Micah Clarke

by Arthur Conan Doyle

  Chapter XXI. Of my Hand-grips with the Brandenburger

  King Monmouth had called a council meeting for the evening, and summonedColonel Decimus Saxon to attend it, with whom I went, bearing with methe small package which Sir Jacob Clancing had given over to my keeping.On arriving at the Castle we found that the King had not yet come outfrom his chamber, but we were shown into the great hall to await him, afine room with lofty windows and a noble ceiling of carved woodwork. Atthe further end the royal arms had been erected without the bar sinisterwhich Monmouth had formerly worn. Here were assembled the principalchiefs of the army, with many of the inferior commanders, town officers,and others who had petitions to offer. Lord Grey of Wark stood silentlyby the window, looking out over the countryside with a gloomy face. Wadeand Holmes shook their heads and whispered in a corner. Ferguson strodeabout with his wig awry, shouting out exhortations and prayers in abroad Scottish accent. A few of the more gaily dressed gathered roundthe empty fireplace, and listened to a tale from one of their numberwhich appeared to be shrouded in many oaths, and which was greeted withshouts of laughter. In another corner a numerous group of zealots, cladin black or russet gowns, with broad white bands and hanging mantles,stood round some favourite preacher, and discussed in an undertoneCalvinistic philosophy and its relation to statecraft. A few plainhomely soldiers, who were neither sectaries nor courtiers, wandered upand down, or stared out through the windows at the busy encampment uponthe Castle Green. To one of these, remarkable for his great size andbreadth of shoulder, Saxon led me, and touching him on the sleeve, heheld out his hand as to an old friend. 'Mein Gott!' cried the Germansoldier of fortune, for it was the same man whom my companion hadpointed out in the morning, 'I thought it was you, Saxon, when I saw youby the gate, though you are even thinner than of old. How a man couldsuck up so much good Bavarian beer as you have done, and yet make solittle flesh upon it, is more than I can verstehen. How have all thingsgone with you?'

  'As of old,' said Saxon. 'More blows than thalers, and greater need ofa surgeon than of a strong-box. When did I see you last, friend? Wasit not at the onfall at Nurnberg, when I led the right and you the leftwing of the heavy horse?'

  'Nay,' said Buyse. 'I have met you in the way of business since then.Have you forgot the skirmish on the Rhine bank, when you did flash yoursnapphahn at me? Sapperment! Had some rascally schelm not stabbed myhorse I should have swept your head off as a boy cuts thistles mit astick.'

  'Aye, aye,' Saxon answered composedly, 'I had forgot it. You were taken,if I remember aright, but did afterwards brain the sentry with yourfetters, and swam the Rhine under the fire of a regiment. Yet, I thinkthat we did offer you the same terms that you were having with theothers.'

  'Some such base offer was indeed made me,' said the German sternly. 'Towhich I answered that, though I sold my sword, I did not sell my honour.It is well that cavaliers of fortune should show that an engagement iswith them--how do ye say it?--unbreakable until the war is over. Then byall means let him change his paymaster. Warum nicht?'

  'True, friend, true!' replied Saxon. 'These beggarly Italians and Swisshave made such a trade of the matter, and sold themselves so freely,body and soul, to the longest purse, that it is well that we should benice upon points of honour. But you remember the old hand-grip which noman in the Palatinate could exchange with you? Here is my captain, MicahClarke. Let him see how warm a North German welcome may be.'

  The Brandenburger showed his white teeth in a grin as he held out hisbroad brown hand to me. The instant that mine was enclosed in it hesuddenly bent his whole strength upon it, and squeezed my fingerstogether until the blood tingled in the nails, and the whole hand waslimp and powerless.

  'Donnerwetter!' he cried, laughing heartily at my start of pain andsurprise. 'It is a rough Prussian game, and the English lads have notmuch stomach for it.'

  'Truly, sir,' said I, 'it is the first time that I have seen thepastime, and I would fain practise it under so able a master.'

