"This is our last stage, Hugh, and tonight we shall be in London,"
Rupert said, as they rode out of Watford. "Methinks we shall find
it very strange in that great city. I am glad I thought of asking
our host the name of an inn at which to put up. The Bell in
Bishopsgate Street, he said. It will seem less strange asking the
way there than it would be to be wandering about gazing for a place
at which to alight."
"Ay, truly, Master Rupert; and I've heard say those London folk are
main fond of making game of strangers."
"So I have heard, Hugh; any reasonable jest we had best put up with
with good temper. If they push it too far, we shall be able, I
doubt not, to hold our own. The first thing to do will be to get
clothes of the cut in vogue, for I have come away just as I stood;
and I fear that even your clothes will have a marvellously country
air about them in the eyes of the city folk.
"There is London," he said, as they passed over the crest of
Hampstead Hill. "That great round dome that stands up so high must
be Saint Paul's; and look how many other church towers and spires
there are. And there, away to the right, those must be the towers
of Westminster."
"It is a big place, surely, Master Rupert. How many people do you
think live there?"
"I believe there are near 300,000 souls there, Hugh. It seems
wonderful, does it not?"
"It's too big to think of, Master Rupert," Hugh said, and they
continued their journey southward.
They entered the city at Aldersgate, but they had ridden some
distance through houses before they arrived at the boundary, for
the city was already spreading beyond its ancient limits. Once
inside the walls, the lads were astonished at the bustle and noise.
Hugh inquired the way to Bishopsgate Street of a respectable
citizen, who directed them to follow the road until they came to a
broad turning to their left. This would be Chepeside, and they were
to follow this until they came to the Exchange, a large building
straight in front of them. Passing this, they would find themselves
in Bishopsgate Street.
If Aldersgate Street had surprised them, much more were they
astonished at the din and turmoil of Chepeside, and Hugh, having
twice narrowly escaped riding over a citizen, and being soundly
rated for a country gawk, Rupert turned to him.
"Look at your horse's head, Hugh, and pay no attention to aught
else. When we have reached our destination, we shall have plenty of
time to look at all these wonders."
The advice was good, and without mischance they reached the Bell in
Bishopsgate Street, and rode into the yard. The host at once came
out, and after a momentary look of surprise at the youth of the new
arrivals, he asked Rupert courteously if he needed a room.
"Two rooms if it please you," Rupert said, "and together."
The host called a hostler, who at once took charge of the horses,
and led them to the stable, the lads first removing the valises and
holsters, which a servant carried up to their rooms.
"We would have supper," Rupert said; "and while that is preparing
we would, if it is not too late, order some clothes more in the
mode than these. Can you direct us to a tailor?"
"You cannot do better," the landlord said, "than visit my
neighbour, Master John Haliford. His shop is just opposite, and he
makes for many of our best city folk, and for more than one of the
gentry of the Court."
Rupert thanked him, and they crossed the street to the shop
indicated.
The landlord looked after them with a puzzled air.
"It is not often that Joe Miles cannot guess the quality and errand
of his guests, but this time he is floored. Has that young spark
run away from home? I hardly think so, for he speaks gravely, and
without haste; lads who have run away may generally be known by
their speaking in a hurry, and as if anxious. They are both well
mounted; the younger is clearly of the higher estate, although but
meanly dressed; nor does the other seem like his lackey. What are
they talking about outside neighbour Haliford's shop, I wonder? I
would give a silver penny to know. I will walk over presently, and
smoke a pipe with him, and hear what he thinks of them."
The conversation which the host of the Bell had wished he could
overhear was as follows:
Hugh began it.
"Look, Master Rupert, before we go into the shop, let us talk over
what you are going to order."
"I am going to order a walking suit, Hugh, and a court suit for
myself, and a suit for you."
"Yes, but what sort of a suit, Master Rupert?"
"I should say a walking suit, Hugh, such as would become a modest
citizen."
"That's just it, Master Rupert. So far you have treated me as a
friend; but now, sir, it must be different, for to do so any longer
would not be seemly. You are going to be an officer. I am going to
follow you as a trooper; but till we go to the war I must be
dressed as your retainer. Not a lackey, perhaps, but a sort of
confidential retainer. That will be best, Master Rupert, in every
way."
Rupert was silent for a moment.
"Well, Hugh, perhaps that would be best; but you must remember that
whatever we are before others, we are always friends when we are
alone."
"Very well," Hugh said, "that is understood; but you know that
alone or before others, I shall always be your faithful servant."
"What can I make you, sir?" the tailor asked, as the lads entered
his shop.
