"Oh, if good Master Lees had yet been spared, we should not have asked
for the ministry of trembling and unwilling hands like yours! And now,
my lords--and you, kind gentlemen, my plan as arranged with good Lord
Fitzoswald is this:--I give my grandchild's hand where her heart has
long been bestowed; I then go with her through lanes and byways, under
good escort, to the city of Exeter, where ere long we shall cast in
our lot with certain friends. The bridegroom shall see nought of his
bride till happier days arrive, except at this altar; and you shall go
directly to your respective stations, and be ready at the first
blowing of the horns before which the walls of this Jericho are to
fall. In the next chamber I have made preparation for the ceremony,
and in a few minutes, when I have arranged me for the journey, I will
summon you."
Something of this I heard--the sense namely forced its way into my
brain; but I was confused and panic-stricken. The whole sad scene
enacted so many years before, at the house of good Master Waller, on
my way home from Oxford, came back upon my heart, and I marvelled at
the method whereby the great lady had acquired a knowledge of the
secret. I was deep sunk in these cogitations when the door of the
inner library was at last thrown open, and such light flashed upon us
from the multitude of candles, which were illuminated in all parts of
the chamber, that my eyes were for some time dazzled. When I came to
myself I looked, and at a table under the eastern window, on which was
spread out a golden-clasped prayer-book, opened at the form of
solemnisation of matrimony, I saw, along with two young men of about
his own age (all girt with swords, and booted and spurred), the right
honourable the Viscount Lessingholm, which I at once concluded was
acting as bridegroom's man to one of the other youths. The company,
which had been assembled in the withdrawing-room, placed themselves
gravely, as if some solemn matter was in hand, at the side of the
table; and I took my place, by a motion from the Earl Fitzoswald, and
laid my hand upon the prayer-book, as ready to begin. The door at the
other end of the room, which leadeth to the outer staircase, was
opened, and there came noiselessly in a tall woman, dressed in the
same fantastical apparel, like the apparel of the Bohemians or
gypsies, which I remembered so well on the fatal night of the
christening; and, when she cast her eyes on me, I could not have
thought an hour had passed since that time, and I recognised in her,
with awe and wonderment, the features of the great lady, the Lady
Mallerden herself. In each hand she led a young person, in her left my
daughter Waller, and I will not deny that at the sight my heart leapt
up with strange but not unpleasing emotion, as, remembering the
habitudes of the noble Viscount Lessingholm, I thought there was a
possibility of a double wedding; and in her other hand, dressed as for
a journey, with close-fitting riding-coat, and a round hat with sable
feathers upon her head, she conducted Alice Snowton, the which looked
uncommon lovely, though by no means so healthy or stout-looking as her
other companion--_videlicet_, my Waller. They walked up to the place
whereat we stood, and the Lord Viscount springing forward, did give
his hand to Alice Snowton, and did not let it go for some time; but
looked upon her with such soft endearing looks that she held down her
head, and a red blush appeared upon her cheek, as if thereupon there
had been reflected the shadow of a rose. For it was not of the deep
tinge which formed the ornament of the complexion of my Waller.
"This is no time for useless dalliance," said the great lady; "let us
to work. By no other means can we root out for ever the hopes of our
enemies."
"Where then, madam," I said, "is the bride?--and who, I pray you, is
the bridegroom?"
"The bridegroom is the Viscount Lessingholm. This maiden is the
bride."
"But Alice Snowton, my lady!--I did think it was your honourable
grandchild who was to be united to this noble gentleman."
"And so it is--and so it is! She is Alice Snowton no longer. Our good
friend, Master Snowton, the steward on my daughter Pevensey's
Wiltshire manor, was good enough to adopt her as his niece; and for
her better concealment we placed her in the charge of a person whose
character for meekness and simplicity was too notorious to raise
suspicion of his being concerned in such a plot. Even to herself, till
lately, her parentage was unknown, as Master Snowton kept well the
secret."
"And one other question," I said; "the child to whom I became bound as
godfather?"
"'Tis the same. This is the poor Lucy Hesseltine, whose orphanship you
witnessed in that lone and yet comfortable death."
