Micah Clarke

by Arthur Conan Doyle

  Chapter XXIV. Of the Welcome that met me at Badminton

  When I opened my eyes I had some ado to recall where I was, but onsitting up it was brought home to me by my head striking the low ceilingwith a sharp rap. On the other side of the cabin Silas Bolitho wasstretched at full length with a red woollen nightcap upon his head, fastasleep and snoring. In the centre of the cabin hung a swing-table,much worn, and stained all over with the marks of countless glassesand pannikins. A wooden bench, screwed to the floor, completed thefurniture, with the exception of a stand of muskets along one side.Above and below the berths in which we lay were rows of lockers, inwhich, doubtless, some of the more choice laces and silks were stowed.The vessel was rising and falling with a gentle motion, but from theflapping of canvas I judged that there was little wind. Slipping quietlyfrom my couch, so as not to wake the mate, I stole upon deck.

  We were, I found, not only becalmed, but hemmed in by a dense fog-bankwhich rolled in thick, choking wreaths all round us, and hid the verywater beneath us. We might have been a ship of the air riding upona white cloud-bank. Now and anon a little puff of breeze caught theforesail and bellied it out for a moment, only to let it flap backagainst the mast, limp and slack, once more. A sunbeam would at timesbreak through the dense cloud, and would spangle the dead grey wall witha streak of rainbow colour, but the haze would gather in again and shutoff the bright invader. Covenant was staring right and left with greatquestioning eyes. The crew were gathered along the bulwarks and smokingtheir pipes while they peered out into the dense fog.

  'God den, Captain,' said Dicon, touching his fur cap. 'We have had arare run while the breeze lasted, and the mate reckoned before he turnedin that we were not many miles from Bristol town.'

  'In that case, my good fellow,' I answered, 'ye can set me ashore, for Ihave not far to go.'

  'We must e'en wait till the fog lifts,' said Long John. 'There's onlyone place along here, d'ye see, where we can land cargoes unquestioned.When it clears we shall turn her head for it, but until we can take ourbearings it is anxious work wi' the sands under our lee.'

  'Keep a look-out there, Tom Baldock!' cried Dicon to a man in the bows.'We are in the track of every Bristol ship, and though there's so littlewind, a high-sparred craft might catch a breeze which we miss.'

  'Sh!' said Long John suddenly, holding up his hand in warning. 'Sh!'

  We listened with all our ears, but there was no sound, save the gentlewash of the unseen waves against our sides.

  'Call the mate!' whispered the seaman. 'There's a craft close by us. Iheard the rattle of a rope upon her deck.'

  Silas Bolitho was up in an instant, and we all stood straining our ears,and peering through the dense fog-bank. We had well-nigh made up ourminds that it was a false alarm, and the mate was turning back in novery good humour, when a clear loud bell sounded seven times quiteclose to us, followed by a shrill whistle and a confused shouting andstamping.

  'It's a King's ship,' growled the mate. 'That's seven bells, and thebo'sun is turning out the watch below.'

  'It was on our quarter,' whispered one.

  'Nay, I think it was on our larboard bow,' said another.

  The mate held up his hand, and we all listened for some fresh signof the whereabouts of our scurvy neighbour. The wind had freshened alittle, and we were slipping through the water at four or five knotsan hour. Of a sudden a hoarse voice was heard roaring at our very side.''Bout ship!' it shouted. 'Bear a hand on the lee-braces, there! Standby the halliards! Bear a hand, ye lazy rogues, or I'll be among ye withmy cane, with a wannion to ye!'

  'It is a King's ship, sure enough, and she lies just there,' said LongJohn, pointing out over the quarter. 'Merchant adventurers havecivil tongues. It's your blue-coated, gold-braided, swivel-eyed,quarter-deckers that talk of canes. Ha! did I not tell ye!'

