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By England's Aid
Or, the Freeing of the Netherlands, 1585-1604
BY
G. A. HENTY
[Illustration: GEOFFREY AND LIONEL SAVE FRANCIS VERE'S LIFE]
PREFACE.
In my preface to _By Pike and Dyke_ I promised in a future story to
deal with the closing events of the War of Independence in Holland. The
period over which that war extended was so long, and the incidents were
so numerous and varied, that it was impossible to include the whole
within the limit of a single book. The former volume brought the story
of the struggle down to the death of the Prince of Orange and the
capture of Antwerp; the present gives the second phase of the war, when
England, who had long unofficially assisted Holland, threw herself
openly into the struggle, and by her aid mainly contributed to the
successful issue of the war. In the first part of the struggle the
scene lay wholly among the low lands and cities of Holland and Zeeland,
and the war was strictly a defensive one, waged against overpowering
odds. After England threw herself into the strife it assumed far wider
proportions, and the independence of the Netherlands was mainly secured
by the defeat and destruction of the great Armada, by the capture of
Cadiz and the fatal blow thereby struck at the mercantile prosperity of
Spain, and by the defeat of the Holy League by Henry of Navarre, aided
by English soldiers and English gold. For the facts connected with the
doings of Sir Francis Vere and the British contingent in Holland, I
have depended much upon the excellent work by Mr. Clement Markham
entitled the _Fighting Veres_. In this full justice is done to the
great English general and his followers, and it is conclusively shown
that some statements to the disparagement of Sir Francis Vere by Mr.
Motley are founded upon a misconception of the facts. Sir Francis Vere
was, in the general opinion of the time, one of the greatest commanders
of the age, and more, perhaps, than any other man--with the exception
of the Prince of Orange--contributed to the successful issue of the
struggle of Holland to throw off the yoke of Spain.
G. A. HENTY.
CONTENTS
CHAP.
I. AN EXCURSION
II. A MEETING IN CHEPE
III. IN THE LOW COUNTRY
IV. THE SIEGE OP SLUYS
V. AN HEROIC DEFENCE
VI. THE LOSS OF THE "SUSAN"
VII. A POPISH PLOT
VIII. THE SPANISH ARMADA
IX. THE ROUT OF THE ARMADA
X. THE WAR IN HOLLAND
XI. IN SPAIN
XII. RECRUITING THEIR FUNDS
XIII. THE FESTA AT SEVILLE
XIV. THE SURPRISE OF BREDA
XV. A SLAVE IN BARBARY
XVI. THE ESCAPE
XVII. A SPANISH MERCHANT
XVIII. IVRY
XIX. STEENWYK
XX. CADIZ
XXI. THE BATTLE OF NIEUPORT
XXII. OLD FRIENDS
XXIII. THE SIEGE OF OSTEND
ILLUSTRATIONS
Geoffrey And Lionel Save Francis Vere's Life
The Four Pages Carry Down The Wounded Soldier
The Next Few Minutes It Was A Wild Struggle For Life
Geoffrey Carried Overboard By The Falling Mast
Geoffrey Gives Inez Her Lover's Note
Geoffrey Falls Into The Hands Of The Corsairs
Crossing The Bridge Of Boats Over The Haven
Vere's Horse Shot Under Him At The Fight Before Ostend
* * * * *
Plan of Sluys and the Castle, to illustrate the Siege of 1587
Plan of Breda and its Defences, illustrating its surprise and capture
in 1590
Map of Cadiz and Harbour at the time of its capture in 1596, showing
the position of the English and Spanish Ships
Plan of Ostend and its Defences, showing the lines of the attacking
forces during the siege of 1601-4
BY ENGLAND'S AID
CHAPTER I
AN EXCURSION
"And we beseech Thee, O Lord, to give help and succour to Thy servants
the people of Holland, and to deliver them from the cruelties and
persecutions of their wicked oppressors; and grant Thy blessing, we
pray Thee, upon the arms of our soldiers now embarking to aid them in
their extremity." These were the words with which the Rev. John
Vickars, rector of Hedingham, concluded the family prayers on the
morning of 6th December, 1585.
