Arrah Neil; or, Times of Old

by G. P. R. James

  CHAPTER XIV.

  The landlady paused for a moment at the door, laid her finger upon herbrow, thought for a minute or two, and then, having settled her wholeplan to her own satisfaction, descended to the door, at which Mr. Dry,of Longsoaken, was making sundry inquiries regarding the personage forwhose address he had, in the first place, applied to herself, and whomhe evidently had not found out in his perambulations through the town.A part of what he said was heard by the hostess as she descended, sothat she had a clue to what was going on, and, advancing towards himwith a low, smart curtsey, she said--

  "The dinner's quite ready, sir; and I have been thinking since youwere gone, that I shall be able to-morrow morning to get you theaddress of the gentleman you wanted, for a man will be here with eggswho used to supply him, I know."

  Mr. Dry looked up with a well-satisfied air, saying, "That isprovidential, Mistress Green."

  "White, sir, White," said the landlady, dropping another curtsey; "myname is White, not Green--a different colour, sir; but it all comes tothe same thing. Shall I call the young lady to dinner? It is in thisroom, sir."

  "I will go myself, Mistress White," said Dry; and he was advancingtowards the stairs, when the landlady, in; low and confidentialwhisper, added--

  "Poor thing! she is very wild indeed. I went up just now to see if shewanted anything; and she is quite astray, thinking that she was herenot long ago, and fancying that she knows all about the place. It's asad thing to see; poor creature in such a state."

  "Alack! alack! and so it is," rejoined Mr. Dry; "but it's God's will,Mrs. White, and so we must submit."

  "Ah, sir! that's very true," answered the good hostess; "but yet onecan't help pitying the poor girl. You are sure she is not dangerous,sir?"

  "Quite sure," answered Mr. Dry: "It is only to herself. But if shewere left alone to do what she will, I would not answer for it thatyou would not very soon find her in the Humber."

  "Oh she must be looked to, sir--she must be looked to," replied thelandlady. "Those are sad, dangerous cases. I remember right well whenJonathan Birkett, at Burton--he was my husband's second cousin, poordear man--went mad, and hanged himself----"

  "I will hear that story after dinner," said Dry in return, pushingpast her, and opening the door of the room in which Arrah Neil wasseated. But the good landlady had gained her point, having fullyconvinced Mr. Dry that she believed the poor girl whom he had broughtthither to be perfectly insane; and her manner during the meal, whichfollowed immediately after, served to confirm the worthy gentleman inthat supposition, without at all inducing Arrah herself to imaginethat her new friend had any doubt of her sanity.

  Though the days had gone by when, as a universal custom, the landlordand his guest sat down together at the same table, and when, if thetraveller presented himself at any other hours than those of thehost's own meals, he was likely to remain hungry till the master ofthe house chose to eat, yet in all cases he who supplied the fare, andhe who received it, were still much more intimately mixed up at mealtimes than in the present day, when the duties of the hostly officeare done by deputy; and the landlord is intent upon any other caresthan hospitable ones.

  In the present instance, good Mrs. White remained in the room with hermaid, who acted the important part of waiter, and ever and anon shemeddled busily with the dishes, commended the viands to her guests,vaunted the excellence of the ale, strong waters, and wine, which herhouse afforded, and when not thus employed upon matters connected withher own immediate vocation, took part in the conversation of those whosat at table, with great freedom and satisfaction.

  Towards Arrah Neil her tone was of that tender and kindly character,which might well be attributed by Mr. Dry to compassion for the mentalaffliction under which he had declared her to be suffering, and by thepoor girl herself to interest in her fate and situation. But the goodlandlady was all the time busily engaged in watching eagerly the wholeconduct of her male guest, and endeavouring, with all the skill whichis afforded by long dealings with many of our fellow-creatures, toextract some information from all she saw regarding his intentions andobjects. She perceived that the worthy man of Longsoaken was as tenderupon her whom he called his ward as was consistent with his sanctifiedexterior, that he often whispered a word to her with a smile whichcontorted his harsh and weazened features into anything but a pleasantexpression, and that he made a point of helping her himself toeverything which he thought dainty; and from these and various otherindications, Mrs. White was led to ask herself, "Does the oldhypocrite seek her for a wife or a paramour?" and she internallyadded, "I'll spoil the game for him, that I will."

