1.
"There sits three ravens on yon tree,
Heigho!
There sits three ravens on yon tree,
As black, as black, as they can be.
Heigho, the derry, derry, down, heigho.
2.
"Says the first raven to the other,
Heigho!
Says the first raven to the other,
'We'll go and eat our feast together.'
Heigho, &c.
3.
"'It's down in yonder grass-grown field,
Heigho!
It's down in yonder grass-grown field,
There lies a dead knight just new killed.'
Heigho, &c.
4.
"There came a lady full of woe,
Heigho!
There came a lady full of woe,
And her hands she wrung, and her tears did flow.
Heigho, &c.
5.
"She saw the red blood from his side,
Heigho!
She saw the red blood from his side,--
'And it was for me my true love died!'
Heigho, &c.
6.
"'Oh, cruel was my brother's sword,
Heigho!
Oh, cruel, cruel, was his sword,
But sharper the edge of one scornful word.'
Heigho, &c.
7.
She laid her on his bosom cold,
Heigho!
She laid her on his bosom cold,
While adown his cheek her tears they rolled.
Heigho, &c.
8.
"No word she spake, but one sob gave she,
Heigho!
No word she spake, but one sob gave she:
Said the ravens, 'Another feast have we,
And long shall thy rest and thy slumbers be.'
Heigho, the derry, derry, down, heigho!"
At the concluding stanza in walked Oliver Tempest, who, as if to avoid
notice, sat down, without uttering a word, in a dark corner at the
opposite side of the hall. He looked moody, and wishful to be alone.
Joan, for a while, forbore to interrupt his reverie, and the females
finished their evening repast in silence.
"Is Sir Thomas Talbot yet returned from the Harringtons?" inquired the
dame soon after, with an air of assumed carelessness.
"He returned an hour only ere I departed."
Another pause ensued.
"And his son Thomas, comes he back from the Pudsays of Bolton? Does the
gentle Florence[59] look on him kindly, or is the wedding yet delayed?"
"I know not," was the brief reply. After a short pause he
continued--"The wanderer has left Bolton, I learn, and, 'tis said, he
bides at Whalley."
Here he cast a furtive look at the domestics, and then at his wife, as
though wishful to ascertain if others had understood this intimation.
"Nay, some do boldly affirm that he has been seen i' these very woods,"
continued he, lowering his voice to a whisper.
"Which Heaven forefend!" said the wary dame. "I would not that he should
draw us down with him to the same gulf wherein his fortune is
o'erwhelmed. No luck that woman ever brought him from o'er sea, and now
she's gone"--
"They say that she hath escaped to Flanders," said Oliver, hastily
interrupting her.
"I wish he had been so fortunate," said the dame; "what says our cousin
Talbot?"
"Hush, dame; our plans are not yet ripe. But more of this anon."
Elizabeth listened with more interest than usual. Every word was eagerly
devoured, and with the last sentence she could not forbear inquiring--
"And Edmund?--surely Edmund Talbot is not"--
"What?" sternly inquired her father; "what knowest thou of--? Said I
aught whereby thou shouldst suspect us?"
"Hush, thou foolish one," said the more cautious dame; "thy thought
alone was privy to it, and so no more. There be others listening."
The moonbeams now crept softly into the chambers, whither, too, crept
the weary household; the master and his wife remaining for a short time
together in the hall, apparently in earnest discussion. But Elizabeth
retired not to her couch. She passed softly through the courtyard,
looking round as though in search of some individual. This proved to be
the hunchback Gregory, whom she found esconced behind a peat-stack in
marvellous profundity of thought. With a soft step, and one finger
raised to her lips, she gently tapped him upon the shoulder.
Looking round, he saw her gesture and was silent.
"Gregory, art thou honest?" she inquired, in a whisper.
"Why, an' it be, Mistress Elspeth, when it suits with my discretion;
that is, if discretion be none the worse for it, eh?"
