to plead guilty to the charge of taking up armsagainst the King,' replied our barrister.
'Ah!' roared the Judge. 'Was ever such unparalleled impudence? Was thereever such brazen effrontery? Guilty, quotha! Have they expressed theirrepentance for this sin against a most kind and long-suffering monarch!Put down those words on the record, clerk!'
'They have refused to express repentance, your Lordship!' replied thecounsel for the defence.
'Oh, the parricides! Oh, the shameless rogues!' cried the Judge. 'Putthe forty together on this side of the enclosure. Oh, gentlemen, have yeever seen such a concentration of vice? See how baseness and wickednesscan stand with head erect! Oh, hardened monsters! But the other eleven.How can they expect us to believe this transparent falsehood--thispalpable device? How can they foist it upon the Court?'
'My Lord, their defence hath not yet been advanced!' stammered MasterHelstrop.
'I can sniff a lie before it is uttered,' roared the Judge, by no meansabashed. 'I can read it as quick as ye can think it. Come, come, theCourt's time is precious. Put forward a defence, or seat yourself, andlet judgment be passed.'
'These men, my Lord,' said the counsel, who was trembling until theparchment rattled in his hand. 'These eleven men, my Lord--'
'Eleven devils, my Lord,' interrupted Jeffreys.
'They are innocent peasants, my Lord, who love God and the King, andhave in no wise mingled themselves in this recent business. They havebeen dragged from their homes, my Lord, not because there was suspicionagainst them, but because they could not satisfy the greed of certaincommon soldiers who were balked of plunder in--'
'Oh, shame, shame!' cried Jeffreys, in a voice of thunder. 'Oh,threefold shame, Master Helstrop! Are you not content with bolsteringup rebels, but you must go out of your way to slander the King's troops?What is this world coming to? What, in a word, is the defence of theserogues?'
'An alibi, your Lordship.'
'Ha! The common plea of every scoundrel. Have they witnesses?'
'We have here a list of forty witnesses, your Lordship. They are waitingbelow, many of them having come great distances, and with much toil andtrouble.'
'Who are they? What are they?' cried Jeffreys.
'They are country folk, your Lordship. Cottagers and farmers, theneighbours of these poor men, who knew them well, and can speak as totheir doings.'
'Cottagers and farmers!' the Judge shouted. 'Why, then, they are drawnfrom the very class from which these men come. Would you have us believethe oath of those who are themselves Whigs, Presbyterians, Somersetshireranters, the pothouse companions of the men whom we are trying? Iwarrant they have arranged it all snugly over their beer--snugly,snugly, the rogues!'
'Will you not hear the witnesses, your Lordship?' cried our counsel,shamed into some little sense of manhood by this outrage.
'Not a word from them, sirrah,' said Jeffreys. 'It is a question whethermy duty towards my kind master the King--write down "kind master,"clerk--doth not warrant me in placing all your witnesses in the dock asthe aiders and abettors of treason.'
'If it please your Lordship,' cried one of the prisoners, 'I have forwitnesses Mr. Johnson, of Nether Stowey, who is a good Tory, and alsoMr. Shepperton, the clergyman.'
'The more shame to them to appear in such a cause,' replied Jeffreys.'What are we to say, gentlemen of the jury, when we see county gentryand the clergy of the Established Church supporting treason andrebellion in this fashion? Surely the last days are at hand! You are amost malignant and dangerous Whig to have so far drawn them from theirduty.'
'But hear me, my Lord!' cried one of the prisoners.
'Hear you, you bellowing calf!' shouted the Judge. 'We can hear naughtelse. Do you think that you are back in your conventicle, that youshould dare to raise your voice in such a fashion? Hear you, quotha! Weshall hear you at the end of a rope, ere many days.'
'We scarce think, your Lordship,' said one of the Crown lawyers,springing to his feet amid a great rustling of papers, 'we scarce thinkthat it is necessary for the Crown to state any case. We have alreadyheard the whole tale of this most damnable and execrable attempt manytimes over. The men in the dock before your Lordship have for the mostpart confessed to their guilt, and of those who hold out there is notone who has given us any reason to believe that he is innocent ofthe foul crime laid to his charge. The gentlemen of the long robe aretherefore unanimously of opinion that the jury may at once be requiredto pronounce a single verdict upon the whole of the prisoners.'
'Which is--?' asked Jeffreys, glancing round at the foreman--
'Guilty, your Lordship,' said he, with a grin, while his brother jurymennodded their heads and laughed to one another.
'Of course, of course! guilty as Judas Iscariot!' cried the Judge,looking down with exultant eyes at the throng of peasants and burghersbefore him. 'Move them a little forwards, ushers, that I may see themto more advantage. Oh, ye cunning ones! Are ye not taken? Are ye notcompassed around? Where now can ye fly? Do ye not see hell openingat your feet? Eh? Are ye not afraid? Oh, short, short shall be yourshrift!' The very devil seemed to be in the man, for as he spoke hewrithed with unholy laughter, and drummed his hand upon the red cushionin front of him. I glanced round at my companions, but their faces wereall as though they had been chiselled out of marble. If he had hoped tosee a moist eye or a quivering lip, the satisfaction was denied him.