The lady Lucy Hesseltine, or rather Alice Snowton, for by that name I
loved her best, did throw her arms about my neck, and kissed my cheek,
and said I had been a kind godfather to her, yea, had been a father to
her, and my excellent wife a mother. At this my heart was much moved,
and I saw tears come to the eyes of several of the bystanders, but no
tear came to the eyes of the great lady herself.
"Let this be enough," she said. "Let us finish what we have yet to
do."
And thereupon, all being ready and in their due places, I began; but
when I came to the question--"Lucy Hesseltine, wilt thou have this man
to be thy lawful husband?" a sudden noise in the courtyard under the
window made me pause; but the great lady commanded me with a frown to
go on, and I concluded the question, and received in reply a sweet but
audible "yes." But the noise was again repeated, and the assistants
sprang to their feet, for it was the sound of the sharp shooting off
of pistols.
"Stir not for your lives till the ceremony is over!" cried the great
lady; and I hurried with trembling lips over the remainder of the
service. A loud voice in the yard was heard amid the trampling of much
horse. "In the king's name, surrender!" the voice said. "We have a
warrant here, and soldiers!"
"Forasmuch as Frederick Fitzoswald and Lucy Hesseltine" (I said as
calmly as I could, though with my heart quaking within me), "have
consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before
God and this company and thereto have given and pledged their troth
either to other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving of
a ring, and by joining of hands--I pronounce that they be man and wife
together!"
"Now then, my lords and gentlemen," cried the great lady, springing to
her feet, "to the defence! We are witnesses of this marriage, and
clashing swords must play the wedding peal. If need be, fear not in
such quarrel to do your best; yea, to the shedding of blood! Though
the blood were my son's, it were well shed in such a holy cause. Now
then, Lucy, come! Guard the front entrance but an hour, and we shall
be beyond pursuit."
And so saying she glided rapidly, with the nearly fainting bride,
towards the hidden stairs, while Viscount Lessingholm rushed rapidly
with drawn sword down the grand flight, and sprang on his grey horse.
In the confusion my Waller had disappeared, and in great agonies of
fear I slipped into the courtyard. Oh, what a sight met my eyes! There
were several men lying dead, which had been shot or otherwise killed,
and their horses were galloping hither and thither with loose reins
and stirrups flapping; other men were groaning, and writhing in great
pains, tearing the ground with bleeding hands, and dragging
themselves, if such were possible, away from the _mêlée_. Meanwhile,
horsemen drawn up on either side were doing battle with sword and
pistol; and the trampling and noise of the shouting, the groans and
deep execrations, all resounding at once in that atmosphere of smoke
and approaching night, were fearful to listen to, and I bethought me
of some way of escape. I slipped within the piazza of the servants'
court, and made my way towards the gate; but here the battle raged the
fiercest, the noble Viscount Lessingholm being determined to keep it
closed, and the furious marquess resolute to force it open, whereby an
accession of men might come to him which were shut out on the other
side--the warder of the door having only admitted the marquess
himself, and about fifty of the king's dragoons. The retainers which I
had seen on my entrance amounted to seventy or more; and seeing they
had most of them been soldiers, yea, some which had grizzled locks,
having been among the shouters at Dunbar, and on many fields besides,
under the cruel eye of the ferocious Oliver himself, they did cry,
"Ha, ha! at the spur of the rider, and smelt the battle afar off." The
Marquess of Danfield did spur his black war-horse, with his sword
poised high in air towards the noble Viscount of Lessingholm, and with
fierce cries the noble viscount raised also his sword, and was in the
act to strike the undefended head of his assailant. "Stop,
Frederick!" cried a voice, which proceeded from the Earl Fitzoswald;
"it is Danfield himself!" whereupon the young gentleman did ward off
the blow aimed at him by the marquess, and passed on. All this I saw
ere I gave up hopes of getting out by the gate; but seeing this was
hopeless, I pursued my way back again, with intent to get out by one
of the postern windows, and hurry homeward across the fields; and
having opened a window near unto the buttery, I hung by my hands, and
then shutting my eyes and commending my soul to Heaven, I let go, and
dropt safely down upon the greensward. But ere I could recover myself
sufficiently, I was set upon as if I had been an armed enemy, by a
large number of mounted men, which were of the company of the
marquess, whereby I saw that the house was surrounded, and feared the
great lady and Alice (I would say the Viscountess Lessingholm) were
intercepted in their retreat. Howbeit, I gave myself up prisoner, by
reason of various blows with the flats of sabres, and sundry monitions
to surrender or die. I was led in great fear to the front of the
court, and brought before a proud, fierce-browed commander, which
interrogated me "of all that was going on, and whether the Lady Lucy
Mallerden was in the Court?" Whereto I answered, that I was so
overcome with terror that I knew little of what I had seen; and, with
regard to the noble lady, I was persuaded she was not within the
walls. "If you answer me," he said, "truly, and tell me what road she
has taken, I will send you away in safety, and secure you his
majesty's pardon for anything you may have done against his crown and
dignity; but if you refuse, I will assuredly hang you on the
courtyard-gate the moment we gain possession thereof. Now, say which
way went they?" I was sore put to it, for it was like betraying
innocent blood to tell these savage men the course my godchild pursued
in her escape; and yet to tell an untruth was repugnant to my nature,
and I said to the captain, "It is a hard matter for me to point out
where my friends are fleeing unto."