  As he spoke, the white screen of vapour rolled up like the curtain ina playhouse, and uncovered a stately war-ship, lying so close that wecould have thrown a biscuit aboard. Her long, lean, black hull roseand fell with a slow, graceful rhythm, while her beautiful spars andsnow-white sails shot aloft until they were lost in the wreaths of fogwhich still hung around her. Nine bright brass cannons peeped out at usfrom her portholes. Above the line of hammocks, which hung like cardedwool along her bulwarks, we could see the heads of the seamen staringdown at us, and pointing us out to each other. On the high poop stood anelderly officer with cocked hat and trim white wig, who at once whippedup his glass and gazed at us through it.

  'Ahoy, there!' he shouted, leaning over the taffrail. 'What lugger isthat?'

  'The _Lucy_,' answered the mate, 'bound from Porlock Quay to Bristolwith hides and tallow. Stand ready to tack!' he added in a lower voice,'the fog is coming down again.'

  'Ye have one of the hides with the horse still in it,' cried theofficer. 'Run down under our counter. We must have a closer look at ye.'

  'Aye, aye, sir!' said the mate, and putting his helm hard down the boomswung across, and the _Maria_ darted off like a scared seabird into thefog. Looking back there was nothing but a dim loom to show where we hadleft the great vessel. We could hear, however, the hoarse shouting oforders and the bustle of men.

  'Look out for squalls, lads!' cried the mate. 'He'll let us have itnow.'

  He had scarcely spoken before there were half-a-dozen throbs of flame inthe mist behind, and as many balls sung among our rigging. One cut awaythe end of the yard, and left it dangling; another grazed the bowsprit,and sent a puff of white splinters into the air.

  'Warm work, Captain, eh?' said old Silas, rubbing his hands. 'Zounds,they shoot better in the dark than ever they did in the light. Therehave been more shots fired at this lugger than she could carry wore sheloaded with them. And yet they never so much as knocked the paint offher before. There they go again!'

  A fresh discharge burst from the man-of-war, but this time they had lostall trace of us, and were firing by guess.

  'That is their last bark, sir,' said Dicon.

  'No fear. They'll blaze away for the rest of the day,' growled anotherof the smugglers. 'Why, Lor' bless ye, it's good exercise for the crew,and the 'munition is the King's, so it don't cost nobody a groat.'

  'It's well the breeze freshened,' said Long John. 'I heard the creak o'davits just after the first discharge. She was lowering her boats, orI'm a Dutchman.'

  'The petter for you if you vas, you seven-foot stock-fish,' cried myenemy the cooper, whose aspect was not improved by a great strip ofplaster over his eye. 'You might have learned something petter than topull on a rope, or to swab decks like a vrouw all your life.'

  'I'll set you adrift in one of your own barrels, you skin of lard,' saidthe seaman. 'How often are we to trounce you before we knock the sauceout of you?'

  'The fog lifts a little towards the land,' Silas remarked. 'Methinks Isee the loom of St. Austin's Point. It rises there upon the starboardbow.'

  'There it is, sure enough, sir!' cried one of the seamen, pointing to adark cape which cut into the mist.

  'Steer for the three-fathom creek then,' said the mate. 'When we are onthe other side of the point, Captain Clarke, we shall be able to landyour horse and yourself. You will then be within a few hours' ride ofyour destination.'

  I led the old seaman aside, and having thanked him for the kindnesswhich he had shown me, I spoke to him of the gauger, and implored him touse his influence to save the man.

  'It rests with Captain Venables,' said he gloomily. 'If we let him gowhat becomes of our cave?'

  'Is there no way of insuring his silence?' I asked. 'Well, we might shiphim to the Plantations,' said the mate. 'We could take him to the Texelwith us, and get Captain Donders or some other to give him a lift acrossthe western ocean.'

  'Do so,' said I, 'and I shall take care that King Monmouth shall hear ofthe help which ye have given his messenger.'

  'Well, we shall be there in a brace of shakes,' he remarked. 'Let us gobelow and load your ground tier, for there is nothing like starting welltrimmed wi
th plenty of ballast in the hold.'

