“Poh! this is worse than midsummer madness,” said Peter; “the lad is crazed with grief, and all about a mother who has been four-and-twenty years in her grave. I will e’en put her out of the way myself.”
Saying which, he proceeded, as noiselessly as possible, to raise the corpse in his arms, and deposited it softly within its former tenement. Carefully as he executed his task, he could not accomplish it without occasioning a slight accident to the fragile frame. Insensible as he was, Luke had not relinquished the hold he maintained of his mother’s hand. And when Peter lifted the body, the ligaments connecting the hand with the arm were suddenly snapped asunder. It would appear afterwards, that this joint had been tampered with, and partially dislocated. Without, however, entering into further particulars in this place, it may be sufficient to observe that the hand, detached from the socket at the wrist, remained within the gripe of Luke; while, ignorant of the mischief he had occasioned, the sexton continued his labors unconsciously, until the noise which he of necessity made in stamping with his heel upon the plank, recalled his grandson to sensibility. The first thing that the latter perceived, upon collecting his faculties, were the skeleton fingers twined within his own.
“What have you done with the body? Why have you left this with me?” demanded he.
“It was not my intention to have done so,” answered the sexton, suspending his occupation. “I have just made fast the lid, but it is easily undone. You had better restore it.”
“Never,” returned Luke, staring at the bony fragment.
“Pshaw! of what advantage is a dead hand? ’Tis an unlucky keepsake, and will lead to mischief. The only use I ever heard of such a thing being turned to, was in the case of Bow-legged Ben, who was hanged in irons for murder, on Hardchase Heath, on the York Road, and whose hand was cut off at the wrist the first night to make a Hand of Glory, or Dead Man’s Candle. Hast never heard what the old song says?” And without awaiting his grandson’s response, Peter broke into the following wild strain:
THE HAND OF GLORY
From the corse that hangs on the roadside tree
— A murderer’s corse it needs must be — ,
Sever the right hand carefully: —
Sever the hand that the deed hath done,
Ere the flesh that clings to the bones be gone;
In its dry veins must blood be none.
Those ghastly fingers white and cold,
Within a winding-sheet enfold;
Count the mystic count of seven:
Name the Governors of Heaven.
Then in earthen vessel place them,
And with dragon-wort encase them,
Bleach them in the noonday sun,
Till the marrow melt and run,
Till the flesh is pale and wan,
As a moon-ensilvered cloud,
As an unpolluted shroud.
Next within their chill embrace
The dead man’s Awful Candle place;
Of murderer’s fat must that candle be
— You may scoop it beneath the roadside tree — ,
Of wax, and of Lapland sisame.
Its wick must be twisted of hair of the dead,
By the crow and her brood on the wild waste shed.
Wherever that terrible light shall burn
Vainly the sleeper may toss and turn;
His leaden lids shall he ne’er unclose
So long as that magical taper glows.
Life and treasures shall he command
Who knoweth the charm of the Glorious Hand!
But of black cat’s gall let him aye have care,
And of screech-owl’s venomous blood beware!
“Peace!” thundered Luke, extending his mother’s hand towards the sexton. “What seest thou?”
“I see something shine. Hold it nigher the light. Ha! that is strange, truly. How came that ring there?”
“Ask of Sir Piers! ask of her husband!” shouted Luke, with a wild burst of exulting laughter. “Ha! ha! ha! ’tis a wedding-ring! And look! the finger is bent. It must have been placed upon it in her lifetime. There is no deception in this — no trickery — ha!”
“It would seem not; the sinew must have been contracted in life. The tendons are pulled down so tightly, that the ring could not be withdrawn without breaking the finger.”
“You are sure that coffin contains her body?”
“As sure as I am that this carcass is my own.”
“The hand— ’tis hers. Can any doubt exist?”
“Wherefore should it? It was broken from the arm by accident within this moment. I noticed not the occurrence, but it must have been so.”
“Then it follows that she was wedded, and I am not — —”
“Illegitimate. For your own sake I am glad of it.”
“My heart will burst. Oh! could I but establish the fact of this marriage, her wrongs would be indeed avenged.”
