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diff --git a/11565-0.txt b/11565-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..357dbf3 --- /dev/null +++ b/11565-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10192 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11565 *** + +FRIENDS THOUGH DIVIDED + + +A TALE OF THE CIVIL WAR + +BY + +G.A. HENTY + + +AUTHOR OF "IN TIMES OF PERIL," "THE YOUNG FRANCTIREURS," +"THE YOUNG BUGLERS," ETC, ETC. + + + + +PREFACE + + +My dear lads: Although so long a time has elapsed since the great civil +war in England, men are still almost as much divided as they were then +as to the merits of the quarrel, almost as warm partisans of the one +side or the other. Most of you will probably have formed an opinion as +to the rights of the case, either from your own reading, or from hearing +the views of your elders. + +For my part, I have endeavored to hold the scales equally, to relate +historical facts with absolute accuracy, and to show how much of right +and how much of wrong there was upon either side. Upon the one hand, the +king by his instability, bad faith, and duplicity alienated his best +friends, and drove the Commons to far greater lengths than they had at +first dreamed of. Upon the other hand, the struggle, begun only to win +constitutional rights, ended--owing to the ambition, fanaticism, and +determination to override all rights and all opinions save their own, of +a numerically insignificant minority of the Commons, backed by the +strength of the army--in the establishment of the most complete +despotism England has ever seen. + +It may no doubt be considered a failing on my part that one of my heroes +has a very undue preponderance of adventure over the other. This I +regret; but after the scale of victory turned, those on the winning side +had little to do or to suffer, and one's interest is certainly with the +hunted fugitive, or the slave in the Bermudas, rather than with the +prosperous and well-to-do citizen. + +Yours very sincerely, + +G.A. HENTY. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +CHAPTER I. The Eve of the War + +CHAPTER II. For the King + +CHAPTER III. A Brawl at Oxford + +CHAPTER IV. Breaking Prison + +CHAPTER V. A Mission of State + +CHAPTER VI. A Narrow Escape + +CHAPTER VII. In a Hot Place + +CHAPTER VIII. The Defense of an Outpost + +CHAPTER IX. A Stubborn Defense + +CHAPTER X. The Commissioner of the Convention + +CHAPTER XI. Montrose + +CHAPTER XII. An Escape from Prison + +CHAPTER XIII. Public Events + +CHAPTER XIV. An Attempt to Rescue the King + +CHAPTER XV. A Riot in the City + +CHAPTER XVI. The Execution of King Charles + +CHAPTER XVII. The Siege of Drogheda + +CHAPTER XVIII. Slaves in the Bermudas + +CHAPTER XIX. A Sea Fight + +CHAPTER XX. With the Scotch Army + +CHAPTER XXI. The Path Across the Morass + +CHAPTER XXII. Kidnaped + +CHAPTER XXIII. The Battle of Worcester + +CHAPTER XXIV. Across the Sea. + +CHAPTER XXV. A Plot Overheard + +CHAPTER XXVI. Rest at Last + + + + +FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE EVE OF THE WAR. + + +It was a pleasant afternoon in the month of July, 1642, when three young +people sat together on a shady bank at the edge of a wood some three +miles from Oxford. The country was undulating and picturesque, and a +little more than a mile in front of them rose the lofty spire of St. +Helen's, Abingdon. The party consisted of two lads, who were about +fifteen years of age, and a girl of ten. The lads, although of about the +same height and build, were singularly unlike. Herbert Rippinghall was +dark and grave, his dress somber in hue, but good in material and well +made. Harry Furness was a fair and merry-looking boy; good humor was the +distinguishing characteristic of his face; his somewhat bright and +fashionably cut clothes were carelessly put on, and it was clear that no +thought of his own appearance or good looks entered his mind. He wore +his hair in ringlets, and had on his head a broad hat of felt with a +white feather, while his companion wore a plain cap, and his hair was +cut closely to his head. + +"It is a bad business, Harry," the latter said, "but, there is one +satisfaction that, come what may, nothing can disturb our friendship. We +have never had a quarrel since we first met at the old school down +there, six years ago. We have been dear friends always, and my only +regret has been that your laziness has prevented our being rivals, for +neither would have grudged the other victory." + +"No, indeed, Herbert. But there was never a chance of that. You have +always been Mr. Gregory's prize boy, and are now head of the school; +while I have always been in his bad books. But, as you say, Herbert, we +have been dear friends, and, come what will, we'll continue so. We +cannot agree on the state of the kingdom, and shall never do so. We have +both taken our views from our parents; and indeed it seems to me that +the question is far too difficult a one for boys like us to form any +opinion of it. When we see some of the best and wisest in the land +ranging themselves on either side, it is clear that even such a wise +noddle as yours--to say nothing of a feather brain like mine--cannot +form any opinion on a subject which perplexes our elders and betters." + +"That is true, Harry; but still--" + +"No, no, Herbert, we will have no argument. You have the best of it +there, and I fall back upon authority. My father, the colonel, is for +the king; yours for the Parliament. He says that there are faults on +both sides, and indeed, for years he favored the Commons. The king's +acts were unconstitutional and tyrannical, and my father approved of the +bold stand which Sir George Elliot made against him. Now, however, all +this has been changed, he tells me, and the Commons seek to rule without +either king or peers. They have sought to impose conditions which would +render them the lords absolute of England, and reduce the king to a mere +puppet. They have, too, attacked the Church, would abolish bishops, and +interfere in all matters spiritual. Therefore, my father, while +acknowledging the faults which the king has committed, and grieving +over the acts which have driven the Parliament to taking up a hostile +attitude to him, yet holds it his duty to support him against the +violent men who have now assumed power, and who are aiming at the +subversion of the constitution and the loss of the country." + +"I fear, also," Herbert said, "that the Commons have gone grievously +beyond their rights, although, did my father hear me say so, I should +fall under his gravest displeasure. But he holds that it is necessary +that there should be an ecclesiastical sweep, that the prelates should +have no more power in the land, that popery should be put down with an +iron hand, and that, since kings cannot be trusted to govern well, all +power should be placed in the hands of the people. My own thoughts do +incline toward his; but, as you say, when one sees men like my Lord +Falkland, who have hitherto stood among the foremost in the ranks of +those who demand that the king shall govern according to law, now siding +with him against them, one cannot but feel how grave are the +difficulties, and how much is to be said on either side. How is one to +choose? The king is overbearing, haughty, and untrue to his word. The +Parliament is stiff-necked and bent upon acquiring power beyond what is +fair and right. There are, indeed, grievous faults on both sides. But it +seems to me that should the king now have his way and conquer the +Commons, he and his descendants will henceforth govern as absolute +monarchs, and the liberty of the people will be endangered; while on the +other hand, should the Parliament gain the upper hand, they will place +on a firm basis the liberties of Englishmen, and any excesses which they +may commit will be controlled and modified by a future parliament, for +the people of England will no more suffer tyranny on the part of the +Commons than of the king; but while they cannot change the one, it is +in their power to elect whom they will, and to send up men who will +govern things moderately and wisely." + +"At any rate," Harry said, "my father thinks that there is neither +moderation nor wisdom among the zealots at Westminster; and as I hear +that many nobles and country gentlemen throughout England are of the +same opinion, methinks that though at present the Parliament have the +best of it, and have seized Portsmouth, and the Tower, and all the +depots of arms, yet that in the end the king will prevail against them." + +"I trust," Herbert continued earnestly, "that there will be no fighting. +England has known no civil wars since the days of the Roses, and when we +see how France and Germany are torn by internal dissensions, we should +be happy indeed that England has so long escaped such a scourge. It is +indeed sad to think that friends should be arrayed against each other in +a quarrel in which both sides are in the wrong." + +"I hope," Harry said, "that if they needs must fight, it will soon be +over, whichever way fortune may turn." + +"I think not," Herbert answered. "It is a war of religion as much as a +war for power. The king and the Commons may strive who shall govern the +realm; but the people who will take up arms will do it more for the +triumph of Protestantism than for that of Pym and Hampden." + +"How tiresome you both are," Lucy Rippinghall interrupted, pouting. "You +brought me out to gather flowers, and you do nothing but talk of kings +and Parliament, as if I cared for them. I call it very rude. Herbert is +often forgetful, and thinks of his books more than of me; but you, +Master Harry, are always polite and gentle, and I marvel much that you +should be so changed to-day." + +"Forgive me," Harry said, smiling. "We have been very remiss, Miss +Lucy; but we will have no more of high politics, and will, even if never +again," he said sadly, "devote all our energies to getting such a basket +of flowers for you as may fill your rooms with beaupots. Now, if your +majesty is ready to begin, we are your most obedient servants." + +And so, with a laugh, the little party rose to their feet, and started +in quest of wild flowers. + +The condition of affairs was at the outbreak of the civil war such as +might well puzzle older heads than those of Harry Furness or Herbert +Rippinghall, to choose between the two powers who were gathering arms. + +The foundations of the difficulty had been laid in the reign of King +James. That monarch, who in figure, manners, and mind was in the +strongest contrast to all the English kings who had preceded him, was +infinitely more mischievous than a more foolish monarch could have been. +Coarse in manner--a buffoon in demeanor--so weak, that in many matters +he suffered himself to be a puppet in the hands of the profligates who +surrounded him, he had yet a certain amount of cleverness, and an +obstinacy which nothing could overcome. He brought with him from +Scotland an overweening opinion of the power and dignity of his position +as a king. The words--absolute monarchy--had hitherto meant only a +monarch free from foreign interference; to James they meant a monarchy +free from interference on the part of Lords or Commons. He believed +implicitly in the divine right of kings to do just as they chose, and in +all things, secular and ecclesiastical, to impose their will upon their +subjects. + +At that time, upon the Continent, the struggle of Protestantism and +Catholicism was being fought out everywhere. In France the Huguenots +were gradually losing ground, and were soon to be extirpated. In +Germany the Protestant princes had lost ground. Austria, at one time +halting between two opinions, had now espoused vehemently the side of +the pope, and save in Holland and Switzerland, Catholicism was +triumphing all along the line. While the sympathies of the people of +England were strongly in favor of their co-religionists upon the +Continent, those of James inclined toward Catholicism, and in all +matters ecclesiastical he was at variance with his subjects. What +caused, if possible, an even deeper feeling of anger than his +interference in church matters, was his claim to influence the decisions +of the law courts. The pusillanimity of the great mass of the judges +hindered them from opposing his outrageous claims, and the people saw +with indignation and amazement the royal power becoming infinitely +greater and more extended than anything to which Henry VIII. or even +Elizabeth had laid claim. The negotiations of the king for a marriage +between his son and the Infanta of Spain raised the fears of the people +to the highest point. The remembrance of the Spanish armada was still +fresh in their minds, and they looked upon an alliance with Spain as the +most unholy of contracts, and as threatening alike the religion and +liberties of Englishmen. + +Thus when at King James' death King Charles ascended the throne, he +inherited a legacy of trouble. Unhappily, his disposition was even more +obstinate than that of his father. His training had been wholly bad, and +he had inherited the pernicious ideas of his father in reference to the +rights of kings. Even more unfortunately, he had inherited his father's +counselors. The Duke of Buckingham, a haughty, avaricious, and ambitious +noble, raised by King James from obscurity, urged him to follow the path +of his father, and other evil counselors were not wanting. King +Charles, indeed, had an advantage over his father, inasmuch as his +person was stately and commanding, his manner grave and dignified, and +his private life irreproachable. The conflicts which had continued +throughout the reign of his father between king and Parliament speedily +broke out afresh. The Commons refused to grant supplies, unless the king +granted rights and privileges which he deemed alike derogatory and +dangerous. The shifty foreign policy of England was continued, and soon +the breach was as wide as it had been during the previous reign. + +After several Parliaments had been called and dissolved, some gaining +advantage from the necessities of the king, others meeting only to +separate after discussions which imbittered the already existing +relations, for ten years the king dispensed with a Parliament. The +murder of the Duke of Buckingham by Felton brought no alleviation to the +situation. In Ireland, Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, ruled with +tyrannical power. He was a man of clear mind and of great talent, and +his whole efforts were devoted to increasing the power of the king, and +so, as he considered, the benefit of the country. In Ireland he had a +submissive Parliament, and by the aid of this he raised moneys, and +ruled in a manner which, tyrannical as it was, was yet for the benefit +of that country. The king had absolute confidence in him, and his advice +was ever on the side of resistance to popular demands. In England the +chief power was given to Archbishop Land, a high church prelate, bent +upon restoring many of the forms of Catholic worship, and bitterly +opposed to the Puritan spirit which pervaded the great mass of the +English people. + +So far the errors had been entirely upon the side of the king. The +demands of the Commons had been justified by precedent and +constitutional rule. The doings of the king were in equal opposition to +these. When at last the necessity of the situation compelled Charles to +summon a Parliament, he was met by them in a spirit of absolute +defiance. Before any vote of supply would he taken, the Commons insisted +upon the impeachment of Strafford, and Charles weakly consented to this. +The trial was illegally carried on, and the evidence weak and doubtful. +But the king's favorite was marked out for destruction, and to the joy +of the whole kingdom was condemned and executed. A similar fate befell +Laud, and encouraged by these successes, the demands of the Commons +became higher and higher. + +The ultimatum which at last the Puritan party in Parliament delivered to +the king, was that no man should remain in the royal council who was not +agreeable to Parliament; that no deed of the king should have validity +unless it passed the council, and was attested under their hands; that +all the officers of the state and principal judges should be chosen with +consent of Parliament, and enjoy their offices for life; that none of +the royal family should marry without consent of Parliament or the +council; that the penal laws should be executed against Catholics; that +the votes of popish lords should not be received in the Peers, and that +bishops should be excluded from the House; that the reformation of the +liturgy and church government should be carried out according to the +advice of Parliament; that the ordinances which they had made with +regard to the militia should be submitted to; that the justice of +Parliament should pass upon all delinquents, that is, upon all officials +of the state and country who had assisted in carrying out the king's +ordinances for the raising of taxes; that a general pardon should he +granted, with such exceptions as should he advised by Parliament; that +the fort and castles should be disposed of by consent of Parliament; +and that no peers should be made but with the consent of both Houses. +They demanded also that they should have the power of appointing and +dismissing the royal ministers, of naming guardians for the royal +children, and of virtually controlling military, civil, and religious +affairs. + +As it was clear that these demands went altogether beyond the rights of +the Commons, and that if the king submitted to them the power of the +country would be solely in their hands, while he himself would become a +cipher, he had no course open to him but to refuse assent, and to appeal +to the loyal nobility and gentry of the country. + +It is true that many of these rights have since been obtained by the +Houses of Parliament; but it must be remembered that they were +altogether alien at the time to the position which the kings of England +had hitherto held, and that the body into whose hands they would be +intrusted would be composed solely of one party in the state, and that +this party would be controlled by the fanatical leaders and the +ministers of the sects opposed to the Established Church, which were at +that time bitter, narrow, and violent to an extent of which we have now +no conception. + +The attitude thus assumed by Parliament drove from their ranks a great +many of the most intelligent and enlightened of those who had formerly +sided with them in their contest against the king. These gentlemen felt +that intolerable as was the despotic power of a king, still more +intolerable would it be to be governed by the despotic power of a group +of fanatics. The liberty of Englishmen was now as much threatened by the +Commons as it had been threatened by the king, and to loyal gentlemen +the latter alternative was preferable. Thus there were on both sides +earnest and conscientious men who grieved deeply at being forced to +draw swords in such a quarrel, and who felt that their choice of sides +was difficult in the extreme. Falkland was the typical soldier on the +royal side, Hampden on that of the Commons. + +It is probable that were England divided to-morrow under the same +conditions, men would be equally troubled upon which side to range +themselves. At this period of the struggle, with the exception of a few +hot-headed followers of the king and a few zealots on the side of the +Commons, there was a general hope that matters would shortly be +arranged, and that one conflict would settle the struggle. + +The first warlike demonstration was made before the town of York, before +whose walls the king, arriving with an armed force, was refused +admittance by Sir John Hotham, who held the place for the Parliament. +This was the signal for the outbreak of the war, and each party +henceforth strained every nerve to arm themselves and to place their +forces in the field. + +The above is but a brief sketch of the circumstances which led the +Cavaliers and Puritans of England to arm themselves for civil war. Many +details have been omitted, the object being not to teach the history of +the time, but to show the general course of events which had led to so +broad and strange a division between the people of England. Even now, +after an interval of two hundred years, men still discuss the subject +with something like passion, and are as strong in their sympathies +toward one side or the other as in the days when their ancestors took up +arms for king or Commons. + +It is with the story of the war which followed the conversation of Harry +Furness and Herbert Rippinghall that we have to do, not with that of the +political occurrences which preceded it. As to these, at least, no +doubts or differences of opinion can arise. The incidents of the war, +its victories and defeats, its changing fortunes, and its final triumph +are matters beyond the domain of politics, or of opinion; and indeed +when once the war began politics ceased to have much further sway. The +original questions were lost sight of, and men fought for king or +Parliament just as soldiers nowadays fight for England or France, +without in any concerning themselves with the original grounds of +quarrel. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +FOR THE KING. + + +It was late that evening when Sir Henry Furness returned from Oxford; +but Harry, anxious to hear the all-absorbing news of the day, had waited +up for him. + +"What news, father?" he said, as Sir Henry alighted at the door. + +"Stirring news, Harry; but as dark as may be. War appears to be now +certain. The king has made every concession, but the more he is ready to +grant, the more those Puritan knaves at Westminster would force from +him. King, peers, bishops, Church, all is to go down before this knot of +preachers; and it is well that the king has his nobles and gentry still +at his back. I have seen Lord Falkland, and he has given me a commission +in the king's name to raise a troop of horse. The royal banner will be +hoisted at Nottingham, and there he will appeal to all his loyal +subjects for aid against those who seek to govern the nation." + +"And you think, sir, that it will really be war now?" Harry asked. + +"Ay, that will it, unless the Commons go down on their knees and ask his +majesty's pardon, of which there is, methinks, no likelihood. As was to +be expected, the burghers and rabble of the large towns are everywhere +with them, and are sending up petitions to the Commons to stand fast and +abolish everything. However, the country is of another way of thinking, +and though the bad advisers of the king have in times past taken +measures which have sorely tried our loyalty, that is all forgotten +now. His majesty has promised redress to all grievances, and to rule +constitutionally in future, and I hear that the nobles are calling out +their retainers in all parts. England has always been governed by her +kings since she was a country, and we are going to try now whether we +are to be governed in future by our kings or by every tinker, tailor, +preacher, or thief sent up to Westminster. I know which is my choice, +and to-morrow I shall set about raising a troop of lads of the same +mind." + +"You mean to take me, sir, I hope," Harry said. + +"Take you?" his lather repeated, laughing. "To do what?" + +"To fight, certainly," Harry replied. "I am sure that among the tenants +there is not one who could use the small sword as I can, for you have +taught me yourself, and I do not think that I should be more afraid of +the London pikemen than the best of them." + +"No, no, Harry," his father said, putting his hand on the boy's +shoulder; "I do not doubt your bravery. You come of a fighting stock +indeed, and good blood cannot lie. But you are too young, my boy." + +"But if the war goes on for a couple of years, father." + +"Ay, ay, my boy; but I hope that it will be ended in a couple of months. +If it should last--which God forbid!--you shall have your chance, never +fear. Or, Harry, should you hear that aught has happened to me, mount +your horse at once, my boy; ride to the army, and take your place at the +head of my tenants. They will of course put an older hand in command; +but so long as a Furness is alive, whatever be his age, he must ride at +the head of the Furness tenants to strike for the king. I hear, by the +way, Harry, that that Puritan knave, Rippinghall, the wool-stapler, is +talking treason among his hands, and says that he will add a brave +contingent to the bands of the Commons when they march hither. Hast +heard aught about it?" + +"Nothing, father, but I hope it is not true. I know, however, that +Master Rippinghall's thoughts and opinions lie in that direction, for I +have heard from Herbert--" + +"Ah, the son of the wool-stapler. Hark you, Harry, this is a time when +we must all take sides for or against the king. Hitherto I have +permitted your acquaintance with the wool-stapler's son, though, in +truth, he be by birth no fit companion for you. But times have changed +now. The sword is going to be drawn, and friends of the king can no +longer be grip hands with friends of the Commons. Did my own brother +draw sword for Parliament, we would never speak again. Dost hear?" + +"Yes, sir; and will of course obey your order, should you determine that +I must speak no more to Herbert. But, as you say, I am a boy yet, too +young to ride to the wars, and Herbert is no older. It will be time for +us to quarrel when it is time for us to draw the sword." + +"That is so, Harry, and I do not altogether forbid you speaking with +him. Still the less you are seen together, the better. I like the lad, +and have made him welcome here for your sake. He is a thoughtful lad, +and a clever one; but it is your thoughtful men who plot treason, and +until the storm be overpast, it is best that you see as little of him as +may be. And now I have eaten my supper, and it is long past the time +that you should have been in bed. Send down word by Thomas Hardway to +Master Drake, my steward, to bid him send early in the morning notices +that all my tenants shall assemble here to-morrow at four in the +afternoon, and bid the cook come to me. We shall have a busy day +to-morrow, for the Furness tenantry never gather at the hall and go out +empty. And short though be the notice, they shall not do so this time, +which to some of us may, perchance, be the last." + +The next day there was bustle and hurry at Furness Hall. The ponds were +dragged for fish; the poultry yard was scoured for its finest birds; the +keepers were early afield, and when they returned with piles of hares +and rabbits, these were seized by the cook and converted into huge pies +and pasties. Two sheep were slaughtered, and the scullions were hard at +work making confections of currants, gooseberries, plums, and other +fruits from the garden. In the great hall the tables were laid, and when +this was done, and all was in readiness, the serving men were called up +to the armory, and there, throughout the day, the cleaning of swords and +iron caps, the burnishing of breast and back pieces, the cleaning of +firelocks, and other military work went on with all haste. + +The Furness estates covered many a square mile of Berkshire, and fifty +sturdy yeomen dismounted before Furness Hall at the hour named by Sir +Henry. A number of grooms and serving men were in attendance, and took +the horses as they rode up, while the major-domo conducted them to the +great picture gallery. Here they were received by Sir Henry with a +stately cordiality, and the maids handed round a great silver goblet +filled with spiced wine. + +At four exactly the major-domo entered and announced that the quota was +complete, and that every one of those summoned was present. + +"Serve the tables then," Sir Henry said, as he led the Way to the great +dining-hall. + +Sir Henry took the head of the broad table, and bade Harry sit on his +right hand, while the oldest of the tenants faced him at the opposite +end. Then a troop of servants entered bearing smoking joints, cold +boars' heads, fish, turkeys, geese, and larded capons. These were +placed upon the table, with an abundance of French wine, and of strong +ale for those who preferred it, to wash down the viands. The first +courses were followed by dishes of meats and confections, and when all +was finished and cleared away Sir Henry Furness rose to his feet. + +"Fill your glasses all," he said; "and bumpers. The toast which I give +you to-day is 'The king, God bless him.' Never should Englishmen drink +his health more earnestly and solemnly than to-day, when rebels have +driven him from his capital, and pestilent traitors threatened him with +armed force. Perhaps, my friends, you, like me, may from time to time +have grumbled when the tax-collectors have come round, and you have seen +no one warrant for their demands. But if the king has been forced so to +exceed his powers, it was in no slight degree because those at +Westminster refused to grant him the sums which were needful. He has, +too, been surrounded by bad advisers. I myself loved not greatly either +Stratford or Laud. But I would rather bear their high-handed ways, which +were at least aimed to strengthen the kingdom and for the honor of the +king, than be ground by these petty tyrants at Westminster, who would +shut up our churches, forbid us to smile on a Sunday, or to pray, except +through our noses; who would turn merry England into a canting +conventicle, and would rule us with a rod to which that of the king were +as a willow wand. Therefore it is the duty of all true men and good to +drink the health of his majesty the king, and confusion to his enemies." + +Upstanding, and with enthusiastic shouts, the whole of the tenants drank +the toast. Sir Henry was pleased with the spirit which was manifested, +and when the cheering had subsided and quiet was again restored, he went +on: + +"My friends, I have summoned you here to tell you what many of you no +doubt know already--that the king, driven from London by the traitors of +Parliament, who would take from him all power, would override the peers, +and abolish the Church, has appealed to his faithful subjects to stand +by him, and to maintain his cause. He will, ere a fortnight be past, +raise his banner at Nottingham. Already Sir John Hotham, the rebel +Governor of York, has closed the gates of that city to him, and it is +time that all loyal men were on foot to aid his cause. Lord Falkland has +been pleased to grant me a commission to raise a troop of horse in his +service, and I naturally come to you first, to ask you to follow me." + +He paused a moment, and a shout of assent rang through the hall. + +"There are," he said, "some among you whom years may prevent from +yourselves undertaking the hardships of the field, but these can send +substitutes in their sons. You will understand that none are compelled +to go; but I trust that from the long-standing friendship between us, +and from the duty which you each owe to the king, none will hold back. +Do I understand that all here are willing to join, or to furnish +substitutes?" + +A general shout of "All" broke from the tenants. + +"Thank you, my friends, I expected nothing else. This will give me fifty +good men, and true, and I hope that each will be able to bring with him +one, two, or more men, in proportion to the size of his holding. I shall +myself bear the expense of the arms and outfit of all these; but we must +not strip the land of hands. Farming must still go on, for people must +feed, even if there be war. As to the rents, we must waive our +agreements while the war lasts. Each man will pay me what proportion of +his rent he is able, and no more. The king will need money as well as +men, and as all I receive will be at his service, I know that each of +you will pay as much as he can to aid the common cause. I have here a +list of your names. My son will take it round to each, and will write +down how many men each of you may think to bring with him to the war. No +man must be taken unwillingly. I want only those whose hearts are in the +cause. My son is grieving that he is not old enough to ride with us; but +should aught befall me in the strife, I have bade him ride and take his +place among you." + +Another cheer arose, and Harry went round the table taking down the +names and numbers of the men, and when his total was added up, it was +found that those present believed that they could bring a hundred men +with them into the field. + +"This is beyond my hopes," Sir Harry said, as amid great cheering he +announced the result. "I myself will raise another fifty from my grooms, +gardeners, and keepers, and from brave lads I can gather in the village, +and I shall be proud indeed when I present to his majesty two hundred +men of Furness, ready to die in his defense." + +After this there was great arrangement of details. Each tenant gave a +list of the arms which he possessed and the number of horses fit for +work, and as in those days, by the law of the land each man, of +whatsoever his degree, was bound to keep arms in order to join the +militia, should his services be required for the defense of the kingdom, +the stock of arms was, with the contents of Sir Henry's armory, found to +be sufficient for the number of men who were to be raised. It was eight +o'clock in the evening before all was arranged, and the party broke up +and separated to their homes. + +For the next week there was bustle and preparation on the Furness +estates, as, indeed, through all England. As yet, however, the +Parliament were gathering men far more rapidly than the king. The +Royalists of England were slow to perceive how far the Commons intended +to press their demands, and could scarcely believe that civil war was +really to break out. The friends of the Commons, however, were +everywhere in earnest. The preachers in the conventicles throughout the +land denounced the king in terms of the greatest violence, and in almost +every town the citizens were arming and drilling. Lord Essex, who +commanded the Parliamentary forces, was drawing toward Northampton with +ten thousand men, consisting mainly of the train-bands of London; while +the king, with only a few hundred followers, was approaching Nottingham, +where he proposed to unfurl his standard and appeal to his subjects. + +In a week from the day of the appeal of Sir Henry two troops, each of a +hundred men strong, drew up in front of Furness Hall. To the eye of a +soldier accustomed to the armies of the Continent, with their bands +trained by long and constant warfare, the aspect of this troop might not +have appeared formidable. Each man was dressed according to his fancy. +Almost all wore jack-boots coming nigh to the hip, iron breast and back +pieces, and steel caps. Sir Henry Furness and four gentlemen, his +friends, who had seen service in the Low Countries, and had now gladly +joined his band, took their places, Sir Henry himself at the head of the +body, and two officers with each troop. They, too, were clad in high +boots, with steel breast and back pieces, thick buff leather gloves, and +the wide felt hats with feathers which were worn in peace time. During +the war some of the Royalist officers wore iron caps as did their foes. +But the majority, in a spirit of defiance and contempt of their enemies, +wore the wide hat of the times, which, picturesque and graceful as it +was, afforded but a poor defense for the head. Almost all wore their +hair long and in ringlets, and across their shoulders were the white +scarfs typical of their loyalty to the king. Harry bestrode a fine horse +which his father had given him, and had received permission to ride for +half the day's march by his side at the head of the troop. The trumpeter +sounded the call, Sir Henry stood up in his stirrups, drew his sword and +waved it over his head, and shouted "For God and King." Two hundred +swords flashed in the air, and the answering shout came out deep and +full. Then the swords were sheathed, the horses' heads turned, and with +a jingle of sabers and accouterments the troop rode gayly out through +the gates of the park. + +Upon their way north they were joined by more than one band of Cavaliers +marching in the same direction, and passed, too, several bodies of +footmen, headed by men with closely-cropped heads, and somber figures, +beside whom generally marched others whom their attire proclaimed to be +Puritan preachers, on their way to join the army of Essex. The parties +scowled at each other as they passed; but as yet no sword had been drawn +on either side, and without adventure they arrived at Nottingham. + +Having distributed his men among the houses of the town, Sir Henry +Furness rode to the castle, where his majesty had arrived the day +before. He had already the honor of the personal acquaintance of the +king, for he had in one of the early parliaments sat for Oxford. +Disgusted, however, with the spirit that prevailed among the opponents +of the king, and also by the obstinacy and unconstitutional course +pursued by his majesty, he had at the dissolution of Parliament retired +to his estate, and when the next House was summoned, declined to stand +again for his seat. + +"Welcome, Sir Henry," his majesty said graciously to him, "you are +among the many who withstood me somewhat in the early days of my reign, +and perchance you were right to do so; but who have now, in my need, +rallied round me, seeing whither the purpose of these traitorous +subjects of mine leads them. You are the more welcome that you have, as +I hear, brought two hundred horsemen with you, a number larger than any +which has yet joined me. These," he said, pointing to two young noblemen +near him, "are my nephews, Rupert and Maurice, who have come to join +me." + +Upon making inquiries, Sir Henry found that the prospects of the king +were far from bright. So far, the Royalists had been sadly behindhand +with their preparations. The king had arrived with scarce four hundred +men. He had left his artillery behind at York for want of carriage, and +his need in arms was even greater than in men, as the arsenals of the +kingdom had all been seized by the Parliament. Essex lay at Northampton +with ten thousand men, and had he at this time advanced, even the most +sanguine of the Royalists saw that the struggle would be a hopeless one. + +The next day, at the hour appointed, the royal standard was raised on +the Castle of Nottingham, in the midst of a great storm of wind and +rain, which before many hours had passed blew the royal standard to the +ground--an omen which those superstitiously inclined deemed of evil +augury indeed. The young noblemen and gentlemen, however, who had +gathered at Northampton, were not of a kind to be daunted by omens and +auguries, and finding that Essex did not advance and hearing news from +all parts of the country that the loyal gentlemen were gathering their +tenants fast, their hopes rose rapidly. There was, indeed, some +discontent when it was known that, by the advice of his immediate +councilors, King Charles had dispatched the Earl of Southampton with +Sir John Collpeper and Sir William Uvedale to London, with orders to +treat with the Commons. The Parliament, however, refused to enter into +any negotiations whatever until the king lowered his standard and +recalled the proclamation which he had issued. This, which would have +been a token of absolute surrender to the Parliament, the king refused +to do. He attempted a further negotiation; but this also failed. + +The troops at Nottingham now amounted to eleven hundred men, of which +three hundred were infantry raised by Sir John Digby, the sheriff of the +county. The other eight hundred were horse. Upon the breaking off of +negotiations, and the advance of Essex, the king, sensible that he was +unable to resist the advance of Essex, who had now fifteen thousand men +collected under him, fell back to Derby, and thence to Shrewsbury, being +joined on his way by many nobles and gentlemen with their armed +followers. At Wellington, a town a day's march from Shrewsbury, the king +had his little army formed up, and made a solemn declaration before them +in which he promised to maintain the Protestant religion, to observe the +laws, and to uphold the just privileges and freedom of Parliament. + +The Furness band were not present on that occasion, as they had been +dispatched to Worcester with some other soldiers, the whole under the +command of Prince Rupert, in order to watch the movements of Essex, who +was advancing in that direction. While scouring the ground around the +city, they came upon a body of Parliamentary cavalry, the advance of the +army of Essex. The bands drew up at a little distance from each other, +and then Prince Rupert gave the command to charge. With the cheer of +"For God and the king!" the troop rushed upon the cavalry of the +Parliament with such force and fury that they broke them utterly, and +killing many, drove them in confusion from the field, but small loss to +themselves. + +This was the first action of the civil war, the first blood drawn by +Englishmen from Englishmen since the troubles in the commencement of the +reign of Mary. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +A BRAWL AT OXFORD. + + +News in those days traveled but slowly, and England was full of +conflicting rumors as to the doings of the two armies. Every one was +unsettled. Bodies of men moving to join one or other of the parties kept +the country in an uproar, and the Cavaliers, or rather the toughs of the +towns calling themselves Cavaliers, brought much odium upon the royal +cause by the ill-treatment of harmless citizens, and by raids on +inoffensive country people. Later on this conduct was to be reversed and +the Royalists were to suffer tenfold the outrages now put upon the +Puritans. But there can be no doubt that the conduct of irresponsible +ruffians at that time did much to turn the flood of public opinion in +many places, where it would otherwise have remained neutral, against the +crown. + +To Harry the time passed but slowly. He spent his days in Abingdon +hearing the latest news, and occasionally rode over to Oxford. This +city was throughout the civil war the heart of the Royalist party, and +its loss was one of the heaviest blows which befell the crown. Here +Harry found none but favorable reports current. Enthusiasm was at its +height. The university was even more loyal than the town, and bands of +lads smashed the windows of those persons who were supposed to favor the +Parliament. More than once Harry saw men pursued through the streets, +pelted with stones and mud, and in some cases escaping barely with +their lives. Upon one occasion, seeing a person in black garments and of +respectable appearance so treated, the boy's indignation was aroused, +for he himself, both from his conversations with his friend Herbert, and +the talk with his father, was, although enthusiastically Royalist, yet +inclined to view with respect those who held opposite opinions. + +"Run down that alley!" he exclaimed, pushing his horse between the +fugitive and his pursuers. + +The man darted down the lane, and Harry placed himself at the entrance, +and shouted to the rabble to abstain. + +A yell of rage and indignation replied, and a volley of stones was +thrown. Harry fearlessly drew his sword, and cut at some of those who +were in the foreground. These retaliated with sticks, and Harry was +forced backward into the lane. This was too narrow to enable him to +turn, his horse, and his position was a critical one. Finding that he +was a mark for stones, he leaped from the saddle, thereby disappearing +from the sight of those in the ranks behind, and sword in hand, barred +the way to the foremost of his assailants. The contest, however, would +have been brief had not a party of young students come up the lane, and +seeing from Harry's attire that he was a gentleman, and likely to be of +Cavalier opinions, they at once, without inquiring the cause of the +fray, threw themselves into it, shouting "Gown! gown!" They speedily +drove the assailants back out of the lane; but these, reinforced by the +great body beyond, were then too strong for them. The shouts of the +young men, however, brought up others to their assistance, and a general +melee took place, townsmen and gownsmen throwing themselves into the +fray without any inquiry as to the circumstances from which it arose. +The young students carried swords, which, although contrary to the +statutes of the university, were for the time generally adopted. The +townspeople were armed with bludgeons, and in some cases with hangers, +and the fray was becoming a serious one, when it was abruptly terminated +by the arrival of a troop of horse, which happened to be coming into the +town to join the royal forces. The officer in command, seeing so +desperate a tumult raging, ordered his men to charge into the crowd, and +their interference speedily put an end to the fight. + +Harry returned to their rooms with some of his protectors and their +wounds were bound up, and the circumstances of the fight were talked +over. Harry was much blamed by the college men when he said that he had +been drawn into the fray by protecting a Puritan. But when his new +friends learned that he was as thoroughly Royalist as themselves, and +that his father had gone with a troop to Nottingham, they took a more +favorable view of his action, but still assured him that it was the +height of folly to interfere to protect a rebel from the anger of the +townspeople. + +"But, methinks," Harry said, "that it were unwise in the extreme to push +matters so far here. In Oxford the Royalists have it all their own way, +and can, of course, at will assault their Puritan neighbors. But it is +different in most other towns. There the Roundheads have the upper hand +and might retort by doing ill to the Cavaliers there. Surely it were +better to keep these unhappy differences out of private life, and to +trust the arbitration of our cause to the arms of our soldiers in the +field." + +There was a general agreement that this would indeed be the wisest +course; but the young fellows were of opinion that hot heads on either +side would have their way, and that if the war went on attacks of this +kind by the one party on the other must be looked for. + +Harry remained for some time with his friends in Christ church, +drinking the beer for which the college was famous. Then, mounting his +horse, he rode back to Abingdon. + +Two days later, as he was proceeding toward the town, he met a man +dressed as a preacher. + +"Young sir," the latter said, "may I ask if you are Master Furness?" + +"I am," the lad replied. + +"Then it is to you I am indebted for my rescue from those who assaulted +me in the streets of Oxford last week. In the confusion I could not see +your face, but I inquired afterward, and was told that my preserver was +Master Furness, and have come over to thank you for your courtesy and +bravery in thus intervening on behalf of one whom I think you regard as +an enemy, for I understand that Sir Henry, your father, has declared for +the crown." + +"I acted," Harry said, "simply on the impulse of humanity, and hold it +mean and cowardly for a number of men to fall upon one." + +"We are," the preacher continued, "at the beginning only of our +troubles, and the time may come when I, Zachariah Stubbs, may be able to +return to you the good service which you have done me. Believe me, young +sir, the feeling throughout England is strong for the Commons, and that +it will not be crushed out, as some men suppose, even should the king's +men gain a great victory over Essex--which, methinks, is not likely. +There are tens of thousands throughout the country who are now content +to remain quiet at home, who would assuredly draw the sword and go forth +to battle, should they consider their cause in danger. The good work has +begun, and the sword will not be sheathed until the oppressor is laid +low." + +"We should differ who the oppressor is," Harry replied coldly. "I +myself am young to discuss these matters, but my father and those who +think with him consider that the oppression is at present on the side of +the Commons, and of those whose religious views you share. While +pretending to wish to be free, you endeavor to bind others beneath your +tyranny. While wishing to worship in your way unmolested, you molest +those who wish to worship in theirs. However, I thank you for your +offer, that should the time come your good services will be at my +disposal. As you say, the issue of the conflict is dark, and it may be, +though I trust it will not, that some day you may, if you will, return +the light service which I rendered you." + +"You will not forget my name?" the preacher said--"Zachariah Stubbs, a +humble instrument of the Lord, and a preacher in the Independent chapel +at Oxford. Thither I cannot return, and am on my way to London, where I +have many friends, and where I doubt not a charge will be found for me. +I myself belong to the east countries, where the people are strong for +the Lord, and I doubt not that some of those I know will come to the +front of affairs, in which case my influence may perhaps be of more +service than you can suppose at present. Farewell, young sir, and +whatever be the issues of this struggle, I trust that you may safely +emerge from them." + +The man lifted his broad black hat, and went on his way, and Harry rode +forward, smiling a little to himself at the promise given him. + +The time passed slowly, and all kinds of rumors filled the land. At +length beacon fires were seen to blaze upon the hills, and, as it was +known that the Puritans had arranged with Essex that the news of a +victory was so to be conveyed to London, the hearts of the Royalists +sank, for they feared that disaster had befallen their cause. The next +day, however, horsemen of the Parliament galloping through the country +proclaimed that they had been defeated; but it was not till next day +that the true state of affairs became known. Then the news came that the +battle had indeed been a drawn one. + +On the 26th of October Charles marched with his army into Oxford. So +complete was the ignorance of the inhabitants as to the movements of the +armies that at Abingdon the news of his coming was unknown, and Harry +was astonished on the morning of the 27th at hearing a great trampling +of horsemen. Looking out, he beheld his father at the head of the troop, +approaching the house. With a shout of joy the lad rushed downstairs and +met his father at the entrance. + +"I did not look to be back so soon, Harry," Sir Henry said, as he +alighted from his horse. "We arrived at Oxford last night, and I am sent +on with my troop to see that no Parliament bands are lurking in the +neighborhood." + +Before entering the house the colonel dismissed his troop, telling them +that until the afternoon they could return to their homes, but must then +re-assemble and hold themselves in readiness to advance, should he +receive further orders. Then, accompanied by his officers, he entered +the house. Breakfast was speedily prepared, and when this was done +justice to Sir Henry proceeded to relate to Harry, who was burning with +impatience to hear his news, the story of the battle of Edgehill. + +"We reached Shrewsbury, as I wrote you," he said, "and stayed there +twenty days, and during that time the army swelled and many nobles and +gentlemen joined us. We were, however, it must be owned, but a motley +throng. The foot soldiers, indeed, were mostly armed with muskets; but +many had only sticks and cudgels. On the 12th we moved to Wolverhampton, +and so on through Birmingham and Kenilworth. We saw nothing of the +rebels till we met at Edgecot, a little hamlet near Banbury, where we +took post on a hill, the rebels being opposite to us. It must be owned," +Sir Henry went on, "that things here did not promise well. There were +dissensions between Prince Rupert, who commanded the cavalry, and Lord +Lindsey, the general in chief, who is able and of great courage, but +hot-headed and fiery. In the morning it was determined to engage, as +Essex's forces had not all come up, and the king's troops were at least +as numerous as those of the enemy. We saw little of the fighting, for at +the commencement of the battle we got word to charge upon the enemy's +left. We made but short work of them, and drove them headlong from the +field, chasing them in great disorder for three miles, and taking much +plunder in Kineton among the Parliament baggage-wagons. Thinking that +the fight was over, we then prepared to ride back. When we came to the +field we found that all was changed. The main body of the Roundheads had +pressed hotly upon ours and had driven them back. Lord Lindsey himself, +who had gone into the battle at the head of the pikemen carrying a pike +himself like a common soldier, had been mortally wounded and taken +prisoner, and grievous slaughter had been inflicted. The king's standard +itself had been taken, but this had been happily recovered, for two +Royalist officers, putting on orange scarfs, rode into the middle of the +Roundheads, and pretending that they were sent by Essex, demanded the +flag from his secretary, to whom it had been intrusted. The scrivener +gave it up, and the officers, seizing it, rode through the enemy and +recovered their ranks. There was much confusion and no little angry +discussion in the camp that night, the footmen accusing the horsemen of +having deserted them, and the horsemen grumbling at the foot, because +they had not done their work as well as themselves. In the morning the +two armies still faced each other, neither being willing to budge a +foot, although neither cared to renew the battle. The rest of the +Parliamentary forces had arrived, and they might have struck us a heavy +blow had they been minded, for there was much discouragement in our +ranks. Lord Essex, however, after waiting a day and burying his dead, +drew off from the field, and we, remaining there, were able to claim the +victory, which, however, my son, was one of a kind which was scarce +worth winning. It was a sad sight to see so many men stretched stark and +dead, and these killed, not in fighting with a foreign foe, but with +other Englishmen. It made us all mightily sad, and if at that moment +Lord Essex had had full power from the Parliament to treat, methinks +that the quarrel could have been settled, all being mightily sick of +such kind of fighting." + +"What is going to be done now, father?" Harry asked. + +"We are going to move forward toward London. Essex is moving parallel +with us, and will try to get there first. From what we hear from our +friends in the city, there are great numbers of moderate men will be +glad to see the king back, and to agree to make an end of this direful +business. The zealots and preachers will of course oppose them. But when +we arrive, we trust that our countenance will enable our friends to make +a good front, and to overcome the opposition of the Puritans. We expect +that in a few days we shall meet with offers to treat. But whether or +no, I hope that the king will soon be lodged again in his palace at +Whitehall." + +"And do you think that there will be any fighting, sir?" + +"I think not. I sincerely hope not," the colonel said. + +"Then if you think that there will only be a peaceable entry, will you +not let me ride with you? It will be a brave sight to see the king enter +London again; one to tell of all one's life." + +The colonel made no reply for a minute or two. + +"Well, Harry, I will not say you nay," he said at length. "Scenes of +broils and civil war are not for lads of your age. But, as you say, it +would be a thing to talk of to old age how you rode after the king when +he entered London in state. But mind, if there be fighting, you must +rein back and keep out of it." + +Harry was overjoyed with the permission, for in truth time had hung +heavily on his hands since the colonel had ridden away. His +companionship with Herbert had ceased, for although the lads pressed +hands warmly when they met in Abingdon, both felt that while any day +might bring news of the triumph of one party or the other, it was +impossible that they could hold any warm intercourse with each other. +The school was closed, for the boys of course took sides, and so much +ill-will was caused that it was felt best to put a stop to it by closing +the doors. Harry therefore had been left entirely upon his own +resources, and although he had ridden about among the tenants and, so +far as he could, supplied his father's place, the time often hung heavy +on his hands, especially during the long hours of the evening. After +thanking his father for his kindness, he rushed wildly off to order his +horse to be prepared for him to accompany the troop, to re-burnish the +arms which he had already chosen as fitting him from the armory, and to +make what few preparations were necessary for the journey. + +It was some days, however, before any move was made. The king was +occupied in raising money, being sorely crippled by want of funds, as +well as of arms and munitions of war. At the beginning of November the +advance was made, Sir Henry with his troop joining Prince Rupert, and +advancing through Reading without opposition as far as Maidenhead, where +he fixed his quarters. Two days later he learned that Essex had arrived +with his army in London. On the 11th King Charles was at Colnbrook. Here +he received a deputation from the Houses of Parliament, who proposed +that the king should pause in his advance until committees of both +Houses should attend him with propositions "for the removal of these +bloody distempers and distractions." The king received the deputation +favorably, and said that he would stop at Windsor, and there receive the +propositions which might be sent him. + +Unfortunately, however, the hopes which were now entertained that peace +would be restored, were dashed to the ground by an action which was +ascribed by the Royalists to the hotheadedness of Prince Rupert, but +which the king's enemies affirmed was due to the duplicity of his +majesty himself. On this point there is no evidence. But it is certain +that the advance made after this deputation had been received rendered +all further negotiation impossible, as it inspired the Commons with the +greatest distrust, and enabled the violent portion always to feign a +doubt of the king's word, and great fears as to the keeping of any terms +which might be made, and so to act upon the timid and wavering. The very +day after the deputation had left, bearing the news to London of the +king's readiness to treat, and inspiring all there with hope of peace, +Prince Rupert, taking advantage of a very thick mist, marched his +cavalry to within half a mile of the town of Brentford before his +advance was discovered, designing to surprise the train of artillery at +Hammersmith and to push on and seize the Commons and the city. + +The design might have been successful, for the exploits of Rupert's +horse at the battle of Edgehill had struck terror into the minds of the +enemy. In the town of Brentford, however, were lodged a regiment of +foot, under Hollis, and these prepared manfully to resist. Very +valiantly the prince, followed by his horse, charged into the streets of +Brentford, where the houses were barricaded by the foot soldiers, who +shot boldly against them. Many were killed, and for three hours the +contest was resolutely maintained. The streets had been barricaded, and +Prince Rupert's men fought at great disadvantage. At length, as evening +approached, and the main body of the Cavaliers came up, the Parliament +men gave way, and were driven from the town. Many were taken prisoners, +and others driven into the river, the greater portion, however, making +their way in boats safely down the stream. The delay which their sturdy +resistance had made saved the city. Hampden was bringing his men across +from Acton. Essex had marched from Chelsea Fields to Turnham Green, and +the road was now blocked. After it was dark the Train-Bands advanced, +and the Parliament regiments, reinforced by them, pushed on to Brentford +again; the Royalists, finding that the place could not be held, fell +back to the king's quarters at Hounslow. + +The chroniclers describe how wild a scene of confusion reigned in London +that evening. Proclamations were issued ordering all men to take up +arms; shops were closed, the apprentice boys mustered in the ranks, and +citizens poured out like one man to defend the town. They encamped upon +the road, and the next day great trains of provisions sent by the wives +of the merchants and traders reached them, and as many came out to see +the forces, the scene along the road resembled a great fair. + +In this fight at Brentford Harry Furness was engaged. The Royalists had +anticipated no resistance here, not knowing that Hollis held the place, +and Sir Henry did not think of ordering Harry to remain behind. At the +moment when it was found that Hollis was in force and the trumpets +sounded the charge, the lad was riding in the rear of the troop, talking +to one of the officers, and his father could take no step to prevent his +joining. Therefore, when the trumpets sounded and the troops started off +at full gallop toward the town, Harry, greatly exulting in his good +luck, fell in with them and rode down the streets of Brentford. The +musketry fire was brisk, and many of the troop rolled from their horses. +Presently they were dismounted and ordered to take the houses by storm. +With the hilts of their swords they broke in the doors, and there was +fierce lighting within. + +Harry, who was rather bewildered with the din and turmoil of the fight, +did as the rest, and followed two or three of the men into one of the +houses, whose door had been broken open. They were assailed as they +entered by a fire of musketry from the Parliament men within. Those in +front fell, and Harry was knocked down by the butt of a pike. + +When he recovered he found himself in a boat drifting down the stream, a +prisoner of the Roundheads. + +For a long time Harry could hear the sounds of the guns and cannon at +Brentford, and looking round at the quiet villages which they passed on +the banks, could scarce believe that he had been engaged in a battle and +was now a prisoner. But little was said to him. The men were smarting +under their defeat and indulged in the bitterest language at the +treachery with which, after negotiations had been agreed upon, the +advance of the Royalists had been made. They speedily discovered the +youth of their captive, and, after telling him brutally that he would +probably be hung when he got to London, they paid no further attention +to him. The boat was heavily laden, and rowed by two oars, and the +journey down was a long one, for the tide met them when at the village +of Hammersmith, and they were forced to remain tied up to a tree by the +bank until it turned again. This it did not do until far in the night, +and the morning was just breaking when they reached London. + +It was perhaps well for Harry that they arrived in the dark, for in the +excited state of the temper of the citizens, and their anger at the +treachery which had been practiced, it might have fared but badly with +him. He was marched along the Strand to the city, and was consigned to a +lock-up in Finsbury, until it could be settled what should be done to +him. In fact, the next day his career was nearly being terminated, for +John Lilburn, a captain of the Train Bands, who had been an apprentice +and imprisoned for contumacy, had been captured at Brentford, and after +being tried for his life, was sentenced to death as a rebel. Essex, +however, sent in word to the Royalist camp that for every one of the +Parliament officers put to death, he would hang three Royalist +prisoners. This threat had its effect, and Harry remained in ignorance +of the danger which had threatened him. + +The greatest inconvenience which befell him was that he was obliged to +listen to all sorts of long harangues upon the part of the Puritan +soldiers who were his jailers. These treated him as a misguided lad, and +did their best to convert him from the evil of his ways. At last Harry +lost his temper, and said that if they wanted to hang him, they might; +but that he would rather put up with that than the long sermons which +they were in the habit of delivering to him. Indignant at this rejection +of their good offices, they left him to himself, and days passed without +his receiving any visit save that of the soldier who brought his meals. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +BREAKING PRISON. + + +Harry's place of confinement was a cell leading off a guardroom of the +Train Bands. Occasionally the door was left open, as some five or six +men were always there, and Harry could see through the open door the +citizens of London training at arms. Several preachers were in the habit +of coming each day to discourse to those on guard, and so while away the +time, and upon these occasions the door was generally left open, in +order that the prisoner might be edified by the sermons. Upon one +occasion the preacher, a small, sallow-visaged man, looked into the cell +at the termination of his discourse, and seeing Harry asleep on his +truckle bed, awoke him, and lectured him severely on the wickedness of +allowing such precious opportunities to pass. After this he made a point +of coming in each day when he had addressed the guard, and of offering +up a long and very tedious prayer on behalf of the young reprobate. +These preachings and prayings nearly drove Harry out of his mind. +Confinement was bad enough; but confinement tempered by a course of +continual sermons, delivered mostly through the nose, was a terrible +infliction. At last the thought presented itself to him that he might +manage to effect his escape in the garb of the preacher. He thought the +details over and over in his mind, and at last determined at any rate to +attempt to carry them into execution. + +One day he noticed, when the door opened for the entry of the preacher, +that a parade of unusual magnitude was being held in the drill yard, +some officer of importance having come down to inspect the Train Band. +There were but four men left in the guardroom and these were occupied in +gazing out of the window. The preacher came direct into the cell, as his +audience in the guardroom for once were not disposed to listen to him, +and shutting the door behind him, he addressed a few words of +exhortation to Harry, and then, closing his eyes, began a long prayer. +When he was fairly under way, Harry sprang upon him, grasping him by the +throat with both hands, and forced him back upon the bed. The little +preacher was too much surprised to offer the smallest resistance, and +Harry, who had drawn out the cords used in supporting the sacking of the +bed, bound him hand and foot, keeping, while he did so, the pillow +across his face, and his weight on the top of the pillow, thereby nearly +putting a stop to the preacher's prayers and exhortations for all time. +Having safely bound him, and finding that he did not struggle in the +least, Harry removed the pillow, and was horrified to see his prisoner +black in the face. He had, however, no time for regret or inquiry how +far the man had gone, and stuffing a handkerchief into his mouth, to +prevent his giving any alarm should he recover breath enough to do so, +Harry placed his high steeple hat upon his head, his Geneva bands round +his throat, and his long black mantle over his shoulders. He then opened +the door and walked quietly forth. The guards were too much occupied +with the proceedings in the parade ground to do more than glance round, +as the apparent preacher departed. Harry strode with a long and very +stiff step, and with his figure bolt upright, to the gate of the parade +ground, and then passing through the crowd who were standing there +gaping at the proceedings within, he issued forth a free man. + +For awhile he walked at a brisk pace, and then, feeling secure from +pursuit, slackened his speed; keeping westward through the city, he +passed along the Strand and out into the country beyond. He wore his +beaver well down over his eyes, and walked with his head down as if +meditating deeply, in order to prevent any passers-by from observing the +youthfulness of his face. When he arrived at the village of Chelsea, he +saw, in front of a gentleman's house, a horse hitched up to a hook +placed there for that purpose. Conceiving that for a long journey four +legs are much more useful than two, and that when he got beyond the +confines of London he should attract less suspicion upon a horse than if +striding alone along the road, he took the liberty of mounting it and +riding off. When he had gone a short distance he heard loud shouts; but +thinking these in no way to concern him, he rode on the faster, and was +soon beyond the sound of the voices. He now took a northerly direction, +traveled through Kensington, and then keeping east of Acton, where he +knew that some Parliament troops were quartered, he rode for the village +of Harrow. He was aware that the Royalists had fallen back to Oxford, +and that the Parliament troops were at Reading. He therefore made to the +northwest, intending to circuit round and so reach Oxford. He did not +venture to go to an inn, for although, as a rule, the keepers of these +places were, being jovial men, in no way affected toward the Commons, +yet he feared meeting there persons who might question and detain him. +He obtained some provision at a small village shop, in which he saw a +buxom woman standing behind her counter. She appeared vastly surprised +when he entered and asked for a manchet of bread, for the contrast +between his ruddy countenance and his Puritan hat and bands was so +striking that they could not fail to be noticed. The good woman looked +indeed too astonished to be able to attend to Harry's request, and he +was obliged to say, "Mother, time presses, and I care not to be caught +loitering here." + +Divining at once that he was acting a part, and probably endeavoring to +escape the pursuit of the Commons, the good woman at once served him +with bread and some slices of ham, and putting these in the wallets of +the saddle, he rode on. + +The next morning, in riding through the village of Wickham, his career +was nearly arrested. Just as he passed a sergeant followed by three or +four Parliament soldiers came out from an inn, and seeing Harry riding +past, addressed him: + +"Sir, will it please you to alight, and to offer up a few words of +exhortation and prayer?" + +Harry muttered something about pressing business. But in his sudden +surprise he had not time to think of assuming either the nasal drone or +the scriptural words peculiar to these black-coated gentry. Struck by +his tone, the sergeant sprang forward and seized his bridle. + +"Whom have we here?" he said; "a lad masquerading in the dress of a +preacher. This must be explained, young sir." + +"Sergeant," Harry said, "I doubt not that thou art a good fellow, and +not one to get a lad in a scrape. I am the son of a London citizen; but +he and my mother are at present greatly more occupied with the state of +their souls than with the carrying on of their carnal business. Being +young, the constant offering up of prayers and exhortations has vexed me +almost to desperation, and yesterday, while the good preacher who +attends then was in the midst of the third hour of his discourse I stole +downstairs, and borrowing his hat and cloak, together with his horse, +determined to set out to join my uncle, who is a farmer down in +Gloucestershire, and where in sooth the companionship of his +daughters--girls of my own age--suits my disposition greatly better than +that of the excellent men with whom my father consorts." + +The soldiers laughed, and the sergeant, who was not at heart a bad +fellow, said: + +"I fear, my young sir, that your disposition is a godless one, and that +it would have been far better for you to have remained under the +ministration of the good man whose hat you are wearing than to have +sought the society of your pretty cousins. However, I do not know but +that in the unregenerate days of my own youth I might not have attempted +an escapade like yours. I trust," he continued, "you are not tainted +with the evil doctrines of the adherents of King Charles." + +"In truth," Harry said, "I worry not my head with politics. I hear so +much of them that I am fairly sick of the subject, and have not yet +decided whether the Commons is composed of an assembly of men directly +inspired with power for the regeneration of mankind, or whether King +Charles be a demon in human shape. Methinks that when I grow old enough +to bear arms it will be time enough for me to make up my mind against +whom to use them. At present, a clothyard is the stick to which I am +most accustomed, and as plows and harrows are greatly more in accord +with my disposition, I hope that for a long time I shall not see the +interior of a shop again; and I trust that the quarrels which have +brought such trouble into this realm, and have well-nigh made my father +and mother distraught, will at least favor my sojourn in the country, +for I am sure that my father will not venture to traverse England for +the sake of bringing me back again." + +"I am not sure," the sergeant said, "that my duty would not be to +arrest you and to send you back to London. But as, in truth, I have no +instructions to hinder travelers, I must even let you go." + +With a merry farewell to the group, and a laugh far more in accordance +with his years than with the costume which he wore, Harry set spurs to +his horse and again rode forward. + +He met with no further adventure on the road. When he found by inquiries +that he had passed the outposts of the Parliament forces, he joyfully +threw the hat, the bands, and cloak into a ditch, for experience had +taught him that, however useful as a passport they might be while still +within the lines of the troops of the Commons, they would be likely to +procure him but scant welcome when he entered those of the Royalists. +Round Oxford the royal army were encamped, and Harry speedily discovered +that his father was with his troop at his own place. Turning his head +again eastward, he rode to Abingdon, and quickly afterward was at the +hall. + +The shout of welcome which the servitor who opened the door uttered when +he saw him speedily brought his father to the entrance, and Sir Henry +was overjoyed at seeing the son whom he believed to be in confinement in +London. Harry's tale was soon told, and the colonel roared with laughter +at the thought of his boy masquerading as a Puritan preacher. + +"King Charles himself," he said, "might smile over your story, Harry; +and in faith it takes a great deal to call up a smile into his majesty's +face, which is, methinks a pity, for he would be more loved, and not +less respected, did he, by his appearance and manner, do something to +raise the spirits of those around him." + +When once seated in the hall Harry inquired of his father what progress +had been made since he was taken prisoner, for he had heard nothing from +his guards. + +"Things are as they were," his father said. "After our unfortunate +advance we fell back hither, and for six weeks nothing was done. A +fortnight since, on the 2d of January, a petition was brought by +deputies from the Common Council of London, asking the king to return to +the capital when all disturbance should be suppressed. King Charles, +however, knew not that these gentlemen had the power to carry out their +promises seeing that the seditious have the upper hand in the capital, +and answered them to that effect. His answer was, however, methinks, far +less conciliatory and prudent than it might have been, for it boots not +to stir up men's minds unnecessarily, and with a few affectionate words +the king might have strengthened his party in London. The result, +however, was to lead to a fierce debate, in which Pym and Lord +Manchester addressed the multitude, and stirred them up to indignation, +and I fear that prospects of peace are further away than ever. In other +respects there is good and bad news. Yorkshire and Cheshire, Devon and +Cornwall, have all declared for the crown; but upon the other hand, in +the east the prospects are most gloomy. There, the seven counties, +Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridge, Herts, Lincoln, and Huntingdon, have +joined themselves into an association, and the king's followers dare not +lift their heads. At Lichfield, Lord Brook, a fierce opponent of bishops +and cathedrals, while besieging a party of Cavaliers who had taken +possession of the close, was shot in the eye and killed. These are the +only incidents that have taken place." + +For some weeks no event of importance occurred. On the 22d of February +the queen, who had been absent on the Continent selling her jewels and +endeavoring to raise a force, landed at Burlington, with four ships, +having succeeded in evading the ships of war which the Commons had +dispatched to cut her off, under the command of Admiral Batten. That +night, however, the Parliament fleet arrived off the place, and opened +fire upon the ships and village. The queen was in a house near the +shore, and the balls struck in all directions round. She was forced to +get up, throw on a few clothes, and retire on foot to some distance from +the village to the shelter of a ditch, where she sat for two hours, the +balls sometimes striking dust over them, and singing round in all +directions. It was a question whether the small force which the queen +brought with her was not rather a hindrance than an assistance to the +royal cause, for the Earl of Newcastle, who had been sent to escort her +to York, was authorized by the king to raise men for the service, +without examining their consciences, that is to say, to receive +Catholics as well as Protestants. The Parliament took advantage of this +to style his army the Catholic Army, and this, and some tamperings with +the Papists in Ireland, increased the popular belief that the king +leaned toward Roman Catholicism, and thus heightened the feelings +against him, and embittered the religious as well as the political +quarrel. + +Toward the end of March commissioners from the Parliament, under the +Earl of Northumberland, came to Oxford with propositions to treat. It is +questionable whether the offers of the Commons were sincere. But +Charles, by his vacillation and hesitation, by yielding one day and +retracting the next, gave them the opportunity of asserting, with some +show of reason, that he was wholly insincere, and could not be trusted; +and so the commission was recalled, and the war went on again. + +On the 15th of April Parliament formally declared the negotiations to be +at an end, and on that day Essex marched with his army to the siege of +Reading. The place was fortified, and had a resolute garrison; but by +some gross oversight no provisions or stores had been collected, and +after an unsuccessful attempt to relieve the town, when the Royalist +forces failed to carry the bridge at Caversham, they fell back upon +Wallingford, and Reading surrendered. Meanwhile skirmishes were going on +all over the country. Sir William Waller was successful against the +Royalists in the south and west. In the north Lord Newcastle was opposed +to Fairfax, and the result was doubtful; while in Cornwall the Royalists +had gained a battle over the Parliament men under Lord Stamford. + +Meanwhile, the king was endeavoring to create a party in the Parliament, +and Lady Aubigny was intrusted with the negotiations. The plot was, +however, discovered. Several members of Parliament were arrested, and +two executed by orders of the Parliament. + +Early in June Colonel Furness and his troop were called into Oxford, as +it was considered probable that some expeditions would be undertaken, +and on the 17th of that month Prince Rupert formed up his horse and +sallied out against the outlying pickets and small troops of the +Parliament. Several of these he surprised and cut up, and on the morning +of the 19th reached Chalgrove Field, near Thame. Hampden was in command +of a detachment of Parliamentary troops in this neighborhood, and +sending word to Essex, who lay near, to come up to his assistance, +attacked Prince Rupert's force. His men, however, could not stand +against the charge of the Royalists. They were completely defeated, and +Hampden, one of the noblest characters of his age, was shot through the +shoulder. He managed to keep his horse, and ride across country to +Thame, where he hoped to obtain medical assistance. After six days of +pain he died there, and thus England lost the only man who could, in +the days that were to come, have moderated, and perhaps defeated, the +ambition of Cromwell. + +Essex arrived upon the scene of battle a few minutes after the defeat of +Hampden's force, and Prince Rupert fell back, and crossing the Thames +returned to Oxford, having inflicted much damage upon the enemy. + +Shortly after this event, one of the serving men rushed in to Harry with +the news that a strong band of Parliament horse were within three or +four miles of the place, and were approaching. Harry at once sent for +the steward, and a dozen men were summoned in all haste. On their +arrival they set to work to strip the hall of its most valued furniture. +The pictures were taken down from the walls, the silver and plate +tumbled into chests, the arms and armor worn by generations of the +Furnesses removed from the armory, the choicest articles of furniture of +a portable character put into carts, together with some twenty casks of +the choicest wine in the cellars, and in four hours only the heavier +furniture, the chairs and tables, buffets and heavy sideboards remained +in their places. + +Just as the carts were filled news came that the enemy had ridden into +Abingdon. Night was now coming on, and the carts at once started with +their contents for distant farms, where the plate and wine were to be +buried in holes dug in copses, and other places little likely to be +searched by the Puritans. The pictures and furniture were stowed away in +lofts and covered deeply with hay. + +Having seen the furniture sent off, Harry awaited the arrival of the +Parliament bands, which he doubted not would be dispatched by the +Puritans among the townspeople to the hall. The stables were already +empty except for Rollo, Harry's own horse. This he had at once, the +alarm being given, sent off to a farm a mile distant from the hall, and +with it its saddle, bridle, and his arms, a brace of rare pistols, +breast and back pieces, a steel cap with plumes, and his sword. It cost +him an effort to part with the last, for he now carried it habitually. +But he thought that it might be taken from him, and, moreover, he feared +that he might be driven into drawing it, when the consequences might be +serious, not only for himself, but for the mansion of which his father +had left him in charge. + +At nine a servitor came in to say that a party of men were riding up the +drive. Harry seated himself in the colonel's armchair, and repeated to +himself the determination at which he had arrived of being perfectly +calm and collected, and of bearing himself with patience and dignity. +Presently he heard the clatter of horses' hoofs in the courtyard, and +two minutes later, the tramp of feet in the passage. The door opened, +and an officer entered, followed by five or six soldiers. + +This man was one of the worst types of Roundhead officers. He was a +London draper, whose violent harangues had brought him into notice, and +secured for him a commission in the raw levies when they were first +raised. Harry rose as he entered. + +"You are the son of the man who is master of this house?" the officer +said roughly. + +"I am his son and representative," Harry said calmly. + +"I hear that he is a malignant fighting in the ranks of King Charles." + +"My father is a colonel in the army of his gracious majesty the king," +Harry said. + +"You are an insolent young dog!" the captain exclaimed. "We will teach +you manners," and rising from the seat into which he had thrown himself +on entering the hall, he struck Harry heavily in the face. + +The boy staggered back against the wall; then with a bound he snatched +a sword from the hand of one of the troopers, and before the officer had +time to recoil or throw up his hands, he smote him with all his force +across the face. With a terrible cry the officer fell back, and Harry, +throwing down the sword, leaped through the open window into the garden +and dashed into the shrubberies, as half a dozen balls from the pistols +of the astonished troopers whizzed about his head. + +For a few minutes he ran at the top of his speed, as he heard shouts and +pistol shots behind him. But he knew that in the darkness strangers +would have no chance whatever of overtaking him, and he slackened his +pace into a trot. As he ran he took himself to task for not having acted +up to his resolution. But the reflection that his father would not +disapprove of his having cut down the man who had struck him consoled +him, and he kept on his way to the farm where he had left his horse. In +other respects, he felt a wild delight at what had happened. There was +nothing for him now but to join the Royal army, and his father could +hardly object to his taking his place with the regiment. + +"I wish I had fifty of them here," he thought to himself; "we would +surround the hall, and pay these traitors dearly. As for their captain, +I would hang him over the door with my own hands. The cowardly ruffian, +to strike an unarmed boy! At any rate I have spoiled his beauty for him, +for I pretty nearly cut his face in two, I shall know him by the scar if +I ever meet him in battle, and then we will finish the quarrel. + +"I shall not be able to see out of my right eye in the morning," he +grumbled; "and shall be a nice figure when I ride into Oxford." + +As he approached the farm he slackened his speed to a walk; and neared +the house very carefully, for he thought it possible that one of the +parties of the enemy might already have taken up his quarters there. The +silence that reigned, broken by the loud barking of dogs as he came +close, proved that no stranger had yet arrived, and he knocked loudly at +the door. Presently an upper window was opened, and a woman's voice +inquired who he was, and what he wanted. + +"I am Harry Furness, Dame Arden," he said. "The Roundheads are at the +hall, and I have sliced their captain's face; so I must be away with all +speed. Please get the men up, and lose not a moment; I want my arms and +horse." + +The farmer's wife lost no time in arousing the house, and in a very few +minutes all was ready. One man saddled the horse, while another buckled +on Harry's breast and back pieces; and with a hearty good-by, and amid +many prayers for his safety and speedy return with the king's troops, +Harry rode off into the darkness. For awhile he rode cautiously, +listening intently lest he might fall into the hands of some of the +Roundhead bands. But all was quiet, and after placing another mile or +two between himself and Abingdon, he concluded that he was safe, drew +Rollo's reins tighter, pressed him with his knees, and started at full +gallop for Oxford. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +A MISSION OF STATE. + + +When Harry rode into Oxford with the news that the Roundheads had made a +raid as far as Abingdon, no time was lost in sounding to boot and +saddle, and in half an hour the Cavalier horse were trotting briskly in +that direction. They entered Abingdon unopposed, and found to their +disgust that the Roundheads had departed an hour after their arrival. A +party went up to Furness Hall, and found it also deserted. The +Roundheads, in fact, had made but a flying raid, had carried off one or +two of the leading Royalists in the town, and had, on their retirement, +been accompanied by several of the party favorable to the Commons, among +others, Master Rippinghall and the greater portion of his men, who had, +it was suspected, been already enrolled for the service of the +Parliament. Some of the Royalists would fain have sacked the house of +the wool-stapler; but Colonel Furness, who had accompanied the force +with his troop, opposed this vehemently. + +"As long as we can," he said, "let private houses be respected. If the +Puritans commence, it will be time for us to retort. There are +gentlemen's mansions all over the country, many of them in the heart of +Roundhead neighborhoods, and if they had once an excuse in our +proceedings not one of these would be safe for a minute." + +Leaving a strong force of horse in Abingdon, Prince Rupert returned to +Oxford, and Colonel Furness again settled down in his residence, his +troop dispersing to their farms until required, a small body only +remaining at Furness Hall as a guard, and in readiness to call the +others to arms if necessary. The colonel warmly approved of the steps +that Harry had taken to save the valuables, and determined that until +the war was at an end these should remain hidden, as it was probable +enough that the chances of the strife might again lead the Roundheads +thither. + +"I hope, father," Harry Furness said the following day, "that you will +now permit me to join the troop. I am getting on for sixteen, and could +surely bear myself as a man in the fray." + +"If the time should come, Harry, when the fortune of war may compel the +king to retire from Oxford--which I trust may never be--I would then +grant your request, for after your encounter with the officer who +commanded the Roundheads here, it would not be safe for you to remain +behind. But although you are too young to take part in the war, I may +find 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 send +a messenger to London with papers of importance, and to keep up the +communication with the king's friends in that city. There was some +debate as to who should be chosen. In London, at the present time, all +strangers are closely scrutinized. Every man is suspicious of his +neighbor, and it is difficult to find one of sufficient trust whose +person is unknown. Then I have thought that maybe you could well fulfill +this important mission. A boy would be unsuspected, where a man's every +movement would be watched. There is, of course, some danger attending +the mission, and sharpness and readiness will be needed. You have shown +that you possess these, by the manner in which you made your escape from +London, and methinks that, did you offer, your services would be +accepted. You would have, of course, to go in disguise, and to accept +any situation which might appear conformable to your character and add +to your safety." + +Harry at once gladly assented to the proposal. He was at the age when +lads are most eager for adventure, and he thought that it would be great +fun to be living in London, watching the doings of the Commons, and, so +far as was in his power, endeavoring to thwart them. Accordingly in the +afternoon he rode over with Sir Henry to Oxford. They dismounted in the +courtyard of the building which served as the king's court, and +entering, Sir Henry left Harry in an antechamber, and, craving an +audience 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 of +the 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 he +found himself, pressed his lips to King Charles' hand. + +"I hear from your father, my trusty Sir Henry Furness, that you are +willing to adventure your life in our cause, and to go as our messenger +to London, and act there as our intermediary with our friends. You seem +young for so delicate a work; but your father has told me somewhat of +the manner in which you escaped from the hands of the traitors at +Westminster, and also how you bore yourself in the affair with the +rebels at his residence. It seems to me, then, that we must not judge +your wisdom by your years, and that we can safely confide our interests +in your hands. Your looks are frank and boyish, and will, therefore, +excite far less suspicion than that which would attend upon an older and +graver-looking personage. The letters will be prepared for you +to-morrow, and, believe me, should success finally crown our efforts +against these enemies of the crown, your loyalty and devotion will not +be forgotten by your king." + +He again held out his hand to Harry, and the boy left the cabinet with +his heart burning with loyalty toward his monarch, and resolved that +life itself should be held cheap if it could be spent in the service of +so gracious and majestic a king. + +The next morning a royal messenger brought out a packet of letters to +Furness Hall, and Harry, mounting with his father and the little body of +horse at the hall, rode toward London. His attire was that of a country +peasant boy. The letters were concealed in the hollow of a stout ashen +stick 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 would +not attract attention. Sir Henry rode with him as far as it was prudent +to do toward the outposts of the Parliament troops. Then, bidding him a +tender farewell, and impressing upon him the necessity for the utmost +caution, 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 some +little distance therefrom. In his pocket Harry had two or three pieces +of silver, and between the soles of his boots were sewn several gold +coins. These he did not anticipate having to use; but the necessity +might arise when such a deposit would prove of use. Harry walked quietly +through the village, where his appearance was unnoticed, and then along +the road toward Reading. He soon met a troop of Parliament horsemen; but +as he was sauntering along quietly, as if merely going from one village +to another, no attention whatever was paid to him, and he reached +Reading without the slightest difficulty. There he took up his abode for +the night at a small hostelry, mentioning to the host that his master +had wanted him to join the king's forces, but that he had no stomach for +fighting, and intended to get work in the town. The following morning he +again started, and proceeded as far as Windsor, where he slept. The next +day, walking through Hounslow and Brentford, he stopped for the night at +the village of Kensington, and the following morning entered the city. +Harry had never before been in the streets of London, for in his flight +from his prison he had at once issued into the country, and the bustle +and confusion which prevailed excited great surprise in his mind. Even +Oxford, busy as it was at the time, and full of the troops of the king +and of the noblemen and gentlemen who had rallied to his cause, was yet +quiet when compared with London. The booths along the main streets were +filled with goods, and at these the apprentices shouted loudly to all +passer-by, "What d'ye lack? What d'ye lack?" Here was a mercer +exhibiting dark cloths to a grave-looking citizen; there an armorer was +showing the temper of his wares to an officer. Citizens' wives were +shopping and gossiping; groups of men, in high steeple hats and dark +cloak, were moving along the streets. Pack horses carried goods from the +ships at the wharves below the bridge to the merchants, and Harry was +jostled hither and thither by the moving crowd. Ascending the hill of +Ludgate to the great cathedral of St. Paul's, he saw a crowd gathered +round a person on an elevated stand in the yard, and approaching to see +what was going on, found that a preacher was pouring forth anathemas +against the king and the Royal party, and inciting the citizens to throw +themselves heart and soul into the cause. Especially severe was he upon +waverers, who, he said, were worse than downright enemies, as, while the +one withstood the Parliament openly in fair fight, the others were +shifted to and fro with each breeze, and none could say whether they +were friends or enemies. Passing through the cathedral, where regular +services were no longer held, but where, in different corners, preachers +were holding forth against the king, and where groups of men strolled up +and down, talking of the troubles of the times, he issued at the eastern +door, and entering Cheapside, saw the sign of the merchant to whom he +had been directed. + +This was Nicholas Fleming, a man of Dutch descent, and well spoken of +among his fellows. He dealt in silks and velvets from Genoa. His shop +presented less outward appearance than did those of his neighbors, the +goods being too rich and rare to be exposed to the weather, and he +himself dealing rather with smaller traders than with the general +public. The merchant--a grave-looking man--was sitting at his desk when +Harry entered. A clerk was in the shop, engaged in writing, and an +apprentice was rolling up a piece of silk. Harry removed his hat, and +went 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's +nurse, 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 message +from the Royalist camp, and his keen wit at once led him to suspect that +the bearer stood before him, although his appearance in nowise justified +such a thought, for Harry had assumed with his peasant clothes a look of +stolid stupidity which certainly gave no warrant for the thought that a +keen spirit lay behind it. Without a word the merchant opened the +letter, which, in truth, contained nearly the same words which Harry had +spoken, but whose signature was sufficient to the merchant to indicate +that his suspicions were correct. + +"Sit down," he said to the lad. "I am busy now; but will talk with you +anon." + +Harry took his seat on a low stool, while the merchant continued his +writing as before, as if the incident were too unimportant to arrest his +attention for a moment. Harry amused himself by looking round the shop, +and was specially attracted by the movements of the apprentice, a +sharp-looking lad, rather younger than himself, and who, having heard +what had passed, seized every opportunity, when he was so placed that +neither the merchant nor his clerk could observe his face to make +grimaces at Harry, indicative of contempt and derision. Harry was sorely +tempted to laugh; but, with an effort, he kept his countenance, assuming +only a grim of wonder which greatly gratified Jacob, who thought that he +had obtained as companion a butt who would afford him infinite +amusement. + +After the merchant had continued his writing for an hour, he laid down +his pen, and saying to Harry "Follow me; I will speak to Dame Alice, my +wife, concerning thee," left the shop and entered the inner portion of +the house, followed by Harry. The merchant led him into a sitting-room +on the floor above, where his wife, a comely dame, was occupied with her +needle. + +"Dame," he said, "this is a new apprentice whom my nurse, Marjory, has +sent 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 the +lad 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 been +chosen for the service upon which he is engaged. Men do not send fools +to risk their lives; and I have been watching him for the last hour, and +have observed how he bore himself under the tricks of that jackanapes, +Jacob, and verily the wonder which I at first felt when he presented +himself to me has passed away, and what appeared to me at first sight a +strange imprudence, seems now to be a piece of wisdom. But enough of +riddles," he said, seeing that his wife's astonishment increased as he +went 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's +officers," Harry said; "and my papers are concealed within this staff." + +Thereupon he lifted his stick and showed that at the bottom a piece of +wood had been artfully fitted into a hollow, and then, by being rubbed +upon the ground, so worn as to appear part of a solid whole. Taking his +knife from his pocket, he cut off an inch from the lower end of the +stick, and then shook out on to the table a number of slips of paper +tightly rolled together. + +"I will examine these at my leisure," the merchant said; "and now as to +thyself. What instructions have you?" + +"I am told, sir, to take up my abode with you, if it so pleases you; to +assume the garb and habits of an apprentice; and, moreover, to do such +messages as you may give me, and which, perhaps, I may perform with less +risk of observation, and with more fidelity than any ordinary +messenger." + +"The proposal is a good one," the trader said. "I am often puzzled how +to send notes to those of my neighbors with whom I am in +correspondence, for the lad Jacob is sharp--too sharp, indeed, for my +purpose, and might suspect the purport of his goings and comings. I +believe him to be faithful, though overapt to mischief. But in these +days one cares not to risk one's neck unless on a surety. The first +thing will be, then, to procure for thee a suit of clothes, suitable to +thy new position. Under the plea that at present work is but slack--for +indeed the troubles of the times have well-nigh ruined the trade in such +goods as mine, throwing it all into the hands of the smiths--I shall be +able to grant thee some license, and to allow thee to go about and see +the city and acquaint thyself with its ways. Master Jacob may feel, +perhaps, a little jealous; but this matters not. I somewhat misdoubt the +boy, though perhaps unjustly. But I know not how his opinions may go +toward matters politic. He believes me, I think, as do other men, to be +attached to the present state of things; but even did his thoughts jump +otherwise, he would not have opened his lips before me. It would be +well, therefore, for you to be cautious in the extreme with him, and to +find out of a verity what be his nature and disposition. Doubtless, in +time, he will unbosom to you and you may see whether he has any +suspicions, and how far he is to be trusted. He was recommended to me +by a friend at Poole, and I know not the opinions of his people. I will +come forth with you now and order the clothes without delay, and we will +return in time for dinner, which will be at twelve, of which time it now +lacks half an hour." + +Putting on his high hat, the merchant sallied out with Harry into the +Cheap, and going to a clothier's was able to purchase ready-made +garments suitable to his new position as a 'prentice boy. Returning with +these, 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 now +nearly ready. + +The meal was to Harry a curious one. The merchant sat at one end of the +table, his wife at the other. The scrivener occupied a place on one +side, and his fellow-apprentice and himself on the other. The merchant +spoke to his wife on the troubles of the times in a grave, oracular +voice, which appeared to be intended chiefly for the edification of his +three assistants, who ate their dinner in silence, only saying a word or +two in answer to any question addressed to them. Harry, who was +accustomed to dine with his father, was somewhat nice in his ways of +eating. But, observing a sudden look of interest and suspicion upon the +face of the sharp boy beside him at his manner of eating, he, without +making so sudden a change as to be perceptible, gradually fell into the +way of eating of his companion, mentally blaming himself severely for +having for a moment forgotten his assumed part. + +"I shall not need you this afternoon, Roger," the merchant said; "and +you can go out and view the sights of the city. Avoid getting into any +quarrels or broils, and especially observe the names writ up on the +corner of the houses, in order that you may learn the streets and so be +able to find your way about should I send you with messages or goods." + +Harry spent the afternoon as directed, and was mightily amused and +entertained by the sights which he witnessed. Especially was he +interested in London Bridge, which, covered closely with houses, +stretched across the river, and at the great fleet of vessels which lay +moored to the wharves below. Here Harry spent the greater portion of the +afternoon, watching the numerous boats as they shot the bridge, and the +barges receiving merchandise from the vessels. + +At five o'clock the shop was shut, and at six supper was served in the +same order as dinner had been. At eight they retired to bed. + +"Well, Master Roger," said Jacob, when they were done, "and what is thy +father?" + +"He farms a piece of land of his own," Harry said. "Sometimes I live +with him; but more often with my uncle, who is a trader in Bristol--a +man of some wealth, and much respected by the citizens." + +"Ah! it is there that thou hast learnt thy tricks of eating," Jacob +said. "I wondered to see thee handle thy knife and fork so daintily, and +in a manner which assuredly smacked of the city rather than of the +farm." + +"My uncle," Harry said, "is a particular man as to his habits, and as +many 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 Christian +than a hog. What a town is this London! What heaps of people, and what +wonderful sights!" + +"Yes," the apprentice said carelessly. "But you have as yet seen +nothing. You should see the giant with eight heads, at the Guildhall." + +"A giant with eight heads?" Henry exclaimed wonderingly. "Why, he have +five 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 a +surety.'" + +"You must mind," the apprentice said; "for a boy is served up for him +every morning for breakfast." + +"Now you are trying to fool me," Harry said. "My mother warned me that +the boys of London were wickedly disposed, and given to mock at +strangers. But I tell thee, Master Jacob, that I have a heavy fist, and +was considered a fighter in the village. Therefore, mind how thou triest +to 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 at +present I do not know whether your folly is more than skin deep, and +methinks that the respectable trader, your uncle, has taught you more +than how to eat like a Christian." + +Harry felt at once that in this sharp boy he had a critic far more +dangerous than any he was likely to meet elsewhere. Others would pass +him unnoticed; but his fellow-apprentice would criticise every act and +word, and he felt somewhat disquieted to find that he had fallen under +such supervision. It was now, he felt, all-important for him to discover +what were the real sentiments of the boy, and whether he was trustworthy +to his master, and to be relied upon to keep the secret which had fallen +into 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 sorely +worried to hear them long, and would rather thrash out a load of corn +than listen long to the clacking of their tongues." + +"Thou wilt be sicker still of them before thou hast done with them. It +is one of the duties of us apprentices to listen to the teachers, and if +I had my way, we would have an apprentices' riot, and demand to be kept +to the terms of our indentures, which say nothing about preachers. What +is the way of thinking of this uncle of yours?" + +"He is a prudent man," Roger said, "and says but little. For myself, I +care nothing either way, and cannot understand what they are making this +pother about. So far as I can see, folks only want to be quiet, and do +their work. But even in our village at home there is no quiet now. Some +are one way, some t'other. There are the Church folk, and the +meeting-house folk, and it is as much as they can do to keep themselves +from going at each other's throats. I hear so much about it that my +brain gets stupid with it all, and I hate Parliament and king worse than +the schoolmaster who used to whack me for never knowing the difference +between one letter and another." + +"But you can read and write, I suppose?" Jacob said; "or you would be of +little use as an apprentice." + +"Yes, I can read and write," Roger said; "but I cannot say that I love +these things. I doubt me that I am not fitter for the plow than for a +trade. But my Aunt Marjory was forever going on about my coming to +London, and entering the shop of Master Nicholas Fleming, and as it +seemed an easy thing to sell yards of silks and velvets, I did not stand +against her wishes, especially as she promised that if in a year's time +I did not like the life, she would ask Master Nicholas to cancel my +indentures, and let me go back again to the farm." + +"Ah, well," Jacob said, "it is useful to have an aunt who has been nurse +to a city merchant. The life is not a bad one, though our master is +strict with all. But Dame Alice is a good housewife, and has a light +hand at confections, and when there are good things on the table she +does not, as do most of the wives of the traders, keep them for herself +and her husband, but lets us have a share also." + +"I am fond of confections,", Harry said; "and my Aunt Marjory is famous +at 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 to +sleep, each wondering somewhat over the character of the other, and +determining to make a better acquaintance shortly. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +A NARROW ESCAPE. + + +During the next few days Harry was kept hard at work delivering the +various minute documents which he had brought in the hollow of his +stick. Sometimes of an evening he attended his master to the houses +where he had taken such messages, and once or twice was called in to be +present at discussions, and asked to explain various matters connected +with the position of the king. During this time he saw but little of the +apprentice Jacob, except at his meals, and as the boy did not touch upon +his frequent absence, or make any allusion to political matters, when in +their bedroom alone at night, Harry hoped that his suspicions had been +allayed. + +One morning, however, on waking up, he saw the boy sitting upright in +bed, staring fixedly at him. + +"What is the matter; Jacob, and what are you doing?" + +"I am wondering who and what you are!" the boy said. + +"I am Roger, your fellow apprentice," Harry replied, laughing. + +"I am not sure that you are Roger; I am not sure that you are an +apprentice," the boy said. "But if you were, that would not tell me who +you are. If you were merely Roger the apprentice, Dame Alice would not +pick out all the tit-bits at dinner, and put them on your plate, while I +and Master Hardwood have to put up with any scraps which may come. Nor +do I think that, even for the purpose of carrying his cloak, our master +would take you with him constantly of an evening. He seems mighty +anxious too, for you to learn your way about London. I do not remember +that he showed any such care as to my geographical knowledge. But, of +course, there is a mystery, and I want to get to the bottom of it, and +mean to do so if I can." + +"Even supposing that there was a mystery," Harry said, "what good would +it do to you to learn it, and what use would you make of your +knowledge?" + +"I do not know," the boy said carelessly. "But knowledge is power." + +"You see," Harry said, "that supposing there were, as you say, a +mystery, the secret would not be mine to tell, and even were it so +before I told it, I should want to know whether you desired to know it +for the sake of aiding your master, if possible, or of doing him an +injury. + +"I would do him no injury, assuredly," Jacob said. "Master Fleming is as +good a master as there is in London. I want to find out, because it is +my nature to find out. The mere fact that there is a mystery excites my +curiosity, and compels me to do all in my power to get to the bottom of +it. Methinks that if you have aught that you do not want known, it would +be better to take Jacob Plummer into your confidence. Many a man's head +has been lost before now because he did not know whom to trust." + +"There is no question of losing heads in the matter," Harry said, +smiling. + +"Well, you know best," Jacob replied, shrugging his shoulders; "but +heads do not seem very firmly on at present." + +When he went out with Master Fleming that evening Harry related to him +the conversation which he had had with Jacob. + +"What think you, Master Furness? Is this malapert boy to be trusted, or +not?" + +"It were difficult to say, sir," Harry answered. "His suspicions are +surely roused, and as it seemed to me that his professions of affection +and duty toward yourself were earnest, methinks that you might enlist +him in your cause, and would find him serviceable hereafter, did you +allow me frankly to speak to him. He has friends among the apprentice +boys, and might, should he be mischievously inclined, set one to follow +us of a night, and learn whither you go; he might even now do much +mischief. I think that it is his nature to love plotting for its own +sake. He would rather plot on your side than against it; but if you will +not have him, he may go against you." + +"I have a good mind to send him home to his friends," the merchant said. +"He can know nothing as yet." + +"He might denounce me as a Royalist," Harry said; "and you for harboring +me. I will sound him again to-night, and see further into his +intentions. But methinks it would be best to trust him." + +That night the conversation was again renewed. + +"You see, Jacob," Harry said, "that it would be a serious matter, +supposing what you think to be true, to intrust you with the secret. I +know not whether you are disposed toward king or Parliament, and to put +the lives of many honorable gentlemen into the hands of one of whose +real disposition I know little would be but a fool's trick." + +"You speak fairly, Roger," the boy said. "Indeed, What I said to you was +true. I trouble my head in no way as to the politics and squabbles of +the present day; but I mean to rise some day, and there is no better way +to rise than to be mixed up in a plot. It is true that the rise may be +to the gallows; but if one plays for high stakes, one must risk one's +purse. I love excitement, and believe that I am no fool. I can at least +be true to the side that I engage upon, and of the two, would rather +take that of the king than of the Parliament, because it seems to me +that there are more fools on his side than on the other, and therefore +more chance for a wise head to prosper." + +Harry laughed. + +"You have no small opinion of yourself, Master Jacob." + +"No," the boy said; "I always found myself able to hold my own. My +father, who is a scrivener, predicted me that I should either come to +wealth or be hanged, and I am of the same opinion myself." + +After further conversation next day with the merchant, Harry frankly +confided to Jacob that evening that he was the bearer of letters from +the king. Of their contents he said that he knew nothing; but had reason +to believe that another movement was on foot for bringing about the +overthrow of the party of Puritans who were in possession of the +government of London. + +"I deemed that such was your errand," the boy said. "You played your +part well; but not well enough. You might have deceived grown-up people; +but you would hardly take in a boy of your own age. Now that you have +told me frankly, I will, if I can, do anything to aid. I care nothing +for the opinions of one side or the other; but as I have to go to the +cathedral three times on Sunday, and to sit each time for two hours +listening to the harangues of Master Ezekiel Proudfoot, I would gladly +join in anything which would be likely to end by silencing that fellow +and his gang. It is monstrous that, upon the only day in the week we +have to ourselves, we should be compelled to undergo the punishment of +listening to these long-winded divines." + +When Harry was not engaged in taking notes, backward and forward, +between the merchant and those with whom he was negotiating, he was +occupied in the shop. There the merchant kept up appearances before the +scrivener and any customers who might come in, by instructing him in the +mysteries of his trade; by showing him the value of the different +velvets and silks; and by teaching him his private marks, by which, in +case of the absence of the merchant or his apprentice, he could state +the price of any article to a trader who might come in. Harry judged, by +the conversations which he had with his host, that the latter was not +sanguine as to the success of the negotiations which he was carrying on. + +"If," he said, "the king could obtain one single victory, his friends +would raise their heads, and would assuredly be supported by the great +majority of the population, who wish only for peace; but so long as the +armies stood facing each other, and the Puritans are all powerful in the +Parliament and Council of the city, men are afraid to be the first to +move, not being sure how popular support would be given." + +One evening after work was over Harry and Jacob walked together up the +Cheap, and took their place among a crowd listening to a preacher at +Paul's Cross. He was evidently a popular character, and a large number +of grave men, of the straitest Puritan appearance, were gathered round +him. + +"I wish we could play some trick with these somber-looking knaves," +Jacob whispered. + +"Yes," Harry said; "I would give much to be able to do so; but at the +present moment I scarcely wish to draw attention upon myself." + +"Let us get out of this, then," Jacob said, "if there is no fun to be +had. I am sick of these long-winded orations." + +They turned to go, and as they made their way through the crowd, Harry +trod upon the toe of a small man in a high steeple hat and black coat. + +"I beg your pardon," Harry said, as there burst from the lips of the +little man an exclamation which was somewhat less decorous than would +have been expected from a personage so gravely clad. The little man +stared Harry in the face, and uttered another exclamation, this time of +surprise. Harry, to his dismay, saw that the man with whom he had come +in contact was the preacher whom he had left gagged on the guardroom bed +at Westminster. + +"A traitor! A spy!" shouted the preacher, at the top of his voice, +seizing Harry by the doublet. The latter shook himself free just as +Jacob, jumping in the air, brought his hand down with all his force on +the top of the steeple hat, wedging it over the eyes of the little man. +Before any further effort could be made to seize them, the two lads +dived through the crowd, and dashed down a lane leading toward the +river. + +This sudden interruption to the service caused considerable excitement, +and the little preacher, on being extricated from his hat, furiously +proclaimed that the lad he had seized, dressed as an apprentice, was a +malignant, who had been taken prisoner at Brentford, and who had foully +ill-treated him in a cell in the guardroom at Finsbury. Instantly a +number of men set off in pursuit. + +"What had we best do, Jacob?" Harry said, as he heard the clattering of +feet behind them. + +"We had best jump into a boat," Jacob said, "and row for it. It is dark +now, and we shall soon be out of their sight." + +At the bottom of the lane were some stairs, and at these a number of +boats. As it was late in the evening, and the night a foul one, the +watermen, not anticipating fares, had left, and the boys, leaping into a +boat, put out the sculls, and rowed into the stream, just as their +pursuers were heard coming down the lane. + +"Which way shall we go?" Harry said. + +"We had better shoot the bridge," Jacob replied. "Canst row well?" + +"Yes," Harry said; "I have practiced at Abingdon with an oar." + +"Then take the sculls," Jacob said, "and I will steer. It is a risky +matter going through the bridge, I tell you, at half tide. Sit steady, +whatever you do. Here they come in pursuit, Roger. Bend to the sculls," +and in a couple of minutes they reached the bridge. + +"Steady, steady," shouted Jacob, as the boat shot a fall, some eight +feet in depth, with the rapidity of an arrow. For a moment it was tossed +and whirled about in the seething waves below, and then, thanks to +Jacob's presence of mind and Harry's obedience to his orders, it emerged +safely into the smooth water below the bridge. Harry now gave up one of +the sculls to Jacob, and the two boys rowed hard down the stream. + +"Will they follow, think you?" Harry said. + +"I don't think," Jacob laughed, "that any of those black-coated gentry +will care for shooting the bridge. They will run down below, and take +boat there; and as there are sure to be hands waiting to carry fares out +to the ships in the pool, they will gain fast upon us when once they are +under way." + +The wind was blowing briskly with them, and the tide running strong, and +at a great pace they passed the ships lying at anchor. + +"There is the Tower," Jacob said; "with whose inside we may chance to +make acquaintance, if we are caught. Look," he said, "there is a boat +behind us, rowed by four oars! I fear that it is our pursuers." + +"Had we not better land, and take our chance?" Harry said. + +"We might have done so at first," Jacob said; "it is too late now. We +must row for it. Look," he continued, "there is a bark coming along +after the boat. She has got her sails up already, and the wind is +bringing her along grandly. She sails faster than they row, and if she +comes up to us before they overtake us, it may be that the captain will +take us in tow. These sea-dogs are always kindly." + +The boat that the boys had seized was, fortunately, a very light and +fast one, while that in pursuit was large and heavy, and the four +watermen had to carry six sitters. Consequently, they gained but very +slowly upon the fugitives. Presently a shot from a pistol whizzed over +the boys' heads. + +"I did not bargain for this, friend Roger," Jacob said. "My head is made +rather for plots and conspiracies than for withstanding the contact of +lead." + +"Row away!" Harry said. "Here is the ship just alongside now." + +As the vessel, which was a coaster, came along, the crew looked over the +side, their attention, being called by the sound of the pistol and the +shouts of those in chase. + +"Throw us a rope, sir," Jacob shouted. "We are not malefactors, but have +been up to a boyish freak, and shall be heavily punished if we are +caught." + +Again the pistol rang out behind, and one of the Sailors threw a rope to +the boys. It was caught, and in a minute the boat was gliding rapidly +along in the wake of the ship. She was then pulled up alongside, the +boys clambered on board, and the boat was sent adrift, The pursuers +continued the chase for a few minutes longer, but seeing the ship +gradually drawing away from them, they desisted, and turned in toward +shore. + +"And who are you?" the captain of the brig said. + +"We are apprentices, as you see," Jacob said. "We were listening to some +preaching at Paul's Cross. In trying to get out from the throng--being +at length weary of the long-winded talk of the preacher--we trod upon +the feet of a worthy divine. He, refusing to receive our apologies, took +the matter roughly, and seeing that the crowd of Puritans around were +going to treat us as malignant roisterers, we took the liberty of +driving the hat of our assailant over his eyes, and bolting. Assuredly, +had we been caught, we should have been put in the stocks and whipped, +even if worse pains and penalties had not befallen us, for ill-treatment +of one of those who are now the masters of London." + +"It was a foolish freak," the captain said, "and in these days such +freaks are treated as crimes. It is well that I came along. What do you +purpose to do now?" + +"We would fain be put ashore, sir, somewhere in Kent, so that we may +make our way back again. Our figures could not have been observed beyond +that we were apprentices, and we can enter the city quietly, without +fear of detection." + +The wind dropped in the evening, and, the tide turning, the captain +brought to anchor. In the morning he sailed forward again. When he +neared Gravesend he saw a vessel lying in the stream. + +"That is a Parliament ship," he said. + +At that moment another vessel of about the same size as that in which +they were was passing her. She fired a gun, and the ship at once dropped +her sails and brought up. + +"What can she be doing now, arresting the passage of ships on their way +down? If your crime had been a serious one, I should have thought that a +message must have been brought down in the night for her to search +vessels coming down stream for the persons of fugitives. What say you, +lads? Have you told me the truth?" + +"We have told you the truth, sir," Harry said; "but not the whole truth. +The circumstances are exactly as my friend related them. But he omitted +to say that the preacher recognized in me one of a Cavalier family, and +that they may suspect that I was in London on business of the king's." + +"Is that so?" the captain said. "In that case, your position is a +perilous one. It is clear that they do not know the name of the ship in +which you are embarked, or they would not have stopped the one which we +see far ahead. If they search the ship, they are sure to find you." + +"Can you swim, Jacob?" Harry asked the other. + +He nodded. + +"There is a point," Harry said, "between this and the vessel of war, and +if you sail close to that you will for a minute or two be hidden from +the view of those on her deck. If you will take your ship close to that +corner we will jump overboard and swim on shore. If then your vessel is +stopped you can well say that you have no fugitives on board, and let +them search." + +The captain thought the plan a good one, and at once the vessel's head +was steered over toward the side to which Harry had pointed. As they +neared the corner they for a minute lost sight of the hull of the +man-of-war, and the boys, with a word of thanks and farewell to the +captain, plunged over and swam to the bank, which was but some thirty +yards away. Climbing it, they lay down among the grass, and watched the +progress of the vessel. She, like the one before, was brought up by a +gun from the man-of-war, and a boat from the latter put out and remained +by her side for half an hour. Then they saw the boat return, the vessel +hoist her sails again, and go on her way. + +"This is a nice position into which you have brought me, Master Roger," +Jacob said. "My first step in taking part in plots and conspiracies does +not appear to me to lead to the end which I looked for. However, I am +sick of the shop, and shall be glad of a turn of freedom. Now let us +make our way across the marshes to the high land. It is but twenty miles +to walk to London, if that be really your intent." + +"I shall not return to London myself," Harry said; "but shall make my +way back to Oxford. It would be dangerous now for me to appear, and I +doubt not that a sharp hue and cry will be kept up. In your case it is +different, for as you have been long an apprentice, and as your face +will be entirely unknown to any of them, there will be little chance of +your being detected." + +"I would much rather go with you to Oxford," the lad said. "I am weary +of velvets and silks, and though I do not know that wars and battles +will be more to my taste, I would fain try them also. You are a +gentleman, and high in the trust of the king and those around him. If +you will take me with you as your servant I will be a faithful knave to +you, and doubt not that as you profit by your advantages, some of the +good will fall to my share also." + +"In faith," Harry said, "I should hardly like you to be my servant, +Jacob, although I have no other office to bestow at present. But if you +come with me you shall be rather in the light of a major-domo, though I +have no establishment of which you can be the head. In these days, +however, the distinctions of master and servant are less broad than +before, and in the field we shall be companions rather than master and +follower. So, if you like to cast in your fortunes with mine, here is my +hand on it. You have already proved your friendship to me as well as +your quickness and courage, and believe me, you will not find me or my +father ungrateful. But for you, I should now be in the cells, and your +old master in no slight danger of finding himself in prison, to say +nothing of the upset of the negotiations for which I came to London. +Therefore, you have deserved well, not only of me, but of the king, and +the adventure may not turn out so badly as it has begun. We had best +strike south, and go round by Tunbridge, and thence keeping west, into +Berkshire, and so to Oxford. In this way we shall miss the Parliament +men lying round London, and those facing the Royalists between Reading +and Oxford." + +This order was carried out. The lads met with but few questioners, and +replying always that they were London apprentices upon their way home to +visit their friends for a short time, passed unsuspected. At first the +want of funds had troubled them, for Harry had forgotten the money sewn +up in his shoe. But presently, remembering this, and taking two gold +pieces out of their hiding-place, they went merrily along the road and +in five days from starting arrived at Oxford. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +IN A HOT PLACE. + + +Making inquiries, Harry found that his father was living at a house in +the college of Brazenose, and thither he made his way. Not a little +surprised was the trooper, who was on guard before the door, to +recognize his master's son in one of the two lads who, in the clothes of +apprentices shrunk with water and stained with mud and travel, presented +themselves before him. Harry ascended at once to Sir Henry's room, and +the latter was delighted to see him again, for he had often feared that +be had acted rashly in sending him to London. Harry briefly told his +adventures, and introduced his friend Jacob to his father. + +Sir Henry immediately sent for a clothier, and Harry was again made +presentable; while a suit of serviceable clothes adapted to the position +of a young gentleman of moderate means was obtained for Jacob. Then, +accompanied by his son, Sir Henry went to the king's chambers, and +informed his majesty of all that had happened. As, from the reports +which had reached the king of the temper of the people of London, he had +but small hope that anything would come of the attempt that was being +made, he felt but little disappointed at hearing of the sudden return of +his emissary. Harry was again asked in, and his majesty in a few words +expressed to him his satisfaction at the zeal and prudence which he had +shown, and at his safe return to court. + +On leaving the king Harry awaited anxiously what his father would +determine concerning his future, and was delighted when Sir Henry said, +"It is now a year once these troubles began, Harry, and you have so far +embarked upon them, that I fear you would find it difficult to return to +your studies. You have proved yourself possessed of qualities which will +enable you to make your way in the world, and I therefore think the time +has come when you can take your place in the ranks. I shall ask of the +king a commission for you as captain in my regiment, and as one of my +officers has been killed you will take his place, and will have the +command of a troop." + +Harry was delighted at this intimation; and the following day received +the king's commission. + +A few days afterward he had again to ride over to Furness Hall, which +was now shut up, to collect some rents, and as he returned through +Abingdon he saw Lucy Rippinghall walking in the streets. Rather proud of +his attire as a young cavalier in full arms, Harry dismounted and +courteously saluted her. + +"I should hardly have known you, Master Furness," she said. "You look so +fierce in your iron harness, and so gay with your plumes and ribands. My +brother would be glad to see you. My father as you know, is away. Will +you not come in for a few minutes?" + +Harry, after a few moments' hesitation, assented. He longed to see his +old friend, and as the latter was still residing at Abingdon, while he +himself had already made his mark in the royal cause, he did not fear +that any misconstruction could be placed upon his visit to the Puritan's +abode. Herbert received him with a glad smile of welcome. + +"Ah, Harry," he said, "so you have fairly taken to man's estate. Of +course, I think you have done wrong; but we need not argue on that now. +I am glad indeed to see you. Lucy," he said, "let supper be served at +once." + +It was a pleasant meal, and the old friends chatted of their schooldays +and boyish pastimes, no allusion being made to the events of the day, +save that Herbert said, "I suppose that you know that my father is now a +captain in the force of the Commons, and that I am doing my best to keep +his business going during his absence." + +"I had heard as much," Harry answered. "It is a heavy weight to be +placed on your shoulders, Herbert." + +"Yes," he said, "I am growing learned in wools, and happily the business +is not falling off in my hands." + +It was characteristic of the civil war in England that during the whole +time of its existence the affairs of the country went on as usual. +Business was conducted, life and property were safe, and the laws were +enforced just as before. The judges went their circuits undisturbed by +the turmoil of the times, acting under the authority alike of the Great +Seals of the King and Parliament. Thus evildoers were repressed, crime +put down, and the laws of the land administered just as usual, and as if +no hostile armies were marching and fighting on the fair fields of +England. In most countries during such troubled times, all laws have +been at an end, bands of robbers and disbanded soldiers have pillaged +and ruined the country, person and property alike have been unsafe, +private broils and enmities have broken forth, and each man has carried +his life in his hand. Thus, even in Abingdon, standing as it did halfway +between the stronghold of the crown at Oxford, and the Parliament army +at Reading, things remained quiet and tranquil. Its fairs and markets +were held as usual, and the course of business went on unchecked. + +On his return to Oxford Harry learned that the king, with a portion of +the army, was to set out at once for Gloucester, to compel that city, +which had declared for the Commons, to open its gates. With a force of +thirteen thousand men the king moved upon Gloucester. When he arrived +outside its walls, on the 10th of August, he sent a summons to the town +to surrender, offering pardon to the inhabitants, and demanding an +answer within two hours. Clarendon has described how the answer was +returned. "Within less than the time described, together with a +trumpeter, returned two citizens from the town with lean, pale, sharp, +and bad visages, indeed, faces so strange and unusual, and in such a +garb and posture, that at once made the most severe countenances merry, +and the most cheerful heart sad, for it was impossible such ambassadors +could bring less than a defiance. The men, without any circumstance of +duty or good manners, in a pert, shrill, undismayed accent, said that +they brought an answer from the godly city of Gloucester to the king, +and were so ready to give insolent and seditious answers to any +questions, as if their business were chiefly to provoke the king to +violate his own safe-conduct." The answers which these strange +messengers brought was that the inhabitants and soldiers kept the city +for the use of his majesty, but conceived themselves "only bound to obey +the commands of his majesty signified by both houses of Parliament." +Setting fire to the houses outside their walls, the men of Gloucester +prepared for a resolute resistance. The walls were strong and well +defended, and the king did not possess artillery sufficient to make +breaches therein, and dreading the great loss which an assault upon the +walls would inflict upon his army, he determined to starve the city into +submission. The inhabitants, although reduced to sore straits, yet +relying upon assistance coming to them, held out, and their hopes were +not disappointed, as Essex, at the head of a great army, was sent from +London to relieve the place. Upon his approach, the king and his +councilors, deciding that a battle could not be fought with advantage, +drew off from the town, and gave up the siege. + +Both armies now moved in the direction of London; but Prince Rupert, +hearing that a small body of Parliament horse were besieging the house +of Sir James Strangford, an adherent of the crown, took with him fifty +horse, and rode away to raise the siege, being ever fond of dashing +exploits in the fashion of the knights of old. The body which he chose +to accompany him was the troop commanded by Harry Furness, whose gayety +of manner and lightness of heart had rendered him a favorite with the +prince. The besieged house was situated near Hereford; and at the end of +a long day's march Prince Rupert, coming in sight of the Roundheads, +charged them with such fury that they were overthrown with scarce any +resistance, and fled in all directions. Having effected his object, the +prince now rode to Worcester, where he slept, and thence by a long day's +march to a village where he again halted for the night. + +An hour after his arrival, a messenger came in from Lady Sidmouth, the +wife of Sir Henry Sidmouth, asking him to ride over and take up his +abode for the night at her house. Bidding Harry accompany him, the +prince rode off, leaving the troop under the charge of Harry's +lieutenant, Jacob, who had proved himself an active soldier, and had +been appointed to that rank at Gloucester. The house was a massive +structure of the reign of Henry VIII.; but being built at a time when +the castellated abodes were going out of fashion, was not capable of +standing a siege, and had not indeed been put in any posture of defense. +Sir Henry was with the king, and only a few retainers remained in the +house. Prince Rupert was received at the entrance by Lady Sidmouth, who +had at her side her daughter, a girl of fourteen, whom Harry thought the +most beautiful creature he had ever seen. The prince alighted, and +doffing his broad plumed hat, kissed the lady's hand, and conducted her +into the house again, Harry doing the same to her daughter. + +"You must pardon a rough reception," the lady said to the prince. "Had I +had notice of your coming, I would have endeavored to receive you in a +manner more befitting; but hearing from one of my retainers, who +happened to be in the village when you arrived, of your coming, I +thought that the accommodation--poor as it is--would be better than that +which you could obtain there." + +Prince Rupert replied gayly, and in a few minutes they were seated at +supper. The conversation was lightly kept up, when suddenly a tremendous +crash was heard, shouts of alarm were raised, and a retainer rushed into +the hall, saying that the place was attacked by a force of Roundheads. + +"Defense is hopeless," the lady said, as Prince Rupert and Harry drew +their swords. "There are but five or six old men here, and the door +appears to be already yielding. There is a secret chamber here where you +can defy their search." + +Prince Rupert, dreading above all things to be taken prisoner, and +seeing that resistance would be, as their hostess said, vain, followed +her into an adjoining room hung with arras. Lifting this, she showed a +large stone. Beneath it, on the floor was a tile, in no way differing +from the others. She pressed it, and the stone, which was but slight, +turned on a hinge, and disclosed an iron door. This she opened with a +spring, showing a small room within, with a ladder leading to another +above. + +"Mount that," she said. "You will find in the chamber above a large +stone. Pull the ladder up with you and lower the stone, which exactly +fits into the opening. Even should they discover this chamber, they will +not suspect that another lies above it." + +Prince Rupert, taking a light from her hands, hastily mounted, followed +by Harry, and pulled the steps after him, just as they heard the iron +door close. It needed the united strength of the prince and Harry to +lift the stone, which was a large one, with an iron ring in the center, +and to place it in the cavity. Having done this, they looked round. The +room was about eight feet long by six wide, and lighted by a long narrow +loophole extending from the ground to the roof. They deemed from its +appearance that it was built in one of the turrets of the building. + +"That was a narrow escape, Master Harry," the prince said. "It would +have been right bad news for my royal uncle if I had been caught here +like a rat in a trap. I wonder we heard nothing of a Roundhead force in +this neighborhood. I suppose that they must have been stationed at some +place further north, and that the news of our passing reached them. I +trust that they have no suspicion that we are in the house; but I fear, +from this sudden attack upon an undefended building, that some spy from +the village must have taken word to them." + +Lady Sidmouth had just time to return to the hall when the doors gave +way, and a body of Roundheads burst into the room. They had drawn swords +in their hands, and evidently expected an attack. They looked round with +surprise at seeing only Lady Sidmouth and her daughter. + +"Where is the malignant Rupert?" the leader exclaimed. "We have sure +news that he rode, attended by an officer only, hither, and that he was +seen to enter your house." + +"If you want Prince Rupert, you must find him," the lady said calmly. +"I say not that he has not been here; but I tell you that he is now +beyond your reach." + +"He has not escaped," the officer said, "for the house is surrounded. +Now, madam, I insist upon your telling me where you have hidden him." + +"I have already told you, sir, that he is beyond your reach, and nothing +that you can do will wring any further explanation from me." + +The officer hesitated. For a moment he advanced a step toward her, with +a menacing gesture. But, heated as the passions of men were, no violence +was done to women, and with a fierce exclamation he ordered his troopers +to search the house. For a quarter of an hour they ransacked it high and +low, overturned every article of furniture, pulling down the arras, and +tapping the walls with the hilts of their swords. + +"Take these two ladies away," he said to his lieutenant, "and ride with +them at once to Storton. They will have to answer for having harbored +the prince." + +The ladies were immediately taken off, placed on pillions behind two +troopers, and carried away to Storton. In the meantime the search went +on, and presently the hollow sound given by the slab in the wall was +noticed. The spring could not be discovered, but crowbars and hammers +being brought, the slab of stone was presently shivered. The discovery +of the iron door behind it further heightened their suspicion that the +place of concealment was found. The door, after a prolonged resistance, +was battered in. But the Roundheads were filled with fury, on entering, +to discover only a small, bare cell, with no signs of occupation +whatever. The search was now prolonged in other directions; but, +becoming convinced that it was useless, and that the place of +concealment was too cunningly devised to admit of discovery, the +captain ordered the furniture to be piled together, and setting light to +it and the arras in several places, withdrew his men from the house, +saying that if a rat would not come out of his hole, he must be smoked +in it. + +The prince and Harry from their place of concealment had heard the sound +of blows against the doors below. + +"They have found the way we have gone," the prince said, "but I think +not that their scent is keen enough to trace us up here. If they do so, +we will sell our lives dearly, for I will not be taken prisoner, and +sooner or later our troop will hear of the Roundheads' attack, and will +come to our rescue." + +They heard the fall of the iron door, and the exclamations and cries +with which the Roundheads broke into the room below. Then faintly they +heard the sound of voices, and muffled knocks, as they tried the walls. +Then all was silent again. + +"The hounds are thrown off the scent," the prince said. "It will need a +clever huntsman to put them on it. What will they do next, I wonder?" + +Some time passed, and then Harry exclaimed: + +"I perceive a smell of something burning, your royal highness." + +"Peste! methinks I do also," the prince said. "I had not thought of +that. If these rascals have set fire to the place we shall be roasted +alive here." + +A slight wreath of smoke was seen curling up through the crevice of the +tightly-fitting stone. + +"We will leap out, and die sword in hand," the prince said; and seizing +the ring, he and Harry pulled at it. Ere they raised the stone an inch, +a volume of dense smoke poured up, and they at once dropped it into its +place again, feeling that their retreat was cut off. The prince put his +sword in its scabbard. + +"We must die, my lad," he said. "A strange death, too, to be roasted in +a trap. But after all, whether by that or the thrust of a Roundhead +sword makes little difference in the end. I would fain have fallen in +the field, though." + +"Perhaps," Harry suggested, "the fire may not reach us here. The walls +are very thick, and the chamber below is empty." + +The prince shook his head. + +"The heat of the fire in a house like this will crack stone walls," he +said. + +He then took off his cloak and threw it over the stone, dressing it down +tightly to prevent the smoke from curling in. Through the loophole they +could now hear a roar, and crackling sounds, and a sudden glow lit up +the country. + +"The flames are bursting through the windows," Harry said. "They will +bring our troop down ere long." + +"The troop will do us no good," Prince Rupert replied. "All the king's +army could not rescue us. But at least it would be a satisfaction before +we die to see these crop-eared knaves defeated." + +Minute after minute passed, and a broad glare of light illumined the +whole country round. Through the slit they could see the Roundheads +keeping guard round the house in readiness to cut off any one who might +seek to make his escape, while at a short distance off they had drawn up +the main body of the force. Presently, coming along the road at a rapid +trot, they saw a body of horse. + +"There are our men," the prince exclaimed. + +The Roundheads had seen them too. A trumpet was sounded, and the men on +guard round the house leaped to their horses, and joined the main body, +just as the Cavaliers charged upon them. The Roundheads fought stoutly; +but the charge of the Cavaliers was irresistible. Furious at the sight +of the house in flames, and ignorant of the fate which had befallen +their prince and their master's son, they burst upon the Roundheads with +a force which the latter were unable to withstand. For four or five +minutes the fight continued, and then such of the Roundheads as were +able clapped spurs to their horses and galloped off, hotly pursued by +the Cavaliers. The pursuit was a short one. Several of the Cavaliers +were gathered at the spot where the conflict had taken place, and were, +apparently, questioning a wounded man. Then the trumpeter who was with +them sounded the recall, and in a few minutes the Royalist troops came +riding back. They could see Jacob pointing to the burning building and +gesticulating with his arms. Then a party dashed up to the house, and +were lost to sight. + +The prince and Harry both shouted at the top of their voices, but the +roar of the flames and the crash of falling beams deadened the sound. +The heat had by this time become intense. They had gradually divested +themselves of their clothing, and were bathed in perspiration. + +"This heat is terrific," Prince Rupert said. "I did not think the human +frame could stand so great a heat. Methinks that water would boil were +it placed here." + +This was indeed the case--the human frame, as is now well known, being +capable of sustaining a heat considerably above that of boiling water. +The walls were now so hot that the hand could not be borne upon them for +an instant. + +"My feet are burning!" the prince exclaimed, "Reach down that ladder +from the wall." + +They laid the ladder on the ground and stood upon it, thus avoiding any +contact with the hot stone. + +"If this goes on," Prince Rupert said, with a laugh; "there will be +nothing but our swords left. We are melting away fast, like candles +before a fire. Truly I do not think that there was so much water in a +man as has floated down from me during the last half-hour." + +Harry was so placed that he could command a sight through the loophole, +and he exclaimed, "They are riding away!" + +This was indeed the case. The whole building was now one vast furnace, +and having from the first no hope that their friends, if there, could +have survived, they had, hearing that Lady Sidmouth and her daughter had +been taken to Storton, determined to ride thither to take them from the +hands of the Roundheads, and to learn from them the fate of their +leaders. + +Another two hours passed. The heat was still tremendous, but they could +not feel that it was increasing. Once or twice they heard terrific +crashes, as portions of the wall fell. They would long since have been +roasted, were it not for the cool air which flowed in through the long +loophole, and keeping up a circulation in the chamber, lowered the +temperature of the air within it. At the end of the two hours Harry gave +a shout. + +"They are coming back." + +The light had now sunk to a quiet red glow, so that beyond the fact that +a party was approaching, nothing could be seen. They rode, however, +directly toward the turret, and then, when they halted, Harry saw the +figures of two ladies who were pointing toward the loophole. Harry now +stepped from the ladder on to the door and shouted at the top of his +voice through the loophole. The reply came back in a joyous shout. + +"We are being roasted alive," Harry cried. "Get ladders as quickly as +possible, with crowbars, and break down the wall." + +Men were seen to ride off in several directions instantly, and for the +first time a ray of hope illumined, the minds of the prince and Harry +that they might be saved. Half an hour later long ladders tied together +were placed against the wall, and Jacob speedily made his appearance at +the loophole. + +"All access is impossible from the other side," he said, "for the place +where the house stood is a red-hot furnace, Most of the walls have +fallen. We had no hope of finding you alive." + +"We are roasting slowly," Harry cried. "In Heaven's name bring us some +water." + +Soon a bottle of water was passed in through the loophole, and then +three or four ladders being placed in position, the men outside began +with crowbars and pickaxes to enlarge the loophole sufficiently for the +prisoners to escape. It took three hours' hard work, at the end of which +time the aperture was sufficiently wide to allow them to emerge, and +utterly exhausted and feeling, as the prince said, "baked to a turn," +they made their way down the ladder, being helped on either side by the +men, for they themselves were too exhausted to maintain their feet. