by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER V.
A MISSION OF STATE.
When Harry rode into Oxford with the news that the Roundheads had made araid as far as Abingdon, no time was lost in sounding to boot andsaddle, and in half an hour the Cavalier horse were trotting briskly inthat direction. They entered Abingdon unopposed, and found to theirdisgust that the Roundheads had departed an hour after their arrival. Aparty went up to Furness Hall, and found it also deserted. TheRoundheads, in fact, had made but a flying raid, had carried off one ortwo of the leading Royalists in the town, and had, on their retirement,been accompanied by several of the party favorable to the Commons, amongothers, Master Rippinghall and the greater portion of his men, who had,it was suspected, been already enrolled for the service of theParliament. Some of the Royalists would fain have sacked the house ofthe wool-stapler; but Colonel Furness, who had accompanied the forcewith his troop, opposed this vehemently.
"As long as we can," he said, "let private houses be respected. If thePuritans commence, it will be time for us to retort. There aregentlemen's mansions all over the country, many of them in the heart ofRoundhead neighborhoods, and if they had once an excuse in ourproceedings not one of these would be safe for a minute."
Leaving a strong force of horse in Abingdon, Prince Rupert returned toOxford, and Colonel Furness again settled down in his residence, histroop dispersing to their farms until required, a small body onlyremaining at Furness Hall as a guard, and in readiness to call theothers to arms if necessary. The colonel warmly approved of the stepsthat Harry had taken to save the valuables, and determined that untilthe war was at an end these should remain hidden, as it was probableenough that the chances of the strife might again lead the Roundheadsthither.
"I hope, father," Harry Furness said the following day, "that you willnow permit me to join the troop. I am getting on for sixteen, and couldsurely bear myself as a man in the fray."
"If the time should come, Harry, when the fortune of war may compel theking to retire from Oxford--which I trust may never be--I would thengrant your request, for after your encounter with the officer whocommanded the Roundheads here, it would not be safe for you to remainbehind. But although you are too young to take part in the war, I mayfind you employment. After a council that was held yesterday at Oxford,I learned, from one in the king's secrets, that it was designed to senda messenger to London with papers of importance, and to keep up thecommunication with the king's friends in that city. There was somedebate as to who should be chosen. In London, at the present time, allstrangers are closely scrutinized. Every man is suspicious of hisneighbor, and it is difficult to find one of sufficient trust whoseperson is unknown. Then I have thought that maybe you could well fulfillthis important mission. A boy would be unsuspected, where a man's everymovement would be watched. There is, of course, some danger attendingthe mission, and sharpness and readiness will be needed. You have shownthat you possess these, by the manner in which you made your escape fromLondon, and methinks that, did you offer, your services would beaccepted. You would have, of course, to go in disguise, and to acceptany situation which might appear conformable to your character and addto your safety."
Harry at once gladly assented to the proposal. He was at the age whenlads are most eager for adventure, and he thought that it would be greatfun to be living in London, watching the doings of the Commons, and, sofar as was in his power, endeavoring to thwart them. Accordingly in theafternoon he rode over with Sir Henry to Oxford. They dismounted in thecourtyard of the building which served as the king's court, andentering, Sir Henry left Harry in an antechamber, and, craving anaudience with his majesty, was at once ushered into the king's cabinet.A few minutes later he returned, and motioned to Harry to follow him.The latter did so, and the next moment found himself in the presence ofthe king. The latter held out his hand for the boy to kiss, and Harry,falling on one knee, and greatly abashed at the presence in which hefound himself, pressed his lips to King Charles' hand.
"I hear from your father, my trusty Sir Henry Furness, that you arewilling to adventure your life in our cause, and to go as our messengerto London, and act there as our intermediary with our friends. You seemyoung for so delicate a work; but your father has told me somewhat ofthe manner in which you escaped from the hands of the traitors atWestminster, and also how you bore yourself in the affair with therebels at his residence. It seems to me, then, that we must not judgeyour wisdom by your years, and that we can safely confide our interestsin your hands. Your looks are frank and boyish, and will, therefore,excite far less suspicion than that which would attend upon an older andgraver-looking personage. The letters will be prepared for youto-morrow, and, believe me, should success finally crown our effortsagainst these enemies of the crown, your loyalty and devotion will notbe forgotten by your king."
He again held out his hand to Harry, and the boy left the cabinet withhis heart burning with loyalty toward his monarch, and resolved thatlife itself should be held cheap if it could be spent in the service ofso gracious and majestic a king.