"Thou art ever so, Gregory; and yet"--
"If ye want honesty, eschew a knave, and catch a fool by the cap. None
but fools worry and distemper themselves with this same pale-faced
whining jade, that will leave 'em i' the lurch at a pinch, Dame Honesty,
forsooth. More wit, more wisdom; and there is a plentiful lack of wit in
your honest folk," continued the cynic, as though pursuing a train of
thought to its ultimate development.
"Gregory, thou art not the rogue thee seems. I think beneath that rough
and captious speech there lurks more honesty than thou art willing to
acknowledge. Thou hast been angered with baiting until thou wouldst run
at every dog that comes into the paddock, though he fawned on thee, and
were never so trusty and well-behaved."
Gregory was silent. He looked upwards to the bright moon and the
quenched orbs that lay about her path. Again Elizabeth whispered, first
looking cautiously around--
"Wilt do me a service?"
"Ay, for hire," he quickly answered.
"If thine errand is done faithfully, thou mayest get more largess than
thou dream'st of."
"Ye want a spoon belike, that ye soil not your delicate fingers?"
"Ay, Gregory, an' thou wilt, we 'll first use thee."
"And then the spoon shall be broken, I trow. Well, if I am a spoon, I'll
be a golden one, and I shall be worth something when I'm done with.
Understand ye this, fair mistress?"
"Yes, knave; and thou shalt have thy reward."
"What! I shall swing the highest, eh?"
"Peace; I want a messenger. Take this."
"Not treason, I trow," said Gregory, as he eyed the billet with a
curious but hesitating glance.
"Go by the nearer path to the wood. Where the road divides to the ford
and the farther pastures; take the latter, then turn to the right, where
the old fir-tree rises above the rock. Walk carefully through the bushes
at the base of the crag. Near unto a sharp angle of the rock thy path
will be stayed by a fallen tree. Grasp this with both hands, and whistle
thrice. I know thou canst be trusty and discreet. Yet remember thy life
is in my power shouldst thou fail." She paused, pointing significantly
at the billet. "Now hasten. Bring back, and to me only, what shall be
committed to thy care. I will expect thee at my window by midnight."
Now it so happened that this precise spot was identified to Gregory's
apprehensions with the very place where his attention had that night
been directed by the mysterious disappearance of the grey man of the
mine. He would certainly have preferred making his second visit by
daylight; but needs must when a woman drives, especially when that woman
is a mistress, and gold is the goad. Besides he might perchance get a
glimpse of the treasure; and his pockets were wide and his gripe close.
Thus stimulated to the adventure, he addressed himself to perform her
behest.
The night was singularly clear, and the shadows lay on his path, still
and beautifully distinct. As he hastened onwards the wood grew darker
and more impervious. Here and there the moonbeams crept fantastically
through the boughs, like fairy lamps glimmering on his path. Sometimes,
preternaturally bright, the wood seemed lit up as though for some magic
festival. He followed the directions he had received, pausing not until
he saw the dark fir-tree rearing its broad crest and gigantic arms into
the clear and twinkling heaven. It looked like the guardian genius of
the place,--a huge monster lifting its terrific head, as though to watch
and warn away intruders. Beside this was the rock where his adventure
must terminate.
With more of desperation than courage he scrambled through the bushes.
Not daring to look behind him--for he felt as though his steps were
dogged, an idea for which he could not account--he made his way with
difficulty by the crag until he came to a fallen tree that had
apparently tumbled from the rock. Laying hold of the trunk he whistled
faintly. It was answered; an echo, or something even more indistinct,
gave back the sound. His heart misgave him; but he stood committed to
the task, and durst not withdraw. Again he whistled, but louder than
before, and again it was repeated. With feelings akin to those of the
condemned wretch when he drops the fatal handkerchief, he sounded the
last note of the signal. His breath was suspended. Suddenly he felt the
ground give way beneath his feet, and he was precipitated into a chasm,
dark, and by no means soft at the nether extremity.
This was a reception for which he was not prepared. He had sustained a
severe shock; but luckily his bones were whole. Recovering from his
alarm, he heard a low jabbering noise, and presently a light, which, it
seems, had been extinguished by his clumsiness, was again approaching.
