The Broken Font: A Story of the Civil War, Vol. 1 (of 2)

by Moyle Sherer

  CHAP. IV.

  And if physitians in their art did see In each disease there was some sparke divine, Much more let us the hand of God confesse In all these sufferings of our guiltinesse. _A Treatie of Warres._

  Night closed on Cheddar, without any other disturbance than aquarrel--loud and short as a thunder-storm--between the blacksmith andhis old termagant wife, which, Roger being potent in liquor,terminated in a complete victory on his part; and thus silence, if notpeace, was restored to the quarter in which he dwelt.

  Moreover, at the door of the Jolly Woodcutter, the most decentale-house in the townlet, an old soldier with one leg, who tramped thecountry as a ballad-singer, with a fiddle and a dancing dog, became sovery uproarious that it was found absolutely necessary by the parishconstable to secure his one sturdy limb in the village stocks, where,after venting a few loud and angry curses at this dignitary, andabusing the village fiddlers for not playing the grand march of theking's beef-eaters to the right tune, he addressed himself to makingas easy a sleeping posture as his wooden fetter would allow; and,being apparently very familiar with such a resting-place, soongrumbled off into snoring forgetfulness: his little four-footedcompanion and guard did meanwhile drag up the cloak, which he haddropped some yards from the place of his confinement, and, arrangingit in a soft heap, curled itself thereon with an evident sense ofcomfort.

  But May-day festivals--though certainly in towns, and in thoseparishes in the rural districts where not conducted by discreetpersons, they were often fruitful in scenes of riot andlicentiousness--were not, in the present instance, chargeable witheither of the noisy incidents which had for a half hour frighted thevillage from its propriety; seeing that the disputes of Roger and hisrib were of every-day occurrence, and his potations also; and as forthe old soldier, his drinking bouts were regulated by the state ofthat narrow poke in which he deposited his uncertain gains; and hissobriety was never secure while one coin remained in it.

  Our parson came forth at the first glimpse of day on the morrow, toinquire at the mill how the poor sufferer had passed the night. Shewas in a profound and calm sleep, and he returned thankfully home,taking the street which led by the market cross. Nobody was yetabroad; but, under the great tree in the market place, he saw the oldsoldier sitting up in the stocks, and looking about him very forlornand penitential. No sooner did he perceive the good vicar approaching,than he began to plead for his freedom.

  "May it please your good reverence, make them loose me. I am not apig, that I should be thus pounded:--never said or did harm to man orChristian, save only in the way of duty, your reverence. I am but apoor old toss-pike, done up in the wars; and gain an honest livelihoodwith this old kit and scraper, and this dumb creature, that shalldance you jig or coranto with any city madam of them all."

  "Why, I'll see what I can do; but you would not have been put here fornothing, friend."

  "Nothing in life, your reverence, but drinking the health of KingCharles in a brimmer, last evening, that was May-day, and a courtholyday all the world over; and then the wound in my old head alwaysaches, Parson, and I say more nor I mean, and, may be, louder thanyour gentles talk."

  "Well, but this is a sorry way of life for an old soldier,--to goabout like a vagabond. Have you no home?"

  "Home, bless you! none but this old bit of a cloak."

  "What parish were you born in?"

  "Ah! there it is! I was born i' the camp, in the Low Countries. Thatsame day that the most noble Sir Philip Sidney was killed, my motherhad a fright from a shot striking the sutler's waggon, and I came intothe world a month before time."

  "And have you no friends living?"

  "None in the wide world that care a split straw whether I am aboveground or under, this blessed day, save, may be, this little dumbthing that's used to me."

  "Where did you lose your leg?"

  "In the lines before St. Martin, your reverence: it will be thirteenyears agone, come next September; and the right-worshipful knight, SirJoseph Burroughs, was killed by the same shot. We used to say inhospital (you know, your reverence, we were vexed, and it was some ofthe officers, in their cups, spoke it out of a play-book,)--

  "'Off with his head!--So much for Buckingham.'

  "Well, they had their wish, in a manner, a year after; and I alwaysminded after, that Master Felton was one of them.--Poor fellow! Hegave me four-pence in silver, when I hadn't a halfpenny to buy breadin London; and that same morning I saw his Grace of Buckingham in asedan chair in Whitehall, and I would have tossed my staff before him,in hope of a largess; but his running footmen, with their fine silverbadges, shouldered me into the gutter, crying, 'Room for his Grace!room for my Lord's Grace!' Well, it was little room he took or wantedthat day was a month! I was very sorry for Master Felton,--and I wentto see him hanged."