The next morning a royal messenger brought out a packet of letters toFurness Hall, and Harry, mounting with his father and the little body ofhorse at the hall, rode toward London. His attire was that of a countrypeasant boy. The letters were concealed in the hollow of a stout ashenstick which he carried, and which had been slightly weighted with lead,so that, should it be taken up by any but its owner, its lightness wouldnot attract attention. Sir Henry rode with him as far as it was prudentto do toward the outposts of the Parliament troops. Then, bidding him atender farewell, and impressing upon him the necessity for the utmostcaution, both for his own sake and for that of the king, he left him.
It was not upon the highroad that they parted, but near a village somelittle distance therefrom. In his pocket Harry had two or three piecesof silver, and between the soles of his boots were sewn several goldcoins. These he did not anticipate having to use; but the necessitymight arise when such a deposit would prove of use. Harry walked quietlythrough the village, where his appearance was unnoticed, and then alongthe road toward Reading. He soon met a troop of Parliament horsemen; butas he was sauntering along quietly, as if merely going from one villageto another, no attention whatever was paid to him, and he reachedReading without the slightest difficulty. There he took up his abode forthe night at a small hostelry, mentioning to the host that his masterhad wanted him to join the king's forces, but that he had no stomach forfighting, and intended to get work in the town. The following morning heagain started, and proceeded as far as Windsor, where he slept. The nextday, walking through Hounslow and Brentford, he stopped for the night atthe village of Kensington, and the following morning entered the city.Harry had never before been in the streets of London, for in his flightfrom his prison he had at once issued into the country, and the bustleand confusion which prevailed excited great surprise in his mind. EvenOxford, busy as it was at the time, and full of the troops of the kingand of the noblemen and gentlemen who had rallied to his cause, was yetquiet when compared with London. The booths along the main streets werefilled with goods, and at these the apprentices shouted loudly to allpasser-by, "What d'ye lack? What d'ye lack?" Here was a mercerexhibiting dark cloths to a grave-looking citizen; there an armorer wasshowing the temper of his wares to an officer. Citizens' wives wereshopping and gossiping; groups of men, in high steeple hats and darkcloak, were moving along the streets. Pack horses carried goods from theships at the wharves below the bridge to the merchants, and Harry wasjostled hither and thither by the moving crowd. Ascending the hill ofLudgate to the great cathedral of St. Paul's, he saw a crowd gatheredround a person on an elevated stand in the yard, and approaching to seewhat was going on, found that a preacher was pouring forth anathemasagainst the king and the Royal party, and inciting the citizens to throwthemselves heart and soul into the cause. Especially severe was he uponwaverers, who, he said, were worse than downright enemies, as, while theone withstood the Parliament openly in fair fight, the others wereshifted to and fro
with each breeze, and none could say whether theywere friends or enemies. Passing through the cathedral, where regularservices were no longer held, but where, in different corners, preacherswere holding forth against the king, and where groups of men strolled upand down, talking of the troubles of the times, he issued at the easterndoor, and entering Cheapside, saw the sign of the merchant to whom hehad been directed.
This was Nicholas Fleming, a man of Dutch descent, and well spoken ofamong his fellows. He dealt in silks and velvets from Genoa. His shoppresented less outward appearance than did those of his neighbors, thegoods being too rich and rare to be exposed to the weather, and hehimself dealing rather with smaller traders than with the generalpublic. The merchant--a grave-looking man--was sitting at his desk whenHarry entered. A clerk was in the shop, engaged in writing, and anapprentice was rolling up a piece of silk. Harry removed his hat, andwent up to the merchant's table, and laying a letter upon it, said:
"I have come, sir, from Dame Marjory, my aunt, who was your honor'snurse, with a letter from her, praying you to take me as an apprentice."
The merchant glanced for a moment at the boy. He was expecting a messagefrom the Royalist camp, and his keen wit at once led him to suspect thatthe bearer stood before him, although his appearance in nowise justifiedsuch a thought, for Harry had assumed with his peasant clothes a look ofstolid stupidity which certainly gave no warrant for the thought that akeen spirit lay behind it. Without a word the merchant opened theletter, which, in truth, contained nearly the same words which Harry hadspoken, but whose signature was sufficient to the merchant to indicatethat his suspicions were correct.
"Sit down," he said to the lad. "I am busy now; but will talk with youanon."
Harry took his seat on a low stool, while the merchant continued hiswriting as before, as if the incident were too unimportant to arrest hisattention for a moment. Harry amused himself by looking round the shop,and was specially attracted by the movements of the apprentice, asharp-looking lad, rather younger than himself, and who, having heardwhat had passed, seized every opportunity, when he was so placed thatneither the merchant nor his clerk could observe his face to makegrimaces at Harry, indicative of contempt and derision. Harry was sorelytempted to laugh; but, with an effort, he kept his countenance, assumingonly a grim of wonder which greatly gratified Jacob, who thought that hehad obtained as companion a butt who would afford him infiniteamusement.
