But, despite the prophet's injunction, the tumultuary rising commenced
with blood. The courts of trail baron were dispersed, and at Stamford
the jurors beheaded, and their heads borne on lances to overawe those
who might be inclined to arrest the progress of the insurgents; every
building suspected of containing court-rolls was searched; all the
documents found were destroyed, and the villeins met with, in the line
of march, pronounced free and incited to join the popular insurrection.
Their numbers were thus increased every mile of ground they passed
over, till, at length, the whole mass amounted to one hundred thousand
able-bodied men. It is impossible to say what such a force might not
have effected, had there been a proper degree of subordination kept up
among the led, or a proper degree of confidence and understanding among
the leaders: but, as is usual in popular commotions, the reverse of
this was the case. No one chose to occupy the lowest place, and each
thought he could direct movements and affairs much better than the
actual leader. Hence arose endless contentions and secessions, till
at length from want of the grand principle of adhesion--unanimity, the
vast body threatened to fall asunder, as if crushed by its own weight.
These things, however, gave little concern to the worthy who commanded
the Kentish division. Tyler, though an excellent blacksmith, possessed
few of the qualities requisite for forming a good general. Provided
there was no very sensible diminution in the number of his followers,
he cared not a straw for the score or two who, after quarrelling, or
perhaps fighting, withdrew in such disgust that they vowed rather to
pay the full tax for ever than submit to the insolence of the rebels.
One man could fight as well as another, reasoned he; and, provided _he_
was obeyed, what mattered it by whom. Dick went and Tom came--it was
sure to be all one in the end.
Oakley, on the other hand, although, perhaps, equally arrogant when
invested with this novel and temporary power, was more plausible, and
managed to keep up a better understanding among his followers than
Tyler. This sort of conciliatory conduct was, in a great measure,
forced upon him by the circumstance of Leicester being immediately next
him in command, and by the wish he had that no ill feelings against
himself might weaken his authority when any favourable opportunity
offered of reaping a golden harvest.
He knew that he had little co-operation to expect from Leicester, for
independently of the personal enmity of the latter, which would rather
induce opposition than support, the chief of Norfolk had not a particle
of rapacity in his composition. Indeed, it is not often that he whose
gaze is fixed upon some bold elevation, will stoop to rake in mire,
even when sure of discovering gold. Leicester, was very indignant
at thus becoming a subordinate, but the election of the prophet was
decisive, and he was compelled to submit: for John Ball, seeing that
one so rash and haughty, was not adapted to possess the unlimited
control to which his influence, and the sacrifices he had made, seemed
to entitle him; resolved that his indiscretion should be kept in check
by the prudence and intelligence of Oakley.
The Essex division had marched on until within about three miles of
the city of London, and here they halted, partly through fatigue and
partly to interchange communications with the Kentish men; it having
been determined, that while the latter where forcing a passage over
London-bridge, the men of Essex should, at the same moment, effect
an entrance by the east gate, and thus distract the attention of the
citizens.
In the motley crowd, of nearly sixty thousand men, the most conspicuous
figure was, perhaps, John Leicester himself, cased in a complete suit
of steel armour, (taken as lawful spoil from some castle in the route)
waving in the sun a bright Damascus scimitar, while he gave directions,
in an authoritative tone, to a peasant who was unloosing the trappings
of a large black horse, from which Leicester had just alighted.
Standing at a short distance from him, John Oakley, otherwise Jack
Straw, formed an adjunct little less important in the picturesque of
the scene. Unwilling to incumber himself with armour, his portly person
was defended by a leathern jack, covered over with a thick quilting
of crimson silk, dagger proof; and in this guise, he contrasted well
with the monk clad in dark woollen, with whom he was engaged in
conversation--although turning every now and then, his large blue eyes
towards a tempting display of eatables and wine profusely spread under
the shade of a tree. A cluster of formidable-looking men in tough
leathern jacks, were laying aside their hand-bills and swords and
dividing the contents of a large satchel. There was a group variously
armed and accoutred, some wearing the shirt of mail with the yew-tree
bow in their hands and quivers of arrows at their backs; and others in
doublets of leather or freize, with swords, some rusty and some bright,
or staves, or sharp-pointed clubs, or reaping hooks, or wood-knives.
The arrival of such a body as the Essex men, so near the city, and
the approach of the Kentish men, was, of course, no secret to those
who inhabited the Tower, but there was no standing army ready, at a
moment's notice, to march out and oppose their progress. They had,
indeed, six hundred archers within the Tower, but it was considered
the most prudent course not to send them forth, lest, while they were
attacking one division, another might come on and make themselves
masters of the strong hold. Many of the nobles who resided beyond the
city walls fled from their dwellings to seek a refuge in the Tower,
and among these Roland de Boteler, at his lady's earnest entreaty,
withdrew with her, from his mansion just beyond Bishopgate, and sought
a temporary shelter within the fortress.
Isabella was sitting in an apartment with the fair Joan of Kent,
expatiating upon the insolence of the common people, and detailing
a solitary instance of the evil that the family of a bondman might
work to his lord, when the door was thrown open and Richard, with his
beautiful countenance flushed with excitement, and followed by the
archbishop of Canterbury, abruptly entered.
"We are resolved, my lord bishop," said Richard, as he threw himself on
a seat by his mother; and, turning to an attendant, commanded that the
royal barge should be instantly in readiness.
"You surely do not intend leaving the Tower," asked the queen-mother
apprehensively.
"Madam," said Sudbury, with some heat, "his grace has so determined;
and, moreover, contrary to the advice of his noble cousins and
councillors, he will go down the river and parley with the villeins!"
The impetuosity of sixteen was not to be turned aside from its purpose
by the remonstrances of the archbishop, or even the entreaties of a
mother. Isabella, too, ventured to expostulate, but without effect;
and, accompanied by Thomas of Woodstock, his uncle, Sir Robert Hales,
the treasurer, the Earl of Oxford, De Boteler, and Simon Sudbury; who,
though reprobating his majesty's conduct, generously resolved to share
its consequences. Richard stepped into the royal barge with the most
sanguine hopes of quelling the insurrection.