  "You know he was _a murderer_."

  "O yes, I know that; but he gave me four-pence when I was starving;and, though he was only a lieutenant, he was a better officer thanBuckingham, who was all lace and velvet, satin and feathers:--a likelyman to look upon, and did not want courage; but he knew no more aboutcommanding an army than the court fool."

  "Don't you know, friend, that you must one day die yourself; and thatit is a terrible thing to die and go before God without preparation?"

  The veteran gave his buff jerkin a twitch, and said, "Why, for thematter of that, Parson, you see, I am no scholar, and cannot tell a Bfrom a bull's foot."

  "You believe in God?"

  "Why, Master, haven't I lain half my life abroad in the open fields,with the stars shining over my head? Ah, you don't know what grandthings come into a poor fellow's mind when he wakes in the night andsees them bright things above him."

  "Yes, but I do," said Noble with emotion; "and it is because I do,that I ask you these things. Do you ever pray to God?"

  "Why, bless you, Master, I wouldn't trouble him about a poor chopsticklike myself."

  "You know the name of Christ, friend?"

  "Yes," said the homeless wanderer, and bowed his grey head.

  "And what are your thoughts of him?"

  "Why that he'll be so good as to speak a word to God Almighty for me,"was the man's strange yet pregnant answer. It is this mixture ofrecklessness, ignorance, and the mysterious worship of that innerspirit, which struggles upwards after something to which the heart mayreach, and where it may finally rest, that makes every human being asubject of sad yet of sublime contemplation;--a fellow, a brother, animmortal spirit, passing here below his brief time of sojourning, butborn for eternity.

  Our good vicar was a true messenger of peace:--we need not say morethan that this and all such opportunities were gladly improved by him.He sowed beside all waters. In the present instance the old soldierwas speedily released, and taken up to the parsonage, and there, inthe shady porch, he had a hearty breakfast; and when the littlehousehold assembled for prayer the wondering wayfarer was brought intothe hall, and heard the more excellent way very plainly set beforehim,--and was then suffered to depart with bread in his wallet, and aparting word of solemn warning and brotherly kindness, as he setforward on his path, carrying with him the new thought and feeling,that, though he was a ballad singer and a sot, accustomed only torevilings, he had found a man of God, who had not passed him by, buthad served him, and soothed him, and cared for his soul.

  Such a man and such a minister was our parson of Cheddar: he had beennow resident in the parish for fifteen years. Hither he had thenbrought a sensible wife,--of many rare accomplishments, and of a solidpiety. Three fine children then played in their garden: of these,their girl had been taken from them in her twelfth year; and their twoboys, who had both attained the age of manhood, had quitted thepaternal roof, and taken their respective paths in life. Cuthbert, theeldest, had been educated at Winchester College, had afterwards passedthrough his university course at Cambridge, and was now domiciled, ashas been already seen, in the house of Sir Oliver Heywood, as a tutor.

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nbsp; Martin, the youngest, had been five years at Westminster School as aday scholar, under the care, during that period, of one Mr. Philips, aworshipful and wealthy gentleman, of the most honourable company ofGoldsmiths, and brother to the late Sir John Philips, knight, a veryeminent merchant in the Levant trade, who, having made an unsuccessfulspeculation, and losing his whole venture, had taken the failure ofhis fortunes so much to heart, that he sickened and died soon after,leaving behind him one portionless daughter. This girl, while underthe roof of her uncle, who was very considerably the junior of herfather in age, was seen and admired by Noble, and had soon become hiswelcome prize.

  With this maternal uncle, Martin, at his own request, was placed, assoon as he quitted school, that he might be brought up in the samethriving business. He quickly became remarkable for his taste andskill in the art of design, and as a fine judge of precious stones, sothat his uncle predicted for him great eminence and wealth in the linewhich he had chosen; but Martin chancing one day to wait upon Vandyckwith an ornamental piece of plate which a nobleman presented to thatgreat genius, and being questioned about the design, confessed, withsome hesitation, that it was his own. Hereupon the painter broke outinto praise so warm, and took such notice of the youth, that, toMartin, a painter did soon seem the highest style of man;--to be ofthis bright company was now the highest object of his ambition. Hehad a strong will; for this he rose early, and late took rest: and thebent of his inclination became so decided, and his promise ofexcellence so great, that his uncle, at the recommendation of Vandyck,determined to afford him the opportunity and advantage of visitingItaly, and pursuing his studies in the city of Rome. There, surroundedby the great models of the divine art to which he was devoted, dailyextending his knowledge, and increasing his delight, Martin lived atonce to labour and to enjoy.

