WILD SCENES
Margaret, true to her intentions of going to service, found a kind
friend in Mrs. Denton, who recommended her to Mrs. Wake, of the Priory
Farm, Downham Reach. Here, in September, 1792, she took up her abode as
servant-of-all-work. The whole farm-house was formerly the priory of a
small body of Augustine Monks, and was known by the name of the
Alneshbourne Priory. It is surrounded by a moat of considerable depth
and breadth, and was formerly approached by a drawbridge from the
southern side.
The site of this old house is still a most romantic and sequestered
spot. In front of it, along a pleasant green slope to the shore, runs a
rippling stream, which having passed through the moat, meanders along
the meadow down to the Orwell, whose broad waters look here like a
magnificent lake.
On either side of the valley rise the rich woods of Downham Reach; and
behind the house, in the green meadows, may still be seen, though now
covered in with a roof and used as a barn, the chapel of this
sequestered fraternity.
Lofty elms overshadow the summit of this ancient house, though they grow
upon the open space beyond the moat; and the woods of the owner of the
present house and the district, Sir Philip Broke, stand conspicuously
towering on the sides of the hills. The lover of peaceful nature could
not fail to be struck with the tranquil yet picturesque scenery around
this spot. Here Gainsborough, who, in his younger days, was much
encouraged by Dr. Coyte of Ipswich, loved to roam, and catch the
ever-varying tints of spring and autumn. Here Constable,--the
enthusiastic, amiable, but pensive John Constable, one of the best of
England's landscape-painters,--indulged himself in all the hopes of his
aspiring genius; and Frost, a native of Ipswich, one of the best
imitators of Gainsborough's style, and whose sketches are at this day
most highly esteemed, used to indulge himself in the full enjoyment of
his art.
At the period we write of--the year 1792--the Orwell's waves went boldly
up to the port, as new and briny as in the days of the Danish invasion.
Now they no longer wash the town. A wet-dock, with its embankments and
its locks, shuts out the ebb and flow of waters, and may be convenient
to the inhabitants of the place; but sadly interferes with the early
associations and recollections of those who, like the writer of this
narrative, passed their boyish years upon the banks of the Orwell.
But we must no longer wander from our narrative. Margaret, as servant at
the Priory Farm, conducted herself in so exemplary a manner, that she
soon gained the good will of her master and mistress, and the good word
of all the labourers upon the farm. Amongst these latter was a young man
who was particularly acquainted with Margaret's history, and whose name
has occurred in a previous chapter. This was no other than John Barry,
the elder brother of young Edward Barry, who so gallantly led the attack
upon the smugglers on the night in which Will Laud was supposed to have
been killed. John was well aware of Margaret's attachment and engagement
to Will Laud; and he knew the part his brother had taken in the
conflict; and believed, as Edward told him, that he had slain Margaret's
lover. Whether it was the sympathy which arose toward the poor girl
under these circumstances, or the real pleasure which he felt in her
society, it is certain that he became so deeply enamoured as never to be
able to root out of his mind this his first and last attachment.
This young man was a contrast in every respect to Will Laud. John Barry
was the elder son of a small farmer and miller at Levington, who, having
a numerous family, was anxious they should all be employed. John, as was
customary in that day, sought employment away from his parents' house.
He had asked their permission to let him turn his hand to farming for a
year; and as he was already a good ploughman, and understood the various
methods of culture, he readily found an employer. He was also as good a
scholar for that period as could be found in any of the adjoining
parishes. Added to this, he was a good-principled, steady, persevering,
industrious young man. His father was not badly off in the world for his
station. He it was who first discovered the use of crag-shells for
manure. His man, Edmund Edwards, finding a load or two of manure was
wanted to complete the fertilization of a field which Mr. Barry
cultivated, carried a load or two of the crag, which lay near the mill,
to make it up. He observed, that in the very place which he thought
would prove the worst crop, on account of the seeming poverty of the
soil carted, there arose the most luxuriant produce. Next year Mr. Barry
used it more freely, and found a more abundant recompense. He then
opened immense crag-pits, supplied the country around, and shipped a
large quantity at Levington Creek. By these means he became known as an
enterprising man. His second son took to the sea, and became active in
the service of his native coast. Another son went out to America, and
did remarkably well.
John went as head man to Mr. Wake, of the Priory Farm. When he left his
father's house, the worthy miller gave him one guinea, with this
advice--
"Many a man, John, has entered into the world with less than that, and
by industry, integrity, and good behaviour, has risen to usefulness and
respectability; and many a man, John, who has entered upon life with
thousands and thousands of those shining coins, has sunk to
worthlessness and degradation. Go, boy; be honest, sober, steady, and
diligent. Keep your church and God's commandments, John, and you will
prosper. But should misfortune ever visit you, remember that whilst your
mother and I live you will always find a welcome home. God bless you,
boy! God bless you!"
