The circumstances which I am about to relate to my juvenile readers took
place in the year 1647. By referring to the history of England of that
date they will find that King Charles the First, against whom the
Commons of England had rebelled, after a civil war of nearly five years,
had been defeated, and was confined as a prisoner at Hampton Court. The
Cavaliers, or the party who fought for King Charles, had all been
dispersed, and the Parliamentary army under the command of Cromwell were
beginning to control the Commons.
It was in the month of November in this year that King Charles,
accompanied by Sir John Berkely Ashburnham and Legg, made his escape
from Hampton Court, and rode as fast as the horses could carry them
towards that part of Hampshire which led to the New Forest. The king
expected that his friends had provided a vessel in which he might escape
to France; but in this he was disappointed. There was no vessel ready,
and after riding for some time along the shore he resolved to go to
Titchfield, a seat belonging to the Earl of Southampton. After a long
consultation with those who attended him, he yielded to their advice,
which was, to trust to Colonel Hammond, who was governor of the Isle of
Wight for the Parliament, but who was supposed to be friendly to the
king. Whatever might be the feelings of commiseration of Colonel
Hammond towards a king so unfortunately situated, he was firm in his
duties towards his employers, and the consequence was that King Charles
found himself again a prisoner in Carisbrook Castle.
But we must now leave the king, and retrace history to the commencement
of the civil war. A short distance from the town of Lymington, which is
not far from Titchfield, where the king took shelter, but on the other
side of the Southampton Water, and south of the New Forest, to which it
adjoins, was a property called Arnwood, which belonged to a Cavalier of
the name of Beverley. It was at that time a property of considerable
value, being very extensive, and the park ornamented with valuable
timber; for it abutted on the New Forest, and might have been supposed
to have been a continuation of it. This Colonel Beverley, as we must
call him, for he rose to that rank in the king's army, was a valued
friend and companion of Prince Rupert's, and commanded several troops of
cavalry. He was ever at his side in the brilliant charges made by this
gallant prince, and at last fell in his arms at the battle of Naseby.
Colonel Beverley had married into the family of the Villiers, and the
issue of his marriage was two sons and two daughters; but his zeal and
sense of duty had induced him, at the commencement of the war, to leave
his wife and family at Arnwood, and he was fated never to meet them
again. The news of his death had such an effect upon Mrs Beverley,
already worn with anxiety on her husband's account, that a few months
afterwards she followed him to an early tomb, leaving the four children
under the charge of an elderly relative till such time as the family of
the Villiers could protect them; but, as will appear by our history,
this was not at that period possible. The life of a king and many other
lives were in jeopardy, and the orphans remained at Arnwood, still under
the care of their elderly relation, at the time that our history
commences.
The New Forest, my readers are perhaps aware, was first enclosed by
William the Conqueror as a royal forest for his own amusement, for in
those days most crowned heads were passionately fond of the chase; and
they may also recollect that his successor, William Rufus, met his death
in this forest by the glancing of an arrow shot by Sir Walter Tyrrell.
Since that time to the present day it has continued a royal domain. At
the period of which we are writing it had an establishment of verderers
and keepers, paid by the Crown, amounting to some forty or fifty men.
At the commencement of the civil war they remained at their posts, but
soon found, in the disorganised state of the country, that their wages
were no longer to be obtained; and then, when the king had decided upon
raising an army, Beverley, who held a superior office in the forest,
enrolled all the young and athletic men who were employed in the forest,
and marched them away with him to join the king's army. Some few
remained, their age not rendering their services of value, and among
them was an old and attached servant of Beverley's, a man above sixty
years of age, whose name was Jacob Armitage, and who had obtained the
situation through Colonel Beverley's interest. Those who remained in
the forest lived in cottages many miles asunder, and indemnified
themselves for the non-payment of their salaries by killing the deer for
sale and for their own subsistence.
The cottage of Jacob Armitage was situated on the skirts of the New
Forest, about a mile and a half from the mansion of Arnwood; and when
Colonel Beverley went to join the king's troops, feeling how little
security there would be for his wife and children in those troubled
times, he requested the old man, by his attachment to the family, not to
lose sight of Arnwood, but to call there as often as possible to see if
he could be of service to Mrs Beverley. The colonel would have
persuaded Jacob to have altogether taken up his residence at the
mansion; but to this the old man objected. He had been all his life
under the greenwood tree, and could not bear to leave the forest. He
promised the colonel that he would watch over his family, and ever be at
hand when required; and he kept his word. The death of Colonel Beverley
was a heavy blow to the old forester, and he watched over Mrs Beverley
and the orphans with the greatest solicitude; but when Mrs Beverley
followed her husband to the tomb he then redoubled his attentions, and
was seldom more than a few hours at a time away from the mansion. The
two boys were his inseparable companions, and he instructed them, young
as they were, in all the secrets of his own calling. Such was the state
of affairs at the time that King Charles made his escape from Hampton
Court; and I now shall resume my narrative from where it was broken off.
