The Children of the New Forest

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER XXIII.

  The next morning, before they had quitted their beds, a messengerarrived with letters from General Middleton, and from him they foundthat the king's army had encamped on the evening before not six milesfrom Portlake. As they hastily dressed themselves, Chaloner proposed toEdward that a little alteration in his dress would be necessary; andtaking him to a wardrobe in which had been put aside some suits of hisown, worn when he was a younger and slighter-made man than he now was,he requested Edward to make use of them. Edward, who was aware thatChaloner was right in his proposal, selected two suits of colors whichpleased him most; and dressing in one, and changing his hat for onemore befitting his new attire, was transformed into a handsomeCavalier. As soon as they had broken their fast they took leave of theold ladies, and mounting their horses set off for the camp. An hour'sride brought them to the outposts; and communicating with the officeron duty, they were conducted by an orderly to the tent of GeneralMiddleton, who received Chaloner with great warmth as an old friend,and was very courteous to Edward as soon as he heard that he was theson of Colonel Beverley.

  "I have wanted you, Chaloner," said Middleton; "we are raising a troopof horse; the Duke of Buckingham commands it, but Massey will be thereal leader of it; you have influence in this county, and will, I haveno doubt, bring us many good hands."

  "Where is the Earl of Derby?"

  "Joined us this morning; we have marched so quick that we have not hadtime to pick our adherents up."

  "And General Leslie?"

  "Is by no means in good spirits: why, I know not. We have too manyministers with the army, that is certain, and they do harm; but we cannot help ourselves. His majesty must be visible by this time; if youare ready, I will introduce you; and, when that is done, we will talkmatters over."

  General Middleton then walked with them to the house in which the kinghad taken up his quarters for the night; and after a few minutes'waiting in the anteroom, they were admitted into his presence.

  "Allow me, your majesty," said General Middleton, after the firstsalutations, "to present to you Major Chaloner, whose father's name isnot unknown to you."

  "On the contrary, well known to us," replied the king, "as a loyal andfaithful subject whose loss we must deplore. I have no doubt that hisson inherits his courage and his fidelity."

  The king held out his hand, and Chaloner bent his knee and kissed it.

  "And now, your majesty will be surprised that I should present to youone of a house supposed to be extinct--the eldest son of ColonelBeverley."

  "Indeed!" replied his majesty; "I heard that all his family perished atthe ruthless burning of Arnwood. I hold myself fortunate, as a king,that even one son of so loyal and brave a gentleman as Colonel Beverleyhas escaped. You are welcome, young sir--most welcome to us; you mustbe near us; the very name of Beverley will be pleasing to our ears bynight or day."

  Edward knelt down and kissed his majesty's hand, and the king said--

  "What can we do for a Beverley? let us know, that we may show ourfeelings toward his father's memory."

  "All I request is, that your majesty will allow me to be near you inthe hour of danger," replied Edward.

  "A right Beverley reply," said the king; "and so we shall see to it,Middleton."

  After a few more courteous words from his majesty, they withdrew, butGeneral Middleton was recalled by the king for a minute or two toreceive his commands. When he rejoined Edward and Chaloner, he said toEdward--

  "I have orders to send in for his majesty's signature your commissionas captain of horse, and attached to the king's personal staff; it is ahigh compliment to the memory of your father, sir, and, I may add, yourown personal appearance. Chaloner will see to your uniforms andaccouterments; you are well mounted, I believe; you have no time tolose, as we march to-morrow for Warrington, in Cheshire."

  "Has any thing been heard of the Parliamentary army?"

  "Yes; they are on the march toward London by the Yorkshire road,intending to cut us off if they can. And now, gentlemen, farewell; forI have no idle time, I assure you."