  Following the sailor's advice I went down with him and enjoyed a rudebut plentiful meal. By the time that we had finished, the lugger hadbeen run into a narrow creek, with shelving sandy banks on either side.The district was wild and marshy, with few signs of any inhabitants.With much coaxing and pushing Covenant was induced to take to the water,and swam easily ashore, while I followed in the smuggler's dinghy. Afew words of rough, kindly leave-taking were shouted after me; I saw thedinghy return, and the beautiful craft glided out to sea and faded awayonce more into the mists which still hung over the face of the waters.

  Truly Providence works in strange ways, my children, and until aman comes to the autumn of his days he can scarce say what hath beenill-luck and what hath been good. For of all the seeming misfortuneswhich have befallen me during my wandering life, there is not one whichI have not come to look upon as a blessing. And if you once take thisinto your hearts, it is a mighty help in enabling you to meet alltroubles with a stiff lip; for why should a man grieve when he hath notyet determined whether what hath chanced may not prove to be a cause ofrejoicing. Now here ye will perceive that I began by being dashed upona stony road, beaten, kicked, and finally well-nigh put to death inmistake for another. Yet it ended in my being safely carried to myjourney's end, whereas, had I gone by land, it is more than likely thatI should have been cut off at Weston; for, as I heard afterwards, atroop of horse were making themselves very active in those parts byblocking the roads and seizing all who came that way.

  Being now alone, my first care was to bathe my face and hands in astream which ran down to the sea, and to wipe away any trace of myadventures of the night before. My cut was but a small one, and wasconcealed by my hair. Having reduced myself to some sort of order I nextrubbed down my horse as best I could, and rearranged his girth and hissaddle. I then led him by the bridle to the top of a sandhill hard by,whence I might gain some idea as to my position.

  The fog lay thick upon the Channel, but all inland was very clear andbright. Along the coast the country was dreary and marshy, but at theother side a goodly extent of fertile plain lay before me, well tilledand cared for. A range of lofty hills, which I guessed to be theMendips, bordered the whole skyline, and further north there lay asecond chain in the blue distance. The glittering Avon wound its wayover the country-side like a silver snake in a flower-bed. Close to itsmouth, and not more than two leagues from where I stood, rose the spiresand towers of stately Bristol, the Queen of the West, which was andstill may be the second city in the kingdom. The forests of masts whichshot up like a pinegrove above the roofs of the houses bore witness tothe great trade both with Ireland and with the Plantations which hadbuilt up so flourishing a city.

  As I knew that the Duke's seat was miles on the Gloucestershire side ofthe city, and as I feared lest I might be arrested and examined should Iattempt to pass the gates, I struck inland with intent to ride round thewalls and so avoid the peril. The path which I followed led me into acountry lane, which in turn opened into a broad highway crowded withtravellers, both on horseback and on foot. As the troublous timesrequired that a man should journey with his arms, there was naught inmy outfit to excite remark, and I was able to jog on among the otherhorsemen without question or suspicion. From their appearance they were,I judged, country farmers or squires for the most part, who were ridinginto Bristol to hear the news, and to store away their things of pricein a place of safety.

  'By your leave, zur!' said a burly, heavy-faced man in a velveteenjacket, riding up upon my bridle-arm. 'Can you tell me whether his Graceof Beaufort is in Bristol or at his house o' Badminton?'

  I answered that I could not tell, but that I was myself bound for hispresence.

  'He was in Bristol yestreen a-drilling o' the train-bands,' said thestranger; 'but, indeed, his Grace be that loyal, and works that hard forhis Majesty's cause, that he's a' ower the county, and it is but chancework for to try and to catch him. But if you are about to zeek him,whither shall you go?'

  'I will to Badminton,' I answered, 'and await him there. Can you tell methe way?'

  'What! Not know the way to Badminton!' he cried, with a blank stare ofwonder. 'Whoy, I thought all the warld knew that. You're not fra Walesor the border counties, zur, that be very clear.'