John left home, with a guinea in his pocket and with love in his heart.
He did well, even in his first situation. He lived in the farm-house
with Mr. and Mrs. Wake, about seven miles from his father's house. He
did not then dream that he should ever visit any distant shore connected
with his native country. His dreams were of home, industry, and peace.
He had enough--was contented--was well respected; had good health and
full employment, and was a burden to no one. From his constant habit of
witnessing the energy, and activity, and good disposition of the
youthful Margaret, and from a certain knowledge of her past misfortunes,
he imbibed a delicacy of interest in her behalf, which was shown to her
by repeated acts of respect, which others on the farm less delicate did
not care to show. Margaret herself perceived these attentions, and felt
grateful to him for them. Whilst some would now and then relate what
they heard of the wild adventures of Hudson the smuggler, John Barry
always carefully concealed any mention of matters which he could see
gave her pain. So cautious had been his advances towards a more intimate
acquaintance with Margaret, that no one on the farm suspected that John
Barry, the son of the well-to-do Mr. Barry, of Levington, was in the
least captivated by the humble maid of the Priory. Margaret, however,
suspected and dreaded that such might be the case; and she avoided him
as pointedly as she could, without offence to one whom she so much
respected. Barry, however, was too honest to conceal his feelings from
the only person he wished to know them. Returning one evening from work
along Gainsborough's Lane, he met Margaret, who had been to Sawyer's
farm upon an errand for her mistress.
"Margaret, you know I love you," said the young man, "though I do not
believe that any one upon the farm besides yourself has any idea of it."
"I feared you did, John, and it grieves me very much to hear you say
so."
"But why should it grieve you? I love you honestly, and will always do
my best to make you happy."
"Yes, John, I do not doubt you in anything you say, and I feel very
grateful to you for your kindness; but I cannot return your love."
"Why not, Margaret? Why should you not learn to like me? I am not indeed
like your former lover, but I think I love you quite as well."
"That may be also, John; but when I tell you that it is impossible for
me to suffer you to cherish such feelings, you will, I hope, not be
angry with me."
"I am not angry: I know your past attachment; but I hope that you do not
intend to live and die single because Laud is dead."
"No; but whilst he lives, John, I neither can nor ought to give
encouragement to any other."
"But he is dead!"
"I would let any one else but yourself suppose so."
"My brother Edward told me himself that he saw him fall."
"Yes, John, and your brother Edward thought that he gave him his
death-blow; but I am happy, for his sake and for Laud's, that it was not
so."
"Are you sure of this?" sighed the youth, as if he half regretted that
his brother had not done so. "Are you sure of this?"
"Quite so--quite so! To no one else would I speak it, but I am sure of
your goodness. I know you will not betray me."
"Never, Margaret, never!"
"Well, then, these very hands healed the wound which your brother gave
him. I myself nursed him through his dangerous illness; and I know at
this time that he is in a respectable foreign merchant's service, and as
well as ever he was."
This was a tremendous blow to the young man's prospects; an answer which
he did not in the least expect, and from which he could find no
encouragement. He begged Margaret's pardon for what he had said, which
was freely given, and a promise made on both sides never to divulge that
day's secret. Alas! this promise was broken by both, as we shall
presently see, at the very same moment.
But where is Laud, and what is he doing at this time? While the
honest-hearted girl is denying all attachment to any but himself, and
living upon the hope of his future welfare and well-doing, what is _he_
about?
He is standing at the Green Cottage, as it was called, on account of the
green shutters which used to shade its casements, close to Butley Abbey.
The dark-frowning ruin of this seat of the black canons of St. Austin,
formerly so grand and extensive, was then in a state of crumbling
desolation. Here, close against that magnificent old gateway, seemingly
in mock grandeur, was a very fine arch, surmounted with the arms of
Michael de la Pole, the third Lord Wingfield, Earl of Suffolk, who was
slain at the battle of Agincourt with Edward Plantagenet, Duke of York.
Not far from these ruins, with a mind somewhat partaking of the darkness
of that desolation, stood Laud and Luff in close conversation; the
subject of which was no other than Margaret Catchpole!
Luff had found out Laud's deep-rooted fancy for the maiden, and, villain
as he was, was proposing a deep-laid scheme for the destruction of the
poor girl, who at that very time was undergoing a severe trial of her
affection.