  Edward was soon equipped, and now attended upon the king. When theyarrived at Warrington, they found a body of horse drawn up to opposetheir passage onward. These were charged, and fled with a triflingloss; and as they were known to be commanded by Lambert, one ofCromwell's best generals, there was great exultation in the king'sarmy; but the fact was, that Lambert had acted upon Cromwell's orders,which were to harass and delay the march of the king as much aspossible, but not to risk with his small force any thing like anengagement. After this skirmish it was considered advisable to sendback the Earl of Derby and many other officers of importance intoLancashire, that they might collect the king's adherents in thatquarter and in Cheshire. Accordingly the earl, with about two hundredofficers and gentlemen, left the army with that intention. It was thenconsidered that it would be advisable to march the army direct toLondon; but the men were so fatigued with the rapidity of the march upto the present time, and the weather was so warm, that it was decidedin the negative; and as Worcester was a town well affected to the king,and the country abounded with provisions, it was resolved that the armyshould march there, and wait for English re-enforcements. This wasdone; the city opened the gates with every mark of satisfaction, andsupplied the army with all that it required. The first bad news whichreached them was the dispersion and defeat of the whole of the Earl ofDerby's party, by a regiment of militia which had surprised them atWigan during the night, when they were all asleep, and had no idea thatany enemy was near to them. Although attacked at such disadvantage,they defended themselves till a large portion of them was killed, andthe remainder were taken prisoners, and most of them brutally put todeath. The Earl of Derby was made a prisoner, but not put to death withthe others.

  "This is bad news, Chaloner," said Edward.

  "Yes; it is more than bad," replied the latter; "we have lost our bestofficers, who never should have left the army; and now the consequencesof the defeat will be, that we shall not have any people come forwardto join us. The winning side is the right side in this world; and thereis more evil than that; the Duke of Buckingham has claimed the commandof the army, which the king has refused, so that we are beginning tofight among ourselves. General Leslie is evidently dispirited, andthinks bad of the cause. Middleton is the only man who does his duty.Depend upon it, we shall have Cromwell upon us before we are aware ofit; and we are in a state of sad confusion: officers quarreling, mendisobedient, much talking, and little doing. Here we have been fivedays, and the works which have been proposed to be thrown up asdefenses, not yet begun."

  "I can not but admire the patience of the king, with so much to harassand annoy him."

  "He must be patient, perforce," replied Chaloner; "he plays for acrown, and it is a high stake; but he can not command the minds of men,although he may the persons. I am no croaker, Beverley, but if wesucceed with this army, as at present disorganized, we shall perform amiracle."

  "We must hope for the best," replied Edward; "common danger may cementthose who would otherwise be asunder; and when they have the army ofCromwell before them, they may be induced to forget their privatequarrels and jealousies, and unite in the good cause."

  "I wish I could be of your opinion, Beverley," replied Chaloner; "but Ihave mixed with the world longer than you have, and I think otherwise."

  Several more days passed, during which no defenses were thrown up, andthe confusion and quarreling in the army continued to increase, untilat last news arrived that Cromwell was within half a day's march ofthem, and that he had collected all the militia on his route, and wasnow in numbers nearly double to those in the king's army. All wasamazement and confusion--nothing had been done--no arrangements hadbeen made--Chaloner told Edward that all was lost if immediate stepswere not taken.

  On the 3d of October, the army of Cromwell appeared in sight. Edwardhad been on horseback, attending the king, for the best part of thenight; the disposition of the troops had been mad
e as well as it could;and it was concluded, as Cromwell's army remained quiet, that noattempt would be made on that day. About noon the king returned to hislodging, to take some refreshment after his fatigue. Edward was withhim; but before an hour had passed, the alarm came that the armies wereengaged. The king mounted his horse, which was ready saddled at thedoor; but before he could ride out of the city, he was met and nearlybeaten back by the whole body almost of his own cavalry, who camerunning on with such force that he could not stop them. His majestycalled to several of the officers by name, but they paid no attention;and so great was the panic, that both the king and his staff, whoattended him, were nearly overthrown, and trampled under foot.

  Cromwell had passed a large portion of his troops over the riverwithout the knowledge of the opponents, and when the attack was made inso unexpected a quarter, a panic ensued. Where General Middleton andthe Duke Hamilton commanded, a very brave resistance was made; butMiddleton being wounded, Duke Hamilton having his leg taken off by around-shot, and many gentlemen having fallen, the troops, deserted bythe remainder of the army, at last gave way, and the rout was general,the foot throwing away their muskets before they were discharged.

  His majesty rode back into the town, and found a body of horse, who hadbeen persuaded by Chaloner to make a stand. "Follow me," said hismajesty; "we will see what the enemy are about. I do not think theypursue, and if so, we may yet rally from this foolish panic."

