CHAPTER XIV.
THE VISION OF THE BASKET.
Suddenly we heard footsteps, as of those who are running, and myfather's voice speaking loud.
'Sing, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice withall the heart!'----
'Now, in the name of Heaven,' cried Sir Christopher, 'what meaneththis?'
'The Arm of the Lord! The Deliverance of Israel!'
He burst upon us, dragging a man with him by the arm. In thetwilight I could only see, at first, that it was a broad, thick-setman. But my father's slender form looked taller as he waved his armsand cried aloud. Had he been clad in a sheepskin, he would haveresembled one of those ancient Prophets whose words were always inhis mouth.
'Good friend,' said Sir Christopher, 'what meaneth these cries? Whomhave we here?'
Then the man with my father stepped forward and took off his hat.Why, I knew him at once; though it was ten years since I had seenhim last! 'Twas my brother Barnaby--none other--come home again.He was now a great strong man--a stouter have I never seen, thoughhe was somewhat under the middle height, broad in the shoulders,and thick of chest. Beside him Robin, though reasonable inbreadth, showed like a slender sapling. But he had still the samegood-natured face, though now much broader. It needed no more thanthe first look to know my brother Barnaby again.
'Barnaby,' I cried, 'Barnaby, hast thou forgotten me?' I caught oneof his great hands--never, surely, were there bigger hands thanBarnaby's! 'Hast thou forgotten me?'
'Why,' he said slowly--'twas ever a boy slow of speech and ofunderstanding--'belike,'tis Sister.' He kissed my forehead. 'Itis Sister,' he said, as if he were tasting a cup of ale and waspronouncing on its quality. 'How dost thou, Sister? Bravely, I hope.Thou art grown, Sister. I have seen my mother, and--and--she doesbravely, too; though I left her crying. 'Tis their way, the happierthey be.'
'Barnaby?' said Sir Christopher, 'is it thou, scapegrace? Where hastthou----But first tell us what has happened. Briefly, man.'
'In two words, Sir: the Duke of Monmouth landed the day beforeyesterday at Lyme Regis with my Lord Grey and a company of ahundred--of whom I was one.'
The Duke had landed! Then what Robin expected had come to pass! Andmy brother Barnaby was with the insurgents! My heart beat fast.
'The Duke of Monmouth hath landed!' Sir Christopher repeated, andsat down again, as one who knows not what may be the meaning of thenews.
'Ay, Sir, the Duke hath landed. We left Holland on the 24th of May,and we made the coast at Lyme at daybreak on Thursday the 11th.'Tis now, I take it, Saturday. The Duke had with him on board shipLord Grey, Mr. Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, Mr. Heywood Dare ofTaunton'----
'I know the man,' said Sir Christopher, 'for an impudent,loud-tongued fellow.'
'Perhaps he was, Sir,' said Barnaby, gravely. 'Perhaps he was, butnow'----
'How "was"?'
'He was shot on Thursday evening by Mr. Fletcher for offering himviolence with a cane, and is now dead.'
''Tis a bad beginning. Go on, Barnaby.'
'The Duke had also Mr. Ferguson, Colonel Venner, Mr. Chamberlain,and others whom I cannot remember. First we set Mr. Dare andMr. Chamberlain ashore at Seatown, whence they were to carryintelligence of the rising to the Duke's friends. The Duke landedat seven o'clock with his company, in seven boats. First, he fellon his knees and prayed aloud. Then he drew his sword, and we allmarched after to the market-place, where he raised his flag andcaused the Declaration to be read. Here it is, your Honour.' Helugged out a copy of the Declaration, which Sir Christopher putaside, saying that he would read it in the morning.
'Then we tossed our hats and shouted "A Monmouth! A Monmouth!" Sixtystout young fellows 'listed on the spot. Then we divided our forces,and began to land the cannon--four pretty pieces as you could wishto see--and the arms, of which I doubt if we have enough, and thepowder--two hundred and fifty barrels. The Duke lay on Thursdaynight at the George. Next day, before dawn, the country people beganflocking in.'
'What gentlemen have come in?'
'I know not, Sir--my duty was most of the day on board. In theevening I received leave to ride home, and indeed, Sir Christopher,had orders to carry the Duke's Declaration to yourself. And now weshall be well rid of the King, the Pope, and the Devil!'
'Because,' said my father, solemnly--'because with lies ye have madethe hearts of the righteous sad whom I have not made sad.'
'And what doest thou among this goodly company, friend Barnaby?'