  'What, another!' he cried. 'Why, you must be still pringling from thefirst. Nay, if you will I shall not refuse you, though I fear it mayweaken your hold upon your sword-hilt.'

  He held out his hand as he spoke, and I grasped it firmly, thumb tothumb, keeping my elbow high so as to bear all my force upon it. His owntrick was, as I observed, to gain command of the other hand by a greatoutput of strength at the onset. This I prevented by myself putting outall my power. For a minute or more we stood motionless, gazing into eachother's faces. Then I saw a bead of sweat trickle down his forehead, andI knew that he was beaten. Slowly his grip relaxed, and his hand grewlimp and slack while my own tightened ever upon it, until he was forcedin a surly, muttering voice to request that I should unhand him.

  'Teufel und hexerei!' he cried, wiping away the blood which oozed fromunder his nails, 'I might as well put my fingers in a rat-trap. Youare the first man that ever yet exchanged fair hand-grips with AnthonyBuyse.'

  'We breed brawn in England as well as in Brandenburg,' said Saxon, whowas shaking with laughter over the German soldier's discomfiture. 'Why,I have seen that lad pick up a full-size sergeant of dragoons and throwhim into a cart as though he had been a clod of earth.'

  'Strong he is,' grumbled Buyse, still wringing his injured hand, 'strongas old Gotz mit de iron grip. But what good is strength alone in thehandling of a weapon? It is not the force of a blow, but the way inwhich it is geschlagen, that makes the effect. Your sword now is heavierthan mine, by the look of it, and yet my blade would bite deeper. Eh? Isnot that a more soldierly sport than kinderspiel such as hand-graspingand the like?'

  'He is a modest youth,' said Saxon. 'Yet I would match his strokeagainst yours.'

  'For what?' snarled the German.

  'For as much wine as we can take at a sitting.

  'No small amount, either,' said Buyse; 'a brace of gallons at the least.Well, be it so. Do you accept the contest?'

  'I shall do what I may,' I answered, 'though I can scarce hope to strikeas heavy a blow as so old and tried a soldier.'

  'Henker take your compliments,' he cried gruffly. 'It was with sweetwords that you did coax my fingers into that fool-catcher of yours. Now,here is my old headpiece of Spanish steel. It has, as you can see, oneor two dints of blows, and a fresh one will not hurt it. I place it hereupon this oaken stool high enough to be within fair sword-sweep. Have atit, Junker, and let us see if you can leave your mark upon it!'

  'Do you strike first, sir,' said I, 'since the challenge is yours.'

  'I must bruise my own headpiece to regain my soldierly credit,' hegrumbled. 'Well, well, it has stood a cut or two in its day.' Drawinghis broadsword, he waved back the crowd who had gathered around us,while he swung the great weapon with tremendous force round his head,and brought it down with a full, clean sweep on to the smooth cap ofsteel. The headpiece sprang high into the air and then clattered downupon the oaken floor with a long, deep line bitten into the solid metal.

  'Well struck!' 'A brave stroke!' cried the spectators. 'It is proofsteel thrice welded, and warranted to turn a sword-blade,' one remarked,raising up the helmet to examine it, and then replacing it upon thestool.

  'I have seen my father cut through proof steel with this very sword,'said I, drawing the fifty-year-old weapon. 'He put rather more of hisweight into it than you have done. I have heard him say that a goodstroke should come from the back and loins rather than from the meremuscles of the arm.'

  'It is not a lecture we want, but a beispiel or example,' sneered theGerman. 'It is with your stroke that we have to do, and not with theteaching of your father.'

  'My stroke,' said I, 'is in accordance with his teaching;' and,whistling round the sword, I brought it down with all my might andstrength upon the German's helmet. The good old Commonwealth blade shorethrough the plate of steel, cut the stool asunder, and buried its pointtwo inches deep in the oaken floor. 'It is but a trick,' I explained. 'Ihave practised it in the winter evenings at home.'