“Listen to me, Luke,” said the sexton, solemnly. “I told you, when I appointed this midnight interview, I had a secret to communicate. That secret is now revealed — that secret was your mother’s marriage.”
“And it was known to you during her lifetime?”
“It was. But I was sworn to secrecy.”
“You have proofs then?”
“I have nothing beyond Sir Piers’s word — and he is silent now.”
“By whom was the ceremony performed?”
“By a Romish priest — a Jesuit — one Father Checkley, at that time an inmate of the hall; for Sir Piers, though he afterwards abjured it, at that time professed the Catholic faith, and this Checkley officiated as his confessor and counsellor; as the partner of his pleasures, and the prompter of his iniquities. He was your father’s evil genius.”
“Is he still alive?”
“I know not. After your mother’s death he left the hall. I have said he was a Jesuit, and I may add, that he was mixed up in dark political intrigues, in which your father was too feeble a character to take much share. But though too weak to guide, he was a pliant instrument, and this Checkley knew. He moulded him according to his wishes. I cannot tell you what was the nature of their plots. Suffice it, they were such as, if discovered, would have involved your father in ruin. He was saved, however, by his wife.”
“And her reward — —” groaned Luke.
“Was death,” replied Peter, coldly. “What Jesuit ever forgave a wrong — real or imaginary? Your mother, I ought to have said, was a Protestant. Hence there was a difference of religious opinion — the worst of differences that can exist between husband and wife — . Checkley vowed her destruction, and he kept his vow. He was enamored of her beauty. But while he burnt with adulterous desire, he was consumed by fiercest hate — contending, and yet strangely-reconcilable passions — as you may have reason, hereafter, to discover.”
“Go on,” said Luke, grinding his teeth.
“I have done,” returned Peter. “From that hour your father’s love for his supposed mistress, and unacknowledged wife, declined; and with his waning love declined her health. I will not waste words in describing the catastrophe that awaited her union. It will be enough to say, she was found one morning a corpse within her bed. Whatever suspicions were attached to Sir Piers were quieted by Checkley, who distributed gold, largely and discreetly. The body was embalmed by Barbara Lovel, the Gipsy Queen.”
“My foster-mother!” exclaimed Luke, in a tone of extreme astonishment.
“Ah,” replied Peter, “from her you may learn all particulars. You have now seen what remains of your mother. You are in possession of the secret of your birth. The path is before you, and if you would arrive at honor you must pursue it steadily, turning neither to the right nor to the left. Opposition you will meet at each step. But fresh lights may be thrown upon this difficult case. It is in vain to hope for Checkley’s evidence, even should the caitiff priest be living. He is himself too deeply implicated — ha!”
Peter stopped, for at this moment the flame of the c
andle suddenly expired, and the speakers were left in total darkness. Something like a groan followed the conclusion of the sexton’s discourse. It was evident that it proceeded not from his grandson, as an exclamation burst from him at the same instant. Luke stretched out his arm. A cold hand seemed to press against his own, communicating a chill like death to his frame.
“Who is between us?” he ejaculated.
“The devil!” cried the sexton, leaping from the coffin-lid with an agility that did him honor. “Is aught between us?”
“I will discharge my gun. Its flash will light us.”
“Do so,” hastily rejoined Peter. “But not in this direction.”
“Get behind me,” cried Luke. And he pulled the trigger.
A blaze of vivid light illumined the darkness. Still nothing was visible, save the warrior figure, which was seen for a moment, and then vanished like a ghost. The buck-shot rattled against the further end of the vault.
“Let us go hence,” ejaculated the sexton, who had rushed to the door, and thrown it wide open. “Mole! Mole!” cried he, and the dog sprang after him.
“I could have sworn I felt something,” said Luke; “whence issued that groan?”
“Ask not whence,” replied Peter. “Reach me my mattock, and spade, and the lantern; they are behind you. And stay, it were better to bring away the bottle.”
“Take them, and leave me here.”
“Alone in the vault? — no, no, Luke, I have not told you half I know concerning that mystic statue. It is said to move — to walk — to raise its axe — be warned, I pray.”