The intruder saw, with indescribable horror, a hideous black dwarf
bearing a torch. He was dressed in the Eastern fashion. A soiled turban,
torn and dilapidated, and a vest of crimson, showed symptoms of former
splendour that no art could restore. This mysterious being came near,
muttering some uncouth and unintelligible jargon; while the unfortunate
captive, caught like a wolf in a trap, looked round in vain for some
outlet whereby to escape. The only passage, except the hole through
which he had tumbled, was completely filled by the broad, unwieldy lump
of deformity that was coming towards him. The latter now surveyed him
cautiously, and at a convenient distance, croaking, in a broken and
foreign accent--
"What ho! Prisoner, by queen's grace. Better stop when little door shall
open. Steps, look thee, for climb; hands and toes; go to."
Gregory now saw that steps, or rather holes, were cut in the sides of
the pit wherein he had fallen, or rather been entrapped. These he ought
to have used when the trap-door was let down; and he remembered his
mistress's caution, to hold fast by the tree. There were, however, no
means of escape that way, as the door had closed with his descent.
The ugly thing before him was ten times more misshapen than himself; and
at any other time this flattering consideration would have restored him
to comparative good-humour.
He was not in the mood now to receive comfort from any source. He felt
sore and mightily disquieted. Limping aside, he angrily exclaimed--
"Be'st thou the de'il, or the de'il's footman, sir blackamoor? I'd have
thee tell thy master to admit his guests in a more convenient fashion.
Hang me, if my bones will not ache for a twelvemonth. My back is almost
broke, for certain."
Here the other bellowed out into a loud laugh, pointing to Gregory's
back, then surveying himself, and evidently with congratulation at his
own more imaginary prepossessing appearance.
"Sir knight," said the black dwarf, "what errand comes to our mighty
prince?"
"Tut! if it be his infernal kingship ye mean, I bear not messages to one
of his quality."
"Thee brings writing in thy fist. Go to!"
"From a woman, fallen in love wi' thee, belike. Well, quit me o' woman's
favours, say I, if this be of 'em."
"Well-a-day, sir page," cried the grinning Ethiop, whose teeth looked
like a double row of pearls set in a border of carnelian, "my mistress
be a queen: I do rub the dust on thy ugly nose if that red tongue wag
more, for make bad speech of her. Go to, clown!"
"Ill betide thee for a blackamoor ape," said Gregory, his courage waxing
apace when his fears of the supernatural began to subside; "and
wherefore? Look thee, Mahound, though my mistress sent me to such a
lady-bird as thou art, Master Oliver shall know on't. Thou hast won her
with spells and foul necromancie; but I've commandment from him to catch
all that be poaching on his lands. Thou art i' the mine, too, as I do
verily guess; therefore I arrest thee i' the king's name, as a lifter of
his treasure, and a spoiler of our good venison."
Gregory, being stout-limbed, and of a more than ordinary strength for
his size, proceeded forthwith to execute his threat; but the dwarf, with
a short shrill scream, gave him a sudden trip, which again laid the
officious dispenser of justice prostrate, without either loosing the
torch from his hand, or seeming to use more exertion than would have
thrown a child.
"Ah, ah, there be quits. Lie still; go to; lick thy paws. Know, dog, I'm
body to the queen!"
"Body o' me, I think thee be'st liker fist and crupper. I would I had
thee in a cart at holiday-time, and a rope to thy muzzle," said the
astonished Gregory. He had dropped his billet in the scuffle, which the
dwarf seized, opening it without ceremony.
"A message. Good; stay here, garbage; I be back one, two, t'ree," and
away straddled the black monster along the passage. Turning suddenly,
before he was aware, into another avenue, leading apparently far into
the interior, Gregory was left once more in total darkness. He heard the
sound of retreating footsteps, but not a glimmer was visible, and he
feared to follow lest he might be entangled in some inextricable
labyrinth. He recollected to have heard a vague sort of tradition, that
a subterraneous passage once led from the hall to the Ribble bank,
whereby the miners had in former days kept their operations secret.
