Lord Montagu's Page: An Historical Romance

by G. P. R. James

  CHAPTER XXXVII.

  Twenty miles in a day is no great walking. I myself have walked forty inten hours. But the great point is what we walk over. It is the greatpoint in life, too; for the worthy patriarchs, I have no doubt,journeyed through life for two or three hundred years without gettingweary, simply because they had such an easy road to travel. Abraham hadto fight now and then, it is true, and from time to time there was aquarrel amongst the herdsmen; but these were little incidents that onlyserved to enliven the way; and the rest of the travel was withoutexcitement of mind or great exertion of body. If Abraham or Isaac orJacob had passed through nothing but low entangling bushes,--bilberriesand cranberries, and sometimes blackberries, with their long pricklyarms,--they would have laid themselves down to rest much sooner, andfelt themselves as tired as Edward Langdale when, just about daybreak,he reached the end of the twentieth mile from the Chateau of Coiffy.

  Edward had then arrived at a country somewhat more open; and he sathimself down to rest not far from a little country-road, which he couldtrace by the eye, running on, almost in a straight line, toward the tallsquare tower of a village-church. But that village-church was at leastsix miles distant; and Edward had not tasted food during fourteen orfifteen hours. His wet clothes had dried upon him, too, under the coldnight-wind, stiffening every limb; and he had no comfortable littlebrandy-bottle, such as so often cheers the way for the modern romantictraveller.

  The spot where he stopped, however, was a dry grassy mound, with someyellow broken ground before it; and out of the bank welled a littleclear rivulet, where he quenched his thirst after the olden fashionbefore ladles or goblets were invented.

  While he was still stooping down he heard the beat of horses' feet uponthe road; and, with that strong consciousness of running away whichmakes every man who possesses it more or less timid, he hid himselfunder the bank as well as he could.

  Presently, as well as the footfalls, he heard the sound of voices; andfor a moment his apprehension was increased by one of the voicessounding familiar to his ear.

  He was relieved in a moment, however,--and very much relieved.

  "Why, you are drunk already, you beast!" said one voice; and then camethe thick and juicy tones of good Pierrot la Grange, with the music ofbrandy very strong in them. "To-be-sure I am," answered Pierrot. "Have Inot had sorrow and trouble enough to make me drunk every day of theweek for the last three months? My noble lord in prison; Master Ned noone knows where,--the only lad in all this world that could keep mestraight."

  "Pierrot! Pierrot!" shouted Edward; "Jacques Beaupre! halt there! I amnearer than you think."

  The two horsemen stopped, the one with a dumb and stupefied gaze around,a little conscience-stricken, perhaps, at the state in which he had topresent himself to his young master, the other with an observation in alow tone as to the consequences of talking of the devil. But Edward wassoon by their side, and they were not long upon their horses' backs.Each was sincerely glad to see the young Englishman; for force ofcharacter as often wins affection as respect. Edward's adventures weresoon told; and luckily the two men had some solid provisions with them,as well as Pierrot's brandy-bottle,--which was now nearly vacant of itscontents. While the young gentleman ate and drank, the history of thetwo servants was related, at somewhat greater length than his own,though it was a very monotonous one. They had remained at Nancy with therest of Lord Montagu's servants for some time, they said, before theyheard of that nobleman's capture. After the news reached them, a weekwas spent, according to Jacques Beaupre, in active deliberations, at theend of which, as they had a sufficiency of money, their wages havingbeen paid for some time in advance, it was determined to stay quietlywhere they were till they received some orders. One or two of theircomrades, however, dropped off from time to time, till the two Frenchmenand young Freeland only remained of the whole party. For week after weekno news came; but at length, some four days previous to that on whichthey spoke, a messenger had arrived from Lord Montagu, announcing hisliberation and bearing funds to pay all expenses. At the same time, theysaid, Master Freeland was ordered to give them their discharge, and theywere actually on their way back to their own part of France.

  "And so his lordship is liberated?" said Edward, with a slight touch ofbitterness in his tone; for he could not imagine such an event to havehappened so suddenly that Montagu, who had found time to take care ofcommon servants, had none to bestow a thought on him. "You are goingback to Aunis, you say. Well, my good fellows, if you have a mind forsuch a companion, I will go with you. I will be no charge to you, for Ihave money enough with me. All I want is a horse and some arms."

  "Charge, Master Ned!" exclaimed Pierrot, in a burst of semi-drunkenenthusiasm. "What care we about charges? If it were the last crown I hadin the world, I would share it with you. And as to a horse, here, getupon mine. I can walk well enough to that big village there, which theysay is called Vitell. But here; let me take the pistols out of theholsters. I won't trust you with them, by the Lord!"

  "Nonsense!" answered Edward. "I will not use them, man, upon my honor."