“Leave me, or abide, if you will, my coming, in the church. If there is aught that may be revealed to my ear alone, I will not shrink from it, though the dead themselves should arise to proclaim the mystery. It may be — but — go — there are your tools.” And he shut the door, with a jar that shook the sexton’s frame.
Peter, after some muttered murmurings at the hardihood and madness, as he termed it, of his grandson, disposed his lanky limbs to repose upon a cushioned bench without the communion railing. As the pale moonlight fell upon his gaunt and cadaverous visage, he looked like some unholy thing suddenly annihilated by the presiding influence of that sacred spot. Mole crouched himself in a ring at his master’s feet. Peter had not dozed many minutes, when he was aroused by Luke’s return. The latter was very pale, and the damp stood in big drops upon his brow.
“Have you made fast the door?” inquired the sexton.
“Here is the key.”
“What have you seen?” he next demanded.
Luke made no answer. At that moment, the church clock struck two, breaking the stillness with an iron clang. Luke raised his eyes. A ray of moonlight, streaming obliquely through the painted window, fell upon the gilt lettering of a black mural entablature. The lower part of the inscription was in the shade, but the emblazonment, and the words —
Orate pro anima Reginaldi Rookwood equitis aurati,
were clear and distinct. Luke trembled, he knew not why, as the sexton pointed to it.
“You have heard of the handwriting upon the wall,” said Peter. “Look there!— ‘His kingdom hath been taken from him.’ Ha, ha! Listen to me. Of all thy monster race — of all the race of Rookwood I should say — no demon ever stalked the earth more terrible than him whose tablet you now behold. By him a brother was betrayed; by him a brother’s wife was dishonored. Love, honor, friendship, were with him as words. He regarded no ties; he defied and set at naught all human laws and obligations — and yet he was religious, or esteemed so — received the viaticum, and died full of years and honors, hugging salvation to his sinful heart. And after death he has yon lying epitaph to record his virtues. His virtues! ha, ha! Ask him who preaches to the kneeling throng gathering within this holy place what shall be the murderer’s portion — and he will answer — Death! And yet Sir Reginald was long-lived. The awful question, ‘Cain, where is thy brother?’ broke not his tranquil slumbers. Luke, I have told you much — but not all. You know not, as yet — nor shall you know your destiny; but you shall be the avenger of infamy and blood. I have a sacred charge committed to my keeping, which, hereafter, I may delegate to you. You shall be Sir Luke Rookwood, but the conditions must be mine to propose.”
“No more,” said Luke; “my brain reels. I am faint. Let us quit this place, and get into the fresh air.” And striding past his grandsire he traversed the aisles with hasty steps. Peter was not slow to follow. The key was applied, and they emerged into the churchyard. The grassy mounds were bathed in the moonbeams, and the two yew-trees, throwing their black jagged shadows over the grave hills, looked like evil spirits brooding over the repose of the righteous.
The sexton noticed the deathly paleness of Luke’s countenance, but he fancied it might proceed from the tinge of the sallow moonlight.
“I will be with you at your cottage ere daybreak,” said Luke. And turning an angle of the church, he disappeared from view.
“So,” exclaimed Peter, gazing after him, “the train is laid; the spark has been applied; the explosion will soon follow. The hour is fast approaching when I shall behold this accursed house shaken to dust, and when my long-delayed vengeance will be gratified. In that hope I am content to drag on the brief remnant of my days. Meanwhile, I must not omit the stimulant. In a short time I may not require it.” Draining the bottle to the last drop, he flung it from him, and commenced chanting, in a high key and cracked voice, a wild ditty, the words of which ran as follow:
THE CARRION CROW
The Carrion Crow is a sexton bold.
He raketh the dead from out the mould;
He delveth the ground like a miser old,
Stealthily hiding his store of gold.
Caw! Caw!
The Carrion Crow hath a coat of black,
Silky and sleek like a priest’s to his back;
Like a lawyer he grubbeth — no matter what way —
The fouler the offal, the richer his prey.
Caw! Caw! the Carrion Crow!
Dig! Dig! in the ground below!
The Carrion Crow hath a dainty maw,
With savory pickings he crammeth his craw;
Kept meat from the gibbet it pleaseth his whim,
It can never hang too long for him!
