THE RESCUE
Perchance, my dears, if John Paul and I had not been cast by accident in
a debtor's prison, this great man might never have bestowed upon our
country those glorious services which contributed so largely to its
liberty. And I might never have comprehended that the American
Revolution was brought on and fought by a headstrong king, backed by
unscrupulous followers who held wealth above patriotism. It is often
difficult to lay finger upon the causes which change the drift of a man's
opinions, and so I never wholly knew why John Paul abandoned his
deep-rooted purpose to obtain advancement in London by grace of the
accomplishments he had laboured so hard to attain. But I believe the
beginning was at the meeting at Windsor with the slim and cynical
gentleman who had treated him to something between patronage and
contempt. Then my experience with Mr. Manners had so embedded itself in
his mind that he could never speak of it but with impatience and disgust.
And, lastly, the bailiff's hotel contained many born gentlemen who had
been left here to rot out the rest of their dreary lives by friends who
were still in power and opulence. More than once when I climbed to our
garret I found the captain seated on the three-legged chair, with his
head between his hands, sunk in reflection.
"You were right, Richard," said he; "your great world is a hard world for
those in the shadow of it. I see now that it must not be entered from
below, but from the cabin window. A man may climb around it, lad, and
when he is above may scourge it."
"And you will scourge it, captain!" I had no doubt of his ability one
day to do it.
"Ay, and snap my fingers at it. 'Tis a pretty organization, this
society, which kicks the man who falls to the dogs. None of your fine
gentlemen for me!"
And he would descend to talk politics with our fellow-guests. We should
have been unhappy indeed had it not been for this pastime. It seems to
me strange that these debtors took such a keen interest in outside
affairs, even tho' it was a time of great agitation. We read with
eagerness the cast-off newspapers of the first-floor gentlemen. One poor
devil who had waddled (failed) in Change Alley had collected under his
mattress the letters of Junius, then selling the Public Advertiser as few
publications had ever sold before. John Paul devoured these attacks upon
his Majesty and his ministry in a single afternoon, and ere long he had
on the tip of his tongue the name and value of every man in Parliament
and out of it. He learned, almost by heart, the history of the
astonishing fight made by Mr. Wilkes for the liberties of England, and
speedily was as good a Whig and a better than the member from Middlesex
himself.
The most of our companions were Tories, for, odd as it may appear, they
retained their principles even in Castle Yard. And in those days to be a
Tory was to be the friend of the King, and to be the friend of the King
was to have some hope of advancement and reward at his hand. They had
none. The captain joined forces with the speculator from the Alley, who
had hitherto contended against mighty odds, and together they bore down
upon the enemy--ay, and rooted him, too. For John Paul had an air about
him and a natural gift of oratory to command attention, and shortly the
dining room after dinner became the scene of such contests as to call up
in the minds of the old stagers a field night in the good days of Mr.
Pitt and the second George. The bailiff often sat by the door, an
interested spectator, and the macaroni lodgers condescended to come
downstairs and listen. The captain attained to fame in our little world
from his maiden address, in which he very shrewdly separated the
political character of Mr. Wilkes from his character as a private
gentleman, and so refuted a charge of profligacy against the people's
champion.
Altho' I never had sufficient confidence in my powers to join in these
discussions, I followed them zealously, especially when they touched
American questions, as they frequently did. This subject of the wrongs
of the colonies was the only one I could ever be got to study at King
William's School, and I believe that my intimate knowledge of it gave the
captain a surprise. He fell into the habit of seating himself on the
edge of my bed after we had retired for the night, and would hold me
talking until the small hours upon the injustice of taxing a people
without their consent, and upon the multitude of measures of coercion
which the King had pressed upon us to punish our resistance. He
declaimed so loudly against the tyranny of quartering troops upon a
peaceable state that our exhausted neighbours were driven to pounding
their walls and ceilings for peace. The news of the Boston massacre
had not then reached England.
I was not, therefore, wholly taken by surprise when he said to me one
night:
"I am resolved to try my fortune in America, lad. That is the land for
such as I, where a man may stand upon his own merits."
"Indeed, we shall go together, captain," I answered heartily, "if we are
ever free of this cursed house. And you shall taste of our hospitality
at Carvel Hall, and choose that career which pleases you. Faith, I could
point you a dozen examples in Annapolis of men who have made their way
without influence. But you shall have influence," I cried, glowing at
the notion of rewarding him; "you shall experience Mr. Carvel's gratitude
and mine. You shall have the best of our ships, and you will."