  "No, no," said Pierrot, deliberately taking the pistols from hissaddle-bow. "If once you get your hand upon the stock, there is noknowing where the bullets may go flying; and my legs have got leadenough in them already this morning."

  "Your head has got brandy enough in it," said Jacques Beaupre: "that'swhat puts the lead in your heels. Here; let me hold the horse while ouryoung master mounts, or you'll be down with your nose in the water andset the fountain boiling."

  "If all the water in the world could wash it white," answered Pierrot,"I would tumble into a pond every day. It is that nose of mine gets me abad reputation and makes men say I drink. Why, every man drinks. Itentirely depends upon what men drink. But, after all, I think I hadbetter try the cold water; for somehow I have a notion if I try to walkto Vitell with nothing but brandy in my stomach I shall make thedistance three times as long with zigzags and vagaries."

  Thus saying, while Edward mounted, very well pleased with some relief tohis tired legs, Pierrot knelt down by the side of a tolerably deeplittle pool formed by the rivulet at the side of the road, and, puttinghis lips to the clear water, took a deep draught. Jacques Beaupre,however, seemed to think that the water had better be applied externallyalso, and, giving him a push with his foot, sent him headlong into thepool.

  The good man started up with a furious look; but we have already seenthe singular effect which liquor had upon poor Pierrot la Grange,--aneffect quite contrary to that which it produces on most men. The readerwill not be surprised, then, that, though really angry, Pierrot soughtno vengeance upon his assailant.

  Had we time, and were it worth while, I might be inclined to examinepsychologically into this peculiarity of Pierrot's idiosyncrasy; butsuffice it to say that the result probably proceeded from one of twocauses. Nothing cows like shame carried to a certain degree; and Pierrotat heart was always ashamed of being drunk. On the other hand, as whenhe did drink he never stopped at that point where liquor merelyexhilarates, but generally went far enough to deprive both brain andlimbs of vigor, he might feel very doubtful of his capability to combatan enemy even much weaker than himself.

  However that might be, his immersion in cold water produced its usualeffect. I do not say that it sobered him entirely: that would be toomuch; but it certainly greatly relieved his head, and gave his limbs acapability of direct progression which they had not previouslypossessed.

  "Come, come, Pierrot," said Edward, interrupting him in the midst ofterrible threats against Jacques, "we have no time to lose, my goodfriend. Did I not tell you that it is likely that I shall be pursued atonce? We must get to the village as fast as possible, and then ride hardfor the rest of the day, in order to put as great a distance between usand Coiffy as we can."

  "Go on, then; go on," cried Pierrot: "I will come after as fast as Ican. You can be buying a horse and arms in the mean time, if you canfind them. If not, I suppose you must take to _franc etrier_." />
  Edward took him at his word, and, accompanied by Jacques Beaupre, rodeon, running over in his mind, with his usual quickness, his chances ofescape and the best means of securing it. He did not know, indeed, howfar the local jurisdiction, either as seigneur or Government officer, ofthe Count de Bourbonne extended; but he felt certain that, if he couldonce get beyond its limits, no other governor or Government officerwould recognise it in opposition to the safe-conduct under thecardinal's own hand. Speed, therefore, was every thing; and, though hehad neither whip nor spur with him, his light hand and thoroughhorsemanship easily kept Pierrot's horse at a swift trot till theyreached the village of Vitell.

  France has always been a comfortable country to travel in. Most villageshave always possessed a tolerable inn, though the external man wassometimes not so well provided for as the internal. But what Edwardprincipally wanted at that moment was generally in those days to befound in almost any part of France. People then almost universallytravelled on horseback, and very rarely went without arms. Pistols and agood sword, therefore, were soon found in Vitell. But a horse tooklonger to obtain, not from any want of the commodity,--for there wereplenty of very excellent nags in the town,--but from the invariable andunextinguishable propensity inherent in horse-dealers to cheat thechapman, and never to sell a good horse under any circumstances if theycan sell a bad one. Six were brought in succession to the door of theinn for Edward's inspection, without remaining for more than a minutebefore he ordered them away. At length, however, one of the dealers,perceiving that he had not to do with a novice, as Edward's youth had atfirst led him to imagine, thought fit to bring forth from the stable abeast which, though not very handsome and somewhat vicious,--if not sogreat a devil as that which Edward rode from Angers,--was a goodserviceable beast enough. All these things cost but a small sum comparedwith the price which we should pay for them in the present day; andbridle, saddle, and a pair of spurs were quite within the younggentleman's means.

  Pierrot had arrived in time to give his opinion in regard to thepurchase of the horse, and, as he was now sober, that opinion was worthhaving. But the first moment he found himself alone with his formermaster he was eloquent in his excuses for his relapse; and Edward couldnot but admit to himself that, left alone in a great city where he knewno one, uncertain of his fate from day to day, and with sufficientmoney, no poor sinner had ever better cause to plead temptation.