The order had been so suddenly given that there was no intimation
of the sovereign's excursion until the royal barge met the eye,
consequently there was none of that excitement usual upon the most
simple movements of royalty. Indeed, at any rate, the attention of all
classes was, at this moment, so occupied by the Commons, that the king
was scarcely thought of.
They had rowed about a mile down the river, when the chancellor, who
was gazing with vacant eyes, but an occupied mind, upon the water, had
his attentions suddenly fixed.
"Does your grace see that little boat just before us?"
"Yes," replied Richard.
"I am much mistaken," resumed Sudbury, quickly, "if that figure in the
dark cloak is not he whose evil counsel has spread like a pestilence
through the land."
"What! the audacious monk who intruded upon us at Kennington?"
"The same, your grace, if my judgment be correct."
"Let him be instantly seized!" replied the impetuous Richard. The boat
was, accordingly, hailed, and John Ball dragged into the barge, and
at once identified by Sudley and De Boteler. The monk did not resist
either the capture or the bands that were bound around him; neither did
he reply to the reproaches that were showered upon him; but silently
and unresistingly suffered himself to be thrown into the bottom of the
barge.
In a few minutes after this was effected, Richard's quick eye was
suddenly attracted by an appearance on the beach.
"By my faith, cousin," said he, addressing Thomas of Woodstock, "yonder
are the varlets! Do you see how bravely their pennons are waving, and
how, here and there, among their black heads, something bright glitters
in the sun?"
"That is their weapons, my liege," said Woodstock.
"Stolen from the castles and houses they have plundered," added Sudbury.
"Put to shore quickly," said Richard; "and let us see if those rebels
will dare to appear in harness before their king!"
"You would not venture your sacred person among them, my liege!" cried
Sir Robert Hales the treasurer, in alarm.
"What! think you, sir treasurer," asked De Boteler, "that the knaves,
vile as they are, would harm his grace?"
"My lord baron," said Sudbury, sternly, "it is not well that a man of
your experience should speak thus. Give not your countenance to an act
that may yet lie heavy upon your soul!" Richard's cheek kindled as the
baron stood rebuked; and with the generous indignation of youth, he
said, in a tone of evident displeasure--
"My Lord Bishop, the Baron de Boteler did not counsel us to land: he
was only doubting how far the impudence of those commons might go."
Sudbury, knowing that soft words might turn away wrath, and perceiving
that little good would be effected in the present case by pursuing
a different course, suffered Sir Robert Hales to intreat, even as a
father would entreat his only son, that the young king should not peril
his life by venturing his royal person among those who were up in arms
against his authority. But when he saw that Richard's ingenuous mind
was touched by the earnest manner of the treasurer, he then prudently
put his own weight into the balance, and the scale turned as he desired.
"Go you, then, my lord of Oxford," said Richard, "since it does not
appear wise that we, ourselves, should land, and ask those men why they
thus disturb the peace of their sovereign lord the king."
Robert de Vere accordingly, accompanied only by three men at arms, one
to act as herald, and two as a sort of body guard, quitted the barge to
hold parlance with the rebels.
"Why we are thus up in arms?" said Leicester, without circumlocution,
as the herald proclaimed the king's interrogatory,--"why, because those
who should command are thought nothing of, and those who do command
ought to have their heads struck off."
"This is no meet answer, _Sir Knight_," said Oxford, glancing
ironically at Leicester's armour. "You must consider of something
more to the matter of his grace's demand, or Robert de Vere can be no
messenger."
"Yes, yes, we will consider of some more fitting answer," said
Leicester fiercely;--and after consulting earnestly for a few minutes
with Jack Straw, Thomas Sack, and other leaders, he returned to De
Vere, and said--
"Hear you, Robert de Vere, we demand that all whose names are in that
parchment shall be beheaded, because they are enemies to the true
Commons, and evil councillors to the king. And when this is done we
will let his grace know what else we demand."
Robert de Vere took the scroll from Leicester with a haughty air, and
glancing over the contents, without vouchsafing a word, turned away and
rejoined the king.
"These knaves wish to carry things with a strong hand, my liege," said
the Earl of Oxford, bending his knee as he presented the scroll.
"What!" said Richard, as his eye ran over the characters, "John, duke
of Lancaster; Simon Sudbury, lord chancellor; John Fordham, clerk of
the privy seal; Sir Robert Hales, treasurer; the bishop of London; Sir
Robert Belknap, the chief justice; Sir Ralph Ferrers, and Sir Robert
Blessinton. What! is this all the noble blood they wish to spill? By
my faith!" he added, trampling the parchment under his foot, "we will
listen to nothing more the knaves have to say; and ye may tell them
that as they are bondmen so shall they remain; and that as my fathers
ruled them with a rod of iron, so shall I rule them with a rod of
scorpions."
But this burst of indignation soon passed away, and upon the suggestion
of the prudent Sir Robert Hailes, he sent an evasive answer, with a
command that the Commons should attend him at Windsor on the Sunday
following.
The royal barge then returned to the Tower, and John Ball was again the
tenant of a dungeon.
Tyler and his Kentish men were at this time upon Blackheath, awaiting
the monk impatiently, who had strictly enjoined that no attack
should be made upon London till the word was received from him. The
day, however, wore away, and John Ball did not appear. The men grew
impatient, but Tyler, though brooking the delay as ill as the most
ardent among them, hesitated to take any decided step until the
sanction of the prophet should warrant the deed.
"By St. Nicholas!" cried he at last, "something ill has befallen the
holy man, or he would have been here before now. We will march on
directly, and find him, or the London folks shall look to it."
