THE DEFENSE OF AN OUTPOST.
The effect of the fresh air and of cordials poured down their throats
soon restored the vigor to Prince Rupert and Harry Furness. They were
still weak, for the great effort which nature had made to resist the
force of the heat during those long hours had taxed their constitutions
to the utmost.
Lady Sidmouth was rejoiced indeed to find them alive, for she had made
sure that they were lost. It was not until she had been placed in a room
strongly barred, and under a guard at Storton, that she perceived the
light arising from her residence, and guessed that the men of the
Commons, unable to find the hiding-place of Prince Rupert, had set it on
fire. Then she had knocked loudly at the door; but the sentry had given
no answer either to that or to her entreaties for a hearing. She soon,
indeed, desisted from her efforts, for the fire which blazed up speedily
convinced her that all hope was gone. When Jacob and the Royalists
arrived, driving out the small remnant of the Roundheads who remained in
the village, he had found Lady Sidmouth and her daughter bathed in
tears, under the belief that their guests had perished in the old house
that they loved so well. It was with no hope that they had mounted on
the instant, and ridden at full gallop to the castle, and it was not
until they saw that that wall was still standing that even the slightest
hope entered their minds. Even then it appeared incredible that any one
could be alive, and the shout from the loophole had surprised almost as
much as it had delighted them.
In the course of three or four hours, refreshed and strengthened by a
hearty breakfast and draughts of burgundy, the prince and Harry mounted
their horses. Lady Sidmouth determined to remain for a few days at one
of her tenant's houses, and then to go quietly on to Oxford--for by this
time the main army of Essex was rapidly moving east, and the country
would soon be secure for her passage. The prince and Harry rode at full
speed to rejoin the army. That night, by riding late, they reached it.
They found that Essex had, in his retreat, surprised Cirencester and had
passed Farringdon.
The prince, with five thousand horse, started, and marching with great
rapidity, got between Reading and the enemy, and, near Newbury, fell
upon the Parliament horse. For several hours sharp skirmishing went on,
and Essex was forced to halt his army at Hungerford. This gave time for
the king, who was marching at the head of his infantry, to come up. The
royal army occupied Newbury, and by the position they had taken up, were
now between the Roundheads and London.
On the morning of the 20th of September the outpost of each force became
engaged, and the battle soon raged along the whole line. It was to some
extent a repetition of the battle of Edgehill. Prince Rupert, with his
Cavaliers, swept away the horse of the enemy; but the pikemen of London,
who now first were tried in combat, forced back the infantry of the
king. Prince Rupert, returning from the pursuit, charged them with all
his cavalry; but so sharply did they shoot, and so steadily did the line
of pikes hold together, that the horse could make no impression upon
them.
The night fell upon an undecided battle, and the next morning the
Roundheads, as at Edgehill, drew off from the field, leaving to the
Royalists the honor of a nominal success, a success, however, which was
in both cases tantamount to a repulse.
Three leading men upon the king's side fell--Lords Falkland, Carnarvon,
and Sunderland. The former, one of the finest characters of the times,
may be said to have thrown away his life. He was utterly weary of the
terrible dissensions and war in which England was plunged. He saw the
bitterness increasing on both sides daily--the hopes of peace growing
less and less; and as he had left the Parliamentary party, because he
saw that their ambition was boundless, and that they purposed to set up
a despotic tyranny, so he must have bitterly grieved at seeing upon the
side of the king a duplicity beyond all bounds, and want of faith which
seemed to forbid all hope of a satisfactory issue. Thus, then, when the
day of Newbury came, Falkland, whose duties in nowise led him into the
fight, charged recklessly and found the death which there can be little
doubt he sought.
Although the Cavaliers claimed Newbury as a great victory, instead of
advancing upon London they fell back as usual to Oxford.