Master Haliford was a small man; neat in his dress; a little fussy
in manner. He was very upright, and seemed to look under rather
than through the pair of horn spectacles which he wore. His look
changed from affability to doubt as he took a nearer look at his
intending customers.
"I need a suit such as a gentleman might wear at court," Rupert
said, quietly, "and a walking or ordinary suit for myself; and a
suit such as would be worn by a trusted retainer for my friend
here."
The tailor put his head on one side, and rubbed his chin
thoughtfully.
"Have I had the honour of being recommended to you by the
honourable gentleman your father?" he asked.
"No, indeed," Rupert said. "It was mine host at the Bell, who
advised me that I could not do better than come to your shop."
"Ah, you are known to him, beyond doubt," John Haliford said,
brightening.
"No, indeed," Rupert answered. "He was a stranger to me to within
five minutes back."
"You must excuse my caution, young sir," John Haliford said, after
another minute's reflection; "but it is the custom of us London
tradesmen with those gentlemen who may honour us with their custom,
and whom we have not the honour of knowing, to require payment, or
at least a portion of payment, at the time of giving the order, and
the rest at the time of delivery of the goods. In your case, sir, I
am sure, an unnecessary piece of caution, but a rule from which I
never venture to go."
"That is only fair and right," Rupert said. "I will pay half now,
and the other half when the garments are completed; or if it please
you, will pay the whole in advance."
"By no means, by no means," the tailor said with alacrity; "one
third in advance is my rule, sir. And now, sir, what colour and
material do you affect?"
"As sober both in hue and in material as may be," Rupert said, "and
yet sufficiently in the fashion for me to wear in calling upon a
nobleman of the court."
"Pardon me," the tailor said, "but perhaps you would condescend to
take me into your confidence. There are noblemen, and noblemen. A
tory lord, for instance, is generally a little richer in his colour
than a whig nobleman, for these affect a certain sobriety of air.
With some again, a certain military cut is permitted, while with
others this would be altogether out of place."
"I am going to the Earl of Marlborough," Rupert said briefly.
"Dear me, dear me! Indeed now!" the little tailor said with an
instant and great accession of deference, for the Earl of
Marlborough was the greatest man in the realm. "Had your honour
mentioned that at first, I should not have ventured to hint at the
need for previous payment."
"What!" Rupert said, with a smile. "You would have broken your
fixed rule! Surely not, Master Haliford."
The tailor looked sharply at his young customer. Whoever he might
be, he was clearly no fool; and without more ado he brought forward
his patterns and bent himself to the work in hand.
Having chosen the colours and stuffs for the suits of clothes, the
lads returned to the Bell, where a supper of cold chicken and the
remains of a fine sirloin awaited them, with two tankards of
home-brewed ale. The next morning, before sallying out to see the
town, Rupert wrote to his grandfather, asking his pardon for
running away, expressing his intention of applying to the Earl of
Marlborough for a cornetcy of horse, and giving his address at the
Bell; asking him also to make his humble excuse to his lady mother,
and to assure her of his devotion and respect, although
circumstances had caused his apparent disobedience to her wishes.
Although there was a much greater amount of filial respect and
obedience expressed in those days than now, human nature has
differed but slightly in different ages of the world; and it is
probable that sons went their own way quite as much as they do now,
when there is very little talk either of obedience or respect.
Indeed, the implicit obedience, and almost servile respect, which
our forefathers expected from their sons, could not but in a great
number of cases drive the sons to be hypocrites as well as
undutiful; and our modern system of making our boys companions and
friends, of taking an interest in all they do, and in teaching them
to regard us as their natural advisers, has produced a generation
of boys less outwardly respectful, no doubt, but as dutiful, and
far more frank and truthful than those of the bygone times.
Rupert, finding that few of the citizens wore swords, and feeling
that in his present attire he would attract attention by so doing,
left his sword at the inn, and bought for Hugh and himself a couple
of stout sticks--Hugh's a cudgel which would be useful in a hand
well accustomed to singlestick, his own a cane of a wood such as he
had never before seen--light, strong, and stiff. He chose it
because it was well balanced in the hand. Then they sallied out
into Cornhill, past the Exchange, erected by the worshipful citizen
Sir Thomas Gresham, and then into Chepeside, where they were
astonished at the wealth and variety of the wares displayed in the
shops. Gazing into the windows, they frequently got into the way,
and were saluted many times with the query, "Where are you going,
stupids?" a question which Hugh was largely inclined to resent, and
would have done so had not Rupert told him that evidently they did
get into the way of the hurrying citizens, and that it was more
wise to put up with rudeness than to embark in a series of
quarrels, in which, moreover, as strangers they were likely to get
the worst of the dispute. Saint Paul's Cathedral, then but newly
finished, astonished them vastly with its size and magnificence,
and they returned to the midday dinner at the Bell delighted with
all that they had seen.
