Lord Montagu's Page: An Historical Romance
Page 46
CHAPTER XLIV.
Four days more passed before Edward actually got his proper passes andsafe-conduct; but then they came in the most precise style and ampleform. His whole person was described with accuracy. He was mentioned asa young English gentleman attached to Lord Montagu, travelling under theparticular protection of his Majesty the King of France, with two_palfreniers_ and other servants and attendants; and all governors oftowns and provinces, and officers civil and military, as well throughoutthe realm of France as in neighboring countries in amity with thatpower, were directed not only to let him freely pass and give him aidand assistance, but to show him every hospitable attention and courtesyon his journey or journeys in any direction whatsoever during the nexttwo years ensuing. The whole was signed by the king's own hand andcountersigned by the cardinal. Though I possess one of these passportsmyself on parchment, signed with an immense "_Louis_," I regret to sayit does not have the countersignature of Richelieu; but it is certainthat they were occasionally given under his administration also. At allevents, Edward comprehended that, wherever he bent his steps, no moreinterruptions of his journey would occur on the part of any of theofficers of the crown.
The cardinal himself he could not see before his departure, for thosewere very busy times; but on the sixth day the young gentlemanre-entered the city of Rochelle with his good friend Clement Tournon,and went direct to the syndic's house. The royal soldiers were inpossession of the place; the walls were in progress of demolition; andthere was an aspect of disappointment and sadness upon the faces of thepeople generally, though some were rejoicing openly in the return ofpeace and plenty, little heeding the loss of a certain degree of thatliberty which they had at one time cherished as the best of humanpossessions.
The royal forces, however, had not confined themselves to razing thefortifications, but, with that good-humor which is one of the chief andmost amiable characteristics of the French people, had aided thecitizens in burying the dead, in cleansing the streets, and in purifyingthe town generally, so that, on the whole, the city bore a much morecheerful and happy appearance than it had done when Edward had lastvisited it. In the court before the house of the old syndic, two of theapprentices were busy rooting out the grass from between the stones; andMarton herself, with a gay face, though it was still somewhat pale andthin, came running down to greet her old master. These were all thatremained of the once numerous household; and the joy of his return tohis ancient dwelling was mingled with sufficient bitterness to draw somenatural tears from Clement Tournon's eyes.
Many little incidents occurred to Edward Langdale during his short stayin Rochelle which we need not dwell upon here. Amongst the servants ofhis host he was in some sort a hero for the part he had taken in savingtheir beloved master. Several of the citizens, too, came to visit him;and, in the stormy night of the 2d of November, Guiton himself, wrappedin his large mantle, presented himself to pass an hour or two with hisold friend and the syndic's young guest.
It was a night very memorable,--much like that on which Edward hadcrossed the seas some eighteen months before. The winds burst in sharpgusts over the town, still rising in force, and howling as they rose;the casement shook and rattled, the tiles were swept from the roofs anddashed to pieces in the streets, and rain mingled with sleet dashed inthe faces of the passers-by. Many died that night of those who werestill sick in the hospitals. The conversation of the mayor was by nomeans cheerful. He had been forced into his high position against hisown desire; he had drawn the sword unwillingly, but, full of energy andhope, he had sheathed it with even less willingness, and saw in thesurrender of Rochelle the ruin of the Protestant cause and thedestruction of the religious liberties of France. His heart wasdepressed, and all his thoughts seemed gloomy. Once, when one of thefiercest gusts shook the house, he burst forth in an absent tone,exclaiming, "Ay, blow! blow! You may blow now without doing any damageto Fortune's favorite! By the Lord in Heaven, Mr. Langdale, it wouldseem that this man Richelieu's fortunes have even bent the clouds andstorms to his subjection! Here that tempestuous sea which was neverknown for six weeks to an end to be without storm and shipwreck has beenas calm and tranquil as a fish-pond in a garden for months--ever sincethat accursed dyke was first commenced; and now no sooner is Rochellelost than up rises the spirit of the tempest. Hark how it howls! At hightide half the dyke that has ruined us will be swept away! Mark my words,young gentleman: by this time to-morrow all the succors which we neededso many months will be able to enter our port in safety."