This resolution was received with acclamation, and the whole mass moved
forward with a quick step. Their direct way would have been to keep as
far as was possible the banks of the Thames in view, until they arrived
at London Bridge, but Sudbury's palace was at Lambeth, and Tyler,
suspecting that the archbishop had some hand in the detention of the
monk, vowed that his residence should be burned to the ground if some
tidings were not gained of him. On they went, therefore, to Southwark;
and with shouts and execrations, and torches flaming in their hands,
approached the walls of the episcopal edifice. The gates were forced;
the affrighted domestics and retainers fled; and it was well that
Tyler, as he rushed on through room and corridor, did not encounter
Sudbury; but the prelate being fortunately in the Tower, escaped the
rage of the vindictive smith.
"He has been an ill friend to him," said Tyler, "even if he should not
have harmed him now," (as a trembling domestic assured him that no
prisoner had entered the palace) "and he deserves that his head should
be carried on a pole before us to London Bridge."
And when, at length, the intruders were satisfied that the palace
contained neither bishop nor monk, the search commenced for the
documents and records. Cabinets were broken open, drawers and boxes
forced, and the contents thrown carelessly about; jewels, silk damasks,
and gold embroidery, were trampled under foot with as much loss of
value through wantonness as if the spoilers had enriched themselves--a
thing which, if done at all, was done to so small an extent, that he
only who snatched up a gem or a piece of gold could have said that a
theft had been committed.
In each apartment the writings found were thrown in a heap, and blazing
torches flung upon them. These igniting the flooring and furniture, the
building was presently in a blaze in a dozen different directions, and
the Kentish men, with as rapid a step as they had approached, marched
away, vowing vengeance to all the enemies of their prophet.
It was midnight when they arrived within view of London, but the red
tinge in the southern horizon, and the glare of their thousand torches,
had warned the citizens of their approach; the gates were shut, and
the bridge itself crowded with aroused citizens. Tyler's first command
was that they should rush on and set fire to the gates; but Holgrave
had seen more of warfare than he, and he knew that, even though they
might succeed in passing the bridge, if the citizens were thoroughly
provoked, they might, in their narrow streets, occasion much annoyance;
he, therefore, counselled Tyler to remain with the men marshalled
before the bridge, while three or four, who had some knowledge of the
city, and whom he would himself accompany, should pass stealthily over
the river, and ascertain if their friends on the other side were ready
to assist them. Tyler reluctantly agreed to this proposal.
Holgrave and two others then departed from the main body, unloosed a
small boat from its moorings, and, in less than five minutes, they were
walking, in the twilight of a starry midsummer's night, down the rough
stone pathway of Thames-street.
While the guide paused for a moment to recollect the way to the
head-quarters of the insurgents, some one who passed was heard speaking
in a tone which fell upon Stephen's ear like a sound he ought to
remember; he sprang from the side of his comrades, and, standing before
the strangers, demanded, "With whom hold you?"
"With King Richard and the true commons!" was the reply. "Is it not
Stephen Holgrave?" continued the galleyman, holding out his hand.
"Yes," replied Holgrave, giving it a friendly pressure; "I thought I
knew your voice."
"Do you know _my_ voice?" asked one of Wells's companions.
"Ah! Merritt, you are the man I wanted--when did you see father John?
can you tell any thing of him?"
"Is not the father with Tyler?" asked Merritt. Holgrave then knew that
some mishap must have befallen the monk; and the possibility of his
being in the Tower occurred to all.
"Hollo!" cried the galleyman, as, at this moment, a party of men
approached--"with whom hold ye, mates?"
"With whom should we hold," said the foremost, "but with King Richard
and the true commons?"
"Well met, then," said Wells; "for the true commons are up--no time
is to be lost--the prophet is in prison. Let each man steer his own
course, muster all the hands he can, and meet on Tower-hill. Hark!
that stroke tells one--remember we meet at two, and we will see if
the Londoners and men of Kent cannot shake hands before the clock has
tolled three."
The galleyman then hurried Holgrave up a narrow dark street, where,
tapping gently at a door, it was instantly opened, to Stephen's great
surprise, by old Hartwell.
"Is that you, Robin?" said a soft voice; and a female face was seen
peeping half way down the stairs.
"Yes, yes; but go, Lucy, and tell that Stephen Holgrave is here."
"What! Stephen Holgrave!" said the warm-hearted Lucy, springing down
the stairs; but, light and quick as was her step, another reached the
bottom before her, and, with a faint shriek, Margaret Holgrave fell on
her husband's neck.
"Father," resumed Wells, "take up that lamp, and we'll get a flask of
the best, to drink a health to the rising; and do you, Holgrave, go up
and just take a look at your children, and then we must be gone."
"And the strife will begin this night!" said Margaret, fearfully,
as Holgrave, bending over the bed, where lay two sleeping children,
glanced for an instant at a dark-haired boy of five or six, and then,
taking a little rosy infant of about a twelve-month in his arms, kissed
it, and gazed upon its face with all the delight of a father.
"There will be no strife, Margaret, to-night, or to-morrow. The commons
of London are rising to help us, and the king will not hold out when he
sees----but no matter. Tell me how you have fared. When I left Sudley,
to join the commons, you were taken charge of by your brother, who,
no doubt, placed you here with your friend Lucy, on her marriage with
Wells----"
"Stephen!" said the galleyman, from below.
"Good heavens! I must go. Bless you, Margaret!--bless you! I will see
you again soon! May God keep ye both!" Gently laying down the still
sleeping babe, he tore himself from the arms of his weeping wife, and
rushed down the stairs.
Holgrave had never much reason to boast of the gift of speech, more
especially when his feelings were in any wise affected. Even the
galleyman was not as eloquent now as upon former occasions, and the two
issued forth, and walked on for about five minutes, without exchanging
a word. Wells, at length, stopped at a house in the vicinity of St.
