Some way up the Thames lay a large hulk. Her decks were housed in, her
hulk was black; she bore but little resemblance to the stout ship she
had once been, except from the ports which were to be seen on either
side. They were very thickly grated. It was the prison ship. Low down
in one of the dark cells below the water-line, with manacles on his
ankles, lay Harry Tryon. His cheeks had become pale, his eye had lost
much of its brightness, but hope had not altogether died within him.
Still he was fully sensible of the dangerous position in which he was
placed. He had become of late a wiser and a sadder man than he had ever
been before. Still as day after day passed by and no friends came near
him, his spirits sank lower and lower.
"Have they all deserted me?" he said to himself, clasping his hands.
"Mr. Kyffin would not, I am sure, and Mabel--she knows nothing of my
desperate state. Would that I had written to her. Some effort might
have been made to save me; but I could not bear the thought of writing
to her as a felon, to let her hand touch the paper smelling of this foul
prison. Better far that I should die unknown. When the wretched Andrew
Brown is run up to the yard-arm there will be no one to mourn him, and
Harry Tryon may disappear without a stain of disgrace upon the name."
He attempted to rise--he could do so with difficulty--to take a few
turns up and down the narrow cell. Scarcely ever was he left in
silence. There was the ripple of the water against the ship's side;
above him the steps of other prisoners as they, like him, paced to and
fro. Now and then there were shouts and cries of men driven to despair
by their approaching fate, others singing and shouting with careless
indifference. It was weary work, that prison walk, for the chains were
heavy. The gyves hurt his legs. Again he sat himself down, and clasped
his hands upon his knees.
"Death! death will be welcome!" he exclaimed, "the only termination to
my misery and shame."
As he thus sat his ears caught the sound of footsteps moving along the
passage outside. The lock in the heavy door moved, it opened, and a
bright light which dazzled his eyes burst in.
"They are come," he thought, "to carry me off."
"I am ready," he said, starting up, expecting to see the gaoler and the
guard of soldiers. Instead, as his eyes recovered their vision, he saw
standing before him his ever faithful guardian Roger Kyffin. He sprang
forward, then stopped for a moment and hung down his head.
"You cannot come to own a wretched convict like me," he exclaimed, in a
tone of sadness.
"Do not say that, Harry," answered Mr. Kyffin, stepping forward and
taking his hands. "Not a moment's rest or happiness have I enjoyed
since I learned the dangerous position in which you were placed. Do not
doubt the regard I must ever have for you. I have discovered how you
have been deceived, and how you were induced to desert your truest
friend; I have therefore every excuse for you. I have learned that even
in this instance you are guiltless of disloyalty, and, believe me,
Harry, however guilty you have been, I should still have looked upon you
as a son."
"You make me desire once more to live," exclaimed Harry, for the first
time perhaps in his life bursting into tears. "I thought no one cared
for me. I was prepared to die unknown and unlamented; and oh! tell me,
Mr. Kyffin, does Mabel know of my condition?--has she discarded me?"
His voice trembled. He looked eagerly in his guardian's face for a
reply.
"No, Harry, indeed she has not discarded you. She is true-hearted."
"Is there any hope for me--must I suffer as so many unhappy men have
done?" gasped out Harry.
"There is hope, my boy. I cannot say for a certainty that you will be
saved. Mabel herself obtained from the King a request to his ministers
that your life should be spared, and I have seen the governor of the
prison, and he believes it confers sufficient authority on him not to
deliver you up till his Majesty's pleasure shall be further known."
Mr. Kyffin then explained to Harry more clearly the particulars of which
the reader is already aware. Harry Tryon sank down on his knees, and
thanked Heaven from the depth of his heart for the prospect of a release
from the ignominious death for which he had been prepared. Alas! he had
not often truly prayed. His grandmother had not attempted to teach him
even a form of prayer, and seldom, during the life he spent in London
had he ever dared to kneel to ask a blessing of his Heavenly Father. He
had now, however, learned an important lesson. He had felt his utter
helplessness and weakness, and had discovered that when lifting up his
heart to God he received a strength and courage which he could by no
other means have obtained.