  'I am a Hampshire man,' said I. 'I have come some distance to see theDuke.'

  'Aye, so I should think!' he cried, laughing loudly. 'If you doan't knowthe way to Badminton you doan't know much! But I'll go with you, dangedif I doan't, and I'll show you your road, and run my chance o' findingthe Duke there. What be your name?'

  'Micah Clarke is my name.'

  'And Vairmer Brown is mine--John Brown by the register, but betterknowed as the Vairmer. Tak' this turn to the right off the high-road.Now we can trot our beasts and not be smothered in other folk's dust.And what be you going to Beaufort for?'

  'On private matters which will not brook discussion,' I answered.

  'Lor', now! Affairs o' State belike,' said he, with a whistle. 'Well, astill tongue saves many a neck. I'm a cautious man myself, and these betimes when I wouldna whisper some o' my thoughts--no, not into the earso' my old brown mare here--for fear I'd see her some day standing overagainst me in the witness-box.'

  'They seem very busy over there,' I remarked, for we were now in fullsight of the walls of Bristol, where gangs of men were working hard withpick and shovel improving the defences.

  'Aye, they be busy sure enough, makin' ready in case the rebels comethis road. Cromwell and his tawnies found it a rasper in my vather'stime, and Monmouth is like to do the same.'

  'It hath a strong garrison, too,' said I, bethinking me of Saxon'sadvice at Salisbury. 'I see two or three regiments out yonder on thebare open space.'

  'They have four thousand foot and a thousand horse,' the farmeranswered. 'But the foot are only train-bands, and there's no trustingthem after Axminster. They say up here that the rebels run to nightwenty thousand, and that they give no quarter. Well, if we must havecivil war, I hope it may be hot and sudden, not spun out for a dozenyears like the last one. If our throats are to be cut, let it be with ashairp knife, and not with a blunt hedge shears.'

  'What say you to a stoup of cider?' I asked, for we were passing anivy-clad inn, with 'The Beaufort Arms' printed upon the sign.

  'With all my heart, lad,' my companion answered. 'Ho, there! two pintsof the old hard-brewed! That will serve to wash the dust down. The realBeaufort Arms is up yonder at Badminton, for at the buttery hatch onemay call for what one will in reason and never put hand to pocket.'

  'You speak of the house as though you knew it well,' said I.

  'And who should know it better?' asked the sturdy farmer, wiping hislips, as we resumed our journey. 'Why, it seems but yesterday that Iplayed hide-and-seek wi' my brothers in the old Boteler Castle, thatstood where the new house o' Badminton, or Acton Turville, as some callsit, now stands. The Duke hath built it but a few years, and, indeed, hisDukedom itself is scarce older. There are some who think that he wouldhave done better to stick by the old name that his forebears bore.'

  'What manner of man is the Duke?' I asked.

  'Hot and hasty, like all of his blood. Yet when he hath time to think,and hath cooled down, he is just in the main. Your horse hath been inthe water this morning, vriend.'

  'Yes,' said I shortly, 'he hath had a bath.'

  'I am going to his Grace on the business of a horse,' quoth mycompanion. 'His officers have pressed my piebald four-year-old, andtaken it without a "With your leave," or "By your leave," for the use ofthe King. I would have them know that there is something higher thanthe Duke, or even than the King. There is the English law, which willpreserve a man's goods and his chattels. I would do aught in reason forKing James's service, but my piebald four-year-old is too much.'

  'I fear that the needs of the public service will override yourobjection,' said I.

  'Why it is enough to make a man a Whig,' he cried. 'Even the Roundheadsalways paid the
ir vair penny for every pennyworth they had, though theywanted a vair pennyworth for each penny. I have heard my father say thattrade was never so brisk as in 'forty-six, when they were down this way.Old Noll had a noose of hemp ready for horse-stealers, were they forKing or for Parliament. But here comes his Grace's carriage, if Imistake not.'