  The young Englishman contented himself, however, with telling him thatas he was no longer his master he could pretend to no control over hisconduct.

  "Ah, Master Ned," cried the honest fellow, "do not say I am no longeryour servant! Pray, do control me. I am sure I cannot control myself.You are the only one who ever could; and I do believe if I could butstay with you for a couple of years I should get over my bad habits. Seewhat an effect good training had. All the time I was at Nancy, Ideclare, I did not drink two quarts till this very morning. Ask JacquesBeaupre: he will tell you the same; and if you will but let me serve youfor two years you may read my name backward if I ever drink again."

  "I am afraid, my good friend," answered Edward, "you would always bewhat the Catholics call a relapsed convert. As to serving me two years,Pierrot, God knows what will become of me before two years are over, andin the mean time I have little enough money for myself,--and none tokeep a man upon."

  "Well, well," cried Pierrot, joyfully, "I will run fortune with you!Only don't send me away, and don't fire at me any more, unless you seeme drunk,--when it will be natural. But now tell me, Master Ned, whereare you going now?"

  "Into the lion's den, Pierrot," replied Edward, with a somewhat ruefulsmile: "I am going straight to the Cardinal de Richelieu."

  "In the name of Heaven!" exclaimed Pierrot, with a look of astonishment,"do you know he is now besieging Rochelle with a powerful army? The kinghas fallen sick and gone back to Paris. The cardinal has tucked up hisgown and turned soldier; and our poor friends in the city are already,they say, so badly off for food that they will soon have to eat eachother. The cardinal will not let a mouse stir out, and if any oneventures beyond the walls they send a shot at him and drive him inagain."

  Edward mused without reply for some moments; and, while he was stillsilent, Jacques Beaupre came back to the little _salle-a-manger_ andstood by the young gentleman's side.

  "Poor Clement Tournon!" cried Edward, still musing.

  "Ay, poor Clement Tournon!" said Jacques Beaupre, in a sad tone: "he isa good man, sir, and took care of me from my boyhood."

  "I would give the world to save him," answered Edward. "Come, let usride."

  They were soon upon their horses. Edward mounted first and Pierrot last,having stopped to answer some questions of the host.

  "What did he ask you?" said Edward, as they rode on.

  "He asked where your lordship was going," answered Pierrot, "and I toldhim straight to the cardinal."

  "Right," said Edward. "And did he call me lordship, Pierrot? My lordshipis a very small one."

  "Ay, sir, but you have got quite a grand air now, though your doublet issomewhat soiled by dust and wet. You cannot think how you are changedsince we left Nantes. What between riding, and getting stuck, and beingin prison, you have grown broad and brown, and your mustache is an inchlong. Those who saw you before would never know you."

  "I hope they will," answered Edward, with a smile followed by a sigh;"and, as for my doublet, I must get a new one, whenever I can afford tostop without danger. All my baggage I left with the discreet Monsieur deBourbonne. But, if I am not mistaken, Pierrot, I will make him pay allhe owes me before I have done."

  "At the pistol's point?" asked Pierrot, with a grim smile.

  "No, no," replied Edward,--"in another way, and by other hands. But letus ride on fast; for I have a great notion the news you left with theaubergist will sharpen the spurs of any who may be pursuing us."

  The whole party accordingly rode forward more quickly, but not at soheadlong a pace as to risk any damage to their horses; and before nightall fear of pursuit was ended by their entrance into another province,where, at a small walled town, which they reached just after sunset,Edward was obliged to produce his safe-conduct before the soldiers atthe gates would give them admission.

  The officer to whom it was shown, at the first sight of the broad sealof France and the name of Richelieu, respectfully came out of theguard-house to bid the bearer welcome, and asked, with great politeness,where he was going to lodge in the town, and whither his journey wasdirected.

  "I am going straight to Rochelle, or wherever his Eminence of Richelieumay be," replied the young Englishman. "As to the place where I shalllodge, I shall be glad of advice; for I am a stranger here, and mustdepart early to-morrow."

  "Your horses look tired, sir," said the officer, "and you had bettergive them some rest."

  "No wonder they are tired," replied the young man; "for we have riddenfrom the frontiers of Lorraine, where I was somewhat badly treated, lostall my baggage, but luckily saved my purse."

  "By brigands?" asked the officer.

  "No better," answered Edward, somewhat bitterly. "But may I ask you theway to the best inn?"

  The officer, all politeness, sent one of the soldiers to show him theway; and in a large, comfortable, though somewhat gloomy, old aubergethe young Englishman passed the first night for several months with afeeling of freedom and security.