Asking the landlord how he would recommend them to pass the
afternoon, he said that they could do no better than take a boat at
London Bridge, and be rowed up to the village of Chelsea, where
many of the nobility did dwell, and then coming back to Westminster
might get out there, see the Abbey and the great Hall, and then
walk back along the Strand.
The lads followed the advice, and were soon delighted and surprised
with the great river, then pure and limpid, and covered with boats
proceeding rapidly in all directions, for it was at that time the
great highway of London. Tide was flowing and the river nearly
full, and having given their waterman the intimation that time did
not press, he rowed them very gently along in the centre of the
stream, pointing out to them, when they had passed above the limits
of the city, the various noblemen's houses scattered along the
banks of the river. Off Westminster the waterman ceased rowing, to
allow them to view the grand old Abbey; and then as they went on
again, they marvelled at the contrast of the low, deserted marshes
of Lambeth and Bankside, which contrasted so strongly with the
magnificence and the life they had left behind.
At Chelsea they admired the grand palace for the reception of old
soldiers, and then--for the tide was turning now--floated back to
Westminster. So long were they in going round the Abbey, and
examining the tombs of the kings, that it was getting dark when
they started eastward again, up past the Palace of Whitehall, and
then along the Strand. Already the distance between the city and
Westminster was connected with houses, and the junction of the two
cities had fairly taken place.
Dim oil lamps were lighted here and there as they went along, foot
passengers bore lanterns to enable them to pick their way across
rough places, and link men carried torches in front of sedan
chairs, in which ladies were being taken to fashionable
entertainments, which then commenced at six o'clock.
All this was new and amusing to the boys; and having gone into a
tavern near the Abbey, and partaken of some refreshment, they were
not pressed for time; and it was near eight before they seriously
thought of proceeding towards the city.
When a few hundred yards from Temple Bar, they heard a shouting and
a scream down one of the streets leading to the river. The street
was deserted, but down at the farther end they could see the flash
of sword blades, in the light of an oil lamp.
"Come along, Hugh; that is a woman's scream."
"Better not interfere, Master Rupert," Hugh said.
But Rupert had already darted off, and Hugh without a moment's
hesitation followed in his steps.
At the end of the street they came upon a sedan chair. The two
porters stood surlily against the wall, menaced by the drawn swords
of two men standing over them; while two other men--evidently of
higher rank, but enveloped in cloaks--were forcibly dragging a lady
from the chair. They had thrown a cloak over her head to drown her
cries.
As the lads came up, one of the men uttered a furious oath.
"Rolf, Simon! leave those fellows and keep these springalls back.
They are but boys. I will whistle when I am in the boat.
"Now, mistress!" and he began to carry the lady away.
As the lads arrived, the servitors--for such they were by their
appearance--leaving the chairmen, turned upon them. One of the
chairmen at once ran off as fast as his legs could carry him; but
the other, a sturdy fellow, leaped on the back of the man who had
been guarding him, as the latter turned upon Rupert. Hugh was
attacked by the other.
"Be careful, Hugh! keep out of reach of his point," Rupert cried;
and darting past, he struck the man who had hold of the lady a
sharp blow across the ankle, which brought him instantly to the
ground with his burden.
The other gentleman drew his sword, and rushed upon Rupert. It was
fortunate for the latter that he had chosen his stick for lightness
and balance, for it moved as quickly and easily as a foil. Without
a thought of guarding, his assailant rushed at him to run him
through; but Rupert parried the thrust, and in turn drove the end
of his stick, with all his force, into his opponent's stomach. The
man instantaneously doubled up with a low cry, and fell on the
ground.
Then the other man, who had by this time risen to his feet, in turn
rushed furiously at Rupert. A few times the sword and stick scraped
and rasped against each other, and then Rupert lunged full at the
other's face.
There was a loud cry, an oath, and then, as the sound of the watch
running down the street, led by the chairman who had run away, was
heard, the man took to his feet and fled. The lackey who had
engaged Hugh, and who had in vain endeavoured to get to close
quarters with the lad, imitated his example; but the prostrate man
on the ground, and the fellow held by the chairman, were seized by
the watch.
Rupert turned to the young lady, who, having now disencumbered
herself of the folds of the cloak over her head, was leaning, half
fainting, against the chair.
Taking off his hat and bowing deeply, he expressed his hope that
she had suffered no harm through the unmannerly assault upon her.
"I thank you greatly, sir," she said, speaking with a slightly
foreign accent. "I am unhurt, although somewhat breathless. I owe
you my deep gratitude for rescue from these evil-minded men."