He was a man to take fire easily, and embraced me. And, strange to say,
neither he nor I saw the humour, nor the pity, of the situation. How
many another would long before have become sceptical of my promises! And
justly. For I had led him to London, spent all his savings, and then got
him into a miserable prison, and yet he had faith remaining, and to
spare!
It occurred to me to notify Mr. Dix of my residence in Castle Yard, not
from any hope that he would turn his hand to my rescue, but that he might
know where to find me if he heard from Maryland. And I penned another
letter to Mr. Carvel, but a feeling I took no pains to define compelled
me to withhold an account of Mr. Manners's conduct. And I refrained from
telling him that I was in a debtor's prison. For I believe the thought
of a Carvel in a debtor's prison would have killed him. I said only that
we were comfortably lodged in a modest part of London; that the Manners
were inaccessible (for I could not bring myself to write that they were
out of town). Just then a thought struck me with such force that I got
up with a cheer and hit the astonished captain between the shoulders.
"How now!" he cried, ruefully rubbing himself. "If these are thy
amenities, Richard, Heaven spare me thy blows."
"Why, I have been a fool, and worse," I shouted. "My grandfather's ship,
the Sprightly Bess, is overhauling this winter in the Severn. And unless
she has sailed, which I think unlikely, I have but to despatch a line to
Bristol to summon Captain Bell, the master, to London. I think he will
bring the worthy Mr. Dix to terms."
"Whether he will or no," said John Paul, hope lighting his face, "Bell
must have command of the twenty pounds to free us, and will take us back
to America. For I must own, Richard, that I have no great love for
London."
No more had I. I composed this letter to Bell in such haste that my hand
shook, and sent it off with a shilling to the bailiff's servant, that it
might catch the post. And that afternoon we had a two-shilling bottle of
port for dinner, which we shared with a broken-down parson who had been
chaplain in ordinary to my Lord Wortley, and who had preached us an
Easter sermon the day before. For it was Easter Monday. Our talk was
broken into by the bailiff, who informed me that a man awaited me in the
passage, and my heart leaped into my, throat.
There was Banks. Thinking he had come to reproach me; I asked him rather
sharply what he wanted. He shifted his hat from one hand to the other
and looked sheepish.
"Your pardon, sir," said he, "but your honour must be very ill-served
here."
"Better than I should be, Banks, for I have no money," I said, wondering
if he thought me a first-floor lodger.
He made no immediate reply to that, either, but seemed more uneasy still.
And I took occasion to note his appearance. He was exceeding neat in a
livery of his old master, which he had stripped of the trimmings. Then,
before I had guessed at his drift, he thrust his hand inside his coat and
drew forth a pile of carefully folded bank notes.
"I be a single man, sir, and has small need of this. And and I knows
your honour will pay me when your letter comes from America."
And he handed me five Bank of England notes of ten pounds apiece. I took
them mechanically, without knowing what I did. The generosity of the act
benumbed my senses, and for the instant I was inclined to accept the
offer upon the impulse of it.
"How do you know you would get your money again, Banks?" I asked
curiously.
"No fear, sir," he replied promptly, actually brightening at the
prospect. "I knows gentlemen, sir, them that are such, sir. And I will
go to America with you, and you say the word, sir."
I was more touched than I cared to show over his offer, which I scarce
knew how to refuse. In truth it was a difficult task, for he pressed me
again and again, and when he saw me firm, turned away to wipe his eyes
upon his sleeve. Then he begged me to let him remain and serve me in the
sponginghouse, saying that he would pay his own way. The very thought of
a servant in the bailiff's garret made me laugh, and so I put him off,
first getting his address, and promising him employment on the day of my
release.
On Wednesday we looked for a reply from Bristol, if not for the
appearance of Bell himself, and when neither came apprehension seized us
lest he had already sailed for Maryland. The slender bag of Thursday's
letters contained none for me. Nevertheless, we both did our best to
keep in humour, forbearing to mention to one another the hope that had
gone. Friday seemed the beginning of eternity; the day dragged through I
know not how, and toward evening we climbed back to our little room, not
daring to speak of what we knew in our hearts to be so,--that the
Sprightly Bess had sailed. We sat silently looking out over the dreary
stretch of roofs and down into a dingy court of Bernard's Inn below, when
suddenly there arose a commotion on the stairs, as of a man mounting
hastily. The door was almost flung from its hinges, some one caught me
by the shoulders, gazed eagerly into my face, and drew back. For a space
I thought myself dreaming. I searched my memory, and the name came. Had
it been Dorothy, or Mr. Carvel himself, I could not have been more
astonished, and my knees weakened under me.