  But, notwithstanding her secret resolutions, the good landladyremained perfectly civil and attentive to Mr. Dry; and guided bytokens, which were not to be mistaken by one of her experience, as tohis fondness for certain creature comforts of existence, she at lengthproduced some clear and brilliant liquid, the produce of the Dutchstill, in a large flat-sided black bottle, and persuaded him to drinkwhat she called a small glass thereof, though, to say the truth, themeasure was very capacious. When he had drunk it, he set down theglass again; and looking up in Mrs. White's face, observed--

  "It is very good indeed, madam, and may be permitted for the supportof our poor, weak bodies after a long ride in such bleak anddisconsolate weather."

  "Take another glass, sir," said the hostess, who stood at the end ofthe table with the bottle still in her hand.

  "On no account--on no account, Mistress White," replied her guest; "Wemay use such things discreetly, but by no means go into excess. Iwould not for the world--don't talk of it."

  There are two ways, however, of understanding that same injunction,"don't talk of it," which those who have been accustomed to read thebook of human nature find no great difficulty in applying properly;and in this instance, as in manner others, Mrs. White saw that itmeant "Don't talk of it; but do it without talking," and thereforereplying, "Oh, sir, it's very weak: it's so old, 'tis scarcelystronger than water," she poured the glass full, as it stood at Mr.Dry's elbow, while he turned round to say something to Arrah Neil onhis other side.

  The worthy gentleman took not the slightest notice of this proceeding;but looking up in Mrs. White's face, he said--

  "And so you think, ma'am, that you will be able to get me Master HughO'Donnell's right address by to-morrow morning?"

  "I am certain of it," replied the landlady, who thought there was nogreat harm in a little confidence, whatever might be the result.

  Arrah Neil looked down in silent thought, and then raised her large,bright eyes with an inquiring look in the landlady's face; while Mr.Dry, as if in a fit of absentness, took up the glass, and sippednearly one half of the contents before he recollected what he wasabout. He then, however, set it down suddenly, and inquired--

  "Pray, can you tell me if Mr. Twigg the drysalter is now in Hull? AGod-fearing and saintly man, Mrs. White, who used to hold forth to theedification of a flock that was wont to assemble at the tabernacle inBackwater alley."

  "Oh, dear! yes, sir, he is in Hull," replied Mrs. White. "I saw thegood gentleman only yesterday."

  "Then I will go and visit him presently," answered Mr. Dry."Humble-minded folks may always profit much of godly conversation; andto do him but justice, he is always ready to use his spiritual giftsfor the benefit of others."

  Thus speaking, Mr. Dry, after contemplating the glass for a moment,seemed to come to the conclusion that there was no use of leaving init the little that remained. He accordingly tossed it off with asudden motion of the hand, and then set it resolutely down upon thetable again, as if defying the landlady, the Hollands, or the devil,to tempt him to take another drop.

  The fiend and women, however have generally more than one way ofaccomplishing their object, and consequently Mrs. White, after havingpronounced a eulogium on the graces of Mr. Twigg, and his friendMaster Theophilus Longbone, the hemp-merchant, who was likewise anacquaintance of her guest's, she set down the bottle ca
relessly by Mr.Dry's side, and retired into a little room, with a glass windowtowards the passage, so constructed as to afford a view of the door ofthe house, with those of the chambers on the ground floor, and also ofthe foot of the stairs.

  Here she remained for about half-an-hour, while sundry persons came inand out, spoke to her or to some of her attendant satellites, paidmoney, received change, brought in goods for sale, amongst which itmay be as well to record six pairs of very fine pigeons in a basket,or applied for small quantities of cordials, which sometimes theydrank upon the spot, sometimes carried away in phials.