  'It is not a trick that I sh
ould care to have played upon me,' said LordGrey, amid a general murmur of applause and surprise. 'Od's bud, man,you have lived two centuries too late. What would not your thews havebeen worth before gunpowder put all men upon a level!'

  'Wunderbar!' growled Buyse, 'wunderbar! I am past my prime, young sir,and may well resign the palm of strength to you. It was a right noblestroke. It hath cost me a runlet or two of canary, and a good oldhelmet; but I grudge it not, for it was fairly done. I am thankfulthat my head was not darin. Saxon, here, used to show us some braveschwertspielerei, but he hath not the weight for such smashing blows asthis.'

  'My eye is still true and my hand firm, though both are perhaps a triflethe worse for want of use,' said Saxon, only too glad at the chanceof drawing the eyes of the chiefs upon him. 'At backsword, sword anddagger, sword and buckler, single falchion and case of falchions, mineold challenge still holds good against any comer, save only my brotherQuartus, who plays as well as I do, but hath an extra half-inch in reachwhich gives him the vantage.'

  'I studied sword-play under Signor Contarini of Paris,' said Lord Grey.'Who was your master?'

  'I have studied, my lord, under Signer Stern Necessity of Europe,' quothSaxon. 'For five-and-thirty years my life has depended from day to dayupon being able to cover myself with this slip of steel. Here is asmall trick which showeth some nicety of eye: to throw this ring to theceiling and catch it upon a rapier point. It seems simple, perchance,and yet is only to be attained by some practice.'

  'Simple!' cried Wade the lawyer, a square-faced, bold-eyed man. 'Why,the ring is but the girth of your little finger. A man might do it onceby good luck, but none could ensure it.'

  'I will lay a guinea a thrust on it,' said Saxon; and tossing the littlegold circlet up into the air, he flashed out his rapier and made a passat it. The ring rasped down the steel blade and tinkled against thehilt, fairly impaled. By a sharp motion of the wrist he shot it upto the ceiling again, where it struck a carved rafter and altered itscourse; but again, with a quick step forward, he got beneath it andreceived it on his sword-point. 'Surely there is some cavalier presentwho is as apt at the trick as I am,' he said, replacing the ring uponhis finger.

  'I think, Colonel, that I could venture upon it,' said a voice; andlooking round, we found that Monmouth had entered the room and wasstanding quietly on the outskirts of the throng, unperceived inthe general interest which our contention had excited. 'Nay, nay,gentlemen,' he continued pleasantly, as we uncovered and bowed withsome little embarrassment; 'how could my faithful followers be betteremployed than by breathing themselves in a little sword-play? I prytheelend me your rapier, Colonel.' He drew a diamond ring from his finger,and spinning it up into the air, he transfixed it as deftly as Saxonhad done. 'I practised the trick at The Hague, where, by my faith, I hadonly too many hours to devote to such trifles. But how come these steellinks and splinters of wood to be littered over the floor?'

  'A son of Anak hath appaired amang us,' said Ferguson, turning hisface, all scarred and reddened with the king's evil, in my direction. 'AGoliath o' Gath, wha hath a stroke like untae a weaver's beam. Hath heno the smooth face o' a bairn and the thews' o' Behemoth?'

  'A shrewd blow indeed,' King Monmouth remarked, picking up half thestool. 'How is our champion named?'

  'He is my captain, your Majesty,' Saxon answered, resheathing the swordwhich the King had handed to him; 'Micah Clarke, a man of Hampshirebirth.'

  'They breed a good old English stock in those parts,' said Monmouth;'but how comes it that you are here, sir? I summoned this meeting for myown immediate household, and for the colonels of the regiments. If everycaptain is to be admitted into our councils, we must hold our meetingson the Castle Green, for no apartment could contain us.'

  'I ventured to come here, your Majesty,' I replied, 'because on my wayhither I received a commission, which was that I should deliver thissmall but weighty package into your hands. I therefore thought it myduty to lose no time in fulfilling my errand.'

  'What is in it?' he asked.

  'I know not,' I answered.