'Had I my way,' said he, 'there is not one of ye but should swing forit. Aye, and if I had my way, some of those whose stomachs are too nicefor this work, and who profess to serve the King with their lips whilethey intercede for his worst enemies, should themselves have cause toremember Taunton assizes. Oh, most ungrateful rebels! Have ye notheard how your most soft-hearted and compassionate monarch, the best ofmen--put it down in the record, clerk--on the intercession of that greatand charitable statesman, Lord Sunderland--mark it down, clerk--hathhad pity on ye? Hath it not melted ye? Hath it not made ye loatheyourselves? I declare, when I think of it'--here, with a sudden catchingof the breath, he burst out a-sobbing, the tears running down hischeeks--'when I think of it, the Christian forbearance, the ineffablemercy, it doth bring forcibly to my mind that great Judge before whomall of us--even I--shall one day have to render an account. Shall Irepeat it, clerk, or have you it down?'
'I have it down, your Lordship.'
'Then write "sobs" in the margin. 'Tis well that the King shouldknow our opinion on such matters. Know, then, you most traitorous andunnatural rebels, that this good father whom ye have spurned has steppedin between yourselves and the laws which ye have offended. At hiscommand we withhold from ye the chastisement which ye have merited.If ye can indeed pray, and if your soul-cursing conventicles have notdriven all grace out of ye, drop on your knees and offer up thanks whenI tell ye that he hath ordained that ye shall all have a free pardon.'Here the Judge rose from his seat as though about to descend from thetribunal, and we gazed upon each other in the utmost astonishment atthis most unlooked-for end to the trial. The soldiers and lawyers wereequally amazed, while a hum of joy and applause rose up from the fewcountry folk who had dared to v
enture within the accursed precincts.
'This pardon, however,' continued Jeffreys, turning round with amalicious smile upon his face, 'is coupled with certain conditions andlimitations. Ye shall all be removed from here to Poole, in chains,where ye shall find a vessel awaiting ye. With others ye shall be stowedaway in the hold of the said vessel, and conveyed at the King's expenseto the Plantations, there to be sold as slaves. God send ye masters whowill know by the free use of wood and leather to soften your stubbornthoughts and incline your mind to better things.' He was again about towithdraw, when one of the Crown lawyers whispered something across tohim.
'Well thought of, coz,' cried the Judge. 'I had forgot. Bring back theprisoners, ushers! Perhaps ye think that by the Plantations I mean hisMajesty's American dominions. Unhappily, there are too many of yourbreed in that part already. Ye would fall among friends who mightstrengthen ye in your evil courses, and so risk your salvation. To sendye there would be to add one brand to another and yet hope to putout the fire. By the Plantations, therefore, I mean Barbadoes and theIndies, where ye shall live with the other slaves, whose skins may beblacker than yours, but I dare warrant that their souls are more white.'With this concluding speech the trial ended, and we were led backthrough the crowded streets to the prison from which we had beenbrought. On either side of the street, as we passed, we could seethe limbs of former companions dangling in the wind, and their headsgrinning at us from the tops of poles and pikes. No savage country inthe heart of heathen Africa could have presented a more dreadful sightthan did the old English town of Taunton when Jeffreys and Kirke hadthe ordering of it. There was death in the air, and the townsfolk creptsilently about, scarcely daring to wear black for those whom they hadloved and lost, lest it should be twisted into an act of treason.
We were scarce back in the wool-house once more when a file ofguards with a sergeant entered, escorting a long, pale-faced man withprotruding teeth, whose bright blue coat and white silk breeches,gold-headed sword, and glancing shoe-buckles, proclaimed him to be oneof those London exquisites whom interest or curiosity had brought downto the scene of the rebellion. He tripped along upon his tiptoes like aFrench dancing-master, waving his scented kerchief in front of histhin high nose, and inhaling aromatic salts from a blue phial which hecarried in his left hand.
'By the Lard!' he cried, 'but the stench of these filthy wretches isenough to stap one's breath. It is, by the Lard! Smite my vitals ifI would venture among them if I were not a very rake hell. Is there adanger of prison fever, sergeant? Heh?'
'They are all sound as roaches, your honour,' said the under-officer,touching his cap.
'Heh, heh!' cried the exquisite, with a shrill treble laugh. 'It isnot often ye have a visit from a person of quality, I'll warrant. Itis business, sergeant, business! "Auri sacra fames"--you remember whatVirgilius Maro says, sergeant?'
'Never heard the gentleman speak, sir--at least not to my knowledge,sir,' said the sergeant.
