The wind was from the west, the grey morning dawning calm, and
somewhat hazy. Few eyes were open in the castle of Heidelberg, except
those of the sentinels on the walls; and amongst those who slept
soundest, strange to say, was Algernon Grey. He was wearied with long
exertion and fatigue; he was wearied with anxiety and thought; he was
wearied with several months' strife between hope and fear; and now,
when a brief period of repose had come, when there seemed a pause in
his fate, when no exertion on his part could advance or retard
whatever events Fate had in store for the future, he slept
profoundly--for many hours dreamlessly--till, towards the morning,
faint and fleeting visions of Agnes Herbert in danger and distress
crossed his mind, changing like the forms of clouds borne over the
summer sky. Suddenly, something, he knew not what, awoke him from his
sleep, and he gazed round bewildered. For an instant he knew not where
he was; but then he heard a faint and distant sound like that of a
slowly beaten drum, and he murmured, "Surely that is the noise of
firearms." Starting out of bed, he flung on a loose furred
dressing-gown, and threw open the door of the ante-room. His servants
were already up; the outer door was open, and a man was looking out.
"What is that noise, Stephen Graves?" exclaimed the young Earl,
anxiously. "Run and gain intelligence."
"They say it is the enemy," my lord, replied the man, "who have
attacked the redoubt called the Ape's Nest, and the new trench you
went to see last night. Colonel Herbert has hurried up already;--but I
will soon get farther news;" and away he ran.
It was the first act of the siege; and Algernon Grey, while he armed
himself in haste, felt that strange sort of impression which is ever
produced by the commencement of any great and decisive transaction,
long delayed and expected, in which we are destined to bear a part.
The siege of Heidelberg had begun. How was it to end? he asked
himself. What might be the fate of himself and of those he held most
dear, before the final scene of the tragedy then commencing? But
although deep reflection and strong feeling were inherent in his
character, yet energetic activity was the predominant quality of his
nature. Thought never made him pause or hesitate; and, as no
particular post had as yet been assigned to him, he resolved at once
to hasten as a volunteer to the point assailed, and render the best
service in his power.
His men were speedily gathered together, and the arms of the soldiers
of that period were caught up and donned; when, just as they were
descending to the court, the loud, dull boom of a piece of ordnance
was heard, and a cannon-ball striking the wall above, some heavy
pieces of stone fell down across the windows.
"They have won the redoubt, my lord," said one of the men, pausing,
and turning round to speak to Algernon Grey.
"Never mind," answered the young nobleman; "it can be won back
again. Come on!" and, passing to the head of the troop, he led them
down into the court, and through what was called the fore-yard of
Louis the Fifth's palace, by a passage which led by the side of the
library-tower to the upper casemate, and to the conduit-casemate;
thence through the kitchen gardens and the pheasant garden, out to the
mount-fort, where the new trench commenced. As they went, another and
another cannon-shot was heard; but the balls whistled high over their
heads towards the castle and the town. Several soldiers were met
hurrying back towards the fortress; and two of them, carrying in their
arms a wounded man, paused, both to rest themselves for an instant,
and to tell their advancing comrades that the Ape's Nest and the new
trench had just been carried by the enemy.
Algernon Grey made no long halt, however, but hurried on to the
southern gorge, or entrance of the small octagonal fort, where he
found Colonel Herbert directing a furious fire from two small pieces
of cannon and about fifty arquebuses, upon the trench which ran
towards the half-finished redoubt.
"Ah! my noble friend!" he cried, as soon as he saw the Earl; "this is
kind help, and much needed. They have attacked us sooner than we
thought, driven out the masons and the few soldiers who were working
there; and, worse than all, captured all the beeves which the peasants
had gathered up here for the supply of the castle."
"Methinks we can retake the trench and the redoubt," said Algernon
Grey, gazing forth, and shading his eyes with his hand from the light
of the eastern sun, "perhaps even recapture the cattle; for that is a
serious loss. Cover us with a sharp fire; and I will undertake to
regain the works with my own men, provided there be not strong
reinforcements beyond that wood."