These were the haunts, too, of poachers and deer-stalkers, who made use
of such hiding-places to screen their nocturnal depredations. He might
be gotten unknowingly into one of their retreats, and he knew the
character of such men too well to venture farther into their privy
places without leave. But it was strange this ugly and insane thing
should be kept here. Its outlandish accent, too, as far as Gregory could
distinguish, was still more unaccountable; and that his young mistress
should hold any intercourse with such a misshapen mockery of the human
form was a mystery only to be resolved by a woman! After all, his first
conjecture might be true, and this delicate sprite the ministering demon
to some magician who brooded over the treasure.
He grew more timorous in the dark. His own breathing startled him. He
revolved a thousand plans of escape; but how was it possible to climb to
the pit-mouth without help, and in total darkness? The door, too, would
probably defy his attempts to remove it. Suspense was not to be endured.
He would have been glad to see the ugly dwarf again, rather than remain
in his present evil case.
He now tried to grope out his way, from that sort of undefinable feeling
which leads a person to identify change of place with improvement in
condition.
Ere he had gone many yards from the spot, however, he saw a light, and
presently the flaming torch was visible, with the ugly form he desired.
"Sir messenger, allez. Make scrape and go backward. Bah! What for make
lady chuse ugly lout as thee for page?--not know, not inquire. Up, this
way; now mind the steps. Bah, not that, fool!"
With some difficulty Gregory was initiated into the mysteries of the
ascent. The torch was brandished high above his head, and with fear and
trepidation he prepared to obey.
"But, master sooty-paws, my mistress will be a-wanting of some token;
some reply. Hast thou no memory of her sweet favours?"
"Begone, slave-dog, begone! Say we be snug as the fox that will keep in
the hole when dogs go hunt. We not go up again till lady sends leave. Go
to!"
Gregory mounted with great difficulty. When he approached the mouth,
looking upward for some mode of exit, he saw the trap-door slowly open,
and he leapt forth into the free air; the cool atmosphere and the quiet
moonlight again upon his path. He soon cleared the bushes, and once more
was on his way to the house. Elizabeth met him at the gate.
"What ho, sirrah!" said she, "hast thou been loitering with my message?
I left my chamber to look out for thee. What answer? Quick."
"Why, forsooth, 'tis not easy to say, methinks, for such jabber is hard
to interpret. By my lady's leave, I think"--
Here he paused; but Elizabeth was impatient for the expected reply.
"Softly, softly, mistress. I but thought your worship were ill bestowed
on yonder ugly image."
"Tut, I'm not i' the humour for thine. What message, simpleton?"
"None, good mistress; but that they be snug until further orders."
"'Tis well; to rest; but hark thee, knave, be honest and discreet; thou
shall win both gold and great honours thereby."
"What! shall I ha' my share o' the treasure?" inquired Gregory, his eyes
glistening in the broad moonlight.
"What treasure, thou greedy gled?"
"Why they say 'tis a mine royal, and"--
"How! knowest thou our secret?"
"Ay, a body may quess. I've not found the road to the silver mine for
nought. If I get my grip on't, the king may whistle for his share
belike."
"The king! what knowest thou of the king?" said the maiden sharply.
"Eh! lady, I know not on him forsooth. Marry it would be hard to say who
that be now-a-days; for the clerk towed me"--
"Peace! whom sawest thou?"
"Why the ugliest brute, saving your presence, lady, that my two een ever
lippened on."
"None else?"
"No, no; I warrant ye, the miners wouldna care to let me get a glint o'
the gowd. I only had a look at the hobgoblin, who they have set, I
guess, to watch the treasure."
"Oh! I see,--ay, truly," said the maiden thoughtfully; "the mine is
guarded, therefore be wary, and reveal not the secret, lest he crush
thee. Remember," said she at parting, "remember the demon of the cave.
One word, and he will grind thy bones to grist."
Gregory did remember the power of this mysterious being, who, he began
to fancy, partook more of the supernatural than he had formerly
imagined.