'Heh, heh! Never heard him speak, heh? That will do for Slaughter's,sergeant. That will set them all in a titter at Slaughter's. Pink mysoul! but when I venture on a story the folk complain that they can'tget served, for the drawers laugh until there is no work to be got outof them. Oh, lay me bleeding, but these are a filthy and most ungodlycrew! Let the musqueteers stand close, sergeant, lest they fly at me.'
'We shall see to that, your honour.'
'I have a grant of a dozen of them, and Captain Pogram hath offered metwelve pounds a head. But they must be brawny rogues--strong and brawny,for the voyage kills many, sergeant, and the climate doth also tell uponthem. Now here is one whom I must have. Yes, in very truth he is ayoung man, and hath much life in him and much strength. Tick him off,sergeant, tick him off!'
'His name is Clarke,' said the soldier. 'I have marked him down.'
'If this is the clerk I would I had a parson to match him,' cried thefop, sniffing at his bottle. 'Do you see the pleasantry, sergeant. Heh,heh! Does your sluggish mind rise to the occasion? Strike me purple, butI am in excellent fettle! There is yonder man with the brown face, youcan mark him down. And the young man beside him, also. Tick him off. Ha,he waves his hand towards me! Stand firm, sergeant! Where are my salts?What is it, man, what is it?'
'If it plaize your han'r,' said the young peasant, 'if so be as youhave chose me to be of a pairty, I trust that you will allow my vaitheryander to go with us also.'
'Pshaw, pshaw!' cried the fop, 'you are beyond reason, you are indeed!Who ever heard of such a thing? Honour forbids it! How could I foistan old man upon mine honest friend, Captain Pogram. Fie, fie! Splitme asunder if he would not say that I had choused him! There is yonderlusty fellow with the red head, sergeant! The blacks will think he isa-fire. Those, and these six stout yokels, will make up my dozen.'
'You have indeed the pick of them,' said the sergeant.
'Aye, sink me, but I have a quick eye for horse, man, or woman! I'llpick the best of a batch with most. Twelve twelves, close on a hundredand fifty pieces, sergeant, and all for a few words, my friend, all fora few words. I did but send my wife, a demmed handsome woman, mark you,and dresses in the mode, to my good friend the secretary to ask for somerebels. "How many?" says he. "A dozen will do," says she. It was alldone in a penstroke. What a cursed fool she was not to have asked for ahundred! But what is this, sergeant, what is this?'
A small, brisk, pippin-faced fellow in a riding-coat and high boots hadcome clanking into the wool-house with much assurance and authority,with a great old-fashioned sword trailing behind him, and a riding-whipswitching in his hand.
'Morning, sergeant!' said he, in a loud, overbearing voice. 'You mayhave heard my name? I am Master John Wooton, of Langmere House, nearDulverton, who bestirred himself so for the King, and hath been termedby Mr. Godolphin, in the House of Commons, one of the local pillars ofthe State. Those were his words. Fine, were they not? Pillars, mark ye,the conceit being that the State was, as it were, a palace or a temple,and the loyal men so many pillars, amongst whom I also was one. I am alocal pillar. I have received a Royal permit, sergeant, to choose fromamongst your prisoners ten sturdy rogues whom I may sell as a rewardto me for my exertions. Draw them up, therefore, that I may make mychoice!'
'Then, sir, we are upon the same errand,' quoth the Londoner, bowingwith his hand over his heart, until his sword seemed to point straightup to the ceiling. 'The Honourable George Dawnish, at your service! Yourvery humble and devoted servant, sir! Yours to command in any orall ways. It is a real joy and privilege to me, sir, to make yourdistinguished acquaintance. Hem!'
The country squire appeared to be somewhat taken aback at this showerof London compliments. 'Ahem, sir! Yes, sir!' said he, bobbing his head.'Glad to see you, sir! Most damnably so! But these men, sergeant? Timepresses, for to-morrow is Shepton market, and I would fain see my oldtwenty-score boar once more before he is sold. There is a beefy one.I'll have him.'
'Ged, I've forestalled you,' cried the courtier. 'Sink me, but it givesme real pain. He is mine.'
'Then this,' said the other, pointing with his whip.
'He is mine, too. Heh, heh, heh! Strike me stiff, but this is toofunny!'
'Od's wounds! How many are yours!' cried the Dulverton squire.
'A dozen. Heh, heh! A round dozen. All those who stand upon this side.Pink me, but I have got the best of you there! The early bird--you knowthe old saw!'
'It is a disgrace,' the squire cried hotly. 'A shame and a disgrace. Wemust needs fight for the King and risk our skins, and then when all isdone, down come a drove of lacqueys in waiting, and snap up the pickingsbefore their betters are served.'
'Lacqueys in waiting, sir!' shrieked the exquisite. 'S'death, sir! Thistoucheth mine honour very nearly! I have seen blood flow, yes, sir, andwounds gape on less provocation. Retract, sir, retract!'