After the merchant had continued his writing for an hour, he laid downhis pen, and saying to Harry "Follow me; I will speak to Dame Alice, mywife, concerning thee," left the shop and entered the inner portion ofthe house, followed by Harry. The merchant led him into a sitting-roomon the floor above, where his wife, a comely dame, was occupied with herneedle.
"Dame," he said, "this is a new apprentice whom my nurse, Marjory, hassent me. A promising-looking youth, is he not?"
His wife looked at him in surprise.
"I have never heard thee speak of thy nurse, Nicholas, and surely thelad looks not apt to learning the mysteries of a trade like thine."
The merchant smiled gravely.
"He must be more apt than he looks, dame, or he would never have beenchosen for the service upon which he is engaged. Men do not send foolsto risk their lives; and I have been watching him for the last hour, andhave observed how he bore himself under the tricks of that jackanapes,Jacob, and verily the wonder which I at first felt when he presentedhimself to me has passed away, and what appeared to me at first sight astrange imprudence, seems now to be a piece of wisdom. But enough ofriddles," he said, seeing that his wife's astonishment increased as hewent on. "This lad is a messenger from Oxford, and bears, I doubt not,important documents. What is thy true name, boy?"
"I am Harry Furness, the son of Sir Henry Furness, one of the king'sofficers," Harry said; "and my papers are concealed within this staff."
Thereupon he lifted his stick and showed that at the bottom a piece ofwood had been artfully fitted into a hollow, and then, by being rubbedupon the ground, so worn as to appear part of a solid whole. Taking hisknife from his pocket, he cut off an inch from the lower end of thestick, and then shook out on to the table a number of slips of papertightly rolled together.
"I will examine these at my leisure," the merchant said; "and now as tothyself. What instructions have you?"
"I am told, sir, to take up my abode with you, if it so pleases you; toassume the garb and habits of an apprentice; and, moreover, to do suchmessages as you may give me, and which, perhaps, I may perform with lessrisk of observation, and with more fidelity than any ordinarymessenger."
"The proposal is a good one," the trader said. "I am often puzzled howto send notes to those of my neighbors with whom I am incorrespondence, for the lad Jacob is sharp--too sharp, indeed, for mypurpose, and might suspect the purport of his goings and comings. Ibelieve him to be faithful, though overapt to mischief. But in thesedays one cares not to risk one's neck unless on a surety. The firstthing will be, then, to procure for thee a suit of clothes, suitable tothy new position. Under the plea that at present work is but slack--forindeed the troubles of the times have well-nigh ruined the trade in suchgoods as mine, throwing it all into the hands of the smiths--I shall beable to grant thee some license, and to allow thee to go about and seethe city and acquaint thyself with its ways. Master Jacob may feel,perhaps, a little jealous; but this matters not. I somewhat misdoubt theboy, though perhaps unjustly. But I know not how his opinions may gotoward matters politic. He believes me, I think, as do other men, to beattached to the present state of things; but even did his thoughts jumpotherwise, he would not have opened his lips before me. It would bewell, therefore, for you to be cautious in the extreme with him, and tofind out of a verity what be his nature and disposition. Doubtless, intime, he will unbosom to you and you may see whether he has anysuspicions, and how far he is to be trusted. He was recommended to meby a friend at Poole, and I know not the opinions of his people. I willcome forth with you now and order the clothes without delay, and we willreturn in time for dinner, which will be at twelve, of which time it nowlacks half an hour."
Putting on his high hat, the merchant sallied out with Harry into theCheap, and going to a clothier's was able to purchase ready-madegarments suitable to his new position as a 'prentice boy. Returning withthese, he bade the lad mount to the room which he was to share Jacob,to change with all speed, and to come down to dinner, which was nownearly ready.
The meal was to Harry a curious one. The merchant sat at one end of thetable, his wife at the other. The scrivener occupied a place on oneside, and his fellow-apprentice and himself on the other. The merchantspoke to his wife on the troubles of the times in a grave, oracularvoice, which appeared to be intended chiefly for the edification of histhree assistants, who ate their dinner in silence, only saying a word ortwo in answer to any question addressed to them. Harry, who wasaccustomed to dine with his father, was somewhat nice in his ways ofeating. But, observing a sudden look of interest and suspicion upon theface of the sharp boy beside him at his manner of eating, he, withoutmaking so sudden a change as to be perceptible, gradually fell into theway of eating of his companion, mentally blaming himself severely forhaving for a moment forgotten his assumed part.
"I shall not need you this afternoon, Roger," the merchant said; "andyou can go out and view the sights of the city. Avoid getting into anyquarrels or broils, and especially observe the names writ up on thecorner of the houses, in order that you may learn the streets and so beable to find your way about should I send you with messages or goods."