"Then you'll be hung as high as Haman at daybreak; so you can take
your choice," said he.
"If I direct you unto the place whereunto she is gone," I said, "it
will be a hard matter to find her."
"That's our business, not yours. Tell us where it is."
"For, suppose she were in hiding in a city, a large busy place like
Bristol, and waited for a conveyance to a foreign land----"
"In Bristol! Oho, say no more! Ensign Morley, take ten of the best
mounted of the troop and scour the northern roads towards Bristol. You
will overtake them ere they are far advanced."
"I pray you, captain," I said, "to observe--I have not told you she
is gone towards Bristol."
"I know you haven't," he said smiling, "I will bear witness you have
kept her secret well; but here we are about to enter the Court, for
the firing is finished. The rebels will be on gibbets within
twenty-four hours, every one."
But there was no sign of the gate being opened. Contrariwise there did
appear, in the dimness of the evening-sky, certain dark caps above the
outside wall, which I did recognise as being worn by the serving-men
of the great lady's friends; and while we were yet talking, a flight
of bullets passed close over our heads, and three or four of the
troopers fell off dead men, leaving their saddles empty and their
horses masterless.
"Draw close, my men," cried the captain, "right wheel;" and setting
his men an example, he did gallop with what speed he might from the
propinquity of the wall. As for myself, I was in some sort relieved by
the knowledge that the noble mansion still continued in possession of
the Viscount Lessingholm; and comforting myself with the assurance
that no evil could befall my daughter Waller while under his
protection, I did contrive to seize by the bridle one of the dragoons'
horses (a stout black horse, which, being never claimed, did do my
farming work for fifteen years), and climbing up into the saddle,
betook me home to inform my excellent wife of all these dreadful
events. All next day, and all the next--yea, for three whole days--I
staid in my quiet home, receiving information quietly by means of a
note brought to me by my servants, that the mansion still held out,
that Waller was quite safe, and that, provided no artillery was
brought to bear against them, they could hold out _till the time
came_. What was the meaning of the latter phraseology, I did not know;
but considering it desirable at that period to cut down certain trees
on my recently purchased estate, I proceeded with Thomas Hodge the
carpenter, and various other artificers of my parishioners (all being
friends and dependents of the great lady), and with saws and other
instruments did level the whole row of very large oaks and elm trees
which bordered the only high-road from Oxford; and by some strange
accident, all the trees did fall exactly across the same, and made it
utterly impossible to move thereupon with cart or waggon; so that it
was much to be suspected that the guns, which we heard were ordered to
come up from Wallingford, could by no means get over the obstruction.