'Away, you clothes-pole!' cried the other contemptuously. 'You are comelike the other birds of carrion when the fight is o'er. Have you beennamed in full Parliament? Are you a local pillar? Away,
away, youtailor's dummy!'
'You insolent clodhopper!' cried the fop. 'You most foul-mouthedbumpkin! The only local pillar that you have ever deserved to makeacquaintance with is the whipping-post. Ha, sergeant, he lays hishand upon his sword! Stop him, sergeant, stop him, or I may do him aninjury.'
'Nay, gentlemen,' cried the under officer. 'This quarrel must notcontinue here. We must have no brawling within the prison. Yet there isa level turf without, and as fine elbow-room as a gentleman could wishfor a breather.'
This proposal did not appear to commend itself to either of the angrygentlemen, who proceeded to exchange the length of their swords, and topromise that each should hear from the other before sunset. Our owner,as I may call him, the fop, took his departure at last, and the countrysquire having chosen the next ton swaggered off, cursing the courtiers,the Londoners, the sergeant, the prisoners, and above all, theingratitude of the Government which had made him so small a returnfor his exertions. This was but the first of many such scenes, for theGovernment, in endeavouring to satisfy the claims of its supporters, hadpromised many more than there were prisoners. I am grieved to say thatI have seen not only men, but even my own countrywomen, and ladies oftitle to boot, wringing their hands and bewailing themselves becausethey were unable to get any of the poor Somersetshire folk to sell asslaves. Indeed, it was only with difficulty that they could be madeto see that their claim upon Government did not give them the right ofseizing any burgher or peasant who might come in their way, and shippinghim right off for the Plantations.
Well, my dear grandchildren, from night to night through this long andweary winter I have taken you back with me into the past, and made yousee scenes the players in which are all beneath the turf, savethat perhaps here and there some greybeard like myself may have arecollection of them. I understand that you, Joseph, have every morningset down upon paper that which I have narrated the night before. It isas well that you should do so, for your own children and your children'schildren may find it of interest, and even perhaps take a pride inhearing that their ancestors played a part in such scenes. But nowthe spring is coming, and the green is bare of snow, so that there arebetter things for you to do than to sit listening to the stories ofa garrulous old man. Nay, nay, you shake your heads, but indeed thoseyoung limbs want exercising and strengthening and knitting together,which can never come from sitting toasting round the blaze. Besides, mystory draws quickly to an end now, for I had never intended to tell youmore than the events connected with the Western rising. If the closingpart hath been of the dreariest, and if all doth not wind up withthe ringing of bells and the joining of hands, like the tales in thechap-books, you must blame history and not me. For Truth is a sternmistress, and when one hath once started off with her one must followon after the jade, though she lead in flat defiance of all the rules andconditions which would fain turn that tangled wilderness the world intothe trim Dutch garden of the story-tellers.
Three days after our trial we were drawn up in North Street in frontof the Castle with others from the other prisons who were to share ourfate. We were placed four abreast, with a rope connecting each rank,and of these ranks I counted fifty, which would bring our total to twohundred. On each side of us rode dragoons, and in front and behind werecompanies of musqueteers to prevent any attempt at rescue or escape.In this order we set off upon the tenth day of September, amidst theweeping and wailing of the townsfolk, many of whom saw their sons orbrothers marching off into exile without their being able to exchange alast word or embrace with them. Some of these poor folk, doddering oldmen and wrinkled, decrepit women, toiled for miles after us down thehigh-road, until the rearguard of foot faced round upon them, and drovethem away with curses and blows from their ramrods.
That day we made our way through Yeovil and Sherborne, and on the morrowproceeded over the North Downs as far as Blandford, where we were pennedtogether like cattle and left for the night. On the third day weresumed our march through Wimbourne and a line of pretty Dorsetshirevillages--the last English villages which most of us were destined tosee for many a long year to come. Late in the afternoon the spars andrigging of the shipping in Poole Harbour rose up before us, and inanother hour we had descended the steep and craggy path which leads tothe town. Here we were drawn up upon the quay opposite the broad-decked,heavy-sparred brig which was destined to carry us into slavery. Throughall this march we met with the greatest kindness from the common people,who flocked out from their cottages with fruit and with milk, whichthey divided amongst us. At other places, at, the risk of their lives,Dissenting ministers came forth and stood by the wayside, blessing us aswe passed, in spite of the rough jeers and oaths of the soldiers.
We were marched aboard and led below by the mate of the vessel, a tallred-faced seaman with ear-rings in his ears, while the captain stood onthe poop with his legs apart and a pipe in his mouth, checking us offone by one by means of a list which he held in his hand. As he lookedat the sturdy build and rustic health of the peasants, which even theirlong confinement had been unable to break down, his eyes glistened, andhe rubbed his big red hands together with delight.
'Show them down, Jem!' he kept shouting to the mate. 'Stow them safe,Jem! There's lodgings for a duchess down there, s'help me, there'slodgings for a duchess! Pack 'em away!'