"None, none," replied Herbert; "they have not three companies on the
ground."
"Upon them, then!" cried Algernon Grey. "Stephen Graves, array the men
at the little stockade below--quick! for they are coming along the
trench. Now, my gallant friend, let your fire be directed beyond that
little mound of earth in the trench till we reach it, and then cease.
You can send out a party to support us, if you see need and have men
enough. If you were to put some small balls into that falconet, and
brought it to sweep the trench, it would cover us well. Jam them down
close, or you will burst the gun."
Thus saying, the young nobleman ran down to his men below, and, ere
the cannon he had pointed to could be charged, was seen issuing forth
with his men into the trench. The Spaniards and Bavarians were now
gathering fast beyond musket-shot in the other end, prepared to rush
forward to the attack of the octagon fort, and presented a firm front
across the trench, jostling man against man, with their arms and steel
caps glittering in the sun. Two guns, however, besides the falconet,
had been brought to bear upon the trench from above, and Herbert
himself, ordering the cannoneers to pause, aimed the latter with a
keen and experienced eye, and then adjusted one of the other pieces of
ordnance. He had not time to give his own attention to the third; for
Algernon Grey put his men into the charge; and, with sharp pikes
lowered, the sturdy Englishmen rushed on. They were now not two
hundred yards from their opponents; and the word to meet them at the
same place had been given to the Bavarian infantry, when the report of
three guns from the fort, discharged rapidly one after the other, was
heard. One ball tore through the close ranks of Tilly's soldiers like
a hurricane through a forest, laying a number of strong men low in a
moment; another struck the edge of the trench beside them, and covered
the Bavarians with earth and rubbish; and in the midst of the
confusion that followed, a shower of half-pound shot, fitted for what
was then called the wall-petronel, completed the disarray. Then came
the firm charge of the English, and in a minute or two the trench was
swept from end to end, and Algernon Grey and his men rushed with the
scattered enemy into the redoubt of the Ape's Nest which had been
taken an hour before. Here, however, the struggle became more fierce;
for a company of Spanish foot, fresh and in good order, advanced to
cover the flight of their allies; the Bavarians rallied behind them,
and for a few minutes Algernon with thirty men had to contend with a
force of five times that number. The English, however, had the impulse
of attack and success with them; the half-completed mounds of the
redoubt afforded the enemy no shelter; the first shock drove the
Spaniards back, though still in fair array; and ere they could recover
their ground Herbert himself and a party of Palatinate troops poured
in and completed the victory.
In rout and confusion the adversaries' forces were driven down the
slopes of earth which had been thrown up, and fresh troops arriving
from the castle and the fort, the pursuit was continued so sharply
that neither Spaniards nor Bavarians had time to rally. Flying in
confusion, some towards the Wolfswell, some towards the Königstuhl, a
number were slain by those who followed them, and at a little
distance, beyond a small wood which was then called the Cammerwald,
the whole drove of oxen, which had been carried off in the morning,
was recaptured, and the poor herds who had been made prisoners
liberated.
A halt of the Palatinate troops was then ordered, for no one knew
where the chief force of Tilly was posted, and to both Herbert and
Algernon Grey it seemed impossible to conceive that so experienced a
commander would suffer so small a force as that which had attacked the
redoubt, to advance far without support.
"You go back with the men to the fort," said the young nobleman after
some consultation, "I will proceed with a small party to reconnoitre,
and bring you intelligence soon."
Algernon Grey sent but did not bring intelligence; for with efforts of
the mind, as with those of the body, it is not always possible to
check a strong impulse at once. A man runs towards a particular
object; but unless something arrests his progress, he is sure to run
beyond it. Finding no large body of the enemy within sight, after
having gone more than a mile in the direction of the position Tilly
was reported to occupy the night before, the young Englishman was led
on to reconnoitre further. Guided by one of the soldiers of the
castle, whom Herbert had given him as a companion, and followed by
eight or ten men, he glided through the woods upon the Königstuhl,
taking advantage of every rocky point to examine accurately the ground
below; and not even satisfied with the knowledge thus obtained, he
determined to descend and approach as close as possible to Rohrbach
and Wiesloch, where the enemy's principal force of infantry was
supposed to be quartered.