During the skirmishes Harry had an opportunity of doing a service to an
old friend. The Parliament horse, although valiant and better trained
than that of the Royalists, were yet unable to withstand the impetuosity
with which the latter always attacked, the men seeming, indeed, to be
seized with a veritable panic at the sight of the gay plumes of Rupert's
gentlemen. In a fierce skirmish between Harry's troop and a party of
Parliament horse of about equal strength, the latter were defeated, and
Harry, returning with the main body, found a Puritan officer dismounted,
with his back against a tree, defending himself from the attacks of
three of his men. Harry rode hastily up and demanded his surrender. The
officer looked up, and to his surprise Harry saw his friend Herbert.
"I am your prisoner, Harry," Herbert said, as he lowered the point of
his sword.
"Not at all!" Harry exclaimed. "It would indeed be a strange thing,
Herbert, were I to make you a prisoner. I thought you settled at
Abingdon?"
Ordering one of his troopers to catch a riderless horse which was
galloping near, he spoke for a moment or two with his friend, and then,
as the horse was brought up, he told him to mount and ride.
"But you may get into trouble for releasing me," Herbert said.
"I care not if I do," Harry replied. "But you need not be uneasy about
me, for Prince Rupert will stand my friend, and hold me clear of any
complaint that may be made. I will ride forward with you a little, till
you can join your friends."
As Harry rode on by the side of Herbert a Royalist officer, one Sir
Ralph Willoughby, dashed up.
"What means this?" he exclaimed. "Do I see an officer of his majesty
riding with one of the Roundheads? This is treason and treachery!"
"I will answer to the king, if need be," Harry said, "for my conduct. I
am not under your orders, Sir Ralph, and shall use my discretion in this
matter. This gentleman is as a brother to me."
"And I would cut down my brother," Sir Ralph said furiously, "if I found
him in the ranks of the enemy!"
"Then, sir, we differ," Harry replied, "for that would not I. There are
your friends," he said to Herbert, pointing to a body of Roundheads at a
short distance, "Give me your word, however, that you will not draw
sword again to-day."
Herbert readily gave the required promise, and riding off, was soon
with his friends. Sir Ralph and Harry came to high words after he had
left; and the matter might then and there have been decided by the
sword, had not a party of Roundheads, seeing two cavalry officers so
near to them, charged down, and compelled them to ride for their lives.
The following day Sir Ralph reported the circumstance to the general,
and he to Prince Rupert. The prince laughed at the charge.
"Harry Furness," he said, "is as loyal a gentleman as draws sword in our
ranks, and as he and I have been well-nigh roasted together, it were
vain indeed that any complaint were made to me touching his honor. I
will speak to him, however, and doubt not that his explanation will be
satisfactory."
The prince accordingly spoke to Harry, who explained the circumstances
of his relations with the young Roundhead.
"Had he been a great captain, sir," Harry said, "I might have deemed it
my duty to hold him in durance, however near his relationship to myself.
But as a few weeks since he was but a schoolboy, methought that the
addition of his sword to the Roundhead cause would make no great
difference in our chances of victory that afternoon. Moreover, I had
received his pledge that he would not draw sword again in the battle."
As even yet, although the bitterness was quickly increasing, it was far
from having reached that point which it subsequently attained, and
prisoners on both sides were treated with respect, no more was said
regarding Harry's conduct in allowing his friend to escape. But from
that moment, between himself and Sir Ralph Willoughby there grew up a
strong feeling of animosity, which only needed some fitting pretext to
break out.
It was, indeed, an unfortunate point in the royal cause, that there was
very far from being unity among those who fought side by side. There
were intrigues and jealousies. There were the king's men, who would have
supported his majesty in all lengths to which he might have gone, and
who were ever advising him to resist all attempts at pacification, and
to be content with nothing less than a complete defeat of his enemies.
Upon the other hand, there were the grave, serious men, who had drawn
the sword with intense reluctance, and who desired nothing so much as
peace--a peace which would secure alike the rights of the crown and the
rights of the people.