"And Mabel! bless her for what she has done for me! But oh! Mr.
Kyffin, tell me where is she, how is she?"
"She bears up wonderfully," answered Mr. Kyffin, "and even now she and
her kind friend Mrs. Barbara Thornborough have gone to Mr. Pitt to
endeavour, if possible, to see him, and obtain his warrant for your
liberation."
"Then I am sure she will succeed," exclaimed Harry, joyfully.
"Do not raise your hopes too high, my boy, and yet I would wish to
support and encourage you," remarked Mr. Kyffin. "My stay with you now
must be short, as I promised to meet Miss Everard after she had had an
interview with the minister. Even should he refuse, we must not lose
heart. We must bring other influence to bear on him. However, Harry, I
know you too well to think that there is any necessity to urge you not
to despair. And now farewell. I purpose to return before long. I hope
to bring good news, but you must not be disappointed if it is not as
good as we wish. This mutiny, so happily quelled has been very serious,
and might have proved most disastrous to the country. The nation
therefore is naturally little inclined to look with leniency on those
who took a part in it, especially on the leaders; and from your having
been associated with Parker, you, in the ordinary course, could scarcely
expect a pardon."
Mr. Kyffin was gone, and Harry was once more left to his own thoughts.
The hours passed wearily by, they seemed longer than any during his
imprisonment. Sleep would not visit his eyelids. Anxiously he listened
for every sound, hoping for the speedy return of his friend.
Meantime Mabel, who had parted from Mr. Kyffin at Mr. Thornborough's
house after their return from Windsor, prepared to set out with Mrs.
Barbara, attended by the two seamen and Paul,--to Mr. Pitt's house at
Putney. She waited but a short time to obtain a little refreshment
which Mistress Barbara urged on her, and together they drove towards the
residence of the minister, while Mr. Kyffin proceeded down the river to
pay the visit to Harry which has been described.
It was late in the evening when they arrived at the villa. The two
ladies, sending up their names, earnestly requested that they might be
admitted. Mr. Pitt was very much engaged, and could receive no
visitors.
"Is Lady Hester at home?" asked Mrs. Barbara. "Her Ladyship may
remember me," she observed, turning to Mabel; "if she does, she will, I
think, see us, and through her we may press our suit on her uncle."
The two ladies waited anxiously for the return of the servant.
"Lady Hester will see you, ladies," was the reply, and Mabel and her
friend descended from the carriage.
They were ushered into a handsome drawing-room, where Lady Hester was
seated alone at a writing-table.
"I remember you, Mistress Thornborough," she said, rising and coming
forward in a gracious manner. "Tell me, to what cause am I indebted for
the honour of this visit?"
"My young friend here will explain it to you," said Mrs. Barbara, now
introducing Mabel. "One in whom she is deeply interested has been
implicated in the late mutiny at the Nore, and in consequence of proper
evidence not having been brought forward which would have proved that he
acted under compulsion, he has been condemned to death. We have seen
his Majesty, who was acquainted with the young gentleman, and have now
come, wishing to see Mr. Pitt, with two seamen of the ship on board
which he served, who can clearly prove that he was an unwilling
participator in what took place. Still time is pressing."
"I can hold out but slight hopes of Mr. Pitt's interference," answered
Lady Hester. "He sees the importance of preventing the recurrence of
such a mutiny by striking a wholesome terror into the minds of the
seamen."
"But surely he would not wish an innocent person to suffer!" exclaimed
Mabel. "He can be proved innocent, believe me, your ladyship. The King
himself is convinced that he is so. Let me entreat you to beg Mr. Pitt
to grant a pardon to this young man."
"You take a warm interest in him," said Lady Hester, looking at Mabel
somewhat harshly.