The ground, which is at present covered with vineyards climbing
halfway up the hill, was then shaded with thick, woods; and under
shelter of their branches, at that season in full leaf, the young
Englishman approached to within about a quarter of a mile of
Rohrbach, where the orchards and plum gardens rested upon the
verge of the forest. Pausing on a small spur of the hill, which the
guide called the Badger's-haunt--I know not by what name it goes
now-a-days--Algernon Grey leaned against one of the large oaks, and
gazed down below, hearing some voices speaking, evidently not far off.
Clouds had come over the sun; and for a moment he could not discover
the persons who were speaking; but moving a little to one side, the
glittering of a steel cap caught his eyes, and the white head-gear of
a country girl. Another slight change of position showed him a
Bavarian sentinel, talking with a young woman of the Palatinate; and,
to say truth, making somewhat warmer love than is common with his
countrymen of the present day. Turning round to his companions with a
smile, he very hardheartedly proposed to carry off the poor sentinel
from his pleasant relaxation, in order to obtain, at leisure, whatever
information he could afford. No great difficulties presented
themselves to the undertaking; for the man had been placed to guard a
little hollow way leading up into the wood, and had wandered a few
steps from his post in order to enjoy the conversation of his fair
friend unobserved. On the other side was a plum-garden, fenced by a
stone wall, with a break in it; and, dividing his men into two
parties, Algernon Grey, with four companions, glided quietly down the
hollow way under cover of the bank; while the other party crept on
amidst the plum-trees, till they reached the break. The soldier had
laid down his arquebuse for a moment or two; and, ere he could recover
it, which he attempted to do, at the first sound of a footfall, he was
seized; and, with a pistol at his head and an injunction to keep
silence, was dragged up into the woods.
Without pausing to question him at the time, lest the woman, who had
been left behind, should give the alarm, the young Englishman took his
way back to the castle, through different paths from those by which he
had gone forth; but the whole day had been consumed in these
proceedings, and the sun was setting when he reached the small fort of
the Ape's Nest. Herbert was no longer there. The soldiers in the
redoubt declared that all had passed quietly; and the reconnoitring
party proceeded in the twilight to the castle, where their long
absence had caused some uneasiness, although a messenger had been sent
about mid-day to say that no great movement could be observed in the
enemy's forces.
The examination of the prisoner took place immediately; and from his
answers it was found that, according to a general report in Tilly's
camp, the siege would be regularly commenced on the following day, and
the principal point of attack would be the Ape's Nest, and the high
ground around it. A road had been prepared, the man said, for
transporting the artillery; and several large pieces of ordnance had
that very day been carried a considerable way up the mountain, with
less difficulty than had been anticipated.
Thus went by the first day after Algernon Grey's return to Heidelberg;
and in the whole course thereof not more than an hour was passed in
the society of her he loved: nor was that without drawback, from the
presence of many others, as they sat at supper in Colonel Herbert's
tower.
Ten persons were assembled round the table at a late hour, comprising
Merven, the general governor of the place, and the principal officers
of the German, English, and Dutch troops. Though Algernon was placed
next to Agnes, with Merven on the other side, but a few words could
pass between them unheard by all. Algernon Grey, however, did not lose
the opportunity, but whispered in a low tone, while the conversation
was going on loud around, "Come down hither, dear girl, early
to-morrow, ere your father goes forth; I wish to speak with you both;
for, in the dangers which are approaching, there should be no doubt on
any part--nothing unexplained--no hesitation, no fear."
Agnes merely bowed her head; for, the moment Algernon concluded, the
governor addressed her on some ordinary subject, and all private
communication between her and her lover was over for the night.
