so competent a rider," offered Mr. Davis heartily. "Lightfoot is a
steady beast, though I must own you found him otherwise this morning;
this chestnut is younger and freer-gaited." He had a strange sense, as
he spoke, that Mary was no longer in good spirits. Perhaps the heavy
horse had tired her strength, though Lightfoot was as good a creature as
any in Bristol, and much admired for his noble appearance.
Mary eagerly protested, and patted the old horse with still greater
friendliness and approval as they went riding on toward the town. The
alderman sighed at the very sight of her youth and freshness; it would
be pleasant to have such a daughter for his own. A man likes young
company as he grows older; though the alderman might be growing clumsy
on his own legs, the good horse under him made him feel like a lad of
twenty. This was a fine day to ride out from Bristol, and the weather
of the best. Mr. Davis began to mind him of an errand of business to
Westbury on Trym, beyond the Clifton Downs, where, on the morrow, he
could show Miss Hamilton still finer prospects than these.
They stopped at last before a handsome lodging in the middle of the town
of Bath. Mr. George Fairfax was a Virginian, of old Lord Bryan
Fairfax's near kindred, a man of great wealth, and a hearty Loyalist;
his mother, a Cary of Hampton, had been well known to Madam Wallingford
in their early years. He was at home this day, and came out at once to
receive his guests with fine hospitality, being on excellent terms of
friendship with the old merchant. They greeted each other with great
respect before Miss Hamilton's presence was explained; and then Mr.
Fairfax's smiling face was at once clouded. He had been the hope and
stay of so many distressed persons, in these anxious days of war, that
he could only sigh as he listened. It was evident enough that, however
charming this new sufferer and applicant might be, their host could but
regret her errand. Yet one might well take pleasure in her lovely face,
even if she must be disappointed, as most ladies were, in the hope of
receiving an instant and ample pension from the Ministers of His Majesty
George the Third.
Mr. Fairfax, with great courtesy, began to say something of his regrets
and fears.
"But we do not ask for these kind favors," Mary interrupted him, with
gentle dignity. "You mistake our present errand, sir. Madam
Wallingford is in no need of such assistance. We are provided with what
money we are like to need, as our good friend here must already know.
The people at home"--and she faltered for one moment before she could go
on. "It was indeed thought best that Madam Wallingford should be absent
for a time; but she was glad to come hither for her son's sake, who is
in prison. We have come but to find him and to set him free, and we ask
for your advice and help. Here is her letter," and Miss Hamilton
hesitated and blushed with what seemed to both the gentlemen a most
pretty confusion. "I ought to tell you, Mr. Fairfax--I think you should
know, sir, that I am of the Patriots. My brother was with General
Washington, with his own regiment, when I left home."
Mr. George Fairfax bowed ceremoniously, but his eyes twinkled a little,
and he took instant refuge in reading the letter. This was evidently an
interesting case, but not without its difficulties.
"The young gentleman in question also appears to be a Patriot," he said
seriously, as he looked up at Mr. Davis. "In Miss Hamilton's presence I
must drop our usual term of 'rebel.' Madam Wallingford professes
herself unshaken in her hereditary allegiance to the Crown; but as for
this young officer, her son, I am astonished to find that he has been on
board the Ranger with that Paul Jones who is the terror of all our ports
now, and the chief pest and scourge of our commerce here in England. 'T
is a distressed parent, indeed.
"You have the right of it," said the old British merchant, with great
eagerness and reproach. Mr. Davis was not a man who found it easy to
take the humorous point of view. "It seems that he was left ashore,
that night of the attack upon Whitehaven, in the north, which you will
well remember. He was caught by the town guard. You know that we
captured one of the Ranger's men? 'Twas this same young officer, and,
though badly wounded, he was ordered to the Mill Prison, and is said to
have arrived in a dying state. For his mother's sake (and her face
would distress any man's heart), I try to believe that he is yet alive
and lies there in the jail; but 't is a sorry house of correction that
he has come to through his own foolishness. They say he is like to have
been hanged already."
"Good God! what a melancholy story, and all England thinking that he
deserves his fate!" exclaimed Fairfax. "I cannot see how anything can
be done."
