Micah Clarke

by Arthur Conan Doyle

  Chapter XX. Of the Muster of the Men of the West

  Monmouth was at that time in his thirty-sixth year, and was remarkablefor those superficial graces which please the multitude and fit a man tolead in a popular cause. He was young, well-spoken, witty, and skilledin all martial and manly exercises. On his progress in the West he hadnot thought it beneath him to kiss the village maidens, to offer prizesat the rural sports, and to run races in his boots against the fleetestof the barefooted countrymen. (Note G., Appendix) His nature was vainand prodigal, but he excelled in that showy magnificence and carelessgenerosity which wins the hearts of the people. Both on the Continentand at Bothwell Bridge, in Scotland, he had led armies with success, andhis kindness and mercy to the Covenanters after his victory had causedhim to be as much esteemed amongst the Whigs as Dalzell and Claverhousewere hated. As he reined up his beautiful black horse at the gate of thecity, and raised his plumed montero cap to the shouting crowd, the graceand dignity of his bearing were such as might befit the knight-errantin a Romance who is fighting at long odds for a crown which a tyrant hasfilched from him.

  He was reckoned well-favoured, but I cannot say that I found him so. Hisface was, I thought, too long and white for comeliness, yet his featureswere high and noble, with well-marked nose and clear, searching eyes. Inhis mouth might perchance be noticed some trace of that weakness whichmarred his character, though the expression was sweet and amiable. Hewore a dark purple roquelaure riding-jacket, faced and lapelled withgold lace, through the open front of which shone a silver breastplate.A velvet suit of a lighter shade than the jacket, a pair of high yellowCordovan boots, with a gold-hilted rapier on one side, and a poniardof Parma on the other, each hung from the morocco-leather sword-belt,completed his attire. A broad collar of Mechlin lace flowed over hisshoulders, while wristbands of the same costly material dangled from hissleeves. Again and again he raised his cap and bent to the saddle-bow inresponse to the storm of cheering. 'A Monmouth! A Monmouth!' criedthe people; 'Hail to the Protestant chief!' 'Long live the noble KingMonmouth!' while from every window, and roof, and balcony flutteringkerchief or waving hat brightened the joyous scene. The rebel van caughtfire at the sight and raised a great deep-chested shout, which was takenup again and again by the rest of the army, until the whole countrysidewas sonorous.

  In the meanwhile the city elders, headed by our friend the Mayor,advanced from the gate in all the dignity of silk and fur to pay homageto the King. Sinking upon one knee by Monmouth's stirrup, he kissed thehand which was graciously extended to him.

  'Nay, good Master Mayor,' said the King, in a clear, strong voice, 'itis for my enemies to sink before me, and not for my friends. Prythee,what is this scroll which you do unroll?'

  'It is an address of welcome and of allegiance, your Majesty, from yourloyal town of Taunton.'

  'I need no such address,' said King Monmouth, looking round. 'It iswritten all around me in fairer characters than ever found themselvesupon parchment. My good friends have made me feel that I was welcomewithout the aid of clerk or scrivener. Your name, good Master Mayor, isStephen Timewell, as I understand?'

  'The same, your Majesty.'

  'Too curt a name for so trusty a man,' said the King, drawing his swordand touching him upon the shoulder with it. 'I shall make it longer bythree letters. Rise up, Sir Stephen, and may I find that there are manyother knights in my dominions as loyal and as stout.'

  Amidst the huzzahs which broke out afresh at this honour done to thetown, the Mayor withdrew with the councilmen to the left side of thegate, whilst Monmouth with his staff gathered upon the right. At asignal a trumpeter blew a fanfare, the drums struck up a point of war,and the insurgent army, with serried ranks and waving banners, resumedits advance upon the town. As it approached, Saxon pointed out to us thevarious leaders and men of note who surrounded the King, giving us theirnames and some few words as to their characters.