One by one we passed before the delighted captain, and down the steepladder which led into the hold. Here we were led along a narrow passage,on either side of which opened the stalls which were prepared for us. Aseach man came opposite to the one set aside for him he was thrown intoit by the brawny mate, and fastened down with anklets of iron by theseaman armourer in attendance. It was dark before we were all secured,but the captain came round with a lanthorn to satisfy himself that allhis property was really safe. I could hear the mate and him reckoningthe value of each prisoner, and counting what he would fetch in theBarbadoes market.
'Have you served out their fodder, Jem?' he asked, flashing his lightinto each stall in turn. 'Have you seen that they had their rations?'
'A rye bread loaf and a pint o' water,' answered the mate.
'Fit for a duchess, s'help me!' cried the captain. 'Look to this one,Jem. He is a lusty rogue. Look to his great hands. He might work foryears in the rice-swamps ere the land crabs have the picking of him.'
'Aye, we'll have smart bidding amid the settlers for this lot. 'Cod,captain, but you have made a bargain of it! Od's bud! you have donethese London fools to some purpose.'
'What is this?' roared the captain. 'Here is one who hath not touchedhis allowance. How now, sirrah, art too dainty in the stomach to eatwhat your betters have eaten before you?'
'I have no hairt for food, zur,' the prisoner answered.
'What, you must have your whims and fancies! You must pick and you mustchoose! I tell you, sirrah, that you are mine, body and soul! Twelvegood pieces I paid for you, and now, forsooth, I am to be told that youwill not eat! Turn to it at this instant, you saucy rogue, or I shallhave you triced to the triangles!'
'Here is another,' said the mate, 'who sits ever with his head sunk uponhis breast without spirit or life.'
'Mutinous, obstinate dog!' cried the captain. 'What ails you then? Whyhave you a face like an underwriter in a tempest?'
'If it plaize you, zur,' the prisoner answered, 'Oi do but think o' m'ould mother at Wellington, and woonder who will kape her now that Oi'mgone!'
'And what is that to me?' shouted the brutal seaman. 'How can you arriveat your journey's end sound and hearty if you sit like a sick fowl upona perch? Laugh, man, and be merry, or I will give you something to weepfor. Out on you, you chicken-hearted swab, to sulk and fret like a babenew weaned! Have you not all that heart could desire? Give him a touchwith the rope's-end, Jem, if ever you do observe him fretting. It is butto spite us that he doth it.'
'If it please your honour,' said a seaman, coming hurriedly down fromthe deck, 'there is a stranger upon the poop who will have speech withyour honour.'
'What manner of man, sirrah?'
'Who the plague can this spark be?' said the skipper. 'Go on deck, Jem,and tell him that I am counting my live stock, and that I shall be withhim anon.'
'Nay, your honour! There will trouble come of it unless you come up. Heswears that he will not bear to be put off, and that he must see you onthe instant.'
'Curse his blood, whoever he be!' growled the seaman. 'Every cock onhis own dunghill. What doth the rogue mean? Were he the Lord High PrivySeal, I would have him to know that I am lord of my own quarter-deck!'So saying, with many snorts of indignation, the mate and the captainwithdrew together up the ladder, banging the heavy hatchways down asthey passed through.
A single oil-lamp swinging from a beam in the centre of the gangwaywhich led between the rows of cells was the only light which wasvouchsafed us. By its yellow, murky glimmer we could dimly see the greatwooden ribs of the vessel, arching up on either side of us, and crossedby the huge beams which held the deck. A grievous stench from foul bilgewater poisoned the close, heavy air. Every now and then, with a squeakand a clutter, a rat would dart across the little zone of light andvanish in the gloom upon the further side. Heavy breathing all roundme showed that my companions, wearied out by their journey and theirsufferings, had dropped into a slumber. From time to time one could hearthe dismal clank of fetters, and the start and incatching of the breath,as some poor peasant, fresh from dreams of his humble homestead amid thegroves of the Mendips, awoke of a sudden to see the great wooden coffinaround him, and to breathe the venomous air of the prison ship.
I lay long awake full of thought both for myself and for the poor soulsaround me. At last, however, the measured swash of the water againstthe side of the vessel and the slight rise and fall had lulled me intoa sleep, from which I was suddenly aroused by the flashing of a lightin my eyes. Sitting up, I found several sailors gathered about me, anda tall man with a black cloak swathed round him swinging a lanthorn overme.
'That is the man,' he said.
'Come, mate, you are to come on deck!' said the seaman armourer. With afew blows from his hammer he knocked the irons from my feet.
'Follow me!' said the tall stranger, and led the way up the hatchwayladder. It was heavenly to come out into the pure air once more. Thestars were shining brightly overhead. A fresh breeze blew from theshore, and hummed a pleasant tune among the cordage. Close beside usthe lights of the town gleamed yellow and cheery. Beyond, the moon waspeeping over the Bournemouth hills.