  But the absence of these dear boys, though necessary, was severelyfelt by Noble and his wife; nor, in those days, were communications byletter of regular or frequent occurrence, even at home,--and ofcourse, from abroad, very rare and most uncertain.

  The good vicar, though anxious about Martin's residence at Rome, wasnot wanting in true sympathy for his pursuits; having himself a tastefor the arts, which he had improved by a leisure tour through Italy(before his marriage) as tutor and guardian to a young gentleman oflarge possessions in Oxfordshire.

  Nothing could be more retired than the life led by these childlessparents at Cheddar.

  It is a large village, or townlet, situate at the foot of the MendipHills, in Somersetshire, and lying pleasantly sheltered on thesouth-west side of that bleak and naked chain. The noble tower of itsfine old church is richly adorned with double buttresses, pinnacles,and pierced parapets, and in the open space, which forms the centre ofits few irregular streets, is an ancient hexagonal market cross, wherethe wayfarer may find a shelter from the hot suns of July, or from theheavy rains of winter. The neighbourhood of Cheddar is romantic: itcommands a fine view, in one direction, over a rich and extensivelevel; and it is immediately surrounded by rich, well-wateredpastures, always verdant. Within a mile of the market cross beforementioned, on the road to Wells, there is a narrow, but a stupendouspass, or chasm, by which the chain of the lofty hills of Mendip iscleft, as it were, in sunder. The road winds through the bottom ofthis strange defile; the cliffs rise on either side--ragged, scarped,and terrific in their aspect--presenting, in many places, a sheer fallof four hundred feet. Nothing can more sublimely impress the spirit ofa lonely traveller than the passage of this wild ravine, on a day ofcloud, and gloom, and rushing winds. In the sunny calm of summer, whenthe wild pink, springing from the crevices of the rocks, adorns thescene with something of gentleness, it is still of uncommon grandeur.Black yews project from the larger fissures: here is a narrow ledgecovered with verdure; there a thick mantle of ivy clothes the summit:here the mountain ash slants forward in its fantastic growth; whileyet, in many places, the craggy front is naked and dazzling as a wallof stone.

  By this road, once a week, the quiet parson ambled on an old greyhorse to the fair city of Wells to refresh and recreate his spirit ata private music meeting in the Close; nor did he ever omit on theseoccasions to pass one hour of joy and praise in its magnificentcathedral. Upon the breezy summits of the Mendip hills, whichbordered this road, he spent many serene and healthful hours. His lifewas most even in its tenour; and the scenes around him, though dailybefore his eyes, were as dear to him, or more so, than when, firstentering on residence, he had surveyed them with grateful rapture.

  Villages, however, like kingdoms, have their revolutions; and thechronicles of them are preserved in chimney-corners with more or lessof fidelity, according to the interest of the events and the worth ofthe characters who figured in them.

  These rustic historians have a mode of reckoning very different fromcitizens. With prime ministers they have nought to do. Theirgovernment is nearer to them, and they have never wanted wit enough toknow when that was good or evil. Over these rural communities theruler has, from time immemorial, been the lord of the manor, or thechief franklin, or the parson of the parish. According as thesepersonages were disposed to promote religion and happiness, or to lookwith indifference on vice and misery, the rustic population wascontented and cheerful, (because industrious in their callings, andpeaceable in their lives,) or they were sullen and profligate. Underthe joint reign of Franklin Blount and Parson Noble the inhabitants ofCheddar had long dwelt together in comfort and harmony; but this is aworld of change,--and many things in the aspect of public affairs, ofwhich the villagers heard and heeded little, gave serious warning tothe prescient mind of Noble, that trouble was near.