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE DEFENSE OF AN OUTPOST. + + +The effect of the fresh air and of cordials poured down their throats +soon restored the vigor to Prince Rupert and Harry Furness. They were +still weak, for the great effort which nature had made to resist the +force of the heat during those long hours had taxed their constitutions +to the utmost. + +Lady Sidmouth was rejoiced indeed to find them alive, for she had made +sure that they were lost. It was not until she had been placed in a room +strongly barred, and under a guard at Storton, that she perceived the +light arising from her residence, and guessed that the men of the +Commons, unable to find the hiding-place of Prince Rupert, had set it on +fire. Then she had knocked loudly at the door; but the sentry had given +no answer either to that or to her entreaties for a hearing. She soon, +indeed, desisted from her efforts, for the fire which blazed up speedily +convinced her that all hope was gone. When Jacob and the Royalists +arrived, driving out the small remnant of the Roundheads who remained in +the village, he had found Lady Sidmouth and her daughter bathed in +tears, under the belief that their guests had perished in the old house +that they loved so well. It was with no hope that they had mounted on +the instant, and ridden at full gallop to the castle, and it was not +until they saw that that wall was still standing that even the slightest +hope entered their minds. Even then it appeared incredible that any one +could be alive, and the shout from the loophole had surprised almost as +much as it had delighted them. + +In the course of three or four hours, refreshed and strengthened by a +hearty breakfast and draughts of burgundy, the prince and Harry mounted +their horses. Lady Sidmouth determined to remain for a few days at one +of her tenant's houses, and then to go quietly on to Oxford--for by this +time the main army of Essex was rapidly moving east, and the country +would soon be secure for her passage. The prince and Harry rode at full +speed to rejoin the army. That night, by riding late, they reached it. +They found that Essex had, in his retreat, surprised Cirencester and had +passed Farringdon. + +The prince, with five thousand horse, started, and marching with great +rapidity, got between Reading and the enemy, and, near Newbury, fell +upon the Parliament horse. For several hours sharp skirmishing went on, +and Essex was forced to halt his army at Hungerford. This gave time for +the king, who was marching at the head of his infantry, to come up. The +royal army occupied Newbury, and by the position they had taken up, were +now between the Roundheads and London. + +On the morning of the 20th of September the outpost of each force became +engaged, and the battle soon raged along the whole line. It was to some +extent a repetition of the battle of Edgehill. Prince Rupert, with his +Cavaliers, swept away the horse of the enemy; but the pikemen of London, +who now first were tried in combat, forced back the infantry of the +king. Prince Rupert, returning from the pursuit, charged them with all +his cavalry; but so sharply did they shoot, and so steadily did the line +of pikes hold together, that the horse could make no impression upon +them. + +The night fell upon an undecided battle, and the next morning the +Roundheads, as at Edgehill, drew off from the field, leaving to the +Royalists the honor of a nominal success, a success, however, which was +in both cases tantamount to a repulse. + +Three leading men upon the king's side fell--Lords Falkland, Carnarvon, +and Sunderland. The former, one of the finest characters of the times, +may be said to have thrown away his life. He was utterly weary of the +terrible dissensions and war in which England was plunged. He saw the +bitterness increasing on both sides daily--the hopes of peace growing +less and less; and as he had left the Parliamentary party, because he +saw that their ambition was boundless, and that they purposed to set up +a despotic tyranny, so he must have bitterly grieved at seeing upon the +side of the king a duplicity beyond all bounds, and want of faith which +seemed to forbid all hope of a satisfactory issue. Thus, then, when the +day of Newbury came, Falkland, whose duties in nowise led him into the +fight, charged recklessly and found the death which there can be little +doubt he sought. + +Although the Cavaliers claimed Newbury as a great victory, instead of +advancing upon London they fell back as usual to Oxford. + +During the skirmishes Harry had an opportunity of doing a service to an +old friend. The Parliament horse, although valiant and better trained +than that of the Royalists, were yet unable to withstand the impetuosity +with which the latter always attacked, the men seeming, indeed, to be +seized with a veritable panic at the sight of the gay plumes of Rupert's +gentlemen. In a fierce skirmish between Harry's troop and a party of +Parliament horse of about equal strength, the latter were defeated, and +Harry, returning with the main body, found a Puritan officer dismounted, +with his back against a tree, defending himself from the attacks of +three of his men. Harry rode hastily up and demanded his surrender. The +officer looked up, and to his surprise Harry saw his friend Herbert. + +"I am your prisoner, Harry," Herbert said, as he lowered the point of +his sword. + +"Not at all!" Harry exclaimed. "It would indeed be a strange thing, +Herbert, were I to make you a prisoner. I thought you settled at +Abingdon?" + +Ordering one of his troopers to catch a riderless horse which was +galloping near, he spoke for a moment or two with his friend, and then, +as the horse was brought up, he told him to mount and ride. + +"But you may get into trouble for releasing me," Herbert said. + +"I care not if I do," Harry replied. "But you need not be uneasy about +me, for Prince Rupert will stand my friend, and hold me clear of any +complaint that may be made. I will ride forward with you a little, till +you can join your friends." + +As Harry rode on by the side of Herbert a Royalist officer, one Sir +Ralph Willoughby, dashed up. + +"What means this?" he exclaimed. "Do I see an officer of his majesty +riding with one of the Roundheads? This is treason and treachery!" + +"I will answer to the king, if need be," Harry said, "for my conduct. I +am not under your orders, Sir Ralph, and shall use my discretion in this +matter. This gentleman is as a brother to me." + +"And I would cut down my brother," Sir Ralph said furiously, "if I found +him in the ranks of the enemy!" + +"Then, sir, we differ," Harry replied, "for that would not I. There are +your friends," he said to Herbert, pointing to a body of Roundheads at a +short distance, "Give me your word, however, that you will not draw +sword again to-day." + +Herbert readily gave the required promise, and riding off, was soon +with his friends. Sir Ralph and Harry came to high words after he had +left; and the matter might then and there have been decided by the +sword, had not a party of Roundheads, seeing two cavalry officers so +near to them, charged down, and compelled them to ride for their lives. + +The following day Sir Ralph reported the circumstance to the general, +and he to Prince Rupert. The prince laughed at the charge. + +"Harry Furness," he said, "is as loyal a gentleman as draws sword in our +ranks, and as he and I have been well-nigh roasted together, it were +vain indeed that any complaint were made to me touching his honor. I +will speak to him, however, and doubt not that his explanation will be +satisfactory." + +The prince accordingly spoke to Harry, who explained the circumstances +of his relations with the young Roundhead. + +"Had he been a great captain, sir," Harry said, "I might have deemed it +my duty to hold him in durance, however near his relationship to myself. +But as a few weeks since he was but a schoolboy, methought that the +addition of his sword to the Roundhead cause would make no great +difference in our chances of victory that afternoon. Moreover, I had +received his pledge that he would not draw sword again in the battle." + +As even yet, although the bitterness was quickly increasing, it was far +from having reached that point which it subsequently attained, and +prisoners on both sides were treated with respect, no more was said +regarding Harry's conduct in allowing his friend to escape. But from +that moment, between himself and Sir Ralph Willoughby there grew up a +strong feeling of animosity, which only needed some fitting pretext to +break out. + +It was, indeed, an unfortunate point in the royal cause, that there was +very far from being unity among those who fought side by side. There +were intrigues and jealousies. There were the king's men, who would have +supported his majesty in all lengths to which he might have gone, and +who were ever advising him to resist all attempts at pacification, and +to be content with nothing less than a complete defeat of his enemies. +Upon the other hand, there were the grave, serious men, who had drawn +the sword with intense reluctance, and who desired nothing so much as +peace--a peace which would secure alike the rights of the crown and the +rights of the people. + +They were shocked, too, by the riotous and profligate ways of some of +the wilder spirits, and deemed that their cause was sullied by the +reckless conduct and wild ways of many of their party. Sir Henry Furness +belonged to this section of the king's adherents, and Harry, who had +naturally imbibed his father's opinions, held himself a good deal aloof +from the wild young spirits of the king's party. + +Skirmishes took place daily between the cavalry outposts of the two +armies. Sir Henry was asked by the prince to send some of his troops +across the river to watch the enemy, and he chose that commanded by +Harry, rather for the sake of getting the lad away from the temptations +and dissipation of Oxford than to give him an opportunity of +distinguishing himself. The troop commanded by Sir Ralph Willoughby was +also on outpost duty, and lay at no great distance from the village in +which Harry quartered his men after crossing the river. The Roundhead +cavalry were known to be but three or four miles away, and the utmost +vigilance was necessary. + +Harry gave orders that the troops should be distributed through the +village--five men to a house. Straw was to be brought in at night, and +laid on the floor of the kitchens, and the men were there to sleep, with +their arms by their sides, ready for instant service. One of each party +was to stand sentry over the five horses which were to be picketed to +the palings in front of the house. At the first alarm he was at once to +awake his comrades, who were to mount instantly, and form in column in +the street. Two pickets were placed three hundred yards from the +village, and two others a quarter of a mile further in advance. Harry +and Jacob took up their residence in the village inn, and arranged +alternately to visit the pickets and sentries every two hours. + +"They shall not catch us napping, Jacob. This is my first command on +detached duty. You and I have often remarked upon the reckless ways of +our leaders. We have an opportunity now of carrying our own ideas into +effect." + +At three o'clock Jacob visited the outposts. All was still, and nothing +had occurred to give rise to any suspicion of the vicinity of an enemy. +Half an hour later one of the advanced pickets galloped in. They heard, +he said, a noise as of a large body of horse, away to the right, and it +seemed as if it was proceeding toward Chalcombe, the village where Sir +Ralph Willoughby's troop was quartered. Two minutes later, thanks to +Harry's arrangements, the troop were mounted and in readiness for +action. + +The first faint dawn of day had begun. Suddenly the stillness was broken +by the sound of pistol shots and shouts from the direction of Chalcombe, +which lay a mile away. + +"It is likely," Harry said, "that Sir Ralph has been caught napping. He +is brave, but he is reckless, and the discipline of his troop is of the +slackest. Let us ride to his rescue." + +The troop filed out from the village, and turned down the side road +leading to Chalcombe. Harry set spurs to his horse and led the column at +a gallop. The sound of shots continued without intermission, and +presently a bright light shot up. + +"Methinks," Harry said to Jacob, "the Roundheads have caught our men +asleep, and it is an attack upon the houses rather than a cavalry +fight." + +It was scarcely five minutes from the time they started when they +approached the village. By the light of a house which had been set on +fire, Harry saw that his conjecture was well founded. The Roundheads +were dismounted, and were attacking the houses. + +Halting just outside the village, Harry formed his men with a front +across the whole road, and directed the lines to advance, twenty yards +apart. Then, placing himself at their head, he gave the word, and +charged down the street upon the Roundheads. The latter, occupied by +their attack upon the houses, were unconscious of the presence of their +foe until he was close upon them, and were taken utterly by surprise. +The force of the charge was irresistible, and the Roundheads, dispersed +and on foot, were cut down in all directions. Groups of twos and threes +stood together and attempted resistance, but the main body thought only +of regaining their horses. In three minutes after the Royalists entered +the village the surviving Roundheads were in full flight, hotly pursued +by the victorious Cavaliers. These, being for the most part better +mounted, overtook and slew many of the Roundheads, and not more than +half the force which had set out returned to their quarters at Didcot. +The pursuit continued to within half a mile of that place, and then +Harry, knowing that there was a force of Roundhead infantry there, drew +off from the pursuit, and returned to Chalcombe. He found that more +than half of Sir Ralph Willoughy's men had been killed, many having been +cut down before they could betake themselves to their arms, those +quartered in the inn, and at two or three of the larger houses, having +alone maintained a successful resistance until the arrival of succor. + +Sir Ralph Willoughby was furious. The disaster was due to his own +carelessness in having contented himself with placing two pickets in +advance of the village, and permitting the whole remainder of his force +to retire to bed. Consequently the picket, on riding in upon the +approach of the enemy, were unable to awake and call them to arms before +the Roundheads were upon them. In his anger he turned upon Harry, and +fiercely demanded why he had not sent him news of the approach of the +enemy. + +"You must have known it," he said. "Your men were all mounted and in +readiness, or they could not have arrived here so soon. You must have +been close at hand, and only holding off in order that you might boast +of having come to my relief." + +Harry, indignant at these words, turned on heel without deigning to give +an answer to the angry man, and at once rode back to his own quarters. +Two hours later Prince Rupert rode up. The firing had been reported, and +Prince Rupert had ridden with a body of horse to Chalcombe. Here he had +heard Sir Ralph Willoughby's version of the story, and had requested +that officer to ride with him to Harry's quarters. The prince, with +several of his principal officers, alighted at the inn, outside which +Harry received him. Prince Rupert led the way into the house. + +"Master Furness," he said, "Sir Ralph Willoughby accuses you of having +played him false, and left his party to be destroyed on account of the +quarrel existing between you, touching that affair at Newbury. What +have you to say to this? He alleges that you must have been close at +hand, and moved not a finger to save him until half his troop was +destroyed." + +"It is wholly false, sir," Harry said. "Seeing that the enemy were so +close, I had placed my pickets well in advance, and ordered my men to +lie down in their clothes, with their arms beside them, on straw in the +kitchens, ready to mount at a moment's warning. I quartered five in each +house, having their horses fastened in front, and one of each party +stationed at the door, where he could observe the horses and wake the +men on the instant. Thus, when my pickets came in with the news that +troops were heard moving toward Chalcombe, my troop was in less than two +minutes in the saddle. As we rode out of the village we heard the first +shot, and five minutes later charged the Roundheads in the streets of +the village. Had we not hastened, methinks that neither Sir Ralph +Willoughby nor any of his troops would have been alive now to tell the +tale. You can question, sir, my lieutenant, or any of my troopers, and +you will hear that matters went precisely as I have told you." + +"You have done well indeed, Master Furness," Prince Rupert said warmly, +"and I would that many of my other officers showed the same +circumspection and care as you have done. Now, Sir Ralph, let me hear +what arrangements you made against surprise." + +"I set pickets in front of the village," Sir Ralph said sulkily. + +"And what besides?" the prince asked. "Having done that, did you and +your officers and men go quietly to sleep, as if the enemy were a +hundred miles away?" + +Sir Ralph was silent. + +"Fie, for shame, sir!" the prince said sternly. "Your own carelessness +has brought disaster upon you, and instead of frankly owning your fault, +and thanking Master Furness for having redeemed your error, saved the +remnant of your troop, and defeated the Roundheads heavily, your +jealousy and envy of the lad have wrought you to bring false accusations +against him. Enough, sir," he said peremptorily, seeing the glance of +hatred which Sir Ralph cast toward Harry. "Sufficient harm has been done +already by your carelessness--see that no more arises from your bad +temper. I forbid this quarrel to go further; until the king's enemies +are wholly defeated there must be no quarrels between his friends. And +should I hear of any further dispute on your part with Master Furness, I +shall bring it before the king, and obtain his warrant for your +dismissal from this army." + +The following day Harry and his troop moved further down the river, the +enemy having fallen back from Didcot. He was placed at a village where +there was a ford across the river. The post was of importance, as its +position prevented the enemy from making raids into the country, where +stores of provisions and cattle had been collected for the use of the +army at Oxford. Harry's force was a small one for the defense of such a +post; but there appeared little danger of an attack, as Prince Rupert, +with a large force of cavalry, lay but a mile or two distant. A few days +after their arrival, however, Prince Rupert started with his horse to +drive back a party of the enemy whom he heard were lying some miles +north of Reading. + +"Prince Rupert never seems to have room for two ideas in his head at the +same time," Jacob said. "The moment he hears of an enemy off he rides at +full gallop, forgetting that he has left us alone here. It is well if +the Roundheads at Reading do not sally out and attack us, seeing how +useful this ford would be to them." + +"I agree with you, Jacob, and we will forthwith set to work to render +the place as defensible as we may." + +"We had best defend the other side of the ford, if they advance," Jacob +said. "We could make a far better stand there." + +"That is true, Jacob; but though we could there bar them from entering +our country, they, if they obtained the village, would shut the door to +our entering theirs. No, it is clear that it our duty to defend the +village as long as we can, if we should be attacked." + +Harry now set his men to work to make loopholes in the cottages and +inclosure walls, and to connect the latter by banks of earth, having +thorn branches set on the top. Just at the ford itself stood a large +water-mill, worked by a stream which here ran into the river. Harry +placed sacks before all the windows, leaving only loopholes through +which to fire. Some of the troop carried pistols only; others had +carbines; and some, short, wide-mouthed guns, which carried large +charges of buckshot. Pickets were sent forward a mile toward Reading. + +Early in the afternoon these galloped in with the news that a heavy +column of infantry and cavalry, with two pieces of artillery, were +approaching along the road. Harry at once dispatched a messenger, with +orders to ride until he found Prince Rupert, to tell him of the state he +was in, and ask him to hurry to his assistance, giving assurance that he +would hold the village as long as possible. All now labored vigorously +at the works of defense. Half an hour after the alarm had been given the +enemy were seen approaching. + +"There must be over five hundred men, horse and foot," Jacob said, as +from the upper story of the mill he watched with Harry the approach of +the enemy. "With fifty men we shall never be able to defend the circuit +of the village." + +"Not if they attack all round at once," Harry agreed. "But probably +they will fall upon us in column, and behind stone walls we can do much. +We must keep them out as long as we can; then fall back here, and +surround ourselves with a ring of fire." + +As soon as it was known that the enemy were approaching Harry had given +orders that all the inhabitants should evacuate their houses and cross +the river, taking with them such valuables as they could carry. There +were several horses and carts in the village, and these were at once put +in requisition, and the people crossing and recrossing the river rapidly +carried most of their linen and other valuables over in safety, the men +continuing to labor for the preservation of their goods, even after the +fight commenced. + +The Roundheads halted about four hundred yards from the village. Just as +they did so there was a trampling of horses, and Sir Ralph Willoughby, +with his troop, now reduced to thirty strong, rode into the village. He +drew up his horse before Harry. + +"Master Furness," he said, "Prince Rupert has forbidden me to test your +courage in the way gentlemen usually do so. But there is now a means +open. Let us see which will ride furthest--you or I--into the ranks of +yonder horsemen." + +Harry hesitated a moment; then he said gravely: + +"My life is not my own to throw away, Sir Ralph. My orders are to hold +this place. That I can best do on foot, for even if our troops united +were to rout the enemy's cavalry, their footmen would still remain, and +would carry the village. No, sir, my duty is to fight here." + +"I always thought you a coward!" Sir Ralph exclaimed; "now I know it," +and, with a taunting laugh, he ordered his men to follow him, issued +from the village, and prepared, with his little band, to charge the +Roundhead horse, about a hundred and fifty strong. + +Just as they formed line, however, the enemy's' guns opened, and a shot +struck Sir Ralph full in the chest, hurling him, a shattered corpse, to +the ground. + +His men, dismayed at the fall of their leader, drew rein. + +"Fall back, men," Harry shouted from behind, "fall back, and make a +stand here. You must be cut to pieces if you advance." + +The troop, who had no other officer with them, at once obeyed Harry's +orders. They had heard the conversation between him and their leader, +and although prepared to follow Sir Ralph, who was the landlord of most +of them, they saw that Harry was right, and that to attack so numerous a +body of horse and foot was but to invite destruction. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +A STUBBORN DEFENSE. + + +A half-dozen or so of Sir Ralph Willoughby's troopers declared that now +their lord was dead they would fight no further, and straightway rode +off through the village and across the ford. The rest, however, seeing +that a brave fight against odds was about to commence, declared their +willingness to put themselves under Harry's orders. They were at once +dismounted and scattered along the line of defenses. After the Roundhead +cannon had fired a few shots their cavalry charged, thinking to ride +into the village. But the moment Sir Ralph's troopers had re-entered it +Harry had heaped up across the road a quantity of young trees and bushes +which he had cut in readiness. Not a shot was fired until the horsemen +reached this obstacle, and then so heavy a fire was poured upon them, as +they dismounted and tried to pull it asunder, that, with a loss of many +men, they were forced to retreat. + +The infantry now advanced, and a severe fight began. Harry's eighty men, +sheltered behind their walls, inflicted heavy damage upon the enemy, +who, however, pressed on stoutly, one column reaching the obstruction +across the road, and laboring to destroy it. All the horses, with the +exception of twenty, had been sent across the ford, and when Harry saw +that in spite of the efforts of his men the enemy were destroying the +abattis, he mounted twenty men upon these horses, placing Jacob at +their head. Then he drew off as many defenders from other points as he +could, and bade these charge their pistols and blunderbusses to the +mouth with balls. As the enemy effected a breach in the abattis and +streamed in, Jacob with his horse galloped down upon them at full speed. +The reserve poured the fire of their heavily loaded pieces upon the mass +still outside, and then aided Jacob's horse by falling suddenly on those +within. So great was the effect that the enemy were driven back, and the +column retired, the breach in the abattis being hastily filled up, +before the cavalry, who were waiting the opportunity, could charge down +upon it. + +In the meantime, however, the enemy were forcing their way in at other +points, and Harry gave word for the outside line of houses to be fired. +The thatched roofs speedily were in flames, and as the wind was blowing +from the river dense clouds of smoke rolled down upon the assailants. It +was now only the intervals between the houses which had to be defended, +and for an hour the stubborn resistance continued, the Royalist troops +defending each house with its inclosure to the last, and firing them as +they retreated, their own loss being trifling in comparison with that +which they inflicted upon their assailants. + +At last the whole of the defenders were gathered in and round the mill. +This was defended from attack by the mill stream, which separated it +from the village, and which was crossed only by the road leading down to +the ford. The bridge was a wooden one, and this had been already partly +sawn away. As soon as the last of the defenders crossed the remainder of +the bridge was chopped down. Along the line of the stream Harry had +erected a defense, breast high, of sacks of wheat from the mill. The +enemy, as they straggled out through the burning village, paused, on +seeing the strong position which yet remained to be carried. The mill +stream was rapid and deep, and the approaches swept by the fire from the +mill. There was a pause, and then the cannon were brought up and fire +opened upon the mill, the musketry keeping up an incessant rattle from +every wall and clump of bushes. + +The mill was built of wood, and the cannon shot went through and through +it. But Harry directed his men to place rows of sacks along each floor +facing the enemy, and lying down behind these to fire through holes +pierced in the planks. For half an hour the cannonade continued, and +then the enemy were seen advancing, carrying beams and the trunks of +small trees, to make a bridge across the stream. Had Harry's men been +armed with muskets it would have been next to impossible for the enemy +to succeed in doing this in the face of their fire. But the fire of +their short weapons was wild and uncertain, except at short distances. +Very many of the Roundheads fell, but others pressed forward bravely, +and succeeded in throwing their beams across the stream. By this time +Harry had led out all his force from the mill, and a desperate fight +took place at the bridge. The enemy lined the opposite bank in such +force that none of the defenders could show their heads above the +barricade of sacks, and Harry came to the conclusion that further +resistance was vain. He ordered Jacob to take all the men with the +exception of ten and to retire at once across the ford. He himself with +the remainder would defend the bridge till they were fairly across, and +would then rush over and join them as he might. + +With a heavy heart Jacob was preparing to obey this order, when he heard +a loud cheer, and saw Prince Rupert, heading a large body of horse, dash +into the river on the other side. The enemy saw him too. There was an +instant cessation of their fire, and before Prince Rupert had gained +the bank the Roundheads were already in full retreat for Reading. The +bridge was hastily repaired, and the prince pursued for some distance, +chasing their cavalry well-nigh into Reading. Their infantry, however, +held together, and regained that town in safety. + +Upon his return Prince Rupert expressed his warm admiration at the +prolonged and gallant defense which Harry had made, and said that the +oldest soldier in the army could not have done better. At Harry's +request he promised the villagers that the next day money should be sent +out from the king's treasury to make good the losses which they had +sustained. Then he left a strong body of horse to hold the village, and +directed Harry to ride with him with his troop to Oxford. + +"I have a mission for you, Master Furness," he said, as they rode along. +"I have already told his majesty how coolly and courageously you +conducted yourself in that sore strait in which we were placed together. +The king has need of a messenger to Scotland. The mission is a difficult +one, and full of danger. It demands coolness and judgment as well as +courage. I have told his majesty that, in spite of your youth, you +possess these qualities, but the king was inclined to doubt whether you +were old enough to be intrusted with such a commission. After to-day's +doings he need have no further hesitation. I spoke to your father but +yesterday, and he has given consent that you shall go, the more readily, +methinks, because the good Cavalier thinks that the morals and ways of +many of our young officers to be in no wise edifying for you, and I +cannot but say that he is right. What sayest thou?" + +Harry expressed his willingness to undertake any mission with which he +might be charged. He thought it probable that no great movements would +be undertaken in the south for some time, and with a lad's natural love +of adventure, was pleased at the thought of change and variety. + +The Scots were at this time arranging for a close alliance with the +Parliament, which had sent emissaries to Edinburgh to negotiate a Solemn +League and Covenant. Sir Henry Vane, who was an Independent, had been +forced to accede to the demand of the Scotch Parliament, that the +Presbyterian religious system of Scotland should be adopted as that of +England, and after much chaffering for terms on both sides, the document +was signed, and was to bind those who subscribed it to endeavor, without +respect of persons, to extirpate popery and prelacy. + +On the 25th of September, nearly a week after the battle of Newbury, all +the members of Parliament still remaining in London assembled in St. +Margaret's Church, and signed the Solemn League and Covenant; but even +at this moment of enthusiasm the parties were not true to each other. +The Scotch expected that Presbyterianism would be introduced into +England, and that Episcopacy would be entirely abolished. The English +members, however, signed the declaration with the full intent of +preserving their own religion, that of a form of Episcopacy, altered +much indeed from that of the Church of England, but still differing +widely from the Scotch system. + +The king had many adherents in Scotland, chief of whom was the Earl of +Montrose, a most gallant and loyal nobleman. + +Upon the day after the fight in the village the king, on Prince Rupert's +recommendation, appointed Harry Furness to bear dispatches to the earl, +and as he was going north, Prince Rupert placed Lady Sidmouth and her +daughter under his charge to convey to the army of the Earl of +Newcastle, under whom her husband was at this time engaged. + +Upon asking what force he should take with him the prince said that he +had better proceed with his own troop, as an escort to the ladies, as +far as the camp of Newcastle, filling up the places of those who had +fallen in the skirmishes and fight of Newbury with other men, so as to +preserve his full tale of fifty troopers. When he had fulfilled the +first part of his mission he was to place his troop at the earl's +service until his return, and to proceed in such manner and disguise as +might seem best to him. + +Harry started for the north in high spirits, feeling very proud of the +charge confided to him. Lady Sidmouth and her daughter were placed in a +light litter between two horses. Harry took his place beside it. Half +the troop, under the command of the lieutenant, rode in front; the other +half followed. So they started for the north. It was a long journey, as +they were forced to avoid many towns occupied by Roundheads. Upon the +fourth day of their journey they suddenly heard the explosion of +pistols, and the shouts of men in conflict. Harry ordered his lieutenant +to ride forward with half the troop to some rising ground just in front, +and there they saw a combat going on between a party of Cavaliers and a +force of Roundheads, much superior to them in numbers. Harry joined the +lieutenant, and sending back a man with orders to the remaining half of +the troop to form a guard round the litter, he headed the advance party, +and the twenty-five men rode headlong down into the scene of conflict. +It was a sharp fight for a few minutes, and then the accession of +strength which the Cavaliers had gained gave them the superiority, and +the Roundheads fell back, but in good order. + +"You arrived just in time, sir," the leader of the party engaged said. +"I am Master John Chillingworth, and am marching to Hardley House, which +the Puritans are about to besiege. There is no time to delay, for see +you not on yonder hill the gleam of pikes? That is the enemy's footmen. +It is only an advanced party of their horse with which we have had this +affair. You cannot go forward in this direction. There is a strong body +of Roundheads lying a few miles to the north." + +Harry rode back to Lady Sidmouth, and after a consultation with her and +with Master Chillingworth, they decided to throw themselves into Hardley +House, where the addition of strength which they brought might enable +them to beat off the Roundheads, and then to proceed on their way. They +learned indeed from a peasant that several bodies of Roundheads were +advancing from various directions, and that Hardley House was strong and +well defended. Of the choice of evils, therefore, they thought this to +be the lightest, and, after an hour's hard riding, they arrived before +its walls. It was an old castellated building, with bastions and walls +capable of standing a siege. The party were gladly received by the +master, Sir Francis Burdett, who had placed his castle in a posture of +defense, but was short of men. Upon the news of the approach of the +enemy he had hastily driven a number of cattle into the yard, and had +stores of provisions sufficient to stand a siege for some time. + +In a short time the Parliament force, consisting of five hundred footmen +and two hundred horse, appeared before the castle, and summoned it to +surrender. Sir Francis refused to do so, and fired a gun in token of +defiance. Soon a train was seen approaching in the distance, and four +guns were dragged by the enemy to a point of high ground near the +castle. Here the Roundheads began to throw up a battery, but were +mightily inconvenienced while doing so by the guns of the castle, which +shot briskly against them. Working at night, however, in two days they +completed the battery, which, on the third morning, opened fire upon the +castle. The guns were much heavier than those upon the walls, and the +shot, directed at a curtain between two towers, battered the stone +sorely. The Parliament footmen were drawn back a space from the walls so +as to avoid the fire of muskets from the defenders. There were in all in +the castle about two hundred men, one hundred having been collected +before the arrival of the troops of horse. These determined upon making +a desperate resistance when the wall should give way, which would, they +doubted not, be upon the following day. Everything that could be done +was tried to hinder the destruction made by the enemy's shot. Numbers of +sacks were filled with earth, and lowered from the walls above so as to +hang in regular order before it, and so break the force of the shot. +This had some effect, but gradually the wall crumbled beneath the blows +of the missiles from the Roundhead guns. + +"We are useless here, save as footmen," Harry said that night to his +host. "There is a postern gate, is there not, behind the castle? +Methinks that if we could get out in the dark unobserved, and form close +to the walls, so that their pickets lying around might not suspect us of +purposing to issue forth, we might, when daylight dawned, make an attack +upon their guns, and if we could spike these the assault would probably +cease." + +The attempt was determined upon. The Roundhead infantry were disposed +behind as well as in front of the castle, so as to prevent the escape of +the besieged; but the camp was at a distance of some four hundred yards. +The chains of the drawbridge across the moat were oiled, as were the +bolts of the doors, and at three in the morning the gate was opened, and +the drawbridge lowered across the moat. A thick layer of sacks was then +placed upon the drawbridge. The horses' hoofs were also muffled with +sacking, and then, one by one, the horses were led out, the drawbridge +was drawn up again, and all was quiet. No sound or motion in the Puritan +camp betrayed that their exit was observed, and they could hear the +challenges of the circuit of sentries passed from man to man. + +When the first streak of dawn was seen in the east the troop mounted +their horses, and remained quiet until the light should be sufficient to +enable them to see the nature of the ground over which they would have +to pass. This they would be able to do before they themselves were +observed, standing as they were close under the shadow of the walls of +the castle. As soon as it was sufficiently light the trumpets sounded, +and with a burst they dashed across the country. Heeding not the bugle +calls in the camp of the Puritan infantry, they rode straight at the +guns. These were six hundred yards distant, and before the artillerymen +could awake to their danger, the Royalists were upon them. Those that +stood were cut down, and in a minute the guns were spiked. Then the +cavalry swept round, and as the Puritan horse hastily formed up, they +charged them. Although but half their numbers, they had the superiority +in the surprise at which they took their foes, and in the fact of the +latter being but half armed, not having had time to put on their +breastplates. The combat was a short one, and in a few minutes the +Puritans were flying in all directions. The pikemen were now approaching +on either side in compact bodies, and against these Harry knew that his +horsemen could do nothing. He therefore drew them off from the castle, +and during the day circled round and round the place, seizing several +carts of provisions destined for the wants of the infantry, and holding +them in a sort of leaguer. + +That night, finding that their guns were disabled, their horse defeated, +and themselves cut off, the rebel infantry drew off, and gave up the +siege of the place. The next morning the cavalry re-entered the castle +in triumph, and having received the hearty thanks of Sir Francis +Burdett, and leaving with him the troop of Master Chillingworth, who +intended to remain there, Harry proceeded on his way north, and reached +York without further adventure. + +During the ten days that they had journeyed together Lady Sidmouth had +been greatly pleased with the attention and character of Harry Furness. +He was always cheerful and courteous, without any of that light tone of +flippancy which distinguished the young Cavaliers of the period, and her +little daughter was charmed with her companion. Harry received the +hearty thanks of Sir Henry Sidmouth for the care with which he had +conducted his wife through the dangers of the journey, and then, having +so far discharged his duty, he left his troop at York, and started for +Scotland. + +On the way he had discussed with Jacob the measures which he intended to +take for his journey north. Jacob had begged earnestly to accompany him, +and as Harry deemed that his shrewdness might be of great use, he +determined to take him with him, as well as another of his troop. The +latter was a merry fellow, named William Long. He was of grave and sober +demeanor, and never smiled, even while causing his hearers to be +convulsed with laughter. He had a keen sense of humor, was a +ready-witted and courageous fellow, and had frequently distinguished +himself in the various skirmishes. He was the son of a small tenant of +Sir Henry Furness. + +His farm was near the hall, and, although three or four years older +than Harry, he had as a boy frequently accompanied him when out hawking, +and in other amusements. Harry felt that, with two attached and faithful +comrades like these, he should he able to make his way through many +dangers. At York he had procured for himself and his followers suits of +clothes of a grave and sober cut, such as would be worn by yeomen; and +here they laid aside their Cavalier garments, and proceeded northward. +They traveled quietly forward as far as Durham, and then went west, as +Berwick was held for the Parliament. They carried weapons, for at that +time none traveled unarmed, and the country through which they had to +pass was greatly disturbed, the moss troopers having taken advantage of +the disorders of the times to renew the habits of their forefathers, and +to make raids upon their southern neighbors, and carry off cattle and +horses. They carried with them but little money, a small quantity in +their valises, and a few gold pieces concealed about their persons, each +choosing a different receptacle, so that in case of pillage some at +least might retain sufficient to carry them on their way. Avoiding the +large towns, where alone they would be likely to be questioned, they +crossed the border, and rode into Scotland. + +Upon the day after their crossing the frontier they saw a body of +horsemen approaching them. These drew up when they reached them, Harry +having previously warned his comrades to offer no resistance, as the +party were too strong for them, and his mission was too important to +allow the king's cause to be hazarded by any foolish acts of pugnacity. + +"Are you for the king or the kirk?" the leader asked. + +"Neither for one nor the other," Harry said. "We are peaceable yeomen +traveling north to buy cattle, and we meddle not in the disputes of the +time." + +"Have you any news from the south?" + +"Nothing," Harry replied. "We come from Durham, and since the news of +the battle of Newbury, no tidings have come of importance." + +The man looked inquisitively at the horses and valises; but Harry had +chosen three stout ponies sufficiently good to carry them, but offering +no temptations to pillagers, and the size of the valises promised but +little from their contents. + +"Since you are riding north to buy cattle," the leader said, "you must +have money with you, and money is short with us in these bad times." + +"We have not," Harry said; "judging it possible that we might meet with +gentlemen who felt the pressure of the times, we have provided ourselves +with sufficient only to take us up to Kelso, where dwells our +correspondent, who will, we trust, have purchased and collected +sufficient cattle for us to take south when we shall learn that a convoy +of troops is traveling in this direction, for we would not place +temptation in the way of those whom we might meet." + +"You are a fellow of some humor," the leader said grimly. "But it is +evil jesting on this side of the border." + +"I jest not," Harry said. "There is a proverb in Latin, with which +doubtless your worship is acquainted, to the effect that an empty +traveler may sing before robbers, and, although far from including you +and your worshipful following in that category, yet we may be pardoned +for feeling somewhat light-hearted, because we are not overburdened with +money." + +The leader looked savagely at the young man; but seeing that his +demeanor and that of his followers was resolute, that they carried +pistols at their holsters and heavy swords, and deeming that nothing but +hard knocks would come of an attack upon them, he surlily bade his +company follow him, and rode on his way again. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE COMMISSIONER OF THE CONVENTION. + + +At Kelso Harry procured changes of garments, attiring himself as a +Lowland farmer, and his companions as two drovers. They were, as before, +mounted; but the costume of English farmers could no longer have been +supported by any plausible story. They learned that upon the direct road +north they should find many bodies of Scotch troops, and therefore made +for the coast. Two days' riding brought them to the little port of +Ayton. + +After taking their supper in the common room of the hostelry, there was +a stir outside, and three men, attired as Puritan preachers, entered the +room. Mine host received them with courtesy, but with none of the eager +welcome usually displayed to guests; for these gentry, although +feared--for their power was very great at the time--were by no means +loved, and their orders at a hostelry were not likely to swell the purse +of the host. Stalking to an unoccupied table next to that at which Harry +and his party were sitting, they took their seats and called for supper. + +Harry made a sign to his companions to continue talking together, while +he listened attentively to the conversation of the men behind him. He +gathered from their talk that they were commissioners proceeding from +the Presbyterian Convention in London to discuss with that at Edinburgh +upon the points upon which they could come to an agreement for a common +basis of terms. Their talk turned principally upon doctrinal questions, +upon which Harry's ignorance was entire and absolute; but he saw at once +that it would do good service to the king if he could in some way +prevent these men continuing upon their journey, and so for a time +arrest the progress of the negotiations between the king's enemies in +England and Scotland, for at this time the preachers were the paramount +authorities in England. It was they who insisted upon terms, they who +swayed the councils of the nation, and it was not until Cromwell, after +overthrowing the king, overthrew the Parliament, which was for the main +part composed of their creatures, that the power of the preachers came +to an end. It would, of course, have been easy for Harry and his friends +to attack these men during their next day's journey, but this would have +involved the necessity of killing them--from which he shrank--for an +assault upon three godly men traveling on the high business of the +Convention to the Scottish capital would have caused such an outcry that +Harry could not hope to continue on his way without the certainty of +discovery and arrest. + +Signing to his comrades to remain in their seats, he strolled off toward +the port, and there entered a public house, which, by its aspect, was +frequented by seafaring men. It was a small room that he entered, and +contained three or four fishermen, and one whom a certain superiority in +dress betokened to be the captain of a vessel. They were talking of the +war, and of the probability of the Scottish army taking part in it. The +fishermen were all of the popular party; but the captain, who seemed a +jovial fellow, shrugged his shoulders over the religious squabbles, and +said that, for his part, he wanted nothing but peace. + +"Not," he said, "that the present times do not suit are rarely in +purse. Men are too busy now to look after the doings of every lugger +that passes along the coast, and never were French goods so plentiful or +so cheap. Moreover," he said, "I find that not unfrequently passengers +want to be carried to France or Holland. I ask no questions; I care not +whether they go on missions from the Royalists or from the Convention; I +take their money; I land them at their destination; no questions are +asked. So the times suit me bravely; but for all that I do not like to +think of Englishmen and Scotchmen arrayed against their fellows. I +cannot see that it matters one jot whether we are predestinate or not +predestinate, or whether it is a bishop who governs a certain church or +a presbyter. I say let each worship in his own way, and not concern +himself about his fellows. If men would but mind their own affairs in +religion as they do in business it would be better for us all." + +Harry, as he drank the glass of beer he had ordered, had joined +occasionally in the conversation, not taking any part, but agreeing +chiefly with the sea-captain in his desire for peace. + +"I too," he said, "have nothing to grumble at. My beasts fetch good +prices for the army, and save that there is a want of hands, I was never +doing better. Still I would gladly see peace established." + +Presently the fishermen, having finished their liquor, retired, and the +captain, looking keenly at Harry, said, "Methinks, young sir, that you +are not precisely what you seem!" + +"That is so," Harry replied; "I am on business here, It matters not on +which side, and it may be that we may strike a bargain together." + +"Do you want to cross the channel?" the captain asked, laughing. "You +seem young to have put your head in a noose already." + +"No," Harry said, "I do not want to cross myself; but I want to send +some others across. I suppose that if a passenger or two were placed on +board your ship, to be landed in Holland, you would not deem it +necessary to question them closely, or to ascertain whether they also +were anxious to arrive at that destination?" + +"By no means," the captain replied. "Goods consigned to me will be +delivered at the port to which they are addressed, and I should consider +that with passengers as with goods, I must carry them to the port for +which their passage is taken." + +"Good," Harry said; "if that is the case, methinks that when you +sail--and," he asked, breaking off, "when do you sail?" + +"To-morrow morning, if the wind is fair," the captain answered. "But if +it would pay me better to stop for a few hours, I might do so." + +"To-morrow night, if you will wait till then," Harry said, "I will place +three passengers on board, and will pay you your own sum to land them at +Flushing, or any other place across the water to which you may be bound. +I will take care that they will make no complaints whatever, or address +any remonstrance to you, until after you have fairly put to sea. And +then, naturally, you will feel yourself unable to alter the course of +your ship." + +"But," the captain observed, "I must be assured that these passengers +who are so anxious to cross the water are not men whose absence might +cause any great bother. I am a simple man, earning my living as honestly +as the times will allow me to do, and I wish not to embroil myself with +the great parties of the State." + +"There may be an inquiry," Harry replied; "but methinks it will soon +drop. They are three preachers of London, who are on their way to +dispute concerning points of religion with the divines in Scotland. The +result of their disputation may perchance be that an accord may be +arrived at between the divines of London and Edinburgh; and in that +case, I doubt not that the army now lying at Dundee would move south, +and that the civil war would therefore become more extended and cruel +than ever." + +The captain laughed. + +"I am not fond of blackbirds on board my ship," he said. "They are ever +of ill omen on the sea. But I will risk it for so good a cause. It is +their pestilent religious disputes which have stirred up the nations to +war, and I doubt not that even should some time elapse before these +gentlemen can again hold forth in England, there are plenty of others to +supply their place." + +An agreement was speedily arrived at as to the terms of passage, for +Harry was well provided with money, having drawn at Kelso from an agent +devoted to the Royal cause, upon whom he had letters of credit. + +The next morning early Harry went to a carter in the town, and hired a +cart for the day, leaving a deposit for its safe return at night. Then, +mounting their horses, the three Royalists rode off just as the +preachers were going forth from the inn. The latter continued their +course at the grave pace suitable to their calling and occupation, +conversing vigorously upon the points of doctrine which they intended to +urge upon their fellows at Edinburgh. Suddenly, just where the road +emerged from a wood on to a common, three men dashed out, and fell upon +them. The preachers roared lustily for mercy, and invoked the vengeance +of the Parliament upon those who ventured to interfere with them. + +"We are charged," one said, "with a mission to the Convention at +Edinburgh, and it is as much as your heads are worth to interfere with +us." + +"Natheless," Harry said, "we must even risk our heads. You must follow +us into the wood, or we shall be under the necessity of 'blowing out +your brains.'" + +Much crestfallen, the preachers followed their captors into the wood. +There they were despoiled of their hats and doublets, tied securely by +cords, gagged, and placed, in spite of their remonstrances and +struggles, in three huge sacks. + +At midnight the Annette was lying alongside the wharf at Ayton, when a +cart drove up. Three men alighted from it, and one hailed the captain, +who was standing on deck. + +"I have brought the three parcels thou wottest of," he said. "They will +need each two strong men to carry them on board." + +The captain, with two sailors, ascended to the quay. + +"What have we here?" said one of the sailors; "there is some live +creature in this sack." + +"It is a young calf," Harry said; "when you are well out to sea you can +give it air." + +The men laughed, for having frequently had passengers to cross to the +Continent, they shrewdly guessed at the truth; and the captain had +already told them that the delay of a day would put some money into each +of their pockets. Having seen the three sacks deposited on the deck of +the ship, when the sails were immediately hoisted, and the Annette +glided away on her course seaward, the cart was driven round to the +house where it had been hired. The stipulated price was paid, the +deposit returned, and the hirer then departed. + +Riding toward Edinburgh, Harry agreed with his comrades that as he, as +the apparent leader of the party, would be the more likely to be +suspected and arrested, it would be better for the documents of which +they were the carriers, as well as the papers found upon the persons of +the Puritans, to be intrusted to the charge of Jacob and William Long. +Harry charged them, in the event of anything happening to him, to pay no +heed to him whatever, but to separate from him and mix with the crowd, +and then to make their way, as best they might, to the Earl of Montrose. + +"It matters nothing," he said, "my being arrested, They can prove +nothing against me, as I shall have no papers on my body, while it is +all-important that you should get off. The most that they can do to me +is to send me to London, and a term of imprisonment as a malignant is +the worst that will befall me." + +The next day they entered the town by the Canongate, and were surprised +and amused at the busy scene passing there. Riding to an inn, they put +up their horses and dismounted. Harry purposed to remain there for three +or four days to learn the temper of the people. + +The next morning he strolled out into the streets, followed at some +little distance by Jacob and William Long, He had not the least fear of +being recognized, and for the time gave himself up thoroughly to the +amusement of the moment. He had not proceeded far, however, when he ran +full tilt against a man in a black garb, who, gazing at him, at once +shouted out at the top of his voice, "Seize this man, he is a malignant +and a spy," and to his horror Harry discovered the small preacher with +whom he had twice already been at loggerheads, and who, it seems, had +been dispatched as a member of a previous commission by his party in +London. + +In a moment a dozen sturdy hands seized him by his collar. Feeling the +utter uselessness of resistance, and being afraid that should he attempt +to struggle, his friends might be drawn into the matter, Harry quietly +proceeded along the street until he reached the city guardhouse, in a +cell of which he was thrust. + +"One would think," he muttered to himself, "that little preacher is an +emissary of Satan himself. Go where I will, this lantern-jawed knave is +sure to crop up and I feel convinced that until I have split his skull I +shall have no safety. I thought I had freed myself of him forever when I +got out of London; and here, in the middle of the Scotch capital, he +turns up as sharpsighted and as venomous as ever." + +An hour or two later Harry was removed under a guard to the city prison, +and in the evening the doors were opened and a guard appeared and +briefly ordered him to follow. Under the escort of four men he was led +through the streets to a large building, and then conducted to a room in +which a number of persons, some of them evidently of high rank, were +sitting. At the head of the table was a man of sinister aspect. He had +red hair and eyebrows, and a foxy, cunning face, and Harry guessed at +once that he was in the presence of the Earl of Argyll--a man who, even +more than the rest of his treacherous race, was hated and despised by +loyal Scotchmen. In all their history, a great portion of the Scottish +nobles were ever found ready to take English gold, and to plot against +their country. But the Argylls had borne a bad pre-eminence even among +these. They had hunted Wallace, had hounded down Bruce, and had ever +been prominent in fomenting dissensions in their country; the present +earl was probably the coldest and most treacherous of his race. + +"We are told," he said sternly to the prisoner, "that you are a follower +of the man Charles; that you have been already engaged in plottings +among the good citizens of London, and we shrewdly suspect that your +presence here bodes no good to the state. What hast thou to say in thy +defense?" + +"I do not know that I am charged with any offence," Harry said quietly. +"I am an English gentleman, who, wishing to avoid the disorders in his +own country, has traveled north for peace and quietness. If you have +aught to urge against me or any evidence to give, I shall be prepared to +confute it. As for the preacher, whose evidence has caused my arrest, he +hath simply a grudge against me for a boyish freak, from which he +suffered at the time when I made my escape from a guardroom in London, +and his accusation against me is solely the result of prejudice." + +Harry had already, upon his arrival at the jail, been searched +thoroughly, having been stripped, and even the folds and linings of his +garments ripped open, to see that they contained no correspondence. +Knowing that nothing whatever could have been found against him, unless, +indeed, his followers had also fallen into the hands of the Roundheads, +Harry was able to assume a position of injured innocence. + +"Your tone comports not with your condition," the Earl of Argyll said +harshly. "We have found means here to make men of sterner mold than +thine speak the truth, and in the interests of the state we shall not +hesitate to use them against you also. The torturer here hath +instruments which would tear you limb from limb, and, young sir, these +will not be spared unless that malapert tongue of thine gives us the +information we desire to learn." + +"I decline to answer any questions beyond what I have already said," +Harry replied firmly. "I tell you that I am an English gentleman +traveling here on my own private business, and it were foul wrong for me +to be seized and punished upon the suspicion of such a one as that man +there;" and he pointed contemptuously to the preacher. + +"You will be brought up again in two days," the earl said, "and if by +that time you have not made up your mind to confess all, it will go hard +with you. Think not that the life of a varlet like you will weigh for +one moment in the scale with the safety of the nation, or that any +regard for what you may consider in England the usages of war will +prevail here." + +He waved his hand, and Harry was conducted back to jail, feeling far +more uneasy than he had done, for he knew that in Scotland very +different manners prevailed to those which characterized the English. In +England, throughout the war, no unnecessary bloodshed took place, and up +to that time the only persons executed in cold blood had been the two +gentlemen convicted of endeavoring to corrupt the Parliament in favor of +the king. But in Scotland, where civil broils were constant, blood was +ever shed recklessly on both sides; houses were given to the flames; +men, women, and children slaughtered; lands laid waste; and all the +atrocities which civil war, heightened by religious bigotry, could +suggest, perpetrated. + +Late that evening, the door of the prison opened, and a preacher was +shown into the room. + +"I have come," he said in a nasal tone, "misguided young man, to pray +you to consider the wickedness of your ways. It is written that the +ungodly shall perish, and I would fain lead you from the errors of your +way before it is too late." + +Harry had started as the speaker began; but he remained immovable until +the jailer closed the door. + +"Jacob," he exclaimed, "how mad, how imprudent of you! I ordered you +specially, if I was arrested, to pay no heed, but to make your way +north." + +"I know that you did," Jacob said. "But you see you yourself talked of +remaining for three days in Edinburgh. Therefore, I knew that there +could be no pressing need of my journey north; and hearing some +whispers of the intention of the lord president to extract from a +certain prisoner the news of a plot with which he was supposed to be +connected, I thought it even best to come and see you." + +"But how have you obtained this garb?" Harry asked; "and how, above all, +have you managed to penetrate hither?" + +"Truly," Jacob said, "I have undertaken a difficult task in thy behalf, +for I have to-night to enter into a disputation with many learned +divines, and I dread that more than running the risk of meeting the Earl +of Argyll, who, they say, has the face of a fox, and the heart of a +devil." + +"What mean you?" Harry asked. + +"After we saw you dragged off by the townsmen, on being denounced by +that little preacher whose hat I spoiled in St. Paul's churchyard, we +followed your orders, and made back to our hostelry. There William Long +and myself talked the matter over. In the first place, we took all the +papers and documents which were concealed about us, and lifting a board +in the room, hid them beneath it, so that in case of our arrest they +would be safe. As we took out the documents, the commission which we +borrowed from the preachers met our eyes, and it struck me that, armed +with this, we might be enabled to do you service. I therefore at once +purchased cloaks and hats fitting for us as worthy divines from London, +and then, riding a mile or two into the country, we changed our +garments, and entered the good city of Edinburgh as English divines. We +proceeded direct to the house of the chief presbyter, to whom the +letters of commission were addressed, and were received by him with open +arms. I trust that we played our part rarely, and, in truth, the +unctuousness and godliness of William Long passeth belief, and he plays +his part well. Looking as he does far older than I--although in these +days of clean-shaven faces I can make up rarely for thirty--he assumed +the leading part. The presbyter would fain have summoned a number of his +divines for a discussion this evening. But we, pleading fatigue, begged +him to allow us two days of rest. He has, however, invited a few of his +fellows, and we are to wrestle with them this evening in argument. How +we shall get out of it I know not, for my head is altogether in +ignorance of the points in issue. However, there was, among the +documents of the preachers, one setting forth the points in which the +practice of the sect in England and Scotland differed, with the heads of +the arguments to be used. We have looked through these, and, as well as +we could understand the jumble of hard words, have endeavored to master +the points at issue, so we shall to-night confine ourselves to a bare +exposition of facts, and shall put off answering the arguments of the +other side until the drawn battle, which will be fixed for the day after +to-morrow. By the way, we accounted for the absence of our colleague by +saying that he fell sick on the way." + +"But what is the use of all this risk?" Harry asked, laughing at the +thought of his two followers discussing theology with the learned +divines of the Scotch Church. + +"That, in truth," Jacob said, "I do not yet exactly see; but I trust +that to-morrow we shall have contrived some plan of getting you out of +this prison. I shall return at the same time to-morrow evening." + +"How did you get in here?" he asked. + +"I had an order from the chief presbyter for entry. Saying that I +believed I knew you, and that my words might have some effect in turning +you from the evil of your ways, I volunteered to exhort you, and shall +give such an account of my mission as will lead them to give me a pass +to see you again to-morrow night." + +The following evening Jacob again called, this time accompanied by +William. They brought with them another dress similar to their own. +Their visit was an hour later than upon the preceding evening. + +"I learned," Jacob said, "that the guard was changed at eight o'clock, +and it is upon this that the success of our scheme depends. William will +immediately leave, and as he has been seen to enter by the guards +without, and by those at the prison gate, he will pass out without +questioning. In half an hour a fresh guard will be placed at both these +points, and you and I will march out together, armed with permission for +two preachers to pass." + +The scheme appeared a hopeful one, and William took his departure after +a few minutes, saying to the guards without that he went to fetch a book +of reference which he needed to convince the hard-hearted reprobate +within. He left the door partly ajar, and the guards without were +edified by catching snatches of a discourse of exceeding godliness and +unction, delivered by the preacher to the prisoner. + +Presently a trampling without informed Harry and Jacob that the guard +was being changed, and half an hour later they opened the door, and +Jacob, standing for a moment as they went out, addressed a few words of +earnest exhortation to the prisoner supposed to be within, adjuring him +to bethink himself whether it was better to sacrifice his life in the +cause of a wicked king than to purchase his freedom by forsaking the +error of his ways, and turning to the true belief. Then, closing the +door after him, Jacob strode along, accompanied by Harry, to the +guardroom. They passed through the yard of the prison to the gate. There +Jacob produced his pass for the entrance and exit of two divines, and +the guard, suspecting no evil, at once suffered them to go forth. +William had already been to the inn where they stopped, and had told the +host that he was charged to examine the chamber where the persons who +abode there upon the previous day had stopped. There he had taken the +various documents from their hiding-place, and had made his way from the +city. Outside the gates he was joined by the others, and all, at a +speedy but still dignified pace, made their way to the spot where the +horses were concealed, in a little wood in a retired valley. Here they +changed their dress, and, making a bonfire of the garments which they +had taken off, mounted their horses, and rode for the north. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +MONTROSE. + + +They stopped for the night at a village fifteen miles away from +Edinburgh, and after they had had their supper Harry inquired of Jacob +how his dispute with the divines had passed off the evening before. + +Jacob burst into a fit of laughter. + +"It was the funniest thing you ever saw," he said, "Imagine a large +room, with the chief presbyter sitting at a table, and eight other men, +with sour countenances and large turned-down collars and bands, sitting +round it. William Long and I faced them at the other end, looking as +grave and sanctimonious as the rest of them. The proceedings were, of +course, opened with a lengthy prayer, and then the old gentleman in the +center introduced us as the commissioners from London. William rose, and +having got up by heart the instructions to the commissioners, he said +that he would first briefly introduce to his fellow divines the points +as to which differences appeared to exist between the Presbyterians of +the north and those of the south, and concerning which he was instructed +to come to an agreement with them. First, he gave a list of the points +at variance; then he said that he understood that these, quoting from +his document, were the views of his Scotch brethren; and he then +proceeded to give briefly the arguments with which he had been +furnished. He said that his reverend brother and himself were much +wearied with long travel, and that they would fain defer the debate for +another two days, but that in the meantime they would be glad to hear +the views of their friends. Then did one after another of these eight +worthy men rise, and for six mortal hours they poured forth their views. +I do not know whether it was most difficult to avoid laughter or +yawning; but, indeed, Master Harry, it was a weary time. I dared not +look at William, for he put such grave attention and worshipful +reverence on his face that you would have thought he had been born and +bred to the work. When the last of the eight had sat dawn he rose again, +and expressed a marvelous admiration of the learning and eloquence which +his brethren had displayed. Many of their arguments he said, were new to +him--and in this, indeed, I doubt not he spoke truth--and he perceived +that it would be hard to answer all that they had so learnedly adduced. +Upon the other hand, he had much to say; but he was willing to allow +that upon some points he should have difficulty in combating their +views. He prayed them, therefore, to defer the meeting for two days, +when he would willingly give them his views upon the subject, and his +learned brother would also address them. He proposed that the party +should be as small a one as that he saw before him, and that, after +hearing him, they should, if possible, come to some arrangement upon a +few, at least, of the points in dispute, so as to leave as small a number +as might be open to for the public disputation which would follow. The +worshipful party appeared mightily taken with the idea, and, after an +hour's prayer from the chairman, we separated. I hardly slept all night +for laughing, and I would give much to see the faces of that honorable +council when they hear that they have been fooled." + +"You have both shown great wisdom, Jacob," Harry said, "and have behaved +in a sore strait with much judgment and discretion. It was lucky for you +that your reverend friend did not, among his eight champions, think of +inviting our little friend from London, for I fear that he would at once +have denounced you as not being the divines whose credentials you +presented." + +"I was afraid of that," Jacob said, "and therefore begged him specially, +on this our first conference, to have only ministers of his own circle +present. He mentioned that one or two godly ministers from London were +present in the capital. I replied that I was well aware of that, but +that, as these men were not favored with the instructions of the +convention, and knew not the exact turn which affairs had taken up to the +period of my leaving, their presence might be an embarrassment--which, +indeed, was only the truth." + +"We must make a circuit to-morrow," Harry said, "to avoid Stirling, and +will go round by Doune, and thence make for the north. Once among the +mountains we shall be safe from all pursuit, and from any interference +by the Roundheads, for I believe that the clans of this part are all in +favor of Montrose--Argyll's power lying far to the west." + +"It will be a comfort," Jacob said, "not to be obliged to talk through +one's nose, and to cast one's eyes upward. I imagine that these +Highlanders are little better than savages." + +"That is so," Harry said. "They are, I believe, but little changed since +the days when the Romans struggled with them, and could make no head +north of the Forth." + +The next day, by a long circuit, they traveled round Stirling, and +reached the bridge of Doune, there crossing the Teith unquestioned. They +soon left the main road, and struck into the hills. They had not +traveled far when three strange figures suddenly presented themselves. +These men were clad in a garb which to the lads was strange and wild +indeed. The kilt, as worn by Highlanders on show occasions in the +present day is a garment wholly unlike that worn by their ancestors, +being, indeed, little more than a masquerade dress. The kilt of the old +time resembled indeed the short petticoat now worn by savage peoples. It +consisted of a great length of cloth wound round and round the loins, +and falling like a loose petticoat to the knees, a portion being brought +over one shoulder, and then wrapped round and round the body. It was +generally of dark material; the tartans now supposed to be peculiar to +the various clans being then unknown, or at least not worn by the common +people, although the heads of the clans may have worn scarfs of those +patterns. A Highland gentleman or chief, however, dressed in the same +garb as Englishmen--that is, in armor, with doublet and hose. His wild +followers lived in huts of the most primitive description, understood no +language but their own, obeyed the orders of their chiefs to the death, +and knew nothing either of kings or of parliaments. For arms these men +carried a broad target or shield made of bull's hide, and a broadsword +of immense length hanging behind them, the hilt coming above the +shoulder. + +What they said the lads could not understand. But when Harry repeated +the word "Montrose," the Highlanders nodded, and pointed to signify that +the road they were pursuing was the right one, and two of them at once +set out with them as escorts. + +For several days they traveled north, stopping at little groups of +cabins, where they were always received with rough hospitality, the +assertion of their guides that they were going to the great earl being +quite sufficient passport for them. Bannocks of oatmeal with collops, +sometimes of venison, sometimes of mountain sheep, were always at their +service, washed down by a drink new to the boys, and which at first +brought the water into their eyes. This was called usquebaugh, and had a +strange peaty flavor, which was at first very unpleasant to them, but to +which before they left Scotland they became quite accustomed. The last +two days they traveled upon broad roads again, and being now in a +country devoted to the Earl of Montrose, were under no apprehension +whatever of interference. + +At last they reached the place where the earl was residing. His castle +differed in no way from those of the nobility of England. It was +surrounded by walls and towers, and had a moat and other means of +defense. The gate was guarded by men similar in appearance to their +guides, but dressed in better material, and with some attempt at +uniformity. Large numbers of these were gathered in the courtyard, and +among them were men-at-arms attired in southern fashion. The guides, +having performed their duty of conducting these strangers from the +borders of their country, now handed them over to an officer, and he, +upon learning their errand, at once conducted them to the earl. + +Montrose was a noble figure, dressed in the height of the fashion of the +day. His face was oval, with a pointed mustache; long ringlets fell +round his head; and his bearing was haughty and majestic. He rose from +his chair and advanced a step toward them. + +"Do I understand," he said, "that you are bearers of dispatches from his +gracious majesty?" + +"We are, sir," Harry said. "The king was pleased to commit to me various +documents intended for your eye. We left him at Oxford, and have +journeyed north with as little delay as might be in these times. The +dispatches, I believe, will speak for themselves, I have no oral +instructions committed to me." + +So saying, Harry delivered the various documents with which they were +charged. The earl instructed the officer to see that they were well +lodged and cared for, and at once proceeded to his private cabinet to +examine the instructions sent him by the king. These were in effect +that, so soon as the army of the convention moved south from Dundee, he +should endeavor to make a great raid with his followers upon the south, +specially attacking the country of Argyll, so as to create a diversion, +and, if possible, cause the recall of the Scotch army to defend their +own capital. + +For some weeks the lads stopped with Montrose. They had been furnished +with garments suitable to their condition, and Harry was treated by the +earl with the greatest kindness and courtesy. He often conversed with +him as to the state of politics and of military affairs in England, and +expressed himself as sanguine that he should be able to restore the +authority of the king in Scotland. + +"These sour men of the conventicles have ever been stiff-necked and +rebellious," he said, "and have enforced their will upon our monarchs. I +have not forgotten," he went on, striking the hilt of his sword angrily, +"the insults which were put upon Queen Mary when she was preached to and +lectured publicly by the sour fanatic Knox, and was treated, forsooth, +as if she had been some trader's daughter who had ventured to laugh on a +Sunday. Her son, too, was kept under the control of these men until he +was summoned to England. It is time that Scotland were rid of the +domination of these knaves, and if I live I will sweep them from the +land. In courage my wild men are more than a match for the Lowlanders. +It is true that in the old days the clans could never carry their forays +southward, for, unaccustomed to discipline and unprovided with horses or +even with firearms, they fared but badly when opposed to steel-clad men +and knights in armor. But I trust it will be different this time. I +cannot hope to infuse any great discipline among them. But they can at +least be taught to charge in line, and their broad claymores may be +trusted to hew a way for them through the lines of the Lowlanders. I +trust, above all things, that the king will not be persuaded to +negotiate with the traitors who are opposed to him. I know, Master +Furness, that, from what you have said, your views run not there with +mine, and that you think a compromise is desirable. But you do not know +these fanatics as I do. While they clamor for toleration, they are the +narrowest of bigots, and will themselves tolerate nothing. Already I +have news that the convention between the Scotch conventicle and the +English rebels is agreed to, and that an order has gone forth that the +Presbyterian rites are to be observed in all the churches of England. +They say that thousands of divines will be turned from their churches +and their places filled with ignorant fanatics, and this they call +religious liberty. Why, when Laud was in power his rule was as a silken +thread compared to the hempen rope of these bigots, and should the king +make terms with them, it will be only to rule henceforth at their +bidding, and to be but an instrument in their hands for enforcing their +will upon the people of these countries." + +Much as Harry desired peace and leaned toward compromise, he saw that +there was much in what the earl said. All the accounts that reached them +from the youth told of the iron tyranny which was being exercised +throughout England. Everywhere good and sincere men were being driven +from their vicarages to live how best they might, for refusing to accept +the terms of the convention. Everywhere their places were filled with +men at once ignorant, bigoted, and intolerant; holy places were +desecrated; the cavalry of the Commons was stabled in St. Paul's; the +colored windows of the cathedrals and churches were everywhere +destroyed; monuments were demolished; and fanaticism of the narrowest +and most stringent kind was rampant. + +During the time they spent at the castle the lads were greatly amused in +watching the sports and exercises of the Highlanders. These consisted in +throwing great stones and blocks of wood, in contests with blunted +claymores, in foot races, and in dances executed to the wild and strange +music of the bagpipes--music which Jacob declared was worse than the +caterwauling upon the housetops in Cheapside. + +The lads had deferred their journey south owing to the troubled state of +the country, and the fact that the whole of the south of Scotland was in +the hands of the convention. They were therefore waiting an opportunity +for taking ship and traveling by sea into Wales, where the followers of +the king were in the ascendency. At length the earl told them that an +occasion offered, and that although he would gladly keep them by him to +accompany him when he moved south, if they considered that their duty +compelled them to leave he would place them on board a ship bound for +that destination. He did not furnish them with any documents, but bade +Harry repeat to the king the sentiments which he had expressed, which, +indeed, were but the repetition of loyal assurances which he had sent +south by a trusty messenger immediately upon their arrival at the +castle. + +The boat in which they embarked was a small one, but was fast; which +proved fortunate, for they were twice chased by ships of the Parliament. +They landed, however, safely at Pembroke, and thence made their way +through the mountains of Wales to Hereford, and joined the king, who was +still at Oxford. + +Events had traveled but slowly in England; the doings of the convention +being at that time of greater importance than those of the armies. On +the 19th of January the Scotch army had entered England, having marched +from Edinburgh through the snow. The Marquis of Newcastle was in winter +quarters at York. The town of Newcastle had held out successfully +against the Scots. The English regiments in Ireland had been recalled; +but had been defeated near Nantwich by Sir Thomas Fairfax. Negotiation +after negotiation between the king and the Parliament had failed, and +the king had issued writs for a Parliament to assemble at Oxford. This +met on the 22d of January, and forty-three peers and a hundred and +eighteen commoners had taken their place beside many absent with the +army. Of the peers a large majority were with the Royalist Parliament at +Oxford while at Westminster a majority of the members sent up by the +towns assembled. The Royalist Parliament was sitting at Oxford when +Harry arrived; but their proceedings had not upon the whole been +satisfactory to the king. They had, indeed, passed votes for the raising +of taxes and supplies; but had also insisted upon the king granting +several reforms. Charles, untaught by adversity, was as obstinate as +ever; and instead of using the opportunity for showing a fair +disposition to redress the grievances which had led to the civil war, +and to grant concessions which would have rallied all moderate persons +to his cause, he betrayed much irritation at the opposition which he met +with, and the convocation of Parliament, instead of bringing matters +nearer to an issue, rather heightened the discontents of the times. The +Parliament at Westminster, upon their side, formed a council, under the +title of the committee of the two kingdoms, consisting of seven lords, +fourteen members of the commons, and four Scottish commissioners, into +whose hands the entire conduct of the war, the correspondence with +foreign states, and indeed the whole executive power of the kingdom was +given. + +The king received Harry with great condescension and favor, and heard +with satisfaction of the preparations which Montrose was making for an +invasion of the Lowlands of Scotland, and promised Sir Henry to bestow +the rank of knighthood upon his son as soon as he attained the age of +twenty-one. + +For some weeks Harry resided with his father at Furness Hall. He then +fell back into Oxford upon the advance of an army from London destined +to besiege that town. This force was far greater than any that the king +could raise. It consisted of two separate forces, under the command of +Essex and Waller. Presently the town was besieged, and although the +walls were very strong, the attacking force was so numerous that +resistance appeared to be hopeless. On the night of the 3d of June the +king left the city secretly, attended only by two or three personal +friends, and passed safely between the two armies. These, instead of +acting in unison, in which case the besieging lines would have been +complete, and the king unable to leave the place, were kept apart by the +dissensions of their generals. A council of war took place, and Essex +determined to march to the west. The committee in London ordered him to +retrace his steps, and go in pursuit of the king, who had made for +Worcester. But Essex replied to the committee that he could not carry on +war in pursuance of directions from London, and that all military +discipline would be subverted if they took upon themselves to direct his +plans. + +In the meantime, Waller, raising the siege of Oxford, had gone in +pursuit of the king. Charles, seeing that his enemies were separated, +returned to Oxford, where he was received with great enthusiasm, and +the whole force there, marching out, fell upon Waller at Cropredy +Bridge, near Banbury, and defeated him. Having scattered the rebels +here, he turned his course west in pursuit of Essex, for his force was +sufficient to cope with either of the armies separately, although he had +been unable to meet them when united. + +Harry and his father were not present at the battle of Cropredy Bridge, +having with their troops left Oxford on the approach of the Roundheads, +together with many other bodies of cavalry, as they could do no good in +the case of a siege, and were wanted in the north, where Rupert was on +his way to take the command. Joining his force, amounting in all to +twenty thousand men, they advanced toward York. Leaving the greater +portion of his army at a short distance away, Rupert entered York with +two thousand men. Newcastle was in favor of prudent steps, knowing that +dissensions existed in the Parliamentary army between the Scots and +their English allies. Prince Rupert, however, insisted that he had the +command of the king to fight at once, and so, with all the force he +could collect, advanced against the Scots. Newcastle was much offended +at the domineering manner and headstrong course of the prince and took +no part in the forthcoming battle, in which his military genius and +caution would have been of vast service to the royal cause. + +On the 2d of July, having rested two days, the Royalist army marched out +against the Roundheads. The contending parties met on Marston Moor, and +it was late in the evening when the battle began. It was short but +desperate, and when it ended four thousand one hundred and fifty men had +been killed. Here, as in every other fight in which he was engaged, the +impetuosity of Prince Rupert proved the ruin of the Royalists. With his +cavaliers upon the right of the Royalist army, he charged the Scotch +horse, scattered them in every direction and rode after them, chasing +and slaying. The center of each army, composed of infantry, fought +desperately, and without much advantage to either side. But upon the +Royalist left the fate of the day was decided. There a new element was +introduced into the struggle, for the right of the Roundhead force was +commanded by Cromwell, who had raised and disciplined a body of cavalry +called the Ironsides. These men were all fanatics in religion and fought +with a sternness and vigor which carried all before them. In the eastern +counties they had already done great service; but this was the first +pitched battle at which they had been present. Their onslaught proved +irresistible. The Royalist cavalry upon the left were completely broken, +and the Roundhead horse then charged down upon the rear of the king's +infantry. Had Rupert rallied his men and performed the same service upon +the Parliament infantry, the battle might have been a drawn one; but, +intoxicated with victory, he was chasing the Scottish horse far away, +while Cromwell's Ironsides were deciding the fate of the battle. When he +returned to the field all was over. Fifteen hundred prisoners, all the +artillery, and more than a hundred banners had fallen into the hands of +the cavalry; and with the remnants of his army Prince Rupert retired +with all haste toward Chester, while Newcastle left York and embarked at +Scarborough for the Continent. + +Colonel Furness' troop had been with the wing under Prince Rupert, and +deep indeed was their mortification when, upon returning to the field of +battle, they found that all was lost. + +"Unless a very different discipline is introduced upon our side," +Colonel Furness said to his son that night in York, "it is clear that +the king's cause is ruined. The Ironsides fight in a solid mass, and, +after having given a charge, they are ready at order to wheel about and +to deliver their attack wheresoever their general commands them. With +us, no sooner do we defeat the enemy than we break into confusion, each +man scatters in pursuit as if we were hunting a fox, and when at last we +draw rein, miles away from the battle, we ever find that upon our return +our footmen have been defeated. I fear much that Prince Rupert, with all +his bravery, is a hindrance rather than an aid to the Royal cause. His +counsels have always been on the side of resistance. He has supported +the king in his too obstinate insistance upon what he deems his rights, +while in the field his command is fatal to us. I fear, my boy, that the +struggle will end badly, and I foresee bad times for England, and for +all of us who have supported the cause of the king." + +As the dispirited army marched back they received news which somewhat +raised their hearts. The king had marched after Essex into Cornwall, and +there had driven him into sore straits. He had endeavored to induce +Essex to make a general treaty of peace; but the earl replied that he +had no authority to treat, and that, even did he do so, the Parliament +would not submit to be bound by it. With a considerable portion of his +cavalry, he succeeded in passing through the Royal lines; but the whole +of the infantry under General Skippon were forced to capitulate, the +king giving them honorable terms, and requiring only the surrender of +the artillery, arms, and ammunition. The whole of the army returned as +scattered fugitives to London. + +The king resolved again to march upon the capital. Montrose was now in +arms in Scotland, and had gained two considerable victories over the +Covenanters. The defeat at Marston had been outbalanced by the victories +over Waller and Essex, and the Scotch, alarmed by the successes of +Montrose, were ready to listen to terms, Steadily the king advanced +eastward, and at Newbury the armies again met. As upon the previous +occasion on that field, the battle led to no decisive results. Each side +fought stoutly, and at nightfall separated without achieving substantial +results. The king fell back upon Oxford, and the Parliament army upon +Readings and negotiations were once again renewed between king and +Parliament. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +AN ESCAPE FROM PRISON. + + +There was no sadder or more gloomy face among the officers of the +Parliament than that of Herbert Rippinghall--sad, not from the sour +asceticism which distinguished the great portion of these officers, but +from his regrets over the struggle in which he was taking a part. While +Harry Furness saw much to find fault with in the conduct of many of his +fellows, and in the obstinacy with which the king refused to grant +concessions which might up to this time have restored peace to the land, +Herbert, on his side, was shocked at the violence and excessive demands +on the part of the Parliament, and at the rank hypocrisy which he saw +everywhere around him. Both lads still considered that the balance of +justice was on the side upon which they fought. But both, Herbert +perhaps because more thoughtful, therefore more strongly, saw that the +faults upon one side balanced those upon the other. Herbert had not +taken up the sword willingly, as Harry had done. He was by disposition +far less prone to adventure and more given to sober thought, and the +violence of his father and the bigoted opinions which he held had +repelled him from rather than attracted him toward the principles which +he advocated. When, however, the summons came from his father to join +him at Reading, with the rest of the hands employed in the business, he +did not hesitate. He still hoped that the pacific party in Parliament +would overcome the more violent, and that the tyranny of a small +minority toward which the country appeared to be drifting would be +nipped in the bud. + +The divisions, indeed, in the Parliament were far greater than in the +councils of the king. Between the Independents and the Presbyterians a +wide gulf existed. The latter party, which was much the more numerous in +Parliament, and which had moreover the countenance and alliance of the +Scotch Presbyterians, viewed with the greatest jealousy the increasing +arrogance of the Independents and of the military party. They became +alarmed when they saw that they were rapidly drifting from the rule of +the king to that of Cromwell, and that while they themselves would be +satisfied with ample concessions and a certain amount of toleration, the +Independents were working for much more than this. Upon the Presbyterian +side, Lord Essex was regarded as their champion with the army, as +against Cromwell, Fairfax, and Ireton. So strong did the feeling become +that it was moved in the Commons "that no member of either House should, +during the war, enjoy or execute any office or command, civil or +military." A long and furious debate followed; but the ordinance was +passed by the Lower House, and went up to the Lords, and was finally +passed by them. + +Now, however, occurred an episode which added greatly to the religious +hatred prevailing between the two parties, and shocked many of the +adherents of the Parliament by the wanton bigotry which it displayed. +Archbishop Laud had now lain for four years in prison, and by an +ordinance of Parliament, voted by only seven lords, he was condemned for +high treason, and was beheaded on the 10th of January. This cruel and +unnecessary murder showed only too plainly that the toleration which the +Dissenters had clamored for meant only toleration for themselves, and +intolerance toward all others; and a further example of this was given +by the passing of an ordinance forbidding the use of the Liturgy of the +Church of England in any place of worship in the country. + +Rendered nervous by the increasing power of the Independents, the +majority in Parliament now determined to open fresh negotiations with +the king, and these offered a fairer prospect of peace than any which +had hitherto preceded them. Commissioners were appointed by Parliament +and by the king, and these met at Uxbridge, a truce being made for +twenty days. Had the king been endowed with any sense of the danger of +his position, or any desire to treat in a straightforward and honest +manner with his opponents, peace might now have been secured. But the +unfortunate monarch was seeking to cajole his foes rather than to treat +with them, and his own papers, afterward discovered, show too plainly +that the concessions which he offered were meant only to be kept so long +as it might please him. The twenty precious days were frittered away in +disputes. The king would grant one day concessions which he would +revoke the next. The victories which Montrose was gaining in the north +had roused his hopes, and the evil advice of his wife and Prince Rupert, +and the earnest remontrances which he received from Montrose against +surrendering to the demands of Parliament, overpowered the advice of his +wiser counselors. At the end of twenty days the negotiations ceased, and +the commissioners of Parliament returned to London, convinced that there +was no hope of obtaining a permanent peace with a man so vacillating and +insincere as the king. + +Herbert had been with his father at Uxbridge, as the regiment of foot to +which he belonged was on guard here, and it was with a heavy heart that +he returned to London, convinced that the war must go on, but forboding +as great a disaster to the country in the despotism which he saw the +Independents would finally establish as in the despotism of King +Charles. + +There was a general gloom in the city when the news of the unsuccessful +termination of the negotiations became known. The vast majority of the +people were eagerly desirous of peace. The two years which the war had +already lasted had brought nothing save ruin to trade and general +disaster, and the great body of the public who were not tinged with the +intense fanaticism of the Independents, and who did not view all +pleasure and enjoyment in life as sinful, longed for the merry old days +when Englishmen might smile without being accused of sin, and when life +was not passed solely in prayer and exhortation. Several small riots had +broken out in London; but these were promptly suppressed. Among the +'prentice boys, especially, did the spirit of revolt against the gloomy +asceticism of the time prevail, and there can be little doubt that if at +this period, or for a long time subsequent, the king could have appeared +suddenly in the city at the head of a few score troops, he would have +been welcomed with acclamation, and the great body of the citizens would +have rallied round him. + +When the Parliament commissioners reached London Fairfax received his +commission as sole general of the army. The military services of +Cromwell were of such importance that Fairfax and his officers urged +that an exception should be made to the ordinance in his case, and that +he should be temporarily appointed lieutenant-general and chief +commander of horse. The moderate party yielded to the demand of the +Independents. The Earls of Essex, Manchester, and Denbigh gave in their +resignations. Many of the more moderate advisers of Charles also +retired to their estates, despairing of a conflict in which the king's +obstinacy admitted of no hope of a favorable termination. They, too, +had, as much perhaps as the members of the recalcitrant Parliament, +hoped for reforms; but it was clear that the king would never consent to +reign except as an absolute monarch, and for this they were unprepared. +The violent party among the Cavaliers now ruled supreme in the councils +of Charles. For a short time the royal cause seemed in the ascendant. +Leicester had been taken by storm, Taunton was besieged, Fairfax was +surrounding Oxford, but was doing nothing against the town. On the 5th +of June he was ordered to raise the siege, and to go to the Midland +counties after the royal army. On the 13th Fairfax and Cromwell joined +their forces, and pursued the king, whom they overtook the next day near +Naseby. + +Herbert had accompanied the army of Fairfax, and seeing the number and +resolution of the troops, he hoped that a victory might be gained which +would terminate for good and all this disastrous conflict. The ground +round Naseby is chiefly moorland. The king's army was drawn up a mile +from Market Harborough. Prince Rupert commanded the left wing, Sir +Marmaduke Langdale the right, Lord Ashley the main body. Fairfax +commanded the center of the Roundheads, with General Skippon under him. +Cromwell commanded the right and Ireton the left. Rupert had hurried on +with his horse in advance, and coming upon the Roundheads, at once +engaged them. So sudden was the attack that neither party had formed its +lines for battle, and the artillery was in the rear. Between the armies +lay a wide level known as Broadmoor. It was across this that Rupert had +ridden, and charging up the hill on the other side, fell upon the left +wing of Fairfax. Cromwell, upon the other hand, from the extreme right +charged down the hill upon Langdale's squadrons. Prince Rupert, as +usual, carried all before him. Shouting his battle cry, "Queen Mary," he +fell upon Ireton's left wing, and drove them from the field, chasing +them back to Naseby, where, as usual, he lost time in capturing the +enemy's baggage. Cromwell, with his Ironsides, upon the other hand, had +broken Langdale's horse and driven them from the field. In the center +the fight was hot. The king's foot had come up the hill and poured +volley after volley into the parliament ranks. Hand to hand the infantry +were fighting, and gradually the Roundheads were giving way. But now, as +at Marston, Cromwell, keeping his Ironsides well in hand, returned from +the defeat of Langdale's horse, and fell upon the rear of the Royalists. +Fairfax rallied his men as he saw the horse coming up to his assistance. +Rupert's troopers were far from the field, and a panic seizing the +king's reserve of horse, who had they charged might have won the day, +the Earl of Carnewarth, taking hold of King Charles' horse, forced him +from the field, and the battle ended, with the complete defeat of the +royal troops, before Rupert returned to the field of battle. + +The Royalists lost in killed and prisoners five thousand men, their +twelve guns, and all their baggage train, and what was of even greater +importance, the king's private cabinet, which contained documents which +did more to precipitate his ruin even than the defeat of his army. Here +were found letters proving that while he had professed his desire to +treat, he had no intention of giving way in the slightest degree. Here +were copies of letters to foreign princes asking for aid, and to the +Papists in Ireland, promising all kinds of concessions if they would +rise in his favor. Not only did the publication of this correspondence +and of the private letters between the king and queen add to the +indignation of the Commons and to their determination to fight to the +bitterest end, but it disgusted and alienated a vast number of Royalists +who had hitherto believed in the king and trusted to his royal word. + +Among the prisoners taken at Naseby was Harry Furness, whose troop had +been with Langdale's horse, and who, his charger having been shot, had +fallen upon the field, his head being cut by the sweep of the sword of a +Roundhead soldier, who struck at him as he was lying on the ground. Soon +after the battle, when it became known what prisoners had been taken, he +was visited by his friend Herbert. + +"We are changing sides, Herbert," Harry said, with a faint smile. "The +last time we met you were nigh falling into the hands of the Royalists, +now I have altogether fallen into yours." + +"Yes, and unfortunately," Herbert said, "I cannot repeat your act of +generosity. However, Harry, I trust that with this great battle the war +is nearly over, and that all prisoners now taken will speedily be +released. At any rate, I need not assure you that you will have my aid +and assistance in any matter." + +The Parliamentary leaders did not allow the grass to grow under their +feet after Naseby. Prince Rupert, with considerable force, had marched +to Bristol, and Fairfax and Cromwell followed him there. A considerable +portion of the prisoners were sent to London, but some were retained +with the army. Among these was Harry Furness, whom it was intended to +confine with many others in some sure place in the south. Under a guard +they were conducted to Reading, where they were for awhile to be kept. +Essex and Cromwell advanced to Bristol, which they surrounded; and +Prince Rupert, after a brave defense, was forced to capitulate, upon +terms similar to those which had been granted by the king to the army +of Lord Essex the year before. In his conduct of the siege the prince +had certainly not failed. But this misfortune aroused the king's anger +more than the faults which had done such evil service on the fields of +Naseby and Marston, and he wrote to the prince, ordering him to leave +the kingdom at once. + +It would have been well had King Charles here ceased the struggle, for +the cause of the Royalists was now hopeless. Infatuated to the last, +however, and deeming ever that the increasing contentions and ill-will +between the two parties in Parliament would finally end by one of them +bidding for the Royal support, and agreeing to his terms, the king +continued the contest. Here and there isolated affrays took place; +risings in Kent and other counties occurring, but being defeated +summarily by the vigor of Fairfax and his generals. + +The time passed but slowly with Harry at Reading. He and his +fellow-prisoners were assigned quarters in a large building, under the +guard of a regiment of Parliament troops. Their imprisonment was not +rigorous. They were fairly fed and allowed exercise in a large courtyard +which adjoined the house. The more reckless spirits sang, jested, wrote +scurrilous songs on the Roundheads, and passed the time as cheerfully as +might be. Harry, however, with the restlessness of his age, longed for +liberty. He knew that Prince Charles was in command of the army in the +west, and he longed to join him and try once more the fortunes of +battle. The guard set round the building was close and vigilant, and the +chances of escape appeared small. Still, Harry thought that if he could +escape from an upper window on a dark night he could surely make his way +through the line of sentries. He had observed on moonlight nights the +exact position which each of these occupied. The intervals were short +between them; but it would be quite possible on a dark night for a +person to pass noiselessly without being perceived. The watch would have +been even more strict than it was, had not the Puritans regarded the +struggle as virtually at an end, and were, therefore, less careful as to +their prisoners than they would otherwise have been. Harry prepared for +escape by tearing up the blankets of his bed and knotting them into +ropes. A portion he wrapped round his shoes, so as to walk noiselessly, +and taking advantage of a dark, moonless night, when the fog hung thick +upon the low land round Reading, he opened his window, threw out his +rope, and slipped down to the ground. + +So dark was the fog that it was difficult for him to see two paces in +advance, and he soon found that the careful observations which he had +taken of the place of the sentries would be altogether useless. Still, +in the darkness and thickness of the night, he thought that the chance +of detection was small. Creeping quietly and noiselessly along, he could +hear the constant challenges of the sentries round him. These, excited +by the unusual darkness of the night, were unusually vigilant. Harry +approached until he was within a few yards of the line, and the voices +of the men as they challenged enabled him to ascertain exactly the +position of those on the right and left of him. Passing between these, +he could see neither, although they were but a few paces on either hand, +and he would have got off unobserved had he not suddenly fallen into a +deep stream running across his way, and which in the darkness he did not +see until he fell into it. At the sound there was an instant challenge, +and then a piece was discharged. Harry struggled across the stream, and +clambered out on the opposite side. As he did so a number of muskets +were fired in his direction by the men who came rushing up to the point +of alarm. One ball struck him in the shoulder. The rest whizzed +harmlessly by, and at the top of his speed he ran forward. + +He was now safe from pursuit, for in the darkness of the night it would +have been absolutely impossible to follow him. In a few minutes he +ceased running, for when all became quiet behind him, he could no longer +tell in what direction he was advancing. So long as he could hear the +shouts of the sentries he continued his way, and then, all guidance +being lost, he lay down under a hedge and waited for morning. It was +still thick and foggy; but wandering aimlessly about for some time, he +succeeded at last in striking upon a road, and judging from the side +upon which he had entered it in which direction Reading must lie, he +took the western way and went forward. The ball had passed only through +the fleshy part of his shoulder, missing the bone; and although it +caused him much pain, he was able, by wrapping his arm tightly to his +body, to proceed. More than once he had to withdraw from the road into +the fields beyond, when he heard troops of horse galloping along. + +After a long day's walk he arrived near Abingdon, and there made for the +hall. Instead of going to the door he made for the windows, and, looking +in, saw a number of Roundhead soldiers in the hall, and knew that there +was no safety for him. As he glanced in one of the soldiers happened to +cast his eyes up, and gave a shout on seeing a figure looking in at the +window. Instantly the rest sprang to their feet, and started out to +secure the intruder. Harry fled along the road, and soon reached +Abingdon. He had at first thought of making for one of his father's +farms; but he felt sure that here also Roundhead troops would be +quartered. After a moment's hesitation he determined to make for Mr. +Rippinghall's. He knew the premises accurately, and thought that he +might easily take refuge in the warehouses, in which large quantities of +wool were wont to be stored. The streets were deserted, for it was now +late at night, and he found his way without interruption to the +wool-stapler's. Here he climbed over a wall, made his way into the +warehouse, and clambering over a large number of bales, laid himself +down next to the wall, secure from any casual observation. Here he went +off to sleep, and it was late next day before he opened his eyes. He was +nearly uttering an exclamation at the pain which his movement on waking +gave to his wounded arm. He, however, repressed it, and it was well he +did so, as he heard voices in the warehouse. Men were removing bales of +wool, and for some hours this process went on. Harry, being well back, +had little fear that he should be disturbed. + +The hours passed wearily. He was parched and feverish from the pain of +his wound, and was unable to deliberate as to his best course. Sometimes +he dozed off into snatches of sleep, and after one of these he found +that the warehouse was again silent, and that darkness had set in. He +determined to wait at least for another day, and also that he would +early in the morning look out from the window before the men entered, in +hopes that he might catch sight of his old playfellow, Lucy, who would, +he felt sure, bring him some water and refreshment if she were able. +Accordingly, in the morning, he took his place so as to command a view +of the garden, and presently to his great surprise he saw Herbert, whom +he had believed with the army, come out together with Lucy. They had not +taken four paces in the garden when their attention was attracted by a +tap at the window, and looking up, they were astonished at beholding +Harry's pale face there. With an exclamation of surprise they hurried +into the warehouse. + +"My dear Harry," Herbert exclaimed, "how did you get here? The troops +have been searching for you high and low. Your escape from Reading was +bruited abroad a few hours after it took place, and the party at the +hall having reported seeing some one looking in at the window, there was +no doubt felt that you had gained this neighborhood, and a close watch +has been kept. All your father's farms have been carefully examined, and +their occupants questioned, and the general belief is that you are still +hidden somewhere near." + +"I got a ball through my shoulder," Harry said, "in making my way +through the sentries, and have felt myself unable to travel until I +could obtain some food. I thought that I should be safer from search +here, and believing you were away in the army, thought that your sister +would perhaps be moved by compassion to aid her old playfellow." + +"Yes, indeed," the girl said; "I would have done anything for you, +Harry. To think of your being hidden so close to us, while we were +sleeping quietly. I will at once get you some food, and then you and +Herbert can talk over what is best to be done." + +So saying she ran into the house, and returned in a few minutes with a +bowl of milk and some freshly made cakes, which Harry drank and ate +ravenously. In the meantime, he was discussing with Herbert what was the +best course to pursue. + +"It would not be safe," Herbert said, "for you to try and journey +further at present. The search for you is very keen, and it happens, +unfortunately, that the officer in command here is the very man whose +face you sliced when he came to Furness Hall some two years back. It +would be a bad thing for you were you to fall into his hands." + +Lucy at first proposed that Harry should be taken into the house, and +go at once to bed. She and Herbert would then give out that a friend had +arrived from a distance, who was ill, and, waiting upon him themselves, +should prevent suspicion being attracted. This, however, Herbert did not +think would be safe. It would be asked when the inmate had arrived, and +who he was, and why the servants should not, as usual, attend upon him. + +"I think," he said, "that if to-night I go forth, having said at dinner +in the hearing of the servant that I am expecting a friend from London, +you can then join me outside, and return with me. You must crop off +those long ringlets of yours, and turn Roundhead for the nonce. I can +let you have a sober suit which was made for me when I was in London, +and which has not yet been seen by my servants. I can say that you are +in bad health, and this will enable you to remain at home, sleeping upon +a couch to nurse your shoulder." + +"The shoulder is of no consequence," Harry said. "A mere flesh wound +like that would not detain me away from the saddle. It is only the +fatigue and loss of blood, together with want of food, which has +weakened me." + +As no other course presented itself this was followed. Harry remained +during the day in his place of concealment in the warehouse, and at +nightfall went out, and, being joined by Herbert, returned with him to +the house. The door was opened by Lucy and he entered unperceived by the +domestics. The first operation was to cut off the whole of his hair +close to his head. He was then attired in Herbert's clothes, and looked, +as Lucy told him, a quiet and decent young gentleman. Then he took his +place on a couch in the sitting-room, and Herbert rung for supper, which +he had ordered to be prepared for a guest as well as for Lucy and +himself. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +PUBLIC EVENTS. + + +For some days Harry remained quietly with his friend. He did not stir +beyond the door, although he had but little fear of any of his old +friends recognizing him. The two years which had passed since he was at +school had greatly changed his appearance, and his closely-cut hair, and +the somber and Puritanical cut of his garments so completely altered him +that it would have been a keen eye indeed which had recognized him when +merely passing in the street. A portion of each day he spent out in the +garden strolling with Lucy, or sitting quietly while she read to him. +The stiffness in his arm was now abating, and as the search for him had +to a great extent ceased, he intended in a short time to make for +Oxford. + +The news from the various points at which the conflict still continued +was everywhere disastrous for the king. Montrose had been defeated. The +king, endeavoring to make his way north to join him, had been smartly +repulsed. The Royalists were everywhere disorganized and broken. +Negotiations were once again proceeding, and as the Scottish army was +marching south, and the affairs of the crown seemed desperate, there was +every hope that the end of the long struggle was approaching. Harry's +departure was hastened by a letter received by Herbert from his father, +saying that he had obtained leave from his regiment, and should be down +upon the following day. + +"My father will not blame me," Herbert said, "for what I have done, when +he comes to know it. But I am not sure that he would himself approve of +your remaining here. His convictions are so earnest, and his sense of +duty so strong, that I do not think he would harbor his nearest +relative, did he believe him to be in favor of the king." + +Harry next morning mounted a horse of Herbert's and started to ride from +the town, after taking an affectionate farewell of his hosts. When two +miles out of Abingdon he suddenly came upon a body of Parliament horse, +in the leader of whom he recognized, by a great scar across his face, +the officer with whom he had fallen out at Furness Hall. Relying upon +his disguise, and upon the fact that it was only for a minute that the +officer had seen him, he rode quietly on. + +"Whom have we here?" the Roundhead said, reining in his horse. + +"My name is Roger Copley, and I am making my way from London to my +people, who reside in the west. There is no law, I believe, against my +so doing." + +"There is no law for much that is done or undone," the Roundhead said. +"Malignants are going about the country in all sorts of disguises, +stirring up men to ungodly enterprises, and we cannot be too particular +whom we let pass. What hast thou been doing in London?" + +"I have been serving my time as apprentice to Master Nicholas Fleming, +the merchant in velvets and silks in the Chepe." + +"Hast thou any papers to prove thy identity?" + +"I have not," Harry said; "not knowing that such were needed. I have +traveled thus far without interruption or question, and am surprised to +find hindrance upon the part of an officer of the Commons." + +"You must turn your horse, and ride back with me into Abingdon," the +officer said. "I doubt me much that you are as you pretend to be. +However, it is a matter which we can bring to the proof." + +Harry wondered to himself of what proof the matter was capable. But +without a word he turned his horse's head toward Abingdon. Scarcely a +word was spoken on the way, and Harry was meditating whether he should +say that he had been staying with his friend Herbert. But thinking that +this might lead the latter into trouble, he determined to be silent on +that head. They stopped at the door of the principal trader in the town +and the captain roughly told his prisoner to alight and enter with him. + +"Master Williamson," he said, "bring out some pieces of velvet. This +man, whom I suspect to be a Cavalier in disguise, saith that he has been +an apprentice to Master Nicholas Fleming, a velvet dealer of London. I +would fain see how far his knowledge of these goods extends. Bring out +five or six pieces of various qualities, and put them upon your table +promiscuously, and not in order of value." + +The mercer did as requested. + +"These goods," he said, "were obtained from Master Fleming himself. I +bought them last year, and have scarce sold a piece of such an article +since." + +Harry felt rather nervous at the thought of being obliged to distinguish +between the velvets, for although he had received some hints and +instructions from the merchant, he knew that the appearance of one kind +of velvet differed but slightly from that of the inferior qualities. To +his satisfaction, however, he saw at the end of the rolls the pieces of +paper intact upon which Master Fleming's private marks were placed. + +"I need not," he said, "look at the velvets, for I see my master's +private marks upon them, and can of course tell you their value at +once." + +So saying, from the private marks he read off the value of each roll of +velvet per yard, and as these tallied exactly with the amount which the +mercer had paid for them, no further doubts remained upon the mind of +the officer. + +"These marks," he said to the mercer, "are, I suppose, private, and +could not be read save by one in the merchant's confidence?" + +"That is so," the mercer replied. "I myself am in ignorance of the +meaning of these various symbols." + +"You will forgive me," the Parliament officer said to Harry. "In these +times one cannot be too suspicious, and even the best friends of the +Commons need not grudge a little delay in their journeyings, in order +that the doings of the malignants may be arrested." + +Harry in a few words assured the officer that he bore him no malice for +his arrest, and that, indeed, his zeal in the cause did him credit. Then +again mounting his horse, he quietly rode out of Abingdon. This time he +met with no difficulties, and an hour later entered Oxford. + +Here he found his father and many of his acquaintances. A great change +had come over the royal city. The tone of boastfulness and anticipated +triumph which had pervaded it before the second battle of Newbury had +now entirely disappeared. Gloom was written upon all faces, and few +entertained any hopes of a favorable termination to their cause. Here a +year passed slowly and heavily. The great proportion of Sir Henry +Furness' troop were allowed to return to their farms, as at present +there was no occasion for their services in the field. + +All this time the king was negotiating and treating; the Parliament +quarreling furiously among themselves. The war had languished +everywhere. In the west a rising had been defeated by the Parliament +troops. The Prince of Wales had retired to France; and there was now no +force which could be called an army capable of taking the field. + +The bitterness of the conflict had for a long time ceased; and in the +general hope that peace was at hand, the rancor of Cavalier against +Roundhead softened down, A great many of the adherents of Charles +returned quietly to their homes, and here they were allowed to settle +down without interruption. + +The contrast between this state of things and that which prevailed in +Scotland was very strong, and has been noted by more than one historian. +In England men struggled for principle, and, having fought the battle +out, appeared to bear but little animosity to each other, and returned +each to his own pursuits unmolested and unharmed. In Scotland, upon the +other hand, after the defeat of Montrose, large numbers of prisoners +were executed in cold blood, and sanguinary persecutions took place. + +In Parliament the disputes between the Independents and Presbyterians +grew more and more bitter, the latter being strengthened by the presence +of the Scotch army in England. They were greatly in the majority in +point of numbers; but the Independents made up for their numerical +weakness by the violence of their opinions, and by the support of the +army, which was entirely officered by men of extreme views. + +The king, instead of frankly dealing with the Commons, now that his +hopes in the field were gone, unhappily continued his intrigues, hoping +that an open breach would take place between the parties. On the 5th of +December he wrote to the speaker of the House of Lords, offering to send +a deputation to Westminster with propositions for the foundation of a +happy and well-grounded peace. This offer was declined, and he again +wrote, offering himself to proceed to Westminster to treat in person. +The leaders of Parliament, and indeed with reason, suspected the +sincerity of the king. Papers had been found in the carriage of the +Catholic Archbishop of Tuam, who was killed in a skirmish in October, +proving that the king had concluded an alliance with the Irish rebels, +and that he had agreed, if they would land ten thousand men in England, +that popery should be re-established in Ireland, and the Protestants +brought under subjection. Letters which have since been discovered prove +that in January, 1646, while urging upon the Parliament to come to +terms, he was writing to the queen, saying that he was only deceiving +them. In his letter he said: + +"Now, as to points which I expected by my treaty at London. Knowing +assuredly the great animosity which is betwixt the Independents and +Presbyterians, I had great reason to hope that one of the factions would +so address themselves to me that I might, without great difficulty, +obtain my so just ends, and, questionless, it would have given me the +fittest opportunity. For considering the Scots' treaty that would be +besides, I might have found means to put distractions among them, though +I had found none." + +Such being the spirit that animated the king, there is little reason for +surprise that the negotiations came to nothing. The last hope of the +crown was destroyed when, on the 22d of March, Lord Astley, marching +from Worcester to join the king at Oxford, was defeated at Stow, in the +Wold, and the three thousand Cavaliers with him killed, captured, or +dispersed. Again the king sent a message to Parliament, offering to come +to Whitehall, and proposing terms similar to those which he had rejected +when the negotiators met at Uxbridge. His real object, however, was to +produce such an effect by his presence in London as would create a +reaction in his favor. Three days after he had sent this message he +wrote to Digby: + +"I am endeavoring to get to London, so that the conditions may be such +as a gentleman may own, and that the rebels may acknowledge me king, +being not without hope that I shall be able so to draw either the +Presbyterians or Independents to side with me for exterminating the one +or the other, that I shall be really king again." + +These offers were rejected by Parliament, and the army of Fairfax +advanced toward Oxford. In the meanwhile, Montreuil, a special +ambassador from France, had been negotiating with the Scottish +commissioners in London to induce the Scots to take up the cause of the +king. He then proceeded to Edinburgh, and afterward to the Scotch army. +At first the Scotch were willing to receive him; but they perceived the +danger which would be involved in a quarrel with the English Parliament. +Already there were many causes of dispute. The army had not received the +pay promised them when they marched south, and being without money had +been obliged to live upon the country, creating great disorders and +confusion, and rendering themselves bitterly hated by the people. Thus +their answers continued to be ambiguous, making no absolute promise, but +yet giving a sort of encouragement to the king to place himself in their +hands. + +Toward the end of April Fairfax was drawing so close around Oxford that +the king felt that hesitation was no longer possible, and accompanied +only by his chaplain, Dr. Michael Hudson, and by a groom of his +bedchamber, named Jack Ashburnham, he left Oxford at night, and after +many adventures arrived at the Scotch army, before Newark, where upon +his arrival "many lords came instantly to wait on his majesty, with +professions of joy to find that he had so far honored their army as to +think it worthy his presence after so long an opposition." Lord Leven, +however, who commanded the Scotch army, while receiving the king with +professions of courtesy and honor, yet gave him to understand that he +must in some way consider himself as a prisoner. The king, at the +request of the Scotch, signed an order to his governor of Newark, who +had been for months bravely holding out, to surrender the place, and +this having been done, the Scottish army with the king marched to +Newcastle. + +After the king's surrender to the Scotch the civil war virtually ceased, +although many places still held out. Oxford, closely invested, +maintained itself until the 22d of June, when it capitulated to Fairfax, +upon the terms that the garrison "should march out of the city of Oxford +with their horses and complete arms that properly belong under them +proportionable to their present or past commands, flying colors, +trumpets sounding, drums beating, matches alight at both ends, bullets +in their mouths, and every soldier to have twelve charges of powder, +match and bullet proportionable." Those who desired to go to their +houses or friends were to lay down their arms within fifteen miles of +Oxford, and then to have passes, with the right of free quarter, and +those who wished to go across the sea to serve any foreign power were to +be allowed to do so. This surrender was honorable to both parties, and +upon the city being given up, the garrison marched out, and then +scattered to their various houses and counties, without let or +molestation from the troops of the Commons. + +Harry Furness and his father had not far to go. They were soon installed +in their old house, where although some confusion prevailed owing to its +having been frequently in the occupation of bodies of Parliament troops, +yet the damage done was not serious, and in a short time it was +restored to its former condition. Several of the more valuable articles +were allowed to remain in the hiding-places in which they had been +concealed, as none could yet say how events might finally turn out. A +portion of the Parliamentary troops were also disbanded, and allowed to +return to their homes; among these were Master Rippinghall and his son, +and for some months matters went on at Abingdon as if the civil war had +never been. Harry often saw his friend Herbert; but so long as the king +remained in a doubtful position in the army of the Scots, no close +intercourse could take place between members of parties so opposed to +each other. + +The time went slowly with Harry, for after the past three years of +excitement it was difficult to settle down to a quiet life at Furness +Hall. He was of course too old now for schooling, and the times were yet +too disturbed for men to engage in the field sports which occupy so +large a portion of country life. Colonel Furness, indeed, had determined +that in no case would he again take up arms. He was discontented with +the whole course of events, and foresaw that, with the unhappy temper of +the king, no favorable issue could possibly be looked for. He had done +his best, he said, for the crown and would do no more. He told his son, +however, that he should place no rein upon his inclinations should he +choose to meddle further in the matter. Harry would fain have gone +abroad, whither so many of the leading Cavaliers had already betaken +themselves, and entered the service of some foreign court for a few +years. But his father dissuaded him from this, at any rate for the +present. + +"These delays and negotiations," he said, "cannot last forever. I care +not whether Presbyterians or Independents get the power over our +unhappy country. The Independents are perhaps the more bigoted; the +Presbyterians the more intolerant. But as the latter would certainly +respect the royal authority more than the former, whose rage appears to +me to pass the bounds of all moderation, I would gladly see the +Presbyterians obtain the upper hand." + +For months the negotiations dragged wearily on, the king, as usual, +maintaining an indecisive attitude between the two parties. At length, +however, the negotiations ended in a manner which brought an eternal +disgrace upon the Scotch, for they agreed, upon the receipt of a large +sum of money as the deferred pay of the army, to deliver the king into +the hands of the English Parliament. A great convoy of money was sent +down from London, and the day that the cash was in the hands of the +Scots they handed over the king to the Parliamentary commissioners sent +down to receive him. The king was conducted to Holmby House, a fine +mansion within six miles of Northampton, and there was at first treated +with great honor. A large household and domestic servants were chosen +for him, an excellent stable kept, and the king was allowed a large +amount of personal liberty. The nobles and gentlemen of his court were +permitted to see him, and in fact he was apparently restored to his rank +and estate. The Presbyterian party were in power; but while they treated +the king with the respect due to his exalted station, they had no more +regard to the rights of his conscience than to those of the consciences +of the people at large. He desired to have chaplains of the Episcopal +church; but the Parliament refused this, and sent him two Presbyterian +ministers, whom the king refused to receive. + +While King Charles remained at Holmby Parliament quarreled furiously. +The spirit of the Independents obtained a stronger and stronger hold +upon the army. Cromwell himself, with a host of others, preached +daily among them, and this general, although Fairfax was the +commander-in-chief, came gradually to be regarded as the leader of the +army. There can be no doubt that Cromwell was thoroughly sincere in his +convictions, and the charges of hypocrisy which have been brought +against him, are at least proved to be untrue. He was a man of +convictions as earnest as those of the king himself, and as firmly +resolved to override the authority of the Parliament, when the +Parliament withstood him. + +Three days after the king arrived at Holmby House the Commons voted that +the army should be disbanded, with the exception of troops required for +the suppression of rebellion in Ireland, and for the service of the +garrisons. It was also voted that there should be no officers, except +Fairfax, of higher rank than colonel, and that every officer should take +the covenant and conform to the Presbyterian Church. A loan was raised +in the city to pay off a portion of the arrears of pay due to the army. +The sum, however, was insufficient, and there were great murmurings +among the men and officers. Fourteen of the latter petitioned Parliament +on the subject of arrears, asking that auditors should be appointed to +report on what was due to them, and laying down some conditions with +regard to their employment in Ireland. Five days afterward the House, on +receipt of this petition, declared that whoever had a hand in promoting +it, or any other such petition, was an enemy to the State, and a +disturber of the public peace. The army were furious at this +declaration. Deputations from them went to the House, and from the House +to the army. The Presbyterian members were highly indignant at their +pretensions, and Cromwell saw that the time was at hand when the army +would take the affair entirely into their hands. The soldiers organized +a council of delegates, called "Adjutators," to look after their rights. +The Parliament voted eight weeks' pay, and a committee went to the army +to see it disbanded. The army declined to disband, and said that eight +times eight weeks' pay was due. The feeling grew hotter and hotter, and +the majority in Parliament came to the conclusion that Cromwell should +be arrested. Cromwell, however, obtained word of what was intended, and +left London. + +Upon the same day a party of soldiers went down to Holmby, and forcibly +carried off King Charles from the Parliamentary commissioners, the +troops stationed at Holmby fraternizing with their comrades. The king, +under the charge of these new guards, arrived at Royston on the 7th of +June, and Fairfax and Cromwell met him there. He asked if they had +commissioned Joyce, who was at the head of the party of men who had +carried him off, to remove him. They denied that they had done so. + +"I shall not believe you," said the king, "unless you hang him." + +And his majesty had good ground for his disbelief. + +Cromwell returned to London and took his place in the House, and there +blamed the soldiers, protesting that he would stick to the Parliament; +but the same night he went away again down to the army, and there +declared to them the actions and designs of Parliament. Commissioners +came down on the 10th from the Commons; but the army formed up, and when +the votes were read, refused to obey them. The same afternoon a letter, +signed by Fairfax, Cromwell, Ireton, and ten other officers, was sent to +the city, stating that they were about to advance upon London, and +declaring that if the city did not take part against them "in their just +desires to resist that wicked party which would embroil us and the +kingdom, neither we nor our soldiers shall give you the least offense." +The army marched to St. Albans, and thence demanded the impeachment of +eleven members of the Commons, all leading Presbyterians. The city and +Parliament were in a state of consternation. The army advanced to +Uxbridge. It demanded a month's pay, and received it; but it continued +to advance. On the 26th of April Parliament gave way. The eleven members +retired from the House, the Commons passed a vote approving of the +proceedings of the army, and commissioners were appointed. + +All this time the king was treated as honorably as he had been when at +Holmby House. He was always lodged at great houses in the neighborhood +of the army--at the Earl of Salisbury's, at Hatfield, when the troops +were at St. Albans, and at the Earl of Craven's, at Caversham, when the +army moved further back. And at both of these places he was allowed to +receive the visits of his friends, and to spend his time as he desired. + +More critical times were now, however, at hand. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +LAST ATTEMPT TO RESCUE THE KING. + + +The king, after London had been overawed by the army, was lodged in +Hampton Court. At this time the feeling throughout England was growing +stronger and stronger in favor of the re-establishment of the monarchy, +It was now a year since, with the fall of Oxford, the civil war had +virtually concluded, and people yearned for a settled government and a +return to ancient usages and manners. The great majority of that very +Parliament which had withstood and conquered Charles were of one mind +with the people in general; but England was no longer free to choose for +itself. The army had won the victory for the Commons, and was determined +to impose its will upon the nation. At this time Cromwell, Ireton, and +Fairfax were disposed to an arrangement, but their authority was +overshadowed by that of the preachers, who, in their harangues to the +troops, denounced these generals as traitors, and then finding that they +were likely to lose their influence, and to become obnoxious to both +parties, henceforth threw their lot in with the army, and headed it in +its struggle with the Parliament. Even yet the long misfortunes which +Charles had suffered were insufficient to teach him wisdom. Had he now +heartily thrown himself into the hands of the moderate majority in +Parliament he might--aided by them and by the Scots, who, seeing that +the Independents were ignoring all the obligations which had been +undertaken by the Solemn League and government, were now almost openly +hostile to the party of the army--have again mounted the throne, amid +the joyful acclamations of the whole country. The army would have +fought, but Charles, with England at his back, would assuredly have +conquered. Unfortunately, the king could not be honest. His sole idea of +policy was to set one section of his opponents against the other. He +intrigued at once with the generals and with the Parliament, and had the +imprudence to write continually to the queen and others, avowing that he +was deceiving both. Several of these letters were intercepted, and +although desirous of playing off the king against the army, the Commons +felt that they could place no trust in him whatever; while the preachers +and the army clamored more and more loudly that he should be brought to +trial as a traitor. + +Harry Furness had, after the fall of Oxford, remained quietly with his +father at Furness Hall. Once or twice only had he gone up to London, +returning with reports that the people there were becoming more and more +desirous of the restoration of the king to his rights. The great +majority were heartily sick of the rule of the preachers, with their +lengthy exhortations, their sad faces, and their abhorrence of amusement +of all kinds. There had been several popular tumults, in which the old +cry of "God save the king," had again been raised. The apprentices were +ready to join in any movement which might bring back the pleasant times +of old. Cavaliers now openly showed themselves in the streets, and +London was indeed ripe for an insurrection against the sovereignty which +the army had established over the nation. Had the king at this time +escaped from Hampton Court, and ridden into London at the head of only +twenty gentlemen, and issued a proclamation appealing to the loyalty of +the citizens, and promising faithfully to preserve the rights of the +people, and to govern constitutionally, he would have been received with +acclamation. The majority of Parliament would have declared for him, +England would have received the news with delight, and the army alone +would not have sufficed to turn the tide against him. Unhappily for +Charles, he had no more idea now than at the commencement of the war of +governing constitutionally, and instead thinking of trusting himself to +the loyalty and affection of his subjects, he was meditating an escape +to France. Harry received a letter from one of the king's most attached +adherents, who was in waiting upon him at Hampton, begging him to repair +there at once, as his majesty desired the aid of a few of those upon +whom he could best rely, for an enterprise which he was about to +undertake. Harry showed the letter to his father. + +"You must do as you will, Harry," the colonel said. "For myself, I stick +to my determination to meddle no more in the broils of this kingdom. +Could I trust his Majesty, I would lay down my life for him willingly; +but I cannot trust him. All the misfortunes which have befallen him, all +the blood which has been poured out by loyal men in his cause, all the +advice which his best councilors have given him, have been thrown away +upon him. He is as lavish with his promises as ever, but all the time he +is intending to break them as soon as he gets ample chance. Were he +seated upon the throne again to-morrow, he would be as arbitrary as he +was upon the day he ascended it. I do not say that I would not far +rather see England under the tyranny of one man than under that of an +army of ambitious knaves; but the latter cannot last. The king's +authority, once riveted again on the necks of the people, might enslave +them for generations, but England will never submit long to the yoke of +military dictators. The evil is great, but it will right itself in +time. But do you do as you like, Harry. You have, I hope, a long life +before you, and 'twere best that you chose your own path in it. But +think it over, my son. Decide nothing to-night, and in the morning let +me know what you have determined." + +Harry slept but little that night. When he met his father at breakfast +he said: + +"I have decided, father. You know that my opinions run with yours as to +the folly of the king, and the wrongfulness and unwisdom of his policy. +Still he is alone, surrounded by traitors to whose ambition he is an +obstacle, and who clamor for his blood. I know not upon what enterprise +he may now be bent, but methinks that it must be that he thinks of an +escape from the hands of his jailers. If so, he must meditate a flight +to France. There he will need faithful followers, who will do their best +to make him feel that he is still a king who will cheer his exile and +sustain his hopes. It may be that years will pass before England shakes +off the iron yoke which Cromwell and his army are placing upon her neck. +But, as you say, I am young and can wait. There are countries in Europe +where a gentleman can take service in the army, and should aught happen +to King Charles there I will enroll myself until these evil days be all +passed. I would rather never see England again than live here to be +ruled by King Cromwell and his canting Ironsides." + +"So be it, my son," the colonel said. "I do not strive to dissuade you, +for methinks had I been of your age I should have chosen the same. +Should your fortunes lead you abroad, as they likely will, I shall send +you a third of my income here. The rest will be ample for me. There will +be little feasting or merriment at Furness Hall until the cloud which +overshadows England be passed away, and you be again by my side. There +is little fear of my being disturbed. Those who laid down their arms +when the war ceased were assured of the possession of their property, +and as I shall draw sword no more there will be no excuse for the +Roundheads to lay hands on Furness Hall. And now, my boy, here are a +hundred gold pieces. Use them in the king's service. When I hear that +you are abroad I will write to Master Fleming to arrange with his +correspondents, whether in France or Holland, as you may chance to be, +to pay the money regularly into your hands. You will, I suppose, take +Jacob with you?" + +"Assuredly I will," Harry said. "He is attached and faithful, and +although he cares not very greatly for the King's cause, I know he will +follow my fortunes. He is sick to death of the post which I obtained for +him after the war, with a scrivener at Oxford. I will also take William +Long with me, if he will go. He is a merry fellow, and has a wise head. +He and Jacob did marvelously at Edinburgh, when they cozened the +preachers, and got me out of the clutches of Argyll. With two such +trusty followers I could go through Europe. I will ride over to Oxford +at once." + +As Harry anticipated, Jacob was delighted at the prospect of abandoning +his scrivener's desk. + +"I don't believe," he said, when he had learned from Harry that they +were going to the king at Hampton, "that aught will come of these +plottings. As I told you when we were apprentices together, I love +plots, but there are men with whom it is fatal to plot. Such a one, +assuredly, is his gracious majesty. For a plot to be successful, all to +be concerned in it must know their own minds, and be true as steel to +each other. The King never knows his own mind for half an hour together, +and, unfortunately, he seems unable to be true to any one. So let it be +understood, Master Harry, that I go into this business partly from love +of you, who have been truly a most kind friend to me, partly because I +love adventure, and hate this scrivener's desk, partly because there is +a chance that I may benefit by the change." + +Harry bade him procure apparel as a sober retainer in a Puritan family, +and join him that night at Furness Hall, as he purposed to set out at +daybreak. William Long also agreed at once to follow Harry's fortunes. +The old farmer, his father, offered no objection. + +"It is right that my son should ride with the heir of Furness Hall," he +said. "We have been Furness tenants for centuries, and have ever fought +by our lords in battle. Besides, Master Harry, I doubt me whether +William will ever settle down here in peace. His elder brother will have +the farm after me, so it matters not greatly, but your wars and +journeyings have turned his head, and he thinks of arms and steel caps +more than of fat beeves or well-tilled fields." + +The next morning, soon after daybreak, Harry and his followers left +Furness Hall, and arrived the same night at Hampton. Here they put up at +a hostelry, and Harry sent a messenger to Lord Ashburnham, who had +summoned him, and was in attendance upon the king, to say that he had +arrived. + +An hour later Lord Ashburnham joined him. "I am glad you have come, +Master Furness," he said. "The king needs faithful servants; and it's +well that you have come to-day, as I have been ordered by those in power +to remove from the king's person. His majesty has lost all hope of +coming to an agreement with either party here. At one time it seemed +that Cromwell and Ireton were like to have joined him, but a letter of +the king's, in which he spoke of them somewhat discourteously, fell +into their hands, and they have now given themselves wholly over to the +party most furious against the king. Therefore he has resolved to fly. +Do you move from hence and take up your quarters at Kingston, where no +curious questions are likely to be asked you. I shall take lodgings at +Ditton, and shall there await orders from the king. It may be that he +will change his mind, but of this Major Legg, who attends him in his +bedchamber, will notify us. Our design is to ride to the coast near +Southampton and there take ship, and embark for France. It is not likely +that we shall be attacked by the way, but as the king may be recognized +in any town through which we may pass, it is as well to have half a +dozen good swords on which we can rely." + +"I have with me," Harry said, "my friend Jacob, who was lieutenant in my +troop, and who can wield a sword well, and one of my old troopers, a +stout and active lad. You can rely upon them as on me." + +Lord Ashburnham stayed but a few minutes with Harry, and then mounted +and rode to Ditton, while Harry the same afternoon journeyed on into +Kingston, and there took up his lodgings. On the 11th of November, three +days after their arrival, Harry received a message from Lord Ashburnham, +asking him to ride over to Ditton. At his lodgings there he found Sir +John Berkeley. Major Legg shortly after arrived, and told them that the +king had determined, when he went into his private room for evening +prayer, to slip away, and make for the river side, where they were to be +in readiness for him with horses. Harry had brought his followers with +him, and had left them at an inn while he visited Lord Ashburnham. +William Long at once rode back to Kingston, and there purchased two good +horses, with saddles, for the king and Major Legg. At seven in the +evening the party mounted, William Long and Jacob each leading a spare +horse. Lord Ashburnham and Sir John Berkeley joined them outside the +village, and they rode together until, crossing the bridge at Hampton, +they stopped on the river bank, at the point arranged, near the palace. +Half an hour passed, and then footsteps were heard, and two figures +approached. Not a word was spoken until they were near enough to discern +their faces. + +"Thank God you are here, my Lord Ashburnham," the king said. "Fortune is +always so against me that I feared something might occur to detain you. +Ha! Master Furness, I am glad to see so faithful a friend." + +The king and Major Legg now mounted, and the little party rode off. +Their road led through Windsor Forest, then of far greater extent than +at present. Through this the king acted as guide. The night was wild and +stormy, but the king was well acquainted with the forest, and at +daybreak the party, weary and drenched, arrived at Sutton, in Hampshire. +Here they found six horses, which Lord Ashburnham had on the previous +day sent forward, and mounting these, they again rode on. As the sun +rose their spirits revived, and the king entered into conversation with +Ashburnham, Berkeley, and Harry as to his plans. The latter was +surprised and disappointed to find that so hurriedly had the king +finally made up his mind to fly that no ship had been prepared to take +him from the coast, and that it was determined that for the time the +king should go to the Isle of Wight. The governor of the Isle of Wight +was Colonel Hammond, who was connected with both parties. His uncle was +chaplain to the king, and he was himself married to a daughter of +Hampden. It was arranged that the king and Major Legg should proceed to +a house of Lord Southampton at Titchfield, and that Berkeley and Lord +Ashburnham should go to the Isle of Wight to Colonel Hammond, to find +if he would receive the king. Harry, with his followers, was to proceed +to Southampton, and there to procure a ship, which was to be in +readiness to embark the king when a message was received from him. +Agents of the king had already received orders to have a ship in +readiness, and should this be done, it was at once to be brought round +to Titchfield. + +"This seems to me," Jacob said, as, after separating from the king, they +rode to Southampton, "to be but poor plotting. Here has the king been +for three months at Hampton Court, and could, had he so chosen, have +fixed his flight for any day at his will. A vessel might have been +standing on and off the coast, ready to receive him, and he could have +ridden down, and embarked immediately he reached the coast. As it is, +there is no ship and no arrangement, and for aught he knows he may be a +closer prisoner in the Isle of Wight than he was at Hampton, while both +parties with whom he has been negotiating will be more furious than ever +at finding that he has fooled them. If I could not plot better than this +I would stick to a scrivener's desk all my life." + +It was late in the afternoon when they rode into Southampton. They found +the city in a state of excitement. A messenger had, an hour before, +ridden in from London with the news of the king's escape, and with +orders from Parliament that no vessel should be allowed to leave the +port. Harry then rode to Portsmouth, but there also he was unable to do +anything. He heard that in the afternoon the king had crossed over onto +the Isle of Wight, and that he had been received by the governor with +marks of respect. They, therefore, again returned to Southampton, and +there took a boat for Cowes. Leaving his followers there, Harry rode to +Newport, and saw the king. The latter said that for the present he had +altogether changed his mind about escaping to France, and that Sir John +Berkeley would start at once to negotiate with the heads of the army. He +begged Harry to go to London, and to send him from time to time sure +news of the state of feeling of the populace. + +Taking his followers with him, Harry rode to London, disguised as a +country trader. He held communication with many leading citizens, as +well as with apprentices and others with whom he could get into +conversation in the streets and public resorts. He found that the vast +majority of the people of London were longing for the overthrow of the +rule of the Independents, and for the restoration of the king. The +preachers were as busy as ever haranguing people in the streets, and +especially at Paul's Cross. In the cathedral of St. Paul's the +Independent soldiers had stabled their horses, to the great anger of +many moderate people, who were shocked at the manner in which those who +had first begun to fight for liberty of conscience now tyrannized over +the consciences and insulted the feelings of all others. Harry and his +followers mixed among the groups, and aided in inflaming the temper of +the people by passing jeering remarks, and loudly questioning the +statements of the preachers. These, unaccustomed to interruption, would +rapidly lose temper, and they and their partisans would make a rush +through the crowd to seize their interrogators. Then the apprentices +would interfere, blows would be exchanged, and not unfrequently the +fanatics were driven in to take refuge with the troops in St. Paul's. +Harry found a small printer of Royalist opinions, and with the +assistance of Jacob, strung together many doggerel verses, making a +scoff of the sour-faced rulers of England, and calling upon the people +not to submit to be tyrannized over by their own paid servants, the +army. These verses were then set in type by the printer, and in the +evening, taking different ways, they distributed them in the streets to +passers-by. + +Day by day the feeling in the city rose higher, as the quarrels at +Westminster between the Independents, backed by the army and the +Presbyterian majority, waxed higher and higher. All this time the king +was negotiating with commissioners from the army, and with others sent +by the Scots, one day inclining to one party, the next to the other, +making promises to both, but intending to observe none, as soon as he +could gain his ends. + +On Sunday, the 9th of April, Harry and his friends strolled up to Moor +Fields to look at the apprentices playing bowls there. Presently from +the barracks of the militia hard by a party of soldiers came out, and +ordered them to desist, some of the soldiers seizing upon the bowls. + +"Now, lads," Harry shouted, "you will not stand that, will you? The +London apprentices were not wont to submit to be ridden rough-shod over +by troops. Has all spirit been taken out of you by the long-winded +sermons of these knaves in steeple hats?" + +Some of the soldiers made a rush at Harry. His two friends closed in by +him. The two first of the soldiers who arrived were knocked down. +Others, however, seized the young men, but the apprentices crowded up, +pelted the soldiers with stones, and, by sheer weight, overthrew those +who had taken Harry and carried him off. The soldiers soon came pouring +out of their barracks, but fleet-footed lads had, at the commencement of +the quarrel, run down into the streets, raising the shout of "clubs," +and swarms of apprentices came running up. Led by Harry and his +followers, who carried heavy sticks, they charged the militia with such +fury that these, in spite of their superior arms, were driven back +fighting into their barracks. When the gates were shut Harry mounted on +a stone and harangued the apprentices--he recalled to them the ancient +rights of the city, rights which the most absolute monarchs who had sat +upon the throne had not ventured to infringe, that no troops should pass +through the streets or be quartered there to restrict the liberties of +the citizens. "No king would have ventured so to insult the people of +London; why should the crop-haired knaves at Westminster dare to do so? +If you had the spirit of your fathers you would not bear it for a +moment." + +"We will not, we will not," shouted the crowd. "Down with the soldiers!" + +At this moment a lad approached at full run to say that the cavalry were +coming from St. Paul's. In their enthusiasm the apprentices prepared to +resist, but Harry shouted to them: + +"Not here in the fields. Scatter now and assemble in the streets. With +the chains up, we can beat them there." + +The apprentices gave a cheer, and, scattering, made their way from the +fields just as the cavalry issued into the open space. Hurrying in all +directions, the apprentices carried the news, and soon the streets +swarmed with their fellows. They were quickly joined by the watermen--in +those days a numerous and powerful body. These were armed with oars and +boat-stretchers. The chains which were fastened at night across the ends +of the streets were quickly placed in position, and all was prepared to +resist the attack of the troops. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +A RIOT IN THE CITY. + + +So quickly were the preparations made that by the time the cavalry came +riding back from Moor Fields they found the way barred to them. The +commander of the cavalry ordered his men to charge. Harry, who had now +taken the command of the crowd, ordered a few of the apprentices to +stand before the first line of chains, so that these would not be +visible until the horses were close upon them. Behind the chains he +placed a strong body of watermen with their oars, while behind these, +and at the windows of the houses, were the apprentices, each armed with +a quantity of stones and broken bricks. The cavalry charged down upon +the defense. When they reached within a few yards of the apprentices in +front, these slipped under the chain. The leading troopers halted, but +were pressed by those behind them gainst the chain. Then a ram of stones +and brickbats opened upon them, and the watermen struck down men and +horses with their heavy oars. In vain the troopers tried with their +swords to reach their opponents. In vain they fired their pistols into +the mass. They were knocked down by the stones and brickbats in numbers, +and at last, their commander having been struck senseless, the rest drew +off, a tremendous cheer greeting their retreat, from the crowd. + +"Now," Harry shouted, taking his position on a doorstep, whence he could +be seen, "attend to me. The battle has only begun yet, and they will +bring up their infantry now. Next time we will let them enter the +street, and defend the chains at the other end--a party must hold +these--do some of you fill each lane which comes down on either side, +and do ten of you enter each house and take post at the upper windows, +with a good store of ammunition. Do not show yourselves until the head +of their column reaches the chain. Then fling open the windows and pour +volleys of stones and bricks upon them. Then let those in the side +streets, each headed by parties of watermen, fall upon their flanks. +Never fear their musketry. They can only give fire once before you are +upon them. The oars will beat down the pikes, and your clubs will do the +rest. Now let the apprentices of each street form themselves into +parties, each under their captain. Let all be regular and orderly, and +we will show them what the Londoners can do." + +With a cheer the crowd separated, and soon took post as Harry had +directed. He stationed himself at the barricade at the head of the +street. A quarter of an hour later the militia were seen approaching in +close column followed by the cavalry. On arriving at the end of the +street the assailants removed the chain, and again advanced. The street +was silent until they neared its end. The watermen had, under Harry's +direction, torn up the paving stones, and formed a barricade breast +high, behind which, remaining crouched, they awaited the assault. + +The fight began by a volley of stones from the apprentices behind the +barricade. The leading rank of the column discharged their muskets, and +rushed at the barricade; the watermen sprang to oppose them. At the +sound of the first shot every window in the street opened, and a rain of +bricks and heavy stones poured down on all sides upon the column, while +at the same time dense masses flung themselves upon its flanks, from +every lane leading into it. Confused and broken by the sudden onslaught +in the narrow street, the column halted, and endeavored to open a fire +upon the upper windows. This, however, effected but little harm, while +every brick from above told upon their crowded mass. The column was +instantly in confusion, and Harry and his followers, leaping over the +barricade, and followed by the watermen and apprentices behind, fell +upon it with fury. In vain did the Roundheads strive to repulse the +attack. Their numbers melted away as they fell, killed or senseless, +from the rain of missiles from above. Already the column was rent by +their assailants on the flanks, and in less than five minutes from the +commencement of the assault those who remained on their legs were driven +headlong out into Moor Fields. + +Loud rose the triumphant cry of the defenders, "God and King Charles." +Some hours elapsed before any attempt was made to renew the assault. +Then toward evening fresh troops were brought up from Westminster, and +the attack was renewed on two sides. Still the apprentices held their +own. Attack after attack was repulsed. All night the fight continued, +and when morning dawned the Royalists were still triumphant. + +"How will it go, think you, Jacob?" Harry asked. + +"They will beat us in the long run," Jacob said. "They have not been +properly led yet. When they are, guns and swords must prevail against +clubs and stones." + +At eleven o'clock in the morning a heavy body of cavalry were seen +approaching from Westminster. The Roundheads had brought up Cromwell's +Ironsides, the victors in many a hard-fought field, against the +apprentice boys of London. The Roundhead infantry advanced with their +horse. As they approached the first barricade the cavalry halted, and +the infantry advanced alone to within thirty yards of it. Then, just as +its defenders thought they were going to charge, they halted, divided +into bodies, and entered the houses on either side, and appeared at the +windows. Then, as the Ironsides came down at a gallop, they opened a +heavy fire on the defenders of the barricade. Harry saw at once that the +tactics now adopted were irresistible, and that further attempts at +defense would only lead to useless slaughter. He therefore shouted: + +"Enough for to-day, lads. Every man back to his own house. We will begin +again when we choose. We have given them a good lesson." + +In an instant the crowd dispersed, and by the time the Ironsides had +dismounted, broken the chains, and pulled down the barricade +sufficiently to enable them to pass, Ludgate Hill was deserted, the +apprentices were back in their masters' shops, and the watermen standing +by their boats ready for a fare. + +Seeing that their persons were known to so many of the citizens, and +would be instantly pointed out to the troops by those siding with the +army, who had, during the tumult, remained quietly in their houses, +watching from the windows what was going on, Harry and his friends +hurried straight to Aldersgate, where they passed out into the country +beyond. Dressed in laborers' smocks, which they had, in preparation for +any sudden flight, left at the house of a Royalist innkeeper, a mile or +two in the fields, they walked to Kingston, crossed the river there, and +made for Southampton. + +The king was now closely confined in Carisbrook Castle. For the first +three months of his residence in the Isle of Wight he could have escaped +with ease, had he chosen, and it is probable that Cromwell and the other +leaders of the army would have been glad that he should go, and thus +relieve the country from the inconvenience of his presence. They had +become convinced that so long as he lived quiet could not be hoped for. +While still pretending to negotiate with them, he had signed a treaty +with the Scots, promising to establish Presbyterianism in England, and +their army was already marching south. To the Irish Papists he had +promised free exercise of their religion, and these were taking up arms +and massacring all opposed to them, as was the custom in that barbarous +country. In Wales a formidable insurrection had broken out. Essex and +Kent were up in arms, and, indeed, all through the country the Royalists +were stirring. The leaders had therefore determined upon bringing the +king to trial. + +At Southampton Harry found Sir John Berkeley concealed in a house where +he had previously instructed Harry he might be looked for. He told him +that the king was now a close prisoner, and would assuredly escape if +means could be provided. Leaving Sir John, Harry joined his followers, +and after telling them the circumstances, they walked down to the port. +Here they entered into conversation with an old sailor. Seeing that he +was an honest fellow, and in no way disposed toward the fanatics, Harry +told him that he and those with him were Cavaliers, who sought to cross +over into France. + +"There is a boat, there," the sailor said, pointing to a lugger which +was lying at anchor among some fishing boats, "that will carry you. The +captain, Dick Wilson, is a friend of mine, and often makes a run across +to France on dark nights, and brings back smuggled goods. I know where +he can be found, and will lead you to him, if it so pleases you." Upon +their gladly accepting the offer he led them to a small inn by the water +side, and introduced them to the captain of the Moonlight, for so the +lugger was called. Upon receiving a hint from the sailor that his +companions wished to speak to him in private, Wilson led the way +upstairs to the chamber he occupied. Here Harry at once unfolded to him +the nature of the service he required. He was to lay with his boat off +the bank of the island, making to sea before daylight, and returning +after dusk, and was to take his station off a gap in the cliffs, known +as Black Gang Chine, where a footpath from above descended to the beach. +Upon a light being shown three times at the water's edge he was to send +a boat immediately ashore, and embarking those whom he might find there, +sail for France. If at the end of the week none should come, he would +know that his services would not be required, and might sail away +whither he listed. He was to receive fifty guineas at once for the +service, and if he transported those who might come down to the shore, +to France, he would, on arriving there, be paid two hundred and fifty +more. + +"It is the king, of course, who seeks to escape," the sailor said. +"Well, young gentlemen, for such I doubt not that you are, I am ready to +try it. We sailors are near all for the king, and the fleet last week +declared for him, and sailed for Holland. So, once on board, there will +be little danger. Pay me the fifty guineas at once, and you may rely +upon the Moonlight being at the point named." + +Harry handed over the money, and arranged that on the third night +following the lugger should beat the post appointed, and that it should +at once run them across and land them at Cowes. It was now the middle of +May, and Harry and his friends, who were still in the disguise of +countrymen, walked across to Newport. Their first step was to examine +the castle. It lay a short distance from the town, was surrounded by a +high wall with towers, and could offer a strong resistance to an +attacking force. At the back of the castle was a small postern gate, at +which they decided that his escape must, if possible, be made. Harry had +been well supplied with money by Sir John Berkeley before leaving +Southampton, Sir John himself, on account of his figure being so well +known at Newport, during his stay there with the king, deeming it +imprudent to take any personal part in the enterprise. After an +examination of the exterior of the castle Harry bought a large basket of +eggs, and some chickens, and with these proceeded to the castle. There +was a guard at the gate, but persons could freely enter. As Harry's +wares were exceedingly cheap in price, he speedily effected a sale of +them to the soldiers and servants of the officers. + +"I should like," he said to the man to whom he disposed of the last of +the contents of his basket, "to catch a sight of the king. I ha' never +seen him." + +"That's easy enough," the man said. "Just mount these stairs with me to +the wall. He is walking in the garden at the back of the castle." + +Harry followed the man, and presently reached a spot where he could look +down into the garden. The king was pacing up and down the walk, his head +bent, his hands behind his back, apparently in deep thought. An +attendant, a short distance behind him, followed his steps. + +"Be that the king?" Harry asked. "He don't look like a king." + +"That's him," the man said, "and he's not much of a king at present." + +"Where does he live now?" Harry asked. + +"That is his room," the man said, pointing to a window some ten feet +from the ground. After a little further conversation Harry appeared to +be satisfied, and returning to the courtyard, made his way from the +castle. During that day and the next they remained quiet, except that +Jacob walked over to Cowes, where he purchased two very fine and sharp +saws, and a short length of strong rope, with a hook. The following +night they hired a cart with a fast horse, and this they placed at a +spot a quarter of a mile from the castle. + +Leaving the man in charge of it there, Harry and his companions made for +the back of the castle. They could tell by the calls upon the walls that +the sentries were watchful, but the night was so dark that they had no +fear whatever of being seen. Very quietly they crossed the moat, which +was shallow, and with but little water in it. Then with an auger they +cut four holes in a square two feet each way in the door, and, with a +saw, speedily cut the piece inclosed by them out, and creeping through, +entered the garden. The greater part of the lights were already +extinguished, but that in the king's chamber was still burning. They +made their way quietly until they stood beneath this window, and waited +until the light here was also put out. Then Harry climbed on to the +shoulders of his companions, which brought his face on a level with the +window. He tapped at it. The king, who had been warned that his friends +would attempt to open a means of escape, at once came to the window, and +threw open the casement. + +"Who is there?" he asked, in low tones. + +"It is I, Harry Furness, your majesty. I have two trusty friends with +me. We have cut a hole through the postern gate, a cart is waiting +without, and a ship lies ready to receive you on the coast." + +"I am ready," the king said. "Thanks, my faithful servant. But have you +brought something to cut the bars?" + +"The bars!" Henry exclaimed, aghast. "I did not know that there were +bars!" + +"There are, indeed, Master Furness," the king said, "and if you have no +file the enterprise is ruined." + +Harry put his hands on the stonework and pulled himself up, and felt the +bars within the window. + +"They are too strong for our united strength," he said, in a tone of +deep disappointment. "But methinks it is possible to get between them." +Putting his head between the bars he struggled though, but with great +difficulty. "See, your majesty, I have got through." + +"Ay, Master Furness, but you are slighter in figure than I, although you +are changed indeed since first the colonel, your father, presented you +to me at Oxford. However, I will try." The king tried, but in vain. He +was stouter than Harry, although less broadly built, and had none of the +lissomness which enabled the latter to wriggle through the bars. "It is +useless," he said at last. "Providence is against me. It is the will of +God that I should remain here. It may be the decree of Heaven that even +yet I may sit again on the throne of my ancestors. Now go, Master +Furness. It is too late to renew the attempt to-night. Should Charles +Stuart ever reign again over England, he will not forget your faithful +service." + +Harry kissed the king's hand, and with a prayer for his welfare he again +made his way through the bars and dropped from the window, by the side +of his companions, the tears streaming down his cheeks with the +disappointment and sorrow he felt at the failure of his enterprise. "It +is all over," he said. "The king cannot force his way through the bars." + +Without another word they made their way down to the postern, passed +through it, and replaced the piece of wood in its position, in the faint +hope that it might escape notice. Then they rejoined the driver with the +cart, paid him handsomely, and told him that his services would not be +required that night at least. They then returned to their lodgings in +the town. The next morning early Jacob started for Cowes to buy some +sharp files and aquafortis, but an hour later the news passed through +Newport that an attempt had been made in the night to free the king, +that a hole had been cut in the postern, and the marks of footsteps +discovered under the king's window. Perceiving that it would be useless +to renew the attempt now that the suspicions of the garrison were +aroused, Harry and William Long, fearing that a search would be +instituted, at once started for Cowes. They met Jacob close to that +town, crossed in a boat to the mainland, and walked to Southampton. They +hesitated whether they should join Lord Goring, who had risen in Kent, +or Lord Capel and Sir Charles Lucas, who had collected a large force at +Colchester. They determined upon the latter course, as the movement +appeared to promise a better chance of success. Taking passage in a +coaster, they sailed to the mouth of the Thames, and being landed near +Tilbury, made their way to Colchester. Harry was, on his arrival, +welcomed by the Royalist leaders, who were well acquainted with him. +They proposed to march upon London, which would, they felt sure, declare +for the king upon their approach. They had scarcely set their force in +motion when they heard that Fairfax, at the head of an army, was +marching against them. A debate was held among the leaders as to the +best course to pursue. Some were for marching north, but the eastern +counties had, from the commencement of the troubles, been wholly on the +side of the Parliament. Others were for dispersing the bands, and +awaiting a better opportunity for a rising. Sir Charles Lucas, however, +urged that they should defend Colchester to the last. + +"Here," he said, "we are doing good service to the Royal cause, and by +detaining Fairfax here, we shall give time to our friends in Wales, +Kent, and other parts to rise and organize. If it is seen that whenever +we meet the Roundheads we disperse at once, hope and confidence will be +lost." + +The next day the town was invested by Fairfax, and shortly after the +siege began in earnest. The Royalists fought with great bravery, and for +two months every attempt of the Roundheads to storm the place was +repulsed. At length, however, supplies ran short, several breaches had +been made in the walls by the Roundhead artillery, and a council of war +was held, at which it was decided that further resistance was useless, +and would only inflict a great slaughter upon their followers, who, in +the event of surrender, would for the most part be permitted to return +to their homes. Harry Furness was present at the council and agreed to +the decision. He said, however, that he would endeavor, with his two +personal followers, to effect his escape, as, if he were taken a +prisoner to London, he should be sure to be recognized there as the +leader of the rising in May, in which case he doubted not that little +mercy would be shown to him. The Royalist leaders agreed with him, but +pointed out that his chances of escape were small, as the town was +closely beleaguered. Harry, however, declared that he preferred the risk +of being shot while endeavoring to escape, to the certainty of being +executed if carried to London. + +That night they procured some bladders, for although Jacob and Harry +were able to swim, William Long could not do so, and in any case it was +safer to float than to swim. The bladders were blown out and their necks +securely fastened. The three adventurers were then lowered from the wall +by ropes, and having fastened the bladders around them, noiselessly +entered the water. A numerous flotilla of ships and boats of the +Commons lay below the town; the tide was running out, however, and the +night dark, and keeping hold of each other, so as not to be separated by +the tide, they drifted through these unobserved. Once safely out of +hearing, Jacob and Harry struck out and towed their companion to shore. +While at Colchester they had been attired as Royalist officers, but they +had left these garments behind them, and carried, strapped to their +shoulders, above water, the countrymen's clothes in which they had +entered the town. They walked as far as Brentwood, where they stopped +for a few days, and learned the news of what was passing throughout the +country. + +Colchester surrendered on the 27th of August, the morning after they +left it. Lord Capel was sent a prisoner to London to be tried for his +life; but Fairfax caused Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle to be +tried by court-martial, and shot. On the 10th of July the town and +castle of Pembroke had surrendered to Cromwell, who immediately +afterward marched north to meet the Scotch army, which six days before +had entered England. The Duke of Hamilton, who commanded it, was at once +joined by five thousand English Royalists under Sir Marmaduke Langdale. +General Lambert, who commanded the Parliamentary troops in the north, +fell back to avoid a battle until Cromwell could join him. + +The Scotch army could not be called a national force. The Scotch +Parliament, influenced by the Duke of Hamilton and others, had entered +into an agreement with King Charles, and undertook to reinstate him on +the throne. The more violent section, headed by Argyll, were bitterly +hostile to the step. The Duke of Hamilton's army, therefore, consisted +entirely of raw and undisciplined troops. Cromwell marched with great +speed through Wales to Gloucester, and then on through Leicester and +Nottingham, and joined Lambert at Barnet Castle on the 12th of August. +Then he marched against the Scotch army, which, straggling widely and +thinking Cromwell still at a distance, was advancing toward Manchester. +On the 16th the duke with his advanced guard was at Preston, with +Langdale on his left. Cromwell attacked Langdale with his whole force +next morning, and the Royalists after fighting stoutly were entirely +defeated. Then he fell upon the Duke of Hamilton and the force under him +at Preston, and after four hours' sharp fighting in the inclosures round +the place, defeated and drove them out of the town. That night the Scots +determined to retreat, and at once began to scatter. General Baillie, +after some hard fighting around Warrington, surrendered with his +division. The duke with three thousand men went to Nantwich. The country +was hostile, his own troops, wearied and dispirited, mutinied, and +declared they would fight no longer; the Duke of Hamilton thereupon +surrendered, the Scotch invasion of England came to an end. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THE EXECUTION OF KING CHARLES. + + +The news of the failure of the Welsh insurrection and the Scotch +invasion, while the risings in Kent and Essex were crushed out, showed +Harry Furness that, for the time at least, there was no further fighting +to be done. Cromwell, after the defeat of the Scotch, marched with his +army to Edinburgh, where he was received with enthusiasm by Argyll and +the fanatic section, who were now again restored to power, and +recommenced a cruel persecution of all suspected of Royalist opinions. +Now that the Scotch had been beaten, and the Royalist rising everywhere +crushed out, the Parliament were seized with fear as to the course which +Cromwell and his victorious army might pursue. If they had been so +arrogant and haughty before, what might not be expected now. +Negotiations were at once opened with the king. He was removed from +Carisbrook to a good house at Newport. Commissioners came down there, +and forty days were spent in prolonged argument, and the commissioners +returned to London on the 28th of November with a treaty signed. It was +too late. The army stationed at St. Albans sent in a remonstrance to +Parliament, calling upon them to bring the king to trial, and stating +that if Parliament neglected its duty the army would take the matter +into its own hands. This remonstrance caused great excitement in the +Commons. No steps were taken upon it however, and the Commons proceeded +to discuss the treaty, and voted that the king's concessions were +sufficient. On the 29th a body of soldiers went across to the Isle of +Wight, surrounded the king's house, seized him and carried him to Hurst +Castle. The next day Parliament voted that they would not debate the +remonstrance of the army, and in reply the army at Windsor marched on +the 2d of December into London. On the 5th the Commons debated all day +upon the treaty. + +Prynne, formerly one of the stanchest opposers of King Charles, spoke +with others strongly in his favor, and it was carried by a hundred and +twenty-nine to thirty-eight. The same day some of the leaders of the +army met, and determined to expel from the house all those opposed to +their interests. On the 7th the Trained Bands of the city were withdrawn +from around the House, and Colonel Pride with his regiment of foot +surrounded it. As the members arrived forty-one of them were turned +back. The same process was repeated on the two following days, until +over a hundred members had been arrested. Thus the army performed a +revolution such as no English sovereign has dared to carry out. After +this it is idle to talk of the Parliament as in any way representing +the English people. The representatives who supported the king had long +since left it. The whole of the moderate portion of those who had +opposed him, that is to say, those who had fought to support the +liberties of Englishmen against encroachments by the king, and who +formed the majority after the Royalists had retired, were now expelled; +there remained only a small body of fanatics devoted to the interests of +the army, and determined to crush out all liberties of England under its +armed heel. This was the body before whom the king was ere long to +undergo the mockery of a trial. + +King Charles was taken to Hurst Castle on the 17th of December, and +three days later carried to Windsor. On the 2d of January, 1649, the +Commons voted that in making war against the Parliament the king had +been guilty of treason, and should be tried by a court of a hundred and +fifty commissioners. The Peers rejected the bill, and the Commons then +voted that neither the assent of the Peers nor the king was necessary +for a law passed by themselves. + +All the encroachments of King Charles together were as nothing to this +usurpation of despotic power. + +In consequence of the conduct of the Peers, the number of commissioners +was reduced to a hundred and thirty-five; but of these only sixty-nine +assembled at the trial. Thus the court which was to try the king +consisted only of those who were already pledged to destroy him. Before +such a court as this there could be but one end to the trial. When, +after deciding upon their sentence, the king was brought in to hear it, +the chief commissioner told him that the charges were brought against +him in the name of the people of England, when Lady Fairfax from the +gallery cried out, "It's a lie! Not one-half of them." Had she said not +one hundredth of them, she would have been within the mark. + +On the 27th sentence was pronounced. On the 29th the court signed the +sentence, which was to be carried out on the following day. + +From the time when Harry Furness left Brentwood at the end of August +until the king was brought to London, he had lived quietly at +Southampton. He feared to return home, and chose this port as his +residence, in order that he might, if necessary, cross into France at +short notice. When the news came that the king had been brought up from +Windsor, Harry and his friends at once rode to London, Every one was so +absorbed in the great trial about to take place that Harry had little +fear of attracting attention or of being molested should any one +recognize in the young gentleman in sober attire the rustic who had led +the rising in the spring. To London, too, came many other Cavaliers from +all parts of the country, eager to see if something might not be +attempted to rescue the king. Throughout London the consternation was +great at the usurpation by the remnant of the Commons of all the rights +of the Three Estates, and still more, at the trial of the king. The +army, however, lay in and about London, and, with Cromwell at its head, +it would, the people felt, easily crush out any attempt at a rising in +the city. Within a few hours of his arrival in London, Harry saw that +there was no hope from any effort in this direction, and that the only +possible chance of saving the king was by his arranging for his escape. +His majesty, on his arrival from Windsor, had been lodged in St. James' +Palace, and as this was completely surrounded by the Roundhead troops, +there was no chance of effecting an invasion thence. The only possible +plan appeared to be a sudden attack upon his guards on his way to +execution. + +Harry gathered round him a party of thirty Cavaliers, all men ready like +himself to sacrifice their lives for the king. Their plan was to gather +near Whitehall, where the execution was to take place, to burst through +the soldiers lining the way, to cut down the guards, and carry the king +to a boat in readiness behind Whitehall, This was to convey him across +to Lambeth, where fleet horses were to be stationed, which would take +him down to the Essex coast. + +The plan was a desperate one, but it might possibly have succeeded, +could the Cavaliers have gained the position which they wished. The +whole of the army was, however, placed in the streets and passages +leading to Whitehall, and between that place and the city the cavalry +were drawn up, preventing any from coming in or going out. When they +found that this was the case, the Cavaliers in despair mounted their +horses, and rode into the country, with their hearts filled with grief +and rage. + +On the 30th, an hour after the king's execution, proclamation was made +that whoever should proclaim a new king would be deemed a traitor, and a +week later, the Commons, now reduced to a hundred members, formally +abolished the House of Peers. A little later Lord Capel, Lord Holland, +and the Duke of Hamilton were executed. + +Had the king effected his escape, Harry Furness had determined to return +to Abingdon and live quietly at home, believing that now the army had +grasped all power, and crushed all opposition, it was probable that they +would abstain from exciting further popular animosity by the persecution +of those who had fought against them. The fury, however, excited in his +mind by the murder of the king after the mockery of a trial, determined +him to fight to the last, wherever a rising might be offered, however +hopeless a success that rising might appear. He would not, however, +suffer Jacob and William Long any longer to follow his fortunes, +although they earnestly pleaded to do so. "I have no hope of success," +he said. "I am ready to die, but I will not bring you to that strait. I +have written to my father begging him, Jacob, to receive you as his +friend and companion, and to do what he can, William, to assist you in +whatever mode of life your wishes may hereafter lead you to adopt. But +come with me you shall not." + +Not without tears did Harry's faithful companions yield themselves to +his will, and set out for Abingdon, while he, with eight or ten comrades +as determined as himself, kept on west until they arrived at Bristol, +where they took ship and crossed to Ireland. They landed at Waterford, +and journeyed north until they reached the army, with which the Marquis +of Ormonde was besieging Dublin. Nothing that Harry had seen of war in +England prepared him in any way for the horrors which he beheld in +Ireland. The great mass of the people there were at that time but a few +degrees advanced above savages, and they carried on their war with a +brutal cruelty and bloodshed which could now only be rivaled in the +center of Africa. Between the Protestants and the English and Scotch +settlers on the one hand, and the wild peasantry on the other, a war of +something like extermination went on. Wholesale massacres took place, at +which men, women, and children were indiscriminately butchered, the +ferocity shown being as great upon one side as the other. In fact, +beyond the possession of a few large towns, Ireland had no claim +whatever to be considered a civilized country. As Harry and his comrades +rode from Waterford they beheld everywhere ruined fields and burned +houses; and on joining the army of the Marquis of Ormonde, Harry felt +even more strongly than before the hopelessness of the struggle on which +he was engaged. These bands of wild, half-clad kernes, armed with pike +and billhook, might be brave indeed, but could do nothing against the +disciplined soldiers of the Parliament. There were with Ormonde, indeed, +better troops than these. Some of the companies were formed of English +and Welsh Royalists. Others had been raised by the Catholic gentry of +the west, and into these some sort of order and discipline had been +introduced. The army, moreover, was deficient in artillery, and not more +than one-third of the footmen carried firearms. Harry was, a day or two +after reaching the camp of Lord Ormonde, sent off to the West to drill +some of the newly-raised levies there. It was now six years since he had +begun to take an active part in the war, and he was between twenty-one +and twenty-two. His life of active exertion had strengthened his +muscles, broadened his frame, and given a strength and vigor to his tall +and powerful figure. + +Foreseeing that the siege of Dublin was not likely to be successful, +Harry accepted his commission to the West with pleasure. He felt already +that with all his devotion to the Royalist cause he could not wish that +the siege of Dublin should be successful; for he saw that the vast +proportion of the besieging army were animated by no sense of loyalty, +by no interest in the constitutional question at stake, but simply with +a blind hatred of the Protestant population of Dublin, and that the +capture of the city would probably be followed by the indiscriminate +slaughter of its inhabitants. + +He set out on his journey, furnished with letters from Ormonde to +several influential gentlemen in Galway. The roads at first were fairly +good, but accustomed to the comfortable inns in England, Harry found the +resting-places along the road execrable. He was amused of an evening by +the eagerness with which the people came round and asked for news from +Dublin. In all parts of England the little sheets which then did service +as newspapers carried news of the events which were taking place. It is +true that none of the country population could read or write; but the +alehouses served as centers of news. The village clerk, or, perhaps, the +squire's bailiff, could read, as could probably the landlord, and thus +the news spread quickly round the country. In Ireland news traveled only +from mouth to mouth, often becoming strangely distorted on the way. + +Harry was greatly struck by the bareness of the fields and the poverty +of the country; and as he journeyed further west the country became +still wilder and more lonely. It was seldom now that he met any one who +could speak English, and as the road was often little more than a track, +he had great difficulty in keeping his way, and regretted that he had +not hired a servant knowing the country before leaving the army. He +generally, however, was able to obtain a guide from village to village. +The loneliness of the way, the wretchedness of the people, the absence +of the brightness and comfort so characteristic of English life, made +the journey an oppressive one, and Harry was glad when, five days after +leaving Dublin, he approached the end of his ride. Upon this day he had +taken no guide, being told that the road was clear and unmistakable as +far as Galway. + +He had not traveled many hours when a heavy mist set in, accompanied by +a keen and driving rain, in his face. With his head bent down, Harry +rode along, paying less attention than usual to his way. The mist grew +thicker and thicker. The horse no longer proceeded at a brisk pace, and +presently came to a stop. Harry dismounted, and discovered that he had +left the road, Turning his horse's head, and taking the reins over his +arm, he tried to retrace his steps. + +For an hour he walked along, the conviction growing every moment that he +was hopelessly lost. The ground was now soft and miry and was covered +with tussocks of coarse grass, between which the soil was black and +oozy. The horse floundered on for some distance, but with such +increasing difficulty that, upon reaching a space of comparatively solid +ground, Harry decided to take him no further. + +The cold rain chilled him to the bone, and after awhile he determined to +try and make his way forward on foot, in hopes of finding, if not a +human habitation, some walls or bushes where he could obtain shelter +until the weather cleared. He fastened the reins to a small shrub, took +off the saddle and laid it on the grass, spread the horse rug over the +animal to protect it as far as possible, and then started on his way. He +had heard of Irish bogs extending for many miles, and deep enough to +engulf men and animals who might stray among them, and he felt that his +position was a serious one. + +He blamed himself now for not having halted immediately he perceived +that he had missed the road. The only guide that he had as to the +direction he should take was the wind. On his way it had been in his +face, and he determined now to keep it at his back, not because that was +probably the way to safety, but because he could see more easily where +he was going, and he thought by continuing steadily in one direction he +might at last gain firm ground. His view extended but a few yards round +him, and he soon found that his plan of proceeding in a straight line +was impracticable. Often quagmires of black ooze, or spaces covered with +light grass, which were, he found, still more treacherous, barred his +way, and he was compelled to make considerable detours to the right or +left in order to pass them. Sometimes widths of sluggish water were met +with. For a long time Harry continued his way, leaping lightly from tuft +to tuft, where the grass grew thickest, sometimes wading knee-deep in +the slush and feeling carefully every foot lest he should get to a depth +whence he should be unable to extricate himself. Every now and then he +shouted at the top of his voice, in hopes that he might be heard by some +human being. For hours he struggled on. He was now exhausted with his +efforts, and the thickening darkness told him that day was fading. From +the time he had left his horse he had met with no bush of sufficient +height to afford him the slightest shelter. + +Just as he was thinking whether he had not better stop where he was, +and sit down on the firmest tuft he could find and wait for morning, +when perhaps the rainstorm might cease and enable him to see where he +was, he heard, and at no very great distance, the sudden bray of a +donkey. He turned at once in the direction of the sound, with renewed +hopes, giving a loud shout as he did so. Again and again he raised his +voice, and presently heard an answering shout. He called again, and in +reply heard some shouts in Irish, probably questions, but to these he +could give no answer. Shouting occasionally, he made his way toward the +voice, but the bog seemed more difficult and treacherous than ever, and +at last he reached a spot where further advance seemed absolutely +impossible. It was now nearly dark, and Harry was about to sit down in +despair, when suddenly a voice sounded close to him. He answered again, +and immediately a barefooted boy sprang to his side from behind. The boy +stood astonished at Harry's appearance. The latter was splashed and +smeared from head to foot with black mire, for he had several times +fallen. His broad hat drooped a sodden mass over his shoulders, the +dripping feather adding to its forlorn appearance. His high riding boots +were gone, having long since been abandoned in the tenacious ooze in +which they had stuck; his ringlets fell in wisps on his shoulder. + +After staring at him for a minute, the boy said something in Irish. +Harry shook his head. + +His guide then motioned him to follow him. For some time it seemed to +Harry that he was retracing his steps. Then they turned, and by what +seemed a long detour, at last reached firmer ground. A minute or two +later they were walking along a path, and presently stopped before the +door of a cabin, by which two men were standing. They exchanged a word +or two with the boy, and then motioned to Harry to enter. A peat fire +was burning on the hearth, and a woman, whose age Harry from her aspect +thought must be enormous, was crouched on a low stool beside it. He +threw off his riding cloak and knelt by her, and held his hands over the +fire to restore the circulation. One of the men lighted a candle formed +of rushes dipped in tallow. Harry paid no heed to them until he felt the +warmth returning to his limbs. Then he rose to his feet and addressed +them in English. They shook their heads. Perceiving how wet he was one +of them drew a bottle from under the thatch, and pouring some of its +contents into a wooden cup offered it to him. Harry put it to his lips. +At first it seemed that he was drinking a mixture of liquid fire and +smoke, and the first swallow nearly choked him. However he persevered, +and soon felt the blood coursing more rapidly in his veins. Finding the +impossibilty of conversing, he again sat down by the fire and waited the +course of events. He had observed that as he entered his young guide +had, in obedience probably to the orders of one of the men, darted away +into the mist. + +The minutes passed slowly, and not a word was spoken in the cottage. An +hour went by, and then a tramp of feet was heard, and, accompanied by +the boy, eight or ten men entered. All carried pikes. Between them and +the men already in the hut an eager conversation took place. Harry felt +far from easy. The aspect of the men was wild in the extreme. Their hair +was long and unkempt, and fell in straggling masses over their +shoulders. Presently one, who appeared to be the leader, approached +Harry, who had now risen to his feet, and crossed himself on the +forehead and breast. Harry understood by the action that he inquired if +he was a Catholic, and in reply shook his head. + +An angry murmur ran through the men. Harry repressed his inclination to +place his hand on his pistols, which he had on alighting from his horse +taken from the holsters and placed in his belt. He felt that even with +these and his sword, he should be no match for the men around him. Then +he bethought of the letters of which he was a bearer. Taking them from +his pocket he held them out. "Ormonde," he said, looking at the men. + +No gleam of intelligence brightened their faces at the word. + +Then he said "Butler," the Irish family name of the earl. Two or three +of the men spoke together, and Harry thought that there was some +comprehension of his meaning. Then he read aloud the addresses of the +letters, and the exclamations which followed each named showed that +these were familiar to the men. A lively conversation took place between +them, and the leader presently approached and held out his hand. + +"Thomas Blake, Killicuddery," he said. This was the address of one of +the letters, and Harry at once gave it him. It was handed to the boy, +with a few words of instruction. The lad at once left the hut. The men +seemed to think that for the time there was nothing more to be done, +laid their pikes against the wall, and assumed, Harry thought, a more +friendly aspect. He reciprocated their action, by unbuckling his belt +and laying aside his sword and pistols. Fresh peats were piled on the +fire, another candle was lit, and the party prepared to make themselves +comfortable. The bottle and wooden cup were again produced, and the +owner of the hut offered some black bread to his visitor. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +THE SIEGE OF DROGHEDA. + + +Under the influence of the warm, close air of the hut, and the spirits +he had taken, Harry soon felt drowsiness stealing over him, and the +leader, perceiving this, pointed to a heap of dried fern lying in the +corner of the hut. Harry at once threw himself on it, and in a very few +minutes was sound asleep. When he awoke daylight was streaming in +through the door of the hut. Its inmates were for the most part sitting +as when he had last seen them, and Harry supposed that they had talked +all night. The atmosphere of the hut was close and stifling, and Harry +was glad to go to the door and breathe the fresh air outside. + +The weather had changed, and the sun, which had just risen, was shining +brightly. The hut stood at the foot of a long range of stony hills, +while in front stretched, as far as the eye could see, an expanse of +brown bog. A bridle path ran along at the foot of the hills. An hour +later two figures were seen approaching along this. The one was a +mounted horseman, the other running in front of him, at a long, easy +trot, was Harry's guide of the preceding evening. + +On reaching the cottage the gentleman on horseback alighted, and, +advancing to Harry, said: + +"Captain Furness, I am heartily sorry to hear that you have had what +must have been a disagreeable adventure. The lad here who brought your +letter told me that you were regarded as a prisoner, and considered to +be a Protestant emissary. I am Tom Blake, and I live nearly twenty miles +from here. That is the reason why I was not here sooner. I was keeping +it up with some friends last night, and had just gone to bed when the +messenger arrived, and my foolish servants pretended I was too drunk to +be woke. However, when they did rouse me, I started at once." + +"And has that boy gone forty miles on foot since last night?" Harry +asked, in surprise. + +"Oh, that's nothing," Mr. Blake said. "Give him half an hour's rest, and +he'd keep up with us back to Killicuddery. But where is your horse, and +how did you get into this mess? The boy tells me he found you in the +bog." + +Harry related his adventures. + +"You have had a lucky escape indeed," Mr. Blake said. "There are places +in that bog thirty feet deep. I would not try to cross it for a thousand +pounds on a bright day, and how you managed to do so through the mist +yesterday is more than I can imagine. Now, the first thing is to get +your horse. I must apologize for not having brought one, but the fact +is, my head was not exactly clear when I started, and I had not taken in +the fact that you'd arrived on foot. My servant was more thoughtful. He +had heard from the boy that an English gentleman was here, and judging +that the larder was not likely to be stocked, he put a couple of bottles +of claret, a cold chicken, and some bread into my wallet, so we can have +breakfast while they are looking for your horse. The ride has sharpened +my appetite." + +Mr. Blake now addressed a few words in Irish to the men clustered round +the door of the hut. One of them climbed to the top of the hill, and +presently shouted down some instructions, and another at once started +across the bog. + +"They see your horse," Mr. Blake said, "but we shall have to wait for +two or three hours. It is some four miles off, and they will have to +make a long detour to bring it back." + +Mr. Blake now distributed some silver among the men, and these, with the +exception of the master of the house, soon afterward left. Harry +heartily enjoyed his breakfast, and in cheery chat with his host the +time passed pleasantly until the peasant returned with the horse and +saddle. The horse was rubbed down with dry fern, and a lump of black +bread given him to eat. + +"What can I do for the boy?" Harry asked. "I owe him my life, for I was +so thoroughly drenched and cold that I question whether I should have +lived till morning out in that bog." + +"The boy thinks nothing of it," Mr. Blake said. "A few hundred yards +across the bog night or day is nothing to him." + +Harry gave the lad a gold piece, which he looked at in wonder. + +"He has never seen such a thing before," Mr. Blake laughed. "There, +Mickey," he said in Irish, "that's enough to buy you a cow, and you've +only got to build a cabin and take a wife to start life as a man." + +The boy said something in Irish. + +"I thought so," Mr. Blake laughed. "You haven't got rid of him yet. He +wants to go as your servant." + +Harry laughed too. The appearance of the lad in his tattered garments +was in contrast indeed to the usual aspect of a gentleman's retainer. + +"You'll find him useful," Mr. Blake said. "He will run errands for you +and look after your horse. These lads can be faithful to death. You +cannot do better than take him." + +Mickey's joy when he was told that he might accompany the English +gentleman was extreme. He handed the money he had received to his +father, said a few words of adieu to him, and then started on ahead of +the horses. + +"He had better wait and come on later," Harry said. "He must be utterly +tired now." + +Mr. Blake shouted after the boy, who turned round, laughed, and shook +his head, and again proceeded on his way. + +"He can keep up with us," Mr. Blake said. "That horse of yours is more +fagged than he is." + +Harry soon found that this was the case, and it took them nearly four +hours' riding before they reached Killicuddery. Here a dozen barefooted +men and boys ran out at their approach, and took the horses. It was a +large, straggling house, as good as that inhabited by the majority of +English gentlemen, but Harry missed the well-kept lawn, the trim +shrubberies, and the general air of neatness and order to which he was +accustomed. + +"Welcome to Killicuddery," Mr. Blake said, as he alighted. "Believe me, +Captain Furness, you won't find the wild Irish, now you are fairly among +them, such dreadful creatures as they have been described to you. Well, +Norah," he continued, as a girl some sixteen years of age bounded down +the steps to meet him, "how goes it with you this morning?" + +"As well as could be expected, father, considering that you kept us +awake half the night with your songs and choruses. None of the others +are down yet, and it's past twelve o'clock. It's downright shameful." + +"Norah, I'm surprised at you," Mr. Blake said, laughing. "What will +Captain Furness think of Irish girls when he hears you speaking so +disrespectfully to your father. This is my daughter Norah, Captain +Furness, who is, I regret to say, a wild and troublesome girl. This, my +dear, is Captain Furness, a king's officer, who has fought through all +the battles of the war." + +"And who has lately been engaged in a struggle with an Irish bog," the +girl said, laughing, for Harry's gay dress was discolored and stained +from head to foot. + +Harry laughed also. + +"I certainly got the worst of that encounter, Miss Norah, as indeed has +been the case in most of those in which I have been engaged. I never +felt much more hopeless, when I thought I should have to pass the night +sitting on a tuft of grass with mud and mist all round me, except when I +was once nearly baked to death in, company with Prince Rupert." + +"It must have been a large oven," the girl laughed; "but come in now. I +am sure you will both be ready for breakfast. But papa would keep you +chattering here all day if I would let him." + +Mr. Blake, Harry soon found, was a widower, and his house was presided +over by his eldest daughter, Kathleen, to whom Harry was introduced on +entering the house. As it was now some hours since they had eaten the +food which Mr. Blake had brought, they were quite ready for another +meal, at which they were soon joined by six or eight other gentlemen, +who had been sleeping in the house. Breakfast over, Harry retired to his +room, put on a fresh suit from his wallet, and rejoined his companions, +when a sort of council of war was held. Harry learned that there was no +difficulty as to men, as any number of these could be recruited among +the peasantry. There was, however, an entire absence of any arms save +pikes. Harry knew how good a weapon are these when used by steady and +well-disciplined men. The matchlocks of those days were cumbrous arms, +and it was at the point of the pike that battles were then always +decided. + +Mr. Blake begged Harry to make his house his headquarters during his +stay in the West, and the invitation was gladly accepted. The letters +of which he was the bearer were dispatched to their destinations, and a +few days after his arrival the recipients called upon him, and he found +himself overwhelmed with invitations and offers of hospitality. The time +therefore passed very pleasantly. + +A few men were found in Galway who had served in the wars. These were +made sergeants of the newly raised regiment, which was five hundred +strong. This was not embodied, but five central places were chosen at a +distance from each other, and at these the peasants assembled for drill. +Several of the sons of the squires received commissions as officers, and +the work of drilling went on briskly, Harry superintending that at each +center by turns. In the evenings there were generally dinner parties at +the houses of one or other of the gentry, and Harry greatly enjoyed the +life. So some months passed. + +In July the news came that the Earl of Ormonde's force outside Dublin +had been routed by the garrison, under General Jones, the governor, and +shortly afterward Harry received orders to march with the regiment to +join the earl, who, as the king's representative, forwarded him at the +same time a commission as its colonel, and the order to command it. + +It was on the 13th of August that Harry with his force joined the army +of Ormonde, and the next day the news came that Cromwell had landed at +Dublin, and had issued a bloodthirsty proclamation against the Irish. +Harry was at once ordered to march with his regiment to Tredah, now +called Drogheda, a seaport about forty miles north of Dublin. At this +town Harry found in garrison twenty-five hundred English troops, under +the command of Sir Arthur Ashton, an old Royalist officer, he had lost a +leg in the king's service. + +During the six months he had passed in the West Harry had found Mike an +invaluable servant. He had, of course, furnished him with decent suits +of clothes, but although willing to wear shoes in the house, nothing +could persuade Mike to keep these on his feet when employed without. As +a messenger he was of the greatest service, carrying Harry's missives to +the various posts as quickly as they could have been taken by a +horseman. During that time he had picked up a great deal of English, and +his affection for his master was unbounded. He had, as a matter of +course, accompanied Harry on his march east, and was ready to follow him +to the end of the world if need be. + +The garrison of Drogheda employed themselves busily in strengthening the +town to the utmost, in readiness for the siege that Cromwell would, they +doubted not, lay to it. In September Cromwell moved against the place. +He was prepared to carry out the campaign in a very different spirit to +that with which he had warred in England. For years Ireland had been +desolated by the hordes of half-savage men, who had for that time been +burning, plundering, and murdering on the pretext of fighting for or +against the king. Cromwell was determined to strike so terrible a blow +as would frighten Ireland into quietude. He knew that mildness would be +thrown away upon this people, and he defended his course, which excited +a thrill of horror in England, upon the grounds that it was the most +merciful in the end. Certainly, nowhere else had Cromwell shown himself +a cruel man. In England the executions in cold blood had not amounted to +a dozen in all. The common men on both sides were, when taken prisoners, +always allowed to depart to their homes, and even the officers were not +treated with harshness. It may be assumed that his blood was fired by +the tales of massacre and bloodshed which reached him when he landed. +The times were stern, and the policy of conciliating rebels and +murderers by weak concessions was not even dreamed of. Still, no excuses +or pleas of public policy can palliate Cromwell's conduct at Drogheda +and Wexford. He was a student and expounder of the Bible, but it was in +the old Testament rather than the new that precedents for the massacre +at Drogheda must be sought for. No doubt it had the effect at the time +which Cromwell looked for, but it left an impression upon the Irish mind +which the lapse of over two centuries has not obliterated. The wholesale +massacres and murders perpetrated by Irishmen on Irishmen have long +since been forgotten, but the terrible vengeance taken by Cromwell and +his saints upon the hapless towns of Drogheda and Wexford will never be +forgotten by the Irish, among whom the "curse of Cromwell" is still the +deadliest malediction one man can hurl at another. + +Cromwell's defenders who say that he warred mildly and mercifully in +England, according to English ideas, and that he fought the Irish only +as they fought each other, must be hard driven when they set up such a +defense. The fact that Murrogh O'Brien, at the capture of Cashel, +murdered the garrison who had laid down their arms, and three thousand +of the defenseless citizens, including twenty priests who had fled to +the cathedral for refuge, affords no excuse whatever for the +perpetration of equal atrocities by Cromwell, and no impartial historian +can deny that these massacres are a foul and hideous blot in the history +of a great and, for the most part, a kind and merciful man. + +Upon arriving before Drogheda on the 2d of September Cromwell at once +began to throw up his batteries, and opened fire on the 10th. His +artillery was abundant, and was so well served that early the same +afternoon two practical breaches were made, the one in the east, in the +wall of St. Mary's Churchyard, the other to the south, in the wall of the +town. Sir Arthur Ashton had placed Harry in command at St. Mary's +Churchyard, and seeing that the wall would soon give way under the fire +of the enemy's artillery, he set his men to throw up an earthwork +behind. + +Seven hundred of the Roundheads advanced to the assault, but so heavy +was the fire that Harry's troops poured upon them that they were forced +to fall back with great slaughter. At the other breach they were also +repulsed, but attacking again in great force they made their way in. +Near this spot was an ancient tumulus, called the Hill Mount. The sides +of this were defended by strong palisades, and here the Royalists, +commanded by Sir Arthur Ashton himself, opposed a desperate resistance +to the enemy. These, supported by the guns on the walls, which they +turned against the Mount, made repeated attacks, but were as often +repulsed. The loss, however, of the defenders was great, and seeing that +fresh troops were constantly brought against them they at last lost +heart and surrendered, on promise of their lives; a promise which was +not kept, as all were immediately massacred. + +Up to this time Harry had successfully repulsed every attack made upon +the other breach, but at length the news of the Roundheads' success at +the Mount reached both assailants and defenders. + +With exulting shouts the Roundheads poured over the wall. The garrison, +headed by Harry and the other officers, strove hard to drive them back, +but it was useless. Cromwell and Ireton were in the van of their troops, +and these, accustomed to victory, hewed their way through the ranks of +the besieged. Many of them lost heart, and, throwing down their arms, +cried for quarter. With shouts of "No quarter!" "Hew down the +Amalakites!" "Strike, and spare not!" the Roundheads cut down their now +defenseless foes. Maddened at the sight, the besieged made another +desperate effort at resistance, and for awhile fought so stoutly that +the Roundheads could gain no ground of them. + +Presently, however, a party of the enemy who had forced their way over +the wall at another point took them in rear. Then the garrison fled in +all directions pursued by their victorious enemy, who slaughtered every +man they overtook. Mike had kept close to Harry through the whole of the +struggle. He had picked up a pike from a fallen man, and had more than +once, when Harry was nearly surrounded by his foes, dashed forward and +rid him of one of the most pressing. Seeing, by the general slaughter +which was going on, that the Roundhead soldiers must have received +orders from their general to give no quarter, Harry determined to sell +his life dearly, and rushed into a church where a score of the English +soldiers were taking refuge. The door was closed and barricaded with +chairs and benches, and from the windows the men opened fire upon the +Roundheads, who were engaged in slaying all--men, women and children, +without mercy. Soon, from every house around, a heavy fire was poured +into the church, and several of those within fell dead under the fire. +Under cover of this, the Roundheads attacked the door with axes. Many +were killed by the fire of the defenders, but as the door yielded, Harry +called these from their post, and with them ascended the belfry tower. +Here they prepared to fight to the last. + +Looking from a window, Harry beheld a sight which thrilled him with +horror. Gathered round a cross, standing in an open space, were two +hundred women on their knees. Even while Harry looked a body of +Cromwell's saints fell upon them, hewing and cutting with their swords, +and thrusting with their pikes, and did not desist while one remained +alive. And these were the men who had the name of God ever on their +lips! When the dreadful massacre began Harry turned shuddering from the +window, and with white face and set teeth nerved himself to fight to the +last. Already the door had been beaten down, and the assailants had +streamed into the church. Then a rush of heavy feet was heard on the +stairs. Assembled round its top stood Harry and the twelve men +remaining. Each knew now that there was no hope of quarter, and fought +with the desperation of men who cared only to sell their lives dearly. +Fast as the Roundheads poured up the stairs, they fell, pierced by pike, +or shot down by musket ball. For half an hour the efforts continued, and +then the Roundheads, having lost over fifty men, fell back. Three times +during the day the attack was renewed, and each time repulsed with the +same terrible slaughter. Between the intervals the defenders could hear +the never-ceasing sound of musket and pistol firing, as house after +house, defended to the last by desperate men, was stormed; while loud, +even above the firing, rose the thrilling shrieks of dying women and +children. + +In all the history of England, from its earliest times, there is no such +black and ghastly page as that of the sack of Drogheda. Even supposing +Cromwell's assertion that he wished only to terrify the Irish rebels to +be true, no shadow of an excuse can be pleaded for the massacre of the +women and children, or for that of the English Royalists who formed +five-sixths of the garrison. + +All through the night occasional shrieks and pistol shots could be +heard, as the wretched people who had hidden themselves in closets and +cellars were discovered and murdered. No further assault was made upon +the church tower, nor was there any renewal of it next morning. As hour +after hour passed on Harry concluded that, deterred by the great loss +which his men had already sustained in endeavoring to capture the post, +Cromwell had determined to reduce it by starvation. + +Already the defenders were, from the effects of exertion and excitement, +half-mad with thirst. As the day went on their sufferings became +greater, but there was still no thought of surrender. The next day two +of them leaped from the top of the tower and were killed by their fall. +Then Harry saw that it was better to give in. + +"My lads," he said, "it is better to go down and die by a bullet-shot +than to suffer these agonies of thirst, with only death as the issue. We +must die. Better to die in our senses as men, than mad like wild beasts +with thirst. Mike, my lad, I am sorry to have brought you to this pass." + +Mike put his parched lips to his master's hand. + +"It is not your fault, master. My life is no differ to any." + +The men agreed to Harry's proposal. There was a discussion whether they +should go down and die fighting, or not; but Harry urged upon them that +it was better not to do so. They were already weak with hunger and +thirst, and it would be more dignified to meet their fate quiet and +unresistingly. They accordingly laid by their arms, and, preceded by +Harry, descended the stairs. + +The noise of their footsteps warned the soldiers in the church below of +their coming, and these formed in a semicircle round the door to receive +the expected onslaught. When they saw that the Royalists were unarmed +they lowered their weapons, and an officer said: "Take these men out +into the street, and shoot them there, according to the general's +orders." + +Calmly and with dignity Harry marched at the head of his little party +into the street. They were ranged with their backs to the church, and a +firing party took their places opposite to them. + +The officer was about to give the order, when a divine in a +high-steepled hat came up. He looked at the prisoners, and then rapidly +advanced between the lines and gazed earnestly at Harry. + +"Is your name Master Furness?" he asked. + +"I am Colonel Furness, an officer of his majesty Charles II.," Harry +said coldly. "What then?" + +"I am Ebenezer Stubbs," the preacher said. "Do you not remember how +seven years ago you saved my life at the risk of your own in the streets +of Oxford? I promised you then that if the time should come I would do +as good a turn to yourself. Captain Allgood," he said, "I do beseech you +to stay this execution until I have seen the general. I am, as you know, +his private chaplain, and I am assured that he will not be wroth with +you for consenting to my request." + +The influence of the preacher with Cromwell was well known, and the +officer ordered his men to ground arms, although they muttered and +grumbled to themselves at the prospect of mercy being shown to men who +had killed so many of their companions. A quarter of a hour later the +preacher returned with an order from the general for the prisoners to be +placed in durance. + +"I have obtained your life," the preacher said, "but even to my prayers +the general will grant no more. You and your men are to be sent to the +Bermudas." + +Although Harry felt that death itself would be almost preferable to a +life of slavery in the plantations, he thanked the preacher for his +efforts in his behalf. A week later Harry, with the eight men who had +taken with him, and twenty-seven others who been discovered in +hiding-places, long after the capture of the place, were placed on board +a ship bound for the Bermudas, the sole survivors of the garrison--three +thousand strong--and of the inhabitants of Drogheda. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +SLAVES IN THE BERMUDAS. + + +The Good Intent, upon which Harry Furness with thirty-five other +Royalist prisoners were embarked, was a bark of two hundred tons. She +carried, in addition to the prisoners, sixty soldiers, who were going +out to strengthen the garrison of Barbadoes. The prisoners were crowded +below, and were only allowed to come on deck in batches of five or six +for an hour at a time. Four of them had died on the way, and the others +were greatly reduced in strength when they landed. As soon as they +reached Bermuda the prisoners were assigned as slaves to some of the +planters most in favor of the Commonwealth. Four or five were allotted +to each, and Harry having placed Mike next to him at the end of the +line, when they were drawn up on landing, they were, together with two +others of the soldiers who had defended the tower of Drogheda with him, +assigned to the same master. + +"He is an evil-looking scoundrel," Harry said to the Irish boy. "He +looks even more sour and hypocritical than do the Puritans at home. We +have had a lesson of what their idea of mercy and Christianity is when +they get the upper hand. I fear we have a hard time before us, my lad." + +The four prisoners were marched to the center of the island, which +seemed to Harry to be, as near as he could tell, about the size of the +Isle of Wight. Their new master rode in front of them, while behind +rode his overseer, with pistols at his holsters, and a long whip in his +hand. Upon their way they passed several negroes working in the fields, +a sight which mightily astonished Mike, who had never before seen these +black creatures. At that time the number of negroes in the island was +comparatively small, as the slave trade was then in its infancy. It was +the want of labor which made the planters so glad to obtain the services +of the white prisoners from England. Many of the slaves in the island +had been kidnaped as boys at the various ports in England and Scotland, +the infamous traffic being especially carried on in Scotland. + +When they reached the plantation the horsemen alighted in the courtyard +of the residence, and the planter, whose name was Zachariah Stebbings, +told the overseer to take them to the slave quarters. + +"You will have," he said harshly, "to subdue your pride here, and to +work honestly and hard, or the lash will become acquainted with your +backs." + +"Look you here, Master Stebbings, if such be your name," Harry said, "a +word with you at the beginning. We are exiled to this place, and given +into servitude to you through no crime but that of having fought bravely +for his majesty King Charles. We are men who care not greatly for our +lives, and we four, with seven others, did, as you may learn, defend the +tower of Drogheda for two days against the whole army of Cromwell, and +did only yield to thirst, and not to force. You may judge then, of our +mettle from that fact. Now, hark you; having fallen into this strait, we +are willing to conform to our condition, and to give you fair and honest +work to the best of our powers; but mind you, if one finger be laid on +us in anger, if so much as the end of a whip touch one of us, we have +sworn that we will slay him so ventures, and you also, should you +countenance it , even though afterward we be burned at the stake for +doing it. That is our bargain; see you that you keep to it." + +So stern and determined were Harry's words, so fierce and haughty his +tone, that the planter and his overseer both turned pale and shrank +back. They saw at once the manner of men with whom they had to deal, and +felt that the threat would be carried out to the fullest. Muttering some +inarticulate reply, the planter turned and entered the house, and the +overseer, with a dogged, crestfallen look, led the way to the slave +quarters. The place assigned to them was a long hut, the sides lightly +constructed of woven boughs, with a thick thatch overhead. Along one +side extended a long sloping bench, six feet wide. This was the bed of +the slaves. + +An hour afterward the other inmates of the hut entered. They consisted +of four white men who had been kidnaped as boys, and two who had been +apprentices, sent out, as Harry soon learned, for their share in the +rising in the city, which he had headed. The negroes on the estate, some +twenty in number, were confined in another hut. There were, besides, +four guards, one of whom kept sentry at night over the hut, while +another with a loaded firearm stood over them while they worked. The +garrison of the island consisted, as Harry had learned before landing, +of two hundred and fifty soldiers, besides the militia, consisting of +the planters, their overseers and guards, who would number altogether +about five hundred men. + +The next day the work in the fields began. It consisted of hoeing the +ground between the rows of young sugar canes and tobacco plants. The sun +was extremely powerful, and the perspiration soon flowed in streams from +the newcomers. They worked, however, steadily and well, and in a manner +which gave satisfaction even to their master and his overseer. Harry +had impressed upon his two men and Mike the importance of doing nothing +which could afford their employer a fair opportunity for complaint. He +would not, Harry felt sure, venture to touch them after the warning he +had given, but he might send one or all of them back to the town, where +they would be put to work as refractory slaves on the fortifications, +and where their lot would be far harder than it would be on the +plantation. He urged upon them above all things to have patience; sooner +or later the people of England would, he felt sure, recall the young +king, and then they would be restored to their country. But even before +that some mode of escape, either by ship, or by raising an insurrection +in concert with the white slaves scattered through the island, might +present itself. + +The white slaves and negroes were kept as far as possible apart during +their work in all the plantations in the island. The whites were deemed +dangerous, and were watched with the greatest care. The blacks were a +light-hearted and merry race, not altogether discontented with their +position, and the planters did their utmost to prevent the white slaves +having communication with them, and stirring them up to discontent and +rebellion. At the same time they were not absolutely forbidden to speak. +Each slave had a small plot of ground assigned to him near the huts, and +on these, after the day's work was over, they raised vegetables for +their own consumption. + +Mike, who, as a lad, was much less closely watched than the men, soon +made friends with the negroes. He was full of fun and mischief, and +became a prime favorite with them. He learned that at night, as no watch +was kept over them, they would often steal away and chat with the +negroes on other plantations, and that so long as there were no signs +of discontent, and they did their work cheerfully, the masters placed no +hindrance upon such meetings. Often at night, indeed, the sound of the +negro singing and music could be heard by the prisoners, the overseers +troubling themselves in no way with the proceedings of their slaves +after nightfall, so long as their amusements did not interfere with +their power of work next morning. Mike heard also that the treatment of +the slaves, both white and black, varied greatly on different +plantations, according to the nature of their masters. In some the use +of the lash was almost unknown, the slaves were permitted many +indulgences, and were happy and contented; while in others they were +harshly and cruelly treated. Mr. Stebbings was considered one of the +worst masters in the island, and, indeed, it was everywhere noticed that +the masters who most conformed to the usages and talk of the Puritans at +home were the most cruel taskmasters to their slaves. Many times Harry +Furness' blood boiled when he saw the lash applied to the bare shoulders +of the slaves, often, as it seemed to him, from pure wantonness on the +part of the overseer. But the latter never once ventured to touch Harry +or his three companions. + +Through the negroes Mike learned that to each of the four plantations +adjoining their own four white prisoners had been assigned, and among +these, Harry found, on obtaining their names, were the other five +soldiers who had fought with him at Drogheda. + +Mike soon took to going out at night with the negroes, making his way +through a small opening in the light wall of the hut. This was easily +closed up on his return, and by choosing a time when the sentry was on +the other side of the house, he had no difficulty in leaving or entering +unseen. By means of the negroes he opened up a communication with the +other soldiers, and informed them that Colonel Furness bade them hold +themselves in readiness when an opportunity for escape should arise. It +might be weeks or even months before this would come, but the signal +would be given by a fire burning at daybreak upon a hill at no great +distance from the plantation. He bade them use their discretion as to +taking any white slaves with them into their confidence. At nightfall, +after seeing the column of smoke, they were, as best they could, to make +their way from the huts, and meet in a clump of trees near the house of +Mr. Stebbings. + +Harry had, indeed formed no distinct plan for escape; but he wished, +should an opportunity offer, to have such a body of men at hand as might +stand him in good stead. + +One day, about a month after their arrival on the plantation, the +overseer brutally beat an old negro who was working next to Mike. The +old man resumed his work, but was so feeble that he in vain endeavored +to use his hoe, and the overseer struck him to the ground with the butt +end of his whip. Mike instinctively dropped his hoe and sprang to lift +the old man to his feet. The infuriated overseer, enraged at this +interference, brought down his whip on Mike's head and felled him by the +side of the negro. In an instant Harry sprang forward, armed with his +hoe; the overseer seeing him coming, retreated a step or two, drew his +pistol from his belt and fired--the ball flew close to Harry's ear, and +the latter, whirling his hoe round his head, brought it down with his +full strength upon that of the overseer; the man fell in his tracks as +if smitten with lightning. The guard ran up with his musket pointed, but +Harry's two companions also advanced, armed with their hoes, and the +guard, seeing that even if he shot one, he should assuredly be killed by +the others, took to his heels and ran off to the house. A minute later +Zachariah Stebbings with the four guards was seen running up to the +spot. + +"What is this?" he exclaimed furiously. "Mutiny?" + +"No, Master Stebbings," Harry said calmly. "We have, as you know, worked +honestly and well, but your brutal overseer has broken the agreement we +made, and struck this lad to the ground without any cause. I, of course, +carried out my part of the compact, though I doubt me the fellow is not +killed. His hat is a thick one, and may have saved his skull. You had +best leave matters alone. I and my three men are a match for you and +your guards, even though they have guns, and you best know if our +services are worth anything to you." + +The planter hesitated. He was unwilling indeed to lose four of his best +slaves, and he knew that whether he attacked them now, or whether he +reported the case to the commandant of the island, he would assuredly do +this. After a moment's hesitation, he said: + +"The fool has brought it on himself. Do you," turning to the guards, +"lift him up and carry him to the house, and let old Dinah see to his +head. It is an ugly cut," he said, leaning over him, "but will do him no +harm, though it will not add to his beauty." + +The blow had indeed been a tremendous one, and had it alighted fairly on +the top of his head, would assuredly have cleft the skull, in spite of +the protection afforded by the hat. It had, however, fallen somewhat on +one side, and had shorn off the scalp, ear, and part of the cheek. It +was three weeks before the overseer again resumed his duty, and he cast +such a deadly look at Harry as assured him that he would have his life +when the occasion offered. + +Two days later, when the planter happened to be in the field with the +overseer, two gentlemen rode from the house, where they had been to +inquire for him. The sobriety of their garments showed that they +belonged to the strictest sect of the Puritans. + +"I have ridden hither," one said, with a strong nasal twang, "Zachariah +Stebbings, having letters of introduction to you from the governor. +These will tell that I am minded to purchase an estate in the island. +The governor tells me that maybe you would be disposed to sell, and that +if not, I might see the methods of work and culture here, and learn from +you the name of one disposed to part with his property." + +At the first words of the speaker Harry Furness had started, and dropped +his hoe; without, however, looking round, he picked it up and applied +himself to his work. + +"I should not be unwilling to sell," the planter answered, "for a fair +price, but the profits are good, and are likely to be better, for I hear +that large numbers of malignants, taken by the sword of the Lord +Cromwell at Dundalk and Waterford in Ireland, will be sent here, and +with more labor to till the fields, our profits will increase." + +"I have heard," the newcomer said, "that some of the ungodly followers +of the man Charles have already been sent here." + +"That is so," the planter agreed. "I myself, standing well in the favor +of the governor, have received four of them; that boy, the two men next +to him, and that big man working there. He is a noted malignant, and was +known as Colonel Furness." + +"Truly he is a stalwart knave," the other remarked. + +"Ay is he," the planter said; "but his evil fortune has not as yet +altogether driven out the evil spirit within him. He is a man of wrath, +and the other day he smote nigh to death my overseer, whose head is, as +you see, still bandaged up." + +"Truly he is a son of Belial," the other argued, but in a tone in which +a close observer might have perceived a struggle to keep down laughter. +"I warrant me, you punished him heartily for such an outbreak." + +"To tell you the truth," the planter said, "the man is a good workman, +and like to an ox in his strength. The three others were by his side, +and also withstood me. Had I laid a complaint before the governor they +would all have been shot, or put on the roads to work, and I should have +lost their labor. My overseer was in the wrong, and struck one of them +first, so 'twas better to say naught about the matter. And now will you +walk me to the house, where I can open the letter of the governor, and +talk more of the business you have in hand." + +The instant the man had spoken Harry had recognized the voice of his old +friend Jacob, and doubted not, though he had not ventured to look round, +that he who accompanied him was William Long; and he guessed that +hearing he had been sent with the other captives spared at the massacre +of Drogheda to the Bermudas, they had come out to try and rescue him. So +excited was he at the thought that it was with difficulty he could +continue steadily at his work through the rest of the day. When at +nightfall he was shut up in the hut with his companions, he told them +that the Puritan they had seen was a friend of his own, a captain in his +troop, and that he doubted not that deliverance was at hand. He charged +Mike at once to creep forth to join the negroes, and to bid them tell +one of their color who served in the house to take an opportunity to +whisper to one of his master's guests--for he learned that they were +biding there for the night, "Be in the grove near the house when all are +asleep." The negroes willingly undertook the commission, and Mike +rejoined the party in the hut. Two hours later Harry himself crept out +through the hole, which they had silently and at great pains enlarged +for the purpose, and made his way round to the grove. There were still +lights in the house, and the negroes in their hut were talking and +singing. An hour later the lights were extinguished, and soon afterward +he saw a figure stealthily approaching. + +"Jacob," he whispered, as the man entered the shelter of the trees, and +in another moment he was clasped in the arms of his faithful friend. For +some time their hearts were too full to speak, and then Harry leading +his companion to the side of the wood furthest from the house, they sat +down and began to talk. After the first questions as to the health of +Harry's father had been answered, Jacob went on: + +"We saw by the dispatch of Cromwell to Parliament that the sole +survivors of the sack of Drogheda, being one officer, Colonel Furness, a +noted malignant, and thirty-five soldiers, had been sent in slavery to +the Bermudas. So, of course, we made up our minds to come and look after +you. Through Master Fleming I obtained letters, introducing to the +governor the worshipful Grace-be-to-the-Lord Hobson and Jeremiah +Perkins, who desired to buy an estate in the Bermudas. So hither we +came, William Long and I; and now, Harry, what do you advise to be done? +I find that the ships which leave the port are searched before they +leave, and that guards are placed over them while they load, to see that +none conceal themselves there, and I see not, therefore, how you can +well escape in that way. There seem to be no coasting craft here, or we +might seize one of these and make for sea." + +"No," Harry replied. "They allow none such in the port, for fear that +they might be so taken. There are large rowing boats, pulled by twelve +slaves, that come to take produce from the plantations farthest from the +port round to ships there. But it would be madness to trust ourselves +to sea in one of these. We should either die of hunger and thirst, or be +picked up again by their cruisers. The only way would be to seize a +ship." + +"That is what William Long and I have been thinking of," Jacob said. +"But there is a shrewd watch kept up, and the ships are moored under the +guns of the battery. We passed, on our way hither, a bark bringing a +number of prisoners taken at Waterford. She is a slow sailer, and, by +the calculations of our captain, will not arrive here for some days +yet." + +"If we could intercept her," Harry said thoughtfully, "we might, with +the aid of the prisoners, overcome the guard, and then turning her head, +sail for Holland." + +"That might be done," Jacob assented, "if you have force enough." + +"I can bring forty men," Harry answered. "There are eight here, and we +have communication with those in the neighboring plantations, who are +ready to join me in any enterprise. That should be enough." + +"It is worth trying," Jacob said. "I will hire a rowboat, as if to bring +round a cargo of sugar from this plantation to the port. I will station +a man on the highest point of the hills to give me notice when a sail is +in sight. He may see it thence forty miles away. The winds are light and +baffling, and she will make slow progress, and may bring up outside the +port that night, but assuredly will not enter until next morning. The +instant I know it is in sight I will ride over here, and William Long +will start with the barge from the port. When you see me come, do you +send round word to the others to meet at midnight on the beach, where +you will see the boat drawn up. Can you let your friends know speedily?" + +"Yes," Harry replied. "My signal was to have been given at daybreak, but +I will send round word of the change of hour, and that if, when they +are locked up for the night, they see a fire burning on the point +agreed, they are to meet on the shore at midnight. Tell William Long to +haul the boat up, and let the rowers go to sleep on the shore. We will +seize them noiselessly. Then we will row along the shore till off the +port, and at first daybreak out to the ship if she be at anchor, or away +to meet her if she be not yet come. They will think that we bear a +message from the port." + +After some further discussion of details the friends separated, and the +next day Mike sent round by the negroes the news of the change of plans. +Two days later Jacob rode up to the plantation. He had upon the first +occasion told Stebbings that the sum he asked for the estate seemed to +him too high, but that he would return to talk it over with him, after +he had seen other properties. Immediately upon his arrival, which +happened just as the slaves returned from work, Mike sent off one of the +negro boys, who had already collected a pile of brushwood on the beacon +hill. Half an hour later a bright flame shone out on its summit. + +"I wonder what that means?" the planter, who was sitting at dinner in +his veranda with Jacob, said angrily. + +"It looks like a signal fire," Jacob remarked calmly. "I have heard that +they are sometimes lit on the seacoast of England as a signal to +smugglers." + +"There are no smugglers here," the planter said, "nor any cause for such +a signal." + +He clapped his hands, and ordered the black slave who answered to tell +the overseer to take two of the guards, and at once proceed to the fire, +and examine its cause. After dinner was over the planter went out to the +slave huts. All the white men were sitting or lying in the open air, +enjoying the rest after their labor. The negroes were singing or working +in their garden plots, The list was called over, and all found to be +present. + +"I expect," the planter said, "that it is only a silly freak of some of +these black fellows to cause uneasiness. It can mean nothing, for the +garrison and militia could put down any rising without difficulty and +there is no hope of escape. In a week we could search every possible +hiding-place in the island." + +"Yes, that is an advantage which you have over the planters in Virginia, +to which place I hear our Scottish brethren have sent large numbers of +the malignants. There are great woods stretching no man knoweth how far +inland, and inhabited by fierce tribes of Indians, among whom those who +escape find refuge." + +That night when all was still Harry Furness and his seven comrades crept +through the opening in the hut. In the grove they were joined by Jacob. +They then made their way to the seashore, where they saw lying a large +shallop, drawn partly up on the beach. A man was sitting in her, while +many other dark figures lay stretched on the sand near. Harry and his +party moved in that direction, and found that the men from two of the +other plantations had already arrived. A few minutes later the other two +parties arrived. The whole body advanced noiselessly along the shore, +and seized and gagged the sleepers without the least difficulty or +noise. These were bound with ropes from the boat, and laid down one by +one on the sand, at a distance from each other. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +A SEA FIGHT. + + +The instant the rowers were secured Harry Furness embraced his faithful +follower William Long. He had learned from Jacob that the ship had +appeared in sight about two in the afternoon, and that it was not +thought likely by the sailors of the port that she would reach it until +the breeze sprang up in the morning, although she might get within a +distance of five or six miles. The whole party had, in concurrence with +Harry's orders, brought with them their hoes, which were the only +weapons that were attainable. It was agreed that their best course would +be to row along the shore until near the lights of the port, then to row +out and lay on their oars half a mile beyond the entrance, where, as it +was a starlight night, they would assuredly see the ship if she had come +to anchor. As soon as the first dawn commenced they were to row out and +meet the ship. Wrappings of cloth were fastened round the rowlocks to +prevent noise, twelve men took the oars, the boat was shoved down into +the sea, and they started on their voyage. The boat rowed but slowly, +and it was, Harry judged, past three o'clock when they reached the point +they had fixed on off the mouth of the harbor. No ship was visible +outside the port, although there was sufficient light to have seen its +masts had it been there. + +"We had better go another half-mile further out," he said. "Should they +take it into their heads on shore, when they see us, to send a fast +boat out to inquire what we are doing, it might overtake us before we +could reach the ship." + +An hour after they had ceased rowing a faint streak of daylight appeared +in the west, and a ship could be seen about three miles seaward, while +the shore was nearly that distance behind them, for they had been +deceived by the darkness, and were much further out than they had +thought. + +"It is all the better," Harry said. "It must be some time before they +think of sending a boat after us, and we shall reach the ship before it +can overtake us." + +As soon as it became broad daylight Harry took one of the oars himself, +and all save the twelve rowers, and Jacob and William Long who sat in +the stern, lay down in the bottom of the boat, where some pieces of +matting, used for covering cargo, were thrown over them. There was not +as yet a breath of wind, and the ship's sails hung idly against the +masts. After three-quarters of an hour's hard rowing the barge +approached her side. There were only a few figures on the deck. + +"Are you the captain of this vessel?" Jacob asked one who seemed to him +of that condition. + +"Ay, ay," the sailor said. "What is the news?" + +"I have come off from the island," Jacob answered, "by orders of his +worshipful the governor, to warn you that there is an insurrection among +the slaves of the island, and to bid you not to anchor outside, or to +wait for your papers being examined, but to enter at once." + +By this time the boat was alongside, and Jacob climbed on board. + +"You have brought some troops with you?" he asked, "They will be +wanted." + +"Yes, I have eighty men whom I have brought as a reinforcement to the +garrison of the island, besides a hundred and fifty prisoners from +Waterford, stowed away below the hatches forward. Hullo! why, what is +this? Treason!" + +As he spoke Harry, followed by the rowers, swarmed on board armed with +their hoes. The captain and the men round him were at once knocked down. +The sentries over the fore hatchway discharged their muskets, and, with +some of the crew stationed there, made aft. But Harry's party had now +all joined him on deck. A rush was made, and the decks entirely cleared. +A few of the soldiers who came running up through the after hatchway on +hearing the tumult and noise of the fight were beaten down and hurled +below on those following them, and the hatches were slipped on and +secured. Then a triumphant shout of "God and the King!" was raised. + +The forehatches were now lifted, and the prisoners invited to come up. +They rushed on deck, delighted and bewildered, for it was the first time +that they had seen the sun since they left England, having been kept +below, where many had died from confinement and bad air, while all were +sorely weakened and brought low. Among them were many officers, of whom +several were known to Harry--although they had some difficulty in +recognizing in the man, bronzed brown by his exposure to the sun and +clad in a tattered shirt and breeches--their former comrade, Harry +Furness. A search was at once made for arms, and ranged in the passage +to the captain's cabin were found twenty muskets for the use of the +crew, together with as many boarding pikes and sabers. Ammunition was +not wanting. The arms were divided among Harry's band of forty men, and +the twenty strongest of those they had rescued. The hoes were given to +the remainder. + +The captain, who had by this time recovered from the blow dealt him by +Harry, was now questioned. He was told that if he would consent with his +crew to navigate the vessel to Holland, he should there be allowed to go +free with the ship, which it seemed was his own property; but the cargo +would be sold as a fair prize, to satisfy the needs of his captors. If +he refused, he would be sent with his crew on shore in the barge, and +his ship and cargo would alike be lost to him. The captain had no +hesitation in accepting the first of these alternatives, as he would be, +although no gainer by the voyage, yet no loser either. He told Harry +that for himself he had no sympathy with the rulers in London, and that +he sorely pitied the prisoners he was bringing over. + +The hatch was now a little lifted, and the prisoners below summoned to +surrender. This they refused to do. Harry and his men then, with much +labor, lowered a four-pounder carronade down the forehatch, and wheeled +it to within a few feet of the bulkhead which divided that portion where +the prisoners had been confined from the after part. The gun was loaded +to the muzzle with grape, and discharged, tearing a hole through the +bulkhead and killing and wounding many within. Then the officer in +command offered to surrender. + +Harry ordered them at once to hand up all their firelocks and other arms +through the hatchway, which was again lifted for the purpose. When those +on deck had armed themselves with those weapons, the prisoners were +ordered to come up, bringing their wounded with them. As they reached +the deck they were passed down into the barge, from which all the oars +save four had been removed. Six of the soldiers had been killed, and the +remainder having entered the barge, where they were stowed as thickly as +they could pack, the head rope was dropped, and they were allowed to row +away. Besides the eighty muskets of the guard, a store of firelocks, +sufficient to arm all on board, was found; these having been intended +for the use of the garrison. A gentle breeze had by this time sprung up +from the land, and the ship's head was turned seaward. + +The boat was but half a mile behind them when it was joined by an +eight-oared galley, which had been seen rowing out from the harbor, +whence, doubtless, it had been dispatched to inquire into the errand of +the boat seen rowing off to the ship. After lying alongside the barge +for a minute or two she turned her head, and made back again with all +speed. + +"You would have done more wisely," the captain said to Harry, "if you +had retained the prisoners on board until the second boat came +alongside. You could have swamped that, and sent those in it back with +the others, who will not reach shore until late this afternoon, for with +only four oars they will make no way until the land breeze falls." + +"It would have been better--far better"--Harry agreed--"but one does not +always think of things at the right time. What ships are there in port, +Jacob?" + +"There is the vessel I came by and two others," Jacob replied, "all +about the same size as this, and mounting each as many guns. You have +eight, I see, captain; the one I came out in had ten." + +"They will pursue us," the captain said, "you may be sure. It is known +that we are not a fast sailer, and I think, sir, you will have to fight +for it." + +"So be it," Harry said. "There are two hundred of us, and though they +might sink the ship, they will assuredly never carry it by boarding. +There is not a man here who would not rather die fighting than spend his +life in slavery on that island." + +The vessel had gone about six miles on her course, when from the +topmast the captain announced that the galley had gained the port, now +twelve miles distant. "There is a gun," he said, five minutes later. +"They have taken the alarm now." He then descended to the deck, leaving +a sailor in the tops. Two hours later the latter announced that the +topsails of three ships coming out from the harbor were visible. + +"We have nigh thirty miles' start," the captain said. "They will not be +up to us till to-morrow at midday." + +"Do you think it would be any use to try to lose them by altering our +course in the night?" Harry asked. + +"No," the captain answered. "It is but ten o'clock in the day now. They +will be within ten or twelve miles by nightfall, for the wind is +stronger near the land than it is here, and with their night glasses +they could hardly miss us on a bright starlight night. I am ready to try +if you like, for I do not wish to see the ship knocked into matchwood." + +After some deliberation it was determined to hold their course, and as +night came on it was found that escape would have been out of the +question, for the vessels behind had overhauled the Lass of Devon faster +than had been anticipated, and were little more than five miles astern. +They could be plainly seen after darkness set in, with the night +glasses. + +"What you must do, captain, is to lay her aboard the first which comes +up," Harry said; "even if they have brought all the garrison we shall be +far stronger than any one of them taken singly." + +During the night the pursuing vessels lessened sail and maintained a +position about a mile astern of the chase, evidently intending to attack +in the morning. The day spent in the open air, with plenty of the best +eating and drinking which could be found in the ship, had greatly +reinvigorated the released prisoners, and when at daybreak the vessels +behind were seen to be closing up, all were ready for the fight. The +enemy, sure that their prey could not escape them, did not fire a shot +as they came up in her wake. The two immediately behind were but a +cable's length asunder, and evidently meant to engage on either side. +Harry ordered the greater portion of men below, leaving only sufficient +on deck to fight the guns, to whose use many were well accustomed. The +wind was very light, and the ships were scarcely stealing through the +water. + +"We had better fight them broadside to broadside," Harry said; "but keep +on edging down toward the ship to leeward." + +The fight began with a heavy fire of musketry from the tops, where, in +all three ships, the best marksmen had been posted. Then, when they were +abreast of each other, the guns opened fire. The vessels were little +more than fifty yards apart. For half an hour the engagement continued +without intermission. Both ships of the enemy had brought all their guns +over to the sides opposed to the Royalist vessel, and fought eighteen +guns to his eight. Fearing to injure each other, both aimed entirely at +the hull of their opponent, while Harry's guns were pointed at the masts +and rigging. The sides of the Lass of Devon were splintered and broken +in all directions, while those of his assailants showed scarcely a shot +mark. The fire of his men in the tops--all old soldiers--had been so +heavy and deadly that they had killed most of the marksmen in the +enemy's tops, and had driven the rest below. All this time the Lass of +Devon was raked by the fire of the third vessel which had come up behind +her, and raked her fore and aft. At the end of the half-hour the +mainmast of the vessel to windward, which had been several times struck, +fell with a crash. + +"Now, captain, lay her aboard the ship to leeward." + +They had already edged down within twenty yards of this ship, and slowly +as they were moving through the water, in another three or four minutes +the vessels grated together. At Harry's first order the whole of his men +had swarmed on deck, pouring in such a fire of musketry that none could +stand alive at the enemy's tiller to keep her head away as the Lass of +Devon approached. As the vessels touched Harry leaped from the bulwark +on to the deck of the enemy, followed by Jacob and his men. The +Parliamentary troops had also rushed on deck, and, although inferior in +numbers, for they counted but eighty men, they made a sturdy stand. +Gradually, however, they were driven back, when an exclamation from +Mike, who, as usual, was close to Harry, caused him to look round. + +The ship behind had, the moment she perceived the Lass of Devon bearing +down upon her consort, crowded on more sail, and was now ranging up on +the other side of her. Bidding Jacob press the enemy hard with half his +force, Harry, with the remainder, leaped back on to the deck of his own +ship, just as the enemy boarded from the other side. The fight was now a +desperate one. The vessel which had last arrived bore a hundred of the +troops of the garrison, and the numbers were thus nearly equal. The +Royalists, however, fought with a greater desperation, for they knew the +fate that awaited them if conquered. Gradually they cleared the deck of +the Lass of Devon of the enemy, and in turn boarded their opponent. +William Long led thirty men into the tops of the Lass of Devon, and +poured their fire into the crowded enemy. Every step of the deck was +fiercely contested, but at last the Roundheads gave way. Some threw down +their arms and called for quarter, others ran below. The Royalists, with +shouts of "Remember Drogheda!" fell upon them, and many of those who +had surrendered were cut down before Harry could arrest the slaughter. + +A loud cheer announced the victory, and the men in the other ship, who +had hitherto, although with difficulty, made front against the attacks +of Jacob and his men, now lost heart and ran below. The wind had by this +time entirely dropped, but battening the prisoners below, Harry set his +men to thrust the ships past one another, until they were sufficiently +in line for their guns to be brought to bear upon the third enemy. +Crippled as she was by the loss of her mast, she immediately hauled down +her colors, and the victory was complete. + +The prisoners were brought on deck and disarmed. Harry found that the +boats of the four ships would carry two hundred men closely packed, and +but a hundred and eighty of the two hundred and fifty troops who had +sailed in pursuit remained alive. These, with sufficient provisions and +water to last for three days, were made to take their places in the +boats, and told to row back to the island, which they should be able to +regain in two days at the utmost. The crews of the captured ships were +willing enough to obey the orders of their captors, for the sailors had +in general but little sympathy with the doings of Parliament. Harry had +lost in killed and wounded forty-two men, and the rest he divided +between the four ships, giving about thirty-five men to each. He +himself, with Jacob, William Long, and Mike, remained on board the Lass +of Devon, officers being placed in command of the troops on board the +other ships, which were ordered to sail in company with her. Twenty-four +hours were spent in getting a jury-mast set in place of that which had +been shot away. When this was completed the four ships hoisted their +canvas and sailed together for Holland. + +They met with no adventure until near the mouth of the English Channel, +when one morning a fleet of eight ships was perceived. The captain of +the Lass of Devon at once pronounced them to be ships of war, and their +rate of sailing speedily convinced Harry that there was no chance of +escape. Against such odds resistance was useless, and the other ships +were signaled to lower their topsails in answer to the gun which the +leading ship of the squadron fired. Anticipating a return to captivity, +if not instant death, all on board watched the approaching men-of-war. +Presently these, when close at hand, brought up into the wind, and a +boat was lowered. It rowed rapidly to the Lass of Devon, which lay +somewhat the nearest to them. Harry stood on the quarter-deck ready to +surrender his sword. The boat came alongside, an officer leaped on deck +and advanced toward him. + +Harry could scarce believe his eyes; this gallant, in the gay dress of a +cavalier officer, could be no follower of Cromwell. The officer paused +and gazed in astonishment at Harry. The recognition was mutual, and the +words "Furness" and "Elphinstone" broke from their lips. + +"Why, Elphinstone, what squadron is that?" + +"Prince Rupert's, to be sure," the officer said. + +"What! did you take us for the Roundhead fleet?" + +Harry made no reply, but taking off his hat, shouted to his men, "It is +the Royalist fleet. Three cheers for Prince Rupert." + +A cheer of joy burst from the men, caught up and re-echoed by the crews +of the other ships. Harry led the officer into his cabin, and rapidly +explained to him the circumstances which had taken place; ten minutes +later, entering a boat, he rowed off to the flagship. + +"Why! Harry Furness!" exclaimed Prince Rupert, "whither do you spring +from? I heard of you last as being sent to slave in the Bermudas, and +methought, old friend, that you would stand the heat better than most, +since you had served such a sharp apprenticeship with me in that oven +you wot of. And now tell me how is it that you have got free, and that I +find you sailing here with four ships?" + +Harry related his adventure. When he had finished Prince Rupert said: + +"I envy you, Furness, in that you have three faithful friends. One is as +much as most men could even hope for, whereas you have three, who each +seem willing to go through fire and water for you. They do remind me of +the wonderful servants of whom my old nurse used to tell me as a child. +They were given by a fairy to some fortunate prince, and whenever he got +into sore straits were ready to do the most impossible things to free +him from them. Now you must take up your quarters here until we reach +Holland, whither I am on the point of sailing. We have picked up several +fat prizes, which I have sent to Italy to sell, to pay the wages of my +men, for his gracious majesty's exchequer is of the emptiest. But I hear +that Blake is about to put to sea with the ships of the Parliament, and +I care not to risk my fleet, for they will be needed to escort his +majesty to Scotland ere long." + +"Are the Scots then again inclined to his majesty's cause? Were I King +Charles, I would not trust myself to them," Harry said. "They sold his +father, and would sell him--at least Argyll and the knaves with him +would do so." + +"I like not these cold, calculating men of the north, myself," Prince +Rupert said, "and trust them as little. Nor would my cousin venture +himself again among them, if he took my advice. His majesty, however, is +no more given to the taking of advice than was his father before him, +unless it be of Buckingham and Wilmot, and other dissolute young lords, +whose counsel and company are alike evil for him." + +The same afternoon the fleet sailed for Holland, the four merchantmen +accompanying it. Upon their arrival there Harry sold the three ships +which he had taken, together with such cargo as was found in their +holds. He sold also the cargo of the Lass of Devon, leaving the ship +itself, as he had promised, to the captain, its owner, and making him +and the sailors a handsome present for the way they stood by him and +worked the ship during the action. The rest of the proceeds he divided +between the officers and men who had sailed with him, and finding that +these were ready still to share his fortunes, he formed them into a +regiment for the service of the king, enlisting another hundred +Royalists, whom he found there well-nigh starving, in his ranks. + +It was at the end of April, 1650, that Harry reached Hamburg, and a +month later came the news of the defeat and death of the Earl of +Montrose. He had two months before sailed from Hamburg to the Orkneys, +where he had landed with a thousand men. Crossing to the mainland he had +marched down into Sunderland. There he had met a body of cavalry under +Colonel Strachan, in a pass in the parish of Kincardine, now called +Craigchonichan, or the Rock of Lamentation. The recruits he had raised +in Orkney and the north fled at once. The Scotch and Germans he had +brought with him fought bravely, but without effect, and were utterly +defeated, scattering in all directions. Montrose wandered for many days +in disguise, but was at last captured, and was brought to Edinburgh with +every indignity. He was condemned to death by the Covenanters, and +executed. So nobly did he bear himself at his death that the very +indignities with which Argyll and his minions loaded him, in order to +make him an object of derision to the people, failed in their object, +and even those who hated him most were yet struck with pity and +admiration at his noble aspect and bearing. Argyll stood at a balcony to +see him pass, and Montrose foretold a similar fate for this double-dyed +traitor, a prediction which was afterward fulfilled. Harry deeply +regretted the loss of this gallant and chivalrous gentleman. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +WITH THE SCOTCH ARMY. + + +While trying and executing Montrose for loyalty to the king, the Scots +were themselves negotiating with Charles, commissioners having come over +to Breda, where he was living, for the purpose. They insisted upon his +swearing to be faithful to the Covenant, to his submitting himself to +the advice of the Parliament and Church, and to his promising never to +permit the exercise of the Catholic religion in any part of his +dominions. Charles agreed to everything demanded of him, having all the +time no intention whatever of keeping his promises. While he was +swearing to observe everything the Scots asked of him, he was writing to +Ormonde to tell him that he was to mind nothing he heard as to his +agreement with the Scots, for that he would do all the Irish required. +Charles, indeed, although but a young man of twenty, was as full of +duplicity and faithlessness as his father, without possessing any of the +virtues of that unfortunate king, and the older and wiser men among his +followers were alienated by his dissolute conduct, and by the manner in +which he gave himself up to the reckless counsels of men like Buckingham +and Wilmot. + +Harry heard with deep regret the many stories current of the evil life +and ways of the young king. Had it not been for the deadly hatred which +he felt to Cromwell and the Puritans for the murder of Sir Arthur +Ashton, and the rest of the garrison and people of Drogheda, in cold +blood, he would have retired altogether from the strife, and would have +entered one of the continental armies, in which many Royalist refugees +had already taken service. He determined, however, that he would join in +this one expedition, and that if it failed he would take no further part +in civil wars in England, but wait for the time, however distant, when, +as he doubted not, the people of England would tire of the hard rule of +the men of the army and conventicle, and would, with open arms, welcome +the return of their sovereign. + +Early in June the king sailed for Scotland, accompanied by the regiment +which Harry had raised, and a few hundred other troops. He landed there +on the 16th. The English Parliament at once appointed Cromwell +captain-general and commander-in-chief of all the forces raised and to +be raised within the commonwealth of England. A few days later he left +London, and on the 23d of June entered Scotland with sixteen thousand +men. King Charles, to whom Harry had been presented by Prince Rupert as +one of his father's most gallant and faithful soldiers, received him at +first with great cordiality. As soon as he found, however, that this +young colonel was in no way inclined to join in his dissipations, that +his face was stern and set when light talk or sneers against religion +were uttered by the king's companions, Charles grew cold to him, and +Harry was glad to be relieved from all personal attendance upon him, and +to devote himself solely to his military duties. Upon landing in +Scotland, Harry, with his regiment, was encamped in the valley between +Edinburgh Castle and the high hill called Arthur's Seat. A few days +after his arrival he, with Jacob, who was now raised to the rank of +major, and William Long, who was one of his lieutenants, entered the +palace of Holyrood, where the king's court was held. Here were gathered +a motley assembly. A few English Cavaliers, many loyal Scotch nobles and +gentlemen, and a large number of somber men of the Covenant. Next to +Charles stood a tall man, whom Harry instantly recognized. Argyll, for +it was he, stared fixedly at the young colonel, who returned his look +with one as cold and haughty. + +"This is Colonel Furness, my lord earl," the young king said. "One of my +father's bravest and most devoted followers." + +"I seem to have met the gentleman before," the earl said. + +"You have," Harry replied coldly. "At that time the Earl of Argyll +threatened to torture me into betraying the secrets of his majesty, and +would, I doubt not, have carried his threat into effect had I not +escaped from his hands. The times have changed, and the Earl of Argyll +now stands beside his king, but I, sir, have not forgotten the past so +easily." So saying, with a deep bow to the king, Harry passed on. + +"Harry," whispered Donald Leslie, a young Scotch officer who had joined +the ranks of his regiment as captain at Hamburg, "hitherto I have +thought you the wisest and most discreet of men. I cannot say as much +now. It would have been safer to walk into a den of lions than to insult +the old red fox. He was never known to forgive, and those who offend him +have a short life. Beware, colonel, for henceforth you carry your life +in your hand." + +"My sword is as sharp as his," Harry laughed, as they issued into the +open air. + +"I doubt it not," Leslie said, "but it is with daggers rather than +swords that Argyll fights, and with secret plottings more than either. +Edinburgh swarms with Campbells, any one of whom would think no more of +running you through at his lord's command than he would of killing a +rat. Mark my words, before a week is out you will be engaged in some +broil or other." + +Jacob and William Long heard with great disquietude the remarks of the +young Scotch officer, which they knew sufficient of Argyll to be aware +were perfectly true. They resolved that they would maintain a careful +watch over their friend, and that night they charged Mike, who was now a +tall, active young fellow of seventeen, to keep the strictest watch as +he followed his master in the streets, and to have pistol and sword +always in readiness. + +Two days later Harry had the first evidence of the truth of Leslie's +prediction. He was walking up the High Street, accompanied by Jacob, +while Leslie and two or three of his officers followed a short distance +behind, when three or four Scotch nobles were seen approaching. One of +these, Colonel Campbell, of Arrain, a tall and powerful figure, in +passing jostled roughly against Harry. + +"S'death, sir!" he exclaimed. "Do you think that you are in England, +that you can take up the whole of the road?" + +"I'm as much entitled to the road as yourself," Harry said hotly; "you +purposely jostled me." + +"Well, sir, and what if I did?" Colonel Campbell replied. "If you don't +like it you have your remedy," and he touched his sword significantly. + +"I will meet you, sir," Harry said, "in an hour's time at the foot of +the Castlehill." + +The colonel nodded, and accompanied by his kinsmen strode on. + +"Jacob, you and Leslie will act with me?" Harry asked. + +"Willingly enough," Leslie replied. "But it is a bad business. Campbell +has the name of being one of the best swordsmen in the Scottish army. +Of course he has been set on to attack you." + +"I have been fighting," Harry said, "for the last ten years, and was not +a bad swordsman when I began. Unless I mistake, I am as powerful a man +as Colonel Campbell, and I fear not him or any man." + +At the time appointed Harry, accompanied by his seconds, was upon the +ground, where five minutes later they were joined by Colonel Campbell, +with two of his kinsmen. While the principals divested themselves of +their cloaks and doublets, the seconds compared their swords. They were +of entirely different fashion, Harry's being long and straight with +sharp edges, while Colonel Campbell's was a basket-hilted sword, also +straight and double edged, and even larger and much heavier than +Harry's; each had brought one of similar make and size to his own. Some +conversation took place as to the weapons which should be used. + +"I cannot fight with a plaything like that," Colonel Campbell said +roughly. + +"And I object equally," Harry puts in calmly, "to wield a heavier weapon +than that to which I am accustomed. But I am quite content to fight with +my own against that of Colonel Campbell." + +The seconds at first on both sides objected to this, arguing that the +weight and length of Campbell's weapon would give him an unfair +advantage. Harry, however, was firm. + +"A man fights better," he said, "with the sword to which he is used. +Mine is of tried temper, and I have no fear of its breaking." Harry had +good reason for faith in his weapon. It was a long, straight blade of +Toledo steel, which he had purchased for a considerable sum from a +Spanish Jew in Hamburg. Colonel Campbell put an end to the argument by +roughly saying that he wanted no more talk, and that if Colonel Furness +meant fighting he had better take up his ground. This had already been +marked out, and Harry immediately stood on the defensive. + +In a moment the swords met. Colonel Campbell at once attacked furiously, +trying to beat down Harry's guard by sheer strength and the weight of +his weapon. The Englishman, however, was to the full as powerful a man, +and his muscles from long usage were like cords of steel. His blade met +the sweeping blows of the Scotchman firmly and steadily, while his point +over and over again menaced the breast of his adversary, who several +times only saved himself by springing back beyond it. Harry's seconds +saw from the first that the issue was not doubtful. In a contest between +the edge and the point, the latter always wins if strength and skill be +equal, and in this case, while in point of strength the combatants were +fairly matched, Harry was more skilled in the use of his weapon, whose +lightness, combined with its strength, added to his advantage. The fight +lasted but five minutes. Twice Harry's sword drew blood, and at the +third thrust he ran his adversary through under the shoulder. The latter +dropped his sword, with a curse. + +"I have spared your life, Colonel Campbell," Harry said. "It was at my +mercy a dozen times, but I wished not to kill you. You forced this +quarrel upon me at the bidding of another, and against you I had no +animosity. Farewell, sir. I trust that ere the day of battle you will be +able to use your sword again in the service of the king." + +So saying, Harry resumed his doublet and cloak, and, accompanied by his +seconds, returned to his camp, leaving Campbell, furious with pain and +disappointment, to be conveyed home by his friends. + +"So far, so good, Harry," Captain Leslie said. "The attempt will, you +will find, be a more serious one. Argyll will not try fair means again. +But beware how you go out at night." + +The duel made a good deal of talk, and Argyll attempted to induce the +king to take the matter up, and to punish Harry for his share in it. But +the young king, although obliged to listen every day to the long sermons +and admonitions of the Covenanters, was heartily sick of them already +and answered Argyll lightly that, so far as he had heard of the +circumstances, Colonel Campbell was wholly to blame. "And, indeed," +added the king, "from what I have heard, the conduct of your kinsman was +so wantonly insulting that men say he must have been provoked thereto by +others, as the two officers appear to have been strangers until the +moment when their quarrel arose." + +The earl grew paler than usual, and pressed his thin lips tightly +together. + +"I know of no reason," he said, "why Colonel Campbell should have +engaged wantonly in a quarrel with this English officer." + +"No!" Charles said innocently. "And if you do not, my lord, I know of no +one that does. Colonel Furness is an officer who is somewhat staid and +severe for his years, and who, in sooth, stands somewhat aloof from me, +and cares not for the merry jests of Buckingham; but he is a gallant +soldier. He has risked his life over and over again in the cause of my +sainted father, and tried his utmost to save him, both at Carisbrook and +Whitehall. Any one who plots against him is no friend of mine." The +young king spoke with a dignity and sternness which were not common to +him, and Argyll, biting his lips, felt a deadlier enmity than ever +toward the man who had brought this reproof upon his shoulders. + +The following day Harry received orders from General Leslie, who +commanded the royal forces, to march down toward the border, accompanied +by two regiments of horse. He was to devastate the country and to fall +back gradually before Cromwell's advance, the cavalry harassing him +closely, but avoiding any serious conflict with the Roundhead horse. The +whole party were under the command of Colonel Macleod. + +"I am heartily glad to be on the move, Jacob," Harry said, on the +evening before starting. "It is not pleasant to know that one is in +constant danger of being attacked whenever one goes abroad. Once away +from Edinburgh one may hope to be beyond the power of Argyll." + +"I would not be too sure of that," Donald Leslie said. "A hound on the +track of a deer is not more sure or untiring than is Argyll when he +hunts down a foe. Be warned by me, and never relax a precaution so long +as you are on Scottish ground. There are men who whisper that even now, +when he stands by the side of the king, Argyll is in communication with +Cromwell. Trust me, if he can do you an ill turn, he will." + +Upon the following morning the detachment marched, with flags flying and +drums beating, and the king himself rode down to see them depart. Argyll +was with him, and the king, as if in bravado of the formidable earl, +waved his hand to Harry, and said: "Good-by, my grave colonel. Take care +of yourself, and do not spare my enemies as you spared my friend." + +Harry doffed his plumed hat, and rode on at the head of his regiment. +The force marched rapidly, for it was known that Cromwell was within a +few days of Berwick. So fast did they travel that in three days they +were near the border. Then they began the work which they had been +ordered to carry out. Every head of cattle was driven up the country, +and the inhabitants were ordered to load as much of their stores of +grain in wagons as these would hold, and to destroy the rest. The force +under Colonel Macleod saw that these orders were carried out, and when, +on the 14th of July, Cromwell crossed the Tweed, he found the whole +country bare of all provision for his troops. In vain his cavalry made +forays to a distance from the coast. Harry's foot opposed them at every +defensible point, while the cavalry hung upon their skirts. In vain the +Roundheads tried to charge by them. The Scotch cavalry, in obedience to +orders, avoided a contest, and day after day Cromwell's troopers had to +return empty handed, losing many of their men by the fire of Harry's +infantry. Thus the army of Cromwell was obliged to advance slowly upon +the line of coast, drawing their supplies wholly from the fleet which +accompanied it. + +One evening Colonel Macleod rode up to the cottage where Harry was +quartered for the night. + +"I am going to beat up Oliver's camp to-night," he said. "Do you cover +the retreat with your men at the ford of the river. If I can get for +five minutes in his camp I will read the Roundheads a lesson, and maybe +spike some of his cannon. If I could catch Cromwell himself it would be +as good as a great victory." + +After nightfall the force approached the enemy's camp; at the ford the +infantry halted, the cavalry crossing and continuing their way to the +camp, about a mile distant. An hour passed without any sound being +heard. At length a sound of distant shouts, mingled with the reports of +firearms, fell upon the ear. + +"Macleod is among them now," Donald Leslie exclaimed. "I would I wore +with him." + +"You will have your turn presently," Harry replied. "A thousand horse +may do a good deal of damage in a sudden attack, but they must fall back +as soon as the Roundheads rally." + +For five or six minutes the distant tumult continued. Then it ceased +almost as suddenly as it had begun. A minute or two later there was a +deep, muffled sound. + +"Here come the horse," Jacob said. + +The infantry had already been placed along the bank of the river on each +side of the ford, leaving the way clear in the center for the passage of +the cavalry. It was not long before they arrived on the opposite bank, +and dashed at full speed across the river. Colonel Macleod rode at their +rear. + +"The Ironsides are just behind," he said to Harry. "Let your men shoot +sharp and straight as they try to cross. We will charge them as they +reach the bank." + +A minute later, and the close files of the Roundhead cavalry could be +seen approaching, the moonlight glinting on steel cap, breastpiece, and +sword. + +"Steady, lads!" Harry shouted. "Do not fire a shot till they enter the +river. Then keep up a steady fire on the head of the column." + +The Roundheads halted when they reached the river, and formed rapidly +into a column, twelve abreast, for the ford was no wider. As they +entered the stream a heavy musketry fire opened suddenly upon them. Men +and horses went down, floating away in the river. In spite of their +losses the cavalry pressed on, and though numbers fell, gained the +opposite bank. Then arose the Royalist cry "King and Covenant!" and the +Scottish horse swept down. The head of the column was shattered by the +charge, but the Ironsides still pressed on, and breaking the center of +the Scottish horse, poured across the river. + +Harry had already given his orders to Jacob, who commanded the left wing +of the infantry, and the regiment, drawing up on both flanks of the +column of Ironsides, poured so heavy a fire upon them, while the cavalry +of Macleod again charged them in front, that the column was broken, and +still fighting sturdily, fell back again across the river. The moment +they did so a heavy fire of musketry opened from the further bank. + +"Their infantry are up, Colonel Furness," Macleod said. "Draw off your +men in good order. I will cover the retreat. We have done enough for +to-night." + +Getting his regiment together, Harry ordered them to retire at the +double, keeping their formation as they went. The Roundhead cavalry +again crossed the river, and several times charged the Scotch horse. +Twice they succeeded in breaking through, but Harry, facing his men +round, received them pike in hand, the musketeers in rear keeping up so +hot a fire over the shoulders of the pikemen that the Ironsides drew +rein before reaching them, and presently fell back, leaving the party to +retire without further pursuit. + +"I as nearly as possible caught Cromwell," Colonel Macleod said, riding +up to Harry. "We got confused among the tents and ropes, or should have +had him. We entered his tent, but the bird had flown. We cut down some +scores of his infantry, and spiked four guns, I have not lost twenty +men, and his cavalry must have lost at least a hundred from your fire, +besides the damage I did at their camp." + +Obtaining a stock of supplies sufficient for some days from the ships at +Dunbar, Cromwell advanced to Musselburgh, within striking distance of +Edinburgh. Leslie had strongly posted his army in intrenched lines +extending from Edinburgh to Leith, a distance of two miles. Colonel +Macleod with his detachment rejoined the army on the same day that +Cromwell reached Musselburgh. Upon the day after the arrival of the +English there was a sharp cavalry fight, and Cromwell would fain have +tempted the Scotch army to engage beyond their lines. But Leslie was +not to be drawn. He knew that if he could maintain himself in his +intrenchments the English must fall back, as they had the sea behind +them and on their right, Edinburgh in front of them, and a devastated +country on their left. At the urgent request of Cromwell the Parliament +strained every nerve to send up provisions by ships, and so enabled him +to remain before Edinburgh for a month. + +A few days after his arrival Harry received orders to take a hundred and +fifty men of his regiment, and to post himself at Kirkglen, which +blocked a road by which it was thought Cromwell might send foraging +parties westward. Harry asked that a detachment of cavalry might +accompany him, but the request was refused. Kirkglen stood fifteen miles +south of Edinburgh, and somewhat to its west. Harry left Jacob to +command the main body of the regiment, and took with him the companies +of Donald Leslie and Hugh Grahame, in the latter of which William Long +was lieutenant. They sallied out from the western side of the camp at +daybreak. + +"I like not this expedition, Colonel Furness," Donald Leslie said. "The +refusal to send cavalry with us is strange. Methinks I see the finger of +that crafty fox Argyll in the pie. His faithfulness to the cause is more +and more doubted, though none dare wag a tongue against him, and if it +be true that he is in communication with Cromwell, we shall have the +Roundheads, horse and foot, down upon us." + +"There is a castle there, is there not," Harry asked, "which we might +occupy?" + +"Assuredly there is," Leslie replied. "It is the hold of Alan Campbell, +a cousin of the man you pinked. It is that which adds to my suspicion. +You will see, unless I am greatly mistaken, that he will not admit us." + +Such, indeed, proved to be the case. Upon their arrival at Kirkglen, +Leslie went in Harry's name to demand admittance to the castle for the +royal troops, but Campbell replied that he had received no orders to +that effect, and that it would greatly incommode him to quarter so large +a number of men there. He said, however, that he would willingly +entertain Colonel Furness and his officers. Leslie brought back the +message, strongly urging Harry on no account to enter the castle and put +himself in the hands of the Campbells. Harry said that even had he no +cause to doubt the welcome he might receive at the castle, he should in +no case separate himself from his men, when he might be at any moment +attacked. + +"It is a rough piece of country between this and Cromwell's post," +Leslie said, "and he would have difficulty in finding his way hither. +There is more than one broad morass to be crossed, and without a guide +he would scarce attempt it. It is for this reason that he is so unlikely +to send out foraging parties in this direction. It was this reflection +which caused me to wonder why we should be ordered hither." + +"Mike," Harry said, "you have heard what Captain Leslie says. Do you +keep watch to-night near the castle gate, and let me know whether any +leave it; and in which direction they go. I will place a man behind to +watch the postern. If treachery is meditated, Campbell will send news of +our coming to Cromwell." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +THE PATH ACROSS THE MORASS. + + +Mike, when night fell, moved away toward the castle, which lay about a +quarter of a mile from the village. Approaching to within fifty yards of +the gate, he sat down to watch. About eleven o'clock he heard the creak +of the gate, and presently was startled by seeing two horsemen ride past +him. "They must have muffled their horses' feet," he said to himself. +"They are up to no good. I wish there had only been one of them." Mike +slipped off his shoes and started in pursuit, keeping just far enough +behind the horsemen to enable him to observe the outline of their +figures. For half a mile they proceeded quietly. Then they stopped, +dismounted, removed the cloths from their horses' feet, and remounting +rode forward at a gallop. Mike's old exercise as a runner now rendered +him good service. He could already tell, by the direction which the +horsemen were taking, that they were bearing to the east of Edinburgh, +but he resolved to follow as far as possible in order to see exactly +whither they went. The road, or rather track, lay across a moorland +country. The ground was often deep and quaggy, and the horsemen several +times checked their speed, and went at a slow walk, one advancing on +foot along the track to guide the way. These halts allowed breathing +time for Mike, who found it hard work to keep near them when going at +full speed. At last, after riding for an hour, the horsemen halted at a +solitary house on the moorland, Here several horses, held by troopers, +were standing. Mike crept round to the back of the house, and looked in +at the window. He saw two English officers sitting by a fire, while a +light burned on a table. Mike at once recognized in one of them the +dreaded General Cromwell, whom he had seen at Drogheda. + +"What a fool I was," he muttered to himself, "to have come without my +pistol. I would have shot him as he sits, and so wiped out Drogheda." + +At the moment the door opened, and a trooper in Scotch uniform entered. +"I have brought this letter," he said, "from Alan Campbell." + +The general took the letter and opened it. "Campbell promises," he said +to the other officer, "to open fire upon the detachment in the village +with the guns of the castle as soon as we attack. One of the men who has +brought this will remain here and guide our troops across the morass. He +suggests that two hundred foot and as many horse should be here at eight +to-morrow evening. All he stipulates for is that Colonel Furness, the +Royalist who commands the enemy's detachment, shall be given over to +him, he having, it seems, some enmity with Argyll. Furness? ah, that is +the officer whom I sent to the Bermudas from Drogheda. We had advices of +his having got away and captured a ship with other prisoners on board. A +bold fellow, and a good officer, but all the more dangerous. Let +Campbell do with him as he likes." + +The other officer drew out an inkhorn and wrote, at Cromwell's +dictation, his adherence to the terms offered by Alan Campbell. Cromwell +signed the paper, and handed it to the messenger. Then the English +general and his escort mounted and rode off. Campbell's retainers sat +for half an hour drinking together. Then they came to the door. One +mounted, and saying to the other, "I would rather have twenty-four +hours' sleep such as you have before you, than have to ride back to +Kirkglen to-night; the mist is setting in thickly," rode off into the +darkness. + +Mike kept close to him, until at last the man dismounted to follow the +track where the morass was most dangerous. In an instant Mike sprang +upon him and buried his dagger in his body. Without a cry the trooper +fell. Mike felt in his doublet for Cromwell's letter. Placing this in +his breast, he went a few paces from the path where he found that he +sunk to his knees, the water being some inches deep over the bog. Then +he returned, lifted the body of the trooper, carried it as far into the +bog as he dared venture, and then dropped it. He placed his foot on the +iron breastpiece, and pressed until the body sank in the soft ooze, and +the water completely covered it. Then he went back to the horse, and +taking the reins, followed the track until completely clear of the +moorland country, where, mounting, he rode back to Kirkglen, and +presented himself to Harry. The latter had, hours before, gone to bed, +having posted strong guards around the village. He struck a light and +listened to Mike's relation of what he had done, and ended by the +production of the document with Cromwell's signature. + +"Another debt to the Earl of Argyll," Harry said grimly. "However, +although this proves the treachery of his kinsman, it does not convict +Argyll himself, although the evidence is strong enough to hang any other +man. Now, Leslie, what do you advise? Shall we send and seize the man +left at the hut?" + +"It is a doubtful question," Leslie answered, after a pause. "When +Campbell finds that his messenger does not return before morning, he +will like enough send others off to learn the reason why. If they find +him gone, Campbell may suspect that his plan has failed and may send +warning to Cromwell." + +"At any rate," Harry continued, "we need not decide before morning. But +at daybreak, Leslie, plant a party of men on the road and stop any +horseman riding out. Let the sergeant in charge say only that he has my +orders that none are to pass eastward. It would be a natural precaution +to take, and when the news comes back to the castle, Campbell will not +necessarily know that his scheme has been detected." + +The next morning Leslie volunteered to go out with a couple of men and +capture the guide, and arraying himself in his clothes, to take his +place, and lead the Roundhead troops astray. + +"Were the country other than it is," Harry said, "I would accept your +offer, my brave Leslie, even though it might entail your death, for it +would be difficult for you to slip away. But over such ground there is +no need of this. Let the guide lead the Roundhead troops along the path. +We will reconnoiter the morass to-day, and when night falls will so post +our men as to open a fire on either flank of him as he comes across the +track. Not more than four footmen can march abreast, according to what +Mike says, and we shall surprise him, instead of he surprising us." + +An hour later two horsemen rode out from the castle, but upon reaching +the guard Leslie had placed were turned back. They returned to the +castle, and a short time afterward a trooper rode down into the village +with a note from Alan Campbell, demanding haughtily by what warrant +Colonel Furness ventured to interfere with the free passage of his +retainers. Harry replied that he had, as a military precaution, +stationed guards on the various roads leading toward the enemy's +quarter, and that they were ordered to turn back all, whomsoever they +might be, who might seek to pass. + +Alan Campbell returned a furious answer, that he should sally out with +his garrison, and ride where he listed. Harry replied by marching fifty +men up to the road leading to the castle, and by sending a message to +Alan Campbell that, although he should regret to be obliged to treat him +as an enemy, yet that assuredly if he strove by force to break the +military rules he had laid down, he should be compelled to fire upon +him. Leaving the detachment under charge of Lieutenant Long, and the +main body in the village under that of Hugh Grahame, Harry, accompanied +by Donald Leslie and Mike, rode off to reconnoiter the morass. They +found that it was particularly bad at two points, while between these +the ground was firm for a distance of twenty yards on each side of the +track. Beyond the swamp was very deep for thirty or forty yards on both +sides, and then it was again somewhat firmer. + +Harry decided to post twenty-five men behind these quagmires. Their +orders would be to remain perfectly quiet until the column, passing the +first morass, should have entered the second; then, when Harry, with the +main body, opened fire upon them there, they were to commence upon the +flanks of the column. + +Returning to the camp, Harry sent forty men with shovels, obtained in +the village, to dig a trench, twelve feet wide, and as deep as they +could get for the water, across the track, at the near side of the +morass. + +At nightfall, leaving twenty-five men under William Long in front of the +castle, with orders to let none issue forth, and to shoot down any who +might make the attempt, Harry marched out with the rest of his command. +Crossing the ditch which had been dug, he led fifty forward, and posted +them, as he had planned with Leslie; with twenty-five, he took up his +own station behind the breastwork formed by the earth thrown out from +the trench. The remaining fifty he bade advance as far as they safely +could into the swamp on either side. Two hours later a dull sound was +heard, the occasional clink of arms, and the muffled tread of many feet +on the soft ground. The Roundhead infantry, two hundred strong, led the +way, followed by their horse, the guide walking with the officer at the +head of the column. When it approached within twenty yards of the ditch +Harry gave the word, and a flash of fire streamed from the top of the +earthwork. At the same moment those on either side opened fire into the +flanks of the column, while the fifty men beyond poured their fire into +the cavalry in the rear of the column. + +For a moment all was confusion. The Roundheads had anticipated no +attack, and were taken wholly by surprise. The guide had fallen at the +first discharge and all were ignorant of the ground on which they found +themselves. They were, however, trained to conflict. Those on the flank +of the column endeavored to penetrate the morass, but they immediately +sank to the middle, and had much ado to regain the solid track. The head +of the column, pouring a volley into their invisible foes, leveled their +pikes, and rushed to the assault. A few steps, and they fell into a deep +hole, breast high with water, and on whose slippery bottom their feet +could scarce find standing. In vain they struggled forward. From front +and flank the fire of their enemy smote them. Those who reached the +opposite side of the trench were run through with pikes as they strove +to climb from it. + +For ten minutes the desperate struggle continued, and then, finding the +impossibility of storming such a position in the face of foes of whose +strength they were ignorant, the Roundhead infantry turned, and in good +order marched back, leaving half their number dead behind them. The +cavalry in the rear had fared but little better. Finding the ground on +either side was firm when the fire opened on their flanks, they faced +both ways, and charged. But ere the horses had gone twenty strides they +were struggling to their girths in the morass. Their foes kept up a +steady fire, at forty yards' distance, into the struggling mass, and +before they could extricate themselves and regain the pathway, many +leaving their horses behind, a third of their number had fallen. Joined +by the beaten infantry, they retired across the track, and made their +way back toward their camp. + +Leaving a strong guard at the morass to resist further attempts, Harry +returned with his force to the village having inflicted a loss of a +hundred and fifty upon enemy, while he himself had lost but eight men. +He intrenched the position strongly, and remained there unmolested, +until a week later he received orders to march back to Edinburgh. The +following day he was summoned before King Charles. He found there +General Leslie, the Earl of Argyll, Alan Campbell, and several of the +leaders of the Covenant. + +"What is this I hear of you, Colonel Furness?" the king said. "General +Leslie has reported to me that you have inflicted a very heavy defeat +upon a rebel force which marched to surprise you. This is good service, +and for it I render you my hearty thanks. But, sir, the Earl of Argyll +complains to me that you have beleaguered his kinsman, Alan Campbell, in +his hold at Kirkglen, and treated him as a prisoner, suffering none to +go out or in during your stay there." + +"This, sire, is the warranty for my conduct," Harry said, producing the +document signed by Cromwell. "This was taken by one of my men from a +trooper who had borne a dispatch from Alan Campbell to the enemy. My +man watched the interview between him and Cromwell himself, heard the +terms of the dispatch, and saw Cromwell write and give this letter to +the trooper, whom he afterward slew, and brought me the letter. The +other trooper, who acted as guide to the enemy, fell in the attack." + +The king took the letter and read it. "My lord," he said, "this is a +matter which gravely touches your honor. This is a letter of General +Cromwell's in answer to a traitorous communication of your kinsman here. +He has offered to betray Colonel Furness and the troops under him to +Cromwell, and has sent a guide for the English troops. He stipulates +only that Colonel Furness shall be handed over to him to do as he likes +with. As it was manifest to me here some time since that you and Colonel +Furness are not friends, this touches you nearly." + +"I know nothing of it," the earl said. "My kinsman will tell you." + +"I do not need his assurances," King Charles said coldly. "He, at least, +is proved to be a traitor, and methinks, my lord earl, that the +preachers who are so fond of holding forth to me upon the wickedness of +my ways might with advantage bestow some of their spare time +in conversing with you upon the beauty and godliness of +straightforwardness. General Leslie, you will arrest at once, on his +leaving our presence, Colonel Alan Campbell, and will cause a court of +inquiry to sift this matter to the bottom. And hark you, my lord of +Argyll, see you that no more of your kinsmen practice upon the life of +my faithful Colonel Furness. This is the third time that he has been in +jeopardy at your hands. I am easy, my lord earl, too easy, mayhap, but +let no man presume too far upon it. My power is but limited here, but +remember the old saying, 'Wise men do not pull the tails of lions' +whelps.' The day may come when Charles II. will be a king in power as +well as in name. Beware that you presume not too far upon his endurance +now." So saying, the king turned from Argyll, and bidding Harry follow +him, and tell him the story of the defeat of the English troops, left +the earl standing alone, the picture of rage and mortification. + +"You had best beware, Master Furness," the king said. "He needs a long +spoon they say, who sups with the deil. The Earl of Argyll is the real +king of Scotland at present, and it is ill quarreling with him. You have +got the best of it in the first three rubbers, but be sure that Argyll +will play on till the cards favor him. And if you are once in his power, +I would not give a baubee for your life. The proud earl treats me as a +master would teach a froward pupil, but I tell you, Master Furness, and +I know you are discreet and can be trusted, that as surely as the earl +brought Montrose to the block, so surely shall Argyll's head roll on the +scaffold, if Charles II. is ever King of England. But I fear for you, +Master Furness. I can help you here not at all, and the lecture which, +on your behalf, I administered to the earl--and in faith I wonder now at +my own courage--will not increase his love for you. You will never be +safe as long as you remain in Scotland. What do you say? Will you south +and join one or other of the Royalist bodies who are in arms there?" + +"Not so, your majesty. With your permission, I will play the game out to +the end, although I know that my adversary holds the strongest cards. +But even did I wish to leave, it would be as hazardous to do so as to +stay here. So long as I am with my regiment I am in safety. I could not +gain England by sea, for the Parliament ships bar the way, and did I +leave my regiment and go south with only a small party, my chance of +crossing the border alive would be but small. No, your majesty, I have +the honor to command a king's regiment, and whether against Cromwell in +the field, or against Argyll's plots and daggers, I shall do my duty to +the end." + +When, upon his return to the camp, Harry told his friends the purport of +the interview between himself and Argyll, of Alan Campbell being put +under arrest and the earl openly reproved by the king, Donald Leslie +raised his hands in despair. + +"If you get through this, Furness," he said, "I shall for the rest of my +life be convinced that you have a charmed existence, and that your good +genius is more powerful than the evil one of Argyll. The gossips say +that he is in alliance with the evil one himself, and I can well believe +them. But I beg you, in all seriousness, to confine yourself to the +camp. So long as you are here you are safe. But once beyond its limits +your life will not be worth a straw." + +Jacob added his entreaties to those of Leslie, and Harry promised that +until the decisive battle was over he would keep among his men, unless +compelled by duty to appear at court. + +Four days afterward a soldier entered Harry's tent, and handed him a +missive. It was as follows: "Upon receipt of this, Colonel Furness will +proceed to Leith and will board the vessel, the Royalist, which has just +arrived from Holland. There he will inspect the newly arrived recruits, +who will be attached to his regiment. He will examine the store of arms +brought by her, and will report on their state and condition.--David +Leslie, commanding his majesty's armies." + +The duty was one of mere routine. Harry showed the note to Jacob, and +said, "You may as well come with me, Jacob. Your drilling is over for +the day, and you can aid me looking through the stores. Mike," he said, +"we shall be back to supper. We are only going down to the port." The +two officers buckled on their swords, and at once started on foot for +the port, which was but half a mile distant. Mike looked anxiously after +his master. Since the day when danger had first threatened him he had +scarce let him out of his sight, following close to his heels like a +faithful dog. His present business seemed assuredly to forbode no +danger. Nevertheless, the lad felt restless and anxious when he saw his +master depart. A few minutes later he went to William Long's tent. +"Master Long," he said, "will you see that my master's servant gets +supper in readiness at the usual hour. He has gone down to the port to +inspect some recruits just arrived from Holland, by order of General +Leslie, and said he would return by supper. I know that it is foolish, +but since the affair with Alan Campbell I am never easy when he is not +near. In this case, I do not see that there can possibly be any lurking +danger. Argyll could not know of his proceeding to the port, nor would +he venture to attack him there where the streets swarm with our +soldiers. Nevertheless, I would fain go down and assure myself that all +is well." + +William Long at once promised to look after the supper, and Mike hurried +away after Harry and his companion. These had, however, too far a start +to be overtaken, and when he reached the wharf he saw a boat rowed by +two men, and having two sitters in the stern. It was already some +distance from shore, and appeared to be proceeding toward a vessel which +lay at anchor several hundred yards further out from the shore than the +others. + +"Can you tell me," he asked a sailor, "whether that ship lying there is +the Royalist?" + +"That is the name she goes by to-day," the sailor said, "for as I rowed +past her this morning on my way from fishing, I saw the name newly +painted on her stern. They have put it on her boat too, which you now +see rowing toward her, and which has been lying by the pier all day, in +readiness to take out any one who might wish to go off to her." + +"But have they changed her name, then?" Mike asked. "What have they been +doing that for?" + +"She has been called the Covenant for the last two years," the sailor +said. "But I suppose Johnny Campbell, her master, thought the other more +suited to the times." + +The name of the captain at once aroused Mike's uneasiness to the +fullest. + +"Tell me," he said, "good fellow, did that ship arrive this morning from +Holland?" + +"From Holland!" repeated the sailor. "No. She came down the coast from +the north three days ago, with beasts for the army." + +Mike stood for a moment thunderstruck. Then, without a word to the +sailor, he turned and ran back at full speed through the town up to the +camp. At a headlong pace he made his way through the camp until he +stopped at the tent of General Leslie. He was about to rush in without +ceremony when the sentinel stopped his way. + +"Please let me pass," he panted. "I would see the general on a matter of +the utmost importance." + +The sentries laughed. + +"You don't suppose," one of them said, "that the general is to be +disturbed by every barefooted boy who wants to speak to him. If you have +aught to say, you must speak first to the lieutenant of the guard." + +"Every moment is of importance," Mike urged. "It is a matter of life and +death. I tell you I must see the general." Then at the top of his voice +he began to shout, "Sir David Leslie! Sir David Leslie!" + +"Silence there, young varmint, or I will wring thy neck for thee!" +exclaimed the soldier, greatly scandalized, seizing Mike and shaking him +violently. But the boy continued to shout out at the top of his voice, +"Sir David Leslie! Sir David Leslie!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +KIDNAPED. + + +Unable to silence Mike's shouts, the scandalized guards began dragging +him roughly from the spot, cuffing him as they went. But the door of the +tent opened, and General Leslie appeared. + +"What means all this unseemly uproar?" he asked. + +"This malapert boy, general, wished to force his way into your tent, and +when we stopped him, and told him that he must apply to the lieutenant +of the guard if he had aught of importance which he wished to +communicate to you, he began to shout like one possessed." + +"Loose him," the general said. "Now, varlet, what mean you by this +uproar?" + +"Forgive me, sir," Mike pleaded, "but I come on an errand which concerns +the life of my master, Colonel Furness." + +"Come within," the general said briefly, for by this time a crowd had +gathered round the tent. "Now," he went on, "what is it you would tell +me?" + +"I would ask you, sir, whether an hour since you sent an order to my +master that he should forthwith go on board the ship Royalist to inspect +recruits and stores of arms just arrived from Holland?" + +The general looked at him in astonishment. + +"I sent no such order," he said. "No ship has arrived from Holland of +that or any other name. What story is this that you have got hold of?" + +"My master received such an order, sir, for I heard him read it aloud, +and he started at once with his major to carry out the order. Knowing, +sir, how great, as you are doubtless aware, is the enmity which the Earl +of Argyll bears to my master, I followed him to the port, and there +learned that the ship called the Royalist had not come from Holland, but +is a coaster from the north. I found, moreover, that she was but +yesterday named the Royalist, and that she was before known as the +Covenant, and that she is commanded by a Campbell. Then it seemed to me +that some plot had been laid to kidnap my master, and I ran straight to +you to ask you whether you had really ordered him to go on board this +ship." + +"This must be seen to at once," the general said; for having been +present at the scene when Harry produced Cromwell's letter, he knew how +deadly was the hatred of the earl for the young colonel. "Without +there!" he cried. A soldier entered. "Send the lieutenant of the guard +here at once." The soldier disappeared, and the general sat down at his +table and hastily wrote an order. "Lieutenant," he said, when the +officer entered, "give this letter to Captain Farquharson, and tell him +to take his twenty men, and to go on the instant down to the port. There +he is to take boat and row out to the ship called the Royalist. He is to +arrest the captain and crew, and if he see not there Colonel Furness, +let him search the ship from top to bottom. If he find no signs of him, +let him bring the captain and six of his men ashore at once." + +As soon as he heard the order given Mike, saluting the general, hurried +from the tent, and ran at full speed to the camp of Harry's regiment. +There he related to Donald Leslie and William Long the suspicious +circumstances which had occurred, and the steps which the general had +ordered to be taken. + +"This is bad news, indeed," Captain Leslie exclaimed; "and I fear that +the colonel has fallen into the hands of Argyll's minions. If it be so +Farquharson is scarce likely to find the Royalist at anchor when he +arrives at the port. Come, Long, let us be stirring. I will hand over +the command of the regiment to Grahame till we return. While I am +speaking to him pick me out ten trusty men." + +He hurried off, and in five minutes was hastening toward the port, with +William Long, Mike, and ten men. Such was the speed they made that they +reached the quay just at the same time with Captain Farquharson and his +men. + +Mike gave a cry of despair. The Royalist had disappeared. He ran up to a +sailor who was still sitting on an upturned basket, smoking as he had +left him before. + +"Where is the Royalist?" he exclaimed. + +"Halloo! young fellow, are you back again? I thought you had gone off +with a bee in your bonnet, so suddenly and quickly did you run. The +Royalist? ay, she hoisted her sails two minutes after her boat reached +her. I was watching her closely, for I wondered whether she had aught to +do with your sudden flight. Methinks that something strange has happened +on board, for I saw what seemed to be a scuffle, and certainly the sun +shone on the gleam of swords. Then, too, instead of heaving her anchor, +she slipped the cable, and a Scotch captain must be in a hurry indeed +when he does that." + +"Where is she now?" Mike asked. + +"Over there, full four miles away, making across the Forth for the +northern point of land." + +"Is she a fast ship?" Captain Leslie, who had come up, inquired. + +"She has the name of being the fastest sailer in these parts." + +"There is nothing here would catch her?" Donald Leslie asked. "Would a +rowboat have a chance of overtaking her?" + +"Not this evening," the sailor said, looking at the sky. "The wind is +rising now, and it will blow a gale before morning." + +"Tell me, my man," Leslie asked, "and here is a gold piece for your +pains, where you think she is likely to put in?" + +"That will all depend," the sailor replied, "upon what errand she is +bound. I must know that before I can answer you." + +Leslie looked at William Long. The latter said: + +"It were best to tell this honest fellow the facts of the case. Look +you, my 'man, the two king's officers who have gone on board are ill +friends with the Campbells, and we doubt not that these have kidnaped +and carried them off." + +"The Campbells are an ill crew to deal with," the sailor said, "and I do +not love them myself. If it be as you say, they might be landed either +at Anstruther, near which is a hold belonging to Andrew Campbell of +Glencoulie, or at St. Andrews, or at Leuchars, a little bay north of +that town, whence they might take them to Kilbeg Castle, also held by a +Campbell. It is a lonely place ten miles inland, and their friends would +be little likely to look for them there. Besides, the Royalist might +land them and sail away without any being the wiser, while at the other +ports her coming would be surely noticed." + +"Think you that we can obtain horses on the other side?" + +"You might obtain four or five," the sailor said, "of Tony Galbraith, +who keeps the inn there, and who lets horses on hire to those traveling +north." + +"If a storm comes on," Leslie asked, "which way is it likely to blow, +and will the Royalist be like to make the bay you name? + +"Ah! that is more than I can tell," the sailor replied. "Methinks 'twill +blow from the west. In that case, she might be able to make her way +along the shore; she might run into port for shelter; she might be blown +out to sea." + +"At any rate," Leslie said, "our first step is to cross. Get us a stout +sailing boat. Be not sparing of promises." + +The man at once went off to a group of sailors, but these at first shook +their heads, and looked toward the sky. Its aspect was threatening. The +wind was getting up fast, and masses of scud flew rapidly across it. +Leslie went up to the group. + +"Come, lads," he said, "five pounds if you put us across." + +The offer was too tempting to be rejected, and the men hurried down and +began to prepare a large sailing boat. Leslie and Lieutenant Long had a +hasty consultation, and agreed that, seeing the difficulty there would +be in obtaining horses, it was useless to take more than ten men in all. +Accordingly, as soon as the boat was in readiness, the two officers, +Mike, and seven soldiers took their places in her. The sails were +closely reefed, and she at once put out into the Firth. Every minute the +wind rose, until, by the time they were half across, it was blowing a +gale. The boat was a stout one, but the waves broke freely over her, and +four of the soldiers were kept at work baling to throw out the water she +took over her bows. Once or twice they thought that she would capsize, +so furious were the gusts, but the boatmen were quick and skillful. The +sheets were let go and the sails lowered until the force of the squall +abated, and at last, after a passage which seemed rapid even to those +on board, anxious as they were, she entered the little port. + +Hurrying to the inn, they found that six horses were obtainable. These +they hired at once. The host said that he could send to some farms, not +far distant, and hire four more, but that an hour or so would elapse ere +they came. Leslie and William Long had already decided that the +prisoners would most probably be taken to Kilbeg Castle, as being more +secluded than the others. They now agreed that they themselves with Mike +and three soldiers should start at once, to intercept them if possible +between the sea and the castle. When the other horses arrived two of the +soldiers were to ride with all speed to Anstruther, and two to St. +Andrews, and were there to keep sharp watch to see if the Royalist +arrived there, and landed aught in the way either of men or goods. + +The point to which they were bound lay fully forty miles away. They +determined to ride as far as the horses would carry them, and then, if +able to obtain no more, to walk forward. Night was already setting in, +and a driving rain flew before the gale. + +"We shall never be able to keep the road," Leslie said, "Landlord, have +you one here who could serve as guide? He must be quick-footed and sure. +Our business is urgent, and we are ready to pay well." + +A guide was speedily found, a lad on a shaggy pony, who had the day +before come down from the north with cattle. While the horses were being +prepared the party had taken a hasty supper, and Leslie had seen that +each of the soldiers had a tankard of hot spiced wine. So quickly had +the arrangements been made that in half an hour after their arrival at +the port the party started from the inn. The ride was indeed a rough +one. The country was heavy and wild. The rain drenched them to the skin +in spite of their thick cloaks, and the wind blew at times with such +violence that the horses were fain to stop and stand huddled together +facing it to keep their feet. Hour after hour they rode, never getting +beyond a walk, so rough was the road; often obliged to pause altogether +from the force of the gale. Twice they stopped at inns at quiet +villages, knocked up the sleeping hosts, and obtained hot wine for +themselves and hot gruel for their horses. Their pace grew slower as the +animals became thoroughly knocked up, and at last could not be urged +beyond a walk. + +At the next village they stopped, and as they found that there was no +possibility of obtaining fresh horses, they determined to push forward +on foot. It was now four o'clock in the morning, and they had ridden +over forty miles. Another guide was obtained, and they set forward. +Although they had hurried to the utmost, it was ten o'clock in the +morning before they came down upon a valley with a narrow stream which +their guide told them fell into the sea, near Leuchars. They were, he +said, now within two miles of the castle, the track from which to the +sea ran down the valley. The wind was still blowing a gale, but the +clouds had broken, and at times the sun streamed out brightly. + +"Thank Heaven we are here at last," Donald Leslie said, "for a harder +night I have never spent. I think we must be in time." + +"I think so," William Long said. "Supposing the Royalist made the bay +safely, she would have been there by midnight, but the sea would have +been so high that I doubt if they would have launched a boat till +morning. It was light by five, but they might wait for the gale to abate +a little, and after landing they have eight miles to come. Of course, +they might have passed here an hour ago, but a incline to think that +they would not land till later, as with this wind blowing off shore, it +would be no easy matter to row a boat in its teeth." + +The guide saying that there was a cottage a mile further up the valley, +he was sent there with instructions to ask whether any one had been seen +to pass that morning. After being half an hour absent he returned, +saying that there was only an old woman at the hut, and that she had +told him she was sure no one had passed there since daybreak. They now +followed the stream down the valley until they came to a small wood. +Here they lay down to rest, one being placed upon the lookout. Two hours +later the sentry awoke them with the news that a party of men were +coming up the valley. All were at once upon the alert. + +"Thank Heaven," Leslie said, "we have struck the right place. There seem +to be ten or twelve of them, of whom two, no doubt, are the prisoners. +We shall have no difficulty in overcoming them by a sudden surprise. +Capture or kill every man if possible, or we shall have hot work in +getting back to Edinburgh." + +When the party came nearer it could be seen that it consisted of eight +armed men, in the center of whom the two Royalist officers were walking. +Their arms were bound to their sides. Leslie arranged that he with Mike +and one of the soldiers would at once spring to their aid, as likely +enough, directly the attack began, the captors might endeavor to slay +their prisoners, to prevent them from being rescued. Mike was instructed +to strike no blow, but to devote himself at once to cutting their cords, +and placing weapons in their hands. + +The surprise was complete. The sailors forming the majority of the +party, with two trusty retainers of the earl, who had special charge of +the affair, were proceeding carelessly along, having no thought of +interruption. So far their plans had succeeded perfectly. The moment +the two officers had reached the quay they were addressed by the men +sent on shore with the Royalist's boat. Unsuspicious of danger they took +their place in it, and therefore missed the opportunity, which they +would have had if they had entered any of the other boats, of learning +the true character of the Royalist. They had been attacked the instant +they gained the deck of the vessel. Harry, who was first, had been +knocked down before he had time to put his hand to his sword. Jacob had +fought valiantly for a short time, but he too had been knocked senseless +by a blow with a capstan bar. They had then been roughly tumbled below, +where no further attention had been paid to them. The Royalist had been +blown many miles out to sea, and did not make her anchorage until ten +o'clock in the morning. Then the hatches were removed, and the prisoners +brought on deck. + +The inlet was a small one, and contained, only a little fishing village; +the prisoners saw the Royalist sail off again, directly they had been +placed in the boat. They had from the first moment when they regained +consciousness entertained no doubts whatever into whose hands they had +fallen, and they felt their position to be desperate. The plan, indeed, +had been skillfully laid, and had it not been for Harry reading the +order aloud in Mike's presence, there would have been no clew to their +disappearance. During the night the young men were too overpowered with +the violence of the storm, and the closeness of the atmosphere in the +hold, in which they had been thrown, to converse. But as the motion +moderated in the morning they had talked over their chances, and +pronounced them to be small indeed. Harry, indeed, remembered that Mike +had been present when he asked Jacob to accompany him on board ship, but +he thought that no uneasiness would be felt until late that night, as +it might well be thought that their duties had detained them, and that +they had supped on board. The storm might further account for their +non-appearance till morning. Then they imagined that inquiry would be +made, and that it would be found that the Royalist had sailed. Their +captors would then have a start of twenty-four hours, and in such +troubled times it was scarce likely that anything would be done. Nor +indeed did they see how they could be followed, as the destination of +the ship would be entirely unknown. The very fact that they had not been +thrown overboard when fairly out at sea was in itself a proof that their +captors entertained no fear of pursuit; had they done so, they would +have dispatched them at once. The captives felt sure that it was +intended to land them, in order that Argyll himself might have the +pleasure of taunting them before putting them to death. Against Jacob, +indeed, he could have no personal feeling, and it was by accident only +that he was a sharer in Harry's fate. But as a witness of what had taken +place, his life would assuredly be taken, as well as that of his +companion. As they walked along they gathered from the talk of their +guards the distance which they had to go, and the place of their +destination. They had never heard of Kilbeg Castle, but as they had no +enemies save Argyll, they knew that it must belong to one of his clan. +They spoke but little on the way. Harry was wondering how the news of +his disappearance would be received in the camp, and thinking of the +dismay which it would occasion in the minds of Mike and William Long, +when suddenly he heard a shout, and on the instant a fierce fight was +raging around him. + +Although taken completely by surprise, the sailors fought steadily. But +two were cut down before they could draw a sword, and the others, +outmatched, were driven backward. The leader of the party shouted again +and again, "Kill the prisoners," but he and each of his men were too +hotly engaged with the adversaries who pressed them, to do more than +defend their own lives. In a minute the fray was rendered still more +unequal by Harry and Jacob joining in it, and in less than three minutes +from its commencement seven of the guards lay dead or dying upon the +ground. The other, an active young fellow, had taken to flight early in +the fight, and was already beyond reach. + +The contest over, there was a delighted greeting between the rescued +prisoners and their friends. + +"Come," Leslie said, "we have not a moment to lose. That fellow who has +escaped will take the news to Kilbeg, and we shall be having its +garrison at our heels. He has but three miles to run, and they will beat +to horse in a few minutes after he gets there. We must strike across the +hills, and had best make a great circuit by Stirling. If we avoid the +roads and towns they may not pick up our track." + +Their guide fortunately knew the country well, and leaving the path by +which they had traveled, the party started on their return. All day they +tramped across the moorlands, avoiding all villages and scattered +farmhouses. They had, they knew, three-quarters of an hour's start, and +as their pursuers would be alike ignorant whence they came or whither +they were going, the chances of their hitting the right route were +small. + +Making a circuit round Kinross and Alloa, where the Campbells might have +ridden in pursuit, and sleeping in a wood, they arrived next day at +Stirling. Here was great excitement, for Cromwell's army, marching south +of Edinburgh, had approached the town. They remained, however, a few +hours only, collecting what previsions they could, and then falling +back again to their former camp at Musselburgh. The following day Harry +and his party marched to Edinburgh. That night Harry reported to Sir +David Leslie what had befallen him and the next morning he accompanied +the general to Holyrood, and laid a complaint before the king. + +His majesty was most indignant at the attempt which had been made upon +his follower, but he said to General Leslie, "I doubt not, Sir David, +that your thoughts and mine go toward the same person. But we have no +evidence that he had an absolute hand in it, although the fact that this +ship was commanded by a Campbell, and that the hold of Kilbeg belongs to +one of his kinsmen, point to his complicity in the affair. Still, that +is no proof. Already the earl is no friend of mine. When the day comes I +will have a bitter reckoning with him, but in the present state of my +fortunes, methinks that 'twere best in this, as in other matters, to +hold my tongue for the time. I cannot afford to make him an open enemy +now." + +General Leslie agreed with the king. Cromwell's army was in a sore +strait, and would, they hoped, be shortly driven either to surrender or +to fight under disadvantageous circumstances. But the open defection of +Argyll at the present moment, followed as it would be by that of the +whole fanatical party, would entirely alter the position of affairs, and +Harry begged his majesty to take no more notice of the matter, and so +returned to the camp. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +THE BATTLE OF WORCESTER. + + +The next morning the Scotch army moved after that of Cromwell, which had +fallen back to Dunbar, and took post on the Doon hill facing him there. +Cromwell's army occupied a peninsula, having on their face a brook +running along a deep, narrow little valley. The Scotch position on the +hill was an exceedingly strong one, and had they remained there +Cromwell's army must have been driven to surrender. Cromwell himself +wrote on that night, "The enemy hath blocked up our way at the pass at +Copperspath, through which we cannot pass without almost a miracle. He +lieth so upon the hills that we knoweth not how to come that way without +much difficulty, and our lying here daily consumeth our men, who fall +sick beyond imagination." + +The Scotch had, in fact, the game in their hands, had they but waited on +the ground they had taken up. The English had, however, an ally in their +camp. The Earl of Argyll strongly urged that an attack should be made +upon the English, and he was supported by the preachers and fanatics, +who exclaimed that the Lord had delivered their enemies into their +hands. General Leslie, however, stood firm. The preachers scattered in +the camp and exhorted the soldiers to go down and smite the enemy. So +great an enthusiasm did they excite by their promises of victory that in +the afternoon the soldiers, without orders from their general, moved +down the hill toward the enemy. The more regular body of the troops +stood firm, but Leslie, seeing that the preachers had got the mastery, +and that his orders were no longer obeyed, ordered these also to move +forward, in hopes that the enthusiasm which had been excited would yet +suffice to win the victory. + +Cromwell saw the fatal mistake which had been committed, and in the +night moved round his troops to his left, and these at daybreak fell +upon the Scottish right. The night had been wet, and the Scottish army +were unprovided with tents. Many of their matchlocks had been rendered +useless. At daybreak on the morning of the 3d of September the English, +led by General Lambert, fell upon them. The Scotch for a time stood +their ground firmly; but the irregular troops, who had by their folly +led the army into this plight, gave way before the English pikemen. The +preachers, who were in vast numbers, set the example of flight. Many of +the regiments of infantry fought most fiercely, but the battle was +already lost. The Scotch cavalry were broken by the charge of the +Ironsides, and in less than an hour from the commencement of the +fighting the rout was complete. Three thousand Scotch were killed, and +ten thousand taken prisoners. + +Harry's regiment was but slightly engaged. It had been one of the last +to march down the hill on the evening before, and Harry and Jacob +foresaw the disaster which would happen. "If I were the king," Harry +said, "I would order every one of these preachers out of camp, and would +hang those who disobeyed. Then I would march the army on to the hill +again. If they wait there the English must attack us with grievous +disadvantage, or such as cannot get on board their ships must surrender. +Charles would really be king then, and could disregard the wrath of the +men of the conventicles. Cromwell will attack us to-morrow, and will +defeat us; his trained troops are more than a match for these Scotchmen, +who think more of their preachers than of their officers, and whose +discipline is of the slackest." + +"I agree with you entirely," Jacob said. "But in the present mood of the +army, I believe that half of them would march away if the general +dismissed the preachers." + +The next day, when the fight began, Harry moved forward his regiment to +the support of the Scottish right, but before he came fairly into the +fray this had already given away, and Harry, seeing that the day was +lost, halted his men, and fell back in good order. Again and again the +Ironsides charged them. The leveled pikes and heavy musketry fire each +time beat them off, and they marched from the field almost the only body +which kept its formation. Five thousand of the country people among the +prisoners Cromwell allowed to depart to their homes. The remainder he +sent to Newcastle, where great numbers of them were starved to death by +the cruelty of the governor, Sir Arthur Hazelrig. The remainder were +sent as slaves to New England. + +Leslie, with the wreck of his army, fell back to Stirling, while +Charles, with the Scotch authorities, went to Perth. Here the young +king, exasperated beyond endurance at the tyranny of Argyll and the +fanatics, escaped from them, and with two or three friends rode fifty +miles north. He was overtaken and brought back to Perth, but the anger +of the army was so hot at his treatment that the fanatics were +henceforth obliged to put a curb upon themselves, and a strong king's +party, as opposed to that of the Covenant, henceforth guided his +counsels. + +The winter passed quietly. The English troops were unable to stand the +inclemency of the climate, and contented themselves with capturing +Edinburgh Castle, and other strongholds south of the Forth. Cromwell was +compelled by ill health to return for some months to England. Leslie's +army was strongly intrenched round Stirling. In June Cromwell again took +the field, and moved against Perth, which he captured on the 31st of +July. Charles, who had joined his army at Stirling, broke up his camp +and marched toward England, the road being open to him owing to Cromwell +and his army being further north at Perth. + +During the time which had elapsed since the battle of Dunbar no events +had happened in Harry's life. Remaining quietly in camp, where the +troops, who had been disgusted by the conduct of the fanatics at Dunbar, +were now ill disposed toward Argyll and his party, he had little fear of +the machinations of the earl, who was with the king at Perth. + +Argyll refused to join in the southern march, and the army with which +Leslie entered England numbered only eleven thousand men. As soon as he +crossed the border, Charles was proclaimed king, and proclamations were +issued calling on all loyal subjects to join him. + +The people were, however, weary of civil war. The Royalists had already +suffered so heavily that they held back now, and the hatred excited, +alike by the devastations of the Scotch army on its former visit to +England, and by the treachery with which they had then sold the king, +deterred men from joining them. A few hundred, indeed, came to his +standard; but upon the other hand, Lambert and Harrison, with a strong +force, were marching against him, and Cromwell, having left six thousand +men in Scotland, under Monk, was pressing hotly behind with the victors +of Dunbar. On the 22d of August Charles reached Worcester. On the 28th +Cromwell was close to the town with thirty thousand men. + +"This is the end of it all, Jacob," Harry said that night. "They +outnumber us by three to one, and even if equal, they would assuredly +beat us, for the Scotch are dispirited at finding themselves so far from +home, in a hostile country. Things look desperate. If all is lost +to-morrow, do you and William Long and Mike keep close to me. Get a +horse for Mike to-night. You and Long are already mounted. If all is +lost we must try and make our way to the seacoast, and take boat for +France or Holland. But first of all we must see to the safety of the +king. It is clear that at present England is not ready to return to the +former state of things. We must hope that some day she will weary of the +Roundhead rule, and if the king can reach the Continent he must remain +there till England calls him. At present she only wants peace. It is +just nine years now since King Charles' father set up his standard at +Nottingham. Nine years of wars and troubles! No wonder men are aweary of +it. It is all very well for us, Jacob, who have no wives, neither +families nor occupations, and are without property to lose, but I wonder +not that men who have these things are chary of risking them in a cause +which seems destined to failure." + +Upon the 3d of September, 1651, the anniversary of the battle of Dunbar, +Cromwell advanced to the attack. Harry's regiment was placed among some +hedges around the city, and upon them the brunt of the fight first fell. +In spite of the immense numbers brought against them they defended +themselves with desperate bravery. Some of the Scottish troops came up, +and for a time Cromwell's footmen could make but little way. At other +parts, however, the resistance was more feeble, and the Scotch fell +rapidly into confusion. Contesting every foot of the way, Harry's +regiment was driven back into the town, where a terrible confusion +reigned. Still keeping his men together, he marched to the marketplace. +Here he found the king with a considerable body of horse. The greater +part, however, of the horse had fled through the town without drawing +rein, while the foot were throwing away their arms and flying in all +directions. + +"If all my troops had fought like your regiment, Colonel Furness, we +should have won the day," the king said. "As it is now, it is a hopeless +rout. It is useless for your brave fellows to throw away their lives +further. They will only be cut down vainly, seeing that the rest of my +army are disbanded. Thank them from me for their services, and bid them +seek their homes as best they may and wait for better times. They are +English, and will meet with better treatment from the country people +than will the Scotch. Then do you join me. I am going to head my +horsemen here in a charge against the Roundhead cavalry, and so give +more time for the army to get away." + +Harry rode up to his troops, now reduced to half their former strength. +Leslie and Grahame had both been killed, and William Long was sorely +wounded. He gave the men the message from the king, and the brave +fellows gave a cheer for King Charles, the last he was to hear for ten +years. Then they marched away in orderly array, with their arms, +intending to beat off all who might attack them before nightfall, and +then to break up and scatter, each for himself. William Long had friends +near Gloucester, and as his wound would prevent him from traveling +rapidly with Harry, he took farewell of him, and rode away with the +regiment. Harry, with Jacob and Mike, rejoined the king, and they rode +toward the gate by which the Roundhead troops were already entering the +town. The horsemen, however, had but little stomach for the fight, and +as the king advanced, in twos and threes they turned their horses' +heads and rode off. + +Harry was riding close to the king, and looking round said at length, +"It is useless, your majesty. There are not a dozen men with us." + +The king looked round and checked his horse. Besides his personal +friends, Buckingham, Wilmot, and one or two other nobles, scarce a man +remained. The king shrugged his shoulders. "Well, gentlemen, as we +cannot fight, we must needs run." Then the party turned their horses and +galloped out on the other side of Worcester. The country was covered +with fugitives. They soon came upon a considerable body of horse, who at +once attached themselves to the party. "These, gentlemen," the king +said, "would not fight when I wanted them to, and now that I would fain +be alone, they follow me." + +At last, when darkness came on, the king, with his personal friends and +some sixty others, slipped away down a by-road, and after riding for +some hours came to a house called the White Ladies. Here for a few hours +they rested. Then a council was held. They had news that on a heath near +were some three thousand Scotch cavalry. The king's friends urged him to +join these and endeavor to make his way back into Scotland, but Charles +had already had more than enough of that country, and he was sure that +Argyll and his party would not hesitate to deliver him up to the +Parliament, as they had done his father before him. He therefore +determined to disguise himself, and endeavor to escape on foot, taking +with him only a guide. The rest of the party agreed to join the Scotch +horse, and endeavor to reach the border. After a consultation with +Jacob, Harry determined to follow the example of the king, and to try +and make his way in disguise to a seaport. He did not believe that the +Scotch cavalry would be able to regain their country, nor even if they +did would his position be improved were he with them. With the +destruction of the Royalist army, Argyll would again become supreme, and +Harry doubted not that he would satisfy his old grudge against him. He +was right in his anticipations. The Scots were a day or two later routed +by the English horse, and comparatively few of them ever regained their +country. Out of the eleven thousand men who fought at Worcester, seven +thousand were taken prisoners, including the greater part of the +Scottish contingent. The English, attracting less hostility and +attention from the country people, for the most part reached their homes +in safety. + +As soon as the king had ridden off, Harry with Jacob and Mike, started +in another direction. Stopping at a farmhouse, they purchased from the +master three suits of clothes. Harry's was one of the farmer's own, the +man being nearly his own size. For Jacob, who was much shorter, a dress, +cloak and bonnet of the farmer's wife was procured, and for Mike the +clothes of one of the farmer's sons. One of the horses was left here, +and a pillion obtained for the other. Putting on these disguises, Harry +mounted his horse, with Jacob seated behind him on a pillion, while Mike +rode by his side. They started amid the good wishes of the farmer and +his family, who were favorable to the Royalist cause. Harry had cut off +his ringlets, and looked the character of a young farmer of twenty-four +or twenty-five years old well enough, while Jacob had the appearance of +a suitable wife for him. Mike was to pass as his brother. + +In the course of the first day's journey they met several parties of +Roundhead horse, who plied them with questions as to whether they had +seen any parties of fugitives. Making a detour, they rode toward +Gloucester, not intending to enter that town, where there was a +Parliamentary garrison, but to cross the river higher up. They stopped +for the night at a wayside inn, where they heard much talk concerning +the battle, and learned that all the fords were guarded to prevent +fugitives crossing into Wales, and that none might pass who could not +give a good account of themselves. They heard, too, that on the evening +before a proclamation had been made at Gloucester and other towns +offering a reward of a thousand pounds for the capture of Charles, and +threatening all with the penalties of treason who should venture to aid +or shelter him; a systematic watch was being set on all the roads. + +They determined to ride again next morning toward Worcester, and to +remain in that neighborhood for some days, judging that less inquiry +would be made there than elsewhere. This they did, but journeyed very +slowly, and slept a mile or two from Worcester. + +Before reaching their halting-place they took off a shoe from Mike's +horse, and with a nail wounded the frog of the foot, so that the animal +walked lame. Under this pretense they stopped three days, feigning great +annoyance at the delay. They found now that orders had been issued that +none should journey on the roads save those who had passes, and these +had to be shown before entering any of the large towns. They therefore +resolved to leave their horses, and to proceed on foot, as they could +then travel by byways and across the country. There was some debate as +to the best guise in which to travel, but it was presently determined to +go as Egyptians, as the gypsies were then called. Harry walked into +Worcester, and there, at the shop of a dealer in old clothes, procured +such garments as were needed, and at an apothecary's purchased some dyes +for staining the skin. + +The next day, telling the landlord that they should leave the lame +horse with him until their return, they started as before, Mike walking +instead of riding. They presently left the main road, and finding a +convenient place in a wood, changed their attire. Harry and Mike were +dressed in ragged clothes, with bright handkerchiefs round their necks, +and others round their heads. Jacob still retained his attire as a +woman, with a tattered shawl round his shoulders, and a red handkerchief +over his head. All darkened their faces and hands. They took the saddle +from the horse, and placed the bundles, containing the clothes they had +taken off, on his back. Mike took the bridle, Harry and Jacob walked +beside, and so they continued for some miles along the lonely roads, +until they came to a farmhouse. Here they stopped. The farmer came out, +and roughly demanded what they wanted. Harry replied that he wanted to +sell their horse, and would take a small sum for it. + +"I doubt me," the farmer said, looking at it, "that that horse was not +honestly come by. It suits not your condition. It may well be," he said, +"the horse of some officer who was slain at Worcester, and which you +have found roaming in the country." + +"It matters not," Harry said, "where I got it; it is mine now, and may +be yours if you like it, cheap. As you say, its looks agree not with +mine, and I desire not to be asked questions. If you will give me that +donkey I see there, and three pounds, you shall have him." + +The offer was a tempting one, but the farmer beat them down a pound +before he agreed to it. Then shifting their bundles to the donkey, they +continued their way. At the next village they purchased a cooking-pot +and some old stuff for a tent. Cutting some sticks, they encamped that +night on some wild land hard by, having purchased provisions for their +supper. Very slowly they traveled south, attracting no attention as +they passed. They avoided all large towns, and purchased such things as +they needed at villages, always camping out on commons and waste places. +They could hear no news of the king at any of their halting-places. That +he had not been taken was certain; also, that he had not reached France, +or the news of his coming there would have been known. It was generally +supposed that he was in hiding somewhere in the south, hoping to find an +opportunity to take ship to France. Everywhere they heard of the active +search which was being made for him, and how the houses of all suspected +to be favorable to him were being searched. + +Traveling only a few miles a day, and frequently halting for two or +three days together, the party crossed the Thames above Reading, and +journeyed west into Wiltshire. So they went on until they reached the +port of Charmouth, near Lime Regis. Here, as in all the seaport towns, +were many soldiers of the Parliament. They did not enter the town, but +encamped a short distance outside, Harry alone going in to gather the +news. He found that numerous rumors concerning the king were afloat. It +was asserted that he had been seen near Bristol, and failing to embark +there, was supposed to be making his way east along the coast, in hopes +of finding a ship. The troops were loud in their expressions of +confidence that in a few days, if not in a few hours, he would be in +their hands, and that he would be brought to the scaffold, as his father +had been. + +Uneasy at the news, Harry wandered about the town, and at nightfall +entered a small public house near the port. Calling for some liquor, he +sat down, and listened to the talk of the sailors. Presently these left, +and soon after they did so three other men entered. One was dressed as a +farmer, the other two as serving-men. Harry thought that he noticed a +glance of recognition pass between the farmer and the landlord, and as +the latter placed some liquor and a candle on the table before the +newcomers, Harry recognized in the farmer Colonel Wyndham, a Royalist +with whom he was well acquainted. He now looked more closely at the two +serving-men, and recognized in them the king and Lord Wilmot. + +He sauntered across the room as if to get a light for his pipe, and +said, in low tones: + +"Colonel Wyndham, I am Harry Furness. Is there any way I can serve his +majesty?" + +"Ah! Colonel Furness, I am glad to see you," the king said heartily; +"though if you are hunted as shrewdly as I am, your state is a perilous +one." + +"The landlord is to be trusted," Colonel Wyndham said. "We had best call +him in. He said nothing before you, deeming you a stranger." + +The landlord was called in, and told Harry was a friend, whereupon he +barred the door and closed the shutters, as if for the night. Then +turning to Colonel Wyndham, whom alone he knew, he said: + +"I am sorry to say that my news is bad, sir. An hour since I went round +to the man who had engaged to take you across to St. Malo, but his wife +has got an inkling of his intentions. She has locked him into his room, +and swears that if he attempts to come forth she will give the alarm to +the Parliament troops; for that she will not have herself and her +children sacrificed by meddlings of his in the affairs of state." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +ACROSS THE SEA. + + +The announcement of the innkeeper struck consternation into the party. + +"This is bad news indeed," Colonel Wyndham said; "what does your majesty +advise now?" + +"I know not, my good Wyndham," King Charles replied. "Methinks 'twere +better that I should give myself up at once. Fate seems against us, and +I'm only bringing danger on all my friends." + +"Your friends are ready to risk the danger," Colonel Wyndham said; "and +I doubt not that we shall finally place your majesty in safety. I think +we had best try Bridport. Unfortunately, the Roundheads are so sure of +your being on the coast that it is well-nigh impossible to procure a +ship, so strict is the search of all who leave port. If we could but put +them off your scent, and lead them to believe that you have given it up +in despair here, and are trying again to reach Scotland, it might throw +them off their guard, and make it more easy for us to find a ship." + +"I might do that," Harry said. "I have with me my comrade Jacob, who is +about the king's height and stature. I will travel north again, and will +in some way excite suspicion that he is the king. The news that your +majesty has been seen traveling there will throw them off your track +here." + +"But you may be caught yourself," the king said. "The Earl of Derby and +other officers have been executed. There would be small chance for you +were you to fall into their hands." + +"I trust that I shall escape, sire. My friend Jacob is as cunning as a +fox, and will, I warrant me, throw dust in their eyes. And how has it +fared with your majesty since I left you at White Ladies?" + +"Faith," Charles replied, laughing, "I have been like a rat with the +dogs after him. The next night after leaving you I was in danger from a +rascally miller, who raised an alarm because we refused to stay at his +bidding. Then we made for Moseley, where I hoped to cross the Severn. +The Roundheads had set a guard there, and Richard Penderell went to the +house of Mr. Woolfe, a loyal gentleman, and asked him for shelter for an +officer from Worcester. Mr. Woolfe said he would risk his neck for none +save the king himself. Then Richard told him who I was, and brought me +in. Mr. Woolfe hid me in the barn and gave me provisions. The +neighborhood was dangerous, for the search was hot thereabout, and I +determined to double back again to White Ladies, that I might hear what +had become of Wilmot. Richard Penderell guided me to Boscabell, a +farmhouse kept by his brother William. Here I found Major Careless in +hiding. The search was hot, and we thought of hiding in a wood near, but +William advised that as this might be searched we should take refuge in +an oak lying apart in the middle of the plain." + +"This had been lopped three or four years before and had grown again +very thick and bushy, so that it could not be seen through. So, early in +the morning, Careless and I, taking provisions for the day, climbed up +it and hid there, and it was well we did so, for in the day the +Roundheads came and searched the wood from end to end, as also the +house. But they did not think of the tree. The next two days I lay at +Boscabell, and learned on the second day that Wilmot was hiding at the +house of Mr. Whitgrave, a Catholic gentleman at Moseley, where he begged +me to join him. That night I rode thither. The six Penderells, for there +were that number of brothers, rode with me as a bodyguard. I was well +received by Mr. Whitgrave, who furnished me with fresh linen, to my +great comfort, for that which I had on was coarse, and galled my flesh +grievously, and my feet were so sore I could scarce walk. But the +Roundheads were all about, and the search hot, and it was determined +that I should leave. This time I was dressed as a decent serving man, +and Colonel Lane's daughter agreed to go with me. I was to pass as her +serving man, taking her to Bristol. A cousin rode with us in company. +Colonel Lane procured us a pass, and we met with no adventure for three +days. A smith who shod my horse, which had cast a shoe, did say that +that rogue Charles Stuart had not been taken yet, and that he thought he +ought to be hanged. I thought so too, so we had no argument. At Bristol +we could find no ship in which I could embark, and after some time I +went with Miss Lane and her cousin to my good friend Colonel Wyndham, at +Trent House. After much trouble he had engaged a ship to take me hence, +and now this rascal refuses to go, or rather his wife refuses for him. +And now, my friend, we will at once make for Bridport, since Colonel +Wyndham hopes to find a ship there. I trust we may meet ere long in +France. None of my friends have served me and my father more faithfully +than you. It would seem but a mockery now to take knighthood at the +hands of Charles Stuart, but it will not harm thee." + +Taking a sword from Colonel Wyndham, the king dubbed Harry knight. Then +giving his hand to the landlord to kiss, Charles, accompanied by his +two companions, left the inn. + +A few minutes later Harry started and joined his friends. Jacob agreed +at once to the proposal to throw the Roundheads off King Charles' track. +The next day they started north, and traveled through Wiltshire up into +Gloucestershire, still keeping their disguises as gypsies. There they +left their donkey with a peasant, telling him they would return in a +fortnight's time and claim it. In a wood near they again changed their +disguise, hid their gypsy dresses, and started north on foot. In the +evening they stopped at Fairford, and took up their abode at a small +inn, where they asked for a private room. They soon ascertained that the +landlord was a follower of the Parliament. Going toward the room into +which they were shown, Jacob stumbled, and swore in a man's voice, which +caused the servant maid who was conducting them to start and look +suspiciously at him. Supper was brought, but Harry noticed that the +landlord, who himself brought it in, glanced several times at Jacob. +They were eating their supper when they heard his footstep again coming +along the passage. Harry dropped on one knee, and was in the act of +handing the jug in that attitude to Jacob, when the landlord entered. +Harry rose hastily, as if in confusion, and the landlord, setting down +on the table a dish which he had brought, again retired. + +"Throw up the window, Jacob, and listen," Harry said. "We must not be +caught like rats in a trap." + +The window opened into a garden, and Jacob, listening, could hear +footsteps as of men running in the streets. + +"That is enough, then," Harry said. "The alarm is given. Now let us be +off." They leaped from the window, and they were soon making their way +across the country. They had not been gone a hundred yards before they +heard a great shouting, and knew that their departure had been +discovered. They had not walked far that day and now pressed forward +north. They had filled their pockets with the remains of their supper, +and after walking all night, left the road, and climbing into a haystack +at a short distance, ate their breakfast and were soon fast asleep. + +It was late in the afternoon before they awoke. Then they walked on +until, after darkness fell, they entered a small village. Here they went +into a shop to buy bread. The woman looked at them earnestly. + +"I do not know whether it concerns you," she said, "but I will warn you +that this morning a mounted man from Fairford came by warning all to +seize a tall countryman with a young fellow and a woman with him, for +that she was no other than King Charles." + +"Thanks, my good woman," Jacob said. "Thanks for your warning. I do not +say that I am he you name, but whether or no, the king shall hear some +day of your good-will." + +Traveling on again, they made thirty miles that night, and again slept +in a wood. The next evening, when they entered a village to buy food, +the man in the shop, after looking at them, suddenly seized Jacob, and +shouted loudly for help. Harry stretched him on the ground with a heavy +blow of the stout cudgel he carried. The man's shouts, however, had +called up some of his neighbors, and these ran up as they issued from +the shop, and tried to seize them. The friends, however, struck out +lustily with their sticks, Jacob carrying one concealed beneath his +dress. In two or three minutes they had fought their way clear, and ran +at full speed through the village, pursued by a shouting crowd of +rustics. + +"Now," Harry said, "we can return for our gypsy dresses, and then make +for the east coast. We have put the king's enemies off the scent. I +trust that when we may get across the water we may hear that he is in +safety." + +They made a long detour, traveling only at night, Harry entering alone +after dusk the villages where it was necessary to buy food. When they +regained the wood where they had left their disguises they dressed +themselves again as gypsies, called for the donkey, and then journeyed +across England by easy stages to Colchester, where they succeeded in +taking passage in a lugger bound for Hamburg. They arrived there in +safety, and found to their great joy the news had arrived that the king +had landed in France. + +He had, they afterward found, failed to obtain a ship at Bridport, where +when he arrived he here found a large number of soldiers about to cross +to Jersey. He returned to Trent House, and a ship at Southampton was +then engaged. But this was afterward taken up for the carriage of +troops. A week later a ship lying at Shoreham was hired to carry a +nobleman and his servant to France, and King Charles, with his friends, +made his way thither in safety. The captain of the ship at once +recognized the king, but remained true to his promise, and landed him at +Fécamp in Normandy. + +Six weeks had elapsed since the battle of Worcester, and during that +time the king's hiding-places had been known to no less than forty-five +persons, all of whom proved faithful to the trust, and it was owing to +their prudence and caution as well as to their loyalty that the king +escaped, in spite of the reward offered and the hot search kept up +everywhere for him. + +Harry had now to settle upon his plans for the future. There was no hope +whatever of an early restoration. He had no thought of hanging about the +king whose ways and dissolute associates revolted him. It was open to +him to take service, as so many of his companions had done, in one or +other of the Continental armies, but Harry had had more than enough of +fighting. He determined then to cross the ocean to the plantations of +Virginia, where many loyal gentlemen had established themselves. The +moneys which Colonel Furness had during the last four years regularly +sent across to a banker at the Hague, for his use, were lying untouched, +and these constituted a sum amply sufficient for establishing himself +there. Before starting, however, he determined that if possible he would +take a wife with him. In all his wanderings he had never seen any one he +liked so much as his old playmate, Lucy Rippinghall. It was nearly four +years since he had seen her, and she must now be twenty-one. Herbert, he +knew by his father's letters, had left the army at the end of the first +civil war, and was carrying on his father's business, the wool-stapler +having been killed at Marston Moor. Harry wrote to the colonel, telling +him of his intention to go to Virginia and settle there until either +Cromwell's death, and the dying out of old animosities, or the +restoration of the king permitted him to return to England, and also +that he was writing to ask Lucy Rippinghall to accompany him as his +wife. He told his father that he was well aware that he would not have +regarded such a match as suitable had he been living at home with him at +Furness Hall, but that any inequality of birth would matter no whit in +the plantations of Virginia, and that such a match would greatly promote +his happiness there. By the same mail he wrote to Herbert Rippinghall. + +"My DEAR HERBERT: The bonds of affection which held us together when +boys are in no way slackened in their hold upon me, and you showed, when +we last met, that you loved me in no way less than of old. I purpose +sailing to Virginia with such store of money as would purchase a +plantation there, and there I mean to settle down until such times as +these divisions in England may be all passed. But I would fain not go +alone. As a boy I loved your sister Lucy, and I have seen none to take +the place of her image in my heart. She is, I know, still unmarried, but +I know not whether she has any regard for me. I do beseech you to sound +her, and if she be willing to give her to me. I hear that you are well +married, and can therefore the better spare her. If she be willing to +take me, I will be a good husband to her, and trust some day or other to +bring her back to be lady of Furness Hall. Although I know that she will +care little for such things, I may say that she would be Lady Lucy, +since the king has been pleased to make me Sir Harry Furness. Should the +dear girl be willing, will you, since I cannot come to you, bring her +hither to me. I have written to my father, and have told him what I +purpose to do. Trusting that this will find you as well disposed toward +me as ever, I remain, your affectionate friend, HARRY FURNESS." + +This letter, together with that to his father, Harry gave to Mike. The +post in those days was extremely irregular, and none confided letters of +importance to it which could possibly be sent by hand. Such a +communication as that to Herbert Rippinghall was not one which Harry +cared to trust to the post. Mike had never been at Abingdon, and would +therefore be unknown there. Nor, indeed, unless they were taken +prisoners in battle or in the first hot pursuit, were any of lower +degree meddled with after their return to their homes. There was +therefore no fear whatever of molestation. At this time Jacob was far +from well. The fatigues which he had undergone since the king broke up +his camp at Stirling had been immense. Prolonged marches, great anxiety, +sleeping on wet ground, being frequently soaked to the skin by heavy +rains, all these things had told upon him, and now that the necessity +for exertion was over, a sort of low fever seized him, and he was +forced to take to his bed. The leech whom Harry called in told him that +Jacob needed rest and care more than medicine. He gave him, however, +cooling drinks, and said that when the fever passed he would need +strengthening food and medicine. + +Hamburg was at that time the resort of many desperate men from England. +After Worcester, as after the crushing out of the first civil war, those +too deeply committed to return to their homes sought refuge here. But +though all professed to be Cavaliers, who were suffering only from their +loyalty to the crown, a great many of them were men who had no just +claim to so honorable a position. There were many who took advantage of +the times in England to satisfy private enmities or to gratify evil +passions. Although the courts of law sat during the whole of the civil +war, and the judges made their circuits, there was necessarily far more +crime than in ordinary times. Thus many of those who betook themselves +to Hamburg and other seaports on the continent had made England too hot +for them by crimes of violence and dishonesty. + +The evening after Mike sailed Harry, who had been sitting during the +afternoon chatting by Jacob's bedside, went out to take the air. He +strolled along the wharves, near which were the drinking-houses, whence +came sounds of singing, dancing, and revelry, mingled occasionally with +shouts and the clash of steel, as quarrels arose among the sailors and +others frequenting them. Never having seen one of these places, Harry +strolled into one which appeared of a somewhat better class than the +rest. At one end was a sort of raised platform, upon which were two men, +with fiddles, who, from time to time, played lively airs, to which those +at the tables kept time by stamping their feet. Sometimes men or women +came on to the platform and sang. The occupants of the body of the hall +were mostly sailors, but among whom were a considerable number of men, +who seemed by their garb to be broken-down soldiers and adventurers. + +Harry took his seat by the door, called for a glass of wine and drank +it, and, having soon seen enough of the nature of the entertainment, was +about to leave, when his attention was attracted by a young girl who +took her place on the platform. She was evidently a gypsy, for at this +time these people were the minstrels of Europe. It would have been +considered shameful for any other woman to sing publicly. Two or three +of these women had already sung, and Harry had been disgusted with their +hard voices and bold looks. But he saw that the one who now took her +place on the platform was of a different nature. She advanced nervously, +and as if quite strange to such a scene, and touched her guitar with +trembling fingers. Then she began to sing a Spanish romance in a sweet, +pure voice. There was a good deal of applause when it finished, for even +the rough sailors could appreciate the softness and beauty of the +melody. Then a half-drunken man shouted, "Give us something lively. +Sing 'May the Devil fly off with Old Noll.'" + +The proposal was received with a shout of approval by many, but some of +the sailors cried out, "No, no. No politics. We won't hear Cromwell +insulted." + +This only led to louder and more angry shouts on the part of the others, +and in all parts of the room men rose to their feet, gesticulating and +shouting. The girl, who evidently did not understand a word that was +said, stood looking with affright at the tumult which had so suddenly +risen. In a minute swords were drawn. The foreign sailors, in ignorance +of the cause of dispute, drew their knives, and stood by the side of +those from the English ships, while the foreign soldiers seemed ready +to make common cause with the English who had commenced the disturbance. +Two or three of the latter leaped upon the platform to insist upon their +wishes being carried out. The girl, with a little scream, retreated into +a corner. Harry, indignant at the conduct to his countrymen, had drawn +his sword, and made his way quietly toward the end of the hall, and he +now sprang upon the platform. + +"Stand back," he shouted angrily. "I'll spit the first man who advances +a step." + +"And who are you, sir, who ventures to thrust yourself into a quarrel, +and to interfere with English gentlemen?" + +"English gentlemen," Harry said bitterly. "God help England if you are +specimens of her gentlemen." + +"S'death!" exclaimed one. "Run the scoundrel through, Ralph." + +In a moment Harry slashed open the cheek of one, and ran the other +through the arm. By this time the fray had become general in the hall. +Benches were broken up, swords and knives were used freely. Just as the +matter began to grow serious there was a cry of "The watch!" and a +strong armed guard entered the hall. + +There was an instant cessation of hostilities, and then both parties +uniting, rushed upon the watch, and by sheer weight bore them back out +of the place. Harry looked round, and saw that the girl had fled by a +door at the back of the platform. Seeing that a fight was going on round +the door, and desiring to escape from the broil, he went out by the door +she had taken, followed a passage for some distance, went down a +dimly-lighted stair, and issued through a door into the air. He found +himself in a foul and narrow lane. It was entirely unlighted, and Harry +made his way with difficulty along, stumbling into holes in the +pavement, and over heaps of rubbish of all kinds. + +"I have got into a nice quarter of the town," he muttered to himself. +"I have heard there are places in Hamburg, the resort of thieves and +scoundrels of the worst kind, and where even the watch dare not +penetrate, Methinks that this must be one them." + +He groped his way along till he came to the end of the lane. Here a dim +light was burning. Three or four other lanes, in appearance as +forbidding as that up which he had come, met at this spot. Several men +were standing about. Harry paused for a moment, wondering whether he had +better take the first turning at random, or invite attention by asking +his way. He determined that the former was the least dangerous +alternative, and turned down the lane to his right. He had not gone ten +steps when a woman came up to him from behind. + +"Are you not the gentleman who drew a sword to save me from insult?" she +asked in French. + +Harry understood enough of the language to make out what she said. + +"Yes," he said, "if you are the singer." + +"Good heavens! sir, what misfortune has brought you here? I recognized +your face in the light. Your life, sir, is in the greatest danger. There +are men here who would murder you for the sake of a gold piece, and that +jewel which fastens your plume must have caught their eyes. Follow me, +sir, quickly." + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +A PLOT OVERHEARD. + + +As the gypsy ended her warning she sprang forward, saying, "Follow me, +for your life, sir." Harry did not hesitate. He heard several footsteps +coming down the lane, and drawing his sword he followed his guide at a +run. As he did so there was a shout among the men behind him and these +set off in hot pursuit. Harry kept close to the girl, who turned down +another lane even more narrow than that they were leaving. A few paces +further she stopped, opened a door and entered. Harry followed her in +and she closed the door behind her. + +"Hush!" she whispered. "There are men here as bad as those without. Take +off your shoes." + +Harry did as directed. He was in pitch darkness. Taking him by the hand, +the girl led him forward for some distance. + +"There is a staircase here," she whispered. + +Still holding his hand, she began to mount the stairs. As they passed +each landing Harry heard the voices of men in the rooms on either side. +At last they arrived at the top of the house. Here she opened a door, +and led Harry into a room. + +"Are you here, mother?" she asked. + +There was no answer. The girl uttered an exclamation of thankfulness; +then, after groping about, she found a tinder-box, and struck a light. + +"You are safe here for the present. This is my room, where I live with +my mother. At least," she sighed, "she calls herself my mother, and is +the only one I have known." + +"Is it possible," Harry asked in surprise, "that one like yourself can +live in such an abode as this?" + +"I am safe here," she answered. "There are five men of my tribe in the +next room, and fierce and brutal as are the men of these courts, none of +them would care to quarrel with the gypsies. But now I have got you +here, how am I to get you away?" + +"If the gypsies are so feared, I might go out with them," Harry said. + +"Alas!" the girl answered, "they are as had as the others. And even if +they were disposed to aid you for the kindness you have shown me, I +doubt if they could do so. Assuredly they would not run the risk of +thwarting the cutthroats here for the sake of saving you." + +"Could you go and tell the watch?" Harry asked. + +"The watch never comes here," the girl replied, shaking her head. "Were +they to venture up these lanes it would be like entering a hive of bees. +This is an Alsatia--a safe refuge for assassins and robbers." + +"I have got myself into a nice mess," Harry said. "It seems to me I had +better sally out and take my chance." + +"Look," the girl said, going to the window and opening it. + +Peering out, Harry saw below a number of men with swords and knives +drawn. One or two had torches, and they were examining every doorway and +court. Outside the window ran a parapet. + +"They will search like hounds," the girl continued. "They must know that +you have not gone far. If they come here you must take to the parapet, +and go some distance along. Now, I must try and find some disguise for +you." + +At this moment the door opened, and an old woman entered. She uttered +an exclamation of astonishment at seeing Harry, and turning angrily to +the girl, spoke to her in the gypsy dialect. For two or three minutes +the conversation continued in that language; then the old woman turned +to Harry, and said in English: + +"My daughter tells me that you have got into a broil on her behalf. +There are few gentlemen who draw sword for a gypsy. I will do my best to +aid you, but it will be difficult to get a gallant like yourself out of +this place." + +Her eye fell covetously upon the jewel in Harry's hat. He noticed the +glance. + +"Thanks, dame," he said; "I will gladly repay your services. Will you +accept this token?" And removing the jewel from the hat, he offered it +to her. + +The girl uttered an angry exclamation as the old woman seized it, and +after examining it by the candle light, placed it in a small iron +coffer. Harry felt he had done wisely, for the old woman's face bore a +much warmer expression of good-will than had before characterized it. + +"You cannot leave now," she said. "I heard as I came along that a +well-dressed gallant had been seen in the lanes, and every one's mouth +is on water. They said that they thought he had some woman with him, but +I did not dream it was Zita. You cannot leave to-night; to-morrow I will +get you some clothes of my son's, and in these you should be able to +escape without detection." + +Very slowly the hours passed. The women at times talked together in +Romaic, while Harry, who had possession of the only chair in the room, +several times nodded off to sleep. In the morning there was a movement +heard in the next room, and the old woman went in there. + +"Surely that woman cannot be your mother?" Harry said to the girl. + +"She is not," she answered. "I believe that I was stolen as a child; +indeed, they have owned as much. But what can I do? I am one of them. +What can a gypsy do? We are good for nothing but to sing and to steal." + +"If I get free from this scrape," Harry said, "you may be sure that +shall not be ungrateful, and if you long to leave this life, I can +secure you a quiet home in England with my father." + +The girl clasped her hands in delight. + +"Oh, that would be too good!" she exclaimed. "Too good; but I fear it +can never be." + +She put her fingers to her lips, as the door again opened. The old woman +entered, carrying some clothes. + +"Here," she said; "they have gone out; put these on, Zita and I will go +out and see if the coast is clear." + +Harry, smiling to himself at the singularity of his having twice to +disguise himself as a gypsy, rapidly changed his clothes. Presently the +old woman returned. + +"Quick," she exclaimed; "I hear that the news of the riot in the +drinking-house has got about this morning, and it is known that an +Englishman, something like the one seen in the lanes, took Zita's part, +and there are suspicions that it was she who acted as his guide. They +have been roughly questioning us. I told her to go on to avoid +suspicion, while I ran back. You cannot stir out now, and I heard a talk +of searching our rooms. Come, then, we may find a room unoccupied below; +you must take refuge there for the present." + +Harry still retained his sword, incongruous as it was with his attire, +but he had determined to hide it under his clothes, so that, if +detected, he might be able at least to sell his life. Taking it in his +hand, he followed the old woman downstairs. She listened at each door, +and continued downward until she reached the first floor. + +"I can hear no one here," she said, listening at a door. "Go up a few +steps; I will knock. If any one is there I can make some excuse." + +She knocked, but there was no answer. Then she drew from her pocket a +piece of bent wire, and inserted it in the keyhole. + +"We gypsies can enter where we will," she said, beckoning Harry to enter +as the door opened. "Wait quiet here till I come for you. The road will +be clear then." So saying, she closed the door behind him, and again +shot the bolt. + +Harry felt extremely uncomfortable. Should the owner of the room return, +he would be taken for a thief, although, as he thought, looking round +the room, there was little enough to steal. It was a large room, with +several truckle beds standing against the walls. In the center was a +table, upon which were some mugs, horns, and empty bottles, with some +dirty cards scattered about. The place smelled strongly of tobacco, and +benches lying on the ground showed that the party of the night before +had ended in a broil, further evidence to which was given by stains of +blood on one of the beds, and by a rag saturated with blood, which lay +beside it. At one side of the room was a door, giving communication into +the next apartment. Scarcely had Harry entered when he heard voices +there, and was surprised to find that the speakers were English. + +"I tell you I'm sick of this," one of the speakers said. "I might be as +well hanged at home as starved here." + +"You might enlist," another voice said, in sneering tones. "Gallant +soldiers are welcome in the Low Countries." + +"You'd best keep your sneering tongue between your lips," the other said +angrily. "If I don't care for fighting in the field, I can use a knife +at a pinch, as you know full well. You will carry your gibes too far +with me some day. No," he went on more calmly, after a pause, "I shall +go back to England next week, after Marmaduke Harris and his gang have +finished Oliver. The country will be turned so topsy-turvy that there +will be no nice inquiry into bygones, and at any rate I can keep out of +London." + +"Yes, it will be wise to do that," the other said, since that little +affair when the mercer and his wife in Cheap were found with their +throats cut, and you--" + +"Fire and furies! John Marlow, do you want three inches of steel in your +ribs?" + +"By no means!" the other answered. "You have become marvelously +straightlaced all at once. As you know, I have been concerned in as many +affairs as you have. Aha! I have had a merry time of it!" + +"And may again," the other said. "Noll once dead, there will be good +times for us again. It is a pity that you and I were too well known to +have a hand in the job. Dost think there is any chance of a failure?" + +"None," the other replied. "It is in good hands. Black Harry has bribed +a cook wench, who will open the back door. They say he was to return to +London this week, and if so Sunday is fixed for the affair. Five days +yet, and say another week for the news to get here. In a fortnight we +will be on our way to England. There, I am thirsty, and we left the +bottle in the next room. We had a late night of it with the boys there." + +During this conversation, to which Harry listened breathlessly, he had +heard the tramp of feet going upstairs, and just as they finished +speaking these had descended again. A moment later the door between the +two rooms opened, and a man in the faded finery of a Royalist gentleman +entered. + +"Fires and furies!" he exclaimed. "Whom have we here? Marlow, here is +an eavesdropper or a thief. We will slit his weasand. Aha!" he said, +gazing fixedly at Harry, "you are Colonel Furness. I know you. You had +me flogged the day before Worcester, for helping myself to an old +woman's purse. It is my turn now." + +Joined by his fellow ruffian he fell upon Harry, but they were no match +for the Royalist colonel. After a few rapid thrusts and parries he ran +his first assailant through the body and cut down the man called Marlow, +with a sweeping blow which nearly cleft his head asunder. + +Scarcely was the conflict ended when the door opened, and the old gypsy +entered. She started at seeing the bodies of the two ruffians. + +"I have been attacked," Harry said briefly, "and have defended myself." + +"It is no business of mine," the old woman remarked. "When I have guided +you out I will come back again. It's strange if there's not something +worth picking up. Now, pull your hat well over your eyes and follow me." + +Closing and locking the door again, she led the way downstairs. + +"Do not walk so straight and stiff," she said. "Slouch your shoulders, +and stoop your head. Now." + +Harry sallied out into the lane, keeping by the side of his guide, with +his head bent forward, and his eyes on the ground, walking, as far as he +could, with a listless gait. The old woman continued to chatter to him +in Romaic. There were many people about in the lane, but none paid any +heed to them. Harry did not look up, but turned with his guide down +several lanes, until they at length emerged on the quays. Saying she +would call next day at his hotel for the reward he had promised her, she +left him, and Harry, with his head full of the plot against Cromwell's +life, crossed at once to the vessels by the quay. + +"Is any ship sailing for the Thames to-day?" he asked. + +"Yes," the sailor said. "The Mary Anne is just hoisting her anchor now, +out there in midstream. You will be but just in time, for the anchor's +under her foot." + +Harry sprang into a boat and told the waterman to row to the ship. The +latter stared in astonishment at the authoritative manner in which this +gypsy addressed him, but Harry thrust his hand into his pocket, and +showed him some silver. + +"Quick, man," he said, "for she is moving. You will have double fare to +put me on board." + +The man pulled vigorously, and they were soon alongside the brig. + +"Halloo! what now?" the captain said, looking over the side. + +"I want a passage to England, and will pay you your own price." + +"You haven't been killing any one, have you?" the captain asked. "I don't +want to have trouble when I come back here, for carrying off +malefactors." + +"No, indeed," Harry said, as he lightly leaped on the deck. "I am Sir +Harry Furness, though I may not look it, and am bound to England on +urgent business. It is all right, my good fellow, and here is earnest +money for my passage," and he placed two pieces of gold in the captain's +hand. + +"That will do," the captain said. "I will take you." + +Harry went to the side. + +"Here, my man, is your money, and a crown piece beside. Go to the Hotel +des Etoiles and ask for the English officer who is there lying sick. +Tell him Colonel Furness has been forced to leave for England at a +moment's notice, but will be back by the first ship." + +The man nodded, and rowed back to shore as the Mary Anne, with her sails +hoisted, ran down the river. + +Never did a voyage appear longer to an anxious passenger than did that +of the Mary Anne to England. The winds were light and baffling, and at +times the Mary Anne scarce moved through the water. Harry had no love +for Cromwell. Upon the contrary, he regarded him as the deadliest enemy +of the king, and moreover personally hated him for the cruel massacre of +Drogheda. In battle he would have gladly slain him, but he was +determined to save him from assassination. He felt the man to be a great +Englishman, and knew that it was greatly due to his counsels that so +little English blood had been shed upon the scaffold. Most of all, he +thought that his assassination would injure the royal cause. The time +was not yet ripe for a restoration. England had shown but lately that +there existed no enthusiasm for the royal cause. At Cromwell's death the +chief power would fall into the hands of fanatics more dangerous and +more violent than he. His murder would be used as a weapon for a +wholesale persecution of the Royalists throughout the land, and would +create such a prejudice against them that the inevitable reaction in +favor of royalty would be retarded for years. Full of these thoughts, +Harry fretted and fumed over the slow progress of the Mary Anne. Late on +Saturday night she entered the mouth of the Thames, and anchored until +the tide turned. Before daybreak she was on her way, and bore up on the +tide as far as Gravesend, when she had again to anchor. Harry obtained a +boat and was rowed to shore. In his present appearance, he did not like +to go to one of the principal inns for a horse, but entering a small one +on the outskirts of the place, asked the landlord if he could procure +him a horse. + +"I am not what I seem," he said, in answer to his host's look of +surprise. "But I have urgent need to get to London this evening. I will +pay well for the horse, and will leave this ring with you as a +guarantee for his safe return." + +"I have not a horse myself," the landlord said, with more respect than +he had at first shown; "but I might get one from my neighbor Harry +Fletcher, the butcher. Are you willing to pay a guinea for his use? +Fletcher will drive you himself." + +Harry agreed to the sum, and a quarter of an hour later the man, with a +light horse and cart, came to the door. + +"You are a strange-looking carle," he said, "to be riding on a Sunday in +haste; I scarce like being seen with thee." + +"I have landed but an hour ago," Harry said, "and can buy no clothes +to-day; but if you or mine host here, who is nearer my size, have a +decent suit which you can sell me, I will pay you double the sum it +cost." + +The landlord at once agreed to the terms, and five minutes later Harry, +clad in the sober garb of a decent tradesman, mounted the cart. The +horse was not a fast one, and the roads were bad. It was nigh six +o'clock before they reached London. Paying Fletcher the sum agreed upon, +Harry walked rapidly westward. Cromwell was abiding in a house in Pall +Mall. Upon Harry arriving there he was asked his business. + +"The general is ill," the servant said, "and can see no one." + +"I must see him," Harry urged. "It is a matter of the extremest +importance." + +"See him you cannot," the man repeated, "and it were waste of words to +talk further on the matter. Dost think that, even were he well, the +general, with all the affairs of the Commonwealth on his shoulders, has +time to see every gossiping citizen who would have speech with him?" + +Harry slipped a gold piece into the man's hand. + +"It is useless," the man said. "The general is, as I truly told thee, +ill." + +Harry stood in despair, "Could you gain me speech with the general's +wife?" + +"Ay," the man said. "I might do that. What name shall say?" + +"She would not know my name. Merely say that one wishes to speak to her +on a matter nearly touching the safety of the general." + +"Hadst thou said that at once," the man grumbled, "I might have admitted +you before. There are many rumors of plots on the part of the malignants +against the life of the general. I will take your message to Madam +Cromwell, and she can deal with it as she will." + +The man was absent for a few minutes. Then he returned with an officer. + +"Can you tell me," the latter asked, "what you have to reveal?" + +"No," Harry replied, "I must speak with the general himself." + +"Beware," the officer said sternly, "that you trifle not. The general is +sick, and has many things on his mind; 'twill be ill for you if you +disturb him without cause." + +"The cause is sufficient," Harry said. "I would see him in person." + +Without a word the officer turned and led the way to a room upstairs, +where Cromwell was sitting at a table, His wife was near him. A Bible +lay open before him. Cromwell looked steadily at Harry. + +"I hear that you have a matter of importance to tell me, young man, and +one touching my safety. I know that there are many who thirst for my +blood. But I am in the hands of the Lord, who has so far watched over +His servant. If there be truth in what you have to tell you will be +rewarded." + +"I seek for no reward," Harry said. "I have gained knowledge of a plot +against your life. Do you wish that I should speak in the presence of +this officer?" + +"Assuredly," the general said. + +"Briefly, then, I have arrived from Hamburg but now to give you warning +of a matter which came to my ears. I overheard, how it matters not, a +conversation between two rascals who gave themselves out as Royalists, +but who were indeed rather escaped criminals, to the effect that men had +gone over thence to England with the intention of killing you. The plot +was to come off to-night, Whether there be any change in the +arrangements or no I cannot say, but the matter was, as they said, fixed +for to-night. One of the women servants has been bribed to open the back +entrance and to admit them there, More than this I know not." + +"You speak, sir, as one beyond your station," Cromwell said; "and +methinks I know both your face and figure, which are not easily +forgotten when once seen." + +"It matters not who I am," Harry replied, "so that the news I bring be +true. I am no friend of yours, but a servant of King Charles. Though I +would withstand you to the death in the field, I would not that a life +like yours should be cut short by assassination; or that the royal cause +should be sullied by such a deed, the dishonor of which, though planned +and carried out by a small band of desperate partisans, would yet, in +the eyes of the world, fall upon all who followed King Charles." + +"You are bold, sir," Cromwell said. "But I wonder not, for I know you +now. We have met, so far as I know, but once before. That was after +Drogheda, where you defended the church, and where I spared your life at +the intercession of my chaplain. I heard of you afterward as having, by +a desperate enterprise, escaped, and afterward captured a ship with +prisoners; and as having inflicted heavy loss and damage upon the +soldiers of Parliament. You fought at Dunbar and Worcester, and, if I +mistake not, incurred the enmity of the Earl of Argyll." + +"I am Sir Harry Furness," Harry said calmly; "his majesty having been +pleased to bestow upon me the honor of knighthood. Nor are you mistaken +touching the other matters, since you yourself agreed at the lonely +house on the moor to hand me over to Colonel Campbell, as his price for +betraying the post I commanded. That matter, as you may remember, turned +out otherwise than had been expected. I am not ashamed of my name, nor +have I any fear of its being known to you. I have come over to do you +service, and fear not harm at your hands when on such business." + +"Why then did you not tell me at once?" Cromwell asked. + +"Simply because I seek no favor at your hands. I would not that you +should think that Harry Furness sought to reconcile himself with the +Commons, by giving notice of a plot against your life. I am intending to +start for Virginia and settle there, and would not stoop to sue for +amnesty, though I should never see Furness Hall or England again." + +Harry spoke in a tone of haughty frankness, which carried conviction +with it. + +"I doubt you not," Cromwell said. "You have been a bitter foe to the +Commons, Colonel Furness, but it is not of men like you that we need be +afraid. You meet us fairly in the field, and fight us loyally and +honorably. It is the tricksters, the double-dealers, and the traitors, +the men who profess to be on our side but who burrow in the dark against +us, who trouble our peace. In this matter I am greatly beholden to you. +Now that you have given us warning of the plot, it will be met if +attempted. But should these men's hearts fail them, or for any other +cause the attempt be laid aside, I shall be none the less indebted to +you. I trust, Colonel Furness, that you will not go to the plantations. +England needs honest men here. There is a great work yet to be done +before happiness and quiet are restored; and we need all wise and good +men in the counsels of the state. Be assured that you are free to return +and dwell with the Cavalier, your father, at your pleasure. He drew +aside from the strife when he saw that the cause he fought for was +hopeless, and none have interfered with him. Charles will, methinks, +fight no more in England. His cause is lost, and wise men will adapt +themselves to the circumstances. Let me know where you lodge to-night. +You will hear further from me to-morrow." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +REST AT LAST. + + +Harry slept at an inn in Westminster, and the next morning on going down +to his breakfast, he found people much excited, a rumor having gone +about that an attack had been made upon Cromwell's house during the +night, and that several had been killed, but no harm done to the +general. An hour afterward a messenger brought word that General +Cromwell wished to see Colonel Furness. After his breakfast Harry had at +once gone out and purchased clothes suitable to a country gentleman; in +these he proceeded to the general, and was at once shown up to his room. + +"Your news was trustworthy, Colonel Furness, and Oliver Cromwell owes +his life to you. Soon after midnight one of the serving wenches opened +the back door, and eight men entered. Had no watch been set, they would +doubtless have reached my room unobserved, by the staircase which leads +from that part of the house. As it was, I had a guard in waiting, and +when the men were fairly inside they fell upon them. The soldiers were +too quick with them, being hot at the plot which was intended against my +life, and all were killed, together with the wench who admitted them, +who was stabbed by one of the men at the first alarm, thinking doubtless +she had betrayed them. I hear that none of them have the air of +gentlemen, but are clearly broken men and vagabonds. The haste of my +soldiers has prevented me from getting any clew as to those who set them +on, but I am sure that no English gentleman, even although devoted to +the cause of Charles Stuart, would so plot against my life. And now, +sir, I thank you heartily for the great service you have rendered me. My +life is, I think, precious to England, where I hope to do some good work +before I die. I say only in return that henceforth you may come and go +as you list; and I hope yet that you will sit by me in Parliament, and +aid me to set things in England in order. Do not take this, sir, as in +any way a recompense for saving my life. The war is over; a few of those +who had troubled, and would always trouble the peace of England, have +been executed. Against the rest we bear no malice. They are free to +return to their homes and occupations as they list, and so long as they +obey the laws, and abstain from fresh troubles and plots, none will +molest them. But, sir, in order that no molestation or vexation may +occur to you, here is a free pass, signed by General Fairfax and two of +the commissioners, saying that you are at liberty to go or come and to +stay where you please, without hindrance or molestation from any." + +Harry took the document, bowed, and withdrew. + +"It is a thousand pities," he said to himself, "that his majesty the +king has not somewhat of this man's quality. This is a strong man, and a +true. He may have his faults--ay, he has them--he is ambitions, he is +far more fanatical for his religion than was Charles I. for his. He is +far more absolute, far more domineering than was King Charles. Were he +made king to-morrow, as I hear he is like enough to be, he would trample +upon the Parliament and despise its will infinitely more than any +English king would ever have dared to do. But for all that he is a great +man, honest, sincere, and, above all, to be trusted. Who can say that +for the Stuarts?" + +Upon the day of his arrival Harry had written to Jacob telling him the +cause of his sudden departure, and promising to return by the first +ship, He hesitated now whether he should sail at once, or go down to see +his father, but he determined that it would be best, at any rate in the +first place, to return to Hamburg and look after his companion, and then +to come over to see his father, before carrying out his intention of +proceeding to Virginia. A ship would, he found, be sailing in three +days, and he wrote to his father telling him that he had been in London +for a day or two, but was forced by the illness of Jacob to return at +once; but that upon his friend's recovery he would come back to Abingdon +for a short time before leaving. He arrived at Hamburg without +adventure. On reaching the hotel he was informed that Jacob was +delirious, and that his life was despaired of. The rascally boatman +could not have given the message with which he had been charged, since +Jacob, upon the day after he was first missed, had risen from his bed, +and insisted on going in search of him. He had, after many inquiries, +learned that one answering to his description had taken part in a fray +in a drinking-house--interfering to protect a Bohemian singer from +insult. Beyond this nothing could be heard of him. He had not been seen +in the fray in the street, when several of the rioters had been captured +and carried off by the watch, and some supposed that he might have left +the place at the back, in which case it was feared that he might have +been fallen upon and assassinated by the ruffians in the low quarter +lying behind the drinking hall. Jacob had worked himself into a state of +high fever by his anxiety, and upon returning to the hotel had become so +violent that they were forced to restrain him. He had been bled and +blistered, but had remained for a fortnight in a state of violent fever +and delirium. This had now somewhat abated, but he was in such a weak +state that the doctors feared the worst. + +The return of Harry did more for him than all the doctors of Hamburg. He +seemed at once to recognize his voice, and the pressure of his hand +soothed and calmed him. He presently fell into a deep sleep, in which he +lay for twelve hours, and on opening his eyes at once recognized his +friend. His recovery now was rapid, and in a week he was able to sit up. + +One morning the servant told Harry that a gentleman wished to speak to +him, and a moment after his father entered. With a cry of delight father +and son flew into each other's arms. It was four years since they had +met, and both were altered much. The colonel had aged greatly, while +Harry had grown into a broad and powerful man. + +"My dear father, this is an unexpected pleasure indeed," Harry said, +when the first burst of delight was over. "Did you not get my letter +from London, saying that I hoped shortly to be with you?" + +"From London!" the colonel exclaimed, astonished. "No, indeed; I have +received no letter save that which your boy brought me. We started a +week later for Southampton, where we were detained nigh ten days for a +ship." + +"And who is the _we_, father?" Harry asked anxiously. + +"Ah," the old man said, "now you are in a hurry to know. Who should it +be but Master Rippinghall and a certain young lady?" + +"Oh, father, has Lucy really come?" + +"Assuredly she has," Colonel Furness said, "and is now waiting in a +private room below with her brother, for Sir Harry. I have not +congratulated you yet, my boy, on your new dignity." + +"And you really consent to my marriage, sir?" + +"I don't see that I could help it," the colonel said, "since you had +set your mind on it, especially as when I came to inquire I found the +young lady was willing to go to Virginia. But we must talk of that anon. +Yes, Harry, you have my full consent. The young lady is not quite of the +rank of life I should have chosen for you; but ranks and classes are all +topsy-turvy in England at present, and when we are ruled over by a +brewer, it would be nice indeed to refuse to take a wool-stapler's +sister for wife. But seriously, Harry, I am well contented. I knew +little of the young lady except by common report, which spoke of her as +the sweetest and kindest damsel in Abingdon. But now I have seen her, I +wonder not at your choice. During the fortnight we have been together I +have watched her closely, and I find in her a rare combination of +gentleness and firmness. You have won her heart, Harry, though how she +can have kept thee in mind all this time is more than I can tell. Her +brother tells me that he placed no pressure upon her either for or +against, though he desired much for your sake, and from the love he bore +you, that she should accept of your suit. Now you had better go down, +and learn from her own lips how it stands with her." + +It need not to describe the meeting between Harry and his old friends. +Herbert was warm and cordial as of old. Lucy was but little changed +since Harry had seen her four years before, save that she was more fair +and womanly. + +"Your letter gave me," Herbert said, "a mixed feeling of pleasure and +pain. I knew that my little sister has always looked upon you as a hero +of romance, and though I knew not that as a woman her heart still turned +to you, yet she refused so sharply and shrewishly all the suitors who +came to her, that I suspected that her thoughts of you were more than a +mere child's fancy. When your letter came I laid no pressure upon her, +just as in other cases I have held aloof, and indeed have gained some +ill-will at the hands of old friends because I would not, as her +brother, and the head of the family, lay stress upon her. I read your +letter to her, and she at first said she was ready to obey my wishes in +the matter, and to go with you to Virginia if I bade her. I said that in +such a matter it was her will and not mine which I wished to consult, +and thus pressed into a corner, she owned that she would gladly go with +you." + +"Harry," the girl said, "for my tongue is not as yet used to your new +title, under other circumstances I should have needed to be wooed and +won like other girls. But seeing how strangely you are placed, and that +you were about to start across the sea, to be absent perhaps for many +years, I felt that it would not be worthy either of me or you were I to +affect a maiden coyness and so to throw difficulties in your way. I feel +the honor of the offer you have made me. That you should for so many +years have been absent and seen the grand ladies of the court, and have +yet thought of your little playfellow, shows that your heart is as true +and good as I of old thought it to be, and I need feel no shame in +acknowledging that I have ever thought of you with affection." + +For the next few days there was much argument over the project of going +to Virginia. Herbert, when he heard what had happened in London, joined +his entreaties to those of Sir Henry, asserting that he had only +consented to Lucy's going to so outlandish a place in the belief that +there was no help for it, and that he did not think it fair for Harry to +take her to such a life when he could stay comfortably at home. Sir +Henry did not say much, but Harry could see how ardently he longed for +him to remain. As for Lucy, she stood neutral, saying that assuredly +she did not wish to go to Virginia, but that, upon the other hand, she +should feel that her consent had been obtained under false pretenses, +and that she had been defrauded of the enjoyment of a proper and regular +courtship, did it prove that Harry might have come home and sought her +hand in regular form. Harry's reluctance to remain arose principally +from the fact that he had gained permission to do so by an act of +personal service which he had done the king's great enemy. Had he been +included in a general amnesty he would gladly have accepted it. However, +his resolution gave way under the arguments of Herbert, who urged upon +him that he had no right, on a mere point of punctilio, to leave his +father in his old age, and to take Lucy from her country and friends to +a life of hardship in the plantations of Virginia. At last he yielded. +Then a difficulty arose with Lucy, who would fain have returned to +Abingdon with her brother, and urged she should there have time given +her to be married in regular fashion. This Harry would by no means +consent to, and as both Sir Henry and Herbert saw no occasion for the +delay, they were married a fortnight later at the Protestant church at +Hamburg, Jacob, who was by this time perfectly restored to health, +acting as his best man. + +One of the first steps which Harry took after his return to Hamburg was +to inquire about the gypsy maid who had done him such service. She was +still singing at the drinking-house. Harry went down there in the +daytime and gave one of the drawers a crown to tell her quietly that the +Englishman she knew would fain see her, and would wait for her at a spot +he named on the walk by the river bank, between ten and twelve the next +day. Here, accompanied by Lucy, who, having heard of the service which +the girl had rendered him, fully entered into his anxiety to befriend +her, he awaited her the next day. She came punctual to the appointment, +but in great fear that the old gypsy would discover her absence. Upon +Harry telling her that Lucy, who was about to become his wife, would +willingly take her to England and receive her as a companion until such +time as some opportunity for furthering her way in life might appear, +Zita accepted the proposal with tears of joy. She abhorred the life she +was forced to lead, and it was only after many beatings and much +ill-usage from the gypsies that she consented to it, and it made her +life the harder, inasmuch as she knew that she had not been born to such +a fate, but had been stolen as a child. + +"What could have been their motive in carrying you away?" Lucy asked. + +"I believe," the girl said, "from what they have told me, that I was +taken in revenge. My father had charged one of the gypsies with theft, +and the man having been hung, the others, to avenge themselves, carried +me off." + +"But why did you not, when you grew old enough, tell your story to the +magistrates, and appeal to them for assistance?" + +"Alas!" the girl said, "what proofs have I for my tale? Moreover, even +were I believed, and taken from the gypsies, what was there for me to +do, save to beg in the streets for charity?" + +They now arranged with her the manner of her flight. She was afraid to +meet them again lest her footsteps should be traced, for she was sure +that the gypsies would carry her away to some other town if they had the +least suspicion that she had made friends with any capable of taking her +part, as the whole party lived in idleness upon the money she gained by +singing. It was arranged, therefore, that the night before they were to +depart Harry should appear in the singing hall, and should take his +place near the door. She should let him know that she perceived him by +passing her hand twice across her forehead. When the performance was +over she should, instead of leaving as usual by the back way, slip down +the steps, and mingle with those leaving the hall. Outside the door she +would find Harry, who would take her to the hotel, where dresses would +be provided for her. There she should stop the night, and go on board +ship with them in the morning. + +These arrangements were all carried out, and four days after the wedding +of Harry and Lucy the party, with Zita, sailed for England. Had the +tenantry on the Furness estate known of the home-coming of their young +master and his bride, they would have given him a grand reception; but +Harry and his father both agreed that this had better not be, for that +it was as well to call no public attention to his return, even though he +had received Cromwell's permission. + +After all his adventures, Sir Harry Furness dwelt quietly and happily +with his father. In the following years the English fleet fought many +hard battles with the Dutch, and the Parliament, in order to obtain +money, confiscated the property of most of those Cavaliers who had now +returned under the Act of Amnesty. Steps were taken against Sir Henry +Furness, but as he had taken no part in the troubles after the close of +the first civil war, Cromwell, on receiving an application from him, +peremptorily quashed the proceedings. + +On April 20, 1653, Cromwell went down to the House with a body of +troops, and expelled the Parliament, who were in the act of passing a +bill for their own dissolution, and a new representation. He thus proved +himself as tyrannous and despotic as any sovereign could have been. A +new Parliament was summoned, but instead of its members being elected in +accordance with the customs of England, they were selected and +nominated by Cromwell himself. The history of England contains no +instance of such a defiance of the constitutional rights of the people. +But although he had grasped power arbitrarily and by force, Cromwell +used it well and wisely, and many wise laws and great social reforms +were passed by the Parliament under his orders. Still the fanatical +party were in the majority in this body, and as Cromwell saw that these +persons would push matters further than he wished, he made an +arrangement with the minority, who resigned their seats, thereby leaving +an insufficient number in the House to transact business. Cromwell +accepted their resignation, and the Parliament then ceased to exist. + +Four days later, on the 16th of December, Cromwell assumed the state and +title of Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. For the next five years he +governed England wisely and well. The Parliament was assembled, but as +its proceedings were not in accordance with his wishes, he dissolved it, +and for the most part governed England by his own absolute will. That it +was a strong will and a wise cannot be questioned, but that a rising, +which originally began because the king would not yield to the absolute +will of Parliament, should have ended in a despotism, in which the chief +of the king's opponents should have ruled altogether without +Parliaments, is strange indeed. It is singular to find that those who +make most talk about the liberties of Englishmen should regard as their +hero and champion the man who trod all the constitutional rights of +Englishmen under foot. But if a despot, Cromwell was a wise and firm +one, and his rule was greatly for the good of the country. Above all, he +brought the name of England into the highest honor abroad, and made it +respected throughout Europe. Would that among all Englishmen of the +present day there existed the same feeling of patriotism, the same +desire for the honor and credit of their country, as dwelt in the breast +of Oliver Cromwell. + +On August 30, 1658, Cromwell died, and his son Richard succeeded him. +The Parliament and the army soon fell out, and the army, coming down in +force, dissolved Parliament, and Richard Cromwell ceased at once to have +any power. The army called together forty-two of the old members of the +Long Parliament, of extreme republican views, but these had no sooner +met than they broke into divisions, and England was wholly without a +government. So matters went on for some time, until General Monk, with +the army of the north, came up to London. He had for weeks been in +communication with the king. For a time he was uncertain of the course +he should take, but after awhile he found that the feeling of London was +wholly averse to the Parliament, and so resolved to take the lead in a +restoration. A Parliament was summoned, and upon the day after its +assembling Monk presented to them a document from King Charles, +promising to observe the constitution, granting full liberty of +conscience, and an amnesty for past offenses. Parliament at once +declared in favor of the ancient laws of the kingdom, the government to +be by King, Lords and Commons; and on May 8, 1660, Charles II. was +proclaimed king, and on the 30th entered London in triumph. + +Sir Harry Furness sat in the Parliament which recalled the king, and in +many subsequent ones. His father came to London to see the royal entry, +and both were most kindly received by the king, who expressed a warm +hope that he should often see them at court. This, however, was not to +be. The court of King Charles offered no attractions to pure-minded and +honorable men. Sir Henry came no more to London, but lived quietly and +happily to the end of a long life at Furness Hall, rejoicing much over +the happiness of his son, and in the society of his daughter-in-law and +her children. Herbert Rippinghall sat in Parliament for Abingdon. Except +when obliged by his duties as a member to be in London, Sir Harry +Furness lived quietly at Furness Hall, taking much interest in country +matters. Twenty-eight years later James II fled from England, and +William of Orange mounted the throne. At this time Sir Harry Furness was +sixty-one, and he lived many years to see the freedom and rights for +which Englishmen had so hotly struggled and fought now enjoyed by them +in all their fullness. + +A few words as to the other personages of this story. Jacob, three years +after Harry's return to England, married the Spanish girl Zita, and +settled down in a pretty house called the Dower House, on the Furness +property, which, together with a large farm attached to it, Sir Henry +Furness settled upon him, as a token of his affection and gratitude to +him for the faithful services he had rendered to his son. + +William Long was made bailiff of the estate, and Mike remained the +attached and faithful body-servant of Sir Harry, until he, ten years +later, married the daughter and heiress of a tradesman in Abingdon, and +became a leading citizen of that town. + +Although Harry was not of a revengeful disposition, he rejoiced +exceedingly when he heard, two or three months after the king's +restoration, of the execution of that doubly-dyed traitor, the Earl of +Argyll. + +THE END. + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Friends, though divided, by G. A. Henty + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11565 *** |