For twenty years the first portion of this prayer had been repeated
daily by him, as it had been in tens of thousands of English
households; for since the people of the Netherlands first rose against
the Spanish yoke the hearts of the Protestants of England had beat
warmly in their cause, and they had by turns been moved to admiration
at the indomitable courage with which the Dutch struggled for
independence against the might of the greatest power in Europe, and to
horror and indignation at the pitiless cruelty and wholesale massacres
by which the Spaniards had striven to stamp out resistance.
From the first the people of England would gladly have joined in the
fray, and made common cause with their co-religionists; but the queen
and her counsellors had been restrained by weighty considerations from
embarking in such a struggle. At the commencement of the war the power
of Spain overshadowed all Europe. Her infantry were regarded as
irresistible. Italy and Germany were virtually her dependencies, and
England was but a petty power beside her. Since Agincourt was fought we
had taken but little part in wars on the Continent. The feudal system
was extinct; we had neither army nor military system; and the only
Englishmen with the slightest experience of war were those who had gone
abroad to seek their fortunes, and had fought in the armies of one or
other of the continental powers. Nor were we yet aware of our naval
strength. Drake and Hawkins and the other bucaneers had not yet
commenced their private war with Spain, on what was known as the
Spanish main--the waters of the West Indian Islands--and no one dreamed
that the time was approaching when England would be able to hold her
own against the strength of Spain on the seas.
Thus, then, whatever the private sentiments of Elizabeth and her
counsellors, they shrank from engaging England in a life and death
struggle with the greatest power of the time; though as the struggle
went on the queen's sympathy with the people of the Netherlands was
more and more openly shown. In 1572 she was present at a parade of
three hundred volunteers who mustered at Greenwich under Thomas Morgan
and Roger Williams for service in the Netherlands. Sir Humphrey
Gilbert, half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh, went out a few months
later with 1500 men, and from that time numbers of English volunteers
continued to cross the seas and join in the struggle against the
Spaniards. Nor were the sympathies of the queen confined to allowing
her subjects to take part in the fighting; for she sent out large sums
of money to the Dutch, and as far as she could, without openly joining
them, gave them her aid.
Spain remonstrated continually against these breaches of neutrality,
while the Dutch on their part constantly implored her to join them
openly; but she continued to give evasive answers to both parties until
the assassination of William of Orange on 10th July, 1584, sent a
thrill of horror through England, and determined the queen and her
advisers to take a more decisive part in the struggle. In the following
June envoys from the States arrived in London, and were received with
great honour, and a treaty between the two countries was agreed upon.
Three months later the queen published a declaration to her people and
to Europe at large, setting forth the terrible persecutions and
cruelties to which "our next neighbours, the people of the Low
Countries," the special allies and friends of England, had been
exposed, and stating her determination to aid them to recover their
liberty. The proclamation concluded: "We mean not hereby to make
particular profit to ourself and our people, only desiring to obtain,
by God's favour, for the Countries, a deliverance of them from war by
the Spaniards and foreigners, with a restitution of their ancient
liberties and government."
Sir Thomas Cecil was sent out at once as governor of Brill, and Sir
Philip Sidney as governor of Flushing, these towns being handed over to
England as guarantees by the Dutch. These two officers, with bodies of
troops to serve as garrisons, took charge of their respective
fortresses in November. Orders were issued for the raising of an army
for service in the Low Countries, and Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was
appointed by the queen to its command. The decision of the queen was
received with enthusiasm in England as well as in Holland, and although
the Earl of Leicester was not personally popular, volunteers flocked to
his standard.
Breakfast at Hedingham Rectory had been set at an earlier hour than
usual on the 6th of December, 1585. There was an unusual stir and
excitement in the village, for young Mr. Francis Vere, cousin of the
Earl of Oxford, lord of Hedingham and of all the surrounding country,
was to start that morning to ride to Colchester, there to join the Earl
of Leicester and his following as a volunteer. As soon as breakfast was
over young Geoffrey and Lionel Vickars, boys of fourteen and thirteen
years old, proceeded to the castle close by, and there mounted the
horses provided for them, and rode with Francis Vere to Colchester.