  He was so beloved and respected by his people, and so regarded andconfided in by the worthy franklin, that he had hitherto been able toevade, counteract, or over-rule, for the good of his flock, thosestrange enactments which had been from time to time so inconsideratelyimposed. That which enjoined him to _publish_ the Book of Sports onthe Sabbath-day he totally disregarded. On this point he would haveconsented to deprivation rather than obey. Hence he became suspected,by some parsons of a very different stamp, for a puritan; and therewere not wanting uncharitable surmises among these concerning thecourse which Master Noble would take in the hour of trial; not thatthose who really knew him well ever doubted of that course at all.

  But while these surmises were, as regarded himself, utterly devoid offoundation, it was asserted by some of his friends at Wells, thecorrectness of whose judgments and the charity of whose sentimentswell accorded with his own, that his son Cuthbert had imbibed, fromhis late associates at Cambridge, a spirit of a very dangerous nature.Cuthbert had a large philanthropy, and a resolute courage to sustainand act out those promptings of benevolence which his love of freedomwas continually urging upon his mind. Virtuous in his character,sanguine in his hopes, present evils he saw, and for present remedieshe panted--but he looked not far on to consequences. A notion of hisstate of mind may be found in the letter which follows:--

  "Most dear Father,

  "You tell me in your last letter, which I have read over many times with serious thought, that my mother wishes me to send her a more particular account of this place and family, that she may the better see my present courses with the eye of her mind.--I will make a trial of my pen to set these matters in some order before her--and, first, of this mansion: it is a goodly fabric of stone, built by the father of the present knight in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. He, as you know, exchanged some of his full money-bags for a fair estate in land, and closed all his great and prosperous ventures in commerce by a wise retirement to the noble pleasures of a country life. A situation more pleasant than this of Milverton you may not see in all the journey through these parts. The house standeth on a fine swelling slope of verdant ground, and is well sheltered by stately trees on three sides, but to the front the prospect is open, and maketh the heart dance with gladness, it is so full of delight. Looking to the south, you
see the towers of that famous castle of Guy of Warwick. This castle is seated on a rock, very high, upon the river Avon, and hath a look of strength and of great majesty; as seen against the light of the distant sky--nothing can be more grand and commanding;--also, from the middle of the good city of Warwick, the fair pinnacles of the lofty tower of St. Mary's Church do pierce the heaven, and she standeth like a crowned queen. I do fear for her diadem, for they say that the embattled keep of ancient Guy frowneth on our lady: but, turning the eyes from these stately objects, which the intervening woods may not conceal, directly below Milverton the river flows through a fair valley of green pastures; and there cannot be, in all England, a mill more pleasant to look upon and listen to than Guy's mill: it standeth upon the farther bank of the Avon, over which there is a foot-bridge of wood, very narrow, and long enough to reach across a small meadow, which, when the waters are out, is always flooded. Not far from this mill, to the left, and upon the same bank, is an old decayed chapel, where I have seen a rude statue of the renowned Guy, more than eight feet in length; and near to this spot, close by the side of the water, there is a cave in the rock, where, as a hermit, he ended his days. But I will say no more of these places, of which report may have reached you through the discourse of others.

  "Milverton House lacks nothing of furniture that money and good taste may command. There is a profusion of very fine carved oak in the hall and in the winter-parlour. In the latter, over the fire-place, is a curious representation of the meeting of Jacob and Esau; and inscribed above are the words, 'With my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands.' And in the private chamber of Sir Oliver is another piece, in three compartments, Jacob lying down alone in the Wilderness--the Vision of the Ladder of Angels--and Jacob setting up his Pillar of Remembrance.

  "I name these things rather than the rich hangings and the handsome carpets which cover some of the tables, and the ebony cabinets, and the massy plate, because I know that they would give more contentment to my pious mother than all the costliness and bravery in the king's palace.

  "In the small room appointed for me, there is a posy worked upon a sampler, hung against the wall, that runneth thus:--

  "What better bed than conscience good, to pass the night with sleep; What better work than daily care, from sin thyself to keep."

  And there is an engraved portrait of Luther, with the words 'In silentio et in spe erit fortitudo vestra.' I cannot look upon these things without being deeply reminded of those feeling lectures of piety which the lips of my dear mother have read to me from my very childhood; but, truth to say, my dear parents, I feel an angel plucking me by the sleeve, and whispering in my ear that my stay in this sweet abode will not be long. Sir Oliver and Mistress Alice and Mistress Katharine entreat me with that kind civility and favourable respect, which make my days happy, and I find Master Arthur so docile and of such lively parts that my office is never irksome.