"Jack!" I exclaimed; "Lord Comyn!"
He seized my hand. "Yes; Jack, whose life you saved, and no other," he
cried, with a sailor's impetuosity. "My God, Richard! it was true,
then; and you have been in this place for three weeks!"
"For three weeks," I repeated.
He looked at me, at John Paul, who was standing by in bewilderment, and
then about the grimy, cobwebbed walls of the dark garret, and then turned
his back to hide his emotion, and so met the bailiff, who was coming in.
"For how much are these gentlemen in your books?" he demanded hotly.
"A small matter, your Lordship,--a mere trifle," said the man, bowing.
"How much, I say?"
"Twenty-two guineas, five shillings, and eight pence, my Lord, counting
debts, and board,--and interest," the bailiff glibly replied; for he had
no doubt taken off the account when he spied his Lordship's coach. "And
I was very good to Mr. Carvel and the captain, as your Lordship will
discover--"
"D--n your goodness!" said my Lord, cutting him short.
And he pulled out a wallet and threw some pieces at the bailiff, bidding
him get change with all haste. "And now, Richard," he added, with a
glance of disgust about him, "pack up, and we'll out of this cursed
hole!"
"I have nothing to pack, my Lord," I said.
"My Lord! Jack, I have told you, or I leave you here."
"Well, then, Jack, and you will," said I, overflowing with thankfulness
to God for the friends He had bestowed upon me. "But before we go a
step, Jack, you must know the man but for whose bravery I should long
ago have been dead of fever and ill-treatment in the Indies, and whose
generosity has brought him hither. My Lord Comyn, this is Captain John
Paul."
The captain, who had been quite overwhelmed by this sudden arrival of a
real lord to our rescue at the very moment when we had sunk to despair,
and no less astonished by the intimacy that seemed to exist between the
newcomer and myself, had the presence of mind to bend his head, and that
was all. Comyn shook his hand heartily.
"You shall not lack reward for this, captain, I promise you," cried he.
"What you have done for Mr. Carvel, you have done for me. Captain, I
thank you. You shall have my interest."
I flushed, seeing John Paul draw his lips together. But how was his
Lordship to know that he was dealing with no common sea-captain?
"I have sought no reward, my Lord," said he. "What I have done was out
of friendship for Mr. Carvel, solely."
Comyn was completely taken by surprise by these words, and by the haughty
tone in which they were spoken. He had not looked for a gentleman, and
no wonder. He took a quizzical sizing of the sky-blue coat. Such a man
in such a station was out of his experience.
"Egad, I believe you, captain," he answered, in a voice which said
plainly that he did not. "But he shall be rewarded nevertheless, eh,
Richard? I'll see Charles Fox in this matter to-morrow. Come, come,"
he added impatiently, "the bailiff must have his change by now. Come,
Richard!" and he led the way down the winding stairs.
"You must not take offence at his ways," I whispered to the captain. For
I well knew that a year before I should have taken the same tone with one
not of my class. "His Lordship is all kindness."
"I have learned a bit since I came into England, Richard," was his sober
reply.
"'Twas a pitiful sight to see gathered on the landings the poor fellows
we had come to know in Castle Yard, whose horizons were then as gray as
ours was bright. But they each had a cheery word of congratulation for
us as we passed, and the unhappy gentleman from Devonshire pressed my
hand and begged that I would sometime think of him when I was out under
the sky. I promised even more, and am happy to be able to say, my dears,
that I saw both him and his wife off for America before I left London.
Our eyes were wet when we reached the lower hall, and I was making for
the door in an agony to leave the place, when the bailiff came out of his
little office.
"One moment, sir," he said, getting in front of me; "there is a little
form yet to be gone through. The haste of gentlemen to leave us is not
flattering."
He glanced slyly at Comyn, and his Lordship laughed a little. I stepped
unsuspectingly into the office.
"Richard!"