They were shocked, too, by the riotous and profligate ways of some of
the wilder spirits, and deemed that their cause was sullied by the
reckless conduct and wild ways of many of their party. Sir Henry Furness
belonged to this section of the king's adherents, and Harry, who had
naturally imbibed his father's opinions, held himself a good deal aloof
from the wild young spirits of the king's party.
Skirmishes took place daily between the cavalry outposts of the two
armies. Sir Henry was asked by the prince to send some of his troops
across the river to watch the enemy, and he chose that commanded by
Harry, rather for the sake of getting the lad away from the temptations
and dissipation of Oxford than to give him an opportunity of
distinguishing himself. The troop commanded by Sir Ralph Willoughby was
also on outpost duty, and lay at no great distance from the village in
which Harry quartered his men after crossing the river. The Roundhead
cavalry were known to be but three or four miles away, and the utmost
vigilance was necessary.
Harry gave orders that the troops should be distributed through the
village--five men to a house. Straw was to be brought in at night, and
laid on the floor of the kitchens, and the men were there to sleep, with
their arms by their sides, ready for instant service. One of each party
was to stand sentry over the five horses which were to be picketed to
the palings in front of the house. At the first alarm he was at once to
awake his comrades, who were to mount instantly, and form in column in
the street. Two pickets were placed three hundred yards from the
village, and two others a quarter of a mile further in advance. Harry
and Jacob took up their residence in the village inn, and arranged
alternately to visit the pickets and sentries every two hours.
"They shall not catch us napping, Jacob. This is my first command on
detached duty. You and I have often remarked upon the reckless ways of
our leaders. We have an opportunity now of carrying our own ideas into
effect."
At three o'clock Jacob visited the outposts. All was still, and nothing
had occurred to give rise to any suspicion of the vicinity of an enemy.
Half an hour later one of the advanced pickets galloped in. They heard,
he said, a noise as of a large body of horse, away to the right, and it
seemed as if it was proceeding toward Chalcombe, the village where Sir
Ralph Willoughby's troop was quartered. Two minutes later, thanks to
Harry's arrangements, the troop were mounted and in readiness for
action.
The first faint dawn of day had begun. Suddenly the stillness was broken
by the sound of pistol shots and shouts from the direction of Chalcombe,
which lay a mile away.
"It is likely," Harry said, "that Sir Ralph has been caught napping. He
is brave, but he is reckless, and the discipline of his troop is of the
slackest. Let us ride to his rescue."
The troop filed out from the village, and turned down the side road
leading to Chalcombe. Harry set spurs to his horse and led the column at
a gallop. The sound of shots continued without intermission, and
presently a bright light shot up.
"Methinks," Harry said to Jacob, "the Roundheads have caught our men
asleep, and it is an attack upon the houses rather than a cavalry
fight."
It was scarcely five minutes from the time they started when they
approached the village. By the light of a house which had been set on
fire, Harry saw that his conjecture was well founded. The Roundheads
were dismounted, and were attacking the houses.
Halting just outside the village, Harry formed his men with a front
across the whole road, and directed the lines to advance, twenty yards
apart. Then, placing himself at their head, he gave the word, and
charged down the street upon the Roundheads. The latter, occupied by
their attack upon the houses, were unconscious of the presence of their
foe until he was close upon them, and were taken utterly by surprise.
The force of the charge was irresistible, and the Roundheads, dispersed
and on foot, were cut down in all directions. Groups of twos and threes
stood together and attempted resistance, but the main body thought only
of regaining their horses. In three minutes after the Royalists entered
the village the surviving Roundheads were in full flight, hotly pursued
by the victorious Cavaliers. These, being for the most part better
mounted, overtook and slew many of the Roundheads, and not more than
half the force which had set out returned to their quarters at Didcot.
The pursuit continued to within half a mile of that place, and then
Harry, knowing that there was a force of Roundhead infantry there, drew
off from the pursuit, and returned to Chalcombe. He found that more
than half of Sir Ralph Willoughy's men had been killed, many having been
cut down before they could betake themselves to their arms, those
quartered in the inn, and at two or three of the larger houses, having
alone maintained a successful resistance until the arrival of succor.