Francis, who was at this time twenty-five years old, was accompanied by
his elder brother, John, and his two younger brothers, Robert and
Horace, and by many other friends; and it was a gay train that cantered
down the valley of the Colne to Colchester. That ancient town was all
astir. Gentlemen had ridden in from all the country seats and manors
for many miles round, and the quiet streets were alive with people. At
two o'clock in the afternoon news arrived that the earl was
approaching, and, headed by the bailiffs of the town in scarlet gowns,
the multitude moved out to meet the earl on the Lexden road. Presently
a long train was seen approaching; for with Leicester were the Earl of
Essex, Lords North and Audley, Sir William Russell, Sir Thomas Shirley,
and other volunteers, to the number of five hundred horse. All were
gaily attired and caparisoned, and the cortège presented a most
brilliant appearance. The multitude cheered lustily, the bailiffs
presented an address, and followed by his own train and by the
gentlemen who had assembled to meet him, the earl rode into the town.
He himself took up his abode at the house of Sir Thomas Lucas, while
his followers were distributed among the houses of the townsfolk. Two
hours after the arrival of the earl, the party from Hedingham took
leave of Mr. Francis Vere.
"Good-bye, lads," he said to the young Vickars. "I will keep my
promise, never fear; and if the struggle goes on till you are old
enough to carry arms, I will, if I am still alive, take you under my
leading and teach you the art of war."
Upon the following day the Earl of Leicester and his following rode to
Manningtree, and took boat down the Stour to Harwich, where the fleet,
under Admiral William Borough, was lying. Here they embarked, and on
the 9th of December sailed for Flushing, where they were joined by
another fleet of sixty ships from the Thames.
More than a year passed. The English had fought sturdily in Holland.
Mr. Francis Vere had been with his cousin, Lord Willoughby, who was in
command of Bergen-op-Zoom, and had taken part in the first brush with
the enemy, when a party of the garrison marched out and attacked a
great convoy of four hundred and fifty waggons going to Antwerp, killed
three hundred of the enemy, took eighty prisoners, and destroyed all
their waggons except twenty-seven, which they carried into the town.
Leicester provisioned the town of Grave, which was besieged by the Duke
of Parma, the Spanish commander-in-chief. Axel was captured by
surprise, the volunteers swimming across the moat at night, and
throwing open the gates. Doesburg was captured, and Zutphen besieged.
Parma marched to its relief, and, under cover of a thick fog, succeeded
in getting close at hand before it was known that he was near. Then the
English knights and volunteers, 200 in number, mounted in hot haste and
charged a great Spanish column of 5000 horse and foot. They were led by
Sir William Russell, under whom were Lords Essex, North, Audley, and
Willoughby, behind the last of whom rode Francis Vere. For two hours
this little band of horse fought desperately in the midst of the
Spanish cavalry, and forced them at last to fall back, but were
themselves obliged to retreat when the Spanish infantry came up and
opened fire upon them. The English loss was 34 killed and wounded,
while 250 of the Spaniards were slain, and three of their colours
captured. Among the wounded on the English side was the very noble
knight Sir Philip Sidney, who was shot by a musket-ball, and died three
weeks afterwards.
The successes of the English during these two years were
counterbalanced by the cowardly surrender of Grave by its governor, and
by the treachery of Sir William Stanley, governor of Deventer, and of
Roland Yorke, who commanded the garrisons of the two forts known as the
Zutphen Sconces. Both these officers turned traitors and delivered up
the posts they commanded to the Spaniards. Their conduct not only
caused great material loss to the allies, but it gave rise to much bad
feeling between the English and Dutch, the latter complaining that they
received but half-hearted assistance from the English.
It was not surprising, however, that Leicester was unable to effect
more with the little force under his command, for it was necessary not
only to raise soldiers, but to invent regulations and discipline. The
Spanish system was adopted, and this, the first English regular army,
was trained and appointed precisely upon the system of the foe with
whom they were fighting. It was no easy task to convert a body of brave
knights and gentlemen and sturdy country men into regular troops, and
to give them the advantages conferred by discipline and order. But the
work was rendered the less difficult by the admixture of the volunteers
who had been bravely fighting for ten years under Morgan, Rowland
Williams, John Norris, and others. These had had a similar experience
on their first arrival in Holland. Several times in their early
encounters with the Spaniards the undisciplined young troops had
behaved badly; but they had gained experience from their reverses, and
had proved themselves fully capable of standing in line even against
the splendid pikemen of Spain.