As soon as the escape of Charles the First was made known to Cromwell
and the Parliament, troops of horse were despatched in every direction
to the southward, towards which the prints of the horses' hoofs proved
that he had gone. As they found that he had proceeded in the direction
of the New Forest, the troops were subdivided and ordered to scour the
forest, in parties of twelve to twenty, while others hastened down to
Southampton, Lymington, and every other seaport or part of the coast
from which the king might be likely to embark. Old Jacob had been at
Arnwood on the day before, but on this day he had made up his mind to
procure some venison, that he might not go there again empty-handed; for
Miss Judith Villiers was very partial to venison, and was not slow to
remind Jacob if the larder was for many days deficient in that meat.
Jacob had gone out accordingly; he had gained his leeward position of a
fine buck, and was gradually nearing him by stealth, now behind a huge
oak-tree, and then crawling through the high fern, so as to get within
shot unperceived, when on a sudden the animal, which had been quietly
feeding, bounded away and disappeared in the thicket. At the same time
Jacob perceived a small body of horse galloping through the glen in
which the buck had been feeding. Jacob had never yet seen the
Parliamentary troops, for they had not during the war been sent into
that part of the country, but their iron skull-caps, their buff
accoutrements, and dark habiliments, assured him that such these must
be; so very different were they from the gaily-equipped Cavalier cavalry
commanded by Prince Rupert. At the time that they advanced, Jacob had
been lying down in the fern near to some low black-thorn-bushes; not
wishing to be perceived by them, he drew back between the bushes,
intending to remain concealed until they should gallop out of sight; for
Jacob thought, "I am a king's forester, and they may consider me as an
enemy; and who knows how I may be treated by them?" But Jacob was
disappointed in his expectations of the troops riding past him; on the
contrary, as soon as they arrived at an oak-tree within twenty yards of
where he was concealed, the order was given to halt and dismount; the
sabres of the horsemen clattered in their iron sheaths as the order was
obeyed, and the old man expected to be immediately discovered; but one
of the thorn-bushes was directly between him and the troopers, and
effectually concealed him. At last Jacob ventured to raise his head and
peep through the bush; and he perceived that the men were loosening the
girths of their black horses, or wiping away the perspiration from their
sides with handfuls of fern.
A powerfully-framed man, who appeared to command the others, was
standing with his hand upon the arched neck of his steed, which appeared
as fresh and vigorous as ever, although covered with foam and
perspiration. "Spare not to rub down, my men," said he, "for we have
tried the mettle of our horses, and have now but one half-hour's
breathing-time. We must be on, for the work of the Lord must be done."
"They say that this forest is many miles in length and breadth,"
observed another of the men, "and we may ride many a mile to no purpose;
but here is James Southwold, who once was living in it as a verderer;
nay, I think that he said that he was born and bred in these woods. Was
it not so, James Southwold?"
"It is even as you say," replied an active-looking young man; "I was
born and bred in this forest, and my father was a verderer before me."
Jacob Armitage, who listened to the conversation, immediately recognised
the young man in question. He was one of those who had joined the
king's army with the other verderers and keepers. It pained him much to
perceive that one who had always been considered a frank, true-hearted
young man, and who left the forest to fight in defence of his king, was
now turned a traitor, and had joined the ranks of the enemy; and Jacob
thought how much better it had been for James Southwold if he had never
quitted the New Forest, and had not been corrupted by evil company: "He
was a good lad," thought Jacob, "and now he is a traitor and a
hypocrite."
"If born and bred in this forest, James Southwold," said the leader of
the troop, "you must fain know all its mazes and paths. Now call to
mind, are there no secret hiding-places in which people may remain
concealed; no thickets which may cover both man and horse? Peradventure
thou mayst point out the very spot where this man Charles may be
hidden."
"I do know one dell, within a mile of Arnwood," replied James Southwold,
"which might cover double our troop from the eyes of the most wary."
