bluntness and even rudeness of address, he slowly departed. Thoughts
crowded, like a honey swarm, to this hive of mystery, nor could she
throw off the impression which clung to her. She had been warned
against revealing this communication, but at one time she felt
resolved to make her brother acquainted with the whole, and to claim
his protection; but then came the warning, or rather threat, of some
hidden mischief that must inevitably follow the disclosure. "Surely,
in her own home, she might venture to walk unattended. The beggar she
had known for some time in his periodical visits; and though she felt
an unaccountable timidity in his presence, yet she certainly was
minded to make an experiment of the adventure; but"----And in this
happy state of doubt and fluctuation she remained until eventide, when
a calm bright moon, as it again rose over the hill, saw Alice at the
casement of her own chamber, looking thoughtfully, anxiously, down
where the dark surface of the stagnant moat wore a bright star on its
bosom. The scene, the soft and tender influence which it
possessed--the hour, soothing and elevating the mind, freed from the
harassing and petty cares of existence--to a romantic and imaginative
disposition these were all favourable to its effects--the development
of that ethereal spirit of our nature, that enchanter whose wand
conjures up the busy world within, creating all things according to
his own pleasure, and investing them with every attribute at his will.
She felt her fears give way, and her resolution was taken: the die was
cast, and she committed herself to the result. What share the
handsome, dark, and melancholy-looking stranger had in this decision
she did not pause to inquire, nor indeed could she have much if any
suspicion of the secret influence he excited. There was danger, and
this danger could only be averted by her interference: what might be
curiosity was at any rate her duty; and she, feeling mightily like
some devoted heroine, would not shrink from the trial. When once
brought to a decision she felt a load taken from her breast; she
breathed more freely, and her tread was more vigorous and elastic. She
left her chamber with a lofty mien, and the gentle Alice felt more
like the proud mistress of an empire than the inhabitant of a little
country dwelling when she re-entered the parlour: yet there was a
restless glance from her eye which ever and anon would start aside
from visible objects and wander about, apparently without aim or
discrimination. Her brother was busied, happily, with domestic duties,
too much engaged to notice any unusual disturbance in her demeanour,
and Alice employed her time to little profit until she heard the
appointed signal for rest. As they bade the usual "good-night," her
heart smote her: she looked on the unconscious, unsuspecting aspect of
her brother, and the whole secret of her heart was on her tongue: it
did not escape her lips; but the tear stood in her eye; and as she
closed the door it sounded like the signal of some long separation--as
though the portal had for ever closed upon her.
Wrapped in a dark mantle, with cap and hood, the maiden stepped forth
from her little closet about midnight. She bore a silver lamp that
waved softly in the night-wind as she went with a noiseless, timid
step through the passages to the haunted chamber. The room wherein the
beggar slept was somewhat detached from the rest of the dormitories. A
low gallery led by a narrow corridor to a flight of some two or three
steps into this room, now used for the stowage of lumber. It was said
to have been one of the apartments in the old house, forming a sort of
peduncle to the new, not then removed, like a remnant of the shell
sticking to the skirts of the new-fledged bird. This adjunct, the
beggar's dwelling, is now gone. An ancient doorcase with a grotesque
carving disclosed the entrance. She paused before it, not without a
secret apprehension of what might be going on within. For the first
time she felt the novelty, not to say imprudence, of her situation,
and the unfeminine nature of her exploit. She was just hesitating
whether or not to return when she heard the door slowly open; a tall,
gaunt, figure looked out, which she immediately recognised to be that
of the mendicant. Somewhat reassured, and her courage strengthened by
his appearance, she did not attempt to retreat, but stood silent for a
space, and seemingly not a little abashed; yet the purity of her
motives, as far as known to herself, soon recurred to her aid, and her
proud and somewhat haughty spirit immediately roused its energies when
she had to cope with difficulty and danger.
"I come to thy den, old man, that I may unriddle thy dark sayings."
"Or rather," replied he, slowly and emphatically, "that thou mayest
unriddle that pretty love-billet thou hast read."
"I am here in my brother's house, and surely I have both the right and
the power to walk forth unquestioned or unsuspected of an intrigue or
assignation," replied she, quick and tender on the point whereon her
own suspicions were disagreeably awakened.