  'That is Lord Grey of Wark,' said he; 'the little middle-aged lean manat the King's bridle arm. He hath been in the Tower once for treason.'Twas he who fled with the Lady Henrietta Berkeley, his wife's sister. Afine leader truly for a godly cause! The man upon his left, with thered swollen face and the white feather in his cap, is Colonel Holmes.I trust that he will never show the white feather save on his head. Theother upon the high chestnut horse is a lawyer, though, by my soul, heis a better man at ordering a battalion than at drawing a bill of costs.He is the republican Wade who led the foot at the skirmish at Bridport,and brought them off with safety. The tall heavy-faced soldier in thesteel bonnet is Anthony Buyse, the Brandenburger, a soldado of fortune,and a man of high heart, as are most of his countrymen. I have foughtboth with him and against him ere now.'

  'Mark ye the long thin man behind him?' cried Reuben. 'He hath drawn hissword, and waves it over his head. 'Tis a strange time and place for thebroadsword exercise. He is surely mad.'

  'Perhaps you are not far amiss,' said Saxon. 'Yet, by my hilt, were itnot for that man there would be no Protestant army advancing upon usdown yonder road. 'Tis he who by dangling the crown before Monmouth'seyes beguiled him away from his snug retreat in Brabant. There is notone of these men whom he hath not tempted into this affair by some baitor other. With Grey it was a dukedom, with Wade the woolsack, with Buysethe plunder of Cheapside. Every one hath his own motive, but the cluesto them all are in the hands of yonder crazy fanatic, who makes thepuppets dance as he will. He hath plotted more, lied more, and sufferedless than any Whig in the party.'

  'It must be that Dr. Robert Ferguson of whom I have heard my fatherspeak,' said I.

  'You are right. 'Tis he. I have but seen him once in Amsterdam, and yetI know him by his shock wig and crooked shoulders. It is whisperedthat of late his overweening conceit hath unseated his reason. See, theGerman places his hand upon his shoulder and persuades him to sheathehis weapon. King Monmouth glances round too, and smiles as though hewere the Court buffoon with a Geneva cloak instead of the motley. Butthe van is upon us. To your companies, and mind that ye raise yourswords to the salute while the colours of each troop go by.'

  Whilst our companion had been talking, the whole Protestant army hadbeen streaming towards the town, and the head of the fore-guard wasabreast with the gateway. Four troops of horse led the way, badlyequipped and mounted, with ropes instead of bridles, and in some casessquares of sacking in place of saddles. The men were armed for the mostpart with sword and pistol, while a few had the buff-coats, plates, andheadpieces taken at Axminster, still stained sometimes with the blood ofthe last wearer. In the midst of them rode a banner-bearer, who carrieda great square ensign hung upon a pole, which was supported upon asocket let into the side of the girth. Upon it was printed in goldenletters the legend, 'Pro libertate et religione nostra.' Thesehorse-soldiers were made up of yeomen's and farmers' sons, unused todiscipline, and having a high regard for themselves as volunteers, whichcaused them to cavil and argue over every order. For this cause, thoughnot wanting in natural courage, they did little service during the war,and were a hindrance rather than a help to the army.

  Behind the horse came the foot, walking six abreast, divided intocompanies of varying size, each company bearing a banner which gave thename of the town or village from which it had been raised. This mannerof arranging the troops had been chosen because it had been found to beimpossible to separate men who were akin and neighbours to each other.They would fight, they said, side by side, or they would not fight atall. For my own part, I think that it is no bad plan, for when it comesto push of pike, a man stands all the faster when he knows that hehath old and tried friends on either side of him. Many of these countryplaces I came to know afterwards from the talk of the men, and manyothers I have travelled through, so that the names upon the banners havecome to have a real meaning with me. Homer hath, I remember, a chapteror book wherein he records the names of all the Grecian chiefs andwhence they came, and how many men they brought to the common muster. Itis pity that there is not some Western Homer who could record th
e namesof these brave peasants and artisans, and recount what each did orsuffered in upholding a noble though disastrous cause. Their places ofbirth at least shall not be lost as far as mine own feeble memory cancarry me.

