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+Project Gutenberg's The Lancashire Witches, by William Harrison Ainsworth
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Lancashire Witches
+       A Romance of Pendle Forest
+
+Author: William Harrison Ainsworth
+
+Release Date: March 29, 2005 [EBook #15493]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Clare Boothby, Jon King and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: NICHOLAS ASSHETON AND THE THREE DOLL WANGOS LEAVING
+HOGHTON HALL.]
+
+
+
+
+THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES.
+A Romance of Pendle Forest.
+
+
+By
+William Harrison Ainsworth, Esq.
+
+
+    _Sir Jeffery_.--Is there a justice in Lancashire has so much
+    skill in witches as I have? Nay, I'll speak a proud word; you
+    shall turn me loose against any Witch-finder in Europe. I'd
+    make an ass of Hopkins if he were alive.--SHADWELL.
+
+
+Third Edition.
+
+
+Illustrated by John Gilbert.
+
+
+London:
+George Routledge & Co., Farringdon Street.
+1854.
+
+
+To
+James Crossley, Esq.,
+(of Manchester,)
+
+President of the Chetham Society,
+And the Learned Editor Of
+"The Discoverie of Witches in the County of Lancaster,"--
+
+The groundwork of the following pages,--
+This Romance,
+undertaken at his suggestion,
+is inscribed
+by his old, and sincerely attached friend,
+The Author.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+The Last Abbot of Whalley.
+
+   I.    THE BEACON ON PENDLE HILL
+  II.    THE ERUPTION
+ III.    WHALLEY ABBEY
+  IV.    THE MALEDICTION
+   V.    THE MIDNIGHT MASS
+  VI.    TETER ET FORTIS CARCER
+ VII.    THE ABBEY MILL
+VIII.    THE EXECUTIONER
+  IX.    WISWALL HALL
+   X.    THE HOLEHOUSES
+
+
+
+BOOK THE FIRST.
+
+Alizon Device.
+
+   I.    THE MAY QUEEN
+  II.    THE BLACK CAT AND THE WHITE DOVE
+ III.    THE ASSHETONS
+  IV.    ALICE NUTTER
+   V.    MOTHER CHATTOX
+  VI.    THE ORDEAL BY SWIMMING
+ VII.    THE RUINED CONVENTUAL CHURCH
+VIII.    THE REVELATION
+  IX.    THE TWO PORTRAITS IN THE BANQUETING-HALL
+   X.    THE NOCTURNAL MEETING
+
+
+
+BOOK THE SECOND.
+
+Pendle Forest.
+
+   I.    FLINT
+  II.    READ HALL
+ III.    THE BOGGART'S GLEN
+  IV.    THE REEVE OF THE FOREST
+   V.    BESS'S O' TH' BOOTH
+  VI.    THE TEMPTATION
+ VII.    THE PERAMBULATION OF THE BOUNDARIES
+VIII.    ROUGH LEE
+  IX.    HOW ROUGH LEE WAS DEFENDED BY NICHOLAS
+   X.    ROGER NOWELL AND HIS DOUBLE
+  XI.    MOTHER DEMDIKE
+ XII.    THE MYSTERIES OF MALKIN TOWER
+XIII.    THE TWO FAMILIARS
+ XIV.    HOW ROUGH LEE WAS AGAIN BESIEGED
+  XV.    THE PHANTOM MONK
+ XVI.    ONE O'CLOCK!
+XVII.    HOW THE BEACON FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED
+
+
+BOOK THE THIRD.
+
+Hoghton Tower.
+
+   I.    DOWNHAM MANOR-HOUSE
+  II.    THE PENITENT'S RETREAT
+ III.    MIDDLETON HALL
+  IV.    THE GORGE OF CLIVIGER
+   V.    THE END OF MALKIN TOWER
+  VI.    HOGHTON TOWER
+ VII.    THE ROYAL DECLARATION CONCERNING LAWFUL SPORTS ON THE SUNDAY
+VIII.    HOW KING JAMES HUNTED THE HART AND THE WILD-BOAR IN HOGHTON
+            PARK
+  IX.    THE BANQUET
+   X.    EVENING ENTERTAINMENTS
+  XI.    FATALITY
+ XII.    THE LAST HOUR
+XIII.    THE MASQUE OF DEATH
+ XIV.    "ONE GRAVE"
+  XV.    LANCASTER CASTLE
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+The Last Abbot of Whalley.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.--THE BEACON ON PENDLE HILL.
+
+
+There were eight watchers by the beacon on Pendle Hill in Lancashire.
+Two were stationed on either side of the north-eastern extremity of the
+mountain. One looked over the castled heights of Clithero; the woody
+eminences of Bowland; the bleak ridges of Thornley; the broad moors of
+Bleasdale; the Trough of Bolland, and Wolf Crag; and even brought within
+his ken the black fells overhanging Lancaster. The other tracked the
+stream called Pendle Water, almost from its source amid the neighbouring
+hills, and followed its windings through the leafless forest, until it
+united its waters to those of the Calder, and swept on in swifter and
+clearer current, to wash the base of Whalley Abbey. But the watcher's
+survey did not stop here. Noting the sharp spire of Burnley Church,
+relieved against the rounded masses of timber constituting Townley Park;
+as well as the entrance of the gloomy mountain gorge, known as the
+Grange of Cliviger; his far-reaching gaze passed over Todmorden, and
+settled upon the distant summits of Blackstone Edge.
+
+Dreary was the prospect on all sides. Black moor, bleak fell, straggling
+forest, intersected with sullen streams as black as ink, with here and
+there a small tarn, or moss-pool, with waters of the same hue--these
+constituted the chief features of the scene. The whole district was
+barren and thinly-populated. Of towns, only Clithero, Colne, and
+Burnley--the latter little more than a village--were in view. In the
+valleys there were a few hamlets and scattered cottages, and on the
+uplands an occasional "booth," as the hut of the herdsman was termed;
+but of more important mansions there were only six, as Merley,
+Twistleton, Alcancoats, Saxfeld, Ightenhill, and Gawthorpe. The
+"vaccaries" for the cattle, of which the herdsmen had the care, and the
+"lawnds," or parks within the forest, appertaining to some of the halls
+before mentioned, offered the only evidences of cultivation. All else
+was heathy waste, morass, and wood.
+
+Still, in the eye of the sportsman--and the Lancashire gentlemen of the
+sixteenth century were keen lovers of sport--the country had a strong
+interest. Pendle forest abounded with game. Grouse, plover, and bittern
+were found upon its moors; woodcock and snipe on its marshes; mallard,
+teal, and widgeon upon its pools. In its chases ranged herds of deer,
+protected by the terrible forest-laws, then in full force: and the
+hardier huntsman might follow the wolf to his lair in the mountains;
+might spear the boar in the oaken glades, or the otter on the river's
+brink; might unearth the badger or the fox, or smite the fierce
+cat-a-mountain with a quarrel from his bow. A nobler victim sometimes,
+also, awaited him in the shape of a wild mountain bull, a denizen of the
+forest, and a remnant of the herds that had once browsed upon the hills,
+but which had almost all been captured, and removed to stock the park of
+the Abbot of Whalley. The streams and pools were full of fish: the
+stately heron frequented the meres; and on the craggy heights built the
+kite, the falcon, and the kingly eagle.
+
+There were eight watchers by the beacon. Two stood apart from the
+others, looking to the right and the left of the hill. Both were armed
+with swords and arquebuses, and wore steel caps and coats of buff. Their
+sleeves were embroidered with the five wounds of Christ, encircling the
+name of Jesus--the badge of the Pilgrimage of Grace. Between them, on
+the verge of the mountain, was planted a great banner, displaying a
+silver cross, the chalice, and the Host, together with an ecclesiastical
+figure, but wearing a helmet instead of a mitre, and holding a sword in
+place of a crosier, with the unoccupied hand pointing to the two towers
+of a monastic structure, as if to intimate that he was armed for its
+defence. This figure, as the device beneath it showed, represented John
+Paslew, Abbot of Whalley, or, as he styled himself in his military
+capacity, Earl of Poverty.
+
+There were eight watchers by the beacon. Two have been described. Of the
+other six, two were stout herdsmen carrying crooks, and holding a couple
+of mules, and a richly-caparisoned war-horse by the bridle. Near them
+stood a broad-shouldered, athletic young man, with the fresh complexion,
+curling brown hair, light eyes, and open Saxon countenance, best seen in
+his native county of Lancaster. He wore a Lincoln-green tunic, with a
+bugle suspended from the shoulder by a silken cord; and a silver plate
+engraved with the three luces, the ensign of the Abbot of Whalley, hung
+by a chain from his neck. A hunting knife was in his girdle, and an
+eagle's plume in his cap, and he leaned upon the but-end of a crossbow,
+regarding three persons who stood together by a peat fire, on the
+sheltered side of the beacon. Two of these were elderly men, in the
+white gowns and scapularies of Cistertian monks, doubtless from Whalley,
+as the abbey belonged to that order. The third and last, and evidently
+their superior, was a tall man in a riding dress, wrapped in a long
+mantle of black velvet, trimmed with minever, and displaying the same
+badges as those upon the sleeves of the sentinels, only wrought in
+richer material. His features were strongly marked and stern, and bore
+traces of age; but his eye was bright, and his carriage erect and
+dignified.
+
+The beacon, near which the watchers stood, consisted of a vast pile of
+logs of timber, heaped upon a circular range of stones, with openings to
+admit air, and having the centre filled with fagots, and other quickly
+combustible materials. Torches were placed near at hand, so that the
+pile could be lighted on the instant.
+
+The watch was held one afternoon at the latter end of November, 1536. In
+that year had arisen a formidable rebellion in the northern counties of
+England, the members of which, while engaging to respect the person of
+the king, Henry VIII., and his issue, bound themselves by solemn oath to
+accomplish the restoration of Papal supremacy throughout the realm, and
+the restitution of religious establishments and lands to their late
+ejected possessors. They bound themselves, also, to punish the enemies
+of the Romish church, and suppress heresy. From its religious character
+the insurrection assumed the name of the Pilgrimage of Grace, and
+numbered among its adherents all who had not embraced the new doctrines
+in Yorkshire and Lancashire. That such an outbreak should occur on the
+suppression of the monasteries, was not marvellous. The desecration and
+spoliation of so many sacred structures--the destruction of shrines and
+images long regarded with veneration--the ejection of so many
+ecclesiastics, renowned for hospitality and revered for piety and
+learning--the violence and rapacity of the commissioners appointed by
+the Vicar-General Cromwell to carry out these severe measures--all these
+outrages were regarded by the people with abhorrence, and disposed them
+to aid the sufferers in resistance. As yet the wealthier monasteries in
+the north had been spared, and it was to preserve them from the greedy
+hands of the visiters, Doctors Lee and Layton, that the insurrection had
+been undertaken. A simultaneous rising took place in Lincolnshire,
+headed by Makarel, Abbot of Barlings, but it was speedily quelled by the
+vigour and skill of the Duke of Suffolk, and its leader executed. But
+the northern outbreak was better organized, and of greater force, for it
+now numbered thirty thousand men, under the command of a skilful and
+resolute leader named Robert Aske.
+
+As may be supposed, the priesthood were main movers in a revolt having
+their especial benefit for its aim; and many of them, following the
+example of the Abbot of Barlings, clothed themselves in steel instead of
+woollen garments, and girded on the sword and the breastplate for the
+redress of their grievances and the maintenance of their rights. Amongst
+these were the Abbots of Jervaux, Furness, Fountains, Rivaulx, and
+Salley, and, lastly, the Abbot of Whalley, before mentioned; a fiery and
+energetic prelate, who had ever been constant and determined in his
+opposition to the aggressive measures of the king. Such was the
+Pilgrimage of Grace, such its design, and such its supporters.
+
+Several large towns had already fallen into the hands of the insurgents.
+York, Hull, and Pontefract had yielded; Skipton Castle was besieged, and
+defended by the Earl of Cumberland; and battle was offered to the Duke
+of Norfolk and the Earl of Shrewsbury, who headed the king's forces at
+Doncaster. But the object of the Royalist leaders was to temporise, and
+an armistice was offered to the rebels and accepted. Terms were next
+proposed and debated.
+
+During the continuance of this armistice all hostilities ceased; but
+beacons were reared upon the mountains, and their fires were to be taken
+as a new summons to arms. This signal the eight watchers expected.
+
+Though late in November, the day had been unusually fine, and, in
+consequence, the whole hilly ranges around were clearly discernible, but
+now the shades of evening were fast drawing on.
+
+"Night is approaching," cried the tall man in the velvet mantle,
+impatiently; "and still the signal comes not. Wherefore this delay? Can
+Norfolk have accepted our conditions? Impossible. The last messenger
+from our camp at Scawsby Lees brought word that the duke's sole terms
+would be the king's pardon to the whole insurgent army, provided they at
+once dispersed--except ten persons, six named and four unnamed."
+
+"And were you amongst those named, lord abbot?" demanded one of the
+monks.
+
+"John Paslew, Abbot of Whalley, it was said, headed the list," replied
+the other, with a bitter smile. "Next came William Trafford, Abbot of
+Salley. Next Adam Sudbury, Abbot of Jervaux. Then our leader, Robert
+Aske. Then John Eastgate, Monk of Whalley--"
+
+"How, lord abbot!" exclaimed the monk. "Was my name mentioned?"
+
+"It was," rejoined the abbot. "And that of William Haydocke, also Monk
+of Whalley, closed the list."
+
+"The unrelenting tyrant!" muttered the other monk. "But these terms
+could not be accepted?"
+
+"Assuredly not," replied Paslew; "they were rejected with scorn. But the
+negotiations were continued by Sir Ralph Ellerker and Sir Robert Bowas,
+who were to claim on our part a free pardon for all; the establishment
+of a Parliament and courts of justice at York; the restoration of the
+Princess Mary to the succession; the Pope to his jurisdiction; and our
+brethren to their houses. But such conditions will never be granted.
+With my consent no armistice should have been agreed to. We are sure to
+lose by the delay. But I was overruled by the Archbishop of York and the
+Lord Darcy. Their voices prevailed against the Abbot of Whalley--or, if
+it please you, the Earl of Poverty."
+
+"It is the assumption of that derisive title which has drawn upon you
+the full force of the king's resentment, lord abbot," observed Father
+Eastgate.
+
+"It may be," replied the abbot. "I took it in mockery of Cromwell and
+the ecclesiastical commissioners, and I rejoice that they have felt the
+sting. The Abbot of Barlings called himself Captain Cobbler, because, as
+he affirmed, the state wanted mending like old shoon. And is not my
+title equally well chosen? Is not the Church smitten with poverty? Have
+not ten thousand of our brethren been driven from their homes to beg or
+to starve? Have not the houseless poor, whom we fed at our gates, and
+lodged within our wards, gone away hungry and without rest? Have not the
+sick, whom we would have relieved, died untended by the hedge-side? I am
+the head of the poor in Lancashire, the redresser of their grievances,
+and therefore I style myself Earl of Poverty. Have I not done well?"
+
+"You have, lord abbot," replied Father Eastgate.
+
+"Poverty will not alone be the fate of the Church, but of the whole
+realm, if the rapacious designs of the monarch and his heretical
+counsellors are carried forth," pursued the abbot. "Cromwell, Audeley,
+and Rich, have wisely ordained that no infant shall be baptised without
+tribute to the king; that no man who owns not above twenty pounds a year
+shall consume wheaten bread, or eat the flesh of fowl or swine without
+tribute; and that all ploughed land shall pay tribute likewise. Thus the
+Church is to be beggared, the poor plundered, and all men burthened, to
+fatten the king, and fill his exchequer."
+
+"This must be a jest," observed Father Haydocke.
+
+"It is a jest no man laughs at," rejoined the abbot, sternly; "any more
+than the king's counsellors will laugh at the Earl of Poverty, whose
+title they themselves have created. But wherefore comes not the signal?
+Can aught have gone wrong? I will not think it. The whole country, from
+the Tweed to the Humber, and from the Lune to the Mersey, is ours; and,
+if we but hold together, our cause must prevail."
+
+"Yet we have many and powerful enemies," observed Father Eastgate; "and
+the king, it is said, hath sworn never to make terms with us. Tidings
+were brought to the abbey this morning, that the Earl of Derby is
+assembling forces at Preston, to march upon us."
+
+"We will give him a warm reception if he comes," replied Paslew,
+fiercely. "He will find that our walls have not been kernelled and
+embattled by licence of good King Edward the Third for nothing; and that
+our brethren can fight as well as their predecessors fought in the time
+of Abbot Holden, when they took tithe by force from Sir Christopher
+Parsons of Slaydburn. The abbey is strong, and right well defended, and
+we need not fear a surprise. But it grows dark fast, and yet no signal
+comes."
+
+"Perchance the waters of the Don have again risen, so as to prevent the
+army from fording the stream," observed Father Haydocke; "or it may be
+that some disaster hath befallen our leader."
+
+"Nay, I will not believe the latter," said the abbot; "Robert Aske is
+chosen by Heaven to be our deliverer. It has been prophesied that a
+'worm with one eye' shall work the redemption of the fallen faith, and
+you know that Robert Aske hath been deprived of his left orb by an
+arrow."
+
+"Therefore it is," observed Father Eastgate, "that the Pilgrims of Grace
+chant the following ditty:--
+
+          "'Forth shall come an Aske with one eye,
+          He shall be chief of the company--
+          Chief of the northern chivalry.'"
+
+"What more?" demanded the abbot, seeing that the monk appeared to
+hesitate.
+
+"Nay, I know not whether the rest of the rhymes may please you, lord
+abbot," replied Father Eastgate.
+
+"Let me hear them, and I will judge," said Paslew. Thus urged, the monk
+went on:--
+
+          "'One shall sit at a solemn feast,
+          Half warrior, half priest,
+          The greatest there shall be the least.'"
+
+"The last verse," observed the monk, "has been added to the ditty by
+Nicholas Demdike. I heard him sing it the other day at the abbey gate."
+
+"What, Nicholas Demdike of Worston?" cried the abbot; "he whose wife is
+a witch?"
+
+"The same," replied Eastgate.
+
+"Hoo be so ceawnted, sure eno," remarked the forester, who had been
+listening attentively to their discourse, and who now stepped forward;
+"boh dunna yo think it. Beleemy, lort abbut, Bess Demdike's too yunk an
+too protty for a witch."
+
+"Thou art bewitched by her thyself, Cuthbert," said the abbot, angrily.
+"I shall impose a penance upon thee, to free thee from the evil
+influence. Thou must recite twenty paternosters daily, fasting, for one
+month; and afterwards perform a pilgrimage to the shrine of our Lady of
+Gilsland. Bess Demdike is an approved and notorious witch, and hath been
+seen by credible witnesses attending a devil's sabbath on this very
+hill--Heaven shield us! It is therefore that I have placed her and her
+husband under the ban of the Church; pronounced sentence of
+excommunication against them; and commanded all my clergy to refuse
+baptism to their infant daughter, newly born."
+
+"Wea's me! ey knoas 't reet weel, lort abbut," replied Ashbead, "and
+Bess taks t' sentence sore ta 'ert!"
+
+"Then let her amend her ways, or heavier punishment will befall her,"
+cried Paslew, severely. "'_Sortilegam non patieris vivere_' saith the
+Levitical law. If she be convicted she shall die the death. That she is
+comely I admit; but it is the comeliness of a child of sin. Dost thou
+know the man with whom she is wedded--or supposed to be wedded--for I
+have seen no proof of the marriage? He is a stranger here."
+
+"Ey knoas neawt abowt him, lort abbut, 'cept that he cum to Pendle a
+twalmont agoa," replied Ashbead; "boh ey knoas fu' weel that
+t'eawtcumbling felly robt me ot prettiest lass i' aw Lonkyshiar--aigh,
+or i' aw Englondshiar, fo' t' matter o' that."
+
+"What manner of man is he?" inquired the abbot.
+
+"Oh, he's a feaw teyke--a varra feaw teyke," replied Ashbead; "wi' a
+feace as black as a boggart, sooty shiny hewr loike a mowdywarp, an' een
+loike a stanniel. Boh for running, rostling, an' throwing t' stoan, he'n
+no match i' this keawntry. Ey'n triet him at aw three gams, so ey con
+speak. For't most part he'n a big, black bandyhewit wi' him, and, by th'
+Mess, ey canna help thinkin he meys free sumtoimes wi' yor lortship's
+bucks."
+
+"Ha! this must be looked to," cried the abbot. "You say you know not
+whence he comes? 'Tis strange."
+
+"T' missmannert carl'll boide naw questionin', odd rottle him!" replied
+Ashbead. "He awnsurs wi' a gibe, or a thwack o' his staff. Whon ey last
+seet him, he threatened t' raddle me booans weel, boh ey sooan lowert
+him a peg."
+
+"We will find a way of making him speak," said the abbot.
+
+"He can speak, and right well if he pleases," remarked Father Eastgate;
+"for though ordinarily silent and sullen enough, yet when he doth talk
+it is not like one of the hinds with whom he consorts, but in good set
+phrase; and his bearing is as bold as that of one who hath seen service
+in the field."
+
+"My curiosity is aroused," said the abbot. "I must see him."
+
+"Noa sooner said than done," cried Ashbead, "for, be t' Lort Harry, ey
+see him stonding be yon moss poo' o' top t' hill, though how he'n getten
+theer t' Dule owny knoas."
+
+And he pointed out a tall dark figure standing near a little pool on the
+summit of the mountain, about a hundred yards from them.
+
+"Talk of ill, and ill cometh," observed Father Haydocke. "And see, the
+wizard hath a black hound with him! It may be his wife, in that
+likeness."
+
+"Naw, ey knoas t' hount reet weel, Feyther Haydocke," replied the
+forester; "it's a Saint Hubert, an' a rareun fo' fox or badgert. Odds
+loife, feyther, whoy that's t' black bandyhewit I war speaking on."
+
+"I like not the appearance of the knave at this juncture," said the
+abbot; "yet I wish to confront him, and charge him with his
+midemeanours."
+
+"Hark; he sings," cried Father Haydocke. And as he spoke a voice was
+heard chanting,--
+
+          "One shall sit at a solemn feast,
+          Half warrior, half priest,
+          The greatest there shall be the least."
+
+"The very ditty I heard," cried Father Eastgate; "but list, he has more
+of it." And the voice resumed,--
+
+          "He shall be rich, yet poor as me,
+          Abbot, and Earl of Poverty.
+          Monk and soldier, rich and poor,
+          He shall be hang'd at his own door."
+
+Loud derisive laughter followed the song.
+
+"By our Lady of Whalley, the knave is mocking us," cried the abbot;
+"send a bolt to silence him, Cuthbert."
+
+The forester instantly bent his bow, and a quarrel whistled off in the
+direction of the singer; but whether his aim were not truly taken, or he
+meant not to hit the mark, it is certain that Demdike remained
+untouched. The reputed wizard laughed aloud, took off his felt cap in
+acknowledgment, and marched deliberately down the side of the hill.
+
+"Thou art not wont to miss thy aim, Cuthbert," cried the abbot, with a
+look of displeasure. "Take good heed thou producest this scurril knave
+before me, when these troublous times are over. But what is this?--he
+stops--ha! he is practising his devilries on the mountain's side."
+
+It would seem that the abbot had good warrant for what he said, as
+Demdike, having paused at a broad green patch on the hill-side, was now
+busied in tracing a circle round it with his staff. He then spoke aloud
+some words, which the superstitious beholders construed into an
+incantation, and after tracing the circle once again, and casting some
+tufts of dry heather, which he plucked from an adjoining hillock, on
+three particular spots, he ran quickly downwards, followed by his hound,
+and leaping a stone wall, surrounding a little orchard at the foot of
+the hill, disappeared from view.
+
+"Go and see what he hath done," cried the abbot to the forester, "for I
+like it not."
+
+Ashbead instantly obeyed, and on reaching the green spot in question,
+shouted out that he could discern nothing; but presently added, as he
+moved about, that the turf heaved like a sway-bed beneath his feet, and
+he thought--to use his own phraseology--would "brast." The abbot then
+commanded him to go down to the orchard below, and if he could find
+Demdike to bring him to him instantly. The forester did as he was
+bidden, ran down the hill, and, leaping the orchard wall as the other
+had done, was lost to sight.
+
+Ere long, it became quite dark, and as Ashbead did not reappear, the
+abbot gave vent to his impatience and uneasiness, and was proposing to
+send one of the herdsmen in search of him, when his attention was
+suddenly diverted by a loud shout from one of the sentinels, and a fire
+was seen on a distant hill on the right.
+
+"The signal! the signal!" cried Paslew, joyfully. "Kindle a
+torch!--quick, quick!"
+
+And as he spoke, he seized a brand and plunged it into the peat fire,
+while his example was followed by the two monks.
+
+"It is the beacon on Blackstone Edge," cried the abbot; "and look! a
+second blazes over the Grange of Cliviger--another on Ightenhill--
+another on Boulsworth Hill--and the last on the neighbouring
+heights of Padiham. Our own comes next. May it light the enemies of our
+holy Church to perdition!"
+
+With this, he applied the burning brand to the combustible matter of the
+beacon. The monks did the same; and in an instant a tall, pointed flame,
+rose up from a thick cloud of smoke. Ere another minute had elapsed,
+similar fires shot up to the right and the left, on the high lands of
+Trawden Forest, on the jagged points of Foulridge, on the summit of
+Cowling Hill, and so on to Skipton. Other fires again blazed on the
+towers of Clithero, on Longridge and Ribchester, on the woody eminences
+of Bowland, on Wolf Crag, and on fell and scar all the way to Lancaster.
+It seemed the work of enchantment, so suddenly and so strangely did the
+fires shoot forth. As the beacon flame increased, it lighted up the
+whole of the extensive table-land on the summit of Pendle Hill; and a
+long lurid streak fell on the darkling moss-pool near which the wizard
+had stood. But when it attained its utmost height, it revealed the
+depths of the forest below, and a red reflection, here and there, marked
+the course of Pendle Water. The excitement of the abbot and his
+companions momently increased, and the sentinels shouted as each new
+beacon was lighted. At last, almost every hill had its watch-fire, and
+so extraordinary was the spectacle, that it seemed as if weird beings
+were abroad, and holding their revels on the heights.
+
+Then it was that the abbot, mounting his steed, called out to the
+monks--"Holy fathers, you will follow to the abbey as you may. I shall
+ride fleetly on, and despatch two hundred archers to Huddersfield and
+Wakefield. The abbots of Salley and Jervaux, with the Prior of
+Burlington, will be with me at midnight, and at daybreak we shall march
+our forces to join the main army. Heaven be with you!"
+
+"Stay!" cried a harsh, imperious voice. "Stay!"
+
+And, to his surprise, the abbot beheld Nicholas Demdike standing before
+him. The aspect of the wizard was dark and forbidding, and, seen by the
+beacon light, his savage features, blazing eyes, tall gaunt frame, and
+fantastic garb, made him look like something unearthly. Flinging his
+staff over his shoulder, he slowly approached, with his black hound
+following close by at his heels.
+
+"I have a caution to give you, lord abbot," he said; "hear me speak
+before you set out for the abbey, or ill will befall you."
+
+"Ill _will_ befall me if I listen to thee, thou wicked churl," cried the
+abbot. "What hast thou done with Cuthbert Ashbead?"
+
+"I have seen nothing of him since he sent a bolt after me at your
+bidding, lord abbot," replied Demdike.
+
+"Beware lest any harm come to him, or thou wilt rue it," cried Paslew.
+"But I have no time to waste on thee. Farewell, fathers. High mass will
+be said in the convent church before we set out on the expedition
+to-morrow morning. You will both attend it."
+
+"You will never set out upon the expedition, lord abbot," cried Demdike,
+planting his staff so suddenly into the ground before the horse's head
+that the animal reared and nearly threw his rider.
+
+"How now, fellow, what mean you?" cried the abbot, furiously.
+
+"To warn you," replied Demdike.
+
+"Stand aside," cried the abbot, spurring his steed, "or I will trample
+you beneath my horse's feet."
+
+"I might let you ride to your own doom," rejoined Demdike, with a
+scornful laugh, as he seized the abbot's bridle. "But you shall hear me.
+I tell you, you will never go forth on this expedition. I tell you that,
+ere to-morrow, Whalley Abbey will have passed for ever from your
+possession; and that, if you go thither again, your life will be
+forfeited. Now will you listen to me?"
+
+"I am wrong in doing so," cried the abbot, who could not, however,
+repress some feelings of misgiving at this alarming address. "Speak,
+what would you say?"
+
+"Come out of earshot of the others, and I will tell you," replied
+Demdike. And he led the abbot's horse to some distance further on the
+hill.
+
+"Your cause will fail, lord abbot," he then said. "Nay, it is lost
+already."
+
+"Lost!" cried the abbot, out of all patience. "Lost! Look around. Twenty
+fires are in sight--ay, thirty, and every fire thou seest will summon a
+hundred men, at the least, to arms. Before an hour, five hundred men
+will be gathered before the gates of Whalley Abbey."
+
+"True," replied Demdike; "but they will not own the Earl of Poverty for
+their leader."
+
+"What leader will they own, then?" demanded the abbot, scornfully.
+
+"The Earl of Derby," replied Demdike. "He is on his way thither with
+Lord Mounteagle from Preston."
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Paslew, "let me go meet them, then. But thou triflest
+with me, fellow. Thou canst know nothing of this. Whence gott'st thou
+thine information?"
+
+"Heed it not," replied the other; "thou wilt find it correct. I tell
+thee, proud abbot, that this grand scheme of thine and of thy fellows,
+for the restitution of the Catholic Church, has failed--utterly failed."
+
+"I tell thee thou liest, false knave!" cried the abbot, striking him on
+the hand with his scourge. "Quit thy hold, and let me go."
+
+"Not till I have done," replied Demdike, maintaining his grasp. "Well
+hast thou styled thyself Earl of Poverty, for thou art poor and
+miserable enough. Abbot of Whalley thou art no longer. Thy possessions
+will be taken from thee, and if thou returnest thy life also will be
+taken. If thou fleest, a price will be set upon thy head. I alone can
+save thee, and I will do so on one condition."
+
+"Condition! make conditions with thee, bond-slave of Satan!" cried the
+abbot, gnashing his teeth. "I reproach myself that I have listened to
+thee so long. Stand aside, or I will strike thee dead."
+
+"You are wholly in my power," cried Demdike with a disdainful laugh. And
+as he spoke he pressed the large sharp bit against the charger's mouth,
+and backed him quickly to the very edge of the hill, the sides of which
+here sloped precipitously down. The abbot would have uttered a cry, but
+surprise and terror kept him silent.
+
+"Were it my desire to injure you, I could cast you down the
+mountain-side to certain death," pursued Demdike. "But I have no such
+wish. On the contrary, I will serve you, as I have said, on one
+condition."
+
+"Thy condition would imperil my soul," said the abbot, full of wrath and
+alarm. "Thou seekest in vain to terrify me into compliance. _Vade retro,
+Sathanas_. I defy thee and all thy works."
+
+Demdike laughed scornfully.
+
+"The thunders of the Church do not frighten me," he cried. "But, look,"
+he added, "you doubted my word when I told you the rising was at an end.
+The beacon fires on Boulsworth Hill and on the Grange of Cliviger are
+extinguished; that on Padiham Heights is expiring--nay, it is out; and
+ere many minutes all these mountain watch-fires will have disappeared
+like lamps at the close of a feast."
+
+"By our Lady, it is so," cried the abbot, in increasing terror. "What
+new jugglery is this?"
+
+"It is no jugglery, I tell you," replied the other.
+
+"The waters of the Don have again arisen; the insurgents have accepted
+the king's pardon, have deserted their leaders, and dispersed. There
+will be no rising to-night or on the morrow. The abbots of Jervaux and
+Salley will strive to capitulate, but in vain. The Pilgrimage of Grace
+is ended. The stake for which thou playedst is lost. Thirty years hast
+thou governed here, but thy rule is over. Seventeen abbots have there
+been of Whalley--the last thou!--but there shall be none more."
+
+"It must be the Demon in person that speaks thus to me," cried the
+abbot, his hair bristling on his head, and a cold perspiration bursting
+from his pores.
+
+"No matter who I am," replied the other; "I have said I will aid thee on
+one condition. It is not much. Remove thy ban from my wife, and baptise
+her infant daughter, and I am content. I would not ask thee for this
+service, slight though it be, but the poor soul hath set her mind upon
+it. Wilt thou do it?"
+
+"No," replied the abbot, shuddering; "I will not baptise a daughter of
+Satan. I will not sell my soul to the powers of darkness. I adjure thee
+to depart from me, and tempt me no longer."
+
+"Vainly thou seekest to cast me off," rejoined Demdike. "What if I
+deliver thine adversaries into thine hands, and revenge thee upon them?
+Even now there are a party of armed men waiting at the foot of the hill
+to seize thee and thy brethren. Shall I show thee how to destroy them?"
+
+"Who are they?" demanded the abbot, surprised.
+
+"Their leaders are John Braddyll and Richard Assheton, who shall divide
+Whalley Abbey between them, if thou stayest them not," replied Demdike.
+
+"Hell consume them!" cried the abbot.
+
+"Thy speech shows consent," rejoined Demdike. "Come this way."
+
+And, without awaiting the abbot's reply, he dragged his horse towards
+the but-end of the mountain. As they went on, the two monks, who had
+been filled with surprise at the interview, though they did not dare to
+interrupt it, advanced towards their superior, and looked earnestly and
+inquiringly at him, but he remained silent; while to the men-at-arms and
+the herdsmen, who demanded whether their own beacon-fire should be
+extinguished as the others had been, he answered moodily in the
+negative.
+
+"Where are the foes you spoke of?" he asked with some uneasiness, as
+Demdike led his horse slowly and carefully down the hill-side.
+
+"You shall see anon," replied the other.
+
+"You are taking me to the spot where you traced the magic circle," cried
+Paslew in alarm. "I know it from its unnaturally green hue. I will not
+go thither."
+
+"I do not mean you should, lord abbot," replied Demdike, halting.
+"Remain on this firm ground. Nay, be not alarmed; you are in no danger.
+Now bid your men advance, and prepare their weapons."
+
+The abbot would have demanded wherefore, but at a glance from Demdike he
+complied, and the two men-at-arms, and the herdsmen, arranged
+themselves beside him, while Fathers Eastgate and Haydocke, who had
+gotten upon their mules, took up a position behind.
+
+Scarcely were they thus placed, when a loud shout was raised below, and
+a band of armed men, to the number of thirty or forty, leapt the stone
+wall, and began to scale the hill with great rapidity. They came up a
+deep dry channel, apparently worn in the hill-side by some former
+torrent, and which led directly to the spot where Demdike and the abbot
+stood. The beacon-fire still blazed brightly, and illuminated the whole
+proceeding, showing that these men, from their accoutrements, were
+royalist soldiers.
+
+"Stir not, as you value your life," said the wizard to Paslew; "but
+observe what shall follow."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.--THE ERUPTION.
+
+
+Demdike went a little further down the hill, stopping when he came to
+the green patch. He then plunged his staff into the sod at the first
+point where he had cast a tuft of heather, and with such force that it
+sank more than three feet. The next moment he plucked it forth, as if
+with a great effort, and a jet of black water spouted into the air; but,
+heedless of this, he went to the next marked spot, and again plunged the
+sharp point of the implement into the ground. Again it sank to the same
+depth, and, on being drawn out, a second black jet sprung forth.
+
+Meanwhile the hostile party continued to advance up the dry channel
+before mentioned, and shouted on beholding these strange preparations,
+but they did not relax their speed. Once more the staff sank into the
+ground, and a third black fountain followed its extraction. By this
+time, the royalist soldiers were close at hand, and the features of
+their two leaders, John Braddyll and Richard Assheton, could be plainly
+distinguished, and their voices heard.
+
+"'Tis he! 'tis the rebel abbot!" vociferated Braddyll, pressing forward.
+"We were not misinformed. He has been watching by the beacon. The devil
+has delivered him into our hands."
+
+"Ho! ho!" laughed Demdike.
+
+"Abbot no longer--'tis the Earl of Poverty you mean," responded
+Assheton. "The villain shall be gibbeted on the spot where he has fired
+the beacon, as a warning to all traitors."
+
+"Ha, heretics!--ha, blasphemers!--I can at least avenge myself upon
+you," cried Paslew, striking spurs into his charger. But ere he could
+execute his purpose, Demdike had sprung backward, and, catching the
+bridle, restrained the animal by a powerful effort.
+
+"Hold!" he cried, in a voice of thunder, "or you will share their fate."
+
+As the words were uttered, a dull, booming, subterranean sound was
+heard, and instantly afterwards, with a crash like thunder, the whole of
+the green circle beneath slipped off, and from a yawning rent under it
+burst forth with irresistible fury, a thick inky-coloured torrent,
+which, rising almost breast high, fell upon the devoted royalist
+soldiers, who were advancing right in its course. Unable to avoid the
+watery eruption, or to resist its fury when it came upon them, they were
+instantly swept from their feet, and carried down the channel.
+
+A sight of horror was it to behold the sudden rise of that swarthy
+stream, whose waters, tinged by the ruddy glare of the beacon-fire,
+looked like waves of blood. Nor less fearful was it to hear the first
+wild despairing cry raised by the victims, or the quickly stifled
+shrieks and groans that followed, mixed with the deafening roar of the
+stream, and the crashing fall of the stones, which accompanied its
+course. Down, down went the poor wretches, now utterly overwhelmed by
+the torrent, now regaining their feet only to utter a scream, and then
+be swept off. Here a miserable struggler, whirled onward, would clutch
+at the banks and try to scramble forth, but the soft turf giving way
+beneath him, he was hurried off to eternity.
+
+At another point where the stream encountered some trifling opposition,
+some two or three managed to gain a footing, but they were unable to
+extricate themselves. The vast quantity of boggy soil brought down by
+the current, and which rapidly collected here, embedded them and held
+them fast, so that the momently deepening water, already up to their
+chins, threatened speedy immersion. Others were stricken down by great
+masses of turf, or huge rocky fragments, which, bounding from point to
+point with the torrent, bruised or crushed all they encountered, or,
+lodging in some difficult place, slightly diverted the course of the
+torrent, and rendered it yet more dangerous.
+
+On one of these stones, larger than the rest, which had been stopped in
+its course, a man contrived to creep, and with difficulty kept his post
+amid the raging flood. Vainly did he extend his hand to such of his
+fellows as were swept shrieking past him. He could not lend them aid,
+while his own position was so desperately hazardous that he did not dare
+to quit it. To leap on either bank was impossible, and to breast the
+headlong stream certain death.
+
+On goes the current, madly, furiously, as if rejoicing in the work of
+destruction, while the white foam of its eddies presents a fearful
+contrast to the prevailing blackness of the surface. Over the last
+declivity it leaps, hissing, foaming, crashing like an avalanche. The
+stone wall for a moment opposes its force, but falls the next, with a
+mighty splash, carrying the spray far and wide, while its own fragments
+roll onwards with the stream. The trees of the orchard are uprooted in
+an instant, and an old elm falls prostrate. The outbuildings of a
+cottage are invaded, and the porkers and cattle, divining their danger,
+squeal and bellow in affright. But they are quickly silenced. The
+resistless foe has broken down wall and door, and buried the poor
+creatures in mud and rubbish.
+
+The stream next invades the cottage, breaks in through door and window,
+and filling all the lower part of the tenement, in a few minutes
+converts it into a heap of ruin. On goes the destroyer, tearing up more
+trees, levelling more houses, and filling up a small pool, till the
+latter bursts its banks, and, with an accession to its force, pours
+itself into a mill-dam. Here its waters are stayed until they find a
+vent underneath, and the action of the stream, as it rushes downwards
+through this exit, forms a great eddy above, in which swim some living
+things, cattle and sheep from the fold not yet drowned, mixed with
+furniture from the cottages, and amidst them the bodies of some of the
+unfortunate men-at-arms which have been washed hither.
+
+But, ha! another thundering crash. The dam has burst. The torrent roars
+and rushes on furiously as before, joins its forces with Pendle Water,
+swells up the river, and devastates the country far and wide.[1]
+
+The abbot and his companions beheld this work of destruction with
+amazement and dread. Blanched terror sat in their cheeks, and the blood
+was frozen in Paslew's veins; for he thought it the work of the powers
+of darkness, and that he was leagued with them. He tried to mutter a
+prayer, but his lips refused their office. He would have moved, but his
+limbs were stiffened and paralysed, and he could only gaze aghast at the
+terrible spectacle.
+
+Amidst it all he heard a wild burst of unearthly laughter, proceeding,
+he thought, from Demdike, and it filled him with new dread. But he could
+not check the sound, neither could he stop his ears, though he would
+fain have done so. Like him, his companions were petrified and
+speechless with fear.
+
+After this had endured for some time, though still the black torrent
+rushed on impetuously as ever, Demdike turned to the abbot and said,--
+
+"Your vengeance has been fully gratified. You will now baptise my
+child?"
+
+"Never, never, accursed being!" shrieked the abbot. "Thou mayst
+sacrifice her at thine own impious rites. But see, there is one poor
+wretch yet struggling with the foaming torrent. I may save him."
+
+"That is John Braddyll, thy worst enemy," replied Demdike. "If he lives
+he shall possess half Whalley Abbey. Thou hadst best also save Richard
+Assheton, who yet clings to the great stone below, as if he escapes he
+shall have the other half. Mark him, and make haste, for in five minutes
+both shall be gone."
+
+"I will save them if I can, be the consequence to myself what it may,"
+replied the abbot.
+
+And, regardless of the derisive laughter of the other, who yelled in his
+ears as he went, "Bess shall see thee hanged at thy own door!" he dashed
+down the hill to the spot where a small object, distinguishable above
+the stream, showed that some one still kept his head above water, his
+tall stature having preserved him.
+
+"Is it you, John Braddyll?" cried the abbot, as he rode up.
+
+"Ay," replied the head. "Forgive me for the wrong I intended you, and
+deliver me from this great peril."
+
+"I am come for that purpose," replied the abbot, dismounting, and
+disencumbering himself of his heavy cloak.
+
+By this time the two herdsmen had come up, and the abbot, taking a crook
+from one of them, clutched hold of the fellow, and, plunging fearlessly
+into the stream, extended it towards the drowning man, who instantly
+lifted up his hand to grasp it. In doing so Braddyll lost his balance,
+but, as he did not quit his hold, he was plucked forth from the
+tenacious mud by the combined efforts of the abbot and his assistant,
+and with some difficulty dragged ashore.
+
+"Now for the other," cried Paslew, as he placed Braddyll in safety.
+
+"One-half the abbey is gone from thee," shouted a voice in his ears as
+he rushed on.
+
+Presently he reached the rocky fragment on which Ralph Assheton rested.
+The latter was in great danger from the surging torrent, and the stone
+on which he had taken refuge tottered at its base, and threatened to
+roll over.
+
+"In Heaven's name, help me, lord abbot, as thou thyself shall be holpen
+at thy need!" shrieked Assheton.
+
+"Be not afraid, Richard Assheton," replied Paslew. "I will deliver thee
+as I have delivered John Braddyll."
+
+But the task was not of easy accomplishment. The abbot made his
+preparations as before; grasped the hand of the herdsman and held out
+the crook to Assheton; but when the latter caught it, the stream swung
+him round with such force that the abbot must either abandon him or
+advance further into the water. Bent on Assheton's preservation, he
+adopted the latter expedient, and instantly lost his feet; while the
+herdsman, unable longer to hold him, let go the crook, and the abbot and
+Assheton were swept down the stream together.
+
+Down--down they went, destruction apparently awaiting them; but the
+abbot, though sometimes quite under the water, and bruised by the rough
+stones and gravel with which he came in contact, still retained his
+self-possession, and encouraged his companion to hope for succour. In
+this way they were borne down to the foot of the hill, the monks, the
+herdsmen, and the men-at-arms having given them up as lost. But they yet
+lived--yet floated--though greatly injured, and almost senseless, when
+they were cast into a pool formed by the eddying waters at the foot of
+the hill. Here, wholly unable to assist himself, Assheton was seized by
+a black hound belonging to a tall man who stood on the bank, and who
+shouted to Paslew, as he helped the animal to bring the drowning man
+ashore, "The other half of the abbey is gone from thee. Wilt thou
+baptise my child if I send my dog to save thee?"
+
+"Never!" replied the other, sinking as he spoke.
+
+Flashes of fire glanced in the abbot's eyes, and stunning sounds seemed
+to burst his ears. A few more struggles, and he became senseless.
+
+But he was not destined to die thus. What happened afterwards he knew
+not; but when he recovered full consciousness, he found himself
+stretched, with aching limbs and throbbing head, upon a couch in a
+monastic room, with a richly-painted and gilded ceiling, with shields at
+the corners emblazoned with the three luces of Whalley, and with panels
+hung with tapestry from the looms of Flanders, representing divers
+Scriptural subjects.
+
+"Have I been dreaming?" he murmured.
+
+"No," replied a tall man standing by his bedside; "thou hast been saved
+from one death to suffer another more ignominious."
+
+"Ha!" cried the abbot, starting up and pressing his hand to his temples;
+"thou here?"
+
+"Ay, I am appointed to watch thee," replied Demdike. "Thou art a
+prisoner in thine own chamber at Whalley. All has befallen as I told
+thee. The Earl of Derby is master of the abbey; thy adherents are
+dispersed; and thy brethren are driven forth. Thy two partners in
+rebellion, the abbots of Jervaux and Salley, have been conveyed to
+Lancaster Castle, whither thou wilt go as soon as thou canst be moved."
+
+"I will surrender all--silver and gold, land and possessions--to the
+king, if I may die in peace," groaned the abbot.
+
+"It is not needed," rejoined the other. "Attainted of felony, thy lands
+and abbey will be forfeited to the crown, and they shall be sold, as I
+have told thee, to John Braddyll and Richard Assheton, who will be
+rulers here in thy stead."
+
+"Would I had perished in the flood!" groaned the abbot.
+
+"Well mayst thou wish so," returned his tormentor; "but thou wert not
+destined to die by water. As I have said, thou shalt be hanged at thy
+own door, and my wife shall witness thy end."
+
+"Who art thou? I have heard thy voice before," cried the abbot. "It is
+like the voice of one whom I knew years ago, and thy features are like
+his--though changed--greatly changed. Who art thou?"
+
+"Thou shalt know before thou diest," replied the other, with a look of
+gratified vengeance. "Farewell, and reflect upon thy fate."
+
+So saying, he strode towards the door, while the miserable abbot arose,
+and marching with uncertain steps to a little oratory adjoining, which
+he himself had built, knelt down before the altar, and strove to pray.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.--WHALLEY ABBEY.
+
+
+A sad, sad change hath come over the fair Abbey of Whalley. It knoweth
+its old masters no longer. For upwards of two centuries and a half hath
+the "Blessed Place"[2] grown in beauty and riches. Seventeen abbots have
+exercised unbounded hospitality within it, but now they are all gone,
+save one!--and he is attainted of felony and treason. The grave monk
+walketh no more in the cloisters, nor seeketh his pallet in the
+dormitory. Vesper or matin-song resound not as of old within the fine
+conventual church. Stripped are the altars of their silver crosses, and
+the shrines of their votive offerings and saintly relics. Pyx and
+chalice, thuribule and vial, golden-headed pastoral staff, and mitre
+embossed with pearls, candlestick and Christmas ship of silver; salver,
+basin, and ewer--all are gone--the splendid sacristy hath been
+despoiled.
+
+A sad, sad change hath come over Whalley Abbey. The libraries, well
+stored with reverend tomes, have been pillaged, and their contents cast
+to the flames; and thus long laboured manuscript, the fruit of years of
+patient industry, with gloriously illuminated missal, are irrecoverably
+lost. The large infirmary no longer receiveth the sick; in the locutory
+sitteth no more the guest. No longer in the mighty kitchens are prepared
+the prodigious supply of meats destined for the support of the poor or
+the entertainment of the traveller. No kindly porter stands at the gate,
+to bid the stranger enter and partake of the munificent abbot's
+hospitality, but a churlish guard bids him hie away, and menaces him if
+he tarries with his halbert. Closed are the buttery-hatches and the
+pantries; and the daily dole of bread hath ceased. Closed, also, to the
+brethren is the refectory. The cellarer's office is ended. The strong
+ale which he brewed in October, is tapped in March by roystering
+troopers. The rich muscadel and malmsey, and the wines of Gascoigne and
+the Rhine, are no longer quaffed by the abbot and his more honoured
+guests, but drunk to his destruction by his foes. The great gallery, a
+hundred and fifty feet in length, the pride of the abbot's lodging, and
+a model of architecture, is filled not with white-robed ecclesiastics,
+but with an armed earl and his retainers. Neglected is the little
+oratory dedicated to Our Lady of Whalley, where night and morn the abbot
+used to pray. All the old religious and hospitable uses of the abbey are
+foregone. The reverend stillness of the cloisters, scarce broken by the
+quiet tread of the monks, is now disturbed by armed heel and clank of
+sword; while in its saintly courts are heard the ribald song, the
+profane jest, and the angry brawl. Of the brethren, only those tenanting
+the cemetery are left. All else are gone, driven forth, as vagabonds,
+with stripes and curses, to seek refuge where they may.
+
+A sad, sad change has come over Whalley Abbey. In the plenitude of its
+pride and power has it been cast down, desecrated, despoiled. Its
+treasures are carried off, its ornaments sold, its granaries emptied,
+its possessions wasted, its storehouses sacked, its cattle slaughtered
+and sold. But, though stripped of its wealth and splendour; though
+deprived of all the religious graces that, like rich incense, lent an
+odour to the fane, its external beauty is yet unimpaired, and its vast
+proportions undiminished.
+
+A stately pile was Whalley--one of the loveliest as well as the largest
+in the realm. Carefully had it been preserved by its reverend rulers,
+and where reparations or additions were needed they were judiciously
+made. Thus age had lent it beauty, by mellowing its freshness and toning
+its hues, while no decay was perceptible. Without a struggle had it
+yielded to the captor, so that no part of its wide belt of walls or
+towers, though so strongly constructed as to have offered effectual
+resistance, were injured.
+
+Never had Whalley Abbey looked more beautiful than on a bright clear
+morning in March, when this sad change had been wrought, and when, from
+a peaceful monastic establishment, it had been converted into a menacing
+fortress. The sunlight sparkled upon its grey walls, and filled its
+three great quadrangular courts with light and life, piercing the
+exquisite carving of its cloisters, and revealing all the intricate
+beauty and combinations of the arches. Stains of painted glass fell upon
+the floor of the magnificent conventual church, and dyed with rainbow
+hues the marble tombs of the Lacies, the founders of the establishment,
+brought thither when the monastery was removed from Stanlaw in Cheshire,
+and upon the brass-covered gravestones of the abbots in the presbytery.
+There lay Gregory de Northbury, eighth abbot of Stanlaw and first of
+Whalley, and William Rede, the last abbot; but there was never to lie
+John Paslew. The slumber of the ancient prelates was soon to be
+disturbed, and the sacred structure within which they had so often
+worshipped, up-reared by sacrilegious hands. But all was bright and
+beauteous now, and if no solemn strains were heard in the holy pile, its
+stillness was scarcely less reverential and awe-inspiring. The old abbey
+wreathed itself in all its attractions, as if to welcome back its former
+ruler, whereas it was only to receive him as a captive doomed to a
+felon's death.
+
+But this was outward show. Within all was terrible preparation. Such
+was the discontented state of the country, that fearing some new revolt,
+the Earl of Derby had taken measures for the defence of the abbey, and
+along the wide-circling walls of the close were placed ordnance and men,
+and within the grange stores of ammunition. A strong guard was set at
+each of the gates, and the courts were filled with troops. The bray of
+the trumpet echoed within the close, where rounds were set for the
+archers, and martial music resounded within the area of the cloisters.
+Over the great north-eastern gateway, which formed the chief entrance to
+the abbot's lodging, floated the royal banner. Despite these warlike
+proceedings the fair abbey smiled beneath the sun, in all, or more than
+all, its pristine beauty, its green hills sloping gently down towards
+it, and the clear and sparkling Calder dashing merrily over the stones
+at its base.
+
+But upon the bridge, and by the river side, and within the little
+village, many persons were assembled, conversing gravely and anxiously
+together, and looking out towards the hills, where other groups were
+gathered, as if in expectation of some afflicting event. Most of these
+were herdsmen and farming men, but some among them were poor monks in
+the white habits of the Cistertian brotherhood, but which were now
+stained and threadbare, while their countenances bore traces of severest
+privation and suffering. All the herdsmen and farmers had been retainers
+of the abbot. The poor monks looked wistfully at their former
+habitation, but replied not except by a gentle bowing of the head to the
+cruel scoffs and taunts with which they were greeted by the passing
+soldiers; but the sturdy rustics did not bear these outrages so tamely,
+and more than one brawl ensued, in which blood flowed, while a ruffianly
+arquebussier would have been drowned in the Calder but for the exertions
+to save him of a monk whom he had attacked.
+
+This took place on the eleventh of March, 1537--more than three months
+after the date of the watching by the beacon before recorded--and the
+event anticipated by the concourse without the abbey, as well as by
+those within its walls, was the arrival of Abbot Paslew and Fathers
+Eastgate and Haydocke, who were to be brought on that day from
+Lancaster, and executed on the following morning before the abbey,
+according to sentence passed upon them.
+
+The gloomiest object in the picture remains to be described, but yet it
+is necessary to its completion. This was a gallows of unusual form and
+height, erected on the summit of a gentle hill, rising immediately in
+front of the abbot's lodgings, called the Holehouses, whose rounded,
+bosomy beauty it completely destroyed. This terrible apparatus of
+condign punishment was regarded with abhorrence by the rustics, and it
+required a strong guard to be kept constantly round it to preserve it
+from demolition.
+
+Amongst a group of rustics collected on the road leading to the
+north-east gateway, was Cuthbert Ashbead, who having been deprived of
+his forester's office, was now habited in a frieze doublet and hose with
+a short camlet cloak on his shoulder, and a fox-skin cap, embellished
+with the grinning jaws of the beast on his head.
+
+"Eigh, Ruchot o' Roaph's," he observed to a bystander, "that's a fearfo
+sect that gallas. Yoan been up to t' Holehouses to tey a look at it,
+beloike?"
+
+"Naw, naw, ey dunna loike such sects," replied Ruchot o' Roaph's;
+"besoide there wor a great rabblement at t' geate, an one o' them lunjus
+archer chaps knockt meh o' t' nob wi' his poike, an towd me he'd hong me
+wi' t' abbut, if ey didna keep owt ot wey."
+
+"An sarve te reet too, theaw craddinly carl!" cried Ashbead, doubling
+his horny fists. "Odds flesh! whey didna yo ha' a tussle wi' him? Mey
+honts are itchen for a bowt wi' t' heretic robbers. Walladey! walladey!
+that we should live to see t' oly feythers driven loike hummobees owt o'
+t' owd neest. Whey they sayn ot King Harry hon decreet ot we're to ha'
+naw more monks or friars i' aw Englondshiar. Ony think o' that. An dunna
+yo knoa that t' Abbuts o' Jervaux an Salley wor hongt o' Tizeday at
+Loncaster Castle?"
+
+"Good lorjus bless us!" exclaimed a sturdy hind, "we'n a protty king.
+Furst he chops off his woife's heaod, an then hongs aw t' priests.
+Whot'll t' warlt cum 'to?
+
+"Eigh by t' mess, whot _win_ it cum to?" cried Ruchot o' Roaph's. "But
+we darrna oppen owr mows fo' fear o' a gog."
+
+"Naw, beleady! boh eyst oppen moine woide enuff," cried Ashbead; "an' if
+a dozen o' yo chaps win join me, eyn try to set t' poor abbut free whon
+they brinks him here."
+
+"Ey'd as leef boide till to-morrow," said Ruchot o'Roaph's, uneasily.
+
+"Eigh, thou'rt a timmersome teyke, os ey towd te efore," replied
+Ashbead. "But whot dust theaw say, Hal o' Nabs?" he added, to the sturdy
+hind who had recently spoken.
+
+"Ey'n spill t' last drop o' meh blood i' t' owd abbut's keawse," replied
+Hal o' Nabs. "We winna stond by, an see him hongt loike a dog. Abbut
+Paslew to t' reskew, lads!"
+
+"Eigh, Abbut Paslew to t' reskew!" responded all the others, except
+Ruchot o' Roaph's.
+
+"This must be prevented," muttered a voice near them. And immediately
+afterwards a tall man quitted the group.
+
+"Whoa wor it spoake?" cried Hal o' Nabs. "Oh, ey seen, that he-witch,
+Nick Demdike."
+
+"Nick Demdike here!" cried Ashbead, looking round in alarm. "Has he
+owerheert us?"
+
+"Loike enow," replied Hal o' Nabs. "But ey didna moind him efore."
+
+"Naw ey noather," cried Ruchot o' Roaph's, crossing himself, and
+spitting on the ground. "Owr Leady o' Whalley shielt us fro' t'
+warlock!"
+
+"Tawkin o' Nick Demdike," cried Hal o' Nabs, "yo'd a strawnge odventer
+wi' him t' neet o' t' great brast o' Pendle Hill, hadna yo, Cuthbert?"
+
+"Yeigh, t' firrups tak' him, ey hadn," replied Ashbead. "Theawst hear aw
+abowt it if t' will. Ey wur sent be t' abbut down t' hill to Owen o'
+Gab's, o' Perkin's, o' Dannel's, o' Noll's, o' Oamfrey's orchert i'
+Warston lone, to luk efter him. Weel, whon ey gets ower t' stoan wa',
+whot dun yo think ey sees! twanty or throtty poikemen stonding behint
+it, an they deshes at meh os thick os leet, an efore ey con roor oot,
+they blintfowlt meh, an clap an iron gog i' meh mouth. Weel, I con
+noather speak nor see, boh ey con use meh feet, soh ey punses at 'em
+reet an' laft; an be mah troath, lads, yood'n a leawght t' hear how they
+roart, an ey should a roart too, if I couldn, whon they began to thwack
+me wi' their raddling pows, and ding'd meh so abowt t' heoad, that ey
+fell i' a swownd. Whon ey cum to, ey wur loyin o' meh back i' Rimington
+Moor. Every booan i' meh hoide wratcht, an meh hewr war clottert wi'
+gore, boh t' eebond an t' gog wur gone, soh ey gets o' meh feet, and
+daddles along os weel os ey con, whon aw ot wunce ey spies a leet
+glenting efore meh, an dawncing abowt loike an awf or a wull-o'-whisp.
+Thinks ey, that's Friar Rush an' his lantern, an he'll lead me into a
+quagmire, soh ey stops a bit, to consider where ey'd getten, for ey
+didna knoa t' reet road exactly; boh whon ey stood still, t' leet stood
+still too, on then ey meyd owt that it cum fro an owd ruint tower, an
+whot ey'd fancied wur one lantern proved twanty, fo' whon ey reacht t'
+tower an peept in thro' a brok'n winda, ey beheld a seet ey'st neer
+forgit--apack o' witches--eigh, witches!--sittin' in a ring, wi' their
+broomsticks an lanterns abowt em!"
+
+"Good lorjus deys!" cried Hal o' Nabs. "An whot else didsta see, mon?"
+
+"Whoy," replied Ashbead, "t'owd hags had a little figure i' t' midst on
+'em, mowded i' cley, representing t' abbut o' Whalley,--ey knoad it be't
+moitre and crosier,--an efter each o' t' varment had stickt a pin i' its
+'eart, a tall black mon stepped for'ard, an teed a cord rownd its
+throttle, an hongt it up."
+
+"An' t' black mon," cried Hal o' Nabs, breathlessly,--"t' black mon wur
+Nick Demdike?"
+
+"Yoan guest it," replied Ashbead, "'t wur he! Ey wur so glopp'nt, ey
+couldna speak, an' meh blud fruz i' meh veins, when ey heerd a fearfo
+voice ask Nick wheere his woife an' chilt were. 'The infant is
+unbaptised,' roart t' voice, 'at the next meeting it must be sacrificed.
+See that thou bring it.' Demdike then bowed to Summat I couldna see; an
+axt when t' next meeting wur to be held. 'On the night of Abbot
+Paslew's execution,' awnsert t' voice. On hearing this, ey could bear
+nah lunger, boh shouted out, 'Witches! devils! Lort deliver us fro' ye!'
+An' os ey spoke, ey tried t' barst thro' t' winda. In a trice, aw t'
+leets went out; thar wur a great rash to t' dooer; a whirrin sound i'
+th' air loike a covey o' partriches fleeing off; and then ey heerd nowt
+more; for a great stoan fell o' meh scoance, an' knockt me down
+senseless. When I cum' to, I wur i' Nick Demdike's cottage, wi' his
+woife watching ower me, and th' unbapteesed chilt i' her arms."
+
+All exclamations of wonder on the part of the rustics, and inquiries as
+to the issue of the adventure, were checked by the approach of a monk,
+who, joining the assemblage, called their attention to a priestly train
+slowly advancing along the road.
+
+"It is headed," he said, "by Fathers Chatburne and Chester, late bursers
+of the abbey. Alack! alack! they now need the charity themselves which
+they once so lavishly bestowed on others."
+
+"Waes me!" ejaculated Ashbead. "Monry a broad merk han ey getten fro
+'em."
+
+"They'n been koind to us aw," added the others.
+
+"Next come Father Burnley, granger, and Father Haworth, cellarer,"
+pursued the monk; "and after them Father Dinkley, sacristan, and Father
+Moore, porter."
+
+"Yo remember Feyther Moore, lads," cried Ashbead.
+
+"Yeigh, to be sure we done," replied the others; "a good mon, a reet
+good mon! He never sent away t' poor--naw he!"
+
+"After Father Moore," said the monk, pleased with their warmth, "comes
+Father Forrest, the procurator, with Fathers Rede, Clough, and Bancroft,
+and the procession is closed by Father Smith, the late prior."
+
+"Down o' yer whirlybooans, lads, as t' oly feythers pass," cried
+Ashbead, "and crave their blessing."
+
+And as the priestly train slowly approached, with heads bowed down, and
+looks fixed sadly upon the ground, the rustic assemblage fell upon their
+knees, and implored their benediction. The foremost in the procession
+passed on in silence, but the prior stopped, and extending his hands
+over the kneeling group, cried in a solemn voice,
+
+"Heaven bless ye, my children! Ye are about to witness a sad spectacle.
+You will see him who hath clothed you, fed you, and taught you the way
+to heaven, brought hither a prisoner, to suffer a shameful death."
+
+"Boh we'st set him free, oly prior," cried Ashbead. "We'n meayed up our
+moinds to 't. Yo just wait till he cums."
+
+"Nay, I command you to desist from the attempt, if any such you
+meditate," rejoined the prior; "it will avail nothing, and you will
+only sacrifice your own lives. Our enemies are too strong. The abbot
+himself would give you like counsel."
+
+Scarcely were the words uttered than from the great gate of the abbey
+there issued a dozen arquebussiers with an officer at their head, who
+marched directly towards the kneeling hinds, evidently with the
+intention of dispersing them. Behind them strode Nicholas Demdike. In an
+instant the alarmed rustics were on their feet, and Ruchot o' Roaph's,
+and some few among them, took to their heels, but Ashbead, Hal o' Nabs,
+with half a dozen others, stood their ground manfully. The monks
+remained in the hope of preventing any violence. Presently the
+halberdiers came up.
+
+"That is the ringleader," cried the officer, who proved to be Richard
+Assheton, pointing out Ashbead; "seize him!"
+
+"Naw mon shall lay honts o' meh," cried Cuthbert.
+
+And as the guard pushed past the monks to execute their leader's order,
+he sprang forward, and, wresting a halbert from the foremost of them,
+stood upon his defence.
+
+"Seize him, I say!" shouted Assheton, irritated at the resistance
+offered.
+
+"Keep off," cried Ashbead; "yo'd best. Loike a stag at bey ey'm
+dawngerous. Waar horns! waar horns! ey sey."
+
+The arquebussiers looked irresolute. It was evident Ashbead would only
+be taken with life, and they were not sure that it was their leader's
+purpose to destroy him.
+
+"Put down thy weapon, Cuthbert," interposed the prior; "it will avail
+thee nothing against odds like these."
+
+"Mey be, 'oly prior," rejoined Ashbead, flourishing the pike: "boh ey'st
+ony yield wi' loife."
+
+"I will disarm him," cried Demdike, stepping forward.
+
+"Theaw!" retorted Ashbead, with a scornful laugh, "Cum on, then. Hadsta
+aw t' fiends i' hell at te back, ey shouldna fear thee."
+
+"Yield!" cried Demdike in a voice of thunder, and fixing a terrible
+glance upon him.
+
+"Cum on, wizard," rejoined Ashbead undauntedly. But, observing that his
+opponent was wholly unarmed, he gave the pike to Hal o' Nabs, who was
+close beside him, observing, "It shall never be said that Cuthbert
+Ashbead feawt t' dule himsel unfairly. Nah, touch me if theaw dar'st."
+
+Demdike required no further provocation. With almost supernatural force
+and quickness he sprung upon the forester, and seized him by the throat.
+But the active young man freed himself from the gripe, and closed with
+his assailant. But though of Herculean build, it soon became evident
+that Ashbead would have the worst of it; when Hal o' Nabs, who had
+watched the struggle with intense interest, could not help coming to his
+friend's assistance, and made a push at Demdike with the halbert.
+
+Could it be that the wrestlers shifted their position, or that the
+wizard was indeed aided by the powers of darkness? None could tell, but
+so it was that the pike pierced the side of Ashbead, who instantly fell
+to the ground, with his adversary upon him. The next instant his hold
+relaxed, and the wizard sprang to his feet unharmed, but deluged in
+blood. Hal o' Nabs uttered a cry of keenest anguish, and, flinging
+himself upon the body of the forester, tried to staunch the wound; but
+he was quickly seized by the arquebussiers, and his hands tied behind
+his back with a thong, while Ashbead was lifted up and borne towards the
+abbey, the monks and rustics following slowly after; but the latter were
+not permitted to enter the gate.
+
+As the unfortunate keeper, who by this time had become insensible from
+loss of blood, was carried along the walled enclosure leading to the
+abbot's lodging, a female with a child in her arms was seen advancing
+from the opposite side. She was tall, finely formed, with features of
+remarkable beauty, though of a masculine and somewhat savage character,
+and with magnificent but fierce black eyes. Her skin was dark, and her
+hair raven black, contrasting strongly with the red band wound around
+it. Her kirtle was of murrey-coloured serge; simply, but becomingly
+fashioned. A glance sufficed to show her how matters stood with poor
+Ashbead, and, uttering a sharp angry cry, she rushed towards him.
+
+"What have you done?" she cried, fixing a keen reproachful look on
+Demdike, who walked beside the wounded man.
+
+"Nothing," replied Demdike with a bitter laugh; "the fool has been hurt
+with a pike. Stand out of the way, Bess, and let the men pass. They are
+about to carry him to the cell under the chapter-house."
+
+"You shall not take him there," cried Bess Demdike, fiercely. "He may
+recover if his wound be dressed. Let him go to the infirmary--ha, I
+forgot--there is no one there now."
+
+"Father Bancroft is at the gate," observed one of the arquebussiers; "he
+used to act as chirurgeon in the abbey."
+
+"No monk must enter the gate except the prisoners when they arrive,"
+observed Assheton; "such are the positive orders of the Earl of Derby."
+
+"It is not needed," observed Demdike, "no human aid can save the man."
+
+"But can other aid save him?" said Bess, breathing the words in her
+husband's ears.
+
+"Go to!" cried Demdike, pushing her roughly aside; "wouldst have me save
+thy lover?"
+
+"Take heed," said Bess, in a deep whisper; "if thou save him not, by the
+devil thou servest! thou shalt lose me and thy child."
+
+Demdike did not think proper to contest the point, but, approaching
+Assheton, requested that the wounded man might be conveyed to an arched
+recess, which he pointed out. Assent being given, Ashbead was taken
+there, and placed upon the ground, after which the arquebussiers and
+their leader marched off; while Bess, kneeling down, supported the head
+of the wounded man upon her knee, and Demdike, taking a small phial from
+his doublet, poured some of its contents clown his throat. The wizard
+then took a fold of linen, with which he was likewise provided, and,
+dipping it in the elixir, applied it to the wound.
+
+In a few moments Ashbead opened his eyes, and looking round wildly,
+fixed his gaze upon Bess, who placed her finger upon her lips to enjoin
+silence, but he could not, or would not, understand the sign.
+
+"Aw's o'er wi' meh, Bess," he groaned; "but ey'd reyther dee thus, wi'
+thee besoide meh, than i' ony other wey."
+
+"Hush!" exclaimed Bess, "Nicholas is here."
+
+"Oh! ey see," replied the wounded man, looking round; "but whot matters
+it? Ey'st be gone soon. Ah, Bess, dear lass, if theawdst promise to
+break thy compact wi' Satan--to repent and save thy precious sowl--ey
+should dee content."
+
+"Oh, do not talk thus!" cried Bess. "You will soon be well again."
+
+"Listen to me," continued Ashbead, earnestly; "dust na knoa that if thy
+babe be na bapteesed efore to-morrow neet, it'll be sacrificed to t'
+Prince o' Darkness. Go to some o' t' oly feythers--confess thy sins an'
+implore heaven's forgiveness--an' mayhap they'll save thee an' thy
+infant."
+
+"And be burned as a witch," rejoined Bess, fiercely. "It is useless,
+Cuthbert; I have tried them all. I have knelt to them, implored them,
+but their hearts are hard as flints. They will not heed me. They will
+not disobey the abbot's cruel injunctions, though he be their superior
+no longer. But I shall be avenged upon him--terribly avenged."
+
+"Leave meh, theaw wicked woman." cried Ashbead; "ey dunna wish to ha'
+thee near meh. Let meh dee i' peace."
+
+"Thou wilt not die, I tell thee, Cuthbert," cried Bess; "Nicholas hath
+staunched thy wound."
+
+"He stawncht it, seyst to?" cried Ashbead, raising. "Ey'st never owe meh
+loife to him."
+
+And before he could be prevented he tore off the bandage, and the blood
+burst forth anew.
+
+"It is not my fault if he perishes now," observed Demdike, moodily.
+
+"Help him--help him!" implored Bess.
+
+"He shanna touch meh," cried Ashbead, struggling and increasing the
+effusion. "Keep him off, ey adjure thee. Farewell, Bess," he added,
+sinking back utterly exhausted by the effort.
+
+"Cuthbert!" screamed Bess, terrified by his looks, "Cuthbert! art thou
+really dying? Look at me, speak to me! Ha!" she cried, as if seized by a
+sudden idea, "they say the blessing of a dying man will avail. Bless my
+child, Cuthbert, bless it!"
+
+"Give it me!" groaned the forester.
+
+Bess held the infant towards him; but before he could place his hands
+upon it all power forsook him, and he fell back and expired.
+
+"Lost! lost! for ever lost!" cried Bess, with a wild shriek.
+
+At this moment a loud blast was blown from the gate-tower, and a
+trumpeter called out,
+
+"The abbot and the two other prisoners are coming."
+
+"To thy feet, wench!" cried Demdike, imperiously, and seizing the
+bewildered woman by the arm; "to thy feet, and come with me to meet
+him!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.--THE MALEDICTION.
+
+
+The captive ecclesiastics, together with the strong escort by which they
+were attended, under the command of John Braddyll, the high sheriff of
+the county, had passed the previous night at Whitewell, in Bowland
+Forest; and the abbot, before setting out on his final journey, was
+permitted to spend an hour in prayer in a little chapel on an adjoining
+hill, overlooking a most picturesque portion of the forest, the beauties
+of which were enhanced by the windings of the Hodder, one of the
+loveliest streams in Lancashire. His devotions performed, Paslew,
+attended by a guard, slowly descended the hill, and gazed his last on
+scenes familiar to him almost from infancy. Noble trees, which now
+looked like old friends, to whom he was bidding an eternal adieu, stood
+around him. Beneath them, at the end of a glade, couched a herd of deer,
+which started off at sight of the intruders, and made him envy their
+freedom and fleetness as he followed them in thought to their solitudes.
+At the foot of a steep rock ran the Hodder, making the pleasant music of
+other days as it dashed over its pebbly bed, and recalling times, when,
+free from all care, he had strayed by its wood-fringed banks, to listen
+to the pleasant sound of running waters, and watch the shining pebbles
+beneath them, and the swift trout and dainty umber glancing past.
+
+A bitter pang was it to part with scenes so fair, and the abbot spoke no
+word, nor even looked up, until, passing Little Mitton, he came in sight
+of Whalley Abbey. Then, collecting all his energies, he prepared for the
+shock he was about to endure. But nerved as he was, his firmness was
+sorely tried when he beheld the stately pile, once his own, now gone
+from him and his for ever. He gave one fond glance towards it, and then
+painfully averting his gaze, recited, in a low voice, this
+supplication:--
+
+    "_Miserere mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam. Et
+    secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum, dele iniquitatem
+    meam. Amplius lava me ab iniquitate meâ, et à peccato meo
+    munda me._"
+
+But other thoughts and other emotions crowded upon him, when he beheld
+the groups of his old retainers advancing to meet him: men, women, and
+children pouring forth loud lamentations, prostrating themselves at his
+feet, and deploring his doom. The abbot's fortitude had a severe trial
+here, and the tears sprung to his eyes. The devotion of these poor
+people touched him more sharply than the severity of his adversaries.
+
+"Bless ye! bless ye! my children," he cried; "repine not for me, for I
+bear my cross with resignation. It is for me to bewail your lot, much
+fearing that the flock I have so long and so zealously tended will fall
+into the hands of other and less heedful pastors, or, still worse, of
+devouring wolves. Bless ye, my children, and be comforted. Think of the
+end of Abbot Paslew, and for what he suffered."
+
+"Think that he was a traitor to the king, and took up arms in rebellion
+against him," cried the sheriff, riding up, and speaking in a loud
+voice; "and that for his heinous offences he was justly condemned to
+death."
+
+Murmurs arose at this speech, but they were instantly checked by the
+escort.
+
+"Think charitably of me, my children," said the abbot; "and the blessed
+Virgin keep you steadfast in your faith. Benedicite!"
+
+"Be silent, traitor, I command thee," cried the sheriff, striking him
+with his gauntlet in the face.
+
+The abbot's pale check burnt crimson, and his eye flashed fire, but he
+controlled himself, and answered meekly,--
+
+"Thou didst not speak in such wise, John Braddyll, when I saved thee
+from the flood."
+
+"Which flood thou thyself caused to burst forth by devilish arts,"
+rejoined the sheriff. "I owe thee little for the service. If for naught
+else, thou deservest death for thy evil doings on that night."
+
+The abbot made no reply, for Braddyll's allusion conjured up a sombre
+train of thought within his breast, awakening apprehensions which he
+could neither account for, nor shake off. Meanwhile, the cavalcade
+slowly approached the north-east gateway of the abbey--passing through
+crowds of kneeling and sorrowing bystanders;--but so deeply was the
+abbot engrossed by the one dread idea that possessed him, that he saw
+them not, and scarce heard their woful lamentations. All at once the
+cavalcade stopped, and the sheriff rode on to the gate, in the opening
+of which some ceremony was observed. Then it was that Paslew raised his
+eyes, and beheld standing before him a tall man, with a woman beside him
+bearing an infant in her arms. The eyes of the pair were fixed upon him
+with vindictive exultation. He would have averted his gaze, but an
+irresistible fascination withheld him.
+
+"Thou seest all is prepared," said Demdike, coming close up the mule on
+which Paslew was mounted, and pointing to the gigantic gallows, looming
+above the abbey walls; "wilt them now accede to my request?" And then he
+added, significantly--"on the same terms as before."
+
+The abbot understood his meaning well. Life and freedom were offered him
+by a being, whose power to accomplish his promise he did not doubt. The
+struggle was hard; but he resisted the temptation, and answered
+firmly,--
+
+"No."
+
+"Then die the felon death thou meritest," cried Bess, fiercely; "and I
+will glut mine eyes with the spectacle."
+
+Incensed beyond endurance, the abbot looked sternly at her, and raised
+his hand in denunciation. The action and the look were so appalling,
+that the affrighted woman would have fled if her husband had not
+restrained her.
+
+"By the holy patriarchs and prophets; by the prelates and confessors; by
+the doctors of the church; by the holy abbots, monks, and eremites, who
+dwelt in solitudes, in mountains, and in caverns; by the holy saints and
+martyrs, who suffered torture and death for their faith, I curse thee,
+witch!" cried Paslew. "May the malediction of Heaven and all its hosts
+alight on the head of thy infant--"
+
+"Oh! holy abbot," shrieked Bess, breaking from her husband, and flinging
+herself at Paslew's feet, "curse me, if thou wilt, but spare my innocent
+child. Save it, and we will save thee."
+
+"Avoid thee, wretched and impious woman," rejoined the abbot; "I have
+pronounced the dread anathema, and it cannot be recalled. Look at the
+dripping garments of thy child. In blood has it been baptised, and
+through blood-stained paths shall its course be taken."
+
+"Ha!" shrieked Bess, noticing for the first time the ensanguined
+condition of the infant's attire. "Cuthbert's blood--oh!"
+
+"Listen to me, wicked woman," pursued the abbot, as if filled with a
+prophetic spirit. "Thy child's life shall be long--beyond the ordinary
+term of woman--but it shall be a life of woe and ill."
+
+"Oh! stay him--stay him; or I shall die!" cried Bess.
+
+But the wizard could not speak. A greater power than his own apparently
+overmastered him.
+
+"Children shall she have," continued the abbot, "and children's
+children, but they shall be a race doomed and accursed--a brood of
+adders, that the world shall flee from and crush. A thing accursed, and
+shunned by her fellows, shall thy daughter be--evil reputed and evil
+doing. No hand to help her--no lip to bless her--life a burden; and
+death--long, long in coming--finding her in a dismal dungeon. Now,
+depart from me, and trouble me no more."
+
+Bess made a motion as if she would go, and then turning, partly round,
+dropped heavily on the ground. Demdike caught the child ere she fell.
+
+"Thou hast killed her!" he cried to the abbot.
+
+"A stronger voice than mine hath spoken, if it be so," rejoined Paslew.
+"_Fuge miserrime, fuge malefice, quia judex adest iratus_."
+
+At this moment the trumpet again sounded, and the cavalcade being put in
+motion, the abbot and his fellow-captives passed through the gate.
+
+Dismounting from their mules within the court, before the chapter-house,
+the captive ecclesiastics, preceded by the sheriff were led to the
+principal chamber of the structure, where the Earl of Derby awaited
+them, seated in the Gothic carved oak chair, formerly occupied by the
+Abbots of Whalley on the occasions of conferences or elections. The earl
+was surrounded by his officers, and the chamber was filled with armed
+men. The abbot slowly advanced towards the earl. His deportment was
+dignified and firm, even majestic. The exaltation of spirit, occasioned
+by the interview with Demdike and his wife, had passed away, and was
+succeeded by a profound calm. The hue of his cheek was livid, but
+otherwise he seemed wholly unmoved.
+
+The ceremony of delivering up the bodies of the prisoners to the earl
+was gone through by the sheriff, and their sentences were then read
+aloud by a clerk. After this the earl, who had hitherto remained
+covered, took off his cap, and in a solemn voice spoke:--
+
+"John Paslew, somewhile Abbot of Whalley, but now an attainted and
+condemned felon, and John Eastgate and William Haydocke, formerly
+brethren of the same monastery, and confederates with him in crime, ye
+have heard your doom. To-morrow you shall die the ignominious death of
+traitors; but the king in his mercy, having regard not so much to the
+heinous nature of your offences towards his sovereign majesty as to the
+sacred offices you once held, and of which you have been shamefully
+deprived, is graciously pleased to remit that part of your sentence,
+whereby ye are condemned to be quartered alive, willing that the hearts
+which conceived so much malice and violence against him should cease to
+beat within your own bosoms, and that the arms which were raised in
+rebellion against him should be interred in one common grave with the
+trunks to which they belong."
+
+"God save the high and puissant king, Henry the Eighth, and free him
+from all traitors!" cried the clerk.
+
+"We humbly thank his majesty for his clemency," said the abbot, amid the
+profound silence that ensued; "and I pray you, my good lord, when you
+shall write to the king concerning us, to say to his majesty that we
+died penitent of many and grave offences, amongst the which is chiefly
+that of having taken up arms unlawfully against him, but that we did so
+solely with the view of freeing his highness from evil counsellors, and
+of re-establishing our holy church, for the which we would willingly
+die, if our death might in anywise profit it."
+
+"Amen!" exclaimed Father Eastgate, who stood with his hands crossed upon
+his breast, close behind Paslew. "The abbot hath uttered my sentiments."
+
+"He hath not uttered mine," cried Father Haydocke. "I ask no grace from
+the bloody Herodias, and will accept none. What I have done I would do
+again, were the past to return--nay, I would do more--I would find a way
+to reach the tyrant's heart, and thus free our church from its worst
+enemy, and the land from a ruthless oppressor."
+
+"Remove him," said the earl; "the vile traitor shall be dealt with as he
+merits. For you," he added, as the order was obeyed, and addressing the
+other prisoners, "and especially you, John Paslew, who have shown some
+compunction for your crimes, and to prove to you that the king is not
+the ruthless tyrant he hath been just represented, I hereby in his name
+promise you any boon, which you may ask consistently with your
+situation. What favour would you have shown you?"
+
+The abbot reflected for a moment.
+
+"Speak thou, John Eastgate," said the Earl of Derby, seeing that the
+abbot was occupied in thought.
+
+"If I may proffer a request, my lord," replied the monk, "it is that our
+poor distraught brother, William Haydocke, be spared the quartering
+block. He meant not what he said."
+
+"Well, be it as thou wilt," replied the earl, bending his brows, "though
+he ill deserves such grace. Now, John Paslew, what wouldst thou?"
+
+Thus addressed, the abbot looked up.
+
+"I would have made the same request as my brother, John Eastgate, if he
+had not anticipated me, my lord," said Paslew; "but since his petition
+is granted, I would, on my own part, entreat that mass be said for us in
+the convent church. Many of the brethren are without the abbey, and, if
+permitted, will assist at its performance."
+
+"I know not if I shall not incur the king's displeasure in assenting,"
+replied the Earl of Derby, after a little reflection; "but I will hazard
+it. Mass for the dead shall be said in the church at midnight, and all
+the brethren who choose to come thither shall be permitted to assist at
+it. They will attend, I doubt not, for it will be the last time the
+rites of the Romish Church will be performed in those Walls. They shall
+have all required for the ceremonial."
+
+"Heaven's blessings on you, my lord," said the abbot.
+
+"But first pledge me your sacred word," said the earl, "by the holy
+office you once held, and by the saints in whom you trust, that this
+concession shall not be made the means of any attempt at flight."
+
+"I swear it," replied the abbot, earnestly.
+
+"And I also swear it," added Father Eastgate.
+
+"Enough," said the earl. "I will give the requisite orders. Notice of
+the celebration of mass at midnight shall be proclaimed without the
+abbey. Now remove the prisoners."
+
+Upon this the captive ecclesiastics were led forth. Father Eastgate was
+taken to a strong room in the lower part of the chapter-house, where all
+acts of discipline had been performed by the monks, and where the
+knotted lash, the spiked girdle, and the hair shirt had once hung; while
+the abbot was conveyed to his old chamber, which had been prepared for
+his reception, and there left alone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.--THE MIDNIGHT MASS.
+
+
+Dolefully sounds the All Souls' bell from the tower of the convent
+church. The bell is one of five, and has obtained the name because it is
+tolled only for those about to pass away from life. Now it rings the
+knell of three souls to depart on the morrow. Brightly illumined is the
+fane, within which no taper hath gleamed since the old worship ceased,
+showing that preparations are made for the last service. The organ, dumb
+so long, breathes a low prelude. Sad is it to hear that knell--sad to
+view those gloriously-dyed panes--and to think why the one rings and the
+other is lighted up.
+
+Word having gone forth of the midnight mass, all the ejected brethren
+flock to the abbey. Some have toiled through miry and scarce passable
+roads. Others have come down from the hills, and forded deep streams at
+the hazard of life, rather than go round by the far-off bridge, and
+arrive too late. Others, who conceive themselves in peril from the share
+they have taken in the late insurrection, quit their secure retreats,
+and expose themselves to capture. It may be a snare laid for them, but
+they run the risk. Others, coming from a yet greater distance, beholding
+the illuminated church from afar, and catching the sound of the bell
+tolling at intervals, hurry on, and reach the gate breathless and
+wellnigh exhausted. But no questions are asked. All who present
+themselves in ecclesiastical habits are permitted to enter, and take
+part in the procession forming in the cloister, or proceed at once to
+the church, if they prefer it.
+
+Dolefully sounds the bell. Barefooted brethren meet together,
+sorrowfully salute each other, and form in a long line in the great area
+of the cloisters. At their head are six monks bearing tall lighted
+candles. After them come the quiristers, and then one carrying the Host,
+between the incense-bearers. Next comes a youth holding the bell. Next
+are placed the dignitaries of the church, the prior ranking first, and
+the others standing two and two according to their degrees. Near the
+entrance of the refectory, which occupies the whole south side of the
+quadrangle, stand a band of halberdiers, whose torches cast a ruddy
+glare on the opposite tower and buttresses of the convent church,
+revealing the statues not yet plucked from their niches, the crosses on
+the pinnacles, and the gilt image of Saint Gregory de Northbury, still
+holding its place over the porch. Another band are stationed near the
+mouth of the vaulted passage, under the chapter-house and vestry, whose
+grey, irregular walls, pierced by numberless richly ornamented windows,
+and surmounted by small turrets, form a beautiful boundary on the right;
+while a third party are planted on the left, in the open space, beneath
+the dormitory, the torchlight flashing ruddily upon the hoary pillars
+and groined arches sustaining the vast structure above them.
+
+Dolefully sounds the bell. And the ghostly procession thrice tracks the
+four ambulatories of the cloisters, solemnly chanting a requiem for the
+dead.
+
+Dolefully sounds the bell. And at its summons all the old retainers of
+the abbot press to the gate, and sue for admittance, but in vain. They,
+therefore, mount the neighbouring hill commanding the abbey, and as the
+solemn sounds float faintly by, and glimpses are caught of the
+white-robed brethren gliding along the cloisters, and rendered
+phantom-like by the torchlight, the beholders half imagine it must be a
+company of sprites, and that the departed monks have been permitted for
+an hour to assume their old forms, and revisit their old haunts.
+
+Dolefully sounds the bell. And two biers, covered with palls, are borne
+slowly towards the church, followed by a tall monk.
+
+The clock was on the stroke of twelve. The procession having drawn up
+within the court in front of the abbot's lodging, the prisoners were
+brought forth, and at sight of the abbot the whole of the monks fell on
+their knees. A touching sight was it to see those reverend men prostrate
+before their ancient superior,--he condemned to die, and they deprived
+of their monastic home,--and the officer had not the heart to interfere.
+Deeply affected, Paslew advanced to the prior, and raising him,
+affectionately embraced him. After this, he addressed some words of
+comfort to the others, who arose as he enjoined them, and at a signal
+from the officer, the procession set out for the church, singing the
+"_Placebo_." The abbot and his fellow captives brought up the rear, with
+a guard on either side of them. All Souls' bell tolled dolefully the
+while.
+
+Meanwhile an officer entered the great hall, where the Earl of Derby was
+feasting with his retainers, and informed him that the hour appointed
+for the ceremonial was close at hand. The earl arose and went to the
+church attended by Braddyll and Assheton. He entered by the western
+porch, and, proceeding to the choir, seated himself in the
+magnificently-carved stall formerly used by Paslew, and placed where it
+stood, a hundred years before, by John Eccles, ninth abbot.
+
+Midnight struck. The great door of the church swung open, and the organ
+pealed forth the "_De profundis_." The aisles were filled with armed
+men, but a clear space was left for the procession, which presently
+entered in the same order as before, and moved slowly along the
+transept. Those who came first thought it a dream, so strange was it to
+find themselves once again in the old accustomed church. The good prior
+melted into tears.
+
+At length the abbot came. To him the whole scene appeared like a vision.
+The lights streaming from the altar--the incense loading the air--the
+deep diapasons rolling overhead--the well-known faces of the
+brethren--the familiar aspect of the sacred edifice--all these filled
+him with emotions too painful almost for endurance. It was the last time
+he should visit this holy place--the last time he should hear those
+solemn sounds--the last time he should behold those familiar
+objects--ay, the last! Death could have no pang like this! And with
+heart wellnigh bursting, and limbs scarcely serving their office, he
+tottered on.
+
+Another trial awaited him, and one for which he was wholly unprepared.
+As he drew near the chancel, he looked down an opening on the right,
+which seemed purposely preserved by the guard. Why were those tapers
+burning in the side chapel? What was within it? He looked again, and
+beheld two uncovered biers. On one lay the body of a woman. He started.
+In the beautiful, but fierce features of the dead, he beheld the witch,
+Bess Demdike. She was gone to her account before him. The malediction he
+had pronounced upon her child had killed her.
+
+Appalled, he turned to the other bier, and recognised Cuthbert Ashbead.
+He shuddered, but comforted himself that he was at least guiltless of
+his death; though he had a strange feeling that the poor forester had in
+some way perished for him.
+
+But his attention was diverted towards a tall monk in the Cistertian
+habit, standing between the bodies, with the cowl drawn over his face.
+As Paslew gazed at him, the monk slowly raised his hood, and partially
+disclosed features that smote the abbot as if he had beheld a spectre.
+Could it be? Could fancy cheat him thus? He looked again. The monk was
+still standing there, but the cowl had dropped over his face. Striving
+to shake off the horror that possessed him, the abbot staggered forward,
+and reaching the presbytery, sank upon his knees.
+
+The ceremonial then commenced. The solemn requiem was sung by the choir;
+and three yet living heard the hymn for the repose of their souls.
+Always deeply impressive, the service was unusually so on this sad
+occasion, and the melodious voices of the singers never sounded so
+mournfully sweet as then--the demeanour of the prior never seemed so
+dignified, nor his accents so touching and solemn. The sternest hearts
+were softened.
+
+But the abbot found it impossible to fix his attention on the service.
+The lights at the altar burnt dimly in his eyes--the loud antiphon and
+the supplicatory prayer fell upon a listless ear. His whole life was
+passing in review before him. He saw himself as he was when he first
+professed his faith, and felt the zeal and holy aspirations that filled
+him then. Years flew by at a glance, and he found himself sub-deacon;
+the sub-deacon became deacon; and the deacon, sub-prior, and the end of
+his ambition seemed plain before him. But he had a rival; his fears told
+him a superior in zeal and learning: one who, though many years younger
+than he, had risen so rapidly in favour with the ecclesiastical
+authorities, that he threatened to outstrip him, even now, when the goal
+was full in view. The darkest passage of his life approached: a crime
+which should cast a deep shadow over the whole of his brilliant
+after-career. He would have shunned its contemplation, if he could. In
+vain. It stood out more palpably than all the rest. His rival was no
+longer in his path. How he was removed the abbot did not dare to think.
+But he was gone for ever, unless the tall monk were he!
+
+Unable to endure this terrible retrospect, Paslew strove to bend his
+thoughts on other things. The choir was singing the "_Dies Iræ_," and
+their voices thundered forth:--
+
+          Rex tremendæ majestatis,
+          Qui salvandos salvas gratis,
+          Salva me, fons pietatis!
+
+Fain would the abbot have closed his ears, and, hoping to stifle the
+remorseful pangs that seized upon his very vitals with the sharpness of
+serpents' teeth, he strove to dwell upon the frequent and severe acts of
+penance he had performed. But he now found that his penitence had never
+been sincere and efficacious. This one damning sin obscured all his good
+actions; and he felt if he died unconfessed, and with the weight of
+guilt upon his soul, he should perish everlastingly. Again he fled from
+the torment of retrospection, and again heard the choir thundering
+forth--
+
+          Lacrymosa dies illa,
+          Quâ resurget ex favillâ
+          Judicandus homo reus.
+          Huic ergo parce, Deus!
+          Pie Jesu Domine!
+          Dona eis requiem.
+
+"Amen!" exclaimed the abbot. And bowing his head to the ground, he
+earnestly repeated--
+
+          "Pie Jesu Domine!
+          Dona eis requiem."
+
+Then he looked up, and resolved to ask for a confessor, and unburthen
+his soul without delay.
+
+The offertory and post-communion were over; the "_requiescant in
+pace_"--awful words addressed to living ears--were pronounced; and the
+mass was ended.
+
+All prepared to depart. The prior descended from the altar to embrace
+and take leave of the abbot; and at the same time the Earl of Derby came
+from the stall.
+
+"Has all been done to your satisfaction, John Paslew?" demanded the
+earl, as he drew near.
+
+"All, my good lord," replied the abbot, lowly inclining his head; "and I
+pray you think me not importunate, if I prefer one other request. I
+would fain have a confessor visit me, that I may lay bare my inmost
+heart to him, and receive absolution."
+
+"I have already anticipated the request," replied the earl, "and have
+provided a priest for you. He shall attend you, within an hour, in your
+own chamber. You will have ample time between this and daybreak, to
+settle your accounts with Heaven, should they be ever so weighty."
+
+"I trust so, my lord," replied Paslew; "but a whole life is scarcely
+long enough for repentance, much less a few short hours. But in regard
+to the confessor," he continued, filled with misgiving by the earl's
+manner, "I should be glad to be shriven by Father Christopher Smith,
+late prior of the abbey."
+
+"It may not be," replied the earl, sternly and decidedly. "You will find
+all you can require in him I shall send."
+
+The abbot sighed, seeing that remonstrance was useless.
+
+"One further question I would address to you, my lord," he said, "and
+that refers to the place of my interment. Beneath our feet lie buried
+all my predecessors--Abbots of Whalley. Here lies John Eccles, for whom
+was carved the stall in which your lordship hath sat, and from which I
+have been dethroned. Here rests the learned John Lyndelay, fifth abbot;
+and beside him his immediate predecessor, Robert de Topcliffe, who, two
+hundred and thirty years ago, on the festival of Saint Gregory, our
+canonised abbot, commenced the erection of the sacred edifice above us.
+At that epoch were here enshrined the remains of the saintly Gregory,
+and here were also brought the bodies of Helias de Workesley and John de
+Belfield, both prelates of piety and wisdom. You may read the names
+where you stand, my lord. You may count the graves of all the abbots.
+They are sixteen in number. There is one grave yet unoccupied--one stone
+yet unfurnished with an effigy in brass."
+
+"Well!" said the Earl of Derby.
+
+"When I sat in that stall, my lord," pursued Paslew, pointing to the
+abbot's chair; "when I was head of this church, it was my thought to
+rest here among my brother abbots."
+
+"You have forfeited the right," replied the earl, sternly. "All the
+abbots, whose dust is crumbling beneath us, died in the odour of
+sanctity; loyal to their sovereigns, and true to their country, whereas
+you will die an attainted felon and rebel. You can have no place amongst
+them. Concern not yourself further in the matter. I will find a fitting
+grave for you,--perchance at the foot of the gallows."
+
+And, turning abruptly away, he gave the signal for general departure.
+
+Ere the clock in the church tower had tolled one, the lights were
+extinguished, and of the priestly train who had recently thronged the
+fane, all were gone, like a troop of ghosts evoked at midnight by
+necromantic skill, and then suddenly dismissed. Deep silence again
+brooded in the aisles; hushed was the organ; mute the melodious choir.
+The only light penetrating the convent church proceeded from the moon,
+whose rays, shining through the painted windows, fell upon the graves of
+the old abbots in the presbytery, and on the two biers within the
+adjoining chapel, whose stark burthens they quickened into fearful
+semblance of life.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.--TETER ET FORTIS CARCER.
+
+
+Left alone, and unable to pray, the abbot strove to dissipate his
+agitation of spirit by walking to and fro within his chamber; and while
+thus occupied, he was interrupted by a guard, who told him that the
+priest sent by the Earl of Derby was without, and immediately afterwards
+the confessor was ushered in. It was the tall monk, who had been
+standing between the biers, and his features were still shrouded by his
+cowl. At sight of him, Paslew sank upon a seat and buried his face in
+his hands. The monk offered him no consolation, but waited in silence
+till he should again look up. At last Paslew took courage and spoke.
+
+"Who, and what are you?" he demanded.
+
+"A brother of the same order as yourself," replied the monk, in deep and
+thrilling accents, but without raising his hood; "and I am come to hear
+your confession by command of the Earl of Derby."
+
+"Are you of this abbey?" asked Paslew, tremblingly.
+
+"I was," replied the monk, in a stern tone; "but the monastery is
+dissolved, and all the brethren ejected."
+
+"Your name?" cried Paslew.
+
+"I am not come here to answer questions, but to hear a confession,"
+rejoined the monk. "Bethink you of the awful situation in which you are
+placed, and that before many hours you must answer for the sins you have
+committed. You have yet time for repentance, if you delay it not."
+
+"You are right, father," replied the abbot. "Be seated, I pray you, and
+listen to me, for I have much to tell. Thirty and one years ago I was
+prior of this abbey. Up to that period my life had been blameless, or,
+if not wholly free from fault, I had little wherewith to reproach
+myself--little to fear from a merciful judge--unless it were that I
+indulged too strongly the desire of ruling absolutely in the house in
+which I was then only second. But Satan had laid a snare for me, into
+which I blindly fell. Among the brethren was one named Borlace Alvetham,
+a young man of rare attainment, and singular skill in the occult
+sciences. He had risen in favour, and at the time I speak of was elected
+sub-prior."
+
+"Go on," said the monk.
+
+"It began to be whispered about within the abbey," pursued Paslew, "that
+on the death of William Rede, then abbot, Borlace Alvetham would succeed
+him, and then it was that bitter feelings of animosity were awakened in
+my breast against the sub-prior, and, after many struggles, I resolved
+upon his destruction."
+
+"A wicked resolution," cried the monk; "but proceed."
+
+"I pondered over the means of accomplishing my purpose," resumed Paslew,
+"and at last decided upon accusing Alvetham of sorcery and magical
+practices. The accusation was easy, for the occult studies in which he
+indulged laid him open to the charge. He occupied a chamber overlooking
+the Calder, and used to break the monastic rules by wandering forth at
+night upon the hills. When he was absent thus one night, accompanied by
+others of the brethren, I visited his chamber, and examined his papers,
+some of which were covered with mystical figures and cabalistic
+characters. These papers I seized, and a watch was set to make prisoner
+of Alvetham on his return. Before dawn he appeared, and was instantly
+secured, and placed in close confinement. On the next day he was brought
+before the assembled conclave in the chapter-house, and examined. His
+defence was unavailing. I charged him with the terrible crime of
+witchcraft, and he was found guilty."
+
+A hollow groan broke from the monk, but he offered no other
+interruption.
+
+"He was condemned to die a fearful and lingering death," pursued the
+abbot; "and it devolved upon me to see the sentence carried out."
+
+"And no pity for the innocent moved you?" cried the monk. "You had no
+compunction?"
+
+"None," replied the abbot; "I rather rejoiced in the successful
+accomplishment of my scheme. The prey was fairly in my toils, and I
+would give him no chance of escape. Not to bring scandal upon the
+abbey, it was decided that Alvetham's punishment should be secret."
+
+"A wise resolve," observed the monk.
+
+"Within the thickness of the dormitory walls is contrived a small
+singularly-formed dungeon," continued the abbot. "It consists of an
+arched cell, just large enough to hold the body of a captive, and permit
+him to stretch himself upon a straw pallet. A narrow staircase mounts
+upwards to a grated aperture in one of the buttresses to admit air and
+light. Other opening is there none. '_Teter et fortis carcer_' is this
+dungeon styled in our monastic rolls, and it is well described, for it
+is black and strong enough. Food is admitted to the miserable inmate of
+the cell by means of a revolving stone, but no interchange of speech can
+be held with those without. A large stone is removed from the wall to
+admit the prisoner, and once immured, the masonry is mortised, and made
+solid as before. The wretched captive does not long survive his doom, or
+it may be he lives too long, for death must be a release from such
+protracted misery. In this dark cell one of the evil-minded brethren,
+who essayed to stab the Abbot of Kirkstall in the chapter-house, was
+thrust, and ere a year was over, the provisions were untouched--and the
+man being known to be dead, they were stayed. His skeleton was found
+within the cell when it was opened to admit Borlace Alvetham."
+
+"Poor captive!" groaned the monk.
+
+"Ay, poor captive!" echoed Paslew. "Mine eyes have often striven to
+pierce those stone walls, and see him lying there in that narrow
+chamber, or forcing his way upwards, to catch a glimpse of the blue sky
+above him. When I have seen the swallows settle on the old buttress, or
+the thin grass growing between the stones waving there, I have thought
+of him."
+
+"Go on," said the monk.
+
+"I scarce can proceed," rejoined Paslew. "Little time was allowed
+Alvetham for preparation. That very night the fearful sentence was
+carried out. The stone was removed, and a new pallet placed in the cell.
+At midnight the prisoner was brought to the dormitory, the brethren
+chanting a doleful hymn. There he stood amidst them, his tall form
+towering above the rest, and his features pale as death. He protested
+his innocence, but he exhibited no fear, even when he saw the terrible
+preparations. When all was ready he was led to the breach. At that awful
+moment, his eye met mine, and I shall never forget the look. I might
+have saved him if I had spoken, but I would not speak. I turned away,
+and he was thrust into the breach. A fearful cry then rang in my ears,
+but it was instantly drowned by the mallets of the masons employed to
+fasten up the stone."
+
+There was a pause for a few moments, broken only by the sobs of the
+abbot. At length, the monk spoke.
+
+"And the prisoner perished in the cell?" he demanded in a hollow voice.
+
+"I thought so till to-night," replied the abbot. "But if he escaped it,
+it must have been by miracle; or by aid of those powers with whom he was
+charged with holding commerce."
+
+"He did escape!" thundered the monk, throwing back his hood. "Look up,
+John Paslew. Look up, false abbot, and recognise thy victim."
+
+"Borlace Alvetham!" cried the abbot. "Is it, indeed, you?"
+
+"You see, and can you doubt?" replied the other. "But you shall now hear
+how I avoided the terrible death to which you procured my condemnation.
+You shall now learn how I am here to repay the wrong you did me. We have
+changed places, John Paslew, since the night when I was thrust into the
+cell, never, as you hoped, to come forth. You are now the criminal, and
+I the witness of the punishment."
+
+"Forgive me! oh, forgive me! Borlace Alvetham, since you are, indeed,
+he!" cried the abbot, falling on his knees.
+
+"Arise, John Paslew!" cried the other, sternly. "Arise, and listen to
+me. For the damning offences into which I have been led, I hold you
+responsible. But for you I might have died free from sin. It is fit you
+should know the amount of my iniquity. Give ear to me, I say. When first
+shut within that dungeon, I yielded to the promptings of despair.
+Cursing you, I threw myself upon the pallet, resolved to taste no food,
+and hoping death would soon release me. But love of life prevailed. On
+the second day I took the bread and water allotted me, and ate and
+drank; after which I scaled the narrow staircase, and gazed through the
+thin barred loophole at the bright blue sky above, sometimes catching
+the shadow of a bird as it flew past. Oh, how I yearned for freedom
+then! Oh, how I wished to break through the stone walls that held me
+fast! Oh, what a weight of despair crushed my heart as I crept back to
+my narrow bed! The cell seemed like a grave, and indeed it was little
+better. Horrible thoughts possessed me. What if I should be wilfully
+forgotten? What if no food should be given me, and I should be left to
+perish by the slow pangs of hunger? At this idea I shrieked aloud, but
+the walls alone returned a dull echo to my cries. I beat my hands
+against the stones, till the blood flowed from them, but no answer was
+returned; and at last I desisted from sheer exhaustion. Day after day,
+and night after night, passed in this way. My food regularly came. But I
+became maddened by solitude; and with terrible imprecations invoked aid
+from the powers of darkness to set me free. One night, while thus
+employed, I was startled by a mocking voice which said,
+
+"'All this fury is needless. Thou hast only to wish for me, and I come.'
+
+[Illustration: ALVETHAM AND JOHN PASLEW.]
+
+"It was profoundly dark. I could see nothing but a pair of red orbs,
+glowing like flaming carbuncles.
+
+"'Thou wouldst be free,' continued the voice. 'Thou shalt be so. Arise,
+and follow me.'
+
+"At this I felt myself grasped by an iron arm, against which all
+resistance would have been unavailing, even if I had dared to offer it,
+and in an instant I was dragged up the narrow steps. The stone wall
+opened before my unseen conductor, and in another moment we were upon
+the roof of the dormitory. By the bright starbeams shooting down from
+above, I discerned a tall shadowy figure standing by my side.
+
+"'Thou art mine,' he cried, in accents graven for ever on my memory;
+'but I am a generous master, and will give thee a long term of freedom.
+Thou shalt be avenged upon thine enemy--deeply avenged.'
+
+"'Grant this, and I am thine,' I replied, a spirit of infernal vengeance
+possessing me. And I knelt before the fiend.
+
+"'But thou must tarry for awhile,' he answered, 'for thine enemy's time
+will be long in coming; but it _will_ come. I cannot work him immediate
+harm; but I will lead him to a height from which he will assuredly fall
+headlong. Thou must depart from this place; for it is perilous to thee,
+and if thou stayest here, ill will befall thee. I will send a rat to thy
+dungeon, which shall daily devour the provisions, so that the monks
+shall not know thou hast fled. In thirty and one years shall the abbot's
+doom be accomplished. Two years before that time thou mayst return. Then
+come alone to Pendle Hill on a Friday night, and beat the water of the
+moss pool on the summit, and I will appear to thee and tell thee more.
+Nine and twenty years, remember!'
+
+"With these words the shadowy figure melted away, and I found myself
+standing alone on the mossy roof of the dormitory. The cold stars were
+shining down upon me, and I heard the howl of the watch-dogs near the
+gate. The fair abbey slept in beauty around me, and I gnashed my teeth
+with rage to think that you had made me an outcast from it, and robbed
+me of a dignity which might have been mine. I was wroth also that my
+vengeance should be so long delayed. But I could not remain where I was,
+so I clambered down the buttress, and fled away."
+
+"Can this be?" cried the abbot, who had listened in rapt wonderment to
+the narration. "Two years after your immurement in the cell, the food
+having been for some time untouched, the wall was opened, and upon the
+pallet was found a decayed carcase in mouldering, monkish vestments."
+
+"It was a body taken from the charnel, and placed there by the demon,"
+replied the monk. "Of my long wanderings in other lands and beneath
+brighter skies I need not tell you; but neither absence nor lapse of
+years cooled my desire of vengeance, and when the appointed time drew
+nigh I returned to my own country, and came hither in a lowly garb,
+under the name of Nicholas Demdike."
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed the abbot.
+
+"I went to Pendle Hill, as directed," pursued the monk, "and saw the
+Dark Shape there as I beheld it on the dormitory roof. All things were
+then told me, and I learnt how the late rebellion should rise, and how
+it should be crushed. I learnt also how my vengeance should be
+satisfied."
+
+Paslew groaned aloud. A brief pause ensued, and deep emotion marked the
+accents of the wizard as he proceeded.
+
+"When I came back, all this part of Lancashire resounded with praises of
+the beauty of Bess Blackburn, a rustic lass who dwelt in Barrowford. She
+was called the Flower of Pendle, and inflamed all the youths with love,
+and all the maidens with jealousy. But she favoured none except Cuthbert
+Ashbead, forester to the Abbot of Whalley. Her mother would fain have
+given her to the forester in marriage, but Bess would not be disposed of
+so easily. I saw her, and became at once enamoured. I thought my heart
+was seared; but it was not so. The savage beauty of Bess pleased me more
+than the most refined charms could have done, and her fierce character
+harmonised with my own. How I won her matters not, but she cast off all
+thoughts of Ashbead, and clung to me. My wild life suited her; and she
+roamed the wastes with me, scaled the hills in my company, and shrank
+not from the weird meetings I attended. Ill repute quickly attended her,
+and she became branded as a witch. Her aged mother closed her doors upon
+her, and those who would have gone miles to meet her, now avoided her.
+Bess heeded this little. She was of a nature to repay the world's
+contumely with like scorn, but when her child was born the case became
+different. She wished to save it. Then it was," pursued Demdike,
+vehemently, and regarding the abbot with flashing eyes--"then it was
+that I was again mortally injured by you. Then your ruthless decree to
+the clergy went forth. My child was denied baptism, and became subject
+to the fiend."
+
+"Alas! alas!" exclaimed Paslew.
+
+"And as if this were not injury enough," thundered Demdike, "you have
+called down a withering and lasting curse upon its innocent head, and
+through it transfixed its mother's heart. If you had complied with that
+poor girl's request, I would have forgiven you your wrong to me, and
+have saved you."
+
+There was a long, fearful silence. At last Demdike advanced to the
+abbot, and, seizing his arm, fixed his eyes upon him, as if to search
+into his soul.
+
+"Answer me, John Paslew!" he cried; "answer me, as you shall speedily
+answer your Maker. Can that malediction be recalled? Dare not to trifle
+with me, or I will tear forth your black heart, and cast it in your
+face. Can that curse be recalled? Speak!"
+
+"It cannot," replied the abbot, half dead with terror.
+
+"Away, then!" thundered Demdike, casting him from him. "To the
+gallows!--to the gallows!" And he rushed out of the room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.--THE ABBEY MILL.
+
+
+For a while the abbot remained shattered and stupefied by this terrible
+interview. At length he arose, and made his way, he scarce knew how, to
+the oratory. But it was long before the tumult of his thoughts could be
+at all allayed, and he had only just regained something like composure
+when he was disturbed by hearing a slight sound in the adjoining
+chamber. A mortal chill came over him, for he thought it might be
+Demdike returned. Presently, he distinguished a footstep stealthily
+approaching him, and almost hoped that the wizard would consummate his
+vengeance by taking his life. But he was quickly undeceived, for a hand
+was placed on his shoulder, and a friendly voice whispered in his ears,
+"Cum along wi' meh, lort abbut. Get up, quick--quick!"
+
+Thus addressed, the abbot raised his eyes, and beheld a rustic figure
+standing beside him, divested of his clouted shoes, and armed with a
+long bare wood-knife.
+
+"Dunna yo knoa me, lort abbut?" cried the person. "Ey'm a freent--Hal o'
+Nabs, o' Wiswall. Yo'n moind Wiswall, yeawr own birthplace, abbut? Dunna
+be feert, ey sey. Ey'n getten a steigh clapt to yon windaw, an' you con
+be down it i' a trice--an' along t' covert way be t' river soide to t'
+mill."
+
+But the abbot stirred not.
+
+"Quick! quick!" implored Hal o' Nabs, venturing to pluck the abbot's
+sleeve. "Every minute's precious. Dunna be feert. Ebil Croft, t' miller,
+is below. Poor Cuthbert Ashbead would ha' been here i'stead o' meh if he
+couldn; boh that accursed wizard, Nick Demdike, turned my hont agen him,
+an' drove t' poike head intended for himself into poor Cuthbert's side.
+They clapt meh i' a dungeon, boh Ebil monaged to get me out, an' ey then
+swore to do whot poor Cuthbert would ha' done, if he'd been livin'--so
+here ey am, lort abbut, cum to set yo free. An' neaw yo knoan aw abowt
+it, yo con ha nah more hesitation. Cum, time presses, an ey'm feert o'
+t' guard owerhearing us."
+
+"I thank you, my good friend, from the bottom of my heart," replied the
+abbot, rising; "but, however strong may be the temptation of life and
+liberty which you hold out to me, I cannot yield to it. I have pledged
+my word to the Earl of Derby to make no attempt to escape. Were the
+doors thrown open, and the guard removed, I should remain where I am."
+
+"Whot!" exclaimed Hal o' Nabs, in a tone of bitter disappointment; "yo
+winnaw go, neaw aw's prepared. By th' Mess, boh yo shan. Ey'st nah go
+back to Ebil empty-handed. If yo'n sworn to stay here, ey'n sworn to set
+yo free, and ey'st keep meh oath. Willy nilly, yo shan go wi' meh, lort
+abbut!"
+
+"Forbear to urge me further, my good Hal," rejoined Paslew. "I fully
+appreciate your devotion; and I only regret that you and Abel Croft have
+exposed yourselves to so much peril on my account. Poor Cuthbert
+Ashbead! when I beheld his body on the bier, I had a sad feeling that he
+had died in my behalf."
+
+"Cuthbert meant to rescue yo, lort abbut," replied Hal, "and deed
+resisting Nick Demdike's attempt to arrest him. Boh, be aw t' devils!"
+he added, brandishing his knife fiercely, "t' warlock shall ha' three
+inches o' cowd steel betwixt his ribs, t' furst time ey cum across him."
+
+"Peace, my son," rejoined the abbot, "and forego your bloody design.
+Leave the wretched man to the chastisement of Heaven. And now, farewell!
+All your kindly efforts to induce me to fly are vain."
+
+"Yo winnaw go?" cried Hal o'Nabs, scratching his head.
+
+"I cannot," replied the abbot.
+
+"Cum wi' meh to t' windaw, then," pursued Hal, "and tell Ebil so. He'll
+think ey'n failed else."
+
+"Willingly," replied the abbot.
+
+And with noiseless footsteps he followed the other across the chamber.
+The window was open, and outside it was reared a ladder.
+
+"Yo mun go down a few steps," said Hal o' Nabs, "or else he'll nah hear
+yo."
+
+The abbot complied, and partly descended the ladder.
+
+"I see no one," he said.
+
+"T' neet's dark," replied Hal o' Nabs, who was close behind him. "Ebil
+canna be far off. Hist! ey hear him--go on."
+
+The abbot was now obliged to comply, though he did so with, reluctance.
+Presently he found himself upon the roof of a building, which he knew to
+be connected with the mill by a covered passage running along the south
+bank of the Calder. Scarcely had he set foot there, than Hal o' Nabs
+jumped after him, and, seizing the ladder, cast it into the stream, thus
+rendering Paslew's return impossible.
+
+"Neaw, lort abbut," he cried, with a low, exulting laugh, "yo hanna
+brok'n yor word, an ey'n kept moine. Yo're free agen your will."
+
+"You have destroyed me by your mistaken zeal," cried the abbot,
+reproachfully.
+
+"Nowt o't sort," replied Hal; "ey'n saved yo' fro' destruction. This
+way, lort abbut--this way."
+
+And taking Paslew's arm he led him to a low parapet, overlooking the
+covered passage before described. Half an hour before it had been bright
+moonlight, but, as if to favour the fugitive, the heavens had become
+overcast, and a thick mist had arisen from the river.
+
+"Ebil! Ebil!" cried Hal o' Nabs, leaning over the parapet.
+
+"Here," replied a voice below. "Is aw reet? Is he wi' yo?"
+
+"Yeigh," replied Hal.
+
+"Whot han yo dun wi' t' steigh?" cried Ebil.
+
+"Never yo moind," returned Hal, "boh help t' abbut down."
+
+Paslew thought it vain to resist further, and with the help of Hal o'
+Nabs and the miller, and further aided by some irregularities in the
+wall, he was soon safely landed near the entrance of the passage. Abel
+fell on his knees, and pressed the abbot's hand to his lips.
+
+"Owr Blessed Leady be praised, yo are free," he cried.
+
+"Dunna stond tawking here, Ebil," interposed Hal o' Nabs, who by this
+time had reached the ground, and who was fearful of some new
+remonstrance on the abbot's part. "Ey'm feerd o' pursuit."
+
+"Yo' needna be afeerd o' that, Hal," replied the miller. "T' guard are
+safe enough. One o' owr chaps has just tuk em up a big black jack fu' o'
+stout ele; an ey warrant me they winnaw stir yet awhoile. Win it please
+yo to cum wi' me, lort abbut?"
+
+With this, he marched along the passage, followed by the others, and
+presently arrived at a door, against which he tapped. A bolt being
+withdrawn, it was instantly opened to admit the party, after which it
+was as quickly shut, and secured. In answer to a call from the miller, a
+light appeared at the top of a steep, ladder-like flight of wooden
+steps, and up these Paslew, at the entreaty of Abel, mounted, and found
+himself in a large, low chamber, the roof of which was crossed by great
+beams, covered thickly with cobwebs, whitened by flour, while the floor
+was strewn with empty sacks and sieves.
+
+The person who held the light proved to be the miller's daughter,
+Dorothy, a blooming lass of eighteen, and at the other end of the
+chamber, seated on a bench before a turf fire, with an infant on her
+knees, was the miller's wife. The latter instantly arose on beholding
+the abbot, and, placing the child on a corn bin, advanced towards him,
+and dropped on her knees, while her daughter imitated her example. The
+abbot extended his hands over them, and pronounced a solemn benediction.
+
+"Bring your child also to me, that I may bless it," he said, when he
+concluded.
+
+"It's nah my child, lort abbut," replied the miller's wife, taking up
+the infant and bringing it to him; "it wur brought to me this varry neet
+by Ebil. Ey wish it wur far enough, ey'm sure, for it's a deformed
+little urchon. One o' its een is lower set than t' other; an t' reet
+looks up, while t' laft looks down."
+
+And as she spoke she pointed to the infant's face, which was disfigured
+as she had stated, by a strange and unnatural disposition of the eyes,
+one of which was set much lower in the head than the other. Awakened
+from sleep, the child uttered a feeble cry, and stretched out its tiny
+arms to Dorothy.
+
+"You ought to pity it for its deformity, poor little creature, rather
+than reproach it, mother," observed the young damsel.
+
+"Marry kem eawt!" cried her mother, sharply, "yo'n getten fine feelings
+wi' your larning fro t' good feythers, Dolly. Os ey said efore, ey wish
+t' brat wur far enough."
+
+"You forget it has no mother," suggested Dorothy, kindly.
+
+"An naw great matter, if it hasn't," returned the miller's wife. "Bess
+Demdike's neaw great loss."
+
+"Is this Bess Demdike's child?" cried Paslew, recoiling.
+
+"Yeigh," exclaimed the miller's wife. And mistaking the cause of
+Paslew's emotion, she added, triumphantly, to her daughter, "Ey towd te,
+wench, ot t' lort abbut would be of my way o' thinking. T' chilt has got
+the witch's mark plain upon her. Look, lort abbut, look!"
+
+But Paslew heeded her not, but murmured to himself:--
+
+"Ever in my path, go where I will. It is vain to struggle with my fate.
+I will go back and surrender myself to the Earl of Derby."
+
+"Nah,--nah!--yo shanna do that," replied Hal o' Nabs, who, with the
+miller, was close beside him. "Sit down o' that stoo' be t' fire, and
+take a cup o' wine t' cheer yo, and then we'n set out to Pendle Forest,
+where ey'st find yo a safe hiding-place. An t' ony reward ey'n ever ask
+for t' sarvice shan be, that yo'n perform a marriage sarvice fo' me and
+Dolly one of these days." And he nudged the damsel's elbow, who turned
+away, covered with blushes.
+
+The abbot moved mechanically to the fire, and sat down, while the
+miller's wife, surrendering the child with a shrug of the shoulders and
+a grimace to her daughter, went in search of some viands and a flask of
+wine, which she set before Paslew. The miller then filled a
+drinking-horn, and presented it to his guest, who was about to raise it
+to his lips, when a loud knocking was heard at the door below.
+
+The knocking continued with increased violence, and voices were heard
+calling upon the miller to open the door, or it would be broken down. On
+the first alarm Abel had flown to a small window whence he could
+reconnoitre those below, and he now returned with a face white with
+terror, to say that a party of arquebussiers, with the sheriff at their
+head, were without, and that some of the men were provided with torches.
+
+"They have discovered my evasion, and are come in search of me,"
+observed the abbot rising, but without betraying any anxiety. "Do not
+concern yourselves further for me, my good friends, but open the door,
+and deliver me to them."
+
+"Nah, nah, that we winnaw," cried Hal o' Nabs, "yo're neaw taen yet,
+feyther abbut, an' ey knoa a way to baffle 'em. If y'on let him down
+into t' river, Ebil, ey'n manage to get him off."
+
+"Weel thowt on, Nab," cried the miller, "theawst nah been mey mon seven
+year fo nowt. Theaw knoas t' ways o' t' pleck."
+
+"Os weel os onny rotten abowt it," replied Hal o' Nabs. "Go down to t'
+grindin'-room, an ey'n follow i' a troice."
+
+And as Abel snatched up the light, and hastily descended the steps with
+Paslew, Hal whispered in Dorothy's ears--
+
+"Tak care neaw one fonds that chilt, Dolly, if they break in. Hide it
+safely; an whon they're gone, tak it to't church, and place it near t'
+altar, where no ill con cum to it or thee. Mey life may hong upon it."
+
+And as the poor girl, who, as well as her mother, was almost frightened
+out of her wits, promised compliance, he hurried down the steps after
+the others, muttering, as the clamour without was redoubled--
+
+"Eigh, roar on till yo're hoarse. Yo winnaw get in yet awhile, ey'n
+promise ye."
+
+Meantime, the abbot had been led to the chief room of the mill, where
+all the corn formerly consumed within the monastery had been prepared,
+and which the size of the chamber itself, together with the vastness of
+the stones used in the operation of grinding, and connected with the
+huge water-wheel outside, proved to be by no means inconsiderable.
+Strong shafts of timber supported the flooring above, and were crossed
+by other boards placed horizontally, from which various implements in
+use at the mill depended, giving the chamber, imperfectly lighted as it
+now was by the lamp borne by Abel, a strange and almost mysterious
+appearance. Three or four of the miller's men, armed with pikes, had
+followed their master, and, though much alarmed, they vowed to die
+rather than give up the abbot.
+
+By this time Hal o' Nabs had joined the group, and proceeding towards a
+raised part of the chamber where the grinding-stones were set, he knelt
+down, and laying hold of a small ring, raised up a trapdoor. The fresh
+air which blew up through the aperture, combined with the rushing sound
+of water, showed that the Calder flowed immediately beneath; and, having
+made some slight preparation, Hal let himself down into the stream.
+
+At this moment a loud crash was heard, and one of the miller's men cried
+out that the arquebussiers had burst open the door.
+
+"Be hondy, then, lads, and let him down!" cried Hal o' Nabs, who had
+some difficulty in maintaining his footing on the rough, stony bottom of
+the swift stream.
+
+Passively yielding, the abbot suffered the miller and one of the
+stoutest of his men to assist him through the trapdoor, while a third
+held down the lamp, and showed Hal o' Nabs, up to his middle in the
+darkling current, and stretching out his arms to receive the burden. The
+light fell upon the huge black circle of the watershed now stopped, and
+upon the dripping arches supporting the mill. In another moment the
+abbot plunged into the water, the trapdoor was replaced, and bolted
+underneath by Hal, who, while guiding his companion along, and bidding
+him catch hold of the wood-work of the wheel, heard a heavy trampling of
+many feet on the boards above, showing that the pursuers had obtained
+admittance.
+
+Encumbered by his heavy vestments, the abbot could with difficulty
+contend against the strong current, and he momently expected to be swept
+away; but he had a stout and active assistant by his side, who soon
+placed him under shelter of the wheel. The trampling overhead continued
+for a few minutes, after which all was quiet, and Hal judged that,
+finding their search within ineffectual, the enemy would speedily come
+forth. Nor was he deceived. Shouts were soon heard at the door of the
+mill, and the glare of torches was cast on the stream. Then it was that
+Hal dragged his companion into a deep hole, formed by some decay in the
+masonry, behind the wheel, where the water rose nearly to their chins,
+and where they were completely concealed. Scarcely were they thus
+ensconced, than two or three armed men, holding torches aloft, were seen
+wading under the archway; but after looking carefully around, and even
+approaching close to the water-wheel, these persons could detect
+nothing, and withdrew, muttering curses of rage and disappointment.
+By-and-by the lights almost wholly disappeared, and the shouts becoming
+fainter and more distant, it was evident that the men had gone lower
+down the river. Upon this, Hal thought they might venture to quit their
+retreat, and accordingly, grasping the abbot's arm, he proceeded to wade
+up the stream.
+
+Benumbed with cold, and half dead with terror, Paslew needed all his
+companion's support, for he could do little to help himself, added to
+which, they occasionally encountered some large stone, or stepped into a
+deep hole, so that it required Hal's utmost exertion and strength to
+force a way on. At last they were out of the arch, and though both banks
+seemed unguarded, yet, for fear of surprise, Hal deemed it prudent still
+to keep to the river. Their course was completely sheltered from
+observation by the mist that enveloped them; and after proceeding in
+this way for some distance, Hal stopped to listen, and while debating
+with himself whether he should now quit the river, he fancied he beheld
+a black object swimming towards him. Taking it for an otter, with which
+voracious animal the Calder, a stream swarming with trout, abounded, and
+knowing the creature would not meddle with them unless first attacked,
+he paid little attention to it; but he was soon made sensible of his
+error. His arm was suddenly seized by a large black hound, whose sharp
+fangs met in his flesh. Unable to repress a cry of pain, Hal strove to
+disengage himself from his assailant, and, finding it impossible, flung
+himself into the water in the hope of drowning him, but, as the hound
+still maintained his hold, he searched for his knife to slay him. But he
+could not find it, and in his distress applied to Paslew.
+
+"Ha yo onny weepun abowt yo, lort abbut," he cried, "wi' which ey con
+free mysel fro' this accussed hound?"
+
+"Alas! no, my son," replied Paslew, "and I fear no weapon will prevail
+against it, for I recognise in the animal the hound of the wizard,
+Demdike."
+
+"Ey thowt t' dule wur in it," rejoined Hal; "boh leave me to fight it
+owt, and do you gain t' bonk, an mey t' best o' your way to t' Wiswall.
+Ey'n join ye os soon os ey con scrush this varment's heaod agen a stoan.
+Ha!" he added, joyfully, "Ey'n found t' thwittle. Go--go. Ey'n soon be
+efter ye."
+
+Feeling he should sink if he remained where he was, and wholly unable to
+offer any effectual assistance to his companion, the abbot turned to the
+left, where a large oak overhung the stream, and he was climbing the
+bank, aided by the roots of the tree, when a man suddenly came from
+behind it, seized his hand, and dragged him up forcibly. At the same
+moment his captor placed a bugle to his lips, and winding a few notes,
+he was instantly answered by shouts, and soon afterwards half a dozen
+armed men ran up, bearing torches. Not a word passed between the
+fugitive and his captor; but when the men came up, and the torchlight
+fell upon the features of the latter, the abbot's worst fears were
+realised. It was Demdike.
+
+"False to your king!--false to your oath!--false to all men!" cried the
+wizard. "You seek to escape in vain!"
+
+"I merit all your reproaches," replied the abbot; "but it may he some
+satisfaction, to you to learn, that I have endured far greater suffering
+than if I had patiently awaited my doom."
+
+"I am glad of it," rejoined Demdike, with a savage laugh; "but you have
+destroyed others beside yourself. Where is the fellow in the water?
+What, ho, Uriel!"
+
+But as no sound reached him, he snatched a torch from one of the
+arquebussiers and held it to the river's brink. But he could see neither
+hound nor man.
+
+"Strange!" he cried. "He cannot have escaped. Uriel is more than a match
+for any man. Secure the prisoner while I examine the stream."
+
+With this, he ran along the bank with great quickness, holding his torch
+far over the water, so as to reveal any thing floating within it, but
+nothing met his view until he came within a short distance of the mill,
+when he beheld a black object struggling in the current, and soon found
+that it was his dog making feeble efforts to gain the bank.
+
+"Ah recreant! thou hast let him go," cried Demdike, furiously.
+
+Seeing his master the animal redoubled its efforts, crept ashore, and
+fell at his feet, with a last effort to lick his hands.
+
+Demdike held down the torch, and then perceived that the hound was
+quite dead. There was a deep gash in its side, and another in the
+throat, showing how it had perished.
+
+"Poor Uriel!" he exclaimed; "the only true friend I had. And thou art
+gone! The villain has killed thee, but he shall pay for it with his
+life."
+
+And hurrying back he dispatched four of the men in quest of the
+fugitive, while accompanied by the two others he conveyed Paslew back to
+the abbey, where he was placed in a strong cell, from which there was no
+possibility of escape, and a guard set over him.
+
+Half an hour after this, two of the arquebussiers returned with Hal o'
+Nabs, whom they had succeeded in capturing after a desperate resistance,
+about a mile from the abbey, on the road to Wiswall. He was taken to the
+guard-room, which had been appointed in one of the lower chambers of the
+chapter-house, and Demdike was immediately apprised of his arrival.
+Satisfied by an inspection of the prisoner, whose demeanour was sullen
+and resolved, Demdike proceeded to the great hall, where the Earl of
+Derby, who had returned thither after the midnight mass, was still
+sitting with his retainers. An audience was readily obtained by the
+wizard, and, apparently well pleased with the result, he returned to the
+guard-room. The prisoner was seated by himself in one corner of the
+chamber, with his hands tied behind his back with a leathern thong, and
+Demdike approaching him, told him that, for having aided the escape of a
+condemned rebel and traitor, and violently assaulting the king's lieges
+in the execution of their duty, he would be hanged on the morrow, the
+Earl of Derby, who had power of life or death in such cases, having so
+decreed it. And he exhibited the warrant.
+
+"Soh, yo mean to hong me, eh, wizard?" cried Hal o' Nabs, kicking his
+heels with great apparent indifference.
+
+"I do," replied Demdike; "if for nothing else, for slaying my hound."
+
+"Ey dunna think it," replied Hal. "Yo'n alter your moind. Do, mon. Ey'm
+nah prepared to dee just yet."
+
+"Then perish in your sins," cried Demdike, "I will not give you an
+hour's respite."
+
+"Yo'n be sorry when it's too late," said Hal.
+
+"Tush!" cried Demdike, "my only regret will be that Uriel's slaughter is
+paid for by such a worthless life as thine."
+
+"Then whoy tak it?" demanded Hal. "'Specially whon yo'n lose your chilt
+by doing so."
+
+"My child!" exclaimed Demdike, surprised. "How mean you, sirrah?"
+
+"Ey mean this," replied Hal, coolly; "that if ey dee to-morrow mornin'
+your chilt dees too. Whon ey ondertook this job ey calkilated mey
+chances, an' tuk precautions eforehond. Your chilt's a hostage fo mey
+safety."
+
+"Curses on thee and thy cunning," cried Demdike; "but I will not be
+outwitted by a hind like thee. I will have the child, and yet not be
+baulked of my revenge."
+
+"Yo'n never ha' it, except os a breathless corpse, 'bowt mey consent,"
+rejoined Hal.
+
+"We shall see," cried Demdike, rushing forth, and bidding the guards
+look well to the prisoner.
+
+But ere long he returned with a gloomy and disappointed expression of
+countenance, and again approaching the prisoner said, "Thou hast spoken
+the truth. The infant is in the hands of some innocent being over whom I
+have no power."
+
+"Ey towdee so, wizard," replied Hal, laughing. "Hoind os ey be, ey'm a
+match fo' thee,--ha! ha! Neaw, mey life agen t' chilt's. Win yo set me
+free?"
+
+Demdike deliberated.
+
+"Harkee, wizard," cried Hal, "if yo're hatching treason ey'n dun. T'
+sartunty o' revenge win sweeten mey last moments."
+
+"Will you swear to deliver the child to me unharmed, if I set you free?"
+asked Demdike.
+
+"It's a bargain, wizard," rejoined Hal o' Nabs; "ey swear. Boh yo mun
+set me free furst, fo' ey winnaw tak your word."
+
+Demdike turned away disdainfully, and addressing the arquebussiers,
+said, "You behold this warrant, guard. The prisoner is committed to my
+custody. I will produce him on the morrow, or account for his absence to
+the Earl of Derby."
+
+One of the arquebussiers examined the order, and vouching for its
+correctness, the others signified their assent to the arrangement, upon
+which Demdike motioned the prisoner to follow him, and quitted the
+chamber. No interruption was offered to Hal's egress, but he stopped
+within the court-yard, where Demdike awaited him, and unfastened the
+leathern thong that bound together his hands.
+
+"Now go and bring the child to me," said the wizard.
+
+"Nah, ey'st neaw bring it ye myself," rejoined Hal. "Ey knoas better nor
+that. Be at t' church porch i' half an hour, an t' bantlin shan be
+delivered to ye safe an sound."
+
+And without waiting for a reply, he ran off with great swiftness.
+
+At the appointed time Demdike sought the church, and as he drew near it
+there issued from the porch a female, who hastily placing the child,
+wrapped in a mantle, in his arms, tarried for no speech from him, but
+instantly disappeared. Demdike, however, recognised in her the miller's
+daughter, Dorothy Croft.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.--THE EXECUTIONER.
+
+
+Dawn came at last, after a long and weary night to many within and
+without the abbey. Every thing betokened a dismal day. The atmosphere
+was damp, and oppressive to the spirits, while the raw cold sensibly
+affected the frame. All astir were filled with gloom and despondency,
+and secretly breathed a wish that, the tragical business of the day were
+ended. The vast range of Pendle was obscured by clouds, and ere long the
+vapours descended into the valleys, and rain began to fall; at first
+slightly, but afterwards in heavy continuous showers. Melancholy was the
+aspect of the abbey, and it required no stretch of imagination to fancy
+that the old structure was deploring the fate of its former ruler. To
+those impressed with the idea--and many there were who were so--the very
+stones of the convent church seemed dissolving into tears. The statues
+of the saints appeared to weep, and the great statue of Saint Gregory de
+Northbury over the porch seemed bowed down with grief. The grotesquely
+carved heads on the spouts grinned horribly at the abbot's destroyers,
+and spouted forth cascades of water, as if with the intent of drowning
+them. So deluging and incessant were the showers, that it seemed,
+indeed, as if the abbey would be flooded. All the inequalities of ground
+within the great quadrangle of the cloisters looked like ponds, and the
+various water-spouts from the dormitory, the refectory, and the
+chapter-house, continuing to jet forth streams into the court below, the
+ambulatories were soon filled ankle-deep, and even the lower apartments,
+on which they opened, invaded.
+
+Surcharged with moisture, the royal banner on the gate drooped and clung
+to the staff, as if it too shared in the general depression, or as if
+the sovereign authority it represented had given way. The countenances
+and deportment of the men harmonized with the weather; they moved about
+gloomily and despondently, their bright accoutrements sullied with the
+wet, and their buskins clogged with mire. A forlorn sight it was to
+watch the shivering sentinels on the walls; and yet more forlorn to see
+the groups of the abbot's old retainers gathering without, wrapped in
+their blue woollen cloaks, patiently enduring the drenching showers, and
+awaiting the last awful scene. But the saddest sight of all was on the
+hill, already described, called the Holehouses. Here two other lesser
+gibbets had been erected during the night, one on either hand of the
+loftier instrument of justice, and the carpenters were yet employed in
+finishing their work, having been delayed by the badness of the weather.
+Half drowned by the torrents that fell upon them, the poor fellows were
+protected from interference with their disagreeable occupation by half a
+dozen well-mounted and well-armed troopers, and by as many halberdiers;
+and this company, completely exposed to the weather, suffered severely
+from wet and cold. The rain beat against the gallows, ran down its tall
+naked posts, and collected in pools at its feet. Attracted by some
+strange instinct, which seemed to give them a knowledge of the object of
+these terrible preparations, two ravens wheeled screaming round the
+fatal tree, and at length one of them settled on the cross-beam, and
+could with difficulty be dislodged by the shouts of the men, when it
+flew away, croaking hoarsely. Up this gentle hill, ordinarily so soft
+and beautiful, but now abhorrent as a Golgotha, in the eyes of the
+beholders, groups of rustics and monks had climbed over ground rendered
+slippery with moisture, and had gathered round the paling encircling the
+terrible apparatus, looking the images of despair and woe.
+
+Even those within the abbey, and sheltered from the storm, shared the
+all-pervading despondency. The refectory looked dull and comfortless,
+and the logs on the hearth hissed and sputtered, and would not burn.
+Green wood had been brought instead of dry fuel by the drowsy henchman.
+The viands on the board provoked not the appetite, and the men emptied
+their cups of ale, yawned and stretched their arms, as if they would
+fain sleep an hour or two longer. The sense of discomfort, was
+heightened by the entrance of those whose term of watch had been
+relieved, and who cast their dripping cloaks on the floor, while two or
+three savage dogs, steaming with moisture, stretched their huge lengths
+before the sullen fire, and disputed all approach to it.
+
+Within the great hall were already gathered the retainers of the Earl of
+Derby, but the nobleman himself had not appeared. Having passed the
+greater part of the night in conference with one person or another, and
+the abbot's flight having caused him much disquietude, though he did not
+hear of it till the fugitive was recovered; the earl would not seek his
+couch until within an hour of daybreak, and his attendants, considering
+the state of the weather, and that it yet wanted full two hours to the
+time appointed for the execution, did not think it needful to disturb
+him. Braddyll and Assheton, however, were up and ready; but, despite
+their firmness of nerve, they yielded like the rest to the depressing
+influence of the weather, and began to have some misgivings as to their
+own share in the tragedy about to be enacted. The various gentlemen in
+attendance paced to and fro within the hall, holding but slight converse
+together, anxiously counting the minutes, for the time appeared to pass
+on with unwonted slowness, and ever and anon glancing through the
+diamond panes of the window at the rain pouring down steadily without,
+and coming back again hopeless of amendment in the weather.
+
+If such were the disheartening influence of the day on those who had
+nothing to apprehend, what must its effect have been on the poor
+captives! Woful indeed. The two monks suffered a complete prostration of
+spirit. All the resolution which Father Haydocke had displayed in his
+interview with the Earl of Derby, failed him now, and he yielded to the
+agonies of despair. Father Eastgate was in little better condition, and
+gave vent to unavailing lamentations, instead of paying heed to the
+consolatory discourse of the monk who had been permitted to visit him.
+
+The abbot was better sustained. Though greatly enfeebled by the
+occurrences of the night, yet in proportion as his bodily strength
+decreased, his mental energies rallied. Since the confession of his
+secret offence, and the conviction he had obtained that his supposed
+victim still lived, a weight seemed taken from his breast, and he had no
+longer any dread of death. Rather he looked to the speedy termination of
+existence with hopeful pleasure. He prepared himself as decently as the
+means afforded him permitted for his last appearance before the world,
+but refused all refreshment except a cup of water, and being left to
+himself was praying fervently, when a man was admitted into his cell.
+Thinking it might be the executioner come to summon him, he arose, and
+to his surprise beheld Hal o' Nabs. The countenance of the rustic was
+pale, but his bearing was determined.
+
+"You here, my son," cried Paslew. "I hoped you had escaped."
+
+"Ey'm i' nah dawnger, feyther abbut," replied Hal. "Ey'n getten leef to
+visit ye fo a minute only, so ey mun be brief. Mey yourself easy, ye
+shanna dee be't hongmon's honds."
+
+"How, my son!" cried Paslew. "I understand you not."
+
+"Yo'n onderstond me weel enough by-and-by," replied Hal. "Dunnah be
+feart whon ye see me next; an comfort yoursel that whotever cums and
+goes, your death shall be avenged o' your warst foe."
+
+Paslew would have sought some further explanation, but Hal stepped
+quickly backwards, and striking his foot against the door, it was
+instantly opened by the guard, and he went forth.
+
+Not long after this, the Earl of Derby entered the great hall, and his
+first inquiry was as to the safety of the prisoners. When satisfied of
+this, he looked forth, and shuddered at the dismal state of the weather.
+While he was addressing some remarks on this subject, and on its
+interference with the tragical exhibition about to take place, an
+officer entered the hall, followed by several persons of inferior
+condition, amongst whom was Hal o' Nabs, and marched up to the earl,
+while the others remained standing at a respectful distance.
+
+"What news do you bring me, sir?" cried the earl, noticing the officer's
+evident uneasiness of manner. "Nothing hath happened to the prisoners?
+God's death! if it hath, you shall all answer for it with your bodies."
+
+"Nothing hath happened to them, my lord," said the officer,--"but--"
+
+"But what?" interrupted the earl. "Out with it quickly."
+
+"The executioner from Lancaster and his two aids have fled," replied the
+officer.
+
+"Fled!" exclaimed the earl, stamping his foot with rage; "now as I live,
+this is a device to delay the execution till some new attempt at rescue
+can be made. But it shall fail, if I string up the abbot myself. Death!
+can no other hangmen be found? ha!"
+
+"Of a surety, my lord; but all have an aversion to the office, and hold
+it opprobrious, especially to put churchmen to death," replied the
+officer.
+
+"Opprobrious or not, it must be done," replied the earl. "See that
+fitting persons are provided."
+
+At this moment Hal o' Nabs stepped forward.
+
+"Ey'm willing t' ondertake t' job, my lord, an' t' hong t' abbut,
+without fee or rewort," he said.
+
+"Thou bears't him a grudge, I suppose, good fellow," replied the earl,
+laughing at the rustic's uncouth appearance; "but thou seem'st a stout
+fellow, and one not likely to flinch, and may discharge the office as
+well as another. If no better man can be found, let him do it," he added
+to the officer.
+
+"Ey humbly thonk your lortship," replied Hal, inwardly rejoicing at the
+success of his scheme. But his countenance fell when he perceived
+Demdike advance from behind the others.
+
+"This man is not to be trusted, my lord," said Demdike, coming forward;
+"he has some mischievous design in making the request. So far from
+bearing enmity to the abbot, it was he who assisted him in his attempt
+to escape last night."
+
+"What!" exclaimed the earl, "is this a new trick? Bring the fellow
+forward, that I may examine him."
+
+But Hal was gone. Instantly divining Demdike's purpose, and seeing his
+chance lost, he mingled with the lookers-on, who covered his retreat.
+Nor could he be found when sought for by the guard.
+
+"See you provide a substitute quickly, sir," cried the earl, angrily, to
+the officer.
+
+"It is needless to take further trouble, my lord," replied Demdike "I am
+come to offer myself as executioner."
+
+"Thou!" exclaimed the earl.
+
+"Ay," replied the other. "When I heard that the men from Lancaster were
+fled, I instantly knew that some scheme to frustrate the ends of justice
+was on foot, and I at once resolved to undertake the office myself
+rather than delay or risk should occur. What this man's aim was, who
+hath just offered himself, I partly guess, but it hath failed; and if
+your lordship will intrust the matter to me, I will answer that no
+further impediment shall arise, but that the sentence shall be fully
+carried out, and the law satisfied. Your lordship can trust me."
+
+"I know it," replied the earl. "Be it as you will. It is now on the
+stroke of nine. At ten, let all be in readiness to set out for Wiswall
+Hall. The rain may have ceased by that time, but no weather must stay
+you. Go forth with the new executioner, sir," he added to the officer,
+"and see all necessary preparations made."
+
+And as Demdike bowed, and departed with the officer, the earl sat down
+with his retainers to break his fast.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.--WISWALL HALL.
+
+
+Shortly before ten o'clock a numerous cortège, consisting of a troop of
+horse in their full equipments, a band of archers with their bows over
+their shoulders, and a long train of barefoot monks, who had been
+permitted to attend, set out from the abbey. Behind them came a varlet
+with a paper mitre on his head, and a lathen crosier in his hand,
+covered with a surcoat, on which was emblazoned, but torn and reversed,
+the arms of Paslew; argent, a fess between three mullets, sable, pierced
+of the field, a crescent for difference. After him came another varlet
+bearing a banner, on which was painted a grotesque figure in a
+half-military, half-monastic garb, representing the "Earl of Poverty,"
+with this distich beneath it:--
+
+          Priest and warrior--rich and poor,
+          He shall be hanged at his own door.
+
+Next followed a tumbrel, drawn by two horses, in which sat the abbot
+alone, the two other prisoners being kept back for the present. Then
+came Demdike, in a leathern jerkin and blood-red hose, fitting closely
+to his sinewy limbs, and wrapped in a houppeland of the same colour as
+the hose, with a coil of rope round his neck. He walked between two
+ill-favoured personages habited in black, whom he had chosen as
+assistants. A band of halberdiers brought up the rear. The procession
+moved slowly along,--the passing-bell tolling each minute, and a muffled
+drum sounding hollowly at intervals.
+
+Shortly before the procession started the rain ceased, but the air felt
+damp and chill, and the roads were inundated. Passing out at the
+north-eastern gateway, the gloomy train skirted the south side of the
+convent church, and went on in the direction of the village of Whalley.
+When near the east end of the holy edifice, the abbot beheld two coffins
+borne along, and, on inquiry, learnt that they contained the bodies of
+Bess Demdike and Cuthbert Ashbead, who were about to be interred in the
+cemetery. At this moment his eye for the first time encountered that of
+his implacable foe, and he then discovered that he was to serve as his
+executioner.
+
+At first Paslew felt much trouble at this thought, but the feeling
+quickly passed away. On reaching Whalley, every door was found closed,
+and every window shut; so that the spectacle was lost upon the
+inhabitants; and after a brief halt, the cavalcade get out for Wiswall
+Hall.
+
+Sprung from an ancient family residing in the neighbourhood Of Whalley,
+Abbot Paslew was the second son of Francis Paslew Of Wiswall Hall, a
+great gloomy stone mansion, situated at the foot of the south-western
+side of Pendle Hill, where his brother Francis still resided. Of a cold
+and cautious character, Francis Paslew, second of the name, held aloof
+from the insurrection, and when his brother was arrested he wholly
+abandoned him. Still the owner of Wiswall had not altogether escaped
+suspicion, and it was probably as much with the view of degrading him as
+of adding to the abbot's punishment, that the latter was taken to the
+hall on the morning of his execution. Be this as it may, the cortège
+toiled thither through roads bad in the best of seasons, but now, since
+the heavy rain, scarcely passable; and it arrived there in about half an
+hour, and drew up on the broad green lawn. Window and door of the hall
+were closed; no smoke issued from the heavy pile of chimneys; and to all
+outward seeming the place was utterly deserted. In answer to inquiries,
+it appeared that Francis Paslew had departed for Northumberland on the
+previous day, taking all his household with him.
+
+In earlier years, a quarrel having occurred between the haughty abbot
+and the churlish Francis, the brothers rarely met, whence it chanced
+that John Paslew had seldom visited the place of his birth of late,
+though lying so near to the abbey, and, indeed, forming part of its
+ancient dependencies. It was sad to view it now; and yet the house,
+gloomy as it was, recalled seasons with which, though they might awaken
+regret, no guilty associations were connected. Dark was the hall, and
+desolate, but on the fine old trees around it the rooks were settling,
+and their loud cawings pleased him, and excited gentle emotions. For a
+few moments he grew young again, and forgot why he was there. Fondly
+surveying the house, the terraced garden, in which, as a boy, he had so
+often strayed, and the park beyond it, where he had chased the deer; his
+gaze rose to the cloudy heights of Pendle, springing immediately behind
+the mansion, and up which he had frequently climbed. The flood-gates of
+memory were opened at once, and a whole tide of long-buried feelings
+rushed upon his heart.
+
+From this half-painful, half-pleasurable retrospect he was aroused by
+the loud blast of a trumpet, thrice blown. A recapitulation of his
+offences, together with his sentence, was read by a herald, after which
+the reversed blazonry was fastened upon the door of the hall, just below
+a stone escutcheon on which was carved the arms of the family; while the
+paper mitre was torn and trampled under foot, the lathen crosier broken
+in twain, and the scurril banner hacked in pieces.
+
+While this degrading act was performed, a man in a miller's white garb,
+with the hood drawn over his face, forced his way towards the tumbrel,
+and while the attention of the guard was otherwise engaged, whispered in
+Paslew's ear,
+
+"Ey han failed i' mey scheme, feyther abbut, boh rest assured ey'n
+avenge you. Demdike shan ha' mey Sheffield thwittle i' his heart 'efore
+he's a day older."
+
+"The wizard has a charm against steel, my son, and indeed is proof
+against all weapons forged by men," replied Paslew, who recognised the
+voice of Hal o' Nabs, and hoped by this assertion to divert him from his
+purpose.
+
+"Ha! say yo so, feythur abbut?" cried Hal. "Then ey'n reach him wi'
+summot sacred." And he disappeared.
+
+At this moment, word was given to return, and in half an hour the
+cavalcade arrived at the abbey in the same order it had left it.
+
+Though the rain had ceased, heavy clouds still hung overhead,
+threatening another deluge, and the aspect of the abbey remained gloomy
+as ever. The bell continued to toll; drums were beaten; and trumpets
+sounded from the outer and inner gateway, and from the three
+quadrangles. The cavalcade drew up in front of the great northern
+entrance; and its return being announced within, the two other captives
+were brought forth, each fastened upon a hurdle, harnessed to a stout
+horse. They looked dead already, so ghastly was the hue of their cheeks.
+
+The abbot's turn came next. Another hurdle was brought forward, and
+Demdike advanced to the tumbrel. But Paslew recoiled from his touch, and
+sprang to the ground unaided. He was then laid on his back upon the
+hurdle, and his hands and feet were bound fast with ropes to the twisted
+timbers. While this painful task was roughly performed by the wizard's
+two ill-favoured assistants, the crowd of rustics who looked on,
+murmured and exhibited such strong tokens of displeasure, that the guard
+thought it prudent to keep them off with their halberts. But when all
+was done, Demdike motioned to a man standing behind him to advance, and
+the person who was wrapped in a russet cloak complied, drew forth an
+infant, and held it in such way that the abbot could see it. Paslew
+understood what was meant, but he uttered not a word. Demdike then knelt
+down beside him, as if ascertaining the security of the cords, and
+whispered in his ear:--
+
+"Recall thy malediction, and my dagger shall save thee from the last
+indignity."
+
+"Never," replied Paslew; "the curse is irrevocable. But I would not
+recall it if I could. As I have said, thy child shall be a witch, and
+the mother of witches--but all shall be swept off--all!"
+
+"Hell's torments seize thee!" cried the wizard, furiously.
+
+"Nay, thou hast done thy worst to me," rejoined Paslew, meekly, "thou
+canst not harm me beyond the grave. Look to thyself, for even as thou
+speakest, thy child is taken from thee."
+
+And so it was. While Demdike knelt beside Paslew, a hand was put forth,
+and, before the man who had custody of the infant could prevent it, his
+little charge was snatched from him. Thus the abbot saw, though the
+wizard perceived it not. The latter instantly sprang to his feet.
+
+"Where is the child?" he demanded of the fellow in the russet cloak.
+
+"It was taken from me by yon tall man who is disappearing through the
+gateway," replied the other, in great trepidation.
+
+"Ha! _he_ here!" exclaimed Demdike, regarding the dark figure with a
+look of despair. "It is gone from me for ever!"
+
+"Ay, for ever!" echoed the abbot, solemnly.
+
+"But revenge is still left me--revenge!" cried Demdike, with an
+infuriated gesture.
+
+"Then glut thyself with it speedily," replied the abbot; "for thy time
+here is short."
+
+"I care not if it be," replied Demdike; "I shall live long enough if I
+survive thee."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.--THE HOLEHOUSES.
+
+
+At this moment the blast of a trumpet resounded from the gateway, and
+the Earl of Derby, with the sheriff on his right hand, and Assheton on
+the left, and mounted on a richly caparisoned charger, rode forth. He
+was preceded by four javelin-men, and followed by two heralds in their
+tabards.
+
+To doleful tolling of bells--to solemn music--to plaintive hymn chanted
+by monks--to roll of muffled drum at intervals--the sad cortège set
+forth. Loud cries from the bystanders marked its departure, and some of
+them followed it, but many turned away, unable to endure the sight of
+horror about to ensue. Amongst those who went on was Hal o' Nabs, but he
+took care to keep out of the way of the guard, though he was little
+likely to be recognised, owing to his disguise.
+
+Despite the miserable state of the weather, a great multitude was
+assembled at the place of execution, and they watched the approaching
+cavalcade with moody curiosity. To prevent disturbance, arquebussiers
+were stationed in parties here and there, and a clear course for the
+cortège was preserved by two lines of halberdiers with crossed pikes.
+But notwithstanding this, much difficulty was experienced in mounting
+the hill. Rendered slippery by the wet, and yet more so by the trampling
+of the crowd, the road was so bad in places that the horses could
+scarcely drag the hurdles up it, and more than one delay occurred. The
+stoppages were always denounced by groans, yells, and hootings from the
+mob, and these neither the menaces of the Earl of Derby, nor the active
+measures of the guard, could repress.
+
+At length, however, the cavalcade reached its destination. Then the
+crowd struggled forward, and settled into a dense compact ring, round
+the circular railing enclosing the place of execution, within which were
+drawn up the Earl of Derby, the sheriff, Assheton, and the principal
+gentlemen, together with Demdike and his assistants; the guard forming a
+circle three deep round them.
+
+Paslew was first unloosed, and when he stood up, he found Father Smith,
+the late prior, beside him, and tenderly embraced him.
+
+"Be of good courage, Father Abbot," said the prior; "a few moments, and
+you will be numbered with the just."
+
+"My hope is in the infinite mercy of Heaven, father," replied Paslew,
+sighing deeply. "Pray for me at the last."
+
+"Doubt it not," returned the prior, fervently. "I will pray for you now
+and ever."
+
+Meanwhile, the bonds of the two other captives were unfastened, but they
+were found wholly unable to stand without support. A lofty ladder had
+been placed against the central scaffold, and up this Demdike, having
+cast off his houppeland, mounted and adjusted the rope. His tall gaunt
+figure, fully displayed in his tight-fitting red garb, made him look
+like a hideous scarecrow. His appearance was greeted by the mob with a
+perfect hurricane of indignant outcries and yells. But he heeded them
+not, but calmly pursued his task. Above him wheeled the two ravens, who
+had never quitted the place since daybreak, uttering their discordant
+cries. When all was done, he descended a few steps, and, taking a black
+hood from his girdle to place over the head of his victim, called out in
+a voice which had little human in its tone, "I wait for you, John
+Paslew."
+
+"Are you ready, Paslew?" demanded the Earl of Derby.
+
+"I am, my lord," replied the abbot. And embracing the prior for the last
+time, he added, "_Vale, carissime frater, in æternum vale! et Dominus
+tecum sit in ultionem inimicorum nostrorum_!"
+
+"It is the king's pleasure that you say not a word in your justification
+to the mob, Paslew," observed the earl.
+
+"I had no such intention, my lord," replied the abbot.
+
+"Then tarry no longer," said the earl; "if you need aid you shall have
+it."
+
+"I require none," replied Paslew, resolutely.
+
+With this he mounted the ladder, with as much firmness and dignity as if
+ascending the steps of a tribune.
+
+Hitherto nothing but yells and angry outcries had stunned the ears of
+the lookers-on, and several missiles had been hurled at Demdike, some of
+which took effect, though without occasioning discomfiture; but when
+the abbot appeared above the heads of the guard, the tumult instantly
+subsided, and profound silence ensued. Not a breath was drawn by the
+spectators. The ravens alone continued their ominous croaking.
+
+Hal o' Nabs, who stood on the outskirts of the ring, saw thus far but he
+could bear it no longer, and rushed down the hill. Just as he reached
+the level ground, a culverin was fired from the gateway, and the next
+moment a loud wailing cry bursting from the mob told that the abbot was
+launched into eternity.
+
+Hal would not look back, but went slowly on, and presently afterwards
+other horrid sounds dinned in his ears, telling that all was over with
+the two other sufferers. Sickened and faint, he leaned against a wall
+for support. How long he continued thus, he knew not, but he heard the
+cavalcade coming down the hill, and saw the Earl of Derby and his
+attendants ride past. Glancing toward the place of execution, Hal then
+perceived that the abbot had been cut down, and, rousing himself, he
+joined the crowd now rushing towards the gate, and ascertained that the
+body of Paslew was to be taken to the convent church, and deposited
+there till orders were to be given respecting its interment. He learnt,
+also, that the removal of the corpse was intrusted to Demdike. Fired by
+this intelligence, and suddenly conceiving a wild project of vengeance,
+founded upon what he had heard from the abbot of the wizard being proof
+against weapons forged by men, he hurried to the church, entered it, the
+door being thrown open, and rushing up to the gallery, contrived to get
+out through a window upon the top of the porch, where he secreted
+himself behind the great stone statue of Saint Gregory.
+
+The information he had obtained proved correct. Ere long a mournful
+train approached the church, and a bier was set down before the porch. A
+black hood covered the face of the dead, but the vestments showed that
+it was the body of Paslew.
+
+At the head of the bearers was Demdike, and when the body was set down
+he advanced towards it, and, removing the hood, gazed at the livid and
+distorted features.
+
+"At length I am fully avenged," he said.
+
+"And Abbot Paslew, also," cried a voice above him.
+
+Demdike looked up, but the look was his last, for the ponderous statue
+of Saint Gregory de Northbury, launched from its pedestal, fell upon his
+head, and crushed him to the ground. A mangled and breathless mass was
+taken from beneath the image, and the hands and visage of Paslew were
+found spotted with blood dashed from the gory carcass. The author of the
+wizard's destruction was suspected, but never found, nor was it
+positively known who had done the deed till years after, when Hal o'
+Nabs, who meanwhile had married pretty Dorothy Croft, and had been
+blessed by numerous offspring in the union, made his last confession,
+and then he exhibited no remarkable or becoming penitence for the act,
+neither was he refused absolution.
+
+Thus it came to pass that the abbot and his enemy perished together. The
+mutilated remains of the wizard were placed in a shell, and huddled into
+the grave where his wife had that morning been laid. But no prayer was
+said over him. And the superstitious believed that the body was carried
+off that very night by the Fiend, and taken to a witch's sabbath in the
+ruined tower on Rimington Moor. Certain it was, that the unhallowed
+grave was disturbed. The body of Paslew was decently interred in the
+north aisle of the parish church of Whalley, beneath a stone with a
+Gothic cross sculptured upon it, and bearing the piteous
+inscription:--"_Miserere mei_."
+
+But in the belief of the vulgar the abbot did not rest tranquilly. For
+many years afterwards a white-robed monastic figure was seen to flit
+along the cloisters, pass out at the gate, and disappear with a wailing
+cry over the Holehouses. And the same ghostly figure was often seen to
+glide through the corridor in the abbot's lodging, and vanish at the
+door of the chamber leading to the little oratory. Thus Whalley Abbey
+was supposed to be haunted, and few liked to wander through its deserted
+cloisters, or ruined church, after dark. The abbot's tragical end was
+thus recorded:--
+
+
+          Johannes Paslew: Capitali Effectus Supplicio.
+          12º Mensis Martii, 1537.
+
+As to the infant, upon whom the abbot's malediction fell, it was
+reserved for the dark destinies shadowed forth in the dread anathema he
+had uttered: to the development of which the tragic drama about to
+follow is devoted, and to which the fate of Abbot Paslew forms a
+necessary and fitting prologue. Thus far the veil of the Future may be
+drawn aside. That infant and her progeny became the LANCASHIRE WITCHES.
+
+
+END OF THE INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+
+
+THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES.
+
+BOOK THE FIRST.
+
+Alizon Device.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.--THE MAY QUEEN.
+
+
+On a May-day in the early part of the seventeenth century, and a most
+lovely May-day, too, admirably adapted to usher in the merriest month of
+the year, and seemingly made expressly for the occasion, a wake was held
+at Whalley, to which all the neighbouring country folk resorted, and
+indeed many of the gentry as well, for in the good old times, when
+England was still merry England, a wake had attractions for all classes
+alike, and especially in Lancashire; for, with pride I speak it, there
+were no lads who, in running, vaulting, wrestling, dancing, or in any
+other manly exercise, could compare with the Lancashire lads. In
+archery, above all, none could match them; for were not their ancestors
+the stout bowmen and billmen whose cloth-yard shafts, and trenchant
+weapons, won the day at Flodden? And were they not true sons of their
+fathers? And then, I speak it with yet greater pride, there were few, if
+any, lasses who could compare in comeliness with the rosy-cheeked,
+dark-haired, bright-eyed lasses of Lancashire.
+
+Assemblages of this kind, therefore, where the best specimens of either
+sex were to be met with, were sure to be well attended, and in spite of
+an enactment passed in the preceding reign of Elizabeth, prohibiting
+"piping, playing, bear-baiting, and bull-baiting on the Sabbath-days, or
+on any other days, and also superstitious ringing of bells, wakes, and
+common feasts," they were not only not interfered with, but rather
+encouraged by the higher orders. Indeed, it was well known that the
+reigning monarch, James the First, inclined the other way, and, desirous
+of checking the growing spirit of Puritanism throughout the kingdom, had
+openly expressed himself in favour of honest recreation after evening
+prayers and upon holidays; and, furthermore, had declared that he liked
+well the spirit of his good subjects in Lancashire, and would not see
+them punished for indulging in lawful exercises, but that ere long he
+would pay them a visit in one of his progresses, and judge for himself,
+and if he found all things as they had been represented to him, he would
+grant them still further licence. Meanwhile, this expression of the
+royal opinion removed every restriction, and old sports and pastimes,
+May-games, Whitsun-ales, and morris-dances, with rush-bearings,
+bell-ringings, wakes, and feasts, were as much practised as before the
+passing of the obnoxious enactment of Elizabeth. The Puritans and
+Precisians discountenanced them, it is true, as much as ever, and would
+have put them down, if they could, as savouring of papistry and
+idolatry, and some rigid divines thundered against them from the pulpit;
+but with the king and the authorities in their favour, the people little
+heeded these denunciations against them, and abstained not from any
+"honest recreation" whenever a holiday occurred.
+
+If Lancashire was famous for wakes, the wakes of Whalley were famous
+even in Lancashire. The men of the district were in general a hardy,
+handsome race, of the genuine Saxon breed, and passionately fond of all
+kinds of pastime, and the women had their full share of the beauty
+indigenous to the soil. Besides, it was a secluded spot, in the heart of
+a wild mountainous region, and though occasionally visited by travellers
+journeying northward, or by others coming from the opposite direction,
+retained a primitive simplicity of manners, and a great partiality for
+old customs and habits.
+
+The natural beauties of the place, contrasted with the dreary region
+around it, and heightened by the picturesque ruins of the ancient abbey,
+part of which, namely, the old abbot's lodgings, had been converted into
+a residence by the Asshetons, and was now occupied by Sir Ralph
+Assheton, while the other was left to the ravages of time, made it
+always an object of attraction to those residing near it; but when on
+the May-day in question, there was not only to be a wake, but a May-pole
+set on the green, and a rush-bearing with morris-dancers besides,
+together with Whitsun-ale at the abbey, crowds flocked to Whalley from
+Wiswall, Cold Coates, and Clithero, from Ribchester and Blackburn, from
+Padiham and Pendle, and even from places more remote. Not only was John
+Lawe's of the Dragon full, but the Chequers, and the Swan also, and the
+roadside alehouse to boot. Sir Ralph Assheton had several guests at the
+abbey, and others were expected in the course of the day, while Doctor
+Ormerod had friends staying with him at the vicarage.
+
+Soon after midnight, on the morning of the festival, many young persons
+of the village, of both sexes, had arisen, and, to the sound of horn,
+had repaired to the neighbouring woods, and there gathered a vast stock
+of green boughs and flowering branches of the sweetly-perfumed hawthorn,
+wild roses, and honeysuckle, with baskets of violets, cowslips,
+primroses, blue-bells, and other wild flowers, and returning in the same
+order they went forth, fashioned the branches into green bowers within
+the churchyard, or round about the May-pole set up on the green, and
+decorated them afterwards with garlands and crowns of flowers. This
+morning ceremonial ought to have been performed without wetting the
+feet: but though some pains were taken in the matter, few could achieve
+the difficult task, except those carried over the dewy grass by their
+lusty swains. On the day before the rushes had been gathered, and the
+rush cart piled, shaped, trimmed, and adorned by those experienced in
+the task, (and it was one requiring both taste and skill, as will be
+seen when the cart itself shall come forth,) while others had borrowed
+for its adornment, from the abbey and elsewhere, silver tankards,
+drinking-cups, spoons, ladles, brooches, watches, chains, and bracelets,
+so as to make an imposing show.
+
+Day was ushered in by a merry peal of bells from the tower of the old
+parish church, and the ringers practised all kinds of joyous changes
+during the morning, and fired many a clanging volley. The whole village
+was early astir; and as these were times when good hours were kept; and
+as early rising is a famous sharpener of the appetite, especially when
+attended with exercise, so an hour before noon the rustics one and all
+sat down to dinner, the strangers being entertained by their friends,
+and if they had no friends, throwing themselves upon the general
+hospitality. The alehouses were reserved for tippling at a later hour,
+for it was then customary for both gentleman and commoner, male as well
+as female, as will be more fully shown hereafter, to take their meals at
+home, and repair afterwards to houses of public entertainment for wine
+or other liquors. Private chambers were, of course, reserved for the
+gentry; but not unfrequently the squire and his friends would take their
+bottle with the other guests. Such was the invariable practice in the
+northern counties in the reign of James the First.
+
+Soon after mid-day, and when the bells began to peal merrily again (for
+even ringers must recruit themselves), at a small cottage in the
+outskirts of the village, and close to the Calder, whose waters swept
+past the trimly kept garden attached to it, two young girls were
+employed in attiring a third, who was to represent Maid Marian, or Queen
+of May, in the pageant then about to ensue. And, certainly, by sovereign
+and prescriptive right of beauty, no one better deserved the high title
+and distinction conferred upon her than this fair girl. Lovelier maiden
+in the whole county, and however high her degree, than this rustic
+damsel, it was impossible to find; and though the becoming and fanciful
+costume in which she was decked could not heighten her natural charms,
+it certainly displayed them to advantage. Upon her smooth and beautiful
+brow sat a gilt crown, while her dark and luxuriant hair, covered behind
+with a scarlet coif, embroidered with gold; and tied with yellow, white,
+and crimson ribands, but otherwise wholly unconfirmed, swept down
+almost to the ground. Slight and fragile, her figure was of such just
+proportion that every movement and gesture had an indescribable charm.
+The most courtly dame might have envied her fine and taper fingers, and
+fancied she could improve them by protecting them against the sun, or by
+rendering them snowy white with paste or cosmetic, but this was
+questionable; nothing certainly could improve the small foot and
+finely-turned ankle, so well displayed in the red hose and smart little
+yellow buskin, fringed with gold. A stomacher of scarlet cloth, braided
+with yellow lace in cross bars, confined her slender waist. Her robe was
+of carnation-coloured silk, with wide sleeves, and the gold-fringed
+skirt descended only a little below the knee, like the dress of a modern
+Swiss peasant, so as to reveal the exquisite symmetry of her limbs. Over
+all she wore a surcoat of azure silk, lined with white, and edged with
+gold. In her left hand she held a red pink as an emblem of the season.
+So enchanting was her appearance altogether, so fresh the character of
+her beauty, so bright the bloom that dyed her lovely checks, that she
+might have been taken for a personification of May herself. She was
+indeed in the very May of life--the mingling of spring and summer in
+womanhood; and the tender blue eyes, bright and clear as diamonds of
+purest water, the soft regular features, and the merry mouth, whose
+ruddy parted lips ever and anon displayed two rows of pearls, completed
+the similitude to the attributes of the jocund month.
+
+Her handmaidens, both of whom were simple girls, and though not
+destitute of some pretensions to beauty themselves, in nowise to be
+compared with her, were at the moment employed in knotting the ribands
+in her hair, and adjusting the azure surcoat.
+
+Attentively watching these proceedings sat on a stool, placed in a
+corner, a little girl, some nine or ten years old, with a basket of
+flowers on her knee. The child was very diminutive, even for her age,
+and her smallness was increased by personal deformity, occasioned by
+contraction of the chest, and spinal curvature, which raised her back
+above her shoulders; but her features were sharp and cunning, indeed
+almost malignant, and there was a singular and unpleasant look about the
+eyes, which were not placed evenly in the head. Altogether she had a
+strange old-fashioned look, and from her habitual bitterness of speech,
+as well as from her vindictive character, which, young as she was, had
+been displayed, with some effect, on more than one occasion, she was no
+great favourite with any one. It was curious now to watch the eager and
+envious interest she took in the progress of her sister's adornment--for
+such was the degree of relationship in which she stood to the May
+Queen--and when the surcoat was finally adjusted, and the last riband
+tied, she broke forth, having hitherto preserved a sullen silence.
+
+[Illustration: THE MAY QUEEN.]
+
+"Weel, sister Alizon, ye may a farrently May Queen, ey mun say" she
+observed, spitefully, "but to my mind other Suky Worseley, or Nancy
+Holt, here, would ha' looked prottier."
+
+"Nah, nah, that we shouldna," rejoined one of the damsels referred to;
+"there is na a lass i' Lonkyshiar to hold a condle near Alizon Device."
+
+"Fie upon ye, for an ill-favort minx, Jennet," cried Nancy Holt; "yo're
+jealous o' your protty sister."
+
+"Ey jealous," cried Jennet, reddening, "an whoy the firrups should ey be
+jealous, ey, thou saucy jade! Whon ey grow older ey'st may a prottier
+May Queen than onny on you, an so the lads aw tell me."
+
+"And so you will, Jennet," said Alizon Device, checking, by a gentle
+look, the jeering laugh in which Nancy seemed disposed to indulge--"so
+you will, my pretty little sister," she added, kissing her; "and I will
+'tire you as well and as carefully as Susan and Nancy have just 'tired
+me."
+
+"Mayhap ey shanna live till then," rejoined Jennet, peevishly, "and when
+ey'm dead an' gone, an' laid i' t' cowld churchyard, yo an they win be
+sorry fo having werreted me so."
+
+"I have never intentionally vexed you, Jennet, love," said Alizon, "and
+I am sure these two girls love you dearly."
+
+"Eigh, we may allowance fo her feaw tempers," observed Susan Worseley;
+"fo we knoa that ailments an deformities are sure to may folk fretful."
+
+"Eigh, there it is," cried Jennet, sharply. "My high shoulthers an sma
+size are always thrown i' my feace. Boh ey'st grow tall i' time, an get
+straight--eigh straighter than yo, Suky, wi' your broad back an short
+neck--boh if ey dunna, whot matters it? Ey shall be feared at onny
+rate--ay, feared, wenches, by ye both."
+
+"Nah doubt on't, theaw little good-fo'-nothin piece o' mischief,"
+muttered Susan.
+
+"Whot's that yo sayn, Suky?" cried Jennet, whose quick ears had caught
+the words, "Tak care whot ye do to offend me, lass," she added, shaking
+her thin fingers, armed with talon-like claws, threateningly at her, "or
+ey'll ask my granddame, Mother Demdike, to quieten ye."
+
+At the mention of this name a sudden shade came over Susan's
+countenance. Changing colour, and slightly trembling, she turned away
+from the child, who, noticing the effect of her threat, could not
+repress her triumph. But again Alizon interposed.
+
+"Do not be alarmed, Susan," she said, "my grandmother will never harm
+you, I am sure; indeed, she will never harm any one; and do not heed
+what little Jennet says, for she is not aware of the effect of her own
+words, or of the injury they might do our grandmother, if repeated."
+
+"Ey dunna wish to repeat them, or to think of em," sobbed Susan.
+
+"That's good, that's kind of you, Susan," replied Alizon, taking her
+hand. "Do not be cross any more, Jennet. You see you have made her
+weep."
+
+"Ey'm glad on it," rejoined the little girl, laughing; "let her cry on.
+It'll do her good, an teach her to mend her manners, and nah offend me
+again."
+
+"Ey didna mean to offend ye, Jennet," sobbed Susan, "boh yo're so
+wrythen an marr'd, a body canna speak to please ye."
+
+"Weel, if ye confess your fault, ey'm satisfied," replied the little
+girl; "boh let it be a lesson to ye, Suky, to keep guard o' your tongue
+i' future."
+
+"It shall, ey promise ye," replied Susan, drying her eyes.
+
+At this moment a door opened, and a woman entered from an inner room,
+having a high-crowned, conical-shaped hat on her head, and broad white
+pinners over her cheeks. Her dress was of dark red camlet, with
+high-heeled shoes. She stooped slightly, and being rather lame,
+supported herself on a crutch-handled stick. In age she might be between
+forty and fifty, but she looked much older, and her features were not at
+all prepossessing from a hooked nose and chin, while their sinister
+effect was increased by a formation of the eyes similar to that in
+Jennet, only more strongly noticeable in her case. This woman was
+Elizabeth Device, widow of John Device, about whose death there was a
+mystery to be inquired into hereafter, and mother of Alizon and Jennet,
+though how she came to have a daughter so unlike herself in all respects
+as the former, no one could conceive; but so it was.
+
+"Soh, ye ha donned your finery at last, Alizon," said Elizabeth. "Your
+brother Jem has just run up to say that t' rush-cart has set out, and
+that Robin Hood and his merry men are comin' for their Queen."
+
+"And their Queen is quite ready for them," replied Alizon, moving
+towards the door.
+
+"Neigh, let's ha' a look at ye fust, wench," cried Elizabeth, staying
+her; "fine fitthers may fine brids--ey warrant me now yo'n getten these
+May gewgaws on, yo fancy yourself a queen in arnest."
+
+"A queen of a day, mother; a queen of a little village festival; nothing
+more," replied Alizon. "Oh, if I were a queen in right earnest, or even
+a great lady--"
+
+"Whot would yo do?" demanded Elizabeth Device, sourly.
+
+"I'd make you rich, mother, and build you a grand house to live in,"
+replied Alizon; "much grander than Browsholme, or Downham, or
+Middleton."
+
+"Pity yo're nah a queen then, Alizon," replied Elizabeth, relaxing her
+harsh features into a wintry smile.
+
+"Whot would ye do fo me, Alizon, if ye were a queen?" asked little
+Jennet, looking up at her.
+
+"Why, let me see," was the reply; "I'd indulge every one of your whims
+and wishes. You should only need ask to have."
+
+"Poh--poh--yo'd never content her," observed Elizabeth, testily.
+
+"It's nah your way to try an content me, mother, even whon ye might,"
+rejoined Jennet, who, if she loved few people, loved her mother least of
+all, and never lost an opportunity of testifying her dislike to her.
+
+"Awt o'pontee, little wasp," cried her mother; "theaw desarves nowt boh
+whot theaw dustna get often enough--a good whipping."
+
+"Yo hanna towd us whot yo'd do fo yurself if yo war a great lady,
+Alizon?" interposed Susan.
+
+"Oh, I haven't thought about myself," replied the other, laughing.
+
+"Ey con tell ye what she'd do, Suky," replied little Jennet, knowingly;
+"she'd marry Master Richard Assheton, o' Middleton."
+
+"Jennet!" exclaimed Alizon, blushing crimson.
+
+"It's true," replied the little girl; "ye knoa ye would, Alizon, Look at
+her feace," she added, with a screaming laugh.
+
+"Howd te tongue, little plague," cried Elizabeth, rapping her knuckles
+with her stick, "and behave thyself, or theaw shanna go out to t' wake."
+
+Jennet dealt her mother a bitterly vindictive look, but she neither
+uttered cry, nor made remark.
+
+In the momentary silence that ensued the blithe jingling of bells was
+heard, accompanied by the merry sound of tabor and pipe.
+
+"Ah! here come the rush-cart and the morris-dancers," cried Alizon,
+rushing joyously to the window, which, being left partly open, admitted
+the scent of the woodbine and eglantine by which it was overgrown, as
+well as the humming sound of the bees by which the flowers were invaded.
+
+Almost immediately afterwards a frolic troop, like a band of masquers,
+approached the cottage, and drew up before it, while the jingling of
+bells ceasing at the same moment, told that the rush-cart had stopped
+likewise. Chief amongst the party was Robin Hood clad in a suit of
+Lincoln green, with a sheaf of arrows at his back, a bugle dangling from
+his baldric, a bow in his hand, and a broad-leaved green hat on his
+head, looped up on one side, and decorated with a heron's feather. The
+hero of Sherwood was personated by a tall, well-limbed fellow, to whom,
+being really a forester of Bowland, the character was natural. Beside
+him stood a very different figure, a jovial friar, with shaven crown,
+rubicund cheeks, bull throat, and mighty paunch, covered by a russet
+habit, and girded in by a red cord, decorated with golden twist and
+tassel. He wore red hose and sandal shoon, and carried in his girdle a
+Wallet, to contain a roast capon, a neat's tongue, or any other dainty
+given him. Friar Tuck, for such he was, found his representative in Ned
+Huddlestone, porter at the abbey, who, as the largest and stoutest man
+in the village, was chosen on that account to the part. Next to him came
+a character of no little importance, and upon whom much of the mirth of
+the pageant depended, and this devolved upon the village cobbler, Jack
+Roby, a dapper little fellow, who fitted the part of the Fool to a
+nicety. With bauble in hand, and blue coxcomb hood adorned with long
+white asses' ears on head, with jerkin of green, striped with yellow;
+hose of different colours, the left leg being yellow, with a red
+pantoufle, and the right blue, terminated with a yellow shoe; with bells
+hung upon various parts of his motley attire, so that he could not move
+without producing a jingling sound, Jack Roby looked wonderful indeed;
+and was constantly dancing about, and dealing a blow with his bauble.
+Next came Will Scarlet, Stukely, and Little John, all proper men and
+tall, attired in Lincoln green, like Robin Hood, and similarly equipped.
+Like him, too, they were all foresters of Bowland, owning service to the
+bow-bearer, Mr. Parker of Browsholme hall; and the representative of
+Little John, who was six feet and a half high, and stout in proportion,
+was Lawrence Blackrod, Mr. Parker's head keeper. After the foresters
+came Tom the Piper, a wandering minstrel, habited for the occasion in a
+blue doublet, with sleeves of the same colour, turned up with yellow,
+red hose, and brown buskins, red bonnet, and green surcoat lined with
+yellow. Beside the piper was another minstrel, similarly attired, and
+provided with a tabor. Lastly came one of the main features of the
+pageant, and which, together with the Fool, contributed most materially
+to the amusement of the spectators. This was the Hobby-horse. The hue of
+this, spirited charger was a pinkish white, and his housings were of
+crimson cloth hanging to the ground, so as to conceal the rider's real
+legs, though a pair of sham ones dangled at the side. His bit was of
+gold, and his bridle red morocco leather, while his rider was very
+sumptuously arrayed in a purple mantle, bordered with gold, with a rich
+cap of the same regal hue on his head, encircled with gold, and having a
+red feather stuck in it. The hobby-horse had a plume of nodding feathers
+on his head, and careered from side to side, now rearing in front, now
+kicking behind, now prancing, now gently ambling, and in short indulging
+in playful fancies and vagaries, such as horse never indulged in before,
+to the imminent danger, it seemed, of his rider, and to the huge delight
+of the beholders. Nor must it be omitted, as it was matter of great
+wonderment to the lookers-on, that by some legerdemain contrivance the
+rider of the hobby-horse had a couple of daggers stuck in his cheeks,
+while from his steed's bridle hung a silver ladle, which he held now and
+then to the crowd, and in which, when he did so, a few coins were sure
+to rattle. After the hobby-horse came the May-pole, not the tall pole so
+called and which was already planted in the green, but a stout staff
+elevated some six feet above the head of the bearer, with a coronal of
+flowers atop, and four long garlands hanging down, each held by a
+morris-dancer. Then came the May Queen's gentleman usher, a fantastic
+personage in habiliments of blue guarded with white, and holding a long
+willow wand in his hand. After the usher came the main troop of
+morris-dancers--the men attired in a graceful costume, which set off
+their light active figures to advantage, consisting of a slashed-jerkin
+of black and white velvet, with cut sleeves left open so as to reveal
+the snowy shirt beneath, white hose, and shoes of black Spanish leather
+with large roses. Ribands were every where in their dresses--ribands and
+tinsel adorned their caps, ribands crossed their hose, and ribands were
+tied round their arms. In either hand they held a long white
+handkerchief knotted with ribands. The female morris-dancers were
+habited in white, decorated like the dresses of the men; they had
+ribands and wreaths of flowers round their heads, bows in their hair,
+and in their hands long white knotted kerchiefs.
+
+In the rear of the performers in the pageant came the rush-cart drawn by
+a team of eight stout horses, with their manes and tails tied with
+ribands, their collars fringed with red and yellow worsted, and hung
+with bells, which jingled blithely at every movement, and their heads
+decked with flowers. The cart itself consisted of an enormous pile of
+rushes, banded and twisted together, rising to a considerable height,
+and terminated in a sharp ridge, like the point of a Gothic window. The
+sides and top were decorated with flowers and ribands, and there were
+eaves in front and at the back, and on the space within them, which was
+covered with white paper, were strings of gaudy flowers, embedded in
+moss, amongst which were suspended all the ornaments and finery that
+could be collected for the occasion: to wit, flagons of silver, spoons,
+ladles, chains, watches, and bracelets, so as to make a brave and
+resplendent show. The wonder was how articles of so much value would be
+trusted forth on such an occasion; but nothing was ever lost. On the top
+of the rush-cart, and bestriding its sharp ridges, sat half a dozen men,
+habited somewhat like the morris-dancers, in garments bedecked with
+tinsel and ribands, holding garlands formed by hoops, decorated with
+flowers, and attached to poles ornamented with silver paper, cut into
+various figures and devices, and diminishing gradually in size as they
+rose to a point, where they were crowned with wreaths of daffodils.
+
+A large crowd of rustics, of all ages, accompanied the morris-dancers
+and rush-cart.
+
+This gay troop having come to a halt, as described, before the cottage,
+the gentleman-usher entered it, and, tapping against the inner door with
+his wand, took off his cap as soon as it was opened, and bowing
+deferentially to the ground, said he was come to invite the Queen of May
+to join the pageant, and that it only awaited her presence to proceed to
+the green. Having delivered this speech in as good set phrase as he
+could command, and being the parish clerk and schoolmaster to boot,
+Sampson Harrop by name, he was somewhat more polished than the rest of
+the hinds; and having, moreover, received a gracious response from the
+May Queen, who condescendingly replied that she was quite ready to
+accompany him, he took her hand, and led her ceremoniously to the door,
+whither they were followed by the others.
+
+Loud was the shout that greeted Alizon's appearance, and tremendous was
+the pushing to obtain a sight of her; and so much was she abashed by the
+enthusiastic greeting, which was wholly unexpected on her part, that she
+would have drawn back again, if it had been possible; but the usher led
+her forward, and Robin Hood and the foresters having bent the knee
+before her, the hobby-horse began to curvet anew among the spectators,
+and tread on their toes, the fool to rap their knuckles with his bauble,
+the piper to play, the taborer to beat his tambourine, and the
+morris-dancers to toss their kerchiefs over their heads. Thus the
+pageant being put in motion, the rush-cart began to roll on, its horses'
+bells jingling merrily, and the spectators cheering lustily.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.--THE BLACK CAT AND THE WHITE DOVE.
+
+
+Little Jennet watched her sister's triumphant departure with a look in
+which there was far more of envy than sympathy, and, when her mother
+took her hand to lead her forth, she would not go, but saying she did
+not care for any such idle sights, went back sullenly to the inner room.
+When there, however, she could not help peeping through the window, and
+saw Susan and Nancy join the revel rout, with feelings of increased
+bitterness.
+
+"Ey wish it would rain an spile their finery," she said, sitting down on
+her stool, and plucking the flowers from her basket in pieces. "An yet,
+why canna ey enjoy such seets like other folk? Truth is, ey've nah heart
+for it."
+
+"Folks say," she continued, after a pause, "that grandmother Demdike is
+a witch, an con do os she pleases. Ey wonder if she made Alizon so
+protty. Nah, that canna be, fo' Alizon's na favourite o' hern. If she
+loves onny one it's me. Why dunna she make me good-looking, then? They
+say it's sinfu' to be a witch--if so, how comes grandmother Demdike to
+be one? Boh ey'n observed that those folks os caws her witch are afeard
+on her, so it may be pure spite o' their pert."
+
+As she thus mused, a great black cat belonging to her mother, which had
+followed her into the room, rubbed himself against her, putting up his
+back, and purring loudly.
+
+"Ah, Tib," said the little girl, "how are ye, Tib? Ey didna knoa ye were
+here. Lemme ask ye some questions, Tib?"
+
+The cat mewed, looked up, and fixed his great yellow eyes upon her.
+
+"One 'ud think ye onderstud whot wos said to ye, Tib," pursued little
+Jennet. "We'n see whot ye say to this! Shan ey ever be Queen o' May,
+like sister Alizon?"
+
+The cat mewed in a manner that the little girl found no difficulty in
+interpreting the reply into "No."
+
+"How's that, Tib?" cried Jennet, sharply. "If ey thought ye meant it,
+ey'd beat ye, sirrah. Answer me another question, ye saucy knave. Who
+will be luckiest, Alizon or me?"
+
+This time the cat darted away from her, and made two or three skirmishes
+round the room, as if gone suddenly mad.
+
+"Ey con may nowt o' that," observed Jennet, laughing.
+
+All at once the cat bounded upon the chimney board, over which was
+placed a sampler, worked with the name "ALIZON."
+
+"Why Tib really seems to onderstond me, ey declare," observed Jennet,
+uneasily. "Ey should like to ask him a few more questions, if ey durst,"
+she added, regarding with some distrust the animal, who now returned,
+and began rubbing against her as before. "Tib--Tib!"
+
+The cat looked up, and mewed.
+
+"Protty Tib--sweet Tib," continued the little girl, coaxingly. "Whot mun
+one do to be a witch like grandmother Demdike?"
+
+The cat again dashed twice or thrice madly round the room, and then
+stopping suddenly at the hearth, sprang up the chimney.
+
+"Ey'n frightened ye away ot onny rate," observed Jennet, laughing. "And
+yet it may mean summot," she added, reflecting a little, "fo ey'n heerd
+say os how witches fly up chimleys o' broomsticks to attend their
+sabbaths. Ey should like to fly i' that manner, an change myself into
+another shape--onny shape boh my own. Oh that ey could be os protty os
+Alizon! Ey dunna knoa whot ey'd nah do to be like her!"
+
+Again the great black cat was beside her, rubbing against her, and
+purring. The child was a good deal startled, for she had not seen him
+return, and the door was shut, though he might have come in through the
+open window, only she had been looking that way all the time, and had
+never noticed him. Strange!
+
+"Tib," said the child, patting him, "thou hasna answered my last
+question--how is one to become a witch?"
+
+As she made this inquiry the cat suddenly scratched her in the arm, so
+that the blood came. The little girl was a good deal frightened, as well
+as hurt, and, withdrawing her arm quickly, made a motion of striking the
+animal. But starting backwards, erecting his tail, and spitting, the cat
+assumed such a formidable appearance, that she did not dare to touch
+him, and she then perceived that some drops of blood stained her white
+sleeve, giving the spots a certain resemblance to the letters J. and D.,
+her own initials.
+
+At this moment, when she was about to scream for help, though she knew
+no one was in the house, all having gone away with the May-day
+revellers, a small white dove flew in at the open window, and skimming
+round the room, alighted near her. No sooner had the cat caught sight of
+this beautiful bird, than instead of preparing to pounce upon it, as
+might have been expected, he instantly abandoned his fierce attitude,
+and, uttering a sort of howl, sprang up the chimney as before. But the
+child scarcely observed this, her attention being directed towards the
+bird, whose extreme beauty delighted her. It seemed quite tame too, and
+allowed itself to be touched, and even drawn towards her, without an
+effort to escape. Never, surely, was seen so beautiful a bird--with such
+milkwhite feathers, such red legs, and such pretty yellow eyes, with
+crimson circles round them! So thought the little girl, as she gazed at
+it, and pressed it to her bosom. In doing this, gentle and good thoughts
+came upon her, and she reflected what a nice present this pretty bird
+would make to her sister Alizon on her return from the merry-making, and
+how pleased she should feel to give it to her. And then she thought of
+Alizon's constant kindness to her, and half reproached herself with the
+poor return she made for it, wondering she could entertain any feelings
+of envy towards one so good and amiable. All this while the dove nestled
+in her bosom.
+
+While thus pondering, the little girl felt an unaccountable drowsiness
+steal over her, and presently afterwards dropped asleep, when she had a
+very strange dream. It seemed to her that there was a contest going on
+between two spirits, a good one and a bad,--the bad one being
+represented by the great black cat, and the good spirit by the white
+dove. What they were striving about she could not exactly tell, but she
+felt that the conflict had some relation to herself. The dove at first
+appeared to have but a poor chance against the claws of its sable
+adversary, but the sharp talons of the latter made no impression upon
+the white plumage of the bird, which now shone like silver armour, and
+in the end the cat fled, yelling as it darted off--"Thou art victorious
+now, but her soul shall yet be mine."
+
+Something awakened the little sleeper at the same moment, and she felt
+very much terrified at her dream, as she could not help thinking her own
+soul might be the one in jeopardy, and her first impulse was to see
+whether the white dove was safe. Yes, there it was still nestling in her
+bosom, with its head under its wing.
+
+Just then she was startled at hearing her own name pronounced by a
+hoarse voice, and, looking up, she beheld a tall young man standing at
+the window. He had a somewhat gipsy look, having a dark olive
+complexion, and fine black eyes, though set strangely in his head, like
+those of Jennet and her mother, coal black hair, and very prominent
+features, of a sullen and almost savage cast. His figure was gaunt but
+very muscular, his arms being extremely long and his hands unusually
+large and bony--personal advantages which made him a formidable
+antagonist in any rustic encounter, and in such he was frequently
+engaged, being of a very irascible temper, and turbulent disposition. He
+was clad in a holiday suit of dark-green serge, which fitted him well,
+and carried a nosegay in one hand, and a stout blackthorn cudgel in the
+other. This young man was James Device, son of Elizabeth, and some four
+or five years older than Alizon. He did not live with his mother in
+Whalley, but in Pendle Forest, near his old relative, Mother Demdike,
+and had come over that morning to attend the wake.
+
+"Whot are ye abowt, Jennet?" inquired James Device, in tones naturally
+hoarse and deep, and which he took as little pains to soften, as he did
+to polish his manners, which were more than ordinarily rude and
+churlish.
+
+"Whot are ye abowt, ey sey, wench?" he repeated, "Why dunna ye go to t'
+green to see the morris-dancers foot it round t' May-pow? Cum along wi'
+me."
+
+"Ey dunna want to go, Jem," replied the little girl.
+
+"Boh yo shan go, ey tell ey," rejoined her brother; "ye shan see your
+sister dawnce. Ye con sit a whoam onny day; boh May-day cums ony wonst a
+year, an Alizon winna be Queen twice i' her life. Soh cum along wi' me,
+dereckly, or ey'n may ye."
+
+"Ey should like to see Alizon dance, an so ey win go wi' ye, Jem,"
+replied Jennet, getting up, "otherwise your orders shouldna may me stir,
+ey con tell ye."
+
+As she came out, she found her brother whistling the blithe air of
+"Green Sleeves," cutting strange capers, in imitation of the
+morris-dancers, and whirling his cudgel over his head instead of a
+kerchief. The gaiety of the day seemed infectious, and to have seized
+even him. People stared to see Black Jem, or Surly Jem, as he was
+indifferently called, so joyous, and wondered what it could mean. He
+then fell to singing a snatch of a local ballad at that time in vogue in
+the neighbourhood:--
+
+
+          "If thou wi' nah my secret tell,
+              Ne bruit abroad i' Whalley parish,
+          And swear to keep my counsel well,
+              Ey win declare my day of marriage."
+
+"Cum along, lass," he cried stopping suddenly in his song, and snatching
+his sister's hand. "What han ye getten there, lapped up i' your kirtle,
+eh?"
+
+"A white dove," replied Jennet, determined not to tell him any thing
+about her strange dream.
+
+"A white dove!" echoed Jem. "Gi' it me, an ey'n wring its neck, an get
+it roasted for supper."
+
+"Ye shan do nah such thing, Jem," replied Jennet. "Ey mean to gi' it to
+Alizon."
+
+"Weel, weel, that's reet," rejoined Jem, blandly, "it'll may a protty
+offering. Let's look at it."
+
+"Nah, nah," said Jennet, pressing the bird gently to her bosom, "neaw
+one shan see it efore Alizon."
+
+"Cum along then," cried Jem, rather testily, and mending his pace, "or
+we'st be too late fo' t' round. Whoy yo'n scratted yourself," he added,
+noticing the red spots on her sleeve.
+
+"Han ey?" she rejoined, evasively. "Oh now ey rekilect, it wos Tib did
+it."
+
+"Tib!" echoed Jem, gravely, and glancing uneasily at the marks.
+
+Meanwhile, on quitting the cottage, the May-day revellers had proceeded
+slowly towards the green, increasing the number of their followers at
+each little tenement they passed, and being welcomed every where with
+shouts and cheers. The hobby-horse curveted and capered; the Fool
+fleered at the girls, and flouted the men, jesting with every one, and
+when failing in a point rapping the knuckles of his auditors; Friar Tuck
+chucked the pretty girls under the chin, in defiance of their
+sweethearts, and stole a kiss from every buxom dame that stood in his
+way, and then snapped his fingers, or made a broad grimace at the
+husband; the piper played, and the taborer rattled his tambourine; the
+morris-dancers tossed their kerchiefs aloft; and the bells of the
+rush-cart jingled merrily; the men on the top being on a level with the
+roofs of the cottages, and the summits of the haystacks they passed, but
+in spite of their exalted position jesting with the crowd below. But in
+spite of these multiplied attractions, and in spite of the gambols of
+Fool and Horse, though the latter elicited prodigious laughter, the main
+attention was fixed on the May Queen, who tripped lightly along by the
+side of her faithful squire, Robin Hood, followed by the three bold
+foresters of Sherwood, and her usher.
+
+In this way they reached the green, where already a large crowd was
+collected to see them, and where in the midst of it, and above the heads
+of the assemblage, rose the lofty May-pole, with all its flowery
+garlands glittering in the sunshine, and its ribands fluttering in the
+breeze. Pleasant was it to see those cheerful groups, composed of happy
+rustics, youths in their holiday attire, and maidens neatly habited too,
+and fresh and bright as the day itself. Summer sunshine sparkled in
+their eyes, and weather and circumstance as well as genial natures
+disposed them to enjoyment. Every lass above eighteen had her
+sweetheart, and old couples nodded and smiled at each other when any
+tender speech, broadly conveyed but tenderly conceived, reached their
+ears, and said it recalled the days of their youth. Pleasant was it to
+hear such honest laughter, and such good homely jests.
+
+Laugh on, my merry lads, you are made of good old English stuff, loyal
+to church and king, and while you, and such as you, last, our land will
+be in no danger from foreign foe! Laugh on, and praise your sweethearts
+how you will. Laugh on, and blessings on your honest hearts!
+
+The frolic train had just reached the precincts of the green, when the
+usher waving his wand aloft, called a momentary halt, announcing that
+Sir Ralph Assheton and the gentry were coming forth from the Abbey gate
+to meet them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.--THE ASSHETONS.
+
+
+Between Sir Ralph Assheton of the Abbey and the inhabitants of Whalley,
+many of whom were his tenants, he being joint lord of the manor with
+John Braddyll of Portfield, the best possible feeling subsisted; for
+though somewhat austere in manner, and tinctured with Puritanism, the
+worthy knight was sufficiently shrewd, or, more correctly speaking,
+sufficiently liberal-minded, to be tolerant of the opinions of others,
+and being moreover sincere in his own religious views, no man could call
+him in question for them; besides which, he was very hospitable to his
+friends, very bountiful to the poor, a good landlord, and a humane man.
+His very austerity of manner, tempered by stately courtesy, added to the
+respect he inspired, especially as he could now and then relax into
+gaiety, and, when he did so, his smile was accounted singularly sweet.
+But in general he was grave and formal; stiff in attire, and stiff in
+gait; cold and punctilious in manner, precise in speech, and exacting in
+due respect from both high and low, which was seldom, if ever, refused
+him. Amongst Sir Ralph's other good qualities, for such it was esteemed
+by his friends and retainers, and they were, of course, the best judges,
+was a strong love of the chase, and perhaps he indulged a little too
+freely in the sports of the field, for a gentleman of a character so
+staid and decorous; but his popularity was far from being diminished by
+the circumstance; neither did he suffer the rude and boisterous
+companionship into which he was brought by indulgence in this his
+favourite pursuit in any way to affect him. Though still young, Sir
+Ralph was prematurely grey, and this, combined with the sad severity of
+his aspect, gave him the air of one considerably past the middle term of
+life, though this appearance was contradicted again by the youthful fire
+of his eagle eye. His features were handsome and strongly marked, and he
+wore a pointed beard and mustaches, with a shaved cheek. Sir Ralph
+Assheton had married twice, his first wife being a daughter of Sir James
+Bellingham of Levens, in Northumberland, by whom he had two children;
+while his second choice fell upon Eleanor Shuttleworth, the lovely and
+well-endowed heiress of Gawthorpe, to whom he had been recently united.
+In his attire, even when habited for the chase or a merry-making, like
+the present, the Knight of Whalley affected a sombre colour, and
+ordinarily wore a quilted doublet of black silk, immense trunk hose of
+the same material, stiffened with whalebone, puffed out well-wadded
+sleeves, falling bands, for he eschewed the ruff as savouring of vanity,
+boots of black flexible leather, ascending to the hose, and armed with
+spurs with gigantic rowels, a round-crowned small-brimmed black hat,
+with an ostrich feather placed in the side and hanging over the top, a
+long rapier on his hip, and a dagger in his girdle. This buckram attire,
+it will be easily conceived, contributed no little to the natural
+stiffness of his thin tall figure.
+
+Sir Ralph Assheton was great grandson of Richard Assheton, who
+flourished in the time of Abbot Paslew, and who, in conjunction with
+John Braddyll, fourteen years after the unfortunate prelate's attainder
+and the dissolution of the monastery, had purchased the abbey and
+domains of Whalley from the Crown, subsequently to which, a division of
+the property so granted took place between them, the abbey and part of
+the manor falling to the share of Richard Assheton, whose descendants
+had now for three generations made it their residence. Thus the whole of
+Whalley belonged to the families of Assheton and Braddyll, which had
+intermarried; the latter, as has been stated, dwelling at Portfield, a
+fine old seat in the neighbourhood.
+
+A very different person from Sir Ralph was his cousin, Nicholas Assheton
+of Downham, who, except as regards his Puritanism, might be considered a
+type of the Lancashire squire of the day. A precisian in religious
+notions, and constant in attendance at church and lecture, he put no
+sort of restraint upon himself, but mixed up fox-hunting, otter-hunting,
+shooting at the mark, and perhaps shooting with the long-bow,
+foot-racing, horse-racing, and, in fact, every other kind of country
+diversion, not forgetting tippling, cards, and dicing, with daily
+devotion, discourses, and psalm-singing in the oddest way imaginable. A
+thorough sportsman was Squire Nicholas Assheton, well versed in all the
+arts and mysteries of hawking and hunting. Not a man in the county could
+ride harder, hunt deer, unkennel fox, unearth badger, or spear otter,
+better than he. And then, as to tippling, he would sit you a whole
+afternoon at the alehouse, and be the merriest man there, and drink a
+bout with every farmer present. And if the parson chanced to be out of
+hearing, he would never make a mouth at a round oath, nor choose a
+second expression when the first would serve his turn. Then, who so
+constant at church or lecture as Squire Nicholas--though he did snore
+sometimes during the long sermons of his cousin, the Rector of
+Middleton? A great man was he at all weddings, christenings, churchings,
+and funerals, and never neglected his bottle at these ceremonies, nor
+any sport in doors or out of doors, meanwhile. In short, such a
+roystering Puritan was never known. A good-looking young man was the
+Squire of Downham, possessed of a very athletic frame, and a most
+vigorous constitution, which helped him, together with the prodigious
+exercise he took, through any excess. He had a sanguine complexion, with
+a broad, good-natured visage, which he could lengthen at will in a
+surprising manner. His hair was cropped close to his head, and the razor
+did daily duty over his cheek and chin, giving him the roundhead look,
+some years later, characteristic of the Puritanical party. Nicholas had
+taken to wife Dorothy, daughter of Richard Greenacres of Worston, and
+was most fortunate in his choice, which is more than can be said for his
+lady, for I cannot uphold the squire as a model of conjugal fidelity.
+Report affirmed that he loved more than one pretty girl under the rose.
+Squire Nicholas was not particular as to the quality or make of his
+clothes, provided they wore well and protected him against the weather,
+and was generally to be seen in doublet and hose of stout fustian, which
+had seen some service, with a broad-leaved hat, originally green, but of
+late bleached to a much lighter colour; but he was clad on this
+particular occasion in ash-coloured habiliments fresh from the tailor's
+hands, with buff boots drawn up to the knee, and a new round hat from
+York with a green feather in it. His legs were slightly embowed, and he
+bore himself like a man rarely out of the saddle.
+
+Downham, the residence of the squire, was a fine old house, very
+charmingly situated to the north of Pendle Hill, of which it commanded a
+magnificent view, and a few miles from Clithero. The grounds about it
+were well-wooded and beautifully broken and diversified, watered by the
+Ribble, and opening upon the lovely and extensive valley deriving its
+name from that stream. The house was in good order and well maintained,
+and the stables plentifully furnished with horses, while the hall was
+adorned with various trophies and implements of the chase; but as I
+propose paying its owner a visit, I shall defer any further description
+of the place till an opportunity arrives for examining it in detail.
+
+A third cousin of Sir Ralph's, though in the second degree, likewise
+present on the May-day in question, was the Reverend Abdias Assheton,
+Rector of Middleton, a very worthy man, who, though differing from his
+kinsmen upon some religious points, and not altogether approving of the
+conduct of one of them, was on good terms with both. The Rector of
+Middleton was portly and middle-aged, fond of ease and reading, and by
+no means indifferent to the good things of life. He was unmarried, and
+passed much of his time at Middleton Hall, the seat of his near relative
+Sir Richard Assheton, to whose family he was greatly attached, and whose
+residence closely adjoined the rectory.
+
+A fourth cousin, also present, was young Richard Assheton of Middleton,
+eldest son and heir of the owner of that estate. Possessed of all the
+good qualities largely distributed among his kinsmen, with none of their
+drawbacks, this young man was as tolerant and bountiful as Sir Ralph,
+without his austerity and sectarianism; as keen a sportsman and as bold
+a rider as Nicholas, without his propensities to excess; as studious, at
+times, and as well read as Abdias, without his laziness and
+self-indulgence; and as courtly and well-bred as his father, Sir
+Richard, who was esteemed one of the most perfect gentlemen in the
+county, without his haughtiness. Then he was the handsomest of his race,
+though the Asshetons were accounted the handsomest family in Lancashire,
+and no one minded yielding the palm to young Richard, even if it could
+be contested, he was so modest and unassuming. At this time, Richard
+Assheton was about two-and-twenty, tall, gracefully and slightly formed,
+but possessed of such remarkable vigour, that even his cousin Nicholas
+could scarcely compete with him in athletic exercises. His features were
+fine and regular, with an almost Phrygian precision of outline; his hair
+was of a dark brown, and fell in clustering curls over his brow and
+neck; and his complexion was fresh and blooming, and set off by a slight
+beard and mustache, carefully trimmed and pointed. His dress consisted
+of a dark-green doublet, with wide velvet hose, embroidered and fringed,
+descending nearly to the knee, where they were tied with points and
+ribands, met by dark stockings, and terminated by red velvet shoes with
+roses in them. A white feather adorned his black broad-leaved hat, and
+he had a rapier by his side.
+
+Amongst Sir Ralph Assheton's guests were Richard Greenacres, of Worston,
+Nicholas Assheton's father-in-law; Richard Sherborne of Dunnow, near
+Sladeburne, who had married Dorothy, Nicholas's sister; Mistress
+Robinson of Raydale House, aunt to the knight and the squire, and two of
+her sons, both stout youths, with John Braddyll and his wife, of
+Portfield. Besides these there was Master Roger Nowell, a justice of the
+peace in the county, and a very active and busy one too, who had been
+invited for an especial purpose, to be explained hereafter. Head of an
+ancient Lancashire family, residing at Read, a fine old hall, some
+little distance from Whalley, Roger Nowell, though a worthy,
+well-meaning man, dealt hard measure from the bench, and seldom tempered
+justice with mercy. He was sharp-featured, dry, and sarcastic, and being
+adverse to country sports, his presence on the occasion was the only
+thing likely to impose restraint on the revellers. Other guests there
+were, but none of particular note.
+
+The ladies of the party consisted of Lady Assheton, Mistress Nicholas
+Assheton of Downham, Dorothy Assheton of Middleton, sister to Richard, a
+lovely girl of eighteen, with light fleecy hair, summer blue eyes, and a
+complexion of exquisite purity, Mistress Sherborne of Dunnow, Mistress
+Robinson of Raydale, and Mistress Braddyll of Portfield, before
+mentioned, together with the wives and daughters of some others of the
+neighbouring gentry; most noticeable amongst whom was Mistress Alice
+Nutter of Rough Lee, in Pendle Forest, a widow lady and a relative of
+the Assheton family.
+
+Mistress Nutter might be a year or two turned of forty, but she still
+retained a very fine figure, and much beauty of feature, though of a
+cold and disagreeable cast. She was dressed in mourning, though her
+husband had been dead several years, and her rich dark habiliments well
+became her pale complexion and raven hair. A proud poor gentleman was
+Richard Nutter, her late husband, and his scanty means not enabling him
+to keep up as large an establishment as he desired, or to be as
+hospitable as his nature prompted, his temper became soured, and he
+visited his ill humours upon his wife, who, devotedly attached to him,
+to all outward appearance at least, never resented his ill treatment.
+All at once, and without any previous symptoms of ailment, or apparent
+cause, unless it might be over-fatigue in hunting the day before,
+Richard Nutter was seized with a strange and violent illness, which,
+after three or four days of acute suffering, brought him to the grave.
+During his illness he was constantly and zealously tended by his wife,
+but he displayed great aversion to her, declaring himself bewitched, and
+that an old woman was ever in the corner of his room mumbling wicked
+enchantments against him. But as no such old woman could be seen, these
+assertions were treated as delirious ravings. They were not, however,
+forgotten after his death, and some people said that he had certainly
+been bewitched, and that a waxen image made in his likeness, and stuck
+full of pins, had been picked up in his chamber by Mistress Alice and
+cast into the fire, and as soon as it melted he had expired. Such tales
+only obtained credence with the common folk; but as Pendle Forest was a
+sort of weird region, many reputed witches dwelling in it, they were the
+more readily believed, even by those who acquitted Mistress Nutter of
+all share in the dark transaction.
+
+Mistress Nutter gave the best proof that she respected her husband's
+memory by not marrying again, and she continued to lead a very secluded
+life at Rough Lee, a lonesome house in the heart of the forest. She
+lived quite by herself, for she had no children, her only daughter
+having perished somewhat strangely when quite an infant. Though a
+relative of the Asshetons, she kept up little intimacy with them, and it
+was a matter of surprise to all that she had been drawn from her
+seclusion to attend the present revel. Her motive, however, in visiting
+the Abbey, was to obtain the assistance of Sir Ralph Assheton, in
+settling a dispute between her and Roger Nowell, relative to the
+boundary line of part of their properties which came together; and this
+was the reason why the magistrate had been invited to Whalley. After
+hearing both sides of the question, and examining plans of the estates,
+which he knew to be accurate, Sir Ralph, who had been appointed umpire,
+pronounced a decision in favour of Roger Nowell, but Mistress Nutter
+refusing to abide by it, the settlement of the matter was postponed till
+the day but one following, between which time the landmarks were to be
+investigated by a certain little lawyer named Potts, who attended on
+behalf of Roger Nowell; together with Nicholas and Richard Assheton, on
+behalf of Mistress Nutter. Upon their evidence it was agreed by both
+parties that Sir Ralph should pronounce a final decision, to be accepted
+by them, and to that effect they signed an agreement. The three persons
+appointed to the investigation settled to start for Rough Lee early on
+the following morning.
+
+A word as to Master Thomas Potts. This worthy was an attorney from
+London, who had officiated as clerk of the court at the assizes at
+Lancaster, where his quickness had so much pleased Roger Nowell, that he
+sent for him to Read to manage this particular business. A sharp-witted
+fellow was Potts, and versed in all the quirks and tricks of a very
+subtle profession--not over-scrupulous, provided a client would pay
+well; prepared to resort to any expedient to gain his object, and quite
+conversant enough with both practice and precedent to keep himself
+straight. A bustling, consequential little personage was he, moreover;
+very fond of delivering an opinion, even when unasked, and of a
+meddling, make-mischief turn, constantly setting men by the ears. A suit
+of rusty black, a parchment-coloured skin, small wizen features, a
+turn-up nose, scant eyebrows, and a great yellow forehead, constituted
+his external man. He partook of the hospitality at the Abbey, but had
+his quarters at the Dragon. He it was who counselled Roger Nowell to
+abide by the decision of Sir Ralph, confidently assuring him that he
+must carry his point.
+
+This dispute was not, however, the only one the knight had to adjust, or
+in which Master Potts was concerned. A claim had recently been made by a
+certain Sir Thomas Metcalfe of Nappay, in Wensleydale, near Bainbridge,
+to the house and manor of Raydale, belonging to his neighbour, John
+Robinson, whose lady, as has been shown, was a relative of the
+Asshetons. Robinson himself had gone to London to obtain advice on the
+subject, while Sir Thomas Metcalfe, who was a man of violent
+disposition, had threatened to take forcible possession of Raydale, if
+it were not delivered to him without delay, and to eject the Robinson
+family. Having consulted Potts, however, on the subject, whom he had met
+at Read, the latter strongly dissuaded him from the course, and
+recommended him to call to his aid the strong arm of the law: but this
+he rejected, though he ultimately agreed to refer the matter to Sir
+Ralph Assheton, and for this purpose he had come over to Whalley, and
+was at present a guest at the vicarage. Thus it will be seen that Sir
+Ralph Assheton had his hands full, while the little London lawyer,
+Master Potts, was tolerably well occupied. Besides Sir Thomas Metcalfe,
+Sir Richard Molyneux, and Mr. Parker of Browsholme, were guests of Dr.
+Ormerod at the vicarage.
+
+Such was the large company assembled to witness the May-day revels at
+Whalley, and if harmonious feelings did not exist amongst all of them,
+little outward manifestation was made of enmity. The dresses and
+appointments of the pageant having been provided by Sir Ralph Assheton,
+who, Puritan as he was, encouraged all harmless country pastimes, it was
+deemed necessary to pay him every respect, even if no other feeling
+would have prompted the attention, and therefore the troop had stopped
+on seeing him and his guests issue from the Abbey gate. At pretty nearly
+the same time Doctor Ormerod and his party came from the vicarage
+towards the green.
+
+No order of march was observed, but Sir Ralph and his lady, with two of
+his children by the former marriage, walked first. Then came some of the
+other ladies, with the Rector of Middleton, John Braddyll, and the two
+sons of Mistress Robinson. Next came Mistress Nutter, Roger Nowell and
+Potts walking after her, eyeing her maliciously, as her proud figure
+swept on before them. Even if she saw their looks or overheard their
+jeers, she did not deign to notice them. Lastly came young Richard
+Assheton, of Middleton, and Squire Nicholas, both in high spirits, and
+laughing and chatting together.
+
+"A brave day for the morris-dancers, cousin Dick," observed Nicholas
+Assheton, as they approached the green, "and plenty of folk to witness
+the sport. Half my lads from Downham are here, and I see a good many of
+your Middleton chaps among them. How are you, Farmer Tetlow?" he added
+to a stout, hale-looking man, with a blooming country woman by his
+side--"brought your pretty young wife to the rush-bearing, I see."
+
+"Yeigh, squoire," rejoined the farmer, "an mightily pleased hoo be wi'
+it, too."
+
+"Happy to hear if, Master Tetlow," replied Nicholas, "she'll be better
+pleased before the day's over, I'll warrant her. I'll dance a round with
+her myself in the hall at night."
+
+"Theere now, Meg, whoy dunna ye may t' squoire a curtsy, wench, an thonk
+him," said Tetlow, nudging his pretty wife, who had turned away, rather
+embarrassed by the free gaze of the squire. Nicholas, however, did not
+wait for the curtsy, but went away, laughing, to overtake Richard
+Assheton, who had walked on.
+
+"Ah, here's Frank Garside," he continued, espying another rustic
+acquaintance. "Halloa, Frank, I'll come over one day next week, and try
+for a fox in Easington Woods. We missed the last, you know. Tom
+Brockholes, are you here? Just ridden over from Sladeburne, eh? When is
+that shooting match at the bodkin to come off, eh? Mind, it is to be at
+twenty-two roods' distance. Ride over to Downham on Thursday next, Tom.
+We're to have a foot-race, and I'll show you good sport, and at night
+we'll have a lusty drinking bout at the alehouse. On Friday, we'll take
+out the great nets, and try for salmon in the Ribble. I took some fine
+fish on Monday--one salmon of ten pounds' weight, the largest I've got
+the whole season.--I brought it with me to-day to the Abbey. There's an
+otter in the river, and I won't hunt him till you come, Tom. I shall see
+you on Thursday, eh?"
+
+Receiving an answer in the affirmative, squire Nicholas walked on,
+nodding right and left, jesting with the farmers, and ogling their
+pretty wives and daughters.
+
+"I tell you what, cousin Dick," he said, calling after Richard Assheton,
+who had got in advance of him, "I'll match my dun nag against your grey
+gelding for twenty pieces, that I reach the boundary line of the Rough
+Lee lands before you to-morrow. What, you won't have it? You know I
+shall beat you--ha! ha! Well, we'll try the speed of the two tits the
+first day we hunt the stag in Bowland Forest. Odds my life!" he cried,
+suddenly altering his deportment and lengthening his visage, "if there
+isn't our parson here. Stay with me, cousin Dick, stay with me. Give you
+good-day, worthy Mr. Dewhurst," he added, taking off his hat to the
+divine, who respectfully returned his salutation, "I did not look to see
+your reverence here, taking part in these vanities and idle sports. I
+propose to call on you on Saturday, and pass an hour in serious
+discourse. I would call to-morrow, but I have to ride over to Pendle on
+business. Tarry a moment for me, I pray you, good cousin Richard. I
+fear, reverend sir, that you will see much here that will scandalise
+you; much lightness and indecorum. Pleasanter far would it be to me to
+see a large congregation of the elders flocking together to a godly
+meeting, than crowds assembled for such a profane purpose. Another
+moment, Richard. My cousin is a young man, Mr. Dewhurst, and wishes to
+join the revel. But we must make allowances, worthy and reverend sir,
+until the world shall improve. An excellent discourse you gave us, good
+sir, on Sunday: viii. Rom. 12 and 13 verses: it is graven upon my
+memory, but I have made a note of it in my diary. I come to you, cousin,
+I come. I pray you walk on to the Abbey, good Mr. Dewhurst, where you
+will be right welcome, and call for any refreshment you may desire--a
+glass of good sack, and a slice of venison pasty, on which we have just
+dined--and there is some famous old ale, which I would commend to you,
+but that I know you care not, any more than myself, for creature
+comforts. Farewell, reverend sir. I will join you ere long, for these
+scenes have little attraction for me. But I must take care that my young
+cousin falleth not into harm."
+
+And as the divine took his way to the Abbey, he added, laughingly, to
+Richard,--"A good riddance, Dick. I would not have the old fellow play
+the spy upon us.--Ah, Giles Mercer," he added, stopping again,--"and
+Jeff Rushton--well met, lads! what, are you come to the wake? I shall be
+at John Lawe's in the evening, and we'll have a glass together--John
+brews sack rarely, and spareth not the eggs."
+
+"Boh yo'n be at th' dawncing at th' Abbey, squoire," said one of the
+farmers.
+
+"Curse the dancing!" cried Nicholas--"I hope the parson didn't hear me,"
+he added, turning round quickly. "Well, well, I'll come down when the
+dancing's over, and we'll make a night of it." And he ran on to overtake
+Richard Assheton.
+
+By this time the respective parties from the Abbey and the Vicarage
+having united, they walked on together, Sir Ralph Assheton, after
+courteously exchanging salutations with Dr. Ormerod's guests, still
+keeping a little in advance of the company. Sir Thomas Metcalfe
+comported himself with more than his wonted haughtiness, and bowed so
+superciliously to Mistress Robinson, that her two sons glanced angrily
+at each other, as if in doubt whether they should not instantly resent
+the affront. Observing this, as well as what had previously taken place,
+Nicholas Assheton stepped quickly up to them, and said--
+
+"Keep quiet, lads. Leave this dunghill cock to me, and I'll lower his
+crest."
+
+With this he pushed forward, and elbowing Sir Thomas rudely out of the
+way, turned round, and, instead of apologising, eyed him coolly and
+contemptuously from head to foot.
+
+"Are you drunk, sir, that you forget your manners?" asked Sir Thomas,
+laying his hand upon his sword.
+
+"Not so drunk but that I know how to conduct myself like a gentleman,
+Sir Thomas," rejoined Nicholas, "which is more than can be said for a
+certain person of my acquaintance, who, for aught I know, has only taken
+his morning pint."
+
+"You wish to pick a quarrel with me, Master Nicholas Assheton, I
+perceive," said Sir Thomas, stepping close up to him, "and I will not
+disappoint you. You shall render me good reason for this affront before
+I leave Whalley."
+
+"When and where you please, Sir Thomas," rejoined Nicholas, laughing.
+"At any hour, and at any weapon, I am your man."
+
+At this moment, Master Potts, who had scented a quarrel afar, and who
+would have liked it well enough if its prosecution had not run counter
+to his own interests, quitted Roger Nowell, and ran back to Metcalfe,
+and plucking him by the sleeve, said, in a low voice--
+
+"This is not the way to obtain quiet possession of Raydale House, Sir
+Thomas. Master Nicholas Assheton," he added, turning to him, "I must
+entreat you, my good sir, to be moderate. Gentlemen, both, I caution you
+that I have my eye upon you. You well know there is a magistrate here,
+my singular good friend and honoured client, Master Roger Nowell, and if
+you pursue this quarrel further, I shall hold it my duty to have you
+bound over by that worthy gentleman in sufficient securities to keep the
+peace towards our sovereign lord the king and all his lieges, and
+particularly towards each other. You understand me, gentlemen?"
+
+"Perfectly," replied Nicholas. "I drink at John Lawe's to-night, Sir
+Thomas."
+
+So saying, he walked away. Metcalfe would have followed him, but was
+withheld by Potts.
+
+"Let him go, Sir Thomas," said the little man of law; "let him go. Once
+master of Raydale, you can do as you please. Leave the settlement of the
+matter to me. I'll just whisper a word in Sir Ralph Assheton's ear, and
+you'll hear no more of it."
+
+"Fire and fury!" growled Sir Thomas. "I like not this mode of settling a
+quarrel; and unless this hot-headed psalm-singing puritan apologises, I
+shall assuredly cut his throat."
+
+"Or he yours, good Sir Thomas," rejoined Potts. "Better sit in Raydale
+Hall, than lie in the Abbey vaults."
+
+"Well, we'll talk over the matter, Master Potts," replied the knight.
+
+"A nice morning's work I've made of it," mused Nicholas, as he walked
+along; "here I have a dance with a farmer's pretty wife, a discourse
+with a parson, a drinking-bout with a couple of clowns, and a duello
+with a blustering knight on my hands. Quite enough, o' my conscience!
+but I must get through it the best way I can. And now, hey for the
+May-pole and the morris-dancers!"
+
+Nicholas just got up in time to witness the presentation of the May
+Queen to Sir Ralph Assheton and his lady, and like every one else he was
+greatly struck by her extreme beauty and natural grace.
+
+The little ceremony was thus conducted. When the company from the Abbey
+drew near the troop of revellers, the usher taking Alizon's hand in the
+tips of his fingers as before, strutted forward with her to Sir Ralph
+and his lady, and falling upon one knee before them, said,--"Most
+worshipful and honoured knight, and you his lovely dame, and you the
+tender and cherished olive branches growing round about their tables, I
+hereby crave your gracious permission to present unto your honours our
+chosen Queen of May."
+
+Somewhat fluttered by the presentation, Alizon yet maintained sufficient
+composure to bend gracefully before Lady Assheton, and say in a very
+sweet voice, "I fear your ladyship will think the choice of the village
+hath fallen ill in alighting upon me; and, indeed, I feel myself
+altogether unworthy the distinction; nevertheless I will endeavour to
+discharge my office fittingly, and therefore pray you, fair lady, and
+the worshipful knight, your husband, together with your beauteous
+children, and the gentles all by whom you are surrounded, to grace our
+little festival with your presence, hoping you may find as much pleasure
+in the sight as we shall do in offering it to you."
+
+"A fair maid, and modest as she is fair," observed Sir Ralph, with a
+condescending smile.
+
+"In sooth is she," replied Lady Assheton, raising her kindly, and
+saying, as she did so--
+
+"Nay, you must not kneel to us, sweet maid. You are queen of May, and it
+is for us to show respect to you during your day of sovereignty. Your
+wishes are commands; and, in behalf of my husband, my children, and our
+guests, I answer, that we will gladly attend your revels on the green."
+
+"Well said, dear Nell," observed Sir Ralph. "We should be churlish,
+indeed, were we to refuse the bidding of so lovely a queen."
+
+"Nay, you have called the roses in earnest to her cheek, now, Sir
+Ralph," observed Lady Assheton, smiling. "Lead on, fair queen," she
+continued, "and tell your companions to begin their sports when they
+please.--Only remember this, that we shall hope to see all your gay
+troop this evening at the Abbey, to a merry dance."
+
+"Where I will strive to find her majesty a suitable partner," added Sir
+Ralph. "Stay, she shall make her choice now, as a royal personage
+should; for you know, Nell, a queen ever chooseth her partner, whether
+it be for the throne or for the brawl. How gay you, fair one? Shall it
+be either of our young cousins, Joe or Will Robinson of Raydale; or our
+cousin who still thinketh himself young, Squire Nicholas of Downham."
+
+"Ay, let it be me, I implore of you, fair queen," interposed Nicholas.
+
+"He is engaged already," observed Richard Assheton, coming forward. "I
+heard him ask pretty Mistress Tetlow, the farmer's wife, to dance with
+him this evening at the Abbey."
+
+A loud laugh from those around followed this piece of information, but
+Nicholas was in no wise disconcerted.
+
+"Dick would have her choose him, and that is why he interferes with me,"
+he observed. "How say you, fair queen! Shall it be our hopeful cousin? I
+will answer for him that he danceth the coranto and lavolta
+indifferently well."
+
+On hearing Richard Assheton's voice, all the colour had forsaken
+Alizon's cheeks; but at this direct appeal to her by Nicholas, it
+returned with additional force, and the change did not escape the quick
+eye of Lady Assheton.
+
+"You perplex her, cousin Nicholas," she said.
+
+"Not a whit, Eleanor," answered the squire; "but if she like not Dick
+Assheton, there is another Dick, Dick Sherburne of Sladeburn; or our
+cousin, Jack Braddyll; or, if she prefer an older and discreeter man,
+there is Father Greenacres of Worston, or Master Roger Nowell of
+Read--plenty of choice."
+
+"Nay, if I must choose a partner, it shall be a young one," said Alizon.
+
+"Right, fair queen, right," cried Nicholas, laughing. "Ever choose a
+young man if you can. Who shall it be?"
+
+"You have named him yourself, sir," replied Alizon, in a voice which she
+endeavoured to keep firm, but which, in spite of all her efforts,
+sounded tremulously--"Master Richard Assheton."
+
+"Next to choosing me, you could not have chosen better," observed
+Nicholas, approvingly. "Dick, lad, I congratulate thee."
+
+"I congratulate myself," replied the young man. "Fair queen," he added,
+advancing, "highly flattered am I by your choice, and shall so demean
+myself, I trust, as to prove myself worthy of it. Before I go, I would
+beg a boon from you--that flower."
+
+"This pink," cried Alizon. "It is yours, fair sir."
+
+Young Assheton took the flower and took the hand that offered it at the
+same time, and pressed the latter to his lips; while Lady Assheton, who
+had been made a little uneasy by Alizon's apparent emotion, and who with
+true feminine tact immediately detected its cause, called out: "Now,
+forward--forward to the May-pole! We have interrupted the revel too
+long."
+
+Upon this the May Queen stepped blushingly back with the usher, who,
+with his white wand in hand, had stood bolt upright behind her,
+immensely delighted with the scene in which his pupil--for Alizon had
+been tutored by him for the occasion--had taken part. Sir Ralph then
+clapped his hands loudly, and at this signal the tabor and pipe struck
+up; the Fool and the Hobby-horse, who, though idle all the time, had
+indulged in a little quiet fun with the rustics, recommenced their
+gambols; the Morris-dancers their lively dance; and the whole train
+moved towards the May-pole, followed by the rush-cart, with all its
+bells jingling, and all its garlands waving.
+
+As to Alizon, her brain was in a whirl, and her bosom heaved so quickly,
+that she thought she should faint. To think that the choice of a partner
+in the dance at the Abbey had been offered her, and that she should
+venture to choose Master Richard Assheton! She could scarcely credit her
+own temerity. And then to think that she should give him a flower, and,
+more than all, that he should kiss her hand in return for it! She felt
+the tingling pressure of his lips upon her finger still, and her little
+heart palpitated strangely.
+
+As she approached the May-pole, and the troop again halted for a few
+minutes, she saw her brother James holding little Jennet by the hand,
+standing in the front line to look at her.
+
+"Oh, how I'm glad to see you here, Jennet!" she cried.
+
+"An ey'm glad to see yo, Alizon," replied the little girl. "Jem has towd
+me whot a grand partner you're to ha' this e'en." And, she added, with
+playful malice, "Who was wrong whon she said the queen could choose
+Master Richard--"
+
+"Hush, Jennet, not a word more," interrupted Alizon, blushing.
+
+"Oh! ey dunna mean to vex ye, ey'm sure," replied Jennet. "Ey've got a
+present for ye."
+
+"A present for me, Jennet," cried Alizon; "what is it?"
+
+"A beautiful white dove," replied the little girl.
+
+"A white dove! Where did you get it? Let me see it," cried Alizon, in a
+breath.
+
+"Here it is," replied Jennet, opening her kirtle.
+
+"A beautiful bird, indeed," cried Alizon. "Take care of it for me till I
+come home."
+
+"Which winna be till late, ey fancy," rejoined Jennet, roguishly. "Ah!"
+she added, uttering a cry.
+
+The latter exclamation was occasioned by the sudden flight of the dove,
+which, escaping from her hold, soared aloft. Jennet followed the course
+of its silver wings, as they cleaved the blue sky, and then all at once
+saw a large hawk, which apparently had been hovering about, swoop down
+upon it, and bear it off. Some white feathers fell down near the little
+girl, and she picked up one of them and put it in her breast.
+
+"Poor bird!" exclaimed the May Queen.
+
+"Eigh, poor bird!" echoed Jennet, tearfully. "Ah, ye dunna knoa aw,
+Alizon."
+
+"Weel, there's neaw use whimpering abowt a duv," observed Jem, gruffly.
+"Ey'n bring ye another t' furst time ey go to Cown."
+
+"There's nah another bird like that," sobbed the little girl. "Shoot
+that cruel hawk fo' me, Jem, win ye."
+
+"How conney wench, whon its flown away?" he replied. "Boh ey'n rob a
+hawk's neest fo ye, if that'll do os weel."
+
+"Yo dunna understand me, Jem," replied the child, sadly.
+
+At this moment, the music, which had ceased while some arrangements were
+made, commenced a very lively tune, known as "Round about the May-pole,"
+and Robin Hood, taking the May Queen's hand, led her towards the pole,
+and placing her near it, the whole of her attendants took hands, while a
+second circle was formed by the morris-dancers, and both began to wheel
+rapidly round her, the music momently increasing in spirit and
+quickness. An irresistible desire to join in the measure seized some of
+the lads and lasses around, and they likewise took hands, and presently
+a third and still wider circle was formed, wheeling gaily round the
+other two. Other dances were formed here and there, and presently the
+whole green was in movement.
+
+"If you come off heart-whole to-night, Dick, I shall be surprised,"
+observed Nicholas, who with his young relative had approached as near
+the May-pole as the three rounds of dancers would allow them.
+
+Richard Assheton made no reply, but glanced at the pink which he had
+placed in his doublet.
+
+"Who is the May Queen?" inquired Sir Thomas Metcalfe, who had likewise
+drawn near, of a tall man holding a little girl by the hand.
+
+"Alizon, dowter of Elizabeth Device, an mey sister," replied James
+Device, gruffly.
+
+"Humph!" muttered Sir Thomas, "she is a well-looking lass. And she
+dwells here--in Whalley, fellow?" he added.
+
+"Hoo dwells i' Whalley," responded Jem, sullenly.
+
+"I can easily find her abode," muttered the knight, walking away.
+
+"What was it Sir Thomas said to you, Jem?" inquired Nicholas, who had
+watched the knight's gestures, coming up.
+
+Jem related what had passed between them.
+
+"What the devil does he want with her?" cried Nicholas. "No good, I'm
+sure. But I'll spoil his sport."
+
+"Say boh t' word, squoire, an ey'n break every boan i' his body,"
+remarked Jem.
+
+"No, no, Jem," replied Nicholas. "Take care of your pretty sister, and
+I'll take care of him."
+
+At this juncture, Sir Thomas, who, in spite of the efforts of the
+pacific Master Potts to tranquillise him, had been burning with wrath at
+the affront he had received from Nicholas, came up to Richard Assheton,
+and, noticing the pink in his bosom, snatched it away suddenly.
+
+"I want a flower," he said, smelling at it.
+
+"Instantly restore it, Sir Thomas!" cried Richard Assheton, pale with
+rage, "or--"
+
+"What will you do, young sir?" rejoined the knight tauntingly, and
+plucking the flower in pieces. "You can get another from the fair nymph
+who gave you this."
+
+Further speech was not allowed the knight, for he received a violent
+blow on the chest from the hand of Richard Assheton, which sent him
+reeling backwards, and would have felled him to the ground if he had not
+been caught by some of the bystanders. The moment he recovered, Sir
+Thomas drew his sword, and furiously assaulted young Assheton, who stood
+ready for him, and after the exchange of a few passes, for none of the
+bystanders dared to interfere, sent his sword whirling over their heads
+through the air.
+
+"Bravo, Dick," cried Nicholas, stepping up, and clapping his cousin on
+the back, "you have read him a good lesson, and taught him that he
+cannot always insult folks with impunity, ha! ha!" And he laughed loudly
+at the discomfited knight.
+
+"He is an insolent coward," said Richard Assheton. "Give him his sword
+and let him come on again."
+
+"No, no," said Nicholas, "he has had enough this time. And if he has
+not, he must settle an account with me. Put up your blade, lad."
+
+"I'll be revenged upon you both," said Sir Thomas, taking his sword,
+which had been brought him by a bystander, and stalking away.
+
+"You leave us in mortal dread, doughty knight," cried Nicholas, shouting
+after him, derisively--"ha! ha! ha!"
+
+Richard Assheton's attention was, however, turned in a different
+direction, for the music suddenly ceasing, and the dancers stopping, he
+learnt that the May Queen had fainted, and presently afterwards the
+crowd opened to give passage to Robin Hood, who bore her inanimate form
+in his arms.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.--ALICE NUTTER.
+
+
+The quarrel between Nicholas Assheton and Sir Thomas Metcalfe had
+already been made known to Sir Ralph by the officious Master Potts, and
+though it occasioned the knight much displeasure; as interfering with
+the amicable arrangement he hoped to effect with Sir Thomas for his
+relatives the Robinsons, still he felt sure that he had sufficient
+influence with his hot-headed cousin, the squire, to prevent the dispute
+from being carried further, and he only waited the conclusion of the
+sports on the green, to take him to task. What was the knight's surprise
+and annoyance, therefore, to find that a new brawl had sprung up, and,
+ignorant of its precise cause, he laid it entirely at the door of the
+turbulent Nicholas. Indeed, on the commencement of the fray he imagined
+that the squire was personally concerned in it, and full of wroth, flew
+to the scene of action; but before he got there, the affair, which, as
+has been seen, was of short duration, was fully settled, and he only
+heard the jeers addressed to the retreating combatant by Nicholas. It
+was not Sir Ralph's way to vent his choler in words, but the squire knew
+in an instant, from the expression of his countenance, that he was
+greatly incensed, and therefore hastened to explain.
+
+"What means this unseemly disturbance, Nicholas?" cried Sir Ralph, not
+allowing the other to speak. "You are ever brawling like an Alsatian
+squire. Independently of the ill example set to these good folk, who
+have met here for tranquil amusement, you have counteracted all my plans
+for the adjustment of the differences between Sir Thomas Metcalfe and
+our aunt of Raydale. If you forget what is due to yourself, sir, do not
+forget what is due to me, and to the name you bear."
+
+"No one but yourself should say as much to me, Sir Ralph," rejoined
+Nicholas somewhat haughtily; "but you are under a misapprehension. It is
+not I who have been fighting, though I should have acted in precisely
+the same manner as our cousin Dick, if I had received the same affront,
+and so I make bold to say would you. Our name shall suffer no discredit
+from me; and as a gentleman, I assert, that Sir Thomas Metcalfe has
+only received due chastisement, as you yourself will admit, cousin, when
+you know all."
+
+"I know him to be overbearing," observed Sir Ralph.
+
+"Overbearing is not the word, cousin," interrupted Nicholas; "he is as
+proud as a peacock, and would trample upon us all, and gore us too, like
+one of the wild bulls of Bowland, if we would let him have his way. But
+I would treat him as I would the bull aforesaid, a wild boar, or any
+other savage and intractable beast, hunt him down, and poll his horns,
+or pluck out his tusks."
+
+"Come, come, Nicholas, this is no very gentle language," remarked Sir
+Ralph.
+
+"Why, to speak truth, cousin, I do not feel in any very gentle frame of
+mind," rejoined the squire; "my ire has been roused by this insolent
+braggart, my blood is up, and I long to be doing."
+
+"Unchristian feelings, Nicholas," said Sir Ralph, severely, "and should
+be overcome. Turn the other cheek to the smiter. I trust you bear no
+malice to Sir Thomas."
+
+"I bear him no malice, for I hope malice is not in my nature, cousin,"
+replied Nicholas, "but I owe him a grudge, and when a fitting
+opportunity occurs--"
+
+"No more of this, unless you would really incur my displeasure,"
+rejoined Sir Ralph; "the matter has gone far enough, too far, perhaps
+for amendment, and if you know it not, I can tell you that Sir Thomas's
+claims to Raydale will be difficult to dispute, and so our uncle
+Robinson has found since he hath taken counsel on the case."
+
+"Have a care, Sir Ralph," said Nicholas, noticing that Master Potts was
+approaching them, with his ears evidently wide open, "there is that
+little London lawyer hovering about. But I'll give the cunning fox a
+double. I'm glad to hear you say so, Sir Ralph," he added, in a tone
+calculated to reach Potts, "and since our uncle Robinson is so sure of
+his cause, it may be better to let this blustering knight be. Perchance,
+it is the certainty of failure that makes him so insensate."
+
+"This is meant to blind me, but it shall not serve your turn, cautelous
+squire," muttered Potts; "I caught enough of what fell just now from Sir
+Ralph to satisfy me that he hath strong misgivings. But it is best not
+to appear too secure.--Ah, Sir Ralph," he added, coming forward, "I was
+right, you see, in my caution. I am a man of peace, and strive to
+prevent quarrels and bloodshed. Quarrel if you please--and unfortunately
+men are prone to anger--but always settle your disputes in a court of
+law; always in a court of law, Sir Ralph. That is the only arena where a
+sensible man should ever fight. Take good advice, fee your counsel well,
+and the chances are ten to one in your favour. That is what I say to my
+worthy and singular good client, Sir Thomas; but he is somewhat
+headstrong and vehement, and will not listen to me. He is for settling
+matters by the sword, for making forcible entries and detainers, and
+ousting the tenants in possession, whereby he would render himself
+liable to arrest, fine, ransom, and forfeiture; instead of proceeding
+cautiously and decorously as the law directs, and as I advise, Sir
+Ralph, by writ of _ejectione firmæ_ or action of trespass, the which
+would assuredly establish his title, and restore him the house and
+lands. Or he may proceed by writ of right, which perhaps, in his case,
+considering the long absence of possession, and the doubts supposed to
+perplex the title--though I myself have no doubts about it--would be the
+most efficacious. These are your only true weapons, Sir Ralph--your
+writs of entry, assise, and right--your pleas of novel disseisin,
+post-disseisin, and re-disseisin--your remitters, your præcipes, your
+pones, and your recordari faciases. These are the sword, shield, and
+armour of proof of a wise man."
+
+"Zounds! you take away one's breath with this hail-storm of writs and
+pleas, master lawyer!" cried Nicholas. "But in one respect I am of your
+'worthy and singular good' client's, opinion, and would rather trust to
+my own hand for the defence of my property than to the law to keep it
+for me."
+
+"Then you would do wrong, good Master Nicholas," rejoined Potts, with a
+smile of supreme contempt; "for the law is the better guardian and the
+stronger adversary of the two, and so Sir Thomas will find if he takes
+my advice, and obtains, as he can and will do, a perfect title _juris et
+seisinæ conjunctionem_."
+
+"Sir Thomas is still willing to refer the case to my arbitrament, I
+believe, sir?" demanded Sir Ralph, uneasily.
+
+"He was so, Sir Ralph," rejoined Potts, "unless the assaults and
+batteries, with intent to do him grievous corporeal hurt, which he hath
+sustained from your relatives, have induced a change of mind in him. But
+as I premised, Sir Ralph, I am a man of peace, and willing to
+intermediate."
+
+"Provided you get your fee, master lawyer," observed Nicholas,
+sarcastically.
+
+"Certainly, I object not to the _quiddam honorarium_, Master Nicholas,"
+rejoined Potts; "and if my client hath the _quid pro quo_, and gaineth
+his point, he cannot complain.--But what is this? Some fresh
+disturbance!"
+
+"Something hath happened to the May Queen," cried Nicholas.
+
+"I trust not," said Sir Ralph, with real concern. "Ha! she has fainted.
+They are bringing her this way. Poor maid! what can have occasioned this
+sudden seizure?"
+
+"I think I could give a guess," muttered Nicholas. "Better remove her to
+the Abbey," he added aloud to the knight.
+
+"You are right," said Sir Ralph. "Our cousin Dick is near her, I
+observe. He shall see her conveyed there at once."
+
+At this moment Lady Assheton and Mrs. Nutter, with some of the other
+ladies, came up.
+
+"Just in time, Nell," cried the knight. "Have you your smelling-bottle
+about you? The May Queen has fainted."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Lady Assheton, springing towards Alizon, who was now
+sustained by young Richard Assheton; the forester having surrendered her
+to him. "How has this happened?" she inquired, giving her to breathe at
+a small phial.
+
+"That I cannot tell you, cousin," replied Richard Assheton, "unless from
+some sudden fright."
+
+"That was it, Master Richard," cried Robin Hood; "she cried out on
+hearing the clashing of swords just now, and, I think, pronounced your
+name, on finding you engaged with Sir Thomas, and immediately after
+turned pale, and would have fallen if I had not caught her."
+
+"Ah, indeed!" exclaimed Lady Assheton, glancing at Richard, whose eyes
+fell before her inquiring gaze. "But see, she revives," pursued the
+lady. "Let me support her head."
+
+As she spoke Alizon opened her eyes, and perceiving Richard Assheton,
+who had relinquished her to his relative, standing beside her, she
+exclaimed, "Oh! you are safe! I feared"--And then she stopped, greatly
+embarrassed.
+
+"You feared he might be in danger from his fierce adversary," supplied
+Lady Assheton; "but no. The conflict is happily over, and he is unhurt."
+
+"I am glad of it," said Alizon, earnestly.
+
+"She had better be taken to the Abbey," remarked Sir Ralph, coming up.
+
+"Nay, she will be more at ease at home," observed Lady Assheton with a
+significant look, which, however, failed in reaching her husband.
+
+"Yes, truly shall I, gracious lady," replied Alizon, "far more so. I
+have given you trouble enough already."
+
+"No trouble at all," said Sir Ralph, kindly; "her ladyship is too happy
+to be of service in a case like this. Are you not, Nell? The faintness
+will pass off presently. But let her go to the Abbey at once, and remain
+there till the evening's festivities, in which she takes part, commence.
+Give her your arm, Dick."
+
+Sir Ralph's word was law, and therefore Lady Assheton made no
+remonstrance. But she said quickly, "I will take care of her myself."
+
+"I require no assistance, madam," replied Alizon, "since Sir Ralph will
+have me go. Nay, you are too kind, too condescending," she added,
+reluctantly taking Lady Assheton's proffered arm.
+
+And in this way they proceeded slowly towards the Abbey, escorted by
+Richard Assheton, and attended by Mistress Braddyll and some others of
+the ladies.
+
+Amongst those who had watched the progress of the May Queen's
+restoration with most interest was Mistress Nutter, though she had not
+interfered; and as Alizon departed with Lady Assheton, she observed to
+Nicholas, who was standing near,
+
+"Can this be the daughter of Elizabeth Device, and grand-daughter of--"
+
+"Your old Pendle witch, Mother Demdike," supplied Nicholas; "the very
+same, I assure you, Mistress Nutter."
+
+"She is wholly unlike the family," observed the lady, "and her features
+resemble some I have seen before."
+
+"She does not resemble her mother, undoubtedly," replied Nicholas,
+"though what her grand-dame may have been some sixty years ago, when she
+was Alizon's age, it would be difficult to say.--She is no beauty now."
+
+"Those finely modelled features, that graceful figure, and those
+delicate hands, cannot surely belong to one lowly born and bred?" said
+Mistress Nutter.
+
+"They differ from the ordinary peasant mould, truly," replied Nicholas.
+"If you ask me for the lineage of a steed, I can give a guess at it on
+sight of the animal, but as regards our own race I'm at fault, Mistress
+Nutter."
+
+"I must question Elizabeth Device about her," observed Alice. "Strange,
+I should never have seen her before, though I know the family so well."
+
+"I wish you did not know Mother Demdike quite so well, Mistress Nutter,"
+remarked Nicholas--"a mischievous and malignant old witch, who deserves
+the tar barrel. The only marvel is, that she has not been burned long
+ago. I am of opinion, with many others, that it was she who bewitched
+your poor husband, Richard Nutter."
+
+"I do not think it," replied Mistress Nutter, with a mournful shake of
+the head. "Alas, poor man! he died from hard riding, after hard
+drinking. That was the only witchcraft in his case. Be warned by his
+fate yourself, Nicholas."
+
+"Hard riding after drinking was more likely to sober him than to kill
+him," rejoined the squire. "But, as I said just now, I like not this
+Mother Demdike, nor her rival in iniquity, old Mother Chattox. The devil
+only knows which of the two is worst. But if the former hag did not
+bewitch your husband to death, as I shrewdly suspect, it is certain that
+the latter mumbling old miscreant killed my elder brother, Richard, by
+her sorceries."
+
+"Mother Chattox did you a good turn then, Nicholas," observed Mistress
+Nutter, "in making you master of the fair estates of Downham."
+
+"So far, perhaps, she might," rejoined Nicholas, "but I do not like the
+manner of it, and would gladly see her burned; nay, I would fire the
+fagots myself."
+
+"You are superstitious as the rest, Nicholas," said Mistress Nutter.
+"For my part I do not believe in the existence of witches."
+
+"Not believe in witches, with these two living proofs to the contrary!"
+cried Nicholas, in amazement. "Why, Pendle Forest swarms with witches.
+They burrow in the hill-side like rabbits in a warren. They are the
+terror of the whole country. No man's cattle, goods, nor even life, are
+safe from them; and the only reason why these two old hags, who hold
+sovereign sway over the others, have 'scaped justice so long, is because
+every one is afraid to go near them. Their solitary habitations are more
+strongly guarded than fortresses. Not believe in witches! Why I should
+as soon misdoubt the Holy Scriptures."
+
+"It may be because I reside near them that I have so little
+apprehension, or rather no apprehension at all," replied Mistress
+Nutter; "but to me Mother Demdike and Mother Chattox appear two harmless
+old women."
+
+"They're a couple of dangerous and damnable old hags, and deserve the
+stake," cried Nicholas, emphatically.
+
+All this discourse had been swallowed with greedy ears by the
+ever-vigilant Master Potts, who had approached the speakers unperceived;
+and he now threw in a word.
+
+"So there are suspected witches in Pendle Forest, I find," he said. "I
+shall make it my business to institute inquiries concerning them, when I
+visit the place to-morrow. Even if merely ill-reputed, they must be
+examined, and if found innocent cleared; if not, punished according to
+the statute. Our sovereign lord the king holdeth witches in especial
+abhorrence, and would gladly see all such noxious vermin extirpated from
+the land, and it will rejoice me to promote his laudable designs. I must
+pray you to afford me all the assistance you can in the discovery of
+these dreadful delinquents, good Master Nicholas, and I will care that
+your services are duly represented in the proper quarter. As I have just
+said, the king taketh singular interest in witchcraft, as you may judge
+if the learned tractate he hath put forth, in form of a dialogue,
+intituled "_Dæmonologie_" hath ever met your eye; and he is never so
+well pleased as when the truth of his tenets are proved by such secret
+offenders being brought to light, and duly punished."
+
+"The king's known superstitious dread of witches makes men seek them out
+to win his favour," observed Mistress Nutter. "They have wonderfully
+increased since the publication of that baneful book!"
+
+"Not so, madam," replied Potts. "Our sovereign lord the king hath a
+wholesome and just hatred of such evil-doers and traitors to himself and
+heaven, and it may be dread of them, as indeed all good men must have;
+but he would protect his subjects from them, and therefore, in the first
+year of his reign, which I trust will be long and prosperous, he hath
+passed a statute, whereby it is enacted 'that all persons invoking any
+evil spirit, or consulting, covenanting with, entertaining, employing,
+feeding, or rewarding any evil spirit; or taking up dead bodies from
+their graves to be used in any witchcraft, sorcery, charm, or
+enchantment; or killing or otherwise hurting any person by such infernal
+arts, shall be guilty of felony without benefit of clergy, and suffer
+death.' This statute, madam, was intended to check the crimes of
+necromancy, sorcery, and witchcraft, and not to increase them. And I
+maintain that it has checked them, and will continue to check them."
+
+"It is a wicked and bloody statute," observed Mrs. Nutter, in a deep
+tone, "and many an innocent life will be sacrificed thereby."
+
+"How, madam!" cried Master Potts, staring aghast. "Do you mean to impugn
+the sagacity and justice of our high and mighty king, the head of the
+law, and defender of the faith?"
+
+"I affirm that this is a sanguinary enactment," replied Mistress Nutter,
+"and will put power into hands that will abuse it, and destroy many
+guiltless persons. It will make more witches than it will find."
+
+"Some are ready made, methinks," muttered Potts, "and we need not go far
+to find them. You are a zealous advocate for witches, I must say,
+madam," he added aloud, "and I shall not forget your arguments in their
+favour."
+
+"To my prejudice, I doubt not," she rejoined, bitterly.
+
+"No, to the credit of your humanity," he answered, bowing, with
+pretended conviction.
+
+"Well, I will aid you in your search for witches, Master Potts,"
+observed Nicholas; "for I would gladly see the country rid of these
+pests. But I warn you the quest will be attended with risk, and you will
+get few to accompany you, for all the folk hereabouts are mortally
+afraid of these terrible old hags."
+
+"I fear nothing in the discharge of my duty," replied Master Potts,
+courageously, "for as our high and mighty sovereign hath well and
+learnedly observed--'if witches be but apprehended and detained by any
+private person, upon other private respects, their power, no doubt,
+either in escaping, or in doing hurt, is no less than ever it was
+before. But if, on the other part, their apprehending and detention be
+by the lawful magistrate upon the just respect of their guiltiness in
+that craft, their power is then no greater than before that ever they
+meddled with their master. For where God begins justly to strike by his
+lawful lieutenants, it is not in the devil's power to defraud or bereave
+him of the office or effect of his powerful and revenging sceptre.' Thus
+I am safe; and I shall take care to go armed with a proper warrant,
+which I shall obtain from a magistrate, my honoured friend and singular
+good client, Master Roger Newell. This will obtain me such assistance as
+I may require, and for due observance of my authority. I shall likewise
+take with me a peace-officer, or constable."
+
+"You will do well, Master Potts," said Nicholas; "still you must not
+put faith in all the idle tales told you, for the common folk hereabouts
+are blindly and foolishly superstitious, and fancy they discern
+witchcraft in every mischance, however slight, that befalls them. If ale
+turn sour after a thunder-storm, the witch hath done it; and if the
+butter cometh not quickly, she hindereth it. If the meat roast ill the
+witch hath turned the spit; and if the lumber pie taste ill she hath had
+a finger in it. If your sheep have the foot-rot--your horses the
+staggers or string-halt--your swine the measles--your hounds a
+surfeit--or your cow slippeth her calf--the witch is at the bottom of it
+all. If your maid hath a fit of the sullens, or doeth her work amiss, or
+your man breaketh a dish, the witch is in fault, and her shoulders can
+bear the blame. On this very day of the year--namely, May Day,--the
+foolish folk hold any aged crone who fetcheth fire to be a witch, and if
+they catch a hedge-hog among their cattle, they will instantly beat it
+to death with sticks, concluding it to be an old hag in that form come
+to dry up the milk of their kine."
+
+"These are what Master Potts's royal authority would style 'mere old
+wives' trattles about the fire,'" observed Mistress Nutter, scornfully.
+
+"Better be over-credulous than over-sceptical," replied Potts. "Even at
+my lodging in Chancery Lane I have a horseshoe nailed against the door.
+One cannot be too cautious when one has to fight against the devil, or
+those in league with him. Your witch should be put to every ordeal. She
+should be scratched with pins to draw blood from her; weighed against
+the church bible, though this is not always proof; forced to weep, for a
+witch can only shed three tears, and those only from the left eye; or,
+as our sovereign lord the king truly observeth--no offence to you,
+Mistress Nutter--'Not so much as their eyes are able to shed tears,
+albeit the womenkind especially be able otherwise to shed tears at every
+light occasion when they will, yea, although it were dissemblingly like
+the crocodile;' and set on a stool for twenty-four hours, with her legs
+tied across, and suffered neither to eat, drink, nor sleep during the
+time. This is the surest Way to make her confess her guilt next to
+swimming. If it fails, then cast her with her thumbs and toes tied
+across into a pond, and if she sink not then is she certainly a witch.
+Other trials there are, as that by scalding water--sticking knives
+across--heating of the horseshoe--tying of knots--the sieve and the
+shears; but the only ordeals safely to be relied on, are the swimming
+and the stool before mentioned, and from these your witch shall rarely
+escape. Above all, be sure and search carefully for the witch-mark. I
+doubt not we shall find it fairly and legibly writ in the devil's
+characters on Mother Demdike and Mother Chattox. They shall undergo the
+stool and the pool, and other trials, if required. These old hags shall
+no longer vex you, good Master Nicholas. Leave them to me, and doubt
+not I will bring them to condign punishment."
+
+"You will do us good service then, Master Potts," replied Nicholas. "But
+since you are so learned in the matter of witchcraft, resolve me, I pray
+you, how it is, that women are so much more addicted to the practice of
+the black art than our own sex."
+
+"The answer to the inquiry hath been given by our British Solomon,"
+replied Potts, "and I will deliver it to you in his own words. 'The
+reason is easy,' he saith; 'for as that sex is frailer than man is, so
+it is easier to be entrapped in those gross snares of the devil, as was
+overwell proved to be true, by the serpent's deceiving of Eva at the
+beginning, which makes him the homelier with that sex sensine.'"
+
+"A good and sufficient reason, Master Potts," said Nicholas, laughing;
+"is it not so, Mistress Nutter?"
+
+"Ay, marry, if it satisfies you," she answered, drily. "It is of a piece
+with the rest of the reasoning of the royal pedant, whom Master Potts
+styles the British Solomon."
+
+"I only give the learned monarch the title by which he is recognised
+throughout Christendom," rejoined Potts, sharply.
+
+"Well, there is comfort in the thought, that I shall never be taken for
+a wizard," said the squire.
+
+"Be not too sure of that, good Master Nicholas," returned Potts. "Our
+present prince seems to have had you in his eye when he penned his
+description of a wizard, for, he saith, 'A great number of them that
+ever have been convict or confessors of witchcraft, as may be presently
+seen by many that have at this time confessed, are some of them rich and
+worldly-wise; some of them fat or corpulent in their bodies; and most
+part of them altogether given over to the pleasures of the flesh,
+continual haunting of company, and all kinds of merriness, lawful and
+unlawful.' This hitteth you exactly, Master Nicholas."
+
+"Zounds!" exclaimed the squire, "if this be exact, it toucheth me too
+nearly to be altogether agreeable."
+
+"The passage is truly quoted, Nicholas," observed Mistress Nutter, with
+a cold smile. "I perfectly remember it. Master Potts seems to have the
+'Dæmonologie' at his fingers' ends."
+
+"I have made it my study, madam," replied the lawyer, somewhat mollified
+by the remark, "as I have the statute on witchcraft, and indeed most
+other statutes."
+
+"We have wasted time enough in this unprofitable talk," said Mistress
+Nutter, abruptly quitting them without bestowing the slightest
+salutation on Potts.
+
+"I was but jesting in what I said just now, good Master Nicholas,"
+observed the little lawyer, nowise disconcerted at the slight "though
+they were the king's exact words I quoted. No one would suspect you of
+being a wizard--ha!--ha! But I am resolved to prosecute the search, and
+I calculate upon your aid, and that of Master Richard Assheton, who goes
+with us."
+
+"You shall have mine, at all events, Master Potts," replied Nicholas;
+"and I doubt not, my cousin Dick's, too."
+
+"Our May Queen, Alizon Device, is Mother Demdike's grand-daughter, is
+she not?" asked Potts, after a moment's reflection.
+
+"Ay, why do you ask?" demanded Nicholas.
+
+"For a good and sufficing reason," replied Potts. "She might be an
+important witness; for, as King James saith, 'bairns or wives may, of
+our law, serve for sufficient witnesses and proofs.' And he goeth on to
+say, 'For who but witches can be proofs, and so witnesses of the doings
+of witches?'"
+
+"You do not mean to aver that Alizon Device is a witch, sir?" cried
+Nicholas, sharply.
+
+"I aver nothing," replied Potts; "but, as a relative of a suspected
+witch, she will be the best witness against her."
+
+"If you design to meddle with Alizon Device, expect no assistance from
+me, Master Potts," said Nicholas, sternly, "but rather the contrary."
+
+"Nay, I but threw out the hint, good Master Nicholas," replied Potts.
+"Another witness will do equally well. There are other children, no
+doubt. I rely on you, sir--I rely on you. I shall now go in search of
+Master Nowell, and obtain the warrant and the constable."
+
+"And I shall go keep my appointment with Parson Dewhurst, at the Abbey,"
+said Nicholas, bowing slightly to the attorney, and taking his
+departure.
+
+"It will not do to alarm him at present," said Potts, looking after him,
+"but I'll have that girl as a witness, and I know how to terrify her
+into compliance. A singular woman, that Mistress Alice Nutter. I must
+inquire into her history. Odd, how obstinately she set her face against
+witchcraft. And yet she lives at Rough Lee, in the very heart of a witch
+district, for such Master Nicholas Assheton calls this Pendle Forest. I
+shouldn't wonder if she has dealings with the old hags she
+defends--Mother Demdike and Mother Chattox. Chattox! Lord bless us, what
+a name!--There's caldron and broomstick in the very sound! And Demdike
+is little better. Both seem of diabolical invention. If I can unearth a
+pack of witches, I shall gain much credit from my honourable good lords
+the judges of assize in these northern parts, besides pleasing the King
+himself, who is sure to hear of it, and reward my praiseworthy zeal.
+Look to yourself, Mistress Nutter, and take care you are not caught
+tripping. And now, for Master Roger Nowell."
+
+With this, he peered about among the crowd in search of the magistrate,
+but though he thrust his little turned-up nose in every direction, he
+could not find him, and therefore set out for the Abbey, concluding he
+had gone thither.
+
+As Mistress Nutter walked along, she perceived James Device among the
+crowd, holding Jennet by the hand, and motioned him to come to her. Jem
+instantly understood the sign, and quitting his little sister, drew
+near.
+
+"Tell thy mother," said Mistress Nutter, in a tone calculated only for
+his hearing, "to come to me, at the Abbey, quickly and secretly. I shall
+be in the ruins of the old convent church. I have somewhat to say to
+her, that concerns herself as well as me. Thou wilt have to go to Rough
+Lee and Malkin Tower to-night."
+
+Jem nodded, to show his perfect apprehension of what was said and his
+assent to it, and while Mistress Nutter moved on with a slow and
+dignified step, he returned to Jennet, and told her she must go home
+directly, a piece of intelligence which was not received very graciously
+by the little maiden; but nothing heeding her unwillingness, Jem walked
+her off quickly in the direction of the cottage; but while on the way to
+it, they accidentally encountered their mother, Elizabeth Device, and
+therefore stopped.
+
+"Yo mun go up to th' Abbey directly, mother," said Jem, with a wink,
+"Mistress Nutter wishes to see ye. Yo'n find her i' t' ruins o' t' owd
+convent church. Tak kere yo're neaw seen. Yo onderstond."
+
+"Yeigh," replied Elizabeth, nodding her head significantly, "ey'n go at
+wonst, an see efter Alizon ot t' same time. Fo ey'm towd hoo has
+fainted, an been ta'en to th' Abbey by Lady Assheton."
+
+"Never heed Alizon," replied Jem, gruffly. "Hoo's i' good hands. Ye
+munna be seen, ey tell ye. Ey'm going to Malkin Tower to-neet, if yo'n
+owt to send."
+
+"To-neet, Jem," echoed little Jennet.
+
+"Eigh," rejoined Jem, sharply. "Howd te tongue, wench. Dunna lose time,
+mother."
+
+And as he and his little sister pursued their way to the cottage,
+Elizabeth hobbled off towards the Abbey, muttering, as she went, "I hope
+Alizon an Mistress Nutter winna meet. Nah that it matters, boh still
+it's better not. Strange, the wench should ha' fainted. Boh she's always
+foolish an timmersome, an ey half fear has lost her heart to young
+Richard Assheton. Ey'n watch her narrowly, an if it turn out to be so,
+she mun be cured, or be secured--ha! ha!"
+
+And muttering in this way, she passed through the Abbey gateway, the
+wicket being left open, and proceeded towards the ruinous convent
+church, taking care as much as possible to avoid observation.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.--MOTHER CHATTOX.
+
+
+Not far from the green where the May-day revels were held, stood the
+ancient parish church of Whalley, its square tower surmounted with a
+flag-staff and banner, and shaking with the joyous peals of the ringers.
+A picturesque and beautiful structure it was, though full of
+architectural incongruities; and its grey walls and hoary buttresses,
+with the lancet-shaped windows of the choir, and the ramified tracery of
+the fine eastern window, could not fail to please any taste not quite so
+critical as to require absolute harmony and perfection in a building.
+Parts of the venerable fabric were older than the Abbey itself, dating
+back as far as the eleventh century, when a chapel occupied the site;
+and though many alterations had been made in the subsequent structure at
+various times, and many beauties destroyed, especially during the period
+of the Reformation, enough of its pristine character remained to render
+it a very good specimen of an old country church. Internally, the
+cylindrical columns of the north aisle, the construction of the choir,
+and the three stone seats supported on rounded columns near the altar,
+proclaimed its high antiquity. Within the choir were preserved the
+eighteen richly-carved stalls once occupying a similar position in the
+desecrated conventual church: and though exquisite in themselves, they
+seemed here sadly out of place, not being proportionate to the
+structure. Their elaborately-carved seats projected far into the body of
+the church, and their crocketed pinnacles shot up almost to the ceiling.
+But it was well they had not shared the destruction in which almost all
+the other ornaments of the magnificent fane they once decorated were
+involved. Carefully preserved, the black varnished oak well displayed
+the quaint and grotesque designs with which many of them--the Prior's
+stall in especial--were embellished. Chief among them was the abbot's
+stall, festooned with sculptured vine wreaths and clustering grapes, and
+bearing the auspicious inscription:
+
+          Semper gaudentes sint ista sede sedentes:
+
+singularly inapplicable, however, to the last prelate who filled it.
+Some fine old monuments, and warlike trophies of neighbouring wealthy
+families, adorned the walls, and within the nave was a magnificent pew,
+with a canopy and pillars of elaborately-carved oak, and lattice-work at
+the sides, allotted to the manor of Read, and recently erected by Roger
+Nowell; while in the north and south aisles were two small chapels,
+converted since the reformed faith had obtained, into pews--the one
+called Saint Mary's Cage, belonging to the Assheton family; and the
+other appertaining to the Catterals of Little Mitton, and designated
+Saint Nicholas's Cage. Under the last-named chapel were interred some
+of the Paslews of Wiswall, and here lay the last unfortunate Abbot of
+Whalley, between whoso grave, and the Assheton and Braddyll families, a
+fatal relation was supposed to subsist. Another large pew, allotted to
+the Towneleys, and designated Saint Anthony's Cage, was rendered
+remarkable, by a characteristic speech of Sir John Towneley, which gave
+much offence to the neighbouring dames. Called upon to decide as to the
+position of the sittings in the church, the discourteous knight made
+choice of Saint Anthony's Cage, already mentioned, declaring, "My man,
+Shuttleworth of Hacking, made this form, and here will I sit when I
+come; and my cousin Nowell may make a seat behind me if he please, and
+my son Sherburne shall make one on the other side, and Master Catteral
+another behind him, and for the residue the use shall be, first come
+first speed, and that will make the proud wives of Whalley rise betimes
+to come to church." One can fancy the rough knight's chuckle, as he
+addressed these words to the old clerk, certain of their being quickly
+repeated to the "proud wives" in question.
+
+Within the churchyard grew two fine old yew-trees, now long since
+decayed and gone, but then spreading their dark-green arms over the
+little turf-covered graves. Reared against the buttresses of the church
+was an old stone coffin, together with a fragment of a curious
+monumental effigy, likewise of stone; but the most striking objects in
+the place, and deservedly ranked amongst the wonders of Whalley, were
+three remarkable obelisk-shaped crosses, set in a line upon pedestals,
+covered with singular devices in fretwork, and all three differing in
+size and design. Evidently of remotest antiquity, these crosses were
+traditionally assigned to Paullinus, who, according to the Venerable
+Bede, first preached the Gospel in these parts, in the early part of the
+seventh century; but other legends were attached to them by the vulgar,
+and dim mystery brooded over them.
+
+Vestiges of another people and another faith were likewise here
+discernible, for where the Saxon forefathers of the village prayed and
+slumbered in death, the Roman invaders of the isle had trodden, and
+perchance performed their religious rites; some traces of an encampment
+being found in the churchyard by the historian of the spot, while the
+north boundary of the hallowed precincts was formed by a deep foss, once
+encompassing the nigh-obliterated fortification. Besides these records
+of an elder people, there was another memento of bygone days and creeds,
+in a little hermitage and chapel adjoining it, founded in the reign of
+Edward III., by Henry, Duke of Lancaster, for the support of two
+recluses and a priest to say masses daily for him and his descendants;
+but this pious bequest being grievously abused in the subsequent reign
+of Henry VI., by Isole de Heton, a fair widow, who in the first
+transports of grief, vowing herself to heaven, took up her abode in the
+hermitage, and led a very disorderly life therein, to the great scandal
+of the Abbey, and the great prejudice of the morals of its brethren, and
+at last, tired even of the slight restraint imposed upon her, fled away
+"contrary to her oath and profession, not willing, nor intending to be
+restored again;" the hermitage was dissolved by the pious monarch, and
+masses ordered to be said daily in the parish church for the repose of
+the soul of the founder. Such was the legend attached to the little
+cell, and tradition went on to say that the anchoress broke her leg in
+crossing Whalley Nab, and limped ever afterwards; a just judgment on
+such a heinous offender. Both these little structures were picturesque
+objects, being overgrown with ivy and woodbine. The chapel was
+completely in ruins, while the cell, profaned by the misdoings of the
+dissolute votaress Isole, had been converted into a cage for vagrants
+and offenders, and made secure by a grated window, and a strong door
+studded with broad-headed nails.
+
+The view from the churchyard, embracing the vicarage-house, a
+comfortable residence, surrounded by a large walled-in garden, well
+stocked with fruit-trees, and sheltered by a fine grove of rook-haunted
+timber, extended on the one hand over the village, and on the other over
+the Abbey, and was bounded by the towering and well-wooded heights of
+Whalley Nab. On the side of the Abbey, the most conspicuous objects were
+the great north-eastern gateway, with the ruined conventual church. Ever
+beautiful, the view was especially so on the present occasion, from the
+animated scene combined with it; and the pleasant prospect was enjoyed
+by a large assemblage, who had adjourned thither to witness the
+concluding part of the festival.
+
+Within the green and flower-decked bowers which, as has before been
+mentioned, were erected in the churchyard, were seated Doctor Ormerod
+and Sir Ralph Assheton, with such of their respective guests as had not
+already retired, including Richard and Nicholas Assheton, both of whom
+had returned from the abbey; the former having been dismissed by Lady
+Assheton from further attendance upon Alizon, and the latter having
+concluded his discourse with Parson Dewhurst, who, indeed, accompanied
+him to the church, and was now placed between the Vicar and the Rector
+of Middleton. From this gentle elevation the gay company on the green
+could be fully discerned, the tall May-pole, with its garlands and
+ribands, forming a pivot, about which the throng ever revolved, while
+stationary amidst the moving masses, the rush-cart reared on high its
+broad green back, as if to resist the living waves constantly dashed
+against it. By-and-by a new kind of movement was perceptible, and it
+soon became evident that a procession was being formed. Immediately
+afterwards, the rush-cart was put in motion, and winded slowly along the
+narrow street leading to the church, preceded by the morris-dancers and
+the other May-day revellers, and followed by a great concourse of
+people, shouting, dancing, and singing.
+
+On came the crowd. The jingling of bells, and the sound of music grew
+louder and louder, and the procession, lost for awhile behind some
+intervening habitations, though the men bestriding the rush-cart could
+be discerned over their summits, burst suddenly into view; and the
+revellers entering the churchyard, drew up on either side of the little
+path leading to the porch, while the rush-cart coming up the next
+moment, stopped at the gate. Then four young maidens dressed in white,
+and having baskets in their hands, advanced and scattered flowers along
+the path; after which ladders were reared against the sides of the
+rush-cart, and the men, descending from their exalted position, bore the
+garlands to the church, preceded by the vicar and the two other divines,
+and followed by Robin Hood and his band, the morris-dancers, and a troop
+of little children singing a hymn. The next step was to unfasten the
+bundles of rushes, of which the cart was composed, and this was very
+quickly and skilfully performed, the utmost care being taken of the
+trinkets and valuables with which it was ornamented. These were gathered
+together in baskets and conveyed to the vestry, and there locked up.
+This done, the bundles of rushes were taken up by several old women, who
+strewed the aisles with them, and placed such as had been tied up as
+mats in the pews. At the same time, two casks of ale set near the gate,
+and given for the occasion by the vicar, were broached, and their
+foaming contents freely distributed among the dancers and the thirsty
+crowd. Very merry were they, as may be supposed, in consequence, but
+their mirth was happily kept within due limits of decorum.
+
+When the rush-cart was wellnigh unladen Richard Assheton entered the
+church, and greatly pleased with the effect of the flowery garlands with
+which the various pews were decorated, said as much to the vicar, who
+smilingly replied, that he was glad to find he approved of the practice,
+"even though it might savour of superstition;" and as the good doctor
+walked away, being called forth, the young man almost unconsciously
+turned into the chapel on the north aisle. Here he stood for a few
+moments gazing round the church, wrapt in pleasing meditation, in which
+many objects, somewhat foreign to the place and time, passed through his
+mind, when, chancing to look down, he saw a small funeral wreath, of
+mingled yew and cypress, lying at his feet, and a slight tremor passed
+over his frame, as he found he was standing on the ill-omened grave of
+Abbot Paslew. Before he could ask himself by whom this sad garland had
+been so deposited, Nicholas Assheton came up to him, and with a look of
+great uneasiness cried, "Come away instantly, Dick. Do you know where
+you are standing?"
+
+"On the grave of the last Abbot of Whalley," replied Richard, smiling.
+
+"Have you forgotten the common saying," cried Nicholas--"that the
+Assheton who stands on that unlucky grave shall die within the year?
+Come away at once."
+
+"It is too late," replied Richard, "I have incurred the fate, if such a
+fate be attached to the tomb; and as my moving away will not preserve
+me, so my tarrying here cannot injure me further. But I have no fear."
+
+"You have more courage than I possess," rejoined Nicholas. "I would not
+set foot on that accursed stone for half the county. Its malign
+influence on our house has been approved too often. The first to
+experience the fatal destiny were Richard Assheton and John Braddyll,
+the purchasers of the Abbey. Both met here together on the anniversary
+of the abbot's execution--some forty years after its occurrence, it is
+true, and when they were both pretty well stricken in years--and within
+that year, namely 1578, both died, and were buried in the vault on the
+opposite side of the church, not many paces from their old enemy. The
+last instance was my poor brother Richard, who, being incredulous as you
+are, was resolved to brave the destiny, and stationed himself upon the
+tomb during divine service, but he too died within the appointed time."
+
+"He was bewitched to death--so, at least, it is affirmed," said Richard
+Assheton, with a smile. "But I believe in one evil influence just as
+much as in the other."
+
+"It matters not how the destiny be accomplished, so it come to pass,"
+rejoined the squire, turning away. "Heaven shield you from it!"
+
+"Stay!" said Richard, picking up the wreath. "Who, think you, can have
+placed this funeral garland on the abbot's grave?"
+
+"I cannot guess!" cried Nicholas, staring at it in amazement--"an enemy
+of ours, most likely. It is neither customary nor lawful in our
+Protestant country so to ornament graves. Put it down, Dick."
+
+"I shall not displace it, certainly," replied Richard, laying it down
+again; "but I as little think it has been placed here by a hostile hand,
+as I do that harm will ensue to me from standing here. To relieve your
+anxiety, however, I will come forth," he added, stepping into the aisle.
+"Why should an enemy deposit a garland on the abbot's tomb, since it was
+by mere chance that it hath met my eyes?"
+
+"Mere chance!" cried Nicholas; "every thing is mere chance with you
+philosophers. There is more than chance in it. My mind misgives me
+strangely. That terrible old Abbot Paslew is as troublesome to us in
+death, as he was during life to our predecessor, Richard Assheton. Not
+content with making his tombstone a weapon of destruction to us, he
+pays the Abbey itself an occasional visit, and his appearance always
+betides some disaster to the family. I have never seen him myself, and
+trust I never shall; but other people have, and have been nigh scared
+out of their senses by the apparition."
+
+"Idle tales, the invention of overheated brains," rejoined Richard.
+"Trust me, the abbot's rest will not be broken till the day when all
+shall rise from their tombs; though if ever the dead (supposing such a
+thing possible) could be justified in injuring and affrighting the
+living, it might be in his case, since he mainly owed his destruction to
+our ancestor. On the same principle it has been held that church-lands
+are unlucky to their lay possessors; but see how this superstitious
+notion has been disproved in our own family, to whom Whalley Abbey and
+its domains have brought wealth, power, and worldly happiness."
+
+"There is something in the notion, nevertheless," replied Nicholas; "and
+though our case may, I hope, continue an exception to the rule, most
+grantees of ecclesiastical houses have found them a curse, and the time
+may come when the Abbey may prove so to our descendants. But, without
+discussing the point, there is one instance in which the malignant
+influence of the vindictive abbot has undoubtedly extended long after
+his death. You have heard, I suppose, that he pronounced a dreadful
+anathema upon the child of a man who had the reputation of being a
+wizard, and who afterwards acted as his executioner. I know not the
+whole particulars of the dark story, but I know that Paslew fixed a
+curse upon the child, declaring it should become a witch, and the mother
+of witches. And the prediction has been verified. Nigh eighty years have
+flown by since then, and the infant still lives--a fearful and
+mischievous witch--and all her family are similarly fated--all are
+witches."
+
+"I never heard the story before," said Richard, somewhat thoughtfully;
+"but I guess to whom you allude--Mother Demdike of Pendle Forest, and
+her family."
+
+"Precisely," rejoined Nicholas; "they are a brood of witches."
+
+"In that case Alizon Device must be a witch," cried Richard; "and I
+think you will hardly venture upon such an assertion after what you have
+seen of her to-day. If she be a witch, I would there were many such--as
+fair and gentle. And see you not how easily the matter is explained?
+'Give a dog an ill name and hang him'--a proverb with which you are
+familiar enough. So with Mother Demdike. Whether really uttered or not,
+the abbot's curse upon her and her issue has been bruited abroad, and
+hence she is made a witch, and her children are supposed to inherit the
+infamous taint. So it is with yon tomb. It is said to be dangerous to
+our family, and dangerous no doubt it is to those who believe in the
+saying, which, luckily, I do not. The prophecy works its own fulfilment.
+The absurdity and injustice of yielding to the opinion are manifest. No
+wrong can have been done the abbot by Mother Demdike, any more than by
+her children, and yet they are to be punished for the misdeeds of their
+predecessor."
+
+"Ay, just as you and I, who are of the third and fourth generation, may
+be punished for the sins of our fathers," rejoined Nicholas. "You have
+Scripture against you, Dick. The only thing I see in favour of your
+argument is, the instance you allege of Alizon. She does not look like a
+witch, certainly; but there is no saying. She may be only the more
+dangerous for her rare beauty, and apparent innocence!"
+
+"I would answer for her truth with my life," cried Richard, quickly. "It
+is impossible to look at her countenance, in which candour and purity
+shine forth, and doubt her goodness."
+
+"She hath cast her spells over you, Dick, that is certain," rejoined
+Nicholas, laughing; "but to be serious. Alizon, I admit, is an exception
+to the rest of the family, but that only strengthens the general rule.
+Did you ever remark the strange look they all--save the fair maid in
+question--have about the eyes?"
+
+Richard answered in the negative.
+
+"It is very singular, and I wonder you have not noticed it," pursued
+Nicholas; "but the question of reputed witchcraft in Mother Demdike has
+some chance of being speedily settled; for Master Potts, the little
+London lawyer, who goes with us to Pendle Forest to-morrow, is about to
+have her arrested and examined before a magistrate."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Richard, "this must be prevented."
+
+"Why so?" exclaimed Nicholas, in surprise.
+
+"Because the prejudice existing against her is sure to convict and
+destroy her," replied Richard. "Her great age, infirmities, and poverty,
+will be proofs against her. How can she, or any old enfeebled creature
+like her, whose decrepitude and misery should move compassion rather
+than excite fear--how can such a person defend herself against charges
+easily made, and impossible to refute? I do not deny the possibility of
+witchcraft, even in our own days, though I think it of very unlikely
+occurrence; but I would determinately resist giving credit to any tales
+told by the superstitious vulgar, who, naturally prone to cruelty, have
+so many motives for revenging imaginary wrongs. It is placing a dreadful
+weapon in their hands, of which they have cunning enough to know the
+use, but neither mercy nor justice enough to restrain them from using
+it. Better let one guilty person escape, than many innocent perish. So
+many undefined charges have been brought against Mother Demdike, that at
+last they have fixed a stigma on her name, and made her an object of
+dread and suspicion. She is endowed with mysterious power, which would
+have no effect if not believed in; and now must be burned because she is
+called a witch, and is doting and vain enough to accept the title."
+
+"There is something in a witch difficult, nay, almost impossible to
+describe," said Nicholas, "but you cannot be mistaken about her. By her
+general ill course of life, by repeated acts of mischief, and by
+threats, followed by the consequences menaced, she becomes known. There
+is much mystery in the matter, not permitted human knowledge entirely to
+penetrate; but, as we know from the Scriptures that the sin of
+witchcraft did exist, and as we have no evidence that it has ceased, so
+it is fair to conclude, that there may be practisers of the dark offence
+in our own days, and such I hold to be Mother Demdike and Mother
+Chattox. Rival potentates in evil, they contend which shall do most
+mischief, but it must be admitted the former bears away the bell."
+
+"If all the ill attributed to her were really caused by her
+machinations, this might be correct," replied Richard, "but it only
+shows her to be more calumniated than the other. In a word, cousin
+Nicholas, I look upon them as two poor old creatures, who, persuaded
+they really possess the supernatural power accorded to them by the
+vulgar, strive to act up to their parts, and are mainly assisted in
+doing so by the credulity and fears of their audience."
+
+"Admitting the blind credulity of the multitude," said Nicholas, "and
+their proneness to discern the hand of the witch in the most trifling
+accidents; admitting also, their readiness to accuse any old crone
+unlucky enough to offend them of sorcery; I still believe that there are
+actual practisers of the black art, who, for a brief term of power, have
+entered into a league with Satan, worship him and attend his sabbaths,
+and have a familiar, in the shape of a cat, dog, toad, or mole, to obey
+their behests, transform themselves into various shapes--as a hound,
+horse, or hare,--raise storms of wind or hail, maim cattle, bewitch and
+slay human beings, and ride whither they will on broomsticks. But,
+holding the contrary opinion, you will not, I apprehend, aid Master
+Potts in his quest of witches."
+
+"I will not," rejoined Richard. "On the contrary, I will oppose him. But
+enough of this. Let us go forth."
+
+And they quitted the church together.
+
+As they issued into the churchyard, they found the principal arbours
+occupied by the morris-dancers, Robin Hood and his troop, Doctor Ormerod
+and Sir Ralph having retired to the vicarage-house.
+
+Many merry groups were scattered about, talking, laughing, and singing;
+but two persons, seemingly objects of suspicion and alarm, and shunned
+by every one who crossed their path, were advancing slowly towards the
+three crosses of Paullinus, which stood in a line, not far from the
+church-porch. They were females, one about five-and-twenty, very comely,
+and habited in smart holiday attire, put on with considerable rustic
+coquetry, so as to display a very neat foot and ankle, and with plenty
+of ribands in her fine chestnut hair. The other was a very different
+person, far advanced in years, bent almost double, palsy-stricken, her
+arms and limbs shaking, her head nodding, her chin wagging, her snowy
+locks hanging about her wrinkled visage, her brows and upper lip frore,
+and her eyes almost sightless, the pupils being cased with a thin white
+film. Her dress, of antiquated make and faded stuff, had been once deep
+red in colour, and her old black hat was high-crowned and broad-brimmed.
+She partly aided herself in walking with a crutch-handled stick, and
+partly leaned upon her younger companion for support.
+
+"Why, there is one of the old women we have just been speaking
+of--Mother Chattox," said Richard, pointing them out, "and with her, her
+grand-daughter, pretty Nan Redferne."
+
+"So it is," cried Nicholas, "what makes the old hag here, I marvel! I
+will go question her."
+
+So saying, he strode quickly towards her.