Sir Ralph Willoughby was furious. The disaster was due to his own
carelessness in having contented himself with placing two pickets in
advance of the village, and permitting the whole remainder of his force
to retire to bed. Consequently the picket, on riding in upon the
approach of the enemy, were unable to awake and call them to arms before
the Roundheads were upon them. In his anger he turned upon Harry, and
fiercely demanded why he had not sent him news of the approach of the
enemy.
"You must have known it," he said. "Your men were all mounted and in
readiness, or they could not have arrived here so soon. You must have
been close at hand, and only holding off in order that you might boast
of having come to my relief."
Harry, indignant at these words, turned on heel without deigning to give
an answer to the angry man, and at once rode back to his own quarters.
Two hours later Prince Rupert rode up. The firing had been reported, and
Prince Rupert had ridden with a body of horse to Chalcombe. Here he had
heard Sir Ralph Willoughby's version of the story, and had requested
that officer to ride with him to Harry's quarters. The prince, with
several of his principal officers, alighted at the inn, outside which
Harry received him. Prince Rupert led the way into the house.
"Master Furness," he said, "Sir Ralph Willoughby accuses you of having
played him false, and left his party to be destroyed on account of the
quarrel existing between you, touching that affair at Newbury. What
have you to say to this? He alleges that you must have been close at
hand, and moved not a finger to save him until half his troop was
destroyed."
"It is wholly false, sir," Harry said. "Seeing that the enemy were so
close, I had placed my pickets well in advance, and ordered my men to
lie down in their clothes, with their arms beside them, on straw in the
kitchens, ready to mount at a moment's warning. I quartered five in each
house, having their horses fastened in front, and one of each party
stationed at the door, where he could observe the horses and wake the
men on the instant. Thus, when my pickets came in with the news that
troops were heard moving toward Chalcombe, my troop was in less than two
minutes in the saddle. As we rode out of the village we heard the first
shot, and five minutes later charged the Roundheads in the streets of
the village. Had we not hastened, methinks that neither Sir Ralph
Willoughby nor any of his troops would have been alive now to tell the
tale. You can question, sir, my lieutenant, or any of my troopers, and
you will hear that matters went precisely as I have told you."
"You have done well indeed, Master Furness," Prince Rupert said warmly,
"and I would that many of my other officers showed the same
circumspection and care as you have done. Now, Sir Ralph, let me hear
what arrangements you made against surprise."
"I set pickets in front of the village," Sir Ralph said sulkily.
"And what besides?" the prince asked. "Having done that, did you and
your officers and men go quietly to sleep, as if the enemy were a
hundred miles away?"
Sir Ralph was silent.
"Fie, for shame, sir!" the prince said sternly. "Your own carelessness
has brought disaster upon you, and instead of frankly owning your fault,
and thanking Master Furness for having redeemed your error, saved the
remnant of your troop, and defeated the Roundheads heavily, your
jealousy and envy of the lad have wrought you to bring false accusations
against him. Enough, sir," he said peremptorily, seeing the glance of
hatred which Sir Ralph cast toward Harry. "Sufficient harm has been done
already by your carelessness--see that no more arises from your bad
temper. I forbid this quarrel to go further; until the king's enemies
are wholly defeated there must be no quarrels between his friends. And
should I hear of any further dispute on your part with Master Furness, I
shall bring it before the king, and obtain his warrant for your
dismissal from this army."
The following day Harry and his troop moved further down the river, the
enemy having fallen back from Didcot. He was placed at a village where
there was a ford across the river. The post was of importance, as its
position prevented the enemy from making raids into the country, where
stores of provisions and cattle had been collected for the use of the
army at Oxford. Harry's force was a small one for the defense of such a
post; but there appeared little danger of an attack, as Prince Rupert,
with a large force of cavalry, lay but a mile or two distant. A few days
after their arrival, however, Prince Rupert started with his horse to
drive back a party of the enemy whom he heard were lying some miles
north of Reading.