'This way, sir,' said the sailor, 'right aft into the cabin, sir.'
Still following my guide, I found myself in the low cabin of the brig.A square shining table stood in the centre, with a bright swinginglamp above it. At the further end in the glare of the light sat thecaptain--his face shining with greed and expectation. On the table stooda small pile of gold pieces, a rum-flask, glasses, a tobacco-box, andtwo long pipes.
'My compliments to you, Captain Clarke,' said the skipper, bobbing hisround bristling head. 'An honest seaman's compliments to you. It seemsthat we are not to be shipmates this voyage, after all.'
'Captain Micah Clarke must do a voyage of his own,' said the stranger.
At the sound of his voice I sprang round in amazement. 'Good Heavens!' Icried, 'Saxon!'
'You have nicked it,' said he, throwing down his mantle and showing thewell-known face and figure of the soldier of fortune. 'Zounds, man! ifyou can pick me out of the Solent, I suppose that I may pick you out ofthis accursed rat-trap in which I find you. Tie and tie, as we say atthe green table. In truth, I was huffed with you when last we parted,but I have had you in my mind for all that.'
'A seat and a glass, Captain Clarke,' cried the skipper. 'Od's bud! Ishould think that you would be glad to raise your little finger and wetyour whistle after what you have gone through.'
I seated myself by the table with my brain in a whirl. 'This is morethan I can fathom,' said I. 'What is the meaning of it, and how comes itabout?'
'For my own part, the meaning is as clear as the glass of my binnacle,'quoth the seaman. 'Your good friend Colonel Saxon, as I understand hisname to be, has offered me as much as I could hope to gain by sellingyou in the Indies. Sink it, I may be rough and ready, but my heart is inthe right place! Aye, aye! I would not maroon a man if I could set himfree. But we have all to look for ourselves, and trade is dull.'
'Then I am free!' said I.
'You are free,' he answered. 'There is your purchase-money upon thetable. You can go where you will, save only upon the land of England,where you are still an outlaw under sentence.'
'How have you done this, Saxon?' I asked. 'Are you not afraid foryourself?'
'Ho, ho!' laughed the old soldier. 'I am a free man, my lad! I hold mypardon, and care not a maravedi for spy or informer. Who should I meetbut Colonel Kirke a day or so back. Yes, lad! I met him in the street,and I cocked my hat in his face. The villain laid his hand upon hishilt, and I should have out bilbo and sent his soul to hell had they notcome between us. I care not the ashes of this pipe for Jeffreys or anyother of them. I can snap this finger and thumb at them, so! They wouldrather see Decimus Saxon's back than his face, I promise ye!'
'But how comes this about?' I asked.
'Why, marry, it is no mystery. Cunning old birds are not to be caughtwith chaff. When I left you I made for a certain inn where I could countupon finding a friend. There I lay by for a while, en cachette, as theMessieurs call it, while I could work out the plan that was in my head.Donner wetter! but I got a fright from that old seaman friend of yours,who should be sold as a picture, for he is of little use as a man. Well,I bethought me early in the affair of your visit to Badminton, and ofthe Duke of B. We shall mention no names, but you can follow my meaning.To him I sent a messenger, to the effect that I purposed to purchase myown pardon by letting out all that I knew concerning his double dealingwith the rebels. The message was carried to him secretly, and hisanswer was that I should meet him at a certain spot by night. I sent mymessenger instead of myself, and he was found in the morning stiff andstark, with more holes in his doublet than ever the tailor made. Onthis I sent again, raising my demands, and insisting upon a speedysettlement. He asked my conditions. I replied, a free pardon and acommand for myself. For you, money enough to land you safely in someforeign country where you can pursue the noble profession of arms. I gotthem both, though it was like drawing teeth from his head. His name hathmuch power at Court just now, and the King can refuse him nothing. Ihave my pardon and a command of troops in New England. For you I havetwo hundred pieces, of which thirty have been paid in ransom to thecaptain, while twenty are due to me for my disbursements over thematter. In this bag you will find the odd hundred and fifty, of whichyou will pay fifteen to the fishermen who have promised to see you safeto Flushing.'
I was, as you may readily believe, my dear children, bewildered by thissudden and most unlooked-for turn which events had taken. When Saxon hadceased to speak I sat as one stunned, trying to realise what he had saidto me. There came a thought into my head, however, which chilled theglow of hope and of happiness which had sprung up in me at the thoughtof recovering my freedom. My presence had been a support and a comfortto my unhappy companions. Would it not be a cruel thing to leave them intheir distress? There was not one of them who did not look to me in histrouble, and to the best of my poor power I had befriended and consoledthem. How could I desert them now?
'I am much beholden to you, Saxon,' I said at last, speaking slowly andwith some difficulty, for the words were hard to utter. 'But I fear thatyour pains have been thrown away. These poor country folk have none tolook after or assist them. They are as simple as babes, and as littlefitted to be landed in a strange country. I cannot find it
in my heartto leave them!'