+
+"How now, Mother Chattox!" he cried. "What mischief is afoot? What makes
+the darkness-loving owl abroad in the glare of day? What brings the
+grisly she-wolf from her forest lair? Back to thy den, old witch! Ar't
+crazed, as well as blind and palsied, that thou knowest not that this is
+a merry-making, and not a devil's sabbath? Back to thy hut, I say! These
+sacred precincts are no place for thee."
+
+"Who is it speaks to me?" demanded the old hag, halting, and fixing her
+glazed eyes upon him.
+
+"One thou hast much injured," replied Nicholas. "One into whose house
+thou hast brought quick-wasting sickness and death by thy infernal arts.
+One thou hast good reason to fear; for learn, to thy confusion, thou
+damned and murtherous witch, it is Nicholas, brother to thy victim,
+Richard Assheton of Downham, who speaks to thee."
+
+"I know none I have reason to fear," replied Mother Chattox; "especially
+thee, Nicholas Assheton. Thy brother was no victim of mine. Thou wert
+the gainer by his death, not I. Why should I slay him?"
+
+"I will tell thee why, old hag," cried Nicholas; "he was inflamed by the
+beauty of thy grand-daughter Nancy here, and it was to please Tom
+Redferne, her sweetheart then, but her spouse since, that thou
+bewitchedst him to death."
+
+"That reason will not avail thee, Nicholas," rejoined Mother Chattox,
+with a derisive laugh. "If I had any hand in his death, it was to serve
+and pleasure thee, and that all men shall know, if I am questioned on
+the subject--ha! ha! Take me to the crosses, Nance."
+
+"Thou shalt not 'scape thus, thou murtherous hag," cried Nicholas,
+furiously.
+
+"Nay, let her go her way," said Richard, who had drawn near during the
+colloquy. "No good will come of meddling with her."
+
+"Who's that?" asked Mother Chattox, quickly.
+
+[Illustration: NAN REDFERNE AND MOTHER CHATTOX.]
+
+"Master Richard Assheton, o' Middleton," whispered Nan Redferne.
+
+"Another of these accursed Asshetons," cried Mother Chattox. "A plague
+seize them!"
+
+"Boh he's weel-favourt an kindly," remarked her grand-daughter.
+
+"Well-favoured or not, kindly or cruel, I hate them all," cried Mother
+Chattox. "To the crosses, I say!"
+
+But Nicholas placed himself in their path.
+
+"Is it to pray to Beelzebub, thy master, that thou wouldst go to the
+crosses?" he asked.
+
+"Out of my way, pestilent fool!" cried the hag.
+
+"Thou shalt not stir till I have had an answer," rejoined Nicholas.
+"They say those are Runic obelisks, and not Christian crosses, and that
+the carvings upon them have a magical signification. The first, it is
+averred, is written o'er with deadly curses, and the forms in which they
+are traced, as serpentine, triangular, or round, indicate and rule their
+swift or slow effect. The second bears charms against diseases, storms,
+and lightning. And on the third is inscribed a verse which will render
+him who can read it rightly, invisible to mortal view. Thou shouldst be
+learned in such lore, old Pythoness. Is it so?"
+
+The hag's chin wagged fearfully, and her frame trembled with passion,
+but she spoke not.
+
+"Have you been in the church, old woman?" interposed Richard.
+
+"Ay, wherefore?" she rejoined.
+
+"Some one has placed a cypress wreath on Abbot Paslew's grave. Was it
+you?" he asked.
+
+"What! hast thou found it?" cried the hag. "It shall bring thee rare
+luck, lad--rare luck. Now let me pass."
+
+"Not yet," cried Nicholas, forcibly grasping her withered arm.
+
+The hag uttered a scream of rage.
+
+"Let me go, Nicholas Assheton," she shrieked, "or thou shalt rue it.
+Cramps and aches shall wring and rack thy flesh and bones; fever shall
+consume thee; ague shake thee--shake thee--ha!"
+
+And Nicholas recoiled, appalled by her fearful gestures.
+
+"You carry your malignity too far, old woman," said Richard severely.
+
+"And thou darest tell me so," cried the hag. "Set me before him, Nance,
+that I may curse him," she added, raising her palsied arm.
+
+"Nah, nah--yo'n cursed ower much already, grandmother," cried Nan
+Redferne, endeavouring to drag her away. But the old woman resisted.
+
+"I will teach him to cross my path," she vociferated, in accents shrill
+and jarring as the cry of the goat-sucker.
+
+"Handsome he is, it may be, now, but he shall not be so long. The bloom
+shall fade from his cheek, the fire be extinguished in his eyes, the
+strength depart from his limbs. Sorrow shall be her portion who loves
+him--sorrow and shame!"
+
+"Horrible!" exclaimed Richard, endeavouring to exclude the voice of the
+crone, which pierced his ears like some sharp instrument.
+
+"Ha! ha! you fear me now," she cried. "By this, and this, the spell
+shall work," she added, describing a circle in the air with her stick,
+then crossing it twice, and finally scattering over him a handful of
+grave dust, snatched from an adjoining hillock.
+
+"Now lead me quickly to the smaller cross, Nance," she added, in a low
+tone.
+
+Her grand-daughter complied, with a glance of deep commiseration at
+Richard, who remained stupefied at the ominous proceeding.
+
+"Ah! this must indeed be a witch!" he cried, recovering from the
+momentary shock.
+
+"So you are convinced at last," rejoined Nicholas. "I can take breath
+now the old hell-cat is gone. But she shall not escape us. Keep an eye
+upon her, while I see if Simon Sparshot, the beadle, be within the
+churchyard, and if so he shall take her into custody, and lock her in
+the cage."
+
+With this, he ran towards the throng, shouting lustily for the beadle.
+Presently a big, burly fellow, in a scarlet doublet, laced with gold, a
+black velvet cap trimmed with red ribands, yellow hose, and shoes with
+great roses in them, and bearing a long silver-headed staff, answered
+the summons, and upon being told why his services were required,
+immediately roared out at the top of a stentorian voice, "A witch,
+lads!--a witch!"
+
+All was astir in an instant. Robin Hood and his merry men, with the
+morris-dancers, rushed out of their bowers, and the whole churchyard was
+in agitation. Above the din was heard the loud voice of Simon Sparshot,
+still shouting, "A witch!--witch!--Mother Chattox!"
+
+"Where--where?" demanded several voices.
+
+"Yonder," replied Nicholas, pointing to the further cross.
+
+A general movement took place in that direction, the crowd being headed
+by the squire and the beadle, but when they came up, they found only Nan
+Redferne standing behind the obelisk.
+
+"Where the devil is the old witch gone, Dick?" cried Nicholas, in
+dismay.
+
+"I thought I saw her standing there with her grand-daughter," replied
+Richard; "but in truth I did not watch very closely."
+
+"Search for her--search for her," cried Nicholas.
+
+But neither behind the crosses, nor behind any monument, nor in any hole
+or corner, nor on the other side of the churchyard wall, nor at the
+back of the little hermitage or chapel, though all were quickly
+examined, could the old hag be found.
+
+On being questioned, Nan Redferne refused to say aught concerning her
+grandmother's flight or place of concealment.
+
+"I begin to think there is some truth in that strange legend of the
+cross," said Nicholas. "Notwithstanding her blindness, the old hag must
+have managed to read the magic verse upon it, and so have rendered
+herself invisible. But we have got the young witch safe."
+
+"Yeigh, squoire!" responded Sparshot, who had seized hold of Nance--"hoo
+be safe enough."
+
+"Nan Redferne is no witch," said Richard Assheton, authoritatively.
+
+"Neaw witch, Mester Ruchot!" cried the beadle in amazement.
+
+"No more than any of these lasses around us," said Richard. "Release
+her, Sparshot."
+
+"I forbid him to do so, till she has been examined," cried a sharp
+voice. And the next moment Master Potts was seen pushing his way through
+the crowd. "So you have found a witch, my masters. I heard your shouts,
+and hurried on as fast as I could. Just in time, Master Nicholas--just
+in time," he added, rubbing his hands gleefully.
+
+"Lemme go, Simon," besought Nance.
+
+"Neaw, neaw, lass, that munnot be," rejoined Sparshot.
+
+"Help--save me, Master Richard!" cried the young woman.
+
+By this time the crowd had gathered round her, yelling, hooting, and
+shaking their hands at her, as if about to tear her in pieces; but
+Richard Assheton planted himself resolutely before her, and pushed back
+the foremost of them.
+
+"Remove her instantly to the Abbey, Sparshot," he cried, "and let her be
+kept in safe custody till Sir Ralph has time to examine her. Will that
+content you, masters?"
+
+"Neaw--neaw," responded several rough voices; "swim her!--swim her!"
+
+"Quite right, my worthy friends, quite right," said Potts. "_Primo_, let
+us make sure she is a witch--_secundo_, let us take her to the Abbey."
+
+"There can be no doubt as to her being a witch, Master Potts," rejoined
+Nicholas; "her old grand-dame, Mother Chattox, has just vanished from
+our sight."
+
+"Has Mother Chattox been here?" cried Potts, opening his round eyes to
+their widest extent.
+
+"Not many minutes since," replied Nicholas. "In fact, she may be here
+still for aught I know."
+
+"Here!--where?" cried Potts, looking round.
+
+"You won't discover her for all your quickness," replied Nicholas. "She
+has rendered herself invisible, by reciting the magical verses inscribed
+on that cross."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed the attorney, closely examining the mysterious
+inscriptions. "What strange, uncouth characters! I can make neither head
+nor tail, unless it be the devil's tail, of them."
+
+At this moment a whoop was raised by Jem Device, who, having taken his
+little sister home, had returned to the sports on the green, and now
+formed part of the assemblage in the churchyard. Between the rival witch
+potentates, Mothers Demdike and Chattox, it has already been said a
+deadly enmity existed, and the feud was carried on with equal animosity
+by their descendants; and though Jem himself came under the same
+suspicion as Nan Redferne, that circumstance created no tie of interest
+between them, but the contrary, and he was the most active of her
+assailants. He had set up the above-mentioned cry from observing a large
+rat running along the side of the wall.
+
+"Theere hoo goes," whooped Jem, "t'owd witch, i' th' shape ov a
+rotten!--loo-loo-loo!"
+
+Half the crowd started in pursuit of the animal, and twenty sticks were
+thrown at it, but a stone cast by Jem stayed its progress, and it was
+instantly despatched. It did not change, however, as was expected by the
+credulous hinds, into an old woman, and they gave vent to their
+disappointment and rage in renewed threats against Nan Redferne. The
+dead rat was hurled at her by Jem, but missing its mark, it hit Master
+Potts on the head, and nearly knocked him off the cross, upon which he
+had mounted to obtain a better view of the proceedings. Irritated by
+this circumstance, as well as by the failure of the experiment, the
+little attorney jumped down and fell to kicking the unfortunate rat,
+after which, his fury being somewhat appeased, he turned to Nance, who
+had sunk for support against the pedestal, and said to her--"If you will
+tell us what has become of the old witch your grandmother, and undertake
+to bear witness against her, you shall be set free."
+
+"Ey'n tell ye nowt, mon," replied Nance, doggedly. "Put me to onny trial
+ye like, ye shanna get a word fro me."
+
+"That remains to be seen," retorted Potts, "but I apprehend we shall
+make you speak, and pretty plainly too, before we've done with you.--You
+hear what this perverse and wrong-headed young witch declares, masters,"
+he shouted, again clambering upon the cross. "I have offered her
+liberty, on condition of disclosing to us the manner of her diabolical
+old relative's evasion, and she rejects it."
+
+An angry roar followed, mixed with cries from Jem Device, of "swim
+her!--swim her!"
+
+"You had better tell them what you know, Nance," said Richard, in a low
+tone, "or I shall have difficulty in preserving you from their fury."
+
+"Ey darena, Master Richard," she replied, shaking her head; and then she
+added firmly, "Ey winna."
+
+Finding it useless to reason with her, and fearing also that the
+infuriated crowd might attempt to put their threats into execution,
+Richard turned to his cousin Nicholas, and said: "We must get her away,
+or violence will be done."
+
+"She does not deserve your compassion, Dick," replied Nicholas; "she is
+only a few degrees better than the old hag who has escaped. Sparshot
+here tells me she is noted for her skill in modelling clay figures."
+
+"Yeigh, that hoo be," replied the broad-faced beadle; "hoo's
+unaccountable cliver ot that sort o' wark. A clay figger os big os a six
+months' barn, fashiont i' th' likeness o' Farmer Grimble o' Briercliffe
+lawnd, os died last month, war seen i' her cottage, an monny others
+besoide. Amongst 'em a moddle o' your lamented brother, Squoire Ruchot
+Assheton o' Downham, wi' t' yeod pood off, and th' 'eart pieret thro'
+an' thro' wi' pins and needles."
+
+"Ye lien i' your teeth, Simon Sparshot!" cried Nance; regarding him
+furiously.
+
+"If the head were off, Simon, I don't see how the likeness to my poor
+brother could well be recognised," said Nicholas, with a half smile.
+"But let her be put to some mild trial--weighed against the church
+Bible."
+
+"Be it so," replied Potts, jumping down; "but if that fail, we must have
+recourse to stronger measures. Take notice that, with all her fright,
+she has not been able to shed a tear, not a single tear--a clear
+witch--a clear witch!"
+
+"Ey'd scorn to weep fo t' like o' yo!" cried Nance, disdainfully, having
+now completely recovered her natural audacity.
+
+"We'll soon break your spirit, young woman, I can promise you," rejoined
+Potts.
+
+As soon as it was known what was about to occur, the whole crowd moved
+towards the church porch, Nan Redferne walking between Richard Assheton
+and the beadle, who kept hold of her arm to prevent any attempt at
+escape; and by the time they reached the appointed place, Ben Baggiley,
+the baker, who had been despatched for the purpose, appeared with an
+enormous pair of wooden scales, while Sampson Harrop, the clerk, having
+visited the pulpit, came forth with the church Bible, an immense volume,
+bound in black, with great silver clasps.
+
+"Come, that's a good big Bible at all events," cried Potts, eyeing it
+with satisfaction. "It looks like my honourable and singular good Lord
+Chief-Justice Sir Edward Coke's learned 'Institutes of the Laws of
+England,' only that that great legal tome is generally bound in
+calf--law calf, as we say."
+
+"Large as the book is, it will scarce prove heavy enough to weigh down
+the witch, I opine," observed Nicholas, with a smile.
+
+"We shall see, sir," replied Potts. "We shall see."
+
+By this time, the scales having been affixed to a hook in the porch by
+Baggiley, the sacred volume was placed on one side, and Nance set down
+by the beadle on the other. The result of the experiment was precisely
+what might have been anticipated--the moment the young woman took her
+place in the balance, it sank down to the ground, while the other kicked
+the beam.
+
+"I hope you are satisfied now, Master Potts," cried Richard Assheton.
+"By your own trial her innocence is approved."
+
+"Your pardon, Master Richard, this is Squire Nicholas's trial, not
+mine," replied Potts. "I am for the ordeal of swimming. How say you,
+masters! Shall we be content with this doubtful experiment?"
+
+"Neaw--neaw," responded Jem Device, who acted as spokesman to the crowd,
+"swim her--swim her!"
+
+"I knew you would have it so," said Potts, approvingly. "Where is a
+fitting place for the trial?"
+
+"Th' Abbey pool is nah fur off," replied Jem, "or ye con tay her to th'
+Calder."
+
+"The river, by all means--nothing like a running stream," said Potts.
+"Let cords be procured to bind her."
+
+"Run fo 'em quickly, Ben," said Jem to Baggiley, who was very zealous in
+the cause.
+
+"Oh!" groaned Nance, again losing courage, and glancing piteously at
+Richard.
+
+"No outrage like this shall be perpetrated," cried the young man,
+firmly; "I call upon you, cousin Nicholas, to help me. Go into the
+church," he added, thrusting Nance backward, and presenting his sword at
+the breast of Jem Device, who attempted to follow her, and who retired
+muttering threats and curses; "I will run the first man through the body
+who attempts to pass."
+
+As Nan Redferne made good her retreat, and shut the church-door after
+her, Master Potts, pale with rage, cried out to Richard, "You have aided
+the escape of a desperate and notorious offender--actually in custody,
+sir, and have rendered yourself liable to indictment for it, sir, with
+consequences of fine and imprisonment, sir:--heavy fine and long
+imprisonment, sir. Do you mark me, Master Richard?"
+
+"I will answer the consequences of my act to those empowered to question
+it, sir," replied Richard, sternly.
+
+"Well, sir, I have given you notice," rejoined Potts, "due notice. We
+shall hear what Sir Ralph will say to the matter, and Master Roger
+Nowell, and--"
+
+"You forget me, good Master Potts," interrupted Nicholas, laughingly; "I
+entirely disapprove of it. It is a most flagrant breach of duty.
+Nevertheless, I am glad the poor wench has got off."
+
+"She is safe within the church," said Potts, "and I command Master
+Richard, in the king's name, to let us pass. Beadle! Sharpshot,
+Sparshot, or whatever be your confounded name do your duty, sirrah.
+Enter the church, and bring forth the witch."
+
+"Ey darna, mester," replied Simon; "young mester Ruchot ud slit mey
+weasand os soon os look ot meh."
+
+Richard put an end to further altercation, by stepping back quickly,
+locking the door, and then taking out the key, and putting it into his
+pocket.
+
+"She is quite safe now," he cried, with a smile at the discomfited
+lawyer.
+
+"Is there no other door?" inquired Potts of the beadle, in a low tone.
+
+"Yeigh, theere be one ot t'other soide," replied Sparshot, "boh it be
+locked, ey reckon, an maybe hoo'n getten out that way."
+
+"Quick, quick, and let's see," cried Potts; "justice must not be
+thwarted in this shameful manner."
+
+While the greater part of the crowd set off after Potts and the beadle,
+Richard Assheton, anxious to know what had become of the fugitive, and
+determined not to abandon her while any danger existed, unlocked the
+church-door, and entered the holy structure, followed by Nicholas. On
+looking around, Nance was nowhere to be seen, neither did she answer to
+his repeated calls, and Richard concluded she must have escaped, when
+all at once a loud exulting shout was heard without, leaving no doubt
+that the poor young woman had again fallen into the hands of her
+captors. The next moment a sharp, piercing scream in a female key
+confirmed the supposition. On hearing this cry, Richard instantly flew
+to the opposite door, through which Nance must have passed, but on
+trying it he found it fastened outside; and filled with sudden
+misgiving, for he now recollected leaving the key in the other door, he
+called to Nicholas to come with him, and hurried back to it. His
+apprehensions were verified; the door was locked. At first Nicholas was
+inclined to laugh at the trick played them; but a single look from
+Richard checked his tendency to merriment, and he followed his young
+relative, who had sprung to a window looking upon that part of the
+churchyard whence the shouts came, and flung it open. Richard's egress,
+however, was prevented by an iron bar, and he called out loudly and
+fiercely to the beadle, whom he saw standing in the midst of the crowd,
+to unlock the door.
+
+"Have a little patience, good Master Richard," replied Potts, turning up
+his provoking little visage, now charged with triumphant malice. "You
+shall come out presently. We are busy just now--engaged in binding the
+witch, as you see. Both keys are safely in my pocket, and I will send
+you one of them when we start for the river, good Master Richard. We
+lawyers are not to be overreached you see--ha! ha!"
+
+"You shall repent this conduct when I do get out," cried Richard,
+furiously. "Sparshot, I command you to bring the key instantly."
+
+But, encouraged by the attorney, the beadle affected not to hear
+Richard's angry vociferations, and the others were unable to aid the
+young man, if they had been so disposed, and all were too much
+interested in what was going forward to run off to the vicarage, and
+acquaint Sir Ralph with the circumstances in which his relatives were
+placed, even though enjoined to do so.
+
+On being set free by Richard, Nance had flown quickly through the
+church, and passed out at the side door, and was making good her retreat
+at the back of the edifice, when her flying figure was descried by Jem
+Device, who, failing in his first attempt, had run round that way,
+fancying he should catch her.
+
+He instantly dashed after her with all the fury of a bloodhound, and,
+being possessed of remarkable activity, speedily overtook her, and,
+heedless of her threats and entreaties, secured her.
+
+"Lemme go, Jem," she cried, "an ey win do thee a good turn one o' these
+days, when theaw may chonce to be i' th' same strait os me." But seeing
+him inexorable, she added, "My granddame shan rack thy boans sorely,
+lad, for this."
+
+Jem replied by a coarse laugh of defiance, and, dragging her along,
+delivered her to Master Potts and the beadle, who were then hurrying to
+the other door of the church. To prevent interruption, the cunning
+attorney, having ascertained that the two Asshetons were inside,
+instantly gave orders to have both doors locked, and the injunctions
+being promptly obeyed, he took possession of the keys himself, chuckling
+at the success of the stratagem. "A fair reprisal," he muttered; "this
+young milksop shall find he is no match for a skilful lawyer like me.
+Now, the cords--the cords!"
+
+It was at the sight of the bonds, which were quickly brought by
+Baggiley, that Nance uttered the piercing cry that had roused Richard's
+indignation. Feeling secure of his prisoner, and now no longer
+apprehensive of interruption, Master Potts was in no hurry to conclude
+the arrangements, but rather prolonged them to exasperate Richard.
+Little consideration was shown the unfortunate captive. The new shoes
+and stockings of which she had been so vain a short time before, were
+torn from her feet and limbs by the rude hands of the remorseless Jem
+and the beadle, and bent down by the main force of these two strong men,
+her thumbs and great toes were tightly bound together, crosswise, by the
+cords. The churchyard rang with her shrieks, and, with his blood boiling
+with indignation at the sight, Richard redoubled his exertions to burst
+through the window and fly to her assistance. But though Nicholas now
+lent his powerful aid to the task, their combined efforts to obtain
+liberation were unavailing; and with rage almost amounting to frenzy,
+Richard beheld the poor young woman borne shrieking away by her captors.
+Nor was Nicholas much less incensed, and he swore a deep oath when he
+did get at liberty that Master Potts should pay dearly for his rascally
+conduct.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.--THE ORDEAL BY SWIMMING.
+
+
+Bound hand and foot in the painful posture before described, roughly and
+insolently handled on all sides, in peril of her life from the frightful
+ordeal to which she was about to be subjected, the miserable captive was
+borne along on the shoulders of Jem Device and Sparshot, her long, fine
+chestnut hair trailing upon the ground, her white shoulders exposed to
+the insolent gaze of the crowd, and her trim holiday attire torn to rags
+by the rough treatment she had experienced. Nance Redferne, it has been
+said, was a very comely young woman; but neither her beauty, her youth,
+nor her sex, had any effect upon the ferocious crowd, who were too much
+accustomed to such brutal and debasing exhibitions, to feel any thing
+but savage delight in the spectacle of a fellow-creature so scandalously
+treated and tormented, and the only excuse to be offered for their
+barbarity, is the firm belief they entertained that they were dealing
+with a witch. And when even in our own day so many revolting scenes are
+enacted to gratify the brutal passions of the mob, while prize-fights
+are tolerated, and wretched animals goaded on to tear each other in
+pieces, it is not to be wondered at that, in times of less enlightenment
+and refinement, greater cruelties should be practised. Indeed, it may be
+well to consider how far we have really advanced in civilisation since
+then; for until cruelty, whether to man or beast, be wholly banished
+from our sports, we cannot justly reproach our ancestors, or
+congratulate ourselves on our improvement.
+
+Nance's cries of distress were only answered by jeers, and renewed
+insults, and wearied out at length, the poor creature ceased struggling
+and shrieking, the dogged resolution she had before exhibited again
+coming to her aid.
+
+But her fortitude was to be yet more severely tested. Revealed by the
+disorder of her habiliments, and contrasting strongly with the extreme
+whiteness of her skin, a dun-coloured mole was discovered upon her
+breast. It was pointed out to Potts by Jem Device, who declared it to be
+a witch-mark, and the spot where her familiar drained her blood.
+
+"This is one of the 'good helps' to the discovery of a witch, pointed
+out by our sovereign lord the king," said the attorney, narrowly
+examining the spot. "'The one,' saith our wise prince, 'is the finding
+of their mark, and the trying the insensibleness thereof. The other is
+their fleeting on the water.' The water-ordeal will come presently, but
+the insensibility of the mark might be at once attested."
+
+"Yeigh, that con soon be tried," cried Jem, with a savage laugh.
+
+And taking a pin from his sleeve, the ruffian plunged it deeply into the
+poor creature's flesh. Nance winced, but she set her teeth hardly, and
+repressed the cry that must otherwise have been wrung from her.
+
+"A clear witch!" cried Jem, drawing forth the pin; "not a drop o' blood
+flows, an hoo feels nowt!"
+
+"Feel nowt?" rejoined Nance, between her ground teeth. "May ye ha a pang
+os sharp i' your cancart eart, ye villain."
+
+After this barbarous test, the crowd, confirmed by it in their notions
+of Nan's guiltiness, hurried on, their numbers increasing as they
+proceeded along the main street of the village leading towards the
+river; all the villagers left at home rushing forth on hearing a witch
+was about to be swum, and when they came within a bow-shot of the
+stream, Sparshot called to Baggiley to lay hold of Nance, while he
+himself, accompanied by several of the crowd, ran over the bridge, the
+part he had to enact requiring him to be on the other side of the water.
+
+Meantime, the main party turned down a little footpath protected by a
+gate on the left, which led between garden hedges to the grassy banks of
+the Calder, and in taking this course they passed by the cottage of
+Elizabeth Device. Hearing the shouts of the rabble, little Jennet, who
+had been in no very happy frame of mind since she had been brought home,
+came forth, and seeing her brother, called out to him, in her usual
+sharp tones, "What's the matter, Jem? Who han ye gotten there?"
+
+"A witch," replied Jem, gruffly. "Nance Redferne, Mother Chattox's
+grand-daughter. Come an see her swum i' th' Calder."
+
+Jennet readily complied, for her curiosity was aroused, and she shared
+in the family feelings of dislike to Mother Chattox and her descendants.
+
+"Is this Nance Redferne?" she cried, keeping close to her brother, "Ey'm
+glad yo'n caught her at last. How dun ye find yersel, Nance?"
+
+"Ill at ease, Jennet," replied Nance, with a bitter look; "boh it ill
+becomes ye to jeer me, lass, seein' yo're a born witch yoursel."
+
+"Aha!" cried Potts, looking at the little girl, "So this is a born
+witch--eh, Nance?"
+
+"A born an' bred witch," rejoined Nance; "jist as her brother Jem here
+is a wizard. They're the gran-childer o' Mother Demdike o' Pendle, the
+greatest witch i' these parts, an childer o' Bess Device, who's nah much
+better. Ask me to witness agen 'em, that's aw."
+
+"Howd thy tongue, woman, or ey'n drown thee," muttered Jem, in a tone of
+deep menace.
+
+"Ye canna, mon, if ey'm the witch ye ca' me," rejoined Nance. "Jennet's
+turn'll come os weel os mine, one o' these days. Mark my words."
+
+"Efore that ey shan see ye burned, ye faggot," cried Jennet, almost
+fiercely.
+
+"Ye'n gotten the fiend's mark o' your sleeve," cried Nance. "Ey see it
+written i' letters ov blood."
+
+"That's where our cat scratted me," replied Jennet, hiding her arm
+quickly.
+
+"Good!--very good!" observed Potts, rubbing his hands. "'Who but witches
+can be proof against witches?' saith our sagacious sovereign. I shall
+make something of this girl. She seems a remarkably quick
+child--remarkably quick--ha, ha!"
+
+By this time, the party having gained the broad flat mead through which
+the Calder flowed, took their way quickly towards its banks, the spot
+selected for the ordeal lying about fifty yards above the weir, where
+the current, ordinarily rapid, was checked by the dam, offering a smooth
+surface, with considerable depth of water. If soft natural beauties
+could have subdued the hearts of those engaged in this cruel and wicked
+experiment, never was scene better calculated for the purpose than that
+under contemplation. Through a lovely green valley meandered the Calder,
+now winding round some verdant knoll, now washing the base of lofty
+heights feathered with timber to their very summits, now lost amid thick
+woods, and only discernible at intervals by a glimmer amongst the trees.
+Immediately in front of the assemblage rose Whalley Nab, its steep sides
+and brow partially covered with timber, with green patches in the
+uplands where sheep and cattle fed. Just below the spot where the crowd
+were collected, the stream, here of some width, passed over the weir,
+and swept in a foaming cascade over the huge stones supporting the dam,
+giving the rushing current the semblance and almost the beauty of a
+natural waterfall. Below this the stream ran brawling on in a wider, but
+shallower channel, making pleasant music as it went, and leaving many
+dry beds of sand and gravel in the midst; while a hundred yards lower
+down, it was crossed by the arches of the bridge. Further still, a row
+of tall cypresses lined the bank of the river, and screened that part of
+the Abbey, converted into a residence by the Asshetons; and after this
+came the ruins of the refectory, the cloisters, the dormitory, the
+conventual church, and other parts of the venerable structure,
+overshadowed by noble lime-trees and elms. Lovelier or more peaceful
+scene could not be imagined. The green meads, the bright clear stream,
+with its white foaming weir, the woody heights reflected in the glassy
+waters, the picturesque old bridge, and the dark grey ruins beyond it,
+all might have engaged the attention and melted the heart. Then the
+hour, when evening was coming on, and when each beautiful object,
+deriving new beauty from the medium through which it was viewed,
+exercised a softening influence, and awakened kindly emotions. To most
+the scene was familiar, and therefore could have no charm of novelty. To
+Potts, however, it was altogether new; but he was susceptible of few
+gentle impressions, and neither the tender beauty of the evening, nor
+the wooing loveliness of the spot, awakened any responsive emotion in
+his breast. He was dead to every thing except the ruthless experiment
+about to be made.
+
+Almost at the same time that Jem Device and his party reached the near
+bank of the stream, the beadle and the others appeared on the opposite
+side. Little was said, but instant preparations were made for the
+ordeal. Two long coils of rope having been brought by Baggiley, one of
+them was made fast to the right arm of the victim, and the other to the
+left; and this done, Jem Device, shouting to Sparshot to look out, flung
+one coil of rope across the river, where it was caught with much
+dexterity by the beadle. The assemblage then spread out on the bank,
+while Jem, taking the poor young woman in his arms, who neither spoke
+nor struggled, but held her breath tightly, approached the river.
+
+"Dunna drown her, Jem," said Jennet, who had turned very pale.
+
+"Be quiet, wench," rejoined Jem, gruffly.
+
+And without bestowing further attention upon her, he let down his burden
+carefully into the water; and this achieved, he called out to the
+beadle, who drew her slowly towards him, while Jem guided her with the
+other rope.
+
+The crowd watched the experiment for a few moments in profound silence,
+but as the poor young woman, who had now reached the centre of the
+stream, still floated, being supported either by the tension of the
+cords, or by her woollen apparel, a loud shout was raised that she could
+not sink, and was, therefore, an undeniable witch.
+
+"Steady, lads--steady a moment," cried Potts, enchanted with the success
+of the experiment; "leave her where she is, that her buoyancy may be
+fully attested. You know, masters," he cried, with a loud voice, "the
+meaning of this water ordeal. Our sovereign lord and master the king, in
+his wisdom, hath graciously vouchsafed to explain the matter thus:
+'Water,' he saith, 'shall refuse to receive them (meaning witches, of
+course) in her bosom, that have shaken off their sacred water of
+baptism, and wilfully refused the benefit thereof.' It is manifest, you
+see, that this diabolical young woman hath renounced her baptism, for
+the water rejecteth her. _Non potest mergi_, as Pliny saith. She floats
+like a cork, or as if the clear water of the Calder had suddenly become
+like the slab, salt waves of the Dead Sea, in which, nothing can sink.
+You behold the marvel with your own eyes, my masters."
+
+"Ay, ay!" rejoined Baggiley and several others.
+
+"Hoo be a witch fo sartin," cried Jem Device. But as he spoke, chancing
+slightly to slacken the rope, the tension of which maintained the
+equilibrium of the body, the poor woman instantly sank.
+
+A groan, as much of disappointment as sympathy, broke from the
+spectators, but none attempted to aid her; and on seeing her sink, Jem
+abandoned the rope altogether.
+
+But assistance was at hand. Two persons rushed quickly and furiously to
+the spot. They were Richard and Nicholas Assheton. The iron bar had at
+length yielded to their efforts, and the first use they made of their
+freedom was to hurry to the river. A glance showed them what had
+occurred, and the younger Assheton, unhesitatingly plunging into the
+water, seized the rope dropped by Jem, and calling to the beadle to let
+go his hold, dragged forth the poor half-drowned young woman, and placed
+her on the bank, hewing asunder the cords that bound her hands and feet
+with his sword. But though still sensible, Nance was so much exhausted
+by the shock she had undergone, and her muscles were so severely
+strained by the painful and unnatural posture to which she had been
+compelled, that she was wholly unable to move. Her thumbs were blackened
+and swollen, and the cords had cut into the flesh, while blood trickled
+down from the puncture in her breast. Fixing a look of inexpressible
+gratitude upon her preserver, she made an effort to speak, but the
+exertion was too great; violent hysterical sobbing came on, and her
+senses soon after forsook her. Richard called loudly for assistance, and
+the sentiments of the most humane part of the crowd having undergone a
+change since the failure of the ordeal, some females came forward, and
+took steps for her restoration. Sensibility having returned, a cloak was
+wrapped around her, and she was conveyed to a neighbouring cottage and
+put to bed, where her stiffened limbs were chafed and warm drinks
+administered, and it began to be hoped that no serious consequences
+would ensue.
+
+Meanwhile, a catastrophe had wellnigh occurred in another quarter. With
+eyes flashing with fury, Nicholas Assheton pushed aside the crowd, and
+made his way to the bank whereon Master Potts stood. Not liking his
+looks, the little attorney would have taken to his heels, but finding
+escape impossible, he called upon Baggiley to protect him. But he was
+instantly in the forcible gripe of the squire, who shouted, "I'll teach
+you, mongrel hound, to play tricks with gentlemen."
+
+"Master Nicholas," cried the terrified and half-strangled attorney, "my
+very good sir, I entreat you to let me alone. This is a breach of the
+king's peace, sir. Assault and battery, under aggravated circumstances,
+and punishable with ignominious corporal penalties, besides fine and
+imprisonment, sir. I take you to witness the assault, Master Baggiley. I
+shall bring my ac--ac--ah--o--o--oh!"
+
+"Then you shall have something to bring your ac--ac--action for,
+rascal," cried Nicholas. And, seizing the attorney by the nape of the
+neck with one hand, and the hind wings of his doublet with the other, he
+cast him to a considerable distance into the river, where he fell with a
+tremendous splash.
+
+"He is no wizard, at all events," laughed Nicholas, as Potts went down
+like a lump of lead.
+
+But the attorney was not born to be drowned; at least, at this period of
+his career. On rising to the surface, a few seconds after his immersion,
+he roared lustily for help, but would infallibly have been carried over
+the weir, if Jem Device had not flung him the rope now disengaged from
+Nance Redferne, and which he succeeded in catching. In this way he was
+dragged out; and as he crept up the bank, with the wet pouring from his
+apparel, which now clung tightly to his lathy limbs, he was greeted by
+the jeers of Nicholas.
+
+"How like you the water-ordeal--eh, Master Attorney? No occasion for a
+second trial, I think. If Jem Device had known his own interest, he
+would have left you to fatten the Calder eels; but he will find it out
+in time."
+
+"You will find it out too, Master Nicholas," rejoined Potts, clapping on
+his wet cap. "Take me to the Dragon quickly, good fellow," he added, to
+Jem Device, "and I will recompense thee for thy pains, as well as for
+the service thou hast just rendered me. I shall have rheumatism in my
+joints, pains in my loins, and rheum in my head, oh dear--oh dear!"
+
+"In which case you will not be able to pay Mother Demdike your purposed
+visit to-morrow," jeered Nicholas. "You forgot you were to arrest her,
+and bring her before a magistrate."
+
+"Thy arm, good fellow, thy arm!" said Potts, to Jem Device.
+
+"To the fiend wi' thee," cried Jem, shaking him off roughly. "The
+squoire is reet. Wouldee had let thee drown."
+
+"What, have you changed your mind already, Jem?" cried Nicholas, in a
+taunting tone. "You'll have your grandmother's thanks for the service
+you've rendered her, lad--ha! ha!"
+
+"Fo' t' matter o' two pins ey'd pitch him again," growled Jem, eyeing
+the attorney askance.
+
+"No, no, Jem," observed Nicholas, "things must take their course. What's
+done is done. But if Master Potts be wise, he'll take himself out of
+court without delay."
+
+"You'll be glad to get me out of court one of these days, squire,"
+muttered Potts, "and so will you too, Master James Device.--A day of
+reckoning will come for both--heavy reckoning. Ugh! ugh!" he added,
+shivering, "how my teeth chatter!"
+
+"Make what haste you can to the Dragon," cried the good-natured squire;
+"get your clothes dried, and bid John Lawe brew you a pottle of strong
+sack, swallow it scalding hot, and you'll never look behind you."
+
+"Nor before me either," retorted Potts, "Scalding sack! This
+bloodthirsty squire has a new design upon my life!"
+
+"Ey'n go wi' ye to th' Dragon, mester," said Baggiley; "lean o' me."
+
+"Thanke'e friend," replied Potts, taking his arm. "A word at parting,
+Master Nicholas. This is not the only discovery of witchcraft I've made.
+I've another case, somewhat nearer home. Ha! ha!"
+
+With this, he hobbled off in the direction of the alehouse, his steps
+being traceable along the dusty road like the course of a watering-cart.
+
+"Ey'n go efter him," growled Jem.
+
+"No you won't, lad," rejoined Nicholas, "and if you'll take my advice,
+you'll get out of Whalley as fast as you can. You will be safer on the
+heath of Pendle than here, when Sir Ralph and Master Roger Nowell come
+to know what has taken place. And mind this, sirrah--the hounds will be
+out in the forest to-morrow. D'ye heed?"
+
+Jem growled something in reply, and, seizing his little sister's hand,
+strode off with her towards his mother's dwelling, uttering not a word
+by the way.
+
+Having seen Nance Redferne conveyed to the cottage, as before mentioned,
+Richard Assheton, regardless of the wet state of his own apparel, now
+joined his cousin, the squire, and they walked to the Abbey together,
+conversing on what had taken place, while the crowd dispersed, some
+returning to the bowers in the churchyard, and others to the green,
+their merriment in nowise damped by the recent occurrences, which they
+looked upon as part of the day's sport. As some of them passed by,
+laughing, singing, and dancing, Richard Assheton remarked, "I can
+scarcely believe these to be the same people I so lately saw in the
+churchyard. They then seemed totally devoid of humanity."
+
+"Pshaw! they are humane enough," rejoined Nicholas; "but you cannot
+expect them to show mercy to a witch, any more than to a wolf, or other
+savage and devouring beast."
+
+"But the means taken to prove her guilt were as absurd as iniquitous,"
+said Richard, "and savour of the barbarous ages. If she had perished,
+all concerned in the trial would have been guilty of murder."
+
+"But no judge would condemn them," returned Nicholas; "and they have the
+highest authority in the realm to uphold them. As to leniency to
+witches, in a general way, I would show none. Traitors alike to God and
+man, and bond slaves of Satan, they are out of the pale of Christian
+charity."
+
+"No criminal, however great, is out of the pale of Christian charity,"
+replied Richard; "but such scenes as we have just witnessed are a
+disgrace to humanity, and a mockery of justice. In seeking to discover
+and punish one offence, a greater is committed. Suppose this poor young
+woman really guilty--what then? Our laws are made for protection, as
+well as punishment of wrong. She should he arraigned, convicted, and
+condemned before punishment."
+
+"Our laws admit of torture, Richard," observed Nicholas.
+
+"True," said the young man, with a shudder, "and it is another relic of
+a ruthless age. But torture is only allowed under the eye of the law,
+and can be inflicted by none but its sworn servants. But, supposing this
+poor young woman innocent of the crime imputed to her, which I really
+believe her to be, how, then, will you excuse the atrocities to which
+she has been subjected?"
+
+"I do not believe her innocent," rejoined Nicholas; "her relationship to
+a notorious witch, and her fabrication of clay images, make her justly
+suspected."
+
+"Then let her be examined by a magistrate," said Richard; "but, even
+then, woe betide her! When I think that Alizon Device is liable to the
+same atrocious treatment, in consequence of her relationship to Mother
+Demdike, I can scarce contain my indignation."
+
+"It is unlucky for her, indeed," rejoined Nicholas; "but of all Nance's
+assailants the most infuriated was Alizon's brother, Jem Device."
+
+"I saw it," cried Richard--an uneasy expression passing over his
+countenance. "Would she could be removed from that family!"
+
+"To what purpose?" demanded Nicholas, quickly. "Her family are more
+likely to be removed from her if Master Potts stay in the
+neighbourhood."
+
+"Poor girl!" exclaimed Richard.
+
+And he fell into a reverie which was not broken till they reached the
+Abbey.
+
+To return to Jem Device. On reaching the cottage, the ruffian flung
+himself into a chair, and for a time seemed lost in reflection. At last
+he looked up, and said gruffly to Jennet, who stood watching him, "See
+if mother be come whoam?"
+
+"Eigh, eigh, ey'm here, Jem," said Elizabeth Device, opening the inner
+door and coming forth. "So, ye ha been swimmin' Nance Redferne, lad, eh!
+Ey'm glad on it--ha! ha!"
+
+Jem gave her a significant look, upon which she motioned Jennet to
+withdraw, and the injunction being complied with, though with evident
+reluctance, by the little girl, she closed the door upon her.
+
+"Now, Jem, what hast got to say to me, lad, eh?" demanded Elizabeth,
+stepping up to him.
+
+"Neaw great deal, mother," he replied; "boh ey keawnsel ye to look weel
+efter yersel. We're aw i' dawnger."
+
+
+"Ey knoas it, lad, ey knoas it," replied Elizabeth; "boh fo my own pert
+ey'm nah afeerd. They darna touch me; an' if they dun, ey con defend
+mysel reet weel. Here's a letter to thy gran-mother," she added, giving
+him a sealed packet. "Take care on it."
+
+"Fro Mistress Nutter, ey suppose?" asked Jem.
+
+"Eigh, who else should it be from?" rejoined Elizabeth. "Your
+gran-mother win' ha' enough to do to neet, an so win yo, too, Jem,
+lettin alone the walk fro here to Malkin Tower."
+
+"Weel, gi' me mey supper, an ey'n set out," rejoined Jem. "So ye ha'
+seen Mistress Nutter?"
+
+"Ey found her i' th' Abbey garden," replied Elizabeth, "an we had some
+tawk together, abowt th' boundary line o' th' Rough Lee estates, and
+other matters."
+
+And, as she spoke, she set a cold pasty, with oat cakes, cheese, and
+butter, before her son, and next proceeded to draw him a jug of ale.
+
+"What other matters dun you mean, mother?" inquired Jem, attacking the
+pasty. "War it owt relatin' to that little Lunnon lawyer, Mester Potts?"
+
+"Theawst hit it, Jem," replied Elizabeth, seating herself near him.
+"That Potts means to visit thy gran-mother to morrow."
+
+"Weel!" said Jem, grimly.
+
+"An arrest her," pursued Elizabeth.
+
+"Easily said," laughed Jem, scornfully, "boh neaw quite so easily done."
+
+"Nah quite, Jem," responded Elizabeth, joining in the laugh. "'Specially
+when th' owd dame's prepared, as she win be now."
+
+"Potts may set out 'o that journey, boh he winna come back again,"
+remarked Jem, in a sombre tone.
+
+"Wait till yo'n seen your gran-mother efore ye do owt, lad," said
+Elizabeth.
+
+"Ay, wait," added a voice.
+
+"What's that?" demanded Jem, laving down his knife and fork.
+
+Elizabeth did not answer in words, but her significant looks were quite
+response enough for her son.
+
+"Os ye win, mother," he said in an altered tone. After a pause, employed
+in eating, he added, "Did Mistress Nutter put onny questions to ye about
+Alizon?"
+
+"More nor enough, lad," replied Elizabeth; "fo what had ey to tell her?
+She praised her beauty, an said how unlike she wur to Jennet an thee,
+lad--ha! ha!--An wondert how ey cum to ha such a dowter, an monny other
+things besoide. An what could ey say to it aw, except--"
+
+"Except what, mother?" interrupted Jem.
+
+"Except that she wur my child just os much os Jennet an thee!"
+
+"Humph!" exclaimed Jem.
+
+"Humph!" echoed the voice that had previously spoken.
+
+Jem looked at his mother, and took a long pull at the ale-jug.
+
+"Any more messages to Malkin Tower?" he asked, getting up.
+
+"Neaw--mother will onderstond," replied Elizabeth. "Bid her be on her
+guard, fo' the enemy is abroad."
+
+"Meanin' Potts?" said Jem.
+
+"Meaning Potts," answered the voice.
+
+"There are strange echoes here," said Jem, looking round suspiciously.
+
+At this moment, Tib came from under a piece of furniture, where he had
+apparently been lying, and rubbed himself familiarly against his legs.
+
+"Ey needna be afeerd o' owt happenin to ye, mother," said Jem, patting
+the cat's back. "Tib win tay care on yo."
+
+"Eigh, eigh," replied Elizabeth, bending down to pat him, "he's a trusty
+cat." But the ill-tempered animal would not be propitiated, but erected
+his back, and menaced her with his claws.
+
+"Yo han offended him, mother," said Jem. "One word efore ey start. Are
+ye quite sure Potts didna owerhear your conversation wi' Mistress
+Nutter?"
+
+"Why d'ye ask, Jem?" she replied.
+
+"Fro' summat the knave threw out to Squoire Nicholas just now," rejoined
+Jem. "He said he'd another case o' witchcraft nearer whoam. Whot could
+he mean?"
+
+"Whot, indeed?" cried Elizabeth, quickly.
+
+"Look at Tib," exclaimed her son.
+
+As he spoke, the cat sprang towards the inner door, and scratched
+violently against it.
+
+Elizabeth immediately raised the latch, and found Jennet behind it, with
+a face like scarlet.
+
+"Yo'n been listenin, ye young eavesdropper," cried Elizabeth, boxing her
+ears soundly; "take that fo' your pains--an that."
+
+"Touch me again, an Mester Potts shan knoa aw ey'n heer'd," said the
+little girl, repressing her tears.
+
+Elizabeth regarded her angrily; but the looks of the child were so
+spiteful, that she did not dare to strike her. She glanced too at Tib;
+but the uncertain cat was now rubbing himself in the most friendly
+manner against Jennet.
+
+"Yo shan pay for this, lass, presently," said Elizabeth.
+
+"Best nah provoke me, mother," rejoined Jennet in a determined tone; "if
+ye dun, aw secrets shan out. Ey knoa why Jem's goin' to Malkin-Tower
+to-neet--an why yo're afeerd o' Mester Potts."
+
+"Howd thy tongue or ey'n choke thee, little pest," cried her mother,
+fiercely.
+
+Jennet replied with a mocking laugh, while Tib rubbed against her more
+fondly than ever.
+
+"Let her alone," interposed Jem. "An now ey mun be off. So, fare ye
+weel, mother,--an yo, too, Jennet." And with this, he put on his cap,
+seized his cudgel, and quitted the cottage.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.--THE RUINED CONVENTUAL CHURCH.
+
+
+Beneath a wild cherry-tree, planted by chance in the Abbey gardens, and
+of such remarkable size that it almost rivalled the elms and lime trees
+surrounding it, and when in bloom resembled an enormous garland, stood
+two young maidens, both of rare beauty, though in totally different
+styles;--the one being fair-haired and blue-eyed, with a snowy skin
+tinged with delicate bloom, like that of roses seen through milk, to
+borrow a simile from old Anacreon; while the other far eclipsed her in
+the brilliancy of her complexion, the dark splendour of her eyes, and
+the luxuriance of her jetty tresses, which, unbound and knotted with
+ribands, flowed down almost to the ground. In age, there was little
+disparity between them, though perhaps the dark-haired girl might be a
+year nearer twenty than the other, and somewhat more of seriousness,
+though not much, sat upon her lovely countenance than on the other's
+laughing features. Different were they too, in degree, and here social
+position was infinitely in favour of the fairer girl, but no one would
+have judged it so if not previously acquainted with their history.
+Indeed, it was rather the one having least title to be proud (if any one
+has such title) who now seemed to look up to her companion with mingled
+admiration and regard; the latter being enthralled at the moment by the
+rich notes of a thrush poured from a neighbouring lime-tree.
+
+Pleasant was the garden where the two girls stood, shaded by great
+trees, laid out in exquisite parterres, with knots and figures, quaint
+flower-beds, shorn trees and hedges, covered alleys and arbours,
+terraces and mounds, in the taste of the time, and above all an
+admirably kept bowling-green. It was bounded on the one hand by the
+ruined chapter-house and vestry of the old monastic structure, and on
+the other by the stately pile of buildings formerly making part of the
+Abbot's lodging, in which the long gallery was situated, some of its
+windows looking upon the bowling-green, and then kept in excellent
+condition, but now roofless and desolate. Behind them, on the right,
+half hidden by trees, lay the desecrated and despoiled conventual
+church. Reared at such cost, and with so much magnificence, by thirteen
+abbots--the great work having been commenced, as heretofore stated, by
+Robert de Topcliffe, in 1330, and only completed in all its details by
+John Paslew; this splendid structure, surpassing, according to Whitaker,
+"many cathedrals in extent," was now abandoned to the slow ravages of
+decay. Would it had never encountered worse enemy! But some half
+century later, the hand of man was called in to accelerate its
+destruction, and it was then almost entirely rased to the ground. At the
+period in question though partially unroofed, and with some of the walls
+destroyed, it was still beautiful and picturesque--more picturesque,
+indeed than in the days of its pride and splendour. The tower with its
+lofty crocketed spire was still standing, though the latter was cracked
+and tottering, and the jackdaws roosted within its windows and belfry.
+Two ranges of broken columns told of the bygone glories of the aisles;
+and the beautiful side chapels having escaped injury better than other
+parts of the fabric, remained in tolerable preservation. But the choir
+and high altar were stripped of all their rich carving and ornaments,
+and the rain descended through the open rood-loft upon the now
+grass-grown graves of the abbots in the presbytery. Here and there the
+ramified mullions still retained their wealth of painted glass, and the
+grand eastern window shone gorgeously as of yore. All else was neglect
+and ruin. Briers and turf usurped the place of the marble pavement; many
+of the pillars were festooned with ivy; and, in some places, the
+shattered walls were covered with creepers, and trees had taken root in
+the crevices of the masonry. Beautiful at all times were these
+magnificent ruins; but never so beautiful as when seen by the witching
+light of the moon--the hour, according to the best authority, when all
+ruins should be viewed--when the long lines of broken pillars, the
+mouldering arches, and the still glowing panes over the altar, had a
+magical effect.
+
+In front of the maidens stood a square tower, part of the defences of
+the religious establishment, erected by Abbot Lyndelay, in the reign of
+Edward III., but disused and decaying. It was sustained by high and
+richly groined arches, crossing the swift mill-race, and faced the
+river. A path led through the ruined chapter-house to the spacious
+cloister quadrangle, once used as a cemetery for the monks, but now
+converted into a kitchen garden, its broad area being planted out, and
+fruit-trees trained against the hoary walls. Little of the old refectory
+was left, except the dilapidated stairs once conducting to the gallery
+where the brethren were wont to take their meals, but the inner wall
+still served to enclose the garden on that side. Of the dormitory,
+formerly constituting the eastern angle of the cloisters, the shell was
+still left, and it was used partly as a grange, partly as a shed for
+cattle, the farm-yard and tenements lying on this side.
+
+Thus it will be seen that the garden and grounds, filling up the ruins
+of Whalley Abbey, offered abundant points of picturesque attraction, all
+of which--with the exception of the ruined conventual church--had been
+visited by the two girls. They had tracked the labyrinths of passages,
+scaled the broken staircases, crept into the roofless and neglected
+chambers, peered timorously into the black and yawning vaults, and now,
+having finished their investigations, had paused for awhile, previous to
+extending their ramble to the church, beneath the wild cherry-tree to
+listen to the warbling of the birds.
+
+"You should hear the nightingales at Middleton, Alizon," observed
+Dorothy Assheton, breaking silence; "they sing even more exquisitely
+than yon thrush. You must come and see me. I should like to show you the
+old house and gardens, though they are very different from these, and we
+have no ancient monastic ruins to ornament them. Still, they are very
+beautiful; and, as I find you are fond of flowers, I will show you some
+I have reared myself, for I am something of a gardener, Alizon. Promise
+you will come."
+
+"I wish I dared promise it," replied Alizon.
+
+"And why not, then?" cried Dorothy. "What should prevent you? Do you
+know, Alizon, what I should like better than all? You are so amiable,
+and so good, and so--so very pretty; nay, don't blush--there is no one
+by to hear me--you are so charming altogether, that I should like you to
+come and live with me. You shall be my handmaiden if you will."
+
+"I should desire nothing better, sweet young lady," replied Alizon;
+"but--"
+
+"But what?" cried Dorothy. "You have only your own consent to obtain."
+
+"Alas! I have," replied Alizon.
+
+"How can that be!" cried Dorothy, with a disappointed look. "It is not
+likely your mother will stand in the way of your advancement, and you
+have not, I suppose, any other tie? Nay, forgive me if I appear too
+inquisitive. My curiosity only proceeds from the interest I take in
+you."
+
+"I know it--I feel it, dear, kind young lady," replied Alizon, with the
+colour again mounting her cheeks. "I have no tie in the world except my
+family. But I am persuaded my mother will never allow me to quit her,
+however great the advantage might be to me."
+
+"Well, though sorry, I am scarcely surprised at it," said Dorothy. "She
+must love you too dearly to part with you."
+
+"I wish I could think so," sighed Alizon. "Proud of me in some sort,
+though with little reason, she may be, but love me, most assuredly, she
+does not. Nay more, I am persuaded she would be glad to be freed from my
+presence, which is an evident restraint and annoyance to her, were it
+not for some motive stronger than natural affection that binds her to
+me."
+
+"Now, in good sooth, you amaze me, Alizon!" cried Dorothy. "What
+possible motive can it be, if not of affection?"
+
+"Of interest, I think," replied Alizon. "I speak to you without reserve,
+dear young lady, for the sympathy you have shown me deserves and
+demands confidence on my part, and there are none with whom I can freely
+converse, so that every emotion has been locked up in my own bosom. My
+mother fancies I shall one day be of use to her, and therefore keeps me
+with her. Hints to this effect she has thrown out, when indulging in the
+uncontrollable fits of passion to which she is liable. And yet I have no
+just reason to complain; for though she has shown me little maternal
+tenderness, and repelled all exhibition of affection on my part, she has
+treated me very differently from her other children, and with much
+greater consideration. I can make slight boast of education, but the
+best the village could afford has been given me; and I have derived much
+religious culture from good Doctor Ormerod. The kind ladies of the
+vicarage proposed, as you have done, that I should live with them, but
+my mother forbade it; enjoining me, on the peril of incurring her
+displeasure, not to leave her, and reminding me of all the benefits I
+have received from her, and of the necessity of making an adequate
+return. And, ungrateful indeed I should be, if I did not comply; for,
+though her manner is harsh and cold to me, she has never ill-used me, as
+she has done her favourite child, my little sister Jennet, but has
+always allowed me a separate chamber, where I can retire when I please,
+to read, or meditate, or pray. For, alas! dear young lady, I dare not
+pray before my mother. Be not shocked at what I tell you, but I cannot
+hide it. My poor mother denies herself the consolation of
+religion--never addresses herself to Heaven in prayer--never opens the
+book of Life and Truth--never enters church. In her own mistaken way she
+has brought up poor little Jennet, who has been taught to make a scoff
+at religious truths and ordinances, and has never been suffered to keep
+holy the Sabbath-day. Happy and thankful am I, that no such evil lessons
+have been taught me, but rather, that I have profited by the sad
+example. In my own secret chamber I have prayed, daily and nightly, for
+both--prayed that their hearts might be turned. Often have I besought my
+mother to let me take Jennet to church, but she never would consent. And
+in that poor misguided child, dear young lady, there is a strange
+mixture of good and ill. Afflicted with personal deformity, and delicate
+in health, the mind perhaps sympathising with the body, she is wayward
+and uncertain in temper, but sensitive and keenly alive to kindness, and
+with a shrewdness beyond her years. At the risk of offending my mother,
+for I felt confident I was acting rightly, I have endeavoured to instil
+religious principles into her heart, and to inspire her with a love of
+truth. Sometimes she has listened to me; and I have observed strange
+struggles in her nature, as if the good were obtaining mastery of the
+evil principle, and I have striven the more to convince her, and win her
+over, but never with entire success, for my efforts have been overcome
+by pernicious counsels, and sceptical sneers. Oh, dear young lady, what
+would I not do to be the instrument of her salvation!"
+
+"You pain me much by this relation, Alizon," said Dorothy Assheton, who
+had listened with profound attention, "and I now wish more ardently than
+ever to take you from such a family."
+
+"I cannot leave them, dear young lady," replied Alizon; "for I feel I
+may be of infinite service--especially to Jennet--by staying with them.
+Where there is a soul to be saved, especially the soul of one dear as a
+sister, no sacrifice can be too great to make--no price too heavy to
+pay. By the blessing of Heaven I hope to save her! And that is the great
+tie that binds me to a home, only so in name."
+
+"I will not oppose your virtuous intentions, dear Alizon," replied
+Dorothy; "but I must now mention a circumstance in connexion with your
+mother, of which you are perhaps in ignorance, but which it is right you
+should know, and therefore no false delicacy on my part shall restrain
+me from mentioning it. Your grandmother, Old Demdike, is in very ill
+depute in Pendle, and is stigmatised by the common folk, and even by
+others, as a witch. Your mother, too, shares in the opprobrium attaching
+to her."
+
+"I dreaded this," replied Alizon, turning deadly pale, and trembling
+violently, "I feared you had heard the terrible report. But oh, believe
+it not! My poor mother is erring enough, but she is not so bad as that.
+Oh, believe it not!"
+
+"I will not believe it," said Dorothy, "since she is blessed with such a
+daughter as you. But what I fear is that you--you so kind, so good, so
+beautiful--may come under the same ban."
+
+"I must run this risk also, in the good work I have appointed myself,"
+replied Alizon. "If I am ill thought of by men, I shall have the
+approval of my own conscience to uphold me. Whatever betide, and
+whatever be said, do not you think ill of me, dear young lady."
+
+"Fear it not," returned Dorothy, earnestly.
+
+While thus conversing, they gradually strayed away from the cherry-tree,
+and taking a winding path leading in that direction, entered the
+conventual church, about the middle of the south aisle. After gazing
+with wonder and delight at the still majestic pillars, that, like ghosts
+of the departed brethren, seemed to protest against the desolation
+around them, they took their way along the nave, through broken arches,
+and over prostrate fragments of stone, to the eastern extremity of the
+fane, and having admired the light shafts and clerestory windows of the
+choir, as well as the magnificent painted glass over the altar, they
+stopped before an arched doorway on the right, with two Gothic niches,
+in one of which was a small stone statue of Saint Agnes with her lamb,
+and in the other a similar representation of Saint Margaret, crowned,
+and piercing the dragon with a cross. Both were sculptures of much
+merit, and it was wonderful they had escaped destruction. The door was
+closed, but it easily opened when tried by Dorothy, and they found
+themselves in a small but beautiful chapel. What struck them chiefly in
+it was a magnificent monument of white marble, enriched with numerous
+small shields, painted and gilt, supporting two recumbent figures,
+representing Henry de Lacy, one of the founders of the Abbey, and his
+consort. The knight was cased in plate armour, covered with a surcoat,
+emblazoned with his arms, and his feet resting upon a hound. This superb
+monument was wholly uninjured, the painting and gilding being still
+fresh and bright. Behind it a flag had been removed, discovering a
+flight of steep stone steps, leading to a vault, or other subterranean
+chamber.
+
+After looking round this chapel, Dorothy remarked, "There is something
+else that has just occurred to me. When a child, a strange dark tale was
+told me, to the effect that the last ill-fated Abbot of Whalley laid his
+dying curse upon your grandmother, then an infant, predicting that she
+should be a witch, and the mother of witches."
+
+"I have heard the dread tradition, too," rejoined Alizon; "but I cannot,
+will not, believe it. An all-benign Power will never sanction such
+terrible imprecations."
+
+"Far be it from me to affirm the contrary," replied Dorothy; "but it is
+undoubted that some families have been, and are, under the influence of
+an inevitable fatality. In one respect, connected also with the same
+unfortunate prelate, I might instance our own family. Abbot Paslew is
+said to be unlucky to us even in his grave. If such a curse, as I have
+described, hangs over the head of your family, all your efforts to
+remove it will be ineffectual."
+
+"I trust not," said Alizon. "Oh! dear young lady, you have now
+penetrated the secret of my heart. The mystery of my life is laid open
+to you. Disguise it as I may, I cannot but believe my mother to be under
+some baneful influence. Her unholy life, her strange actions, all
+impress me with the idea. And there is the same tendency in Jennet."
+
+"You have a brother, have you not?" inquired Dorothy.
+
+"I have," returned Alizon, slightly colouring; "but I see little of him,
+for he lives near my grandmother, in Pendle Forest, and always avoids me
+in his rare visits here. You will think it strange when I tell you I
+have never beheld my grandmother Demdike."
+
+"I am glad to hear it," exclaimed Dorothy.
+
+"I have never even been to Pendle," pursued Alizon, "though Jennet and
+my mother go there frequently. At one time I much wished to see my aged
+relative, and pressed my mother to take me with her; but she refused,
+and now I have no desire to go."
+
+"Strange!" exclaimed Dorothy. "Every thing you tell me strengthens the
+idea I conceived, the moment I saw you, and which my brother also
+entertained, that you are not the daughter of Elizabeth Device."
+
+"Did your brother think this?" cried Alizon, eagerly. But she
+immediately cast down her eyes.
+
+"He did," replied Dorothy, not noticing her confusion. "'It is
+impossible,' he said, 'that that lovely girl can be sprung from'--but I
+will not wound you by adding the rest."
+
+"I cannot disown my kindred," said Alizon. "Still, I must confess that
+some notions of the sort have crossed me, arising, probably, from my
+mother's extraordinary treatment, and from many other circumstances,
+which, though trifling in themselves, were not without weight in leading
+me to the conclusion. Hitherto I have treated it only as a passing
+fancy, but if you and Master Richard Assheton"--and her voice slightly
+faltered as she pronounced the name--"think so, it may warrant me in
+more seriously considering the matter."
+
+"Do consider it most seriously, dear Alizon," cried Dorothy. "I have
+made up my mind, and Richard has made up his mind, too, that you are not
+Mother Demdike's grand-daughter, nor Elizabeth Device's daughter, nor
+Jennet's sister--nor any relation of theirs. We are sure of it, and we
+will have you of our mind."
+
+The fair and animated speaker could not help noticing the blushes that
+mantled Alizon's cheeks as she spoke, but she attributed them to other
+than the true cause. Nor did she mend the matter as she proceeded.
+
+"I am sure you are well born, Alizon," she said, "and so it will be
+found in the end. And Richard thinks so, too, for he said so to me; and
+Richard is my oracle, Alizon."
+
+In spite of herself Alizon's eyes sparkled with pleasure; but she
+speedily checked the emotion.
+
+"I must not indulge the dream," she said, with a sigh.
+
+"Why not?" cried Dorothy. "I will have strict inquiries made as to your
+history."
+
+"I cannot consent to it," replied Alizon. "I cannot leave one who, if
+she be not my parent, has stood to me in that relation. Neither can I
+have her brought into trouble on my account. What will she think of me,
+if she learns I have indulged such a notion? She will say, and with
+truth, that I am the most ungrateful of human beings, as well as the
+most unnatural of children. No, dear young lady, it must not be. These
+fancies are brilliant, but fallacious, and, like bubbles, burst as soon
+as formed."
+
+"I admire your sentiments, though I do not admit the justice of your
+reasoning," rejoined Dorothy. "It is not on your own account merely,
+though that is much, that the secret of your birth--if there be
+one--ought to be cleared up; but, for the sake of those with whom you
+may be connected. There may be a mother, like mine, weeping for you as
+lost--a brother, like Richard, mourning you as dead. Think of the sad
+hearts your restoration will make joyful. As to Elizabeth Device, no
+consideration should be shown her. If she has stolen you from your
+parents, as I suspect, she deserves no pity."
+
+"All this is mere surmise, dear young lady," replied Alizon.
+
+At this juncture they were startled, by seeing an old woman come from
+behind the monument and plant herself before them. Both uttered a cry,
+and would have fled, but a gesture from the crone detained them. Very
+old was she, and of strange and sinister aspect, almost blind, bent
+double, with frosted brows and chin, and shaking with palsy.
+
+"Stay where you are," cried the hag, in an imperious tone. "I want to
+speak to you. Come nearer to me, my pretty wheans; nearer--nearer."
+
+And as they complied, drawn towards her by an impulse they could not
+resist, the old woman caught hold of Alizon's arm, and said with a
+chuckle. "So you are the wench they call Alizon Device, eh!"
+
+"Ay," replied Alizon, trembling like a dove in the talons of a hawk.
+
+"Do you know who I am?" cried the hag, grasping her yet more tightly.
+"Do you know who I am, I say? If not, I will tell you. I am Mother
+Chattox of Pendle Forest, the rival of Mother Demdike, and the enemy of
+all her accursed brood. Now, do you know me, wench? Men call me witch.
+Whether I am so or not, I have some power, as they and you shall find.
+Mother Demdike has often defied me--often injured me, but I will have my
+revenge upon her--ha! ha!"
+
+"Let me go," cried Alizon, greatly terrified.
+
+"I will run and bring assistance," cried Dorothy. And she flew to the
+door, but it resisted her attempts to open it.
+
+"Come back," screamed the hag. "You strive in vain. The door is fast
+shut--fast shut. Come back, I say. Who are you?" she added, as the maid
+drew near, ready to sink with terror. "Your voice is an Assheton's
+voice. I know you now. You are Dorothy Assheton--whey-skinned, blue-eyed
+Dorothy. Listen to me, Dorothy. I owe your family a grudge, and, if you
+provoke me, I will pay it off in part on you. Stir not, as you value
+your life."
+
+The poor girl did not dare to move, and Alizon remained as if fascinated
+by the terrible old woman.
+
+"I will tell you what has happened, Dorothy," pursued Mother Chattox. "I
+came hither to Whalley on business of my own; meddling with no one;
+harming no one. Tread upon the adder and it will bite; and, when
+molested, I bite like the adder. Your cousin, Nick Assheton, came in my
+way, called me 'witch,' and menaced me. I cursed him--ha! ha! And then
+your brother, Richard--"
+
+[Illustration: MOTHER CHATTOX, ALIZON, AND DOROTHY.]
+
+"What of him, in Heaven's name?" almost shrieked Alizon.
+
+"How's this?" exclaimed Mother Chattox, placing her hand on the beating
+heart of the girl.
+
+"What of Richard Assheton?" repeated Alizon.
+
+"You love him, I feel you do, wench," cried the old crone with fierce
+exultation.
+
+"Release me, wicked woman," cried Alizon.
+
+"Wicked, am I? ha! ha!" rejoined Mother Chattox, chuckling maliciously,
+"because, forsooth, I read thy heart, and betray its secrets. Wicked,
+eh! I tell thee wench again, Richard Assheton is lord and master here.
+Every pulse in thy bosom beats for him--for him alone. But beware of his
+love. Beware of it, I say. It shall bring thee ruin and despair."
+
+"For pity's sake, release me," implored Alizon.
+
+"Not yet," replied the inexorable old woman, "not yet. My tale is not
+half told. My curse fell on Richard's head, as it did on Nicholas's. And
+then the hell-hounds thought to catch me; but they were at fault. I
+tricked them nicely--ha! ha! However, they took my Nance--my pretty
+Nance--they seized her, bound her, bore her to the Calder--and there
+swam her. Curses light on them all!--all!--but chief on him who did it!"
+
+"Who was he?" inquired Alizon, tremblingly.
+
+"Jem Device," replied the old woman--"it was he who bound her--he who
+plunged her in the river, he who swam her. But I will pinch and plague
+him for it, I will strew his couch with nettles, and all wholesome food
+shall be poison to him. His blood shall be as water, and his flesh
+shrink from his bones. He shall waste away slowly--slowly--slowly--till
+he drops like a skeleton into the grave ready digged for him. All
+connected with him shall feel my fury. I would kill thee now, if thou
+wert aught of his."
+
+"Aught of his! What mean you, old woman?" demanded Alizon.
+
+"Why, this," rejoined Mother Chattox, "and let the knowledge work in
+thee, to the confusion of Bess Device. Thou art not her daughter."
+
+"It is as I thought," cried Dorothy Assheton, roused by the intelligence
+from her terror.
+
+"I tell thee not this secret to pleasure thee," continued Mother
+Chattox, "but to confound Elizabeth Device. I have no other motive. She
+hath provoked my vengeance, and she shall feel it. Thou art not her
+child, I say. The secret of thy birth is known to me, but the time is
+not yet come for its disclosure. It shall out, one day, to the confusion
+of those who offend me. When thou goest home tell thy reputed mother
+what I have said, and mark how she takes the information. Ha! who comes
+here?"
+
+The hag's last exclamation was occasioned by the sudden appearance of
+Mistress Nutter, who opened the door of the chapel, and, staring in
+astonishment at the group, came quickly forward.
+
+"What makes you here, Mother Chattox?" she cried.
+
+"I came here to avoid pursuit," replied the old hag, with a cowed
+manner, and in accents sounding strangely submissive after her late
+infuriated tone.
+
+"What have you been saying to these girls?" demanded Mistress Nutter,
+authoritatively.
+
+"Ask them," the hag replied.
+
+"She declares that Alizon is not the daughter of Elizabeth Device,"
+cried Dorothy Assheton.
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Mistress Nutter quickly, and as if a spring of
+extraordinary interest had been suddenly touched. "What reason hast thou
+for this assertion?"
+
+"No good reason," replied the old woman evasively, yet with evident
+apprehension of her questioner.
+
+"Good reason or bad, I will have it," cried Mistress Nutter.
+
+"What you, too, take an interest in the wench, like the rest!" returned
+Mother Chattox. "Is she so very winning?"
+
+"That is no answer to my question," said the lady. "Whose child is she?"
+
+"Ask Bess Device, or Mother Demdike," replied Mother Chattox; "they know
+more about the matter than me."
+
+"I will have thee speak, and to the purpose," cried the lady, angrily.
+
+"Many an one has lost a child who would gladly have it back again," said
+the old hag, mysteriously.
+
+"Who has lost one?" asked Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Nay, it passeth me to tell," replied the old woman with affected
+ignorance. "Question those who stole her. I have set you on the track.
+If you fail in pursuing it, come to me. You know where to find me."
+
+"You shall not go thus," said Mistress Nutter. "I will have a direct
+answer now."
+
+And as she spoke she waved her hands twice or thrice over the old woman.
+In doing this her figure seemed to dilate, and her countenance underwent
+a marked and fearful change. All her beauty vanished, her eyes blazed,
+and terror sat on her wrinkled brow. The hag, on the contrary, crouched
+lower down, and seemed to dwindle less than her ordinary size. Writhing
+as from heavy blows, and with a mixture of malice and fear in her
+countenance, she cried, "Were I to speak, you would not thank me. Let me
+go."
+
+"Answer," vociferated Mistress Nutter, disregarding the caution, and
+speaking in a sharp piercing voice, strangely contrasting with her
+ordinary utterance. "Answer, I say, or I will beat thee to the dust."
+
+And she continued her gestures, while the sufferings of the old hag
+evidently increased, and she crouched nearer and nearer to the ground,
+moaning out the words, "Do not force me to speak. You will repent
+it!--you will repent it!"
+
+"Do not torment her thus, madam," cried Alizon, who with Dorothy looked
+at the strange scene with mingled apprehension and wonderment. "Much as
+I desire to know the secret of my birth, I would not obtain it thus."
+
+As she uttered these words, the old woman contrived to shuffle off, and
+disappeared behind the tomb.
+
+"Why did you interpose, Alizon," cried Mistress Nutter, somewhat
+angrily, and dropping her hands. "You broke the power I had over her. I
+would have compelled her to speak."
+
+"I thank you, gracious lady, for your consideration," replied Alizon,
+gratefully; "but the sight was too painful."
+
+"What has become of her--where is she gone?" cried Dorothy, peeping
+behind the tomb. "She has crept into this vault, I suppose."
+
+"Do not trouble yourelf about her more, Dorothy," said Mistress Nutter,
+resuming her wonted voice and wonted looks. "Let us return to the house.
+Thus much is ascertained, Alizon, that you are no child of your supposed
+parent. Wait a little, and the rest shall be found out for you. And,
+meantime, be assured that I take strong interest in you."
+
+"That we all do," added Dorothy.
+
+"Thank you! thank you!" exclaimed Alizon, almost overpowered.
+
+With this they went forth, and, traversing the shafted aisle, quitted
+the conventual church, and took their way along the alley leading to the
+garden.
+
+"Say not a word at present to Elizabeth Device of the information you
+have obtained, Alizon," observed Mistress Nutter. "I have reasons for
+this counsel, which I will afterwards explain to you. And do you keep
+silence on the subject, Dorothy."
+
+"May I not tell Richard?" said the young lady.
+
+"Not Richard--not any one," returned Mistress Nutter, "or you may
+seriously affect Alizon's prospects."
+
+"You have cautioned me in time," cried Dorothy, "for here comes my
+brother with our cousin Nicholas."
+
+And as she spoke a turn in the alley showed Richard and Nicholas
+Assheton advancing towards them.
+
+A strange revolution had been produced in Alizon's feelings by the
+events of the last half hour. The opinions expressed by Dorothy
+Assheton, as to her birth, had been singularly confirmed by Mother
+Chattox; but could reliance be placed on the old woman's assertions?
+Might they not have been made with mischievous intent? And was it not
+possible, nay, probable, that, in her place of concealment behind the
+tomb, the vindictive hag had overheard the previous conversation with
+Dorothy, and based her own declaration upon it? All these suggestions
+occurred to Alizon, but the previous idea having once gained admission
+to her breast, soon established itself firmly there, in spite of doubts
+and misgivings, and began to mix itself up with new thoughts and
+wishes, with which other persons were connected; for she could not help
+fancying she might be well-born, and if so the vast distance heretofore
+existing between her and Richard Assheton might be greatly diminished,
+if not altogether removed. So rapid is the progress of thought, that
+only a few minutes were required for this long train of reflections to
+pass through her mind, and it was merely put to flight by the approach
+of the main object of her thoughts.
+
+On joining the party, Richard Assheton saw plainly that something had
+happened; but as both his sister and Alizon laboured under evident
+embarrassment, he abstained from making inquiries as to its cause for
+the present, hoping a better opportunity of doing so would occur, and
+the conversation was kept up by Nicholas Assheton, who described, in his
+wonted lively manner, the encounter with Mother Chattox and Nance
+Redferne, the swimming of the latter, and the trickery and punishment of
+Potts. During the recital Mistress Nutter often glanced uneasily at the
+two girls, but neither of them offered any interruption until Nicholas
+had finished, when Dorothy, taking her brother's hand, said, with a look
+of affectionate admiration, "You acted like yourself, dear Richard."
+
+Alizon did not venture to give utterance to the same sentiment, but her
+looks plainly expressed it.
+
+"I only wish you had punished that cruel James Device, as well as saved
+poor Nance," added Dorothy.
+
+"Hush!" exclaimed Richard, glancing at Alizon.
+
+"You need not be afraid of hurting her feelings," cried the young lady.
+"She does not mind him now."
+
+"What do you mean, Dorothy?" cried Richard, in surprise.
+
+"Oh, nothing--nothing," she replied, hastily.
+
+"Perhaps you will explain," said Richard to Alizon.
+
+"Indeed I cannot," she answered in confusion.
+
+"You would have laughed to see Potts creep out of the river," said
+Nicholas, turning to Dorothy; "he looked just like a drowned
+rat--ha!--ha!"
+
+"You have made a bitter enemy of him, Nicholas," observed Mistress
+Nutter; "so look well to yourself."
+
+"I heed him not," rejoined the squire; "he knows me now too well to
+meddle with me again, and I shall take good care how I put myself in his
+power. One thing I may mention, to show the impotent malice of the
+knave. Just as he was setting off, he said, 'This is not the only
+discovery of witchcraft I have made to-day. I have another case nearer
+home.' What could he mean?"
+
+"I know not," replied Mistress Nutter, a shade of disquietude passing
+over her countenance. "But he is quite capable of bringing the charge
+against you or any of us."
+
+"He is so," said Nicholas. "After what has occurred, I wonder whether
+he will go over to Rough Lee to-morrow?"
+
+"Very likely not," replied Mistress Nutter, "and in that case Master
+Roger Nowell must provide some other person competent to examine the
+boundary-line of the properties on his behalf."
+
+"Then you are confident of the adjudication being in your favour?" said
+Nicholas.
+
+"Quite so," replied Mistress Nutter, with a self-satisfied smile.
+
+"The result, I hope, may justify your expectation," said Nicholas; "but
+it is right to tell you, that Sir Ralph, in consenting to postpone his
+decision, has only done so out of consideration to you. If the division
+of the properties be as represented by him, Master Nowell will
+unquestionably obtain an award in his favour."
+
+"Under such circumstances he may," said Mistress Nutter; "but you will
+find the contrary turn out to be the fact. I will show you a plan I have
+had lately prepared, and you can then judge for yourself."
+
+While thus conversing, the party passed through a door in the high stone
+wall dividing the garden from the court, and proceeded towards the
+principal entrance of the mansion. Built out of the ruins of the Abbey,
+which had served as a very convenient quarry for the construction of
+this edifice, as well as for Portfield, the house was large and
+irregular, planned chiefly with the view of embodying part of the old
+abbot's lodging, and consisting of a wide front, with two wings, one of
+which looked into the court, and the other, comprehending the long
+gallery, into the garden. The old north-east gate of the Abbey, with its
+lofty archway and embattled walls, served as an entrance to the great
+court-yard, and at its wicket ordinarily stood Ned Huddlestone, the
+porter, though he was absent on the present occasion, being occupied
+with the May-day festivities. Immediately opposite the gateway sprang a
+flight of stone steps, with a double landing-place and a broad
+balustrade of the same material, on the lowest pillar of which was
+placed a large escutcheon sculptured with the arms of the
+family--argent, a mullet sable--with a rebus on the name--an ash on a
+tun. The great door to which these steps conducted stood wide open, and
+before it, on the upper landing-place, were collected Lady Assheton,
+Mistress Braddyll, Mistress Nicholas Assheton, and some other dames,
+laughing and conversing together. Some long-eared spaniels, favourites
+of the lady of the house, were chasing each other up and down the steps,
+disturbing the slumbers of a couple of fine blood-hounds in the
+court-yard; or persecuting the proud peafowl that strutted about to
+display their gorgeous plumage to the spectators.
+
+On seeing the party approach, Lady Assheton came down to meet them.
+
+"You have been long absent," she said to Dorothy; "but I suppose you
+have been exploring the ruins?"
+
+"Yes, we have not left a hole or corner unvisited," was the reply.
+
+"That is right," said Lady Assheton. "I knew you would make a good
+guide, Dorothy. Of course you have often seen the old conventual church
+before, Alizon?"
+
+"I am ashamed to say I have not, your ladyship," she replied.
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Lady Assheton; "and yet you have lived all your life
+in the village?"
+
+"Quite true, your ladyship," answered Alizon; "but these ruins have been
+prohibited to me."
+
+"Not by us," said Lady Assheton; "they are open to every one."
+
+"I was forbidden to visit them by my mother," said Alizon. And for the
+first time the word "mother" seemed strange to her.
+
+Lady Assheton looked surprised, but made no remark, and mounting the
+steps, led the way to a spacious though not very lofty chamber, with
+huge uncovered rafters, and a floor of polished oak. Over a great
+fireplace at one side, furnished with immense andirons, hung a noble
+pair of antlers, and similar trophies of the chase were affixed to other
+parts of the walls. Here and there were likewise hung rusty skull-caps,
+breastplates, two-handed and single-handed swords, maces, halberts, and
+arquebusses, with chain-shirts, buff-jerkins, matchlocks, and other
+warlike implements, amongst which were several shields painted with the
+arms of the Asshetons and their alliances. High-backed chairs of gilt
+leather were ranged against the walls, and ebony cabinets inlaid with
+ivory were set between them at intervals, supporting rare specimens of
+glass and earthenware. Opposite the fireplace, stood a large clock,
+curiously painted and decorated with emblematical devices, with the
+signs of the zodiac, and provided with movable figures to strike the
+hours on a bell; while from the centre of the roof hung a great
+chandelier of stag's horn.
+
+Lady Assheton did not tarry long within the entrance hall, for such it
+was, but conducted her guests through an arched doorway on the right
+into the long gallery. One hundred and fifty feet in length, and
+proportionately wide and lofty, this vast chamber had undergone little
+change since its original construction by the old owners of the Abbey.
+Panelled and floored with lustrous oak, and hung in some parts with
+antique tapestry, representing scriptural subjects, one side was pierced
+with lofty pointed windows, looking out upon the garden, while the
+southern extremity boasted a magnificent window, with heavy stone
+mullions, though of more recent workmanship than the framework,
+commanding Whalley Nab and the river. The furniture of the apartment was
+grand but gloomy, and consisted of antique chairs and tables belonging
+to the Abbey. Some curious ecclesiastical sculptures, wood carvings, and
+saintly images, were placed at intervals near the walls, and on the
+upper panels were hung a row of family portraits.
+
+Quitting the rest of the company, and proceeding to the southern
+window, Dorothy invited Alizon and her brother to place themselves
+beside her on the cushioned seats of the deep embrasure. Little
+conversation, however, ensued; Alizon's heart being too full for
+utterance, and recent occurrences engrossing Dorothy's thoughts, to the
+exclusion of every thing else. Having made one or two unsuccessful
+efforts to engage them in talk, Richard likewise lapsed into silence,
+and gazed out on the lovely scenery before him. The evening has been
+described as beautiful; and the swift Calder, as it hurried by, was
+tinged with rays of the declining sun, whilst the woody heights of
+Whalley Nab were steeped in the same rosy light. But the view failed to
+interest Richard in his present mood, and after a brief survey, he stole
+a look at Alizon, and was surprised to find her in tears.
+
+"What saddening thoughts cross you, fair girl?" he inquired, with deep
+interest.
+
+"I can hardly account for my sudden despondency," she replied; "but I
+have heard that great happiness is the precursor of dejection, and the
+saying I suppose must be true, for I have been happier to-day than I
+ever was before in my life. But the feeling of sadness is now past," she
+added, smiling.
+
+"I am glad of it," said Richard. "May I not know what has occurred to
+you?"
+
+"Not at present," interposed Dorothy; "but I am sure you will be pleased
+when you are made acquainted with the circumstance. I would tell you now
+if I might."
+
+"May I guess?" said Richard.
+
+"I don't know," rejoined Dorothy, who was dying to tell him. "May he?"
+
+"Oh no, no!" cried Alizon.
+
+"You are very perverse," said Richard, with a look of disappointment.
+"There can be no harm in guessing; and you can please yourself as to
+giving an answer. I fancy, then, that Alizon has made some discovery."
+
+Dorothy nodded.
+
+"Relative to her parentage?" pursued Richard.
+
+Another nod.
+
+"She has found out she is not Elizabeth Device's daughter?" said
+Richard.
+
+"Some witch must have told you this," exclaimed Dorothy.
+
+"Have I indeed guessed rightly?" cried Richard, with an eagerness that
+startled his sister. "Do not keep me in suspense. Speak plainly."
+
+"How am I to answer him, Alizon?" said Dorothy.
+
+"Nay, do not appeal to me, dear young lady," she answered, blushing.
+
+"I have gone too far to retreat," rejoined Dorothy, "and therefore,
+despite Mistress Nutter's interdiction, the truth shall out. You have
+guessed shrewdly, Richard. A discovery _has_ been made--a very great
+discovery. Alizon is not the daughter of Elizabeth Device."
+
+"The intelligence delights me, though it scarcely surprises me," cried
+Richard, gazing with heartfelt pleasure at the blushing girl; "for I was
+sure of the fact from the first. Nothing so good and charming as Alizon
+could spring from so foul a source. How and by what means you have
+derived this information, as well as whose daughter you are, I shall
+wait patiently to learn. Enough for me you are not the sister of James
+Device--enough you are not the grandchild of Mother Demdike."
+
+"You know all I know, in knowing thus much," replied Alizon, timidly.
+"And secrecy has been enjoined by Mistress Nutter, in order that the
+rest may be found out. But oh! should the hopes I have--perhaps too
+hastily--indulged, prove fallacious--"
+
+"They cannot be fallacious, Alizon," interrupted Richard, eagerly. "On
+that score rest easy. Your connexion with that wretched family is for
+ever broken. But I can see the necessity of caution, and shall observe
+it. And so Mistress Nutter takes an interest in you?"
+
+"The strongest," replied Dorothy; "but see! she comes this way."
+
+But we must now go back for a short space.
+
+While Mistress Nutter and Nicholas were seated at a table examining a
+plan of the Rough Lee estates, the latter was greatly astonished to see
+the door open and give admittance to Master Potts, who he fancied snugly
+lying between a couple of blankets, at the Dragon. The attorney was clad
+in a riding-dress, which he had exchanged for his wet habiliments, and
+was accompanied by Sir Ralph Assheton and Master Roger Nowell. On seeing
+Nicholas, he instantly stepped up to him.
+
+"Aha! squire," he cried, "you did not expect to see me again so soon,
+eh! A pottle of hot sack put my blood into circulation, and having,
+luckily, a change of raiment in my valise, I am all right again. Not so
+easily got rid of, you see!"
+
+"So it appears," replied Nicholas, laughing.
+
+"We have a trifling account to settle together, sir," said the attorney,
+putting on a serious look.
+
+"Whenever you please, sir," replied Nicholas, good-humouredly, tapping
+the hilt of his sword.
+
+"Not in that way," cried Potts, darting quickly back. "I never fight
+with those weapons--never. Our dispute must be settled in a court of
+law, sir--in a court of law. You understand, Master Nicholas?"
+
+"There is a shrewd maxim, Master Potts, that he who is his own lawyer
+has a fool for his client," observed Nicholas, drily. "Would it not be
+better to stick to the defence of others, rather than practise in your
+own behalf?"
+
+"You have expressed my opinion, Master Nicholas," observed Roger
+Nowell; "and I hope Master Potts will not commence any action on his own
+account till he has finished my business."
+
+"Assuredly not, sir, since you desire it," replied the attorney,
+obsequiously. "But my motives must not be mistaken. I have a clear case
+of assault and battery against Master Nicholas Assheton, or I may
+proceed against him criminally for an attempt on my life."
+
+"Have you given him no provocation, sir?" demanded Sir Ralph, sternly.
+
+"No provocation can justify the treatment I have experienced, Sir
+Ralph," replied Potts. "However, to show I am a man of peace, and
+harbour no resentment, however just grounds I may have for such a
+feeling, I am willing to make up the matter with Master Nicholas,
+provided--"
+
+"He offers you a handsome consideration, eh?" said the squire.
+
+"Provided he offers me a handsome apology--such as a gentleman may
+accept," rejoined Potts, consequentially.
+
+"And which he will not refuse, I am sure," said Sir Ralph, glancing at
+his cousin.
+
+"I should certainly be sorry to have drowned you," said the
+squire--"very sorry."
+
+"Enough--enough--I am content," cried Potts, holding out his hand, which
+Nicholas grasped with an energy that brought tears into the little man's
+eyes.
+
+"I am glad the matter is amicably adjusted," observed Roger Nowell, "for
+I suspect both parties have been to blame. And I must now request you,
+Master Potts, to forego your search, and inquiries after witches, till
+such time as you have settled this question of the boundary line for me.
+One matter at a time, my good sir."
+
+"But, Master Nowell," cried Potts, "my much esteemed and singular good
+client--"
+
+"I will have no nay," interrupted Nowell, peremptorily.
+
+"Hum!" muttered Potts; "I shall lose the best chance of distinction ever
+thrown in my way."
+
+"I care not," said Nowell.
+
+"Just as you came up, Master Nowell," observed Nicholas, "I was
+examining a plan of the disputed estates in Pendle Forest. It differs
+from yours, and, if correct, certainly substantiates Mistress Nutter's
+claim."
+
+"I have mine with me," replied Nowell, producing a plan, and opening it.
+"We can compare the two, if you please. The line runs thus:--From the
+foot of Pendle Hill, beginning with Barley Booth, the boundary is marked
+by a stone wall, as far as certain fields in the occupation of John
+Ogden. Is it not so?"
+
+"It is," replied Nicholas, comparing the statement with the other plan.
+
+"It then runs on in a northerly direction," pursued Nowell, "towards
+Burst Clough, and here the landmarks are certain stones placed in the
+moor, one hundred yards apart, and giving me twenty acres of this land,
+and Mistress Nutter ten."
+
+"On the contrary," replied Nicholas. "This plan gives Mistress Nutter
+twenty acres, and you ten."
+
+"Then the plan is wrong," cried Nowell, sharply.
+
+"It has been carefully prepared," said Mistress Nutter, who had
+approached the table.
+
+"No matter; it is wrong, I say," cried Nowell, angrily.
+
+"You see where the landmarks are placed, Master Nowell," said Nicholas,
+pointing to the measurement. "I merely go by them."
+
+"The landmarks are improperly placed in that plan," cried Nowell.
+
+"I will examine them myself to-morrow," said Potts, taking out a large
+memorandum-hook; "there cannot be an error of ten acres--ten perches--or
+ten feet, possibly, but acres--pshaw!"
+
+"Laugh as you please; but go on," said Mrs. Nutter.
+
+"Well, then," pursued Nicholas, "the line approaches the bank of a
+rivulet, called Moss Brook--a rare place for woodcocks and snipes that
+Moss Brook, I may remark--the land on the left consisting of five acres
+of waste land, marked by a sheepfold, and two posts set up in a line
+with it, belonging to Mistress Nutter."
+
+"To Mistress Nutter!" exclaimed Nowell, indignantly. "To me, you mean."
+
+"It is here set down to Mistress Nutter," said Nicholas.
+
+"Then it is set down wrongfully," cried Nowell. "That plan is altogether
+incorrect."
+
+"On which side of the field does the rivulet flow?" inquired Potts.
+
+"On the right," replied Nicholas.
+
+"On the left," cried Nowell.
+
+"There must be some extraordinary mistake," said Potts. "I shall make a
+note of that, and examine it to-morrow.--N.B. Waste land--sheepfold--
+rivulet called Moss Brook, flowing on the left."
+
+"On the right," cried Mistress Nutter.
+
+"That remains to be seen," rejoined Potts, "I have made the entry as on
+the left."
+
+"Go on, Master Nicholas," said Nowell, "I should like to see how many
+other errors that plan contains."
+
+"Passing the rivulet," pursued the squire, "we come to a footpath
+leading to the limestone quarry, about which there can be no mistake.
+Then by Cat Gallows Wood and Swallow Hole; and then by another path to
+Worston Moor, skirting a hut in the occupation of James Device--ha! ha!
+Master Jem, are you here? I thought you dwelt with your grandmother at
+Malkin Tower--excuse me, Master Nowell, but one must relieve the dulness
+of this plan by an exclamation or so--and here being waste land again,
+the landmarks are certain stones set at intervals towards Hook Cliff,
+and giving Mistress Nutter two-thirds of the whole moor, and Master
+Roger Nowell one-third."
+
+"False again," cried Nowell, furiously. "The two-thirds are mine, the
+one-third Mistress Nutter's."
+
+"Somebody must be very wrong," cried Nicholas.
+
+"Very wrong indeed," added Potts; "and I suspect that that somebody
+is--"
+
+"Master Nowell," said Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Mistress Nutter," cried Master Nowell.
+
+"Both are wrong and both right, according to your own showing," said
+Nicholas, laughing.
+
+"To-morrow will decide the question," said Potts.
+
+"Better wait till then," interposed Sir Ralph. "Take both plans with
+you, and you will then ascertain which is correct."
+
+"Agreed," cried Nowell. "Here is mine."
+
+"And here is mine," said Mistress Nutter. "I will abide by the
+investigation."
+
+"And Master Potts and I will verify the statements," said Nicholas.
+
+"We will, sir," replied the attorney, putting his memorandum book in his
+pocket. "We will."
+
+The plans were then delivered to the custody of Sir Ralph, who promised
+to hand them over to Potts and Nicholas on the morrow.
+
+The party then separated; Mistress Nutter shaping her course towards the
+window where Alizon and the two other young people were seated, while
+Potts, plucking the squire's sleeve, said, with a very mysterious look,
+that he desired a word with him in private. Wondering what could be the
+nature of the communication the attorney desired to make, Nicholas
+withdrew with him into a corner, and Nowell, who saw them retire, and
+could not help watching them with some curiosity, remarked that the
+squire's hilarious countenance fell as he listened to the attorney,
+while, on the contrary, the features of the latter gleamed with
+malicious satisfaction.
+
+Meanwhile, Mistress Nutter approached Alizon, and beckoning her towards
+her, they quitted the room together. As the young girl went forth, she
+cast a wistful look at Dorothy and her brother.
+
+"You think with me, that that lovely girl is well born?" said Dorothy,
+as Alizon disappeared.
+
+"It were heresy to doubt it," answered Richard.
+
+"Shall I tell you another secret?" she continued, regarding him
+fixedly--"if, indeed, it be a secret, for you must be sadly wanting in
+discernment if you have not found it out ere this. She loves you."
+
+"Dorothy!" exclaimed Richard.
+
+"I am sure of it," she rejoined. "But I would not tell you this, if I
+were not quite equally sure that you love her in return."
+
+"On my faith, Dorothy, you give yourself credit for wonderful
+penetration," cried Richard.
+
+"Not a whit more than I am entitled to," she answered. "Nay, it will not
+do to attempt concealment with me. If I had not been certain of the
+matter before, your manner now would convince me. I am very glad of it.
+She will make a charming sister, and I shall he very fond of her."
+
+"How you do run on, madcap!" cried her brother, trying to look
+displeased, but totally failing in assuming the expression.
+
+"Stranger things have come to pass," said Dorothy; "and one reads in
+story-hooks of young nobles marrying village maidens in spite of
+parental opposition. I dare say you will get nobody's consent to the
+marriage but mine, Richard."
+
+"I dare say not," he replied, rather blankly.
+
+"That is, if she should not turn out to be somebody's daughter," pursued
+Dorothy; "somebody, I mean, quite as great as the heir of Middleton,
+which I make no doubt she will."
+
+"I hope she may," replied Richard.
+
+"Why, you don't mean to say you wouldn't marry her if she didn't!" cried
+Dorothy. "I'm ashamed of you, Richard."
+
+"It would remove all opposition, at all events," said her brother.
+
+"So it would," said Dorothy; "and now I'll tell you another notion of
+mine, Richard. Somehow or other, it has come into my head that Alizon is
+the daughter of--whom do you think?"
+
+"Whom!" he cried.
+
+"Guess," she rejoined.
+
+"I can't," he exclaimed, impatiently.
+
+"Well, then, I'll tell you without more ado," she answered. "Mind, it's
+only my notion, and I've no precise grounds for it. But, in my opinion,
+she's the daughter of the lady who has just left the room."
+
+"Of Mistress Nutter!" ejaculated Richard, starting. "What makes you
+think so?"
+
+"The extraordinary and otherwise unaccountable interest she takes in
+her," replied Dorothy. "And, if you recollect, Mistress Nutter had an
+infant daughter who was lost in a strange manner."
+
+"I thought the child died," replied Richard; "but it may be as you say.
+I hope it is so."
+
+"Time will show," said Dorothy; "but I have made up my mind about the
+matter."
+
+At this moment Nicholas Assheton came up to them, looking grave and
+uneasy.
+
+"What has happened?" asked Richard, anxiously.
+
+"I have just received some very unpleasant intelligence," replied
+Nicholas. "I told you of a menace uttered by that confounded Potts, on
+quitting me after his ducking. He has now spoken out plainly, and
+declares he overheard part of a conversation between Mistress Nutter and
+Elizabeth Device, which took place in the ruins of the convent church
+this morning, and he is satisfied that--"
+
+"Well!" cried Richard, breathlessly.
+
+"That Mistress Nutter is a witch, and in league with witches," continued
+Nicholas.
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Richard, turning deathly pale.
+
+"I suspect the rascal has invented the charge," said Nicholas; "but he
+is quite unscrupulous enough to make it; and, if made, it will be fatal
+to our relative's reputation, if not to her life."
+
+"It is false, I am sure of it," cried Richard, torn by conflicting
+emotions.
+
+"Would I could think so!" cried Dorothy, suddenly recollecting Mistress
+Nutter's strange demeanour in the little chapel, and the unaccountable
+influence she seemed to exercise over the old crone. "But something has
+occurred to-day that leads me to a contrary conviction."
+
+"What is it? Speak!" cried Richard.
+
+"Not now--not now," replied Dorothy.
+
+"Whatever suspicions you may entertain, keep silence, or you will
+destroy Mistress Nutter," said Nicholas.
+
+"Fear me not," rejoined Dorothy. "Oh, Alizon!" she murmured, "that this
+unhappy question should arise at such a moment."
+
+"Do you indeed believe the charge, Dorothy?" asked Richard, in a low
+voice.
+
+"I do," she answered in the same tone. "If Alizon be her daughter, she
+can never be your wife."
+
+"How?" cried Richard.
+
+"Never--never!" repeated Dorothy, emphatically. "The daughter of a
+witch, be that witch named Elizabeth Device or Alice Nutter, is no mate
+for you."
+
+"You prejudge Mistress Nutter, Dorothy," he cried.
+
+"Alas! Richard. I have too good reason for what I say," she answered,
+sadly.
+
+Richard uttered an exclamation of despair. And on the instant the lively
+sounds of tabor and pipe, mixed with the jingling of bells, arose from
+the court-yard, and presently afterwards an attendant entered to
+announce that the May-day revellers were without, and directions were
+given by Sir Ralph that they should be shown into the great
+banqueting-hall below the gallery, which had been prepared for their
+reception.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.--THE REVELATION.
+
+
+On quitting the long gallery, Mistress Nutter and Alizon ascended a wide
+staircase, and, traversing a corridor, came to an antique, tapestried
+chamber, richly but cumbrously furnished, having a carved oak bedstead
+with sombre hangings, a few high-backed chairs of the same material, and
+a massive wardrobe, with shrine-work atop, and two finely sculptured
+figures, of the size of life, in the habits of Cistertian monks, placed
+as supporters at either extremity. At one side of the bed the tapestry
+was drawn aside, showing the entrance to a closet or inner room, and
+opposite it there was a great yawning fireplace, with a lofty
+mantelpiece and chimney projecting beyond the walls. The windows were
+narrow, and darkened by heavy transom bars and small diamond panes while
+the view without, looking upon Whalley Nab, was obstructed by the
+contiguity of a tall cypress, whose funereal branches added to the
+general gloom. The room was one of those formerly allotted to their
+guests by the hospitable abbots, and had undergone little change since
+their time, except in regard to furniture; and even that appeared old
+and faded now. What with the gloomy arras, the shrouded bedstead, and
+the Gothic wardrobe with its mysterious figures, the chamber had a grim,
+ghostly air, and so the young girl thought on entering it.
+
+"I have brought you hither, Alizon," said Mistress Nutter, motioning her
+to a seat, "that we may converse without chance of interruption, for I
+have much to say. On first seeing you to-day, your appearance, so
+superior to the rest of the May-day mummers, struck me forcibly, and I
+resolved to question Elizabeth Device about you. Accordingly I bade her
+join me in the Abbey gardens. She did so, and had not long left me when
+I accidentally met you and the others in the Lacy Chapel. When
+questioned, Elizabeth affected great surprise, and denied positively
+that there was any foundation for the idea that you were other than her
+child; but, notwithstanding her asseverations, I could see from her
+confused manner that there was more in the notion than she chose to
+admit, and I determined to have recourse to other means of arriving at
+the truth, little expecting my suspicions would be so soon confirmed by
+Mother Chattox. To my interrogation of that old woman, you were yourself
+a party, and I am now rejoiced that you interfered to prevent me from
+prosecuting my inquiries to the utmost. There was one present from whom
+the secret of your birth must be strictly kept--at least, for
+awhile--and my impatience carried me too far."
+
+"I only obeyed a natural impulse, madam," said Alizon; "but I am at a
+loss to conceive what claim I can possibly have to the consideration you
+show me."
+
+"Listen to me, and you shall learn," replied Mistress Nutter. "It is a
+sad tale, and its recital will tear open old wounds, but it must not be
+withheld on that account. I do not ask you to bury the secrets I am
+about to impart in the recesses of your bosom. You will do so when you
+learn them, without my telling you. When little more than your age I was
+wedded; but not to him I would have chosen if choice had been permitted
+me. The union I need scarcely say was unhappy--most unhappy--though my
+discomforts were scrupulously concealed, and I was looked upon as a
+devoted wife, and my husband as a model of conjugal affection. But this
+was merely the surface--internally all was strife and misery. Erelong my
+dislike of my husband increased to absolute hate, while on his part,
+though he still regarded me with as much passion as heretofore, he
+became frantically jealous--and above all of Edward Braddyll of
+Portfield, who, as his bosom friend, and my distant relative, was a
+frequent visiter at the house. To relate the numerous exhibitions of
+jealousy that occurred would answer little purpose, and it will be
+enough to say that not a word or look passed between Edward and myself
+but was misconstrued. I took care never to be alone with our guest--nor
+to give any just ground for suspicion--but my caution availed nothing.
+An easy remedy would have been to forbid Edward the house, but this my
+husband's pride rejected. He preferred to endure the jealous torment
+occasioned by the presence of his wife's fancied lover, and inflict
+needless anguish on her, rather than brook the jeers of a few
+indifferent acquaintances. The same feeling made him desire to keep up
+an apparent good understanding with me; and so far I seconded his views,
+for I shared in his pride, if in nothing else. Our quarrels were all in
+private, when no eye could see us--no ear listen."
+
+"Yours is a melancholy history, madam," remarked Alizon, in a tone of
+profound interest.
+
+"You will think so ere I have done," returned the lady, sadly. "The only
+person in my confidence, and aware of my secret sorrows, was Elizabeth
+Device, who with her husband, John Device, then lived at Rough Lee.
+Serving me in the quality of tire-woman and personal attendant, she
+could not be kept in ignorance of what took place, and the poor soul
+offered me all the sympathy in her power. Much was it needed, for I had
+no other sympathy. After awhile, I know not from what cause, unless from
+some imprudence on the part of Edward Braddyll, who was wild and
+reckless, my husband conceived worse suspicions than ever of me, and
+began to treat me with such harshness and cruelty, that, unable longer
+to endure his violence, I appealed to my father. But he was of a stern
+and arbitrary nature, and, having forced me into the match, would not
+listen to my complaints, but bade me submit. 'It was my duty to do so,'
+he said, and he added some cutting expressions to the effect that I
+deserved the treatment I experienced, and dismissed me. Driven to
+desperation, I sought counsel and assistance from one I should most have
+avoided--from Edward Braddyll--and he proposed flight from my husband's
+roof--flight with him."
+
+"But you were saved, madam?" cried Alizon, greatly shocked by the
+narration. "You were saved?"
+
+"Hear me out," rejoined Mistress Nutter. "Outraged as my feelings were,
+and loathsome as my husband was to me, I spurned the base proposal, and
+instantly quitted my false friend. Nor would I have seen him more, if
+permitted; but that secret interview with him was my first and
+last;--for it had been witnessed by my husband."
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Alizon.
+
+"Concealed behind the arras, Richard Nutter heard enough to confirm his
+worst suspicions," pursued the lady; "but he did not hear my
+justification. He saw Edward Braddyll at my feet--he heard him urge me
+to fly--but he did not wait to learn if I consented, and, looking upon
+me as guilty, left his hiding-place to take measures for frustrating the
+plan, he supposed concerted between us. That night I was made prisoner
+in my room, and endured treatment the most inhuman. But a proposal was
+made by my husband, that promised some alleviation of my suffering.
+Henceforth we were to meet only in public, when a semblance of affection
+was to be maintained on both sides. This was done, he said, to save my
+character, and preserve his own name unspotted in the eyes of others,
+however tarnished it might be in his own. I willingly consented to the
+arrangement; and thus for a brief space I became tranquil, if not happy.
+But another and severer trial awaited me."
+
+"Alas, madam!" exclaimed Alizon, sympathisingly.
+
+"My cup of sorrow, I thought, was full," pursued Mistress Nutter; "but
+the drop was wanting to make it overflow. It came soon enough. Amidst my
+griefs I expected to be a mother, and with that thought how many fond
+and cheering anticipations mingled! In my child I hoped to find a balm
+for my woes: in its smiles and innocent endearments a compensation for
+the harshness and injustice I had experienced. How little did I foresee
+that it was to be a new instrument of torture to me; and that I should
+be cruelly robbed of the only blessing ever vouchsafed me!"
+
+"Did the child die, madam?" asked Alizon.
+
+"You shall hear," replied Mistress Nutter. "A daughter was born to me. I
+was made happy by its birth. A new existence, bright and unclouded,
+seemed dawning upon me; but it was like a sunburst on a stormy day. Some
+two months before this event Elizabeth Device had given birth to a
+daughter, and she now took my child under her fostering care; for
+weakness prevented me from affording it the support it is a mother's
+blessed privilege to bestow. She seemed as fond of it as myself; and
+never was babe more calculated to win love than my little Millicent. Oh!
+how shall I go on? The retrospect I am compelled to take is frightful,
+but I cannot shun it. The foul and false suspicions entertained by my
+husband began to settle on the child. He would not believe it to be his
+own. With violent oaths and threats he first announced his odious
+suspicions to Elizabeth Device, and she, full of terror, communicated
+them to me. The tidings filled me with inexpressible alarm; for I knew,
+if the dread idea had once taken possession of him, it would never be
+removed, while what he threatened would be executed. I would have fled
+at once with my poor babe if I had known where to go; but I had no place
+of shelter. It would be in vain to seek refuge with my father; and I had
+no other relative or friend whom I could trust. Where then should I fly?
+At last I bethought me of a retreat, and arranged a plan of escape with
+Elizabeth Device. Vain were my precautions. On that very night, I was
+startled from slumber by a sudden cry from the nurse, who was seated by
+the fire, with the child on her knees. It was long past midnight, and
+all the household were at rest. Two persons had entered the room. One
+was my ruthless husband, Richard Nutter; the other was John Device, a
+powerful ruffianly fellow, who planted himself near the door.
+
+"Marching quickly towards Elizabeth, who had arisen on seeing him, my
+husband snatched the child from her before I could seize it, and with a
+violent blow on the chest felled me to the ground, where I lay helpless,
+speechless. With reeling senses I heard Elizabeth cry out that it was
+her own child, and call upon her husband to save it. Richard Nutter
+paused, but re-assured by a laugh of disbelief from his ruffianly
+follower, he told Elizabeth the pitiful excuse would not avail to save
+the brat. And then I saw a weapon gleam--there was a feeble piteous
+cry--a cry that might have moved a demon--but it did not move _him_.
+With wicked words and blood-imbrued hands he cast the body on the fire.
+The horrid sight was too much for me, and I became senseless."
+
+"A dreadful tale, indeed, madam!" cried Alizon, frozen with horror.
+
+"The crime was hidden--hidden from the eyes of men, but mark the
+retribution that followed," said Mistress Nutter; her eyes sparkling
+with vindictive joy. "Of the two murderers both perished miserably. John
+Device was drowned in a moss-pool. Richard Nutter's end was terrible,
+sharpened by the pangs of remorse, and marked by frightful suffering.
+But another dark event preceded his death, which may have laid a crime
+the more on his already heavily-burdened soul. Edward Braddyll, the
+object of his jealousy and hate, suddenly sickened of a malady so
+strange and fearful, that all who saw him affirmed it the result of
+witchcraft. None thought of my husband's agency in the dark affair
+except myself; but knowing he had held many secret conferences about the
+time with Mother Chattox, I more than suspected him. The sick man died;
+and from that hour Richard Nutter knew no rest. Ever on horseback, or
+fiercely carousing, he sought in vain to stifle remorse. Visions scared
+him by night, and vague fears pursued him by day. He would start at
+shadows, and talk wildly. To me his whole demeanour was altered; and he
+strove by every means in his power to win my love. But he could not give
+me back the treasure he had taken. He could not bring to life my
+murdered babe. Like his victim, he fell ill on a sudden, and of a
+strange and terrible sickness. I saw he could not recover, and therefore
+tended him carefully. He died; and I shed no tear."
+
+"Alas!" exclaimed Alizon, "though guilty, I cannot but compassionate
+him."
+
+"You are right to do so, Alizon," said Mistress Nutter, rising, while
+the young girl rose too; "for he was your father."
+
+"My father!" she exclaimed, in amazement. "Then you are my mother?"
+
+"I am--I am," replied Mistress Nutter, straining her to her bosom. "Oh,
+my child!--my dear child!" she cried. "The voice of nature from the
+first pleaded eloquently in your behalf, and I should have been deaf to
+all impulses of affection if I had not listened to the call. I now trace
+in every feature the lineaments of the babe I thought lost for ever. All
+is clear to me. The exclamation of Elizabeth Device, which, like my
+ruthless husband, I looked upon as an artifice to save the infant's
+life, I now find to be the truth. Her child perished instead of mine.
+How or why she exchanged the infants on that night remains to be
+explained, but that she did so is certain; while that she should
+afterwards conceal the circumstance is easily comprehended, from a
+natural dread of her own husband as well as of mine. It is possible that
+from some cause she may still deny the truth, but I can make it her
+interest to speak plainly. The main difficulty will lie in my public
+acknowledgment of you. But, at whatever cost, it shall be made."
+
+"Oh! consider it well;" said Alizon, "I will be your daughter in
+love--in duty--in all but name. But sully not my poor father's honour,
+which even at the peril of his soul he sought to maintain! How can I be
+owned as your daughter without involving the discovery of this tragic
+history?"
+
+"You are right, Alizon," rejoined Mistress Nutter, thoughtfully. "It
+will bring the dark deed to light. But you shall never return to
+Elizabeth Device. You shall go with me to Rough Lee, and take up your
+abode in the house where I was once so wretched--but where I shall now
+be full of happiness with you. You shall see the dark spots on the
+hearth, which I took to be your blood."
+
+"If not mine, it was blood spilt by my father," said Alizon, with a
+shudder.
+
+Was it fancy, or did a low groan break upon her ear? It must be
+imaginary, for Mistress Nutter seemed unconscious of the dismal sound.
+It was now growing rapidly dark, and the more distant objects in the
+room were wrapped in obscurity; but Alizon's gaze rested on the two
+monkish figures supporting the wardrobe.
+
+"Look there, mother," she said to Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Where?" cried the lady, turning round quickly, "Ah! I see. You alarm
+yourself needlessly, my child. Those are only carved figures of two
+brethren of the Abbey. They are said, I know not with what truth--to be
+statues of John Paslew and Borlace Alvetham."
+
+"I thought they stirred," said Alizon.
+
+"It was mere fancy," replied Mistress Nutter. "Calm yourself, sweet
+child. Let us think of other things--of our newly discovered
+relationship. Henceforth, to me you are Millicent Nutter; though to
+others you must still be Alizon Device. My sweet Millicent," she cried,
+embracing her again and again. "Ah, little--little did I think to see
+you more!"
+
+Alizon's fears were speedily chased away.
+
+"Forgive me, dear mother," she cried, "if I have failed to express the
+full delight I experience in my restitution to you. The shock of your
+sad tale at first deadened my joy, while the suddenness of the
+information respecting myself so overwhelmed me, that like one chancing
+upon a hidden treasure, and gazing at it confounded, I was unable to
+credit my own good fortune. Even now I am quite bewildered; and no
+wonder, for many thoughts, each of different import, throng upon me.
+Independently of the pleasure and natural pride I must feel in being
+acknowledged by you as a daughter, it is a source of the deepest
+satisfaction to me to know that I am not, in any way, connected with
+Elizabeth Device--not from her humble station--for poverty weighs little
+with me in comparison with virtue and goodness--but from her sinfulness.
+You know the dark offence laid to her charge?"
+
+"I do," replied Mistress Nutter, in a low deep tone, "but I do not
+believe it."
+
+"Nor I," returned Alizon. "Still, she acts as if she were the wicked
+thing she is called; avoids all religious offices; shuns all places of
+worship; and derides the Holy Scriptures. Oh, mother! you will
+comprehend the frequent conflict of feelings I must have endured. You
+will understand my horror when I have sometimes thought myself the
+daughter of a witch."
+
+"Why did you not leave her if you thought so?" said Mistress Nutter,
+frowning.
+
+"I could not leave her," replied Alizon, "for I then thought her my
+mother."
+
+Mistress Nutter fell upon her daughter's neck, and wept aloud. "You have
+an excellent heart, my child," she said at length, checking her emotion.
+
+"I have nothing to complain of in Elizabeth Device, dear mother," she
+replied. "What she denied herself, she did not refuse me; and though I
+have necessarily many and great deficiencies, you will find in me, I
+trust, no evil principles. And, oh! shall we not strive to rescue that
+poor benighted creature from the pit? We may yet save her."
+
+"It is too late," replied Mistress Nutter in a sombre tone.
+
+"It cannot be too late," said Alizon, confidently. "She cannot be beyond
+redemption. But even if she should prove intractable, poor little Jennet
+may be preserved. She is yet a child, with some good--though, alas! much
+evil, also--in her nature. Let our united efforts be exerted in this
+good work, and we must succeed. The weeds extirpated, the flowers will
+spring up freely, and bloom in beauty."
+
+"I can have nothing to do with her," said Mistress Nutter, in a freezing
+tone--"nor must you."
+
+"Oh! say not so, mother," cried Alizon. "You rob me of half the
+happiness I feel in being restored to you. When I was Jennets sister, I
+devoted myself to the task of reclaiming her. I hoped to be her guardian
+angel--to step between her and the assaults of evil--and I cannot, will
+not, now abandon her. If no longer my sister, she is still dear to me.
+And recollect that I owe a deep debt of gratitude to her mother--a debt
+I can never pay."
+
+"How so?" cried Mistress Nutter. "You owe her nothing--but the
+contrary."
+
+"I owe her a life," said Alizon. "Was not her infant's blood poured out
+for mine! And shall I not save the child left her, if I can?"
+
+"I shall not oppose your inclinations," replied Mistress Nutter, with
+reluctant assent; "but Elizabeth, I suspect, will thank you little for
+your interference."
+
+"Not now, perhaps," returned Alizon; "but a time will come when she will
+do so."
+
+While this conversation took place, it had been rapidly growing dark,
+and the gloom at length increased so much, that the speakers could
+scarcely see each other's faces. The sudden and portentous darkness was
+accounted for by a vivid flash of lightning, followed by a low growl of
+thunder rumbling over Whalley Nab. The mother and daughter drew close
+together, and Mistress Nutter passed her arm round Alizon's neck.
+
+The storm came quickly on, with forked and dangerous lightning, and
+loud claps of thunder threatening mischief. Presently, all its fury
+seemed collected over the Abbey. The red flashes hissed, and the peals
+of thunder rolled overhead. But other terrors were added to Alizon's
+natural dread of the elemental warfare. Again she fancied the two
+monkish figures, which had before excited her alarm, moved, and even
+shook their arms menacingly at her. At first she attributed this wild
+idea to her overwrought imagination, and strove to convince herself of
+its fallacy by keeping her eyes steadily fixed upon them. But each
+succeeding flash only served to confirm her superstitious apprehensions.
+
+Another circumstance contributed to heighten her alarm. Scared most
+probably by the storm, a large white owl fluttered down the chimney, and
+after wheeling twice or thrice round the chamber, settled upon the bed,
+hooting, puffing, ruffling its feathers, and glaring at her with eyes
+that glowed like fiery coals.
+
+Mistress Nutter seemed little moved by the storm, though she kept a
+profound silence, but when Alizon gazed in her face, she was frightened
+by its expression, which reminded her of the terrible aspect she had
+worn at the interview with Mother Chattox.
+
+All at once Mistress Nutter arose, and, rapid as the lightning playing
+around her and revealing her movements, made several passes, with
+extended hands, over her daughter; and on this the latter instantly fell
+back, as if fainting, though still retaining her consciousness; and,
+what was stranger still, though her eyes were closed, her power of sight
+remained.
+
+In this condition she fancied invisible forms were moving about her.
+Strange sounds seemed to salute her ears, like the gibbering of ghosts,
+and she thought she felt the flapping of unseen wings around her.
+
+All at once her attention was drawn--she knew not why--towards the
+closet, and from out it she fancied she saw issue the tall dark figure
+of a man. She was sure she saw him; for her imagination could not body
+forth features charged with such a fiendish expression, or eyes of such
+unearthly lustre. He was clothed in black, but the fashion of his
+raiments was unlike aught she had ever seen. His stature was gigantic,
+and a pale phosphoric light enshrouded him. As he advanced, forked
+lightnings shot into the room, and the thunder split overhead. The owl
+hooted fearfully, quitted its perch, and flew off by the way it had
+entered the chamber.
+
+The Dark Shape came on. It stood beside Mistress Nutter, and she
+prostrated herself before it. The gestures of the figure were angry and
+imperious--those of Mistress Nutter supplicating. Their converse was
+drowned by the rattling of the storm. At last the figure pointed to
+Alizon, and the word "midnight" broke in tones louder than the thunder
+from its lips. All consciousness then forsook her.
+
+How long she continued in this state she knew not, but the touch of a
+finger applied to her brow seemed to recall her suddenly to animation.
+She heaved a deep sigh, and looked around. A wondrous change had
+occurred. The storm had passed off, and the moon was shining brightly
+over the top of the cypress-tree, flooding the chamber with its gentle
+radiance, while her mother was bending over her with looks of tenderest
+affection.
+
+"You are better now, sweet child," said Mistress Nutter. "You were
+overcome by the storm. It was sudden and terrible."
+
+"Terrible, indeed!" replied Alizon, imperfectly recalling what had
+passed. "But it was not alone the storm that frightened me. This chamber
+has been invaded by evil beings. Methought I beheld a dark figure come
+from out yon closet, and stand before you."
+
+"You have been thrown into a state of stupor by the influence of the
+electric fluid," replied Mistress Nutter, "and while in that condition
+visions have passed through your brain. That is all, my child."
+
+"Oh! I hope so," said Alizon.
+
+"Such ecstasies are of frequent occurrence," replied Mistress Nutter.
+"But, since you are quite recovered, we will descend to Lady Assheton,
+who may wonder at our absence. You will share this room with me
+to-night, my child; for, as I have already said, you cannot return to
+Elizabeth Device. I will make all needful explanations to Lady Assheton,
+and will see Elizabeth in the morning--perhaps to-night. Reassure
+yourself, sweet child. There is nothing to fear."
+
+"I trust not, mother," replied Alizon. "But it would ease my mind to
+look into that closet."
+
+"Do so, then, by all means," replied Mistress Nutter with a forced
+smile.
+
+Alizon peeped timorously into the little room, which was lighted up by
+the moon's rays. There was a faded white habit, like the robe of a
+Cistertian monk, hanging in one corner, and beneath it an old chest.
+Alizon would fain have opened the chest, but Mistress Nutter called out
+to her impatiently, "You will discover nothing, I am sure. Come, let us
+go down-stairs."
+
+And they quitted the room together.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.--THE TWO PORTRAITS IN THE BANQUETING-HALL.
+
+
+The banqueting-hall lay immediately under the long gallery,
+corresponding with it in all but height; and though in this respect it
+fell somewhat short of the magnificent upper room, it was quite lofty
+enough to admit of a gallery of its own for spectators and minstrels.
+Great pains had been taken in decorating the hall for the occasion.
+Between the forest of stags' horns that branched from the gallery rails
+were hung rich carpets, intermixed with garlands of flowers, and banners
+painted with the arms of the Assheton family, were suspended from the
+corners. Over the fireplace, where, despite the advanced season, a pile
+of turf and wood was burning, were hung two panoplies of arms, and above
+them, on a bracket, was set a complete suit of mail, once belonging to
+Richard Assheton, the first possessor of the mansion. On the opposite
+wall hung two remarkable portraits--the one representing a religious
+votaress in a loose robe of black, with wide sleeves, holding a rosary
+and missal in her hand, and having her brow and neck entirely concealed
+by the wimple, in which her head and shoulders were enveloped. Such of
+her features as could be seen were of extraordinary loveliness, though
+of a voluptuous character, the eyes being dark and languishing, and
+shaded by long lashes, and the lips carnation-hued and full. This was
+the fair votaress, Isole de Heton, who brought such scandal on the Abbey
+in the reign of Henry VI. The other portrait was that of an abbot, in
+the white gown and scapulary of the Cistertian order. The countenance
+was proud and stern, but tinctured with melancholy. In a small shield at
+one corner the arms were blazoned--argent, a fess between three mullets,
+sable, pierced of the field, a crescent for difference--proving it to be
+the portrait of John Paslew. Both pictures had been found in the abbot's
+lodgings, when taken possession of by Richard Assheton, but they owed
+their present position to his descendant, Sir Ralph, who discovering
+them in an out-of-the-way closet, where they had been cast aside, and
+struck with their extraordinary merit, hung them up as above stated.
+
+The long oaken table, usually standing in the middle of the hall, had
+been removed to one side, to allow free scope for dancing and other
+pastimes, but it was still devoted to hospitable uses, being covered
+with trenchers and drinking-cups, and spread for a substantial repast.
+Near it stood two carvers, with aprons round their waists, brandishing
+long knives, while other yeomen of the kitchen and cellar were at hand
+to keep the trenchers well supplied, and the cups filled with strong
+ale, or bragget, as might suit the taste of the guests. Nor were these
+the only festive preparations. The upper part of the hall was reserved
+for Sir Ralph's immediate friends, and here, on a slightly raised
+elevation, stood a cross table, spread for a goodly supper, the snowy
+napery being ornamented with wreaths and ropes of flowers, and shining
+with costly vessels. At the lower end of the room, beneath the gallery,
+which it served to support, was a Gothic screen, embellishing an open
+armoury, which made a grand display of silver plates and flagons.
+Through one of the doorways contrived in this screen, the May-day
+revellers were ushered into the hall by old Adam Whitworth, the
+white-headed steward.
+
+"I pray you be seated, good masters, and you, too, comely dames," said
+Adam, leading them to the table, and assigning each a place with his
+wand. "Fall to, and spare not, for it is my honoured master's desire you
+should sup well. You will find that venison pasty worth a trial, and the
+baked red deer in the centre of the table is a noble dish. The fellow to
+it was served at Sir Ralph's own table at dinner, and was pronounced
+excellent. I pray you try it, masters.--Here, Ned Scargill, mind your
+office, good fellow, and break me that deer. And you, Paul Pimlot,
+exercise your craft on the venison pasty."
+
+And as trencher after trencher was rapidly filled by the two carvers,
+who demeaned themselves in their task like men acquainted with the
+powers of rustic appetite, the old steward addressed himself to the
+dames.
+
+"What can I do for you, fair mistresses?" he said. "Here be sack
+possets, junkets and cream, for such as like them--French puffs and
+Italian puddings, right good, I warrant you, and especially admired by
+my honourable good lady. Indeed, I am not sure she hath not lent a hand
+herself in their preparation. Then here be fritters in the court
+fashion, made with curds of sack posset, eggs and ale, and seasoned with
+nutmeg and pepper. You will taste them, I am sure, for they are
+favourites with our sovereign lady, the queen. Here, Gregory,
+Dickon--bestir yourselves, knaves, and pour forth a cup of sack for each
+of these dames. As you drink, mistresses, neglect not the health of our
+honourable good master Sir Ralph, and his lady. It is well--it is well.
+I will convey to them both your dutiful good wishes. But I must see all
+your wants supplied. Good Dame Openshaw, you have nought before you. Be
+prevailed upon to taste these dropt raisins or a fond pudding. And you,
+too, sweet Dame Tetlow. Squire Nicholas gave me special caution to take
+care of you, but the injunction was unneeded, as I should have done so
+without it.--Another cup of canary to Dame Tetlow, Gregory. Fill to the
+brim, knave--to the very brim. To the health of Squire Nicholas," he
+added in a low tone, as he handed the brimming goblet to the blushing
+dame; "and be sure and tell him, if he questions you, that I obeyed his
+behests to the best of my ability. I pray you taste this pippin jelly,
+dame. It is as red as rubies, but not so red as your lips, or some leach
+of almonds, which, lily-white though it be, is not to be compared with
+the teeth that shall touch it."
+
+"Odd's heart! mester steward, yo mun ha' larnt that protty speech fro'
+th' squoire himself," replied Dame Tetlow, laughing.
+
+"It may be the recollection of something said to me by him, brought to
+mind by your presence," replied Adam Whitworth, gallantly. "If I can
+serve you in aught else, sign to me, dame.--Now, knaves, fill the
+cups--ale or bragget, at your pleasure, masters. Drink and stint not,
+and you will the better please your liberal entertainer and my honoured
+master."
+
+Thus exhorted, the guests set seriously to work to fulfil the
+hospitable intentions of the provider of the feast. Cups flowed fast and
+freely, and erelong little was left of the venison pasty but the outer
+crust, and nothing more than a few fragments of the baked red deer. The
+lighter articles then came in for a share of attention, and salmon from
+the Ribble, jack, trout, and eels from the Hodder and Calder, boiled,
+broiled, stewed, and pickled, and of delicious flavour, were discussed
+with infinite relish. Puddings and pastry were left to more delicate
+stomachs--the solids only being in request with the men. Hitherto, the
+demolition of the viands had given sufficient employment, but now the
+edge of appetite beginning to be dulled, tongues were unloosed, and much
+merriment prevailed. More than eighty in number, the guests were
+dispersed without any regard to order, and thus the chief actors in the
+revel were scattered promiscuously about the table, diversifying it with
+their gay costumes. Robin Hood sat between two pretty female
+morris-dancers, whose partners had got to the other end of the table;
+while Ned Huddlestone, the representative of Friar Tuck, was equally
+fortunate, having a buxom dame on either side of him, towards whom he
+distributed his favours with singular impartiality. As porter to the
+Abbey, Ned made himself at home; and, next to Adam Whitworth, was
+perhaps the most important personage present, continually roaring for
+ale, and pledging the damsels around him. From the way he went on, it
+seemed highly probable he would be under the table before supper was
+over; but Ned Huddlestone, like the burly priest whose gown he wore, had
+a stout bullet head, proof against all assaults of liquor; and the
+copious draughts he swallowed, instead of subduing him, only tended to
+make him more uproarious. Blessed also with lusty lungs, his shouts of
+laughter made the roof ring again. But if the strong liquor failed to
+make due impression upon him, the like cannot be said of Jack Roby, who,
+it will be remembered, took the part of the Fool, and who, having drunk
+overmuch, mistook the hobby-horse for a real steed, and in an effort to
+bestride it, fell head-foremost on the floor, and, being found incapable
+of rising, was carried out to an adjoining room, and laid on a bench.
+This, however, was the only case of excess; for though the Sherwood
+foresters emptied their cups often enough to heighten their mirth, none
+of them seemed the worse for what they drank. Lawrence Blackrod, Mr.
+Parker's keeper, had fortunately got next to his old flame, Sukey
+Worseley; while Phil Rawson, the forester, who enacted Will Scarlet, and
+Nancy Holt, between whom an equally tender feeling subsisted, had
+likewise got together. A little beyond them sat the gentleman usher and
+parish clerk, Sampson Harrop, who, piquing himself on his good manners,
+drank very sparingly, and was content to sup on sweetmeats and a bowl of
+fleetings, as curds separated from whey are termed in this district. Tom
+the piper, and his companion the taborer, ate for the next week, but
+were somewhat more sparing in the matter of drink, their services as
+minstrels being required later on. Thus the various guests enjoyed
+themselves according to their bent, and universal hilarity prevailed. It
+would be strange indeed if it had been otherwise; for what with the good
+cheer, and the bright eyes around them, the rustics had attained a point
+of felicity not likely to be surpassed. Of the numerous assemblage more
+than half were of the fairer sex; and of these the greater portion were
+young and good-looking, while in the case of the morris-dancers, their
+natural charms were heightened by their fanciful attire.
+
+Before supper was half over, it became so dark that it was found
+necessary to illuminate the great lamp suspended from the centre of the
+roof, while other lights were set on the board, and two flaming torches
+placed in sockets on either side of the chimney-piece. Scarcely was this
+accomplished when the storm came on, much to the surprise of the
+weatherwise, who had not calculated upon such an occurrence, not having
+seen any indications whatever of it in the heavens. But all were too
+comfortably sheltered, and too well employed, to pay much attention to
+what was going on without; and, unless when a flash of lightning more
+than usually vivid dazzled the gaze, or a peal of thunder more appalling
+than the rest broke overhead, no alarm was expressed, even by the women.
+To be sure, a little pretty trepidation was now and then evinced by the
+younger damsels; but even this was only done with the view of exacting
+attention on the part of their swains, and never failed in effect. The
+thunder-storm, therefore, instead of putting a stop to the general
+enjoyment, only tended to increase it. However the last peal was loud
+enough to silence the most uproarious. The women turned pale, and the
+men looked at each other anxiously, listening to hear if any damage had
+been done. But, as nothing transpired, their spirits revived. A few
+minutes afterwards word was brought that the Conventual Church had been
+struck by a thunderbolt, but this was not regarded as a very serious
+disaster. The bearer of the intelligence was little Jennet, who said she
+had been caught in the ruins by the storm, and after being dreadfully
+frightened by the lightning, had seen a bolt strike the steeple, and
+heard some stones rattle down, after which she ran away. No one thought
+of inquiring what she had been doing there at the time, but room was
+made for her at the supper-table next to Sampson Harrop, while the good
+steward, patting her on the head, filled her a cup of canary with his
+own hand, and gave her some cates to eat.
+
+"Ey dunna see Alizon" observed the little girl, looking round the table,
+after she had drunk the wine.
+
+"Your sister is not here, Jennet," replied Adam Whitworth, with a smile.
+"She is too great a lady for us now. Since she came up with her ladyship
+from the green she has been treated quite like one of the guests, and
+has been walking about the garden and ruins all the afternoon with young
+Mistress Dorothy, who has taken quite a fancy to her. Indeed, for the
+matter of that, all the ladies seem to have taken a fancy to her, and
+she is now closeted with Mistress Nutter in her own room."
+
+This was gall and wormwood to Jennet.
+
+"She'll be hard to please when she goes home again, after playing the
+fine dame here," pursued the steward.
+
+"Then ey hope she'll never come home again," rejoined Jennet;
+spitefully, "fo' we dunna want fine dames i' our poor cottage."
+
+"For my part I do not wonder Alizon pleases the gentle folks," observed
+Sampson Harrop, "since such pains have been taken with her manners and
+education; and I must say she does great credit to her instructor, who,
+for reasons unnecessary to mention, shall be nameless. I wish I could
+say the same for you, Jennet; but though you're not deficient in
+ability, you've no perseverance or pleasure in study."
+
+"Ey knoa os much os ey care to knoa," replied Jennet, "an more than yo
+con teach me, Mester Harrop. Why is Alizon always to be thrown i' my
+teeth?"
+
+"Because she's the best model you can have," rejoined Sampson. "Ah! if
+I'd my own way wi' ye, lass, I'd mend your temper and manners. But you
+come of an ill stock, ye saucy hussy."
+
+"Ey come fro' th' same stock as Alizon, onny how," said Jennet.
+
+"Unluckily that cannot be denied," replied Sampson; "but you're as
+different from her as light from darkness."
+
+Jennet eyed him bitterly, and then rose from the table.
+
+"Ey'n go," she said.
+
+"No--no; sit down," interposed the good-natured steward. "The dancing
+and pastimes will begin presently, and you will see your sister. She
+will come down with the ladies."
+
+"That's the very reason she wishes to go," said Sampson Harrop. "The
+spiteful little creature cannot bear to see her sister better treated
+than herself. Go your ways, then. It is the best thing you can do.
+Alizon would blush to see you here."
+
+"Then ey'n een stay an vex her," replied Jennet, sharply; "boh ey winna
+sit near yo onny longer, Mester Sampson Harrop, who ca' yersel gentleman
+usher, boh who are nah gentleman at aw, nor owt like it, boh merely
+parish clerk an schoolmester, an a poor schoolmester to boot. Eyn go an
+sit by Sukey Worseley an Nancy Holt, whom ey see yonder."
+
+"You've found your match, Master Harrop," said the steward, laughing, as
+the little girl walked away.
+
+"I should account it a disgrace to bandy words with the like of her,
+Adam," rejoined the clerk, angrily; "but I'm greatly out in my
+reckoning, if she does not make a second Mother Demdike, and worse could
+not well befall her."
+
+Jennet's society could have been very well dispensed with by her two
+friends, but she would not be shaken off. On the contrary, finding
+herself in the way, she only determined the more pertinaciously to
+remain, and began to exercise all her powers of teasing, which have been
+described as considerable, and which on this occasion proved eminently
+successful. And the worst of it was, there was no crushing the plaguy
+little insect; any effort made to catch her only resulting in an escape
+on her part, and a new charge on some undefended quarter, with sharper
+stinging and more intolerable buzzing than ever.
+
+Out of all patience, Sukey Worseley at length exclaimed, "Ey should
+loike to see ye swum, crosswise, i' th' Calder, Jennet, as Nance
+Redferne war this efternoon."
+
+"May be ye would, Sukey," replied the little girl, "boh eym nah so
+likely to be tried that way as yourself, lass; an if ey war swum ey
+should sink, while yo, wi' your broad back and shouthers, would be sure
+to float, an then yo'd be counted a witch."
+
+"Heed her not, Sukey," said Blackrod, unable to resist a laugh, though
+the poor girl was greatly discomfited by this personal allusion; "ye may
+ha' a broad back o' our own, an the broader the better to my mind, boh
+mey word on't ye'll never be ta'en fo a witch. Yo're far too comely."
+
+This assurance was a balm to poor Sukey's wounded spirit, and she
+replied with a well-pleased smile, "Ey hope ey dunna look like one,
+Lorry."
+
+"Not a bit, lass," said Blackrod, lifting a huge ale-cup to his lips.
+"Your health, sweetheart."
+
+"What think ye then o' Nance Redferne?" observed Jennet. "Is she neaw
+comely?--ay, comelier far than fat, fubsy Sukey here--or than Nancy
+Holt, wi' her yallo hure an frecklet feace--an yet ye ca' her a witch."
+
+"Ey ca' thee one, theaw feaw little whean--an the dowter--an grandowter
+o' one--an that's more," cried Nancy. "Freckles i' your own feace, ye
+mismannert minx."
+
+"Ne'er heed her, Nance," said Phil Rawson, putting his arm round the
+angry damsel's waist, and drawing her gently down. "Every one to his
+taste, an freckles an yellow hure are so to mine. So dunna fret about
+it, an spoil your protty lips wi' pouting. Better ha' freckles o' your
+feace than spots o' your heart, loike that ill-favort little hussy."
+
+"Dunna offend her, Phil," said Nancy Holt, noticing with alarm the
+malignant look fixed upon her lover by Jennet. "She's dawngerous."
+
+"Firrups tak her!" replied Phil Eawson. "Boh who the dole's that? Ey
+didna notice him efore, an he's neaw one o' our party."
+
+The latter observation was occasioned by the entrance of a tall
+personage, in the garb of a Cistertian monk, who issued from one of the
+doorways in the screen, and glided towards the upper table, attracting
+general attention and misgiving as he proceeded. His countenance was
+cadaverous, his lips livid, and his eyes black and deep sunken in their
+sockets, with a bistre-coloured circle around them. His frame was meagre
+and bony. What remained of hair on his head was raven black, but either
+he was bald on the crown, or carried his attention to costume so far as
+to adopt the priestly tonsure. His forehead was lofty and sallow, and
+seemed stamped, like his features, with profound gloom. His garments
+were faded and mouldering, and materially contributed to his ghostly
+appearance.
+
+"Who is it?" cried Sukey and Nance together.
+
+But no one could answer the question.
+
+"He dusna look loike a bein' o' this warld," observed Blackrod, gaping
+with alarm, for the stout keeper was easily assailable on the side of
+superstition; "an there is a mowdy air about him, that gies one the
+shivers to see. Ey've often heer'd say the Abbey is haanted; an that
+pale-feaced chap looks like one o' th' owd monks risen fro' his grave to
+join our revel."
+
+"An see, he looks this way," cried Phil Rawson.
+
+"What flaming een! they mey the very flesh crawl o' one's booans."
+
+"Is it a ghost, Lorry?" said Sukey, drawing nearer to the stalwart
+keeper.
+
+"By th' maskins, lass, ey conna tell," replied Blackrod; "boh whotever
+it be, ey'll protect ye."
+
+"Tak care o' me, Phil," ejaculated Nancy Holt, pressing close to her
+lover's side.
+
+"Eigh, that I win," rejoined the forester.
+
+"Ey dunna care for ghosts so long as yo are near me, Phil," said Nancy,
+tenderly.
+
+"Then ey'n never leave ye, Nance," replied Phil.
+
+"Ghost or not," said Jennet, who had been occupied in regarding the
+new-comer attentively, "ey'n go an speak to it. Ey'm nah afeerd, if yo
+are."
+
+"Eigh do, Jennet, that's a brave little lass," said Blackrod, glad to be
+rid of her in any way.
+
+"Stay!" cried Adam Whitworth, coming up at the moment, and overhearing
+what was said--"you must not go near the gentleman. I will not have him
+molested, or even spoken with, till Sir Ralph appears."
+
+Meanwhile, the stranger, without returning the glances fixed upon him,
+or deigning to notice any of the company, pursued his way, and sat down
+in a chair at the upper table.
+
+But his entrance had been witnessed by others besides the rustic guests
+and servitors. Nicholas and Richard Assheton chanced to be in the
+gallery at the time, and, greatly struck by the singularity of his
+appearance, immediately descended to make inquiries respecting him. As
+they appeared below, the old steward advanced to meet them.
+
+"Who the devil have you got there, Adam?" asked the squire.
+
+"It passeth me almost to tell you, Master Nicholas," replied the
+steward; "and, not knowing whether the gentleman be invited or not, I am
+fain to wait Sir Ralph's pleasure in regard to him."
+
+"Have you no notion who he is?" inquired Richard.
+
+"All I know about him may be soon told, Master Richard," replied Adam.
+"He is a stranger in these parts, and hath very recently taken up his
+abode in Wiswall Hall, which has been abandoned of late years, as you
+know, and suffered to go to decay. Some few months ago an aged couple
+from Colne, named Hewit, took possession of part of the hall, and were
+suffered to remain there, though old Katty Hewit, or Mould-heels, as she
+is familiarly termed by the common folk, is in no very good repute
+hereabouts, and was driven, it is said from Colne, owing to her
+practices as a witch. Be that as it may, soon after these Hewits were
+settled at Wiswall, comes this stranger, and fixes himself in another
+part of the hall. How he lives no one can tell, but it is said he
+rambles all night long, like a troubled spirit, about the deserted
+rooms, attended by Mother Mould-heels; while in the daytime he is never
+seen."
+
+"Can he be of sound mind?" asked Richard.
+
+"Hardly so, I should think, Master Richard," replied the steward. "As to
+who he may be there are many opinions; and some aver he is Francis
+Paslew, grandson of Francis, brother to the abbot, and being a Jesuit
+priest, for you know the Paslews have all strictly adhered to the old
+faith--and that is why they have fled the country and abandoned their
+residence--he is obliged to keep himself concealed."
+
+"If such be the case, he must be crazed indeed to venture here,"
+observed Nicholas; "and yet I am half inclined to credit the report.
+Look at him, Dick. He is the very image of the old abbot."
+
+"Yon portrait might have been painted for him," said Richard, gazing at
+the picture on the wall, and from it to the monk as he spoke; "the very
+same garb, too."
+
+"There is an old monastic robe up-stairs, in the closet adjoining the
+room occupied by Mistress Nutter," observed the steward, "said to be the
+garment in which Abbot Paslew suffered death. Some stains are upon it,
+supposed to be the blood of the wizard Demdike, who perished in an
+extraordinary manner on the same day."
+
+"I have seen it," cried Nicholas, "and the monk's habit looks precisely
+like it, and, if my eyes deceive me not, is stained in the same manner."
+
+"I see the spots plainly on the breast," cried Richard. "How can he have
+procured the robe?"
+
+"Heaven only knows," replied the old steward. "It is a very strange
+occurrence."
+
+"I will go question him," said Richard.
+
+So saying, he proceeded to the upper table, accompanied by Nicholas. As
+they drew near, the stranger arose, and fixed a grim look upon Richard,
+who was a little in advance.
+
+"It is the abbot's ghost!" cried Nicholas, stopping, and detaining his
+cousin. "You shall not address it."
+
+During the contention that ensued, the monk glided towards a side-door
+at the upper end of the hall, and passed through it. So general was the
+consternation, that no one attempted to stay him, nor would any one
+follow to see whither he went. Released, at length, from the strong
+grasp of the squire, Richard rushed forth, and not returning, Nicholas,
+after the lapse of a few minutes, went in search of him, but came back
+presently, and told the old steward he could neither find him nor the
+monk.
+
+"Master Richard will be back anon, I dare say, Adam," he remarked; "if
+not, I will make further search for him; but you had better not mention
+this mysterious occurrence to Sir Ralph, at all events not until the
+festivities are over, and the ladies have retired. It might disturb
+them. I fear the appearance of this monk bodes no good to our family;
+and what makes it worse is, it is not the first ill omen that has
+befallen us to-day, Master Richard was unlucky enough to stand on Abbot
+Paslew's grave!"
+
+"Mercy on us! that was unlucky indeed!" cried Adam, in great
+trepidation. "Poor dear young gentleman! Bid him take especial care of
+himself, good Master Nicholas. I noticed just now, that yon fearsome
+monk regarded him more attentively than you. Bid him be careful, I
+conjure you, sir. But here comes my honoured master and his guests.
+Here, Gregory, Dickon, bestir yourselves, knaves; and serve supper at
+the upper table in a trice."
+
+Any apprehensions Nicholas might entertain for Richard were at this
+moment relieved, for as Sir Ralph and his guests came in at one door,
+the young man entered by another. He looked deathly pale. Nicholas put
+his finger to his lips in token of silence--a gesture which the other
+signified that he understood.
+
+Sir Ralph and his guests having taken their places at the table, an
+excellent and plentiful repast was speedily set before them, and if they
+did not do quite such ample justice to it as the hungry rustics at the
+lower board had done to the good things provided for them, the cook
+could not reasonably complain. No allusion whatever being made to the
+recent strange occurrence, the cheerfulness of the company was
+uninterrupted; but the noise in the lower part of the hall had in a
+great measure subsided, partly out of respect to the host, and partly in
+consequence of the alarm occasioned by the supposed supernatural
+visitation. Richard continued silent and preoccupied, and neither ate
+nor drank; but Nicholas appearing to think his courage would be best
+sustained by an extra allowance of clary and sack, applied himself
+frequently to the goblet with that view, and erelong his spirits
+improved so wonderfully, and his natural boldness was so much increased,
+that he was ready to confront Abbot Paslew, or any other abbot of them
+all, wherever they might chance to cross him. In this enterprising frame
+of mind he drew Richard aside, and questioned him as to what had taken
+place in his pursuit of the mysterious monk.
+
+"You overtook him, Dick, of course?" he said, "and put it to him roundly
+why he came hither, where neither ghosts nor Jesuit priests, whichever
+he may be, are wanted. What answered he, eh? Would I had been there to
+interrogate him! He should have declared how he became possessed of that
+old moth-eaten, blood-stained, monkish gown, or I would have unfrocked
+him, even if he had proved to be a skeleton. But I interrupt you. You
+have not told me what occurred at the interview?"
+
+"There was no interview," replied Richard, gravely.
+
+"No interview!" echoed Nicholas. "S'blood, man!--but I must be careful,
+for Doctor Ormerod and Parson Dewhurst are within hearing, and may
+lecture me on the wantonness and profanity of swearing. By Saint Gregory
+de Northbury!--no, that's an oath too, and, what is worse, a Popish
+oath. By--I have several tremendous imprecations at my tongue's end, but
+they shall not out. It is a sinful propensity, and must be controlled.
+In a word, then, you let him escape, Dick?"
+
+"If you were so anxious to stay him, I wonder you came not with me,"
+replied Richard; "but you now hold very different language from what you
+used when I quitted the hall."
+
+"Ah, true--right--Dick," replied Nicholas; "my sentiments have undergone
+a wonderful change since then. I now regret having stopped you. By my
+troth! if I meet that confounded monk again, he shall give a good
+account of himself, I promise him. But what said he to you, Dick? Make
+an end of your story."
+
+"I have not begun it yet," replied Richard. "But pay attention, and you
+shall hear what occurred. When I rushed forth, the monk had already
+gained the entrance-hall. No one was within it at the time, all the
+serving-men being busied here with the feasting. I summoned him to stay,
+but he answered not, and, still grimly regarding me, glided towards the
+outer door, which (I know not by what chance) stood open, and passing
+through it, closed it upon me. This delayed me a moment; and when I got
+out, he had already descended the steps, and was moving towards the
+garden. It was bright moonlight, so I could see him distinctly. And mark
+this, Nicholas--the two great blood-hounds were running about at large
+in the court-yard, but they slunk off, as if alarmed at his appearance.
+The monk had now gained the garden, and was shaping his course swiftly
+towards the ruined Conventual Church. Determined to overtake him, I
+quickened my pace; but he gained the old fane before me, and threaded
+the broken aisles with noiseless celerity. In the choir he paused and
+confronted me. When within a few yards of him, I paused, arrested by his
+fixed and terrible gaze. Nicholas, his look froze my blood. I would have
+spoken, but I could not. My tongue clove to the roof of my mouth for
+very fear. Before I could shake off this apprehension the figure raised
+its hand menacingly thrice, and passed into the Lacy Chapel. As soon as
+he was gone my courage returned, and I followed. The little chapel was
+brilliantly illuminated by the moon; but it was empty. I could only see
+the white monument of Sir Henry de Lacy glistening in the pale
+radiance."
+
+"I must take a cup of wine after this horrific relation," said Nicholas,
+replenishing his goblet. "It has chilled my blood, as the monk's icy
+gaze froze yours. Body o' me! but this is strange indeed. Another oath.
+Lord help me!--I shall never get rid of the infernal--I mean, the evil
+habit. Will you not pledge me, Dick?"
+
+The young man shook his head.
+
+"You are wrong," pursued Nicholas,--"decidedly wrong. Wine gladdeneth
+the heart of man, and restoreth courage. A short while ago I was
+downcast as you, melancholy as an owl, and timorous as a kid, but now I
+am resolute as an eagle, stout of heart, and cheerful of spirit; and all
+owing to a cup of wine. Try the remedy, Dick, and get rid of your gloom.
+You look like a death's-head at a festival. What if you have stumbled on
+an ill-omened grave! What if you have been banned by a witch! What if
+you have stood face to face with the devil--or a ghost! Heed them not!
+Drink, and set care at defiance. And, not to gainsay my own counsel, I
+shall fill my cup again. For, in good sooth, this is rare clary, Dick;
+and, talking of wine, you should taste some of the wonderful Rhenish
+found in the abbot's cellar by our ancestor, Richard Assheton--a century
+old if it be a day, and yet cordial and corroborative as ever. Those
+monks were lusty tipplers, Dick. I sometimes wish I had been an abbot
+myself. I should have made a rare father confessor--especially to a
+pretty penitent. Here, Gregory, hie thee to the master cellarer, and bid
+him fill me a goblet of the old Rhenish--the wine from the abbot's
+cellar. Thou understandest--or, stay, better bring the flask. I have a
+profound respect for the venerable bottle, and would pay my devoirs to
+it. Hie away, good fellow!"
+
+"You will drink too much if you go on thus," remarked Richard.
+
+"Not a drop," rejoined Nicholas. "I am blithe as a lark, and would keep
+so. That is why I drink. But to return to our ghosts. Since this place
+must be haunted, I would it were visited by spirits of a livelier kind
+than old Paslew. There is Isole de Heton, for instance. The fair
+votaress would be the sort of ghost for me. I would not turn my back on
+her, but face her manfully. Look at her picture, Dick. Was ever
+countenance sweeter than hers--lips more tempting, or eyes more melting!
+Is she not adorable? Zounds!" he exclaimed, suddenly pausing, and
+staring at the portrait--"Would you believe it, Dick? The fair Isole
+winked at me--I'll swear she did. I mean--I will venture to affirm upon
+oath, if required, that she winked."
+
+"Pshaw!" exclaimed Richard. "The fumes of the wine have mounted to your
+brain, and disordered it."
+
+"No such thing," cried Nicholas, regarding the picture as steadily as he
+could--"she's leering at me now. By the Queen of Paphos! another wink.
+Nay, if you doubt me, watch her well yourself. A pleasant adventure
+this--ha!--ha!"
+
+"A truce to this drunken foolery," cried Richard, moving away.
+
+"Drunken! s'death! recall that epithet, Dick," cried Nicholas, angrily.
+"I am no more drunk than yourself, you dog. I can walk as steadily, and
+see as plainly, as you; and I will maintain it at the point of the
+sword, that the eyes of that picture have lovingly regarded me; nay,
+that they follow me now."
+
+"A common delusion with a portrait," said Richard; "they appear to
+follow _me_."
+
+"But they do not wink at you as they do at me," said Nicholas, "neither
+do the lips break into smiles, and display the pearly teeth beneath
+them, as occurs in my case. Grim old abbots frown on you, but fair,
+though frail, votaresses smile on me. I am the favoured mortal, Dick."
+
+"Were it as you represent, Nicholas," replied Richard, gravely, "I
+should say, indeed, that some evil principle was at work to lure you
+through your passions to perdition. But I know they are all fancies
+engendered by your heated brain, which in your calmer moments you will
+discard, as I discard them now. If I have any weight with you, I counsel
+you to drink no more, or you will commit some mad foolery, of which you
+will be ashamed hereafter. The discreeter course would be to retire
+altogether; and for this you have ample excuse, as you will have to
+arise betimes to-morrow, to set out for Pendle Forest with Master
+Potts."
+
+"Retire!" exclaimed Nicholas, bursting into a loud, contemptuous laugh.
+"I like thy counsel, lad. Yes, I will retire when I have finished the
+old monastic Rhenish which Gregory is bringing me. I will retire when I
+have danced the Morisco with the May Queen--the Cushion Dance with Dame
+Tetlow--and the Brawl with the lovely Isole de Heton. Another wink,
+Dick. By our Lady! she assents to my proposition. When I have done all
+this, and somewhat more, it will be time to think of retiring. But I
+have the night before me, Dick--not to be spent in drowsy
+unconsciousness, as thou recommendest, but in active, pleasurable
+enjoyment. No man requires less sleep than I do. Ordinarily, I 'retire,'
+as thou termest it, at ten, and rise with the sun. In summer I am abroad
+soon after three, and mend that if thou canst, Dick. To-night I shall
+seek my couch about midnight, and yet I'll warrant me I shall be the
+first stirring in the Abbey; and, in any case, I shall be in the saddle
+before thee."
+
+"It may be," replied Richard; "but it was to preserve you from
+extravagance to-night that I volunteered advice, which, from my
+knowledge of your character, I might as well have withheld. But let me
+caution you on another point. Dance with Dame Tetlow, or any other dame
+you please--dance with the fair Isole de Heton, if you can prevail upon
+her to descend from her frame and give you her hand; but I object--most
+decidedly object--to your dancing with Alizon Device."
+
+"Why so?" cried Nicholas; "why should I not dance with whom I please?
+And what right hast thou to forbid me Alizon? Troth, lad, art thou so
+ignorant of human nature as not to know that forbidden fruit is the
+sweetest. It hath ever been so since the fall. I am now only the more
+bent upon dancing with the prohibited damsel. But I would fain know the
+principle on which thou erectest thyself into her guardian. Is it
+because she fainted when thy sword was crossed with that hot-headed
+fool, Sir Thomas Metcalfe, that thou flatterest thyself she is in love
+with thee? Be not too sure of it, Dick. Many a timid wench has swooned
+at the sight of a naked weapon, without being enamoured of the
+swordsman. The fainting proves nothing. But grant she loves thee--what
+then! An end must speedily come of it; so better finish at once, before
+she be entangled in a mesh from which she cannot be extricated without
+danger. For hark thee, Dick, whatever thou mayst think, I am not so far
+gone that I know not what I say, neither is my vision so much obscured
+that I see not some matters plainly enough, and I understand thee and
+Alizon well, and see through you both. This matter must go no further.
+It has gone too far already. After to-night you must see her no more. I
+am serious in this--serious _inter pocula_, if such a thing can be. It
+is necessary to observe caution, for reasons that will at once occur to
+thee. Thou canst not wed this girl--then why trifle with her till her
+heart be broken."
+
+"Broken it shall never be by me!" cried Richard.
+
+"But I tell you it will be broken, if you do not desist at once,"
+rejoined Nicholas. "I was but jesting when I said I would rob you of her
+in the Morisco, though it would be charity to both, and spare you many a
+pang hereafter, were I to put my threat into execution. However, I have
+a soft heart where aught of love is concerned, and, having pointed out
+the risk you will incur, I shall leave you to follow your own devices.
+But, for Alizon's sake, stop in time."
+
+"You now speak soberly and sensibly enough, Nicholas," replied Richard,
+"and I thank you heartily for your counsel; and if I do not follow it by
+withdrawing at once from a pursuit which may appear to you hopeless, if
+not dangerous, you will, I hope, give me credit for being actuated by
+worthy motives. I will at once, and frankly admit, that I love Alizon;
+and loving her, you may rest assured I would sacrifice my life a
+thousand times rather than endanger her happiness. But there is a point
+in her history, with which if you were acquainted, it might alter your
+view of the case; but this is not the season for its disclosure,
+neither, I am bound to say, does the circumstance so materially alter
+the apparent posture of affairs as to remove all difficulty. On the
+contrary, it leaves an insurmountable obstacle behind it."
+
+"Are you wise, then, in going on?" asked Nicholas.
+
+"I know not," answered Richard, "but I feel as if I were the sport of
+fate. Uncertain whither to turn for the best, I leave the disposition of
+my course to chance. But, alas!" he added, sadly, "all seems to point
+out that this meeting with Alizon will be my last."
+
+"Well, cheer up, lad," said Nicholas. "These afflictions are hard to
+bear, it is true; but somehow they are got over. Just as if your horse
+should fling you in the midst of a hedge when you are making a flying
+leap, you get scratched and bruised, but you scramble out, and in a day
+or two are on your legs again. Love breaks no bones, that's one comfort.
+When at your age, I was desperately in love, not with Mistress Nicholas
+Assheton--Heaven help the fond soul! but with--never mind with whom; but
+it was not a very prudent match, and so, in my worldly wisdom, I was
+obliged to cry off. A sad business it was. I thought I should have died
+of it, and I made quite sure that the devoted girl would die first, in
+which case we were to occupy the same grave. But I was not driven to
+such a dire extremity, for before I had kept house a week, Jack Walker,
+the keeper of Downham, made his appearance in my room, and after telling
+me of the mischief done by a pair of otters in the Ribble, finding me in
+a very desponding state, ventured to inquire if I had heard the news.
+Expecting to hear of the death of the girl, I prepared myself for an
+outburst of grief, and resolved to give immediate directions for a
+double funeral, when he informed me--what do you think, Dick?--that she
+was going to be married to himself. I recovered at once, and immediately
+went out to hunt the otters, and rare sport we had. But here comes
+Gregory with the famous old Rhenish. Better take a cup, Dick; this is
+the best cure for the heartache, and for all other aches and grievances.
+Ah! glorious stuff--miraculous wine!" he added, smacking his lips with
+extraordinary satisfaction after a deep draught; "those worthy fathers
+were excellent judges. I have a great reverence for them. But where can
+Alizon be all this while? Supper is wellnigh over, and the dancing and
+pastimes will commence anon, and yet she comes not."
+
+"She is here," cried Richard.
+
+And as he spoke Mistress Nutter and Alizon entered the hall.
+
+Richard endeavoured to read in the young girl's countenance some
+intimation of what had passed between her and Mistress Nutter, but he
+only remarked that she was paler than before, and had traces of anxiety
+about her. Mistress Nutter also looked gloomy and thoughtful, and there
+was nothing in the manner or deportment of either to lead to the
+conclusion, that a discovery of relationship between them had taken
+place. As Alizon moved on, her eyes met those of Richard--but the look
+was intercepted by Mistress Nutter, who instantly called off her
+daughter's attention to herself; and, while the young man hesitated to
+join them, his sister came quickly up to him, and drew him away in
+another direction. Left to himself, Nicholas tossed off another cup of
+the miraculous Rhenish, which improved in flavour as he discussed it,
+and then, placing a chair opposite the portrait of Isole de Heton,
+filled a bumper, and, uttering the name of the fair votaress, drained it
+to her. This time he was quite certain he received a significant glance
+in return, and no one being near to contradict him, he went on indulging
+the idea of an amorous understanding between himself and the picture,
+till he had finished the bottle, and obtained as many ogles as he
+swallowed draughts of wine, upon which he arose and staggered off in
+search of Dame Tetlow.
+
+Meanwhile, Mistress Nutter having made her excuses to Lady Assheton for
+not attending the supper, walked down the hall with her daughter, until
+such time as the dancing and pastimes should commence. As will be
+readily supposed under the circumstances, this part of the entertainment
+was distasteful to both of them; but it could not be avoided without
+entering into explanations, which Mistress Nutter was unwilling to make,
+and she, therefore, counselled her daughter to act in all respects as if
+she were still Alizon Device, and in no way connected with her.
+
+"I shall take an early opportunity of announcing my intention to adopt
+you," she said, "and then you can act differently. Meantime, keep near
+me as much as you can. Say little to Dorothy or Richard Assheton, and
+prepare to retire early; for this noisy and riotous assemblage is not
+much to my taste, and I care not how soon I quit it."
+
+Alizon assented to what was said, and stole a timid glance towards
+Richard and Dorothy; but the latter, who alone perceived it, instantly
+averted her head, in such way as to make it evident she wished to shun
+her regards. Slight as it was, this circumstance occasioned Alizon much
+pain, for she could not conceive how she had offended her new-made
+friend, and it was some relief to encounter a party of acquaintances who
+had risen from the lower table at her approach, though they did not
+presume to address her while she was with Mistress Nutter, but waited
+respectfully at a little distance. Alizon, however, flew towards them.
+
+"Ah, Susan!--ah, Nancy!" she cried taking the hand of each--"how glad I
+am to see you here; and you too, Lawrence Blackrod--and you, Phil
+Rawson--and you, also, good Master Harrop. How happy you all look!"
+
+"An wi' good reason, sweet Alizon," replied Blackrod. "Boh we began to
+be afeerd we'd lost ye, an that wad ha' bin a sore mishap--to lose our
+May Queen--an th' prettiest May Queen os ever dawnced i' this ha', or i'
+onny other ha' i' Lonkyshiar."
+
+"We ha drunk your health, sweet Alizon," added Phil--"an wishin' ye may
+be os happy os ye desarve, wi' the mon o' your heart, if onny sich lucky
+chap there be."
+
+"Thank you--thank you both," replied Alizon, blushing; "and in return I
+cannot wish you better fortune, Philip, than to be united to the good
+girl near you, for I know her kindly disposition so well, that I am sure
+she will make you happy."
+
+"Ey'm satisfied on't myself," replied Rawson; "an ey hope ere long
+she'll be missus o' a little cot i' Bowland Forest, an that yo'll pay us
+a visit, Alizon, an see an judge fo' yourself how happy we be. Nance win
+make a rare forester's wife."
+
+"Not a bit better than my Sukey," cried Lawrence Blackrod. "Ye shanna
+get th' start o' me, Phil, fo' by th' mess! the very same day os sees yo
+wedded to Nancy Holt shan find me united to Sukey Worseley. An so Alizon
+win ha' two cottages i' Bowland Forest to visit i'stead o' one."
+
+"And well pleased I shall be to visit them both," she rejoined. At this
+moment Mistress Nutter came up.
+
+"My good friends," she said, "as you appear to take so much interest in
+Alizon, you may be glad to learn that it is my intention to adopt her as
+a daughter, having no child of my own; and, though her position
+henceforth will be very different from what it has been, I am sure she
+will never forget her old friends."
+
+"Never, indeed, never!" cried Alizon, earnestly.
+
+"This is good news, indeed," cried Sampson Harrop, joyfully, while the
+others joined in his exclamation. "We all rejoice in Alizon's good
+fortune, and think she richly deserves it. For my own part, I was always
+sure she would have rare luck, but I did not expect such luck as this."
+
+"What's to become o' me?" cried Jennet, coming from behind a chair,
+where she had hitherto concealed herself.
+
+"I will always take care of you," replied Alizon, stooping, and kissing
+her.
+
+"Do not promise more than you may be able to perform, Alizon," observed
+Mistress Nutter, coldly, and regarding the little girl with a look of
+disgust; "an ill-favour'd little creature, with the Demdike eyes."
+
+"And as ill-tempered as she is ill-favoured," rejoined Sampson Harrop;
+"and, though she cannot help being ugly, she might help being
+malicious."
+
+Jennet gave him a bitter look.
+
+"You do her injustice, Master Harrop," said Alizon. "Poor little Jennet
+is quick-tempered, but not malevolent."
+
+"Ey con hate weel if ey conna love," replied Jennet, "an con recollect
+injuries if ey forget kindnesses.--Boh dunna trouble yourself about me,
+sister. Ey dunna envy ye your luck. Ey dunna want to be adopted by a
+grand-dame. Ey'm content os ey am. Boh are na ye gettin' on rayther too
+fast, lass? Mother's consent has to be axed, ey suppose, efore ye leave
+her."
+
+"There is little fear of her refusal," observed Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Ey dunna knoa that," rejoined Jennet. "If she were to refuse, it wadna
+surprise me."
+
+"Nothing spiteful she could do would surprise me," remarked Harrop. "But
+how are you likely to know what your mother will think and do, you
+forward little hussy?"
+
+"Ey judge fro circumstances," replied the little girl. "Mother has often
+said she conna weel spare Alizon. An mayhap Mistress Nutter may knoa,
+that she con be very obstinate when she tays a whim into her head."
+
+"I _do_ know it," replied Mistress Nutter; "and, from my experience of
+her temper in former days, I should be loath to have you near me, who
+seem to inherit her obstinacy."
+
+"Wi' sich misgivings ey wonder ye wish to tak Alizon, madam," said
+Jennet; "fo she's os much o' her mother about her os me, onny she dunna
+choose to show it."
+
+"Peace, thou mischievous urchin," cried Mistress Nutter, losing all
+patience.
+
+"Shall I take her away?" said Harrop--seizing her hand.
+
+"Ay, do," said Mistress Nutter.
+
+"No, no, let her stay!" cried Alizon, quickly; "I shall be miserable if
+she goes."
+
+"Oh, ey'm quite ready to go," said Jennet, "fo ey care little fo sich
+seets os this--boh efore ey leave ey wad fain say a few words to Mester
+Potts, whom ey see yonder."
+
+"What can you want with him, Jennet," cried Alizon, in surprise.
+
+"Onny to tell him what brother Jem is gone to Pendle fo to-neet,"
+replied the little girl, with a significant and malicious look at
+Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Ha!" muttered the lady. "There is more malice in this little wasp than
+I thought. But I must rob it of its sting."
+
+And while thus communing with herself, she fixed a searching look on
+Jennet, and then raising her hand quickly, waved it in her face.
+
+"Oh!" cried the little girl, falling suddenly backwards.
+
+"What's the matter?" demanded Alizon, flying to her.
+
+"Ey dunna reetly knoa," replied Jennet.
+
+"She's seized with a sudden faintness," said Harrop. "Better she should
+go home then at once. I'll find somebody to take her."
+
+"Neaw, neaw, ey'n sit down here," said Jennet; "ey shan be better soon."
+
+"Come along, Alizon," said Mistress Nutter, apparently unconcerned at
+the circumstance.
+
+Having confided the little girl, who was now recovered from the shock,
+to the care of Nancy Holt, Alizon followed her mother.
+
+At this moment Sir Ralph, who had quitted the supper-table, clapped his
+hands loudly, thus giving the signal to the minstrels, who, having
+repaired to the gallery, now struck up a merry tune, and instantly the
+whole hall was in motion. Snatching up his wand Sampson Harrop hurried
+after Alizon, beseeching her to return with him, and join a procession
+about to be formed by the revellers, and of course, as May Queen, and
+the most important personage in it, she could not refuse. Very short
+space sufficed the morris-dancers to find their partners; Robin Hood and
+the foresters got into their places; the hobby-horse curveted and
+capered; Friar Tuck resumed his drolleries; and even Jack Roby was so
+far recovered as to be able to get on his legs, though he could not walk
+very steadily. Marshalled by the gentleman-usher, and headed by Robin
+Hood and the May Queen, the procession marched round the hall, the
+minstrels playing merrily the while, and then drew up before the upper
+table, where a brief oration was pronounced by Sir Ralph. A shout that
+made the rafters ring again followed the address, after which a couranto
+was called for by the host, who, taking Mistress Nicholas Assheton by
+the hand, led her into the body of the hall, whither he was speedily
+followed by the other guests, who had found partners in like manner.
+
+Before relating how the ball was opened a word must be bestowed upon
+Mistress Nicholas Assheton, whom I have neglected nearly as much as she
+was neglected by her unworthy spouse, and I therefore hasten to repair
+the injustice by declaring that she was a very amiable and very charming
+woman, and danced delightfully. And recollect, ladies, these were
+dancing days--I mean days when knowledge of figures as well as skill was
+required, more than twenty forgotten dances being in vogue, the very
+names of which may surprise you as I recapitulate them. There was the
+Passamezzo, a great favourite with Queen Elizabeth, who used to foot it
+merrily, when, as you are told by Gray--
+
+          "The great Lord-keeper led the brawls,
+          And seals and maces danced before him!"
+
+the grave Pavane, likewise a favourite with the Virgin Queen, and which
+I should like to see supersede the eternal polka at Almack's and
+elsewhere, and in which--
+
+          "Five was the number of the music's feet
+          Which still the dance did with live paces meet;"
+
+the Couranto, with its "current traverses," "sliding passages," and
+solemn tune, wherein, according to Sir John Davies--
+
+          --"that dancer greatest praise hath won
+          Who with best order can all order shun;"
+
+the Lavolta, also delineated by the same knowing hand--
+
+          "Where arm in arm two dancers are entwined,
+          And whirl themselves with strict embracements bound,
+          their feet an anapest do sound."
+
+Is not this very much like a waltz? Yes, ladies, you have been dancing
+the lavolta of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries without being
+aware of it. But there was another waltz still older, called the
+Sauteuse, which I suspect answered to your favourite polka. Then there
+were brawls, galliards, paspys, sarabands, country-dances of various
+figures, cushion dances (another dance I long to see revived), kissing
+dances, and rounds, any of which are better than the objectionable
+polka. Thus you will see that there was infinite variety at least at the
+period under consideration, and that you have rather retrograded than
+advanced in the saltatory art. But to return to the ball.
+
+Mistress Nicholas Assheton, I have said, excelled in the graceful
+accomplishment of dancing, and that was probably the reason why she had
+been selected for the couranto by Sir Ralph, who knew the value of a
+good partner. By many persons she was accounted the handsomest woman in
+the room, and in dignity of carriage she was certainly unrivalled. This
+was precisely what Sir Ralph required, and having executed a few
+"current traverses and sliding passages" with her, with a gravity and
+stateliness worthy of Sir Christopher Hatton himself, when graced by the
+hand of his sovereign mistress, he conducted her, amid the hushed
+admiration of the beholders, to a seat. Still the dance continued with
+unabated spirit; all those engaged in it running up and down, or
+"turning and winding with unlooked-for change." Alizon's hand had been
+claimed by Richard Assheton, and next to the stately host and his
+dignified partner, they came in for the largest share of admiration and
+attention; and if the untutored girl fell short of the accomplished dame
+in precision and skill, she made up for the want of them in natural
+grace and freedom of movement, for the display of which the couranto,
+with its frequent and impromptu changes, afforded ample opportunity.
+Even Sir Ralph was struck with her extreme gracefulness, and pointed her
+out to Mistress Nicholas, who, unenvying and amiable, joined heartily in
+his praises. Overhearing what was said, Mrs. Nutter thought it a fitting
+opportunity to announce her intention of adopting the young girl; and
+though Sir Ralph seemed a good deal surprised at the suddenness of the
+declaration, he raised no objection to the plan; but, on the contrary,
+applauded it. But another person, by no means disposed to regard it in
+an equally favourable light became acquainted with the intelligence at
+the same time. This was Master Potts, who instantly set his wits at work
+to discover its import. Ever on the alert, his little eyes, sharp as
+needles, had detected Jennet amongst the rustic company, and he now made
+his way towards her, resolved, by dint of cross-questioning and
+otherwise, to extract all the information he possibly could from her.
+
+The dance over, Richard and his partner wandered towards a more retired
+part of the hall.
+
+"Why does your sister shun me?" inquired Alizon, with a look of great
+distress. "What can I have done to offend her? Whenever I regard her she
+averts her head, and as I approached her just now, she moved away,
+making it evident she designed to avoid me. If I could think myself in
+any way different from what I was this morning, when she treated me with
+such unbounded confidence and kindness, or accuse myself of any offence
+towards her, even in thought, I could understand it; but as it is, her
+present coldness appears inexplicable and unreasonable, and gives me
+great pain. I would not forfeit her regard for worlds, and therefore
+beseech you to tell me what I have done amiss, that I may endeavour to
+repair it."
+
+"You have done nothing--nothing whatever, sweet girl," replied Richard.
+"It is only caprice on Dorothy's part, and except that it distresses
+you, her conduct, which you justly call 'unreasonable,' does not deserve
+a moment's serious consideration."
+
+"Oh no! you cannot deceive me thus," cried Alizon. "She is too kind--too
+well-judging, to be capricious. Something must have occurred to make her
+change her opinion of me, though what it is I cannot conjecture. I have
+gained much to-day--more than I had any right to expect; but if I have
+forfeited the good opinion of your sister, the loss of her friendship
+will counterbalance all the rest."
+
+"But you have not lost it, Alizon," replied Richard, earnestly. "Dorothy
+has got some strange notions into her head, which only require to be
+combated. She does not like Mistress Nutter, and is piqued and
+displeased by the extraordinary interest which that lady displays
+towards you. That is all."
+
+"But why should she not like Mistress Nutter?" inquired Alizon.
+
+"Nay, there is no accounting for fancies," returned Richard, with a
+faint smile. "I do not attempt to defend her, but simply offer the only
+excuse in my power for her conduct."
+
+"I am concerned to hear it," said Alizon, sadly, "because henceforth I
+shall be so intimately connected with Mistress Nutter, that this
+estrangement, which I hoped arose only from some trivial cause, and
+merely required a little explanation to be set aside, may become widened
+and lasting. Owing every thing to Mistress Nutter, I must espouse her
+cause; and if your sister likes her not, she likes me not in
+consequence, and therefore we must continue divided. But surely her
+dislike is of very recent date, and cannot have any strong hold upon
+her; for when she and Mistress Nutter met this morning, a very different
+feeling seemed to animate her."
+
+"So, indeed, it did," replied Richard, visibly embarrassed and
+distressed. "And since you have made me acquainted with the new tie and
+interests you have formed, I can only regret alluding to the
+circumstance."
+
+"That you may not misunderstand me," said Alizon, "I will explain the
+extent of my obligations to Mistress Nutter, and then you will perceive
+how much I am bounden to her. Childless herself, greatly interested in
+me, and feeling for my unfortunate situation, with infinite goodness of
+heart she has declared her intention of removing me from all chance of
+baneful influence, from the family with whom I have been heretofore
+connected, by adopting me as her daughter."
+
+"I should indeed rejoice at this," said Richard, "were it not that--"
+
+And he stopped, gazing anxiously at her.
+
+"Were not what?" cried Alizon, alarmed by his looks. "What do you mean?"
+
+"Do not press me further," he rejoined; "I cannot answer you. Indeed I
+have said too much already."
+
+"You have said too much or too little," cried Alizon. "Speak, I implore
+you. What mean these dark hints which you throw out, and which like
+shadows elude all attempts to grasp them! Do not keep me in this state
+of suspense and agitation. Your looks speak more than your words. Oh,
+give your thoughts utterance!"
+
+"I cannot," replied Richard. "I do not believe what I have heard, and
+therefore will not repeat it. It would only increase the mischief. But
+oh! tell me this! Was it, indeed, to remove you from the baneful
+influence of Elizabeth Device that Mistress Nutter adopted you?"
+
+"Other motives may have swayed her, and I have said they did so,"
+replied Alizon; "but that wish, no doubt, had great weight with her.
+Nay, notwithstanding her abhorrence of the family, she has kindly
+consented to use her best endeavours to preserve little Jennet from
+further ill, as well as to reclaim poor misguided Elizabeth herself."
+
+"Oh! what a weight you have taken from my heart," cried Richard,
+joyfully. "I will tell Dorothy what you say, and it will at once remove
+all her doubts and suspicions. She will now be the same to you as ever,
+and to Mistress Nutter."
+
+"I will not ask you what those doubts and suspicions were, since you so
+confidently promise me this, which is all I desire," replied Alizon,
+smiling; "but any unfavourable opinions entertained of Mistress Nutter
+are wholly undeserved. Poor lady! she has endured many severe trials and
+sufferings, and whenever you learn the whole of her history, she will, I
+am sure, have your sincere sympathy."
+
+"You have certainly produced a complete revolution in my feelings
+towards her," said Richard, "and I shall not be easy till I have made a
+like convert of Dorothy."
+
+At this moment a loud clapping of hands was heard, and Nicholas was seen
+marching towards the centre of the hall, preceded by the minstrels, who
+had descended for the purpose from the gallery, and bearing in his arms
+a large red velvet cushion. As soon as the dancers had formed a wide
+circle round him, a very lively tune called "Joan Sanderson," from which
+the dance about to be executed sometimes received its name, was struck
+up, and the squire, after a few preliminary flourishes, set down the
+cushion, and gave chase to Dame Tetlow, who, threading her way rapidly
+through the ring, contrived to elude him. This chase, accompanied by
+music, excited shouts of laughter on all hands, and no one knew which
+most to admire, the eagerness of the squire, or the dexterity of the
+lissom dame in avoiding him.
+
+Exhausted at length, and baffled in his quest, Nicholas came to a halt
+before Tom the Piper, and, taking up the cushion, thus preferred his
+complaint:--"This dance it can no further go--no further go."
+
+Whereupon the piper chanted in reply,--"I pray you, good sir, why say
+you so--why say you so?"
+
+Amidst general laughter, the squire tenderly and touchingly
+responded--"Because Dame Tetlow will not come to--will not come to."
+
+Whereupon Tom the Piper, waxing furious, blew a shrill whistle,
+accompanied by an encouraging rattle of the tambarine, and enforcing the
+mandate by two or three energetic stamps on the floor, delivered himself
+in this fashion:--"She _must_ come to, and she SHALL come to. And she
+must come, whether she will or no."
+
+Upon this two of the prettiest female morris-dancers, taking each a hand
+of the blushing and overheated Dame Tetlow, for she had found the chase
+rather warm work, led her forward; while the squire advancing very
+gallantly placed the cushion upon the ground before her, and as she
+knelt down upon it, bestowed a smacking kiss upon her lips. This
+ceremony being performed amidst much tittering and flustering,
+accompanied by many knowing looks and some expressed wishes among the
+swains, who hoped that their turn might come next, Dame Tetlow arose,
+and the squire seizing her hand, they began to whisk round in a sort of
+jig, singing merrily as they danced--
+
+          "Prinkum prankum is a fine dance,
+          And we shall go dance it once again!
+                                   Once again,
+          And we shall go dance it once again!"
+
+And they made good the words too; for on coming to a stop, Dame Tetlow
+snatched up the cushion, and ran in search of the squire, who retreating
+among the surrounding damsels, made sad havoc among them, scarcely
+leaving a pretty pair of lips unvisited. Oh Nicholas! Nicholas! I am
+thoroughly ashamed of you, and regret becoming your historian. You get
+me into an infinitude of scrapes. But there is a rod in pickle for you,
+sir, which shall be used with good effect presently. Tired of such an
+unprofitable quest, Dame Tetlow came to a sudden halt, addressed the
+piper as Nicholas had addressed him, and receiving a like answer,
+summoned the delinquent to come forward; but as he knelt down on the
+cushion, instead of receiving the anticipated salute, he got a sound box
+on the ears, the dame, actuated probably by some feeling of jealousy,
+taking advantage of the favourable opportunity afforded her of avenging
+herself. No one could refrain from laughing at this unexpected turn in
+affairs, and Nicholas, to do him justice, took it in excellent part, and
+laughed louder than the rest. Springing to his feet, he snatched the
+kiss denied him by the spirited dame, and led her to obtain some
+refreshment at the lower table, of which they both stood in need, while
+the cushion being appropriated by other couples, other boxes on the ear
+and kisses were interchanged, leading to an infinitude of merriment.
+
+Long before this Master Potts had found his way to Jennet, and as he
+drew near, affecting to notice her for the first time, he made some
+remarks upon her not looking very well.
+
+"'Deed, an ey'm nah varry weel," replied the little girl, "boh ey knoa
+who ey han to thonk fo' my ailment."
+
+"Your sister, most probably," suggested the attorney. "It must be very
+vexatious to see her so much noticed, and be yourself so much
+neglected--very vexatious, indeed--I quite feel for you."
+
+"By dunna want your feelin'," replied Jennet, nettled by the remark;
+"boh it wasna my sister os made me ill."
+
+"Who was it then, my little dear," said Potts.
+
+"Dunna 'dear' me," retorted Jennet; "yo're too ceevil by half, os the
+lamb said to the wolf. Boh sin ye mun knoa, it wur Mistress Nutter."
+
+"Aha! very good--I mean--very bad," cried Potts. "What did Mistress
+Nutter do to you, my little dear? Don't be afraid of telling me. If I
+can do any thing for you I shall be very happy. Speak out--and don't be
+afraid."
+
+"Nay fo' shure, ey'm nah afeerd," returned Jennet. "Boh whot mays ye so
+inqueesitive? Ye want to get summat out'n me, ey con see that plain
+enough, an os ye stand there glenting at me wi' your sly little een, ye
+look loike an owd fox ready to snap up a chicken o' th' furst
+opportunity."
+
+"Your comparison is not very flattering, Jennet," replied Potts; "but I
+pass it by for the sake of its cleverness. You are a sharp child,
+Jennet--a very sharp child. I remarked that from the first moment I saw
+you. But in regard to Mistress Nutter, she seems a very nice lady--and
+must be a very kind lady, since she has made up her mind to adopt your
+sister. Not that I am surprised at her determination, for really Alizon
+is so superior--so unlike--"
+
+"Me, ye wad say," interrupted Jennet. "Dunna be efeerd to speak out,
+sir."
+
+"No, no," replied Potts, "on the contrary, there's a very great likeness
+between you. I saw you were sisters at once. I don't know which is the
+cleverest or prettiest--but perhaps you are the sharpest. Yes, you are
+the sharpest, undoubtedly, Jennet. If I wished to adopt any one, which
+unfortunately I'm not in a condition to do, having only bachelor's
+chambers in Chancery Lane, it should be you. But I can put you in a way
+of making your fortune, Jennet, and that's the next best thing to
+adopting you. Indeed, it's much better in my case."
+
+"May my fortune!" cried the little girl, pricking up her ears, "ey
+should loike to knoa how ye wad contrive that."
+
+"I'll show you how directly, Jennet," returned Potts. "Pay particular
+attention to what I say, and think it over carefully, when you are by
+yourself. You are quite aware that there is a great talk about witches
+in these parts; and, I may speak it without offence to you, your own
+family come under the charge. There is your grandmother Demdike, for
+instance, a notorious witch--your mother, Dame Device, suspected--your
+brother James suspected."
+
+"Weel, sir," cried Jennet, eyeing him sharply, "what does all this
+suspicion tend to?"
+
+"You shall hear, my little dear," returned Potts. "It would not surprise
+me, if every one of your family, including yourself, should be arrested,
+shut up in Lancaster Castle, and burnt for witches!"
+
+"Alack a day! an this ye ca' makin my fortin," cried Jennet, derisively.
+"Much obleeged to ye, sir, boh ey'd leefer be without the luck."
+
+"Listen to me," pursued Potts, chuckling, "and I will point out to you a
+way of escaping the general fate of your family--not merely of escaping
+it--but of acquiring a large reward. And that is by giving evidence
+against them--by telling all you know--you understand--eh!"
+
+"Yeigh, ey think ey _do_ onderstond," replied Jennet, sullenly. "An so
+this is your grand scheme, eh, sir?"
+
+"This is my scheme, Jennet," said Potts, "and a notable scheme it is,
+my little lass. Think it over. You're an admissible and indeed a
+desirable witness; for our sagacious sovereign has expressly observed
+that 'bairns,' (I believe you call children 'bairns' in Lancashire,
+Jennet; your uncouth dialect very much resembles the Scottish language,
+in which our learned monarch writes as well as speaks)--'bairns,' says
+he, 'or wives, or never so defamed persons, may of our law serve for
+sufficient witnesses and proofs; for who but witches can be proofs, and
+so witnesses of the doings of witches.'"
+
+"Boh, ey am neaw witch, ey tell ye, mon," cried Jennet, angrily.
+
+"But you're a witch's bairn, my little lassy," replied Potts, "and
+that's just as bad, and you'll grow up to be a witch in due time--that
+is, if your career be not cut short. I'm sure you must have witnessed
+some strange things when you visited your grandmother at Malkin
+Tower--that, if I mistake not, is the name of her abode?--and a fearful
+and witch-like name it is;--you must have heard frequent mutterings and
+curses, spells, charms, and diabolical incantations--beheld strange and
+monstrous visions--listened to threats uttered against people who have
+afterwards perished unaccountably."
+
+"Ey've heerd an seen nowt o't sort," replied Jennet; "boh ey' han heerd
+my mother threaten yo."
+
+"Ah, indeed," cried Potts, forcing a laugh, but looking rather blank
+afterwards; "and how did she threaten me, Jennet, eh?--But no matter.
+Let that pass for the moment. As I was saying, you must have seen
+mysterious proceedings both at Malkin Tower and your own house. A black
+gentleman with a club foot must visit you occasionally, and your mother
+must, now and then--say once a week--take a fancy to riding on a
+broomstick. Are you quite sure you have never ridden on one yourself,
+Jennet, and got whisked up the chimney without being aware of it? It's
+the common witch conveyance, and said to be very expeditious and
+agreeable--but I can't vouch for it myself--ha! ha! Possibly--though you
+are rather young--but possibly, I say, you may have attended a witch's
+Sabbath, and seen a huge He-Goat, with four horns on his head, and a
+large tail, seated in the midst of a large circle of devoted admirers.
+If you have seen this, and can recollect the names and faces of the
+assembly, it would be highly important."
+
+"When ey see it, ey shanna forget it," replied Jennet. "Boh ey am nah
+quite so familiar wi' Owd Scrat os yo seem to suppose."
+
+"Has it ever occurred to you that Alizon might be addicted to these
+practices?" pursued Potts, "and that she obtained her extraordinary and
+otherwise unaccountable beauty by some magical process--some charm--some
+diabolical unguent prepared, as the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seals, the
+singularly learned Lord Bacon, declares, from fat of unbaptised babes,
+compounded with henbane, hemlock, mandrake, moonshade, and other
+terrible ingredients. She could not be so beautiful without some such
+aid."
+
+"That shows how little yo knoaw about it," replied Jennet. "Alizon is os
+good as she's protty, and dunna yo think to wheedle me into sayin' out
+agen her, fo' yo winna do it. Ey'd dee rayther than harm a hure o' her
+heaod."
+
+"Very praiseworthy, indeed, my little dear," replied Potts, ironically.
+"I honour you for your sisterly affection; but, notwithstanding all
+this, I cannot help thinking she has bewitched Mistress Nutter."
+
+"Licker, Mistress Nutter has bewitched her," replied Jennet.
+
+"Then you think Mistress Nutter is a witch, eh?" cried Potts, eagerly.
+
+"Ey'st neaw tell ye what ey think, mon," rejoined Jennet, doggedly.
+
+"But hear me," cried Potts, "I have my own suspicions, also, nay, more
+than suspicions."
+
+"If ye're shure, yo dunna want me," said Jennet.
+
+"But I want a witness," pursued Potts, "and if you'll serve as one--"
+
+"Whot'll ye gi' me?" said Jennet.
+
+"Whatever you like," rejoined Potts. "Only name the sum. So you can
+prove the practice of witchcraft against Mistress Nutter--eh?"
+
+Jennet nodded. "Wad ye loike to knoa why brother Jem is gone to Pendle
+to-neet?" she said.
+
+"Very much, indeed," replied Potts, drawing still nearer to her. "Very
+much, indeed."
+
+The little girl was about to speak, but on a sudden a sharp convulsion
+agitated her frame; her utterance totally failed her; and she fell back
+in the seat insensible.
+
+Very much startled, Potts flew in search of some restorative, and on
+doing so, he perceived Mistress Nutter moving away from this part of the
+hall.
+
+"She has done it," he cried. "A piece of witchcraft before my very eyes.
+Has she killed the child? No; she breathes, and her pulse beats, though
+faintly. She is only in a swoon, but a deep and deathlike one. It would
+be useless to attempt to revive her; she must come to in her own way, or
+at the pleasure of the wicked woman who has thrown her into this
+condition. I have now an assured witness in this girl. But I must keep
+watch upon Mistress Nutter's further movements."
+
+And he walked cautiously after her.
+
+As Richard had anticipated, his explanation was perfectly satisfactory
+to Dorothy; and the young lady, who had suffered greatly from the
+restraint she had imposed upon herself, flew to Alizon, and poured
+forth excuses, which were as readily accepted as they were freely made.
+They were instantly as great friends as before, and their brief
+estrangement only seemed to make them dearer to each other. Dorothy
+could not forgive herself, and Alizon assured her there was nothing to
+be forgiven, and so they took hands upon it, and promised to forget all
+that had passed. Richard stood by, delighted with the change, and
+wrapped in the contemplation of the object of his love, who, thus
+engaged, seemed to him more beautiful than he had ever beheld her.
+
+Towards the close of the evening, while all three were still together.
+Nicholas came up and took Richard aside. The squire looked flushed; and
+there was an undefined expression of alarm in his countenance.
+
+"What is the matter?" inquired Richard, dreading to hear of some new
+calamity.
+
+"Have you not noticed it, Dick?" said Nicholas, in a hollow tone. "The
+portrait is gone."
+
+"What portrait?" exclaimed Richard, forgetting the previous
+circumstances.
+
+"The portrait of Isole de Heton," returned Nicholas, becoming more
+sepulchral in his accents as he proceeded; "it has vanished from the
+wall. See and believe."
+
+"Who has taken it down?" cried Richard, remarking that the picture had
+certainly disappeared.
+
+"No mortal hand," replied Nicholas. "It has come down of itself. I knew
+what would happen, Dick. I told you the fair votaress gave me the _clin
+d'oeil_--the wink. You would not believe me then--and now you see your
+mistake."
+
+"I see nothing but the bare wall," said Richard.
+
+"But you will see something anon, Dick," rejoined Nicholas, with a
+hollow laugh, and in a dismally deep tone. "You will see Isole herself.
+I was foolhardy enough to invite her to dance the brawl with me. She
+smiled her assent, and winked at me thus--very significantly, I protest
+to you--and she will be as good as her word."
+
+"Absurd!" exclaimed Richard.
+
+"Absurd, sayest thou--thou art an infidel, and believest nothing, Dick,"
+cried Nicholas. "Dost thou not see that the picture is gone? She will be
+here presently. Ha! the brawl is called for--the very dance I invited
+her to. She must be in the room now. I will go in search of her. Look
+out, Dick. Thou wilt behold a sight presently shall make thine hair
+stand on end."
+
+And he moved away with a rapid but uncertain step.
+
+"The potent wine has confused his brain," said Richard. "I must see that
+no mischance befalls him."
+
+And, waving his hand to his sister, he followed the squire, who moved
+on, staring inquisitively into the countenance of every pretty damsel he
+encountered.
+
+Time had flown fleetly with Dorothy and Alizon, who, occupied with each
+other, had taken little note of its progress, and were surprised to find
+how quickly the hours had gone by. Meanwhile several dances had been
+performed; a Morisco, in which all the May-day revellers took part, with
+the exception of the queen herself, who, notwithstanding the united
+entreaties of Robin Hood and her gentleman-usher, could not be prevailed
+upon to join it: a trenchmore, a sort of long country-dance, extending
+from top to bottom of the hall, and in which the whole of the rustics
+stood up: a galliard, confined to the more important guests, and in
+which both Alizon and Dorothy were included, the former dancing, of
+course, with Richard, and the latter with one of her cousins, young
+Joseph Robinson: and a jig, quite promiscuous and unexclusive, and not
+the less merry on that account. In this way, what with the dances, which
+were of some duration--the trenchmore alone occupying more than an
+hour--and the necessary breathing-time between them, it was on the
+stroke of ten without any body being aware of it. Now this, though a
+very early hour for a modern party, being about the time when the first
+guest would arrive, was a very late one even in fashionable assemblages
+at the period in question, and the guests began to think of retiring,
+when the brawl, intended to wind up the entertainment, was called. The
+highest animation still prevailed throughout the company, for the
+generous host had taken care that the intervals between the dances
+should be well filled up with refreshments, and large bowls of spiced
+wines, with burnt oranges and crabs floating in them, were placed on the
+side-table, and liberally dispensed to all applicants. Thus all seemed
+destined to be brought to a happy conclusion.
+
+Throughout the evening Alizon had been closely watched by Mistress
+Nutter, who remarked, with feelings akin to jealousy and distrust, the
+marked predilection exhibited by her for Richard and Dorothy Assheton,
+as well as her inattention to her own expressed injunctions in remaining
+constantly near them. Though secretly displeased by this, she put a calm
+face upon it, and neither remonstrated by word or look. Thus Alizon,
+feeling encouraged in the course she had adopted, and prompted by her
+inclinations, soon forgot the interdiction she had received. Mistress
+Nutter even went so far in her duplicity as to promise Dorothy, that
+Alizon should pay her an early visit at Middleton--though inwardly
+resolving no such visit should ever take place. However, she now
+received the proposal very graciously, and made Alizon quite happy in
+acceding to it.
+
+"I would fain have her go back with me to Middleton when I return," said
+Dorothy, "but I fear you would not like to part with your newly-adopted
+daughter so soon; neither would it be quite fair to rob you of her. But
+I shall hold you to your promise of an early visit."
+
+Mistress Nutter replied by a bland smile, and then observed to Alizon
+that it was time for them to retire, and that she had stayed on her
+account far later than she intended--a mark of consideration duly
+appreciated by Alizon. Farewells for the night were then exchanged
+between the two girls, and Alizon looked round to bid adieu to Richard,
+but unfortunately, at this very juncture, he was engaged in pursuit of
+Nicholas. Before quitting the hall she made inquiries after Jennet, and
+receiving for answer that she was still in the hall, but had fallen
+asleep in a chair at one corner of the side-table, and could not be
+wakened, she instantly flew thither and tried to rouse her, but in vain;
+when Mistress Nutter, coming up the next moment, merely touched her
+brow, and the little girl opened her eyes and gazed about her with a
+bewildered look.
+
+"She is unused to these late hours, poor child," said Alizon. "Some one
+must be found to take her home."
+
+"You need not go far in search of a convoy," said Potts, who had been
+hovering about, and now stepped up; "I am going to the Dragon myself,
+and shall be happy to take charge of her."
+
+"You are over-officious, sir," rejoined Mistress Nutter, coldly; "when
+we need your assistance we will ask it. My own servant, Simon
+Blackadder, will see her safely home."
+
+And at a sign from her, a tall fellow with a dark, scowling countenance,
+came from among the other serving-men, and, receiving his instructions
+from his mistress, seized Jennet's hand, and strode off with her. During
+all this time, Mistress Nutter kept her eyes steadily fixed on the
+little girl, who spoke not a word, nor replied even by a gesture to
+Alizon's affectionate good-night, retaining her dazed look to the moment
+of quitting the hall.
+
+"I never saw her thus before," said Alizon. "What can be the matter with
+her?"
+
+"I think I could tell you," rejoined Potts, glancing maliciously and
+significantly at Mistress Nutter.
+
+The lady darted an ireful and piercing look at him, which seemed to
+produce much the same consequences as those experienced by Jennet, for
+his visage instantly elongated, and he sank back in a chair.
+
+"Oh dear!" he cried, putting his hand to his head; "I'm struck all of a
+heap. I feel a sudden qualm--a giddiness--a sort of don't-know-
+howishness. Ho, there! some aquavitæ--or imperial water--or
+cinnamon water--or whatever reviving cordial may be at hand. I feel very
+ill--very ill, indeed--oh dear!"
+
+While his requirements were attended to, Mistress Nutter moved away with
+her daughter; but they had not proceeded far when they encountered
+Richard, who, having fortunately descried them, came up to say
+good-night.
+
+The brawl, meanwhile, had commenced, and the dancers were whirling
+round giddily in every direction, somewhat like the couples in a grand
+polka, danced after a very boisterous, romping, and extravagant fashion.
+
+"Who is Nicholas dancing with?" asked Mistress Nutter suddenly.
+
+"Is he dancing with any one?" rejoined Richard, looking amidst the
+crowd.
+
+"Do you not see her?" said Mistress Nutter; "a very beautiful woman with
+flashing eyes: they move so quickly, that I can scarce discern her
+features; but she is habited like a nun."
+
+"Like a nun!" cried Richard, his blood growing chill in his veins. "'Tis
+she indeed, then! Where is he?"
+
+"Yonder, yonder, whirling madly round," replied Mistress Nutter.
+
+"I see him now," said Richard, "but he is alone. He has lost his wits to
+dance in that strange manner by himself. How wild, too, is his gaze!"
+
+"I tell you he is dancing with a very beautiful woman in the habit of a
+nun," said Mistress Nutter. "Strange I should never have remarked her
+before. No one in the room is to be compared with her in loveliness--not
+even Alizon. Her eyes seem to flash fire, and she bounds like the wild
+roe."
+
+"Does she resemble the portrait of Isole de Heton?" asked Richard,
+shuddering.
+
+"She does--she does," replied Mistress Nutter. "See! she whirls past us
+now."
+
+"I can see no one but Nicholas," cried Richard.
+
+"Nor I," added Alizon, who shared in the young man's alarm.
+
+"Are you sure you behold that figure?" said Richard, drawing Mistress
+Nutter aside, and breathing the words in her ear. "If so, it is a
+phantom--or he is in the power of the fiend. He was rash enough to
+invite that wicked votaress, Isole de Heton, condemned, it is said, to
+penal fires for her earthly enormities, to dance with him, and she has
+come."
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Mistress Nutter.
+
+"She will whirl him round till he expires," cried Richard; "I must free
+him at all hazards."
+
+"Stay," said Mistress Nutter; "it is I who have been deceived. Now I
+look again, I see that Nicholas is alone."
+
+"But the nun's dress--the wondrous beauty--the flashing eyes!" cried
+Richard. "You described Isole exactly."
+
+"It was mere fancy," said Mistress Nutter. "I had just been looking at
+her portrait, and it dwelt on my mind, and created the image."
+
+"The portrait is gone," cried Richard, pointing to the empty wall.
+
+Mistress Nutter looked confounded.
+
+And without a word more, she took Alizon, who was full of alarm and
+astonishment, by the arm, and hurried her out of the hall.
+
+As they disappeared, the young man flew towards Nicholas, whose
+extraordinary proceedings had excited general amazement. The other
+dancers had moved out of the way, so that free space was left for his
+mad gyrations. Greatly scandalised by the exhibition, which he looked
+upon as the effect of intoxication, Sir Ralph called loudly to him to
+stop, but he paid no attention to the summons, but whirled on with
+momently-increasing velocity, oversetting old Adam Whitworth, Gregory,
+and Dickon, who severally ventured to place themselves in his path, to
+enforce their master's injunctions, until at last, just as Richard
+reached him, he uttered a loud cry, and fell to the ground insensible.
+By Sir Ralph's command he was instantly lifted up and transported to his
+own chamber.
+
+This unexpected and extraordinary incident put an end to the ball, and
+the whole of the guests, after taking a respectful and grateful leave of
+the host, departed--not in "most admired" disorder, but full of wonder.
+By most persons the squire's "fantastical vagaries," as they were
+termed, were traced to the vast quantity of wine he had drunk, but a few
+others shook their heads, and said he was evidently bewitched, and that
+Mother Chattox and Nance Redferne were at the bottom of it. As to the
+portrait of Isole de Heton, it was found under the table, and it was
+said that Nicholas himself had pulled it down; but this he obstinately
+denied, when afterwards taken to task for his indecorous behaviour; and
+to his dying day he asserted, and believed, that he had danced the brawl
+with Isole de Heton. "And never," he would say, "had mortal man such a
+partner."
+
+From that night the two portraits in the banqueting-hall were regarded
+with great awe by the inmates of the Abbey.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.--THE NOCTURNAL MEETING.
+
+
+On gaining the head of the staircase leading to the corridor, Mistress
+Nutter, whose movements had hitherto been extremely rapid, paused with
+her daughter to listen to the sounds arising from below. Suddenly was
+heard a loud cry, and the music, which had waxed fast and furious in
+order to keep pace with the frenzied boundings of the squire, ceased at
+once, showing some interruption had occurred, while from the confused
+noise that ensued, it was evident the sudden stoppage had been the
+result of accident. With blanched cheek Alizon listened, scarcely daring
+to look at her mother, whose expression of countenance, revealed by the
+lamp she held in her hand, almost frightened her; and it was a great
+relief to hear the voices and laughter of the serving-men as they came
+forth with Nicholas, and bore him towards another part of the mansion;
+and though much shocked, she was glad when one of them, who appeared to
+be Nicholas's own servant, assured the others "that it was only a
+drunken fit and that the squire would wake up next morning as if nothing
+had happened."
+
+Apparently satisfied with this explanation, Mistress Nutter moved on;
+but a new feeling of uneasiness came over Alizon as she followed her
+down the long dusky corridor, in the direction of the mysterious
+chamber, where they were to pass the night. The fitful flame of the lamp
+fell upon many a grim painting depicting the sufferings of the early
+martyrs; and these ghastly representations did not serve to re-assure
+her. The grotesque carvings on the panels and ribs of the vaulted roof,
+likewise impressed her with vague terror, and there was one large piece
+of sculpture--Saint Theodora subjected to diabolical temptation, as
+described in the Golden Legend--that absolutely scared her. Their
+footsteps echoed hollowly overhead, and more than once, deceived by the
+sound, Alizon turned to see if any one was behind them. At the end of
+the corridor lay the room once occupied by the superior of the religious
+establishment, and still known from that circumstance as the "Abbot's
+Chamber." Connected with this apartment was the beautiful oratory built
+by Paslew, wherein he had kept his last vigils; and though now no longer
+applied to purposes of worship, still wearing from the character of its
+architecture, its sculptured ornaments, and the painted glass in its
+casements, a dim religious air. The abbot's room was allotted to Dorothy
+Assheton; and from its sombre magnificence, as well as the ghostly tales
+connected with it, had impressed her with so much superstitious
+misgiving, that she besought Alizon to share her couch with her, but the
+young girl did not dare to assent. Just, however, as Mistress Nutter was
+about to enter her own room, Dorothy appeared on the corridor, and,
+calling to Alizon to stay a moment, flew quickly towards her, and
+renewed the proposition. Alizon looked at her mother, but the latter
+decidedly, and somewhat sternly, negatived it.
+
+The young girls then said good-night, kissing each other affectionately,
+after which Alizon entered the room with Mistress Nutter, and the door
+was closed. Two tapers were burning on the dressing-table, and their
+light fell upon the carved figures of the wardrobe, which still
+exercised the same weird influence over her. Mistress Nutter neither
+seemed disposed to retire to rest immediately, nor willing to talk, but
+sat down, and was soon lost in thought. After awhile, an impulse of
+curiosity which she could not resist, prompted Alizon to peep into the
+closet, and pushing aside the tapestry, partly drawn over the entrance,
+she held the lamp forward so as to throw its light into the little
+chamber. A mere glance was all she was allowed, but it sufficed to show
+her the large oak chest, though the monkish robe lately suspended above
+it, and which had particularly attracted her attention, was gone.
+Mistress Nutter had noticed the movement, and instantly and somewhat
+sharply recalled her.
+
+As Alizon obeyed, a slight tap was heard at the door. The young girl
+turned pale, for in her present frame of mind any little matter affected
+her. Nor were her apprehensions materially allayed by the entrance of
+Dorothy, who, looking white as a sheet, said she did not dare to remain
+in her own room, having been terribly frightened, by seeing a monkish
+figure in mouldering white garments, exactly resembling one of the
+carved images on the wardrobe, issue from behind the hangings on the
+wall, and glide into the oratory, and she entreated Mistress Nutter to
+let Alizon go back with her. The request was peremptorily refused, and
+the lady, ridiculing Dorothy for her fears, bade her return; but she
+still lingered. This relation filled Alizon with inexpressible alarm,
+for though she did not dare to allude to the disappearance of the
+monkish gown, she could not help connecting the circumstance with the
+ghostly figure seen by Dorothy.
+
+Unable otherwise to get rid of the terrified intruder, whose presence
+was an evident restraint to her, Mistress Nutter, at length, consented
+to accompany her to her room, and convince her of the folly of her
+fears, by an examination of the oratory. Alizon went with them, her
+mother not choosing to leave her behind, and indeed she herself was most
+anxious to go.
+
+The abbot's chamber was large and gloomy, nearly twice the size of the
+room occupied by Mistress Nutter, but resembling it in many respects, as
+well as in the No interdusky hue of its hangings and furniture, most of
+which had been undisturbed since the days of Paslew. The very bed, of
+carved oak, was that in which he had slept, and his arms were still
+displayed upon it, and on the painted glass of the windows. As Alizon
+entered she looked round with apprehension, but nothing occurred to
+justify her uneasiness. Having raised the arras, from behind which
+Dorothy averred the figure had issued, and discovering nothing but a
+panel of oak; with a smile of incredulity, Mistress Nutter walked boldly
+towards the oratory, the two girls, hand in hand, following tremblingly
+after her; but no fearful object met their view. A dressing-table, with
+a large mirror upon it, occupied the spot where the altar had formerly
+stood; but, in spite of this, and of other furniture, the little place
+of prayer, as has previously been observed, retained much of its
+original character, and seemed more calculated to inspire sentiments of
+devotional awe than any other.
+
+After remaining for a short time in the oratory, during which she
+pointed out the impossibility of any one being concealed there, Mistress
+Nutter assured Dorothy she might rest quite easy that nothing further
+would occur to alarm her, and recommending her to lose the sense of her
+fears as speedily as she could in sleep, took her departure with Alizon.
+
+But the recommendation was of little avail. The poor girl's heart died
+within her, and all her former terrors returned, and with additional
+force. Sitting down, she looked fixedly at the hangings till her eyes
+ached, and then covering her face with her hands, and scarcely daring to
+breathe, she listened intently for the slightest sound. A rustle would
+have made her scream--but all was still as death, so profoundly quiet,
+that the very hush and silence became a new cause of disquietude, and
+longing for some cheerful sound to break it, she would have spoken aloud
+but from a fear of hearing her own voice. A book lay before her, and she
+essayed to read it, but in vain. She was ever glancing fearfully
+round--ever listening intently. This state could not endure for ever,
+and feeling a drowsiness steal over her she yielded to it, and at length
+dropped asleep in her chair. Her dreams, however, were influenced by her
+mental condition, and slumber was no refuge, as promised by Mistress
+Nutter, from the hauntings of terror.
+
+At last a jarring sound aroused her, and she found she had been awakened
+by the clock striking twelve. Her lamp required trimming and burnt
+dimly, but by its imperfect light she saw the arras move. This could be
+no fancy, for the next moment the hangings were raised, and a figure
+looked from behind them; and this time it was not the monk, but a female
+robed in white. A glimpse of the figure was all Dorothy caught, for it
+instantly retreated, and the tapestry fell back to its place against the
+wall. Scared by this apparition, Dorothy rushed out of the room so
+hurriedly that she forgot to take her lamp, and made her way, she
+scarcely knew how, to the adjoining chamber. She did not tap at the
+door, but trying it, and finding it unfastened, opened it softly, and
+closed it after her, resolved if the occupants of the room were asleep
+not to disturb them, but to pass the night in a chair, the presence of
+some living beings beside her sufficing, in some degree, to dispel her
+terrors. The room was buried in darkness, the tapers being extinguished.
+
+Advancing on tiptoe she soon discovered a seat, when what was her
+surprise to find Alizon asleep within it. She was sure it was
+Alizon--for she had touched her hair and face, and she felt surprised
+that the contact had not awakened her. Still more surprised did she feel
+that the young girl had not retired to rest. Again she stepped forward
+in search of another chair, when a gleam of light suddenly shot from one
+side of the bed, and the tapestry, masking the entrance to the closet,
+was slowly drawn aside. From behind it, the next moment, appeared the
+same female figure, robed in white, that she had previously beheld in
+the abbot's chamber. The figure held a lamp in one hand, and a small
+box in the other, and, to her unspeakable horror, disclosed the livid
+and contorted countenance of Mistress Nutter.
+
+[Illustration: ALIZON ALARMED AT THE APPEARANCE OF MRS. NUTTER.]
+
+Dreadful though undefined suspicions crossed her mind, and she feared,
+if discovered, she should be sacrificed to the fury of this strange and
+terrible woman. Luckily, where she stood, though Mistress Nutter was
+revealed to her, she herself was screened from view by the hangings of
+the bed, and looking around for a hiding-place, she observed that the
+mysterious wardrobe, close behind her, was open, and without a moment's
+hesitation, she slipped into the covert and drew the door to,
+noiselessly. But her curiosity overmastered her fear, and, firmly
+believing some magical rite was about to be performed, she sought for
+means of beholding it; nor was she long in discovering a small
+eyelet-hole in the carving which commanded the room.
+
+Unconscious of any other presence than that of Alizon, whose stupor
+appeared to occasion her no uneasiness, Mistress Nutter, placed the lamp
+upon the table, made fast the door, and, muttering some unintelligible
+words, unlocked the box. It contained two singularly-shaped glass
+vessels, the one filled with a bright sparkling liquid, and the other
+with a greenish-coloured unguent. Pouring forth a few drops of the
+liquid into a glass near her, Mistress Nutter swallowed them, and then
+taking some of the unguent upon her hands, proceeded to anoint her face
+and neck with it, exclaiming as she did so, "Emen hetan! Emen
+hetan!"--words that fixed themselves upon the listener's memory.
+
+Wondering what would follow, Dorothy gazed on, when she suddenly lost
+sight of Mistress Nutter, and after looking for her as far as her range
+of vision, limited by the aperture, would extend, she became convinced
+that she had left the room. All remaining quiet, she ventured, after
+awhile, to quit her hiding-place, and flying to Alizon, tried to waken
+her, but in vain. The poor girl retained the same moveless attitude, and
+appeared plunged in a deathly stupor.
+
+Much frightened, Dorothy resolved to alarm the house, but some fears of
+Mistress Nutter restrained her, and she crept towards the closet to see
+whether that dread lady could be there. All was perfectly still; and
+somewhat emboldened, she returned to the table, where the box, which was
+left open and its contents unguarded, attracted her attention.
+
+What was the liquid in the phial? What could it do? These were questions
+she asked herself, and longing to try the effect, she ventured at last
+to pour forth a few drops and taste it. It was like a potent
+distillation, and she became instantly sensible of a strange bewildering
+excitement. Presently her brain reeled, and she laughed wildly. Never
+before had she felt so light and buoyant, and wings seemed scarcely
+wanting to enable her to fly. An idea occurred to her. The wondrous
+liquid might arouse Alizon. The experiment should be tried at once, and,
+dipping her finger in the phial, she touched the lips of the sleeper,
+who sighed deeply and opened her eyes. Another drop, and Alizon was on
+her feet, gazing at her in astonishment, and laughing wildly as herself.
+
+Poor girls! how wild and strange they looked--and how unlike themselves!
+
+"Whither are you going?" cried Alizon.
+
+"To the moon! to the stars!--any where!" rejoined Dorothy, with a laugh
+of frantic glee.
+
+"I will go with you," cried Alizon, echoing the laugh.
+
+"Here and there!--here and there!" exclaimed Dorothy, taking her hand.
+"Emen hetan! Emen hetan!"
+
+As the mystic words were uttered they started away. It seemed as if no
+impediments could stop them; how they crossed the closet, passed through
+a sliding panel into the abbot's room, entered the oratory, and from it
+descended, by a secret staircase, to the garden, they knew not--but
+there they were, gliding swiftly along in the moonlight, like winged
+spirits. What took them towards the conventual church they could not
+say. But they were drawn thither, as the ship was irresistibly dragged
+towards the loadstone rock described in the Eastern legend. Nothing
+surprised them then, or they might have been struck by the dense vapour,
+enveloping the monastic ruins, and shrouding them from view; nor was it
+until they entered the desecrated fabric, that any consciousness of what
+was passing around returned to them.
+
+Their ears were then assailed by a wild hubbub of discordant sounds,
+hootings and croakings as of owls and ravens, shrieks and jarring cries
+as of night-birds, bellowings as of cattle, groans and dismal sounds,
+mixed with unearthly laughter. Undefined and extraordinary shapes,
+whether men or women, beings of this world or of another they could not
+tell, though they judged them the latter, flew past with wild whoops and
+piercing cries, flapping the air as if with great leathern bat-like
+wings, or bestriding black, monstrous, misshapen steeds. Fantastical and
+grotesque were these objects, yet hideous and appalling. Now and then a
+red and fiery star would whiz crackling through the air, and then
+exploding break into numerous pale phosphoric lights, that danced awhile
+overhead, and then flitted away among the ruins. The ground seemed to
+heave and tremble beneath the footsteps, as if the graves were opening
+to give forth their dead, while toads and hissing reptiles crept forth.
+
+Appalled, yet partly restored to herself by this confused and horrible
+din, Alizon stood still and kept fast hold of Dorothy, who, seemingly
+under a stronger influence than herself, was drawn towards the eastern
+end of the fane, where a fire appeared to be blazing, a strong ruddy
+glare being cast upon the broken roof of the choir, and the mouldering
+arches around it. The noises around them suddenly ceased, and all the
+uproar seemed concentrated near the spot where the fire was burning.
+Dorothy besought her friend so earnestly to let her see what was going
+forward, that Alizon reluctantly and tremblingly assented, and they
+moved slowly towards the transept, taking care to keep under the shelter
+of the columns.
+
+On reaching the last pillar, behind which they remained, an
+extraordinary and fearful spectacle burst upon them. As they had
+supposed, a large fire was burning in the midst of the choir, the smoke
+of which, ascending in eddying wreaths, formed a dark canopy overhead,
+where it was mixed with the steam issuing from a large black bubbling
+caldron set on the blazing embers. Around the fire were ranged, in a
+wide circle, an assemblage of men and women, but chiefly the latter, and
+of these almost all old, hideous, and of malignant aspect, their grim
+and sinister features looking ghastly in the lurid light. Above them,
+amid the smoke and steam, wheeled bat and flitter-mouse, horned owl and
+screech-owl, in mazy circles. The weird assemblage chattered together in
+some wild jargon, mumbling and muttering spells and incantations,
+chanting fearfully with hoarse, cracked voices a wild chorus, and anon
+breaking into a loud and long-continued peal of laughter. Then there was
+more mumbling, chattering, and singing, and one of the troop producing a
+wallet, hobbled forward.
+
+She was a fearful old crone; hunchbacked, toothless, blear-eyed,
+bearded, halt, with huge gouty feet swathed in flannel. As she cast in
+the ingredients one by one, she chanted thus:--
+
+
+          "Head of monkey, brain of cat,
+           Eye of weasel, tail of rat,
+           Juice of mugwort, mastic, myrrh--
+           All within the pot I stir."
+
+"Well sung, Mother Mould-heels," cried a little old man, whose doublet
+and hose were of rusty black, with a short cloak, of the same hue, over
+his shoulders. "Well sung, Mother Mould-heels," he cried, advancing as
+the old witch retired, amidst a roar of laughter from the others, and
+chanting as he filled the caldron:
+
+          "Here is foam from a mad dog's lips,
+           Gather'd beneath the moon's eclipse,
+           Ashes of a shroud consumed,
+           And with deadly vapour fumed.
+           These within the mess I cast--
+           Stir the caldron--stir it fast!"
+
+A red-haired witch then took his place, singing,
+
+          "Here are snakes from out the river,
+           Bones of toad and sea-calf's liver;
+           Swine's flesh fatten'd on her brood,
+           Wolf's tooth, hare's foot, weasel's blood.
+           Skull of ape and fierce baboon,
+           And panther spotted like the moon;
+           Feathers of the horned owl,
+           Daw, pie, and other fatal fowl.
+           Fruit from fig-tree never sown,
+           Seed from cypress never grown.
+           All within the mess I cast,
+           Stir the caldron--stir it fast!"
+
+Nance Redferne then advanced, and, taking from her wallet a small clay
+image, tricked out in attire intended to resemble that of James Device,
+plunged several pins deeply into its breast, singing as she did so,
+thus,--
+
+          "In his likeness it is moulded,
+           In his vestments 'tis enfolded.
+           Ye may know it, as I show it!
+           In its breast sharp pins I stick,
+           And I drive them to the quick.
+           They are in--they are in--
+           And the wretch's pangs begin.
+           Now his heart,
+           Feels the smart;
+           Through his marrow,
+           Sharp as arrow,
+           Torments quiver
+           He shall shiver,
+           He shall burn,
+           He shall toss, and he shall turn.
+           Unavailingly.
+           Aches shall rack him,
+           Cramps attack him,
+           He shall wail,
+           Strength shall fail,
+           Till he die
+           Miserably!"
+
+As Nance retired, another witch advanced, and sung thus:
+
+          "Over mountain, over valley, over woodland, over waste,
+           On our gallant broomsticks riding we have come with
+               frantic haste,
+           And the reason of our coming, as ye wot well, is to see
+           Who this night, as new-made witch, to our ranks shall
+               added be."
+
+A wild burst of laughter followed this address, and another wizard
+succeeded, chanting thus:
+
+          "Beat the water, Demdike's daughter!
+               Till the tempest gather o'er us;
+           Till the thunder strike with wonder
+               And the lightnings flash before us!
+           Beat the water, Demdike's daughter!
+           Ruin seize our foes and slaughter!"
+
+As the words were uttered, a woman stepped from out the circle, and
+throwing back the grey-hooded cloak in which she was enveloped,
+disclosed the features of Elizabeth Device. Her presence in that fearful
+assemblage occasioned no surprise to Alizon, though it increased her
+horror. A pail of water was next set before the witch, and a broom being
+placed in her hand, she struck the lymph with it, sprinkling it aloft,
+and uttering this spell:
+
+          "Mount, water, to the skies!
+           Bid the sudden storm arise.
+           Bid the pitchy clouds advance,
+           Bid the forked lightnings glance,
+           Bid the angry thunder growl,
+           Bid the wild wind fiercely howl!
+           Bid the tempest come amain,
+           Thunder, lightning, wind, and rain!"
+
+[Illustration: THE INCANTATION.]
+
+As she concluded, clouds gathered thickly overhead, obscuring the
+stars that had hitherto shone down from the heavens. The wind suddenly
+arose, but in lieu of dispersing the vapours it seemed only to condense
+them. A flash of forked lightning cut through the air, and a loud peal
+of thunder rolled overhead.
+
+Then the whole troop sang together--
+
+          "Beat the water, Demdike's daughter!
+               See the tempests gathers o'er us,
+           Lightning flashes--thunder crashes,
+               Wild winds sing in lusty chorus!"
+
+For a brief space the storm raged fearfully, and recalled the terror of
+that previously witnessed by Alizon, which she now began to think might
+have originated in a similar manner. The wind raved around the ruined
+pile, but its breath was not felt within it, and the rain was heard
+descending in deluging showers without, though no drop came through the
+open roof. The thunder shook the walls and pillars of the old fabric,
+and threatened to topple them down from their foundations, but they
+resisted the shocks. The lightning played around the tall spire
+springing from this part of the fane, and ran down from its shattered
+summit to its base, without doing any damage. The red bolts struck the
+ground innocuously, though they fell at the very feet of the weird
+assemblage, who laughed wildly at the awful tumult.
+
+Whilst the storm was at its worst, while the lightning was flashing
+fiercely, and the thunder rattling loudly, Mother Chattox, with a
+chafing-dish in her hand, advanced towards the fire, and placing the pan
+upon it, threw certain herbs and roots into it, chanting thus:--
+
+
+          "Here is juice of poppy bruised,
+           With black hellebore infused;
+           Here is mandrake's bleeding root,
+           Mixed with moonshade's deadly fruit;
+           Viper's bag with venom fill'd,
+           Taken ere the beast was kill'd;
+           Adder's skin and raven's feather,
+           With shell of beetle blent together;
+           Dragonwort and barbatus,
+           Hemlock black and poisonous;
+           Horn of hart, and storax red,
+           Lapwing's blood, at midnight shed.
+           In the heated pan they burn,
+           And to pungent vapours turn.
+           By this strong suffumigation,
+           By this potent invocation,
+           Spirits! I compel you here!
+           All who list may call appear!"
+
+After a moment's pause, she resumed as follows:--
+
+          "White-robed brethren, who of old,
+           Nightly paced yon cloisters cold,
+           Sleeping now beneath the mould!
+                              I bid ye rise.
+
+          "Abbots! by the weakling fear'd,
+           By the credulous revered,
+           Who this mighty fabric rear'd!
+                              I bid ye rise!
+
+          "And thou last and guilty one!
+           By thy lust of power undone,
+           Whom in death thy fellows shun!
+                              I bid thee come!
+
+          "And thou fair one, who disdain'd
+           To keep the vows thy lips had feign'd;
+           And thy snowy garments stain'd!
+                              I bid thee come!"
+
+During this invocation, the glee of the assemblage ceased, and they
+looked around in hushed expectation of the result. Slowly then did a
+long procession of monkish forms, robed in white, glide along the
+aisles, and gather round the altar. The brass-covered stones within the
+presbytery were lifted up, as if they moved on hinges, and from the
+yawning graves beneath them arose solemn shapes, sixteen in number, each
+with mitre on head and crosier in hand, which likewise proceeded to the
+altar. Then a loud cry was heard, and from a side chapel burst the
+monkish form, in mouldering garments, which Dorothy had seen enter the
+oratory, and which would have mingled with its brethren at the altar,
+but they waved it off menacingly. Another piercing shriek followed, and
+a female shape, habited like a nun, and of surpassing loveliness, issued
+from the opposite chapel, and hovered near the fire. Content with this
+proof of her power, Mother Chattox waved her hand, and the long shadowy
+train glided off as they came. The ghostly abbots returned to their
+tombs, and the stones closed over them. But the shades of Paslew and
+Isole de Heton still lingered.
+
+The storm had wellnigh ceased, the thunder rolled hollowly at intervals,
+and a flash of lightning now and then licked the walls. The weird crew
+had resumed their rites, when the door of the Lacy chapel flew open, and
+a tall female figure came forward.
+
+Alizon doubted if she beheld aright. Could that terrific woman in the
+strangely-fashioned robe of white, girt by a brazen zone graven with
+mystic characters, with a long glittering blade in her hand, infernal
+fury in her wildly-rolling orbs, the livid hue of death on her cheeks,
+and the red brand upon her brow--could that fearful woman, with the
+black dishevelled tresses floating over her bare shoulders, and whose
+gestures were so imperious, be Mistress Nutter? Mother no longer, if it
+indeed were she! How came she there amid that weird assemblage? Why did
+they so humbly salute her, and fall prostrate before her, kissing the
+hem of her garment? Why did she stand proudly in the midst of them, and
+extend her hand, armed with the knife, over them? Was she their
+sovereign mistress, that they bent so lowly at her coming, and rose so
+reverentially at her bidding? Was this terrible woman, now seated oh a
+dilapidated tomb, and regarding the dark conclave with the eye of a
+queen who held their lives in her hands--was she her mother? Oh,
+no!--no!--it could not be! It must be some fiend that usurped her
+likeness.
+
+Still, though Alizon thus strove to discredit the evidence of her
+senses, and to hold all she saw to be delusion, and the work of
+darkness, she could not entirely convince herself, but imperfectly
+recalling the fearful vision she had witnessed during her former stupor,
+began to connect it with the scene now passing before her. The storm had
+wholly ceased, and the stars again twinkled down through the shattered
+roof. Deep silence prevailed, broken only by the hissing and bubbling of
+the caldron.
+
+Alizon's gaze was riveted upon her mother, whose slightest gestures she
+watched. After numbering the assemblage thrice, Mistress Nutter
+majestically arose, and motioning Mother Chattox towards her, the old
+witch tremblingly advanced, and some words passed between them, the
+import of which did not reach the listener's ear. In conclusion,
+however, Mistress Nutter exclaimed aloud, in accents of command--"Go,
+bring it at once, the sacrifice must be made."--And on this, Mother
+Chattox hobbled off to one of the side chapels.
+
+A mortal terror seized Alizon, and she could scarcely draw breath. Dark
+tales had been told her that unbaptised infants were sometimes
+sacrificed by witches, and their flesh boiled and devoured at their
+impious banquets, and dreading lest some such atrocity was now about to
+be practised, she mustered all her resolution, determined, at any risk,
+to interfere, and, if possible, prevent its accomplishment.
+
+In another moment, Mother Chattox returned bearing some living thing,
+wrapped in a white cloth, which struggled feebly for liberation,
+apparently confirming Alizon's suspicions, and she was about to rush
+forward, when Mistress Nutter, snatching the bundle from the old witch,
+opened it, and disclosed a beautiful bird, with plumage white as driven
+snow, whose legs were tied together, so that it could not escape.
+Conjecturing what was to follow, Alizon averted her eyes, and when she
+looked round again the bird had been slain, while Mother Chattox was in
+the act of throwing its body into the caldron, muttering a charm as she
+did so. Mistress Nutter held the ensanguined knife aloft, and casting
+some ruddy drops upon the glowing embers, pronounced, as they hissed and
+smoked, the following adjuration:--
+
+          "Thy aid I seek, infernal Power!
+           Be thy word sent to Malkin Tower,
+           That the beldame old may know
+           Where I will, thou'dst have her go--
+           What I will, thou'dst have her do!"
+
+An immediate response was made by an awful voice issuing apparently from
+the bowels of the earth.
+
+          "Thou who seek'st the Demon's aid,
+           Know'st the price that must be paid."
+
+The queen witch rejoined--
+
+          "I do. But grant the aid I crave,
+           And that thou wishest thou shalt have.
+           Another worshipper is won,
+           Thine to be, when all is done."
+
+Again the deep voice spake, with something of mockery in its accents:--
+
+           "Enough proud witch, I am content.
+           To Malkin Tower the word is sent,
+           Forth to her task the beldame goes,
+           And where she points the streamlet flows;
+           Its customary bed forsaking,
+           Another distant channel making.
+           Round about like elfets tripping,
+           Stock and stone, and tree are skipping;
+           Halting where she plants her staff,
+           With a wild exulting laugh.
+               Ho! ho! 'tis a merry sight,
+               Thou hast given the hag to-night.
+
+           Lo! the sheepfold, and the herd,
+           To another site are stirr'd!
+           And the rugged limestone quarry,
+           Where 'twas digg'd may no more tarry;
+           While the goblin haunted dingle,
+           With another dell must mingle.
+           Pendle Moor is in commotion,
+           Like the billows of the ocean,
+           When the winds are o'er it ranging,
+           Heaving, falling, bursting, changing.
+               Ho! ho! 'tis a merry sight
+               Thou hast given the hag to-night.
+
+           Lo! the moss-pool sudden flies,
+           In another spot to rise;
+           And the scanty-grown plantation,
+           Finds another situation,
+           And a more congenial soil,
+           Without needing woodman's toil.
+           Now the warren moves--and see!
+           How the burrowing rabbits flee,
+           Hither, thither till they find it,
+           With another brake behind it.
+               Ho! ho! 'tis a merry sight
+               Thou hast given the hag to-night.
+
+           Lo! new lines the witch is tracing,
+           Every well-known mark effacing,
+           Elsewhere, other bounds erecting,
+           So the old there's no detecting.
+               Ho! ho! 'tis a pastime quite,
+               Thou hast given the hag to-night!
+
+           The hind at eve, who wander'd o'er
+           The dreary waste of Pendle Moor,
+           Shall wake at dawn, and in surprise,
+           Doubt the strange sight that meets his eyes.
+           The pathway leading to his hut
+           Winds differently,--the gate is shut.
+           The ruin on the right that stood.
+           Lies on the left, and nigh the wood;
+           The paddock fenced with wall of stone,
+           Wcll-stock'd with kine, a mile hath flown,
+           The sheepfold and the herd are gone.
+           Through channels new the brooklet rushes,
+           Its ancient course conceal'd by bushes.
+           Where the hollow was, a mound
+           Rises from the upheaved ground.
+           Doubting, shouting with surprise,
+           How the fool stares, and rubs his eyes!
+           All's so changed, the simple elf
+           Fancies he is changed himself!
+           Ho! ho! 'tis a merry sight
+           The hag shall have when dawns the light.
+           But see! she halts and waves her hand.
+           All is done as thou hast plann'd."
+
+After a moment's pause the voice added,
+
+          "I have done as thou hast will'd--
+           Now be thy path straight fulfill'd."
+
+"It shall be," replied Mistress Nutter, whose features gleamed with
+fierce exultation. "Bring forth the proselyte!" she shouted.
+
+And at the words, her swarthy serving-man, Blackadder, came forth from
+the Lacy chapel, leading Jennet by the hand. They were followed by Tib,
+who, dilated to twice his former size, walked with tail erect, and eyes
+glowing like carbuncles.
+
+At sight of her daughter a loud cry of rage and astonishment burst from
+Elizabeth Device, and, rushing forward, she would have seized her, if
+Tib had not kept her off by a formidable display of teeth and talons.
+Jennet made no effort to join her mother, but regarded her with a
+malicious and triumphant grin.
+
+"This is my chilt," screamed Elizabeth. "She canna be baptised without
+my consent, an ey refuse it. Ey dunna want her to be a witch--at least
+not yet awhile. What mays yo here, yo little plague?"
+
+"Ey wur brought here, mother," replied Jennet, with affected simplicity.
+
+"Then get whoam at once, and keep there," rejoined Elizabeth, furiously.
+
+"Nay, eyst nah go just yet," replied Jennet. "Ey'd fain be a witch as
+weel as yo."
+
+"Ho! ho! ho!" laughed the voice from below.
+
+"Nah, nah--ey forbid it," shrieked Elizabeth, "ye shanna be bapteesed.
+Whoy ha ye brought her here, madam?" she added to Mistress Nutter. "Yo
+ha' stolen her fro' me. Boh ey protest agen it."
+
+"Your consent is not required," replied Mistress Nutter, waving her off.
+"Your daughter is anxious to become a witch. That is enough."
+
+"She is not owd enough to act for herself," said Elizabeth.
+
+"Age matters not," replied Mistress Nutter.
+
+"What mun ey do to become a witch?" asked Jennet.
+
+"You must renounce all hopes of heaven," replied Mistress Nutter, "and
+devote yourself to Satan. You will then be baptised in his name, and
+become one of his worshippers. You will have power to afflict all
+persons with bodily ailments--to destroy cattle--blight corn--burn
+dwellings--and, if you be so minded, kill those you hate, or who molest
+you. Do you desire to do all this?"
+
+"Eigh, that ey do," replied Jennet. "Ey ha' more pleasure in evil than
+in good, an wad rayther see folk weep than laugh; an if ey had the
+power, ey wad so punish them os jeer at me, that they should rue it to
+their deein' day."
+
+"All this you shall do, and more," rejoined Mistress Nutter. "You
+renounce all hopes of salvation, then, and devote yourself, soul and
+body, to the Powers of Darkness."
+
+Elizabeth, who was still kept at bay by Tib, shaking her arms, and
+gnashing her teeth, in impotent rage, now groaned aloud; but ere Jennet
+could answer, a piercing cry was heard, which thrilled through Mistress
+Nutter's bosom, and Alizon, rushing from her place of concealment,
+passed through the weird circle, and stood beside the group in the midst
+of it.
+
+"Forbear, Jennet," she cried; "forbear! Pronounce not those impious
+words, or you are lost for ever. Come with me, and I will save you."
+
+"Sister Alizon," cried Jennet, staring at her in surprise, "what makes
+you here?"
+
+"Do not ask--but come," cried Alizon, trying to take her hand.
+
+"Oh! what is this?" cried Mistress Nutter, now partly recovered from the
+consternation and astonishment into which she had been thrown by
+Alizon's unexpected appearance. "Why are you here? How have you broken
+the chains of slumber in which I bound you? Fly--fly--at once, this girl
+is past your help. You cannot save her. She is already devoted. Fly. I
+am powerless to protect you here."
+
+"Ho! ho! ho!" laughed the voice.
+
+"Do you not hear that laughter?" cried Mistress Nutter, with a haggard
+look. "Go!"
+
+"Never, without Jennet," replied Alizon, firmly.
+
+"My child--my child--on my knees I implore you to depart," cried
+Mistress Nutter, throwing herself before her--"You know not your
+danger--oh, fly--fly!"
+
+But Alizon continued inflexible.
+
+"Yo are caught i' your own snare, madam," cried Elizabeth Device, with a
+taunting laugh. "Sin Jennet mun be a witch, Alizon con be bapteesed os
+weel. Your consent is not required--and age matters not--ha! ha!"
+
+"Curses upon thy malice," cried Mistress Nutter, rising. "What can be
+done in this extremity?"
+
+"Nothing," replied the voice. "Jennet is mine already. If not brought
+hither by thee, or by her mother, she would have come of her own accord.
+I have watched her, and marked her for my own. Besides, she is fated.
+The curse of Paslew clings to her."
+
+As the words were uttered, the shade of the abbot glided forwards, and,
+touching the shuddering child upon the brow with its finger, vanished
+with a lamentable cry.
+
+"Kneel, Jennet," cried Alizon; "kneel, and pray!"
+
+"To me," rejoined the voice; "she can bend to no other power. Alice
+Nutter, thou hast sought to deceive me, but in vain. I bade thee bring
+thy daughter here, and in place of her thou offerest me the child of
+another, who is mine already. I am not to be thus trifled with. Thou
+knowest my will. Sprinkle water over her head, and devote her to me."
+
+Alizon would fain have thrown herself on her knees, but extremity of
+horror, or some overmastering influence, held her fast; and she remained
+with her gaze fixed upon her mother, who seemed torn by conflicting
+emotions.
+
+"Is there no way to avoid this?" cried Mistress Nutter.
+
+"No way but one," replied the voice. "I have been offered a new devotee,
+and I claim fulfilment of the promise. Thy daughter or another, it
+matters not--but not Jennet."
+
+"I embrace the alternative," cried Mistress Nutter.
+
+"It must be done upon the instant," said the voice.
+
+"It shall be," replied Mistress Nutter. And, stretching her arm in the
+direction of the mansion, she called in a loud imperious voice, "Dorothy
+Assheton, come hither!"
+
+A minute elapsed, but no one appeared, and, with a look of
+disappointment, Mistress Nutter repeated the gesture and the words.
+
+Still no one came.
+
+"Baffled!" she exclaimed, "what can it mean?"
+
+"There is a maiden within the south transept, who is not one of my
+servants," cried the voice. "Call her."
+
+"'Tis she!" cried Mistress Nutter, stretching her arm towards the
+transept. "This time I am answered," she added, as with a wild laugh
+Dorothy obeyed the summons.
+
+"I have anointed myself with the unguent, and drank of the potion, ha!
+ha! ha!" cried Dorothy, with a wild gesture, and wilder laughter.
+
+"Ha! this accounts for her presence here," muttered Mistress Nutter.
+"But it could not be better. She is in no mood to offer resistance.
+Dorothy, thou shalt be a witch."
+
+"A witch!" exclaimed the bewildered maiden. "Is Alizon a witch?"
+
+"We are all witches here," replied Mistress Nutter.
+
+Alizon had no power to contradict her.
+
+"A merry company!" exclaimed Dorothy, laughing loudly.
+
+"You will say so anon," replied Mistress Nutter, waving her hand over
+her, and muttering a spell; "but you see them not in their true forms,
+Dorothy. Look again--what do you behold now?"
+
+"In place of a troop of old wrinkled crones in wretched habiliments,"
+replied Dorothy, "I behold a band of lovely nymphs in light gauzy
+attire, wreathed with flowers, and holding myrtle and olive branches in
+their hands. See they rise, and prepare for the dance. Strains of
+ravishing music salute the ear. I never heard sounds so sweet and
+stirring. The round is formed. The dance begins. How gracefully--how
+lightly they move--ha! ha!"
+
+Alizon could not check her--could not undeceive her--for power of speech
+as of movement was denied her, but she comprehended the strange delusion
+under which the poor girl laboured. The figures Dorothy described as
+young and lovely, were still to her the same loathsome and abhorrent
+witches; the ravishing music jarred discordantly on her ear, as if
+produced by a shrill cornemuse; and the lightsome dance was a fantastic
+round, performed with shouts and laughter by the whole unhallowed crew.
+
+Jennet laughed immoderately, and seemed delighted by the antics of the
+troop.
+
+"Ey never wished to dance efore," she cried, "boh ey should like to try
+now."
+
+"Join them, then," said Mistress Nutter.
+
+And to the little girl's infinite delight a place was made for her in
+the round, and, taking hands with Mother Mould-heels and the red-haired
+witch, she footed it as merrily as the rest.
+
+"Who is she in the nunlike habit?" inquired Dorothy, pointing to the
+shade of Isole de Heton, which still hovered near the weird assemblage.
+"She seems more beautiful than all the others. Will she not dance with
+me?"
+
+"Heed her not," said Mistress Nutter.
+
+Dorothy, however, would not be gainsaid, but, spite of the caution,
+beckoned the figure towards her. It came at once, and in another instant
+its arms were enlaced around her. The same frenzy that had seized
+Nicholas now took possession of Dorothy, and her dance with Isole might
+have come to a similar conclusion, if it had not been abruptly checked
+by Mistress Nutter, who, waving her hand, and pronouncing a spell, the
+figure instantly quitted Dorothy, and, with a wild shriek, fled.
+
+"How like you these diversions?" said Mistress Nutter to the panting and
+almost breathless maiden.
+
+"Marvellously," replied Dorothy; "but why have you scared my partner
+away?"
+
+"Because she would have done you a mischief," rejoined Mistress Nutter.
+"But now let me put a question to you. Are you willing to renounce your
+baptism, and enter into a covenant with the Prince of Darkness?"
+
+Dorothy did not seem in the least to comprehend what was said to her;
+but she nevertheless replied, "I am."
+
+"Bring water and salt," said Mistress Nutter to Mother Chattox. "By
+these drops I baptise you," she added, dipping her fingers in the
+liquid, and preparing to sprinkle it over the brow of the proselyte.
+
+Then it was that Alizon, by an almost superhuman effort, burst the
+spell that bound her, and clasped Dorothy in her arms.
+
+"You know not what you do, dear Dorothy," she cried. "I answer for you.
+You will not yield to the snares and temptations of Satan, however
+subtly devised. You defy him and all his works. You will make no
+covenant with him. Though surrounded by his bond-slaves, you fear him
+not. Is it not so? Speak!"
+
+But Dorothy could only answer with an insane laugh--"I will be a witch."
+
+"It is too late," interposed Mistress Nutter. "You cannot save her. And,
+remember! she stands in your place. Or you or she must be devoted."
+
+"I will never desert her," cried Alizon, twining her arms round her.
+"Dorothy--dear Dorothy--address yourself to Heaven."
+
+An angry growl of thunder was heard.
+
+"Beware!" cried Mistress Nutter.
+
+"I am not to be discouraged," rejoined Alizon, firmly. "You cannot gain
+a victory over a soul in this condition, and I shall effect her
+deliverance. Heaven will aid us, Dorothy."
+
+A louder roll of thunder was heard, followed by a forked flash of
+lightning.
+
+"Provoke not the vengeance of the Prince of Darkness," said Mistress
+Nutter.
+
+"I have no fear," replied Alizon. "Cling to me, Dorothy. No harm shall
+befall you."
+
+"Be speedy!" cried the voice.
+
+"Let her go," cried Mistress Nutter to Alizon, "or you will rue this
+disobedience. Why should you interfere with my projects, and bring ruin
+on yourself! I would save you. What, still obstinate? Nay, then, I will
+no longer show forbearance. Help me, sisters. Force the new witch from
+her. But beware how you harm my child."
+
+At these words the troop gathered round the two girls. But Alizon only
+clasped her hands more tightly round Dorothy; while the latter, on whose
+brain the maddening potion still worked, laughed frantically at them. It
+was at this moment that Elizabeth Device, who had conceived a project of
+revenge, put it into execution. While near Dorothy, she stamped, spat on
+the ground, and then cast a little mould over her, breathing in her ear,
+"Thou art bewitched--bewitched by Alizon Device."
+
+Dorothy instantly struggled to free herself from Alizon.
+
+"Oh! do not you strive against me, dear Dorothy," cried Alizon. "Remain
+with me, or you are lost."
+
+"Hence! off! set me free!" shrieked Dorothy; "you have bewitched me. I
+heard it this moment."
+
+"Do not believe the false suggestion," cried Alizon.
+
+"It is true," exclaimed all the other witches together. "Alizon has
+bewitched you, and will kill you. Shake her off--shake her off!"
+
+"Away!" cried Dorothy, mustering all her force. "Away!"
+
+But Alizon was still too strong for her, and, in spite of her efforts at
+liberation, detained her.
+
+"My patience is wellnigh exhausted," exclaimed the voice.
+
+"Alizon!" cried Mistress Nutter, imploringly.
+
+And again the witches gathered furiously round the two girls.
+
+"Kneel, Dorothy, kneel!" whispered Alizon. And forcing her down, she
+fell on her knees beside her, exclaiming, with uplifted hands, "Gracious
+heaven! deliver us."
+
+As the words were uttered, a fearful cry was heard, and the weird troop
+fled away screaming, like ill-omened birds. The caldron sank into the
+ground; the dense mist arose like a curtain; and the moon and stars
+shone brightly down upon the ruined pile.
+
+Alizon prayed long and fervently, with clasped hands and closed eyes,
+for deliverance from evil. When she looked round again, all was so calm,
+so beautiful, so holy in its rest, that she could scarcely believe in
+the recent fearful occurrences. Her hair and garments were damp with the
+dews of night; and at her feet lay Dorothy, insensible.
+
+She tried to raise her--to revive her, but in vain; when at this moment
+footsteps were heard approaching, and the next moment Mistress Nutter,
+accompanied by Adam Whitworth and some other serving-men, entered the
+choir.
+
+"I see them--they are here!" cried the lady, rushing forward.
+
+"Heaven be praised you have found them, madam!" exclaimed the old
+steward, coming quickly after her.
+
+"Oh! what an alarm you have given me, Alizon," said Mistress Nutter.
+"What could induce you to go forth secretly at night in this way with
+Dorothy! I dreamed you were here, and missing you when I awoke, roused
+the house and came in search of you. What is the matter with Dorothy?
+She has been frightened, I suppose. I will give her to breathe at this
+phial. It will revive her. See, she opens her eyes."
+
+Dorothy looked round wildly for a moment, and then pointing her finger
+at Alizon, said--
+
+"She has bewitched me."
+
+"Poor thing! she rambles," observed Mistress Nutter to Adam Whitworth,
+who, with the other serving-men, stared aghast at the accusation; "she
+has been scared out of her senses by some fearful sight. Let her be
+conveyed quickly to my chamber, and I will see her cared for."
+
+The orders were obeyed. Dorothy was raised gently by the serving-men,
+but she still kept pointing to Alizon, and repeatedly exclaimed--
+
+"She has bewitched me!"
+
+The serving-men shook their heads, and looked significantly at each
+other, while Mistress Nutter lingered to speak to her daughter.
+
+"You look greatly disturbed, Alizon, as if you had been visited by a
+nightmare in your sleep, and were still under its influence."
+
+Alizon made no reply.
+
+"A few hours' tranquil sleep will restore you," pursued Mistress Nutter,
+"and you will forget your fears. You must not indulge in these nocturnal
+rambles again, or they may be attended with dangerous consequences. I
+may not have a second warning dream. Come to the house."
+
+And, as Alizon followed her along the garden path, she could not help
+asking herself, though with little hope in the question, if all she had
+witnessed was indeed nothing more than a troubled dream.
+
+
+END OF THE FIRST BOOK.
+
+
+
+
+THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES.
+
+BOOK THE SECOND.
+
+Pendle Forest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.--FLINT.
+
+
+A lovely morning succeeded the strange and terrible night. Brightly
+shone the sun upon the fair Calder as it winded along the green meads
+above the bridge, as it rushed rejoicingly over the weir, and pursued
+its rapid course through the broad plain below the Abbey. A few white
+vapours hung upon the summit of Whalley Nab, but the warm rays tinging
+them with gold, and tipping with fire the tree-tops that pierced through
+them, augured their speedy dispersion. So beautiful, so tranquil, looked
+the old monastic fane, that none would have deemed its midnight rest had
+been broken by the impious rites of a foul troop. The choir, where the
+unearthly scream and the demon laughter had resounded, was now vocal
+with the melodies of the blackbird, the thrush, and other songsters of
+the grove. Bells of dew glittered upon the bushes rooted in the walls,
+and upon the ivy-grown pillars; and gemming the countless spiders' webs
+stretched from bough to bough, showed they were all unbroken. No traces
+were visible on the sod where the unhallowed crew had danced their
+round; nor were any ashes left where the fire had burnt and the caldron
+had bubbled. The brass-covered tombs of the abbots in the presbytery
+looked as if a century had passed over them without disturbance; while
+the graves in the cloister cemetery, obliterated, and only to be
+detected when a broken coffin or a mouldering bone was turned up by the
+tiller of the ground, preserved their wonted appearance. The face of
+nature had received neither impress nor injury from the fantastic freaks
+and necromantic exhibitions of the witches. Every thing looked as it was
+left overnight; and the only footprints to be detected were those of the
+two girls, and of the party who came in quest of them. All else had
+passed by like a vision or a dream. The rooks cawed loudly in the
+neighbouring trees, as if discussing the question of breakfast, and the
+jackdaws wheeled merrily round the tall spire, which sprang from the
+eastern end of the fane.
+
+Brightly shone the sun upon the noble timber embowering the mansion of
+the Asshetons; upon the ancient gateway, in the upper chamber of which
+Ned Huddlestone, the porter, and the burly representative of Friar Tuck,
+was rubbing his sleepy eyes, preparatory to habiting himself in his
+ordinary attire; and upon the wide court-yard, across which Nicholas was
+walking in the direction of the stables. Notwithstanding his excesses
+overnight, the squire was astir, as he had declared he should be, before
+daybreak; and a plunge into the Calder had cooled his feverish limbs and
+cured his racking headache, while a draught of ale set his stomach
+right. Still, in modern parlance, he looked rather "seedy," and his
+recollection of the events of the previous night was somewhat confused.
+Aware he had committed many fooleries, he did not desire to investigate
+matters too closely, and only hoped he should not be reminded of them by
+Sir Ralph, or worse still, by Parson Dewhurst. As to his poor, dear,
+uncomplaining wife, he never once troubled his head about her, feeling
+quite sure she would not upbraid him. On his appearance in the
+court-yard, the two noble blood-hounds and several lesser dogs came
+forward to greet him, and, attended by this noisy pack, he marched up to
+a groom, who was rubbing down his horse at the stable-door.
+
+"Poor Robin," he cried to the steed, who neighed at his approach. "Poor
+Robin," he said, patting his neck affectionately, "there is not thy
+match for speed or endurance, for fence or ditch, for beck or stone
+wall, in the country. Half an hour on thy back will make all right with
+me; but I would rather take thee to Bowland Forest, and hunt the stag
+there, than go and perambulate the boundaries of the Rough Lee estates
+with a rascally attorney. I wonder how the fellow will be mounted."
+
+"If yo be speering about Mester Potts, squoire," observed the groom, "ey
+con tell ye. He's to ha' little Flint, the Welsh pony."
+
+"Why, zounds, you don't say, Peter!" exclaimed Nicholas, laughing;
+"he'll never be able to manage him. Flint's the wickedest and most
+wilful little brute I ever knew. We shall have Master Potts run away
+with, or thrown into a moss-pit. Better give him something quieter."
+
+"It's Sir Roaph's orders," replied Peter, "an ey darna disobey 'em. Boh
+Flint's far steadier than when yo seed him last, squoire. Ey dar say
+he'll carry Mester Potts weel enough, if he dusna mislest him."
+
+"You think nothing of the sort, Peter," said Nicholas. "You expect to
+see the little gentleman fly over the pony's head, and perhaps break his
+own at starting. But if Sir Ralph has ordered it, he must abide by the
+consequences. I sha'n't interfere further. How goes on the young colt
+you were breaking in? You should take care to show him the saddle in the
+manger, let him smell it, and jingle the stirrups in his ears, before
+you put it on his back. Better ground for his first lessons could not be
+desired than the field below the grange, near the Calder. Sir Ralph was
+saying yesterday, that the roan mare had pricked her foot. You must wash
+the sore well with white wine and salt, rub it with the ointment the
+farriers call ægyptiacum, and then put upon it a hot plaster compounded
+of flax hards, turpentine, oil and wax, bathing the top of the hoof with
+bole armeniac and vinegar. This is the best and quickest remedy. And
+recollect, Peter, that for a new strain, vinegar, bole armeniac, whites
+of eggs, and bean-flour, make the best salve. How goes on Sir Ralph's
+black charger, Dragon? A brave horse that, Peter, and the only one in
+your master's whole stud to compare with my Robin! But Dragon, though of
+high courage and great swiftness, has not the strength and endurance of
+Robin--neither can he leap so well. Why, Robin would almost clear the
+Calder, Peter, and makes nothing of Smithies Brook, near Downham, and
+you know how wide that stream is. I once tried him at the Ribble, at a
+narrow point, and if horse could have done it, he would--but it was too
+much to expect."
+
+"A great deal, ey should say, squoire," replied the groom, opening his
+eyes to their widest extent. "Whoy, th' Ribble, where yo speak on, mun
+be twenty yards across, if it be an inch; and no nag os ever wur bred
+could clear that, onless a witch wur on his back."
+
+"Don't allude to witches, Peter," said Nicholas. "I've had enough of
+them. But to come back to our steeds. Colour is matter of taste, and a
+man must please his own eye with bay or grey, chestnut, sorrel, or
+black; but dun is my fancy. A good horse, Peter, should be clean-limbed,
+short-jointed, strong-hoofed, out-ribbed, broad-chested, deep-necked,
+loose-throttled, thin-crested, lean-headed, full-eyed, with wide
+nostrils. A horse with half these points would not be wrong, and Robin
+has them all."
+
+"So he has, sure enough, squoire," replied Peter, regarding the animal
+with an approving eye, as Nicholas enumerated his merits. "Boh, if ey
+might choose betwixt him an yunk Mester Ruchot Assheton's grey gelding,
+Merlin, ey knoas which ey'd tak."
+
+"Robin, of course," said Nicholas.
+
+"Nah, squoire, it should be t'other," replied the groom.
+
+"You're no judge of a horse, Peter," rejoined Nicholas, shrugging his
+shoulders.
+
+"May be not," said the groom, "boh ey'm bound to speak truth. An see!
+Tum Lomax is bringin' out Merlin. We con put th' two nags soide by
+soide, if yo choose."
+
+"They shall be put side by side in the field, Peter--that's the way to
+test their respective merit," returned Nicholas, "and they won't remain
+long together, I'll warrant you. I offered to make a match for twenty
+pieces with Master Richard, but he declined the offer. Harkee, Peter,
+break an egg in Robin's mouth before you put on his bridle. It
+strengthens the wind, and adds to a horse's power of endurance. You
+understand?"
+
+"Parfitly, squoire," replied the groom. "By th' mess! that's a secret
+worth knoain'. Onny more orders?"
+
+"No," replied Nicholas. "We shall set out in an hour--or it may be
+sooner."
+
+"Aw shan be ready," said Peter. And he added to himself, as Nicholas
+moved away, "Ey'st tak care Tum Lomax gies an egg to Merlin, an that'll
+may aw fair, if they chance to try their osses' mettle."
+
+As Nicholas returned to the house, he perceived to his dismay Sir Ralph
+and Parson Dewhurst standing upon the steps; and convinced, from their
+grave looks, that they were prepared to lecture him, he endeavoured to
+nerve himself for the infliction.
+
+"Two to one are awkward odds," said the squire to himself, "especially
+when they have the 'vantage ground. But I must face them, and make the
+best fight circumstances will allow. I shall never be able to explain
+that mad dance with Isole de Heton. No one but Dick will believe me, and
+the chances are he will not support my story. But I must put on an air
+of penitence, and sooth to say, in my present state, it is not very
+difficult to assume."
+
+Thus pondering, with slow step, affectedly humble demeanour, and
+surprisingly-lengthened visage, he approached the pair who were waiting
+for him, and regarding him with severe looks.
+
+Thinking it the best plan to open the fire himself, Nicholas saluted
+them, and said--
+
+"Give you good-day, Sir Ralph, and you too, worthy Master Dewhurst. I
+scarcely expected to see you so early astir, good sirs; but the morning
+is too beautiful to allow us to be sluggards. For my own part I have
+been awake for hours, and have passed the time wholly in self-reproaches
+for my folly and sinfulness last night, as well as in forming
+resolutions for self-amendment, and better governance in future."
+
+"I hope you will adhere to those resolutions, then, Nicholas," rejoined
+Sir Ralph, sternly; "for change of conduct is absolutely necessary, if
+you would maintain your character as a gentleman. I can make allowance
+for high animal spirits, and can excuse some licence, though I do not
+approve of it; But I will not permit decorum to be outraged in my house,
+and suffer so ill an example to be set to my tenantry."
+
+"Fortunately I was not present at the exhibition," said Dewhurst; "but I
+am told you conducted yourself like one possessed, and committed such
+freaks as are rarely, if ever, acted by a rational being."
+
+"I can offer no defence, worthy sir, and you my respected relative,"
+returned Nicholas, with a contrite air; "neither can you reprove me
+more strongly than I deserve, nor than I upbraid myself. I allowed
+myself to be overcome by wine, and in that condition was undoubtedly
+guilty of follies I must ever regret."
+
+"Amongst others, I believe you stood upon your head," remarked Dewhurst.
+
+"I am not aware of the circumstance, reverend sir," replied Nicholas,
+with difficulty repressing a smile; "but as I certainly lost my head, I
+may have stood upon it unconsciously. But I do recollect enough to make
+me heartily ashamed of myself, and determine to avoid all such excesses
+in future."
+
+"In that case, sir," rejoined Dewhurst, "the occurrences of last night,
+though sufficiently discreditable to you, will not be without profit;
+for I have observed to my infinite regret, that you are apt to indulge
+in immoderate potations, and when under their influence to lose due
+command of yourself, and commit follies which your sober reason must
+condemn. At such times I scarcely recognise you. You speak with
+unbecoming levity, and even allow oaths to escape your lips."
+
+"It is too true, reverend sir," said Nicholas; "but, zounds!--a plague
+upon my tongue--it is an unruly member. Forgive me, good sir, but my
+brain is a little confused."
+
+"I do not wonder, from the grievous assaults made upon it last night,
+Nicholas," observed Sir Ralph. "Perhaps you are not aware that your
+crowning act was whisking wildly round the room by yourself, like a
+frantic dervish."
+
+"I was dancing with Isole de Heton," said Nicholas.
+
+"With whom?" inquired Dewhurst, in surprise.
+
+"With a wicked votaress, who has been dead nearly a couple of
+centuries," interposed Sir Ralph; "and who, by her sinful life, merited
+the punishment she is said to have incurred. This delusion shows how
+dreadfully intoxicated you were, Nicholas. For the time you had quite
+lost your reason."
+
+"I am sober enough now, at all events," rejoined Nicholas; "and I am
+convinced that Isole did dance with me, nor will any arguments reason me
+out of that belief."
+
+"I am sorry to hear you say so, Nicholas," returned Sir Ralph. "That you
+were under the impression at the time I can easily understand; but that
+you should persist in such a senseless and wicked notion is more than I
+can comprehend."
+
+"I saw her with my own eyes as plainly as I see you, Sir Ralph," replied
+Nicholas, warmly; "that I declare upon my honour and conscience, and I
+also felt the pressure of her arms. Whether it may not have been the
+Fiend in her likeness I will not take upon me to declare--and indeed I
+have some misgivings on the subject; but that a beautiful creature,
+exactly resembling the votaress, danced with me, I will ever maintain."
+
+"If so, she was invisible to others, for I beheld her not," said Sir
+Ralph; "and, though I cannot yield credence to your explanation, yet,
+granting it to be correct, I do not see how it mends your case."
+
+"On the contrary, it only proves that Master Nicholas yielded to the
+snares of Satan," said Dewhurst, shaking his head. "I would recommend
+you long fasting and frequent prayer, my good sir, and I shall prepare a
+lecture for your special edification, which I will propound to you on
+your return to Downham, and, if it fails in effect, I will persevere
+with other godly discourses."
+
+"With your aid, I trust to be set free, reverend sir," returned
+Nicholas; "but, as I have already passed two or three hours in prayer, I
+hope they may stand me in lieu of any present fasting, and induce you to
+omit the article of penance, or postpone it to some future occasion,
+when I may be better able to perform it; for I am just now particularly
+hungry, and am always better able to resist temptation with a full
+stomach than an empty one. As I find it displeasing to Sir Ralph, I will
+not insist upon my visionary partner in the dance, at least until I am
+better able to substantiate the fact; and I shall listen to your
+lectures, worthy sir, with great delight, and, I doubt not, with equal
+benefit; but in the meantime, as carnal wants must be supplied, and
+mundane matters attended to, I propose, with our excellent host's
+permission, that we proceed to breakfast."
+
+Sir Ralph made no answer, but ascended the steps, and was followed by
+Dewhurst, heaving a deep sigh, and turning up the whites of his eyes,
+and by Nicholas, who felt his bosom eased of half its load, and secretly
+congratulated himself upon getting out of the scrape so easily.
+
+In the hall they found Richard Assheton habited in a riding-dress,
+booted, spurred, and in all respects prepared for the expedition. There
+were such evident traces of anxiety and suffering about him, that Sir
+Ralph questioned him as to the cause, and Richard replied that he had
+passed a most restless night. He did not add, that he had been made
+acquainted by Adam Whitworth with the midnight visit of the two girls to
+the conventual church, because he was well aware Sir Ralph would be
+greatly displeased by the circumstance, and because Mistress Nutter had
+expressed a wish that it should be kept secret. Sir Ralph, however, saw
+there was more upon his young relative's mind than he chose to confess,
+but he did not urge any further admission into his confidence.
+
+Meantime, the party had been increased by the arrival of Master Potts,
+who was likewise equipped for the ride. The hour was too early, it might
+be, for him, or he had not rested well like Richard, or had been
+troubled with bad dreams, but certainly he did not look very well, or in
+very good-humour. He had slept at the Abbey, having been accommodated
+with a bed after the sudden seizure which he attributed to the
+instrumentality of Mistress Nutter. The little attorney bowed
+obsequiously to Sir Ralph, who returned his salutation very stiffly,
+nor was he much better received by the rest of the company.
+
+At a sign from Sir Ralph, his guests then knelt down, and a prayer was
+uttered by the divine--or rather a discourse, for it partook more of the
+latter character than the former. In the course of it he took occasion
+to paint in strong colours the terrible consequences of intemperance,
+and Nicholas was obliged to endure a well-merited lecture of half an
+hour's duration. But even Parson Dewhurst could not hold out for ever,
+and, to the relief of all his hearers, he at length brought this
+discourse to a close.
+
+Breakfast at this period was a much more substantial affair than a
+modern morning repast, and differed little from dinner or supper, except
+in respect to quantity. On the present occasion, there were carbonadoes
+of fish and fowl, a cold chine, a huge pasty, a capon, neat's tongues,
+sausages, botargos, and other matters as provocative of thirst as
+sufficing to the appetite. Nicholas set to work bravely. Broiled trout,
+steaks, and a huge slice of venison pasty, disappeared quickly before
+him, and he was not quite so sparing of the ale as seemed consistent
+with his previously-expressed resolutions of temperance. In vain Parson
+Dewhurst filled a goblet with water, and looked significantly at him. He
+would not take the hint, and turned a deaf ear to the admonitory cough
+of Sir Ralph. He had little help from the others, for Richard ate
+sparingly, and Master Potts made a very poor figure beside him. At
+length, having cleared his plate, emptied his cup, and wiped his lips,
+the squire arose, and said he must bid adieu to his wife, and should
+then be ready to attend them.
+
+While he quitted the hall for this purpose, Mistress Nutter entered it.
+She looked paler than ever, and her eyes seemed larger, darker, and
+brighter. Nicholas shuddered slightly as she approached, and even Potts
+felt a thrill of apprehension pass through his frame. He scarcely,
+indeed, ventured a look at her, for he dreaded her mysterious power, and
+feared she could fathom the designs he secretly entertained against her.
+But she took no notice whatever of him. Acknowledging Sir Ralph's
+salutation, she motioned Richard to follow her to the further end of the
+room.
+
+"Your sister is very ill, Richard," she said, as the young man attended
+her, "feverish, and almost light-headed. Adam Whitworth has told you, I
+know, that she was imprudent enough, in company with Alizon, to visit
+the ruins of the conventual church late last night, and she there
+sustained some fright, which has produced a great shock upon her system.
+When found, she was fainting, and though I have taken every care of her,
+she still continues much excited, and rambles strangely. You will be
+surprised as well as grieved when I tell you, that she charges Alizon
+with having bewitched her."
+
+"How, madam!" cried Richard. "Alizon bewitch her! It is impossible."
+
+"You are right, Richard," replied Mistress Nutter; "the thing is
+impossible; but the accusation will find easy credence among the
+superstitious household here, and may be highly prejudicial, if not
+fatal to poor Alizon. It is most unlucky she should have gone out in
+this way, for the circumstance cannot be explained, and in itself serves
+to throw suspicion upon her."
+
+"I must see Dorothy before I go," said Richard; "perhaps I may be able
+to soothe her."
+
+"It was for that end I came hither," replied Mistress Nutter; "but I
+thought it well you should be prepared. Now come with me."
+
+Upon this they left the hall together, and proceeded to the abbot's
+chamber, where Dorothy was lodged. Richard was greatly shocked at the
+sight of his sister, so utterly changed was she from the blithe being of
+yesterday--then so full of health and happiness. Her cheeks burnt with
+fever, her eyes were unnaturally bright, and her fair hair hung about
+her face in disorder. She kept fast hold of Alizon, who stood beside
+her.
+
+"Ah, Richard!" she cried on seeing him, "I am glad you are come. You
+will persuade this girl to restore me to reason--to free me from the
+terrors that beset me. She can do so if she will."
+
+"Calm yourself, dear sister," said Richard, gently endeavouring to free
+Alizon from her grasp.
+
+"No, do not take her from me," said Dorothy, wildly; "I am better when
+she is near me--much better. My brow does not throb so violently, and my
+limbs are not twisted so painfully. Do you know what ails me, Richard?"
+
+"You have caught cold from wandering out indiscreetly last night," said
+Richard.
+
+"I am bewitched!" rejoined Dorothy, in tones that pierced her brother's
+brain--"bewitched by Alizon Device--by your love--ha! ha! She wishes to
+kill me, Richard, because she thinks I am in her way. But you will not
+let her do it."
+
+"You are mistaken, dear Dorothy. She means you no harm," said Richard.
+
+"Heaven knows how much I grieve for her, and how fondly I love her!"
+exclaimed Alizon, tearfully.
+
+"It is false!" cried Dorothy. "She will tell a different tale when you
+are gone. She is a witch, and you shall never marry her,
+Richard--never!--never!"
+
+Mistress Nutter, who stood at a little distance, anxiously observing
+what was passing, waved her hand several times towards the sufferer, but
+without effect.
+
+"I have no influence over her," she muttered. "She is really bewitched.
+I must find other means to quieten her."
+
+Though both greatly distressed, Alizon and Richard redoubled their
+attentions to the poor sufferer. For a few moments she remained quiet,
+but with her eyes constantly fixed on Alizon, and then said, quickly
+and fiercely, "I have been told, if you scratch one who has bewitched
+you till you draw blood, you will be cured. I will plunge my nails in
+her flesh."
+
+"I will not oppose you," replied Alizon, gently; "tear my flesh if you
+will. You should have my life's blood if it would cure you; but if the
+success of the experiment depends on my having bewitched you, it will
+assuredly fail."
+
+"This is dreadful," interposed Richard. "Leave her, Alizon, I entreat of
+you. She will do you an injury."
+
+"I care not," replied the young maid. "I will stay by her till she
+voluntarily releases me."
+
+The almost tigress fury with which Dorothy had seized upon the
+unresisting girl here suddenly deserted her, and, sobbing hysterically,
+she fell upon her neck. Oh, with what delight Alizon pressed her to her
+bosom!
+
+"Dorothy, dear Dorothy!" she cried.
+
+"Alizon, dear Alizon!" responded Dorothy. "Oh! how could I suspect you
+of any ill design against me!"
+
+"She is no witch, dear sister, be assured of that!" said Richard.
+
+"Oh, no--no--no! I am quite sure she is not," cried Dorothy, kissing her
+affectionately.
+
+This change had been wrought by the low-breathed spells of Mistress
+Nutter.
+
+"The access is over," she mentally ejaculated; "but I must get him away
+before the fit returns." "You had better go now, Richard," she added
+aloud, and touching his arm, "I will answer for your sister's
+restoration. An opiate will produce sleep, and if possible, she shall
+return to Middleton to-day."
+
+"If I go, Alizon must go with me," said Dorothy. "Well, well, I will not
+thwart your desires," rejoined Mistress Nutter. And she made a sign to
+Richard to depart.
+
+The young man pressed his sister's hand, bade a tender farewell to
+Alizon, and, infinitely relieved by the improvement which had taken
+place in the former, and which he firmly believed would speedily lead to
+her entire restoration, descended to the entrance-hall, where he found
+Sir Ralph and Parson Dewhurst, who told him that Nicholas and Potts were
+in the court-yard, and impatient to set out.
+
+Shouts of laughter saluted the ears of the trio as they descended the
+steps. The cause of the merriment was speedily explained when they
+looked towards the stables, and beheld Potts struggling for mastery with
+a stout Welsh pony, who showed every disposition, by plunging, kicking,
+and rearing, to remove him from his seat, though without success, for
+the attorney was not quite such a contemptible horseman as might be
+imagined. A wicked-looking little fellow was Flint, with a rough,
+rusty-black coat, a thick tail that swept the ground, a mane to match,
+and an eye of mixed fire and cunning. When brought forth he had allowed
+Potts to mount him quietly enough; but no sooner was the attorney
+comfortably in possession, than he was served with a notice of
+ejectment. Down went Flint's head and up went his heels; while on the
+next instant he was rearing aloft, with his fore-feet beating the air,
+so nearly perpendicular, that the chances seemed in favour of his coming
+down on his back. Then he whirled suddenly round, shook himself
+violently, threatened to roll over, and performed antics of the most
+extraordinary kind, to the dismay of his rider, but to the infinite
+amusement of the spectators, who were ready to split their sides with
+laughter--indeed, tears fairly streamed down the squire's cheeks.
+However, when Sir Ralph appeared, it was thought desirable to put an end
+to the fun; and Peter, the groom, advanced to seize the restive little
+animal's bridle, but, eluding the grasp, Flint started off at full
+gallop, and, accompanied by the two blood-hounds, careered round the
+court-yard, as if running in a ring. Vainly did poor Potts tug at the
+bridle. Flint, having the bit firmly between his teeth, defied his
+utmost efforts. Away he went with the hounds at his heels, as if, said
+Nicholas, "the devil were behind him." Though annoyed and angry, Sir
+Ralph could not help laughing at the ridiculous scene, and even a smile
+crossed Parson Dewhurst's grave countenance as Flint and his rider
+scampered madly past them. Sir Ralph called to the grooms, and attempts
+were instantly made to check the furious pony's career; but he baffled
+them all, swerving suddenly round when an endeavour was made to
+intercept him, leaping over any trifling obstacle, and occasionally
+charging any one who stood in his path. What with the grooms running
+hither and thither, vociferating and swearing, the barking and springing
+of the hounds, the yelping of lesser dogs, and the screaming of poultry,
+the whole yard was in a state of uproar and confusion.
+
+"Flint mun be possessed," cried Peter. "Ey never seed him go on i' this
+way efore. Ey noticed Elizabeth Device near th' stables last neet, an ey
+shouldna wonder if hoo ha' bewitched him."
+
+"Neaw doubt on't," replied another groom. "Howsomever we mun contrive to
+ketch him, or Sir Roaph win send us aw abowt our business.
+
+"Ey wish yo'd contrive to do it, then, Tum Lomax," replied Peter, "fo'
+ey'm fairly blowd. Dang me, if ey ever seed sich hey-go-mad wark i' my
+born days. What's to be done, squoire?" he added to Nicholas.
+
+"The devil only knows," replied the latter; "but it seems we must wait
+till the little rascal chooses to stop."
+
+This occurred sooner than was expected. Thinking, possibly, that he had
+done enough to induce Master Potts to give up all idea of riding him,
+Flint suddenly slackened his pace, and trotted, as if nothing had
+happened, to the stable-door; but if he had formed any such notion as
+the above, he was deceived, for the attorney, who was quite as obstinate
+and wilful as himself, and who through all his perils had managed to
+maintain his seat, was resolved not to abandon it, and positively
+refused to dismount when urged to do so by Nicholas and the grooms.
+
+"He will go quietly enough now, I dare say," observed Potts, "and if
+not, and you will lend me a hunting-whip, I will undertake to cure him
+of his tricks."
+
+Flint seemed to understand what was said, for he laid back his ears as
+if meditating more mischief; but being surrounded by the grooms, he
+deemed it advisable to postpone the attempt to a more convenient
+opportunity. In compliance with his request, a heavy hunting-whip was
+handed to Potts, and, armed with this formidable weapon, the little
+attorney quite longed for an opportunity of effacing his disgrace.
+Meanwhile, Sir Ralph had come up and ordered a steady horse out for him;
+but Master Potts adhered to his resolution, and Flint remaining
+perfectly quiet, the baronet let him have his own way.
+
+Soon after this, Nicholas and Richard having mounted their steeds, the
+party set forth. As they were passing through the gateway, which had
+been thrown wide open by Ned Huddlestone, they were joined by Simon
+Sparshot, who had been engaged by Potts to attend him on the expedition
+in his capacity of constable. Simon was mounted on a mule, and brought
+word that Master Roger Nowell begged they would ride round by Read Hall,
+where he would be ready to accompany them, as he wished to be present at
+the perambulation of the boundaries. Assenting to the arrangement, the
+party set forth in that direction, Richard and Nicholas riding a little
+in advance of the others.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.--READ HALL.
+
+
+The road taken by the party on quitting Whalley led up the side of a
+hill, which, broken into picturesque inequalities, and partially clothed
+with trees, sloped down to the very brink of the Calder. Winding round
+the broad green plain, heretofore described, with the lovely knoll in
+the midst of it, and which formed, with the woody hills encircling it, a
+perfect amphitheatre, the river was ever an object of beauty--sometimes
+lost beneath over-hanging boughs or high banks, anon bursting forth
+where least expected, now rushing swiftly over its shallow and rocky
+bed, now subsiding into a smooth full current. The Abbey and the village
+were screened from view by the lower part of the hill which the horsemen
+were scaling; but the old bridge and a few cottages at the foot of
+Whalley Nab, with their thin blue smoke mounting into the pure morning
+air, gave life and interest to the picture. Hence, from base to summit,
+Whalley Nab stood revealed, and the verdant lawns opening out amidst the
+woods feathering its heights, were fully discernible. Placed by Nature
+as the guardian of this fair valley, the lofty eminence well became the
+post assigned to it. None of the belt of hills connected with it were so
+well wooded as their leader, nor so beautiful in form; while some of
+them were overtopped by the bleak fells of Longridge, rising at a
+distance behind them.
+
+Nor were those exquisite contrasts wanting, which are only to be seen in
+full perfection when the day is freshest and the dew is still heavy on
+the grass. The near side of the hill was plunged in deep shade; thin,
+gauzy vapour hung on the stream beneath, while on the opposite heights,
+and where the great boulder stones were visible in the bed of the river,
+all was sparkling with sunshine. So enchanting was the prospect, that
+though perfectly familiar with it, the two foremost horsemen drew in the
+rein to contemplate it. High above them, on a sandbank, through which
+their giant roots protruded, shot up two tall silver-stemm'd
+beech-trees, forming with their newly opened foliage a canopy of
+tenderest green. Further on appeared a grove of oaks scarcely in leaf;
+and below were several fine sycamores, already green and umbrageous,
+intermingled with elms, ashes, and horse-chestnuts, and overshadowing
+brakes, covered with maples, alders, and hazels. The other spaces among
+the trees were enlivened by patches of yellow flowering and odorous
+gorse. Mixed with the warblings of innumerable feathered songsters were
+heard the cheering notes of the cuckoo; and the newly-arrived swallows
+were seen chasing the flies along the plain, or skimming over the
+surface of the river. Already had Richard's depression yielded to the
+exhilarating freshness of the morning, and the same kindly influence
+produced a more salutary effect on Nicholas than Parson Dewhurst's
+lecture had been able to accomplish. The worthy squire was a true lover
+of Nature; admiring her in all her forms, whether arrayed in pomp of
+wood and verdure, as in the lovely landscape before him, or dreary and
+desolate, as in the heathy forest wastes they were about to traverse.
+While breathing the fresh morning air, inhaling the fragrance of the
+wild-flowers, and listening to the warbling of the birds, he took a
+well-pleased survey of the scene, commencing with the bridge, passing
+over Whalley Nab and the mountainous circle conjoined with it, till his
+gaze settled on Morton Hall, a noble mansion finely situated on a
+shoulder of the hill beyond him, and commanding the entire valley.
+
+"Were I not owner of Downham," he observed to Richard, "I should wish to
+be master of Morton." And then, pointing to the green area below, he
+added, "What a capital spot for a race! There we might try the speed of
+our nags for the twenty pieces I talked of yesterday; and the judges of
+the match and those who chose to look on might station themselves on
+yon knoll, which seems made for the express purpose. Three years ago I
+remember a fair was held upon that plain, and the foot-races, the
+wrestling matches, and the various sports and pastimes of the rustics,
+viewed from the knoll, formed the prettiest sight ever looked upon. But,
+pleasant as the prospect is, we must not tarry here all day."
+
+Before setting forward, he cast a glance towards Pendle Hill, which
+formed the most prominent object of view on the left, and lay like a
+leviathan basking in the sunshine. The vast mass rose up gradually until
+at its further extremity it attained an altitude of more than 1800 feet
+above the sea. At the present moment it was without a cloud, and the
+whole of its broad outline was distinctly visible.
+
+"I love Pendle Hill," cried Nicholas, enthusiastically; "and from
+whatever side I view it--whether from this place, where I see it from
+end to end, from its lowest point to its highest; from Padiham, where it
+frowns upon me; from Clithero, where it smiles; or from Downham, where
+it rises in full majesty before me--from all points and under all
+aspects, whether robed in mist or radiant with sunshine, I delight in
+it. Born beneath its giant shadow, I look upon it with filial regard.
+Some folks say Pendle Hill wants grandeur and sublimity, but they
+themselves must be wanting in taste. Its broad, round, smooth mass is
+better than the roughest, craggiest, shaggiest, most sharply splintered
+mountain of them all. And then what a view it commands!--Lancaster with
+its grey old castle on one hand; York with its reverend minster on the
+other--the Irish Sea and its wild coast--fell, forest, moor, and valley,
+watered by the Ribble, the Hodder, the Calder, and the Lime--rivers not
+to be matched for beauty. You recollect the old distich--
+
+          'Ingleborough, Pendle Hill, and Pennygent,
+           Are the highest hills between Scotland and Trent.'
+
+This vouches for its height, but there are two other doggerel lines
+still more to the purpose--
+
+          'Pendle Hill, Pennygent, and Ingleborough,
+           Are three such hills as you'll not find by seeking England
+               thorough.'
+
+With this opinion I quite agree. There is no hill in England like Pendle
+Hill."
+
+"Every man to his taste, squire," observed Potts; "but to my mind,
+Pendle Hill has no other recommendation than its size. I think it a
+great, brown, ugly, lumpy mass, without beauty of form or any striking
+character. I hate your bleak Lancashire hills, with heathy ranges on the
+top, fit only for the sustenance of a few poor half-starved sheep; and
+as to the view from them, it is little else than a continuous range of
+moors and dwarfed forests. Highgate Hill is quite mountain enough for
+me, and Hampstead Heath wild enough for any civilised purpose."
+
+"A veritable son of Cockayne!" muttered Nicholas, contemptuously.
+
+Riding on, and entering the grove of oaks, he lost sight of his
+favourite hill, though glimpses were occasionally caught through the
+trees of the lovely valley below. Soon afterwards the party turned off
+on the left, and presently arrived at a gate which admitted them to Read
+Park. Five minutes' canter over the springy turf then brought them to
+the house.
+
+The manor of Reved or Read came into the possession of the Nowell family
+in the time of Edward III., and extended on one side, within a mile of
+Whalley, from which township it was divided by a deep woody ravine,
+taking its name from the little village of Sabden, and on the other
+stretched far into Pendle Forest. The hall was situated on an eminence
+forming part of the heights of Padiham, and faced a wide valley, watered
+by the Calder, and consisting chiefly of barren tracts of moor and
+forest land, bounded by the high hills near Accrington and Rossendale.
+On the left, some half-dozen miles off, lay Burnley, and the greater
+part of the land in this direction, being uninclosed and thinly peopled,
+had a dark dreary look, that served to enhance the green beauty of the
+well-cultivated district on the right. Behind the mansion, thick woods
+extended to the very confines of Pendle Forest, of which, indeed, they
+originally formed part, and here, if the course of the stream, flowing
+through the gully of Sabden, were followed, every variety of brake,
+glen, and dingle, might be found. Read Hall was a large and commodious
+mansion, forming, with a centre and two advancing wings, three sides of
+a square, between which was a grass-plot ornamented with a dial. The
+gardens were laid out in the taste of the time, with trim alleys and
+parterres, terraces and steps, stone statues, and clipped yews.
+
+The house was kept up well and consistently by its owner, who lived like
+a country gentleman with a good estate, entertained his friends
+hospitably, but without any parade, and was never needlessly lavish in
+his expenditure, unless, perhaps, in the instance of the large
+ostentatious pew erected by him in the parish church of Whalley; and
+which, considering he had a private chapel at home, and maintained a
+domestic chaplain to do duty in it, seemed little required, and drew
+upon him the censure of the neighbouring gossips, who said there was
+more of pride than religion in his pew. With the chapel at the hall a
+curious history was afterwards connected. Converted into a dining-room
+by a descendant of Roger Nowell, the apartment was incautiously occupied
+by the planner of the alterations before the plaster was thoroughly
+dried; in consequence of which he caught a severe cold, and died in the
+desecrated chamber, his fate being looked upon as a judgment.
+
+With many good qualities Roger Nowell was little liked. His austere and
+sarcastic manner repelled his equals, and his harshness made him an
+object of dislike and dread among his inferiors. Besides being the
+terror of all evil-doers, he was a hard man in his dealings, though he
+endeavoured to be just, and persuaded himself he was so. A year or two
+before, having been appointed sheriff of the county, he had discharged
+the important office with so much zeal and ability, as well as
+liberality, that he rose considerably in public estimation. It was
+during this period that Master Potts came under his notice at Lancaster,
+and the little attorney's shrewdness gained him an excellent client in
+the owner of Read. Roger Newell was a widower; but his son, who resided
+with him, was married, and had a family, so that the hall was fully
+occupied.
+
+Roger Nowell was turned sixty, but he was still in the full vigour of
+mind and body, his temperate and active habits keeping him healthy; he
+was of a spare muscular frame, somewhat bent in the shoulders, and had
+very sharp features, keen grey eyes, a close mouth, and prominent chin.
+His hair was white as silver, but his eyebrows were still black and
+bushy.
+
+Seeing the party approach, the lord of the mansion came forth to meet
+them, and begged them to dismount for a moment and refresh themselves.
+Richard excused himself, but Nicholas sprang from his saddle, and Potts,
+though somewhat more slowly, imitated his example. An open door admitted
+them to the entrance hall, where a repast was spread, of which the host
+pressed his guests to partake; but Nicholas declined on the score of
+having just breakfasted, notwithstanding which he was easily prevailed
+upon to take a cup of ale. Leaving him to discuss it, Nowell led the
+attorney to a well-furnished library, where he usually transacted his
+magisterial business, and held a few minutes' private conference with
+him, after which they returned to Nicholas, and by this time the
+magistrate's own horse being brought round, the party mounted once more.
+The attorney regretted abandoning his seat; for Flint indulged him with
+another exhibition somewhat similar to the first, though of less
+duration, for a vigorous application of the hunting-whip brought the
+wrong-headed little animal to reason.
+
+Elated by the victory he had obtained over Flint, and anticipating a
+successful issue to the expedition, Master Potts was in excellent
+spirits, and found a great deal to admire in the domain of his honoured
+and singular good client. Though not very genuine, his admiration was
+deservedly bestowed. The portion of the park they were now traversing
+was extremely diversified and beautiful, with long sweeping lawns
+studded with fine trees, among which were many ancient thorns, now in
+full bloom, and richly scenting the gale. Herds of deer were nipping the
+short grass, browsing the lower spray of the ashes, or couching amid the
+ferny hollows.