"Come in, lady," said he, "and thou shall be safe from any suspicions
but thine own."
Alice entered, and the door was closed and bolted. Her feelings were
those of uneasiness, not unmixed with alarm. Before her stood the
athletic form of the mendicant; she was at some distance from the rest
of the family--none caring to have their biding-place in the immediate
vicinity of the haunted chamber--in the power, it might be, of this
strange and anomalous being. A miserable pallet lay on the floor in
one corner, and the room was nearly filled with useless lumber and the
remains of ancient materials from the old apartments. Probably it was
from this circumstance that the ghosts had their fancies for this
room, haunting the relics of the past, and lingering around their
former reminiscences. The light she held gleamed athwart the face of
her companion, and his features were strangely significant of some
concealed purpose.
"Whom do we meet in this place?" she inquired.
"Prithee, wait; thou wilt see anon. But let me counsel thee to remain
silent; what thou seest note, but make no reply. Be not afraid, for no
harm shall befall thee. But let me warn thee, maiden, that thou shrink
not from the trial."
He now slowly retired, and she watched his receding figure until it
was hidden behind a huge oaken bedstead in the corner. But he returned
not, and Alice felt terrified at being so unexpectedly left alone. She
called out to him, but there was no answer; she sought for some
outlet, but no trace was visible whereby he could have departed from
the chamber. As she was stooping down, suddenly the light was blown
out, and she felt herself seized by invisible hands.
"Be silent for thy life," said a strange whisper in her ear. She was
hurried on through vaults and passages; the cold damp air struck
chilly on her, and she felt as though descending into some unknown
depths, beneath the very foundations of her own dwelling. Darkness was
still about their steps; but she was borne along, at a swift pace, by
persons evidently accustomed to this subterraneous line of
communication.
"No harm shall happen thee," said the same whisper in her ear as
before. Suddenly a vivid light flashed out from an aperture or window,
and she heard a groaning or rumbling and the clank of chains; but this
was passed, and a pale dull light showed a low vaulted chamber, into
which Alice was conveyed. An iron lamp hung from the ceiling in what
seemed to have been one of the cellars of the old house, though she
was unaware beforetime of such a dangerous proximity. The door was
closed upon her, and again she was left alone. So confused and
agitated was she for a while that she felt unable to survey the
objects that encompassed her. By degrees, however, she regained
sufficient fortitude to make the examination. Her astonishment was
extreme when she beheld, ranged round the vault, coffers full of
coin--heaps of surprising magnitude exposed, the least of which would
have been a king's ransom; fair and glistering too, apparently fresh
from the hands of some cunning artificer. Her curiosity in some
measure getting the better of her fears, she ventured to touch one of
these tempting heaps--not being sure but that her night visions were
answerable for the illusion. She laid her hand on a hoard of bright
nobles. Another and another succeeded, yet each coffer held some fresh
denomination of coin. There were moneys of various nations, even to
the Spanish pistole and Turkish bezant. Such exhaustless wealth it had
never yet entered into her imagination to conceive--the very idea was
too boundless even for fancy to present. "Surely," thought she, "I am
in some fairy palace, where the combined wealth of every clime is
accumulated; and the king of the genii, or some old and ugly ogre, has
certes fallen in love with me, and means to present it for my dowry."
Smiling at this thought, even in the midst of her apprehensions--for
the blow which severed her from her friends was too stunning to be
felt immediately in all its rigour--she stood as one almost
transported with admiration and surprise. Yet her situation was far
from being either enviable or pleasant, though in the midst of a
treasure-house of wealth that would have made an emperor the richest
of his race. No solution that she could invent would at all solve the
problem--no key of interpretation would fit these intricate movements.
Here she stood, a prisoner perhaps, with the other treasures in the
vault; and assuredly the miser, whosoever he might be, had shown great
taste and judgment too in the selection. But the crisis was at hand.
The door opened, and she heard a footstep behind her. A form stood
before her whom she immediately recognised and perhaps expected. The
mysterious stranger was in her presence. With a respectful obeisance
he folded his hands on his bosom, but he spoke not.
"What wouldst thou? and why this outrage?" inquired she.
