Already had they reached a village near Llandaff, where they proposed to
pass the night, when the fineness of the evening tempted them to enjoy
the beauties they beheld in an extensive landscape. In passing along a
bank from which the ancient walls of the church-yard rose, a groan,
replete with anguish, assailed their ears. The heart of Frederick ever
felt for the distresses of his fellow-creatures, and, on directing his
eye to the spot whence the sound proceeded, a scene presented itself,
which awakened every sentiment of pity.
A man, whose maimed condition implied the service he had rendered his
country, was bending over a grave recently made; his hat was off, and
the sun shed his last beams on a face that showed the wreck of every
manly beauty, whilst his hair, gently waving in the evening breeze,
shaded, and added a softness to the settled grief impressed on his
countenance. A lovely girl lay at his feet, embracing the senseless
turf, then raising herself, wrung her hands, and, clasping that of her
companion sank on the sod in a state of insensibility!
"Ellen, Ellen, my child!" exclaimed the mourner. Frederick could refrain
no longer, but, rushing through the gateway, raised the senseless Ellen
in his arms. Life soon returned, when the Captain (who, with Mr. Talton,
had followed Frederick) took the hand of the unhappy man; the softened
accent of commiseration hung on his lips, but, the mourner murmuring an
entreaty to be spared, withdrew his hand from the friendly grasp, and,
taking the weeping girl by the arm, slowly directed his steps from the
compassionate intruders.
His sorrow was sacred--the Captain felt it; but Frederick, whose
attention was fixed on Ellen, perceiving her scarcely able to support
herself, again hastened to her assistance, and the Captain waving his
hand for his servant to attend him, returned with Mr. Talton to the inn.
The scene they had witnessed was too impressive to be erased from their
minds; they communicated it to their host, who said--"Ah, your Honour,
it was Lieutenant Booyers. Poor gentleman--he is the pity of all who
know him, though I knew him when the sun rose not on a happier man: but
that time is passed."
"And pray, my worthy friend," said the Captain, "to what misfortune does
he owe this unhappy change?"
"'Tis a mournful tale, your Honours," answered the compassionate Jarvis,
"never, I believe, did any man experience more sorrow and misfortune
than he has."
"If my curiosity be not impertinent," said the Captain, "I would thank
you for a few particulars respecting him. I remember a Francis Booyers,
who some years since served, at the time I did, on board the Agamemnon;
and what I have beheld I acknowledge has interested me. You appear to
have known him long."
"From his birth, Sir: and, I believe, there are few circumstances of his
life with which I am unacquainted.
"I was, Sir, in my youth a soldier, and served under the father of the
gentleman you this evening beheld: as brave a man as ever fought beneath
the British standard, and as well beloved by his whole regiment. During
our campaign, I had the good fortune several times to gain his notice,
and in the last engagement where I fought, had the happiness to save his
life! It was by that, indeed, I was disabled; for I had my knee broken,
and received a musket shot in my side; but that I did not regret, for,
wounded as I was, there was not a man left of the regiment but envied me
an action I shall ever regard as my greatest glory: Aye, your Honours,
or who would not have changed situations with me, could he have said,
he had been the means of preserving the gallant Colonel Booyers! I was
attended with as much tenderness as our harassed situation would admit
of: the Colonel himself visited me, and when I recovered, not only
procured me a pension, but took me as an attendant on his person.
"Soon after, we returned to England, where the Colonel involved himself
in ruin, by marrying the daughter of a poor clergyman. For his father,
Lord Booyers, was no sooner informed of what he had done, than he
forbade him his sight, and passed from one act of unkindness to another,
till at last he disinherited him! The Colonel, at first, sought a
reconciliation by means of their common friends; but, finding it of no
effect, resigned all thoughts of the fortune he had expected. His lady
was too amiable to let him regret the step he had taken, and, in her
affection, he found a sufficient recompense for the loss of his
father's.
"In the course of five years she made him the father of three lovely
children, and, during that time, their happiness never received the
least interruption: but our regiment was then again ordered abroad; and
leaving his family in this village, under the protection of Sir James
and Lady Elvyn, the Colonel bade adieu to Wales, and beneath the walls
of Carthagena found a soldier's grave!