Harry spent the afternoon as directed, and was mightily amused andentertained by the sights which he witnessed. Especially was heinterested in London Bridge, which, covered closely with houses,stretched across the river, and at the great fleet of vessels which laymoored to the wharves below. Here Harry spent the greater portion of theafternoon, watching the numerous boats as they shot the bridge, and thebarges receiving merchandise from the vessels.
At fi
ve o'clock the shop was shut, and at six supper was served in thesame order as dinner had been. At eight they retired to bed.
"Well, Master Roger," said Jacob, when they were done, "and what is thyfather?"
"He farms a piece of land of his own," Harry said. "Sometimes I livewith him; but more often with my uncle, who is a trader in Bristol--aman of some wealth, and much respected by the citizens."
"Ah! it is there that thou hast learnt thy tricks of eating," Jacobsaid. "I wondered to see thee handle thy knife and fork so daintily, andin a manner which assuredly smacked of the city rather than of thefarm."
"My uncle," Harry said, "is a particular man as to his habits, and asmany leading citizens of the town often take their meals at his house,he was ever worrying me to behave, as he said, more like a Christianthan a hog. What a town is this London! What heaps of people, and whatwonderful sights!"
"Yes," the apprentice said carelessly. "But you have as yet seennothing. You should see the giant with eight heads, at the Guildhall."
"A giant with eight heads?" Henry exclaimed wonderingly. "Why, he havefive more than the giant whom my mother told me of when I was little,that was killed by Jack, the Giant Killer. I must go and see him of asurety.'"
"You must mind," the apprentice said; "for a boy is served up for himevery morning for breakfast."
"Now you are trying to fool me," Harry said. "My mother warned me thatthe boys of London were wickedly disposed, and given to mock atstrangers. But I tell thee, Master Jacob, that I have a heavy fist, andwas considered a fighter in the village. Therefore, mind how thou triestto fool me. Mother always said I was not such a fool as I looked."
"You may well be that," Jacob said, "and yet a very big fool. But atpresent I do not know whether your folly is more than skin deep, andmethinks that the respectable trader, your uncle, has taught you morethan how to eat like a Christian."
Harry felt at once that in this sharp boy he had a critic far moredangerous than any he was likely to meet elsewhere. Others would passhim unnoticed; but his fellow-apprentice would criticise every act andword, and he felt somewhat disquieted to find that he had fallen undersuch supervision. It was now, he felt, all-important for him to discoverwhat were the real sentiments of the boy, and whether he was trustworthyto his master, and to be relied upon to keep the secret which had falleninto his possession.
"I have been," he said, "in the big church at the end of this street.What a pother the preachers do surely keep up there. I should be sorelyworried to hear them long, and would rather thrash out a load of cornthan listen long to the clacking of their tongues."
"Thou wilt be sicker still of them before thou hast done with them. Itis one of the duties of us apprentices to listen to the teachers, and ifI had my way, we would have an apprentices' riot, and demand to be keptto the terms of our indentures, which say nothing about preachers. Whatis the way of thinking of this uncle of yours?"
"He is a prudent man," Roger said, "and says but little. For myself, Icare nothing either way, and cannot understand what they are making thispother about. So far as I can see, folks only want to be quiet, and dotheir work. But even in our village at home there is no quiet now. Someare one way, some t'other. There are the Church folk, and themeeting-house folk, and it is as much as they can do to keep themselvesfrom going at each other's throats. I hear so much about it that mybrain gets stupid with it all, and I hate Parliament and king worse thanthe schoolmaster who used to whack me for never knowing the differencebetween one letter and another."
"But you can read and write, I suppose?" Jacob said; "or you would be oflittle use as an apprentice."
"Yes, I can read and write," Roger said; "but I cannot say that I lovethese things. I doubt me that I am not fitter for the plow than for atrade. But my Aunt Marjory was forever going on about my coming toLondon, and entering the shop of Master Nicholas Fleming, and as itseemed an easy thing to sell yards of silks and velvets, I did not standagainst her wishes, especially as she promised that if in a year's timeI did not like the life, she would ask Master Nicholas to cancel myindentures, and let me go back again to the farm."
"Ah, well," Jacob said, "it is useful to have an aunt who has been nurseto a city merchant. The life is not a bad one, though our master isstrict with all. But Dame Alice is a good housewife, and has a lighthand at confections, and when there are good things on the table shedoes not, as do most of the wives of the traders, keep them for herselfand her husband, but lets us have a share also."
"I am fond of confections,", Harry said; "and my Aunt Marjory is famousat them; and now, as I am very sleepy, I will go off. But methinks,Jacob, that you take up hugely more than your share of the bed."
After a little grumbling on both sides the boys disposed themselves tosleep, each wondering somewhat over the character of the other, anddetermining to make a better acquaintance shortly.