Wearied with watching, he slept soundly, but his dreams were of wizards
and enchanters; heaps of gold and fairy palaces, wherein he roved
through glittering halls of illimitable extent, until morning dissipated
the illusion.
Some weeks passed on, during which, at times, Gregory was employed by
his mistress, doubtless to propitiate this greedy monster, in conveying
food secretly to the mouth of the chasm. He did not usually wait for his
appearance, but ran off with all convenient speed when his errand was
accomplished. Still his hankering for the treasure seemed to increase
with every visit. He oft invented some plan for outwitting the demon,
thereby securing to himself the product of the mine. Some of these
devices would doubtless have been accomplished had not fear prevented
the attempt. He had no wish to encounter again the hostility of that
fearful thing in its unhallowed abode.
His mistress, however, would, at some period or another, no doubt, be in
possession of all the wealth in the cave, and he should then expect a
handsome share. He had heard, in old legends, marvellous accounts of
ladies marrying with these accursed dwarfs for gold, and if he waited
patiently he might perchance have the best of the spoil.
He brooded on this imagination so long that he became fully convinced
of its truth; but still the golden egg was long in hatching.
One night he thought he would watch a while. He had just left a large
barley-cake and some cheese, a bowl of furmety, and a dish of fruit.
"This monster," thought he, "devours more victuals than the worth of his
ugly carcase."
He hid himself behind a tree, when presently he heard a rustling behind
him. Ere he could retreat he was seized with a rude grasp, and the gruff
accents of his master were heard angrily exclaiming--
"How now, sir knave?--What mischief art thou plotting this blessed
night? Answer me. No equivocation. If thou dost serve me with a lie in
thy mouth I'll have thee whipt until thou shall wish the life were out
o' thee."
Gregory fell on his knees and swore roundly that he would tell the
truth.
"Quick, hound; I have caught thee lurching here at last. I long thought
thou hadst some knavery agoing. What meanest thou?"
Gregory pointed towards the provision which was lying hard by.
"Eh, sirrah! what have we hear?" said his master, curiously examining
the dainties. "Why, thou cormorant, thou greedy kite, is't not enough to
consume victuals and provender under my own roof, but thou must guttle
'em here too? I warrant there be other company to the work, other
grinders at the mill. Now, horrible villain, thou dost smell fearfully
o' the stocks!"
"O master, forgive me!--It was mistress that sent me with the stuff, as
I hope the Virgin and St Gregory may be my intercessors."
"Thy mistress!--and for whom?"
"Why, there's a hole close by, as I've good cause to remember."
"Well, sirrah, and what then?"
"As ugly a devilkin lives there as ever put paw and breech upon hidden
treasure. 'Tis the mine, master, that I mean."
"The mine! What knowest thou of the mine?"
"I've been there, and"--
Here he related his former adventure; at the hearing of which Oliver
Tempest fell into a marvellous study.
"Hark thee," said he, after a long silence; "I pardon thee on one
condition, which is, that thou take another message."
Here the terrified Gregory broke forth into unequivocal exclamations of
agony and alarm.
"Peace," said his master, "and listen; thou must carry it as from my
daughter. I suspect there's treason lurks i' that hole."
"Ay, doubtless," said Gregory: "for the neibours say 'tis treason to
hide a mine royal."
"A mine royal! Ay, knave, I do suspect it to be so. By my troth, I 'll
ferret out the foulmarts either by force or guile. And yet force would
avail little. If they have the clue we might attempt to follow them in
vain through its labyrinths, they would inevitably escape, and I should
lose the reward. Hark thee. Stay here and I'll fetch the writing for the
message. Stir not for thy life. Shouldst thou betray me I'll have thy
crooked bones ground in a mill to thicken pigs' gruel."
Fearful was the dilemma; but Gregory durst not budge.
The night grew dark and stormy, the wind rose, loud gusts shaking down
the dying leaves, and howling through the wide extent of the forest. The
moan of the river came on like the agony of some tortured spirit. The
sound seemed to creep closer to his ear; and Gregory thought some evil
thing was haunting him for intruding into these unhallowed mysteries.