  Doctor Ferguson whispered a few words into the King's ear, who laughedand held out his hand for the packet.

  'Tut! tut!' said he. 'The days of the Borgias and the Medicis are over,Doctor. Besides, the lad is no Italian conspirator, but hath honest blueeyes and flaxen hair as Nature's certificate to his character. Thisis passing heavy--an ingot of lead, by the feel. Lend me your dagger,Colonel Holmes. It is stitched round with packthread. Ha! it is a barof gold--solid virgin gold by all that is wonderful. Take charge of it,Wade, and see that it is added to the common fund. This little pieceof metal may furnish ten pikemen. What have we here? A letter and anenclosure. "To James, Duke of Monmouth"--hum! It was written before weassumed our royal state. "Sir Jacob Glancing, late of Snellaby Hall,sends greeting and a pledge of affection. Carry out the good work.A hundred more such ingots await you when you have crossed SalisburyPlain." Bravely promised, Sir Jacob! I would that you had sent them.Well, gentlemen, ye see how support and tokens of goodwill come pouringin upon us. Is not the tide upon the turn? Can the usurper hope to holdhis own? Will his men stand by him? Within a month or less I shall seeye all gathered round me at Westminster, and no duty will then beso pleasing to me as to see that ye are all, from the highest to thelowest, rewarded for your loyalty to your monarch in this the hour ofhis darkness and his danger.'

  A murmur of thanks rose up from the courtiers at this gracious speech,but the German plucked at Saxon's sleeve and whispered, 'He hath hiswarm fit upon him. You shall see him cold anon.'

  'Fifteen hundred men have joined me here where I did but expect athousand at the most,' the King continued. 'If we had high hopes whenwe landed at Lyme Cobb with eighty at our back, what should we think nowwhen we find ourselves in the chief city of Somerset with eight thousandbrave men around us? 'Tis but one other affair like that at Axminster,and my uncle's power will go down like a house of cards. But gatherround the table, gentlemen, and we shall discuss matters in due form.'

  'There is yet a scrap of paper which you have not read, sire,' saidWade, picking up a little slip which had been enclosed in the note.

  'It is a rhyming catch or the posy of a ring,' said Monmouth, glancingat it. 'What are we to make of this?

  "When thy star is in trine, Between darkness and shine, Duke Monmouth, Duke Monmouth, Beware of the Rhine!"

  Thy star in trine! What tomfoolery is this?'

  'If it please your Majesty,' said I, 'I have reason to believe that theman who sent you this message is one of those who are deeply skilledin the arts of divination, and who pretend from the motions of thecelestial bodies to foretell the fates of men.'

  'This gentleman is right, sir,' remarked Lord Grey. '"Thy star in trine"is an astrological term, which signifieth when your natal planet shallbe in a certain quarter of the heavens. The verse is of the nature of aprophecy. The Chaldeans and Egyptians of old are said to have attainedmuch skill in the art, but I confess that I have no great opinion ofthose latter-day prophets who busy themselves in answering the foolishquestions of every housewife.'

  'And tell by Venus and the moon, Who stole a thimble or a spoon.'muttered Saxon, quoting from his favourite poem.

  'Why, here are our Colonels catching the rhyming complaint,' said theKing, laughing. 'We shall be dropping the sword and taking to the harpanon, as Alfred did in these very parts. Or I shall become a king ofbards and trouveurs, like good King Rene of Provence. But, gentlemen,if this be indeed a prophecy, it should, methinks, bode well for ourenterprise. It is true that I am warned against the Rhine, but there islittle prospect of our fighting this quarrel upon its banks.'

  'Worse luck!' murmured the German, under his breath.

  'We may, therefore, thank this Sir Jacob and his giant messenger forhis forecast as well as for his gold. But here comes the worthy Mayor ofTaunton, the oldest of our councillors and the youngest of our knights.Captain Clarke, I desire y
ou to stand at the inside of the door and toprevent intrusion. What passes amongst us will, I am well convinced, besafe in your keeping.'