"Yes, indeed I do, I have known him from his youth," answered Mabel.
"He is true and loyal, and would never have aided so dangerous a
conspiracy as this appears to have been, to destroy the naval power of
England."
Lady Hester seemed to relent as she gazed at the young girl. "I am
ready to believe you," she answered, "that this young man is innocent.
Tell me, how came he to be on board ship in the capacity of an ordinary
seaman?"
Mabel blushed and hesitated.
"Oh, I see how it was," said Lady Hester; "and now you repent. I will
see Mr. Pitt, and give him your statement of the case."
"Then may I beg you to deliver this letter from his Majesty at the same
time?" said Mabel, presenting the King's note.
Lady Hester took the paper, and remarked, as she rose to leave the room,
"It may have weight with my uncle, but, at the same time, even the King
himself cannot turn him from his will when he has once made up his
mind."
Once more the ladies were left in doubt and anxiety. Mabel could not
hope much from Lady Hester's manner. Mrs. Barbara, who had seen her
before, argued favourably. Lady Hester was some time absent.
At length the door opened, and she returned, followed by a
slightly-built gentleman, scarcely yet of middle age, whose bright eye
and broad forehead betokened intellect of no ordinary kind. His manner
was somewhat stiff and formal as, bowing to the ladies, who had risen at
the entrance of Lady Hester, he took his seat near them.
"You come with a request from his Majesty, I understand, to beg me to
interfere in the case of one of the mutineers of the Nore. His
Majesty's commands have always great influence with me; at the same
time, you must understand that the matter is one of a most serious
character. A great many men have been pardoned who really took a part
in the mutiny by supporting their leaders. If the leaders themselves
are pardoned, the men will think that, after all, the crime they
committed was a slight one," he observed, in a tone of voice which made
Mabel's heart sink within her.
"But, oh! sir," she exclaimed, pressing her hands before her in a
pleading attitude, "but this young man, Andrew Brown, for by that name
he is known, was not guilty of any evil intentions."
Mabel repeated the statement she had already made to the King.
"You plead his cause earnestly young lady," said the minister, "and
right well, too. Let me see these witnesses, and if they give a
satisfactory statement, I will recommend the young man as a fit subject
for his Majesty's clemency. I cannot reverse the judgment of the court,
you must remember. If that condemned him, condemned he must be, but his
Majesty can exert his prerogative of mercy, and both save his life and
obtain his release."
"Oh! thank you, sir, thank you," exclaimed Mabel, expressing by her
looks more than by her words what she felt.
The minister rang the bell, and ordered the two seamen to be admitted.
In a short time there was a scuffling outside. The door opened, and
Jacob Tuttle and Jack Veal appeared, one urging on the other, as if
neither liked to be the first to enter. They held their hats in their
hands, pulling away at their locks as they would have done addressing an
officer on the quarter-deck. Lady Hester looked on with an amused
countenance as the minister cross-questioned them as to the part their
shipmate had taken in the mutiny.
"He took no part at all, please you, sir, for I don't call writing
letters with a pistol held at a man's head taking part in the mutiny,
and I know for certain that he hated it as much as any one. Besides,
sir, when we proposed striking the red flag, and carrying the ship up
the river, he heartily joined the loyal part of the crew, and a pretty
severe tussle we had, too, before we got possession of the ship and
handed it over to the officers."
Jack Veal corroborated what Jacob had said, and Mr. Pitt drew forth a
considerable amount of further evidence which satisfied him that if
these witnesses spoke the truth, Andrew Brown's guilt was not of a
nature to merit death. At last he turned to Mabel.
"I have no hesitation in recommending his Majesty to pardon the young
man in whom you are interested. His story is, I have no doubt, a
romantic one, and I do not wish to add to the romance by allowing him to
finish his career at the yard-arm. You need have no fear, therefore,
young lady, on that score. I will send down a reprieve, and will also
give you a paper, which will secure a full pardon for your friend on
being signed by his Majesty. I must wish you good evening, and I am
glad that my niece, Lady Hester, who is staying with me for a few days,
has brought the matter before my notice."