  At length the door of the room in which Mr. Dry had eaten his dinneropened, and that worthy gentleman appeared, holding Arrah Neil by thearm, and looking at her with a somewhat inflamed and angrycountenance, from which Mrs. White augured that he was about to saysomething harsh and bitter to his fair companion. She preparedaccordingly to interfere, fully resolved to protect the poor girl atall risks, even if she were obliged to call in the aid of themagistrates, town-council, and governor himself; although, to say thetruth, she had no great love or reverence for any of the party nowdominant in Hull.

  Dr. Dry, however, uttered not a word, but led his poor victim up toher chamber--made her go in--and, locking the door, took out the key.Mrs. White smiled, as with quick ears she heard the various steps ofthis process, but sat quite still at what we should now call the bar,and marked the movements of Mr. Dry, as he descended and stood for amoment in the passage--those movements being somewhat peculiar, andindicating an internal perturbation of some sort. His back, indeed,was turned towards the worthy hostess, as he looked out of the doorleading into the street; but she perceived that, with his feetsomewhat apart, he first rested on his heels, then upon the soles,then upon his heels again, his body gently swaying backwards andforwards, and his hands in his breeches-pockets. Mrs. White had seensuch oscillations before in other men; and, when Mr. Dry made up hismind to the course he was to pursue, and walked straight out into thestreet, she herself hastened into the eating-room, where the firstobject that she examined was the black bottle, which being held up tothe light, exhibited a deficiency of at least one-half.

  "Ay, the beast is well nigh drunk," said Mrs. White, speaking toherself; "but that's a small matter, if he does no more than get tipsynow and then. I'll warrant he'll be in a fine state when he comes homefrom Master Twigg's. He's just such another as himself; and they sitthere, and drink, and cant, till they all go home crying orquarrelling, as if they were the most unhappy men in the world. Well,religion is a good thing in its way, and drink is a good thing; butthey don't do mixed, any how."

  Thus saying, she carried off the black bottle, placed it in its ownpeculiar receptacle, and then calling a girl whom she named Nancy totake her place in the bar, she walked quietly up to the room of ArrahNeil. It maybe recollected by the reader that Mr. Dry had carefullylocked the door, and put the key in his pocket; but Mrs. White was nota person to be frustrated by such a simple proceeding, for putting herhand to her girdle, from which hung a ponderous bunch of variouslyformed pieces of iron, she selected one from the rest, which beinginsinuated into the key-hole, instantly turned the lock, and gave heradmission to the chamber without the slightest difficulty.

  Arrah Neil started up with a look of joy, brushing away some dropsthat had gathered in her eyes, and exclaiming, "Oh, I am so glad!"

  "What, poor soul," cried Mrs. White! "you thought he had shut you upso that nobody could get to you. But I am not such a fool as to bewithout a master-key in my own house, so that if any other be lost Ican always open a door. What has the old man been saying to you, mydear, and what made him look so cross?"

  "Oh!" cried Arrah Neil, "he has been saying things I do notunderstand; and then he asked if I would marry him, and said, that ifI would, I should have all his money at his death; but I told him,that if he had all the wealth in the world, I would sooner die."

  "Ay, that's what made him cross," cried the landlady. "Men do not likesuch words as that, my dear. However, you did very right, for thesooner you let the old hypocrite know your mind, the better. He's adeep old villain, though, or I am mistaken. I saw you looked at mewhen he mentioned Hugh O'Donnell. Do you know any thing about him? Doyou recollect the name?"

  "Yes, I do," replied Arrah Neil. "I am sure I have heard it often; butit must be long ago.--Who is he?--What is he?"

  "Nay, that I can't tell," answered Mrs. White. "I recollect him here,I think, in my husband's time; and I have seen him once or twiceabout, since then, in the streets of the town, and in the market. ButI know nothing of him, except that he is a good sort of man, Ibelieve. One sees such a number of people in a town like this! He'sgot a ship, I believe, and trades to Ireland."

  "To Ireland," said Arrah Neil. And then suddenly breaking off, sheadded, "I wish I could get away. Cannot you let me out while he'sgone?"