+
+It was now that Nicholas, who had been all along anxious to try the
+speed of his horse, proposed to Richard a gallop towards a clump of
+trees about a mile off, and the young man assenting, away they started.
+Master Potts started too, for Flint did not like to be left behind, but
+the mettlesome pony was soon distanced. For some time the two horses
+kept so closely together, that it was difficult to say which would
+arrive at the goal first; but, by-and-by, Robin got a-head. Though at
+first indifferent to the issue of the race, the spirit of emulation soon
+seized upon Richard, and spurring Merlin, the noble animal sprang
+forward, and was once again by the side of his opponent.
+
+For a quarter of a mile the ground had been tolerably level, and the sod
+firm; but they now approached a swamp, and, in his eagerness, Nicholas
+did not take sufficient precaution, and got involved in it before he was
+aware. Richard was more fortunate, having kept on the right, where the
+ground was hard. Seeing Nicholas struggling out of the marshy soil, he
+would have stayed for him; but the latter bade him go on, saying he
+would soon be up with him, and he made good his words. Shortly after
+this their course was intercepted by a brook, and both horses having
+cleared it excellently, they kept well together again for a short time,
+when they neared a deep dyke which lay between them and the clump of
+trees. On descrying it, Richard pointed out a course to the left, but
+Nicholas held on, unheeding the caution. Fully expecting to see him
+break his neck, for the dyke was of formidable width, Richard watched
+him with apprehension, but the squire gave him a re-assuring nod, and
+went on. Neither horse nor man faltered, though failure would have been
+certain destruction to both. The wide trench now yawned before
+them--they were upon its edge, and without trusting himself to measure
+it with his eye, Nicholas clapped spurs into Robin's sides. The brave
+horse sprang forward and landed him safely on the opposite bank.
+Hallooing cheerily, as soon as he could check his courser the squire
+wheeled round, and rode back to look at the dyke he had crossed. Its
+width was terrific, and fairly astounded him. Robin snorted loudly, as
+if proud of his achievement, and showed some disposition to return, but
+the squire was quite content with what he had done. The exploit
+afterwards became a theme of wonder throughout the country, and the spot
+was long afterwards pointed out as "Squire Nicholas's Leap"; but there
+was not another horseman found daring enough to repeat the experiment.
+
+Richard had to make a considerable circuit to join his cousin, and,
+while he was going round, Nicholas looked out for the others. In the
+distance, he could see Roger Nowell riding leisurely on, followed by
+Sparshot and a couple of grooms, who had come with their master from the
+hall; while midway, to his surprise, he perceived Flint galloping
+without a rider. A closer examination showed the squire what had
+happened. Like himself, Master Potts had incautiously approached the
+swamp, and, getting entangled in it, was thrown, head foremost, into the
+slough; out of which he was now floundering, covered from head to foot
+with inky-coloured slime. As soon as they were aware of the accident,
+the two grooms pushed forward, and one of them galloped after Flint,
+whom he succeeded at last in catching; while the other, with difficulty
+preserving his countenance at the woful plight of the attorney, who
+looked as black as a negro, pointed out a cottage in the hollow which
+belonged to one of the keepers, and offered to conduct him thither.
+Potts gladly assented, and soon gained the little tenement, where he was
+being washed and rubbed down by a couple of stout wenches when the rest
+of the party came up. It was impossible to help laughing at him, but
+Potts took the merriment in good part; and, to show he was not
+disheartened by the misadventure, as soon as circumstances would permit
+he mounted the unlucky pony, and the cavalcade set forward again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.--THE BOGGART'S GLEN.
+
+
+The manor of Read, it has been said, was skirted by a deep woody ravine
+of three or four miles in length, extending from the little village of
+Sabden, in Pendle Forest, to within a short distance of Whalley; and
+through this gully flowed a stream which, taking its rise near Barley,
+at the foot of Pendle Hill, added its waters to those of the Calder at a
+place called Cock Bridge. In summer, or in dry seasons, this stream
+proceeded quietly enough, and left the greater part of its stony bed
+unoccupied; but in winter, or after continuous rains, it assumed all the
+character of a mountain torrent, and swept every thing before it. A
+narrow bridle road led through the ravine to Sabden, and along it, after
+quitting the park, the cavalcade proceeded, headed by Nicholas.
+
+The little river danced merrily past them, singing as it went, the
+sunshine sparkling on its bright clear waters, and glittering on the
+pebbles beneath them. Now the stream would chafe and foam against some
+larger impediment to its course; now it would dash down some rocky
+height, and form a beautiful cascade; then it would hurry on for some
+time with little interruption, till stayed by a projecting bank it would
+form a small deep basin, where, beneath the far-cast shadow of an
+overhanging oak, or under its huge twisted and denuded roots, the angler
+might be sure of finding the speckled trout, the dainty greyling, or
+their mutual enemy, the voracious jack. The ravine was well wooded
+throughout, and in many parts singularly beautiful, from the disposition
+of the timber on its banks, as well as from the varied form and
+character of the trees. Here might be seen an acclivity covered with
+waving birch, or a top crowned with a mountain ash--there, on a smooth
+expanse of greensward, stood a range of noble elms, whose mighty arms
+stretched completely across the ravine. Further on, there were chestnut
+and walnut trees; willows, with hoary stems and silver leaves, almost
+encroaching upon the stream; larches upon the heights; and here and
+there, upon some sandy eminence, a spreading beech-tree. For the most
+part the bottom of the glen was overgrown with brushwood, and, where its
+sides were too abrupt to admit the growth of larger trees, they were
+matted with woodbine and brambles. Out of these would sometimes start a
+sharp pinnacle, or fantastically-formed crag, adding greatly to the
+picturesque beauty of the scene. On such points were not unfrequently
+found perched a hawk, a falcon, or some large bird of prey; for the
+gully, with its brakes and thickets, was a favourite haunt of the
+feathered tribe. The hollies, of which there were plenty, with their
+green prickly leaves and scarlet berries, afforded shelter and support
+to the blackbird; the thorns were frequented by the thrush; and
+numberless lesser songsters filled every other tree. In the covert there
+were pheasants and partridges in abundance, and snipe and wild-fowl
+resorted to the river in winter. Thither also, at all seasons, repaired
+the stately heron, to devour the finny race; and thither came, on like
+errand, the splendidly-plumed kingfisher. The magpie chattered, the jay
+screamed and flew deeper into the woods as the horsemen approached, and
+the shy bittern hid herself amid the rushes. Occasionally, too, was
+heard the deep ominous croaking of a raven.
+
+[Illustration: POTTS AFTER BEING THROWN FROM HIS HORSE.]
+
+Hitherto, the glen had been remarkable for its softness and beauty, but
+it now began to assume a savage and sombre character. The banks drew
+closer together, and became rugged and precipitous; while the trees met
+overhead, and, intermingling their branches, formed a canopy impervious
+to the sun's rays. The stream was likewise contracted in its bed, and
+its current, which, owing to the gloom, looked black as ink, flowed
+swiftly on, as if anxious to escape to livelier scenes. A large raven,
+which had attended the horsemen all the way, now alighted near them, and
+croaked ominously.
+
+This part of the glen was in very ill repute, and was never traversed,
+even at noonday, without apprehension. Its wild and savage aspect, its
+horrent precipices, its shaggy woods, its strangely-shaped rocks and
+tenebrous depths, where every imperfectly-seen object appeared doubly
+frightful--all combined to invest it with mystery and terror. No one
+willingly lingered here, but hurried on, afraid of the sound of his own
+footsteps. No one dared to gaze at the rocks, lest he should see some
+hideous hobgoblin peering out of their fissures. No one glanced at the
+water, for fear some terrible kelpy, with twining snakes for hair and
+scaly hide, should issue from it and drag him down to devour him with
+his shark-like teeth. Among the common folk, this part of the ravine was
+known as "the boggart's glen", and was supposed to be haunted by
+mischievous beings, who made the unfortunate wanderer their sport.
+
+For the last half-mile the road had been so narrow and intricate in its
+windings, that the party were obliged to proceed singly; but this did
+not prevent conversation; and Nicholas, throwing the bridle over Robin's
+neck, left the surefooted animal to pursue his course unguided, while he
+himself, leaning back, chatted with Roger Nowell. At the entrance of the
+gloomy gorge above described, Robin came to a stand, and refusing to
+move at a jerk from his master, the latter raised himself, and looked
+forward to see what could be the cause of the stoppage. No impediment
+was visible, but the animal obstinately refused to go on, though urged
+both by word and spur. This stoppage necessarily delayed the rest of the
+cavalcade.
+
+Well aware of the ill reputation of the place, when Simon Sparshot and
+the grooms found that Robin would not go on, they declared he must see
+the boggart, and urged the squire to turn back, or some mischief would
+befall him. But Nicholas, though not without misgivings, did not like to
+yield thus, especially when urged on by Roger Nowell. Indeed, the party
+could not get out of the ravine without going back nearly a mile, while
+Sabden was only half that distance from them. What was to be done? Robin
+still continued obstinate, and for the first time paid no attention to
+his master's commands. The poor animal was evidently a prey to violent
+terror, and snorted and reared, while his limbs were bathed in cold
+sweat.
+
+Dismounting, and leaving him in charge of Roger Nowell, Nicholas walked
+on by himself to see if he could discover any cause for the horse's
+alarm; and he had not advanced far, when his eye rested upon a blasted
+oak forming a conspicuous object on a crag before him, on a scathed
+branch of which sat the raven.
+
+Croak! croak! croak!
+
+"Accursed bird, it is thou who hast frightened my horse," cried
+Nicholas. "Would I had a crossbow or an arquebuss to stop thy croaking."
+
+And as he picked up a stone to cast at the raven, a crashing noise was
+heard among the bushes high up on the rock, and the next moment a huge
+fragment dislodged from the cliff rolled down and would have crushed
+him, if he had not nimbly avoided it.
+
+Croak! croak! croak!
+
+Nicholas almost fancied hoarse laughter was mingled with the cries of
+the bird.
+
+The raven nodded its head and expanded its wings, and the squire, whose
+recent experience had prepared him for any wonder, fully expected to
+hear it speak, but it only croaked loudly and exultingly, or if it
+laughed, the sound was like the creaking of rusty hinges.
+
+Nicholas did not like it at all, and he resolved to go back; but ere he
+could do so, he was startled by a buffet on the ear, and turning angrily
+round to see who had dealt it, he could distinguish no one, but at the
+same moment received a second buffet on the other ear.
+
+The raven croaked merrily.
+
+"Would I could wring thy neck, accursed bird!" cried the enraged squire.
+
+Scarcely was the vindictive wish uttered than a shower of blows fell
+upon him, and kicks from unseen feet were applied to his person.
+
+All the while the raven croaked merrily, and flapped his big black
+wings.
+
+Infuriated by the attack, the squire hit right and left manfully, and
+dashed out his feet in every direction; but his blows and kicks only met
+the empty air, while those of his unseen antagonist told upon his own
+person with increased effect.
+
+The spectacle seemed to afford infinite amusement to the raven. The
+mischievous bird almost crowed with glee.
+
+There was no standing it any longer. So, amid a perfect hurricane of
+blows and kicks, and with the infernal voice of the raven ringing in his
+ears, the squire took to his heels. On reaching his companions he found
+they had not fared much better than himself. The two grooms were
+belabouring each other lustily; and Master Potts was exercising his
+hunting-whip on the broad shoulders of Sparshot, who in return was
+making him acquainted with the taste of a stout ash-plant. Assailed in
+the same manner as the squire, and naturally attributing the attack to
+their nearest neighbours, they waited for no explanation, but fell upon
+each other. Richard Assheton and Roger Nowell endeavoured to interfere
+and separate the combatants, and in doing so received some hard knocks
+for their pains; but all their pacific efforts were fruitless, until the
+squire appeared, and telling them they were merely the sport of
+hobgoblins, they desisted, but still the blows fell heavily on them as
+before, proving the truth of Nicholas's assertion.
+
+Meanwhile the squire had mounted Robin, and, finding the horse no longer
+exhibit the same reluctance to proceed, he dashed at full speed through
+the haunted glen; but even above the clatter, of hoofs, and the noise of
+the party galloping after him, he could hear the hoarse exulting
+croaking of the raven.
+
+As the gully expanded, and the sun once more found its way through the
+trees, and shone upon the river, Nicholas began to breathe more freely;
+but it was not until fairly out of the wood that he relaxed his speed.
+Not caring to enter into any explanation of the occurrence, he rode a
+little apart to avoid conversation; as the others, who were still
+smarting from the blows they had received, were in no very good-humour,
+a sullen silence prevailed throughout the party, as they mounted the
+bare hill-side in the direction of the few scattered huts constituting
+the village of Sabden.
+
+A blight seemed to have fallen upon the place. Roger Nowell, who had
+visited it a few months ago, could scarcely believe his eyes, so changed
+was its appearance. His inquiries as to the cause of its altered
+condition were every where met by the same answer--the poor people were
+all bewitched. Here a child was ill of a strange sickness, tossed and
+tumbled in its bed, and contorted its limbs so violently, that its
+parents could scarcely hold it down. Another family was afflicted in a
+different manner, two of its number pining away and losing strength
+daily, as if a prey to some consuming disease. In a third, another child
+was sick, and vomited pins, nails, and other extraordinary substances. A
+fourth household was tormented by an imp in the form of a monkey, who
+came at night and pinched them all black and blue, spilt the milk, broke
+the dishes and platters, got under the bed, and, raising it to the roof,
+let it fall with a terrible crash; putting them all in mental terror. In
+the next cottage there was no end to calamities, though they took a more
+absurd form. Sometimes the fire would not burn, or when it did it
+emitted no heat, so that the pot would not boil, nor the meat roast.
+Then the oatcakes would stick to the bake-stone, and no force could get
+them away from it till they were burnt and spoiled; the milk turned
+sour, the cheese became so hard that not even rats' teeth could gnaw it,
+the stools and settles broke down if sat upon, and the list of petty
+grievances was completed by a whole side of bacon being devoured in a
+single night. Roger Nowell and Nicholas listened patiently to a detail
+of all these grievances, and expressed strong sympathy for the
+sufferers, promising assistance and redress if possible. All the
+complainants taxed either Mother Demdike or Mother Chattox with
+afflicting them, and said they had incurred the anger of the two
+malevolent old witches by refusing to supply them with poultry, eggs,
+milk, butter, or other articles, which they had demanded. Master Potts
+made ample notes of the strange relations, and took down the name of
+every cottager.
+
+At length, they arrived at the last cottage, and here a man, with a very
+doleful countenance, besought them to stop and listen to his tale.
+
+"What is the matter, friend?" demanded Roger Nowell, halting with the
+others. "Are you bewitched, like your neighbours?"
+
+"Troth am ey, your warship," replied the man, "an ey hope yo may be able
+to deliver me. Yo mun knoa, that somehow ey wor unlucky enough last Yule
+to offend Mother Chattox, an ever sin then aw's gone wrang wi' me. Th'
+good-wife con never may butter come without stickin' a redhot poker into
+t' churn; and last week, when our brindlt sow farrowed, and had fifteen
+to t' litter, an' fine uns os ever yo seed, seign on um deed. Sad wark!
+sad wark, mesters. The week efore that t' keaw deed; an th' week efore
+her th' owd mare, so that aw my stock be gone. Waes me! waes me! Nowt
+prospers wi' me. My poor dame is besoide hersel, an' th' chilter seems
+possessed. Ey ha' tried every remedy, boh without success. Ey ha'
+followed th' owd witch whoam, plucked a hontle o' thatch fro' her roof,
+sprinklet it wi' sawt an weter, burnt it an' buried th' ess at th'
+change o' t' moon. No use, mesters. Then again, ey ha' getten a
+horseshoe, heated it redhot, quenched it i' brine, an' nailed it to t'
+threshold wi' three nails, heel uppard. No more use nor t'other. Then ey
+ha' taen sawt weter, and put it in a bottle wi' three rusty nails,
+needles, and pins, boh ey hanna found that th' witch ha' suffered
+thereby. An, lastly, ey ha' let myself blood, when the moon wur at full,
+an in opposition to th' owd hag's planet, an minglin' it wi' sawt, ha'
+burnt it i' a trivet, in hopes of afflictin' her; boh without avail, fo'
+ey seed her two days ago, an she flouted me an scoffed at me. What mun
+ey do, good mesters? What mun ey do?"
+
+"Have you offended any one besides Mother Chattox, my poor fellow?" said
+Nowell.
+
+"Mother Demdike, may be, your warship," replied the man.
+
+"You suspect Mother Demdike and Mother Chattox of bewitching you," said
+Potts, taking out his memorandum-book, and making a note in it. "Your
+name, good fellow?"
+
+"Oamfrey o' Will's o' Ben's o' Tummas' o' Sabden," replied the man.
+
+"Is that all?" asked Potts.
+
+"What more would you have?" said Richard. "The description is
+sufficiently particular."
+
+"Scarcely precise enough," returned Potts. "However, it may do. We will
+help you in the matter, good Humphrey Etcetera. You shall not be
+troubled with these pestilent witches much longer. The neighbourhood
+shall be cleared of them."
+
+"Ey'm reet glad to hear, mester," replied the man.
+
+"You promise much, Master Potts," observed Richard.
+
+"Not a jot more than I am able to perform," replied the attorney.
+
+"That remains to be seen," said Richard. "If these old women are as
+powerful as represented, they will not be so readily defeated."
+
+"There you are in error, Master Richard," replied Potts. "The devil,
+whose vassals they are, will deliver them into our hands."
+
+"Granting what you say to be correct, the devil must have little regard
+for his servants if he abandons them so easily," observed Richard,
+drily.
+
+"What else can you expect from him?" cried Potts. "It is his custom to
+ensnare his victims, and then leave them to their fate."
+
+"You are rather describing the course pursued by certain members of
+your own profession, Master Potts," said Richard. "The devil behaves
+with greater fairness to his clients."
+
+"You are not going to defend him, I hope, sir?" said the attorney.
+
+"No; I only desire to give him his due," returned Richard.
+
+"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Nicholas. "You had better have done, Master Potts;
+you will never get the better in the argument. But we must be moving, or
+we shall not get our business done before nightfall. As to you, Numps,"
+he added, to the poor man, "we will not forget you. If any thing can be
+done for your relief, rely upon it, it shall not be neglected."
+
+"Ay, ay," said Nowell, "the matter shall be looked into--and speedily."
+
+"And the witches brought to justice," said Potts; "comfort yourself with
+that, good Humphrey Etcetera."
+
+"Ay, comfort yourself with that," observed Nicholas.
+
+Soon after this they entered a wide dreary waste forming the bottom of
+the valley, lying between the heights of Padiham and Pendle Hill, and
+while wending their way across it, they heard a shout from the
+hill-side, and presently afterwards perceived a man, mounted on a
+powerful black horse, galloping swiftly towards them. The party awaited
+his approach, and the stranger speedily came up. He was a small man
+habited in a suit of rusty black, and bore a most extraordinary and
+marked resemblance to Master Potts. He had the same perky features, the
+same parchment complexion, the same yellow forehead, as the little
+attorney. So surprising was the likeness, that Nicholas unconsciously
+looked round for Potts, and beheld him staring at the new-comer in angry
+wonder.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.--THE REEVE OF THE FOREST.
+
+
+The surprise of the party was by no means diminished when the stranger
+spoke. His voice exactly resembled the sharp cracked tones of the
+attorney.
+
+"I crave pardon for the freedom I have taken in stopping you, good
+masters," he said, doffing his cap, and saluting them respectfully;
+"but, being aware of your errand, I am come to attend you on it."
+
+"And who are you, fellow, who thus volunteer your services?" demanded
+Roger Nowell, sharply.
+
+"I am one of the reeves of the forest of Blackburnshire, worshipful
+sir," replied the stranger, "and as such my presence, at the intended
+perambulation of the boundaries of her property, has been deemed
+necessary by Mrs. Nutter, as I shall have to make a representation of
+the matter at the next court of swainmote."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Nowell, "but how knew you we were coming?"
+
+"Mistress Nutter sent me word last night," replied the reeve, "that
+Master Nicholas Assheton and certain other gentlemen, would come to
+Rough Lee for the purpose of ascertaining the marks, meres, and
+boundaries of her property, early this morning, and desired my
+attendance on the occasion. Accordingly I stationed myself on yon high
+ground to look out for you, and have been on the watch for more than an
+hour."
+
+"Humph!" exclaimed Roger Nowell, "and you live in the forest?"
+
+"I live at Barrowford, worshipful sir," replied the reeve, "but I have
+only lately come there, having succeeded Maurice Mottisfont, the other
+reeve, who has been removed by the master forester to Rossendale, where
+I formerly dwelt."
+
+"That may account for my not having seen you before," rejoined Nowell.
+"You are well mounted, sirrah. I did not know the master forester
+allowed his men such horses as the one you ride."
+
+"This horse does not belong to me, sir," replied the reeve; "it has been
+lent me by Mistress Nutter."
+
+"Aha! I see how it is now," cried Nowell; "you are suborned to give
+false testimony, knave. I object to his attendance, Master Nicholas."
+
+"Nay, I think you do the man injustice," said the squire. "He speaks
+frankly and fairly enough, and seems to know his business. The worst
+that can be said against him is, that he resembles somewhat too closely
+our little legal friend there. That, however, ought to be no objection
+to you, Master Nowell, but rather the contrary."
+
+"Well, take the responsibility of the matter upon your own shoulders,"
+said Nowell; "if any ill comes of it I shall blame you."
+
+"Be it so," replied the squire; "my shoulders are broad enough to bear
+the burthen. You may ride with us, master reeve."
+
+"May I inquire your name, friend?" said Potts, as the stranger fell back
+to the rear of the party.
+
+"Thomas Potts, at your service, sir," replied the reeve.
+
+"What!--Thomas Potts!" exclaimed the astonished attorney.
+
+"That is my name, sir," replied the reeve, quietly.
+
+"Why, zounds!" exclaimed Nicholas, who overheard the reply, "you do not
+mean to say your name is Thomas Potts? This is more wonderful still. You
+must be this gentleman's twin brother."
+
+"The gentleman certainly seems to resemble me very strongly," replied
+the reeve, apparently surprised in his turn. "Is he of these parts?"
+
+"No, I am not," returned Potts, angrily, "I am from London, where I
+reside in Chancery-lane, and practise the law, though I likewise attend
+as clerk of the court at the assizes at Lancaster, where I may
+possibly, one of these days, have the pleasure of seeing you, my
+pretended namesake."
+
+"Possibly, sir," said the reeve, with provoking calmness. "I myself am
+from Chester, and like yourself was brought up to the law, but I
+abandoned my profession, or rather it abandoned me, for I had few
+clients; so I took to an honester calling, and became a forester, as you
+see. My father was a draper in the city I have mentioned, and dwelt in
+Watergate-street--his name was Peter Potts."
+
+"Peter Potts your father!" exclaimed the attorney, in the last state of
+astonishment--"Why, he was mine! But I am his only son."
+
+"Up to this moment I conceived myself an only son," said the reeve; "but
+it seems I was mistaken, since I find I have an elder brother."
+
+"Elder brother!" exclaimed Potts, wrathfully. "You are older than I am
+by twenty years. But it is all a fabrication. I deny the relationship
+entirely."
+
+"You cannot make me other than the son of my father," said the reeve,
+with a smile.
+
+"Well, Master Potts," interposed Nicholas, laughing, "I see no reason
+why you should be ashamed of your brother. There is a strong family
+likeness between you. So old Peter Potts, the draper of Chester, was
+your father, eh? I was not aware of the circumstance before--ha, ha!"
+
+"And, but for this intrusive fellow, you would never have become aware
+of it," muttered the attorney. "Give ear to me, squire," he said, urging
+Flint close up to the other's side, and speaking in a low tone, "I do
+not like the fellow's looks at all."
+
+"I am surprised at that," rejoined the squire, "for he exactly resembles
+you."
+
+"That is why I do not like him," said Potts; "I believe him to be a
+wizard."
+
+"You are no wizard to think so," rejoined the squire. And he rode on to
+join Roger Nowell, who was a little in advance.
+
+"I will try him on the subject of witchcraft," thought Potts. "As you
+dwell in the forest," he said to the reeve, "you have no doubt seen
+those two terrible beings, Mothers Demdike and Chattox."
+
+"Frequently," replied the reeve, "but I would rather not talk about them
+in their own territories. You may judge of their power by the appearance
+of the village you have just quitted. The inhabitants of that unlucky
+place refused them their customary tributes, and have therefore incurred
+their resentment. You will meet other instances of the like kind before
+you have gone far."
+
+"I am glad of it, for I want to collect as many cases as I can of
+witchcraft," observed Potts.
+
+"They will be of little use to you," observed the reeve.
+
+"How so?" inquired Potts.
+
+"Because if the witches discover what you are about, as they will not
+fail to do, you will never leave the forest alive," returned the other.
+
+"You think not?" cried Potts.
+
+"I am sure of it," replied the reeve.
+
+"I will not be deterred from the performance of my duty," said Potts. "I
+defy the devil and all his works."
+
+"You may have reason to repent your temerity," replied the reeve.
+
+And anxious, apparently, to avoid further conversation on the subject,
+he drew in the rein for a moment, and allowed the attorney to pass on.
+
+Notwithstanding his boasting, Master Potts was not without much secret
+misgiving; but his constitutional obstinacy made him determine to
+prosecute his plans at any risk, and he comforted himself by recalling
+the opinion of his sovereign authority on such matters.
+
+"Let me ponder over the exact words of our British Solomon," he thought.
+"I have his learned treatise by heart, and it is fortunate my memory
+serves me so well, for the sagacious prince's dictum will fortify me in
+my resolution, which has been somewhat shaken by this fellow, whom I
+believe to be no better than he should be, for all he calls himself my
+father's son, and hath assumed my likeness, doubtless for some
+mischievous purpose. 'If the magistrate,' saith the King, 'be slothful
+towards witches, God is very able to make them instruments to waken and
+punish his sloth.' No one can accuse me of slothfulness and want of
+zeal. My best exertions have been used against the accursed creatures.
+And now for the rest. 'But if, on the contrary, he be diligent in
+examining and punishing them, God will not permit their master to
+trouble or hinder so good a work!' Exactly what I have done. I am quite
+easy now, and shall go on fearlessly as before. I am one of the 'lawful
+lieutenants' described by the King, and cannot be 'defrauded or
+deprived' of my office."
+
+As these thoughts passed through the attorney's mind a low derisive
+laugh sounded in his ears, and, connecting it with the reeve, he looked
+back and found the object of his suspicions gazing at him, and chuckling
+maliciously. So fiendishly malignant, indeed, was the gaze fixed upon
+him, that Potts was glad to turn his head away to avoid it.
+
+"I am confirmed in my suspicions," he thought; "he is evidently a
+wizard, if he be not--"
+
+Again the mocking laugh sounded in his ears, but he did not venture to
+look round this time, being fearful of once more encountering the
+terrible gaze.
+
+Meanwhile the party had traversed the valley, and to avoid a dangerous
+morass stretching across its lower extremity, and shorten the
+distance--for the ordinary road would have led them too much to the
+right--they began to climb one of the ridges of Pendle Hill, which lay
+between them and the vale they wished to gain. On obtaining the top of
+this eminence, an extensive view on either side opened upon them. Behind
+was the sterile valley they had just crossed, its black soil, hoary
+grass, and heathy wastes, only enlivened at one end by patches of bright
+sulphur-coloured moss, which masked a treacherous quagmire lurking
+beneath it. Some of the cottages in Sabden were visible, and, from the
+sad circumstances connected with them, and which oppressed the thoughts
+of the beholders, added to the dreary character of the prospect. The
+day, too, had lost its previous splendour, and there were clouds
+overhead which cast deep shadows on the ground. But on the crest of
+Pendle Hill, which rose above them, a sun-burst fell, and attracted
+attention from its brilliant contrast to the prevailing gloom. Before
+them lay a deep gully, the sinuosities of which could be traced from the
+elevated position where they stood, though its termination was hidden by
+other projecting ridges. Further on, the sides of the mountain were bare
+and rugged, and covered with shelving stone. Beyond the defile before
+mentioned, and over the last mountain ridge, lay a wide valley, bounded
+on the further side by the hills overlooking Colne, and the mountain
+defile, now laid open to the travellers, exhibiting in the midst of the
+dark heathy ranges, which were its distinguishing features, some marks
+of cultivation. In parts it was inclosed and divided into paddocks by
+stone walls, and here and there a few cottages were collected together,
+dignified, as in the case of Sabden, by the name of a village. Amongst
+these were the Hey-houses, an assemblage of small stone tenements, the
+earliest that arose in the forest; Goldshaw Booth, now a populous place,
+and even then the largest hamlet in the district; and in the distance
+Ogden and Barley, the two latter scarcely comprising a dozen
+habitations, and those little better than huts. In some sheltered nook
+on the hill-side might be discerned the solitary cottage of a cowherd,
+and not far from it the certain accompaniment of a sheepfold. Throughout
+this weird region, thinly peopled it is true, but still of great extent,
+and apparently abandoned to the powers of darkness, only one edifice
+could be found where its inhabitants could meet to pray, and this was an
+ancient chapel at Goldshaw Booth, originally erected in the reign of
+Henry III., though subsequently in part rebuilt in 1544, and which, with
+its low grey tower peeping from out the trees, was just discernible. Two
+halls were in view; one of which, Sabden, was of considerable antiquity,
+and gave its name to the village; and the other was Hoarstones, a much
+more recently erected mansion, strikingly situated on an acclivity of
+Pendle Hill. In general, the upper parts of this mountain monarch of the
+waste were bare and heathy, while the heights overhanging Ogden and
+Barley were rocky, shelving, and precipitous; but the lower ridges were
+well covered with wood, and a thicket, once forming part of the ancieut
+forest, ran far out into the plain near Goldshaw Booth. Numerous springs
+burst from the mountain side, and these collecting their forces, formed
+a considerable stream, which, under the name of Pendle Water, flowed
+through the valley above described, and, after many picturesque
+windings, entered the rugged glen in which Rough Lee was situated, and
+swept past the foot of Mistress Nutter's residence.
+
+Descending the hill, and passing through the thicket, the party came
+within a short distance of Goldshaw Booth, when they were met by a
+cowherd, who, with looks of great alarm, told them that John Law, the
+pedlar, had fallen down in a fit in the clough, and would perish if they
+did not stay to help him. As the poor man in question was well known
+both to Nicholas and Roger Nowell, they immediately agreed to go to his
+assistance, and accompanied the cowherd along a by-road which led
+through the clough to the village. They had not gone far when they heard
+loud groans, and presently afterwards found the unfortunate pedlar lying
+on his back, and writhing in agony. He was a large, powerfully-built
+man, of middle age, and had been in the full enjoyment of health and
+vigour, so that his sudden prostration was the more terrible. His face
+was greatly disfigured, the mouth and neck drawn awry, the left eye
+pulled down, and the whole power of the same side gone.
+
+"Why, John, this is a bad business," cried Nicholas. "You have had a
+paralytic stroke, I fear."
+
+"Nah--nah--squoire," replied the sufferer, speaking with difficulty,
+"it's neaw nat'ral ailment--it's witchcraft."
+
+"Witchcraft!" exclaimed Potts, who had come up, and producing his
+memorandum book. "Another case. Your name and description, friend?"
+
+"John Law o' Cown, pedlar," replied the man.
+
+"John Law of Colne, I suppose, petty chapman," said Potts, making an
+entry. "Now, John, my good man, be pleased to tell us by whom you have
+been bewitched?"
+
+"By Mother Demdike," groaned the man.
+
+"Mother Demdike, ah?" exclaimed Potts, "good! very good. Now, John, as
+to the cause of your quarrel with the old hag?"
+
+"Ey con scarcely rekillect it, my head be so confused, mester," replied
+the pedlar.
+
+"Make an effort, John," persisted Potts; "it is most desirable such a
+dreadful offender should not escape justice."
+
+"Weel, weel, ey'n try an tell it then," replied the pedlar. "Yo mun knoa
+ey wur crossing the hill fro' Cown to Rough Lee, wi' my pack upon my
+shouthers, when who should ey meet boh Mother Demdike, an hoo axt me to
+gi' her some scithers an pins, boh, os ill luck wad ha' it, ey refused.
+'Yo had better do it, John,' hoo said, 'or yo'll rue it efore to-morrow
+neet.' Ey laughed at her, an trudged on, boh when I looked back, an seed
+her shakin' her skinny hond at me, ey repented and thowt ey would go
+back, an gi' her the choice o' my wares. Boh my pride wur too strong, an
+ey walked on to Barley an Ogden, an slept at Bess's o th' Booth, an woke
+this mornin' stout and strong, fully persuaded th' owd witch's threat
+would come to nowt. Alack-a-day! ey wur out i' my reckonin', fo'
+scarcely had ey reached this kloof, o' my way to Sabden, than ey wur
+seized wi' a sudden shock, os if a thunder-bowt had hit me, an ey lost
+the use o' my lower limbs, an t' laft soide, an should ha' deed most
+likely, if it hadna bin fo' Ebil o' Jem's o' Dan's who spied me out, an
+brought me help."
+
+"Yours is a deplorable case indeed, John," said Richard--"especially if
+it be the result of witchcraft."
+
+"You do not surely doubt that it is so, Master Richard?" cried Potts.
+
+"I offer no opinion," replied the young man; "but a paralytic stroke
+would produce the same effect. But, instead of discussing the matter,
+the best thing we can do will be to transport the poor man to Bess's o'
+th' Booth, where he can be attended to."
+
+"Tom and I can carry him there, if Abel will take charge of his pack,"
+said one of the grooms.
+
+"That I win," replied the cowherd, unstrapping the box, upon which the
+sufferer's head rested, and placing it on his own shoulders.
+
+Meanwhile, a gate having been taken from its hinges by Sparshot and the
+reeve, the poor pedlar, who groaned deeply during the operation, was
+placed upon it by the men, and borne towards the village, followed by
+the others, leading their horses.
+
+Great consternation was occasioned in Goldshaw Booth by the entrance of
+the cavalcade, and still more, when it became known that John Law, the
+pedlar, who was a favourite with all, had had a frightful seizure. Old
+and young flocked forth to see him, and the former shook their heads,
+while the latter were appalled at the hideous sight. Master Potts took
+care to tell them that the poor fellow was bewitched by Mother Demdike;
+but the information failed to produce the effect he anticipated, and
+served rather to repress than heighten their sympathy for the sufferer.
+The attorney concluded, and justly, that they were afraid of incurring
+the displeasure of the vindictive old hag by an open expression of
+interest in his fate. So strongly did this feeling operate, that after
+bestowing a glance of commiseration at the pedlar, most of them
+returned, without a word, to their dwellings.
+
+On their way to the little hostel, whither they were conveying the poor
+pedlar, the party passed the church, and the sexton, who was digging a
+grave in the yard, came forward to look at them; but on seeing John Law
+he seemed to understand what had happened, and resumed his employment. A
+wide-spreading yew-tree grew in this part of the churchyard, and near it
+stood a small cross rudely carved in granite, marking the spot where, in
+the reign of Henry VI., Ralph Cliderhow, tenth abbot of Whalley, held a
+meeting of the tenantry, to check encroachments. Not far from this
+ancient cross the sexton, a hale old man, with a fresh complexion and
+silvery hair, was at work, and while the others went on, Master Potts
+paused to say a word to him.
+
+"You have a funeral here to-day, I suppose, Master Sexton?" he said.
+
+"Yeigh," replied the man, gruffly.
+
+"One of the villagers?" inquired the attorney.
+
+"Neaw; hoo were na o' Goldshey," replied the sexton.
+
+"Where then--who was it?" persevered Potts.
+
+The sexton seemed disinclined to answer; but at length said, "Meary
+Baldwyn, the miller's dowter o' Rough Lee, os protty a lass os ever yo
+see, mester. Hoo wur the apple o' her feyther's ee, an he hasna had a
+dry ee sin hoo deed. Wall-a-dey! we mun aw go, owd an young--owd an
+young--an protty Meary Baldwyn went young enough. Poor lass! poor lass!"
+and he brushed the dew from his eyes with his brawny hand.
+
+"Was her death sudden?" asked Potts.
+
+"Neaw, not so sudden, mester," replied the sexton. "Ruchot Baldwyn had
+fair warnin'. Six months ago Meary wur ta'en ill, an fro' t' furst he
+knoad how it wad eend."
+
+"How so, friend?" asked Potts, whose curiosity began to be aroused.
+
+"Becose--" replied the sexton, and he stopped suddenly short.
+
+"She was bewitched?" suggested Potts.
+
+The sexton nodded his head, and began to ply his mattock vigorously.
+
+"By Mother Demdike?" inquired Potts, taking out his memorandum book.
+
+The sexton again nodded his head, but spake no word, and, meeting some
+obstruction in the ground, took up his pick to remove it.
+
+"Another case!" muttered Potts, making an entry. "Mary Baldwyn, daughter
+of Richard Baldwyn of Rough Lee, aged--How old was she, sexton?"
+
+"Throtteen," replied the man; "boh dunna ax me ony more questions,
+mester. Th' berrin takes place i' an hour, an ey hanna half digg'd th'
+grave."
+
+"Your own name, Master Sexton, and I have done?" said Potts.
+
+"Zachariah Worms," answered the man.
+
+"Worms--ha! an excellent name for a sexton," cried Potts. "You provide
+food for your family, eh, Zachariah?"
+
+"Tut--tut," rejoined the sexton, testily, "go an' moind yer own
+bus'ness, mon, an' leave me to moind mine."
+
+"Very well, Zachariah," replied Potts. And having obtained all he
+required, he proceeded to the little hostel, where, finding the rest of
+the party had dismounted, he consigned Flint to a cowherd, and entered
+the house.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.--BESS'S O' TH' BOOTH.
+
+
+Bess's o' th' Booth--for so the little hostel at Goldshaw was called,
+after its mistress Bess Whitaker--was far more comfortable and
+commodious than its unpretending exterior seemed to warrant. Stouter and
+brighter ale was not to be drunk in Lancashire than Bess brewed; nor was
+better sherris or clary to be found, go where you would, than in her
+cellars. The traveller crossing those dreary wastes, and riding from
+Burnley to Clithero, or from Colne to Whalley, as the case might be,
+might well halt at Bess's, and be sure of a roast fowl for dinner, with
+the addition, perhaps, of some trout from Pendle Water, or, if the
+season permitted, a heath-cock or a pheasant; or, if he tarried there
+for the night, he was equally sure of a good supper and fair linen. It
+has already been mentioned, that at this period it was the custom of all
+classes in the northern counties, men and women, to resort to the
+alehouses to drink, and the hostel at Goldshaw was the general
+rendezvous of the neighbourhood. For those who could afford it Bess
+would brew incomparable sack; but if a guest called for wine, and she
+liked not his looks, she would flatly tell him her ale was good enough
+for him, and if it pleased him not he should have nothing. Submission
+always followed in such cases, for there was no disputing with Bess.
+Neither would she permit the frequenters of the hostel to sit later than
+she chose, and would clear the house in a way equally characteristic and
+effectual. At a certain hour, and that by no means a late one, she would
+take down a large horsewhip, which hung on a convenient peg in the
+principal room, and after bluntly ordering her guests to go home, if any
+resistance were offered, she would lay the whip across their shoulders,
+and forcibly eject them from the premises; but, as her determined
+character was well known, this violence was seldom necessary. In
+strength Bess was a match for any man, and assistance from her
+cowherds--for she was a farmer as well as hostess--was at hand if
+required. As will be surmised from the above, Bess was large and
+masculine-looking, but well-proportioned nevertheless, and possessed a
+certain coarse kind of beauty, which in earlier years had inflamed
+Richard Baldwyn, the miller of Rough Lee, who made overtures of marriage
+to her. These were favourably entertained, but a slight quarrel
+occurring between them, the lover, in her own phrase, got "his jacket
+soundly dusted" by her, and declared off, taking to wife a more docile
+and light-handed maiden. As to Bess, though she had given this
+unmistakable proof of her ability to manage a husband, she did not
+receive a second offer, nor, as she had now attained the mature age of
+forty, did it seem likely she would ever receive one.
+
+Bess's o' th' Booth was an extremely clean and comfortable house. The
+floor, it is true, was of hard clay, and the windows little more than
+narrow slits, with heavy stone frames, further darkened by minute
+diamond panes; but the benches were scrupulously clean, and so was the
+long oak table in the centre of the principal and only large room in the
+house. A roundabout fireplace occupied one end of the chamber, sheltered
+from the draught of the door by a dark oak screen, with a bench on the
+warm side of it; and here, or in the deep ingle-nooks, on winter nights,
+the neighbours would sit and chat by the blazing hearth, discussing pots
+of "nappy ale, good and stale," as the old ballad hath it; and as
+persons of both sexes came thither, young as well as old, many a match
+was struck up by Bess's cheery fireside. From the blackened rafters hung
+a goodly supply of hams, sides of bacon, and dried tongues, with a
+profusion of oatcakes in a bread-flake; while, in case this store should
+be exhausted, means of replenishment were at hand in the huge,
+full-crammed meal-chest standing in one corner. Altogether, there was a
+look of abundance as well as of comfort about the place.
+
+Great was Bess's consternation when the poor pedlar, who had quitted her
+house little more than an hour ago, full of health and spirits, was
+brought back to it in such a deplorable condition; and when she saw him
+deposited at her door, notwithstanding her masculine character, she had
+some difficulty in repressing a scream. She did not, however, yield to
+the weakness, but seeing at once what was best to be done, caused him to
+be transported by the grooms to the chamber he had occupied over-night,
+and laid upon the bed. Medical assistance was fortunately at hand; for
+it chanced that Master Sudall, the chirurgeon of Colne, was in the house
+at the time, having been brought to Goldshaw by the great sickness that
+prevailed at Sabden and elsewhere in the neighbourhood. Sudall was
+immediately in attendance upon the sufferer, and bled him copiously,
+after which the poor man seemed much easier; and Richard Assheton,
+taking the chirurgeon aside, asked his opinion of the case, and was told
+by Sudall that he did not think the pedlar's life in danger, but he
+doubted whether he would ever recover the use of his limbs.
+
+"You do not attribute the attack to witchcraft, I suppose, Master
+Sudall?" said Richard.
+
+"I do not like to deliver an opinion, sir," replied the chirurgeon. "It
+is impossible to decide, when all the appearances are precisely like
+those of an ordinary attack of paralysis. But a sad case has recently
+come under my observation, as to which I can have no doubt--I mean as to
+its being the result of witchcraft--but I will tell you more about it
+presently, for I must now return to my patient."
+
+It being agreed among the party to rest for an hour at the little
+hostel, and partake of some refreshment, Nicholas went to look after the
+horses, while Roger Nowell and Richard remained in the room with the
+pedlar. Bess Whitaker owned an extensive farm-yard, provided with
+cow-houses, stables, and a large barn; and it was to the latter place
+that the two grooms proposed to repair with Sparshot and play a game at
+loggats on the clay floor. No one knew what had become of the reeve;
+for, on depositing the poor pedlar at the door of the hostel, he had
+mounted his horse and ridden away. Having ordered some fried eggs and
+bacon, Nicholas wended his way to the stable, while Bess, assisted by a
+stout kitchen wench, busied herself in preparing the eatables, and it
+was at this juncture that Master Potts entered the house.
+
+Bess eyed him narrowly, and was by no means prepossessed by his looks,
+while the muddy condition of his habiliments did not tend to exalt him
+in her opinion.
+
+"Yo mey yersel a' whoam, mon, ey mun say," she observed, as the attorney
+seated himself on the bench beside her.
+
+"To be sure," rejoined Potts; "where should a man make himself at home,
+if not at an inn? Those eggs and bacon look very tempting. I'll try some
+presently; and, as soon as you've done with the frying-pan, I'll have a
+pottle of sack."
+
+"Neaw, yo winna," replied Bess. "Yo'n get nother eggs nor bacon nor sack
+here, ey can promise ye. Ele an whoat-kekes mun sarve your turn. Go to
+t' barn wi' t' other grooms, and play at kittle-pins or nine-holes wi'
+hin, an ey'n send ye some ele."
+
+"I'm quite comfortable where I am, thank you, hostess," replied Potts,
+"and have no desire to play at kittle-pins or nine-holes. But what does
+this bottle contain?"
+
+"Sherris," replied Bess.
+
+"Sherris!" echoed Potts, "and yet you say I can have no sack. Get me
+some sugar and eggs, and I'll show you how to brew the drink. I was
+taught the art by my friend, Ben Jonson--rare Ben--ha, ha!"
+
+"Set the bottle down," cried Bess, angrily.
+
+"What do you mean, woman!" said Potts, staring at her in surprise. "I
+told you to fetch sugar and eggs, and I now repeat the order--sugar, and
+half-a-dozen eggs at least."
+
+"An ey repeat my order to yo," cried Bess, "to set the bottle down, or
+ey'st may ye."
+
+"Make me! ha, ha! I like that," cried Potts. "Let me tell you, woman, I
+am not accustomed to be ordered in this way. I shall do no such thing.
+If you will not bring the eggs I shall drink the wine, neat and
+unsophisticate." And he filled a flagon near him.
+
+"If yo dun, yo shan pay dearly for it," said Bess, putting aside the
+frying-pan and taking down the horsewhip.
+
+"I daresay I shall," replied Potts merrily; "you hostesses generally do
+make one pay dearly. Very good sherris this, i' faith!--the true nutty
+flavour. Now do go and fetch me some eggs, my good woman. You must have
+plenty, with all the poultry I saw in the farm-yard; and then I'll teach
+you the whole art and mystery of brewing sack."
+
+"Ey'n teach yo to dispute my orders," cried Bess. And, catching the
+attorney by the collar, she began to belabour him soundly with the whip.
+
+"Holloa! ho! what's the meaning of this?" cried Potts, struggling to get
+free. "Assault and battery; ho!"
+
+"Ey'n sawt an batter yo, ay, an baste yo too!" replied Bess, continuing
+to lay on the whip.
+
+"Why, zounds! this passes a joke," cried the attorney. "How desperately
+strong she is! I shall be murdered! Help! help! The woman must be a
+witch."
+
+"A witch! Ey'n teach yo' to ca' me feaw names," cried the enraged
+hostess, laying on with greater fury.
+
+"Help! help!" roared Potts.
+
+At this moment Nicholas returned from the stables, and, seeing how
+matters stood, flew to the attorney's assistance.
+
+"Come, come, Bess," he cried, laying hold of her arm, "you've given him
+enough. What has Master Potts been about? Not insulting you, I hope?"
+
+"Neaw, ey'd tak keare he didna do that, squoire," replied the hostess.
+"Ey towd him he'd get nowt boh ele here, an' he made free wi't wine
+bottle, so ey brought down t' whip jist to teach him manners."
+
+"You teach me! you ignorant and insolent hussy," cried Potts, furiously;
+"do you think I'm to be taught manners by an overgrown Lancashire witch
+like you? I'll teach you what it is to assault a gentleman. I'll prefer
+an instant complaint against you to my singular good friend and client,
+Master Roger, who is in your house, and you'll soon find whom you've got
+to deal with--"
+
+"Marry--kem--eawt!" exclaimed Bess; "who con it be? Ey took yo fo' one
+o't grooms, mon."
+
+"Fire and fury!" exclaimed Potts; "this is intolerable. Master Nowell
+shall let you know who I am, woman."
+
+"Nay, I'll tell you, Bess," interposed Nicholas, laughing. "This little
+gentleman is a London lawyer, who is going to Rough Lee on business with
+Master Roger Nowell. Unluckily, he got pitched into a quagmire in Read
+Park, and that is the reason why his countenance and habiliments have
+got begrimed."
+
+"Eigh! ey thowt he wur i' a strawnge fettle," replied Bess; "an so he be
+a lawyer fro' Lunnon, eh? Weel," she added, laughing, and displaying two
+ranges of very white teeth, "he'll remember Bess Whitaker, t' next time
+he comes to Pendle Forest."
+
+"And she'll remember me," rejoined Potts.
+
+"Neaw more sawce, mon," cried Bess, "or ey'n raddle thy boans again."
+
+"No you won't, woman," cried Potts, snatching up his horsewhip, which he
+had dropped in the previous scuffle, and brandishing it fiercely. "I
+dare you to touch me."
+
+Nicholas was obliged once more to interfere, and as he passed his arms
+round the hostess's waist, he thought a kiss might tend to bring matters
+to a peaceable issue, so he took one.
+
+"Ha' done wi' ye, squoire," cried Bess, who, however, did not look very
+seriously offended by the liberty.
+
+"By my faith, your lips are so sweet that I must have another," cried
+Nicholas. "I tell you what, Bess, you're the finest woman in Lancashire,
+and you owe it to the county to get married."
+
+"Whoy so?" said Bess.
+
+"Because it would be a pity to lose the breed," replied Nicholas. "What
+say you to Master Potts there? Will he suit you?"
+
+"He--pooh! Do you think ey'd put up wi' sich powsement os he! Neaw; when
+Bess Whitaker, the lonleydey o' Goldshey, weds, it shan be to a mon, and
+nah to a ninny-hommer."
+
+"Bravely resolved, Bess," cried Nicholas. "You deserve another kiss for
+your spirit."
+
+"Ha' done, ey say," cried Bess, dealing him a gentle tap that sounded
+very much like a buffet. "See how yon jobberknow is grinning at ye."
+
+"Jobberknow and ninny-hammer," cried Potts, furiously; "really, woman, I
+cannot permit such names to be applied to me."
+
+"Os yo please, boh ey'st gi' ye nah better," rejoined the hostess.
+
+"Come, Bess, a truce to this," observed Nicholas; "the eggs and bacon
+are spoiling, and I'm dying with hunger. There--there," he added,
+clapping her on the shoulder, "set the dish before us, that's a good
+soul--a couple of plates, some oatcakes and butter, and we shall do."
+
+And while Bess attended to these requirements, he observed, "This sudden
+seizure of poor John Law is a bad business."
+
+"'Deed on it is, squoire," replied Bess, "ey wur quite glopp'nt at seet
+on him. Lorjus o' me! whoy, it's scarcely an hour sin he left here,
+looking os strong an os 'earty os yersel. Boh it's a kazzardly onsartin
+loife we lead. Here to-day an gone the morrow, as Parson Houlden says.
+Wall-a-day!"
+
+"True, true, Bess," replied the squire, "and the best plan therefore is,
+to make the most of the passing moment. So brew us each a lusty pottle
+of sack, and fry us some more eggs and bacon."
+
+And while the hostess proceeded to prepare the sack, Potts remarked to
+Nicholas, "I have got another case of witchcraft, squire. Mary Baldwyn,
+the miller's daughter, of Rough Lee."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Nicholas. "What, is the poor girl bewitched?"
+
+"Bewitched to death--that's all," said Potts.
+
+"Eigh--poor Meary! hoo's to be berried here this mornin," observed Bess,
+emptying the bottle of sherris into a pot, and placing the latter on the
+fire.
+
+"And you think she was forespoken?" said Nicholas, addressing her.
+
+"Folk sayn so," replied Bess; "boh I'd leyther howd my tung about it."
+
+"Then I suppose you pay tribute to Mother Chattox, hostess?" cried
+Potts,--"butter, eggs, and milk from the farm, ale and wine from the
+cellar, with a flitch of bacon now and then, ey?"
+
+"Nay, by th' maskins! ey gi' her nowt," cried Bess.
+
+"Then you bribe Mother Demdike, and that comes to the same thing," said
+Potts.
+
+"Weel, yo're neaw so fur fro' t' mark this time," replied Bess, adding
+eggs, sugar, and spice to the now boiling wine, and stirring up the
+compound.
+
+"I wonder where your brother, the reeve of the forest, can be, Master
+Potts!" observed Nicholas. "I did not see either him or his horse at the
+stables."
+
+"Perhaps the arch impostor has taken himself off altogether," said
+Potts; "and if so, I shall be sorry, for I have not done with him."
+
+The sack was now set before them, and pronounced excellent, and while
+they were engaged in discussing it, together with a fresh supply of eggs
+and bacon, fried by the kitchen wench, Roger Nowell came out of the
+inner room, accompanied by Richard and the chirurgeon.
+
+"Well, Master Sudall, how goes on your patient?" inquired Nicholas of
+the latter.
+
+"Much more favourably than I expected, squire," replied the chirurgeon.
+"He will be better left alone for awhile, and, as I shall not quit the
+village till evening, I shall be able to look well after him."
+
+"You think the attack occasioned by witchcraft of course, sir?" said
+Potts.
+
+"The poor fellow affirms it to be so, but I can give no opinion,"
+replied Sudall, evasively.
+
+"You must make up your mind as to the matter, for I think it right to
+tell you your evidence will be required," said Potts. "Perhaps, you may
+have seen poor Mary Baldwyn, the miller's daughter of Rough Lee, and can
+speak more positively as to her case."
+
+"I can, sir," replied the chirurgeon, seating himself beside Potts,
+while Roger Nowell and Richard placed themselves on the opposite side of
+the table. "This is the case I referred to a short time ago, when
+answering your inquiries on the same subject, Master Richard, and a most
+afflicting one it is. But you shall have the particulars. Six months
+ago, Mary Baldwyn was as lovely and blooming a lass as could be seen,
+the joy of her widowed father's heart. A hot-headed, obstinate man is
+Richard Baldwyn, and he was unwise enough to incur the displeasure of
+Mother Demdike, by favouring her rival, old Chattox, to whom he gave
+flour and meal, while he refused the same tribute to the other. The
+first time Mother Demdike was dismissed without the customary dole, one
+of his millstones broke, and, instead of taking this as a warning, he
+became more obstinate. She came a second time, and he sent her away with
+curses. Then all his flour grew damp and musty, and no one would buy it.
+Still he remained obstinate, and, when she appeared again, he would have
+laid hands upon her. But she raised her staff, and the blows fell short.
+'I have given thee two warnings, Richard,' she said, 'and thou hast paid
+no heed to them. Now I will make thee smart, lad, in right earnest. That
+which thou lovest best thou shalt lose.' Upon this, bethinking him that
+the dearest thing he had in the world was his daughter Mary, and afraid
+of harm happening to her, Richard would fain have made up his quarrel
+with the old witch; but it had now gone too far, and she would not
+listen to him, but uttering some words, with which the name of the girl
+was mingled, shook her staff at the house and departed. The next day
+poor Mary was taken ill, and her father, in despair, applied to old
+Chattox, who promised him help, and did her best, I make no doubt--for
+she would have willingly thwarted her rival, and robbed her of her prey;
+but the latter was too strong for her, and the hapless victim got daily
+worse and worse. Her blooming cheek grew white and hollow, her dark eyes
+glistened with unnatural lustre, and she was seen no more on the banks
+of Pendle water. Before this my aid had been called in by the afflicted
+father--and I did all I could--but I knew she would die--and I told him
+so. The information I feared had killed him, for he fell down like a
+stone--and I repented having spoken. However he recovered, and made a
+last appeal to Mother Demdike; but the unrelenting hag derided him and
+cursed him, telling him if he brought her all his mill contained, and
+added to that all his substance, she would not spare his child. He
+returned heart-broken, and never quitted the poor girl's bedside till
+she breathed her last."
+
+"Poor Ruchot! Robb'd o' his ownly dowter--an neaw woife to cheer him! Ey
+pity him fro' t' bottom o' my heart," said Bess, whose tears had flowed
+freely during the narration.
+
+"He is wellnigh crazed with grief," said the chirurgeon. "I hope he will
+commit no rash act."
+
+Expressions of deep commiseration for the untimely death of the miller's
+daughter had been uttered by all the party, and they were talking over
+the strange circumstances attending it, when they were roused by the
+trampling of horses' feet at the door, and the moment after, a
+middle-aged man, clad in deep mourning, but put on in a manner that
+betrayed the disorder of his mind, entered the house. His looks were
+wild and frenzied, his cheeks haggard, and he rushed into the room so
+abruptly that he did not at first observe the company assembled.
+
+"Why, Richard Baldwyn, is that you?" cried the chirurgeon.
+
+"What! is this the father?" exclaimed Potts, taking out his
+memorandum-book; "I must prepare to interrogate him."
+
+"Sit thee down, Ruchot,--sit thee down, mon," said Bess, taking his hand
+kindly, and leading him to a bench. "Con ey get thee onny thing?"
+
+"Neaw--neaw, Bess," replied the miller; "ey ha lost aw ey vallied i'
+this warlt, an ey care na how soon ey quit it mysel."
+
+"Neigh, dunna talk on thus, Ruchot," said Bess, in accents of sincere
+sympathy. "Theaw win live to see happier an brighter days."
+
+"Ey win live to be revenged, Bess," cried the miller, rising suddenly,
+and stamping his foot on the ground,--"that accursed witch has robbed me
+o' my' eart's chief treasure--hoo has crushed a poor innocent os never
+injured her i' thowt or deed--an has struck the heaviest blow that could
+be dealt me; but by the heaven above us ey win requite her! A feyther's
+deep an lasting curse leet on her guilty heoad, an on those of aw her
+accursed race. Nah rest, neet nor day, win ey know, till ey ha brought
+em to the stake."
+
+"Right--right--my good friend--an excellent resolution--bring them to
+the stake!" cried Potts.
+
+But his enthusiasm was suddenly checked by observing the reeve of the
+forest peeping from behind the wainscot, and earnestly regarding the
+miller, and he called the attention of the latter to him.
+
+Richard Baldwyn mechanically followed the expressive gestures of the
+attorney,--but he saw no one, for the reeve had disappeared.
+
+The incident passed unnoticed by the others, who had been, too deeply
+moved by poor Baldwyn's outburst of grief to pay attention to it.
+
+After a little while Bess Whitaker succeeded in prevailing upon the
+miller to sit down, and when he became more composed he told her that
+the funeral procession, consisting of some of his neighbours who had
+undertaken to attend his ill-fated daughter to her last home, was coming
+from Rough Lee to Goldshaw, but that, unable to bear them company, he
+had ridden on by himself. It appeared also, from his muttered threats,
+that he had meditated some wild project of vengeance against Mother
+Demdike, which he intended to put into execution, before the day was
+over; but Master Potts endeavoured to dissuade him from this course,
+assuring him that the most certain and efficacious mode of revenge he
+could adopt would be through the medium of the law, and that he would
+give him his best advice and assistance in the matter. While they were
+talking thus, the bell began to toll, and every stroke seemed to vibrate
+through the heart of the afflicted father, who was at last so
+overpowered by grief, that the hostess deemed it expedient to lead him
+into an inner room, where he might indulge his sorrow unobserved.
+
+Without awaiting the issue of this painful scene, Richard, who was much
+affected by it, went forth, and taking his horse from the stable, with
+the intention of riding on slowly before the others, led the animal
+towards the churchyard. When within a short distance of the grey old
+fabric he paused. The bell continued to toll mournfully, and deepened
+the melancholy hue of his thoughts. The sad tale he had heard held
+possession of his mind, and while he pitied poor Mary Baldwyn, he began
+to entertain apprehensions that Alizon might meet a similar fate. So
+many strange circumstances had taken place during the morning's ride; he
+had listened to so many dismal relations, that, coupled with the dark
+and mysterious events of the previous night, he was quite bewildered,
+and felt oppressed as if by a hideous nightmare, which it was impossible
+to shake off. He thought of Mothers Demdike and Chattox. Could these
+dread beings be permitted to exercise such baneful influence over
+mankind? With all the apparent proofs of their power he had received, he
+still strove to doubt, and to persuade himself that the various cases of
+witchcraft described to him were only held to be such by the timid and
+the credulous.
+
+Full of these meditations, he tied his horse to a tree and entered the
+churchyard, and while pursuing a path shaded by a row of young
+lime-trees leading to the porch, he perceived at a little distance from
+him, near the cross erected by Abbot Cliderhow, two persons who
+attracted his attention. One was the sexton, who was now deep in the
+grave; and the other an old woman, with her back towards him. Neither
+had remarked his approach, and, influenced by an unaccountable feeling
+of curiosity, he stood still to watch their proceedings. Presently, the
+sexton, who was shovelling out the mould, paused in his task; and the
+old woman, in a hoarse voice, which seemed familiar to the listener,
+said, "What hast found, Zachariah?"
+
+[Illustration: RICHARD OVERHEARS THE MOTHER CHATTOX AND THE SEXTON.]
+
+"That which yo lack, mother," replied the sexton, "a mazzard wi' aw th'
+teeth in't."
+
+"Pluck out eight, and give them me," replied the hag.
+
+And, as the sexton complied with her injunction, she added, "Now I must
+have three scalps."
+
+"Here they be, mother," replied Zachariah, uncovering a heap of mould
+with his spade. "Two brain-pans bleached loike snow, an the third wi'
+more hewr on it than ey ha' o' my own sconce. Fro' its size an shape ey
+should tak it to be a female. Ey ha' laid these three skulls aside fo'
+ye. Whot dun yo mean to do wi' 'em?"
+
+"Question me not, Zachariah," said the hag, sternly; "now give me some
+pieces of the mouldering coffin, and fill this box with the dust of the
+corpse it contained."
+
+The sexton complied with her request.
+
+"Now yo ha' getten aw yo seek, mother," he said, "ey wad pray you to tay
+your departure, fo' the berrin folk win be here presently."
+
+"I'm going," replied the hag, "but first I must have my funeral rites
+performed--ha! ha! Bury this for me, Zachariah," she said, giving him a
+small clay figure. "Bury it deep, and as it moulders away, may she it
+represents pine and wither, till she come to the grave likewise!"
+
+"An whoam doth it represent, mother?" asked the sexton, regarding the
+image with curiosity. "Ey dunna knoa the feace?"
+
+"How should you know it, fool, since you have never seen her in whose
+likeness it is made?" replied the hag. "She is connected with the race I
+hate."
+
+"Wi' the Demdikes?" inquired the sexton.
+
+"Ay," replied the hag, "with the Demdikes. She passes for one of
+them--but she is not of them. Nevertheless, I hate her as though she
+were."
+
+"Yo dunna mean Alizon Device?" said the sexton. "Ey ha' heerd say hoo be
+varry comely an kind-hearted, an ey should be sorry onny harm befell
+her."
+
+"Mary Baldwyn, who will soon lie there, was quite as comely and
+kind-hearted as Alizon," cried the hag, "and yet Mother Demdike had no
+pity on her."
+
+"An that's true," replied the sexton. "Weel, weel; ey'n do your
+bidding."
+
+"Hold!" exclaimed Richard, stepping forward. "I will not suffer this
+abomination to be practised."
+
+"Who is it speaks to me?" cried the hag, turning round, and disclosing
+the hideous countenance of Mother Chattox. "The voice is that of Richard
+Assheton."
+
+"It is Richard Assheton who speaks," cried the young man, "and I command
+you to desist from this wickedness. Give me that clay image," he cried,
+snatching it from the sexton, and trampling it to dust beneath his feet.
+"Thus I destroy thy impious handiwork, and defeat thy evil intentions."
+
+"Ah! think'st thou so, lad," rejoined Mother Chattox. "Thou wilt find
+thyself mistaken. My curse has already alighted upon thee, and it shall
+work. Thou lov'st Alizon.--I know it. But she shall never be thine. Now,
+go thy ways."
+
+"I will go," replied Richard--"but you shall come with me, old woman."
+
+"Dare you lay hands on me?" screamed the hag.
+
+"Nay, let her be, mester," interposed the sexton, "yo had better."
+
+"You are as bad as she is," said Richard, "and deserve equal punishment.
+You escaped yesterday at Whalley, old woman, but you shall not escape me
+now."
+
+"Be not too sure of that," cried the hag, disabling him for the moment,
+by a severe blow on the arm from her staff. And shuffling off with an
+agility which could scarcely have been expected from her, she passed
+through a gate near her, and disappeared behind a high wall.
+
+Richard would have followed, but he was detained by the sexton, who
+besought him, as he valued his life, not to interfere, and when at last
+he broke away from the old man, he could see nothing of her, and only
+heard the sound of horses' feet in the distance. Either his eyes
+deceived him, or at a turn in the woody lane skirting the church he
+descried the reeve of the forest galloping off with the old woman behind
+him. This lane led towards Rough Lee, and, without a moment's
+hesitation, Richard flew to the spot where he had left his horse, and,
+mounting him, rode swiftly along it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.--THE TEMPTATION.
+
+
+Shortly after Richard's departure, a round, rosy-faced personage, whose
+rusty black cassock, hastily huddled over a dark riding-dress,
+proclaimed him a churchman, entered the hostel. This was the rector of
+Goldshaw, Parson Holden, a very worthy little man, though rather,
+perhaps, too fond of the sports of the field and the bottle. To Roger
+Nowell and Nicholas Assheton he was of course well known, and was much
+esteemed by the latter, often riding over to hunt and fish, or carouse,
+at Downham. Parson Holden had been sent for by Bess to administer
+spiritual consolation to poor Richard Baldwyn, who she thought stood in
+need of it, and having respectfully saluted the magistrate, of whom he
+stood somewhat in awe, and shaken hands cordially with Nicholas, who was
+delighted to see him, he repaired to the inner room, promising to come
+back speedily. And he kept his word; for in less than five minutes he
+reappeared with the satisfactory intelligence that the afflicted miller
+was considerably calmer, and had listened to his counsels with much
+edification.
+
+"Take him a glass of aquavitæ, Bess," he said to the hostess. "He is
+evidently a cup too low, and will be the better for it. Strong water is
+a specific I always recommend under such circumstances, Master Sudall,
+and indeed adopt myself, and I am sure you will approve of it.--Harkee,
+Bess, when you have ministered to poor Baldwyn's wants, I must crave
+your attention to my own, and beg you to fill me a tankard with your
+oldest ale, and toast me an oatcake to eat with it.--I must keep up my
+spirits, worthy sir," he added to Roger Nowell, "for I have a painful
+duty to perform. I do not know when I have been more shocked than by the
+death of poor Mary Baldwyn. A fair flower, and early nipped."
+
+"Nipped, indeed, if all we have heard be correct," rejoined Newell. "The
+forest is in a sad state, reverend sir. It would seem as if the enemy of
+mankind, by means of his abominable agents, were permitted to exercise
+uncontrolled dominion over it. I must needs say, the forlorn condition
+of the people reflects little credit on those who have them in charge.
+The powers of darkness could never have prevailed to such an extent if
+duly resisted."
+
+"I lament to hear you say so, good Master Nowell," replied the rector.
+"I have done my best, I assure you, to keep my small and
+widely-scattered flock together, and to save them from the ravening
+wolves and cunning foxes that infest the country; and if now and then
+some sheep have gone astray, or a poor lamb, as in the instance of Mary
+Baldwyn, hath fallen a victim, I am scarcely to blame for the mischance.
+Rather let me say, sir, that you, as an active and zealous magistrate,
+should take the matter in hand, and by severe dealing with the
+offenders, arrest the progress of the evil. No defence, spiritual or
+otherwise, as yet set up against them, has proved effectual."
+
+"Justly remarked, reverend sir," observed Potts, looking up from the
+memorandum book in which he was writing, "and I am sure your advice will
+not be lost upon Master Roger Nowell. As regards the persons who may be
+afflicted by witchcraft, hath not our sagacious monarch observed, that
+'There are three kind of folks who may be tempted or troubled: the
+wicked for their horrible sins, to punish them in the like measure; the
+godly that are sleeping in any great sins or infirmities, and weakness
+in faith, to waken them up the faster by such an uncouth form; and even
+some of the best, that their patience may be tried before the world as
+Job's was tried. For why may not God use any kind of extraordinary
+punishment, when it pleases Him, as well as the ordinary rods of
+sickness, or other adversities?'"
+
+"Very true, sir," replied Holden. "And we are undergoing this severe
+trial now. Fortunate are they who profit by it!"
+
+"Hear what is said further, sir, by the king," pursued Potts. "'No
+man,' declares that wise prince, 'ought to presume so far as to promise
+any impunity to himself.' But further on he gives us courage, for he
+adds, 'and yet we ought not to be afraid for that, of any thing that the
+devil and his wicked instruments can do against us, for we daily fight
+against him in a hundred other ways, and therefore as a valiant captain
+affrays no more being at the combat, nor stays from his purpose for the
+rummishing shot of a cannon, nor the small clack of a pistolet; not
+being certain what may light on him; even so ought we boldly to go
+forward in fighting against the devil without any greater terror, for
+these his rarest weapons, than the ordinary, whereof we have daily the
+proof.'"
+
+"His majesty is quite right," observed Holden, "and I am glad to hear
+his convincing words so judiciously cited. I myself have no fear of
+these wicked instruments of Satan."
+
+"In what manner, may I ask, have you proved your courage, sir?" inquired
+Roger Nowell. "Have you preached against them, and denounced their
+wickedness, menacing them with the thunders of the Church?"
+
+"I cannot say I have," replied Holden, rather abashed, "but I shall
+henceforth adopt a very different course.--Ah! here comes the ale!" he
+added, taking the foaming tankard from Bess; "this is the best cordial
+wherewith to sustain one's courage in these trying times."
+
+"Some remedy must be found for this intolerable grievance," observed
+Roger Nowell, after a few moments' reflection. "Till this morning I was
+not aware of the extent of the evil, but supposed that the two malignant
+hags, who seem to reign supreme here, confined their operations to
+blighting corn, maiming cattle, turning milk sour; and even these
+reports I fancied were greatly exaggerated; but I now find, from what I
+have seen at Sabden and elsewhere, that they fall very far short of the
+reality."
+
+"It would be difficult to increase the darkness of the picture," said
+the chirurgeon; "but what remedy will you apply?"
+
+"The cautery, sir," replied Potts,--"the actual cautery--we will burn
+out this plague-spot. The two old hags and their noxious brood shall be
+brought to the stake. That will effect a radical cure."
+
+"It may when it is accomplished, but I fear it will be long ere that
+happens," replied the chirurgeon, shaking his head doubtfully. "Are you
+acquainted with Mother Demdike's history, sir?" he added to Potts.
+
+"In part," replied the attorney; "but I shall be glad to hear any thing
+you may have to bring forward on the subject."
+
+"The peculiarity in her case," observed Sudall, "and the circumstance
+distinguishing her dark and dread career from that of all other witches
+is, that it has been shaped out by destiny. When an infant, a
+malediction was pronounced upon her head by the unfortunate Abbot
+Paslew. She is also the offspring of a man reputed to have bartered his
+soul to the Enemy of Mankind, while her mother was a witch. Both parents
+perished lamentably, about the time of Paslew's execution at Whalley."
+
+"It is a pity their miserable infant did not perish with them," observed
+Holden. "How much crime and misery would have been spared!"
+
+"It was otherwise ordained," replied Sudall. "Bereft of her parents in
+this way, the infant was taken charge of and reared by Dame Croft, the
+miller's wife of Whalley; but even in those early days she exhibited
+such a malicious and vindictive disposition, and became so unmanageable,
+that the good dame was glad to get rid of her, and sent her into the
+forest, where she found a home at Rough Lee, then occupied by Miles
+Nutter, the grandfather of the late Richard Nutter."
+
+"Aha!" exclaimed Potts, "was Mother Demdike so early connected with that
+family? I must make a note of that circumstance."
+
+"She remained at Rough Lee for some years," returned Sudall, "and though
+accounted of an ill disposition, there was nothing to be alleged against
+her at the time; though afterwards, it was said, that some mishaps that
+befell the neighbours were owing to her agency, and that she was always
+attended by a familiar in the form of a rat or a mole. Whether this were
+so or not, I cannot say; but it is certain that she helped Miles Nutter
+to get rid of his wife, and procured him a second spouse, in return for
+which services he bestowed upon her an old ruined tower on his domains."
+
+"You mean Malkin Tower?" said Nicholas.
+
+"Ay, Malkin Tower," replied the chirurgeon. "There is a legend connected
+with that structure, which I will relate to you anon, if you desire it.
+But to proceed. Scarcely had Bess Demdike taken up her abode in this
+lone tower, than it began to be rumoured that she was a witch, and
+attended sabbaths on the summit of Pendle Hill, and on Rimington Moor.
+Few would consort with her, and ill-luck invariably attended those with
+whom she quarrelled. Though of hideous and forbidding aspect, and with
+one eye lower set than the other, she had subtlety enough to induce a
+young man named Sothernes to marry her, and two children, a son and a
+daughter, were the fruit of the union."
+
+"The daughter I have seen at Whalley," observed Potts; "but I have never
+encountered the son."
+
+"Christopher Demdike still lives, I believe," replied the chirurgeon,
+"though what has become of him I know not, for he has quitted these
+parts. He is as ill-reputed as his mother, and has the same strange and
+fearful look about the eyes."
+
+"I shall recognise him if I see him," observed Potts.
+
+"You are scarcely likely to meet him," returned Sudall, "for, as I have
+said, he has left the forest. But to return to my story. The marriage
+state was little suitable to Bess Demdike, and in five years she
+contrived to free herself from her husband's restraint, and ruled alone
+in the tower. Her malignant influence now began to be felt throughout
+the whole district, and by dint of menaces and positive acts of
+mischief, she extorted all she required. Whosoever refused her requests
+speedily experienced her resentment. When she was in the fulness of her
+power, a rival sprang up in the person of Anne Whittle, since known by
+the name of Chattox, which she obtained in marriage, and this woman
+disputed Bess Demdike's supremacy. Each strove to injure the adherents
+of her rival--and terrible was the mischief they wrought. In the end,
+however, Mother Demdike got the upper hand. Years have flown over the
+old hag's head, and her guilty career has been hitherto attended with
+impunity. Plans have been formed to bring her to justice, but they have
+ever failed. And so in the case of old Chattox. Her career has been as
+baneful and as successful as that of Mother Demdike."
+
+"But their course is wellnigh run," said Potts, "and the time is come
+for the extirpation of the old serpents."
+
+"Ah! who is that at the window?" cried Sudall; "but that you are sitting
+near me, I should declare you were looking in at us."
+
+"It must be Master Potts's brother, the reeve of the forest," observed
+Nicholas, with a laugh.
+
+"Heed him not," cried the attorney, angrily, "but let us have the
+promised legend of Malkin Tower."
+
+"Willingly!" replied the chirurgeon. "But before I begin I must recruit
+myself with a can of ale."
+
+The flagon being set before him, Sudall commenced his story:
+
+    The Legend of Malkin Tower.
+
+    "On the brow of a high hill forming part of the range of
+    Pendle, and commanding an extensive view over the forest, and
+    the wild and mountainous region around it, stands a stern
+    solitary tower. Old as the Anglo-Saxons, and built as a
+    stronghold by Wulstan, a Northumbrian thane, in the time of
+    Edmund or Edred, it is circular in form and very lofty, and
+    serves as a landmark to the country round. Placed high up in
+    the building the door was formerly reached by a steep flight
+    of stone steps, but these were removed some fifty or sixty
+    years ago by Mother Demdike, and a ladder capable of being
+    raised or let down at pleasure substituted for them,
+    affording the only apparent means of entrance. The tower is
+    otherwise inaccessible, the walls being of immense thickness,
+    with no window lower than five-and-twenty feet from the
+    ground, though it is thought there must be a secret outlet;
+    for the old witch, when she wants to come forth, does not
+    wait for the ladder to be let down. But this may be otherwise
+    explained. Internally there are three floors, the lowest
+    being placed on a level with the door, and this is the
+    apartment chiefly occupied by the hag. In the centre of this
+    room is a trapdoor opening upon a deep vault, which forms the
+    basement story of the structure, and which was once used as a
+    dungeon, but is now tenanted, it is said, by a fiend, who can
+    be summoned by the witch on stamping her foot. Round the room
+    runs a gallery contrived in the thickness of the walls, while
+    the upper chambers are gained by a secret staircase, and
+    closed by movable stones, the machinery of which is only
+    known to the inmate of the tower. All the rooms are lighted
+    by narrow loopholes. Thus you will see that the fortress is
+    still capable of sustaining a siege, and old Demdike has been
+    heard to declare that she would hold it for a month against a
+    hundred men. Hitherto it has proved impregnable.
+
+    "On the Norman invasion, Malkin Tower was held by Ughtred, a
+    descendant of Wulstan, who kept possession of Pendle Forest
+    and the hills around it, and successfully resisted the
+    aggressions of the conquerors. His enemies affirmed he was
+    assisted by a demon, whom he had propitiated by some fearful
+    sacrifice made in the tower, and the notion seemed borne out
+    by the success uniformly attending his conflicts. Ughtred's
+    prowess was stained by cruelty and rapine. Merciless in the
+    treatment of his captives, putting them to death by horrible
+    tortures, or immuring them in the dark and noisome dungeon of
+    his tower, he would hold his revels over their heads, and
+    deride their groans. Heaps of treasure, obtained by pillage,
+    were secured by him in the tower. From his frequent acts of
+    treachery, and the many foul murders he perpetrated, Ughtred
+    was styled the 'Scourge of the Normans.' For a long period he
+    enjoyed complete immunity from punishment; but after the
+    siege of York, and the defeat of the insurgents, his
+    destruction was vowed by Ilbert de Lacy, lord of
+    Blackburnshire, and this fierce chieftain set fire to part of
+    the forest in which the Saxon thane and his followers were
+    concealed; drove them to Malkin Tower; took it after an
+    obstinate and prolonged defence, and considerable loss to
+    himself, and put them all to the sword, except the leader,
+    whom he hanged from the top of his own fortress. In the
+    dungeon were found many carcasses, and the greater part of
+    Ughtred's treasure served to enrich the victor.
+
+    "Once again, in the reign of Henry VI., Malkin Tower became a
+    robber's stronghold, and gave protection to a freebooter
+    named Blackburn, who, with a band of daring and desperate
+    marauders, took advantage of the troubled state of the
+    country, ravaged it far and wide, and committed unheard of
+    atrocities, even levying contributions upon the Abbeys of
+    Whalley and Salley, and the heads of these religious
+    establishments were glad to make terms with him to save their
+    herds and stores, the rather that all attempts to dislodge
+    him from his mountain fastness, and destroy his band, had
+    failed. Blackburn seemed to enjoy the same kind of protection
+    as Ughtred, and practised the same atrocities, torturing and
+    imprisoning his captives unless they were heavily ransomed.
+    He also led a life of wildest licence, and, when not engaged
+    in some predatory exploit, spent his time in carousing with
+    his followers.
+
+    "Upon one occasion it chanced that he made a visit in
+    disguise to Whalley Abbey, and, passing the little hermitage
+    near the church, beheld the votaress who tenanted it. This
+    was Isole de Heton. Ravished by her wondrous beauty,
+    Blackburn soon found an opportunity of making his passion
+    known to her, and his handsome though fierce lineaments
+    pleasing her, he did not long sigh in vain. He frequently
+    visited her in the garb of a Cistertian monk, and, being
+    taken for one of the brethren, his conduct brought great
+    scandal upon the Abbey. The abandoned votaress bore him a
+    daughter, and the infant was conveyed away by the lover, and
+    placed under the care of a peasant's wife, at Barrowford.
+    From that child sprung Bess Blackburn, the mother of old
+    Demdike; so that the witch is a direct descendant of Isole de
+    Heton.
+
+    "Notwithstanding all precautions, Isole's dark offence became
+    known, and she would have paid the penalty of it at the
+    stake, if she had not fled. In scaling Whalley Nab, in the
+    woody heights of which she was to remain concealed till her
+    lover could come to her, she fell from a rock, shattering her
+    limbs, and disfiguring her features. Some say she was lamed
+    for life, and became as hideous as she had heretofore been
+    lovely; but this is erroneous, for apprehensive of such a
+    result, attended by the loss of her lover, she invoked the
+    powers of darkness, and proffered her soul in return for five
+    years of unimpaired beauty.
+
+    "The compact was made, and when Blackburn came he found her
+    more beautiful than ever. Enraptured, he conveyed her to
+    Malkin Tower, and lived with her there in security, laughing
+    to scorn the menaces of Abbot Eccles, by whom he was
+    excommunicated.
+
+    "Time went on, and as Isole's charms underwent no change, her
+    lover's ardour continued unabated. Five years passed in
+    guilty pleasures, and the last day of the allotted term
+    arrived. No change was manifest in Isole's demeanour; neither
+    remorse nor fear were exhibited by her. Never had she
+    appeared more lovely, never in higher or more exuberant
+    spirits. She besought her lover, who was still madly
+    intoxicated by her infernal charms, to give a banquet that
+    night to ten of his trustiest followers. He willingly
+    assented, and bade them to the feast. They ate and drank
+    merrily, and the gayest of the company was the lovely Isole.
+    Her spirits seemed somewhat too wild even to Blackburn, but
+    he did not check her, though surprised at the excessive
+    liveliness and freedom of her sallies. Her eyes flashed like
+    fire, and there was not a man present but was madly in love
+    with her, and ready to dispute for her smiles with his
+    captain.
+
+    "The wine flowed freely, and song and jest went on till
+    midnight. When the hour struck, Isole filled a cup to the
+    brim, and called upon them to pledge her. All arose, and
+    drained their goblets enthusiastically. 'It was a farewell
+    cup,' she said; 'I am going away with one of you.' 'How!'
+    exclaimed Blackburn, in angry surprise. 'Let any one but
+    touch your hand, and I will strike him dead at my feet.' The
+    rest of the company regarded each other with surprise, and it
+    was then discovered that a stranger was amongst them; a tall
+    dark man, whose looks were so terrible and demoniacal that no
+    one dared lay hands upon him. 'I am come,' he said, with
+    fearful significance, to Isole. 'And I am ready,' she
+    answered boldly. 'I will go with you were it to the
+    bottomless pit,' cried Blackburn catching hold of her. 'It is
+    thither I am going,' she answered with a scream of laughter.
+    'I shall be glad of a companion.'
+
+    "When the paroxysm of laughter was over, she fell down on the
+    floor. Her lover would have raised her, when what was his
+    horror to find that he held in his arms an old woman, with
+    frightfully disfigured features, and evidently in the agonies
+    of death. She fixed one look upon him and expired.
+
+    "Terrified by the occurrence the guests hurried away, and
+    when they returned next day, they found Blackburn stretched
+    on the floor, and quite dead. They cast his body, together
+    with that of the wretched Isole, into the vault beneath the
+    room where they were lying, and then, taking possession of
+    his treasure, removed to some other retreat.
+
+    "Thenceforth, Malkin Tower became haunted. Though wholly
+    deserted, lights were constantly seen shining from it at
+    night, and sounds of wild revelry, succeeded by shrieks and
+    groans, issued from it. The figure of Isole was often seen to
+    come forth, and flit across the wastes in the direction of
+    Whalley Abbey. On stormy nights a huge black cat, with
+    flaming eyes, was frequently descried on the summit of the
+    structure, whence it obtained its name of Grimalkin, or
+    Malkin Tower. The ill-omened pile ultimately came into the
+    possession of the Nutter family, but it was never tenanted,
+    until assigned, as I have already mentioned, to Mother
+    Demdike."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The chirurgeon's marvellous story was listened to with great attention
+by his auditors. Most of them were familiar with different versions of
+it; but to Master Potts it was altogether new, and he made rapid notes
+of it, questioning the narrator as to one or two points which appeared
+to him to require explanation. Nicholas, as may be supposed, was
+particularly interested in that part of the legend which referred to
+Isole de Heton. He now for the first time heard of her unhallowed
+intercourse with the freebooter Blackburn, of her compact on Whalley Nab
+with the fiend, of her mysterious connection with Malkin Tower, and of
+her being the ancestress of Mother Demdike. The consideration of all
+these points, coupled with a vivid recollection of his own strange
+adventure with the impious votaress at the Abbey on the previous night,
+plunged him into a deep train of thought, and he began seriously to
+consider whether he might not have committed some heinous sin, and,
+indeed, jeopardised his soul's welfare by dancing with her. "What if I
+should share the same fate as the robber Blackburn," he ruminated, "and
+be dragged to perdition by her? It is a very awful reflection. But
+though my fate might operate as a warning to others, I am by no means
+anxious to be held up as a moral scarecrow. Rather let me take warning
+myself, amend my life, abandon intemperance, which leads to all manner
+of wickedness, and suffer myself no more to be ensnared by the wiles and
+delusions of the tempter in the form of a fair woman. No--no--I will
+alter and amend my life."
+
+I regret, however, to say that these praiseworthy resolutions were but
+transient, and that the squire, quite forgetting that the work of
+reform, if intended to be really accomplished, ought to commence at
+once, and by no means be postponed till the morrow, yielded to the
+seductions of a fresh pottle of sack, which was presented to him at the
+moment by Bess, and in taking it could not help squeezing the hand of
+the bouncing hostess, and gazing at her more tenderly than became a
+married man. Oh! Nicholas--Nicholas--the work of reform, I am afraid,
+proceeds very slowly and imperfectly with you. Your friend, Parson.
+Dewhurst, would have told you that it is much easier to form good
+resolutions than to keep them.
+
+Leaving the squire, however, to his cogitations and his sack, the
+attorney to his memorandum-book, in which he was still engaged in
+writing, and the others to their talk, we shall proceed to the chamber
+whither the poor miller had been led by Bess. When visited by the
+rector, he had been apparently soothed by the worthy man's consolatory
+advice, but when left alone he speedily relapsed into his former dark
+and gloomy state of mind. He did not notice Bess, who, according to
+Holden's directions, placed the aquavitæ bottle before him, but, as long
+as she stayed, remained with his face buried in his hands. As soon as
+she was gone he arose, and began to pace the room to and fro. The window
+was open, and he could hear the funeral bell tolling mournfully at
+intervals. Each recurrence of the dismal sound added sharpness and
+intensity to his grief. His sufferings became almost intolerable, and
+drove him to the very verge of despair and madness. If a weapon had
+been at hand, he might have seized it, and put a sudden period to his
+existence. His breast was a chaos of fierce and troubled thoughts, in
+which one black and terrible idea arose and overpowered all the rest. It
+was the desire of vengeance, deep and complete, upon her whom he looked
+upon as the murderess of his child. He cared not how it were
+accomplished so it were done; but such was the opinion he entertained of
+the old hag's power, that he doubted his ability to the task. Still, as
+the bell tolled on, the furies at his heart lashed and goaded him on,
+and yelled in his ear revenge--revenge! Now, indeed, he was crazed with
+grief and rage; he tore off handfuls of hair, plunged his nails deeply
+into his breast, and while committing these and other wild excesses,
+with frantic imprecations he called down Heaven's judgments on his own
+head. He was in that lost and helpless state when the enemy of mankind
+has power over man. Nor was the opportunity neglected; for when the
+wretched Baldwyn, who, exhausted by the violence of his motions, had
+leaned for a moment against the wall, he perceived to his surprise that
+there was a man in the room--a small personage attired in rusty black,
+whom he thought had been one of the party in the adjoining chamber.
+
+There was an expression of mockery about this person's countenance which
+did not please the miller, and he asked him, sternly, what he wanted.
+
+"Leave off grinnin, mon," he said, fiercely, "or ey may be tempted to
+tay yo be t' throttle, an may yo laugh o't wrong side o' your mouth."
+
+"No, no, you will not, Richard Baldwyn, when you know my errand,"
+replied the man. "You are thirsting for vengeance upon Mother Demdike.
+You shall have it."
+
+"Eigh, eigh, you promised me vengeance efore," cried the
+miller--"vengeance by the law. Boh ey mun wait lung for it. Ey wad ha'
+it swift and sure--deep and deadly. Ey wad blast her wi' curses, os hoo
+blasted my poor Meary. Ey wad strike her deeod at my feet. That's my
+vengeance, mon."
+
+"You shall have it," replied the other.
+
+"Yo talk differently fro' what yo did just now, mon," said the miller,
+regarding him narrowly and distrustfully. "An yo look differently too.
+There's a queer glimmer abowt your een that ey didna notice efore, and
+that ey mislike."
+
+The man laughed bitterly.
+
+"Leave off grinnin' or begone," cried Baldwyn, furiously. And he raised
+his hand to strike the man, but he instantly dropped it, appalled by a
+look which the other threw at him. "Who the dule are yo?"
+
+"The dule must answer you, since you appeal to him," replied the other,
+with the same mocking smile; "but you are mistaken in supposing that you
+have spoken to me before. He with whom you conversed in the other room,
+resembles me in more respects than one, but he does not possess power
+equal to mine. The law will not aid you against Mother Demdike. She will
+escape all the snares laid for her. But she will not escape _me_."
+
+"Who are ye?" cried the miller, his hair erecting on his head, and cold
+damps breaking out upon his brow. "Yo are nah mortal, an nah good, to
+tawk i' this fashion."
+
+"Heed not who and what I am," replied the other; "I am known here as a
+reeve of the forest--that is enough. Would you have vengeance on the
+murtheress of your child?"
+
+"Yeigh," rejoined Baldwyn.
+
+"And you are willing to pay for it at the price of your soul?" demanded
+the other, advancing towards him.
+
+Baldwyn reeled. He saw at once the fearful peril in which he was placed,
+and averted his gaze from the scorching glance of the reeve.
+
+At this moment the door was tried without, and the voice of Bess was
+heard, saying, "Who ha' yo got wi' yo, Ruchot; and whoy ha' yo fastened
+t' door?"
+
+"Your answer?" demanded the reeve.
+
+"Ey canna gi' it now," replied the miller. "Come in, Bess; come in."
+
+"Ey conna," she replied. "Open t' door, mon."
+
+"Your answer, I say?" said the reeve.
+
+"Gi' me an hour to think on't," said the miller.
+
+"Agreed," replied the other. "I will be with you after the funeral."
+
+And he sprang through the window, and disappeared before Baldwyn could
+open the door and admit Bess.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.--THE PERAMBULATION OF THE BOUNDARIES.
+
+
+The lane along which Richard Assheton galloped in pursuit of Mother
+Chattox, made so many turns, and was, moreover, so completely hemmed in
+by high banks and hedges, that he could sec nothing on either side of
+him, and very little in advance; but, guided by the clatter of hoofs, he
+urged Merlin to his utmost speed, fancying he should soon come up with
+the fugitives. In this, however, he was deceived. The sound that had led
+him on became fainter and fainter, till at last it died away altogether;
+and on quitting the lane and gaining the moor, where the view was wholly
+uninterrupted, no traces either of witch or reeve could be discerned.
+
+With a feeling of angry disappointment, Richard was about to turn back,
+when a large black greyhound came from out an adjoining clough, and
+made towards him. The singularity of the circumstance induced him to
+halt and regard the dog with attention. On nearing him, the animal
+looked wistfully in his face, and seemed to invite him to follow; and
+the young man was so struck by the dog's manner, that he complied, and
+had not gone far when a hare of unusual size and grey with age bounded
+from beneath a gorse-bush and speeded away, the greyhound starting in
+pursuit.
+
+Aware of the prevailing notion, that a witch most commonly assumed such
+a form when desirous of escaping, or performing some act of mischief,
+such as drying the milk of kine, Richard at once came to the conclusion
+that the hare could be no other than Mother Chattox; and without pausing
+to inquire what the hound could be, or why it should appear at such a
+singular and apparently fortunate juncture, he at once joined the run,
+and cheered on the dog with whoop and holloa.
+
+Old as it was, apparently, the hare ran with extraordinary swiftness,
+clearing every stone wall and other impediment in the way, and more than
+once cunningly doubling upon its pursuers. But every feint and stratagem
+were defeated by the fleet and sagacious hound, and the hunted animal at
+length took to the open waste, where the run became so rapid, that
+Richard had enough to do to keep up with it, though Merlin, almost as
+furiously excited as his master, strained every sinew to the task.
+
+In this way the chasers and the chased scoured the dark and heathy
+plain, skirting moss-pool and clearing dyke, till they almost reached
+the but-end of Pendle Hill, which rose like an impassable barrier before
+them. Hitherto the chances had seemed in favour of the hare; but they
+now began to turn, and as it seemed certain she must fall into the
+hound's jaws, Richard expected every moment to find her resume her
+natural form. The run having brought him within, a quarter of a mile of
+Barley, the rude hovels composing which little booth were clearly
+discernible, the young man began to think the hag's dwelling must he
+among them, and that she was hurrying thither as to a place of refuge.
+But before this could be accomplished, he hoped to effect her capture,
+and once more cheered on the hound, and plunged his spurs into Merlin's
+sides. An obstacle, however, occurred which he had not counted on.
+Directly in the course taken by the hare lay a deep, disused limestone
+quarry, completely screened from view by a fringe of brushwood. When
+within a few yards of this pit, the hound made a dash at the flying
+hare, but eluding him, the latter sprang forward, and both went over the
+edge of the quarry together. Richard had wellnigh followed, and in that
+case would have been inevitably dashed in pieces; but, discovering the
+danger ere it was too late, by a powerful effort, which threw Merlin
+upon his haunches, he pulled him back on the very brink of the pit.
+
+The young man shuddered as he gazed into the depths of the quarry, and
+saw the jagged points and heaps of broken stone that would have received
+him; but he looked in vain for the old witch, whose mangled body,
+together with that of the hound, he expected to behold; and he then
+asked himself whether the chase might not have been a snare set for him
+by the hag and her familiar, with the intent of luring him to
+destruction. If so, he had been providentially preserved.
+
+Quitting the pit, his first idea was to proceed to Barley, which was now
+only a few hundred yards off, to make inquiries respecting Mother
+Chattox, and ascertain whether she really dwelt there; but, on further
+consideration, he judged it best to return without further delay to
+Goldshaw, lest his friends, ignorant as to what had befallen him, might
+become alarmed on his account; but he resolved, as soon as he had
+disposed of the business in hand, to prosecute his search after the hag.
+Riding rapidly, he soon cleared the ground between the quarry and
+Goldshaw Lane, and was about to enter the latter, when the sound of
+voices singing a funeral hymn caught his ear, and, pausing to listen to
+it, he beheld a little procession, the meaning of which he readily
+comprehended, wending its slow and melancholy way in the same direction
+as himself. It was headed by four men in deep mourning, bearing upon
+their shoulders a small coffin, covered with a pall, and having a
+garland of white flowers in front of it. Behind them followed about a
+dozen young men and maidens, likewise in mourning, walking two and two,
+with gait and aspect of unfeigned affliction. Many of the women, though
+merely rustics, seemed to possess considerable personal attraction; but
+their features were in a great measure concealed by their large white
+kerchiefs, disposed in the form of hoods. All carried sprigs of rosemary
+and bunches of flowers in their hands. Plaintive was the hymn they sang,
+and their voices, though untaught, were sweet and touching, and went to
+the heart of the listener.
+
+Much moved, Richard suffered the funeral procession to precede him along
+the deep and devious lane, and as it winded beneath the hedges, the
+sight was inexpressibly affecting. Fastening his horse to a tree at the
+end of the lane, Richard followed on foot. Notice of the approach of the
+train having been given in the village, all the inhabitants flocked
+forth to meet it, and there was scarcely a dry eye among them. Arrived
+within a short distance of the church, the coffin was met by the
+minister, attended by the clerk, behind whom came Roger Nowell,
+Nicholas, and the rest of the company from the hostel. With great
+difficulty poor Baldwyn could be brought to take his place as chief
+mourner. These arrangements completed, the body of the ill-fated girl
+was borne into the churchyard, the minister reading the solemn texts
+appointed for the occasion, and leading the way to the grave, beside
+which stood the sexton, together with the beadle of Goldshaw and
+Sparshot. The coffin was then laid on trestles, and amidst profound
+silence, broken only by the sobs of the mourners, the service was read,
+and preparations made for lowering the body into the grave.
+
+Then it was that poor Baldwyn, with a wild, heart-piercing cry, flung
+himself upon the shell containing all that remained of his lost
+treasure, and could with difficulty be removed from it by Bess and
+Sudall, both of whom were in attendance. The bunches of flowers and
+sprigs of rosemary having been laid upon the coffin by the maidens,
+amidst loud sobbing and audibly expressed lamentations from the
+bystanders, it was let down into the grave, and earth thrown over it.
+
+Earth to earth; ashes to ashes; dust to dust.
+
+The ceremony was over, the mourners betook themselves to the little
+hostel, and the spectators slowly dispersed; but the bereaved father
+still lingered, unable to tear himself away. Leaning for support against
+the yew-tree, he fiercely bade Bess, who would have led him home with
+her, begone. The kind-hearted hostess complied in appearance, but
+remained nigh at hand though concealed from view.
+
+Once more the dark cloud overshadowed the spirit of the wretched
+man--once more the same infernal desire of vengeance possessed him--once
+more he subjected himself to temptation. Striding to the foot of the
+grave he raised his hand, and with terrible imprecations vowed to lay
+the murtheress of his child as low as she herself was now laid. At that
+moment he felt an eye like a burning-glass fixed upon him, and, looking
+up, beheld the reeve of the forest standing on the further side of the
+grave.
+
+"Kneel down, and swear to be mine, and your wish shall be gratified,"
+said the reeve.
+
+Beside himself with grief and rage, Baldwyn would have complied, but he
+was arrested by a powerful grasp. Fearing he was about to commit some
+rash act, Bess rushed forward and caught hold of his doublet.
+
+"Bethink thee whot theaw has just heerd fro' t' minister, Ruchot," she
+cried in a voice of solemn warning. "'Blessed are the dead that dee i'
+the Lord, for they rest fro their labours.' An again, 'Suffer us not at
+our last hour, for onny pains o' death, to fa' fro thee.' Oh Ruchot,
+dear! fo' the love theaw hadst fo' thy poor chilt, who is now delivert
+fro' the burthen o' th' flesh, an' dwellin' i' joy an felicity wi' God
+an his angels, dunna endanger thy precious sowl. Pray that theaw may'st
+depart hence i' th' Lord, wi' whom are the sowls of the faithful, an
+Meary's, ey trust, among the number. Pray that thy eend may be like
+hers."
+
+"Ey conna pray, Bess," replied the miller, striking his breast. "The
+Lord has turned his feace fro' me."
+
+"Becose thy heart is hardened, Ruchot," she replied. "Theaw 'rt
+nourishin' nowt boh black an wicked thowts. Cast em off ye, I adjure
+thee, an come whoam wi me."
+
+Meanwhile, the reeve had sprung across the grave.
+
+"Thy answer at once," he said, grasping the miller's arm, and breathing
+the words in his ears. "Vengeance is in thy power. A word, and it is
+thine."
+
+The miller groaned bitterly. He was sorely tempted.
+
+"What is that mon sayin' to thee, Ruchot?" inquired Bess.
+
+"Dunna ax, boh tak me away," he answered. "Ey am lost else."
+
+"Let him lay a finger on yo if he dare," said Bess, sturdily.
+
+"Leave him alone--yo dunna knoa who he is," whispered the miller.
+
+"Ey con partly guess," she rejoined; "boh ey care nother fo' mon nor
+dule when ey'm acting reetly. Come along wi' me, Ruchot."
+
+"Fool!" cried the reeve, in the same low tone as before; "you will lose
+your revenge, but you will not escape me."
+
+And he turned away, while Bess almost carried the trembling and
+enfeebled miller towards the hostel.
+
+Roger Nowell and his friends had only waited the conclusion of the
+funeral to set forth, and their horses being in readiness, they mounted
+them on leaving the churchyard, and rode slowly along the lane leading
+towards Rough Lee. The melancholy scene they had witnessed, and the
+afflicting circumstances connected with it, had painfully affected the
+party, and little conversation occurred until they were overtaken by
+Parson Holden, who, having been made acquainted with their errand by
+Nicholas, was desirous of accompanying them. Soon after this, also, the
+reeve of the forest joined them, and on seeing him, Richard sternly
+demanded why he had aided Mother Chattox in her night from the
+churchyard, and what had become of her.
+
+"You are entirely mistaken, sir," replied the reeve, with affected
+astonishment. "I have seen nothing whatever of the old hag, and would
+rather lend a hand to her capture than abet her flight. I hold all
+witches in abhorrence, and Mother Chattox especially so."
+
+"Your horse looks fresh enough, certainly," said Richard, somewhat
+shaken in his suspicions. "Where have you been during our stay at
+Goldshaw? You did not put up at the hostel?"
+
+"I went to Farmer Johnson's," replied the reeve, "and you will find upon
+inquiry that my horse has not been out of his stables for the last hour.
+I myself have been loitering about Bess's grange and farmyard, as your
+grooms will testify, for they have seen me."
+
+"Humph!" exclaimed Richard, "I suppose I must credit assertions made
+with such confidence, but I could have sworn I saw you ride off with the
+hag behind you."
+
+"I hope I shall never be caught in such bad company, sir," replied the
+reeve, with a laugh. "If I ride off with any one, it shall not be with
+an old witch, depend upon it."
+
+Though by no means satisfied with the explanation, Richard was forced to
+be content with it; but he thought he would address a few more questions
+to the reeve.
+
+"Have you any knowledge," he said, "when the boundaries of Pendle Forest
+were first settled and appointed?"
+
+"The first perambulation was made by Henry de Lacy, about the middle of
+the twelfth century," replied the reeve. "Pendle Forest, you may be
+aware, sir, is one of the four divisions of the great forest of
+Blackburnshire, of which the Lacys were lords, the three other divisions
+being Accrington, Trawden, and Rossendale, and it comprehends an extent
+of about twenty-five miles, part of which you have traversed to-day. At
+a later period, namely in 1311, after the death of another Henry de
+Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, the last of his line, and one of the bravest of
+Edward the First's barons, an inquisition was held in the forest, and it
+was subdivided into eleven vaccaries, one of which is the place to which
+you are bound, Rough Lee."
+
+"The learned Sir Edward Coke defines a vaccary to signify a dairy,"
+observed Potts.
+
+"Here it means the farm and land as well," replied the reeve; "and the
+word 'booth,' which is in general use in this district, signifies the
+mansion erected upon such vaccary: Mistress Nutter's residence, for
+instance, being nothing more than the booth of Rough Lee: while a
+'lawnd,' another local term, is a park inclosed within the forest for
+the preservation of the deer, and the convenience of the chase, and of
+such inclosures we have two, namely, the Old and New Lawnd. By a
+commission in the reign of Henry VII., these vaccaries, originally
+granted only to tenants at will, were converted into copyholds of
+inheritance, but--and here is a legal point for your consideration,
+Master Potts--as it seems very questionable whether titles obtained
+under letters-patent are secure, not unreasonable fears are entertained
+by the holders of the lands lest they should be seized, and appropriated
+by the crown."
+
+"Ah! ah! an excellent idea, Master Reeve," exclaimed Potts, his little
+eyes twinkling with pleasure. "Our gracious and sagacious monarch would
+grasp at the suggestion, ay, and grasp at the lands too--ha! ha! Many
+thanks for the hint, good reeve. I will not fail to profit by it. If
+their titles are uncertain, the landholders would be glad to compromise
+the matter with the crown, even to the value of half their estates
+rather than lose the whole."
+
+"Most assuredly they would," replied the reeve; "and furthermore, they
+would pay the lawyer well who could manage the matter adroitly for them.
+This would answer your purpose better than hunting up witches, Master
+Potts."
+
+"One pursuit does not interfere with the other in the slightest degree,
+worthy reeve," observed Potts. "I cannot consent to give up my quest of
+the witches. My honour is concerned in their extermination. But to turn
+to Pendle Forest--the greater part of it has been disafforested, I
+presume?"
+
+"It has," replied the other--"and we are now in one of the purlieus."
+
+"Pourallee is the better word, most excellent reeve," said Potts. "I
+tell you thus much, because you appear to be a man of learning. Manwood,
+our great authority in such matters, declares a pourallee to be 'a
+certain territory of ground adjoining unto the forest, mered and bounded
+with immovable marks, meres, and boundaries, known by matter of record
+only.' And as it applies to the perambulation we are about to make, I
+may as well repeat what the same learned writer further saith touching
+marks, meres, and boundaries, and how they may be known. 'For although,'
+he saith, 'a forest doth lie open, and not inclosed with hedge, ditch,
+pale, or stone-wall, which some other inclosures have; yet in the eye
+and consideration of the law, the same hath as strong an inclosure by
+those marks, meres, and boundaries, as if there were a brick wall to
+encircle the same.' Marks, learned reeve, are deemed unremovable--
+_primo, quia omnes metæ forestæ sunt integræ domino regi_--and those
+who take them away are punishable for the trespass at the assizes of
+the forest. _Secundo_, because the marks are things that cannot be
+stirred, as rivers, highways, hills, and the like. Now, such
+unremoveable marks, meres, and boundaries we have between the estate of
+my excellent client, Master Roger Nowell, and that of Mistress Nutter,
+so that the matter at issue will be easily decided."
+
+A singular smile crossed the reeve's countenance, but he made no
+observation.
+
+"Unless the lady can turn aside streams, remove hills, and pluck up huge
+trees, we shall win," pursued Potts, with a chuckle.
+
+Again the reeve smiled, but he forebore to speak.
+
+"You talk of marks, meres, and boundaries, Master Potts," remarked
+Richard. "Are not the words synonymous?"
+
+"Not precisely so, sir," replied the attorney; "there is a slight
+difference in their signification, which I will explain to you. The
+words of the statute are '_metas, meras, et bundas_,'--now _meta_, or
+mark, is an object rising from the ground, as a church, a wall, or a
+tree; _mera_, or mere, is the space or interval between the forest and
+the land adjoining, whereupon the mark may chance to stand; and _bunda_
+is the boundary, lying on a level with the forest, as a river, a
+highway, a pool, or a bog."
+
+"I comprehend the distinction," replied Richard. "And now, as we are on
+this subject," he added to the reeve, "I would gladly know the precise
+nature of your office?"
+
+"My duty," replied the other, "is to range daily throughout all the
+purlieus, or pourallees, as Master Potts more properly terms them, and
+disafforested lands, and inquire into all trespasses and offences
+against vert or venison, and present them at the king's next court of
+attachment or swainmote. It is also my business to drive into the forest
+such wild beasts as have strayed from it; to attend to the lawing and
+expeditation of mastiffs; and to raise hue and cry against any
+malefactors or trespassers within the forest."
+
+"I will give you the exact words of the statute," said Potts--'_Si quis
+viderit malefactores infra metas forestæ, debet illos capere secundum
+posse suum, et si non possit; debet levare hutesium et clamorem_.' And
+the penalty for refusing to follow hue and cry is heavy fine."
+
+"I would that that part of your duty relating to the hock-sinewing, and
+lawing of mastiffs, could be discontinued," said Richard. "I grieve to
+see a noble animal so mutilated."
+
+"In Bowland Forest, as you are probably aware, sir," rejoined the reeve,
+"only the larger mastiffs are lamed, a small stirrup or gauge being kept
+by the master forester, Squire Robert Parker of Browsholme, and the dog
+whose foot will pass through it escapes mutilation."
+
+"The practice is a cruel one, and I would it were abolished with some of
+our other barbarous forest laws," observed Richard.
+
+While this conversation had been going on, the party had proceeded well
+on their way. For some time the road, which consisted of little more
+than tracts of wheels along the turf, led along a plain, thrown up into
+heathy hillocks, and then passing through a thicket, evidently part of
+the old forest, it brought them to the foot of a hill, which they
+mounted, and descended into another valley. Here they came upon Pendle
+Water, and while skirting its banks, could see at a great depth below,
+the river rushing over its rocky bed like an Alpine torrent. The scenery
+had now begun to assume a savage and sombre character. The deep rift
+through which the river ran was evidently the result of some terrible
+convulsion of the earth, and the rocky strata were strangely and
+fantastically displayed. On the further side the banks rose up
+precipitously, consisting for the most part of bare cliffs, though now
+and then a tree would root itself in some crevice. Below this the stream
+sank over a wide shelf of rock, in a broad full cascade, and boiled and
+foamed in the stony basin that received it, after which, grown less
+impetuous, it ran tranquilly on for a couple of hundred yards, and was
+then artificially restrained by a dam, which, diverting it in part from
+its course, caused it to turn the wheels of a mill. Here was the abode
+of the unfortunate Richard Baldwyn, and here had blossomed forth the
+fair flower so untimely gathered. An air of gloom hung over this once
+cheerful spot: its very beauty contributing to this saddening effect.
+The mill-race flowed swiftly and brightly on; but the wheel was
+stopped, windows and doors were closed, and death kept his grim holiday
+undisturbed. No one was to be seen about the premises, nor was any sound
+heard except the bark of the lonely watch-dog. Many a sorrowing glance
+was cast at this forlorn habitation as the party rode past it, and many
+a sigh was heaved for the poor girl who had so lately been its pride and
+ornament; but if any one had noticed the bitter sneer curling the
+reeve's lip, or caught the malignant fire gleaming in his eye, it would
+scarcely have been thought that he shared in the general regret.
+
+After the cavalcade had passed the mill, one or two other cottages
+appeared on the near side of the river, while the opposite banks began
+to be clothed with timber. The glen became more and more contracted, and
+a stone bridge crossed the stream, near which, and on the same side of
+the river as the party, stood a cluster of cottages constituting the
+little village of Rough Lee.
+
+On reaching the bridge, Mistress Nutter's habitation came in view, and
+it was pointed out by Nicholas to Potts, who contemplated it with much
+curiosity. In his eyes it seemed exactly adapted to its owner, and
+formed to hide dark and guilty deeds. It was a stern, sombre-looking
+mansion, built of a dark grey stone, with tall square chimneys, and
+windows with heavy mullions. High stone walls, hoary and moss-grown, ran
+round the gardens and courts, except on the side of the river, where
+there was a terrace overlooking the stream, and forming a pleasant
+summer's walk. At the back of the house were a few ancient oaks and
+sycamores, and in the gardens were some old clipped yews.
+
+Part of this ancient mansion is still standing, and retains much of its
+original character, though subdivided and tenanted by several humble
+families. The garden is cut up into paddocks, and the approach environed
+by a labyrinth of low stone walls, while miserable sheds and other
+buildings are appended to it; the terrace is wholly obliterated; and the
+grange and offices are pulled down, but sufficient is still left of the
+place to give an idea of its pristine appearance and character. Its
+situation is striking and peculiar. In front rises a high hill, forming
+the last link of the chain of Pendle, and looking upon Barrowford and
+Colne, on the further side of which, and therefore not discernible from
+the mansion, stood Malkin Tower. At the period in question the lower
+part of this hill was well wooded, and washed by the Pendle Water, which
+swept past it through banks picturesque and beautiful, though not so
+bold and rocky as those in the neighbourhood of the mill. In the rear of
+the house the ground gradually rose for more than a quarter of a mile,
+when it obtained a considerable elevation, following the course of the
+stream, and looking down the gorge, another hill appeared, so that the
+house was completely shut in by mountainous acclivities. In winter,
+when the snow lay on the heights, or when the mists hung upon them for
+weeks together, or descended in continuous rain, Rough Lee was
+sufficiently desolate, and seemed cut off from all communication with
+the outer world; but at the season when the party beheld it, though the
+approaches were rugged and difficult, and almost inaccessible except to
+the horseman or pedestrian, bidding defiance to any vehicle except of
+the strongest construction, still the place was not without a certain
+charm, mainly, however, derived from its seclusion. The scenery was
+stern and sombre, the hills were dark and dreary; but the very wildness
+of the place was attractive, and the old house, with its grey walls, its
+lofty chimneys, its gardens with their clipped yews, and its
+rook-haunted trees, harmonised well with all around it.
+
+As the party drew near the house, the gates were thrown open by an old
+porter with two other servants, who besought them to stay and partake of
+some refreshment; but Roger Nowell haughtily and peremptorily declined
+the invitation, and rode on, and the others, though some of them would
+fain have complied, followed him.
+
+Scarcely were they gone, than James Device, who had been in the garden,
+issued from the gate and speeded after them.
+
+Passing through a close at the back of the mansion, and tracking a short
+narrow lane, edged by stone walls, the party, which had received some
+accessions from the cottages of Rough Lee, as well as from the huts on
+the hill-side, again approached the river, and proceeded along its
+banks.
+
+The new-comers, being all of them tenants of Mrs. Nutter, and acting
+apparently under the directions of James Device, who had now joined the
+troop, stoutly and loudly maintained that the lady would be found right
+in the inquiry, with the exception of one old man named Henry Mitton;
+and he shook his head gravely when appealed to by Jem, and could by no
+efforts be induced to join him in the clamour.
+
+Notwithstanding this demonstration, Roger Nowell and his legal adviser
+were both very sanguine as to the result of the survey being in their
+favour, and Master Potts turned to ascertain from Sparshot that the two
+plans, which had been rolled up and consigned to his custody, were quite
+safe.
+
+Meanwhile, the party having followed the course of Pendle Water through
+the glen for about half a mile, during which they kept close to the
+brawling current, entered a little thicket, and then striking off on the
+left, passed over the foot of a hill, and came to the edge of a wide
+moor, where a halt was called by Nowell.
+
+It being now announced that they were on the confines of the disputed
+property, preparations were immediately made for the survey; the plans
+were taken out of a quiver, in which they had been carefully deposited
+by Sparshot, and handed to Potts, who, giving one to Roger Nowell and
+the other to Nicholas, and opening his memorandum-book, declared that
+all was ready, and the two leaders rode slowly forward, while the rest
+of the troop followed, their curiosity being stimulated to the highest
+pitch.
+
+Presently Roger Nowell again stopped, and pointed to a woody brake.
+
+"We are now come," he said, "to a wood forming part of my property, and
+which from an eruption, caused by a spring, that took place in it many
+years ago, is called Burst Clough."
+
+"Exactly, sir--exactly," cried Potts; "Burst Clough--I have it
+here--landmarks, five grey stones, lying apart at a distance of one
+hundred yards or thereabouts, and giving you, sir, twenty acres of moor
+land. Is it not so, Master Nicholas? The marks are such as I have
+described, eh?"
+
+"They are, sir," replied the squire; "with this slight difference in the
+allotment of the land--namely, that Mistress Nutter claims the twenty
+acres, while she assigns you only ten."
+
+"Ten devils!" cried Roger Nowell, furiously. "Twenty acres are mine, and
+I will have them."
+
+"To the proof, then," rejoined Nicholas. "The first of the grey stones
+is here."
+
+"And the second on the left, in that hollow," said Roger Nowell. "Come
+on, my masters, come on."
+
+"Ay, come on!" cried Nicholas; "this perambulation will be rare sport.
+Who wins, for a piece of gold, cousin Richard?"
+
+"Nay, I will place no wager on the event," replied the young man.
+
+"Well, as you please," cried the squire; "but I would lay five to one
+that Mistress Nutter beats the magistrate."
+
+Meanwhile, the whole troop having set forward, they soon arrived at the
+second stone. Grey and moss-grown, it was deeply imbedded in the soil,
+and to all appearance had rested undisturbed for many a year.
+
+"You measure from the clough, I presume, sir?" remarked Potts to Nowell.
+
+"To be sure," replied the magistrate; "but how is this?--This stone
+seems to me much nearer the clough than it used to be."
+
+"Yeigh, so it dun, mester," observed old Mitton.
+
+"It does not appear to have been disturbed, at all events," said
+Nicholas, dismounting and examining it.
+
+"It would seem not," said Nowell--"and yet it certainly is not in its
+old place."
+
+"Yo are mistaen, mester," observed Jem Device; "ey knoa th' lond weel,
+an this stoan has stood where it does fo' t' last twenty year. Ha'n't
+it, neeburs?"
+
+"Yeigh--yeigh," responded several voices.
+
+"Well, let us go on to the next stone," said Potts, looking rather
+blank.
+
+Accordingly they went forward, the hinds exchanging significant looks,
+and Roger Nowell and Nicholas carefully examining their respective maps.
+
+"These landmarks exactly tally with my plan," said the squire, as they
+arrived at the third stone.
+
+"But not with mine," said Nowell; "this stone ought to be two hundred
+yards to the right. Some trickery has been practised."
+
+"Impossible!" exclaimed the squire; "these ponderous masses could never
+have been moved. Besides, there are several persons here who know every
+inch of the ground, and will give you their unbiassed testimony. What
+say you, my men? Are these the old boundary stones?"
+
+All answered in the affirmative except old Mitton, who still raised a
+dissenting voice.
+
+"They be th' owd boundary marks, sure enough," he said; "boh they are
+neaw i' their owd places."
+
+"It is quite clear that the twenty acres belong to Mistress Nutter,"
+observed Nicholas, "and that you must content yourself with ten, Master
+Nowell. Make an entry to that effect, Master Potts, unless you will have
+the ground measured."
+
+"No, it is needless," replied the magistrate, sharply; "let us go on."
+
+During this survey, some of the features of the country appeared changed
+to the rustics, but how or in what way they could not precisely tell,
+and they were easily induced by James Device to give their testimony in
+Mistress Nutter's favour.
+
+A small rivulet was now reached, and another halt being called upon its
+sedgy banks, the plans were again consulted.
+
+"What have we here, Master Potts--marks or boundaries?" inquired
+Richard, with a smile.
+
+"Both," replied Potts, angrily. "This rivulet, which I take to be Moss
+Brook, is a boundary, and that sheepfold and the two posts standing in a
+line with it are marks. But hold! how is this?" he cried, regarding the
+plan in dismay; "the five acres of waste land should be on the left of
+the brook."
+
+"It would doubtless suit Master Nowell better if it were so," said
+Nicholas; "but as they chance to be on the right, they belong to
+Mistress Nutter. I merely speak from the plan."
+
+"Your plan is naught, sir," cried Nowell, furiously, "By what foul
+practice these changes have been wrought I pretend not to say, though I
+can give a good guess; but the audacious witch who has thus deluded me
+shall bitterly rue it."
+
+"Hold, hold, Master Nowell!" rejoined Nicholas; "I can make great
+allowance for your anger, which is natural considering your
+disappointment, but I will not permit such unwarrantable insinuations to
+be thrown out against Mistress Nutter. You agreed to abide by Sir Ralph
+Assheton's award, and you must not complain if it be made against you.
+Do you imagine that this stream can have changed its course in a single
+night; or that yon sheepfold has been removed to the further side of
+it?"
+
+"I do," replied Nowell.
+
+"And so do I," cried Potts; "it has been accomplished by the aid of--"
+
+But feeling himself checked by a glance from the reeve, he stammered
+out, "of--of Mother Demdike."
+
+"You declared just now that marks, meres, and boundaries, were
+unremovable, Master Potts," said the reeve, with a sneer; "you have
+altered your opinion."
+
+The crestfallen attorney was dumb.
+
+"Master Roger Nowell must find some better plea than the imputation of
+witchcraft to set aside Mistress Nutter's claim," observed Richard.
+
+"Yeigh, that he mun," cried James Device, and the hinds who supported
+him.
+
+The magistrate bit his lips with vexation.
+
+"There is witchcraft in it, I repeat," he said.
+
+"Yeigh, that there be," responded old Mitton.
+
+But the words were scarcely uttered, when he was felled to the ground by
+the bludgeon of James Device.
+
+"Ey'd sarve thee i' t' same way, fo' two pins," said Jem, regarding
+Potts with a savage look.
+
+"No violence, Jem," cried Nicholas, authoritatively--"you do harm to the
+cause you would serve by your outrageous conduct."
+
+"Beg pardon, squoire," replied Jem, "boh ey winna hear lies towd abowt
+Mistress Nutter."
+
+"No one shan speak ill on her here," cried the hinds.
+
+"Well, Master Nowell," said Nicholas, "are you willing to concede the
+matter at once, or will you pursue the investigation further?"
+
+"I will ascertain the extent of the mischief done to me before I stop,"
+rejoined the magistrate, angrily.
+
+"Forward, then," cried Nicholas. "Our course now lies along this
+footpath, with a croft on the left, and an old barn on the right. Here
+the plans correspond, I believe, Master Potts?"
+
+The attorney yielded a reluctant assent.
+
+"There is next a small spring and trough on the right, and we then come
+to a limestone quarry--then by a plantation called Cat Gallows Wood--so
+named, because some troublesome mouser has been hanged there, I suppose,
+and next by a deep moss-pit, called Swallow Hole. All right, eh, Master
+Potts? We shall now enter upon Worston Moor, and come to the hut
+occupied by Jem Device, who can, it is presumed, speak positively as to
+its situation."
+
+"Very true," cried Potts, as if struck by an idea. "Let the rascal step
+forward. I wish to put a few questions to him respecting his tenement.
+I think I shall catch him now," he added in a low tone to Nowell.
+
+"Here ey be," cried Jem, stepping up with an insolent and defying look.
+"Whot d'ye want wi' me?"
+
+"First of all I would caution you to speak the truth," commenced Potts,
+impressively, "as I shall take down your answers in my memorandum book,
+and they will be produced against you hereafter."
+
+"If he utters a falsehood I will commit him," said Roger Nowell,
+sharply.
+
+"Speak ceevily, an ey win gi' yo a ceevil answer," rejoined Jem, in a
+surly tone; "boh ey'm nah to be browbeaten."
+
+"First, then, is your hut in sight?" asked Potts.
+
+"Neaw," replied Jem.
+
+"But you can point out its situation, I suppose?" pursued the attorney.
+
+"Sartinly ey con," replied Jem, without heeding a significant glance
+cast at him by the reeve. "It stonds behind yon kloof, ot soide o' t'
+moor, wi' a rindle in front."
+
+"Now mind what you say, sirrah," cried Potts. "You are quite sure the
+hut is behind the clough; and the rindle, which, being interpreted from
+your base vernacular, I believe means a gutter, in front of it?"
+
+The reeve coughed slightly, but failed to attract Jem's attention, who
+replied quickly, that he was quite sure of the circumstances.
+
+"Very well," said Potts--"you have all heard the answer. He is quite
+sure as to what he states. Now, then, I suppose you can tell whether the
+hut looks to the north or the south; whether the door opens to the moor
+or to the clough; and whether there is a path leading from it to a spot
+called Hook Cliff?"
+
+At this moment Jem caught the eye of the reeve, and the look given him
+by the latter completely puzzled him.
+
+"Ey dunna reetly recollect which way it looks," he answered.
+
+"What! you prevaricating rascal, do you pretend to say that you do not
+know which way your own dwelling stands," thundered Roger Nowell. "Speak
+out, sirrah, or Sparshot shall take you into custody at once."
+
+"Ey'm ready, your worship," replied the beadle.
+
+"Weel, then," said Jem, imperfectly comprehending the signs made to him
+by the reeve, "the hut looks nather to t' south naw to t' north, but to
+t' west; it feaces t' moor; an there is a path fro' it to Hook Cliff."
+
+As he finished speaking, he saw from the reeve's angry gestures that he
+had made a mistake, but it was now too late to recall his words.
+However, he determined to make an effort.
+
+"Now ey bethink me, ey'm naw sure that ey'm reet," he said.
+
+"You must be sure, sirrah," said Roger Nowell, bending his awful brows
+upon him. "You cannot be mistaken as to your own dwelling. Take down his
+description, Master Potts, and proceed with your interrogatories if you
+have any more to put to him."
+
+"I wish to ask him whether he has been at home to-day," said Potts.
+
+"Answer, fellow," thundered the magistrate.
+
+Before replying, Jem would fain have consulted the reeve, but the latter
+had turned away in displeasure. Not knowing whether a lie would serve
+his turn, and fearing he might be contradicted by some of the
+bystanders, he said he had not been at home for two days, but had
+returned the night before at a late hour from Whalley, and had slept at
+Rough Lee.
+
+"Then you cannot tell what changes may have taken place in your dwelling
+during your absence?" said Potts.
+
+"Of course not," replied Jem, "boh ey dunna see how ony chawnges con ha'
+happent i' so short a time."
+
+"But I do, if you do not, sirrah," said Potts. "Be pleased to give me
+your plan, Master Newell. I have a further question to ask him," he
+added, after consulting it for a moment.
+
+"Ey win awnser nowt more," replied Jem, gruffly.
+
+"You will answer whatever questions Master Potts may put to you, or you
+are taken into custody," said the magistrate, sternly.
+
+Jem would have willingly beaten a retreat; but being surrounded by the
+two grooms and Sparshot, who only waited a sign from Nowell to secure
+him, or knock him down if he attempted to fly, he gave a surly
+intimation that he was ready to speak.
+
+"You are aware that a dyke intersects the heath before us, namely,
+Worston Moor?" said Potts.
+
+Jem nodded his head.
+
+"I must request particular attention to your plan as I proceed, Master
+Nicholas," pursued the attorney. "I now wish to be informed by you,
+James Device, whether that dyke cuts through the middle of the moor, or
+traverses the side; and if so, which side? I desire also to be informed
+where it commences, and where, it ends?"
+
+Jem scratched his head, and reflected a moment.
+
+"The matter does not require consideration, sirrah," cried Nowell. "I
+must have an instant answer."
+
+"So yo shan," replied Jem; "weel, then, th' dyke begins near a little
+mound ca'd Turn Heaod, about a hundert yards fro' my dwellin', an runs
+across th' easterly soide o't moor till it reaches Knowl Bottom."
+
+"You will swear this?" cried Potts, scarcely able to conceal his
+satisfaction.
+
+"Swere it! eigh," replied Jem.
+
+"Eigh, we'n aw swere it," chorused the hinds.
+
+"I'm delighted to hear it," cried Potts, radiant with delight, "for
+your description corresponds exactly with Master Nowell's plan, and
+differs materially from that of Mistress Nutter, as Squire Nicholas
+Assheton will tell you."
+
+"I cannot deny it," replied Nicholas, in some confusion.
+
+"Ey should ha' said 'westerly' i' stead o' 'yeasterly,'" cried Jem, "boh
+yo puzzle a mon so wi' your lawyerly questins, that he dusna knoa his
+reet hond fro' his laft."
+
+"Yeigh, yeigh, we aw meant to say 'yeasterly,'" added the hinds.
+
+"You have sworn the contrary," cried Nowell. "Secure him," he added to
+the grooms and Sparshot, "and do not let him go till we have completed
+the survey. We will now see how far the reality corresponds with the
+description, and what further devilish tricks have been played with the
+property."
+
+Upon this the troop was again put in motion, James Device walking
+between the two grooms, with Sparshot behind him.
+
+So wonderfully elated was Master Potts by the successful hit he had just
+made, and which, in his opinion, quite counterbalanced his previous
+failure, that he could not help communicating his satisfaction to Flint,
+and this in such manner, that the fiery little animal, who had been for
+some time exceedingly tractable and good-natured, took umbrage at it,
+and threatened to dislodge him if he did not desist from his
+vagaries--delivering the hint so clearly and unmistakeably that it was
+not lost upon his rider, who endeavoured to calm him down. In proportion
+as the attorney's spirits rose, those of James Device and his followers
+sank, for they felt they were caught in a snare, from which they could
+not easily escape.
+
+By this time they had reached the borders of Worston Moor, which had
+been hitherto concealed by a piece of rising ground, covered with gorse
+and brushwood, and Jem's hut, together with the clough, the rindle, and
+the dyke, came distinctly into view. The plans were again produced, and,
+on comparing them, it appeared that the various landmarks were precisely
+situated as laid down by Mistress Nutter, while their disposition was
+entirely at variance with James Device's statement.
+
+Master Potts then rose in his stirrups, and calling for silence,
+addressed the assemblage.
+
+"There stands the hut," he said, "and instead of being behind the
+clough, it is on one side of it, while the door certainly does _not_
+face the moor, neither is the rindle in front of the dwelling or near
+it; while the dyke, which is the main and important boundary line
+between the properties, runs above two hundred yards further west than
+formerly. Now, observe the original position of these marks, meres, and
+boundaries--that is, of this hut, this clough, this rindle, and this
+dyke--exactly corresponds with the description given of them by the man
+Device, who dwells in the place, and who is, therefore, a person most
+likely to be accurately acquainted with the country; and yet, though he
+has only been absent two days, changes the most surprising have taken
+place--changes so surprising, indeed, that he scarcely knows the way to
+his own house, and certainly never could find the path which he has
+described as leading to Hook Cliff, since it is entirely obliterated.
+Observe, further, all these extraordinary and incomprehensible changes
+in the appearance of the country, and in the situation of the marks,
+meres, and boundaries, are favourable to Mistress Nutter, and give her
+the advantage she seeks over my honoured and honourable client. They are
+set down in Mistress Nutter's plan, it is true; but when, let me ask,
+was that plan prepared? In my opinion it was prepared first, and the
+changes in the land made after it by diabolical fraud and contrivance. I
+am sorry to have to declare this to you, Master Nicholas, and to you,
+Master Richard, but such is my firm conviction."
+
+"And mine, also," added Nowell; "and I here charge Mistress Nutter with
+sorcery and witchcraft, and on my return I will immediately issue a
+warrant for her arrest. Sparshot, I command you to attach the person of
+James Device, for aiding and abetting her in her foul practices."
+
+"I will help you to take charge of him," said the reeve, riding forward.
+
+Probably this was done to give Jem a chance of escape, and if so, it was
+successful, for as the reeve pushed among his captors, and thrust
+Sparshot aside, the ruffian broke from them; and running with great
+swiftness across the moor, plunged into the clough, and disappeared.
+
+Nicholas and Richard instantly gave chase, as did Master Potts, but the
+fugitive led them over the treacherous bog in such a manner as to baffle
+all pursuit. A second disaster here overtook the unlucky attorney, and
+damped him in his hour of triumph. Flint, who had apparently not
+forgotten or forgiven the joyous kicks he had recently received from the
+attorney's heels, came to a sudden halt by the side of the quagmire,
+and, putting down his head, and flinging up his legs, cast him into it.
+While Potts was scrambling out, the animal galloped off in the direction
+of the clough, and had just reached it when he was seized upon by James
+Device, who suddenly started from the covert, and vaulted upon his back.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.--ROUGH LEE.
+
+
+On returning from their unsuccessful pursuit of James Device, the two
+Asshetons found Roger Nowell haranguing the hinds, who, on the flight of
+their leader, would have taken to their heels likewise, if they had not
+been detained, partly by the energetic efforts of Sparshot and the
+grooms, and partly by the exhortations and menaces of the magistrate and
+Holden. As it was, two or three contrived to get away, and fled across
+the moor, whither the reeve pretended to pursue them; while those left
+behind were taken sharply to task by Roger Nowell.
+
+"Listen to me," he cried, "and take good heed to what I say, for it
+concerns you nearly. Strange and dreadful things have come under my
+observation on my way hither. I have seen a whole village stricken as by
+a plague--a poor pedlar deprived of the use of his limbs and put in
+peril of his life--and a young maiden, once the pride and ornament of
+your own village, snatched from a fond father's care, and borne to an
+untimely grave. These things I have seen with my own eyes; and I am
+resolved that the perpetrators of these enormities, Mothers Demdike and
+Chattox, shall be brought to justice. As to you, the deluded victims of
+the impious hags, I can easily understand why you shut your eyes to
+their evil doings. Terrified by their threats you submit to their
+exactions, and so become their slaves--slaves of the bond-slaves of
+Satan. What miserable servitude is this! By so doing you not only
+endanger the welfare of your souls, by leaguing with the enemies of
+Heaven, and render yourselves unworthy to be classed with a religious
+and Christian people, but you place your lives in jeopardy by becoming
+accessories to the crimes of those great offenders, and render
+yourselves liable to like punishment with them. Seeing, then, the
+imminency of the peril in which you stand, you will do well to avoid it
+while there is yet time. Nor is this your only risk. Your servitude to
+Mistress Nutter is equally perilous. What if she be owner of the land
+you till, and the flocks you tend! You owe her no fealty. She has
+forfeited all title to your service--and, so far from aiding her, you
+ought to regard her as a great criminal, whom you are bound to bring to
+justice. I have now incontestable proofs of her dealing in the black
+art, and can show that by witchcraft she has altered the face of this
+country, with the intent to rob me of my land."
+
+Holden now took up the theme. "The finger of Heaven is pointed against
+such robbery," he cried. "'Cursed is he,' saith the scripture, 'that
+removeth his neighbour's landmark.' And again, it is written, 'Cursed is
+he that smiteth his neighbour secretly.' Both these things hath Mistress
+Nutter done, and for both shall she incur divine vengeance."
+
+"Neither shall she escape that of man," added Nowell, severely; "for our
+sovereign lord hath enacted that all persons employing or rewarding any
+evil spirit, shall be held guilty of felony, and shall suffer death. And
+death will be her portion, for such demoniacal agency most assuredly
+hath she employed."
+
+The magistrate here paused for a moment to regard his audience, and
+reading in their terrified looks that his address had produced the
+desired impression, he continued with increased severity--
+
+"These wicked women shall trouble the land no longer. They shall be
+arrested and brought to judgment; and if you do not heartily bestir
+yourselves in their capture, and undertake to appear in evidence against
+them, you shall be held and dealt with as accessories in their crimes."
+
+Upon this, the hinds, who were greatly alarmed, declared with one accord
+their willingness to act as the magistrate should direct.
+
+"You do wisely," cried Potts, who by this time had made his way back to
+the assemblage, covered from head to foot with ooze, as on his former
+misadventure. "Mistress Nutter and the two old hags who hold you in
+thrall would lead you to destruction. For understand it is the firm
+determination of my respected client, Master Roger Nowell, as well as of
+myself, not to relax in our exertions till the whole of these pestilent
+witches who trouble the country be swept away, and to spare none who
+assist and uphold them."
+
+The hinds stared aghast, for so grim was the appearance of the attorney,
+that they almost thought Hobthurst, the lubber-fiend, was addressing
+them.
+
+At this moment old Henry Mitton came up. He had partially recovered from
+the stunning effects of the blow dealt him by James Device, but his head
+was cut open, and his white locks were dabbled in blood. Pushing his way
+through the assemblage, he stood before the magistrate.
+
+"If yo want a witness agen that foul murtheress and witch, Alice Nutter,
+ca' me, Master Roger Nowell," he said. "Ey con tay my Bible oath that
+the whole feace o' this keawntry has been chaunged sin yester neet, by
+her hondywark. Ca' me also to speak to her former life--to her intimacy
+wi' Mother Demdike an owd Chattox. Ca' me to prove her constant
+attendance at devils' sabbaths on Pendle Hill, and elsewhere, wi' other
+black and damning offences--an among 'em the murder, by witchcraft, o'
+her husband, Ruchot Nutter."
+
+A thrill of horror pervaded the assemblage at this denunciation; and
+Master Potts, who was being cleansed from his sable stains by one of the
+grooms, cried out--
+
+"This is the very man for us, my excellent client. Your name and abode,
+friend?"
+
+"Harry Mitton o' Rough Lee," replied the old man. "Ey ha' dwelt there
+seventy year an uppards, an ha' known the feyther and granfeyther o'
+Ruchot Nutter, an also Alice Nutter, when hoo war Alice Assheton. Ca'
+me, sir, an aw' ye want to knoa ye shan larn."
+
+"We will call you, my good friend," said Potts; "and, if you have
+sustained any private wrongs from Mistress Nutter, they shall be amply
+redressed."
+
+"Ey ha' endured much ot her honts," rejoined Mitton; "boh ey dunna speak
+o' mysel'. It be high time that Owd Scrat should ha' his claws clipt, an
+honest folk be allowed to live in peace."
+
+"Very true, my worthy friend--very true," assented Potts.
+
+An immediate return to Whalley was now proposed by Nowell; but Master
+Potts was of opinion that, as they were in the neighbourhood of Malkin
+Tower, they should proceed thither at once, and effect the arrest of
+Mother Demdike, after which Mother Chattox could be sought out and
+secured. The presence of these two witches would be most important, he
+declared, in the examination of Mistress Nutter. Hue and cry for the
+fugitive, James Device, ought also to be made throughout the forest.
+
+Confounded by what they heard, Richard and Nicholas had hitherto taken
+no part in the proceedings, but they now seconded Master Potts's
+proposition, hoping that the time occupied by the visit to Malkin Tower
+would prove serviceable to Mistress Nutter; for they did not doubt that
+intelligence would be conveyed to her by some of her agents, of Nowell's
+intention to arrest her.
+
+Additional encouragement was given to the plan by the arrival of Richard
+Baldwyn, who, at this juncture, rode furiously up to the party.
+
+"Weel, han yo settled your business here, Mester Nowell?" he asked, in
+breathless anxiety.
+
+"We have so far settled it, that we have established proofs of
+witchcraft against Mistress Nutter," replied Nowell. "Can you speak to
+her character, Baldwyn?"
+
+"Yeigh, that ey con," rejoined the miller, "an nowt good. Ey wish to see
+aw these mischeevous witches burnt; an that's why ey ha' ridden efter
+yo, Mester Nowell. Ey want your help os a magistrate agen Mother
+Demdike. Yo ha a constable wi' ye, and so can arrest her at wonst."
+
+"You have come most opportunely, Baldwyn," observed Potts. "We were just
+considering whether we should go to Malkin Tower."
+
+"Then decide upon 't," rejoined the miller, "or th' owd hag win escape
+ye. Tak her unaweares."
+
+"I don't know that we shall take her unawares, Baldwyn," said Potts;
+"but I am decidedly of opinion that we should go thither without delay.
+Is Malkin Tower far off?"
+
+"About a mile fro' Rough Lee," replied the miller. "Go back wi' me to t'
+mill, where yo con refresh yourselves, an ey'n get together some dozen
+o' my friends, an then we'n aw go up to t' Tower together."
+
+"A very good suggestion," said Potts; "and no doubt Master Nowell will
+accede to it."
+
+"We have force enough already, it appears to me," observed Nowell.
+
+"I should think so," replied Richard. "Some dozen men, armed, against a
+poor defenceless old woman, are surely enough."
+
+"Owd, boh neaw defenceless, Mester Ruchot," rejoined Baldwyn. "Yo canna
+go i' too great force on an expedition like this. Malkin Tower is a
+varry strong place, os yo'n find."
+
+"Well," said Nowell, "since we are here, I agree with Master Potts, that
+it would be better to secure these two offenders, and convey them to
+Whalley, where their examination can be taken at the same time with that
+of Mistress Nutter. We therefore accept your offer of refreshment,
+Baldwyn, as some of our party may stand in need of it, and will at once
+proceed to the mill."
+
+"Well resolved, sir," said Potts.
+
+"We'n tae th' owd witch, dead or alive," cried Baldwyn.
+
+"Alive--we must have her alive, good Baldwyn," said Potts. "You must see
+her perish at the stake."
+
+"Reet, mon," cried the miller, his eyes blazing with fury; "that's true
+vengeance. Ey'n ride whoam an get aw ready fo ye. Yo knoa t' road."
+
+So saying, he struck spurs into his horse and galloped off. Scarcely was
+he gone than the reeve, who had kept out of his sight, came forward.
+
+"Since you have resolved upon going to Malkin Tower," he said to Nowell,
+"and have a sufficiently numerous party for the purpose, my further
+attendance can be dispensed with. I will ride in search of James
+Device."
+
+"Do so," replied the magistrate, "and let hue and cry be made after
+him."
+
+"It shall be," replied the reeve, "and, if taken, he shall be conveyed
+to Whalley."
+
+And he made towards the clough, as if with the intention of putting his
+words into execution.
+
+Word was now given to set forward, and Master Potts having been
+accommodated with a horse by one of the grooms, who proceeded on foot,
+the party began to retrace their course to the mill.
+
+They were soon again by the side of Pendle Water, and erelong reached
+Rough Lee. As they rode through the close at the back of the mansion,
+Roger Nowell halted for a moment, and observed with a grim smile to
+Richard--
+
+"Never more shall Mistress Nutter enter that house. Within a week she
+shall be lodged in Lancaster Castle, as a felon of the darkest dye, and
+she shall meet a felon's fate. And not only shall she be sent thither,
+but all her partners in guilt--Mother Demdike and her accursed brood,
+the Devices; old Chattox and her grand-daughter, Nance Redferne: not one
+shall escape."
+
+"You do not include Alizon Device in your list?" cried Richard.
+
+"I include all--I will spare none," rejoined Nowell, sternly.
+
+"Then I will move no further with you," said Richard.
+
+"How!" cried Newell, "are you an upholder of these witches? Beware what
+you do, young man. Beware how you take part with them. You will bring
+suspicion upon yourself, and get entangled in a net from which you will
+not easily escape."
+
+"I care not what may happen to me," rejoined Richard; "I will never lend
+myself to gross injustice--such as you are about to practise. Since you
+announce your intention of including the innocent with the guilty, of
+exterminating a whole family for the crimes of one or two of its
+members, I have done. You have made dark accusations against Mistress
+Nutter, but you have proved nothing. You assert that, by witchcraft, she
+has changed the features of your land, but in what way can you make good
+the charge? Old Mitton has, indeed, volunteered himself as a witness
+against her, and has accused her of most heinous offences; but he has at
+the same time shown that he is her enemy, and his testimony will be
+regarded with doubt. I will not believe her guilty on mere suspicion,
+and I deny that you have aught more to proceed upon."
+
+"I shall not argue the point with you now, sir," replied Nowell;
+angrily. "Mistress Nutter will be fairly tried, and if I fail in my
+proofs against her, she will be acquitted. But I have little fear of
+such a result," he added, with a sinister smile.
+
+"You are confident, sir, because you know there would be every
+disposition to find her guilty," replied Richard. "She will not be
+fairly tried. All the prejudices of ignorance and superstition,
+heightened by the published opinions of the King, will be arrayed
+against her. Were she as free from crime, or thought of crime, as the
+new-born babe, once charged with the horrible and inexplicable offence
+of witchcraft, she would scarce escape. You go determined to destroy
+her."
+
+"I will not deny it," said Roger Newell, "and I am satisfied that I
+shall render good service to society by freeing it from so vile a
+member. So abhorrent is the crime of witchcraft, that were my own son
+suspected, I would be the first to deliver him to justice. Like a
+noxious and poisonous plant, the offence has taken deep root in this
+country, and is spreading its baneful influence around, so that, if it
+be not extirpated, it may spring up anew, and cause incalculable
+mischief. But it shall now be effectually checked. Of the families I
+have mentioned, not one shall escape; and if Mistress Nutter herself had
+a daughter, she should be brought to judgment. In such cases, children
+must suffer for the sins of the parents."
+
+"You have no regard, then, for their innocence?" said Richard, who felt
+as if a weight of calamity was crushing him down.
+
+"Their innocence must be proved at the proper tribunal," rejoined
+Nowell. "It is not for me to judge them."
+
+"But you do judge them," cried Richard, sharply. "In making the charge,
+you know that you pronounce the sentence of condemnation as well. This
+is why the humane man--why the just--would hesitate to bring an
+accusation even where he suspected guilt--but where suspicion could not
+possibly attach, he would never suffer himself, however urged on by
+feelings of animosity, to injure the innocent."
+
+"You ascribe most unworthy motives to me, young sir," rejoined Nowell,
+sternly. "I am influenced only by a desire to see justice administered,
+and I shall not swerve from my duty, because my humanity may be called
+in question by a love-sick boy. I understand why you plead thus warmly
+for these infamous persons. You are enthralled by the beauty of the
+young witch, Alizon Device. I noted how you were struck by her
+yesterday--and I heard what Sir Thomas Metcalfe said on the subject. But
+take heed what you do. You may jeopardise both soul and body in the
+indulgence of this fatal passion. Witchcraft is exercised in many ways.
+Its professors have not only power to maim and to kill, and to do other
+active mischief, but to ensnare the affections and endanger the souls of
+their victims, by enticing them to unhallowed love. Alizon Device is
+comely to view, no doubt, but who shall say whence her beauty is
+derived? Hell may have arrayed her in its fatal charms. Sin is
+beautiful, but all-destructive. And the time will come when you may
+thank me for delivering you from the snares of this seductive siren."
+Richard uttered an angry exclamation.
+
+"Not now--I do not expect it--you are too much besotted by her," pursued
+Nowell; "but I conjure you to cast off this wicked and senseless
+passion, which, unless checked, will lead you to perdition. You have
+heard what abominable rites are practised at those unholy meetings
+called Devil's Sabbaths, and how can you say that some demon may not be
+your rival in Alizon's love?"
+
+"You pass all licence, sir," cried Richard, infuriated past endurance;
+"and, if you do not instantly retract the infamous accusation you have
+made, neither your age nor your office shall protect you."
+
+"I can fortunately protect myself, young man," replied Nowell, coldly;
+"and if aught were wanting to confirm my suspicions that you were under
+some evil influence, it would be supplied by your present conduct. You
+are bewitched by this girl."
+
+"It is false!" cried Richard.
+
+And he raised his hand against the magistrate, when Nicholas quickly
+interposed.
+
+"Nay, cousin Dick," cried the squire, "this must not be. You must take
+other means of defending the poor girl, whose innocence I will maintain
+as stoutly as yourself. But, since Master Roger Nowell is resolved to
+proceed to extremities, I shall likewise take leave to retire."
+
+"Your pardon, sir," rejoined Nowell; "you will not withdraw till I think
+fit. Master Richard Assheton, forgetful alike of the respect due to age
+and constituted authority, has ventured to raise his hand against me,
+for which, if I chose, I could place him in immediate arrest. But I
+have no such intention. On the contrary, I am willing to overlook the
+insult, attributing it to the frenzy by which he is possessed. But both
+he and you, Master Nicholas, are mistaken if you suppose I will permit
+you to retire. As a magistrate in the exercise of my office, I call upon
+you both to aid me in the capture of the two notorious witches, Mothers
+Demdike and Chattox, and not to desist or depart from me till such
+capture be effected. You know the penalty of refusal."
+
+"Heavy fine or imprisonment, at the option of the magistrate," remarked
+Potts.
+
+"My cousin Nicholas will do as he pleases," observed Richard; "but, for
+my part, I will not stir a step further."
+
+"Nor will I," added Nicholas, "unless I have Master Nowell's solemn
+pledge that he will take no proceedings against Alizon Device."
+
+"You can give no such assurance, sir," whispered Potts, seeing that the
+magistrate wavered in his resolution.
+
+"You must go, then," said Nowell, "and take the consequences of your
+refusal to act with me. Your relationship to Mistress Nutter will not
+tell in your favour."
+
+"I understand the implied threat," said Nicholas, "and laugh at it.
+Richard, lad, I am with you. Let him catch the witches himself, if he
+can. I will not budge an inch further with him."
+
+"Farewell, then, gentlemen," replied Roger Nowell; "I am sorry to part
+company with you thus, but when next we meet--" and he paused.
+
+"We meet as enemies, I presume" supplied Nicholas.
+
+"We meet no longer as friends," rejoined the magistrate, coldly.
+
+With this he moved forward with the rest of the troop, while the two
+Asshetons, after a moment's consultation, passed through a gate and made
+their way to the back of the mansion, where they found one or two men on
+the look-out, from whom they received intelligence, which induced them
+immediately to spring from their horses and hurry into the house.
+
+Arrived at the principal entrance of the mansion, which was formed by
+large gates of open iron-work, admitting a view of the garden and front
+of the house, Roger Nowell again called a halt, and Master Potts, at his
+request, addressed the porter and two other serving-men who were
+standing in the garden, in this fashion--
+
+"Pay attention to what I say to you, my men," he cried in a loud and
+authoritative voice--"a warrant will this day be issued for the arrest
+of Alice Nutter of Rough Lee, in whose service you have hitherto dwelt,
+and who is charged with the dreadful crime of witchcraft, and with
+invoking, consulting, and covenanting with, entertaining, employing,
+feeding, and rewarding evil spirits, contrary to the laws of God and
+man, and in express violation of his Majesty's statute. Now take
+notice, that if the said Alice Nutter shall at any time hereafter return
+to this her former abode, or take refuge within it, you are hereby bound
+to deliver her up forthwith to the nearest constable, to be by him
+brought before the worshipful Master Roger Nowell of Read, in this
+county, so that she may be examined by him on these charges. You hear
+what I have said?"
+
+The men exchanged significant glances, but made no reply.
+
+Potts was about to address them, but to his surprise he saw the central
+door of the house thrown open, and Mistress Nutter issue from it. She
+marched slowly and majestically down the broad gravel walk towards the
+gate. The attorney could scarcely believe his eyes, and he exclaimed to
+the magistrate with a chuckle--
+
+"Who would have thought of this! We have her safe enough now. Ha! ha!"
+
+But no corresponding smile played upon Nowell's hard lips. His gaze was
+fixed inquiringly upon the lady.
+
+Another surprise. From the same door issued Alizon Device, escorted by
+Nicholas and Richard Assheton, who walked on either side of her, and the
+three followed Mistress Nutter slowly down the broad walk. Such a
+display seemed to argue no want of confidence. Alizon did not look
+towards the group outside the gates, but seemed listening eagerly to
+what Richard was saying to her.
+
+"So, Master Nowell," cried Mistress Nutter, boldly, "since you find
+yourself defeated in the claims you have made against my property, you
+are seeking to revenge yourself, I understand, by bringing charges
+against me as false as they are calumnious. But I defy your malice, and
+can defend myself against your violence."
+
+"If I could be astonished at any thing in you, madam, I should be at
+your audacity," rejoined Nowell, "but I am glad that you have presented
+yourself before me; for it was my fixed intention, on my return to
+Whalley, to cause your arrest, and your unexpected appearance here
+enables me to put my design into execution somewhat sooner than I
+anticipated."
+
+Mistress Nutter laughed scornfully.
+
+"Sparshot," vociferated Nowell, "enter those gates, and arrest the lady
+in the King's name."
+
+The beadle looked irresolute. He did not like the task.
+
+"The gates are fastened," cried Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Force them open, then," roared Nowell, dismounting and shaking them
+furiously. "Bring me a heavy stone. By heaven I I will not be baulked of
+my prey."
+
+"My servants are armed," cried Mistress Nutter, "and the first man who
+enters shall pay the penalty of has rashness with life. Bring me a
+petronel, Blackadder."
+
+The order was promptly obeyed by the ill-favoured attendant, who was
+stationed near the gate.
+
+"I am in earnest," said Mistress Nutter, aiming the petronel, "and
+seldom miss my mark."
+
+"Give attention to me, my men," cried Roger Nowell. "I charge you in the
+King's name to throw open the gate."
+
+"And I charge you in mine to keep it fast," rejoined Mistress Nutter.
+"We shall see who will be obeyed."
+
+One of the grooms now advanced with a large stone taken from an
+adjoining wall, which he threw with great force against the gates, but
+though it shook them violently the fastenings continued firm. Blackadder
+and the two other serving-men, all of whom were armed with halberts, now
+advanced to the gates, and, thrusting the points of their weapons
+through the bars, drove back those who were near them.
+
+A short consultation now took place between Nowell and Potts, after
+which the latter, taking care to keep out of the reach of the halberts,
+thus delivered himself in a loud voice:--
+
+"Alice Nutter, in order to avoid the serious consequences which might
+ensue were the necessary measures taken to effect a forcible entrance
+into your habitation, the worshipful Master Nowell has thought fit to
+grant you an hour's respite for reflection; at the expiration of which
+time he trusts that you, seeing the futility of resisting the law, will
+quietly yield yourself a prisoner. Otherwise, no further leniency will
+be shown you and those who may uphold you in your contumacy."
+
+Mistress Nutter laughed loudly and contemptuously.
+
+"At the same time," pursued Potts, on a suggestion from the magistrate,
+"Master Roger Nowell demands that Alizon Device, daughter of Elizabeth
+Device, whom he beholds in your company, and who is likewise suspected
+of witchcraft, be likewised delivered up to him."
+
+"Aught more?" inquired Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Only this," replied Potts, in a taunting tone, "the worshipful
+magistrate would offer a friendly counsel to Master Nicholas Assheton,
+and Master Richard Assheton, whom, to his infinite surprise, he
+perceives in a hostile position before him, that they in nowise
+interfere with his injunctions, but, on the contrary, lend their aid in
+furtherance of them, otherwise he may be compelled to adopt measures
+towards them, which must be a source of regret to him. I have
+furthermore to state, on the part of his worship, that strict watch will
+be kept at all the approaches of your house, and that no one, on any
+pretence whatever, during the appointed time of respite, will be
+suffered to enter it, or depart from it. In an hour his worship will
+return."
+
+"And in an hour he shall have my answer," replied Mistress Nutter,
+turning away.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.--HOW ROUGH LEE WAS DEFENDED BY NICHOLAS.
+
+
+When skies are darkest, and storms are gathering thickest overhead, the
+star of love will oft shine out with greatest brilliancy; and so, while
+Mistress Nutter was hurling defiance against her foes at the gate, and
+laughing their menaces to scorn--while those very foes were threatening
+Alizon's liberty and life--she had become wholly insensible to the peril
+environing her, and almost unconscious of any other presence save that
+of Richard, now her avowed lover; for, impelled by the irresistible
+violence of his feelings, the young man had chosen that moment,
+apparently so unpropitious, and so fraught with danger and alarm, for
+the declaration of his passion, and the offer of his life in her
+service. A few low-murmured words were all Alizon could utter in reply,
+but they were enough. They told Richard his passion was requited, and
+his devotion fully appreciated. Sweet were those moments to both--sweet,
+though sad. Like Alizon, her lover had become insensible to all around
+him. Engrossed by one thought and one object, he was lost to aught else,
+and was only at last aroused to what was passing by the squire, who,
+having good-naturedly removed to a little distance from the pair, now
+gave utterance to a low whistle, to let them know that Mistress Nutter
+was coming towards them. The lady, however, did not stop, but motioning
+them to follow, entered the house.
+
+"You have heard what has passed," she said. "In an hour Master Nowell
+threatens to return and arrest me and Alizon."
+
+"That shall never be," cried Richard, with a passionate look at the
+young girl. "We will defend you with our lives."
+
+"Much may be done in an hour," observed Nicholas to Mistress Nutter,
+"and my advice to you is to use the time allowed you in making good your
+retreat, so that, when the hawks come back, they may find the doves
+flown."
+
+"I have no intention of quitting my dovecot," replied Mistress Nutter,
+with a bitter smile.
+
+"Unless you are forcibly taken from it, I suppose," said the squire; "a
+contingency not impossible if you await Roger Nowell's return. This
+time, be assured, he will not go away empty-handed."
+
+"He may not go away at all," rejoined Mistress Nutter, sternly.
+
+"Then you mean to make a determined resistance?" said Nicholas.
+"Recollect that you are resisting the law. I wish I could induce you to
+resort to the safer expedient of flight. This affair is already dark and
+perplexed enough, and does not require further complication. Find any
+place of concealment, no matter where, till some arrangement can be made
+with Roger Nowell."
+
+"I should rather urge you to fly, Nicholas," rejoined the lady; "for it
+is evident you have strong misgivings as to the justice of my cause,
+and would not willingly compromise yourself. I will not surrender to
+this magistrate, because, by so doing, my life would assuredly be
+forfeited, for my innocence could never be established before the
+iniquitous and bloody tribunal to which I should be brought. Neither,
+for the same reason, will I surrender Alizon, who, with a refinement of
+malignity, has been similarly accused. I shall now proceed to make
+preparations for my defence. Go, if you think fitting--or stay--but if
+you _do_ stay, I shall calculate upon your active services."
+
+"You may," replied the squire. "Whatever I may think, I admire your
+spirit, and will stand by you. But time is passing, and the foe will
+return and find us engaged in deliberation when we ought to be prepared.
+You have a dozen men on the premises on whom you can rely. Half of these
+must be placed at the back of the house to prevent any entrance from
+being effected in that quarter. The rest can remain within the entrance
+hall, and be ready to rush forth when summoned by us; but we will not so
+summon them unless we are hardly put to it, and their aid is
+indispensable. All should be well armed, but I trust they will not have
+to use their weapons. Are you agreed to this, madam?"
+
+"I am," replied Mistress Nutter, "and I will give instant directions
+that your wishes are complied with. All approaches to the back of the
+house shall be strictly guarded as you direct, and my trusty man,
+Blackadder, on whose fidelity and courage I can entirely rely, shall
+take the command of the party in the hall, and act under your orders.
+Your prowess will not be unobserved, for Alizon and I shall be in the
+upper room commanding the garden, whence we can see all that takes
+place."
+
+A slight smile was exchanged between the lovers; but it was evident,
+from her anxious looks, that Alizon did not share in Richard's
+confidence. An opportunity, however, was presently afforded him of again
+endeavouring to reassure her, for Mistress Nutter went forth to give
+Blackadder his orders, and Nicholas betook himself to the back of the
+house to ascertain, from personal inspection, its chance of security.
+
+"You are still uneasy, dear Alizon," said Richard, taking her hand; "but
+do not be cast down. No harm shall befall you."
+
+"It is not for myself I am apprehensive," she replied, "but for you, who
+are about to expose yourself to needless risk in this encounter; and, if
+any thing should happen to you, I shall be for ever wretched. I would
+far rather you left me to my fate."
+
+"And can you think I would allow you to be borne away a captive to
+ignominy and certain destruction?" cried Richard. "No, I will shed my
+heart's best blood before such a calamity shall occur."
+
+"Alas!" said Alizon, "I have no means of requiting your devotion. All I
+can offer you in return is my love, and that, I fear, will prove fatal
+to you."
+
+"Oh! do not say so," cried Richard. "Why should this sad presentiment
+still haunt you? I strove to chase it away just now, and hoped I had
+succeeded. You are dearer to me than life. Why, therefore, should I not
+risk it in your defence? And why should your love prove fatal to me?"
+
+"I know not," replied Alizon, in a tone of deepest anguish, "but I feel
+as if my destiny were evil; and that, against my will, I shall drag
+those I most love on earth into the same dark gulf with myself. I have
+the greatest affection for your sister Dorothy, and yet I have been the
+unconscious instrument of injury to her. And you too, Richard, who are
+yet dearer to me, are now put in peril on my account. I fear, too, when
+you know my whole history, you will think of me as a thing of evil, and
+shun me."
+
+"What mean you, Alizon?" he cried.
+
+"Richard, I can have no secrets from you," she replied; "and though I
+was forbidden to tell you what I am now about to disclose, I will not
+withhold it. I was born in this house, and am the daughter of its
+mistress."
+
+"You tell me only what I guessed, Alizon," rejoined the young man; "but
+I see nothing in this why I should shun you."
+
+Alizon hid her face for a moment in her hands; and then looking up, said
+wildly and hurriedly, "Would I had never known the secret of my birth;
+or, knowing it, had never seen what I beheld last night!"
+
+"What did you behold?" asked Richard, greatly agitated.
+
+"Enough to convince me, that in gaining a mother I was lost myself,"
+replied Alizon; "for oh! how can I survive the shock of telling you I am
+bound, by ties that can never be dissevered, to one abandoned alike of
+God and man--who has devoted herself to the Fiend! Pity me,
+Richard--pity me, and shun me!"
+
+There was a moment's dreadful pause, which the young man was unable to
+break.
+
+"Was I not right in saying my love would be fatal to you?" continued
+Alizon. "Fly from me while you can, Richard. Fly from this house, or you
+are lost for ever!"
+
+"Never, never! I will not stir without you," cried Richard. "Come with
+me, and escape all the dangers by which you are menaced, and leave your
+sinning parent to the doom she so richly merits."
+
+"No, no; sinful though she be, she is still my mother. I cannot leave
+her," cried Alizon.
+
+"If you stay, I stay, be the consequences what they may," replied the
+young man; "but you have rendered my arm powerless by what you have told
+me. How can I defend one whom I know to be guilty?"
+
+"Therefore I urge you to fly," she rejoined.
+
+"I can reconcile myself to it thus," said Richard--"in defending you,
+whom I know to be innocent, I cannot avoid defending her. The plea is
+not a good one, but it will suffice to allay my scruples of conscience."
+
+At this moment Mistress Nutter entered the hall, followed by Blackadder
+and three other men, armed with calivers.
+
+"All is ready, Richard," she said, "and it wants but a few minutes of
+the appointed time. Perhaps you shrink from the task you have
+undertaken?" she added, regarding him sharply; "if so, say so at once,
+and I will adopt my own line of defence."
+
+"Nay, I shall be ready to go forth in a moment," rejoined the young man,
+glancing at Alizon. "Where is Nicholas?"
+
+"Here," replied the squire, clapping him on the shoulder. "All is secure
+at the back of the house, and the horses are coming round. We must mount
+at once."
+
+Richard arose without a word.
+
+"Blackadder will attend to your orders," said Mistress Nutter; "he only
+waits a sign from you to issue forth with his three companions, or to
+fire through the windows upon the aggressors, if you see occasion for
+it."
+
+"I trust it will not come to such a pass," rejoined the squire; "a few
+blows from these weapons will convince them we are in earnest, and will,
+I hope, save further trouble."
+
+And as he spoke he took down a couple of stout staves, and gave one of
+them to Richard.
+
+"Farewell, then, _preux chevaliers_" cried Mistress Nutter, with
+affected gaiety; "demean yourselves valiantly, and remember that bright
+eyes will be upon you. Now, Alizon, to our chamber."
+
+Richard did not hazard a look at the young girl as she quitted the hall
+with her mother, but followed the squire mechanically into the garden,
+where they found the horses. Scarcely were they mounted than a loud
+hubbub, arising from the little village, proclaimed that their opponents
+had arrived, and presently after a large company of horse and foot
+appeared at the gate.
+
+At sight of the large force brought against them, the countenance of the
+squire lost its confident and jovial expression. Pie counted nearly
+forty men, each of whom was armed in some way or other, and began to
+fear the affair would terminate awkwardly, and entail unpleasant
+consequences upon himself and his cousin. He was, therefore, by no means
+at his ease. As to Richard, he did not dare to ask himself how things
+would end, neither did he know how to act. His mind was in utter
+confusion, and his breast oppressed as if by a nightmare. He cast one
+look towards the upper window, and beheld at it the white face of
+Mistress Nutter, intently gazing at what was going forward, but Alizon
+was not to be seen.
+
+Within the last half hour the sky had darkened, and a heavy cloud hung
+over the house, threatening a storm. Richard hoped it would come on
+fiercely and fast.
+
+Meanwhile, Roger Newell had dismounted and advanced to the gate.
+
+"Gentlemen," he cried, addressing the two Asshetons, "I expected to find
+free access given to me and my followers; but as these gates are still
+barred against me, I call upon you, as loyal subjects of the King, not
+to resist or impede the course of law, but to throw them instantly
+open."
+
+"You must unbar them yourself, Master Nowell," replied Nicholas. "We
+shall give you no help."
+
+"Nor offer any opposition, I hope, sir?" said the magistrate, sternly.
+
+"You are twenty to one, or thereabout," returned the squire, with a
+laugh; "we shall stand a poor chance with you."
+
+"But other defensive and offensive preparations have been made, I doubt
+not," said Nowell; "nay, I descry some armed men through the windows of
+the hall. Before coming to extremities, I will make a last appeal to you
+and your kinsman. I have granted Mistress Nutter and the girl with her
+an hour's delay, in the hope that, seeing the futility of resistance,
+they would quietly surrender. But I find my clemency thrown away, and
+undue advantage taken of the time allowed for respite; therefore, I
+shall show them no further consideration. But to you, my friends, I
+would offer a last warning. Forget not that you are acting in direct
+opposition to the law; that we are here armed with full authority and
+power to carry out our intentions; and that all opposition on your part
+will be fruitless, and will be visited upon you hereafter with severe
+pains and penalties. Forget not, also, that your characters will be
+irrecoverably damaged from your connexion with parties charged with the
+heinous offence of witchcraft. Meddle not, therefore, in the matter, but
+go your ways, or, if you would act as best becomes you, aid me in the
+arrest of the offenders."
+
+"Master Roger Nowell," replied Nicholas, walking his horse slowly
+towards the gate, "as you have given me a caution, I will give you one
+in return; and that is, to put a bridle on your tongue when you address
+gentlemen, or, by my fay, you are likely to get answers little to your
+taste. You have said that our characters are likely to suffer in this
+transaction, but, in my humble opinion, they will not suffer so much as
+your own. The magistrate who uses the arm of the law for purposes of
+private vengeance, and who brings a false and foul charge against his
+enemy, knowing that it cannot be repelled, is not entitled to any
+particular respect or honour. Thus have you acted towards Mistress
+Nutter. Defeated by her in the boundary question, without leaving its
+decision to those to whom you had referred it, you instantly accuse her
+of witchcraft, and seek to destroy her, as well as an innocent and
+unoffending girl, by whom she is attended. Is such conduct worthy of
+you, or likely to redound to your credit? I think not. But this is not
+all. Aided by your crafty and unscrupulous ally, Master Potts, you get
+together a number of Mistress Nutter's tenants, and, by threats and
+misrepresentations, induce them to become instruments of your vengeance.
+But when these misguided men come to know the truth of the case--when
+they learn that you have no proofs whatever against Mistress Nutter, and
+that you are influenced solely by animosity to her, they are quite as
+likely to desert you as to stand by you. At all events, we are
+determined to resist this unjust arrest, and, at the hazard of our
+lives, to oppose your entrance into the house."
+
+Nowell and Potts were greatly exasperated by this speech, but they were
+little prepared for its consequences. Many of those who had been induced
+to accompany them, as has been shown, wavered in their resolution of
+acting against Mistress Nutter, but they now began to declare in her
+favour. In vain Potts repeated all his former arguments. They were no
+longer of any avail. Of the troop assembled at the gate more than half
+marched off, and shaped their course towards the rear of the house--with
+what intention it was easy to surmise--while of those who remained it
+was very doubtful whether the whole of them would act.
+
+The result of his oration was quite as surprising to Nicholas as to his
+opponents, and, enchanted by the effect of his eloquence, he could not
+help glancing up at the window, where he perceived Mistress Nutter,
+whose smiles showed that she was equally well pleased.
+
+Seeing that, if any further desertions took place, his chances would be
+at an end, with a menacing gesture at the squire, Roger Nowell ordered
+the attack to commence immediately.
+
+While some of his men, amongst whom were Baldwyn and old Mitton,
+battered against the gate with stones, another party, headed by Potts,
+scaled the walls, which, though of considerable height, presented no
+very serious obstacles in the way of active assailants. Elevated on the
+shoulders of Sparshot, Potts was soon on the summit of the wall, and was
+about to drop into the garden, when he heard a sound that caused him to
+suspend his intention.
+
+"What are you about to do, cousin Nicholas?" inquired Richard, as the
+word of assault was given by the magistrate.
+
+"Let loose Mistress Nutter's stag-hounds upon them," replied the squire.
+"They are kept in leash by a varlet stationed behind yon yew-tree hedge,
+who only awaits my signal to let them slip; and by my faith it is time
+he had it."
+
+As he spoke, he applied a dog-whistle to his lips, and, blowing a loud
+call, it was immediately answered by a savage barking, and half a dozen
+hounds, rough-haired, of prodigious size and power, resembling in make,
+colour, and ferocity, the Irish wolf-hound bounded towards him.
+
+"Aha!" exclaimed Nicholas, clapping his hands to encourage them: "we
+could have dispersed the whole rout with these assistants. Hyke,
+Tristam!--hyke, Hubert! Upon them!--upon them!"
+
+It was the savage barking of the hounds that had caught the ears of the
+alarmed attorney, and made him desirous to scramble back again. But this
+was no such easy matter. Sparshot's broad shoulders were wanting to
+place his feet upon, and while he was bruising his knees against the
+roughened sides of the wall in vain attempts to raise himself to the top
+of it unaided, Hubert's sharp teeth met in the calf of his leg, while
+those of Tristam were fixed in the skirts of his doublet, and penetrated
+deeply into the flesh that filled it. A terrific yell proclaimed the
+attorney's anguish and alarm, and he redoubled his efforts to escape.
+But, if before it was difficult to get up, the feat was now impossible.
+All he could do was to cling with desperate tenacity to the coping of
+the wall, for he made no doubt, if dragged down, he should be torn in
+pieces. Roaring lustily for help, he besought Nicholas to have
+compassion upon him; but the squire appeared little moved by his
+distress, and laughed heartily at his yells and vociferations.
+
+"You will not come again on a like errand, in a hurry, I fancy Master
+Potts," he said.
+
+"I will not, good Master Nicholas," rejoined Potts; "for pity's sake
+call off these infernal hounds. They will rend me asunder as they would
+a fox."
+
+"You were a cunning fox, in good sooth, to come hither," rejoined
+Nicholas, in a taunting tone; "but will you go hence if I liberate you?"
+
+"I will--indeed I will!" replied Potts.
+
+"And will no more molest Mistress Nutter?" thundered Nicholas.
+
+"Take heed what you promise," roared Nowell from the other side of the
+wall.
+
+"If you do _not_ promise it, the hounds shall pull you down, and make a
+meal of you!" cried Nicholas.
+
+"I do--I swear--whatever you desire!" cried the terrified attorney.
+
+The hounds were then called off by the squire, and, nerved by fright,
+Potts sprang upon the wall, and tumbled over it upon the other side,
+alighting upon the head of his respected and singular good client, whom
+he brought to the ground.
+
+Meanwhile, all those unlucky persons who had succeeded in scaling the
+wall were attacked by the hounds, and, unable to stand against them,
+were chased round the garden, to the infinite amusement of the squire.
+Frightened to death, and unable otherwise to escape, for the gate
+allowed them no means of exit, the poor wretches fled towards the
+terrace overlooking Pendle Water, and, leaping into the stream, gained
+the opposite bank. There they were safe, for the hounds were not allowed
+to follow them further. In this way the garden was completely cleared of
+the enemy, and Nicholas and Richard were left masters of the field.
+
+Leaning out of the window, Mistress Nutter laughingly congratulated them
+on their success, and, as no further disposition was manifested on the
+part of Nowell and such of his troop that remained to renew the attack,
+the contest, for the present at least, was supposed to be at an end.
+
+By this time, also, intimation had been conveyed by the deserters from
+Nowell's troop, who, it will be remembered, had made their way to the
+back of the premises, that they were anxious to offer their services to
+Mistress Nutter; and, as soon as this was told her, she ordered them to
+be admitted, and descended to give them welcome. Thus things wore a
+promising aspect for the besieged, while the assailing party were
+proportionately disheartened.
+
+Long ere this, Baldwyn and old Mitton had desisted from their attempts
+to break open the gate, and, indeed, rejoiced that such a barrier was
+interposed between them and the hounds, whose furious onslaughts they
+witnessed. A bolt was launched against these four-footed guardians of
+the premises by the bearer of the crossbow, but the man proved but an
+indifferent marksman, for, instead of hitting the hound, he disabled one
+of his companions who was battling with him. Finding things in this
+state, and that neither Nowell nor Potts returned to their charge, while
+their followers were withdrawn from before the gate, Nicholas thought he
+might fairly infer that a victory had been obtained. But, like a prudent
+leader, he did not choose to expose himself till the enemy had
+absolutely yielded, and he therefore signed to Blackadder and his men to
+come forth from the hall. The order was obeyed, not only by them, but by
+the seceders from the hostile troop, and some thirty men issued from the
+principal door, and, ranging themselves upon the lawn, set up a
+deafening and triumphant shout, very different from that raised by the
+same individuals when under the command of Nowell. At the same moment
+Mistress Nutter and Alizon appeared at the door, and at the sight of
+them the shouting was renewed.
+
+The unexpected turn in affairs had not been without its effect upon
+Richard and Alizon, and tended to revive the spirits of both. The
+immediate danger by which they were threatened had vanished, and time
+was given for the consideration of new plans. Richard had been firmly
+resolved to take no further part in the affray than should be required
+for the protection of Alizon, and, consequently, it was no little
+satisfaction to him to reflect that the victory had been accomplished
+without him, and by means which could not afterwards be questioned.
+
+Meanwhile, Mistress Nutter had joined Nicholas, and the gates being
+unbarred by Blackadder, they passed through them. At a little distance
+stood Roger Nowell, now altogether abandoned, except by his own
+immediate followers, with Baldwyn and old Mitton. Poor Potts was lying
+on the ground, piteously bemoaning the lacerations his skin had
+undergone.
+
+"Well, you have got the worst of it, Master Nowell," said Nicholas, as
+he and Mistress Nutter approached the discomfited magistrate, "and must
+own yourself fairly defeated."
+
+"Defeated as I am, I would rather be in my place than in yours, sir,"
+retorted Nowell, sourly.
+
+"You have had a wholesome lesson read you, Master Nowell," said Mistress
+Nutter; "but I do not come hither to taunt you. I am quite satisfied
+with the victory I have obtained, and am anxious to put an end to the
+misunderstanding between us."
+
+"I have no misunderstanding with you, madam," replied Nowell; "I do not
+quarrel with persons like you. But be assured, though you may escape
+now, a day of reckoning will come."
+
+"Your chief cause of grievance against me, I am aware," replied Mistress
+Nutter, calmly, "is, that I have beaten you in the matter of the land.
+Now, I have a proposal to make to you respecting it."
+
+"I cannot listen to it," rejoined Nowell, sternly; "I can have no
+dealings with a witch."
+
+At this moment his cloak was plucked behind by Potts, who looked at him
+as much as to say, "Do not exasperate her. Hear what she has got to
+offer."
+
+"I shall be happy to act as mediator between you, if possible," observed
+Nicholas; "but in that case I must request you, Master Nowell, to
+abstain from any offensive language."
+
+"What is it you have to propose to me, then, madam!" demanded the
+magistrate, gruffly.
+
+"Come with me into the house, and you shall hear," replied Mistress
+Nutter.
+
+Nowell was about to refuse peremptorily, when his cloak was again
+plucked by Potts, who whispered him to go.
+
+"This is not a snare laid to entrap me, madam?" he said, regarding the
+lady suspiciously.
+
+"I will answer for her good faith," interposed Nicholas.
+
+Nowell still hesitated, but the counsel of his legal adviser was
+enforced by a heavy shower of rain, which just then began to descend
+upon them.
+
+"You can take shelter beneath my roof," said Mistress Nutter; "and
+before the shower is over we can settle the matter."
+
+"And my wounds can be dressed at the same time," said Potts, with a
+groan, "for they pain me sorely."
+
+"Blackadder has a sovereign balsam, which, with a patch or two of
+diachylon, will make all right," replied Nicholas, unable to repress a
+laugh. "Here, lift him up between you," he added to the grooms, "and
+convey him into the house."
+
+The orders were obeyed, and Mistress Nutter led the way through the now
+wide-opened gates; her slow and majestic march by no means accelerated
+by the drenching shower. What Roger Nowell's sensations were at
+following her in such a way, after his previous threats and boastings,
+may be easily conceived.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.--ROGER NOWELL AND HIS DOUBLE.
+
+
+The magistrate was ushered by the lady into a small chamber, opening out
+of the entrance-hall, which, in consequence of having only one small
+narrow window, with a clipped yew-tree before it, was extremely dark and
+gloomy. The walls were covered with sombre tapestry, and on entering,
+Mistress Nutter not only carefully closed the door, but drew the arras
+before it, so as to prevent the possibility of their conversation being
+heard outside. These precautions taken, she motioned the magistrate to a
+chair, and seated herself opposite him.
+
+"We can now deal unreservedly with each other, Master Nowell," she said,
+fixing her eyes steadily upon him; "and, as our discourse cannot be
+overheard and repeated, may use perfect freedom of speech."
+
+"I am glad of it," replied Nowell, "because it will save circumlocution,
+which I dislike; and therefore, before proceeding further, I must tell
+you, directly and distinctly, that if there be aught of witchcraft in
+what you are about to propose to me, I will have nought to do with it,
+and our conference may as well never begin."
+
+"Then you really believe me to be a witch?" said the lady.
+
+"I do," replied Nowell, unflinchingly.
+
+"Since you believe this, you must also believe that I have absolute
+power over you," rejoined Mistress Nutter, "and might strike you with
+sickness, cripple you, or kill you if I thought fit."
+
+"I know not that," returned Nowell. "There are limits even to the power
+of evil beings; and your charms and enchantments, however strong and
+baneful, may be wholly inoperative against a magistrate in the discharge
+of his duty. If it were not so, you would scarcely think it worth while
+to treat with me."
+
+"Humph!" exclaimed the lady. "Now, tell me frankly, what you will do
+when you depart hence?"
+
+"Ride off with the utmost speed to Whalley," replied Nowell, "and,
+acquainting Sir Ralph with all that has occurred, claim his assistance;
+and then, with all the force we can jointly muster, return hither, and
+finish the work I have left undone."
+
+"You will forego this intention," said Mistress Nutter, with a bitter
+smile.
+
+The magistrate shook his head.
+
+"I am not easily turned from my purpose," he remarked.
+
+"But you have not yet quitted Rough Lee," said the lady, "and after such
+an announcement I shall scarce think of parting with you."
+
+"You dare not detain me," replied Nowell. "I have Nicholas Assheton's
+word for my security, and I know he will not break it. Besides, you will
+gain nothing by my detention. My absence will soon be discovered, and if
+living I shall be set free; if dead, avenged."
+
+"That may, or may not be," replied Mistress Nutter; "and in any case I
+can, if I choose, wreak my vengeance upon you. I am glad to have
+ascertained your intentions, for I now know how to treat with you. You
+shall not go hence, except on certain conditions. You have said you will
+proclaim me a witch, and will come back with sufficient force to
+accomplish my arrest. Instead of doing this, I advise you to return to
+Sir Ralph Assheton, and admit to him that you find yourself in error in
+respect to the boundaries of the land--"
+
+"Never," interrupted Nowell.
+
+"I advise you to do this," pursued the lady, calmly, "and I advise you,
+also, on quitting this room, to retract all you have uttered to my
+prejudice, in the presence of Nicholas Assheton and other credible
+witnesses; in which case I will not only lay aside all feelings of
+animosity towards you, but will make over to you the whole of the land
+under dispute, and that without purchase money on your part."
+
+Roger Nowell was of an avaricious nature, and caught at the bait.
+
+"How, madam!" he cried, "the whole of the land mine without payment?"
+
+"The whole," she replied.
+
+"If she should be arraigned and convicted it will be forfeited to the
+crown," thought Nowell; "the offer is tempting."
+
+"Your attorney is here, and can prepare the conveyance at once," pursued
+Mistress Nutter; "a sum can be stated to lend a colour to the
+proceeding, and I will give you a private memorandum that I will not
+claim it. All I require is, that you clear me completely from the dark
+aspersions cast upon my character, and you abandon your projects against
+my adopted daughter, Alizon, as well as against those two poor old
+women, Mothers Demdike and Chattox."
+
+"How can I be sure that I shall not be deluded in the matter?" asked
+Nowell; "the writing may disappear from the parchment you give me, or
+the parchment itself may turn to ashes. Such things have occurred in
+transactions with witches. Or it be that, by consenting to the compact,
+I may imperil my own soul."
+
+"Tush!" exclaimed Mistress Nutter; "these are idle fears. But it is no
+idle threat on my part, when I tell you you shall not go forth unless
+you consent."
+
+"You cannot hinder me, woman," cried Nowell, rising.
+
+"You shall see," rejoined the lady, making two or three rapid passes
+before him, which instantly stiffened his limbs, and deprived him of the
+power of motion. "Now, stir if you can," she added with a laugh.
+
+Nowell essayed to cry out, but his tongue refused its office. Hearing
+and sight, however, were left him, and he saw Mistress Nutter take a
+large volume, bound in black, from the shelf, and open it at a page
+covered with cabalistic characters, after which she pronounced some
+words that sounded like an invocation.
+
+As she concluded, the tapestry against the wall was raised, and from
+behind it appeared a figure in all respects resembling the magistrate:
+it had the same sharp features, the same keen eyes and bushy eyebrows,
+the same stoop in the shoulders, the same habiliments. It was, in short,
+his double.
+
+Mistress Nutter regarded him with a look of triumph.
+
+"Since you refuse, with my injunctions," she said, "your double will
+prove more tractable. He will go forth and do all I would have you do,
+while I have but to stamp upon the floor and a dungeon will yawn beneath
+your feet, where you will lie immured till doomsday. The same fate will
+attend your crafty associate, Master Potts--so that neither of you will
+be missed--ha! ha!"
+
+The unfortunate magistrate fully comprehended his danger, but he could
+now neither offer remonstrance nor entreaty. What was passing in his
+breast seemed known to Mistress Nutter; for she motioned the double to
+stay, and, touching the brow of Nowell with the point of her forefinger,
+instantly restored his power of speech.
+
+"I will give you a last chance," she said. "Will you obey me now?"
+
+"I must, perforce," replied Nowell: "the contest is too unequal."
+
+"You may retire, then," she cried to the double. And stepping backwards,
+the figure lifted up the tapestry, and disappeared behind it.
+
+"I can breathe, now that infernal being is gone," cried Nowell, sinking
+into the chair. "Oh! madam, you have indeed terrible power."
+
+"You will do well not to brave it again," she rejoined. "Shall I summon
+Master Potts to prepare the conveyance?"
+
+"Oh! no--no!" cried Nowell. "I do not desire the land. I will not have
+it. I shall pay too dearly for it. Only let me get out of this horrible
+place?"
+
+"Not so quickly, sir," rejoined Mistress Nutter. "Before you go hence,
+I must bind you to the performance of my injunctions. Pronounce these
+words after me,--'May I become subject to the Fiend if I fail in my
+promise.'"
+
+"I will never utter them!" cried Nowell, shuddering.
+
+"Then I shall recall your double," said the lady.
+
+"Hold, hold!" exclaimed Nowell. "Let me know what you require of me."
+
+"I require absolute silence on your part, as to all you have seen and
+heard here, and cessation of hostility towards me and the persons I have
+already named," replied Mistress Nutter; "and I require a declaration
+from you, in the presence of the two Asshetons, that you are fully
+satisfied of the justice of my claims in respect to the land; and that,
+mortified by your defeat, you have brought a false charge against me,
+which you now sincerely regret. This I require from you; and you must
+ratify the promise by the abjuration I have proposed. 'May I become
+subject to the Fiend if I fail in my promise.'"
+
+The magistrate repeated the words after her. As he finished, mocking
+laughter, apparently resounding from below, smote his ears.
+
+"Enough!" cried Mistress Nutter, triumphantly; "and now take good heed
+that you swerve not in the slightest degree from your word, or you are
+for ever lost."
+
+Again the mocking laughter was heard, and Nowell would have rushed
+forth, if Mistress Nutter had not withheld him.
+
+"Stay!" she cried, "I have not done with you yet! My witnesses must hear
+your declaration. Remember!"
+
+And placing her finger upon her lips, in token of silence, she stepped
+backwards, drew aside the tapestry, and, opening the door, called to the
+two Asshetons, both of whom instantly came to her, and were not a little
+surprised to learn that all differences had been adjusted, and that
+Roger Nowell acknowledged himself entirely in error, retracting all the
+charges he had brought against her; while, on her part, she was fully
+satisfied with his explanations and apologies, and promised not to
+entertain any feelings of resentment towards him.
+
+"You have made up the matter, indeed," cried Nicholas, "and, as Master
+Roger Nowell is a widower, perhaps a match may come of it. Such an
+arrangement"--
+
+"This is no occasion for jesting, Nicholas," interrupted the lady,
+sharply.
+
+"Nay, I but threw out a hint," rejoined the squire. "It would set the
+question of the land for ever at rest."
+
+"It is set at rest--for ever!" replied the lady, with a side look at the
+magistrate.
+
+"'May I become subject to the Fiend if I fail in my promise,'" repeated
+Nowell to himself. "Those words bind me like a chain of iron. I must get
+out of this accursed house as fast as I can."
+
+As if his thoughts had been divined by Mistress Nutter, she here
+observed to him, "To make our reconciliation complete, Master Nowell, I
+must entreat you to pass the day with me. I will give you the best
+entertainment my house affords--nay, I will take no denial; and you too,
+Nicholas, and you, Richard, you will stay and keep the worthy magistrate
+company."
+
+The two Asshetons willingly assented, but Roger Nowell would fain have
+been excused. A look, however, from his hostess enforced compliance.
+
+"The proposal will be highly agreeable, I am sure, to Master Potts,"
+remarked Nicholas, with a laugh; "for though much better, in consequence
+of the balsam applied by Blackadder, he is scarcely in condition for the
+saddle."
+
+"I will warrant him well to-morrow morning," said Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Where is he?" inquired Nowell.
+
+"In the library with Parson Holden," replied Nicholas; "making himself
+as comfortable as circumstances will permit, with a flask of Rhenish
+before him."
+
+"I will go to him, then," said Nowell.
+
+"Take care what you say to him," observed Mistress Nutter, in a low
+tone, and raising her finger to her lips.
+
+Heaving a deep sigh, the magistrate then repaired to the library, a
+small room panelled with black oak, and furnished with a few cases of
+ancient tomes. The attorney and the divine were seated at a table, with
+a big square-built bottle and long-stemmed glasses before them, and
+Master Potts, with a wry grimace, excused himself from rising on his
+respected and singular good client's approach.
+
+"Do not disturb yourself," said Nowell, gruffly; "we shall not leave
+Rough Lee to-day."
+
+"I am glad to hear it," replied Potts, moving the cushions on his chair
+and eyeing the square-built bottle affectionately.
+
+"Nor to-morrow, it may be--nor the day after--nor at all, possibly,"
+said Nowell.
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Potts, starting, and wincing with pain. "What is the
+meaning of all this, worthy sir?"
+
+"'May I become the subject of the Fiend if I fail in my promise,'"
+rejoined Nowell, with a groan.
+
+"What promise, worshipful sir?" cried Potts, staring with surprise.
+
+The magistrate got out the words, "My promise to--" and then he stopped
+suddenly.
+
+"To Mistress Nutter?" suggested Potts.
+
+"Don't ask me," exclaimed Nowell, fiercely. "Don't draw any erroneous
+conclusions, man. I mean nothing--I say nothing!"
+
+"He is certainly bewitched," observed Parson Holden in an under-tone to
+the attorney.
+
+"It was by your advice I entered this house," thundered Nowell, "and
+may all the ill arising from it alight upon your head!"
+
+"My respected client!" implored Potts.
+
+"I am no longer your client!" shrieked the infuriated magistrate. "I
+dismiss you. I will have nought to do with you more. I wish I had never
+seen your ugly little face!"
+
+"You were quite right, reverend sir," observed Potts aside to the
+divine; "he is certainly bewitched, or he never would behave in this way
+to his best friend. My excellent sir," he added to Nowell, "I beseech
+you to calm yourself, and listen to me. My motive for wishing you to
+comply with Mistress Nutter's request was this: We were in a dilemma
+from which there was no escape, my wounded condition preventing me from
+flight, and all your followers being dispersed. Knowing your discretion,
+I apprehended that, finding the tables turned against you, you would not
+desire to play a losing game, and I therefore counselled apparent
+submission as the best means of disarming your antagonist. Whatever
+arrangement you have made with Mistress Nutter is neither morally nor
+legally binding upon you."
+
+"You think not!" cried Nowell. "'May I become subject to the Fiend if I
+violate my promise!'"
+
+"What promise have you made, sir?" inquired Potts and Holden together.
+
+"Do not question me," cried Nowell; "it is sufficient that I am tied and
+bound by it."
+
+The attorney reflected a little, and then observed to Holden, "It is
+evident some unfair practices have been resorted to with our respected
+friend, to extort a promise from him which he cannot violate. It is also
+possible, from what he let fall at first, that an attempt may be made to
+detain us prisoners within this house, and, for aught I know, Master
+Nowell may have given his word not to go forth without Mistress Nutter's
+permission. Under these circumstances, I would beg of you, reverend sir,
+as an especial favour to us both, to ride over to Whalley, and acquaint
+Sir Ralph Assheton with our situation."
+
+As this suggestion was made, Nowell's countenance brightened up. The
+expression was not lost upon the attorney, who perceived he was on the
+right tack.
+
+"Tell the worthy baronet," continued Potts, "that his old and esteemed
+friend, Master Roger Nowell, is in great jeopardy--am I not right, sir?"
+
+The magistrate nodded.
+
+"Tell him he is forcibly detained a prisoner, and requires sufficient
+force to effect his immediate liberation. Tell him, also, that Master
+Nowell charges Mistress Nutter with robbing him of his land by
+witchcraft."
+
+"No, no!" interrupted Nowell; "do not tell him that. I no longer charge
+her with it."
+
+"Then, tell him that I do," cried Potts; "and that Master Nowell has
+strangely, very strangely, altered his mind."
+
+"'May I become subject to the Fiend if I violate my promise!'" said the
+magistrate.
+
+"Ay, tell him that," cried the attorney--"tell him the worthy gentleman
+is constantly repeating that sentence. It will explain all. And now,
+reverend sir, let me entreat you to set out without delay, or your
+departure may be prevented."
+
+"I will go at once," said Holden.
+
+As he was about to quit the apartment, Mistress Nutter appeared at the
+door. Confusion was painted on the countenances of all three.
+
+"Whither go you, sir?" demanded the lady, sharply.
+
+"On a mission which cannot be delayed, madam," replied Holden.
+
+"You cannot quit my house at present," she rejoined, peremptorily.
+"These gentlemen stay to dine with me, and I cannot dispense with your
+company."
+
+"My duty calls me hence," returned the divine. "With all thanks for your
+proffered hospitality, I must perforce decline it."
+
+"Not when I command you to stay," she rejoined, raising her hand; "I am
+absolute mistress here."
+
+"Not over the servants of heaven, madam," replied the divine, taking a
+Bible from his pocket, and placing it before him. "By this sacred volume
+I shield myself against your spells, and command you to let me pass."
+
+And as he went forth, Mistress Nutter, unable to oppose him, shrank
+back.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.--MOTHER DEMDIKE.
+
+
+The heavy rain, which began to fall as Roger Nowell entered Rough Lee,
+had now ceased, and the sun shone forth again brilliantly, making the
+garden look so fresh and beautiful that Richard proposed a stroll within
+it to Alizon. The young girl seemed doubtful at first whether to comply
+with the invitation; but she finally assented, and they went forth
+together alone, for Nicholas, fancying they could dispense with his
+company, only attended them as far as the door, where he remained
+looking after them, laughing to himself, and wondering how matters would
+end. "No good will come of it, I fear," mused the worthy squire, shaking
+his head, "and I am scarcely doing right in allowing Dick to entangle
+himself in this fashion. But where is the use of giving advice to a
+young man who is over head and ears in love? He will never listen to it,
+and will only resent interference. Dick must take his chance. I have
+already pointed out the danger to him, and if he chooses to run
+headlong into the pit, why, I cannot hinder him. After all, I am not
+much surprised. Alizon's beauty is quite irresistible, and, were all
+smooth and straightforward in her history, there could be no reason
+why--pshaw! I am as foolish as the lad himself. Sir Richard Assheton,
+the proudest man in the shire, would disown his son if he married
+against his inclinations. No, my pretty youthful pair, since nothing but
+misery awaits you, I advise you to make the most of your brief season of
+happiness. I should certainly do so were the case my own."
+
+Meanwhile, the objects of these ruminations had reached the terrace
+overlooking Pendle Water, and were pacing slowly backwards and forwards
+along it.
+
+"One might be very happy in this sequestered spot, Alizon," observed
+Richard. "To some persons it might appear dull, but to me, if blessed
+with you, it would be little short of Paradise."
+
+"Alas! Richard," she replied, forcing a smile, "why conjure up visions
+of happiness which never can be realised? But even with you I do not
+think I could be happy here. There is something about the house which,
+when I first beheld it, filled me with unaccountable terror. Never since
+I was a mere infant have I been within it till to-day, and yet it was
+quite familiar to me--horribly familiar. I knew the hall in which we
+stood together, with its huge arched fireplace, and the armorial
+bearings upon it, and could point out the stone on which were carved my
+father's initials 'R.N.,' with the date '1572.' I knew the tapestry on
+the walls, and the painted glass in the long range windows. I knew the
+old oak staircase, and the gallery beyond it, and the room to which my
+mother led me. I knew the portraits painted on the panels, and at once
+recognised my father. I knew the great carved oak bedstead in this room,
+and the high chimney-piece, and the raised hearthstone, and shuddered as
+I gazed at it. You will ask me how these things could be familiar to me?
+I will tell you. I had seen them repeatedly in my dreams. They have
+haunted me for years, but I only to-day knew they had an actual
+existence, or were in any way connected with my own history. The sight
+of that house inspired me with a horror I have not been able to
+overcome; and I have a presentiment that some ill will befall me within
+it. I would never willingly dwell there."
+
+"The warning voice within you, which should never be despised, prompts
+you to quit it," cried Richard; "and I also urge you in like manner."
+
+"In vain," sighed Alizon. "This terrace is beautiful," she added, as
+they resumed their walk, "and I shall often come hither, if I am
+permitted. At sunset, this river, and the woody heights above it, must
+be enchanting; and I do not dislike the savage character of the
+surrounding scenery. It enhances, by contrast, the beauty of this
+solitude. I only wish the spot commanded a view of Pendle Hill."
+
+"You are like my cousin Nicholas, who thinks no prospect complete
+unless that hill forms part of it," said Richard; "but since I find that
+you will often come hither at sunset, I shall not despair of seeing and
+conversing with you again, even if I am forbidden the house by Mistress
+Nutter. That thicket is an excellent hiding-place, and this stream is
+easily crossed."
+
+"We can have no secret interviews, Richard," replied Alizon; "I shall
+come hither to think of you, but not to meet you. You must never return
+to Rough Lee again--that is, not unless some change takes place, which I
+dare not anticipate--but, hist! I am called. I must go back to the
+house."
+
+"The voice came from the other side of the river," said Richard--"and,
+hark! it calls again. Who can it be?"
+
+"It is Jennet," replied Alizon; "I see her now."
+
+And she pointed out the little girl standing beside an alder on the
+opposite bank.
+
+"Yo didna notice me efore, Alizon," cried Jennet in her sharp tone, and
+with her customary provoking laugh, "boh ey seed yo plain enuff, an
+heer'd yo too; and ey heer'd Mester Ruchot say he wad hide i' this
+thicket, an cross the river to meet ye at sunset. Little pigs, they say,
+ha' lang ears, an mine werena gi'en me fo' nowt."
+
+"They have somewhat misinformed you in this instance," replied Alizon;
+"but how, in the name of wonder, did you come here?"
+
+"Varry easily," replied Jennet, "boh ey hanna time to tell ye now.
+Granny Demdike has sent me hither wi' a message to ye and Mistress
+Nutter. Boh may be ye winna loike Mester Ruchot to hear what ey ha'
+getten to tell ye."
+
+"I will leave you," said Richard, about to depart.
+
+"Oh! no, no!" cried Alizon, "she can have nothing to say which you may
+not hear."
+
+"Shan ey go back to Granny Demdike, an tell her yo're too proud to
+receive her message?" asked the child.
+
+"On no account," whispered Richard. "Do not let her anger the old hag."
+
+"Speak, Jennet," said Alizon, in a tone of kind persuasion.
+
+"Ey shanna speak onless ye cum ower t' wetur to me," replied the little
+girl; "an whot ey ha to tell consarns ye mitch."
+
+"I can easily cross," observed Alizon to Richard. "Those stones seem
+placed on purpose."
+
+Upon this, descending from the terrace to the river's brink, and
+springing lightly upon the first stone which reared its head above the
+foaming tide, she bounded to another, and so in an instant was across
+the stream. Richard saw her ascend the opposite bank, and approach
+Jennet, who withdrew behind the alder; and then he fancied he perceived
+an old beldame, partly concealed by the intervening branches of the
+tree, advance and seize hold of her. Then there was a scream; and the
+sound had scarcely reached the young man's ears before he was down the
+bank and across the river, but when he reached the alder, neither
+Alizon, nor Jennet, nor the old beldame were to be seen.
+
+The terrible conviction that she had been carried off by Mother Demdike
+then smote him, and though he continued his search for her among the
+adjoining bushes, it was with fearful misgivings. No answer was returned
+to his shouts, nor could he discover any trace of the means by which
+Alizon had been spirited away.
+
+After some time spent in ineffectual search, uncertain what course to
+pursue, and with a heart full of despair, Richard crossed the river, and
+proceeded towards the house, in front of which he found Mistress Nutter
+and Nicholas, both of whom seemed surprised when they perceived he was
+unaccompanied by Alizon. The lady immediately, and somewhat sharply,
+questioned him as to what had become of her adopted daughter, and
+appeared at first to doubt his answer; but at length, unable to question
+his sincerity, she became violently agitated.
+
+"The poor girl has been conveyed away by Mother Demdike," she cried,
+"though for what purpose I am at a loss to conceive. The old hag could
+not cross the running water, and therefore resorted to that stratagem."
+
+"Alizon must not be left in her hands, madam," said Richard.
+
+"She must not," replied the lady. "If Blackadder, whom I have sent after
+Parson Holden, were here, I would despatch him instantly to Malkin
+Tower."
+
+"I will go instead," said Richard.
+
+"You had better accept his offer," interposed Nicholas; "he will serve
+you as well as Blackadder."
+
+"Go I shall, madam," cried Richard; "if not on your account, on my own."
+
+"Come, then, with me," said the lady, entering the house, "and I will
+furnish you with that which shall be your safeguard in the enterprise."
+
+With this, she proceeded to the closet where her interview with Roger
+Nowell had been held; and, unlocking an ebony cabinet, took from a
+drawer within it a small flat piece of gold, graven with mystic
+characters, and having a slender chain of the same metal attached to it.
+Throwing the chain over Richard's neck, she said, "Place this talisman,
+which is of sovereign virtue, near your heart, and no witchcraft shall
+have power over you. But be careful that you are not by any artifice
+deprived of it, for the old hag will soon discover that you possess some
+charm to protect you against her spells. You are impatient to be gone,
+but I have not yet done," she continued, taking down a small silver
+bugle from a hook, and giving it him. "On reaching Malkin Tower, wind
+this horn thrice, and the old witch will appear at the upper window.
+Demand admittance in my name, and she will not dare to refuse you; or,
+if she does, tell her you know the secret entrance to her stronghold,
+and will have recourse to it. And in case this should be needful, I will
+now disclose it to you, but you must not use it till other means fail.
+When opposite the door, which you will find is high up in the building,
+take ten paces to the left, and if you examine the masonry at the foot
+of the tower, you will perceive one stone somewhat darker than the rest.
+At the bottom of this stone, and concealed by a patch of heath, you will
+discover a knob of iron. Touch it, and it will give you an opening to a
+vaulted chamber, whence you can mount to the upper room. Even then you
+may experience some difficulty, but with resolution you will surmount
+all obstacles."
+
+"I have no fear of success, madam," replied Richard, confidently.
+
+And quitting her, he proceeded to the stables, and calling for his
+horse, vaulted into the saddle, and galloped off towards the bridge.
+
+Fast as Richard rode up the steep hill-side, still faster did the black
+clouds gather over his head. No natural cause could have produced so
+instantaneous a change in the aspect of the sky, and the young man
+viewed it with uneasiness, and wished to get out of the thicket in which
+he was now involved, before the threatened thunder-storm commenced. But
+the hill was steep and the road bad, being full of loose stones, and
+crossed in many places by bare roots of trees. Though ordinarily
+surefooted, Merlin stumbled frequently, and Richard was obliged to
+slacken his pace. It grew darker and darker, and the storm seemed ready
+to burst upon him. The smaller birds ceased singing, and screened
+themselves under the thickest foliage; the pie chattered incessantly;
+the jay screamed; the bittern flew past, booming heavily in the air; the
+raven croaked; the heron arose from the river, and speeded off with his
+long neck stretched out; and the falcon, who had been hovering over him,
+sweeped sidelong down and sought shelter beneath an impending rock; the
+rabbit scudded off to his burrow in the brake; and the hare, erecting
+himself for a moment, as if to listen to the note of danger, crept
+timorously off into the long dry grass.
+
+It grew so dark at last that the road was difficult to discern, and the
+dense rows of trees on either side assumed a fantastic appearance in the
+deep gloom. Richard was now more than half-way up the hill, and the
+thicket had become more tangled and intricate, and the road narrower and
+more rugged. All at once Merlin stopped, quivering in every limb, as if
+in extremity of terror.
+
+Before the rider, and right in his path, glared a pair of red fiery
+orbs, with something dusky and obscure linked to them; but whether of
+man or beast he could not distinguish.
+
+Richard called to it. No answer. He struck spurs into the reeking flanks
+of his horse. The animal refused to stir. Just then there was a moaning
+sound in the wood, as of some one in pain. He turned in the direction,
+shouted, but received no answer. When he looked back the red eyes were
+gone.
+
+Then Merlin moved forward of his own accord, but ere he had gone far,
+the eyes were visible again, glaring at the rider from the wood. This
+time they approached, dilating, and increasing in glowing intensity,
+till they scorched him like burning-glasses. Bethinking him of the
+talisman, Richard drew it forth. The light was instantly extinguished,
+and the indistinct figure accompanying it melted into darkness.
+
+Once more Merlin resumed his toilsome way, and Richard was marvelling
+that the storm so long suspended its fury, when the sky was riven by a
+sudden blaze, and a crackling bolt shot down and struck the earth at his
+feet. The affrighted steed reared aloft, and was with difficulty
+prevented from falling backwards upon his rider. Almost before he could
+be brought to his feet, an awful peal of thunder burst overhead, and it
+required Richard's utmost efforts to prevent him from rushing madly down
+the hill.
+
+The storm had now fairly commenced. Flash followed flash, and peal
+succeeded peal, without intermission. The rain descended hissing and
+spouting, and presently ran down the hill in a torrent, adding to the
+horseman's other difficulties and dangers. To heighten the terror of the
+scene, strange shapes, revealed by the lightning, were seen flitting
+among the trees, and strange sounds were heard, though overpowered by
+the dreadful rolling of the thunder.
+
+But Richard's resolution continued unshaken, and he forced Merlin on. He
+had not proceeded far, however, when the animal uttered a cry of fright,
+and began beating the air with his fore hoofs. The lightning enabled
+Richard to discern the cause of this new distress. Coiled round the poor
+beast's legs, all whose efforts to disengage himself from the terrible
+assailant were ineffectual, was a large black snake, seemingly about to
+plunge its poisonous fangs into the flesh. Again having recourse to the
+talisman, and bending down, Richard stretched it towards the snake, upon
+which the reptile instantly darted its arrow-shaped head against him,
+but instead of wounding him, its forked teeth encountered the piece of
+gold, and, as if stricken a violent blow, it swiftly untwined itself,
+and fled, hissing, into the thicket.
+
+Richard was now obliged to dismount and lead his horse. In this way he
+toiled slowly up the hill. The storm continued with unabated fury: the
+red lightning played around him, the brattling thunder stunned him, and
+the pelting rain poured down upon his head. But he was no more
+molested. Save for the vivid flashes, it had become dark as night, but
+they served to guide him on his way.
+
+At length he got out of the thicket, and trod upon the turf, but it was
+rendered so slippery by moisture, that he could scarcely keep his feet,
+while the lightning no longer aided him. Fearing he had taken a wrong
+course, he stood still, and while debating with himself a blaze of light
+illumined the wide heath, and showed him the object of his search,
+Malkin Tower, standing alone, like a beacon, at about a quarter of a
+mile's distance, on the further side of the hill. Was it disturbed
+fancy, or did he really behold on the summit of the structure a grisly
+shape resembling--if it resembled any thing human--a gigantic black cat,
+with roughened staring skin, and flaming eyeballs?
+
+Nerved by the sight of the tower, Richard was on his steed's back in an
+instant, and the animal, having in some degree recovered his spirits,
+galloped off with him, and kept his feet in spite of the slippery state
+of the road. Erelong, another flash showed the young man that he was
+drawing rapidly near the tower, and dismounting, he tied Merlin to a
+tree, and hurried towards the unhallowed pile. When within twenty paces
+of it, mindful of Mistress Nutter's injunctions, he placed the bugle to
+his lips, and winded it thrice. The summons, though clear and loud,
+sounded strangely in the portentous silence.
+
+Scarcely had the last notes died away, when a light shone through the
+dark red curtains hanging before a casement in the upper part of the
+tower. The next moment these were drawn aside, and a face appeared, so
+frightful, so charged with infernal wickedness and malice, that
+Richard's blood grew chill at the sight. Was it man or woman? The white
+beard, and the large, broad, masculine character of the countenance,
+seemed to denote the, former, but the garb was that of a female. The
+face was at once hideous and fantastic--the eyes set across--the mouth
+awry--the right cheek marked by a mole shining with black hair, and
+horrible from its contrast to the rest of the visage, and the brow
+branded as if by a streak of blood. A black thrum cap constituted the
+old witch's head-gear, and from beneath it her hoary hair escaped in
+long elf-locks. The lower part of her person was hidden from view, but
+she appeared to be as broad-shouldered as a man, and her bulky person
+was wrapped in a tawny-coloured robe. Throwing open the window, she
+looked forth, and demanded in harsh imperious tones--
+
+"Who dares to summon Mother Demdike?"
+
+"A messenger from Mistress Nutter," replied Richard. "I am come in her
+name to demand the restitution of Alizon Device, whom thou hast forcibly
+and wrongfully taken from her."
+
+"Alizon Device is my grand-daughter, and, as such, belongs to me, and
+not to Mistress Nutter," rejoined Mother Demdike.
+
+"Thou knowest thou speakest false, foul hag!" cried Richard. "Alizon is
+no blood of thine. Open the door and cast down the ladder, or I will
+find other means of entrance."
+
+"Try them, then," rejoined Mother Demdike. And she closed the casement
+sharply, and drew the curtains over it.
+
+After reconnoitring the building for a moment, Richard moved quickly to
+the left, and counting ten paces, as directed by Mistress Nutter, began
+to search among the thick grass growing near the base of the tower for
+the concealed entrance. It was too dark to distinguish any difference in
+the colour of the masonry, but he was sure he could not be far wrong,
+and presently his hand came in contact with a knob of iron. He pressed
+it, but it did not yield to the touch. Again more forcibly, but with
+like ill success. Could he be mistaken? He tried the next stone, and
+discovered another knob upon it, but this was as immovable as the first.
+He went on, and then found that each stone was alike, and that if
+amongst the number he had chanced upon the one worked by the secret
+spring, it had refused to act. On examining the structure so far as he
+was able to do in the gloom, he found he had described the whole circle
+of the tower, and was about to commence the search anew, when a creaking
+sound was heard above, and a light streamed suddenly down upon him. The
+door had been opened by the old witch, and she stood there with a lamp
+in her hand, its yellow flame illumining her hideous visage, and short,
+square, powerfully built frame. Her throat was like that of a bull; her
+hands of extraordinary size; and her arms, which were bare to the
+shoulder, brawny and muscular.
+
+"What, still outside?" she cried in a jeering tone, and with a wild
+discordant laugh. "Methought thou affirmedst thou couldst find a way
+into my dwelling."
+
+"I do not yet despair of finding it," replied Richard.
+
+"Fool!" screamed the hag. "I tell thee it is in vain to attempt it
+without my consent. With a word, I could make these walls one solid
+mass, without window or outlet from base to summit. With a word, I could
+shower stones upon thy head, and crush thee to dust. With a word, I
+could make the earth swallow thee up. With a word, I could whisk thee
+hence to the top of Pendle Hill. Ha! ha! Dost fear me now?"
+
+"No," replied Richard, undauntedly. "And the word thou menacest me with
+shall never be uttered."
+
+"Why not?" asked Mother Demdike, derisively.
+
+"Because thou wouldst not brave the resentment of one whose power is
+equal to thine own--if not greater," replied the young man.
+
+"Greater it is not--neither equal," rejoined the old hag, haughtily;
+"but I do not desire a quarrel with Alice Nutter. Only let her not
+meddle with me."
+
+"Once more, art thou willing to admit me?" demanded Richard.
+
+"Ay, upon one condition," replied Mother Demdike. "Thou shalt learn it
+anon. Stand aside while I let down the ladder."
+
+Richard obeyed, and a pair of narrow wooden steps dropped to the ground.
+
+"Now mount, if thou hast the courage," cried the hag.
+
+The young man was instantly beside her, but she stood in the doorway,
+and barred his further progress with her extended staff. Now that he was
+face to face with her, he wondered at his own temerity. There was
+nothing human in her countenance, and infernal light gleamed in her
+strangely-set eyes. Her personal strength, evidently unimpaired by age,
+or preserved by magical art, seemed equal to her malice; and she
+appeared as capable of executing any atrocity, as of conceiving it. She
+saw the effect produced upon him, and chuckled with malicious
+satisfaction.
+
+"Saw'st thou ever face like mine?" she cried. "No, I wot not. But I
+would rather inspire aversion and terror than love. Love!--foh! I would
+rather see men shrink from me, and shudder at my approach, than smile
+upon me and court me. I would rather freeze the blood in their veins,
+than set it boiling with passion. Ho! ho!"
+
+"Thou art a fearful being, indeed!" exclaimed Richard, appalled.
+
+"Fearful, am I?" ejaculated the old witch, with renewed laughter. "At
+last thou own'st it. Why, ay, I _am_ fearful. It is my wish to be so. I
+live to plague mankind--to blight and blast them--to scare them with my
+looks--to work them mischief. Ho! ho! And now, let us look at thee," she
+continued, holding the lamp over him. "Why, soh?--a comely youth! And
+the young maids doat upon thee, I doubt not, and praise thy blooming
+cheeks, thy bright eyes, thy flowing locks, and thy fine limbs. I hate
+thy beauty, boy, and would mar it!--would canker thy wholesome flesh,
+dim thy lustrous eyes, and strike thy vigorous limbs with palsy, till
+they should shake like mine! I am half-minded to do it," she added,
+raising her staff, and glaring at him with inconceivable malignity.
+
+"Hold!" exclaimed Richard, taking the talisman from his breast, and
+displaying it to her. "I am armed against thy malice!"
+
+Mother Demdike's staff fell from her grasp.
+
+"I knew thou wert in some way protected," she cried furiously. "And so
+it is a piece of gold--with magic characters upon it, eh?" she added,
+suddenly changing her tone; "Let me look at it."
+
+"Thou seest it plain enough," rejoined Richard. "Now, stand aside and
+let me pass, for thou perceivest I have power to force an entrance."
+
+"I see it--I see it," replied Mother Demdike, with affected humility. "I
+see it is in vain to struggle with thee, or rather with the potent lady
+who sent thee. Tarry where thou art, and i will bring Alizon to thee."
+
+"I almost mistrust thee," said Richard--"but be speedy."
+
+"I will be scarce a moment," said the witch; "but I must warn thee that
+she is--"
+
+"What--what hast thou done to her, thou wicked hag?" cried Richard, in
+alarm.
+
+"She is distraught," said Mother Demdike.
+
+"Distraught!" echoed Richard.
+
+"But thou canst easily cure her," said the old hag, significantly.
+
+"Ay, so I can," cried Richard with sudden joy--"the talisman! Bring her
+to me at once."
+
+Mother Demdike departed, leaving him in a state of indescribable
+agitation. The walls of the tower were of immense thickness, and the
+entrance to the chamber towards which the arched doorway led was covered
+by a curtain of old arras, behind which the hag had disappeared.
+Scarcely had she entered the room when a scream was heard, and Richard
+heard his own name pronounced by a voice which, in spite of its agonised
+tones, he at once recognised. The cries were repeated, and he then heard
+Mother Demdike call out, "Come hither! come hither!"
+
+Instantly rushing forward and dashing aside the tapestry, he found
+himself in a mysterious-looking circular chamber, with a massive oak
+table in the midst of it. There were many strange objects in the room,
+but he saw only Alizon, who was struggling with the old witch, and
+clinging desperately to the table. He called to her by name as he
+advanced, but her bewildered looks proved that she did not know him.
+
+"Alizon--dear Alizon! I am come to free you," he exclaimed.
+
+But in place of answering him she uttered a piercing scream.
+
+"The talisman, the talisman?" cried the hag. "I cannot undo my own work.
+Place the chain round her neck, and the gold near her heart, that she
+may experience its full virtue."
+
+Richard unsuspectingly complied with the suggestion of the temptress;
+but the moment he had parted with the piece of gold the figure of Alizon
+vanished, the chamber was buried in gloom, and, amidst a hubbub of wild
+laughter, he was dragged by the powerful arm of the witch through the
+arched doorway, and flung from it to the ground, the shock of the fall
+producing immediate insensibility.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.--THE MYSTERIES OF MALKIN TOWER.
+
+
+It was a subterranean chamber; gloomy, and of vast extent; the roof low,
+and supported by nine ponderous stone columns, to which rings and rusty
+chains were attached, still retaining the mouldering bones of those they
+had held captive in life. Amongst others was a gigantic skeleton, quite
+entire, with an iron girdle round the middle. Fragments of mortality
+were elsewhere scattered about, showing the numbers who had perished in
+the place. On either side were cells closed by massive doors, secured by
+bolts and locks. At one end were three immense coffers made of oak,
+hooped with iron, and fastened by large padlocks. Near them stood a
+large armoury, likewise of oak, and sculptured with the ensigns of
+Whalley Abbey, proving it had once belonged to that establishment.
+Probably it had been carried off by some robber band. At the opposite
+end of the vault were two niches, each occupied by a rough-hewn
+statue--the one representing a warlike figure, with a visage of
+extraordinary ferocity, and the other an anchoress, in her hood and
+wimple, with a rosary in her hand. On the ground beneath lay a plain
+flag, covering the mortal remains of the wicked pair, and proclaiming
+them to be Isole de Heton and Blackburn, the freebooter. The pillars
+were ranged in three lines, so as to form, with the arches above them, a
+series of short passages, in the midst of which stood an altar, and near
+it a large caldron. In front, elevated on a block of granite, was a
+marvellous piece of sculpture, wrought in jet, and representing a demon
+seated on a throne. The visage was human, but the beard that of a goat,
+while the feet and lower limbs were like those of the same animal. Two
+curled horns grew behind the ears, and a third, shaped like a conch,
+sprang from the centre of the forehead, from which burst a blue flame,
+throwing a ghastly light on the objects surrounding it.
+
+The only discernible approach to the vault was a steep narrow stone
+staircase, closed at the top by a heavy trapdoor. Other outlet
+apparently there was none. Some little air was admitted to this foul
+abode through flues contrived in the walls, the entrances to which were
+grated, but the light of day never came there. The flame, however,
+issuing from the brow of the demon image, like the lamps in the
+sepulchres of the disciples of the Rosy Cross, was ever-burning. Behind
+the sable statue was a deep well, with water as black as ink, wherein
+swarmed snakes, and toads, and other noxious reptiles; and as the lurid
+light fell upon its surface it glittered like a dusky mirror, unless
+when broken by the horrible things that lurked beneath, or crawled about
+upon its slimy brim. But snakes and toads were not the only tenants of
+the vault. At the head of the steps squatted a monstrous and misshapen
+animal, bearing some resemblance to a cat, but as big as a tiger. Its
+skin was black and shaggy; its eyes glowed like those of the hyæna; and
+its cry was like that of the same treacherous beast. Among the gloomy
+colonnades other swart and bestial shapes could be indistinctly seen
+moving to and fro.
+
+In this abode of horror were two human beings--one, a young maiden of
+exquisite beauty; and the other, almost a child, and strangely deformed.
+The elder, overpowered by terror, was clinging to a pillar for support,
+while the younger, who might naturally be expected to exhibit the
+greatest alarm, appeared wholly unconcerned, and derided her companion's
+fears.
+
+"Oh, Jennet!" exclaimed the elder of the two, "is there no means of
+escape?"
+
+"None whatever," replied the other. "Yo mun stay here till Granny
+Demdike cums fo ye."
+
+"Oh! that the earth would open and snatch me from these horrors," cried
+Alizon. "My reason is forsaking me. Would I could kneel and pray for
+deliverance! But something prevents me."
+
+"Reet!" replied Jennet. "It's os mitch os yer loife's worth to kneel an
+pray here, onless yo choose to ge an throw yersel at th' feet o' yon
+black image."
+
+"Kneel to that idol--never!" exclaimed Alizon. And while striving to
+call upon heaven for aid, a sharp convulsion seized her, and deprived
+her of the power of utterance.
+
+"Ey towd yo how it wad be," remarked Jennet, who watched her narrowly.
+"Yo 're neaw i' a church here, an if yo want to warship, it mun be at
+yon altar. Dunna yo hear how angry the cats are--how they growl an spit?
+An see how their een gliss'n! They'll tare yo i' pieces, loike so many
+tigers, if yo offend em."
+
+"Tell me why I am brought here, Jennet?" inquired Alizon, after a brief
+pause.
+
+"Granny Demdike will tell yo that," replied the little girl; "boh to my
+belief," she added, with a mocking laugh, "hoo means to may a witch o'
+ye, loike aw the rest on us."
+
+"She cannot do that without my consent," cried Alizon, "and I would die
+a thousand deaths rather than yield it."
+
+"That remains to be seen," replied Jennet, tauntingly. "Yo 're obstinate
+enuff, nah doubt. Boh Granny Demdike is used to deal wi' sich folk."
+
+"Oh! why was I born?" cried Alizon, bitterly.
+
+"Yo may weel ask that," responded Jennet, with a loud unfeeling laugh;
+"fo ey see neaw great use yo're on, wi' yer protty feace an bright een,
+onless it be to may one hate ye."
+
+"Is it possible you can say this to me, Jennet?" cried Alizon. "What
+have I done to incur your hatred? I have ever loved you, and striven to
+please and serve you. I have always taken your part against others, even
+when you were in the wrong. Oh! Jennet, you cannot hate me."
+
+"Boh ey do," replied the little girl, spitefully. "Ey hate yo now warser
+than onny wan else. Ey hate yo because yo are neaw lunger my
+sister--becose yo 're a grand ledy's dowter, an a grand ledy yersel. Ey
+hate yo becose yung Ruchot Assheton loves yo--an becose yo ha better
+luck i' aw things than ey have, or con expect to have. That's why I hate
+yo, Alizon. When yo are a witch ey shan love yo, for then we shan be
+equals once more."
+
+"That will never be, Jennet," said Alizon, sadly, but firmly. "Your
+grandmother may immure me in this dungeon, and scare away my senses; but
+she will never rob me of my hopes of salvation."
+
+As the words were uttered, a clang like that produced by a stricken gong
+shook the vault; the beasts roared fiercely; the black waters of the
+fountain bubbled up, and were lashed into foam by the angry reptiles;
+and a larger jet of flame than before burst from the brow of the demon
+statue.
+
+"Ey ha' warned ye, Alizon," said Jennet, alarmed by these
+demonstrations; "boh since ye pay no heed to owt ey say, ey'st leave yo
+to yer fate."
+
+"Oh! stay with me, stay with me, Jennet!" shrieked Alizon, "By our past
+sisterly affection I implore you to remain! You are some protection to
+me from these dreadful beings."
+
+"Ey dunna want to protect yo onless yo do os yo're bidd'n," replied
+Jennet! "Whoy should yo be better than me?"
+
+"Ah! why, indeed?" cried Alizon. "Would I had the power to turn your
+heart--to open your eyes to evil--to save you, Jennet."
+
+These words were followed by another clang, louder and more brattling
+than the first. The solid walls of the dungeon were shaken, and the
+heavy columns rocked; while, to Alizon's affrighted gaze, it seemed as
+if the sable statue arose upon its ebon throne, and stretched out its
+arm menacingly towards her. The poor girl was saved from further terror
+by insensibility.
+
+How long she remained in this condition she could not tell, nor did it
+appear that any efforts were made to restore her; but when she
+recovered, she found herself stretched upon a rude pallet within an
+arched recess, the entrance to which was screened by a piece of
+tapestry. On lifting it aside she perceived she was no longer in the
+vault, but in an upper chamber, as she judged, and not incorrectly, of
+the tower. The room was lofty and circular, and the walls of enormous
+thickness, as shown by the deep embrasures of the windows; in one of
+which, the outlet having been built up, the pallet was placed. A massive
+oak table, two or three chairs of antique shape, and a wooden stool,
+constituted the furniture of the room. The stool was set near the
+fireplace, and beside it stood a strangely-fashioned spinning-wheel,
+which had apparently been recently used; but neither the old hag nor her
+grand-daughter were visible. Alizon could not tell whether it was night
+or day; but a lamp was burning upon the table, its feeble light only
+imperfectly illumining the chamber, and scarcely revealing several
+strange objects dangling from the huge beams that supported the roof.
+Faded arras were hung against the walls, representing in one compartment
+the last banquet of Isole de Heton and her lover, Blackburn; in another,
+the Saxon Ughtred hanging from the summit of Malkin Tower; and in a
+third, the execution of Abbot Paslew. The subjects were as large as
+life, admirably depicted, and evidently worked at wondrous looms. As
+they swayed to and fro in the gusts, that found entrance into the
+chamber through some unprotected loopholes, the figures had a grim and
+ghostly air.
+
+Weak, trembling, bewildered, Alizon stepped forth, and staggering
+towards the table sank upon a chair beside it. A fearful storm was
+raging without--thunder, lightning, deluging rain. Stunned and blinded,
+she covered her eyes, and remained thus till the fury of the tempest had
+in some degree abated. She was roused at length by a creaking sound not
+far from her, and found it proceeded from a trapdoor rising slowly on
+its hinges.
+
+A thrum cap first appeared above the level of the floor; then a broad,
+bloated face, the mouth and chin fringed with a white beard like the
+whiskers of a cat; then a thick, bull throat; then a pair of brawny
+shoulders; then a square, thick-set frame; and Mother Demdike stood
+before her. A malignant smile played upon her hideous countenance, and
+gleamed from her eyes--those eyes so strangely placed by nature, as if
+to intimate her doom, and that of her fated race, to whom the horrible
+blemish was transmitted. As the old witch leaped heavily upon the
+ground, the trapdoor closed behind her.
+
+"Soh, you are better, Alizon, and have quitted your couch, I find," she
+cried, striking her staff upon the floor. "But you look faint and feeble
+still. I will give you something to revive you. I have a wondrous
+cordial in yon closet--a rare restorative--ha! ha! It will make you well
+the moment it has passed your lips. I will fetch it at once."
+
+"I will have none of it," replied Alizon; "I would rather die."
+
+"Rather die!" echoed Mother Demdike, sarcastically, "because, forsooth,
+you are crossed in love. But you shall have the man of your heart yet,
+if you will only follow my counsel, and do as I bid you. Richard
+Assheton shall be yours, and with your mother's consent, provided--"
+
+"I understand the condition you annex to the promise," interrupted
+Alizon, "and the terms upon which you would fulfil it: but you seek in
+vain to tempt me, old woman. I now comprehend why I am brought hither."
+
+"Ay, indeed!" exclaimed the old witch. "And why is it, then, since you
+are so quick-witted?"
+
+"You desire to make an offering to the evil being you serve," cried
+Alizon, with sudden energy. "You have entered into some dark compact,
+which compels you to deliver up a victim in each year to the Fiend, or
+your own soul becomes forfeit. Thus you have hitherto lengthened out
+your wretched life, and you hope to extend the term yet farther through
+me. I have heard this tale before, but I would not believe it. Now I
+do. This is why you have stolen me from my mother--have braved her
+anger--and brought me to this impious tower."
+
+The old hag laughed hoarsely.
+
+"The tale thou hast heard respecting me is true," she said. "I _have_ a
+compact which requires me to make a proselyte to the power I serve
+within each year, and if I fail in doing so, I must pay the penalty thou
+hast mentioned. A like compact exists between Mistress Nutter and the
+Fiend."
+
+She paused for a moment, to watch the effect of her words on Alizon, and
+then resumed.
+
+"Thy mother would have sacrificed thee if thou hadst been left with her;
+but I have carried thee off, because I conceive I am best entitled to
+thee. Thou wert brought up as my grand-daughter, and therefore I claim
+thee as my own."
+
+"And you think to deal with me as if I were a puppet in your hands?"
+cried Alizon.
+
+"Ay, marry, do I," rejoined Mother Demdike, with a scream of laughter,
+"Thou art nothing more than a puppet--a puppet--ho! ho."
+
+"And you deem you can dispose of my soul without my consent?" said
+Alizon.
+
+"Thy full consent will be obtained," rejoined the old hag.
+
+"Think it not! think it not!" exclaimed Alizon. "Oh! I shall yet be
+delivered from this infernal bondage."
+
+At this moment the notes of a bugle were heard.
+
+"Saved! saved!" cried the poor girl, starting. "It is Richard come to my
+rescue!"
+
+"How know'st thou that?" cried Mother Demdike, with a spiteful look.
+
+"By an instinct that never deceives," replied Alizon, as the blast was
+again heard.
+
+"This must be stopped," said the hag, waving her staff over the maiden,
+and transfixing her where she sat; after which she took up the lamp, and
+strode towards the window.
+
+The few words that passed between her and Richard have been already
+recounted. Having closed the casement and drawn the curtain before it,
+Mother Demdike traced a circle on the floor, muttered a spell, and then,
+waving her staff over Alizon, restored her power of speech and motion.
+
+"'Twas he!" exclaimed the young girl, as soon as she could find
+utterance. "I heard his voice."
+
+"Why, ay, 'twas he, sure enough," rejoined the beldame. "He has come on
+a fool's errand, but he shall never return from it. Does Mistress Nutter
+think I will give up my prize the moment I have obtained it, for the
+mere asking? Does she imagine she can frighten me as she frightens
+others? Does she know whom she has to deal with? If not, I will tell
+her. I am the oldest, the boldest, and the strongest of the witches. No
+mystery of the black art but is known to me. I can do what mischief I
+will, and my desolating hand has been felt throughout this district. You
+may trace it like a pestilence. No one has offended me but I have
+terribly repaid him. I rule over the land like a queen. I exact
+tributes, and, if they are not rendered, I smite with a sharper edge
+than the sword. My worship is paid to the Prince of Darkness. This tower
+is his temple, and yon subterranean chamber the place where the mystical
+rites, which thou wouldst call impious and damnable, are performed.
+Countless sabbaths have I attended within it; or upon Rumbles Moor, or
+on the summit of Pendle Hill, or within the ruins of Whalley Abbey. Many
+proselytes have I made; many unbaptised babes offered up in sacrifice. I
+am high-priestess to the Demon, and thy mother would usurp mine office."
+
+"Oh! spare me this horrible recital!" exclaimed Alizon, vainly trying to
+shut out the hag's piercing voice.
+
+"I will spare thee nothing," pursued Mother Demdike. "Thy mother, I say,
+would be high-priestess in my stead. There are degrees among witches, as
+among other sects, and mine is the first. Mistress Nutter would deprive
+me of mine office; but not till her hair is as white as mine, her
+knowledge equal to mine, and her hatred of mankind as intense as
+mine--not till then shall she have it."
+
+"No more of this, in pity!" cried Alizon.
+
+"Often have I aided thy mother in her dark schemes," pursued the
+implacable hag; "nay, no later than last night I obliterated the old
+boundaries of her land, and erected new marks to serve her. It was a
+strong exercise of power; but the command came to me, and I obeyed it.
+No other witch could have achieved so much, not even the accursed
+Chattox, and she is next to myself. And how does thy mother purpose to
+requite me? By thrusting me aside, and stepping into my throne."
+
+"You must be in error," cried Alizon, scarcely knowing what to say.
+
+"My information never fails me," replied the hag, with a disdainful
+laugh. "Her plans are made known to me as soon as formed. I have those
+about her who keep strict watch upon her actions, and report them
+faithfully. I know why she brought thee so suddenly to Rough Lee, though
+thou know'st it not."
+
+"She brought me there for safety," remarked the young girl, hoping to
+allay the beldame's fury, "and because she herself desired to know how
+the survey of the boundaries would end."
+
+"She brought thee there to sacrifice thee to the Fiend!" cried the hag,
+infernal rage and malice blazing in her eyes. "She failed in
+propitiating him at the meeting in the ruined church of Whalley last
+night, when thou thyself wert present, and deliveredst Dorothy Assheton
+from the snare in which she was taken. And since then all has gone wrong
+with her. Having demanded from her familiar the cause why all things ran
+counter, she was told she had failed in the fulfilment of her
+promise--that a proselyte was required--and that thou alone wouldst be
+accepted."
+
+"I!" exclaimed Alizon, horror-stricken.
+
+"Ay, thou!" cried the hag. "No choice was allowed her, and the offering
+must be made to-night. After a long and painful struggle, thy mother
+consented."
+
+"Oh! no--impossible! you deceive me," cried the wretched girl.
+
+"I tell thee she consented," rejoined Mother Demdike, coldly; "and on
+this she made instant arrangements to return home, and in spite--as thou
+know'st--of Sir Ralph and Lady Assheton's efforts to detain her, set
+forth with thee."
+
+"All this I know," observed Alizon, sadly--"and intelligence of our
+departure from the Abbey was conveyed to you, I conclude, by Jennet, to
+whom I bade adieu."
+
+"Thou art right--it was," returned the hag; "but I have yet more to tell
+thee, for I will lay the secrets of thy mother's dark breast fully
+before thee. Her time is wellnigh run. Thou wert made the price of its
+extension. If she fails in offering thee up to-night, and thou art here
+in my keeping, the Fiend, her master, will abandon her, and she will be
+delivered up to the justice of man."
+
+Alizon covered her face with horror.
+
+After awhile she looked up, and exclaimed, with unutterable anguish--
+
+"And I cannot help her!"
+
+The unpitying hag laughed derisively.
+
+"She cannot be utterly lost," continued the young girl. "Were I near
+her, I would show her that heaven is merciful to the greatest sinner who
+repents; and teach her how to regain the lost path to salvation."
+
+"Peace!" thundered the witch, shaking her huge hand at her, and stamping
+her heavy foot upon the ground. "Such words must not be uttered here.
+They are an offence to me. Thy mother has renounced all hopes of heaven.
+She has been baptised in the baptism of hell, and branded on the brow by
+the red finger of its ruler, and cannot be wrested from him. It is too
+late."
+
+"No, no--it never can be too late!" cried Alizon. "It is not even too
+late for you."
+
+"Thou know'st not what thou talk'st about, foolish wench," rejoined the
+hag. "Our master would tear us instantly in pieces if but a thought of
+penitence, as thou callest it, crossed our minds. We are both doomed to
+an eternity of torture. But thy mother will go first--ay, first. If she
+had yielded thee up to-night, another term would have been allowed her;
+but as I hold thee instead, the benefit of the sacrifice will be mine.
+But, hist! what was that? The youth again! Alice Nutter must have given
+him some potent counter-charm."
+
+"He comes to deliver me," cried Alizon. "Richard!"
+
+And she arose, and would have flown to the window, but Mother Demdike
+waved her staff over her, and rooted her to the ground.
+
+"Stay there till I require thee," chuckled the hag, moving, with
+ponderous footsteps, to the door.
+
+After parleying with Richard, as already related, Mother Demdike
+suddenly returned to Alizon, and, restoring her to sensibility, placed
+her hideous face close to her, breathing upon her, and uttering these
+words, "Be thine eyes blinded and thy brain confused, so that thou mayst
+not know him when thou seest him, but think him another."
+
+The spell took instant effect. Alizon staggered towards the table,
+Richard was summoned, and on his appearance the scene took place which
+has already been detailed, and which ended in his losing the talisman,
+and being ejected from the tower.
+
+Alizon had been rendered invisible by the old witch, and was afterwards
+dragged into the arched recess by her, where, snatching the piece of
+gold from the young girl's neck, she exclaimed triumphantly--
+
+"Now I defy thee, Alice Nutter. Thou canst never recover thy child. The
+offering shall be made to-night, and another year be added to my long
+term."
+
+Alizon groaned deeply, but, at a gesture from the hag, she became
+motionless and speechless.
+
+A dusky indistinctly-seen figure hovered near the entrance of the
+embrasure. Mother Demdike beckoned it to her.
+
+"Convey this girl to the vault, and watch over her," she said. "I will
+descend anon."
+
+Upon this the shadowy arms enveloped Alizon, the trapdoor flew open, and
+the figure disappeared with its inanimate burthen.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.--THE TWO FAMILIARS.
+
+
+After seeing Richard depart on his perilous mission to Malkin Tower,
+Mistress Nutter retired to her own chamber, and held long and anxious
+self-communion. The course of her thoughts may be gathered from the
+terrible revelations made by Mother Demdike to Alizon. A prey to the
+most agonising emotions, it may be questioned if she could have endured
+greater torment if her heart had been consumed by living fire, as in the
+punishment assigned to the damned in the fabled halls of Eblis. For the
+first time remorse assailed her, and she felt compunction for the evil
+she had committed. The whole of her dark career passed in review before
+her. The long catalogue of her crimes unfolded itself like a scroll of
+flame, and at its foot were written in blazing characters the awful
+words, JUDGMENT AND CONDEMNATION! There was no escape--none! Hell, with
+its unquenchable fires and unimaginable horrors, yawned to receive her;
+and she felt, with anguish and self-reproach not to be described, how
+wretched a bargain she had made, and how dearly the brief gratification
+of her evil passions had been purchased at the cost of an eternity of
+woe and torture.
+
+This change of feeling had been produced by her newly-awakened affection
+for her daughter, long supposed dead, and now restored to her, only to
+be snatched away again in a manner which added to the sharpness of the
+loss. She saw herself the sport of a juggling fiend, whose aim was to
+win over her daughter's soul through her instrumentality, and she
+resolved, if possible, to defeat his purposes. This, she was aware,
+could only be accomplished by her own destruction, but even this dread
+alternative she was prepared to embrace. Alizon's sinless nature and
+devotion to herself had so wrought upon her, that, though she had at
+first resisted the better impulses kindled within her bosom, in the end
+they completely overmastered her.
+
+Was it, she asked herself, too late to repent? Was there no way of
+breaking her compact? She remembered to have read of a young man who had
+signed away his own soul, being restored to heaven by the intercession
+of the great reformer of the church, Martin Luther. But, on the other
+hand, she had heard of many others, who, on the slightest manifestation
+of penitence, had been rent in pieces by the Fiend. Still the idea
+recurred to her. Might not her daughter, armed with perfect purity and
+holiness, with a soul free from stain as an unspotted mirror; might not
+she, who had avouched herself ready to risk all for her--for she had
+overheard her declaration to Richard;--might not she be able to work out
+her salvation? Would confession of her sins and voluntary submission to
+earthly justice save her? Alas!--no. She was without hope. She had an
+inexorable master to deal with, who would grant her no grace, except
+upon conditions she would not assent to.
+
+She would have thrown herself on her knees, but they refused to bend.
+She would have prayed, but the words turned to blasphemies. She would
+have wept, but the fountains of tears were dry. The witch could never
+weep.
+
+Then came despair and frenzy, and, like furies, lashed her with whips of
+scorpions, goading her with the memory of her abominations and
+idolatries, and her infinite and varied iniquities. They showed her, as
+in a swiftly-fleeting vision, all who had suffered wrong by her, or whom
+her malice had afflicted in body or estate. They mocked her with a
+glimpse of the paradise she had forfeited. She saw her daughter in a
+beatified state about to enter its golden portals, and would have clung
+to her robes in the hope of being carried in with her, but she was
+driven away by an angel with a flaming sword, who cried out, "Thou hast
+abjured heaven, and heaven rejects thee. Satan's brand is upon thy brow
+and, unless it be effaced, thou canst never enter here. Down to Tophet,
+thou witch!" Then she implored her daughter to touch her brow with the
+tip of her finger; and, as the latter was about to comply, a dark
+demoniacal shape suddenly rose, and, seizing her by the hair, plunged
+with her down--down--millions of miles--till she beheld a world of fire
+appear beneath her, consisting of a multitude of volcanoes, roaring and
+raging like furnaces, boiling over with redhot lava, and casting forth
+huge burning stones. In each of these beds of fire thousands upon
+thousands of sufferers were writhing, and their groans and lamentations
+arose in one frightful, incessant wail, too terrible for human hearing.
+
+Over this place of torment the demon held her suspended. She shrieked
+aloud in her agony, and, shaking off the oppression, rejoiced to find
+the vision had been caused by her own distempered imagination.
+
+Meanwhile, the storm, which had obstructed Richard as he climbed the
+hill, had come on, though Mistress Nutter had not noticed it; but now a
+loud peal of thunder shook the room, and rousing herself she walked to
+the window. The sight she beheld increased her alarm. Heavy
+thunder-clouds rested upon the hill-side, and seemed ready to discharge
+their artillery upon the course which she knew must be taken by the
+young man.
+
+The chamber in which she stood, it has been said, was large and gloomy,
+with a wainscoting of dark oak. On one of the panels was painted a
+picture of herself in her days of youth, innocence, and beauty; and on
+another, a portrait of her unfortunate husband, who appeared a handsome
+young man, with a stern countenance, attired in a black velvet doublet
+and cloak, of the fashion of Elizabeth's day. Between these paintings
+stood a carved oak bedstead, with a high tester and dark heavy drapery,
+opposite which was a wide window, occupying almost the whole length of
+the room, but darkened by thick bars and glass, crowded with armorial
+bearings, or otherwise deeply dyed. The high mantelpiece and its
+carvings have been previously described, as well as the bloody
+hearthstone, where the tragical incident occurred connected with
+Alizon's early history.
+
+As Mistress Nutter returned to the fireplace, a plaintive cry arose from
+it, and starting--for the sound revived terrible memories within her
+breast--she beheld the ineffaceable stains upon the flag traced out by
+blue phosphoric fire, while above them hovered the shape of a bleeding
+infant. Horror-stricken, she averted her gaze, but it encountered
+another object, equally appalling--her husband's portrait; or rather,
+it would seem, a phantom in its place; for the eyes, lighted up by
+infernal fire, glared at her from beneath the frowning and contracted
+brows, while the hand significantly pointed to the hearthstone, on which
+the sanguinary stains had now formed themselves into the fatal word
+"VENGEANCE!"
+
+In a few minutes the fiery characters died away, and the portrait
+resumed its wonted expression; but ere Mistress Nutter had recovered
+from her terror the back of the fireplace opened, and a tall swarthy man
+stepped out from it. As he appeared, a flash of lightning illumined the
+chamber, and revealed his fiendish countenance. On seeing him, the lady
+immediately regained her courage, and addressed him in a haughty and
+commanding tone--
+
+"Why this intrusion? I did not summon thee, and do not require thee."
+
+"You are mistaken, madam," he replied; "you had never more occasion for
+me than at this moment; and, so far from intruding upon you, I have
+avoided coming near you, even though enjoined to do so by my lord. He is
+perfectly aware of the change which has just taken place in your
+opinions, and the anxiety you now feel to break the contract you have
+entered into with him, and which he has scrupulously fulfilled on his
+part; but he wishes you distinctly to understand, that he has no
+intention of abandoning his claims upon you, but will most assuredly
+enforce them at the proper time. I need not remind you that your term
+draws to a close, and ere many months must expire; but means of
+extending it have been offered you, if you choose to avail yourself of
+them."
+
+"I have no such intention," replied Mistress Nutter, in a decided tone.
+
+"So be it, madam," replied the other; "but you will not preserve your
+daughter, who is in the hands of a tried and faithful servant of my
+lord, and what you hesitate to do that servant will perform, and so reap
+the benefit of the sacrifice."
+
+"Not so," rejoined Mistress Nutter.
+
+"I say yea," retorted the familiar.
+
+"Thou art my slave, I command thee to bring Alizon hither at once."
+
+The familiar shook his head.
+
+"Thou refusest!" cried Mistress Nutter, menacingly.
+
+"Knows't thou not I have the means of chastising thee?"
+
+"You had, madam," replied the other; "but the moment a thought of
+penitence crossed your breast, the power you were invested with
+departed. My lord, however, is willing to give you an hour of grace,
+when, if you voluntarily renew your oaths to him, he will accept them,
+and place me at your disposal once more; but if you still continue
+obstinate--"
+
+"He will abandon me," interrupted Mistress Nutter; "I knew it. Fool
+that I was to trust one who, from the beginning, has been a deceiver."
+
+"You have a short memory, and but little gratitude, madam and seem
+entirely to forget the important favour conferred upon you last night.
+At your solicitation, the boundaries of your property were changed, and
+large slips of land filched from another, to be given to you. But if you
+fail in your duty, you cannot expect this to continue. The boundary
+marks will be set up in their old places, and the land restored to its
+rightful owner."
+
+"I expected as much," observed Mistress Nutter, disdainfully.
+
+"Thus all our pains will be thrown away," pursued the familiar; "and
+though you may make light of the labour, it is no easy task to change
+the face of a whole country--to turn streams from their course, move
+bogs, transplant trees, and shift houses, all of which has been done,
+and will now have to be undone, because of your inconstancy. I, myself,
+have been obliged to act as many parts as a poor player to please you,
+and now you dismiss me at a moment's notice, as if I had played them
+indifferently, whereas the most fastidious audience would have been
+ravished with my performance. This morning I was the reeve of the
+forest, and as such obliged to assume the shape of a rascally attorney.
+I felt it a degradation, I assure you. Nor was I better pleased when you
+compelled me to put on the likeness of old Roger Nowell; for, whatever
+you may think, I am not so entirely destitute of personal vanity as to
+prefer either of their figures to my own. However, I showed no
+disinclination to oblige you. You are strangely unreasonable to-day. Is
+it my lord's fault if your desire of vengeance expires in its
+fruition--if, when you have accomplished an object, you no longer care
+for it? You ask for revenge--for power. You have them, and cast them
+aside like childish baubles!"
+
+"Thy lord is an arch deceiver," rejoined Mistress Nutter; "and cannot
+perform his promises. They are empty delusions--profitless,
+unsubstantial as shadows. His power prevails not against any thing holy,
+as I myself have just now experienced. His money turns to withered
+leaves; his treasures are dust and ashes. Strong only is he in power of
+mischief, and even his mischief, like curses, recoils on those who use
+it. His vengeance is no true vengeance, for it troubles the conscience,
+and engenders remorse; whereas the servant of heaven heaps coals of fire
+on the head of his adversary by kindness, and satisfies his own heart."
+
+"You should have thought of all this before you vowed yourself to him,"
+said the familiar; "it is too late to reflect now."
+
+"Perchance not," rejoined Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Beware!" thundered the demon, with a terrible gesture; "any overt act
+of disobedience, and your limbs shall be scattered over this chamber."
+
+"If I do not dare thee to it, it is not because I fear thee," replied
+Mistress Nutter, in no way dismayed by the threat. "Thou canst not
+control my tongue. Thou speakest of the services rendered by thy lord,
+and I repeat they are like his promises, naught. Show me the witch he
+has enriched. Of what profit is her worship of the false deity--of what
+avail the sacrifices she makes at his foul altars? It is ever the same
+spilling of blood, ever the same working of mischief. The wheels Of
+crime roll on like the car of the Indian idol, crushing all before them.
+Doth thy master ever help his servants in their need? Doth he not ever
+abandon them when they are no longer useful, and can win him no more
+proselytes? Miserable servants--miserable master! Look at the murtherous
+Demdike and the malignant Chattox, and examine the means whereby they
+have prolonged their baleful career. Enormities of all kinds committed,
+and all their families devoted to the Fiend--all wizards or witches!
+Look at them, I say. What profit to them is their long service? Are they
+rich? Are they in possession of unfading youth and beauty? Are they
+splendidly lodged? Have they all they desire? No!--the one dwells in a
+solitary turret, and the other in a wretched hovel; and both are
+miserable creatures, living only on the dole wrung by threats from
+terrified peasants, and capable of no gratification but such as results
+from practices of malice."
+
+"Is that nothing?" asked the familiar. "To them it is every thing. They
+care neither for splendid mansions, nor wealth, nor youth, nor beauty.
+If they did, they could have them all. They care only for the dread and
+mysterious power they possess, to be able to fascinate with a glance, to
+transfix by a gesture, to inflict strange ailments by a word, and to
+kill by a curse. This is the privilege they seek, and this privilege
+they enjoy."
+
+"And what is the end of it all?" demanded Mistress Nutter, sternly.
+"Erelong, they will be unable to furnish victims to their insatiate
+master, who will then abandon them. Their bodies will go to the hangman,
+and their souls to endless bale!"
+
+The familiar laughed as if a good joke had been repeated to him, and
+rubbed his hands gleefully.
+
+"Very true," he said; "very true. You have stated the case exactly,
+madam. Such will certainly be the course of events. But what of that?
+The old hags will have enjoyed a long term--much longer than might have
+been anticipated. Mother Demdike, however, as I have intimated, will
+extend hers, and it is fortunate for her she is enabled to do so, as it
+would otherwise expire an hour after midnight, and could not be
+renewed."
+
+"Thou liest!" cried Mistress Nutter--"liest like thy lord, who is the
+father of lies. My innocent child can never be offered up at his impious
+shrine. I have no fear for her. Neither he, nor Mother Demdike, nor any
+of the accursed sisterhood, can harm her. Her goodness will cover her
+like armour, which no evil can penetrate. Let him wreak his vengeance,
+if he will, on me. Let him treat me as a slave who has cast off his
+yoke. Let him abridge the scanty time allotted me, and bear me hence to
+his burning kingdom; but injure my child, he cannot--shall not!"
+
+"Go to Malkin Tower at midnight, and thou wilt see," replied the
+familiar, with a mocking laugh.
+
+"I will go there, but it shall be to deliver her," rejoined Mistress
+Nutter. "And now get thee gone! I need thee no more."
+
+"Be not deceived, proud woman," said the familiar. "Once dismissed, I
+may not be recalled, while thou wilt be wholly unable to defend thyself
+against thy enemies."
+
+"I care not," she rejoined; "begone!"
+
+The familiar stepped back, and, stamping upon the hearthstone, it sank
+like a trapdoor, and he disappeared beneath it, a flash of lightning
+playing round his dusky figure.
+
+Notwithstanding her vaunted resolution, and the boldness with which she
+had comported herself before the familiar, Mistress Nutter now
+completely gave way, and for awhile abandoned herself to despair.
+Aroused at length by the absolute necessity of action, she again walked
+to the window and looked forth. The storm still raged furiously
+without--so furiously, indeed, that it would be madness to brave it, now
+that she was deprived of her power, and reduced to the ordinary level of
+humanity. Its very violence, however, assured her it must soon cease,
+and she would then set out for Malkin Tower. But what chance had she now
+in a struggle with the old hag, with all the energies of hell at her
+command?--what hope was there of her being able to effect her daughter's
+liberation? No matter, however desperate, the attempt should be made.
+Meanwhile, it would be necessary so see what was going on below, and
+ascertain whether Blackadder had returned with Parson Holden. With this
+view, she descended to the hall, where she found Nicholas Assheton fast
+asleep in a great arm-chair, and rocked rather than disturbed by the
+loud concussions of thunder. The squire was, no doubt, overcome by the
+fatigues of the day, or it might be by the potency of the wine he had
+swallowed, for an empty flask stood on the table beside him. Mistress
+Nutter did not awaken him, but proceeded to the chamber where she had
+left Nowell and Potts prisoners, both of whom rose on her entrance.
+
+"Be seated, gentlemen, I pray you," she said, courteously. "I am come to
+see if you need any thing; for when this fearful storm abates, I am
+going forth for a short time."
+
+"Indeed, madam," replied Potts. "For myself I require nothing further;
+but perhaps another bottle of wine might be agreeable to my honoured and
+singular good client."
+
+"Speak for yourself, sir," cried Roger Nowell, sharply.
+
+"You shall have it," interposed Mistress Nutter. "I shall be glad of a
+word with you before I go, Master Nowell. I am sorry this dispute has
+arisen between us."
+
+"Humph!" exclaimed the magistrate.
+
+"Very sorry," pursued Mistress Nutter; "and I wish to make every
+reparation in my power."
+
+"Reparation, madam!" cried Nowell. "Give back the land you have stolen
+from me--restore the boundary lines--sign the deed in Sir Ralph's
+possession--that is the only reparation you can make."
+
+"I will," replied Mistress Nutter.
+
+"You will!" exclaimed Nowell. "Then the fellow did not deceive us,
+Master Potts."
+
+"Has any one been with you?" asked the lady, uneasily.
+
+"Ay, the reeve of the forest," replied Nowell. "He told us you would be
+with us presently, and would make fair offers to us."
+
+"And he told us also _why_ you would make them, madam," added Potts, in
+an insolent and menacing tone; "he told us you would make a merit of
+doing what you could not help--that your power had gone from you--that
+your works of darkness would be destroyed--and that, in a word, you were
+abandoned by the devil, your master."
+
+"He deceived you," replied Mistress Nutter. "I have made you the offer
+out of pure good-will, and you can reject it or not, as you please. All
+I stipulate, if you do accept it, is, that you pledge me your word not
+to bring any charge of witchcraft against me."
+
+"Do not give the pledge," whispered a voice in the ear of the
+magistrate.
+
+"Did you speak?" he said, turning to Potts.
+
+"No, sir," replied the attorney, in a low tone; "but I thought you
+cautioned me against--"
+
+"Hush!" interrupted Nowell; "it must be the reeve. We cannot comply with
+your request, madam," he added, aloud.
+
+"Certainly not," said Potts. "We can make no bargain with an avowed
+witch. We should gain nothing by it; on the contrary, we should be
+losers, for we have the positive assurance of a gentleman whom we
+believe to be upon terms of intimacy with a certain black gentleman of
+your acquaintance, madam, that the latter has given you up entirely, and
+that law and justice may, therefore, take their course. We protest
+against our unlawful detention; but we give ourselves small concern
+about it, as Sir Ralph Assheton, who will be advised of our situation by
+Parson Holden, will speedily come to our liberation."
+
+"Yes, we are now quite easy on that score, madam," added Nowell; "and
+to-morrow we shall have the pleasure of escorting you to Lancaster
+Castle."
+
+"And your trial will come on at the next assizes, about the middle of
+August," said Potts, "You have only four months to run."
+
+"That is indeed my term," muttered the lady. "I shall not tarry to
+listen to your taunts," she added, aloud. "You may possibly regret
+rejecting my proposal."
+
+So saying, she quitted the room.
+
+As she returned to the hall, Nicholas awoke.
+
+"What a devil of a storm!" he exclaimed, stretching himself and rubbing
+his eyes. "Zounds! that flash of lightning was enough to blind me, and
+the thunder wellnigh splits one's ears."
+
+"Yet you have slept through louder peals, Nicholas," said Mistress
+Nutter, coming up to him. "Richard has not returned from his mission,
+and I must go myself to Malkin Tower. In my absence, I must entrust you
+with the defence of my house."
+
+"I am willing to undertake it," replied Nicholas, "provided no
+witchcraft be used."
+
+"Nay, you need not fear that," said the lady, with a forced smile.
+
+"Well, then, leave it to me," said the squire; "but you will not set out
+till the storm is over?"
+
+"I must," replied Mistress Nutter; "there seems no likelihood of its
+cessation, and each moment is fraught with peril to Alizon. If aught
+happens to me, Nicholas--if I should--whatever mischance may befall
+me--promise me you will stand by her."
+
+The squire gave the required promise.
+
+"Enough, I hold you to your word," said Mistress Nutter. "Take this
+parchment. It is a deed of gift, assigning this mansion and all my
+estates to her. Under certain circumstances you will produce it."
+
+"What circumstances? I am at a loss to understand you, madam," said the
+squire.
+
+"Do not question me further, but take especial care of the deed, and
+produce it, as I have said, at the fitting moment. You will know when
+that arrives. Ha! I am wanted."
+
+The latter exclamation had been occasioned by the appearance of an old
+woman at the further end of the hall, beckoning to her. On seeing her,
+Mistress Nutter immediately quitted the squire, and followed her into a
+small chamber opening from this part of the hall, and into which she
+retreated.
+
+"What brings you here, Mother Chattox?" exclaimed the lady, closing the
+door.
+
+"Can you not guess?" replied the hag. "I am come to help you, not for
+any love I bear you, but to avenge myself on old Demdike. Do not
+interrupt me. My familiar, Fancy, has told me all. I know how you are
+circumstanced. I know Alizon is in old Demdike's clutches, and you are
+unable to extricate her. But I can, and will; because if the hateful old
+hag fails in offering up her sacrifice before the first hour of day, her
+term will be out, and I shall be rid of her, and reign in her stead.
+To-morrow she will be on her way to Lancaster Castle. Ha! ha! The
+dungeon is prepared for her--the stake driven into the ground--the
+fagots heaped around it. The torch has only to be lighted. Ho! Ho!"
+
+[Illustration: THE RIDE THROUGH THE MURKY AIR.]
+
+"Shall we go to Malkin Tower?" asked Mistress Nutter, shuddering.
+
+"No; to the summit of Pendle Hill," rejoined Mother Chattox; "for there
+the girl will be taken, and there only can we secure her. But first we
+must proceed to my hut, and make some preparations. I have three scalps
+and eight teeth, taken from a grave in Goldshaw churchyard this very
+day. We can make a charm with them."
+
+"You must prepare it alone," said Mistress Nutter; "I can have nought to
+do with it."
+
+"True--true--I had forgotten," cried the hag, with a chuckling
+laugh--"you are no longer one of us. Well, then, I will do it alone. But
+come with me. You will not object to mount upon my broomstick. It is the
+only safe conveyance in this storm of the devil's raising. Come--away!"
+
+And she threw open the window and sprang forth, followed by Mistress
+Nutter.
+
+Through the murky air, and borne as if on the wings of the wind, two
+dark forms are flying swiftly. Over the tops of the tempest-shaken trees
+they go, and as they gain the skirts of the thicket an oak beneath is
+shivered by a thunderbolt. They hear the fearful crash, and see the
+splinters fly far and wide; and the foremost of the two, who, with her
+skinny arm extended, seems to direct their course, utters a wild scream
+of laughter, while a raven, speeding on broad black wing before them,
+croaks hoarsely. Now the torrent rages below, and they see its white
+waters tumbling over a ledge of rock; now they pass over the brow of a
+hill; now skim over a dreary waste and dangerous morass. Fearful it is
+to behold those two flying figures, as the lightning shows them,
+bestriding their fantastical steed; the one an old hag with hideous
+lineaments and distorted person, and the other a proud dame, still
+beautiful, though no longer young, pale as death, and her loose jetty
+hair streaming like a meteor in the breeze.
+
+The ride is over, and they alight near the door of a solitary hovel. The
+raven has preceded them, and, perched on the chimney top, flies down it
+as they enter, and greets them with hoarse croaking. The inside of the
+hut corresponds with its miserable exterior, consisting only of two
+rooms, in one of which is a wretched pallet; in the other are a couple
+of large chests, a crazy table, a bench, a three-legged stool, and a
+spinning-wheel. A caldron is suspended above a peat fire, smouldering on
+the hearth. There is only one window, and a thick curtain is drawn
+across it, to secure the inmate of the hut from prying eyes.
+
+Mother Chattox closes and bars the door, and, motioning Mistress Nutter
+to seat herself upon the stool, kneels down near the hearth, and blows
+the turf into a flame, the raven helping her, by flapping his big black
+wings, and uttering a variety of strange sounds, as the sparks fly
+about. Heaping on more turf, and shifting the caldron, so that it may
+receive the full influence of the flame, the hag proceeds to one of the
+chests, and takes out sundry small matters, which she places one by one
+with great care on the table. The raven has now fixed his great talons
+on her shoulder, and chuckles and croaks in her ear as she pursues her
+occupation. Suddenly a piece of bone attracts his attention, and darting
+out his beak, he seizes it, and hops away.
+
+"Give me that scalp, thou mischievous imp!" cries the hag, "I need it
+for the charm I am about to prepare. Give it me, I say!"
+
+But the raven still held it fast, and hopped here and there so nimbly
+that she was unable to catch him. At length, when he had exhausted her
+patience, he alighted on Mistress Nutter's shoulder, and dropped it into
+her lap. Engrossed by her own painful thoughts, the lady had paid no
+attention to what was passing, and she shuddered as she took up the
+fragment of mortality, and placed it upon the table. A few tufts of
+hair, the texture of which showed they had belonged to a female, still
+adhered to the scalp. Mistress Nutter regarded it fixedly, and with an
+interest for which she could not account.
+
+After sharply chiding the raven, Mother Chattox put forth her hand to
+grasp the prize she had been robbed of, when Mistress Nutter checked her
+by observing, "You said you got this scalp from Goldshaw churchyard.
+Know you ought concerning it?"
+
+"Ay, a good deal," replied the old woman, chuckling. "It comes from a
+grave near the yew-tree, and not far from Abbot Cliderhow's cross. Old
+Zachariah Worms, the sexton, digged it up for me. That yellow skull had
+once a fair face attached to it, and those few dull tufts were once
+bright flowing tresses. She who owned them died young; but, young as she
+was, she survived all her beauty. Hollow cheeks and hollow eyes, wasted
+flesh, and cruel cough, were hers--and she pined and pined away. Folks
+said she was forespoken, and that I had done it. I, forsooth! She had
+never done me harm. You know whether I was rightly accused, madam."
+
+"Take it away," cried Mistress Nutter, hurriedly, and as if struggling
+against some overmastering feeling. "I cannot bear to look at it. I
+wanted not this horrible reminder of my crimes."
+
+"This was the reason, then, why Ralph stole the scalp from me," muttered
+the hag, as she threw it, together with some other matters, into the
+caldron. "He wanted to show you his sagacity. I might have guessed as
+much."
+
+"I will go into the other room while you make your preparations," said
+Mistress Nutter, rising; "the sight of them disturbs me. You can summon
+me when you are ready."
+
+"I will, madam," replied the old hag, "and you must control your
+impatience, for the spell requires time for its confection."
+
+Mistress Nutter made no reply, but, walking into the inner room, closed
+the door, and threw herself upon the pallet. Here, despite her anxiety,
+sleep stole upon her, and though her dreams were troubled, she did not
+awake till Mother Chattox stood beside her.
+
+"Have I slept long?" she inquired.
+
+"More than three hours," replied the hag.
+
+"Three hours!" exclaimed Mistress Nutter. "Why did you not wake me
+before? You would have saved me from terrible dreams. We are not too
+late?"
+
+"No, no," replied Mother Chattox; "there is plenty of time. Come into
+the other room. All is ready."
+
+As Mistress Nutter followed the old hag into the adjoining room, a
+strong odour, arising from a chafing-dish, in which herbs, roots, and
+other ingredients were burning, assailed her, and, versed in all weird
+ceremonials, she knew that a powerful suffumigation had been made,
+though with what intent she had yet to learn. The scanty furniture had
+been cleared away, and a circle was described on the clay floor by
+skulls and bones, alternated by dried toads, adders, and other reptiles.
+In the midst of this magical circle, the caldron, which had been brought
+from the chimney, was placed, and, the lid being removed, a thick vapour
+arose from it. Mistress Nutter looked around for the raven, but the bird
+was nowhere to be seen, nor did any other living thing appear to be
+present beside themselves.
+
+Taking the lady's hand, Mother Chattox drew her into the circle, and
+began to mutter a spell; after which, still maintaining her hold of her
+companion, she bade her look into the caldron, and declare what she saw.
+
+"I see nothing," replied the lady, after she had gazed upon the bubbling
+waters for a few moments. "Ah! yes--I discern certain figures, but they
+are confused by the steam, and broken by the agitation of the water."
+
+"Caldron--cease boiling! and smoke--disperse!" cried Mother Chattox,
+stamping her foot. "Now, can you see more plainly?"
+
+"I can," replied Mistress Nutter; "I behold the subterranean chamber
+beneath Malkin Tower, with its nine ponderous columns, its altar in the
+midst of them, its demon image, and the well with waters black as Lethe
+beside it."
+
+"The water within the caldron came from that well," said Mother Chattox,
+with a chuckling laugh; "my familiar risked his liberty to bring it, but
+he succeeded. Ha! ha! My precious Fancy, thou art the best of servants,
+and shalt have my best blood to reward thee to-morrow--thou shalt, my
+sweetheart, my chuck, my dandyprat. But hie thee back to Malkin Tower,
+and contrive that this lady may hear, as well as see, all that passes.
+Away!"
+
+Mistress Nutter concluded that the injunction would be obeyed; but, as
+the familiar was invisible to her, she could not detect his departure.
+
+"Do you see no one within the dungeon?" inquired Mother Chattox.
+
+"Ah! yes," exclaimed the lady; "I have at last discovered Alizon. She
+was behind one of the pillars. A little girl is with her. It is Jennet
+Device, and, from the spiteful looks of the latter, I judge she is
+mocking her. Oh! what malice lurks in the breast of that hateful child!
+She is a true descendant of Mother Demdike. But Alizon--sweet, patient
+Alizon--she seems to bear all her taunts with a meekness and resignation
+enough to move the hardest heart. I would weep for her if I could. And
+now Jennet shakes her hand at her, and leaves her. She is alone. What
+will she do now? Has she no thoughts of escape? Oh, yes! She looks about
+her distractedly--runs round the vault--tries the door of every cell:
+they are all bolted and barred--there is no outlet--none!"
+
+"What next?" inquired the hag.
+
+"She shrieks aloud," rejoined Mistress Nutter, "and the cry thrills
+through every fibre in my frame. She calls upon me for aid--upon me, her
+mother, and little thinks I hear her, and am unable to help her. Oh! it
+is horrible. Take me to her, good Chattox--take me to her, I implore
+you!"
+
+"Impossible!" replied the hag: "you must await the fitting time. If you
+cannot control yourself, I shall remove the caldron."
+
+"Oh! no, no," cried the distracted lady. "I will be calm. Ah! what is
+this I see?" she added, belying her former words by sudden vehemence,
+while rage and astonishment were depicted upon her countenance. "What
+infernal delusion is practised upon my child! This is monstrous--
+intolerable. Oh! that I could undeceive her--could warn her
+of the snare!"
+
+"What is the nature of the delusion?" asked Mother Chattox, with some
+curiosity. "I am so blind I cannot see the figures on the water."
+
+"It is an evil spirit in my likeness," replied Mistress Nutter.
+
+"In your likeness!" exclaimed the hag. "A cunning device--and worthy of
+old Demdike--ho! ho!"
+
+"I can scarce bear to look on," cried Mistress Nutter; "but I must,
+though it tears my heart in pieces to witness such cruelty. The poor
+girl has rushed to her false parent--has thrown her arms around her, and
+is weeping on her shoulder. Oh! it is a maddening sight. But it is
+nothing to what follows. The temptress, with the subtlety of the old
+serpent, is pouring lies into her ear, telling her they both are
+captives, and both will perish unless she consents to purchase their
+deliverance at the price of her soul, and she offers her a bond to
+sign--such a bond as, alas! thou and I, Chattox, have signed. But Alizon
+rejects it with horror, and gazes at her false mother as if she
+suspected the delusion. But the temptress is not to be beaten thus. She
+renews her entreaties, casts herself on the ground, and clasps my
+child's knees in humblest supplication. Oh! that Alizon would place her
+foot upon her neck and crush her. But it is not so the good act. She
+raises her, and tells her she will willingly die for her; but her soul
+was given to her by her Creator, and must be returned to him. Oh! that I
+had thought of this."
+
+"And what answer makes the spirit?" asked the witch.
+
+"It laughs derisively," replied Mistress Nutter; "and proceeds to use
+all those sophistical arguments, which we have so often heard, to
+pervert her mind, and overthrow her principles. But Alizon is proof
+against them all. Religion and virtue support her, and make her more
+than a match for her opponent. Equally vain are the spirit's attempts to
+seduce her by the offer of a life of sinful enjoyment. She rejects it
+with angry scorn. Failing in argument and entreaty, the spirit now
+endeavours to work upon her fears, and paints, in appalling colours, the
+tortures she will have to endure, contrasting them with the delight she
+is voluntarily abandoning, with the lover she might espouse, with the
+high worldly position she might fill. 'What are worldly joys and honours
+compared with those of heaven!' exclaims Alizon; 'I would not exchange
+them.' The spirit then, in a vision, shows her her lover, Richard, and
+asks her if she can resist his entreaties. The trial is very sore, as
+she gazes on that beloved form, seeming, by its passionate gestures, to
+implore her to assent, but she is firm, and the vision disappears. The
+ordeal is now over. Alizon has triumphed over all their arts. The spirit
+in my likeness resumes its fiendish shape, and, with a dreadful menace
+against the poor girl, vanishes from her sight."
+
+"Mother Demdike has not done with her yet," observed Chattox.
+
+"You are right," replied Mistress Nutter. "The old hag descends the
+staircase leading to the vault, and approaches the miserable captive.
+With her there are no supplications--no arguments; but commands and
+terrible threats. She is as unsuccessful as her envoy. Alizon has gained
+courage and defies her."
+
+"Ha! does she so?" exclaimed Mother Chattox. "I am glad of it."
+
+"The solid floor resounds with the stamping of the enraged witch,"
+pursued Mistress Nutter. "She tells Alizon she will take her to Pendle
+Hill at midnight, and there offer her up as a sacrifice to the Fiend. My
+child replies that she trusts for her deliverance to Heaven--that her
+body may be destroyed--that her soul cannot be harmed. Scarcely are the
+words uttered than a terrible clangour is heard. The walls of the
+dungeon seem breaking down, and the ponderous columns reel. The demon
+statue rises on its throne, and a stream of flame issues from its brow.
+The doors of the cells burst open, and with the clanking of chains, and
+other dismal noises, skeleton shapes stalk forth, from them, each with a
+pale blue light above its head. Monstrous beasts, like tiger-cats, with
+rough black skins and flaming eyes, are moving about, and looking as if
+they would spring upon the captive. Two gravestones are now pushed
+aside, and from the cold earth arise the forms of Blackburn, the robber,
+and his paramour, the dissolute Isole de Heton. She joins the grisly
+throng now approaching the distracted girl, who falls insensible to the
+ground."
+
+"Can you see aught more?" asked the hag, as Mistress Nutter still bent
+eagerly over the caldron.
+
+"No; the whole chamber is buried in darkness," replied the lady; "I can
+see nothing of my poor child. What will become of her?"
+
+"I will question Fancy," replied the hag, throwing some fresh
+ingredients into the chafing-dish; and, as the smoke arose, she
+vociferated, "Come hither, Fancy; I want thee, my fondling, my sweet.
+Come quickly! ha! thou art here."
+
+The familiar was still invisible to Mistress Nutter, but a slight sound
+made her aware of his presence.
+
+"And now, my sweet Fancy," pursued the hag, "tell us, if thou canst,
+what will be done with Alizon, and what course we must pursue to free
+her from old Demdike?"
+
+"At present she is in a state of insensibility," replied a harsh voice,
+"and she will be kept in that condition till she is conveyed to the
+summit of Pendle Hill. I have already told you it is useless to attempt
+to take her from Malkin Tower. It is too well guarded. Your only chance
+will be to interrupt the sacrifice."
+
+"But how, my sweet Fancy? how, my little darling?" inquired the hag.
+
+"It is a perplexing question," replied the voice; "for, by showing you
+how to obtain possession of the girl, I disobey my lord."
+
+"Ay, but you serve me--you please me, my pretty Fancy," cried the hag.
+"You shall quaff your fill of blood on the morrow, if you do this for
+me. I want to get rid of my old enemy--to catch her in her own toils--to
+send her to a dungeon--to burn her--ha! ha! You must help me, my little
+sweetheart."
+
+"I will do all I can," replied the voice; "but Mother Demdike is cunning
+and powerful, and high in favour with my lord. You must have mortal aid
+as well as mine. The officers of justice must be there to seize her at
+the moment when the victim is snatched from her, or she will baffle all
+your schemes."
+
+"And how shall we accomplish this?" asked Mother Chattox.
+
+"I will tell you," said Mistress Nutter to the hag. "Let him put on the
+form of Richard Assheton, and in that guise hasten to Rough Lee, where
+he will find the young man's cousin, Nicholas, to whom he must make
+known the dreadful deed about to be enacted on Pendle Hill. Nicholas
+will at once engage to interrupt it. He can arm himself with the weapons
+of justice by taking with him Roger Nowell, the magistrate, and his
+myrmidon, Potts, the attorney, both of whom are detained prisoners in
+the house by my orders."
+
+"The scheme promises well, and shall be adopted," replied the hag; "but
+suppose Richard himself should appear first on the scene. Dost know
+where he is, my sweet Fancy?"
+
+"When I last saw him," replied the voice, "he was lying senseless on the
+ground, at the foot of Malkin Tower, having been precipitated from the
+doorway by Mother Demdike. You need apprehend no interference from him."
+
+"It is well," replied Mother Chattox. "Then take his form, my pet,
+though it is not half as handsome as thy own."
+
+"A black skin and goat-like limbs are to thy taste, I know," replied the
+familiar, with a laugh.
+
+"Let me look upon him before he goes, that I may be sure the likeness is
+exact," said Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Thou hearest, Fancy! Become visible to her," cried the hag.
+
+And as she spoke, a figure in all respects resembling Richard stood
+before them.
+
+"What think you of him? Will he do?" said Mother Chattox.
+
+"Ay," replied the lady; "and now send him off at once. There is no time
+to lose."
+
+"I shall be there in the twinkling of an eye," said the familiar; "but I
+own I like not the task."
+
+"There is no help for it, my sweet Fancy," cried the hag. "I cannot
+forego my triumph over old Demdike. Now, away with thee, and when thou
+hast executed thy mission, return and tell us how thou hast sped in the
+matter."
+
+The familiar promised obedience to her commands, and disappeared.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.--HOW ROUGH LEE WAS AGAIN BESIEGED.
+
+
+Parson Holden, it will be remembered, left Rough Lee, charged by Potts
+with a message to Sir Ralph Assheton, informing him of his detention and
+that of Roger Nowell, by Mistress Nutter, and imploring him to come to
+their assistance without delay. Congratulating himself on his escape,
+but apprehensive of pursuit, the worthy rector, who, as a keen
+huntsman, was extremely well mounted, made the best of his way, and had
+already passed the gloomy gorge through which Pendle Water swept, had
+climbed the hill beyond it, and was crossing the moor now alone lying
+between him and Goldshaw, when he heard a shout behind him, and, turning
+at the sound, beheld Blackadder and another mounted serving-man issuing
+from a thicket, and spurring furiously after him. Relying upon the speed
+of his horse, he disregarded their cries, and accelerated his pace; but,
+in spite of this, his pursuers gained upon him rapidly.
+
+While debating the question of resistance or surrender, the rector
+descried Bess Whitaker coming towards him from the opposite direction--a
+circumstance that greatly rejoiced him; for, aware of her strength and
+courage, he felt sure he could place as much dependence upon her in this
+emergency as on any man in the county. Bess was riding a stout,
+rough-looking nag, apparently well able to sustain her weight, and
+carried the redoubtable horsewhip with her.
+
+On the other hand, Holden had been recognised by Bess, who came up just
+as he was overtaken and seized by his assailants, one of whom caught
+hold of his cassock, and tore it from his back, while the other, seizing
+hold of his bridle, endeavoured, in spite of his efforts to the
+contrary, to turn his horse round. Many oaths, threats, and blows were
+exchanged during the scuffle, which no doubt would have terminated in
+the rector's defeat, and his compulsory return to Rough Lee, had it not
+been for the opportune arrival of Bess, who, swearing as lustily as the
+serving-men, and brandishing the horsewhip, dashed into the scene of
+action, and, with a few well-applied cuts, liberated the divine. Enraged
+at her interference, and smarting from the application of the whip,
+Blackadder drew a petronel from his girdle, and levelled it at her head;
+but, ere he could discharge it, the weapon was stricken from his grasp,
+and a second blow on the head from the but-end of the whip felled him
+from his horse. Seeing the fate of his companion, the other serving-man
+fled, leaving Bess mistress of the field.
+
+The rector thanked her heartily for the service she had rendered him,
+and complimented her on her prowess.
+
+"Ey'n neaw dun mitch to boast on i' leatherin' them two seawr-feaced
+rapscallions," said Bess, with becoming modesty. "Simon Blackadder an ey
+ha' had mony a tussle together efore this, fo he's a feaw tempert felly,
+an canna drink abowt fightin', boh he has awlus found me more nor his
+match. Boh save us, your reverence, what were the ill-favort gullions
+ridin' after ye for? Firrups tak 'em! they didna mean to rob ye,
+surely?"
+
+"Their object was to make me prisoner, and carry me back to Rough Lee,
+Bess," replied Holden. "They wished to prevent my going to Whalley,
+whither I am bound, to procure help from Sir Ralph Assheton to liberate
+Master Roger Nowell and his attorney, who are forcibly detained by
+Mistress Nutter."
+
+"Yo may spare yer horse an yersel the jorney, then, reverend sir,"
+replied Bess; "for yo'n foind Sir Tummus Metcawfe, wi' some twanty or
+throtty followers, armed wi' bills, hawberts, petronels, and calivers,
+at Goldshaw, an they win go wi' ye at wanst, ey'm sartin. Ey heerd sum
+o' t' chaps say os ow Sir Tummus is goin' to tak' possession o' Mistress
+Robinson's house, Raydale Ha', i' Wensley Dale, boh nah doubt he'n go
+furst wi' yer rev'rence, 'specially as he bears Mistress Nutter a
+grudge."
+
+"At all events, I will ask him," said Holden. "Are he and his followers
+lodged at your house, Bess?"
+
+"Yeigh," replied the hostess, "some on 'en are i' th' house, some i' th'
+barn, an some i' th' stables. The place is awtogether owerrun wi' 'em.
+Ey wur so moydert an wurrotit wi' their ca'in an bawlin fo' ele an
+drink, that ey swore they shouldna ha' another drawp wi' my consent; an,
+to be os good os my word, ey clapt key o' t' cellar i' my pocket, an
+leavin' our Margit to answer 'em, ey set out os yo see, intendin' to go
+os far as t' mill, an comfort poor deeavely Ruchot Baldwyn in his
+trouble."
+
+"A most praiseworthy resolution, Bess," said the rector; "but what is to
+be done with this fellow?" he added, pointing to Blackadder, who, though
+badly hurt, was trying to creep towards the petronel, which was lying at
+a little distance from him on the ground.
+
+Perceiving his intention, Bess quickly dismounted, and possessing
+herself of the weapon, stepped aside, and slipping off one of the bands
+that confined the hose on her well-shaped leg, grasped the wounded man
+by the shoulders, and with great expedition tied his hands behind his
+back. She then lifted him up with as much ease as if he had been an
+infant, and set him upon his horse, with his face towards the tail. This
+done, she gave the bridle to the rector, and handing him the petronel at
+the same time, told him to take care of his prisoner, for she must
+pursue her journey. And with this, in spite of his renewed entreaties
+that she would go back with him, she sprang on her horse and rode off.
+
+On arriving at Goldshaw with his prisoner, the rector at once proceeded
+to the hostel, in front of which he found several of the villagers
+assembled, attracted by the numerous company within doors, whose shouts
+and laughter could be heard at a considerable distance. Holden's
+appearance with Blackadder occasioned considerable surprise, and all
+eagerly gathered round him to learn what had occurred; but, without
+satisfying their curiosity, beyond telling them he had been attacked by
+the prisoner, he left him in their custody and entered the house, where
+he found all the benches in the principal room occupied by a crew of
+half-drunken roysterers, with flagons of ale before them; for, after
+Bess's departure with the key, they had broken into the cellar, and,
+broaching a cask, helped themselves to its contents. Various weapons
+were scattered about the tables or reared against the walls, and the
+whole scene looked like a carouse by a band of marauders. Little respect
+was shown the rector, and he was saluted by many a ribald jest as he
+pushed his way towards the inner room.
+
+Sir Thomas was drinking with a couple of desperadoes, whose long rapiers
+and tarnished military equipments seemed to announce that they had, at
+some time or other, belonged to the army, though their ruffianly looks
+and braggadocio air and discourse, strongly seasoned with oaths and
+slang, made it evident that they were now little better than Alsatian
+bullies. They had, in fact, been hired by Sir Thomas for the expedition
+on which he was bent, as he could find no one in the country upon whom
+he could so well count as on them. Eyeing the rector fiercely, as he
+intruded upon their privacy, they glanced at their leader to ask whether
+they should turn him out; but, receiving no encouragement for such
+rudeness, they contented themselves with scowling at him from beneath
+their bent brows, twisting up their shaggy mustaches, and trifling with
+the hilts of their rapiers. Holden opened his business at once; and as
+soon as Sir Thomas heard it, he sprang to his feet, and, swearing a
+great oath, declared he would storm Rough Lee, and burn it to the
+ground, if Mistress Nutter did not set the two captives free.
+
+"As to the audacious witch herself, I will carry her off, in spite of
+the devil, her master!" he cried. "How say you, Captain Gauntlet--and
+you too, Captain Storks, is not this an expedition to your tastes--ha?"
+
+The two worthies appealed to responded joyously, that it was so; and it
+was then agreed that Blackadder should be brought in and interrogated,
+as some important information might be obtained from him. Upon this,
+Captain Gauntlet left the room to fetch him, and presently afterwards
+returned dragging in the prisoner, who looked dogged and angry, by the
+shoulders.
+
+"Harkye, fellow," said Sir Thomas, sternly, "if you do not answer the
+questions I shall put to you, truly and satisfactorily, I will have you
+taken out into the yard, and shot like a dog. Thus much premised, I
+shall proceed with my examination. Master Roger Nowell and Master Thomas
+Potts, you are aware, are unlawfully detained prisoners by Mistress
+Alice Nutter. Now I have been called upon by the reverend gentleman here
+to undertake their liberation, but, before doing so, I desire to know
+from you what defensive and offensive preparations your mistress has
+made, and whether you judge it likely she will attempt to hold out her
+house against us?"
+
+"Most assuredly she will," replied Blackadder, "and against twice your
+force. Rough Lee is as strong as a castle; and as those within it are
+well-armed, vigilant, and of good courage, there is little fear of its
+capture. If your worship should propose terms to my mistress for the
+release of her prisoners, she may possibly assent to them; but if you
+approach her in hostile fashion, and demand their liberation, I am well
+assured she will resist you, and well assured, also, she will resist you
+effectually."
+
+"I shall approach her in no other sort than that of an enemy," rejoined
+Sir Thomas; "but thou art over confident, knave. Unless thy mistress
+have a legion of devils at her back, and they hold us in check, we will
+force a way into her dwelling. Fire and fury! dost presume to laugh at
+me, fellow? Take him hence, and let him be soundly cudgeled for his
+insolence, Gauntlet."
+
+"Pardon me, your worship," cried Blackadder, "I only smiled at the
+strange notions you entertain of my mistress."
+
+"Why, dost mean to deny that she is a witch?" demanded Metcalfe.
+
+"Nay, if your worship will have it so, it is not for me to contradict
+you," replied Blackadder.
+
+"But I ask thee is she not a servant of Satan?--dost thou not know
+it?--canst thou not prove it?" cried the knight. "Shall we put him to
+the torture to make him confess?"
+
+"Ay, tie his thumbs together till the blood burst forth, Sir Thomas,"
+said Gauntlet.
+
+"Or hang him up to yon beam by the heels," suggested Captain Storks.
+
+"On no account," interposed Holden. "I did not bring him hither to be
+dealt with in this way, and I will not permit it. If torture is to be
+administered it must be by the hands of justice, into which I require
+him to be delivered; and then, if he can testify aught against his
+mistress, he will be made to do it."
+
+"Torture shall never wring a word from me, whether wrongfully or
+rightfully applied," said Blackadder, doggedly; "though I could tell
+much if I chose. Now give heed to me, Sir Thomas. You will never take
+Rough Lee, still less its mistress, without my help."
+
+"What are thy terms, knave?" exclaimed the knight, pondering upon the
+offer. "And take heed thou triflest not with me, or I will have thee
+flogged within an inch of thy life, in spite of parson or justice. What
+are thy terms, I repeat?"
+
+"They are for your worship's ear alone," replied Blackadder.