"There is but one gleam of hope," said Mr. Davis, who had not sat among
the Bristol magistrates in vain. He spoke pompously, but with some
kindness for Miss Hamilton, who was listening sadly enough, the eager
bravery of her face all gone; their last words had been very hard to
bear. "There is one thing to add. The story reached America, before
these good friends left, that young Mr. Wallingford was suspected by
many persons on board the Ranger of still holding to his early Loyalist
principles. They openly accused him of an effort to betray the ship
into our hands. If this is true"--
"It is not true!" interrupted Miss Hamilton, and both the gentlemen
looked a little startled. "No, it is not true," she repeated more
calmly. "It is not a proper plea to make, if he should never be set
free."
"We must think of his mother; we are only reviewing the situation in our
own fashion," said the elder man, frowning a stern rebuke at her. But
she would have her way.
"Mr. Davis has been very kind in the matter," she continued. "When we
were speaking together, last night, he told me that Lord Mount Edgecumbe
was now in Bath, and would have great influence about the American
prisoners."
"That is true," said Mr. Fairfax politely; "but I do not possess the
honor of his lordship's acquaintance, and I fear that I have no means of
reaching him. He is in bad health, and but lately arrived in Bath to
take the waters."
"Miss Hamilton has brought letters"--
"I have some letters, given me by an old friend at home," acknowledged
Mary. "The writer was very sure that they would be of use to us. Do
you happen to know anything of Lord Newburgh, sir, and where he may be
found?"
"Lord Newburgh?" repeated the Virginian eagerly, with a quick shake of
his head and a sudden frown, though there was again a twinkle of
merriment in his eyes. Mary's best hopes suddenly fell to the ground.
She was aware as she had not been before upon how slight a foundation
these best hopes might have been built. She had always looked up to
Master Sullivan with veneration; the mystery of his presence was like an
enchantment to those who knew him best. But he had been a long lifetime
in America; he might have written his letters to dead men only; they
might be worth no more than those withered oak leaves of last year that
were fluttering on the hedges, pierced by a new growth.
There was a pause. Mr. Fairfax's face seemed full of pity. Miss
Hamilton began to resent his open show of sympathy.
"I am strangely inhospitable!" he exclaimed. "We were so quick at our
business that I forgot to offer you anything, sir, and you, Miss
Hamilton, after your morning's ride! No, no, it is no trouble. You
will excuse me for a moment? I am like to forget my good bringing up in
Virginia, and my lady is just now absent from home."
Mr. Fairfax quickly left the room. The alderman sat there speechless,
but looking satisfied and complacent. It certainly did make a man
thirsty to ride abroad on a sunshiny morning, and his ears were
sharp-set for the comfortable clink of glasses. The heavy tray
presently arrived, and was put near him on a card table, and the old
butler, with his pleasant Virginian speech, was eager in the discharge
of hospitality; Mr. Fairfax being still absent, and Mary quite at the
end of her courage. She could not take the cool draught which old Peter
offered her with respectful entreaties, as if he were Caesar, their own
old slave; she tried to look at the hunting pictures on the wall, but
they blurred strangely,--there was something the matter with her eyes.
"What noble Jamaica spirits!" said Mr. John Davis, looking at the
ceiling with affected indifference as his glass was being replenished.
"Did your master grow these lemons on his own plantations in Virginia?
They are of a wondrous freshness," he added, politely, to repeat his
approval of such an entertainment. "Miss Hamilton, my dear, you forget
we must take the long ride back again to Bristol. I fear you make a
great mistake to refuse any refreshment at good Peter's hands."
The door was thrown open and Mr. Fairfax made a handsome, middle-aged
gentleman precede him into the room.
"I was afraid that I should miss this noble friend," he said gayly; "he
might have been taking advantage of so fine a morning, like yourselves.
Here is my Lord Newburgh, Miss Hamilton; this is Lord Newburgh himself
for you! You must have heard of the Honorable Mr. Davis, of Bristol, my
lord?--one of their great merchants. I have told you already that Miss
Hamilton brings you a letter, and that she hopes for your interest with
my Lord Mount Edgecumbe. My dear Miss Hamilton, this gives me great
pleasure! When you said that you had brought such a letter, I was sure
at last that there was one thing I could do for you."
Lord Newburgh gravely saluted these new acquaintances, taking quick
notice of the lady's charm, and smiling over his shoulder at Mr.