  His majesty, followed by Edward, Chaloner, and several of his personalstaff, then galloped out to reconnoiter; but to his mortification hefound that the troops had not followed him, but gone out of the town bythe other gate, and that the enemy's cavalry in pursuit were actuallyin the town. Under such circumstances, by the advice of Chaloner andEdward, his majesty withdrew, and, turning his horse's head, he madeall haste to leave Worcester. After several hours' riding, the kingfound himself in company of about 4000 of the cavalry who had sodisgracefully fled; but they were still so panic-struck that he couldput no confidence in them, and having advised with those about him, heresolved to quit them. This he did without mentioning his intention toany of his staff, not even Chaloner or Edward--leaving at night withtwo of his servants, whom he dismissed as soon as it was daylight,considering that his chance of escape would be greater if he were quitealone.

  It was not till the next morning that they discovered that the king hadleft them, and then they determined to separate, and, as the majorportion were from Scotland, to make what haste they could back to thatcountry. And now Chaloner and Edward consulted as to their plans.

  "It appears to me," said Edward, laughing, "that the danger of thiscampaign of ours will consist in getting back again to our own homes,for I can most safely assert that I have not as yet struck a blow forthe king."

  "That is true enough, Beverly. When do you purpose going back to theNew Forest? I think, if you will permit me, I will accompany you," saidChaloner. "All the pursuit will be to the northward, to intercept andovertake the retreat into Scotland. I can not therefore go toLancashire; and, indeed, as they know that I am out, they will belooking for me every where."

  "Then come with me," said Edward, "I will find you protection till youcan decide what to do. Let us ride on away from this, and we will talkover the matter as we go; but depend upon it, the further south we getthe safer we shall be, but still not safe, unless we can change ourcostume. There will be a strict search for the king to the south, asthey will presume that he will try to get safe to France. Hark! what isthat? I heard the report of arms. Let us ride up this hill and see whatis going on."

  They did so, and perceived that there was a skirmish between a party ofCavaliers and some of the Parliamentary cavalry, at about a quarter ofa mile distant.

  "Come, Chaloner, let us at all events have one blow," said Edward.

  "Agreed," replied Chaloner, spurring his horse; and down they went atfull speed, and in a minute were in the melee, coming on the rear ofthe Parliamentary troops.

  This sudden attack from behind decided the affair. The Parliamentarytroopers, thinking that there were more than two coming upon them, madeoff after another minute's combat, leaving five or six of their men onthe ground.

  "Thanks, Chaloner! thanks, Beverley!" said a voice which theyimmediately recognized. It was that of Grenville, one of the king'spages. "These fellows with me were just about to run, if you had notcome to our aid. I will remain with them no longer, but join you if youwill permit me. At all events, remain here till they go away--I willsend them off."

  Grenville then said to the men, "My lads, you must all separate, orthere will be no chance of escape. No more than two should ridetogether. Depend upon it, we shall have more of the troops heredirectly."

  The men, about fifteen in number, who had been in company withGrenville, considered that Chaloner's advice was good, and withoutceremony set off, with their horses' heads to the northward, leavingChaloner, Edward, and Grenville together on the field of the affray.About a dozen men were lying on the ground, either dead or severelywounded: seven of them were of the king's party, and the other five ofthe Parliamentary troops.

  "Now, what I propose," said Edward, "is this: let us do what we can forthose who are wounded, and then strip off the dresses and accoutermentsof those Parliamentary dragoons who are dead, and dress ourselves inthem, accouterments and all. We can then pass through the country insafety, as we shall be supposed to be one of the parties looking forthe king."

  "That is a good idea," replied Chaloner, "and the sooner it is done thebetter."

  "Well," said Edward, wiping his sword, which he still held drawn, andthen sheathing it, "I will take the spoils of this fellow nearest tome: he fell by my hand, and I am entitled to them by the laws of warand chivalry; but first, let us dismount and look to the wounded."

  They tied their horses to a tree, and having given what assistance theycould to the wounded men, they proceeded to strip three of theParliamentary troopers; and then laying aside their own habiliments,they dressed themselves in the uniform of the enemy, and, mountingtheir horses, made all haste from the place. Having gained about twelvemiles, they pulled up their horses, and rode at a more leisurely pace.It was now eight o'clock in the evening, but still not very dark; theytherefore rode on another five miles, till they came to a smallvillage, where they dismounted at an ale-house, and put their horsesinto the stable.

  "We must be insolent and brutal in our manners, or we shall besuspected."

  "Very true," said Grenville, giving the hostler a kick, and telling himto bestir himself, if he did not want his ears cropped.