Bartholomew's Priory, with a heavy, gothic, stone arch, inclosing
an iron studded door, and the windows of the first, and still more
the second, story projecting so as to cast a strong shadow over the
casement of the ground-floor. Wells tapped twice with the hilt of his
dagger at the oaken door, which was softly opened, and he and Holgrave
entered.
A low, stone passage conducted them into a spacious wainscotted room
well lighted, and so full of company that it was not possible, at a
glance, to guess at their number; and here, at the head of a long,
narrow table, was Black Jack standing erect on the seat which he should
have occupied in a different manner, and, with his eyes dancing, and
his nose and cheeks glowing, haranguing the crowd in style of familiar
eloquence.
"What, my old friend! what do _you_ do here?" said the galleyman aloud,
but evidently speaking to himself.
"Why," replied Holgrave, imagining the exclamation addressed to him,
"I suppose he has left the Essex men to try what can be done among the
bondmen!"
"But what has _he_ to do with the Essex men or the bondmen?" asked the
galleyman.
"Why, do you not know that that is Jack Straw, the Essex captain?"
"He Jack Straw!" cried Wells, with such a look as if his eyes rested
on a spectre. "Have I not heard John Ball say that he wished Wat Tyler
were like Jack Straw?"
"Yes; father John thinks better of him than of any who leads: but to
tell you the truth," added Holgrave, in a whisper, "though he can read
and write, and is as father John says, a prudent man--I don't like him."
"Do you know him?" emphatically asked the galleyman.
"To be sure I do!"
"But I mean," impatiently resumed Wells, "did you ever see him before
he was with those Essex men?"
"No."
"Then, Stephen Holgrave, a word in your ear:--_I_ know him; and let
that man hoist what colours he may, steer clear of him--you understand
me!"
Holgrave had not time to reply, when Wells suddenly, in a gay careless
tone, accosted a man who was approaching the spot where they stood.
"Hah! Harvey! who thought of seeing you among the true commons?"
Harvey looked at the speaker an instant, and then, recognizing him as
poor Beauchamp's successor in the jury, was about to joke him upon his
long fast, when his eyes, gleaming upon Holgrave, he thought it the
most prudent course to make no allusion to the matter, but directly to
reply to Wells's salutation.
"Why my business in the country," said he, "fell off a little; and so I
was trying to make out a living here, and Tom Merritt coming across me,
it took little to persuade me to hold with the commons."
"In hopes of being well paid," thought the galleyman, though he said
nothing; he merely smiled an answer, and then, drawing Harvey a little
aside, whispered him--
"But what gale drove our worthy foreman here?"
"Oh! you know, I suppose, that he is a sworn brother among the leaders,
though I didn't know it till this very evening, when it happened that
I was sent to the Essex men to know when they thought of marching. You
know Black Jack gets on badly without a drop, and, as he could hardly
obtain enough among them to wet his lips, he took the opportunity, as
he said, of my coming to raise a good spirit among the bondmen--but in
truth to----" and he put an empty wine-cup, that he held in his hands,
to his mouth.
The apartment was so densely filled, that the door had opened, while
this conversation passed without attracting the least attention; but
Wells, who bethought him that the minutes were flitting, found a
passage for himself, and, approaching the table, placed a stool that he
took from behind one who had relinquished it, in order that not a word
that fell from Jack Straw should escape him, and, mounting upon it,
shouted out at the top of his voice--
"With whom hold ye, friends?"
There was a sudden hush at this abrupt interrogatory, and Jack
Straw was about to answer in no very gentle manner, when, fixing
his penetrating eyes upon Wells, a significant glance informed the
galleyman that he was recognized, and, suppressing the epithet he was
about to use, Oakley merely replied--
"We hold, as all honest men ought--with King Richard and the true
commons!"
"It is of little use holding with them," returned Wells, "if you
stand talking there all night;--the time is now come for action, not
speech--at two the commons of London meet on Tower-hill--that is my
message." He then turned away, and was hurrying with Holgrave from
the room, when Jack Straw, stepping round from his post of orator,
intercepted him, and, seizing him by the arm, whispered in his ear--
"Are you leaders too? By the green wax! I suppose I shall see
the ghost of the ferret among the good commons next! But mind ye,
galleyman--not a syllable that we ever met!" glancing his eyes at
Holgrave.
"Not a word," replied Wells, breaking from the foreman's hold, and
effecting a precipitate retreat.
At the appointed hour the commons of London mustered in strong force on
Tower-hill; and, headed by Wells, passed on to London-bridge. Here they
halted, and, upon a blazing brand being affixed to a long spear, and
elevated in the air, a sudden shout from the thousands occupying the
southern bank, was re-echoed by the Londoners, and caused, as might be
expected, a strong sensation among the citizens, inducing a disposition
rather to concede than to provoke. The elevation of a second torch was
the signal that a parley had been demanded by the loyalists; and then
the sudden silence was almost as startling as had been the previous
tumult. The horn of the Lord Mayor's herald again sounded the parley:
those who styled themselves the commons, demanded that the gates should
be opened, and their brethren of Kent permitted to pass. There was some
scruple as to the propriety of acceding to this demand, which, however,
was soon got over by the unequivocal assurance that the commons _would_
pass at any rate; and that, if further opposition was offered, their
first act, upon entering the city, would be to tear down the houses and
demolish the bridge. This argument was forcible; and, as there appeared
no alternative, the mayor, first stipulating that the houses and stalls
on the bridge should remain unharmed, and that free passage should be
granted to the citizens to return to their dwellings, passed, with the
civic force, between the opening ranks of the dictating commonalty.
Those of the latter, who had arrows rested meanwhile on their bows, and
those who were armed with swords and spears on their cross-hilts and
handles;--and thus, in the attitude of submission, and in the silence
of peace, stood the confederates until the last citizen had gone by.