+
+"Beware what you do, Sir Thomas," interposed Holden. "I hold it my duty
+to tell you, you are compromising justice in listening to the base
+proposals of this man, who, while offering to betray his mistress, will
+assuredly deceive you. You will equally deceive him in feigning to agree
+to terms which you cannot fulfil."
+
+"Cannot fulfil!" ejaculated the knight, highly offended; "I would have
+you to know, sir, that Sir Thomas Metcalfe's word is his bond, and that
+whatsoever he promises he _will_ fulfil in spite of the devil! Body o'
+me! but for the respect I owe your cloth, I would give you a very
+different answer, reverend sir. But since you have chosen to thrust
+yourself unasked into the affair, I take leave to say that I _will_ hear
+this knave's proposals, and judge for myself of the expediency of
+acceding to them. I must pray you therefore, to withdraw. Nay, if you
+will not go hence peaceably, you shall perforce. Take him away,
+gentlemen."
+
+Thus enjoined, the Alsatian captains took each an arm of the rector, and
+forced him out of the room, leaving Sir Thomas alone with the prisoner.
+Greatly incensed at the treatment he had experienced, Holden instantly
+quitted the house, hastened to the rectory, which adjoined the church,
+and having given some messages to his household, rode off to Whalley,
+with the intention of acquainting Sir Ralph Assheton with all that had
+occurred.
+
+Sir Thomas Metcalfe remained closeted with the prisoner for a few
+minutes, and then coming forth, issued orders that all should get ready
+to start for Rough Lee without delay; whereupon each man emptied his
+flagon, pocketed the dice he had been cogging, pushed aside the
+shuffle-board, left the loggats on the clay floor of the barn, and,
+grasping his weapon--halbert or caliver, as it might be--prepared to
+attend his leader. Sir Thomas did not relate, even to the Alsatian
+captains, what had passed between him and Blackadder; but it did not
+appear that he placed entire confidence in the latter; for though he
+caused his hands to be unbound, and allowed him in consideration of his
+wounded state to ride, he secretly directed Gauntlet and Storks to keep
+near him, and shoot him through the head if he attempted to escape. Both
+these personages were provided with horses as well as their leader, but
+all the rest of the party were on foot. Metcalfe made some inquiries
+after the rector, but finding he was gone, he did not concern himself
+further about him. Before starting, the knight, who, with all his
+recklessness, had a certain sense of honesty, called the girl who had
+been left in charge of the hostel by Bess, and gave her a sum amply
+sufficient to cover all the excesses of his men, adding a handsome
+gratuity to herself.
+
+The first part of the journey was accomplished without mischance, and
+the party bade fair to arrive at the end of it in safety; but as they
+entered the gorge, at the extremity of which Rough Lee was situated, a
+terrific storm burst upon them, compelling them to seek shelter in the
+mill, from which they were luckily not far distant at the time. The
+house was completely deserted, but they were well able to shift for
+themselves, and not over scrupulous in the manner of doing so; and as
+the remains of the funeral feast were not removed from the table, some
+of the company sat down to them, while others found their way to the
+cellar.
+
+The storm was of long continuance, much longer than was agreeable to Sir
+Thomas, and he paced the room to and fro impatiently, ever and anon
+walking to the window or door, to see whether it had in any degree
+abated, and was constantly doomed to disappointment. Instead of
+diminishing, it increased in violence, and it was now impossible to quit
+the house with safety. The lightning blazed, the thunder rattled among
+the overhanging rocks, and the swollen stream of Pendle Water roared at
+their feet. Blackadder was left under the care of the two Alsatians, but
+while they had shielded their eyes from the glare of the lightning, he
+threw open the window, and, springing through it, made good his retreat.
+In such a storm it was in vain to follow him, even if they had dared to
+attempt it.
+
+In vain Sir Thomas Metcalfe fumed and fretted--in vain he heaped curses
+upon the bullies for their negligence--in vain he hurled menaces after
+the fugitive: the former paid little heed to his imprecations, and the
+latter was beyond his reach. The notion began to gain ground amongst the
+rest of the troop that the storm was the work of witchcraft, and
+occasioned general consternation. Even the knight's anger yielded to
+superstitious fear, and as a terrific explosion shook the rafters
+overhead, and threatened to bring them down upon him, he fell on his
+knees, and essayed, with unaccustomed lips, to murmur a prayer. But he
+was interrupted; for amid the deep silence succeeding the awful crash, a
+mocking laugh was heard, and the villainous countenance of Blackadder,
+rendered doubly hideous by the white lightning, was seen at the
+casement. The sight restored Sir Thomas at once. Drawing his sword he
+flew to the window, but before he could reach it Blackadder was gone.
+The next flash showed what had befallen him. In stepping backwards, he
+tumbled into the mill-race; and the current, increased in depth and
+force by the deluging rain, instantly swept him away.
+
+Half an hour after this, the violence of the storm had perceptibly
+diminished, and Sir Thomas and his companions began to hope that their
+speedy release was at hand. Latterly the knight had abandoned all idea
+of attacking Rough Lee, but with the prospect of fair weather his
+courage returned, and he once more resolved to attempt it. He was moving
+about among his followers, striving to dispel their fears, and persuade
+them that the tempest was only the result of natural causes, when the
+door was suddenly thrown open, giving entrance to Bess Whitaker, who
+bore the miller in her arms. She stared on seeing the party assembled,
+and knit her brows, but said nothing till she had deposited Baldwyn in a
+seat, when she observed to Sir Thomas, that he seemed to have little
+scruple in taking possession of a house in its owner's absence. The
+knight excused himself for the intrusion by saying, he had been
+compelled by the storm to take refuge there with his followers--a plea
+readily admitted by Baldwyn, who was now able to speak for himself; and
+the miller next explained that he had been to Rough Lee, and after many
+perilous adventures, into the particulars of which he did not enter,
+had been brought away by Bess, who had carried him home. That home he
+now felt would be a lonely and insecure one unless she would consent to
+occupy it with him; and Bess, on being thus appealed to, affirmed that
+the only motive that would induce her to consent to such an arrangement
+would be her desire to protect him from his mischievous neighbours.
+While they were thus discoursing, Old Mitton, who it appeared had
+followed them, arrived wellnigh exhausted, and Baldwyn went in search of
+some refreshment for him.
+
+By this time the storm had sufficiently cleared off to allow the others
+to take their departure; and though the miller and Bess would fain have
+dissuaded the knight from the enterprise, he was not to be turned aside,
+but, bidding his men attend him, set forth. The rain had ceased, but it
+was still very dark. Under cover of the gloom, however, they thought
+they could approach the house unobserved, and obtain an entrance before
+Mistress Nutter could be aware of their arrival. In this expectation
+they pursued their way in silence, and soon stood before the gates.
+These were fastened, but as no one appeared to be on the watch, Sir
+Thomas, in a low tone, ordered some of his men to scale the walls, with
+the intention of following himself; but scarcely had a head risen above
+the level of the brickwork than the flash of an arquebuss was seen, and
+the man jumped backwards, luckily just in time to avoid the bullet that
+whistled over him. An alarm was then instantly given, voices were heard
+in the garden, mingled with the furious barking of hounds. A bell was
+rung from the upper part of the house, and lights appeared at the
+windows.
+
+Meanwhile, some of the men, less alarmed than their comrade, contrived
+to scramble over the wall, and were soon engaged hand to hand with those
+on the opposite side. But not alone had they to contend with adversaries
+like themselves. The stag-hounds, which had done so much execution
+during the first attack upon the house by Roger Nowell, raged amongst
+them like so many lions, rending their limbs, and seizing their throats.
+To free themselves from these formidable antagonists was their first
+business, and by dint of thrust from pike, cut from sword, and ball from
+caliver, they succeeded in slaughtering two of them, and driving the
+others, badly wounded, and savagely howling, away. In doing this,
+however, they themselves had sustained considerable injury. Three of
+their number were lying on the ground, in no condition, from their
+broken heads, or shattered limbs, for renewing the combat.
+
+Thus, so far as the siege had gone, success seemed to declare itself
+rather for the defenders than the assailants, when a new impulse was
+given to the latter, by the bursting open of the gates, and the sudden
+influx of Sir Thomas Metcalfe and the rest of his troop. The knight was
+closely followed by the Alsatian captains, who, with tremendous oaths in
+their mouths, and slashing blades in their hands, declared they would
+make minced meat of any one opposing their progress. Sir Thomas was
+equally truculent in expression and ferocious in tone, and as the whole
+party laid about them right and left, they speedily routed the defenders
+of the garden, and drove them towards the house. Flushed by their
+success, the besiegers shouted loudly, and Sir Thomas roared out, that
+ere many minutes Nowell and Potts should be set free, and Alice Nutter
+captured. But before he could reach the main door, Nicholas Assheton,
+well armed, and attended by some dozen men, presented himself at it.
+These were instantly joined by the retreating party, and the whole
+offered a formidable array of opponents, quite sufficient to check the
+progress of the besiegers. Two or three of the men near Nicholas carried
+torches, and their light revealed the numbers on both sides.
+
+"What! is it you, Sir Thomas Metcalfe?" cried the squire. "Do you commit
+such outrages as this--do you break into habitations like a robber,
+rifle them, and murder their inmates? Explain yourself, sir, or I will
+treat you as I would a common plunderer; shoot you through the head, or
+hang you to the first tree if I take you."
+
+"Zounds and fury!" rejoined Metcalfe. "Do you dare to liken me to a
+common robber and murderer? Take care you do not experience the same
+fate as that with which you threaten me, with this difference only, that
+the hangman--the common hangman of Lancaster--shall serve your turn. I
+am come hither to arrest a notorious witch, and to release two gentlemen
+who are unlawfully detained prisoners by her; and if you do not
+instantly deliver her up to me, and produce the two individuals in
+question, Master Roger Nowell and Master Potts, I will force my way into
+the house, and all injury done to those who oppose me will rest on your
+head."
+
+"The two gentlemen you have named are perfectly safe and contented in
+their quarters," replied Nicholas; "and as to the foul and false
+aspersions you have thrown out against Mistress Nutter, I cast them back
+in your teeth. Your purpose in coming hither is to redress some private
+wrong. How is it you have such a rout with you? How is it I behold two
+notorious bravos by your side--men who have stood in the pillory, and
+undergone other ignominious punishment for their offences? You cannot
+answer, and their oaths and threats go for nothing. I now tell you, Sir
+Thomas, if you do not instantly withdraw your men, and quit these
+premises, grievous consequences will ensue to you and them."
+
+"I will hear no more," cried Sir Thomas, infuriated to the last degree.
+"Follow me into the house, and spare none who oppose you."
+
+"You are not in yet," cried Nicholas.
+
+And as he spoke a row of pikes bristled around him, holding the knight
+at bay, while a hook was fixed in the doublet of each of the Alsatian
+captains, and they were plucked forward and dragged into the house. This
+done, Nicholas and his men quickly retreated, and the door was closed
+and barred upon the enraged and discomfited knight.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.--THE PHANTOM MONK.
+
+
+Many hours had passed by, and night had come on--a night profoundly
+dark. Richard was still lying where he had fallen at the foot of Malkin
+Tower; for though he had regained his sensibility, he was so bruised and
+shaken as to be wholly unable to move. His limbs, stiffened and
+powerless, refused their office, and, after each unsuccessful effort, he
+sank back with a groan.
+
+His sole hope was that Mistress Nutter, alarmed by his prolonged
+absence, might come to her daughter's assistance, and so discover his
+forlorn situation; but as time flew by, and nothing occurred, he gave
+himself up for lost.
+
+On a sudden the gloom was dispersed, and a silvery light shed over the
+scene. The moon had broken through a rack of clouds, and illumined the
+tall mysterious tower, and the dreary waste around it. With the light a
+ghostly figure near him became visible to Richard, which under other
+circumstances would have excited terror in his breast, but which now
+only filled him with wonder. It was that of a Cistertian monk; the
+vestments were old and faded, the visage white and corpse-like. Richard
+at once recognised the phantom he had seen in the banquet-hall at the
+Abbey, and had afterwards so rashly followed to the conventual church.
+It touched him with its icy fingers, and a dullness like death shot
+through his heart.
+
+"Why dost thou trouble me thus, unhappy spirit?" said the young man.
+"Leave me, I adjure thee, and let me die in peace!"
+
+"Thou wilt not die yet, Richard Assheton," returned the phantom; "and my
+intention is not to trouble thee, but to serve thee. Without my aid thou
+wouldst perish where thou liest, but I will raise thee up, and set thee
+on thy way."
+
+"Wilt thou help me to liberate Alizon?" demanded Richard.
+
+"Do not concern thyself further about her," replied the phantom; "she
+must pass through an ordeal with which nothing human may interfere. If
+she escape it you will meet again. If not, it were better thou shouldst
+be in thy grave than see her. Take this phial. Drink thou the liquid it
+contains, and thy strength will return to thee."
+
+"How do I know thou art not sent hither by Mother Demdike to tempt
+me?" demanded Richard, doubtfully. "I have already fallen into her
+snares," he added, with a groan.
+
+[Illustration: THE PHANTOM MONK.]
+
+"I am Mother Demdike's enemy, and the appointed instrument of her
+punishment," replied the monk, in a tone that did not admit of question.
+"Drink, and fear nothing."
+
+Richard obeyed, and the next moment sprang to his feet.
+
+"Thou hast indeed restored me!" he cried. "I would fain reach the secret
+entrance to the tower."
+
+"Attempt it not, I charge thee!" cried the phantom; "but depart
+instantly for Pendle Hill."
+
+"Wherefore should I go thither?" demanded Richard.
+
+"Thou wilt learn anon," returned the monk. "I cannot tell thee more now.
+Dismount at the foot of the hill, and proceed to the beacon. Thou
+know'st it?"
+
+"I do," replied Richard. "There a fire was lighted which was meant to
+set all England in a blaze."
+
+"And which led many good men to destruction," said the monk, in a tone
+of indescribable sadness. "Alas! for him who kindled it. The offence is
+not yet worked out. But depart without more delay; and look not back."
+
+As Richard hastened towards the spot where he had left Merlin, he
+fancied he was followed by the phantom; but, obedient to the injunction
+he received, he did not turn his head. As he mounted the horse, who
+neighed cheerily as he drew near, he found he was right in supposing the
+monk to be behind him, for he heard his voice calling out, "Linger not
+by the way. To the beacon!--to the beacon!"
+
+Thus exhorted, the young man dashed off, and, to his great surprise,
+found Merlin as fresh as if he had undergone no fatigue during the day.
+It would almost seem, from his spirit, that he had partaken of the same
+wondrous elixir which had revived his master. Down the hill he plunged,
+regardless of the steep descent, and soon entered the thicket where the
+storm had fallen upon them, and where so many acts of witchcraft were
+performed. Now, neither accident nor obstacle occurred to check the
+headlong pace of the animal, though the stones rattled after him as he
+struck them with his flying hoof. The moonlight quivered on the branches
+of the trees, and on the tender spray, and all looked as tranquil and
+beautiful as it had so lately been gloomy and disturbed. The wood was
+passed, and the last and steepest descent cleared. The little bridge was
+at hand, and beneath was Pendle Water, rushing over its rocky bed, and
+glittering like silver in the moon's rays. But here Richard had wellnigh
+received a check. A party of armed men, it proved, occupied the road
+leading to Rough Lee, about a bow-shot from the bridge, and as soon as
+they perceived he was taking the opposite course, with the apparent
+intention of avoiding them, they shouted to him to stay. This shout made
+Richard aware of their presence, for he had not before observed them,
+as they were concealed by the intervention of some small trees; but
+though surprised at the circumstance, and not without apprehension that
+they might be there with a hostile design to Mistress Nutter, he did not
+slacken his pace. A horseman, who appeared to be their leader, rode
+after him for a short distance, but finding pursuit futile, he desisted,
+pouring forth a volley of oaths and threats, in a voice that proclaimed
+him as Sir Thomas Metcalfe. This discovery confirmed Richard in his
+supposition that mischief was intended Mistress Nutter; but even this
+conviction, strengthened by his antipathy to Metcalfe, was not
+sufficiently strong to induce him to stop. Promising himself to return
+on the morrow, and settle accounts with the insolent knight, he speeded
+on, and, passing the mill, tracked the rocky gorge above it, and began
+to mount another hill. Despite the ascent, Merlin never slackened his
+pace, but, though his master would have restrained him, held on as
+before. But the brow of the hill attained, Richard compelled him to a
+brief halt.
+
+By this time the sky was comparatively clear, but small clouds were
+sailing across the heavens, and at one moment the moon would be obscured
+by them, and the next, burst forth with sudden effulgence. These
+alternations produced corresponding effects on the broad, brown, heathy
+plain extending below, and fantastic shadows were cast upon it, which it
+needed not Richard's heated imagination to liken to evil beings flying
+past. The wind, too, lay in the direction of the north end of Pendle
+Hill, whither Richard was about to shape his course, and the shadows
+consequently trooped off towards that quarter. The vast mass of Pendle
+rose in gloomy majesty before him, being thrown into shade, except at
+its crown, where a flood of radiance rested.
+
+Like an eagle swooping upon his prey, Richard descended into the valley,
+and like a stag pursued by the huntsman he speeded across it. Neither
+dyke, morass, nor stone wall checked him, or made him turn aside; and
+almost as fast as the clouds hurrying above him, and their shadows
+travelling at his feet, did he reach the base of Pendle Hill.
+
+Making up to a shed, which, though empty, luckily contained a wisp or
+two of hay, he turned Merlin into it, and commenced the ascent of the
+hill on foot. After attaining a considerable elevation, he looked down
+from the giddy heights upon the valley he had just traversed. A few
+huts, forming the little village of Barley, lay sleeping in the
+moonlight beneath him, while further off could be just discerned
+Goldshaw, with its embowered church. A line of thin vapour marked the
+course of Pendle Water, and thicker mists hovered over the mosses. The
+shadows were still passing over the plain.
+
+Pressing on, Richard soon came among the rocks protruding from the
+higher part of the hill, and as the path was here not more than a foot
+wide, rarely taken except by the sheep and their guardians, it was
+necessary to proceed with the utmost caution, as a single false step
+would have been fatal. After some toil, and not without considerable
+risk, he reached the summit of the hill.
+
+As he bounded over the springy turf, and inhaled the pure air of that
+exalted region, his spirits revived, and new elasticity was communicated
+to his limbs. He shaped his course near the edge of the hill, so that
+the extensive view it commanded was fully displayed. But his eye rested
+on the mountainous range on the opposite side of the valley, where
+Malkin Tower was situated. Even in broad day the accursed structure
+would have been invisible, as it stood on the further side of the hill,
+overlooking Barrowford and Colne; but Richard knew its position well,
+and while his gaze was fixed upon the point, he saw a star shoot down
+from the heavens and apparently alight near the spot. The circumstance
+alarmed him, for he could not help thinking it ominous of ill to Alizon.
+
+Nothing, however, followed to increase his misgivings, and erelong he
+came in sight of the beacon. The ground had been gradually rising, and
+if he had proceeded a few hundred yards further, a vast panorama would
+have opened upon him, comprising a large part of Lancashire on the one
+hand, and on the other an equally extensive portion of Yorkshire. Forest
+and fell, black moor and bright stream, old castle and stately hall,
+would have then been laid before him as in a map. But other thoughts
+engrossed him, and he went straight on. As far as he could discern he
+was alone on the hill top; and the silence and solitude, coupled with
+the ill report of the place, which at this hour was said to be often
+visited by foul hags, for the performance of their unhallowed rites,
+awakened superstitious fears in his breast.
+
+He was soon by the side of the beacon. The stones were still standing as
+they had been reared by Paslew, and on looking at them he was astonished
+to find the hollow within them filled with dry furze, brushwood, and
+fagots, as if in readiness for another signal. In passing round the
+circle, his surprise was still further increased by discovering a torch,
+and not far from it, in one of the interstices of the stones, a dark
+lantern, in which, on removing the shade, he found a candle burning. It
+was now clear the beacon was to be kindled that night, though for what
+end he could not conjecture, and equally clear that he was brought
+thither to fire it. He put back the lantern into its place, took up the
+torch, and held himself in readiness.
+
+Half an hour elapsed, and nothing occurred. During this interval it had
+become dark. A curtain of clouds was drawn over the moon and stars.
+
+Suddenly, a hurtling noise was heard in the air, and it seemed to the
+watcher as if a troop of witches were alighting at a distance from him.
+
+A loud hubbub of voices ensued--then there was a trampling of feet,
+accompanied by discordant strains of music--after which a momentary
+silence ensued, and a harsh voice asked--
+
+"Why are we brought hither?"
+
+"It is not for a sabbath," shouted another voice, "for there is neither
+fire nor caldron."
+
+"Mother Demdike would not summon us without good reason," cried a third.
+"We shall learn presently what we have to do."
+
+"The more mischief the better," rejoined another voice.
+
+"Ay, mischief! mischief! mischief!" echoed the rest of the crew.
+
+"You shall have enough of it to content you," rejoined Mother Demdike.
+"I have called you hither to be present at a sacrifice."
+
+Hideous screams of laughter followed this announcement, and the voice
+that had spoken first asked--
+
+"A sacrifice of whom?"
+
+"An unbaptised babe, stolen from its sleeping mother's breast," rejoined
+another. "Mother Demdike has often played that trick before--ho! ho!"
+
+"Peace!" thundered the hag--"It is no babe I am about to kill, but a
+full-grown maid--ay, and one of rarest beauty, too. What think ye of
+Alizon Device?"
+
+"Thy grand-daughter!" cried several voices, in surprise.
+
+"Alice Nutter's daughter--for such she is," rejoined the hag. "I have
+held her captive in Malkin Tower, and have subjected her to every trial
+and temptation I could devise, but I have failed in shaking her courage,
+or in winning her over to our master. All the horrors of the vault have
+been tried upon her in vain. Even the last terrible ordeal, which no one
+has hitherto sustained, proved ineffectual. She went through it
+unmoved."
+
+"Heaven be praised!" murmured Richard.
+
+"It seems I have no power over her soul" pursued the hag; "but I have
+over her body, and she shall die here, and by my hand. But mind me, not
+a drop of blood must fall to the ground."
+
+"Have no fear," cried several voices, "we will catch it in our palms and
+quaff it."
+
+"Hast thou thy knife, Mould-heels?" asked Mother Demdike.
+
+"Ay," replied the other, "it is long and sharp, and will do thy business
+well. Thy grandson, Jem Device, notched it by killing swine, and my
+goodman ground it only yesterday. Take it."
+
+"I will plunge it to her heart!" cried Mother Demdike, with an infernal
+laugh. "And now I will tell you why we have neither fire nor caldron. On
+questioning the ebon image in the vault as to the place where the
+sacrifice should be made, I received for answer that it must be here,
+and in darkness. No human eye but our own must behold it. We are safe on
+this score, for no one is likely to come hither at this hour. No fire
+must be kindled, or the sacrifice will result in destruction to us all.
+Ye have heard, and understand?"
+
+"We do," replied several husky voices.
+
+"And so do I," said Richard, taking hold of the dark lantern.
+
+"And now for the girl," cried Mother Demdike.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.--ONE O'CLOCK!
+
+
+Mistress Nutter and Mother Chattox were still at the hut, impatiently
+awaiting the return of Fancy. But nearly an hour elapsed before he
+appeared.
+
+"What has detained thee so long?" demanded the hag, sharply, as he stood
+before them.
+
+"You shall hear, mistress," replied Fancy: "I have had a busy time of
+it, I assure you, and thought I should never accomplish my errand. On
+arriving at Rough Lee, I found the place invested by Sir Thomas Metcalfe
+and a host of armed men, who had been sent thither by Parson Holden, for
+the joint purpose of arresting you, madam," addressing Mistress Nutter,
+"and liberating Nowell and Potts. The knight was in a great fume; for,
+in spite of the force brought against it, the house had been stoutly
+defended by Nicholas Assheton, who had worsted the besieging party, and
+captured two Alsatian captains, hangers on of Sir Thomas. Appearing in
+the character of an enemy, I was immediately surrounded by Metcalfe and
+his men, who swore they would cut my throat unless I undertook to
+procure the liberation of the two bravos in question, as well as that of
+Nowell and Potts. I told them I was come for the express purpose of
+setting free the two last-named gentlemen; but, with respect to the
+former, I had no instructions, and they must arrange the matter with
+Master Nicholas himself. Upon this Sir Thomas became exceedingly wroth
+and insolent, and proceeded to such lengths that I resolved to chastise
+him, and in so doing performed a feat which will tend greatly to exalt
+Richard's character for courage and strength."
+
+"Let us hear it, my doughty champion," cried Mother Chattox.
+
+"While Metcalfe was pouring forth his rage, and menacing me with
+uplifted hand," pursued the familiar, "I seized him by the throat,
+dragged him from his horse, and in spite of the efforts of his men,
+whose blows fell upon me thick as hail, and quite as harmlessly, I bore
+him through the garden to the back of the house, where my shouts soon
+brought Nicholas and others to my assistance, and after delivering my
+captive to them, I dismounted. The squire, you will imagine, was
+astonished to see me, and greatly applauded my prowess. I replied, with
+the modesty becoming my assumed character, that I had done nothing, and,
+in reality, the feat was nothing to me; but I told him I had something
+of the utmost importance to communicate, and which could not be delayed
+a moment; whereupon he led me to a small room adjoining the hall, while
+the crestfallen knight was left to vent his rage and mortification on
+the grooms to whose custody he was committed."
+
+"You acted your part to perfection," said Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Ay, trust my sweet Fancy for that," said the hag--"there is no familiar
+like him--none whatever."
+
+"Your praises make me blush," rejoined Fancy. "But to proceed. I
+fulfilled your instructions to the letter, and excited Nicholas's horror
+and indignation by the tale I told him. I laughed in my sleeve all the
+while, but I maintained a very different countenance with him. He
+thought me full of anguish and despair. He questioned me as to my
+proceedings at Malkin Tower, and I amazed him with the description of a
+fearful storm I had encountered--of my interview with old Demdike, and
+her atrocious treatment of Alizon--to all of which he listened with
+profound interest. Richard himself could not have moved him
+more--perhaps not so much. As soon as I had finished, he vowed he would
+rescue Alizon from the murtherous hag, and prevent the latter from
+committing further mischief; and bidding me come with him, we repaired
+to the room in which Nowell and Potts were confined. We found them both
+fast asleep in their chairs; but Nicholas quickly awakened them, and
+some explanations ensued, which did not at first appear very clear and
+satisfactory to either magistrate or attorney, but in the end they
+agreed to accompany us on the expedition, Master Potts declaring it
+would compensate him for all his mischances if he could arrest Mother
+Demdike."
+
+"I hope he may have his wish," said Mother Chattox.
+
+"Ay, but he declared that his next step should be to arrest you,
+mistress," observed Fancy, with a laugh.
+
+"Arrest me!" cried the hag. "Marry, let him touch me, if he dares. My
+term is not out yet, and, with thee to defend me, my brave Fancy, I have
+no fear."
+
+"Right!" replied the familiar; "but to go on with my story. Sir Thomas
+Metcalfe was next brought forward; and after some warm altercation,
+peace was at length established between him and the squire, and hands
+were shaken all round. Wine was then called for by Nicholas, who, at the
+same time, directed that the two Alsatian captains should be brought up
+from the cellar, where they had been placed for safety. The first part
+of the order was obeyed, but the second was found impracticable,
+inasmuch as the two heroes had found their way to the inner cellar, and
+had emptied so many flasks that they were utterly incapable of moving.
+While the wine was being discussed, an unexpected arrival took place."
+
+"An arrival!--of whom?" inquired Mistress Nutter, eagerly.
+
+"Sir Ralph Assheton and a large party," replied Fancy. "Parson Holden,
+it seems, not content with sending Sir Thomas and his rout to the aid of
+his friends, had proceeded for the same purpose to Whalley, and the
+result was the appearance of the new party. A brief explanation from
+Nicholas and myself served to put Sir Ralph in possession of all that
+had occurred, and he declared his readiness to accompany the expedition
+to Pendle Hill, and to take all his followers with him. Sir Thomas
+Metcalfe expressed an equally strong desire to go with him, and of
+course it was acceded to. I am bound to tell you, madam," added Fancy to
+Mistress Nutter, "that your conduct is viewed in a most suspicious light
+by every one of these persons, except Nicholas, who made an effort to
+defend you."
+
+"I care not what happens to me, if I succeed in rescuing my child," said
+the lady. "But have they set out on the expedition?"
+
+"By this time, no doubt they have," replied Fancy. "I got off by saying
+I would ride on to Pendle Hill, and, stationing myself on its summit,
+give them a signal when they should advance upon their prey. And now,
+good mistress, I pray you dismiss me. I want to cast off this shape,
+which I find an incumbrance, and resume my own. I will return when it is
+time for you to set out."
+
+The hag waved her hand, and the familiar was gone.
+
+Half an hour elapsed, and he returned not. Mistress Nutter became
+fearfully impatient. Three-quarters, and even the old hag was uneasy. An
+hour, and he stood before them--dwarfish, fiendish, monstrous.
+
+"It is time," he said, in a harsh voice; but the tones were music in the
+wretched mother's ears.
+
+"Come, then," she cried, rushing wildly forth.
+
+"Ay, ay, I come," replied the hag, following her. "Not so fast. You
+cannot go without me."
+
+"Nor either of you without me," added Fancy. "Here, good mistress, is
+your broomstick."
+
+"Away for Pendle Hill!" screamed the hag.
+
+"Ay, for Pendle Hill!" echoed Fancy.
+
+And there was a whirling of dark figures through the air as before.
+
+Presently they alighted on the summit of Pendle Hill, which seemed to be
+wrapped in a dense cloud, for Mistress Nutter could scarcely see a yard
+before her. Fancy's eyes, however, were powerful enough to penetrate the
+gloom, for stepping back a few yards, he said--
+
+"The expedition is at the foot of the hill, where they have made a
+halt. We must wait a few moments, till I can ascertain what they mean to
+do. Ah! I see. They are dividing into three parties. One detachment,
+headed by Nicholas Assheton, with whom are Potts and Nowell, is about to
+make the ascent from the spot where they now stand; another, commanded
+by Sir Ralph Assheton, is moving towards the but-end of the hill; and
+the third, headed by Sir Thomas Metcalfe, is proceeding to the right.
+These are goodly preparations--ha! ha! But, what do I behold? The first
+detachment have a prisoner with them. It is Jem Device, whom they have
+captured on the way, I suppose. I can tell from the rascal's looks that
+he is planning an escape. Patience, madam, I must see how he executes
+his design. There is no hurry. They are all scrambling up the
+hill-sides. Some one slips, and rolls down, and bruises himself severely
+against the loose stones. Ho! ho! it is Master Potts. He is picked up by
+James Device, who takes him on his shoulders. What means the knave by
+such attention? We shall see anon. They continue to fight their way
+upward, and have now reached the narrow path among the rocks. Take heed,
+or your necks will be broken. Ho! ho! Well done, Jem,--bravo! lad. Thy
+scheme is out now--ho! ho!"
+
+"What has he done?" asked Mother Chattox.
+
+"Run off with the attorney--with Master Potts," replied Fancy;
+"disappeared in the gloom, so that it is impossible Nicholas can follow
+him--ho! ho!"
+
+"But my child!--where is my child?" cried Mistress Nutter, in agitated
+impatience.
+
+"Come with me, and I will lead you to her," replied Fancy, taking her
+hand; "and do you keep close to us, mistress," he added to Mother
+Chattox.
+
+Moving quickly along the heathy plain, they soon reached a small dry
+hollow, about a hundred paces from the beacon, in the midst of which, as
+in a grave, was deposited the inanimate form of Alizon. When the spot
+was indicated to her by Fancy, the miserable mother flew to it, and,
+with indescribable delight, clasped her child to her breast. But the
+next moment, a new fear seized her, for the limbs were stiff and cold,
+and the heart had apparently ceased to beat.
+
+"She is dead!" exclaimed Mistress Nutter, frantically.
+
+"No; she is only in a magical trance," said Fancy; "my mistress can
+instantly revive her."
+
+"Prithee do so, then, good Chattox," implored the lady.
+
+"Better defer it till we have taken her hence," rejoined the hag.
+
+"Oh! no, now--now! Let me be assured she lives!" cried Mistress Nutter.
+
+Mother Chattox reluctantly assented, and, touching Alizon with her
+skinny finger, first upon the heart and then upon the brow, the poor
+girl began to show symptoms of life.
+
+"My child--my child!" cried Mistress Nutter, straining her to her
+breast; "I am come to save thee!"
+
+"You will scarce succeed, if you tarry here longer," said Fancy. "Away!"
+
+"Ay, come away!" shrieked the hag, seizing Alizon's arm.
+
+"Where are you about to take her?" asked Mistress Nutter.
+
+"To my hut," replied Mother Chattox.
+
+"No, no--she shall not go there," returned the lady.
+
+"And wherefore not?" screamed the hag. "She is mine now, and I say she
+_shall_ go."
+
+"Right, mistress," said Fancy; "and leave the lady here if she objects
+to accompany her. But be quick."
+
+"You shall not take her from me!" shrieked Mistress Nutter, holding her
+daughter fast. "I see through your diabolical purpose. You have the same
+dark design as Mother Demdike, and would sacrifice her; but she shall
+not go with you, neither will I."
+
+"Tut!" exclaimed the hag, "you have lost your senses on a sudden. I do
+not want your daughter. But come away, or Mother Demdike will surprise
+us."
+
+"Do not trifle with her longer," whispered Fancy to the hag; "drag the
+girl away, or you will lose her. A few moments, and it will be too
+late."
+
+Mother Chattox made an attempt to obey him, but Mistress Nutter resisted
+her.
+
+"Curses on her!" she muttered, "she is too strong for me. Do thou help
+me," she added, appealing to Fancy.
+
+"I cannot," he replied; "I have done all I dare to help you. You must
+accomplish the rest yourself."
+
+"But, my sweet imp, recollect--"
+
+"I recollect I have a master," interrupted the familiar.
+
+"And a mistress, too," cried the hag; "and she will chastise thee if
+thou art disobedient. I command thee to carry off this girl."
+
+"I have already told you I dare not, and I now say I will not," replied
+Fancy.
+
+"Will not!" shrieked the hag. "Thou shalt smart for this. I will bury
+thee in the heart of this mountain, and make thee labour within it like
+a gnome. I will set thee to count the sands on the river's bed, and the
+leaves on the forest trees. Thou shalt know neither rest nor respite."
+
+"Ho! ho! ho!" laughed Fancy, mockingly.
+
+"Dost deride me?" cried the hag. "I will do it, thou saucy jackanapes.
+For the last time, wilt obey me?"
+
+"No," replied Fancy, "and for this reason--your term is out. It expired
+at midnight."
+
+"It is false!" shrieked the hag, in accents of mixed terror and rage. "I
+have months to run, and will renew it."
+
+"Before midnight, you might have done so; but it is now too late--your
+reign is over," rejoined Fancy. "Farewell, sweet mistress. We shall meet
+once again, though scarcely under such pleasant circumstances as
+heretofore."
+
+"It cannot be, my darling Fancy; thou art jesting with me," whimpered
+the hag; "thou wouldst not delude thy doating mistress thus."
+
+"I have done with thee, foul hag," rejoined the familiar, "and am right
+glad my service is ended. I could have saved thee, but would not, and
+delayed my return for that very purpose. Thy soul was forfeited when I
+came back to thy hut."
+
+"Then curses on thee for thy treachery," cried the hag, "and on thy
+master, who deceived me in the bond he placed before me."
+
+The familiar laughed hoarsely.
+
+"But what of Mother Demdike?" pursued the hag. "Hast thou no comfort for
+me? Tell me her hour is likewise come, and I will forgive thee. But do
+not let her triumph over me."
+
+The familiar made no answer, but, laughing derisively, stamped upon the
+ground, and it opened to receive him.
+
+"Alizon!" cried Mistress Nutter, who in the mean time had vainly
+endeavoured to rouse her daughter to full consciousness, "fly with me,
+my child. The enemy is at hand."
+
+"What enemy?" asked Alizon, faintly. "I have so many, that I know not
+whom you mean."
+
+"But this is the worst of all--this is Mother Demdike," cried Mistress
+Nutter. "She would take your life. If we can but conceal ourselves for a
+short while, we are safe."
+
+"I am too weak to move," said Alizon; "besides, I dare not trust you. I
+have been deceived already. You may be an evil spirit in the likeness of
+my mother."
+
+"Oh! no, I am indeed your own--own mother," rejoined Mistress Nutter.
+"Ask this old woman if it is not so."
+
+"She is a witch herself," replied Alizon. "I will not trust either of
+you. You are both in league with Mother Demdike."
+
+"We are in league to save thee from her, foolish wench!" cried Mother
+Chattox, "but thy perverseness will defeat all our schemes."
+
+"Since you will not fly, my child," cried Mistress Nutter, "kneel down,
+and pray earnestly for deliverance. Pray, while there is yet time."
+
+As she spoke, a growl like thunder was heard in the air, and the earth
+trembled beneath their feet.
+
+"Nay, now I am sure you are my mother!" cried Alizon, flinging herself
+into Mistress Nutter's arms; "and I will go with you."
+
+But before they could move, several dusky figures were seen rushing
+towards them.
+
+"Be on your guard!" cried Mother Chattox; "here comes old Demdike with
+her troop. I will aid you all I can."
+
+"Down on your knees!" exclaimed Mistress Nutter.
+
+Alizon obeyed, but ere a word could pass her lips, the infuriated hag,
+attended by her beldame band, stood beside them.
+
+"Ha! who is here?" she cried. "Let me see who dares interrupt my mystic
+rites."
+
+And raising her hand, the black cloud hanging over the hill was rent
+asunder, and the moon shone down upon them, revealing the old witch,
+armed with the sacrificial knife, her limbs shaking with fury, and her
+eyes flashing with preternatural light. It revealed, also, her weird
+attendants, as well as the group before her, consisting of the kneeling
+figure of Alizon, protected by the outstretched arms of her mother, and
+further defended by Mother Chattox, who planted herself in front of
+them.
+
+Mother Demdike eyed the group for a moment as if she would, annihilate
+them.
+
+"Out of my way, Chattox!" she vociferated--"out of my way, or I will
+drive my knife to thy heart." And as her old antagonist maintained her
+ground, she unhesitatingly advanced upon her, smote her with the weapon,
+and, as she fell to the ground, stepped over her bleeding body.
+
+"Now what dost thou here, Alice Nutter?" she cried, menacing her with
+the reeking blade.
+
+"I am come for my child, whom thou hast stolen from me," replied the
+lady.
+
+"Thou art come to witness her slaughter," replied the witch, fiercely.
+"Begone, or I will serve thee as I have just served old Chattox."
+
+"I am not sped yet," cried the wounded hag; "I shall live to see thee
+bound hand and foot by the officers of justice, and, certain thou wilt
+perish miserably, I shall die content."
+
+"Spit out thy last drops of venom, black viper," rejoined Mother
+Demdike; "when I have done with the others, I will return and finish
+thee. Alice Nutter, thou knowest it is vain to struggle with me. Give me
+up the girl."
+
+"Wilt thou accept my life for hers?" said Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Of what account would thy life be to me?" rejoined Mother Demdike,
+disdainfully. "If it would profit me to take it, I would do so without
+thy consent, but I am about to make an oblation to our master, and thou
+art his already. Snatch her child from her--we waste time," she added,
+to her attendants.
+
+And immediately the weird crew rushed forward, and in spite of the
+miserable mother's efforts tore Alizon from her.
+
+"I told you it was in vain to contend with me," said Mother Demdike.
+
+"Oh, that I could call down heaven's vengeance upon thy accursed head!"
+cried Mistress Nutter; "but I am forsaken alike of God and man, and
+shall die despairing."
+
+"Rave on, thou wilt have ample leisure," replied the hag. "And now
+bring the girl this way," she added to the beldames; "the sacrifice must
+be made near the beacon."
+
+And as Alizon was borne away, Mistress Nutter uttered a cry of anguish.
+
+"Do not stay here," said Mother Chattox, raising herself with
+difficulty. "Go after her; you may yet save your daughter."
+
+"But how?" cried Mistress Nutter, distractedly. "I have no power now."
+
+As she spoke a dusky form rose up beside her. It was her familiar.
+
+"Will you return to your duty if I help you in this extremity?" he said.
+
+"Ay, do, do!" cried Mother Chattox. "Anything to avenge yourself upon
+that murtherous hag."
+
+"Peace!" cried the familiar, spurning her with his cloven foot.
+
+"I do not want vengeance," said Mistress Nutter; "I only want to save my
+child."
+
+"Then you consent on that condition?" said the familiar.
+
+"No!" replied Mistress Nutter, firmly. "I now perceive I am not utterly
+lost, since you try to regain me. I have renounced thy master, and will
+make no new bargain with him. Get hence, tempter!"
+
+"Think not to escape us," cried the familiar; "no penitence--no
+absolution can save thee. Thy name is written on the judgment scroll,
+and cannot be effaced. I would have aided thee, but, since my offer is
+rejected, I leave thee."
+
+"You will not let him go!" screamed Mother Chattox. "Oh that the chance
+were mine!"
+
+"Be silent, or I will beat thy brains out!" said the familiar. "Once
+more, am I dismissed?"
+
+"Ay, for ever!" replied Mistress Nutter.
+
+And as the familiar disappeared, she flew to the spot where her child
+had been taken.
+
+About twenty paces from the beacon, a circle had again been formed by
+the unhallowed crew, in the midst of which stood Mother Demdike, with
+the gory knife in her hand, muttering spells and incantations, and
+performing mystical ceremonials.
+
+Every now and then her companions joined in these rites, and chanted a
+song couched in a wild, unintelligible jargon. Beside the witch knelt
+Alizon, with her hands tied behind her back, so that she could not raise
+them in supplication; her hair unbound, and cast loosely over her
+person, and a thick bandage fastened over her eyes and mouth.
+
+The initiatory ceremonies over, the old hag approached her victim, when
+Mistress Nutter forced herself through the circle, and cast herself at
+her feet.
+
+"Spare her!" she cried, clinging to her knees; "it shall be well for
+thee if thou dost so."
+
+"Again interrupted!" cried the witch, furiously. "This time I will show
+thee no mercy. Take thy fate, meddlesome woman!"
+
+And she raised the knife, but ere the weapon could descend, it was
+seized by Mistress Nutter, and wrested from her grasp. In another
+instant, Alizon's arms were liberated, and the bandage removed from her
+eyes.
+
+"Now it is my turn to threaten. I have thee in my power, infernal hag!"
+cried Mistress Nutter, holding the knife to the witch's throat, and
+clasping her daughter with the other arm. "Wilt let us go?"
+
+"No!" replied Mother Demdike, springing nimbly backwards. "You shall
+both die. I will soon disarm thee."
+
+And making one or two passes with her hands, Mistress Nutter dropped the
+weapon, and instantly became fixed and motionless, with her daughter,
+equally rigid, in her arms. They looked as if suddenly turned to marble.
+
+"Now to complete the ceremonial," cried Mother Demdike, picking up the
+knife.
+
+And then she began to mutter an impious address preparatory to the
+sacrifice, when a loud clangour was heard like the stroke of a hammer
+upon a bell.
+
+"What was that?" exclaimed the witch, in alarm.
+
+"Were there a clock here, I should say it had struck one," replied
+Mould-heels.
+
+"It must be our master's timepiece," said another witch.
+
+"One o'clock!" exclaimed Mother Demdike, who appeared stupefied with
+fear, "and the sacrifice not made--then I am lost!"
+
+A derisive laugh reached her ears. It proceeded from Mother Chattox, who
+had contrived to raise herself to her feet, and, tottering forward, now
+passed through the appalled circle.
+
+"Ay, thy term is out--thy soul is forfeited like mine--ha! ha!" And she
+fell to the ground.
+
+"Perhaps it may not be too late," cried Mother Demdike, grasping the
+knife, and rushing towards Alizon.
+
+But at this moment a bright flame shot up from the beacon.
+
+Astonishment and terror seized the hag, and she uttered a loud cry,
+which was echoed by the rest of the crew.
+
+The flame mounted higher and higher, and burnt each moment more
+brightly, illumining the whole summit of the hill. By its light could be
+seen a band of men, some of whom were on horseback, speeding towards the
+place of meeting.
+
+Scared by the sight, the witches fled, but were turned by another band
+advancing from the opposite quarter. They then made towards the spot
+where their broomsticks were deposited, but ere they could reach it, a
+third party gained the summit of the hill at this precise point, and
+immediately started in pursuit of them.
+
+Meanwhile, a young man issuing from behind the beacon, flew towards
+Mistress Nutter and her daughter. The moment the flame burst forth, the
+spell cast over them by Mother Demdike was broken, and motion and speech
+restored.
+
+"Alizon!" exclaimed the young man, as he came up, "your trials are over.
+You are safe."
+
+"Oh, Richard!" she replied, falling into his arms, "have we been
+preserved by you?"
+
+"I am a mere instrument in the hands of Heaven," he replied.
+
+Mother Demdike made no attempt at flight with the rest of the witches,
+but remained for a few moments absorbed in contemplation of the flaming
+beacon. Her hand still grasped the murderous weapon she had raised
+against Alizon, but it had dropped to her side when the fire burst
+forth. At length she turned fiercely to Richard, and demanded--
+
+"Was it thou who kindled the beacon?"
+
+"It was!" replied the young man.
+
+"And who bade thee do it--who brought thee hither?" pursued the witch.
+
+"An enemy of thine, old woman!" replied Richard, "His vengeance has been
+slow in coming, but it has arrived at last."
+
+"But who is he? I see him not!" rejoined Mother Demdike.
+
+"You will see him before yon flame expires," said Richard. "I should
+have come to your assistance sooner, Alizon," he continued, turning to
+her, "but I was forbidden. And I knew I should best ensure your safety
+by compliance with the injunctions I had received."
+
+"Some guardian spirit must have interposed to preserve us," replied
+Alizon; "for such only could have successfully combated with the evil
+beings from whom we have been delivered."
+
+"Thy spirit is unable to preserve thee now!" cried Mother Demdike,
+aiming a deadly blow at her with the knife. But, fortunately, the
+attempt was foreseen by Richard, who caught her arm, and wrested the
+weapon from her.
+
+"Curses on thee, Richard Assheton!" cried the infuriated hag,--"and on
+thee too, Alizon Device, I cannot work ye the immediate ill I wish. I
+cannot make ye loathsome in one another's eyes. I cannot maim your
+limbs, or blight your beauty. I cannot deliver you over to devilish
+possession. But I can bequeath you a legacy of hate. What I say will
+come to pass. Thou, Alizon, wilt never wed Richard Assheton--never!
+Vainly shall ye struggle with your destiny--vainly indulge hopes of
+happiness. Misery and despair, and an early grave, are in store for both
+of you. He shall be to you your worst enemy, and you shall be to him
+destruction. Think of the witch's prediction and tremble, and may her
+deadliest curse rest upon your heads."
+
+"Oh, Richard!" exclaimed Alizon, who would have sunk to the ground if he
+had not sustained her. "Why did you not prevent this terrible
+malediction?"
+
+"He could not," replied Mother Demdike, with a laugh of exultation; "it
+shall work, and thy doom shall be accomplished. And now to make an end
+of old Chattox, and then they may take me where they please."
+
+And she was approaching her old enemy with the intention of putting her
+threat into execution, when James Device, who appeared to start from the
+ground, rushed swiftly towards her.
+
+"What art thou doing here, Jem?" cried the hag, regarding him with angry
+surprise. "Dost thou not see we are surrounded by enemies. I cannot
+escape them--but thou art young and active. Away with thee!"
+
+"Not without yo, granny," replied Jem. "Ey ha' run os fast os ey could
+to help yo. Stick fast howld on me," he added, snatching her up in his
+arms, "an ey'n bring yo clear off yet."
+
+And he set off at a rapid pace with his burthen, Richard being too much
+occupied with Alizon to oppose him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.--HOW THE BEACON FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED.
+
+
+Soon after this, Nicholas Assheton, attended by two or three men, came
+up, and asked whither the old witch had flown.
+
+Mistress Nutter pointed out the course taken by the fugitive, who had
+run towards the northern extremity of the hill, down the sides of which
+he had already plunged.
+
+"She has been carried off by her grandson, Jem Device," said Mistress
+Nutter; "be quick, or you will lose her."
+
+"Ay, be quick--be quick!" added Mother Chattox. "Yonder they went, to
+the back of the beacon."
+
+Casting a look at the wretched speaker, and finding she was too
+grievously wounded to be able to move, Nicholas bestowed no further
+thought upon her, but set off with his companions in the direction
+pointed out. He speedily arrived at the edge of the hill, and, looking
+down it, sought in vain for any appearance of the fugitives. The sides
+were here steep and shelving, and some hundred yards lower down were
+broken into ridges, behind one of which it was possible the old witch
+and her grandson might be concealed; so, without a moment's hesitation,
+the squire descended, and began to search about in the hollows,
+scrambling over the loose stones, or sliding down for some paces with
+the uncertain boggy soil, when he fancied he heard a plaintive cry. He
+looked around, but could see no one. The whole side of the mountain was
+lighted up by the fire from the beacon, which, instead of diminishing,
+burnt with increased ardour, so that every object was as easily to be
+discerned as in the day-time; but, notwithstanding this, he could not
+detect whence the sound proceeded. It was repeated, but more faintly
+than before, and Nicholas almost persuaded himself it was the voice of
+Potts calling for help. Motioning to his followers, who were engaged in
+the search like himself, to keep still, the squire listened intently,
+and again caught the sound, being this time convinced it arose from the
+ground. Was it possible the unfortunate attorney had been buried alive?
+Or had he been thrust into some hole, and a stone placed over it, which
+he found it impossible to remove? The latter idea seemed the more
+probable, and Nicholas was guided by a feeble repetition of the noise
+towards a large fragment of rock, which, on examination, had evidently
+been rolled from a point immediately over the mouth of a hollow. The
+squire instantly set himself to work to dislodge the ponderous stone,
+and, aided by two of his men, who lent their broad shoulders to the
+task, quickly accomplished his object, disclosing what appeared to be
+the mouth of a cavernous recess. From out of this, as soon as the stone
+was removed, popped the head of Master Potts, and Nicholas, bidding him
+be of good cheer, laid hold of him to draw him forth, as he seemed to
+have some difficulty in extricating himself, when the attorney cried
+out--
+
+"Do not pull so hard, squire! That accursed Jem Device has got hold of
+my legs. Not so hard, sir, I entreat."
+
+"Bid him let go," said Nicholas, unable to refrain from laughing, "or we
+will unearth him from his badger's hole."
+
+"He pays no heed to what I say to him," cried Potts. "Oh, dear! oh,
+dear! he is dragging me down again!"
+
+And, as he spoke, the attorney, notwithstanding all Nicholas's efforts
+to restrain him, was pulled down into the hole. The squire was at a loss
+what to do, and was considering whether he should resort to the tedious
+process of digging him out, when a scrambling noise was heard, and the
+captive's head once more appeared above ground.
+
+"Are you coming out now?" asked Nicholas.
+
+"Alas, no!" replied the attorney, "unless you will make terms with the
+rascal. He declares he will strangle me, if you do not promise to set
+him and his grandmother free."
+
+"Is Mother Demdike with him?" asked Nicholas.
+
+"To be sure," replied Potts; "and we are as badly off for room as three
+foxes in a hole."
+
+"And there is no other outlet said the squire?"
+
+"I conclude not," replied the attorney. "I groped about like a mole when
+I was first thrust into the cavern by Jem Device, but I could find no
+means of exit. The entrance was blocked up by the great stone which you
+had some difficulty in moving, but which Jem could shift at will; for he
+pushed it aside in a moment, and brought it back to its place, when he
+returned just now with the old hag; but probably that was effected by
+witchcraft."
+
+"Most likely," said Nicholas, "But for your being in it, we would stop
+up this hole, and bury the two wretches alive."
+
+"Get me out first, good Master Nicholas, I implore of you, and then do
+what you please," cried Potts. "Jem is tugging at my legs as if he would
+pull them off."
+
+"We will try who is strongest," said Nicholas, again seizing hold of
+Potts by the shoulders.
+
+"Oh, dear! oh, dear! I can't bear it--let go!" shrieked the attorney. "I
+shall be stretched to twice my natural length. My joints are starting
+from their sockets, my legs are coming off--oh! oh!"
+
+"Lend a hand here, one of you," cried Nicholas to the men; "we'll have
+him out, whatever be the consequence."
+
+"But I won't come!" roared Potts. "You have no right to use me thus.
+Torture! oh! oh! my loins are ruptured--my back is breaking--I am a dead
+man.--The hag has got hold of my right leg, while Jem is tugging with
+all his force at the left."
+
+"Pull away!" cried Nicholas; "he is coming."
+
+"My legs are off," yelled Potts, as he was plucked suddenly forth, with
+a jerk that threw the squire and his assistants on their backs. "I shall
+never be able to walk more. No, Heaven be praised!" he added, looking
+down on his lower limbs, "I have only lost my boots."
+
+"Never mind it, then," cried Nicholas; "but thank your stars you are
+above ground once more. Hark'ee, Jem!" he continued, shouting down the
+hole; "If you don't come forth at once, and bring Mother Demdike with
+you, we'll close up the mouth of this hole in such a way that you
+sha'n't require another grave. D'ye hear?"
+
+"Yeigh," replied Jem, his voice coming hoarsely and hollowly up like the
+accents of a ghost. "Am ey to go free if ey comply?"
+
+"Certainly not," replied the squire. "You have a choice between this
+hole and the hangman's cord at Lancaster, that is all. In either case
+you will die by suffocation. But be quick--we have wasted time enough
+already with you."
+
+"Then if that's aw yo'll do fo' me, squire, eyn e'en stay wheere ey am,"
+rejoined Jem.
+
+"Very well," replied Nicholas. "Here, my man, stop up this hole with
+earth and stones. Master Potts, you will lend a hand to the task."
+
+"Readily, sir," replied the attorney, "though I shall lose the pleasure
+I had anticipated of seeing that old carrion crow roasted alive."
+
+"Stay a bit, squoire," roared Jem, as preparations were actively made
+for carrying Nicholas's orders into execution. "Stay a bit, an ey'n cum
+owt, an bring t' owd woman wi' me."
+
+"I thought you'd change your mind," replied Nicholas, laughing. "Be
+upon your guard," he added, in a low tone to the others, "and seize him
+the moment he appears."
+
+But Jem evidently found it no easy matter to perform his promise, for
+stifled shrieks and other noises proclaimed that a desperate struggle
+was going on between him and his grandmother.
+
+"Aha!" exclaimed Nicholas, placing his ear to the hole. "The old hag is
+unwilling to come forth, and spits and scratches like a cat-a-mountain,
+while Jem gripes her like a terrier. It is a hard tussle between them,
+but he is getting the better of it, and is pushing her forth. Now look
+out."
+
+And as he spoke, Mother Demdike's terrible head protruded from the
+ground, and, despite of the execrations she poured forth upon her
+enemies, she was instantly seized by them, drawn out of the cavern, and
+secured. While the men were thus engaged, and while Nicholas's attention
+was for an instant diverted, Jem bounded forth as suddenly as a wolf
+from his lair, and, dashing aside all opposition, plunged down the hill.
+
+"It is useless to pursue him," said Nicholas. "He will not escape. The
+whole country will be roused by the beacon fire, and hue and cry shall
+be made after him."
+
+"Right!" exclaimed Potts; "and now let some one creep into that cavern,
+and bring out my boots, and then I shall be in a better condition to
+attend you."
+
+The request being complied with, and the attorney being once more
+equipped for walking, the party climbed the hill-side, and, bringing
+Mother Demdike with them, shaped their course towards the beacon.
+
+And now to see what had taken place in the interim.
+
+Scarcely had the squire quitted Mistress Nutter than Sir Ralph Assheton
+rode up to her.
+
+"Why do you loiter here, madam?" he said, in a stern tone, somewhat
+tempered by sorrow. "I have held back to give you an opportunity of
+escape. The hill is invested by your enemies. On that side Roger Nowell
+is advancing, and on this Sir Thomas Metcalfe and his followers. You may
+possibly effect a retreat in the opposite direction, but not a moment
+must be lost."
+
+"I will go with you," said Alizon.
+
+"No, no," interposed Richard. "You have not strength for the effort, and
+will only retard her."
+
+"I thank you for your devotion, my child," said Mistress Nutter, with a
+look of grateful tenderness; "but it is unneeded. I have no intention of
+flying. I shall surrender myself into the hands of justice."
+
+"Do not mistake the matter, madam," said Sir Ralph, "and delude yourself
+with the notion that either your rank or wealth will screen you from
+punishment. Your guilt is too clearly established to allow you a chance
+of escape, and, though I myself am acting wrongfully in counselling
+flight to you, I am led to do so from the friendship once subsisting
+between us, and the relationship which, unfortunately, I cannot
+destroy."
+
+"It is you who are mistaken, not I, Sir Ralph," replied Mistress Nutter.
+"I have no thought of turning aside the sword of justice, but shall
+court its sharpest edge, hoping by a full avowal of my offences, in some
+degree to atone for them. My only regret is, that I shall leave my child
+unprotected, and that my fate will bring dishonour upon her."
+
+"Oh, think not of me, dear mother!" cried Alizon, "but persist
+unhesitatingly in the course you have laid down. Far rather would I see
+you act thus--far rather hear the sentiments you have uttered, even
+though they may be attended by the saddest, consequences, than behold
+you in your former proud position, and impenitent. Think not of me,
+then. Or, rather, think only how I rejoice that your eyes are at length
+opened, and that you have cast off the bonds of iniquity. I can now pray
+for you with the full hope that my intercessions will prevail, and in
+parting with you in this world shall be sustained by the conviction that
+we shall meet in eternal happiness hereafter."
+
+Mistress Nutter threw her arms about her daughter's neck, and they
+mingled their tears together, Sir Ralph Assheton was much moved.
+
+"It is a pity she should fall into their hands," he observed to Richard.
+
+"I know not how to advise," replied the latter, greatly troubled.
+
+"Ah! it is too late," exclaimed the knight; "here come Nowell and
+Metcalfe. The poor lady's firmness will be severely tested."
+
+The next moment the magistrate and the knight came up, with such of
+their attendants as were not engaged in pursuing the witches, several of
+whom had already been captured. On seeing Mistress Nutter, Sir Thomas
+Metcalfe sprang from his horse, and would have seized her, but Sir Ralph
+interposed, saying "She has surrendered herself to me. I will be
+answerable for her safe custody."
+
+"Your pardon, Sir Ralph," observed Nowell; "the arrest must be formally
+made, and by a constable. Sparshot, execute your warrant."
+
+Upon this, the official, leaping from his horse, displayed his staff and
+a piece of parchment to Mistress Nutter, telling her she was his
+prisoner.
+
+The lady bowed her head.
+
+"Shan ey tee her hands, yer warship?" demanded the constable of the
+magistrate.
+
+"On no account, fellow," interposed Sir Ralph. "I will have no indignity
+offered her. I have already said I will be responsible for her."
+
+"You will recollect she is arrested for witchcraft, Sir Ralph," observed
+Nowell.
+
+"She shall answer to the charges brought against her. I pledge myself
+to that," replied Sir Ralph.
+
+"And by a full confession," said Mistress Nutter. "You may pledge
+yourself to that also, Sir Ralph."
+
+"She avows her guilt," cried Nowell. "I take you all to witness it."
+
+"I shall not forget it," said Sir Thomas Metcalfe.
+
+"Nor I--nor I!" cried Sparshot, and two or three others of the
+attendants.
+
+"This girl is my prisoner," said Sir Thomas Metcalfe, dismounting, and
+advancing towards Alizon, "She is a witch, as well as the rest."
+
+"It is false," cried Richard! "and if you attempt to lay hands upon her
+I will strike you to the earth."
+
+"'Sdeath!" exclaimed Metcalfe, drawing his sword, "I will not let this
+insolence pass unpunished. I have other affronts to chastise. Stand
+aside, or I will cut your throat."
+
+"Hold, Sir Thomas," cried Sir Ralph Assheton, authoritatively. "Settle
+your quarrels hereafter, if you have any to adjust; but I will have no
+fighting now. Alizon is no witch. You are well aware that she was about
+to be impiously and cruelly sacrificed by Mother Demdike, and her rescue
+was the main object of our coming hither."
+
+"Still suspicion attaches to her," said Metcalfe; "whether she be the
+daughter of Elizabeth Device or Alice Nutter, she comes of a bad stock,
+and I protest against her being allowed to go free. However, if you are
+resolved upon it, I have nothing more to say. I shall find other time
+and place to adjust my differences with Master Richard Assheton."
+
+"When you please, sir," replied the young man, sternly.
+
+"And I will answer for the propriety of the course I have pursued," said
+Sir Ralph; "but here comes Nicholas with Mother Demdike."
+
+"Demdike taken! I am glad of it," cried Mother Chattox, slightly raising
+herself as she spoke. "Kill her, or she will 'scape you."
+
+When Nicholas came up with the old hag, both Sir Ralph Assheton and
+Roger Nowell put several questions to her, but she refused to answer
+their interrogations; and, horrified by her blasphemies and
+imprecations, they caused her to be removed to a short distance, while a
+consultation was held as to the course to be pursued.
+
+"We have made half a dozen of these miscreants prisoners," said Roger
+Nowell, "and the whole of them had better be taken to Whalley, where
+they can be safely confined in the old dungeons of the Abbey, and after
+their examination on the morrow can be removed to Lancaster Castle."
+
+"Be it so," replied Sir Ralph; "but must yon unfortunate lady," he
+added, pointing to Mistress Nutter, "be taken with them?"
+
+"Assuredly," replied Nowell. "We can make no distinction among such
+offenders; or, if there are any degrees in guilt, hers is of the highest
+class."
+
+"You had better take leave of your daughter," said Sir Ralph to Mistress
+Nutter.
+
+"I thank you for the hint," replied the lady. "Farewell, dear Alizon,"
+she added, straining her to her bosom. "We must part for some time. Once
+more before I quit this world, in which I have played so wicked a part,
+I would fain look upon you--fain bless you, if I have the power--but
+this must be at the last, when my trials are wellnigh over, and when all
+is about to close upon me!"
+
+"Oh! must it be thus?" exclaimed Alizon, in a voice half suffocated by
+emotion.
+
+"It must," replied her mother. "Do not attempt to shake my resolution,
+my sweet child--do not weep for me. Amidst all the terrors that surround
+me, I am happier now than I have been for years. I shall strive to work
+out my redemption by prayers."
+
+"And you will succeed!" cried Alizon.
+
+"Not so!" shrieked Mother Demdike; "the Fiend will have his own. She is
+bound to him by a compact which nought can annul."
+
+"I should like to see the instrument," said Potts. "I might give a legal
+opinion upon it. Perhaps it might be avoided; and in any case its
+production in court would have an admirable effect. I think I see the
+counsel examining it, and hear the judges calling for it to be placed
+before them. His infernal Majesty's signature must be a curiosity in its
+way. Our gracious and sagacious monarch would delight in it."
+
+"Peace!" exclaimed Nicholas; "and take care," he cried, "that no further
+interruptions are offered by that infernal hag. Have you done, madam?"
+he added to Mistress Nutter, who still remained with her daughter folded
+in her arms.
+
+"Not yet," replied the lady. "Oh! what happiness I have thrown away!
+What anguish--what remorse brought upon myself by the evil life I have
+led! As I gaze on this fair face, and think it might long, long have
+brightened my dark and desolate life with its sunshine--as I think upon
+all this, my fortitude wellnigh deserts me, and I have need of support
+from on high to carry me through my trial. But I fear it will be denied
+me. Nicholas Assheton, you have the deed of the gift of Rough Lee in
+your possession. Henceforth Alizon is mistress of the mansion and
+domains."
+
+"Provided always they are not forfeited to the crown, which I apprehend
+will be the case," suggested Potts.
+
+"I will take care she is put in possession of them," said Nicholas.
+
+"As to you, Richard," continued Mistress Nutter, "the time may come
+when your devotion to my daughter may be rewarded and I could not bestow
+a greater boon upon you than by giving you her hand. It may be well I
+should give my consent now, and, if no other obstacle should arise to
+the union, may she be yours, and happiness I am sure will attend you!"
+
+Overpowered by conflicting emotions, Alizon hid her face in her mother's
+bosom, and Richard, who was almost equally overcome, was about to reply,
+when Mother Demdike broke upon them.
+
+"They will never be united!" she screamed. "Never! I have said it, and
+my words will come true. Think'st thou a witch like thee can bless an
+union, Alice Nutter? Thy blessings are curses, thy wishes
+disappointments and despair. Thriftless love shall be Alizon's, and the
+grave shall be her bridal bed. The witch's daughter shall share the
+witch's fate."
+
+These boding words produced a terrible effect upon the hearers.
+
+"Heed her not, my sweet child--she speaks falsely," said Mistress
+Nutter, endeavouring to re-assure her daughter; but the tone in which
+the words were uttered showed that she herself was greatly alarmed.
+
+"I have cursed them both, and I will curse them again," yelled Mother
+Demdike.
+
+"Away with the old screech-owl," cried Nicholas. "Take her to the
+beacon, and, if she continues troublesome, hurl her into the flame."
+
+And, notwithstanding the hag's struggles and imprecations, she was
+removed.
+
+"Whatever may betide, Alizon," cried Richard, "my life shall be devoted
+to you; and, if you should not be mine, I will have no other bride. With
+your permission, madam," he added, to Mistress Nutter, "I will take your
+daughter to Middleton, where she will find companionship and solace, I
+trust, in the attentions of my sister, who has the strongest affection
+for her."
+
+"I could wish nothing better," replied the lady, "and now to put an end
+to this harrowing scene. Farewell, my child. Take her, Richard, take
+her!" she cried, as she disengaged herself from the relaxing embrace of
+her daughter. "Now, Master Nowell, I am ready."
+
+"It is well, madam," he replied. "You will join the other prisoners, and
+we will set forth."
+
+But at this juncture a terrific shriek was heard, which drew all eyes
+towards the beacon.
+
+When Mother Demdike had been removed, in accordance with the squire's
+directions, her conduct became more violent and outrageous than ever,
+and those who had charge of her threatened, if she did not desist, to
+carry out the full instructions they had received, and cast her into the
+flames. The old hag defied and incensed them to such a degree by her
+violence and blasphemies, that they carried her to the very edge of the
+fire.
+
+At this moment the figure of a monk, in mouldering white habiliments,
+came from behind the beacon, and stood beside the old hag. He slowly
+raised his hood, and disclosed features that looked like those of the
+dead.
+
+"Thy hour is come, accursed woman!" cried the phantom, in thrilling
+accents. "Thy term on earth is ended, and thou shalt be delivered to
+unquenchable fire. The curse of Paslew is fulfilled upon thee, and will
+be fulfilled upon all thy viperous brood."
+
+"Art thou the abbot's shade?" demanded the hag.
+
+"I am thy implacable enemy," replied the phantom. "Thy judgment and thy
+punishment are committed to me. To the flames with her!"
+
+Such was the awe inspired by the monk, and such the authority of his
+tones and gesture, that the command was unhesitatingly obeyed, and the
+witch was cast, shrieking, into the fire.
+
+She was instantly swallowed up as in a gulf of flame, which raged, and
+roared, and shot up in a hundred lambent points, as if exulting in its
+prey.
+
+The wretched creature was seen for a moment to rise up in it in
+extremity of anguish, with arms extended, and uttering a dreadful yell,
+but the flames wreathed round her, and she sank for ever.
+
+When those who had assisted at this fearful execution looked around for
+the mysterious being who had commanded it, they could nowhere behold
+him.
+
+Then was heard a laugh of gratified hate--such a laugh as only a demon,
+or one bound to a demon, can utter--and the appalled listeners looked
+around, and beheld Mother Chattox standing behind them.
+
+"My rival is gone!" cried the hag. "I have seen the last of her. She is
+burnt--ah! ah!"
+
+Further triumph was not allowed her. With one accord, and as if prompted
+by an irresistible impulse, the men rushed upon her, seized her, and
+cast her into the fire.
+
+Her wild laughter was heard for a moment above the roaring of the
+flames, and then ceased altogether.
+
+Again the flame shot high in air, again roared and raged, again broke
+into a multitude of lambent points, after which it suddenly expired.
+
+All was darkness on the summit of Pendle Hill.
+
+And in silence and in gloom scarcely more profound than that Weighing in
+every breast, the melancholy troop pursued its way to Whalley.
+
+
+END OF THE SECOND BOOK.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK THE THIRD.
+
+Hoghton tower
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.--DOWNHAM MANOR-HOUSE.
+
+
+On a lovely morning, about the middle of July, in the same year as the
+events previously narrated, Nicholas Assheton, always astir with the
+lark, issued from his own dwelling, and sauntered across the smooth lawn
+in front of it. The green eminence on which he stood was sheltered on
+the right by a grove of sycamores, forming the boundary of the park, and
+sloped down into a valley threaded by a small clear stream, whose
+murmuring, as it danced over its pebbly bed, distinctly reached his ear
+in the stillness of early day. On the left, partly in the valley, and
+partly on the side of the acclivity on which the hall was situated,
+nestled the little village whose inhabitants owned Nicholas as lord;
+and, to judge from their habitations, they had reason to rejoice in
+their master; for certainly there was a cheerful air about Downham which
+the neighbouring hamlets, especially those in Pendle Forest, sadly
+wanted.
+
+On the left of the mansion, and only separated from it by the garden
+walls, stood the church, a venerable structure, dating back to a period
+more remote even than Whalley Abbey. From the churchyard a view, almost
+similar to that enjoyed by the squire, was obtained, though partially
+interrupted by the thick rounded foliage of a large tree growing beneath
+it; and many a traveller who came that way lingered within the hallowed
+precincts to contemplate the prospect. At the foot of the hill was a
+small stone bridge crossing the stream.
+
+Across the road, and scarce thirty paces from the church-gate, stood a
+little alehouse, whose comfortable fireside nook and good liquors were
+not disdained by the squire. In fact, to his shame be it spoken, he was
+quite as often to be found there of an evening as at the hall. This had
+more particularly been the case since the house was tenanted by Richard
+Baldwyn, who having given up the mill at Rough Lee, and taken to wife
+Bess Whitaker of Goldshaw Booth, had removed with her to Downham, where
+he now flourished under the special protection of the squire. Bess had
+lost none of her old habits of command, and it must be confessed that
+poor Richard played a very secondary part in the establishment.
+Nicholas, as may be supposed, was permitted considerable licence by her,
+but even he had limits, which she took good care he should not exceed.
+
+The Downham domains were well cultivated; the line of demarcation
+between them and the heathy wastes adjoining, being clearly traced out,
+and you had only to follow the course of the brook to see at a glance
+where the purlieus of the forest ended, and where Nicholas Assheton's
+property commenced: the one being a dreary moor, with here and there a
+thicket upon it, but more frequently a dangerous morass, covered with
+sulphur-coloured moss; and the other consisting of green meadows,
+bordered in most instances by magnificent timber. The contrast, however,
+was not without its charm; and while the sterile wastes set off the fair
+and fertile fields around them, and enhanced their beauty, they offered
+a wide, uninterrupted expanse, over which the eye could range at will.
+
+On the further side of the valley, and immediately opposite the lawn
+whereon Nicholas stood, the ground gradually arose, until it reached the
+foot of Pendle Hill, which here assuming its most majestic aspect,
+constituted the grand and peculiar feature of the scene. Nowhere could
+the lordly eminence be seen to the same advantage as from this point,
+and Nicholas contemplated it with feelings of rapture, which no
+familiarity could diminish. The sun shone brightly upon its rounded
+summit, and upon its seamy sides, revealing all its rifts and ridges;
+adding depth of tint to its dusky soil, laid bare in places by the
+winter torrents; lending new beauty to its purple heath, and making its
+grey sod glow as with fire. So exhilarating was the prospect, that
+Nicholas felt half tempted to cross the valley and scale the hill before
+breaking his fast; but other feelings checked him, and he turned towards
+the right. Here, beyond a paddock and some outbuildings, lay the park,
+small in extent, but beautifully diversified, well stocked with deer,
+and boasting much noble timber. In the midst was an exquisite knoll,
+which, besides commanding a fine view of Pendle Hill, Downham, and all
+the adjacent country, brought within its scope, on the one hand, the
+ancient castle of Clithero and the heights overlooking Whalley; and, on
+the other, the lovely and extensive vale through which the Ribble
+wandered. This, also, was a favourite point of view with the squire, and
+he had some idea of walking towards it, when he was arrested by a person
+who came from the house, and who shouted to him, hoarsely but blithely,
+to stay.
+
+The new-comer was a man of middle age, with a skin almost as tawny as a
+gipsy's, a hooked nose, black beetling brows, and eyes so strangely set
+in his head, that they communicated a sinister expression to his
+countenance. He possessed a burly frame, square, and somewhat heavy,
+though not so much so as to impede his activity. In deportment and
+stature, though not in feature, he resembled the squire himself; and the
+likeness was heightened by his habiliments being part of Nicholas's old
+wardrobe, the doublet and hose, and even the green hat and boots, being
+those in which Nicholas made his first appearance in this history. The
+personage who thus condescended to be fed and clothed at the squire's
+expense, and who filled a situation something between guest and menial,
+without receiving the precise attention of the one or the wages of the
+other, but who made himself so useful to Nicholas that he could not
+dispense with him--neither, perhaps would he have been shaken off, even
+if it had been desired--was named Lawrence Fogg, an entire stranger to
+the country, whom Nicholas had picked up at Colne, and whom he had
+invited to Downham for a few weeks' hunting, and had never been able to
+get rid of him since.
+
+Lawrence Fogg liked his quarters immensely, and determined to remain in
+them; and as a means to so desirable an end, he studied all the squire's
+weak points and peculiarities, and these not being very difficult to be
+understood, he soon mastered them, and mastered the squire into the
+bargain, but without allowing his success to become manifest. Nicholas
+was delighted to find one with tastes so congenial to his own, who was
+so willing to hunt or fish with him--who could train a hawk as well as
+Phil Royle, the falconer--diet a fighting-cock as well as Tom Shaw, the
+cock-master--enter a hound better than Charlie Crouch, the old
+huntsman--shoot with the long-bow further than any one except himself,
+and was willing to toss off a pot with him, or sing a merry stave
+whenever he felt inclined. Such a companion was invaluable, and Nicholas
+congratulated himself upon the discovery, especially when he found
+Lawrence Fogg not unwilling to undertake some delicate commissions for
+him, which he could not well execute himself, and which he was unwilling
+should reach Mistress Assheton's ears. These were managed with equal
+adroitness and caution. About the same time, too, Nicholas finding money
+scarce, and, not liking to borrow it in person, delegated Fogg, and sent
+him round to his friends to ask for a loan; but, in this instance, the
+mission was attended with very indifferent success, for not one of them
+would lend him so small a sum as thirty pounds, all averring they stood
+in need of it quite as much as himself. Though somewhat inconvenienced
+by their refusal, Nicholas bore the disappointment with his customary
+equanimity, and made merry with his friend as if nothing had happened.
+Fogg showed an equal accommodating spirit in all religious observances,
+and, though much against his inclination, attended morning discourses
+and lectures with his patron, and even made an attempt at psalm-singing;
+but on one occasion, missing the tune and coming in with a bacchanalian
+chorus, he was severely rebuked by the minister, and enjoined to keep
+silence in future. Such was the friendly relation subsisting between
+the parties when they met together on the lawn on the morning in
+question.
+
+"Well, Fogg," cried Nicholas, after exchanging salutations with his
+friend, "what say you to hunting the otter in the Ribble after
+breakfast? 'Tis a rare day for the sport, and the hounds are in
+excellent order. There is an old dam and her litter whom we must kill,
+for she has been playing the very devil with the fish for a space of
+more than two miles; and if we let her off for another week, we shall
+have neither salmon, trout, nor umber, as all will have passed down the
+maws of her voracious brood."
+
+"And that would be a pity, in good sooth, squire," replied Fogg; "for
+there are no fish like those of the Ribble. Nothing I should prefer to
+the sport you promise; but I thought you had other business for me
+to-day? Another attempt to borrow money--eh?"
+
+"Ay, from my cousin, Dick Assheton," rejoined Nicholas; "he will lend me
+the thirty pounds, I am quite sure. But you had better defer the visit
+till to-morrow, when his father, Sir Richard, will be at Whalley, and
+when you can have him to yourself. Dick will not say you nay, depend
+on't; he is too good a fellow for that. A murrain on those close-fisted
+curmudgeons, Roger Nowell, Nicholas Townley, and Tom Whitaker. They
+ought to be delighted to oblige me."
+
+"But they declare they have no money," said Fogg.
+
+"No money!--pshaw!" exclaimed Nicholas; "an idle excuse. They have
+chests full. Would I had all Roger Nowell's gold, I should not require
+another supply for years. But, 'sdeath! I will not trouble myself for a
+paltry thirty pounds."
+
+"If I might venture to suggest, squire, while you are about it, I would
+ask for a hundred pounds, or even two or three hundred," said Fogg.
+"Your friends will think all the better of you, and feel more satisfied
+you intend to repay them."
+
+"Do you think so!" cried Nicholas. "Then, by Plutus, it shall be three
+hundred pounds--three hundred at interest. Dick will have to borrow the
+amount to lend it to me; but, no matter, he will easily obtain it.
+Harkye, Fogg, while you are at Middleton, endeavour to ascertain whether
+any thing has been arranged about the marriage of a certain young lady
+to a certain young gentleman. I am curious to know the precise state of
+affairs in that quarter."
+
+"I will arrive at the truth, if possible, squire," replied Fogg; "but I
+should scarcely think Sir Richard would assent to his son's union with
+the daughter of a notorious witch."
+
+"Sir Richard's son is scarcely likely to ask Sir Richard's consent,"
+said Nicholas; "and as to Mistress Nutter, though heavy charges have
+been brought against her, nothing has been proved, for you know she
+escaped, or rather was rescued, on her way to Lancaster Castle."
+
+"I am fully aware of it, squire," replied Fogg; "and I more than
+suspect a worthy friend of mine had a hand in her deliverance and could
+tell where to find her if needful. But that is neither here nor there.
+The lady is quite innocent, I dare say. Indeed, I am quite sure of it,
+since you espouse her cause so warmly. But the world is malicious, and
+strange things are reported of her."
+
+"Heed not the world, Fogg," rejoined Nicholas. "The world speaks well of
+no man, be his deserts what they may. The world says that I waste my
+estate in wine, women, and horseflesh--that I spend time in pleasures
+which might be profitably employed--that I neglect my wife, forget my
+religious observances, am on horseback when I should be afoot, at the
+alehouse when I should be at home, at a marriage when I should be at a
+funeral, shooting when I should be keeping my books--in short, it has
+not a good word to say for me. And as for thee, Fogg, it says thou art
+an idle, good-for-nothing fellow; or, if thou art good for aught, it is
+only for something that leads to evil. It says thou drinkest
+prodigiously, liest confoundedly, and swearest most profanely; that thou
+art ever more ready to go to the alehouse than to church, and that none
+of the girls can 'scape thee. Nay, the slanderers even go so far as to
+assert thou wouldst not hesitate to say, 'Stand and deliver!' to a true
+man on the highway. That is what the world says of thee. But, hang it!
+never look chapfallen, man. Let us go to the stables, and then we will
+in to breakfast; after which we will proceed to the Ribble, and spear
+the old otter."
+
+A fine old manorial residence was Downham, and beautifully situated, as
+has been shown, on a woody eminence to the north of Pendle Hill. It was
+of great antiquity, and first came into the possession of the Assheton
+family in 1558. Considerable additions had been made to it by its
+present owner, Nicholas, and the outlay necessarily required, combined
+with his lavish expenditure, had contributed to embarrass him. The
+stables were large, and full of horses; the kennels on the same scale,
+and equally well supplied with hounds; and there was a princely retinue
+of servants in the yard--grooms, keepers, falconers, huntsmen, and their
+assistants--to say nothing of their fellows within doors. In short, if
+it had been your fortune to accompany the squire and his friend round
+the premises--if you had walked through the stables and counted the
+horses--if you had viewed the kennels and examined the various
+hounds--the great Lancashire dogs, tall, shaggy, and heavy, a race now
+extinct; the Worcestershire hounds, then also in much repute; the
+greyhounds, the harriers, the beagles, the lurchers, and, lastly, the
+verminers, or, as we should call them, the terriers,--if you had seen
+all these, you would not have wondered that money was scarce with him.
+Still further would your surprise at such a consequence have diminished
+if you had gone on to the falconry, and seen on the perches the goshawk
+and her tercel, the sparrowhawk and her musket, under the care of the
+ostringer; and further on the falcon-gentle, the gerfalcon, the lanner,
+the merlin, and the hobby, all of which were attended to by the head
+falconer. It would have done you good to hear Nicholas inquiring from
+his men if they had "set out their birds that morning, and weathered
+them;" if they had mummy powder in readiness, then esteemed a sovereign
+remedy; if the lures, hoods, jesses, buets, and all other needful
+furniture, were in good order; and if the meat were sweet and wholesome.
+You might next have followed him to the pens where the fighting cocks
+were kept, and where you would have found another source of expense in
+the cock-master, Tom Shaw--a knave who not only got high wages from his
+master, but understood so well the dieting of his birds that he could
+make them win or lose a battle as he thought proper. Here, again,
+Nicholas had much to say, and was in raptures with one cock, which he
+told Fogg he would back to any amount, utterly unconscious of a
+significant look that passed between his friend and the cock-master.
+
+"Look at him," cried the squire; "how proud and erect he stands! His
+head is as small as that of a sparrowhawk, his eye large and quick, his
+body thick, his leg strong in the beam, and his spurs long, rough, and
+sharp. That is the bird for me. I will take him over to the cockpit at
+Prescot next week, and match him against any bird Sir John Talbot, or my
+cousin Braddyll, can bring."
+
+"And yo'n win, squoire," replied the cock-master; "ey ha' been feedin'
+him these five weeks, so he'll be i' rare condition then, and winna fail
+yo. Yo may lay what yo loike upon him," he added, with a sly wink at
+Fogg.
+
+"You may win the thirty pounds you want," observed the latter, in a low
+tone to the squire.
+
+"Or, mayhap, lose it," replied Nicholas. "I shall not risk so much,
+unless I get the three hundred from Dick Assheton. I have been unlucky
+of late. You beat me constantly at tables now, Fogg, and when I first
+knew you this was not wont to be the case. Nay, never make any excuses,
+man; you cannot help it. Let us in to breakfast."
+
+With this, he proceeded towards the house, followed by Fogg and a couple
+of large Lancashire hounds, and, entering at the back of the premises,
+made his way through the scullery into the kitchen. Here there were
+plentiful evidences of the hospitality, not to say profusion, reigning
+throughout the mansion. An open door showed a larder stocked with all
+kinds of provisions, and before the fire joints of meat and poultry were
+roasting. Pies were baking in the oven; and over the flames, in the
+chimney, was suspended a black pot large enough for a witch's caldron.
+The cook was busied in preparing for the gridiron some freshly-caught
+trout, intended for the squire's own breakfast; and a kitchen-maid was
+toasting oatcakes, of which there was a large supply in the bread-flake
+depending from the ceiling.
+
+Casting a look around, and exchanging a few words with the cook,
+Nicholas moved on, still followed by Fogg and the hounds, and, tracking
+a long stone passage, entered the great hall. Here the same disorder and
+irregularity prevailed as in his own character and conduct. All was
+litter and confusion. Around the walls were hung breastplates and
+buff-coats, morions, shields, and two-handed swords; but they were half
+hidden by fishing-nets, fowling-nets, dogs' collars, saddles and
+bridles, housings, cross-bows, long-bows, quivers, baldricks, horns,
+spears, guns, and every other implement then used in the sports of the
+river or the field. The floor was in an equal state of disorder. The
+rushes were filled with half-gnawed bones, brought thither by the
+hounds; and in one corner, on a mat, was a favourite spaniel and her
+whelps. The squire however was, happily, insensible to the condition of
+the chamber, and looked around it with an air of satisfaction, as if he
+thought it the perfection of comfort.
+
+A table was spread for breakfast, near a window looking out upon the
+lawn, and two covers only were laid, for Mistress Nicholas Assheton did
+not make her appearance at this early hour. And now was exhibited one of
+those strange contradictions of which the squire's character was
+composed. Kneeling down by the side of the table, and without noticing
+the mocking expression of Fogg's countenance as he followed his example,
+Nicholas prayed loudly and fervently for upwards of ten minutes, after
+which he arose and gave a shout which proved that his lungs were
+unimpaired, and not only roused the whole house, but set all the dogs
+barking.
+
+Presently a couple of serving-men answered this lusty summons, and the
+table was covered with good and substantial dishes, which he and his
+companion attacked with a vigour such as only the most valiant
+trencherman can display. Already has it been remarked that a breakfast
+at the period in question resembled a modern dinner; and better proof
+could not have been afforded of the correctness of the description than
+the meal under discussion, which comprised fish, flesh, and fowl,
+boiled, broiled, and roast, together with strong ale and sack. After an
+hour thus agreeably employed, and while they were still seated, though
+breakfast had pretty nearly come to an end, a serving-man entered,
+announcing Master Richard Sherborne of Dunnow. The squire instantly
+sprang to his feet, and hastened to welcome his brother-in-law.
+
+"Ah! good-day to you, Dick," he cried, shaking him heartily by the hand;
+"what happy chance brings you here so early? But first sit down and
+eat--eat, and talk afterwards. Here, Roger, Harry, bring another platter
+and napkin, and let us have more broiled trout and a cold capon, a
+pasty, or whatever you can find in the larder. Try some of this gammon
+meanwhile, Dick. It will help down a can of ale. And now what brings
+thee hither, lad? Pressing business, no doubt. Thou mayest speak before
+Fogg. I have no secrets from him. He is my second self."
+
+"I have no secrets to divulge, Nicholas," replied Sherborne, "and I will
+tell you at once what I am come about. Have you heard that the King is
+about to visit Hoghton Tower in August?"
+
+"No; this is news to me," replied Nicholas; "does your business relate
+to his visit?"
+
+"It does," replied Sherborne. "Last night a messenger came to me from
+Sir Richard Hoghton, entreating me to move you to do him the favour and
+courtesy to attend him at the King's coming, and wear his livery."
+
+"I wear his livery!" exclaimed Nicholas, indignantly. "'Sdeath! what do
+you take me for, cousin Dick?"
+
+"For a right good fellow, who I am sure will comply with his friend's
+request, especially when he finds there is no sort of degradation in
+it," replied Sherborne. "Why, I shall wear Sir Richard's cloth, and so
+will several others of our friends. There will be rare doings at
+Hoghton--masquings, mummings, and all sorts of revels, besides hunting,
+shooting, racing, wrestling, and the devil knows what. You may feast and
+carouse to your heart's content. The Dukes of Buckingham and Richmond
+will be there, and the Earls of Nottingham and Pembroke, and Sir Gilbert
+Hoghton, the King's great favourite, who married the Duchess of
+Buckingham's sister. Besides these, you will have all the beauty of
+Lancashire. I would not miss the sight for thirty pounds."
+
+"Thirty pounds!" echoed Nicholas, as if struck with a sudden thought.
+"Do you think Sir Thomas Hoghton would lend me that sum if I consent to
+wear his cloth, and attend him?"
+
+"I have no doubt of it," replied Sherborne; "and if he won't, I will."
+
+"Then I will put my pride in my pocket, and go," said Nicholas. "And
+now, Dick, dispatch your breakfast as quickly as you can, and then I
+will take you to the Ribble, and show you some sport with an otter."
+
+Sherborne was not long in concluding his repast, and having received an
+otter spear from the squire, who had already provided himself and Fogg
+with like weapons, all three adjourned to the kennels, where they found
+the old huntsman, Charlie Crouch, awaiting them, attended by four stout
+varlets, armed with forked staves, meant for the double purpose of
+beating the river's banks, and striking the poor beast they were about
+to hunt, and each man having a couple of hounds, well entered for the
+chase, in leash. Old Crouch was a thin, grey-bearded fellow, but
+possessed of a tough, muscular frame, which served him quite as well in
+the long run as the younger, and apparently more vigorous, limbs of his
+assistants. His cheek was hale, and his eye still bright and quick, and
+a certain fierceness was imparted to his countenance by a large
+aquiline nose. He was attired in a greasy leathern jerkin, tight hose of
+the same material, and had a bugle suspended from his neck, and a sharp
+hunting-knife thrust into his girdle. In his hand he bore a spear like
+his master, and was followed by a grey old lurcher, who, though wanting
+an ear and an eye, and disfigured by sundry scars on throat and back,
+was hardy, untiring, and sagacious. This ancient dog was called Grip,
+from his tenacity in holding any thing he set his teeth upon, and he and
+Crouch were inseparable.
+
+Great was the clamour occasioned by the squire's appearance in the yard.
+The coupled hounds gave tongue at once, and sang out most melodiously,
+and all the other dogs within the kennels, or roaming at will about the
+yard, joined the concert. After much swearing, cracking of whips, and
+yelping consequent upon the cracking, silence was in some degree
+restored, and a consultation was then held between Nicholas and Crouch
+as to where their steps should first be bent. The old huntsman was for
+drawing the river near a place called Bean Hill Wood, as the trees
+thereabouts, growing close to the water's edge, it was pretty certain
+the otter would have her couch amid the roots of some of them. This was
+objected to by one of the varlets, who declared that the beast lodged in
+a hollow tree, standing on a bank nearly a mile higher up the stream,
+and close by the point of junction between Swanside Beck and the Ribble.
+He was certain of the fact, he avouched, because he had noticed her
+marks on the moist grass near the tree.
+
+"Hoo goes theere to fish, mon?" cried Crouch, "for it is the natur o'
+the wary varmint to feed at a distance fro' her lodgin; boh ey'm sure we
+shan leet on her among the roots o' them big trees o'erhanging th' river
+near Bean Hill Wood, an if the squire 'll tay my advice, he'n go theere
+first."
+
+"I put myself entirely under your guidance, Crouch," said Nicholas.
+
+"An yo'n be aw reet, sir," replied the huntsman; "we'n beat the bonks
+weel, an two o' these chaps shan go up the stream, an two down, one o'
+one side, and one o' t'other; an i' that manner hoo canna escape us, fo'
+Grip can swim an dive os weel as onny otter i' aw Englondshiar, an he'n
+be efter her an her litter the moment they tak to t' wotur. Some folk,
+os maybe yo ha' seen, squoire, tak howd on a cord by both eends, an
+droppin it into t' river, draw it slowly along, so that they can tell by
+th' jerk when th' otter touches it; boh this is an onsartin method, an
+is nowt like Grip's plan, for wherever yo see him swimmin, t'other beast
+yo may be sure is nah far ahead."
+
+"A brave dog, but confoundedly ugly!" exclaimed the squire, regarding
+the old one-eared, one-eyed lurcher with mingled admiration and disgust;
+"and now, that all is arranged, let us be off."
+
+Accordingly they quitted the court-yard, and, shaping their course in
+the direction indicated by the huntsman, entered the park, and proceeded
+along a glade, checkered by the early sunbeams. Here the noise they made
+in their progress speedily disturbed a herd of deer browsing beneath the
+trees, and, as the dappled foresters darted off to a thicker covert,
+great difficulty was experienced by the varlets in restraining the
+hounds, who struggled eagerly to follow them, and made the welkin
+resound with their baying.
+
+"Yonder is a tall fellow," cried Nicholas, pointing out a noble buck to
+Crouch; "I must kill him next week, for I want to send a haunch of
+venison to Middleton, and another to Whalley Abbey for Sir Ralph."
+
+"Better hunt him, squoire," said Crouch; "he will gi' ye good sport."
+
+Soon after this they attained an eminence, where a charming sweep of
+country opened upon them, including the finest part of Ribblesdale, with
+its richly-wooded plains, and the swift and beautiful river from which
+it derived its name. The view was enchanting, and the squire and his
+companions paused for a moment to contemplate it, and then, stepping
+gleefully forward, made their way over the elastic turf towards a small
+thicket skirting the park. All were in high spirits, for the freshness
+and beauty of the morning had not been without effect, and the squire's
+tongue kept pace with his legs as he strode briskly along; but as they
+entered the thicket in question, and caught sight of the river through
+the trees, the old huntsman enjoined silence, and he was obliged to put
+a check upon his loquacity.
+
+When within a bowshot from the water, the party came to a halt, and two
+of the men were directed by Crouch to cross the stream at different
+points, and then commence beating the banks, while the other two were
+ordered to pursue a like course, but to keep on the near side of the
+river. The hounds were next uncoupled, and the men set off to execute
+the orders they had received, and soon afterwards the crashing of
+branches, and the splashing of water, accompanied by the deep baying of
+the hounds, told they were at work.
+
+Meanwhile, Nicholas and the others had not remained idle. As the varlets
+struck off in different directions, they went straight on, and forcing
+their way through the brushwood, came to a high bank overlooking the
+Ribble, on the top of which grew three or four large trees, whose roots,
+laid bare on the further side by the swollen currents of winter, formed
+a convenient resting-place for the fish-loving creature they hoped to
+surprise. Receiving a hint from Crouch to make for the central tree,
+Nicholas grasped his spear, and sprang forward; but, quick as he was, he
+was too late, though he saw enough to convince him that the crafty old
+huntsman had been correct in his judgment; for a dark, slimy object
+dropped from out the roots of the tree beneath him, and glided into the
+water as swiftly and as noiselessly as if its skin had been oiled. A few
+bubbles rose to the surface of the water, but these were all the
+indications marking the course of the wondrous diver.
+
+But other eyes, sharper than those of Nicholas, were on the watch, and
+the old huntsman shouted out, "There hoo goes, Grip--efter her, lad,
+efter her!" The words were scarcely uttered when the dog sprang from the
+top of the bank and sank under the water. For some seconds no trace
+could be observed of either animal, and then the shaggy nose of the
+lurcher was seen nearly fifty yards higher up the river, and after
+sniffing around for a moment, and fixing his single eye on his master,
+who was standing on the bank, and encouraging him with his voice and
+gesture, he dived again.
+
+"Station yourselves on the bank, fifty paces apart," cried Crouch; "run,
+run, or yo'n be too late, an' strike os quick os leet if yo've a chance.
+Stay wheere you are, squoire," he added, to Nicholas. "Yo canna be
+better placed."
+
+All was now animation and excitement. Perceiving from the noise that the
+otter had been found, the four varlets hastened towards the scene of
+action, and, by their shouts and the clatter of their staves,
+contributed greatly to its spirit. Two were on one side of the stream,
+and two on the other, and up to this moment the hounds were similarly
+separated; but now most of them had taken to the water, some swimming
+about, others standing up to the middle in the shallower part of the
+current, watching with keen gaze for the appearance of their anticipated
+victim.
+
+Having descended the bank, Nicholas had so placed himself among the huge
+twisted roots of the tree, that if the otter, alarmed by the presence of
+so many foes, and unable to escape either up or down the river, should
+return to her couch, he made certain of striking her. At first there
+seemed little chance of such an occurrence, for Fogg, who had gone a
+hundred yards higher up, suddenly dashed into the stream, and, plunging
+his spear into the mud, cried out that he had hit the beast; but the
+next moment, when he drew the weapon forth, and exhibited a large rat
+which he had transfixed, his mistake excited much merriment.
+
+Old Crouch, meantime, did not suffer his attention to be drawn from his
+dog. Every now and then he saw him come to the surface to breathe, but
+as he kept within a short distance, though rising at different points,
+the old huntsman felt certain the otter had not got away, and, having
+the utmost reliance upon Grip's perseverance and sagacity, he felt
+confident he would bring the quarry to him if the thing were possible.
+The varlets kept up an incessant clatter, beating the water with their
+staves, and casting large stones into it, while the hounds bayed
+furiously, so that the poor fugitive was turned on whichever side she
+attempted a retreat.
+
+While this was going on, Nicholas was cautioned by the huntsman to look
+out, and scarcely had the admonition reached him than the sleek shining
+body of the otter emerged from the water, and wreathed itself among the
+roots. The squire instantly dealt a blow which he expected to prove
+fatal, but his mortification was excessive when he found he had driven
+the spear-head so deeply into the tree that he could scarcely disengage
+it, while an almost noiseless plunge told that his prey had escaped.
+Almost at the same moment that the poor hunted beast had sought its old
+lodging, the untiring lurcher had appeared at the edge of the bank, and,
+as the former again went down, he dived likewise.
+
+Secretly laughing at the squire's failure, the old huntsman prepared to
+take advantage of a similar opportunity if it should present itself, and
+with this view ensconced himself behind a pollard willow, which stood
+close beside the stream, and whence he could watch closely all that
+passed, without being exposed to view. The prudence of the step was soon
+manifest. After the lapse of a few seconds, during which neither dog nor
+otter had risen to breathe, a slight, very slight, undulation was
+perceptible on the surface of the water. Crouch's grasp tightened upon
+his staff--he waited another moment--then dashed forward, struck down
+his spear, and raised it aloft, with the poor otter transfixed and
+writhing upon its point.
+
+Loudly and exultingly did the old man shout at his triumph, and loudly
+were his vociferations answered by the others. All flew to the spot
+where he was standing, and the hounds, gathering round him, yelled
+furiously at the otter, and showed every disposition to tear her in
+pieces, if they could get at her. Kicking the noisiest and fiercest of
+them out of the way, Crouch approached the river's brink, and lowered
+the spear-head till it came within reach of his favourite Grip, who had
+not yet come out of the water, but stood within his depth, with his one
+red eye fixed on the enemy he had so hotly pursued, and fully expecting
+his reward. It now came; his sharp teeth instantly met in the otter's
+throat, and when Crouch swung them both in the air, he still maintained
+his hold, showing how well he deserved his name, nor could he be
+disengaged until long after the sufferings of the tortured animal had
+ceased.
+
+To say that Nicholas was neither chagrined at his ill success, nor
+jealous of the old huntsman's superior skill, would be to affirm an
+untruth; but he put the best face he could upon the matter, and praised
+Grip very highly, alleging that the whole merit of the hunt rested with
+him. Old Crouch let him go on, and when he had done, quietly observed
+that the otter they had destroyed was not the one they came in search
+of, as they had seen nothing of her litter; and that, most likely, the
+beast that had done so much mischief had her lodging in the hollow tree
+near the Swanside Beck, as described by the varlet, and he wished to
+know whether the squire would like to go and hunt her. Nicholas replied
+that he was quite willing to do so, and hoped he should have better luck
+on the second occasion; and with this they set forward again, taking
+their way along the side of the stream, beating the banks as they went,
+but without rousing any thing beyond an occasional water-rat, which was
+killed almost as soon as found by Grip.
+
+Somehow or other, without any one being aware what led to it the
+conversation fell upon the two old witches, Mothers Demdike and Chattox,
+and the strange manner in which their career had terminated on the
+summit of Pendle Hill--if, indeed it could be said to have terminated,
+when their spirits were reported to haunt the spot, and might be seen,
+it was asserted, at midnight, flitting round the beacon, and shrieking
+dismally. The restless shades were pursued, it was added, by the figure
+of a monk in white mouldering robes, supposed to be the ghost of Paslew.
+It was difficult to understand how these apparitions could be witnessed,
+since no one, even for a reward, could be prevailed upon to ascend
+Pendle Hill after nightfall; but the shepherds affirmed they had seen
+them from below, and that was testimony sufficient to shake the most
+sceptical. One singular circumstance was mentioned, which must not be
+passed by without notice; and this was, that when the cinders of the
+extinct beacon-fire came to be examined, no remains whatever of the two
+hags could be discovered, though the ashes were carefully sifted, and it
+was quite certain that the flames had expired long before their bodies
+could be consumed. The explanation attempted for this marvel was, that
+Satan had carried them off while yet living, to finish their combustion
+in a still more fiery region.
+
+Mention of Mother Demdike naturally led to her grandson, Jem Device,
+who, having escaped in a remarkable manner on the night in question,
+notwithstanding the hue and cry made after him, had not, as yet, been
+captured, though he had been occasionally seen at night, and under
+peculiar circumstances, by various individuals, and amongst others by
+old Crouch, who, however, declared he had been unable to lay hands upon
+him.
+
+Allusion was then made to Mistress Nutter, whereupon it was observed
+that the squire changed the conversation quickly; while sundry sly winks
+and shrugs were exchanged among the varlets of the kennel, seeming to
+intimate that they knew more about the matter than they cared to admit.
+Nothing more, however, was elicited than that the escort conducting her
+to Lancaster Castle, together with the other witches, after their
+examination before the magistrates at Whalley, and committal, had been
+attacked, while it was passing through a woody defile in Bowland Forest,
+by a party of men in the garb of foresters, and the lady set free. Nor
+had she been heard of since. What made this rescue the more
+extraordinary was, that none of the other witches were liberated at the
+same time, but some of them who seemed disposed to take advantage of the
+favourable interposition, and endeavoured to get away, were brought back
+by the foresters to the officers of justice; thus clearly proving that
+the attempt was solely made on Mistress Nutter's account, and must have
+been undertaken by her friends. Nothing, it was asserted, could equal
+the rage and mortification of Roger Nowell and Potts, on learning that
+their chief prey had thus escaped them; and by their directions, for
+more than a week, the strictest search was made for the fugitive
+throughout the neighbourhood, but without effect--no clue could be
+discovered to her retreat. Suspicion naturally fell upon the two
+Asshetons, Nicholas and Richard, and Roger Nowell roundly taxed them
+with contriving and executing the enterprise in person; while Potts told
+them they were guilty of misprision of felony, and threatened them with
+imprisonment for life, forfeiture of goods and of rents, for the
+offence; but as the charge could not be proved against them,
+notwithstanding all the efforts of the magistrate and attorney, it fell
+to the ground; and Master Potts, full of chagrin at this unexpected and
+vexatious termination of the affair, returned to London, and settled
+himself in his chambers in Chancery Lane. His duties, however, as clerk
+of the court, would necessarily call him to Lancaster in August, when
+the assizes commenced, and when he would assist at the trials of such of
+the witches as were still in durance.
+
+From Mother Demdike it was natural that the conversation should turn to
+her weird retreat, Malkin Tower; and Richard Sherborne expressed his
+surprise that the unhallowed structure should be suffered to remain
+standing after her removal. Nicholas said he was equally anxious with
+his brother-in-law for its demolition, but it was not so easily to be
+accomplished as it might appear; for the deserted structure was in such
+ill repute with the common folk, as well as every one else, that no one
+dared approach it, even in the daytime. A boggart, it was said, had
+taken possession of its vaults, and scared away all who ventured near
+it; sometimes showing himself in one frightful shape, and sometimes in
+another; now as a monstrous goat, now as an equally monstrous cat,
+uttering fearful cries, glaring with fiery eyes from out of the windows,
+or appearing in all his terror on the summit of the tower. Moreover, the
+haunted structure was frequently lighted up at dead of night, strains of
+unearthly music were heard resounding from it, and wild figures were
+seen flitting past the windows, as if engaged in dancing and revelry; so
+that it appeared that no alteration for the better had taken place
+there, and that things were still quite as improperly conducted now, as
+they had been in the time of Mother Demdike, or in those of her
+predecessors, Isole de Heton and Blackburn, the robber. The common
+opinion was, that Satan and all his imps had taken up their abode in the
+tower, and, as they liked their quarters, led a jolly life there,
+dancing and drinking all night long, it would be useless at present to
+give them notice to quit, still less to attempt to pull down the house
+about their ears. Richard Sherborne heard this wondrous relation in
+silence, but with a look of incredulity; and when it was done he winked
+slily at his brother-in-law. A strange expression, half comical, half
+suspicious, might also have been observed on Fogg's countenance; and he
+narrowly watched the squire as the latter spoke.
+
+"But with the disappearance of the malignant old hags who had so long
+infested the neighbourhood, had all mischief and calamity ceased, or
+were people as much afflicted as heretofore? Were there, in short, so
+many cases of witchcraft, real or supposed?" This was the question next
+addressed by Sherborne to Nicholas. The squire answered decidedly there
+were not. Since the burning of the two old beldames, and the
+imprisonment of the others, the whole district of Pendle had improved.
+All those who had been smitten with strange illnesses had recovered; and
+the inhabitants of the little village of Sabden, who had experienced the
+fullest effects of their malignity, were entirely free from sickness.
+And not only had they and their families suddenly regained health and
+strength, but all belonging to them had undergone a similar beneficial
+change. The kine that had lost their milk now yielded it abundantly; the
+lame horse halted no longer; the murrain ceased among the sheep; the
+pigs that had grown lean amidst abundance fattened rapidly; and though
+the farrows that had perished during the evil ascendency of the witches
+could not be brought back again, their place promised speedily to be
+supplied by others. The corn blighted early in the year had sprung forth
+anew, and the trees nipped in the bud were laden with fruit. In short,
+all was as fair and as flourishing as it had recently been the reverse.
+Amongst others, John Law, the pedlar, who had been deprived of the use
+of his limbs by the damnable arts of Mother Demdike, had marvellously
+recovered on the very night of her destruction, and was now as strong
+and as active as ever. "Such happy results having followed the removal
+of the witches, it was to be hoped," Sherborne said, "that the riddance
+would be complete, and that none of the obnoxious brood would be left to
+inflict future miseries on their fellows. This could not be the case so
+long as James Device was allowed to go at large; nor while his mother,
+Elizabeth Device, a notorious witch, was suffered to escape with
+impunity. There was also Jennet, Elizabeth's daughter, a mischievous and
+ill-favoured little creature, who inherited all the ill qualities of her
+parents. These were the spawn of the old snake, and, until they were
+entirely exterminated, there could be no security against a recurrence
+of the evil. Again, there was Nance Redferne, old Chattox's
+grand-daughter, a comely woman enough, but a reputed witch, and an
+undoubted fabricator of clay images. She was still at liberty, though
+she ought to be with the rest in the dungeons of Lancaster Castle. It
+was useless to allege that with the destruction of the old hags all
+danger had ceased. Common prudence would keep the others quiet now; but
+the moment the storm passed over, they would resume their atrocious
+practices, and all would be as bad as ever. No, no! the tree must be
+utterly uprooted, or it would inevitably burst forth anew."
+
+With these opinions Nicholas generally concurred; but he expressed some
+sympathy for Nance Redferne, whom he thought far too good-looking to be
+as wicked and malicious as represented. But however that might be, and
+however much he might desire to get rid of the family of the Devices, he
+feared such a step might be attended with danger to Alizon, and that she
+might in some way or other be implicated with them. This last remark he
+addressed in an under-tone to his brother-in-law. Sherborne did not at
+first feel any apprehension on that score, but, on reflection, he
+admitted that Nicholas was perhaps right; and though Alizon was now the
+recognised daughter of Mistress Nutter, yet her long and intimate
+connection with the Device family might operate to her prejudice, while
+her near relationship to an avowed witch would not tend to remove the
+unfavourable impression. Sherborne then went on to speak in the most
+rapturous terms of the beauty and goodness of the young girl who formed
+the subject of their conversation, and declared he was not in the least
+surprised that Richard Assheton was so much in love with her. And yet,
+he added, a most extraordinary change had taken place in her since the
+dreadful night on Pendle Hill, when her mother's guilt had been
+proclaimed, and when her arrest had taken place as an offender of the
+darkest dye. Alizon, he said, had lost none of her beauty, but her light
+and joyous expression of countenance had been supplanted by a look of
+profound sadness, which nothing could remove. Gentle and meek in her
+deportment, she seemed to look upon herself as under a ban, and as if
+she were unfit to associate with the rest of the world. In vain Richard
+Assheton and his sister endeavoured to remove this impression by the
+tenderest assiduities; in vain they sought to induce her to enter into
+amusements consistent with her years; she declined all society but their
+own, and passed the greater part of her time in prayer. Sherborne had
+seen her so engaged, and the expression of her countenance, he declared,
+was seraphic.
+
+On the extreme verge of a high bank situated at the point of junction
+between Swanside Beck and the Ribble, stood an old, decayed oak. Little
+of the once mighty tree beyond the gnarled trunk was left, and this was
+completely hollow; while there was a great rift near the bottom through
+which a man might easily creep, and, when once in, stand erect without
+inconvenience. Beneath the bank the river was deep and still, forming a
+pool, where the largest and fattest fish were to be met with. In
+addition to this, the spot was extremely secluded, being rarely visited
+by the angler on account of the thick copse by which it was surrounded
+and which extended along the back, from the point of confluence between
+the lesser and the larger stream, to Downham mill, nearly half a mile
+distant.
+
+The sides of the Ribble were here, as elsewhere, beautifully wooded, and
+as the clear stream winded along through banks of every diversity of
+shape and character, and covered by forest trees of every description,
+and of the most luxuriant growth, the effect was enchanting; the more
+so, that the sun, having now risen high in the heavens, poured down a
+flood of summer heat and radiance, that rendered these cool shades
+inexpressibly delightful. Pleasant was it, as the huntsmen leaped from
+stone to stone, to listen to the sound of the waters rushing past them.
+Pleasant as they sprang upon some green holm or fairy islet, standing in
+the midst of the stream, and dividing its lucid waters, to suffer the
+eye to follow the course of the rapid current, and to see it here
+sparkling in the bright sunshine, there plunged in shade by the
+overhanging trees--now fringed with osiers and rushes, now embanked with
+smoothest sward of emerald green; anon defended by steep rocks,
+sometimes bold and bare, but more frequently clothed with timber; then
+sinking down by one of those sudden but exquisite transitions, which
+nature alone dares display, from this savage and sombre character into
+the softest and gentlest expression; every where varied, yet every where
+beautiful.
+
+Through such scenes of silvan loveliness had the huntsmen passed on
+their way to the hollow oak, and they had ample leisure to enjoy them,
+because the squire and his brother-in-law being engaged in conversation,
+as before related, made frequent pauses, and, during these, the others
+halted likewise; and even the hounds, glad of a respite, stood still, or
+amused themselves by splashing about amid the shallows without any
+definite object unless of cooling themselves. Then, as the leaders once
+more moved forward, arose the cheering shout, the loud deep bay, the
+clattering of staves, the crashing of branches, and all the other
+inspiriting noises accompanying the progress of the hunt. But for some
+minutes these had again ceased, and as Nicholas and Sherborne lingered
+beneath the shade of a wide-spread beech-tree growing on a sandy hillock
+near the stream, and seemed deeply interested in their talk--as well
+they might, for it related to Alizon--the whole troop, including Fogg,
+held respectfully aloof, and awaited their pleasure to go on.
+
+The signal to move was, at length, given by the squire, who saw they
+were now not more than a hundred yards from the bank on which stood the
+hollow tree they were anxious to reach. As the river here made a turn,
+and swept round the point in question, forming, owing to this
+detention, the deep pool previously mentioned, the bank almost faced
+them, and, as nothing intervened, they could almost look into the rift
+near the base of the tree, forming, they supposed, the entrance to the
+otter's couch. But, though this was easily distinguished, no traces of
+the predatory animal could be seen; and though many sharp eyes were
+fixed upon the spot during the prolonged discourse of the two gentlemen,
+nothing had occurred to attract their attention, and to prove that the
+object of their quest was really there.
+
+After some little consultation between the squire and Crouch, it was
+agreed that the former should alone force his way to the tree, while the
+others were to station themselves with the hounds at various points of
+the stream, above and below the bank, so that, if the otter and her
+litter escaped their first assailant, they should infallibly perish by
+the hands of some of the others. This being agreed upon, the plan was
+instantly put into execution--two of the varlets remaining where they
+were--two going higher up; while Sherborne and Fogg stationed themselves
+on great stones in the middle of the stream, whence they could command
+all around them, and Crouch, wading on with Grip, planted himself at the
+entrance of Swanside Beck into the Ribble.
+
+Meanwhile, the squire having scaled the bank, entered the thick covert
+encircling it, and, not without some damage to his face and hands from
+the numerous thorns and brambles growing amongst it, forced his way
+upwards until he reached the bare space surrounding the hollow tree; and
+this attained, his first business was to ascertain that all was in
+readiness below before commencing the attack. A glance showed him on one
+side old Crouch standing up to his middle in the beck, grasping his long
+otter spear, and with Grip beating the water in front of him in anxious
+expectation of employment; and in front Fogg, Sherborne, and two of the
+varlets, with their hounds so disposed that they could immediately
+advance upon the otter if it plunged into the river, while its passage
+up or down would be stopped by their comrades. All this he discerned at
+a glance; and comprehending from a sign made him by the old huntsman
+that he should not delay, he advanced towards the tree, and was about to
+plunge his spear into the hole, hoping to transfix one at least of its
+occupants, when he was startled by hearing a deep voice apparently issue
+from the hollows of the timber, bidding him "Beware!"
+
+Nicholas recoiled aghast, for he thought it might be Hobthurst, or the
+demon of the wood, who thus bespoke him.
+
+"What accursed thing addresses me?" he said, standing on his guard.
+"What is it? Speak!"
+
+"Get hence, Nicholas Assheton," replied the voice; "an' meddle not wi'
+them os meddles not wi' thee."
+
+"Aha!" exclaimed the squire, recovering courage, for he thought this
+did not sound like the language of a demon. "I am known am I? Why should
+I go hence, and at whose bidding?"
+
+"Ask neaw questions, mon, boh ge," replied the voice, "or it shan be
+warse fo' thee. Ey am the boggart o' th' clough, an' if theaw bringst me
+out, ey'n tear thee i' pieces wi' my claws, an' cast thee into t'
+Ribble, so that thine own hounts shan eat thee up."
+
+"Ha! say'st thou so, master boggart," cried Nicholas. "For a spirit,
+thou usest the vernacular of the county fairly enough. But before trying
+whether thy hide be proof against mortal weapons I command thee to come
+forth and declare thyself, that I may judge what manner of thing thou
+art."
+
+"Thoud'st best lem me be, ey tell thee," replied the boggart gruffly.
+
+"Ah! methinks I should know those accents," exclaimed the squire; "they
+marvellously resemble the voice of an offender who has too long evaded
+justice, and whom I have now fairly entrapped. Jem Device, thou art
+known, lad, and if thou dost not surrender at discretion, I will strike
+my spear through this rotten tree, and spit thee as I would the beast I
+came in quest of."
+
+"An' which yo wad more easily than me," retorted Jem. And suddenly
+springing from the hole at the foot of the tree, he passed between the
+squire's legs with great promptitude, and flinging him face foremost
+upon the ground, crawled to the edge of the bank, and thence dropped
+into the deep pool below.
+
+The plunge roused all the spectators, who, though they had heard what
+had passed, and had seen the squire upset in the manner described, had
+been so much astounded that they could render no assistance; but they
+now, one and all, bestirred themselves actively to seize the diver when
+he should rise to the surface. But though every eye was on the look-out,
+and every arm raised; though the hounds were as eager as their masters,
+and yelling fiercely, swam round the pool, ready to pounce upon the
+swimmer as upon a duck, all were disappointed; for, even after a longer
+interval than their patience could brook, he did not appear.
+
+By this time, Nicholas had regained his legs, and, infuriated by his
+discomfiture, approached the edge of the bank, and peering down below,
+hoped to detect the fugitive immediately beneath him, resolved to show
+him no mercy when he caught him. But he was equally at fault with the
+others, and after more than five minutes spent in ineffectual search, he
+ordered Crouch to send Grip into the pool.
+
+The old keeper replied that the dog was not used to this kind of chase,
+and might not display his usual skill in it; but as the squire would
+take no nay, he was obliged to consent, and the other hounds were called
+off lest they should puzzle him. Twice did the shrewd lurcher swim round
+the pool, sniffing the air, after which he approached the shore, and
+scented close to the bank; still it was evident he could detect
+nothing, and Nicholas began to despair, when the dog suddenly dived.
+Expectation was then raised to the utmost, and all were on the watch
+again, Nicholas leaning over the edge of the bank with his spear in
+hand, prepared to strike; but the dog was so long in reappearing, that
+all had given him up for lost, and his master was giving utterance to
+ejaculations of grief and rage, and vowing vengeance against the
+warlock, when Grip's grisly head was once more seen above the surface of
+the water, and this time he had a piece of blue serge in his jaws,
+proving that he had had hold of the raiments of the fugitive, and that
+therefore the latter could not be far off, but had most probably got
+into some hole beneath the bank.
+
+No sooner was this notion suggested than it was acted on by the old
+huntsman and Fogg, and, wading forward, they pricked the bank with their
+spears at various points below the level of the water. All at once Fogg
+fell forward. His spear had entered a hole, and had penetrated so deeply
+that he had lost his balance. But though, soused over head and ears, he
+had made a successful hit, for the next moment Jem Device appeared above
+the water, and ere he could dive again his throat was seized by Grip,
+and while struggling to free himself from the fangs of the tenacious
+animal, he was laid hold of by Crouch, and the varlets rushing forward
+to the latter's assistance, the ruffian was captured.
+
+Some difficulty was experienced in rescuing the captive from the jaws of
+the hounds, who, infuriated by his struggles, and perhaps mistaking him
+for some strange beast of chase, made their sharp teeth meet in various
+parts of his person, rending his garments from his limbs, and would no
+doubt have rent the flesh also, if they had been permitted. At length,
+after much fighting and struggling, mingled with yells and
+vociferations, Jem was borne ashore, and flung on the ground, where he
+presented a wretched spectacle; bleeding, half-drowned, and covered with
+slime acquired during his occupation of the hole in the bank. But though
+unable to offer further resistance, his spirit was not quelled, and his
+eye glared terribly at his captors. Fearing they might have further
+trouble with him when he recovered from his present exhausted condition,
+Crouch had his hands bound tightly together with one of the dog leashes,
+and then would fain have questioned him as to how he managed to breathe
+in a hole below the level of the water; but Jem refused to satisfy his
+curiosity, and returned only a sullen rejoinder to any questions
+addressed to him, until the squire, who had crossed the river at some
+stepping-stones lower down, came up, and the ruffian then inquired, in a
+half-menacing tone, what he meant to do with him?
+
+"What do I mean to do with you?" cried Nicholas. "I will tell you, lad.
+I shall send you at once to Whalley to be examined before the
+magistrates; and, as the proofs are pretty clear against you, you will
+be forwarded without any material delay to Lancaster Castle."
+
+"An yo winna rescue me by the way, os yo ha dun a sartin notorious witch
+an murtheress!" replied Jem, fiercely. "Tak heed whot yo dun, squoire.
+If ey speak at aw, ey shan speak out, and to some purpose, ey'n warrant
+ye. If ey ge to Lonkester Castle, ey winna ge alone. Wan o' yer friends
+shan ge wi' me."
+
+"Cursed villain! I guess thy meaning," replied Nicholas; "but thy
+vindictive purposes will be frustrated. No credence will be attached to
+thy false charges; while, as to the lady thou aimest at, she is luckily
+beyond reach of thy malice."
+
+"Dunna be too sure o' that, squoire," replied Jem. "Ey con put t'
+officers o' jestis os surely on her track os owd Crouch could set these
+hounds on an otter. Lay yer account on it, ey winna dee unavenged."
+
+"Heed him not," interposed Sherborne, seeing that the squire was shaken
+by his threat, and taking him apart; "it will not do to let such a
+villain escape. He can do you no injury, and as to Mistress Nutter, if
+you know where she is, it will be easy to give her a hint to get out of
+the way."
+
+"I don't know that," replied Nicholas, thoughtfully.
+
+"If ey might be so bowd os offer my advice, squoire," said old Crouch,
+advancing towards his master, "ey'd tee a heavy stoan round the felly's
+throttle, an chuck him into t' poo', an' he'n tell no teles fo' all his
+bragging."
+
+"That would silence him effectually, no doubt, Crouch," replied
+Nicholas, laughing; "but a dog's death is too good for him, and besides
+I am pretty sure his destiny is not drowning. No, no--at all risks he
+shall go to Whalley. Harkee, Fogg," he added, beckoning that worthy to
+him, "I commit the conduct and custody of the prisoner to you. Clap him
+on a horse, get on another yourself, take these four varlets with you,
+and deliver him into the hands of Sir Ralph Assheton, who will relieve
+you of all further trouble and responsibility. But you may add this to
+the baronet from me," he continued, in an under-tone. "I recommend him
+to place under immediate arrest Elizabeth Device, the prisoner's mother,
+and her daughter Jennet. You understand, Fogg--eh?"
+
+"Perfectly," returned the other, with a somewhat singular look; "and
+your instructions shall be fulfilled to the letter. Have you any thing
+more to commit to me?"
+
+"Only this," said Nicholas; "you may tell Sir Ralph that I propose to
+sleep at the Abbey to-night. I shall ride over to Middleton in the
+course of the day, to confer with Dick Assheton upon what has just
+occurred, and get the money from him--the three hundred pounds, you
+understand--and when my errand is done, I will turn bridle towards
+Whalley. I shall return by Todmorden, and through the gorge of
+Cliviger. You may as well tarry for me at the Abbey, for Sir Ralph will
+be glad of thy company, and we can return together to Downham
+to-morrow."
+
+As the squire thus spoke, he noticed a singular sparkle in Fogg's
+ill-set eyes; but he thought nothing of it at the time, though it
+subsequently occurred to his recollection.
+
+Meanwhile, the prisoner, finding no grace likely to be shown him,
+shouted out to the squire, that if he were set free, he would make
+certain important disclosures to him respecting Fogg, who was not what
+he represented himself; but Nicholas treated the offer with disdain; and
+the individual mainly interested in the matter, who appeared highly
+incensed by Jem's malignity, cut a short peg by way of gag, and,
+thrusting it into the ruffian's mouth, effectually checked any more
+revelations on his part.
+
+Fogg then ordered the varlets to bring on the prisoner; but as Jem
+obstinately refused to move, they were under the necessity of taking him
+on their shoulders, and transporting him in this manner to the stables,
+where he was placed on a horse, as directed by the squire.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.--THE PENITENT'S RETREAT.
+
+
+Nicholas and Sherborne returned by a different road from that taken by
+the others, and loitered so much by the way that they did not arrive at
+the manor-house until the prisoner and his escort had set out. Probably
+this was designed, as Nicholas seemed relieved when he learnt they were
+gone. Having entered the house with his brother-in-law, and conducted
+him to an apartment opening out of the hall, usually occupied by
+Mistress Assheton, and where, in fact, they found that amiable lady
+employed at her embroidery, he left Sherborne with her, and, making some
+excuse for his own hasty retreat, betook himself to another part of the
+house.
+
+Mounting the principal staircase, which was of dark oak, with
+richly-carved railing, he turned into a gallery communicating with the
+sleeping apartments, and, after proceeding more than half-way down it,
+halted before a door, which he unlocked, and entered a spacious but
+evidently disused chamber, hung round with faded tapestry, and
+containing a large gloomy-looking bedstead. Securing the door carefully
+after him, Nicholas raised the hangings in one corner of the room, and
+pressing against a spring, a sliding panel flew open. A screen was
+placed within, so as to hide from view the inmate of the secret chamber,
+and Nicholas, having coughed slightly, to announce his presence, and
+received an answer in a low, melancholy female voice, stepped through
+the aperture, and stood within a small closet.
+
+It was tenanted by a lady, whose features and figure bore the strongest
+marks of affliction. Her person was so attenuated that she looked little
+more than a skeleton--her fingers were long and thin--her cheeks hollow
+and deathly pale--her eyes lustreless and deep sunken in their
+sockets--and her hair, once jetty as the raven's wing, prematurely
+blanched. Such was the profound gloom stamped upon her countenance, that
+it was impossible to look upon her without compassion; while, in spite
+of her wo-begone looks, there was a noble character about her that
+elevated the feeling into deep interest, blended with respect. She was
+kneeling beside a small desk, with an open Bible laid upon it, which she
+was intently studying when the squire appeared.
+
+"Here is a terrible text for you, Nicholas," she said, regarding him,
+mournfully. "Listen to it, and judge of its effect on me. Thus it is
+written in Deuteronomy:--'There shall not be found among you any one
+that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that
+useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.'
+A witch, Nicholas--do you mark the word? And yet more particular is the
+next verse, wherein it is said;--'Or a charmer, or a consulter with
+familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.' And then cometh the
+denunciation of divine anger against such offenders in these awful
+words:--'For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord:
+and because of these abominations, the Lord thy God doth drive them out
+from before thee.' Again, it is said in Leviticus, that 'the Lord
+setteth his face against such, to cut them off.' And in Exodus, the law
+is expressly laid down thus--'THOU SHALT NOT SUFFER A WITCH TO LIVE.'
+There is no escape for her, you see. By the divine command she must
+perish, and human justice must; carry out the decree. Nicholas, I am one
+of the offenders thus denounced, thus condemned. I have practised
+witchcraft, consulted with familiar spirits, and done other abominations
+in the sight of Heaven; and I ought to pay the full penalty of my
+offences."
+
+"Do not, I beseech you, madam," replied the squire, "continue to take
+this view of your case. However you have sinned, you have made amends by
+the depth and sincerity of your repentance. Your days and nights--for
+you allow yourself only such rest as nature forces on you, and take even
+that most unwillingly--are passed in constant prayer. Your abstinence is
+severer than any anchoress ever practised, for I am sure for the last
+month you have not taken as much food altogether as I consume in a day;
+while, not content with this, you perform acts of penance that afflict
+me beyond measure to think upon, and which I have striven in vain to
+induce you to forego. There will be no occasion to deliver yourself up
+to justice, madam; for, if you go on thus, and do not deal with
+yourself a little more mildly, your accounts with this world will be
+speedily settled."
+
+"And I should rejoice to think so, Nicholas," replied Mistress Nutter,
+"if I had any hope in the world to come. But, alas! I have none. I
+cannot, by any act of penitence and contrition, expiate my offences. My
+soul is darkened by despair. I know I ought to give myself up--that
+Heaven and man alike require my life, and I cannot reconcile myself to
+avoiding my just doom."
+
+"It is the Evil One who puts these thoughts into your head," replied
+Nicholas, "and who fills your heart with promptings of despair, that he
+may again obtain the mastery over it. But take a calmer and more
+consolatory view of your condition. Human justice may require a public
+sacrifice as an example, but Heaven, will be satisfied with contrition
+in secret."
+
+"I trust so," replied the lady, vainly striving to draw comfort from his
+words. "Oh, Nicholas! you do not know the temptations I am exposed to in
+this chamber--the difficulty I experience in keeping my thoughts fixed
+on one object--the distractions I undergo--the mental obscurations--the
+faintings of spirit--the bodily prostration--the terrors, the
+inconceivable terrors, that assail me. Sometimes I wish my spirit would
+flee away, and be at rest. Rest! there is none for me--none in the
+grave--none beyond the grave--and therefore I am afraid of death, and
+still more of the judgment after death! Man might inflict all the
+tortures he could devise upon this poor frame. I would bear them all
+with patience, with delight, if I thought they would purchase me
+immunity hereafter! But with the dread conviction, the almost certainty,
+that it will be otherwise, I can only look to the final consummation
+with despair!"
+
+"Again I tell you these suggestions are evil," said Nicholas. "The Son
+of God, who sacrificed himself for man, and by whose atonement all
+mankind hope for salvation, has assured us that the greatest sinner who
+repents shall be forgiven, and, indeed, is more acceptable in the eyes
+of Heaven than him who has never erred. Far be it from me to attempt to
+exculpate you in your own eyes, or extenuate your former criminality.
+You have sinned deeply, so deeply that you may well shrink aghast from
+the contemplation of your past life--may well recoil in abhorrence from
+yourself--and may fitly devote yourself to constant prayer and acts of
+penitence. But having cast off your iniquity, and sincerely repented, I
+bid you hope--I bid you place a confident reliance in the clemency of an
+all-merciful power."
+
+"You give me much comfort, Nicholas," said the lady, "and if tears of
+blood can wash away my sin they shall be shed; but much as you know of
+my wickedness, even you cannot conceive its extent. In my madness, for
+it was nothing else, I cast off all hopes of heaven, renounced my
+Redeemer, was baptised by the demon, and entered into a compact by
+which--I shudder to speak it--my soul was surrendered to him."
+
+"You placed yourself in fearful jeopardy, no doubt," rejoined Nicholas;
+"but you have broken the contract in time, and an all righteous judge
+will not permit the penalty of the bond to be exacted. Seeing your
+penitence, Satan has relinquished all claim to your soul."
+
+"I do not think it," replied the lady. "He will contest the point to the
+last, and it is only at the last that it will be decided."
+
+As she spoke, a sound like mocking laughter reached the ears of
+Nicholas.
+
+"Did you hear that?" demanded Mistress Nutter, in accents of wildest
+terror. "He is ever on the watch. I knew it--I knew it."
+
+Clasping her hands together, and fixing her looks on high she then
+addressed the most fervent supplications to Heaven for deliverance from
+evil, and erelong her troubled countenance began to resume its former
+serenity, proving that the surest balm for a "mind diseased" is prayer.
+Her example had been followed by Nicholas, who, greatly alarmed, had
+dropped upon his knees likewise, and now arose with somewhat more
+composure in his demeanour and aspect.
+
+"I am sorry I do not bring you good news, madam," he said; "but Jem
+Device has been arrested this morning, and as the fellow is greatly
+exasperated against me, he threatens to betray your retreat to the
+officers; and though he is, probably, unacquainted with it
+notwithstanding his boasting, still he may cause search to be made, and,
+therefore, I think you had better be removed to some other
+hiding-place."
+
+"Deliver me up without more ado, I pray you, Nicholas," said the lady.
+
+"You know my resolution on that point, madam," he replied, "and,
+therefore, it is idle to attempt to shake it. For your daughter's sake,
+if not for your own, I will save you, in spite of yourself. You would
+not fix a brand for ever on Alizon's name; you would not destroy her?"
+
+"I would not," replied the wretched lady. "But have you heard from
+her--have you seen her? Tell me, is she well and happy?"
+
+"She is well, and would be happy, were it not for her anxiety about
+you," replied Nicholas, evasively. "But for her sake--mine--your own--I
+must urge you to seek some other place of refuge to night, for if you
+are discovered here you will bring ruin on us all."
+
+"I will no longer debate the point," replied Mistress Nutter. "Where
+shall I go?"
+
+"There is one place of absolute security, but I do not like to mention
+it," replied Nicholas. "Yet still, as it will only be necessary to
+remain for a day or two, till the search is over, when you can return
+here, it cannot much matter."
+
+"Where is it?" asked Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Malkin Tower," answered the squire, with some hesitation.
+
+"I will never go to that accursed place," cried the lady. "Send me hence
+when you will--now, or at midnight--and let me seek shelter on the bleak
+fells or on the desolate moors, but bid me not go there!"
+
+"And yet it is the best and safest place for you," returned Nicholas,
+somewhat testily; "and for this reason, that, being reputed to be
+haunted, no one will venture to molest you. As to Mother Demdike, I
+suppose you are not afraid of her ghost; and if the evil beings you
+apprehend were able or inclined to do you mischief, they would not wait
+till you got there to execute their purpose."
+
+"True," said Mistress Nutter, "I was wrong to hesitate. I will go."
+
+"You will be as safe there as here--ay, and safer," rejoined Nicholas,
+"or I would not urge the retreat upon you. I am about to ride over to
+Middleton this morning to see your daughter and Richard Assheton, and
+shall sleep at Whalley, so that I shall not be able to accompany you to
+the tower to-night; but old Crouch the huntsman shall be in waiting for
+you, as soon as it grows dusk, in the summer-house, with which, as you
+know, the secret staircase connected with this room communicates, and he
+shall have a horse in readiness to take you, together with such matters
+as you may require, to the place of refuge. Heaven guard you, madam!"
+
+"Amen!" responded the lady.
+
+"And now farewell!" said Nicholas. "I shall hope to see you back again
+ere many days be gone, when your quietude will not again be disturbed."
+
+So saying, he stepped back, and, passing through the panel, closed it
+after him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.--MIDDLETON HALL.
+
+
+Middleton Hall, the residence of Sir Richard Assheton, was a large
+quadrangular structure, built entirely of timber, and painted externally
+in black and white checker-work, fanciful and varied in design, in the
+style peculiar to the better class of Tudor houses in South Lancashire
+and Cheshire. Surrounded by a deep moat, supplied by a neighbouring
+stream, and crossed by four drawbridges, each faced by a gateway, this
+vast pile of building was divided into two spacious courts, one of which
+contained the stables, barns, and offices, while the other was reserved
+for the family and the guests by whom the hospitable mansion was almost
+constantly crowded. In the last-mentioned part of the house was a great
+gallery, with deeply embayed windows filled with painted glass, a floor
+of polished oak, walls of the same dark lustrous material, hung with
+portraits of stiff beauties, some in ruff and farthingale, and some in a
+costume of an earlier period among whom was Margaret Barton, who brought
+the manor of Middleton into the family; frowning warriors, beginning
+with Sir Ralph Assheton, knight-marshal of England in the reign of
+Edward IV., and surnamed "the black of Assheton-under-line," the founder
+of the house, and husband of Margaret Barton before mentioned, and
+ending with Sir Richard Assheton, grandfather of the present owner of
+the mansion, and one of the heroes of Flodden; grave lawyers, or graver
+divines--a likeness running through all, and showing they belonged to
+one line--a huge carved mantelpiece, massive tables of walnut or oak,
+and black and shining as ebony, set round with high-backed chairs. Here,
+also, above stairs, there were long corridors looking out through
+lattices upon the court, and communicating with the almost countless
+dormitories; while, on the floor beneath, corresponding passages led to
+all the principal chambers, and terminated in the grand entrance hall,
+the roof of which being open and intersected by enormous rafters, and
+crooks of oak, like the ribs of some "tall ammiral," was thought from
+this circumstance, as well as from its form, to resemble "a ship turned
+upside down." The lower beams were elaborately carved and ornamented
+with gilded bosses and sculptured images, sustaining shields emblazoned
+with the armorial bearings of the Asshetons. As many as three hundred
+matchlocks, in good and serviceable condition, were ranged round the
+entrance-hall, besides corselets, Almayne rivets, steel caps, and other
+accoutrements; this stand of arms having been collected by Sir Richard's
+predecessor, during the military muster made in the country in 1574,
+when he had raised and equipped a troop of horse for Queen Elizabeth.
+Outside the mansion was a garden, charmingly laid out in parterres and
+walks, and not only carried to the edge of the moat, but continued
+beyond it till it reached a high knoll crowned with beech-trees. A crest
+of tall twisted chimneys, a high roof with quaintly carved gables,
+surmounted by many gilt vanes, may serve to complete the picture of
+Middleton Hall.
+
+On a lovely summer evening, two young persons of opposite sexes were
+seated on a bench placed at the foot of one of the largest and most
+umbrageous of the beech-trees crowning the pleasant eminence before
+mentioned; and though differing in aspect and character, the one being
+excessively fair, with tresses as light and fleecy as the clouds above
+them, and eyes as blue and tender as the skies--and the other
+distinguished by great manly beauty, though in a totally different
+style; still there was a sufficiently strong likeness between them, to
+proclaim them brother and sister. Profound melancholy pervaded the
+countenance of the young man, whose handsome brow was clouded by
+care--while the girl, though sad, seemed so only from sympathy.
+
+They were conversing together in deep and earnest tones, showing how
+greatly they were interested; and, as they proceeded, many an
+involuntary sigh was heaved by Richard Assheton, while a tear, more than
+once, dimmed the brightness of his sister's eyes, and her hand sought by
+its gentle pressure to re-assure him.
+
+They were talking of Alizon, of her peculiar and distressing situation,
+and of the young man's hopeless love for her. She was the general theme
+of their discourse, for Richard's sole comfort was in pouring forth his
+griefs into his sister's willing ear; but new causes of anxiety had been
+given them by Nicholas, who had arrived that afternoon, bringing
+intelligence of James Device's capture, and of his threats against
+Mistress Nutter. The squire had only just departed, having succeeded in
+the twofold object of his visit--which was, firstly, to borrow three
+hundred pounds from his cousin--and, secondly, to induce him to attend
+the meeting at Hoghton Tower. With the first request Richard willingly
+complied, and he assented, though with some reluctance, to the second,
+provided nothing of serious moment should occur in the interim. Nicholas
+tried to rally him on his despondency, endeavouring to convince him all
+would come right in time, and that his misgivings were causeless; but
+his arguments were ineffectual, and he was soon compelled to desist. The
+squire would fain also have seen Alizon, but, understanding she always
+remained secluded in her chamber till eventide, he did not press the
+point. Richard urged him to stay over the night, alleging the length of
+the ride, and the speedy approach of evening, as inducements to him to
+remain; but on this score the squire was resolute--and having carefully
+secured the large sum of money he had obtained beneath his doublet, he
+mounted his favourite steed, Robin, who seemed as fresh as if he had not
+achieved upwards of thirty miles that morning, and rode off.
+
+Richard watched him cross the drawbridge, and take the road towards
+Rochdale, and, after exchanging a farewell wave of the hand with him,
+returned to the hall and sought out his sister.
+
+Dorothy was easily persuaded to take a turn in the garden with her
+brother, and during their walk he confided to her all he had heard from
+Nicholas. Her alarm at Jem Device's threat was much greater than his
+own; and, though she entertained a strong and unconquerable aversion to
+Mistress Nutter, and could not be brought to believe in the sincerity of
+her penitence, still, for Alizon's sake, she dreaded lest any harm
+should befall her, and more particularly desired to avoid the disgrace
+which would be inflicted by a public execution. Alizon she was sure
+would not survive such a catastrophe, and therefore, at all risks, it
+must be averted.
+
+Richard did not share, to the same extent, in her apprehensions, because
+he had been assured by Nicholas that Mistress Nutter would be removed to
+a place of perfect security, and because he was disposed, with the
+squire, to regard the prisoner's threats as mere ravings of impotent
+malice. Still he could not help feeling great uneasiness. Vague fears,
+too, beset him, which he found it in vain to shake off, but he did not
+communicate them to his sister, as he knew the terrifying effect they
+would have upon her timid nature; and he, therefore, kept the mental
+anguish he endured to himself, hoping erelong it would diminish in
+intensity. But in this he was deceived, for, instead of abating, his
+gloom and depression momently increased.
+
+Almost unconsciously, Richard and his sister had quitted the garden,
+proceeding with slow and melancholy steps to the beech-crowned knoll.
+The seat they had chosen was a favourite one with Alizon, and she came
+thither on most evenings, either accompanied by Dorothy or alone. Here
+it was that Richard had more than once passionately besought her to
+become his bride, receiving on both occasions a same meek yet firm
+refusal. To Dorothy also, who pleaded her brother's cause with all the
+eloquence and fervour of which she was mistress, Alizon replied that her
+affections were fixed upon Richard; but that, while her mother lived,
+and needed her constant prayers, they must not be withheld; and that,
+looking upon any earthly passion as a criminal interference with this
+paramount duty, she did not dare to indulge it. Dorothy represented to
+her that the sacrifice was greater than she was called upon to make,
+that her health was visibly declining, and that she might fall a victim
+to her over-zeal; but Alizon was deaf to her remonstrances, as she had
+been to the entreaties of Richard.
+
+With hearts less burthened, the contemplation of the scene before them
+could not have failed to give delight to Richard and his sister, and,
+even amid the adverse circumstances under which it was viewed, its
+beauty and tranquillity produced a soothing influence.
+
+Evening was gradually stealing on, and all the exquisite tints marking
+that delightful hour, were spreading over the landscape. The sun was
+setting gorgeously, and a flood of radiance fell upon the old mansion
+beneath them, and upon the grey and venerable church, situated on a hill
+adjoining it. The sounds were all in unison with the hour, and the
+lowing of cattle, the voices of the husbandmen returning from their
+work, mingled with the cawing of the rooks newly alighted on the high
+trees near the church, told them that bird, man, and beast were seeking
+their home for the night. But though Richard's eye dwelt upon the fair
+garden beneath him, embracing all its terraces, green slopes, and trim
+pastures; though it fell upon the moat belting the hall like a
+glittering zone; though it rested upon the church tower; and, roaming
+over the park beyond it, finally settled upon the range of hills
+bounding the horizon, which have not inaptly been termed the English
+Apennines; though he saw all these things, he thought not of them,
+neither was he conscious of the sounds that met his ear, and which all
+spoke of rest from labour, and peace. Darker and deeper grew his
+melancholy. He began to persuade himself he was not long for this world;
+and, while gazing upon the beautiful prospect before him, was perhaps
+looking upon it for the last time.
+
+For some minutes Dorothy watched him anxiously, and at last receiving no
+answer to her questions, and alarmed by the expression of his
+countenance, she flung her arms round his neck, and burst into tears. It
+was now Richard's turn to console her, and he inquired with much anxiety
+as to the cause of this sudden outburst of grief.
+
+"You yourself are the cause of it, dear Richard," replied Dorothy,
+regarding him with brimming eyes; "I cannot bear to see you so unhappy.
+If you suffer this melancholy to grow upon you, it will affect both mind
+and body. Just now your countenance wore an expression most distressing
+to look upon. Try to smile, dear Richard, if only to cheer me, or else I
+shall grow as sad as you. Ah, me! I have known the day, and not long
+since either, when on a pleasant summer evening like this you would
+propose a stroll into the park with me; and, when there, would trip
+along the glades as fleetly as a deer, and defy me to catch you. But you
+always took care I should, though--ha! ha! Come, there is a little
+attempt at a smile. That's something. You look more like yourself now.
+How happy we used to be in those days, to be sure!--and how merry! You
+would make the courts ring with your blithe laughter, and wellnigh kill
+me with your jests. If love is to make one mope like an owl, and sigh
+like the wind through a half-shut casement; if it is to cause one to
+lose one's rosy complexion and gay spirit, and forget how to dance and
+sing--take no pleasure in hawking and hunting, or any kind of
+sport--walk about with eyes fixed upon the ground, muttering, and with
+disordered attire--if it is to make one silent when one should be
+talkative, grave when one should be gay, heedless when one should
+listen--if it is to do all this, defend me from the tender passion! I
+hope I shall never fall in love."
+
+"I hope you never will, dear Dorothy," replied Richard, pressing her
+hand affectionately, "if your love is to be attended with such unhappy
+results as mine. I know not how it is, but I feel unusually despondent
+this evening, and am haunted by a thousand dismal fancies. But I will do
+my best to dismiss them, and with your help no doubt I shall succeed."
+
+"There!--there was a smile in earnest!" cried Dorothy, brightening up.
+"Oh, Richard! I am quite happy now. And after all I do not see why you
+should take such a gloomy view of things. I have no doubt there is a
+great deal, a very great deal, of happiness in store for you and
+Alizon--I must couple her name with yours, or you will not allow it to
+be happiness--if you can only be brought to think so. I am quite sure of
+it; and you shall see how nicely I can make the matter out. As thus.
+Mistress Nutter is certain to die soon--such a wicked woman cannot live
+long. Don't be angry with me for calling her wicked, Richard; but you
+know I never can forget her unhallowed proceedings in the convent church
+at Whalley, where I was so nearly becoming a witch myself. Well, as I
+was saying, she cannot live long, and when she goes--and Heaven grant it
+may be soon!--Alizon, no doubt, will mourn for her though I shall not,
+and after a decent interval--then, Richard, then she will no longer say
+you nay, but will make you happy as your wife. Nay, do not look so sad
+again, dear brother. I thought I should make you quite cheerful by the
+picture I was drawing."
+
+"It is because I fear it will never be realized that I am sad, Dorothy,"
+replied Richard. "My own anticipations are the opposite of yours, and
+paint Alizon sinking into an early grave before her mother; while as to
+myself, if such be the case, I shall not long survive her."
+
+"Nay, now you will make me weep again," cried Dorothy, her tears flowing
+afresh. "But I will not allow you to indulge such gloomy ideas, Richard.
+If I seriously thought Mistress Nutter likely to occasion all this fresh
+mischief, I would cause her to be delivered up to justice, and hanged
+out of the way. You may look cross at me, but I would. What is an old
+witch like her, compared with two young handsome persons, dying for love
+of each other, and yet not able to marry on her account?"
+
+"Dorothy, Dorothy, you must put some restraint on your tongue," said
+Richard; "you give it sadly too much licence. You forget it is the wish
+of the unhappy lady you refer to, to expiate her offences at the stake,
+and that it is only out of consideration to her daughter that she has
+been induced to remain in concealment. What will be the issue of it all,
+I dare scarcely conjecture. Wo to her, I fear! Wo to Alizon! Wo to me!"
+
+"Alas! Richard, that you should link yourself to her fate!" exclaimed
+Dorothy, half mournfully, half reproachfully.
+
+"I cannot help it," he replied. "It is my destiny--a deplorable destiny,
+if you will--but not to be avoided. That Mistress Nutter will escape the
+consequences of her crimes, I can scarcely believe. Her penitence is
+profound and sincere, and that is a great consolation; for I trust she
+will not perish, body and soul. I should wish her to have some spiritual
+assistance, but this Nicholas will not for the present permit, alleging
+that no churchman would consent to screen her from justice when he
+became aware, as he must by her confession, of the nature and magnitude
+of her offences. This may be true; but when the wretches who have been
+leagued with her in iniquity are disposed of, the reason will no longer
+exist, and I will see that she is cared for. But, apart from her mother,
+I have another source of anxiety respecting Alizon. It is this: orders
+have been this day given for the arrest of Elizabeth Device and her
+daughter, Jennet, and Alizon will be the chief witness against them.
+This will be a great trouble to her."
+
+"Undoubtedly," rejoined Dorothy, with much concern. "But can it not be
+avoided?"
+
+"I fear not," said Richard, "and I blamed Nicholas much for his
+precipitancy in giving the order; but he replied he had been held up
+latterly as a favourer of witches, and must endeavour to redeem his
+character by a display of severity. Were it not for Alizon, I should
+rejoice that the noxious brood should at last be utterly exterminated."
+
+"And so should I, in good sooth," responded Dorothy. "As to Elizabeth
+Device, she is bad enough for any thing, and capable of almost any
+mischief: but she is nothing to Jennet, who, I am persuaded, would
+become a second Mother Demdike if her career were not cut short. You
+have seen the child, and know what an ill-favoured, deformed little
+creature she is, with round high shoulders, eyes set strangely in her
+face, and such a malicious expression--oh! I shudder to think of it."
+
+And she covered her face with her hands, as if to shut out some
+unpleasant object.
+
+"Poor, predestined child of sin, branded by nature from her birth, and
+charged with wicked passions, as the snake with venom, I cannot but pity
+her!" exclaimed Richard. "Compassion is entirely thrown away," he added,
+with a sudden change of manner, and as if trying to shake off a
+weakness. "The poisonous fruit must, however, be nipped in the bud.
+Better she should perish now, even though comparatively guiltless, than
+hereafter with a soul stained with crime, like her mother."
+
+As he concluded, he put his hand quickly to his side, for a sharp and
+sudden pang shot through his heart; and so acute was the pain, that,
+after struggling against it for a moment, he groaned deeply, and would
+have fallen, if his sister, greatly alarmed, and with difficulty
+repressing a scream, had not lent him support.
+
+Neither of them were aware of the presence of a little girl, who had
+approached the place where they were sitting, with footsteps so light
+that the grass scarcely seemed to bend beneath them, and who, ensconcing
+herself behind the tree, drank in their discourse with eager ears. She
+was attended by a large black cat, who, climbing the tree, placed
+himself on a bough above her.
+
+During the latter part of the conversation, and when it turned upon the
+arrest of Jennet and her mother, the expression of the child's
+countenance, malicious enough to begin with, became desperately
+malignant, and she was only restrained by certain signs from the cat,
+which appeared to be intelligible to her, from some act of mischief. At
+last even this failed, and before the animal could descend and check
+her, she crept round the bole of the tree, so as to bring herself close
+to Richard, and muttering a spell, made one or two passes behind his
+back, touched him with the point of her finger, but so lightly that he
+was unconscious of the pressure, and then hastily retreated with the
+cat, who glared furiously at her from his flaming orbs.
+
+It was at the moment she touched him that Richard felt as if an arrow
+were quivering in his heart.
+
+Poor Dorothy's alarm was so great that she could not even scream for
+assistance, and she feared, if she quitted her brother, he would expire
+before her return; but the agony, though great, was speedily over, and
+as the spasm ceased, he looked up, and, with a faint smile, strove to
+re-assure her.
+
+"Do not be alarmed," he said; "it is nothing--a momentary
+faintness--that is all."
+
+But the damp upon his brow, and the deathly hue of his cheek,
+contradicted the assertion, and showed how much he had endured. "It was
+more than momentary faintness, dear Richard," replied Dorothy. "It was a
+frightful seizure--so frightful that I almost feared; but no matter--you
+know I am easily alarmed. Thank God! here is some colour coming into
+your cheeks. You are better now, I see. Lean upon me, and let us return
+to the house."
+
+"I can walk unassisted," said Richard, rising with an effort.
+
+"Do not despise my feeble aid," replied Dorothy, taking his arm under
+her own. "You will be quite well soon."
+
+"I am quite well now," said Richard, halting after he had advanced a few
+paces, "The attack is altogether passed. Do you not see Alizon coming
+towards us? Not a word of this sudden seizure to her. Do you mind,
+Dorothy?"
+
+Alizon was soon close behind them, and though, in obedience to Richard's
+injunctions, no allusion was made to his recent illness, she at once
+perceived he was suffering greatly, and with much solicitude inquired
+into the cause. Richard avoided giving a direct answer, and, immediately
+entering upon Nicholas's visit, tried to divert her attention from
+himself.
+
+So great a change had been wrought in Alizon's appearance and manner
+during the last few weeks, that she could scarcely be recognised. Still
+beautiful as ever, her beauty had lost its earthly character, and had
+become in the highest degree spiritualised and refined. Humility of
+deportment and resignation of look, blended with an expression of
+religious fervour, gave her the appearance of one of the early martyrs.
+Unremitting ardour in the pursuance of her devotional exercises by day,
+and long vigils at night, had worn down her frame, and robbed it of some
+of its grace and fulness of outline; but this attenuation had a charm of
+its own, and gave a touching interest to her figure, which was wanting
+before. If her check was thinner and paler, her eyes looked larger and
+brighter, and more akin to the stars in splendour; and if she appeared
+less childlike, less joyous, less free from care, the want of these
+qualities was more than counterbalanced by increased gentleness,
+resignation, and serenity.
+
+Deeply interested in all Richard told her of her mother, she was greatly
+concerned to hear of the intended arrest of Elizabeth and Jennet Device,
+especially the latter. For this unhappy and misguided child she had once
+entertained the affection of a sister, and it could not but be a source
+of grief to her to reflect upon her probable fate.
+
+Little more passed between them, for Richard, feeling his strength again
+fail him, was anxious to reach the house, and Dorothy was quite unequal
+to conversation. They parted at the door, and as Alizon, after taking
+leave of her friends, turned to continue her walk in the garden, Richard
+staggered into the entrance-hall, and sank upon a chair.
+
+Alizon desired to be alone, for she did not wish to have a witness to
+the grief that overpowered her, and which, when she had gained a retired
+part of the garden, where she supposed herself free from all
+observation, found relief in a flood of tears.
+
+For some minutes she was a prey to violent and irrepressible emotion,
+and had scarcely regained a show of composure, when she heard herself
+addressed, as she thought, in the voice of the very child whose unlucky
+fate she was deploring. Looking round in surprise, and seeing no one,
+she began to think fancy must have cheated her, when a low malicious
+laugh, arising from a shrubbery near her, convinced her that Jennet was
+hidden there. And the next moment the little girl stepped from out the
+trees.
+
+Alizon's first impulse was to catch the child in her arms, and press her
+to her bosom; but there was something in Jennet's look that deterred
+her, and so embarrassed her, that she was unable to bestow upon her the
+ordinary greeting of affection, or even approach her.
+
+Jennet seemed to enjoy her confusion, and laughed spitefully.
+
+"Yo dunna seem ower glad to see me, sister Alizon," said Jennet, at
+length.
+
+"_Sister_ Alizon!" There was something in the term that now jarred upon
+the young girl's ears, but she strove to conquer the feeling, as
+unworthy of her.
+
+"She was once my sister," she thought, "and shall be so still. I will
+save her, if it be possible." "Jennet," she added aloud, "I know not
+what chance brings you here, and though I may not give you the welcome
+you expect, I am rejoiced to see you, because I may be the means of
+serving you. Do not be alarmed at what I am going to tell you. The
+danger I hope is passed, or at all events may be avoided. Your liberty
+is threatened, and at the very moment I see you here I was lamenting
+your supposed condition as a prisoner."
+
+Jennet laughed louder and more spitefully than before, and looked so
+like a little fury that Alizon's blood ran cold at the sight of it.
+
+"Ey knoa it aw, sister Alizon," she cried, "an that is why ey ha cum'd
+here. Brother Jem is a pris'ner i' Whalley Abbey. Mother is a pris'ner
+theere, too. An ey should ha kept em company, if Tib hadna brought me
+off. Now, listen to me, Alizon, fo' this is my bus'ness wi' yo. Yo mun
+get mother an Jem out to-neet--eigh, to-neet. Yo con do it, if yo win.
+An onless yo do--boh ey winna threaten till ey get yer answer."
+
+"How am I to set them free?" asked Alizon, greatly alarmed.
+
+"Yo need only say the word to young Ruchot Assheton, an the job's done,"
+replied Jennet.
+
+"I refuse--positively refuse to do so!" rejoined Alizon, indignantly.
+
+"Varry weel," cried Jennet, with a look of concentrated malice and fury;
+"then tak the consequences. They win be ta'en to Lonkester Castle, an
+lose their lives theere. Bo ye shan go, too--ay, an be brunt os a
+witch--a witch--d'ye mark, wench? eh!"
+
+"I defy your malice!" cried Alizon.
+
+"Defy me!" screamed Jennet. "What, ho! Tib!"
+
+And at the call the huge black cat sprang from out the shrubbery.
+
+"Tear her flesh from her bones!" cried the little girl, pointing to
+Alizon, and stamping furiously on the ground.
+
+Tib erected his back, and glared like a tiger, but he seemed unwilling
+or unable to obey the order.
+
+Alizon, who had completely recovered her courage, regarded him fixedly,
+and apparently without terror.
+
+"Whoy dusna seize her, an tear her i' pieces?" cried the infuriated
+child.
+
+"He dares not--he has no power over me," said Alizon. "Oh, Jennet! cast
+him off. Your wicked agent appears to befriend you now, but he will lead
+you to certain destruction. Come with me, and I will save you."
+
+"Off!" cried Jennet, repelling her with furious gestures. "Off! ey winna
+ge wi' ye. Ey winna be saved, os yo term it. Ey hate yo more than ever,
+an wad strike yo dead at my feet, if ey could. Boh as ey conna do it, ey
+win find some other means o' injurin' ye. Soh look to yersel, proud
+ledy--look to yersel? Ey ha already smitten you in a place where ye win
+feel it sore, an ey win repeat the blow. Ey now leave yo, boh we shan
+meet again. Come along, Tib!"
+
+So saying, she sprang into the shrubbery, followed by the cat, leaving
+Alizon appalled by her frightful malignity.
+
+[Illustration: ALIZON DEFIES JENNET.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.--THE GORGE OF CLIVIGER.
+
+
+The sun had already set as Nicholas Assheton reached Todmorden, then a
+very small village indeed, and alighting at a little inn near the
+church, found the ale so good, and so many boon companions assembled to
+discuss it, that he would fain have tarried with them for an hour or so;
+but prudence, for once, getting the better of inclination, and
+suggesting that he had fifteen or sixteen miles still to ride, over a
+rough and lonely road, part of which lay through the gorge of Cliviger,
+a long and solitary pass among the English Apennines, and, moreover, had
+a large sum of money about him, he tore himself away by a great effort.
+
+On quitting the smiling valley of Todmorden, and drawing near the
+dangerous defile before mentioned, some misgivings crossed him, and he
+almost reproached himself with foolhardiness in venturing within it at
+such an hour, and wholly unattended. Several recent cases of robbery,
+some of them attended by murder, had occurred within the pass; and these
+now occurred so forcibly to the squire, that he was half inclined to
+ride back to Todmorden, and engage two or three of the topers he had
+left at the inn to serve him as an escort as far as Burnley, but he
+dismissed the idea almost as soon as formed, and, casting one look at
+the green and woody slopes around him, struck spurs into Robin, and
+dashed into the gorge.
+
+On the right towered a precipice, on the bare crest of which stood a
+heap of stones piled like a column--the remains, probably, of a cairn.
+On this commanding point Nicholas perceived a female figure, dilated to
+gigantic proportions against the sky, who, as far as he could
+distinguish, seemed watching him, and making signs to him, apparently to
+go back; but he paid little regard to them, and soon afterwards lost
+sight of her.
+
+Precipitous and almost inaccessible rocks, of every variety of form and
+hue; some springing perpendicularly up like the spire of a church,
+others running along in broken ridges, or presenting the appearance of
+high embattled walls; here riven into deep gullies, there opening into
+wild savage glens, fit spots for robber ambuscade; now presenting a fair
+smooth surface, now jagged, shattered, shelving, roughened with
+brushwood; sometimes bleached and hoary, as in the case of the pinnacled
+crag called the White Kirk; sometimes green with moss or grey with
+lichen; sometimes, though but rarely, shaded with timber, as in the
+approach to the cavern named the Earl's Bower; but generally bold and
+naked, and sombre in tint as the colours employed by the savage Rosa.
+Such were the distinguishing features of the gorge of Cliviger when
+Nicholas traversed it. Now the high embankments and mighty arches of a
+railway fill up its recesses and span its gullies; the roar of the
+engine is heard where the cry of the bird of prey alone resounded; and
+clouds of steam usurp the place of the mist-wreaths on its crags.
+
+Formerly, the high cliffs abounded with hawks; the rocks echoed with
+their yells and screeches, and the spots adjoining their nests
+resembled, in the words of the historian of the district, Whitaker,
+"little charnel-houses for the bones of game." Formerly, also, on some
+inaccessible point built the rock-eagle, and reared its brood from year
+to year. The gaunt wolf had once ravaged the glens, and the sly fox and
+fierce cat-a-mountain still harboured within them. Nor were those the
+only objects of dread. The superstitious declared the gorge was haunted
+by a frightful, hirsute demon, yclept Hobthurst.
+
+The general savage character of the ravine was relieved by some spots of
+exquisite beauty, where the traveller might have lingered with delight,
+if apprehension of assault from robber, or visit from Hobthurst, had not
+urged him on. Numberless waterfalls, gushing from fissures in the hills,
+coursed down their seamy sides, looking like threads of silver as they
+sprang from point to point. One of the most beautiful of these cascades,
+issuing from a gully in the rocks near the cavern called the Earl's
+Bower, fell, in rainy seasons, in one unbroken sheet of a hundred and
+fifty feet. Through the midst of the gorge ran a swift and brawling
+stream, known by the appellation of the Calder; but it must not be
+confounded with the river flowing past Whalley Abbey. The course of this
+impetuous current was not always restrained within its rocky channel,
+and when swollen by heavy rains, it would frequently invade the narrow
+causeway running beside it, and, spreading over the whole width of the
+gorge, render the road almost impassable.
+
+Through this rocky and sombre defile, and by the side of the brawling
+Calder, which dashed swiftly past him, Nicholas took his way. The hawks
+were yelling overhead; the rooks were cawing on the topmost branches of
+some tall timber, on which they built; a raven was croaking lustily in
+the wood; and a pair of eagles were soaring in the still glowing sky.
+
+By-and-by, the glen contracted, and a wall of steep rocks on either side
+hemmed the shuddering traveller in. Instinctively, he struck spurs into
+his horse, and accelerated his pace.
+
+The narrow glen expands, the precipices fall further back, and the
+traveller breathes more freely. Still, he does not relax his speed, for
+his imagination has been at work in the gloom, peopling his path with
+lurking robbers or grinning boggarts. He begins to fear he shall lose
+his gold, and execrates his folly for incurring such heedless risk. But
+it is too late now to turn back.
+
+It grows rapidly dusk, and objects became less and less distinct,
+assuming fantastical and fearful forms. A blasted tree, clinging to a
+rock, and thrusting a bare branch across the road, looks to the squire
+like a bandit; and a white owl bursting from a bush, scares him as if it
+had been Hobthurst himself. However, in spite of these and other alarms,
+for which he is indebted to excited fancy, he hurries on, and is
+proceeding at a thundering pace, when all at once his horse comes to a
+stop, arrested by a tall female figure, resembling that seen near the
+mountain cairn at the entrance of the gorge.
+
+Nicholas's blood ran cold, for though in this case he could not
+apprehend plunder, he was fearful of personal injury, for he believed
+the woman to be a witch. Mustering up courage, however, he forced Robin
+to proceed.
+
+If his progress was meant to be barred, a better spot for the purpose
+could not have been selected. A narrow road, scarcely two feet in width,
+ran round the ledge of a tremendous crag, jutting so far into the glen
+that it almost met the steep barrier of rocks opposite it. Between these
+precipitous crags dashed the river in a foaming cascade, nearly twelve
+feet in height, and the steep narrow causeway winding beside it, as
+above described, was rendered excessively slippery and dangerous from
+the constant cloud of spray arising from the fall.
+
+At the highest and narrowest point of the ledge, and occupying nearly
+the whole of its space, with an overhanging rock on one side of her, and
+a roaring torrent on the other, stood the tall woman, determined
+apparently, from her attitude and deportment, to oppose the squire's
+further progress. As Nicholas advanced, he became convinced that it was
+the same person he had seen near the cairn; but, when her features grew
+distinguishable, he found to his surprise that it was Nance Redferne.
+
+"Halloa! Nance," he cried. "What are you doing here, lass, eh?"
+
+"Cum to warn ye, squoire," she replied; "yo once did me a sarvice, an ey
+hanna forgetten it. That's why I watched ye fro' the cairn cliffs, an
+motioned ye to ge back. Boh ye didna onderstand my signs, or wouldna
+heed 'em, so ey be cum'd here to stay ye. Yo're i' dawnger, ey tell ye."
+
+"In danger of what, my good woman?" demanded the squire uneasily.
+
+"O' bein' robbed, and plundered o' your gowd," replied Nance; "there are
+five men waitin' to set upon ye a mile further on, at the Bowder
+Stoans."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Nicholas; "they will get little for their pains. I
+have no money about me."
+
+"Dunna think to deceive me, squoire," rejoined Nance; "ey knoa yo ha
+borrowed three hundert punds i' gowd fro' yung Ruchot Assheton; an os
+surely os ye ha it aw under your jerkin, so surely win yo lose it, if yo
+dunna turn back, or ge on without me keepin' ye company."
+
+"I have no objection on earth to your company, Nance," replied the
+squire; "quite the contrary. But how the devil should these rascals
+expect me? And, above all, how should they conjecture I should come so
+well provided? For, sooth to say, such is not ordinarily the case with
+me."
+
+"Ey knoa it weel, squoire," replied Nance, with a laugh; boh they ha
+received sartin information o' your movements."
+
+"There is only one person who could give them such information," cried
+Nicholas; "but I cannot, will not suspect him."
+
+"If yor're thinkin' o' Lawrence Fogg, yo're na far wide o' th' mark,
+squoire," replied Nance.
+
+"What! Fogg leagued with robbers--impossible!" exclaimed Nicholas.
+
+"Neaw, it's nah so unpossible os aw that," returned Nance; "yo 'n stare
+when ey tell yo he has robbed yo mony a time without your being aware on
+it. Yo were onwise enough to send him round to your friends to borrow
+money for yo."
+
+"True, so I was. But, luckily, no one would lend me any," said Nicholas.
+
+"There yo're wrong, squoire--fo' unluckily they aw did," replied Nance,
+with a scarcely-suppressed laugh. "Roger Nowell gied him one hundred;
+Tummus Whitaker of Holme, another; Ruchot Parker o' Browsholme, another.
+An more i' th' same way."
+
+"And the rascal pocketed it all, and never brought me back one
+farthing," cried Nicholas, in a transport of rage. "I'll have him
+hanged--pshaw! hanging's too good for him. To deceive me, his friend,
+his benefactor, his patron, in such a manner; to dwell in my house, eat
+at my table, drink my wine, wear my habiliments, ride my horses, hunt
+with my hounds! Has the dog no conscience?"
+
+"Varry little, ey'm afear'd," replied Nance.
+
+"And the worst of it is," continued the squire--new lights breaking upon
+him, "I shall be liable for all the sums he has received. He was my
+confidential agent, and the lenders will come upon me. It must be six or
+seven hundred pounds that he has obtained in this nefarious way. Zounds!
+I shall go mad."
+
+"Yo wur to blame fo' trustin him, squoire," rejoined Nance. "Yo ought to
+ha' made proper inquiries about him at first, an then yo'd ha' found out
+what sort o' chap he wur. Boh now ey'n tell ye. Lawrence Fogg is chief
+o' a band o' robbers, an aw the black an villanous deeds done of late i'
+this place, ha' been parpetrated by his men. A poor gentleman wur
+murdert by 'em i' this varry spot th' week efore last, an his body cast
+into t' river. Fogg, of course, had no hont in the fow deed, boh he
+would na ha interfered to prevent it if he had bin here, fo' he never
+scrupled shedding blood. An if he had bin content wi' robbin' yo,
+squoire, ey wadna ha betrayed him; boh when he proposed to cut your
+throttle, bekose, os he said, dead men tell neaw teles, ey could howd
+out nah longer, an resolved to gi' yo warnin."
+
+"What a monstrous and unheard-of villain!" cried the squire. "But is he
+one of the ambuscade?"
+
+Nance replied in the affirmative.
+
+"Then, by heaven! I will confront him--I will hew him down," pursued
+Nicholas, griping the hilt of his sword.
+
+"Neaw use, ey tell ye--yo'n be overpowert an kilt," said Nance. "Tak me
+wi' yo, an ey'n carry yo safely through em aw; boh ge alone, or yo'n
+ne'er see Downham again. An now it's reet ey should tell ye who Lawrence
+Fogg really is."
+
+"What new wonder is in store for me?" cried Nicholas. "Who is he?"
+
+"Maybe yo ha heerd tell that Mother Demdike had a son and a dowter,"
+replied Nance; "the dowter bein', of course, Elizabeth Device; and the
+son, Christopher Demdike, being supposed to be dead. Howsomever, this is
+not the case, for Lawrence Fogg is he."
+
+"I guessed as much when you began," cried Nicholas. "He has a cursedly
+bad look about the eyes--a damned Demdike physiognomy. What an infernal
+villain the fellow must be! without a jot of natural feeling. Why, he
+has this very day assisted at his nephew's capture, and caused his own
+sister to be arrested. Oh, I have been properly duped! To lodge a son of
+that infernal hag in my house--feed him, clothe him, make him my
+friend--take him, the viper! to my bosom! I have been rightly served.
+But he shall hang!--he shall hang! That is some consolation, though
+slight. But how do you know all this, Nance?"
+
+"Dunna ax me," she replied. "Whatever ey ha' been to Christopher
+Demdike, ey bear him neaw love now; fo', as ey ha towd yo, he is a
+black-hearted murtherin' villain. Boh lemme get up behind yo, an ey'n
+bring yo through scatheless. An to-morrow yo may arrest the whole band
+at Malkin Tower."
+
+"Malkin Tower!" exclaimed the squire, in fresh surprise. "What, have
+these robbers taken up their quarters there? This accounts for all the
+strange sights said to have been seen there of late, and which I treated
+as mere fables. But, ah! a terrible thought crosses me. What have I
+done? Mistress Nutter will be there to-night. And I have sent her. Death
+and destruction! she will fall into their hands. I must go there at
+once. I cannot take any assistance with me. That would betray the poor
+lady."
+
+"If yo'n trust me, ey'n help yo through the difficulty," replied Nance.
+
+"Get up then quickly, lass, since it must be so," rejoined Nicholas.
+
+With this he moved forward, and giving her his hand, she was instantly
+seated behind him upon Robin, who seemed no way incommoded by his double
+burthen, but dashed down the further side of the causeway, in answer to
+a sharp application of the spur. Passing her arms round the squire's
+waist, Nance maintained her seat well; and in this way they rattled
+along, heedless of the increasing difficulties of the road, or the
+fast-gathering gloom.
+
+The mile was quickly passed, and Nance whispered in the squire's ear
+that they were approaching the Boulder Stones. Presently they came to a
+narrow glen, half-filled with huge rocky fragments, detached from the
+toppling precipices on either side, and forming an admirable place of
+ambuscade. One rock, larger than the rest, completely commanded the
+pass, and, as the squire advanced, a thundering voice from it called to
+him to stay; and the injunction being disregarded, the barrel of a gun
+was protruded from the bushes covering its brow, and a shot fired at
+him. Though well aimed, the ball struck the ground beneath his horse's
+feet, and Nicholas continued his way unmoved, while the faulty marksman
+jumped down the crag. At the same time four other men started from their
+places of concealment behind the stones, and, levelling their calivers
+at the fugitives, fired. The sharp discharges echoed along the gorge,
+and the shots rattled against the rocks, but none of them took effect,
+and Nicholas might have gone on without further hindrance; but, despite
+Nance's remonstrances, who urged him to go on, he pulled up to await the
+coming of the person who had first challenged him. Scarcely an instant
+elapsed before he was beside the squire, and presented a petronel at his
+head. Notwithstanding the gloom, Nicholas recognised him.
+
+"Ah! is it thou, accursed traitor?" cried Nicholas. "I could scarcely
+believe in thy villainy, but now I am convinced."
+
+"The jade you have got behind you has told you who I am, I see," replied
+Fogg. "I will settle with her anon. But this will save further
+explanations with you!"
+
+And he discharged the petronel full at the squire. But the ball
+rebounded, as if his doublet had been quilted. It was in fact lined with
+gold. On seeing the squire unhurt, the robber captain uttered an
+exclamation of rage and astonishment.
+
+"You are mistaken, you see, perfidious villain," cried Nicholas. "You
+have yet to render an account of all the wrongs you have done me, but
+meantime you shall not pass unpunished."
+
+And as he spoke, he snatched the petronel from Fogg, and with the
+but-end dealt him a tremendous blow on the head, felling him to the
+ground.
+
+By this time the other robbers had descended from the rocks, and, seeing
+the fall of their leader, rushed forward to avenge him, but Nicholas did
+not tarry for any further encounter; but, fully satisfied with what he
+had done, struck spurs into Robin, and galloped off. For a few minutes
+he could hear the shouts of the men, but they soon afterwards died away.
+
+Little more than half the ravine had been traversed when the rencounter
+above described took place; but, though the road was still difficult and
+dangerous, and rendered doubly so by the obscurity, no further hindrance
+occurred till just as Nicholas was quitting the gloomy intricacies of
+the gorge, and approaching the more open country beyond it. At this
+point Robin fell, throwing both him and Nance, and when the animal rose
+again he was found to be so much injured that it was impossible to mount
+him. There was no resource but to proceed to Burnley, which was still
+three or four miles distant, on foot.
+
+In this dilemma, Nance volunteered to provide the squire with another
+steed, but he resolutely refused the offer.
+
+"No, no--none of your broomsticks for me," he cried; "no devil's
+horses--I don't know where they may carry me. My own legs must serve me
+now. I'll just take poor Robin out of the road, and then trudge off for
+Burnley as fast as I can."
+
+With this, he led the horse to a small green mead skirting the stream,
+and taking off his saddle and bridle, and depositing them carefully
+under a tree, he patted the animal on the neck, promising to return for
+him on the morrow, and then set off at a brisk pace, with Nance walking
+beside him. They had not gone far, however, when the clattering of hoofs
+was heard behind them, and it was evident that several horsemen were
+rapidly approaching. Nance stopped, listened for a moment, and then
+declaring that it was Demdike and his band in pursuit, seized the
+squire's arm and drew him out of the road, and under the shelter of some
+bushes of hazel. The robber captain could only have been stunned, it
+appeared; and, as soon as he had recovered from the effects of the blow,
+had mounted his horse, which was concealed, with those of his men,
+behind the rocks, and started after the fugitives. Such was the
+construction put upon the matter by Nance, and the event proved it
+correct. A loud shout from the horsemen, and a sudden halt, proclaimed
+that poor Robin had been discovered; and this circumstance seemed to
+give great satisfaction to Demdike, who loudly declared that they were
+now sure of overtaking the runaways.
+
+"They cannot be far off," he cried; "but they will most likely attempt
+to hide themselves, so look well about you."
+
+So saying, he rode on, and it was evident from the noise, that the men
+implicitly obeyed his injunctions. Nothing, however, was found, and ere
+many minutes Demdike came up, and glancing at the hazels, behind which
+the fugitives were hidden, he discharged a petronel into the largest
+tree, but as no movement followed the report, he said--
+
+"I thought I saw something move here, but I suppose I was mistaken. No
+doubt they have got on further than we expected, or have retired into
+some of the cloughs, in which case it will be useless to search for
+them. However, we will make sure of them in this way. Two of you shall
+form an ambuscade near Holme and two further on within half a mile of
+Burnley, and shall remain on the watch till dawn, so that you will be
+sure to capture them, and when taken, make away with them without
+hesitation. Unless my skull had been of the strongest, that butcherly
+squire would have cracked it, so he shall have no grace from me; and as
+to that treacherous witch, Nance Redferne, she deserves death at our
+hands, and she shall have her deserts. I have long suspected her, and,
+indeed, was a fool to trust one of the vile Chattox brood, who are all
+my natural enemies--but no matter, I shall have my revenge."
+
+The men having promised compliance with their captain's command, he went
+on--
+
+"As to myself," he said, "I shall go forthwith, and as fast as my horse
+can carry me, to Malkin Tower, and I will tell you why. It is not that I
+dislike the game we are upon, but I have better to play just now. Tom
+Shaw, the cock-master at Downham, who is in my pay, rode over to Whalley
+this afternoon, to bring me word that a certain lady, who has long been
+concealed in the Manor-house, will be taken to Malkin Tower to-night.
+The intelligence is certain, for he had obtained it from Old Crouch, the
+huntsman, who is to escort her. Thus, Mistress Nutter, for you all know
+whom I mean, will fall naturally into our hands, and we can wring any
+sums of money we like out of her; for though she has abandoned her
+property to her daughter, Alizon, she can no doubt have as much as she
+wants, and I will take care she asks for plenty, or I will try the
+effect of some of those instruments of torture which I was lucky enough
+to find in the dungeons of Malkin Tower, and which were used for a like
+purpose by my predecessor, Blackburn, the freebooter. Are you content,
+my lads?"
+
+"Ay, ay, Captain Demdike," they replied.
+
+Upon this the whole party set forward, and were speedily out of hearing.
+As soon as they thought it prudent to come forth, the squire and Nance
+emerged from their place of shelter.
+
+"What is to be done?" exclaimed the former, who was almost in a state of
+distraction. "The villain has announced his intention of going to Malkin
+Tower, and Mistress Nutter will assuredly fall into his hands. Oh! that
+I could stop him, or get there before him!"
+
+"Yo shan, if yo like to ride wi' me," said Nance.
+
+"But how--in what way?" asked Nicholas.
+
+"Leave that to me," replied Nance, breaking off a long branch of hazel.
+"Tak howld o' this," she cried.
+
+The squire obeyed, and was instantly carried off his legs, and whisked
+through the air at a prodigious rate.
+
+He felt giddy and confused, but did not dare to leave go, lest he should
+be dashed in pieces, while Nance's wild laughter rang in his ears.
+
+Over the bleached and perpendicular crag--startling the eagle from his
+eyry--over the yawning gully with the torrent roaring beneath him--over
+the sharp ridges of the hill--over Townley park--over Burnley
+steeple--over the wide valley beyond, he went--until at last,
+bewildered, out of breath, and like one in a dream, he alighted on a
+brown, bare, heathy expanse, and within a hundred yards of a tall,
+circular stone structure, which he knew to be Malkin Tower.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.--THE END OF MALKIN TOWER.
+
+
+The shades of night had fallen on Downham manor-house, and with an
+aching heart, and a strong presentiment of ill, Mistress Nutter prepared
+to quit the little chamber which had sheltered her for more than two
+months, and where she would willingly have breathed her latest sigh, if
+it had been so permitted her. Closing the Bible she had been reading,
+she placed the sacred volume under her arm, and taking up a small
+bundle, containing her slender preparations for travel, extinguished the
+taper, and then descending by a secret staircase, passed through a door,
+fashioned externally like a cupboard, and entered a summer-house, where
+she found old Crouch awaiting her.
+
+A few whispered words only passed between her and the huntsman, and
+informing her that the horses were in waiting at the back of the garden,
+he took the bundle from her, and would fain have relieved her also of
+the Bible, but she would not part with it, and pressing it more closely
+to her bosom, said she was quite ready to attend him.
+
+It was a beautiful, starlight night; the air soft and balmy, and laden
+with the perfume of the flowers. A nightingale was singing plaintively
+in an adjoining tree, and presently came a response equally tender from
+another part of the grove. Mistress Nutter could not choose but listen,
+and the melody so touched her that she was half suffocated by repressed
+emotion, for, alas! the relief of tears was denied her.
+
+Motioning her somewhat impatiently to come on, Crouch struck into a
+sombre alley, edged by clipped yew-trees, and terminating in a
+plantation, through which a winding path led to the foot of the hill
+whereon the mansion was situated. By daylight this was a beautiful walk,
+affording exquisite glimpses through the trees of the surrounding
+scenery, and commanding a noble view of Pendle Hill, the dominant point
+in the prospect. But even now to the poor lady, so long immured in her
+cell-like chamber, and deprived of many of nature's choicest blessings,
+it appeared delightful. The fresh air, redolent of new-mown hay, fanned
+her pale cheek and feverish brow, and allayed her agitation and
+excitement. The perfect stillness, broken only by the lowing of the
+cattle in the adjoining pastures, by the drowsy hum of the dor-fly, or
+the rippling of the beck in the valley, further calmed her; and the
+soothing influence was completed by a contemplation of the serene
+heavens, wherein were seen the starry host, with the thin bright
+crescent of the new moon in the midst of them, diffusing a pearly light
+around her. One blot alone appeared in the otherwise smiling sky, and
+this was a great, ugly, black cloud lowering over the summit of Pendle
+Hill.
+
+Mistress Nutter noticed the portentous cloud, and noticed also its
+shadow on the hill, which might have been cast by the Fiend himself, so
+like was it to a demoniacal shape with outstretched wings; but, though
+shuddering at the idea it suggested, she would not suffer it to obtain
+possession of her mind, but resolutely fixed her attention on other and
+more pleasing objects.
+
+By this time they had reached the foot of the hill, and a gate admitted
+them to a road running by the side of Downham beck. Here they found the
+horses in charge of a man in the dark red livery of Nicholas Assheton,
+and who was no other than Tom Shaw, the rascally cock-master. Delivering
+the bridles to Crouch, the knave hastily strode away, but he lingered at
+a little distance to see the lady mount; and then leaping the hedge,
+struck through the plantation towards the hall, chinking the money in
+his pockets as he went, and thinking how cleverly he had earned it. But
+he did not go unpunished; for it is a satisfaction to record that, in
+walking through the woods, he was caught in a gin placed there by
+Crouch, which held him fast in its iron teeth till morning, when he was
+discovered by one of the under-keepers while going his rounds, in a
+deplorable condition, and lamed for life.
+
+Meanwhile, unconscious either of the manner in which she had been
+betrayed, or of the punishment awaiting her betrayer, Mistress Nutter
+followed her conductor in silence. For a while the road continued by the
+side of the brook, and then quitting it, commenced a long and tedious
+ascent, running between high banks fringed with trees. The overhanging
+boughs rendered it so dark that Mistress Nutter could scarcely
+distinguish the old huntsman, though he was not many yards in advance of
+her, but she heard the tramp of his horse, and that was enough.
+
+All at once, where the boughs were thickest, and the road darkest, she
+perceived a small fiery object on the bank, and in her alarm called out
+to the huntsman, who, looking back for a moment, laughed, and told her
+not to be uneasy, for it was only a glow-worm. Ashamed of her idle fears
+she rode on, but had not proceeded far, when, looking again at the bank,
+she saw it studded with the same lights. This time she did not call out
+or scream, but gazed steadily at the twinkling fires, hoping to get the
+better of her fears. Her alarm, however, rose to absolute terror, as she
+beheld the glow-worms--if glow-worms they were--twist together and form
+themselves into a flaming brand, such as she had seen in her vision,
+grasped by the angel who had driven her from the gates of Paradise.
+
+Averting her gaze, she would have hastened on, but a hand suddenly laid
+upon her bridle, held back her horse; and she then perceived a tall dark
+man, mounted on a sable steed, riding beside her. The supernatural
+character of the horseman was manifest, inasmuch as no sound was caused
+by the tread of his steed, nor did he appear to be visible to Crouch
+when the latter looked back. Mistress Nutter maintained her seat with
+difficulty. She well knew who was her companion.
+
+"Soh, Alice Nutter," said the horseman at length, in a low deep tone,
+"you have chosen to shut yourself up in a narrow cell, like a recluse,
+for more than two months, denying yourself all sort of enjoyment,
+practising severest abstinence, and passing your whole time in useless
+prayer--ay, useless, for if you were to pray from now till
+doomsday--come when it will, a thousand years hence, or to-morrow--it
+will not save you. When you signed that bond to my master, sentence was
+recorded against you, and no power can recall it. Why, then, these
+unavailing lamentations? Why utter prayers which are rejected, and
+supplications which are scorned? Shake off this weakness, Alice, and be
+yourself again. Once you had pride enough, and a little of it would now
+be of service to you. You would then see the folly of this abject
+conduct--humbling yourself to the dust only to be spurned, and suing for
+mercy only to be derided. Pray as loud and as long as you will, the ears
+of Heaven will remain ever deaf to you."
+
+"I hope otherwise," rejoined the lady, meekly.
+
+"Do not deceive yourself," replied the horseman. "The term granted you
+by your compact will not be abridged, but it is your own fault if it be
+not extended. Your daughter is destroying herself in the vain hope of
+saving you. Her prayers are unavailing as your own, and recoil from the
+Judgment Throne unheard. The youth upon whom her affections are fixed is
+stricken with a deadly ailment. It is in your power to save them both."
+
+Mistress Nutter groaned deeply.
+
+"It is in your power, I say, to save them," continued the horseman, "by
+returning to your allegiance to your master. He will forgive your
+disobedience if you prove yourself zealous in his service; will restore
+you to your former worldly position; avenge you of your enemies; and
+accomplish all you may desire with respect to your daughter."
+
+"He cannot do it," replied Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Cannot!" echoed the horseman. "Try him! For many years I have served
+you as familiar; and you have never set me the task I have failed to
+execute. I am ready to become your servant again, and to offer you a yet
+larger range of control. Put no limits to your desires or ambition. If
+you are tired of this narrow sphere, take a wider. Look abroad. But do
+not shut yourself up in a narrow cell, and persuade yourself you are
+accomplishing your ultimate deliverance, when you are only wasting
+precious time, which might be more advantageously and far more agreeably
+employed. While laughing at your folly, my master deplores it; and he
+has, therefore, sent me as to one for whom notwithstanding all
+derelictions from duty, he has still a regard, with an offer of full
+forgiveness, provided you return to him at once, and renew your
+covenant, proving your sincerity by casting from you the book you hold
+under your arm."
+
+"Your snares are not laid subtle enough to catch me," replied Mistress
+Nutter. "I will never part with this holy volume, which is my present
+safeguard, and on which I build my hopes of salvation--hopes which your
+very proposals have revived in my breast; for I am well assured your
+master would not make them if he felt confident of his power over me.
+No; I defy him and you, and I command you in Heaven's name to get hence,
+and to tempt me no longer."
+
+As the words were uttered, with a howl of rage and mortification, like
+the roar of a wild beast, the dark horseman and his steed vanished.
+Alarmed by the sound, Crouch stopped, and questioned the lady as to its
+cause; but receiving no satisfactory explanation from her, he bade her
+ride quickly on, affirming it must be the boggart of the clough.
+
+Soon after this they again came upon Downham beck, and were about to
+cross it, when their purpose was arrested by a joyous barking, and the
+next moment Grip came up. The dog, it appeared, had been shut up in the
+stable, his company not being desired on the expedition; but contriving
+in some way or other to get out, he had scented his master's course, and
+in the end overtaken him. Crouch did not know whether to be angry or
+pleased, and at first gave utterance to an oath, and raised his whip to
+chastise him, but almost instantly the latter feeling predominated, and
+he welcomed the faithful animal with a few kind words.
+
+"Ey suppose theaw thowt ey couldna do without thee, Grip," he said, "and
+mayhap theaw'rt reet."
+
+They are now across the beck, and speeding over the wide brown waste.
+The huntsman warily shapes his course so as to avoid any
+limestone-quarries or turf-pits. He points out a jack-o'-lantern dancing
+merrily on the surface of a dangerous morass, and tells a dismal tale of
+a traveller lured into it by the delusive light, and swallowed up.
+
+Mistress Nutter pays little heed to him, but ever and anon looks back,
+as if in dread of some one behind her. But no one is visible, and she
+only sees the great black cloud still hovering over Pendle Hill.
+
+On--on--they go; their horses' hoofs now splashing through the wet sod,
+now beating upon the firm but elastic turf. A merry ride it would be if
+their errand were different, and their hearts free from care. The air is
+fresh and reviving, and the rapid motion exhilarating. The stars shine
+out, and the crescent moon is still glittering in the heavens, but the
+black cloud hangs motionless on Pendle Hill.
+
+Now and then some bird of night flies past them, and they hear the
+whooping of the owl, and see him skimming like a ghost over the waste.
+Then more fen fires arise, showing that other treacherous quagmires are
+at hand; but Crouch skirts them safely. Now the bull-frog croaks in the
+marsh, and a deep booming tells of a bittern passing by. They see the
+mighty bird above them, with his wide heavy wings and long neck. Grip
+howls at him, but is instantly checked by his master, and they gallop
+on.
+
+They are now by the side of Pendle Water, and within sight of Rough Lee.
+What tumultuous thoughts agitate the lady's breast! The ground she
+tramples on was once her own; the woods by the river side were planted
+by her; the mansion before her once owned her as mistress, and now she
+dares not approach it. Nor does she desire to do so, for the sight of it
+brings back terrible recollections, and fills her again with despair.
+
+They are now close upon it, and it appears dark, silent, and deserted.
+How different from what it was of yore in her husband's days--the
+husband she had foully slain! Speed on, old huntsman!--lash your panting
+horse, or the remorseful lady will far outstrip you, for she rides as if
+the avenging furies were at her heels.
+
+She is rattling over the bridge, and Crouch, toiling after her, and with
+Grip toiling after him, shouts to her to moderate her pace. She looks
+back, and beholds the grim old house frowning full upon her, and hurries
+on. Huntsman and dog are left behind for awhile, but the steep ascent
+soon compels her to slacken speed, and they come up, Crouch swearing
+lustily, and Grip, with his tongue out of his mouth, limping as if
+foot-sore.
+
+The road now leads through a thicket. The horses stumble frequently, for
+the stones are loose, and the footing consequently uncertain. Crouch has
+a fall, and ere he can remount the lady is gone. It is useless to hurry
+after her, and he is proceeding slowly, when Grip, who is a little in
+advance, growls fiercely, and looks back at his master, as if to
+intimate that danger is at hand. The huntsman presses on, but he is too
+late, if, indeed, he could at any time have rendered effectual
+assistance. A clearing in the thicket shows him the lady dismounted, and
+surrounded by several wild-looking men armed with calivers. Part of the
+band bear her shrieking off, and the rest fire at him, but without
+effect, and then chase him as far as the steepest part of the hill,
+down which he dashes, followed by Grip. Arrived at the bottom, he pauses
+to listen if he is pursued, and hearing nothing further to alarm him,
+debates with himself what is best to be done; and, not liking to alarm
+the village, for that would be to betray Mistress Nutter, he gets off
+his horse, ties him to a tree, and with Grip close at his heels,
+commences the ascent of the hill by a different road from that he had
+previously taken.
+
+Meanwhile, Mistress Nutter's captors dragged her forcibly towards the
+tower. Their arms and appearance left her no doubt they were
+depredators, and she sought to convince them she had neither money nor
+valuables in her possession. They laughed at her assertions, but made no
+other reply. Her sole consolation was, that they did not seek to deprive
+her of her Bible.
+
+On reaching the tower, a signal was given by one of the foremost of the
+band, and the steps being lowered from the high doorway, she was
+compelled to ascend them, and being pushed along a short passage,
+obscured by a piece of thick tapestry, but which was drawn aside as she
+advanced, she found herself in a circular chamber, in the midst of which
+was a massive table covered with flasks and drinking-cups, and stained
+with wine. From the roof, which was crossed by great black beams of oak,
+was suspended a lamp with three burners, whose light showed that the
+walls were garnished with petronels, rapiers, poniards, and other
+murderous weapons; besides these there were hung from pegs long
+riding-cloaks, sombreros, vizards, and other robber accoutrements,
+including a variety of disguises, from the clown's frieze jerkin to the
+gentleman's velvet doublet, ready to be assumed on an emergency. Here
+and there was an open valise, or a pair of saddle-bags with their
+contents strewn about the floor, and on a bench were a dice-box and
+shuffle-board, showing, with the flasks and goblets on the table, how
+the occupants of the tower passed their time.
+
+A steep ladder-like flight of steps led to the upper chamber, and down
+these, at the very moment of Mistress Nutter's entrance, descended a
+stalwart personage, who eyed her fiercely as he leapt upon the floor.
+There was something in the man's truculent physiognomy, and strange and
+oblique vision, that reminded her of Mother Demdike.
+
+"Welcome to Malkin Tower, madam," said the robber with a grin, and
+doffing his cap with affected courtesy. "We have met before, but it is
+many years ago, and I dare say you have forgotten me. You will guess who
+I am when I tell you my mother occupied this tower before me."
+
+Finding Mistress Nutter made no remark, he went on.
+
+"I am Christopher Demdike, madam--Captain Demdike, I should say. The
+brave fellows who have brought you hither are part of my band, and till
+lately Northumberland and the borders of Scotland used to be our scene
+of action; but chancing to hear of my worthy old mother's death, I
+thought we could not do better than take possession of her stronghold,
+which devolved upon me by right of inheritance. Since our arrival here
+we have kept ourselves very quiet, and the country folk, taking us for
+spirits or demons, never approach our hiding-place; while, as all our
+depredations are confined to distant parts, our retreat has never been
+suspected."
+
+"This concerns me little," observed Mistress Nutter, coldly.
+
+"Pardon me, madam, it concerns you much, as you will learn anon. But be
+seated, I pray you," he said, with mock civility. "I am keeping you
+standing all this while."
+
+But as the lady declined the attention, he went on.
+
+"I was fortunate enough, on first coming back to this part of the
+country, to pick up an acquaintance with your relative, Nicholas
+Assheton, who invited me to stay with him at Downham, and was so well
+pleased with my society that he could not endure to part with me."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Mistress Nutter, "are you the person he called
+Lawrence Fogg?"
+
+"The same," replied Demdike; "and no doubt you would hear a good report
+of me, madam. Well, it suited my purpose to stay; for I was very
+hospitably entertained by the squire, who, except being rather too much
+addicted to lectures and psalm-singing, is as pleasant a host as one
+could desire; besides which, he was obliging enough to employ me to
+borrow money for him, and what I got, I kept, you may be sure."
+
+"I would willingly be spared the details of your knavery," said Mistress
+Nutter, somewhat impatiently.
+
+"I am coming to an end," rejoined Demdike, "and then, perhaps, you may
+wish I had prolonged them. All the squire's secrets were committed to
+me, and I was fully aware of your concealment in the hall, but I could
+never ascertain precisely where you were lodged. I meant to carry you
+off, and only awaited the opportunity which has presented itself
+to-night."
+
+"If you think to obtain money from me, you will find yourself mistaken,"
+said Mistress Nutter. "I have parted with all my possessions."
+
+"But to whom, madam?" cried Demdike, with a sinister smile--"to your
+daughter. And I am sure she is too gentle, too tender-hearted, to allow
+you to suffer when she can relieve you. You must get us a good round sum
+from her or you will be detained here long. The dungeons are dark and
+unwholesome, and my band are apt to be harsh in their treatment of
+captives. They have found in the vaults some instruments of torture
+belonging to old Blackburn, the freebooter, the efficacy of which in an
+obstinate case I fear they might be inclined to try. You now begin to
+see the drift of my discourse, madam, and understand the sort of men
+you have to deal with--barbarous fellows, madam--inhuman dogs!"
+
+And he laughed coarsely at his own jocularity.
+
+"It may put an end to this discussion," said Mistress Nutter firmly, "if
+I declare that no torture shall induce me to make any such demand from
+my daughter."
+
+"You think, perhaps, I am jesting with you, madam," rejoined Demdike.
+
+"Oh! no, I believe you capable of any atrocity," replied the lady. "You
+do not, either in feature or deeds, belie your parentage."
+
+"Ah! say you so, madam?" cried Demdike. "You have a sharp tongue, I
+find. Courtesy is thrown away upon you. What, ho! lads--Kenyon and
+Lowton, take the lady down to the vaults, and there let her have an hour
+for solitary reflection. She may change her mind in that time."
+
+"Do not think it," cried Mistress Nutter, resolutely.
+
+"If you continue obstinate, we will find means to move you," rejoined
+Demdike, in a taunting tone. "But what has she got beneath her arm? Give
+me the book. What's this?--a Bible! A witch with a Bible! It should be a
+grimoire. Ha! ha!"
+
+"Give it me back, I implore of you," shrieked the lady. "I shall be
+destroyed, soul and body, if I have it not with me."
+
+"What! you are afraid the devil may carry you off without it--ho! ho!"
+roared Demdike. "Well, that would not suit my purpose at present. Here,
+take it--and now off with her, lads, without more ado!"
+
+And as he spoke, a trapdoor was opened by one of the robbers, disclosing
+a flight of steps leading to the subterranean chambers, down which the
+miserable lady was dragged.
+
+Presently the two men re-appeared with a grim smile on their ruffianly
+countenances, and, as they closed the trapdoor, one of them observed to
+the captain that they had chained her to a pillar, by removing the band
+from the great skeleton, and passing it round her body.
+
+"You have done well, lads," replied Demdike, approvingly; "and now go
+all of you and scour the hill-top, and return in an hour, and we will
+decide upon what is to be done with this woman."
+
+The two men then joined the rest of their comrades outside, and the
+whole troop descended the steps, which were afterwards drawn up by
+Demdike. This done, the robber captain returned to the circular chamber,
+and for some time paced to and fro, revolving his dark schemes. He then
+paused, and placing his ear near the trapdoor, listened, but as no sound
+reached him, he sat down at the table, and soon grew so much absorbed as
+to be unconscious that a dark figure was creeping stealthily down the
+narrow staircase behind him.
+
+"I cannot get rid of Nicholas Assheton," he exclaimed at length. "I
+somehow fancy we shall meet again; and yet all should be over with him
+by this time."
+
+"Look round!" thundered a voice behind him. "Nicholas Assheton is not to
+be got rid of so easily."
+
+At this unexpected summons, Demdike started to his feet, and recoiled
+aghast, as he saw what he took to be the ghost of the murdered squire
+standing before him. A second look, however, convinced him that it was
+no phantom he beheld, but a living man, armed for vengeance, and
+determined upon it.
+
+"Get a weapon, villain," cried Nicholas, in tones of concentrated fury.
+"I do not wish to take unfair advantage, even of thee."
+
+Without a word of reply, Demdike snatched a sword from the wall, and the
+next moment was engaged in deadly strife with the squire. They were well
+matched, for both were powerful men, both expert in the use of their
+weapons, and the combat might have been protracted and of doubtful issue
+but for the irresistible fury of Nicholas, who assaulted his adversary
+with such vigour and determination that he speedily drove him against
+the wall, where the latter made an attempt to seize a petronel hanging
+beside him, but his purpose being divined, he received a thrust through
+the arm, and, dropping his blade, lay at the squire's mercy.
+
+Nicholas shortened his sword, but forbore to strike. Seizing his enemy
+by the throat, he hurled him to the ground, and, planting his knee on
+his chest, called out, "What, ho, Nance!"
+
+"Nance!" exclaimed Demdike,--"then it was that mischievous jade who
+brought you here."
+
+"Ay," replied the squire, as the young woman came quickly down the
+steps,--"and I refused her aid in the conflict because I felt certain of
+mastering thee, and because I would not take odds even against such a
+treacherous villain as thou art."
+
+"Better dispatch him, squire," said Nance; "he may do yo a mischief
+yet."
+
+"No--no," replied Nicholas, "he is unworthy of a gentleman's sword.
+Besides, I have sworn to hang him, and I will keep my word. Go down into
+the vaults and liberate Mistress Nutter, while I bind him, for we must
+take him with us. To-morrow, he shall lie in Lancaster Castle with his
+kinsfolk."
+
+"That remains to be seen," muttered Demdike.
+
+"Be on your guard, squire," cried Nance, as she lifted a small lamp, and
+raised the trapdoor.
+
+With this caution, she descended to the vaults, while Nicholas looked
+about for a thong, and perceiving a rope dangling down the wall near
+him, he seized it, drawing it with some force towards him.
+
+A sudden sound reached his ears--clang! clang! He had rung the
+alarm-bell violently.
+
+Clang! clang! clang! Would it never stop?
+
+Taking advantage of his surprise and consternation, Demdike got from
+under him, sprang to his feet, and rushing to the doorway, instantly let
+fall the steps, roaring out,--
+
+"Treason! to the rescue, my men! to the rescue!"
+
+His cries were immediately answered from without, and it was evident
+from the tumult that the whole of the band were hurrying to his
+assistance.
+
+Not a moment was to be lost by the squire. Plunging through the
+trapdoor, he closed it after him, and bolted it underneath at the very
+moment the robbers entered the chamber. Demdike's rage at finding him
+gone was increased, when all the combined efforts of his men failed in
+forcing open the trapdoor.
+
+"Take hatchets and hew it open!" he cried; "we must have them. I have
+heard there is a secret outlet below, and though I have never been able
+to discover it, it may be known to Nance. I will go outside, and watch.
+If you hear me whistle, come forth instantly."
+
+And, rushing forth, he was making the circuit, of the tower, and
+examining some bushes at its base, when his throat was suddenly seized
+by a dog, and before he could even utter an exclamation, much less sound
+his whistle, or use his arms, he was grappled by the old huntsman, and
+dragged off to a considerable distance, the dog still clinging to his
+throat.
+
+Meanwhile, Nicholas had hurried down into the vaults, where he found
+Nance sustaining Mistress Nutter, who was half fainting, and hastily
+explaining what had occurred, she consigned the lady to him, and then
+led the way through the central range of pillars, and past the ebon
+image, until she approached the wall, when, holding up the lamp, she
+revealed a black marble slab between the statues of Blackburn and Isole.
+Pressing against it, the slab moved on one side, and disclosed a flight
+of steps.
+
+"Go up there," cried Nance to the squire, "and when ye get to th' top,
+yo'n find another stoan, wi' a nob in it. Yo canna miss it. Go on."
+
+"But you!" cried the squire. "Will you not come with us?"
+
+"Ey'n come presently," replied Nance, with a strange smile. "Ey ha
+summat to do first. That cunning fox Demdike has set a trap fo' himsel
+an aw his followers,--and it's fo' me to ketch 'em. Wait fo' me about a
+hundert yorts fro' th' tower. Nah nearer--yo onderstand?"
+
+Nicholas did not very clearly understand, but concluding Nance had some
+hidden meaning in what she said, he resolved unhesitatingly to obey her.
+Having got clear of the tower, as directed, with Mistress Nutter, he ran
+on with her to some distance, when what was his surprise to find Crouch
+and Grip keeping watch over the prostrate robber chief. A few words from
+the huntsman sufficed to explain how this had come about, but they were
+scarcely uttered when Nance rushed up in breathless haste, crying
+out--"Off! further off! as yo value your lives!"
+
+Seeing from her manner that delay would be dangerous, Nicholas and
+Crouch laid hold of the prisoner and bore him away between them, while
+Nance assisted Mistress Nutter along.
+
+They had not gone far when a rumbling sound like that preceding an
+earthquake was heard.
+
+All looked back towards Malkin Tower. The structure was seen to
+rock--flames burst from the earth--and with a tremendous explosion heard
+for miles ground, and which shook the ground even where Nicholas and the
+others stood, the whole of the unhallowed fabric, from base to summit,
+was blown into the air, some of the stones being projected to an
+extraordinary distance.
+
+A mine charged with gunpowder, it appeared, had been laid beneath its
+vaults by Demdike, with a view to its destruction at some future period,
+and this circumstance being known to Nance, she had fired the train.
+
+Not one of the robbers within the tower escaped. The bodies of all were
+found next day, crushed, burned, or frightfully mutilated.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.--HOGHTON TOWER.
+
+
+About a month after the occurrence last described, and early on a fine
+morning in August, Nicholas Assheton and Richard Sherborne rode forth
+together from the proud town of Preston. Both were gaily attired in
+doublets and hose of yellow velvet, slashed with white silk, with
+mantles to match, the latter being somewhat conspicuously embroidered on
+the shoulder with a wild bull worked in gold, and underneath it the
+motto, "_Malgré le Tort_." Followed at a respectful distance by four
+mounted attendants, the two gentlemen had crossed the bridge over the
+Ribble, and were wending their way along the banks of a tributary
+stream, the Darwen, within a short distance of the charming village of
+Walton-le-Dale, when they perceived a horseman advancing slowly towards
+them, whom they instantly hailed as Richard Assheton, and pushing
+forward, were soon beside him. Both were much shocked by the young man's
+haggard looks, and inquired anxiously as to his health, but Richard bade
+them, with a melancholy smile, not be uneasy, for all would be well with
+him erelong.
+
+"All will be over with you, lad, if you don't mind; and that's, perhaps,
+what you mean," replied Nicholas; "but as soon as the royal festivities
+at Hoghton are over, I'll set about your cure; and, what's more, I'll
+accomplish it--for I know where the seat of the disease lies better than
+Dr. Morphew, your family physician at Middleton. 'Tis near the heart,
+Dick--near the heart. Ha! I see I have touched you, lad. But, beshrew
+me, you are very strangely attired--in a suit of sable velvet, with a
+black Spanish hat and feather, for a festival! You look as if going to a
+funeral I am fearful his Majesty may take it amiss. Why not wear the
+livery of our house?"
+
+"Nay, if it comes to that," rejoined Richard, "why do not you and
+Sherborne wear it, instead of flaunting like daws in borrowed plumage? I
+scarce know you in your strange garb, and certainly should not take you
+for an Assheton, or aught pertaining to our family, from your gaudy
+colours and the strange badge on your shoulder."
+
+"I don't wonder at it, Dick," said Nicholas; "I scarce know myself; and
+though the clothes I wear are well made enough, they seem to sit
+awkwardly on me, and trouble me as much as the shirt of Nessus did
+Hercules of old. For the nonce I am Sir Richard Hoghton's retainer. I
+must own I was angry with myself when I saw Sir Ralph Assheton with his
+long train of gentlemen, all in murrey-coloured cloaks and doublets, at
+Myerscough Lodge, while I, his cousin, was habited like one of another
+house. And when I would have excused my apparent defection to Sir Ralph,
+he answered coldly, 'It was better as it was, for he could scarcely have
+found room for me among his friends.'"
+
+"Do not fret yourself, Nicholas," rejoined Sherborne; "Sir Ralph cannot
+reasonably take offence at a mere piece of good-nature on your part. But
+this does not explain why Richard affects a colour so sombre."
+
+"I am the retainer of one whose livery is sombre," replied the young
+man, with a ghastly smile. "But enough of this," he added, endeavouring
+to assume a livelier air; "I suppose you are on the way to Hoghton
+Tower. I thought to reach Preston before you were up, but I might have
+recollected you are no lag-a-bed, Nicholas, not even after hard drinking
+overnight, as witness your feats at Whalley. To be frank with you, I
+feared being led into like excesses, and so preferred passing the night
+at the quiet little inn at Walton-le-Dale, to coming on to you at the
+Castle at Preston, which I knew would be full of noisy roysterers."
+
+"Full it was, even to overflowing," replied the squire; "but you should
+have come, Dick, for, by my troth! we had a right merry night of it.
+Stephen Hamerton, of Hellyfield Peel, with his wife, and her sister,
+sweet Mistress Doll Lister, supped with us; and we had music, dancing,
+and singing, and abundance of good cheer. Nouns! Dick, Doll Lister is a
+delightful lass, and if you can only get Alizon out of your head, would
+be just the wife for you. She sings like an angel, has the most
+captivating sigh-and-die-away manner, and the prettiest rounded figure
+ever bodice kept in. Were I in your place I should know where to
+choose. But you will see her at Hoghton to-day, for she is to be at the
+banquet and masque."
+
+"Your description does not tempt me," said Richard; "I have no taste for
+sigh-and-die-away damsels. Dorothy Lister, however, is accounted fair
+enough; but, were she fascinating as Venus herself, in my present mood I
+should not regard her."
+
+"I' faith, lad, I pity you, if such be the case," shrugging his
+shoulders, more in contempt than compassion.
+
+"Waste not your sympathy upon me," replied Richard; "but, tell me, how
+went the show at Preston yesterday?"
+
+"Excellently well, and much to his Majesty's satisfaction," answered the
+squire. "Proud Preston never was so proud before, and never with such
+good reason; for if the people be poor, according to the proverb, they
+take good care to hide their poverty. Bombards were fired from the
+bridge, and the church bells rang loud enough to crack the steeple, and
+bring it down about the ears of the deafened lieges. The houses were
+hung with carpets and arras; the streets strewn ankle deep with sand and
+sawdust; the cross in the market-place was bedecked with garlands of
+flowers like a May-pole; and the conduit near it ran wine. At noon there
+was more firing; and, amidst flourishes of trumpets, rolling of drums,
+squeaking of fifes, and prodigious shouting, bonnie King Jamie came to
+the cross, where a speech was made him by Master Breares, the Recorder;
+after which the corporation presented his Majesty with a huge silver
+bowl, in token of their love and loyalty. The King seemed highly pleased
+with the gift, and observed to the Duke of Buckingham, loud enough to be
+heard by the bystanders, who reported his speech to me, 'God's santie!
+it's a braw bicker, Steenie, and might serve for a christening-cup, if
+we had need of siccan a vessel, which, Heaven be praised, we ha'e na!'
+After this there was a grand banquet in the town-hall; and when the heat
+of the day was over the King left with his train for Hoghton Tower,
+visiting the alum mines on the way thither. We are bidden to breakfast
+by Sir Richard, so we must push on, Dick, for his Majesty is an early
+riser, like myself. We are to have rare sport to-day. Hunting in the
+morning, a banquet, and, as I have already intimated, a masque at night,
+in which Sir George Goring and Sir John Finett will play, and in which I
+have been solicited to take the drolling part of Jem Tospot--nay, laugh
+not, Dick, Sherborne says I shall play it to the life--as well as to
+find some mirthful dame to enact the companion part of Doll Wango. I
+have spoken with two or three on the subject, and fancy one of them will
+oblige me. There is another matter on which I am engaged. I am to
+present a petition to his Majesty from a great number of the lower
+orders in this county, praying they may be allowed to take their
+diversions, as of old accustomed, after divine service on Sundays; and,
+though I am the last man to desire any violation of the Sabbath, being
+somewhat puritanically inclined as they now phrase it, yet I cannot
+think any harm can ensue from lawful recreation and honest exercise.
+Still, I would any one were chosen to present the petition rather than
+myself."
+
+"Have no misgivings on the subject," said Richard, "but urge the matter
+strongly; and if you need support, I will give you all I can, for I feel
+we are best observing the divine mandate by making the Sabbath a day of
+rest, and observing it cheerfully. And this, I apprehend, is the
+substance of your petition?"
+
+"The whole sum and substance," replied Nicholas; "and I have reason to
+believe his Majesty's wishes are in accordance with it."
+
+"They are known to be so," said Sherborne.
+
+"I am glad to hear it," cried Richard. "God save King James, the friend
+of the people!"
+
+"Ay, God save King James!" echoed Nicholas; "and if he I grant this
+petition he will prove himself their friend, for he will I have all the
+clergy against him, and will be preached against from half the pulpits
+in the kingdom."
+
+"Little harm will ensue if it should be so," replied Richard; "for he
+will be cheered and protected by the prayers of a grateful and happy
+people."
+
+They then rode on for a few minutes in silence, after which; Richard
+inquired--
+
+"You had brave doings at Myerscough Lodge, I suppose, Nicholas?"
+
+"Ay, marry had we," answered the squire, "and the feasting must have
+cost Ned Tyldesley a pretty penny. Besides the King and his own
+particular attendants, there were some dozen noblemen and their
+followers, including the Duke of Buckingham, who moves about like a king
+himself, and I know not how many knights and gentlemen. Sherborne and I
+rode over from Dunnow, and reached the forest immediately after the King
+had entered it in his coach; so we took a short cut through the woods,
+and came up just in time to join Sir Richard Hoghton's train as he was
+riding up to his Majesty. Fancy a wide glade, down which a great gilded
+coach is slowly moving, drawn by eight horses, and followed by a host of
+noblemen and gentlemen in splendid apparel, their esquires and pages
+equally richly arrayed, and equally well mounted; and, after these,
+numerous falconers, huntsmen, prickers, foresters, and yeomen, with
+staghounds in leash, and hawk on fist, all ready for the sport. Fancy
+all this if you can, Dick, and then conceive what a brave sight it must
+have been. Well, as I said, we came up in the very nick of time, for
+presently the royal coach stopped, and Sir Richard Hoghton, calling all
+his gentlemen around him, and bidding us dismount, and we followed him,
+and drew up, bareheaded, before the King, while Sir Richard pointed out
+to his Majesty the boundaries of the royal forest, and told him he
+would find it as well stocked with deer as any in his kingdom. Before
+putting an end to the conference, the King complimented the worthy
+Knight on the gallant appearance of his train, and on learning we were
+all gentlemen, graciously signified his pleasure that some of us should
+be presented to him. Amongst others, I was brought forward by Sir
+Richard, and liking my looks, I suppose, the King was condescending
+enough to enter into conversation with me; and as his discourse chiefly
+turned on sporting matters, I was at home with him at once, and he
+presently grew so familiar with me, that I almost forgot the presence in
+which I stood. However, his Majesty seemed in no way offended by my
+freedom, but, on the contrary, clapped me on the shoulder, and said,
+'Maister Assheton, for a country gentleman, you're weel-mannered and
+weel-informed, and I shall be glad to see more of you while I stay in
+these parts.' After this, the good-natured monarch mounted his horse,
+and the hunting began, and a famous day's work we made of it, his
+Majesty killing no fewer than five fine bucks with his own hand."
+
+"You are clearly on the road to preferment, Nicholas," observed Richard,
+with a smile. "You will outstrip Buckingham himself, if you go on in
+this way."
+
+"So I tell him," observed Sherborne, laughing; "and, by my faith! young
+Sir Gilbert Hoghton, who, owing to his connexion by marriage with
+Buckingham, is a greater man than his father, Sir Richard, looked quite
+jealous; for the King more than once called out to Nicholas in the
+chase, and took the wood-knife from him when he broke up the last deer,
+which is accounted a mark of especial favour."
+
+"Well, gentlemen," said the squire, "I shall not stand in my own light,
+depend upon it; and, if I should bask in court-sunshine, you shall
+partake of the rays. If I do become master of the household, in lieu of
+the Duke of Richmond, or master of the horse and cupbearer to his
+Majesty, in place of his Grace of Buckingham, I will not forget you."
+
+"We are greatly indebted to you, my Lord Marquess of Downham and Duke of
+Pendle Hill, that is to be," rejoined Sherborne, taking off his cap with
+mock reverence; "and perhaps, for the sake of your sweet sister and my
+spouse, Dorothy, you will make interest to have me appointed gentleman
+of the bedchamber?"
+
+"Doubt it not--doubt it not," replied Nicholas, in a patronising tone.
+
+"My ambition soars higher than yours, Sherborne," said Richard; "I must
+be lord-keeper of the privy seal, or nothing."
+
+"Oh! what you will, gentlemen, what you will!" cried Nicholas; "you can
+ask me nothing I will not grant--always provided I have the means."
+
+A turn in the road now showed them Hoghton Tower, crowning the summit
+of an isolated and conical hill, about two miles off. Rising proudly in
+the midst of a fair and fertile plain, watered by the Ribble and the
+Darwen, the stately edifice seemed to command the whole country. And so
+King James thought, as, from the window of his chamber, he looked down
+upon the magnificent prospect around him, comprehending on the one hand
+the vast forests of Myerscough and Bowland, stretching as far as the
+fells near Lancaster; and, on the other, an open but still undulating
+country, beautifully diversified with wood and water, well-peopled and
+well-cultivated, green with luxuriant pastures, yellow with golden
+grain, or embowered with orchards, boasting many villages and small
+towns, as well as two lovely rivers, which, combining their currents at
+Walton-le-Dale, gradually expanded till they neared the sea, which could
+be seen gleaming through openings in the distant hills. As the King
+surveyed this fair scene, and thought how strong was the position of the
+mansion, situated as it was upon high cliffs springing abruptly from the
+Darwen, and how favourably circumstanced, with its forests and park, for
+the enjoyment of the chase, of which he was passionately fond, how
+capable of defence, and how well adapted for a hunting-seat, he sighed
+to think it did not belong to the crown. Nor was he wrong in his
+estimate of its strength, for in after years, during the civil wars, it
+held out stoutly against the parliamentary forces, and was only reduced
+at last by treachery, when part of its gate-tower was blown up,
+destroying an officer and two hundred men, "in that blast most wofully."
+
+Though the hour was so early, the road was already thronged, not only
+with horsemen and pedestrians of every degree from Preston, but with
+rude lumbering vehicles from the neighbouring villages of Plessington,
+Brockholes and Cuerden, driven by farmers, who, with their buxom dames
+and cherry-cheeked daughters, decked out in holiday finery, hoped to
+gain admittance to Hoghton Tower, or, at all events, obtain a peep of
+the King as he rode out to hunt. Most of these were saluted by Nicholas,
+who scrupled not to promise them admission to the outer court of the
+Tower, and even went so far as to offer some of the comelier damsels a
+presentation to the King. Occasionally, the road was enlivened by
+strains of music from a band of minstrels, by a song or a chorus from
+others, or by the gamesome tricks of a party of mummers. At one place, a
+couple of tumblers and a clown were performing their feats on a cloth
+stretched on the grass beneath a tree. Here the crowd collected for a
+few minutes, but presently gave way to loud shouts, attended by the
+cracking of whips, proceeding from two grooms in the yellow and white
+livery of Sir Richard Hoghton, who headed some half-dozen carts filled
+with provisions, carcases of sheep and oxen, turkeys and geese, pullets
+and capons, fish, bread, and vegetables, all bent for Hoghton Tower;
+for though Sir Richard had made vast preparations for his guests, he
+found his supplies, great as they were, wholly inadequate to their
+wants. Cracking their whips in answer to the shouts with which they were
+greeted, the purveyors galloped on, many a hungry wight looking
+wistfully after them.
+
+Nicholas and his companions were now at the entrance to Hoghton Park,
+through which the Darwen coursed, after washing the base of the rocky
+heights on which the mansion was situated. Here four yeomen of the
+guard, armed with halberts, and an officer, were stationed, and no one
+was admitted without an order from Sir Richard Hoghton. Possessing a
+pass, the squire and his companions with their attendants were, of
+course, allowed to enter; but the throng accompanying them were sent
+over the bridge, and along a devious road skirting the park, which,
+though it went more than a mile round, eventually brought them to their
+destination.
+
+Hoghton Park, though not very extensive, boasted a great deal of
+magnificent timber, and in some places was so thickly wooded, that,
+according to Dr. Kuerden, "a man passing through it could scarcely have
+seen the sun shine at middle of day." Into one of these tenebrous groves
+the horsemen now plunged, and for some moments were buried in the gloom
+produced by matted and overhanging boughs. Issuing once more into the
+warm sunshine, they traversed a long and beautiful silvan glade, skirted
+by ancient oaks, with mighty arms and gnarled limbs--the patriarchs of
+the forest. In the open ground on the left were scattered a few
+ash-trees, and beneath them browsed a herd of fallow deer; while
+crossing the lower end of the glade was a large herd of red deer, for
+which the park was famous, the hinds tripping nimbly and timidly away,
+but the lordly stags, with their branching antlers, standing for a
+moment at gaze, and disdainfully regarding the intruders on their
+domain. Little did they think how soon and severely their courage would
+be tried, or how soon the _mort_ would be sounded for their _pryse_ by
+the huntsman. But if, happily for themselves, the poor leathern-coated
+fools could not foresee their doom, it was not equally hidden from
+Nicholas, who predicted what would ensue, and pointed out one noble hart
+which he thought worthy to die by the King's own hand. As if he
+understood him, the stately beast tossed his antlered head aloft, and
+plunged into the adjoining thicket; but the squire noted the spot where
+he had disappeared.
+
+The glade led them into the chase, a glorious hunting-ground of about
+two miles in circumference, surrounded by an amphitheatre of wood, and
+studded by noble forest trees. Variety and beauty were lent to it by an
+occasional knoll crowned with timber, or by numerous ferny dells and
+dingles. As the horsemen entered upon the chase, they observed at a
+short distance from them a herd of the beautiful, but fierce wild
+cattle, originally from Bowland Forest, and still preserved in the park.
+White and spangled in colour, with short sharp horns, fine eyes, and
+small shapely limbs, these animals were of untameable fierceness,
+possessed of great cunning, and ever ready to assault any one who
+approached them. They would often attack a solitary individual, gore
+him, and trample him to death. Consequently, they were far more dreaded
+than the wild-boars, with which, as with every other sort of game, the
+neighbouring woods were plentifully stocked. Well aware of the danger
+they ran, the party watched the herd narrowly and distrustfully, and
+would have galloped on; but this would only have provoked pursuit, and
+the wild cattle were swifter than any horses. Suddenly, a milkwhite bull
+trotted out from the rest of the herd, bellowing fiercely, lashing his
+sides with his tail, and lowering his head to the ground, as if
+meditating an attack. His example was speedily followed by the others,
+and the whole herd began to beat ground and roar loudly. Much alarmed by
+these hostile manifestations, the party were debating whether to stand
+the onset, or trust to the fleetness of their steeds for safety; when
+just as the whole herd, with tails erect and dilated nostrils, were
+galloping towards them, assistance appeared in the persons of some ten
+or a dozen mounted prickers, who, armed with long poles pointed with
+iron, issued with loud shouts from an avenue opening upon the chase. At
+sight of them, the whole herd wheeled round and fled, but were pursued
+by the prickers till they were driven into the depths of the furthest
+thicket. Six of the prickers remained watching over them during the day,
+in order that the royal hunting-party might not be disturbed, and the
+woods echoed with the bellowing of the angry brutes.
+
+While this was going forward, the squire and his companions,
+congratulating themselves on their narrow escape, galloped off, and
+entered the long avenue of sycamores, from which the prickers had
+emerged.
+
+At the head of a steep ascent, partly hewn out of the rock, and partly
+skirted by venerable and majestic trees, forming a continuation of the
+avenue, rose the embattled gate-tower of the proud edifice they were
+approaching, and which now held the monarch of the land, and the highest
+and noblest of his court as guests within its halls. From the top of the
+central tower of the gateway floated the royal banner, while at the very
+moment the party reached the foot of the hill, they were saluted by a
+loud peal of ordnance discharged from the side-towers, proclaiming that
+the King had arisen; and, as the smoke from the culverins wreathed round
+the standard, a flourish of trumpets was blown from the walls, and
+martial music resounded from the court.
+
+Roused by these stirring sounds, Nicholas spurred his horse up the rocky
+ascent; and followed closely by his companions, who were both nearly as
+much excited as himself, speedily gained the great gateway--a massive
+and majestic structure, occupying the centre of the western front of the
+mansion, and consisting of three towers of great strength and beauty,
+the mid-tower far overtopping the other two, as in the arms of Old
+Castile, and sustaining, as was its right, the royal standard. On the
+platform stood the trumpeters with their silk-fringed clarions, and the
+iron mouths of the culverins, which had been recently discharged,
+protruded through the battlements. The arms and motto of the Hoghtons,
+carved in stone, were placed upon the gateway, with the letters T.H.,
+the initials of the founder of the tower. Immediately above the arched
+entrance was the sculptured figure of a knight slaying a dragon.
+
+In front of the gateway a large crowd of persons were assembled,
+consisting of the inferior gentry of the neighbourhood, with their
+wives, daughters, and servants, clergymen, attorneys, chirurgeons,
+farmers, and tradesmen of all kind from the adjoining towns of
+Blackburn, Preston, Chorley, Haslingden, Garstang, and even Lancaster.
+Representatives in some sort or other of almost every town and village
+in the county might be found amongst the motley assemblage, which, early
+as it was, numbered several hundreds, many of those from the more
+distant places having quitted their homes soon after midnight.
+Admittance was naturally sought by all; but here the same rule was
+observed as at the park gate, and no one was allowed to enter, even the
+base court, without authority from the lord of the mansion. The great
+gates were closed, and two files of halberdiers were drawn up under the
+deep archway, to keep the passage clear, and quell disturbance in case
+any should occur; while a gigantic porter, stationed in front of the
+wicket, rigorously scrutinised the passes. These precautions naturally
+produced delay; and, though many of the better part of the crowd were
+entitled to admission, it was not without much pushing and squeezing,
+and considerable detriment to their gay apparel, that they were enabled
+to effect their object.
+
+The comfort of those outside the walls had not, however, been altogether
+neglected by Sir Richard Hoghton, for sheds were reared under the trees,
+where stout March beer, together with cheese and bread, or oaten cakes
+and butter, were freely distributed to all applicants; so that, if some
+were disappointed, few were discontented, especially when told that the
+gates would be thrown open at noon, when, during the time the King and
+the nobles feasted in the great banquet-hall, they might partake of a
+wild bull from the park, slaughtered expressly for the occasion, which
+was now being roasted whole within the base court. That the latter was
+no idle promise they had the assurance of thick smoke rising above the
+walls, laden with the scent of roast meat, and, moreover, they could see
+through the wicket a great fire blazing and crackling on the green,
+with a huge carcass on an immense spit before it, and a couple of
+turn-broaches basting it.
+
+As Nicholas and his companions forced their way through this crowd,
+which was momently receiving additions as fresh arrivals took place, the
+squire recognised many old acquaintances, and was nodding familiarly
+right and left, when he encountered a woman's eye fixed keenly upon him,
+and to his surprise beheld Nance Redferne. Nance, who had lost none of
+her good looks, was very gaily attired, with her fine chestnut hair
+knotted with ribbons, her stomacher similarly adorned, and her red
+petticoat looped up, so as to display an exceedingly trim ankle and
+small foot; and, under other circumstances, Nicholas might not have
+minded staying to chat with her, but just now it was out of the
+question, and he hastily turned his head another way. As ill luck,
+however, would have it, a stoppage occurred at the moment, during which
+Nance forced her way up to him, and, taking hold of his arm, said in a
+low tone--
+
+"Yo mun tae me in wi' ye, squoire."
+
+"Take you in with me--impossible!" cried Nicholas.
+
+"Nah! it's neaw impossible," rejoined Nance, pertinaciously; "yo con do
+it, an yo shan. Yo owe me a good turn, and mun repay it now."
+
+"But why the devil do you want to go in?" cried Nicholas, impatiently.
+"You know the King is the sworn enemy of all witches, and, amongst this
+concourse, some one is sure to recognise you and betray you. I cannot
+answer for your safety if I do take you in. In my opinion, you were
+extremely unwise to venture here at all."
+
+"Ne'er heed my wisdom or my folly, boh do as ey bid yo, or yo'n repent
+it," said Nance.
+
+"Why, you can get in without my aid," observed the squire, trying to
+laugh it off. "You can easily fly over the walls."
+
+"Ey ha' left my broomstick a-whoam," replied Nance--"boh no more
+jesting. Win yo do it?"
+
+"Well, well, I suppose I must," replied Nicholas, "but I wash my hands
+of the consequences. If ill comes of it, I am not to blame. You must go
+in as Doll Wango--that is, as a character in the masque to be enacted
+to-night--d'ye mark?"
+
+Nance signified that she perfectly understood him.
+
+The whole of this hurried discourse, conducted in an under-tone, passed
+unheard and unnoticed by the bystanders. Just then, an opening took
+place amid the crowd, and the squire pushed through it, hoping to get
+rid of his companion, but he hoped in vain, for, clinging to his saddle,
+she went on along with him.
+
+They were soon under the deep groined and ribbed arch of the gate, and
+Nance would have been here turned back by the foremost halberdier, if
+Nicholas had not signified somewhat hastily that she belonged to his
+party. The man smiled, and offered no further opposition; and the
+gigantic porter next advancing, Nicholas exhibited his pass to him,
+which appearing sufficiently comprehensive to procure admission for
+Richard and Sherborne, they instantly availed themselves of the licence,
+while the squire fumbled in his doublet for a further order for Nance.
+At last he produced it, and after reading it, the gigantic warder
+exclaimed, with a smile illumining his broad features--
+
+"Ah! I see;--this is an order from his worship, Sir Richard, to admit a
+certain woman, who is to enact Doll Wango in the masque. This is she, I
+suppose?" he added, looking at Nance.
+
+"Ay, ay!" replied the squire.
+
+"A comely wench, by the mass!" exclaimed the porter. "Open the gate."
+
+"No--not yet--not yet, good porter, till my claim be adjusted," cried
+another woman, pushing forward, quite as young and comely as Nance, and
+equally gaily dressed. "I am the real Doll Wango, though I be generally
+known as Dame Tetlow. The squire engaged me to play the part before the
+King, and now this saucy hussy has taken my place. But I'll have my
+rights, that I will."
+
+"Odd's heart! two Doll Wangos!" exclaimed the porter, opening his eyes.
+
+"Two!--Nay, beleedy! boh there be three!" exclaimed an immensely tall,
+stoutly proportioned woman, stepping up, to the increased confusion of
+the squire, and the infinite merriment of the bystanders, whose laughter
+had been already excited by the previous part of the scene. "Didna yo
+tell me at Myerscough to come here, squire, an ey, Bess Baldwyn, should
+play Doll Wango to your Jem Tospot?"
+
+"Play the devil! for that's what you all seem bent upon doing,"
+exclaimed the squire, impatiently. "Away with you! I can have nothing to
+say to you!"
+
+"You gave me the same promise at the Castle at Preston last night," said
+Dame Tetlow.
+
+"I had been drinking, and knew not what I said," rejoined Nicholas,
+angrily.
+
+"Boh yo promised me a few minutes ago, an yo're sober enough now," cried
+Nance.
+
+"Ey dunna knoa that," rejoined Dame Baldwyn, looking reproachfully at
+him. "Boh what ey dun knoa is, that nother o' these squemous queans shan
+ge in efore me."
+
+And she looked menacingly at them, as if determined to oppose their
+ingress, much to the alarm of the timorous Dame Tetlow, though Nance
+returned her angry glances unmoved.
+
+"For Heaven's sake, my good fellow, let them all three in!" said
+Nicholas, in a low tone to the porter, at the same time slipping a gold
+piece into his hand, "or there's no saying what may be the consequence,
+for they're three infernal viragos. I'll take the responsibility of
+their admittance upon myself with Sir Richard."
+
+"Well, as your worship says, I don't like to see quarrelling amongst
+women," returned the porter, in a bland tone, "so all three shall go in;
+and as to who is to play Doll Wango, the master of the ceremonies will
+settle that, so you need give yourself no more concern about it; but if
+I were called on to decide," he added, with an amorous leer at Dame
+Baldwyn, whose proportions so well matched his own, "I know where my
+choice would light. There, now!" he shouted, "Open wide the gate for
+Squire Nicholas Assheton of Downham, and the three Doll Wangos."
+
+And, all obstacles being thus removed, Nicholas passed on with the three
+females amidst the renewed laughter of the bystanders. But he got rid of
+his plagues as soon as he could; for, dismounting and throwing his
+bridle to an attendant, he vouchsafed not a word to any of them, but
+stepped quickly after Richard and Sherborne, who had already reached the
+great fire with the bull roasting before it.
+
+Appropriated chiefly to stables and other offices, the base court of
+Hoghton Tower consisted of buildings of various dates, the greater part
+belonging to Elizabeth's time, though some might be assigned to an
+earlier period, while many alterations and additions had been recently
+made, in anticipation of the king's visit. Dating back as far as Henry
+II., the family had originally fixed their residence at the foot of the
+hill, on the banks of the Darwen; but in process of time, swayed by
+prouder notions, they mounted the craggy heights above, and built a
+tower upon their crest. It is melancholy to think that so glorious a
+pile, teeming with so many historical recollections, and so
+magnificently situated, should be abandoned, and suffered to go to
+decay;--the family having, many years ago, quitted it for Walton Hall,
+near Walton-le-Dale, and consigned it to the occupation of a few
+gamekeepers. Bereft of its venerable timber, its courts grass-grown, its
+fine oak staircase rotting and dilapidated, its domestic chapel
+neglected, its marble chamber broken and ruinous, its wainscotings and
+ceilings cracked and mouldering, its paintings mildewed and half
+effaced, Hoghton Tower presents only the wreck of its former grandeur.
+Desolate indeed are its halls, and their glory for ever departed!
+However, this history has to do with it in the season of its greatest
+splendour; when it glistened with silks and velvets, and resounded with
+loud laughter and blithe music; when stately nobles and lovely dames
+were seen in the gallery, and a royal banquet was served in the great
+hall; when its countless chambers were filled to overflowing, and its
+passages echoed with hasty feet; when the base court was full of
+huntsmen and falconers, and enlivened by the neighing of steeds and the
+baying of hounds; when there was daily hunting in the park, and nightly
+dancing and diversion in the hall,--it is with Hoghton Tower at this
+season that the present tale has to do, and not with it as it is
+now--silent, solitary, squalid, saddening, but still whispering of the
+glories of the past, still telling of the kingly pageant that once
+graced it.
+
+The base court was divided from the court of lodging by the great hall
+and domestic chapel. A narrow vaulted passage on either side led to the
+upper quadrangle, the facade of which was magnificent, and far superior
+in uniformity of design and style to the rest of the structure, the
+irregularity of which, however, was not unpleasing. The whole frontage
+of the upper court was richly moulded and filleted, with ranges of
+mullion and transom windows, capitals, and carved parapets crowned with
+stone balls. Marble pillars, in the Italian style, had been recently
+placed near the porch, with two rows of pilasters above them, supporting
+a heavy marble cornice, on which rested the carved escutcheon of the
+family. A flight of stone steps led up to the porch, and within was a
+wide oak staircase, so gentle of ascent that a man on horseback could
+easily mount it--a feat often practised in later days by one of the
+descendants of the house. In this part of the mansion all the principal
+apartments were situated, and here James was lodged. Here also was the
+green room, so called from its hangings, which he used for private
+conferences, and which was hung round with portraits of his unfortunate
+mother, Mary, Queen of Scots; of her implacable enemy, Queen Elizabeth;
+of his consort, Anne of Bohemia: and of Sir Thomas Hoghton, the founder
+of the tower. Adjoining it was the Star-Chamber, occupied by the Duke of
+Buckingham, with its napkin panelling, and ceiling "fretted with golden
+fires;" and in the same angle were rooms occupied by the Duke of
+Richmond, the Earls of Pembroke and Nottingham, and Lord Howard of
+Effingham. Below was the library, whither Doctor Thomas Moreton, Bishop
+of Chester, and his Majesty's chaplain, with the three puisné judges of
+the King's Bench, Sir John Doddridge, Sir John Crooke, and Sir Robert
+Hoghton, all of whom were guests of Sir Richard, resorted; and in the
+adjoining wing was the great gallery, where the whole of the nobles and
+courtiers passed such of their time--and that was not much--as was not
+occupied in feasting or out-of-doors' amusements.
+
+Long corridors ran round the upper stories in this part of the mansion,
+and communicated with an endless series of rooms, which, numerous as
+they were, were all occupied, and, accommodation being found impossible
+for the whole of the guests, many were sent to the new erections in the
+base court, which had been planned to meet the emergency by the
+magnificent and provident host. The nobles and gentlemen were, however,
+far outnumbered by their servants, and the confusion occasioned by the
+running to and fro of the various grooms of the chambers, was
+indescribable. Doublets had to be brushed, ruffs plaited, hair curled,
+beards trimmed, and all with the greatest possible expedition; so that,
+as soon as day dawned upon Hoghton Tower, there was a prodigious racket
+from one end of it to the other. Many favoured servants slept in
+truckle-beds in their masters' rooms; but others, not so fortunate, and
+unable to find accommodation even in the garrets--for the smallest
+rooms, and those nearest the roof, were put in requisition--slept upon
+the benches in the hall, while several sat up all night carousing in the
+great kitchen, keeping company with the cooks and their assistants, who
+were busied all the time in preparations for the feasting of the morrow.
+
+Such was the state of things inside Hoghton Tower early on the eventful
+morning in question, and out of doors, especially in the base court
+which Nicholas was traversing, the noise, bustle, and confusion were
+equally great. Wide as was the area, it was filled with various
+personages, some newly arrived, and seeking information as to their
+quarters--not very easily obtained, for it seemed every body's business
+to ask questions, and no one's to answer them--some gathered in groups
+round the falconers and huntsmen, who had suddenly risen into great
+importance; others, and these were for the most part smart young pages,
+in brilliant liveries, chattering, and making love to every pretty
+damsel they encountered, putting them out of countenance by their
+licence and strange oaths, and rousing the anger of their parents, and
+the jealousy of their rustic admirers; others, of a graver sort, with
+dress of formal cut, and puritanical expression of countenance,
+shrugging their shoulders, and looking sourly on the whole
+proceedings--luckily they were in the minority, for the generality of
+the groups were composed of lively and light-hearted people, bent
+apparently upon amusement, and tolerably certain of finding it. Through
+these various groups numerous lackeys were passing swiftly and
+continuously to and fro, bearing a cap, a mantle, or a sword, and
+pushing aside all who interfered with their progress, with a "by your
+leave, my masters--your pardon, fair mistress"--or, "out of my way,
+knave!" and, as the stables occupied one entire angle of the court,
+there were grooms without end dressing the horses at the doors, watering
+them at the troughs, or leading them about amid the admiring or
+criticising bystanders. The King's horses were, of course, objects of
+special attraction, and such as could obtain a glimpse of them and of
+the royal coach thought themselves especially favoured. Besides what was
+going forward below, the windows looking into the court were all full of
+curious observers, and much loud conversation took place between those
+placed at them and their friends underneath. From all this some idea
+will be formed of the tremendous din that prevailed; but though with
+much confusion there was no positive disorder, still less brawling, for
+yeomen of the guard being stationed at various points, perfect order was
+maintained. Several minstrels, mummers, and merry-makers, in various
+fantastic habits, swelled the throng, enlivening it with their strains
+or feats; and amongst other privileged characters admitted was a Tom o'
+Bedlam, a half-crazed licensed beggar, in a singular and picturesque
+garb, with a plate of tin engraved with his name attached to his left
+arm, and a great ox's horn, which he was continually blowing, suspended
+by a leathern baldric from his neck.
+
+Scarcely had Nicholas joined his companions, than word was given that
+the king was about to attend morning prayers in the domestic chapel.
+Upon this, an immediate rush was made in that direction by the crowd;
+but the greater part were kept back by the guard, who crossed their
+halberts to prevent their ingress, and a few only were allowed to enter
+the antechamber leading to the chapel, amongst whom were the squire and
+his companions.
+
+Here they were detained within it till service was over, and, as prayers
+were read by the Bishop of Chester, and the whole Court was present,
+this was a great disappointment to them. At the end of half an hour two
+very courtly personages came forth, each bearing a white wand, and,
+announcing that the King was coming forth, the assemblage immediately
+divided into two lines to allow a passage for the monarch. Nicholas
+Assheton informed Richard in a whisper that the foremost and stateliest
+of the two gentlemen was Lord Stanhope of Harrington, the
+vice-chamberlain, and the other, a handsome young man of slight figure
+and somewhat libertine expression of countenance, was the renowned Sir
+John Finett, master of the ceremonies. Notwithstanding his
+licentiousness, however, which was the vice of the age and the stain of
+the court, Sir John was a man of wit and address, and perfectly
+conversant with the duties of his office, of which he has left
+satisfactory evidence in an amusing tractate, "Finetti Philoxenis."
+
+Some little time elapsed before the King made his appearance, during
+which the curiosity of such as had not seen him, as was the case with
+Richard, was greatly excited. The young man wondered whether the
+pedantic monarch, whose character perplexed the shrewdest, would answer
+his preconceived notions, and whether it would turn out that his
+portraits were like him. While these thoughts were passing through his
+mind, a shuffling noise was heard without, and King James appeared at
+the doorway. He paused there for a moment to place his plumed and
+jewelled cap upon his head, and to speak a word with Sir John Finett,
+and during this Richard had an opportunity of observing him. The
+portraits _were_ like, but the artists had flattered him, though not
+much. There was great shrewdness of look, but there was also a vacant
+expression, which seemed to contradict the idea of profound wisdom
+generally ascribed to him. When in perfect repose, which they were not
+for more than a minute, the features were thoughtful, benevolent, and
+pleasing, and Richard began to think him quite handsome, when another
+change was wrought by some remark of Sir John Finett. As the Master of
+the Ceremonies told his tale, the King's fine dark eyes blazed with an
+unpleasant light, and he laughed so loudly and indecorously at the close
+of the narrative, with his great tongue hanging out of his mouth, and
+tears running down his cheeks, that the young man was quite sickened.
+The King's face was thin and long, the cheeks shaven, but the lips
+clothed with mustaches, and a scanty beard covered his chin. The hair
+was brushed away from the face, and the cap placed at the back of the
+head, so as to exhibit a high bald forehead, of which he was
+prodigiously vain. James was fully equipped for the chase, and wore a
+green silk doublet, quilted, as all his garments were, so as to be
+dagger-proof, enormous trunk-hose, likewise thickly stuffed, and buff
+boots, fitting closely to the leg, and turned slightly over at the knee,
+with the edges fringed with gold. This was almost the only appearance of
+finery about the dress, except a row of gold buttons down the jerkin.
+Attached to his girdle he wore a large pouch, with the mouth drawn
+together by silken cords, and a small silver bugle was suspended from
+his neck by a baldric of green silk. Stiffly-starched bands, edged with
+lace, and slightly turned down on either side of the face, completed his
+attire. There was nothing majestic, but the very reverse, in the King's
+deportment, and he seemed only kept upright by the exceeding stiffness
+of his cumbersome clothes. With the appearance of being corpulent, he
+was not so in reality, and his weak legs and bent knees were scarcely
+able to support his frame. He always used a stick, and generally sought
+the additional aid of a favourite's arm.
+
+In this instance the person selected was Sir Gilbert Hoghton, the eldest
+son of Sir Richard, and subsequent owner of Hoghton Tower. Indebted for
+the high court favour he enjoyed partly to his graceful person and
+accomplishments, and partly to his marriage, having espoused a daughter
+of Sir John Aston of Cranford, who, as sister of the Duchess of
+Buckingham, and a descendant of the blood royal of the Stuarts, was a
+great help to his rapid rise, the handsome young knight was skilled in
+all manly exercises, and cited as a model of grace in the dance.
+Constant in attendance upon the court, he frequently took part in the
+masques performed before it. Like the King, he was fully equipped for
+hunting; but greater contrast could not have been found than between his
+tall fine form and the King's ungainly figure. Sir Gilbert had remained
+behind with the rest of the courtiers in the chapel; but, calling him,
+James seized his arm, and set forward at his usual shambling pace. As he
+went on, nodding his head in return to the profound salutations of the
+assemblage, his eye rolled round them until it alighted on Richard
+Assheton, and, nudging Sir Gilbert, he asked--
+
+"Wha's that?--a bonnie lad, but waesome pale."
+
+Sir Gilbert, however, was unable to answer the inquiry; but Nicholas,
+who stood beside the young man, was determined not to lose the
+opportunity of introducing him, and accordingly moved a step forward,
+and made a profound obeisance.
+
+"This youth, may it please your Majesty," he said, "is my cousin,
+Richard Assheton, son and heir of Sir Richard Assheton of Middleton, one
+of your Majesty's most loyal and devoted servants, and who, I trust,
+will have the honour of being presented to you in the course of the
+day."
+
+"We trust so, too, Maister Nicholas Assheton--for that, if we dinna
+forget, is your ain name," replied James; "and if the sire resembles the
+son, whilk is not always the case, as our gude freend, Sir Gilbert, is
+evidence, being as unlike his worthy father as a man weel can be; if, as
+we say, Sir Richard resembles this callant, he must be a weel-faur'd
+gentleman. But, God's santie, lad! how cam you in sic sad and sombre
+abulyiements? Hae ye nae braw claes to put on to grace our coming? Black
+isna the fashion at our court, as Sir Gilbert will tell ye, and, though
+a suit o' sables may become you, it's no pleasing in our sight. Let us
+see you in gayer apparel at dinner."
+
+Richard, who was considerably embarrassed by the royal address, merely
+bowed, and Nicholas again took upon himself to answer for him.
+
+"Your Majesty will be pleased to pardon him," he said; "but he is
+unaccustomed to court fashions, having passed all his time in a wild and
+uncivilized district, where, except on rare and happy occasions like the
+present, the refined graces of life seldom reach us."
+
+"Weel, we wouldna be hard upon him," said the King, good-naturedly; "and
+mayhap the family has sustained some recent loss, and he is in
+mourning."
+
+"I cannot offer that excuse for him, sire," replied Nicholas, who began
+to flatter himself he was making considerable progress in the monarch's
+good graces. "It is simply an affair of the heart."
+
+"Puir chiel! we pity him," cried the King. "And sae it is a hopeless
+suit, young sir?" he added to Richard. "Canna we throw in a good word
+for ye? Do we ken the lassie, and is she to be here to-day?"
+
+"I am quite at a loss how to answer your Majesty's questions," replied
+Richard, "and my cousin Nicholas has very unfairly betrayed my secret."
+
+"Hoot, toot! na, lad," exclaimed James; "it wasna he wha betrayed your
+secret, but our ain discernment that revealed it to us. We kenned your
+ailment at a glance. Few things are hidden from the King's eye, and we
+could tell ye mair aboot yoursel', and the lassie you're deeing for, if
+we cared to speak it; but just now we have other fish to fry, and must
+awa' and break our fast, of the which, if truth maun be spoken, we stand
+greatly in need; for creature comforts maun be aye looked to as weel as
+spiritual wants, though the latter should be ever cared for first, as
+is our ain rule; and in so doing we offer an example to our subjects,
+which they will do weel to follow. Later in the day, we will talk
+further to you on the subject; but, meanwhile, gie us the name of your
+lassie loo."
+
+"Oh! spare me, your Majesty," cried Richard.
+
+"Her name is Alizon Nutter," interposed Nicholas.
+
+"What! a daughter of Alice Nutter of Rough Lee?" exclaimed James.
+
+"The same, sire," replied Nicholas, much surprised at the extent of
+information manifested by the King.
+
+"Why, saul o' my body! man, she's a witch--a witch! d'ye ken that?"
+cried the King, with a look of abhorrence; "a mischievous and malignant
+vermin, with which this pairt of our realm is sair plagued, but which,
+with God's help, we will thoroughly extirpate. Sae the lass is a
+daughter of Alice Nutter, ha! That accounts for your grewsome looks,
+lad. Odd's life! I see it all now. I understand what is the matter with
+you. Look at him, Sir Gilbert--look at him, I say! Does naething strike
+you as strange about him?"
+
+"Nothing more than that he is naturally embarrassed by your Majesty's
+mode of speech," replied the knight.
+
+"You lack the penetration of the King, Sir Gilbert," cried James. "I
+will tell you what ails him. He is bewitchit--forespoken."
+
+Exclamations were uttered by all the bystanders, and every eye was fixed
+on Richard, who felt ready to sink to the ground.
+
+"I affirm he is bewitchit," continued the King; "and wha sae likely to
+do it as the glamouring hizzie that has ensnared him? She has ill bluid
+in her veins, and can chant deevil's cantrips as weel as the mither, or
+ony gyre-carline o' them a'."
+
+"You are mistaken, sire," cried Richard, earnestly. "Alizon will be here
+to-day with my father and sister, and, if you deign to receive her, I am
+sure you will judge her differently."
+
+"We shall perpend the point of receiving her," replied the King,
+gravely. "But we are rarely mista'en, young man, and seldom change our
+opinion except upon gude grounds, and those you arena like to offer us.
+Belike ye hae been lang ill?"
+
+"Oh! no, your Majesty, I was suddenly seized, about a month ago,"
+replied Richard.
+
+"Suddenly seized--eh!" exclaimed James, winking cunningly at those near
+him; "and ye swarfit awa' wi' the pain? I guessed it. And whaur was
+Alizon the while?"
+
+"At that time she was a guest at Middleton," replied Richard; "but it is
+impossible my illness can in any way be attributed to her. I will answer
+with my life for her perfect innocence."
+
+"You may have to answer wi' your life for your misplaced faith in her,"
+said the King; "but I tell you naething--naething wicked, at all
+events--is impossible to witches, and the haill case, even by your own
+showin', is very suspicious. I have heard somewhat of the story of Alice
+Nutter, but not the haill truth--but there are folk here wha can
+enlighten us mair fully. Thus much I do ken--that she is a notorious
+witch, and a fugitive from justice; though siblins you, Maister Nicholas
+Assheton, could give an inkling of her hiding-place if you were so
+disposed. Nay, never look doited, man," he added, laughing, "I bring nae
+charges against you. Ye arena on your trial noo. But this is a serious
+matter, and maun be seriously considered before we dismiss it. You say
+Alizon will be here to-day. Sae far weel. Canna you contrive to produce
+the mother, too, Maister Nicholas?"
+
+"Sire!" exclaimed Nicholas.
+
+"Nay, then, we maun gang our ain way to wark," continued James. "We are
+tauld ye hae a petition to offer us, and our will and pleasure is that
+you present it afore we go forth to the chase, and after we have
+partaken of our matutinal refection, whilk we will nae langer delay;
+for, sooth to say, we are weel nigh famished. Look ye, sirs. Neither of
+you is to quit Hoghton Tower without our permission had and obtained. We
+do not place you under arrest, neither do we inhibit you from the chase,
+or from any other sports; but you are to remain here at our sovereign
+pleasure. Have we your word that you will not attempt to disobey the
+injunction?"
+
+"You have mine, undoubtedly, sire," replied Richard.
+
+"And mine, too," added Nicholas. "And I hope to justify myself before
+your Majesty."
+
+"We shall be weel pleased to hear ye do it, man," rejoined the King,
+laughing, and shuffling on. "But we hae our doubts--we hae our doubts!"
+
+"His Majesty talks of going to breakfast, and says he is famished,"
+observed Nicholas to Sherborne, as the King departed; "but he has
+completely taken away my appetite."
+
+"No wonder," replied the other.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.--THE ROYAL DECLARATION CONCERNING LAWFUL SPORTS ON THE
+SUNDAY.
+
+
+Not many paces after the King marched the Duke of Buckingham, then in
+the zenith of his power, and in the full perfection of his unequalled
+beauty, eclipsing all the rest of the nobles in splendour of apparel, as
+he did in stateliness of deportment. Haughtily returning the salutations
+made him, which were scarcely less reverential than those addressed to
+the monarch himself, the prime favourite moved on, all eyes following
+his majestic figure to the door. Buckingham walked alone, as if he had
+been a prince of the blood; but after him came a throng of nobles,
+consisting of the Earl of Pembroke, high chamberlain; the Duke of
+Richmond, master of the household; the Earl of Nottingham, lord high
+admiral; Viscount Brackley, Lord Howard of Effingham, Lord Zouche,
+president of Wales; with the Lords Knollys, Mordaunt, Conipton, and Grey
+of Groby. One or two of the noblemen seemed inclined to question Richard
+as to what had passed between him and the King; but the young man's
+reserved and somewhat stern manner deterred them. Next came the three
+judges, Doddridge, Crooke, and Hoghton, whose countenances wore an
+enforced gravity; for if any faith could be placed in rubicund cheeks
+and portly persons, they were not indisposed to self-indulgence and
+conviviality. After the judges came the Bishop of Chester, the King's
+chaplain, who had officiated on the present occasion, and who was in his
+full pontifical robes. He was accompanied by the lord of the mansion,
+Sir Richard Hoghton, a hale handsome man between fifty and sixty, with
+silvery hair and beard, a robust but commanding person, a fresh
+complexion, and features, by no means warranting, from any marked
+dissimilarity to those of his son, the King's scandalous jest.
+
+A crowd of baronets and knights succeeded, including Sir Arthur Capel,
+Sir Thomas Brudenell, Sir Edward Montague, Sir Edmund Trafford, sheriff
+of the county, Sir Edward Mosley, and Sir Ralph Assheton. The latter
+looked grave and anxious, and, as he passed his relatives, said in a low
+tone to Richard--
+
+"I am told Alizon is to be here to-day. Is it so?"
+
+"She is," replied the young man; "but why do you ask? Is she in danger?
+If so, let her be warned against coming."
+
+"On no account," replied Sir Ralph; "that would only increase the
+suspicion already attaching to her. No; she must face the danger, and I
+hope will be able to avert it."
+
+"But what _is_ the danger?" asked Richard. "In Heaven's name, speak more
+plainly."
+
+"I cannot do so now," replied Sir Ralph. "We will take counsel together
+anon. Her enemies are at work; and, if you tarry here a few minutes
+longer, you will understand whom I mean."
+
+And he passed on.
+
+A large crowd now poured indiscriminately out of the chapel and amongst
+it Nicholas perceived many of his friends and neighbours, Mr. Townley of
+Townley Park, Mr. Parker of Browsholme, Mr. Shuttleworth of Gawthorpe,
+Sir Thomas Metcalfe, and Roger Nowell. With the latter was Master Potts,
+and Richard was then at no loss to understand against whom Sir Ralph had
+warned him. A fierce light blazed in Roger Nowell's keen eyes as he
+first remarked the two Asshetons, and a smile of gratified vengeance
+played about his lips; but he quelled the fire in a moment, and,
+compressing his hard mouth more closely, bowed coldly and ceremoniously
+to them. Metcalfe did the same. Not so Master Potts. Halting for a
+moment, he said, with a spiteful look, "Look to yourself, Master
+Nicholas; and you too, Master Richard. A day of reckoning is coming for
+both of you."
+
+And with this he sprang nimbly after his client.
+
+"What means the fellow?" cried Nicholas. "But that we are here, as it
+were, in the precincts of a palace, I would after him and cudgel him
+soundly for his insolence."
+
+"And wha's that ye'd be after dinging, man?" cried a sharp voice behind
+him. "No that puir feckless body that has jist skippit aff. If sae,
+ye'll tak the wrang soo by the lugg, and I counsel you to let him bide,
+for he's high i' favour wi' the King."
+
+Turning at this address, Nicholas recognised the king's jester, Archie
+Armstrong, a merry little knave, with light blue eyes, long yellow hair
+hanging about his ears, and a sandy beard. There was a great deal of
+mother wit about Archie, and quite as much shrewdness as folly. He wore
+no distinctive dress as jester--the bauble and coxcomb having been long
+discontinued--but was simply clad in the royal livery.
+
+"And so Master Potts is in favour with his Majesty, eh, Archie?" asked
+the squire, hoping to obtain some information from him.
+
+"And sae war you the day efore yesterday, when you hunted at
+Myerscough," replied the jester.
+
+"But how have I forfeited the King's good opinion?" asked Nicholas.
+"Come, you are a good fellow, Archie, and will tell me."
+
+"Dinna think to fleech me, man," replied the jester, cunningly.--"I ken
+what I ken, and that's mair than you'll get frae me wi' a' your
+speering. The King's secrets are safe wi' Archie--and for a good reason,
+that he is never tauld them. You're a gude huntsman, and sae is his
+Majesty; but there's ae kind o' game he likes better than anither, and
+that's to be found maistly i' these pairts--I mean witches, and sic like
+fearfu' carlines. We maun hae the country rid o' them, and that's what
+his Majesty intends, and if you're a wise man you'll lend him a helping
+hand. But I maun in to disjune."
+
+And with this the jester capered off, leaving Nicholas like one
+stupefied. He was roused, however, by a smart slap on the shoulder from
+Sir John Finett.
+
+"What! pondering over the masque, Master Nicholas, or thinking of the
+petition you have to present to his Majesty?" cried the master of the
+ceremonies, "Let neither trouble you. The one will be well played, I
+doubt not, and the other well received, I am sure, for I know the king's
+sentiments on the subject. But touching the dame, Master Nicholas--have
+you found one willing and able to take part in the masque?"
+
+"I have found several willing, Sir John," replied Nicholas; "but as to
+their ability that is another question. However, one of them may do as a
+make-shift. They are all in the base court, and shall wait on you when
+you please, and then you can make your election."
+
+"So far well," replied Finett; "it may be that we shall have Ben Jonson
+here to-day--rare Ben, the prince of poets and masque-writers. Sir
+Richard Hoghton expects him. Ben is preparing a masque for Christmas, to
+be called 'The Vision of Delight,' in which his highness the prince is
+to be a principal actor, and some verses which have been recited to me
+are amongst the daintiest ever indited by the bard."
+
+"It will be a singular pleasure to me to see him," said Nicholas; "for I
+hold Ben Jonson in the highest esteem as a poet--ay, above them all,
+unless it be Will Shakspeare."
+
+"Ay, you do well to except Shakspeare," rejoined Sir John Finett. "Great
+as Ben Jonson is, and for wit and learning no man surpasses him, he is
+not to be compared with Shakspeare, who for profound knowledge of
+nature, and of all the highest qualities of dramatic art, is
+unapproachable. But ours is a learned court, Master Nicholas, and
+therefore we have a learned poet; but a right good fellow is Ben Jonson,
+and a boon companion, though somewhat prone to sarcasm, as you will find
+if you drink with him. Over his cups he will rail at courts and
+courtiers in good set terms, I promise you, and I myself have come in
+for his gibes. However, I love him none the less for his quips, for I
+know it is his humour to utter them, and so overlook what in another and
+less deserving person I should assuredly resent. But is not that young
+man, who is now going forth, your cousin, Richard Assheton? I thought
+so. The King has had a strange tale whispered in his ear, that the youth
+has been bewitched by a maiden--Alizon Nutter, I think she is named--of
+whom he is enamoured. I know not what truth may be in the charge, but
+the youth himself seems to warrant it, for he looks ghastly ill. A
+letter was sent to his Majesty at Myerscough, communicating this and
+certain other particulars with which I am not acquainted; but I know
+they relate to some professors of the black art in your country, the
+soil of which seems favourable to the growth of such noxious weeds, and
+at first he was much disturbed by it, but in the end decided that both
+parties should be brought hither without being made aware of his design,
+that he might see and judge for himself in the matter. Accordingly a
+messenger was sent over to Middleton Hall as from Sir Richard Hoghton,
+inviting the whole family to the Tower, and giving Sir Richard Assheton
+to understand it was the King's pleasure he should bring with him a
+certain young damsel, named Alizon Nutter, of whom mention had been made
+to him. Sir Richard had no choice but to obey, and promised compliance
+with his Majesty's injunctions. An officer, however, was left on the
+watch, and this very morning reported to his Majesty that young Richard
+Assheton had already set out with the intention of going to Preston, but
+had passed the night at Walton-le-Dale, and that Sir Richard, his
+daughter Dorothy, and Alizon Nutter, would be here before noon."
+
+"His Majesty has laid his plans carefully," replied Nicholas, "and I can
+easily conjecture from whom he received the information, which is as
+false as it is malicious. But are you aware, Sir John, upon what
+evidence the charge is supported--for mere suspicion is not enough?"
+
+"In cases of witchcraft suspicion _is_ enough," replied the knight,
+gravely. "Slender proofs are required. The girl is the daughter of a
+notorious witch--that is against her. The young man is ailing--that is
+against her, too. But a witness, I believe, will be produced, though who
+I cannot say."
+
+"Gracious Heaven! what wickedness there must be in the world when such a
+charge can be brought against one so good and so unoffending," cried
+Nicholas. "A maiden more devout than Alizon never existed, nor one
+holding the crime she is charged with in greater abhorrence. She injure
+Richard! she would lay down her life for him--and would have been his
+wife, but for scruples the most delicate and disinterested on her part.
+But we will establish her innocence before his Majesty, and confound her
+enemies."
+
+"It is with that hope that I have given you this information, sir, of
+which I am sure you will make no improper use," replied Sir John. "I
+have heard a similar character to that you have given of Alizon, and am
+unwilling she should fall a victim to art or malice. Be upon your guard,
+too, Master Nicholas; for other investigations will take place at the
+same time, and some matters may come forth in which you are concerned.
+The King's arms are long, and reach and strike far--and his eyes see
+clearly when not hoodwinked--or when other people see for him. And now,
+good sir, you must want breakfast. Here Faryngton," he added to an
+attendant, "show Master Nicholas Assheton to his lodging in the base
+court, and attend upon him as if he were your master. I will come for
+you, sir, when it is time to present the petition to the King."
+
+So saying, he bowed and walked forth, turning into the upper quadrangle,
+while Nicholas followed Faryngton into the lower court, where he found
+his friends waiting for him.
+
+Speedily ascertaining where their lodgings were situated, Faryngton led
+them to a building on the left, almost opposite to the great bonfire,
+and, ascending a flight of steps, ushered them into a commodious and
+well-furnished room, looking into the court. This done, he disappeared,
+but soon afterwards returned with two yeomen of the kitchen, one
+carrying a tray of provisions upon his head, and the other sustaining a
+basket of wine under his arm, and a snowy napkin being laid upon the
+table, trenchers viands, and flasks were soon arranged in very tempting
+order--so tempting, indeed, that the squire, notwithstanding his
+assertion, that his appetite had been taken away, fell to work with his
+customary vigour, and plied a flask of excellent Bordeaux so
+incessantly, that another had to be placed before him. Sherborne did
+equal justice to the good cheer, and Richard not only forced himself to
+eat, but to the squire's great surprise swallowed more than one deep
+draught of wine. Having thus administered to the wants of the guests,
+and seeing his presence was no longer either necessary or desired,
+Faryngton vanished, first promising to go and see that all was got ready
+for them in the sleeping apartments. Notwithstanding the man's civility,
+there was an over-officiousness about him that made Nicholas suspect he
+was placed over them by Sir John Finett to watch their movements, and he
+resolved to be upon his guard.
+
+"I am glad to see you drink, lad," he observed to Richard, as soon as
+they were alone; "a cup of wine will do you good."
+
+"Do you think so?" replied Richard, filling his goblet anew. "I want to
+get back my spirits and strength--to sustain myself no matter how--to
+look well--ha! ha! If I can only make this frail machine carry me
+stoutly through the King's visit, I care not how soon it falls to pieces
+afterwards."
+
+"I see your motive, Dick," replied Nicholas. "You hope to turn away
+suspicion from Alizon by this device; but you must not go to excess, or
+you will defeat your scheme."
+
+"I will do something to convince the King he is mistaken in me--that I
+am not bewitched," cried Richard, rising and striding across the room.
+"Bewitched! and by Alizon, too! I could laugh at the charge, but that it
+is too horrible. Had any other than the King breathed it, I would have
+slain him."
+
+"His Majesty has been abused by the malice of that knavish attorney,
+Potts, who has always manifested the greatest hostility towards Alizon,"
+said Nicholas; "but he will not prevail, for she has only to show
+herself to dispel all prejudice."
+
+"You are right, Nicholas," cried Richard; "and yet the King seems
+already to have prejudged her, and his obstinacy may lead to her
+destruction."
+
+"Speak not so loudly, Dick, in Heaven's name!" said the squire, in
+alarm; "these walls may have ears, and echoes may repeat every word you
+utter."
+
+"Then let them tell the King that Alizon is innocent," cried Richard,
+stopping, and replenishing his goblet, "Here's to her health, and
+confusion to her enemies!"
+
+"I'll drink that toast with pleasure, Dick," replied the squire; "but I
+must forbid you more wine. You are not used to it, and the fumes will
+mount to your brain."
+
+"Come and sit down beside us, that we may talk," said Sherborne.
+
+Richard obeyed, and, leaning over the table, asked in a low deep tone,
+"Where is Mistress Nutter, Nicholas?"
+
+The squire looked towards the door before he answered, and then said--
+
+"I will tell you. After the destruction of Malkin Tower and the band of
+robbers, she was taken to a solitary hut near Barley Booth, at the foot
+of Pendle Hill, and the next day was conveyed across Bowland Forest to
+Poulton in the Fyld, on the borders of Morecambe Bay, with the intention
+of getting her on board some vessel bound for the Isle of Man.
+Arrangements were made for this purpose; but when the time came, she
+refused to go, and was brought secretly back to the hut near Barley,
+where she has been ever since, though her place of concealment was
+hidden even from you and her daughter."
+
+"The captain of the robbers, Fogg or Demdike, escaped--did he not?" said
+Richard.
+
+"Ay, in the confusion occasioned by the blowing up of the Tower he
+managed to get away," replied Nicholas, "and we were unable to follow
+him, as our attentions had to be bestowed upon Mistress Nutter. This was
+the more unlucky, as through his instrumentality Jem and his mother
+Elizabeth were liberated from the dungeon in which they were placed in
+Whalley Abbey, prior to their removal to Lancaster Castle, and none of
+them have been heard of since."
+
+"And I hope will never be heard of again," cried Richard. "But is
+Mistress Nutter's retreat secure, think you?--May it not be discovered
+by some of Nowell's emissaries?"
+
+"I trust not," replied Nicholas; "but her voluntary surrender is more to
+be apprehended, for when I last saw her, on the night before starting
+for Myerscough, she told me she was determined to give herself up for
+trial; and her motives could scarce be combated, for she declares that,
+unless she submits herself to the justice of man, and expiates her
+offences, she cannot be saved. She now seems as resolute in good as she
+was heretofore resolute in evil."
+
+"If she perishes thus, her self-sacrifice, for thus it becomes, will be
+Alizon's death-blow," cried Richard.
+
+"So I told her," replied Nicholas--"but she continued inflexible. 'I am
+born to be the cause of misery to others, and most to those I love
+most,' she said; 'but I cannot fly from justice. There is no escape for
+me.'"
+
+"She is right," cried Richard; "there is no escape but the grave,
+whither we are all three hurrying. A terrible fatality attaches to us."
+
+"Nay, say not so, Dick," rejoined Nicholas; "you are young, and, though
+this shock may be severe, yet when it is passed, you will be
+recompensed, I hope, by many years of happiness."
+
+"I am not to be deceived," said Richard. "Look me in the face, and say
+honestly if you think me long-lived. You cannot do it. I have been
+smitten by a mortal illness, and am wasting gradually away. I am
+dying--I feel it--know it; but though it may abridge my brief term of
+life, I will purchase present health and spirits at any cost, and save
+Alizon. Ah!" he exclaimed, putting his hand to his heart, with a fearful
+expression of anguish. "What is the matter?" cried the two gentlemen,
+greatly alarmed, and springing towards him.
+
+But the young man could not reply. Another and another agonising spasm
+shook his frame, and cold damps broke out upon his pallid brow, showing
+the intensity of his suffering. Nicholas and Sherborne regarded each
+other anxiously, as if doubtful how to act.
+
+"Shall I summon assistance?" said the latter in a low tone. But, softly
+as the words were uttered, they reached the ears of Richard. Rousing
+himself by a great effort, he said--
+
+"On no account--the fit is over. I am glad it has seized me now, for I
+shall not be liable to a recurrence of it throughout the day. Lead me to
+the window. The air will presently revive me."
+
+His friends complied with the request, and placed him at the open
+casement.
+
+Great bustle was observable below, and the cause was soon manifest, as
+the chief huntsman, clad in green, with buff boots drawn high up on the
+thigh, a horn about his neck, and mounted on a strong black curtal, rode
+forth from the stables. He was attended by a noble bloodhound, and on
+gaining the middle of the court, put his bugle to his lips, and blew a
+loud blithe call that made the walls ring again. The summons was
+immediately answered by a number of grooms and pages, leading a
+multitude of richly-caparisoned horses towards the upper end of the
+court, where a gallant troop of dames, nobles, and gentlemen, all
+attired for the chase, awaited them; and where, amidst much mirth, and
+bandying of lively jest and compliment, a general mounting took place,
+the ladies, of course, being placed first on their steeds. While this
+was going forward, the hounds were brought from the kennel in
+couples--relays having been sent down into the park more than an hour
+before--and the yard resounded with their joyous baying, and the
+neighing of the impatient steeds. By this time, also, the chief huntsman
+had collected his forces, consisting of a dozen prickers, six habited
+like himself in green, and six in russet, and all mounted on stout
+curtals. Those in green were intended to hunt the hart, and those in
+russet the wild-boar, the former being provided with hunting-poles, and
+the latter with spears. Their girdles were well lined with beef and
+pudding, and each of them, acting upon the advice of worthy Master
+George Turbervile, had a stone bottle of good wine at the pummel of his
+saddle. Besides these, there were a whole host of varlets of the chase
+on foot. The chief falconer, with a long-winged hawk in her hood and
+jesses upon his wrist, was stationed somewhat near the gateway, and
+close to him were his attendants, each having on his fist a falcon
+gentle, a Barbary falcon, a merlin, a goshawk, or a sparrowhawk. Thus
+all was in readiness, and hound, hawk, and man seemed equally impatient
+for the sport.
+
+At this juncture, the door was thrown open by Faryngton, who announced
+Sir John Finett.
+
+"It is time, Master Nicholas Assheton," said the master of the
+ceremonies.
+
+"I am ready to attend you, Sir John," replied Nicholas, taking a
+parchment from his doublet, and unfolding it, "the petition is well
+signed."
+
+"So I see, sir," replied the knight, glancing at it. "Will not your
+friends come with you?"
+
+"Most assuredly," replied Richard, who had risen on the knight's
+appearance. And he followed the others down the staircase.
+
+By direction of the master of the ceremonies, nearly a hundred of the
+more important gentlemen of the county had been got together, and this
+train was subsequently swelled to thrice the amount, from the accessions
+it received from persons of inferior rank when its object became known.
+At the head of this large assemblage Nicholas was now placed, and,
+accompanied by Sir John Finett, who gave the word to the procession to
+follow them, he moved slowly up the court. Passing through the brilliant
+crowd of equestrians, the procession halted at a short distance from the
+doorway of the great hall, and James, who had been waiting for its
+approach within, now came forth, amid the cheers and plaudits of the
+spectators.
+
+Sir John Finett then led Nicholas forward, and the latter, dropping on
+one knee, said--
+
+"May it please your Majesty, I hold in my hand a petition, signed as, if
+you will deign to cast your eyes over it, you will perceive, by many
+hundreds of the lower orders of your loving subjects in this your county
+of Lancaster, representing that they are debarred from lawful
+recreations upon Sunday after afternoon service, and upon holidays, and
+praying that the restrictions imposed in 1579, by the Earls of Derby and
+Huntingdon, and by William, Bishop of Chester, commissioners to her late
+Highness, Elizabeth, of glorious memory, your Majesty's predecessor, may
+be withdrawn."
+
+And with this he placed in the King's hands the petition, which Was very
+graciously received.
+
+"The complaint of our loving subjects in Lancashire shall not pass
+unnoticed, sir," said James. "Sorry are we to say it, but this county
+of ours is sair infested wi' folk inclining to Puritanism and Papistry,
+baith of which sects are adverse to the cause of true religion. Honest
+mirth is not only tolerable but praiseworthy, and the prohibition of it
+is likely to breed discontent, and this our enemies ken fu' weel; for
+when," he continued, loudly and emphatically--"when shall the common
+people have leave to exercise if not upon Sundays and holidays, seeing
+they must labour and win their living on all other days?"
+
+"Your Majesty speaks like King Solomon himself," observed Nicholas, amid
+the loud cheering.
+
+"Our will and pleasure then is," pursued James, "that our good people be
+not deprived of any lawful recreation that shall not tend to a breach of
+the laws, or a violation of the Kirk; but that, after the end of divine
+service, they shall not be disturbed, letted, or discouraged from, any
+lawful recreation--as dancing and sic like, either of men or women,
+archery, leaping, vaulting, or ony ither harmless recreation; nor frae
+the having of May-games, Whitsun ales, or morris dancing; nor frae
+setting up of May-poles, and ither sports, therewith used, provided the
+same be had in due and convenient time, without impediment or neglect of
+divine service. And our will further is, that women shall have leave to
+carry rushes to the church, for the decoring of it, according to auld
+custom. But we prohibit all unlawful games on Sundays, as bear-baiting
+and bull-baiting, interludes, and, by the common folk--mark ye that,
+sir--playing at bowls."[3]
+
+The royal declaration was received with loud and reiterated cheers,
+amidst which James mounted his steed, a large black docile-looking
+charger, and rode out of the court, followed by the whole cavalcade.
+
+Trumpets were sounded from the battlements as he passed through the
+gateway, and shouting crowds attended him all the way down the hill,
+until he entered the avenue leading to the park.
+
+At the conclusion of the royal address, the procession headed by
+Nicholas immediately dispersed, and such as meant to join the chase set
+off in quest of steeds. Foremost amongst these was the squire himself,
+and on approaching the stables, he was glad to find Richard and
+Sherborne already mounted, the former holding his horse by the bridle,
+so that he had nothing to do but vault upon his back. There was an
+impatience about Richard, very different from his ordinary manner, that
+surprised and startled him, and the expression of the young man's
+countenance long afterwards haunted him. The face was deathly pale,
+except that on either cheek burned a red feverish spot, and the eyes
+blazed with unnatural light. So much was the squire struck by his
+cousin's looks, that he would have dissuaded him from going forth; but
+he saw from his manner that the attempt would fail, while a significant
+gesture from his brother-in-law told him he was equally uneasy.
+
+Scarcely had the principal nobles passed through the gateway, than, in
+spite of all efforts to detain him, Richard struck spurs into his horse,
+and dashed amidst the cavalcade, creating great disorder, and rousing
+the ire of the Earl of Pembroke, to whom the marshalling of the train
+was entrusted. But Richard paid little heed to his wrath, and perhaps
+did not hear the angry expressions addressed to him; for no sooner was
+he outside the gate, than instead of pursuing the road down which the
+King was proceeding, and which has been described as hewn out of the
+rock, he struck into a thicket on the right, and, in defiance of all
+attempts to stop him, and at the imminent risk of breaking his neck,
+rode down the precipitous sides of the hill, and reaching the bottom in
+safety, long before the royal cavalcade had attained the same point,
+took the direction of the park.
+
+His friends watched him commence this perilous descent in dismay; but,
+though much alarmed, they were unable to follow him.
+
+"Poor lad! I am fearful he has lost his senses," said Sherborne.
+
+"He is what the King would call 'fey,' and not long for this world,"
+replied Nicholas, shaking his head.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.--HOW KING JAMES HUNTED THE HART AND THE WILD-BOAR IN
+HOGHTON PARK.
+
+
+Galloping on fast and furiously, Richard tracked a narrow path of
+greensward, lying between the tall trees composing the right line of the
+avenue and the adjoining wood. Within it grew many fine old thorns,
+diverting him now and then from his course, but he still held on until
+he came within a short distance of the chase, when his attention was
+caught by a very singular figure. It was an old man, clad in a robe of
+coarse brown serge, with a cowl drawn partly over his head, a rope
+girdle like that used by a cordelier, sandal shoon, and a venerable
+white beard descending to his waist. The features of the hermit, for
+such he seemed, were majestic and benevolent. Seated on a bank overgrown
+with wild thyme, beneath the shade of a broad-armed elm, he appeared so
+intently engaged in the perusal of a large open volume laid on his
+knee, that he did not notice Richard's approach. Deeply interested,
+however, by his appearance, the young man determined to address him,
+and, reining in his horse, said respectfully, "Save you, father!"
+
+"Pass on, my son," replied the old man, without raising his eyes, "and
+hinder not my studies."
+
+But Richard would not be thus dismissed.
+
+"Perchance you are not aware, father," he said, "that the King is about
+to hunt within the park this morning. The royal cavalcade has already
+left Hoghton Tower, and will be here ere many minutes."
+
+"The king and his retinue will pass along the broad avenue, as you
+should have done, and not through this retired road," replied the
+hermit. "They will not disturb me."
+
+"I would fain know the subject of your studies, father?" inquired
+Richard.
+
+"You are inquisitive, young man," returned the hermit, looking up and
+fixing a pair of keen grey eyes upon him. "But I will satisfy your
+curiosity, if by so doing I shall rid me of your presence. I am reading
+the Book of Fate."
+
+Richard uttered an exclamation of astonishment.
+
+"And in it your destiny is written," pursued the old man; "and a sad one
+it is. Consumed by a strange and incurable disease, which may at any
+moment prove fatal, you are scarcely likely to survive the next three
+days, in which case she you love better than existence will perish
+miserably, being adjudged to have destroyed you by witchcraft."
+
+"It must indeed be the Book of Fate that tells you this," cried Richard,
+springing from his horse, and approaching close to the old man. "May I
+cast eyes upon it?"
+
+"No, my son," replied the old man, closing the volume. "You would not
+comprehend the mystic characters--but no eye, except my own, must look
+upon them. What is written will be fulfilled. Again, I bid you pass on.
+I must speedily return to my hermit cell in the forest."
+
+"May I attend you thither, father?" asked Richard.
+
+"To what purpose?" rejoined the old man. "You have not many hours of
+life. Go, then, and pass them in the fierce excitement of the chase.
+Pull down the lordly stag--slaughter the savage boar; and, as you see
+the poor denizens of the forest perish, think that your own end is not
+far off. Hark! Do you hear that boding cry?"
+
+"It is the croak of a raven newly alighted in the tree above us,"
+replied Richard. "The sagacious bird will ever attend the huntsman in
+the chase, in the hope of obtaining a morsel when they break up deer."
+
+"Such is the custom of the bird I wot well," said the old man; "but it
+is not in joyous expectation of the raven's-bone that he croaks now,
+but because his fell instinct informs him that the living-dead is
+beneath him."
+
+And, as if in answer to the remark, the raven croaked exultingly; and,
+rising from the tree, wheeled in a circle above them.
+
+"Is there no way of averting my terrible destiny, father?" cried
+Richard, despairingly.
+
+"Ay, if you choose to adopt it," replied the old man. "When I said your
+ailment was incurable, I meant by ordinary remedies, but it will yield
+to such as I alone can employ. The malignant and fatal influence under
+which you labour may be removed, and then your instant restoration to
+health and vigour will follow."
+
+"But how, father--how?" cried Richard, eagerly.
+
+"You have simply to sign your name in this book," rejoined the hermit,
+"and what you desire shall be done. Here is a pen," he added, taking one
+from his girdle.
+
+"But the ink?" cried Richard.
+
+"Prick your arm with your dagger, and dip the pen in the blood," replied
+the old man. "That will suffice."
+
+"And what follows if I sign?" demanded Richard, staring at him.
+
+"Your instant cure. I will give you to drink of a wondrous elixir."
+
+"But to what do I bind myself?" asked Richard.
+
+"To serve me," replied the hermit, smiling; "but it is a light service,
+and only involves your appearance in this wood once a-year. Are you
+agreed?"
+
+"I know not," replied the young man distractedly.
+
+"You must make up your mind speedily," said the hermit; "for I hear the
+approach of the royal cavalcade."
+
+And as he spoke, the mellow notes of a bugle, followed by the baying of
+hounds, the jingling of bridles, and the trampling of a large troop of
+horse, were heard at a short distance down the avenue.
+
+"Tell me who you are?" cried Richard.
+
+"I am the hermit of the wood," replied the old man. "Some people call me
+Hobthurst, and some by other names, but you will have no difficulty in
+finding me out. Look yonder!" he added, pointing through the trees.
+
+And, glancing in the direction indicated, Richard beheld a small party
+on horseback advancing across the plain, consisting of his father, his
+sister, and Alizon, with their attendants.
+
+"'Tis she!--'tis she!" he cried.
+
+"Can you hesitate, when it is to save _her_?" demanded the old man.
+
+"Heaven help me, or I am lost!" fervently ejaculated Richard, gazing on
+high while making the appeal.
+
+When he looked down again the old man was gone, and he saw only a large
+black snake gliding off among the bushes. Muttering a few words of
+thankfulness for his deliverance, he sprang upon his horse.
+
+"It may be the arch-tempter is right," he cried, "and that but few hours
+of life remain to me; but if so, they shall be employed in endeavours to
+vindicate Alizon, and defeat the snares by which she is beset."
+
+With this resolve, he struck spurs into his horse, and set off in the
+direction of the little troop. Before, however, he could come up to
+them, their progress was arrested by a pursuivant, who, riding in
+advance of the royal cavalcade, motioned them to stay till it had
+passed, and the same person also perceiving Richard's purpose, called to
+him, authoritatively, to keep back. The young man might have disregarded
+the injunction, but at the same moment the King himself appeared at the
+head of the avenue, and remarking Richard, who was not more than fifty
+yards off on the right, instantly recognised him, and shouted out, "Come
+hither, young man--come hither!"
+
+Thus, baffled in his design, Richard was forced to comply, and,
+uncovering his head, rode slowly towards the monarch. As he approached,
+James fixed on him a glance of sharpest scrutiny.
+
+"Odds life! ye hae been ganging a fine gait, young sir," he cried. "Ye
+maun be demented to ride down a hill i' that fashion, and as if your
+craig war of nae account. It's weel ye hae come aff scaithless. Are ye
+tired o' life--or was it the muckle deil himsel' that drove ye on? Canna
+ye find an excuse, man? Nay, then, I'll gi'e ye ane. The loadstane will
+draw nails out of a door, and there be lassies wi' een strang as
+loadstanes, that drag men to their perdition. Stands the magnet yonder,
+eh?" he added, glancing towards the little group before them. "Gude
+faith! the lass maun be a potent witch to exercise sic influence, and we
+wad fain see the effect she has on you when near. Sir Richard Hoghton,"
+he called out to the knight, who rode a few paces behind him, "we pray
+you present Sir Richard Assheton and his daughter to us."
+
+Had he dared so to do, Richard would have thrown himself at the King's
+feet, but all he could venture upon was to say in a low earnest tone,
+"Do not prejudge Alizon, sire. On my soul she is innocent!"
+
+"The King prejudges nae man," replied James, in a tone of rebuke; "and
+like the wise prince of Israel, whom it is his wish to resemble, he sees
+with his ain een, and hears with his ain ears, afore he forms
+conclusions."
+
+"That is all I can desire, sire," replied Richard. "Far be it from me to
+doubt your majesty's discrimination or love of justice."