  They entered the ale-house, and soon found out they were held in greatterror. They ordered every thing of the best to be produced, andthreatened to set fire to the house if it was not; they turned the manand his wife out of their bed, and all three went to sleep in it; and,in short, they behaved in such an arbitrary manner, that nobody doubtedthat they were Cromwell's horse. In the morning they set off again byChaloner's advice, paying for nothing that they had ordered, althoughthey had all of them plenty of money. They now rode fast, inquiring atthe places which they passed through, whether any fugitives had beenseen, and, if they came to a town, inquiring, before they entered,whether there were any Parliamentary troops. So well did they manage,that after four days they had gained the skirts of the New Forest, andconcealed themselves in a thicket till night-time, when Edward proposedthat he should conduct his fellow-travelers to the cottage, where hewould leave them till his plans were adjusted.

  Edward had already arranged his plans. His great object was to ward offany suspicion of where he had been, and, of course, any idea that theintendant had been a party to his acts; and the fortunate change of hisdress enabled him now to do so with success. He had decided to conducthis two friends to the cottage that night, and the next morning to rideover in his Parliamentary costume to the intendant's house, and bringthe first news of the success of Cromwell and the defeat at Worcester;by which stratagem it would appear as if he had been with theParli
amentary, and not with the Jacobite, army.

  As they had traveled along, they found that the news of Cromwell'ssuccess had not yet arrived: in those times there was not the rapidityof communication that we now have, and Edward thought it very probablethat he would be the first to communicate the intelligence to theintendant and those who resided near him.

  As soon as it was dusk the three travelers left their retreat, and,guided by Edward, soon arrived at the cottage. Their appearance atfirst created no little consternation, for Humphrey and Pablo happenedto be in the yard, when they heard the clattering of the swords andaccouterments, and through the gloom observed, as they advanced, thatthe party were troopers. At first, Humphrey was for running on andbarring the door; but, on a second reflection, he felt that he couldnot do a more imprudent thing if there was danger; and he thereforecontented himself with hastily imparting the intelligence to hissisters, and then remaining at the threshold to meet the coming of theparties. The voice of Edward calling him by name dissipated all alarm,and in another minute he was in the arms of his brother and sisters.

  "First, let us take our horses to the stables, Humphrey," said Edward,after the first greeting was over, "and then we will come and partakeof any thing that Alice can prepare for us, for we have not fared overwell for the last three days."

  Accompanied by Humphrey and Pablo, they all went to the stables, andturned out the ponies to make room for the horses; and as soon as theywere all fed and littered down, they returned to the cottage, andChaloner and Grenville were introduced. Supper was soon on the table,and they were too hungry to talk while they were eating, so that butlittle information was gleaned from them that night. However, Humphreyascertained that all was lost, and that they had escaped from the fieldprevious to Alice and Edith leaving the room to prepare beds for thenew-comers. When the beds were ready, Chaloner and Grenville retired,and then Edward remained half an hour with Humphrey, to communicate tohim what had passed. Of course he could not enter into detail; but toldhim that he would get information from their new guests after he hadleft, which he must do early in the morning.

  "And now, Humphrey, my advice is this. My two friends can not remain inthis cottage, for many reasons; but we have the key of Clara's cottage,and they can take up their lodging there, and we can supply them withall they want, until they find means of going abroad, which is theirintention. I must be off to the intendant's to-morrow, and the dayafter I will come over to you. In the mean time, our guests can remainhere, while you and Pablo prepare the cottage for them; and when Ireturn every thing shall be settled, and we will conduct them to it. Ido not think there is much danger of their being discovered while theyremain there, certainly not so much as if they were here; for we mustexpect parties of troops in every direction now, as they were when theking's father made his escape from Hampton Court. And now to bed, mygood brother; and call me early, for I much fear that I shall not wakeup if you do not."

  The brothers then parted for the night.

  The next morning, long before their guests were awake, Edward had beencalled by Humphrey, and found Pablo at the door with his horse. Edward,who had put on his Parliamentary accouterments, bade a hasty farewellto them, and set off across the forest to the house of the intendant,where he arrived before they had left their bedrooms. The first personhe encountered was, very fortunately, Oswald, who was at his cottagedoor. Edward beckoned to him, being then about one hundred yards off;but Oswald did not recognize him at first, and advanced toward him in avery leisurely manner, to ascertain what the trooper might wish toinquire. But Edward called him Oswald, and that was sufficient. In afew words Edward told him how all was lost, and how he had escaped bychanging clothes with one of the enemy.