Fairfax's excited manner. He waved his hand in kind protest to check
Peter's officious approach with the tray of glasses.
"So you have a letter for me, from America, Miss Hamilton?" he asked
bluntly; and she put it into his hand.
Lord Newburgh gave a curious look at the carefully written address, and
turned the folded sheet to see the seal. Then he flushed like a man in
anger and bit his lip as he looked at the seal again, and started back
as he stood close by the window, so that they all saw him. Then he tore
open Master Sullivan's letter.
"It is dated this very last month!" he cried. "My God! do you mean to
tell me that this man is still alive?"
*XXXVI*
*MY LORD NEWBURGH's KINDNESS*
"Thus says my King: Say thou to Harry of England, though we seemed dead,
we did but sleep."
"What man?" asked Mr. Fairfax and Mr. Davis, with eager curiosity,
seeing such astonishment upon his face; but Lord Newburgh made them no
answer until he had read the letter and carefully folded it again. They
saw his hands tremble. He stood looking blankly at the two men and Miss
Hamilton, as if he were in doubt what to say.
"'T is like one risen from the dead," he told them presently, "but what
is written here is proof enough for me. There are some things which
cannot be spoken of even after all these years, but I can say this: 't
was a friend of my poor father, Charles Radcliffe, and of his brother,
Darwentwater,--one of their unlucky company sixty years ago. There are
high reasons, and of State too, why, beyond this, I must still keep
silence. Great heavens, what a page of history is here!" and he opened
the letter to look at it once more.
"Mount Edgecumbe will not believe me," he said, as if to himself.
"Well, at least he knows something of those old days, too; he will be
ready to do what he can for such a petitioner as this, but we must be
careful. I should like to speak with Miss Hamilton alone, if you will
leave us here together, gentlemen," said Lord Newburgh, with quiet
authority; and Mr. Fairfax and the alderman, disappointed, but with
ready courtesy, left them alone in the room.
"Do you know the writer of this letter, madam?" demanded Lord Newburgh;
and he was so well aware of the girl's beauty that, while he spoke, his
eyes scarcely left her face. "'T is true he speaks your name here and
with affection, but I cannot think his history is known."
Mary smiled then, and answered gently to her life-long acquaintance with
the master and her deep love for him, but that his early life was a
matter of conjecture to those who had longest been his neighbors. Lord
Newburgh saw with approval that she knew more than she was ready to
confess.
"He has followed the great Example,--he has given his life for his
friend," said Lord Newburgh, who showed himself much moved, when she had
finished speaking. "They should know of this among our friends in
France; by God's truth, the King himself should know but for his present
advisers! I must say no more; you can see how this strange news has
shaken me. He asks a thing difficult enough; he has broken his long
silence for no light reason. But Mount Edgecumbe will feel as I
do,--whatever he asks should be promised him; and Mount Edgecumbe has
power in Plymouth; even with Barrington reigning in the War Office he is
not likely to be refused, though Barrington is a narrow soul, and we can
give no reasons such as make our own way plain. Your man shan't stay in
the Mill Prison, I can promise you that, Ranger or no Ranger!"
Lord Newburgh smiled now at Miss Hamilton, as if to bring a look of
pleasure to so sweet a face, and she could not but smile back at him.
"I shall do my part of this business at once," he said, rising. "I
passed Mount Edgecumbe on my way here; he 'll swear roundly at such a
request. He fears again that his great oaks must go down, and his temper
is none of the best. The Earl is an old sailor, my dear Miss Hamilton,
and has a sailor's good heart, but this will stagger him well. You say
that Madam Wallingford, the young man's mother, is now in Bristol?" and
again he looked at the letter. "Stay; before I speak with the Earl I
should like to hear more of these interesting circumstances. I must say
that my own sympathies are mainly with your party in the colonies. I
believe that the King has been made a tool of by some of his ministers.
But I should not say this if you are one of the Loyalist refugees. Why,
no, my dear!" He checked himself, laughing. "'T is a strange
confusion. I cannot think you are for both hound and hare!"
It was near an hour later when Mr. Fairfax fumbled at the latch to see
if he might be of service, and was politely though not too warmly
requested to enter. Mr. John Davis had grown fretful at their long
delay, but Miss Hamilton and Lord Newburgh were still deep in their
conversation. The young lady herself had been close to her brother's
confidence, and was not ignorant of causes in this matter of the war.