+
+"Ye shall hae proofs of baith, man, afore we hae done," said James. "Ah!
+here comes our host, an the twa lassies wi' him. She wi' the lintwhite
+locks is your sister, we guess, and the ither is Alizon--and, by our
+troth, a weel-faur'd lass. But Satan is aye delusive. We maun resist his
+snares."
+
+The party now came on, and were formally presented to the monarch by Sir
+Richard Hoghton. Sir Richard Assheton, a middle-aged gentleman, with
+handsome features, though somewhat haughty in expression, and stately
+deportment, was very graciously received, and James thought fit to pay a
+few compliments to Dorothy, covertly regarding Alizon the while, yet not
+neglecting Richard, being ready to intercept any signal that should pass
+between them. None, however, was attempted, for the young man felt he
+should only alarm and embarrass Alizon by any attempt to caution her,
+and he therefore endeavoured to assume an unconcerned aspect and
+demeanour.
+
+"We hae heard the beauty of the Lancashire lassies highly commended,"
+said the King; "but, faith! it passes expectation. Twa lovelier damsels
+than these we never beheld. Baith are rare specimens o' Nature's
+handiwark."
+
+"Your Majesty is pleased to be complimentary," rejoined Sir Richard
+Assheton.
+
+"Na, Sir Richard," returned James. "We arena gien to flichtering, though
+aften beflummed oursel'. Baith are bonnie lassies, we repeat. An sae
+this is Alizon Nutter--it wad be Ailsie in our ain Scottish tongue, to
+which your Lancashire vernacular closely approximates, Sir Richard.
+Aweel, fair Alizon," he added, eyeing her narrowly, "ye hae lost your
+mither, we understand?"
+
+The young girl was not discomposed by this question, but answered in a
+firm, melancholy tone--"Your Majesty, I fear, is too well acquainted
+with my unfortunate mother's history."
+
+"Aweel, we winna deny having heard somewhat to her disadvantage,"
+replied the King--"but your ain looks gang far to contradict the
+reports, fair maid."
+
+"Place no faith in them then, sire," replied Alizon, sadly.
+
+"Eh! what!--then you admit your mother's guilt?" cried the King,
+sharply.
+
+"I neither admit it nor deny it, sire," she replied. "It must be for
+your Majesty to judge her."
+
+"Weel answered," muttered James,--"but I mustna forget, that the deil
+himsel' can quote Scripture to serve his purpose. But you hold in
+abhorrence the crime laid to your mother's charge--eh?" he added aloud.
+
+"In utter abhorrence," replied Alizon.
+
+"Gude--vera gude," rejoined the King. "But, entertaining this feeling,
+how conies it you screen so heinous an offender frae justice? Nae
+natural feeling should be allowed to weigh in sic a case."
+
+"Nor should it, sire, with me," replied Alizon--"because I believe my
+poor mother's eternal welfare would be best consulted if she underwent
+temporal punishment. Neither is she herself anxious to avoid it."
+
+"Then why does she keep out of the way--why does she not surrender
+herself?" cried the King.
+
+"Because--" and Alizon stopped.
+
+"Because what?" demanded James.
+
+"Pardon me, sire, I must decline answering further questions on the
+subject," replied Alizon. "Whatever concerns myself or my mother alone,
+I will state freely, but I cannot compromise others."
+
+"Aha! then there are others concerned in it?" cried James. "We thought
+as much. We will interrogate you further hereafter--but a word mair. We
+trust ye are devout, and constant in your religious exercises, damsel."
+
+"I will answer for that, sire," interposed Sir Richard Assheton.
+"Alizon's whole time is spent in prayer for her unfortunate mother. If
+there be a fault it is that she goes too far, and injures her health by
+her zeal."
+
+"A gude fault that, Sir Richard," observed the King, approvingly.
+
+"It beseems me not to speak of myself, sire," said Alizon, "and I am
+loth to do so--but I beseech your majesty to believe, that if my life
+might be offered as an atonement for my mother, I would freely yield
+it."
+
+"I' gude faith she staggers me in my opinion," muttered James, "and I
+maun look into the matter mair closely. The lass is far different frae
+what I imagined her. But the wiles o' Satan arena to be comprehended,
+and he will put on the semblance of righteousness when seeking to
+beguile the righteous. Aweel, damsel," he added aloud, "ye speak
+feelingly and properly, and as a daughter should speak, and we respect
+your feelings--provided they be sic as ye represent them. And now
+dispose yourselves for the chase."
+
+"I must pray your Majesty to dismiss me," said Alizon. "It is a sight in
+which at any time I take small pleasure, and now it is especially
+distasteful to me. With your permission, I will proceed to Hoghton
+Tower."
+
+"I also crave your Majesty's leave to go with her," said Dorothy.
+
+"I will attend them," interposed Richard.
+
+"Na, you maun stay wi' us, young sir," cried the King. "Your gude father
+will gang wi' 'em. Sir John Finett," he added, calling to the master of
+the ceremonies, and speaking in his ear, "see that they be followed, and
+that a special watch be kept over Alizon, and also over this
+youth,--d'ye mark me?--in fact, ower a' the Assheton clan. And now," he
+cried in a loud voice, "let them blaw the strake."
+
+The chief huntsman having placed the bugle to his lips, and blown a
+strike with two winds, a short consultation was held between him and
+James, who loved to display his knowledge as a woodsman; and while this
+was going forward, Nicholas and Sherborne having come up, the squire
+dismounted, and committing Robin to his brother-in-law, approached the
+monarch.
+
+"If I may be so bold as to put in a word, my liege," he said, "I can
+show you where a hart of ten is assuredly harboured. I viewed him as I
+rode through the park this morning, and cannot, therefore, be mistaken.
+His head is high and well palmed, great beamed and in good proportion,
+well burred and well pearled. He is stately in height, long, and well
+fed."
+
+"Did you mark the slot, sir?" inquired James.
+
+"I did, my liege," replied Nicholas. "And a long slot it was; the toes
+great, with round short joint-bones, large shin-bones, and the dew-claws
+close together. I will uphold him for a great old hart as ever
+proffered, and one that shall shew your Majesty rare sport."
+
+"And we'll tak your word for the matter, sir," said James; "for ye're as
+gude a woodman as any we hae in our dominions. Bring us to him, then."
+
+"Will it please your Majesty to ride towards yon glade?" said Nicholas,
+"and, before you reach it, the hart shall be roused."
+
+James, assenting to the arrangement, Nicholas sprang upon his steed,
+and, calling to the chief huntsman, they galloped off together,
+accompanied by the bloodhound, the royal cavalcade following somewhat
+more slowly in the same direction. A fair sight it was to see that
+splendid company careering over the plain, their feathered caps and gay
+mantles glittering in the sun, which shone brightly upon them. The
+morning was lovely, giving promise that the day, when further advanced,
+would be intensely hot, but at present it was fresh and delightful, and
+the whole company, exhilarated by the exercise, and by animated
+conversation, were in high spirits; and perhaps amongst the huge party,
+which numbered nearly three hundred persons, one alone was a prey to
+despair. But though Richard Assheton suffered thus internally, he bore
+his anguish with Spartan firmness, resolved, if possible, to let no
+trace of it be visible in his features or deportment; and he so far
+succeeded in conquering himself, that the King, who kept a watchful eye
+upon him, remarked to Sir John Finett as they rode along, that a
+singular improvement had taken place in the young man's appearance.
+
+The cavalcade was rapidly approaching the glade at the lower end of the
+chase, when the lively notes of a horn were heard from the adjoining
+wood, followed by the deep baying of a bloodhound.
+
+"Aha! they have roused him," cried the King, joyfully placing his own
+bugle to his lips, and sounding an answer. Upon this the whole company
+halted in anxious expectation, the hounds baying loudly. The next
+moment, a noble hart burst from the wood, whence he had been driven by
+the shouts of Nicholas and the chief huntsman, both of whom appeared
+immediately afterwards.
+
+"By my faith! a great hart as ever was hunted," exclaimed the King.
+"There boys, there! to him! to him!"
+
+Dashing after the flying hart, the hounds made the welkin ring with
+their cries. Many lovely damsels were there, but none thought of the
+cruelty of the sport--none sympathised with the noble animal they were
+running to death. The cries of the hounds--now loud and ringing--now
+deep and doling, accompanied by the whooping of the huntsmen, formed a
+stirring concert, which found a response in many a gentle bosom. The
+whole cavalcade was spread widely about, for none were allowed to ride
+near the King. Over the plain they scoured, fleet as the wind, and the
+hart seemed making for a fell, forming part of the hill near the
+mansion. But ere he reached it, the relays stationed within a covert
+burst forth, and, turning him aside, he once more dashed fleetly across
+the broad expanse, as if about to return to his old lair. Now he was
+seen plunging into some bosky dell; and, after being lost to view for a
+moment, bounding up the opposite bank, and stretching across a tract
+thickly covered with fern. Here he gained upon the hounds, who were lost
+in the green wilderness, and their cries were hushed for a brief
+space--but anon they burst forth anew, and the pack were soon again in
+full cry, and speeding over the open ground.
+
+At first the cavalcade had kept pretty well together, but on the return
+the case was very different; and many of the dames, being unable to keep
+up with the hounds, fell off, and, as a natural consequence, many of the
+gallants lingered behind, too. Thus only the keenest huntsmen held on.
+Amongst these, and about fifty yards behind the King, were Richard and
+Nicholas. The squire was right when he predicted that the hart would
+show them good sport. Plunging into the wood, the hard-pressed beast
+knocked up another stag, and took possession of his lair, but was
+speedily roused again by Nicholas and the chief huntsman. Once more he
+is crossing the wide plain, with hounds and huntsmen after him--once
+more he is turned by a new relay; but this time he shapes his course
+towards the woods skirting the Darwen. It is a piteous sight to see him
+now; his coat black and glistening with sweat, his mouth embossed with
+foam, his eyes dull, big tears coursing down his cheeks, and his noble
+head carried low. His end seems nigh--for the hounds, though weary too,
+redouble their energies, and the monarch cheers them on. Again the poor
+beast erects his head--if he can only reach yon coppice he is safe.
+Despair nerves him, and with gigantic bounds he clears the intervening
+space, and disappears beneath the branches. Quickly as the hounds come
+after him, they are at fault.
+
+"He has taken to the soil, sire," cried Nicholas coming up. "To the
+river--to the river! You may see by the broken branches he has gone this
+way."
+
+Forcing his way through the wood, James was soon on the banks of the
+Darwen, which here ran deep and slow. The hart was nowhere to be seen,
+nor was there any slot on the further side to denote that he had gone
+forth. It was evident, therefore, that he had swam down the stream. At
+this moment a shout was heard a hundred yards lower down, proceeding
+from Nicholas; and, riding in the direction of the sound, the King found
+the hart at bay on the further side of the stream, and nearly up to his
+haunches in the water. The King regarded him for a moment anxiously. The
+poor animal was now in his last extremity, but he seemed determined to
+sell his life dearly. He stood on a bank projecting into the stream,
+round which the water flowed deeply, and could not be approached without
+difficulty and danger. He had already gored several hounds, whose
+bleeding bodies were swept down the current; and, though the others
+bayed round him, they did not dare to approach him, and could not get
+behind him, as a high bank arose in his rear.
+
+"Have I your Majesty's permission to despatch him?" asked Nicholas.
+
+"Ay, marry, if you can, sir," replied James. "But 'ware the
+tynes!--'ware the tynes!--'If thou be hurt with hart it brings thee to
+thy bier,' as the auld ballad hath it, and the adage is true, as we
+oursel's have seen."
+
+Nicholas, however, heeded not the caution, but, drawing his wood-knife,
+and disencumbering himself of his cloak, he plunged into the stream, and
+with one or two strokes reached the bank. The hart watched his approach,
+as if divining his purpose, with a look half menacing, half reproachful,
+and when he came near, dashed his antlered head at him. Nimbly eluding
+the blow, which, if it had taken effect, might have proved serious,
+Nicholas plunged his weapon into the poor brute's throat, who instantly
+fell with a heavy splash into the water.
+
+"Weel stricken! weel stricken!" shouted James, who had witnessed the
+performance from the opposite bank. "But how shall we get the carcase
+here?"
+
+"That is easily done, sire," replied Nicholas. And taking hold of the
+horns, he guided the body to a low bank, a little below where the King
+stood.
+
+As soon as it was dragged ashore by the prickers, James put his bugle to
+his lips and blew a mort. A pryse was thrice sounded by Nicholas, and
+soon afterwards the whole company came flocking round the spot, whooping
+the death-note.
+
+Meanwhile, the hounds had gathered round the fallen hart, and were
+allowed to wreak their fury on him by tearing his throat, happily after
+sensibility was gone; while Nicholas, again baring his knife, cut off
+the right fore-foot, and presented it to the King. While this ceremony
+was performed, the varlets of the kennel having cut down a great heap of
+green branches, and strewn them on the ground, laid the hart upon them,
+on his back, and then bore him to an open space in the wood, where he
+was broken up by the King, who prided himself upon his skill in all
+matters of woodcraft. While this office was in course of execution a
+bowl of wine was poured out for the monarch, which he took, adverting,
+as he did so, to the common superstition, that if a huntsman should
+break up a deer without drinking, the venison would putrefy. Having
+drained the cup, he caused it to be filled again, and gave it to
+Nicholas, saying the liquor was needful to him after the drenching he
+had undergone. James then proceeded with his task, and just before he
+completed it, he was reminded, by a loud croak above him, that a raven
+was at hand, and accordingly taking a piece of gristle from the spoon of
+the brisket, he cast it on the ground, and the bird immediately pounced
+down upon it and carried it off in his huge beak.
+
+After a brief interval, the seek was again winded, another hart was
+roused, and after a short but swift chase, pulled down by the hounds,
+and dispatched with his own hand by James. Sir Richard Hoghton then
+besought the King to follow him, and led the way to a verdant hollow
+surrounded by trees, in which shady and delicious retreat preparations
+had been made for a slight silvan repast. Upon a mossy bank beneath a
+tree, a cushion was placed for the King, and before it on the sward was
+laid a cloth spread with many dainties, including
+
+          "Neats' tongues powder'd well, and jambons of the hog,
+           With sausages and savoury knacks to set men's minds agog"--
+
+cold capons, and pigeon pies. Close at hand was a clear cold spring, in
+which numerous flasks of wine were immersed. A few embers, too, had been
+lighted, on which carbonadoes of venison were prepared.
+
+No great form or ceremony was observed at the entertainment. Sir John
+Finett and Sir Thomas Hoghton were in close attendance upon the monarch,
+and ministered to his wants; but several of the nobles and gentlemen
+stretched themselves on the sward, and addressed themselves to the
+viands set before them by the pages. None of the dames dismounted, and
+few could be prevailed upon to take any refreshment. Besides the flasks
+of wine, there were two barrels of ale in a small cart, drawn by a mule,
+both of which were broached. The whole scene was picturesque and
+pleasing, and well calculated to gratify one so fond of silvan sports as
+the monarch for whom it was provided.
+
+In the midst of all this tranquillity and enjoyment an incident occurred
+which interrupted it as completely as if a thunder-storm had suddenly
+come on. Just when the mirth was at the highest, and when the flowing
+cup was at many a lip, a tremendous bellowing, followed by the crashing
+of branches, was heard in the adjoining thicket. All started to their
+feet at the appalling sound, and the King himself turned pale.
+
+"What in Heaven's name can it be, Sir Richard?" he inquired. "It must be
+a drove of wild cattle," replied the baronet, trembling.
+
+"Wild cattle!" ejaculated James, in great alarm; "and sae near us.
+Zounds! we shall be trampled and gored to death by these bulls of Basan.
+Sir Richard, ye are a fause traitor thus to endanger the safety o' your
+sovereign, and ye shall answer for it, if harm come o' it."
+
+"I am unable to account for it, sire," stammered the frightened baronet.
+"I gave special directions to the prickers to drive the beasts away."
+
+"Ye shouldna keep sic deevils i' your park, man," cried the monarch.
+"Eh! what's that?"
+
+Amidst all this consternation and confusion the bellowing was redoubled,
+and the crashing of branches drew nearer and nearer, and Nicholas
+Assheton rushed forward with the King's horse, saying, "Mount, sire;
+mount, and away!"
+
+But James was so much alarmed that his limbs refused to perform their
+office, and he was unable to put foot in the stirrup. Seeing his
+condition, Nicholas cried out, "Pardon, my liege; but at a moment of
+peril like the present, one must not stand on ceremony."
+
+So saying, he took the King round the waist, and placed him on his
+steed.
+
+At this juncture, a loud cry was heard, and a man in extremity of terror
+issued from the wood, and dashed towards the hollow. Close on his heels
+came the drove of wild cattle, and, just as he gained the very verge of
+the descent, the foremost of the herd overtook him, and lowering his
+curled head, caught him on the points of his horns, and threw him
+forwards to such a distance that he alighted with a heavy crash almost
+at the King's feet. Satisfied, apparently, with their vengeance, or
+alarmed by the numerous assemblage, the drove instantly turned tail and
+were pursued into the depths of the forest by the prickers.
+
+Having recovered his composure, James bade some of the attendants raise
+the poor wretch, who was lying groaning upon the ground, evidently so
+much injured as to be unable to move without assistance. His garb was
+that of a forester, and his bulk--for he was stoutly and squarely
+built--had contributed, no doubt, to the severity of the fall. When he
+was lifted from the ground, Nicholas instantly recognised in his
+blackened and distorted features those of Christopher Demdike.
+
+"What?" he exclaimed, rushing towards him. "Is it thou, villain?"
+
+The sufferer only replied by a look of intense malignity.
+
+"Eh! what--d'ye ken wha it is?" demanded James. "By my saul! I fear the
+puir fellow has maist of his banes broken."
+
+"No great matter if they be," replied Nicholas, "and it may save the
+application of torture in case your Majesty desires to put any question
+to him. Chance has most strangely thrown into your hands one of the most
+heinous offenders in the kingdom, who has long escaped justice, but who
+will at length meet the punishment of his crimes. The villain is
+Christopher Demdike, son of the foul hag who perished in the flames on
+the summit of Pendle Hill, and captain of a band of robbers."
+
+"What! is the knave a warlock and a riever?" demanded James, regarding
+Demdike with abhorrence, mingled with alarm.
+
+"Both, sire," replied Nicholas, "and an assassin to boot. He is a
+diabolical villain."
+
+"Let him be taken to Hoghton Tower, and kept in some strong and secure
+place till we have leisure to examine him," said James,--"and see that
+he be visited by some skilful chirurgeon, for we wadna hae him dee, and
+sae rob the woodie."
+
+Demdike, who appeared to be in great agony, now forced himself to speak.
+
+"I can make important disclosures to your Majesty," he said, in hoarse
+and broken tones, "if you will hear them. I am not the only offender who
+has escaped from justice," he added, glancing vindictively at
+Nicholas--"there is another, a notorious witch and murderess, who is
+still screened from justice. I can reveal her hiding-place."
+
+"Your Majesty will not give heed to such a villain's fabrications?" said
+Nicholas.
+
+"Are they fabrications, sir?" rejoined James, somewhat sharply. "We maun
+hear and judge. The snake, though scotched, will still bite, it seems.
+We hae hangit a Highland cateran without trial afore this, and we may be
+tempted to tak the law into our ain hands again. Bear the villain hence.
+See he be disposed of as already directed, and take good care he is
+strictly guarded. And now gie us a crossbow, Sir Richard Hoghton, and
+bid the prickers drive the deer afore us, for we wad try our skill as a
+marksman."
+
+And while Demdike was placed on the litter of green boughs which had
+recently sustained a nobler burthen in the fallen hart, and in this sort
+was conveyed to Hoghton Tower, James rode with his retinue towards a
+long glade, where, receiving a crossbow from the huntsman, he took up a
+favourable position behind a large oak, and several herds of deer being
+driven before him, he selected his quarries, and deliberately took aim
+at them, contriving in the course of an hour to bring down four fat
+bucks, and to maim as many others, which were pulled down by the hounds.
+And with this slaughter he was content.
+
+Sir Richard Hoghton then informed his Majesty that a huge boar, which,
+in sporting phrase, had left the sounder five years, had broken into the
+park the night before, and had been routing amongst the fern. The age
+and size of the animal were known by the print of the feet, the toes
+being round and thick, the edge of the hoof worn and blunt, the heel
+large, and the guards, or dew-claws, great and open, from all which
+appearances it was adjudged by the baronet to be "a great old boar, not
+to be refused."
+
+James at once agreed to hunt him, and the hounds being taken away, six
+couples of magnificent mastiffs, of the Lancashire breed, were brought
+forward, and the monarch, under the guidance of Sir Richard Hoghton and
+the chief huntsman, repaired to an adjoining thicket, in which the boar
+fed and couched.
+
+On arriving near his den, a boar-spear was given to the King, and the
+prickers advancing into the wood, presently afterwards reared the
+enormous brute. Sallying forth, and freaming furiously, he was instantly
+assailed by the mastiffs; but, notwithstanding the number of his
+assailants, he made light of them, shaking them from his bristly hide,
+crushing them beneath his horny feet, thrusting at them with his
+sharpened tusks, and committing terrible devastation among them.
+
+Repeated charges were made upon the savage animal by James, but it was
+next to impossible to get a blow at him for some time; and when at
+length the monarch made the attempt, he struck too low, and hit him on
+the snout, upon which the infuriated boar, finding himself wounded,
+sprang towards the horse, and ripped him open with his tusks.
+
+The noble charger instantly rolled over on his side, exposing the royal
+huntsman to the fury of his merciless assailant, whose tusks must have
+ploughed his flesh, if at this moment a young man had not ridden
+forward, and at the greatest personal risk approached the boar, and,
+striking straight downwards, cleft the heart of the fierce brute with
+his spear.
+
+Meanwhile, the King, having been disengaged by the prickers from his
+wounded steed, which was instantly put out of its agony by the sword of
+the chief huntsman, looked for his deliverer, and, discovering him to be
+Richard Assheton, was loud in his expressions of gratitude.
+
+"Faith! ye maun claim a boon at our hands," said James. "It maun never
+be said the King is ungrateful. What can we do for you, lad?"
+
+"For myself nothing, sire," replied Richard.
+
+"But for another meikle--is that what ye wad hae us infer?" cried the
+King, with a smile. "Aweel, the lassie shall hae strict justice done
+her; but for your ain sake we maun inquire into the matter. Meantime,
+wear this," he added, taking a magnificent sapphire ring from his
+finger, "and, if you should ever need our aid, send it to us as a
+token."
+
+Richard took the gift, and knelt to kiss the hand so graciously
+extended to him.
+
+By this time another horse had been provided for the monarch, and the
+enormous boar, with his feet upwards and tied together, was suspended
+upon a pole, and borne on the shoulders of four stout varlets as the
+grand trophy of the chase.
+
+When the royal company issued from the wood a strike of nine was blown
+by the chief huntsman, and such of the cavalcade as still remained on
+the field being collected together, the party crossed the chase, and
+took the direction of Hoghton Tower.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.--THE BANQUET.
+
+
+On the King's return to Hoghton Tower, orders were given by Sir Richard
+for the immediate service of the banquet; it being the hospitable
+baronet's desire that festivities should succeed each other so rapidly
+as to allow of no tedium.
+
+The _coup-d'oeil_ of the banquet hall on the monarch's entrance was
+magnificent. Panelled with black lustrous oak, and lighted by mullion
+windows, filled with stained glass and emblazoned with the armorial
+bearings of the family, the vast and lofty hall was hung with banners,
+and decorated with panoplies and trophies of the chase. Three long
+tables ran down it, each containing a hundred covers. At the lower end
+were stationed the heralds, the pursuivants, and a band of yeomen of the
+guard, with the royal badge, a demi-rose crowned, impaled with a
+demi-thistle, woven in gold on their doublets, and having fringed
+pole-axes over their shoulders. Behind them was a richly carved oak
+screen, concealing the passages leading to the buttery and kitchens, in
+which the clerk of the kitchen, the pantlers, and the yeomen of the
+cellar and ewery, were hurrying to and fro. Above the screen was a
+gallery, occupied by the trumpeters and minstrels; and over all was a
+noble rafter roof. The tables were profusely spread, and glittered with
+silver dishes of extraordinary size and splendour, as well as with
+flagons and goblets of the same material, and rare design. The guests,
+all of whom were assembled, were outnumbered by the prodigious array of
+serving-men, pages, and yeomen waiters in the yellow and red liveries of
+the Stuart.
+
+Flourishes of trumpets announced the coming of the monarch, who was
+preceded by Sir Richard Hoghton, bearing a white wand, and ushered with
+much ceremony to his place. At the upper end of the hall was a raised
+floor, and on either side of it an oriel window, glowing with painted
+glass. On this dais the King's table was placed, underneath a canopy of
+state, embroidered with the royal arms, and bearing James's kindly
+motto, "_Beati Pacifici_." Seats were reserved at it for the Dukes of
+Buckingham and Richmond, the Earls of Pembroke and Nottingham, the
+Lords Howard of Effingham and Grey of Groby, Sir Gilbert Hoghton, and
+the Bishop of Chester. These constituted the favoured guests. Grace
+having been said by the bishop, the whole company took their seats, and
+the general stillness hitherto prevailing throughout the vast hall was
+broken instantaneously by the clatter of trenchers.
+
+A famous feast it was, and worthy of commemoration. Masters Morris and
+Miller, the two cooks who contrived it, as well as the labourers for the
+ranges, for the pastries, for the boiled meats, and for the pullets,
+performed their respective parts to admiration. The result was all that
+could be desired. The fare was solid and substantial, consisting of
+dishes which could be cut and come to again. Amongst the roast meats
+were chines of beef, haunches of venison, gigots of mutton, fatted
+geese, capons, turkeys, and sucking pigs; amongst the boiled, pullets,
+lamb, and veal; but baked meats chiefly abounded, and amongst them were
+to be found red-deer pasty, hare-pie, gammon-of-bacon pie, and baked
+wild-boar. With the salads, which were nothing more than what would,
+now-a-days be termed "vegetables," were mixed all kinds of soused fish,
+arranged according to the sewer's directions--"the salads spread about
+the tables, the fricassees mixed with them, the boiled meats among the
+fricassees, roast meats amongst the boiled, baked meats amongst the
+roast, and carbonadoes amongst the baked." This was the first course
+merely. In the second were all kinds of game and wild-fowl, roast herons
+three in a dish, bitterns, cranes, bustards, curlews, dotterels, and
+pewits. Besides these there were lumbar pies, marrow pies, quince pies,
+artichoke pies, florentines, and innumerable other good things. Some
+dishes were specially reserved for the King's table, as a baked swan, a
+roast peacock, and the jowl of a sturgeon soused. These and a piece of
+roast beef formed the principal dishes.
+
+The attendants at the royal table comprised such gentlemen as wore Sir
+Richard Hoghton's liveries, and amongst these, of course, were Nicholas
+Assheton and Sherborne. On seeing the former, the King immediately
+inquired about his deliverer, and on hearing he was at the lower tables,
+desired he might be sent for, and, as Richard soon afterwards appeared,
+having on his return from the chase changed his sombre apparel for gayer
+attire, James smiled graciously upon him, and more than once, as a mark
+of especial favour, took the wine-cup from his hands.
+
+The King did ample justice to the good things before him, and especially
+to the beef, which he found so excellent, that the carver had to help
+him for the second time. Sir Richard Hoghton ventured to express his
+gratification that his Majesty found the meat good--"Indeed, it is
+generally admitted," he said, "that our Lancashire beef is well fed, and
+well flavoured."
+
+"Weel flavoured!" exclaimed James, as he swallowed the last juicy
+morsel; "it is delicious! Finer beef nae man ever put teeth into, an I
+only wish a' my loving subjects had as gude a dinner as I hae this day
+eaten. What joint do ye ca' it, Sir Richard?" he asked, with eyes
+evidently twinkling with a premeditated jest. "This dish," replied the
+host, somewhat surprised "this, sire, is a loin of beef."
+
+"A loin!" exclaimed James, taking the carving-knife from the sewer, who
+stood by, "by my faith that is not title honourable enough for joint sae
+worthy. It wants a dignity, and it shall hae it. Henceforth," he added,
+touching the meat with the flat of the long blade, as if placing the
+sword on the back of a knight expectant, "henceforth, it shall be
+SIR-LOIN, an see ye ca' it sae. Give me a cup of wine, Master Richard
+Assheton."
+
+All the nobles at the table laughed loudly at the monarch's jest, and as
+it was soon past down to those at the lower table, the hall resounded
+with laughter, in which page and attendant of every degree joined, to
+the great satisfaction of the good-natured originator of the
+merriment.[4]
+
+"My dear dad and gossip appears in unwonted good spirits to-day,"
+observed the Duke of Buckingham.
+
+"An wi' gude reason, Steenie," replied the King, "for we dinna mind when
+we hae had better sport--always excepting the boar-hunt, when we should
+hae been rippit up by the cursed creature's tusks but for this braw
+laddie," he added, pointing to Richard. "Ye maun see what can be done
+for him, Steenie. We maun hae him at court."
+
+"Your Majesty's wishes have only to be expressed to be fulfilled,"
+replied Buckingham, somewhat drily.
+
+"Were I the lad I wadna place ower meikle dependence on the Duke's
+promises," remarked Archie Armstrong, in a low tone, to Nicholas.
+
+"Has your Majesty made any further inquiries about the girl suspected of
+witchcraft?" inquired Buckingham, renewing the conversation.
+
+"Whist, Steenie, whist!" cried James. "Didna ye see her yoursel' this
+morning?" he added, in a low tone. "Ah! I recollect ye werena at the
+chase. Aweel, I hae conferred wi' her, an am sair perplexed i' the
+matter. She is a well-faur'd lassie as ony i' the realm, and answers
+decorously and doucely. Sooth to say, her looks and manners are mightily
+in her favour."
+
+"Then you mean to dismiss the matter without further investigation?"
+observed Buckingham. "I always thought your Majesty delighted to
+exercise your sagacity in detecting the illusions practised by Satan and
+his worshippers."
+
+"An sae we do," replied James. "But bend your bonnie head this way till
+we whisper in your ear. We hae a device for finding it a' out, which
+canna fail; and when you ken it you will applaud your dear dad's wisdom,
+and perfit maistery o' the haill science o' kingcraft."
+
+"I would your Majesty would make me acquainted with this notable
+scheme," replied Buckingham, with ill-concealed contempt. "I might make
+it more certain of success."
+
+"Na--na--we shanna let the cat out of the bag just yet," returned the
+King. "We mean it as a surprise to ye a'."
+
+"Then, whatever be the result, it is certain to answer the effect
+intended," observed the Duke.
+
+"Gae wa'! ye are ever sceptical, Steenie--ever misdoubting your ain dear
+dad and gossip," rejoined James; "but ye shall find we haena earned the
+title o' the British Solomon for naething."
+
+Soon after this the King arose, and was ushered to his apartments by Sir
+Richard Hoghton with the same ceremony as had been observed on his
+entrance. He was followed by all the nobles; and Nicholas and the
+others, being released from their duties, repaired to the lower end of
+the hall to dine. The revel was now sufficiently boisterous; for, as the
+dames had departed at the same time as the monarch, all restraint was
+cast aside. The wine-cup flowed freely, and the rafters rang with
+laughter. Under ordinary circumstances Richard would have shrunk from
+such a scene; but he had now a part to play, and therefore essayed to
+laugh at each jest, and to appear as reckless as his neighbours. He was
+glad, however, when the signal for general dispersion was given; for
+though Sir Richard Hoghton was unwilling to stint his guests, he was
+fearful, if they sat too long over their wine, some disturbances might
+ensue; and indeed, when the revellers came forth and dispersed within
+the base court, their flushed cheeks, loud voices, and unsteady gait,
+showed that their potations had already been deep enough.
+
+Meanwhile, quite as much mirth was taking place out of doors as had
+occurred within the banqueting-hall. As soon as the King sat down to
+dinner, according to promise the gates were thrown open, and the crowd
+outside admitted. The huge roast was then taken down, carved, and
+distributed among them; the only difficulty experienced being in regard
+to trenchers, and various and extraordinary were the contrivances
+resorted to to supply the deficiency. This circumstance, however, served
+to heighten the fun, and, as several casks of stout ale were broached at
+the same time, universal hilarity prevailed. Still, in the midst of so
+vast a concourse, many component parts of which had now began to
+experience the effects of the potent liquor, some little manifestation
+of disorder might naturally be expected; but all such was speedily
+quelled by the yeomen of the guard, and other officials appointed for
+the purpose, and, amidst the uproar and confusion, harmony generally
+prevailed.
+
+While elbowing his way through the crowd, Nicholas felt his sleeve
+plucked, and turning, perceived Nance Redferne, who signed him to follow
+her, and there was something in her manner that left him no alternative
+but compliance. Nance passed on rapidly, and entered the doorway of a
+building, where it might be supposed they would be free from
+interruption.
+
+"What do you want with me, Nance?" asked the squire, somewhat
+impatiently. "I must beg to observe that I cannot be troubled further on
+your account, and am greatly afraid aspersions may be thrown on my
+character, if I am seen talking with you."
+
+"A few words wi' me winna injure your character, squire," rejoined
+Nance, "an it's on your account an naw on my own that ey ha' brought you
+here. Ey ha' important information to gie ye. What win yo say when ey
+tell yo that Jem Device, Elizabeth Device, an' her dowter Jennet are
+here--aw breedin mischief agen yo, Ruchot Assheton, and Alizon?"
+
+"The devil!" ejaculated Nicholas.
+
+"Eigh, yo'n find it the devil, ey con promise ye, onless their plans be
+frustrated," said Nance.
+
+"That can be easily done," replied Nicholas. "I'll cause them to be
+arrested at once."
+
+"Nah, nah--that canna be," rejoined Nance--"Yo mun bide your time."
+
+"What! and allow such miscreants to go at large, and work any malice
+they please against me and my friends!" replied Nicholas. "Show me where
+they are, Nance, or I must make you a prisoner."
+
+"Nah! yo winna do that, squire," she replied in a tone of good-humoured
+defiance. "Ye winna do it for two good reasons: first, becose yo'd be
+harming a freend who wants to sarve yo, and _win_ do so, if yo'n let
+her; and secondly, becose if yo wur to raise a finger agen me, ey'd
+deprive yo of speech an motion. When the reet moment comes yo shan
+strike--boh it's nah come yet. The fruit is nah ripe eneugh to gather.
+Ey am os anxious os you con be, that the whole o' the Demdike brood
+should be swept away--an it shan be, if yo'n leave it to me."
+
+"Well, I commit the matter entirely to you," said Nicholas. "Apparently,
+it cannot be in better hands. But are you aware that Christopher Demdike
+is a prisoner here in Hoghton Tower? He was taken this morning in the
+park."
+
+"Ey knoa it," replied Nance; "an ey knoa also why he went there, an it
+wur my intention to ha' revealed his black design to yo. However, it has
+bin ordert differently. Boh in respect to t'others, wait till I gie yo
+the signal. They are disguised; boh even if ye see 'em, an recognise
+'em, dunna let it appear till ey gie the word, or yo'n spoil aw."
+
+"Your injunctions shall be obeyed implicitly, Nance," rejoined,
+Nicholas. "I have now perfect reliance upon you. But when shall I see
+you again?"
+
+"That depends upon circumstances," she replied. "To-neet, may be--may be
+to-morrow neet. My plans maun be guided by those of others. Boh when
+next yo see me you win ha' to act."
+
+And, without waiting an answer, she rushed out of the doorway, and,
+mingling with the crowd, was instantly lost to view; while Nicholas,
+full of the intelligence he had received, betook himself slowly to his
+lodgings.
+
+Scarcely were they gone when a door, which had been standing ajar, near
+them, was opened wide, and disclosed the keen visage of Master Potts.
+
+"Here's a pretty plot hatching--here's a nice discovery I have made!"
+soliloquised the attorney. "The whole Demdike family, with the exception
+of the old witch herself, whom I saw burnt on Pendle Hill, are at
+Hoghton Tower. This shall be made known to the King. I'll have Nicholas
+Assheton arrested at once, and the woman with him, whom I recognise as
+Nance Redferne. It will be a wonderful stroke, and will raise me highly
+in his Majesty's estimation. Yet stay! Will not this interfere with my
+other plans with Jennet? Let me reflect. I must go cautiously to work.
+Besides, if I cause Nicholas to be arrested, Nance will escape, and then
+I shall have no clue to the others. No--no; I must watch Nicholas
+closely, and take upon myself all the credit of the discovery. Perhaps
+through Jennet I may be able to detect their disguises. At all events, I
+will keep a sharp look-out. Affairs are now drawing to a close, and I
+have only, like a wary and experienced fowler, to lay my nets cleverly
+to catch the whole covey."
+
+And with these ruminations, he likewise went forth into the base court.
+
+The rest of the day was one round of festivity and enjoyment, in which
+all classes participated. There were trials of skill and strength,
+running, wrestling, and cudgeling-matches, with an infinite variety of
+country games and shows.
+
+Towards five o'clock a rush-cart, decked with flowers and ribbons, and
+bestridden by men bearing garlands, was drawn up in front of the central
+building of the tower, in an open window of which sat James--a
+well-pleased spectator of the different pastimes going forward; and
+several lively dances were executed by a troop of male and female
+morris-dancers, accompanied by a tabor and pipe. But though this show
+was sufficiently attractive, it lacked the spirit of that performed at
+Whalley; while the character of Maid Marian, which then found so
+charming a representative in Alizon, was now personated by a man--and if
+Nicholas Assheton, who was amongst the bystanders, was not deceived,
+that man was Jem Device. Enraged by this discovery, the squire was
+about to seize the ruffian; but, calling to mind Nance's counsel, he
+refrained, and Jem (if it indeed were he) retired with a largess,
+bestowed by the royal hand as a reward for his uncouth gambols.
+
+The rush-cart and morris-dancers having disappeared, another drollery
+was exhibited, called the "Fool and his Five Sons," the names of the
+hopeful offspring of the sapient sire being Pickle Herring, Blue Hose,
+Pepper Hose, Ginger Hose, and Jack Allspice. The humour of this piece,
+though not particularly refined, seemed to be appreciated by the
+audience generally, as well as by the monarch, who laughed heartily at
+its coarse buffoonery.
+
+Next followed "The Plough and Sword Dance;" the principal actors being a
+number of grotesque figures armed with swords, some of whom were yoked
+to a plough, on which sat a piper, playing lustily while dragged along.
+The plough was guided by a man clothed in a bear-skin, with a fur cap on
+his head, and a long tail, like that of a lion, dangling behind him. In
+this hirsute personage, who was intended to represent the wood-demon,
+Hobthurst, Nicholas again detected Jem Device, and again was strongly
+tempted to disobey Nance's injunctions, and denounce him--the rather
+that he recognised in an attendant female, in a fantastic dress, the
+ruffian's mother, Elizabeth; but he once more desisted.
+
+As soon as the mummers arrived in front of the King, the dance began.
+With their swords held upright, the party took hands and wheeled rapidly
+round the plough, keeping time to a merry measure played by the piper,
+who still maintained his seat. Suddenly the ring was enlarged to double
+its former size, each man extending his sword to his neighbour, who took
+hold of the point; after which an hexagonal figure was formed, all the
+blades being brought together. The swords were then quickly withdrawn,
+flashing like sunbeams, and a four square figure was presented, the
+dancers vaulting actively over each other's heads. Other variations
+succeeded, not necessary to be specified--and the sport concluded by a
+general clashing of swords, intended to represent a melee.
+
+Meanwhile, Nicholas had been joined by Richard Assheton, and the latter
+was not long in detecting the two Devices through their disguises. On
+making this discovery he mentioned it to the squire, and was surprised
+to find him already aware of the circumstance, and not less astonished
+when he was advised to let them alone; the squire adding he was unable
+at that time to give his reasons for such counsel, but, being good and
+conclusive, Richard would be satisfied of their propriety hereafter. The
+young man, however, thought otherwise, and, notwithstanding his
+relative's attempts to dissuade him, announced his intention of causing
+the parties to be arrested at once; and with this design he went in
+search of an officer of the guard, that the capture might be effected
+without disturbance. But the throng was so close round the dancers that
+he could not pierce it, and being compelled to return and take another
+course, he got nearer to the mazy ring, and was unceremoniously pushed
+aside by the mummers. At this moment both his arms were forcibly
+grasped, and a deep voice on the right whispered in his ear--"Meddle not
+with us, and we will not meddle with you," while similar counsel was
+given him in other equally menacing tones, though in a different key, on
+the left. Richard would have shaken off his assailants, and seized them
+in his turn, but power to do so was wanting to him. For the moment he
+was deprived of speech and motion; but while thus situated he felt that
+the sapphire ring given him by the King was snatched from his finger by
+the first speaker, whom he knew to be Jem Device, while a fearful spell
+was muttered over him by Elizabeth.
+
+As this occurred at the time when the rattling of the swords engaged the
+whole attention of the spectators, no one noticed what was going forward
+except Nicholas, and, before he could get up to the young man, the two
+miscreants were gone, nor could any one tell what had become of them.
+
+"Have the wretches done you a mischief?" asked the squire, in a low
+tone, of Richard.
+
+"They have stolen the King's ring, which I meant to use in Alizon's
+behalf," replied the young man, who by this time had recovered his
+speech.
+
+"That is unlucky, indeed," said Nicholas. "But we can defeat any ill
+design they may intend, by acquainting Sir John Finett with the
+circumstance."
+
+"Let them be," said a voice in his ear. "The time is not yet come." The
+squire did not look round, for he well knew that the caution proceeded
+from Nance Redferne.
+
+And, accordingly, he observed to Richard--"Tarry awhile, and you will be
+amply avenged."
+
+And with this assurance the young man was fain to be content.
+
+Just then a trumpet was sounded, and a herald stationed on the summit of
+the broad flight of steps leading to the great hall, proclaimed in a
+loud voice that a tilting-match was about to take place between Archie
+Armstrong, jester to his most gracious Majesty, and Davy Droman, who
+filled the same honourable office to his Grace the Duke of Buckingham,
+and that a pair of gilt-heel'd chopines would be the reward of the
+successful combatant. This announcement was received with cheers, and
+preparations were instantly made for the mock tourney. A large circle
+being formed by the yeomen of the guard, with an alley leading to it on
+either side, the two combatants, mounted on gaudy-caparisoned
+hobby-horses, rode into the ring. Both were armed to the teeth, each
+having a dish-cover braced around him in lieu of a breastplate, a
+newly-scoured brass porringer on his head, a large pewter platter
+instead of a buckler, and a spit with a bung at the point, to prevent
+mischief, in place of a lance. The Duke's jester was an obese little
+fellow, and his appearance in this warlike gear was so eminently
+ridiculous, that it provoked roars of laughter, while Archie was
+scarcely less ridiculous. After curveting round the arena in imitation
+of knights of chivalry, and performing "their careers, their prankers,
+their false trots, their smooth ambles, and Canterbury paces," the two
+champions took up a position opposite each other, with difficulty, as it
+seemed, reining in their pawing chargers, and awaiting the signal of
+attack to be given by Sir John Finett, the judge of the tournament. This
+was not long delayed, and the "laissez aller" being pronounced, the
+preux chevaliers started forward with so much fury, and so little
+discretion, that meeting half-way with a tremendous shock, and butting
+against each other like two rams, both were thrown violently backwards,
+exhibiting, amid the shouts of the spectators, their heels, no longer
+hidden by the trappings of their steeds, kicking in the air. Encumbered
+as they were, some little time elapsed before they could regain their
+feet, and their lances having been removed in the mean time, by order of
+Sir John Finett, as being weapons of too dangerous a description for
+such truculent combatants, they attacked each other with their broad
+lathen daggers, dealing sounding blows upon helm, habergeon, and shield,
+but doing little personal mischief. The strife raged furiously for some
+time, and, as the champions appeared pretty well matched, it was not
+easy to say how it would terminate, when chance seemed to decide in
+favour of Davy Droman; for, in dealing a heavier blow than usual,
+Archie's dagger snapped in twain, leaving him at the mercy of his
+opponent. On this the doughty Davy, crowing lustily like chanticleer,
+called upon him to yield; but Archie was so wroth at his misadventure,
+that, instead of complying, he sprang forward, and with the hilt of his
+broken weapon dealt his elated opponent a severe blow on the side of the
+head, not only knocking off the porringer, but stretching him on the
+ground beside it. The punishment he had received was enough for poor
+Davy. He made no attempt to rise, and Archie, crowing in his turn,
+trampling upon the body of his prostrate foe, and then capering joyously
+round it, was declared the victor, and received the gilt chopines from
+the judge, amidst the laughter and acclamations of the beholders.
+
+With this the public sports concluded; and, as evening was drawing on
+apace, such of the guests as were not invited to pass the night within
+the Tower, took their departure; while shortly afterwards, supper being
+served in the banqueting-hall on a scale of profusion and magnificence
+quite equal to the earlier repast, the King and the whole of his train
+sat down to it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.--EVENING ENTERTAINMENTS.
+
+
+Other amusements were reserved for the evening. While revelry was again
+held in the great hall; while the tables groaned, for the third time
+since morning, with good cheer, and the ruby wine, which seemed to gush
+from inexhaustible fountains, mantled in the silver flagons; while
+seneschal, sewer, and pantler, with the yeomen of the buttery and
+kitchen, were again actively engaged in their vocations; while of the
+three hundred guests more than half, as if insatiate, again vied with
+each other in prowess with the trencher and the goblet; while in the
+words of old Taylor, the water poet, but who was no water-drinker--and
+who thus sang of the hospitality of the men of Manchester, in the early
+part of the seventeenth century--they had
+
+          "Roast, boil'd, bak'd, too, too much, white, claret, sack.
+           Nothing they thought too heavy or too hot,
+           Can follow'd can, and pot succeeded pot."
+
+--during this time preparations were making for fresh entertainments out
+of doors.
+
+The gardens at Hoghton Tower, though necessarily confined in space,
+owing to their situation on the brow of a hill, were beautifully laid
+out, and commanded from their balustred terraces magnificent views of
+the surrounding country. Below them lay the well-wooded park, skirted by
+the silvery Darwen, with the fair village of Walton-le-Dale immediately
+beyond it, the proud town of Preston further on, and the single-coned
+Nese Point rising majestically in the distance. The principal garden
+constituted a square, and was divided with mathematical precision,
+according to the formal taste of the time, into smaller squares, with a
+broad well-kept gravel walk at each angle. These plots were arranged in
+various figures and devices--such as the cinq-foil, the flower-de-luce,
+the trefoil, the lozenge, the fret, the diamond, the crossbow, and the
+oval--all very elaborate and intricate in design. Besides these knots,
+as they were termed, there were labyrinths, and clipped yew-tree walks,
+and that indispensable requisite to a garden at the period, a maze. In
+the centre was a grassy eminence, surmounted by a pavilion, in front of
+which spread a grass-plot of smoothest turf, ordinarily used as a
+bowling-green. At the lower end of this a temporary stage was erected,
+for the masque about to be represented before the King. Torches were
+kindled, and numerous lamps burned in the branches of the adjoining
+trees; but they were scarcely needed, for the moon being at the full,
+the glorious effulgence shed by her upon the scene rendered all other
+light pale and ineffectual.
+
+After supper, at which the drinking was deeper than at dinner, the whole
+of the revellers repaired to the garden, full of frolic and merriment,
+and well-disposed for any diversion in store for them. The King was
+conducted to the bowling-green by his host, preceded by a crowd of
+attendants bearing odoriferous torches; but the royal gait being
+somewhat unsteady, the aid of Sir Gilbert Hoghton's arm was required to
+keep the monarch from stumbling. The rest of the bacchanalians followed,
+and, elated as they were, it will not be wondered that they put very
+little restraint upon themselves, but shouted, sang, danced, and
+indulged in all kinds of licence.
+
+Opposite the stage prepared for the masquers a platform had been reared,
+in front of which was a chair for the King, with seats for the nobles
+and principal guests behind it. The sides were hung with curtains of
+crimson velvet fringed with gold; the roof decorated like a canopy; so
+that it had a very magnificent effect. James lolled back in his chair,
+and jested loudly and rather indecorously with the various personages as
+they took their places around him. In less than five minutes the whole
+of the green was filled with revellers, and great was the pushing and
+jostling, the laughing and screaming, that ensued among them. Silence
+was then enjoined by Sir John Finett, who had stationed himself on the
+steps of the stage, and at this command the assemblage became
+comparatively quiet, though now and then a half-suppressed titter or a
+smothered scream would break out. Amid this silence the King's voice
+could be distinctly heard, and his coarse jests reached the ears of all
+the astonished audience, provoking many a severe comment from the
+elders, and much secret laughter from the juniors.
+
+The masque began. Two tutelar deities appeared on the stage. They were
+followed by a band of foresters clad in Lincoln green, with bows at
+their backs. The first deity wore a white linen tunic, with
+flesh-coloured hose and red buskins, and had a purple taffeta mantle
+over his shoulders. In his hand he held a palm branch, and a garland of
+the same leaves was woven round his brow. The second household god was a
+big brawny varlet, wild and shaggy in appearance, being clothed in the
+skins of beasts, with sandals of untanned cowhide. On his head was a
+garland of oak leaves; and from his neck hung a horn. He was armed with
+a hunting-spear and wood-knife, and attended by a large Lancashire
+mastiff. Advancing to the front of the stage, the foremost personage
+thus addressed the Monarch--
+
+          "This day--great King for government admired!
+           Which these thy subjects have so much desired--
+           Shall be kept holy in their heart's best treasure,
+           And vow'd to JAMES as is this month to Cæsar.
+           And now the landlord of this ancient Tower,
+           Thrice fortunate to see this happy hour,
+           Whose trembling heart thy presence sets on fire,
+           Unto this house--the heart of all our shire--
+           Does bid thee cordial welcome, and would speak it
+           In higher notes, but extreme joy doth break it.
+           He makes his guests most welcome, in his eyes
+           Love tears do sit, not he that shouts and cries.
+           And we the antique guardians of this place,--
+           I of this house--he of the fruitful chase,--
+           Since the bold Hoghtons from this hill took name,
+           Who with the stiff, unbridled Saxons came,
+           And so have flourish'd in this fairer clime
+           Successively from that to this our time,
+           Still offering up to our immortal powers
+           Sweet incense, wine, and odoriferous flowers;
+           While sacred Vesta, in her virgin tire,
+           With vows and wishes tends the hallow'd fire.
+           Now seeing that thy Majesty is thus
+           Greater than household deities like us,
+           We render up to thy more powerful guard,
+           This Tower. This knight is thine--he is thy ward,
+           For by thy helping and auspicious hand,
+           He and his home shall ever, ever stand
+           And flourish, in despite of envious fate;
+           And then live, like Augustus, fortunate.
+           And long, long mayst thou live!--To which both men
+           And guardian angels cry--"Amen! amen!"
+
+James, who had demeaned himself critically during the delivery of the
+address, observed at its close to Sir Richard Hoghton, who was standing
+immediately behind his chair, "We cannot say meikle for the rhymes,
+which are but indifferently strung together, but the sentiments are leal
+and gude, and that is a' we care for."
+
+On this the second tutelar divinity advanced, and throwing himself into
+an attitude, as if bewildered by the august presence in which he stood,
+exclaimed--
+
+          "Thou greatest of mortals!"--
+
+And then stopped, as if utterly confounded.
+
+The King looked at him for a moment, and then roared out--"Weel,
+gudeman, your commencement is pertinent and true enough; and though we
+be 'the greatest of mortals,' as ye style us, dinna fash yoursel' about
+our grandeur, but go on, as if we were nae better nor wiser than your
+ain simple sel'."
+
+But, instead of encouraging the dumbfounded deity, this speech
+completely upset him. He hastily retreated; and, in trying to screen
+himself behind the huntsman, fell back from the stage, and his hound
+leapt after him. The incident, whether premeditated or not, amused the
+spectators much more than any speech he could have delivered, and the
+King joined heartily in the merriment.
+
+Silence being again restored, the first divinity came forward once more,
+and spoke thus:--
+
+          'Dread lord! thy Majesty hath stricken dumb
+           His weaker god-head; if to himself he come,
+           Unto thy service straight he will commend
+           These foresters, and charge them to attend
+           Thy pleasure in this park, and show such sport;
+           To the chief huntsman and thy princely court,
+           As the small circle of this round affords,
+           And be more ready than he was in words."[5]
+
+"Weel spoken, and to the purpose, gude fallow," cried James. "And we
+take this opportunity of assuring our worthy host, in the presence of
+his other guests, that we have never had better sport in park or forest
+than we have this day enjoyed--have never eaten better cheer, nor
+quaffed better wine than at his board--and, altogether, have never been
+more hospitably welcomed."
+
+Sir Richard was overwhelmed by his Majesty's commendation.
+
+"I have done nothing, my gracious liege," he said, "to merit such
+acknowledgment on your part, and the delight I experience is only
+tempered by my utter unworthiness."
+
+"Hoot-toot! man," replied James, jocularly, "ye merit a vast deal mair
+than we hae said to you. But gude folk dinna always get their deserts.
+Ye ken that, Sir Richard. And now, hae ye not some ither drolleries in
+store for us?"
+
+The baronet replied in the affirmative, and soon afterwards the stage
+was occupied by a new class of performers, and a drollery commenced
+which kept the audience in one continual roar of laughter so long as it
+lasted. And yet none of the parts had been studied, the actors entirely
+trusting to their own powers of comedy to carry it out. The principal
+character was the Cap Justice, enacted by Sir John Finett, who took
+occasion in the course of the performance to lampoon and satirise most
+of the eminent legal characters of the day, mimicking the voices and
+manner of the three justices--Crooke, Hoghton, and Doddridge--so
+admirably, that his hearers were wellnigh convulsed; and the three
+learned gentlemen, who sat near the King, though fully conscious of the
+ridicule applied to them, were obliged to laugh with the rest. But the
+unsparing satirist was not content with this, but went on, with most of
+the other attendants upon the King, and being intimately versed in court
+scandal, he directed his lash with telling effect. As a contrast to the
+malicious pleasantry of the Cap Justice, were the gambols and jests of
+Robin Goodfellow--a merry imp, who, if he led people into mischief, was
+always ready to get them out of it. Then there was a dance by Bill
+Huckler, old Crambo, and Tom o' Bedlam, the half-crazed individual
+already mentioned as being among the crowd in the base court. This was
+applauded to the echo, and consequently repeated. But the most diverting
+scene of all was that in which Jem Tospot and the three Doll Wangos
+appeared. Though given in the broadest vernacular of the county, and
+scarcely intelligible to the whole of the company, the dialogue of this
+part of the piece was so lifelike and natural, that every one recognised
+its truth; while the situations, arranged with the slightest effort, and
+on the spur of the moment, were extremely ludicrous. The scene was
+supposed to take place in a small Lancashire alehouse, where a jovial
+pedlar was carousing, and where, being visited by his three
+sweethearts--each of whom he privately declared to be the favourite--he
+had to reconcile their differences, and keep them all in good-humour.
+Familiar with the character in all its aspects, Nicholas played it to
+the life; and, to do them justice, Dames Baldwyn, Tetlow, and Nance
+Redferne, were but little if at all inferior to him. There was a reality
+in their jealous quarrelling that gave infinite zest to the performance.
+
+"Saul o' my body!" exclaimed James, admiringly, "those are three braw
+women. Ane of them maun be sax feet if she is an inch, and weel made and
+weel favourt too. Zounds! Sir Richard, there's nae standing the spells
+o' your Lancashire Witches. High-born and low-born, they are a' alike. I
+wad their only witchcraft lay in their een. I should then hae the less
+fear of 'em. But have you aught mair? for it is growing late, and ye ken
+we hae something to do in that pavilion."
+
+"Only a merry dance, my liege, in which a man will appear in a
+dendrological foliage of fronds," replied the baronet.
+
+James laughed at the description, and soon afterwards a party of
+mummers, male and female, clad in various grotesque garbs, appeared on
+the stage. In the midst of them was the "dendrological man," enclosed in
+a framework of green boughs, like that borne by a modern
+Jack-in-the-green. A ring was formed by the mummers, and the round
+commenced to lively music.
+
+While the mazy measure was proceeding, Nance Redferne, who had quitted
+the stage with Nicholas, and now stood close to him among the
+spectators, said in a low tone, "Look there!"
+
+The squire glanced in the direction indicated, and to his surprise and
+terror, distinguished, among the crowd at a little distance, the figure
+of a Cistertian monk.
+
+"He is invisible to every eye except our own," whispered Nance, "and is
+come to tell me it is time."
+
+"Time for what?" demanded Nicholas.
+
+"Time for you to seize those two accursed Devices, Jem and his mother,"
+replied Nance. "They are both on yon boards. Jem is the man in the tree,
+and Elizabeth is the owd crone in the red kirtle and high-crowned hat.
+Yo win knoa her feaw feace when yo pluck off her mask."
+
+"The monk is gone," cried Nicholas; "I have kept my eyes steadily fixed
+on him, and he has melted into air. What has he to do with the Devices?"
+
+"He is their fate," returned Nance, "an ey ha' acted under his orders.
+Boh mount, an seize them. Ey win ge wi' ye."
+
+Forcing his way through the crowd, Nicholas ran up the steps, and,
+followed by Nance, sprang upon the stage. His appearance occasioned
+considerable surprise; but as he was recognised by the spectators as the
+jolly Jem Tospot, who had so recently diverted them, and his companion
+as one of the three Doll Wangos, in anticipation of some more fun they
+received him with a round of applause. But without stopping to
+acknowledge it, or being for a moment diverted from his purpose,
+Nicholas seized the old crone, and, consigning her to Nance, caught
+hold of the leafy frame in which the man was encased, and pulled him
+from under it. But he began to think he had unkennelled the wrong fox,
+for the man, though a tall fellow, bore no resemblance to Jem Device;
+while, when the crone's mask was plucked off, she was found to be a
+comely young woman. Meanwhile, all around was in an uproar, and amidst a
+hurricane of hisses, yells, and other indications of displeasure from
+the spectators, several of the mummers demanded the meaning of such a
+strange and unwarrantable proceeding.
+
+"They are a couple of witches," cried Nicholas; "this is Jem Device and
+his mother Elizabeth."
+
+"My name is nother Jem nor Device," cried the man.
+
+"Nor mine Elizabeth," screamed the woman.
+
+"We know the Devices," cried two or three voices, "and these are none of
+'em."
+
+Nicholas was perplexed. The storm increased; threats accompanied the
+hisses; when luckily he espied a ring on the man's finger. He instantly
+seized his hand, and held it up to the general gaze.
+
+"A proof!--a proof!" he cried. "This sapphire ring was given by the King
+to my cousin, Richard Assheton, this morning, and stolen from him by Jem
+Device."
+
+"Examine their features again," said Nance Redferne, waving her hands
+over them. "Yo win aw knoa them now."
+
+The woman's face instantly altered. Many years being added to it in a
+breath. The man changed equally. The utmost astonishment was evinced by
+all at the transformation, and the bystanders who had spoken before, now
+cried out loudly--"We know them perfectly now. They are the two
+Devices."
+
+By this time an officer, attended by a party of halberdiers, had mounted
+the boards, and the two prisoners were delivered to their custody by
+Nicholas.
+
+"Howd!" cried the man; "Ey win no longer deny my name. Ey am Jem Device,
+an this is my mother, Elizabeth. Boh a warse offender than either on us
+stonds afore yo. This woman is Nance Redferne, grandowter of the owd
+hag, Mother Chattox. Ey charge her wi' makin' wax images, an' stickin'
+pins in 'em, wi' intent to kill folk. Hoo wad ha' kilt me mysel', wi'
+her devilry, if ey hadna bin too strong for her--an' that's why hoo
+bears me malice, an' has betrayed me to Squoire Nicholas Assheton. Seize
+her, an' ca' me as a witness agen her."
+
+And as Nance was secured, he laughed malignantly.
+
+"Ey care not," replied Nance. "Ey am now revenged on you both."
+
+While this impromptu performance took place, as much to the surprise of
+James as of any one else, and while he was desiring Sir Richard Hoghton
+to ascertain what it all meant--at the very moment that the two Devices
+and Nance removed from the stage, an usher approached the monarch, and
+said that Master Potts entreated a moment's audience of his majesty.
+
+"Potts!" exclaimed James, somewhat confused. "Wha is he?--ah, yes! I
+recollect--a witch-finder. Weel, let him approach."
+
+Accordingly, the next moment the little attorney, whose face was
+evidently charged with some tremendous intelligence, was ushered into
+the king's presence.
+
+After a profound reverence, he said, "May it please your Majesty, I have
+something for your private ear."
+
+"Aweel, then," replied James, "approach us mair closely. What hae ye got
+to say, sir? Aught mair anent these witches?"
+
+"A great deal, sire," said Potts, in an impressive tone. "Something
+dreadful has happened--something terrible."
+
+"Eh! what?" exclaimed James, looking alarmed. "What is it, man? Speak!"
+
+"Murder? sire,--murder has been done," said Potts, in low thrilling
+accents.
+
+"Murder!" exclaimed James, horror-stricken. "Tell us a' about it, and
+without more ado."
+
+But Potts was still circumspect. With an air of deepest mystery, he
+approached his head as near as he dared to that of the monarch, and
+whispered in his ear.
+
+"Can this be true?" cried James. "If sae--it's very shocking--very
+sad."
+
+"It is too true, as your Majesty will find on investigation," replied
+Potts. "The little girl I told you of, Jennet Device, saw it done."
+
+"Weel, weel, there is nae accounting for human frailty and wickedness,"
+said James. "Let a' necessary steps be taken at once. We will consider
+what to do. But--d'ye hear, sir?--dinna let the bairn Jennet go. Haud
+her fast. D'ye mind that? Now go, and cause the guilty party to be put
+under arrest."
+
+And on receiving this command Master Potts departed.
+
+Scarcely was he gone than Nicholas Assheton came up to the railing of
+the platform, and, imploring his Majesty's forgiveness for the
+disturbance he had occasioned, explained that it had been owing to the
+seizure of the two Devices, who, for some wicked but unexplained
+purpose, had contrived to introduce themselves, under various disguises,
+into the Tower.
+
+"Ye did right to arrest the miscreants, sir," said James. "But hae ye
+heard what has happened?"
+
+"No, my liege," replied Nicholas, alarmed by the King's manner; "what is
+it?"
+
+"Come nearer, and ye shall learn," replied James; "for we wadna hae it
+bruited abroad, though if true, as we canna doubt, it will be known soon
+enough."
+
+And as the squire bent forward, he imparted some intelligence to him,
+which instantly changed the expression of the latter to one of mingled
+horror and rage.
+
+"It is false, sire!" he cried. "I will answer for her innocence with my
+life. She could not do it. Your Majesty's patience is abused. It is
+Jennet who has done it--not she. But I will unravel the terrible
+mystery. You have the other two wretches prisoners, and can enforce the
+truth from them."
+
+"We will essay to do so," replied James; "but we have also another
+prisoner."
+
+"Christopher Demdike?" said Nicholas.
+
+"Ay, Christopher Demdike," rejoined James. "But another besides
+him--Mistress Nutter. You stare, sir; but it is true. She is in yonder
+pavilion. We ken fu' weel wha assisted her flight, and wha concealed
+her. Maister Potts has told us a'. It is weel for you that your puir
+kinsman, Richard Assheton, did us sic gude service at the boar-hunt
+to-day. We shall not now be unmindful of it, even though he cannot send
+us the ring we gave him."
+
+"It is here, sire," replied Nicholas. "It was stolen from him by the
+villain, Jem Device. The poor youth meant to use it for Alizon. I now
+deliver it to your Majesty as coming from him in her behalf."
+
+"And we sae receive it," replied the monarch, brushing away the moisture
+that gathered thickly in his eyes.
+
+At this moment a tall personage, wrapped in a cloak, who appeared to be
+an officer of the guard, approached the railing.
+
+"I am come to inform your Majesty that Christopher Demdike has just died
+of his wounds," said this personage.
+
+"And sae he has had a strae death, after a'!" rejoined James. "Weel, we
+are sorry for it."
+
+"His portion will be eternal bale," observed the officer.
+
+"How know you that, sir?" demanded the King, sharply. "You are not his
+judge."
+
+"I witnessed his end, sire," replied the officer; "and no man who died
+as he died can be saved. The Fiend was beside him at the death-throes."
+
+"Save us!" exclaimed James. "Ye dinna say so? God's santie! man, but
+this is grewsome, and gars the flesh creep on one's banes. Let his foul
+carcase be taen awa', and hangit on a gibbet on the hill where Malkin
+Tower aince stood, as a warning to a' sic heinous offenders."
+
+As the King ceased speaking, Master Potts appeared out of breath, and
+greatly excited.
+
+"She has escaped, sire!" he cried.
+
+"Wha! Jennet!" exclaimed James. "If sae, we will tang you in her stead."
+
+"No, sire--Alizon," replied Potts. "I can nowhere find her; nor--" and
+he hesitated.
+
+"Weel--weel--it is nae great matter," replied James, as if relieved,
+and with a glance of satisfaction at Nicholas.
+
+"I know where Alizon is, sire," said the officer.
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed James. "This fellow is strangely officious," he
+muttered to himself. "And where may she be, sir?" he added, aloud.
+
+"I will produce her within a quarter of an hour in yonder pavilion,"
+replied the officer, "and all that Master Potts has been unable to
+find."
+
+"Your Majesty may trust him," observed Nicholas, who had attentively
+regarded the officer. "Depend upon it he will make good his words."
+
+"You think so?" cried the King. "Then we will put him to the test. You
+will engage to confront Alizon with her mother?" he added, to the
+officer.
+
+"I will, sire," replied the other. "But I shall require the assistance
+of a dozen men."
+
+"Tak twenty, if you will," replied the King,--"I am impatient to see
+what you can do."
+
+"In a quarter of a minute all shall be ready within the pavilion, sire,"
+replied the officer. "You have seen one masque to-night;--but you shall
+now behold a different one--the masque of death."
+
+And he disappeared.
+
+Nicholas felt sure he would accomplish his task, for he had recognised
+in him the Cistertian monk.
+
+"Where is Sir Richard Assheton of Middleton?" inquired the King.
+
+"He left the Tower with his daughter Dorothy, immediately after the
+banquet," replied Nicholas.
+
+"I am glad of it--right glad," replied the monarch; "the terrible
+intelligence can be the better broken to them. If it had come upon them
+suddenly, it might have been fatal--especially to the puir lassie. Let
+Sir Ralph Assheton of Whalley come to me--and Master Roger Nowell of
+Read."
+
+"Your Majesty shall be obeyed," replied Sir Richard Hoghton.
+
+The King then gave some instructions respecting the prisoners, and bade
+Master Potts have Jennet in readiness.
+
+And now to see what terrible thing had happened.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.--FATALITY.
+
+
+Along the eastern terrace a youth and maiden were pacing slowly. They
+had stolen forth unperceived from the revel, and, passing through a door
+standing invitingly open, had entered the garden. Though overjoyed in
+each other's presence, the solemn beauty of the night, so powerful in
+its contrast to the riotous scene they had just quitted, profoundly
+impressed them. Above, were the deep serene heavens, lighted up by the
+starry host and their radiant queen--below, the immemorial woods,
+steeped in silvery mists arising from the stream flowing past them. All
+nature was hushed in holy rest. In opposition to the flood of soft light
+emanating from the lovely planet overhead, and which turned all it fell
+on, whether tree, or tower, or stream, to beauty, was the artificial
+glare caused by the torches near the pavilion; while the discordant
+sounds occasioned by the minstrels tuning their instruments, disturbed
+the repose. As they went on, however, these sounds were lost in the
+distance, and the glare of the torches was excluded by intervening
+trees. Then the moon looked down lovingly upon them, and the only music
+that reached their ears arose from the nightingales. After a pause, they
+walked on again, hand-in-hand, gazing at each other, at the glorious
+heavens, and drinking in the thrilling melody of the songsters of the
+grove.
+
+At the angle of the terrace was a small arbour placed in the midst of a
+bosquet, and they sat down within it. Then, and not till then, did their
+thoughts find vent in words. Forgetting the sorrows they had endured,
+and the perils by which they were environed, they found in their deep
+mutual love a shield against the sharpest arrows of fate. In low gentle
+accents they breathed their passion, solemnly plighting their faith
+before all-seeing Heaven.
+
+Poor souls! they were happy then--intensely happy. Alas! that their
+happiness should be so short; for those few moments of bliss, stolen
+from a waste of tears, were all that were allowed them. Inexorable fate
+still dogged their footsteps.
+
+Amidst the bosquet stood a listener to their converse--a little girl
+with high shoulders and sharp features, on which diabolical malice was
+stamped. Two yellow eyes glistened through the leaves beside her,
+marking the presence of a cat. As the lovers breathed their vows, and
+indulged in hopes never to be realised, the wicked child grinned,
+clenched her hands, and, grudging them their short-lived happiness,
+seemed inclined to interrupt it. Some stronger motive, however, kept her
+quiet.
+
+What are the pair talking of now?--She hears her own name mentioned by
+the maiden, who speaks of her with pity, almost with affection--pardons
+her for the mischief she has done her, and hopes Heaven will pardon her
+likewise. But she knows not the full extent of the girl's malignity, or
+even her gentle heart must have been roused to resentment.
+
+The little girl, however, feels no compunction. Infernal malice has
+taken possession of her heart, and crushed every kindly feeling within
+it. She hates all those that compassionate her, and returns evil for
+good.
+
+What are the lovers talking of now? Of their first meeting at Whalley
+Abbey, when one was May Queen, and by her beauty and simplicity won the
+other's heart, losing her own at the same time. A bright unclouded
+career seemed to lie before them then. Wofully had it darkened since.
+Alas! Alas!
+
+The little girl smiles. She hopes they will go on. She likes to hear
+them talk thus. Past happiness is ever remembered with a pang by the
+wretched, and they _were_ happy then. Go on--go on!
+
+But they are silent for awhile, for they wish to dwell on that hopeful,
+that blissful season. And a nightingale, alighting on a bough above
+them, pours forth its sweet plaint, as if in response to their tender
+emotions. They praise the bird's song, and it suddenly ceases.
+
+For the little girl, full of malevolence, stretches forth her hand, and
+it drops to the ground, as if stricken by a dart.
+
+"Is thy heart broken, poor bird?" exclaimed the young man, taking up the
+hapless songster, yet warm and palpitating. "To die in the midst of thy
+song--'tis hard."
+
+"Very hard!" replied the maiden, tearfully. "Its fate seems a type of
+our own."
+
+The little girl laughed, but in a low tone, and to herself.
+
+The pair then grew sad. This slight incident had touched them deeply,
+and their conversation took a melancholy turn. They spoke of the blights
+that had nipped their love in the bud--of the canker that had eaten into
+its heart--of the destiny that so relentlessly pursued them, threatening
+to separate them for ever.
+
+The little girl laughed merrily.
+
+Then they spoke of the grave--and of hope beyond the grave; and they
+spoke cheerfully.
+
+The little girl could laugh no longer, for with her all beyond the grave
+was despair.
+
+After that they spoke of the terrible power that Satan had lately
+obtained in that unhappy district, of the arts he had employed, and of
+the votaries he had won. Both prayed fervently that his snares might be
+circumvented, and his rule destroyed.
+
+During this part of the discourse the cat swelled to the size of a
+tiger, and his eyes glowed like fiery coals. He made a motion as if he
+would spring forward, but the voice of prayer arrested him, and he
+shrank back to his former size.
+
+"Poor Jennet is ensnared by the Fiend," murmured the maiden, "and will
+perish eternally. Would I could save her!"
+
+"It cannot be," replied the young man. "She is beyond redemption."
+
+The little girl gnashed her teeth with rage.
+
+"But my mother--I do not now despair of her," said Alizon. "She has
+broken the bondage by which she was enchained, and, if she resists
+temptation to the last, I am assured will be saved."
+
+"Heaven aid her!" exclaimed Richard.
+
+Scarcely were the words uttered, than the cat disappeared.
+
+"Why, Tib!--where are yo, Tib? Ey want yo!" cried the little girl in a
+low tone.
+
+But the familiar did not respond to the call.
+
+"Where con he ha' gone?" cried Jennet; "Tib! Tib!"
+
+Still the cat came not.
+
+"Then ey mun do the wark without him," pursued the little girl; "an ey
+win no longer delay it."
+
+And with this she crept stealthily round the arbour, and, approaching
+the side where Richard sat, watched an opportunity of touching him
+unperceived.
+
+As her finger came in contact with his frame, a pang like death shot
+through his heart, and he fell upon Alizon's shoulder.
+
+"Are you ill?" she exclaimed, gazing at his pallid features, rendered
+ghastly white by the moonlight.
+
+Richard could make no reply, and Alizon, becoming dreadfully alarmed,
+was about to fly for assistance, but the young man, by a great effort,
+detained her.
+
+"Ey mun now run an tell Mester Potts, so that hoo may be found wi' him,"
+muttered Jennet, creeping away.
+
+Just then Richard recovered his speech, but his words were faintly
+uttered, and with difficulty.
+
+"Alizon," he said, "I will not attempt to disguise my condition from
+you. I am dying. And my death will be attributed to you--for evil-minded
+persons have persuaded the King that you have bewitched me, and he will
+believe the charge now. Oh! if you would ease the pangs of death for
+me--if you would console my latest moments--leave me, and quit this
+place, before it be too late."
+
+"Oh! Richard," she cried distractedly; "you ask more than I can perform.
+If you are indeed in such imminent danger, I will stay with you--will
+die with you."
+
+"No! live for me--live--save yourself, Alizon," implored the young man.
+"Your danger is greater than mine. A dreadful death awaits you at the
+stake! Oh! mercy, mercy, heaven! Spare her--in pity spare her!--Have we
+not suffered enough? I can no more. Farewell for ever, Alizon--one
+kiss--the last."
+
+And as their lips met, his strength utterly forsook him, and he fell
+backwards.
+
+"One grave!" he murmured; "one grave, Alizon!"--And so, without a groan,
+he expired.
+
+Alizon neither screamed nor swooned, but remained in a state of
+stupefaction, gazing at the body. As the moon fell upon the placid
+features, they looked as if locked in slumber.
+
+There he lay--the young, the brave, the beautiful, the loving, the
+beloved. Fate had triumphed. Death had done his work; but he had only
+performed half his task.
+
+"One grave--one grave--it was his last wish--it shall be so!" she cried,
+in frenzied tones, "I shall thus escape my enemies, and avoid the
+horrible and shameful death to which they would doom me."
+
+And she snatched the dagger from the ill-fated youth's side.
+
+"Now, fate, I defy thee!" she cried, with a fearful laugh.
+
+One last look at that calm beautiful face--one kiss of the cold lips,
+which can no more return the endearment--and the dagger is pointed at
+her breast.
+
+But she is withheld by an arm of iron, and the weapon falls from her
+grasp. She looks up. A tall figure, clothed in the mouldering
+habiliments of a Cistertian monk, stands beside her. She knows the
+vestments at once, for she has seen them before, hanging up in the
+closet adjoining her mother's chamber at Whalley Abbey--and the features
+of the ghostly monk seem familiar to her.
+
+"Raise not thy hand against thyself," said the phantom, in a tone of
+awful reproof. "It is the Fiend prompts thee to do it. He would take
+advantage of thy misery to destroy thee."
+
+"I took thee for the Fiend," replied Alizon, gazing at him with wonder
+rather than with terror. "Who art thou?"
+
+"The enemy of thy enemies, and therefore thy friend," replied the monk.
+"I would have saved thy lover if I could, but his destiny was not to be
+averted. But, rest content, I will avenge him."
+
+"I do not want vengeance--I want to be with him," she replied,
+frantically embracing the body.
+
+"Thou wilt soon be with him," said the phantom, in tones of deep
+significance. "Arise, and come with me. Thy mother needs thy
+assistance."
+
+"My mother!" exclaimed Alizon, clearing the blinding tresses from her
+brow. "Where is she?"
+
+"Follow me, and I will bring thee to her," said the monk.
+
+"And leave him? I cannot!" cried Alizon, gazing wildly at the body.
+
+"You must. A soul is at stake, and will perish if you come not," said
+the monk. "He is at rest, and you will speedily rejoin him."
+
+"With that assurance I will go," replied Alizon, with a last look at the
+object of her love. "One grave--lay us in one grave!"
+
+"It shall be done according to your wish," said the monk.
+
+And he glided on with noiseless footsteps.
+
+Alizon followed him along the terrace.
+
+Presently they came to a dark yew-tree walk, leading to a labyrinth, and
+tracking it swiftly, as well as the overarched and intricate path to
+which it conducted, they entered a grotto, whence a flight of steps
+descended to a subterranean passage, hewn out of the rock. Along this
+passage, which was of some extent, the monk proceeded, and Alizon
+followed him.
+
+At last they came to another flight of steps, and here the monk stopped.
+
+"We are now beneath the pavilion, where you will find your mother," he
+said. "Mount! the way is clear before you. I have other work to do."
+
+Alizon obeyed; and, as she advanced, was surprised to find the monk
+gone. He had neither passed her nor ascended the steps, and must,
+therefore, have sunk into the earth.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.--THE LAST HOUR.
+
+
+Within the pavilion sat Alice Nutter. She was clad in deep mourning, but
+her dress seemed disordered as if by hasty travel. Her looks were full
+of anguish and terror; her blanched tresses, once so dark and beautiful,
+hung dishevelled over her shoulders; and her thin hands were clasped in
+supplication. Her cheeks were ashy pale, but on her brow was a bright
+red mark, as if traced by a finger dipped in blood.
+
+A lamp was burning on the table beside her. Near it was a skull, and
+near this emblem of mortality an hourglass, running fast.
+
+The windows and doors of the building were closed, and it would seem the
+unhappy lady was a prisoner.
+
+She had been brought there secretly that night, with what intent she
+knew not; but she felt sure it was with no friendly design towards
+herself. Early in the day three horsemen had arrived at her retreat in
+Pendle Forest, and without making any charge against her, or explaining
+whither they meant to take her, or indeed answering any inquiry, had
+brought her off with them, and, proceeding across the country, had
+arrived at a forester's hut on the outskirts of Hoghton Park. Here they
+tarried till evening, placing her in a room by herself, and keeping
+strict watch over her; and when the shadows of night fell, they conveyed
+her through the woods, and by a private entrance to the gardens of the
+Tower, and with equal secresy to the pavilion, where, setting a lamp
+before her, they left her to her meditations. All refused to answer her
+inquiries, but one of them, with a sinister smile, placed the hourglass
+and skull beside her.
+
+Left alone, the wretched lady vainly sought some solution of the
+enigma--why she had been brought thither. She could not solve it; but
+she determined, if her capture had been made by any lawful authorities,
+to confess her guilt and submit to condign punishment.
+
+Though the windows and doors were closed as before mentioned, sounds
+from without reached her, and she heard confused and tumultuous noises
+as if from a large assemblage. For what purpose were they met? Could it
+be for her execution? No--there were strains of music, and bursts of
+laughter. And yet she had heard that the burning of a witch was a
+spectacle in which the populace delighted--that they looked upon it as a
+show, like any other; and why should they not laugh, and have music at
+it? But could she be executed without trial, without judgment? She knew
+not. All she knew was she was guilty, and deserved to die. But when this
+idea took possession of her, the laughter sounded in her ears like the
+yells of demons, and the strains like the fearful harmonies she had
+heard at weird sabbaths.
+
+All at once she recollected with indescribable terror, that on this very
+night the compact she had entered into with the Fiend expired. That at
+midnight, unless by her penitence and prayers she had worked out her
+salvation, he could claim her. She recollected also, and with increased
+uneasiness, that the man who had set the hourglass on the table, and who
+had regarded her with a sinister smile as he did so, had said it was
+eleven o'clock! Her last hour then had arrived--nay, was partly spent,
+and the moments were passing swiftly by.
+
+The agony she endured at this thought was intense. She felt as if reason
+were forsaking her, and, but for her determined efforts to resist it,
+such a crisis might have occurred. But she knew that her eternal welfare
+depended upon the preservation of her mental balance, and she strove to
+maintain it, and in the end succeeded.
+
+Her gaze was fixed intently on the hourglass. She saw the sand trickling
+silently but swiftly down, like a current of life-blood, which, when it
+ceased, life would cease with it. She saw the shining grains above
+insensibly diminishing in quantity, and, as if she could arrest her
+destiny by the act, she seized the glass, and would have turned it, but
+the folly of the proceeding arrested her, and she set it down again.
+
+Then horrible thoughts came upon her, crushing her and overwhelming her,
+and she felt by anticipation all the torments she would speedily have to
+endure. Oceans of fire, in which miserable souls were for ever tossing,
+rolled before her. Yells, such as no human anguish can produce, smote
+her ears. Monsters of frightful form yawned to devour her. Fiends, armed
+with terrible implements of torture, such as the wildest imagination
+cannot paint, menaced her. All hell, and its horrors, was there, its
+dreadful gulf, its roaring furnaces, its rivers of molten metal, ever
+burning, yet never consuming its victims. A hot sulphureous atmosphere
+oppressed her, and a film of blood dimmed her sight.
+
+She endeavoured to pray, but her tongue clove to the roof of her mouth.
+She looked about for her Bible, but it had been left behind when she was
+taken from her retreat. She had no safeguard--none.
+
+Still the sand ran on.
+
+New agonies assailed her. Hell was before her again, but in a new form,
+and with new torments. She closed her eyes. She shut her ears. But she
+saw it still, and heard its terrific yells.
+
+Again she consults the hourglass. The sand is running on--ever
+diminishing.
+
+New torments assail her. She thinks of all she loves most on earth--of
+her daughter! Oh! if Alizon were near her, she might pray for her--might
+scare away these frightful visions--might save her. She calls to
+her--but she answers not. No, she is utterly abandoned of God and man,
+and must perish eternally.
+
+Again she consults the hourglass. One quarter of an hour is all that
+remains to her. Oh! that she could employ it in prayer! Oh! that she
+could kneel--or even weep!
+
+A large mirror hangs against the wall, and she is drawn towards it by an
+irresistible impulse. She sees a figure within it--but she does not know
+herself. Can that cadaverous object, with the white hair, that seems
+newly-arisen from the grave, be she? It must be a phantom. No--she
+touches her cheek, and finds it is real. But, ah! what is this red brand
+upon her brow? It must be the seal of the demon. She tries to efface
+it--but it will not come out. On the contrary, it becomes redder and
+deeper.
+
+Again she consults the glass. The sand is still running on. How many
+minutes remain to her?
+
+"Ten!" cried a voice, replying to her mental inquiry.--"Ten!"
+
+And, turning, she perceived her familiar standing beside her.
+
+"Thy time is wellnigh out, Alice Nutter," he said. "In ten minutes my
+lord will claim thee."
+
+"My compact with thy master is broken," she replied, summoning up all
+her resolution. "I have long ceased to use the power bestowed upon me;
+but, even if I had wished it, thou hast refused to serve me."
+
+"I have refused to serve you, madam, because you have disobeyed the
+express injunctions of my master," replied the familiar; "but your
+apostasy does not free you from bondage. You have merely lost advantages
+which you might have enjoyed. If you chose to dismiss me I could not
+help it. Neither I nor my lord have been to blame. We have performed our
+part of the contract."
+
+"Why am I brought hither?" demanded Mistress Nutter.
+
+"I will tell you," replied the familiar. "You were brought here by order
+of the King. Your retreat was revealed to him by Master Potts, who
+learnt it from Jennet Device. The sapient sovereign intended to confront
+you with your daughter Alizon, who, like yourself, is accused of
+witchcraft; but he will be disappointed--for when he comes for you, you
+will be out of his reach--ha! ha!"
+
+And he rubbed his hands at the jest.
+
+"Alizon accused of witchcraft--say'st thou?" cried Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Ay," replied the familiar. "She is suspected of bewitching Richard
+Assheton, who has been done to death by Jennet Device. For one so young,
+the little girl has certainly a rare turn for mischief. But no one will
+know the real author of the crime, and Alizon will suffer for it."
+
+"Heaven will not suffer such iniquity," said the lady.
+
+"As you have nothing to do with heaven, madam, it is needless to refer
+to it," said the familiar. "But it certainly is rather hard that one so
+young as Alizon should perish."
+
+"Can you save her?" asked Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Oh! yes, I _could_ save her, but she will not let me," replied the
+familiar, with a grin.
+
+"No--no--it is impossible," cried the wretched woman. "And I cannot help
+her."
+
+"Perhaps you might," observed the tempter. "My master, whom you accuse
+of harshness, is ever willing to oblige you. You have a few minutes
+left--do you wish him to aid her? Command me, and I will obey you."
+
+"This is some snare," thought Mistress Nutter; "I will resist it."
+
+"You cannot be worse off than you are," remarked the familiar.
+
+"I know not that," replied the lady. "What would'st thou do?"
+
+"Whatever you command me, madam. I can, do nothing of my own accord.
+Shall I bring your daughter here? Say so, and it shall be done."
+
+"No--thou would'st ensnare me," she replied. "I well know thou hast no
+power over her. Thou would'st place some phantasm before me. I would see
+her, but not through thy agency."
+
+"She is here," cried Alizon, opening the door of a closet, and rushing
+towards her mother, who instantly locked her in her arms.
+
+"Pray for me, my child," cried Mistress Nutter, mastering her emotion,
+"or I shall be snatched from you for ever. My moments are numbered.
+Pray--pray!"
+
+Alizon fell on her knees, and prayed fervently.
+
+"You waste your breath," cried the familiar, in a mocking tone. "Never
+till the brand shall disappear from her brow, and the writing, traced in
+her blood, shall vanish from this parchment, can she be saved. She is
+mine."
+
+"Pray, Alizon, pray!" shrieked Mistress Nutter.
+
+"I will tear her in pieces if she does not cease," cried the familiar,
+assuming a terrible shape, and menacing her with claws like those of a
+wild beast.
+
+"Pray thou, mother!" cried Alizon.
+
+"I cannot," replied the lady.
+
+"I will kill her if she but makes the attempt," howled the demon.
+
+"But try, mother, try!" cried Alizon.
+
+The poor lady dropped on her knees, and raised her hands in humble
+supplication--"Heaven forgive me!" she exclaimed.
+
+The demon seized the hourglass.
+
+"The sand is out--her term has expired--she is mine!" he cried.
+
+"Clasp thy arms tightly round me, my child. He cannot take me from
+thee," shrieked the agonised woman.
+
+"Release her, Alizon, or I will slay thee likewise," roared the demon.
+
+"Never," she replied; "thou canst not overcome me. Ha!" she added
+joyfully, "the brand has disappeared from her brow."
+
+"And the writing from the parchment," howled the demon; "but I will have
+her notwithstanding."
+
+And he plunged his claws into Alice Nutter's flesh. But her daughter
+held her fast.
+
+"Oh! hold me, my child--hold me, or I am lost!" shrieked the lady.
+
+"Be warned, and let her go, or thy life shall pay for her's," cried the
+demon.
+
+"My life for her's, willingly," replied Alizon.
+
+"Then take thy fate," rejoined the evil spirit.
+
+And placing his hand upon her heart, it instantly ceased to beat.
+
+"Mother, thou art saved--saved!" exclaimed Alizon, throwing out her
+arms.
+
+And gazing at her for an instant with a seraphic look, she fell
+backwards, and expired.
+
+"Thou art mine," roared the demon, seizing Mistress Nutter by the hair,
+and dragging her from her daughter's body, to which she clung
+desperately.
+
+"Help!--help!" she cried.
+
+"Thou mayst call, but thy cries will be unheeded," rejoined the familiar
+with mocking laughter.
+
+"Thou liest, false fiend!" said Mistress Nutter. "Heaven will help me
+now."
+
+And, as she spoke, the Cistertian monk stood before them.
+
+"Hence!" he cried with an imperious gesture to the demon. "She is no
+longer in thy power. Hence!"
+
+And with a howl of rage and disappointment the familiar vanished.
+
+"Alice Nutter," continued the monk, "thy safety has been purchased at
+the price of thy daughter's life. But it is of little moment, for she
+could not live long. Her gentle heart was broken, and, when the demon
+stopped it for ever, he performed unintentionally a merciful act. She
+must rest in the same grave with him she loved so well during life. This
+tell to those who will come to thee anon. Thou art delivered from the
+yoke of Satan. Full expiation has been made. But earthly justice must be
+satisfied. Thou must pay the penalty for crimes committed in the flesh,
+but what thou sufferest here shall avail thee hereafter."
+
+"I am content," she replied.
+
+"Pass the rest of thy life in penitence and prayer," pursued the monk,
+"and let nothing divert thee from it; for, though free now, thou wilt be
+subject to evil influence and temptations to the last. Remember this."
+
+"I will--I will," she rejoined.
+
+"And now," he said, "kneel beside thy daughter's body and pray. I will
+return to thee ere many minutes be passed. One task more, and then my
+mission is ended."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.--THE MASQUE OF DEATH.
+
+
+Short time as he had to await, James was unable to control his
+impatience. At last he arose, and, completely sobered by the recent
+strange events, descended the steps of the platform, and walked on
+without assistance.
+
+"Let the yeomen of the guard keep back the crowd," he said to an
+officer, "and let none follow me but Sir Ralph Assheton, Master Nicholas
+Assheton, and Master Roger Nowell. When I call, let the prisoners be
+brought forward."
+
+"Your Majesty shall be obeyed," replied the baronet, giving the
+necessary directions.
+
+James then moved slowly forward in the direction of the pavilion; and,
+as he went, called Nicholas Assheton to him.
+
+"Wha was that officer?" he asked.
+
+"Your pardon, my liege, but I cannot answer the question," replied
+Nicholas.
+
+"And why not, sir?" demanded the monarch, sharply.
+
+"For reasons I will hereafter render to your Majesty, and which I am
+persuaded you will find satisfactory," rejoined the squire.
+
+"Weel, weel, I dare say you are right," said the King. "But do you think
+he will keep his word?"
+
+"I am sure of it," returned Nicholas.
+
+"The time is come, then!" exclaimed James impatiently, and looking up at
+the pavilion.
+
+"The time is come!" echoed a sepulchral voice.
+
+"Did you speak?" inquired the monarch.
+
+"No, sire," replied Nicholas; "but some one seemed to give you
+intimation that all is ready. Will it please you to go on?"
+
+"Enter!" cried the voice.
+
+"Wha speaks?" demanded the King. And, as no answer was returned, he
+continued--"I will not set foot in the structure. It may be a snare of
+Satan."
+
+At this moment, the shutters of the windows flew open, showing that the
+pavilion was lighted up by many tapers within, while solemn strains of
+music issued from it.
+
+"Enter!" repeated the voice.
+
+"Have no fear, sire," said Nicholas.
+
+"That canna be the wark o' the deil," cried James. "He does not delight
+in holy hymns and sweet music."
+
+"That is a solemn dirge for the dead," observed Nicholas, as melodious
+voices mingled with the music.
+
+"Weel, weel, I will go on at a' hazards," said James.
+
+The doors flew open as the King and his attendants approached, and, as
+soon as they had passed through them, the valves swung back to their
+places.
+
+A strange sad spectacle met their gaze. In the midst of the chamber
+stood a bier, covered with a velvet pall, and on it the bodies of a
+youth and maiden were deposited. Pale and beautiful were they as
+sculptured marble, and a smile sat upon their features. Side by side
+they were lying, with their arms enfolded, as if they had died in each
+other's embrace. A wreath of yew and cypress was placed above their
+heads, and flowers were scattered round them.
+
+They were Richard and Alizon.
+
+It was a deeply touching sight, and for some time none spake. The solemn
+dirge continued, interrupted only by the stifled sobs of the listeners.
+
+"Both gone!" exclaimed Nicholas, in accents broken by emotion; "and so
+young--so good--so beautiful! Alas! alas!"
+
+"She could not have bewitched him," said the King.
+
+"Alizon was all purity and goodness," cried Nicholas, "and is now
+numbered with the angels."
+
+"The guilty one is in thy hands, O King!" said the voice. "It is for
+thee to punish."
+
+"And I will not hold my hand," said James. "The Devices shall assuredly
+perish. When I go from this chamber, I will have them conveyed under a
+strong escort to Lancaster Castle. They shall die by the hands of the
+common executioner."
+
+"My mission, then, is complete," replied the voice. "I can rest in
+peace.".
+
+"Who art thou?" demanded the King.
+
+"One who sinned deeply, but is now pardoned," replied the voice.
+
+The King was for a moment lost in reflection, and then turned to depart.
+At this moment a kneeling figure, whom no one had hitherto noticed,
+arose from behind the bier. It was a lady, robed in mourning. So ghastly
+pale were her features, and so skeleton-like her attenuated frame, that
+James thought he beheld a spectre, and recoiled in terror. The figure
+advanced slowly towards him.
+
+"Who, and what art thou, in Heaven's name?" he exclaimed.
+
+"I am Alice Nutter, sire," replied the lady, prostrating herself before
+him.
+
+"Alice Nutter, the witch!" cried the King. "Why--ay, I recollect thou
+wert here. I sent for thee, but recent terrible events had put thee
+clean out of my head. But expect no grace from me, evil woman. I will
+show thee none."
+
+"I ask none, sire," replied the penitent. "I came to place myself in
+your hands, that justice may be done upon me."
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed James. "Dost thou, indeed, repent thee of thy
+iniquities? Dost thou abjure the devil and all his works?"
+
+"I do," replied the lady, fervently. "My compact with the Evil One has
+been broken by the prayers of my devoted daughter, who sacrificed
+herself for me, and thereby saved my soul alive. But human justice
+requires an expiation, and I am anxious to make it."
+
+"Arise, ill-fated woman," said the king, much moved. "You must go to
+Lancaster, but, in consideration of your penitence, no indignity shall
+be shown you. You must be strictly guarded, but you shall not be taken
+with the other prisoners."
+
+"I humbly thank your Majesty," replied the lady. "May I take a last
+farewell of my child?"
+
+"Do so," replied James.
+
+Alice Nutter then approached the bier, and, after gazing for a moment
+with deepest fondness upon the features of her daughter, imprinted a
+kiss upon her marble brow. In doing this her tears fell fast.
+
+"You can weep, I see," observed the King. "You are a witch no longer."
+
+"Ay, Heaven be praised! I can weep," she replied; "and so ease my
+over-burthened heart. Oh! sire, none but those who have experienced it
+can tell the agony of being denied this relief of nature. Farewell for
+ever, my blessed child!" she exclaimed, kissing her brow again; "and
+you, too, her beloved. Nicholas Assheton--it was her wish to be buried
+in the same grave with Richard. You will see it done, Nicholas?"
+
+"I will--I will!" replied the squire, in a voice of deepest emotion.
+
+"And I likewise promise it," said Sir Ralph Assheton. "They shall rest
+together in Whalley churchyard. It is well that Sir Richard and Dorothy
+are gone," he observed to Nicholas.
+
+"It is indeed," said the squire, "or we should have had another funeral
+to perform. Pray Heaven it be not so now!"
+
+"Have you any other request to prefer?" demanded the King.
+
+"None whatever, sire," replied the lady, "except that I wish to make
+full restitution of all the land I have robbed him of, to Master Roger
+Nowell; and, as some compensation, I would fain add certain lands
+adjoining, which have been conveyed over to Sir Ralph and Nicholas
+Assheton, only annexing the condition that a small sum annually be given
+in dole to the poor of the parish, that I may be remembered in their
+prayers."
+
+"We will see it done," said Sir Ralph and Nicholas.
+
+"And I will see my part fulfilled," said Nowell. "For any wrong you have
+done me I now freely and fully forgive you, and may Heaven in its
+infinite mercy forgive you likewise!"
+
+"Amen!" ejaculated the monarch. And all the others joined in the
+ejaculation.
+
+The King then moved to the door, which was opened for him by the two
+Asshetons. At the foot of the steps stood Master Potts, attended by an
+officer of the guard and a party of halberdiers. In the midst of them,
+with their hands tied behind their backs, were Jem Device, his mother,
+Jennet, and poor Nance Redferne. Jem looked dogged and sullen, Elizabeth
+downcast, but Jennet retained her accustomed malignant expression. Poor
+Nance was the only one who excited any sympathy. Jennet's malice seemed
+now directed against Master Potts, whom she charged with having betrayed
+and deceived her.
+
+"If Tib had na deserted me he should tear thee i' pieces, thou
+ill-favourt little monster," she cried.
+
+"Monster in your own face, you hideous little wretch," exclaimed the
+indignant attorney. "If you use such opprobrious epithets I will have
+you gagged. You will be taken to Lancaster Castle, and hanged."
+
+"Yo are os bad as ey am, and warse," replied Jennet, "and deserve
+hanging os weel, and the King shan knoa of your tricks," she
+vociferated, as James appeared at the door of the pavilion. "Yo wished
+to ensnare Alizon. Yo wished me to kill her. Ey was only your
+instrument."
+
+"Stop her mouth--gag her!" cried Potts.
+
+"Nah, nah!--they shanna stap my mouth--they shanna gag me," cried
+Jennet. "Ey win speak out. The King shan hear me. You are as bad os me."
+
+"All malice, your Majesty--all malice," cried the attorney.
+
+"Malice, nae doubt, in great pairt," replied James; "but some truth as
+weel, I fear, sir. And in any case it will prevent my doing any thing
+for you."
+
+"There, you have ruined my hopes, you little wretch!" cried Potts,
+furiously.
+
+"Ey'm reet glad on't," said Jennet. "Yo may tay me to Lonkester Castle,
+boh yo conna hong me. Ey knoa that fu' weel. Ey shan get out, and then
+look to yersel, lad; for, os sure os ey'm Mother Demdike's grandowter,
+ey'n plague the life out o' ye."
+
+"Take the prisoners away, and let them be conveyed under a strict escort
+to Lancaster Castle," said James.
+
+"And, as the assizes commence next week, quick work will be made with
+them, your Majesty," observed Potts. "Their guilt can be incontestably
+proved, so they are sure to be found guilty, sure to be hanged, sire."
+
+As the prisoners were removed, Nance Redferne looked round her, and,
+catching the eye of Nicholas, made a slight motion with her head, as if
+bidding him farewell.
+
+The squire returned the mute valediction.
+
+"Poor Nance!" he exclaimed, compassionately, "I sincerely pity her.
+Would there was any means of saving her!"
+
+"There is none," observed Sir Ralph Assheton. "And you may be thankful
+you are not brought in as her accomplice."
+
+As Jennet was taken away, she continued to hurl threats and imprecations
+against Potts.
+
+Another officer of the guard was then summoned, and when he came, James
+said, "One other prisoner remains within the pavilion. She likewise must
+be conveyed to Lancaster Castle but in a litter, and not with the other
+prisoners."
+
+Attended by Sir Richard Hoghton, the monarch then proceeded to his
+lodgings in the Tower.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.--"ONE GRAVE."
+
+
+Notwithstanding the sad occurrences above detailed, James remained for
+two more days the guest of Sir Richard Hoghton, enjoying his princely
+hospitality, hunting in the park, carousing in the great hall, and
+witnessing all kinds of sports.
+
+Nothing, indeed, was left to remind him of the sad events that had
+occurred. The prisoners were taken that night to Lancaster Castle, and
+Master Potts accompanied the escort, to be ready for the assizes. The
+three judges proceeded thither at the end of the week. The attendance of
+Roger Nowell, Nicholas, and Sir Ralph Assheton, was also required as
+witnesses at the trial of the witches.
+
+Sir Richard Assheton and Dorothy had returned, as already stated, to
+Middleton; and, though the intelligence of the death of Richard and
+Alizon was communicated to them with infinite caution, the shock to both
+was very great, especially to Dorothy, who was long--very long--in
+recovering from it.
+
+Nicholas's vivacity of temperament made him feel the loss of his cousin
+at first very keenly, but it soon wore off. He vowed amendment and
+reformation on the model of John Bruen, whose life offered so striking a
+contrast to his own, that it has very properly been placed in opposition
+by a reverend moralist; but I regret to say that he did not carry out
+his praiseworthy intentions. He was apt to make a joke of John Bruen,
+instead of imitating his example. He professed to devote himself to his
+excellent wife--but his old habits would break out; and, I am sorry to
+say, he was often to be found in the alehouse, and was just as fond of
+horse-racing, cock-fighting, hunting, fishing, and all other sports, as
+ever. Occasionally he occupied a leisure or a rainy day with a
+Journal,[6] parts of which have been preserved; but he set down in it
+few of the terrible events here related, probably because they were of
+too painful a nature to be recorded. He died in 1625--at the early age
+of thirty-five.
+
+But to go back. A few days after the tragical events at Hoghton Tower,
+the whole village of Whalley was astir. But it was no festive
+occasion--no merry-making--that called forth the inhabitants, for grief
+sat upon every countenance. The day, too, was gloomy. The feathered
+summits of Whalley Nab were wreathed in mist, and a fine rain descended
+in the valley. The Calder looked dull and discoloured as it flowed past
+the walls of the ancient Abbey. The church bell tolled mournfully, and a
+large concourse was gathered in the churchyard. Not far from one of the
+three crosses of Paulinus, which stood nearest the church porch, a grave
+had been digged, and almost every one looked into it. The grave, it was
+said, was intended to hold two coffins. Soon after this, a train of
+mourners issued from the ancient Abbey gateway, and sure enough there
+were two coffins on the shoulders of the bearers; They were met at the
+gate by Doctor Ormerod, who was so deeply affected as scarcely to be
+able to perform the needful offices for the dead. The principal mourners
+were Sir Richard Assheton of Middleton, Sir Ralph Assheton, and
+Nicholas. Amid the tears and sobs of all the bystanders, the bodies of
+Richard and Alizon were committed to the earth--laid together in one
+grave.
+
+Thus was their latest wish fulfilled. Flowers grew upon the turf that
+covered them, and there was the earliest primrose seen, and the latest
+violet. Many a fond youth and trusting maiden have visited their lowly
+tomb, and many a tear, fresh from the heart, has dropped upon the sod
+covering the ill-fated lovers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.--LANCASTER CASTLE.
+
+
+Behold the grim and giant fabric, rebuilt and strengthened by
+
+          "Old John of Gaunt, time-honour'd Lancaster!"
+
+Within one of its turrets called John of Gaunt's Chair, and at eventide,
+stands a lady under the care of a jailer. It is the last sunset she will
+ever see--the last time she will look upon the beauties of earth; for
+she is a prisoner, condemned to die an ignominious and terrible death,
+and her execution will take place on the morrow. Leaving her alone
+within the turret, the jailer locks the door and stands outside it. The
+lady casts a long, lingering look around. All nature seems so
+beautiful--so attractive. The sunset upon the broad watery sands of
+Morecambe Bay is exquisite in varied tints. The fells of Furness look
+black and bold, and the windings of the Lune are clearly traced out. But
+she casts a wistful glance towards the mountainous ridges of Lancashire,
+and fancies she can detect amongst the heights the rounded summit of
+Pendle Hill. Then her gaze settles upon the grey old town beneath her,
+and, as her glance wanders over it, certain terrible objects arrest it.
+In the area before the Castle she sees a ring of tall stakes. She knows
+well their purpose, and counts them. They are thirteen in number.
+Thirteen wretched beings are to be burned on the morrow. Not far from
+the stakes are an enormous pile of fagots. All is prepared. Fascinated
+by the sight, she remains gazing at the place of execution for some
+time, and when she turns, she beholds a tall dark man standing beside
+her. At first she thinks it is the jailer, and is about to tell the man
+she is ready to descend to her cell, when she recognises him, and
+recoils in terror.
+
+"Thou here--again!" she cried.
+
+"I can save thee from the stake, if thou wilt, Alice Nutter," he said.
+
+"Hence!" she exclaimed. "Thou temptest me in vain. Hence!"
+
+And with a howl of rage the demon disappeared.
+
+Conveyed back to her cell, situated within the dread Dungeon Tower,
+Alice Nutter passed the whole of that night in prayer. Towards four
+o'clock, wearied out, she dropped into a slumber; and when the
+clergyman, from whom she had received spiritual consolation, came to her
+cell, he found her still sleeping, but with a sweet smile upon her
+lips--the first he had ever beheld there.
+
+Unwilling to disturb her, he knelt down and prayed by her side. At
+length the jailer came, and the executioner's aids. The divine then laid
+his hand upon her shoulder, and she instantly arose.
+
+"I am ready," she said, cheerfully.
+
+"You have had a happy dream, daughter," he observed.
+
+"A blessed dream, reverend sir," she replied. "I thought I saw my
+children, Richard and Alizon, in a fair garden--oh! how angelic they
+looked--and they told me I should be with them soon."
+
+"And I doubt not the vision will be realised," replied the clergyman.
+"Your redemption is fully worked out, and your salvation, I trust,
+secured. And now you must prepare for your last trial."
+
+"I am fully prepared," she replied; "but will you not go to the others?"
+
+"Alas! my dear daughter," he replied, "they all, excepting Nance
+Redferne, refuse my services, and will perish in their iniquities."
+
+"Then go to her, sir, I entreat of you," she said; "she may yet be
+saved. But what of Jennet? Is she, too, to die?"
+
+"No," replied the divine; "being evidence against her relatives, her
+life is spared."
+
+"Heaven grant she do no more mischief!" exclaimed Alice Nutter.
+
+She then submitted herself to the executioner's assistants, and was led
+forth. On issuing into the open air a change came over her, and such an
+exceeding faintness that she had to be supported. She was led towards
+the stake in this state; but she grew fainter and fainter, and at last
+fell back in the arms of the men that supported her. Still they carried
+her on. When the executioner put out his hand to receive her from his
+aids, she was found to be quite dead. Nevertheless, he tied her to the
+stake, and her body was consumed. Hundreds of spectators beheld those
+terrible fires, and exulted in the torments of the miserable sufferers.
+Their shrieks and blasphemies were terrific, and the place resembled a
+hell upon earth.
+
+Jennet escaped, to the dismay of Master Potts, who feared she would
+wreak her threatened vengeance upon him. And, indeed, he did suffer from
+aches and cramps, which he attributed to her; but which were more
+reasonably supposed to be owing to rheum caught in the marshes of Pendle
+Forest. He had, however, the pleasure of assisting at her execution,
+when some years afterwards retributive justice overtook her.
+
+Jennet was the last of the Lancashire Witches. Ever since then
+witchcraft has taken a new form with the ladies of the county--though
+their fascination and spells are as potent as ever. Few can now escape
+them,--few desire to do so. But to all who are afraid of a bright eye
+and a blooming cheek, and who desire to adhere to a bachelor's
+condition--to such I should say, "BEWARE OF THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES!"
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+M'CORQUODALE AND CO., PRINTERS, LONDON--WORKS, NEWTON.
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 1: A similar eruption occurred at Pendle Hill in August, 1669,
+and has been described by Mr. Charles Townley, in a letter cited by Dr.
+Whitaker in his excellent "History of Whalley." Other and more
+formidable eruptions had taken place previously, occasioning much damage
+to the country. The cause of the phenomenon is thus explained by Mr.
+Townley: "The colour of the water, its coming down to the place where it
+breaks forth between the rock and the earth, with that other particular
+of its bringing nothing along but stones and earth, are evident signs
+that it hath not its origin from the very bowels of the mountain; but
+that it is only rain water coloured first in the moss-pits, of which the
+top of the hill, being a great and considerable plain, is full, shrunk
+down into some receptacle fit to contain it, until at last by its
+weight, or some other cause, it finds a passage to the sides of the
+hill, and then away between the rock and swarth, until it break the
+latter and violently rush out."]
+
+[Footnote 2: Locus Benedictus de Whalley.]
+
+[Footnote 3: This speech is in substance the monarch's actual
+Declaration concerning Lawful Sports, promulgated in 1618, in a little
+Tractate, generally known as the "Book of Sports;" by which he would
+have conferred a great boon on the lower orders, if his kindly purpose
+had not been misapprehended by some, and ultimately defeated by bigots
+and fanatics. King James deserves to be remembered with gratitude, if
+only for this manifestation of sympathy with the enjoyments of the
+people. He had himself discovered that the restrictions imposed upon
+them had "setup filthy tipplings and drunkenness, and bred a number of
+idle and discontented speeches in the alehouses."]
+
+[Footnote 4: "There is a laughable tradition," says Nichols, "still
+generally current in Lancashire, that our knight-making monarch knighted
+at the banquet in Hoghton Tower a loin of beef; the part ever since
+called the sir-loin." And it is added by the same authority, "If the
+King did not give the sir-loin its name, he might, notwithstanding, have
+indulged in a pun on the already coined word, the etymology of which was
+then, as now, as little regarded as the thing signified is well
+approved."--_Nichols's Progresses of James I._, vol. iii.]
+
+[Footnote 5: These speeches, given by _Nichols_ as derived from the
+family records of Sir Henry Philip Hoghton, Bart., were actually
+delivered at a masque represented on occasion of King James's visit to
+Hoghton Tower.]
+
+[Footnote 6: Published by the Chetham Society, and admirably edited,
+with notes, exhibiting an extraordinary amount of research and
+information, by the Rev. F.R. Raines, M.A., F.S.A., of Milnrow
+Parsonage, near Rochdale.]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Lancashire Witches
+by William Harrison Ainsworth
+
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+
+Project Gutenberg's The Lancashire Witches, by William Harrison Ainsworth
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Lancashire Witches
+       A Romance of Pendle Forest
+
+Author: William Harrison Ainsworth
+
+Release Date: March 29, 2005 [EBook #15493]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Clare Boothby, Jon King and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<p class="figcenter"><a name="ILLUS_1" id="ILLUS_1" href="./images/illus01_lg.jpg"><img src="./images/illus01_sm.jpg"
+alt="Illustration: NICHOLAS ASSHETON AND THE THREE DOLL WANGOS LEAVING HOGHTON HALL."
+title="NICHOLAS ASSHETON AND THE THREE DOLL WANGOS LEAVING HOGHTON HALL." /></a></p>
+<p class="figcenter"><span class="smcap">Nicholas Assheton and the Three Doll Wangos Leaving Hoghton Hall.</span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h1>THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES.</h1>
+<h2>A Romance of Pendle Forest.</h2>
+
+
+<h3>By</h3>
+<h2>William Harrison Ainsworth, Esq.</h2>
+
+<p><br /><a class="blockquot"><i>Sir Jeffery</i>.&mdash;Is there a justice in Lancashire has so much
+skill in witches as I have? Nay, I'll speak a proud word; you
+shall turn me loose against any Witch-finder in Europe. I'd
+make an ass of Hopkins if he were alive.&mdash;<span class="smcap">Shadwell.</span></a><br /><br /></p>
+
+<h3>Third Edition.</h3>
+
+<h3>Illustrated by John Gilbert.</h3>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<h3>London:
+George Routledge &amp; Co., Farringdon Street.
+1854.</h3>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<h3>To
+James Crossley, Esq.,<br />
+(of Manchester,)</h3>
+
+<h3>President of the Chetham Society,<br />
+And the Learned Editor Of<br />
+&quot;The Discoverie of Witches in the County of Lancaster,&quot;&mdash;</h3>
+
+<h3>The groundwork of the following pages,&mdash;<br />
+This Romance,<br />
+undertaken at his suggestion,<br />
+is inscribed<br />
+by his old, and sincerely attached friend,<br />
+The Author.</h3>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+<div class="ctr">
+<table border='0' cellpadding='2' cellspacing='2' summary=''>
+  <tr><td><br /><br /></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='center'><h3>INTRODUCTION.</h3></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='center'><h4><span class="smcap">The Last Abbot of Whalley</span></h4></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_I_THE_BEACON_ON_PENDLE_HILL'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter I.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_I_THE_BEACON_ON_PENDLE_HILL'><b><span class="smcap">The Beacon on Pendle Hill.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_II_THE_ERUPTION'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter II.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_II_THE_ERUPTION'><b><span class="smcap">The Eruption.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_III_WHALLEY_ABBEY'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter III.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_III_WHALLEY_ABBEY'><b><span class="smcap">Whalley Abbey.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_IV_THE_MALEDICTION'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter IV.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_IV_THE_MALEDICTION'><b><span class="smcap">The Malediction.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_V_THE_MIDNIGHT_MASS'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter V.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_V_THE_MIDNIGHT_MASS'><b><span class="smcap">The Midnight Mass.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_VI_TETER_ET_FORTIS_CARCER'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter VI.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_VI_TETER_ET_FORTIS_CARCER'><b><span class="smcap">Teter et Fortis Carcer.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_VII_THE_ABBEY_MILL'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter VII.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_VII_THE_ABBEY_MILL'><b><span class="smcap">The Abbey Mill.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_VIII_THE_EXECUTIONER'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter VIII.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_VIII_THE_EXECUTIONER'><b><span class="smcap">The Executioner.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_IX_WISWALL_HALL'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter IX.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_IX_WISWALL_HALL'><b><span class="smcap">Wiswall Hall.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_X_THE_HOLEHOUSES'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter X.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_X_THE_HOLEHOUSES'><b><span class="smcap">The Holehouses.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td><br /><br /></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='center'><h3>BOOK THE FIRST.</h3></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='center'><h4><span class="smcap">Alizon Device</span></h4></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_I_THE_MAY_QUEEN'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter I.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_I_THE_MAY_QUEEN'><b><span class="smcap">The May Queen.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_II_THE_BLACK_CAT_AND_THE_WHITE_DOVE'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter II.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_II_THE_BLACK_CAT_AND_THE_WHITE_DOVE'><b><span class="smcap">The Black Cat and the White Dove.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_III_THE_ASSHETONS'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter III.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_III_THE_ASSHETONS'><b><span class="smcap">The Asshetons.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_IV_ALICE_NUTTER'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter IV.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_IV_ALICE_NUTTER'><b><span class="smcap">Alice Nutter.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_V_MOTHER_CHATTOX'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter V.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_V_MOTHER_CHATTOX'><b><span class="smcap">Mother Chattox.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_VI_THE_ORDEAL_BY_SWIMMING'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter VI.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_VI_THE_ORDEAL_BY_SWIMMING'><b><span class="smcap">The Ordeal by Swimming.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_VII_THE_RUINED_CONVENTUAL_CHURCH'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter VII.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_VII_THE_RUINED_CONVENTUAL_CHURCH'><b><span class="smcap">The Ruined Conventual Church.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_VIII_THE_REVELATION'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter VIII.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_VIII_THE_REVELATION'><b><span class="smcap">The Revelation.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_IX_THE_TWO_PORTRAITS_IN_THE_BANQUETING_HALL'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter IX.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_IX_THE_TWO_PORTRAITS_IN_THE_BANQUETING_HALL'><b><span class="smcap">The Two Portraits in the Banqueting-Hall.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_X_THE_NOCTURNAL_MEETING'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter X.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_X_THE_NOCTURNAL_MEETING'><b><span class="smcap">The Nocturnal Meeting.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td><br /><br /></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='center'><h3>BOOK THE SECOND.</h3></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='center'><h4><span class="smcap">Pendle Forest</span></h4></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_I_FLINT'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter I.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_I_FLINT'><b><span class="smcap">Flint.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_II_READ_HALL'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter II.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_II_READ_HALL'><b><span class="smcap">Read Hall.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_III_THE_BOGGARTS_GLEN'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter III.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_III_THE_BOGGARTS_GLEN'><b><span class="smcap">The Boggart's Glen.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_IV_THE_REEVE_OF_THE_FOREST'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter IV.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_IV_THE_REEVE_OF_THE_FOREST'><b><span class="smcap">The Reeve of the Forest.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_V_BESSS_O_TH_BOOTH'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter V.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_V_BESSS_O_TH_BOOTH'><b><span class="smcap">Bess's o' th' Booth.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_VI_THE_TEMPTATION'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter VI.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_VI_THE_TEMPTATION'><b><span class="smcap">The Temptation.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_VII_THE_PERAMBULATION_OF_THE_BOUNDARIES'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter VII.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_VII_THE_PERAMBULATION_OF_THE_BOUNDARIES'><b><span class="smcap">The Perambulation of the Boundaries.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_VIII_ROUGH_LEE'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter VIII.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_VIII_ROUGH_LEE'><b><span class="smcap">Rough Lee.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_IX_HOW_ROUGH_LEE_WAS_DEFENDED_BY_NICHOLAS'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter IX.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_IX_HOW_ROUGH_LEE_WAS_DEFENDED_BY_NICHOLAS'><b><span class="smcap">How Rough Lee was defended by Nicholas.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_X_ROGER_NOWELL_AND_HIS_DOUBLE'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter X.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_X_ROGER_NOWELL_AND_HIS_DOUBLE'><b><span class="smcap">Roger Nowell and his Double.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_XI_MOTHER_DEMDIKE'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter XI.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_XI_MOTHER_DEMDIKE'><b><span class="smcap">Mother Demdike.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_XII_THE_MYSTERIES_OF_MALKIN_TOWER'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter XII.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_XII_THE_MYSTERIES_OF_MALKIN_TOWER'><b><span class="smcap">The Mysteries of Malkin Tower.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIII_THE_TWO_FAMILIARS'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter XIII.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIII_THE_TWO_FAMILIARS'><b><span class="smcap">The Two Familiars.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIV_HOW_ROUGH_LEE_WAS_AGAIN_BESIEGED'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter XIV.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIV_HOW_ROUGH_LEE_WAS_AGAIN_BESIEGED'><b><span class="smcap">How Rough Lee was again Besieged.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_XV_THE_PHANTOM_MONK'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter XV.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_XV_THE_PHANTOM_MONK'><b><span class="smcap">The Phantom Monk.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_XVI_ONE_OCLOCK'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter XVI.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_XVI_ONE_OCLOCK'><b><span class="smcap">One O'Clock!</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_XVII_HOW_THE_BEACON_FIRE_WAS_EXTINGUISHED'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter XVII.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_XVII_HOW_THE_BEACON_FIRE_WAS_EXTINGUISHED'><b><span class="smcap">How the Beacon Fire was Extinguished.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td><br /><br /></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='center'><h3>BOOK THE THIRD.</h3></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='center'><h4><span class="smcap">Hoghton Tower</span></h4></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_I_DOWNHAM_MANOR_HOUSE'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter I.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_I_DOWNHAM_MANOR_HOUSE'><b><span class="smcap">Downham Manor-House.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_II_THE_PENITENTS_RETREAT'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter II.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_II_THE_PENITENTS_RETREAT'><b><span class="smcap">The Penitent's Retreat.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_III_MIDDLETON_HALL'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter III.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_III_MIDDLETON_HALL'><b><span class="smcap">Middleton Hall.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_IV_THE_GORGE_OF_CLIVIGER'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter IV.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_IV_THE_GORGE_OF_CLIVIGER'><b><span class="smcap">The Gorge of Cliviger.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_V_THE_END_OF_MALKIN_TOWER'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter V.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_V_THE_END_OF_MALKIN_TOWER'><b><span class="smcap">The End of Malkin Tower.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_VI_HOGHTON_TOWER'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter VI.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_VI_HOGHTON_TOWER'><b><span class="smcap">Hoghton Tower.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_VII_THE_ROYAL_DECLARATION_CONCERNING_LAWFUL_SPORTS_ON_THE_SUNDAY'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter VII.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_VII_THE_ROYAL_DECLARATION_CONCERNING_LAWFUL_SPORTS_ON_THE_SUNDAY'><b><span class="smcap">The Royal Declaration concerning Lawful<br />Sports on the Sunday.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_VIII_HOW_KING_JAMES_HUNTED_THE_HART_AND_THE_WILD_BOAR_IN_HOUGHTON_PARK'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter VIII.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_VIII_HOW_KING_JAMES_HUNTED_THE_HART_AND_THE_WILD_BOAR_IN_HOUGHTON_PARK'><b><span class="smcap">How King James Hunted the Hart and the<br />Wild-Boar in Houghton Park.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_IX_THE_BANQUET'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter IX.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_IX_THE_BANQUET'><b><span class="smcap">The Banquet.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_X_EVENING_ENTERTAINMENTS'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter X.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_X_EVENING_ENTERTAINMENTS'><b><span class="smcap">Evening Entertainments.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_XI_FATALITY'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter XI.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_XI_FATALITY'><b><span class="smcap">Fatality.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_XII_THE_LAST_HOUR'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter XII.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_XII_THE_LAST_HOUR'><b><span class="smcap">The Last Hour.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIII_THE_MASQUE_OF_DEATH'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter XIII.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIII_THE_MASQUE_OF_DEATH'><b><span class="smcap">The Masque of Death.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIV_ONE_GRAVE'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter XIV.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIV_ONE_GRAVE'><b><span class="smcap">&quot;One Grave.&quot;</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><a href='#CHAPTER_XV_LANCASTER_CASTLE'><b><span class="smcap">Chapter XV.</span></b></a></td><td align='left'><a href='#CHAPTER_XV_LANCASTER_CASTLE'><b><span class="smcap">Lancaster Castle.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td><br /><br /></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='center'><h3>ILLUSTRATIONS.</h3></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='left'><a href='#ILLUS_1'><b><span class="smcap">Nicholas Assheton and the Three Doll Wangos<br />Leaving Hoghton Hall.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='left'><a href='#ILLUS_2'><b><span class="smcap">Alvetham and John Paslew.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='left'><a href='#ILLUS_3'><b><span class="smcap">The May Queen.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='left'><a href='#ILLUS_4'><b><span class="smcap">Nan Redferne and Mother Chattox.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='left'><a href='#ILLUS_5'><b><span class="smcap">Mother Chattox, Alizon, and Dorothy.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='left'><a href='#ILLUS_6'><b><span class="smcap">Alizon Alarmed at the Appearance of Mrs. Nutter.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='left'><a href='#ILLUS_7'><b><span class="smcap">The Incantation.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='left'><a href='#ILLUS_8'><b><span class="smcap">Potts after Being Thrown from his Horse.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='left'><a href='#ILLUS_9'><b><span class="smcap">Richard Overhears the Mother Chattox and the Sexton.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='left'><a href='#ILLUS_10'><b><span class="smcap">The Ride through the Murky Air.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='left'><a href='#ILLUS_11'><b><span class="smcap">The Phantom Monk.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+  <tr><td colspan='2' align='left'><a href='#ILLUS_12'><b><span class="smcap">Alizon Defies Jennet.</span></b></a></td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>INTRODUCTION.</h2>
+<h3><span class="smcap">The Last Abbot of Whalley.</span></h3>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I_THE_BEACON_ON_PENDLE_HILL" id="CHAPTER_I_THE_BEACON_ON_PENDLE_HILL" />CHAPTER I.&mdash;THE BEACON ON PENDLE HILL.</h2>
+
+<p>There were eight watchers by the beacon on Pendle Hill in Lancashire.
+Two were stationed on either side of the north-eastern extremity of the
+mountain. One looked over the castled heights of Clithero; the woody
+eminences of Bowland; the bleak ridges of Thornley; the broad moors of
+Bleasdale; the Trough of Bolland, and Wolf Crag; and even brought within
+his ken the black fells overhanging Lancaster. The other tracked the
+stream called Pendle Water, almost from its source amid the neighbouring
+hills, and followed its windings through the leafless forest, until it
+united its waters to those of the Calder, and swept on in swifter and
+clearer current, to wash the base of Whalley Abbey. But the watcher's
+survey did not stop here. Noting the sharp spire of Burnley Church,
+relieved against the rounded masses of timber constituting Townley Park;
+as well as the entrance of the gloomy mountain gorge, known as the
+Grange of Cliviger; his far-reaching gaze passed over Todmorden, and
+settled upon the distant summits of Blackstone Edge.</p>
+
+<p>Dreary was the prospect on all sides. Black moor, bleak fell, straggling
+forest, intersected with sullen streams as black as ink, with here and
+there a small tarn, or moss-pool, with waters of the same hue&mdash;these
+constituted the chief features of the scene. The whole district was
+barren and thinly-populated. Of towns, only Clithero, Colne, and
+Burnley&mdash;the latter little more than a village&mdash;were in view. In the
+valleys there were a few hamlets and scattered cottages, and on the
+uplands an occasional &quot;booth,&quot; as the hut of the herdsman was termed;
+but of more important mansions there were only six, as Merley,
+Twistleton, Alcancoats, Saxfeld, Ightenhill, and Gawthorpe. The
+&quot;vaccaries&quot; for the cattle, of which the herdsmen had the care, and the
+&quot;lawnds,&quot; or parks within the forest, appertaining to some of the halls
+before mentioned, offered the only evidences of cultivation. All else
+was heathy waste, morass, and wood.</p>
+
+<p>Still, in the eye of the sportsman&mdash;and the Lancashire gentlemen of the
+sixteenth century were keen lovers of sport&mdash;the country had a strong
+interest. Pendle forest abounded with game. Grouse, plover, and bittern
+were found upon its moors; woodcock and snipe on its marshes; mallard,
+teal, and widgeon upon its pools. In its chases ranged herds of deer,
+protected by the terrible forest-laws, then in full force: and the
+hardier huntsman might follow the wolf to his lair in the mountains;
+might spear the boar in the oaken glades, or the otter on the river's
+brink; might unearth the badger or the fox, or smite the fierce
+cat-a-mountain with a quarrel from his bow. A nobler victim sometimes,
+also, awaited him in the shape of a wild mountain bull, a denizen of the
+forest, and a remnant of the herds that had once browsed upon the hills,
+but which had almost all been captured, and removed to stock the park of
+the Abbot of Whalley. The streams and pools were full of fish: the
+stately heron frequented the meres; and on the craggy heights built the
+kite, the falcon, and the kingly eagle.</p>
+
+<p>There were eight watchers by the beacon. Two stood apart from the
+others, looking to the right and the left of the hill. Both were armed
+with swords and arquebuses, and wore steel caps and coats of buff. Their
+sleeves were embroidered with the five wounds of Christ, encircling the
+name of Jesus&mdash;the badge of the Pilgrimage of Grace. Between them, on
+the verge of the mountain, was planted a great banner, displaying a
+silver cross, the chalice, and the Host, together with an ecclesiastical
+figure, but wearing a helmet instead of a mitre, and holding a sword in
+place of a crosier, with the unoccupied hand pointing to the two towers
+of a monastic structure, as if to intimate that he was armed for its
+defence. This figure, as the device beneath it showed, represented John
+Paslew, Abbot of Whalley, or, as he styled himself in his military
+capacity, Earl of Poverty.</p>
+
+<p>There were eight watchers by the beacon. Two have been described. Of the
+other six, two were stout herdsmen carrying crooks, and holding a couple
+of mules, and a richly-caparisoned war-horse by the bridle. Near them
+stood a broad-shouldered, athletic young man, with the fresh complexion,
+curling brown hair, light eyes, and open Saxon countenance, best seen in
+his native county of Lancaster. He wore a Lincoln-green tunic, with a
+bugle suspended from the shoulder by a silken cord; and a silver plate
+engraved with the three luces, the ensign of the Abbot of Whalley, hung
+by a chain from his neck. A hunting knife was in his girdle, and an
+eagle's plume in his cap, and he leaned upon the but-end of a crossbow,
+regarding three persons who stood together by a peat fire, on the
+sheltered side of the beacon. Two of these were elderly men, in the
+white gowns and scapularies of Cistertian monks, doubtless from Whalley,
+as the abbey belonged to that order. The third and last, and evidently
+their superior, was a tall man in a riding dress, wrapped in a long
+mantle of black velvet, trimmed with minever, and displaying the same
+badges as those upon the sleeves of the sentinels, only wrought in
+richer material. His features were strongly marked and stern, and bore
+traces of age; but his eye was bright, and his carriage erect and
+dignified.</p>
+
+<p>The beacon, near which the watchers stood, consisted of a vast pile of
+logs of timber, heaped upon a circular range of stones, with openings to
+admit air, and having the centre filled with fagots, and other quickly
+combustible materials. Torches were placed near at hand, so that the
+pile could be lighted on the instant.</p>
+
+<p>The watch was held one afternoon at the latter end of November, 1536. In
+that year had arisen a formidable rebellion in the northern counties of
+England, the members of which, while engaging to respect the person of
+the king, Henry VIII., and his issue, bound themselves by solemn oath to
+accomplish the restoration of Papal supremacy throughout the realm, and
+the restitution of religious establishments and lands to their late
+ejected possessors. They bound themselves, also, to punish the enemies
+of the Romish church, and suppress heresy. From its religious character
+the insurrection assumed the name of the Pilgrimage of Grace, and
+numbered among its adherents all who had not embraced the new doctrines
+in Yorkshire and Lancashire. That such an outbreak should occur on the
+suppression of the monasteries, was not marvellous. The desecration and
+spoliation of so many sacred structures&mdash;the destruction of shrines and
+images long regarded with veneration&mdash;the ejection of so many
+ecclesiastics, renowned for hospitality and revered for piety and
+learning&mdash;the violence and rapacity of the commissioners appointed by
+the Vicar-General Cromwell to carry out these severe measures&mdash;all these
+outrages were regarded by the people with abhorrence, and disposed them
+to aid the sufferers in resistance. As yet the wealthier monasteries in
+the north had been spared, and it was to preserve them from the greedy
+hands of the visiters, Doctors Lee and Layton, that the insurrection had
+been undertaken. A simultaneous rising took place in Lincolnshire,
+headed by Makarel, Abbot of Barlings, but it was speedily quelled by the
+vigour and skill of the Duke of Suffolk, and its leader executed. But
+the northern outbreak was better organized, and of greater force, for it
+now numbered thirty thousand men, under the command of a skilful and
+resolute leader named Robert Aske.</p>
+
+<p>As may be supposed, the priesthood were main movers in a revolt having
+their especial benefit for its aim; and many of them, following the
+example of the Abbot of Barlings, clothed themselves in steel instead of
+woollen garments, and girded on the sword and the breastplate for the
+redress of their grievances and the maintenance of their rights. Amongst
+these were the Abbots of Jervaux, Furness, Fountains, Rivaulx, and
+Salley, and, lastly, the Abbot of Whalley, before mentioned; a fiery and
+energetic prelate, who had ever been constant and determined in his
+opposition to the aggressive measures of the king. Such was the
+Pilgrimage of Grace, such its design, and such its supporters.</p>
+
+<p>Several large towns had already fallen into the hands of the insurgents.
+York, Hull, and Pontefract had yielded; Skipton Castle was besieged, and
+defended by the Earl of Cumberland; and battle was offered to the Duke
+of Norfolk and the Earl of Shrewsbury, who headed the king's forces at
+Doncaster. But the object of the Royalist leaders was to temporise, and
+an armistice was offered to the rebels and accepted. Terms were next
+proposed and debated.</p>
+
+<p>During the continuance of this armistice all hostilities ceased; but
+beacons were reared upon the mountains, and their fires were to be taken
+as a new summons to arms. This signal the eight watchers expected.</p>
+
+<p>Though late in November, the day had been unusually fine, and, in
+consequence, the whole hilly ranges around were clearly discernible, but
+now the shades of evening were fast drawing on.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Night is approaching,&quot; cried the tall man in the velvet mantle,
+impatiently; &quot;and still the signal comes not. Wherefore this delay? Can
+Norfolk have accepted our conditions? Impossible. The last messenger
+from our camp at Scawsby Lees brought word that the duke's sole terms
+would be the king's pardon to the whole insurgent army, provided they at
+once dispersed&mdash;except ten persons, six named and four unnamed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And were you amongst those named, lord abbot?&quot; demanded one of the
+monks.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;John Paslew, Abbot of Whalley, it was said, headed the list,&quot; replied
+the other, with a bitter smile. &quot;Next came William Trafford, Abbot of
+Salley. Next Adam Sudbury, Abbot of Jervaux. Then our leader, Robert
+Aske. Then John Eastgate, Monk of Whalley&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How, lord abbot!&quot; exclaimed the monk. &quot;Was my name mentioned?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It was,&quot; rejoined the abbot. &quot;And that of William Haydocke, also Monk
+of Whalley, closed the list.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The unrelenting tyrant!&quot; muttered the other monk. &quot;But these terms
+could not be accepted?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Assuredly not,&quot; replied Paslew; &quot;they were rejected with scorn. But the
+negotiations were continued by Sir Ralph Ellerker and Sir Robert Bowas,
+who were to claim on our part a free pardon for all; the establishment
+of a Parliament and courts of justice at York; the restoration of the
+Princess Mary to the succession; the Pope to his jurisdiction; and our
+brethren to their houses. But such conditions will never be granted.
+With my consent no armistice should have been agreed to. We are sure to
+lose by the delay. But I was overruled by the Archbishop of York and the
+Lord Darcy. Their voices prevailed against the Abbot of Whalley&mdash;or, if
+it please you, the Earl of Poverty.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is the assumption of that derisive title which has drawn upon you
+the full force of the king's resentment, lord abbot,&quot; observed Father
+Eastgate.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It may be,&quot; replied the abbot. &quot;I took it in mockery of Cromwell and
+the ecclesiastical commissioners, and I rejoice that they have felt the
+sting. The Abbot of Barlings called himself Captain Cobbler, because, as
+he affirmed, the state wanted mending like old shoon. And is not my
+title equally well chosen? Is not the Church smitten with poverty? Have
+not ten thousand of our brethren been driven from their homes to beg or
+to starve? Have not the houseless poor, whom we fed at our gates, and
+lodged within our wards, gone away hungry and without rest? Have not the
+sick, whom we would have relieved, died untended by the hedge-side? I am
+the head of the poor in Lancashire, the redresser of their grievances,
+and therefore I style myself Earl of Poverty. Have I not done well?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have, lord abbot,&quot; replied Father Eastgate.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Poverty will not alone be the fate of the Church, but of the whole
+realm, if the rapacious designs of the monarch and his heretical
+counsellors are carried forth,&quot; pursued the abbot. &quot;Cromwell, Audeley,
+and Rich, have wisely ordained that no infant shall be baptised without
+tribute to the king; that no man who owns not above twenty pounds a year
+shall consume wheaten bread, or eat the flesh of fowl or swine without
+tribute; and that all ploughed land shall pay tribute likewise. Thus the
+Church is to be beggared, the poor plundered, and all men burthened, to
+fatten the king, and fill his exchequer.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This must be a jest,&quot; observed Father Haydocke.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is a jest no man laughs at,&quot; rejoined the abbot, sternly; &quot;any more
+than the king's counsellors will laugh at the Earl of Poverty, whose
+title they themselves have created. But wherefore comes not the signal?
+Can aught have gone wrong? I will not think it. The whole country, from
+the Tweed to the Humber, and from the Lune to the Mersey, is ours; and,
+if we but hold together, our cause must prevail.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yet we have many and powerful enemies,&quot; observed Father Eastgate; &quot;and
+the king, it is said, hath sworn never to make terms with us. Tidings
+were brought to the abbey this morning, that the Earl of Derby is
+assembling forces at Preston, to march upon us.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We will give him a warm reception if he comes,&quot; replied Paslew,
+fiercely. &quot;He will find that our walls have not been kernelled and
+embattled by licence of good King Edward the Third for nothing; and that
+our brethren can fight as well as their predecessors fought in the time
+of Abbot Holden, when they took tithe by force from Sir Christopher
+Parsons of Slaydburn. The abbey is strong, and right well defended, and
+we need not fear a surprise. But it grows dark fast, and yet no signal
+comes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Perchance the waters of the Don have again risen, so as to prevent the
+army from fording the stream,&quot; observed Father Haydocke; &quot;or it may be
+that some disaster hath befallen our leader.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, I will not believe the latter,&quot; said the abbot; &quot;Robert Aske is
+chosen by Heaven to be our deliverer. It has been prophesied that a
+'worm with one eye' shall work the redemption of the fallen faith, and
+you know that Robert Aske hath been deprived of his left orb by an
+arrow.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Therefore it is,&quot; observed Father Eastgate, &quot;that the Pilgrims of Grace
+chant the following ditty:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;'Forth shall come an Aske with one eye,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He shall be chief of the company&mdash;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Chief of the northern chivalry.'&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What more?&quot; demanded the abbot, seeing that the monk appeared to
+hesitate.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, I know not whether the rest of the rhymes may please you, lord
+abbot,&quot; replied Father Eastgate.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Let me hear them, and I will judge,&quot; said Paslew. Thus urged, the monk
+went on:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;'One shall sit at a solemn feast,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Half warrior, half priest,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The greatest there shall be the least.'&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The last verse,&quot; observed the monk, &quot;has been added to the ditty by
+Nicholas Demdike. I heard him sing it the other day at the abbey gate.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What, Nicholas Demdike of Worston?&quot; cried the abbot; &quot;he whose wife is
+a witch?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The same,&quot; replied Eastgate.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hoo be so ceawnted, sure eno,&quot; remarked the forester, who had been
+listening attentively to their discourse, and who now stepped forward;
+&quot;boh dunna yo think it. Beleemy, lort abbut, Bess Demdike's too yunk an
+too protty for a witch.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou art bewitched by her thyself, Cuthbert,&quot; said the abbot, angrily.
+&quot;I shall impose a penance upon thee, to free thee from the evil
+influence. Thou must recite twenty paternosters daily, fasting, for one
+month; and afterwards perform a pilgrimage to the shrine of our Lady of
+Gilsland. Bess Demdike is an approved and notorious witch, and hath been
+seen by credible witnesses attending a devil's sabbath on this very
+hill&mdash;Heaven shield us! It is therefore that I have placed her and her
+husband under the ban of the Church; pronounced sentence of
+excommunication against them; and commanded all my clergy to refuse
+baptism to their infant daughter, newly born.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Wea's me! ey knoas 't reet weel, lort abbut,&quot; replied Ashbead, &quot;and
+Bess taks t' sentence sore ta 'ert!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then let her amend her ways, or heavier punishment will befall her,&quot;
+cried Paslew, severely. &quot;'<i>Sortilegam non patieris vivere</i>' saith the
+Levitical law. If she be convicted she shall die the death. That she is
+comely I admit; but it is the comeliness of a child of sin. Dost thou
+know the man with whom she is wedded&mdash;or supposed to be wedded&mdash;for I
+have seen no proof of the marriage? He is a stranger here.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey knoas neawt abowt him, lort abbut, 'cept that he cum to Pendle a
+twalmont agoa,&quot; replied Ashbead; &quot;boh ey knoas fu' weel that
+t'eawtcumbling felly robt me ot prettiest lass i' aw Lonkyshiar&mdash;aigh,
+or i' aw Englondshiar, fo' t' matter o' that.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What manner of man is he?&quot; inquired the abbot.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh, he's a feaw teyke&mdash;a varra feaw teyke,&quot; replied Ashbead; &quot;wi' a
+feace as black as a boggart, sooty shiny hewr loike a mowdywarp, an' een
+loike a stanniel. Boh for running, rostling, an' throwing t' stoan, he'n
+no match i' this keawntry. Ey'n triet him at aw three gams, so ey con
+speak. For't most part he'n a big, black bandyhewit wi' him, and, by th'
+Mess, ey canna help thinkin he meys free sumtoimes wi' yor lortship's
+bucks.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha! this must be looked to,&quot; cried the abbot. &quot;You say you know not
+whence he comes? 'Tis strange.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;T' missmannert carl'll boide naw questionin', odd rottle him!&quot; replied
+Ashbead. &quot;He awnsurs wi' a gibe, or a thwack o' his staff. Whon ey last
+seet him, he threatened t' raddle me booans weel, boh ey sooan lowert
+him a peg.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We will find a way of making him speak,&quot; said the abbot.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He can speak, and right well if he pleases,&quot; remarked Father Eastgate;
+&quot;for though ordinarily silent and sullen enough, yet when he doth talk
+it is not like one of the hinds with whom he consorts, but in good set
+phrase; and his bearing is as bold as that of one who hath seen service
+in the field.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My curiosity is aroused,&quot; said the abbot. &quot;I must see him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Noa sooner said than done,&quot; cried Ashbead, &quot;for, be t' Lort Harry, ey
+see him stonding be yon moss poo' o' top t' hill, though how he'n getten
+theer t' Dule owny knoas.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And he pointed out a tall dark figure standing near a little pool on the
+summit of the mountain, about a hundred yards from them.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Talk of ill, and ill cometh,&quot; observed Father Haydocke. &quot;And see, the
+wizard hath a black hound with him! It may be his wife, in that
+likeness.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Naw, ey knoas t' hount reet weel, Feyther Haydocke,&quot; replied the
+forester; &quot;it's a Saint Hubert, an' a rareun fo' fox or badgert. Odds
+loife, feyther, whoy that's t' black bandyhewit I war speaking on.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I like not the appearance of the knave at this juncture,&quot; said the
+abbot; &quot;yet I wish to confront him, and charge him with his
+midemeanours.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hark; he sings,&quot; cried Father Haydocke. And as he spoke a voice was
+heard chanting,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;One shall sit at a solemn feast,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Half warrior, half priest,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The greatest there shall be the least.&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The very ditty I heard,&quot; cried Father Eastgate; &quot;but list, he has more
+of it.&quot; And the voice resumed,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;He shall be rich, yet poor as me,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Abbot, and Earl of Poverty.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Monk and soldier, rich and poor,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He shall be hang'd at his own door.&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>Loud derisive laughter followed the song.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;By our Lady of Whalley, the knave is mocking us,&quot; cried the abbot;
+&quot;send a bolt to silence him, Cuthbert.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The forester instantly bent his bow, and a quarrel whistled off in the
+direction of the singer; but whether his aim were not truly taken, or he
+meant not to hit the mark, it is certain that Demdike remained
+untouched. The reputed wizard laughed aloud, took off his felt cap in
+acknowledgment, and marched deliberately down the side of the hill.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou art not wont to miss thy aim, Cuthbert,&quot; cried the abbot, with a
+look of displeasure. &quot;Take good heed thou producest this scurril knave
+before me, when these troublous times are over. But what is this?&mdash;he
+stops&mdash;ha! he is practising his devilries on the mountain's side.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>It would seem that the abbot had good warrant for what he said, as
+Demdike, having paused at a broad green patch on the hill-side, was now
+busied in tracing a circle round it with his staff. He then spoke aloud
+some words, which the superstitious beholders construed into an
+incantation, and after tracing the circle once again, and casting some
+tufts of dry heather, which he plucked from an adjoining hillock, on
+three particular spots, he ran quickly downwards, followed by his hound,
+and leaping a stone wall, surrounding a little orchard at the foot of
+the hill, disappeared from view.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Go and see what he hath done,&quot; cried the abbot to the forester, &quot;for I
+like it not.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Ashbead instantly obeyed, and on reaching the green spot in question,
+shouted out that he could discern nothing; but presently added, as he
+moved about, that the turf heaved like a sway-bed beneath his feet, and
+he thought&mdash;to use his own phraseology&mdash;would &quot;brast.&quot; The abbot then
+commanded him to go down to the orchard below, and if he could find
+Demdike to bring him to him instantly. The forester did as he was
+bidden, ran down the hill, and, leaping the orchard wall as the other
+had done, was lost to sight.</p>
+
+<p>Ere long, it became quite dark, and as Ashbead did not reappear, the
+abbot gave vent to his impatience and uneasiness, and was proposing to
+send one of the herdsmen in search of him, when his attention was
+suddenly diverted by a loud shout from one of the sentinels, and a fire
+was seen on a distant hill on the right.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The signal! the signal!&quot; cried Paslew, joyfully. &quot;Kindle a
+torch!&mdash;quick, quick!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as he spoke, he seized a brand and plunged it into the peat fire,
+while his example was followed by the two monks.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is the beacon on Blackstone Edge,&quot; cried the abbot; &quot;and look! a
+second blazes over the Grange of Cliviger&mdash;another on
+Ightenhill&mdash;another on Boulsworth Hill&mdash;and the last on the neighbouring
+heights of Padiham. Our own comes next. May it light the enemies of our
+holy Church to perdition!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>With this, he applied the burning brand to the combustible matter of the
+beacon. The monks did the same; and in an instant a tall, pointed flame,
+rose up from a thick cloud of smoke. Ere another minute had elapsed,
+similar fires shot up to the right and the left, on the high lands of
+Trawden Forest, on the jagged points of Foulridge, on the summit of
+Cowling Hill, and so on to Skipton. Other fires again blazed on the
+towers of Clithero, on Longridge and Ribchester, on the woody eminences
+of Bowland, on Wolf Crag, and on fell and scar all the way to Lancaster.
+It seemed the work of enchantment, so suddenly and so strangely did the
+fires shoot forth. As the beacon flame increased, it lighted up the
+whole of the extensive table-land on the summit of Pendle Hill; and a
+long lurid streak fell on the darkling moss-pool near which the wizard
+had stood. But when it attained its utmost height, it revealed the
+depths of the forest below, and a red reflection, here and there, marked
+the course of Pendle Water. The excitement of the abbot and his
+companions momently increased, and the sentinels shouted as each new
+beacon was lighted. At last, almost every hill had its watch-fire, and
+so extraordinary was the spectacle, that it seemed as if weird beings
+were abroad, and holding their revels on the heights.</p>
+
+<p>Then it was that the abbot, mounting his steed, called out to the
+monks&mdash;&quot;Holy fathers, you will follow to the abbey as you may. I shall
+ride fleetly on, and despatch two hundred archers to Huddersfield and
+Wakefield. The abbots of Salley and Jervaux, with the Prior of
+Burlington, will be with me at midnight, and at daybreak we shall march
+our forces to join the main army. Heaven be with you!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Stay!&quot; cried a harsh, imperious voice. &quot;Stay!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And, to his surprise, the abbot beheld Nicholas Demdike standing before
+him. The aspect of the wizard was dark and forbidding, and, seen by the
+beacon light, his savage features, blazing eyes, tall gaunt frame, and
+fantastic garb, made him look like something unearthly. Flinging his
+staff over his shoulder, he slowly approached, with his black hound
+following close by at his heels.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have a caution to give you, lord abbot,&quot; he said; &quot;hear me speak
+before you set out for the abbey, or ill will befall you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ill <i>will</i> befall me if I listen to thee, thou wicked churl,&quot; cried the
+abbot. &quot;What hast thou done with Cuthbert Ashbead?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have seen nothing of him since he sent a bolt after me at your
+bidding, lord abbot,&quot; replied Demdike.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Beware lest any harm come to him, or thou wilt rue it,&quot; cried Paslew.
+&quot;But I have no time to waste on thee. Farewell, fathers. High mass will
+be said in the convent church before we set out on the expedition
+to-morrow morning. You will both attend it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You will never set out upon the expedition, lord abbot,&quot; cried Demdike,
+planting his staff so suddenly into the ground before the horse's head
+that the animal reared and nearly threw his rider.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How now, fellow, what mean you?&quot; cried the abbot, furiously.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;To warn you,&quot; replied Demdike.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Stand aside,&quot; cried the abbot, spurring his steed, &quot;or I will trample
+you beneath my horse's feet.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I might let you ride to your own doom,&quot; rejoined Demdike, with a
+scornful laugh, as he seized the abbot's bridle. &quot;But you shall hear me.
+I tell you, you will never go forth on this expedition. I tell you that,
+ere to-morrow, Whalley Abbey will have passed for ever from your
+possession; and that, if you go thither again, your life will be
+forfeited. Now will you listen to me?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am wrong in doing so,&quot; cried the abbot, who could not, however,
+repress some feelings of misgiving at this alarming address. &quot;Speak,
+what would you say?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Come out of earshot of the others, and I will tell you,&quot; replied
+Demdike. And he led the abbot's horse to some distance further on the
+hill.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your cause will fail, lord abbot,&quot; he then said. &quot;Nay, it is lost
+already.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Lost!&quot; cried the abbot, out of all patience. &quot;Lost! Look around. Twenty
+fires are in sight&mdash;ay, thirty, and every fire thou seest will summon a
+hundred men, at the least, to arms. Before an hour, five hundred men
+will be gathered before the gates of Whalley Abbey.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;True,&quot; replied Demdike; &quot;but they will not own the Earl of Poverty for
+their leader.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What leader will they own, then?&quot; demanded the abbot, scornfully.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The Earl of Derby,&quot; replied Demdike. &quot;He is on his way thither with
+Lord Mounteagle from Preston.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha!&quot; exclaimed Paslew, &quot;let me go meet them, then. But thou triflest
+with me, fellow. Thou canst know nothing of this. Whence gott'st thou
+thine information?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heed it not,&quot; replied the other; &quot;thou wilt find it correct. I tell
+thee, proud abbot, that this grand scheme of thine and of thy fellows,
+for the restitution of the Catholic Church, has failed&mdash;utterly failed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I tell thee thou liest, false knave!&quot; cried the abbot, striking him on
+the hand with his scourge. &quot;Quit thy hold, and let me go.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not till I have done,&quot; replied Demdike, maintaining his grasp. &quot;Well
+hast thou styled thyself Earl of Poverty, for thou art poor and
+miserable enough. Abbot of Whalley thou art no longer. Thy possessions
+will be taken from thee, and if thou returnest thy life also will be
+taken. If thou fleest, a price will be set upon thy head. I alone can
+save thee, and I will do so on one condition.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Condition! make conditions with thee, bond-slave of Satan!&quot; cried the
+abbot, gnashing his teeth. &quot;I reproach myself that I have listened to
+thee so long. Stand aside, or I will strike thee dead.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are wholly in my power,&quot; cried Demdike with a disdainful laugh. And
+as he spoke he pressed the large sharp bit against the charger's mouth,
+and backed him quickly to the very edge of the hill, the sides of which
+here sloped precipitously down. The abbot would have uttered a cry, but
+surprise and terror kept him silent.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Were it my desire to injure you, I could cast you down the
+mountain-side to certain death,&quot; pursued Demdike. &quot;But I have no such
+wish. On the contrary, I will serve you, as I have said, on one
+condition.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thy condition would imperil my soul,&quot; said the abbot, full of wrath and
+alarm. &quot;Thou seekest in vain to terrify me into compliance. <i>Vade retro,
+Sathanas.</i> I defy thee and all thy works.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Demdike laughed scornfully.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The thunders of the Church do not frighten me,&quot; he cried. &quot;But, look,&quot;
+he added, &quot;you doubted my word when I told you the rising was at an end.
+The beacon fires on Boulsworth Hill and on the Grange of Cliviger are
+extinguished; that on Padiham Heights is expiring&mdash;nay, it is out; and
+ere many minutes all these mountain watch-fires will have disappeared
+like lamps at the close of a feast.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;By our Lady, it is so,&quot; cried the abbot, in increasing terror. &quot;What
+new jugglery is this?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is no jugglery, I tell you,&quot; replied the other.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The waters of the Don have again arisen; the insurgents have accepted
+the king's pardon, have deserted their leaders, and dispersed. There
+will be no rising to-night or on the morrow. The abbots of Jervaux and
+Salley will strive to capitulate, but in vain. The Pilgrimage of Grace
+is ended. The stake for which thou playedst is lost. Thirty years hast
+thou governed here, but thy rule is over. Seventeen abbots have there
+been of Whalley&mdash;the last thou!&mdash;but there shall be none more.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It must be the Demon in person that speaks thus to me,&quot; cried the
+abbot, his hair bristling on his head, and a cold perspiration bursting
+from his pores.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No matter who I am,&quot; replied the other; &quot;I have said I will aid thee on
+one condition. It is not much. Remove thy ban from my wife, and baptise
+her infant daughter, and I am content. I would not ask thee for this
+service, slight though it be, but the poor soul hath set her mind upon
+it. Wilt thou do it?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No,&quot; replied the abbot, shuddering; &quot;I will not baptise a daughter of
+Satan. I will not sell my soul to the powers of darkness. I adjure thee
+to depart from me, and tempt me no longer.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Vainly thou seekest to cast me off,&quot; rejoined Demdike. &quot;What if I
+deliver thine adversaries into thine hands, and revenge thee upon them?
+Even now there are a party of armed men waiting at the foot of the hill
+to seize thee and thy brethren. Shall I show thee how to destroy them?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who are they?&quot; demanded the abbot, surprised.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Their leaders are John Braddyll and Richard Assheton, who shall divide
+Whalley Abbey between them, if thou stayest them not,&quot; replied Demdike.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hell consume them!&quot; cried the abbot.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thy speech shows consent,&quot; rejoined Demdike. &quot;Come this way.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And, without awaiting the abbot's reply, he dragged his horse towards
+the but-end of the mountain. As they went on, the two monks, who had
+been filled with surprise at the interview, though they did not dare to
+interrupt it, advanced towards their superior, and looked earnestly and
+inquiringly at him, but he remained silent; while to the men-at-arms and
+the herdsmen, who demanded whether their own beacon-fire should be
+extinguished as the others had been, he answered moodily in the
+negative.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Where are the foes you spoke of?&quot; he asked with some uneasiness, as
+Demdike led his horse slowly and carefully down the hill-side.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You shall see anon,&quot; replied the other.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are taking me to the spot where you traced the magic circle,&quot; cried
+Paslew in alarm. &quot;I know it from its unnaturally green hue. I will not
+go thither.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I do not mean you should, lord abbot,&quot; replied Demdike, halting.
+&quot;Remain on this firm ground. Nay, be not alarmed; you are in no danger.
+Now bid your men advance, and prepare their weapons.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The abbot would have demanded wherefore, but at a glance from Demdike he
+complied, and the two men-at-arms, and the herdsmen, arranged
+themselves beside him, while Fathers Eastgate and Haydocke, who had
+gotten upon their mules, took up a position behind.</p>
+
+<p>Scarcely were they thus placed, when a loud shout was raised below, and
+a band of armed men, to the number of thirty or forty, leapt the stone
+wall, and began to scale the hill with great rapidity. They came up a
+deep dry channel, apparently worn in the hill-side by some former
+torrent, and which led directly to the spot where Demdike and the abbot
+stood. The beacon-fire still blazed brightly, and illuminated the whole
+proceeding, showing that these men, from their accoutrements, were
+royalist soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Stir not, as you value your life,&quot; said the wizard to Paslew; &quot;but
+observe what shall follow.&quot;</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II_THE_ERUPTION" id="CHAPTER_II_THE_ERUPTION" />CHAPTER II.&mdash;THE ERUPTION.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Demdike went a little further down the hill, stopping when he came to
+the green patch. He then plunged his staff into the sod at the first
+point where he had cast a tuft of heather, and with such force that it
+sank more than three feet. The next moment he plucked it forth, as if
+with a great effort, and a jet of black water spouted into the air; but,
+heedless of this, he went to the next marked spot, and again plunged the
+sharp point of the implement into the ground. Again it sank to the same
+depth, and, on being drawn out, a second black jet sprung forth.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the hostile party continued to advance up the dry channel
+before mentioned, and shouted on beholding these strange preparations,
+but they did not relax their speed. Once more the staff sank into the
+ground, and a third black fountain followed its extraction. By this
+time, the royalist soldiers were close at hand, and the features of
+their two leaders, John Braddyll and Richard Assheton, could be plainly
+distinguished, and their voices heard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;'Tis he! 'tis the rebel abbot!&quot; vociferated Braddyll, pressing forward.
+&quot;We were not misinformed. He has been watching by the beacon. The devil
+has delivered him into our hands.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ho! ho!&quot; laughed Demdike.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Abbot no longer&mdash;'tis the Earl of Poverty you mean,&quot; responded
+Assheton. &quot;The villain shall be gibbeted on the spot where he has fired
+the beacon, as a warning to all traitors.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha, heretics!&mdash;ha, blasphemers!&mdash;I can at least avenge myself upon
+you,&quot; cried Paslew, striking spurs into his charger. But ere he could
+execute his purpose, Demdike had sprung backward, and, catching the
+bridle, restrained the animal by a powerful effort.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hold!&quot; he cried, in a voice of thunder, &quot;or you will share their fate.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As the words were uttered, a dull, booming, subterranean sound was
+heard, and instantly afterwards, with a crash like thunder, the whole of
+the green circle beneath slipped off, and from a yawning rent under it
+burst forth with irresistible fury, a thick inky-coloured torrent,
+which, rising almost breast high, fell upon the devoted royalist
+soldiers, who were advancing right in its course. Unable to avoid the
+watery eruption, or to resist its fury when it came upon them, they were
+instantly swept from their feet, and carried down the channel.</p>
+
+<p>A sight of horror was it to behold the sudden rise of that swarthy
+stream, whose waters, tinged by the ruddy glare of the beacon-fire,
+looked like waves of blood. Nor less fearful was it to hear the first
+wild despairing cry raised by the victims, or the quickly stifled
+shrieks and groans that followed, mixed with the deafening roar of the
+stream, and the crashing fall of the stones, which accompanied its
+course. Down, down went the poor wretches, now utterly overwhelmed by
+the torrent, now regaining their feet only to utter a scream, and then
+be swept off. Here a miserable struggler, whirled onward, would clutch
+at the banks and try to scramble forth, but the soft turf giving way
+beneath him, he was hurried off to eternity.</p>
+
+<p>At another point where the stream encountered some trifling opposition,
+some two or three managed to gain a footing, but they were unable to
+extricate themselves. The vast quantity of boggy soil brought down by
+the current, and which rapidly collected here, embedded them and held
+them fast, so that the momently deepening water, already up to their
+chins, threatened speedy immersion. Others were stricken down by great
+masses of turf, or huge rocky fragments, which, bounding from point to
+point with the torrent, bruised or crushed all they encountered, or,
+lodging in some difficult place, slightly diverted the course of the
+torrent, and rendered it yet more dangerous.</p>
+
+<p>On one of these stones, larger than the rest, which had been stopped in
+its course, a man contrived to creep, and with difficulty kept his post
+amid the raging flood. Vainly did he extend his hand to such of his
+fellows as were swept shrieking past him. He could not lend them aid,
+while his own position was so desperately hazardous that he did not dare
+to quit it. To leap on either bank was impossible, and to breast the
+headlong stream certain death.</p>
+
+<p>On goes the current, madly, furiously, as if rejoicing in the work of
+destruction, while the white foam of its eddies presents a fearful
+contrast to the prevailing blackness of the surface. Over the last
+declivity it leaps, hissing, foaming, crashing like an avalanche. The
+stone wall for a moment opposes its force, but falls the next, with a
+mighty splash, carrying the spray far and wide, while its own fragments
+roll onwards with the stream. The trees of the orchard are uprooted in
+an instant, and an old elm falls prostrate. The outbuildings of a
+cottage are invaded, and the porkers and cattle, divining their danger,
+squeal and bellow in affright. But they are quickly silenced. The
+resistless foe has broken down wall and door, and buried the poor
+creatures in mud and rubbish.</p>
+
+<p>The stream next invades the cottage, breaks in through door and window,
+and filling all the lower part of the tenement, in a few minutes
+converts it into a heap of ruin. On goes the destroyer, tearing up more
+trees, levelling more houses, and filling up a small pool, till the
+latter bursts its banks, and, with an accession to its force, pours
+itself into a mill-dam. Here its waters are stayed until they find a
+vent underneath, and the action of the stream, as it rushes downwards
+through this exit, forms a great eddy above, in which swim some living
+things, cattle and sheep from the fold not yet drowned, mixed with
+furniture from the cottages, and amidst them the bodies of some of the
+unfortunate men-at-arms which have been washed hither.</p>
+
+<p>But, ha! another thundering crash. The dam has burst. The torrent roars
+and rushes on furiously as before, joins its forces with Pendle Water,
+swells up the river, and devastates the country far and wide.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1" /><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p>
+
+<p>The abbot and his companions beheld this work of destruction with
+amazement and dread. Blanched terror sat in their cheeks, and the blood
+was frozen in Paslew's veins; for he thought it the work of the powers
+of darkness, and that he was leagued with them. He tried to mutter a
+prayer, but his lips refused their office. He would have moved, but his
+limbs were stiffened and paralysed, and he could only gaze aghast at the
+terrible spectacle.</p>
+
+<p>Amidst it all he heard a wild burst of unearthly laughter, proceeding,
+he thought, from Demdike, and it filled him with new dread. But he could
+not check the sound, neither could he stop his ears, though he would
+fain have done so. Like him, his companions were petrified and
+speechless with fear.</p>
+
+<p>After this had endured for some time, though still the black torrent
+rushed on impetuously as ever, Demdike turned to the abbot and said,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your vengeance has been fully gratified. You will now baptise my
+child?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Never, never, accursed being!&quot; shrieked the abbot. &quot;Thou mayst
+sacrifice her at thine own impious rites. But see, there is one poor
+wretch yet struggling with the foaming torrent. I may save him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That is John Braddyll, thy worst enemy,&quot; replied Demdike. &quot;If he lives
+he shall possess half Whalley Abbey. Thou hadst best also save Richard
+Assheton, who yet clings to the great stone below, as if he escapes he
+shall have the other half. Mark him, and make haste, for in five minutes
+both shall be gone.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will save them if I can, be the consequence to myself what it may,&quot;
+replied the abbot.</p>
+
+<p>And, regardless of the derisive laughter of the other, who yelled in his
+ears as he went, &quot;Bess shall see thee hanged at thy own door!&quot; he dashed
+down the hill to the spot where a small object, distinguishable above
+the stream, showed that some one still kept his head above water, his
+tall stature having preserved him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Is it you, John Braddyll?&quot; cried the abbot, as he rode up.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay,&quot; replied the head. &quot;Forgive me for the wrong I intended you, and
+deliver me from this great peril.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am come for that purpose,&quot; replied the abbot, dismounting, and
+disencumbering himself of his heavy cloak.</p>
+
+<p>By this time the two herdsmen had come up, and the abbot, taking a crook
+from one of them, clutched hold of the fellow, and, plunging fearlessly
+into the stream, extended it towards the drowning man, who instantly
+lifted up his hand to grasp it. In doing so Braddyll lost his balance,
+but, as he did not quit his hold, he was plucked forth from the
+tenacious mud by the combined efforts of the abbot and his assistant,
+and with some difficulty dragged ashore.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Now for the other,&quot; cried Paslew, as he placed Braddyll in safety.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;One-half the abbey is gone from thee,&quot; shouted a voice in his ears as
+he rushed on.</p>
+
+<p>Presently he reached the rocky fragment on which Ralph Assheton rested.
+The latter was in great danger from the surging torrent, and the stone
+on which he had taken refuge tottered at its base, and threatened to
+roll over.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;In Heaven's name, help me, lord abbot, as thou thyself shall be holpen
+at thy need!&quot; shrieked Assheton.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Be not afraid, Richard Assheton,&quot; replied Paslew. &quot;I will deliver thee
+as I have delivered John Braddyll.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But the task was not of easy accomplishment. The abbot made his
+preparations as before; grasped the hand of the herdsman and held out
+the crook to Assheton; but when the latter caught it, the stream swung
+him round with such force that the abbot must either abandon him or
+advance further into the water. Bent on Assheton's preservation, he
+adopted the latter expedient, and instantly lost his feet; while the
+herdsman, unable longer to hold him, let go the crook, and the abbot and
+Assheton were swept down the stream together.</p>
+
+<p>Down&mdash;down they went, destruction apparently awaiting them; but the
+abbot, though sometimes quite under the water, and bruised by the rough
+stones and gravel with which he came in contact, still retained his
+self-possession, and encouraged his companion to hope for succour. In
+this way they were borne down to the foot of the hill, the monks, the
+herdsmen, and the men-at-arms having given them up as lost. But they yet
+lived&mdash;yet floated&mdash;though greatly injured, and almost senseless, when
+they were cast into a pool formed by the eddying waters at the foot of
+the hill. Here, wholly unable to assist himself, Assheton was seized by
+a black hound belonging to a tall man who stood on the bank, and who
+shouted to Paslew, as he helped the animal to bring the drowning man
+ashore, &quot;The other half of the abbey is gone from thee. Wilt thou
+baptise my child if I send my dog to save thee?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Never!&quot; replied the other, sinking as he spoke.</p>
+
+<p>Flashes of fire glanced in the abbot's eyes, and stunning sounds seemed
+to burst his ears. A few more struggles, and he became senseless.</p>
+
+<p>But he was not destined to die thus. What happened afterwards he knew
+not; but when he recovered full consciousness, he found himself
+stretched, with aching limbs and throbbing head, upon a couch in a
+monastic room, with a richly-painted and gilded ceiling, with shields at
+the corners emblazoned with the three luces of Whalley, and with panels
+hung with tapestry from the looms of Flanders, representing divers
+Scriptural subjects.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Have I been dreaming?&quot; he murmured.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No,&quot; replied a tall man standing by his bedside; &quot;thou hast been saved
+from one death to suffer another more ignominious.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha!&quot; cried the abbot, starting up and pressing his hand to his temples;
+&quot;thou here?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, I am appointed to watch thee,&quot; replied Demdike. &quot;Thou art a
+prisoner in thine own chamber at Whalley. All has befallen as I told
+thee. The Earl of Derby is master of the abbey; thy adherents are
+dispersed; and thy brethren are driven forth. Thy two partners in
+rebellion, the abbots of Jervaux and Salley, have been conveyed to
+Lancaster Castle, whither thou wilt go as soon as thou canst be moved.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will surrender all&mdash;silver and gold, land and possessions&mdash;to the
+king, if I may die in peace,&quot; groaned the abbot.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is not needed,&quot; rejoined the other. &quot;Attainted of felony, thy lands
+and abbey will be forfeited to the crown, and they shall be sold, as I
+have told thee, to John Braddyll and Richard Assheton, who will be
+rulers here in thy stead.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Would I had perished in the flood!&quot; groaned the abbot.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well mayst thou wish so,&quot; returned his tormentor; &quot;but thou wert not
+destined to die by water. As I have said, thou shalt be hanged at thy
+own door, and my wife shall witness thy end.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who art thou? I have heard thy voice before,&quot; cried the abbot. &quot;It is
+like the voice of one whom I knew years ago, and thy features are like
+his&mdash;though changed&mdash;greatly changed. Who art thou?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou shalt know before thou diest,&quot; replied the other, with a look of
+gratified vengeance. &quot;Farewell, and reflect upon thy fate.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>So saying, he strode towards the door, while the miserable abbot arose,
+and marching with uncertain steps to a little oratory adjoining, which
+he himself had built, knelt down before the altar, and strove to pray.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III_WHALLEY_ABBEY" id="CHAPTER_III_WHALLEY_ABBEY" />CHAPTER III.&mdash;WHALLEY ABBEY.</h2>
+
+
+<p>A sad, sad change hath come over the fair Abbey of Whalley. It knoweth
+its old masters no longer. For upwards of two centuries and a half hath
+the &quot;Blessed Place&quot;<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2" /><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> grown in beauty and riches. Seventeen abbots have
+exercised unbounded hospitality within it, but now they are all gone,
+save one!&mdash;and he is attainted of felony and treason. The grave monk
+walketh no more in the cloisters, nor seeketh his pallet in the
+dormitory. Vesper or matin-song resound not as of old within the fine
+conventual church. Stripped are the altars of their silver crosses, and
+the shrines of their votive offerings and saintly relics. Pyx and
+chalice, thuribule and vial, golden-headed pastoral staff, and mitre
+embossed with pearls, candlestick and Christmas ship of silver; salver,
+basin, and ewer&mdash;all are gone&mdash;the splendid sacristy hath been
+despoiled.</p>
+
+<p>A sad, sad change hath come over Whalley Abbey. The libraries, well
+stored with reverend tomes, have been pillaged, and their contents cast
+to the flames; and thus long laboured manuscript, the fruit of years of
+patient industry, with gloriously illuminated missal, are irrecoverably
+lost. The large infirmary no longer receiveth the sick; in the locutory
+sitteth no more the guest. No longer in the mighty kitchens are prepared
+the prodigious supply of meats destined for the support of the poor or
+the entertainment of the traveller. No kindly porter stands at the gate,
+to bid the stranger enter and partake of the munificent abbot's
+hospitality, but a churlish guard bids him hie away, and menaces him if
+he tarries with his halbert. Closed are the buttery-hatches and the
+pantries; and the daily dole of bread hath ceased. Closed, also, to the
+brethren is the refectory. The cellarer's office is ended. The strong
+ale which he brewed in October, is tapped in March by roystering
+troopers. The rich muscadel and malmsey, and the wines of Gascoigne and
+the Rhine, are no longer quaffed by the abbot and his more honoured
+guests, but drunk to his destruction by his foes. The great gallery, a
+hundred and fifty feet in length, the pride of the abbot's lodging, and
+a model of architecture, is filled not with white-robed ecclesiastics,
+but with an armed earl and his retainers. Neglected is the little
+oratory dedicated to Our Lady of Whalley, where night and morn the abbot
+used to pray. All the old religious and hospitable uses of the abbey are
+foregone. The reverend stillness of the cloisters, scarce broken by the
+quiet tread of the monks, is now disturbed by armed heel and clank of
+sword; while in its saintly courts are heard the ribald song, the
+profane jest, and the angry brawl. Of the brethren, only those tenanting
+the cemetery are left. All else are gone, driven forth, as vagabonds,
+with stripes and curses, to seek refuge where they may.</p>
+
+<p>A sad, sad change has come over Whalley Abbey. In the plenitude of its
+pride and power has it been cast down, desecrated, despoiled. Its
+treasures are carried off, its ornaments sold, its granaries emptied,
+its possessions wasted, its storehouses sacked, its cattle slaughtered
+and sold. But, though stripped of its wealth and splendour; though
+deprived of all the religious graces that, like rich incense, lent an
+odour to the fane, its external beauty is yet unimpaired, and its vast
+proportions undiminished.</p>
+
+<p>A stately pile was Whalley&mdash;one of the loveliest as well as the largest
+in the realm. Carefully had it been preserved by its reverend rulers,
+and where reparations or additions were needed they were judiciously
+made. Thus age had lent it beauty, by mellowing its freshness and toning
+its hues, while no decay was perceptible. Without a struggle had it
+yielded to the captor, so that no part of its wide belt of walls or
+towers, though so strongly constructed as to have offered effectual
+resistance, were injured.</p>
+
+<p>Never had Whalley Abbey looked more beautiful than on a bright clear
+morning in March, when this sad change had been wrought, and when, from
+a peaceful monastic establishment, it had been converted into a menacing
+fortress. The sunlight sparkled upon its grey walls, and filled its
+three great quadrangular courts with light and life, piercing the
+exquisite carving of its cloisters, and revealing all the intricate
+beauty and combinations of the arches. Stains of painted glass fell upon
+the floor of the magnificent conventual church, and dyed with rainbow
+hues the marble tombs of the Lacies, the founders of the establishment,
+brought thither when the monastery was removed from Stanlaw in Cheshire,
+and upon the brass-covered gravestones of the abbots in the presbytery.
+There lay Gregory de Northbury, eighth abbot of Stanlaw and first of
+Whalley, and William Rede, the last abbot; but there was never to lie
+John Paslew. The slumber of the ancient prelates was soon to be
+disturbed, and the sacred structure within which they had so often
+worshipped, up-reared by sacrilegious hands. But all was bright and
+beauteous now, and if no solemn strains were heard in the holy pile, its
+stillness was scarcely less reverential and awe-inspiring. The old abbey
+wreathed itself in all its attractions, as if to welcome back its former
+ruler, whereas it was only to receive him as a captive doomed to a
+felon's death.</p>
+
+<p>But this was outward show. Within all was terrible preparation. Such
+was the discontented state of the country, that fearing some new revolt,
+the Earl of Derby had taken measures for the defence of the abbey, and
+along the wide-circling walls of the close were placed ordnance and men,
+and within the grange stores of ammunition. A strong guard was set at
+each of the gates, and the courts were filled with troops. The bray of
+the trumpet echoed within the close, where rounds were set for the
+archers, and martial music resounded within the area of the cloisters.
+Over the great north-eastern gateway, which formed the chief entrance to
+the abbot's lodging, floated the royal banner. Despite these warlike
+proceedings the fair abbey smiled beneath the sun, in all, or more than
+all, its pristine beauty, its green hills sloping gently down towards
+it, and the clear and sparkling Calder dashing merrily over the stones
+at its base.</p>
+
+<p>But upon the bridge, and by the river side, and within the little
+village, many persons were assembled, conversing gravely and anxiously
+together, and looking out towards the hills, where other groups were
+gathered, as if in expectation of some afflicting event. Most of these
+were herdsmen and farming men, but some among them were poor monks in
+the white habits of the Cistertian brotherhood, but which were now
+stained and threadbare, while their countenances bore traces of severest
+privation and suffering. All the herdsmen and farmers had been retainers
+of the abbot. The poor monks looked wistfully at their former
+habitation, but replied not except by a gentle bowing of the head to the
+cruel scoffs and taunts with which they were greeted by the passing
+soldiers; but the sturdy rustics did not bear these outrages so tamely,
+and more than one brawl ensued, in which blood flowed, while a ruffianly
+arquebussier would have been drowned in the Calder but for the exertions
+to save him of a monk whom he had attacked.</p>
+
+<p>This took place on the eleventh of March, 1537&mdash;more than three months
+after the date of the watching by the beacon before recorded&mdash;and the
+event anticipated by the concourse without the abbey, as well as by
+those within its walls, was the arrival of Abbot Paslew and Fathers
+Eastgate and Haydocke, who were to be brought on that day from
+Lancaster, and executed on the following morning before the abbey,
+according to sentence passed upon them.</p>
+
+<p>The gloomiest object in the picture remains to be described, but yet it
+is necessary to its completion. This was a gallows of unusual form and
+height, erected on the summit of a gentle hill, rising immediately in
+front of the abbot's lodgings, called the Holehouses, whose rounded,
+bosomy beauty it completely destroyed. This terrible apparatus of
+condign punishment was regarded with abhorrence by the rustics, and it
+required a strong guard to be kept constantly round it to preserve it
+from demolition.</p>
+
+<p>Amongst a group of rustics collected on the road leading to the
+north-east gateway, was Cuthbert Ashbead, who having been deprived of
+his forester's office, was now habited in a frieze doublet and hose with
+a short camlet cloak on his shoulder, and a fox-skin cap, embellished
+with the grinning jaws of the beast on his head.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh, Ruchot o' Roaph's,&quot; he observed to a bystander, &quot;that's a fearfo
+sect that gallas. Yoan been up to t' Holehouses to tey a look at it,
+beloike?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Naw, naw, ey dunna loike such sects,&quot; replied Ruchot o' Roaph's;
+&quot;besoide there wor a great rabblement at t' geate, an one o' them lunjus
+archer chaps knockt meh o' t' nob wi' his poike, an towd me he'd hong me
+wi' t' abbut, if ey didna keep owt ot wey.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;An sarve te reet too, theaw craddinly carl!&quot; cried Ashbead, doubling
+his horny fists. &quot;Odds flesh! whey didna yo ha' a tussle wi' him? Mey
+honts are itchen for a bowt wi' t' heretic robbers. Walladey! walladey!
+that we should live to see t' oly feythers driven loike hummobees owt o'
+t' owd neest. Whey they sayn ot King Harry hon decreet ot we're to ha'
+naw more monks or friars i' aw Englondshiar. Ony think o' that. An dunna
+yo knoa that t' Abbuts o' Jervaux an Salley wor hongt o' Tizeday at
+Loncaster Castle?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Good lorjus bless us!&quot; exclaimed a sturdy hind, &quot;we'n a protty king.
+Furst he chops off his woife's heaod, an then hongs aw t' priests.
+Whot'll t' warlt cum 'to?</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh by t' mess, whot <i>win</i> it cum to?&quot; cried Ruchot o' Roaph's. &quot;But
+we darrna oppen owr mows fo' fear o' a gog.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Naw, beleady! boh eyst oppen moine woide enuff,&quot; cried Ashbead; &quot;an' if
+a dozen o' yo chaps win join me, eyn try to set t' poor abbut free whon
+they brinks him here.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'd as leef boide till to-morrow,&quot; said Ruchot o'Roaph's, uneasily.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh, thou'rt a timmersome teyke, os ey towd te efore,&quot; replied
+Ashbead. &quot;But whot dust theaw say, Hal o' Nabs?&quot; he added, to the sturdy
+hind who had recently spoken.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'n spill t' last drop o' meh blood i' t' owd abbut's keawse,&quot; replied
+Hal o' Nabs. &quot;We winna stond by, an see him hongt loike a dog. Abbut
+Paslew to t' reskew, lads!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh, Abbut Paslew to t' reskew!&quot; responded all the others, except
+Ruchot o' Roaph's.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This must be prevented,&quot; muttered a voice near them. And immediately
+afterwards a tall man quitted the group.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whoa wor it spoake?&quot; cried Hal o' Nabs. &quot;Oh, ey seen, that he-witch,
+Nick Demdike.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nick Demdike here!&quot; cried Ashbead, looking round in alarm. &quot;Has he
+owerheert us?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Loike enow,&quot; replied Hal o' Nabs. &quot;But ey didna moind him efore.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Naw ey noather,&quot; cried Ruchot o' Roaph's, crossing himself, and
+spitting on the ground. &quot;Owr Leady o' Whalley shielt us fro' t'
+warlock!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Tawkin o' Nick Demdike,&quot; cried Hal o' Nabs, &quot;yo'd a strawnge odventer
+wi' him t' neet o' t' great brast o' Pendle Hill, hadna yo, Cuthbert?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh, t' firrups tak' him, ey hadn,&quot; replied Ashbead. &quot;Theawst hear aw
+abowt it if t' will. Ey wur sent be t' abbut down t' hill to Owen o'
+Gab's, o' Perkin's, o' Dannel's, o' Noll's, o' Oamfrey's orchert i'
+Warston lone, to luk efter him. Weel, whon ey gets ower t' stoan wa',
+whot dun yo think ey sees! twanty or throtty poikemen stonding behint
+it, an they deshes at meh os thick os leet, an efore ey con roor oot,
+they blintfowlt meh, an clap an iron gog i' meh mouth. Weel, I con
+noather speak nor see, boh ey con use meh feet, soh ey punses at 'em
+reet an' laft; an be mah troath, lads, yood'n a leawght t' hear how they
+roart, an ey should a roart too, if I couldn, whon they began to thwack
+me wi' their raddling pows, and ding'd meh so abowt t' heoad, that ey
+fell i' a swownd. Whon ey cum to, ey wur loyin o' meh back i' Rimington
+Moor. Every booan i' meh hoide wratcht, an meh hewr war clottert wi'
+gore, boh t' eebond an t' gog wur gone, soh ey gets o' meh feet, and
+daddles along os weel os ey con, whon aw ot wunce ey spies a leet
+glenting efore meh, an dawncing abowt loike an awf or a wull-o'-whisp.
+Thinks ey, that's Friar Rush an' his lantern, an he'll lead me into a
+quagmire, soh ey stops a bit, to consider where ey'd getten, for ey
+didna knoa t' reet road exactly; boh whon ey stood still, t' leet stood
+still too, on then ey meyd owt that it cum fro an owd ruint tower, an
+whot ey'd fancied wur one lantern proved twanty, fo' whon ey reacht t'
+tower an peept in thro' a brok'n winda, ey beheld a seet ey'st neer
+forgit&mdash;apack o' witches&mdash;eigh, witches!&mdash;sittin' in a ring, wi' their
+broomsticks an lanterns abowt em!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Good lorjus deys!&quot; cried Hal o' Nabs. &quot;An whot else didsta see, mon?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whoy,&quot; replied Ashbead, &quot;t'owd hags had a little figure i' t' midst on
+'em, mowded i' cley, representing t' abbut o' Whalley,&mdash;ey knoad it be't
+moitre and crosier,&mdash;an efter each o' t' varment had stickt a pin i' its
+'eart, a tall black mon stepped for'ard, an teed a cord rownd its
+throttle, an hongt it up.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;An' t' black mon,&quot; cried Hal o' Nabs, breathlessly,&mdash;&quot;t' black mon wur
+Nick Demdike?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yoan guest it,&quot; replied Ashbead, &quot;'t wur he! Ey wur so glopp'nt, ey
+couldna speak, an' meh blud fruz i' meh veins, when ey heerd a fearfo
+voice ask Nick wheere his woife an' chilt were. 'The infant is
+unbaptised,' roart t' voice, 'at the next meeting it must be sacrificed.
+See that thou bring it.' Demdike then bowed to Summat I couldna see; an
+axt when t' next meeting wur to be held. 'On the night of Abbot
+Paslew's execution,' awnsert t' voice. On hearing this, ey could bear
+nah lunger, boh shouted out, 'Witches! devils! Lort deliver us fro' ye!'
+An' os ey spoke, ey tried t' barst thro' t' winda. In a trice, aw t'
+leets went out; thar wur a great rash to t' dooer; a whirrin sound i'
+th' air loike a covey o' partriches fleeing off; and then ey heerd nowt
+more; for a great stoan fell o' meh scoance, an' knockt me down
+senseless. When I cum' to, I wur i' Nick Demdike's cottage, wi' his
+woife watching ower me, and th' unbapteesed chilt i' her arms.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>All exclamations of wonder on the part of the rustics, and inquiries as
+to the issue of the adventure, were checked by the approach of a monk,
+who, joining the assemblage, called their attention to a priestly train
+slowly advancing along the road.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is headed,&quot; he said, &quot;by Fathers Chatburne and Chester, late bursers
+of the abbey. Alack! alack! they now need the charity themselves which
+they once so lavishly bestowed on others.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Waes me!&quot; ejaculated Ashbead. &quot;Monry a broad merk han ey getten fro
+'em.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;They'n been koind to us aw,&quot; added the others.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Next come Father Burnley, granger, and Father Haworth, cellarer,&quot;
+pursued the monk; &quot;and after them Father Dinkley, sacristan, and Father
+Moore, porter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo remember Feyther Moore, lads,&quot; cried Ashbead.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh, to be sure we done,&quot; replied the others; &quot;a good mon, a reet
+good mon! He never sent away t' poor&mdash;naw he!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;After Father Moore,&quot; said the monk, pleased with their warmth, &quot;comes
+Father Forrest, the procurator, with Fathers Rede, Clough, and Bancroft,
+and the procession is closed by Father Smith, the late prior.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Down o' yer whirlybooans, lads, as t' oly feythers pass,&quot; cried
+Ashbead, &quot;and crave their blessing.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as the priestly train slowly approached, with heads bowed down, and
+looks fixed sadly upon the ground, the rustic assemblage fell upon their
+knees, and implored their benediction. The foremost in the procession
+passed on in silence, but the prior stopped, and extending his hands
+over the kneeling group, cried in a solemn voice,</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heaven bless ye, my children! Ye are about to witness a sad spectacle.
+You will see him who hath clothed you, fed you, and taught you the way
+to heaven, brought hither a prisoner, to suffer a shameful death.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Boh we'st set him free, oly prior,&quot; cried Ashbead. &quot;We'n meayed up our
+moinds to 't. Yo just wait till he cums.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, I command you to desist from the attempt, if any such you
+meditate,&quot; rejoined the prior; &quot;it will avail nothing, and you will
+only sacrifice your own lives. Our enemies are too strong. The abbot
+himself would give you like counsel.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Scarcely were the words uttered than from the great gate of the abbey
+there issued a dozen arquebussiers with an officer at their head, who
+marched directly towards the kneeling hinds, evidently with the
+intention of dispersing them. Behind them strode Nicholas Demdike. In an
+instant the alarmed rustics were on their feet, and Ruchot o' Roaph's,
+and some few among them, took to their heels, but Ashbead, Hal o' Nabs,
+with half a dozen others, stood their ground manfully. The monks
+remained in the hope of preventing any violence. Presently the
+halberdiers came up.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That is the ringleader,&quot; cried the officer, who proved to be Richard
+Assheton, pointing out Ashbead; &quot;seize him!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Naw mon shall lay honts o' meh,&quot; cried Cuthbert.</p>
+
+<p>And as the guard pushed past the monks to execute their leader's order,
+he sprang forward, and, wresting a halbert from the foremost of them,
+stood upon his defence.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Seize him, I say!&quot; shouted Assheton, irritated at the resistance
+offered.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Keep off,&quot; cried Ashbead; &quot;yo'd best. Loike a stag at bey ey'm
+dawngerous. Waar horns! waar horns! ey sey.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The arquebussiers looked irresolute. It was evident Ashbead would only
+be taken with life, and they were not sure that it was their leader's
+purpose to destroy him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Put down thy weapon, Cuthbert,&quot; interposed the prior; &quot;it will avail
+thee nothing against odds like these.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Mey be, 'oly prior,&quot; rejoined Ashbead, flourishing the pike: &quot;boh ey'st
+ony yield wi' loife.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will disarm him,&quot; cried Demdike, stepping forward.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Theaw!&quot; retorted Ashbead, with a scornful laugh, &quot;Cum on, then. Hadsta
+aw t' fiends i' hell at te back, ey shouldna fear thee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yield!&quot; cried Demdike in a voice of thunder, and fixing a terrible
+glance upon him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Cum on, wizard,&quot; rejoined Ashbead undauntedly. But, observing that his
+opponent was wholly unarmed, he gave the pike to Hal o' Nabs, who was
+close beside him, observing, &quot;It shall never be said that Cuthbert
+Ashbead feawt t' dule himsel unfairly. Nah, touch me if theaw dar'st.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Demdike required no further provocation. With almost supernatural force
+and quickness he sprung upon the forester, and seized him by the throat.
+But the active young man freed himself from the gripe, and closed with
+his assailant. But though of Herculean build, it soon became evident
+that Ashbead would have the worst of it; when Hal o' Nabs, who had
+watched the struggle with intense interest, could not help coming to his
+friend's assistance, and made a push at Demdike with the halbert.</p>
+
+<p>Could it be that the wrestlers shifted their position, or that the
+wizard was indeed aided by the powers of darkness? None could tell, but
+so it was that the pike pierced the side of Ashbead, who instantly fell
+to the ground, with his adversary upon him. The next instant his hold
+relaxed, and the wizard sprang to his feet unharmed, but deluged in
+blood. Hal o' Nabs uttered a cry of keenest anguish, and, flinging
+himself upon the body of the forester, tried to staunch the wound; but
+he was quickly seized by the arquebussiers, and his hands tied behind
+his back with a thong, while Ashbead was lifted up and borne towards the
+abbey, the monks and rustics following slowly after; but the latter were
+not permitted to enter the gate.</p>
+
+<p>As the unfortunate keeper, who by this time had become insensible from
+loss of blood, was carried along the walled enclosure leading to the
+abbot's lodging, a female with a child in her arms was seen advancing
+from the opposite side. She was tall, finely formed, with features of
+remarkable beauty, though of a masculine and somewhat savage character,
+and with magnificent but fierce black eyes. Her skin was dark, and her
+hair raven black, contrasting strongly with the red band wound around
+it. Her kirtle was of murrey-coloured serge; simply, but becomingly
+fashioned. A glance sufficed to show her how matters stood with poor
+Ashbead, and, uttering a sharp angry cry, she rushed towards him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What have you done?&quot; she cried, fixing a keen reproachful look on
+Demdike, who walked beside the wounded man.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nothing,&quot; replied Demdike with a bitter laugh; &quot;the fool has been hurt
+with a pike. Stand out of the way, Bess, and let the men pass. They are
+about to carry him to the cell under the chapter-house.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You shall not take him there,&quot; cried Bess Demdike, fiercely. &quot;He may
+recover if his wound be dressed. Let him go to the infirmary&mdash;ha, I
+forgot&mdash;there is no one there now.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Father Bancroft is at the gate,&quot; observed one of the arquebussiers; &quot;he
+used to act as chirurgeon in the abbey.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No monk must enter the gate except the prisoners when they arrive,&quot;
+observed Assheton; &quot;such are the positive orders of the Earl of Derby.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is not needed,&quot; observed Demdike, &quot;no human aid can save the man.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But can other aid save him?&quot; said Bess, breathing the words in her
+husband's ears.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Go to!&quot; cried Demdike, pushing her roughly aside; &quot;wouldst have me save
+thy lover?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Take heed,&quot; said Bess, in a deep whisper; &quot;if thou save him not, by the
+devil thou servest! thou shalt lose me and thy child.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Demdike did not think proper to contest the point, but, approaching
+Assheton, requested that the wounded man might be conveyed to an arched
+recess, which he pointed out. Assent being given, Ashbead was taken
+there, and placed upon the ground, after which the arquebussiers and
+their leader marched off; while Bess, kneeling down, supported the head
+of the wounded man upon her knee, and Demdike, taking a small phial from
+his doublet, poured some of its contents clown his throat. The wizard
+then took a fold of linen, with which he was likewise provided, and,
+dipping it in the elixir, applied it to the wound.</p>
+
+<p>In a few moments Ashbead opened his eyes, and looking round wildly,
+fixed his gaze upon Bess, who placed her finger upon her lips to enjoin
+silence, but he could not, or would not, understand the sign.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Aw's o'er wi' meh, Bess,&quot; he groaned; &quot;but ey'd reyther dee thus, wi'
+thee besoide meh, than i' ony other wey.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hush!&quot; exclaimed Bess, &quot;Nicholas is here.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! ey see,&quot; replied the wounded man, looking round; &quot;but whot matters
+it? Ey'st be gone soon. Ah, Bess, dear lass, if theawdst promise to
+break thy compact wi' Satan&mdash;to repent and save thy precious sowl&mdash;ey
+should dee content.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh, do not talk thus!&quot; cried Bess. &quot;You will soon be well again.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Listen to me,&quot; continued Ashbead, earnestly; &quot;dust na knoa that if thy
+babe be na bapteesed efore to-morrow neet, it'll be sacrificed to t'
+Prince o' Darkness. Go to some o' t' oly feythers&mdash;confess thy sins an'
+implore heaven's forgiveness&mdash;an' mayhap they'll save thee an' thy
+infant.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And be burned as a witch,&quot; rejoined Bess, fiercely. &quot;It is useless,
+Cuthbert; I have tried them all. I have knelt to them, implored them,
+but their hearts are hard as flints. They will not heed me. They will
+not disobey the abbot's cruel injunctions, though he be their superior
+no longer. But I shall be avenged upon him&mdash;terribly avenged.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Leave meh, theaw wicked woman.&quot; cried Ashbead; &quot;ey dunna wish to ha'
+thee near meh. Let meh dee i' peace.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou wilt not die, I tell thee, Cuthbert,&quot; cried Bess; &quot;Nicholas hath
+staunched thy wound.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He stawncht it, seyst to?&quot; cried Ashbead, raising. &quot;Ey'st never owe meh
+loife to him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And before he could be prevented he tore off the bandage, and the blood
+burst forth anew.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is not my fault if he perishes now,&quot; observed Demdike, moodily.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Help him&mdash;help him!&quot; implored Bess.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He shanna touch meh,&quot; cried Ashbead, struggling and increasing the
+effusion. &quot;Keep him off, ey adjure thee. Farewell, Bess,&quot; he added,
+sinking back utterly exhausted by the effort.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Cuthbert!&quot; screamed Bess, terrified by his looks, &quot;Cuthbert! art thou
+really dying? Look at me, speak to me! Ha!&quot; she cried, as if seized by a
+sudden idea, &quot;they say the blessing of a dying man will avail. Bless my
+child, Cuthbert, bless it!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Give it me!&quot; groaned the forester.</p>
+
+<p>Bess held the infant towards him; but before he could place his hands
+upon it all power forsook him, and he fell back and expired.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Lost! lost! for ever lost!&quot; cried Bess, with a wild shriek.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment a loud blast was blown from the gate-tower, and a
+trumpeter called out,</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The abbot and the two other prisoners are coming.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;To thy feet, wench!&quot; cried Demdike, imperiously, and seizing the
+bewildered woman by the arm; &quot;to thy feet, and come with me to meet
+him!&quot;</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV_THE_MALEDICTION" id="CHAPTER_IV_THE_MALEDICTION" />CHAPTER IV.&mdash;THE MALEDICTION.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The captive ecclesiastics, together with the strong escort by which they
+were attended, under the command of John Braddyll, the high sheriff of
+the county, had passed the previous night at Whitewell, in Bowland
+Forest; and the abbot, before setting out on his final journey, was
+permitted to spend an hour in prayer in a little chapel on an adjoining
+hill, overlooking a most picturesque portion of the forest, the beauties
+of which were enhanced by the windings of the Hodder, one of the
+loveliest streams in Lancashire. His devotions performed, Paslew,
+attended by a guard, slowly descended the hill, and gazed his last on
+scenes familiar to him almost from infancy. Noble trees, which now
+looked like old friends, to whom he was bidding an eternal adieu, stood
+around him. Beneath them, at the end of a glade, couched a herd of deer,
+which started off at sight of the intruders, and made him envy their
+freedom and fleetness as he followed them in thought to their solitudes.
+At the foot of a steep rock ran the Hodder, making the pleasant music of
+other days as it dashed over its pebbly bed, and recalling times, when,
+free from all care, he had strayed by its wood-fringed banks, to listen
+to the pleasant sound of running waters, and watch the shining pebbles
+beneath them, and the swift trout and dainty umber glancing past.</p>
+
+<p>A bitter pang was it to part with scenes so fair, and the abbot spoke no
+word, nor even looked up, until, passing Little Mitton, he came in sight
+of Whalley Abbey. Then, collecting all his energies, he prepared for the
+shock he was about to endure. But nerved as he was, his firmness was
+sorely tried when he beheld the stately pile, once his own, now gone
+from him and his for ever. He gave one fond glance towards it, and then
+painfully averting his gaze, recited, in a low voice, this
+supplication:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;<i>Miserere mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam. Et secundum
+multitudinem miserationum tuarum, dele iniquitatem meam. Amplius lava me
+ab iniquitate me&acirc;, et &agrave; peccato meo munda me.</i>&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But other thoughts and other emotions crowded upon him, when he beheld
+the groups of his old retainers advancing to meet him: men, women, and
+children pouring forth loud lamentations, prostrating themselves at his
+feet, and deploring his doom. The abbot's fortitude had a severe trial
+here, and the tears sprung to his eyes. The devotion of these poor
+people touched him more sharply than the severity of his adversaries.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Bless ye! bless ye! my children,&quot; he cried; &quot;repine not for me, for I
+bear my cross with resignation. It is for me to bewail your lot, much
+fearing that the flock I have so long and so zealously tended will fall
+into the hands of other and less heedful pastors, or, still worse, of
+devouring wolves. Bless ye, my children, and be comforted. Think of the
+end of Abbot Paslew, and for what he suffered.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Think that he was a traitor to the king, and took up arms in rebellion
+against him,&quot; cried the sheriff, riding up, and speaking in a loud
+voice; &quot;and that for his heinous offences he was justly condemned to
+death.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Murmurs arose at this speech, but they were instantly checked by the
+escort.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Think charitably of me, my children,&quot; said the abbot; &quot;and the blessed
+Virgin keep you steadfast in your faith. Benedicite!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Be silent, traitor, I command thee,&quot; cried the sheriff, striking him
+with his gauntlet in the face.</p>
+
+<p>The abbot's pale check burnt crimson, and his eye flashed fire, but he
+controlled himself, and answered meekly,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou didst not speak in such wise, John Braddyll, when I saved thee
+from the flood.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Which flood thou thyself caused to burst forth by devilish arts,&quot;
+rejoined the sheriff. &quot;I owe thee little for the service. If for naught
+else, thou deservest death for thy evil doings on that night.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The abbot made no reply, for Braddyll's allusion conjured up a sombre
+train of thought within his breast, awakening apprehensions which he
+could neither account for, nor shake off. Meanwhile, the cavalcade
+slowly approached the north-east gateway of the abbey&mdash;passing through
+crowds of kneeling and sorrowing bystanders;&mdash;but so deeply was the
+abbot engrossed by the one dread idea that possessed him, that he saw
+them not, and scarce heard their woful lamentations. All at once the
+cavalcade stopped, and the sheriff rode on to the gate, in the opening
+of which some ceremony was observed. Then it was that Paslew raised his
+eyes, and beheld standing before him a tall man, with a woman beside him
+bearing an infant in her arms. The eyes of the pair were fixed upon him
+with vindictive exultation. He would have averted his gaze, but an
+irresistible fascination withheld him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou seest all is prepared,&quot; said Demdike, coming close up the mule on
+which Paslew was mounted, and pointing to the gigantic gallows, looming
+above the abbey walls; &quot;wilt them now accede to my request?&quot; And then he
+added, significantly&mdash;&quot;on the same terms as before.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The abbot understood his meaning well. Life and freedom were offered him
+by a being, whose power to accomplish his promise he did not doubt. The
+struggle was hard; but he resisted the temptation, and answered
+firmly,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then die the felon death thou meritest,&quot; cried Bess, fiercely; &quot;and I
+will glut mine eyes with the spectacle.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Incensed beyond endurance, the abbot looked sternly at her, and raised
+his hand in denunciation. The action and the look were so appalling,
+that the affrighted woman would have fled if her husband had not
+restrained her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;By the holy patriarchs and prophets; by the prelates and confessors; by
+the doctors of the church; by the holy abbots, monks, and eremites, who
+dwelt in solitudes, in mountains, and in caverns; by the holy saints and
+martyrs, who suffered torture and death for their faith, I curse thee,
+witch!&quot; cried Paslew. &quot;May the malediction of Heaven and all its hosts
+alight on the head of thy infant&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! holy abbot,&quot; shrieked Bess, breaking from her husband, and flinging
+herself at Paslew's feet, &quot;curse me, if thou wilt, but spare my innocent
+child. Save it, and we will save thee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Avoid thee, wretched and impious woman,&quot; rejoined the abbot; &quot;I have
+pronounced the dread anathema, and it cannot be recalled. Look at the
+dripping garments of thy child. In blood has it been baptised, and
+through blood-stained paths shall its course be taken.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha!&quot; shrieked Bess, noticing for the first time the ensanguined
+condition of the infant's attire. &quot;Cuthbert's blood&mdash;oh!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Listen to me, wicked woman,&quot; pursued the abbot, as if filled with a
+prophetic spirit. &quot;Thy child's life shall be long&mdash;beyond the ordinary
+term of woman&mdash;but it shall be a life of woe and ill.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! stay him&mdash;stay him; or I shall die!&quot; cried Bess.</p>
+
+<p>But the wizard could not speak. A greater power than his own apparently
+overmastered him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Children shall she have,&quot; continued the abbot, &quot;and children's
+children, but they shall be a race doomed and accursed&mdash;a brood of
+adders, that the world shall flee from and crush. A thing accursed, and
+shunned by her fellows, shall thy daughter be&mdash;evil reputed and evil
+doing. No hand to help her&mdash;no lip to bless her&mdash;life a burden; and
+death&mdash;long, long in coming&mdash;finding her in a dismal dungeon. Now,
+depart from me, and trouble me no more.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Bess made a motion as if she would go, and then turning, partly round,
+dropped heavily on the ground. Demdike caught the child ere she fell.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou hast killed her!&quot; he cried to the abbot.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A stronger voice than mine hath spoken, if it be so,&quot; rejoined Paslew.
+&quot;<i>Fuge miserrime, fuge malefice, quia judex adest iratus</i>.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>At this moment the trumpet again sounded, and the cavalcade being put in
+motion, the abbot and his fellow-captives passed through the gate.</p>
+
+<p>Dismounting from their mules within the court, before the chapter-house,
+the captive ecclesiastics, preceded by the sheriff were led to the
+principal chamber of the structure, where the Earl of Derby awaited
+them, seated in the Gothic carved oak chair, formerly occupied by the
+Abbots of Whalley on the occasions of conferences or elections. The earl
+was surrounded by his officers, and the chamber was filled with armed
+men. The abbot slowly advanced towards the earl. His deportment was
+dignified and firm, even majestic. The exaltation of spirit, occasioned
+by the interview with Demdike and his wife, had passed away, and was
+succeeded by a profound calm. The hue of his cheek was livid, but
+otherwise he seemed wholly unmoved.</p>
+
+<p>The ceremony of delivering up the bodies of the prisoners to the earl
+was gone through by the sheriff, and their sentences were then read
+aloud by a clerk. After this the earl, who had hitherto remained
+covered, took off his cap, and in a solemn voice spoke:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;John Paslew, somewhile Abbot of Whalley, but now an attainted and
+condemned felon, and John Eastgate and William Haydocke, formerly
+brethren of the same monastery, and confederates with him in crime, ye
+have heard your doom. To-morrow you shall die the ignominious death of
+traitors; but the king in his mercy, having regard not so much to the
+heinous nature of your offences towards his sovereign majesty as to the
+sacred offices you once held, and of which you have been shamefully
+deprived, is graciously pleased to remit that part of your sentence,
+whereby ye are condemned to be quartered alive, willing that the hearts
+which conceived so much malice and violence against him should cease to
+beat within your own bosoms, and that the arms which were raised in
+rebellion against him should be interred in one common grave with the
+trunks to which they belong.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;God save the high and puissant king, Henry the Eighth, and free him
+from all traitors!&quot; cried the clerk.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We humbly thank his majesty for his clemency,&quot; said the abbot, amid the
+profound silence that ensued; &quot;and I pray you, my good lord, when you
+shall write to the king concerning us, to say to his majesty that we
+died penitent of many and grave offences, amongst the which is chiefly
+that of having taken up arms unlawfully against him, but that we did so
+solely with the view of freeing his highness from evil counsellors, and
+of re-establishing our holy church, for the which we would willingly
+die, if our death might in anywise profit it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Amen!&quot; exclaimed Father Eastgate, who stood with his hands crossed upon
+his breast, close behind Paslew. &quot;The abbot hath uttered my sentiments.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He hath not uttered mine,&quot; cried Father Haydocke. &quot;I ask no grace from
+the bloody Herodias, and will accept none. What I have done I would do
+again, were the past to return&mdash;nay, I would do more&mdash;I would find a way
+to reach the tyrant's heart, and thus free our church from its worst
+enemy, and the land from a ruthless oppressor.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Remove him,&quot; said the earl; &quot;the vile traitor shall be dealt with as he
+merits. For you,&quot; he added, as the order was obeyed, and addressing the
+other prisoners, &quot;and especially you, John Paslew, who have shown some
+compunction for your crimes, and to prove to you that the king is not
+the ruthless tyrant he hath been just represented, I hereby in his name
+promise you any boon, which you may ask consistently with your
+situation. What favour would you have shown you?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The abbot reflected for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Speak thou, John Eastgate,&quot; said the Earl of Derby, seeing that the
+abbot was occupied in thought.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If I may proffer a request, my lord,&quot; replied the monk, &quot;it is that our
+poor distraught brother, William Haydocke, be spared the quartering
+block. He meant not what he said.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, be it as thou wilt,&quot; replied the earl, bending his brows, &quot;though
+he ill deserves such grace. Now, John Paslew, what wouldst thou?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Thus addressed, the abbot looked up.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I would have made the same request as my brother, John Eastgate, if he
+had not anticipated me, my lord,&quot; said Paslew; &quot;but since his petition
+is granted, I would, on my own part, entreat that mass be said for us in
+the convent church. Many of the brethren are without the abbey, and, if
+permitted, will assist at its performance.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I know not if I shall not incur the king's displeasure in assenting,&quot;
+replied the Earl of Derby, after a little reflection; &quot;but I will hazard
+it. Mass for the dead shall be said in the church at midnight, and all
+the brethren who choose to come thither shall be permitted to assist at
+it. They will attend, I doubt not, for it will be the last time the
+rites of the Romish Church will be performed in those Walls. They shall
+have all required for the ceremonial.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heaven's blessings on you, my lord,&quot; said the abbot.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But first pledge me your sacred word,&quot; said the earl, &quot;by the holy
+office you once held, and by the saints in whom you trust, that this
+concession shall not be made the means of any attempt at flight.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I swear it,&quot; replied the abbot, earnestly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And I also swear it,&quot; added Father Eastgate.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Enough,&quot; said the earl. &quot;I will give the requisite orders. Notice of
+the celebration of mass at midnight shall be proclaimed without the
+abbey. Now remove the prisoners.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Upon this the captive ecclesiastics were led forth. Father Eastgate was
+taken to a strong room in the lower part of the chapter-house, where all
+acts of discipline had been performed by the monks, and where the
+knotted lash, the spiked girdle, and the hair shirt had once hung; while
+the abbot was conveyed to his old chamber, which had been prepared for
+his reception, and there left alone.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V_THE_MIDNIGHT_MASS" id="CHAPTER_V_THE_MIDNIGHT_MASS" />CHAPTER V.&mdash;THE MIDNIGHT MASS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Dolefully sounds the All Souls' bell from the tower of the convent
+church. The bell is one of five, and has obtained the name because it is
+tolled only for those about to pass away from life. Now it rings the
+knell of three souls to depart on the morrow. Brightly illumined is the
+fane, within which no taper hath gleamed since the old worship ceased,
+showing that preparations are made for the last service. The organ, dumb
+so long, breathes a low prelude. Sad is it to hear that knell&mdash;sad to
+view those gloriously-dyed panes&mdash;and to think why the one rings and the
+other is lighted up.</p>
+
+<p>Word having gone forth of the midnight mass, all the ejected brethren
+flock to the abbey. Some have toiled through miry and scarce passable
+roads. Others have come down from the hills, and forded deep streams at
+the hazard of life, rather than go round by the far-off bridge, and
+arrive too late. Others, who conceive themselves in peril from the share
+they have taken in the late insurrection, quit their secure retreats,
+and expose themselves to capture. It may be a snare laid for them, but
+they run the risk. Others, coming from a yet greater distance, beholding
+the illuminated church from afar, and catching the sound of the bell
+tolling at intervals, hurry on, and reach the gate breathless and
+wellnigh exhausted. But no questions are asked. All who present
+themselves in ecclesiastical habits are permitted to enter, and take
+part in the procession forming in the cloister, or proceed at once to
+the church, if they prefer it.</p>
+
+<p>Dolefully sounds the bell. Barefooted brethren meet together,
+sorrowfully salute each other, and form in a long line in the great area
+of the cloisters. At their head are six monks bearing tall lighted
+candles. After them come the quiristers, and then one carrying the Host,
+between the incense-bearers. Next comes a youth holding the bell. Next
+are placed the dignitaries of the church, the prior ranking first, and
+the others standing two and two according to their degrees. Near the
+entrance of the refectory, which occupies the whole south side of the
+quadrangle, stand a band of halberdiers, whose torches cast a ruddy
+glare on the opposite tower and buttresses of the convent church,
+revealing the statues not yet plucked from their niches, the crosses on
+the pinnacles, and the gilt image of Saint Gregory de Northbury, still
+holding its place over the porch. Another band are stationed near the
+mouth of the vaulted passage, under the chapter-house and vestry, whose
+grey, irregular walls, pierced by numberless richly ornamented windows,
+and surmounted by small turrets, form a beautiful boundary on the right;
+while a third party are planted on the left, in the open space, beneath
+the dormitory, the torchlight flashing ruddily upon the hoary pillars
+and groined arches sustaining the vast structure above them.</p>
+
+<p>Dolefully sounds the bell. And the ghostly procession thrice tracks the
+four ambulatories of the cloisters, solemnly chanting a requiem for the
+dead.</p>
+
+<p>Dolefully sounds the bell. And at its summons all the old retainers of
+the abbot press to the gate, and sue for admittance, but in vain. They,
+therefore, mount the neighbouring hill commanding the abbey, and as the
+solemn sounds float faintly by, and glimpses are caught of the
+white-robed brethren gliding along the cloisters, and rendered
+phantom-like by the torchlight, the beholders half imagine it must be a
+company of sprites, and that the departed monks have been permitted for
+an hour to assume their old forms, and revisit their old haunts.</p>
+
+<p>Dolefully sounds the bell. And two biers, covered with palls, are borne
+slowly towards the church, followed by a tall monk.</p>
+
+<p>The clock was on the stroke of twelve. The procession having drawn up
+within the court in front of the abbot's lodging, the prisoners were
+brought forth, and at sight of the abbot the whole of the monks fell on
+their knees. A touching sight was it to see those reverend men prostrate
+before their ancient superior,&mdash;he condemned to die, and they deprived
+of their monastic home,&mdash;and the officer had not the heart to interfere.
+Deeply affected, Paslew advanced to the prior, and raising him,
+affectionately embraced him. After this, he addressed some words of
+comfort to the others, who arose as he enjoined them, and at a signal
+from the officer, the procession set out for the church, singing the
+&quot;<i>Placebo</i>.&quot; The abbot and his fellow captives brought up the rear, with
+a guard on either side of them. All Souls' bell tolled dolefully the
+while.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile an officer entered the great hall, where the Earl of Derby was
+feasting with his retainers, and informed him that the hour appointed
+for the ceremonial was close at hand. The earl arose and went to the
+church attended by Braddyll and Assheton. He entered by the western
+porch, and, proceeding to the choir, seated himself in the
+magnificently-carved stall formerly used by Paslew, and placed where it
+stood, a hundred years before, by John Eccles, ninth abbot.</p>
+
+<p>Midnight struck. The great door of the church swung open, and the organ
+pealed forth the &quot;<i>De profundis</i>.&quot; The aisles were filled with armed
+men, but a clear space was left for the procession, which presently
+entered in the same order as before, and moved slowly along the
+transept. Those who came first thought it a dream, so strange was it to
+find themselves once again in the old accustomed church. The good prior
+melted into tears.</p>
+
+<p>At length the abbot came. To him the whole scene appeared like a vision.
+The lights streaming from the altar&mdash;the incense loading the air&mdash;the
+deep diapasons rolling overhead&mdash;the well-known faces of the
+brethren&mdash;the familiar aspect of the sacred edifice&mdash;all these filled
+him with emotions too painful almost for endurance. It was the last time
+he should visit this holy place&mdash;the last time he should hear those
+solemn sounds&mdash;the last time he should behold those familiar
+objects&mdash;ay, the last! Death could have no pang like this! And with
+heart wellnigh bursting, and limbs scarcely serving their office, he
+tottered on.</p>
+
+<p>Another trial awaited him, and one for which he was wholly unprepared.
+As he drew near the chancel, he looked down an opening on the right,
+which seemed purposely preserved by the guard. Why were those tapers
+burning in the side chapel? What was within it? He looked again, and
+beheld two uncovered biers. On one lay the body of a woman. He started.
+In the beautiful, but fierce features of the dead, he beheld the witch,
+Bess Demdike. She was gone to her account before him. The malediction he
+had pronounced upon her child had killed her.</p>
+
+<p>Appalled, he turned to the other bier, and recognised Cuthbert Ashbead.
+He shuddered, but comforted himself that he was at least guiltless of
+his death; though he had a strange feeling that the poor forester had in
+some way perished for him.</p>
+
+<p>But his attention was diverted towards a tall monk in the Cistertian
+habit, standing between the bodies, with the cowl drawn over his face.
+As Paslew gazed at him, the monk slowly raised his hood, and partially
+disclosed features that smote the abbot as if he had beheld a spectre.
+Could it be? Could fancy cheat him thus? He looked again. The monk was
+still standing there, but the cowl had dropped over his face. Striving
+to shake off the horror that possessed him, the abbot staggered forward,
+and reaching the presbytery, sank upon his knees.</p>
+
+<p>The ceremonial then commenced. The solemn requiem was sung by the choir;
+and three yet living heard the hymn for the repose of their souls.
+Always deeply impressive, the service was unusually so on this sad
+occasion, and the melodious voices of the singers never sounded so
+mournfully sweet as then&mdash;the demeanour of the prior never seemed so
+dignified, nor his accents so touching and solemn. The sternest hearts
+were softened.</p>
+
+<p>But the abbot found it impossible to fix his attention on the service.
+The lights at the altar burnt dimly in his eyes&mdash;the loud antiphon and
+the supplicatory prayer fell upon a listless ear. His whole life was
+passing in review before him. He saw himself as he was when he first
+professed his faith, and felt the zeal and holy aspirations that filled
+him then. Years flew by at a glance, and he found himself sub-deacon;
+the sub-deacon became deacon; and the deacon, sub-prior, and the end of
+his ambition seemed plain before him. But he had a rival; his fears told
+him a superior in zeal and learning: one who, though many years younger
+than he, had risen so rapidly in favour with the ecclesiastical
+authorities, that he threatened to outstrip him, even now, when the goal
+was full in view. The darkest passage of his life approached: a crime
+which should cast a deep shadow over the whole of his brilliant
+after-career. He would have shunned its contemplation, if he could. In
+vain. It stood out more palpably than all the rest. His rival was no
+longer in his path. How he was removed the abbot did not dare to think.
+But he was gone for ever, unless the tall monk were he!</p>
+
+<p>Unable to endure this terrible retrospect, Paslew strove to bend his
+thoughts on other things. The choir was singing the &quot;<i>Dies Ir&aelig;</i>,&quot; and
+their voices thundered forth:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Rex tremend&aelig; majestatis,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Qui salvandos salvas gratis,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Salva me, fons pietatis!</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>Fain would the abbot have closed his ears, and, hoping to stifle the
+remorseful pangs that seized upon his very vitals with the sharpness of
+serpents' teeth, he strove to dwell upon the frequent and severe acts of
+penance he had performed. But he now found that his penitence had never
+been sincere and efficacious. This one damning sin obscured all his good
+actions; and he felt if he died unconfessed, and with the weight of
+guilt upon his soul, he should perish everlastingly. Again he fled from
+the torment of retrospection, and again heard the choir thundering
+forth&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Lacrymosa dies illa,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Qu&acirc; resurget ex favill&acirc;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Judicandus homo reus.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Huic ergo parce, Deus!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Pie Jesu Domine!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Dona eis requiem.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Amen!&quot; exclaimed the abbot. And bowing his head to the ground, he
+earnestly repeated&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Pie Jesu Domine!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Dona eis requiem.&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>Then he looked up, and resolved to ask for a confessor, and unburthen
+his soul without delay.</p>
+
+<p>The offertory and post-communion were over; the &quot;<i>requiescant in
+pace</i>&quot;&mdash;awful words addressed to living ears&mdash;were pronounced; and the
+mass was ended.</p>
+
+<p>All prepared to depart. The prior descended from the altar to embrace
+and take leave of the abbot; and at the same time the Earl of Derby came
+from the stall.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Has all been done to your satisfaction, John Paslew?&quot; demanded the
+earl, as he drew near.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;All, my good lord,&quot; replied the abbot, lowly inclining his head; &quot;and I
+pray you think me not importunate, if I prefer one other request. I
+would fain have a confessor visit me, that I may lay bare my inmost
+heart to him, and receive absolution.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have already anticipated the request,&quot; replied the earl, &quot;and have
+provided a priest for you. He shall attend you, within an hour, in your
+own chamber. You will have ample time between this and daybreak, to
+settle your accounts with Heaven, should they be ever so weighty.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I trust so, my lord,&quot; replied Paslew; &quot;but a whole life is scarcely
+long enough for repentance, much less a few short hours. But in regard
+to the confessor,&quot; he continued, filled with misgiving by the earl's
+manner, &quot;I should be glad to be shriven by Father Christopher Smith,
+late prior of the abbey.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It may not be,&quot; replied the earl, sternly and decidedly. &quot;You will find
+all you can require in him I shall send.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The abbot sighed, seeing that remonstrance was useless.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;One further question I would address to you, my lord,&quot; he said, &quot;and
+that refers to the place of my interment. Beneath our feet lie buried
+all my predecessors&mdash;Abbots of Whalley. Here lies John Eccles, for whom
+was carved the stall in which your lordship hath sat, and from which I
+have been dethroned. Here rests the learned John Lyndelay, fifth abbot;
+and beside him his immediate predecessor, Robert de Topcliffe, who, two
+hundred and thirty years ago, on the festival of Saint Gregory, our
+canonised abbot, commenced the erection of the sacred edifice above us.
+At that epoch were here enshrined the remains of the saintly Gregory,
+and here were also brought the bodies of Helias de Workesley and John de
+Belfield, both prelates of piety and wisdom. You may read the names
+where you stand, my lord. You may count the graves of all the abbots.
+They are sixteen in number. There is one grave yet unoccupied&mdash;one stone
+yet unfurnished with an effigy in brass.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well!&quot; said the Earl of Derby.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;When I sat in that stall, my lord,&quot; pursued Paslew, pointing to the
+abbot's chair; &quot;when I was head of this church, it was my thought to
+rest here among my brother abbots.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have forfeited the right,&quot; replied the earl, sternly. &quot;All the
+abbots, whose dust is crumbling beneath us, died in the odour of
+sanctity; loyal to their sovereigns, and true to their country, whereas
+you will die an attainted felon and rebel. You can have no place amongst
+them. Concern not yourself further in the matter. I will find a fitting
+grave for you,&mdash;perchance at the foot of the gallows.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And, turning abruptly away, he gave the signal for general departure.</p>
+
+<p>Ere the clock in the church tower had tolled one, the lights were
+extinguished, and of the priestly train who had recently thronged the
+fane, all were gone, like a troop of ghosts evoked at midnight by
+necromantic skill, and then suddenly dismissed. Deep silence again
+brooded in the aisles; hushed was the organ; mute the melodious choir.
+The only light penetrating the convent church proceeded from the moon,
+whose rays, shining through the painted windows, fell upon the graves of
+the old abbots in the presbytery, and on the two biers within the
+adjoining chapel, whose stark burthens they quickened into fearful
+semblance of life.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI_TETER_ET_FORTIS_CARCER" id="CHAPTER_VI_TETER_ET_FORTIS_CARCER" />CHAPTER VI.&mdash;TETER ET FORTIS CARCER.</h2>
+
+<p>Left alone, and unable to pray, the abbot strove to dissipate his
+agitation of spirit by walking to and fro within his chamber; and while
+thus occupied, he was interrupted by a guard, who told him that the
+priest sent by the Earl of Derby was without, and immediately afterwards
+the confessor was ushered in. It was the tall monk, who had been
+standing between the biers, and his features were still shrouded by his
+cowl. At sight of him, Paslew sank upon a seat and buried his face in
+his hands. The monk offered him no consolation, but waited in silence
+till he should again look up. At last Paslew took courage and spoke.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who, and what are you?&quot; he demanded.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A brother of the same order as yourself,&quot; replied the monk, in deep and
+thrilling accents, but without raising his hood; &quot;and I am come to hear
+your confession by command of the Earl of Derby.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Are you of this abbey?&quot; asked Paslew, tremblingly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I was,&quot; replied the monk, in a stern tone; &quot;but the monastery is
+dissolved, and all the brethren ejected.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your name?&quot; cried Paslew.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am not come here to answer questions, but to hear a confession,&quot;
+rejoined the monk. &quot;Bethink you of the awful situation in which you are
+placed, and that before many hours you must answer for the sins you have
+committed. You have yet time for repentance, if you delay it not.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are right, father,&quot; replied the abbot. &quot;Be seated, I pray you, and
+listen to me, for I have much to tell. Thirty and one years ago I was
+prior of this abbey. Up to that period my life had been blameless, or,
+if not wholly free from fault, I had little wherewith to reproach
+myself&mdash;little to fear from a merciful judge&mdash;unless it were that I
+indulged too strongly the desire of ruling absolutely in the house in
+which I was then only second. But Satan had laid a snare for me, into
+which I blindly fell. Among the brethren was one named Borlace Alvetham,
+a young man of rare attainment, and singular skill in the occult
+sciences. He had risen in favour, and at the time I speak of was elected
+sub-prior.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Go on,&quot; said the monk.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It began to be whispered about within the abbey,&quot; pursued Paslew, &quot;that
+on the death of William Rede, then abbot, Borlace Alvetham would succeed
+him, and then it was that bitter feelings of animosity were awakened in
+my breast against the sub-prior, and, after many struggles, I resolved
+upon his destruction.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A wicked resolution,&quot; cried the monk; &quot;but proceed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I pondered over the means of accomplishing my purpose,&quot; resumed Paslew,
+&quot;and at last decided upon accusing Alvetham of sorcery and magical
+practices. The accusation was easy, for the occult studies in which he
+indulged laid him open to the charge. He occupied a chamber overlooking
+the Calder, and used to break the monastic rules by wandering forth at
+night upon the hills. When he was absent thus one night, accompanied by
+others of the brethren, I visited his chamber, and examined his papers,
+some of which were covered with mystical figures and cabalistic
+characters. These papers I seized, and a watch was set to make prisoner
+of Alvetham on his return. Before dawn he appeared, and was instantly
+secured, and placed in close confinement. On the next day he was brought
+before the assembled conclave in the chapter-house, and examined. His
+defence was unavailing. I charged him with the terrible crime of
+witchcraft, and he was found guilty.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>A hollow groan broke from the monk, but he offered no other
+interruption.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He was condemned to die a fearful and lingering death,&quot; pursued the
+abbot; &quot;and it devolved upon me to see the sentence carried out.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And no pity for the innocent moved you?&quot; cried the monk. &quot;You had no
+compunction?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;None,&quot; replied the abbot; &quot;I rather rejoiced in the successful
+accomplishment of my scheme. The prey was fairly in my toils, and I
+would give him no chance of escape. Not to bring scandal upon the
+abbey, it was decided that Alvetham's punishment should be secret.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A wise resolve,&quot; observed the monk.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Within the thickness of the dormitory walls is contrived a small
+singularly-formed dungeon,&quot; continued the abbot. &quot;It consists of an
+arched cell, just large enough to hold the body of a captive, and permit
+him to stretch himself upon a straw pallet. A narrow staircase mounts
+upwards to a grated aperture in one of the buttresses to admit air and
+light. Other opening is there none. '<i>Teter et fortis carcer</i>' is this
+dungeon styled in our monastic rolls, and it is well described, for it
+is black and strong enough. Food is admitted to the miserable inmate of
+the cell by means of a revolving stone, but no interchange of speech can
+be held with those without. A large stone is removed from the wall to
+admit the prisoner, and once immured, the masonry is mortised, and made
+solid as before. The wretched captive does not long survive his doom, or
+it may be he lives too long, for death must be a release from such
+protracted misery. In this dark cell one of the evil-minded brethren,
+who essayed to stab the Abbot of Kirkstall in the chapter-house, was
+thrust, and ere a year was over, the provisions were untouched&mdash;and the
+man being known to be dead, they were stayed. His skeleton was found
+within the cell when it was opened to admit Borlace Alvetham.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Poor captive!&quot; groaned the monk.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, poor captive!&quot; echoed Paslew. &quot;Mine eyes have often striven to
+pierce those stone walls, and see him lying there in that narrow
+chamber, or forcing his way upwards, to catch a glimpse of the blue sky
+above him. When I have seen the swallows settle on the old buttress, or
+the thin grass growing between the stones waving there, I have thought
+of him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Go on,&quot; said the monk.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I scarce can proceed,&quot; rejoined Paslew. &quot;Little time was allowed
+Alvetham for preparation. That very night the fearful sentence was
+carried out. The stone was removed, and a new pallet placed in the cell.
+At midnight the prisoner was brought to the dormitory, the brethren
+chanting a doleful hymn. There he stood amidst them, his tall form
+towering above the rest, and his features pale as death. He protested
+his innocence, but he exhibited no fear, even when he saw the terrible
+preparations. When all was ready he was led to the breach. At that awful
+moment, his eye met mine, and I shall never forget the look. I might
+have saved him if I had spoken, but I would not speak. I turned away,
+and he was thrust into the breach. A fearful cry then rang in my ears,
+but it was instantly drowned by the mallets of the masons employed to
+fasten up the stone.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>There was a pause for a few moments, broken only by the sobs of the
+abbot. At length, the monk spoke.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And the prisoner perished in the cell?&quot; he demanded in a hollow voice.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I thought so till to-night,&quot; replied the abbot. &quot;But if he escaped it,
+it must have been by miracle; or by aid of those powers with whom he was
+charged with holding commerce.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He did escape!&quot; thundered the monk, throwing back his hood. &quot;Look up,
+John Paslew. Look up, false abbot, and recognise thy victim.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Borlace Alvetham!&quot; cried the abbot. &quot;Is it, indeed, you?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You see, and can you doubt?&quot; replied the other. &quot;But you shall now hear
+how I avoided the terrible death to which you procured my condemnation.
+You shall now learn how I am here to repay the wrong you did me. We have
+changed places, John Paslew, since the night when I was thrust into the
+cell, never, as you hoped, to come forth. You are now the criminal, and
+I the witness of the punishment.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Forgive me! oh, forgive me! Borlace Alvetham, since you are, indeed,
+he!&quot; cried the abbot, falling on his knees.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Arise, John Paslew!&quot; cried the other, sternly. &quot;Arise, and listen to
+me. For the damning offences into which I have been led, I hold you
+responsible. But for you I might have died free from sin. It is fit you
+should know the amount of my iniquity. Give ear to me, I say. When first
+shut within that dungeon, I yielded to the promptings of despair.
+Cursing you, I threw myself upon the pallet, resolved to taste no food,
+and hoping death would soon release me. But love of life prevailed. On
+the second day I took the bread and water allotted me, and ate and
+drank; after which I scaled the narrow staircase, and gazed through the
+thin barred loophole at the bright blue sky above, sometimes catching
+the shadow of a bird as it flew past. Oh, how I yearned for freedom
+then! Oh, how I wished to break through the stone walls that held me
+fast! Oh, what a weight of despair crushed my heart as I crept back to
+my narrow bed! The cell seemed like a grave, and indeed it was little
+better. Horrible thoughts possessed me. What if I should be wilfully
+forgotten? What if no food should be given me, and I should be left to
+perish by the slow pangs of hunger? At this idea I shrieked aloud, but
+the walls alone returned a dull echo to my cries. I beat my hands
+against the stones, till the blood flowed from them, but no answer was
+returned; and at last I desisted from sheer exhaustion. Day after day,
+and night after night, passed in this way. My food regularly came. But I
+became maddened by solitude; and with terrible imprecations invoked aid
+from the powers of darkness to set me free. One night, while thus
+employed, I was startled by a mocking voice which said,</p>
+
+<p>&quot;'All this fury is needless. Thou hast only to wish for me, and I come.'</p>
+
+<p class="figcenter"><a name="ILLUS_2" id="ILLUS_2" href="./images/illus02_lg.jpg"><img src="./images/illus02_sm.jpg"
+alt="Illustration: ALVETHAM AND JOHN PASLEW."
+title="ALVETHAM AND JOHN PASLEW." /></a></p>
+<p class="figcenter"><span class="smcap">Alvetham and John Paslew.</span></p>
+
+<p>&quot;It was profoundly dark. I could see nothing but a pair of red orbs,
+glowing like flaming carbuncles.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;'Thou wouldst be free,' continued the voice. 'Thou shalt be so. Arise,
+and follow me.'</p>
+
+<p>&quot;At this I felt myself grasped by an iron arm, against which all
+resistance would have been unavailing, even if I had dared to offer it,
+and in an instant I was dragged up the narrow steps. The stone wall
+opened before my unseen conductor, and in another moment we were upon
+the roof of the dormitory. By the bright starbeams shooting down from
+above, I discerned a tall shadowy figure standing by my side.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;'Thou art mine,' he cried, in accents graven for ever on my memory;
+'but I am a generous master, and will give thee a long term of freedom.
+Thou shalt be avenged upon thine enemy&mdash;deeply avenged.'</p>
+
+<p>&quot;'Grant this, and I am thine,' I replied, a spirit of infernal vengeance
+possessing me. And I knelt before the fiend.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;'But thou must tarry for awhile,' he answered, 'for thine enemy's time
+will be long in coming; but it <i>will</i> come. I cannot work him immediate
+harm; but I will lead him to a height from which he will assuredly fall
+headlong. Thou must depart from this place; for it is perilous to thee,
+and if thou stayest here, ill will befall thee. I will send a rat to thy
+dungeon, which shall daily devour the provisions, so that the monks
+shall not know thou hast fled. In thirty and one years shall the abbot's
+doom be accomplished. Two years before that time thou mayst return. Then
+come alone to Pendle Hill on a Friday night, and beat the water of the
+moss pool on the summit, and I will appear to thee and tell thee more.
+Nine and twenty years, remember!'</p>
+
+<p>&quot;With these words the shadowy figure melted away, and I found myself
+standing alone on the mossy roof of the dormitory. The cold stars were
+shining down upon me, and I heard the howl of the watch-dogs near the
+gate. The fair abbey slept in beauty around me, and I gnashed my teeth
+with rage to think that you had made me an outcast from it, and robbed
+me of a dignity which might have been mine. I was wroth also that my
+vengeance should be so long delayed. But I could not remain where I was,
+so I clambered down the buttress, and fled away.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Can this be?&quot; cried the abbot, who had listened in rapt wonderment to
+the narration. &quot;Two years after your immurement in the cell, the food
+having been for some time untouched, the wall was opened, and upon the
+pallet was found a decayed carcase in mouldering, monkish vestments.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It was a body taken from the charnel, and placed there by the demon,&quot;
+replied the monk. &quot;Of my long wanderings in other lands and beneath
+brighter skies I need not tell you; but neither absence nor lapse of
+years cooled my desire of vengeance, and when the appointed time drew
+nigh I returned to my own country, and came hither in a lowly garb,
+under the name of Nicholas Demdike.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha!&quot; exclaimed the abbot.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I went to Pendle Hill, as directed,&quot; pursued the monk, &quot;and saw the
+Dark Shape there as I beheld it on the dormitory roof. All things were
+then told me, and I learnt how the late rebellion should rise, and how
+it should be crushed. I learnt also how my vengeance should be
+satisfied.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Paslew groaned aloud. A brief pause ensued, and deep emotion marked the
+accents of the wizard as he proceeded.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;When I came back, all this part of Lancashire resounded with praises of
+the beauty of Bess Blackburn, a rustic lass who dwelt in Barrowford. She
+was called the Flower of Pendle, and inflamed all the youths with love,
+and all the maidens with jealousy. But she favoured none except Cuthbert
+Ashbead, forester to the Abbot of Whalley. Her mother would fain have
+given her to the forester in marriage, but Bess would not be disposed of
+so easily. I saw her, and became at once enamoured. I thought my heart
+was seared; but it was not so. The savage beauty of Bess pleased me more
+than the most refined charms could have done, and her fierce character
+harmonised with my own. How I won her matters not, but she cast off all
+thoughts of Ashbead, and clung to me. My wild life suited her; and she
+roamed the wastes with me, scaled the hills in my company, and shrank
+not from the weird meetings I attended. Ill repute quickly attended her,
+and she became branded as a witch. Her aged mother closed her doors upon
+her, and those who would have gone miles to meet her, now avoided her.
+Bess heeded this little. She was of a nature to repay the world's
+contumely with like scorn, but when her child was born the case became
+different. She wished to save it. Then it was,&quot; pursued Demdike,
+vehemently, and regarding the abbot with flashing eyes&mdash;&quot;then it was
+that I was again mortally injured by you. Then your ruthless decree to
+the clergy went forth. My child was denied baptism, and became subject
+to the fiend.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alas! alas!&quot; exclaimed Paslew.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And as if this were not injury enough,&quot; thundered Demdike, &quot;you have
+called down a withering and lasting curse upon its innocent head, and
+through it transfixed its mother's heart. If you had complied with that
+poor girl's request, I would have forgiven you your wrong to me, and
+have saved you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>There was a long, fearful silence. At last Demdike advanced to the
+abbot, and, seizing his arm, fixed his eyes upon him, as if to search
+into his soul.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Answer me, John Paslew!&quot; he cried; &quot;answer me, as you shall speedily
+answer your Maker. Can that malediction be recalled? Dare not to trifle
+with me, or I will tear forth your black heart, and cast it in your
+face. Can that curse be recalled? Speak!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It cannot,&quot; replied the abbot, half dead with terror.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Away, then!&quot; thundered Demdike, casting him from him. &quot;To the
+gallows!&mdash;to the gallows!&quot; And he rushed out of the room.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII_THE_ABBEY_MILL" id="CHAPTER_VII_THE_ABBEY_MILL" />CHAPTER VII.&mdash;THE ABBEY MILL.</h2>
+
+
+<p>For a while the abbot remained shattered and stupefied by this terrible
+interview. At length he arose, and made his way, he scarce knew how, to
+the oratory. But it was long before the tumult of his thoughts could be
+at all allayed, and he had only just regained something like composure
+when he was disturbed by hearing a slight sound in the adjoining
+chamber. A mortal chill came over him, for he thought it might be
+Demdike returned. Presently, he distinguished a footstep stealthily
+approaching him, and almost hoped that the wizard would consummate his
+vengeance by taking his life. But he was quickly undeceived, for a hand
+was placed on his shoulder, and a friendly voice whispered in his ears,
+&quot;Cum along wi' meh, lort abbut. Get up, quick&mdash;quick!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Thus addressed, the abbot raised his eyes, and beheld a rustic figure
+standing beside him, divested of his clouted shoes, and armed with a
+long bare wood-knife.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Dunna yo knoa me, lort abbut?&quot; cried the person. &quot;Ey'm a freent&mdash;Hal o'
+Nabs, o' Wiswall. Yo'n moind Wiswall, yeawr own birthplace, abbut? Dunna
+be feert, ey sey. Ey'n getten a steigh clapt to yon windaw, an' you con
+be down it i' a trice&mdash;an' along t' covert way be t' river soide to t'
+mill.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But the abbot stirred not.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Quick! quick!&quot; implored Hal o' Nabs, venturing to pluck the abbot's
+sleeve. &quot;Every minute's precious. Dunna be feert. Ebil Croft, t' miller,
+is below. Poor Cuthbert Ashbead would ha' been here i'stead o' meh if he
+couldn; boh that accursed wizard, Nick Demdike, turned my hont agen him,
+an' drove t' poike head intended for himself into poor Cuthbert's side.
+They clapt meh i' a dungeon, boh Ebil monaged to get me out, an' ey then
+swore to do whot poor Cuthbert would ha' done, if he'd been livin'&mdash;so
+here ey am, lort abbut, cum to set yo free. An' neaw yo knoan aw abowt
+it, yo con ha nah more hesitation. Cum, time presses, an ey'm feert o'
+t' guard owerhearing us.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I thank you, my good friend, from the bottom of my heart,&quot; replied the
+abbot, rising; &quot;but, however strong may be the temptation of life and
+liberty which you hold out to me, I cannot yield to it. I have pledged
+my word to the Earl of Derby to make no attempt to escape. Were the
+doors thrown open, and the guard removed, I should remain where I am.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whot!&quot; exclaimed Hal o' Nabs, in a tone of bitter disappointment; &quot;yo
+winnaw go, neaw aw's prepared. By th' Mess, boh yo shan. Ey'st nah go
+back to Ebil empty-handed. If yo'n sworn to stay here, ey'n sworn to set
+yo free, and ey'st keep meh oath. Willy nilly, yo shan go wi' meh, lort
+abbut!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Forbear to urge me further, my good Hal,&quot; rejoined Paslew. &quot;I fully
+appreciate your devotion; and I only regret that you and Abel Croft have
+exposed yourselves to so much peril on my account. Poor Cuthbert
+Ashbead! when I beheld his body on the bier, I had a sad feeling that he
+had died in my behalf.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Cuthbert meant to rescue yo, lort abbut,&quot; replied Hal, &quot;and deed
+resisting Nick Demdike's attempt to arrest him. Boh, be aw t' devils!&quot;
+he added, brandishing his knife fiercely, &quot;t' warlock shall ha' three
+inches o' cowd steel betwixt his ribs, t' furst time ey cum across him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Peace, my son,&quot; rejoined the abbot, &quot;and forego your bloody design.
+Leave the wretched man to the chastisement of Heaven. And now, farewell!
+All your kindly efforts to induce me to fly are vain.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo winnaw go?&quot; cried Hal o'Nabs, scratching his head.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I cannot,&quot; replied the abbot.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Cum wi' meh to t' windaw, then,&quot; pursued Hal, &quot;and tell Ebil so. He'll
+think ey'n failed else.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Willingly,&quot; replied the abbot.</p>
+
+<p>And with noiseless footsteps he followed the other across the chamber.
+The window was open, and outside it was reared a ladder.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo mun go down a few steps,&quot; said Hal o' Nabs, &quot;or else he'll nah hear
+yo.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The abbot complied, and partly descended the ladder.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I see no one,&quot; he said.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;T' neet's dark,&quot; replied Hal o' Nabs, who was close behind him. &quot;Ebil
+canna be far off. Hist! ey hear him&mdash;go on.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The abbot was now obliged to comply, though he did so with, reluctance.
+Presently he found himself upon the roof of a building, which he knew to
+be connected with the mill by a covered passage running along the south
+bank of the Calder. Scarcely had he set foot there, than Hal o' Nabs
+jumped after him, and, seizing the ladder, cast it into the stream, thus
+rendering Paslew's return impossible.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neaw, lort abbut,&quot; he cried, with a low, exulting laugh, &quot;yo hanna
+brok'n yor word, an ey'n kept moine. Yo're free agen your will.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have destroyed me by your mistaken zeal,&quot; cried the abbot,
+reproachfully.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nowt o't sort,&quot; replied Hal; &quot;ey'n saved yo' fro' destruction. This
+way, lort abbut&mdash;this way.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And taking Paslew's arm he led him to a low parapet, overlooking the
+covered passage before described. Half an hour before it had been bright
+moonlight, but, as if to favour the fugitive, the heavens had become
+overcast, and a thick mist had arisen from the river.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ebil! Ebil!&quot; cried Hal o' Nabs, leaning over the parapet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Here,&quot; replied a voice below. &quot;Is aw reet? Is he wi' yo?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh,&quot; replied Hal.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whot han yo dun wi' t' steigh?&quot; cried Ebil.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Never yo moind,&quot; returned Hal, &quot;boh help t' abbut down.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Paslew thought it vain to resist further, and with the help of Hal o'
+Nabs and the miller, and further aided by some irregularities in the
+wall, he was soon safely landed near the entrance of the passage. Abel
+fell on his knees, and pressed the abbot's hand to his lips.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Owr Blessed Leady be praised, yo are free,&quot; he cried.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Dunna stond tawking here, Ebil,&quot; interposed Hal o' Nabs, who by this
+time had reached the ground, and who was fearful of some new
+remonstrance on the abbot's part. &quot;Ey'm feerd o' pursuit.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo' needna be afeerd o' that, Hal,&quot; replied the miller. &quot;T' guard are
+safe enough. One o' owr chaps has just tuk em up a big black jack fu' o'
+stout ele; an ey warrant me they winnaw stir yet awhoile. Win it please
+yo to cum wi' me, lort abbut?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>With this, he marched along the passage, followed by the others, and
+presently arrived at a door, against which he tapped. A bolt being
+withdrawn, it was instantly opened to admit the party, after which it
+was as quickly shut, and secured. In answer to a call from the miller, a
+light appeared at the top of a steep, ladder-like flight of wooden
+steps, and up these Paslew, at the entreaty of Abel, mounted, and found
+himself in a large, low chamber, the roof of which was crossed by great
+beams, covered thickly with cobwebs, whitened by flour, while the floor
+was strewn with empty sacks and sieves.</p>
+
+<p>The person who held the light proved to be the miller's daughter,
+Dorothy, a blooming lass of eighteen, and at the other end of the
+chamber, seated on a bench before a turf fire, with an infant on her
+knees, was the miller's wife. The latter instantly arose on beholding
+the abbot, and, placing the child on a corn bin, advanced towards him,
+and dropped on her knees, while her daughter imitated her example. The
+abbot extended his hands over them, and pronounced a solemn benediction.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Bring your child also to me, that I may bless it,&quot; he said, when he
+concluded.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It's nah my child, lort abbut,&quot; replied the miller's wife, taking up
+the infant and bringing it to him; &quot;it wur brought to me this varry neet
+by Ebil. Ey wish it wur far enough, ey'm sure, for it's a deformed
+little urchon. One o' its een is lower set than t' other; an t' reet
+looks up, while t' laft looks down.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as she spoke she pointed to the infant's face, which was disfigured
+as she had stated, by a strange and unnatural disposition of the eyes,
+one of which was set much lower in the head than the other. Awakened
+from sleep, the child uttered a feeble cry, and stretched out its tiny
+arms to Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You ought to pity it for its deformity, poor little creature, rather
+than reproach it, mother,&quot; observed the young damsel.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Marry kem eawt!&quot; cried her mother, sharply, &quot;yo'n getten fine feelings
+wi' your larning fro t' good feythers, Dolly. Os ey said efore, ey wish
+t' brat wur far enough.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You forget it has no mother,&quot; suggested Dorothy, kindly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;An naw great matter, if it hasn't,&quot; returned the miller's wife. &quot;Bess
+Demdike's neaw great loss.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Is this Bess Demdike's child?&quot; cried Paslew, recoiling.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh,&quot; exclaimed the miller's wife. And mistaking the cause of
+Paslew's emotion, she added, triumphantly, to her daughter, &quot;Ey towd te,
+wench, ot t' lort abbut would be of my way o' thinking. T' chilt has got
+the witch's mark plain upon her. Look, lort abbut, look!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But Paslew heeded her not, but murmured to himself:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ever in my path, go where I will. It is vain to struggle with my fate.
+I will go back and surrender myself to the Earl of Derby.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nah,&mdash;nah!&mdash;yo shanna do that,&quot; replied Hal o' Nabs, who, with the
+miller, was close beside him. &quot;Sit down o' that stoo' be t' fire, and
+take a cup o' wine t' cheer yo, and then we'n set out to Pendle Forest,
+where ey'st find yo a safe hiding-place. An t' ony reward ey'n ever ask
+for t' sarvice shan be, that yo'n perform a marriage sarvice fo' me and
+Dolly one of these days.&quot; And he nudged the damsel's elbow, who turned
+away, covered with blushes.</p>
+
+<p>The abbot moved mechanically to the fire, and sat down, while the
+miller's wife, surrendering the child with a shrug of the shoulders and
+a grimace to her daughter, went in search of some viands and a flask of
+wine, which she set before Paslew. The miller then filled a
+drinking-horn, and presented it to his guest, who was about to raise it
+to his lips, when a loud knocking was heard at the door below.</p>
+
+<p>The knocking continued with increased violence, and voices were heard
+calling upon the miller to open the door, or it would be broken down. On
+the first alarm Abel had flown to a small window whence he could
+reconnoitre those below, and he now returned with a face white with
+terror, to say that a party of arquebussiers, with the sheriff at their
+head, were without, and that some of the men were provided with torches.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;They have discovered my evasion, and are come in search of me,&quot;
+observed the abbot rising, but without betraying any anxiety. &quot;Do not
+concern yourselves further for me, my good friends, but open the door,
+and deliver me to them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nah, nah, that we winnaw,&quot; cried Hal o' Nabs, &quot;yo're neaw taen yet,
+feyther abbut, an' ey knoa a way to baffle 'em. If y'on let him down
+into t' river, Ebil, ey'n manage to get him off.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel thowt on, Nab,&quot; cried the miller, &quot;theawst nah been mey mon seven
+year fo nowt. Theaw knoas t' ways o' t' pleck.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Os weel os onny rotten abowt it,&quot; replied Hal o' Nabs. &quot;Go down to t'
+grindin'-room, an ey'n follow i' a troice.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as Abel snatched up the light, and hastily descended the steps with
+Paslew, Hal whispered in Dorothy's ears&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Tak care neaw one fonds that chilt, Dolly, if they break in. Hide it
+safely; an whon they're gone, tak it to't church, and place it near t'
+altar, where no ill con cum to it or thee. Mey life may hong upon it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as the poor girl, who, as well as her mother, was almost frightened
+out of her wits, promised compliance, he hurried down the steps after
+the others, muttering, as the clamour without was redoubled&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh, roar on till yo're hoarse. Yo winnaw get in yet awhile, ey'n
+promise ye.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Meantime, the abbot had been led to the chief room of the mill, where
+all the corn formerly consumed within the monastery had been prepared,
+and which the size of the chamber itself, together with the vastness of
+the stones used in the operation of grinding, and connected with the
+huge water-wheel outside, proved to be by no means inconsiderable.
+Strong shafts of timber supported the flooring above, and were crossed
+by other boards placed horizontally, from which various implements in
+use at the mill depended, giving the chamber, imperfectly lighted as it
+now was by the lamp borne by Abel, a strange and almost mysterious
+appearance. Three or four of the miller's men, armed with pikes, had
+followed their master, and, though much alarmed, they vowed to die
+rather than give up the abbot.</p>
+
+<p>By this time Hal o' Nabs had joined the group, and proceeding towards a
+raised part of the chamber where the grinding-stones were set, he knelt
+down, and laying hold of a small ring, raised up a trapdoor. The fresh
+air which blew up through the aperture, combined with the rushing sound
+of water, showed that the Calder flowed immediately beneath; and, having
+made some slight preparation, Hal let himself down into the stream.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment a loud crash was heard, and one of the miller's men cried
+out that the arquebussiers had burst open the door.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Be hondy, then, lads, and let him down!&quot; cried Hal o' Nabs, who had
+some difficulty in maintaining his footing on the rough, stony bottom of
+the swift stream.</p>
+
+<p>Passively yielding, the abbot suffered the miller and one of the
+stoutest of his men to assist him through the trapdoor, while a third
+held down the lamp, and showed Hal o' Nabs, up to his middle in the
+darkling current, and stretching out his arms to receive the burden. The
+light fell upon the huge black circle of the watershed now stopped, and
+upon the dripping arches supporting the mill. In another moment the
+abbot plunged into the water, the trapdoor was replaced, and bolted
+underneath by Hal, who, while guiding his companion along, and bidding
+him catch hold of the wood-work of the wheel, heard a heavy trampling of
+many feet on the boards above, showing that the pursuers had obtained
+admittance.</p>
+
+<p>Encumbered by his heavy vestments, the abbot could with difficulty
+contend against the strong current, and he momently expected to be swept
+away; but he had a stout and active assistant by his side, who soon
+placed him under shelter of the wheel. The trampling overhead continued
+for a few minutes, after which all was quiet, and Hal judged that,
+finding their search within ineffectual, the enemy would speedily come
+forth. Nor was he deceived. Shouts were soon heard at the door of the
+mill, and the glare of torches was cast on the stream. Then it was that
+Hal dragged his companion into a deep hole, formed by some decay in the
+masonry, behind the wheel, where the water rose nearly to their chins,
+and where they were completely concealed. Scarcely were they thus
+ensconced, than two or three armed men, holding torches aloft, were seen
+wading under the archway; but after looking carefully around, and even
+approaching close to the water-wheel, these persons could detect
+nothing, and withdrew, muttering curses of rage and disappointment.
+By-and-by the lights almost wholly disappeared, and the shouts becoming
+fainter and more distant, it was evident that the men had gone lower
+down the river. Upon this, Hal thought they might venture to quit their
+retreat, and accordingly, grasping the abbot's arm, he proceeded to wade
+up the stream.</p>
+
+<p>Benumbed with cold, and half dead with terror, Paslew needed all his
+companion's support, for he could do little to help himself, added to
+which, they occasionally encountered some large stone, or stepped into a
+deep hole, so that it required Hal's utmost exertion and strength to
+force a way on. At last they were out of the arch, and though both banks
+seemed unguarded, yet, for fear of surprise, Hal deemed it prudent still
+to keep to the river. Their course was completely sheltered from
+observation by the mist that enveloped them; and after proceeding in
+this way for some distance, Hal stopped to listen, and while debating
+with himself whether he should now quit the river, he fancied he beheld
+a black object swimming towards him. Taking it for an otter, with which
+voracious animal the Calder, a stream swarming with trout, abounded, and
+knowing the creature would not meddle with them unless first attacked,
+he paid little attention to it; but he was soon made sensible of his
+error. His arm was suddenly seized by a large black hound, whose sharp
+fangs met in his flesh. Unable to repress a cry of pain, Hal strove to
+disengage himself from his assailant, and, finding it impossible, flung
+himself into the water in the hope of drowning him, but, as the hound
+still maintained his hold, he searched for his knife to slay him. But he
+could not find it, and in his distress applied to Paslew.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha yo onny weepun abowt yo, lort abbut,&quot; he cried, &quot;wi' which ey con
+free mysel fro' this accussed hound?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alas! no, my son,&quot; replied Paslew, &quot;and I fear no weapon will prevail
+against it, for I recognise in the animal the hound of the wizard,
+Demdike.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey thowt t' dule wur in it,&quot; rejoined Hal; &quot;boh leave me to fight it
+owt, and do you gain t' bonk, an mey t' best o' your way to t' Wiswall.
+Ey'n join ye os soon os ey con scrush this varment's heaod agen a stoan.
+Ha!&quot; he added, joyfully, &quot;Ey'n found t' thwittle. Go&mdash;go. Ey'n soon be
+efter ye.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Feeling he should sink if he remained where he was, and wholly unable to
+offer any effectual assistance to his companion, the abbot turned to the
+left, where a large oak overhung the stream, and he was climbing the
+bank, aided by the roots of the tree, when a man suddenly came from
+behind it, seized his hand, and dragged him up forcibly. At the same
+moment his captor placed a bugle to his lips, and winding a few notes,
+he was instantly answered by shouts, and soon afterwards half a dozen
+armed men ran up, bearing torches. Not a word passed between the
+fugitive and his captor; but when the men came up, and the torchlight
+fell upon the features of the latter, the abbot's worst fears were
+realised. It was Demdike.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;False to your king!&mdash;false to your oath!&mdash;false to all men!&quot; cried the
+wizard. &quot;You seek to escape in vain!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I merit all your reproaches,&quot; replied the abbot; &quot;but it may he some
+satisfaction, to you to learn, that I have endured far greater suffering
+than if I had patiently awaited my doom.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am glad of it,&quot; rejoined Demdike, with a savage laugh; &quot;but you have
+destroyed others beside yourself. Where is the fellow in the water?
+What, ho, Uriel!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But as no sound reached him, he snatched a torch from one of the
+arquebussiers and held it to the river's brink. But he could see neither
+hound nor man.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Strange!&quot; he cried. &quot;He cannot have escaped. Uriel is more than a match
+for any man. Secure the prisoner while I examine the stream.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>With this, he ran along the bank with great quickness, holding his torch
+far over the water, so as to reveal any thing floating within it, but
+nothing met his view until he came within a short distance of the mill,
+when he beheld a black object struggling in the current, and soon found
+that it was his dog making feeble efforts to gain the bank.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah recreant! thou hast let him go,&quot; cried Demdike, furiously.</p>
+
+<p>Seeing his master the animal redoubled its efforts, crept ashore, and
+fell at his feet, with a last effort to lick his hands.</p>
+
+<p>Demdike held down the torch, and then perceived that the hound was
+quite dead. There was a deep gash in its side, and another in the
+throat, showing how it had perished.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Poor Uriel!&quot; he exclaimed; &quot;the only true friend I had. And thou art
+gone! The villain has killed thee, but he shall pay for it with his
+life.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And hurrying back he dispatched four of the men in quest of the
+fugitive, while accompanied by the two others he conveyed Paslew back to
+the abbey, where he was placed in a strong cell, from which there was no
+possibility of escape, and a guard set over him.</p>
+
+<p>Half an hour after this, two of the arquebussiers returned with Hal o'
+Nabs, whom they had succeeded in capturing after a desperate resistance,
+about a mile from the abbey, on the road to Wiswall. He was taken to the
+guard-room, which had been appointed in one of the lower chambers of the
+chapter-house, and Demdike was immediately apprised of his arrival.
+Satisfied by an inspection of the prisoner, whose demeanour was sullen
+and resolved, Demdike proceeded to the great hall, where the Earl of
+Derby, who had returned thither after the midnight mass, was still
+sitting with his retainers. An audience was readily obtained by the
+wizard, and, apparently well pleased with the result, he returned to the
+guard-room. The prisoner was seated by himself in one corner of the
+chamber, with his hands tied behind his back with a leathern thong, and
+Demdike approaching him, told him that, for having aided the escape of a
+condemned rebel and traitor, and violently assaulting the king's lieges
+in the execution of their duty, he would be hanged on the morrow, the
+Earl of Derby, who had power of life or death in such cases, having so
+decreed it. And he exhibited the warrant.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Soh, yo mean to hong me, eh, wizard?&quot; cried Hal o' Nabs, kicking his
+heels with great apparent indifference.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I do,&quot; replied Demdike; &quot;if for nothing else, for slaying my hound.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey dunna think it,&quot; replied Hal. &quot;Yo'n alter your moind. Do, mon. Ey'm
+nah prepared to dee just yet.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then perish in your sins,&quot; cried Demdike, &quot;I will not give you an
+hour's respite.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo'n be sorry when it's too late,&quot; said Hal.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Tush!&quot; cried Demdike, &quot;my only regret will be that Uriel's slaughter is
+paid for by such a worthless life as thine.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then whoy tak it?&quot; demanded Hal. &quot;'Specially whon yo'n lose your chilt
+by doing so.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My child!&quot; exclaimed Demdike, surprised. &quot;How mean you, sirrah?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey mean this,&quot; replied Hal, coolly; &quot;that if ey dee to-morrow mornin'
+your chilt dees too. Whon ey ondertook this job ey calkilated mey
+chances, an' tuk precautions eforehond. Your chilt's a hostage fo mey
+safety.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Curses on thee and thy cunning,&quot; cried Demdike; &quot;but I will not be
+outwitted by a hind like thee. I will have the child, and yet not be
+baulked of my revenge.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo'n never ha' it, except os a breathless corpse, 'bowt mey consent,&quot;
+rejoined Hal.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We shall see,&quot; cried Demdike, rushing forth, and bidding the guards
+look well to the prisoner.</p>
+
+<p>But ere long he returned with a gloomy and disappointed expression of
+countenance, and again approaching the prisoner said, &quot;Thou hast spoken
+the truth. The infant is in the hands of some innocent being over whom I
+have no power.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey towdee so, wizard,&quot; replied Hal, laughing. &quot;Hoind os ey be, ey'm a
+match fo' thee,&mdash;ha! ha! Neaw, mey life agen t' chilt's. Win yo set me
+free?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Demdike deliberated.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Harkee, wizard,&quot; cried Hal, &quot;if yo're hatching treason ey'n dun. T'
+sartunty o' revenge win sweeten mey last moments.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Will you swear to deliver the child to me unharmed, if I set you free?&quot;
+asked Demdike.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It's a bargain, wizard,&quot; rejoined Hal o' Nabs; &quot;ey swear. Boh yo mun
+set me free furst, fo' ey winnaw tak your word.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Demdike turned away disdainfully, and addressing the arquebussiers,
+said, &quot;You behold this warrant, guard. The prisoner is committed to my
+custody. I will produce him on the morrow, or account for his absence to
+the Earl of Derby.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>One of the arquebussiers examined the order, and vouching for its
+correctness, the others signified their assent to the arrangement, upon
+which Demdike motioned the prisoner to follow him, and quitted the
+chamber. No interruption was offered to Hal's egress, but he stopped
+within the court-yard, where Demdike awaited him, and unfastened the
+leathern thong that bound together his hands.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Now go and bring the child to me,&quot; said the wizard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nah, ey'st neaw bring it ye myself,&quot; rejoined Hal. &quot;Ey knoas better nor
+that. Be at t' church porch i' half an hour, an t' bantlin shan be
+delivered to ye safe an sound.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And without waiting for a reply, he ran off with great swiftness.</p>
+
+<p>At the appointed time Demdike sought the church, and as he drew near it
+there issued from the porch a female, who hastily placing the child,
+wrapped in a mantle, in his arms, tarried for no speech from him, but
+instantly disappeared. Demdike, however, recognised in her the miller's
+daughter, Dorothy Croft.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII_THE_EXECUTIONER" id="CHAPTER_VIII_THE_EXECUTIONER" />CHAPTER VIII.&mdash;THE EXECUTIONER.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Dawn came at last, after a long and weary night to many within and
+without the abbey. Every thing betokened a dismal day. The atmosphere
+was damp, and oppressive to the spirits, while the raw cold sensibly
+affected the frame. All astir were filled with gloom and despondency,
+and secretly breathed a wish that, the tragical business of the day were
+ended. The vast range of Pendle was obscured by clouds, and ere long the
+vapours descended into the valleys, and rain began to fall; at first
+slightly, but afterwards in heavy continuous showers. Melancholy was the
+aspect of the abbey, and it required no stretch of imagination to fancy
+that the old structure was deploring the fate of its former ruler. To
+those impressed with the idea&mdash;and many there were who were so&mdash;the very
+stones of the convent church seemed dissolving into tears. The statues
+of the saints appeared to weep, and the great statue of Saint Gregory de
+Northbury over the porch seemed bowed down with grief. The grotesquely
+carved heads on the spouts grinned horribly at the abbot's destroyers,
+and spouted forth cascades of water, as if with the intent of drowning
+them. So deluging and incessant were the showers, that it seemed,
+indeed, as if the abbey would be flooded. All the inequalities of ground
+within the great quadrangle of the cloisters looked like ponds, and the
+various water-spouts from the dormitory, the refectory, and the
+chapter-house, continuing to jet forth streams into the court below, the
+ambulatories were soon filled ankle-deep, and even the lower apartments,
+on which they opened, invaded.</p>
+
+<p>Surcharged with moisture, the royal banner on the gate drooped and clung
+to the staff, as if it too shared in the general depression, or as if
+the sovereign authority it represented had given way. The countenances
+and deportment of the men harmonized with the weather; they moved about
+gloomily and despondently, their bright accoutrements sullied with the
+wet, and their buskins clogged with mire. A forlorn sight it was to
+watch the shivering sentinels on the walls; and yet more forlorn to see
+the groups of the abbot's old retainers gathering without, wrapped in
+their blue woollen cloaks, patiently enduring the drenching showers, and
+awaiting the last awful scene. But the saddest sight of all was on the
+hill, already described, called the Holehouses. Here two other lesser
+gibbets had been erected during the night, one on either hand of the
+loftier instrument of justice, and the carpenters were yet employed in
+finishing their work, having been delayed by the badness of the weather.
+Half drowned by the torrents that fell upon them, the poor fellows were
+protected from interference with their disagreeable occupation by half a
+dozen well-mounted and well-armed troopers, and by as many halberdiers;
+and this company, completely exposed to the weather, suffered severely
+from wet and cold. The rain beat against the gallows, ran down its tall
+naked posts, and collected in pools at its feet. Attracted by some
+strange instinct, which seemed to give them a knowledge of the object of
+these terrible preparations, two ravens wheeled screaming round the
+fatal tree, and at length one of them settled on the cross-beam, and
+could with difficulty be dislodged by the shouts of the men, when it
+flew away, croaking hoarsely. Up this gentle hill, ordinarily so soft
+and beautiful, but now abhorrent as a Golgotha, in the eyes of the
+beholders, groups of rustics and monks had climbed over ground rendered
+slippery with moisture, and had gathered round the paling encircling the
+terrible apparatus, looking the images of despair and woe.</p>
+
+<p>Even those within the abbey, and sheltered from the storm, shared the
+all-pervading despondency. The refectory looked dull and comfortless,
+and the logs on the hearth hissed and sputtered, and would not burn.
+Green wood had been brought instead of dry fuel by the drowsy henchman.
+The viands on the board provoked not the appetite, and the men emptied
+their cups of ale, yawned and stretched their arms, as if they would
+fain sleep an hour or two longer. The sense of discomfort, was
+heightened by the entrance of those whose term of watch had been
+relieved, and who cast their dripping cloaks on the floor, while two or
+three savage dogs, steaming with moisture, stretched their huge lengths
+before the sullen fire, and disputed all approach to it.</p>
+
+<p>Within the great hall were already gathered the retainers of the Earl of
+Derby, but the nobleman himself had not appeared. Having passed the
+greater part of the night in conference with one person or another, and
+the abbot's flight having caused him much disquietude, though he did not
+hear of it till the fugitive was recovered; the earl would not seek his
+couch until within an hour of daybreak, and his attendants, considering
+the state of the weather, and that it yet wanted full two hours to the
+time appointed for the execution, did not think it needful to disturb
+him. Braddyll and Assheton, however, were up and ready; but, despite
+their firmness of nerve, they yielded like the rest to the depressing
+influence of the weather, and began to have some misgivings as to their
+own share in the tragedy about to be enacted. The various gentlemen in
+attendance paced to and fro within the hall, holding but slight converse
+together, anxiously counting the minutes, for the time appeared to pass
+on with unwonted slowness, and ever and anon glancing through the
+diamond panes of the window at the rain pouring down steadily without,
+and coming back again hopeless of amendment in the weather.</p>
+
+<p>If such were the disheartening influence of the day on those who had
+nothing to apprehend, what must its effect have been on the poor
+captives! Woful indeed. The two monks suffered a complete prostration of
+spirit. All the resolution which Father Haydocke had displayed in his
+interview with the Earl of Derby, failed him now, and he yielded to the
+agonies of despair. Father Eastgate was in little better condition, and
+gave vent to unavailing lamentations, instead of paying heed to the
+consolatory discourse of the monk who had been permitted to visit him.</p>
+
+<p>The abbot was better sustained. Though greatly enfeebled by the
+occurrences of the night, yet in proportion as his bodily strength
+decreased, his mental energies rallied. Since the confession of his
+secret offence, and the conviction he had obtained that his supposed
+victim still lived, a weight seemed taken from his breast, and he had no
+longer any dread of death. Rather he looked to the speedy termination of
+existence with hopeful pleasure. He prepared himself as decently as the
+means afforded him permitted for his last appearance before the world,
+but refused all refreshment except a cup of water, and being left to
+himself was praying fervently, when a man was admitted into his cell.
+Thinking it might be the executioner come to summon him, he arose, and
+to his surprise beheld Hal o' Nabs. The countenance of the rustic was
+pale, but his bearing was determined.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You here, my son,&quot; cried Paslew. &quot;I hoped you had escaped.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'm i' nah dawnger, feyther abbut,&quot; replied Hal. &quot;Ey'n getten leef to
+visit ye fo a minute only, so ey mun be brief. Mey yourself easy, ye
+shanna dee be't hongmon's honds.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How, my son!&quot; cried Paslew. &quot;I understand you not.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo'n onderstond me weel enough by-and-by,&quot; replied Hal. &quot;Dunnah be
+feart whon ye see me next; an comfort yoursel that whotever cums and
+goes, your death shall be avenged o' your warst foe.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Paslew would have sought some further explanation, but Hal stepped
+quickly backwards, and striking his foot against the door, it was
+instantly opened by the guard, and he went forth.</p>
+
+<p>Not long after this, the Earl of Derby entered the great hall, and his
+first inquiry was as to the safety of the prisoners. When satisfied of
+this, he looked forth, and shuddered at the dismal state of the weather.
+While he was addressing some remarks on this subject, and on its
+interference with the tragical exhibition about to take place, an
+officer entered the hall, followed by several persons of inferior
+condition, amongst whom was Hal o' Nabs, and marched up to the earl,
+while the others remained standing at a respectful distance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What news do you bring me, sir?&quot; cried the earl, noticing the officer's
+evident uneasiness of manner. &quot;Nothing hath happened to the prisoners?
+God's death! if it hath, you shall all answer for it with your bodies.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nothing hath happened to them, my lord,&quot; said the officer,&mdash;&quot;but&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But what?&quot; interrupted the earl. &quot;Out with it quickly.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The executioner from Lancaster and his two aids have fled,&quot; replied the
+officer.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Fled!&quot; exclaimed the earl, stamping his foot with rage; &quot;now as I live,
+this is a device to delay the execution till some new attempt at rescue
+can be made. But it shall fail, if I string up the abbot myself. Death!
+can no other hangmen be found? ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Of a surety, my lord; but all have an aversion to the office, and hold
+it opprobrious, especially to put churchmen to death,&quot; replied the
+officer.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Opprobrious or not, it must be done,&quot; replied the earl. &quot;See that
+fitting persons are provided.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>At this moment Hal o' Nabs stepped forward.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'm willing t' ondertake t' job, my lord, an' t' hong t' abbut,
+without fee or rewort,&quot; he said.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou bears't him a grudge, I suppose, good fellow,&quot; replied the earl,
+laughing at the rustic's uncouth appearance; &quot;but thou seem'st a stout
+fellow, and one not likely to flinch, and may discharge the office as
+well as another. If no better man can be found, let him do it,&quot; he added
+to the officer.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey humbly thonk your lortship,&quot; replied Hal, inwardly rejoicing at the
+success of his scheme. But his countenance fell when he perceived
+Demdike advance from behind the others.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This man is not to be trusted, my lord,&quot; said Demdike, coming forward;
+&quot;he has some mischievous design in making the request. So far from
+bearing enmity to the abbot, it was he who assisted him in his attempt
+to escape last night.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What!&quot; exclaimed the earl, &quot;is this a new trick? Bring the fellow
+forward, that I may examine him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But Hal was gone. Instantly divining Demdike's purpose, and seeing his
+chance lost, he mingled with the lookers-on, who covered his retreat.
+Nor could he be found when sought for by the guard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;See you provide a substitute quickly, sir,&quot; cried the earl, angrily, to
+the officer.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is needless to take further trouble, my lord,&quot; replied Demdike &quot;I am
+come to offer myself as executioner.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou!&quot; exclaimed the earl.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay,&quot; replied the other. &quot;When I heard that the men from Lancaster were
+fled, I instantly knew that some scheme to frustrate the ends of justice
+was on foot, and I at once resolved to undertake the office myself
+rather than delay or risk should occur. What this man's aim was, who
+hath just offered himself, I partly guess, but it hath failed; and if
+your lordship will intrust the matter to me, I will answer that no
+further impediment shall arise, but that the sentence shall be fully
+carried out, and the law satisfied. Your lordship can trust me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I know it,&quot; replied the earl. &quot;Be it as you will. It is now on the
+stroke of nine. At ten, let all be in readiness to set out for Wiswall
+Hall. The rain may have ceased by that time, but no weather must stay
+you. Go forth with the new executioner, sir,&quot; he added to the officer,
+&quot;and see all necessary preparations made.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as Demdike bowed, and departed with the officer, the earl sat down
+with his retainers to break his fast.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX_WISWALL_HALL" id="CHAPTER_IX_WISWALL_HALL" />CHAPTER IX.&mdash;WISWALL HALL.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Shortly before ten o'clock a numerous cort&egrave;ge, consisting of a troop of
+horse in their full equipments, a band of archers with their bows over
+their shoulders, and a long train of barefoot monks, who had been
+permitted to attend, set out from the abbey. Behind them came a varlet
+with a paper mitre on his head, and a lathen crosier in his hand,
+covered with a surcoat, on which was emblazoned, but torn and reversed,
+the arms of Paslew; argent, a fess between three mullets, sable, pierced
+of the field, a crescent for difference. After him came another varlet
+bearing a banner, on which was painted a grotesque figure in a
+half-military, half-monastic garb, representing the &quot;Earl of Poverty,&quot;
+with this distich beneath it:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Priest and warrior&mdash;rich and poor,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He shall be hanged at his own door.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>Next followed a tumbrel, drawn by two horses, in which sat the abbot
+alone, the two other prisoners being kept back for the present. Then
+came Demdike, in a leathern jerkin and blood-red hose, fitting closely
+to his sinewy limbs, and wrapped in a houppeland of the same colour as
+the hose, with a coil of rope round his neck. He walked between two
+ill-favoured personages habited in black, whom he had chosen as
+assistants. A band of halberdiers brought up the rear. The procession
+moved slowly along,&mdash;the passing-bell tolling each minute, and a muffled
+drum sounding hollowly at intervals.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly before the procession started the rain ceased, but the air felt
+damp and chill, and the roads were inundated. Passing out at the
+north-eastern gateway, the gloomy train skirted the south side of the
+convent church, and went on in the direction of the village of Whalley.
+When near the east end of the holy edifice, the abbot beheld two coffins
+borne along, and, on inquiry, learnt that they contained the bodies of
+Bess Demdike and Cuthbert Ashbead, who were about to be interred in the
+cemetery. At this moment his eye for the first time encountered that of
+his implacable foe, and he then discovered that he was to serve as his
+executioner.</p>
+
+<p>At first Paslew felt much trouble at this thought, but the feeling
+quickly passed away. On reaching Whalley, every door was found closed,
+and every window shut; so that the spectacle was lost upon the
+inhabitants; and after a brief halt, the cavalcade get out for Wiswall
+Hall.</p>
+
+<p>Sprung from an ancient family residing in the neighbourhood Of Whalley,
+Abbot Paslew was the second son of Francis Paslew Of Wiswall Hall, a
+great gloomy stone mansion, situated at the foot of the south-western
+side of Pendle Hill, where his brother Francis still resided. Of a cold
+and cautious character, Francis Paslew, second of the name, held aloof
+from the insurrection, and when his brother was arrested he wholly
+abandoned him. Still the owner of Wiswall had not altogether escaped
+suspicion, and it was probably as much with the view of degrading him as
+of adding to the abbot's punishment, that the latter was taken to the
+hall on the morning of his execution. Be this as it may, the cort&egrave;ge
+toiled thither through roads bad in the best of seasons, but now, since
+the heavy rain, scarcely passable; and it arrived there in about half an
+hour, and drew up on the broad green lawn. Window and door of the hall
+were closed; no smoke issued from the heavy pile of chimneys; and to all
+outward seeming the place was utterly deserted. In answer to inquiries,
+it appeared that Francis Paslew had departed for Northumberland on the
+previous day, taking all his household with him.</p>
+
+<p>In earlier years, a quarrel having occurred between the haughty abbot
+and the churlish Francis, the brothers rarely met, whence it chanced
+that John Paslew had seldom visited the place of his birth of late,
+though lying so near to the abbey, and, indeed, forming part of its
+ancient dependencies. It was sad to view it now; and yet the house,
+gloomy as it was, recalled seasons with which, though they might awaken
+regret, no guilty associations were connected. Dark was the hall, and
+desolate, but on the fine old trees around it the rooks were settling,
+and their loud cawings pleased him, and excited gentle emotions. For a
+few moments he grew young again, and forgot why he was there. Fondly
+surveying the house, the terraced garden, in which, as a boy, he had so
+often strayed, and the park beyond it, where he had chased the deer; his
+gaze rose to the cloudy heights of Pendle, springing immediately behind
+the mansion, and up which he had frequently climbed. The flood-gates of
+memory were opened at once, and a whole tide of long-buried feelings
+rushed upon his heart.</p>
+
+<p>From this half-painful, half-pleasurable retrospect he was aroused by
+the loud blast of a trumpet, thrice blown. A recapitulation of his
+offences, together with his sentence, was read by a herald, after which
+the reversed blazonry was fastened upon the door of the hall, just below
+a stone escutcheon on which was carved the arms of the family; while the
+paper mitre was torn and trampled under foot, the lathen crosier broken
+in twain, and the scurril banner hacked in pieces.</p>
+
+<p>While this degrading act was performed, a man in a miller's white garb,
+with the hood drawn over his face, forced his way towards the tumbrel,
+and while the attention of the guard was otherwise engaged, whispered in
+Paslew's ear,</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey han failed i' mey scheme, feyther abbut, boh rest assured ey'n
+avenge you. Demdike shan ha' mey Sheffield thwittle i' his heart 'efore
+he's a day older.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The wizard has a charm against steel, my son, and indeed is proof
+against all weapons forged by men,&quot; replied Paslew, who recognised the
+voice of Hal o' Nabs, and hoped by this assertion to divert him from his
+purpose.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha! say yo so, feythur abbut?&quot; cried Hal. &quot;Then ey'n reach him wi'
+summot sacred.&quot; And he disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment, word was given to return, and in half an hour the
+cavalcade arrived at the abbey in the same order it had left it.</p>
+
+<p>Though the rain had ceased, heavy clouds still hung overhead,
+threatening another deluge, and the aspect of the abbey remained gloomy
+as ever. The bell continued to toll; drums were beaten; and trumpets
+sounded from the outer and inner gateway, and from the three
+quadrangles. The cavalcade drew up in front of the great northern
+entrance; and its return being announced within, the two other captives
+were brought forth, each fastened upon a hurdle, harnessed to a stout
+horse. They looked dead already, so ghastly was the hue of their cheeks.</p>
+
+<p>The abbot's turn came next. Another hurdle was brought forward, and
+Demdike advanced to the tumbrel. But Paslew recoiled from his touch, and
+sprang to the ground unaided. He was then laid on his back upon the
+hurdle, and his hands and feet were bound fast with ropes to the twisted
+timbers. While this painful task was roughly performed by the wizard's
+two ill-favoured assistants, the crowd of rustics who looked on,
+murmured and exhibited such strong tokens of displeasure, that the guard
+thought it prudent to keep them off with their halberts. But when all
+was done, Demdike motioned to a man standing behind him to advance, and
+the person who was wrapped in a russet cloak complied, drew forth an
+infant, and held it in such way that the abbot could see it. Paslew
+understood what was meant, but he uttered not a word. Demdike then knelt
+down beside him, as if ascertaining the security of the cords, and
+whispered in his ear:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Recall thy malediction, and my dagger shall save thee from the last
+indignity.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Never,&quot; replied Paslew; &quot;the curse is irrevocable. But I would not
+recall it if I could. As I have said, thy child shall be a witch, and
+the mother of witches&mdash;but all shall be swept off&mdash;all!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hell's torments seize thee!&quot; cried the wizard, furiously.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, thou hast done thy worst to me,&quot; rejoined Paslew, meekly, &quot;thou
+canst not harm me beyond the grave. Look to thyself, for even as thou
+speakest, thy child is taken from thee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And so it was. While Demdike knelt beside Paslew, a hand was put forth,
+and, before the man who had custody of the infant could prevent it, his
+little charge was snatched from him. Thus the abbot saw, though the
+wizard perceived it not. The latter instantly sprang to his feet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Where is the child?&quot; he demanded of the fellow in the russet cloak.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It was taken from me by yon tall man who is disappearing through the
+gateway,&quot; replied the other, in great trepidation.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha! <i>he</i> here!&quot; exclaimed Demdike, regarding the dark figure with a
+look of despair. &quot;It is gone from me for ever!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, for ever!&quot; echoed the abbot, solemnly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But revenge is still left me&mdash;revenge!&quot; cried Demdike, with an
+infuriated gesture.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then glut thyself with it speedily,&quot; replied the abbot; &quot;for thy time
+here is short.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I care not if it be,&quot; replied Demdike; &quot;I shall live long enough if I
+survive thee.&quot;</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X_THE_HOLEHOUSES" id="CHAPTER_X_THE_HOLEHOUSES" />CHAPTER X.&mdash;THE HOLEHOUSES.</h2>
+
+<p>At this moment the blast of a trumpet resounded from the gateway, and
+the Earl of Derby, with the sheriff on his right hand, and Assheton on
+the left, and mounted on a richly caparisoned charger, rode forth. He
+was preceded by four javelin-men, and followed by two heralds in their
+tabards.</p>
+
+<p>To doleful tolling of bells&mdash;to solemn music&mdash;to plaintive hymn chanted
+by monks&mdash;to roll of muffled drum at intervals&mdash;the sad cort&egrave;ge set
+forth. Loud cries from the bystanders marked its departure, and some of
+them followed it, but many turned away, unable to endure the sight of
+horror about to ensue. Amongst those who went on was Hal o' Nabs, but he
+took care to keep out of the way of the guard, though he was little
+likely to be recognised, owing to his disguise.</p>
+
+<p>Despite the miserable state of the weather, a great multitude was
+assembled at the place of execution, and they watched the approaching
+cavalcade with moody curiosity. To prevent disturbance, arquebussiers
+were stationed in parties here and there, and a clear course for the
+cort&egrave;ge was preserved by two lines of halberdiers with crossed pikes.