Then the close and the rush, and the simultaneous shout, came upon the
eye and ear like the gathering of mighty waters; and, ere five minutes
elapsed from the departure of the mayor, the bridge groaned with the
hurried tread of the insurgents, and Tyler planted midway the banner of
St. George on the highest house-top.
Shouting for the prophet, Tyler and the galleyman led on the multitude
to Tower-hill; but when here, it was to little purpose that the
former and Holgrave went rapidly along the verge of the moat, from
one extremity to the other, and to as little purpose did the smith's
practised eye run over every bar and fastening that came within his
ken--he could detect nothing in the massive walls but the strong work
of a skilful artizan.
"The ditch is deep," said Holgrave; "but a part could easily be filled
up; and if we had ladders, the wall is not high."
"Age, or if you had a score or two of hempen ropes, with good grappling
irons, it would be but boy's play to get aloft," said the galleyman.
Unfortunately, however, they were provided neither with ladders nor
ropes; but even had they been so, it is doubtful whether they would
have been put in requisition--for now arose the question as to
what part of the building they ought to attack, and where lay the
prison of the prophet, admitting that he was a prisoner. A thousand
suppositions and conjectures were afloat, but no one was sufficiently
well acquainted with the building to give a decisive answer. Indeed, it
appeared that scarcely a single individual among them had ever crossed
the drawbridge.
An angry debate now ensued among the leaders. Some, confiding in
their numerical force, and zealous for the liberation of the prophet,
were for storming the fortress at any point, and for effecting their
object more speedily, proposed razing to the foundation some of the
neighbouring houses, and filling up the ditch with the materials.
Others thought such an attack might rather militate against themselves
than turn to any account in redress of grievances, and after all
might fail to advantage the monk: these proposed that a parley should
be demanded, and their resolutions submitted to the king, with a
requisition for the prophet's release.
"Men of Kent!" shouted Tyler, indignant at this pacific proposal,
"what, do you suppose King Richard and his council, who are cooped up
yonder, will think of us while we stand talking and gaping here? Think
ye they will take off the poll-tax, or free the bondman? or open the
prison door of our holy prophet, while they see us waiting like so many
beggars, for them to read what is written on the sheepskins? I hold,
that leaving half our brave fellows here, to let them know that if we
do not mount their walls, we have an eye upon them, the rest should go
on and see what is to be done in other parts of London. Who knows but
we might get hold of that mortal fiend, John of Gaunt; if we once had
him, by St. Nicholas! we might ask for what we liked. Stephen Holgrave,
do you keep watch here, and let no one come or go: should there be any
thing to be said, you know what to say--that is enough." And then,
marshalling off a strong and picked body from among his followers, the
smith hurried forward, accompanied by the galleyman and Kirkby, through
the city, injuring neither person nor property, but only exacting from
every one they encountered in their progress, a shout and a God-speed
for the true commons.
The barred gates of the Fleet prison flew open before the assailants,
and the wretched inmates felt their feverish temples once more cooled
by the pure breath of liberty. At about a hundred paces from the Fleet,
they passed a house, having the bush suspended in front, indicating
its possessor to be a vintner; and the host himself, with singular
foolhardiness, stood looking out from the open casement of the first
story.
"With whom hold ye, friend?" said Tyler, as he passed, imagining, from
the dauntless manner of the man, that he was a friend.
"Not with such traitors and rebels as ye, with whomever else I may
hold!" returned the man.
At the instant, a bow was drawn, an arrow whizzed, and the imprudent
vintner fell back from the casement.
"Break in the door!" said Tyler, "and let us see if the cellars of this
unmannerly knave have any thing more to our liking than their master's
speech."
There was no need to repeat the order--the door was smashed to
splinters, and, in the rush to get at the cellars, several were thrown
down, and trampled on. A large can, filled with wine, was handed to
Tyler, and another to the galleyman, who, each quaffing a long draught,
permitted the like indulgence to their followers; and then the word to
march on was shouted by the chief. But now the smith perceived evidence
of the folly he had been guilty of: the wine was too tempting to be
left so soon--the vintner's house rang with execrations and tumult--and
even among those who kept their station in the street, the dangerous
liquid continued to circulate.
"This comes," said Tyler, enraged at such sudden disorder, "of letting
folks taste of what they're not used to; but let them tipple on. By St.
Nicholas! they may: I will wait for no man;" and snatching the banner
of St. George from its half-stupified bearer, and waving it in the
air, he applied a small bugle to his lips, and at the blast, all whose
reason was not entirely lost in their thirst, followed the smith from
the scene of inebriety.
Their next halt was at the beginning of the Strand, opposite the
princely mansion of the bishop of Chester. The gates were forced
in, and the garden encircling the building filled with the commons,
who, hissing and shouting, bade John Fordham come forth. When it was
discovered that the bishop was not within its walls, the house was
presently glowing in one bright sheet of flame. It was told to Tyler,
while this was going on, that a body of the Essex men had marched
on from Mile-end, and taking a northerly direction, had pillaged and
destroyed many dwellings, and among others, that of the prior of Saint
John of Jerusalem, at Highbury; while another division was rapidly
advancing by the way of Holborn, to attack the palace of John of Gaunt
at the Savoy.
"By St. Nicholas!" said Tyler, "they shan't have it all their own way
there;" and the Kentish men made all haste to be first to commence the
work of destruction; but ere they had left the burning house, the dark
body of the division of the Essex men was seen pouring into the Strand
by the wall of the Convent garden.