And it was so. On the following day, more than forty toises of the dykewere carried away, and a fleet of small wine-vessels from theneighboring country entered the harbor without difficulty.
The storm raged fiercely for the next two days; and the time was spentin friendly intercourse by Clement Tournon and Edward Langdale, whowished to embark from Rochelle but could find no vessel ready or willingto put to sea.
Of all the remarkable changes which have taken place in the state ofsociety during the last two hundred years--changes which produce andwill daily produce other changes--none is so wonderful as in thefacility of locomotion. The change from the caterpillar to the butterflyis not so great. Go back two hundred years, and you will find nothingbut delay and uncertainty. Ay, within a shorter space than that, theback of your own horse, the inconvenient inside of a heavy coach goingthree miles in an hour, or the still slower wagon with its miscellaneousdenizens, or the post-horse with its postilion riding beside it, were,in every part of Europe, the only means afforded to the traveller ofjourneying from place to place over the land; while over the water slowships could only be found occasionally at certain ports, and theirdeparture and arrival depended upon a thousand other chances and eventsthan the pleasure of the winds and waves. It is only wonderful that avoyage did not occupy a lifetime. Now----But it is no use telling myreader what this now is. He knows it so well that he forgets even theinconveniences that he himself has suffered, perhaps a score or two ofyears ago, and can hardly conceive the possibility of the hardships, thetroubles and disappointments, of a journey in the seventeenth century,till he takes up some of the memoirs or romances of that day, and findsa whole host of minor miseries recorded which render an expedition toMount Sinai at present but a joke in comparison. It is true that ourpresent system has its evils as well as its benefits, viewed bydifferent persons according to their different professional or habitualtastes. The picturesque traveller will tell you that you lose one-halfof the scenery; the timid traveller, that you risk breaking your neck;the police-officer, that thieves and swindlers get off much more easilythan they used to do; and members of Parliament, that their constituentsare a great deal too near at hand. But there are compensations for allthese little troubles and especially in the case of those of thepolice-officer; for, if the thief or swindler has easy means of gettingaway, there are--thanks to electric telegraphs--more easy means still ofcatching him.
All Edward's preparations were made: the calculation of what rents hadaccumulated in the hands of good Dr. Winthorne was easy also, and to getthe amount in gold and silver was easier still, with Clement Tournon athis right hand. But, as there seemed, upon inquiry, no probabilitywhatever of a ship sailing from Rochelle within a reasonable time,Edward determined to run across the country to Calais, between whichport and England there always has been a desultory trade carried on,even in time of war, down to the reign of the third George.
"I shall see you soon again, Edward," said old Clement Tournon, as theyoung gentleman descended the stairs to mount his horse.
"I trust so," said Edward. "But I really cannot tell how soon I shallreturn."
"Nor I how soon I shall go over," said the old man, with a smile. "Ihave business myself at Huntingdon; and if you are in that neighborhooda month hence we shall meet there. You have told me all the places whereyou intend to stop, and I have made a note of it,--so that I shalleasily find you wherever you are."
Edward was surprised, but not so much, perhaps, as might be expected;for, from vague
hints which his good old host had let drop, he hadgathered that Clement Tournon, steadfast and perhaps a little bigoted inthe Protestant faith, had a strong inclination to make England hisfuture home. He had been there often; he loved the country and thepeople, and still more the religion; and most of the ties between himand Rochelle seemed to have been severed when the city lost itsindependence. Often in Edward's hearing he had called England the landof comfort and peace,--alas! it was not destined long to remain so,--andeven that very day he had remarked that the state of France, with itsconstant broils, intrigues, and factions, might suit a young andaspiring spirit, but was not fitted for declining years.
He and his young friend parted with deep and mutual regret. It is seldomthat so much friendship ever exists between the old and the young; buteach might feel that he owed the other his life, not by any sudden actwhich might be the result of a momentary impulse, but by calm,determined, persevering kindness, which could not but have a deepersource.
This has been a very short chapter: but we may as well change the scene;for our space, according to the law of Goths and Vandals, which alterethnot, is very short, alas!