  "Oh, that I can, my pretty lady," answered the hostess; "and you shallgo away whenever you like. I won't stop you. But, I think, it will bea great deal better for you to stay a while, and see what all thiscomes to. We may find out something that may clear up the wholebusiness; and, besides, what would you do if you were away? Withoutmoney you would be in a sad plight, and, I dare say, he does not letyou have any in your pocket?"

  "I have two crown-pieces," replied Arrah Neil; "and with that I amsure I could get to Annie Walton and her brother."

  The widow shook her head with a sad smile. "'Tis a small sum to beginthe world with," she said, "and all alone. Besides, they mightovertake you. No, no, poor thing, leave it to me to settle some planfor you. I will answer for it, he shall not take you away from here,let him do what he will; and in the mean time I will set my wits towork to find out the whole of this story. But now let me hear who isthis Annie Walton and her brother? Come, sit down by me, and tell meall you can recollect since the times we were talking of this morning.It may help me to find out the rest, and that's the great point."

  Arrah Neil mused; not that she had any hesitation in relating to hercompanion all that her own memory served to recall, for it is notthose who have had few friends that are suspicious, but those who havehad friends that have proved false. She had too rarely met with thevoice of kindness and sympathy not to yield her ear to it willingly,especially when it came from one who was linked to the sad, butsweet recollections of the past. She had lived so long in a dream,however--a dream from which nothing but the most important scenes andfigures had stood forth in full light--that much was confused andindistinct; and she felt that she could but relate it as it presenteditself to remembrance, might afford but a faint and misty image to astranger. It was with the good widow's first question, then, that shecommenced making her reply. "Annie Walton!" she said; "I wonder youhave never heard of her, she is so kind and so good; every one knowsher by her bounties."

  "Ay, but if I understand right, my poor young lady, she lives a longway off on the other side of Coventry," replied the hostess; "andwhile wicked doings travel on horseback, the report of good onestrudges afoot. Like the waggoner's cart, it may be richly loaded, butis long a-coming."

  "Well, then," answered Arrah Neil, "she is Lord Walton's daughter,sister of kind Charles Walton, who is now lord. The old man died twoyears ago, and the lady long before that. However, they have alwaysbeen good to me, and to my poor old grandfather, ever since we went tolive at Bishop's Merton. 'Tis a long while ago now; and between thetime when I was here and the days I first recollect there, there seemsa sort of gap, as if we had lived somewhere else. But I remember wellour first arriving there, and going with my grandfather to look at twoor three cottages, till at length he chose one just out of the town,upon the green, by the old church."

  "Were you then quite alone with him as you went from Hull?" asked thelandlady.

  "Quite," answered Arrah Neil. "There was no one with us, and we livedthere quite alone; and all the morning my grandfather used to teach meall he knew, and to make me read and write many an hour, and copythings out of books, and explain to me about di
fferent countries. Ioften thought it wearisome, for it used to keep me from thinking ofthings that were past, and from trying to bring back to mind peopleand places that seemed to cross my sight in haste, and disappear againlike the motes that we see in the sunshine, which are lost as soon asthey get into the shade. But he was a good, kind old man, andeverybody loved him. The boys used to gather round him on the green atevening close, and listen to the stories he used to tell of the warsin Ireland; and Lord Walton, from whom he hired the cottage, was verykind too, and often used to stop and talk with him as he went by; andCharles, the young lord, and Miss Walton did the same. I used veryoften to go up to the house, too, and spent many a happy day there,though I sometimes fancy that, on account of my strange ways, andbecause I often fell into fits of thought, they believed I wassomewhat weak in mind; but, if I could have seen this house, it wouldhave soon brought my brain right. But, as I was saying, they werealways very kind to me; and Charles Walton would spend many an hour atthe cottage and listen to my grandfather's tales."

  "Ay," said the hostess, "he was an old soldier, but he did notunderstand all the arts of war."