While the English had been drilling and fighting in Holland things had
gone on quietly at Hedingham. The village stands near the head waters
of the Colne and Stour, in a rich and beautiful country. On a rising
ground behind it stood the castle of the Veres, which was approached
from the village by a drawbridge across the moat. There were few more
stately piles in England than the seat of the Earl of Oxford. On one
side of the great quadrangle was the gate-house and a lofty tower, on
another the great hall and chapel and the kitchens, on a third the
suites of apartments of the officials and retinue. In rear were the
stables and granaries, the butts and tennis-court, beyond which was the
court of the tournaments.
In the centre of the quadrangle rose the great keep, which still
stands, the finest relic of Norman civil architecture in England. It
possessed great strength, and at the same time was richly ornamented
with carving. The windows, arches, and fireplaces were decorated with
chevron carvings. A beautiful spiral pattern enriched the doorway and
pillars of the staircase leading to galleries cut in the thickness of
the wall, with arched openings looking into the hall below. The outlook
from the keep extended over the parishes of Castle Hedingham, Sybil
Hedingham, Kirby, and Tilbury, all belonging to the Veres--whose
property extended far down the pretty valley of the Stour--with the
stately Hall of Long Melford, the Priory of Clare, and the little town
of Lavenham; indeed the whole country was dotted with the farmhouses
and manors of the Veres. Seven miles down the valley of the Colne lies
the village of Earl's Colne, with the priory, where ten of the earls of
Oxford lie buried with their wives.
The parish church of Castle Hedingham stood at the end of the little
village street, and the rectory of Mr. Vickars was close by. The party
gathered at morning prayers consisted of Mr. Vickars and his wife,
their two sons, Geoffrey and Lionel, and the maid-servants, Ruth and
Alice. The boys, now fourteen and fifteen years old respectively, were
strong-grown and sturdy lads, and their father had long since owned
with a sigh that neither of them was likely to follow his profession
and fill the pulpit at Hedingham Church when he was gone. Nor was this
to be wondered at, for lying as it did at the entrance to the great
castle of the Veres, the street of the little village was constantly
full of armed men, and resounded with the tramp of the horses of
richly-dressed knights and gay ladies.
Here came great politicians, who sought the friendship and support of
the powerful earls of Oxford, nobles and knights, their kinsmen and
allies, gentlemen from the wide-spreading manors of the family, stout
fighting-men who wished to enlist under their banner. At night the
sound of music from the castle told of gay entertainments and festive
dances, while by day parties of knights and ladies with dogs and
falcons sallied out to seek sport over the wide domains. It could
hardly be expected, then, that lads of spirit, brought up in the midst
of sights and sounds like these, should entertain a thought of settling
down to the tranquil life of the church. As long as they could
remember, their minds had been fixed upon being soldiers, and fighting
some day under the banner of the Veres. They had been a good deal in
the castle; for Mr. Vickars had assisted Arthur Golding, the learned
instructor to young Edward Vere, the 17th earl, who was born in 1550,
and had succeeded to the title at the age of twelve, and he had
afterwards been tutor to the earl's cousins, John, Francis, Robert, and
Horace, the sons of Geoffrey, fourth son of the 15th earl. These boys
were born in 1558, 1560, 1562, and 1565, and lived with their mother at
Kirby Hall, a mile from the Castle of Hedingham.
The earl was much attached to his old instructor, and when he was at
the castle there was scarce a day but an invitation came down for Mr.
Vickars and his wife to be present either at banquet or entertainment.
The boys were free to come and go as they chose, and the earl's
men-at-arms had orders to afford them all necessary teaching in the use
of weapons.