The intruder pointed to the surrounding treasures, then to himself: by
which she understood (so quickly interpretated is the mute eloquence
of passion) that he was in love with her, and devoted them all
exclusively to her service. But what answer she gave, permit me,
gentle reader, for a season to detain; for truly it is an event of so
marvellous a nature whereon our tradition now disporteth itself, that,
like an epicure hindering the final disposal of some delicate
mouthful, of which, when gulped, he feeleth no more the savour, so we
would, in like manner, courteous reader, do thee this excellent
service, in order that the sweetness of expectation may be prolonged
thereby; and the solution, like a kernal in the shell, not be crushed
by being too suddenly cracked.
Turn we now to the inmates at the hall, where, as may easily be
understood, there was a mighty stir and commotion when morning brought
the appointed hour, and Mistress Alice came not to the breakfast meal.
Her brother was at his wits' end when the forenoon passed, and still
there were no tidings. Messengers were sent far and near, and no place
was left untried where it was thought intelligence might be gained.
She was not to be found, nor any trace discovered of her departure.
Nicholas was returning from Foxholes, Stubley, and Pike House.
Passing, in a disconsolate mood, through the gate leading from the
lane to his own porch, he met Noman, apparently departing. The beggar,
seeing his approach, assumed his usual stiff and inflexible attitude,
pausing ere he passed. A vague surmise, for which he could not
account, prompted the suspicions of Nicholas Haworth towards this
unimportant personage.
"What is thy business to-day abroad?" he inquired hastily.
"A word in thine ear, master," said the beggar.
"Say on, then; and grant that it may have an inkling of my sister!"
"She hath departed."
"That I know. But whither?"
"Ask the little devilkins I saw yesternight. I have told ye oft o' the
sights and terrible things that have visited me i' the boggart
chamber, and that the ghost begged hard for a victim."
"What! thou dost not surely suppose he hath borne away my sister?"
"I have said it!" replied the mendicant, with an air of mystery.
"We'll have the place exorcised, and the spirit laid; and thou"--said
Nicholas, pausing--"have a care that we hale thee not before the
justice for practising with forbidden and devilish devices."
"I cry thee mercy, Master Haworth; but for what good deed am I to
suffer? I have brought luck to thine house hitherto, and what mischief
yon ghost hath wrought is none o' my doing. If thou wilt, I can rid
thee of his presence, and that speedily, even if 'twere Beelzebub
himself."
"But will thy conjurations bring back my sister?" said the wondering,
yet half-credulous squire.
"That is more than I can tell. But, to prove that I am not in league
with thine enemy, I will cast him out."
"Hath Alice been strangled, or in anywise hurt, by this wicked
spirit?"
"Nay," said the beggar solemnly, "I guess not; but I heard him pass
by, and the chains did rattle fearfully through mine ears, until I
heard them at her bed-chamber. He may have spirited her away to
fairy-land for aught I know; and yet she lives!"
"Save us, merciful Disposer of our lot!" said Nicholas, much moved to
sorrow at this strange recital, yet in somewise comforted by the
assurance it contained. "We are none of us safe from his visitations,
now they are extended hitherto. I dreamt not of danger beforetime,
though I have heard sounds, and seen unaccountable things; yet I
imagined that in the old chamber only he had power to work mischief;
and, even there, I did disbelieve much of thy story, as it respected
his freaks and the nature and manner of his visits. The rumblings that
I fancied at times in the dead of night were in the end disregarded
and almost forgotten."
"I too have heard the like, but I knew it was the spirit, and"----
"Beware, old man; for I do verily suspect thee as an abettor of these
unlawful practices."
"And so the reward for my testimony is like to end in a lying
accusation and a prison!"
"Canst thou win her back by driving from me this evil spirit?"
"I can lay the ghost, I tell thee, if thou wilt; but as for the other,
peradventure it lieth not within the compass or power of mortal man to
accomplish."
"What thou canst, let it be done without delay, for I would fain
behold a sight so wonderful; yet will I first take precaution to put
thee in durance until it be accomplished; perchance it may quicken
thee to this good work; and I do bethink me too, thou knowest more
than thou wouldest fain acknowledge of this evil dealing toward my
sister."
The beggar sought not to escape; he knew it would be in vain, for the
menials had surrounded them; and he was conveyed to the kitchen until
he should be ready for the important duties he had to perform.