He was horribly alarmed at the idea of another visit to the cave, but he
durst not disobey. He now heard a rustling in the bushes by the cavern's
mouth. He saw, or fancied he saw, something rise therefrom and suddenly
disappear. It was the demon, doubtless, retiring with his prey. He
scarcely dared to breathe lest the hobgoblin should observe and seize
him likewise. But his presence was unnoticed. He, however, thought that
the blast grew louder, and a moan more melancholy and appalling arose
from the river. Again Oliver Tempest was at his side.
"Take this, and do thy bidding." He thrust the billet into his hand,
which the unfortunate recipient might not refuse.
Trembling in every limb, he approached the place of concealment; but he
was too wary now to let go his hold of the fallen trunk.
He whistled thrice, and the ground again seemed to give way. A light
glared from beneath, and he cautiously descended the pit.
The grim porter was waiting for him below. He fell as though rushing
into the very jaws of the monster, who was but whetting his tusks ere he
should devour him.
"Here again!" croaked the ugly dwarf; "what brings thy long legs back
from Christendom?"
"I know not, master; but if you are i' the humour to read, I've a scrap
in my pouch at your high mightiness' service."
Gregory paid more deference to him now than aforetime, having conceived
a most profound respect for his attributes, both physical and mental,
since his former visit.
"He is himself either some wondrous enchanter," thought he, "or, at any
rate, minister or familiar to some mighty wizard, who hath his
dwelling-place in this subterraneous abode."
"I have a message here to my lord," said he aloud, handing him the
billet at arm's length, with a mighty show of deference and respect. The
uncourteous dwarf took the writing, and left Gregory in darkness again
to await his return. He shook at every joint, while the minutes seemed
an age. Again the light flickered on the damp walls, and the mysterious
being approached. He addressed the envoy with his usual grin of
contempt.
"Tell the lady, my master be glad. He will leap from his prison by
to-morrow, as she say, and appear at dinner."
"The dickons he will," said Gregory, as he clambered up the ascent, not
without imminent jeopardy, so anxious was he to escape.
"This is a fearful message to master," thought he, as he leapt out
joyfully into the buoyant air: "but at any rate I'll now be quit o' the
job." And the messenger gave his report, for Oliver Tempest was
impatiently awaiting his return.
"'Tis well," said he; "and now, hark thee, should one syllable of this
night's business bubble through thy lips, thou hadst better have stayed
in the paws of the hobgoblin. Away!"
Gregory needed no second invitation, but scampered home with great
despatch, leaving his master to grope out the way as he thought proper.
There was more bustle and preparation for dinner than usual on the
morrow. Oliver Tempest had sent messengers to Bashall and Waddow; but
the guests had not made their appearance. About noon the hall-table was
furnished with a few whittles and well-scoured trenchers. Bright pewter
cups and ale-flagons were set in rows on a side-table, and on the
kitchen hearth lay a savoury chine of pork and pease-pudding. In the
great boiling pot, hung on a crook over the fire, bubbled a score of
hard dumplings, and in the broth reposed a huge piece of beef--these
dainties being usually served in the following order--broth, dumpling,
beef, according to the old distich--
"No broth, no ba';
No ba', no meat at a'."
Dame Joan of Waddington was the presiding genius of the feast, the
conduit-pipe through which flowed the full stream of daily bounty,
dispensing every blessing, even the most minute. In that golden age of
domestic discipline it was not beneath the dignity of a careful
housewife to attend and take the lead in all culinary arrangements.
The master strode to and fro in the hall, and Elizabeth was humming at
her wheel. He looked anxious and ill at ease, often casting a furtive
glance towards the entrance, and occasionally a side-look at his
daughter. She sometimes watched her father's eye, as though she had
caught his restless apprehensions, and would have inquired the cause of
his uneasiness. Suddenly a loud bay from a favourite hound that was
dozing on the hearth announced the approach of a stranger. Oliver
advanced with a quick step into the courtyard, and soon re-entered
leading in a middle-sized, middle-aged personage, slightly formed, whose
pale and saintly features looked haggard and apprehensive, while his eye
wavered to and fro, less perhaps with curiosity than suspicion.