Tyler and the other leaders, followed by hundreds, now rushed on to the
palace;--the massive gates yielded to their blows, and the assailants,
pouring in through the arched passages, ran along gallery and window,
and through seemingly countless apartments. Yet, even amidst their
eagerness to capture Lancaster, they paused a moment, casting glances
of astonishment and pleasure at the beautifully inlaid cabinets, rich
tapestries, and embroidered cushions, which every where met their
gaze. The galleyman, however, was perhaps the only one among all the
gazers who knew the value of the things he looked upon; and he could
not repress a feeling of regret, as he glanced at the damask hangings,
and the gold cords and fringes, and remembered that all these would be
speedily feeding the flames. As he was thus occupied, and thinking what
a fortune these articles would be to a pedling merchant, he saw Jack
Straw in the act of whispering in Harvey's ear (who, by some strange
sort of moral attraction, was standing by his side), and he noticed
them linger until the group they had accompanied passed on to the
inspection of other apartments. Oakley then opened a door in a recess
in the corridor, which, when they entered, they closed hastily after
them.
"Master Tyler," said Wells, springing up to the chief, "they are
boarding a prize yonder;" and he pointed to the half-concealed door.
"Have they got John of Gaunt?" vociferated the smith; but as he turned
his eyes from the spot to which his attention had been directed, to
his informant, the galleyman could not be distinguished among the
group--for, in truth, he was rather solicitous to avoid any kind of
contact with his old associates.
"Confound the unmannerly carl," muttered Tyler, as he rushed forward
with his men to seek an explanation in the room itself. The door,
however, resisted all their efforts; and this only strengthening their
hasty suspicions respecting Lancaster, the stout polished oak was
presently split asunder by their axes, and they forced an entrance into
a small light apartment, furnished in a style of eastern luxury. From
the carved ceiling were hanging the broken links of a gold chain; and
on the soft crimson cushions of an ebony couch, and on the floor, were
scattered the miscellaneous contents of an exquisite ivory cabinet.
"He has escaped us!" shouted Tyler and the others, as, after casting
a rapid glance around the empty apartment, they darted through an
open door on the other side. This led into a luxurious dressing room,
and this again into a sumptuous dormitory. If there were any outlet
from this room, it was concealed by the splendid hangings, and the
pursuers, after assuring themselves that no human being was within,
returned to the dressing-room. The door of egress from this apartment
was secured on the outside, and so, without a moment's delay, they had
recourse to their former expedient, and the door was instantly hewn
to splinters. On creeping through the aperture, and passing through
a short passage, they found themselves in the gallery that ran round
the hall. Here, chafing with disappointment, the pursuers had only to
hope that they might, by chance, take the right scent, and were rushing
along the gallery, when Tyler, casting his eyes below, and observing
the galleyman cross the hall, hallooed to him; and then springing
along the gallery, and down the spiral stairs, seized Wells rather
unceremoniously, and upbraided him with conniving at the escape of
Lancaster.
"Avast there! Master Tyler," said Wells, shaking off the grip of the
smith; "I know no more of Lancaster than yourself: I told you this
morning he was on the borders--and so, how, in the name of all the
saints, could he be here?--but I tell ye, there are some here who would
rather lay hand upon John of Gaunt's gold than upon John of Gaunt's
body!"
"They have better not come across me," replied the smith, comprehending
the galleyman's hint; but still persisting in his scepticism, he
resumed his search. But even the smith was, at length, compelled to
admit that, whether Lancaster had escaped or not, it did not appear
likely that he would be found;--and the order was given for firing
the palace. At the same instant a leathern jack, covered all over with
a thick quilting of blue satin, was held upon the point of a lance,
and as many arrows shot at it as they would more willingly have aimed
at the breast of its owner. The building was already smoking in fifty
different places, and at some points the flames were already rising.
Tyler, who had determined not to believe in Lancaster's absence, after
lingering about the palace with the hope that the devouring element
might force him from some hiding-place, accidentally found himself in
the chapel close to the sanctuary, and just at the opportune moment to
detect a sacrilegious hand removing a massive gold candlestick from the
altar.
"Infidel! devil!" shouted Tyler, springing over the railing of the
sanctuary, and raising his clenched fist: the candlestick fell from the
grasp of the delinquent, and he reeled against the altar with the force
of the blow. "What!" continued Tyler, aghast, "can it be Jack Straw?"
"Yes, it is," replied Oakley, fiercely, in some measure recovering
from his confusion, and from the effects of the blow, "and, by the
green wax! a strange way you have of claiming acquaintance--what did
you think, Tyler, I was going to do with the candlestick? Will not the
Commons have churches of their own, when they obtain their rights,
and would it not be a triumph over Lancaster, to have these brave
candlesticks gracing our altars."
Tyler had turned away while Black Jack was speaking, but suddenly
stopping, turned abruptly round, and looking full at him--
"I'll tell you, Jack Straw," said he, "were it not for my respect for
father John, I would have every door of this chapel fastened up, and
then the flames that are already crackling the painted windows yonder,
would just give you time to say a paternoster and an ave, before they
cheated the gibbet of its due! but, as it is, let _him_ who put you
over the Essex men look to you, but, by my faith," he added, stamping
his foot against the pavement, and speaking quicker, "if you do not
instantly leave this place, all the monks that ever told a bead shall
not save you!"
It was yet possible for Oakley to feel shame, and it was not entirely
with rage, that his whole body at this moment trembled. He looked at
the smith as he spoke, and half drew a dagger from his bosom, and, an
indifferent spectator, regarding the two--Oakley still standing on the
upper step of the altar, and Tyler, at a dozen paces down the centre
aisle--would have thought that there could have existed but little odds
between the physical power of the men; but Oakley, although he ground
his teeth, and felt almost suffocated, had too much prudence to expose
his gross enervated body to the muscular arm of the vigorous smith.
Therefore, assuming an indignation of a very different character from
his real feelings, he said, as he stepped from the altar into the nave
of the chapel,
"I don't understand your language, Master Tyler--am not I a
leader?--Does not the prophet know me, and trust me?"
"By St. Nicholas! the prophet does _not_ know you! Do you think he
would have trusted you, if he had thought you would have skulked into a
chapel to steal the very candlesticks from the holy altar!"
An execration passed between Oakley's teeth--he sprang upon Tyler, and
had not the smith dexterously raised his left arm and arrested the
blow, Black Jack's dagger would have been buried in his bosom.