  I bowed and took up my post as ordered, while the council-men andcommanders gathered round the great oaken table which ran down thecentre of the hall. The mellow evening light was streaming through thethree western windows, while the distant babble of the soldiers upon theCastle Green sounded like the sleepy drone of insects. Monmouth pacedwith quick uneasy steps up and down the further end of the room untilall were seated, when he turned towards them and addressed them.

  'You will have surmised, gentlemen,' he said, 'that I have called youtogether to-day that I might have the benefit of your collective wisdomin determining what our next steps should be. We have now marched someforty miles into our kingdom, and we have met wherever we have gone withthe warm welcome which we expected. Close upon eight thousand men followour standards, and as many more have been turned away for want ofarms. We have twice met the enemy, with the effect that we have armedourselves with their muskets and field-pieces. From first to last therehath been nothing which has not prospered with us. We must look to itthat the future be as successful as the past. To insure this I havecalled ye together, and I now ask ye to give me your opinions of oursituation, leaving me after I have listened to your views to form ourplan of action. There are statesmen among ye, and there are soldiersamong ye, and there are godly men among ye who may chance to get a flashof light when statesman and soldier are in the dark. Speak fearlessly,then, and let me know what is in your minds.'

  From my central post by the door I could see the lines of faces oneither side of the board, the solemn close-shaven Puritans, sunburnedsoldiers, and white-wigged moustachioed courtiers. My eyes restedparticularly upon Ferguson's scorbutic features, Saxon's hard aquilineprofile, the German's burly face, and the peaky thoughtful countenanceof the Lord of Wark.

  'If naebody else will gie an opeenion,' cried the fanatical Doctor,'I'll een speak mysel' as led by the inward voice. For have I no workedin the cause and slaved in it, much enduring and suffering mony thingsat the honds o' the froward, whereby my ain speerit hath plentifullyfructified? Have I no been bruised as in a wine-press, and cast oot wi'hissing and scorning into waste places?'

  'We know your merits and your sufferings, Doctor,' said the King. 'Thequestion before us is as to our course of action.'

  'Was there no a voice heard in the East?' cried the old Whig. 'Was thereno a soond as o' a great crying, the crying for a broken covenant and asinful generation? Whence came the cry? Wha's was the voice? Was it nothat o' the man Robert Ferguson, wha raised himsel' up against the greatones in the land, and wouldna be appeased?'

  'Aye, aye, Doctor,' said Monmouth impatiently. 'Speak to the point, orgive place to another.'

  'I shall mak' mysel' clear, your Majesty. Have we no heard that Argyleis cutten off? And why was he cutten off? Because he hadna due faithin the workings o' the Almighty, and must needs reject the help o' thechildren o' light in favour o' the bare-legged spawn o' Prelacy, wha arehalf Pagan, half Popish. Had he walked in the path o' the Lord he wudnabe lying in the Tolbooth o' Edinburgh wi' the tow or the axe beforehim. Why did he no gird up his loins and march straight onwards wi'the banner o' light, instead o' dallying here and biding there like ahalf-hairted Didymus? And the same or waur will fa' upon us if we dinnamarch on intae the land and plant our ensigns afore the wicked toun o'London--the toun where the Lord's wark is tae be done, and the tares taebe separated frae the wheat, and piled up for the burning.'

  'Your advice, in short, is that we march on!' said Monmouth.

  'That we march on, your Majesty, and that we prepare oorselves tae bethe vessels o' grace, and forbear frae polluting the cause o' the Gospelby wearing the livery o' the devil'--here he glared at a gaily attiredcavalier at the other side of the table--'or by the playing o' cairds,the singing o' profane songs and the swearing o' oaths, all which arenichtly done by members o' this army, wi' the effect o' giving muchscandal tae God's ain folk.'

  A hum of assent and approval rose up from the more Puritan members ofthe council at this expression of opinion, while the courtiers glancedat each other and curled their lips in derision. Monmouth took two orthree turns and then called for another opinion.