  Arrah Neil looked up in her face with an inquiring air, but good Mrs.White only shook her head, and the poor girl proceeded. "CharlesWalton was away in strange countries for a long time, and then againhe went to the wars; but whenever he came back he used to visit us,though he grew graver and more thoughtful as he became older than hewas when he was a youth and I was a child; and I began to feelsomewhat afraid of him--no, not afraid, for he was always kind CharlesWalton to me, but I felt timid when he spoke to me. However, hisfather died, and he became lord of all the country round, and he hadmuch to do and was often away. About that time, this man, who is nowhere in Hull, began to come sometimes to the house, but my grandfathercould not bear him; and though he treated him civilly, because he wasnow in great power in the little town, and every one seemed to do justas he bade him, and all were afraid of him, yet he was always cold anddistant to him. One day, however, this Ezekiel Dry came in while hewas out, and he took me by the hand and began to say things I did notunderstand, as he did to-night, and I tried to go away, but he wouldnot let me. Just then my grandfather came in, and immediately therewere high and threatening words; and my grandfather struck him withthe staff he carried, and knocked him down upon the ground; then,taking him by the arms, he cast him out of the cottage like a dog.After that he did not come again for many months; and in the winter mypoor old grandfather was taken ill, and remained ever after feeble andsickly; and when he used to hear of the doings of the parliamentagainst the king it always made him worse, and he used to speak rashwords, I fear. Once or twice he wrote letters, and sent them off by aman that sometimes came to see him, and he received answers too, whichhe burned as soon as he had read them. So it went on, till one daythis summer the man Dry came with a number of soldiers, when mygrandfather was very ill in bed, and said they had a warrant againsthim as a malignant who was plotting treason against the parliament,and they dragged him away in spite of all I could say, though I toldthem it would kill him. Lord Walton was absent then, and Dry wouldfain have prevented me from going with my grandfather; but one of thesoldiers was kinder than the rest, and said I should go to tend thepoor old man. They put us in a cart and carried us along, and day byday he grew weaker, till at length at Devizes he died. Before hisdeath, however, just when his eyes were turning dim, he whispered tome, 'Go back quick to the cottage, Arrah, and in the back room behindthe bed, you will find a bundle of letters and other things, whichwill tell you all about yourself--I cannot;' and he said no more."

  "Did you find them? did you find them?" cried the landlady, eagerly.

  "No," answered Arrah Neil, "for when I got back to the cottage it hadbeen stripped of everything, and I, too, had been robbed of all I hadtaken with me by the soldiers on the road. One of them said that mygown was pretty, and he would have it for his wife; so I gave it tohim for fear he should take it by force."

  The good hostess had mused, paying little attention to the last fewwords, but at length she exclaimed, "He has got them, young lady. Hehas got those letters, depend upon it; ay, and he knows more of youthan any of us. You must find means to get them back again; that isthe only thing to be done."

  "Alas! how can I?" cried poor Arrah Neil. "I am a mere prisoner, andunable to do anything for myself. Oh, if I could but escape, I shouldbe content!"

  "Nay, nay, be not so impatient!" said Mrs. White; "you shall escape ingood time--I give you my word for that; but let us first find out allthat we can, for I have a notion that your fortunes are better thanthey look, or else this man would not be so eager to keep you in hishands. You were no grand-daughter of old Sergeant Neil's--that I cantell you, and you may turn out a great lady after all. I am sure yourpoor mother looked and spoke like one of the best of the land, and Ido not see why you should not have your rights as well as another."

  "A great lady!" said Arrah Neil, in a musing tone, and with amelancholy shake of the head: "there is but one reason why I shouldlike to be a great lady, and that is--to show my gratitude to thosewho have been kind to me."

  "And a good reason, too," replied the landlady. "So you must not missyour chance, my dear."

  "Dame White! Dame White!" cried a voice from below.

  "Hark! they are calling me," said the hostess; and opening the door,she exclaimed, "Here am I; what do you want with me, Nancy?"

  "Here are a heap of folks want to see you directly," screamed Nancyfrom the bottom of the stairs.

  "I must go, my dear," said the widow, turning to Arrah Neil, "but Iwill be back with you directly;" and thus saying she left her.

  But poor Arrah was disappointed in regard to the length of herabsence, for more than an hour passed, and the door gave admission tono friendly face.