Without waiting to hear the expressions of gratitude which Mabel and
Mrs. Barbara felt disposed to pour forth, the great minister left the
room. Lady Hester warmly congratulated them on the success of their
mission, and assured them that she cordially sympathised with them.
Jacob, forgetting where he was, on hearing that Harry was to be
pardoned, threw up his hat, and in his delight uttered a loud shout
exclaiming--
"Bless you, my lady! Bless Mr. Pitt, and the King, and all the Royal
Family! If I had as many lives as a cat, I would gladly spend them all
in the service of so good a King and so noble a minister."
On entering the carriage, Mabel sank back into the arms of Mrs. Barbara,
and gave way to her feelings in a flood of tears.
"Oh, he will be saved!" she exclaimed; "I scarcely dared hope it till
now."
At length Mabel appeared somewhat to recover her composure, and worn out
by anxiety of mind and the fatigue she had gone through, at length sank
to sleep in the arms of her friend. They did not reach home till a late
hour. Scarcely conscious, Mabel was carried to bed. Her dreams were
far more happy than they had been for many a day. She and her kind
friend looked forward with anxiety to the return of Mr. Kyffin on the
following day. He arrived before noon with the intelligence that the
governor of the prison had received the minister's reprieve for Harry.
That afternoon had been fixed for the review of the volunteers in Hyde
Park. Mabel felt sure that his Majesty would, if he had an opportunity,
immediately sign the pardon which the minister had given her.
It was a lovely day. The sun shone brightly forth from an unclouded
sky, and from the various avenues of approach troops marched up to the
ground preceded by their bands of music and colours flying--infantry,
cavalry, and artillery. The most numerous corps was that of the City
Light Horse. Some of the companies, however, were dismounted and
marched on foot. Others came in long cars, with their rifles between
their knees, while a band of well-equipped horsemen rode up at the head
of the regiment, their glittering arms and handsome dresses
distinguishing them from the men of other corps. The privates, as well
as the officers, were all gentlemen, a considerable number of them men
of fortune and independence. One spirit animated every regiment alike--
ardent love of their country, and a determination, if called upon, to
fight bravely and to die in her defence.
Mr. Kyffin and Mabel waited for a favourable opportunity of approaching
the King, for Mabel's anxiety would brook no delay, and she was afraid
that he might return to Windsor without signing the paper.
At length the King drew up, preparatory to the troops marching past.
The time seemed favourable, as there was an open space near his Majesty
by which she could approach. Dressed in deep mourning, and leaning on
Mr. Kyffin's arm, her countenance radiant with beauty, her colour
heightened by excitement, she drew near to the King. One of the
equerries observing her, inquired what she wanted.
"It is not the right moment to approach his Majesty," he answered.
The King, hearing what was said, turned his head, and seeing her,
exclaimed--
"Ah! my dear young lady, how can I help you? What is it? Will not Mr.
Pitt advise me to pardon the young mutineer?"
"Oh! yes, your Majesty. He has given me a proper document which only
requires your Majesty's signature, but every moment is of consequence.
It is cruel to have him kept in that dreadful prison, and I dread lest
by any mistake he may be carried off and executed."
Mabel could scarcely bring herself to utter these words. The King
smiled.
"No fear of that, I trust, my sweet young lady, but I will sign the
paper. Go and wait for me at Saint James's; as soon as this affair is
over I will come there. Lord So-and-so," he said, turning to one of his
equerries, "remind me that I have a paper to sign; it is for that young
lady; you will not forget it now."
The equerry turned to Mabel and bowed low.
The colour which had left her cheeks rose again in them, for the look
cast on her was full of intense admiration. Mr. Kyffin whispered to
Mabel that she must not press the matter further, and bowing to the
King, who gave a kind parting word to Mabel, they retired from among the
glittering throng of military officers.