  'You, Lord Grey,' he said, 'are a soldier and a man of experience. Whatis your advice? Should we halt here or push forward towards London?'

  'To advance to the East would, in my humble judgment, be fatal to us,'Grey answered, speaking slowly, with the manner of a man who has thoughtlong and deeply before delivering an opinion. 'James Stuart is strongin horse, and we have none. We can hold our own amongst hedgerows or inbroken country, but what chance could we have in the middle of SalisburyPlain? With the dragoons round us we should be like a flock of sheepamid a pack of wolves. Again, every step which we take towards Londonremoves us from our natural vantage ground, and from the fertile countrywhich supplies our necessities, while it strengthens our enemy byshortening the distance he has to convey his troops and his victuals.Unless, therefore, we hear of some great outbreak elsewhere, or of somegeneral movement in London in our favour, we would do best to hold ourground and wait an attack.'

  'You argue shrewdly and well, my Lord Grey,' said the King. 'But howlong are we to wait for this outbreak which never comes, and for thissupport which is ever promised and never provided? We have now beenseven long days in England, and during that time of all the House ofCommons no single man hath come over to us, and of the lords none gavemy Lord Grey, who was himself an exile. Not a baron or an earl, and onlyone baronet, hath taken up arms for me. Where are the men whom Danversand Wildman promised me from London? Where are the brisk boys of theCity who were said to be longing for me? Where are the breakings outfrom Berwick to Portland which they foretold? Not a man hath movedsave only these good peasants. I have been deluded, ensnared,trapped--trapped by vile agents who have led me into the shambles.' Hepaced up and down, wringing his hands and biting his lips, with despairstamped upon his face. I observed that Buyse smiled and whisperedsomething to Saxon--a hint, I suppose, that this was the cold fit ofwhich he spoke.

  'Tell me, Colonel Buyse,' said the King, mastering his emotion by astrong effort. 'Do you, as a soldier, agree with my Lord Grey?'

  'Ask Saxon, your Majesty,' the German answered. 'My opinion in aRaths-Versammlung is, I have observed, ever the same as his.'

  'Then we turn to you, Colonel Saxon,' said Monmouth. 'We have in thiscouncil a party who are in favour of an advance and a party who wishto stand their ground. Their weight and numbers are, methinks, nearlyequal. If you had the casting vote how would you decide?' All eyes werebent upon our leader, for his martial bearing, and the respect shown tohim by the veteran Buyse, made it likely that his opinion might reallyturn the scale. He sat for a few moments in silence with his handsbefore his face.

  'I will give my opinion, your Majesty,' he said at last. 'Feversham andChurchill are making for Salisbury with three thousand foot, and theyhave pushed on eight hundred of the Blue Guards, and two or threedragoon regiments. We should, therefore, as Lord Grey says, have tofight on Salisbury Plain, and our foot armed with a medley of weaponscould scarce make head against their horse. All is possible to the Lord,as Dr. Ferguson wisely says. We are as grains of dust in the hollow ofHis hand. Yet He hath given us brains wherewith to choose the bettercourse, and if we neglect it we must suffer the consequence of ourfolly.'

  Ferguson laughed contemptuously, and breathed out a prayer, but many ofthe other Puritans nodded their heads to acknowledge that this was notan unreasonable view to take of it.

  'On the other hand, sire,' Saxon continued, 'it appears to me that toremain here is equally impossible. Your Majesty's friends throughoutEngland would lose all heart if the army lay motionless and struck noblow. The rustics would flock off to their wives and homes. Such anexample is catching. I have seen a great army thaw away like an iciclein the sunshine. Once gone, it is no easy matter to collect them again.To keep them we m
ust employ them. Never let them have an idle minute.Drill them. March them. Exercise them. Work them. Preach to them. Makethem obey God and their Colonel. This cannot be done in snug quarters.They must travel. We cannot hope to end this business until we getto London. London, then, must be our goal. But there are many ways ofreaching it. You have, sire, as I have heard, many friends at Bristoland in the Midlands. If I might advise, I should say let us march roundin that direction. Every day that passes will serve to swell your forcesand improve your troops, while all will feel something is astirring.Should we take Bristol--and I hear that the works are not verystrong--it would give us a very good command of shipping, and a rarecentre from which to act. If all goes well with us, we could makeour way to London through Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. In themeantime I might suggest that a day of fast and humiliation be called tobring down a blessing on the cause.'