+But notwithstanding this, much difficulty was experienced in mounting
+the hill. Rendered slippery by the wet, and yet more so by the trampling
+of the crowd, the road was so bad in places that the horses could
+scarcely drag the hurdles up it, and more than one delay occurred. The
+stoppages were always denounced by groans, yells, and hootings from the
+mob, and these neither the menaces of the Earl of Derby, nor the active
+measures of the guard, could repress.</p>
+
+<p>At length, however, the cavalcade reached its destination. Then the
+crowd struggled forward, and settled into a dense compact ring, round
+the circular railing enclosing the place of execution, within which were
+drawn up the Earl of Derby, the sheriff, Assheton, and the principal
+gentlemen, together with Demdike and his assistants; the guard forming a
+circle three deep round them.</p>
+
+<p>Paslew was first unloosed, and when he stood up, he found Father Smith,
+the late prior, beside him, and tenderly embraced him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Be of good courage, Father Abbot,&quot; said the prior; &quot;a few moments, and
+you will be numbered with the just.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My hope is in the infinite mercy of Heaven, father,&quot; replied Paslew,
+sighing deeply. &quot;Pray for me at the last.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Doubt it not,&quot; returned the prior, fervently. &quot;I will pray for you now
+and ever.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the bonds of the two other captives were unfastened, but they
+were found wholly unable to stand without support. A lofty ladder had
+been placed against the central scaffold, and up this Demdike, having
+cast off his houppeland, mounted and adjusted the rope. His tall gaunt
+figure, fully displayed in his tight-fitting red garb, made him look
+like a hideous scarecrow. His appearance was greeted by the mob with a
+perfect hurricane of indignant outcries and yells. But he heeded them
+not, but calmly pursued his task. Above him wheeled the two ravens, who
+had never quitted the place since daybreak, uttering their discordant
+cries. When all was done, he descended a few steps, and, taking a black
+hood from his girdle to place over the head of his victim, called out in
+a voice which had little human in its tone, &quot;I wait for you, John
+Paslew.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Are you ready, Paslew?&quot; demanded the Earl of Derby.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am, my lord,&quot; replied the abbot. And embracing the prior for the last
+time, he added, &quot;<i>Vale, carissime frater, in &aelig;ternum vale! et Dominus
+tecum sit in ultionem inimicorum nostrorum</i>!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is the king's pleasure that you say not a word in your justification
+to the mob, Paslew,&quot; observed the earl.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I had no such intention, my lord,&quot; replied the abbot.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then tarry no longer,&quot; said the earl; &quot;if you need aid you shall have
+it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I require none,&quot; replied Paslew, resolutely.</p>
+
+<p>With this he mounted the ladder, with as much firmness and dignity as if
+ascending the steps of a tribune.</p>
+
+<p>Hitherto nothing but yells and angry outcries had stunned the ears of
+the lookers-on, and several missiles had been hurled at Demdike, some of
+which took effect, though without occasioning discomfiture; but when
+the abbot appeared above the heads of the guard, the tumult instantly
+subsided, and profound silence ensued. Not a breath was drawn by the
+spectators. The ravens alone continued their ominous croaking.</p>
+
+<p>Hal o' Nabs, who stood on the outskirts of the ring, saw thus far but he
+could bear it no longer, and rushed down the hill. Just as he reached
+the level ground, a culverin was fired from the gateway, and the next
+moment a loud wailing cry bursting from the mob told that the abbot was
+launched into eternity.</p>
+
+<p>Hal would not look back, but went slowly on, and presently afterwards
+other horrid sounds dinned in his ears, telling that all was over with
+the two other sufferers. Sickened and faint, he leaned against a wall
+for support. How long he continued thus, he knew not, but he heard the
+cavalcade coming down the hill, and saw the Earl of Derby and his
+attendants ride past. Glancing toward the place of execution, Hal then
+perceived that the abbot had been cut down, and, rousing himself, he
+joined the crowd now rushing towards the gate, and ascertained that the
+body of Paslew was to be taken to the convent church, and deposited
+there till orders were to be given respecting its interment. He learnt,
+also, that the removal of the corpse was intrusted to Demdike. Fired by
+this intelligence, and suddenly conceiving a wild project of vengeance,
+founded upon what he had heard from the abbot of the wizard being proof
+against weapons forged by men, he hurried to the church, entered it, the
+door being thrown open, and rushing up to the gallery, contrived to get
+out through a window upon the top of the porch, where he secreted
+himself behind the great stone statue of Saint Gregory.</p>
+
+<p>The information he had obtained proved correct. Ere long a mournful
+train approached the church, and a bier was set down before the porch. A
+black hood covered the face of the dead, but the vestments showed that
+it was the body of Paslew.</p>
+
+<p>At the head of the bearers was Demdike, and when the body was set down
+he advanced towards it, and, removing the hood, gazed at the livid and
+distorted features.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;At length I am fully avenged,&quot; he said.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And Abbot Paslew, also,&quot; cried a voice above him.</p>
+
+<p>Demdike looked up, but the look was his last, for the ponderous statue
+of Saint Gregory de Northbury, launched from its pedestal, fell upon his
+head, and crushed him to the ground. A mangled and breathless mass was
+taken from beneath the image, and the hands and visage of Paslew were
+found spotted with blood dashed from the gory carcass. The author of the
+wizard's destruction was suspected, but never found, nor was it
+positively known who had done the deed till years after, when Hal o'
+Nabs, who meanwhile had married pretty Dorothy Croft, and had been
+blessed by numerous offspring in the union, made his last confession,
+and then he exhibited no remarkable or becoming penitence for the act,
+neither was he refused absolution.</p>
+
+<p>Thus it came to pass that the abbot and his enemy perished together. The
+mutilated remains of the wizard were placed in a shell, and huddled into
+the grave where his wife had that morning been laid. But no prayer was
+said over him. And the superstitious believed that the body was carried
+off that very night by the Fiend, and taken to a witch's sabbath in the
+ruined tower on Rimington Moor. Certain it was, that the unhallowed
+grave was disturbed. The body of Paslew was decently interred in the
+north aisle of the parish church of Whalley, beneath a stone with a
+Gothic cross sculptured upon it, and bearing the piteous
+inscription:&mdash;&quot;<i>Miserere mei</i>.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But in the belief of the vulgar the abbot did not rest tranquilly. For
+many years afterwards a white-robed monastic figure was seen to flit
+along the cloisters, pass out at the gate, and disappear with a wailing
+cry over the Holehouses. And the same ghostly figure was often seen to
+glide through the corridor in the abbot's lodging, and vanish at the
+door of the chamber leading to the little oratory. Thus Whalley Abbey
+was supposed to be haunted, and few liked to wander through its deserted
+cloisters, or ruined church, after dark. The abbot's tragical end was
+thus recorded:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Johannes Paslew: Capitali Effectus Supplicio.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">12&ordm; Mensis Martii, 1537.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>As to the infant, upon whom the abbot's malediction fell, it was
+reserved for the dark destinies shadowed forth in the dread anathema he
+had uttered: to the development of which the tragic drama about to
+follow is devoted, and to which the fate of Abbot Paslew forms a
+necessary and fitting prologue. Thus far the veil of the Future may be
+drawn aside. That infant and her progeny became the LANCASHIRE WITCHES.</p>
+<p><br /></p>
+<h3>END OF THE INTRODUCTION.</h3>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<h2>BOOK THE FIRST.</h2>
+<h3><span class="smcap">Alizon Device.</span></h3>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I_THE_MAY_QUEEN" id="CHAPTER_I_THE_MAY_QUEEN" />CHAPTER I.&mdash;THE MAY QUEEN.</h2>
+
+
+<p>On a May-day in the early part of the seventeenth century, and a most
+lovely May-day, too, admirably adapted to usher in the merriest month of
+the year, and seemingly made expressly for the occasion, a wake was held
+at Whalley, to which all the neighbouring country folk resorted, and
+indeed many of the gentry as well, for in the good old times, when
+England was still merry England, a wake had attractions for all classes
+alike, and especially in Lancashire; for, with pride I speak it, there
+were no lads who, in running, vaulting, wrestling, dancing, or in any
+other manly exercise, could compare with the Lancashire lads. In
+archery, above all, none could match them; for were not their ancestors
+the stout bowmen and billmen whose cloth-yard shafts, and trenchant
+weapons, won the day at Flodden? And were they not true sons of their
+fathers? And then, I speak it with yet greater pride, there were few, if
+any, lasses who could compare in comeliness with the rosy-cheeked,
+dark-haired, bright-eyed lasses of Lancashire.</p>
+
+<p>Assemblages of this kind, therefore, where the best specimens of either
+sex were to be met with, were sure to be well attended, and in spite of
+an enactment passed in the preceding reign of Elizabeth, prohibiting
+&quot;piping, playing, bear-baiting, and bull-baiting on the Sabbath-days, or
+on any other days, and also superstitious ringing of bells, wakes, and
+common feasts,&quot; they were not only not interfered with, but rather
+encouraged by the higher orders. Indeed, it was well known that the
+reigning monarch, James the First, inclined the other way, and, desirous
+of checking the growing spirit of Puritanism throughout the kingdom, had
+openly expressed himself in favour of honest recreation after evening
+prayers and upon holidays; and, furthermore, had declared that he liked
+well the spirit of his good subjects in Lancashire, and would not see
+them punished for indulging in lawful exercises, but that ere long he
+would pay them a visit in one of his progresses, and judge for himself,
+and if he found all things as they had been represented to him, he would
+grant them still further licence. Meanwhile, this expression of the
+royal opinion removed every restriction, and old sports and pastimes,
+May-games, Whitsun-ales, and morris-dances, with rush-bearings,
+bell-ringings, wakes, and feasts, were as much practised as before the
+passing of the obnoxious enactment of Elizabeth. The Puritans and
+Precisians discountenanced them, it is true, as much as ever, and would
+have put them down, if they could, as savouring of papistry and
+idolatry, and some rigid divines thundered against them from the pulpit;
+but with the king and the authorities in their favour, the people little
+heeded these denunciations against them, and abstained not from any
+&quot;honest recreation&quot; whenever a holiday occurred.</p>
+
+<p>If Lancashire was famous for wakes, the wakes of Whalley were famous
+even in Lancashire. The men of the district were in general a hardy,
+handsome race, of the genuine Saxon breed, and passionately fond of all
+kinds of pastime, and the women had their full share of the beauty
+indigenous to the soil. Besides, it was a secluded spot, in the heart of
+a wild mountainous region, and though occasionally visited by travellers
+journeying northward, or by others coming from the opposite direction,
+retained a primitive simplicity of manners, and a great partiality for
+old customs and habits.</p>
+
+<p>The natural beauties of the place, contrasted with the dreary region
+around it, and heightened by the picturesque ruins of the ancient abbey,
+part of which, namely, the old abbot's lodgings, had been converted into
+a residence by the Asshetons, and was now occupied by Sir Ralph
+Assheton, while the other was left to the ravages of time, made it
+always an object of attraction to those residing near it; but when on
+the May-day in question, there was not only to be a wake, but a May-pole
+set on the green, and a rush-bearing with morris-dancers besides,
+together with Whitsun-ale at the abbey, crowds flocked to Whalley from
+Wiswall, Cold Coates, and Clithero, from Ribchester and Blackburn, from
+Padiham and Pendle, and even from places more remote. Not only was John
+Lawe's of the Dragon full, but the Chequers, and the Swan also, and the
+roadside alehouse to boot. Sir Ralph Assheton had several guests at the
+abbey, and others were expected in the course of the day, while Doctor
+Ormerod had friends staying with him at the vicarage.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after midnight, on the morning of the festival, many young persons
+of the village, of both sexes, had arisen, and, to the sound of horn,
+had repaired to the neighbouring woods, and there gathered a vast stock
+of green boughs and flowering branches of the sweetly-perfumed hawthorn,
+wild roses, and honeysuckle, with baskets of violets, cowslips,
+primroses, blue-bells, and other wild flowers, and returning in the same
+order they went forth, fashioned the branches into green bowers within
+the churchyard, or round about the May-pole set up on the green, and
+decorated them afterwards with garlands and crowns of flowers. This
+morning ceremonial ought to have been performed without wetting the
+feet: but though some pains were taken in the matter, few could achieve
+the difficult task, except those carried over the dewy grass by their
+lusty swains. On the day before the rushes had been gathered, and the
+rush cart piled, shaped, trimmed, and adorned by those experienced in
+the task, (and it was one requiring both taste and skill, as will be
+seen when the cart itself shall come forth,) while others had borrowed
+for its adornment, from the abbey and elsewhere, silver tankards,
+drinking-cups, spoons, ladles, brooches, watches, chains, and bracelets,
+so as to make an imposing show.</p>
+
+<p>Day was ushered in by a merry peal of bells from the tower of the old
+parish church, and the ringers practised all kinds of joyous changes
+during the morning, and fired many a clanging volley. The whole village
+was early astir; and as these were times when good hours were kept; and
+as early rising is a famous sharpener of the appetite, especially when
+attended with exercise, so an hour before noon the rustics one and all
+sat down to dinner, the strangers being entertained by their friends,
+and if they had no friends, throwing themselves upon the general
+hospitality. The alehouses were reserved for tippling at a later hour,
+for it was then customary for both gentleman and commoner, male as well
+as female, as will be more fully shown hereafter, to take their meals at
+home, and repair afterwards to houses of public entertainment for wine
+or other liquors. Private chambers were, of course, reserved for the
+gentry; but not unfrequently the squire and his friends would take their
+bottle with the other guests. Such was the invariable practice in the
+northern counties in the reign of James the First.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after mid-day, and when the bells began to peal merrily again (for
+even ringers must recruit themselves), at a small cottage in the
+outskirts of the village, and close to the Calder, whose waters swept
+past the trimly kept garden attached to it, two young girls were
+employed in attiring a third, who was to represent Maid Marian, or Queen
+of May, in the pageant then about to ensue. And, certainly, by sovereign
+and prescriptive right of beauty, no one better deserved the high title
+and distinction conferred upon her than this fair girl. Lovelier maiden
+in the whole county, and however high her degree, than this rustic
+damsel, it was impossible to find; and though the becoming and fanciful
+costume in which she was decked could not heighten her natural charms,
+it certainly displayed them to advantage. Upon her smooth and beautiful
+brow sat a gilt crown, while her dark and luxuriant hair, covered behind
+with a scarlet coif, embroidered with gold; and tied with yellow, white,
+and crimson ribands, but otherwise wholly unconfirmed, swept down
+almost to the ground. Slight and fragile, her figure was of such just
+proportion that every movement and gesture had an indescribable charm.
+The most courtly dame might have envied her fine and taper fingers, and
+fancied she could improve them by protecting them against the sun, or by
+rendering them snowy white with paste or cosmetic, but this was
+questionable; nothing certainly could improve the small foot and
+finely-turned ankle, so well displayed in the red hose and smart little
+yellow buskin, fringed with gold. A stomacher of scarlet cloth, braided
+with yellow lace in cross bars, confined her slender waist. Her robe was
+of carnation-coloured silk, with wide sleeves, and the gold-fringed
+skirt descended only a little below the knee, like the dress of a modern
+Swiss peasant, so as to reveal the exquisite symmetry of her limbs. Over
+all she wore a surcoat of azure silk, lined with white, and edged with
+gold. In her left hand she held a red pink as an emblem of the season.
+So enchanting was her appearance altogether, so fresh the character of
+her beauty, so bright the bloom that dyed her lovely checks, that she
+might have been taken for a personification of May herself. She was
+indeed in the very May of life&mdash;the mingling of spring and summer in
+womanhood; and the tender blue eyes, bright and clear as diamonds of
+purest water, the soft regular features, and the merry mouth, whose
+ruddy parted lips ever and anon displayed two rows of pearls, completed
+the similitude to the attributes of the jocund month.</p>
+
+<p>Her handmaidens, both of whom were simple girls, and though not
+destitute of some pretensions to beauty themselves, in nowise to be
+compared with her, were at the moment employed in knotting the ribands
+in her hair, and adjusting the azure surcoat.</p>
+
+<p>Attentively watching these proceedings sat on a stool, placed in a
+corner, a little girl, some nine or ten years old, with a basket of
+flowers on her knee. The child was very diminutive, even for her age,
+and her smallness was increased by personal deformity, occasioned by
+contraction of the chest, and spinal curvature, which raised her back
+above her shoulders; but her features were sharp and cunning, indeed
+almost malignant, and there was a singular and unpleasant look about the
+eyes, which were not placed evenly in the head. Altogether she had a
+strange old-fashioned look, and from her habitual bitterness of speech,
+as well as from her vindictive character, which, young as she was, had
+been displayed, with some effect, on more than one occasion, she was no
+great favourite with any one. It was curious now to watch the eager and
+envious interest she took in the progress of her sister's adornment&mdash;for
+such was the degree of relationship in which she stood to the May
+Queen&mdash;and when the surcoat was finally adjusted, and the last riband
+tied, she broke forth, having hitherto preserved a sullen silence.</p>
+
+<p class="figcenter"><a name="ILLUS_3" id="ILLUS_3" href="./images/illus03_lg.jpg"><img src="./images/illus03_sm.jpg"
+alt="Illustration: THE MAY QUEEN."
+title="THE MAY QUEEN." /></a></p>
+<p class="figcenter"><span class="smcap">The May Queen.</span></p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel, sister Alizon, ye may a farrently May Queen, ey mun say&quot; she
+observed, spitefully, &quot;but to my mind other Suky Worseley, or Nancy
+Holt, here, would ha' looked prottier.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nah, nah, that we shouldna,&quot; rejoined one of the damsels referred to;
+&quot;there is na a lass i' Lonkyshiar to hold a condle near Alizon Device.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Fie upon ye, for an ill-favort minx, Jennet,&quot; cried Nancy Holt; &quot;yo're
+jealous o' your protty sister.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey jealous,&quot; cried Jennet, reddening, &quot;an whoy the firrups should ey be
+jealous, ey, thou saucy jade! Whon ey grow older ey'st may a prottier
+May Queen than onny on you, an so the lads aw tell me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And so you will, Jennet,&quot; said Alizon Device, checking, by a gentle
+look, the jeering laugh in which Nancy seemed disposed to indulge&mdash;&quot;so
+you will, my pretty little sister,&quot; she added, kissing her; &quot;and I will
+'tire you as well and as carefully as Susan and Nancy have just 'tired
+me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Mayhap ey shanna live till then,&quot; rejoined Jennet, peevishly, &quot;and when
+ey'm dead an' gone, an' laid i' t' cowld churchyard, yo an they win be
+sorry fo having werreted me so.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have never intentionally vexed you, Jennet, love,&quot; said Alizon, &quot;and
+I am sure these two girls love you dearly.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh, we may allowance fo her feaw tempers,&quot; observed Susan Worseley;
+&quot;fo we knoa that ailments an deformities are sure to may folk fretful.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh, there it is,&quot; cried Jennet, sharply. &quot;My high shoulthers an sma
+size are always thrown i' my feace. Boh ey'st grow tall i' time, an get
+straight&mdash;eigh straighter than yo, Suky, wi' your broad back an short
+neck&mdash;boh if ey dunna, whot matters it? Ey shall be feared at onny
+rate&mdash;ay, feared, wenches, by ye both.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nah doubt on't, theaw little good-fo'-nothin piece o' mischief,&quot;
+muttered Susan.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whot's that yo sayn, Suky?&quot; cried Jennet, whose quick ears had caught
+the words, &quot;Tak care whot ye do to offend me, lass,&quot; she added, shaking
+her thin fingers, armed with talon-like claws, threateningly at her, &quot;or
+ey'll ask my granddame, Mother Demdike, to quieten ye.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>At the mention of this name a sudden shade came over Susan's
+countenance. Changing colour, and slightly trembling, she turned away
+from the child, who, noticing the effect of her threat, could not
+repress her triumph. But again Alizon interposed.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not be alarmed, Susan,&quot; she said, &quot;my grandmother will never harm
+you, I am sure; indeed, she will never harm any one; and do not heed
+what little Jennet says, for she is not aware of the effect of her own
+words, or of the injury they might do our grandmother, if repeated.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey dunna wish to repeat them, or to think of em,&quot; sobbed Susan.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That's good, that's kind of you, Susan,&quot; replied Alizon, taking her
+hand. &quot;Do not be cross any more, Jennet. You see you have made her
+weep.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'm glad on it,&quot; rejoined the little girl, laughing; &quot;let her cry on.
+It'll do her good, an teach her to mend her manners, and nah offend me
+again.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey didna mean to offend ye, Jennet,&quot; sobbed Susan, &quot;boh yo're so
+wrythen an marr'd, a body canna speak to please ye.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel, if ye confess your fault, ey'm satisfied,&quot; replied the little
+girl; &quot;boh let it be a lesson to ye, Suky, to keep guard o' your tongue
+i' future.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It shall, ey promise ye,&quot; replied Susan, drying her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment a door opened, and a woman entered from an inner room,
+having a high-crowned, conical-shaped hat on her head, and broad white
+pinners over her cheeks. Her dress was of dark red camlet, with
+high-heeled shoes. She stooped slightly, and being rather lame,
+supported herself on a crutch-handled stick. In age she might be between
+forty and fifty, but she looked much older, and her features were not at
+all prepossessing from a hooked nose and chin, while their sinister
+effect was increased by a formation of the eyes similar to that in
+Jennet, only more strongly noticeable in her case. This woman was
+Elizabeth Device, widow of John Device, about whose death there was a
+mystery to be inquired into hereafter, and mother of Alizon and Jennet,
+though how she came to have a daughter so unlike herself in all respects
+as the former, no one could conceive; but so it was.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Soh, ye ha donned your finery at last, Alizon,&quot; said Elizabeth. &quot;Your
+brother Jem has just run up to say that t' rush-cart has set out, and
+that Robin Hood and his merry men are comin' for their Queen.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And their Queen is quite ready for them,&quot; replied Alizon, moving
+towards the door.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neigh, let's ha' a look at ye fust, wench,&quot; cried Elizabeth, staying
+her; &quot;fine fitthers may fine brids&mdash;ey warrant me now yo'n getten these
+May gewgaws on, yo fancy yourself a queen in arnest.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A queen of a day, mother; a queen of a little village festival; nothing
+more,&quot; replied Alizon. &quot;Oh, if I were a queen in right earnest, or even
+a great lady&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whot would yo do?&quot; demanded Elizabeth Device, sourly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I'd make you rich, mother, and build you a grand house to live in,&quot;
+replied Alizon; &quot;much grander than Browsholme, or Downham, or
+Middleton.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Pity yo're nah a queen then, Alizon,&quot; replied Elizabeth, relaxing her
+harsh features into a wintry smile.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whot would ye do fo me, Alizon, if ye were a queen?&quot; asked little
+Jennet, looking up at her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why, let me see,&quot; was the reply; &quot;I'd indulge every one of your whims
+and wishes. You should only need ask to have.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Poh&mdash;poh&mdash;yo'd never content her,&quot; observed Elizabeth, testily.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It's nah your way to try an content me, mother, even whon ye might,&quot;
+rejoined Jennet, who, if she loved few people, loved her mother least of
+all, and never lost an opportunity of testifying her dislike to her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Awt o'pontee, little wasp,&quot; cried her mother; &quot;theaw desarves nowt boh
+whot theaw dustna get often enough&mdash;a good whipping.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo hanna towd us whot yo'd do fo yurself if yo war a great lady,
+Alizon?&quot; interposed Susan.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh, I haven't thought about myself,&quot; replied the other, laughing.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey con tell ye what she'd do, Suky,&quot; replied little Jennet, knowingly;
+&quot;she'd marry Master Richard Assheton, o' Middleton.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Jennet!&quot; exclaimed Alizon, blushing crimson.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It's true,&quot; replied the little girl; &quot;ye knoa ye would, Alizon, Look at
+her feace,&quot; she added, with a screaming laugh.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Howd te tongue, little plague,&quot; cried Elizabeth, rapping her knuckles
+with her stick, &quot;and behave thyself, or theaw shanna go out to t' wake.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Jennet dealt her mother a bitterly vindictive look, but she neither
+uttered cry, nor made remark.</p>
+
+<p>In the momentary silence that ensued the blithe jingling of bells was
+heard, accompanied by the merry sound of tabor and pipe.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah! here come the rush-cart and the morris-dancers,&quot; cried Alizon,
+rushing joyously to the window, which, being left partly open, admitted
+the scent of the woodbine and eglantine by which it was overgrown, as
+well as the humming sound of the bees by which the flowers were invaded.</p>
+
+<p>Almost immediately afterwards a frolic troop, like a band of masquers,
+approached the cottage, and drew up before it, while the jingling of
+bells ceasing at the same moment, told that the rush-cart had stopped
+likewise. Chief amongst the party was Robin Hood clad in a suit of
+Lincoln green, with a sheaf of arrows at his back, a bugle dangling from
+his baldric, a bow in his hand, and a broad-leaved green hat on his
+head, looped up on one side, and decorated with a heron's feather. The
+hero of Sherwood was personated by a tall, well-limbed fellow, to whom,
+being really a forester of Bowland, the character was natural. Beside
+him stood a very different figure, a jovial friar, with shaven crown,
+rubicund cheeks, bull throat, and mighty paunch, covered by a russet
+habit, and girded in by a red cord, decorated with golden twist and
+tassel. He wore red hose and sandal shoon, and carried in his girdle a
+Wallet, to contain a roast capon, a neat's tongue, or any other dainty
+given him. Friar Tuck, for such he was, found his representative in Ned
+Huddlestone, porter at the abbey, who, as the largest and stoutest man
+in the village, was chosen on that account to the part. Next to him came
+a character of no little importance, and upon whom much of the mirth of
+the pageant depended, and this devolved upon the village cobbler, Jack
+Roby, a dapper little fellow, who fitted the part of the Fool to a
+nicety. With bauble in hand, and blue coxcomb hood adorned with long
+white asses' ears on head, with jerkin of green, striped with yellow;
+hose of different colours, the left leg being yellow, with a red
+pantoufle, and the right blue, terminated with a yellow shoe; with bells
+hung upon various parts of his motley attire, so that he could not move
+without producing a jingling sound, Jack Roby looked wonderful indeed;
+and was constantly dancing about, and dealing a blow with his bauble.
+Next came Will Scarlet, Stukely, and Little John, all proper men and
+tall, attired in Lincoln green, like Robin Hood, and similarly equipped.
+Like him, too, they were all foresters of Bowland, owning service to the
+bow-bearer, Mr. Parker of Browsholme hall; and the representative of
+Little John, who was six feet and a half high, and stout in proportion,
+was Lawrence Blackrod, Mr. Parker's head keeper. After the foresters
+came Tom the Piper, a wandering minstrel, habited for the occasion in a
+blue doublet, with sleeves of the same colour, turned up with yellow,
+red hose, and brown buskins, red bonnet, and green surcoat lined with
+yellow. Beside the piper was another minstrel, similarly attired, and
+provided with a tabor. Lastly came one of the main features of the
+pageant, and which, together with the Fool, contributed most materially
+to the amusement of the spectators. This was the Hobby-horse. The hue of
+this, spirited charger was a pinkish white, and his housings were of
+crimson cloth hanging to the ground, so as to conceal the rider's real
+legs, though a pair of sham ones dangled at the side. His bit was of
+gold, and his bridle red morocco leather, while his rider was very
+sumptuously arrayed in a purple mantle, bordered with gold, with a rich
+cap of the same regal hue on his head, encircled with gold, and having a
+red feather stuck in it. The hobby-horse had a plume of nodding feathers
+on his head, and careered from side to side, now rearing in front, now
+kicking behind, now prancing, now gently ambling, and in short indulging
+in playful fancies and vagaries, such as horse never indulged in before,
+to the imminent danger, it seemed, of his rider, and to the huge delight
+of the beholders. Nor must it be omitted, as it was matter of great
+wonderment to the lookers-on, that by some legerdemain contrivance the
+rider of the hobby-horse had a couple of daggers stuck in his cheeks,
+while from his steed's bridle hung a silver ladle, which he held now and
+then to the crowd, and in which, when he did so, a few coins were sure
+to rattle. After the hobby-horse came the May-pole, not the tall pole so
+called and which was already planted in the green, but a stout staff
+elevated some six feet above the head of the bearer, with a coronal of
+flowers atop, and four long garlands hanging down, each held by a
+morris-dancer. Then came the May Queen's gentleman usher, a fantastic
+personage in habiliments of blue guarded with white, and holding a long
+willow wand in his hand. After the usher came the main troop of
+morris-dancers&mdash;the men attired in a graceful costume, which set off
+their light active figures to advantage, consisting of a slashed-jerkin
+of black and white velvet, with cut sleeves left open so as to reveal
+the snowy shirt beneath, white hose, and shoes of black Spanish leather
+with large roses. Ribands were every where in their dresses&mdash;ribands and
+tinsel adorned their caps, ribands crossed their hose, and ribands were
+tied round their arms. In either hand they held a long white
+handkerchief knotted with ribands. The female morris-dancers were
+habited in white, decorated like the dresses of the men; they had
+ribands and wreaths of flowers round their heads, bows in their hair,
+and in their hands long white knotted kerchiefs.</p>
+
+<p>In the rear of the performers in the pageant came the rush-cart drawn by
+a team of eight stout horses, with their manes and tails tied with
+ribands, their collars fringed with red and yellow worsted, and hung
+with bells, which jingled blithely at every movement, and their heads
+decked with flowers. The cart itself consisted of an enormous pile of
+rushes, banded and twisted together, rising to a considerable height,
+and terminated in a sharp ridge, like the point of a Gothic window. The
+sides and top were decorated with flowers and ribands, and there were
+eaves in front and at the back, and on the space within them, which was
+covered with white paper, were strings of gaudy flowers, embedded in
+moss, amongst which were suspended all the ornaments and finery that
+could be collected for the occasion: to wit, flagons of silver, spoons,
+ladles, chains, watches, and bracelets, so as to make a brave and
+resplendent show. The wonder was how articles of so much value would be
+trusted forth on such an occasion; but nothing was ever lost. On the top
+of the rush-cart, and bestriding its sharp ridges, sat half a dozen men,
+habited somewhat like the morris-dancers, in garments bedecked with
+tinsel and ribands, holding garlands formed by hoops, decorated with
+flowers, and attached to poles ornamented with silver paper, cut into
+various figures and devices, and diminishing gradually in size as they
+rose to a point, where they were crowned with wreaths of daffodils.</p>
+
+<p>A large crowd of rustics, of all ages, accompanied the morris-dancers
+and rush-cart.</p>
+
+<p>This gay troop having come to a halt, as described, before the cottage,
+the gentleman-usher entered it, and, tapping against the inner door with
+his wand, took off his cap as soon as it was opened, and bowing
+deferentially to the ground, said he was come to invite the Queen of May
+to join the pageant, and that it only awaited her presence to proceed to
+the green. Having delivered this speech in as good set phrase as he
+could command, and being the parish clerk and schoolmaster to boot,
+Sampson Harrop by name, he was somewhat more polished than the rest of
+the hinds; and having, moreover, received a gracious response from the
+May Queen, who condescendingly replied that she was quite ready to
+accompany him, he took her hand, and led her ceremoniously to the door,
+whither they were followed by the others.</p>
+
+<p>Loud was the shout that greeted Alizon's appearance, and tremendous was
+the pushing to obtain a sight of her; and so much was she abashed by the
+enthusiastic greeting, which was wholly unexpected on her part, that she
+would have drawn back again, if it had been possible; but the usher led
+her forward, and Robin Hood and the foresters having bent the knee
+before her, the hobby-horse began to curvet anew among the spectators,
+and tread on their toes, the fool to rap their knuckles with his bauble,
+the piper to play, the taborer to beat his tambourine, and the
+morris-dancers to toss their kerchiefs over their heads. Thus the
+pageant being put in motion, the rush-cart began to roll on, its horses'
+bells jingling merrily, and the spectators cheering lustily.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II_THE_BLACK_CAT_AND_THE_WHITE_DOVE" id="CHAPTER_II_THE_BLACK_CAT_AND_THE_WHITE_DOVE" />CHAPTER II.&mdash;THE BLACK CAT AND THE WHITE DOVE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Little Jennet watched her sister's triumphant departure with a look in
+which there was far more of envy than sympathy, and, when her mother
+took her hand to lead her forth, she would not go, but saying she did
+not care for any such idle sights, went back sullenly to the inner room.
+When there, however, she could not help peeping through the window, and
+saw Susan and Nancy join the revel rout, with feelings of increased
+bitterness.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey wish it would rain an spile their finery,&quot; she said, sitting down on
+her stool, and plucking the flowers from her basket in pieces. &quot;An yet,
+why canna ey enjoy such seets like other folk? Truth is, ey've nah heart
+for it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Folks say,&quot; she continued, after a pause, &quot;that grandmother Demdike is
+a witch, an con do os she pleases. Ey wonder if she made Alizon so
+protty. Nah, that canna be, fo' Alizon's na favourite o' hern. If she
+loves onny one it's me. Why dunna she make me good-looking, then? They
+say it's sinfu' to be a witch&mdash;if so, how comes grandmother Demdike to
+be one? Boh ey'n observed that those folks os caws her witch are afeard
+on her, so it may be pure spite o' their pert.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As she thus mused, a great black cat belonging to her mother, which had
+followed her into the room, rubbed himself against her, putting up his
+back, and purring loudly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah, Tib,&quot; said the little girl, &quot;how are ye, Tib? Ey didna knoa ye were
+here. Lemme ask ye some questions, Tib?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The cat mewed, looked up, and fixed his great yellow eyes upon her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;One 'ud think ye onderstud whot wos said to ye, Tib,&quot; pursued little
+Jennet. &quot;We'n see whot ye say to this! Shan ey ever be Queen o' May,
+like sister Alizon?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The cat mewed in a manner that the little girl found no difficulty in
+interpreting the reply into &quot;No.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How's that, Tib?&quot; cried Jennet, sharply. &quot;If ey thought ye meant it,
+ey'd beat ye, sirrah. Answer me another question, ye saucy knave. Who
+will be luckiest, Alizon or me?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>This time the cat darted away from her, and made two or three skirmishes
+round the room, as if gone suddenly mad.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey con may nowt o' that,&quot; observed Jennet, laughing.</p>
+
+<p>All at once the cat bounded upon the chimney board, over which was
+placed a sampler, worked with the name &quot;ALIZON.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why Tib really seems to onderstond me, ey declare,&quot; observed Jennet,
+uneasily. &quot;Ey should like to ask him a few more questions, if ey durst,&quot;
+she added, regarding with some distrust the animal, who now returned,
+and began rubbing against her as before. &quot;Tib&mdash;Tib!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The cat looked up, and mewed.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Protty Tib&mdash;sweet Tib,&quot; continued the little girl, coaxingly. &quot;Whot mun
+one do to be a witch like grandmother Demdike?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The cat again dashed twice or thrice madly round the room, and then
+stopping suddenly at the hearth, sprang up the chimney.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'n frightened ye away ot onny rate,&quot; observed Jennet, laughing. &quot;And
+yet it may mean summot,&quot; she added, reflecting a little, &quot;fo ey'n heerd
+say os how witches fly up chimleys o' broomsticks to attend their
+sabbaths. Ey should like to fly i' that manner, an change myself into
+another shape&mdash;onny shape boh my own. Oh that ey could be os protty os
+Alizon! Ey dunna knoa whot ey'd nah do to be like her!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Again the great black cat was beside her, rubbing against her, and
+purring. The child was a good deal startled, for she had not seen him
+return, and the door was shut, though he might have come in through the
+open window, only she had been looking that way all the time, and had
+never noticed him. Strange!</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Tib,&quot; said the child, patting him, &quot;thou hasna answered my last
+question&mdash;how is one to become a witch?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As she made this inquiry the cat suddenly scratched her in the arm, so
+that the blood came. The little girl was a good deal frightened, as well
+as hurt, and, withdrawing her arm quickly, made a motion of striking the
+animal. But starting backwards, erecting his tail, and spitting, the cat
+assumed such a formidable appearance, that she did not dare to touch
+him, and she then perceived that some drops of blood stained her white
+sleeve, giving the spots a certain resemblance to the letters J. and D.,
+her own initials.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment, when she was about to scream for help, though she knew
+no one was in the house, all having gone away with the May-day
+revellers, a small white dove flew in at the open window, and skimming
+round the room, alighted near her. No sooner had the cat caught sight of
+this beautiful bird, than instead of preparing to pounce upon it, as
+might have been expected, he instantly abandoned his fierce attitude,
+and, uttering a sort of howl, sprang up the chimney as before. But the
+child scarcely observed this, her attention being directed towards the
+bird, whose extreme beauty delighted her. It seemed quite tame too, and
+allowed itself to be touched, and even drawn towards her, without an
+effort to escape. Never, surely, was seen so beautiful a bird&mdash;with such
+milkwhite feathers, such red legs, and such pretty yellow eyes, with
+crimson circles round them! So thought the little girl, as she gazed at
+it, and pressed it to her bosom. In doing this, gentle and good thoughts
+came upon her, and she reflected what a nice present this pretty bird
+would make to her sister Alizon on her return from the merry-making, and
+how pleased she should feel to give it to her. And then she thought of
+Alizon's constant kindness to her, and half reproached herself with the
+poor return she made for it, wondering she could entertain any feelings
+of envy towards one so good and amiable. All this while the dove nestled
+in her bosom.</p>
+
+<p>While thus pondering, the little girl felt an unaccountable drowsiness
+steal over her, and presently afterwards dropped asleep, when she had a
+very strange dream. It seemed to her that there was a contest going on
+between two spirits, a good one and a bad,&mdash;the bad one being
+represented by the great black cat, and the good spirit by the white
+dove. What they were striving about she could not exactly tell, but she
+felt that the conflict had some relation to herself. The dove at first
+appeared to have but a poor chance against the claws of its sable
+adversary, but the sharp talons of the latter made no impression upon
+the white plumage of the bird, which now shone like silver armour, and
+in the end the cat fled, yelling as it darted off&mdash;&quot;Thou art victorious
+now, but her soul shall yet be mine.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Something awakened the little sleeper at the same moment, and she felt
+very much terrified at her dream, as she could not help thinking her own
+soul might be the one in jeopardy, and her first impulse was to see
+whether the white dove was safe. Yes, there it was still nestling in her
+bosom, with its head under its wing.</p>
+
+<p>Just then she was startled at hearing her own name pronounced by a
+hoarse voice, and, looking up, she beheld a tall young man standing at
+the window. He had a somewhat gipsy look, having a dark olive
+complexion, and fine black eyes, though set strangely in his head, like
+those of Jennet and her mother, coal black hair, and very prominent
+features, of a sullen and almost savage cast. His figure was gaunt but
+very muscular, his arms being extremely long and his hands unusually
+large and bony&mdash;personal advantages which made him a formidable
+antagonist in any rustic encounter, and in such he was frequently
+engaged, being of a very irascible temper, and turbulent disposition. He
+was clad in a holiday suit of dark-green serge, which fitted him well,
+and carried a nosegay in one hand, and a stout blackthorn cudgel in the
+other. This young man was James Device, son of Elizabeth, and some four
+or five years older than Alizon. He did not live with his mother in
+Whalley, but in Pendle Forest, near his old relative, Mother Demdike,
+and had come over that morning to attend the wake.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whot are ye abowt, Jennet?&quot; inquired James Device, in tones naturally
+hoarse and deep, and which he took as little pains to soften, as he did
+to polish his manners, which were more than ordinarily rude and
+churlish.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whot are ye abowt, ey sey, wench?&quot; he repeated, &quot;Why dunna ye go to t'
+green to see the morris-dancers foot it round t' May-pow? Cum along wi'
+me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey dunna want to go, Jem,&quot; replied the little girl.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Boh yo shan go, ey tell ey,&quot; rejoined her brother; &quot;ye shan see your
+sister dawnce. Ye con sit a whoam onny day; boh May-day cums ony wonst a
+year, an Alizon winna be Queen twice i' her life. Soh cum along wi' me,
+dereckly, or ey'n may ye.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey should like to see Alizon dance, an so ey win go wi' ye, Jem,&quot;
+replied Jennet, getting up, &quot;otherwise your orders shouldna may me stir,
+ey con tell ye.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As she came out, she found her brother whistling the blithe air of
+&quot;Green Sleeves,&quot; cutting strange capers, in imitation of the
+morris-dancers, and whirling his cudgel over his head instead of a
+kerchief. The gaiety of the day seemed infectious, and to have seized
+even him. People stared to see Black Jem, or Surly Jem, as he was
+indifferently called, so joyous, and wondered what it could mean. He
+then fell to singing a snatch of a local ballad at that time in vogue in
+the neighbourhood:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;If thou wi' nah my secret tell,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Ne bruit abroad i' Whalley parish,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And swear to keep my counsel well,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Ey win declare my day of marriage.&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Cum along, lass,&quot; he cried stopping suddenly in his song, and snatching
+his sister's hand. &quot;What han ye getten there, lapped up i' your kirtle,
+eh?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A white dove,&quot; replied Jennet, determined not to tell him any thing
+about her strange dream.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A white dove!&quot; echoed Jem. &quot;Gi' it me, an ey'n wring its neck, an get
+it roasted for supper.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ye shan do nah such thing, Jem,&quot; replied Jennet. &quot;Ey mean to gi' it to
+Alizon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel, weel, that's reet,&quot; rejoined Jem, blandly, &quot;it'll may a protty
+offering. Let's look at it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nah, nah,&quot; said Jennet, pressing the bird gently to her bosom, &quot;neaw
+one shan see it efore Alizon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Cum along then,&quot; cried Jem, rather testily, and mending his pace, &quot;or
+we'st be too late fo' t' round. Whoy yo'n scratted yourself,&quot; he added,
+noticing the red spots on her sleeve.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Han ey?&quot; she rejoined, evasively. &quot;Oh now ey rekilect, it wos Tib did
+it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Tib!&quot; echoed Jem, gravely, and glancing uneasily at the marks.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, on quitting the cottage, the May-day revellers had proceeded
+slowly towards the green, increasing the number of their followers at
+each little tenement they passed, and being welcomed every where with
+shouts and cheers. The hobby-horse curveted and capered; the Fool
+fleered at the girls, and flouted the men, jesting with every one, and
+when failing in a point rapping the knuckles of his auditors; Friar Tuck
+chucked the pretty girls under the chin, in defiance of their
+sweethearts, and stole a kiss from every buxom dame that stood in his
+way, and then snapped his fingers, or made a broad grimace at the
+husband; the piper played, and the taborer rattled his tambourine; the
+morris-dancers tossed their kerchiefs aloft; and the bells of the
+rush-cart jingled merrily; the men on the top being on a level with the
+roofs of the cottages, and the summits of the haystacks they passed, but
+in spite of their exalted position jesting with the crowd below. But in
+spite of these multiplied attractions, and in spite of the gambols of
+Fool and Horse, though the latter elicited prodigious laughter, the main
+attention was fixed on the May Queen, who tripped lightly along by the
+side of her faithful squire, Robin Hood, followed by the three bold
+foresters of Sherwood, and her usher.</p>
+
+<p>In this way they reached the green, where already a large crowd was
+collected to see them, and where in the midst of it, and above the heads
+of the assemblage, rose the lofty May-pole, with all its flowery
+garlands glittering in the sunshine, and its ribands fluttering in the
+breeze. Pleasant was it to see those cheerful groups, composed of happy
+rustics, youths in their holiday attire, and maidens neatly habited too,
+and fresh and bright as the day itself. Summer sunshine sparkled in
+their eyes, and weather and circumstance as well as genial natures
+disposed them to enjoyment. Every lass above eighteen had her
+sweetheart, and old couples nodded and smiled at each other when any
+tender speech, broadly conveyed but tenderly conceived, reached their
+ears, and said it recalled the days of their youth. Pleasant was it to
+hear such honest laughter, and such good homely jests.</p>
+
+<p>Laugh on, my merry lads, you are made of good old English stuff, loyal
+to church and king, and while you, and such as you, last, our land will
+be in no danger from foreign foe! Laugh on, and praise your sweethearts
+how you will. Laugh on, and blessings on your honest hearts!</p>
+
+<p>The frolic train had just reached the precincts of the green, when the
+usher waving his wand aloft, called a momentary halt, announcing that
+Sir Ralph Assheton and the gentry were coming forth from the Abbey gate
+to meet them.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III_THE_ASSHETONS" id="CHAPTER_III_THE_ASSHETONS" />CHAPTER III.&mdash;THE ASSHETONS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Between Sir Ralph Assheton of the Abbey and the inhabitants of Whalley,
+many of whom were his tenants, he being joint lord of the manor with
+John Braddyll of Portfield, the best possible feeling subsisted; for
+though somewhat austere in manner, and tinctured with Puritanism, the
+worthy knight was sufficiently shrewd, or, more correctly speaking,
+sufficiently liberal-minded, to be tolerant of the opinions of others,
+and being moreover sincere in his own religious views, no man could call
+him in question for them; besides which, he was very hospitable to his
+friends, very bountiful to the poor, a good landlord, and a humane man.
+His very austerity of manner, tempered by stately courtesy, added to the
+respect he inspired, especially as he could now and then relax into
+gaiety, and, when he did so, his smile was accounted singularly sweet.
+But in general he was grave and formal; stiff in attire, and stiff in
+gait; cold and punctilious in manner, precise in speech, and exacting in
+due respect from both high and low, which was seldom, if ever, refused
+him. Amongst Sir Ralph's other good qualities, for such it was esteemed
+by his friends and retainers, and they were, of course, the best judges,
+was a strong love of the chase, and perhaps he indulged a little too
+freely in the sports of the field, for a gentleman of a character so
+staid and decorous; but his popularity was far from being diminished by
+the circumstance; neither did he suffer the rude and boisterous
+companionship into which he was brought by indulgence in this his
+favourite pursuit in any way to affect him. Though still young, Sir
+Ralph was prematurely grey, and this, combined with the sad severity of
+his aspect, gave him the air of one considerably past the middle term of
+life, though this appearance was contradicted again by the youthful fire
+of his eagle eye. His features were handsome and strongly marked, and he
+wore a pointed beard and mustaches, with a shaved cheek. Sir Ralph
+Assheton had married twice, his first wife being a daughter of Sir James
+Bellingham of Levens, in Northumberland, by whom he had two children;
+while his second choice fell upon Eleanor Shuttleworth, the lovely and
+well-endowed heiress of Gawthorpe, to whom he had been recently united.
+In his attire, even when habited for the chase or a merry-making, like
+the present, the Knight of Whalley affected a sombre colour, and
+ordinarily wore a quilted doublet of black silk, immense trunk hose of
+the same material, stiffened with whalebone, puffed out well-wadded
+sleeves, falling bands, for he eschewed the ruff as savouring of vanity,
+boots of black flexible leather, ascending to the hose, and armed with
+spurs with gigantic rowels, a round-crowned small-brimmed black hat,
+with an ostrich feather placed in the side and hanging over the top, a
+long rapier on his hip, and a dagger in his girdle. This buckram attire,
+it will be easily conceived, contributed no little to the natural
+stiffness of his thin tall figure.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Ralph Assheton was great grandson of Richard Assheton, who
+flourished in the time of Abbot Paslew, and who, in conjunction with
+John Braddyll, fourteen years after the unfortunate prelate's attainder
+and the dissolution of the monastery, had purchased the abbey and
+domains of Whalley from the Crown, subsequently to which, a division of
+the property so granted took place between them, the abbey and part of
+the manor falling to the share of Richard Assheton, whose descendants
+had now for three generations made it their residence. Thus the whole of
+Whalley belonged to the families of Assheton and Braddyll, which had
+intermarried; the latter, as has been stated, dwelling at Portfield, a
+fine old seat in the neighbourhood.</p>
+
+<p>A very different person from Sir Ralph was his cousin, Nicholas Assheton
+of Downham, who, except as regards his Puritanism, might be considered a
+type of the Lancashire squire of the day. A precisian in religious
+notions, and constant in attendance at church and lecture, he put no
+sort of restraint upon himself, but mixed up fox-hunting, otter-hunting,
+shooting at the mark, and perhaps shooting with the long-bow,
+foot-racing, horse-racing, and, in fact, every other kind of country
+diversion, not forgetting tippling, cards, and dicing, with daily
+devotion, discourses, and psalm-singing in the oddest way imaginable. A
+thorough sportsman was Squire Nicholas Assheton, well versed in all the
+arts and mysteries of hawking and hunting. Not a man in the county could
+ride harder, hunt deer, unkennel fox, unearth badger, or spear otter,
+better than he. And then, as to tippling, he would sit you a whole
+afternoon at the alehouse, and be the merriest man there, and drink a
+bout with every farmer present. And if the parson chanced to be out of
+hearing, he would never make a mouth at a round oath, nor choose a
+second expression when the first would serve his turn. Then, who so
+constant at church or lecture as Squire Nicholas&mdash;though he did snore
+sometimes during the long sermons of his cousin, the Rector of
+Middleton? A great man was he at all weddings, christenings, churchings,
+and funerals, and never neglected his bottle at these ceremonies, nor
+any sport in doors or out of doors, meanwhile. In short, such a
+roystering Puritan was never known. A good-looking young man was the
+Squire of Downham, possessed of a very athletic frame, and a most
+vigorous constitution, which helped him, together with the prodigious
+exercise he took, through any excess. He had a sanguine complexion, with
+a broad, good-natured visage, which he could lengthen at will in a
+surprising manner. His hair was cropped close to his head, and the razor
+did daily duty over his cheek and chin, giving him the roundhead look,
+some years later, characteristic of the Puritanical party. Nicholas had
+taken to wife Dorothy, daughter of Richard Greenacres of Worston, and
+was most fortunate in his choice, which is more than can be said for his
+lady, for I cannot uphold the squire as a model of conjugal fidelity.
+Report affirmed that he loved more than one pretty girl under the rose.
+Squire Nicholas was not particular as to the quality or make of his
+clothes, provided they wore well and protected him against the weather,
+and was generally to be seen in doublet and hose of stout fustian, which
+had seen some service, with a broad-leaved hat, originally green, but of
+late bleached to a much lighter colour; but he was clad on this
+particular occasion in ash-coloured habiliments fresh from the tailor's
+hands, with buff boots drawn up to the knee, and a new round hat from
+York with a green feather in it. His legs were slightly embowed, and he
+bore himself like a man rarely out of the saddle.</p>
+
+<p>Downham, the residence of the squire, was a fine old house, very
+charmingly situated to the north of Pendle Hill, of which it commanded a
+magnificent view, and a few miles from Clithero. The grounds about it
+were well-wooded and beautifully broken and diversified, watered by the
+Ribble, and opening upon the lovely and extensive valley deriving its
+name from that stream. The house was in good order and well maintained,
+and the stables plentifully furnished with horses, while the hall was
+adorned with various trophies and implements of the chase; but as I
+propose paying its owner a visit, I shall defer any further description
+of the place till an opportunity arrives for examining it in detail.</p>
+
+<p>A third cousin of Sir Ralph's, though in the second degree, likewise
+present on the May-day in question, was the Reverend Abdias Assheton,
+Rector of Middleton, a very worthy man, who, though differing from his
+kinsmen upon some religious points, and not altogether approving of the
+conduct of one of them, was on good terms with both. The Rector of
+Middleton was portly and middle-aged, fond of ease and reading, and by
+no means indifferent to the good things of life. He was unmarried, and
+passed much of his time at Middleton Hall, the seat of his near relative
+Sir Richard Assheton, to whose family he was greatly attached, and whose
+residence closely adjoined the rectory.</p>
+
+<p>A fourth cousin, also present, was young Richard Assheton of Middleton,
+eldest son and heir of the owner of that estate. Possessed of all the
+good qualities largely distributed among his kinsmen, with none of their
+drawbacks, this young man was as tolerant and bountiful as Sir Ralph,
+without his austerity and sectarianism; as keen a sportsman and as bold
+a rider as Nicholas, without his propensities to excess; as studious, at
+times, and as well read as Abdias, without his laziness and
+self-indulgence; and as courtly and well-bred as his father, Sir
+Richard, who was esteemed one of the most perfect gentlemen in the
+county, without his haughtiness. Then he was the handsomest of his race,
+though the Asshetons were accounted the handsomest family in Lancashire,
+and no one minded yielding the palm to young Richard, even if it could
+be contested, he was so modest and unassuming. At this time, Richard
+Assheton was about two-and-twenty, tall, gracefully and slightly formed,
+but possessed of such remarkable vigour, that even his cousin Nicholas
+could scarcely compete with him in athletic exercises. His features were
+fine and regular, with an almost Phrygian precision of outline; his hair
+was of a dark brown, and fell in clustering curls over his brow and
+neck; and his complexion was fresh and blooming, and set off by a slight
+beard and mustache, carefully trimmed and pointed. His dress consisted
+of a dark-green doublet, with wide velvet hose, embroidered and fringed,
+descending nearly to the knee, where they were tied with points and
+ribands, met by dark stockings, and terminated by red velvet shoes with
+roses in them. A white feather adorned his black broad-leaved hat, and
+he had a rapier by his side.</p>
+
+<p>Amongst Sir Ralph Assheton's guests were Richard Greenacres, of Worston,
+Nicholas Assheton's father-in-law; Richard Sherborne of Dunnow, near
+Sladeburne, who had married Dorothy, Nicholas's sister; Mistress
+Robinson of Raydale House, aunt to the knight and the squire, and two of
+her sons, both stout youths, with John Braddyll and his wife, of
+Portfield. Besides these there was Master Roger Nowell, a justice of the
+peace in the county, and a very active and busy one too, who had been
+invited for an especial purpose, to be explained hereafter. Head of an
+ancient Lancashire family, residing at Read, a fine old hall, some
+little distance from Whalley, Roger Nowell, though a worthy,
+well-meaning man, dealt hard measure from the bench, and seldom tempered
+justice with mercy. He was sharp-featured, dry, and sarcastic, and being
+adverse to country sports, his presence on the occasion was the only
+thing likely to impose restraint on the revellers. Other guests there
+were, but none of particular note.</p>
+
+<p>The ladies of the party consisted of Lady Assheton, Mistress Nicholas
+Assheton of Downham, Dorothy Assheton of Middleton, sister to Richard, a
+lovely girl of eighteen, with light fleecy hair, summer blue eyes, and a
+complexion of exquisite purity, Mistress Sherborne of Dunnow, Mistress
+Robinson of Raydale, and Mistress Braddyll of Portfield, before
+mentioned, together with the wives and daughters of some others of the
+neighbouring gentry; most noticeable amongst whom was Mistress Alice
+Nutter of Rough Lee, in Pendle Forest, a widow lady and a relative of
+the Assheton family.</p>
+
+<p>Mistress Nutter might be a year or two turned of forty, but she still
+retained a very fine figure, and much beauty of feature, though of a
+cold and disagreeable cast. She was dressed in mourning, though her
+husband had been dead several years, and her rich dark habiliments well
+became her pale complexion and raven hair. A proud poor gentleman was
+Richard Nutter, her late husband, and his scanty means not enabling him
+to keep up as large an establishment as he desired, or to be as
+hospitable as his nature prompted, his temper became soured, and he
+visited his ill humours upon his wife, who, devotedly attached to him,
+to all outward appearance at least, never resented his ill treatment.
+All at once, and without any previous symptoms of ailment, or apparent
+cause, unless it might be over-fatigue in hunting the day before,
+Richard Nutter was seized with a strange and violent illness, which,
+after three or four days of acute suffering, brought him to the grave.
+During his illness he was constantly and zealously tended by his wife,
+but he displayed great aversion to her, declaring himself bewitched, and
+that an old woman was ever in the corner of his room mumbling wicked
+enchantments against him. But as no such old woman could be seen, these
+assertions were treated as delirious ravings. They were not, however,
+forgotten after his death, and some people said that he had certainly
+been bewitched, and that a waxen image made in his likeness, and stuck
+full of pins, had been picked up in his chamber by Mistress Alice and
+cast into the fire, and as soon as it melted he had expired. Such tales
+only obtained credence with the common folk; but as Pendle Forest was a
+sort of weird region, many reputed witches dwelling in it, they were the
+more readily believed, even by those who acquitted Mistress Nutter of
+all share in the dark transaction.</p>
+
+<p>Mistress Nutter gave the best proof that she respected her husband's
+memory by not marrying again, and she continued to lead a very secluded
+life at Rough Lee, a lonesome house in the heart of the forest. She
+lived quite by herself, for she had no children, her only daughter
+having perished somewhat strangely when quite an infant. Though a
+relative of the Asshetons, she kept up little intimacy with them, and it
+was a matter of surprise to all that she had been drawn from her
+seclusion to attend the present revel. Her motive, however, in visiting
+the Abbey, was to obtain the assistance of Sir Ralph Assheton, in
+settling a dispute between her and Roger Nowell, relative to the
+boundary line of part of their properties which came together; and this
+was the reason why the magistrate had been invited to Whalley. After
+hearing both sides of the question, and examining plans of the estates,
+which he knew to be accurate, Sir Ralph, who had been appointed umpire,
+pronounced a decision in favour of Roger Nowell, but Mistress Nutter
+refusing to abide by it, the settlement of the matter was postponed till
+the day but one following, between which time the landmarks were to be
+investigated by a certain little lawyer named Potts, who attended on
+behalf of Roger Nowell; together with Nicholas and Richard Assheton, on
+behalf of Mistress Nutter. Upon their evidence it was agreed by both
+parties that Sir Ralph should pronounce a final decision, to be accepted
+by them, and to that effect they signed an agreement. The three persons
+appointed to the investigation settled to start for Rough Lee early on
+the following morning.</p>
+
+<p>A word as to Master Thomas Potts. This worthy was an attorney from
+London, who had officiated as clerk of the court at the assizes at
+Lancaster, where his quickness had so much pleased Roger Nowell, that he
+sent for him to Read to manage this particular business. A sharp-witted
+fellow was Potts, and versed in all the quirks and tricks of a very
+subtle profession&mdash;not over-scrupulous, provided a client would pay
+well; prepared to resort to any expedient to gain his object, and quite
+conversant enough with both practice and precedent to keep himself
+straight. A bustling, consequential little personage was he, moreover;
+very fond of delivering an opinion, even when unasked, and of a
+meddling, make-mischief turn, constantly setting men by the ears. A suit
+of rusty black, a parchment-coloured skin, small wizen features, a
+turn-up nose, scant eyebrows, and a great yellow forehead, constituted
+his external man. He partook of the hospitality at the Abbey, but had
+his quarters at the Dragon. He it was who counselled Roger Nowell to
+abide by the decision of Sir Ralph, confidently assuring him that he
+must carry his point.</p>
+
+<p>This dispute was not, however, the only one the knight had to adjust, or
+in which Master Potts was concerned. A claim had recently been made by a
+certain Sir Thomas Metcalfe of Nappay, in Wensleydale, near Bainbridge,
+to the house and manor of Raydale, belonging to his neighbour, John
+Robinson, whose lady, as has been shown, was a relative of the
+Asshetons. Robinson himself had gone to London to obtain advice on the
+subject, while Sir Thomas Metcalfe, who was a man of violent
+disposition, had threatened to take forcible possession of Raydale, if
+it were not delivered to him without delay, and to eject the Robinson
+family. Having consulted Potts, however, on the subject, whom he had met
+at Read, the latter strongly dissuaded him from the course, and
+recommended him to call to his aid the strong arm of the law: but this
+he rejected, though he ultimately agreed to refer the matter to Sir
+Ralph Assheton, and for this purpose he had come over to Whalley, and
+was at present a guest at the vicarage. Thus it will be seen that Sir
+Ralph Assheton had his hands full, while the little London lawyer,
+Master Potts, was tolerably well occupied. Besides Sir Thomas Metcalfe,
+Sir Richard Molyneux, and Mr. Parker of Browsholme, were guests of Dr.
+Ormerod at the vicarage.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the large company assembled to witness the May-day revels at
+Whalley, and if harmonious feelings did not exist amongst all of them,
+little outward manifestation was made of enmity. The dresses and
+appointments of the pageant having been provided by Sir Ralph Assheton,
+who, Puritan as he was, encouraged all harmless country pastimes, it was
+deemed necessary to pay him every respect, even if no other feeling
+would have prompted the attention, and therefore the troop had stopped
+on seeing him and his guests issue from the Abbey gate. At pretty nearly
+the same time Doctor Ormerod and his party came from the vicarage
+towards the green.</p>
+
+<p>No order of march was observed, but Sir Ralph and his lady, with two of
+his children by the former marriage, walked first. Then came some of the
+other ladies, with the Rector of Middleton, John Braddyll, and the two
+sons of Mistress Robinson. Next came Mistress Nutter, Roger Nowell and
+Potts walking after her, eyeing her maliciously, as her proud figure
+swept on before them. Even if she saw their looks or overheard their
+jeers, she did not deign to notice them. Lastly came young Richard
+Assheton, of Middleton, and Squire Nicholas, both in high spirits, and
+laughing and chatting together.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A brave day for the morris-dancers, cousin Dick,&quot; observed Nicholas
+Assheton, as they approached the green, &quot;and plenty of folk to witness
+the sport. Half my lads from Downham are here, and I see a good many of
+your Middleton chaps among them. How are you, Farmer Tetlow?&quot; he added
+to a stout, hale-looking man, with a blooming country woman by his
+side&mdash;&quot;brought your pretty young wife to the rush-bearing, I see.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh, squoire,&quot; rejoined the farmer, &quot;an mightily pleased hoo be wi'
+it, too.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Happy to hear if, Master Tetlow,&quot; replied Nicholas, &quot;she'll be better
+pleased before the day's over, I'll warrant her. I'll dance a round with
+her myself in the hall at night.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Theere now, Meg, whoy dunna ye may t' squoire a curtsy, wench, an thonk
+him,&quot; said Tetlow, nudging his pretty wife, who had turned away, rather
+embarrassed by the free gaze of the squire. Nicholas, however, did not
+wait for the curtsy, but went away, laughing, to overtake Richard
+Assheton, who had walked on.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah, here's Frank Garside,&quot; he continued, espying another rustic
+acquaintance. &quot;Halloa, Frank, I'll come over one day next week, and try
+for a fox in Easington Woods. We missed the last, you know. Tom
+Brockholes, are you here? Just ridden over from Sladeburne, eh? When is
+that shooting match at the bodkin to come off, eh? Mind, it is to be at
+twenty-two roods' distance. Ride over to Downham on Thursday next, Tom.
+We're to have a foot-race, and I'll show you good sport, and at night
+we'll have a lusty drinking bout at the alehouse. On Friday, we'll take
+out the great nets, and try for salmon in the Ribble. I took some fine
+fish on Monday&mdash;one salmon of ten pounds' weight, the largest I've got
+the whole season.&mdash;I brought it with me to-day to the Abbey. There's an
+otter in the river, and I won't hunt him till you come, Tom. I shall see
+you on Thursday, eh?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Receiving an answer in the affirmative, squire Nicholas walked on,
+nodding right and left, jesting with the farmers, and ogling their
+pretty wives and daughters.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I tell you what, cousin Dick,&quot; he said, calling after Richard Assheton,
+who had got in advance of him, &quot;I'll match my dun nag against your grey
+gelding for twenty pieces, that I reach the boundary line of the Rough
+Lee lands before you to-morrow. What, you won't have it? You know I
+shall beat you&mdash;ha! ha! Well, we'll try the speed of the two tits the
+first day we hunt the stag in Bowland Forest. Odds my life!&quot; he cried,
+suddenly altering his deportment and lengthening his visage, &quot;if there
+isn't our parson here. Stay with me, cousin Dick, stay with me. Give you
+good-day, worthy Mr. Dewhurst,&quot; he added, taking off his hat to the
+divine, who respectfully returned his salutation, &quot;I did not look to see
+your reverence here, taking part in these vanities and idle sports. I
+propose to call on you on Saturday, and pass an hour in serious
+discourse. I would call to-morrow, but I have to ride over to Pendle on
+business. Tarry a moment for me, I pray you, good cousin Richard. I
+fear, reverend sir, that you will see much here that will scandalise
+you; much lightness and indecorum. Pleasanter far would it be to me to
+see a large congregation of the elders flocking together to a godly
+meeting, than crowds assembled for such a profane purpose. Another
+moment, Richard. My cousin is a young man, Mr. Dewhurst, and wishes to
+join the revel. But we must make allowances, worthy and reverend sir,
+until the world shall improve. An excellent discourse you gave us, good
+sir, on Sunday: viii. Rom. 12 and 13 verses: it is graven upon my
+memory, but I have made a note of it in my diary. I come to you, cousin,
+I come. I pray you walk on to the Abbey, good Mr. Dewhurst, where you
+will be right welcome, and call for any refreshment you may desire&mdash;a
+glass of good sack, and a slice of venison pasty, on which we have just
+dined&mdash;and there is some famous old ale, which I would commend to you,
+but that I know you care not, any more than myself, for creature
+comforts. Farewell, reverend sir. I will join you ere long, for these
+scenes have little attraction for me. But I must take care that my young
+cousin falleth not into harm.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as the divine took his way to the Abbey, he added, laughingly, to
+Richard,&mdash;&quot;A good riddance, Dick. I would not have the old fellow play
+the spy upon us.&mdash;Ah, Giles Mercer,&quot; he added, stopping again,&mdash;&quot;and
+Jeff Rushton&mdash;well met, lads! what, are you come to the wake? I shall be
+at John Lawe's in the evening, and we'll have a glass together&mdash;John
+brews sack rarely, and spareth not the eggs.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Boh yo'n be at th' dawncing at th' Abbey, squoire,&quot; said one of the
+farmers.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Curse the dancing!&quot; cried Nicholas&mdash;&quot;I hope the parson didn't hear me,&quot;
+he added, turning round quickly. &quot;Well, well, I'll come down when the
+dancing's over, and we'll make a night of it.&quot; And he ran on to overtake
+Richard Assheton.</p>
+
+<p>By this time the respective parties from the Abbey and the Vicarage
+having united, they walked on together, Sir Ralph Assheton, after
+courteously exchanging salutations with Dr. Ormerod's guests, still
+keeping a little in advance of the company. Sir Thomas Metcalfe
+comported himself with more than his wonted haughtiness, and bowed so
+superciliously to Mistress Robinson, that her two sons glanced angrily
+at each other, as if in doubt whether they should not instantly resent
+the affront. Observing this, as well as what had previously taken place,
+Nicholas Assheton stepped quickly up to them, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Keep quiet, lads. Leave this dunghill cock to me, and I'll lower his
+crest.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>With this he pushed forward, and elbowing Sir Thomas rudely out of the
+way, turned round, and, instead of apologising, eyed him coolly and
+contemptuously from head to foot.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Are you drunk, sir, that you forget your manners?&quot; asked Sir Thomas,
+laying his hand upon his sword.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not so drunk but that I know how to conduct myself like a gentleman,
+Sir Thomas,&quot; rejoined Nicholas, &quot;which is more than can be said for a
+certain person of my acquaintance, who, for aught I know, has only taken
+his morning pint.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You wish to pick a quarrel with me, Master Nicholas Assheton, I
+perceive,&quot; said Sir Thomas, stepping close up to him, &quot;and I will not
+disappoint you. You shall render me good reason for this affront before
+I leave Whalley.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;When and where you please, Sir Thomas,&quot; rejoined Nicholas, laughing.
+&quot;At any hour, and at any weapon, I am your man.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>At this moment, Master Potts, who had scented a quarrel afar, and who
+would have liked it well enough if its prosecution had not run counter
+to his own interests, quitted Roger Nowell, and ran back to Metcalfe,
+and plucking him by the sleeve, said, in a low voice&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This is not the way to obtain quiet possession of Raydale House, Sir
+Thomas. Master Nicholas Assheton,&quot; he added, turning to him, &quot;I must
+entreat you, my good sir, to be moderate. Gentlemen, both, I caution you
+that I have my eye upon you. You well know there is a magistrate here,
+my singular good friend and honoured client, Master Roger Nowell, and if
+you pursue this quarrel further, I shall hold it my duty to have you
+bound over by that worthy gentleman in sufficient securities to keep the
+peace towards our sovereign lord the king and all his lieges, and
+particularly towards each other. You understand me, gentlemen?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Perfectly,&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;I drink at John Lawe's to-night, Sir
+Thomas.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>So saying, he walked away. Metcalfe would have followed him, but was
+withheld by Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Let him go, Sir Thomas,&quot; said the little man of law; &quot;let him go. Once
+master of Raydale, you can do as you please. Leave the settlement of the
+matter to me. I'll just whisper a word in Sir Ralph Assheton's ear, and
+you'll hear no more of it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Fire and fury!&quot; growled Sir Thomas. &quot;I like not this mode of settling a
+quarrel; and unless this hot-headed psalm-singing puritan apologises, I
+shall assuredly cut his throat.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Or he yours, good Sir Thomas,&quot; rejoined Potts. &quot;Better sit in Raydale
+Hall, than lie in the Abbey vaults.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, we'll talk over the matter, Master Potts,&quot; replied the knight.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A nice morning's work I've made of it,&quot; mused Nicholas, as he walked
+along; &quot;here I have a dance with a farmer's pretty wife, a discourse
+with a parson, a drinking-bout with a couple of clowns, and a duello
+with a blustering knight on my hands. Quite enough, o' my conscience!
+but I must get through it the best way I can. And now, hey for the
+May-pole and the morris-dancers!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Nicholas just got up in time to witness the presentation of the May
+Queen to Sir Ralph Assheton and his lady, and like every one else he was
+greatly struck by her extreme beauty and natural grace.</p>
+
+<p>The little ceremony was thus conducted. When the company from the Abbey
+drew near the troop of revellers, the usher taking Alizon's hand in the
+tips of his fingers as before, strutted forward with her to Sir Ralph
+and his lady, and falling upon one knee before them, said,&mdash;&quot;Most
+worshipful and honoured knight, and you his lovely dame, and you the
+tender and cherished olive branches growing round about their tables, I
+hereby crave your gracious permission to present unto your honours our
+chosen Queen of May.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Somewhat fluttered by the presentation, Alizon yet maintained sufficient
+composure to bend gracefully before Lady Assheton, and say in a very
+sweet voice, &quot;I fear your ladyship will think the choice of the village
+hath fallen ill in alighting upon me; and, indeed, I feel myself
+altogether unworthy the distinction; nevertheless I will endeavour to
+discharge my office fittingly, and therefore pray you, fair lady, and
+the worshipful knight, your husband, together with your beauteous
+children, and the gentles all by whom you are surrounded, to grace our
+little festival with your presence, hoping you may find as much pleasure
+in the sight as we shall do in offering it to you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A fair maid, and modest as she is fair,&quot; observed Sir Ralph, with a
+condescending smile.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;In sooth is she,&quot; replied Lady Assheton, raising her kindly, and
+saying, as she did so&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, you must not kneel to us, sweet maid. You are queen of May, and it
+is for us to show respect to you during your day of sovereignty. Your
+wishes are commands; and, in behalf of my husband, my children, and our
+guests, I answer, that we will gladly attend your revels on the green.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well said, dear Nell,&quot; observed Sir Ralph. &quot;We should be churlish,
+indeed, were we to refuse the bidding of so lovely a queen.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, you have called the roses in earnest to her cheek, now, Sir
+Ralph,&quot; observed Lady Assheton, smiling. &quot;Lead on, fair queen,&quot; she
+continued, &quot;and tell your companions to begin their sports when they
+please.&mdash;Only remember this, that we shall hope to see all your gay
+troop this evening at the Abbey, to a merry dance.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Where I will strive to find her majesty a suitable partner,&quot; added Sir
+Ralph. &quot;Stay, she shall make her choice now, as a royal personage
+should; for you know, Nell, a queen ever chooseth her partner, whether
+it be for the throne or for the brawl. How gay you, fair one? Shall it
+be either of our young cousins, Joe or Will Robinson of Raydale; or our
+cousin who still thinketh himself young, Squire Nicholas of Downham.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, let it be me, I implore of you, fair queen,&quot; interposed Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He is engaged already,&quot; observed Richard Assheton, coming forward. &quot;I
+heard him ask pretty Mistress Tetlow, the farmer's wife, to dance with
+him this evening at the Abbey.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>A loud laugh from those around followed this piece of information, but
+Nicholas was in no wise disconcerted.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Dick would have her choose him, and that is why he interferes with me,&quot;
+he observed. &quot;How say you, fair queen! Shall it be our hopeful cousin? I
+will answer for him that he danceth the coranto and lavolta
+indifferently well.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>On hearing Richard Assheton's voice, all the colour had forsaken
+Alizon's cheeks; but at this direct appeal to her by Nicholas, it
+returned with additional force, and the change did not escape the quick
+eye of Lady Assheton.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You perplex her, cousin Nicholas,&quot; she said.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not a whit, Eleanor,&quot; answered the squire; &quot;but if she like not Dick
+Assheton, there is another Dick, Dick Sherburne of Sladeburn; or our
+cousin, Jack Braddyll; or, if she prefer an older and discreeter man,
+there is Father Greenacres of Worston, or Master Roger Nowell of
+Read&mdash;plenty of choice.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, if I must choose a partner, it shall be a young one,&quot; said Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Right, fair queen, right,&quot; cried Nicholas, laughing. &quot;Ever choose a
+young man if you can. Who shall it be?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have named him yourself, sir,&quot; replied Alizon, in a voice which she
+endeavoured to keep firm, but which, in spite of all her efforts,
+sounded tremulously&mdash;&quot;Master Richard Assheton.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Next to choosing me, you could not have chosen better,&quot; observed
+Nicholas, approvingly. &quot;Dick, lad, I congratulate thee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I congratulate myself,&quot; replied the young man. &quot;Fair queen,&quot; he added,
+advancing, &quot;highly flattered am I by your choice, and shall so demean
+myself, I trust, as to prove myself worthy of it. Before I go, I would
+beg a boon from you&mdash;that flower.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This pink,&quot; cried Alizon. &quot;It is yours, fair sir.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Young Assheton took the flower and took the hand that offered it at the
+same time, and pressed the latter to his lips; while Lady Assheton, who
+had been made a little uneasy by Alizon's apparent emotion, and who with
+true feminine tact immediately detected its cause, called out: &quot;Now,
+forward&mdash;forward to the May-pole! We have interrupted the revel too
+long.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Upon this the May Queen stepped blushingly back with the usher, who,
+with his white wand in hand, had stood bolt upright behind her,
+immensely delighted with the scene in which his pupil&mdash;for Alizon had
+been tutored by him for the occasion&mdash;had taken part. Sir Ralph then
+clapped his hands loudly, and at this signal the tabor and pipe struck
+up; the Fool and the Hobby-horse, who, though idle all the time, had
+indulged in a little quiet fun with the rustics, recommenced their
+gambols; the Morris-dancers their lively dance; and the whole train
+moved towards the May-pole, followed by the rush-cart, with all its
+bells jingling, and all its garlands waving.</p>
+
+<p>As to Alizon, her brain was in a whirl, and her bosom heaved so quickly,
+that she thought she should faint. To think that the choice of a partner
+in the dance at the Abbey had been offered her, and that she should
+venture to choose Master Richard Assheton! She could scarcely credit her
+own temerity. And then to think that she should give him a flower, and,
+more than all, that he should kiss her hand in return for it! She felt
+the tingling pressure of his lips upon her finger still, and her little
+heart palpitated strangely.</p>
+
+<p>As she approached the May-pole, and the troop again halted for a few
+minutes, she saw her brother James holding little Jennet by the hand,
+standing in the front line to look at her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh, how I'm glad to see you here, Jennet!&quot; she cried.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;An ey'm glad to see yo, Alizon,&quot; replied the little girl. &quot;Jem has towd
+me whot a grand partner you're to ha' this e'en.&quot; And, she added, with
+playful malice, &quot;Who was wrong whon she said the queen could choose
+Master Richard&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hush, Jennet, not a word more,&quot; interrupted Alizon, blushing.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! ey dunna mean to vex ye, ey'm sure,&quot; replied Jennet. &quot;Ey've got a
+present for ye.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A present for me, Jennet,&quot; cried Alizon; &quot;what is it?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A beautiful white dove,&quot; replied the little girl.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A white dove! Where did you get it? Let me see it,&quot; cried Alizon, in a
+breath.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Here it is,&quot; replied Jennet, opening her kirtle.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A beautiful bird, indeed,&quot; cried Alizon. &quot;Take care of it for me till I
+come home.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Which winna be till late, ey fancy,&quot; rejoined Jennet, roguishly. &quot;Ah!&quot;
+she added, uttering a cry.</p>
+
+<p>The latter exclamation was occasioned by the sudden flight of the dove,
+which, escaping from her hold, soared aloft. Jennet followed the course
+of its silver wings, as they cleaved the blue sky, and then all at once
+saw a large hawk, which apparently had been hovering about, swoop down
+upon it, and bear it off. Some white feathers fell down near the little
+girl, and she picked up one of them and put it in her breast.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Poor bird!&quot; exclaimed the May Queen.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh, poor bird!&quot; echoed Jennet, tearfully. &quot;Ah, ye dunna knoa aw,
+Alizon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel, there's neaw use whimpering abowt a duv,&quot; observed Jem, gruffly.
+&quot;Ey'n bring ye another t' furst time ey go to Cown.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There's nah another bird like that,&quot; sobbed the little girl. &quot;Shoot
+that cruel hawk fo' me, Jem, win ye.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How conney wench, whon its flown away?&quot; he replied. &quot;Boh ey'n rob a
+hawk's neest fo ye, if that'll do os weel.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo dunna understand me, Jem,&quot; replied the child, sadly.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment, the music, which had ceased while some arrangements were
+made, commenced a very lively tune, known as &quot;Round about the May-pole,&quot;
+and Robin Hood, taking the May Queen's hand, led her towards the pole,
+and placing her near it, the whole of her attendants took hands, while a
+second circle was formed by the morris-dancers, and both began to wheel
+rapidly round her, the music momently increasing in spirit and
+quickness. An irresistible desire to join in the measure seized some of
+the lads and lasses around, and they likewise took hands, and presently
+a third and still wider circle was formed, wheeling gaily round the
+other two. Other dances were formed here and there, and presently the
+whole green was in movement.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If you come off heart-whole to-night, Dick, I shall be surprised,&quot;
+observed Nicholas, who with his young relative had approached as near
+the May-pole as the three rounds of dancers would allow them.</p>
+
+<p>Richard Assheton made no reply, but glanced at the pink which he had
+placed in his doublet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who is the May Queen?&quot; inquired Sir Thomas Metcalfe, who had likewise
+drawn near, of a tall man holding a little girl by the hand.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alizon, dowter of Elizabeth Device, an mey sister,&quot; replied James
+Device, gruffly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Humph!&quot; muttered Sir Thomas, &quot;she is a well-looking lass. And she
+dwells here&mdash;in Whalley, fellow?&quot; he added.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hoo dwells i' Whalley,&quot; responded Jem, sullenly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I can easily find her abode,&quot; muttered the knight, walking away.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What was it Sir Thomas said to you, Jem?&quot; inquired Nicholas, who had
+watched the knight's gestures, coming up.</p>
+
+<p>Jem related what had passed between them.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What the devil does he want with her?&quot; cried Nicholas. &quot;No good, I'm
+sure. But I'll spoil his sport.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Say boh t' word, squoire, an ey'n break every boan i' his body,&quot;
+remarked Jem.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, no, Jem,&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;Take care of your pretty sister, and
+I'll take care of him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>At this juncture, Sir Thomas, who, in spite of the efforts of the
+pacific Master Potts to tranquillise him, had been burning with wrath at
+the affront he had received from Nicholas, came up to Richard Assheton,
+and, noticing the pink in his bosom, snatched it away suddenly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I want a flower,&quot; he said, smelling at it.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Instantly restore it, Sir Thomas!&quot; cried Richard Assheton, pale with
+rage, &quot;or&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What will you do, young sir?&quot; rejoined the knight tauntingly, and
+plucking the flower in pieces. &quot;You can get another from the fair nymph
+who gave you this.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Further speech was not allowed the knight, for he received a violent
+blow on the chest from the hand of Richard Assheton, which sent him
+reeling backwards, and would have felled him to the ground if he had not
+been caught by some of the bystanders. The moment he recovered, Sir
+Thomas drew his sword, and furiously assaulted young Assheton, who stood
+ready for him, and after the exchange of a few passes, for none of the
+bystanders dared to interfere, sent his sword whirling over their heads
+through the air.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Bravo, Dick,&quot; cried Nicholas, stepping up, and clapping his cousin on
+the back, &quot;you have read him a good lesson, and taught him that he
+cannot always insult folks with impunity, ha! ha!&quot; And he laughed loudly
+at the discomfited knight.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He is an insolent coward,&quot; said Richard Assheton. &quot;Give him his sword
+and let him come on again.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, no,&quot; said Nicholas, &quot;he has had enough this time. And if he has
+not, he must settle an account with me. Put up your blade, lad.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I'll be revenged upon you both,&quot; said Sir Thomas, taking his sword,
+which had been brought him by a bystander, and stalking away.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You leave us in mortal dread, doughty knight,&quot; cried Nicholas, shouting
+after him, derisively&mdash;&quot;ha! ha! ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Richard Assheton's attention was, however, turned in a different
+direction, for the music suddenly ceasing, and the dancers stopping, he
+learnt that the May Queen had fainted, and presently afterwards the
+crowd opened to give passage to Robin Hood, who bore her inanimate form
+in his arms.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV_ALICE_NUTTER" id="CHAPTER_IV_ALICE_NUTTER" />CHAPTER IV.&mdash;ALICE NUTTER.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The quarrel between Nicholas Assheton and Sir Thomas Metcalfe had
+already been made known to Sir Ralph by the officious Master Potts, and
+though it occasioned the knight much displeasure; as interfering with
+the amicable arrangement he hoped to effect with Sir Thomas for his
+relatives the Robinsons, still he felt sure that he had sufficient
+influence with his hot-headed cousin, the squire, to prevent the dispute
+from being carried further, and he only waited the conclusion of the
+sports on the green, to take him to task. What was the knight's surprise
+and annoyance, therefore, to find that a new brawl had sprung up, and,
+ignorant of its precise cause, he laid it entirely at the door of the
+turbulent Nicholas. Indeed, on the commencement of the fray he imagined
+that the squire was personally concerned in it, and full of wroth, flew
+to the scene of action; but before he got there, the affair, which, as
+has been seen, was of short duration, was fully settled, and he only
+heard the jeers addressed to the retreating combatant by Nicholas. It
+was not Sir Ralph's way to vent his choler in words, but the squire knew
+in an instant, from the expression of his countenance, that he was
+greatly incensed, and therefore hastened to explain.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What means this unseemly disturbance, Nicholas?&quot; cried Sir Ralph, not
+allowing the other to speak. &quot;You are ever brawling like an Alsatian
+squire. Independently of the ill example set to these good folk, who
+have met here for tranquil amusement, you have counteracted all my plans
+for the adjustment of the differences between Sir Thomas Metcalfe and
+our aunt of Raydale. If you forget what is due to yourself, sir, do not
+forget what is due to me, and to the name you bear.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No one but yourself should say as much to me, Sir Ralph,&quot; rejoined
+Nicholas somewhat haughtily; &quot;but you are under a misapprehension. It is
+not I who have been fighting, though I should have acted in precisely
+the same manner as our cousin Dick, if I had received the same affront,
+and so I make bold to say would you. Our name shall suffer no discredit
+from me; and as a gentleman, I assert, that Sir Thomas Metcalfe has
+only received due chastisement, as you yourself will admit, cousin, when
+you know all.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I know him to be overbearing,&quot; observed Sir Ralph.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Overbearing is not the word, cousin,&quot; interrupted Nicholas; &quot;he is as
+proud as a peacock, and would trample upon us all, and gore us too, like
+one of the wild bulls of Bowland, if we would let him have his way. But
+I would treat him as I would the bull aforesaid, a wild boar, or any
+other savage and intractable beast, hunt him down, and poll his horns,
+or pluck out his tusks.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Come, come, Nicholas, this is no very gentle language,&quot; remarked Sir
+Ralph.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why, to speak truth, cousin, I do not feel in any very gentle frame of
+mind,&quot; rejoined the squire; &quot;my ire has been roused by this insolent
+braggart, my blood is up, and I long to be doing.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Unchristian feelings, Nicholas,&quot; said Sir Ralph, severely, &quot;and should
+be overcome. Turn the other cheek to the smiter. I trust you bear no
+malice to Sir Thomas.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I bear him no malice, for I hope malice is not in my nature, cousin,&quot;
+replied Nicholas, &quot;but I owe him a grudge, and when a fitting
+opportunity occurs&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No more of this, unless you would really incur my displeasure,&quot;
+rejoined Sir Ralph; &quot;the matter has gone far enough, too far, perhaps
+for amendment, and if you know it not, I can tell you that Sir Thomas's
+claims to Raydale will be difficult to dispute, and so our uncle
+Robinson has found since he hath taken counsel on the case.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Have a care, Sir Ralph,&quot; said Nicholas, noticing that Master Potts was
+approaching them, with his ears evidently wide open, &quot;there is that
+little London lawyer hovering about. But I'll give the cunning fox a
+double. I'm glad to hear you say so, Sir Ralph,&quot; he added, in a tone
+calculated to reach Potts, &quot;and since our uncle Robinson is so sure of
+his cause, it may be better to let this blustering knight be. Perchance,
+it is the certainty of failure that makes him so insensate.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This is meant to blind me, but it shall not serve your turn, cautelous
+squire,&quot; muttered Potts; &quot;I caught enough of what fell just now from Sir
+Ralph to satisfy me that he hath strong misgivings. But it is best not
+to appear too secure.&mdash;Ah, Sir Ralph,&quot; he added, coming forward, &quot;I was
+right, you see, in my caution. I am a man of peace, and strive to
+prevent quarrels and bloodshed. Quarrel if you please&mdash;and unfortunately
+men are prone to anger&mdash;but always settle your disputes in a court of
+law; always in a court of law, Sir Ralph. That is the only arena where a
+sensible man should ever fight. Take good advice, fee your counsel well,
+and the chances are ten to one in your favour. That is what I say to my
+worthy and singular good client, Sir Thomas; but he is somewhat
+headstrong and vehement, and will not listen to me. He is for settling
+matters by the sword, for making forcible entries and detainers, and
+ousting the tenants in possession, whereby he would render himself
+liable to arrest, fine, ransom, and forfeiture; instead of proceeding
+cautiously and decorously as the law directs, and as I advise, Sir
+Ralph, by writ of <i>ejectione firm&aelig;</i> or action of trespass, the which
+would assuredly establish his title, and restore him the house and
+lands. Or he may proceed by writ of right, which perhaps, in his case,
+considering the long absence of possession, and the doubts supposed to
+perplex the title&mdash;though I myself have no doubts about it&mdash;would be the
+most efficacious. These are your only true weapons, Sir Ralph&mdash;your
+writs of entry, assise, and right&mdash;your pleas of novel disseisin,
+post-disseisin, and re-disseisin&mdash;your remitters, your pr&aelig;cipes, your
+pones, and your recordari faciases. These are the sword, shield, and
+armour of proof of a wise man.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Zounds! you take away one's breath with this hail-storm of writs and
+pleas, master lawyer!&quot; cried Nicholas. &quot;But in one respect I am of your
+'worthy and singular good' client's, opinion, and would rather trust to
+my own hand for the defence of my property than to the law to keep it
+for me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then you would do wrong, good Master Nicholas,&quot; rejoined Potts, with a
+smile of supreme contempt; &quot;for the law is the better guardian and the
+stronger adversary of the two, and so Sir Thomas will find if he takes
+my advice, and obtains, as he can and will do, a perfect title <i>juris et
+seisin&aelig; conjunctionem</i>.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Sir Thomas is still willing to refer the case to my arbitrament, I
+believe, sir?&quot; demanded Sir Ralph, uneasily.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He was so, Sir Ralph,&quot; rejoined Potts, &quot;unless the assaults and
+batteries, with intent to do him grievous corporeal hurt, which he hath
+sustained from your relatives, have induced a change of mind in him. But
+as I premised, Sir Ralph, I am a man of peace, and willing to
+intermediate.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Provided you get your fee, master lawyer,&quot; observed Nicholas,
+sarcastically.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Certainly, I object not to the <i>quiddam honorarium</i>, Master Nicholas,&quot;
+rejoined Potts; &quot;and if my client hath the <i>quid pro quo</i>, and gaineth
+his point, he cannot complain.&mdash;But what is this? Some fresh
+disturbance!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Something hath happened to the May Queen,&quot; cried Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I trust not,&quot; said Sir Ralph, with real concern. &quot;Ha! she has fainted.
+They are bringing her this way. Poor maid! what can have occasioned this
+sudden seizure?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I think I could give a guess,&quot; muttered Nicholas. &quot;Better remove her to
+the Abbey,&quot; he added aloud to the knight.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are right,&quot; said Sir Ralph. &quot;Our cousin Dick is near her, I
+observe. He shall see her conveyed there at once.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>At this moment Lady Assheton and Mrs. Nutter, with some of the other
+ladies, came up.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Just in time, Nell,&quot; cried the knight. &quot;Have you your smelling-bottle
+about you? The May Queen has fainted.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Indeed!&quot; exclaimed Lady Assheton, springing towards Alizon, who was now
+sustained by young Richard Assheton; the forester having surrendered her
+to him. &quot;How has this happened?&quot; she inquired, giving her to breathe at
+a small phial.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That I cannot tell you, cousin,&quot; replied Richard Assheton, &quot;unless from
+some sudden fright.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That was it, Master Richard,&quot; cried Robin Hood; &quot;she cried out on
+hearing the clashing of swords just now, and, I think, pronounced your
+name, on finding you engaged with Sir Thomas, and immediately after
+turned pale, and would have fallen if I had not caught her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah, indeed!&quot; exclaimed Lady Assheton, glancing at Richard, whose eyes
+fell before her inquiring gaze. &quot;But see, she revives,&quot; pursued the
+lady. &quot;Let me support her head.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As she spoke Alizon opened her eyes, and perceiving Richard Assheton,
+who had relinquished her to his relative, standing beside her, she
+exclaimed, &quot;Oh! you are safe! I feared&quot;&mdash;And then she stopped, greatly
+embarrassed.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You feared he might be in danger from his fierce adversary,&quot; supplied
+Lady Assheton; &quot;but no. The conflict is happily over, and he is unhurt.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am glad of it,&quot; said Alizon, earnestly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She had better be taken to the Abbey,&quot; remarked Sir Ralph, coming up.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, she will be more at ease at home,&quot; observed Lady Assheton with a
+significant look, which, however, failed in reaching her husband.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yes, truly shall I, gracious lady,&quot; replied Alizon, &quot;far more so. I
+have given you trouble enough already.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No trouble at all,&quot; said Sir Ralph, kindly; &quot;her ladyship is too happy
+to be of service in a case like this. Are you not, Nell? The faintness
+will pass off presently. But let her go to the Abbey at once, and remain
+there till the evening's festivities, in which she takes part, commence.
+Give her your arm, Dick.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Sir Ralph's word was law, and therefore Lady Assheton made no
+remonstrance. But she said quickly, &quot;I will take care of her myself.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I require no assistance, madam,&quot; replied Alizon, &quot;since Sir Ralph will
+have me go. Nay, you are too kind, too condescending,&quot; she added,
+reluctantly taking Lady Assheton's proffered arm.</p>
+
+<p>And in this way they proceeded slowly towards the Abbey, escorted by
+Richard Assheton, and attended by Mistress Braddyll and some others of
+the ladies.</p>
+
+<p>Amongst those who had watched the progress of the May Queen's
+restoration with most interest was Mistress Nutter, though she had not
+interfered; and as Alizon departed with Lady Assheton, she observed to
+Nicholas, who was standing near,</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Can this be the daughter of Elizabeth Device, and grand-daughter of&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your old Pendle witch, Mother Demdike,&quot; supplied Nicholas; &quot;the very
+same, I assure you, Mistress Nutter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She is wholly unlike the family,&quot; observed the lady, &quot;and her features
+resemble some I have seen before.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She does not resemble her mother, undoubtedly,&quot; replied Nicholas,
+&quot;though what her grand-dame may have been some sixty years ago, when she
+was Alizon's age, it would be difficult to say.&mdash;She is no beauty now.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Those finely modelled features, that graceful figure, and those
+delicate hands, cannot surely belong to one lowly born and bred?&quot; said
+Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;They differ from the ordinary peasant mould, truly,&quot; replied Nicholas.
+&quot;If you ask me for the lineage of a steed, I can give a guess at it on
+sight of the animal, but as regards our own race I'm at fault, Mistress
+Nutter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I must question Elizabeth Device about her,&quot; observed Alice. &quot;Strange,
+I should never have seen her before, though I know the family so well.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I wish you did not know Mother Demdike quite so well, Mistress Nutter,&quot;
+remarked Nicholas&mdash;&quot;a mischievous and malignant old witch, who deserves
+the tar barrel. The only marvel is, that she has not been burned long
+ago. I am of opinion, with many others, that it was she who bewitched
+your poor husband, Richard Nutter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I do not think it,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter, with a mournful shake of
+the head. &quot;Alas, poor man! he died from hard riding, after hard
+drinking. That was the only witchcraft in his case. Be warned by his
+fate yourself, Nicholas.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hard riding after drinking was more likely to sober him than to kill
+him,&quot; rejoined the squire. &quot;But, as I said just now, I like not this
+Mother Demdike, nor her rival in iniquity, old Mother Chattox. The devil
+only knows which of the two is worst. But if the former hag did not
+bewitch your husband to death, as I shrewdly suspect, it is certain that
+the latter mumbling old miscreant killed my elder brother, Richard, by
+her sorceries.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Mother Chattox did you a good turn then, Nicholas,&quot; observed Mistress
+Nutter, &quot;in making you master of the fair estates of Downham.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;So far, perhaps, she might,&quot; rejoined Nicholas, &quot;but I do not like the
+manner of it, and would gladly see her burned; nay, I would fire the
+fagots myself.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are superstitious as the rest, Nicholas,&quot; said Mistress Nutter.
+&quot;For my part I do not believe in the existence of witches.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not believe in witches, with these two living proofs to the contrary!&quot;
+cried Nicholas, in amazement. &quot;Why, Pendle Forest swarms with witches.
+They burrow in the hill-side like rabbits in a warren. They are the
+terror of the whole country. No man's cattle, goods, nor even life, are
+safe from them; and the only reason why these two old hags, who hold
+sovereign sway over the others, have 'scaped justice so long, is because
+every one is afraid to go near them. Their solitary habitations are more
+strongly guarded than fortresses. Not believe in witches! Why I should
+as soon misdoubt the Holy Scriptures.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It may be because I reside near them that I have so little
+apprehension, or rather no apprehension at all,&quot; replied Mistress
+Nutter; &quot;but to me Mother Demdike and Mother Chattox appear two harmless
+old women.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;They're a couple of dangerous and damnable old hags, and deserve the
+stake,&quot; cried Nicholas, emphatically.</p>
+
+<p>All this discourse had been swallowed with greedy ears by the
+ever-vigilant Master Potts, who had approached the speakers unperceived;
+and he now threw in a word.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;So there are suspected witches in Pendle Forest, I find,&quot; he said. &quot;I
+shall make it my business to institute inquiries concerning them, when I
+visit the place to-morrow. Even if merely ill-reputed, they must be
+examined, and if found innocent cleared; if not, punished according to
+the statute. Our sovereign lord the king holdeth witches in especial
+abhorrence, and would gladly see all such noxious vermin extirpated from
+the land, and it will rejoice me to promote his laudable designs. I must
+pray you to afford me all the assistance you can in the discovery of
+these dreadful delinquents, good Master Nicholas, and I will care that
+your services are duly represented in the proper quarter. As I have just
+said, the king taketh singular interest in witchcraft, as you may judge
+if the learned tractate he hath put forth, in form of a dialogue,
+intituled &quot;<i>D&aelig;monologie</i>&quot; hath ever met your eye; and he is never so
+well pleased as when the truth of his tenets are proved by such secret
+offenders being brought to light, and duly punished.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The king's known superstitious dread of witches makes men seek them out
+to win his favour,&quot; observed Mistress Nutter. &quot;They have wonderfully
+increased since the publication of that baneful book!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not so, madam,&quot; replied Potts. &quot;Our sovereign lord the king hath a
+wholesome and just hatred of such evil-doers and traitors to himself and
+heaven, and it may be dread of them, as indeed all good men must have;
+but he would protect his subjects from them, and therefore, in the first
+year of his reign, which I trust will be long and prosperous, he hath
+passed a statute, whereby it is enacted 'that all persons invoking any
+evil spirit, or consulting, covenanting with, entertaining, employing,
+feeding, or rewarding any evil spirit; or taking up dead bodies from
+their graves to be used in any witchcraft, sorcery, charm, or
+enchantment; or killing or otherwise hurting any person by such infernal
+arts, shall be guilty of felony without benefit of clergy, and suffer
+death.' This statute, madam, was intended to check the crimes of
+necromancy, sorcery, and witchcraft, and not to increase them. And I
+maintain that it has checked them, and will continue to check them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is a wicked and bloody statute,&quot; observed Mrs. Nutter, in a deep
+tone, &quot;and many an innocent life will be sacrificed thereby.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How, madam!&quot; cried Master Potts, staring aghast. &quot;Do you mean to impugn
+the sagacity and justice of our high and mighty king, the head of the
+law, and defender of the faith?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I affirm that this is a sanguinary enactment,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter,
+&quot;and will put power into hands that will abuse it, and destroy many
+guiltless persons. It will make more witches than it will find.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Some are ready made, methinks,&quot; muttered Potts, &quot;and we need not go far
+to find them. You are a zealous advocate for witches, I must say,
+madam,&quot; he added aloud, &quot;and I shall not forget your arguments in their
+favour.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;To my prejudice, I doubt not,&quot; she rejoined, bitterly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, to the credit of your humanity,&quot; he answered, bowing, with
+pretended conviction.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, I will aid you in your search for witches, Master Potts,&quot;
+observed Nicholas; &quot;for I would gladly see the country rid of these
+pests. But I warn you the quest will be attended with risk, and you will
+get few to accompany you, for all the folk hereabouts are mortally
+afraid of these terrible old hags.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I fear nothing in the discharge of my duty,&quot; replied Master Potts,
+courageously, &quot;for as our high and mighty sovereign hath well and
+learnedly observed&mdash;'if witches be but apprehended and detained by any
+private person, upon other private respects, their power, no doubt,
+either in escaping, or in doing hurt, is no less than ever it was
+before. But if, on the other part, their apprehending and detention be
+by the lawful magistrate upon the just respect of their guiltiness in
+that craft, their power is then no greater than before that ever they
+meddled with their master. For where God begins justly to strike by his
+lawful lieutenants, it is not in the devil's power to defraud or bereave
+him of the office or effect of his powerful and revenging sceptre.' Thus
+I am safe; and I shall take care to go armed with a proper warrant,
+which I shall obtain from a magistrate, my honoured friend and singular
+good client, Master Roger Newell. This will obtain me such assistance as
+I may require, and for due observance of my authority. I shall likewise
+take with me a peace-officer, or constable.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You will do well, Master Potts,&quot; said Nicholas; &quot;still you must not
+put faith in all the idle tales told you, for the common folk hereabouts
+are blindly and foolishly superstitious, and fancy they discern
+witchcraft in every mischance, however slight, that befalls them. If ale
+turn sour after a thunder-storm, the witch hath done it; and if the
+butter cometh not quickly, she hindereth it. If the meat roast ill the
+witch hath turned the spit; and if the lumber pie taste ill she hath had
+a finger in it. If your sheep have the foot-rot&mdash;your horses the
+staggers or string-halt&mdash;your swine the measles&mdash;your hounds a
+surfeit&mdash;or your cow slippeth her calf&mdash;the witch is at the bottom of it
+all. If your maid hath a fit of the sullens, or doeth her work amiss, or
+your man breaketh a dish, the witch is in fault, and her shoulders can
+bear the blame. On this very day of the year&mdash;namely, May Day,&mdash;the
+foolish folk hold any aged crone who fetcheth fire to be a witch, and if
+they catch a hedge-hog among their cattle, they will instantly beat it
+to death with sticks, concluding it to be an old hag in that form come
+to dry up the milk of their kine.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;These are what Master Potts's royal authority would style 'mere old
+wives' trattles about the fire,'&quot; observed Mistress Nutter, scornfully.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Better be over-credulous than over-sceptical,&quot; replied Potts. &quot;Even at
+my lodging in Chancery Lane I have a horseshoe nailed against the door.
+One cannot be too cautious when one has to fight against the devil, or
+those in league with him. Your witch should be put to every ordeal. She
+should be scratched with pins to draw blood from her; weighed against
+the church bible, though this is not always proof; forced to weep, for a
+witch can only shed three tears, and those only from the left eye; or,
+as our sovereign lord the king truly observeth&mdash;no offence to you,
+Mistress Nutter&mdash;'Not so much as their eyes are able to shed tears,
+albeit the womenkind especially be able otherwise to shed tears at every
+light occasion when they will, yea, although it were dissemblingly like
+the crocodile;' and set on a stool for twenty-four hours, with her legs
+tied across, and suffered neither to eat, drink, nor sleep during the
+time. This is the surest Way to make her confess her guilt next to
+swimming. If it fails, then cast her with her thumbs and toes tied
+across into a pond, and if she sink not then is she certainly a witch.
+Other trials there are, as that by scalding water&mdash;sticking knives
+across&mdash;heating of the horseshoe&mdash;tying of knots&mdash;the sieve and the
+shears; but the only ordeals safely to be relied on, are the swimming
+and the stool before mentioned, and from these your witch shall rarely
+escape. Above all, be sure and search carefully for the witch-mark. I
+doubt not we shall find it fairly and legibly writ in the devil's
+characters on Mother Demdike and Mother Chattox. They shall undergo the
+stool and the pool, and other trials, if required. These old hags shall
+no longer vex you, good Master Nicholas. Leave them to me, and doubt
+not I will bring them to condign punishment.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You will do us good service then, Master Potts,&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;But
+since you are so learned in the matter of witchcraft, resolve me, I pray
+you, how it is, that women are so much more addicted to the practice of
+the black art than our own sex.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The answer to the inquiry hath been given by our British Solomon,&quot;
+replied Potts, &quot;and I will deliver it to you in his own words. 'The
+reason is easy,' he saith; 'for as that sex is frailer than man is, so
+it is easier to be entrapped in those gross snares of the devil, as was
+overwell proved to be true, by the serpent's deceiving of Eva at the
+beginning, which makes him the homelier with that sex sensine.'&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A good and sufficient reason, Master Potts,&quot; said Nicholas, laughing;
+&quot;is it not so, Mistress Nutter?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, marry, if it satisfies you,&quot; she answered, drily. &quot;It is of a piece
+with the rest of the reasoning of the royal pedant, whom Master Potts
+styles the British Solomon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I only give the learned monarch the title by which he is recognised
+throughout Christendom,&quot; rejoined Potts, sharply.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, there is comfort in the thought, that I shall never be taken for
+a wizard,&quot; said the squire.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Be not too sure of that, good Master Nicholas,&quot; returned Potts. &quot;Our
+present prince seems to have had you in his eye when he penned his
+description of a wizard, for, he saith, 'A great number of them that
+ever have been convict or confessors of witchcraft, as may be presently
+seen by many that have at this time confessed, are some of them rich and
+worldly-wise; some of them fat or corpulent in their bodies; and most
+part of them altogether given over to the pleasures of the flesh,
+continual haunting of company, and all kinds of merriness, lawful and
+unlawful.' This hitteth you exactly, Master Nicholas.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Zounds!&quot; exclaimed the squire, &quot;if this be exact, it toucheth me too
+nearly to be altogether agreeable.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The passage is truly quoted, Nicholas,&quot; observed Mistress Nutter, with
+a cold smile. &quot;I perfectly remember it. Master Potts seems to have the
+'D&aelig;monologie' at his fingers' ends.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have made it my study, madam,&quot; replied the lawyer, somewhat mollified
+by the remark, &quot;as I have the statute on witchcraft, and indeed most
+other statutes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We have wasted time enough in this unprofitable talk,&quot; said Mistress
+Nutter, abruptly quitting them without bestowing the slightest
+salutation on Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I was but jesting in what I said just now, good Master Nicholas,&quot;
+observed the little lawyer, nowise disconcerted at the slight &quot;though
+they were the king's exact words I quoted. No one would suspect you of
+being a wizard&mdash;ha!&mdash;ha! But I am resolved to prosecute the search, and
+I calculate upon your aid, and that of Master Richard Assheton, who goes
+with us.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You shall have mine, at all events, Master Potts,&quot; replied Nicholas;
+&quot;and I doubt not, my cousin Dick's, too.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Our May Queen, Alizon Device, is Mother Demdike's grand-daughter, is
+she not?&quot; asked Potts, after a moment's reflection.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, why do you ask?&quot; demanded Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;For a good and sufficing reason,&quot; replied Potts. &quot;She might be an
+important witness; for, as King James saith, 'bairns or wives may, of
+our law, serve for sufficient witnesses and proofs.' And he goeth on to
+say, 'For who but witches can be proofs, and so witnesses of the doings
+of witches?'&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You do not mean to aver that Alizon Device is a witch, sir?&quot; cried
+Nicholas, sharply.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I aver nothing,&quot; replied Potts; &quot;but, as a relative of a suspected
+witch, she will be the best witness against her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If you design to meddle with Alizon Device, expect no assistance from
+me, Master Potts,&quot; said Nicholas, sternly, &quot;but rather the contrary.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, I but threw out the hint, good Master Nicholas,&quot; replied Potts.
+&quot;Another witness will do equally well. There are other children, no
+doubt. I rely on you, sir&mdash;I rely on you. I shall now go in search of
+Master Nowell, and obtain the warrant and the constable.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And I shall go keep my appointment with Parson Dewhurst, at the Abbey,&quot;
+said Nicholas, bowing slightly to the attorney, and taking his
+departure.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It will not do to alarm him at present,&quot; said Potts, looking after him,
+&quot;but I'll have that girl as a witness, and I know how to terrify her
+into compliance. A singular woman, that Mistress Alice Nutter. I must
+inquire into her history. Odd, how obstinately she set her face against
+witchcraft. And yet she lives at Rough Lee, in the very heart of a witch
+district, for such Master Nicholas Assheton calls this Pendle Forest. I
+shouldn't wonder if she has dealings with the old hags she
+defends&mdash;Mother Demdike and Mother Chattox. Chattox! Lord bless us, what
+a name!&mdash;There's caldron and broomstick in the very sound! And Demdike
+is little better. Both seem of diabolical invention. If I can unearth a
+pack of witches, I shall gain much credit from my honourable good lords
+the judges of assize in these northern parts, besides pleasing the King
+himself, who is sure to hear of it, and reward my praiseworthy zeal.
+Look to yourself, Mistress Nutter, and take care you are not caught
+tripping. And now, for Master Roger Nowell.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>With this, he peered about among the crowd in search of the magistrate,
+but though he thrust his little turned-up nose in every direction, he
+could not find him, and therefore set out for the Abbey, concluding he
+had gone thither.</p>
+
+<p>As Mistress Nutter walked along, she perceived James Device among the
+crowd, holding Jennet by the hand, and motioned him to come to her. Jem
+instantly understood the sign, and quitting his little sister, drew
+near.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Tell thy mother,&quot; said Mistress Nutter, in a tone calculated only for
+his hearing, &quot;to come to me, at the Abbey, quickly and secretly. I shall
+be in the ruins of the old convent church. I have somewhat to say to
+her, that concerns herself as well as me. Thou wilt have to go to Rough
+Lee and Malkin Tower to-night.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Jem nodded, to show his perfect apprehension of what was said and his
+assent to it, and while Mistress Nutter moved on with a slow and
+dignified step, he returned to Jennet, and told her she must go home
+directly, a piece of intelligence which was not received very graciously
+by the little maiden; but nothing heeding her unwillingness, Jem walked
+her off quickly in the direction of the cottage; but while on the way to
+it, they accidentally encountered their mother, Elizabeth Device, and
+therefore stopped.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo mun go up to th' Abbey directly, mother,&quot; said Jem, with a wink,
+&quot;Mistress Nutter wishes to see ye. Yo'n find her i' t' ruins o' t' owd
+convent church. Tak kere yo're neaw seen. Yo onderstond.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh,&quot; replied Elizabeth, nodding her head significantly, &quot;ey'n go at
+wonst, an see efter Alizon ot t' same time. Fo ey'm towd hoo has
+fainted, an been ta'en to th' Abbey by Lady Assheton.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Never heed Alizon,&quot; replied Jem, gruffly. &quot;Hoo's i' good hands. Ye
+munna be seen, ey tell ye. Ey'm going to Malkin Tower to-neet, if yo'n
+owt to send.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;To-neet, Jem,&quot; echoed little Jennet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh,&quot; rejoined Jem, sharply. &quot;Howd te tongue, wench. Dunna lose time,
+mother.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as he and his little sister pursued their way to the cottage,
+Elizabeth hobbled off towards the Abbey, muttering, as she went, &quot;I hope
+Alizon an Mistress Nutter winna meet. Nah that it matters, boh still
+it's better not. Strange, the wench should ha' fainted. Boh she's always
+foolish an timmersome, an ey half fear has lost her heart to young
+Richard Assheton. Ey'n watch her narrowly, an if it turn out to be so,
+she mun be cured, or be secured&mdash;ha! ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And muttering in this way, she passed through the Abbey gateway, the
+wicket being left open, and proceeded towards the ruinous convent
+church, taking care as much as possible to avoid observation.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V_MOTHER_CHATTOX" id="CHAPTER_V_MOTHER_CHATTOX" />CHAPTER V.&mdash;MOTHER CHATTOX.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Not far from the green where the May-day revels were held, stood the
+ancient parish church of Whalley, its square tower surmounted with a
+flag-staff and banner, and shaking with the joyous peals of the ringers.
+A picturesque and beautiful structure it was, though full of
+architectural incongruities; and its grey walls and hoary buttresses,
+with the lancet-shaped windows of the choir, and the ramified tracery of
+the fine eastern window, could not fail to please any taste not quite so
+critical as to require absolute harmony and perfection in a building.
+Parts of the venerable fabric were older than the Abbey itself, dating
+back as far as the eleventh century, when a chapel occupied the site;
+and though many alterations had been made in the subsequent structure at
+various times, and many beauties destroyed, especially during the period
+of the Reformation, enough of its pristine character remained to render
+it a very good specimen of an old country church. Internally, the
+cylindrical columns of the north aisle, the construction of the choir,
+and the three stone seats supported on rounded columns near the altar,
+proclaimed its high antiquity. Within the choir were preserved the
+eighteen richly-carved stalls once occupying a similar position in the
+desecrated conventual church: and though exquisite in themselves, they
+seemed here sadly out of place, not being proportionate to the
+structure. Their elaborately-carved seats projected far into the body of
+the church, and their crocketed pinnacles shot up almost to the ceiling.
+But it was well they had not shared the destruction in which almost all
+the other ornaments of the magnificent fane they once decorated were
+involved. Carefully preserved, the black varnished oak well displayed
+the quaint and grotesque designs with which many of them&mdash;the Prior's
+stall in especial&mdash;were embellished. Chief among them was the abbot's
+stall, festooned with sculptured vine wreaths and clustering grapes, and
+bearing the auspicious inscription:</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Semper gaudentes sint ista sede sedentes:</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>singularly inapplicable, however, to the last prelate who filled it.
+Some fine old monuments, and warlike trophies of neighbouring wealthy
+families, adorned the walls, and within the nave was a magnificent pew,
+with a canopy and pillars of elaborately-carved oak, and lattice-work at
+the sides, allotted to the manor of Read, and recently erected by Roger
+Nowell; while in the north and south aisles were two small chapels,
+converted since the reformed faith had obtained, into pews&mdash;the one
+called Saint Mary's Cage, belonging to the Assheton family; and the
+other appertaining to the Catterals of Little Mitton, and designated
+Saint Nicholas's Cage. Under the last-named chapel were interred some
+of the Paslews of Wiswall, and here lay the last unfortunate Abbot of
+Whalley, between whoso grave, and the Assheton and Braddyll families, a
+fatal relation was supposed to subsist. Another large pew, allotted to
+the Towneleys, and designated Saint Anthony's Cage, was rendered
+remarkable, by a characteristic speech of Sir John Towneley, which gave
+much offence to the neighbouring dames. Called upon to decide as to the
+position of the sittings in the church, the discourteous knight made
+choice of Saint Anthony's Cage, already mentioned, declaring, &quot;My man,
+Shuttleworth of Hacking, made this form, and here will I sit when I
+come; and my cousin Nowell may make a seat behind me if he please, and
+my son Sherburne shall make one on the other side, and Master Catteral
+another behind him, and for the residue the use shall be, first come
+first speed, and that will make the proud wives of Whalley rise betimes
+to come to church.&quot; One can fancy the rough knight's chuckle, as he
+addressed these words to the old clerk, certain of their being quickly
+repeated to the &quot;proud wives&quot; in question.</p>
+
+<p>Within the churchyard grew two fine old yew-trees, now long since
+decayed and gone, but then spreading their dark-green arms over the
+little turf-covered graves. Reared against the buttresses of the church
+was an old stone coffin, together with a fragment of a curious
+monumental effigy, likewise of stone; but the most striking objects in
+the place, and deservedly ranked amongst the wonders of Whalley, were
+three remarkable obelisk-shaped crosses, set in a line upon pedestals,
+covered with singular devices in fretwork, and all three differing in
+size and design. Evidently of remotest antiquity, these crosses were
+traditionally assigned to Paullinus, who, according to the Venerable
+Bede, first preached the Gospel in these parts, in the early part of the
+seventh century; but other legends were attached to them by the vulgar,
+and dim mystery brooded over them.</p>
+
+<p>Vestiges of another people and another faith were likewise here
+discernible, for where the Saxon forefathers of the village prayed and
+slumbered in death, the Roman invaders of the isle had trodden, and
+perchance performed their religious rites; some traces of an encampment
+being found in the churchyard by the historian of the spot, while the
+north boundary of the hallowed precincts was formed by a deep foss, once
+encompassing the nigh-obliterated fortification. Besides these records
+of an elder people, there was another memento of bygone days and creeds,
+in a little hermitage and chapel adjoining it, founded in the reign of
+Edward III., by Henry, Duke of Lancaster, for the support of two
+recluses and a priest to say masses daily for him and his descendants;
+but this pious bequest being grievously abused in the subsequent reign
+of Henry VI., by Isole de Heton, a fair widow, who in the first
+transports of grief, vowing herself to heaven, took up her abode in the
+hermitage, and led a very disorderly life therein, to the great scandal
+of the Abbey, and the great prejudice of the morals of its brethren, and
+at last, tired even of the slight restraint imposed upon her, fled away
+&quot;contrary to her oath and profession, not willing, nor intending to be
+restored again;&quot; the hermitage was dissolved by the pious monarch, and
+masses ordered to be said daily in the parish church for the repose of
+the soul of the founder. Such was the legend attached to the little
+cell, and tradition went on to say that the anchoress broke her leg in
+crossing Whalley Nab, and limped ever afterwards; a just judgment on
+such a heinous offender. Both these little structures were picturesque
+objects, being overgrown with ivy and woodbine. The chapel was
+completely in ruins, while the cell, profaned by the misdoings of the
+dissolute votaress Isole, had been converted into a cage for vagrants
+and offenders, and made secure by a grated window, and a strong door
+studded with broad-headed nails.</p>
+
+<p>The view from the churchyard, embracing the vicarage-house, a
+comfortable residence, surrounded by a large walled-in garden, well
+stocked with fruit-trees, and sheltered by a fine grove of rook-haunted
+timber, extended on the one hand over the village, and on the other over
+the Abbey, and was bounded by the towering and well-wooded heights of
+Whalley Nab. On the side of the Abbey, the most conspicuous objects were
+the great north-eastern gateway, with the ruined conventual church. Ever
+beautiful, the view was especially so on the present occasion, from the
+animated scene combined with it; and the pleasant prospect was enjoyed
+by a large assemblage, who had adjourned thither to witness the
+concluding part of the festival.</p>
+
+<p>Within the green and flower-decked bowers which, as has before been
+mentioned, were erected in the churchyard, were seated Doctor Ormerod
+and Sir Ralph Assheton, with such of their respective guests as had not
+already retired, including Richard and Nicholas Assheton, both of whom
+had returned from the abbey; the former having been dismissed by Lady
+Assheton from further attendance upon Alizon, and the latter having
+concluded his discourse with Parson Dewhurst, who, indeed, accompanied
+him to the church, and was now placed between the Vicar and the Rector
+of Middleton. From this gentle elevation the gay company on the green
+could be fully discerned, the tall May-pole, with its garlands and
+ribands, forming a pivot, about which the throng ever revolved, while
+stationary amidst the moving masses, the rush-cart reared on high its
+broad green back, as if to resist the living waves constantly dashed
+against it. By-and-by a new kind of movement was perceptible, and it
+soon became evident that a procession was being formed. Immediately
+afterwards, the rush-cart was put in motion, and winded slowly along the
+narrow street leading to the church, preceded by the morris-dancers and
+the other May-day revellers, and followed by a great concourse of
+people, shouting, dancing, and singing.</p>
+
+<p>On came the crowd. The jingling of bells, and the sound of music grew
+louder and louder, and the procession, lost for awhile behind some
+intervening habitations, though the men bestriding the rush-cart could
+be discerned over their summits, burst suddenly into view; and the
+revellers entering the churchyard, drew up on either side of the little
+path leading to the porch, while the rush-cart coming up the next
+moment, stopped at the gate. Then four young maidens dressed in white,
+and having baskets in their hands, advanced and scattered flowers along
+the path; after which ladders were reared against the sides of the
+rush-cart, and the men, descending from their exalted position, bore the
+garlands to the church, preceded by the vicar and the two other divines,
+and followed by Robin Hood and his band, the morris-dancers, and a troop
+of little children singing a hymn. The next step was to unfasten the
+bundles of rushes, of which the cart was composed, and this was very
+quickly and skilfully performed, the utmost care being taken of the
+trinkets and valuables with which it was ornamented. These were gathered
+together in baskets and conveyed to the vestry, and there locked up.
+This done, the bundles of rushes were taken up by several old women, who
+strewed the aisles with them, and placed such as had been tied up as
+mats in the pews. At the same time, two casks of ale set near the gate,
+and given for the occasion by the vicar, were broached, and their
+foaming contents freely distributed among the dancers and the thirsty
+crowd. Very merry were they, as may be supposed, in consequence, but
+their mirth was happily kept within due limits of decorum.</p>
+
+<p>When the rush-cart was wellnigh unladen Richard Assheton entered the
+church, and greatly pleased with the effect of the flowery garlands with
+which the various pews were decorated, said as much to the vicar, who
+smilingly replied, that he was glad to find he approved of the practice,
+&quot;even though it might savour of superstition;&quot; and as the good doctor
+walked away, being called forth, the young man almost unconsciously
+turned into the chapel on the north aisle. Here he stood for a few
+moments gazing round the church, wrapt in pleasing meditation, in which
+many objects, somewhat foreign to the place and time, passed through his
+mind, when, chancing to look down, he saw a small funeral wreath, of
+mingled yew and cypress, lying at his feet, and a slight tremor passed
+over his frame, as he found he was standing on the ill-omened grave of
+Abbot Paslew. Before he could ask himself by whom this sad garland had
+been so deposited, Nicholas Assheton came up to him, and with a look of
+great uneasiness cried, &quot;Come away instantly, Dick. Do you know where
+you are standing?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;On the grave of the last Abbot of Whalley,&quot; replied Richard, smiling.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Have you forgotten the common saying,&quot; cried Nicholas&mdash;&quot;that the
+Assheton who stands on that unlucky grave shall die within the year?
+Come away at once.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is too late,&quot; replied Richard, &quot;I have incurred the fate, if such a
+fate be attached to the tomb; and as my moving away will not preserve
+me, so my tarrying here cannot injure me further. But I have no fear.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have more courage than I possess,&quot; rejoined Nicholas. &quot;I would not
+set foot on that accursed stone for half the county. Its malign
+influence on our house has been approved too often. The first to
+experience the fatal destiny were Richard Assheton and John Braddyll,
+the purchasers of the Abbey. Both met here together on the anniversary
+of the abbot's execution&mdash;some forty years after its occurrence, it is
+true, and when they were both pretty well stricken in years&mdash;and within
+that year, namely 1578, both died, and were buried in the vault on the
+opposite side of the church, not many paces from their old enemy. The
+last instance was my poor brother Richard, who, being incredulous as you
+are, was resolved to brave the destiny, and stationed himself upon the
+tomb during divine service, but he too died within the appointed time.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He was bewitched to death&mdash;so, at least, it is affirmed,&quot; said Richard
+Assheton, with a smile. &quot;But I believe in one evil influence just as
+much as in the other.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It matters not how the destiny be accomplished, so it come to pass,&quot;
+rejoined the squire, turning away. &quot;Heaven shield you from it!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Stay!&quot; said Richard, picking up the wreath. &quot;Who, think you, can have
+placed this funeral garland on the abbot's grave?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I cannot guess!&quot; cried Nicholas, staring at it in amazement&mdash;&quot;an enemy
+of ours, most likely. It is neither customary nor lawful in our
+Protestant country so to ornament graves. Put it down, Dick.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I shall not displace it, certainly,&quot; replied Richard, laying it down
+again; &quot;but I as little think it has been placed here by a hostile hand,
+as I do that harm will ensue to me from standing here. To relieve your
+anxiety, however, I will come forth,&quot; he added, stepping into the aisle.
+&quot;Why should an enemy deposit a garland on the abbot's tomb, since it was
+by mere chance that it hath met my eyes?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Mere chance!&quot; cried Nicholas; &quot;every thing is mere chance with you
+philosophers. There is more than chance in it. My mind misgives me
+strangely. That terrible old Abbot Paslew is as troublesome to us in
+death, as he was during life to our predecessor, Richard Assheton. Not
+content with making his tombstone a weapon of destruction to us, he
+pays the Abbey itself an occasional visit, and his appearance always
+betides some disaster to the family. I have never seen him myself, and
+trust I never shall; but other people have, and have been nigh scared
+out of their senses by the apparition.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Idle tales, the invention of overheated brains,&quot; rejoined Richard.
+&quot;Trust me, the abbot's rest will not be broken till the day when all
+shall rise from their tombs; though if ever the dead (supposing such a
+thing possible) could be justified in injuring and affrighting the
+living, it might be in his case, since he mainly owed his destruction to
+our ancestor. On the same principle it has been held that church-lands
+are unlucky to their lay possessors; but see how this superstitious
+notion has been disproved in our own family, to whom Whalley Abbey and
+its domains have brought wealth, power, and worldly happiness.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There is something in the notion, nevertheless,&quot; replied Nicholas; &quot;and
+though our case may, I hope, continue an exception to the rule, most
+grantees of ecclesiastical houses have found them a curse, and the time
+may come when the Abbey may prove so to our descendants. But, without
+discussing the point, there is one instance in which the malignant
+influence of the vindictive abbot has undoubtedly extended long after
+his death. You have heard, I suppose, that he pronounced a dreadful
+anathema upon the child of a man who had the reputation of being a
+wizard, and who afterwards acted as his executioner. I know not the
+whole particulars of the dark story, but I know that Paslew fixed a
+curse upon the child, declaring it should become a witch, and the mother
+of witches. And the prediction has been verified. Nigh eighty years have
+flown by since then, and the infant still lives&mdash;a fearful and
+mischievous witch&mdash;and all her family are similarly fated&mdash;all are
+witches.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I never heard the story before,&quot; said Richard, somewhat thoughtfully;
+&quot;but I guess to whom you allude&mdash;Mother Demdike of Pendle Forest, and
+her family.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Precisely,&quot; rejoined Nicholas; &quot;they are a brood of witches.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;In that case Alizon Device must be a witch,&quot; cried Richard; &quot;and I
+think you will hardly venture upon such an assertion after what you have
+seen of her to-day. If she be a witch, I would there were many such&mdash;as
+fair and gentle. And see you not how easily the matter is explained?
+'Give a dog an ill name and hang him'&mdash;a proverb with which you are
+familiar enough. So with Mother Demdike. Whether really uttered or not,
+the abbot's curse upon her and her issue has been bruited abroad, and
+hence she is made a witch, and her children are supposed to inherit the
+infamous taint. So it is with yon tomb. It is said to be dangerous to
+our family, and dangerous no doubt it is to those who believe in the
+saying, which, luckily, I do not. The prophecy works its own fulfilment.
+The absurdity and injustice of yielding to the opinion are manifest. No
+wrong can have been done the abbot by Mother Demdike, any more than by
+her children, and yet they are to be punished for the misdeeds of their
+predecessor.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, just as you and I, who are of the third and fourth generation, may
+be punished for the sins of our fathers,&quot; rejoined Nicholas. &quot;You have
+Scripture against you, Dick. The only thing I see in favour of your
+argument is, the instance you allege of Alizon. She does not look like a
+witch, certainly; but there is no saying. She may be only the more
+dangerous for her rare beauty, and apparent innocence!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I would answer for her truth with my life,&quot; cried Richard, quickly. &quot;It
+is impossible to look at her countenance, in which candour and purity
+shine forth, and doubt her goodness.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She hath cast her spells over you, Dick, that is certain,&quot; rejoined
+Nicholas, laughing; &quot;but to be serious. Alizon, I admit, is an exception
+to the rest of the family, but that only strengthens the general rule.
+Did you ever remark the strange look they all&mdash;save the fair maid in
+question&mdash;have about the eyes?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Richard answered in the negative.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is very singular, and I wonder you have not noticed it,&quot; pursued
+Nicholas; &quot;but the question of reputed witchcraft in Mother Demdike has
+some chance of being speedily settled; for Master Potts, the little
+London lawyer, who goes with us to Pendle Forest to-morrow, is about to
+have her arrested and examined before a magistrate.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Indeed!&quot; exclaimed Richard, &quot;this must be prevented.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why so?&quot; exclaimed Nicholas, in surprise.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Because the prejudice existing against her is sure to convict and
+destroy her,&quot; replied Richard. &quot;Her great age, infirmities, and poverty,
+will be proofs against her. How can she, or any old enfeebled creature
+like her, whose decrepitude and misery should move compassion rather
+than excite fear&mdash;how can such a person defend herself against charges
+easily made, and impossible to refute? I do not deny the possibility of
+witchcraft, even in our own days, though I think it of very unlikely
+occurrence; but I would determinately resist giving credit to any tales
+told by the superstitious vulgar, who, naturally prone to cruelty, have
+so many motives for revenging imaginary wrongs. It is placing a dreadful
+weapon in their hands, of which they have cunning enough to know the
+use, but neither mercy nor justice enough to restrain them from using
+it. Better let one guilty person escape, than many innocent perish. So
+many undefined charges have been brought against Mother Demdike, that at
+last they have fixed a stigma on her name, and made her an object of
+dread and suspicion. She is endowed with mysterious power, which would
+have no effect if not believed in; and now must be burned because she is
+called a witch, and is doting and vain enough to accept the title.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There is something in a witch difficult, nay, almost impossible to
+describe,&quot; said Nicholas, &quot;but you cannot be mistaken about her. By her
+general ill course of life, by repeated acts of mischief, and by
+threats, followed by the consequences menaced, she becomes known. There
+is much mystery in the matter, not permitted human knowledge entirely to
+penetrate; but, as we know from the Scriptures that the sin of
+witchcraft did exist, and as we have no evidence that it has ceased, so
+it is fair to conclude, that there may be practisers of the dark offence
+in our own days, and such I hold to be Mother Demdike and Mother
+Chattox. Rival potentates in evil, they contend which shall do most
+mischief, but it must be admitted the former bears away the bell.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If all the ill attributed to her were really caused by her
+machinations, this might be correct,&quot; replied Richard, &quot;but it only
+shows her to be more calumniated than the other. In a word, cousin
+Nicholas, I look upon them as two poor old creatures, who, persuaded
+they really possess the supernatural power accorded to them by the
+vulgar, strive to act up to their parts, and are mainly assisted in
+doing so by the credulity and fears of their audience.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Admitting the blind credulity of the multitude,&quot; said Nicholas, &quot;and
+their proneness to discern the hand of the witch in the most trifling
+accidents; admitting also, their readiness to accuse any old crone
+unlucky enough to offend them of sorcery; I still believe that there are
+actual practisers of the black art, who, for a brief term of power, have
+entered into a league with Satan, worship him and attend his sabbaths,
+and have a familiar, in the shape of a cat, dog, toad, or mole, to obey
+their behests, transform themselves into various shapes&mdash;as a hound,
+horse, or hare,&mdash;raise storms of wind or hail, maim cattle, bewitch and
+slay human beings, and ride whither they will on broomsticks. But,
+holding the contrary opinion, you will not, I apprehend, aid Master
+Potts in his quest of witches.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will not,&quot; rejoined Richard. &quot;On the contrary, I will oppose him. But
+enough of this. Let us go forth.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And they quitted the church together.</p>
+
+<p>As they issued into the churchyard, they found the principal arbours
+occupied by the morris-dancers, Robin Hood and his troop, Doctor Ormerod
+and Sir Ralph having retired to the vicarage-house.</p>
+
+<p>Many merry groups were scattered about, talking, laughing, and singing;
+but two persons, seemingly objects of suspicion and alarm, and shunned
+by every one who crossed their path, were advancing slowly towards the
+three crosses of Paullinus, which stood in a line, not far from the
+church-porch. They were females, one about five-and-twenty, very comely,
+and habited in smart holiday attire, put on with considerable rustic
+coquetry, so as to display a very neat foot and ankle, and with plenty
+of ribands in her fine chestnut hair. The other was a very different
+person, far advanced in years, bent almost double, palsy-stricken, her
+arms and limbs shaking, her head nodding, her chin wagging, her snowy
+locks hanging about her wrinkled visage, her brows and upper lip frore,
+and her eyes almost sightless, the pupils being cased with a thin white
+film. Her dress, of antiquated make and faded stuff, had been once deep
+red in colour, and her old black hat was high-crowned and broad-brimmed.
+She partly aided herself in walking with a crutch-handled stick, and
+partly leaned upon her younger companion for support.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why, there is one of the old women we have just been speaking
+of&mdash;Mother Chattox,&quot; said Richard, pointing them out, &quot;and with her, her
+grand-daughter, pretty Nan Redferne.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;So it is,&quot; cried Nicholas, &quot;what makes the old hag here, I marvel! I
+will go question her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>So saying, he strode quickly towards her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How now, Mother Chattox!&quot; he cried. &quot;What mischief is afoot? What makes
+the darkness-loving owl abroad in the glare of day? What brings the
+grisly she-wolf from her forest lair? Back to thy den, old witch! Ar't
+crazed, as well as blind and palsied, that thou knowest not that this is
+a merry-making, and not a devil's sabbath? Back to thy hut, I say! These
+sacred precincts are no place for thee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who is it speaks to me?&quot; demanded the old hag, halting, and fixing her
+glazed eyes upon him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;One thou hast much injured,&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;One into whose house
+thou hast brought quick-wasting sickness and death by thy infernal arts.
+One thou hast good reason to fear; for learn, to thy confusion, thou
+damned and murtherous witch, it is Nicholas, brother to thy victim,
+Richard Assheton of Downham, who speaks to thee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I know none I have reason to fear,&quot; replied Mother Chattox; &quot;especially
+thee, Nicholas Assheton. Thy brother was no victim of mine. Thou wert
+the gainer by his death, not I. Why should I slay him?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will tell thee why, old hag,&quot; cried Nicholas; &quot;he was inflamed by the
+beauty of thy grand-daughter Nancy here, and it was to please Tom
+Redferne, her sweetheart then, but her spouse since, that thou
+bewitchedst him to death.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That reason will not avail thee, Nicholas,&quot; rejoined Mother Chattox,
+with a derisive laugh. &quot;If I had any hand in his death, it was to serve
+and pleasure thee, and that all men shall know, if I am questioned on
+the subject&mdash;ha! ha! Take me to the crosses, Nance.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou shalt not 'scape thus, thou murtherous hag,&quot; cried Nicholas,
+furiously.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, let her go her way,&quot; said Richard, who had drawn near during the
+colloquy. &quot;No good will come of meddling with her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who's that?&quot; asked Mother Chattox, quickly.</p>
+
+<p class="figcenter"><a name="ILLUS_4" id="ILLUS_4" href="./images/illus04_lg.jpg"><img src="./images/illus04_sm.jpg"
+alt="Illustration: NAN REDFERNE AND MOTHER CHATTOX."
+title="NAN REDFERNE AND MOTHER CHATTOX." /></a></p>
+<p class="figcenter"><span class="smcap">Nan Redferne and Mother Chattox.</span></p>
+
+<p>&quot;Master Richard Assheton, o' Middleton,&quot; whispered Nan Redferne.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Another of these accursed Asshetons,&quot; cried Mother Chattox. &quot;A plague
+seize them!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Boh he's weel-favourt an kindly,&quot; remarked her grand-daughter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well-favoured or not, kindly or cruel, I hate them all,&quot; cried Mother
+Chattox. &quot;To the crosses, I say!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But Nicholas placed himself in their path.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Is it to pray to Beelzebub, thy master, that thou wouldst go to the
+crosses?&quot; he asked.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Out of my way, pestilent fool!&quot; cried the hag.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou shalt not stir till I have had an answer,&quot; rejoined Nicholas.
+&quot;They say those are Runic obelisks, and not Christian crosses, and that
+the carvings upon them have a magical signification. The first, it is
+averred, is written o'er with deadly curses, and the forms in which they
+are traced, as serpentine, triangular, or round, indicate and rule their
+swift or slow effect. The second bears charms against diseases, storms,
+and lightning. And on the third is inscribed a verse which will render
+him who can read it rightly, invisible to mortal view. Thou shouldst be
+learned in such lore, old Pythoness. Is it so?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The hag's chin wagged fearfully, and her frame trembled with passion,
+but she spoke not.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Have you been in the church, old woman?&quot; interposed Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, wherefore?&quot; she rejoined.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Some one has placed a cypress wreath on Abbot Paslew's grave. Was it
+you?&quot; he asked.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What! hast thou found it?&quot; cried the hag. &quot;It shall bring thee rare
+luck, lad&mdash;rare luck. Now let me pass.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not yet,&quot; cried Nicholas, forcibly grasping her withered arm.</p>
+
+<p>The hag uttered a scream of rage.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Let me go, Nicholas Assheton,&quot; she shrieked, &quot;or thou shalt rue it.
+Cramps and aches shall wring and rack thy flesh and bones; fever shall
+consume thee; ague shake thee&mdash;shake thee&mdash;ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And Nicholas recoiled, appalled by her fearful gestures.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You carry your malignity too far, old woman,&quot; said Richard severely.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And thou darest tell me so,&quot; cried the hag. &quot;Set me before him, Nance,
+that I may curse him,&quot; she added, raising her palsied arm.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nah, nah&mdash;yo'n cursed ower much already, grandmother,&quot; cried Nan
+Redferne, endeavouring to drag her away. But the old woman resisted.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will teach him to cross my path,&quot; she vociferated, in accents shrill
+and jarring as the cry of the goat-sucker.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Handsome he is, it may be, now, but he shall not be so long. The bloom
+shall fade from his cheek, the fire be extinguished in his eyes, the
+strength depart from his limbs. Sorrow shall be her portion who loves
+him&mdash;sorrow and shame!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Horrible!&quot; exclaimed Richard, endeavouring to exclude the voice of the
+crone, which pierced his ears like some sharp instrument.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha! ha! you fear me now,&quot; she cried. &quot;By this, and this, the spell
+shall work,&quot; she added, describing a circle in the air with her stick,
+then crossing it twice, and finally scattering over him a handful of
+grave dust, snatched from an adjoining hillock.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Now lead me quickly to the smaller cross, Nance,&quot; she added, in a low
+tone.</p>
+
+<p>Her grand-daughter complied, with a glance of deep commiseration at
+Richard, who remained stupefied at the ominous proceeding.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah! this must indeed be a witch!&quot; he cried, recovering from the
+momentary shock.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;So you are convinced at last,&quot; rejoined Nicholas. &quot;I can take breath
+now the old hell-cat is gone. But she shall not escape us. Keep an eye
+upon her, while I see if Simon Sparshot, the beadle, be within the
+churchyard, and if so he shall take her into custody, and lock her in
+the cage.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>With this, he ran towards the throng, shouting lustily for the beadle.
+Presently a big, burly fellow, in a scarlet doublet, laced with gold, a
+black velvet cap trimmed with red ribands, yellow hose, and shoes with
+great roses in them, and bearing a long silver-headed staff, answered
+the summons, and upon being told why his services were required,
+immediately roared out at the top of a stentorian voice, &quot;A witch,
+lads!&mdash;a witch!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>All was astir in an instant. Robin Hood and his merry men, with the
+morris-dancers, rushed out of their bowers, and the whole churchyard was
+in agitation. Above the din was heard the loud voice of Simon Sparshot,
+still shouting, &quot;A witch!&mdash;witch!&mdash;Mother Chattox!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Where&mdash;where?&quot; demanded several voices.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yonder,&quot; replied Nicholas, pointing to the further cross.</p>
+
+<p>A general movement took place in that direction, the crowd being headed
+by the squire and the beadle, but when they came up, they found only Nan
+Redferne standing behind the obelisk.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Where the devil is the old witch gone, Dick?&quot; cried Nicholas, in
+dismay.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I thought I saw her standing there with her grand-daughter,&quot; replied
+Richard; &quot;but in truth I did not watch very closely.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Search for her&mdash;search for her,&quot; cried Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>But neither behind the crosses, nor behind any monument, nor in any hole
+or corner, nor on the other side of the churchyard wall, nor at the
+back of the little hermitage or chapel, though all were quickly
+examined, could the old hag be found.</p>
+
+<p>On being questioned, Nan Redferne refused to say aught concerning her
+grandmother's flight or place of concealment.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I begin to think there is some truth in that strange legend of the
+cross,&quot; said Nicholas. &quot;Notwithstanding her blindness, the old hag must
+have managed to read the magic verse upon it, and so have rendered
+herself invisible. But we have got the young witch safe.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh, squoire!&quot; responded Sparshot, who had seized hold of Nance&mdash;&quot;hoo
+be safe enough.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nan Redferne is no witch,&quot; said Richard Assheton, authoritatively.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neaw witch, Mester Ruchot!&quot; cried the beadle in amazement.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No more than any of these lasses around us,&quot; said Richard. &quot;Release
+her, Sparshot.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I forbid him to do so, till she has been examined,&quot; cried a sharp
+voice. And the next moment Master Potts was seen pushing his way through
+the crowd. &quot;So you have found a witch, my masters. I heard your shouts,
+and hurried on as fast as I could. Just in time, Master Nicholas&mdash;just
+in time,&quot; he added, rubbing his hands gleefully.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Lemme go, Simon,&quot; besought Nance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neaw, neaw, lass, that munnot be,&quot; rejoined Sparshot.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Help&mdash;save me, Master Richard!&quot; cried the young woman.</p>
+
+<p>By this time the crowd had gathered round her, yelling, hooting, and
+shaking their hands at her, as if about to tear her in pieces; but
+Richard Assheton planted himself resolutely before her, and pushed back
+the foremost of them.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Remove her instantly to the Abbey, Sparshot,&quot; he cried, &quot;and let her be
+kept in safe custody till Sir Ralph has time to examine her. Will that
+content you, masters?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neaw&mdash;neaw,&quot; responded several rough voices; &quot;swim her!&mdash;swim her!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Quite right, my worthy friends, quite right,&quot; said Potts. &quot;<i>Primo</i>, let
+us make sure she is a witch&mdash;<i>secundo</i>, let us take her to the Abbey.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There can be no doubt as to her being a witch, Master Potts,&quot; rejoined
+Nicholas; &quot;her old grand-dame, Mother Chattox, has just vanished from
+our sight.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Has Mother Chattox been here?&quot; cried Potts, opening his round eyes to
+their widest extent.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not many minutes since,&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;In fact, she may be here
+still for aught I know.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Here!&mdash;where?&quot; cried Potts, looking round.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You won't discover her for all your quickness,&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;She
+has rendered herself invisible, by reciting the magical verses inscribed
+on that cross.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Indeed!&quot; exclaimed the attorney, closely examining the mysterious
+inscriptions. &quot;What strange, uncouth characters! I can make neither head
+nor tail, unless it be the devil's tail, of them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>At this moment a whoop was raised by Jem Device, who, having taken his
+little sister home, had returned to the sports on the green, and now
+formed part of the assemblage in the churchyard. Between the rival witch
+potentates, Mothers Demdike and Chattox, it has already been said a
+deadly enmity existed, and the feud was carried on with equal animosity
+by their descendants; and though Jem himself came under the same
+suspicion as Nan Redferne, that circumstance created no tie of interest
+between them, but the contrary, and he was the most active of her
+assailants. He had set up the above-mentioned cry from observing a large
+rat running along the side of the wall.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Theere hoo goes,&quot; whooped Jem, &quot;t'owd witch, i' th' shape ov a
+rotten!&mdash;loo-loo-loo!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Half the crowd started in pursuit of the animal, and twenty sticks were
+thrown at it, but a stone cast by Jem stayed its progress, and it was
+instantly despatched. It did not change, however, as was expected by the
+credulous hinds, into an old woman, and they gave vent to their
+disappointment and rage in renewed threats against Nan Redferne. The
+dead rat was hurled at her by Jem, but missing its mark, it hit Master
+Potts on the head, and nearly knocked him off the cross, upon which he
+had mounted to obtain a better view of the proceedings. Irritated by
+this circumstance, as well as by the failure of the experiment, the
+little attorney jumped down and fell to kicking the unfortunate rat,
+after which, his fury being somewhat appeased, he turned to Nance, who
+had sunk for support against the pedestal, and said to her&mdash;&quot;If you will
+tell us what has become of the old witch your grandmother, and undertake
+to bear witness against her, you shall be set free.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'n tell ye nowt, mon,&quot; replied Nance, doggedly. &quot;Put me to onny trial
+ye like, ye shanna get a word fro me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That remains to be seen,&quot; retorted Potts, &quot;but I apprehend we shall
+make you speak, and pretty plainly too, before we've done with you.&mdash;You
+hear what this perverse and wrong-headed young witch declares, masters,&quot;
+he shouted, again clambering upon the cross. &quot;I have offered her
+liberty, on condition of disclosing to us the manner of her diabolical
+old relative's evasion, and she rejects it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>An angry roar followed, mixed with cries from Jem Device, of &quot;swim
+her!&mdash;swim her!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You had better tell them what you know, Nance,&quot; said Richard, in a low
+tone, &quot;or I shall have difficulty in preserving you from their fury.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey darena, Master Richard,&quot; she replied, shaking her head; and then she
+added firmly, &quot;Ey winna.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Finding it useless to reason with her, and fearing also that the
+infuriated crowd might attempt to put their threats into execution,
+Richard turned to his cousin Nicholas, and said: &quot;We must get her away,
+or violence will be done.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She does not deserve your compassion, Dick,&quot; replied Nicholas; &quot;she is
+only a few degrees better than the old hag who has escaped. Sparshot
+here tells me she is noted for her skill in modelling clay figures.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh, that hoo be,&quot; replied the broad-faced beadle; &quot;hoo's
+unaccountable cliver ot that sort o' wark. A clay figger os big os a six
+months' barn, fashiont i' th' likeness o' Farmer Grimble o' Briercliffe
+lawnd, os died last month, war seen i' her cottage, an monny others
+besoide. Amongst 'em a moddle o' your lamented brother, Squoire Ruchot
+Assheton o' Downham, wi' t' yeod pood off, and th' 'eart pieret thro'
+an' thro' wi' pins and needles.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ye lien i' your teeth, Simon Sparshot!&quot; cried Nance; regarding him
+furiously.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If the head were off, Simon, I don't see how the likeness to my poor
+brother could well be recognised,&quot; said Nicholas, with a half smile.
+&quot;But let her be put to some mild trial&mdash;weighed against the church
+Bible.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Be it so,&quot; replied Potts, jumping down; &quot;but if that fail, we must have
+recourse to stronger measures. Take notice that, with all her fright,
+she has not been able to shed a tear, not a single tear&mdash;a clear
+witch&mdash;a clear witch!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'd scorn to weep fo t' like o' yo!&quot; cried Nance, disdainfully, having
+now completely recovered her natural audacity.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We'll soon break your spirit, young woman, I can promise you,&quot; rejoined
+Potts.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as it was known what was about to occur, the whole crowd moved
+towards the church porch, Nan Redferne walking between Richard Assheton
+and the beadle, who kept hold of her arm to prevent any attempt at
+escape; and by the time they reached the appointed place, Ben Baggiley,
+the baker, who had been despatched for the purpose, appeared with an
+enormous pair of wooden scales, while Sampson Harrop, the clerk, having
+visited the pulpit, came forth with the church Bible, an immense volume,
+bound in black, with great silver clasps.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Come, that's a good big Bible at all events,&quot; cried Potts, eyeing it
+with satisfaction. &quot;It looks like my honourable and singular good Lord
+Chief-Justice Sir Edward Coke's learned 'Institutes of the Laws of
+England,' only that that great legal tome is generally bound in
+calf&mdash;law calf, as we say.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Large as the book is, it will scarce prove heavy enough to weigh down
+the witch, I opine,&quot; observed Nicholas, with a smile.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We shall see, sir,&quot; replied Potts. &quot;We shall see.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>By this time, the scales having been affixed to a hook in the porch by
+Baggiley, the sacred volume was placed on one side, and Nance set down
+by the beadle on the other. The result of the experiment was precisely
+what might have been anticipated&mdash;the moment the young woman took her
+place in the balance, it sank down to the ground, while the other kicked
+the beam.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I hope you are satisfied now, Master Potts,&quot; cried Richard Assheton.
+&quot;By your own trial her innocence is approved.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your pardon, Master Richard, this is Squire Nicholas's trial, not
+mine,&quot; replied Potts. &quot;I am for the ordeal of swimming. How say you,
+masters! Shall we be content with this doubtful experiment?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neaw&mdash;neaw,&quot; responded Jem Device, who acted as spokesman to the crowd,
+&quot;swim her&mdash;swim her!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I knew you would have it so,&quot; said Potts, approvingly. &quot;Where is a
+fitting place for the trial?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Th' Abbey pool is nah fur off,&quot; replied Jem, &quot;or ye con tay her to th'
+Calder.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The river, by all means&mdash;nothing like a running stream,&quot; said Potts.
+&quot;Let cords be procured to bind her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Run fo 'em quickly, Ben,&quot; said Jem to Baggiley, who was very zealous in
+the cause.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh!&quot; groaned Nance, again losing courage, and glancing piteously at
+Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No outrage like this shall be perpetrated,&quot; cried the young man,
+firmly; &quot;I call upon you, cousin Nicholas, to help me. Go into the
+church,&quot; he added, thrusting Nance backward, and presenting his sword at
+the breast of Jem Device, who attempted to follow her, and who retired
+muttering threats and curses; &quot;I will run the first man through the body
+who attempts to pass.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As Nan Redferne made good her retreat, and shut the church-door after
+her, Master Potts, pale with rage, cried out to Richard, &quot;You have aided
+the escape of a desperate and notorious offender&mdash;actually in custody,
+sir, and have rendered yourself liable to indictment for it, sir, with
+consequences of fine and imprisonment, sir:&mdash;heavy fine and long
+imprisonment, sir. Do you mark me, Master Richard?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will answer the consequences of my act to those empowered to question
+it, sir,&quot; replied Richard, sternly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, sir, I have given you notice,&quot; rejoined Potts, &quot;due notice. We
+shall hear what Sir Ralph will say to the matter, and Master Roger
+Nowell, and&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You forget me, good Master Potts,&quot; interrupted Nicholas, laughingly; &quot;I
+entirely disapprove of it. It is a most flagrant breach of duty.
+Nevertheless, I am glad the poor wench has got off.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She is safe within the church,&quot; said Potts, &quot;and I command Master
+Richard, in the king's name, to let us pass. Beadle! Sharpshot,
+Sparshot, or whatever be your confounded name do your duty, sirrah.
+Enter the church, and bring forth the witch.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey darna, mester,&quot; replied Simon; &quot;young mester Ruchot ud slit mey
+weasand os soon os look ot meh.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Richard put an end to further altercation, by stepping back quickly,
+locking the door, and then taking out the key, and putting it into his
+pocket.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She is quite safe now,&quot; he cried, with a smile at the discomfited
+lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Is there no other door?&quot; inquired Potts of the beadle, in a low tone.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh, theere be one ot t'other soide,&quot; replied Sparshot, &quot;boh it be
+locked, ey reckon, an maybe hoo'n getten out that way.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Quick, quick, and let's see,&quot; cried Potts; &quot;justice must not be
+thwarted in this shameful manner.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>While the greater part of the crowd set off after Potts and the beadle,
+Richard Assheton, anxious to know what had become of the fugitive, and
+determined not to abandon her while any danger existed, unlocked the
+church-door, and entered the holy structure, followed by Nicholas. On
+looking around, Nance was nowhere to be seen, neither did she answer to
+his repeated calls, and Richard concluded she must have escaped, when
+all at once a loud exulting shout was heard without, leaving no doubt
+that the poor young woman had again fallen into the hands of her
+captors. The next moment a sharp, piercing scream in a female key
+confirmed the supposition. On hearing this cry, Richard instantly flew
+to the opposite door, through which Nance must have passed, but on
+trying it he found it fastened outside; and filled with sudden
+misgiving, for he now recollected leaving the key in the other door, he
+called to Nicholas to come with him, and hurried back to it. His
+apprehensions were verified; the door was locked. At first Nicholas was
+inclined to laugh at the trick played them; but a single look from
+Richard checked his tendency to merriment, and he followed his young
+relative, who had sprung to a window looking upon that part of the
+churchyard whence the shouts came, and flung it open. Richard's egress,
+however, was prevented by an iron bar, and he called out loudly and
+fiercely to the beadle, whom he saw standing in the midst of the crowd,
+to unlock the door.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Have a little patience, good Master Richard,&quot; replied Potts, turning up
+his provoking little visage, now charged with triumphant malice. &quot;You
+shall come out presently. We are busy just now&mdash;engaged in binding the
+witch, as you see. Both keys are safely in my pocket, and I will send
+you one of them when we start for the river, good Master Richard. We
+lawyers are not to be overreached you see&mdash;ha! ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You shall repent this conduct when I do get out,&quot; cried Richard,
+furiously. &quot;Sparshot, I command you to bring the key instantly.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But, encouraged by the attorney, the beadle affected not to hear
+Richard's angry vociferations, and the others were unable to aid the
+young man, if they had been so disposed, and all were too much
+interested in what was going forward to run off to the vicarage, and
+acquaint Sir Ralph with the circumstances in which his relatives were
+placed, even though enjoined to do so.</p>
+
+<p>On being set free by Richard, Nance had flown quickly through the
+church, and passed out at the side door, and was making good her retreat
+at the back of the edifice, when her flying figure was descried by Jem
+Device, who, failing in his first attempt, had run round that way,
+fancying he should catch her.</p>
+
+<p>He instantly dashed after her with all the fury of a bloodhound, and,
+being possessed of remarkable activity, speedily overtook her, and,
+heedless of her threats and entreaties, secured her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Lemme go, Jem,&quot; she cried, &quot;an ey win do thee a good turn one o' these
+days, when theaw may chonce to be i' th' same strait os me.&quot; But seeing
+him inexorable, she added, &quot;My granddame shan rack thy boans sorely,
+lad, for this.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Jem replied by a coarse laugh of defiance, and, dragging her along,
+delivered her to Master Potts and the beadle, who were then hurrying to
+the other door of the church. To prevent interruption, the cunning
+attorney, having ascertained that the two Asshetons were inside,
+instantly gave orders to have both doors locked, and the injunctions
+being promptly obeyed, he took possession of the keys himself, chuckling
+at the success of the stratagem. &quot;A fair reprisal,&quot; he muttered; &quot;this
+young milksop shall find he is no match for a skilful lawyer like me.
+Now, the cords&mdash;the cords!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>It was at the sight of the bonds, which were quickly brought by
+Baggiley, that Nance uttered the piercing cry that had roused Richard's
+indignation. Feeling secure of his prisoner, and now no longer
+apprehensive of interruption, Master Potts was in no hurry to conclude
+the arrangements, but rather prolonged them to exasperate Richard.
+Little consideration was shown the unfortunate captive. The new shoes
+and stockings of which she had been so vain a short time before, were
+torn from her feet and limbs by the rude hands of the remorseless Jem
+and the beadle, and bent down by the main force of these two strong men,
+her thumbs and great toes were tightly bound together, crosswise, by the
+cords. The churchyard rang with her shrieks, and, with his blood boiling
+with indignation at the sight, Richard redoubled his exertions to burst
+through the window and fly to her assistance. But though Nicholas now
+lent his powerful aid to the task, their combined efforts to obtain
+liberation were unavailing; and with rage almost amounting to frenzy,
+Richard beheld the poor young woman borne shrieking away by her captors.
+Nor was Nicholas much less incensed, and he swore a deep oath when he
+did get at liberty that Master Potts should pay dearly for his rascally
+conduct.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI_THE_ORDEAL_BY_SWIMMING" id="CHAPTER_VI_THE_ORDEAL_BY_SWIMMING" />CHAPTER VI.&mdash;THE ORDEAL BY SWIMMING.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Bound hand and foot in the painful posture before described, roughly and
+insolently handled on all sides, in peril of her life from the frightful
+ordeal to which she was about to be subjected, the miserable captive was
+borne along on the shoulders of Jem Device and Sparshot, her long, fine
+chestnut hair trailing upon the ground, her white shoulders exposed to
+the insolent gaze of the crowd, and her trim holiday attire torn to rags
+by the rough treatment she had experienced. Nance Redferne, it has been
+said, was a very comely young woman; but neither her beauty, her youth,
+nor her sex, had any effect upon the ferocious crowd, who were too much
+accustomed to such brutal and debasing exhibitions, to feel any thing
+but savage delight in the spectacle of a fellow-creature so scandalously
+treated and tormented, and the only excuse to be offered for their
+barbarity, is the firm belief they entertained that they were dealing
+with a witch. And when even in our own day so many revolting scenes are
+enacted to gratify the brutal passions of the mob, while prize-fights
+are tolerated, and wretched animals goaded on to tear each other in
+pieces, it is not to be wondered at that, in times of less enlightenment
+and refinement, greater cruelties should be practised. Indeed, it may be
+well to consider how far we have really advanced in civilisation since
+then; for until cruelty, whether to man or beast, be wholly banished
+from our sports, we cannot justly reproach our ancestors, or
+congratulate ourselves on our improvement.</p>
+
+<p>Nance's cries of distress were only answered by jeers, and renewed
+insults, and wearied out at length, the poor creature ceased struggling
+and shrieking, the dogged resolution she had before exhibited again
+coming to her aid.</p>
+
+<p>But her fortitude was to be yet more severely tested. Revealed by the
+disorder of her habiliments, and contrasting strongly with the extreme
+whiteness of her skin, a dun-coloured mole was discovered upon her
+breast. It was pointed out to Potts by Jem Device, who declared it to be
+a witch-mark, and the spot where her familiar drained her blood.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This is one of the 'good helps' to the discovery of a witch, pointed
+out by our sovereign lord the king,&quot; said the attorney, narrowly
+examining the spot. &quot;'The one,' saith our wise prince, 'is the finding
+of their mark, and the trying the insensibleness thereof. The other is
+their fleeting on the water.' The water-ordeal will come presently, but
+the insensibility of the mark might be at once attested.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh, that con soon be tried,&quot; cried Jem, with a savage laugh.</p>
+
+<p>And taking a pin from his sleeve, the ruffian plunged it deeply into the
+poor creature's flesh. Nance winced, but she set her teeth hardly, and
+repressed the cry that must otherwise have been wrung from her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A clear witch!&quot; cried Jem, drawing forth the pin; &quot;not a drop o' blood
+flows, an hoo feels nowt!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Feel nowt?&quot; rejoined Nance, between her ground teeth. &quot;May ye ha a pang
+os sharp i' your cancart eart, ye villain.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>After this barbarous test, the crowd, confirmed by it in their notions
+of Nan's guiltiness, hurried on, their numbers increasing as they
+proceeded along the main street of the village leading towards the
+river; all the villagers left at home rushing forth on hearing a witch
+was about to be swum, and when they came within a bow-shot of the
+stream, Sparshot called to Baggiley to lay hold of Nance, while he
+himself, accompanied by several of the crowd, ran over the bridge, the
+part he had to enact requiring him to be on the other side of the water.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime, the main party turned down a little footpath protected by a
+gate on the left, which led between garden hedges to the grassy banks of
+the Calder, and in taking this course they passed by the cottage of
+Elizabeth Device. Hearing the shouts of the rabble, little Jennet, who
+had been in no very happy frame of mind since she had been brought home,
+came forth, and seeing her brother, called out to him, in her usual
+sharp tones, &quot;What's the matter, Jem? Who han ye gotten there?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A witch,&quot; replied Jem, gruffly. &quot;Nance Redferne, Mother Chattox's
+grand-daughter. Come an see her swum i' th' Calder.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Jennet readily complied, for her curiosity was aroused, and she shared
+in the family feelings of dislike to Mother Chattox and her descendants.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Is this Nance Redferne?&quot; she cried, keeping close to her brother, &quot;Ey'm
+glad yo'n caught her at last. How dun ye find yersel, Nance?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ill at ease, Jennet,&quot; replied Nance, with a bitter look; &quot;boh it ill
+becomes ye to jeer me, lass, seein' yo're a born witch yoursel.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Aha!&quot; cried Potts, looking at the little girl, &quot;So this is a born
+witch&mdash;eh, Nance?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A born an' bred witch,&quot; rejoined Nance; &quot;jist as her brother Jem here
+is a wizard. They're the gran-childer o' Mother Demdike o' Pendle, the
+greatest witch i' these parts, an childer o' Bess Device, who's nah much
+better. Ask me to witness agen 'em, that's aw.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Howd thy tongue, woman, or ey'n drown thee,&quot; muttered Jem, in a tone of
+deep menace.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ye canna, mon, if ey'm the witch ye ca' me,&quot; rejoined Nance. &quot;Jennet's
+turn'll come os weel os mine, one o' these days. Mark my words.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Efore that ey shan see ye burned, ye faggot,&quot; cried Jennet, almost
+fiercely.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ye'n gotten the fiend's mark o' your sleeve,&quot; cried Nance. &quot;Ey see it
+written i' letters ov blood.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That's where our cat scratted me,&quot; replied Jennet, hiding her arm
+quickly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Good!&mdash;very good!&quot; observed Potts, rubbing his hands. &quot;'Who but witches
+can be proof against witches?' saith our sagacious sovereign. I shall
+make something of this girl. She seems a remarkably quick
+child&mdash;remarkably quick&mdash;ha, ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>By this time, the party having gained the broad flat mead through which
+the Calder flowed, took their way quickly towards its banks, the spot
+selected for the ordeal lying about fifty yards above the weir, where
+the current, ordinarily rapid, was checked by the dam, offering a smooth
+surface, with considerable depth of water. If soft natural beauties
+could have subdued the hearts of those engaged in this cruel and wicked
+experiment, never was scene better calculated for the purpose than that
+under contemplation. Through a lovely green valley meandered the Calder,
+now winding round some verdant knoll, now washing the base of lofty
+heights feathered with timber to their very summits, now lost amid thick
+woods, and only discernible at intervals by a glimmer amongst the trees.
+Immediately in front of the assemblage rose Whalley Nab, its steep sides
+and brow partially covered with timber, with green patches in the
+uplands where sheep and cattle fed. Just below the spot where the crowd
+were collected, the stream, here of some width, passed over the weir,
+and swept in a foaming cascade over the huge stones supporting the dam,
+giving the rushing current the semblance and almost the beauty of a
+natural waterfall. Below this the stream ran brawling on in a wider, but
+shallower channel, making pleasant music as it went, and leaving many
+dry beds of sand and gravel in the midst; while a hundred yards lower
+down, it was crossed by the arches of the bridge. Further still, a row
+of tall cypresses lined the bank of the river, and screened that part of
+the Abbey, converted into a residence by the Asshetons; and after this
+came the ruins of the refectory, the cloisters, the dormitory, the
+conventual church, and other parts of the venerable structure,
+overshadowed by noble lime-trees and elms. Lovelier or more peaceful
+scene could not be imagined. The green meads, the bright clear stream,
+with its white foaming weir, the woody heights reflected in the glassy
+waters, the picturesque old bridge, and the dark grey ruins beyond it,
+all might have engaged the attention and melted the heart. Then the
+hour, when evening was coming on, and when each beautiful object,
+deriving new beauty from the medium through which it was viewed,
+exercised a softening influence, and awakened kindly emotions. To most
+the scene was familiar, and therefore could have no charm of novelty. To
+Potts, however, it was altogether new; but he was susceptible of few
+gentle impressions, and neither the tender beauty of the evening, nor
+the wooing loveliness of the spot, awakened any responsive emotion in
+his breast. He was dead to every thing except the ruthless experiment
+about to be made.</p>
+
+<p>Almost at the same time that Jem Device and his party reached the near
+bank of the stream, the beadle and the others appeared on the opposite
+side. Little was said, but instant preparations were made for the
+ordeal. Two long coils of rope having been brought by Baggiley, one of
+them was made fast to the right arm of the victim, and the other to the
+left; and this done, Jem Device, shouting to Sparshot to look out, flung
+one coil of rope across the river, where it was caught with much
+dexterity by the beadle. The assemblage then spread out on the bank,
+while Jem, taking the poor young woman in his arms, who neither spoke
+nor struggled, but held her breath tightly, approached the river.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Dunna drown her, Jem,&quot; said Jennet, who had turned very pale.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Be quiet, wench,&quot; rejoined Jem, gruffly.</p>
+
+<p>And without bestowing further attention upon her, he let down his burden
+carefully into the water; and this achieved, he called out to the
+beadle, who drew her slowly towards him, while Jem guided her with the
+other rope.</p>
+
+<p>The crowd watched the experiment for a few moments in profound silence,
+but as the poor young woman, who had now reached the centre of the
+stream, still floated, being supported either by the tension of the
+cords, or by her woollen apparel, a loud shout was raised that she could
+not sink, and was, therefore, an undeniable witch.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Steady, lads&mdash;steady a moment,&quot; cried Potts, enchanted with the success
+of the experiment; &quot;leave her where she is, that her buoyancy may be
+fully attested. You know, masters,&quot; he cried, with a loud voice, &quot;the
+meaning of this water ordeal. Our sovereign lord and master the king, in
+his wisdom, hath graciously vouchsafed to explain the matter thus:
+'Water,' he saith, 'shall refuse to receive them (meaning witches, of
+course) in her bosom, that have shaken off their sacred water of
+baptism, and wilfully refused the benefit thereof.' It is manifest, you
+see, that this diabolical young woman hath renounced her baptism, for
+the water rejecteth her. <i>Non potest mergi</i>, as Pliny saith. She floats
+like a cork, or as if the clear water of the Calder had suddenly become
+like the slab, salt waves of the Dead Sea, in which, nothing can sink.
+You behold the marvel with your own eyes, my masters.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, ay!&quot; rejoined Baggiley and several others.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hoo be a witch fo sartin,&quot; cried Jem Device. But as he spoke, chancing
+slightly to slacken the rope, the tension of which maintained the
+equilibrium of the body, the poor woman instantly sank.</p>
+
+<p>A groan, as much of disappointment as sympathy, broke from the
+spectators, but none attempted to aid her; and on seeing her sink, Jem
+abandoned the rope altogether.</p>
+
+<p>But assistance was at hand. Two persons rushed quickly and furiously to
+the spot. They were Richard and Nicholas Assheton. The iron bar had at
+length yielded to their efforts, and the first use they made of their
+freedom was to hurry to the river. A glance showed them what had
+occurred, and the younger Assheton, unhesitatingly plunging into the
+water, seized the rope dropped by Jem, and calling to the beadle to let
+go his hold, dragged forth the poor half-drowned young woman, and placed
+her on the bank, hewing asunder the cords that bound her hands and feet
+with his sword. But though still sensible, Nance was so much exhausted
+by the shock she had undergone, and her muscles were so severely
+strained by the painful and unnatural posture to which she had been
+compelled, that she was wholly unable to move. Her thumbs were blackened
+and swollen, and the cords had cut into the flesh, while blood trickled
+down from the puncture in her breast. Fixing a look of inexpressible
+gratitude upon her preserver, she made an effort to speak, but the
+exertion was too great; violent hysterical sobbing came on, and her
+senses soon after forsook her. Richard called loudly for assistance, and
+the sentiments of the most humane part of the crowd having undergone a
+change since the failure of the ordeal, some females came forward, and
+took steps for her restoration. Sensibility having returned, a cloak was
+wrapped around her, and she was conveyed to a neighbouring cottage and
+put to bed, where her stiffened limbs were chafed and warm drinks
+administered, and it began to be hoped that no serious consequences
+would ensue.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, a catastrophe had wellnigh occurred in another quarter. With
+eyes flashing with fury, Nicholas Assheton pushed aside the crowd, and
+made his way to the bank whereon Master Potts stood. Not liking his
+looks, the little attorney would have taken to his heels, but finding
+escape impossible, he called upon Baggiley to protect him. But he was
+instantly in the forcible gripe of the squire, who shouted, &quot;I'll teach
+you, mongrel hound, to play tricks with gentlemen.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Master Nicholas,&quot; cried the terrified and half-strangled attorney, &quot;my
+very good sir, I entreat you to let me alone. This is a breach of the
+king's peace, sir. Assault and battery, under aggravated circumstances,
+and punishable with ignominious corporal penalties, besides fine and
+imprisonment, sir. I take you to witness the assault, Master Baggiley. I
+shall bring my ac&mdash;ac&mdash;ah&mdash;o&mdash;o&mdash;oh!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then you shall have something to bring your ac&mdash;ac&mdash;action for,
+rascal,&quot; cried Nicholas. And, seizing the attorney by the nape of the
+neck with one hand, and the hind wings of his doublet with the other, he
+cast him to a considerable distance into the river, where he fell with a
+tremendous splash.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He is no wizard, at all events,&quot; laughed Nicholas, as Potts went down
+like a lump of lead.</p>
+
+<p>But the attorney was not born to be drowned; at least, at this period of
+his career. On rising to the surface, a few seconds after his immersion,
+he roared lustily for help, but would infallibly have been carried over
+the weir, if Jem Device had not flung him the rope now disengaged from
+Nance Redferne, and which he succeeded in catching. In this way he was
+dragged out; and as he crept up the bank, with the wet pouring from his
+apparel, which now clung tightly to his lathy limbs, he was greeted by
+the jeers of Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How like you the water-ordeal&mdash;eh, Master Attorney? No occasion for a
+second trial, I think. If Jem Device had known his own interest, he
+would have left you to fatten the Calder eels; but he will find it out
+in time.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You will find it out too, Master Nicholas,&quot; rejoined Potts, clapping on
+his wet cap. &quot;Take me to the Dragon quickly, good fellow,&quot; he added, to
+Jem Device, &quot;and I will recompense thee for thy pains, as well as for
+the service thou hast just rendered me. I shall have rheumatism in my
+joints, pains in my loins, and rheum in my head, oh dear&mdash;oh dear!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;In which case you will not be able to pay Mother Demdike your purposed
+visit to-morrow,&quot; jeered Nicholas. &quot;You forgot you were to arrest her,
+and bring her before a magistrate.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thy arm, good fellow, thy arm!&quot; said Potts, to Jem Device.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;To the fiend wi' thee,&quot; cried Jem, shaking him off roughly. &quot;The
+squoire is reet. Wouldee had let thee drown.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What, have you changed your mind already, Jem?&quot; cried Nicholas, in a
+taunting tone. &quot;You'll have your grandmother's thanks for the service
+you've rendered her, lad&mdash;ha! ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Fo' t' matter o' two pins ey'd pitch him again,&quot; growled Jem, eyeing
+the attorney askance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, no, Jem,&quot; observed Nicholas, &quot;things must take their course. What's
+done is done. But if Master Potts be wise, he'll take himself out of
+court without delay.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You'll be glad to get me out of court one of these days, squire,&quot;
+muttered Potts, &quot;and so will you too, Master James Device.&mdash;A day of
+reckoning will come for both&mdash;heavy reckoning. Ugh! ugh!&quot; he added,
+shivering, &quot;how my teeth chatter!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Make what haste you can to the Dragon,&quot; cried the good-natured squire;
+&quot;get your clothes dried, and bid John Lawe brew you a pottle of strong
+sack, swallow it scalding hot, and you'll never look behind you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nor before me either,&quot; retorted Potts, &quot;Scalding sack! This
+bloodthirsty squire has a new design upon my life!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'n go wi' ye to th' Dragon, mester,&quot; said Baggiley; &quot;lean o' me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thanke'e friend,&quot; replied Potts, taking his arm. &quot;A word at parting,
+Master Nicholas. This is not the only discovery of witchcraft I've made.
+I've another case, somewhat nearer home. Ha! ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>With this, he hobbled off in the direction of the alehouse, his steps
+being traceable along the dusty road like the course of a watering-cart.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'n go efter him,&quot; growled Jem.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No you won't, lad,&quot; rejoined Nicholas, &quot;and if you'll take my advice,
+you'll get out of Whalley as fast as you can. You will be safer on the
+heath of Pendle than here, when Sir Ralph and Master Roger Nowell come
+to know what has taken place. And mind this, sirrah&mdash;the hounds will be
+out in the forest to-morrow. D'ye heed?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Jem growled something in reply, and, seizing his little sister's hand,
+strode off with her towards his mother's dwelling, uttering not a word
+by the way.</p>
+
+<p>Having seen Nance Redferne conveyed to the cottage, as before mentioned,
+Richard Assheton, regardless of the wet state of his own apparel, now
+joined his cousin, the squire, and they walked to the Abbey together,
+conversing on what had taken place, while the crowd dispersed, some
+returning to the bowers in the churchyard, and others to the green,
+their merriment in nowise damped by the recent occurrences, which they
+looked upon as part of the day's sport. As some of them passed by,
+laughing, singing, and dancing, Richard Assheton remarked, &quot;I can
+scarcely believe these to be the same people I so lately saw in the
+churchyard. They then seemed totally devoid of humanity.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Pshaw! they are humane enough,&quot; rejoined Nicholas; &quot;but you cannot
+expect them to show mercy to a witch, any more than to a wolf, or other
+savage and devouring beast.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But the means taken to prove her guilt were as absurd as iniquitous,&quot;
+said Richard, &quot;and savour of the barbarous ages. If she had perished,
+all concerned in the trial would have been guilty of murder.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But no judge would condemn them,&quot; returned Nicholas; &quot;and they have the
+highest authority in the realm to uphold them. As to leniency to
+witches, in a general way, I would show none. Traitors alike to God and
+man, and bond slaves of Satan, they are out of the pale of Christian
+charity.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No criminal, however great, is out of the pale of Christian charity,&quot;
+replied Richard; &quot;but such scenes as we have just witnessed are a
+disgrace to humanity, and a mockery of justice. In seeking to discover
+and punish one offence, a greater is committed. Suppose this poor young
+woman really guilty&mdash;what then? Our laws are made for protection, as
+well as punishment of wrong. She should he arraigned, convicted, and
+condemned before punishment.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Our laws admit of torture, Richard,&quot; observed Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;True,&quot; said the young man, with a shudder, &quot;and it is another relic of
+a ruthless age. But torture is only allowed under the eye of the law,
+and can be inflicted by none but its sworn servants. But, supposing this
+poor young woman innocent of the crime imputed to her, which I really
+believe her to be, how, then, will you excuse the atrocities to which
+she has been subjected?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I do not believe her innocent,&quot; rejoined Nicholas; &quot;her relationship to
+a notorious witch, and her fabrication of clay images, make her justly
+suspected.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then let her be examined by a magistrate,&quot; said Richard; &quot;but, even
+then, woe betide her! When I think that Alizon Device is liable to the
+same atrocious treatment, in consequence of her relationship to Mother
+Demdike, I can scarce contain my indignation.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is unlucky for her, indeed,&quot; rejoined Nicholas; &quot;but of all Nance's
+assailants the most infuriated was Alizon's brother, Jem Device.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I saw it,&quot; cried Richard&mdash;an uneasy expression passing over his
+countenance. &quot;Would she could be removed from that family!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;To what purpose?&quot; demanded Nicholas, quickly. &quot;Her family are more
+likely to be removed from her if Master Potts stay in the
+neighbourhood.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Poor girl!&quot; exclaimed Richard.</p>
+
+<p>And he fell into a reverie which was not broken till they reached the
+Abbey.</p>
+
+<p>To return to Jem Device. On reaching the cottage, the ruffian flung
+himself into a chair, and for a time seemed lost in reflection. At last
+he looked up, and said gruffly to Jennet, who stood watching him, &quot;See
+if mother be come whoam?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh, eigh, ey'm here, Jem,&quot; said Elizabeth Device, opening the inner
+door and coming forth. &quot;So, ye ha been swimmin' Nance Redferne, lad, eh!
+Ey'm glad on it&mdash;ha! ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Jem gave her a significant look, upon which she motioned Jennet to
+withdraw, and the injunction being complied with, though with evident
+reluctance, by the little girl, she closed the door upon her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Now, Jem, what hast got to say to me, lad, eh?&quot; demanded Elizabeth,
+stepping up to him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neaw great deal, mother,&quot; he replied; &quot;boh ey keawnsel ye to look weel
+efter yersel. We're aw i' dawnger.&quot;</p>
+
+
+<p>&quot;Ey knoas it, lad, ey knoas it,&quot; replied Elizabeth; &quot;boh fo my own pert
+ey'm nah afeerd. They darna touch me; an' if they dun, ey con defend
+mysel reet weel. Here's a letter to thy gran-mother,&quot; she added, giving
+him a sealed packet. &quot;Take care on it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Fro Mistress Nutter, ey suppose?&quot; asked Jem.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh, who else should it be from?&quot; rejoined Elizabeth. &quot;Your
+gran-mother win' ha' enough to do to neet, an so win yo, too, Jem,
+lettin alone the walk fro here to Malkin Tower.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel, gi' me mey supper, an ey'n set out,&quot; rejoined Jem. &quot;So ye ha'
+seen Mistress Nutter?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey found her i' th' Abbey garden,&quot; replied Elizabeth, &quot;an we had some
+tawk together, abowt th' boundary line o' th' Rough Lee estates, and
+other matters.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And, as she spoke, she set a cold pasty, with oat cakes, cheese, and
+butter, before her son, and next proceeded to draw him a jug of ale.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What other matters dun you mean, mother?&quot; inquired Jem, attacking the
+pasty. &quot;War it owt relatin' to that little Lunnon lawyer, Mester Potts?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Theawst hit it, Jem,&quot; replied Elizabeth, seating herself near him.
+&quot;That Potts means to visit thy gran-mother to morrow.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel!&quot; said Jem, grimly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;An arrest her,&quot; pursued Elizabeth.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Easily said,&quot; laughed Jem, scornfully, &quot;boh neaw quite so easily done.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nah quite, Jem,&quot; responded Elizabeth, joining in the laugh. &quot;'Specially
+when th' owd dame's prepared, as she win be now.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Potts may set out 'o that journey, boh he winna come back again,&quot;
+remarked Jem, in a sombre tone.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Wait till yo'n seen your gran-mother efore ye do owt, lad,&quot; said
+Elizabeth.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, wait,&quot; added a voice.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What's that?&quot; demanded Jem, laving down his knife and fork.</p>
+
+<p>Elizabeth did not answer in words, but her significant looks were quite
+response enough for her son.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Os ye win, mother,&quot; he said in an altered tone. After a pause, employed
+in eating, he added, &quot;Did Mistress Nutter put onny questions to ye about
+Alizon?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;More nor enough, lad,&quot; replied Elizabeth; &quot;fo what had ey to tell her?
+She praised her beauty, an said how unlike she wur to Jennet an thee,
+lad&mdash;ha! ha!&mdash;An wondert how ey cum to ha such a dowter, an monny other
+things besoide. An what could ey say to it aw, except&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Except what, mother?&quot; interrupted Jem.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Except that she wur my child just os much os Jennet an thee!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Humph!&quot; exclaimed Jem.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Humph!&quot; echoed the voice that had previously spoken.</p>
+
+<p>Jem looked at his mother, and took a long pull at the ale-jug.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Any more messages to Malkin Tower?&quot; he asked, getting up.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neaw&mdash;mother will onderstond,&quot; replied Elizabeth. &quot;Bid her be on her
+guard, fo' the enemy is abroad.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Meanin' Potts?&quot; said Jem.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Meaning Potts,&quot; answered the voice.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There are strange echoes here,&quot; said Jem, looking round suspiciously.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment, Tib came from under a piece of furniture, where he had
+apparently been lying, and rubbed himself familiarly against his legs.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey needna be afeerd o' owt happenin to ye, mother,&quot; said Jem, patting
+the cat's back. &quot;Tib win tay care on yo.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh, eigh,&quot; replied Elizabeth, bending down to pat him, &quot;he's a trusty
+cat.&quot; But the ill-tempered animal would not be propitiated, but erected
+his back, and menaced her with his claws.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo han offended him, mother,&quot; said Jem. &quot;One word efore ey start. Are
+ye quite sure Potts didna owerhear your conversation wi' Mistress
+Nutter?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why d'ye ask, Jem?&quot; she replied.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Fro' summat the knave threw out to Squoire Nicholas just now,&quot; rejoined
+Jem. &quot;He said he'd another case o' witchcraft nearer whoam. Whot could
+he mean?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whot, indeed?&quot; cried Elizabeth, quickly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Look at Tib,&quot; exclaimed her son.</p>
+
+<p>As he spoke, the cat sprang towards the inner door, and scratched
+violently against it.</p>
+
+<p>Elizabeth immediately raised the latch, and found Jennet behind it, with
+a face like scarlet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo'n been listenin, ye young eavesdropper,&quot; cried Elizabeth, boxing her
+ears soundly; &quot;take that fo' your pains&mdash;an that.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Touch me again, an Mester Potts shan knoa aw ey'n heer'd,&quot; said the
+little girl, repressing her tears.</p>
+
+<p>Elizabeth regarded her angrily; but the looks of the child were so
+spiteful, that she did not dare to strike her. She glanced too at Tib;
+but the uncertain cat was now rubbing himself in the most friendly
+manner against Jennet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo shan pay for this, lass, presently,&quot; said Elizabeth.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Best nah provoke me, mother,&quot; rejoined Jennet in a determined tone; &quot;if
+ye dun, aw secrets shan out. Ey knoa why Jem's goin' to Malkin-Tower
+to-neet&mdash;an why yo're afeerd o' Mester Potts.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Howd thy tongue or ey'n choke thee, little pest,&quot; cried her mother,
+fiercely.</p>
+
+<p>Jennet replied with a mocking laugh, while Tib rubbed against her more
+fondly than ever.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Let her alone,&quot; interposed Jem. &quot;An now ey mun be off. So, fare ye
+weel, mother,&mdash;an yo, too, Jennet.&quot; And with this, he put on his cap,
+seized his cudgel, and quitted the cottage.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII_THE_RUINED_CONVENTUAL_CHURCH" id="CHAPTER_VII_THE_RUINED_CONVENTUAL_CHURCH" />CHAPTER VII.&mdash;THE RUINED CONVENTUAL CHURCH.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Beneath a wild cherry-tree, planted by chance in the Abbey gardens, and
+of such remarkable size that it almost rivalled the elms and lime trees
+surrounding it, and when in bloom resembled an enormous garland, stood
+two young maidens, both of rare beauty, though in totally different
+styles;&mdash;the one being fair-haired and blue-eyed, with a snowy skin
+tinged with delicate bloom, like that of roses seen through milk, to
+borrow a simile from old Anacreon; while the other far eclipsed her in
+the brilliancy of her complexion, the dark splendour of her eyes, and
+the luxuriance of her jetty tresses, which, unbound and knotted with
+ribands, flowed down almost to the ground. In age, there was little
+disparity between them, though perhaps the dark-haired girl might be a
+year nearer twenty than the other, and somewhat more of seriousness,
+though not much, sat upon her lovely countenance than on the other's
+laughing features. Different were they too, in degree, and here social
+position was infinitely in favour of the fairer girl, but no one would
+have judged it so if not previously acquainted with their history.
+Indeed, it was rather the one having least title to be proud (if any one
+has such title) who now seemed to look up to her companion with mingled
+admiration and regard; the latter being enthralled at the moment by the
+rich notes of a thrush poured from a neighbouring lime-tree.</p>
+
+<p>Pleasant was the garden where the two girls stood, shaded by great
+trees, laid out in exquisite parterres, with knots and figures, quaint
+flower-beds, shorn trees and hedges, covered alleys and arbours,
+terraces and mounds, in the taste of the time, and above all an
+admirably kept bowling-green. It was bounded on the one hand by the
+ruined chapter-house and vestry of the old monastic structure, and on
+the other by the stately pile of buildings formerly making part of the
+Abbot's lodging, in which the long gallery was situated, some of its
+windows looking upon the bowling-green, and then kept in excellent
+condition, but now roofless and desolate. Behind them, on the right,
+half hidden by trees, lay the desecrated and despoiled conventual
+church. Reared at such cost, and with so much magnificence, by thirteen
+abbots&mdash;the great work having been commenced, as heretofore stated, by
+Robert de Topcliffe, in 1330, and only completed in all its details by
+John Paslew; this splendid structure, surpassing, according to Whitaker,
+&quot;many cathedrals in extent,&quot; was now abandoned to the slow ravages of
+decay. Would it had never encountered worse enemy! But some half
+century later, the hand of man was called in to accelerate its
+destruction, and it was then almost entirely rased to the ground. At the
+period in question though partially unroofed, and with some of the walls
+destroyed, it was still beautiful and picturesque&mdash;more picturesque,
+indeed than in the days of its pride and splendour. The tower with its
+lofty crocketed spire was still standing, though the latter was cracked
+and tottering, and the jackdaws roosted within its windows and belfry.
+Two ranges of broken columns told of the bygone glories of the aisles;
+and the beautiful side chapels having escaped injury better than other
+parts of the fabric, remained in tolerable preservation. But the choir
+and high altar were stripped of all their rich carving and ornaments,
+and the rain descended through the open rood-loft upon the now
+grass-grown graves of the abbots in the presbytery. Here and there the
+ramified mullions still retained their wealth of painted glass, and the
+grand eastern window shone gorgeously as of yore. All else was neglect
+and ruin. Briers and turf usurped the place of the marble pavement; many
+of the pillars were festooned with ivy; and, in some places, the
+shattered walls were covered with creepers, and trees had taken root in
+the crevices of the masonry. Beautiful at all times were these
+magnificent ruins; but never so beautiful as when seen by the witching
+light of the moon&mdash;the hour, according to the best authority, when all
+ruins should be viewed&mdash;when the long lines of broken pillars, the
+mouldering arches, and the still glowing panes over the altar, had a
+magical effect.</p>
+
+<p>In front of the maidens stood a square tower, part of the defences of
+the religious establishment, erected by Abbot Lyndelay, in the reign of
+Edward III., but disused and decaying. It was sustained by high and
+richly groined arches, crossing the swift mill-race, and faced the
+river. A path led through the ruined chapter-house to the spacious
+cloister quadrangle, once used as a cemetery for the monks, but now
+converted into a kitchen garden, its broad area being planted out, and
+fruit-trees trained against the hoary walls. Little of the old refectory
+was left, except the dilapidated stairs once conducting to the gallery
+where the brethren were wont to take their meals, but the inner wall
+still served to enclose the garden on that side. Of the dormitory,
+formerly constituting the eastern angle of the cloisters, the shell was
+still left, and it was used partly as a grange, partly as a shed for
+cattle, the farm-yard and tenements lying on this side.</p>
+
+<p>Thus it will be seen that the garden and grounds, filling up the ruins
+of Whalley Abbey, offered abundant points of picturesque attraction, all
+of which&mdash;with the exception of the ruined conventual church&mdash;had been
+visited by the two girls. They had tracked the labyrinths of passages,
+scaled the broken staircases, crept into the roofless and neglected
+chambers, peered timorously into the black and yawning vaults, and now,
+having finished their investigations, had paused for awhile, previous to
+extending their ramble to the church, beneath the wild cherry-tree to
+listen to the warbling of the birds.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You should hear the nightingales at Middleton, Alizon,&quot; observed
+Dorothy Assheton, breaking silence; &quot;they sing even more exquisitely
+than yon thrush. You must come and see me. I should like to show you the
+old house and gardens, though they are very different from these, and we
+have no ancient monastic ruins to ornament them. Still, they are very
+beautiful; and, as I find you are fond of flowers, I will show you some
+I have reared myself, for I am something of a gardener, Alizon. Promise
+you will come.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I wish I dared promise it,&quot; replied Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And why not, then?&quot; cried Dorothy. &quot;What should prevent you? Do you
+know, Alizon, what I should like better than all? You are so amiable,
+and so good, and so&mdash;so very pretty; nay, don't blush&mdash;there is no one
+by to hear me&mdash;you are so charming altogether, that I should like you to
+come and live with me. You shall be my handmaiden if you will.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I should desire nothing better, sweet young lady,&quot; replied Alizon;
+&quot;but&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But what?&quot; cried Dorothy. &quot;You have only your own consent to obtain.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alas! I have,&quot; replied Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How can that be!&quot; cried Dorothy, with a disappointed look. &quot;It is not
+likely your mother will stand in the way of your advancement, and you
+have not, I suppose, any other tie? Nay, forgive me if I appear too
+inquisitive. My curiosity only proceeds from the interest I take in
+you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I know it&mdash;I feel it, dear, kind young lady,&quot; replied Alizon, with the
+colour again mounting her cheeks. &quot;I have no tie in the world except my
+family. But I am persuaded my mother will never allow me to quit her,
+however great the advantage might be to me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, though sorry, I am scarcely surprised at it,&quot; said Dorothy. &quot;She
+must love you too dearly to part with you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I wish I could think so,&quot; sighed Alizon. &quot;Proud of me in some sort,
+though with little reason, she may be, but love me, most assuredly, she
+does not. Nay more, I am persuaded she would be glad to be freed from my
+presence, which is an evident restraint and annoyance to her, were it
+not for some motive stronger than natural affection that binds her to
+me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Now, in good sooth, you amaze me, Alizon!&quot; cried Dorothy. &quot;What
+possible motive can it be, if not of affection?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Of interest, I think,&quot; replied Alizon. &quot;I speak to you without reserve,
+dear young lady, for the sympathy you have shown me deserves and
+demands confidence on my part, and there are none with whom I can freely
+converse, so that every emotion has been locked up in my own bosom. My
+mother fancies I shall one day be of use to her, and therefore keeps me
+with her. Hints to this effect she has thrown out, when indulging in the
+uncontrollable fits of passion to which she is liable. And yet I have no
+just reason to complain; for though she has shown me little maternal
+tenderness, and repelled all exhibition of affection on my part, she has
+treated me very differently from her other children, and with much
+greater consideration. I can make slight boast of education, but the
+best the village could afford has been given me; and I have derived much
+religious culture from good Doctor Ormerod. The kind ladies of the
+vicarage proposed, as you have done, that I should live with them, but
+my mother forbade it; enjoining me, on the peril of incurring her
+displeasure, not to leave her, and reminding me of all the benefits I
+have received from her, and of the necessity of making an adequate
+return. And, ungrateful indeed I should be, if I did not comply; for,
+though her manner is harsh and cold to me, she has never ill-used me, as
+she has done her favourite child, my little sister Jennet, but has
+always allowed me a separate chamber, where I can retire when I please,
+to read, or meditate, or pray. For, alas! dear young lady, I dare not
+pray before my mother. Be not shocked at what I tell you, but I cannot
+hide it. My poor mother denies herself the consolation of
+religion&mdash;never addresses herself to Heaven in prayer&mdash;never opens the
+book of Life and Truth&mdash;never enters church. In her own mistaken way she
+has brought up poor little Jennet, who has been taught to make a scoff
+at religious truths and ordinances, and has never been suffered to keep
+holy the Sabbath-day. Happy and thankful am I, that no such evil lessons
+have been taught me, but rather, that I have profited by the sad
+example. In my own secret chamber I have prayed, daily and nightly, for
+both&mdash;prayed that their hearts might be turned. Often have I besought my
+mother to let me take Jennet to church, but she never would consent. And
+in that poor misguided child, dear young lady, there is a strange
+mixture of good and ill. Afflicted with personal deformity, and delicate
+in health, the mind perhaps sympathising with the body, she is wayward
+and uncertain in temper, but sensitive and keenly alive to kindness, and
+with a shrewdness beyond her years. At the risk of offending my mother,
+for I felt confident I was acting rightly, I have endeavoured to instil
+religious principles into her heart, and to inspire her with a love of
+truth. Sometimes she has listened to me; and I have observed strange
+struggles in her nature, as if the good were obtaining mastery of the
+evil principle, and I have striven the more to convince her, and win her
+over, but never with entire success, for my efforts have been overcome
+by pernicious counsels, and sceptical sneers. Oh, dear young lady, what
+would I not do to be the instrument of her salvation!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You pain me much by this relation, Alizon,&quot; said Dorothy Assheton, who
+had listened with profound attention, &quot;and I now wish more ardently than
+ever to take you from such a family.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I cannot leave them, dear young lady,&quot; replied Alizon; &quot;for I feel I
+may be of infinite service&mdash;especially to Jennet&mdash;by staying with them.
+Where there is a soul to be saved, especially the soul of one dear as a
+sister, no sacrifice can be too great to make&mdash;no price too heavy to
+pay. By the blessing of Heaven I hope to save her! And that is the great
+tie that binds me to a home, only so in name.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will not oppose your virtuous intentions, dear Alizon,&quot; replied
+Dorothy; &quot;but I must now mention a circumstance in connexion with your
+mother, of which you are perhaps in ignorance, but which it is right you
+should know, and therefore no false delicacy on my part shall restrain
+me from mentioning it. Your grandmother, Old Demdike, is in very ill
+depute in Pendle, and is stigmatised by the common folk, and even by
+others, as a witch. Your mother, too, shares in the opprobrium attaching
+to her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I dreaded this,&quot; replied Alizon, turning deadly pale, and trembling
+violently, &quot;I feared you had heard the terrible report. But oh, believe
+it not! My poor mother is erring enough, but she is not so bad as that.
+Oh, believe it not!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will not believe it,&quot; said Dorothy, &quot;since she is blessed with such a
+daughter as you. But what I fear is that you&mdash;you so kind, so good, so
+beautiful&mdash;may come under the same ban.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I must run this risk also, in the good work I have appointed myself,&quot;
+replied Alizon. &quot;If I am ill thought of by men, I shall have the
+approval of my own conscience to uphold me. Whatever betide, and
+whatever be said, do not you think ill of me, dear young lady.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Fear it not,&quot; returned Dorothy, earnestly.</p>
+
+<p>While thus conversing, they gradually strayed away from the cherry-tree,
+and taking a winding path leading in that direction, entered the
+conventual church, about the middle of the south aisle. After gazing
+with wonder and delight at the still majestic pillars, that, like ghosts
+of the departed brethren, seemed to protest against the desolation
+around them, they took their way along the nave, through broken arches,
+and over prostrate fragments of stone, to the eastern extremity of the
+fane, and having admired the light shafts and clerestory windows of the
+choir, as well as the magnificent painted glass over the altar, they
+stopped before an arched doorway on the right, with two Gothic niches,
+in one of which was a small stone statue of Saint Agnes with her lamb,
+and in the other a similar representation of Saint Margaret, crowned,
+and piercing the dragon with a cross. Both were sculptures of much
+merit, and it was wonderful they had escaped destruction. The door was
+closed, but it easily opened when tried by Dorothy, and they found
+themselves in a small but beautiful chapel. What struck them chiefly in
+it was a magnificent monument of white marble, enriched with numerous
+small shields, painted and gilt, supporting two recumbent figures,
+representing Henry de Lacy, one of the founders of the Abbey, and his
+consort. The knight was cased in plate armour, covered with a surcoat,
+emblazoned with his arms, and his feet resting upon a hound. This superb
+monument was wholly uninjured, the painting and gilding being still
+fresh and bright. Behind it a flag had been removed, discovering a
+flight of steep stone steps, leading to a vault, or other subterranean
+chamber.</p>
+
+<p>After looking round this chapel, Dorothy remarked, &quot;There is something
+else that has just occurred to me. When a child, a strange dark tale was
+told me, to the effect that the last ill-fated Abbot of Whalley laid his
+dying curse upon your grandmother, then an infant, predicting that she
+should be a witch, and the mother of witches.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have heard the dread tradition, too,&quot; rejoined Alizon; &quot;but I cannot,
+will not, believe it. An all-benign Power will never sanction such
+terrible imprecations.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Far be it from me to affirm the contrary,&quot; replied Dorothy; &quot;but it is
+undoubted that some families have been, and are, under the influence of
+an inevitable fatality. In one respect, connected also with the same
+unfortunate prelate, I might instance our own family. Abbot Paslew is
+said to be unlucky to us even in his grave. If such a curse, as I have
+described, hangs over the head of your family, all your efforts to
+remove it will be ineffectual.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I trust not,&quot; said Alizon. &quot;Oh! dear young lady, you have now
+penetrated the secret of my heart. The mystery of my life is laid open
+to you. Disguise it as I may, I cannot but believe my mother to be under
+some baneful influence. Her unholy life, her strange actions, all
+impress me with the idea. And there is the same tendency in Jennet.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have a brother, have you not?&quot; inquired Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have,&quot; returned Alizon, slightly colouring; &quot;but I see little of him,
+for he lives near my grandmother, in Pendle Forest, and always avoids me
+in his rare visits here. You will think it strange when I tell you I
+have never beheld my grandmother Demdike.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am glad to hear it,&quot; exclaimed Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have never even been to Pendle,&quot; pursued Alizon, &quot;though Jennet and
+my mother go there frequently. At one time I much wished to see my aged
+relative, and pressed my mother to take me with her; but she refused,
+and now I have no desire to go.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Strange!&quot; exclaimed Dorothy. &quot;Every thing you tell me strengthens the
+idea I conceived, the moment I saw you, and which my brother also
+entertained, that you are not the daughter of Elizabeth Device.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Did your brother think this?&quot; cried Alizon, eagerly. But she
+immediately cast down her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He did,&quot; replied Dorothy, not noticing her confusion. &quot;'It is
+impossible,' he said, 'that that lovely girl can be sprung from'&mdash;but I
+will not wound you by adding the rest.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I cannot disown my kindred,&quot; said Alizon. &quot;Still, I must confess that
+some notions of the sort have crossed me, arising, probably, from my
+mother's extraordinary treatment, and from many other circumstances,
+which, though trifling in themselves, were not without weight in leading
+me to the conclusion. Hitherto I have treated it only as a passing
+fancy, but if you and Master Richard Assheton&quot;&mdash;and her voice slightly
+faltered as she pronounced the name&mdash;&quot;think so, it may warrant me in
+more seriously considering the matter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do consider it most seriously, dear Alizon,&quot; cried Dorothy. &quot;I have
+made up my mind, and Richard has made up his mind, too, that you are not
+Mother Demdike's grand-daughter, nor Elizabeth Device's daughter, nor
+Jennet's sister&mdash;nor any relation of theirs. We are sure of it, and we
+will have you of our mind.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The fair and animated speaker could not help noticing the blushes that
+mantled Alizon's cheeks as she spoke, but she attributed them to other
+than the true cause. Nor did she mend the matter as she proceeded.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am sure you are well born, Alizon,&quot; she said, &quot;and so it will be
+found in the end. And Richard thinks so, too, for he said so to me; and
+Richard is my oracle, Alizon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>In spite of herself Alizon's eyes sparkled with pleasure; but she
+speedily checked the emotion.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I must not indulge the dream,&quot; she said, with a sigh.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why not?&quot; cried Dorothy. &quot;I will have strict inquiries made as to your
+history.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I cannot consent to it,&quot; replied Alizon. &quot;I cannot leave one who, if
+she be not my parent, has stood to me in that relation. Neither can I
+have her brought into trouble on my account. What will she think of me,
+if she learns I have indulged such a notion? She will say, and with
+truth, that I am the most ungrateful of human beings, as well as the
+most unnatural of children. No, dear young lady, it must not be. These
+fancies are brilliant, but fallacious, and, like bubbles, burst as soon
+as formed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I admire your sentiments, though I do not admit the justice of your
+reasoning,&quot; rejoined Dorothy. &quot;It is not on your own account merely,
+though that is much, that the secret of your birth&mdash;if there be
+one&mdash;ought to be cleared up; but, for the sake of those with whom you
+may be connected. There may be a mother, like mine, weeping for you as
+lost&mdash;a brother, like Richard, mourning you as dead. Think of the sad
+hearts your restoration will make joyful. As to Elizabeth Device, no
+consideration should be shown her. If she has stolen you from your
+parents, as I suspect, she deserves no pity.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;All this is mere surmise, dear young lady,&quot; replied Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>At this juncture they were startled, by seeing an old woman come from
+behind the monument and plant herself before them. Both uttered a cry,
+and would have fled, but a gesture from the crone detained them. Very
+old was she, and of strange and sinister aspect, almost blind, bent
+double, with frosted brows and chin, and shaking with palsy.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Stay where you are,&quot; cried the hag, in an imperious tone. &quot;I want to
+speak to you. Come nearer to me, my pretty wheans; nearer&mdash;nearer.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as they complied, drawn towards her by an impulse they could not
+resist, the old woman caught hold of Alizon's arm, and said with a
+chuckle. &quot;So you are the wench they call Alizon Device, eh!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay,&quot; replied Alizon, trembling like a dove in the talons of a hawk.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do you know who I am?&quot; cried the hag, grasping her yet more tightly.
+&quot;Do you know who I am, I say? If not, I will tell you. I am Mother
+Chattox of Pendle Forest, the rival of Mother Demdike, and the enemy of
+all her accursed brood. Now, do you know me, wench? Men call me witch.
+Whether I am so or not, I have some power, as they and you shall find.
+Mother Demdike has often defied me&mdash;often injured me, but I will have my
+revenge upon her&mdash;ha! ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Let me go,&quot; cried Alizon, greatly terrified.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will run and bring assistance,&quot; cried Dorothy. And she flew to the
+door, but it resisted her attempts to open it.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Come back,&quot; screamed the hag. &quot;You strive in vain. The door is fast
+shut&mdash;fast shut. Come back, I say. Who are you?&quot; she added, as the maid
+drew near, ready to sink with terror. &quot;Your voice is an Assheton's
+voice. I know you now. You are Dorothy Assheton&mdash;whey-skinned, blue-eyed
+Dorothy. Listen to me, Dorothy. I owe your family a grudge, and, if you
+provoke me, I will pay it off in part on you. Stir not, as you value
+your life.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The poor girl did not dare to move, and Alizon remained as if fascinated
+by the terrible old woman.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will tell you what has happened, Dorothy,&quot; pursued Mother Chattox. &quot;I
+came hither to Whalley on business of my own; meddling with no one;
+harming no one. Tread upon the adder and it will bite; and, when
+molested, I bite like the adder. Your cousin, Nick Assheton, came in my
+way, called me 'witch,' and menaced me. I cursed him&mdash;ha! ha! And then
+your brother, Richard&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="figcenter"><a name="ILLUS_5" id="ILLUS_5" href="./images/illus05_lg.jpg"><img src="./images/illus05_sm.jpg"
+alt="Illustration: MOTHER CHATTOX, ALIZON, AND DOROTHY."
+title="MOTHER CHATTOX, ALIZON, AND DOROTHY." /></a></p>
+<p class="figcenter"><span class="smcap">Mother Chattox, Alizon, and Dorothy.</span></p>
+
+<p>&quot;What of him, in Heaven's name?&quot; almost shrieked Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How's this?&quot; exclaimed Mother Chattox, placing her hand on the beating
+heart of the girl.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What of Richard Assheton?&quot; repeated Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You love him, I feel you do, wench,&quot; cried the old crone with fierce
+exultation.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Release me, wicked woman,&quot; cried Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Wicked, am I? ha! ha!&quot; rejoined Mother Chattox, chuckling maliciously,
+&quot;because, forsooth, I read thy heart, and betray its secrets. Wicked,
+eh! I tell thee wench again, Richard Assheton is lord and master here.
+Every pulse in thy bosom beats for him&mdash;for him alone. But beware of his
+love. Beware of it, I say. It shall bring thee ruin and despair.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;For pity's sake, release me,&quot; implored Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not yet,&quot; replied the inexorable old woman, &quot;not yet. My tale is not
+half told. My curse fell on Richard's head, as it did on Nicholas's. And
+then the hell-hounds thought to catch me; but they were at fault. I
+tricked them nicely&mdash;ha! ha! However, they took my Nance&mdash;my pretty
+Nance&mdash;they seized her, bound her, bore her to the Calder&mdash;and there
+swam her. Curses light on them all!&mdash;all!&mdash;but chief on him who did it!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who was he?&quot; inquired Alizon, tremblingly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Jem Device,&quot; replied the old woman&mdash;&quot;it was he who bound her&mdash;he who
+plunged her in the river, he who swam her. But I will pinch and plague
+him for it, I will strew his couch with nettles, and all wholesome food
+shall be poison to him. His blood shall be as water, and his flesh
+shrink from his bones. He shall waste away slowly&mdash;slowly&mdash;slowly&mdash;till
+he drops like a skeleton into the grave ready digged for him. All
+connected with him shall feel my fury. I would kill thee now, if thou
+wert aught of his.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Aught of his! What mean you, old woman?&quot; demanded Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why, this,&quot; rejoined Mother Chattox, &quot;and let the knowledge work in
+thee, to the confusion of Bess Device. Thou art not her daughter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is as I thought,&quot; cried Dorothy Assheton, roused by the intelligence
+from her terror.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I tell thee not this secret to pleasure thee,&quot; continued Mother
+Chattox, &quot;but to confound Elizabeth Device. I have no other motive. She
+hath provoked my vengeance, and she shall feel it. Thou art not her
+child, I say. The secret of thy birth is known to me, but the time is
+not yet come for its disclosure. It shall out, one day, to the confusion
+of those who offend me. When thou goest home tell thy reputed mother
+what I have said, and mark how she takes the information. Ha! who comes
+here?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The hag's last exclamation was occasioned by the sudden appearance of
+Mistress Nutter, who opened the door of the chapel, and, staring in
+astonishment at the group, came quickly forward.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What makes you here, Mother Chattox?&quot; she cried.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I came here to avoid pursuit,&quot; replied the old hag, with a cowed
+manner, and in accents sounding strangely submissive after her late
+infuriated tone.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What have you been saying to these girls?&quot; demanded Mistress Nutter,
+authoritatively.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ask them,&quot; the hag replied.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She declares that Alizon is not the daughter of Elizabeth Device,&quot;
+cried Dorothy Assheton.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Indeed!&quot; exclaimed Mistress Nutter quickly, and as if a spring of
+extraordinary interest had been suddenly touched. &quot;What reason hast thou
+for this assertion?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No good reason,&quot; replied the old woman evasively, yet with evident
+apprehension of her questioner.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Good reason or bad, I will have it,&quot; cried Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What you, too, take an interest in the wench, like the rest!&quot; returned
+Mother Chattox. &quot;Is she so very winning?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That is no answer to my question,&quot; said the lady. &quot;Whose child is she?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ask Bess Device, or Mother Demdike,&quot; replied Mother Chattox; &quot;they know
+more about the matter than me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will have thee speak, and to the purpose,&quot; cried the lady, angrily.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Many an one has lost a child who would gladly have it back again,&quot; said
+the old hag, mysteriously.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who has lost one?&quot; asked Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, it passeth me to tell,&quot; replied the old woman with affected
+ignorance. &quot;Question those who stole her. I have set you on the track.
+If you fail in pursuing it, come to me. You know where to find me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You shall not go thus,&quot; said Mistress Nutter. &quot;I will have a direct
+answer now.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as she spoke she waved her hands twice or thrice over the old woman.
+In doing this her figure seemed to dilate, and her countenance underwent
+a marked and fearful change. All her beauty vanished, her eyes blazed,
+and terror sat on her wrinkled brow. The hag, on the contrary, crouched
+lower down, and seemed to dwindle less than her ordinary size. Writhing
+as from heavy blows, and with a mixture of malice and fear in her
+countenance, she cried, &quot;Were I to speak, you would not thank me. Let me
+go.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Answer,&quot; vociferated Mistress Nutter, disregarding the caution, and
+speaking in a sharp piercing voice, strangely contrasting with her
+ordinary utterance. &quot;Answer, I say, or I will beat thee to the dust.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And she continued her gestures, while the sufferings of the old hag
+evidently increased, and she crouched nearer and nearer to the ground,
+moaning out the words, &quot;Do not force me to speak. You will repent
+it!&mdash;you will repent it!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not torment her thus, madam,&quot; cried Alizon, who with Dorothy looked
+at the strange scene with mingled apprehension and wonderment. &quot;Much as
+I desire to know the secret of my birth, I would not obtain it thus.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As she uttered these words, the old woman contrived to shuffle off, and
+disappeared behind the tomb.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why did you interpose, Alizon,&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, somewhat
+angrily, and dropping her hands. &quot;You broke the power I had over her. I
+would have compelled her to speak.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I thank you, gracious lady, for your consideration,&quot; replied Alizon,
+gratefully; &quot;but the sight was too painful.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What has become of her&mdash;where is she gone?&quot; cried Dorothy, peeping
+behind the tomb. &quot;She has crept into this vault, I suppose.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not trouble yourelf about her more, Dorothy,&quot; said Mistress Nutter,
+resuming her wonted voice and wonted looks. &quot;Let us return to the house.
+Thus much is ascertained, Alizon, that you are no child of your supposed
+parent. Wait a little, and the rest shall be found out for you. And,
+meantime, be assured that I take strong interest in you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That we all do,&quot; added Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thank you! thank you!&quot; exclaimed Alizon, almost overpowered.</p>
+
+<p>With this they went forth, and, traversing the shafted aisle, quitted
+the conventual church, and took their way along the alley leading to the
+garden.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Say not a word at present to Elizabeth Device of the information you
+have obtained, Alizon,&quot; observed Mistress Nutter. &quot;I have reasons for
+this counsel, which I will afterwards explain to you. And do you keep
+silence on the subject, Dorothy.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;May I not tell Richard?&quot; said the young lady.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not Richard&mdash;not any one,&quot; returned Mistress Nutter, &quot;or you may
+seriously affect Alizon's prospects.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have cautioned me in time,&quot; cried Dorothy, &quot;for here comes my
+brother with our cousin Nicholas.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as she spoke a turn in the alley showed Richard and Nicholas
+Assheton advancing towards them.</p>
+
+<p>A strange revolution had been produced in Alizon's feelings by the
+events of the last half hour. The opinions expressed by Dorothy
+Assheton, as to her birth, had been singularly confirmed by Mother
+Chattox; but could reliance be placed on the old woman's assertions?
+Might they not have been made with mischievous intent? And was it not
+possible, nay, probable, that, in her place of concealment behind the
+tomb, the vindictive hag had overheard the previous conversation with
+Dorothy, and based her own declaration upon it? All these suggestions
+occurred to Alizon, but the previous idea having once gained admission
+to her breast, soon established itself firmly there, in spite of doubts
+and misgivings, and began to mix itself up with new thoughts and
+wishes, with which other persons were connected; for she could not help
+fancying she might be well-born, and if so the vast distance heretofore
+existing between her and Richard Assheton might be greatly diminished,
+if not altogether removed. So rapid is the progress of thought, that
+only a few minutes were required for this long train of reflections to
+pass through her mind, and it was merely put to flight by the approach
+of the main object of her thoughts.</p>
+
+<p>On joining the party, Richard Assheton saw plainly that something had
+happened; but as both his sister and Alizon laboured under evident
+embarrassment, he abstained from making inquiries as to its cause for
+the present, hoping a better opportunity of doing so would occur, and
+the conversation was kept up by Nicholas Assheton, who described, in his
+wonted lively manner, the encounter with Mother Chattox and Nance
+Redferne, the swimming of the latter, and the trickery and punishment of
+Potts. During the recital Mistress Nutter often glanced uneasily at the
+two girls, but neither of them offered any interruption until Nicholas
+had finished, when Dorothy, taking her brother's hand, said, with a look
+of affectionate admiration, &quot;You acted like yourself, dear Richard.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Alizon did not venture to give utterance to the same sentiment, but her
+looks plainly expressed it.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I only wish you had punished that cruel James Device, as well as saved
+poor Nance,&quot; added Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hush!&quot; exclaimed Richard, glancing at Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You need not be afraid of hurting her feelings,&quot; cried the young lady.
+&quot;She does not mind him now.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What do you mean, Dorothy?&quot; cried Richard, in surprise.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh, nothing&mdash;nothing,&quot; she replied, hastily.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Perhaps you will explain,&quot; said Richard to Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Indeed I cannot,&quot; she answered in confusion.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You would have laughed to see Potts creep out of the river,&quot; said
+Nicholas, turning to Dorothy; &quot;he looked just like a drowned
+rat&mdash;ha!&mdash;ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have made a bitter enemy of him, Nicholas,&quot; observed Mistress
+Nutter; &quot;so look well to yourself.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I heed him not,&quot; rejoined the squire; &quot;he knows me now too well to
+meddle with me again, and I shall take good care how I put myself in his
+power. One thing I may mention, to show the impotent malice of the
+knave. Just as he was setting off, he said, 'This is not the only
+discovery of witchcraft I have made to-day. I have another case nearer
+home.' What could he mean?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I know not,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter, a shade of disquietude passing
+over her countenance. &quot;But he is quite capable of bringing the charge
+against you or any of us.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He is so,&quot; said Nicholas. &quot;After what has occurred, I wonder whether
+he will go over to Rough Lee to-morrow?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Very likely not,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter, &quot;and in that case Master
+Roger Nowell must provide some other person competent to examine the
+boundary-line of the properties on his behalf.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then you are confident of the adjudication being in your favour?&quot; said
+Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Quite so,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter, with a self-satisfied smile.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The result, I hope, may justify your expectation,&quot; said Nicholas; &quot;but
+it is right to tell you, that Sir Ralph, in consenting to postpone his
+decision, has only done so out of consideration to you. If the division
+of the properties be as represented by him, Master Nowell will
+unquestionably obtain an award in his favour.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Under such circumstances he may,&quot; said Mistress Nutter; &quot;but you will
+find the contrary turn out to be the fact. I will show you a plan I have
+had lately prepared, and you can then judge for yourself.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>While thus conversing, the party passed through a door in the high stone
+wall dividing the garden from the court, and proceeded towards the
+principal entrance of the mansion. Built out of the ruins of the Abbey,
+which had served as a very convenient quarry for the construction of
+this edifice, as well as for Portfield, the house was large and
+irregular, planned chiefly with the view of embodying part of the old
+abbot's lodging, and consisting of a wide front, with two wings, one of
+which looked into the court, and the other, comprehending the long
+gallery, into the garden. The old north-east gate of the Abbey, with its
+lofty archway and embattled walls, served as an entrance to the great
+court-yard, and at its wicket ordinarily stood Ned Huddlestone, the
+porter, though he was absent on the present occasion, being occupied
+with the May-day festivities. Immediately opposite the gateway sprang a
+flight of stone steps, with a double landing-place and a broad
+balustrade of the same material, on the lowest pillar of which was
+placed a large escutcheon sculptured with the arms of the
+family&mdash;argent, a mullet sable&mdash;with a rebus on the name&mdash;an ash on a
+tun. The great door to which these steps conducted stood wide open, and
+before it, on the upper landing-place, were collected Lady Assheton,
+Mistress Braddyll, Mistress Nicholas Assheton, and some other dames,
+laughing and conversing together. Some long-eared spaniels, favourites
+of the lady of the house, were chasing each other up and down the steps,
+disturbing the slumbers of a couple of fine blood-hounds in the
+court-yard; or persecuting the proud peafowl that strutted about to
+display their gorgeous plumage to the spectators.</p>
+
+<p>On seeing the party approach, Lady Assheton came down to meet them.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have been long absent,&quot; she said to Dorothy; &quot;but I suppose you
+have been exploring the ruins?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yes, we have not left a hole or corner unvisited,&quot; was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That is right,&quot; said Lady Assheton. &quot;I knew you would make a good
+guide, Dorothy. Of course you have often seen the old conventual church
+before, Alizon?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am ashamed to say I have not, your ladyship,&quot; she replied.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Indeed!&quot; exclaimed Lady Assheton; &quot;and yet you have lived all your life
+in the village?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Quite true, your ladyship,&quot; answered Alizon; &quot;but these ruins have been
+prohibited to me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not by us,&quot; said Lady Assheton; &quot;they are open to every one.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I was forbidden to visit them by my mother,&quot; said Alizon. And for the
+first time the word &quot;mother&quot; seemed strange to her.</p>
+
+<p>Lady Assheton looked surprised, but made no remark, and mounting the
+steps, led the way to a spacious though not very lofty chamber, with
+huge uncovered rafters, and a floor of polished oak. Over a great
+fireplace at one side, furnished with immense andirons, hung a noble
+pair of antlers, and similar trophies of the chase were affixed to other
+parts of the walls. Here and there were likewise hung rusty skull-caps,
+breastplates, two-handed and single-handed swords, maces, halberts, and
+arquebusses, with chain-shirts, buff-jerkins, matchlocks, and other
+warlike implements, amongst which were several shields painted with the
+arms of the Asshetons and their alliances. High-backed chairs of gilt
+leather were ranged against the walls, and ebony cabinets inlaid with
+ivory were set between them at intervals, supporting rare specimens of
+glass and earthenware. Opposite the fireplace, stood a large clock,
+curiously painted and decorated with emblematical devices, with the
+signs of the zodiac, and provided with movable figures to strike the
+hours on a bell; while from the centre of the roof hung a great
+chandelier of stag's horn.</p>
+
+<p>Lady Assheton did not tarry long within the entrance hall, for such it
+was, but conducted her guests through an arched doorway on the right
+into the long gallery. One hundred and fifty feet in length, and
+proportionately wide and lofty, this vast chamber had undergone little
+change since its original construction by the old owners of the Abbey.
+Panelled and floored with lustrous oak, and hung in some parts with
+antique tapestry, representing scriptural subjects, one side was pierced
+with lofty pointed windows, looking out upon the garden, while the
+southern extremity boasted a magnificent window, with heavy stone
+mullions, though of more recent workmanship than the framework,
+commanding Whalley Nab and the river. The furniture of the apartment was
+grand but gloomy, and consisted of antique chairs and tables belonging
+to the Abbey. Some curious ecclesiastical sculptures, wood carvings, and
+saintly images, were placed at intervals near the walls, and on the
+upper panels were hung a row of family portraits.</p>
+
+<p>Quitting the rest of the company, and proceeding to the southern
+window, Dorothy invited Alizon and her brother to place themselves
+beside her on the cushioned seats of the deep embrasure. Little
+conversation, however, ensued; Alizon's heart being too full for
+utterance, and recent occurrences engrossing Dorothy's thoughts, to the
+exclusion of every thing else. Having made one or two unsuccessful
+efforts to engage them in talk, Richard likewise lapsed into silence,
+and gazed out on the lovely scenery before him. The evening has been
+described as beautiful; and the swift Calder, as it hurried by, was
+tinged with rays of the declining sun, whilst the woody heights of
+Whalley Nab were steeped in the same rosy light. But the view failed to
+interest Richard in his present mood, and after a brief survey, he stole
+a look at Alizon, and was surprised to find her in tears.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What saddening thoughts cross you, fair girl?&quot; he inquired, with deep
+interest.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I can hardly account for my sudden despondency,&quot; she replied; &quot;but I
+have heard that great happiness is the precursor of dejection, and the
+saying I suppose must be true, for I have been happier to-day than I
+ever was before in my life. But the feeling of sadness is now past,&quot; she
+added, smiling.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am glad of it,&quot; said Richard. &quot;May I not know what has occurred to
+you?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not at present,&quot; interposed Dorothy; &quot;but I am sure you will be pleased
+when you are made acquainted with the circumstance. I would tell you now
+if I might.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;May I guess?&quot; said Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I don't know,&quot; rejoined Dorothy, who was dying to tell him. &quot;May he?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh no, no!&quot; cried Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are very perverse,&quot; said Richard, with a look of disappointment.
+&quot;There can be no harm in guessing; and you can please yourself as to
+giving an answer. I fancy, then, that Alizon has made some discovery.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy nodded.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Relative to her parentage?&quot; pursued Richard.</p>
+
+<p>Another nod.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She has found out she is not Elizabeth Device's daughter?&quot; said
+Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Some witch must have told you this,&quot; exclaimed Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Have I indeed guessed rightly?&quot; cried Richard, with an eagerness that
+startled his sister. &quot;Do not keep me in suspense. Speak plainly.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How am I to answer him, Alizon?&quot; said Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, do not appeal to me, dear young lady,&quot; she answered, blushing.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have gone too far to retreat,&quot; rejoined Dorothy, &quot;and therefore,
+despite Mistress Nutter's interdiction, the truth shall out. You have
+guessed shrewdly, Richard. A discovery <i>has</i> been made&mdash;a very great
+discovery. Alizon is not the daughter of Elizabeth Device.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The intelligence delights me, though it scarcely surprises me,&quot; cried
+Richard, gazing with heartfelt pleasure at the blushing girl; &quot;for I was
+sure of the fact from the first. Nothing so good and charming as Alizon
+could spring from so foul a source. How and by what means you have
+derived this information, as well as whose daughter you are, I shall
+wait patiently to learn. Enough for me you are not the sister of James
+Device&mdash;enough you are not the grandchild of Mother Demdike.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You know all I know, in knowing thus much,&quot; replied Alizon, timidly.
+&quot;And secrecy has been enjoined by Mistress Nutter, in order that the
+rest may be found out. But oh! should the hopes I have&mdash;perhaps too
+hastily&mdash;indulged, prove fallacious&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;They cannot be fallacious, Alizon,&quot; interrupted Richard, eagerly. &quot;On
+that score rest easy. Your connexion with that wretched family is for
+ever broken. But I can see the necessity of caution, and shall observe
+it. And so Mistress Nutter takes an interest in you?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The strongest,&quot; replied Dorothy; &quot;but see! she comes this way.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But we must now go back for a short space.</p>
+
+<p>While Mistress Nutter and Nicholas were seated at a table examining a
+plan of the Rough Lee estates, the latter was greatly astonished to see
+the door open and give admittance to Master Potts, who he fancied snugly
+lying between a couple of blankets, at the Dragon. The attorney was clad
+in a riding-dress, which he had exchanged for his wet habiliments, and
+was accompanied by Sir Ralph Assheton and Master Roger Nowell. On seeing
+Nicholas, he instantly stepped up to him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Aha! squire,&quot; he cried, &quot;you did not expect to see me again so soon,
+eh! A pottle of hot sack put my blood into circulation, and having,
+luckily, a change of raiment in my valise, I am all right again. Not so
+easily got rid of, you see!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;So it appears,&quot; replied Nicholas, laughing.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We have a trifling account to settle together, sir,&quot; said the attorney,
+putting on a serious look.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whenever you please, sir,&quot; replied Nicholas, good-humouredly, tapping
+the hilt of his sword.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not in that way,&quot; cried Potts, darting quickly back. &quot;I never fight
+with those weapons&mdash;never. Our dispute must be settled in a court of
+law, sir&mdash;in a court of law. You understand, Master Nicholas?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There is a shrewd maxim, Master Potts, that he who is his own lawyer
+has a fool for his client,&quot; observed Nicholas, drily. &quot;Would it not be
+better to stick to the defence of others, rather than practise in your
+own behalf?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have expressed my opinion, Master Nicholas,&quot; observed Roger
+Nowell; &quot;and I hope Master Potts will not commence any action on his own
+account till he has finished my business.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Assuredly not, sir, since you desire it,&quot; replied the attorney,
+obsequiously. &quot;But my motives must not be mistaken. I have a clear case
+of assault and battery against Master Nicholas Assheton, or I may
+proceed against him criminally for an attempt on my life.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Have you given him no provocation, sir?&quot; demanded Sir Ralph, sternly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No provocation can justify the treatment I have experienced, Sir
+Ralph,&quot; replied Potts. &quot;However, to show I am a man of peace, and
+harbour no resentment, however just grounds I may have for such a
+feeling, I am willing to make up the matter with Master Nicholas,
+provided&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He offers you a handsome consideration, eh?&quot; said the squire.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Provided he offers me a handsome apology&mdash;such as a gentleman may
+accept,&quot; rejoined Potts, consequentially.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And which he will not refuse, I am sure,&quot; said Sir Ralph, glancing at
+his cousin.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I should certainly be sorry to have drowned you,&quot; said the
+squire&mdash;&quot;very sorry.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Enough&mdash;enough&mdash;I am content,&quot; cried Potts, holding out his hand, which
+Nicholas grasped with an energy that brought tears into the little man's
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am glad the matter is amicably adjusted,&quot; observed Roger Nowell, &quot;for
+I suspect both parties have been to blame. And I must now request you,
+Master Potts, to forego your search, and inquiries after witches, till
+such time as you have settled this question of the boundary line for me.
+One matter at a time, my good sir.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But, Master Nowell,&quot; cried Potts, &quot;my much esteemed and singular good
+client&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will have no nay,&quot; interrupted Nowell, peremptorily.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hum!&quot; muttered Potts; &quot;I shall lose the best chance of distinction ever
+thrown in my way.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I care not,&quot; said Nowell.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Just as you came up, Master Nowell,&quot; observed Nicholas, &quot;I was
+examining a plan of the disputed estates in Pendle Forest. It differs
+from yours, and, if correct, certainly substantiates Mistress Nutter's
+claim.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have mine with me,&quot; replied Nowell, producing a plan, and opening it.
+&quot;We can compare the two, if you please. The line runs thus:&mdash;From the
+foot of Pendle Hill, beginning with Barley Booth, the boundary is marked
+by a stone wall, as far as certain fields in the occupation of John
+Ogden. Is it not so?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is,&quot; replied Nicholas, comparing the statement with the other plan.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It then runs on in a northerly direction,&quot; pursued Nowell, &quot;towards
+Burst Clough, and here the landmarks are certain stones placed in the
+moor, one hundred yards apart, and giving me twenty acres of this land,
+and Mistress Nutter ten.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;On the contrary,&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;This plan gives Mistress Nutter
+twenty acres, and you ten.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then the plan is wrong,&quot; cried Nowell, sharply.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It has been carefully prepared,&quot; said Mistress Nutter, who had
+approached the table.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No matter; it is wrong, I say,&quot; cried Nowell, angrily.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You see where the landmarks are placed, Master Nowell,&quot; said Nicholas,
+pointing to the measurement. &quot;I merely go by them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The landmarks are improperly placed in that plan,&quot; cried Nowell.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will examine them myself to-morrow,&quot; said Potts, taking out a large
+memorandum-hook; &quot;there cannot be an error of ten acres&mdash;ten perches&mdash;or
+ten feet, possibly, but acres&mdash;pshaw!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Laugh as you please; but go on,&quot; said Mrs. Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, then,&quot; pursued Nicholas, &quot;the line approaches the bank of a
+rivulet, called Moss Brook&mdash;a rare place for woodcocks and snipes that
+Moss Brook, I may remark&mdash;the land on the left consisting of five acres
+of waste land, marked by a sheepfold, and two posts set up in a line
+with it, belonging to Mistress Nutter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;To Mistress Nutter!&quot; exclaimed Nowell, indignantly. &quot;To me, you mean.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is here set down to Mistress Nutter,&quot; said Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then it is set down wrongfully,&quot; cried Nowell. &quot;That plan is altogether
+incorrect.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;On which side of the field does the rivulet flow?&quot; inquired Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;On the right,&quot; replied Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;On the left,&quot; cried Nowell.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There must be some extraordinary mistake,&quot; said Potts. &quot;I shall make a
+note of that, and examine it to-morrow.&mdash;N.B. Waste
+land&mdash;sheepfold&mdash;rivulet called Moss Brook, flowing on the left.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;On the right,&quot; cried Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That remains to be seen,&quot; rejoined Potts, &quot;I have made the entry as on
+the left.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Go on, Master Nicholas,&quot; said Nowell, &quot;I should like to see how many
+other errors that plan contains.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Passing the rivulet,&quot; pursued the squire, &quot;we come to a footpath
+leading to the limestone quarry, about which there can be no mistake.
+Then by Cat Gallows Wood and Swallow Hole; and then by another path to
+Worston Moor, skirting a hut in the occupation of James Device&mdash;ha! ha!
+Master Jem, are you here? I thought you dwelt with your grandmother at
+Malkin Tower&mdash;excuse me, Master Nowell, but one must relieve the dulness
+of this plan by an exclamation or so&mdash;and here being waste land again,
+the landmarks are certain stones set at intervals towards Hook Cliff,
+and giving Mistress Nutter two-thirds of the whole moor, and Master
+Roger Nowell one-third.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;False again,&quot; cried Nowell, furiously. &quot;The two-thirds are mine, the
+one-third Mistress Nutter's.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Somebody must be very wrong,&quot; cried Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Very wrong indeed,&quot; added Potts; &quot;and I suspect that that somebody
+is&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Master Nowell,&quot; said Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Mistress Nutter,&quot; cried Master Nowell.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Both are wrong and both right, according to your own showing,&quot; said
+Nicholas, laughing.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;To-morrow will decide the question,&quot; said Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Better wait till then,&quot; interposed Sir Ralph. &quot;Take both plans with
+you, and you will then ascertain which is correct.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Agreed,&quot; cried Nowell. &quot;Here is mine.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And here is mine,&quot; said Mistress Nutter. &quot;I will abide by the
+investigation.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And Master Potts and I will verify the statements,&quot; said Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We will, sir,&quot; replied the attorney, putting his memorandum book in his
+pocket. &quot;We will.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The plans were then delivered to the custody of Sir Ralph, who promised
+to hand them over to Potts and Nicholas on the morrow.</p>
+
+<p>The party then separated; Mistress Nutter shaping her course towards the
+window where Alizon and the two other young people were seated, while
+Potts, plucking the squire's sleeve, said, with a very mysterious look,
+that he desired a word with him in private. Wondering what could be the
+nature of the communication the attorney desired to make, Nicholas
+withdrew with him into a corner, and Nowell, who saw them retire, and
+could not help watching them with some curiosity, remarked that the
+squire's hilarious countenance fell as he listened to the attorney,
+while, on the contrary, the features of the latter gleamed with
+malicious satisfaction.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Mistress Nutter approached Alizon, and beckoning her towards
+her, they quitted the room together. As the young girl went forth, she
+cast a wistful look at Dorothy and her brother.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You think with me, that that lovely girl is well born?&quot; said Dorothy,
+as Alizon disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It were heresy to doubt it,&quot; answered Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Shall I tell you another secret?&quot; she continued, regarding him
+fixedly&mdash;&quot;if, indeed, it be a secret, for you must be sadly wanting in
+discernment if you have not found it out ere this. She loves you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Dorothy!&quot; exclaimed Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am sure of it,&quot; she rejoined. &quot;But I would not tell you this, if I
+were not quite equally sure that you love her in return.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;On my faith, Dorothy, you give yourself credit for wonderful
+penetration,&quot; cried Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not a whit more than I am entitled to,&quot; she answered. &quot;Nay, it will not
+do to attempt concealment with me. If I had not been certain of the
+matter before, your manner now would convince me. I am very glad of it.
+She will make a charming sister, and I shall he very fond of her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How you do run on, madcap!&quot; cried her brother, trying to look
+displeased, but totally failing in assuming the expression.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Stranger things have come to pass,&quot; said Dorothy; &quot;and one reads in
+story-hooks of young nobles marrying village maidens in spite of
+parental opposition. I dare say you will get nobody's consent to the
+marriage but mine, Richard.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I dare say not,&quot; he replied, rather blankly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That is, if she should not turn out to be somebody's daughter,&quot; pursued
+Dorothy; &quot;somebody, I mean, quite as great as the heir of Middleton,
+which I make no doubt she will.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I hope she may,&quot; replied Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why, you don't mean to say you wouldn't marry her if she didn't!&quot; cried
+Dorothy. &quot;I'm ashamed of you, Richard.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It would remove all opposition, at all events,&quot; said her brother.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;So it would,&quot; said Dorothy; &quot;and now I'll tell you another notion of
+mine, Richard. Somehow or other, it has come into my head that Alizon is
+the daughter of&mdash;whom do you think?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whom!&quot; he cried.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Guess,&quot; she rejoined.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I can't,&quot; he exclaimed, impatiently.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, then, I'll tell you without more ado,&quot; she answered. &quot;Mind, it's
+only my notion, and I've no precise grounds for it. But, in my opinion,
+she's the daughter of the lady who has just left the room.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Of Mistress Nutter!&quot; ejaculated Richard, starting. &quot;What makes you
+think so?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The extraordinary and otherwise unaccountable interest she takes in
+her,&quot; replied Dorothy. &quot;And, if you recollect, Mistress Nutter had an
+infant daughter who was lost in a strange manner.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I thought the child died,&quot; replied Richard; &quot;but it may be as you say.
+I hope it is so.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Time will show,&quot; said Dorothy; &quot;but I have made up my mind about the
+matter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>At this moment Nicholas Assheton came up to them, looking grave and
+uneasy.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What has happened?&quot; asked Richard, anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have just received some very unpleasant intelligence,&quot; replied
+Nicholas. &quot;I told you of a menace uttered by that confounded Potts, on
+quitting me after his ducking. He has now spoken out plainly, and
+declares he overheard part of a conversation between Mistress Nutter and
+Elizabeth Device, which took place in the ruins of the convent church
+this morning, and he is satisfied that&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well!&quot; cried Richard, breathlessly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That Mistress Nutter is a witch, and in league with witches,&quot; continued
+Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha!&quot; exclaimed Richard, turning deathly pale.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I suspect the rascal has invented the charge,&quot; said Nicholas; &quot;but he
+is quite unscrupulous enough to make it; and, if made, it will be fatal
+to our relative's reputation, if not to her life.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is false, I am sure of it,&quot; cried Richard, torn by conflicting
+emotions.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Would I could think so!&quot; cried Dorothy, suddenly recollecting Mistress
+Nutter's strange demeanour in the little chapel, and the unaccountable
+influence she seemed to exercise over the old crone. &quot;But something has
+occurred to-day that leads me to a contrary conviction.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What is it? Speak!&quot; cried Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not now&mdash;not now,&quot; replied Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whatever suspicions you may entertain, keep silence, or you will
+destroy Mistress Nutter,&quot; said Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Fear me not,&quot; rejoined Dorothy. &quot;Oh, Alizon!&quot; she murmured, &quot;that this
+unhappy question should arise at such a moment.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do you indeed believe the charge, Dorothy?&quot; asked Richard, in a low
+voice.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I do,&quot; she answered in the same tone. &quot;If Alizon be her daughter, she
+can never be your wife.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How?&quot; cried Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Never&mdash;never!&quot; repeated Dorothy, emphatically. &quot;The daughter of a
+witch, be that witch named Elizabeth Device or Alice Nutter, is no mate
+for you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You prejudge Mistress Nutter, Dorothy,&quot; he cried.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alas! Richard. I have too good reason for what I say,&quot; she answered,
+sadly.</p>
+
+<p>Richard uttered an exclamation of despair. And on the instant the lively
+sounds of tabor and pipe, mixed with the jingling of bells, arose from
+the court-yard, and presently afterwards an attendant entered to
+announce that the May-day revellers were without, and directions were
+given by Sir Ralph that they should be shown into the great
+banqueting-hall below the gallery, which had been prepared for their
+reception.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII_THE_REVELATION" id="CHAPTER_VIII_THE_REVELATION" />CHAPTER VIII.&mdash;THE REVELATION.</h2>
+
+
+<p>On quitting the long gallery, Mistress Nutter and Alizon ascended a wide
+staircase, and, traversing a corridor, came to an antique, tapestried
+chamber, richly but cumbrously furnished, having a carved oak bedstead
+with sombre hangings, a few high-backed chairs of the same material, and
+a massive wardrobe, with shrine-work atop, and two finely sculptured
+figures, of the size of life, in the habits of Cistertian monks, placed
+as supporters at either extremity. At one side of the bed the tapestry
+was drawn aside, showing the entrance to a closet or inner room, and
+opposite it there was a great yawning fireplace, with a lofty
+mantelpiece and chimney projecting beyond the walls. The windows were
+narrow, and darkened by heavy transom bars and small diamond panes while
+the view without, looking upon Whalley Nab, was obstructed by the
+contiguity of a tall cypress, whose funereal branches added to the
+general gloom. The room was one of those formerly allotted to their
+guests by the hospitable abbots, and had undergone little change since
+their time, except in regard to furniture; and even that appeared old
+and faded now. What with the gloomy arras, the shrouded bedstead, and
+the Gothic wardrobe with its mysterious figures, the chamber had a grim,
+ghostly air, and so the young girl thought on entering it.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have brought you hither, Alizon,&quot; said Mistress Nutter, motioning her
+to a seat, &quot;that we may converse without chance of interruption, for I
+have much to say. On first seeing you to-day, your appearance, so
+superior to the rest of the May-day mummers, struck me forcibly, and I
+resolved to question Elizabeth Device about you. Accordingly I bade her
+join me in the Abbey gardens. She did so, and had not long left me when
+I accidentally met you and the others in the Lacy Chapel. When
+questioned, Elizabeth affected great surprise, and denied positively
+that there was any foundation for the idea that you were other than her
+child; but, notwithstanding her asseverations, I could see from her
+confused manner that there was more in the notion than she chose to
+admit, and I determined to have recourse to other means of arriving at
+the truth, little expecting my suspicions would be so soon confirmed by
+Mother Chattox. To my interrogation of that old woman, you were yourself
+a party, and I am now rejoiced that you interfered to prevent me from
+prosecuting my inquiries to the utmost. There was one present from whom
+the secret of your birth must be strictly kept&mdash;at least, for
+awhile&mdash;and my impatience carried me too far.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I only obeyed a natural impulse, madam,&quot; said Alizon; &quot;but I am at a
+loss to conceive what claim I can possibly have to the consideration you
+show me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Listen to me, and you shall learn,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter. &quot;It is a
+sad tale, and its recital will tear open old wounds, but it must not be
+withheld on that account. I do not ask you to bury the secrets I am
+about to impart in the recesses of your bosom. You will do so when you
+learn them, without my telling you. When little more than your age I was
+wedded; but not to him I would have chosen if choice had been permitted
+me. The union I need scarcely say was unhappy&mdash;most unhappy&mdash;though my
+discomforts were scrupulously concealed, and I was looked upon as a
+devoted wife, and my husband as a model of conjugal affection. But this
+was merely the surface&mdash;internally all was strife and misery. Erelong my
+dislike of my husband increased to absolute hate, while on his part,
+though he still regarded me with as much passion as heretofore, he
+became frantically jealous&mdash;and above all of Edward Braddyll of
+Portfield, who, as his bosom friend, and my distant relative, was a
+frequent visiter at the house. To relate the numerous exhibitions of
+jealousy that occurred would answer little purpose, and it will be
+enough to say that not a word or look passed between Edward and myself
+but was misconstrued. I took care never to be alone with our guest&mdash;nor
+to give any just ground for suspicion&mdash;but my caution availed nothing.
+An easy remedy would have been to forbid Edward the house, but this my
+husband's pride rejected. He preferred to endure the jealous torment
+occasioned by the presence of his wife's fancied lover, and inflict
+needless anguish on her, rather than brook the jeers of a few
+indifferent acquaintances. The same feeling made him desire to keep up
+an apparent good understanding with me; and so far I seconded his views,
+for I shared in his pride, if in nothing else. Our quarrels were all in
+private, when no eye could see us&mdash;no ear listen.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yours is a melancholy history, madam,&quot; remarked Alizon, in a tone of
+profound interest.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You will think so ere I have done,&quot; returned the lady, sadly. &quot;The only
+person in my confidence, and aware of my secret sorrows, was Elizabeth
+Device, who with her husband, John Device, then lived at Rough Lee.
+Serving me in the quality of tire-woman and personal attendant, she
+could not be kept in ignorance of what took place, and the poor soul
+offered me all the sympathy in her power. Much was it needed, for I had
+no other sympathy. After awhile, I know not from what cause, unless from
+some imprudence on the part of Edward Braddyll, who was wild and
+reckless, my husband conceived worse suspicions than ever of me, and
+began to treat me with such harshness and cruelty, that, unable longer
+to endure his violence, I appealed to my father. But he was of a stern
+and arbitrary nature, and, having forced me into the match, would not
+listen to my complaints, but bade me submit. 'It was my duty to do so,'
+he said, and he added some cutting expressions to the effect that I
+deserved the treatment I experienced, and dismissed me. Driven to
+desperation, I sought counsel and assistance from one I should most have
+avoided&mdash;from Edward Braddyll&mdash;and he proposed flight from my husband's
+roof&mdash;flight with him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But you were saved, madam?&quot; cried Alizon, greatly shocked by the
+narration. &quot;You were saved?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hear me out,&quot; rejoined Mistress Nutter. &quot;Outraged as my feelings were,
+and loathsome as my husband was to me, I spurned the base proposal, and
+instantly quitted my false friend. Nor would I have seen him more, if
+permitted; but that secret interview with him was my first and
+last;&mdash;for it had been witnessed by my husband.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha!&quot; exclaimed Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Concealed behind the arras, Richard Nutter heard enough to confirm his
+worst suspicions,&quot; pursued the lady; &quot;but he did not hear my
+justification. He saw Edward Braddyll at my feet&mdash;he heard him urge me
+to fly&mdash;but he did not wait to learn if I consented, and, looking upon
+me as guilty, left his hiding-place to take measures for frustrating the
+plan, he supposed concerted between us. That night I was made prisoner
+in my room, and endured treatment the most inhuman. But a proposal was
+made by my husband, that promised some alleviation of my suffering.
+Henceforth we were to meet only in public, when a semblance of affection
+was to be maintained on both sides. This was done, he said, to save my
+character, and preserve his own name unspotted in the eyes of others,
+however tarnished it might be in his own. I willingly consented to the
+arrangement; and thus for a brief space I became tranquil, if not happy.
+But another and severer trial awaited me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alas, madam!&quot; exclaimed Alizon, sympathisingly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My cup of sorrow, I thought, was full,&quot; pursued Mistress Nutter; &quot;but
+the drop was wanting to make it overflow. It came soon enough. Amidst my
+griefs I expected to be a mother, and with that thought how many fond
+and cheering anticipations mingled! In my child I hoped to find a balm
+for my woes: in its smiles and innocent endearments a compensation for
+the harshness and injustice I had experienced. How little did I foresee
+that it was to be a new instrument of torture to me; and that I should
+be cruelly robbed of the only blessing ever vouchsafed me!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Did the child die, madam?&quot; asked Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You shall hear,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter. &quot;A daughter was born to me. I
+was made happy by its birth. A new existence, bright and unclouded,
+seemed dawning upon me; but it was like a sunburst on a stormy day. Some
+two months before this event Elizabeth Device had given birth to a
+daughter, and she now took my child under her fostering care; for
+weakness prevented me from affording it the support it is a mother's
+blessed privilege to bestow. She seemed as fond of it as myself; and
+never was babe more calculated to win love than my little Millicent. Oh!
+how shall I go on? The retrospect I am compelled to take is frightful,
+but I cannot shun it. The foul and false suspicions entertained by my
+husband began to settle on the child. He would not believe it to be his
+own. With violent oaths and threats he first announced his odious
+suspicions to Elizabeth Device, and she, full of terror, communicated
+them to me. The tidings filled me with inexpressible alarm; for I knew,
+if the dread idea had once taken possession of him, it would never be
+removed, while what he threatened would be executed. I would have fled
+at once with my poor babe if I had known where to go; but I had no place
+of shelter. It would be in vain to seek refuge with my father; and I had
+no other relative or friend whom I could trust. Where then should I fly?
+At last I bethought me of a retreat, and arranged a plan of escape with
+Elizabeth Device. Vain were my precautions. On that very night, I was
+startled from slumber by a sudden cry from the nurse, who was seated by
+the fire, with the child on her knees. It was long past midnight, and
+all the household were at rest. Two persons had entered the room. One
+was my ruthless husband, Richard Nutter; the other was John Device, a
+powerful ruffianly fellow, who planted himself near the door.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Marching quickly towards Elizabeth, who had arisen on seeing him, my
+husband snatched the child from her before I could seize it, and with a
+violent blow on the chest felled me to the ground, where I lay helpless,
+speechless. With reeling senses I heard Elizabeth cry out that it was
+her own child, and call upon her husband to save it. Richard Nutter
+paused, but re-assured by a laugh of disbelief from his ruffianly
+follower, he told Elizabeth the pitiful excuse would not avail to save
+the brat. And then I saw a weapon gleam&mdash;there was a feeble piteous
+cry&mdash;a cry that might have moved a demon&mdash;but it did not move <i>him</i>.
+With wicked words and blood-imbrued hands he cast the body on the fire.
+The horrid sight was too much for me, and I became senseless.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A dreadful tale, indeed, madam!&quot; cried Alizon, frozen with horror.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The crime was hidden&mdash;hidden from the eyes of men, but mark the
+retribution that followed,&quot; said Mistress Nutter; her eyes sparkling
+with vindictive joy. &quot;Of the two murderers both perished miserably. John
+Device was drowned in a moss-pool. Richard Nutter's end was terrible,
+sharpened by the pangs of remorse, and marked by frightful suffering.
+But another dark event preceded his death, which may have laid a crime
+the more on his already heavily-burdened soul. Edward Braddyll, the
+object of his jealousy and hate, suddenly sickened of a malady so
+strange and fearful, that all who saw him affirmed it the result of
+witchcraft. None thought of my husband's agency in the dark affair
+except myself; but knowing he had held many secret conferences about the
+time with Mother Chattox, I more than suspected him. The sick man died;
+and from that hour Richard Nutter knew no rest. Ever on horseback, or
+fiercely carousing, he sought in vain to stifle remorse. Visions scared
+him by night, and vague fears pursued him by day. He would start at
+shadows, and talk wildly. To me his whole demeanour was altered; and he
+strove by every means in his power to win my love. But he could not give
+me back the treasure he had taken. He could not bring to life my
+murdered babe. Like his victim, he fell ill on a sudden, and of a
+strange and terrible sickness. I saw he could not recover, and therefore
+tended him carefully. He died; and I shed no tear.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alas!&quot; exclaimed Alizon, &quot;though guilty, I cannot but compassionate
+him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are right to do so, Alizon,&quot; said Mistress Nutter, rising, while
+the young girl rose too; &quot;for he was your father.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My father!&quot; she exclaimed, in amazement. &quot;Then you are my mother?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am&mdash;I am,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter, straining her to her bosom. &quot;Oh,
+my child!&mdash;my dear child!&quot; she cried. &quot;The voice of nature from the
+first pleaded eloquently in your behalf, and I should have been deaf to
+all impulses of affection if I had not listened to the call. I now trace
+in every feature the lineaments of the babe I thought lost for ever. All
+is clear to me. The exclamation of Elizabeth Device, which, like my
+ruthless husband, I looked upon as an artifice to save the infant's
+life, I now find to be the truth. Her child perished instead of mine.
+How or why she exchanged the infants on that night remains to be
+explained, but that she did so is certain; while that she should
+afterwards conceal the circumstance is easily comprehended, from a
+natural dread of her own husband as well as of mine. It is possible that
+from some cause she may still deny the truth, but I can make it her
+interest to speak plainly. The main difficulty will lie in my public
+acknowledgment of you. But, at whatever cost, it shall be made.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! consider it well;&quot; said Alizon, &quot;I will be your daughter in
+love&mdash;in duty&mdash;in all but name. But sully not my poor father's honour,
+which even at the peril of his soul he sought to maintain! How can I be
+owned as your daughter without involving the discovery of this tragic
+history?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are right, Alizon,&quot; rejoined Mistress Nutter, thoughtfully. &quot;It
+will bring the dark deed to light. But you shall never return to
+Elizabeth Device. You shall go with me to Rough Lee, and take up your
+abode in the house where I was once so wretched&mdash;but where I shall now
+be full of happiness with you. You shall see the dark spots on the
+hearth, which I took to be your blood.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If not mine, it was blood spilt by my father,&quot; said Alizon, with a
+shudder.</p>
+
+<p>Was it fancy, or did a low groan break upon her ear? It must be
+imaginary, for Mistress Nutter seemed unconscious of the dismal sound.
+It was now growing rapidly dark, and the more distant objects in the
+room were wrapped in obscurity; but Alizon's gaze rested on the two
+monkish figures supporting the wardrobe.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Look there, mother,&quot; she said to Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Where?&quot; cried the lady, turning round quickly, &quot;Ah! I see. You alarm
+yourself needlessly, my child. Those are only carved figures of two
+brethren of the Abbey. They are said, I know not with what truth&mdash;to be
+statues of John Paslew and Borlace Alvetham.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I thought they stirred,&quot; said Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It was mere fancy,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter. &quot;Calm yourself, sweet
+child. Let us think of other things&mdash;of our newly discovered
+relationship. Henceforth, to me you are Millicent Nutter; though to
+others you must still be Alizon Device. My sweet Millicent,&quot; she cried,
+embracing her again and again. &quot;Ah, little&mdash;little did I think to see
+you more!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Alizon's fears were speedily chased away.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Forgive me, dear mother,&quot; she cried, &quot;if I have failed to express the
+full delight I experience in my restitution to you. The shock of your
+sad tale at first deadened my joy, while the suddenness of the
+information respecting myself so overwhelmed me, that like one chancing
+upon a hidden treasure, and gazing at it confounded, I was unable to
+credit my own good fortune. Even now I am quite bewildered; and no
+wonder, for many thoughts, each of different import, throng upon me.
+Independently of the pleasure and natural pride I must feel in being
+acknowledged by you as a daughter, it is a source of the deepest
+satisfaction to me to know that I am not, in any way, connected with
+Elizabeth Device&mdash;not from her humble station&mdash;for poverty weighs little
+with me in comparison with virtue and goodness&mdash;but from her sinfulness.
+You know the dark offence laid to her charge?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I do,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter, in a low deep tone, &quot;but I do not
+believe it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nor I,&quot; returned Alizon. &quot;Still, she acts as if she were the wicked
+thing she is called; avoids all religious offices; shuns all places of
+worship; and derides the Holy Scriptures. Oh, mother! you will
+comprehend the frequent conflict of feelings I must have endured. You
+will understand my horror when I have sometimes thought myself the
+daughter of a witch.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why did you not leave her if you thought so?&quot; said Mistress Nutter,
+frowning.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I could not leave her,&quot; replied Alizon, &quot;for I then thought her my
+mother.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Mistress Nutter fell upon her daughter's neck, and wept aloud. &quot;You have
+an excellent heart, my child,&quot; she said at length, checking her emotion.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have nothing to complain of in Elizabeth Device, dear mother,&quot; she
+replied. &quot;What she denied herself, she did not refuse me; and though I
+have necessarily many and great deficiencies, you will find in me, I
+trust, no evil principles. And, oh! shall we not strive to rescue that
+poor benighted creature from the pit? We may yet save her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is too late,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter in a sombre tone.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It cannot be too late,&quot; said Alizon, confidently. &quot;She cannot be beyond
+redemption. But even if she should prove intractable, poor little Jennet
+may be preserved. She is yet a child, with some good&mdash;though, alas! much
+evil, also&mdash;in her nature. Let our united efforts be exerted in this
+good work, and we must succeed. The weeds extirpated, the flowers will
+spring up freely, and bloom in beauty.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I can have nothing to do with her,&quot; said Mistress Nutter, in a freezing
+tone&mdash;&quot;nor must you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! say not so, mother,&quot; cried Alizon. &quot;You rob me of half the
+happiness I feel in being restored to you. When I was Jennets sister, I
+devoted myself to the task of reclaiming her. I hoped to be her guardian
+angel&mdash;to step between her and the assaults of evil&mdash;and I cannot, will
+not, now abandon her. If no longer my sister, she is still dear to me.
+And recollect that I owe a deep debt of gratitude to her mother&mdash;a debt
+I can never pay.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How so?&quot; cried Mistress Nutter. &quot;You owe her nothing&mdash;but the
+contrary.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I owe her a life,&quot; said Alizon. &quot;Was not her infant's blood poured out
+for mine! And shall I not save the child left her, if I can?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I shall not oppose your inclinations,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter, with
+reluctant assent; &quot;but Elizabeth, I suspect, will thank you little for
+your interference.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not now, perhaps,&quot; returned Alizon; &quot;but a time will come when she will
+do so.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>While this conversation took place, it had been rapidly growing dark,
+and the gloom at length increased so much, that the speakers could
+scarcely see each other's faces. The sudden and portentous darkness was
+accounted for by a vivid flash of lightning, followed by a low growl of
+thunder rumbling over Whalley Nab. The mother and daughter drew close
+together, and Mistress Nutter passed her arm round Alizon's neck.</p>
+
+<p>The storm came quickly on, with forked and dangerous lightning, and
+loud claps of thunder threatening mischief. Presently, all its fury
+seemed collected over the Abbey. The red flashes hissed, and the peals
+of thunder rolled overhead. But other terrors were added to Alizon's
+natural dread of the elemental warfare. Again she fancied the two
+monkish figures, which had before excited her alarm, moved, and even
+shook their arms menacingly at her. At first she attributed this wild
+idea to her overwrought imagination, and strove to convince herself of
+its fallacy by keeping her eyes steadily fixed upon them. But each
+succeeding flash only served to confirm her superstitious apprehensions.</p>
+
+<p>Another circumstance contributed to heighten her alarm. Scared most
+probably by the storm, a large white owl fluttered down the chimney, and
+after wheeling twice or thrice round the chamber, settled upon the bed,
+hooting, puffing, ruffling its feathers, and glaring at her with eyes
+that glowed like fiery coals.</p>
+
+<p>Mistress Nutter seemed little moved by the storm, though she kept a
+profound silence, but when Alizon gazed in her face, she was frightened
+by its expression, which reminded her of the terrible aspect she had
+worn at the interview with Mother Chattox.</p>
+
+<p>All at once Mistress Nutter arose, and, rapid as the lightning playing
+around her and revealing her movements, made several passes, with
+extended hands, over her daughter; and on this the latter instantly fell
+back, as if fainting, though still retaining her consciousness; and,
+what was stranger still, though her eyes were closed, her power of sight
+remained.</p>
+
+<p>In this condition she fancied invisible forms were moving about her.
+Strange sounds seemed to salute her ears, like the gibbering of ghosts,
+and she thought she felt the flapping of unseen wings around her.</p>
+
+<p>All at once her attention was drawn&mdash;she knew not why&mdash;towards the
+closet, and from out it she fancied she saw issue the tall dark figure
+of a man. She was sure she saw him; for her imagination could not body
+forth features charged with such a fiendish expression, or eyes of such
+unearthly lustre. He was clothed in black, but the fashion of his
+raiments was unlike aught she had ever seen. His stature was gigantic,
+and a pale phosphoric light enshrouded him. As he advanced, forked
+lightnings shot into the room, and the thunder split overhead. The owl
+hooted fearfully, quitted its perch, and flew off by the way it had
+entered the chamber.</p>
+
+<p>The Dark Shape came on. It stood beside Mistress Nutter, and she
+prostrated herself before it. The gestures of the figure were angry and
+imperious&mdash;those of Mistress Nutter supplicating. Their converse was
+drowned by the rattling of the storm. At last the figure pointed to
+Alizon, and the word &quot;midnight&quot; broke in tones louder than the thunder
+from its lips. All consciousness then forsook her.</p>
+
+<p>How long she continued in this state she knew not, but the touch of a
+finger applied to her brow seemed to recall her suddenly to animation.
+She heaved a deep sigh, and looked around. A wondrous change had
+occurred. The storm had passed off, and the moon was shining brightly
+over the top of the cypress-tree, flooding the chamber with its gentle
+radiance, while her mother was bending over her with looks of tenderest
+affection.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are better now, sweet child,&quot; said Mistress Nutter. &quot;You were
+overcome by the storm. It was sudden and terrible.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Terrible, indeed!&quot; replied Alizon, imperfectly recalling what had
+passed. &quot;But it was not alone the storm that frightened me. This chamber
+has been invaded by evil beings. Methought I beheld a dark figure come
+from out yon closet, and stand before you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have been thrown into a state of stupor by the influence of the
+electric fluid,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter, &quot;and while in that condition
+visions have passed through your brain. That is all, my child.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! I hope so,&quot; said Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Such ecstasies are of frequent occurrence,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter.
+&quot;But, since you are quite recovered, we will descend to Lady Assheton,
+who may wonder at our absence. You will share this room with me
+to-night, my child; for, as I have already said, you cannot return to
+Elizabeth Device. I will make all needful explanations to Lady Assheton,
+and will see Elizabeth in the morning&mdash;perhaps to-night. Reassure
+yourself, sweet child. There is nothing to fear.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I trust not, mother,&quot; replied Alizon. &quot;But it would ease my mind to
+look into that closet.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do so, then, by all means,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter with a forced
+smile.</p>
+
+<p>Alizon peeped timorously into the little room, which was lighted up by
+the moon's rays. There was a faded white habit, like the robe of a
+Cistertian monk, hanging in one corner, and beneath it an old chest.
+Alizon would fain have opened the chest, but Mistress Nutter called out
+to her impatiently, &quot;You will discover nothing, I am sure. Come, let us
+go down-stairs.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And they quitted the room together.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX_THE_TWO_PORTRAITS_IN_THE_BANQUETING_HALL" id="CHAPTER_IX_THE_TWO_PORTRAITS_IN_THE_BANQUETING_HALL" />CHAPTER IX.&mdash;THE TWO PORTRAITS IN THE BANQUETING-HALL.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The banqueting-hall lay immediately under the long gallery,
+corresponding with it in all but height; and though in this respect it
+fell somewhat short of the magnificent upper room, it was quite lofty
+enough to admit of a gallery of its own for spectators and minstrels.
+Great pains had been taken in decorating the hall for the occasion.
+Between the forest of stags' horns that branched from the gallery rails
+were hung rich carpets, intermixed with garlands of flowers, and banners
+painted with the arms of the Assheton family, were suspended from the
+corners. Over the fireplace, where, despite the advanced season, a pile
+of turf and wood was burning, were hung two panoplies of arms, and above
+them, on a bracket, was set a complete suit of mail, once belonging to
+Richard Assheton, the first possessor of the mansion. On the opposite
+wall hung two remarkable portraits&mdash;the one representing a religious
+votaress in a loose robe of black, with wide sleeves, holding a rosary
+and missal in her hand, and having her brow and neck entirely concealed
+by the wimple, in which her head and shoulders were enveloped. Such of
+her features as could be seen were of extraordinary loveliness, though
+of a voluptuous character, the eyes being dark and languishing, and
+shaded by long lashes, and the lips carnation-hued and full. This was
+the fair votaress, Isole de Heton, who brought such scandal on the Abbey
+in the reign of Henry VI. The other portrait was that of an abbot, in
+the white gown and scapulary of the Cistertian order. The countenance
+was proud and stern, but tinctured with melancholy. In a small shield at
+one corner the arms were blazoned&mdash;argent, a fess between three mullets,
+sable, pierced of the field, a crescent for difference&mdash;proving it to be
+the portrait of John Paslew. Both pictures had been found in the abbot's
+lodgings, when taken possession of by Richard Assheton, but they owed
+their present position to his descendant, Sir Ralph, who discovering
+them in an out-of-the-way closet, where they had been cast aside, and
+struck with their extraordinary merit, hung them up as above stated.</p>
+
+<p>The long oaken table, usually standing in the middle of the hall, had
+been removed to one side, to allow free scope for dancing and other
+pastimes, but it was still devoted to hospitable uses, being covered
+with trenchers and drinking-cups, and spread for a substantial repast.
+Near it stood two carvers, with aprons round their waists, brandishing
+long knives, while other yeomen of the kitchen and cellar were at hand
+to keep the trenchers well supplied, and the cups filled with strong
+ale, or bragget, as might suit the taste of the guests. Nor were these
+the only festive preparations. The upper part of the hall was reserved
+for Sir Ralph's immediate friends, and here, on a slightly raised
+elevation, stood a cross table, spread for a goodly supper, the snowy
+napery being ornamented with wreaths and ropes of flowers, and shining
+with costly vessels. At the lower end of the room, beneath the gallery,
+which it served to support, was a Gothic screen, embellishing an open
+armoury, which made a grand display of silver plates and flagons.
+Through one of the doorways contrived in this screen, the May-day
+revellers were ushered into the hall by old Adam Whitworth, the
+white-headed steward.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I pray you be seated, good masters, and you, too, comely dames,&quot; said
+Adam, leading them to the table, and assigning each a place with his
+wand. &quot;Fall to, and spare not, for it is my honoured master's desire you
+should sup well. You will find that venison pasty worth a trial, and the
+baked red deer in the centre of the table is a noble dish. The fellow to
+it was served at Sir Ralph's own table at dinner, and was pronounced
+excellent. I pray you try it, masters.&mdash;Here, Ned Scargill, mind your
+office, good fellow, and break me that deer. And you, Paul Pimlot,
+exercise your craft on the venison pasty.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as trencher after trencher was rapidly filled by the two carvers,
+who demeaned themselves in their task like men acquainted with the
+powers of rustic appetite, the old steward addressed himself to the
+dames.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What can I do for you, fair mistresses?&quot; he said. &quot;Here be sack
+possets, junkets and cream, for such as like them&mdash;French puffs and
+Italian puddings, right good, I warrant you, and especially admired by
+my honourable good lady. Indeed, I am not sure she hath not lent a hand
+herself in their preparation. Then here be fritters in the court
+fashion, made with curds of sack posset, eggs and ale, and seasoned with
+nutmeg and pepper. You will taste them, I am sure, for they are
+favourites with our sovereign lady, the queen. Here, Gregory,
+Dickon&mdash;bestir yourselves, knaves, and pour forth a cup of sack for each
+of these dames. As you drink, mistresses, neglect not the health of our
+honourable good master Sir Ralph, and his lady. It is well&mdash;it is well.
+I will convey to them both your dutiful good wishes. But I must see all
+your wants supplied. Good Dame Openshaw, you have nought before you. Be
+prevailed upon to taste these dropt raisins or a fond pudding. And you,
+too, sweet Dame Tetlow. Squire Nicholas gave me special caution to take
+care of you, but the injunction was unneeded, as I should have done so
+without it.&mdash;Another cup of canary to Dame Tetlow, Gregory. Fill to the
+brim, knave&mdash;to the very brim. To the health of Squire Nicholas,&quot; he
+added in a low tone, as he handed the brimming goblet to the blushing
+dame; &quot;and be sure and tell him, if he questions you, that I obeyed his
+behests to the best of my ability. I pray you taste this pippin jelly,
+dame. It is as red as rubies, but not so red as your lips, or some leach
+of almonds, which, lily-white though it be, is not to be compared with
+the teeth that shall touch it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Odd's heart! mester steward, yo mun ha' larnt that protty speech fro'
+th' squoire himself,&quot; replied Dame Tetlow, laughing.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It may be the recollection of something said to me by him, brought to
+mind by your presence,&quot; replied Adam Whitworth, gallantly. &quot;If I can
+serve you in aught else, sign to me, dame.&mdash;Now, knaves, fill the
+cups&mdash;ale or bragget, at your pleasure, masters. Drink and stint not,
+and you will the better please your liberal entertainer and my honoured
+master.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Thus exhorted, the guests set seriously to work to fulfil the
+hospitable intentions of the provider of the feast. Cups flowed fast and
+freely, and erelong little was left of the venison pasty but the outer
+crust, and nothing more than a few fragments of the baked red deer. The
+lighter articles then came in for a share of attention, and salmon from
+the Ribble, jack, trout, and eels from the Hodder and Calder, boiled,
+broiled, stewed, and pickled, and of delicious flavour, were discussed
+with infinite relish. Puddings and pastry were left to more delicate
+stomachs&mdash;the solids only being in request with the men. Hitherto, the
+demolition of the viands had given sufficient employment, but now the
+edge of appetite beginning to be dulled, tongues were unloosed, and much
+merriment prevailed. More than eighty in number, the guests were
+dispersed without any regard to order, and thus the chief actors in the
+revel were scattered promiscuously about the table, diversifying it with
+their gay costumes. Robin Hood sat between two pretty female
+morris-dancers, whose partners had got to the other end of the table;
+while Ned Huddlestone, the representative of Friar Tuck, was equally
+fortunate, having a buxom dame on either side of him, towards whom he
+distributed his favours with singular impartiality. As porter to the
+Abbey, Ned made himself at home; and, next to Adam Whitworth, was
+perhaps the most important personage present, continually roaring for
+ale, and pledging the damsels around him. From the way he went on, it
+seemed highly probable he would be under the table before supper was
+over; but Ned Huddlestone, like the burly priest whose gown he wore, had
+a stout bullet head, proof against all assaults of liquor; and the
+copious draughts he swallowed, instead of subduing him, only tended to
+make him more uproarious. Blessed also with lusty lungs, his shouts of
+laughter made the roof ring again. But if the strong liquor failed to
+make due impression upon him, the like cannot be said of Jack Roby, who,
+it will be remembered, took the part of the Fool, and who, having drunk
+overmuch, mistook the hobby-horse for a real steed, and in an effort to
+bestride it, fell head-foremost on the floor, and, being found incapable
+of rising, was carried out to an adjoining room, and laid on a bench.
+This, however, was the only case of excess; for though the Sherwood
+foresters emptied their cups often enough to heighten their mirth, none
+of them seemed the worse for what they drank. Lawrence Blackrod, Mr.
+Parker's keeper, had fortunately got next to his old flame, Sukey
+Worseley; while Phil Rawson, the forester, who enacted Will Scarlet, and
+Nancy Holt, between whom an equally tender feeling subsisted, had
+likewise got together. A little beyond them sat the gentleman usher and
+parish clerk, Sampson Harrop, who, piquing himself on his good manners,
+drank very sparingly, and was content to sup on sweetmeats and a bowl of
+fleetings, as curds separated from whey are termed in this district. Tom
+the piper, and his companion the taborer, ate for the next week, but
+were somewhat more sparing in the matter of drink, their services as
+minstrels being required later on. Thus the various guests enjoyed
+themselves according to their bent, and universal hilarity prevailed. It
+would be strange indeed if it had been otherwise; for what with the good
+cheer, and the bright eyes around them, the rustics had attained a point
+of felicity not likely to be surpassed. Of the numerous assemblage more
+than half were of the fairer sex; and of these the greater portion were
+young and good-looking, while in the case of the morris-dancers, their
+natural charms were heightened by their fanciful attire.</p>
+
+<p>Before supper was half over, it became so dark that it was found
+necessary to illuminate the great lamp suspended from the centre of the
+roof, while other lights were set on the board, and two flaming torches
+placed in sockets on either side of the chimney-piece. Scarcely was this
+accomplished when the storm came on, much to the surprise of the
+weatherwise, who had not calculated upon such an occurrence, not having
+seen any indications whatever of it in the heavens. But all were too
+comfortably sheltered, and too well employed, to pay much attention to
+what was going on without; and, unless when a flash of lightning more
+than usually vivid dazzled the gaze, or a peal of thunder more appalling
+than the rest broke overhead, no alarm was expressed, even by the women.
+To be sure, a little pretty trepidation was now and then evinced by the
+younger damsels; but even this was only done with the view of exacting
+attention on the part of their swains, and never failed in effect. The
+thunder-storm, therefore, instead of putting a stop to the general
+enjoyment, only tended to increase it. However the last peal was loud
+enough to silence the most uproarious. The women turned pale, and the
+men looked at each other anxiously, listening to hear if any damage had
+been done. But, as nothing transpired, their spirits revived. A few
+minutes afterwards word was brought that the Conventual Church had been
+struck by a thunderbolt, but this was not regarded as a very serious
+disaster. The bearer of the intelligence was little Jennet, who said she
+had been caught in the ruins by the storm, and after being dreadfully
+frightened by the lightning, had seen a bolt strike the steeple, and
+heard some stones rattle down, after which she ran away. No one thought
+of inquiring what she had been doing there at the time, but room was
+made for her at the supper-table next to Sampson Harrop, while the good
+steward, patting her on the head, filled her a cup of canary with his
+own hand, and gave her some cates to eat.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey dunna see Alizon&quot; observed the little girl, looking round the table,
+after she had drunk the wine.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your sister is not here, Jennet,&quot; replied Adam Whitworth, with a smile.
+&quot;She is too great a lady for us now. Since she came up with her ladyship
+from the green she has been treated quite like one of the guests, and
+has been walking about the garden and ruins all the afternoon with young
+Mistress Dorothy, who has taken quite a fancy to her. Indeed, for the
+matter of that, all the ladies seem to have taken a fancy to her, and
+she is now closeted with Mistress Nutter in her own room.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>This was gall and wormwood to Jennet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She'll be hard to please when she goes home again, after playing the
+fine dame here,&quot; pursued the steward.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then ey hope she'll never come home again,&quot; rejoined Jennet;
+spitefully, &quot;fo' we dunna want fine dames i' our poor cottage.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;For my part I do not wonder Alizon pleases the gentle folks,&quot; observed
+Sampson Harrop, &quot;since such pains have been taken with her manners and
+education; and I must say she does great credit to her instructor, who,
+for reasons unnecessary to mention, shall be nameless. I wish I could
+say the same for you, Jennet; but though you're not deficient in
+ability, you've no perseverance or pleasure in study.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey knoa os much os ey care to knoa,&quot; replied Jennet, &quot;an more than yo
+con teach me, Mester Harrop. Why is Alizon always to be thrown i' my
+teeth?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Because she's the best model you can have,&quot; rejoined Sampson. &quot;Ah! if
+I'd my own way wi' ye, lass, I'd mend your temper and manners. But you
+come of an ill stock, ye saucy hussy.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey come fro' th' same stock as Alizon, onny how,&quot; said Jennet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Unluckily that cannot be denied,&quot; replied Sampson; &quot;but you're as
+different from her as light from darkness.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Jennet eyed him bitterly, and then rose from the table.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'n go,&quot; she said.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No&mdash;no; sit down,&quot; interposed the good-natured steward. &quot;The dancing
+and pastimes will begin presently, and you will see your sister. She
+will come down with the ladies.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That's the very reason she wishes to go,&quot; said Sampson Harrop. &quot;The
+spiteful little creature cannot bear to see her sister better treated
+than herself. Go your ways, then. It is the best thing you can do.
+Alizon would blush to see you here.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then ey'n een stay an vex her,&quot; replied Jennet, sharply; &quot;boh ey winna
+sit near yo onny longer, Mester Sampson Harrop, who ca' yersel gentleman
+usher, boh who are nah gentleman at aw, nor owt like it, boh merely
+parish clerk an schoolmester, an a poor schoolmester to boot. Eyn go an
+sit by Sukey Worseley an Nancy Holt, whom ey see yonder.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You've found your match, Master Harrop,&quot; said the steward, laughing, as
+the little girl walked away.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I should account it a disgrace to bandy words with the like of her,
+Adam,&quot; rejoined the clerk, angrily; &quot;but I'm greatly out in my
+reckoning, if she does not make a second Mother Demdike, and worse could
+not well befall her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Jennet's society could have been very well dispensed with by her two
+friends, but she would not be shaken off. On the contrary, finding
+herself in the way, she only determined the more pertinaciously to
+remain, and began to exercise all her powers of teasing, which have been
+described as considerable, and which on this occasion proved eminently
+successful. And the worst of it was, there was no crushing the plaguy
+little insect; any effort made to catch her only resulting in an escape
+on her part, and a new charge on some undefended quarter, with sharper
+stinging and more intolerable buzzing than ever.</p>
+
+<p>Out of all patience, Sukey Worseley at length exclaimed, &quot;Ey should
+loike to see ye swum, crosswise, i' th' Calder, Jennet, as Nance
+Redferne war this efternoon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;May be ye would, Sukey,&quot; replied the little girl, &quot;boh eym nah so
+likely to be tried that way as yourself, lass; an if ey war swum ey
+should sink, while yo, wi' your broad back and shouthers, would be sure
+to float, an then yo'd be counted a witch.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heed her not, Sukey,&quot; said Blackrod, unable to resist a laugh, though
+the poor girl was greatly discomfited by this personal allusion; &quot;ye may
+ha' a broad back o' our own, an the broader the better to my mind, boh
+mey word on't ye'll never be ta'en fo a witch. Yo're far too comely.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>This assurance was a balm to poor Sukey's wounded spirit, and she
+replied with a well-pleased smile, &quot;Ey hope ey dunna look like one,
+Lorry.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not a bit, lass,&quot; said Blackrod, lifting a huge ale-cup to his lips.
+&quot;Your health, sweetheart.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What think ye then o' Nance Redferne?&quot; observed Jennet. &quot;Is she neaw
+comely?&mdash;ay, comelier far than fat, fubsy Sukey here&mdash;or than Nancy
+Holt, wi' her yallo hure an frecklet feace&mdash;an yet ye ca' her a witch.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey ca' thee one, theaw feaw little whean&mdash;an the dowter&mdash;an grandowter
+o' one&mdash;an that's more,&quot; cried Nancy. &quot;Freckles i' your own feace, ye
+mismannert minx.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ne'er heed her, Nance,&quot; said Phil Rawson, putting his arm round the
+angry damsel's waist, and drawing her gently down. &quot;Every one to his
+taste, an freckles an yellow hure are so to mine. So dunna fret about
+it, an spoil your protty lips wi' pouting. Better ha' freckles o' your
+feace than spots o' your heart, loike that ill-favort little hussy.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Dunna offend her, Phil,&quot; said Nancy Holt, noticing with alarm the
+malignant look fixed upon her lover by Jennet. &quot;She's dawngerous.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Firrups tak her!&quot; replied Phil Eawson. &quot;Boh who the dole's that? Ey
+didna notice him efore, an he's neaw one o' our party.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The latter observation was occasioned by the entrance of a tall
+personage, in the garb of a Cistertian monk, who issued from one of the
+doorways in the screen, and glided towards the upper table, attracting
+general attention and misgiving as he proceeded. His countenance was
+cadaverous, his lips livid, and his eyes black and deep sunken in their
+sockets, with a bistre-coloured circle around them. His frame was meagre
+and bony. What remained of hair on his head was raven black, but either
+he was bald on the crown, or carried his attention to costume so far as
+to adopt the priestly tonsure. His forehead was lofty and sallow, and
+seemed stamped, like his features, with profound gloom. His garments
+were faded and mouldering, and materially contributed to his ghostly
+appearance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who is it?&quot; cried Sukey and Nance together.</p>
+
+<p>But no one could answer the question.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He dusna look loike a bein' o' this warld,&quot; observed Blackrod, gaping
+with alarm, for the stout keeper was easily assailable on the side of
+superstition; &quot;an there is a mowdy air about him, that gies one the
+shivers to see. Ey've often heer'd say the Abbey is haanted; an that
+pale-feaced chap looks like one o' th' owd monks risen fro' his grave to
+join our revel.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;An see, he looks this way,&quot; cried Phil Rawson.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What flaming een! they mey the very flesh crawl o' one's booans.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Is it a ghost, Lorry?&quot; said Sukey, drawing nearer to the stalwart
+keeper.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;By th' maskins, lass, ey conna tell,&quot; replied Blackrod; &quot;boh whotever
+it be, ey'll protect ye.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Tak care o' me, Phil,&quot; ejaculated Nancy Holt, pressing close to her
+lover's side.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh, that I win,&quot; rejoined the forester.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey dunna care for ghosts so long as yo are near me, Phil,&quot; said Nancy,
+tenderly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then ey'n never leave ye, Nance,&quot; replied Phil.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ghost or not,&quot; said Jennet, who had been occupied in regarding the
+new-comer attentively, &quot;ey'n go an speak to it. Ey'm nah afeerd, if yo
+are.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh do, Jennet, that's a brave little lass,&quot; said Blackrod, glad to be
+rid of her in any way.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Stay!&quot; cried Adam Whitworth, coming up at the moment, and overhearing
+what was said&mdash;&quot;you must not go near the gentleman. I will not have him
+molested, or even spoken with, till Sir Ralph appears.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the stranger, without returning the glances fixed upon him,
+or deigning to notice any of the company, pursued his way, and sat down
+in a chair at the upper table.</p>
+
+<p>But his entrance had been witnessed by others besides the rustic guests
+and servitors. Nicholas and Richard Assheton chanced to be in the
+gallery at the time, and, greatly struck by the singularity of his
+appearance, immediately descended to make inquiries respecting him. As
+they appeared below, the old steward advanced to meet them.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who the devil have you got there, Adam?&quot; asked the squire.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It passeth me almost to tell you, Master Nicholas,&quot; replied the
+steward; &quot;and, not knowing whether the gentleman be invited or not, I am
+fain to wait Sir Ralph's pleasure in regard to him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Have you no notion who he is?&quot; inquired Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;All I know about him may be soon told, Master Richard,&quot; replied Adam.
+&quot;He is a stranger in these parts, and hath very recently taken up his
+abode in Wiswall Hall, which has been abandoned of late years, as you
+know, and suffered to go to decay. Some few months ago an aged couple
+from Colne, named Hewit, took possession of part of the hall, and were
+suffered to remain there, though old Katty Hewit, or Mould-heels, as she
+is familiarly termed by the common folk, is in no very good repute
+hereabouts, and was driven, it is said from Colne, owing to her
+practices as a witch. Be that as it may, soon after these Hewits were
+settled at Wiswall, comes this stranger, and fixes himself in another
+part of the hall. How he lives no one can tell, but it is said he
+rambles all night long, like a troubled spirit, about the deserted
+rooms, attended by Mother Mould-heels; while in the daytime he is never
+seen.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Can he be of sound mind?&quot; asked Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hardly so, I should think, Master Richard,&quot; replied the steward. &quot;As to
+who he may be there are many opinions; and some aver he is Francis
+Paslew, grandson of Francis, brother to the abbot, and being a Jesuit
+priest, for you know the Paslews have all strictly adhered to the old
+faith&mdash;and that is why they have fled the country and abandoned their
+residence&mdash;he is obliged to keep himself concealed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If such be the case, he must be crazed indeed to venture here,&quot;
+observed Nicholas; &quot;and yet I am half inclined to credit the report.
+Look at him, Dick. He is the very image of the old abbot.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yon portrait might have been painted for him,&quot; said Richard, gazing at
+the picture on the wall, and from it to the monk as he spoke; &quot;the very
+same garb, too.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There is an old monastic robe up-stairs, in the closet adjoining the
+room occupied by Mistress Nutter,&quot; observed the steward, &quot;said to be the
+garment in which Abbot Paslew suffered death. Some stains are upon it,
+supposed to be the blood of the wizard Demdike, who perished in an
+extraordinary manner on the same day.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have seen it,&quot; cried Nicholas, &quot;and the monk's habit looks precisely
+like it, and, if my eyes deceive me not, is stained in the same manner.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I see the spots plainly on the breast,&quot; cried Richard. &quot;How can he have
+procured the robe?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heaven only knows,&quot; replied the old steward. &quot;It is a very strange
+occurrence.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will go question him,&quot; said Richard.</p>
+
+<p>So saying, he proceeded to the upper table, accompanied by Nicholas. As
+they drew near, the stranger arose, and fixed a grim look upon Richard,
+who was a little in advance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is the abbot's ghost!&quot; cried Nicholas, stopping, and detaining his
+cousin. &quot;You shall not address it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>During the contention that ensued, the monk glided towards a side-door
+at the upper end of the hall, and passed through it. So general was the
+consternation, that no one attempted to stay him, nor would any one
+follow to see whither he went. Released, at length, from the strong
+grasp of the squire, Richard rushed forth, and not returning, Nicholas,
+after the lapse of a few minutes, went in search of him, but came back
+presently, and told the old steward he could neither find him nor the
+monk.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Master Richard will be back anon, I dare say, Adam,&quot; he remarked; &quot;if
+not, I will make further search for him; but you had better not mention
+this mysterious occurrence to Sir Ralph, at all events not until the
+festivities are over, and the ladies have retired. It might disturb
+them. I fear the appearance of this monk bodes no good to our family;
+and what makes it worse is, it is not the first ill omen that has
+befallen us to-day, Master Richard was unlucky enough to stand on Abbot
+Paslew's grave!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Mercy on us! that was unlucky indeed!&quot; cried Adam, in great
+trepidation. &quot;Poor dear young gentleman! Bid him take especial care of
+himself, good Master Nicholas. I noticed just now, that yon fearsome
+monk regarded him more attentively than you. Bid him be careful, I
+conjure you, sir. But here comes my honoured master and his guests.
+Here, Gregory, Dickon, bestir yourselves, knaves; and serve supper at
+the upper table in a trice.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Any apprehensions Nicholas might entertain for Richard were at this
+moment relieved, for as Sir Ralph and his guests came in at one door,
+the young man entered by another. He looked deathly pale. Nicholas put
+his finger to his lips in token of silence&mdash;a gesture which the other
+signified that he understood.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Ralph and his guests having taken their places at the table, an
+excellent and plentiful repast was speedily set before them, and if they
+did not do quite such ample justice to it as the hungry rustics at the
+lower board had done to the good things provided for them, the cook
+could not reasonably complain. No allusion whatever being made to the
+recent strange occurrence, the cheerfulness of the company was
+uninterrupted; but the noise in the lower part of the hall had in a
+great measure subsided, partly out of respect to the host, and partly in
+consequence of the alarm occasioned by the supposed supernatural
+visitation. Richard continued silent and preoccupied, and neither ate
+nor drank; but Nicholas appearing to think his courage would be best
+sustained by an extra allowance of clary and sack, applied himself
+frequently to the goblet with that view, and erelong his spirits
+improved so wonderfully, and his natural boldness was so much increased,
+that he was ready to confront Abbot Paslew, or any other abbot of them
+all, wherever they might chance to cross him. In this enterprising frame
+of mind he drew Richard aside, and questioned him as to what had taken
+place in his pursuit of the mysterious monk.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You overtook him, Dick, of course?&quot; he said, &quot;and put it to him roundly
+why he came hither, where neither ghosts nor Jesuit priests, whichever
+he may be, are wanted. What answered he, eh? Would I had been there to
+interrogate him! He should have declared how he became possessed of that
+old moth-eaten, blood-stained, monkish gown, or I would have unfrocked
+him, even if he had proved to be a skeleton. But I interrupt you. You
+have not told me what occurred at the interview?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There was no interview,&quot; replied Richard, gravely.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No interview!&quot; echoed Nicholas. &quot;S'blood, man!&mdash;but I must be careful,
+for Doctor Ormerod and Parson Dewhurst are within hearing, and may
+lecture me on the wantonness and profanity of swearing. By Saint Gregory
+de Northbury!&mdash;no, that's an oath too, and, what is worse, a Popish
+oath. By&mdash;I have several tremendous imprecations at my tongue's end, but
+they shall not out. It is a sinful propensity, and must be controlled.
+In a word, then, you let him escape, Dick?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If you were so anxious to stay him, I wonder you came not with me,&quot;
+replied Richard; &quot;but you now hold very different language from what you
+used when I quitted the hall.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah, true&mdash;right&mdash;Dick,&quot; replied Nicholas; &quot;my sentiments have undergone
+a wonderful change since then. I now regret having stopped you. By my
+troth! if I meet that confounded monk again, he shall give a good
+account of himself, I promise him. But what said he to you, Dick? Make
+an end of your story.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have not begun it yet,&quot; replied Richard. &quot;But pay attention, and you
+shall hear what occurred. When I rushed forth, the monk had already
+gained the entrance-hall. No one was within it at the time, all the
+serving-men being busied here with the feasting. I summoned him to stay,
+but he answered not, and, still grimly regarding me, glided towards the
+outer door, which (I know not by what chance) stood open, and passing
+through it, closed it upon me. This delayed me a moment; and when I got
+out, he had already descended the steps, and was moving towards the
+garden. It was bright moonlight, so I could see him distinctly. And mark
+this, Nicholas&mdash;the two great blood-hounds were running about at large
+in the court-yard, but they slunk off, as if alarmed at his appearance.
+The monk had now gained the garden, and was shaping his course swiftly
+towards the ruined Conventual Church. Determined to overtake him, I
+quickened my pace; but he gained the old fane before me, and threaded
+the broken aisles with noiseless celerity. In the choir he paused and
+confronted me. When within a few yards of him, I paused, arrested by his
+fixed and terrible gaze. Nicholas, his look froze my blood. I would have
+spoken, but I could not. My tongue clove to the roof of my mouth for
+very fear. Before I could shake off this apprehension the figure raised
+its hand menacingly thrice, and passed into the Lacy Chapel. As soon as
+he was gone my courage returned, and I followed. The little chapel was
+brilliantly illuminated by the moon; but it was empty. I could only see
+the white monument of Sir Henry de Lacy glistening in the pale
+radiance.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I must take a cup of wine after this horrific relation,&quot; said Nicholas,
+replenishing his goblet. &quot;It has chilled my blood, as the monk's icy
+gaze froze yours. Body o' me! but this is strange indeed. Another oath.
+Lord help me!&mdash;I shall never get rid of the infernal&mdash;I mean, the evil
+habit. Will you not pledge me, Dick?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The young man shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are wrong,&quot; pursued Nicholas,&mdash;&quot;decidedly wrong. Wine gladdeneth
+the heart of man, and restoreth courage. A short while ago I was
+downcast as you, melancholy as an owl, and timorous as a kid, but now I
+am resolute as an eagle, stout of heart, and cheerful of spirit; and all
+owing to a cup of wine. Try the remedy, Dick, and get rid of your gloom.
+You look like a death's-head at a festival. What if you have stumbled on
+an ill-omened grave! What if you have been banned by a witch! What if
+you have stood face to face with the devil&mdash;or a ghost! Heed them not!