"Ah, Sir! five-and-thirty years have not worn away the remembrance of
that day. Still fresh in my memory is the moment I saw him borne in the
arms of the soldiers from the field. Many times had I faced death,
regardless of the carnage which surrounded me--but the sight of my noble
master's corpse made me a coward! The shout of victory, which had been
wont to rouse me to an enthusiastic madness of joy, ceased to vibrate on
my heart; and, though a soldier, I cursed the ravages of war!
"At such a time, but little ceremony can be used:--a shell was hastily
prepared, into which he was laid, and the following evening carried on
the shoulders of his men to the grave they had previously prepared. I
followed--a real mourner! The half-suppressed groans of my comrades were
answered by my own, and each stroke on the drum sank deeper in my heart.
I however marched to the grave: but when I heard the earth rattle on the
coffin of him, whom the day before I had beheld in the pride of health;
surrounded with honour; whose words the oldest officers listened to with
respect, and whose presence could animate and lead his men to the
greatest dangers, then bereft of life, and hurried to the dust--to think
of his wife--his children!--My heart already swelled with anguish to the
utmost, could bear no more--I threw myself in the half-filled grave--in
bitter terms lamented his untimely fate, and franticly accused the hand
of Providence, that had not shielded him from the stroke of death! In
vain my fellow-soldiers endeavoured to recall me to reason, to arouse me
to a sense of apprehended danger from the scouts of the enemy: I was
insensible to all but the remembrance of my master! At last they tore me
from the sacred spot, and hurried me back to the battery, where I was
suffered unmolested to indulge in my grief.
"Some days after, the General sent for me; he praised my honest
affection, as he termed it, for my deceased master, and would have
received me into his own service; but, finding me averse to the
proposal, consented to my bearing the intelligence of the Colonel's
death to my Lady. The property belonging to my master was therefore
entrusted to my care, and I once more returned to Wales; when I found an
account of his death had reached his wife by means of the public papers.
She bore her loss with that meek resignation which marked her character,
and, being then destitute of other support than her pension, determined,
for the sake of her children, to humble herself before their stern
grand-sire, and entreat his pity and protection. But his heart was too
obdurate to yield to the orphan's or widow's tears; and that forgiveness
he had refused to his own child, he vowed never to extend to hers.
"She then applied to his sons, my late master's brothers, the eldest of
whom had a very large fortune, which he inherited from a relation: but
they, like the old gentleman, were deaf to her claim of relief or
protection; their pride of blood, indeed, would not let them stoop to
acknowledge the poor descendants of an obscure country clergyman.
"My Lady returned to Sir James, who, on being informed of her
unsuccessful application, said--'It is not more, Mrs. Booyers, than I
expected from the well-known character of his Lordship and his sons: but
let not this disappointment of your wishes rather than your hopes
depress you. In Lady Elvyn, you have a sincere and affectionate friend:
your hearts are congenial: stay then with her, and let her attentions
and commiseration soothe the sorrows of your widowhood: as for your
children--I will supply the place of the father they have lost.'--And
truly did Sir James keep his word. My Lady remained at the Hall till her
death, which happened about two years after; when she and her little
girl both died of the small-pox.
"Till then I had been retained in the family as her servant: but, a few
days after the funeral, Sir James sent for me into his study--'I know
your worth, Jarvis,' he said, 'and respect the fidelity and attachment
you have ever evinced for my unfortunate friend and his wife; and, as I
believe you wish still to be near their children, I now offer you the
place of butler; in which I doubt not you will acquit yourself as much
to my satisfaction, as in your preceding service you did to your late
master and his widow.'
"I joyfully accepted the offer, and as butler passed the remainder of my
servitude.
"As for the sons of his friend, Sir James reared and educated them at
his own expense, and indeed ever loved them as though they had been his
own: himself had only three daughters, the loveliest girls, I think,
that ever I beheld; but, alas! beauty could not secure their happiness!
"About three years after the decease of Mrs. Booyers, Lady Elvyn died:
the affection of Sir James, however, scarcely allowed them to be
conscious of the loss; his wife, he would say, still existed in her
offspring, and for their sake he never would wed another.