  As he spoke a great heavy yellow coach, drawn by six cream-colouredFlemish mares, dashed down the road, and came swiftly towards us. Twomounted lackeys galloped in front, and two others all in light blue andsilver liveries rode on either side.

  'His Grace is not within, else there had been an escort behind,' saidthe farmer, as we reined our horses aside to let the carriage pass. Asthey swept by he shouted out a question as to whether the Duke was atBadminton, and received a nod from the stately bewigged coachman inreply.

  'We are in luck to catch him,' said Farmer Brown. 'He's as hard to findthese days as a crake in a wheatfield. We should be there in an houror less. I must thank you that I did not take a fruitless journey intoBristol. What did you say your errand was?'

  I was again compelled to assure him that the matter was not one of whichI could speak with a stranger, on which he appeared to be huffed, androde for some miles without opening his mouth. Groves of trees lined theroad on either side, and the sweet smell of pines was in our nostrils.Far away the musical pealing of a bell rose and fell on the hot, closesummer air. The shelter of the branches was pleasant, for the sun wasvery strong, blazing down out of a cloudless heaven, and raising a hazefrom the fields and valleys.

  ''Tis the bell from Chipping Sodbury,' said my companion at last, wipinghis ruddy face. 'That's Sodbury Church yonder over the brow of the hill,and here on the right is the entrance of Badminton Park.'

  High iron gates, with the leopard and griffin, which are the supportersof the Beaufort arms, fixed on the pillars which flanked them, openedinto a beautiful domain of lawn and grass land with clumps of treesscattered over it, and broad sheets of water, thick with wild fowl. Atevery turn as we rode up the winding avenue some new beauty caught oureyes, all of which were pointed out and expounded by Farmer Brown, whoseemed to take as much pride in the place as though it belonged to him.Here it was a rockery where a thousand bright-coloured stones shone outthrough the ferns and creepers which had been trained over them. Thereit was a pretty prattling brook, the channel of which had been turned soas to make it come foaming down over a steep ledge of rocks. Or perhapsit was some statue of nymph or sylvan god, or some artfully builtarbour overgrown with roses or honeysuckle. I have never seen groundsso tastefully laid out, and it was done, as all good work in art mustbe done, by following Nature so closely that it only differed from herhandiwork in its profusion in so narrow a compass. A few years later ourhealthy English taste was spoiled by the pedant gardening of the Dutchwith their straight flat ponds, and their trees all clipped and in aline like vegetable grenadiers. In truth, I think that the Prince ofOrange and Sir William Temple had much to answer for in working thischange, but things have now come round again, I understand, and we haveceased to be wiser than Nature in our pleasure-grounds.

  As we drew near the house we came on a large extent of level sward onwhich a troop of horse were exercising, who were raised, as my companioninformed me, entirely from the Duke's own personal attendants. Passingthem we rode through a grove of rare trees and came out on a broad spaceof gravel which lay in front of the house. The building itself was ofgreat extent, built after the new Italian fashion, rather for comfortthan for defence; but on one wing there remained, as my companionpointed out, a portion of the old keep and battlements of the feudalcastle of the Botelers, looking as out of place as a farthingale ofQueen Elizabeth joined to a court dress fresh from Paris. The maindoorway was led up to by lines of columns and a broad flight of marblesteps, on which stood a group of footmen and grooms, who took our horseswhen we dismounted. A grey-haired steward or major-domo inquired ourbusiness, and on learning that we wished to see the Duke in person, hetold us that his Grace would give audience to strangers in the afternoonat half after three by the clock. In the meantime he said that theguests' dinner had just been laid in the hall, and it was his master'swish that none who came to Badminton should depart hungry. My companionand I were but too glad to accept the steward's invitation, so havingvisited the bath-room and attended to the needs of the toilet, wefollowed a footman, who ushered us into a great room where the companyhad already assembled.