Mr. Vickars considered it his duty to accept the invitations of his
friend and patron, but he sorely grudged the time so abstracted from
his favourite books. It was, indeed, a relief to him when the earl,
whose love of profusion and luxury made serious inroads even into the
splendid possessions of the Veres, went up to court, and peace and
quietness reigned in the castle. The rector was fonder of going to
Kirby, where John, Geoffrey's eldest son, lived quietly and soberly,
his three younger brothers having, when mere boys, embraced the
profession of arms, placing themselves under the care of the good
soldier Sir William Browne, who had served for many years in the Low
Countries. They occasionally returned home for a time, and were pleased
to take notice of the sons of their old tutor, although Geoffrey was
six years junior to Horace, the youngest of the brothers.
The young Vickars had much time to themselves, much more indeed than
their mother considered to be good for them. After their breakfast,
which was finished by eight o'clock, their father took them for an hour
and heard the lessons they had prepared the day before, and gave them
instruction in the Latin tongue. Then they were supposed to study till
the bell rang for dinner at twelve; but there was no one to see that
they did so, for their father seldom came outside his library door, and
their mother was busy with her domestic duties and in dispensing
simples to the poor people, who, now that the monasteries were closed,
had no medical aid save that which they got from the wives of the
gentry or ministers, or from the wise women, of whom there was
generally one in every village.
Therefore, after half an hour, or at most an hour, spent in getting up
their tasks, the books would be thrown aside, and the boys be off,
either to the river or up to the castle to practise sword-play with the
men-at-arms, or to the butts with their bows, or to the rabbit-warren,
where they had leave from the earl to go with their dogs whenever they
pleased. Their long excursions were, however, generally deferred until
after dinner, as they were then free until supper-time, and even if
they did not return after that hour Mrs. Vickars did not chide them
unduly, being an easy-going woman, and always ready to make excuses for
them.
There were plenty of fish in the river; and the boys knew the pools
they loved best, and often returned with their baskets well filled.
There were otters on its banks, too; but, though they sometimes chased
these pretty creatures, Tan and Turk, their two dogs, knew as well as
their masters that they had but small chance of catching them.
Sometimes they would take a boat at the bridge and drop down the stream
for miles, and once or twice had even gone down to Bricklesey
[Footnote: Now Brightlingsea.] at the mouth of the river. This,
however, was an expedition that they never performed alone, making it
each time in charge of Master Lirriper, who owned a flat barge, and
took produce down to Bricklesey, there to be transhipped into coasters
bound for London. He had a married daughter there, and it was at her
house the boys had slept when they went there; for the journey down and
up again was too long to be performed in a single day.
But this was not the only distant expedition they had made, for they
had once gone down the Stour as far as Harwich with their father when
he was called thither on business. To them Harwich with its old walls
and the houses crowded up within them, and its busy port with vessels
coming in and going out, was most delightful, and they always talked
about that expedition as one of the most pleasant recollections of
their lives.
After breakfast was over on 1st of May, 1587, and they had done their
lessons with their father, and had worked for an hour by themselves,
the boys put by their books and strolled down the village to the
bridge. There as usual stood their friend Master Lirriper with his
hands deep in his pockets, a place and position in which he was sure to
be found when not away in his barge.
"Good-morning, Master Lirriper."
"Good-morning, Master Geoffrey and Master Lionel."
"So you are not down the river to-day?"
"No, sir. I am going to-morrow, and this time I shall be away four or
five days--maybe even a week."
"Shall you?" the boys exclaimed in surprise. "Why, what are you going
to do?"
"I am going round to London in my nephew Joe Chambers' craft."
"Are you really?" Geoffrey exclaimed. "I wish we were going with you.
Don't you think you could take us, Master Lirriper?"
The bargeman looked down into the water and frowned. He was slow of
speech, but as the minutes went on and he did not absolutely refuse the
boys exchanged glances of excitement and hope.
"I dunno how that might be, young sirs," John Lirriper said slowly,
after long cogitation. "I dus-say my nephew would have no objection,
but what would parson say about it?"
"Oh, I don't think he would object," Geoffrey said. "If you go up and
ask him, Master Lirriper, and say that you will take care of us, you
know, I don't see why he should say no."