To-morrow was appointed for the trial, but fearful was the night that
intervened--rattling of chains, falling of heavy weights, loud
rumblings, as though a coach-and-six were driving about the premises;
these, intermingled with shrieks and howlings, were not confined to
the old room, where the beggar lodged as heretofore, but were heard
and felt through the whole house. It seemed as though his presence had
hitherto confined them to the locality we have named, and that they
had burst their bounds on his departure. Little rest had the household
on that fearful night, and the morning was welcome to many who had
been terrified so that they scarcely expected to see the light of
another sun.
With the earliest dawn Nicholas Haworth hied him to the kitchen, where
the beggar, a close prisoner, was comfortably nestled on his couch.
"What ho!" said the squire, "thou canst sleep when others be waking.
Thy friends have been seeking thee through the night, mayhap. There
have been more shaking limbs than hungry stomachs, I trow."
"I know of naught that should keep me waking; my conscience made no
echo to the knocking without; and so good-morrow, Master Nicholas."
There came one at this moment running in almost breathless, to say
that the cart-horses were all harnessed and yoked ready in the stable
by invisible hands, and that no one durst take them from their stalls.
On the heels of this messenger came another, who shouted out that the
bull, a lusty and well-thriven brute, was quietly perched, in most
bull-like gravity, upon the hay-mow. It being impossible, or contrary
to the ordinary law of gravitation, that he could have thus
transported himself, what other than demon hands could or durst have
lifted so ponderous and obstinate a beast into the place? In short,
such were the strange and out-of-the-way frolics that had been
committed, that Satan and all his company seemed to have been let
loose upon the household on this memorable night.
"Thou shalt rid us of these pests, or by the head of St Nicholas,"
said his namesake, "the hangman shall singe thy beard for a
fumigation."
"Let me go, and the spirit shall not trouble thee."
"Nay, gaffer, thou dost not escape me thus; my sister, we have yet no
tidings of her, and, it may be, those followers or familiars of thine
can help me to that knowledge."
"I tell thee I'll lay the ghost while the holly's green, or mire in
Dearnly Clough, should it so please thee, Master Nicholas; but I must
first be locked up for a space in the haunted chamber alone. Keep
watch at both door and loophole, if thou see fit; but I gi'e thee my
word that I'll not escape."
"Agreed," said Haworth; "but it shall not avail thee, thou crafty fox,
for we will watch, and that right diligently; unless the de'il fly
away with thee, thou shalt not escape us."
The bargain was made, and Noman was speedily conducted to the chamber.
Sentinels were posted at the door, and round the outside, to prevent
either entrance or exit.
A long hour had nigh elapsed, and the watchers were grown weary. Some
thought he had gone off in a chariot of smoke through the roof, or in
a whirlwind of infernal brimstone; while others, not a few, were out
of doors gazing steadfastly up towards the chimneys, expecting to see
him perched there, like a daw or starling, ready for flight. But when
the hour was fulfilled, the beggar lifted up the latch, and walked
forth alone, without let or molestation.
"Whither away, Sir Grey-back?" said Nicholas, "and wherefore in such
haste? We have a word or so ere thou depart. Art thou prepared?"
"Ay, if it so please thee."
"And when dost thou begin thine exorcism?"
"Now, if so be that thou have courage. But I warn thee of danger
therefrom. If thou persist, verily in this chamber shall it be done."
"Then return, we will follow--as many as have courage, that is," said
Nicholas Haworth, looking round and observing that his attendants,
with pale faces and mewling stomachs, did manifest a wondrous
inquietude, and a sudden eagerness to depart. Yet were there some
whose curiosity got the better of their fears, and who followed, or
rather hung upon their master's skirts, into the chamber, which, even
in the broad and cheerful daylight, looked a gloomy and comfortless
and unhallowed place. Noman commanded that silence should be kept,
that not even a whisper should breathe from other lips than his own.
He drew a line with his crutch upon the floor, and forbade that any
should attempt to pass this imaginary demarcation. The auditors were
all agape, and but that the door was fastened, some would doubtless
have gone back, repenting of their temerity.
After several unmeaning mummeries and incantations, the chamber
appeared to grow darker, and a low rumbling noise was heard, as from
some subterraneous explosion.