  The guests may have numbered fifty or sixty, old and young, gentle andsimple, of the most varied types and appearance. I observed that manyof them cast haughty and inquiring glances round them, in the pausesbetween the dishes, as though each marvelled how he came to be a memberof so motley a crew. Their only common feature appeared to be thedevotion which they showed to the platter and the wine flagon. There waslittle talking, for there were few who knew their neighbours. Some weresoldiers who had come to offer their swords and their services tothe King's lieutenant; others were merchants from Bristol, with someproposal or suggestion anent the safety of their property. Therewere two or three officials of the city, who had come out to receiveinstructions as to its defence, while here and there I marked the childof Israel, who had found his way there in the hope that in times oftrouble he might find high interest and noble borrowers. Horse-dealers,saddlers, armourers, surgeons, and clergymen completed the company,who were waited upon by a staff of powdered and liveried servants, whobrought and removed the dishes with the silence and deftness of longtraining.

  The room was a contrast to the bare plainness of Sir Stephen Timewell'sdining-hall at Taunton, for it was richly panelled and highly decoratedall round. The floor was formed of black and white marble, set insquares, and the walls were of polished oak, and bore a long line ofpaintings of the Somerset family, from John of Gaunt downwards. Theceiling, too, was tastefully painted with flowers and nymphs, so that aman's neck was stiff ere he had done admiring it. At the further end ofthe hall yawned a great fireplace of white marble, with the lions andlilies of the Somerset arms carved in oak above it, and a long giltscroll bearing the family motto, "Mutare vel timere sperno." The massivetables at which we sat were loaded with silver chargers and candelabra,and bright with the rich plate for which Badminton was famous. I couldnot but think that, if Saxon could clap eyes upon it, he would not belong in urging that the war be carried on in this direction.

  After dinner we were all shown into a small ante-chamber, set round withvelvet settees, where we were to wait till the Duke was ready to see us.In the centre of this room there stood several cases, glass-topped andlined with silk, wherein were little steel and iron rods, with brasstubes and divers other things, very bright and ingenious, though Icould not devise for what end they had been put together. Agentleman-in-waiting came round with paper and ink-horn, making notesof our names and of our business. Him I asked whether it might not bepossible for me to have an entirely private audience.

  'His Grace never sees in private,' he replied. 'He has ever his chosencouncillors and officers in attendance.'

  'But the business is one which is only fit for his own ear,' I urged.

  'His Grace holds that there is no business fit only for his own ear,'said the gentleman. 'You must arrange matters as best you can whenyou are shown in to him. I will promise, however, that your request becarried to him, though I warn you that it cannot be granted.'

  I thanked him for his good offices, and turned away with the farmer tolook at the strange little engines within the cases.

  'What is it?' I asked. 'I have never seen aught that was like it.'

  'It is the work of the mad Marquis of Worcester,' quoth he. 'He was theDuke's grandfather. He was ever making and devising such toys, but theywere never of any service to himself or to others. Now, look ye here!This wi' the wheels were called the water-engine, and it was his crazythought that, by heating the water in that ere kettle, ye might make thewheels go round, and thereby travel along iron bars quicker nor ahorse could run. 'Oons! I'd match my old brown mare against al
l suchcontrivances to the end o' time. But to our places, for the Duke iscoming.'

  We had scarce taken our seats with the other suitors, when thefolding-doors were flung open, and a stout, thick, short man of fifty,or thereabouts, came bustling into the room, and strode down it betweentwo lines of bowing clients. He had large projecting blue eyes, withgreat pouches of skin beneath them, and a yellow, sallow visage. At hisheels walked a dozen officers and men of rank, with flowing wigs andclanking swords. They had hardly passed through the opposite door intothe Duke's own room, when the gentleman with the list called out a name,and the guests began one after the other to file into the great man'spresence.

  'Methinks his Grace is in no very gentle temper,' quoth Farmer Brown.'Did you not mark how he gnawed his nether lip as he passed?'

  'He seemed a quiet gentleman enough,' I answered. 'It would try Jobhimself to see all these folk of an afternoon.'