"I'll tell you what, Laud, the thing is easily to be done. We have
nothing to do but to run the cutter, at the beginning of our next
voyage, into Harwich Harbour, at the fall of the evening, when the mists
hide us from the shore; you and I can run up the Orwell in the gig, and
soon carry off the prize. Once on board, and she is yours as long as you
like."
"I think I shall leave the service and marry."
"And get a halter for your pains! No, Will; no, my boy; you are made of
sterner stuff than that. What! for the sake of a girl whom you may have
for many a cruise, and who will like you all the better for your spirit,
would you consent to run the land-robber's risk of being hanged? You
will soon have a new cutter, and your old crew; and though we may have a
long voyage, surely it will be far better to have your damsel with you,
though she may be unwilling at first, than to be living ashore in
continual fear of the officers of justice."
"But Margaret supposes me at this moment in a foreign ship, and in an
honest trader."
"Let her think so still. Only once get her on board the _Stour_, and
never trust me if we don't quickly run over to Holland, get you decently
married, and you may settle with her on shore in a short time."
"Well, Luff, I think it might be done, and fairly, too; and if it be,
you shall have half my share of the prize upon the next run."
"'Tis a bargain--'tis a bargain! and when we next meet in Bawdsey Cave,
our first trip shall be for the harbour. In the meantime, let us enjoy
ourselves as we can."
The Green Cottage just mentioned, was one of those places hired by
Captain Bargood, on the eastern coast, which was always kept neat, and
ready for his occupation, by a dame whom he permitted to live in it
rent-free, and paid her something extra too for housekeeping. This was a
place of resort for his captains when out of immediate employ, when his
ships were repairing or building, at home or abroad. The method he took
to secure their services, and to keep them in readiness for the sea, was
to initiate them into the mysteries of poaching when on land.
So well did this bold fellow play his cards, that his men seldom wanted
employment.
Game they always had, in season or out of season--no matter--they stuck
at nothing! If they wished for a good custard at Whitsuntide, and made
of the richest eggs, they would have pheasants' and partridges' eggs by
hundreds. In fact these smugglers were as well known for poachers by
many of the people on the coast, as they were for dealers in contraband
goods. They, too, enjoyed the keen zest of the sportsman in a tenfold
manner, if the excitement of the field, the danger of the enterprise,
and the success of the sport, be any criterion by which the pleasure of
such things may be estimated.
Tame, indeed, they considered the turn-out of the Marquis of Hertford,
with his green-brogued keepers, and their double-barrelled guns and
brushes, for a walk, or rather a stand, at the end of a plantation,
where the pheasants rose in a shower, and were killed like barn-door
fowls. They often saw the noble sportsmen turn into those coverts,
against which they knew they had been such successful poachers the very
night before.
If hairbreadth escapes, contests with keepers, making nets, snares, and
gins, were amusements to these fellows, they had enough of them. They
could, upon occasion, bribe an unsteady keeper, or make him drunk, and
go his beat for him. All manner of desperate adventures were their
pleasures. Sometimes their society was courted by farmers and others,
who chanced to know, and would occasionally entertain them. Their
knowledge of all that was going on in and out of the country made them
welcome visitors to others; and in a very dangerous period of our
struggle at Flushing, when an order from the coast was to be carried in
spite of danger and difficulty, the intelligence and spirit of these men
were made use of by some in power, who could never countenance them
openly.
One instance of a singular kind of frolic may here be mentioned, which
might have been of serious consequence to a young man of fortune.
This gentleman resided in his own house, and upon his own estate, not
far from Hollesley Bay; and though possessed of many broad acres,
abundantly supplied with every species of game common to that country,
yet, singularly enough, he was an exception to that prevalent habit of
all country gentlemen--the being a sportsman. The writer of these pages
has often heard him narrate the following facts:--
Laud, or rather Hudson, as he was then called (for Laud was generally
supposed to be dead), met this young man at the Boyton Alms-houses, when
the following conversation arose:--
"Good morning to you, captain. But little stirring at sea, I suppose?"
"We're ashore awhile upon a cruise."
"So I suppose. What tack do you go upon tonight?"
"That I know not, sir; but not hereabouts. We shall probably run down to
Orford."
"I know you are all good hands. I never went sporting in my life, and
never saw any poaching. Now, captain, it's no use being qualmish upon
the subject, but upon my word I should like to see how you poachers
manage to take your game. You need not fear that I should inform against
you, or take advantage of your secrets--for I am no sportsman, as you
know, and care as little about game as any man; but I have heard so much
of your adroitness, and of the methodical manner in which you proceed,
that I really should like to see it. Come, what shall I give you to take
me with you to-night?"