  The first foot regiment, if so rudely formed a band could be so called,consisted of men of the sea, fishers and coastmen, clad in theheavy blue jerkins and rude garb of their class. They were bronzed,weather-beaten tarpaulins, with hard mahogany faces, variously armedwith birding pieces, cutlasses, or pistols. I have a notion that itwas not the first time that those weapons had been turned againstKing James's servants, for the Somerset and Devon coasts were famousbreeding-places for smugglers, and many a saucy lugger was doubtlesslying up in creek or in bay whilst her crew had gone a-soldiering toTaunton. As to discipline, they had no notion of it, but rolled along intrue blue-water style, with many a shout and halloo to each other or tothe crowd. From Star Point to Portland Roads there would be few netsfor many weeks to come, and fish would swim the narrow seas which shouldhave been heaped on Lyme Cobb or exposed for sale in Plymouth market.Each group, or band, of these men of the sea bore with it its ownbanner, that of Lyme in the front, followed by Topsham, Colyford,Bridport, Sidmouth, Otterton, Abbotsbury, and Charmouth, all southerntowns, which are on or near the coast. So they trooped past us, roughand careless, with caps cocked, and the reek of their tobacco risingup from them like the steam from a tired horse. In number they may havebeen four hundred or thereabouts.

  The peasants of Rockbere, with flail and scythe, led the next column,followed by the banner of Honiton, which was supported by two hundredstout lacemakers from the banks of the Otter. These men showed by thecolour of their faces that their work kept them within four walls, yetthey excelled their peasant companions in their alert and soldierlybearing. Indeed, with all the troops, we observed that, though thecountrymen were the stouter and heartier, the craftsmen were the mostready to catch the air and spirit of the camp. Behind the men of Honitoncame the Puritan clothworkers of Wellington, with their mayor upona white horse beside their standard-bearer, and a band of twentyinstruments before him. Grim-visaged, thoughtful, sober men, they werefor the most part clad in grey suits and wearing broad-brimmed hats.'For God and faith' was the motto of a streamer which floated fromamongst them. The clothworkers formed three strong companies, and thewhole regiment may have numbered close on six hundred men.

  The third regiment was headed by five hundred foot from Taunton, menof peaceful and industrious life, but deeply imbued with those greatprinciples of civil and religious liberty which were three years laterto carry all before them in England. As they passed the gates they weregreeted by a thunderous welcome from their townsmen upon the walls andat the windows. Their steady, solid ranks, and broad, honest burgherfaces, seemed to me to smack of discipline and of work well done. Behindthem came the musters of Winterbourne, Ilminster, Chard, Yeovil, andCollumpton, a hundred or more pikesmen to each, bringing the tally ofthe regiment to a thousand men.

  A squadron of horse trotted by, closely followed by the fourth regiment,bearing in its van the standards of Beaminster, Crewkerne, Langport,and Chidiock, all quiet Somersetshire villages, which had sent out theirmanhood to strike a blow for the old cause. Puritan ministers, withtheir steeple hats and Geneva gowns, once black, but now white withdust, marched sturdily along beside their flocks. Then came a strongcompany of wild half-armed shepherds from the great plains which extendfrom the Blackdowns on the south to the Mendips on the north--verydifferent fellows, I promise you, from the Corydons and Strephons ofMaster Waller or Master Dryden, who have depicted the shepherd as evershedding tears of love, and tootling upon a plaintive pipe. I fear thatChloe or Phyllis would have met with rough wooing at the hands of theseWestern savages. Behind them were musqueteers from Dorchester, pikemenfrom Newton Poppleford, and a body of stout infantry from among theserge workers of Ottery St. Mary. This fourth regiment numbered ratherbetter than eight hundred, but was inferior in arms and in discipline tothat which preceded it.