Lord Newburgh struck his fist to the table with emphatic approval, as he
rose, and told the two gentlemen who entered that he had learned at last
what all England ought to know,--the true state of affairs in America.
The Virginia Loyalist looked disturbed, and showed some indifference to
this bold announcement.
"Come, Fairfax," cried the guest gayly, "I shall have arguments enough
for ye now! I can take the Patriot side with intelligence, instead of
what you have persisted in calling my ignorant prejudice."
"'T is your new teacher, then, and not your reasoning powers," retorted
Fairfax; and they both fell to laughing, while Mary fell to blushing and
looking more charming than before.
"Well, Miss Hamilton, and is your business forwarded? Then we must be
off; the day is well squandered already," said John Davis.
"I shall first take Miss Hamilton to our good housekeeper for a dish of
tea before she rides home," protested the host kindly. "I am grieved
that my lady is not here; but our housekeeper, Mrs. Mullet, can offer
the dish of tea, if so stern a Boston Patriot does not forbid. You will
try the Jamaica spirits again yourself, sir? A second glass may be
better than the first, Mr. Alderman!"
"I shall speak with my friends as to these Plymouth affairs, and do my
best for you," Lord Newburgh kindly assured Miss Hamilton, as they
parted. "You shall see me in Bristol to-morrow. Ah, this letter!" and
he spoke in a low voice. "It has touched my heart to think that you
know so well our sad inheritance. My poor father and poor Darwentwater!
Every one here knows their melancholy fate, their 'sad honors of the axe
and block;' but there were things covered in those days that are secrets
still in England. _He speaks of the Newgate supper to me! ... 'Twas he
himself who saved ... and only a lad_" ... But Mary could not hear the
rest.
"I must see you again," he continued, aloud. "I shall have a thousand
questions to put to you, and many messages for your old Master Sullivan
(God bless him!) when you return. I offer you my friendship for his
sake," and Lord Newburgh stood with bared head beside the horse when
Miss Hamilton had mounted. "We have pleasant Dilston Hall to our home
no more these many years; we Radcliffes are all done, but at Slindon you
shall be very welcome. I shall wait upon Madam Wallingford to-morrow,
and bring her what good comfort I can."
The alderman was warmed by Mr. Fairfax's hospitalities, and rode beside
his young guest as proudly as if he were the lord mayor on high holiday.
The streets of Bath were crowded with idle gentlefolk; it was a lovely
day, and many people of fashion were taking the air as well as the
famous waters. This was a fine sight for a New England girl, and Mary
herself was beheld with an admiration that was by no means silent.
Their horses' feet clacked sharply on the cobblestones, as if eager to
shorten the homeward road, and the young rider sat as light as her heart
was, now the errand was done. It was a pretty thing, her
unconsciousness of all admiration: she might have been flitting along a
shady road under the pines at home, startling the brown rabbits, and
keeping a steady hand on the black Duke's rein to be ready for sudden
freaks. She did not see that all along by the pump room they were
watching her as she passed. She was taking good news to Bristol; Lord
Newburgh had given his word of honor that Roger Wallingford should be
pardoned and set free. Was not his mother a great lady, and heartily
loyal to the Crown? Was there not talk of his having been suspected of
the same principles on board the American privateer? It must be
confessed that Lord Newburgh's face had taken on a look of amused
assurance when these facts were somewhat unwillingly disclosed; they
were the last points in the lieutenant's history which Mary herself
woidd have willingly consented to use, even as a means of deliverance
from captivity, but, unknown to her, they had won an easy promise of
freedom.
"She 's a rebel indeed, but God bless me, I don't blame her!" laughed
the noble lord, as he reflected upon their conversation. It was not in
his loyal heart to forget his heritage. Whatever might fall out in the
matter of those distressed seamen who now suffered in the Mill Prison,
no man could fail of pleasure in doing service for such sweet eyes as
Miss Mary Hamilton's. There were some private reasons why he could go
boldly to ask this great favor, and Lord Mount Edgecumbe was as good as
master of the town of Plymouth, both by land and sea, and responsible
for her concerns. "I 'll make him ride with me to Bristol to-morrow to
see these ladies," said Lord Newburgh from a generous heart. "'T will
be a sweet reward, he may take my word for it!"