  "I am now come to bring the news to the intendant, Oswald. Youunderstand me, of course?"

  "Of course I do, Master Edward, and will take care that it is wellknown that you have been fighting by the side of Cromwell all thistime. I should recommend you to show yourself in this dress for theremainder of the day, and then every one will be satisfied. Shall I goto the intendant's before you?"

  "No, no, Oswald; the intendant does not require me to be introduced tohim, of course. I must now gallop up to his house and announce myself.Farewell for the present--I shall see you during the day."

  Edward put spurs to his horse, and arrived at the intendant's at fullspeed, making no small clattering in the yard below as he went in, muchto the surprise of Sampson, who came out to ascertain what was thecause, and who was not a little surprised at perceiving Edward, whothrew himself off the horse, and desiring Sampson to take it to thestable, entered the kitchen, and disturbed Phoebe, who was preparingbreakfast. Without speaking to her, Edward passed on to the intendant'sroom, and knocked.

  "Who is there?" said the intendant.

  "Edward Armitage," was the reply; and the door was opened. Theintendant started back at the sight of Edward in the trooper's costume.

  "My dear Edward, I am glad to see you in any dress, but this requiresexplanation. Sit down and tell me all."

  "All is soon told, sir," replied Edward, taking off his iron skull-cap,and allowing his hair to fall down on his shoulders.

  He then, in a few words, stated what had happened, and by what means hehad escaped, and the reason why he had kept on the trooper'saccouterments, and made his appearance in them.

  "You have done very prudently," replied the intendant, "and you haveprobably saved me; at all events, you have warded off all suspicion,and those who are spies upon me will now have nothing to report, exceptto my favor. Your absence has been commented upon, and made known athigh quarters, and suspicion has arisen in consequence. Your return asone of the Parliamentary forces will now put an end to all ill-naturedremarks. My dear Edward, you have done me a service. As my secretary,and having been known to have been a follower of the Beverleys, yourabsence was considered strange, and it was intimated at high quartersthat you had gone to join the king's forces, and that with my knowledgeand consent. This I have from Langton; and it has in consequenceinjured me not a little: but now your appearance will make all rightagain. Now we will first to prayers, and then to breakfast; and afterthat we will have a more detailed account of what has taken place sinceyour departure. Patience and Clara will not be sorry to recover theircompanion; but how they will like you in that dress I can not pretendto say. However, I thank God that you have returned safe to us; and Ishall be most happy to see you once more attend in the more peacefulgarb of a secretary."

  "I will, with your permission, sir, not quit this costume for one day,as it may be as well that I should be seen in it."

  "You are right, Edward: for this day retain it; to-morrow you willresume your usual costume. Go down to the parlor; you will findPatience and Clara anxiously waiting for you, I have no doubt. I willjoin you there in ten minutes."

  Edward left the room, and went down stairs. It hardly need be said howjoyfully he was received by Patience and Clara. The former, however,expressed her joy in tears--the latter, in wild mirth.

  We will pass over the explanations and the narrative of what hadoccurred, which was given by Edward to Mr. Heatherstone in his ownroom. The intendant said, as he concluded.

  "Edward, you must now perceive that, for the present, nothing more canbe done; if it pleases the Lord, the time will come when the monarchwill be reseated on his throne; at present, we must bow to the powersthat be; and I tell you frankly, it is my opinion that Cromwell aims atsovereignty and will obtain it. Perhaps it may be better that we shouldsuffer the infliction for a time, as for a time only can it be upheld,and it may be the cause of the king being more schooled and more fittedto reign than, by what you have told me in the course of yournarrative, he at present appears to be."

  "Perhaps so, sir," replied Edward. "I must say that the short campaignI have gone through has very much opened my eyes. I have seen butlittle true chivalric feeling, and much of interested motives, in thosewho have joined the king's forces. The army collected was composed ofmost discor
dant elements, and were so discontented, so full of jealousyand ill-will, that I am not surprised at the result. One thing iscertain, that there must be a much better feeling existing between allparties before such a man as Cromwell can ever be moved from hisposition; and, for the present, the cause may be considered as lost."

  "You are right, Edward," replied the intendant; "I would they werebetter, but as they are, let us make the best of them. You have nowseen enough to have subdued that fiery zeal for the cause whichpreviously occupied your whole thoughts; now let us be prudent, and tryif we can not be happy."