"Come, sir, you must get up!" said an officer of the garrison, standing
beside the Earl of Beverley, to whom we must now return, as he lay on
the floor of the little cabin, affecting to be still suffering from
sickness: "you must get up and come with me, for we've got a lodging
prepared for you hard by here."
The earl pretended scarcely to understand him, and made some answer in
broken English, which, though it was not quite so well assumed as the
jargon of Captain Barecolt, was sufficiently like the language of a
foreigner to keep up the character he had taken upon himself.
"Come, come; you must get up!" reiterated the officer, taking him by
the arm; and slowly, and apparently feebly, the earl arose and
suffered the other to lead him upon deck.
It was by this time dark, but several persons with lanterns in their
hands were waiting at the top of the hatchway; and, guarded and
lighted by them, the earl was led from the vessel into the town, and
thence to a small building near the city wall, pierced for musketry,
and having a little platform at the top, on which was mounted a single
cannon. On the side next to the town appeared a door and three
windows, and before the block-house, as it was termed, a sentinel was
already marching up and down in expectation of the arrival of the
prisoner; but it was with some difficulty that the door was opened to
give entrance to the party which now approached.
The aspect of the place to which the earl was to be consigned was
certainly not very inviting, especially seen by the light of lanterns
in a dark night; and the inner room to which the guard led him
afforded but little means of rendering himself comfortable within
those damp and narrow walls. A bed was there, a table, and a chair,
but nothing else; and Lord Beverley, still maintaining his character,
made various exclamations in French upon the treatment to which the
people of Hull thought fit to subject an officer and a gentleman.
"You shall have some meat and beer presently," replied the officer,
who understood a few words only of the language the prisoner spoke;
"but as to a fire, mounseer, that you can't have, because there is no
fireplace, you see."
The earl shrugged his shoulders with a look of discontent, but
prepared to make the best of his situation; and as soon as the meat
and beer which they had promised was brought, the key turned in the
lock, and he was left alone, he sat down by the light of the lantern,
which they had provided him, to meditate over his present condition
and his future plans, with the peculiar turn of mind which we have
attempted to depict in some of the preceding pages.
"This is not a pleasant consummation," he said to himself, "either as
regards the king's service or my safety. However, out of the cloud
comes lightning--from the depths of night bursts forth the sun; all
bright things are preceded by darkness; and the shadow that is upon me
may give place to light. Even here, perhaps, I may be enabled to do
more for the cause I have undertaken than if I had reached France. It
must be tried, at all events. There is nothing like boldness, though
one cannot well be bold within these walls;" and he glanced his eyes
over the narrow space in which he was confined, thinking, with a
somewhat sad smile, that there was but little room for the exercise of
any of those energies which may be called the life of life.
"It is a sad thing imprisonment," he thought. "Here the active being
lies dead, and it is but the clay that lives. Vain every great design,
fruitless every intention and every effort, idle all speculation,
empty every aspiration here! Cut off from all objects on which to
exercise the powers of mind or body, the patriot and the traitor, the
philosopher and the fool are equal. No," he continued, after a
moment's pause--"no, not so! Truth and honour are happiness even in a
dungeon, and the grasp of intellect and imagination can reach beyond
these walls, and bring within the narrow limits of the prison
materials to build mighty fabrics, that the power of tyrants or
enemies cannot overthrow. Did not Galileo leave upon the stones that
surrounded him bright traces of the immortal spirit? Did he not in the
cold cell wander by the powers of mind through all the glorious works
of the Almighty, and triumph, even in chains, over the impotent malice
of mankind? So may I too; but my first consideration must be of things
more immediate. How shall I deal with this man Hotham? I do not think
he would know me, disguised as I am now: shall I attempt still to pass
for a Frenchman? If I do, perhaps I doom myself to long imprisonment.
I wonder where my companion can be, and Ashburnham. 'Tis strange they
are not placed in the same prison with myself. Pray heaven they have
fared better; for, though men say, 'The more the merrier,' yet I could
not much wish any one to share such a lodging as this. I hope and
trust that fellow Barecolt will put a guard upon big tongue. Well said
the Hebrew king, that it was an unruly member, and never did I know
head in which it was less easily governed. He would not betray me, I
do believe; but yet in his babble he may do more mischief than a less
faithful man. Well, things must take their course--I cannot rule them;
and I may as well supply the body's wants, since they have afforded me
the means."
Thus thinking, he drew his chair to the table, and took some of the
provisions which had been brought him, after which he again fell into
a deep fit of thought, and then starting up, exclaimed aloud, "There
is no use in calculating in such circumstances as these. None can tell
what the next minute will bring forth, and the only plan is to be
prepared to take advantage of whatever may happen; for circumstances
must be hard indeed that will not permit a wise and quick-witted man
to abate their evil or to augment their good. So I will even go sleep
as soon as I can; but methinks the moon is rising," and, approaching
the window, which was strongly barred, he looked out for a few
minutes, as the orb of night rose red and large through the dull and
heavy air of Hull.