  'Hark at that!' he whispered, raising his finger. As he spoke thesound of the Duke's voice in a storm of wrath was heard from the innerchamber, and a little sharp-faced man came out and flew through theante-chamber as though fright had turned his head.

  'He is an armourer of Bristol,' whispered one of my neighbours. 'It islikely that the Duke cannot come to terms with him over a contract.'

  'Nay,' said another. 'He supplied Sir Marmaduke Hyson's troop withsabres, and it is said that the blades will bend as though they werelead. Once used they can never be fitted back into the scabbard again.'

  'The tall man who goes in now is an inventor,' quoth the first. 'He haththe secret of some very grievous fire, such as hath been used by theGreeks against the Turks in the Levant, which he desires to sell for thebetter fortifying of Bristol.'

  The Greek fire seemed to be in no great request with the Duke, for theinventor came out presently with his face as red as though it had beentouched by his own compound. The next upon the list was my honest friendthe farmer. The angry tones which greeted him promised badly for thefate of the four-year-old, but a lull ensued, and the farmer came outand resumed his seat, rubbing his great red hands with satisfaction.

  'Ecod!' he whispered. 'He was plaguy hot at first, but he soon cameround, and he hath promised that if I pay for the hire of a dragooner aslong as the war shall last I shall have back the piebald.'

  I had been sitting all this time wondering how in the world I wasto conduct my business amid the swarm of suppliants and the crowd ofofficers who were attending the Duke. Had there been any likelihoodof my gaining audience with him in any other way I should gladly haveadopted it, but all my endeavours to that end had been useless. Unless Itook this occasion I might never come face to face with him at all.But how could he give due thought or discussion to such a matterbefore others? What chance was there of his weighing it as it should beweighed? Even if his feelings inclined him that way, he dared not showany sign of wavering when so many eyes were upon him. I was tempted tofeign some other reason for my coming, and trust to fortune to give mesome more favourable chance for handing him my papers. But then thatchance might never arrive, and time was pressing. It was said that hewould return to Bristol next morning. On the whole, it seemed best thatI should make the fittest use I could of my present position in the hopethat the Duke's own discretion and self-command might, when he saw theaddress upon my despatches, lead to a more private interview.

  I had just come to this resolution when my name was read out, on which Irose and advanced into the inner chamber. It was a small but lofty room,hung in blue silk with a broad gold cornice. In the centre was a squaretable littered over with piles of papers, and behind this sat his Gracewith full-bottomed wig rolling down to his shoulders, very stately andimposing. He had the same subtle air of the court which I had observedboth in Monmouth and in Sir Gervas, which, with his high bold featuresand large piercing eyes, marked him as a leader of men. His privatescrivener sat beside him, taking notes of his directions, while theothers stood behind in a half circle, or took snuff together in the deeprecess of the window.

  'Make a note of Smithson's order,' he said, as I entered. 'A hundredpots and as many fronts and backs to be ready by Tuesday; also six scoresnaphances for the musqueteers, and two hundred extra spades for theworkers. Mark that the order be declared null and void unless fulfilledwithin the time appointed.'

  'It is so marked, your Grace.'

  'Captain Micah Clarke,' said the Duke, reading from the list in front ofhim. 'What is your wish, Captain?'

  'One which it would be better if I could deliver privately to yourGrace,' I answered.

  'Ah, you are he who desired private audience? Well, Captain, these aremy council and they are as myself. So we may look upon ourselves asalone. What I may hear they may hear. Zounds, man, never stammer andboggle, but out with it!'