  This address, skilfully compounded of worldly wisdom and of spiritualzeal, won the applause of the whole council, and especially that of KingMonmouth, whose melancholy vanished as if by magic.

  'By my faith, Colonel,' said he, 'you make it all as clear as day.Of course, if we make ourselves strong in the West, and my uncle isthreatened with disaffection elsewhere, he will have no chance to holdout against us. Should he wish to fight us upon our own ground, he mustneeds drain his troops from north, south, and east, which is not to bethought of. We may very well march to London by way of Bristol.'

  'I think that the advice is good,' Lord Grey observed; 'but I shouldlike to ask Colonel Saxon what warrant he hath for saying that Churchilland Feversham are on their way, with three thousand regular foot andseveral regiments of horse?'

  'The word of an officer of the Blues with whom I conversed atSalisbury,' Saxon answered. 'He confided in me, believing me to be oneof the Duke of Beaufort's household. As to the horse, one party pursuedus on Salisbury Plain with bloodhounds, and another attacked us nottwenty miles from here and lost a score of troopers and a cornet.'

  'We heard something of the brush,' said the King. 'It was bravely done.But if these men are so close we have no great time for preparation.'

  'Their foot cannot be here before a week,' said the Mayor. 'By that timewe might be behind the walls of Bristol.'

  'There is one point which might be urged,' observed Wade the lawyer. 'Wehave, as your Majesty most truly says, met with heavy discouragement inthe fact that no noblemen and few commoners of repute have declared forus. The reason is, I opine, that each doth wait for his neighbour tomake a move. Should one or two come over the others would soon follow.How, then, are we to bring a duke or two to our standards?'

  'There's the question, Master Wade,' said Monmouth, shaking his headdespondently.

  'I think that it might be done,' continued the Whig lawyer. 'Mereproclamations addressed to the commonalty will not catch these goldfish. They are not to be angled for with a naked hook. I shouldrecommend that some form of summons or writ be served upon each of them,calling upon them to appear in our camp within a certain date under painof high treason.'

  'There spake the legal mind,' quoth King Monmouth, with a laugh. 'Butyou have omitted to tell us how the said writ or summons is to beconveyed to these same delinquents.'

  'There is the Duke of Beaufort,' continued Wade, disregarding the King'sobjection. 'He is President of Wales, and he is, as your Majesty knows,lieutenant of four English counties. His influence overshadows the wholeWest. He hath two hundred horses in his stables at Badminton, and athousand men, as I have heard, sit down at his tables every day. Whyshould not a special effort be made to gain over such a one, the more soas we intend to march in his direction?'

  'Henry, Duke of Beaufort, is unfortunately already in arms against hissovereign,' said Monmouth gloomily.

  'He is, sire, but he may be induced to turn in your favour the weaponwhich he hath raised against you. He is a Protestant. He is said to be aWhig. Why should we not send a message to him? Flatter his pride. Appealto his religion. Coax and threaten him. Who knows? He may have privategrievances of which we know nothing, and may be ripe for such a move.'

  'Your counsel is good, Wade,' said Lord Grey, 'but methinks his Majestyhath asked a pertinent question. Your messenger would, I fear, findhimself swinging upon one of the Badminton oaks if the Duke desired toshow his loyalty to James Stuart. Where are we to find a man who is waryenough and bold enough for such a mission, without risking one of ourleaders, who could be ill-spared at such a time?'