  The fifth regiment was headed by a column of fen men from the drearymarches which stretch round Athelney. These men, in their sad and sordiddwellings, had retained the same free and bold spirit which had madethem in past days the last resource of the good King Alfred and theprotectors of the Western shires from the inroads of the Danes, whowere never able to force their way into their watery strongholds. Twocompanies of them, towsy-headed and bare-legged, but loud in hymn andprayer, had come out from their fastnesses to help the Protestant cause.At their heels came the woodmen and lumberers of Bishop's Lidiard, big,sturdy men in green jerkins, and the white-smocked villagers of HuishChampflower. The rear of the regiment was formed by four hundred men inscarlet coats, with white cross-belts and well-burnished muskets.These were deserters from the Devonshire Militia, who had marched withAlbemarle from Exeter, and who had come over to Monmouth on the fieldat Axminster. These kept together in a body, but there were many othermilitiamen, both in red and in yellow coats, amongst the various bodieswhich I have set forth. This regiment may have numbered seven hundredmen.

  The sixth and last column of foot was headed by a body of peasantsbearing 'Minehead' upon their banner, and the ensign of the threewool-bales and the sailing ship, which is the sign of that ancientborough. They had come for the most part from the wild country whichlies to the north of Dunster Castle and skirts the shores of the BristolChannel. Behind them were the poachers and huntsmen of Porlock Quay, whohad left the red deer of Exmoor to graze in peace whilst they followeda nobler quarry. They were followed by men from Dulverton, men fromMilverton, men from Wiveliscombe and the sunny slopes of the Quantocks,swart, fierce men from the bleak moors of Dunkerry Beacon, and tall,stalwart pony rearers and graziers from Bampton. The banners ofBridgewater, of Shepton Mallet, and of Nether Stowey swept past us, withthat of the fishers of Clovelly and the quarrymen of the Blackdowns. Inthe rear were three companies of strange men, giants in stature, thoughsomewhat bowed with labour, with long tangled beards, and unkempt hairhanging over their eyes. These were the miners from the Mendip hills andfrom the Oare and Bagworthy valleys, rough, half-savage men, whose eyesrolled up at the velvets and brocades of the shouting citizens, or fixedthemselves upon their smiling dames with a fierce intensity which scaredthe peaceful burghers. So the long line rolled in until three squadronsof horse and four small cannon, with the blue-coated Dutch cannoniers asstiff as their own ramrods, brought up the rear. A long train of cartsand of waggons which had followed the army were led into the fieldsoutside the walls and there quartered.

  When the last soldier had passed through the Shuttern Gate, Monmouth andhis leaders rode slowly in, the Mayor walking by the King's charger.As we saluted they all faced round to us, and I saw a quick flush ofsurprise and pleasure come over Monmouth's pale face as he noted ourclose lines and soldierly bearing.

  'By my faith, gentlemen,' he said, glancing round at his staff, 'ourworthy friend the Mayor must have inherited Cadmus's dragon teeth. Whereraised ye this pretty crop, Sir Stephen? How came ye to bring themto such perfection too, even, I declare, to the hair powder of thegrenadiers?'

  'I have fifteen hundred in the town,' the old wool-worker answeredproudly; 'though some are scarce as disciplined.

  These men come from Wiltshire, and the officers from Hampshire. As totheir order, the credit is due not to me, but to the old soldier ColonelDecimus Saxon, whom they have chosen as their commander, as well as tothe captains who serve under him.'

  'My thanks are due to you, Colonel,' said the King, turning to Saxon,who bowed and sank the point of his sword to the earth, 'and to youalso, gentlemen. I shall not forget the warm loyalty which brought youfrom Hampshire in so short a time. Would that I could find the samevirtue in higher places! But, Colonel Saxon, you have, I gather, seenmuch service abroad. What think you of the army which hath just passedbefore you?'

  'If it please your Majesty,' Saxon answered, 'it is like so muchuncarded wool, which is rough enough in itself, and yet may in time cometo be woven
into a noble garment.'