It is also to be observed that Master George Railsworth, the mason,
who had contracted to repair the strong bridge over our stream, did
take this opportunity of taking down two of the arches of the same,
and could find no sufficient assistance to enable him to restore them,
which made the road impassable for horse or man. On the following
day, namely, the fifth day of November, we heard that all the king's
soldiers were suddenly ordered from all parts up to London, and that
the Marquess of Danfield had been left to his imprisonment in
Mallerden Court. Whereupon I bethought me it would be safe to venture
up once more, and bring my daughter Waller to the securer custody of
my excellent wife. Next morning, at early dawn, I accordingly did go
up, and was admitted, after a short parley, by the gatekeeper, which
had a helmet on his head and a sword in his hand. Speedily I was in
the arms of my daughter Waller, who looked as happy as if none of
these scenes had been transacted before her eyes; and moreover did
refuse, in very positive terms, to leave the Court till her dear
friend Alice--I would say the Lady Lucy--returned. I reasoned with
her, and reprimanded her, and showed her in what a fearful state of
danger we all were, by reason of the rebellion we had been guilty of
against his majesty the king. Whereupon the child did only laugh, and
told me, "Here she would abide until the time came." And with this
enigmatical expression I was fain to be content; for she would
vouchsafe me no other. And, corroborative of all which, she said, she
relied on the assurances made unto her to that effect by Sir Walter
Ouseley, one of the young gentlemen which had acted as bridegroom's
man to the noble Viscount Lessingholm, and was now in the Court as
his lieutenant in the defence of the same. A goodly young gentleman he
was, and fair to look upon, and extraordinary kind to me, soothing my
fears, and encouraging me to hope for better things than those my
terrors made me anticipate. I inquired of the behavings of the
Marquess of Danfield, and learned to my surprise that it was expected
that before this day was over, if he did receive a courier, as was
thought, from the Lord Churchill, one of the king's favourite
officers, he would withdraw all his objections to the marriage, and
rather be an encourager and advocate of the same. In these discourses
the time passed away, and about three of the clock, after we had dined
in the great hall, we were looking out from the battlements and saw a
dust on the western road.
"It is Churchill's letter," said the noble Viscount Lessingholm, "and
he has kept his promise for once."
"There is too much dust for only one courier's heels--there be twenty
in company at least," replied Sir Walter Ouseley, which had the arm of
my Waller closely locked in his.
"There may be a surprise intended," cried the noble viscount. "Hoist
the flag, man the walls, treble the watchers, and sound for the men
into the yard."
We of the peaceful professions--_videlicet_, my daughter Waller and
I--did descend from the bartisan, and betook ourselves to the great
withdrawing-room, to wait for the result of the approach. We had not
waited long when the door opened, and no other than the great lady
herself, and my loved and lovely godchild, the Viscountess
Lessingholm, came into the apartment. The great lady was now appareled
as became her rank, having discarded those Bohemian habiliments which
were her disguise in times of danger. Oh! it was a great sight to
behold, the meeting between the Lady Lucy and my daughter Waller; but
when hurried steps sounded on the stairs, and the door opened, and the
noble viscount rushed into her arms, it was impossible to keep from
tears. My feeble pen can venture on no such lofty flights of
description, and therefore I will not attempt it. Meanwhile, in the
outer court, great shouting was heard. Sir Walter Ouseley came up to
us, and announced that the Marquess of Danfield "presented his
respects to his noble mother, and congratulated her on the glorious
news."
"I knew how it would be," she said, "with base natures such as his and
Churchill's. We accept their assistance, but despise the instrument.
He will now be fierce against his benefactor (who, though a bad king,
was tender to his friends), and bitterer against his faith than if he
had never been either a courtier or a bigot. I receive his
congratulations, Sir Walter Ouseley, but I decline an interview for
some time to come."
"He desired me also, my lady," said Sir Walter, "to convey his
blessing to the bride, and his tender love to his new son, the
Viscount Lessingholm."
"Well, let them not reject it. The blessing even of such a father has
its value. But we must now make preparation for the celebration of the
happy nuptials, in a style fitting the rank of the parties. The prince
is pleased with what we have done"----
The young man, Sir Walter Ouseley, who had been whispering in my ear,
here broke in on the great lady's speech.
"If it would please you, madam, at the same time, to permit two others
to be happy, I have obtained Master Willis's consent thereto, and also
the consent of this fair maiden."
The viscountess took Waller in her arms, and kissed her cheek, and the
great lady smiled.
"I knew not, Sir Walter Ouseley, that you were so perfect a soldier as
to sustain an attack and lay siege at the same time; but since in both
you have been successful, I give you my hearty good wishes. And so,
dear friends and true supporters, let us be thankful for the great
deliverance wrought for this land and nation, as well as for
ourselves. Our defender, the noble William, landed three days ago at
Torbay, and is now in Hampton Court. The king has taken flight, never
to be restored. Therefore, God save the Prince of Orange and the Lady
Mary, the props and ornaments of a true Protestant throne!"