"Like enough you would be ill," John Lirriper said after another long
pause. "It's pretty rough sometimes."
"Oh, we shouldn't mind that," Lionel protested. "We should like to see
the waves and to be in a real ship."
"It's nothing much of a ship," the boatman said. "She is a ketch of
about ten tons and carries three hands."
"Oh, we don't care how small she is if we can only go in her; and you
would be able to show us London, and we might even see the queen. Oh,
do come up with us and ask father, Master Lirriper."
"Perhaps parson wouldn't be pleased, young sirs, and might say I was
putting wandering thoughts into your heads; and Mistress Vickars might
think it a great liberty on my part."
"Oh, no, she wouldn't, Master Lirriper. Besides, we will say we asked
you."
"But suppose any harm comes to you, what would they say to me then?"
"Oh, there's no fear of any harm coming to us. Besides, in another year
or two we mean to go over to the Low Countries and fight the Spaniards,
and what's a voyage to London to that?"
"Well, I will think about it," John Lirriper said cautiously.
"No no, Master Lirriper; if you get thinking about it it will never be
done. Do come up with us at once," and each of them got hold of one of
the boatman's arms.
"Well, the parson can but say no," he said, as he suffered himself to
be dragged away. "And I don't say as it isn't reasonable that you
should like to see something of the world, young sirs; but I don't know
how the parson will take it."
Mr. Vickars looked up irritably from his books when the servant came in
and said that Master Lirriper wished to see him.
"What does he want at this hour?" he said. "You know, Ruth, I never see
people before dinner. Any time between that and supper I am at their
service, but it's too bad being disturbed now."
"I told him so, sir; but Master Geoffrey and Master Lionel were with
him, and they said he wanted particular to see you, and they wanted
particular too."
The clergyman sighed as he put his book down.
"If Geoffrey and Lionel have concerned themselves in the matter, Ruth,
I suppose I must see the man; but it's very hard being disturbed like
this. Well, Master Lirriper, what is it?" he asked, as the boatman
accompanied by Geoffrey and Lionel entered the room. Master Lirriper
twirled his hat in his hand. Words did not come easily to him at the
best of times, and this was a business that demanded thought and care.
Long before he had time to fix upon an appropriate form of words
Geoffrey broke in:
"This is what it is, father. Master Lirriper is going down the river to
Bricklesey to-morrow, and then he is going on board his nephew's ship.
She is a ketch, and she carries ten tons, though I don't know what it
is she carries; and she's going to London, and he is going in her, and
he says if you will let him he will take us with him, and will show us
London, and take great care of us. It will be glorious, father, if you
will only let us go."
Mr. Vickars looked blankly as Geoffrey poured out his torrent of words.
His mind was still full of the book he had been reading, and he hardly
took in the meaning of Geoffrey's words.
"Going in a ketch!" he repeated. "Going to catch something, I suppose
you mean? Do you mean he is going fishing?"
"No, father,--going in a ketch. A ketch is a sort of ship, father,
though I don't quite know what sort of ship. What sort of ship is a
ketch, Master Lirriper?"
"A ketch is a two-masted craft, Master Geoffrey," John Lirriper said.
"She carries a big mizzen sail."
"There, you see, father," Geoffrey said triumphantly; "she carries a
big mizzen sail. That's what she is, you see; and he is going to show
us London, and will take great care of us if you will let us go with
him."
"Do you mean, Master Lirriper," Mr. Vickars asked slowly, "that you are
going to London in some sort of ship, and want to take my sons with
you?"
"Well, sir, I am going to London, and the young masters seemed to think
that they would like to go with me, if so be you would have no
objection."
"I don't know," Mr. Vicars said. "It is a long passage, Master
Lirriper; and, as I have heard, often a stormy one. I don't think my
wife--"
"Oh, yes, father," Lionel broke in. "If you say yes, mother is sure to
say yes; she always does, you know. And, you see, it will be a great
thing for us to see London. Every one else seems to have seen London,
and I am sure that it would do us good. And we might even see the
queen."
"I think that they would be comfortable, sir," John Lirriper put in.