'I am to be a Captain in one of the regiments,' said Barnaby,grinning with pride: 'though a sailor, yet can I fight with thebest. My Colonel is Mr. Holmes; and my Major, Mr. Parsons. On boardthe frigate I was master and navigated her.'
'There will be knocks, Barnaby; knocks, I doubt.'
'By your Honour's leave, I have been where knocks were flying forten years, and I will take my share, remembering still the treatmentof my father and the poverty of my mother.'
'It is rebellion, Barnaby!--rebellion!'
'Why, Sir, Oliver Cromwell was a rebel. And your Honour fought inthe army of the Earl of Essex--and what was he but a rebel?'
I wondered to hear my brother speak with so much boldness, who tenyears before had bowed low and pulled his hair in presence of hisHonour. Yet Sir Christopher seemed to take this boldness in goodpart.
'Barnaby,' he said, 'thou art a stout and proper lad, and I doubtnot thy courage--nay, I see it in thy face, which hath resolutionin it and yet is modest; no ruffler or boaster art thou, friendBarnaby. Yet--yet--if rebellion fail--even rebellion in a justcause--then those who rise lose their lives in vain, and the causeis lost, until better times.' This he said as one who speaketh tohimself. I saw him look upon his grandson. 'The King is--a Papist,'he said, 'that is most true. A Papist should not be suffered to rulethis country. Yet to rise in rebellion! Have a care, lad! What ifthe time be not yet ripe? How know we who will join the Duke?'
'The people are flocking to his standard by thousands,' saidBarnaby. 'When I rode away last night the Duke's secretaries werewriting down their names as fast as they could be entered; theywere landing the arms and already exercising the recruits. And sucha spirit they show, Sir, it would do your heart good only once towitness!'
Now, as I looked at Barnaby, I became aware that he was notonly changed in appearance, but that he was also very finelydressed--namely, in a scarlet coat and a sword with a silken sash,with laced ruffles, a gold-laced hat, a great wig, white breeches,and a flowered waistcoat. In the light of day, as I afterwardsdiscovered, there were stains of wine visible upon the coat, and theruffles were torn, and the waistcoat had marks upon it as of tar.One doth not, to be sure, expect in the sailing master of a frigatethe same neatness as in a gallant of Saint James's. Yet, our runawaylad must have prospered.
'What doth the Duke intend?' Sir Christopher asked him.
'Indeed, Sir, I know not. 'Tis said by some that he will raise theWest Country; and by some that he will march north into Cheshire,where he hath many friends; and by others that he will march uponLondon, and call upon all good Protestants to rise and join him.We look to have an army of twenty thousand within a week. As forthe King, it is doubted whether he can raise a paltry five thousandto meet us. Courage, Dad'--he dared to call his father, the Rev.Comfort Eykin, Doctor of Divinity, 'Dad!'--and he clapped himlustily upon the shoulder; 'thou shalt mount the pulpit yet, ay, ofWestminster Abbey if it so please you!'
His father paid no heed to this conversation, being wrapt in his ownthoughts.
'I know not,' said Sir Christopher, 'what to think. The news issudden. And yet--and yet'----
'We waste time,' cried my father, stamping his foot. 'Oh! we wastethe time talking. What helps it to talk? Every honest man must nowbe up and doing. Why, it is a plain duty laid upon us. The finger ofHeaven is visible, I say, in this. Out of the very sins of CharlesStuart hath the instrument for the destruction of his race beenforged. A plain duty, I say. As for me, I must preach and exhort.As for my son, who was dead and ye
t liveth'--he laid his hand uponBarnaby's shoulder--'time was when I prayed that he might become agodly minister of God's Word. Now I perceive clearly that the Lordhath ways of His own. My son shall fight and I shall preach. Perhapshe will rise and become another Cromwell!'----Barnaby grinned.
'Sir,' said my father, turning hotly upon his Honour, 'I perceivethat thou art lukewarm. If the Cause be the Lord's, what matter forthe chances? The issue is in the hands of the Lord. As for me and myhousehold, we will serve the Lord. Yea, I freely offer myself, andmy son, and my wife, and my daughter--even my tender daughter--tothe Cause of the Lord. Young men and maidens, old men and children,the Voice of the Lord calleth!'