I stopped across the threshold as tho' I had been struck. The late
sunlight filtering through the dirt of the window fell upon the tall
figure of a girl and lighted an upturned face, and I saw tears glistening
on the long lashes.
It was Dorothy. Her hands were stretched out in welcome, and then I had
them pressed in my own. And I could only look and look again, for I was
dumb with joy.
"Thank God you are alive!" she cried; "alive and well, when we feared you
dead. Oh, Richard, we have been miserable indeed since we had news of
your disappearance."
"This is worth it all, Dolly," I said, only brokenly.
She dropped her eyes, which had searched me through in wonder and pity,
--those eyes I had so often likened to the deep blue of the sea,--and her
breast rose and fell quickly with I knew not what emotions. How the mind
runs, and the heart runs, at such a time! Here was the same Dorothy I
had known in Maryland, and yet not the same. For she was a woman now,
who had seen the great world, who had refused both titles and estates,
--and perchance accepted them. She drew her hands from mine.
"And how came you in such a place?" she asked, turning with a shudder.
"Did you not know you had friends in London, sir?"
Not for so much again would I have told her of Mr. Manners's conduct. So
I stood confused, casting about for a reply with truth in it, when Comyn
broke in upon us.
"I'll warrant you did not look for her here, Richard. Faith, but you are
a lucky dog," said my Lord, shaking his head in mock dolefulness; "for
there is no man in London, in the world, for whom she would descend a
flight of steps, save you. And now she has driven the length of the town
when she heard you were in a sponging-house, nor all the dowagers in
Mayfair could stop her."
"Fie, Comyn," said my lady, blushing and gathering up her skirts; "that
tongue of yours had hung you long since had it not been for your peer's
privilege. Richard and I were brought up as brother and sister, and you
know you were full as keen for his rescue as I."
His Lordship pinched me playfully.
"I vow I would pass a year in the Fleet to have her do as much for me,"
said he.
"But where is the gallant seaman who saved you, Richard?" asked Dolly,
stamping her foot.
"What," I exclaimed; "you know the story?"
"Never mind," said she; "bring him here."
My conscience smote me, for I had not so much as thought of John Paul
since I came into that room. I found him waiting in the passage, and
took him by the hand.
"A lady wishes to know you, captain," I said.
"A lady!" he cried. "Here? Impossible!" And he looked at his clothes.
"Who cares more for your heart than your appearance," I answered gayly,
and led him into the office.
At sight of Dorothy he stopped abruptly, confounded, as a man who
sees a diamond in a dust-heap. And a glow came over me as I said:
"Miss Manners, here is Captain Paul, to whose courage and unselfishness
I owe everything."
"Captain," said Dorothy, graciously extending her hand, "Richard has many
friends. You have put us all in your debt, and none deeper than his old
playmate."
The captain fairly devoured her with his eyes as she made him a curtsey.
But he was never lacking in gallantry, and was as brave on such occasions
as when all the dangers of the deep threatened him. With an elaborate
movement he took Miss Manners's fingers and kissed them, and then swept
the floor with a bow.
"To have such a divinity in my debt, madam, is too much happiness for one
man," he said. "I have done nothing to merit it. A lifetime were all
too short to pay for such a favour."
I had almost forgotten Miss Dolly the wayward, the mischievous. But she
was before me now, her eyes sparkling, and biting her lips to keep down
her laughter. Comyn turned to fleck the window with his handkerchief,
while I was not a little put out at their mirth. But if John Paul
observed it, he gave no sign.
"Captain, I vow your manners are worthy of a Frenchman," said my Lord;
"and yet I am given to understand you are a Scotchman."
A shadow crossed the captain's face.
"I was, sir," he said.
"You were!" exclaimed Comyn, astonished; "and pray, what are you now,
sir?"
"Henceforth, my Lord," John Paul replied with vast ceremony: "I am an
American, the compatriot of the beautiful Miss Manners!"
"One thing I'll warrant, captain," said his Lordship, "that you are a
wit."
RICHARD CARVEL
By Winston Churchill
Volume 5.
XXVI. The Part Horatio played
XXVII. In which I am sore tempted
XXVIII. Arlington Street
XXIX. I meet a very Great Young Man
XXX. A Conspiracy
XXXI. "Upstairs into the World"
XXXII. Lady Tankerville's Drum-major
XXXIII. Drury Lane