"Well, Sir; early in life, Miss Mary and Hannah, the two elder, showed
an attachment to the young gentlemen, and Sir James declared their want
of an adequate fortune should never be a hindrance to their union with
his children. For the eldest he obtained a commission in the army; the
youngest had long been at sea; and, as my master's interest was great,
the fairest prospect of promotion was before them. An active war then
called them abroad; and well I remember the morning they bade Sir James
and the young ladies farewell. My master took a hand of each, as they
were preparing to step into the carriage which was to convey them away,
and, pressing them to his bosom, said--'Farewell, my dear boys; and
remember, whether good or ill fortune attend your pursuits in life, here
you will ever meet with friends, whose hearts, proudly conscious of your
real worth, will prize you for that alone. Your country now demands your
services: seek then the acquirement of honour, if not of fortune; and at
your return, doubt not my ready assent to the union you so ardently
wish.'
"It was two years after this, before we saw either of the young
gentlemen again. At that time Mr. Francis returned from Barbadoes, and
Captain Booyers arrived from Ireland, accompanied by a son of Sir Horace
Corbet. My old master, who had drooped in their absence, revived at
their return, and for six weeks we had nought but feasts and merriment.
About that time Mr. Corbet disclosed a passion he entertained for Miss
Eliza; and Sir James instantly wrote to Sir Horace, who a few days after
likewise arrived. Ah! all then was truly a scene of happiness!--for Sir
Horace immediately gave his consent to the match, and preparations were
begun for the three marriages. But, alas! Sir, nothing in this me is
certain; for, in the midst of our joy, my good old master was seized
with an apoplectic fit, and a few hours after expired!
"Sir Horace undertook the care of the funeral, and to settle the affairs
of Sir James; but, on searching his papers, no will could be found! The
whole of my master's property, therefore, went, with the title, to a
distant relation; a proud sordid man, who came the day after the
funeral, and, without the least feeling or ceremony, told my young
ladies to provide themselves another habitation; and Sir Horace, who had
pretended the greatest friendship and affection, instantly changed, and
peremptorily told his son, he must cease his addresses to Miss Eliza.
This, Mr. Corbet refused, and declared his resolution to espouse her,
whatever consequence might ensue: but Sir Horace hurried him away to his
seat in Caermarthen; nor was this all, for about a week after, Miss
Eliza received a letter, as they supposed, from Mr. Corbet, entreating
her to meet him at a place appointed; and my young lady, wholly
unsuspicious of treachery, went without attendants (for indeed all the
servants but one female had been dismissed)--and from that time, Sir,
has never been heard of!"
"Not heard off!" repeated the Captain and Mr. Talton, as with one voice.
"No, your Honours," reiterated the landlord, with a deep sigh--"has
never been heard of! My young master and his brother used every means
to discover what was become of her; but, though they entertained not the
least doubt it was Sir Horace who had trepanned her, yet, as they could
not bring any proof, no redress could be obtained.
"My young ladies, being now deprived of fortune, insisted that all
thoughts of marriage should be relinquished till the Captain and his
brother could acquire a competence more adequate to the expenses of a
family; and, finding all endeavours to alter their resolution
ineffectual, my young masters at last yielded an unwilling assent; the
Captain returned to his regiment in Ireland, and Mr. Francis set sail
for somewhere quite the other side of the globe.
"About a year and a half after his departure, Captain Booyers was
promoted to the rank of Major; when Miss Mary yielded to his
solicitations, and they were married. But her happiness was of short
duration: she died in less than a twelvemonth, in giving birth to a
daughter!
"From that time the Major dragged on a wretched existence, till his
regiment was ordered abroad, where, like his father, he lost his life in
the field; leaving the little orphan Ellen to the protection of his
brother and Miss Hannah.
"The Lieutenant went again to sea, in hopes of attaining a higher rank,
or amassing a little fortune; without which, reason forbade his
marrying to involve the woman he loved in greater difficulties: and the
marriage was still and still deferred, in hopes fortune would prove more
favourable; till the ship he served in was put out of commission; and,
after having been many times wounded, and lost an arm, he is now
returned, with no other support or reward than half-pay! Poor Miss
Hannah had been in a decline for a long time; her heart, I know, Sir,
was broken: she lived just to see him, and take a last farewell--and
that was all!"