He was wrapped in a grey cloak; and a leathern jerkin, barely meeting in
front, displayed a considerable breadth of under garment in the space
between hose and doublet. These were fastened together with tags or
points, superseding the use of wooden skewers, with which latter mode of
suspension not a few of our country yeomen were in those days supplied.
His legs were protected by boots of fine brown Spanish leather, lined
with deer-skin, tanned with the fur on, and buttoned from the ankle to
the knee. He had gloves of the same material, reaching to the elbow when
drawn up, but now turned down with the fur outwards. The hands and feet
were remarkably small, but well shapen. A low grey cap of coarse
woollen completed the costume of this singular visitor. There was, at
times, in the expression of his eye, an indescribable mixture of
imbecility and enthusiasm, as though the spirit of some Eastern fakir
had reanimated a living body. A gleam of almost supernatural
intelligence was mingled with an expression of fatuity, that in less
enlightened ages would have invested him with the dangerous reputation
of priest or prophet in the eyes of the multitude.
Oliver Tempest led the way with great care and formality. To a keen-eyed
observer, though, his courtesy would have appeared over acted and
fulsome; but the object of his assiduities seemed to pay him little
attention, further than by a vacant smile that struggled around the
corners of his melancholy and placid mouth.
Dame Joan Tempest now came forth, bending thrice in a deep and formal
acknowledgment. The stranger stayed her speech with a look of great
benignity.
"I know thy words are what our kindness would interpret, and I thank
thee. Your hospitality shall not lose its savour in my remembrance, when
England hath grown weary of her guilt,--when the cry of the widow and
the fatherless shall have prevailed. I am hunted like a partridge on the
mountains; but, by the help of my God, I shall yet escape from the
noisome pit, and from the snares of the fowler."
Yet the look which accompanied this prediction seemed incredulous of its
purport. He heaved a deep sigh, and his eyes were suddenly bent on the
ground. Being introduced into the hall, the seat of honour was assigned
him at the table.
Elizabeth, when she saw him, uttered an ill-suppressed exclamation of
surprise, and her pale countenance grew almost ghastly. Her lips were
bloodless, quivering with terror and dismay. Agony was depicted on her
brow--that agony which leaves the spirit without support to struggle
with unknown, undefined, uncomprehended evil. Not a word escaped her;
she hurried out of the hall, as she thought, without observation; but
this sudden movement did not escape the eye of her father. Triumph sat
on his brow; and his cheek seemed flushed with joy at the result of his
stratagem.
The servitors appeared; and the smoking victuals were disposed in their
due order. The joints were placed at the upper end of the board, while
broth and pottage steamed out their savoury fumes from the lower end of
the table. At some distance below the master and his dame sat the male
domestics, then the females, who occupied the lower places at the feast,
except two, who waited on the rest.
The master blessed the meal, the whole company standing. The broth was
served round to the lower forms, and the meat and dainties to the
higher; but Elizabeth was still absent.
When she left the hall it was for the purpose of speaking to Gregory,
whom she found skulking and peeping about the premises.
"Gregory, why art thou absent from thy nooning?" inquired Elizabeth,
with a suspicious and scrutinising glance.
"I'm not o'er careful to bide i' the house just now. Is there aught come
that--that"--Here he stammered and looked round, confirming the
suspicions of the inquirer.
"Gregory, thou art a traitor; but thou shalt not escape thy reward. I'll
have thee hung--ay, villain, beyond the reach of aught but crows and
kites."
"Whoy, mistress, I'd leifer be hung nor stifled to death wi' brimstone
and bad humours."
"None o' thy quiddities, thou maker of long lies and quick legs.
Confess, or I'll"--
"Whoy, look ye, mistress, you've been kind, and pulled me out of many an
ugly ditch."
"Why dost thou hesitate, knave? I'm glad thy memory is not so
treacherous as thy tongue."
"Nay, mistress, I've no notion to sup brose wi' t' old one: those that
dinner wi' him he may happen ask to supper; and he'd need have a long
whittle that cuts crumbs wi' the de'il."