Nobody made reply; my father looked before him, as if he saw in thetwilight of the summer night a vision of what was to follow. Hisface, as he gazed, changed. His eyes, which were fierce and fiery,softened. His lips smiled. Then he turned his face and looked uponeach of us in turn--upon his son and upon his wife and upon me,upon Robin and upon Sir Christopher. 'It is, indeed,' he said, 'theWill of the Lord. Why, what though the end be violent death to me,and to all of us ruin and disaster? We do but share the afflictionsforetold in the Vision of the Basket of Summer Fruit. What is death?What is the loss of earthly things compared with what shall followto those who obey the Voice that calls? Children, let us up and bedoing. As for me, I shall have a season of freedom before I die.For twenty-five years have I been muzzled or compelled to whisperand mutter in corners and hiding-places. I have been a dumb dog. I,whose heart was full and overflowing with the sweet and preciousWord of God; I, to whom it is not life but death to sit in silence!Now I shall deliver my soul before I die. Sirs, the Lord hath givento every man a weapon or two with which to fight. To me he hathgiven an eye and a tongue for discerning and proclaiming the wordof sacred doctrine. I have been muzzled--a dumb dog, I say--thoughsometimes I have been forced to climb among the hills and speak tothe bending tree-tops. Now I shall be free again, and I will speak,and all the ends of the earth shall hear.'
His eyes gleamed, he panted and gasped, and waved his arms.
'As for sister, Dad,' said Barnaby, 'she and mother may bide athome.'
'No; they shall go with me. I offer my wife, my son, my daughter,and myself to the Cause of the Lord.'
'A camp is but a rough place for a woman,' said Barnaby.
'She is offered; she is dedicated; she shall go with us.'
I know not what was in his mind, or why he wished that I should gowith him, unless it was a desire to give everything that he had--tohold back nothing--to the Lord; therefore he would give his childrenas well as himself. As for me, my heart glowed to think that I waseven worthy to join in such a Cause. What could a woman do? But thatI should find out.
'Robin,' I whispered, ''tis Religion calls. If I am to be among thefollowers of the Duke, thou wilt not remain behind?'
'Child,'--it was my mother who whispered to me; I had not seen herbefore--'Child, let us obey him. Perhaps it will be better for himif we are at his side. And there is Barnaby. But we must not be intheir way. We shall find a place to sit aside and wait. Alas! thatmy son hath returned to us only to go fighting. We will go withthem, daughter.'
'We should be better without women,' said Barnaby, grumbling; 'Iwould as lief have a woman on shipboard as in a camp. To be sure,if Dad has set his heart upon it--and then he will not stay long incamp, where the cursing of the men is already loud enough to scare apreacher out of his cassock. Dad, I say'----But my father was fallenagain into a kind of rapture, and heard nothing.
'When doth the Duke begin his march?' he said suddenly.
'I know not. But we shall find him, never fear.'
'I must have speech with him at the earliest possible time. Hoursare precious, and we waste them--we waste them.'
'Well, Sir, it is bedtime. To-morrow we can ride; unless, because itis the Sabbath, you would choose to wait till Monday. And as to thewomen, by your leave, it is madness to bring them to a camp.'
'Wait till Monday? Art thou mad, Barnaby? Art thou mad? Why, I havethings to tell the Duke. Shall we waste eight precious hours? Up!let us ride all night. To-morrow is the Sabbath, and I will preach.Yea--I will preach. My soul longeth--yea, even it fainteth, for theCourts of the Lord. Quick! quick! let us mount and ride all night!'
At this moment Humphrey joined us.
'Lads,' said Sir Christopher, 'you are fresh from Holland. Knew youaught of this?'
'Sir,' said Humphrey, 'I confess that I have already told Dr. Eykinwhat to expect. I knew that the Duke was coming. Robin did not know,because I would not drag him into the conspiracy. I knew that theDuke was coming, and that without delay. I have myself had speechin Amsterdam with his Grace, who comes to restore the Protestantreligion and to give freedom of worship to all good Protestantpeople. His friends have promises of support everywhere. Indeed,Sir, I think that the expedition is well planned, and is certain ofsupport. Success is in the hands of the Lord; but we do not expectthat there will be any serious opposition. With submission, Sir, Iam under promise to join the Duke. I came over in advance to warnhis friends, as I rode from London, of his approach. Thousands arewaiting in readiness for him. But, Sir, of all this, I repeat, Robinknew nothing. I have been for three months in the counsels of thosewho desire to drive forth the Popish King, but Robin have I kept inthe dark.'
'Humphrey,' said Robin, reproachfully, 'am not I, also, aProtestant?'
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