"Where is sweet Annie Walton now?" he thought; "and whither is her
dear bright mind wandering? Perhaps she is even now looking at the
planet, and thinking of him whom she believes far away. Yes, surely
she will think of me. God's blessing on her sweet heart! and may she
soon know brighter days again, for these are sad ones. However, it is
some consolation to know that she is not aware of this misadventure.
Well, I will go and try to sleep."
He then, after offering his prayers to God--for he was not one to
forget such homage--cast himself down upon his bed without taking off
his clothes, and in a few minutes was sound asleep. During the two
preceding days he had undergone much fatigue, and had not closed an
eye for eight-and-forty hours, so that at first his slumber was as
profound as that of a peasant; but towards morning Imagination
reasserted her power, and took possession of his senses even in sleep.
He fancied that he was in Italy again, and that Charles Walton,
looking as he had done in early youth, was walking beside him along a
terrace, where cypresses and urns of sculptured stone flanked the
broad gravel-walk, which overhung a steep precipice. What possessed
him he knew not, but it seemed as if some demon kept whispering in his
ear to dare his loved companion to leap down, and, though reluctant,
he did so, knowing all the while that if his friend attempted it he
would infallibly perish. "Charles," he said, in the wild perversity of
his dreaming brain, "dare you stand with me on the top of that low
wall, and jump down into the dell below?"
"Whatever you do I will do, Francis," the young nobleman seemed to
reply; and, without waiting for further discussion, they both
approached the edge, mounted the low wall, and then leaped off
together. The earl's brain seemed to turn as he fell, and everything
reeled before his dizzy sight, till at length he suddenly found
himself upon his feet at the bottom, unhurt, and, instead of his
friend, Annie Walton standing, beside him, in deep mourning,
inquiring, "How could you be so rash, Francis?"
Before he could reply he awoke; and gazing wildly round him, saw the
sunshine of the early morning streaming through the window, and
cheering even the gloomy aspect of the prison.
"This is a strange dream," he thought, seating himself upon the edge
of the bed, and leaning his head upon his hand--"a mighty strange
dream indeed! Have I really tempted Charles Walton to take such a
dangerous leap, in persuading him to draw the sword for his king? No,
no! He could not avoid it--he was already prepared; and, besides, the
voice of duty spoke by my lips. Whatever be the result to him or to
me, I cannot blame myself for doing that which was right. Weak men
judge even their own actions by the results, when in fact they should
forget all but the motives, and when satisfied that they are just and
sufficient, should leave all the rest in the hands of God. I will
think of this no more. It is but folly;" and rising, he advanced to
the window, before which he heard the sound of people's voices
speaking.
The surprise of Lord Beverley was not small at beholding straight
before him the long person and never-to-be mistaken nose of Captain
Deciduous Barecolt, standing side by side with Sir John Hotham,
governor of Hull, and apparently upon terms of gracious intimacy with
that officer.
Barecolt was at that moment drawing, with the point of a cane upon the
ground, a number of lines and angles, which seemed to the eyes of Lord
Beverley very much like the plan of a fortification, while three stout
soldiers, apparently in attendance upon the governor, stood at a
little distance, and looked on in grave and respectful silence. Every
now and then the worthy captain seized Sir John by the breast of his
coat with all the exaggerated gesticulation of a Frenchman, pointed to
the lines he had drawn, held out his stick towards other parts of
Hull, shrugged, grinned, and chattered, and then flew back to his
demonstration again, with the utmost appearance of zeal and good-will.
"What in the name of fortune can the fellow be about?" murmured the
earl. "He is surely not going to fortify Hull against the king! Well,
I suppose if he do it will be taken. That is one comfort. But, on my
word, he seems to have made great progress in Hotham's good graces. I
trust it is not at my expense. No, no! He is not one of that sort of
men. Folly and vice enough, but not dishonour.
"I have no small mind to try my eloquence on Hotham too," continued
the earl, after watching them for a moment longer; "I do not think he
is so far committed with the parliament as to be beyond recal to a
sense of duty. He used to be a vain as well as an ambitious man; and
perhaps, if one could but hold out to his vanity and ambition the
prospect of great honour and advancement, as the reward for taking the
first step towards healing the breaches in his country's peace, by
making submission to the king, he might be gained. It is worth the
trial, and if it cost me my head it shall be made."
As he thus pondered, the governor and Captain Barecolt walked slowly
on, followed by the three soldiers; and the sentinel before the door
of the block-house recommenced his perambulations.
"Holloa, monsieur!" cried Lord Beverley from the window; and on the
approach of the soldier he explained to him, in a mixed jargon of
French and English, that he much wished to have an interview with the
governor, adding that, if it were granted, he might communicate
something to Sir John Hotham which he would find of great importance.
"Why, there he stands," cried the soldier, "talking with the other
Frenchman," and he pointed with his hand to a spot which the earl
could not see, but where the governor had again paused to listen to
Captain Barecolt's plans and devices.
"_Allez, allez!_ tell him," cried Lord Beverley; and the man
immediately hastened to give the message.
In about three minutes he returned, saying, "He will send for you in
an hour or two, monsieur; and in the mean time here comes your
breakfast piping hot."