  "Nothing can be more orderly than the manner of life here; and although the good knight is most hospitable, yet, as he doth not use the exercise of hunting, and has no park, the visiters are not many. He rides daily in the forenoon, and will sometimes go to see the stag-hounds of Stoneleigh Abbey throw off, with which pack he hunted for twenty years; but his chief delight now is in the culture of his garden and orchards, and of a vineyard, which he has laid out, at a great cost, on a favourable site, one mile from the mansion. All the farms in the village of Milverton are his, and his tenants are the sons of those who held the land under his father; so that the hamlet is but one large family, of which Sir Oliver is the head.

  "Mistress Katharine, his daughter, rides constantly with her father, except when she takes the diversion of hawking, or goes out after the beagles with her young cousin, Arthur, who is as high-spirited and active a youth in the field, as he is earnest and persevering in the study. To see Mistress Katharine fly a hawk is gladsome; and although I have, from boyhood, accounted that sport cruel and unfeminine, yet, when I look on that inspiring sight, I deem it so no longer; certain I am that her mind did never once connect the thought of cruelty with a usage so common. She, too, seems as eager to learn what my poor scholarship can teach her as my own pupil; and if a tutor can be happy, I am, in the privilege of reading with this noble maiden, and seeing her fine countenance lighted up with the love of wisdom and of truth.

  "But this state of things is far too bright to last. When a man dareth to think differently from those around him, he will soon become an object of suspicion and prejudice. I feel that my trial in this kind will assuredly come; for Sir Oliver, with all his kindness, has so rooted a dislike to all change in the established order of things, that a word against the undue stretch of the king's authority, against the tyranny of the starchamber, or those abuses in the state, which are manifest to her best friends, would be enough to make his countenance change towards me past recovery.

  "Upon these subjects, you, my dear father, have written to me with more earnestness and fear than I should have looked for. You tell me that I see not the inevitable consequences which must follow from the acting out of those opinions and sentiments with which I am so captivated. I confess that I am an ardent friend to civil and religious liberty. I desire to see the laws administered without fear or favour; to see taxation imposed by the Commons alone, and to see purity and charity preaching from our pulpits and ministering at our altars. You must not blame me: these were the desires that you implanted, when you taught me the immutable and eternal principles of justice, and when, both by lip and in your life, you showed me how sacred was the character, and how hallowed were the duties, of an ambassador for Christ. I look for reformation in the state, and purification of the church. You, perhaps, despair of either; and therefore you dread an ill result to the patriotic and pure efforts which so many great and good men are now making. Some of the best and wisest of my college friends think with them. Of that number are my late tutor and my late chamber-fellow, with both of whom you expressed yourself so much delighted, when, during my last year of residence, you visited Cambridge. I confess, frankly, that I hold their sentiments, and entertain hopes of ultimate good to my country as sanguine as theirs. The cause of liberty must triumph.

  "Your last letter gave but little hope of poor Fanny at the mill: what a fair, cheerful, good girl she was. Martin will be very sorry when he hears about her: if you remember, he was always for dancing with Fanny on May-day.

  "I am glad to hear that Bessy Blount is going to be married. She will make Tom Hargood's farm as happy a home as any in England. However, I will not talk about weddings,--the very word makes me melancholy. I am just now preparing a short masque, which we are to perform next week, in honour of Sir Oliver's birth-day. I suppose Martin, as well as myself, has very different notions of female beauty now to any we gathered at Cheddar; though, I doubt, if we shall either of us become the happier for our knowledge. Rosy cheeks and laughing eyes are joyous and pleasant to look upon, but they seldom beget cureless heart-aches, or plant the long-lived sorrow:--all this is very idle. The love of country is the next best love to that of God, and, after that, the most rewarding.

  "I suppose that you will soon have a letter from Rome: no doubt Martin is very happy among the galleries and studios of that ancient city. I often wish that I could be transported there for an hour, and see him, as he stands alone, before a master-piece of Raphael, and sighs for the very fulness of his admiration. Forget not to let me hear the earliest news of Martin. I shall think of you all on
May-day at old Blount's; but, as the good old country customs are kept up here with great spirit, shall have no leisure to grieve over my absence from Cheddar, till night restores me to the solitude of my chamber, and to that sacred companionship with you in prayer, which I ever maintain.

  "Your dutiful and loving son, "CUTHBERT NOBLE. "_Milverton, April 20, 1640._"