At eleven o'clock the party rose, and most of the guests retired; but
Merven, ere he went, took both Herbert's hands frankly in his, saying,
"There is something on my mind, my noble friend; and as we shall all
soon be at hard blows with the enemy, I cannot go into the strife
without saying it. By every right you should have the command here;
and I am sure Horace Vere was not aware that you had made up your mind
to stand the brunt of this siege, after having fought so well in other
places, or he would have offered it to you; but let us divide our
labours and our authority. Take which you will for your own particular
post, the castle or the town. I will take the other, and we can hold
council together upon all great affairs."
Herbert turned away his head for a moment, but left his hand in
Merven's; and then, returning the friendly pressure, he said, "The
castle for me. It has been my dwelling for many a year. I have
bestowed much pains in strengthening it. It has become a sort of
plaything to me--a pet, a favourite, and I would fain stand by it
while it stands, or perish with it."
"So be it, then," answered the other. "I will defend the town, and
have no thought of letting it fall. No gloomy anticipations, Herbert.
We will try, at least, to repel the enemy, and doubt not we shall
succeed, and all live to remember our united efforts with pride and
satisfaction."
Herbert shook his head gravely, though it could not be called sadly.
"It is all in God's hand, good friend," he said. "Death never strikes
without authority."
"And God protects the right," answered Merven; "so we will not doubt.
I suppose, my lord, you will remain in the castle with your men: but
come with me for a moment to my lodging ere you go to bed.--I have
some news for you from England, brought by a special messenger, in a
letter to Mannheim, since you left our native land."
Algernon Grey's eye lightened with fresh hopes; for love had wrought a
change in him; and, whereas he had long given way to despondency, the
tendency of his mind had now again become hopeful. As soon as they
reached the governor's lodging, Merven put a letter in his hand,
signed Horace Vere, and pointed to a particular passage, "Tell the
Earl of Hillingdon," so the paragraph ran, "that I have news from the
Duke of Buckingham, of the third of this month: he states that there
is good hope for the Earl in his cause. The new favourite is getting
out of favour, has absented himself from the Royston party without the
King's leave, and has been roughly handled in discourse. These
advantages improved may remedy all that has gone amiss in the Earl's
case; and Buckingham declares that he may trust to him and the Prince
for the result."
Such were the tidings which sent Algernon Grey to rest with a heart
somewhat relieved; but still many an anxious apprehension crossed his
mind, and kept him waking for more than an hour.
He resolved, however, to lose no time in communicating to Colonel
Herbert the exact position in which he stood. To Agnes's uncle he
might not have felt himself bound by the same rules which affected him
towards her father; but he determined, whatever might be the result,
he would not keep the parent of her he loved in ignorance of his
painful situation.
All such resolutions--indeed, all human resolutions--are the sport of
circumstances; and, in the present case, he could not perform that
which he had determined to do. Early on the following morning, he
knocked at the door of the English officer's saloon. It was the sweet
voice of Agnes that bade him enter; and her first intelligence was
that her father had already gone forth to the outworks.
"I told him," she said, "that you wished to see him, that you had
something to communicate to him of importance: nay, that it referred
to me and my happiness; but he would not stay. He replied, that the
defence of the place was the first thing to be thought of; that he did
not wish his mind to be distracted from his task by any other
considerations; that he trusted entirely to my own judgment and
feelings; and that, whatever I promised he would confirm. I think he
mistook the nature of the communication you had to make, Algernon;
that he thought it simply a matter of form; but yet I could not make
up my mind to press it upon him; for when excited by such events as
are now taking place, he is impatient of any opposition, and gives his
whole heart and soul entirely up to what he considers to be his duty
as a soldier. Whatever you have to tell, I do think it will be better
to reserve it till this siege is over, or at least till we are
compelled by other circumstances."
"First hear what it is," replied Algernon Grey, "and then judge; for I
must not have him say at a future period, that I acted dishonourably
by him;" and he proceeded to relate all the events that had occurred
to him while absent in England. He showed her that he had formally
applied for the nullification of the marriage, to which he had been a
hardly conscious party in his boyhood; that no opposition had been
made, but that a similar petition had been addressed to the courts by
the Lady Catherine herself; that, after some difficulties, all
obstacles had been swept away; and that nothing had been required but
his oath, corroborated by other testimony, that he had not seen the
lady since she was nine years old; that having gone to England to
prove the fact, the judges appointed had come to a unanimous decision;
and that his expectations and hopes were raised to the highest pitch,
when suddenly the King had interfered, and forbidden the sentence from
being promulgated.. The causes which were supposed to have led to this
tyrannical conduct on the part of James, he could not fully detail to
ears so pure as those which heard him; but he hinted that a new
favourite of the monarch's had been the moving cause, from some base
motives of his own; and that he had good hope of this new and painful
obstacle being speedily removed.