Saxon burst out laughing, and leaned back in his seat with his long legsstretched straight out and his hands in his breeches pockets.
'This is too much!' he said at last. 'I saw many difficulties in my way,yet I did not foresee this one. You are in very truth the most contraryman that ever stood in neat's leather. You have ever some outlandishreason for jibbing and shying like a hot-blooded, half-broken colt. YetI think that I can overcome these strange scruples of yours by a littlepersuasion.'
'As to the prisoners, Captain Clarke,' said the seaman, 'I'll be as goodas a father to them. S'help me, I will, on the word of an honest sailor!If you should choose to lay out a trifle of twenty pieces upon theircomfort, I shall see that their food is such as mayhap many of themnever got at their own tables. They shall come on deck, too, in watches,and have an hour or two o' fresh air in the day. I can't say fairer!'
'A word or two with you on deck!' said Saxon. He walked out of the cabinand I followed him to the far end of the poop, where we stood leaningagainst the bulwarks. One by one the lights had gone out in the town,until the black ocean beat against a blacker shore.
'You need not have any fear of the future of the prisoners,' he said,in a low whisper. 'They are not bound for the Barbadoes, nor will thisskinflint of a captain have the selling of them, for all that he is sococksure. If he can bring his own skin out of the business, it will bemore than I expect. He hath a man aboard his ship who would think nomore of giving him a tilt over the side than I should.'
'What mean you, Saxon?' I cried.
'Hast ever heard of a man named Marot?'
'Hector Marot! Yes, surely I knew him well. A highwayman he was, but amighty stout man with a kind heart beneath a thief's jacket.'
'The same. He is as you say a stout man and a resolute swordsman, thoughfrom what I have seen of his play he is weak in stoccado, and perhapssomewhat too much attached to the edge, and doth not give prominenceenough to the point, in which respect he neglects the advice andteaching of the most noteworthy fencers in Europe. Well, well, folkdiffer on this as on every other subject! Yet it seems to me that Iwould sooner be carried off the field after using my weapon secundumartem, than walk off unscathed after breaking the laws d'escrime.Quarte, tierce, and saccoon, say I, and the devil take your estramaconsand passados!'
'But what of Marot?' I asked impatiently.
'He is aboard,' said Saxon. 'It appears that he was much disturbed inhis mind over the cruelties which were inflicted on the country folkafter the battle at Bridgewater. Being a man of a somewhat stern andfierce turn of mind, his disapproval did vent itself in actions ratherthan words. Soldiers were found here and there over the countrysidepistolled or stabbed, and no trace left of their assailant. A dozen ormore were cut off in this way, and soon it came to be whispered aboutthat Marot the highwayman was the man that did it, and the chase becamehot at his heels.'
'Well, and what then?' I asked, for Saxon had stopped to light his pipeat the same old metal tinder-box which he had used when first I methim. When I picture Saxon to myself it is usually of that moment that Ithink, when the red glow beat upon his hard, eager, hawk-like face, andshowed up the thousand little seams and wrinkles which time and care hadimprinted upon his brown, weather-beaten skin. Sometimes in my dreamsthat face in the darkness comes back to me, and his half-closed eyelidsand shifting, blinky eyes are turned towards me in his sidelong fashion,until I find myself sitting up and holding out my hand into empty space,half expecting to feel another thin sinewy hand close round it. A badman he was in many ways, my dears, cunning and wily, with little scrupleor conscience; and yet so strange a thing is human nature, and sodifficult is it for us to control our feelings, that my heart warms whenI think of him, and that fifty years have increased rather than weakenedthe kindliness which I hear to him.
'I had heard,' quoth he, puffing slowly at his pipe, 'that Marot was aman of this kidney, and also that he was so compassed round that he wasin peril of capture. I sought him out, therefore, and held council withhim. His mare, it seems, had been slain by some chance shot, and as hewas much attached to the brute, the accident made him more savage andmore dangerous than ever. He had no heart, he said, to continue in hisold trade. Indeed, he was ripe for anything--the very stuff out of whichuseful tools are made. I found that in his youth he had had a trainingfor the sea. When I heard that, I saw my way in the snap of a petronel.'
'What then?' I asked. 'I am still in the dark.'
'Nay, it is surely plain enough to you now. Marot's end was to bafflehis pursuers and to benefit the exiles. How could he do this better thanby engaging as a seaman aboard this brig, the _Dorothy Fox_, and sailingaway from England in her? There are but thirty of a crew. Below hatchesare close on two hundred men, who, simple as they may be, are, as youand I know, second to none in the cut-and-thrust work, without order ordiscipline, which will be needed in such an affair. Marot has but to godown amongst them some dark night, knock off their anklets, and fit themup with a few stanchions or cudgels. Ho, ho, Micah! what think you? Theplanters may dig their plantations themselves for all the help they arelike to get from West countrymen this bout.'
