Arrah Neil; or, Times of Old

by G. P. R. James

  CHAPTER XIX.

  "Come, sir, you must get up!" said an officer of the garrison, standingbeside the Earl of Beverley, to whom we must now return, as he lay onthe floor of the little cabin, affecting to be still suffering fromsickness: "you must get up and come with me, for we've got a lodgingprepared for you hard by here."

  The earl pretended scarcely to understand him, and made some answer inbroken English, which, though it was not quite so well assumed as thejargon of Captain Barecolt, was sufficiently like the language of aforeigner to keep up the character he had taken upon himself.

  "Come, come; you must get up!" reiterated the officer, taking him bythe arm; and slowly, and apparently feebly, the earl arose andsuffered the other to lead him upon deck.

  It was by this time dark, but several persons with lanterns in theirhands were waiting at the top of the hatchway; and, guarded andlighted by them, the earl was led from the vessel into the town, andthence to a small building near the city wall, pierced for musketry,and having a little platform at the top, on which was mounted a singlecannon. On the side next to the town appeared a door and threewindows, and before the block-house, as it was termed, a sentinel wasalready marching up and down in expectation of the arrival of theprisoner; but it was with some difficulty that the door was opened togive entrance to the party which now approached.

  The aspect of the place to which the earl was to be consigned wascertainly not very inviting, especially seen by the light of lanternsin a dark night; and the inner room to which the guard led himafforded but little means of rendering himself comfortable withinthose damp and narrow walls. A bed was there, a table, and a chair,but nothing else; and Lord Beverley, still maintaining his character,made various exclamations in French upon the treatment to which thepeople of Hull thought fit to subject an officer and a gentleman.

  "You shall have some meat and beer presently," replied the officer,who understood a few words only of the language the prisoner spoke;"but as to a fire, mounseer, that you can't have, because there is nofireplace, you see."

  The earl shrugged his shoulders with a look of discontent, butprepared to make the best of his situation; and as soon as the meatand beer which they had promised was brought, the key turned in thelock, and he was left alone, he sat down by the light of the lantern,which they had provided him, to meditate over his present conditionand his future plans, with the peculiar turn of mind which we haveattempted to depict in some of the preceding pages.

  "This is not a pleasant consummation," he said to himself, "either asregards the king's service or my safety. However, out of the cloudcomes lightning--from the depths of night bursts forth the sun; allbright things are preceded by darkness; and the shadow that is upon memay give place to light. Even here, perhaps, I may be enabled to domore for the cause I have undertaken than if I had reached France. Itmust be tried, at all events. There is nothing like boldness, thoughone cannot well be bold within these walls;" and he glanced his eyesover the narrow space in which he was confined, thinking, with asomewhat sad smile, that there was but little room for the exercise ofany of those energies which may be called the life of life.

  "It is a sad thing imprisonment," he thought. "Here the active beinglies dead, and it is but the clay that lives. Vain every great design,fruitless every intention and every effort, idle all speculation,empty every aspiration here! Cut off from all objects on which toexercise the powers of mind or body, the patriot and the traitor, thephilosopher and the fool are equal. No," he continued, after amoment's pause--"no, not so! Truth and honour are happiness even in adungeon, and the grasp of intellect and imagination can reach beyondthese walls, and bring within the narrow limits of the prisonmaterials to build mighty fabrics, that the power of tyrants orenemies cannot overthrow. Did not Galileo leave upon the stones thatsurrounded him bright traces of the immortal spirit? Did he not in thecold cell wander by the powers of mind through all the glorious worksof the Almighty, and triumph, even in chains, over the impotent maliceof mankind? So may I too; but my first consideration must be of thingsmore immediate. How shall I deal with this man Hotham? I do not thinkhe would know me, disguised as I am now: shall I attempt still to passfor a Frenchman? If I do, perhaps I doom myself to long imprisonment.I wonder where my companion can be, and Ashburnham. 'Tis strange theyare not placed in the same prison with myself. Pray heaven they havefared better; for, though men say, 'The more the merrier,' yet I couldnot much wish any one to share such a lodging as this. I hope andtrust that fellow Barecolt will put a guard upon big tongue. Well saidthe Hebrew king, that it was an unruly member, and never did I knowhead in which it was less easily governed. He would not betray me, Ido believe; but yet in his babble he may do more mischief than a lessfaithful man. Well, things must take their course--I cannot rule them;and I may as well supply the body's wants, since they have afforded methe means."

  Thus thinking, he drew his chair to the table, and took some of theprovisions which had been brought him, after which he again fell intoa deep fit of thought, and then starting up, exclaimed aloud, "Thereis no use in calculating in such circumstances as these. None can tellwhat the next minute will bring forth, and the only plan is to beprepared to take advantage of whatever may happen; for circumstancesmust be hard indeed that will not permit a wise and quick-witted manto abate their evil or to augment their good. So I will even go sleepas soon as I can; but methinks the moon is rising," and, approachingthe window, which was strongly barred, he looked out for a fewminutes, as the orb of night rose red and large through the dull andheavy air of Hull.