  'Hem! There is not much leisure for the weaving,' said Monmouth. 'Butthey fight well. You should have seen them fall on at Axminster! We hopeto see you and to hear your views at the council table. But how is this?Have I not seen this gentleman's face before?'

  'It is the Honourable Sir Gervas Jerome of the county of Surrey,' quothSaxon.

  'Your Majesty may have seen me at St. James's,' said the baronet,raising his hat, 'or in the balcony at Whitehall. I was much at Courtduring the latter years of the late king.'

  'Yes, yes. I remember the name as well as the face,' cried Monmouth.'You see, gentlemen,' he continued, turning to his staff, 'the courtiersbegin to come in at last. Were you not the man who did fight Sir ThomasKilligrew behind Dunkirk House? I thought as much. Will you not attachyourself to my personal attendants?'

  'If it please your Majesty,' Sir Gervas answered, 'I am of opinionthat I could do your royal cause better service at the head of mymusqueteers.'

  'So be it! So be it!' said King Monmouth. Setting spurs to his horse, heraised his hat in response to the cheers of the troops and cantered downthe High Street under a rain of flowers, which showered from roof andwindow upon him, his staff, and his escort. We had joined in his train,as commanded, so that we came in for our share of this merry crossfire.One rose as it fluttered down was caught by Reuben, who, I observed,pressed it to his lips, and then pushed it inside his breastplate.Glancing up, I caught sight, of the smiling face of our host's daughterpeeping down at us from a casement.

  'Well caught, Reuben!' I whispered. 'At trick-track or trap and ball youwere ever our best player.'

  'Ah, Micah,' said he, 'I bless the day that ever I followed you to thewars. I would not change places with Monmouth this day.'

  'Has it gone so far then!' I exclaimed. 'Why, lad, I thought that youwere but opening your trenches, and you speak as though you had carriedthe city.'

  'Perhaps I am over-hopeful,' he cried, turning from hot to cold, as aman doth when he is in love, or hath the tertian ague, or other bodilytrouble. 'God knows that I am little worthy of her, and yet--'

  'Set not your heart too firmly upon that which may prove to be beyondyour reach,' said I. 'The old man is rich, and will look higher.'

  'I would he were poor!' sighed Reuben, with all the selfishness of alover. 'If this war last I may win myself some honour or title. Whoknows? Others have done it, and why not I!'

  'Of our three from Havant,' I remarked, 'one is spurred onwards byambition, and one by love. Now, what am I to do who care neither forhigh office nor for the face of a maid? What is to carry me into thefight?'

  'Our motives come and go, but yours is ever with you,' said Reuben.'Honour and duty are the two stars, Micah, by which you have eversteered your course.'

  'Faith, Mistress Ruth has taught you to make pretty speeches,' said I,'but methinks she ought to be here amid the beauty of Taunton.'

  As I spoke we were riding into the market-place, which was now crowdedwith our troops. Round the cross were grouped a score of maidens clad inwhite muslin dresses with blue scarfs around their waists. As the Kingapproached, these little maids, with much pretty nervousness, advancedto meet him, and handed him a banner which they had worked for him, andalso a dainty gold-clasped Bible. Monmouth handed the flag to one of hiscaptains, but he raised the book above his head, exclaiming that hehad come there to defend the truths contained within it, at which thecheerings and acclamations broke forth with redoubled vigour. It hadbeen expected that he might address the people from the cross, but hecontented himself with waiting while the heralds proclaimed his titlesto the Crown, when he gave the word to disperse, and the troops marchedoff to the different centres where food had been provided for them. TheKing and his chief officers took up their quarters in the Castle, whilethe Mayor and richer burgesses found bed and board for the rest. As tothe common soldiers, many were billeted among the townsfolk, many othersencamped in the streets and Castle grounds, while the remainder took uptheir dwelling among the waggons in the fields outside the city, wherethey lit up great fires, and had sheep roasting and beer flowing asmerrily as though a march on London were but a holiday outing.