"What may be your name, mistress?" one of the watch asked. "You
will be needed tomorrow to testify against these men."
"My name is Maria Von Duyk, and I reside at present with the worthy
alderman, Peter Hawkins, to whom I was returning in the chair, as
the chairmen will tell you, after a visit to Mistress Vanloct,
whose house we had just left when molested."
"And yours, young sir?" the watchman asked.
"My name is Rupert Holliday. I am staying at the Bell, in
Bishopsgate Street."
"You will both have to be present tomorrow morning before the
worshipful magistrate Master Forman, at Westminster."
The watch now secured the man on the ground, who was recovering
from the effect of the violent thrust in the stomach, and putting
handcuffs on him and the other, led them away.
"You will permit me, I trust, to escort you to your door," Rupert
said, as he ceremoniously handed the young lady into her chair.
"Yes, indeed, sir; and I trust that you will enter, and allow Dame
Hawkins to add her thanks to mine."
Rupert bowed, and the chair being closed the chairmen lifted it,
and with Rupert and Hugh following, proceeded eastward.
When they arrived at the house of Alderman Hawkins, in Lawrence
Pulteney, the young lady on alighting begged Rupert to enter; but
the latter excused himself on account of the hour, but said that he
would call next morning, and would, if allowed, accompany her and
the alderman to give evidence as to the assault.
On arriving next morning, Rupert was overwhelmed with thanks by the
alderman, his wife, and Mistress Maria Von Duyk, all of whom were
much surprised at his youth, for in the dim light of the preceding
evening the young lady had not perceived that her rescuer was a
mere lad.
Rupert found that there was no occasion to go before the
magistrate, for the alderman having sent down early to the watch
house to inquire at what hour their presence would be required,
found that the prisoners had been rescued, on their way to the
watch house, by a party of armed men.
"We are," the alderman said, "well aware who was the leader of the
assailants, the man who escaped. Sir Richard Fulke is a ruined
gamester, and is a distant relation of Dame Vanloct, whom my young
friend was yesterday visiting. Knowing the wealth of Mistress Von
Duyk's good father, he has sought to mend his ruined fortune by a
match with her. At the urgent request of Mistress Von Duyk I wrote
to him, saying that his attentions were unpleasing to her, and that
they must be discontinued, or that she could no longer visit at
Dame Vanloct's where she usually had met him. This was a week
since. He replied courteously, regretting that the deep devotion he
felt was unrequited, but withdrawing from the undertaking of trying
to win her, and promising that henceforth she should be no longer
troubled with his presence when she visited Dame Vanloct. This was
of course done to lull our suspicion. When the chair was stopped
yesterday, Maria at once recognized his voice. As they dragged her
from the chair, he said:
"'Quick! hurry her down to the boat.'
"There is no doubt upon my mind that he intended to carry her off,
and to compel her to marry him. I bethought me at first of applying
to the secretary of state for a warrant for his arrest to answer
for this outrage, but Mistress Maria leaves us tomorrow for
Holland, and the process would delay her departure, and would cause
a scandal and talk very unpleasant to herself, and which would
greatly offend my good friend her father. Had the men in custody
been brought up this morning, there would have been no choice but
to have carried the matter through. It was then a relief to us to
find that they had escaped. I have told you this, young sir, as
your due after having rescued Mistress Von Duyk from so great a
peril. Now, as to yourself, believe me if my friendship and
assistance can in any way advantage you, they are at your service.
Even of your name I am yet in ignorance."
Rupert thanked the worthy alderman, and then stated that he was the
grandson of Colonel Holliday, of Windthorpe Chace, in Derbyshire,
and had come up to London to wait upon the Earl of Marlborough, who
had promised him his protection and a cornetcy in a regiment of
horse for service in Holland.
"In that case, sir," Mistress Von Duyk said, "it is like you may
come to Dort. If so, believe me that my father, whom I shall tell
how much we are indebted to you, will not be backward in
manifesting his gratitude for the great service that you have
rendered to his daughter."
"How were you thinking of passing the day?" the alderman asked.
"I had no plan," Rupert said. "In truth, I am waiting to call upon
the Earl of Marlborough until Master Haliford has fashioned me a
suit of clothes fitted for such an occasion; he has promised them
for this evening."
"Would it please you to go down the river? I have a boat, and if
you would like to see the shipping of this great port, and the
palace at Greenwich for our seamen, my boatmen will take you down;
and you will, I trust, return and take your midday meal with us."
And so it was arranged; and as Rupert and Hugh were rowed down the
river, lost in wonder at the numerous craft that lay there, Hugh
admitted that Rupert's interference in a business which was no
concern of his had turned out a fortunate occurrence.