'It is, indeed, a well-conceived plan,' said I. 'It is a pity, Saxon,that your ready wit and quick invention hath not had a fair field. Youare, us I know well, as fit to command armies and to order campaigns asany man that ever bore a truncheon.'
'Mark ye there!' whispered Saxon, grasping me by the arm. 'See wherethe moonlight falls beside the hatchway! Do you not see that short squatseaman who stands alone, lost in thought, with his head sunk upon hisbreast? It is Marot! I tell you that if I were Captain Pogram I wouldrather have the devil himself, horns, hoofs, and tail, for my firstmate and bunk companion, than have that man aboard my ship. You need notconcern yourself about the prisoners, Micah. Their future is decided.'
'Then, Saxon,' I answered, 'it only remains for me to thank you, and toaccept the means of safety which you have placed within my reach.'
'Spoken like a man,' said he; 'is there aught which I may do for thee inEngland? though, by the Mass, I may not be here very long myself, for,as I understand, I am to be entrusted with the command of an expeditionthat is fitting out against the Indians, who have ravaged theplantations of our settlers. It will be good to get to some profitableemployment, for such a war, without either fighting or plunder, I havenever seen. I give you my word that I have scarce fingered silver sincethe beginning of it. I would not for the sacking of London go throughwith it again.'
'There is a friend whom Sir Gervas Jerome did commend to my care,' Iremarked; 'I have, however, already taken measures to have his wishescarried out. There is naught else save to assure all in Havant that aKing who hath battened upon his subjects, as this one of ours hath done,is not one who is like to keep his seat very long upon the throne ofEngland. When he falls I shall return, and perhaps it may be sooner thanfolk think.'
'These doings in the West have indeed stirred up much ill-feeling allover the country,' said my companion. 'On all hands I hear that there ismore hatred of the King and of his ministers than before the outbreak.What ho, Captain Pogram, this way! We have settled the matter, and myfriend is willing to go.'
'I thought he would tack round,' the captain said, staggering towards uswith a gait which showed that he had made the rum bottle his companionsince we had left him. 'S'help me, I was sure of it! Though, by theMass, I don't wonder that he thought twice before leaving the _DorothyFox_, for she is fitted up fit for a duchess, s'help me! Where is yourboat?'
'Alongside,' replied Saxon; 'my friend joins with me in hoping that you,Captain Pogram, will have a pleasant and profitable voyage.'
'I am cursedly beholden to him,' said the captain, with a flourish ofhis three-cornered hat.
'Also that you will reach Barbadoes in safety.'
'Little doubt of that!' quoth the captain.
'And that you will dispose of your wares in a manner which will repayyou for your charity and humanity.'
'Nay, these are handsome words,' cried the captain. 'Sir, I am yourdebtor.'
A fishing-boat was lying alongside the brig. By the murky light of thepoop lanterns I could see the figures upon her deck, and the great brownsail all ready for hoisting. I climbed the bulwark and set my foot uponthe rope-ladder which led down to her.
'Good-bye, Decimus!' said I.
'Good-bye, my lad! You have your pieces all safe?'
'I have them.'
'Then I have one other present to make you. It was brought to me by asergeant of the Royal Horse. It is that, Micah, on which you must nowdepend for food, lodging, raiment, and all which you would have. Itis that to which a brave man can always look for his living. It is theknife wherewith you can open the world's oyster. See, lad, it is yoursword!'
'The old sword! My father's sword!' I cried in delight, as Saxon drewfrom under his mantle and handed to me the discoloured, old-fashionedleathern sheath with the heavy brass hilt which I knew so well.
'You are now,' said he, 'one of the old and honourable guild of soldiersof fortune. While the Turk is still snarling at the gates of Viennathere will ever be work for strong arms and brave hearts. You will findthat among these wandering, fighting men, drawn from all climes andnations, the name of Englishman stands high. Well I know that it willstand none the lower for your having joined the brotherhood. I wouldthat I could come with you, but I am promised pay and position which itwould be ill to set aside. Farewell, lad, and may fortune go with you!'
I pressed the rough soldier's horny hand, and descended into thefishing-boat. The rope that held us was cast off, the sail mounted up,and the boat shot out across the bay. Onward she went and on, throughthe gathering gloom--a gloom as dark and impenetrable as the futuretowards which my life's bark was driving. Soon the long rise and falltold us that we were over the harbour bar and out in the open channel.On the land, scattered twinkling lights at long stretches marked theline of the coast. As I gazed backwards a cloud trailed off from themoon, and I saw the hard lines of the brig's rigging stand out againstthe white cold disk. By the shrouds stood the veteran, holding to arope with one hand, and waving the other in farewell and encouragement.Another groat cloud blurred out the light, and that lean sinewy figurewith its long extended arm was the last which I saw for a weary time ofthe dear country where I was born and bred.
Micah Clarke Page 33