"That for ye, coward," said Tyler, striking him with the flat side of
his bared weapon. Oakley aimed another thrust which was again turned
aside, and the smith, now flinging down his sword, seized upon his
right hand and wrenched the dagger from its grasp. After a short
struggle, Oakley fell heavily on the pavement with the blood streaming
from his mouth and nostrils.
"Lie there, for a dog--to strike at a man with a dagger!" said Tyler,
as he took up his sword, and muttering something about "if it was
not for the sake of the prophet," strode hastily away. And there was
little time for delay; the atmosphere of the place was becoming quite
insupportable, and the flames were spreading with such rapidity, that
the smith, half stupified and scorching, had enough to do to escape
from the mischief he had kindled.
That afternoon, Richard was standing on a turret of the fortress,
looking at the column of flame which still rose brightly from Lancaster
palace, even above the heavy smoke and occasional sparklings which told
elsewhere of the whereabout of the incendiaries.
"Our cousin will have to crave hospitality, when he returns home,"
said Richard, addressing the Earl of Oxford, who stood beside him.
"The knaves have been merry on their march," replied Oxford. "Does your
grace see the bonfires they have lit yonder?" and he pointed towards
the north.
"By my faith, it is more than provoking to see the audacity of the
kerns. Think you not," added Richard, after pausing a moment, "that if
that monk was brought forth, and his head laid on a block, some terms
might be made with the rebels. Do you see," continued the king, as they
descended to the battlements, "they are bringing huge beams towards the
drawbridge."
It indeed seemed evident that some bold measure was contemplated, and
Richard's suggestion respecting the monk was about to be acted upon,
with only a prudent hint from Sir Robert Hales not to provoke the
Commons to desperation, when De Boteler's page approached his master.
The baron was standing apart from the other nobles, scanning, with a
gloomy countenance, the dark undulating mass below. Once he could have
sworn that Stephen Holgrave stood upon the verge of the ditch before
him, but if it was he, he stood but an instant, and then was lost
amidst the multitude. This circumstance gave a new turn to De Boteler's
meditations; he thought too of the monk of Winchcombe Abbey--this John
Ball, who was styled the prophet; and it seemed to be no less true than
strange, that the germ of all this wide-spreading disorder had sprung
from his own soil. So much, in fact, was he absorbed in these ideas,
that he actually started when his page, who had been for the space of
a minute endeavouring to draw his attention by repeated obeisances,
ventured to pronounce his name in rather a high key, as he presented
to him an arrow which had been found sticking in the door-post of the
building in which father John was confined. "And this was shot from
the river?" asked De Boteler, as he received the arrow and unrolled a
parchment wrapped round it.
"Yes, my lord."
"Tell Calverley to come hither directly."
The page withdrew, and De Boteler, after perusing the parchment,
presented it to Richard. It ran thus: "A retainer of the Lord
de Boteler, will come, unarmed and alone, beneath the southern
battlements, at ten o'clock. He is a leader of the commons, but, being
touched with remorse, he will, if admitted before the king in council,
disclose all the secrets of the rebels."
"Know you any retainer of yours who could have written this?"
"My steward, who approaches, can better answer the question, your
highness," returned the baron.
The parchment being handed to Calverley, he instantly recognized the
hand, and, in answer to De Boteler's question, replied--
"This is the handwriting of a retainer called Oakley."
"Do you know the man?"
"Yes, my lord."
Calverley then retired, and those whom the matter concerned, withdrew
to an apartment, and gave their opinions according to the view in
which the thing appeared to them.
That it was a stratagem to gain entrance to the Tower, was the opinion
of several, but, after much discussion, it was decided that the man
should be admitted, and that the monk should be exhibited merely to
intimidate the rebels, until the result of this promised communication
should be known.
About ten, a small boat was observed to approach the southern walls of
the fortress. A man stepped from it and was permitted to ascend the
terrace, and Calverley, who was standing there, challenged the stranger.
The steward clapped his hands, and immediately the bows of a hundred
archers stationed around, were unbent, and he addressed Oakley as
follows:
"It was you who shot the arrow?"
"Yes."
"Are you a leader, Oakley?"
"I was a leader," returned Oakley, gloomily.
"It was well that I was here to recognize your writing."
"Where there is a will there is a way, steward, and I should have found
means of getting revenge even if you had kept safe at Sudley."
"Is it for revenge, Oakley, or for gold?"
"I tell you Master Calverley, it is revenge," said Black Jack, stopping
short, as they were crossing the court-yard, "It is revenge! When
I joined the commons I swore I would not betray them, and I would
not--betray them for gold did you say?--listen--I had gold--aye
gold enough, to have kept me an honest man all the days of my life,
after this rising, and that--that blacksmith, who killed the baron's
retainer--"
"Turner! what of him?"
But Oakley went on without heeding the interruption. "What was it
to the knave whether I or the flames had them--and to be cuffed and
threatened!--but the gibbet shall not be cheated of _him_. Do you know
they threw Harvey into the flames--I heard the shrieks of the wretch,
but I could not help him, though I knew my treasure was burning with
him! for I was crawling, all but suffocated, and seeking for an outlet
towards the river. I heard the cry, but for an instant, and then
nothing, through the long passage but the rush and the roar of the
flames."
"Then the gold you speak of was lost?"
"Yes, by the green wax! it was. If I had only been wise enough to have
kept the bag myself, poor Harvey might have been alive, and I should
not have done what I am going to do this night. No;--I should only have
cursed the smith and forsworn the Commons, and made the best of my way
to where I could have turned the gold and the gems into hard coin. Is
my lord De Boteler here?"
"Yes."
"Then, master Calverley, although, as I have said before, it is to
revenge myself, you must tell the baron that the king must not expect
to have my assistance in betraying the Commons without paying for it."