"Prince Rupert never seems to have room for two ideas in his head at the
same time," Jacob said. "The moment he hears of an enemy off he rides at
full gallop, forgetting that he has left us alone here. It is well if
the Roundheads at Reading do not sally out and attack us, seeing how
useful this ford would be to them."
"I agree with you, Jacob, and we will forthwith set to work to render
the place as defensible as we may."
"We had best defend the other side of the ford, if they advance," Jacob
said. "We could make a far better stand there."
"That is true, Jacob; but though we could there bar them from entering
our country, they, if they obtained the village, would shut the door to
our entering theirs. No, it is clear that it our duty to defend the
village as long as we can, if we should be attacked."
Harry now set his men to work to make loopholes in the cottages and
inclosure walls, and to connect the latter by banks of earth, having
thorn branches set on the top. Just at the ford itself stood a large
water-mill, worked by a stream which here ran into the river. Harry
placed sacks before all the windows, leaving only loopholes through
which to fire. Some of the troop carried pistols only; others had
carbines; and some, short, wide-mouthed guns, which carried large
charges of buckshot. Pickets were sent forward a mile toward Reading.
Early in the afternoon these galloped in with the news that a heavy
column of infantry and cavalry, with two pieces of artillery, were
approaching along the road. Harry at once dispatched a messenger, with
orders to ride until he found Prince Rupert, to tell him of the state he
was in, and ask him to hurry to his assistance, giving assurance that he
would hold the village as long as possible. All now labored vigorously
at the works of defense. Half an hour after the alarm had been given the
enemy were seen approaching.
"There must be over five hundred men, horse and foot," Jacob said, as
from the upper story of the mill he watched with Harry the approach of
the enemy. "With fifty men we shall never be able to defend the circuit
of the village."
"Not if they attack all round at once," Harry agreed. "But probably
they will fall upon us in column, and behind stone walls we can do much.
We must keep them out as long as we can; then fall back here, and
surround ourselves with a ring of fire."
As soon as it was known that the enemy were approaching Harry had given
orders that all the inhabitants should evacuate their houses and cross
the river, taking with them such valuables as they could carry. There
were several horses and carts in the village, and these were at once put
in requisition, and the people crossing and recrossing the river rapidly
carried most of their linen and other valuables over in safety, the men
continuing to labor for the preservation of their goods, even after the
fight commenced.
The Roundheads halted about four hundred yards from the village. Just as
they did so there was a trampling of horses, and Sir Ralph Willoughby,
with his troop, now reduced to thirty strong, rode into the village. He
drew up his horse before Harry.
"Master Furness," he said, "Prince Rupert has forbidden me to test your
courage in the way gentlemen usually do so. But there is now a means
open. Let us see which will ride furthest--you or I--into the ranks of
yonder horsemen."
Harry hesitated a moment; then he said gravely:
"My life is not my own to throw away, Sir Ralph. My orders are to hold
this place. That I can best do on foot, for even if our troops united
were to rout the enemy's cavalry, their footmen would still remain, and
would carry the village. No, sir, my duty is to fight here."
"I always thought you a coward!" Sir Ralph exclaimed; "now I know it,"
and, with a taunting laugh, he ordered his men to follow him, issued
from the village, and prepared, with his little band, to charge the
Roundhead horse, about a hundred and fifty strong.
Just as they formed line, however, the enemy's' guns opened, and a shot
struck Sir Ralph full in the chest, hurling him, a shattered corpse, to
the ground.
His men, dismayed at the fall of their leader, drew rein.
"Fall back, men," Harry shouted from behind, "fall back, and make a
stand here. You must be cut to pieces if you advance."
The troop, who had no other officer with them, at once obeyed Harry's
orders. They had heard the conversation between him and their leader,
and although prepared to follow Sir Ralph, who was the landlord of most
of them, they saw that Harry was right, and that to attack so numerous a
body of horse and foot was but to invite destruction.