The smuggler looked at him with a very significant countenance, as much
as to say, "Are you in earnest? May I trust you?" It was very few he
thought he could trust; but there was a simplicity and honesty, a
straight-forward singleness of mind, and such a real, truthful
heartiness of character about the young man, that a far less shrewd man
than Laud could see there was no danger in him. So far from ever
intending evil to any one, he was kind even to a fault: witness his very
treatment of such a man as Laud. He had often seen him about his
marshes, or along the river's side, or in the village, or upon the
heath. He knew what Hudson was; and like many others in that retired
country, became an occasional talker with him, even upon the subject of
smuggling. He knew that his own horses came in for a share of
night-work, as well as his neighbours'; but he always found himself well
treated by the smugglers, and frequently acknowledged the receipt of
some acceptable present. He knew the habits of poaching which these
seamen enjoyed ashore, and he never interrupted them. His own lands were
always abounding in game for his friends, and he never knew that they
were poached.
"Well, captain, what say you? Will you take me?"
"That I will, with all my heart. Where will you meet me?"
"Where you like. Where shall it be?"
"Suppose my messmate and I call you at eleven o'clock? We can take a
glass of grog with you, and perhaps use your own cart and horse. We
shall most likely go to Iken or Orford. But I will see my mate, and have
everything arranged, and be with you by eleven."
The honest bachelor who had made this appointment with Laud and Luff,
had no idea of his temerity and of the danger of the deed. He saw only,
for the time, a certain mystery, which he wished to see unravelled, and
forgot all the penalties the law attached to it.
Our worthy bachelor received his two promising visitors at eleven
o'clock, having first sent every servant to bed, and parted with an aged
mother, who was ignorant, blessedly ignorant, of her son's movements at
such a time of night; Laud and Luff were let into the house; they came,
partook of his good cheer, and then opened upon the subject of their
campaign.
They told him their intention to have a drag over some of the stubbles
of the Marquis of Hertford's estate, between Iken and Orford, and they
instructed him in the plan of operation. Five men were to meet them in
the lane leading down into Iken Wood: they carried a net capable of
covering four furrows. Not a single word must be spoken. Five would drag
in front, and three behind; one was to hold the check-string, by which
an alarm was conveyed to every one who had hold of the net. In case of a
sudden jerk at this string, each person dropped his hold of the net, and
ran for the nearest hedge, where he concealed himself until he heard the
signal to join forces again, which signal was for that night the crowing
of a cock. When by sundry kicks in the net they found that game was
enclosed, they were to drop the net, at the sound of a small reed
whistle, so low as only to be heard by those who were at a short
distance. As the young host was only a novice, it was proposed that he
should take his station between Hudson and Luff, his two visitors.
After all proper hints had been repeated, and these worthies had
sufficiently regaled themselves, they all went to the cart-lodge; took
out the market-cart, harnessed the old chestnut gelding, something
between a cart-horse and a roadster, and off they started for as novel
an expedition as ever any man of fortune undertook.
Will the reader believe that a man of good character--aye, and as
honest, upright, good-natured, kind-hearted, and benevolent a man, as
any of his rank and condition--a man of an intelligent and unwarped
mind--and one who through life was looked upon as good a neighbour as
could be--should so forget himself as to trust his reputation, his
honour--his very life and happiness (for at that time the Game Laws were
very severe), between two as great rascals as ever stole a head of game,
or shot a fellow-creature, in the frenzy of their career?
The reader must imagine a man far above all want, and with every
blessing which an abundant fortune could supply, without any idea of
intending an affront to the lord of Orford, or any of his affluent
neighbours, seated in his own luggage-cart, with his very name written
in large letters, X. Y. Z., Esq., with his place of abode upon it! He
must imagine such a man, trusting himself between two notorious
characters merely for the spree of the moment, and purely for the sake
of curiosity running the risk of losing his character and his liberty,
and yet without a thought of his danger. Yet the tale is as true as it
is strange. Had not the writer heard the subject of it often declare the
fact, he should have believed it impossible.
They are off, however, and Luff is the driver. As if acquainted with his
horse, and the horse with him, they went at a rate which astonished even
the owner of the animal. He had said, "Let me drive, for I understand
his humour"; but he found that another understood his own horse as well
as himself. This brute was like a donkey in one respect. Except you gave
him a jerk with the rein, and at the same time gave a rap on the sides
of the cart, you could not get him to move. What, then, was the surprise
of the Squire to find that a stranger could make the old horse go as
well as he could. But not a word was to be spoken--so in silence he
brooded over the singular knowledge of his coachman, and gave him
credit for his driving, which he richly deserved. It was evident the old
horse had been in his hands before that night. On they went through
Boyton, Butley, the borders of Eyke, to the lane leading down to Orford.