  "Where is sweet Annie Walton now?" he thought; "and whither is herdear bright mind wandering? Perhaps she is even now looking at theplanet, and thinking of him whom she believes far away. Yes, surelyshe will think of me. God's blessing on her sweet heart! and may shesoon know brighter days again, for these are sad ones. However, it issome consolation to know that she is not aware of this misadventure.Well, I will go and try to sleep."

  He then, after offering his prayers to God--for he was not one toforget such homage--cast himself down upon his bed without taking offhis clothes, and in a few minutes was sound asleep. During the twopreceding days he had undergone much fatigue, and had not closed aneye for eight-and-forty hours, so that at first his slumber was asprofound as that of a peasant; but towards morning Imaginationreasserted her power, and took possession of his senses even in sleep.

  He fancied that he was in Italy again, and that Charles Walton,looking as he had done in early youth, was walking beside him along aterrace, where cypresses and urns of sculptured stone flanked thebroad gravel-walk, which overhung a steep precipice. What possessedhim he knew not, but it seemed as if some demon kept whispering in hisear to dare his loved companion to leap down, and, though reluctant,he did so, knowing all the while that if his friend attempted it hewould infallibly perish. "Charles," he said, in the wild perversity ofhis dreaming brain, "dare you stand with me on the top of that lowwall, and jump down into the dell below?"

  "Whatever you do I will do, Francis," the young nobleman seemed toreply; and, without waiting for further discussion, they bothapproached the edge, mounted the low wall, and then leaped offtogether. The earl's brain seemed to turn as he fell, and everythingreeled before his dizzy sight, till at length he suddenly foundhimself upon his feet at the bottom, unhurt, and, instead of hisfriend, Annie Walton standing, beside him, in deep mourning,inquiring, "How could you be so rash, Francis?"

  Before he could reply he awoke; and gazing wildly round him, saw thesunshine of the early morning streaming through the window, andcheering even the gloomy aspect of the prison.

  "This is a strange dream," he thought, seating himself upon the edgeof the bed, and leaning his head upon his hand--"a mighty strangedream indeed! Have I really tempted Charles Walton to take such adangerous leap, in persuading him to draw the sword for his king? No,no! He could not avoid it--he was already prepared; and, besides, thevoice of duty spoke by my lips. Whatever be the result to him
or tome, I cannot blame myself for doing that which was right. Weak menjudge even their own actions by the results, when in fact they shouldforget all but the motives, and when satisfied that they are just andsufficient, should leave all the rest in the hands of God. I willthink of this no more. It is but folly;" and rising, he advanced tothe window, before which he heard the sound of people's voicesspeaking.

  The surprise of Lord Beverley was not small at beholding straightbefore him the long person and never-to-be mistaken nose of CaptainDeciduous Barecolt, standing side by side with Sir John Hotham,governor of Hull, and apparently upon terms of gracious intimacy withthat officer.

  Barecolt was at that moment drawing, with the point of a cane upon theground, a number of lines and angles, which seemed to the eyes of LordBeverley very much like the plan of a fortification, while three stoutsoldiers, apparently in attendance upon the governor, stood at alittle distance, and looked on in grave and respectful silence. Everynow and then the worthy captain seized Sir John by the breast of hiscoat with all the exaggerated gesticulation of a Frenchman, pointed tothe lines he had drawn, held out his stick towards other parts ofHull, shrugged, grinned, and chattered, and then flew back to hisdemonstration again, with the utmost appearance of zeal and good-will.

  "What in the name of fortune can the fellow be about?" murmured theearl. "He is surely not going to fortify Hull against the king! Well,I suppose if he do it will be taken. That is one comfort. But, on myword, he seems to have made great progress in Hotham's good graces. Itrust it is not at my expense. No, no! He is not one of that sort ofmen. Folly and vice enough, but not dishonour.

  "I have no small mind to try my eloquence on Hotham too," continuedthe earl, after watching them for a moment longer; "I do not think heis so far committed with the parliament as to be beyond recal to asense of duty. He used to be a vain as well as an ambitious man; andperhaps, if one could but hold out to his vanity and ambition theprospect of great honour and advancement, as the reward for taking thefirst step towards healing the breaches in his country's peace, bymaking submission to the king, he might be gained. It is worth thetrial, and if it cost me my head it shall be made."

  As he thus pondered, the governor and Captain Barecolt walked slowlyon, followed by the three soldiers; and the sentinel before the doorof the block-house recommenced his perambulations.

  "Holloa, monsieur!" cried Lord Beverley from the window; and on theapproach of the soldier he explained to him, in a mixed jargon ofFrench and English, that he much wished to have an interview with thegovernor, adding that, if it were granted, he might communicatesomething to Sir John Hotham which he would find of great importance.

  "Why, there he stands," cried the soldier, "talking with the otherFrenchman," and he pointed with his hand to a spot which the earlcould not see, but where the governor had again paused to listen toCaptain Barecolt's plans and devices.

  "_Allez, allez!_ tell him," cried Lord Beverley; and the manimmediately hastened to give the message.

  In about three minutes he returned, saying, "He will send for you inan hour or two, monsieur; and in the mean time here comes yourbreakfast piping hot."