"You see, my nephew's wife is daughter of a citizen, one Master
Swindon, a ship's chandler, and he said there would be a room there for
me, and they would make me heartily welcome. Now, you see, sir, the
young masters could have that room, and I could very well sleep on
board the ketch; and they would be out of all sort of mischief there."
"That would be a very good plan certainly, Master Lirriper. Well, well,
I don't know what to say."
"Say yes, father," Geoffrey said as he saw Mr. Vickars glance anxiously
at the book he had left open. "If you say yes, you see it will be a
grand thing for you, our being away for a week with nothing to disturb
you."
"Well, well," Mr. Vickars said, "you must ask your mother. If she makes
no objection, then I suppose you can go," and Mr. Vickars hastily took
up his book again.
The boys ran off to the kitchen, where their mother was superintending
the brewing of some broth for a sick woman down the village.
"Mother!" Geoffrey exclaimed, "Master Lirriper's going to London in a
ketch--a ship with a big mizzen sail, you know--and he has offered to
take us with him and show us London. And father has said yes, and it's
all settled if you have no objection; and of course you haven't."
"Going to London, Geoffrey!" Mrs. Vicars exclaimed aghast. "I never
heard of such a thing. Why, like enough you will be drowned on the way
and never come back again. Your father must be mad to think of such a
thing."
"Oh, no, mother; I am sure it will do us a lot of good. And we may see
the queen, mother. And as for drowning, why, we can both swim ever so
far. Besides, people don't get drowned going to London. Do they Master
Lirriper?"
John was standing bashfully at the door of the kitchen. "Well, not as a
rule, Master Geoffrey," he replied. "They comes and they goes, them
that are used to it, maybe a hundred times without anything happening
to them."
"There! You hear that, mother? They come and go hundreds of times. Oh,
I am sure you are not going to say no. That would be too bad when
father has agreed to it. Now, mother, please tell Ruth to run away at
once and get a wallet packed with our things. Of course we shall want
our best clothes; because people dress finely in London, and it would
never do if we saw the queen and we hadn't our best doublets on, for
she would think that we didn't know what was seemly down at Hedingham."
"Well, my dears, of course if it is all settled--"
"Oh, yes, mother, it is quite all settled."
"Then it's no use my saying anything more about it, but I think your
father might have consulted me before he gave his consent to your going
on such a hazardous journey as this.
"He did want to consult you, mother. But then, you see, he wanted to
consult his books even more, and he knew very well that you would agree
with him; and you know you would too. So please don't say anything more
about it, but let Ruth run upstairs and see to our things at once.
There, you see, Master Lirriper, it is all settled. And what time do
you start to-morrow? We will be there half an hour before, anyhow."
"I shall go at seven from the bridge. Then I shall just catch the turn
of the tide and get to Bricklesey in good time."
"I never did see such boys," Mrs. Vickars said when John Lirriper had
gone on his way. "As for your father, I am surprised at him in
countenancing you. You will be running all sorts of risks. You may be
drowned on the way, or killed in a street brawl, or get mixed up in a
plot. There is no saying what may not happen. And here it is all
settled before I have even time to think about it, which is most
inconsiderate of your father."
"Oh, we shall get back again without any harm, mother. And as to
getting killed in a street brawl, Lionel and I can use our hangers as
well as most of them. Besides, nothing of that sort is going to happen
to us. Now, mother, please let Ruth go at once, and tell her to put up
our puce doublets that we had for the jousting at the castle, and our
red hose and our dark green cloth slashed trunks."
"There is plenty of time for that, Geoffrey, as you are not going until
to-morrow. Besides, I can't spare Ruth now, but she shall see about it
after dinner."
There was little sleep for the boys that night. A visit to London had
long been one of their wildest ambitions, and they could scarcely
believe that thus suddenly and without preparation it was about to take
place. Their father had some time before promised that he would some
day make request to one or other of the young Veres to allow them to
ride to London in his suite, but the present seemed to them an even
more delightful plan. There would be the pleasure of the voyage, and
moreover it would be much more lively for them to be able to see London
under the charge of John Lirriper than to be subject to the ceremonial
and restraint that would be enforced in the household of the Veres.