  'It is true,' said the King. 'It were better not to venture it at allthan to do it in a clumsy and halting fashion. Beaufort would think thatit was a plot not to gain him over, but to throw discredit upon him. Butwhat means our giant at the door by signing to us?'

  'If it please your Majesty,' I asked, 'have I permission to speak?'

  'We would fain hear you, Captain,' he answered graciously. 'If yourunderstanding is in any degree correspondent to your strength, youropinion should be of weight.'

  'Then, your Majesty,' said I, 'I would offer myself as a fittingmessenger in this matter. My father bid me spare neither life nor limbin this quarrel, and if this honourable council thinks that the Dukemay be gained over, I am ready to guarantee that the message shall beconveyed to him if man and horse can do it.'

  'I'll warrant that no better herald could be found,' cried Saxon. 'Thelad hath a cool head and a staunch heart.'

  'Then, young sir, we shall accept your loyal and gallant offer,' saidMonmouth. 'Are ye all agreed, gentlemen, upon the point?' A murmur ofassent rose from the company.

  'You shall draw up the paper, Wade. Offer him money, a seniority amongstthe dukes, the perpetual Presidentship of Wales--what you will, if youcan but shake him. If not, sequestration, exile, and everlasting infamy.And, hark ye! you can enclose a copy of the papers drawn up by VanBrunow, which prove the marriage of my mother, together with theattestations of the witnesses. Have them ready by to-morrow at daybreak,when the messenger may start.' (Note H, Appendix.)

  'They shall be ready, your Majesty,' said Wade.

  'In that case, gentlemen,' continued King Monmouth, 'I may now dismissye to your posts. Should anything fresh arise I shall summon ye again,that I may profit by your wisdom. Here we shall stay, if Sir StephenTimewell will have us, until the men are refreshed and the recruitsenrolled. We shall then make our way Bristolwards, and see what luckawaits us in the North. If Beaufort comes over all will be well.Farewell, my kind friends! I need not tell ye to be diligent andfaithful.'

  The council rose at the King's salutation, and bowing to him they beganto file out of the Castle hall. Several of the members clustered roundme with hints for my journey or suggestions as to my conduct.

  'He is a proud, froward man,' said one. 'Speak humbly to him or he willnever hearken to your message, but will order you to be scourged out ofhis presence.'

  'Nay, nay!' cried another. 'He is hot, but he loves a man that is aman. Speak boldly and honestly to him, and he is more like to listen toreason.'

  'Speak as the Lord shall direct you,' said a Puritan. 'It is His messagewhich you bear as well as the King's.'

  'Entice him out alone upon some excuse,' said Buyse, 'then up and awaymit him upon your crupper. Hagelsturm! that would be a proper game.'

  'Leave him alone,' cried Saxon. 'The lad hath as much sense as any ofye. He will see which way the cat jumps. Come, friend, let us make ourway back to our men.'

  'I am sorry, indeed, to lose you,' he said, as we threaded our waythrough the throng of peasants and soldiers upon the Castle Green. 'Yourcompany will miss you sorely. Lockarby must see to the two. If all goeswell you should be back in three or four days. I need not tell you thatthere is a real danger. If the Duke wishes to prove to James thathe would not allow himself to be tampered with, he can only do it bypunishing the messenger, which as lieutenant of a county he hath powerto do in times of civil commotion. He is a hard man if all reports betrue. On the other hand, if you should chance to succeed it may lay thefoundations of your fortunes and be the means
of saving Monmouth. Heneeds help, by the Lord Harry! Never have I seen such a rabble as thisarmy of his. Buyse says that they fought lustily at this ruffle atAxminster, but he is of one mind with me, that a few whiffs of shot andcavalry charges would scatter them over the countryside. Have you anymessage to leave?'

  'None, save my love to my mother,' said I.

  'It is well. Should you fall in any unfair way, I shall not forget hisGrace of Beaufort, and the next of his gentlemen who comes in my wayshall hang as high as Haman. And now you had best make for your chamber,and have as good a slumber as you may, since to-morrow at cock-crowbegins your new mission.'