+Drink, and set care at defiance. And, not to gainsay my own counsel, I
+shall fill my cup again. For, in good sooth, this is rare clary, Dick;
+and, talking of wine, you should taste some of the wonderful Rhenish
+found in the abbot's cellar by our ancestor, Richard Assheton&mdash;a century
+old if it be a day, and yet cordial and corroborative as ever. Those
+monks were lusty tipplers, Dick. I sometimes wish I had been an abbot
+myself. I should have made a rare father confessor&mdash;especially to a
+pretty penitent. Here, Gregory, hie thee to the master cellarer, and bid
+him fill me a goblet of the old Rhenish&mdash;the wine from the abbot's
+cellar. Thou understandest&mdash;or, stay, better bring the flask. I have a
+profound respect for the venerable bottle, and would pay my devoirs to
+it. Hie away, good fellow!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You will drink too much if you go on thus,&quot; remarked Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not a drop,&quot; rejoined Nicholas. &quot;I am blithe as a lark, and would keep
+so. That is why I drink. But to return to our ghosts. Since this place
+must be haunted, I would it were visited by spirits of a livelier kind
+than old Paslew. There is Isole de Heton, for instance. The fair
+votaress would be the sort of ghost for me. I would not turn my back on
+her, but face her manfully. Look at her picture, Dick. Was ever
+countenance sweeter than hers&mdash;lips more tempting, or eyes more melting!
+Is she not adorable? Zounds!&quot; he exclaimed, suddenly pausing, and
+staring at the portrait&mdash;&quot;Would you believe it, Dick? The fair Isole
+winked at me&mdash;I'll swear she did. I mean&mdash;I will venture to affirm upon
+oath, if required, that she winked.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Pshaw!&quot; exclaimed Richard. &quot;The fumes of the wine have mounted to your
+brain, and disordered it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No such thing,&quot; cried Nicholas, regarding the picture as steadily as he
+could&mdash;&quot;she's leering at me now. By the Queen of Paphos! another wink.
+Nay, if you doubt me, watch her well yourself. A pleasant adventure
+this&mdash;ha!&mdash;ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A truce to this drunken foolery,&quot; cried Richard, moving away.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Drunken! s'death! recall that epithet, Dick,&quot; cried Nicholas, angrily.
+&quot;I am no more drunk than yourself, you dog. I can walk as steadily, and
+see as plainly, as you; and I will maintain it at the point of the
+sword, that the eyes of that picture have lovingly regarded me; nay,
+that they follow me now.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A common delusion with a portrait,&quot; said Richard; &quot;they appear to
+follow <i>me</i>.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But they do not wink at you as they do at me,&quot; said Nicholas, &quot;neither
+do the lips break into smiles, and display the pearly teeth beneath
+them, as occurs in my case. Grim old abbots frown on you, but fair,
+though frail, votaresses smile on me. I am the favoured mortal, Dick.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Were it as you represent, Nicholas,&quot; replied Richard, gravely, &quot;I
+should say, indeed, that some evil principle was at work to lure you
+through your passions to perdition. But I know they are all fancies
+engendered by your heated brain, which in your calmer moments you will
+discard, as I discard them now. If I have any weight with you, I counsel
+you to drink no more, or you will commit some mad foolery, of which you
+will be ashamed hereafter. The discreeter course would be to retire
+altogether; and for this you have ample excuse, as you will have to
+arise betimes to-morrow, to set out for Pendle Forest with Master
+Potts.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Retire!&quot; exclaimed Nicholas, bursting into a loud, contemptuous laugh.
+&quot;I like thy counsel, lad. Yes, I will retire when I have finished the
+old monastic Rhenish which Gregory is bringing me. I will retire when I
+have danced the Morisco with the May Queen&mdash;the Cushion Dance with Dame
+Tetlow&mdash;and the Brawl with the lovely Isole de Heton. Another wink,
+Dick. By our Lady! she assents to my proposition. When I have done all
+this, and somewhat more, it will be time to think of retiring. But I
+have the night before me, Dick&mdash;not to be spent in drowsy
+unconsciousness, as thou recommendest, but in active, pleasurable
+enjoyment. No man requires less sleep than I do. Ordinarily, I 'retire,'
+as thou termest it, at ten, and rise with the sun. In summer I am abroad
+soon after three, and mend that if thou canst, Dick. To-night I shall
+seek my couch about midnight, and yet I'll warrant me I shall be the
+first stirring in the Abbey; and, in any case, I shall be in the saddle
+before thee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It may be,&quot; replied Richard; &quot;but it was to preserve you from
+extravagance to-night that I volunteered advice, which, from my
+knowledge of your character, I might as well have withheld. But let me
+caution you on another point. Dance with Dame Tetlow, or any other dame
+you please&mdash;dance with the fair Isole de Heton, if you can prevail upon
+her to descend from her frame and give you her hand; but I object&mdash;most
+decidedly object&mdash;to your dancing with Alizon Device.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why so?&quot; cried Nicholas; &quot;why should I not dance with whom I please?
+And what right hast thou to forbid me Alizon? Troth, lad, art thou so
+ignorant of human nature as not to know that forbidden fruit is the
+sweetest. It hath ever been so since the fall. I am now only the more
+bent upon dancing with the prohibited damsel. But I would fain know the
+principle on which thou erectest thyself into her guardian. Is it
+because she fainted when thy sword was crossed with that hot-headed
+fool, Sir Thomas Metcalfe, that thou flatterest thyself she is in love
+with thee? Be not too sure of it, Dick. Many a timid wench has swooned
+at the sight of a naked weapon, without being enamoured of the
+swordsman. The fainting proves nothing. But grant she loves thee&mdash;what
+then! An end must speedily come of it; so better finish at once, before
+she be entangled in a mesh from which she cannot be extricated without
+danger. For hark thee, Dick, whatever thou mayst think, I am not so far
+gone that I know not what I say, neither is my vision so much obscured
+that I see not some matters plainly enough, and I understand thee and
+Alizon well, and see through you both. This matter must go no further.
+It has gone too far already. After to-night you must see her no more. I
+am serious in this&mdash;serious <i>inter pocula</i>, if such a thing can be. It
+is necessary to observe caution, for reasons that will at once occur to
+thee. Thou canst not wed this girl&mdash;then why trifle with her till her
+heart be broken.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Broken it shall never be by me!&quot; cried Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But I tell you it will be broken, if you do not desist at once,&quot;
+rejoined Nicholas. &quot;I was but jesting when I said I would rob you of her
+in the Morisco, though it would be charity to both, and spare you many a
+pang hereafter, were I to put my threat into execution. However, I have
+a soft heart where aught of love is concerned, and, having pointed out
+the risk you will incur, I shall leave you to follow your own devices.
+But, for Alizon's sake, stop in time.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You now speak soberly and sensibly enough, Nicholas,&quot; replied Richard,
+&quot;and I thank you heartily for your counsel; and if I do not follow it by
+withdrawing at once from a pursuit which may appear to you hopeless, if
+not dangerous, you will, I hope, give me credit for being actuated by
+worthy motives. I will at once, and frankly admit, that I love Alizon;
+and loving her, you may rest assured I would sacrifice my life a
+thousand times rather than endanger her happiness. But there is a point
+in her history, with which if you were acquainted, it might alter your
+view of the case; but this is not the season for its disclosure,
+neither, I am bound to say, does the circumstance so materially alter
+the apparent posture of affairs as to remove all difficulty. On the
+contrary, it leaves an insurmountable obstacle behind it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Are you wise, then, in going on?&quot; asked Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I know not,&quot; answered Richard, &quot;but I feel as if I were the sport of
+fate. Uncertain whither to turn for the best, I leave the disposition of
+my course to chance. But, alas!&quot; he added, sadly, &quot;all seems to point
+out that this meeting with Alizon will be my last.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, cheer up, lad,&quot; said Nicholas. &quot;These afflictions are hard to
+bear, it is true; but somehow they are got over. Just as if your horse
+should fling you in the midst of a hedge when you are making a flying
+leap, you get scratched and bruised, but you scramble out, and in a day
+or two are on your legs again. Love breaks no bones, that's one comfort.
+When at your age, I was desperately in love, not with Mistress Nicholas
+Assheton&mdash;Heaven help the fond soul! but with&mdash;never mind with whom; but
+it was not a very prudent match, and so, in my worldly wisdom, I was
+obliged to cry off. A sad business it was. I thought I should have died
+of it, and I made quite sure that the devoted girl would die first, in
+which case we were to occupy the same grave. But I was not driven to
+such a dire extremity, for before I had kept house a week, Jack Walker,
+the keeper of Downham, made his appearance in my room, and after telling
+me of the mischief done by a pair of otters in the Ribble, finding me in
+a very desponding state, ventured to inquire if I had heard the news.
+Expecting to hear of the death of the girl, I prepared myself for an
+outburst of grief, and resolved to give immediate directions for a
+double funeral, when he informed me&mdash;what do you think, Dick?&mdash;that she
+was going to be married to himself. I recovered at once, and immediately
+went out to hunt the otters, and rare sport we had. But here comes
+Gregory with the famous old Rhenish. Better take a cup, Dick; this is
+the best cure for the heartache, and for all other aches and grievances.
+Ah! glorious stuff&mdash;miraculous wine!&quot; he added, smacking his lips with
+extraordinary satisfaction after a deep draught; &quot;those worthy fathers
+were excellent judges. I have a great reverence for them. But where can
+Alizon be all this while? Supper is wellnigh over, and the dancing and
+pastimes will commence anon, and yet she comes not.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She is here,&quot; cried Richard.</p>
+
+<p>And as he spoke Mistress Nutter and Alizon entered the hall.</p>
+
+<p>Richard endeavoured to read in the young girl's countenance some
+intimation of what had passed between her and Mistress Nutter, but he
+only remarked that she was paler than before, and had traces of anxiety
+about her. Mistress Nutter also looked gloomy and thoughtful, and there
+was nothing in the manner or deportment of either to lead to the
+conclusion, that a discovery of relationship between them had taken
+place. As Alizon moved on, her eyes met those of Richard&mdash;but the look
+was intercepted by Mistress Nutter, who instantly called off her
+daughter's attention to herself; and, while the young man hesitated to
+join them, his sister came quickly up to him, and drew him away in
+another direction. Left to himself, Nicholas tossed off another cup of
+the miraculous Rhenish, which improved in flavour as he discussed it,
+and then, placing a chair opposite the portrait of Isole de Heton,
+filled a bumper, and, uttering the name of the fair votaress, drained it
+to her. This time he was quite certain he received a significant glance
+in return, and no one being near to contradict him, he went on indulging
+the idea of an amorous understanding between himself and the picture,
+till he had finished the bottle, and obtained as many ogles as he
+swallowed draughts of wine, upon which he arose and staggered off in
+search of Dame Tetlow.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Mistress Nutter having made her excuses to Lady Assheton for
+not attending the supper, walked down the hall with her daughter, until
+such time as the dancing and pastimes should commence. As will be
+readily supposed under the circumstances, this part of the entertainment
+was distasteful to both of them; but it could not be avoided without
+entering into explanations, which Mistress Nutter was unwilling to make,
+and she, therefore, counselled her daughter to act in all respects as if
+she were still Alizon Device, and in no way connected with her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I shall take an early opportunity of announcing my intention to adopt
+you,&quot; she said, &quot;and then you can act differently. Meantime, keep near
+me as much as you can. Say little to Dorothy or Richard Assheton, and
+prepare to retire early; for this noisy and riotous assemblage is not
+much to my taste, and I care not how soon I quit it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Alizon assented to what was said, and stole a timid glance towards
+Richard and Dorothy; but the latter, who alone perceived it, instantly
+averted her head, in such way as to make it evident she wished to shun
+her regards. Slight as it was, this circumstance occasioned Alizon much
+pain, for she could not conceive how she had offended her new-made
+friend, and it was some relief to encounter a party of acquaintances who
+had risen from the lower table at her approach, though they did not
+presume to address her while she was with Mistress Nutter, but waited
+respectfully at a little distance. Alizon, however, flew towards them.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah, Susan!&mdash;ah, Nancy!&quot; she cried taking the hand of each&mdash;&quot;how glad I
+am to see you here; and you too, Lawrence Blackrod&mdash;and you, Phil
+Rawson&mdash;and you, also, good Master Harrop. How happy you all look!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;An wi' good reason, sweet Alizon,&quot; replied Blackrod. &quot;Boh we began to
+be afeerd we'd lost ye, an that wad ha' bin a sore mishap&mdash;to lose our
+May Queen&mdash;an th' prettiest May Queen os ever dawnced i' this ha', or i'
+onny other ha' i' Lonkyshiar.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We ha drunk your health, sweet Alizon,&quot; added Phil&mdash;&quot;an wishin' ye may
+be os happy os ye desarve, wi' the mon o' your heart, if onny sich lucky
+chap there be.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thank you&mdash;thank you both,&quot; replied Alizon, blushing; &quot;and in return I
+cannot wish you better fortune, Philip, than to be united to the good
+girl near you, for I know her kindly disposition so well, that I am sure
+she will make you happy.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'm satisfied on't myself,&quot; replied Rawson; &quot;an ey hope ere long
+she'll be missus o' a little cot i' Bowland Forest, an that yo'll pay us
+a visit, Alizon, an see an judge fo' yourself how happy we be. Nance win
+make a rare forester's wife.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not a bit better than my Sukey,&quot; cried Lawrence Blackrod. &quot;Ye shanna
+get th' start o' me, Phil, fo' by th' mess! the very same day os sees yo
+wedded to Nancy Holt shan find me united to Sukey Worseley. An so Alizon
+win ha' two cottages i' Bowland Forest to visit i'stead o' one.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And well pleased I shall be to visit them both,&quot; she rejoined. At this
+moment Mistress Nutter came up.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My good friends,&quot; she said, &quot;as you appear to take so much interest in
+Alizon, you may be glad to learn that it is my intention to adopt her as
+a daughter, having no child of my own; and, though her position
+henceforth will be very different from what it has been, I am sure she
+will never forget her old friends.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Never, indeed, never!&quot; cried Alizon, earnestly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This is good news, indeed,&quot; cried Sampson Harrop, joyfully, while the
+others joined in his exclamation. &quot;We all rejoice in Alizon's good
+fortune, and think she richly deserves it. For my own part, I was always
+sure she would have rare luck, but I did not expect such luck as this.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What's to become o' me?&quot; cried Jennet, coming from behind a chair,
+where she had hitherto concealed herself.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will always take care of you,&quot; replied Alizon, stooping, and kissing
+her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not promise more than you may be able to perform, Alizon,&quot; observed
+Mistress Nutter, coldly, and regarding the little girl with a look of
+disgust; &quot;an ill-favour'd little creature, with the Demdike eyes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And as ill-tempered as she is ill-favoured,&quot; rejoined Sampson Harrop;
+&quot;and, though she cannot help being ugly, she might help being
+malicious.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Jennet gave him a bitter look.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You do her injustice, Master Harrop,&quot; said Alizon. &quot;Poor little Jennet
+is quick-tempered, but not malevolent.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey con hate weel if ey conna love,&quot; replied Jennet, &quot;an con recollect
+injuries if ey forget kindnesses.&mdash;Boh dunna trouble yourself about me,
+sister. Ey dunna envy ye your luck. Ey dunna want to be adopted by a
+grand-dame. Ey'm content os ey am. Boh are na ye gettin' on rayther too
+fast, lass? Mother's consent has to be axed, ey suppose, efore ye leave
+her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There is little fear of her refusal,&quot; observed Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey dunna knoa that,&quot; rejoined Jennet. &quot;If she were to refuse, it wadna
+surprise me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nothing spiteful she could do would surprise me,&quot; remarked Harrop. &quot;But
+how are you likely to know what your mother will think and do, you
+forward little hussy?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey judge fro circumstances,&quot; replied the little girl. &quot;Mother has often
+said she conna weel spare Alizon. An mayhap Mistress Nutter may knoa,
+that she con be very obstinate when she tays a whim into her head.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I <i>do</i> know it,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter; &quot;and, from my experience of
+her temper in former days, I should be loath to have you near me, who
+seem to inherit her obstinacy.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Wi' sich misgivings ey wonder ye wish to tak Alizon, madam,&quot; said
+Jennet; &quot;fo she's os much o' her mother about her os me, onny she dunna
+choose to show it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Peace, thou mischievous urchin,&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, losing all
+patience.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Shall I take her away?&quot; said Harrop&mdash;seizing her hand.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, do,&quot; said Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, no, let her stay!&quot; cried Alizon, quickly; &quot;I shall be miserable if
+she goes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh, ey'm quite ready to go,&quot; said Jennet, &quot;fo ey care little fo sich
+seets os this&mdash;boh efore ey leave ey wad fain say a few words to Mester
+Potts, whom ey see yonder.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What can you want with him, Jennet,&quot; cried Alizon, in surprise.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Onny to tell him what brother Jem is gone to Pendle fo to-neet,&quot;
+replied the little girl, with a significant and malicious look at
+Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha!&quot; muttered the lady. &quot;There is more malice in this little wasp than
+I thought. But I must rob it of its sting.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And while thus communing with herself, she fixed a searching look on
+Jennet, and then raising her hand quickly, waved it in her face.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh!&quot; cried the little girl, falling suddenly backwards.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What's the matter?&quot; demanded Alizon, flying to her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey dunna reetly knoa,&quot; replied Jennet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She's seized with a sudden faintness,&quot; said Harrop. &quot;Better she should
+go home then at once. I'll find somebody to take her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neaw, neaw, ey'n sit down here,&quot; said Jennet; &quot;ey shan be better soon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Come along, Alizon,&quot; said Mistress Nutter, apparently unconcerned at
+the circumstance.</p>
+
+<p>Having confided the little girl, who was now recovered from the shock,
+to the care of Nancy Holt, Alizon followed her mother.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment Sir Ralph, who had quitted the supper-table, clapped his
+hands loudly, thus giving the signal to the minstrels, who, having
+repaired to the gallery, now struck up a merry tune, and instantly the
+whole hall was in motion. Snatching up his wand Sampson Harrop hurried
+after Alizon, beseeching her to return with him, and join a procession
+about to be formed by the revellers, and of course, as May Queen, and
+the most important personage in it, she could not refuse. Very short
+space sufficed the morris-dancers to find their partners; Robin Hood and
+the foresters got into their places; the hobby-horse curveted and
+capered; Friar Tuck resumed his drolleries; and even Jack Roby was so
+far recovered as to be able to get on his legs, though he could not walk
+very steadily. Marshalled by the gentleman-usher, and headed by Robin
+Hood and the May Queen, the procession marched round the hall, the
+minstrels playing merrily the while, and then drew up before the upper
+table, where a brief oration was pronounced by Sir Ralph. A shout that
+made the rafters ring again followed the address, after which a couranto
+was called for by the host, who, taking Mistress Nicholas Assheton by
+the hand, led her into the body of the hall, whither he was speedily
+followed by the other guests, who had found partners in like manner.</p>
+
+<p>Before relating how the ball was opened a word must be bestowed upon
+Mistress Nicholas Assheton, whom I have neglected nearly as much as she
+was neglected by her unworthy spouse, and I therefore hasten to repair
+the injustice by declaring that she was a very amiable and very charming
+woman, and danced delightfully. And recollect, ladies, these were
+dancing days&mdash;I mean days when knowledge of figures as well as skill was
+required, more than twenty forgotten dances being in vogue, the very
+names of which may surprise you as I recapitulate them. There was the
+Passamezzo, a great favourite with Queen Elizabeth, who used to foot it
+merrily, when, as you are told by Gray&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;The great Lord-keeper led the brawls,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And seals and maces danced before him!&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>the grave Pavane, likewise a favourite with the Virgin Queen, and which
+I should like to see supersede the eternal polka at Almack's and
+elsewhere, and in which&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Five was the number of the music's feet</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Which still the dance did with live paces meet;&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>the Couranto, with its &quot;current traverses,&quot; &quot;sliding passages,&quot; and
+solemn tune, wherein, according to Sir John Davies&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&mdash;&quot;that dancer greatest praise hath won</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Who with best order can all order shun;&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>the Lavolta, also delineated by the same knowing hand&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Where arm in arm two dancers are entwined,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And whirl themselves with strict embracements bound,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">their feet an anapest do sound.&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>Is not this very much like a waltz? Yes, ladies, you have been dancing
+the lavolta of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries without being
+aware of it. But there was another waltz still older, called the
+Sauteuse, which I suspect answered to your favourite polka. Then there
+were brawls, galliards, paspys, sarabands, country-dances of various
+figures, cushion dances (another dance I long to see revived), kissing
+dances, and rounds, any of which are better than the objectionable
+polka. Thus you will see that there was infinite variety at least at the
+period under consideration, and that you have rather retrograded than
+advanced in the saltatory art. But to return to the ball.</p>
+
+<p>Mistress Nicholas Assheton, I have said, excelled in the graceful
+accomplishment of dancing, and that was probably the reason why she had
+been selected for the couranto by Sir Ralph, who knew the value of a
+good partner. By many persons she was accounted the handsomest woman in
+the room, and in dignity of carriage she was certainly unrivalled. This
+was precisely what Sir Ralph required, and having executed a few
+&quot;current traverses and sliding passages&quot; with her, with a gravity and
+stateliness worthy of Sir Christopher Hatton himself, when graced by the
+hand of his sovereign mistress, he conducted her, amid the hushed
+admiration of the beholders, to a seat. Still the dance continued with
+unabated spirit; all those engaged in it running up and down, or
+&quot;turning and winding with unlooked-for change.&quot; Alizon's hand had been
+claimed by Richard Assheton, and next to the stately host and his
+dignified partner, they came in for the largest share of admiration and
+attention; and if the untutored girl fell short of the accomplished dame
+in precision and skill, she made up for the want of them in natural
+grace and freedom of movement, for the display of which the couranto,
+with its frequent and impromptu changes, afforded ample opportunity.
+Even Sir Ralph was struck with her extreme gracefulness, and pointed her
+out to Mistress Nicholas, who, unenvying and amiable, joined heartily in
+his praises. Overhearing what was said, Mrs. Nutter thought it a fitting
+opportunity to announce her intention of adopting the young girl; and
+though Sir Ralph seemed a good deal surprised at the suddenness of the
+declaration, he raised no objection to the plan; but, on the contrary,
+applauded it. But another person, by no means disposed to regard it in
+an equally favourable light became acquainted with the intelligence at
+the same time. This was Master Potts, who instantly set his wits at work
+to discover its import. Ever on the alert, his little eyes, sharp as
+needles, had detected Jennet amongst the rustic company, and he now made
+his way towards her, resolved, by dint of cross-questioning and
+otherwise, to extract all the information he possibly could from her.</p>
+
+<p>The dance over, Richard and his partner wandered towards a more retired
+part of the hall.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why does your sister shun me?&quot; inquired Alizon, with a look of great
+distress. &quot;What can I have done to offend her? Whenever I regard her she
+averts her head, and as I approached her just now, she moved away,
+making it evident she designed to avoid me. If I could think myself in
+any way different from what I was this morning, when she treated me with
+such unbounded confidence and kindness, or accuse myself of any offence
+towards her, even in thought, I could understand it; but as it is, her
+present coldness appears inexplicable and unreasonable, and gives me
+great pain. I would not forfeit her regard for worlds, and therefore
+beseech you to tell me what I have done amiss, that I may endeavour to
+repair it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have done nothing&mdash;nothing whatever, sweet girl,&quot; replied Richard.
+&quot;It is only caprice on Dorothy's part, and except that it distresses
+you, her conduct, which you justly call 'unreasonable,' does not deserve
+a moment's serious consideration.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh no! you cannot deceive me thus,&quot; cried Alizon. &quot;She is too kind&mdash;too
+well-judging, to be capricious. Something must have occurred to make her
+change her opinion of me, though what it is I cannot conjecture. I have
+gained much to-day&mdash;more than I had any right to expect; but if I have
+forfeited the good opinion of your sister, the loss of her friendship
+will counterbalance all the rest.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But you have not lost it, Alizon,&quot; replied Richard, earnestly. &quot;Dorothy
+has got some strange notions into her head, which only require to be
+combated. She does not like Mistress Nutter, and is piqued and
+displeased by the extraordinary interest which that lady displays
+towards you. That is all.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But why should she not like Mistress Nutter?&quot; inquired Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, there is no accounting for fancies,&quot; returned Richard, with a
+faint smile. &quot;I do not attempt to defend her, but simply offer the only
+excuse in my power for her conduct.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am concerned to hear it,&quot; said Alizon, sadly, &quot;because henceforth I
+shall be so intimately connected with Mistress Nutter, that this
+estrangement, which I hoped arose only from some trivial cause, and
+merely required a little explanation to be set aside, may become widened
+and lasting. Owing every thing to Mistress Nutter, I must espouse her
+cause; and if your sister likes her not, she likes me not in
+consequence, and therefore we must continue divided. But surely her
+dislike is of very recent date, and cannot have any strong hold upon
+her; for when she and Mistress Nutter met this morning, a very different
+feeling seemed to animate her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;So, indeed, it did,&quot; replied Richard, visibly embarrassed and
+distressed. &quot;And since you have made me acquainted with the new tie and
+interests you have formed, I can only regret alluding to the
+circumstance.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That you may not misunderstand me,&quot; said Alizon, &quot;I will explain the
+extent of my obligations to Mistress Nutter, and then you will perceive
+how much I am bounden to her. Childless herself, greatly interested in
+me, and feeling for my unfortunate situation, with infinite goodness of
+heart she has declared her intention of removing me from all chance of
+baneful influence, from the family with whom I have been heretofore
+connected, by adopting me as her daughter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I should indeed rejoice at this,&quot; said Richard, &quot;were it not that&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And he stopped, gazing anxiously at her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Were not what?&quot; cried Alizon, alarmed by his looks. &quot;What do you mean?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not press me further,&quot; he rejoined; &quot;I cannot answer you. Indeed I
+have said too much already.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have said too much or too little,&quot; cried Alizon. &quot;Speak, I implore
+you. What mean these dark hints which you throw out, and which like
+shadows elude all attempts to grasp them! Do not keep me in this state
+of suspense and agitation. Your looks speak more than your words. Oh,
+give your thoughts utterance!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I cannot,&quot; replied Richard. &quot;I do not believe what I have heard, and
+therefore will not repeat it. It would only increase the mischief. But
+oh! tell me this! Was it, indeed, to remove you from the baneful
+influence of Elizabeth Device that Mistress Nutter adopted you?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Other motives may have swayed her, and I have said they did so,&quot;
+replied Alizon; &quot;but that wish, no doubt, had great weight with her.
+Nay, notwithstanding her abhorrence of the family, she has kindly
+consented to use her best endeavours to preserve little Jennet from
+further ill, as well as to reclaim poor misguided Elizabeth herself.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! what a weight you have taken from my heart,&quot; cried Richard,
+joyfully. &quot;I will tell Dorothy what you say, and it will at once remove
+all her doubts and suspicions. She will now be the same to you as ever,
+and to Mistress Nutter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will not ask you what those doubts and suspicions were, since you so
+confidently promise me this, which is all I desire,&quot; replied Alizon,
+smiling; &quot;but any unfavourable opinions entertained of Mistress Nutter
+are wholly undeserved. Poor lady! she has endured many severe trials and
+sufferings, and whenever you learn the whole of her history, she will, I
+am sure, have your sincere sympathy.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have certainly produced a complete revolution in my feelings
+towards her,&quot; said Richard, &quot;and I shall not be easy till I have made a
+like convert of Dorothy.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>At this moment a loud clapping of hands was heard, and Nicholas was seen
+marching towards the centre of the hall, preceded by the minstrels, who
+had descended for the purpose from the gallery, and bearing in his arms
+a large red velvet cushion. As soon as the dancers had formed a wide
+circle round him, a very lively tune called &quot;Joan Sanderson,&quot; from which
+the dance about to be executed sometimes received its name, was struck
+up, and the squire, after a few preliminary flourishes, set down the
+cushion, and gave chase to Dame Tetlow, who, threading her way rapidly
+through the ring, contrived to elude him. This chase, accompanied by
+music, excited shouts of laughter on all hands, and no one knew which
+most to admire, the eagerness of the squire, or the dexterity of the
+lissom dame in avoiding him.</p>
+
+<p>Exhausted at length, and baffled in his quest, Nicholas came to a halt
+before Tom the Piper, and, taking up the cushion, thus preferred his
+complaint:&mdash;&quot;This dance it can no further go&mdash;no further go.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Whereupon the piper chanted in reply,&mdash;&quot;I pray you, good sir, why say
+you so&mdash;why say you so?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Amidst general laughter, the squire tenderly and touchingly
+responded&mdash;&quot;Because Dame Tetlow will not come to&mdash;will not come to.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Whereupon Tom the Piper, waxing furious, blew a shrill whistle,
+accompanied by an encouraging rattle of the tambarine, and enforcing the
+mandate by two or three energetic stamps on the floor, delivered himself
+in this fashion:&mdash;&quot;She <i>must</i> come to, and she SHALL come to. And she
+must come, whether she will or no.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Upon this two of the prettiest female morris-dancers, taking each a hand
+of the blushing and overheated Dame Tetlow, for she had found the chase
+rather warm work, led her forward; while the squire advancing very
+gallantly placed the cushion upon the ground before her, and as she
+knelt down upon it, bestowed a smacking kiss upon her lips. This
+ceremony being performed amidst much tittering and flustering,
+accompanied by many knowing looks and some expressed wishes among the
+swains, who hoped that their turn might come next, Dame Tetlow arose,
+and the squire seizing her hand, they began to whisk round in a sort of
+jig, singing merrily as they danced&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Prinkum prankum is a fine dance,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And we shall go dance it once again!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Once again,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And we shall go dance it once again!&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>And they made good the words too; for on coming to a stop, Dame Tetlow
+snatched up the cushion, and ran in search of the squire, who retreating
+among the surrounding damsels, made sad havoc among them, scarcely
+leaving a pretty pair of lips unvisited. Oh Nicholas! Nicholas! I am
+thoroughly ashamed of you, and regret becoming your historian. You get
+me into an infinitude of scrapes. But there is a rod in pickle for you,
+sir, which shall be used with good effect presently. Tired of such an
+unprofitable quest, Dame Tetlow came to a sudden halt, addressed the
+piper as Nicholas had addressed him, and receiving a like answer,
+summoned the delinquent to come forward; but as he knelt down on the
+cushion, instead of receiving the anticipated salute, he got a sound box
+on the ears, the dame, actuated probably by some feeling of jealousy,
+taking advantage of the favourable opportunity afforded her of avenging
+herself. No one could refrain from laughing at this unexpected turn in
+affairs, and Nicholas, to do him justice, took it in excellent part, and
+laughed louder than the rest. Springing to his feet, he snatched the
+kiss denied him by the spirited dame, and led her to obtain some
+refreshment at the lower table, of which they both stood in need, while
+the cushion being appropriated by other couples, other boxes on the ear
+and kisses were interchanged, leading to an infinitude of merriment.</p>
+
+<p>Long before this Master Potts had found his way to Jennet, and as he
+drew near, affecting to notice her for the first time, he made some
+remarks upon her not looking very well.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;'Deed, an ey'm nah varry weel,&quot; replied the little girl, &quot;boh ey knoa
+who ey han to thonk fo' my ailment.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your sister, most probably,&quot; suggested the attorney. &quot;It must be very
+vexatious to see her so much noticed, and be yourself so much
+neglected&mdash;very vexatious, indeed&mdash;I quite feel for you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;By dunna want your feelin',&quot; replied Jennet, nettled by the remark;
+&quot;boh it wasna my sister os made me ill.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who was it then, my little dear,&quot; said Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Dunna 'dear' me,&quot; retorted Jennet; &quot;yo're too ceevil by half, os the
+lamb said to the wolf. Boh sin ye mun knoa, it wur Mistress Nutter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Aha! very good&mdash;I mean&mdash;very bad,&quot; cried Potts. &quot;What did Mistress
+Nutter do to you, my little dear? Don't be afraid of telling me. If I
+can do any thing for you I shall be very happy. Speak out&mdash;and don't be
+afraid.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay fo' shure, ey'm nah afeerd,&quot; returned Jennet. &quot;Boh whot mays ye so
+inqueesitive? Ye want to get summat out'n me, ey con see that plain
+enough, an os ye stand there glenting at me wi' your sly little een, ye
+look loike an owd fox ready to snap up a chicken o' th' furst
+opportunity.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your comparison is not very flattering, Jennet,&quot; replied Potts; &quot;but I
+pass it by for the sake of its cleverness. You are a sharp child,
+Jennet&mdash;a very sharp child. I remarked that from the first moment I saw
+you. But in regard to Mistress Nutter, she seems a very nice lady&mdash;and
+must be a very kind lady, since she has made up her mind to adopt your
+sister. Not that I am surprised at her determination, for really Alizon
+is so superior&mdash;so unlike&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Me, ye wad say,&quot; interrupted Jennet. &quot;Dunna be efeerd to speak out,
+sir.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, no,&quot; replied Potts, &quot;on the contrary, there's a very great likeness
+between you. I saw you were sisters at once. I don't know which is the
+cleverest or prettiest&mdash;but perhaps you are the sharpest. Yes, you are
+the sharpest, undoubtedly, Jennet. If I wished to adopt any one, which
+unfortunately I'm not in a condition to do, having only bachelor's
+chambers in Chancery Lane, it should be you. But I can put you in a way
+of making your fortune, Jennet, and that's the next best thing to
+adopting you. Indeed, it's much better in my case.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;May my fortune!&quot; cried the little girl, pricking up her ears, &quot;ey
+should loike to knoa how ye wad contrive that.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I'll show you how directly, Jennet,&quot; returned Potts. &quot;Pay particular
+attention to what I say, and think it over carefully, when you are by
+yourself. You are quite aware that there is a great talk about witches
+in these parts; and, I may speak it without offence to you, your own
+family come under the charge. There is your grandmother Demdike, for
+instance, a notorious witch&mdash;your mother, Dame Device, suspected&mdash;your
+brother James suspected.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel, sir,&quot; cried Jennet, eyeing him sharply, &quot;what does all this
+suspicion tend to?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You shall hear, my little dear,&quot; returned Potts. &quot;It would not surprise
+me, if every one of your family, including yourself, should be arrested,
+shut up in Lancaster Castle, and burnt for witches!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alack a day! an this ye ca' makin my fortin,&quot; cried Jennet, derisively.
+&quot;Much obleeged to ye, sir, boh ey'd leefer be without the luck.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Listen to me,&quot; pursued Potts, chuckling, &quot;and I will point out to you a
+way of escaping the general fate of your family&mdash;not merely of escaping
+it&mdash;but of acquiring a large reward. And that is by giving evidence
+against them&mdash;by telling all you know&mdash;you understand&mdash;eh!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh, ey think ey <i>do</i> onderstond,&quot; replied Jennet, sullenly. &quot;An so
+this is your grand scheme, eh, sir?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This is my scheme, Jennet,&quot; said Potts, &quot;and a notable scheme it is,
+my little lass. Think it over. You're an admissible and indeed a
+desirable witness; for our sagacious sovereign has expressly observed
+that 'bairns,' (I believe you call children 'bairns' in Lancashire,
+Jennet; your uncouth dialect very much resembles the Scottish language,
+in which our learned monarch writes as well as speaks)&mdash;'bairns,' says
+he, 'or wives, or never so defamed persons, may of our law serve for
+sufficient witnesses and proofs; for who but witches can be proofs, and
+so witnesses of the doings of witches.'&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Boh, ey am neaw witch, ey tell ye, mon,&quot; cried Jennet, angrily.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But you're a witch's bairn, my little lassy,&quot; replied Potts, &quot;and
+that's just as bad, and you'll grow up to be a witch in due time&mdash;that
+is, if your career be not cut short. I'm sure you must have witnessed
+some strange things when you visited your grandmother at Malkin
+Tower&mdash;that, if I mistake not, is the name of her abode?&mdash;and a fearful
+and witch-like name it is;&mdash;you must have heard frequent mutterings and
+curses, spells, charms, and diabolical incantations&mdash;beheld strange and
+monstrous visions&mdash;listened to threats uttered against people who have
+afterwards perished unaccountably.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey've heerd an seen nowt o't sort,&quot; replied Jennet; &quot;boh ey' han heerd
+my mother threaten yo.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah, indeed,&quot; cried Potts, forcing a laugh, but looking rather blank
+afterwards; &quot;and how did she threaten me, Jennet, eh?&mdash;But no matter.
+Let that pass for the moment. As I was saying, you must have seen
+mysterious proceedings both at Malkin Tower and your own house. A black
+gentleman with a club foot must visit you occasionally, and your mother
+must, now and then&mdash;say once a week&mdash;take a fancy to riding on a
+broomstick. Are you quite sure you have never ridden on one yourself,
+Jennet, and got whisked up the chimney without being aware of it? It's
+the common witch conveyance, and said to be very expeditious and
+agreeable&mdash;but I can't vouch for it myself&mdash;ha! ha! Possibly&mdash;though you
+are rather young&mdash;but possibly, I say, you may have attended a witch's
+Sabbath, and seen a huge He-Goat, with four horns on his head, and a
+large tail, seated in the midst of a large circle of devoted admirers.
+If you have seen this, and can recollect the names and faces of the
+assembly, it would be highly important.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;When ey see it, ey shanna forget it,&quot; replied Jennet. &quot;Boh ey am nah
+quite so familiar wi' Owd Scrat os yo seem to suppose.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Has it ever occurred to you that Alizon might be addicted to these
+practices?&quot; pursued Potts, &quot;and that she obtained her extraordinary and
+otherwise unaccountable beauty by some magical process&mdash;some charm&mdash;some
+diabolical unguent prepared, as the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seals, the
+singularly learned Lord Bacon, declares, from fat of unbaptised babes,
+compounded with henbane, hemlock, mandrake, moonshade, and other
+terrible ingredients. She could not be so beautiful without some such
+aid.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That shows how little yo knoaw about it,&quot; replied Jennet. &quot;Alizon is os
+good as she's protty, and dunna yo think to wheedle me into sayin' out
+agen her, fo' yo winna do it. Ey'd dee rayther than harm a hure o' her
+heaod.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Very praiseworthy, indeed, my little dear,&quot; replied Potts, ironically.
+&quot;I honour you for your sisterly affection; but, notwithstanding all
+this, I cannot help thinking she has bewitched Mistress Nutter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Licker, Mistress Nutter has bewitched her,&quot; replied Jennet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then you think Mistress Nutter is a witch, eh?&quot; cried Potts, eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'st neaw tell ye what ey think, mon,&quot; rejoined Jennet, doggedly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But hear me,&quot; cried Potts, &quot;I have my own suspicions, also, nay, more
+than suspicions.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If ye're shure, yo dunna want me,&quot; said Jennet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But I want a witness,&quot; pursued Potts, &quot;and if you'll serve as one&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whot'll ye gi' me?&quot; said Jennet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whatever you like,&quot; rejoined Potts. &quot;Only name the sum. So you can
+prove the practice of witchcraft against Mistress Nutter&mdash;eh?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Jennet nodded. &quot;Wad ye loike to knoa why brother Jem is gone to Pendle
+to-neet?&quot; she said.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Very much, indeed,&quot; replied Potts, drawing still nearer to her. &quot;Very
+much, indeed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The little girl was about to speak, but on a sudden a sharp convulsion
+agitated her frame; her utterance totally failed her; and she fell back
+in the seat insensible.</p>
+
+<p>Very much startled, Potts flew in search of some restorative, and on
+doing so, he perceived Mistress Nutter moving away from this part of the
+hall.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She has done it,&quot; he cried. &quot;A piece of witchcraft before my very eyes.
+Has she killed the child? No; she breathes, and her pulse beats, though
+faintly. She is only in a swoon, but a deep and deathlike one. It would
+be useless to attempt to revive her; she must come to in her own way, or
+at the pleasure of the wicked woman who has thrown her into this
+condition. I have now an assured witness in this girl. But I must keep
+watch upon Mistress Nutter's further movements.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And he walked cautiously after her.</p>
+
+<p>As Richard had anticipated, his explanation was perfectly satisfactory
+to Dorothy; and the young lady, who had suffered greatly from the
+restraint she had imposed upon herself, flew to Alizon, and poured
+forth excuses, which were as readily accepted as they were freely made.
+They were instantly as great friends as before, and their brief
+estrangement only seemed to make them dearer to each other. Dorothy
+could not forgive herself, and Alizon assured her there was nothing to
+be forgiven, and so they took hands upon it, and promised to forget all
+that had passed. Richard stood by, delighted with the change, and
+wrapped in the contemplation of the object of his love, who, thus
+engaged, seemed to him more beautiful than he had ever beheld her.</p>
+
+<p>Towards the close of the evening, while all three were still together.
+Nicholas came up and took Richard aside. The squire looked flushed; and
+there was an undefined expression of alarm in his countenance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What is the matter?&quot; inquired Richard, dreading to hear of some new
+calamity.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Have you not noticed it, Dick?&quot; said Nicholas, in a hollow tone. &quot;The
+portrait is gone.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What portrait?&quot; exclaimed Richard, forgetting the previous
+circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The portrait of Isole de Heton,&quot; returned Nicholas, becoming more
+sepulchral in his accents as he proceeded; &quot;it has vanished from the
+wall. See and believe.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who has taken it down?&quot; cried Richard, remarking that the picture had
+certainly disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No mortal hand,&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;It has come down of itself. I knew
+what would happen, Dick. I told you the fair votaress gave me the <i>clin
+d'oeil</i>&mdash;the wink. You would not believe me then&mdash;and now you see your
+mistake.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I see nothing but the bare wall,&quot; said Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But you will see something anon, Dick,&quot; rejoined Nicholas, with a
+hollow laugh, and in a dismally deep tone. &quot;You will see Isole herself.
+I was foolhardy enough to invite her to dance the brawl with me. She
+smiled her assent, and winked at me thus&mdash;very significantly, I protest
+to you&mdash;and she will be as good as her word.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Absurd!&quot; exclaimed Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Absurd, sayest thou&mdash;thou art an infidel, and believest nothing, Dick,&quot;
+cried Nicholas. &quot;Dost thou not see that the picture is gone? She will be
+here presently. Ha! the brawl is called for&mdash;the very dance I invited
+her to. She must be in the room now. I will go in search of her. Look
+out, Dick. Thou wilt behold a sight presently shall make thine hair
+stand on end.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And he moved away with a rapid but uncertain step.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The potent wine has confused his brain,&quot; said Richard. &quot;I must see that
+no mischance befalls him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And, waving his hand to his sister, he followed the squire, who moved
+on, staring inquisitively into the countenance of every pretty damsel he
+encountered.</p>
+
+<p>Time had flown fleetly with Dorothy and Alizon, who, occupied with each
+other, had taken little note of its progress, and were surprised to find
+how quickly the hours had gone by. Meanwhile several dances had been
+performed; a Morisco, in which all the May-day revellers took part, with
+the exception of the queen herself, who, notwithstanding the united
+entreaties of Robin Hood and her gentleman-usher, could not be prevailed
+upon to join it: a trenchmore, a sort of long country-dance, extending
+from top to bottom of the hall, and in which the whole of the rustics
+stood up: a galliard, confined to the more important guests, and in
+which both Alizon and Dorothy were included, the former dancing, of
+course, with Richard, and the latter with one of her cousins, young
+Joseph Robinson: and a jig, quite promiscuous and unexclusive, and not
+the less merry on that account. In this way, what with the dances, which
+were of some duration&mdash;the trenchmore alone occupying more than an
+hour&mdash;and the necessary breathing-time between them, it was on the
+stroke of ten without any body being aware of it. Now this, though a
+very early hour for a modern party, being about the time when the first
+guest would arrive, was a very late one even in fashionable assemblages
+at the period in question, and the guests began to think of retiring,
+when the brawl, intended to wind up the entertainment, was called. The
+highest animation still prevailed throughout the company, for the
+generous host had taken care that the intervals between the dances
+should be well filled up with refreshments, and large bowls of spiced
+wines, with burnt oranges and crabs floating in them, were placed on the
+side-table, and liberally dispensed to all applicants. Thus all seemed
+destined to be brought to a happy conclusion.</p>
+
+<p>Throughout the evening Alizon had been closely watched by Mistress
+Nutter, who remarked, with feelings akin to jealousy and distrust, the
+marked predilection exhibited by her for Richard and Dorothy Assheton,
+as well as her inattention to her own expressed injunctions in remaining
+constantly near them. Though secretly displeased by this, she put a calm
+face upon it, and neither remonstrated by word or look. Thus Alizon,
+feeling encouraged in the course she had adopted, and prompted by her
+inclinations, soon forgot the interdiction she had received. Mistress
+Nutter even went so far in her duplicity as to promise Dorothy, that
+Alizon should pay her an early visit at Middleton&mdash;though inwardly
+resolving no such visit should ever take place. However, she now
+received the proposal very graciously, and made Alizon quite happy in
+acceding to it.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I would fain have her go back with me to Middleton when I return,&quot; said
+Dorothy, &quot;but I fear you would not like to part with your newly-adopted
+daughter so soon; neither would it be quite fair to rob you of her. But
+I shall hold you to your promise of an early visit.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Mistress Nutter replied by a bland smile, and then observed to Alizon
+that it was time for them to retire, and that she had stayed on her
+account far later than she intended&mdash;a mark of consideration duly
+appreciated by Alizon. Farewells for the night were then exchanged
+between the two girls, and Alizon looked round to bid adieu to Richard,
+but unfortunately, at this very juncture, he was engaged in pursuit of
+Nicholas. Before quitting the hall she made inquiries after Jennet, and
+receiving for answer that she was still in the hall, but had fallen
+asleep in a chair at one corner of the side-table, and could not be
+wakened, she instantly flew thither and tried to rouse her, but in vain;
+when Mistress Nutter, coming up the next moment, merely touched her
+brow, and the little girl opened her eyes and gazed about her with a
+bewildered look.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She is unused to these late hours, poor child,&quot; said Alizon. &quot;Some one
+must be found to take her home.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You need not go far in search of a convoy,&quot; said Potts, who had been
+hovering about, and now stepped up; &quot;I am going to the Dragon myself,
+and shall be happy to take charge of her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are over-officious, sir,&quot; rejoined Mistress Nutter, coldly; &quot;when
+we need your assistance we will ask it. My own servant, Simon
+Blackadder, will see her safely home.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And at a sign from her, a tall fellow with a dark, scowling countenance,
+came from among the other serving-men, and, receiving his instructions
+from his mistress, seized Jennet's hand, and strode off with her. During
+all this time, Mistress Nutter kept her eyes steadily fixed on the
+little girl, who spoke not a word, nor replied even by a gesture to
+Alizon's affectionate good-night, retaining her dazed look to the moment
+of quitting the hall.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I never saw her thus before,&quot; said Alizon. &quot;What can be the matter with
+her?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I think I could tell you,&quot; rejoined Potts, glancing maliciously and
+significantly at Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>The lady darted an ireful and piercing look at him, which seemed to
+produce much the same consequences as those experienced by Jennet, for
+his visage instantly elongated, and he sank back in a chair.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh dear!&quot; he cried, putting his hand to his head; &quot;I'm struck all of a
+heap. I feel a sudden qualm&mdash;a giddiness&mdash;a sort of
+don't-know-howishness. Ho, there! some aquavit&aelig;&mdash;or imperial water&mdash;or
+cinnamon water&mdash;or whatever reviving cordial may be at hand. I feel very
+ill&mdash;very ill, indeed&mdash;oh dear!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>While his requirements were attended to, Mistress Nutter moved away with
+her daughter; but they had not proceeded far when they encountered
+Richard, who, having fortunately descried them, came up to say
+good-night.</p>
+
+<p>The brawl, meanwhile, had commenced, and the dancers were whirling
+round giddily in every direction, somewhat like the couples in a grand
+polka, danced after a very boisterous, romping, and extravagant fashion.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who is Nicholas dancing with?&quot; asked Mistress Nutter suddenly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Is he dancing with any one?&quot; rejoined Richard, looking amidst the
+crowd.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do you not see her?&quot; said Mistress Nutter; &quot;a very beautiful woman with
+flashing eyes: they move so quickly, that I can scarce discern her
+features; but she is habited like a nun.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Like a nun!&quot; cried Richard, his blood growing chill in his veins. &quot;'Tis
+she indeed, then! Where is he?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yonder, yonder, whirling madly round,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I see him now,&quot; said Richard, &quot;but he is alone. He has lost his wits to
+dance in that strange manner by himself. How wild, too, is his gaze!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I tell you he is dancing with a very beautiful woman in the habit of a
+nun,&quot; said Mistress Nutter. &quot;Strange I should never have remarked her
+before. No one in the room is to be compared with her in loveliness&mdash;not
+even Alizon. Her eyes seem to flash fire, and she bounds like the wild
+roe.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Does she resemble the portrait of Isole de Heton?&quot; asked Richard,
+shuddering.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She does&mdash;she does,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter. &quot;See! she whirls past us
+now.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I can see no one but Nicholas,&quot; cried Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nor I,&quot; added Alizon, who shared in the young man's alarm.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Are you sure you behold that figure?&quot; said Richard, drawing Mistress
+Nutter aside, and breathing the words in her ear. &quot;If so, it is a
+phantom&mdash;or he is in the power of the fiend. He was rash enough to
+invite that wicked votaress, Isole de Heton, condemned, it is said, to
+penal fires for her earthly enormities, to dance with him, and she has
+come.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha!&quot; exclaimed Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She will whirl him round till he expires,&quot; cried Richard; &quot;I must free
+him at all hazards.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Stay,&quot; said Mistress Nutter; &quot;it is I who have been deceived. Now I
+look again, I see that Nicholas is alone.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But the nun's dress&mdash;the wondrous beauty&mdash;the flashing eyes!&quot; cried
+Richard. &quot;You described Isole exactly.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It was mere fancy,&quot; said Mistress Nutter. &quot;I had just been looking at
+her portrait, and it dwelt on my mind, and created the image.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The portrait is gone,&quot; cried Richard, pointing to the empty wall.</p>
+
+<p>Mistress Nutter looked confounded.</p>
+
+<p>And without a word more, she took Alizon, who was full of alarm and
+astonishment, by the arm, and hurried her out of the hall.</p>
+
+<p>As they disappeared, the young man flew towards Nicholas, whose
+extraordinary proceedings had excited general amazement. The other
+dancers had moved out of the way, so that free space was left for his
+mad gyrations. Greatly scandalised by the exhibition, which he looked
+upon as the effect of intoxication, Sir Ralph called loudly to him to
+stop, but he paid no attention to the summons, but whirled on with
+momently-increasing velocity, oversetting old Adam Whitworth, Gregory,
+and Dickon, who severally ventured to place themselves in his path, to
+enforce their master's injunctions, until at last, just as Richard
+reached him, he uttered a loud cry, and fell to the ground insensible.
+By Sir Ralph's command he was instantly lifted up and transported to his
+own chamber.</p>
+
+<p>This unexpected and extraordinary incident put an end to the ball, and
+the whole of the guests, after taking a respectful and grateful leave of
+the host, departed&mdash;not in &quot;most admired&quot; disorder, but full of wonder.
+By most persons the squire's &quot;fantastical vagaries,&quot; as they were
+termed, were traced to the vast quantity of wine he had drunk, but a few
+others shook their heads, and said he was evidently bewitched, and that
+Mother Chattox and Nance Redferne were at the bottom of it. As to the
+portrait of Isole de Heton, it was found under the table, and it was
+said that Nicholas himself had pulled it down; but this he obstinately
+denied, when afterwards taken to task for his indecorous behaviour; and
+to his dying day he asserted, and believed, that he had danced the brawl
+with Isole de Heton. &quot;And never,&quot; he would say, &quot;had mortal man such a
+partner.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>From that night the two portraits in the banqueting-hall were regarded
+with great awe by the inmates of the Abbey.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X_THE_NOCTURNAL_MEETING" id="CHAPTER_X_THE_NOCTURNAL_MEETING" />CHAPTER X.&mdash;THE NOCTURNAL MEETING.</h2>
+
+
+<p>On gaining the head of the staircase leading to the corridor, Mistress
+Nutter, whose movements had hitherto been extremely rapid, paused with
+her daughter to listen to the sounds arising from below. Suddenly was
+heard a loud cry, and the music, which had waxed fast and furious in
+order to keep pace with the frenzied boundings of the squire, ceased at
+once, showing some interruption had occurred, while from the confused
+noise that ensued, it was evident the sudden stoppage had been the
+result of accident. With blanched cheek Alizon listened, scarcely daring
+to look at her mother, whose expression of countenance, revealed by the
+lamp she held in her hand, almost frightened her; and it was a great
+relief to hear the voices and laughter of the serving-men as they came
+forth with Nicholas, and bore him towards another part of the mansion;
+and though much shocked, she was glad when one of them, who appeared to
+be Nicholas's own servant, assured the others &quot;that it was only a
+drunken fit and that the squire would wake up next morning as if nothing
+had happened.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Apparently satisfied with this explanation, Mistress Nutter moved on;
+but a new feeling of uneasiness came over Alizon as she followed her
+down the long dusky corridor, in the direction of the mysterious
+chamber, where they were to pass the night. The fitful flame of the lamp
+fell upon many a grim painting depicting the sufferings of the early
+martyrs; and these ghastly representations did not serve to re-assure
+her. The grotesque carvings on the panels and ribs of the vaulted roof,
+likewise impressed her with vague terror, and there was one large piece
+of sculpture&mdash;Saint Theodora subjected to diabolical temptation, as
+described in the Golden Legend&mdash;that absolutely scared her. Their
+footsteps echoed hollowly overhead, and more than once, deceived by the
+sound, Alizon turned to see if any one was behind them. At the end of
+the corridor lay the room once occupied by the superior of the religious
+establishment, and still known from that circumstance as the &quot;Abbot's
+Chamber.&quot; Connected with this apartment was the beautiful oratory built
+by Paslew, wherein he had kept his last vigils; and though now no longer
+applied to purposes of worship, still wearing from the character of its
+architecture, its sculptured ornaments, and the painted glass in its
+casements, a dim religious air. The abbot's room was allotted to Dorothy
+Assheton; and from its sombre magnificence, as well as the ghostly tales
+connected with it, had impressed her with so much superstitious
+misgiving, that she besought Alizon to share her couch with her, but the
+young girl did not dare to assent. Just, however, as Mistress Nutter was
+about to enter her own room, Dorothy appeared on the corridor, and,
+calling to Alizon to stay a moment, flew quickly towards her, and
+renewed the proposition. Alizon looked at her mother, but the latter
+decidedly, and somewhat sternly, negatived it.</p>
+
+<p>The young girls then said good-night, kissing each other affectionately,
+after which Alizon entered the room with Mistress Nutter, and the door
+was closed. Two tapers were burning on the dressing-table, and their
+light fell upon the carved figures of the wardrobe, which still
+exercised the same weird influence over her. Mistress Nutter neither
+seemed disposed to retire to rest immediately, nor willing to talk, but
+sat down, and was soon lost in thought. After awhile, an impulse of
+curiosity which she could not resist, prompted Alizon to peep into the
+closet, and pushing aside the tapestry, partly drawn over the entrance,
+she held the lamp forward so as to throw its light into the little
+chamber. A mere glance was all she was allowed, but it sufficed to show
+her the large oak chest, though the monkish robe lately suspended above
+it, and which had particularly attracted her attention, was gone.
+Mistress Nutter had noticed the movement, and instantly and somewhat
+sharply recalled her.</p>
+
+<p>As Alizon obeyed, a slight tap was heard at the door. The young girl
+turned pale, for in her present frame of mind any little matter affected
+her. Nor were her apprehensions materially allayed by the entrance of
+Dorothy, who, looking white as a sheet, said she did not dare to remain
+in her own room, having been terribly frightened, by seeing a monkish
+figure in mouldering white garments, exactly resembling one of the
+carved images on the wardrobe, issue from behind the hangings on the
+wall, and glide into the oratory, and she entreated Mistress Nutter to
+let Alizon go back with her. The request was peremptorily refused, and
+the lady, ridiculing Dorothy for her fears, bade her return; but she
+still lingered. This relation filled Alizon with inexpressible alarm,
+for though she did not dare to allude to the disappearance of the
+monkish gown, she could not help connecting the circumstance with the
+ghostly figure seen by Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>Unable otherwise to get rid of the terrified intruder, whose presence
+was an evident restraint to her, Mistress Nutter, at length, consented
+to accompany her to her room, and convince her of the folly of her
+fears, by an examination of the oratory. Alizon went with them, her
+mother not choosing to leave her behind, and indeed she herself was most
+anxious to go.</p>
+
+<p>The abbot's chamber was large and gloomy, nearly twice the size of the
+room occupied by Mistress Nutter, but resembling it in many respects, as
+well as in the No interdusky hue of its hangings and furniture, most of
+which had been undisturbed since the days of Paslew. The very bed, of
+carved oak, was that in which he had slept, and his arms were still
+displayed upon it, and on the painted glass of the windows. As Alizon
+entered she looked round with apprehension, but nothing occurred to
+justify her uneasiness. Having raised the arras, from behind which
+Dorothy averred the figure had issued, and discovering nothing but a
+panel of oak; with a smile of incredulity, Mistress Nutter walked boldly
+towards the oratory, the two girls, hand in hand, following tremblingly
+after her; but no fearful object met their view. A dressing-table, with
+a large mirror upon it, occupied the spot where the altar had formerly
+stood; but, in spite of this, and of other furniture, the little place
+of prayer, as has previously been observed, retained much of its
+original character, and seemed more calculated to inspire sentiments of
+devotional awe than any other.</p>
+
+<p>After remaining for a short time in the oratory, during which she
+pointed out the impossibility of any one being concealed there, Mistress
+Nutter assured Dorothy she might rest quite easy that nothing further
+would occur to alarm her, and recommending her to lose the sense of her
+fears as speedily as she could in sleep, took her departure with Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>But the recommendation was of little avail. The poor girl's heart died
+within her, and all her former terrors returned, and with additional
+force. Sitting down, she looked fixedly at the hangings till her eyes
+ached, and then covering her face with her hands, and scarcely daring to
+breathe, she listened intently for the slightest sound. A rustle would
+have made her scream&mdash;but all was still as death, so profoundly quiet,
+that the very hush and silence became a new cause of disquietude, and
+longing for some cheerful sound to break it, she would have spoken aloud
+but from a fear of hearing her own voice. A book lay before her, and she
+essayed to read it, but in vain. She was ever glancing fearfully
+round&mdash;ever listening intently. This state could not endure for ever,
+and feeling a drowsiness steal over her she yielded to it, and at length
+dropped asleep in her chair. Her dreams, however, were influenced by her
+mental condition, and slumber was no refuge, as promised by Mistress
+Nutter, from the hauntings of terror.</p>
+
+<p>At last a jarring sound aroused her, and she found she had been awakened
+by the clock striking twelve. Her lamp required trimming and burnt
+dimly, but by its imperfect light she saw the arras move. This could be
+no fancy, for the next moment the hangings were raised, and a figure
+looked from behind them; and this time it was not the monk, but a female
+robed in white. A glimpse of the figure was all Dorothy caught, for it
+instantly retreated, and the tapestry fell back to its place against the
+wall. Scared by this apparition, Dorothy rushed out of the room so
+hurriedly that she forgot to take her lamp, and made her way, she
+scarcely knew how, to the adjoining chamber. She did not tap at the
+door, but trying it, and finding it unfastened, opened it softly, and
+closed it after her, resolved if the occupants of the room were asleep
+not to disturb them, but to pass the night in a chair, the presence of
+some living beings beside her sufficing, in some degree, to dispel her
+terrors. The room was buried in darkness, the tapers being extinguished.</p>
+
+<p>Advancing on tiptoe she soon discovered a seat, when what was her
+surprise to find Alizon asleep within it. She was sure it was
+Alizon&mdash;for she had touched her hair and face, and she felt surprised
+that the contact had not awakened her. Still more surprised did she feel
+that the young girl had not retired to rest. Again she stepped forward
+in search of another chair, when a gleam of light suddenly shot from one
+side of the bed, and the tapestry, masking the entrance to the closet,
+was slowly drawn aside. From behind it, the next moment, appeared the
+same female figure, robed in white, that she had previously beheld in
+the abbot's chamber. The figure held a lamp in one hand, and a small
+box in the other, and, to her unspeakable horror, disclosed the livid
+and contorted countenance of Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p class="figcenter"><a name="ILLUS_6" id="ILLUS_6" href="./images/illus06_lg.jpg"><img src="./images/illus06_sm.jpg"
+alt="Illustration: ALIZON ALARMED AT THE APPEARANCE OF MRS. NUTTER."
+title="ALIZON ALARMED AT THE APPEARANCE OF MRS. NUTTER." /></a></p>
+<p class="figcenter"><span class="smcap">Alizon Alarmed at the Appearance of Mrs. Nutter.</span></p>
+
+<p>Dreadful though undefined suspicions crossed her mind, and she feared,
+if discovered, she should be sacrificed to the fury of this strange and
+terrible woman. Luckily, where she stood, though Mistress Nutter was
+revealed to her, she herself was screened from view by the hangings of
+the bed, and looking around for a hiding-place, she observed that the
+mysterious wardrobe, close behind her, was open, and without a moment's
+hesitation, she slipped into the covert and drew the door to,
+noiselessly. But her curiosity overmastered her fear, and, firmly
+believing some magical rite was about to be performed, she sought for
+means of beholding it; nor was she long in discovering a small
+eyelet-hole in the carving which commanded the room.</p>
+
+<p>Unconscious of any other presence than that of Alizon, whose stupor
+appeared to occasion her no uneasiness, Mistress Nutter, placed the lamp
+upon the table, made fast the door, and, muttering some unintelligible
+words, unlocked the box. It contained two singularly-shaped glass
+vessels, the one filled with a bright sparkling liquid, and the other
+with a greenish-coloured unguent. Pouring forth a few drops of the
+liquid into a glass near her, Mistress Nutter swallowed them, and then
+taking some of the unguent upon her hands, proceeded to anoint her face
+and neck with it, exclaiming as she did so, &quot;Emen hetan! Emen
+hetan!&quot;&mdash;words that fixed themselves upon the listener's memory.</p>
+
+<p>Wondering what would follow, Dorothy gazed on, when she suddenly lost
+sight of Mistress Nutter, and after looking for her as far as her range
+of vision, limited by the aperture, would extend, she became convinced
+that she had left the room. All remaining quiet, she ventured, after
+awhile, to quit her hiding-place, and flying to Alizon, tried to waken
+her, but in vain. The poor girl retained the same moveless attitude, and
+appeared plunged in a deathly stupor.</p>
+
+<p>Much frightened, Dorothy resolved to alarm the house, but some fears of
+Mistress Nutter restrained her, and she crept towards the closet to see
+whether that dread lady could be there. All was perfectly still; and
+somewhat emboldened, she returned to the table, where the box, which was
+left open and its contents unguarded, attracted her attention.</p>
+
+<p>What was the liquid in the phial? What could it do? These were questions
+she asked herself, and longing to try the effect, she ventured at last
+to pour forth a few drops and taste it. It was like a potent
+distillation, and she became instantly sensible of a strange bewildering
+excitement. Presently her brain reeled, and she laughed wildly. Never
+before had she felt so light and buoyant, and wings seemed scarcely
+wanting to enable her to fly. An idea occurred to her. The wondrous
+liquid might arouse Alizon. The experiment should be tried at once, and,
+dipping her finger in the phial, she touched the lips of the sleeper,
+who sighed deeply and opened her eyes. Another drop, and Alizon was on
+her feet, gazing at her in astonishment, and laughing wildly as herself.</p>
+
+<p>Poor girls! how wild and strange they looked&mdash;and how unlike themselves!</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whither are you going?&quot; cried Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;To the moon! to the stars!&mdash;any where!&quot; rejoined Dorothy, with a laugh
+of frantic glee.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will go with you,&quot; cried Alizon, echoing the laugh.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Here and there!&mdash;here and there!&quot; exclaimed Dorothy, taking her hand.
+&quot;Emen hetan! Emen hetan!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As the mystic words were uttered they started away. It seemed as if no
+impediments could stop them; how they crossed the closet, passed through
+a sliding panel into the abbot's room, entered the oratory, and from it
+descended, by a secret staircase, to the garden, they knew not&mdash;but
+there they were, gliding swiftly along in the moonlight, like winged
+spirits. What took them towards the conventual church they could not
+say. But they were drawn thither, as the ship was irresistibly dragged
+towards the loadstone rock described in the Eastern legend. Nothing
+surprised them then, or they might have been struck by the dense vapour,
+enveloping the monastic ruins, and shrouding them from view; nor was it
+until they entered the desecrated fabric, that any consciousness of what
+was passing around returned to them.</p>
+
+<p>Their ears were then assailed by a wild hubbub of discordant sounds,
+hootings and croakings as of owls and ravens, shrieks and jarring cries
+as of night-birds, bellowings as of cattle, groans and dismal sounds,
+mixed with unearthly laughter. Undefined and extraordinary shapes,
+whether men or women, beings of this world or of another they could not
+tell, though they judged them the latter, flew past with wild whoops and
+piercing cries, flapping the air as if with great leathern bat-like
+wings, or bestriding black, monstrous, misshapen steeds. Fantastical and
+grotesque were these objects, yet hideous and appalling. Now and then a
+red and fiery star would whiz crackling through the air, and then
+exploding break into numerous pale phosphoric lights, that danced awhile
+overhead, and then flitted away among the ruins. The ground seemed to
+heave and tremble beneath the footsteps, as if the graves were opening
+to give forth their dead, while toads and hissing reptiles crept forth.</p>
+
+<p>Appalled, yet partly restored to herself by this confused and horrible
+din, Alizon stood still and kept fast hold of Dorothy, who, seemingly
+under a stronger influence than herself, was drawn towards the eastern
+end of the fane, where a fire appeared to be blazing, a strong ruddy
+glare being cast upon the broken roof of the choir, and the mouldering
+arches around it. The noises around them suddenly ceased, and all the
+uproar seemed concentrated near the spot where the fire was burning.
+Dorothy besought her friend so earnestly to let her see what was going
+forward, that Alizon reluctantly and tremblingly assented, and they
+moved slowly towards the transept, taking care to keep under the shelter
+of the columns.</p>
+
+<p>On reaching the last pillar, behind which they remained, an
+extraordinary and fearful spectacle burst upon them. As they had
+supposed, a large fire was burning in the midst of the choir, the smoke
+of which, ascending in eddying wreaths, formed a dark canopy overhead,
+where it was mixed with the steam issuing from a large black bubbling
+caldron set on the blazing embers. Around the fire were ranged, in a
+wide circle, an assemblage of men and women, but chiefly the latter, and
+of these almost all old, hideous, and of malignant aspect, their grim
+and sinister features looking ghastly in the lurid light. Above them,
+amid the smoke and steam, wheeled bat and flitter-mouse, horned owl and
+screech-owl, in mazy circles. The weird assemblage chattered together in
+some wild jargon, mumbling and muttering spells and incantations,
+chanting fearfully with hoarse, cracked voices a wild chorus, and anon
+breaking into a loud and long-continued peal of laughter. Then there was
+more mumbling, chattering, and singing, and one of the troop producing a
+wallet, hobbled forward.</p>
+
+<p>She was a fearful old crone; hunchbacked, toothless, blear-eyed,
+bearded, halt, with huge gouty feet swathed in flannel. As she cast in
+the ingredients one by one, she chanted thus:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Head of monkey, brain of cat,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Eye of weasel, tail of rat,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Juice of mugwort, mastic, myrrh&mdash;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">All within the pot I stir.&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well sung, Mother Mould-heels,&quot; cried a little old man, whose doublet
+and hose were of rusty black, with a short cloak, of the same hue, over
+his shoulders. &quot;Well sung, Mother Mould-heels,&quot; he cried, advancing as
+the old witch retired, amidst a roar of laughter from the others, and
+chanting as he filled the caldron:</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Here is foam from a mad dog's lips,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Gather'd beneath the moon's eclipse,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Ashes of a shroud consumed,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And with deadly vapour fumed.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">These within the mess I cast&mdash;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Stir the caldron&mdash;stir it fast!&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>A red-haired witch then took his place, singing,</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Here are snakes from out the river,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Bones of toad and sea-calf's liver;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Swine's flesh fatten'd on her brood,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Wolf's tooth, hare's foot, weasel's blood.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Skull of ape and fierce baboon,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And panther spotted like the moon;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Feathers of the horned owl,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Daw, pie, and other fatal fowl.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Fruit from fig-tree never sown,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Seed from cypress never grown.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">All within the mess I cast,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Stir the caldron&mdash;stir it fast!&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>Nance Redferne then advanced, and, taking from her wallet a small clay
+image, tricked out in attire intended to resemble that of James Device,
+plunged several pins deeply into its breast, singing as she did so,
+thus,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;In his likeness it is moulded,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In his vestments 'tis enfolded.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Ye may know it, as I show it!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In its breast sharp pins I stick,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And I drive them to the quick.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">They are in&mdash;they are in&mdash;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And the wretch's pangs begin.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Now his heart,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Feels the smart;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Through his marrow,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Sharp as arrow,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Torments quiver</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He shall shiver,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He shall burn,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He shall toss, and he shall turn.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Unavailingly.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Aches shall rack him,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Cramps attack him,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He shall wail,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Strength shall fail,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Till he die</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Miserably!&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>As Nance retired, another witch advanced, and sung thus:</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Over mountain, over valley, over woodland, over waste,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">On our gallant broomsticks riding we have come with frantic haste,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And the reason of our coming, as ye wot well, is to see</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Who this night, as new-made witch, to our ranks shall added be.&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>A wild burst of laughter followed this address, and another wizard
+succeeded, chanting thus:</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Beat the water, Demdike's daughter!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Till the tempest gather o'er us;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Till the thunder strike with wonder</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 7em;">And the lightnings flash before us!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Beat the water, Demdike's daughter!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Ruin seize our foes and slaughter!&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>As the words were uttered, a woman stepped from out the circle, and
+throwing back the grey-hooded cloak in which she was enveloped,
+disclosed the features of Elizabeth Device. Her presence in that fearful
+assemblage occasioned no surprise to Alizon, though it increased her
+horror. A pail of water was next set before the witch, and a broom being
+placed in her hand, she struck the lymph with it, sprinkling it aloft,
+and uttering this spell:</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Mount, water, to the skies!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Bid the sudden storm arise.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Bid the pitchy clouds advance,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Bid the forked lightnings glance,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Bid the angry thunder growl,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Bid the wild wind fiercely howl!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Bid the tempest come amain,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Thunder, lightning, wind, and rain!&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="figcenter"><a name="ILLUS_7" id="ILLUS_7" href="./images/illus07_lg.jpg"><img src="./images/illus07_sm.jpg"
+alt="Illustration: THE INCANTATION."
+title="THE INCANTATION." /></a></p>
+<p class="figcenter"><span class="smcap">The Incantation.</span></p>
+
+<p>As she concluded, clouds gathered thickly overhead, obscuring the
+stars that had hitherto shone down from the heavens. The wind suddenly
+arose, but in lieu of dispersing the vapours it seemed only to condense
+them. A flash of forked lightning cut through the air, and a loud peal
+of thunder rolled overhead.</p>
+
+<p>Then the whole troop sang together&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Beat the water, Demdike's daughter!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 7em;">See the tempests gathers o'er us,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Lightning flashes&mdash;thunder crashes,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Wild winds sing in lusty chorus!&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>For a brief space the storm raged fearfully, and recalled the terror of
+that previously witnessed by Alizon, which she now began to think might
+have originated in a similar manner. The wind raved around the ruined
+pile, but its breath was not felt within it, and the rain was heard
+descending in deluging showers without, though no drop came through the
+open roof. The thunder shook the walls and pillars of the old fabric,
+and threatened to topple them down from their foundations, but they
+resisted the shocks. The lightning played around the tall spire
+springing from this part of the fane, and ran down from its shattered
+summit to its base, without doing any damage. The red bolts struck the
+ground innocuously, though they fell at the very feet of the weird
+assemblage, who laughed wildly at the awful tumult.</p>
+
+<p>Whilst the storm was at its worst, while the lightning was flashing
+fiercely, and the thunder rattling loudly, Mother Chattox, with a
+chafing-dish in her hand, advanced towards the fire, and placing the pan
+upon it, threw certain herbs and roots into it, chanting thus:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Here is juice of poppy bruised,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">With black hellebore infused;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Here is mandrake's bleeding root,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Mixed with moonshade's deadly fruit;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Viper's bag with venom fill'd,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Taken ere the beast was kill'd;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Adder's skin and raven's feather,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">With shell of beetle blent together;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Dragonwort and barbatus,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Hemlock black and poisonous;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Horn of hart, and storax red,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Lapwing's blood, at midnight shed.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In the heated pan they burn,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And to pungent vapours turn.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">By this strong suffumigation,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">By this potent invocation,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Spirits! I compel you here!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">All who list may call appear!&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>After a moment's pause, she resumed as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;White-robed brethren, who of old,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Nightly paced yon cloisters cold,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Sleeping now beneath the mould!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 9em;">I bid ye rise.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Abbots! by the weakling fear'd,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">By the credulous revered,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Who this mighty fabric rear'd!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 9em;">I bid ye rise!</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;And thou last and guilty one!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">By thy lust of power undone,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Whom in death thy fellows shun!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 9em;">I bid thee come!</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;And thou fair one, who disdain'd</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To keep the vows thy lips had feign'd;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And thy snowy garments stain'd!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 9em;">I bid thee come!&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>During this invocation, the glee of the assemblage ceased, and they
+looked around in hushed expectation of the result. Slowly then did a
+long procession of monkish forms, robed in white, glide along the
+aisles, and gather round the altar. The brass-covered stones within the
+presbytery were lifted up, as if they moved on hinges, and from the
+yawning graves beneath them arose solemn shapes, sixteen in number, each
+with mitre on head and crosier in hand, which likewise proceeded to the
+altar. Then a loud cry was heard, and from a side chapel burst the
+monkish form, in mouldering garments, which Dorothy had seen enter the
+oratory, and which would have mingled with its brethren at the altar,
+but they waved it off menacingly. Another piercing shriek followed, and
+a female shape, habited like a nun, and of surpassing loveliness, issued
+from the opposite chapel, and hovered near the fire. Content with this
+proof of her power, Mother Chattox waved her hand, and the long shadowy
+train glided off as they came. The ghostly abbots returned to their
+tombs, and the stones closed over them. But the shades of Paslew and
+Isole de Heton still lingered.</p>
+
+<p>The storm had wellnigh ceased, the thunder rolled hollowly at intervals,
+and a flash of lightning now and then licked the walls. The weird crew
+had resumed their rites, when the door of the Lacy chapel flew open, and
+a tall female figure came forward.</p>
+
+<p>Alizon doubted if she beheld aright. Could that terrific woman in the
+strangely-fashioned robe of white, girt by a brazen zone graven with
+mystic characters, with a long glittering blade in her hand, infernal
+fury in her wildly-rolling orbs, the livid hue of death on her cheeks,
+and the red brand upon her brow&mdash;could that fearful woman, with the
+black dishevelled tresses floating over her bare shoulders, and whose
+gestures were so imperious, be Mistress Nutter? Mother no longer, if it
+indeed were she! How came she there amid that weird assemblage? Why did
+they so humbly salute her, and fall prostrate before her, kissing the
+hem of her garment? Why did she stand proudly in the midst of them, and
+extend her hand, armed with the knife, over them? Was she their
+sovereign mistress, that they bent so lowly at her coming, and rose so
+reverentially at her bidding? Was this terrible woman, now seated oh a
+dilapidated tomb, and regarding the dark conclave with the eye of a
+queen who held their lives in her hands&mdash;was she her mother? Oh,
+no!&mdash;no!&mdash;it could not be! It must be some fiend that usurped her
+likeness.</p>
+
+<p>Still, though Alizon thus strove to discredit the evidence of her
+senses, and to hold all she saw to be delusion, and the work of
+darkness, she could not entirely convince herself, but imperfectly
+recalling the fearful vision she had witnessed during her former stupor,
+began to connect it with the scene now passing before her. The storm had
+wholly ceased, and the stars again twinkled down through the shattered
+roof. Deep silence prevailed, broken only by the hissing and bubbling of
+the caldron.</p>
+
+<p>Alizon's gaze was riveted upon her mother, whose slightest gestures she
+watched. After numbering the assemblage thrice, Mistress Nutter
+majestically arose, and motioning Mother Chattox towards her, the old
+witch tremblingly advanced, and some words passed between them, the
+import of which did not reach the listener's ear. In conclusion,
+however, Mistress Nutter exclaimed aloud, in accents of command&mdash;&quot;Go,
+bring it at once, the sacrifice must be made.&quot;&mdash;And on this, Mother
+Chattox hobbled off to one of the side chapels.</p>
+
+<p>A mortal terror seized Alizon, and she could scarcely draw breath. Dark
+tales had been told her that unbaptised infants were sometimes
+sacrificed by witches, and their flesh boiled and devoured at their
+impious banquets, and dreading lest some such atrocity was now about to
+be practised, she mustered all her resolution, determined, at any risk,
+to interfere, and, if possible, prevent its accomplishment.</p>
+
+<p>In another moment, Mother Chattox returned bearing some living thing,
+wrapped in a white cloth, which struggled feebly for liberation,
+apparently confirming Alizon's suspicions, and she was about to rush
+forward, when Mistress Nutter, snatching the bundle from the old witch,
+opened it, and disclosed a beautiful bird, with plumage white as driven
+snow, whose legs were tied together, so that it could not escape.
+Conjecturing what was to follow, Alizon averted her eyes, and when she
+looked round again the bird had been slain, while Mother Chattox was in
+the act of throwing its body into the caldron, muttering a charm as she
+did so. Mistress Nutter held the ensanguined knife aloft, and casting
+some ruddy drops upon the glowing embers, pronounced, as they hissed and
+smoked, the following adjuration:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Thy aid I seek, infernal Power!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Be thy word sent to Malkin Tower,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">That the beldame old may know</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Where I will, thou'dst have her go&mdash;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">What I will, thou'dst have her do!&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>An immediate response was made by an awful voice issuing apparently from
+the bowels of the earth.</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Thou who seek'st the Demon's aid,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Know'st the price that must be paid.&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>The queen witch rejoined&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;I do. But grant the aid I crave,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And that thou wishest thou shalt have.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Another worshipper is won,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Thine to be, when all is done.&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>Again the deep voice spake, with something of mockery in its accents:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Enough proud witch, I am content.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To Malkin Tower the word is sent,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Forth to her task the beldame goes,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And where she points the streamlet flows;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Its customary bed forsaking,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Another distant channel making.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Round about like elfets tripping,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Stock and stone, and tree are skipping;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Halting where she plants her staff,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">With a wild exulting laugh.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Ho! ho! 'tis a merry sight,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Thou hast given the hag to-night.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Lo! the sheepfold, and the herd,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To another site are stirr'd!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And the rugged limestone quarry,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Where 'twas digg'd may no more tarry;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">While the goblin haunted dingle,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">With another dell must mingle.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Pendle Moor is in commotion,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Like the billows of the ocean,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">When the winds are o'er it ranging,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Heaving, falling, bursting, changing.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Ho! ho! 'tis a merry sight</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Thou hast given the hag to-night.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Lo! the moss-pool sudden flies,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In another spot to rise;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And the scanty-grown plantation,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Finds another situation,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And a more congenial soil,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Without needing woodman's toil.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Now the warren moves&mdash;and see!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">How the burrowing rabbits flee,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Hither, thither till they find it,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">With another brake behind it.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Ho! ho! 'tis a merry sight</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Thou hast given the hag to-night.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Lo! new lines the witch is tracing,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Every well-known mark effacing,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Elsewhere, other bounds erecting,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">So the old there's no detecting.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Ho! ho! 'tis a pastime quite,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Thou hast given the hag to-night!</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The hind at eve, who wander'd o'er</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The dreary waste of Pendle Moor,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Shall wake at dawn, and in surprise,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Doubt the strange sight that meets his eyes.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The pathway leading to his hut</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Winds differently,&mdash;the gate is shut.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The ruin on the right that stood.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Lies on the left, and nigh the wood;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The paddock fenced with wall of stone,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Wcll-stock'd with kine, a mile hath flown,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The sheepfold and the herd are gone.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Through channels new the brooklet rushes,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Its ancient course conceal'd by bushes.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Where the hollow was, a mound</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Rises from the upheaved ground.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Doubting, shouting with surprise,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">How the fool stares, and rubs his eyes!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">All's so changed, the simple elf</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Fancies he is changed himself!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Ho! ho! 'tis a merry sight</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The hag shall have when dawns the light.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">But see! she halts and waves her hand.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">All is done as thou hast plann'd.&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>After a moment's pause the voice added,</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;I have done as thou hast will'd&mdash;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Now be thy path straight fulfill'd.&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It shall be,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter, whose features gleamed with
+fierce exultation. &quot;Bring forth the proselyte!&quot; she shouted.</p>
+
+<p>And at the words, her swarthy serving-man, Blackadder, came forth from
+the Lacy chapel, leading Jennet by the hand. They were followed by Tib,
+who, dilated to twice his former size, walked with tail erect, and eyes
+glowing like carbuncles.</p>
+
+<p>At sight of her daughter a loud cry of rage and astonishment burst from
+Elizabeth Device, and, rushing forward, she would have seized her, if
+Tib had not kept her off by a formidable display of teeth and talons.
+Jennet made no effort to join her mother, but regarded her with a
+malicious and triumphant grin.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This is my chilt,&quot; screamed Elizabeth. &quot;She canna be baptised without
+my consent, an ey refuse it. Ey dunna want her to be a witch&mdash;at least
+not yet awhile. What mays yo here, yo little plague?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey wur brought here, mother,&quot; replied Jennet, with affected simplicity.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then get whoam at once, and keep there,&quot; rejoined Elizabeth, furiously.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, eyst nah go just yet,&quot; replied Jennet. &quot;Ey'd fain be a witch as
+weel as yo.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ho! ho! ho!&quot; laughed the voice from below.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nah, nah&mdash;ey forbid it,&quot; shrieked Elizabeth, &quot;ye shanna be bapteesed.
+Whoy ha ye brought her here, madam?&quot; she added to Mistress Nutter. &quot;Yo
+ha' stolen her fro' me. Boh ey protest agen it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your consent is not required,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter, waving her off.
+&quot;Your daughter is anxious to become a witch. That is enough.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She is not owd enough to act for herself,&quot; said Elizabeth.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Age matters not,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What mun ey do to become a witch?&quot; asked Jennet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You must renounce all hopes of heaven,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter, &quot;and
+devote yourself to Satan. You will then be baptised in his name, and
+become one of his worshippers. You will have power to afflict all
+persons with bodily ailments&mdash;to destroy cattle&mdash;blight corn&mdash;burn
+dwellings&mdash;and, if you be so minded, kill those you hate, or who molest
+you. Do you desire to do all this?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh, that ey do,&quot; replied Jennet. &quot;Ey ha' more pleasure in evil than
+in good, an wad rayther see folk weep than laugh; an if ey had the
+power, ey wad so punish them os jeer at me, that they should rue it to
+their deein' day.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;All this you shall do, and more,&quot; rejoined Mistress Nutter. &quot;You
+renounce all hopes of salvation, then, and devote yourself, soul and
+body, to the Powers of Darkness.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Elizabeth, who was still kept at bay by Tib, shaking her arms, and
+gnashing her teeth, in impotent rage, now groaned aloud; but ere Jennet
+could answer, a piercing cry was heard, which thrilled through Mistress
+Nutter's bosom, and Alizon, rushing from her place of concealment,
+passed through the weird circle, and stood beside the group in the midst
+of it.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Forbear, Jennet,&quot; she cried; &quot;forbear! Pronounce not those impious
+words, or you are lost for ever. Come with me, and I will save you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Sister Alizon,&quot; cried Jennet, staring at her in surprise, &quot;what makes
+you here?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not ask&mdash;but come,&quot; cried Alizon, trying to take her hand.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! what is this?&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, now partly recovered from the
+consternation and astonishment into which she had been thrown by
+Alizon's unexpected appearance. &quot;Why are you here? How have you broken
+the chains of slumber in which I bound you? Fly&mdash;fly&mdash;at once, this girl
+is past your help. You cannot save her. She is already devoted. Fly. I
+am powerless to protect you here.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ho! ho! ho!&quot; laughed the voice.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do you not hear that laughter?&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, with a haggard
+look. &quot;Go!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Never, without Jennet,&quot; replied Alizon, firmly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My child&mdash;my child&mdash;on my knees I implore you to depart,&quot; cried
+Mistress Nutter, throwing herself before her&mdash;&quot;You know not your
+danger&mdash;oh, fly&mdash;fly!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But Alizon continued inflexible.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo are caught i' your own snare, madam,&quot; cried Elizabeth Device, with a
+taunting laugh. &quot;Sin Jennet mun be a witch, Alizon con be bapteesed os
+weel. Your consent is not required&mdash;and age matters not&mdash;ha! ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Curses upon thy malice,&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, rising. &quot;What can be
+done in this extremity?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nothing,&quot; replied the voice. &quot;Jennet is mine already. If not brought
+hither by thee, or by her mother, she would have come of her own accord.
+I have watched her, and marked her for my own. Besides, she is fated.
+The curse of Paslew clings to her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As the words were uttered, the shade of the abbot glided forwards, and,
+touching the shuddering child upon the brow with its finger, vanished
+with a lamentable cry.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Kneel, Jennet,&quot; cried Alizon; &quot;kneel, and pray!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;To me,&quot; rejoined the voice; &quot;she can bend to no other power. Alice
+Nutter, thou hast sought to deceive me, but in vain. I bade thee bring
+thy daughter here, and in place of her thou offerest me the child of
+another, who is mine already. I am not to be thus trifled with. Thou
+knowest my will. Sprinkle water over her head, and devote her to me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Alizon would fain have thrown herself on her knees, but extremity of
+horror, or some overmastering influence, held her fast; and she remained
+with her gaze fixed upon her mother, who seemed torn by conflicting
+emotions.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Is there no way to avoid this?&quot; cried Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No way but one,&quot; replied the voice. &quot;I have been offered a new devotee,
+and I claim fulfilment of the promise. Thy daughter or another, it
+matters not&mdash;but not Jennet.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I embrace the alternative,&quot; cried Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It must be done upon the instant,&quot; said the voice.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It shall be,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter. And, stretching her arm in the
+direction of the mansion, she called in a loud imperious voice, &quot;Dorothy
+Assheton, come hither!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>A minute elapsed, but no one appeared, and, with a look of
+disappointment, Mistress Nutter repeated the gesture and the words.</p>
+
+<p>Still no one came.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Baffled!&quot; she exclaimed, &quot;what can it mean?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There is a maiden within the south transept, who is not one of my
+servants,&quot; cried the voice. &quot;Call her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;'Tis she!&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, stretching her arm towards the
+transept. &quot;This time I am answered,&quot; she added, as with a wild laugh
+Dorothy obeyed the summons.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have anointed myself with the unguent, and drank of the potion, ha!
+ha! ha!&quot; cried Dorothy, with a wild gesture, and wilder laughter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha! this accounts for her presence here,&quot; muttered Mistress Nutter.
+&quot;But it could not be better. She is in no mood to offer resistance.
+Dorothy, thou shalt be a witch.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A witch!&quot; exclaimed the bewildered maiden. &quot;Is Alizon a witch?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We are all witches here,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>Alizon had no power to contradict her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A merry company!&quot; exclaimed Dorothy, laughing loudly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You will say so anon,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter, waving her hand over
+her, and muttering a spell; &quot;but you see them not in their true forms,
+Dorothy. Look again&mdash;what do you behold now?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;In place of a troop of old wrinkled crones in wretched habiliments,&quot;
+replied Dorothy, &quot;I behold a band of lovely nymphs in light gauzy
+attire, wreathed with flowers, and holding myrtle and olive branches in
+their hands. See they rise, and prepare for the dance. Strains of
+ravishing music salute the ear. I never heard sounds so sweet and
+stirring. The round is formed. The dance begins. How gracefully&mdash;how
+lightly they move&mdash;ha! ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Alizon could not check her&mdash;could not undeceive her&mdash;for power of speech
+as of movement was denied her, but she comprehended the strange delusion
+under which the poor girl laboured. The figures Dorothy described as
+young and lovely, were still to her the same loathsome and abhorrent
+witches; the ravishing music jarred discordantly on her ear, as if
+produced by a shrill cornemuse; and the lightsome dance was a fantastic
+round, performed with shouts and laughter by the whole unhallowed crew.</p>
+
+<p>Jennet laughed immoderately, and seemed delighted by the antics of the
+troop.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey never wished to dance efore,&quot; she cried, &quot;boh ey should like to try
+now.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Join them, then,&quot; said Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>And to the little girl's infinite delight a place was made for her in
+the round, and, taking hands with Mother Mould-heels and the red-haired
+witch, she footed it as merrily as the rest.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who is she in the nunlike habit?&quot; inquired Dorothy, pointing to the
+shade of Isole de Heton, which still hovered near the weird assemblage.
+&quot;She seems more beautiful than all the others. Will she not dance with
+me?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heed her not,&quot; said Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy, however, would not be gainsaid, but, spite of the caution,
+beckoned the figure towards her. It came at once, and in another instant
+its arms were enlaced around her. The same frenzy that had seized
+Nicholas now took possession of Dorothy, and her dance with Isole might
+have come to a similar conclusion, if it had not been abruptly checked
+by Mistress Nutter, who, waving her hand, and pronouncing a spell, the
+figure instantly quitted Dorothy, and, with a wild shriek, fled.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How like you these diversions?&quot; said Mistress Nutter to the panting and
+almost breathless maiden.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Marvellously,&quot; replied Dorothy; &quot;but why have you scared my partner
+away?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Because she would have done you a mischief,&quot; rejoined Mistress Nutter.
+&quot;But now let me put a question to you. Are you willing to renounce your
+baptism, and enter into a covenant with the Prince of Darkness?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy did not seem in the least to comprehend what was said to her;
+but she nevertheless replied, &quot;I am.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Bring water and salt,&quot; said Mistress Nutter to Mother Chattox. &quot;By
+these drops I baptise you,&quot; she added, dipping her fingers in the
+liquid, and preparing to sprinkle it over the brow of the proselyte.</p>
+
+<p>Then it was that Alizon, by an almost superhuman effort, burst the
+spell that bound her, and clasped Dorothy in her arms.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You know not what you do, dear Dorothy,&quot; she cried. &quot;I answer for you.
+You will not yield to the snares and temptations of Satan, however
+subtly devised. You defy him and all his works. You will make no
+covenant with him. Though surrounded by his bond-slaves, you fear him
+not. Is it not so? Speak!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But Dorothy could only answer with an insane laugh&mdash;&quot;I will be a witch.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is too late,&quot; interposed Mistress Nutter. &quot;You cannot save her. And,
+remember! she stands in your place. Or you or she must be devoted.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will never desert her,&quot; cried Alizon, twining her arms round her.
+&quot;Dorothy&mdash;dear Dorothy&mdash;address yourself to Heaven.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>An angry growl of thunder was heard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Beware!&quot; cried Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am not to be discouraged,&quot; rejoined Alizon, firmly. &quot;You cannot gain
+a victory over a soul in this condition, and I shall effect her
+deliverance. Heaven will aid us, Dorothy.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>A louder roll of thunder was heard, followed by a forked flash of
+lightning.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Provoke not the vengeance of the Prince of Darkness,&quot; said Mistress
+Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have no fear,&quot; replied Alizon. &quot;Cling to me, Dorothy. No harm shall
+befall you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Be speedy!&quot; cried the voice.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Let her go,&quot; cried Mistress Nutter to Alizon, &quot;or you will rue this
+disobedience. Why should you interfere with my projects, and bring ruin
+on yourself! I would save you. What, still obstinate? Nay, then, I will
+no longer show forbearance. Help me, sisters. Force the new witch from
+her. But beware how you harm my child.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>At these words the troop gathered round the two girls. But Alizon only
+clasped her hands more tightly round Dorothy; while the latter, on whose
+brain the maddening potion still worked, laughed frantically at them. It
+was at this moment that Elizabeth Device, who had conceived a project of
+revenge, put it into execution. While near Dorothy, she stamped, spat on
+the ground, and then cast a little mould over her, breathing in her ear,
+&quot;Thou art bewitched&mdash;bewitched by Alizon Device.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy instantly struggled to free herself from Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! do not you strive against me, dear Dorothy,&quot; cried Alizon. &quot;Remain
+with me, or you are lost.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hence! off! set me free!&quot; shrieked Dorothy; &quot;you have bewitched me. I
+heard it this moment.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not believe the false suggestion,&quot; cried Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is true,&quot; exclaimed all the other witches together. &quot;Alizon has
+bewitched you, and will kill you. Shake her off&mdash;shake her off!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Away!&quot; cried Dorothy, mustering all her force. &quot;Away!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But Alizon was still too strong for her, and, in spite of her efforts at
+liberation, detained her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My patience is wellnigh exhausted,&quot; exclaimed the voice.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alizon!&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, imploringly.</p>
+
+<p>And again the witches gathered furiously round the two girls.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Kneel, Dorothy, kneel!&quot; whispered Alizon. And forcing her down, she
+fell on her knees beside her, exclaiming, with uplifted hands, &quot;Gracious
+heaven! deliver us.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As the words were uttered, a fearful cry was heard, and the weird troop
+fled away screaming, like ill-omened birds. The caldron sank into the
+ground; the dense mist arose like a curtain; and the moon and stars
+shone brightly down upon the ruined pile.</p>
+
+<p>Alizon prayed long and fervently, with clasped hands and closed eyes,
+for deliverance from evil. When she looked round again, all was so calm,
+so beautiful, so holy in its rest, that she could scarcely believe in
+the recent fearful occurrences. Her hair and garments were damp with the
+dews of night; and at her feet lay Dorothy, insensible.</p>
+
+<p>She tried to raise her&mdash;to revive her, but in vain; when at this moment
+footsteps were heard approaching, and the next moment Mistress Nutter,
+accompanied by Adam Whitworth and some other serving-men, entered the
+choir.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I see them&mdash;they are here!&quot; cried the lady, rushing forward.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heaven be praised you have found them, madam!&quot; exclaimed the old
+steward, coming quickly after her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! what an alarm you have given me, Alizon,&quot; said Mistress Nutter.
+&quot;What could induce you to go forth secretly at night in this way with
+Dorothy! I dreamed you were here, and missing you when I awoke, roused
+the house and came in search of you. What is the matter with Dorothy?
+She has been frightened, I suppose. I will give her to breathe at this
+phial. It will revive her. See, she opens her eyes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy looked round wildly for a moment, and then pointing her finger
+at Alizon, said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She has bewitched me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Poor thing! she rambles,&quot; observed Mistress Nutter to Adam Whitworth,
+who, with the other serving-men, stared aghast at the accusation; &quot;she
+has been scared out of her senses by some fearful sight. Let her be
+conveyed quickly to my chamber, and I will see her cared for.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The orders were obeyed. Dorothy was raised gently by the serving-men,
+but she still kept pointing to Alizon, and repeatedly exclaimed&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She has bewitched me!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The serving-men shook their heads, and looked significantly at each
+other, while Mistress Nutter lingered to speak to her daughter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You look greatly disturbed, Alizon, as if you had been visited by a
+nightmare in your sleep, and were still under its influence.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Alizon made no reply.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A few hours' tranquil sleep will restore you,&quot; pursued Mistress Nutter,
+&quot;and you will forget your fears. You must not indulge in these nocturnal
+rambles again, or they may be attended with dangerous consequences. I
+may not have a second warning dream. Come to the house.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And, as Alizon followed her along the garden path, she could not help
+asking herself, though with little hope in the question, if all she had
+witnessed was indeed nothing more than a troubled dream.</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+<h3>END OF THE FIRST BOOK.</h3>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<h2>BOOK THE SECOND.</h2>
+<h3><span class="smcap">Pendle Forest.</span></h3>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I_FLINT" id="CHAPTER_I_FLINT" />CHAPTER I.&mdash;FLINT.</h2>
+
+
+<p>A lovely morning succeeded the strange and terrible night. Brightly
+shone the sun upon the fair Calder as it winded along the green meads
+above the bridge, as it rushed rejoicingly over the weir, and pursued
+its rapid course through the broad plain below the Abbey. A few white
+vapours hung upon the summit of Whalley Nab, but the warm rays tinging
+them with gold, and tipping with fire the tree-tops that pierced through
+them, augured their speedy dispersion. So beautiful, so tranquil, looked
+the old monastic fane, that none would have deemed its midnight rest had
+been broken by the impious rites of a foul troop. The choir, where the
+unearthly scream and the demon laughter had resounded, was now vocal
+with the melodies of the blackbird, the thrush, and other songsters of
+the grove. Bells of dew glittered upon the bushes rooted in the walls,
+and upon the ivy-grown pillars; and gemming the countless spiders' webs
+stretched from bough to bough, showed they were all unbroken. No traces
+were visible on the sod where the unhallowed crew had danced their
+round; nor were any ashes left where the fire had burnt and the caldron
+had bubbled. The brass-covered tombs of the abbots in the presbytery
+looked as if a century had passed over them without disturbance; while
+the graves in the cloister cemetery, obliterated, and only to be
+detected when a broken coffin or a mouldering bone was turned up by the
+tiller of the ground, preserved their wonted appearance. The face of
+nature had received neither impress nor injury from the fantastic freaks
+and necromantic exhibitions of the witches. Every thing looked as it was
+left overnight; and the only footprints to be detected were those of the
+two girls, and of the party who came in quest of them. All else had
+passed by like a vision or a dream. The rooks cawed loudly in the
+neighbouring trees, as if discussing the question of breakfast, and the
+jackdaws wheeled merrily round the tall spire, which sprang from the
+eastern end of the fane.</p>
+
+<p>Brightly shone the sun upon the noble timber embowering the mansion of
+the Asshetons; upon the ancient gateway, in the upper chamber of which
+Ned Huddlestone, the porter, and the burly representative of Friar Tuck,
+was rubbing his sleepy eyes, preparatory to habiting himself in his
+ordinary attire; and upon the wide court-yard, across which Nicholas was
+walking in the direction of the stables. Notwithstanding his excesses
+overnight, the squire was astir, as he had declared he should be, before
+daybreak; and a plunge into the Calder had cooled his feverish limbs and
+cured his racking headache, while a draught of ale set his stomach
+right. Still, in modern parlance, he looked rather &quot;seedy,&quot; and his
+recollection of the events of the previous night was somewhat confused.
+Aware he had committed many fooleries, he did not desire to investigate
+matters too closely, and only hoped he should not be reminded of them by
+Sir Ralph, or worse still, by Parson Dewhurst. As to his poor, dear,
+uncomplaining wife, he never once troubled his head about her, feeling
+quite sure she would not upbraid him. On his appearance in the
+court-yard, the two noble blood-hounds and several lesser dogs came
+forward to greet him, and, attended by this noisy pack, he marched up to
+a groom, who was rubbing down his horse at the stable-door.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Poor Robin,&quot; he cried to the steed, who neighed at his approach. &quot;Poor
+Robin,&quot; he said, patting his neck affectionately, &quot;there is not thy
+match for speed or endurance, for fence or ditch, for beck or stone
+wall, in the country. Half an hour on thy back will make all right with
+me; but I would rather take thee to Bowland Forest, and hunt the stag
+there, than go and perambulate the boundaries of the Rough Lee estates
+with a rascally attorney. I wonder how the fellow will be mounted.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If yo be speering about Mester Potts, squoire,&quot; observed the groom, &quot;ey
+con tell ye. He's to ha' little Flint, the Welsh pony.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why, zounds, you don't say, Peter!&quot; exclaimed Nicholas, laughing;
+&quot;he'll never be able to manage him. Flint's the wickedest and most
+wilful little brute I ever knew. We shall have Master Potts run away
+with, or thrown into a moss-pit. Better give him something quieter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It's Sir Roaph's orders,&quot; replied Peter, &quot;an ey darna disobey 'em. Boh
+Flint's far steadier than when yo seed him last, squoire. Ey dar say
+he'll carry Mester Potts weel enough, if he dusna mislest him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You think nothing of the sort, Peter,&quot; said Nicholas. &quot;You expect to
+see the little gentleman fly over the pony's head, and perhaps break his
+own at starting. But if Sir Ralph has ordered it, he must abide by the
+consequences. I sha'n't interfere further. How goes on the young colt
+you were breaking in? You should take care to show him the saddle in the
+manger, let him smell it, and jingle the stirrups in his ears, before
+you put it on his back. Better ground for his first lessons could not be
+desired than the field below the grange, near the Calder. Sir Ralph was
+saying yesterday, that the roan mare had pricked her foot. You must wash
+the sore well with white wine and salt, rub it with the ointment the
+farriers call &aelig;gyptiacum, and then put upon it a hot plaster compounded
+of flax hards, turpentine, oil and wax, bathing the top of the hoof with
+bole armeniac and vinegar. This is the best and quickest remedy. And
+recollect, Peter, that for a new strain, vinegar, bole armeniac, whites
+of eggs, and bean-flour, make the best salve. How goes on Sir Ralph's
+black charger, Dragon? A brave horse that, Peter, and the only one in
+your master's whole stud to compare with my Robin! But Dragon, though of
+high courage and great swiftness, has not the strength and endurance of
+Robin&mdash;neither can he leap so well. Why, Robin would almost clear the
+Calder, Peter, and makes nothing of Smithies Brook, near Downham, and
+you know how wide that stream is. I once tried him at the Ribble, at a
+narrow point, and if horse could have done it, he would&mdash;but it was too
+much to expect.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A great deal, ey should say, squoire,&quot; replied the groom, opening his
+eyes to their widest extent. &quot;Whoy, th' Ribble, where yo speak on, mun
+be twenty yards across, if it be an inch; and no nag os ever wur bred
+could clear that, onless a witch wur on his back.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Don't allude to witches, Peter,&quot; said Nicholas. &quot;I've had enough of
+them. But to come back to our steeds. Colour is matter of taste, and a
+man must please his own eye with bay or grey, chestnut, sorrel, or
+black; but dun is my fancy. A good horse, Peter, should be clean-limbed,
+short-jointed, strong-hoofed, out-ribbed, broad-chested, deep-necked,
+loose-throttled, thin-crested, lean-headed, full-eyed, with wide
+nostrils. A horse with half these points would not be wrong, and Robin
+has them all.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;So he has, sure enough, squoire,&quot; replied Peter, regarding the animal
+with an approving eye, as Nicholas enumerated his merits. &quot;Boh, if ey
+might choose betwixt him an yunk Mester Ruchot Assheton's grey gelding,
+Merlin, ey knoas which ey'd tak.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Robin, of course,&quot; said Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nah, squoire, it should be t'other,&quot; replied the groom.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You're no judge of a horse, Peter,&quot; rejoined Nicholas, shrugging his
+shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;May be not,&quot; said the groom, &quot;boh ey'm bound to speak truth. An see!
+Tum Lomax is bringin' out Merlin. We con put th' two nags soide by
+soide, if yo choose.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;They shall be put side by side in the field, Peter&mdash;that's the way to
+test their respective merit,&quot; returned Nicholas, &quot;and they won't remain
+long together, I'll warrant you. I offered to make a match for twenty
+pieces with Master Richard, but he declined the offer. Harkee, Peter,
+break an egg in Robin's mouth before you put on his bridle. It
+strengthens the wind, and adds to a horse's power of endurance. You
+understand?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Parfitly, squoire,&quot; replied the groom. &quot;By th' mess! that's a secret
+worth knoain'. Onny more orders?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No,&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;We shall set out in an hour&mdash;or it may be
+sooner.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Aw shan be ready,&quot; said Peter. And he added to himself, as Nicholas
+moved away, &quot;Ey'st tak care Tum Lomax gies an egg to Merlin, an that'll
+may aw fair, if they chance to try their osses' mettle.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As Nicholas returned to the house, he perceived to his dismay Sir Ralph
+and Parson Dewhurst standing upon the steps; and convinced, from their
+grave looks, that they were prepared to lecture him, he endeavoured to
+nerve himself for the infliction.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Two to one are awkward odds,&quot; said the squire to himself, &quot;especially
+when they have the 'vantage ground. But I must face them, and make the
+best fight circumstances will allow. I shall never be able to explain
+that mad dance with Isole de Heton. No one but Dick will believe me, and
+the chances are he will not support my story. But I must put on an air
+of penitence, and sooth to say, in my present state, it is not very
+difficult to assume.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Thus pondering, with slow step, affectedly humble demeanour, and
+surprisingly-lengthened visage, he approached the pair who were waiting
+for him, and regarding him with severe looks.</p>
+
+<p>Thinking it the best plan to open the fire himself, Nicholas saluted
+them, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Give you good-day, Sir Ralph, and you too, worthy Master Dewhurst. I
+scarcely expected to see you so early astir, good sirs; but the morning
+is too beautiful to allow us to be sluggards. For my own part I have
+been awake for hours, and have passed the time wholly in self-reproaches
+for my folly and sinfulness last night, as well as in forming
+resolutions for self-amendment, and better governance in future.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I hope you will adhere to those resolutions, then, Nicholas,&quot; rejoined
+Sir Ralph, sternly; &quot;for change of conduct is absolutely necessary, if
+you would maintain your character as a gentleman. I can make allowance
+for high animal spirits, and can excuse some licence, though I do not
+approve of it; But I will not permit decorum to be outraged in my house,
+and suffer so ill an example to be set to my tenantry.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Fortunately I was not present at the exhibition,&quot; said Dewhurst; &quot;but I
+am told you conducted yourself like one possessed, and committed such
+freaks as are rarely, if ever, acted by a rational being.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I can offer no defence, worthy sir, and you my respected relative,&quot;
+returned Nicholas, with a contrite air; &quot;neither can you reprove me
+more strongly than I deserve, nor than I upbraid myself. I allowed
+myself to be overcome by wine, and in that condition was undoubtedly
+guilty of follies I must ever regret.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Amongst others, I believe you stood upon your head,&quot; remarked Dewhurst.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am not aware of the circumstance, reverend sir,&quot; replied Nicholas,
+with difficulty repressing a smile; &quot;but as I certainly lost my head, I
+may have stood upon it unconsciously. But I do recollect enough to make
+me heartily ashamed of myself, and determine to avoid all such excesses
+in future.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;In that case, sir,&quot; rejoined Dewhurst, &quot;the occurrences of last night,
+though sufficiently discreditable to you, will not be without profit;
+for I have observed to my infinite regret, that you are apt to indulge
+in immoderate potations, and when under their influence to lose due
+command of yourself, and commit follies which your sober reason must
+condemn. At such times I scarcely recognise you. You speak with
+unbecoming levity, and even allow oaths to escape your lips.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is too true, reverend sir,&quot; said Nicholas; &quot;but, zounds!&mdash;a plague
+upon my tongue&mdash;it is an unruly member. Forgive me, good sir, but my
+brain is a little confused.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I do not wonder, from the grievous assaults made upon it last night,
+Nicholas,&quot; observed Sir Ralph. &quot;Perhaps you are not aware that your
+crowning act was whisking wildly round the room by yourself, like a
+frantic dervish.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I was dancing with Isole de Heton,&quot; said Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;With whom?&quot; inquired Dewhurst, in surprise.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;With a wicked votaress, who has been dead nearly a couple of
+centuries,&quot; interposed Sir Ralph; &quot;and who, by her sinful life, merited
+the punishment she is said to have incurred. This delusion shows how
+dreadfully intoxicated you were, Nicholas. For the time you had quite
+lost your reason.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am sober enough now, at all events,&quot; rejoined Nicholas; &quot;and I am
+convinced that Isole did dance with me, nor will any arguments reason me
+out of that belief.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am sorry to hear you say so, Nicholas,&quot; returned Sir Ralph. &quot;That you
+were under the impression at the time I can easily understand; but that
+you should persist in such a senseless and wicked notion is more than I
+can comprehend.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I saw her with my own eyes as plainly as I see you, Sir Ralph,&quot; replied
+Nicholas, warmly; &quot;that I declare upon my honour and conscience, and I
+also felt the pressure of her arms. Whether it may not have been the
+Fiend in her likeness I will not take upon me to declare&mdash;and indeed I
+have some misgivings on the subject; but that a beautiful creature,
+exactly resembling the votaress, danced with me, I will ever maintain.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If so, she was invisible to others, for I beheld her not,&quot; said Sir
+Ralph; &quot;and, though I cannot yield credence to your explanation, yet,
+granting it to be correct, I do not see how it mends your case.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;On the contrary, it only proves that Master Nicholas yielded to the
+snares of Satan,&quot; said Dewhurst, shaking his head. &quot;I would recommend
+you long fasting and frequent prayer, my good sir, and I shall prepare a
+lecture for your special edification, which I will propound to you on
+your return to Downham, and, if it fails in effect, I will persevere
+with other godly discourses.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;With your aid, I trust to be set free, reverend sir,&quot; returned
+Nicholas; &quot;but, as I have already passed two or three hours in prayer, I
+hope they may stand me in lieu of any present fasting, and induce you to
+omit the article of penance, or postpone it to some future occasion,
+when I may be better able to perform it; for I am just now particularly
+hungry, and am always better able to resist temptation with a full
+stomach than an empty one. As I find it displeasing to Sir Ralph, I will
+not insist upon my visionary partner in the dance, at least until I am
+better able to substantiate the fact; and I shall listen to your
+lectures, worthy sir, with great delight, and, I doubt not, with equal
+benefit; but in the meantime, as carnal wants must be supplied, and
+mundane matters attended to, I propose, with our excellent host's
+permission, that we proceed to breakfast.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Sir Ralph made no answer, but ascended the steps, and was followed by
+Dewhurst, heaving a deep sigh, and turning up the whites of his eyes,
+and by Nicholas, who felt his bosom eased of half its load, and secretly
+congratulated himself upon getting out of the scrape so easily.</p>
+
+<p>In the hall they found Richard Assheton habited in a riding-dress,
+booted, spurred, and in all respects prepared for the expedition. There
+were such evident traces of anxiety and suffering about him, that Sir
+Ralph questioned him as to the cause, and Richard replied that he had
+passed a most restless night. He did not add, that he had been made
+acquainted by Adam Whitworth with the midnight visit of the two girls to
+the conventual church, because he was well aware Sir Ralph would be
+greatly displeased by the circumstance, and because Mistress Nutter had
+expressed a wish that it should be kept secret. Sir Ralph, however, saw
+there was more upon his young relative's mind than he chose to confess,
+but he did not urge any further admission into his confidence.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime, the party had been increased by the arrival of Master Potts,
+who was likewise equipped for the ride. The hour was too early, it might
+be, for him, or he had not rested well like Richard, or had been
+troubled with bad dreams, but certainly he did not look very well, or in
+very good-humour. He had slept at the Abbey, having been accommodated
+with a bed after the sudden seizure which he attributed to the
+instrumentality of Mistress Nutter. The little attorney bowed
+obsequiously to Sir Ralph, who returned his salutation very stiffly,
+nor was he much better received by the rest of the company.</p>
+
+<p>At a sign from Sir Ralph, his guests then knelt down, and a prayer was
+uttered by the divine&mdash;or rather a discourse, for it partook more of the
+latter character than the former. In the course of it he took occasion
+to paint in strong colours the terrible consequences of intemperance,
+and Nicholas was obliged to endure a well-merited lecture of half an
+hour's duration. But even Parson Dewhurst could not hold out for ever,
+and, to the relief of all his hearers, he at length brought this
+discourse to a close.</p>
+
+<p>Breakfast at this period was a much more substantial affair than a
+modern morning repast, and differed little from dinner or supper, except
+in respect to quantity. On the present occasion, there were carbonadoes
+of fish and fowl, a cold chine, a huge pasty, a capon, neat's tongues,
+sausages, botargos, and other matters as provocative of thirst as
+sufficing to the appetite. Nicholas set to work bravely. Broiled trout,
+steaks, and a huge slice of venison pasty, disappeared quickly before
+him, and he was not quite so sparing of the ale as seemed consistent
+with his previously-expressed resolutions of temperance. In vain Parson
+Dewhurst filled a goblet with water, and looked significantly at him. He
+would not take the hint, and turned a deaf ear to the admonitory cough
+of Sir Ralph. He had little help from the others, for Richard ate
+sparingly, and Master Potts made a very poor figure beside him. At
+length, having cleared his plate, emptied his cup, and wiped his lips,
+the squire arose, and said he must bid adieu to his wife, and should
+then be ready to attend them.</p>
+
+<p>While he quitted the hall for this purpose, Mistress Nutter entered it.
+She looked paler than ever, and her eyes seemed larger, darker, and
+brighter. Nicholas shuddered slightly as she approached, and even Potts
+felt a thrill of apprehension pass through his frame. He scarcely,
+indeed, ventured a look at her, for he dreaded her mysterious power, and
+feared she could fathom the designs he secretly entertained against her.
+But she took no notice whatever of him. Acknowledging Sir Ralph's
+salutation, she motioned Richard to follow her to the further end of the
+room.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your sister is very ill, Richard,&quot; she said, as the young man attended
+her, &quot;feverish, and almost light-headed. Adam Whitworth has told you, I
+know, that she was imprudent enough, in company with Alizon, to visit
+the ruins of the conventual church late last night, and she there
+sustained some fright, which has produced a great shock upon her system.
+When found, she was fainting, and though I have taken every care of her,
+she still continues much excited, and rambles strangely. You will be
+surprised as well as grieved when I tell you, that she charges Alizon
+with having bewitched her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How, madam!&quot; cried Richard. &quot;Alizon bewitch her! It is impossible.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are right, Richard,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter; &quot;the thing is
+impossible; but the accusation will find easy credence among the
+superstitious household here, and may be highly prejudicial, if not
+fatal to poor Alizon. It is most unlucky she should have gone out in
+this way, for the circumstance cannot be explained, and in itself serves
+to throw suspicion upon her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I must see Dorothy before I go,&quot; said Richard; &quot;perhaps I may be able
+to soothe her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It was for that end I came hither,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter; &quot;but I
+thought it well you should be prepared. Now come with me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Upon this they left the hall together, and proceeded to the abbot's
+chamber, where Dorothy was lodged. Richard was greatly shocked at the
+sight of his sister, so utterly changed was she from the blithe being of
+yesterday&mdash;then so full of health and happiness. Her cheeks burnt with
+fever, her eyes were unnaturally bright, and her fair hair hung about
+her face in disorder. She kept fast hold of Alizon, who stood beside
+her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah, Richard!&quot; she cried on seeing him, &quot;I am glad you are come. You
+will persuade this girl to restore me to reason&mdash;to free me from the
+terrors that beset me. She can do so if she will.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Calm yourself, dear sister,&quot; said Richard, gently endeavouring to free
+Alizon from her grasp.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, do not take her from me,&quot; said Dorothy, wildly; &quot;I am better when
+she is near me&mdash;much better. My brow does not throb so violently, and my
+limbs are not twisted so painfully. Do you know what ails me, Richard?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have caught cold from wandering out indiscreetly last night,&quot; said
+Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am bewitched!&quot; rejoined Dorothy, in tones that pierced her brother's
+brain&mdash;&quot;bewitched by Alizon Device&mdash;by your love&mdash;ha! ha! She wishes to
+kill me, Richard, because she thinks I am in her way. But you will not
+let her do it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are mistaken, dear Dorothy. She means you no harm,&quot; said Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heaven knows how much I grieve for her, and how fondly I love her!&quot;
+exclaimed Alizon, tearfully.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is false!&quot; cried Dorothy. &quot;She will tell a different tale when you
+are gone. She is a witch, and you shall never marry her,
+Richard&mdash;never!&mdash;never!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Mistress Nutter, who stood at a little distance, anxiously observing
+what was passing, waved her hand several times towards the sufferer, but
+without effect.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have no influence over her,&quot; she muttered. &quot;She is really bewitched.
+I must find other means to quieten her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Though both greatly distressed, Alizon and Richard redoubled their
+attentions to the poor sufferer. For a few moments she remained quiet,
+but with her eyes constantly fixed on Alizon, and then said, quickly
+and fiercely, &quot;I have been told, if you scratch one who has bewitched
+you till you draw blood, you will be cured. I will plunge my nails in
+her flesh.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will not oppose you,&quot; replied Alizon, gently; &quot;tear my flesh if you
+will. You should have my life's blood if it would cure you; but if the
+success of the experiment depends on my having bewitched you, it will
+assuredly fail.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This is dreadful,&quot; interposed Richard. &quot;Leave her, Alizon, I entreat of
+you. She will do you an injury.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I care not,&quot; replied the young maid. &quot;I will stay by her till she
+voluntarily releases me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The almost tigress fury with which Dorothy had seized upon the
+unresisting girl here suddenly deserted her, and, sobbing hysterically,
+she fell upon her neck. Oh, with what delight Alizon pressed her to her
+bosom!</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Dorothy, dear Dorothy!&quot; she cried.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alizon, dear Alizon!&quot; responded Dorothy. &quot;Oh! how could I suspect you
+of any ill design against me!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She is no witch, dear sister, be assured of that!&quot; said Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh, no&mdash;no&mdash;no! I am quite sure she is not,&quot; cried Dorothy, kissing her
+affectionately.</p>
+
+<p>This change had been wrought by the low-breathed spells of Mistress
+Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The access is over,&quot; she mentally ejaculated; &quot;but I must get him away
+before the fit returns.&quot; &quot;You had better go now, Richard,&quot; she added
+aloud, and touching his arm, &quot;I will answer for your sister's
+restoration. An opiate will produce sleep, and if possible, she shall
+return to Middleton to-day.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If I go, Alizon must go with me,&quot; said Dorothy. &quot;Well, well, I will not
+thwart your desires,&quot; rejoined Mistress Nutter. And she made a sign to
+Richard to depart.</p>
+
+<p>The young man pressed his sister's hand, bade a tender farewell to
+Alizon, and, infinitely relieved by the improvement which had taken
+place in the former, and which he firmly believed would speedily lead to
+her entire restoration, descended to the entrance-hall, where he found
+Sir Ralph and Parson Dewhurst, who told him that Nicholas and Potts were
+in the court-yard, and impatient to set out.</p>
+
+<p>Shouts of laughter saluted the ears of the trio as they descended the
+steps. The cause of the merriment was speedily explained when they
+looked towards the stables, and beheld Potts struggling for mastery with
+a stout Welsh pony, who showed every disposition, by plunging, kicking,
+and rearing, to remove him from his seat, though without success, for
+the attorney was not quite such a contemptible horseman as might be
+imagined. A wicked-looking little fellow was Flint, with a rough,
+rusty-black coat, a thick tail that swept the ground, a mane to match,
+and an eye of mixed fire and cunning. When brought forth he had allowed
+Potts to mount him quietly enough; but no sooner was the attorney
+comfortably in possession, than he was served with a notice of
+ejectment. Down went Flint's head and up went his heels; while on the
+next instant he was rearing aloft, with his fore-feet beating the air,
+so nearly perpendicular, that the chances seemed in favour of his coming
+down on his back. Then he whirled suddenly round, shook himself
+violently, threatened to roll over, and performed antics of the most
+extraordinary kind, to the dismay of his rider, but to the infinite
+amusement of the spectators, who were ready to split their sides with
+laughter&mdash;indeed, tears fairly streamed down the squire's cheeks.
+However, when Sir Ralph appeared, it was thought desirable to put an end
+to the fun; and Peter, the groom, advanced to seize the restive little
+animal's bridle, but, eluding the grasp, Flint started off at full
+gallop, and, accompanied by the two blood-hounds, careered round the
+court-yard, as if running in a ring. Vainly did poor Potts tug at the
+bridle. Flint, having the bit firmly between his teeth, defied his
+utmost efforts. Away he went with the hounds at his heels, as if, said
+Nicholas, &quot;the devil were behind him.&quot; Though annoyed and angry, Sir
+Ralph could not help laughing at the ridiculous scene, and even a smile
+crossed Parson Dewhurst's grave countenance as Flint and his rider
+scampered madly past them. Sir Ralph called to the grooms, and attempts
+were instantly made to check the furious pony's career; but he baffled
+them all, swerving suddenly round when an endeavour was made to
+intercept him, leaping over any trifling obstacle, and occasionally
+charging any one who stood in his path. What with the grooms running
+hither and thither, vociferating and swearing, the barking and springing
+of the hounds, the yelping of lesser dogs, and the screaming of poultry,
+the whole yard was in a state of uproar and confusion.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Flint mun be possessed,&quot; cried Peter. &quot;Ey never seed him go on i' this
+way efore. Ey noticed Elizabeth Device near th' stables last neet, an ey
+shouldna wonder if hoo ha' bewitched him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neaw doubt on't,&quot; replied another groom. &quot;Howsomever we mun contrive to
+ketch him, or Sir Roaph win send us aw abowt our business.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey wish yo'd contrive to do it, then, Tum Lomax,&quot; replied Peter, &quot;fo'
+ey'm fairly blowd. Dang me, if ey ever seed sich hey-go-mad wark i' my
+born days. What's to be done, squoire?&quot; he added to Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The devil only knows,&quot; replied the latter; &quot;but it seems we must wait
+till the little rascal chooses to stop.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>This occurred sooner than was expected. Thinking, possibly, that he had
+done enough to induce Master Potts to give up all idea of riding him,
+Flint suddenly slackened his pace, and trotted, as if nothing had
+happened, to the stable-door; but if he had formed any such notion as
+the above, he was deceived, for the attorney, who was quite as obstinate
+and wilful as himself, and who through all his perils had managed to
+maintain his seat, was resolved not to abandon it, and positively
+refused to dismount when urged to do so by Nicholas and the grooms.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He will go quietly enough now, I dare say,&quot; observed Potts, &quot;and if
+not, and you will lend me a hunting-whip, I will undertake to cure him
+of his tricks.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Flint seemed to understand what was said, for he laid back his ears as
+if meditating more mischief; but being surrounded by the grooms, he
+deemed it advisable to postpone the attempt to a more convenient
+opportunity. In compliance with his request, a heavy hunting-whip was
+handed to Potts, and, armed with this formidable weapon, the little
+attorney quite longed for an opportunity of effacing his disgrace.
+Meanwhile, Sir Ralph had come up and ordered a steady horse out for him;
+but Master Potts adhered to his resolution, and Flint remaining
+perfectly quiet, the baronet let him have his own way.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after this, Nicholas and Richard having mounted their steeds, the
+party set forth. As they were passing through the gateway, which had
+been thrown wide open by Ned Huddlestone, they were joined by Simon
+Sparshot, who had been engaged by Potts to attend him on the expedition
+in his capacity of constable. Simon was mounted on a mule, and brought
+word that Master Roger Nowell begged they would ride round by Read Hall,
+where he would be ready to accompany them, as he wished to be present at
+the perambulation of the boundaries. Assenting to the arrangement, the
+party set forth in that direction, Richard and Nicholas riding a little
+in advance of the others.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II_READ_HALL" id="CHAPTER_II_READ_HALL" />CHAPTER II.&mdash;READ HALL.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The road taken by the party on quitting Whalley led up the side of a
+hill, which, broken into picturesque inequalities, and partially clothed
+with trees, sloped down to the very brink of the Calder. Winding round
+the broad green plain, heretofore described, with the lovely knoll in
+the midst of it, and which formed, with the woody hills encircling it, a
+perfect amphitheatre, the river was ever an object of beauty&mdash;sometimes
+lost beneath over-hanging boughs or high banks, anon bursting forth
+where least expected, now rushing swiftly over its shallow and rocky
+bed, now subsiding into a smooth full current. The Abbey and the village
+were screened from view by the lower part of the hill which the horsemen
+were scaling; but the old bridge and a few cottages at the foot of
+Whalley Nab, with their thin blue smoke mounting into the pure morning
+air, gave life and interest to the picture. Hence, from base to summit,
+Whalley Nab stood revealed, and the verdant lawns opening out amidst the
+woods feathering its heights, were fully discernible. Placed by Nature
+as the guardian of this fair valley, the lofty eminence well became the
+post assigned to it. None of the belt of hills connected with it were so
+well wooded as their leader, nor so beautiful in form; while some of
+them were overtopped by the bleak fells of Longridge, rising at a
+distance behind them.</p>
+
+<p>Nor were those exquisite contrasts wanting, which are only to be seen in
+full perfection when the day is freshest and the dew is still heavy on
+the grass. The near side of the hill was plunged in deep shade; thin,
+gauzy vapour hung on the stream beneath, while on the opposite heights,
+and where the great boulder stones were visible in the bed of the river,
+all was sparkling with sunshine. So enchanting was the prospect, that
+though perfectly familiar with it, the two foremost horsemen drew in the
+rein to contemplate it. High above them, on a sandbank, through which
+their giant roots protruded, shot up two tall silver-stemm'd
+beech-trees, forming with their newly opened foliage a canopy of
+tenderest green. Further on appeared a grove of oaks scarcely in leaf;
+and below were several fine sycamores, already green and umbrageous,
+intermingled with elms, ashes, and horse-chestnuts, and overshadowing
+brakes, covered with maples, alders, and hazels. The other spaces among
+the trees were enlivened by patches of yellow flowering and odorous
+gorse. Mixed with the warblings of innumerable feathered songsters were
+heard the cheering notes of the cuckoo; and the newly-arrived swallows
+were seen chasing the flies along the plain, or skimming over the
+surface of the river. Already had Richard's depression yielded to the
+exhilarating freshness of the morning, and the same kindly influence
+produced a more salutary effect on Nicholas than Parson Dewhurst's
+lecture had been able to accomplish. The worthy squire was a true lover
+of Nature; admiring her in all her forms, whether arrayed in pomp of
+wood and verdure, as in the lovely landscape before him, or dreary and
+desolate, as in the heathy forest wastes they were about to traverse.
+While breathing the fresh morning air, inhaling the fragrance of the
+wild-flowers, and listening to the warbling of the birds, he took a
+well-pleased survey of the scene, commencing with the bridge, passing
+over Whalley Nab and the mountainous circle conjoined with it, till his
+gaze settled on Morton Hall, a noble mansion finely situated on a
+shoulder of the hill beyond him, and commanding the entire valley.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Were I not owner of Downham,&quot; he observed to Richard, &quot;I should wish to
+be master of Morton.&quot; And then, pointing to the green area below, he
+added, &quot;What a capital spot for a race! There we might try the speed of
+our nags for the twenty pieces I talked of yesterday; and the judges of
+the match and those who chose to look on might station themselves on
+yon knoll, which seems made for the express purpose. Three years ago I
+remember a fair was held upon that plain, and the foot-races, the
+wrestling matches, and the various sports and pastimes of the rustics,
+viewed from the knoll, formed the prettiest sight ever looked upon. But,
+pleasant as the prospect is, we must not tarry here all day.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Before setting forward, he cast a glance towards Pendle Hill, which
+formed the most prominent object of view on the left, and lay like a
+leviathan basking in the sunshine. The vast mass rose up gradually until
+at its further extremity it attained an altitude of more than 1800 feet
+above the sea. At the present moment it was without a cloud, and the
+whole of its broad outline was distinctly visible.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I love Pendle Hill,&quot; cried Nicholas, enthusiastically; &quot;and from
+whatever side I view it&mdash;whether from this place, where I see it from
+end to end, from its lowest point to its highest; from Padiham, where it
+frowns upon me; from Clithero, where it smiles; or from Downham, where
+it rises in full majesty before me&mdash;from all points and under all
+aspects, whether robed in mist or radiant with sunshine, I delight in
+it. Born beneath its giant shadow, I look upon it with filial regard.
+Some folks say Pendle Hill wants grandeur and sublimity, but they
+themselves must be wanting in taste. Its broad, round, smooth mass is
+better than the roughest, craggiest, shaggiest, most sharply splintered
+mountain of them all. And then what a view it commands!&mdash;Lancaster with
+its grey old castle on one hand; York with its reverend minster on the
+other&mdash;the Irish Sea and its wild coast&mdash;fell, forest, moor, and valley,
+watered by the Ribble, the Hodder, the Calder, and the Lime&mdash;rivers not
+to be matched for beauty. You recollect the old distich&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Ingleborough, Pendle Hill, and Pennygent,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Are the highest hills between Scotland and Trent.'</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>This vouches for its height, but there are two other doggerel lines
+still more to the purpose&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Pendle Hill, Pennygent, and Ingleborough,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Are three such hills as you'll not find by seeking England thorough.'</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>With this opinion I quite agree. There is no hill in England like Pendle
+Hill.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Every man to his taste, squire,&quot; observed Potts; &quot;but to my mind,
+Pendle Hill has no other recommendation than its size. I think it a
+great, brown, ugly, lumpy mass, without beauty of form or any striking
+character. I hate your bleak Lancashire hills, with heathy ranges on the
+top, fit only for the sustenance of a few poor half-starved sheep; and
+as to the view from them, it is little else than a continuous range of
+moors and dwarfed forests. Highgate Hill is quite mountain enough for
+me, and Hampstead Heath wild enough for any civilised purpose.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A veritable son of Cockayne!&quot; muttered Nicholas, contemptuously.</p>
+
+<p>Riding on, and entering the grove of oaks, he lost sight of his
+favourite hill, though glimpses were occasionally caught through the
+trees of the lovely valley below. Soon afterwards the party turned off
+on the left, and presently arrived at a gate which admitted them to Read
+Park. Five minutes' canter over the springy turf then brought them to
+the house.</p>
+
+<p>The manor of Reved or Read came into the possession of the Nowell family
+in the time of Edward III., and extended on one side, within a mile of
+Whalley, from which township it was divided by a deep woody ravine,
+taking its name from the little village of Sabden, and on the other
+stretched far into Pendle Forest. The hall was situated on an eminence
+forming part of the heights of Padiham, and faced a wide valley, watered
+by the Calder, and consisting chiefly of barren tracts of moor and
+forest land, bounded by the high hills near Accrington and Rossendale.
+On the left, some half-dozen miles off, lay Burnley, and the greater
+part of the land in this direction, being uninclosed and thinly peopled,
+had a dark dreary look, that served to enhance the green beauty of the
+well-cultivated district on the right. Behind the mansion, thick woods
+extended to the very confines of Pendle Forest, of which, indeed, they
+originally formed part, and here, if the course of the stream, flowing
+through the gully of Sabden, were followed, every variety of brake,
+glen, and dingle, might be found. Read Hall was a large and commodious
+mansion, forming, with a centre and two advancing wings, three sides of
+a square, between which was a grass-plot ornamented with a dial. The
+gardens were laid out in the taste of the time, with trim alleys and
+parterres, terraces and steps, stone statues, and clipped yews.</p>
+
+<p>The house was kept up well and consistently by its owner, who lived like
+a country gentleman with a good estate, entertained his friends
+hospitably, but without any parade, and was never needlessly lavish in
+his expenditure, unless, perhaps, in the instance of the large
+ostentatious pew erected by him in the parish church of Whalley; and
+which, considering he had a private chapel at home, and maintained a
+domestic chaplain to do duty in it, seemed little required, and drew
+upon him the censure of the neighbouring gossips, who said there was
+more of pride than religion in his pew. With the chapel at the hall a
+curious history was afterwards connected. Converted into a dining-room
+by a descendant of Roger Nowell, the apartment was incautiously occupied
+by the planner of the alterations before the plaster was thoroughly
+dried; in consequence of which he caught a severe cold, and died in the
+desecrated chamber, his fate being looked upon as a judgment.</p>
+
+<p>With many good qualities Roger Nowell was little liked. His austere and
+sarcastic manner repelled his equals, and his harshness made him an
+object of dislike and dread among his inferiors. Besides being the
+terror of all evil-doers, he was a hard man in his dealings, though he
+endeavoured to be just, and persuaded himself he was so. A year or two
+before, having been appointed sheriff of the county, he had discharged
+the important office with so much zeal and ability, as well as
+liberality, that he rose considerably in public estimation. It was
+during this period that Master Potts came under his notice at Lancaster,
+and the little attorney's shrewdness gained him an excellent client in
+the owner of Read. Roger Newell was a widower; but his son, who resided
+with him, was married, and had a family, so that the hall was fully
+occupied.</p>
+
+<p>Roger Nowell was turned sixty, but he was still in the full vigour of
+mind and body, his temperate and active habits keeping him healthy; he
+was of a spare muscular frame, somewhat bent in the shoulders, and had
+very sharp features, keen grey eyes, a close mouth, and prominent chin.
+His hair was white as silver, but his eyebrows were still black and
+bushy.</p>
+
+<p>Seeing the party approach, the lord of the mansion came forth to meet
+them, and begged them to dismount for a moment and refresh themselves.
+Richard excused himself, but Nicholas sprang from his saddle, and Potts,
+though somewhat more slowly, imitated his example. An open door admitted
+them to the entrance hall, where a repast was spread, of which the host
+pressed his guests to partake; but Nicholas declined on the score of
+having just breakfasted, notwithstanding which he was easily prevailed
+upon to take a cup of ale. Leaving him to discuss it, Nowell led the
+attorney to a well-furnished library, where he usually transacted his
+magisterial business, and held a few minutes' private conference with
+him, after which they returned to Nicholas, and by this time the
+magistrate's own horse being brought round, the party mounted once more.
+The attorney regretted abandoning his seat; for Flint indulged him with
+another exhibition somewhat similar to the first, though of less
+duration, for a vigorous application of the hunting-whip brought the
+wrong-headed little animal to reason.</p>
+
+<p>Elated by the victory he had obtained over Flint, and anticipating a
+successful issue to the expedition, Master Potts was in excellent
+spirits, and found a great deal to admire in the domain of his honoured
+and singular good client. Though not very genuine, his admiration was
+deservedly bestowed. The portion of the park they were now traversing
+was extremely diversified and beautiful, with long sweeping lawns
+studded with fine trees, among which were many ancient thorns, now in
+full bloom, and richly scenting the gale. Herds of deer were nipping the
+short grass, browsing the lower spray of the ashes, or couching amid the
+ferny hollows.</p>
+
+<p>It was now that Nicholas, who had been all along anxious to try the
+speed of his horse, proposed to Richard a gallop towards a clump of
+trees about a mile off, and the young man assenting, away they started.
+Master Potts started too, for Flint did not like to be left behind, but
+the mettlesome pony was soon distanced. For some time the two horses
+kept so closely together, that it was difficult to say which would
+arrive at the goal first; but, by-and-by, Robin got a-head. Though at
+first indifferent to the issue of the race, the spirit of emulation soon
+seized upon Richard, and spurring Merlin, the noble animal sprang
+forward, and was once again by the side of his opponent.</p>
+
+<p>For a quarter of a mile the ground had been tolerably level, and the sod
+firm; but they now approached a swamp, and, in his eagerness, Nicholas
+did not take sufficient precaution, and got involved in it before he was
+aware. Richard was more fortunate, having kept on the right, where the
+ground was hard. Seeing Nicholas struggling out of the marshy soil, he
+would have stayed for him; but the latter bade him go on, saying he
+would soon be up with him, and he made good his words. Shortly after
+this their course was intercepted by a brook, and both horses having
+cleared it excellently, they kept well together again for a short time,
+when they neared a deep dyke which lay between them and the clump of
+trees. On descrying it, Richard pointed out a course to the left, but
+Nicholas held on, unheeding the caution. Fully expecting to see him
+break his neck, for the dyke was of formidable width, Richard watched
+him with apprehension, but the squire gave him a re-assuring nod, and
+went on. Neither horse nor man faltered, though failure would have been
+certain destruction to both. The wide trench now yawned before
+them&mdash;they were upon its edge, and without trusting himself to measure
+it with his eye, Nicholas clapped spurs into Robin's sides. The brave
+horse sprang forward and landed him safely on the opposite bank.
+Hallooing cheerily, as soon as he could check his courser the squire
+wheeled round, and rode back to look at the dyke he had crossed. Its
+width was terrific, and fairly astounded him. Robin snorted loudly, as
+if proud of his achievement, and showed some disposition to return, but
+the squire was quite content with what he had done. The exploit
+afterwards became a theme of wonder throughout the country, and the spot
+was long afterwards pointed out as &quot;Squire Nicholas's Leap&quot;; but there
+was not another horseman found daring enough to repeat the experiment.</p>
+
+<p>Richard had to make a considerable circuit to join his cousin, and,
+while he was going round, Nicholas looked out for the others. In the
+distance, he could see Roger Nowell riding leisurely on, followed by
+Sparshot and a couple of grooms, who had come with their master from the
+hall; while midway, to his surprise, he perceived Flint galloping
+without a rider. A closer examination showed the squire what had
+happened. Like himself, Master Potts had incautiously approached the
+swamp, and, getting entangled in it, was thrown, head foremost, into the
+slough; out of which he was now floundering, covered from head to foot
+with inky-coloured slime. As soon as they were aware of the accident,
+the two grooms pushed forward, and one of them galloped after Flint,
+whom he succeeded at last in catching; while the other, with difficulty
+preserving his countenance at the woful plight of the attorney, who
+looked as black as a negro, pointed out a cottage in the hollow which
+belonged to one of the keepers, and offered to conduct him thither.
+Potts gladly assented, and soon gained the little tenement, where he was
+being washed and rubbed down by a couple of stout wenches when the rest
+of the party came up. It was impossible to help laughing at him, but
+Potts took the merriment in good part; and, to show he was not
+disheartened by the misadventure, as soon as circumstances would permit
+he mounted the unlucky pony, and the cavalcade set forward again.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III_THE_BOGGARTS_GLEN" id="CHAPTER_III_THE_BOGGARTS_GLEN" />CHAPTER III.&mdash;THE BOGGART'S GLEN.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The manor of Read, it has been said, was skirted by a deep woody ravine
+of three or four miles in length, extending from the little village of
+Sabden, in Pendle Forest, to within a short distance of Whalley; and
+through this gully flowed a stream which, taking its rise near Barley,
+at the foot of Pendle Hill, added its waters to those of the Calder at a
+place called Cock Bridge. In summer, or in dry seasons, this stream
+proceeded quietly enough, and left the greater part of its stony bed
+unoccupied; but in winter, or after continuous rains, it assumed all the
+character of a mountain torrent, and swept every thing before it. A
+narrow bridle road led through the ravine to Sabden, and along it, after
+quitting the park, the cavalcade proceeded, headed by Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>The little river danced merrily past them, singing as it went, the
+sunshine sparkling on its bright clear waters, and glittering on the
+pebbles beneath them. Now the stream would chafe and foam against some
+larger impediment to its course; now it would dash down some rocky
+height, and form a beautiful cascade; then it would hurry on for some
+time with little interruption, till stayed by a projecting bank it would
+form a small deep basin, where, beneath the far-cast shadow of an
+overhanging oak, or under its huge twisted and denuded roots, the angler
+might be sure of finding the speckled trout, the dainty greyling, or
+their mutual enemy, the voracious jack. The ravine was well wooded
+throughout, and in many parts singularly beautiful, from the disposition
+of the timber on its banks, as well as from the varied form and
+character of the trees. Here might be seen an acclivity covered with
+waving birch, or a top crowned with a mountain ash&mdash;there, on a smooth
+expanse of greensward, stood a range of noble elms, whose mighty arms
+stretched completely across the ravine. Further on, there were chestnut
+and walnut trees; willows, with hoary stems and silver leaves, almost
+encroaching upon the stream; larches upon the heights; and here and
+there, upon some sandy eminence, a spreading beech-tree. For the most
+part the bottom of the glen was overgrown with brushwood, and, where its
+sides were too abrupt to admit the growth of larger trees, they were
+matted with woodbine and brambles. Out of these would sometimes start a
+sharp pinnacle, or fantastically-formed crag, adding greatly to the
+picturesque beauty of the scene. On such points were not unfrequently
+found perched a hawk, a falcon, or some large bird of prey; for the
+gully, with its brakes and thickets, was a favourite haunt of the
+feathered tribe. The hollies, of which there were plenty, with their
+green prickly leaves and scarlet berries, afforded shelter and support
+to the blackbird; the thorns were frequented by the thrush; and
+numberless lesser songsters filled every other tree. In the covert there
+were pheasants and partridges in abundance, and snipe and wild-fowl
+resorted to the river in winter. Thither also, at all seasons, repaired
+the stately heron, to devour the finny race; and thither came, on like
+errand, the splendidly-plumed kingfisher. The magpie chattered, the jay
+screamed and flew deeper into the woods as the horsemen approached, and
+the shy bittern hid herself amid the rushes. Occasionally, too, was
+heard the deep ominous croaking of a raven.</p>
+
+<p class="figcenter"><a name="ILLUS_8" id="ILLUS_8" href="./images/illus08_lg.jpg"><img src="./images/illus08_sm.jpg"
+alt="Illustration: POTTS AFTER BEING THROWN FROM HIS HORSE."
+title="POTTS AFTER BEING THROWN FROM HIS HORSE." /></a></p>
+<p class="figcenter"><span class="smcap">Potts After Being Thrown from his Horse.</span></p>
+
+<p>Hitherto, the glen had been remarkable for its softness and beauty, but
+it now began to assume a savage and sombre character. The banks drew
+closer together, and became rugged and precipitous; while the trees met
+overhead, and, intermingling their branches, formed a canopy impervious
+to the sun's rays. The stream was likewise contracted in its bed, and
+its current, which, owing to the gloom, looked black as ink, flowed
+swiftly on, as if anxious to escape to livelier scenes. A large raven,
+which had attended the horsemen all the way, now alighted near them, and
+croaked ominously.</p>
+
+<p>This part of the glen was in very ill repute, and was never traversed,
+even at noonday, without apprehension. Its wild and savage aspect, its
+horrent precipices, its shaggy woods, its strangely-shaped rocks and
+tenebrous depths, where every imperfectly-seen object appeared doubly
+frightful&mdash;all combined to invest it with mystery and terror. No one
+willingly lingered here, but hurried on, afraid of the sound of his own
+footsteps. No one dared to gaze at the rocks, lest he should see some
+hideous hobgoblin peering out of their fissures. No one glanced at the
+water, for fear some terrible kelpy, with twining snakes for hair and
+scaly hide, should issue from it and drag him down to devour him with
+his shark-like teeth. Among the common folk, this part of the ravine was
+known as &quot;the boggart's glen&quot;, and was supposed to be haunted by
+mischievous beings, who made the unfortunate wanderer their sport.</p>
+
+<p>For the last half-mile the road had been so narrow and intricate in its
+windings, that the party were obliged to proceed singly; but this did
+not prevent conversation; and Nicholas, throwing the bridle over Robin's
+neck, left the surefooted animal to pursue his course unguided, while he
+himself, leaning back, chatted with Roger Nowell. At the entrance of the
+gloomy gorge above described, Robin came to a stand, and refusing to
+move at a jerk from his master, the latter raised himself, and looked
+forward to see what could be the cause of the stoppage. No impediment
+was visible, but the animal obstinately refused to go on, though urged
+both by word and spur. This stoppage necessarily delayed the rest of the
+cavalcade.</p>
+
+<p>Well aware of the ill reputation of the place, when Simon Sparshot and
+the grooms found that Robin would not go on, they declared he must see
+the boggart, and urged the squire to turn back, or some mischief would
+befall him. But Nicholas, though not without misgivings, did not like to
+yield thus, especially when urged on by Roger Nowell. Indeed, the party
+could not get out of the ravine without going back nearly a mile, while
+Sabden was only half that distance from them. What was to be done? Robin
+still continued obstinate, and for the first time paid no attention to
+his master's commands. The poor animal was evidently a prey to violent
+terror, and snorted and reared, while his limbs were bathed in cold
+sweat.</p>
+
+<p>Dismounting, and leaving him in charge of Roger Nowell, Nicholas walked
+on by himself to see if he could discover any cause for the horse's
+alarm; and he had not advanced far, when his eye rested upon a blasted
+oak forming a conspicuous object on a crag before him, on a scathed
+branch of which sat the raven.</p>
+
+<p>Croak! croak! croak!</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Accursed bird, it is thou who hast frightened my horse,&quot; cried
+Nicholas. &quot;Would I had a crossbow or an arquebuss to stop thy croaking.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as he picked up a stone to cast at the raven, a crashing noise was
+heard among the bushes high up on the rock, and the next moment a huge
+fragment dislodged from the cliff rolled down and would have crushed
+him, if he had not nimbly avoided it.</p>
+
+<p>Croak! croak! croak!</p>
+
+<p>Nicholas almost fancied hoarse laughter was mingled with the cries of
+the bird.</p>
+
+<p>The raven nodded its head and expanded its wings, and the squire, whose
+recent experience had prepared him for any wonder, fully expected to
+hear it speak, but it only croaked loudly and exultingly, or if it
+laughed, the sound was like the creaking of rusty hinges.</p>
+
+<p>Nicholas did not like it at all, and he resolved to go back; but ere he
+could do so, he was startled by a buffet on the ear, and turning angrily
+round to see who had dealt it, he could distinguish no one, but at the
+same moment received a second buffet on the other ear.</p>
+
+<p>The raven croaked merrily.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Would I could wring thy neck, accursed bird!&quot; cried the enraged squire.</p>
+
+<p>Scarcely was the vindictive wish uttered than a shower of blows fell
+upon him, and kicks from unseen feet were applied to his person.</p>
+
+<p>All the while the raven croaked merrily, and flapped his big black
+wings.</p>
+
+<p>Infuriated by the attack, the squire hit right and left manfully, and
+dashed out his feet in every direction; but his blows and kicks only met
+the empty air, while those of his unseen antagonist told upon his own
+person with increased effect.</p>
+
+<p>The spectacle seemed to afford infinite amusement to the raven. The
+mischievous bird almost crowed with glee.</p>
+
+<p>There was no standing it any longer. So, amid a perfect hurricane of
+blows and kicks, and with the infernal voice of the raven ringing in his
+ears, the squire took to his heels. On reaching his companions he found
+they had not fared much better than himself. The two grooms were
+belabouring each other lustily; and Master Potts was exercising his
+hunting-whip on the broad shoulders of Sparshot, who in return was
+making him acquainted with the taste of a stout ash-plant. Assailed in
+the same manner as the squire, and naturally attributing the attack to
+their nearest neighbours, they waited for no explanation, but fell upon
+each other. Richard Assheton and Roger Nowell endeavoured to interfere
+and separate the combatants, and in doing so received some hard knocks
+for their pains; but all their pacific efforts were fruitless, until the
+squire appeared, and telling them they were merely the sport of
+hobgoblins, they desisted, but still the blows fell heavily on them as
+before, proving the truth of Nicholas's assertion.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the squire had mounted Robin, and, finding the horse no longer
+exhibit the same reluctance to proceed, he dashed at full speed through
+the haunted glen; but even above the clatter, of hoofs, and the noise of
+the party galloping after him, he could hear the hoarse exulting
+croaking of the raven.</p>
+
+<p>As the gully expanded, and the sun once more found its way through the
+trees, and shone upon the river, Nicholas began to breathe more freely;
+but it was not until fairly out of the wood that he relaxed his speed.
+Not caring to enter into any explanation of the occurrence, he rode a
+little apart to avoid conversation; as the others, who were still
+smarting from the blows they had received, were in no very good-humour,
+a sullen silence prevailed throughout the party, as they mounted the
+bare hill-side in the direction of the few scattered huts constituting
+the village of Sabden.</p>
+
+<p>A blight seemed to have fallen upon the place. Roger Nowell, who had
+visited it a few months ago, could scarcely believe his eyes, so changed
+was its appearance. His inquiries as to the cause of its altered
+condition were every where met by the same answer&mdash;the poor people were
+all bewitched. Here a child was ill of a strange sickness, tossed and
+tumbled in its bed, and contorted its limbs so violently, that its
+parents could scarcely hold it down. Another family was afflicted in a
+different manner, two of its number pining away and losing strength
+daily, as if a prey to some consuming disease. In a third, another child
+was sick, and vomited pins, nails, and other extraordinary substances. A
+fourth household was tormented by an imp in the form of a monkey, who
+came at night and pinched them all black and blue, spilt the milk, broke
+the dishes and platters, got under the bed, and, raising it to the roof,
+let it fall with a terrible crash; putting them all in mental terror. In
+the next cottage there was no end to calamities, though they took a more
+absurd form. Sometimes the fire would not burn, or when it did it
+emitted no heat, so that the pot would not boil, nor the meat roast.
+Then the oatcakes would stick to the bake-stone, and no force could get
+them away from it till they were burnt and spoiled; the milk turned
+sour, the cheese became so hard that not even rats' teeth could gnaw it,
+the stools and settles broke down if sat upon, and the list of petty
+grievances was completed by a whole side of bacon being devoured in a
+single night. Roger Nowell and Nicholas listened patiently to a detail
+of all these grievances, and expressed strong sympathy for the
+sufferers, promising assistance and redress if possible. All the
+complainants taxed either Mother Demdike or Mother Chattox with
+afflicting them, and said they had incurred the anger of the two
+malevolent old witches by refusing to supply them with poultry, eggs,
+milk, butter, or other articles, which they had demanded. Master Potts
+made ample notes of the strange relations, and took down the name of
+every cottager.</p>
+
+<p>At length, they arrived at the last cottage, and here a man, with a very
+doleful countenance, besought them to stop and listen to his tale.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What is the matter, friend?&quot; demanded Roger Nowell, halting with the
+others. &quot;Are you bewitched, like your neighbours?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Troth am ey, your warship,&quot; replied the man, &quot;an ey hope yo may be able
+to deliver me. Yo mun knoa, that somehow ey wor unlucky enough last Yule
+to offend Mother Chattox, an ever sin then aw's gone wrang wi' me. Th'
+good-wife con never may butter come without stickin' a redhot poker into
+t' churn; and last week, when our brindlt sow farrowed, and had fifteen
+to t' litter, an' fine uns os ever yo seed, seign on um deed. Sad wark!
+sad wark, mesters. The week efore that t' keaw deed; an th' week efore
+her th' owd mare, so that aw my stock be gone. Waes me! waes me! Nowt
+prospers wi' me. My poor dame is besoide hersel, an' th' chilter seems
+possessed. Ey ha' tried every remedy, boh without success. Ey ha'
+followed th' owd witch whoam, plucked a hontle o' thatch fro' her roof,
+sprinklet it wi' sawt an weter, burnt it an' buried th' ess at th'
+change o' t' moon. No use, mesters. Then again, ey ha' getten a
+horseshoe, heated it redhot, quenched it i' brine, an' nailed it to t'
+threshold wi' three nails, heel uppard. No more use nor t'other. Then ey
+ha' taen sawt weter, and put it in a bottle wi' three rusty nails,
+needles, and pins, boh ey hanna found that th' witch ha' suffered
+thereby. An, lastly, ey ha' let myself blood, when the moon wur at full,
+an in opposition to th' owd hag's planet, an minglin' it wi' sawt, ha'
+burnt it i' a trivet, in hopes of afflictin' her; boh without avail, fo'
+ey seed her two days ago, an she flouted me an scoffed at me. What mun
+ey do, good mesters? What mun ey do?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Have you offended any one besides Mother Chattox, my poor fellow?&quot; said
+Nowell.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Mother Demdike, may be, your warship,&quot; replied the man.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You suspect Mother Demdike and Mother Chattox of bewitching you,&quot; said
+Potts, taking out his memorandum-book, and making a note in it. &quot;Your
+name, good fellow?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oamfrey o' Will's o' Ben's o' Tummas' o' Sabden,&quot; replied the man.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Is that all?&quot; asked Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What more would you have?&quot; said Richard. &quot;The description is
+sufficiently particular.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Scarcely precise enough,&quot; returned Potts. &quot;However, it may do. We will
+help you in the matter, good Humphrey Etcetera. You shall not be
+troubled with these pestilent witches much longer. The neighbourhood
+shall be cleared of them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'm reet glad to hear, mester,&quot; replied the man.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You promise much, Master Potts,&quot; observed Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not a jot more than I am able to perform,&quot; replied the attorney.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That remains to be seen,&quot; said Richard. &quot;If these old women are as
+powerful as represented, they will not be so readily defeated.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There you are in error, Master Richard,&quot; replied Potts. &quot;The devil,
+whose vassals they are, will deliver them into our hands.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Granting what you say to be correct, the devil must have little regard
+for his servants if he abandons them so easily,&quot; observed Richard,
+drily.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What else can you expect from him?&quot; cried Potts. &quot;It is his custom to
+ensnare his victims, and then leave them to their fate.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are rather describing the course pursued by certain members of
+your own profession, Master Potts,&quot; said Richard. &quot;The devil behaves
+with greater fairness to his clients.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are not going to defend him, I hope, sir?&quot; said the attorney.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No; I only desire to give him his due,&quot; returned Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha! ha! ha!&quot; laughed Nicholas. &quot;You had better have done, Master Potts;
+you will never get the better in the argument. But we must be moving, or
+we shall not get our business done before nightfall. As to you, Numps,&quot;
+he added, to the poor man, &quot;we will not forget you. If any thing can be
+done for your relief, rely upon it, it shall not be neglected.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, ay,&quot; said Nowell, &quot;the matter shall be looked into&mdash;and speedily.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And the witches brought to justice,&quot; said Potts; &quot;comfort yourself with
+that, good Humphrey Etcetera.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, comfort yourself with that,&quot; observed Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after this they entered a wide dreary waste forming the bottom of
+the valley, lying between the heights of Padiham and Pendle Hill, and
+while wending their way across it, they heard a shout from the
+hill-side, and presently afterwards perceived a man, mounted on a
+powerful black horse, galloping swiftly towards them. The party awaited
+his approach, and the stranger speedily came up. He was a small man
+habited in a suit of rusty black, and bore a most extraordinary and
+marked resemblance to Master Potts. He had the same perky features, the
+same parchment complexion, the same yellow forehead, as the little
+attorney. So surprising was the likeness, that Nicholas unconsciously
+looked round for Potts, and beheld him staring at the new-comer in angry
+wonder.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV_THE_REEVE_OF_THE_FOREST" id="CHAPTER_IV_THE_REEVE_OF_THE_FOREST" />CHAPTER IV.&mdash;THE REEVE OF THE FOREST.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The surprise of the party was by no means diminished when the stranger
+spoke. His voice exactly resembled the sharp cracked tones of the
+attorney.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I crave pardon for the freedom I have taken in stopping you, good
+masters,&quot; he said, doffing his cap, and saluting them respectfully;
+&quot;but, being aware of your errand, I am come to attend you on it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And who are you, fellow, who thus volunteer your services?&quot; demanded
+Roger Nowell, sharply.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am one of the reeves of the forest of Blackburnshire, worshipful
+sir,&quot; replied the stranger, &quot;and as such my presence, at the intended
+perambulation of the boundaries of her property, has been deemed
+necessary by Mrs. Nutter, as I shall have to make a representation of
+the matter at the next court of swainmote.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Indeed!&quot; exclaimed Nowell, &quot;but how knew you we were coming?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Mistress Nutter sent me word last night,&quot; replied the reeve, &quot;that
+Master Nicholas Assheton and certain other gentlemen, would come to
+Rough Lee for the purpose of ascertaining the marks, meres, and
+boundaries of her property, early this morning, and desired my
+attendance on the occasion. Accordingly I stationed myself on yon high
+ground to look out for you, and have been on the watch for more than an
+hour.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Humph!&quot; exclaimed Roger Nowell, &quot;and you live in the forest?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I live at Barrowford, worshipful sir,&quot; replied the reeve, &quot;but I have
+only lately come there, having succeeded Maurice Mottisfont, the other
+reeve, who has been removed by the master forester to Rossendale, where
+I formerly dwelt.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That may account for my not having seen you before,&quot; rejoined Nowell.
+&quot;You are well mounted, sirrah. I did not know the master forester
+allowed his men such horses as the one you ride.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This horse does not belong to me, sir,&quot; replied the reeve; &quot;it has been
+lent me by Mistress Nutter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Aha! I see how it is now,&quot; cried Nowell; &quot;you are suborned to give
+false testimony, knave. I object to his attendance, Master Nicholas.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, I think you do the man injustice,&quot; said the squire. &quot;He speaks
+frankly and fairly enough, and seems to know his business. The worst
+that can be said against him is, that he resembles somewhat too closely
+our little legal friend there. That, however, ought to be no objection
+to you, Master Nowell, but rather the contrary.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, take the responsibility of the matter upon your own shoulders,&quot;
+said Nowell; &quot;if any ill comes of it I shall blame you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Be it so,&quot; replied the squire; &quot;my shoulders are broad enough to bear
+the burthen. You may ride with us, master reeve.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;May I inquire your name, friend?&quot; said Potts, as the stranger fell back
+to the rear of the party.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thomas Potts, at your service, sir,&quot; replied the reeve.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What!&mdash;Thomas Potts!&quot; exclaimed the astonished attorney.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That is my name, sir,&quot; replied the reeve, quietly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why, zounds!&quot; exclaimed Nicholas, who overheard the reply, &quot;you do not
+mean to say your name is Thomas Potts? This is more wonderful still. You
+must be this gentleman's twin brother.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The gentleman certainly seems to resemble me very strongly,&quot; replied
+the reeve, apparently surprised in his turn. &quot;Is he of these parts?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, I am not,&quot; returned Potts, angrily, &quot;I am from London, where I
+reside in Chancery-lane, and practise the law, though I likewise attend
+as clerk of the court at the assizes at Lancaster, where I may
+possibly, one of these days, have the pleasure of seeing you, my
+pretended namesake.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Possibly, sir,&quot; said the reeve, with provoking calmness. &quot;I myself am
+from Chester, and like yourself was brought up to the law, but I
+abandoned my profession, or rather it abandoned me, for I had few
+clients; so I took to an honester calling, and became a forester, as you
+see. My father was a draper in the city I have mentioned, and dwelt in
+Watergate-street&mdash;his name was Peter Potts.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Peter Potts your father!&quot; exclaimed the attorney, in the last state of
+astonishment&mdash;&quot;Why, he was mine! But I am his only son.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Up to this moment I conceived myself an only son,&quot; said the reeve; &quot;but
+it seems I was mistaken, since I find I have an elder brother.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Elder brother!&quot; exclaimed Potts, wrathfully. &quot;You are older than I am
+by twenty years. But it is all a fabrication. I deny the relationship
+entirely.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You cannot make me other than the son of my father,&quot; said the reeve,
+with a smile.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, Master Potts,&quot; interposed Nicholas, laughing, &quot;I see no reason
+why you should be ashamed of your brother. There is a strong family
+likeness between you. So old Peter Potts, the draper of Chester, was
+your father, eh? I was not aware of the circumstance before&mdash;ha, ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And, but for this intrusive fellow, you would never have become aware
+of it,&quot; muttered the attorney. &quot;Give ear to me, squire,&quot; he said, urging
+Flint close up to the other's side, and speaking in a low tone, &quot;I do
+not like the fellow's looks at all.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am surprised at that,&quot; rejoined the squire, &quot;for he exactly resembles
+you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That is why I do not like him,&quot; said Potts; &quot;I believe him to be a
+wizard.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are no wizard to think so,&quot; rejoined the squire. And he rode on to
+join Roger Nowell, who was a little in advance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will try him on the subject of witchcraft,&quot; thought Potts. &quot;As you
+dwell in the forest,&quot; he said to the reeve, &quot;you have no doubt seen
+those two terrible beings, Mothers Demdike and Chattox.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Frequently,&quot; replied the reeve, &quot;but I would rather not talk about them
+in their own territories. You may judge of their power by the appearance
+of the village you have just quitted. The inhabitants of that unlucky
+place refused them their customary tributes, and have therefore incurred
+their resentment. You will meet other instances of the like kind before
+you have gone far.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am glad of it, for I want to collect as many cases as I can of
+witchcraft,&quot; observed Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;They will be of little use to you,&quot; observed the reeve.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How so?&quot; inquired Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Because if the witches discover what you are about, as they will not
+fail to do, you will never leave the forest alive,&quot; returned the other.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You think not?&quot; cried Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am sure of it,&quot; replied the reeve.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will not be deterred from the performance of my duty,&quot; said Potts. &quot;I
+defy the devil and all his works.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You may have reason to repent your temerity,&quot; replied the reeve.</p>
+
+<p>And anxious, apparently, to avoid further conversation on the subject,
+he drew in the rein for a moment, and allowed the attorney to pass on.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding his boasting, Master Potts was not without much secret
+misgiving; but his constitutional obstinacy made him determine to
+prosecute his plans at any risk, and he comforted himself by recalling
+the opinion of his sovereign authority on such matters.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Let me ponder over the exact words of our British Solomon,&quot; he thought.
+&quot;I have his learned treatise by heart, and it is fortunate my memory
+serves me so well, for the sagacious prince's dictum will fortify me in
+my resolution, which has been somewhat shaken by this fellow, whom I
+believe to be no better than he should be, for all he calls himself my
+father's son, and hath assumed my likeness, doubtless for some
+mischievous purpose. 'If the magistrate,' saith the King, 'be slothful
+towards witches, God is very able to make them instruments to waken and
+punish his sloth.' No one can accuse me of slothfulness and want of
+zeal. My best exertions have been used against the accursed creatures.
+And now for the rest. 'But if, on the contrary, he be diligent in
+examining and punishing them, God will not permit their master to
+trouble or hinder so good a work!' Exactly what I have done. I am quite
+easy now, and shall go on fearlessly as before. I am one of the 'lawful
+lieutenants' described by the King, and cannot be 'defrauded or
+deprived' of my office.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As these thoughts passed through the attorney's mind a low derisive
+laugh sounded in his ears, and, connecting it with the reeve, he looked
+back and found the object of his suspicions gazing at him, and chuckling
+maliciously. So fiendishly malignant, indeed, was the gaze fixed upon
+him, that Potts was glad to turn his head away to avoid it.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am confirmed in my suspicions,&quot; he thought; &quot;he is evidently a
+wizard, if he be not&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Again the mocking laugh sounded in his ears, but he did not venture to
+look round this time, being fearful of once more encountering the
+terrible gaze.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the party had traversed the valley, and to avoid a dangerous
+morass stretching across its lower extremity, and shorten the
+distance&mdash;for the ordinary road would have led them too much to the
+right&mdash;they began to climb one of the ridges of Pendle Hill, which lay
+between them and the vale they wished to gain. On obtaining the top of
+this eminence, an extensive view on either side opened upon them. Behind
+was the sterile valley they had just crossed, its black soil, hoary
+grass, and heathy wastes, only enlivened at one end by patches of bright
+sulphur-coloured moss, which masked a treacherous quagmire lurking
+beneath it. Some of the cottages in Sabden were visible, and, from the
+sad circumstances connected with them, and which oppressed the thoughts
+of the beholders, added to the dreary character of the prospect. The
+day, too, had lost its previous splendour, and there were clouds
+overhead which cast deep shadows on the ground. But on the crest of
+Pendle Hill, which rose above them, a sun-burst fell, and attracted
+attention from its brilliant contrast to the prevailing gloom. Before
+them lay a deep gully, the sinuosities of which could be traced from the
+elevated position where they stood, though its termination was hidden by
+other projecting ridges. Further on, the sides of the mountain were bare
+and rugged, and covered with shelving stone. Beyond the defile before
+mentioned, and over the last mountain ridge, lay a wide valley, bounded
+on the further side by the hills overlooking Colne, and the mountain
+defile, now laid open to the travellers, exhibiting in the midst of the
+dark heathy ranges, which were its distinguishing features, some marks
+of cultivation. In parts it was inclosed and divided into paddocks by
+stone walls, and here and there a few cottages were collected together,
+dignified, as in the case of Sabden, by the name of a village. Amongst
+these were the Hey-houses, an assemblage of small stone tenements, the
+earliest that arose in the forest; Goldshaw Booth, now a populous place,
+and even then the largest hamlet in the district; and in the distance
+Ogden and Barley, the two latter scarcely comprising a dozen
+habitations, and those little better than huts. In some sheltered nook
+on the hill-side might be discerned the solitary cottage of a cowherd,
+and not far from it the certain accompaniment of a sheepfold. Throughout
+this weird region, thinly peopled it is true, but still of great extent,
+and apparently abandoned to the powers of darkness, only one edifice
+could be found where its inhabitants could meet to pray, and this was an
+ancient chapel at Goldshaw Booth, originally erected in the reign of
+Henry III., though subsequently in part rebuilt in 1544, and which, with
+its low grey tower peeping from out the trees, was just discernible. Two
+halls were in view; one of which, Sabden, was of considerable antiquity,
+and gave its name to the village; and the other was Hoarstones, a much
+more recently erected mansion, strikingly situated on an acclivity of
+Pendle Hill. In general, the upper parts of this mountain monarch of the
+waste were bare and heathy, while the heights overhanging Ogden and
+Barley were rocky, shelving, and precipitous; but the lower ridges were
+well covered with wood, and a thicket, once forming part of the ancieut
+forest, ran far out into the plain near Goldshaw Booth. Numerous springs
+burst from the mountain side, and these collecting their forces, formed
+a considerable stream, which, under the name of Pendle Water, flowed
+through the valley above described, and, after many picturesque
+windings, entered the rugged glen in which Rough Lee was situated, and
+swept past the foot of Mistress Nutter's residence.</p>
+
+<p>Descending the hill, and passing through the thicket, the party came
+within a short distance of Goldshaw Booth, when they were met by a
+cowherd, who, with looks of great alarm, told them that John Law, the
+pedlar, had fallen down in a fit in the clough, and would perish if they
+did not stay to help him. As the poor man in question was well known
+both to Nicholas and Roger Nowell, they immediately agreed to go to his
+assistance, and accompanied the cowherd along a by-road which led
+through the clough to the village. They had not gone far when they heard
+loud groans, and presently afterwards found the unfortunate pedlar lying
+on his back, and writhing in agony. He was a large, powerfully-built
+man, of middle age, and had been in the full enjoyment of health and
+vigour, so that his sudden prostration was the more terrible. His face
+was greatly disfigured, the mouth and neck drawn awry, the left eye
+pulled down, and the whole power of the same side gone.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why, John, this is a bad business,&quot; cried Nicholas. &quot;You have had a
+paralytic stroke, I fear.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nah&mdash;nah&mdash;squoire,&quot; replied the sufferer, speaking with difficulty,
+&quot;it's neaw nat'ral ailment&mdash;it's witchcraft.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Witchcraft!&quot; exclaimed Potts, who had come up, and producing his
+memorandum book. &quot;Another case. Your name and description, friend?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;John Law o' Cown, pedlar,&quot; replied the man.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;John Law of Colne, I suppose, petty chapman,&quot; said Potts, making an
+entry. &quot;Now, John, my good man, be pleased to tell us by whom you have
+been bewitched?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;By Mother Demdike,&quot; groaned the man.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Mother Demdike, ah?&quot; exclaimed Potts, &quot;good! very good. Now, John, as
+to the cause of your quarrel with the old hag?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey con scarcely rekillect it, my head be so confused, mester,&quot; replied
+the pedlar.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Make an effort, John,&quot; persisted Potts; &quot;it is most desirable such a
+dreadful offender should not escape justice.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel, weel, ey'n try an tell it then,&quot; replied the pedlar. &quot;Yo mun knoa
+ey wur crossing the hill fro' Cown to Rough Lee, wi' my pack upon my
+shouthers, when who should ey meet boh Mother Demdike, an hoo axt me to
+gi' her some scithers an pins, boh, os ill luck wad ha' it, ey refused.
+'Yo had better do it, John,' hoo said, 'or yo'll rue it efore to-morrow
+neet.' Ey laughed at her, an trudged on, boh when I looked back, an seed
+her shakin' her skinny hond at me, ey repented and thowt ey would go
+back, an gi' her the choice o' my wares. Boh my pride wur too strong, an
+ey walked on to Barley an Ogden, an slept at Bess's o th' Booth, an woke
+this mornin' stout and strong, fully persuaded th' owd witch's threat
+would come to nowt. Alack-a-day! ey wur out i' my reckonin', fo'
+scarcely had ey reached this kloof, o' my way to Sabden, than ey wur
+seized wi' a sudden shock, os if a thunder-bowt had hit me, an ey lost
+the use o' my lower limbs, an t' laft soide, an should ha' deed most
+likely, if it hadna bin fo' Ebil o' Jem's o' Dan's who spied me out, an
+brought me help.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yours is a deplorable case indeed, John,&quot; said Richard&mdash;&quot;especially if
+it be the result of witchcraft.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You do not surely doubt that it is so, Master Richard?&quot; cried Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I offer no opinion,&quot; replied the young man; &quot;but a paralytic stroke
+would produce the same effect. But, instead of discussing the matter,
+the best thing we can do will be to transport the poor man to Bess's o'
+th' Booth, where he can be attended to.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Tom and I can carry him there, if Abel will take charge of his pack,&quot;
+said one of the grooms.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That I win,&quot; replied the cowherd, unstrapping the box, upon which the
+sufferer's head rested, and placing it on his own shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, a gate having been taken from its hinges by Sparshot and the
+reeve, the poor pedlar, who groaned deeply during the operation, was
+placed upon it by the men, and borne towards the village, followed by
+the others, leading their horses.</p>
+
+<p>Great consternation was occasioned in Goldshaw Booth by the entrance of
+the cavalcade, and still more, when it became known that John Law, the
+pedlar, who was a favourite with all, had had a frightful seizure. Old
+and young flocked forth to see him, and the former shook their heads,
+while the latter were appalled at the hideous sight. Master Potts took
+care to tell them that the poor fellow was bewitched by Mother Demdike;
+but the information failed to produce the effect he anticipated, and
+served rather to repress than heighten their sympathy for the sufferer.
+The attorney concluded, and justly, that they were afraid of incurring
+the displeasure of the vindictive old hag by an open expression of
+interest in his fate. So strongly did this feeling operate, that after
+bestowing a glance of commiseration at the pedlar, most of them
+returned, without a word, to their dwellings.</p>
+
+<p>On their way to the little hostel, whither they were conveying the poor
+pedlar, the party passed the church, and the sexton, who was digging a
+grave in the yard, came forward to look at them; but on seeing John Law
+he seemed to understand what had happened, and resumed his employment. A
+wide-spreading yew-tree grew in this part of the churchyard, and near it
+stood a small cross rudely carved in granite, marking the spot where, in
+the reign of Henry VI., Ralph Cliderhow, tenth abbot of Whalley, held a
+meeting of the tenantry, to check encroachments. Not far from this
+ancient cross the sexton, a hale old man, with a fresh complexion and
+silvery hair, was at work, and while the others went on, Master Potts
+paused to say a word to him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have a funeral here to-day, I suppose, Master Sexton?&quot; he said.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh,&quot; replied the man, gruffly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;One of the villagers?&quot; inquired the attorney.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neaw; hoo were na o' Goldshey,&quot; replied the sexton.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Where then&mdash;who was it?&quot; persevered Potts.</p>
+
+<p>The sexton seemed disinclined to answer; but at length said, &quot;Meary
+Baldwyn, the miller's dowter o' Rough Lee, os protty a lass os ever yo
+see, mester. Hoo wur the apple o' her feyther's ee, an he hasna had a
+dry ee sin hoo deed. Wall-a-dey! we mun aw go, owd an young&mdash;owd an
+young&mdash;an protty Meary Baldwyn went young enough. Poor lass! poor lass!&quot;
+and he brushed the dew from his eyes with his brawny hand.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Was her death sudden?&quot; asked Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neaw, not so sudden, mester,&quot; replied the sexton. &quot;Ruchot Baldwyn had
+fair warnin'. Six months ago Meary wur ta'en ill, an fro' t' furst he
+knoad how it wad eend.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How so, friend?&quot; asked Potts, whose curiosity began to be aroused.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Becose&mdash;&quot; replied the sexton, and he stopped suddenly short.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She was bewitched?&quot; suggested Potts.</p>
+
+<p>The sexton nodded his head, and began to ply his mattock vigorously.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;By Mother Demdike?&quot; inquired Potts, taking out his memorandum book.</p>
+
+<p>The sexton again nodded his head, but spake no word, and, meeting some
+obstruction in the ground, took up his pick to remove it.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Another case!&quot; muttered Potts, making an entry. &quot;Mary Baldwyn, daughter
+of Richard Baldwyn of Rough Lee, aged&mdash;How old was she, sexton?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Throtteen,&quot; replied the man; &quot;boh dunna ax me ony more questions,
+mester. Th' berrin takes place i' an hour, an ey hanna half digg'd th'
+grave.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your own name, Master Sexton, and I have done?&quot; said Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Zachariah Worms,&quot; answered the man.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Worms&mdash;ha! an excellent name for a sexton,&quot; cried Potts. &quot;You provide
+food for your family, eh, Zachariah?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Tut&mdash;tut,&quot; rejoined the sexton, testily, &quot;go an' moind yer own
+bus'ness, mon, an' leave me to moind mine.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Very well, Zachariah,&quot; replied Potts. And having obtained all he
+required, he proceeded to the little hostel, where, finding the rest of
+the party had dismounted, he consigned Flint to a cowherd, and entered
+the house.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V_BESSS_O_TH_BOOTH" id="CHAPTER_V_BESSS_O_TH_BOOTH" />CHAPTER V.&mdash;BESS'S O' TH' BOOTH.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Bess's o' th' Booth&mdash;for so the little hostel at Goldshaw was called,
+after its mistress Bess Whitaker&mdash;was far more comfortable and
+commodious than its unpretending exterior seemed to warrant. Stouter and
+brighter ale was not to be drunk in Lancashire than Bess brewed; nor was
+better sherris or clary to be found, go where you would, than in her
+cellars. The traveller crossing those dreary wastes, and riding from
+Burnley to Clithero, or from Colne to Whalley, as the case might be,
+might well halt at Bess's, and be sure of a roast fowl for dinner, with
+the addition, perhaps, of some trout from Pendle Water, or, if the
+season permitted, a heath-cock or a pheasant; or, if he tarried there
+for the night, he was equally sure of a good supper and fair linen. It
+has already been mentioned, that at this period it was the custom of all
+classes in the northern counties, men and women, to resort to the
+alehouses to drink, and the hostel at Goldshaw was the general
+rendezvous of the neighbourhood. For those who could afford it Bess
+would brew incomparable sack; but if a guest called for wine, and she
+liked not his looks, she would flatly tell him her ale was good enough
+for him, and if it pleased him not he should have nothing. Submission
+always followed in such cases, for there was no disputing with Bess.
+Neither would she permit the frequenters of the hostel to sit later than
+she chose, and would clear the house in a way equally characteristic and
+effectual. At a certain hour, and that by no means a late one, she would
+take down a large horsewhip, which hung on a convenient peg in the
+principal room, and after bluntly ordering her guests to go home, if any
+resistance were offered, she would lay the whip across their shoulders,
+and forcibly eject them from the premises; but, as her determined
+character was well known, this violence was seldom necessary. In
+strength Bess was a match for any man, and assistance from her
+cowherds&mdash;for she was a farmer as well as hostess&mdash;was at hand if
+required. As will be surmised from the above, Bess was large and
+masculine-looking, but well-proportioned nevertheless, and possessed a
+certain coarse kind of beauty, which in earlier years had inflamed
+Richard Baldwyn, the miller of Rough Lee, who made overtures of marriage
+to her. These were favourably entertained, but a slight quarrel
+occurring between them, the lover, in her own phrase, got &quot;his jacket
+soundly dusted&quot; by her, and declared off, taking to wife a more docile
+and light-handed maiden. As to Bess, though she had given this
+unmistakable proof of her ability to manage a husband, she did not
+receive a second offer, nor, as she had now attained the mature age of
+forty, did it seem likely she would ever receive one.</p>
+
+<p>Bess's o' th' Booth was an extremely clean and comfortable house. The
+floor, it is true, was of hard clay, and the windows little more than
+narrow slits, with heavy stone frames, further darkened by minute
+diamond panes; but the benches were scrupulously clean, and so was the
+long oak table in the centre of the principal and only large room in the
+house. A roundabout fireplace occupied one end of the chamber, sheltered
+from the draught of the door by a dark oak screen, with a bench on the
+warm side of it; and here, or in the deep ingle-nooks, on winter nights,
+the neighbours would sit and chat by the blazing hearth, discussing pots
+of &quot;nappy ale, good and stale,&quot; as the old ballad hath it; and as
+persons of both sexes came thither, young as well as old, many a match
+was struck up by Bess's cheery fireside. From the blackened rafters hung
+a goodly supply of hams, sides of bacon, and dried tongues, with a
+profusion of oatcakes in a bread-flake; while, in case this store should
+be exhausted, means of replenishment were at hand in the huge,
+full-crammed meal-chest standing in one corner. Altogether, there was a
+look of abundance as well as of comfort about the place.</p>
+
+<p>Great was Bess's consternation when the poor pedlar, who had quitted her
+house little more than an hour ago, full of health and spirits, was
+brought back to it in such a deplorable condition; and when she saw him
+deposited at her door, notwithstanding her masculine character, she had
+some difficulty in repressing a scream. She did not, however, yield to
+the weakness, but seeing at once what was best to be done, caused him to
+be transported by the grooms to the chamber he had occupied over-night,
+and laid upon the bed. Medical assistance was fortunately at hand; for
+it chanced that Master Sudall, the chirurgeon of Colne, was in the house
+at the time, having been brought to Goldshaw by the great sickness that
+prevailed at Sabden and elsewhere in the neighbourhood. Sudall was
+immediately in attendance upon the sufferer, and bled him copiously,
+after which the poor man seemed much easier; and Richard Assheton,
+taking the chirurgeon aside, asked his opinion of the case, and was told
+by Sudall that he did not think the pedlar's life in danger, but he
+doubted whether he would ever recover the use of his limbs.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You do not attribute the attack to witchcraft, I suppose, Master
+Sudall?&quot; said Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I do not like to deliver an opinion, sir,&quot; replied the chirurgeon. &quot;It
+is impossible to decide, when all the appearances are precisely like
+those of an ordinary attack of paralysis. But a sad case has recently
+come under my observation, as to which I can have no doubt&mdash;I mean as to
+its being the result of witchcraft&mdash;but I will tell you more about it
+presently, for I must now return to my patient.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>It being agreed among the party to rest for an hour at the little
+hostel, and partake of some refreshment, Nicholas went to look after the
+horses, while Roger Nowell and Richard remained in the room with the
+pedlar. Bess Whitaker owned an extensive farm-yard, provided with
+cow-houses, stables, and a large barn; and it was to the latter place
+that the two grooms proposed to repair with Sparshot and play a game at
+loggats on the clay floor. No one knew what had become of the reeve;
+for, on depositing the poor pedlar at the door of the hostel, he had
+mounted his horse and ridden away. Having ordered some fried eggs and
+bacon, Nicholas wended his way to the stable, while Bess, assisted by a
+stout kitchen wench, busied herself in preparing the eatables, and it
+was at this juncture that Master Potts entered the house.</p>
+
+<p>Bess eyed him narrowly, and was by no means prepossessed by his looks,
+while the muddy condition of his habiliments did not tend to exalt him
+in her opinion.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo mey yersel a' whoam, mon, ey mun say,&quot; she observed, as the attorney
+seated himself on the bench beside her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;To be sure,&quot; rejoined Potts; &quot;where should a man make himself at home,
+if not at an inn? Those eggs and bacon look very tempting. I'll try some
+presently; and, as soon as you've done with the frying-pan, I'll have a
+pottle of sack.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neaw, yo winna,&quot; replied Bess. &quot;Yo'n get nother eggs nor bacon nor sack
+here, ey can promise ye. Ele an whoat-kekes mun sarve your turn. Go to
+t' barn wi' t' other grooms, and play at kittle-pins or nine-holes wi'
+hin, an ey'n send ye some ele.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I'm quite comfortable where I am, thank you, hostess,&quot; replied Potts,
+&quot;and have no desire to play at kittle-pins or nine-holes. But what does
+this bottle contain?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Sherris,&quot; replied Bess.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Sherris!&quot; echoed Potts, &quot;and yet you say I can have no sack. Get me
+some sugar and eggs, and I'll show you how to brew the drink. I was
+taught the art by my friend, Ben Jonson&mdash;rare Ben&mdash;ha, ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Set the bottle down,&quot; cried Bess, angrily.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What do you mean, woman!&quot; said Potts, staring at her in surprise. &quot;I
+told you to fetch sugar and eggs, and I now repeat the order&mdash;sugar, and
+half-a-dozen eggs at least.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;An ey repeat my order to yo,&quot; cried Bess, &quot;to set the bottle down, or
+ey'st may ye.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Make me! ha, ha! I like that,&quot; cried Potts. &quot;Let me tell you, woman, I
+am not accustomed to be ordered in this way. I shall do no such thing.
+If you will not bring the eggs I shall drink the wine, neat and
+unsophisticate.&quot; And he filled a flagon near him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If yo dun, yo shan pay dearly for it,&quot; said Bess, putting aside the
+frying-pan and taking down the horsewhip.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I daresay I shall,&quot; replied Potts merrily; &quot;you hostesses generally do
+make one pay dearly. Very good sherris this, i' faith!&mdash;the true nutty
+flavour. Now do go and fetch me some eggs, my good woman. You must have
+plenty, with all the poultry I saw in the farm-yard; and then I'll teach
+you the whole art and mystery of brewing sack.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'n teach yo to dispute my orders,&quot; cried Bess. And, catching the
+attorney by the collar, she began to belabour him soundly with the whip.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Holloa! ho! what's the meaning of this?&quot; cried Potts, struggling to get
+free. &quot;Assault and battery; ho!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'n sawt an batter yo, ay, an baste yo too!&quot; replied Bess, continuing
+to lay on the whip.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why, zounds! this passes a joke,&quot; cried the attorney. &quot;How desperately
+strong she is! I shall be murdered! Help! help! The woman must be a
+witch.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A witch! Ey'n teach yo' to ca' me feaw names,&quot; cried the enraged
+hostess, laying on with greater fury.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Help! help!&quot; roared Potts.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment Nicholas returned from the stables, and, seeing how
+matters stood, flew to the attorney's assistance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Come, come, Bess,&quot; he cried, laying hold of her arm, &quot;you've given him
+enough. What has Master Potts been about? Not insulting you, I hope?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neaw, ey'd tak keare he didna do that, squoire,&quot; replied the hostess.
+&quot;Ey towd him he'd get nowt boh ele here, an' he made free wi't wine
+bottle, so ey brought down t' whip jist to teach him manners.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You teach me! you ignorant and insolent hussy,&quot; cried Potts, furiously;
+&quot;do you think I'm to be taught manners by an overgrown Lancashire witch
+like you? I'll teach you what it is to assault a gentleman. I'll prefer
+an instant complaint against you to my singular good friend and client,
+Master Roger, who is in your house, and you'll soon find whom you've got
+to deal with&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Marry&mdash;kem&mdash;eawt!&quot; exclaimed Bess; &quot;who con it be? Ey took yo fo' one
+o't grooms, mon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Fire and fury!&quot; exclaimed Potts; &quot;this is intolerable. Master Nowell
+shall let you know who I am, woman.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, I'll tell you, Bess,&quot; interposed Nicholas, laughing. &quot;This little
+gentleman is a London lawyer, who is going to Rough Lee on business with
+Master Roger Nowell. Unluckily, he got pitched into a quagmire in Read
+Park, and that is the reason why his countenance and habiliments have
+got begrimed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh! ey thowt he wur i' a strawnge fettle,&quot; replied Bess; &quot;an so he be
+a lawyer fro' Lunnon, eh? Weel,&quot; she added, laughing, and displaying two
+ranges of very white teeth, &quot;he'll remember Bess Whitaker, t' next time
+he comes to Pendle Forest.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And she'll remember me,&quot; rejoined Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neaw more sawce, mon,&quot; cried Bess, &quot;or ey'n raddle thy boans again.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No you won't, woman,&quot; cried Potts, snatching up his horsewhip, which he
+had dropped in the previous scuffle, and brandishing it fiercely. &quot;I
+dare you to touch me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Nicholas was obliged once more to interfere, and as he passed his arms
+round the hostess's waist, he thought a kiss might tend to bring matters
+to a peaceable issue, so he took one.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha' done wi' ye, squoire,&quot; cried Bess, who, however, did not look very
+seriously offended by the liberty.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;By my faith, your lips are so sweet that I must have another,&quot; cried
+Nicholas. &quot;I tell you what, Bess, you're the finest woman in Lancashire,
+and you owe it to the county to get married.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whoy so?&quot; said Bess.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Because it would be a pity to lose the breed,&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;What
+say you to Master Potts there? Will he suit you?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He&mdash;pooh! Do you think ey'd put up wi' sich powsement os he! Neaw; when
+Bess Whitaker, the lonleydey o' Goldshey, weds, it shan be to a mon, and
+nah to a ninny-hommer.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Bravely resolved, Bess,&quot; cried Nicholas. &quot;You deserve another kiss for
+your spirit.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha' done, ey say,&quot; cried Bess, dealing him a gentle tap that sounded
+very much like a buffet. &quot;See how yon jobberknow is grinning at ye.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Jobberknow and ninny-hammer,&quot; cried Potts, furiously; &quot;really, woman, I
+cannot permit such names to be applied to me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Os yo please, boh ey'st gi' ye nah better,&quot; rejoined the hostess.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Come, Bess, a truce to this,&quot; observed Nicholas; &quot;the eggs and bacon
+are spoiling, and I'm dying with hunger. There&mdash;there,&quot; he added,
+clapping her on the shoulder, &quot;set the dish before us, that's a good
+soul&mdash;a couple of plates, some oatcakes and butter, and we shall do.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And while Bess attended to these requirements, he observed, &quot;This sudden
+seizure of poor John Law is a bad business.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;'Deed on it is, squoire,&quot; replied Bess, &quot;ey wur quite glopp'nt at seet
+on him. Lorjus o' me! whoy, it's scarcely an hour sin he left here,
+looking os strong an os 'earty os yersel. Boh it's a kazzardly onsartin
+loife we lead. Here to-day an gone the morrow, as Parson Houlden says.
+Wall-a-day!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;True, true, Bess,&quot; replied the squire, &quot;and the best plan therefore is,
+to make the most of the passing moment. So brew us each a lusty pottle
+of sack, and fry us some more eggs and bacon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And while the hostess proceeded to prepare the sack, Potts remarked to
+Nicholas, &quot;I have got another case of witchcraft, squire. Mary Baldwyn,
+the miller's daughter, of Rough Lee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Indeed!&quot; exclaimed Nicholas. &quot;What, is the poor girl bewitched?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Bewitched to death&mdash;that's all,&quot; said Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh&mdash;poor Meary! hoo's to be berried here this mornin,&quot; observed Bess,
+emptying the bottle of sherris into a pot, and placing the latter on the
+fire.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And you think she was forespoken?&quot; said Nicholas, addressing her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Folk sayn so,&quot; replied Bess; &quot;boh I'd leyther howd my tung about it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then I suppose you pay tribute to Mother Chattox, hostess?&quot; cried
+Potts,&mdash;&quot;butter, eggs, and milk from the farm, ale and wine from the
+cellar, with a flitch of bacon now and then, ey?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, by th' maskins! ey gi' her nowt,&quot; cried Bess.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then you bribe Mother Demdike, and that comes to the same thing,&quot; said
+Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel, yo're neaw so fur fro' t' mark this time,&quot; replied Bess, adding
+eggs, sugar, and spice to the now boiling wine, and stirring up the
+compound.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I wonder where your brother, the reeve of the forest, can be, Master
+Potts!&quot; observed Nicholas. &quot;I did not see either him or his horse at the
+stables.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Perhaps the arch impostor has taken himself off altogether,&quot; said
+Potts; &quot;and if so, I shall be sorry, for I have not done with him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The sack was now set before them, and pronounced excellent, and while
+they were engaged in discussing it, together with a fresh supply of eggs
+and bacon, fried by the kitchen wench, Roger Nowell came out of the
+inner room, accompanied by Richard and the chirurgeon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, Master Sudall, how goes on your patient?&quot; inquired Nicholas of
+the latter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Much more favourably than I expected, squire,&quot; replied the chirurgeon.
+&quot;He will be better left alone for awhile, and, as I shall not quit the
+village till evening, I shall be able to look well after him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You think the attack occasioned by witchcraft of course, sir?&quot; said
+Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The poor fellow affirms it to be so, but I can give no opinion,&quot;
+replied Sudall, evasively.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You must make up your mind as to the matter, for I think it right to
+tell you your evidence will be required,&quot; said Potts. &quot;Perhaps, you may
+have seen poor Mary Baldwyn, the miller's daughter of Rough Lee, and can
+speak more positively as to her case.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I can, sir,&quot; replied the chirurgeon, seating himself beside Potts,
+while Roger Nowell and Richard placed themselves on the opposite side of
+the table. &quot;This is the case I referred to a short time ago, when
+answering your inquiries on the same subject, Master Richard, and a most
+afflicting one it is. But you shall have the particulars. Six months
+ago, Mary Baldwyn was as lovely and blooming a lass as could be seen,
+the joy of her widowed father's heart. A hot-headed, obstinate man is
+Richard Baldwyn, and he was unwise enough to incur the displeasure of
+Mother Demdike, by favouring her rival, old Chattox, to whom he gave
+flour and meal, while he refused the same tribute to the other. The
+first time Mother Demdike was dismissed without the customary dole, one
+of his millstones broke, and, instead of taking this as a warning, he
+became more obstinate. She came a second time, and he sent her away with
+curses. Then all his flour grew damp and musty, and no one would buy it.
+Still he remained obstinate, and, when she appeared again, he would have
+laid hands upon her. But she raised her staff, and the blows fell short.
+'I have given thee two warnings, Richard,' she said, 'and thou hast paid
+no heed to them. Now I will make thee smart, lad, in right earnest. That
+which thou lovest best thou shalt lose.' Upon this, bethinking him that
+the dearest thing he had in the world was his daughter Mary, and afraid
+of harm happening to her, Richard would fain have made up his quarrel
+with the old witch; but it had now gone too far, and she would not
+listen to him, but uttering some words, with which the name of the girl
+was mingled, shook her staff at the house and departed. The next day
+poor Mary was taken ill, and her father, in despair, applied to old
+Chattox, who promised him help, and did her best, I make no doubt&mdash;for
+she would have willingly thwarted her rival, and robbed her of her prey;
+but the latter was too strong for her, and the hapless victim got daily
+worse and worse. Her blooming cheek grew white and hollow, her dark eyes
+glistened with unnatural lustre, and she was seen no more on the banks
+of Pendle water. Before this my aid had been called in by the afflicted
+father&mdash;and I did all I could&mdash;but I knew she would die&mdash;and I told him
+so. The information I feared had killed him, for he fell down like a
+stone&mdash;and I repented having spoken. However he recovered, and made a
+last appeal to Mother Demdike; but the unrelenting hag derided him and
+cursed him, telling him if he brought her all his mill contained, and
+added to that all his substance, she would not spare his child. He
+returned heart-broken, and never quitted the poor girl's bedside till
+she breathed her last.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Poor Ruchot! Robb'd o' his ownly dowter&mdash;an neaw woife to cheer him! Ey
+pity him fro' t' bottom o' my heart,&quot; said Bess, whose tears had flowed
+freely during the narration.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He is wellnigh crazed with grief,&quot; said the chirurgeon. &quot;I hope he will
+commit no rash act.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Expressions of deep commiseration for the untimely death of the miller's
+daughter had been uttered by all the party, and they were talking over
+the strange circumstances attending it, when they were roused by the
+trampling of horses' feet at the door, and the moment after, a
+middle-aged man, clad in deep mourning, but put on in a manner that
+betrayed the disorder of his mind, entered the house. His looks were
+wild and frenzied, his cheeks haggard, and he rushed into the room so
+abruptly that he did not at first observe the company assembled.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why, Richard Baldwyn, is that you?&quot; cried the chirurgeon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What! is this the father?&quot; exclaimed Potts, taking out his
+memorandum-book; &quot;I must prepare to interrogate him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Sit thee down, Ruchot,&mdash;sit thee down, mon,&quot; said Bess, taking his hand
+kindly, and leading him to a bench. &quot;Con ey get thee onny thing?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neaw&mdash;neaw, Bess,&quot; replied the miller; &quot;ey ha lost aw ey vallied i'
+this warlt, an ey care na how soon ey quit it mysel.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neigh, dunna talk on thus, Ruchot,&quot; said Bess, in accents of sincere
+sympathy. &quot;Theaw win live to see happier an brighter days.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey win live to be revenged, Bess,&quot; cried the miller, rising suddenly,
+and stamping his foot on the ground,&mdash;&quot;that accursed witch has robbed me
+o' my' eart's chief treasure&mdash;hoo has crushed a poor innocent os never
+injured her i' thowt or deed&mdash;an has struck the heaviest blow that could
+be dealt me; but by the heaven above us ey win requite her! A feyther's
+deep an lasting curse leet on her guilty heoad, an on those of aw her
+accursed race. Nah rest, neet nor day, win ey know, till ey ha brought
+em to the stake.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Right&mdash;right&mdash;my good friend&mdash;an excellent resolution&mdash;bring them to
+the stake!&quot; cried Potts.</p>
+
+<p>But his enthusiasm was suddenly checked by observing the reeve of the
+forest peeping from behind the wainscot, and earnestly regarding the
+miller, and he called the attention of the latter to him.</p>
+
+<p>Richard Baldwyn mechanically followed the expressive gestures of the
+attorney,&mdash;but he saw no one, for the reeve had disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>The incident passed unnoticed by the others, who had been, too deeply
+moved by poor Baldwyn's outburst of grief to pay attention to it.</p>
+
+<p>After a little while Bess Whitaker succeeded in prevailing upon the
+miller to sit down, and when he became more composed he told her that
+the funeral procession, consisting of some of his neighbours who had
+undertaken to attend his ill-fated daughter to her last home, was coming
+from Rough Lee to Goldshaw, but that, unable to bear them company, he
+had ridden on by himself. It appeared also, from his muttered threats,
+that he had meditated some wild project of vengeance against Mother
+Demdike, which he intended to put into execution, before the day was
+over; but Master Potts endeavoured to dissuade him from this course,
+assuring him that the most certain and efficacious mode of revenge he
+could adopt would be through the medium of the law, and that he would
+give him his best advice and assistance in the matter. While they were
+talking thus, the bell began to toll, and every stroke seemed to vibrate
+through the heart of the afflicted father, who was at last so
+overpowered by grief, that the hostess deemed it expedient to lead him
+into an inner room, where he might indulge his sorrow unobserved.</p>
+
+<p>Without awaiting the issue of this painful scene, Richard, who was much
+affected by it, went forth, and taking his horse from the stable, with
+the intention of riding on slowly before the others, led the animal
+towards the churchyard. When within a short distance of the grey old
+fabric he paused. The bell continued to toll mournfully, and deepened
+the melancholy hue of his thoughts. The sad tale he had heard held
+possession of his mind, and while he pitied poor Mary Baldwyn, he began
+to entertain apprehensions that Alizon might meet a similar fate. So
+many strange circumstances had taken place during the morning's ride; he
+had listened to so many dismal relations, that, coupled with the dark
+and mysterious events of the previous night, he was quite bewildered,
+and felt oppressed as if by a hideous nightmare, which it was impossible
+to shake off. He thought of Mothers Demdike and Chattox. Could these
+dread beings be permitted to exercise such baneful influence over
+mankind? With all the apparent proofs of their power he had received, he
+still strove to doubt, and to persuade himself that the various cases of
+witchcraft described to him were only held to be such by the timid and
+the credulous.</p>
+
+<p>Full of these meditations, he tied his horse to a tree and entered the
+churchyard, and while pursuing a path shaded by a row of young
+lime-trees leading to the porch, he perceived at a little distance from
+him, near the cross erected by Abbot Cliderhow, two persons who
+attracted his attention. One was the sexton, who was now deep in the
+grave; and the other an old woman, with her back towards him. Neither
+had remarked his approach, and, influenced by an unaccountable feeling
+of curiosity, he stood still to watch their proceedings. Presently, the
+sexton, who was shovelling out the mould, paused in his task; and the
+old woman, in a hoarse voice, which seemed familiar to the listener,
+said, &quot;What hast found, Zachariah?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="figcenter"><a name="ILLUS_9" id="ILLUS_9" href="./images/illus09_lg.jpg"><img src="./images/illus09_sm.jpg"
+alt="Illustration: RICHARD OVERHEARS THE MOTHER CHATTOX AND THE SEXTON."
+title="RICHARD OVERHEARS THE MOTHER CHATTOX AND THE SEXTON." /></a></p>
+<p class="figcenter"><span class="smcap">Richard Overhears the Mother Chattox and the Sexton.</span></p>
+
+<p>&quot;That which yo lack, mother,&quot; replied the sexton, &quot;a mazzard wi' aw th'
+teeth in't.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Pluck out eight, and give them me,&quot; replied the hag.</p>
+
+<p>And, as the sexton complied with her injunction, she added, &quot;Now I must
+have three scalps.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Here they be, mother,&quot; replied Zachariah, uncovering a heap of mould
+with his spade. &quot;Two brain-pans bleached loike snow, an the third wi'
+more hewr on it than ey ha' o' my own sconce. Fro' its size an shape ey
+should tak it to be a female. Ey ha' laid these three skulls aside fo'
+ye. Whot dun yo mean to do wi' 'em?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Question me not, Zachariah,&quot; said the hag, sternly; &quot;now give me some
+pieces of the mouldering coffin, and fill this box with the dust of the
+corpse it contained.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The sexton complied with her request.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Now yo ha' getten aw yo seek, mother,&quot; he said, &quot;ey wad pray you to tay
+your departure, fo' the berrin folk win be here presently.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I'm going,&quot; replied the hag, &quot;but first I must have my funeral rites
+performed&mdash;ha! ha! Bury this for me, Zachariah,&quot; she said, giving him a
+small clay figure. &quot;Bury it deep, and as it moulders away, may she it
+represents pine and wither, till she come to the grave likewise!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;An whoam doth it represent, mother?&quot; asked the sexton, regarding the
+image with curiosity. &quot;Ey dunna knoa the feace?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How should you know it, fool, since you have never seen her in whose
+likeness it is made?&quot; replied the hag. &quot;She is connected with the race I
+hate.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Wi' the Demdikes?&quot; inquired the sexton.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay,&quot; replied the hag, &quot;with the Demdikes. She passes for one of
+them&mdash;but she is not of them. Nevertheless, I hate her as though she
+were.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo dunna mean Alizon Device?&quot; said the sexton. &quot;Ey ha' heerd say hoo be
+varry comely an kind-hearted, an ey should be sorry onny harm befell
+her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Mary Baldwyn, who will soon lie there, was quite as comely and
+kind-hearted as Alizon,&quot; cried the hag, &quot;and yet Mother Demdike had no
+pity on her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;An that's true,&quot; replied the sexton. &quot;Weel, weel; ey'n do your
+bidding.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hold!&quot; exclaimed Richard, stepping forward. &quot;I will not suffer this
+abomination to be practised.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who is it speaks to me?&quot; cried the hag, turning round, and disclosing
+the hideous countenance of Mother Chattox. &quot;The voice is that of Richard
+Assheton.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is Richard Assheton who speaks,&quot; cried the young man, &quot;and I command
+you to desist from this wickedness. Give me that clay image,&quot; he cried,
+snatching it from the sexton, and trampling it to dust beneath his feet.
+&quot;Thus I destroy thy impious handiwork, and defeat thy evil intentions.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah! think'st thou so, lad,&quot; rejoined Mother Chattox. &quot;Thou wilt find
+thyself mistaken. My curse has already alighted upon thee, and it shall
+work. Thou lov'st Alizon.&mdash;I know it. But she shall never be thine. Now,
+go thy ways.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will go,&quot; replied Richard&mdash;&quot;but you shall come with me, old woman.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Dare you lay hands on me?&quot; screamed the hag.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, let her be, mester,&quot; interposed the sexton, &quot;yo had better.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are as bad as she is,&quot; said Richard, &quot;and deserve equal punishment.
+You escaped yesterday at Whalley, old woman, but you shall not escape me
+now.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Be not too sure of that,&quot; cried the hag, disabling him for the moment,
+by a severe blow on the arm from her staff. And shuffling off with an
+agility which could scarcely have been expected from her, she passed
+through a gate near her, and disappeared behind a high wall.</p>
+
+<p>Richard would have followed, but he was detained by the sexton, who
+besought him, as he valued his life, not to interfere, and when at last
+he broke away from the old man, he could see nothing of her, and only
+heard the sound of horses' feet in the distance. Either his eyes
+deceived him, or at a turn in the woody lane skirting the church he
+descried the reeve of the forest galloping off with the old woman behind
+him. This lane led towards Rough Lee, and, without a moment's
+hesitation, Richard flew to the spot where he had left his horse, and,
+mounting him, rode swiftly along it.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI_THE_TEMPTATION" id="CHAPTER_VI_THE_TEMPTATION" />CHAPTER VI.&mdash;THE TEMPTATION.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Shortly after Richard's departure, a round, rosy-faced personage, whose
+rusty black cassock, hastily huddled over a dark riding-dress,
+proclaimed him a churchman, entered the hostel. This was the rector of
+Goldshaw, Parson Holden, a very worthy little man, though rather,
+perhaps, too fond of the sports of the field and the bottle. To Roger
+Nowell and Nicholas Assheton he was of course well known, and was much
+esteemed by the latter, often riding over to hunt and fish, or carouse,
+at Downham. Parson Holden had been sent for by Bess to administer
+spiritual consolation to poor Richard Baldwyn, who she thought stood in
+need of it, and having respectfully saluted the magistrate, of whom he
+stood somewhat in awe, and shaken hands cordially with Nicholas, who was
+delighted to see him, he repaired to the inner room, promising to come
+back speedily. And he kept his word; for in less than five minutes he
+reappeared with the satisfactory intelligence that the afflicted miller
+was considerably calmer, and had listened to his counsels with much
+edification.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Take him a glass of aquavit&aelig;, Bess,&quot; he said to the hostess. &quot;He is
+evidently a cup too low, and will be the better for it. Strong water is
+a specific I always recommend under such circumstances, Master Sudall,
+and indeed adopt myself, and I am sure you will approve of it.&mdash;Harkee,
+Bess, when you have ministered to poor Baldwyn's wants, I must crave
+your attention to my own, and beg you to fill me a tankard with your
+oldest ale, and toast me an oatcake to eat with it.&mdash;I must keep up my
+spirits, worthy sir,&quot; he added to Roger Nowell, &quot;for I have a painful
+duty to perform. I do not know when I have been more shocked than by the
+death of poor Mary Baldwyn. A fair flower, and early nipped.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nipped, indeed, if all we have heard be correct,&quot; rejoined Newell. &quot;The
+forest is in a sad state, reverend sir. It would seem as if the enemy of
+mankind, by means of his abominable agents, were permitted to exercise
+uncontrolled dominion over it. I must needs say, the forlorn condition
+of the people reflects little credit on those who have them in charge.
+The powers of darkness could never have prevailed to such an extent if
+duly resisted.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I lament to hear you say so, good Master Nowell,&quot; replied the rector.
+&quot;I have done my best, I assure you, to keep my small and
+widely-scattered flock together, and to save them from the ravening
+wolves and cunning foxes that infest the country; and if now and then
+some sheep have gone astray, or a poor lamb, as in the instance of Mary
+Baldwyn, hath fallen a victim, I am scarcely to blame for the mischance.
+Rather let me say, sir, that you, as an active and zealous magistrate,
+should take the matter in hand, and by severe dealing with the
+offenders, arrest the progress of the evil. No defence, spiritual or
+otherwise, as yet set up against them, has proved effectual.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Justly remarked, reverend sir,&quot; observed Potts, looking up from the
+memorandum book in which he was writing, &quot;and I am sure your advice will
+not be lost upon Master Roger Nowell. As regards the persons who may be
+afflicted by witchcraft, hath not our sagacious monarch observed, that
+'There are three kind of folks who may be tempted or troubled: the
+wicked for their horrible sins, to punish them in the like measure; the
+godly that are sleeping in any great sins or infirmities, and weakness
+in faith, to waken them up the faster by such an uncouth form; and even
+some of the best, that their patience may be tried before the world as
+Job's was tried. For why may not God use any kind of extraordinary
+punishment, when it pleases Him, as well as the ordinary rods of
+sickness, or other adversities?'&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Very true, sir,&quot; replied Holden. &quot;And we are undergoing this severe
+trial now. Fortunate are they who profit by it!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hear what is said further, sir, by the king,&quot; pursued Potts. &quot;'No
+man,' declares that wise prince, 'ought to presume so far as to promise
+any impunity to himself.' But further on he gives us courage, for he
+adds, 'and yet we ought not to be afraid for that, of any thing that the
+devil and his wicked instruments can do against us, for we daily fight
+against him in a hundred other ways, and therefore as a valiant captain
+affrays no more being at the combat, nor stays from his purpose for the
+rummishing shot of a cannon, nor the small clack of a pistolet; not
+being certain what may light on him; even so ought we boldly to go
+forward in fighting against the devil without any greater terror, for
+these his rarest weapons, than the ordinary, whereof we have daily the
+proof.'&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;His majesty is quite right,&quot; observed Holden, &quot;and I am glad to hear
+his convincing words so judiciously cited. I myself have no fear of
+these wicked instruments of Satan.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;In what manner, may I ask, have you proved your courage, sir?&quot; inquired
+Roger Nowell. &quot;Have you preached against them, and denounced their
+wickedness, menacing them with the thunders of the Church?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I cannot say I have,&quot; replied Holden, rather abashed, &quot;but I shall
+henceforth adopt a very different course.&mdash;Ah! here comes the ale!&quot; he
+added, taking the foaming tankard from Bess; &quot;this is the best cordial
+wherewith to sustain one's courage in these trying times.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Some remedy must be found for this intolerable grievance,&quot; observed
+Roger Nowell, after a few moments' reflection. &quot;Till this morning I was
+not aware of the extent of the evil, but supposed that the two malignant
+hags, who seem to reign supreme here, confined their operations to
+blighting corn, maiming cattle, turning milk sour; and even these
+reports I fancied were greatly exaggerated; but I now find, from what I
+have seen at Sabden and elsewhere, that they fall very far short of the
+reality.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It would be difficult to increase the darkness of the picture,&quot; said
+the chirurgeon; &quot;but what remedy will you apply?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The cautery, sir,&quot; replied Potts,&mdash;&quot;the actual cautery&mdash;we will burn
+out this plague-spot. The two old hags and their noxious brood shall be
+brought to the stake. That will effect a radical cure.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It may when it is accomplished, but I fear it will be long ere that
+happens,&quot; replied the chirurgeon, shaking his head doubtfully. &quot;Are you
+acquainted with Mother Demdike's history, sir?&quot; he added to Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;In part,&quot; replied the attorney; &quot;but I shall be glad to hear any thing
+you may have to bring forward on the subject.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The peculiarity in her case,&quot; observed Sudall, &quot;and the circumstance
+distinguishing her dark and dread career from that of all other witches
+is, that it has been shaped out by destiny. When an infant, a
+malediction was pronounced upon her head by the unfortunate Abbot
+Paslew. She is also the offspring of a man reputed to have bartered his
+soul to the Enemy of Mankind, while her mother was a witch. Both parents
+perished lamentably, about the time of Paslew's execution at Whalley.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is a pity their miserable infant did not perish with them,&quot; observed
+Holden. &quot;How much crime and misery would have been spared!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It was otherwise ordained,&quot; replied Sudall. &quot;Bereft of her parents in
+this way, the infant was taken charge of and reared by Dame Croft, the
+miller's wife of Whalley; but even in those early days she exhibited
+such a malicious and vindictive disposition, and became so unmanageable,
+that the good dame was glad to get rid of her, and sent her into the
+forest, where she found a home at Rough Lee, then occupied by Miles
+Nutter, the grandfather of the late Richard Nutter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Aha!&quot; exclaimed Potts, &quot;was Mother Demdike so early connected with that
+family? I must make a note of that circumstance.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She remained at Rough Lee for some years,&quot; returned Sudall, &quot;and though
+accounted of an ill disposition, there was nothing to be alleged against
+her at the time; though afterwards, it was said, that some mishaps that
+befell the neighbours were owing to her agency, and that she was always
+attended by a familiar in the form of a rat or a mole. Whether this were
+so or not, I cannot say; but it is certain that she helped Miles Nutter
+to get rid of his wife, and procured him a second spouse, in return for
+which services he bestowed upon her an old ruined tower on his domains.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You mean Malkin Tower?&quot; said Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, Malkin Tower,&quot; replied the chirurgeon. &quot;There is a legend connected
+with that structure, which I will relate to you anon, if you desire it.
+But to proceed. Scarcely had Bess Demdike taken up her abode in this
+lone tower, than it began to be rumoured that she was a witch, and
+attended sabbaths on the summit of Pendle Hill, and on Rimington Moor.
+Few would consort with her, and ill-luck invariably attended those with
+whom she quarrelled. Though of hideous and forbidding aspect, and with
+one eye lower set than the other, she had subtlety enough to induce a
+young man named Sothernes to marry her, and two children, a son and a
+daughter, were the fruit of the union.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The daughter I have seen at Whalley,&quot; observed Potts; &quot;but I have never
+encountered the son.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Christopher Demdike still lives, I believe,&quot; replied the chirurgeon,
+&quot;though what has become of him I know not, for he has quitted these
+parts. He is as ill-reputed as his mother, and has the same strange and
+fearful look about the eyes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I shall recognise him if I see him,&quot; observed Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are scarcely likely to meet him,&quot; returned Sudall, &quot;for, as I have
+said, he has left the forest. But to return to my story. The marriage
+state was little suitable to Bess Demdike, and in five years she
+contrived to free herself from her husband's restraint, and ruled alone
+in the tower. Her malignant influence now began to be felt throughout
+the whole district, and by dint of menaces and positive acts of
+mischief, she extorted all she required. Whosoever refused her requests
+speedily experienced her resentment. When she was in the fulness of her
+power, a rival sprang up in the person of Anne Whittle, since known by
+the name of Chattox, which she obtained in marriage, and this woman
+disputed Bess Demdike's supremacy. Each strove to injure the adherents
+of her rival&mdash;and terrible was the mischief they wrought. In the end,
+however, Mother Demdike got the upper hand. Years have flown over the
+old hag's head, and her guilty career has been hitherto attended with
+impunity. Plans have been formed to bring her to justice, but they have
+ever failed. And so in the case of old Chattox. Her career has been as
+baneful and as successful as that of Mother Demdike.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But their course is wellnigh run,&quot; said Potts, &quot;and the time is come
+for the extirpation of the old serpents.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah! who is that at the window?&quot; cried Sudall; &quot;but that you are sitting
+near me, I should declare you were looking in at us.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It must be Master Potts's brother, the reeve of the forest,&quot; observed
+Nicholas, with a laugh.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heed him not,&quot; cried the attorney, angrily, &quot;but let us have the
+promised legend of Malkin Tower.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Willingly!&quot; replied the chirurgeon. &quot;But before I begin I must recruit
+myself with a can of ale.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The flagon being set before him, Sudall commenced his story:</p>
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+<h3>The Legend of Malkin Tower.</h3>
+
+<p><a class="blockquot">&quot;On the brow of a high hill forming part of the range of
+Pendle, and commanding an extensive view over the forest, and
+the wild and mountainous region around it, stands a stern
+solitary tower. Old as the Anglo-Saxons, and built as a
+stronghold by Wulstan, a Northumbrian thane, in the time of
+Edmund or Edred, it is circular in form and very lofty, and
+serves as a landmark to the country round. Placed high up in
+the building the door was formerly reached by a steep flight
+of stone steps, but these were removed some fifty or sixty
+years ago by Mother Demdike, and a ladder capable of being
+raised or let down at pleasure substituted for them,
+affording the only apparent means of entrance. The tower is
+otherwise inaccessible, the walls being of immense thickness,
+with no window lower than five-and-twenty feet from the
+ground, though it is thought there must be a secret outlet;
+for the old witch, when she wants to come forth, does not
+wait for the ladder to be let down. But this may be otherwise
+explained. Internally there are three floors, the lowest
+being placed on a level with the door, and this is the
+apartment chiefly occupied by the hag. In the centre of this
+room is a trapdoor opening upon a deep vault, which forms the
+basement story of the structure, and which was once used as a
+dungeon, but is now tenanted, it is said, by a fiend, who can
+be summoned by the witch on stamping her foot. Round the room
+runs a gallery contrived in the thickness of the walls, while
+the upper chambers are gained by a secret staircase, and
+closed by movable stones, the machinery of which is only
+known to the inmate of the tower. All the rooms are lighted
+by narrow loopholes. Thus you will see that the fortress is
+still capable of sustaining a siege, and old Demdike has been
+heard to declare that she would hold it for a month against a
+hundred men. Hitherto it has proved impregnable.</a></p>
+
+<p><a class="blockquot">&quot;On the Norman invasion, Malkin Tower was held by Ughtred, a
+descendant of Wulstan, who kept possession of Pendle Forest
+and the hills around it, and successfully resisted the
+aggressions of the conquerors. His enemies affirmed he was
+assisted by a demon, whom he had propitiated by some fearful
+sacrifice made in the tower, and the notion seemed borne out
+by the success uniformly attending his conflicts. Ughtred's
+prowess was stained by cruelty and rapine. Merciless in the
+treatment of his captives, putting them to death by horrible
+tortures, or immuring them in the dark and noisome dungeon of
+his tower, he would hold his revels over their heads, and
+deride their groans. Heaps of treasure, obtained by pillage,
+were secured by him in the tower. From his frequent acts of
+treachery, and the many foul murders he perpetrated, Ughtred
+was styled the 'Scourge of the Normans.' For a long period he
+enjoyed complete immunity from punishment; but after the
+siege of York, and the defeat of the insurgents, his
+destruction was vowed by Ilbert de Lacy, lord of
+Blackburnshire, and this fierce chieftain set fire to part of
+the forest in which the Saxon thane and his followers were
+concealed; drove them to Malkin Tower; took it after an
+obstinate and prolonged defence, and considerable loss to
+himself, and put them all to the sword, except the leader,
+whom he hanged from the top of his own fortress. In the
+dungeon were found many carcasses, and the greater part of
+Ughtred's treasure served to enrich the victor.</a></p>
+
+<p><a class="blockquot">&quot;Once again, in the reign of Henry VI., Malkin Tower became a
+robber's stronghold, and gave protection to a freebooter
+named Blackburn, who, with a band of daring and desperate
+marauders, took advantage of the troubled state of the
+country, ravaged it far and wide, and committed unheard of
+atrocities, even levying contributions upon the Abbeys of
+Whalley and Salley, and the heads of these religious
+establishments were glad to make terms with him to save their
+herds and stores, the rather that all attempts to dislodge
+him from his mountain fastness, and destroy his band, had
+failed. Blackburn seemed to enjoy the same kind of protection
+as Ughtred, and practised the same atrocities, torturing and
+imprisoning his captives unless they were heavily ransomed.
+He also led a life of wildest licence, and, when not engaged
+in some predatory exploit, spent his time in carousing with
+his followers.</a></p>
+
+<p><a class="blockquot">&quot;Upon one occasion it chanced that he made a visit in
+disguise to Whalley Abbey, and, passing the little hermitage
+near the church, beheld the votaress who tenanted it. This
+was Isole de Heton. Ravished by her wondrous beauty,
+Blackburn soon found an opportunity of making his passion
+known to her, and his handsome though fierce lineaments
+pleasing her, he did not long sigh in vain. He frequently
+visited her in the garb of a Cistertian monk, and, being
+taken for one of the brethren, his conduct brought great
+scandal upon the Abbey. The abandoned votaress bore him a
+daughter, and the infant was conveyed away by the lover, and
+placed under the care of a peasant's wife, at Barrowford.
+From that child sprung Bess Blackburn, the mother of old
+Demdike; so that the witch is a direct descendant of Isole de
+Heton.</a></p>
+
+<p><a class="blockquot">&quot;Notwithstanding all precautions, Isole's dark offence became
+known, and she would have paid the penalty of it at the
+stake, if she had not fled. In scaling Whalley Nab, in the
+woody heights of which she was to remain concealed till her
+lover could come to her, she fell from a rock, shattering her
+limbs, and disfiguring her features. Some say she was lamed
+for life, and became as hideous as she had heretofore been
+lovely; but this is erroneous, for apprehensive of such a
+result, attended by the loss of her lover, she invoked the
+powers of darkness, and proffered her soul in return for five
+years of unimpaired beauty.</a></p>
+
+<p><a class="blockquot">&quot;The compact was made, and when Blackburn came he found her
+more beautiful than ever. Enraptured, he conveyed her to
+Malkin Tower, and lived with her there in security, laughing
+to scorn the menaces of Abbot Eccles, by whom he was
+excommunicated.</a></p>
+
+<p><a class="blockquot">&quot;Time went on, and as Isole's charms underwent no change, her
+lover's ardour continued unabated. Five years passed in
+guilty pleasures, and the last day of the allotted term
+arrived. No change was manifest in Isole's demeanour; neither
+remorse nor fear were exhibited by her. Never had she
+appeared more lovely, never in higher or more exuberant
+spirits. She besought her lover, who was still madly
+intoxicated by her infernal charms, to give a banquet that
+night to ten of his trustiest followers. He willingly
+assented, and bade them to the feast. They ate and drank
+merrily, and the gayest of the company was the lovely Isole.
+Her spirits seemed somewhat too wild even to Blackburn, but
+he did not check her, though surprised at the excessive
+liveliness and freedom of her sallies. Her eyes flashed like
+fire, and there was not a man present but was madly in love
+with her, and ready to dispute for her smiles with his
+captain.</a></p>
+
+<p><a class="blockquot">&quot;The wine flowed freely, and song and jest went on till
+midnight. When the hour struck, Isole filled a cup to the
+brim, and called upon them to pledge her. All arose, and
+drained their goblets enthusiastically. 'It was a farewell
+cup,' she said; 'I am going away with one of you.' 'How!'
+exclaimed Blackburn, in angry surprise. 'Let any one but
+touch your hand, and I will strike him dead at my feet.' The
+rest of the company regarded each other with surprise, and it
+was then discovered that a stranger was amongst them; a tall
+dark man, whose looks were so terrible and demoniacal that no
+one dared lay hands upon him. 'I am come,' he said, with
+fearful significance, to Isole. 'And I am ready,' she
+answered boldly. 'I will go with you were it to the
+bottomless pit,' cried Blackburn catching hold of her. 'It is
+thither I am going,' she answered with a scream of laughter.
+'I shall be glad of a companion.'</a></p>
+
+<p><a class="blockquot">&quot;When the paroxysm of laughter was over, she fell down on the
+floor. Her lover would have raised her, when what was his
+horror to find that he held in his arms an old woman, with
+frightfully disfigured features, and evidently in the agonies
+of death. She fixed one look upon him and expired.</a></p>
+
+<p><a class="blockquot">&quot;Terrified by the occurrence the guests hurried away, and
+when they returned next day, they found Blackburn stretched
+on the floor, and quite dead. They cast his body, together
+with that of the wretched Isole, into the vault beneath the
+room where they were lying, and then, taking possession of
+his treasure, removed to some other retreat.</a></p>
+
+<p><a class="blockquot">&quot;Thenceforth, Malkin Tower became haunted. Though wholly
+deserted, lights were constantly seen shining from it at
+night, and sounds of wild revelry, succeeded by shrieks and
+groans, issued from it. The figure of Isole was often seen to
+come forth, and flit across the wastes in the direction of
+Whalley Abbey. On stormy nights a huge black cat, with
+flaming eyes, was frequently descried on the summit of the
+structure, whence it obtained its name of Grimalkin, or
+Malkin Tower. The ill-omened pile ultimately came into the
+possession of the Nutter family, but it was never tenanted,
+until assigned, as I have already mentioned, to Mother
+Demdike.&quot;</a></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>The chirurgeon's marvellous story was listened to with great attention
+by his auditors. Most of them were familiar with different versions of
+it; but to Master Potts it was altogether new, and he made rapid notes
+of it, questioning the narrator as to one or two points which appeared
+to him to require explanation. Nicholas, as may be supposed, was
+particularly interested in that part of the legend which referred to
+Isole de Heton. He now for the first time heard of her unhallowed
+intercourse with the freebooter Blackburn, of her compact on Whalley Nab
+with the fiend, of her mysterious connection with Malkin Tower, and of
+her being the ancestress of Mother Demdike. The consideration of all
+these points, coupled with a vivid recollection of his own strange
+adventure with the impious votaress at the Abbey on the previous night,
+plunged him into a deep train of thought, and he began seriously to
+consider whether he might not have committed some heinous sin, and,
+indeed, jeopardised his soul's welfare by dancing with her. &quot;What if I
+should share the same fate as the robber Blackburn,&quot; he ruminated, &quot;and
+be dragged to perdition by her? It is a very awful reflection. But
+though my fate might operate as a warning to others, I am by no means
+anxious to be held up as a moral scarecrow. Rather let me take warning
+myself, amend my life, abandon intemperance, which leads to all manner
+of wickedness, and suffer myself no more to be ensnared by the wiles and
+delusions of the tempter in the form of a fair woman. No&mdash;no&mdash;I will
+alter and amend my life.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>I regret, however, to say that these praiseworthy resolutions were but
+transient, and that the squire, quite forgetting that the work of
+reform, if intended to be really accomplished, ought to commence at
+once, and by no means be postponed till the morrow, yielded to the
+seductions of a fresh pottle of sack, which was presented to him at the
+moment by Bess, and in taking it could not help squeezing the hand of
+the bouncing hostess, and gazing at her more tenderly than became a
+married man. Oh! Nicholas&mdash;Nicholas&mdash;the work of reform, I am afraid,
+proceeds very slowly and imperfectly with you. Your friend, Parson.
+Dewhurst, would have told you that it is much easier to form good
+resolutions than to keep them.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving the squire, however, to his cogitations and his sack, the
+attorney to his memorandum-book, in which he was still engaged in
+writing, and the others to their talk, we shall proceed to the chamber
+whither the poor miller had been led by Bess. When visited by the
+rector, he had been apparently soothed by the worthy man's consolatory
+advice, but when left alone he speedily relapsed into his former dark
+and gloomy state of mind. He did not notice Bess, who, according to
+Holden's directions, placed the aquavit&aelig; bottle before him, but, as long
+as she stayed, remained with his face buried in his hands. As soon as
+she was gone he arose, and began to pace the room to and fro. The window
+was open, and he could hear the funeral bell tolling mournfully at
+intervals. Each recurrence of the dismal sound added sharpness and
+intensity to his grief. His sufferings became almost intolerable, and
+drove him to the very verge of despair and madness. If a weapon had
+been at hand, he might have seized it, and put a sudden period to his
+existence. His breast was a chaos of fierce and troubled thoughts, in
+which one black and terrible idea arose and overpowered all the rest. It
+was the desire of vengeance, deep and complete, upon her whom he looked
+upon as the murderess of his child. He cared not how it were
+accomplished so it were done; but such was the opinion he entertained of
+the old hag's power, that he doubted his ability to the task. Still, as
+the bell tolled on, the furies at his heart lashed and goaded him on,
+and yelled in his ear revenge&mdash;revenge! Now, indeed, he was crazed with
+grief and rage; he tore off handfuls of hair, plunged his nails deeply
+into his breast, and while committing these and other wild excesses,
+with frantic imprecations he called down Heaven's judgments on his own
+head. He was in that lost and helpless state when the enemy of mankind
+has power over man. Nor was the opportunity neglected; for when the
+wretched Baldwyn, who, exhausted by the violence of his motions, had
+leaned for a moment against the wall, he perceived to his surprise that
+there was a man in the room&mdash;a small personage attired in rusty black,
+whom he thought had been one of the party in the adjoining chamber.</p>
+
+<p>There was an expression of mockery about this person's countenance which
+did not please the miller, and he asked him, sternly, what he wanted.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Leave off grinnin, mon,&quot; he said, fiercely, &quot;or ey may be tempted to
+tay yo be t' throttle, an may yo laugh o't wrong side o' your mouth.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, no, you will not, Richard Baldwyn, when you know my errand,&quot;
+replied the man. &quot;You are thirsting for vengeance upon Mother Demdike.
+You shall have it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh, eigh, you promised me vengeance efore,&quot; cried the
+miller&mdash;&quot;vengeance by the law. Boh ey mun wait lung for it. Ey wad ha'
+it swift and sure&mdash;deep and deadly. Ey wad blast her wi' curses, os hoo
+blasted my poor Meary. Ey wad strike her deeod at my feet. That's my
+vengeance, mon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You shall have it,&quot; replied the other.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo talk differently fro' what yo did just now, mon,&quot; said the miller,
+regarding him narrowly and distrustfully. &quot;An yo look differently too.
+There's a queer glimmer abowt your een that ey didna notice efore, and
+that ey mislike.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The man laughed bitterly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Leave off grinnin' or begone,&quot; cried Baldwyn, furiously. And he raised
+his hand to strike the man, but he instantly dropped it, appalled by a
+look which the other threw at him. &quot;Who the dule are yo?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The dule must answer you, since you appeal to him,&quot; replied the other,
+with the same mocking smile; &quot;but you are mistaken in supposing that you
+have spoken to me before. He with whom you conversed in the other room,
+resembles me in more respects than one, but he does not possess power
+equal to mine. The law will not aid you against Mother Demdike. She will
+escape all the snares laid for her. But she will not escape <i>me</i>.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who are ye?&quot; cried the miller, his hair erecting on his head, and cold
+damps breaking out upon his brow. &quot;Yo are nah mortal, an nah good, to
+tawk i' this fashion.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heed not who and what I am,&quot; replied the other; &quot;I am known here as a
+reeve of the forest&mdash;that is enough. Would you have vengeance on the
+murtheress of your child?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh,&quot; rejoined Baldwyn.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And you are willing to pay for it at the price of your soul?&quot; demanded
+the other, advancing towards him.</p>
+
+<p>Baldwyn reeled. He saw at once the fearful peril in which he was placed,
+and averted his gaze from the scorching glance of the reeve.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment the door was tried without, and the voice of Bess was
+heard, saying, &quot;Who ha' yo got wi' yo, Ruchot; and whoy ha' yo fastened
+t' door?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your answer?&quot; demanded the reeve.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey canna gi' it now,&quot; replied the miller. &quot;Come in, Bess; come in.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey conna,&quot; she replied. &quot;Open t' door, mon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your answer, I say?&quot; said the reeve.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Gi' me an hour to think on't,&quot; said the miller.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Agreed,&quot; replied the other. &quot;I will be with you after the funeral.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And he sprang through the window, and disappeared before Baldwyn could
+open the door and admit Bess.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII_THE_PERAMBULATION_OF_THE_BOUNDARIES" id="CHAPTER_VII_THE_PERAMBULATION_OF_THE_BOUNDARIES" />CHAPTER VII.&mdash;THE PERAMBULATION OF THE BOUNDARIES.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The lane along which Richard Assheton galloped in pursuit of Mother
+Chattox, made so many turns, and was, moreover, so completely hemmed in
+by high banks and hedges, that he could sec nothing on either side of
+him, and very little in advance; but, guided by the clatter of hoofs, he
+urged Merlin to his utmost speed, fancying he should soon come up with
+the fugitives. In this, however, he was deceived. The sound that had led
+him on became fainter and fainter, till at last it died away altogether;
+and on quitting the lane and gaining the moor, where the view was wholly
+uninterrupted, no traces either of witch or reeve could be discerned.</p>
+
+<p>With a feeling of angry disappointment, Richard was about to turn back,
+when a large black greyhound came from out an adjoining clough, and
+made towards him. The singularity of the circumstance induced him to
+halt and regard the dog with attention. On nearing him, the animal
+looked wistfully in his face, and seemed to invite him to follow; and
+the young man was so struck by the dog's manner, that he complied, and
+had not gone far when a hare of unusual size and grey with age bounded
+from beneath a gorse-bush and speeded away, the greyhound starting in
+pursuit.</p>
+
+<p>Aware of the prevailing notion, that a witch most commonly assumed such
+a form when desirous of escaping, or performing some act of mischief,
+such as drying the milk of kine, Richard at once came to the conclusion
+that the hare could be no other than Mother Chattox; and without pausing
+to inquire what the hound could be, or why it should appear at such a
+singular and apparently fortunate juncture, he at once joined the run,
+and cheered on the dog with whoop and holloa.</p>
+
+<p>Old as it was, apparently, the hare ran with extraordinary swiftness,
+clearing every stone wall and other impediment in the way, and more than
+once cunningly doubling upon its pursuers. But every feint and stratagem
+were defeated by the fleet and sagacious hound, and the hunted animal at
+length took to the open waste, where the run became so rapid, that
+Richard had enough to do to keep up with it, though Merlin, almost as
+furiously excited as his master, strained every sinew to the task.</p>
+
+<p>In this way the chasers and the chased scoured the dark and heathy
+plain, skirting moss-pool and clearing dyke, till they almost reached
+the but-end of Pendle Hill, which rose like an impassable barrier before
+them. Hitherto the chances had seemed in favour of the hare; but they
+now began to turn, and as it seemed certain she must fall into the
+hound's jaws, Richard expected every moment to find her resume her
+natural form. The run having brought him within, a quarter of a mile of
+Barley, the rude hovels composing which little booth were clearly
+discernible, the young man began to think the hag's dwelling must he
+among them, and that she was hurrying thither as to a place of refuge.
+But before this could be accomplished, he hoped to effect her capture,
+and once more cheered on the hound, and plunged his spurs into Merlin's
+sides. An obstacle, however, occurred which he had not counted on.
+Directly in the course taken by the hare lay a deep, disused limestone
+quarry, completely screened from view by a fringe of brushwood. When
+within a few yards of this pit, the hound made a dash at the flying
+hare, but eluding him, the latter sprang forward, and both went over the
+edge of the quarry together. Richard had wellnigh followed, and in that
+case would have been inevitably dashed in pieces; but, discovering the
+danger ere it was too late, by a powerful effort, which threw Merlin
+upon his haunches, he pulled him back on the very brink of the pit.</p>
+
+<p>The young man shuddered as he gazed into the depths of the quarry, and
+saw the jagged points and heaps of broken stone that would have received
+him; but he looked in vain for the old witch, whose mangled body,
+together with that of the hound, he expected to behold; and he then
+asked himself whether the chase might not have been a snare set for him
+by the hag and her familiar, with the intent of luring him to
+destruction. If so, he had been providentially preserved.</p>
+
+<p>Quitting the pit, his first idea was to proceed to Barley, which was now
+only a few hundred yards off, to make inquiries respecting Mother
+Chattox, and ascertain whether she really dwelt there; but, on further
+consideration, he judged it best to return without further delay to
+Goldshaw, lest his friends, ignorant as to what had befallen him, might
+become alarmed on his account; but he resolved, as soon as he had
+disposed of the business in hand, to prosecute his search after the hag.
+Riding rapidly, he soon cleared the ground between the quarry and
+Goldshaw Lane, and was about to enter the latter, when the sound of
+voices singing a funeral hymn caught his ear, and, pausing to listen to
+it, he beheld a little procession, the meaning of which he readily
+comprehended, wending its slow and melancholy way in the same direction
+as himself. It was headed by four men in deep mourning, bearing upon
+their shoulders a small coffin, covered with a pall, and having a
+garland of white flowers in front of it. Behind them followed about a
+dozen young men and maidens, likewise in mourning, walking two and two,
+with gait and aspect of unfeigned affliction. Many of the women, though
+merely rustics, seemed to possess considerable personal attraction; but
+their features were in a great measure concealed by their large white
+kerchiefs, disposed in the form of hoods. All carried sprigs of rosemary
+and bunches of flowers in their hands. Plaintive was the hymn they sang,
+and their voices, though untaught, were sweet and touching, and went to
+the heart of the listener.</p>
+
+<p>Much moved, Richard suffered the funeral procession to precede him along
+the deep and devious lane, and as it winded beneath the hedges, the
+sight was inexpressibly affecting. Fastening his horse to a tree at the
+end of the lane, Richard followed on foot. Notice of the approach of the
+train having been given in the village, all the inhabitants flocked
+forth to meet it, and there was scarcely a dry eye among them. Arrived
+within a short distance of the church, the coffin was met by the
+minister, attended by the clerk, behind whom came Roger Nowell,
+Nicholas, and the rest of the company from the hostel. With great
+difficulty poor Baldwyn could be brought to take his place as chief
+mourner. These arrangements completed, the body of the ill-fated girl
+was borne into the churchyard, the minister reading the solemn texts
+appointed for the occasion, and leading the way to the grave, beside
+which stood the sexton, together with the beadle of Goldshaw and
+Sparshot. The coffin was then laid on trestles, and amidst profound
+silence, broken only by the sobs of the mourners, the service was read,
+and preparations made for lowering the body into the grave.</p>
+
+<p>Then it was that poor Baldwyn, with a wild, heart-piercing cry, flung
+himself upon the shell containing all that remained of his lost
+treasure, and could with difficulty be removed from it by Bess and
+Sudall, both of whom were in attendance. The bunches of flowers and
+sprigs of rosemary having been laid upon the coffin by the maidens,
+amidst loud sobbing and audibly expressed lamentations from the
+bystanders, it was let down into the grave, and earth thrown over it.</p>
+
+<p>Earth to earth; ashes to ashes; dust to dust.</p>
+
+<p>The ceremony was over, the mourners betook themselves to the little
+hostel, and the spectators slowly dispersed; but the bereaved father
+still lingered, unable to tear himself away. Leaning for support against
+the yew-tree, he fiercely bade Bess, who would have led him home with
+her, begone. The kind-hearted hostess complied in appearance, but
+remained nigh at hand though concealed from view.</p>
+
+<p>Once more the dark cloud overshadowed the spirit of the wretched
+man&mdash;once more the same infernal desire of vengeance possessed him&mdash;once
+more he subjected himself to temptation. Striding to the foot of the
+grave he raised his hand, and with terrible imprecations vowed to lay
+the murtheress of his child as low as she herself was now laid. At that
+moment he felt an eye like a burning-glass fixed upon him, and, looking
+up, beheld the reeve of the forest standing on the further side of the
+grave.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Kneel down, and swear to be mine, and your wish shall be gratified,&quot;
+said the reeve.</p>
+
+<p>Beside himself with grief and rage, Baldwyn would have complied, but he
+was arrested by a powerful grasp. Fearing he was about to commit some
+rash act, Bess rushed forward and caught hold of his doublet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Bethink thee whot theaw has just heerd fro' t' minister, Ruchot,&quot; she
+cried in a voice of solemn warning. &quot;'Blessed are the dead that dee i'
+the Lord, for they rest fro their labours.' An again, 'Suffer us not at
+our last hour, for onny pains o' death, to fa' fro thee.' Oh Ruchot,
+dear! fo' the love theaw hadst fo' thy poor chilt, who is now delivert
+fro' the burthen o' th' flesh, an' dwellin' i' joy an felicity wi' God
+an his angels, dunna endanger thy precious sowl. Pray that theaw may'st
+depart hence i' th' Lord, wi' whom are the sowls of the faithful, an
+Meary's, ey trust, among the number. Pray that thy eend may be like
+hers.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey conna pray, Bess,&quot; replied the miller, striking his breast. &quot;The
+Lord has turned his feace fro' me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Becose thy heart is hardened, Ruchot,&quot; she replied. &quot;Theaw 'rt
+nourishin' nowt boh black an wicked thowts. Cast em off ye, I adjure
+thee, an come whoam wi me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the reeve had sprung across the grave.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thy answer at once,&quot; he said, grasping the miller's arm, and breathing
+the words in his ears. &quot;Vengeance is in thy power. A word, and it is
+thine.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The miller groaned bitterly. He was sorely tempted.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What is that mon sayin' to thee, Ruchot?&quot; inquired Bess.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Dunna ax, boh tak me away,&quot; he answered. &quot;Ey am lost else.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Let him lay a finger on yo if he dare,&quot; said Bess, sturdily.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Leave him alone&mdash;yo dunna knoa who he is,&quot; whispered the miller.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey con partly guess,&quot; she rejoined; &quot;boh ey care nother fo' mon nor
+dule when ey'm acting reetly. Come along wi' me, Ruchot.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Fool!&quot; cried the reeve, in the same low tone as before; &quot;you will lose
+your revenge, but you will not escape me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And he turned away, while Bess almost carried the trembling and
+enfeebled miller towards the hostel.</p>
+
+<p>Roger Nowell and his friends had only waited the conclusion of the
+funeral to set forth, and their horses being in readiness, they mounted
+them on leaving the churchyard, and rode slowly along the lane leading
+towards Rough Lee. The melancholy scene they had witnessed, and the
+afflicting circumstances connected with it, had painfully affected the
+party, and little conversation occurred until they were overtaken by
+Parson Holden, who, having been made acquainted with their errand by
+Nicholas, was desirous of accompanying them. Soon after this, also, the
+reeve of the forest joined them, and on seeing him, Richard sternly
+demanded why he had aided Mother Chattox in her night from the
+churchyard, and what had become of her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are entirely mistaken, sir,&quot; replied the reeve, with affected
+astonishment. &quot;I have seen nothing whatever of the old hag, and would
+rather lend a hand to her capture than abet her flight. I hold all
+witches in abhorrence, and Mother Chattox especially so.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your horse looks fresh enough, certainly,&quot; said Richard, somewhat
+shaken in his suspicions. &quot;Where have you been during our stay at
+Goldshaw? You did not put up at the hostel?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I went to Farmer Johnson's,&quot; replied the reeve, &quot;and you will find upon
+inquiry that my horse has not been out of his stables for the last hour.
+I myself have been loitering about Bess's grange and farmyard, as your
+grooms will testify, for they have seen me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Humph!&quot; exclaimed Richard, &quot;I suppose I must credit assertions made
+with such confidence, but I could have sworn I saw you ride off with the
+hag behind you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I hope I shall never be caught in such bad company, sir,&quot; replied the
+reeve, with a laugh. &quot;If I ride off with any one, it shall not be with
+an old witch, depend upon it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Though by no means satisfied with the explanation, Richard was forced to
+be content with it; but he thought he would address a few more questions
+to the reeve.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Have you any knowledge,&quot; he said, &quot;when the boundaries of Pendle Forest
+were first settled and appointed?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The first perambulation was made by Henry de Lacy, about the middle of
+the twelfth century,&quot; replied the reeve. &quot;Pendle Forest, you may be
+aware, sir, is one of the four divisions of the great forest of
+Blackburnshire, of which the Lacys were lords, the three other divisions
+being Accrington, Trawden, and Rossendale, and it comprehends an extent
+of about twenty-five miles, part of which you have traversed to-day. At
+a later period, namely in 1311, after the death of another Henry de
+Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, the last of his line, and one of the bravest of
+Edward the First's barons, an inquisition was held in the forest, and it
+was subdivided into eleven vaccaries, one of which is the place to which
+you are bound, Rough Lee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The learned Sir Edward Coke defines a vaccary to signify a dairy,&quot;
+observed Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Here it means the farm and land as well,&quot; replied the reeve; &quot;and the
+word 'booth,' which is in general use in this district, signifies the
+mansion erected upon such vaccary: Mistress Nutter's residence, for
+instance, being nothing more than the booth of Rough Lee: while a
+'lawnd,' another local term, is a park inclosed within the forest for
+the preservation of the deer, and the convenience of the chase, and of
+such inclosures we have two, namely, the Old and New Lawnd. By a
+commission in the reign of Henry VII., these vaccaries, originally
+granted only to tenants at will, were converted into copyholds of
+inheritance, but&mdash;and here is a legal point for your consideration,
+Master Potts&mdash;as it seems very questionable whether titles obtained
+under letters-patent are secure, not unreasonable fears are entertained
+by the holders of the lands lest they should be seized, and appropriated
+by the crown.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah! ah! an excellent idea, Master Reeve,&quot; exclaimed Potts, his little
+eyes twinkling with pleasure. &quot;Our gracious and sagacious monarch would
+grasp at the suggestion, ay, and grasp at the lands too&mdash;ha! ha! Many
+thanks for the hint, good reeve. I will not fail to profit by it. If
+their titles are uncertain, the landholders would be glad to compromise
+the matter with the crown, even to the value of half their estates
+rather than lose the whole.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Most assuredly they would,&quot; replied the reeve; &quot;and furthermore, they
+would pay the lawyer well who could manage the matter adroitly for them.
+This would answer your purpose better than hunting up witches, Master
+Potts.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;One pursuit does not interfere with the other in the slightest degree,
+worthy reeve,&quot; observed Potts. &quot;I cannot consent to give up my quest of
+the witches. My honour is concerned in their extermination. But to turn
+to Pendle Forest&mdash;the greater part of it has been disafforested, I
+presume?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It has,&quot; replied the other&mdash;&quot;and we are now in one of the purlieus.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Pourallee is the better word, most excellent reeve,&quot; said Potts. &quot;I
+tell you thus much, because you appear to be a man of learning. Manwood,
+our great authority in such matters, declares a pourallee to be 'a
+certain territory of ground adjoining unto the forest, mered and bounded
+with immovable marks, meres, and boundaries, known by matter of record
+only.' And as it applies to the perambulation we are about to make, I
+may as well repeat what the same learned writer further saith touching
+marks, meres, and boundaries, and how they may be known. 'For although,'
+he saith, 'a forest doth lie open, and not inclosed with hedge, ditch,
+pale, or stone-wall, which some other inclosures have; yet in the eye
+and consideration of the law, the same hath as strong an inclosure by
+those marks, meres, and boundaries, as if there were a brick wall to
+encircle the same.' Marks, learned reeve, are deemed
+unremovable&mdash;<i>primo, quia omnes met&aelig; forest&aelig; sunt integr&aelig; domino
+regi</i>&mdash;and those who take them away are punishable for the trespass at
+the assizes of the forest. <i>Secundo</i>, because the marks are things that
+cannot be stirred, as rivers, highways, hills, and the like. Now, such
+unremoveable marks, meres, and boundaries we have between the estate of
+my excellent client, Master Roger Nowell, and that of Mistress Nutter,
+so that the matter at issue will be easily decided.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>A singular smile crossed the reeve's countenance, but he made no
+observation.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Unless the lady can turn aside streams, remove hills, and pluck up huge
+trees, we shall win,&quot; pursued Potts, with a chuckle.</p>
+
+<p>Again the reeve smiled, but he forebore to speak.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You talk of marks, meres, and boundaries, Master Potts,&quot; remarked
+Richard. &quot;Are not the words synonymous?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not precisely so, sir,&quot; replied the attorney; &quot;there is a slight
+difference in their signification, which I will explain to you. The
+words of the statute are '<i>metas, meras, et bundas</i>,'&mdash;now <i>meta</i>, or
+mark, is an object rising from the ground, as a church, a wall, or a
+tree; <i>mera</i>, or mere, is the space or interval between the forest and
+the land adjoining, whereupon the mark may chance to stand; and <i>bunda</i>
+is the boundary, lying on a level with the forest, as a river, a
+highway, a pool, or a bog.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I comprehend the distinction,&quot; replied Richard. &quot;And now, as we are on
+this subject,&quot; he added to the reeve, &quot;I would gladly know the precise
+nature of your office?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My duty,&quot; replied the other, &quot;is to range daily throughout all the
+purlieus, or pourallees, as Master Potts more properly terms them, and
+disafforested lands, and inquire into all trespasses and offences
+against vert or venison, and present them at the king's next court of
+attachment or swainmote. It is also my business to drive into the forest
+such wild beasts as have strayed from it; to attend to the lawing and
+expeditation of mastiffs; and to raise hue and cry against any
+malefactors or trespassers within the forest.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will give you the exact words of the statute,&quot; said Potts&mdash;'<i>Si quis
+viderit malefactores infra metas forest&aelig;, debet illos capere secundum
+posse suum, et si non possit; debet levare hutesium et clamorem</i>.' And
+the penalty for refusing to follow hue and cry is heavy fine.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I would that that part of your duty relating to the hock-sinewing, and
+lawing of mastiffs, could be discontinued,&quot; said Richard. &quot;I grieve to
+see a noble animal so mutilated.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;In Bowland Forest, as you are probably aware, sir,&quot; rejoined the reeve,
+&quot;only the larger mastiffs are lamed, a small stirrup or gauge being kept
+by the master forester, Squire Robert Parker of Browsholme, and the dog
+whose foot will pass through it escapes mutilation.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The practice is a cruel one, and I would it were abolished with some of
+our other barbarous forest laws,&quot; observed Richard.</p>
+
+<p>While this conversation had been going on, the party had proceeded well
+on their way. For some time the road, which consisted of little more
+than tracts of wheels along the turf, led along a plain, thrown up into
+heathy hillocks, and then passing through a thicket, evidently part of
+the old forest, it brought them to the foot of a hill, which they
+mounted, and descended into another valley. Here they came upon Pendle
+Water, and while skirting its banks, could see at a great depth below,
+the river rushing over its rocky bed like an Alpine torrent. The scenery
+had now begun to assume a savage and sombre character. The deep rift
+through which the river ran was evidently the result of some terrible
+convulsion of the earth, and the rocky strata were strangely and
+fantastically displayed. On the further side the banks rose up
+precipitously, consisting for the most part of bare cliffs, though now
+and then a tree would root itself in some crevice. Below this the stream
+sank over a wide shelf of rock, in a broad full cascade, and boiled and
+foamed in the stony basin that received it, after which, grown less
+impetuous, it ran tranquilly on for a couple of hundred yards, and was
+then artificially restrained by a dam, which, diverting it in part from
+its course, caused it to turn the wheels of a mill. Here was the abode
+of the unfortunate Richard Baldwyn, and here had blossomed forth the
+fair flower so untimely gathered. An air of gloom hung over this once
+cheerful spot: its very beauty contributing to this saddening effect.
+The mill-race flowed swiftly and brightly on; but the wheel was
+stopped, windows and doors were closed, and death kept his grim holiday
+undisturbed. No one was to be seen about the premises, nor was any sound
+heard except the bark of the lonely watch-dog. Many a sorrowing glance
+was cast at this forlorn habitation as the party rode past it, and many
+a sigh was heaved for the poor girl who had so lately been its pride and
+ornament; but if any one had noticed the bitter sneer curling the
+reeve's lip, or caught the malignant fire gleaming in his eye, it would
+scarcely have been thought that he shared in the general regret.</p>
+
+<p>After the cavalcade had passed the mill, one or two other cottages
+appeared on the near side of the river, while the opposite banks began
+to be clothed with timber. The glen became more and more contracted, and
+a stone bridge crossed the stream, near which, and on the same side of
+the river as the party, stood a cluster of cottages constituting the
+little village of Rough Lee.</p>
+
+<p>On reaching the bridge, Mistress Nutter's habitation came in view, and
+it was pointed out by Nicholas to Potts, who contemplated it with much
+curiosity. In his eyes it seemed exactly adapted to its owner, and
+formed to hide dark and guilty deeds. It was a stern, sombre-looking
+mansion, built of a dark grey stone, with tall square chimneys, and
+windows with heavy mullions. High stone walls, hoary and moss-grown, ran
+round the gardens and courts, except on the side of the river, where
+there was a terrace overlooking the stream, and forming a pleasant
+summer's walk. At the back of the house were a few ancient oaks and
+sycamores, and in the gardens were some old clipped yews.</p>
+
+<p>Part of this ancient mansion is still standing, and retains much of its
+original character, though subdivided and tenanted by several humble
+families. The garden is cut up into paddocks, and the approach environed
+by a labyrinth of low stone walls, while miserable sheds and other
+buildings are appended to it; the terrace is wholly obliterated; and the
+grange and offices are pulled down, but sufficient is still left of the
+place to give an idea of its pristine appearance and character. Its
+situation is striking and peculiar. In front rises a high hill, forming
+the last link of the chain of Pendle, and looking upon Barrowford and
+Colne, on the further side of which, and therefore not discernible from
+the mansion, stood Malkin Tower. At the period in question the lower
+part of this hill was well wooded, and washed by the Pendle Water, which
+swept past it through banks picturesque and beautiful, though not so
+bold and rocky as those in the neighbourhood of the mill. In the rear of
+the house the ground gradually rose for more than a quarter of a mile,
+when it obtained a considerable elevation, following the course of the
+stream, and looking down the gorge, another hill appeared, so that the
+house was completely shut in by mountainous acclivities. In winter,
+when the snow lay on the heights, or when the mists hung upon them for
+weeks together, or descended in continuous rain, Rough Lee was
+sufficiently desolate, and seemed cut off from all communication with
+the outer world; but at the season when the party beheld it, though the
+approaches were rugged and difficult, and almost inaccessible except to
+the horseman or pedestrian, bidding defiance to any vehicle except of
+the strongest construction, still the place was not without a certain
+charm, mainly, however, derived from its seclusion. The scenery was
+stern and sombre, the hills were dark and dreary; but the very wildness
+of the place was attractive, and the old house, with its grey walls, its
+lofty chimneys, its gardens with their clipped yews, and its
+rook-haunted trees, harmonised well with all around it.</p>
+
+<p>As the party drew near the house, the gates were thrown open by an old
+porter with two other servants, who besought them to stay and partake of
+some refreshment; but Roger Nowell haughtily and peremptorily declined
+the invitation, and rode on, and the others, though some of them would
+fain have complied, followed him.</p>
+
+<p>Scarcely were they gone, than James Device, who had been in the garden,
+issued from the gate and speeded after them.</p>
+
+<p>Passing through a close at the back of the mansion, and tracking a short
+narrow lane, edged by stone walls, the party, which had received some
+accessions from the cottages of Rough Lee, as well as from the huts on
+the hill-side, again approached the river, and proceeded along its
+banks.</p>
+
+<p>The new-comers, being all of them tenants of Mrs. Nutter, and acting
+apparently under the directions of James Device, who had now joined the
+troop, stoutly and loudly maintained that the lady would be found right
+in the inquiry, with the exception of one old man named Henry Mitton;
+and he shook his head gravely when appealed to by Jem, and could by no
+efforts be induced to join him in the clamour.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding this demonstration, Roger Nowell and his legal adviser
+were both very sanguine as to the result of the survey being in their
+favour, and Master Potts turned to ascertain from Sparshot that the two
+plans, which had been rolled up and consigned to his custody, were quite
+safe.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the party having followed the course of Pendle Water through
+the glen for about half a mile, during which they kept close to the
+brawling current, entered a little thicket, and then striking off on the
+left, passed over the foot of a hill, and came to the edge of a wide
+moor, where a halt was called by Nowell.</p>
+
+<p>It being now announced that they were on the confines of the disputed
+property, preparations were immediately made for the survey; the plans
+were taken out of a quiver, in which they had been carefully deposited
+by Sparshot, and handed to Potts, who, giving one to Roger Nowell and
+the other to Nicholas, and opening his memorandum-book, declared that
+all was ready, and the two leaders rode slowly forward, while the rest
+of the troop followed, their curiosity being stimulated to the highest
+pitch.</p>
+
+<p>Presently Roger Nowell again stopped, and pointed to a woody brake.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We are now come,&quot; he said, &quot;to a wood forming part of my property, and
+which from an eruption, caused by a spring, that took place in it many
+years ago, is called Burst Clough.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Exactly, sir&mdash;exactly,&quot; cried Potts; &quot;Burst Clough&mdash;I have it
+here&mdash;landmarks, five grey stones, lying apart at a distance of one
+hundred yards or thereabouts, and giving you, sir, twenty acres of moor
+land. Is it not so, Master Nicholas? The marks are such as I have
+described, eh?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;They are, sir,&quot; replied the squire; &quot;with this slight difference in the
+allotment of the land&mdash;namely, that Mistress Nutter claims the twenty
+acres, while she assigns you only ten.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ten devils!&quot; cried Roger Nowell, furiously. &quot;Twenty acres are mine, and
+I will have them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;To the proof, then,&quot; rejoined Nicholas. &quot;The first of the grey stones
+is here.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And the second on the left, in that hollow,&quot; said Roger Nowell. &quot;Come
+on, my masters, come on.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, come on!&quot; cried Nicholas; &quot;this perambulation will be rare sport.
+Who wins, for a piece of gold, cousin Richard?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, I will place no wager on the event,&quot; replied the young man.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, as you please,&quot; cried the squire; &quot;but I would lay five to one
+that Mistress Nutter beats the magistrate.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the whole troop having set forward, they soon arrived at the
+second stone. Grey and moss-grown, it was deeply imbedded in the soil,
+and to all appearance had rested undisturbed for many a year.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You measure from the clough, I presume, sir?&quot; remarked Potts to Nowell.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;To be sure,&quot; replied the magistrate; &quot;but how is this?&mdash;This stone
+seems to me much nearer the clough than it used to be.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh, so it dun, mester,&quot; observed old Mitton.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It does not appear to have been disturbed, at all events,&quot; said
+Nicholas, dismounting and examining it.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It would seem not,&quot; said Nowell&mdash;&quot;and yet it certainly is not in its
+old place.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo are mistaen, mester,&quot; observed Jem Device; &quot;ey knoa th' lond weel,
+an this stoan has stood where it does fo' t' last twenty year. Ha'n't
+it, neeburs?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh&mdash;yeigh,&quot; responded several voices.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, let us go on to the next stone,&quot; said Potts, looking rather
+blank.</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly they went forward, the hinds exchanging significant looks,
+and Roger Nowell and Nicholas carefully examining their respective maps.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;These landmarks exactly tally with my plan,&quot; said the squire, as they
+arrived at the third stone.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But not with mine,&quot; said Nowell; &quot;this stone ought to be two hundred
+yards to the right. Some trickery has been practised.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Impossible!&quot; exclaimed the squire; &quot;these ponderous masses could never
+have been moved. Besides, there are several persons here who know every
+inch of the ground, and will give you their unbiassed testimony. What
+say you, my men? Are these the old boundary stones?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>All answered in the affirmative except old Mitton, who still raised a
+dissenting voice.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;They be th' owd boundary marks, sure enough,&quot; he said; &quot;boh they are
+neaw i' their owd places.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is quite clear that the twenty acres belong to Mistress Nutter,&quot;
+observed Nicholas, &quot;and that you must content yourself with ten, Master
+Nowell. Make an entry to that effect, Master Potts, unless you will have
+the ground measured.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, it is needless,&quot; replied the magistrate, sharply; &quot;let us go on.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>During this survey, some of the features of the country appeared changed
+to the rustics, but how or in what way they could not precisely tell,
+and they were easily induced by James Device to give their testimony in
+Mistress Nutter's favour.</p>
+
+<p>A small rivulet was now reached, and another halt being called upon its
+sedgy banks, the plans were again consulted.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What have we here, Master Potts&mdash;marks or boundaries?&quot; inquired
+Richard, with a smile.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Both,&quot; replied Potts, angrily. &quot;This rivulet, which I take to be Moss
+Brook, is a boundary, and that sheepfold and the two posts standing in a
+line with it are marks. But hold! how is this?&quot; he cried, regarding the
+plan in dismay; &quot;the five acres of waste land should be on the left of
+the brook.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It would doubtless suit Master Nowell better if it were so,&quot; said
+Nicholas; &quot;but as they chance to be on the right, they belong to
+Mistress Nutter. I merely speak from the plan.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your plan is naught, sir,&quot; cried Nowell, furiously, &quot;By what foul
+practice these changes have been wrought I pretend not to say, though I
+can give a good guess; but the audacious witch who has thus deluded me
+shall bitterly rue it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hold, hold, Master Nowell!&quot; rejoined Nicholas; &quot;I can make great
+allowance for your anger, which is natural considering your
+disappointment, but I will not permit such unwarrantable insinuations to
+be thrown out against Mistress Nutter. You agreed to abide by Sir Ralph
+Assheton's award, and you must not complain if it be made against you.
+Do you imagine that this stream can have changed its course in a single
+night; or that yon sheepfold has been removed to the further side of
+it?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I do,&quot; replied Nowell.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And so do I,&quot; cried Potts; &quot;it has been accomplished by the aid of&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But feeling himself checked by a glance from the reeve, he stammered
+out, &quot;of&mdash;of Mother Demdike.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You declared just now that marks, meres, and boundaries, were
+unremovable, Master Potts,&quot; said the reeve, with a sneer; &quot;you have
+altered your opinion.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The crestfallen attorney was dumb.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Master Roger Nowell must find some better plea than the imputation of
+witchcraft to set aside Mistress Nutter's claim,&quot; observed Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh, that he mun,&quot; cried James Device, and the hinds who supported
+him.</p>
+
+<p>The magistrate bit his lips with vexation.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There is witchcraft in it, I repeat,&quot; he said.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh, that there be,&quot; responded old Mitton.</p>
+
+<p>But the words were scarcely uttered, when he was felled to the ground by
+the bludgeon of James Device.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'd sarve thee i' t' same way, fo' two pins,&quot; said Jem, regarding
+Potts with a savage look.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No violence, Jem,&quot; cried Nicholas, authoritatively&mdash;&quot;you do harm to the
+cause you would serve by your outrageous conduct.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Beg pardon, squoire,&quot; replied Jem, &quot;boh ey winna hear lies towd abowt
+Mistress Nutter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No one shan speak ill on her here,&quot; cried the hinds.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, Master Nowell,&quot; said Nicholas, &quot;are you willing to concede the
+matter at once, or will you pursue the investigation further?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will ascertain the extent of the mischief done to me before I stop,&quot;
+rejoined the magistrate, angrily.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Forward, then,&quot; cried Nicholas. &quot;Our course now lies along this
+footpath, with a croft on the left, and an old barn on the right. Here
+the plans correspond, I believe, Master Potts?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The attorney yielded a reluctant assent.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There is next a small spring and trough on the right, and we then come
+to a limestone quarry&mdash;then by a plantation called Cat Gallows Wood&mdash;so
+named, because some troublesome mouser has been hanged there, I suppose,
+and next by a deep moss-pit, called Swallow Hole. All right, eh, Master
+Potts? We shall now enter upon Worston Moor, and come to the hut
+occupied by Jem Device, who can, it is presumed, speak positively as to
+its situation.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Very true,&quot; cried Potts, as if struck by an idea. &quot;Let the rascal step
+forward. I wish to put a few questions to him respecting his tenement.
+I think I shall catch him now,&quot; he added in a low tone to Nowell.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Here ey be,&quot; cried Jem, stepping up with an insolent and defying look.
+&quot;Whot d'ye want wi' me?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;First of all I would caution you to speak the truth,&quot; commenced Potts,
+impressively, &quot;as I shall take down your answers in my memorandum book,
+and they will be produced against you hereafter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If he utters a falsehood I will commit him,&quot; said Roger Nowell,
+sharply.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Speak ceevily, an ey win gi' yo a ceevil answer,&quot; rejoined Jem, in a
+surly tone; &quot;boh ey'm nah to be browbeaten.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;First, then, is your hut in sight?&quot; asked Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neaw,&quot; replied Jem.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But you can point out its situation, I suppose?&quot; pursued the attorney.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Sartinly ey con,&quot; replied Jem, without heeding a significant glance
+cast at him by the reeve. &quot;It stonds behind yon kloof, ot soide o' t'
+moor, wi' a rindle in front.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Now mind what you say, sirrah,&quot; cried Potts. &quot;You are quite sure the
+hut is behind the clough; and the rindle, which, being interpreted from
+your base vernacular, I believe means a gutter, in front of it?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The reeve coughed slightly, but failed to attract Jem's attention, who
+replied quickly, that he was quite sure of the circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Very well,&quot; said Potts&mdash;&quot;you have all heard the answer. He is quite
+sure as to what he states. Now, then, I suppose you can tell whether the
+hut looks to the north or the south; whether the door opens to the moor
+or to the clough; and whether there is a path leading from it to a spot
+called Hook Cliff?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>At this moment Jem caught the eye of the reeve, and the look given him
+by the latter completely puzzled him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey dunna reetly recollect which way it looks,&quot; he answered.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What! you prevaricating rascal, do you pretend to say that you do not
+know which way your own dwelling stands,&quot; thundered Roger Nowell. &quot;Speak
+out, sirrah, or Sparshot shall take you into custody at once.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'm ready, your worship,&quot; replied the beadle.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel, then,&quot; said Jem, imperfectly comprehending the signs made to him
+by the reeve, &quot;the hut looks nather to t' south naw to t' north, but to
+t' west; it feaces t' moor; an there is a path fro' it to Hook Cliff.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As he finished speaking, he saw from the reeve's angry gestures that he
+had made a mistake, but it was now too late to recall his words.
+However, he determined to make an effort.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Now ey bethink me, ey'm naw sure that ey'm reet,&quot; he said.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You must be sure, sirrah,&quot; said Roger Nowell, bending his awful brows
+upon him. &quot;You cannot be mistaken as to your own dwelling. Take down his
+description, Master Potts, and proceed with your interrogatories if you
+have any more to put to him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I wish to ask him whether he has been at home to-day,&quot; said Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Answer, fellow,&quot; thundered the magistrate.</p>
+
+<p>Before replying, Jem would fain have consulted the reeve, but the latter
+had turned away in displeasure. Not knowing whether a lie would serve
+his turn, and fearing he might be contradicted by some of the
+bystanders, he said he had not been at home for two days, but had
+returned the night before at a late hour from Whalley, and had slept at
+Rough Lee.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then you cannot tell what changes may have taken place in your dwelling
+during your absence?&quot; said Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Of course not,&quot; replied Jem, &quot;boh ey dunna see how ony chawnges con ha'
+happent i' so short a time.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But I do, if you do not, sirrah,&quot; said Potts. &quot;Be pleased to give me
+your plan, Master Newell. I have a further question to ask him,&quot; he
+added, after consulting it for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey win awnser nowt more,&quot; replied Jem, gruffly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You will answer whatever questions Master Potts may put to you, or you
+are taken into custody,&quot; said the magistrate, sternly.</p>
+
+<p>Jem would have willingly beaten a retreat; but being surrounded by the
+two grooms and Sparshot, who only waited a sign from Nowell to secure
+him, or knock him down if he attempted to fly, he gave a surly
+intimation that he was ready to speak.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are aware that a dyke intersects the heath before us, namely,
+Worston Moor?&quot; said Potts.</p>
+
+<p>Jem nodded his head.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I must request particular attention to your plan as I proceed, Master
+Nicholas,&quot; pursued the attorney. &quot;I now wish to be informed by you,
+James Device, whether that dyke cuts through the middle of the moor, or
+traverses the side; and if so, which side? I desire also to be informed
+where it commences, and where, it ends?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Jem scratched his head, and reflected a moment.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The matter does not require consideration, sirrah,&quot; cried Nowell. &quot;I
+must have an instant answer.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;So yo shan,&quot; replied Jem; &quot;weel, then, th' dyke begins near a little
+mound ca'd Turn Heaod, about a hundert yards fro' my dwellin', an runs
+across th' easterly soide o't moor till it reaches Knowl Bottom.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You will swear this?&quot; cried Potts, scarcely able to conceal his
+satisfaction.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Swere it! eigh,&quot; replied Jem.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh, we'n aw swere it,&quot; chorused the hinds.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I'm delighted to hear it,&quot; cried Potts, radiant with delight, &quot;for
+your description corresponds exactly with Master Nowell's plan, and
+differs materially from that of Mistress Nutter, as Squire Nicholas
+Assheton will tell you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I cannot deny it,&quot; replied Nicholas, in some confusion.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey should ha' said 'westerly' i' stead o' 'yeasterly,'&quot; cried Jem, &quot;boh
+yo puzzle a mon so wi' your lawyerly questins, that he dusna knoa his
+reet hond fro' his laft.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh, yeigh, we aw meant to say 'yeasterly,'&quot; added the hinds.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have sworn the contrary,&quot; cried Nowell. &quot;Secure him,&quot; he added to
+the grooms and Sparshot, &quot;and do not let him go till we have completed
+the survey. We will now see how far the reality corresponds with the
+description, and what further devilish tricks have been played with the
+property.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Upon this the troop was again put in motion, James Device walking
+between the two grooms, with Sparshot behind him.</p>
+
+<p>So wonderfully elated was Master Potts by the successful hit he had just
+made, and which, in his opinion, quite counterbalanced his previous
+failure, that he could not help communicating his satisfaction to Flint,
+and this in such manner, that the fiery little animal, who had been for
+some time exceedingly tractable and good-natured, took umbrage at it,
+and threatened to dislodge him if he did not desist from his
+vagaries&mdash;delivering the hint so clearly and unmistakeably that it was
+not lost upon his rider, who endeavoured to calm him down. In proportion
+as the attorney's spirits rose, those of James Device and his followers
+sank, for they felt they were caught in a snare, from which they could
+not easily escape.</p>
+
+<p>By this time they had reached the borders of Worston Moor, which had
+been hitherto concealed by a piece of rising ground, covered with gorse
+and brushwood, and Jem's hut, together with the clough, the rindle, and
+the dyke, came distinctly into view. The plans were again produced, and,
+on comparing them, it appeared that the various landmarks were precisely
+situated as laid down by Mistress Nutter, while their disposition was
+entirely at variance with James Device's statement.</p>
+
+<p>Master Potts then rose in his stirrups, and calling for silence,
+addressed the assemblage.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There stands the hut,&quot; he said, &quot;and instead of being behind the
+clough, it is on one side of it, while the door certainly does <i>not</i>
+face the moor, neither is the rindle in front of the dwelling or near
+it; while the dyke, which is the main and important boundary line
+between the properties, runs above two hundred yards further west than
+formerly. Now, observe the original position of these marks, meres, and
+boundaries&mdash;that is, of this hut, this clough, this rindle, and this
+dyke&mdash;exactly corresponds with the description given of them by the man
+Device, who dwells in the place, and who is, therefore, a person most
+likely to be accurately acquainted with the country; and yet, though he
+has only been absent two days, changes the most surprising have taken
+place&mdash;changes so surprising, indeed, that he scarcely knows the way to
+his own house, and certainly never could find the path which he has
+described as leading to Hook Cliff, since it is entirely obliterated.
+Observe, further, all these extraordinary and incomprehensible changes
+in the appearance of the country, and in the situation of the marks,
+meres, and boundaries, are favourable to Mistress Nutter, and give her
+the advantage she seeks over my honoured and honourable client. They are
+set down in Mistress Nutter's plan, it is true; but when, let me ask,
+was that plan prepared? In my opinion it was prepared first, and the
+changes in the land made after it by diabolical fraud and contrivance. I
+am sorry to have to declare this to you, Master Nicholas, and to you,
+Master Richard, but such is my firm conviction.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And mine, also,&quot; added Nowell; &quot;and I here charge Mistress Nutter with
+sorcery and witchcraft, and on my return I will immediately issue a
+warrant for her arrest. Sparshot, I command you to attach the person of
+James Device, for aiding and abetting her in her foul practices.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will help you to take charge of him,&quot; said the reeve, riding forward.</p>
+
+<p>Probably this was done to give Jem a chance of escape, and if so, it was
+successful, for as the reeve pushed among his captors, and thrust
+Sparshot aside, the ruffian broke from them; and running with great
+swiftness across the moor, plunged into the clough, and disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>Nicholas and Richard instantly gave chase, as did Master Potts, but the
+fugitive led them over the treacherous bog in such a manner as to baffle
+all pursuit. A second disaster here overtook the unlucky attorney, and
+damped him in his hour of triumph. Flint, who had apparently not
+forgotten or forgiven the joyous kicks he had recently received from the
+attorney's heels, came to a sudden halt by the side of the quagmire,
+and, putting down his head, and flinging up his legs, cast him into it.
+While Potts was scrambling out, the animal galloped off in the direction
+of the clough, and had just reached it when he was seized upon by James
+Device, who suddenly started from the covert, and vaulted upon his back.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII_ROUGH_LEE" id="CHAPTER_VIII_ROUGH_LEE" />CHAPTER VIII&mdash;ROUGH LEE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>On returning from their unsuccessful pursuit of James Device, the two
+Asshetons found Roger Nowell haranguing the hinds, who, on the flight of
+their leader, would have taken to their heels likewise, if they had not
+been detained, partly by the energetic efforts of Sparshot and the
+grooms, and partly by the exhortations and menaces of the magistrate and
+Holden. As it was, two or three contrived to get away, and fled across
+the moor, whither the reeve pretended to pursue them; while those left
+behind were taken sharply to task by Roger Nowell.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Listen to me,&quot; he cried, &quot;and take good heed to what I say, for it
+concerns you nearly. Strange and dreadful things have come under my
+observation on my way hither. I have seen a whole village stricken as by
+a plague&mdash;a poor pedlar deprived of the use of his limbs and put in
+peril of his life&mdash;and a young maiden, once the pride and ornament of
+your own village, snatched from a fond father's care, and borne to an
+untimely grave. These things I have seen with my own eyes; and I am
+resolved that the perpetrators of these enormities, Mothers Demdike and
+Chattox, shall be brought to justice. As to you, the deluded victims of
+the impious hags, I can easily understand why you shut your eyes to
+their evil doings. Terrified by their threats you submit to their
+exactions, and so become their slaves&mdash;slaves of the bond-slaves of
+Satan. What miserable servitude is this! By so doing you not only
+endanger the welfare of your souls, by leaguing with the enemies of
+Heaven, and render yourselves unworthy to be classed with a religious
+and Christian people, but you place your lives in jeopardy by becoming
+accessories to the crimes of those great offenders, and render
+yourselves liable to like punishment with them. Seeing, then, the
+imminency of the peril in which you stand, you will do well to avoid it
+while there is yet time. Nor is this your only risk. Your servitude to
+Mistress Nutter is equally perilous. What if she be owner of the land
+you till, and the flocks you tend! You owe her no fealty. She has
+forfeited all title to your service&mdash;and, so far from aiding her, you
+ought to regard her as a great criminal, whom you are bound to bring to
+justice. I have now incontestable proofs of her dealing in the black
+art, and can show that by witchcraft she has altered the face of this
+country, with the intent to rob me of my land.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Holden now took up the theme. &quot;The finger of Heaven is pointed against
+such robbery,&quot; he cried. &quot;'Cursed is he,' saith the scripture, 'that
+removeth his neighbour's landmark.' And again, it is written, 'Cursed is
+he that smiteth his neighbour secretly.' Both these things hath Mistress
+Nutter done, and for both shall she incur divine vengeance.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neither shall she escape that of man,&quot; added Nowell, severely; &quot;for our
+sovereign lord hath enacted that all persons employing or rewarding any
+evil spirit, shall be held guilty of felony, and shall suffer death. And
+death will be her portion, for such demoniacal agency most assuredly
+hath she employed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The magistrate here paused for a moment to regard his audience, and
+reading in their terrified looks that his address had produced the
+desired impression, he continued with increased severity&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;These wicked women shall trouble the land no longer. They shall be
+arrested and brought to judgment; and if you do not heartily bestir
+yourselves in their capture, and undertake to appear in evidence against
+them, you shall be held and dealt with as accessories in their crimes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Upon this, the hinds, who were greatly alarmed, declared with one accord
+their willingness to act as the magistrate should direct.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You do wisely,&quot; cried Potts, who by this time had made his way back to
+the assemblage, covered from head to foot with ooze, as on his former
+misadventure. &quot;Mistress Nutter and the two old hags who hold you in
+thrall would lead you to destruction. For understand it is the firm
+determination of my respected client, Master Roger Nowell, as well as of
+myself, not to relax in our exertions till the whole of these pestilent
+witches who trouble the country be swept away, and to spare none who
+assist and uphold them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The hinds stared aghast, for so grim was the appearance of the attorney,
+that they almost thought Hobthurst, the lubber-fiend, was addressing
+them.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment old Henry Mitton came up. He had partially recovered from
+the stunning effects of the blow dealt him by James Device, but his head
+was cut open, and his white locks were dabbled in blood. Pushing his way
+through the assemblage, he stood before the magistrate.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If yo want a witness agen that foul murtheress and witch, Alice Nutter,
+ca' me, Master Roger Nowell,&quot; he said. &quot;Ey con tay my Bible oath that
+the whole feace o' this keawntry has been chaunged sin yester neet, by
+her hondywark. Ca' me also to speak to her former life&mdash;to her intimacy
+wi' Mother Demdike an owd Chattox. Ca' me to prove her constant
+attendance at devils' sabbaths on Pendle Hill, and elsewhere, wi' other
+black and damning offences&mdash;an among 'em the murder, by witchcraft, o'
+her husband, Ruchot Nutter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>A thrill of horror pervaded the assemblage at this denunciation; and
+Master Potts, who was being cleansed from his sable stains by one of the
+grooms, cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This is the very man for us, my excellent client. Your name and abode,
+friend?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Harry Mitton o' Rough Lee,&quot; replied the old man. &quot;Ey ha' dwelt there
+seventy year an uppards, an ha' known the feyther and granfeyther o'
+Ruchot Nutter, an also Alice Nutter, when hoo war Alice Assheton. Ca'
+me, sir, an aw' ye want to knoa ye shan larn.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We will call you, my good friend,&quot; said Potts; &quot;and, if you have
+sustained any private wrongs from Mistress Nutter, they shall be amply
+redressed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey ha' endured much ot her honts,&quot; rejoined Mitton; &quot;boh ey dunna speak
+o' mysel'. It be high time that Owd Scrat should ha' his claws clipt, an
+honest folk be allowed to live in peace.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Very true, my worthy friend&mdash;very true,&quot; assented Potts.</p>
+
+<p>An immediate return to Whalley was now proposed by Nowell; but Master
+Potts was of opinion that, as they were in the neighbourhood of Malkin
+Tower, they should proceed thither at once, and effect the arrest of
+Mother Demdike, after which Mother Chattox could be sought out and
+secured. The presence of these two witches would be most important, he
+declared, in the examination of Mistress Nutter. Hue and cry for the
+fugitive, James Device, ought also to be made throughout the forest.</p>
+
+<p>Confounded by what they heard, Richard and Nicholas had hitherto taken
+no part in the proceedings, but they now seconded Master Potts's
+proposition, hoping that the time occupied by the visit to Malkin Tower
+would prove serviceable to Mistress Nutter; for they did not doubt that
+intelligence would be conveyed to her by some of her agents, of Nowell's
+intention to arrest her.</p>
+
+<p>Additional encouragement was given to the plan by the arrival of Richard
+Baldwyn, who, at this juncture, rode furiously up to the party.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel, han yo settled your business here, Mester Nowell?&quot; he asked, in
+breathless anxiety.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We have so far settled it, that we have established proofs of
+witchcraft against Mistress Nutter,&quot; replied Nowell. &quot;Can you speak to
+her character, Baldwyn?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh, that ey con,&quot; rejoined the miller, &quot;an nowt good. Ey wish to see
+aw these mischeevous witches burnt; an that's why ey ha' ridden efter
+yo, Mester Nowell. Ey want your help os a magistrate agen Mother
+Demdike. Yo ha a constable wi' ye, and so can arrest her at wonst.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have come most opportunely, Baldwyn,&quot; observed Potts. &quot;We were just
+considering whether we should go to Malkin Tower.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then decide upon 't,&quot; rejoined the miller, &quot;or th' owd hag win escape
+ye. Tak her unaweares.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I don't know that we shall take her unawares, Baldwyn,&quot; said Potts;
+&quot;but I am decidedly of opinion that we should go thither without delay.
+Is Malkin Tower far off?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;About a mile fro' Rough Lee,&quot; replied the miller. &quot;Go back wi' me to t'
+mill, where yo con refresh yourselves, an ey'n get together some dozen
+o' my friends, an then we'n aw go up to t' Tower together.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A very good suggestion,&quot; said Potts; &quot;and no doubt Master Nowell will
+accede to it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We have force enough already, it appears to me,&quot; observed Nowell.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I should think so,&quot; replied Richard. &quot;Some dozen men, armed, against a
+poor defenceless old woman, are surely enough.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Owd, boh neaw defenceless, Mester Ruchot,&quot; rejoined Baldwyn. &quot;Yo canna
+go i' too great force on an expedition like this. Malkin Tower is a
+varry strong place, os yo'n find.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well,&quot; said Nowell, &quot;since we are here, I agree with Master Potts, that
+it would be better to secure these two offenders, and convey them to
+Whalley, where their examination can be taken at the same time with that
+of Mistress Nutter. We therefore accept your offer of refreshment,
+Baldwyn, as some of our party may stand in need of it, and will at once
+proceed to the mill.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well resolved, sir,&quot; said Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We'n tae th' owd witch, dead or alive,&quot; cried Baldwyn.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alive&mdash;we must have her alive, good Baldwyn,&quot; said Potts. &quot;You must see
+her perish at the stake.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Reet, mon,&quot; cried the miller, his eyes blazing with fury; &quot;that's true
+vengeance. Ey'n ride whoam an get aw ready fo ye. Yo knoa t' road.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>So saying, he struck spurs into his horse and galloped off. Scarcely was
+he gone than the reeve, who had kept out of his sight, came forward.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Since you have resolved upon going to Malkin Tower,&quot; he said to Nowell,
+&quot;and have a sufficiently numerous party for the purpose, my further
+attendance can be dispensed with. I will ride in search of James
+Device.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do so,&quot; replied the magistrate, &quot;and let hue and cry be made after
+him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It shall be,&quot; replied the reeve, &quot;and, if taken, he shall be conveyed
+to Whalley.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And he made towards the clough, as if with the intention of putting his
+words into execution.</p>
+
+<p>Word was now given to set forward, and Master Potts having been
+accommodated with a horse by one of the grooms, who proceeded on foot,
+the party began to retrace their course to the mill.</p>
+
+<p>They were soon again by the side of Pendle Water, and erelong reached
+Rough Lee. As they rode through the close at the back of the mansion,
+Roger Nowell halted for a moment, and observed with a grim smile to
+Richard&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Never more shall Mistress Nutter enter that house. Within a week she
+shall be lodged in Lancaster Castle, as a felon of the darkest dye, and
+she shall meet a felon's fate. And not only shall she be sent thither,
+but all her partners in guilt&mdash;Mother Demdike and her accursed brood,
+the Devices; old Chattox and her grand-daughter, Nance Redferne: not one
+shall escape.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You do not include Alizon Device in your list?&quot; cried Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I include all&mdash;I will spare none,&quot; rejoined Nowell, sternly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then I will move no further with you,&quot; said Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How!&quot; cried Newell, &quot;are you an upholder of these witches? Beware what
+you do, young man. Beware how you take part with them. You will bring
+suspicion upon yourself, and get entangled in a net from which you will
+not easily escape.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I care not what may happen to me,&quot; rejoined Richard; &quot;I will never lend
+myself to gross injustice&mdash;such as you are about to practise. Since you
+announce your intention of including the innocent with the guilty, of
+exterminating a whole family for the crimes of one or two of its
+members, I have done. You have made dark accusations against Mistress
+Nutter, but you have proved nothing. You assert that, by witchcraft, she
+has changed the features of your land, but in what way can you make good
+the charge? Old Mitton has, indeed, volunteered himself as a witness
+against her, and has accused her of most heinous offences; but he has at
+the same time shown that he is her enemy, and his testimony will be
+regarded with doubt. I will not believe her guilty on mere suspicion,
+and I deny that you have aught more to proceed upon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I shall not argue the point with you now, sir,&quot; replied Nowell;
+angrily. &quot;Mistress Nutter will be fairly tried, and if I fail in my
+proofs against her, she will be acquitted. But I have little fear of
+such a result,&quot; he added, with a sinister smile.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are confident, sir, because you know there would be every
+disposition to find her guilty,&quot; replied Richard. &quot;She will not be
+fairly tried. All the prejudices of ignorance and superstition,
+heightened by the published opinions of the King, will be arrayed
+against her. Were she as free from crime, or thought of crime, as the
+new-born babe, once charged with the horrible and inexplicable offence
+of witchcraft, she would scarce escape. You go determined to destroy
+her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will not deny it,&quot; said Roger Newell, &quot;and I am satisfied that I
+shall render good service to society by freeing it from so vile a
+member. So abhorrent is the crime of witchcraft, that were my own son
+suspected, I would be the first to deliver him to justice. Like a
+noxious and poisonous plant, the offence has taken deep root in this
+country, and is spreading its baneful influence around, so that, if it
+be not extirpated, it may spring up anew, and cause incalculable
+mischief. But it shall now be effectually checked. Of the families I
+have mentioned, not one shall escape; and if Mistress Nutter herself had
+a daughter, she should be brought to judgment. In such cases, children
+must suffer for the sins of the parents.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have no regard, then, for their innocence?&quot; said Richard, who felt
+as if a weight of calamity was crushing him down.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Their innocence must be proved at the proper tribunal,&quot; rejoined
+Nowell. &quot;It is not for me to judge them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But you do judge them,&quot; cried Richard, sharply. &quot;In making the charge,
+you know that you pronounce the sentence of condemnation as well. This
+is why the humane man&mdash;why the just&mdash;would hesitate to bring an
+accusation even where he suspected guilt&mdash;but where suspicion could not
+possibly attach, he would never suffer himself, however urged on by
+feelings of animosity, to injure the innocent.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You ascribe most unworthy motives to me, young sir,&quot; rejoined Nowell,
+sternly. &quot;I am influenced only by a desire to see justice administered,
+and I shall not swerve from my duty, because my humanity may be called
+in question by a love-sick boy. I understand why you plead thus warmly
+for these infamous persons. You are enthralled by the beauty of the
+young witch, Alizon Device. I noted how you were struck by her
+yesterday&mdash;and I heard what Sir Thomas Metcalfe said on the subject. But
+take heed what you do. You may jeopardise both soul and body in the
+indulgence of this fatal passion. Witchcraft is exercised in many ways.