"Art thou at thy riddles again? Speak in sober similitudes, if thou
canst, sirrah."
"Your father sent me on a message to the little devilkin last night. I
was loth enough to the job; but he catched me as I went wi' the
victuals."
"A message!--and to what purport?"
"Nay, that I know not. The invitation was conveyed in a scrap of
writing, and I'm not gifted in clerkship an' such like matters."
A ray of intelligence now burst upon her. She saw the imminent danger
which threatened the fugitive, who had been hitherto concealed
principally by her contrivances. Gregory watched the rapid and changing
hues alternating on her cheek. She saw the full extent of the emergency;
and, though her father was the traitor, she hesitated not in that trying
moment.
No time was to be lost, and measures were immediately taken to
countervail these designs.
"What answer sent he?" she hastily inquired.
"The de'il's buckie said his master would be at the hall by dinner-time;
and I'll not be one o' the guests where old Clootie has the pick o' the
table."
"Thou witless runnion, haste, or we are lost! It is the king! I would I
had trusted thee before with the secret. Mayhap thy wit would have been
without obscuration. Supernatural terrors have taken thy reason
prisoner. Haste, nor look behind thee until thou art under the eaves of
Bashall. This to my cousin, Edmund Talbot; he is honest, or my wishes
themselves are turned traitors," said the maiden wistfully. She scrawled
but one line, with which Gregory departed on his errand.
Oliver Tempest grew uneasy at his daughter's absence. He inquired the
cause, but all were alike ignorant. The king inquired too, with some
surprise; and a messenger was despatched with a close whisper in his
ear.
The meal was nigh finished, when all eyes were turned towards the
entrance. A little blackamoor page came waddling in. He made no sign nor
obeisance, but took his station, without speaking, behind his master's
chair.
"Why, how now, my trusty squire?" said the disguised monarch; "thou wast
not bidden to this feast."
The dwarf cast a scowling glance at the master of the house, and he
replied, while a hideous grin dilated his thick stubborn features--
"This be goodly wassail, methinks. I am weary of lurching and
torchlight."
"Tempest," said the king, "I would crave grace for this follower of
mine. He is somewhat fearsome and forbidding, but of an unwearied
fidelity."
"Troth," said Tempest, still wishful to maintain the king's incognito,
"the Turks having now taken Byzantium, the great bulwark of Christendom,
I did fear me that the first of the tribe from that great army of
locusts had descended upon us."
"Fear not," said the unfortunate monarch, with a smile; "this poor
innocent will do no ill. His mistress brought him for me a present from
her father's court; and, to say the truth, he has been a great solace in
my trouble. He hath not forsaken me when they who fattened on my
bounty--who dipped their hands with me in the dish--have been the first
to betray me. The knave is shrewd and playful, but of an incredible
strength, being, as ye may observe, double-jointed. Madoc, let them
behold some token of thy power."
The cunning rogue obeyed in a twinkling. He seized the host's chair with
one hand, lifting its occupant without difficulty from the ground. With
the other he laid hold on him by the throat, and would certainly have
strangled him but for the king.
The assault was so sudden and unexpected that the domestics stood still
a moment, as though rendered powerless by surprise.
The next instant they all fled pell-mell out of the hall, every one
struggling to be foremost, apprehending that the great personification
of all evil was there, bodily, behind them, and in the very act of
flying off with their master.
In vain Joan shouted after the cowardly villains; her threats but
increased their speed.
"Fly, King Henry," cried the dwarf, in a voice that sounded like the
roar of some infuriated beast; "the rascal curs are barking; the stag is
in the net. This traitor"--Here he became at a loss for words; but his
gesticulations were more vehement. "Fly!" at length he shouted, in a
louder voice than before; "I've seen sword and armour glittering in the
forest."
But the king was irresolute, as much amazed as any of the rest. He saw
the imminent danger of his host, whose face was blackening above the
grip of this fierce antagonist, and he cried out--
"Leave go, Madoc; let the curs bark, we fear them not in this good
house. Let go, I command thee."