Here at a certain gate they stopped, and on the other side of the hedge
were the five men with the net. The old horse was tied to the gate, the
net unrolled, spread out, and, without a single word being spoken, each
man took his station.
It was just the dawning of the morn, when they could hear the old cock
pheasants crowing to their mates, to come down from their perches to
feed. A rustling wind favoured the work; a large barley stubble was
before them, lying with a slope up to the famous preserve of Iken Wood.
As they proceeded onward, sundry kicks in the net told of the captured
game, which was regularly and dexterously bagged, by the leading man
passing on to the net to the place of fluttering, and wringing the necks
of the said partridges, pheasants, hares, rabbits, or whatever they
were; then passing them along the meshes to the head of the net, whence
they were safely deposited in the different game-bags of the foremen.
That this sport was as much enjoyed by these men as that enjoyed by the
best shot in the land; that these fellows were as expert in their
movements and as experienced as Colonel Hawker himself, and as bold as
any foxhunter in the country, is quite true.
There was one in that party whose courage was soon put to the test,
after a fashion which he little calculated upon, and never forgot.
After having bagged a considerable quantity of game, and swept several
acres of stubble, they were ascending the middle of the field, toward
the covert, when a sudden violent check of the alarm-string, which ran
from one to the other, told that they must drop the net, and be off. Off
they ran, helter-skelter, as fast as they could, to the nearest fence.
The Squire's heart was in his throat, and his courage in his heels, as,
with unwonted speed, he ran for his life to the fence. Into brake and
briar, amidst nettles and thistles, brambles and thorns, dashed the hero
of the night, with his top-boots sticking plounce into the mud, and, for
the life of him, not daring to extricate them, for fear of his being
heard and taken by the gamekeepers. The water oozed coolly over the
tops, conveying a gentle moisture to his feverish skin, and proving no
small consolation for his exertions.
There he lay in a dreadful fright, expecting every instant some stout
keeper's hand to seize him by the shoulders, and lug him out of his
hiding-place. Then it was for the first moment that he felt the
awkwardness of his situation. Reflection told him his danger. Though he
durst scarcely breathe, he felt his heart beat tumultuously against his
chest, at the thought of his folly and the possibility of detection.
"Oh, what a fool I am," thought he, "to run the risk of transportation
for such a freak! My name is on my cart; it is my horse, and the fellows
will swear they were in my employ. On me will be visited the vengeance
of the law. Lord Hertford will never forgive me. I shall have all the
magistrates, squires, noblemen, gentlemen, gamekeepers, and watchers up
in arms against me; and all for what?--for a foolish curiosity, which I
have thus gratified at the expense of my character. Oh! if I get out of
this scrape, never, never will I get into such a one again!"
In the midst of these painful impressions, the Squire's heart was
gladdened by the cheerful sound of "bright chanticleer." Never did cock
crow with a pleasanter sound than that good imitation, which told that
the coast was clear.
Some time did the Squire hesitate whether he should join the sport
again, and a still longer time did it take him to extricate his boots
from the mud, for he came out of the ditch minus the right leg covering,
and, after sundry tugs, and, when out, sundry shakings, &c., to turn out
the water, and then, as may be supposed, no small difficulty in getting
it on again, he managed to join his companions, who had almost felt
persuaded that he had totally decamped. The cause of this alarm was a
poor unfortunate jackass, which had strayed from the lane into the
stubble, and which, standing with his head and ears erect, had presented
to the foreman the appearance of a determined gamekeeper.
A few more acres were dragged, more game secured, and the party once
more safely seated in the cart. Two sacks of game lay in the bottom of
the vehicle, which were both deposited (saving one bagful for the host)
at the Green Cottage at Butley Moor. What a happy man was that host,
when, after all his dangers, he found himself again within his own
doors! happier still, when, after entertaining his free companions,
whose jokes upon his expressions of joy at escape were amusing enough to
them, though painfully interesting to himself; happier still was he,
when, at four o'clock in the morn, he let them out of his house, and
bade poachers and poaching good-bye for ever!
Nineteen beautiful cock pheasants were hung up in his larder; but so
ashamed was the Squire of their being seen there, that, before he
retired to his own bed, he put them all into a box, with hay, &c., and
directed them to Mr. Thomas Page, his wine-merchant, in London. His
_spolia opima_ were not mentioned till years had in some measure worn
off the rust of danger, and then he gave his friends and neighbours
reason to rejoice in his adventure, and that he had escaped
transportation.