Caw! Caw!
The Carrion Crow smelleth powder, ’tis said,
Like a soldier escheweth the taste of cold lead;
No jester, or mime, hath more marvellous wit,
For, wherever he lighteth, he maketh a hit!
Caw! Caw! the Carrion Crow!
Dig! Dig! in the ground below!
Shouldering his spade, and whistling to his dog, the sexton quitted the churchyard.
Peter had not been gone many seconds, when a dark figure, muffled in a wide black mantle, emerged from among the tombs surrounding the church; gazed after him for a few seconds, and then, with a menacing gesture, retreated behind the ivied buttresses of the gray old pile.
* * *
CHAPTER III. — THE PARK
Brian. Ralph! hearest thou any stirring?
Ralph. I heard one speak here, hard by, in the hollow. Peace! master, speak low. Nouns! if I do not hear a bow go off, and the buck bray, I never heard deer in my life.
Bri. Stand, or I’ll shoot.
Sir Arthur. Who’s there?
Bri. I am the keeper, and do charge you stand. You have stolen my deer.
Merry Devil of Edmonton.
LUKE’S first impulse had been to free himself from the restraint imposed by his grandsire’s society. He longed to commune with himself. Leaping the small boundary-wall, which defended the churchyard from a deep green lane, he hurried along in a direction contrary to that taken by the sexton, making the best of his way until he arrived at a gap in the high-banked hazel hedge which overhung the road. Heedless of the impediments thrown in his way by the undergrowth of a rough ring fence, he struck through the opening that presented itself, and, climbing over the moss-grown p
aling, trod presently upon the elastic sward of Rookwood Park.
A few minutes’ rapid walking brought him to the summit of a rising ground crowned with aged oaks and, as he passed beneath their broad shadows, his troubled spirit, soothed by the quietude of the scene, in part resumed its serenity.
Luke yielded to the gentle influence of the time and hour. The stillness of the spot allayed the irritation of his frame, and the dewy chillness cooled the fever of his brow. Leaning for support against the gnarled trunk of one of the trees, he gave himself up to contemplation. The events of the last hour — of his whole existence — passed in rapid review before him. The thought of the wayward, vagabond life he had led; of the wild adventures of his youth; of all he had been; of all he had done, of all he had endured — crowded his mind; and then, like the passing of a cloud flitting across the autumnal moon, and occasionally obscuring the smiling landscape before him, his soul was shadowed by the remembrance of the awful revelations of the last hour, and the fearful knowledge he had acquired of his mother’s fate — of his father’s guilt.
The eminence on which he stood was one of the highest points of the park, and commanded a view of the hall, which might be a quarter of a mile distant, discernible through a broken vista of trees, its whitened walls glimmering in the moonlight, and its tall chimney spiring far from out the round masses of wood in which it lay embosomed. The ground gradually sloped in that direction, occasionally rising into swells, studded with magnificent timber — dipping into smooth dells, or stretching out into level glades, until it suddenly sank into a deep declivity, that formed an effectual division, without the intervention of a haw-haw, or other barrier, between the chase and the home-park. A slender stream strayed through this ravine, having found its way thither from a small reservoir, hidden in the higher plantations to the left; and further on, in the open ground, and in a line with the hall, though, of course, much below the level of the building, assisted by many local springs, and restrained by a variety of natural and artificial embankments, this brook spread out into an expansive sheet of water. Crossed by a rustic bridge, the only communication between the parks, the pool found its outlet into the meads below; and even at that distance, and in that still hour, you might almost catch the sound of the brawling waters, as they dashed down the weir in a foaming cascade; while, far away, in the spreading valley, the serpentine meanderings of the slender current might be traced, glittering like silvery threads in the moonshine. The mild beams of the queen of night, then in her meridian, trembled upon the topmost branches of the tall timber, quivering like diamond spray upon the outer foliage; and, penetrating through the interstices of the trees, fell upon the light wreaths of vapor then beginning to arise from the surface of the pool, steeping them in misty splendor, and lending to this part of the picture a character of dreamy and unearthly beauty.
The Works of William Harrison Ainsworth Page 20