"My lord will not see you but in the presence of the council."
"Not see me! then, by the green wax! I may be cheated; for one can
hardly ask the king for money to his face."
"The baron has pledged himself that, if your intelligence and services
are such as you hinted at, you may claim your own reward."
"May I?--then John Oakley will be no niggard," his countenance losing
much of the gloomy ferocity it had been marked with. "But, steward," he
added, as they walked through the building, "the smoke and the flame
are even now in my throat;--you must give me wine, or I shall not be
able to speak a word."
De Boteler was instantly acquainted with Oakley's arrival, and the
council assembled, impressed with the importance of detaching so
influential a leader from the Commons. Indeed, energy had given place
to indecision, at a moment that required prompt measures. Tyler had,
but an hour before, sent an intimation, that, if the prophet was not
released in twenty-four hours, the city would be fired, and the Tower
assaulted: and, even at the moment when the members of the council were
entering the chamber, the air was rent with the shouts of the Commons
on Tower-hill and Smithfield, as some skilful artizans among their
body had nearly matured some machines for facilitating the attack.
Symptoms of panic or indifference had been also manifested among those
who guarded the Tower. The strange stories whispered of Ball, his
prophecies, and his calm bearing while confined in his dungeon, with
his oft repeated assertions of being liberated by the Commons, were
calculated, in such an age, to fill their minds with the belief that
he was, in truth, a prophet, and one whom it would be impiety to meddle
with.
After Richard, surrounded by the lords, had taken his seat at the
table, Black Jack was introduced by De Boteler as the writer of the
scroll.
"You are a leader of the rebels?" interrogated Sudbury.
"I am, your grace," replied Oakley.
"Which division of the kerns do you command?"
"The commons of Essex."
"What! all?" interrupted Richard.
"My liege, I am leader of fifty thousand men."
"Then what is the design of this rising?" again asked Sudbury.
"To free the bond--to acquire land at a low rent--to be at
liberty to buy and sell in all cities and towns, without toll or
interruption;--and lastly, to obtain a pardon for this insurrection."
"By my faith!" said Sir Robert Hales, "these are bold demands, which
the sword alone must decide."
"Peace! Sir Robert," said Sudbury.--"What have you to suggest which may
benefit the realm, sir leader?" he continued.
"Ere I say more," said Oakley, falling on his knees before Richard, "I
crave a general pardon, not only for myself, as leader in this rising,
but for all other trespasses by me committed."
"Ha, ha, ha," laughed Richard, "the knave is wisely valiant! He has an
especial care of his own neck. Rise--thou art pardoned."
"But, my liege," continued Oakley, still kneeling, "there is one
confined in this fortress for whom I would solicit freedom."
"To whom do you allude, knave?" asked Sudbury, with some surprise.
"To father John Ball."
"To father John Ball! to that son of satan--that vile author of all
this confusion. Be content with saving your own head."
"Then, my lord archbishop," said Oakley, rising, "if a hair of that
monk's head is touched, I will not answer for the result. Wat Tyler,
my lords, is a man of desperate purpose. He has sworn before the
multitude, that, if the prophet is not freed before the twenty-four
hours, the heads of all these noble peers around me shall answer for
it.--Nay more----"
"Hold, kern," interrupted Richard fiercely; "we despise the threat."
"But, my liege," persisted Jack Straw, "let the council consider the
danger of the delay. I have reason to know, that those you reckon upon
to oppose an entrance here are not to be trusted: the prophet has
worked wonders, even within the fortress."
"How know _you_ that?" asked Richard, with surprise.
"My liege, there are disciples of John Ball in the Tower--aye, even
among the royal household!"
"'Tis false!" returned Richard, angrily--"who are they?--confess!
confess!"
"No, my liege--though I have renounced the confederates, I cannot
betray them; but if the monk is freed, I will, at the risk of my head,
quell the rising, without blood."
"How?--speak!" said Sudbury.
"My lord, you have heard the conditions, which have been drawn up by
John Ball himself. I would humbly suggest, that charters of freedom
should be granted under the royal hand and seal: if it so please
you--they can be revoked at leisure. The Essex men will be content with
these charters and a general pardon--but the prophet must be first set
at liberty: he abhors bloodshed, will curb this Tyler, and thus this
formidable array may be dispersed. I would further suggest, that your
highness, attended by a slight retinue, and unarmed, should repair
to-morrow to Mile-end, where I shall have assembled the leaders, and
will sound them on these points. The charters may then be read, and, my
lords, you are aware, that even the royal franchise cannot destroy your
right over the bondmen, without an act of parliament."
While Oakley was speaking, all eyes were fixed upon him with something
of astonishment at advice that would not come amiss from the sagest
among them.
"Retire," said Sudbury; "we shall consider the matter."
"My lords," said the wily prelate, in a solemn tone, "this man has
anticipated my counsel. It may not be safe to meddle with this Ball
for the present. The charters may be made out, and, of course revoked
hereafter; but I like not your grace perilling your person, alone and
unguarded, among the kerns."
"My lord," said Richard, "we are resolved to meet these bold men,
and hear what they have to say. Shall you attend us, my lord of
Canterbury?"
"I would fain be excused, with your highness's leave. A dignitary of
holy church should not degrade his calling by communing with the scum
of the land!"
"Then, my lord bishop, let who will stay, we go. My lords, will you
attend your king?"
"To death, my liege," said De Boteler and the rest.
"'Tis well--let this man be recalled."
"Tell the commons, that King Richard will see them to-morrow," said De
Boteler.
"Then, my lord, the monk is to be freed?" asked Oakley.
"His life is spared till after the conference," said the treasurer;
"his freedom depends upon the disbanding of the Essex men."
Oakley was then led forth from the council by De Boteler, who pledged
himself that the monk should not be harmed; and, after receiving,
from Calverley, a part of the stipulated reward, he retired from the
fortress by the way he had entered.