  My request had roused the interest of the company, and those who were inthe window came over to the table. Nothing could have been worse for thesuccess of my mission, and yet there was no help for it but to delivermy despatches. I can say with a clear conscience, without any vainglory,that I had no fears for myself. The doing of my duty was the one thoughtin my mind. And here I may say once for all, my dear children, that I amspeaking of myself all through this statement with the same freedomas though it were another man. In very truth the strong active lad ofone-and-twenty _was_ another man from the grey-headed old fellow whosits in the chimney corner and can do naught better than tell old talesto the youngsters. Shallow water gives a great splash, and so a braggarthas ever been contemptible in my eyes. I trust, therefore, that ye willnever think that your grandad is singing his own praises, or settinghimself up as better than his neighbours. I do but lay the facts, as faras I can recall them, before ye with all freedom and with all truth.

  My short delay and hesitation had sent a hot flush of anger into theDuke's face, so I drew the packet of papers from my inner pocket andhanded them to him with a respectful bow. As his eyes fell upon thesuperscription, he gave a sudden start of surprise and agitation, makinga motion as though to hide them in his bosom. If this were his impulsehe overcame it, and sat lost in thought for a minute or more with thepapers in his hand. Then with a quick toss of the head, like a man whohath formed his resolution, he broke the seals and cast his eyes overthe contents, which he then threw down upon the table with a bitterlaugh.

  'What think ye, gentlemen!' he cried, looking round with scornful eyes;'what think ye this private message hath proved to be? It is a letterfrom the traitor Monmouth, calling upon me to resign the allegiance ofmy natural sovereign and to draw my sword in his behalf! If I do thisI am to have his gracious favour and protection. If not, I incursequestration, banishment, and ruin. He thinks Beaufort's loyalty isto be bought like a packman's ware, or bullied out of him by rufflingwords. The descendant of John of Gaunt is to render fealty to the bratof a wandering playwoman!'

  Several of the company sprang to their feet, and a general buzz ofsurprise and anger greeted the Duke's words. He sat with bent brows,beating his foot against the ground, and turning over the papers uponthe table.

  'What hath raised his hopes to such mad heights?' he cried. 'How dothhe presume to send such a missive to one of my quality? Is it because hehath seen the backs of a parcel of rascally militiamen, and becausehe hath drawn a few hundred chawbacons from the plough's tail to hisstandard, that he ventures to hold such language to the President ofWales? But ye will be my witnesses as to the spirit in which I receivedit?'

  'We can preserve your Grace from all danger of slander on that point,'said an elderly officer, while a murmur of assent from the othersgreeted the remark.

  'And you!' cried Beaufort, raising his voice and turning his flashingeyes upon me; 'who are you that dare to bring such a message toBadminton? You had surely taken leave of your senses ere you did set outupon such an errand!'

  'I am in the hands of God here as elsewhere,' I answered, with someflash of my father's fatalism. 'I have done what I promised to do, andthe rest is no concern of mine.'

  'You shall f
ind it a very close concern of thine,' he shouted, springingfrom his chair and pacing up and down the room; 'so close as to put anend to all thy other concerns in this life. Call in the halberdiers fromthe outer hall! Now, fellow, what have you to say for yourself?'

  'There is naught to be said,' I answered.

  'But something to be done,' he retorted in a fury. 'Seize this man andsecure his hands!'

  Four halberdiers who had answered the summons closed in upon me and laidhands on me. Resistance would have been folly, for I had no wish to harmthe men in the doing of their duty. I had come to take my chance, andif that chance should prove to be death, as seemed likely enough atpresent, it must be met as a thing foreseen. I thought of those old-timelines which Master Chillingfoot, of Petersfield, had ever held up to ouradmiration--

  Non civium ardor prava jubentium Non vultus instantis tyranni Mente quatit solida.

  Here was the 'vultus instantis tyranni,' in this stout, be-wigged,lace-covered, yellow-faced man in front of me. I had obeyed the poet inso far that my courage had not been shaken. I confess that this spinningdust-heap of a world has never had such attractions for me that it wouldbe a pang to leave it. Never, at least, until my marriage--and that, youwill find, alters your thoughts about the value of your life, and manyother of your thoughts as well. This being so, I stood erect, with myeyes fixed upon the angry nobleman, while his soldiers were putting thegyves about my wrists.