"_Dominus vobiscum_," said the necromancer; and a train of fire leapt
suddenly across the room. A groan of irrepressible terror ran through
the company; but the exorcist, with a look of reprehension for their
disobedience, betook himself again to his ejaculations. Retiring
backwards a few paces to a corner of the room, he gave three audible
knocks upon the floor, which, to the astonishment and dismay of the
assembly, were distinctly repeated, apparently from beneath. Thrice
was this ceremony gone through, and thrice three times was the same
answer returned.
"Restless spirit," said the conjuror, solemnly, and in a voice and
manner little accordant with those of an obscure and unlearned beggar;
"why art thou disquieted, and what is the price of thy departure?"
No answer was given, though the question was repeated. The adjurer
appeared, for one moment, fairly at a nonplus.
"By thine everlasting doom, I conjure thee, answer me!" Still there
was no reply. "Thou shalt not evade me thus," said he, indignant at
the slight which was put upon his spells. He drew a little ebony box
from his bosom, and on opening it smoke issued therefrom, like the
smell of frankincense. With this fumigation he used many uncouth and
horrible words, hard names, and so forth, which probably had no
existence save in the teeming issue of his own brain. During this
operation groans were heard, at first low and indistinct, then loud
and vehement; soon they broke into a yell, so shrill and piercing that
several of the hearers absolutely tried, through horror and
desperation, to burst the door; but this was secure, and their egress
prevented thereby.
"Now answer me what thou wouldst have, and tell me the terms of thy
departure hence."
A low murmur was heard. The beggar listened with great attention.
"This wandering ghost avoucheth," said he, after all was silent, "that
there be two of them, and that they rest not until they have taken
possession of this house, and driven the inhabitants therefrom."
"Hard law this," said Nicholas Haworth; "but, for all their racket, I
shan't budge."
"Then must they have a sacrifice for the wrong done when they were i'
the body; being slain, as they say, by their guardian, a wicked uncle,
that he might possess the inheritance."
Again he made question, looking all the while as though talking to
something that was present and visible before him.
"What would ye for your sacrifice, evil and hateful things? for I
know, in very deed, that ye are not the innocent and heavenly babes
whose spirits are now in glory, but devilish creatures who have been
permitted to walk here unmolested, for the wickedness that hath been
done. Again, I say that your unwillingness sufficeth not, for ye shall
be driven hence this blessed day."
Another shriek announced their apprehension at this threat, and again
there was a murmuring as before.
"He sayeth," cried the exorcist, after listening a while, "they must
have a living body sacrificed, and in four quarters it must be laid;
then shall these wicked spirits not return hither until what is
severed be joined together. With this hard condition we must be
content."
"Then, by 'r lady's grace, if none else there be, thou shalt be the
holocaust for thy pains," said Nicholas, "for I think we need not any
other. What say ye, shall not this wizard be the sacrifice, and we
then rid the world of a batch of evil things at once?" He looked with
a cruel eye upon the mendicant; for he judged that his sister had, in
some way or another, fallen a victim to his devilish plots; and he
would have thought it little harm to have poured out his blood on the
spot. The beggar seemed aware of his danger, but with a loud and
peremptory tone he cried--
"There needeth not so costly an oblation. Bring hither the first brute
animal ye behold, any one of you, on crossing the threshold of the
porch."
A messenger was accordingly sent, who returned with a barn-door fowl
in his hand, a well-fed chanticleer, whose crow that morning had
awakened his cackling dames for the last time.
With great solemnity the conjuror went forth from the chamber, and in
the courtyard the fowl was named "John;" sponsors standing in due
form, as at an ordinary baptism. Then the bird was dismembered, or
rather divided into four parts, according to the directions they had
received. These were afterwards disposed of as follows:--one was
buried at Little Clegg, in a field close by, another under one of the
hearth-flags in the hall, another at the Beil Bridge, by the river
which runs past Belfield, and the remaining quarter under the
barn-floor. Nicholas continued to look on with a curious eye until the
ceremony was concluded, when, after a brief pause, he inquired--
"Have there been no tidings yet from Alice? Can thine art not disclose
to me whither she be gone?"
"The maiden lives," said the beggar doggedly.
"Thou knowest of her hiding, then?" said her brother sharply, and with
a cunning glance directed towards the speaker.
"The spirit said so," replied Noman, as though wishful to evade or to
shrink from the question.