Agnes listened attentively, in deep, sad thought. She asked no
questions, for she feared that if she did, the bitter disappointment
which she felt would show itself too plainly. When he had done,
however, after a short pause, to assure herself of her self-command,
she replied,--"I think still, Algernon, it will be better not to press
the subject upon him. He cannot say that you have deceived him, when
you have sought to tell him all, and he himself has declined to hear;
and I know that such tidings, and the doubts they would inspire of my
fate and happiness, would agitate and disturb him terribly."
"There is another course, dear Agnes," answered her lover, "and that I
will take. I will write the whole facts down, and give the paper to
him. He can read it or not, if he likes; but I must not fail on any
point where you, dear girl, are concerned. I will go and do it
directly, and take the very first moment of putting the statement in
his hands."
As soon as he was gone, Agnes gave way to tears; but they lasted not
long, and her mind became more calm afterwards. On his part Algernon
Grey hastened back to his own chamber and wrote, as he had proposed,
stating the facts simply and straightforwardly, and pointing out that
the decision of the judges being unanimous and upon record, though not
published, the marriage must, sooner or later, be declared null. He
then folded up the paper, sealed it, and hurried forth towards the
outworks in search of Herbert. He met him ere he had gone a hundred
yards, and the good old soldier grasped him frankly by the hand,
saying, with a gay air, "I ran away from you this morning, my good
friend. Agnes told me you wished to talk with me; but I knew the
subject was love; and I will have nought upon my mind, during this
siege, but fighting. I trust fully to her and to you, my noble friend;
and, as you cannot be married till all this business is over, we can
talk of it hereafter, if we both survive. If I die, you must supply my
place to her under another name--is it not so?"
"I will," answered Algernon, pressing his hand in his; and Herbert
continued with a graver air, "If you fall, Agnes's heart--and I know
it well--will be a widowed one, and remain so to her grave. This is
all that is needful to say for the present."
"Nay," answered Algernon Grey, "though I would not press the subject
upon you, as you dislike it, yet I must not leave you without
information on any point when you choose to seek it. I have written
down some facts which, I believe, you ought to know, in this packet.
Take it and read it when you are disposed and have leisure. I would
never have you suppose, my gallant friend, that I do not deal frankly
with you in all things."
"I never will," answered Herbert, taking the letter and gazing at it
with a smile,--"I will put this safely by, where it will rest
undisturbed for a month to come, if this Bavarian do not press his
operations more speedily than he is doing at present. No fresh attack
has been made; we have finished the redoubt and planted some guns
there; but there are defects in the whole position both of castle and
town, which I only hope he is not wise enough to understand. Hark!
there is a trumpet blowing at the gate--a summons, I suppose; let us
go and see."
It was not exactly as he supposed; for Tilly's envoy, on being
admitted to the presence of Merven and Herbert, did not formally
demand the surrender of the place. The import of the message was, that
the Bavarian general desired to confer with the governor of Heidelberg
at any place which he would appoint; a truce being agreed upon for the
time. A resolute answer was returned, to the effect that such a
proposal was inadmissible, and that any farther communication
that might be required, must take place with Sir Horace Vere,
general-in-chief of the Palatine forces.
Scarcely had the trumpeter and the two commissioners, by whom he was
accompanied, retired, when a sharp cannonade was heard from the
north-east; and when Herbert and his companion hastened to the
pheasant garden, they found that the newly constructed redoubt was in
possession of the enemy, and that the force by which the attacking
party was supported left not the most remote chance of recovering the
position lost. Such was the first event of importance in the siege of
Heidelberg.