They were then at the appointed place a full hour before the time
named, with wallets containing their clothes, and a basket of
provisions that their mother had prepared for them. Having stowed these
away in the little cabin, they walked up and down impatiently until
Master Lirriper himself appeared.
"You are up betimes, my young masters," the boatman said. "The church
has not yet struck seven o'clock."
"We have been here ever so long, Master Lirriper. We could not sleep
much last night, and got up when it chimed five, being afraid that we
might drop off to sleep and be late."
"Well, we shall not be long before we are off. Here comes my man Dick,
and the tide is just on the turn. The sky looks bright, and the weather
promises well. I will just go round to the cottage and fetch up my
things, and then we shall be ready."
In ten minutes they pushed off from the shore. John and his man got out
long poles shod with iron, and with these set to work to punt the barge
along. Now that they were fairly on their way the boys quieted down,
and took their seats on the sacks of flour with which the boat was
laden, and watched the objects on the bank as the boat made her way
quietly along.
Halstead was the first place passed. This was the largest town near
Hedingham, and was a place of much importance in their eyes. Then they
passed Stanstead Hall and Earl's Colne on their right, Colne Wake on
their left, and Chapel Parish on their right. Then there was a long
stretch without any large villages, until they came in sight of the
bridge above Colchester. A few miles below the town the river began to
widen. The banks were low and flat, and they were now entering an arm
of the sea. Half an hour later the houses and church of Bricklesey came
in sight. Tide was almost low when they ran on to the mud abreast of
the village, but John put on a pair of high boots and carried the boys
ashore one after the other on his back, and then went up with them to
the house where they were to stop for the night.
Here, although not expected, they were heartily welcomed by John's
daughter.
"If father had told me that you had been coming, Masters Vickars, I
would have had a proper dinner for you; but though he sent word
yesterday morning that he should be over today, he did not say a word
about your coming with them."
"He did not know himself," Geoffrey said; "it was only settled at ten
o'clock yesterday. But do not trouble yourself about the dinner. In the
first place, we are so pleased at going that we don't care a bit what
we eat, and in the second place we had breakfast on board the boat, and
we were both so hungry that I am sure we could go till supper-time
without eating if necessary."
"Where are you going, father?" the young woman asked.
"I am going to set about unloading the flour."
"Why, it's only a quarter to twelve, and dinner just ready. The fish
went into the frying-pan as you came up from the boat. You know we
generally dine at half-past eleven, but we saw you coming at a distance
and put it off. It's no use your starting now."
"Well, I suppose it isn't. And I don't know what the young masters'
appetite may be, but mine is pretty good, I can tell you."
"I never knew it otherwise, father," the woman laughed, "Ah, here is my
Sam. Sam, here's father brought these two young gentlemen. They are the
sons of Mr. Vickars, the parson at Hedingham. They are going to stop
here to-night, and are going with him in the _Susan_ to-morrow to
London."
"Glad to see you, young masters," Sam said. "I have often heard Ann
talk of your good father. I have just been on board the _Susan_, for I
am sending up a couple of score sides of bacon in her, and have been
giving Joe Chambers, her master, a list of things he is to get there
and bring down for me. Now then, girl, bustle about and get dinner on
as soon as you can. We are half an hour late. I am sure the young
gentlemen here must be hungry. There's nothing like being on the water
for getting an appetite."
A few minutes later a great dish of fish, a loaf of bread and some
wooden platters, were placed on the table, and all set to at once.
Forks had not yet come into use, and table-cloths were unknown, except
among the upper classes. The boys found that in spite of their hearty
breakfast their appetites were excellent. The fish were delicious, the
bread was home-baked, and the beer from Colchester, which was already
famous for its brewing. When they had finished, John Lirriper asked
them if they would rather see what there was to be seen in the village,
or go off to the ketch. They at once chose the latter alternative. On
going down to the water's edge they found that the tide had risen
sufficiently to enable Dick to bring the barge alongside the jetty.
They were soon on board.
"Which is the _Susan_, Master Lirriper?"
"That's her lying out there with two others. She is the one lowest down
the stream. We shall just fetch her comfortably."