"We will ride there, then," replied the leader. "Arnwood, sayest thou?
Is not that the property of the Malignant, Cavalier Beverley, who was
shot down at Naseby?"
"Even so," replied Southwold; "and many is the time--that is, in the
olden time, before I was regenerated--many is the day of revelry that I
have passed there; many the cup of good ale that I have quaffed."
"And thou shalt quaff it again," replied the leader. "Good ale was not
intended only for Malignants, but for those who serve diligently. After
we have examined the dell which thou speakest of, we will direct our
horses' heads towards Arnwood."
"Who knows but what the man Charles may be concealed in the Malignant's
house?" observed another.
"In the day, I should say no," replied the leader; "but in the night the
Cavaliers like to have a roof over their heads; and therefore at night,
and not before, will we proceed thither."
"I have searched many of their abodes," observed another; "but search is
almost in vain. What with their spring panels and secret doors, their
false ceilings and double walls, one may ferret for ever and find
nothing."
"Yes," replied the leader, "their abodes are full of these Popish
abominations; but there is one way which is sure; and if the man Charles
be concealed in any house, I venture to say that I will find him. Fire
and smoke will bring him forth; and to every Malignant's house within
twenty miles will I apply the torch; but it must be at night, for we are
not sure of his being housed during the day. James Southwold, thou
knowest well the mansion of Arnwood?"
"I know well my way to all the offices below--the buttery, the cellar,
and the kitchen; but I cannot say that I have ever been into the
apartments of the upper house."
"That it needeth not; if thou canst direct us to the lower entrance, it
will be sufficient."
"That can I, Master Ingram," replied Southwold, "and to where the best
ale used to be found."
"Enough, Southwold, enough; our work must be done, and diligently. Now,
my men, tighten your girths; we will just ride to the dell: if it
conceals not whom we seek, it shall conceal us till night, and then the
country shall be lighted up with the flames of Arnwood, while we
surround the house and prevent escape. Levellers, to horse!"
The troopers sprang upon their saddles, and went off at a hard trot,
Southwold leading the way. Jacob remained among the fern until they
were out of sight, and then rose up. He looked for a short time in the
direction in which the troopers had gone, stooped down again to take up
his gun, and then said, "There's providence in this; yes, and there's
providence in my not having my dog with me, for he would not have
remained quiet for so long a time. Who would ever have thought that
James Southwold would have turned a traitor! More than traitor, for he
is now ready to bite the hand that has fed him, to burn the house that
has ever welcomed him. This is a bad world, and I thank heaven that I
have lived in the woods. But there is no time to lose;" and the old
forester threw his gun over his shoulder and hastened away in the
direction of his own cottage.
"And so the king has escaped," thought Jacob, as he went along, "and he
may be in the forest! Who knows but he may be at Arnwood, for he must
hardly know where to go for shelter? I must haste and see Miss Judith
immediately. `Levellers, to horse!' the fellow said. What's a
Leveller?" thought Jacob.
As perhaps my readers may ask the same question, they must know that a
large proportion of the Parliamentary army had at this time assumed the
name of Levellers, in consequence of having taken up the opinion that
every man should be on an equality, and property should be equally
divided. The hatred of these people to any one above them in rank or
property, especially towards those of the king's party, which mostly
consisted of men of rank and property, was unbounded, and they were
merciless and cruel to the highest degree; throwing off much of hat
fanatical bearing and language which had before distinguished the
Puritans. Cromwell had great difficulty in eventually putting them
down, which he did at last accomplish by hanging and slaughtering many.
Of this Jacob knew nothing; all he knew was, that Arnwood was to be
burnt down that night, and that it would be necessary to remove the
family. As for obtaining assistance to oppose the troopers, that he
knew to be impossible. As he thought of what must take place, he
thanked God for having allowed him to gain the knowledge of what was to
happen, and hastened on his way. He had been about eight miles from
Arnwood when he had concealed himself in the fern. Jacob first went to
his cottage to deposit his gun, saddled his forest pony, and set off for
Arnwood. In less than two hours the old man was at the door of the
mansion; it was then about three o'clock in the afternoon, and being in
the month of November, there was not so much as two hours of daylight
remaining. "I shall have a difficult job with the stiff old lady,"
thought Jacob, as he rang the bell; "I don't believe that she would rise
out of her high chair for old Noll and his whole army at his back. But
we shall see."