*XXXVII*
*THE BOTTOM OF THESE MISERIES*
"Let us pray that our unconscious benefactions outweigh our unconscious
cruelties!"
The order for Lieutenant Wallingford's release was soon in hand, but the
long journey across country from Bristol to Plymouth seemed almost as
long as all the time spent in crossing the sea. From the morning hour
when the two elder ladies had watched Miss Hamilton and her kind old
cavalier ride away down the narrow Bristol street, with a stout man
servant well mounted behind them, until the day they were in sight of
Plymouth Hoe, each minute seemed slower than the last. It was a pretty
journey from inn to inn, and the alderman lent himself gayly to such
unwonted holidays, while Mary's heart grew lighter on the way, and a
bright, impatient happiness began to bloom afresh in her cheeks and to
shine in her eyes.
They reached Plymouth town at nightfall, and Mary was for taking fresh
horses and riding on to the Mill Prison. For once her face was dark
with anger when the landlord argued against such haste. He was for
their taking supper, and assured the travelers that not even the mayor
of Plymouth himself could knock at the jail gate by night and think to
have it opened.
Miss Hamilton turned from such officious speech with proud indifference,
and looked expectantly at her companion.
"It is not every night they will have a pardon to consider," she said in
a low voice to Mr. Davis. "We carry a letter from my Lord Mount
Edgecumbe to the governor of the prison. We must first get speech with
the guard, and then I have no fear."
The innkeeper looked provoked and wagged his head; he had already given
orders for a bountiful supper, and was not going to let a rich Bristol
merchant and two persons beside ride away without paying for it.
"We shall not be long away," said Mary, pleading. If she had known of
the supper, she would have added that they might bring back another and
a hungrier guest than they to sit at table. The alderman was
irresolute; he was ready to succor a distressed prisoner, being a good
Christian; but he was hungry now, and they had been riding all day at a
quicker pace than he might have followed if alone. His man servant,
just come into the inn parlor to wait for orders, stole a meaning glance
at him; and they were two against one.
"No, no, my dear; 't is a good bit further, and most likely we should
have our ride in vain. I know the rules of such places, from our
Bristol laws at home. The governor will most likely be here in the
town. Rest you now, and let us make a good supper, and start again
betimes in the morning." Then, seeing how disappointed and even
determined her face grew, and that she looked very tired, "I am an old
man, you must remember," he added kindly. "I fear that I am spent
to-night, and can do no more without resting."
She was silent then, and crossed the room to stand by the window. There
was a voice in her heart that begged her to persist, to go on alone, if
need be, and not let herself be hindered in her quest. It was still
light out of doors; the long twilight of the English summer was making
this last step of her great adventure a possibility. She sighed; the
voice within still warned and pleaded with her. "Who are you?" the girl
said wonderingly. "Who are you that comes and helps me? You are not my
own thought, but some one wiser than I, who would be my friend!" It was
as if some unseen ministering spirit were face to face with her,
bringing this insistent thought that she hardly dared refuse to take for
guidance.
She gazed out of the window. Sunset clouds were brightening the whole
sky; an afterglow was on the moorland hills eastward above the town.
She could hear the roar of the ocean not far away; there were cheerful
voices coming up the street, and the citizens were all abroad with their
comfortable pipes and chatter.
"Get me a fresh horse and a man to follow," said Miss Hamilton, turning
again to face the room. The landlord himself was laying the white cloth
for supper. Matthew, their old groom, was stiffly kneeling and pulling
off his master's riding boots, and they all three looked at her in
dismay.
"Our own horses are done, miss," said Matthew, with decision.
"I have none I can let you to-night from my stable," the landlord
seconded. "There was a review to-day of our raw recruits for America,
and I had to empty every stall. The three best horses are returned with
saddle galls from their clumsy ignorance," he protested boldly.
Mary glanced at Mr. Davis, and was still unconvinced; but all her
determination was lost when she saw that the old man was really
fatigued. Well, it was only one night more, and she must not insist.
Perhaps they were right, and her ride would be in vain. At least she
could send a messenger; and to this proposal the landlord readily
acceded, since, useless or not, it would be a shilling in his pocket,
and a slow boy could carry the letter which the young lady made such
haste to write.