+Its professors have not only power to maim and to kill, and to do other
+active mischief, but to ensnare the affections and endanger the souls of
+their victims, by enticing them to unhallowed love. Alizon Device is
+comely to view, no doubt, but who shall say whence her beauty is
+derived? Hell may have arrayed her in its fatal charms. Sin is
+beautiful, but all-destructive. And the time will come when you may
+thank me for delivering you from the snares of this seductive siren.&quot;
+Richard uttered an angry exclamation.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not now&mdash;I do not expect it&mdash;you are too much besotted by her,&quot; pursued
+Nowell; &quot;but I conjure you to cast off this wicked and senseless
+passion, which, unless checked, will lead you to perdition. You have
+heard what abominable rites are practised at those unholy meetings
+called Devil's Sabbaths, and how can you say that some demon may not be
+your rival in Alizon's love?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You pass all licence, sir,&quot; cried Richard, infuriated past endurance;
+&quot;and, if you do not instantly retract the infamous accusation you have
+made, neither your age nor your office shall protect you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I can fortunately protect myself, young man,&quot; replied Nowell, coldly;
+&quot;and if aught were wanting to confirm my suspicions that you were under
+some evil influence, it would be supplied by your present conduct. You
+are bewitched by this girl.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is false!&quot; cried Richard.</p>
+
+<p>And he raised his hand against the magistrate, when Nicholas quickly
+interposed.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, cousin Dick,&quot; cried the squire, &quot;this must not be. You must take
+other means of defending the poor girl, whose innocence I will maintain
+as stoutly as yourself. But, since Master Roger Nowell is resolved to
+proceed to extremities, I shall likewise take leave to retire.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your pardon, sir,&quot; rejoined Nowell; &quot;you will not withdraw till I think
+fit. Master Richard Assheton, forgetful alike of the respect due to age
+and constituted authority, has ventured to raise his hand against me,
+for which, if I chose, I could place him in immediate arrest. But I
+have no such intention. On the contrary, I am willing to overlook the
+insult, attributing it to the frenzy by which he is possessed. But both
+he and you, Master Nicholas, are mistaken if you suppose I will permit
+you to retire. As a magistrate in the exercise of my office, I call upon
+you both to aid me in the capture of the two notorious witches, Mothers
+Demdike and Chattox, and not to desist or depart from me till such
+capture be effected. You know the penalty of refusal.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heavy fine or imprisonment, at the option of the magistrate,&quot; remarked
+Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My cousin Nicholas will do as he pleases,&quot; observed Richard; &quot;but, for
+my part, I will not stir a step further.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nor will I,&quot; added Nicholas, &quot;unless I have Master Nowell's solemn
+pledge that he will take no proceedings against Alizon Device.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You can give no such assurance, sir,&quot; whispered Potts, seeing that the
+magistrate wavered in his resolution.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You must go, then,&quot; said Nowell, &quot;and take the consequences of your
+refusal to act with me. Your relationship to Mistress Nutter will not
+tell in your favour.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I understand the implied threat,&quot; said Nicholas, &quot;and laugh at it.
+Richard, lad, I am with you. Let him catch the witches himself, if he
+can. I will not budge an inch further with him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Farewell, then, gentlemen,&quot; replied Roger Nowell; &quot;I am sorry to part
+company with you thus, but when next we meet&mdash;&quot; and he paused.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We meet as enemies, I presume&quot; supplied Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We meet no longer as friends,&quot; rejoined the magistrate, coldly.</p>
+
+<p>With this he moved forward with the rest of the troop, while the two
+Asshetons, after a moment's consultation, passed through a gate and made
+their way to the back of the mansion, where they found one or two men on
+the look-out, from whom they received intelligence, which induced them
+immediately to spring from their horses and hurry into the house.</p>
+
+<p>Arrived at the principal entrance of the mansion, which was formed by
+large gates of open iron-work, admitting a view of the garden and front
+of the house, Roger Nowell again called a halt, and Master Potts, at his
+request, addressed the porter and two other serving-men who were
+standing in the garden, in this fashion&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Pay attention to what I say to you, my men,&quot; he cried in a loud and
+authoritative voice&mdash;&quot;a warrant will this day be issued for the arrest
+of Alice Nutter of Rough Lee, in whose service you have hitherto dwelt,
+and who is charged with the dreadful crime of witchcraft, and with
+invoking, consulting, and covenanting with, entertaining, employing,
+feeding, and rewarding evil spirits, contrary to the laws of God and
+man, and in express violation of his Majesty's statute. Now take
+notice, that if the said Alice Nutter shall at any time hereafter return
+to this her former abode, or take refuge within it, you are hereby bound
+to deliver her up forthwith to the nearest constable, to be by him
+brought before the worshipful Master Roger Nowell of Read, in this
+county, so that she may be examined by him on these charges. You hear
+what I have said?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The men exchanged significant glances, but made no reply.</p>
+
+<p>Potts was about to address them, but to his surprise he saw the central
+door of the house thrown open, and Mistress Nutter issue from it. She
+marched slowly and majestically down the broad gravel walk towards the
+gate. The attorney could scarcely believe his eyes, and he exclaimed to
+the magistrate with a chuckle&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who would have thought of this! We have her safe enough now. Ha! ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But no corresponding smile played upon Nowell's hard lips. His gaze was
+fixed inquiringly upon the lady.</p>
+
+<p>Another surprise. From the same door issued Alizon Device, escorted by
+Nicholas and Richard Assheton, who walked on either side of her, and the
+three followed Mistress Nutter slowly down the broad walk. Such a
+display seemed to argue no want of confidence. Alizon did not look
+towards the group outside the gates, but seemed listening eagerly to
+what Richard was saying to her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;So, Master Nowell,&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, boldly, &quot;since you find
+yourself defeated in the claims you have made against my property, you
+are seeking to revenge yourself, I understand, by bringing charges
+against me as false as they are calumnious. But I defy your malice, and
+can defend myself against your violence.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If I could be astonished at any thing in you, madam, I should be at
+your audacity,&quot; rejoined Nowell, &quot;but I am glad that you have presented
+yourself before me; for it was my fixed intention, on my return to
+Whalley, to cause your arrest, and your unexpected appearance here
+enables me to put my design into execution somewhat sooner than I
+anticipated.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Mistress Nutter laughed scornfully.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Sparshot,&quot; vociferated Nowell, &quot;enter those gates, and arrest the lady
+in the King's name.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The beadle looked irresolute. He did not like the task.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The gates are fastened,&quot; cried Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Force them open, then,&quot; roared Nowell, dismounting and shaking them
+furiously. &quot;Bring me a heavy stone. By heaven I I will not be baulked of
+my prey.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My servants are armed,&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, &quot;and the first man who
+enters shall pay the penalty of has rashness with life. Bring me a
+petronel, Blackadder.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The order was promptly obeyed by the ill-favoured attendant, who was
+stationed near the gate.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am in earnest,&quot; said Mistress Nutter, aiming the petronel, &quot;and
+seldom miss my mark.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Give attention to me, my men,&quot; cried Roger Nowell. &quot;I charge you in the
+King's name to throw open the gate.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And I charge you in mine to keep it fast,&quot; rejoined Mistress Nutter.
+&quot;We shall see who will be obeyed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>One of the grooms now advanced with a large stone taken from an
+adjoining wall, which he threw with great force against the gates, but
+though it shook them violently the fastenings continued firm. Blackadder
+and the two other serving-men, all of whom were armed with halberts, now
+advanced to the gates, and, thrusting the points of their weapons
+through the bars, drove back those who were near them.</p>
+
+<p>A short consultation now took place between Nowell and Potts, after
+which the latter, taking care to keep out of the reach of the halberts,
+thus delivered himself in a loud voice:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alice Nutter, in order to avoid the serious consequences which might
+ensue were the necessary measures taken to effect a forcible entrance
+into your habitation, the worshipful Master Nowell has thought fit to
+grant you an hour's respite for reflection; at the expiration of which
+time he trusts that you, seeing the futility of resisting the law, will
+quietly yield yourself a prisoner. Otherwise, no further leniency will
+be shown you and those who may uphold you in your contumacy.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Mistress Nutter laughed loudly and contemptuously.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;At the same time,&quot; pursued Potts, on a suggestion from the magistrate,
+&quot;Master Roger Nowell demands that Alizon Device, daughter of Elizabeth
+Device, whom he beholds in your company, and who is likewise suspected
+of witchcraft, be likewised delivered up to him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Aught more?&quot; inquired Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Only this,&quot; replied Potts, in a taunting tone, &quot;the worshipful
+magistrate would offer a friendly counsel to Master Nicholas Assheton,
+and Master Richard Assheton, whom, to his infinite surprise, he
+perceives in a hostile position before him, that they in nowise
+interfere with his injunctions, but, on the contrary, lend their aid in
+furtherance of them, otherwise he may be compelled to adopt measures
+towards them, which must be a source of regret to him. I have
+furthermore to state, on the part of his worship, that strict watch will
+be kept at all the approaches of your house, and that no one, on any
+pretence whatever, during the appointed time of respite, will be
+suffered to enter it, or depart from it. In an hour his worship will
+return.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And in an hour he shall have my answer,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter,
+turning away.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX_HOW_ROUGH_LEE_WAS_DEFENDED_BY_NICHOLAS" id="CHAPTER_IX_HOW_ROUGH_LEE_WAS_DEFENDED_BY_NICHOLAS" />CHAPTER IX.&mdash;HOW ROUGH LEE WAS DEFENDED BY NICHOLAS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>When skies are darkest, and storms are gathering thickest overhead, the
+star of love will oft shine out with greatest brilliancy; and so, while
+Mistress Nutter was hurling defiance against her foes at the gate, and
+laughing their menaces to scorn&mdash;while those very foes were threatening
+Alizon's liberty and life&mdash;she had become wholly insensible to the peril
+environing her, and almost unconscious of any other presence save that
+of Richard, now her avowed lover; for, impelled by the irresistible
+violence of his feelings, the young man had chosen that moment,
+apparently so unpropitious, and so fraught with danger and alarm, for
+the declaration of his passion, and the offer of his life in her
+service. A few low-murmured words were all Alizon could utter in reply,
+but they were enough. They told Richard his passion was requited, and
+his devotion fully appreciated. Sweet were those moments to both&mdash;sweet,
+though sad. Like Alizon, her lover had become insensible to all around
+him. Engrossed by one thought and one object, he was lost to aught else,
+and was only at last aroused to what was passing by the squire, who,
+having good-naturedly removed to a little distance from the pair, now
+gave utterance to a low whistle, to let them know that Mistress Nutter
+was coming towards them. The lady, however, did not stop, but motioning
+them to follow, entered the house.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have heard what has passed,&quot; she said. &quot;In an hour Master Nowell
+threatens to return and arrest me and Alizon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That shall never be,&quot; cried Richard, with a passionate look at the
+young girl. &quot;We will defend you with our lives.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Much may be done in an hour,&quot; observed Nicholas to Mistress Nutter,
+&quot;and my advice to you is to use the time allowed you in making good your
+retreat, so that, when the hawks come back, they may find the doves
+flown.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have no intention of quitting my dovecot,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter,
+with a bitter smile.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Unless you are forcibly taken from it, I suppose,&quot; said the squire; &quot;a
+contingency not impossible if you await Roger Nowell's return. This
+time, be assured, he will not go away empty-handed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He may not go away at all,&quot; rejoined Mistress Nutter, sternly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then you mean to make a determined resistance?&quot; said Nicholas.
+&quot;Recollect that you are resisting the law. I wish I could induce you to
+resort to the safer expedient of flight. This affair is already dark and
+perplexed enough, and does not require further complication. Find any
+place of concealment, no matter where, till some arrangement can be made
+with Roger Nowell.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I should rather urge you to fly, Nicholas,&quot; rejoined the lady; &quot;for it
+is evident you have strong misgivings as to the justice of my cause,
+and would not willingly compromise yourself. I will not surrender to
+this magistrate, because, by so doing, my life would assuredly be
+forfeited, for my innocence could never be established before the
+iniquitous and bloody tribunal to which I should be brought. Neither,
+for the same reason, will I surrender Alizon, who, with a refinement of
+malignity, has been similarly accused. I shall now proceed to make
+preparations for my defence. Go, if you think fitting&mdash;or stay&mdash;but if
+you <i>do</i> stay, I shall calculate upon your active services.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You may,&quot; replied the squire. &quot;Whatever I may think, I admire your
+spirit, and will stand by you. But time is passing, and the foe will
+return and find us engaged in deliberation when we ought to be prepared.
+You have a dozen men on the premises on whom you can rely. Half of these
+must be placed at the back of the house to prevent any entrance from
+being effected in that quarter. The rest can remain within the entrance
+hall, and be ready to rush forth when summoned by us; but we will not so
+summon them unless we are hardly put to it, and their aid is
+indispensable. All should be well armed, but I trust they will not have
+to use their weapons. Are you agreed to this, madam?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter, &quot;and I will give instant directions
+that your wishes are complied with. All approaches to the back of the
+house shall be strictly guarded as you direct, and my trusty man,
+Blackadder, on whose fidelity and courage I can entirely rely, shall
+take the command of the party in the hall, and act under your orders.
+Your prowess will not be unobserved, for Alizon and I shall be in the
+upper room commanding the garden, whence we can see all that takes
+place.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>A slight smile was exchanged between the lovers; but it was evident,
+from her anxious looks, that Alizon did not share in Richard's
+confidence. An opportunity, however, was presently afforded him of again
+endeavouring to reassure her, for Mistress Nutter went forth to give
+Blackadder his orders, and Nicholas betook himself to the back of the
+house to ascertain, from personal inspection, its chance of security.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are still uneasy, dear Alizon,&quot; said Richard, taking her hand; &quot;but
+do not be cast down. No harm shall befall you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is not for myself I am apprehensive,&quot; she replied, &quot;but for you, who
+are about to expose yourself to needless risk in this encounter; and, if
+any thing should happen to you, I shall be for ever wretched. I would
+far rather you left me to my fate.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And can you think I would allow you to be borne away a captive to
+ignominy and certain destruction?&quot; cried Richard. &quot;No, I will shed my
+heart's best blood before such a calamity shall occur.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alas!&quot; said Alizon, &quot;I have no means of requiting your devotion. All I
+can offer you in return is my love, and that, I fear, will prove fatal
+to you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! do not say so,&quot; cried Richard. &quot;Why should this sad presentiment
+still haunt you? I strove to chase it away just now, and hoped I had
+succeeded. You are dearer to me than life. Why, therefore, should I not
+risk it in your defence? And why should your love prove fatal to me?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I know not,&quot; replied Alizon, in a tone of deepest anguish, &quot;but I feel
+as if my destiny were evil; and that, against my will, I shall drag
+those I most love on earth into the same dark gulf with myself. I have
+the greatest affection for your sister Dorothy, and yet I have been the
+unconscious instrument of injury to her. And you too, Richard, who are
+yet dearer to me, are now put in peril on my account. I fear, too, when
+you know my whole history, you will think of me as a thing of evil, and
+shun me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What mean you, Alizon?&quot; he cried.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Richard, I can have no secrets from you,&quot; she replied; &quot;and though I
+was forbidden to tell you what I am now about to disclose, I will not
+withhold it. I was born in this house, and am the daughter of its
+mistress.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You tell me only what I guessed, Alizon,&quot; rejoined the young man; &quot;but
+I see nothing in this why I should shun you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Alizon hid her face for a moment in her hands; and then looking up, said
+wildly and hurriedly, &quot;Would I had never known the secret of my birth;
+or, knowing it, had never seen what I beheld last night!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What did you behold?&quot; asked Richard, greatly agitated.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Enough to convince me, that in gaining a mother I was lost myself,&quot;
+replied Alizon; &quot;for oh! how can I survive the shock of telling you I am
+bound, by ties that can never be dissevered, to one abandoned alike of
+God and man&mdash;who has devoted herself to the Fiend! Pity me,
+Richard&mdash;pity me, and shun me!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>There was a moment's dreadful pause, which the young man was unable to
+break.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Was I not right in saying my love would be fatal to you?&quot; continued
+Alizon. &quot;Fly from me while you can, Richard. Fly from this house, or you
+are lost for ever!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Never, never! I will not stir without you,&quot; cried Richard. &quot;Come with
+me, and escape all the dangers by which you are menaced, and leave your
+sinning parent to the doom she so richly merits.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, no; sinful though she be, she is still my mother. I cannot leave
+her,&quot; cried Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If you stay, I stay, be the consequences what they may,&quot; replied the
+young man; &quot;but you have rendered my arm powerless by what you have told
+me. How can I defend one whom I know to be guilty?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Therefore I urge you to fly,&quot; she rejoined.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I can reconcile myself to it thus,&quot; said Richard&mdash;&quot;in defending you,
+whom I know to be innocent, I cannot avoid defending her. The plea is
+not a good one, but it will suffice to allay my scruples of conscience.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>At this moment Mistress Nutter entered the hall, followed by Blackadder
+and three other men, armed with calivers.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;All is ready, Richard,&quot; she said, &quot;and it wants but a few minutes of
+the appointed time. Perhaps you shrink from the task you have
+undertaken?&quot; she added, regarding him sharply; &quot;if so, say so at once,
+and I will adopt my own line of defence.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, I shall be ready to go forth in a moment,&quot; rejoined the young man,
+glancing at Alizon. &quot;Where is Nicholas?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Here,&quot; replied the squire, clapping him on the shoulder. &quot;All is secure
+at the back of the house, and the horses are coming round. We must mount
+at once.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Richard arose without a word.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Blackadder will attend to your orders,&quot; said Mistress Nutter; &quot;he only
+waits a sign from you to issue forth with his three companions, or to
+fire through the windows upon the aggressors, if you see occasion for
+it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I trust it will not come to such a pass,&quot; rejoined the squire; &quot;a few
+blows from these weapons will convince them we are in earnest, and will,
+I hope, save further trouble.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as he spoke he took down a couple of stout staves, and gave one of
+them to Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Farewell, then, <i>preux chevaliers</i>&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, with
+affected gaiety; &quot;demean yourselves valiantly, and remember that bright
+eyes will be upon you. Now, Alizon, to our chamber.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Richard did not hazard a look at the young girl as she quitted the hall
+with her mother, but followed the squire mechanically into the garden,
+where they found the horses. Scarcely were they mounted than a loud
+hubbub, arising from the little village, proclaimed that their opponents
+had arrived, and presently after a large company of horse and foot
+appeared at the gate.</p>
+
+<p>At sight of the large force brought against them, the countenance of the
+squire lost its confident and jovial expression. Pie counted nearly
+forty men, each of whom was armed in some way or other, and began to
+fear the affair would terminate awkwardly, and entail unpleasant
+consequences upon himself and his cousin. He was, therefore, by no means
+at his ease. As to Richard, he did not dare to ask himself how things
+would end, neither did he know how to act. His mind was in utter
+confusion, and his breast oppressed as if by a nightmare. He cast one
+look towards the upper window, and beheld at it the white face of
+Mistress Nutter, intently gazing at what was going forward, but Alizon
+was not to be seen.</p>
+
+<p>Within the last half hour the sky had darkened, and a heavy cloud hung
+over the house, threatening a storm. Richard hoped it would come on
+fiercely and fast.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Roger Newell had dismounted and advanced to the gate.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Gentlemen,&quot; he cried, addressing the two Asshetons, &quot;I expected to find
+free access given to me and my followers; but as these gates are still
+barred against me, I call upon you, as loyal subjects of the King, not
+to resist or impede the course of law, but to throw them instantly
+open.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You must unbar them yourself, Master Nowell,&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;We
+shall give you no help.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nor offer any opposition, I hope, sir?&quot; said the magistrate, sternly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are twenty to one, or thereabout,&quot; returned the squire, with a
+laugh; &quot;we shall stand a poor chance with you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But other defensive and offensive preparations have been made, I doubt
+not,&quot; said Nowell; &quot;nay, I descry some armed men through the windows of
+the hall. Before coming to extremities, I will make a last appeal to you
+and your kinsman. I have granted Mistress Nutter and the girl with her
+an hour's delay, in the hope that, seeing the futility of resistance,
+they would quietly surrender. But I find my clemency thrown away, and
+undue advantage taken of the time allowed for respite; therefore, I
+shall show them no further consideration. But to you, my friends, I
+would offer a last warning. Forget not that you are acting in direct
+opposition to the law; that we are here armed with full authority and
+power to carry out our intentions; and that all opposition on your part
+will be fruitless, and will be visited upon you hereafter with severe
+pains and penalties. Forget not, also, that your characters will be
+irrecoverably damaged from your connexion with parties charged with the
+heinous offence of witchcraft. Meddle not, therefore, in the matter, but
+go your ways, or, if you would act as best becomes you, aid me in the
+arrest of the offenders.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Master Roger Nowell,&quot; replied Nicholas, walking his horse slowly
+towards the gate, &quot;as you have given me a caution, I will give you one
+in return; and that is, to put a bridle on your tongue when you address
+gentlemen, or, by my fay, you are likely to get answers little to your
+taste. You have said that our characters are likely to suffer in this
+transaction, but, in my humble opinion, they will not suffer so much as
+your own. The magistrate who uses the arm of the law for purposes of
+private vengeance, and who brings a false and foul charge against his
+enemy, knowing that it cannot be repelled, is not entitled to any
+particular respect or honour. Thus have you acted towards Mistress
+Nutter. Defeated by her in the boundary question, without leaving its
+decision to those to whom you had referred it, you instantly accuse her
+of witchcraft, and seek to destroy her, as well as an innocent and
+unoffending girl, by whom she is attended. Is such conduct worthy of
+you, or likely to redound to your credit? I think not. But this is not
+all. Aided by your crafty and unscrupulous ally, Master Potts, you get
+together a number of Mistress Nutter's tenants, and, by threats and
+misrepresentations, induce them to become instruments of your vengeance.
+But when these misguided men come to know the truth of the case&mdash;when
+they learn that you have no proofs whatever against Mistress Nutter, and
+that you are influenced solely by animosity to her, they are quite as
+likely to desert you as to stand by you. At all events, we are
+determined to resist this unjust arrest, and, at the hazard of our
+lives, to oppose your entrance into the house.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Nowell and Potts were greatly exasperated by this speech, but they were
+little prepared for its consequences. Many of those who had been induced
+to accompany them, as has been shown, wavered in their resolution of
+acting against Mistress Nutter, but they now began to declare in her
+favour. In vain Potts repeated all his former arguments. They were no
+longer of any avail. Of the troop assembled at the gate more than half
+marched off, and shaped their course towards the rear of the house&mdash;with
+what intention it was easy to surmise&mdash;while of those who remained it
+was very doubtful whether the whole of them would act.</p>
+
+<p>The result of his oration was quite as surprising to Nicholas as to his
+opponents, and, enchanted by the effect of his eloquence, he could not
+help glancing up at the window, where he perceived Mistress Nutter,
+whose smiles showed that she was equally well pleased.</p>
+
+<p>Seeing that, if any further desertions took place, his chances would be
+at an end, with a menacing gesture at the squire, Roger Nowell ordered
+the attack to commence immediately.</p>
+
+<p>While some of his men, amongst whom were Baldwyn and old Mitton,
+battered against the gate with stones, another party, headed by Potts,
+scaled the walls, which, though of considerable height, presented no
+very serious obstacles in the way of active assailants. Elevated on the
+shoulders of Sparshot, Potts was soon on the summit of the wall, and was
+about to drop into the garden, when he heard a sound that caused him to
+suspend his intention.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What are you about to do, cousin Nicholas?&quot; inquired Richard, as the
+word of assault was given by the magistrate.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Let loose Mistress Nutter's stag-hounds upon them,&quot; replied the squire.
+&quot;They are kept in leash by a varlet stationed behind yon yew-tree hedge,
+who only awaits my signal to let them slip; and by my faith it is time
+he had it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As he spoke, he applied a dog-whistle to his lips, and, blowing a loud
+call, it was immediately answered by a savage barking, and half a dozen
+hounds, rough-haired, of prodigious size and power, resembling in make,
+colour, and ferocity, the Irish wolf-hound bounded towards him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Aha!&quot; exclaimed Nicholas, clapping his hands to encourage them: &quot;we
+could have dispersed the whole rout with these assistants. Hyke,
+Tristam!&mdash;hyke, Hubert! Upon them!&mdash;upon them!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>It was the savage barking of the hounds that had caught the ears of the
+alarmed attorney, and made him desirous to scramble back again. But this
+was no such easy matter. Sparshot's broad shoulders were wanting to
+place his feet upon, and while he was bruising his knees against the
+roughened sides of the wall in vain attempts to raise himself to the top
+of it unaided, Hubert's sharp teeth met in the calf of his leg, while
+those of Tristam were fixed in the skirts of his doublet, and penetrated
+deeply into the flesh that filled it. A terrific yell proclaimed the
+attorney's anguish and alarm, and he redoubled his efforts to escape.
+But, if before it was difficult to get up, the feat was now impossible.
+All he could do was to cling with desperate tenacity to the coping of
+the wall, for he made no doubt, if dragged down, he should be torn in
+pieces. Roaring lustily for help, he besought Nicholas to have
+compassion upon him; but the squire appeared little moved by his
+distress, and laughed heartily at his yells and vociferations.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You will not come again on a like errand, in a hurry, I fancy Master
+Potts,&quot; he said.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will not, good Master Nicholas,&quot; rejoined Potts; &quot;for pity's sake
+call off these infernal hounds. They will rend me asunder as they would
+a fox.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You were a cunning fox, in good sooth, to come hither,&quot; rejoined
+Nicholas, in a taunting tone; &quot;but will you go hence if I liberate you?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will&mdash;indeed I will!&quot; replied Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And will no more molest Mistress Nutter?&quot; thundered Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Take heed what you promise,&quot; roared Nowell from the other side of the
+wall.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If you do <i>not</i> promise it, the hounds shall pull you down, and make a
+meal of you!&quot; cried Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I do&mdash;I swear&mdash;whatever you desire!&quot; cried the terrified attorney.</p>
+
+<p>The hounds were then called off by the squire, and, nerved by fright,
+Potts sprang upon the wall, and tumbled over it upon the other side,
+alighting upon the head of his respected and singular good client, whom
+he brought to the ground.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, all those unlucky persons who had succeeded in scaling the
+wall were attacked by the hounds, and, unable to stand against them,
+were chased round the garden, to the infinite amusement of the squire.
+Frightened to death, and unable otherwise to escape, for the gate
+allowed them no means of exit, the poor wretches fled towards the
+terrace overlooking Pendle Water, and, leaping into the stream, gained
+the opposite bank. There they were safe, for the hounds were not allowed
+to follow them further. In this way the garden was completely cleared of
+the enemy, and Nicholas and Richard were left masters of the field.</p>
+
+<p>Leaning out of the window, Mistress Nutter laughingly congratulated them
+on their success, and, as no further disposition was manifested on the
+part of Nowell and such of his troop that remained to renew the attack,
+the contest, for the present at least, was supposed to be at an end.</p>
+
+<p>By this time, also, intimation had been conveyed by the deserters from
+Nowell's troop, who, it will be remembered, had made their way to the
+back of the premises, that they were anxious to offer their services to
+Mistress Nutter; and, as soon as this was told her, she ordered them to
+be admitted, and descended to give them welcome. Thus things wore a
+promising aspect for the besieged, while the assailing party were
+proportionately disheartened.</p>
+
+<p>Long ere this, Baldwyn and old Mitton had desisted from their attempts
+to break open the gate, and, indeed, rejoiced that such a barrier was
+interposed between them and the hounds, whose furious onslaughts they
+witnessed. A bolt was launched against these four-footed guardians of
+the premises by the bearer of the crossbow, but the man proved but an
+indifferent marksman, for, instead of hitting the hound, he disabled one
+of his companions who was battling with him. Finding things in this
+state, and that neither Nowell nor Potts returned to their charge, while
+their followers were withdrawn from before the gate, Nicholas thought he
+might fairly infer that a victory had been obtained. But, like a prudent
+leader, he did not choose to expose himself till the enemy had
+absolutely yielded, and he therefore signed to Blackadder and his men to
+come forth from the hall. The order was obeyed, not only by them, but by
+the seceders from the hostile troop, and some thirty men issued from the
+principal door, and, ranging themselves upon the lawn, set up a
+deafening and triumphant shout, very different from that raised by the
+same individuals when under the command of Nowell. At the same moment
+Mistress Nutter and Alizon appeared at the door, and at the sight of
+them the shouting was renewed.</p>
+
+<p>The unexpected turn in affairs had not been without its effect upon
+Richard and Alizon, and tended to revive the spirits of both. The
+immediate danger by which they were threatened had vanished, and time
+was given for the consideration of new plans. Richard had been firmly
+resolved to take no further part in the affray than should be required
+for the protection of Alizon, and, consequently, it was no little
+satisfaction to him to reflect that the victory had been accomplished
+without him, and by means which could not afterwards be questioned.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Mistress Nutter had joined Nicholas, and the gates being
+unbarred by Blackadder, they passed through them. At a little distance
+stood Roger Nowell, now altogether abandoned, except by his own
+immediate followers, with Baldwyn and old Mitton. Poor Potts was lying
+on the ground, piteously bemoaning the lacerations his skin had
+undergone.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, you have got the worst of it, Master Nowell,&quot; said Nicholas, as
+he and Mistress Nutter approached the discomfited magistrate, &quot;and must
+own yourself fairly defeated.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Defeated as I am, I would rather be in my place than in yours, sir,&quot;
+retorted Nowell, sourly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have had a wholesome lesson read you, Master Nowell,&quot; said Mistress
+Nutter; &quot;but I do not come hither to taunt you. I am quite satisfied
+with the victory I have obtained, and am anxious to put an end to the
+misunderstanding between us.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have no misunderstanding with you, madam,&quot; replied Nowell; &quot;I do not
+quarrel with persons like you. But be assured, though you may escape
+now, a day of reckoning will come.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your chief cause of grievance against me, I am aware,&quot; replied Mistress
+Nutter, calmly, &quot;is, that I have beaten you in the matter of the land.
+Now, I have a proposal to make to you respecting it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I cannot listen to it,&quot; rejoined Nowell, sternly; &quot;I can have no
+dealings with a witch.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>At this moment his cloak was plucked behind by Potts, who looked at him
+as much as to say, &quot;Do not exasperate her. Hear what she has got to
+offer.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I shall be happy to act as mediator between you, if possible,&quot; observed
+Nicholas; &quot;but in that case I must request you, Master Nowell, to
+abstain from any offensive language.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What is it you have to propose to me, then, madam!&quot; demanded the
+magistrate, gruffly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Come with me into the house, and you shall hear,&quot; replied Mistress
+Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>Nowell was about to refuse peremptorily, when his cloak was again
+plucked by Potts, who whispered him to go.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This is not a snare laid to entrap me, madam?&quot; he said, regarding the
+lady suspiciously.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will answer for her good faith,&quot; interposed Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>Nowell still hesitated, but the counsel of his legal adviser was
+enforced by a heavy shower of rain, which just then began to descend
+upon them.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You can take shelter beneath my roof,&quot; said Mistress Nutter; &quot;and
+before the shower is over we can settle the matter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And my wounds can be dressed at the same time,&quot; said Potts, with a
+groan, &quot;for they pain me sorely.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Blackadder has a sovereign balsam, which, with a patch or two of
+diachylon, will make all right,&quot; replied Nicholas, unable to repress a
+laugh. &quot;Here, lift him up between you,&quot; he added to the grooms, &quot;and
+convey him into the house.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The orders were obeyed, and Mistress Nutter led the way through the now
+wide-opened gates; her slow and majestic march by no means accelerated
+by the drenching shower. What Roger Nowell's sensations were at
+following her in such a way, after his previous threats and boastings,
+may be easily conceived.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X_ROGER_NOWELL_AND_HIS_DOUBLE" id="CHAPTER_X_ROGER_NOWELL_AND_HIS_DOUBLE" />CHAPTER X.&mdash;ROGER NOWELL AND HIS DOUBLE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The magistrate was ushered by the lady into a small chamber, opening out
+of the entrance-hall, which, in consequence of having only one small
+narrow window, with a clipped yew-tree before it, was extremely dark and
+gloomy. The walls were covered with sombre tapestry, and on entering,
+Mistress Nutter not only carefully closed the door, but drew the arras
+before it, so as to prevent the possibility of their conversation being
+heard outside. These precautions taken, she motioned the magistrate to a
+chair, and seated herself opposite him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We can now deal unreservedly with each other, Master Nowell,&quot; she said,
+fixing her eyes steadily upon him; &quot;and, as our discourse cannot be
+overheard and repeated, may use perfect freedom of speech.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am glad of it,&quot; replied Nowell, &quot;because it will save circumlocution,
+which I dislike; and therefore, before proceeding further, I must tell
+you, directly and distinctly, that if there be aught of witchcraft in
+what you are about to propose to me, I will have nought to do with it,
+and our conference may as well never begin.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then you really believe me to be a witch?&quot; said the lady.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I do,&quot; replied Nowell, unflinchingly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Since you believe this, you must also believe that I have absolute
+power over you,&quot; rejoined Mistress Nutter, &quot;and might strike you with
+sickness, cripple you, or kill you if I thought fit.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I know not that,&quot; returned Nowell. &quot;There are limits even to the power
+of evil beings; and your charms and enchantments, however strong and
+baneful, may be wholly inoperative against a magistrate in the discharge
+of his duty. If it were not so, you would scarcely think it worth while
+to treat with me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Humph!&quot; exclaimed the lady. &quot;Now, tell me frankly, what you will do
+when you depart hence?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ride off with the utmost speed to Whalley,&quot; replied Nowell, &quot;and,
+acquainting Sir Ralph with all that has occurred, claim his assistance;
+and then, with all the force we can jointly muster, return hither, and
+finish the work I have left undone.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You will forego this intention,&quot; said Mistress Nutter, with a bitter
+smile.</p>
+
+<p>The magistrate shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am not easily turned from my purpose,&quot; he remarked.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But you have not yet quitted Rough Lee,&quot; said the lady, &quot;and after such
+an announcement I shall scarce think of parting with you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You dare not detain me,&quot; replied Nowell. &quot;I have Nicholas Assheton's
+word for my security, and I know he will not break it. Besides, you will
+gain nothing by my detention. My absence will soon be discovered, and if
+living I shall be set free; if dead, avenged.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That may, or may not be,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter; &quot;and in any case I
+can, if I choose, wreak my vengeance upon you. I am glad to have
+ascertained your intentions, for I now know how to treat with you. You
+shall not go hence, except on certain conditions. You have said you will
+proclaim me a witch, and will come back with sufficient force to
+accomplish my arrest. Instead of doing this, I advise you to return to
+Sir Ralph Assheton, and admit to him that you find yourself in error in
+respect to the boundaries of the land&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Never,&quot; interrupted Nowell.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I advise you to do this,&quot; pursued the lady, calmly, &quot;and I advise you,
+also, on quitting this room, to retract all you have uttered to my
+prejudice, in the presence of Nicholas Assheton and other credible
+witnesses; in which case I will not only lay aside all feelings of
+animosity towards you, but will make over to you the whole of the land
+under dispute, and that without purchase money on your part.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Roger Nowell was of an avaricious nature, and caught at the bait.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How, madam!&quot; he cried, &quot;the whole of the land mine without payment?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The whole,&quot; she replied.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If she should be arraigned and convicted it will be forfeited to the
+crown,&quot; thought Nowell; &quot;the offer is tempting.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your attorney is here, and can prepare the conveyance at once,&quot; pursued
+Mistress Nutter; &quot;a sum can be stated to lend a colour to the
+proceeding, and I will give you a private memorandum that I will not
+claim it. All I require is, that you clear me completely from the dark
+aspersions cast upon my character, and you abandon your projects against
+my adopted daughter, Alizon, as well as against those two poor old
+women, Mothers Demdike and Chattox.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How can I be sure that I shall not be deluded in the matter?&quot; asked
+Nowell; &quot;the writing may disappear from the parchment you give me, or
+the parchment itself may turn to ashes. Such things have occurred in
+transactions with witches. Or it be that, by consenting to the compact,
+I may imperil my own soul.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Tush!&quot; exclaimed Mistress Nutter; &quot;these are idle fears. But it is no
+idle threat on my part, when I tell you you shall not go forth unless
+you consent.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You cannot hinder me, woman,&quot; cried Nowell, rising.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You shall see,&quot; rejoined the lady, making two or three rapid passes
+before him, which instantly stiffened his limbs, and deprived him of the
+power of motion. &quot;Now, stir if you can,&quot; she added with a laugh.</p>
+
+<p>Nowell essayed to cry out, but his tongue refused its office. Hearing
+and sight, however, were left him, and he saw Mistress Nutter take a
+large volume, bound in black, from the shelf, and open it at a page
+covered with cabalistic characters, after which she pronounced some
+words that sounded like an invocation.</p>
+
+<p>As she concluded, the tapestry against the wall was raised, and from
+behind it appeared a figure in all respects resembling the magistrate:
+it had the same sharp features, the same keen eyes and bushy eyebrows,
+the same stoop in the shoulders, the same habiliments. It was, in short,
+his double.</p>
+
+<p>Mistress Nutter regarded him with a look of triumph.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Since you refuse, with my injunctions,&quot; she said, &quot;your double will
+prove more tractable. He will go forth and do all I would have you do,
+while I have but to stamp upon the floor and a dungeon will yawn beneath
+your feet, where you will lie immured till doomsday. The same fate will
+attend your crafty associate, Master Potts&mdash;so that neither of you will
+be missed&mdash;ha! ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The unfortunate magistrate fully comprehended his danger, but he could
+now neither offer remonstrance nor entreaty. What was passing in his
+breast seemed known to Mistress Nutter; for she motioned the double to
+stay, and, touching the brow of Nowell with the point of her forefinger,
+instantly restored his power of speech.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will give you a last chance,&quot; she said. &quot;Will you obey me now?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I must, perforce,&quot; replied Nowell: &quot;the contest is too unequal.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You may retire, then,&quot; she cried to the double. And stepping backwards,
+the figure lifted up the tapestry, and disappeared behind it.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I can breathe, now that infernal being is gone,&quot; cried Nowell, sinking
+into the chair. &quot;Oh! madam, you have indeed terrible power.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You will do well not to brave it again,&quot; she rejoined. &quot;Shall I summon
+Master Potts to prepare the conveyance?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! no&mdash;no!&quot; cried Nowell. &quot;I do not desire the land. I will not have
+it. I shall pay too dearly for it. Only let me get out of this horrible
+place?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not so quickly, sir,&quot; rejoined Mistress Nutter. &quot;Before you go hence,
+I must bind you to the performance of my injunctions. Pronounce these
+words after me,&mdash;'May I become subject to the Fiend if I fail in my
+promise.'&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will never utter them!&quot; cried Nowell, shuddering.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then I shall recall your double,&quot; said the lady.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hold, hold!&quot; exclaimed Nowell. &quot;Let me know what you require of me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I require absolute silence on your part, as to all you have seen and
+heard here, and cessation of hostility towards me and the persons I have
+already named,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter; &quot;and I require a declaration
+from you, in the presence of the two Asshetons, that you are fully
+satisfied of the justice of my claims in respect to the land; and that,
+mortified by your defeat, you have brought a false charge against me,
+which you now sincerely regret. This I require from you; and you must
+ratify the promise by the abjuration I have proposed. 'May I become
+subject to the Fiend if I fail in my promise.'&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The magistrate repeated the words after her. As he finished, mocking
+laughter, apparently resounding from below, smote his ears.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Enough!&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, triumphantly; &quot;and now take good heed
+that you swerve not in the slightest degree from your word, or you are
+for ever lost.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Again the mocking laughter was heard, and Nowell would have rushed
+forth, if Mistress Nutter had not withheld him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Stay!&quot; she cried, &quot;I have not done with you yet! My witnesses must hear
+your declaration. Remember!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And placing her finger upon her lips, in token of silence, she stepped
+backwards, drew aside the tapestry, and, opening the door, called to the
+two Asshetons, both of whom instantly came to her, and were not a little
+surprised to learn that all differences had been adjusted, and that
+Roger Nowell acknowledged himself entirely in error, retracting all the
+charges he had brought against her; while, on her part, she was fully
+satisfied with his explanations and apologies, and promised not to
+entertain any feelings of resentment towards him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have made up the matter, indeed,&quot; cried Nicholas, &quot;and, as Master
+Roger Nowell is a widower, perhaps a match may come of it. Such an
+arrangement&quot;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This is no occasion for jesting, Nicholas,&quot; interrupted the lady,
+sharply.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, I but threw out a hint,&quot; rejoined the squire. &quot;It would set the
+question of the land for ever at rest.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is set at rest&mdash;for ever!&quot; replied the lady, with a side look at the
+magistrate.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;'May I become subject to the Fiend if I fail in my promise,'&quot; repeated
+Nowell to himself. &quot;Those words bind me like a chain of iron. I must get
+out of this accursed house as fast as I can.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As if his thoughts had been divined by Mistress Nutter, she here
+observed to him, &quot;To make our reconciliation complete, Master Nowell, I
+must entreat you to pass the day with me. I will give you the best
+entertainment my house affords&mdash;nay, I will take no denial; and you too,
+Nicholas, and you, Richard, you will stay and keep the worthy magistrate
+company.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The two Asshetons willingly assented, but Roger Nowell would fain have
+been excused. A look, however, from his hostess enforced compliance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The proposal will be highly agreeable, I am sure, to Master Potts,&quot;
+remarked Nicholas, with a laugh; &quot;for though much better, in consequence
+of the balsam applied by Blackadder, he is scarcely in condition for the
+saddle.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will warrant him well to-morrow morning,&quot; said Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Where is he?&quot; inquired Nowell.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;In the library with Parson Holden,&quot; replied Nicholas; &quot;making himself
+as comfortable as circumstances will permit, with a flask of Rhenish
+before him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will go to him, then,&quot; said Nowell.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Take care what you say to him,&quot; observed Mistress Nutter, in a low
+tone, and raising her finger to her lips.</p>
+
+<p>Heaving a deep sigh, the magistrate then repaired to the library, a
+small room panelled with black oak, and furnished with a few cases of
+ancient tomes. The attorney and the divine were seated at a table, with
+a big square-built bottle and long-stemmed glasses before them, and
+Master Potts, with a wry grimace, excused himself from rising on his
+respected and singular good client's approach.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not disturb yourself,&quot; said Nowell, gruffly; &quot;we shall not leave
+Rough Lee to-day.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am glad to hear it,&quot; replied Potts, moving the cushions on his chair
+and eyeing the square-built bottle affectionately.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nor to-morrow, it may be&mdash;nor the day after&mdash;nor at all, possibly,&quot;
+said Nowell.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Indeed!&quot; exclaimed Potts, starting, and wincing with pain. &quot;What is the
+meaning of all this, worthy sir?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;'May I become the subject of the Fiend if I fail in my promise,'&quot;
+rejoined Nowell, with a groan.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What promise, worshipful sir?&quot; cried Potts, staring with surprise.</p>
+
+<p>The magistrate got out the words, &quot;My promise to&mdash;&quot; and then he stopped
+suddenly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;To Mistress Nutter?&quot; suggested Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Don't ask me,&quot; exclaimed Nowell, fiercely. &quot;Don't draw any erroneous
+conclusions, man. I mean nothing&mdash;I say nothing!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He is certainly bewitched,&quot; observed Parson Holden in an under-tone to
+the attorney.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It was by your advice I entered this house,&quot; thundered Nowell, &quot;and
+may all the ill arising from it alight upon your head!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My respected client!&quot; implored Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am no longer your client!&quot; shrieked the infuriated magistrate. &quot;I
+dismiss you. I will have nought to do with you more. I wish I had never
+seen your ugly little face!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You were quite right, reverend sir,&quot; observed Potts aside to the
+divine; &quot;he is certainly bewitched, or he never would behave in this way
+to his best friend. My excellent sir,&quot; he added to Nowell, &quot;I beseech
+you to calm yourself, and listen to me. My motive for wishing you to
+comply with Mistress Nutter's request was this: We were in a dilemma
+from which there was no escape, my wounded condition preventing me from
+flight, and all your followers being dispersed. Knowing your discretion,
+I apprehended that, finding the tables turned against you, you would not
+desire to play a losing game, and I therefore counselled apparent
+submission as the best means of disarming your antagonist. Whatever
+arrangement you have made with Mistress Nutter is neither morally nor
+legally binding upon you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You think not!&quot; cried Nowell. &quot;'May I become subject to the Fiend if I
+violate my promise!'&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What promise have you made, sir?&quot; inquired Potts and Holden together.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not question me,&quot; cried Nowell; &quot;it is sufficient that I am tied and
+bound by it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The attorney reflected a little, and then observed to Holden, &quot;It is
+evident some unfair practices have been resorted to with our respected
+friend, to extort a promise from him which he cannot violate. It is also
+possible, from what he let fall at first, that an attempt may be made to
+detain us prisoners within this house, and, for aught I know, Master
+Nowell may have given his word not to go forth without Mistress Nutter's
+permission. Under these circumstances, I would beg of you, reverend sir,
+as an especial favour to us both, to ride over to Whalley, and acquaint
+Sir Ralph Assheton with our situation.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As this suggestion was made, Nowell's countenance brightened up. The
+expression was not lost upon the attorney, who perceived he was on the
+right tack.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Tell the worthy baronet,&quot; continued Potts, &quot;that his old and esteemed
+friend, Master Roger Nowell, is in great jeopardy&mdash;am I not right, sir?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The magistrate nodded.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Tell him he is forcibly detained a prisoner, and requires sufficient
+force to effect his immediate liberation. Tell him, also, that Master
+Nowell charges Mistress Nutter with robbing him of his land by
+witchcraft.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, no!&quot; interrupted Nowell; &quot;do not tell him that. I no longer charge
+her with it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then, tell him that I do,&quot; cried Potts; &quot;and that Master Nowell has
+strangely, very strangely, altered his mind.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;'May I become subject to the Fiend if I violate my promise!'&quot; said the
+magistrate.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, tell him that,&quot; cried the attorney&mdash;&quot;tell him the worthy gentleman
+is constantly repeating that sentence. It will explain all. And now,
+reverend sir, let me entreat you to set out without delay, or your
+departure may be prevented.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will go at once,&quot; said Holden.</p>
+
+<p>As he was about to quit the apartment, Mistress Nutter appeared at the
+door. Confusion was painted on the countenances of all three.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whither go you, sir?&quot; demanded the lady, sharply.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;On a mission which cannot be delayed, madam,&quot; replied Holden.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You cannot quit my house at present,&quot; she rejoined, peremptorily.
+&quot;These gentlemen stay to dine with me, and I cannot dispense with your
+company.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My duty calls me hence,&quot; returned the divine. &quot;With all thanks for your
+proffered hospitality, I must perforce decline it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not when I command you to stay,&quot; she rejoined, raising her hand; &quot;I am
+absolute mistress here.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not over the servants of heaven, madam,&quot; replied the divine, taking a
+Bible from his pocket, and placing it before him. &quot;By this sacred volume
+I shield myself against your spells, and command you to let me pass.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as he went forth, Mistress Nutter, unable to oppose him, shrank
+back.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI_MOTHER_DEMDIKE" id="CHAPTER_XI_MOTHER_DEMDIKE" />CHAPTER XI.&mdash;MOTHER DEMDIKE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The heavy rain, which began to fall as Roger Nowell entered Rough Lee,
+had now ceased, and the sun shone forth again brilliantly, making the
+garden look so fresh and beautiful that Richard proposed a stroll within
+it to Alizon. The young girl seemed doubtful at first whether to comply
+with the invitation; but she finally assented, and they went forth
+together alone, for Nicholas, fancying they could dispense with his
+company, only attended them as far as the door, where he remained
+looking after them, laughing to himself, and wondering how matters would
+end. &quot;No good will come of it, I fear,&quot; mused the worthy squire, shaking
+his head, &quot;and I am scarcely doing right in allowing Dick to entangle
+himself in this fashion. But where is the use of giving advice to a
+young man who is over head and ears in love? He will never listen to it,
+and will only resent interference. Dick must take his chance. I have
+already pointed out the danger to him, and if he chooses to run
+headlong into the pit, why, I cannot hinder him. After all, I am not
+much surprised. Alizon's beauty is quite irresistible, and, were all
+smooth and straightforward in her history, there could be no reason
+why&mdash;pshaw! I am as foolish as the lad himself. Sir Richard Assheton,
+the proudest man in the shire, would disown his son if he married
+against his inclinations. No, my pretty youthful pair, since nothing but
+misery awaits you, I advise you to make the most of your brief season of
+happiness. I should certainly do so were the case my own.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the objects of these ruminations had reached the terrace
+overlooking Pendle Water, and were pacing slowly backwards and forwards
+along it.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;One might be very happy in this sequestered spot, Alizon,&quot; observed
+Richard. &quot;To some persons it might appear dull, but to me, if blessed
+with you, it would be little short of Paradise.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alas! Richard,&quot; she replied, forcing a smile, &quot;why conjure up visions
+of happiness which never can be realised? But even with you I do not
+think I could be happy here. There is something about the house which,
+when I first beheld it, filled me with unaccountable terror. Never since
+I was a mere infant have I been within it till to-day, and yet it was
+quite familiar to me&mdash;horribly familiar. I knew the hall in which we
+stood together, with its huge arched fireplace, and the armorial
+bearings upon it, and could point out the stone on which were carved my
+father's initials 'R.N.,' with the date '1572.' I knew the tapestry on
+the walls, and the painted glass in the long range windows. I knew the
+old oak staircase, and the gallery beyond it, and the room to which my
+mother led me. I knew the portraits painted on the panels, and at once
+recognised my father. I knew the great carved oak bedstead in this room,
+and the high chimney-piece, and the raised hearthstone, and shuddered as
+I gazed at it. You will ask me how these things could be familiar to me?
+I will tell you. I had seen them repeatedly in my dreams. They have
+haunted me for years, but I only to-day knew they had an actual
+existence, or were in any way connected with my own history. The sight
+of that house inspired me with a horror I have not been able to
+overcome; and I have a presentiment that some ill will befall me within
+it. I would never willingly dwell there.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The warning voice within you, which should never be despised, prompts
+you to quit it,&quot; cried Richard; &quot;and I also urge you in like manner.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;In vain,&quot; sighed Alizon. &quot;This terrace is beautiful,&quot; she added, as
+they resumed their walk, &quot;and I shall often come hither, if I am
+permitted. At sunset, this river, and the woody heights above it, must
+be enchanting; and I do not dislike the savage character of the
+surrounding scenery. It enhances, by contrast, the beauty of this
+solitude. I only wish the spot commanded a view of Pendle Hill.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are like my cousin Nicholas, who thinks no prospect complete
+unless that hill forms part of it,&quot; said Richard; &quot;but since I find that
+you will often come hither at sunset, I shall not despair of seeing and
+conversing with you again, even if I am forbidden the house by Mistress
+Nutter. That thicket is an excellent hiding-place, and this stream is
+easily crossed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We can have no secret interviews, Richard,&quot; replied Alizon; &quot;I shall
+come hither to think of you, but not to meet you. You must never return
+to Rough Lee again&mdash;that is, not unless some change takes place, which I
+dare not anticipate&mdash;but, hist! I am called. I must go back to the
+house.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The voice came from the other side of the river,&quot; said Richard&mdash;&quot;and,
+hark! it calls again. Who can it be?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is Jennet,&quot; replied Alizon; &quot;I see her now.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And she pointed out the little girl standing beside an alder on the
+opposite bank.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo didna notice me efore, Alizon,&quot; cried Jennet in her sharp tone, and
+with her customary provoking laugh, &quot;boh ey seed yo plain enuff, an
+heer'd yo too; and ey heer'd Mester Ruchot say he wad hide i' this
+thicket, an cross the river to meet ye at sunset. Little pigs, they say,
+ha' lang ears, an mine werena gi'en me fo' nowt.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;They have somewhat misinformed you in this instance,&quot; replied Alizon;
+&quot;but how, in the name of wonder, did you come here?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Varry easily,&quot; replied Jennet, &quot;boh ey hanna time to tell ye now.
+Granny Demdike has sent me hither wi' a message to ye and Mistress
+Nutter. Boh may be ye winna loike Mester Ruchot to hear what ey ha'
+getten to tell ye.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will leave you,&quot; said Richard, about to depart.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! no, no!&quot; cried Alizon, &quot;she can have nothing to say which you may
+not hear.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Shan ey go back to Granny Demdike, an tell her yo're too proud to
+receive her message?&quot; asked the child.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;On no account,&quot; whispered Richard. &quot;Do not let her anger the old hag.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Speak, Jennet,&quot; said Alizon, in a tone of kind persuasion.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey shanna speak onless ye cum ower t' wetur to me,&quot; replied the little
+girl; &quot;an whot ey ha to tell consarns ye mitch.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I can easily cross,&quot; observed Alizon to Richard. &quot;Those stones seem
+placed on purpose.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Upon this, descending from the terrace to the river's brink, and
+springing lightly upon the first stone which reared its head above the
+foaming tide, she bounded to another, and so in an instant was across
+the stream. Richard saw her ascend the opposite bank, and approach
+Jennet, who withdrew behind the alder; and then he fancied he perceived
+an old beldame, partly concealed by the intervening branches of the
+tree, advance and seize hold of her. Then there was a scream; and the
+sound had scarcely reached the young man's ears before he was down the
+bank and across the river, but when he reached the alder, neither
+Alizon, nor Jennet, nor the old beldame were to be seen.</p>
+
+<p>The terrible conviction that she had been carried off by Mother Demdike
+then smote him, and though he continued his search for her among the
+adjoining bushes, it was with fearful misgivings. No answer was returned
+to his shouts, nor could he discover any trace of the means by which
+Alizon had been spirited away.</p>
+
+<p>After some time spent in ineffectual search, uncertain what course to
+pursue, and with a heart full of despair, Richard crossed the river, and
+proceeded towards the house, in front of which he found Mistress Nutter
+and Nicholas, both of whom seemed surprised when they perceived he was
+unaccompanied by Alizon. The lady immediately, and somewhat sharply,
+questioned him as to what had become of her adopted daughter, and
+appeared at first to doubt his answer; but at length, unable to question
+his sincerity, she became violently agitated.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The poor girl has been conveyed away by Mother Demdike,&quot; she cried,
+&quot;though for what purpose I am at a loss to conceive. The old hag could
+not cross the running water, and therefore resorted to that stratagem.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alizon must not be left in her hands, madam,&quot; said Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She must not,&quot; replied the lady. &quot;If Blackadder, whom I have sent after
+Parson Holden, were here, I would despatch him instantly to Malkin
+Tower.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will go instead,&quot; said Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You had better accept his offer,&quot; interposed Nicholas; &quot;he will serve
+you as well as Blackadder.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Go I shall, madam,&quot; cried Richard; &quot;if not on your account, on my own.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Come, then, with me,&quot; said the lady, entering the house, &quot;and I will
+furnish you with that which shall be your safeguard in the enterprise.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>With this, she proceeded to the closet where her interview with Roger
+Nowell had been held; and, unlocking an ebony cabinet, took from a
+drawer within it a small flat piece of gold, graven with mystic
+characters, and having a slender chain of the same metal attached to it.
+Throwing the chain over Richard's neck, she said, &quot;Place this talisman,
+which is of sovereign virtue, near your heart, and no witchcraft shall
+have power over you. But be careful that you are not by any artifice
+deprived of it, for the old hag will soon discover that you possess some
+charm to protect you against her spells. You are impatient to be gone,
+but I have not yet done,&quot; she continued, taking down a small silver
+bugle from a hook, and giving it him. &quot;On reaching Malkin Tower, wind
+this horn thrice, and the old witch will appear at the upper window.
+Demand admittance in my name, and she will not dare to refuse you; or,
+if she does, tell her you know the secret entrance to her stronghold,
+and will have recourse to it. And in case this should be needful, I will
+now disclose it to you, but you must not use it till other means fail.
+When opposite the door, which you will find is high up in the building,
+take ten paces to the left, and if you examine the masonry at the foot
+of the tower, you will perceive one stone somewhat darker than the rest.
+At the bottom of this stone, and concealed by a patch of heath, you will
+discover a knob of iron. Touch it, and it will give you an opening to a
+vaulted chamber, whence you can mount to the upper room. Even then you
+may experience some difficulty, but with resolution you will surmount
+all obstacles.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have no fear of success, madam,&quot; replied Richard, confidently.</p>
+
+<p>And quitting her, he proceeded to the stables, and calling for his
+horse, vaulted into the saddle, and galloped off towards the bridge.</p>
+
+<p>Fast as Richard rode up the steep hill-side, still faster did the black
+clouds gather over his head. No natural cause could have produced so
+instantaneous a change in the aspect of the sky, and the young man
+viewed it with uneasiness, and wished to get out of the thicket in which
+he was now involved, before the threatened thunder-storm commenced. But
+the hill was steep and the road bad, being full of loose stones, and
+crossed in many places by bare roots of trees. Though ordinarily
+surefooted, Merlin stumbled frequently, and Richard was obliged to
+slacken his pace. It grew darker and darker, and the storm seemed ready
+to burst upon him. The smaller birds ceased singing, and screened
+themselves under the thickest foliage; the pie chattered incessantly;
+the jay screamed; the bittern flew past, booming heavily in the air; the
+raven croaked; the heron arose from the river, and speeded off with his
+long neck stretched out; and the falcon, who had been hovering over him,
+sweeped sidelong down and sought shelter beneath an impending rock; the
+rabbit scudded off to his burrow in the brake; and the hare, erecting
+himself for a moment, as if to listen to the note of danger, crept
+timorously off into the long dry grass.</p>
+
+<p>It grew so dark at last that the road was difficult to discern, and the
+dense rows of trees on either side assumed a fantastic appearance in the
+deep gloom. Richard was now more than half-way up the hill, and the
+thicket had become more tangled and intricate, and the road narrower and
+more rugged. All at once Merlin stopped, quivering in every limb, as if
+in extremity of terror.</p>
+
+<p>Before the rider, and right in his path, glared a pair of red fiery
+orbs, with something dusky and obscure linked to them; but whether of
+man or beast he could not distinguish.</p>
+
+<p>Richard called to it. No answer. He struck spurs into the reeking flanks
+of his horse. The animal refused to stir. Just then there was a moaning
+sound in the wood, as of some one in pain. He turned in the direction,
+shouted, but received no answer. When he looked back the red eyes were
+gone.</p>
+
+<p>Then Merlin moved forward of his own accord, but ere he had gone far,
+the eyes were visible again, glaring at the rider from the wood. This
+time they approached, dilating, and increasing in glowing intensity,
+till they scorched him like burning-glasses. Bethinking him of the
+talisman, Richard drew it forth. The light was instantly extinguished,
+and the indistinct figure accompanying it melted into darkness.</p>
+
+<p>Once more Merlin resumed his toilsome way, and Richard was marvelling
+that the storm so long suspended its fury, when the sky was riven by a
+sudden blaze, and a crackling bolt shot down and struck the earth at his
+feet. The affrighted steed reared aloft, and was with difficulty
+prevented from falling backwards upon his rider. Almost before he could
+be brought to his feet, an awful peal of thunder burst overhead, and it
+required Richard's utmost efforts to prevent him from rushing madly down
+the hill.</p>
+
+<p>The storm had now fairly commenced. Flash followed flash, and peal
+succeeded peal, without intermission. The rain descended hissing and
+spouting, and presently ran down the hill in a torrent, adding to the
+horseman's other difficulties and dangers. To heighten the terror of the
+scene, strange shapes, revealed by the lightning, were seen flitting
+among the trees, and strange sounds were heard, though overpowered by
+the dreadful rolling of the thunder.</p>
+
+<p>But Richard's resolution continued unshaken, and he forced Merlin on. He
+had not proceeded far, however, when the animal uttered a cry of fright,
+and began beating the air with his fore hoofs. The lightning enabled
+Richard to discern the cause of this new distress. Coiled round the poor
+beast's legs, all whose efforts to disengage himself from the terrible
+assailant were ineffectual, was a large black snake, seemingly about to
+plunge its poisonous fangs into the flesh. Again having recourse to the
+talisman, and bending down, Richard stretched it towards the snake, upon
+which the reptile instantly darted its arrow-shaped head against him,
+but instead of wounding him, its forked teeth encountered the piece of
+gold, and, as if stricken a violent blow, it swiftly untwined itself,
+and fled, hissing, into the thicket.</p>
+
+<p>Richard was now obliged to dismount and lead his horse. In this way he
+toiled slowly up the hill. The storm continued with unabated fury: the
+red lightning played around him, the brattling thunder stunned him, and
+the pelting rain poured down upon his head. But he was no more
+molested. Save for the vivid flashes, it had become dark as night, but
+they served to guide him on his way.</p>
+
+<p>At length he got out of the thicket, and trod upon the turf, but it was
+rendered so slippery by moisture, that he could scarcely keep his feet,
+while the lightning no longer aided him. Fearing he had taken a wrong
+course, he stood still, and while debating with himself a blaze of light
+illumined the wide heath, and showed him the object of his search,
+Malkin Tower, standing alone, like a beacon, at about a quarter of a
+mile's distance, on the further side of the hill. Was it disturbed
+fancy, or did he really behold on the summit of the structure a grisly
+shape resembling&mdash;if it resembled any thing human&mdash;a gigantic black cat,
+with roughened staring skin, and flaming eyeballs?</p>
+
+<p>Nerved by the sight of the tower, Richard was on his steed's back in an
+instant, and the animal, having in some degree recovered his spirits,
+galloped off with him, and kept his feet in spite of the slippery state
+of the road. Erelong, another flash showed the young man that he was
+drawing rapidly near the tower, and dismounting, he tied Merlin to a
+tree, and hurried towards the unhallowed pile. When within twenty paces
+of it, mindful of Mistress Nutter's injunctions, he placed the bugle to
+his lips, and winded it thrice. The summons, though clear and loud,
+sounded strangely in the portentous silence.</p>
+
+<p>Scarcely had the last notes died away, when a light shone through the
+dark red curtains hanging before a casement in the upper part of the
+tower. The next moment these were drawn aside, and a face appeared, so
+frightful, so charged with infernal wickedness and malice, that
+Richard's blood grew chill at the sight. Was it man or woman? The white
+beard, and the large, broad, masculine character of the countenance,
+seemed to denote the, former, but the garb was that of a female. The
+face was at once hideous and fantastic&mdash;the eyes set across&mdash;the mouth
+awry&mdash;the right cheek marked by a mole shining with black hair, and
+horrible from its contrast to the rest of the visage, and the brow
+branded as if by a streak of blood. A black thrum cap constituted the
+old witch's head-gear, and from beneath it her hoary hair escaped in
+long elf-locks. The lower part of her person was hidden from view, but
+she appeared to be as broad-shouldered as a man, and her bulky person
+was wrapped in a tawny-coloured robe. Throwing open the window, she
+looked forth, and demanded in harsh imperious tones&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who dares to summon Mother Demdike?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A messenger from Mistress Nutter,&quot; replied Richard. &quot;I am come in her
+name to demand the restitution of Alizon Device, whom thou hast forcibly
+and wrongfully taken from her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alizon Device is my grand-daughter, and, as such, belongs to me, and
+not to Mistress Nutter,&quot; rejoined Mother Demdike.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou knowest thou speakest false, foul hag!&quot; cried Richard. &quot;Alizon is
+no blood of thine. Open the door and cast down the ladder, or I will
+find other means of entrance.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Try them, then,&quot; rejoined Mother Demdike. And she closed the casement
+sharply, and drew the curtains over it.</p>
+
+<p>After reconnoitring the building for a moment, Richard moved quickly to
+the left, and counting ten paces, as directed by Mistress Nutter, began
+to search among the thick grass growing near the base of the tower for
+the concealed entrance. It was too dark to distinguish any difference in
+the colour of the masonry, but he was sure he could not be far wrong,
+and presently his hand came in contact with a knob of iron. He pressed
+it, but it did not yield to the touch. Again more forcibly, but with
+like ill success. Could he be mistaken? He tried the next stone, and
+discovered another knob upon it, but this was as immovable as the first.
+He went on, and then found that each stone was alike, and that if
+amongst the number he had chanced upon the one worked by the secret
+spring, it had refused to act. On examining the structure so far as he
+was able to do in the gloom, he found he had described the whole circle
+of the tower, and was about to commence the search anew, when a creaking
+sound was heard above, and a light streamed suddenly down upon him. The
+door had been opened by the old witch, and she stood there with a lamp
+in her hand, its yellow flame illumining her hideous visage, and short,
+square, powerfully built frame. Her throat was like that of a bull; her
+hands of extraordinary size; and her arms, which were bare to the
+shoulder, brawny and muscular.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What, still outside?&quot; she cried in a jeering tone, and with a wild
+discordant laugh. &quot;Methought thou affirmedst thou couldst find a way
+into my dwelling.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I do not yet despair of finding it,&quot; replied Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Fool!&quot; screamed the hag. &quot;I tell thee it is in vain to attempt it
+without my consent. With a word, I could make these walls one solid
+mass, without window or outlet from base to summit. With a word, I could
+shower stones upon thy head, and crush thee to dust. With a word, I
+could make the earth swallow thee up. With a word, I could whisk thee
+hence to the top of Pendle Hill. Ha! ha! Dost fear me now?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No,&quot; replied Richard, undauntedly. &quot;And the word thou menacest me with
+shall never be uttered.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why not?&quot; asked Mother Demdike, derisively.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Because thou wouldst not brave the resentment of one whose power is
+equal to thine own&mdash;if not greater,&quot; replied the young man.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Greater it is not&mdash;neither equal,&quot; rejoined the old hag, haughtily;
+&quot;but I do not desire a quarrel with Alice Nutter. Only let her not
+meddle with me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Once more, art thou willing to admit me?&quot; demanded Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, upon one condition,&quot; replied Mother Demdike. &quot;Thou shalt learn it
+anon. Stand aside while I let down the ladder.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Richard obeyed, and a pair of narrow wooden steps dropped to the ground.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Now mount, if thou hast the courage,&quot; cried the hag.</p>
+
+<p>The young man was instantly beside her, but she stood in the doorway,
+and barred his further progress with her extended staff. Now that he was
+face to face with her, he wondered at his own temerity. There was
+nothing human in her countenance, and infernal light gleamed in her
+strangely-set eyes. Her personal strength, evidently unimpaired by age,
+or preserved by magical art, seemed equal to her malice; and she
+appeared as capable of executing any atrocity, as of conceiving it. She
+saw the effect produced upon him, and chuckled with malicious
+satisfaction.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Saw'st thou ever face like mine?&quot; she cried. &quot;No, I wot not. But I
+would rather inspire aversion and terror than love. Love!&mdash;foh! I would
+rather see men shrink from me, and shudder at my approach, than smile
+upon me and court me. I would rather freeze the blood in their veins,
+than set it boiling with passion. Ho! ho!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou art a fearful being, indeed!&quot; exclaimed Richard, appalled.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Fearful, am I?&quot; ejaculated the old witch, with renewed laughter. &quot;At
+last thou own'st it. Why, ay, I <i>am</i> fearful. It is my wish to be so. I
+live to plague mankind&mdash;to blight and blast them&mdash;to scare them with my
+looks&mdash;to work them mischief. Ho! ho! And now, let us look at thee,&quot; she
+continued, holding the lamp over him. &quot;Why, soh?&mdash;a comely youth! And
+the young maids doat upon thee, I doubt not, and praise thy blooming
+cheeks, thy bright eyes, thy flowing locks, and thy fine limbs. I hate
+thy beauty, boy, and would mar it!&mdash;would canker thy wholesome flesh,
+dim thy lustrous eyes, and strike thy vigorous limbs with palsy, till
+they should shake like mine! I am half-minded to do it,&quot; she added,
+raising her staff, and glaring at him with inconceivable malignity.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hold!&quot; exclaimed Richard, taking the talisman from his breast, and
+displaying it to her. &quot;I am armed against thy malice!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Mother Demdike's staff fell from her grasp.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I knew thou wert in some way protected,&quot; she cried furiously. &quot;And so
+it is a piece of gold&mdash;with magic characters upon it, eh?&quot; she added,
+suddenly changing her tone; &quot;Let me look at it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou seest it plain enough,&quot; rejoined Richard. &quot;Now, stand aside and
+let me pass, for thou perceivest I have power to force an entrance.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I see it&mdash;I see it,&quot; replied Mother Demdike, with affected humility. &quot;I
+see it is in vain to struggle with thee, or rather with the potent lady
+who sent thee. Tarry where thou art, and i will bring Alizon to thee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I almost mistrust thee,&quot; said Richard&mdash;&quot;but be speedy.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will be scarce a moment,&quot; said the witch; &quot;but I must warn thee that
+she is&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What&mdash;what hast thou done to her, thou wicked hag?&quot; cried Richard, in
+alarm.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She is distraught,&quot; said Mother Demdike.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Distraught!&quot; echoed Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But thou canst easily cure her,&quot; said the old hag, significantly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, so I can,&quot; cried Richard with sudden joy&mdash;&quot;the talisman! Bring her
+to me at once.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Mother Demdike departed, leaving him in a state of indescribable
+agitation. The walls of the tower were of immense thickness, and the
+entrance to the chamber towards which the arched doorway led was covered
+by a curtain of old arras, behind which the hag had disappeared.
+Scarcely had she entered the room when a scream was heard, and Richard
+heard his own name pronounced by a voice which, in spite of its agonised
+tones, he at once recognised. The cries were repeated, and he then heard
+Mother Demdike call out, &quot;Come hither! come hither!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Instantly rushing forward and dashing aside the tapestry, he found
+himself in a mysterious-looking circular chamber, with a massive oak
+table in the midst of it. There were many strange objects in the room,
+but he saw only Alizon, who was struggling with the old witch, and
+clinging desperately to the table. He called to her by name as he
+advanced, but her bewildered looks proved that she did not know him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alizon&mdash;dear Alizon! I am come to free you,&quot; he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>But in place of answering him she uttered a piercing scream.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The talisman, the talisman?&quot; cried the hag. &quot;I cannot undo my own work.
+Place the chain round her neck, and the gold near her heart, that she
+may experience its full virtue.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Richard unsuspectingly complied with the suggestion of the temptress;
+but the moment he had parted with the piece of gold the figure of Alizon
+vanished, the chamber was buried in gloom, and, amidst a hubbub of wild
+laughter, he was dragged by the powerful arm of the witch through the
+arched doorway, and flung from it to the ground, the shock of the fall
+producing immediate insensibility.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII_THE_MYSTERIES_OF_MALKIN_TOWER" id="CHAPTER_XII_THE_MYSTERIES_OF_MALKIN_TOWER" />CHAPTER XII.&mdash;THE MYSTERIES OF MALKIN TOWER.</h2>
+
+
+<p>It was a subterranean chamber; gloomy, and of vast extent; the roof low,
+and supported by nine ponderous stone columns, to which rings and rusty
+chains were attached, still retaining the mouldering bones of those they
+had held captive in life. Amongst others was a gigantic skeleton, quite
+entire, with an iron girdle round the middle. Fragments of mortality
+were elsewhere scattered about, showing the numbers who had perished in
+the place. On either side were cells closed by massive doors, secured by
+bolts and locks. At one end were three immense coffers made of oak,
+hooped with iron, and fastened by large padlocks. Near them stood a
+large armoury, likewise of oak, and sculptured with the ensigns of
+Whalley Abbey, proving it had once belonged to that establishment.
+Probably it had been carried off by some robber band. At the opposite
+end of the vault were two niches, each occupied by a rough-hewn
+statue&mdash;the one representing a warlike figure, with a visage of
+extraordinary ferocity, and the other an anchoress, in her hood and
+wimple, with a rosary in her hand. On the ground beneath lay a plain
+flag, covering the mortal remains of the wicked pair, and proclaiming
+them to be Isole de Heton and Blackburn, the freebooter. The pillars
+were ranged in three lines, so as to form, with the arches above them, a
+series of short passages, in the midst of which stood an altar, and near
+it a large caldron. In front, elevated on a block of granite, was a
+marvellous piece of sculpture, wrought in jet, and representing a demon
+seated on a throne. The visage was human, but the beard that of a goat,
+while the feet and lower limbs were like those of the same animal. Two
+curled horns grew behind the ears, and a third, shaped like a conch,
+sprang from the centre of the forehead, from which burst a blue flame,
+throwing a ghastly light on the objects surrounding it.</p>
+
+<p>The only discernible approach to the vault was a steep narrow stone
+staircase, closed at the top by a heavy trapdoor. Other outlet
+apparently there was none. Some little air was admitted to this foul
+abode through flues contrived in the walls, the entrances to which were
+grated, but the light of day never came there. The flame, however,
+issuing from the brow of the demon image, like the lamps in the
+sepulchres of the disciples of the Rosy Cross, was ever-burning. Behind
+the sable statue was a deep well, with water as black as ink, wherein
+swarmed snakes, and toads, and other noxious reptiles; and as the lurid
+light fell upon its surface it glittered like a dusky mirror, unless
+when broken by the horrible things that lurked beneath, or crawled about
+upon its slimy brim. But snakes and toads were not the only tenants of
+the vault. At the head of the steps squatted a monstrous and misshapen
+animal, bearing some resemblance to a cat, but as big as a tiger. Its
+skin was black and shaggy; its eyes glowed like those of the hy&aelig;na; and
+its cry was like that of the same treacherous beast. Among the gloomy
+colonnades other swart and bestial shapes could be indistinctly seen
+moving to and fro.</p>
+
+<p>In this abode of horror were two human beings&mdash;one, a young maiden of
+exquisite beauty; and the other, almost a child, and strangely deformed.
+The elder, overpowered by terror, was clinging to a pillar for support,
+while the younger, who might naturally be expected to exhibit the
+greatest alarm, appeared wholly unconcerned, and derided her companion's
+fears.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh, Jennet!&quot; exclaimed the elder of the two, &quot;is there no means of
+escape?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;None whatever,&quot; replied the other. &quot;Yo mun stay here till Granny
+Demdike cums fo ye.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! that the earth would open and snatch me from these horrors,&quot; cried
+Alizon. &quot;My reason is forsaking me. Would I could kneel and pray for
+deliverance! But something prevents me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Reet!&quot; replied Jennet. &quot;It's os mitch os yer loife's worth to kneel an
+pray here, onless yo choose to ge an throw yersel at th' feet o' yon
+black image.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Kneel to that idol&mdash;never!&quot; exclaimed Alizon. And while striving to
+call upon heaven for aid, a sharp convulsion seized her, and deprived
+her of the power of utterance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey towd yo how it wad be,&quot; remarked Jennet, who watched her narrowly.
+&quot;Yo 're neaw i' a church here, an if yo want to warship, it mun be at
+yon altar. Dunna yo hear how angry the cats are&mdash;how they growl an spit?
+An see how their een gliss'n! They'll tare yo i' pieces, loike so many
+tigers, if yo offend em.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Tell me why I am brought here, Jennet?&quot; inquired Alizon, after a brief
+pause.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Granny Demdike will tell yo that,&quot; replied the little girl; &quot;boh to my
+belief,&quot; she added, with a mocking laugh, &quot;hoo means to may a witch o'
+ye, loike aw the rest on us.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She cannot do that without my consent,&quot; cried Alizon, &quot;and I would die
+a thousand deaths rather than yield it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That remains to be seen,&quot; replied Jennet, tauntingly. &quot;Yo 're obstinate
+enuff, nah doubt. Boh Granny Demdike is used to deal wi' sich folk.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! why was I born?&quot; cried Alizon, bitterly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo may weel ask that,&quot; responded Jennet, with a loud unfeeling laugh;
+&quot;fo ey see neaw great use yo're on, wi' yer protty feace an bright een,
+onless it be to may one hate ye.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Is it possible you can say this to me, Jennet?&quot; cried Alizon. &quot;What
+have I done to incur your hatred? I have ever loved you, and striven to
+please and serve you. I have always taken your part against others, even
+when you were in the wrong. Oh! Jennet, you cannot hate me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Boh ey do,&quot; replied the little girl, spitefully. &quot;Ey hate yo now warser
+than onny wan else. Ey hate yo because yo are neaw lunger my
+sister&mdash;becose yo 're a grand ledy's dowter, an a grand ledy yersel. Ey
+hate yo becose yung Ruchot Assheton loves yo&mdash;an becose yo ha better
+luck i' aw things than ey have, or con expect to have. That's why I hate
+yo, Alizon. When yo are a witch ey shan love yo, for then we shan be
+equals once more.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That will never be, Jennet,&quot; said Alizon, sadly, but firmly. &quot;Your
+grandmother may immure me in this dungeon, and scare away my senses; but
+she will never rob me of my hopes of salvation.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As the words were uttered, a clang like that produced by a stricken gong
+shook the vault; the beasts roared fiercely; the black waters of the
+fountain bubbled up, and were lashed into foam by the angry reptiles;
+and a larger jet of flame than before burst from the brow of the demon
+statue.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey ha' warned ye, Alizon,&quot; said Jennet, alarmed by these
+demonstrations; &quot;boh since ye pay no heed to owt ey say, ey'st leave yo
+to yer fate.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! stay with me, stay with me, Jennet!&quot; shrieked Alizon, &quot;By our past
+sisterly affection I implore you to remain! You are some protection to
+me from these dreadful beings.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey dunna want to protect yo onless yo do os yo're bidd'n,&quot; replied
+Jennet! &quot;Whoy should yo be better than me?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah! why, indeed?&quot; cried Alizon. &quot;Would I had the power to turn your
+heart&mdash;to open your eyes to evil&mdash;to save you, Jennet.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>These words were followed by another clang, louder and more brattling
+than the first. The solid walls of the dungeon were shaken, and the
+heavy columns rocked; while, to Alizon's affrighted gaze, it seemed as
+if the sable statue arose upon its ebon throne, and stretched out its
+arm menacingly towards her. The poor girl was saved from further terror
+by insensibility.</p>
+
+<p>How long she remained in this condition she could not tell, nor did it
+appear that any efforts were made to restore her; but when she
+recovered, she found herself stretched upon a rude pallet within an
+arched recess, the entrance to which was screened by a piece of
+tapestry. On lifting it aside she perceived she was no longer in the
+vault, but in an upper chamber, as she judged, and not incorrectly, of
+the tower. The room was lofty and circular, and the walls of enormous
+thickness, as shown by the deep embrasures of the windows; in one of
+which, the outlet having been built up, the pallet was placed. A massive
+oak table, two or three chairs of antique shape, and a wooden stool,
+constituted the furniture of the room. The stool was set near the
+fireplace, and beside it stood a strangely-fashioned spinning-wheel,
+which had apparently been recently used; but neither the old hag nor her
+grand-daughter were visible. Alizon could not tell whether it was night
+or day; but a lamp was burning upon the table, its feeble light only
+imperfectly illumining the chamber, and scarcely revealing several
+strange objects dangling from the huge beams that supported the roof.
+Faded arras were hung against the walls, representing in one compartment
+the last banquet of Isole de Heton and her lover, Blackburn; in another,
+the Saxon Ughtred hanging from the summit of Malkin Tower; and in a
+third, the execution of Abbot Paslew. The subjects were as large as
+life, admirably depicted, and evidently worked at wondrous looms. As
+they swayed to and fro in the gusts, that found entrance into the
+chamber through some unprotected loopholes, the figures had a grim and
+ghostly air.</p>
+
+<p>Weak, trembling, bewildered, Alizon stepped forth, and staggering
+towards the table sank upon a chair beside it. A fearful storm was
+raging without&mdash;thunder, lightning, deluging rain. Stunned and blinded,
+she covered her eyes, and remained thus till the fury of the tempest had
+in some degree abated. She was roused at length by a creaking sound not
+far from her, and found it proceeded from a trapdoor rising slowly on
+its hinges.</p>
+
+<p>A thrum cap first appeared above the level of the floor; then a broad,
+bloated face, the mouth and chin fringed with a white beard like the
+whiskers of a cat; then a thick, bull throat; then a pair of brawny
+shoulders; then a square, thick-set frame; and Mother Demdike stood
+before her. A malignant smile played upon her hideous countenance, and
+gleamed from her eyes&mdash;those eyes so strangely placed by nature, as if
+to intimate her doom, and that of her fated race, to whom the horrible
+blemish was transmitted. As the old witch leaped heavily upon the
+ground, the trapdoor closed behind her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Soh, you are better, Alizon, and have quitted your couch, I find,&quot; she
+cried, striking her staff upon the floor. &quot;But you look faint and feeble
+still. I will give you something to revive you. I have a wondrous
+cordial in yon closet&mdash;a rare restorative&mdash;ha! ha! It will make you well
+the moment it has passed your lips. I will fetch it at once.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will have none of it,&quot; replied Alizon; &quot;I would rather die.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Rather die!&quot; echoed Mother Demdike, sarcastically, &quot;because, forsooth,
+you are crossed in love. But you shall have the man of your heart yet,
+if you will only follow my counsel, and do as I bid you. Richard
+Assheton shall be yours, and with your mother's consent, provided&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I understand the condition you annex to the promise,&quot; interrupted
+Alizon, &quot;and the terms upon which you would fulfil it: but you seek in
+vain to tempt me, old woman. I now comprehend why I am brought hither.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, indeed!&quot; exclaimed the old witch. &quot;And why is it, then, since you
+are so quick-witted?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You desire to make an offering to the evil being you serve,&quot; cried
+Alizon, with sudden energy. &quot;You have entered into some dark compact,
+which compels you to deliver up a victim in each year to the Fiend, or
+your own soul becomes forfeit. Thus you have hitherto lengthened out
+your wretched life, and you hope to extend the term yet farther through
+me. I have heard this tale before, but I would not believe it. Now I
+do. This is why you have stolen me from my mother&mdash;have braved her
+anger&mdash;and brought me to this impious tower.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The old hag laughed hoarsely.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The tale thou hast heard respecting me is true,&quot; she said. &quot;I <i>have</i> a
+compact which requires me to make a proselyte to the power I serve
+within each year, and if I fail in doing so, I must pay the penalty thou
+hast mentioned. A like compact exists between Mistress Nutter and the
+Fiend.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>She paused for a moment, to watch the effect of her words on Alizon, and
+then resumed.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thy mother would have sacrificed thee if thou hadst been left with her;
+but I have carried thee off, because I conceive I am best entitled to
+thee. Thou wert brought up as my grand-daughter, and therefore I claim
+thee as my own.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And you think to deal with me as if I were a puppet in your hands?&quot;
+cried Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, marry, do I,&quot; rejoined Mother Demdike, with a scream of laughter,
+&quot;Thou art nothing more than a puppet&mdash;a puppet&mdash;ho! ho.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And you deem you can dispose of my soul without my consent?&quot; said
+Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thy full consent will be obtained,&quot; rejoined the old hag.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Think it not! think it not!&quot; exclaimed Alizon. &quot;Oh! I shall yet be
+delivered from this infernal bondage.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>At this moment the notes of a bugle were heard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Saved! saved!&quot; cried the poor girl, starting. &quot;It is Richard come to my
+rescue!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How know'st thou that?&quot; cried Mother Demdike, with a spiteful look.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;By an instinct that never deceives,&quot; replied Alizon, as the blast was
+again heard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This must be stopped,&quot; said the hag, waving her staff over the maiden,
+and transfixing her where she sat; after which she took up the lamp, and
+strode towards the window.</p>
+
+<p>The few words that passed between her and Richard have been already
+recounted. Having closed the casement and drawn the curtain before it,
+Mother Demdike traced a circle on the floor, muttered a spell, and then,
+waving her staff over Alizon, restored her power of speech and motion.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;'Twas he!&quot; exclaimed the young girl, as soon as she could find
+utterance. &quot;I heard his voice.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why, ay, 'twas he, sure enough,&quot; rejoined the beldame. &quot;He has come on
+a fool's errand, but he shall never return from it. Does Mistress Nutter
+think I will give up my prize the moment I have obtained it, for the
+mere asking? Does she imagine she can frighten me as she frightens
+others? Does she know whom she has to deal with? If not, I will tell
+her. I am the oldest, the boldest, and the strongest of the witches. No
+mystery of the black art but is known to me. I can do what mischief I
+will, and my desolating hand has been felt throughout this district. You
+may trace it like a pestilence. No one has offended me but I have
+terribly repaid him. I rule over the land like a queen. I exact
+tributes, and, if they are not rendered, I smite with a sharper edge
+than the sword. My worship is paid to the Prince of Darkness. This tower
+is his temple, and yon subterranean chamber the place where the mystical
+rites, which thou wouldst call impious and damnable, are performed.
+Countless sabbaths have I attended within it; or upon Rumbles Moor, or
+on the summit of Pendle Hill, or within the ruins of Whalley Abbey. Many
+proselytes have I made; many unbaptised babes offered up in sacrifice. I
+am high-priestess to the Demon, and thy mother would usurp mine office.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! spare me this horrible recital!&quot; exclaimed Alizon, vainly trying to
+shut out the hag's piercing voice.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will spare thee nothing,&quot; pursued Mother Demdike. &quot;Thy mother, I say,
+would be high-priestess in my stead. There are degrees among witches, as
+among other sects, and mine is the first. Mistress Nutter would deprive
+me of mine office; but not till her hair is as white as mine, her
+knowledge equal to mine, and her hatred of mankind as intense as
+mine&mdash;not till then shall she have it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No more of this, in pity!&quot; cried Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Often have I aided thy mother in her dark schemes,&quot; pursued the
+implacable hag; &quot;nay, no later than last night I obliterated the old
+boundaries of her land, and erected new marks to serve her. It was a
+strong exercise of power; but the command came to me, and I obeyed it.
+No other witch could have achieved so much, not even the accursed
+Chattox, and she is next to myself. And how does thy mother purpose to
+requite me? By thrusting me aside, and stepping into my throne.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You must be in error,&quot; cried Alizon, scarcely knowing what to say.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My information never fails me,&quot; replied the hag, with a disdainful
+laugh. &quot;Her plans are made known to me as soon as formed. I have those
+about her who keep strict watch upon her actions, and report them
+faithfully. I know why she brought thee so suddenly to Rough Lee, though
+thou know'st it not.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She brought me there for safety,&quot; remarked the young girl, hoping to
+allay the beldame's fury, &quot;and because she herself desired to know how
+the survey of the boundaries would end.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She brought thee there to sacrifice thee to the Fiend!&quot; cried the hag,
+infernal rage and malice blazing in her eyes. &quot;She failed in
+propitiating him at the meeting in the ruined church of Whalley last
+night, when thou thyself wert present, and deliveredst Dorothy Assheton
+from the snare in which she was taken. And since then all has gone wrong
+with her. Having demanded from her familiar the cause why all things ran
+counter, she was told she had failed in the fulfilment of her
+promise&mdash;that a proselyte was required&mdash;and that thou alone wouldst be
+accepted.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I!&quot; exclaimed Alizon, horror-stricken.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, thou!&quot; cried the hag. &quot;No choice was allowed her, and the offering
+must be made to-night. After a long and painful struggle, thy mother
+consented.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! no&mdash;impossible! you deceive me,&quot; cried the wretched girl.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I tell thee she consented,&quot; rejoined Mother Demdike, coldly; &quot;and on
+this she made instant arrangements to return home, and in spite&mdash;as thou
+know'st&mdash;of Sir Ralph and Lady Assheton's efforts to detain her, set
+forth with thee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;All this I know,&quot; observed Alizon, sadly&mdash;&quot;and intelligence of our
+departure from the Abbey was conveyed to you, I conclude, by Jennet, to
+whom I bade adieu.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou art right&mdash;it was,&quot; returned the hag; &quot;but I have yet more to tell
+thee, for I will lay the secrets of thy mother's dark breast fully
+before thee. Her time is wellnigh run. Thou wert made the price of its
+extension. If she fails in offering thee up to-night, and thou art here
+in my keeping, the Fiend, her master, will abandon her, and she will be
+delivered up to the justice of man.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Alizon covered her face with horror.</p>
+
+<p>After awhile she looked up, and exclaimed, with unutterable anguish&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And I cannot help her!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The unpitying hag laughed derisively.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She cannot be utterly lost,&quot; continued the young girl. &quot;Were I near
+her, I would show her that heaven is merciful to the greatest sinner who
+repents; and teach her how to regain the lost path to salvation.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Peace!&quot; thundered the witch, shaking her huge hand at her, and stamping
+her heavy foot upon the ground. &quot;Such words must not be uttered here.
+They are an offence to me. Thy mother has renounced all hopes of heaven.
+She has been baptised in the baptism of hell, and branded on the brow by
+the red finger of its ruler, and cannot be wrested from him. It is too
+late.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, no&mdash;it never can be too late!&quot; cried Alizon. &quot;It is not even too
+late for you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou know'st not what thou talk'st about, foolish wench,&quot; rejoined the
+hag. &quot;Our master would tear us instantly in pieces if but a thought of
+penitence, as thou callest it, crossed our minds. We are both doomed to
+an eternity of torture. But thy mother will go first&mdash;ay, first. If she
+had yielded thee up to-night, another term would have been allowed her;
+but as I hold thee instead, the benefit of the sacrifice will be mine.
+But, hist! what was that? The youth again! Alice Nutter must have given
+him some potent counter-charm.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He comes to deliver me,&quot; cried Alizon. &quot;Richard!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And she arose, and would have flown to the window, but Mother Demdike
+waved her staff over her, and rooted her to the ground.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Stay there till I require thee,&quot; chuckled the hag, moving, with
+ponderous footsteps, to the door.</p>
+
+<p>After parleying with Richard, as already related, Mother Demdike
+suddenly returned to Alizon, and, restoring her to sensibility, placed
+her hideous face close to her, breathing upon her, and uttering these
+words, &quot;Be thine eyes blinded and thy brain confused, so that thou mayst
+not know him when thou seest him, but think him another.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The spell took instant effect. Alizon staggered towards the table,
+Richard was summoned, and on his appearance the scene took place which
+has already been detailed, and which ended in his losing the talisman,
+and being ejected from the tower.</p>
+
+<p>Alizon had been rendered invisible by the old witch, and was afterwards
+dragged into the arched recess by her, where, snatching the piece of
+gold from the young girl's neck, she exclaimed triumphantly&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Now I defy thee, Alice Nutter. Thou canst never recover thy child. The
+offering shall be made to-night, and another year be added to my long
+term.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Alizon groaned deeply, but, at a gesture from the hag, she became
+motionless and speechless.</p>
+
+<p>A dusky indistinctly-seen figure hovered near the entrance of the
+embrasure. Mother Demdike beckoned it to her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Convey this girl to the vault, and watch over her,&quot; she said. &quot;I will
+descend anon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Upon this the shadowy arms enveloped Alizon, the trapdoor flew open, and
+the figure disappeared with its inanimate burthen.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII_THE_TWO_FAMILIARS" id="CHAPTER_XIII_THE_TWO_FAMILIARS" />CHAPTER XIII.&mdash;THE TWO FAMILIARS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>After seeing Richard depart on his perilous mission to Malkin Tower,
+Mistress Nutter retired to her own chamber, and held long and anxious
+self-communion. The course of her thoughts may be gathered from the
+terrible revelations made by Mother Demdike to Alizon. A prey to the
+most agonising emotions, it may be questioned if she could have endured
+greater torment if her heart had been consumed by living fire, as in the
+punishment assigned to the damned in the fabled halls of Eblis. For the
+first time remorse assailed her, and she felt compunction for the evil
+she had committed. The whole of her dark career passed in review before
+her. The long catalogue of her crimes unfolded itself like a scroll of
+flame, and at its foot were written in blazing characters the awful
+words, JUDGMENT AND CONDEMNATION! There was no escape&mdash;none! Hell, with
+its unquenchable fires and unimaginable horrors, yawned to receive her;
+and she felt, with anguish and self-reproach not to be described, how
+wretched a bargain she had made, and how dearly the brief gratification
+of her evil passions had been purchased at the cost of an eternity of
+woe and torture.</p>
+
+<p>This change of feeling had been produced by her newly-awakened affection
+for her daughter, long supposed dead, and now restored to her, only to
+be snatched away again in a manner which added to the sharpness of the
+loss. She saw herself the sport of a juggling fiend, whose aim was to
+win over her daughter's soul through her instrumentality, and she
+resolved, if possible, to defeat his purposes. This, she was aware,
+could only be accomplished by her own destruction, but even this dread
+alternative she was prepared to embrace. Alizon's sinless nature and
+devotion to herself had so wrought upon her, that, though she had at
+first resisted the better impulses kindled within her bosom, in the end
+they completely overmastered her.</p>
+
+<p>Was it, she asked herself, too late to repent? Was there no way of
+breaking her compact? She remembered to have read of a young man who had
+signed away his own soul, being restored to heaven by the intercession
+of the great reformer of the church, Martin Luther. But, on the other
+hand, she had heard of many others, who, on the slightest manifestation
+of penitence, had been rent in pieces by the Fiend. Still the idea
+recurred to her. Might not her daughter, armed with perfect purity and
+holiness, with a soul free from stain as an unspotted mirror; might not
+she, who had avouched herself ready to risk all for her&mdash;for she had
+overheard her declaration to Richard;&mdash;might not she be able to work out
+her salvation? Would confession of her sins and voluntary submission to
+earthly justice save her? Alas!&mdash;no. She was without hope. She had an
+inexorable master to deal with, who would grant her no grace, except
+upon conditions she would not assent to.</p>
+
+<p>She would have thrown herself on her knees, but they refused to bend.
+She would have prayed, but the words turned to blasphemies. She would
+have wept, but the fountains of tears were dry. The witch could never
+weep.</p>
+
+<p>Then came despair and frenzy, and, like furies, lashed her with whips of
+scorpions, goading her with the memory of her abominations and
+idolatries, and her infinite and varied iniquities. They showed her, as
+in a swiftly-fleeting vision, all who had suffered wrong by her, or whom
+her malice had afflicted in body or estate. They mocked her with a
+glimpse of the paradise she had forfeited. She saw her daughter in a
+beatified state about to enter its golden portals, and would have clung
+to her robes in the hope of being carried in with her, but she was
+driven away by an angel with a flaming sword, who cried out, &quot;Thou hast
+abjured heaven, and heaven rejects thee. Satan's brand is upon thy brow
+and, unless it be effaced, thou canst never enter here. Down to Tophet,
+thou witch!&quot; Then she implored her daughter to touch her brow with the
+tip of her finger; and, as the latter was about to comply, a dark
+demoniacal shape suddenly rose, and, seizing her by the hair, plunged
+with her down&mdash;down&mdash;millions of miles&mdash;till she beheld a world of fire
+appear beneath her, consisting of a multitude of volcanoes, roaring and
+raging like furnaces, boiling over with redhot lava, and casting forth
+huge burning stones. In each of these beds of fire thousands upon
+thousands of sufferers were writhing, and their groans and lamentations
+arose in one frightful, incessant wail, too terrible for human hearing.</p>
+
+<p>Over this place of torment the demon held her suspended. She shrieked
+aloud in her agony, and, shaking off the oppression, rejoiced to find
+the vision had been caused by her own distempered imagination.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the storm, which had obstructed Richard as he climbed the
+hill, had come on, though Mistress Nutter had not noticed it; but now a
+loud peal of thunder shook the room, and rousing herself she walked to
+the window. The sight she beheld increased her alarm. Heavy
+thunder-clouds rested upon the hill-side, and seemed ready to discharge
+their artillery upon the course which she knew must be taken by the
+young man.</p>
+
+<p>The chamber in which she stood, it has been said, was large and gloomy,
+with a wainscoting of dark oak. On one of the panels was painted a
+picture of herself in her days of youth, innocence, and beauty; and on
+another, a portrait of her unfortunate husband, who appeared a handsome
+young man, with a stern countenance, attired in a black velvet doublet
+and cloak, of the fashion of Elizabeth's day. Between these paintings
+stood a carved oak bedstead, with a high tester and dark heavy drapery,
+opposite which was a wide window, occupying almost the whole length of
+the room, but darkened by thick bars and glass, crowded with armorial
+bearings, or otherwise deeply dyed. The high mantelpiece and its
+carvings have been previously described, as well as the bloody
+hearthstone, where the tragical incident occurred connected with
+Alizon's early history.</p>
+
+<p>As Mistress Nutter returned to the fireplace, a plaintive cry arose from
+it, and starting&mdash;for the sound revived terrible memories within her
+breast&mdash;she beheld the ineffaceable stains upon the flag traced out by
+blue phosphoric fire, while above them hovered the shape of a bleeding
+infant. Horror-stricken, she averted her gaze, but it encountered
+another object, equally appalling&mdash;her husband's portrait; or rather,
+it would seem, a phantom in its place; for the eyes, lighted up by
+infernal fire, glared at her from beneath the frowning and contracted
+brows, while the hand significantly pointed to the hearthstone, on which
+the sanguinary stains had now formed themselves into the fatal word
+&quot;VENGEANCE!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>In a few minutes the fiery characters died away, and the portrait
+resumed its wonted expression; but ere Mistress Nutter had recovered
+from her terror the back of the fireplace opened, and a tall swarthy man
+stepped out from it. As he appeared, a flash of lightning illumined the
+chamber, and revealed his fiendish countenance. On seeing him, the lady
+immediately regained her courage, and addressed him in a haughty and
+commanding tone&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why this intrusion? I did not summon thee, and do not require thee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are mistaken, madam,&quot; he replied; &quot;you had never more occasion for
+me than at this moment; and, so far from intruding upon you, I have
+avoided coming near you, even though enjoined to do so by my lord. He is
+perfectly aware of the change which has just taken place in your
+opinions, and the anxiety you now feel to break the contract you have
+entered into with him, and which he has scrupulously fulfilled on his
+part; but he wishes you distinctly to understand, that he has no
+intention of abandoning his claims upon you, but will most assuredly
+enforce them at the proper time. I need not remind you that your term
+draws to a close, and ere many months must expire; but means of
+extending it have been offered you, if you choose to avail yourself of
+them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have no such intention,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter, in a decided tone.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;So be it, madam,&quot; replied the other; &quot;but you will not preserve your
+daughter, who is in the hands of a tried and faithful servant of my
+lord, and what you hesitate to do that servant will perform, and so reap
+the benefit of the sacrifice.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not so,&quot; rejoined Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I say yea,&quot; retorted the familiar.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou art my slave, I command thee to bring Alizon hither at once.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The familiar shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou refusest!&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, menacingly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Knows't thou not I have the means of chastising thee?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You had, madam,&quot; replied the other; &quot;but the moment a thought of
+penitence crossed your breast, the power you were invested with
+departed. My lord, however, is willing to give you an hour of grace,
+when, if you voluntarily renew your oaths to him, he will accept them,
+and place me at your disposal once more; but if you still continue
+obstinate&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He will abandon me,&quot; interrupted Mistress Nutter; &quot;I knew it. Fool
+that I was to trust one who, from the beginning, has been a deceiver.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have a short memory, and but little gratitude, madam and seem
+entirely to forget the important favour conferred upon you last night.
+At your solicitation, the boundaries of your property were changed, and
+large slips of land filched from another, to be given to you. But if you
+fail in your duty, you cannot expect this to continue. The boundary
+marks will be set up in their old places, and the land restored to its
+rightful owner.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I expected as much,&quot; observed Mistress Nutter, disdainfully.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thus all our pains will be thrown away,&quot; pursued the familiar; &quot;and
+though you may make light of the labour, it is no easy task to change
+the face of a whole country&mdash;to turn streams from their course, move
+bogs, transplant trees, and shift houses, all of which has been done,
+and will now have to be undone, because of your inconstancy. I, myself,
+have been obliged to act as many parts as a poor player to please you,
+and now you dismiss me at a moment's notice, as if I had played them
+indifferently, whereas the most fastidious audience would have been
+ravished with my performance. This morning I was the reeve of the
+forest, and as such obliged to assume the shape of a rascally attorney.
+I felt it a degradation, I assure you. Nor was I better pleased when you
+compelled me to put on the likeness of old Roger Nowell; for, whatever
+you may think, I am not so entirely destitute of personal vanity as to
+prefer either of their figures to my own. However, I showed no
+disinclination to oblige you. You are strangely unreasonable to-day. Is
+it my lord's fault if your desire of vengeance expires in its
+fruition&mdash;if, when you have accomplished an object, you no longer care
+for it? You ask for revenge&mdash;for power. You have them, and cast them
+aside like childish baubles!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thy lord is an arch deceiver,&quot; rejoined Mistress Nutter; &quot;and cannot
+perform his promises. They are empty delusions&mdash;profitless,
+unsubstantial as shadows. His power prevails not against any thing holy,
+as I myself have just now experienced. His money turns to withered
+leaves; his treasures are dust and ashes. Strong only is he in power of
+mischief, and even his mischief, like curses, recoils on those who use
+it. His vengeance is no true vengeance, for it troubles the conscience,
+and engenders remorse; whereas the servant of heaven heaps coals of fire
+on the head of his adversary by kindness, and satisfies his own heart.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You should have thought of all this before you vowed yourself to him,&quot;
+said the familiar; &quot;it is too late to reflect now.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Perchance not,&quot; rejoined Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Beware!&quot; thundered the demon, with a terrible gesture; &quot;any overt act
+of disobedience, and your limbs shall be scattered over this chamber.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If I do not dare thee to it, it is not because I fear thee,&quot; replied
+Mistress Nutter, in no way dismayed by the threat. &quot;Thou canst not
+control my tongue. Thou speakest of the services rendered by thy lord,
+and I repeat they are like his promises, naught. Show me the witch he
+has enriched. Of what profit is her worship of the false deity&mdash;of what
+avail the sacrifices she makes at his foul altars? It is ever the same
+spilling of blood, ever the same working of mischief. The wheels Of
+crime roll on like the car of the Indian idol, crushing all before them.
+Doth thy master ever help his servants in their need? Doth he not ever
+abandon them when they are no longer useful, and can win him no more
+proselytes? Miserable servants&mdash;miserable master! Look at the murtherous
+Demdike and the malignant Chattox, and examine the means whereby they
+have prolonged their baleful career. Enormities of all kinds committed,
+and all their families devoted to the Fiend&mdash;all wizards or witches!
+Look at them, I say. What profit to them is their long service? Are they
+rich? Are they in possession of unfading youth and beauty? Are they
+splendidly lodged? Have they all they desire? No!&mdash;the one dwells in a
+solitary turret, and the other in a wretched hovel; and both are
+miserable creatures, living only on the dole wrung by threats from
+terrified peasants, and capable of no gratification but such as results
+from practices of malice.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Is that nothing?&quot; asked the familiar. &quot;To them it is every thing. They
+care neither for splendid mansions, nor wealth, nor youth, nor beauty.
+If they did, they could have them all. They care only for the dread and
+mysterious power they possess, to be able to fascinate with a glance, to
+transfix by a gesture, to inflict strange ailments by a word, and to
+kill by a curse. This is the privilege they seek, and this privilege
+they enjoy.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And what is the end of it all?&quot; demanded Mistress Nutter, sternly.
+&quot;Erelong, they will be unable to furnish victims to their insatiate
+master, who will then abandon them. Their bodies will go to the hangman,
+and their souls to endless bale!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The familiar laughed as if a good joke had been repeated to him, and
+rubbed his hands gleefully.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Very true,&quot; he said; &quot;very true. You have stated the case exactly,
+madam. Such will certainly be the course of events. But what of that?
+The old hags will have enjoyed a long term&mdash;much longer than might have
+been anticipated. Mother Demdike, however, as I have intimated, will
+extend hers, and it is fortunate for her she is enabled to do so, as it
+would otherwise expire an hour after midnight, and could not be
+renewed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou liest!&quot; cried Mistress Nutter&mdash;&quot;liest like thy lord, who is the
+father of lies. My innocent child can never be offered up at his impious
+shrine. I have no fear for her. Neither he, nor Mother Demdike, nor any
+of the accursed sisterhood, can harm her. Her goodness will cover her
+like armour, which no evil can penetrate. Let him wreak his vengeance,
+if he will, on me. Let him treat me as a slave who has cast off his
+yoke. Let him abridge the scanty time allotted me, and bear me hence to
+his burning kingdom; but injure my child, he cannot&mdash;shall not!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Go to Malkin Tower at midnight, and thou wilt see,&quot; replied the
+familiar, with a mocking laugh.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will go there, but it shall be to deliver her,&quot; rejoined Mistress
+Nutter. &quot;And now get thee gone! I need thee no more.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Be not deceived, proud woman,&quot; said the familiar. &quot;Once dismissed, I
+may not be recalled, while thou wilt be wholly unable to defend thyself
+against thy enemies.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I care not,&quot; she rejoined; &quot;begone!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The familiar stepped back, and, stamping upon the hearthstone, it sank
+like a trapdoor, and he disappeared beneath it, a flash of lightning
+playing round his dusky figure.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding her vaunted resolution, and the boldness with which she
+had comported herself before the familiar, Mistress Nutter now
+completely gave way, and for awhile abandoned herself to despair.
+Aroused at length by the absolute necessity of action, she again walked
+to the window and looked forth. The storm still raged furiously
+without&mdash;so furiously, indeed, that it would be madness to brave it, now
+that she was deprived of her power, and reduced to the ordinary level of
+humanity. Its very violence, however, assured her it must soon cease,
+and she would then set out for Malkin Tower. But what chance had she now
+in a struggle with the old hag, with all the energies of hell at her
+command?&mdash;what hope was there of her being able to effect her daughter's
+liberation? No matter, however desperate, the attempt should be made.
+Meanwhile, it would be necessary so see what was going on below, and
+ascertain whether Blackadder had returned with Parson Holden. With this
+view, she descended to the hall, where she found Nicholas Assheton fast
+asleep in a great arm-chair, and rocked rather than disturbed by the
+loud concussions of thunder. The squire was, no doubt, overcome by the
+fatigues of the day, or it might be by the potency of the wine he had
+swallowed, for an empty flask stood on the table beside him. Mistress
+Nutter did not awaken him, but proceeded to the chamber where she had
+left Nowell and Potts prisoners, both of whom rose on her entrance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Be seated, gentlemen, I pray you,&quot; she said, courteously. &quot;I am come to
+see if you need any thing; for when this fearful storm abates, I am
+going forth for a short time.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Indeed, madam,&quot; replied Potts. &quot;For myself I require nothing further;
+but perhaps another bottle of wine might be agreeable to my honoured and
+singular good client.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Speak for yourself, sir,&quot; cried Roger Nowell, sharply.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You shall have it,&quot; interposed Mistress Nutter. &quot;I shall be glad of a
+word with you before I go, Master Nowell. I am sorry this dispute has
+arisen between us.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Humph!&quot; exclaimed the magistrate.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Very sorry,&quot; pursued Mistress Nutter; &quot;and I wish to make every
+reparation in my power.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Reparation, madam!&quot; cried Nowell. &quot;Give back the land you have stolen
+from me&mdash;restore the boundary lines&mdash;sign the deed in Sir Ralph's
+possession&mdash;that is the only reparation you can make.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You will!&quot; exclaimed Nowell. &quot;Then the fellow did not deceive us,
+Master Potts.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Has any one been with you?&quot; asked the lady, uneasily.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, the reeve of the forest,&quot; replied Nowell. &quot;He told us you would be
+with us presently, and would make fair offers to us.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And he told us also <i>why</i> you would make them, madam,&quot; added Potts, in
+an insolent and menacing tone; &quot;he told us you would make a merit of
+doing what you could not help&mdash;that your power had gone from you&mdash;that
+your works of darkness would be destroyed&mdash;and that, in a word, you were
+abandoned by the devil, your master.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He deceived you,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter. &quot;I have made you the offer
+out of pure good-will, and you can reject it or not, as you please. All
+I stipulate, if you do accept it, is, that you pledge me your word not
+to bring any charge of witchcraft against me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not give the pledge,&quot; whispered a voice in the ear of the
+magistrate.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Did you speak?&quot; he said, turning to Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, sir,&quot; replied the attorney, in a low tone; &quot;but I thought you
+cautioned me against&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hush!&quot; interrupted Nowell; &quot;it must be the reeve. We cannot comply with
+your request, madam,&quot; he added, aloud.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Certainly not,&quot; said Potts. &quot;We can make no bargain with an avowed
+witch. We should gain nothing by it; on the contrary, we should be
+losers, for we have the positive assurance of a gentleman whom we
+believe to be upon terms of intimacy with a certain black gentleman of
+your acquaintance, madam, that the latter has given you up entirely, and
+that law and justice may, therefore, take their course. We protest
+against our unlawful detention; but we give ourselves small concern
+about it, as Sir Ralph Assheton, who will be advised of our situation by
+Parson Holden, will speedily come to our liberation.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yes, we are now quite easy on that score, madam,&quot; added Nowell; &quot;and
+to-morrow we shall have the pleasure of escorting you to Lancaster
+Castle.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And your trial will come on at the next assizes, about the middle of
+August,&quot; said Potts, &quot;You have only four months to run.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That is indeed my term,&quot; muttered the lady. &quot;I shall not tarry to
+listen to your taunts,&quot; she added, aloud. &quot;You may possibly regret
+rejecting my proposal.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>So saying, she quitted the room.</p>
+
+<p>As she returned to the hall, Nicholas awoke.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What a devil of a storm!&quot; he exclaimed, stretching himself and rubbing
+his eyes. &quot;Zounds! that flash of lightning was enough to blind me, and
+the thunder wellnigh splits one's ears.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yet you have slept through louder peals, Nicholas,&quot; said Mistress
+Nutter, coming up to him. &quot;Richard has not returned from his mission,
+and I must go myself to Malkin Tower. In my absence, I must entrust you
+with the defence of my house.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am willing to undertake it,&quot; replied Nicholas, &quot;provided no
+witchcraft be used.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, you need not fear that,&quot; said the lady, with a forced smile.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, then, leave it to me,&quot; said the squire; &quot;but you will not set out
+till the storm is over?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I must,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter; &quot;there seems no likelihood of its
+cessation, and each moment is fraught with peril to Alizon. If aught
+happens to me, Nicholas&mdash;if I should&mdash;whatever mischance may befall
+me&mdash;promise me you will stand by her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The squire gave the required promise.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Enough, I hold you to your word,&quot; said Mistress Nutter. &quot;Take this
+parchment. It is a deed of gift, assigning this mansion and all my
+estates to her. Under certain circumstances you will produce it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What circumstances? I am at a loss to understand you, madam,&quot; said the
+squire.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not question me further, but take especial care of the deed, and
+produce it, as I have said, at the fitting moment. You will know when
+that arrives. Ha! I am wanted.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The latter exclamation had been occasioned by the appearance of an old
+woman at the further end of the hall, beckoning to her. On seeing her,
+Mistress Nutter immediately quitted the squire, and followed her into a
+small chamber opening from this part of the hall, and into which she
+retreated.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What brings you here, Mother Chattox?&quot; exclaimed the lady, closing the
+door.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Can you not guess?&quot; replied the hag. &quot;I am come to help you, not for
+any love I bear you, but to avenge myself on old Demdike. Do not
+interrupt me. My familiar, Fancy, has told me all. I know how you are
+circumstanced. I know Alizon is in old Demdike's clutches, and you are
+unable to extricate her. But I can, and will; because if the hateful old
+hag fails in offering up her sacrifice before the first hour of day, her
+term will be out, and I shall be rid of her, and reign in her stead.
+To-morrow she will be on her way to Lancaster Castle. Ha! ha! The
+dungeon is prepared for her&mdash;the stake driven into the ground&mdash;the
+fagots heaped around it. The torch has only to be lighted. Ho! Ho!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="figcenter"><a name="ILLUS_10" id="ILLUS_10" href="./images/illus10_lg.jpg"><img src="./images/illus10_sm.jpg"
+alt="Illustration: THE RIDE THROUGH THE MURKY AIR."
+title="THE RIDE THROUGH THE MURKY AIR." /></a></p>
+<p class="figcenter"><span class="smcap">The Ride Through the Murky Air.</span></p>
+
+<p>&quot;Shall we go to Malkin Tower?&quot; asked Mistress Nutter, shuddering.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No; to the summit of Pendle Hill,&quot; rejoined Mother Chattox; &quot;for there
+the girl will be taken, and there only can we secure her. But first we
+must proceed to my hut, and make some preparations. I have three scalps
+and eight teeth, taken from a grave in Goldshaw churchyard this very
+day. We can make a charm with them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You must prepare it alone,&quot; said Mistress Nutter; &quot;I can have nought to
+do with it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;True&mdash;true&mdash;I had forgotten,&quot; cried the hag, with a chuckling
+laugh&mdash;&quot;you are no longer one of us. Well, then, I will do it alone. But
+come with me. You will not object to mount upon my broomstick. It is the
+only safe conveyance in this storm of the devil's raising. Come&mdash;away!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And she threw open the window and sprang forth, followed by Mistress
+Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>Through the murky air, and borne as if on the wings of the wind, two
+dark forms are flying swiftly. Over the tops of the tempest-shaken trees
+they go, and as they gain the skirts of the thicket an oak beneath is
+shivered by a thunderbolt. They hear the fearful crash, and see the
+splinters fly far and wide; and the foremost of the two, who, with her
+skinny arm extended, seems to direct their course, utters a wild scream
+of laughter, while a raven, speeding on broad black wing before them,
+croaks hoarsely. Now the torrent rages below, and they see its white
+waters tumbling over a ledge of rock; now they pass over the brow of a
+hill; now skim over a dreary waste and dangerous morass. Fearful it is
+to behold those two flying figures, as the lightning shows them,
+bestriding their fantastical steed; the one an old hag with hideous
+lineaments and distorted person, and the other a proud dame, still
+beautiful, though no longer young, pale as death, and her loose jetty
+hair streaming like a meteor in the breeze.</p>
+
+<p>The ride is over, and they alight near the door of a solitary hovel. The
+raven has preceded them, and, perched on the chimney top, flies down it
+as they enter, and greets them with hoarse croaking. The inside of the
+hut corresponds with its miserable exterior, consisting only of two
+rooms, in one of which is a wretched pallet; in the other are a couple
+of large chests, a crazy table, a bench, a three-legged stool, and a
+spinning-wheel. A caldron is suspended above a peat fire, smouldering on
+the hearth. There is only one window, and a thick curtain is drawn
+across it, to secure the inmate of the hut from prying eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Mother Chattox closes and bars the door, and, motioning Mistress Nutter
+to seat herself upon the stool, kneels down near the hearth, and blows
+the turf into a flame, the raven helping her, by flapping his big black
+wings, and uttering a variety of strange sounds, as the sparks fly
+about. Heaping on more turf, and shifting the caldron, so that it may
+receive the full influence of the flame, the hag proceeds to one of the
+chests, and takes out sundry small matters, which she places one by one
+with great care on the table. The raven has now fixed his great talons
+on her shoulder, and chuckles and croaks in her ear as she pursues her
+occupation. Suddenly a piece of bone attracts his attention, and darting
+out his beak, he seizes it, and hops away.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Give me that scalp, thou mischievous imp!&quot; cries the hag, &quot;I need it
+for the charm I am about to prepare. Give it me, I say!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But the raven still held it fast, and hopped here and there so nimbly
+that she was unable to catch him. At length, when he had exhausted her
+patience, he alighted on Mistress Nutter's shoulder, and dropped it into
+her lap. Engrossed by her own painful thoughts, the lady had paid no
+attention to what was passing, and she shuddered as she took up the
+fragment of mortality, and placed it upon the table. A few tufts of
+hair, the texture of which showed they had belonged to a female, still
+adhered to the scalp. Mistress Nutter regarded it fixedly, and with an
+interest for which she could not account.</p>
+
+<p>After sharply chiding the raven, Mother Chattox put forth her hand to
+grasp the prize she had been robbed of, when Mistress Nutter checked her
+by observing, &quot;You said you got this scalp from Goldshaw churchyard.
+Know you ought concerning it?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, a good deal,&quot; replied the old woman, chuckling. &quot;It comes from a
+grave near the yew-tree, and not far from Abbot Cliderhow's cross. Old
+Zachariah Worms, the sexton, digged it up for me. That yellow skull had
+once a fair face attached to it, and those few dull tufts were once
+bright flowing tresses. She who owned them died young; but, young as she
+was, she survived all her beauty. Hollow cheeks and hollow eyes, wasted
+flesh, and cruel cough, were hers&mdash;and she pined and pined away. Folks
+said she was forespoken, and that I had done it. I, forsooth! She had
+never done me harm. You know whether I was rightly accused, madam.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Take it away,&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, hurriedly, and as if struggling
+against some overmastering feeling. &quot;I cannot bear to look at it. I
+wanted not this horrible reminder of my crimes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This was the reason, then, why Ralph stole the scalp from me,&quot; muttered
+the hag, as she threw it, together with some other matters, into the
+caldron. &quot;He wanted to show you his sagacity. I might have guessed as
+much.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will go into the other room while you make your preparations,&quot; said
+Mistress Nutter, rising; &quot;the sight of them disturbs me. You can summon
+me when you are ready.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will, madam,&quot; replied the old hag, &quot;and you must control your
+impatience, for the spell requires time for its confection.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Mistress Nutter made no reply, but, walking into the inner room, closed
+the door, and threw herself upon the pallet. Here, despite her anxiety,
+sleep stole upon her, and though her dreams were troubled, she did not
+awake till Mother Chattox stood beside her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Have I slept long?&quot; she inquired.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;More than three hours,&quot; replied the hag.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Three hours!&quot; exclaimed Mistress Nutter. &quot;Why did you not wake me
+before? You would have saved me from terrible dreams. We are not too
+late?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, no,&quot; replied Mother Chattox; &quot;there is plenty of time. Come into
+the other room. All is ready.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As Mistress Nutter followed the old hag into the adjoining room, a
+strong odour, arising from a chafing-dish, in which herbs, roots, and
+other ingredients were burning, assailed her, and, versed in all weird
+ceremonials, she knew that a powerful suffumigation had been made,
+though with what intent she had yet to learn. The scanty furniture had
+been cleared away, and a circle was described on the clay floor by
+skulls and bones, alternated by dried toads, adders, and other reptiles.
+In the midst of this magical circle, the caldron, which had been brought
+from the chimney, was placed, and, the lid being removed, a thick vapour
+arose from it. Mistress Nutter looked around for the raven, but the bird
+was nowhere to be seen, nor did any other living thing appear to be
+present beside themselves.</p>
+
+<p>Taking the lady's hand, Mother Chattox drew her into the circle, and
+began to mutter a spell; after which, still maintaining her hold of her
+companion, she bade her look into the caldron, and declare what she saw.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I see nothing,&quot; replied the lady, after she had gazed upon the bubbling
+waters for a few moments. &quot;Ah! yes&mdash;I discern certain figures, but they
+are confused by the steam, and broken by the agitation of the water.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Caldron&mdash;cease boiling! and smoke&mdash;disperse!&quot; cried Mother Chattox,
+stamping her foot. &quot;Now, can you see more plainly?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I can,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter; &quot;I behold the subterranean chamber
+beneath Malkin Tower, with its nine ponderous columns, its altar in the
+midst of them, its demon image, and the well with waters black as Lethe
+beside it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The water within the caldron came from that well,&quot; said Mother Chattox,
+with a chuckling laugh; &quot;my familiar risked his liberty to bring it, but
+he succeeded. Ha! ha! My precious Fancy, thou art the best of servants,
+and shalt have my best blood to reward thee to-morrow&mdash;thou shalt, my
+sweetheart, my chuck, my dandyprat. But hie thee back to Malkin Tower,
+and contrive that this lady may hear, as well as see, all that passes.
+Away!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Mistress Nutter concluded that the injunction would be obeyed; but, as
+the familiar was invisible to her, she could not detect his departure.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do you see no one within the dungeon?&quot; inquired Mother Chattox.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah! yes,&quot; exclaimed the lady; &quot;I have at last discovered Alizon. She
+was behind one of the pillars. A little girl is with her. It is Jennet
+Device, and, from the spiteful looks of the latter, I judge she is
+mocking her. Oh! what malice lurks in the breast of that hateful child!
+She is a true descendant of Mother Demdike. But Alizon&mdash;sweet, patient
+Alizon&mdash;she seems to bear all her taunts with a meekness and resignation
+enough to move the hardest heart. I would weep for her if I could. And
+now Jennet shakes her hand at her, and leaves her. She is alone. What
+will she do now? Has she no thoughts of escape? Oh, yes! She looks about
+her distractedly&mdash;runs round the vault&mdash;tries the door of every cell:
+they are all bolted and barred&mdash;there is no outlet&mdash;none!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What next?&quot; inquired the hag.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She shrieks aloud,&quot; rejoined Mistress Nutter, &quot;and the cry thrills
+through every fibre in my frame. She calls upon me for aid&mdash;upon me, her
+mother, and little thinks I hear her, and am unable to help her. Oh! it
+is horrible. Take me to her, good Chattox&mdash;take me to her, I implore
+you!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Impossible!&quot; replied the hag: &quot;you must await the fitting time. If you
+cannot control yourself, I shall remove the caldron.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! no, no,&quot; cried the distracted lady. &quot;I will be calm. Ah! what is
+this I see?&quot; she added, belying her former words by sudden vehemence,
+while rage and astonishment were depicted upon her countenance. &quot;What
+infernal delusion is practised upon my child! This is
+monstrous&mdash;intolerable. Oh! that I could undeceive her&mdash;could warn her
+of the snare!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What is the nature of the delusion?&quot; asked Mother Chattox, with some
+curiosity. &quot;I am so blind I cannot see the figures on the water.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is an evil spirit in my likeness,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;In your likeness!&quot; exclaimed the hag. &quot;A cunning device&mdash;and worthy of
+old Demdike&mdash;ho! ho!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I can scarce bear to look on,&quot; cried Mistress Nutter; &quot;but I must,
+though it tears my heart in pieces to witness such cruelty. The poor
+girl has rushed to her false parent&mdash;has thrown her arms around her, and
+is weeping on her shoulder. Oh! it is a maddening sight. But it is
+nothing to what follows. The temptress, with the subtlety of the old
+serpent, is pouring lies into her ear, telling her they both are
+captives, and both will perish unless she consents to purchase their
+deliverance at the price of her soul, and she offers her a bond to
+sign&mdash;such a bond as, alas! thou and I, Chattox, have signed. But Alizon
+rejects it with horror, and gazes at her false mother as if she
+suspected the delusion. But the temptress is not to be beaten thus. She
+renews her entreaties, casts herself on the ground, and clasps my
+child's knees in humblest supplication. Oh! that Alizon would place her
+foot upon her neck and crush her. But it is not so the good act. She
+raises her, and tells her she will willingly die for her; but her soul
+was given to her by her Creator, and must be returned to him. Oh! that I
+had thought of this.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And what answer makes the spirit?&quot; asked the witch.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It laughs derisively,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter; &quot;and proceeds to use
+all those sophistical arguments, which we have so often heard, to
+pervert her mind, and overthrow her principles. But Alizon is proof
+against them all. Religion and virtue support her, and make her more
+than a match for her opponent. Equally vain are the spirit's attempts to
+seduce her by the offer of a life of sinful enjoyment. She rejects it
+with angry scorn. Failing in argument and entreaty, the spirit now
+endeavours to work upon her fears, and paints, in appalling colours, the
+tortures she will have to endure, contrasting them with the delight she
+is voluntarily abandoning, with the lover she might espouse, with the
+high worldly position she might fill. 'What are worldly joys and honours
+compared with those of heaven!' exclaims Alizon; 'I would not exchange
+them.' The spirit then, in a vision, shows her her lover, Richard, and
+asks her if she can resist his entreaties. The trial is very sore, as
+she gazes on that beloved form, seeming, by its passionate gestures, to
+implore her to assent, but she is firm, and the vision disappears. The
+ordeal is now over. Alizon has triumphed over all their arts. The spirit
+in my likeness resumes its fiendish shape, and, with a dreadful menace
+against the poor girl, vanishes from her sight.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Mother Demdike has not done with her yet,&quot; observed Chattox.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are right,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter. &quot;The old hag descends the
+staircase leading to the vault, and approaches the miserable captive.
+With her there are no supplications&mdash;no arguments; but commands and
+terrible threats. She is as unsuccessful as her envoy. Alizon has gained
+courage and defies her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha! does she so?&quot; exclaimed Mother Chattox. &quot;I am glad of it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The solid floor resounds with the stamping of the enraged witch,&quot;
+pursued Mistress Nutter. &quot;She tells Alizon she will take her to Pendle
+Hill at midnight, and there offer her up as a sacrifice to the Fiend. My
+child replies that she trusts for her deliverance to Heaven&mdash;that her
+body may be destroyed&mdash;that her soul cannot be harmed. Scarcely are the
+words uttered than a terrible clangour is heard. The walls of the
+dungeon seem breaking down, and the ponderous columns reel. The demon
+statue rises on its throne, and a stream of flame issues from its brow.
+The doors of the cells burst open, and with the clanking of chains, and
+other dismal noises, skeleton shapes stalk forth, from them, each with a
+pale blue light above its head. Monstrous beasts, like tiger-cats, with
+rough black skins and flaming eyes, are moving about, and looking as if
+they would spring upon the captive. Two gravestones are now pushed
+aside, and from the cold earth arise the forms of Blackburn, the robber,
+and his paramour, the dissolute Isole de Heton. She joins the grisly
+throng now approaching the distracted girl, who falls insensible to the
+ground.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Can you see aught more?&quot; asked the hag, as Mistress Nutter still bent
+eagerly over the caldron.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No; the whole chamber is buried in darkness,&quot; replied the lady; &quot;I can
+see nothing of my poor child. What will become of her?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will question Fancy,&quot; replied the hag, throwing some fresh
+ingredients into the chafing-dish; and, as the smoke arose, she
+vociferated, &quot;Come hither, Fancy; I want thee, my fondling, my sweet.
+Come quickly! ha! thou art here.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The familiar was still invisible to Mistress Nutter, but a slight sound
+made her aware of his presence.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And now, my sweet Fancy,&quot; pursued the hag, &quot;tell us, if thou canst,
+what will be done with Alizon, and what course we must pursue to free
+her from old Demdike?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;At present she is in a state of insensibility,&quot; replied a harsh voice,
+&quot;and she will be kept in that condition till she is conveyed to the
+summit of Pendle Hill. I have already told you it is useless to attempt
+to take her from Malkin Tower. It is too well guarded. Your only chance
+will be to interrupt the sacrifice.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But how, my sweet Fancy? how, my little darling?&quot; inquired the hag.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is a perplexing question,&quot; replied the voice; &quot;for, by showing you
+how to obtain possession of the girl, I disobey my lord.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, but you serve me&mdash;you please me, my pretty Fancy,&quot; cried the hag.
+&quot;You shall quaff your fill of blood on the morrow, if you do this for
+me. I want to get rid of my old enemy&mdash;to catch her in her own toils&mdash;to
+send her to a dungeon&mdash;to burn her&mdash;ha! ha! You must help me, my little
+sweetheart.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will do all I can,&quot; replied the voice; &quot;but Mother Demdike is cunning
+and powerful, and high in favour with my lord. You must have mortal aid
+as well as mine. The officers of justice must be there to seize her at
+the moment when the victim is snatched from her, or she will baffle all
+your schemes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And how shall we accomplish this?&quot; asked Mother Chattox.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will tell you,&quot; said Mistress Nutter to the hag. &quot;Let him put on the
+form of Richard Assheton, and in that guise hasten to Rough Lee, where
+he will find the young man's cousin, Nicholas, to whom he must make
+known the dreadful deed about to be enacted on Pendle Hill. Nicholas
+will at once engage to interrupt it. He can arm himself with the weapons
+of justice by taking with him Roger Nowell, the magistrate, and his
+myrmidon, Potts, the attorney, both of whom are detained prisoners in
+the house by my orders.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The scheme promises well, and shall be adopted,&quot; replied the hag; &quot;but
+suppose Richard himself should appear first on the scene. Dost know
+where he is, my sweet Fancy?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;When I last saw him,&quot; replied the voice, &quot;he was lying senseless on the
+ground, at the foot of Malkin Tower, having been precipitated from the
+doorway by Mother Demdike. You need apprehend no interference from him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is well,&quot; replied Mother Chattox. &quot;Then take his form, my pet,
+though it is not half as handsome as thy own.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A black skin and goat-like limbs are to thy taste, I know,&quot; replied the
+familiar, with a laugh.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Let me look upon him before he goes, that I may be sure the likeness is
+exact,&quot; said Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou hearest, Fancy! Become visible to her,&quot; cried the hag.</p>
+
+<p>And as she spoke, a figure in all respects resembling Richard stood
+before them.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What think you of him? Will he do?&quot; said Mother Chattox.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay,&quot; replied the lady; &quot;and now send him off at once. There is no time
+to lose.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I shall be there in the twinkling of an eye,&quot; said the familiar; &quot;but I
+own I like not the task.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There is no help for it, my sweet Fancy,&quot; cried the hag. &quot;I cannot
+forego my triumph over old Demdike. Now, away with thee, and when thou
+hast executed thy mission, return and tell us how thou hast sped in the
+matter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The familiar promised obedience to her commands, and disappeared.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV_HOW_ROUGH_LEE_WAS_AGAIN_BESIEGED" id="CHAPTER_XIV_HOW_ROUGH_LEE_WAS_AGAIN_BESIEGED" />CHAPTER XIV.&mdash;HOW ROUGH LEE WAS AGAIN BESIEGED.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Parson Holden, it will be remembered, left Rough Lee, charged by Potts
+with a message to Sir Ralph Assheton, informing him of his detention and
+that of Roger Nowell, by Mistress Nutter, and imploring him to come to
+their assistance without delay. Congratulating himself on his escape,
+but apprehensive of pursuit, the worthy rector, who, as a keen
+huntsman, was extremely well mounted, made the best of his way, and had
+already passed the gloomy gorge through which Pendle Water swept, had
+climbed the hill beyond it, and was crossing the moor now alone lying
+between him and Goldshaw, when he heard a shout behind him, and, turning
+at the sound, beheld Blackadder and another mounted serving-man issuing
+from a thicket, and spurring furiously after him. Relying upon the speed
+of his horse, he disregarded their cries, and accelerated his pace; but,
+in spite of this, his pursuers gained upon him rapidly.</p>
+
+<p>While debating the question of resistance or surrender, the rector
+descried Bess Whitaker coming towards him from the opposite direction&mdash;a
+circumstance that greatly rejoiced him; for, aware of her strength and
+courage, he felt sure he could place as much dependence upon her in this
+emergency as on any man in the county. Bess was riding a stout,
+rough-looking nag, apparently well able to sustain her weight, and
+carried the redoubtable horsewhip with her.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, Holden had been recognised by Bess, who came up just
+as he was overtaken and seized by his assailants, one of whom caught
+hold of his cassock, and tore it from his back, while the other, seizing
+hold of his bridle, endeavoured, in spite of his efforts to the
+contrary, to turn his horse round. Many oaths, threats, and blows were
+exchanged during the scuffle, which no doubt would have terminated in
+the rector's defeat, and his compulsory return to Rough Lee, had it not
+been for the opportune arrival of Bess, who, swearing as lustily as the
+serving-men, and brandishing the horsewhip, dashed into the scene of
+action, and, with a few well-applied cuts, liberated the divine. Enraged
+at her interference, and smarting from the application of the whip,
+Blackadder drew a petronel from his girdle, and levelled it at her head;
+but, ere he could discharge it, the weapon was stricken from his grasp,
+and a second blow on the head from the but-end of the whip felled him
+from his horse. Seeing the fate of his companion, the other serving-man
+fled, leaving Bess mistress of the field.</p>
+
+<p>The rector thanked her heartily for the service she had rendered him,
+and complimented her on her prowess.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'n neaw dun mitch to boast on i' leatherin' them two seawr-feaced
+rapscallions,&quot; said Bess, with becoming modesty. &quot;Simon Blackadder an ey
+ha' had mony a tussle together efore this, fo he's a feaw tempert felly,
+an canna drink abowt fightin', boh he has awlus found me more nor his
+match. Boh save us, your reverence, what were the ill-favort gullions
+ridin' after ye for? Firrups tak 'em! they didna mean to rob ye,
+surely?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Their object was to make me prisoner, and carry me back to Rough Lee,
+Bess,&quot; replied Holden. &quot;They wished to prevent my going to Whalley,
+whither I am bound, to procure help from Sir Ralph Assheton to liberate
+Master Roger Nowell and his attorney, who are forcibly detained by
+Mistress Nutter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo may spare yer horse an yersel the jorney, then, reverend sir,&quot;
+replied Bess; &quot;for yo'n foind Sir Tummus Metcawfe, wi' some twanty or
+throtty followers, armed wi' bills, hawberts, petronels, and calivers,
+at Goldshaw, an they win go wi' ye at wanst, ey'm sartin. Ey heerd sum
+o' t' chaps say os ow Sir Tummus is goin' to tak' possession o' Mistress
+Robinson's house, Raydale Ha', i' Wensley Dale, boh nah doubt he'n go
+furst wi' yer rev'rence, 'specially as he bears Mistress Nutter a
+grudge.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;At all events, I will ask him,&quot; said Holden. &quot;Are he and his followers
+lodged at your house, Bess?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh,&quot; replied the hostess, &quot;some on 'en are i' th' house, some i' th'
+barn, an some i' th' stables. The place is awtogether owerrun wi' 'em.
+Ey wur so moydert an wurrotit wi' their ca'in an bawlin fo' ele an
+drink, that ey swore they shouldna ha' another drawp wi' my consent; an,
+to be os good os my word, ey clapt key o' t' cellar i' my pocket, an
+leavin' our Margit to answer 'em, ey set out os yo see, intendin' to go
+os far as t' mill, an comfort poor deeavely Ruchot Baldwyn in his
+trouble.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A most praiseworthy resolution, Bess,&quot; said the rector; &quot;but what is to
+be done with this fellow?&quot; he added, pointing to Blackadder, who, though
+badly hurt, was trying to creep towards the petronel, which was lying at
+a little distance from him on the ground.</p>
+
+<p>Perceiving his intention, Bess quickly dismounted, and possessing
+herself of the weapon, stepped aside, and slipping off one of the bands
+that confined the hose on her well-shaped leg, grasped the wounded man
+by the shoulders, and with great expedition tied his hands behind his
+back. She then lifted him up with as much ease as if he had been an
+infant, and set him upon his horse, with his face towards the tail. This
+done, she gave the bridle to the rector, and handing him the petronel at
+the same time, told him to take care of his prisoner, for she must
+pursue her journey. And with this, in spite of his renewed entreaties
+that she would go back with him, she sprang on her horse and rode off.</p>
+
+<p>On arriving at Goldshaw with his prisoner, the rector at once proceeded
+to the hostel, in front of which he found several of the villagers
+assembled, attracted by the numerous company within doors, whose shouts
+and laughter could be heard at a considerable distance. Holden's
+appearance with Blackadder occasioned considerable surprise, and all
+eagerly gathered round him to learn what had occurred; but, without
+satisfying their curiosity, beyond telling them he had been attacked by
+the prisoner, he left him in their custody and entered the house, where
+he found all the benches in the principal room occupied by a crew of
+half-drunken roysterers, with flagons of ale before them; for, after
+Bess's departure with the key, they had broken into the cellar, and,
+broaching a cask, helped themselves to its contents. Various weapons
+were scattered about the tables or reared against the walls, and the
+whole scene looked like a carouse by a band of marauders. Little respect
+was shown the rector, and he was saluted by many a ribald jest as he
+pushed his way towards the inner room.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Thomas was drinking with a couple of desperadoes, whose long rapiers
+and tarnished military equipments seemed to announce that they had, at
+some time or other, belonged to the army, though their ruffianly looks
+and braggadocio air and discourse, strongly seasoned with oaths and
+slang, made it evident that they were now little better than Alsatian
+bullies. They had, in fact, been hired by Sir Thomas for the expedition
+on which he was bent, as he could find no one in the country upon whom
+he could so well count as on them. Eyeing the rector fiercely, as he
+intruded upon their privacy, they glanced at their leader to ask whether
+they should turn him out; but, receiving no encouragement for such
+rudeness, they contented themselves with scowling at him from beneath
+their bent brows, twisting up their shaggy mustaches, and trifling with
+the hilts of their rapiers. Holden opened his business at once; and as
+soon as Sir Thomas heard it, he sprang to his feet, and, swearing a
+great oath, declared he would storm Rough Lee, and burn it to the
+ground, if Mistress Nutter did not set the two captives free.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;As to the audacious witch herself, I will carry her off, in spite of
+the devil, her master!&quot; he cried. &quot;How say you, Captain Gauntlet&mdash;and
+you too, Captain Storks, is not this an expedition to your tastes&mdash;ha?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The two worthies appealed to responded joyously, that it was so; and it
+was then agreed that Blackadder should be brought in and interrogated,
+as some important information might be obtained from him. Upon this,
+Captain Gauntlet left the room to fetch him, and presently afterwards
+returned dragging in the prisoner, who looked dogged and angry, by the
+shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Harkye, fellow,&quot; said Sir Thomas, sternly, &quot;if you do not answer the
+questions I shall put to you, truly and satisfactorily, I will have you
+taken out into the yard, and shot like a dog. Thus much premised, I
+shall proceed with my examination. Master Roger Nowell and Master Thomas
+Potts, you are aware, are unlawfully detained prisoners by Mistress
+Alice Nutter. Now I have been called upon by the reverend gentleman here
+to undertake their liberation, but, before doing so, I desire to know
+from you what defensive and offensive preparations your mistress has
+made, and whether you judge it likely she will attempt to hold out her
+house against us?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Most assuredly she will,&quot; replied Blackadder, &quot;and against twice your
+force. Rough Lee is as strong as a castle; and as those within it are
+well-armed, vigilant, and of good courage, there is little fear of its
+capture. If your worship should propose terms to my mistress for the
+release of her prisoners, she may possibly assent to them; but if you
+approach her in hostile fashion, and demand their liberation, I am well
+assured she will resist you, and well assured, also, she will resist you
+effectually.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I shall approach her in no other sort than that of an enemy,&quot; rejoined
+Sir Thomas; &quot;but thou art over confident, knave. Unless thy mistress
+have a legion of devils at her back, and they hold us in check, we will
+force a way into her dwelling. Fire and fury! dost presume to laugh at
+me, fellow? Take him hence, and let him be soundly cudgeled for his
+insolence, Gauntlet.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Pardon me, your worship,&quot; cried Blackadder, &quot;I only smiled at the
+strange notions you entertain of my mistress.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why, dost mean to deny that she is a witch?&quot; demanded Metcalfe.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, if your worship will have it so, it is not for me to contradict
+you,&quot; replied Blackadder.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But I ask thee is she not a servant of Satan?&mdash;dost thou not know
+it?&mdash;canst thou not prove it?&quot; cried the knight. &quot;Shall we put him to
+the torture to make him confess?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, tie his thumbs together till the blood burst forth, Sir Thomas,&quot;
+said Gauntlet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Or hang him up to yon beam by the heels,&quot; suggested Captain Storks.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;On no account,&quot; interposed Holden. &quot;I did not bring him hither to be
+dealt with in this way, and I will not permit it. If torture is to be
+administered it must be by the hands of justice, into which I require
+him to be delivered; and then, if he can testify aught against his
+mistress, he will be made to do it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Torture shall never wring a word from me, whether wrongfully or
+rightfully applied,&quot; said Blackadder, doggedly; &quot;though I could tell
+much if I chose. Now give heed to me, Sir Thomas. You will never take
+Rough Lee, still less its mistress, without my help.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What are thy terms, knave?&quot; exclaimed the knight, pondering upon the
+offer. &quot;And take heed thou triflest not with me, or I will have thee
+flogged within an inch of thy life, in spite of parson or justice. What
+are thy terms, I repeat?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;They are for your worship's ear alone,&quot; replied Blackadder.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Beware what you do, Sir Thomas,&quot; interposed Holden. &quot;I hold it my duty
+to tell you, you are compromising justice in listening to the base
+proposals of this man, who, while offering to betray his mistress, will
+assuredly deceive you. You will equally deceive him in feigning to agree
+to terms which you cannot fulfil.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Cannot fulfil!&quot; ejaculated the knight, highly offended; &quot;I would have
+you to know, sir, that Sir Thomas Metcalfe's word is his bond, and that
+whatsoever he promises he <i>will</i> fulfil in spite of the devil! Body o'
+me! but for the respect I owe your cloth, I would give you a very
+different answer, reverend sir. But since you have chosen to thrust
+yourself unasked into the affair, I take leave to say that I <i>will</i> hear
+this knave's proposals, and judge for myself of the expediency of
+acceding to them. I must pray you therefore, to withdraw. Nay, if you
+will not go hence peaceably, you shall perforce. Take him away,
+gentlemen.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Thus enjoined, the Alsatian captains took each an arm of the rector, and
+forced him out of the room, leaving Sir Thomas alone with the prisoner.
+Greatly incensed at the treatment he had experienced, Holden instantly
+quitted the house, hastened to the rectory, which adjoined the church,
+and having given some messages to his household, rode off to Whalley,
+with the intention of acquainting Sir Ralph Assheton with all that had
+occurred.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Thomas Metcalfe remained closeted with the prisoner for a few
+minutes, and then coming forth, issued orders that all should get ready
+to start for Rough Lee without delay; whereupon each man emptied his
+flagon, pocketed the dice he had been cogging, pushed aside the
+shuffle-board, left the loggats on the clay floor of the barn, and,
+grasping his weapon&mdash;halbert or caliver, as it might be&mdash;prepared to
+attend his leader. Sir Thomas did not relate, even to the Alsatian
+captains, what had passed between him and Blackadder; but it did not
+appear that he placed entire confidence in the latter; for though he
+caused his hands to be unbound, and allowed him in consideration of his
+wounded state to ride, he secretly directed Gauntlet and Storks to keep
+near him, and shoot him through the head if he attempted to escape. Both
+these personages were provided with horses as well as their leader, but
+all the rest of the party were on foot. Metcalfe made some inquiries
+after the rector, but finding he was gone, he did not concern himself
+further about him. Before starting, the knight, who, with all his
+recklessness, had a certain sense of honesty, called the girl who had
+been left in charge of the hostel by Bess, and gave her a sum amply
+sufficient to cover all the excesses of his men, adding a handsome
+gratuity to herself.</p>
+
+<p>The first part of the journey was accomplished without mischance, and
+the party bade fair to arrive at the end of it in safety; but as they
+entered the gorge, at the extremity of which Rough Lee was situated, a
+terrific storm burst upon them, compelling them to seek shelter in the
+mill, from which they were luckily not far distant at the time. The
+house was completely deserted, but they were well able to shift for
+themselves, and not over scrupulous in the manner of doing so; and as
+the remains of the funeral feast were not removed from the table, some
+of the company sat down to them, while others found their way to the
+cellar.</p>
+
+<p>The storm was of long continuance, much longer than was agreeable to Sir
+Thomas, and he paced the room to and fro impatiently, ever and anon
+walking to the window or door, to see whether it had in any degree
+abated, and was constantly doomed to disappointment. Instead of
+diminishing, it increased in violence, and it was now impossible to quit
+the house with safety. The lightning blazed, the thunder rattled among
+the overhanging rocks, and the swollen stream of Pendle Water roared at
+their feet. Blackadder was left under the care of the two Alsatians, but
+while they had shielded their eyes from the glare of the lightning, he
+threw open the window, and, springing through it, made good his retreat.
+In such a storm it was in vain to follow him, even if they had dared to
+attempt it.</p>
+
+<p>In vain Sir Thomas Metcalfe fumed and fretted&mdash;in vain he heaped curses
+upon the bullies for their negligence&mdash;in vain he hurled menaces after
+the fugitive: the former paid little heed to his imprecations, and the
+latter was beyond his reach. The notion began to gain ground amongst the
+rest of the troop that the storm was the work of witchcraft, and
+occasioned general consternation. Even the knight's anger yielded to
+superstitious fear, and as a terrific explosion shook the rafters
+overhead, and threatened to bring them down upon him, he fell on his
+knees, and essayed, with unaccustomed lips, to murmur a prayer. But he
+was interrupted; for amid the deep silence succeeding the awful crash, a
+mocking laugh was heard, and the villainous countenance of Blackadder,
+rendered doubly hideous by the white lightning, was seen at the
+casement. The sight restored Sir Thomas at once. Drawing his sword he
+flew to the window, but before he could reach it Blackadder was gone.
+The next flash showed what had befallen him. In stepping backwards, he
+tumbled into the mill-race; and the current, increased in depth and
+force by the deluging rain, instantly swept him away.</p>
+
+<p>Half an hour after this, the violence of the storm had perceptibly
+diminished, and Sir Thomas and his companions began to hope that their
+speedy release was at hand. Latterly the knight had abandoned all idea
+of attacking Rough Lee, but with the prospect of fair weather his
+courage returned, and he once more resolved to attempt it. He was moving
+about among his followers, striving to dispel their fears, and persuade
+them that the tempest was only the result of natural causes, when the
+door was suddenly thrown open, giving entrance to Bess Whitaker, who
+bore the miller in her arms. She stared on seeing the party assembled,
+and knit her brows, but said nothing till she had deposited Baldwyn in a
+seat, when she observed to Sir Thomas, that he seemed to have little
+scruple in taking possession of a house in its owner's absence. The
+knight excused himself for the intrusion by saying, he had been
+compelled by the storm to take refuge there with his followers&mdash;a plea
+readily admitted by Baldwyn, who was now able to speak for himself; and
+the miller next explained that he had been to Rough Lee, and after many
+perilous adventures, into the particulars of which he did not enter,
+had been brought away by Bess, who had carried him home. That home he
+now felt would be a lonely and insecure one unless she would consent to
+occupy it with him; and Bess, on being thus appealed to, affirmed that
+the only motive that would induce her to consent to such an arrangement
+would be her desire to protect him from his mischievous neighbours.
+While they were thus discoursing, Old Mitton, who it appeared had
+followed them, arrived wellnigh exhausted, and Baldwyn went in search of
+some refreshment for him.</p>
+
+<p>By this time the storm had sufficiently cleared off to allow the others
+to take their departure; and though the miller and Bess would fain have
+dissuaded the knight from the enterprise, he was not to be turned aside,
+but, bidding his men attend him, set forth. The rain had ceased, but it
+was still very dark. Under cover of the gloom, however, they thought
+they could approach the house unobserved, and obtain an entrance before
+Mistress Nutter could be aware of their arrival. In this expectation
+they pursued their way in silence, and soon stood before the gates.
+These were fastened, but as no one appeared to be on the watch, Sir
+Thomas, in a low tone, ordered some of his men to scale the walls, with
+the intention of following himself; but scarcely had a head risen above
+the level of the brickwork than the flash of an arquebuss was seen, and
+the man jumped backwards, luckily just in time to avoid the bullet that
+whistled over him. An alarm was then instantly given, voices were heard
+in the garden, mingled with the furious barking of hounds. A bell was
+rung from the upper part of the house, and lights appeared at the
+windows.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, some of the men, less alarmed than their comrade, contrived
+to scramble over the wall, and were soon engaged hand to hand with those
+on the opposite side. But not alone had they to contend with adversaries
+like themselves. The stag-hounds, which had done so much execution
+during the first attack upon the house by Roger Nowell, raged amongst
+them like so many lions, rending their limbs, and seizing their throats.
+To free themselves from these formidable antagonists was their first
+business, and by dint of thrust from pike, cut from sword, and ball from
+caliver, they succeeded in slaughtering two of them, and driving the
+others, badly wounded, and savagely howling, away. In doing this,
+however, they themselves had sustained considerable injury. Three of
+their number were lying on the ground, in no condition, from their
+broken heads, or shattered limbs, for renewing the combat.</p>
+
+<p>Thus, so far as the siege had gone, success seemed to declare itself
+rather for the defenders than the assailants, when a new impulse was
+given to the latter, by the bursting open of the gates, and the sudden
+influx of Sir Thomas Metcalfe and the rest of his troop. The knight was
+closely followed by the Alsatian captains, who, with tremendous oaths in
+their mouths, and slashing blades in their hands, declared they would
+make minced meat of any one opposing their progress. Sir Thomas was
+equally truculent in expression and ferocious in tone, and as the whole
+party laid about them right and left, they speedily routed the defenders
+of the garden, and drove them towards the house. Flushed by their
+success, the besiegers shouted loudly, and Sir Thomas roared out, that
+ere many minutes Nowell and Potts should be set free, and Alice Nutter
+captured. But before he could reach the main door, Nicholas Assheton,
+well armed, and attended by some dozen men, presented himself at it.
+These were instantly joined by the retreating party, and the whole
+offered a formidable array of opponents, quite sufficient to check the
+progress of the besiegers. Two or three of the men near Nicholas carried
+torches, and their light revealed the numbers on both sides.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What! is it you, Sir Thomas Metcalfe?&quot; cried the squire. &quot;Do you commit
+such outrages as this&mdash;do you break into habitations like a robber,
+rifle them, and murder their inmates? Explain yourself, sir, or I will
+treat you as I would a common plunderer; shoot you through the head, or
+hang you to the first tree if I take you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Zounds and fury!&quot; rejoined Metcalfe. &quot;Do you dare to liken me to a
+common robber and murderer? Take care you do not experience the same
+fate as that with which you threaten me, with this difference only, that
+the hangman&mdash;the common hangman of Lancaster&mdash;shall serve your turn. I
+am come hither to arrest a notorious witch, and to release two gentlemen
+who are unlawfully detained prisoners by her; and if you do not
+instantly deliver her up to me, and produce the two individuals in
+question, Master Roger Nowell and Master Potts, I will force my way into
+the house, and all injury done to those who oppose me will rest on your
+head.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The two gentlemen you have named are perfectly safe and contented in
+their quarters,&quot; replied Nicholas; &quot;and as to the foul and false
+aspersions you have thrown out against Mistress Nutter, I cast them back
+in your teeth. Your purpose in coming hither is to redress some private
+wrong. How is it you have such a rout with you? How is it I behold two
+notorious bravos by your side&mdash;men who have stood in the pillory, and
+undergone other ignominious punishment for their offences? You cannot
+answer, and their oaths and threats go for nothing. I now tell you, Sir
+Thomas, if you do not instantly withdraw your men, and quit these
+premises, grievous consequences will ensue to you and them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will hear no more,&quot; cried Sir Thomas, infuriated to the last degree.
+&quot;Follow me into the house, and spare none who oppose you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are not in yet,&quot; cried Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>And as he spoke a row of pikes bristled around him, holding the knight
+at bay, while a hook was fixed in the doublet of each of the Alsatian
+captains, and they were plucked forward and dragged into the house. This
+done, Nicholas and his men quickly retreated, and the door was closed
+and barred upon the enraged and discomfited knight.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV_THE_PHANTOM_MONK" id="CHAPTER_XV_THE_PHANTOM_MONK" />CHAPTER XV.&mdash;THE PHANTOM MONK.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Many hours had passed by, and night had come on&mdash;a night profoundly
+dark. Richard was still lying where he had fallen at the foot of Malkin
+Tower; for though he had regained his sensibility, he was so bruised and
+shaken as to be wholly unable to move. His limbs, stiffened and
+powerless, refused their office, and, after each unsuccessful effort, he
+sank back with a groan.</p>
+
+<p>His sole hope was that Mistress Nutter, alarmed by his prolonged
+absence, might come to her daughter's assistance, and so discover his
+forlorn situation; but as time flew by, and nothing occurred, he gave
+himself up for lost.</p>
+
+<p>On a sudden the gloom was dispersed, and a silvery light shed over the
+scene. The moon had broken through a rack of clouds, and illumined the
+tall mysterious tower, and the dreary waste around it. With the light a
+ghostly figure near him became visible to Richard, which under other
+circumstances would have excited terror in his breast, but which now
+only filled him with wonder. It was that of a Cistertian monk; the
+vestments were old and faded, the visage white and corpse-like. Richard
+at once recognised the phantom he had seen in the banquet-hall at the
+Abbey, and had afterwards so rashly followed to the conventual church.
+It touched him with its icy fingers, and a dullness like death shot
+through his heart.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why dost thou trouble me thus, unhappy spirit?&quot; said the young man.
+&quot;Leave me, I adjure thee, and let me die in peace!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou wilt not die yet, Richard Assheton,&quot; returned the phantom; &quot;and my
+intention is not to trouble thee, but to serve thee. Without my aid thou
+wouldst perish where thou liest, but I will raise thee up, and set thee
+on thy way.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Wilt thou help me to liberate Alizon?&quot; demanded Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not concern thyself further about her,&quot; replied the phantom; &quot;she
+must pass through an ordeal with which nothing human may interfere. If
+she escape it you will meet again. If not, it were better thou shouldst
+be in thy grave than see her. Take this phial. Drink thou the liquid it
+contains, and thy strength will return to thee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How do I know thou art not sent hither by Mother Demdike to tempt
+me?&quot; demanded Richard, doubtfully. &quot;I have already fallen into her
+snares,&quot; he added, with a groan.</p>
+
+<p class="figcenter"><a name="ILLUS_11" id="ILLUS_11" href="./images/illus11_lg.jpg"><img src="./images/illus11_sm.jpg"
+alt="Illustration: THE PHANTOM MONK."
+title="THE PHANTOM MONK." /></a></p>
+<p class="figcenter"><span class="smcap">The Phantom Monk.</span></p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am Mother Demdike's enemy, and the appointed instrument of her
+punishment,&quot; replied the monk, in a tone that did not admit of question.
+&quot;Drink, and fear nothing.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Richard obeyed, and the next moment sprang to his feet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou hast indeed restored me!&quot; he cried. &quot;I would fain reach the secret
+entrance to the tower.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Attempt it not, I charge thee!&quot; cried the phantom; &quot;but depart
+instantly for Pendle Hill.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Wherefore should I go thither?&quot; demanded Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou wilt learn anon,&quot; returned the monk. &quot;I cannot tell thee more now.
+Dismount at the foot of the hill, and proceed to the beacon. Thou
+know'st it?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I do,&quot; replied Richard. &quot;There a fire was lighted which was meant to
+set all England in a blaze.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And which led many good men to destruction,&quot; said the monk, in a tone
+of indescribable sadness. &quot;Alas! for him who kindled it. The offence is
+not yet worked out. But depart without more delay; and look not back.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As Richard hastened towards the spot where he had left Merlin, he
+fancied he was followed by the phantom; but, obedient to the injunction
+he received, he did not turn his head. As he mounted the horse, who
+neighed cheerily as he drew near, he found he was right in supposing the
+monk to be behind him, for he heard his voice calling out, &quot;Linger not
+by the way. To the beacon!&mdash;to the beacon!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Thus exhorted, the young man dashed off, and, to his great surprise,
+found Merlin as fresh as if he had undergone no fatigue during the day.
+It would almost seem, from his spirit, that he had partaken of the same
+wondrous elixir which had revived his master. Down the hill he plunged,
+regardless of the steep descent, and soon entered the thicket where the
+storm had fallen upon them, and where so many acts of witchcraft were
+performed. Now, neither accident nor obstacle occurred to check the
+headlong pace of the animal, though the stones rattled after him as he
+struck them with his flying hoof. The moonlight quivered on the branches
+of the trees, and on the tender spray, and all looked as tranquil and
+beautiful as it had so lately been gloomy and disturbed. The wood was
+passed, and the last and steepest descent cleared. The little bridge was
+at hand, and beneath was Pendle Water, rushing over its rocky bed, and
+glittering like silver in the moon's rays. But here Richard had wellnigh
+received a check. A party of armed men, it proved, occupied the road
+leading to Rough Lee, about a bow-shot from the bridge, and as soon as
+they perceived he was taking the opposite course, with the apparent
+intention of avoiding them, they shouted to him to stay. This shout made
+Richard aware of their presence, for he had not before observed them,
+as they were concealed by the intervention of some small trees; but
+though surprised at the circumstance, and not without apprehension that
+they might be there with a hostile design to Mistress Nutter, he did not
+slacken his pace. A horseman, who appeared to be their leader, rode
+after him for a short distance, but finding pursuit futile, he desisted,
+pouring forth a volley of oaths and threats, in a voice that proclaimed
+him as Sir Thomas Metcalfe. This discovery confirmed Richard in his
+supposition that mischief was intended Mistress Nutter; but even this
+conviction, strengthened by his antipathy to Metcalfe, was not
+sufficiently strong to induce him to stop. Promising himself to return
+on the morrow, and settle accounts with the insolent knight, he speeded
+on, and, passing the mill, tracked the rocky gorge above it, and began
+to mount another hill. Despite the ascent, Merlin never slackened his
+pace, but, though his master would have restrained him, held on as
+before. But the brow of the hill attained, Richard compelled him to a
+brief halt.</p>
+
+<p>By this time the sky was comparatively clear, but small clouds were
+sailing across the heavens, and at one moment the moon would be obscured
+by them, and the next, burst forth with sudden effulgence. These
+alternations produced corresponding effects on the broad, brown, heathy
+plain extending below, and fantastic shadows were cast upon it, which it
+needed not Richard's heated imagination to liken to evil beings flying
+past. The wind, too, lay in the direction of the north end of Pendle
+Hill, whither Richard was about to shape his course, and the shadows
+consequently trooped off towards that quarter. The vast mass of Pendle
+rose in gloomy majesty before him, being thrown into shade, except at
+its crown, where a flood of radiance rested.</p>
+
+<p>Like an eagle swooping upon his prey, Richard descended into the valley,
+and like a stag pursued by the huntsman he speeded across it. Neither
+dyke, morass, nor stone wall checked him, or made him turn aside; and
+almost as fast as the clouds hurrying above him, and their shadows
+travelling at his feet, did he reach the base of Pendle Hill.</p>
+
+<p>Making up to a shed, which, though empty, luckily contained a wisp or
+two of hay, he turned Merlin into it, and commenced the ascent of the
+hill on foot. After attaining a considerable elevation, he looked down
+from the giddy heights upon the valley he had just traversed. A few
+huts, forming the little village of Barley, lay sleeping in the
+moonlight beneath him, while further off could be just discerned
+Goldshaw, with its embowered church. A line of thin vapour marked the
+course of Pendle Water, and thicker mists hovered over the mosses. The
+shadows were still passing over the plain.</p>
+
+<p>Pressing on, Richard soon came among the rocks protruding from the
+higher part of the hill, and as the path was here not more than a foot
+wide, rarely taken except by the sheep and their guardians, it was
+necessary to proceed with the utmost caution, as a single false step
+would have been fatal. After some toil, and not without considerable
+risk, he reached the summit of the hill.</p>
+
+<p>As he bounded over the springy turf, and inhaled the pure air of that
+exalted region, his spirits revived, and new elasticity was communicated
+to his limbs. He shaped his course near the edge of the hill, so that
+the extensive view it commanded was fully displayed. But his eye rested
+on the mountainous range on the opposite side of the valley, where
+Malkin Tower was situated. Even in broad day the accursed structure
+would have been invisible, as it stood on the further side of the hill,
+overlooking Barrowford and Colne; but Richard knew its position well,
+and while his gaze was fixed upon the point, he saw a star shoot down
+from the heavens and apparently alight near the spot. The circumstance
+alarmed him, for he could not help thinking it ominous of ill to Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing, however, followed to increase his misgivings, and erelong he
+came in sight of the beacon. The ground had been gradually rising, and
+if he had proceeded a few hundred yards further, a vast panorama would
+have opened upon him, comprising a large part of Lancashire on the one
+hand, and on the other an equally extensive portion of Yorkshire. Forest
+and fell, black moor and bright stream, old castle and stately hall,
+would have then been laid before him as in a map. But other thoughts
+engrossed him, and he went straight on. As far as he could discern he
+was alone on the hill top; and the silence and solitude, coupled with
+the ill report of the place, which at this hour was said to be often
+visited by foul hags, for the performance of their unhallowed rites,
+awakened superstitious fears in his breast.</p>
+
+<p>He was soon by the side of the beacon. The stones were still standing as
+they had been reared by Paslew, and on looking at them he was astonished
+to find the hollow within them filled with dry furze, brushwood, and
+fagots, as if in readiness for another signal. In passing round the
+circle, his surprise was still further increased by discovering a torch,
+and not far from it, in one of the interstices of the stones, a dark
+lantern, in which, on removing the shade, he found a candle burning. It
+was now clear the beacon was to be kindled that night, though for what
+end he could not conjecture, and equally clear that he was brought
+thither to fire it. He put back the lantern into its place, took up the
+torch, and held himself in readiness.</p>
+
+<p>Half an hour elapsed, and nothing occurred. During this interval it had
+become dark. A curtain of clouds was drawn over the moon and stars.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly, a hurtling noise was heard in the air, and it seemed to the
+watcher as if a troop of witches were alighting at a distance from him.</p>
+
+<p>A loud hubbub of voices ensued&mdash;then there was a trampling of feet,
+accompanied by discordant strains of music&mdash;after which a momentary
+silence ensued, and a harsh voice asked&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why are we brought hither?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is not for a sabbath,&quot; shouted another voice, &quot;for there is neither
+fire nor caldron.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Mother Demdike would not summon us without good reason,&quot; cried a third.
+&quot;We shall learn presently what we have to do.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The more mischief the better,&quot; rejoined another voice.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, mischief! mischief! mischief!&quot; echoed the rest of the crew.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You shall have enough of it to content you,&quot; rejoined Mother Demdike.
+&quot;I have called you hither to be present at a sacrifice.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Hideous screams of laughter followed this announcement, and the voice
+that had spoken first asked&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A sacrifice of whom?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;An unbaptised babe, stolen from its sleeping mother's breast,&quot; rejoined
+another. &quot;Mother Demdike has often played that trick before&mdash;ho! ho!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Peace!&quot; thundered the hag&mdash;&quot;It is no babe I am about to kill, but a
+full-grown maid&mdash;ay, and one of rarest beauty, too. What think ye of
+Alizon Device?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thy grand-daughter!&quot; cried several voices, in surprise.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alice Nutter's daughter&mdash;for such she is,&quot; rejoined the hag. &quot;I have
+held her captive in Malkin Tower, and have subjected her to every trial
+and temptation I could devise, but I have failed in shaking her courage,
+or in winning her over to our master. All the horrors of the vault have
+been tried upon her in vain. Even the last terrible ordeal, which no one
+has hitherto sustained, proved ineffectual. She went through it
+unmoved.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heaven be praised!&quot; murmured Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It seems I have no power over her soul&quot; pursued the hag; &quot;but I have
+over her body, and she shall die here, and by my hand. But mind me, not
+a drop of blood must fall to the ground.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Have no fear,&quot; cried several voices, &quot;we will catch it in our palms and
+quaff it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hast thou thy knife, Mould-heels?&quot; asked Mother Demdike.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay,&quot; replied the other, &quot;it is long and sharp, and will do thy business
+well. Thy grandson, Jem Device, notched it by killing swine, and my
+goodman ground it only yesterday. Take it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will plunge it to her heart!&quot; cried Mother Demdike, with an infernal
+laugh. &quot;And now I will tell you why we have neither fire nor caldron. On
+questioning the ebon image in the vault as to the place where the
+sacrifice should be made, I received for answer that it must be here,
+and in darkness. No human eye but our own must behold it. We are safe on
+this score, for no one is likely to come hither at this hour. No fire
+must be kindled, or the sacrifice will result in destruction to us all.
+Ye have heard, and understand?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We do,&quot; replied several husky voices.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And so do I,&quot; said Richard, taking hold of the dark lantern.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And now for the girl,&quot; cried Mother Demdike.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI_ONE_OCLOCK" id="CHAPTER_XVI_ONE_OCLOCK" />CHAPTER XVI.&mdash;ONE O'CLOCK!</h2>
+
+
+<p>Mistress Nutter and Mother Chattox were still at the hut, impatiently
+awaiting the return of Fancy. But nearly an hour elapsed before he
+appeared.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What has detained thee so long?&quot; demanded the hag, sharply, as he stood
+before them.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You shall hear, mistress,&quot; replied Fancy: &quot;I have had a busy time of
+it, I assure you, and thought I should never accomplish my errand. On
+arriving at Rough Lee, I found the place invested by Sir Thomas Metcalfe
+and a host of armed men, who had been sent thither by Parson Holden, for
+the joint purpose of arresting you, madam,&quot; addressing Mistress Nutter,
+&quot;and liberating Nowell and Potts. The knight was in a great fume; for,
+in spite of the force brought against it, the house had been stoutly
+defended by Nicholas Assheton, who had worsted the besieging party, and
+captured two Alsatian captains, hangers on of Sir Thomas. Appearing in
+the character of an enemy, I was immediately surrounded by Metcalfe and
+his men, who swore they would cut my throat unless I undertook to
+procure the liberation of the two bravos in question, as well as that of
+Nowell and Potts. I told them I was come for the express purpose of
+setting free the two last-named gentlemen; but, with respect to the
+former, I had no instructions, and they must arrange the matter with
+Master Nicholas himself. Upon this Sir Thomas became exceedingly wroth
+and insolent, and proceeded to such lengths that I resolved to chastise
+him, and in so doing performed a feat which will tend greatly to exalt
+Richard's character for courage and strength.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Let us hear it, my doughty champion,&quot; cried Mother Chattox.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;While Metcalfe was pouring forth his rage, and menacing me with
+uplifted hand,&quot; pursued the familiar, &quot;I seized him by the throat,
+dragged him from his horse, and in spite of the efforts of his men,
+whose blows fell upon me thick as hail, and quite as harmlessly, I bore
+him through the garden to the back of the house, where my shouts soon
+brought Nicholas and others to my assistance, and after delivering my
+captive to them, I dismounted. The squire, you will imagine, was
+astonished to see me, and greatly applauded my prowess. I replied, with
+the modesty becoming my assumed character, that I had done nothing, and,
+in reality, the feat was nothing to me; but I told him I had something
+of the utmost importance to communicate, and which could not be delayed
+a moment; whereupon he led me to a small room adjoining the hall, while
+the crestfallen knight was left to vent his rage and mortification on
+the grooms to whose custody he was committed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You acted your part to perfection,&quot; said Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, trust my sweet Fancy for that,&quot; said the hag&mdash;&quot;there is no familiar
+like him&mdash;none whatever.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your praises make me blush,&quot; rejoined Fancy. &quot;But to proceed. I
+fulfilled your instructions to the letter, and excited Nicholas's horror
+and indignation by the tale I told him. I laughed in my sleeve all the
+while, but I maintained a very different countenance with him. He
+thought me full of anguish and despair. He questioned me as to my
+proceedings at Malkin Tower, and I amazed him with the description of a
+fearful storm I had encountered&mdash;of my interview with old Demdike, and
+her atrocious treatment of Alizon&mdash;to all of which he listened with
+profound interest. Richard himself could not have moved him
+more&mdash;perhaps not so much. As soon as I had finished, he vowed he would
+rescue Alizon from the murtherous hag, and prevent the latter from
+committing further mischief; and bidding me come with him, we repaired
+to the room in which Nowell and Potts were confined. We found them both
+fast asleep in their chairs; but Nicholas quickly awakened them, and
+some explanations ensued, which did not at first appear very clear and
+satisfactory to either magistrate or attorney, but in the end they
+agreed to accompany us on the expedition, Master Potts declaring it
+would compensate him for all his mischances if he could arrest Mother
+Demdike.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I hope he may have his wish,&quot; said Mother Chattox.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, but he declared that his next step should be to arrest you,
+mistress,&quot; observed Fancy, with a laugh.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Arrest me!&quot; cried the hag. &quot;Marry, let him touch me, if he dares. My
+term is not out yet, and, with thee to defend me, my brave Fancy, I have
+no fear.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Right!&quot; replied the familiar; &quot;but to go on with my story. Sir Thomas
+Metcalfe was next brought forward; and after some warm altercation,
+peace was at length established between him and the squire, and hands
+were shaken all round. Wine was then called for by Nicholas, who, at the
+same time, directed that the two Alsatian captains should be brought up
+from the cellar, where they had been placed for safety. The first part
+of the order was obeyed, but the second was found impracticable,
+inasmuch as the two heroes had found their way to the inner cellar, and
+had emptied so many flasks that they were utterly incapable of moving.
+While the wine was being discussed, an unexpected arrival took place.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;An arrival!&mdash;of whom?&quot; inquired Mistress Nutter, eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Sir Ralph Assheton and a large party,&quot; replied Fancy. &quot;Parson Holden,
+it seems, not content with sending Sir Thomas and his rout to the aid of
+his friends, had proceeded for the same purpose to Whalley, and the
+result was the appearance of the new party. A brief explanation from
+Nicholas and myself served to put Sir Ralph in possession of all that
+had occurred, and he declared his readiness to accompany the expedition
+to Pendle Hill, and to take all his followers with him. Sir Thomas
+Metcalfe expressed an equally strong desire to go with him, and of
+course it was acceded to. I am bound to tell you, madam,&quot; added Fancy to
+Mistress Nutter, &quot;that your conduct is viewed in a most suspicious light
+by every one of these persons, except Nicholas, who made an effort to
+defend you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I care not what happens to me, if I succeed in rescuing my child,&quot; said
+the lady. &quot;But have they set out on the expedition?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;By this time, no doubt they have,&quot; replied Fancy. &quot;I got off by saying
+I would ride on to Pendle Hill, and, stationing myself on its summit,
+give them a signal when they should advance upon their prey. And now,
+good mistress, I pray you dismiss me. I want to cast off this shape,
+which I find an incumbrance, and resume my own. I will return when it is
+time for you to set out.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The hag waved her hand, and the familiar was gone.</p>
+
+<p>Half an hour elapsed, and he returned not. Mistress Nutter became
+fearfully impatient. Three-quarters, and even the old hag was uneasy. An
+hour, and he stood before them&mdash;dwarfish, fiendish, monstrous.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is time,&quot; he said, in a harsh voice; but the tones were music in the
+wretched mother's ears.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Come, then,&quot; she cried, rushing wildly forth.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, ay, I come,&quot; replied the hag, following her. &quot;Not so fast. You
+cannot go without me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nor either of you without me,&quot; added Fancy. &quot;Here, good mistress, is
+your broomstick.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Away for Pendle Hill!&quot; screamed the hag.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, for Pendle Hill!&quot; echoed Fancy.</p>
+
+<p>And there was a whirling of dark figures through the air as before.</p>
+
+<p>Presently they alighted on the summit of Pendle Hill, which seemed to be
+wrapped in a dense cloud, for Mistress Nutter could scarcely see a yard
+before her. Fancy's eyes, however, were powerful enough to penetrate the
+gloom, for stepping back a few yards, he said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The expedition is at the foot of the hill, where they have made a
+halt. We must wait a few moments, till I can ascertain what they mean to
+do. Ah! I see. They are dividing into three parties. One detachment,
+headed by Nicholas Assheton, with whom are Potts and Nowell, is about to
+make the ascent from the spot where they now stand; another, commanded
+by Sir Ralph Assheton, is moving towards the but-end of the hill; and
+the third, headed by Sir Thomas Metcalfe, is proceeding to the right.
+These are goodly preparations&mdash;ha! ha! But, what do I behold? The first
+detachment have a prisoner with them. It is Jem Device, whom they have
+captured on the way, I suppose. I can tell from the rascal's looks that
+he is planning an escape. Patience, madam, I must see how he executes
+his design. There is no hurry. They are all scrambling up the
+hill-sides. Some one slips, and rolls down, and bruises himself severely
+against the loose stones. Ho! ho! it is Master Potts. He is picked up by
+James Device, who takes him on his shoulders. What means the knave by
+such attention? We shall see anon. They continue to fight their way
+upward, and have now reached the narrow path among the rocks. Take heed,
+or your necks will be broken. Ho! ho! Well done, Jem,&mdash;bravo! lad. Thy
+scheme is out now&mdash;ho! ho!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What has he done?&quot; asked Mother Chattox.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Run off with the attorney&mdash;with Master Potts,&quot; replied Fancy;
+&quot;disappeared in the gloom, so that it is impossible Nicholas can follow
+him&mdash;ho! ho!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But my child!&mdash;where is my child?&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, in agitated
+impatience.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Come with me, and I will lead you to her,&quot; replied Fancy, taking her
+hand; &quot;and do you keep close to us, mistress,&quot; he added to Mother
+Chattox.</p>
+
+<p>Moving quickly along the heathy plain, they soon reached a small dry
+hollow, about a hundred paces from the beacon, in the midst of which, as
+in a grave, was deposited the inanimate form of Alizon. When the spot
+was indicated to her by Fancy, the miserable mother flew to it, and,
+with indescribable delight, clasped her child to her breast. But the
+next moment, a new fear seized her, for the limbs were stiff and cold,
+and the heart had apparently ceased to beat.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She is dead!&quot; exclaimed Mistress Nutter, frantically.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No; she is only in a magical trance,&quot; said Fancy; &quot;my mistress can
+instantly revive her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Prithee do so, then, good Chattox,&quot; implored the lady.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Better defer it till we have taken her hence,&quot; rejoined the hag.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! no, now&mdash;now! Let me be assured she lives!&quot; cried Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>Mother Chattox reluctantly assented, and, touching Alizon with her
+skinny finger, first upon the heart and then upon the brow, the poor
+girl began to show symptoms of life.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My child&mdash;my child!&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, straining her to her
+breast; &quot;I am come to save thee!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You will scarce succeed, if you tarry here longer,&quot; said Fancy. &quot;Away!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, come away!&quot; shrieked the hag, seizing Alizon's arm.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Where are you about to take her?&quot; asked Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;To my hut,&quot; replied Mother Chattox.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, no&mdash;she shall not go there,&quot; returned the lady.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And wherefore not?&quot; screamed the hag. &quot;She is mine now, and I say she
+<i>shall</i> go.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Right, mistress,&quot; said Fancy; &quot;and leave the lady here if she objects
+to accompany her. But be quick.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You shall not take her from me!&quot; shrieked Mistress Nutter, holding her
+daughter fast. &quot;I see through your diabolical purpose. You have the same
+dark design as Mother Demdike, and would sacrifice her; but she shall
+not go with you, neither will I.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Tut!&quot; exclaimed the hag, &quot;you have lost your senses on a sudden. I do
+not want your daughter. But come away, or Mother Demdike will surprise
+us.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not trifle with her longer,&quot; whispered Fancy to the hag; &quot;drag the
+girl away, or you will lose her. A few moments, and it will be too
+late.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Mother Chattox made an attempt to obey him, but Mistress Nutter resisted
+her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Curses on her!&quot; she muttered, &quot;she is too strong for me. Do thou help
+me,&quot; she added, appealing to Fancy.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I cannot,&quot; he replied; &quot;I have done all I dare to help you. You must
+accomplish the rest yourself.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But, my sweet imp, recollect&mdash;&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I recollect I have a master,&quot; interrupted the familiar.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And a mistress, too,&quot; cried the hag; &quot;and she will chastise thee if
+thou art disobedient. I command thee to carry off this girl.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have already told you I dare not, and I now say I will not,&quot; replied
+Fancy.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Will not!&quot; shrieked the hag. &quot;Thou shalt smart for this. I will bury
+thee in the heart of this mountain, and make thee labour within it like
+a gnome. I will set thee to count the sands on the river's bed, and the
+leaves on the forest trees. Thou shalt know neither rest nor respite.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ho! ho! ho!&quot; laughed Fancy, mockingly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Dost deride me?&quot; cried the hag. &quot;I will do it, thou saucy jackanapes.
+For the last time, wilt obey me?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No,&quot; replied Fancy, &quot;and for this reason&mdash;your term is out. It expired
+at midnight.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is false!&quot; shrieked the hag, in accents of mixed terror and rage. &quot;I
+have months to run, and will renew it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Before midnight, you might have done so; but it is now too late&mdash;your
+reign is over,&quot; rejoined Fancy. &quot;Farewell, sweet mistress. We shall meet
+once again, though scarcely under such pleasant circumstances as
+heretofore.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It cannot be, my darling Fancy; thou art jesting with me,&quot; whimpered
+the hag; &quot;thou wouldst not delude thy doating mistress thus.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have done with thee, foul hag,&quot; rejoined the familiar, &quot;and am right
+glad my service is ended. I could have saved thee, but would not, and
+delayed my return for that very purpose. Thy soul was forfeited when I
+came back to thy hut.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then curses on thee for thy treachery,&quot; cried the hag, &quot;and on thy
+master, who deceived me in the bond he placed before me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The familiar laughed hoarsely.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But what of Mother Demdike?&quot; pursued the hag. &quot;Hast thou no comfort for
+me? Tell me her hour is likewise come, and I will forgive thee. But do
+not let her triumph over me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The familiar made no answer, but, laughing derisively, stamped upon the
+ground, and it opened to receive him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alizon!&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, who in the mean time had vainly
+endeavoured to rouse her daughter to full consciousness, &quot;fly with me,
+my child. The enemy is at hand.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What enemy?&quot; asked Alizon, faintly. &quot;I have so many, that I know not
+whom you mean.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But this is the worst of all&mdash;this is Mother Demdike,&quot; cried Mistress
+Nutter. &quot;She would take your life. If we can but conceal ourselves for a
+short while, we are safe.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am too weak to move,&quot; said Alizon; &quot;besides, I dare not trust you. I
+have been deceived already. You may be an evil spirit in the likeness of
+my mother.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! no, I am indeed your own&mdash;own mother,&quot; rejoined Mistress Nutter.
+&quot;Ask this old woman if it is not so.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She is a witch herself,&quot; replied Alizon. &quot;I will not trust either of
+you. You are both in league with Mother Demdike.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We are in league to save thee from her, foolish wench!&quot; cried Mother
+Chattox, &quot;but thy perverseness will defeat all our schemes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Since you will not fly, my child,&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, &quot;kneel down,
+and pray earnestly for deliverance. Pray, while there is yet time.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As she spoke, a growl like thunder was heard in the air, and the earth
+trembled beneath their feet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, now I am sure you are my mother!&quot; cried Alizon, flinging herself
+into Mistress Nutter's arms; &quot;and I will go with you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But before they could move, several dusky figures were seen rushing
+towards them.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Be on your guard!&quot; cried Mother Chattox; &quot;here comes old Demdike with
+her troop. I will aid you all I can.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Down on your knees!&quot; exclaimed Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>Alizon obeyed, but ere a word could pass her lips, the infuriated hag,
+attended by her beldame band, stood beside them.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha! who is here?&quot; she cried. &quot;Let me see who dares interrupt my mystic
+rites.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And raising her hand, the black cloud hanging over the hill was rent
+asunder, and the moon shone down upon them, revealing the old witch,
+armed with the sacrificial knife, her limbs shaking with fury, and her
+eyes flashing with preternatural light. It revealed, also, her weird
+attendants, as well as the group before her, consisting of the kneeling
+figure of Alizon, protected by the outstretched arms of her mother, and
+further defended by Mother Chattox, who planted herself in front of
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Mother Demdike eyed the group for a moment as if she would, annihilate
+them.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Out of my way, Chattox!&quot; she vociferated&mdash;&quot;out of my way, or I will
+drive my knife to thy heart.&quot; And as her old antagonist maintained her
+ground, she unhesitatingly advanced upon her, smote her with the weapon,
+and, as she fell to the ground, stepped over her bleeding body.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Now what dost thou here, Alice Nutter?&quot; she cried, menacing her with
+the reeking blade.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am come for my child, whom thou hast stolen from me,&quot; replied the
+lady.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou art come to witness her slaughter,&quot; replied the witch, fiercely.
+&quot;Begone, or I will serve thee as I have just served old Chattox.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am not sped yet,&quot; cried the wounded hag; &quot;I shall live to see thee
+bound hand and foot by the officers of justice, and, certain thou wilt
+perish miserably, I shall die content.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Spit out thy last drops of venom, black viper,&quot; rejoined Mother
+Demdike; &quot;when I have done with the others, I will return and finish
+thee. Alice Nutter, thou knowest it is vain to struggle with me. Give me
+up the girl.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Wilt thou accept my life for hers?&quot; said Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Of what account would thy life be to me?&quot; rejoined Mother Demdike,
+disdainfully. &quot;If it would profit me to take it, I would do so without
+thy consent, but I am about to make an oblation to our master, and thou
+art his already. Snatch her child from her&mdash;we waste time,&quot; she added,
+to her attendants.</p>
+
+<p>And immediately the weird crew rushed forward, and in spite of the
+miserable mother's efforts tore Alizon from her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I told you it was in vain to contend with me,&quot; said Mother Demdike.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh, that I could call down heaven's vengeance upon thy accursed head!&quot;
+cried Mistress Nutter; &quot;but I am forsaken alike of God and man, and
+shall die despairing.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Rave on, thou wilt have ample leisure,&quot; replied the hag. &quot;And now
+bring the girl this way,&quot; she added to the beldames; &quot;the sacrifice must
+be made near the beacon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as Alizon was borne away, Mistress Nutter uttered a cry of anguish.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not stay here,&quot; said Mother Chattox, raising herself with
+difficulty. &quot;Go after her; you may yet save your daughter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But how?&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, distractedly. &quot;I have no power now.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As she spoke a dusky form rose up beside her. It was her familiar.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Will you return to your duty if I help you in this extremity?&quot; he said.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, do, do!&quot; cried Mother Chattox. &quot;Anything to avenge yourself upon
+that murtherous hag.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Peace!&quot; cried the familiar, spurning her with his cloven foot.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I do not want vengeance,&quot; said Mistress Nutter; &quot;I only want to save my
+child.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then you consent on that condition?&quot; said the familiar.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No!&quot; replied Mistress Nutter, firmly. &quot;I now perceive I am not utterly
+lost, since you try to regain me. I have renounced thy master, and will
+make no new bargain with him. Get hence, tempter!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Think not to escape us,&quot; cried the familiar; &quot;no penitence&mdash;no
+absolution can save thee. Thy name is written on the judgment scroll,
+and cannot be effaced. I would have aided thee, but, since my offer is
+rejected, I leave thee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You will not let him go!&quot; screamed Mother Chattox. &quot;Oh that the chance
+were mine!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Be silent, or I will beat thy brains out!&quot; said the familiar. &quot;Once
+more, am I dismissed?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, for ever!&quot; replied Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>And as the familiar disappeared, she flew to the spot where her child
+had been taken.</p>
+
+<p>About twenty paces from the beacon, a circle had again been formed by
+the unhallowed crew, in the midst of which stood Mother Demdike, with
+the gory knife in her hand, muttering spells and incantations, and
+performing mystical ceremonials.</p>
+
+<p>Every now and then her companions joined in these rites, and chanted a
+song couched in a wild, unintelligible jargon. Beside the witch knelt
+Alizon, with her hands tied behind her back, so that she could not raise
+them in supplication; her hair unbound, and cast loosely over her
+person, and a thick bandage fastened over her eyes and mouth.</p>
+
+<p>The initiatory ceremonies over, the old hag approached her victim, when
+Mistress Nutter forced herself through the circle, and cast herself at
+her feet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Spare her!&quot; she cried, clinging to her knees; &quot;it shall be well for
+thee if thou dost so.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Again interrupted!&quot; cried the witch, furiously. &quot;This time I will show
+thee no mercy. Take thy fate, meddlesome woman!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And she raised the knife, but ere the weapon could descend, it was
+seized by Mistress Nutter, and wrested from her grasp. In another
+instant, Alizon's arms were liberated, and the bandage removed from her
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Now it is my turn to threaten. I have thee in my power, infernal hag!&quot;
+cried Mistress Nutter, holding the knife to the witch's throat, and
+clasping her daughter with the other arm. &quot;Wilt let us go?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No!&quot; replied Mother Demdike, springing nimbly backwards. &quot;You shall
+both die. I will soon disarm thee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And making one or two passes with her hands, Mistress Nutter dropped the
+weapon, and instantly became fixed and motionless, with her daughter,
+equally rigid, in her arms. They looked as if suddenly turned to marble.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Now to complete the ceremonial,&quot; cried Mother Demdike, picking up the
+knife.</p>
+
+<p>And then she began to mutter an impious address preparatory to the
+sacrifice, when a loud clangour was heard like the stroke of a hammer
+upon a bell.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What was that?&quot; exclaimed the witch, in alarm.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Were there a clock here, I should say it had struck one,&quot; replied
+Mould-heels.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It must be our master's timepiece,&quot; said another witch.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;One o'clock!&quot; exclaimed Mother Demdike, who appeared stupefied with
+fear, &quot;and the sacrifice not made&mdash;then I am lost!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>A derisive laugh reached her ears. It proceeded from Mother Chattox, who
+had contrived to raise herself to her feet, and, tottering forward, now
+passed through the appalled circle.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, thy term is out&mdash;thy soul is forfeited like mine&mdash;ha! ha!&quot; And she
+fell to the ground.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Perhaps it may not be too late,&quot; cried Mother Demdike, grasping the
+knife, and rushing towards Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>But at this moment a bright flame shot up from the beacon.</p>
+
+<p>Astonishment and terror seized the hag, and she uttered a loud cry,
+which was echoed by the rest of the crew.</p>
+
+<p>The flame mounted higher and higher, and burnt each moment more
+brightly, illumining the whole summit of the hill. By its light could be
+seen a band of men, some of whom were on horseback, speeding towards the
+place of meeting.</p>
+
+<p>Scared by the sight, the witches fled, but were turned by another band
+advancing from the opposite quarter. They then made towards the spot
+where their broomsticks were deposited, but ere they could reach it, a
+third party gained the summit of the hill at this precise point, and
+immediately started in pursuit of them.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, a young man issuing from behind the beacon, flew towards
+Mistress Nutter and her daughter. The moment the flame burst forth, the
+spell cast over them by Mother Demdike was broken, and motion and speech
+restored.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alizon!&quot; exclaimed the young man, as he came up, &quot;your trials are over.
+You are safe.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh, Richard!&quot; she replied, falling into his arms, &quot;have we been
+preserved by you?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am a mere instrument in the hands of Heaven,&quot; he replied.</p>
+
+<p>Mother Demdike made no attempt at flight with the rest of the witches,
+but remained for a few moments absorbed in contemplation of the flaming
+beacon. Her hand still grasped the murderous weapon she had raised
+against Alizon, but it had dropped to her side when the fire burst
+forth. At length she turned fiercely to Richard, and demanded&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Was it thou who kindled the beacon?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It was!&quot; replied the young man.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And who bade thee do it&mdash;who brought thee hither?&quot; pursued the witch.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;An enemy of thine, old woman!&quot; replied Richard, &quot;His vengeance has been
+slow in coming, but it has arrived at last.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But who is he? I see him not!&quot; rejoined Mother Demdike.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You will see him before yon flame expires,&quot; said Richard. &quot;I should
+have come to your assistance sooner, Alizon,&quot; he continued, turning to
+her, &quot;but I was forbidden. And I knew I should best ensure your safety
+by compliance with the injunctions I had received.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Some guardian spirit must have interposed to preserve us,&quot; replied
+Alizon; &quot;for such only could have successfully combated with the evil
+beings from whom we have been delivered.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thy spirit is unable to preserve thee now!&quot; cried Mother Demdike,
+aiming a deadly blow at her with the knife. But, fortunately, the
+attempt was foreseen by Richard, who caught her arm, and wrested the
+weapon from her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Curses on thee, Richard Assheton!&quot; cried the infuriated hag,&mdash;&quot;and on
+thee too, Alizon Device, I cannot work ye the immediate ill I wish. I
+cannot make ye loathsome in one another's eyes. I cannot maim your
+limbs, or blight your beauty. I cannot deliver you over to devilish
+possession. But I can bequeath you a legacy of hate. What I say will
+come to pass. Thou, Alizon, wilt never wed Richard Assheton&mdash;never!
+Vainly shall ye struggle with your destiny&mdash;vainly indulge hopes of
+happiness. Misery and despair, and an early grave, are in store for both
+of you. He shall be to you your worst enemy, and you shall be to him
+destruction. Think of the witch's prediction and tremble, and may her
+deadliest curse rest upon your heads.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh, Richard!&quot; exclaimed Alizon, who would have sunk to the ground if he
+had not sustained her. &quot;Why did you not prevent this terrible
+malediction?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He could not,&quot; replied Mother Demdike, with a laugh of exultation; &quot;it
+shall work, and thy doom shall be accomplished. And now to make an end
+of old Chattox, and then they may take me where they please.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And she was approaching her old enemy with the intention of putting her
+threat into execution, when James Device, who appeared to start from the
+ground, rushed swiftly towards her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What art thou doing here, Jem?&quot; cried the hag, regarding him with angry
+surprise. &quot;Dost thou not see we are surrounded by enemies. I cannot
+escape them&mdash;but thou art young and active. Away with thee!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not without yo, granny,&quot; replied Jem. &quot;Ey ha' run os fast os ey could
+to help yo. Stick fast howld on me,&quot; he added, snatching her up in his
+arms, &quot;an ey'n bring yo clear off yet.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And he set off at a rapid pace with his burthen, Richard being too much
+occupied with Alizon to oppose him.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII_HOW_THE_BEACON_FIRE_WAS_EXTINGUISHED" id="CHAPTER_XVII_HOW_THE_BEACON_FIRE_WAS_EXTINGUISHED" />CHAPTER XVII.&mdash;HOW THE BEACON FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Soon after this, Nicholas Assheton, attended by two or three men, came
+up, and asked whither the old witch had flown.</p>
+
+<p>Mistress Nutter pointed out the course taken by the fugitive, who had
+run towards the northern extremity of the hill, down the sides of which
+he had already plunged.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She has been carried off by her grandson, Jem Device,&quot; said Mistress
+Nutter; &quot;be quick, or you will lose her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, be quick&mdash;be quick!&quot; added Mother Chattox. &quot;Yonder they went, to
+the back of the beacon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Casting a look at the wretched speaker, and finding she was too
+grievously wounded to be able to move, Nicholas bestowed no further
+thought upon her, but set off with his companions in the direction
+pointed out. He speedily arrived at the edge of the hill, and, looking
+down it, sought in vain for any appearance of the fugitives. The sides
+were here steep and shelving, and some hundred yards lower down were
+broken into ridges, behind one of which it was possible the old witch
+and her grandson might be concealed; so, without a moment's hesitation,
+the squire descended, and began to search about in the hollows,
+scrambling over the loose stones, or sliding down for some paces with
+the uncertain boggy soil, when he fancied he heard a plaintive cry. He
+looked around, but could see no one. The whole side of the mountain was
+lighted up by the fire from the beacon, which, instead of diminishing,
+burnt with increased ardour, so that every object was as easily to be
+discerned as in the day-time; but, notwithstanding this, he could not
+detect whence the sound proceeded. It was repeated, but more faintly
+than before, and Nicholas almost persuaded himself it was the voice of
+Potts calling for help. Motioning to his followers, who were engaged in
+the search like himself, to keep still, the squire listened intently,
+and again caught the sound, being this time convinced it arose from the
+ground. Was it possible the unfortunate attorney had been buried alive?
+Or had he been thrust into some hole, and a stone placed over it, which
+he found it impossible to remove? The latter idea seemed the more
+probable, and Nicholas was guided by a feeble repetition of the noise
+towards a large fragment of rock, which, on examination, had evidently
+been rolled from a point immediately over the mouth of a hollow. The
+squire instantly set himself to work to dislodge the ponderous stone,
+and, aided by two of his men, who lent their broad shoulders to the
+task, quickly accomplished his object, disclosing what appeared to be
+the mouth of a cavernous recess. From out of this, as soon as the stone
+was removed, popped the head of Master Potts, and Nicholas, bidding him
+be of good cheer, laid hold of him to draw him forth, as he seemed to
+have some difficulty in extricating himself, when the attorney cried
+out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not pull so hard, squire! That accursed Jem Device has got hold of
+my legs. Not so hard, sir, I entreat.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Bid him let go,&quot; said Nicholas, unable to refrain from laughing, &quot;or we
+will unearth him from his badger's hole.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He pays no heed to what I say to him,&quot; cried Potts. &quot;Oh, dear! oh,
+dear! he is dragging me down again!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And, as he spoke, the attorney, notwithstanding all Nicholas's efforts
+to restrain him, was pulled down into the hole. The squire was at a loss
+what to do, and was considering whether he should resort to the tedious
+process of digging him out, when a scrambling noise was heard, and the
+captive's head once more appeared above ground.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Are you coming out now?&quot; asked Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alas, no!&quot; replied the attorney, &quot;unless you will make terms with the
+rascal. He declares he will strangle me, if you do not promise to set
+him and his grandmother free.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Is Mother Demdike with him?&quot; asked Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;To be sure,&quot; replied Potts; &quot;and we are as badly off for room as three
+foxes in a hole.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And there is no other outlet said the squire?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I conclude not,&quot; replied the attorney. &quot;I groped about like a mole when
+I was first thrust into the cavern by Jem Device, but I could find no
+means of exit. The entrance was blocked up by the great stone which you
+had some difficulty in moving, but which Jem could shift at will; for he
+pushed it aside in a moment, and brought it back to its place, when he
+returned just now with the old hag; but probably that was effected by
+witchcraft.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Most likely,&quot; said Nicholas, &quot;But for your being in it, we would stop
+up this hole, and bury the two wretches alive.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Get me out first, good Master Nicholas, I implore of you, and then do
+what you please,&quot; cried Potts. &quot;Jem is tugging at my legs as if he would
+pull them off.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We will try who is strongest,&quot; said Nicholas, again seizing hold of
+Potts by the shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh, dear! oh, dear! I can't bear it&mdash;let go!&quot; shrieked the attorney. &quot;I
+shall be stretched to twice my natural length. My joints are starting
+from their sockets, my legs are coming off&mdash;oh! oh!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Lend a hand here, one of you,&quot; cried Nicholas to the men; &quot;we'll have
+him out, whatever be the consequence.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But I won't come!&quot; roared Potts. &quot;You have no right to use me thus.
+Torture! oh! oh! my loins are ruptured&mdash;my back is breaking&mdash;I am a dead
+man.&mdash;The hag has got hold of my right leg, while Jem is tugging with
+all his force at the left.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Pull away!&quot; cried Nicholas; &quot;he is coming.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My legs are off,&quot; yelled Potts, as he was plucked suddenly forth, with
+a jerk that threw the squire and his assistants on their backs. &quot;I shall
+never be able to walk more. No, Heaven be praised!&quot; he added, looking
+down on his lower limbs, &quot;I have only lost my boots.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Never mind it, then,&quot; cried Nicholas; &quot;but thank your stars you are
+above ground once more. Hark'ee, Jem!&quot; he continued, shouting down the
+hole; &quot;If you don't come forth at once, and bring Mother Demdike with
+you, we'll close up the mouth of this hole in such a way that you
+sha'n't require another grave. D'ye hear?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yeigh,&quot; replied Jem, his voice coming hoarsely and hollowly up like the
+accents of a ghost. &quot;Am ey to go free if ey comply?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Certainly not,&quot; replied the squire. &quot;You have a choice between this
+hole and the hangman's cord at Lancaster, that is all. In either case
+you will die by suffocation. But be quick&mdash;we have wasted time enough
+already with you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then if that's aw yo'll do fo' me, squire, eyn e'en stay wheere ey am,&quot;
+rejoined Jem.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Very well,&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;Here, my man, stop up this hole with
+earth and stones. Master Potts, you will lend a hand to the task.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Readily, sir,&quot; replied the attorney, &quot;though I shall lose the pleasure
+I had anticipated of seeing that old carrion crow roasted alive.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Stay a bit, squoire,&quot; roared Jem, as preparations were actively made
+for carrying Nicholas's orders into execution. &quot;Stay a bit, an ey'n cum
+owt, an bring t' owd woman wi' me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I thought you'd change your mind,&quot; replied Nicholas, laughing. &quot;Be
+upon your guard,&quot; he added, in a low tone to the others, &quot;and seize him
+the moment he appears.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But Jem evidently found it no easy matter to perform his promise, for
+stifled shrieks and other noises proclaimed that a desperate struggle
+was going on between him and his grandmother.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Aha!&quot; exclaimed Nicholas, placing his ear to the hole. &quot;The old hag is
+unwilling to come forth, and spits and scratches like a cat-a-mountain,
+while Jem gripes her like a terrier. It is a hard tussle between them,
+but he is getting the better of it, and is pushing her forth. Now look
+out.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as he spoke, Mother Demdike's terrible head protruded from the
+ground, and, despite of the execrations she poured forth upon her
+enemies, she was instantly seized by them, drawn out of the cavern, and
+secured. While the men were thus engaged, and while Nicholas's attention
+was for an instant diverted, Jem bounded forth as suddenly as a wolf
+from his lair, and, dashing aside all opposition, plunged down the hill.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is useless to pursue him,&quot; said Nicholas. &quot;He will not escape. The
+whole country will be roused by the beacon fire, and hue and cry shall
+be made after him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Right!&quot; exclaimed Potts; &quot;and now let some one creep into that cavern,
+and bring out my boots, and then I shall be in a better condition to
+attend you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The request being complied with, and the attorney being once more
+equipped for walking, the party climbed the hill-side, and, bringing
+Mother Demdike with them, shaped their course towards the beacon.</p>
+
+<p>And now to see what had taken place in the interim.</p>
+
+<p>Scarcely had the squire quitted Mistress Nutter than Sir Ralph Assheton
+rode up to her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why do you loiter here, madam?&quot; he said, in a stern tone, somewhat
+tempered by sorrow. &quot;I have held back to give you an opportunity of
+escape. The hill is invested by your enemies. On that side Roger Nowell
+is advancing, and on this Sir Thomas Metcalfe and his followers. You may
+possibly effect a retreat in the opposite direction, but not a moment
+must be lost.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will go with you,&quot; said Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, no,&quot; interposed Richard. &quot;You have not strength for the effort, and
+will only retard her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I thank you for your devotion, my child,&quot; said Mistress Nutter, with a
+look of grateful tenderness; &quot;but it is unneeded. I have no intention of
+flying. I shall surrender myself into the hands of justice.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not mistake the matter, madam,&quot; said Sir Ralph, &quot;and delude yourself
+with the notion that either your rank or wealth will screen you from
+punishment. Your guilt is too clearly established to allow you a chance
+of escape, and, though I myself am acting wrongfully in counselling
+flight to you, I am led to do so from the friendship once subsisting
+between us, and the relationship which, unfortunately, I cannot
+destroy.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is you who are mistaken, not I, Sir Ralph,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter.
+&quot;I have no thought of turning aside the sword of justice, but shall
+court its sharpest edge, hoping by a full avowal of my offences, in some
+degree to atone for them. My only regret is, that I shall leave my child
+unprotected, and that my fate will bring dishonour upon her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh, think not of me, dear mother!&quot; cried Alizon, &quot;but persist
+unhesitatingly in the course you have laid down. Far rather would I see
+you act thus&mdash;far rather hear the sentiments you have uttered, even
+though they may be attended by the saddest, consequences, than behold
+you in your former proud position, and impenitent. Think not of me,
+then. Or, rather, think only how I rejoice that your eyes are at length
+opened, and that you have cast off the bonds of iniquity. I can now pray
+for you with the full hope that my intercessions will prevail, and in
+parting with you in this world shall be sustained by the conviction that
+we shall meet in eternal happiness hereafter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Mistress Nutter threw her arms about her daughter's neck, and they
+mingled their tears together, Sir Ralph Assheton was much moved.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is a pity she should fall into their hands,&quot; he observed to Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I know not how to advise,&quot; replied the latter, greatly troubled.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah! it is too late,&quot; exclaimed the knight; &quot;here come Nowell and
+Metcalfe. The poor lady's firmness will be severely tested.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The next moment the magistrate and the knight came up, with such of
+their attendants as were not engaged in pursuing the witches, several of
+whom had already been captured. On seeing Mistress Nutter, Sir Thomas
+Metcalfe sprang from his horse, and would have seized her, but Sir Ralph
+interposed, saying &quot;She has surrendered herself to me. I will be
+answerable for her safe custody.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your pardon, Sir Ralph,&quot; observed Nowell; &quot;the arrest must be formally
+made, and by a constable. Sparshot, execute your warrant.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Upon this, the official, leaping from his horse, displayed his staff and
+a piece of parchment to Mistress Nutter, telling her she was his
+prisoner.</p>
+
+<p>The lady bowed her head.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Shan ey tee her hands, yer warship?&quot; demanded the constable of the
+magistrate.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;On no account, fellow,&quot; interposed Sir Ralph. &quot;I will have no indignity
+offered her. I have already said I will be responsible for her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You will recollect she is arrested for witchcraft, Sir Ralph,&quot; observed
+Nowell.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She shall answer to the charges brought against her. I pledge myself
+to that,&quot; replied Sir Ralph.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And by a full confession,&quot; said Mistress Nutter. &quot;You may pledge
+yourself to that also, Sir Ralph.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She avows her guilt,&quot; cried Nowell. &quot;I take you all to witness it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I shall not forget it,&quot; said Sir Thomas Metcalfe.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nor I&mdash;nor I!&quot; cried Sparshot, and two or three others of the
+attendants.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This girl is my prisoner,&quot; said Sir Thomas Metcalfe, dismounting, and
+advancing towards Alizon, &quot;She is a witch, as well as the rest.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is false,&quot; cried Richard! &quot;and if you attempt to lay hands upon her
+I will strike you to the earth.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;'Sdeath!&quot; exclaimed Metcalfe, drawing his sword, &quot;I will not let this
+insolence pass unpunished. I have other affronts to chastise. Stand
+aside, or I will cut your throat.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hold, Sir Thomas,&quot; cried Sir Ralph Assheton, authoritatively. &quot;Settle
+your quarrels hereafter, if you have any to adjust; but I will have no
+fighting now. Alizon is no witch. You are well aware that she was about
+to be impiously and cruelly sacrificed by Mother Demdike, and her rescue
+was the main object of our coming hither.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Still suspicion attaches to her,&quot; said Metcalfe; &quot;whether she be the
+daughter of Elizabeth Device or Alice Nutter, she comes of a bad stock,
+and I protest against her being allowed to go free. However, if you are
+resolved upon it, I have nothing more to say. I shall find other time
+and place to adjust my differences with Master Richard Assheton.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;When you please, sir,&quot; replied the young man, sternly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And I will answer for the propriety of the course I have pursued,&quot; said
+Sir Ralph; &quot;but here comes Nicholas with Mother Demdike.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Demdike taken! I am glad of it,&quot; cried Mother Chattox, slightly raising
+herself as she spoke. &quot;Kill her, or she will 'scape you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>When Nicholas came up with the old hag, both Sir Ralph Assheton and
+Roger Nowell put several questions to her, but she refused to answer
+their interrogations; and, horrified by her blasphemies and
+imprecations, they caused her to be removed to a short distance, while a
+consultation was held as to the course to be pursued.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We have made half a dozen of these miscreants prisoners,&quot; said Roger
+Nowell, &quot;and the whole of them had better be taken to Whalley, where
+they can be safely confined in the old dungeons of the Abbey, and after
+their examination on the morrow can be removed to Lancaster Castle.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Be it so,&quot; replied Sir Ralph; &quot;but must yon unfortunate lady,&quot; he
+added, pointing to Mistress Nutter, &quot;be taken with them?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Assuredly,&quot; replied Nowell. &quot;We can make no distinction among such
+offenders; or, if there are any degrees in guilt, hers is of the highest
+class.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You had better take leave of your daughter,&quot; said Sir Ralph to Mistress
+Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I thank you for the hint,&quot; replied the lady. &quot;Farewell, dear Alizon,&quot;
+she added, straining her to her bosom. &quot;We must part for some time. Once
+more before I quit this world, in which I have played so wicked a part,
+I would fain look upon you&mdash;fain bless you, if I have the power&mdash;but
+this must be at the last, when my trials are wellnigh over, and when all
+is about to close upon me!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! must it be thus?&quot; exclaimed Alizon, in a voice half suffocated by
+emotion.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It must,&quot; replied her mother. &quot;Do not attempt to shake my resolution,
+my sweet child&mdash;do not weep for me. Amidst all the terrors that surround
+me, I am happier now than I have been for years. I shall strive to work
+out my redemption by prayers.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And you will succeed!&quot; cried Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not so!&quot; shrieked Mother Demdike; &quot;the Fiend will have his own. She is
+bound to him by a compact which nought can annul.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I should like to see the instrument,&quot; said Potts. &quot;I might give a legal
+opinion upon it. Perhaps it might be avoided; and in any case its
+production in court would have an admirable effect. I think I see the
+counsel examining it, and hear the judges calling for it to be placed
+before them. His infernal Majesty's signature must be a curiosity in its
+way. Our gracious and sagacious monarch would delight in it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Peace!&quot; exclaimed Nicholas; &quot;and take care,&quot; he cried, &quot;that no further
+interruptions are offered by that infernal hag. Have you done, madam?&quot;
+he added to Mistress Nutter, who still remained with her daughter folded
+in her arms.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Not yet,&quot; replied the lady. &quot;Oh! what happiness I have thrown away!
+What anguish&mdash;what remorse brought upon myself by the evil life I have
+led! As I gaze on this fair face, and think it might long, long have
+brightened my dark and desolate life with its sunshine&mdash;as I think upon
+all this, my fortitude wellnigh deserts me, and I have need of support
+from on high to carry me through my trial. But I fear it will be denied
+me. Nicholas Assheton, you have the deed of the gift of Rough Lee in
+your possession. Henceforth Alizon is mistress of the mansion and
+domains.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Provided always they are not forfeited to the crown, which I apprehend
+will be the case,&quot; suggested Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will take care she is put in possession of them,&quot; said Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;As to you, Richard,&quot; continued Mistress Nutter, &quot;the time may come
+when your devotion to my daughter may be rewarded and I could not bestow
+a greater boon upon you than by giving you her hand. It may be well I
+should give my consent now, and, if no other obstacle should arise to
+the union, may she be yours, and happiness I am sure will attend you!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Overpowered by conflicting emotions, Alizon hid her face in her mother's
+bosom, and Richard, who was almost equally overcome, was about to reply,
+when Mother Demdike broke upon them.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;They will never be united!&quot; she screamed. &quot;Never! I have said it, and
+my words will come true. Think'st thou a witch like thee can bless an
+union, Alice Nutter? Thy blessings are curses, thy wishes
+disappointments and despair. Thriftless love shall be Alizon's, and the
+grave shall be her bridal bed. The witch's daughter shall share the
+witch's fate.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>These boding words produced a terrible effect upon the hearers.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heed her not, my sweet child&mdash;she speaks falsely,&quot; said Mistress
+Nutter, endeavouring to re-assure her daughter; but the tone in which
+the words were uttered showed that she herself was greatly alarmed.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have cursed them both, and I will curse them again,&quot; yelled Mother
+Demdike.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Away with the old screech-owl,&quot; cried Nicholas. &quot;Take her to the
+beacon, and, if she continues troublesome, hurl her into the flame.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And, notwithstanding the hag's struggles and imprecations, she was
+removed.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whatever may betide, Alizon,&quot; cried Richard, &quot;my life shall be devoted
+to you; and, if you should not be mine, I will have no other bride. With
+your permission, madam,&quot; he added, to Mistress Nutter, &quot;I will take your
+daughter to Middleton, where she will find companionship and solace, I
+trust, in the attentions of my sister, who has the strongest affection
+for her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I could wish nothing better,&quot; replied the lady, &quot;and now to put an end
+to this harrowing scene. Farewell, my child. Take her, Richard, take
+her!&quot; she cried, as she disengaged herself from the relaxing embrace of
+her daughter. &quot;Now, Master Nowell, I am ready.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is well, madam,&quot; he replied. &quot;You will join the other prisoners, and
+we will set forth.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But at this juncture a terrific shriek was heard, which drew all eyes
+towards the beacon.</p>
+
+<p>When Mother Demdike had been removed, in accordance with the squire's
+directions, her conduct became more violent and outrageous than ever,
+and those who had charge of her threatened, if she did not desist, to
+carry out the full instructions they had received, and cast her into the
+flames. The old hag defied and incensed them to such a degree by her
+violence and blasphemies, that they carried her to the very edge of the
+fire.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment the figure of a monk, in mouldering white habiliments,
+came from behind the beacon, and stood beside the old hag. He slowly
+raised his hood, and disclosed features that looked like those of the
+dead.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thy hour is come, accursed woman!&quot; cried the phantom, in thrilling
+accents. &quot;Thy term on earth is ended, and thou shalt be delivered to
+unquenchable fire. The curse of Paslew is fulfilled upon thee, and will
+be fulfilled upon all thy viperous brood.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Art thou the abbot's shade?&quot; demanded the hag.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am thy implacable enemy,&quot; replied the phantom. &quot;Thy judgment and thy
+punishment are committed to me. To the flames with her!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Such was the awe inspired by the monk, and such the authority of his
+tones and gesture, that the command was unhesitatingly obeyed, and the
+witch was cast, shrieking, into the fire.</p>
+
+<p>She was instantly swallowed up as in a gulf of flame, which raged, and
+roared, and shot up in a hundred lambent points, as if exulting in its
+prey.</p>
+
+<p>The wretched creature was seen for a moment to rise up in it in
+extremity of anguish, with arms extended, and uttering a dreadful yell,
+but the flames wreathed round her, and she sank for ever.</p>
+
+<p>When those who had assisted at this fearful execution looked around for
+the mysterious being who had commanded it, they could nowhere behold
+him.</p>
+
+<p>Then was heard a laugh of gratified hate&mdash;such a laugh as only a demon,
+or one bound to a demon, can utter&mdash;and the appalled listeners looked
+around, and beheld Mother Chattox standing behind them.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My rival is gone!&quot; cried the hag. &quot;I have seen the last of her. She is
+burnt&mdash;ah! ah!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Further triumph was not allowed her. With one accord, and as if prompted
+by an irresistible impulse, the men rushed upon her, seized her, and
+cast her into the fire.</p>
+
+<p>Her wild laughter was heard for a moment above the roaring of the
+flames, and then ceased altogether.</p>
+
+<p>Again the flame shot high in air, again roared and raged, again broke
+into a multitude of lambent points, after which it suddenly expired.</p>
+
+<p>All was darkness on the summit of Pendle Hill.</p>
+
+<p>And in silence and in gloom scarcely more profound than that Weighing in
+every breast, the melancholy troop pursued its way to Whalley.</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+<h3>END OF THE SECOND BOOK.</h3>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<h2>BOOK THE THIRD.</h2>
+<h3><span class="smcap">Hoghton Tower</span></h3>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I_DOWNHAM_MANOR_HOUSE" id="CHAPTER_I_DOWNHAM_MANOR_HOUSE" />CHAPTER I.&mdash;DOWNHAM MANOR-HOUSE.</h2>
+
+<p>On a lovely morning, about the middle of July, in the same year as the
+events previously narrated, Nicholas Assheton, always astir with the
+lark, issued from his own dwelling, and sauntered across the smooth lawn
+in front of it. The green eminence on which he stood was sheltered on
+the right by a grove of sycamores, forming the boundary of the park, and
+sloped down into a valley threaded by a small clear stream, whose
+murmuring, as it danced over its pebbly bed, distinctly reached his ear
+in the stillness of early day. On the left, partly in the valley, and
+partly on the side of the acclivity on which the hall was situated,
+nestled the little village whose inhabitants owned Nicholas as lord;
+and, to judge from their habitations, they had reason to rejoice in
+their master; for certainly there was a cheerful air about Downham which
+the neighbouring hamlets, especially those in Pendle Forest, sadly
+wanted.</p>
+
+<p>On the left of the mansion, and only separated from it by the garden
+walls, stood the church, a venerable structure, dating back to a period
+more remote even than Whalley Abbey. From the churchyard a view, almost
+similar to that enjoyed by the squire, was obtained, though partially
+interrupted by the thick rounded foliage of a large tree growing beneath
+it; and many a traveller who came that way lingered within the hallowed
+precincts to contemplate the prospect. At the foot of the hill was a
+small stone bridge crossing the stream.</p>
+
+<p>Across the road, and scarce thirty paces from the church-gate, stood a
+little alehouse, whose comfortable fireside nook and good liquors were
+not disdained by the squire. In fact, to his shame be it spoken, he was
+quite as often to be found there of an evening as at the hall. This had
+more particularly been the case since the house was tenanted by Richard
+Baldwyn, who having given up the mill at Rough Lee, and taken to wife
+Bess Whitaker of Goldshaw Booth, had removed with her to Downham, where
+he now flourished under the special protection of the squire. Bess had
+lost none of her old habits of command, and it must be confessed that
+poor Richard played a very secondary part in the establishment.
+Nicholas, as may be supposed, was permitted considerable licence by her,
+but even he had limits, which she took good care he should not exceed.</p>
+
+<p>The Downham domains were well cultivated; the line of demarcation
+between them and the heathy wastes adjoining, being clearly traced out,
+and you had only to follow the course of the brook to see at a glance
+where the purlieus of the forest ended, and where Nicholas Assheton's
+property commenced: the one being a dreary moor, with here and there a
+thicket upon it, but more frequently a dangerous morass, covered with
+sulphur-coloured moss; and the other consisting of green meadows,
+bordered in most instances by magnificent timber. The contrast, however,
+was not without its charm; and while the sterile wastes set off the fair
+and fertile fields around them, and enhanced their beauty, they offered
+a wide, uninterrupted expanse, over which the eye could range at will.</p>
+
+<p>On the further side of the valley, and immediately opposite the lawn
+whereon Nicholas stood, the ground gradually arose, until it reached the
+foot of Pendle Hill, which here assuming its most majestic aspect,
+constituted the grand and peculiar feature of the scene. Nowhere could
+the lordly eminence be seen to the same advantage as from this point,
+and Nicholas contemplated it with feelings of rapture, which no
+familiarity could diminish. The sun shone brightly upon its rounded
+summit, and upon its seamy sides, revealing all its rifts and ridges;
+adding depth of tint to its dusky soil, laid bare in places by the
+winter torrents; lending new beauty to its purple heath, and making its
+grey sod glow as with fire. So exhilarating was the prospect, that
+Nicholas felt half tempted to cross the valley and scale the hill before
+breaking his fast; but other feelings checked him, and he turned towards
+the right. Here, beyond a paddock and some outbuildings, lay the park,
+small in extent, but beautifully diversified, well stocked with deer,
+and boasting much noble timber. In the midst was an exquisite knoll,
+which, besides commanding a fine view of Pendle Hill, Downham, and all
+the adjacent country, brought within its scope, on the one hand, the
+ancient castle of Clithero and the heights overlooking Whalley; and, on
+the other, the lovely and extensive vale through which the Ribble
+wandered. This, also, was a favourite point of view with the squire, and
+he had some idea of walking towards it, when he was arrested by a person
+who came from the house, and who shouted to him, hoarsely but blithely,
+to stay.</p>
+
+<p>The new-comer was a man of middle age, with a skin almost as tawny as a
+gipsy's, a hooked nose, black beetling brows, and eyes so strangely set
+in his head, that they communicated a sinister expression to his
+countenance. He possessed a burly frame, square, and somewhat heavy,
+though not so much so as to impede his activity. In deportment and
+stature, though not in feature, he resembled the squire himself; and the
+likeness was heightened by his habiliments being part of Nicholas's old
+wardrobe, the doublet and hose, and even the green hat and boots, being
+those in which Nicholas made his first appearance in this history. The
+personage who thus condescended to be fed and clothed at the squire's
+expense, and who filled a situation something between guest and menial,
+without receiving the precise attention of the one or the wages of the
+other, but who made himself so useful to Nicholas that he could not
+dispense with him&mdash;neither, perhaps would he have been shaken off, even
+if it had been desired&mdash;was named Lawrence Fogg, an entire stranger to
+the country, whom Nicholas had picked up at Colne, and whom he had
+invited to Downham for a few weeks' hunting, and had never been able to
+get rid of him since.</p>
+
+<p>Lawrence Fogg liked his quarters immensely, and determined to remain in
+them; and as a means to so desirable an end, he studied all the squire's
+weak points and peculiarities, and these not being very difficult to be
+understood, he soon mastered them, and mastered the squire into the
+bargain, but without allowing his success to become manifest. Nicholas
+was delighted to find one with tastes so congenial to his own, who was
+so willing to hunt or fish with him&mdash;who could train a hawk as well as
+Phil Royle, the falconer&mdash;diet a fighting-cock as well as Tom Shaw, the
+cock-master&mdash;enter a hound better than Charlie Crouch, the old
+huntsman&mdash;shoot with the long-bow further than any one except himself,
+and was willing to toss off a pot with him, or sing a merry stave
+whenever he felt inclined. Such a companion was invaluable, and Nicholas
+congratulated himself upon the discovery, especially when he found
+Lawrence Fogg not unwilling to undertake some delicate commissions for
+him, which he could not well execute himself, and which he was unwilling
+should reach Mistress Assheton's ears. These were managed with equal
+adroitness and caution. About the same time, too, Nicholas finding money
+scarce, and, not liking to borrow it in person, delegated Fogg, and sent
+him round to his friends to ask for a loan; but, in this instance, the
+mission was attended with very indifferent success, for not one of them
+would lend him so small a sum as thirty pounds, all averring they stood
+in need of it quite as much as himself. Though somewhat inconvenienced
+by their refusal, Nicholas bore the disappointment with his customary
+equanimity, and made merry with his friend as if nothing had happened.
+Fogg showed an equal accommodating spirit in all religious observances,
+and, though much against his inclination, attended morning discourses
+and lectures with his patron, and even made an attempt at psalm-singing;
+but on one occasion, missing the tune and coming in with a bacchanalian
+chorus, he was severely rebuked by the minister, and enjoined to keep
+silence in future. Such was the friendly relation subsisting between
+the parties when they met together on the lawn on the morning in
+question.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, Fogg,&quot; cried Nicholas, after exchanging salutations with his
+friend, &quot;what say you to hunting the otter in the Ribble after
+breakfast? 'Tis a rare day for the sport, and the hounds are in
+excellent order. There is an old dam and her litter whom we must kill,
+for she has been playing the very devil with the fish for a space of
+more than two miles; and if we let her off for another week, we shall
+have neither salmon, trout, nor umber, as all will have passed down the
+maws of her voracious brood.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And that would be a pity, in good sooth, squire,&quot; replied Fogg; &quot;for
+there are no fish like those of the Ribble. Nothing I should prefer to
+the sport you promise; but I thought you had other business for me
+to-day? Another attempt to borrow money&mdash;eh?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, from my cousin, Dick Assheton,&quot; rejoined Nicholas; &quot;he will lend me
+the thirty pounds, I am quite sure. But you had better defer the visit
+till to-morrow, when his father, Sir Richard, will be at Whalley, and
+when you can have him to yourself. Dick will not say you nay, depend
+on't; he is too good a fellow for that. A murrain on those close-fisted
+curmudgeons, Roger Nowell, Nicholas Townley, and Tom Whitaker. They
+ought to be delighted to oblige me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But they declare they have no money,&quot; said Fogg.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No money!&mdash;pshaw!&quot; exclaimed Nicholas; &quot;an idle excuse. They have
+chests full. Would I had all Roger Nowell's gold, I should not require
+another supply for years. But, 'sdeath! I will not trouble myself for a
+paltry thirty pounds.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If I might venture to suggest, squire, while you are about it, I would
+ask for a hundred pounds, or even two or three hundred,&quot; said Fogg.
+&quot;Your friends will think all the better of you, and feel more satisfied
+you intend to repay them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do you think so!&quot; cried Nicholas. &quot;Then, by Plutus, it shall be three
+hundred pounds&mdash;three hundred at interest. Dick will have to borrow the
+amount to lend it to me; but, no matter, he will easily obtain it.
+Harkye, Fogg, while you are at Middleton, endeavour to ascertain whether
+any thing has been arranged about the marriage of a certain young lady
+to a certain young gentleman. I am curious to know the precise state of
+affairs in that quarter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will arrive at the truth, if possible, squire,&quot; replied Fogg; &quot;but I
+should scarcely think Sir Richard would assent to his son's union with
+the daughter of a notorious witch.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Sir Richard's son is scarcely likely to ask Sir Richard's consent,&quot;
+said Nicholas; &quot;and as to Mistress Nutter, though heavy charges have
+been brought against her, nothing has been proved, for you know she
+escaped, or rather was rescued, on her way to Lancaster Castle.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am fully aware of it, squire,&quot; replied Fogg; &quot;and I more than
+suspect a worthy friend of mine had a hand in her deliverance and could
+tell where to find her if needful. But that is neither here nor there.
+The lady is quite innocent, I dare say. Indeed, I am quite sure of it,
+since you espouse her cause so warmly. But the world is malicious, and
+strange things are reported of her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heed not the world, Fogg,&quot; rejoined Nicholas. &quot;The world speaks well of
+no man, be his deserts what they may. The world says that I waste my
+estate in wine, women, and horseflesh&mdash;that I spend time in pleasures
+which might be profitably employed&mdash;that I neglect my wife, forget my
+religious observances, am on horseback when I should be afoot, at the
+alehouse when I should be at home, at a marriage when I should be at a
+funeral, shooting when I should be keeping my books&mdash;in short, it has
+not a good word to say for me. And as for thee, Fogg, it says thou art
+an idle, good-for-nothing fellow; or, if thou art good for aught, it is
+only for something that leads to evil. It says thou drinkest
+prodigiously, liest confoundedly, and swearest most profanely; that thou
+art ever more ready to go to the alehouse than to church, and that none
+of the girls can 'scape thee. Nay, the slanderers even go so far as to
+assert thou wouldst not hesitate to say, 'Stand and deliver!' to a true
+man on the highway. That is what the world says of thee. But, hang it!
+never look chapfallen, man. Let us go to the stables, and then we will
+in to breakfast; after which we will proceed to the Ribble, and spear
+the old otter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>A fine old manorial residence was Downham, and beautifully situated, as
+has been shown, on a woody eminence to the north of Pendle Hill. It was
+of great antiquity, and first came into the possession of the Assheton
+family in 1558. Considerable additions had been made to it by its
+present owner, Nicholas, and the outlay necessarily required, combined
+with his lavish expenditure, had contributed to embarrass him. The
+stables were large, and full of horses; the kennels on the same scale,
+and equally well supplied with hounds; and there was a princely retinue
+of servants in the yard&mdash;grooms, keepers, falconers, huntsmen, and their
+assistants&mdash;to say nothing of their fellows within doors. In short, if
+it had been your fortune to accompany the squire and his friend round
+the premises&mdash;if you had walked through the stables and counted the
+horses&mdash;if you had viewed the kennels and examined the various
+hounds&mdash;the great Lancashire dogs, tall, shaggy, and heavy, a race now
+extinct; the Worcestershire hounds, then also in much repute; the
+greyhounds, the harriers, the beagles, the lurchers, and, lastly, the
+verminers, or, as we should call them, the terriers,&mdash;if you had seen
+all these, you would not have wondered that money was scarce with him.
+Still further would your surprise at such a consequence have diminished
+if you had gone on to the falconry, and seen on the perches the goshawk
+and her tercel, the sparrowhawk and her musket, under the care of the
+ostringer; and further on the falcon-gentle, the gerfalcon, the lanner,
+the merlin, and the hobby, all of which were attended to by the head
+falconer. It would have done you good to hear Nicholas inquiring from
+his men if they had &quot;set out their birds that morning, and weathered
+them;&quot; if they had mummy powder in readiness, then esteemed a sovereign
+remedy; if the lures, hoods, jesses, buets, and all other needful
+furniture, were in good order; and if the meat were sweet and wholesome.
+You might next have followed him to the pens where the fighting cocks
+were kept, and where you would have found another source of expense in
+the cock-master, Tom Shaw&mdash;a knave who not only got high wages from his
+master, but understood so well the dieting of his birds that he could
+make them win or lose a battle as he thought proper. Here, again,
+Nicholas had much to say, and was in raptures with one cock, which he
+told Fogg he would back to any amount, utterly unconscious of a
+significant look that passed between his friend and the cock-master.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Look at him,&quot; cried the squire; &quot;how proud and erect he stands! His
+head is as small as that of a sparrowhawk, his eye large and quick, his
+body thick, his leg strong in the beam, and his spurs long, rough, and
+sharp. That is the bird for me. I will take him over to the cockpit at
+Prescot next week, and match him against any bird Sir John Talbot, or my
+cousin Braddyll, can bring.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And yo'n win, squoire,&quot; replied the cock-master; &quot;ey ha' been feedin'
+him these five weeks, so he'll be i' rare condition then, and winna fail
+yo. Yo may lay what yo loike upon him,&quot; he added, with a sly wink at
+Fogg.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You may win the thirty pounds you want,&quot; observed the latter, in a low
+tone to the squire.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Or, mayhap, lose it,&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;I shall not risk so much,
+unless I get the three hundred from Dick Assheton. I have been unlucky
+of late. You beat me constantly at tables now, Fogg, and when I first
+knew you this was not wont to be the case. Nay, never make any excuses,
+man; you cannot help it. Let us in to breakfast.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>With this, he proceeded towards the house, followed by Fogg and a couple
+of large Lancashire hounds, and, entering at the back of the premises,
+made his way through the scullery into the kitchen. Here there were
+plentiful evidences of the hospitality, not to say profusion, reigning
+throughout the mansion. An open door showed a larder stocked with all
+kinds of provisions, and before the fire joints of meat and poultry were
+roasting. Pies were baking in the oven; and over the flames, in the
+chimney, was suspended a black pot large enough for a witch's caldron.
+The cook was busied in preparing for the gridiron some freshly-caught
+trout, intended for the squire's own breakfast; and a kitchen-maid was
+toasting oatcakes, of which there was a large supply in the bread-flake
+depending from the ceiling.</p>
+
+<p>Casting a look around, and exchanging a few words with the cook,
+Nicholas moved on, still followed by Fogg and the hounds, and, tracking
+a long stone passage, entered the great hall. Here the same disorder and
+irregularity prevailed as in his own character and conduct. All was
+litter and confusion. Around the walls were hung breastplates and
+buff-coats, morions, shields, and two-handed swords; but they were half
+hidden by fishing-nets, fowling-nets, dogs' collars, saddles and
+bridles, housings, cross-bows, long-bows, quivers, baldricks, horns,
+spears, guns, and every other implement then used in the sports of the
+river or the field. The floor was in an equal state of disorder. The
+rushes were filled with half-gnawed bones, brought thither by the
+hounds; and in one corner, on a mat, was a favourite spaniel and her
+whelps. The squire however was, happily, insensible to the condition of
+the chamber, and looked around it with an air of satisfaction, as if he
+thought it the perfection of comfort.</p>
+
+<p>A table was spread for breakfast, near a window looking out upon the
+lawn, and two covers only were laid, for Mistress Nicholas Assheton did
+not make her appearance at this early hour. And now was exhibited one of
+those strange contradictions of which the squire's character was
+composed. Kneeling down by the side of the table, and without noticing
+the mocking expression of Fogg's countenance as he followed his example,
+Nicholas prayed loudly and fervently for upwards of ten minutes, after
+which he arose and gave a shout which proved that his lungs were
+unimpaired, and not only roused the whole house, but set all the dogs
+barking.</p>
+
+<p>Presently a couple of serving-men answered this lusty summons, and the
+table was covered with good and substantial dishes, which he and his
+companion attacked with a vigour such as only the most valiant
+trencherman can display. Already has it been remarked that a breakfast
+at the period in question resembled a modern dinner; and better proof
+could not have been afforded of the correctness of the description than
+the meal under discussion, which comprised fish, flesh, and fowl,
+boiled, broiled, and roast, together with strong ale and sack. After an
+hour thus agreeably employed, and while they were still seated, though
+breakfast had pretty nearly come to an end, a serving-man entered,
+announcing Master Richard Sherborne of Dunnow. The squire instantly
+sprang to his feet, and hastened to welcome his brother-in-law.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah! good-day to you, Dick,&quot; he cried, shaking him heartily by the hand;
+&quot;what happy chance brings you here so early? But first sit down and
+eat&mdash;eat, and talk afterwards. Here, Roger, Harry, bring another platter
+and napkin, and let us have more broiled trout and a cold capon, a
+pasty, or whatever you can find in the larder. Try some of this gammon
+meanwhile, Dick. It will help down a can of ale. And now what brings
+thee hither, lad? Pressing business, no doubt. Thou mayest speak before
+Fogg. I have no secrets from him. He is my second self.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have no secrets to divulge, Nicholas,&quot; replied Sherborne, &quot;and I will
+tell you at once what I am come about. Have you heard that the King is
+about to visit Hoghton Tower in August?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No; this is news to me,&quot; replied Nicholas; &quot;does your business relate
+to his visit?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It does,&quot; replied Sherborne. &quot;Last night a messenger came to me from
+Sir Richard Hoghton, entreating me to move you to do him the favour and
+courtesy to attend him at the King's coming, and wear his livery.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I wear his livery!&quot; exclaimed Nicholas, indignantly. &quot;'Sdeath! what do
+you take me for, cousin Dick?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;For a right good fellow, who I am sure will comply with his friend's
+request, especially when he finds there is no sort of degradation in
+it,&quot; replied Sherborne. &quot;Why, I shall wear Sir Richard's cloth, and so
+will several others of our friends. There will be rare doings at
+Hoghton&mdash;masquings, mummings, and all sorts of revels, besides hunting,
+shooting, racing, wrestling, and the devil knows what. You may feast and
+carouse to your heart's content. The Dukes of Buckingham and Richmond
+will be there, and the Earls of Nottingham and Pembroke, and Sir Gilbert
+Hoghton, the King's great favourite, who married the Duchess of
+Buckingham's sister. Besides these, you will have all the beauty of
+Lancashire. I would not miss the sight for thirty pounds.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thirty pounds!&quot; echoed Nicholas, as if struck with a sudden thought.
+&quot;Do you think Sir Thomas Hoghton would lend me that sum if I consent to
+wear his cloth, and attend him?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have no doubt of it,&quot; replied Sherborne; &quot;and if he won't, I will.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then I will put my pride in my pocket, and go,&quot; said Nicholas. &quot;And
+now, Dick, dispatch your breakfast as quickly as you can, and then I
+will take you to the Ribble, and show you some sport with an otter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Sherborne was not long in concluding his repast, and having received an
+otter spear from the squire, who had already provided himself and Fogg
+with like weapons, all three adjourned to the kennels, where they found
+the old huntsman, Charlie Crouch, awaiting them, attended by four stout
+varlets, armed with forked staves, meant for the double purpose of
+beating the river's banks, and striking the poor beast they were about
+to hunt, and each man having a couple of hounds, well entered for the
+chase, in leash. Old Crouch was a thin, grey-bearded fellow, but
+possessed of a tough, muscular frame, which served him quite as well in
+the long run as the younger, and apparently more vigorous, limbs of his
+assistants. His cheek was hale, and his eye still bright and quick, and
+a certain fierceness was imparted to his countenance by a large
+aquiline nose. He was attired in a greasy leathern jerkin, tight hose of
+the same material, and had a bugle suspended from his neck, and a sharp
+hunting-knife thrust into his girdle. In his hand he bore a spear like
+his master, and was followed by a grey old lurcher, who, though wanting
+an ear and an eye, and disfigured by sundry scars on throat and back,
+was hardy, untiring, and sagacious. This ancient dog was called Grip,
+from his tenacity in holding any thing he set his teeth upon, and he and
+Crouch were inseparable.</p>
+
+<p>Great was the clamour occasioned by the squire's appearance in the yard.
+The coupled hounds gave tongue at once, and sang out most melodiously,
+and all the other dogs within the kennels, or roaming at will about the
+yard, joined the concert. After much swearing, cracking of whips, and
+yelping consequent upon the cracking, silence was in some degree
+restored, and a consultation was then held between Nicholas and Crouch
+as to where their steps should first be bent. The old huntsman was for
+drawing the river near a place called Bean Hill Wood, as the trees
+thereabouts, growing close to the water's edge, it was pretty certain
+the otter would have her couch amid the roots of some of them. This was
+objected to by one of the varlets, who declared that the beast lodged in
+a hollow tree, standing on a bank nearly a mile higher up the stream,
+and close by the point of junction between Swanside Beck and the Ribble.
+He was certain of the fact, he avouched, because he had noticed her
+marks on the moist grass near the tree.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hoo goes theere to fish, mon?&quot; cried Crouch, &quot;for it is the natur o'
+the wary varmint to feed at a distance fro' her lodgin; boh ey'm sure we
+shan leet on her among the roots o' them big trees o'erhanging th' river
+near Bean Hill Wood, an if the squire 'll tay my advice, he'n go theere
+first.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I put myself entirely under your guidance, Crouch,&quot; said Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;An yo'n be aw reet, sir,&quot; replied the huntsman; &quot;we'n beat the bonks
+weel, an two o' these chaps shan go up the stream, an two down, one o'
+one side, and one o' t'other; an i' that manner hoo canna escape us, fo'
+Grip can swim an dive os weel as onny otter i' aw Englondshiar, an he'n
+be efter her an her litter the moment they tak to t' wotur. Some folk,
+os maybe yo ha' seen, squoire, tak howd on a cord by both eends, an
+droppin it into t' river, draw it slowly along, so that they can tell by
+th' jerk when th' otter touches it; boh this is an onsartin method, an
+is nowt like Grip's plan, for wherever yo see him swimmin, t'other beast
+yo may be sure is nah far ahead.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A brave dog, but confoundedly ugly!&quot; exclaimed the squire, regarding
+the old one-eared, one-eyed lurcher with mingled admiration and disgust;
+&quot;and now, that all is arranged, let us be off.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly they quitted the court-yard, and, shaping their course in
+the direction indicated by the huntsman, entered the park, and proceeded
+along a glade, checkered by the early sunbeams. Here the noise they made
+in their progress speedily disturbed a herd of deer browsing beneath the
+trees, and, as the dappled foresters darted off to a thicker covert,
+great difficulty was experienced by the varlets in restraining the
+hounds, who struggled eagerly to follow them, and made the welkin
+resound with their baying.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yonder is a tall fellow,&quot; cried Nicholas, pointing out a noble buck to
+Crouch; &quot;I must kill him next week, for I want to send a haunch of
+venison to Middleton, and another to Whalley Abbey for Sir Ralph.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Better hunt him, squoire,&quot; said Crouch; &quot;he will gi' ye good sport.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Soon after this they attained an eminence, where a charming sweep of
+country opened upon them, including the finest part of Ribblesdale, with
+its richly-wooded plains, and the swift and beautiful river from which
+it derived its name. The view was enchanting, and the squire and his
+companions paused for a moment to contemplate it, and then, stepping
+gleefully forward, made their way over the elastic turf towards a small
+thicket skirting the park. All were in high spirits, for the freshness
+and beauty of the morning had not been without effect, and the squire's
+tongue kept pace with his legs as he strode briskly along; but as they
+entered the thicket in question, and caught sight of the river through
+the trees, the old huntsman enjoined silence, and he was obliged to put
+a check upon his loquacity.</p>
+
+<p>When within a bowshot from the water, the party came to a halt, and two
+of the men were directed by Crouch to cross the stream at different
+points, and then commence beating the banks, while the other two were
+ordered to pursue a like course, but to keep on the near side of the
+river. The hounds were next uncoupled, and the men set off to execute
+the orders they had received, and soon afterwards the crashing of
+branches, and the splashing of water, accompanied by the deep baying of
+the hounds, told they were at work.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Nicholas and the others had not remained idle. As the varlets
+struck off in different directions, they went straight on, and forcing
+their way through the brushwood, came to a high bank overlooking the
+Ribble, on the top of which grew three or four large trees, whose roots,
+laid bare on the further side by the swollen currents of winter, formed
+a convenient resting-place for the fish-loving creature they hoped to
+surprise. Receiving a hint from Crouch to make for the central tree,
+Nicholas grasped his spear, and sprang forward; but, quick as he was, he
+was too late, though he saw enough to convince him that the crafty old
+huntsman had been correct in his judgment; for a dark, slimy object
+dropped from out the roots of the tree beneath him, and glided into the
+water as swiftly and as noiselessly as if its skin had been oiled. A few
+bubbles rose to the surface of the water, but these were all the
+indications marking the course of the wondrous diver.</p>
+
+<p>But other eyes, sharper than those of Nicholas, were on the watch, and
+the old huntsman shouted out, &quot;There hoo goes, Grip&mdash;efter her, lad,
+efter her!&quot; The words were scarcely uttered when the dog sprang from the
+top of the bank and sank under the water. For some seconds no trace
+could be observed of either animal, and then the shaggy nose of the
+lurcher was seen nearly fifty yards higher up the river, and after
+sniffing around for a moment, and fixing his single eye on his master,
+who was standing on the bank, and encouraging him with his voice and
+gesture, he dived again.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Station yourselves on the bank, fifty paces apart,&quot; cried Crouch; &quot;run,
+run, or yo'n be too late, an' strike os quick os leet if yo've a chance.
+Stay wheere you are, squoire,&quot; he added, to Nicholas. &quot;Yo canna be
+better placed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>All was now animation and excitement. Perceiving from the noise that the
+otter had been found, the four varlets hastened towards the scene of
+action, and, by their shouts and the clatter of their staves,
+contributed greatly to its spirit. Two were on one side of the stream,
+and two on the other, and up to this moment the hounds were similarly
+separated; but now most of them had taken to the water, some swimming
+about, others standing up to the middle in the shallower part of the
+current, watching with keen gaze for the appearance of their anticipated
+victim.</p>
+
+<p>Having descended the bank, Nicholas had so placed himself among the huge
+twisted roots of the tree, that if the otter, alarmed by the presence of
+so many foes, and unable to escape either up or down the river, should
+return to her couch, he made certain of striking her. At first there
+seemed little chance of such an occurrence, for Fogg, who had gone a
+hundred yards higher up, suddenly dashed into the stream, and, plunging
+his spear into the mud, cried out that he had hit the beast; but the
+next moment, when he drew the weapon forth, and exhibited a large rat
+which he had transfixed, his mistake excited much merriment.</p>
+
+<p>Old Crouch, meantime, did not suffer his attention to be drawn from his
+dog. Every now and then he saw him come to the surface to breathe, but
+as he kept within a short distance, though rising at different points,
+the old huntsman felt certain the otter had not got away, and, having
+the utmost reliance upon Grip's perseverance and sagacity, he felt
+confident he would bring the quarry to him if the thing were possible.
+The varlets kept up an incessant clatter, beating the water with their
+staves, and casting large stones into it, while the hounds bayed
+furiously, so that the poor fugitive was turned on whichever side she
+attempted a retreat.</p>
+
+<p>While this was going on, Nicholas was cautioned by the huntsman to look
+out, and scarcely had the admonition reached him than the sleek shining
+body of the otter emerged from the water, and wreathed itself among the
+roots. The squire instantly dealt a blow which he expected to prove
+fatal, but his mortification was excessive when he found he had driven
+the spear-head so deeply into the tree that he could scarcely disengage
+it, while an almost noiseless plunge told that his prey had escaped.
+Almost at the same moment that the poor hunted beast had sought its old
+lodging, the untiring lurcher had appeared at the edge of the bank, and,
+as the former again went down, he dived likewise.</p>
+
+<p>Secretly laughing at the squire's failure, the old huntsman prepared to
+take advantage of a similar opportunity if it should present itself, and
+with this view ensconced himself behind a pollard willow, which stood
+close beside the stream, and whence he could watch closely all that
+passed, without being exposed to view. The prudence of the step was soon
+manifest. After the lapse of a few seconds, during which neither dog nor
+otter had risen to breathe, a slight, very slight, undulation was
+perceptible on the surface of the water. Crouch's grasp tightened upon
+his staff&mdash;he waited another moment&mdash;then dashed forward, struck down
+his spear, and raised it aloft, with the poor otter transfixed and
+writhing upon its point.</p>
+
+<p>Loudly and exultingly did the old man shout at his triumph, and loudly
+were his vociferations answered by the others. All flew to the spot
+where he was standing, and the hounds, gathering round him, yelled
+furiously at the otter, and showed every disposition to tear her in
+pieces, if they could get at her. Kicking the noisiest and fiercest of
+them out of the way, Crouch approached the river's brink, and lowered
+the spear-head till it came within reach of his favourite Grip, who had
+not yet come out of the water, but stood within his depth, with his one
+red eye fixed on the enemy he had so hotly pursued, and fully expecting
+his reward. It now came; his sharp teeth instantly met in the otter's
+throat, and when Crouch swung them both in the air, he still maintained
+his hold, showing how well he deserved his name, nor could he be
+disengaged until long after the sufferings of the tortured animal had
+ceased.</p>
+
+<p>To say that Nicholas was neither chagrined at his ill success, nor
+jealous of the old huntsman's superior skill, would be to affirm an
+untruth; but he put the best face he could upon the matter, and praised
+Grip very highly, alleging that the whole merit of the hunt rested with
+him. Old Crouch let him go on, and when he had done, quietly observed
+that the otter they had destroyed was not the one they came in search
+of, as they had seen nothing of her litter; and that, most likely, the
+beast that had done so much mischief had her lodging in the hollow tree
+near the Swanside Beck, as described by the varlet, and he wished to
+know whether the squire would like to go and hunt her. Nicholas replied
+that he was quite willing to do so, and hoped he should have better luck
+on the second occasion; and with this they set forward again, taking
+their way along the side of the stream, beating the banks as they went,
+but without rousing any thing beyond an occasional water-rat, which was
+killed almost as soon as found by Grip.</p>
+
+<p>Somehow or other, without any one being aware what led to it the
+conversation fell upon the two old witches, Mothers Demdike and Chattox,
+and the strange manner in which their career had terminated on the
+summit of Pendle Hill&mdash;if, indeed it could be said to have terminated,
+when their spirits were reported to haunt the spot, and might be seen,
+it was asserted, at midnight, flitting round the beacon, and shrieking
+dismally. The restless shades were pursued, it was added, by the figure
+of a monk in white mouldering robes, supposed to be the ghost of Paslew.
+It was difficult to understand how these apparitions could be witnessed,
+since no one, even for a reward, could be prevailed upon to ascend
+Pendle Hill after nightfall; but the shepherds affirmed they had seen
+them from below, and that was testimony sufficient to shake the most
+sceptical. One singular circumstance was mentioned, which must not be
+passed by without notice; and this was, that when the cinders of the
+extinct beacon-fire came to be examined, no remains whatever of the two
+hags could be discovered, though the ashes were carefully sifted, and it
+was quite certain that the flames had expired long before their bodies
+could be consumed. The explanation attempted for this marvel was, that
+Satan had carried them off while yet living, to finish their combustion
+in a still more fiery region.</p>
+
+<p>Mention of Mother Demdike naturally led to her grandson, Jem Device,
+who, having escaped in a remarkable manner on the night in question,
+notwithstanding the hue and cry made after him, had not, as yet, been
+captured, though he had been occasionally seen at night, and under
+peculiar circumstances, by various individuals, and amongst others by
+old Crouch, who, however, declared he had been unable to lay hands upon
+him.</p>
+
+<p>Allusion was then made to Mistress Nutter, whereupon it was observed
+that the squire changed the conversation quickly; while sundry sly winks
+and shrugs were exchanged among the varlets of the kennel, seeming to
+intimate that they knew more about the matter than they cared to admit.
+Nothing more, however, was elicited than that the escort conducting her
+to Lancaster Castle, together with the other witches, after their
+examination before the magistrates at Whalley, and committal, had been
+attacked, while it was passing through a woody defile in Bowland Forest,
+by a party of men in the garb of foresters, and the lady set free. Nor
+had she been heard of since. What made this rescue the more
+extraordinary was, that none of the other witches were liberated at the
+same time, but some of them who seemed disposed to take advantage of the
+favourable interposition, and endeavoured to get away, were brought back
+by the foresters to the officers of justice; thus clearly proving that
+the attempt was solely made on Mistress Nutter's account, and must have
+been undertaken by her friends. Nothing, it was asserted, could equal
+the rage and mortification of Roger Nowell and Potts, on learning that
+their chief prey had thus escaped them; and by their directions, for
+more than a week, the strictest search was made for the fugitive
+throughout the neighbourhood, but without effect&mdash;no clue could be
+discovered to her retreat. Suspicion naturally fell upon the two
+Asshetons, Nicholas and Richard, and Roger Nowell roundly taxed them
+with contriving and executing the enterprise in person; while Potts told
+them they were guilty of misprision of felony, and threatened them with
+imprisonment for life, forfeiture of goods and of rents, for the
+offence; but as the charge could not be proved against them,
+notwithstanding all the efforts of the magistrate and attorney, it fell
+to the ground; and Master Potts, full of chagrin at this unexpected and
+vexatious termination of the affair, returned to London, and settled
+himself in his chambers in Chancery Lane. His duties, however, as clerk
+of the court, would necessarily call him to Lancaster in August, when
+the assizes commenced, and when he would assist at the trials of such of
+the witches as were still in durance.</p>
+
+<p>From Mother Demdike it was natural that the conversation should turn to
+her weird retreat, Malkin Tower; and Richard Sherborne expressed his
+surprise that the unhallowed structure should be suffered to remain
+standing after her removal. Nicholas said he was equally anxious with
+his brother-in-law for its demolition, but it was not so easily to be
+accomplished as it might appear; for the deserted structure was in such
+ill repute with the common folk, as well as every one else, that no one
+dared approach it, even in the daytime. A boggart, it was said, had
+taken possession of its vaults, and scared away all who ventured near
+it; sometimes showing himself in one frightful shape, and sometimes in
+another; now as a monstrous goat, now as an equally monstrous cat,
+uttering fearful cries, glaring with fiery eyes from out of the windows,
+or appearing in all his terror on the summit of the tower. Moreover, the
+haunted structure was frequently lighted up at dead of night, strains of
+unearthly music were heard resounding from it, and wild figures were
+seen flitting past the windows, as if engaged in dancing and revelry; so
+that it appeared that no alteration for the better had taken place
+there, and that things were still quite as improperly conducted now, as
+they had been in the time of Mother Demdike, or in those of her
+predecessors, Isole de Heton and Blackburn, the robber. The common
+opinion was, that Satan and all his imps had taken up their abode in the
+tower, and, as they liked their quarters, led a jolly life there,
+dancing and drinking all night long, it would be useless at present to
+give them notice to quit, still less to attempt to pull down the house
+about their ears. Richard Sherborne heard this wondrous relation in
+silence, but with a look of incredulity; and when it was done he winked
+slily at his brother-in-law. A strange expression, half comical, half
+suspicious, might also have been observed on Fogg's countenance; and he
+narrowly watched the squire as the latter spoke.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But with the disappearance of the malignant old hags who had so long
+infested the neighbourhood, had all mischief and calamity ceased, or
+were people as much afflicted as heretofore? Were there, in short, so
+many cases of witchcraft, real or supposed?&quot; This was the question next
+addressed by Sherborne to Nicholas. The squire answered decidedly there
+were not. Since the burning of the two old beldames, and the
+imprisonment of the others, the whole district of Pendle had improved.
+All those who had been smitten with strange illnesses had recovered; and
+the inhabitants of the little village of Sabden, who had experienced the
+fullest effects of their malignity, were entirely free from sickness.
+And not only had they and their families suddenly regained health and
+strength, but all belonging to them had undergone a similar beneficial
+change. The kine that had lost their milk now yielded it abundantly; the
+lame horse halted no longer; the murrain ceased among the sheep; the
+pigs that had grown lean amidst abundance fattened rapidly; and though
+the farrows that had perished during the evil ascendency of the witches
+could not be brought back again, their place promised speedily to be
+supplied by others. The corn blighted early in the year had sprung forth
+anew, and the trees nipped in the bud were laden with fruit. In short,
+all was as fair and as flourishing as it had recently been the reverse.
+Amongst others, John Law, the pedlar, who had been deprived of the use
+of his limbs by the damnable arts of Mother Demdike, had marvellously
+recovered on the very night of her destruction, and was now as strong
+and as active as ever. &quot;Such happy results having followed the removal
+of the witches, it was to be hoped,&quot; Sherborne said, &quot;that the riddance
+would be complete, and that none of the obnoxious brood would be left to
+inflict future miseries on their fellows. This could not be the case so
+long as James Device was allowed to go at large; nor while his mother,
+Elizabeth Device, a notorious witch, was suffered to escape with
+impunity. There was also Jennet, Elizabeth's daughter, a mischievous and
+ill-favoured little creature, who inherited all the ill qualities of her
+parents. These were the spawn of the old snake, and, until they were
+entirely exterminated, there could be no security against a recurrence
+of the evil. Again, there was Nance Redferne, old Chattox's
+grand-daughter, a comely woman enough, but a reputed witch, and an
+undoubted fabricator of clay images. She was still at liberty, though
+she ought to be with the rest in the dungeons of Lancaster Castle. It
+was useless to allege that with the destruction of the old hags all
+danger had ceased. Common prudence would keep the others quiet now; but
+the moment the storm passed over, they would resume their atrocious
+practices, and all would be as bad as ever. No, no! the tree must be
+utterly uprooted, or it would inevitably burst forth anew.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>With these opinions Nicholas generally concurred; but he expressed some
+sympathy for Nance Redferne, whom he thought far too good-looking to be
+as wicked and malicious as represented. But however that might be, and
+however much he might desire to get rid of the family of the Devices, he
+feared such a step might be attended with danger to Alizon, and that she
+might in some way or other be implicated with them. This last remark he
+addressed in an under-tone to his brother-in-law. Sherborne did not at
+first feel any apprehension on that score, but, on reflection, he
+admitted that Nicholas was perhaps right; and though Alizon was now the
+recognised daughter of Mistress Nutter, yet her long and intimate
+connection with the Device family might operate to her prejudice, while
+her near relationship to an avowed witch would not tend to remove the
+unfavourable impression. Sherborne then went on to speak in the most
+rapturous terms of the beauty and goodness of the young girl who formed
+the subject of their conversation, and declared he was not in the least
+surprised that Richard Assheton was so much in love with her. And yet,
+he added, a most extraordinary change had taken place in her since the
+dreadful night on Pendle Hill, when her mother's guilt had been
+proclaimed, and when her arrest had taken place as an offender of the
+darkest dye. Alizon, he said, had lost none of her beauty, but her light
+and joyous expression of countenance had been supplanted by a look of
+profound sadness, which nothing could remove. Gentle and meek in her
+deportment, she seemed to look upon herself as under a ban, and as if
+she were unfit to associate with the rest of the world. In vain Richard
+Assheton and his sister endeavoured to remove this impression by the
+tenderest assiduities; in vain they sought to induce her to enter into
+amusements consistent with her years; she declined all society but their
+own, and passed the greater part of her time in prayer. Sherborne had
+seen her so engaged, and the expression of her countenance, he declared,
+was seraphic.</p>
+
+<p>On the extreme verge of a high bank situated at the point of junction
+between Swanside Beck and the Ribble, stood an old, decayed oak. Little
+of the once mighty tree beyond the gnarled trunk was left, and this was
+completely hollow; while there was a great rift near the bottom through
+which a man might easily creep, and, when once in, stand erect without
+inconvenience. Beneath the bank the river was deep and still, forming a
+pool, where the largest and fattest fish were to be met with. In
+addition to this, the spot was extremely secluded, being rarely visited
+by the angler on account of the thick copse by which it was surrounded
+and which extended along the back, from the point of confluence between
+the lesser and the larger stream, to Downham mill, nearly half a mile
+distant.</p>
+
+<p>The sides of the Ribble were here, as elsewhere, beautifully wooded, and
+as the clear stream winded along through banks of every diversity of
+shape and character, and covered by forest trees of every description,
+and of the most luxuriant growth, the effect was enchanting; the more
+so, that the sun, having now risen high in the heavens, poured down a
+flood of summer heat and radiance, that rendered these cool shades
+inexpressibly delightful. Pleasant was it, as the huntsmen leaped from
+stone to stone, to listen to the sound of the waters rushing past them.
+Pleasant as they sprang upon some green holm or fairy islet, standing in
+the midst of the stream, and dividing its lucid waters, to suffer the
+eye to follow the course of the rapid current, and to see it here
+sparkling in the bright sunshine, there plunged in shade by the
+overhanging trees&mdash;now fringed with osiers and rushes, now embanked with
+smoothest sward of emerald green; anon defended by steep rocks,
+sometimes bold and bare, but more frequently clothed with timber; then
+sinking down by one of those sudden but exquisite transitions, which
+nature alone dares display, from this savage and sombre character into
+the softest and gentlest expression; every where varied, yet every where
+beautiful.</p>
+
+<p>Through such scenes of silvan loveliness had the huntsmen passed on
+their way to the hollow oak, and they had ample leisure to enjoy them,
+because the squire and his brother-in-law being engaged in conversation,
+as before related, made frequent pauses, and, during these, the others
+halted likewise; and even the hounds, glad of a respite, stood still, or
+amused themselves by splashing about amid the shallows without any
+definite object unless of cooling themselves. Then, as the leaders once
+more moved forward, arose the cheering shout, the loud deep bay, the
+clattering of staves, the crashing of branches, and all the other
+inspiriting noises accompanying the progress of the hunt. But for some
+minutes these had again ceased, and as Nicholas and Sherborne lingered
+beneath the shade of a wide-spread beech-tree growing on a sandy hillock
+near the stream, and seemed deeply interested in their talk&mdash;as well
+they might, for it related to Alizon&mdash;the whole troop, including Fogg,
+held respectfully aloof, and awaited their pleasure to go on.</p>
+
+<p>The signal to move was, at length, given by the squire, who saw they
+were now not more than a hundred yards from the bank on which stood the
+hollow tree they were anxious to reach. As the river here made a turn,
+and swept round the point in question, forming, owing to this
+detention, the deep pool previously mentioned, the bank almost faced
+them, and, as nothing intervened, they could almost look into the rift
+near the base of the tree, forming, they supposed, the entrance to the
+otter's couch. But, though this was easily distinguished, no traces of
+the predatory animal could be seen; and though many sharp eyes were
+fixed upon the spot during the prolonged discourse of the two gentlemen,
+nothing had occurred to attract their attention, and to prove that the
+object of their quest was really there.</p>
+
+<p>After some little consultation between the squire and Crouch, it was
+agreed that the former should alone force his way to the tree, while the
+others were to station themselves with the hounds at various points of
+the stream, above and below the bank, so that, if the otter and her
+litter escaped their first assailant, they should infallibly perish by
+the hands of some of the others. This being agreed upon, the plan was
+instantly put into execution&mdash;two of the varlets remaining where they
+were&mdash;two going higher up; while Sherborne and Fogg stationed themselves
+on great stones in the middle of the stream, whence they could command
+all around them, and Crouch, wading on with Grip, planted himself at the
+entrance of Swanside Beck into the Ribble.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the squire having scaled the bank, entered the thick covert
+encircling it, and, not without some damage to his face and hands from
+the numerous thorns and brambles growing amongst it, forced his way
+upwards until he reached the bare space surrounding the hollow tree; and
+this attained, his first business was to ascertain that all was in
+readiness below before commencing the attack. A glance showed him on one
+side old Crouch standing up to his middle in the beck, grasping his long
+otter spear, and with Grip beating the water in front of him in anxious
+expectation of employment; and in front Fogg, Sherborne, and two of the
+varlets, with their hounds so disposed that they could immediately
+advance upon the otter if it plunged into the river, while its passage
+up or down would be stopped by their comrades. All this he discerned at
+a glance; and comprehending from a sign made him by the old huntsman
+that he should not delay, he advanced towards the tree, and was about to
+plunge his spear into the hole, hoping to transfix one at least of its
+occupants, when he was startled by hearing a deep voice apparently issue
+from the hollows of the timber, bidding him &quot;Beware!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Nicholas recoiled aghast, for he thought it might be Hobthurst, or the
+demon of the wood, who thus bespoke him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What accursed thing addresses me?&quot; he said, standing on his guard.
+&quot;What is it? Speak!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Get hence, Nicholas Assheton,&quot; replied the voice; &quot;an' meddle not wi'
+them os meddles not wi' thee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Aha!&quot; exclaimed the squire, recovering courage, for he thought this
+did not sound like the language of a demon. &quot;I am known am I? Why should
+I go hence, and at whose bidding?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ask neaw questions, mon, boh ge,&quot; replied the voice, &quot;or it shan be
+warse fo' thee. Ey am the boggart o' th' clough, an' if theaw bringst me
+out, ey'n tear thee i' pieces wi' my claws, an' cast thee into t'
+Ribble, so that thine own hounts shan eat thee up.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ha! say'st thou so, master boggart,&quot; cried Nicholas. &quot;For a spirit,
+thou usest the vernacular of the county fairly enough. But before trying
+whether thy hide be proof against mortal weapons I command thee to come
+forth and declare thyself, that I may judge what manner of thing thou
+art.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thoud'st best lem me be, ey tell thee,&quot; replied the boggart gruffly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah! methinks I should know those accents,&quot; exclaimed the squire; &quot;they
+marvellously resemble the voice of an offender who has too long evaded
+justice, and whom I have now fairly entrapped. Jem Device, thou art
+known, lad, and if thou dost not surrender at discretion, I will strike
+my spear through this rotten tree, and spit thee as I would the beast I
+came in quest of.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;An' which yo wad more easily than me,&quot; retorted Jem. And suddenly
+springing from the hole at the foot of the tree, he passed between the
+squire's legs with great promptitude, and flinging him face foremost
+upon the ground, crawled to the edge of the bank, and thence dropped
+into the deep pool below.</p>
+
+<p>The plunge roused all the spectators, who, though they had heard what
+had passed, and had seen the squire upset in the manner described, had
+been so much astounded that they could render no assistance; but they
+now, one and all, bestirred themselves actively to seize the diver when
+he should rise to the surface. But though every eye was on the look-out,
+and every arm raised; though the hounds were as eager as their masters,
+and yelling fiercely, swam round the pool, ready to pounce upon the
+swimmer as upon a duck, all were disappointed; for, even after a longer
+interval than their patience could brook, he did not appear.</p>
+
+<p>By this time, Nicholas had regained his legs, and, infuriated by his
+discomfiture, approached the edge of the bank, and peering down below,
+hoped to detect the fugitive immediately beneath him, resolved to show
+him no mercy when he caught him. But he was equally at fault with the
+others, and after more than five minutes spent in ineffectual search, he
+ordered Crouch to send Grip into the pool.</p>
+
+<p>The old keeper replied that the dog was not used to this kind of chase,
+and might not display his usual skill in it; but as the squire would
+take no nay, he was obliged to consent, and the other hounds were called
+off lest they should puzzle him. Twice did the shrewd lurcher swim round
+the pool, sniffing the air, after which he approached the shore, and
+scented close to the bank; still it was evident he could detect
+nothing, and Nicholas began to despair, when the dog suddenly dived.
+Expectation was then raised to the utmost, and all were on the watch
+again, Nicholas leaning over the edge of the bank with his spear in
+hand, prepared to strike; but the dog was so long in reappearing, that
+all had given him up for lost, and his master was giving utterance to
+ejaculations of grief and rage, and vowing vengeance against the
+warlock, when Grip's grisly head was once more seen above the surface of
+the water, and this time he had a piece of blue serge in his jaws,
+proving that he had had hold of the raiments of the fugitive, and that
+therefore the latter could not be far off, but had most probably got
+into some hole beneath the bank.</p>
+
+<p>No sooner was this notion suggested than it was acted on by the old
+huntsman and Fogg, and, wading forward, they pricked the bank with their
+spears at various points below the level of the water. All at once Fogg
+fell forward. His spear had entered a hole, and had penetrated so deeply
+that he had lost his balance. But though, soused over head and ears, he
+had made a successful hit, for the next moment Jem Device appeared above
+the water, and ere he could dive again his throat was seized by Grip,
+and while struggling to free himself from the fangs of the tenacious
+animal, he was laid hold of by Crouch, and the varlets rushing forward
+to the latter's assistance, the ruffian was captured.</p>
+
+<p>Some difficulty was experienced in rescuing the captive from the jaws of
+the hounds, who, infuriated by his struggles, and perhaps mistaking him
+for some strange beast of chase, made their sharp teeth meet in various
+parts of his person, rending his garments from his limbs, and would no
+doubt have rent the flesh also, if they had been permitted. At length,
+after much fighting and struggling, mingled with yells and
+vociferations, Jem was borne ashore, and flung on the ground, where he
+presented a wretched spectacle; bleeding, half-drowned, and covered with
+slime acquired during his occupation of the hole in the bank. But though
+unable to offer further resistance, his spirit was not quelled, and his
+eye glared terribly at his captors. Fearing they might have further
+trouble with him when he recovered from his present exhausted condition,
+Crouch had his hands bound tightly together with one of the dog leashes,
+and then would fain have questioned him as to how he managed to breathe
+in a hole below the level of the water; but Jem refused to satisfy his
+curiosity, and returned only a sullen rejoinder to any questions
+addressed to him, until the squire, who had crossed the river at some
+stepping-stones lower down, came up, and the ruffian then inquired, in a
+half-menacing tone, what he meant to do with him?</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What do I mean to do with you?&quot; cried Nicholas. &quot;I will tell you, lad.
+I shall send you at once to Whalley to be examined before the
+magistrates; and, as the proofs are pretty clear against you, you will
+be forwarded without any material delay to Lancaster Castle.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;An yo winna rescue me by the way, os yo ha dun a sartin notorious witch
+an murtheress!&quot; replied Jem, fiercely. &quot;Tak heed whot yo dun, squoire.
+If ey speak at aw, ey shan speak out, and to some purpose, ey'n warrant
+ye. If ey ge to Lonkester Castle, ey winna ge alone. Wan o' yer friends
+shan ge wi' me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Cursed villain! I guess thy meaning,&quot; replied Nicholas; &quot;but thy
+vindictive purposes will be frustrated. No credence will be attached to
+thy false charges; while, as to the lady thou aimest at, she is luckily
+beyond reach of thy malice.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Dunna be too sure o' that, squoire,&quot; replied Jem. &quot;Ey con put t'
+officers o' jestis os surely on her track os owd Crouch could set these
+hounds on an otter. Lay yer account on it, ey winna dee unavenged.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heed him not,&quot; interposed Sherborne, seeing that the squire was shaken
+by his threat, and taking him apart; &quot;it will not do to let such a
+villain escape. He can do you no injury, and as to Mistress Nutter, if
+you know where she is, it will be easy to give her a hint to get out of
+the way.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I don't know that,&quot; replied Nicholas, thoughtfully.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If ey might be so bowd os offer my advice, squoire,&quot; said old Crouch,
+advancing towards his master, &quot;ey'd tee a heavy stoan round the felly's
+throttle, an chuck him into t' poo', an' he'n tell no teles fo' all his
+bragging.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That would silence him effectually, no doubt, Crouch,&quot; replied
+Nicholas, laughing; &quot;but a dog's death is too good for him, and besides
+I am pretty sure his destiny is not drowning. No, no&mdash;at all risks he
+shall go to Whalley. Harkee, Fogg,&quot; he added, beckoning that worthy to
+him, &quot;I commit the conduct and custody of the prisoner to you. Clap him
+on a horse, get on another yourself, take these four varlets with you,
+and deliver him into the hands of Sir Ralph Assheton, who will relieve
+you of all further trouble and responsibility. But you may add this to
+the baronet from me,&quot; he continued, in an under-tone. &quot;I recommend him
+to place under immediate arrest Elizabeth Device, the prisoner's mother,
+and her daughter Jennet. You understand, Fogg&mdash;eh?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Perfectly,&quot; returned the other, with a somewhat singular look; &quot;and
+your instructions shall be fulfilled to the letter. Have you any thing
+more to commit to me?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Only this,&quot; said Nicholas; &quot;you may tell Sir Ralph that I propose to
+sleep at the Abbey to-night. I shall ride over to Middleton in the
+course of the day, to confer with Dick Assheton upon what has just
+occurred, and get the money from him&mdash;the three hundred pounds, you
+understand&mdash;and when my errand is done, I will turn bridle towards
+Whalley. I shall return by Todmorden, and through the gorge of
+Cliviger. You may as well tarry for me at the Abbey, for Sir Ralph will
+be glad of thy company, and we can return together to Downham
+to-morrow.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As the squire thus spoke, he noticed a singular sparkle in Fogg's
+ill-set eyes; but he thought nothing of it at the time, though it
+subsequently occurred to his recollection.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the prisoner, finding no grace likely to be shown him,
+shouted out to the squire, that if he were set free, he would make
+certain important disclosures to him respecting Fogg, who was not what
+he represented himself; but Nicholas treated the offer with disdain; and
+the individual mainly interested in the matter, who appeared highly
+incensed by Jem's malignity, cut a short peg by way of gag, and,
+thrusting it into the ruffian's mouth, effectually checked any more
+revelations on his part.</p>
+
+<p>Fogg then ordered the varlets to bring on the prisoner; but as Jem
+obstinately refused to move, they were under the necessity of taking him
+on their shoulders, and transporting him in this manner to the stables,
+where he was placed on a horse, as directed by the squire.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II_THE_PENITENTS_RETREAT" id="CHAPTER_II_THE_PENITENTS_RETREAT" />CHAPTER II.&mdash;THE PENITENT'S RETREAT.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Nicholas and Sherborne returned by a different road from that taken by
+the others, and loitered so much by the way that they did not arrive at
+the manor-house until the prisoner and his escort had set out. Probably
+this was designed, as Nicholas seemed relieved when he learnt they were
+gone. Having entered the house with his brother-in-law, and conducted
+him to an apartment opening out of the hall, usually occupied by
+Mistress Assheton, and where, in fact, they found that amiable lady
+employed at her embroidery, he left Sherborne with her, and, making some
+excuse for his own hasty retreat, betook himself to another part of the
+house.</p>
+
+<p>Mounting the principal staircase, which was of dark oak, with
+richly-carved railing, he turned into a gallery communicating with the
+sleeping apartments, and, after proceeding more than half-way down it,
+halted before a door, which he unlocked, and entered a spacious but
+evidently disused chamber, hung round with faded tapestry, and
+containing a large gloomy-looking bedstead. Securing the door carefully
+after him, Nicholas raised the hangings in one corner of the room, and
+pressing against a spring, a sliding panel flew open. A screen was
+placed within, so as to hide from view the inmate of the secret chamber,
+and Nicholas, having coughed slightly, to announce his presence, and
+received an answer in a low, melancholy female voice, stepped through
+the aperture, and stood within a small closet.</p>
+
+<p>It was tenanted by a lady, whose features and figure bore the strongest
+marks of affliction. Her person was so attenuated that she looked little
+more than a skeleton&mdash;her fingers were long and thin&mdash;her cheeks hollow
+and deathly pale&mdash;her eyes lustreless and deep sunken in their
+sockets&mdash;and her hair, once jetty as the raven's wing, prematurely
+blanched. Such was the profound gloom stamped upon her countenance, that
+it was impossible to look upon her without compassion; while, in spite
+of her wo-begone looks, there was a noble character about her that
+elevated the feeling into deep interest, blended with respect. She was
+kneeling beside a small desk, with an open Bible laid upon it, which she
+was intently studying when the squire appeared.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Here is a terrible text for you, Nicholas,&quot; she said, regarding him,
+mournfully. &quot;Listen to it, and judge of its effect on me. Thus it is
+written in Deuteronomy:&mdash;'There shall not be found among you any one
+that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that
+useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.'
+A witch, Nicholas&mdash;do you mark the word? And yet more particular is the
+next verse, wherein it is said;&mdash;'Or a charmer, or a consulter with
+familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.' And then cometh the
+denunciation of divine anger against such offenders in these awful
+words:&mdash;'For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord:
+and because of these abominations, the Lord thy God doth drive them out
+from before thee.' Again, it is said in Leviticus, that 'the Lord
+setteth his face against such, to cut them off.' And in Exodus, the law
+is expressly laid down thus&mdash;'THOU SHALT NOT SUFFER A WITCH TO LIVE.'
+There is no escape for her, you see. By the divine command she must
+perish, and human justice must; carry out the decree. Nicholas, I am one
+of the offenders thus denounced, thus condemned. I have practised
+witchcraft, consulted with familiar spirits, and done other abominations
+in the sight of Heaven; and I ought to pay the full penalty of my
+offences.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not, I beseech you, madam,&quot; replied the squire, &quot;continue to take
+this view of your case. However you have sinned, you have made amends by
+the depth and sincerity of your repentance. Your days and nights&mdash;for
+you allow yourself only such rest as nature forces on you, and take even
+that most unwillingly&mdash;are passed in constant prayer. Your abstinence is
+severer than any anchoress ever practised, for I am sure for the last
+month you have not taken as much food altogether as I consume in a day;
+while, not content with this, you perform acts of penance that afflict
+me beyond measure to think upon, and which I have striven in vain to
+induce you to forego. There will be no occasion to deliver yourself up
+to justice, madam; for, if you go on thus, and do not deal with
+yourself a little more mildly, your accounts with this world will be
+speedily settled.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And I should rejoice to think so, Nicholas,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter,
+&quot;if I had any hope in the world to come. But, alas! I have none. I
+cannot, by any act of penitence and contrition, expiate my offences. My
+soul is darkened by despair. I know I ought to give myself up&mdash;that
+Heaven and man alike require my life, and I cannot reconcile myself to
+avoiding my just doom.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is the Evil One who puts these thoughts into your head,&quot; replied
+Nicholas, &quot;and who fills your heart with promptings of despair, that he
+may again obtain the mastery over it. But take a calmer and more
+consolatory view of your condition. Human justice may require a public
+sacrifice as an example, but Heaven, will be satisfied with contrition
+in secret.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I trust so,&quot; replied the lady, vainly striving to draw comfort from his
+words. &quot;Oh, Nicholas! you do not know the temptations I am exposed to in
+this chamber&mdash;the difficulty I experience in keeping my thoughts fixed
+on one object&mdash;the distractions I undergo&mdash;the mental obscurations&mdash;the
+faintings of spirit&mdash;the bodily prostration&mdash;the terrors, the
+inconceivable terrors, that assail me. Sometimes I wish my spirit would
+flee away, and be at rest. Rest! there is none for me&mdash;none in the
+grave&mdash;none beyond the grave&mdash;and therefore I am afraid of death, and
+still more of the judgment after death! Man might inflict all the
+tortures he could devise upon this poor frame. I would bear them all
+with patience, with delight, if I thought they would purchase me
+immunity hereafter! But with the dread conviction, the almost certainty,
+that it will be otherwise, I can only look to the final consummation
+with despair!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Again I tell you these suggestions are evil,&quot; said Nicholas. &quot;The Son
+of God, who sacrificed himself for man, and by whose atonement all
+mankind hope for salvation, has assured us that the greatest sinner who
+repents shall be forgiven, and, indeed, is more acceptable in the eyes
+of Heaven than him who has never erred. Far be it from me to attempt to
+exculpate you in your own eyes, or extenuate your former criminality.
+You have sinned deeply, so deeply that you may well shrink aghast from
+the contemplation of your past life&mdash;may well recoil in abhorrence from
+yourself&mdash;and may fitly devote yourself to constant prayer and acts of
+penitence. But having cast off your iniquity, and sincerely repented, I
+bid you hope&mdash;I bid you place a confident reliance in the clemency of an
+all-merciful power.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You give me much comfort, Nicholas,&quot; said the lady, &quot;and if tears of
+blood can wash away my sin they shall be shed; but much as you know of
+my wickedness, even you cannot conceive its extent. In my madness, for
+it was nothing else, I cast off all hopes of heaven, renounced my
+Redeemer, was baptised by the demon, and entered into a compact by
+which&mdash;I shudder to speak it&mdash;my soul was surrendered to him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You placed yourself in fearful jeopardy, no doubt,&quot; rejoined Nicholas;
+&quot;but you have broken the contract in time, and an all righteous judge
+will not permit the penalty of the bond to be exacted. Seeing your
+penitence, Satan has relinquished all claim to your soul.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I do not think it,&quot; replied the lady. &quot;He will contest the point to the
+last, and it is only at the last that it will be decided.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As she spoke, a sound like mocking laughter reached the ears of
+Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Did you hear that?&quot; demanded Mistress Nutter, in accents of wildest
+terror. &quot;He is ever on the watch. I knew it&mdash;I knew it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Clasping her hands together, and fixing her looks on high she then
+addressed the most fervent supplications to Heaven for deliverance from
+evil, and erelong her troubled countenance began to resume its former
+serenity, proving that the surest balm for a &quot;mind diseased&quot; is prayer.
+Her example had been followed by Nicholas, who, greatly alarmed, had
+dropped upon his knees likewise, and now arose with somewhat more
+composure in his demeanour and aspect.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am sorry I do not bring you good news, madam,&quot; he said; &quot;but Jem
+Device has been arrested this morning, and as the fellow is greatly
+exasperated against me, he threatens to betray your retreat to the
+officers; and though he is, probably, unacquainted with it
+notwithstanding his boasting, still he may cause search to be made, and,
+therefore, I think you had better be removed to some other
+hiding-place.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Deliver me up without more ado, I pray you, Nicholas,&quot; said the lady.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You know my resolution on that point, madam,&quot; he replied, &quot;and,
+therefore, it is idle to attempt to shake it. For your daughter's sake,
+if not for your own, I will save you, in spite of yourself. You would
+not fix a brand for ever on Alizon's name; you would not destroy her?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I would not,&quot; replied the wretched lady. &quot;But have you heard from
+her&mdash;have you seen her? Tell me, is she well and happy?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She is well, and would be happy, were it not for her anxiety about
+you,&quot; replied Nicholas, evasively. &quot;But for her sake&mdash;mine&mdash;your own&mdash;I
+must urge you to seek some other place of refuge to night, for if you
+are discovered here you will bring ruin on us all.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will no longer debate the point,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter. &quot;Where
+shall I go?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There is one place of absolute security, but I do not like to mention
+it,&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;Yet still, as it will only be necessary to
+remain for a day or two, till the search is over, when you can return
+here, it cannot much matter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Where is it?&quot; asked Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Malkin Tower,&quot; answered the squire, with some hesitation.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will never go to that accursed place,&quot; cried the lady. &quot;Send me hence
+when you will&mdash;now, or at midnight&mdash;and let me seek shelter on the bleak
+fells or on the desolate moors, but bid me not go there!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And yet it is the best and safest place for you,&quot; returned Nicholas,
+somewhat testily; &quot;and for this reason, that, being reputed to be
+haunted, no one will venture to molest you. As to Mother Demdike, I
+suppose you are not afraid of her ghost; and if the evil beings you
+apprehend were able or inclined to do you mischief, they would not wait
+till you got there to execute their purpose.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;True,&quot; said Mistress Nutter, &quot;I was wrong to hesitate. I will go.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You will be as safe there as here&mdash;ay, and safer,&quot; rejoined Nicholas,
+&quot;or I would not urge the retreat upon you. I am about to ride over to
+Middleton this morning to see your daughter and Richard Assheton, and
+shall sleep at Whalley, so that I shall not be able to accompany you to
+the tower to-night; but old Crouch the huntsman shall be in waiting for
+you, as soon as it grows dusk, in the summer-house, with which, as you
+know, the secret staircase connected with this room communicates, and he
+shall have a horse in readiness to take you, together with such matters
+as you may require, to the place of refuge. Heaven guard you, madam!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Amen!&quot; responded the lady.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And now farewell!&quot; said Nicholas. &quot;I shall hope to see you back again
+ere many days be gone, when your quietude will not again be disturbed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>So saying, he stepped back, and, passing through the panel, closed it
+after him.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III_MIDDLETON_HALL" id="CHAPTER_III_MIDDLETON_HALL" />CHAPTER III.&mdash;MIDDLETON HALL.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Middleton Hall, the residence of Sir Richard Assheton, was a large
+quadrangular structure, built entirely of timber, and painted externally
+in black and white checker-work, fanciful and varied in design, in the
+style peculiar to the better class of Tudor houses in South Lancashire
+and Cheshire. Surrounded by a deep moat, supplied by a neighbouring
+stream, and crossed by four drawbridges, each faced by a gateway, this
+vast pile of building was divided into two spacious courts, one of which
+contained the stables, barns, and offices, while the other was reserved
+for the family and the guests by whom the hospitable mansion was almost
+constantly crowded. In the last-mentioned part of the house was a great
+gallery, with deeply embayed windows filled with painted glass, a floor
+of polished oak, walls of the same dark lustrous material, hung with
+portraits of stiff beauties, some in ruff and farthingale, and some in a
+costume of an earlier period among whom was Margaret Barton, who brought
+the manor of Middleton into the family; frowning warriors, beginning
+with Sir Ralph Assheton, knight-marshal of England in the reign of
+Edward IV., and surnamed &quot;the black of Assheton-under-line,&quot; the founder
+of the house, and husband of Margaret Barton before mentioned, and
+ending with Sir Richard Assheton, grandfather of the present owner of
+the mansion, and one of the heroes of Flodden; grave lawyers, or graver
+divines&mdash;a likeness running through all, and showing they belonged to
+one line&mdash;a huge carved mantelpiece, massive tables of walnut or oak,
+and black and shining as ebony, set round with high-backed chairs. Here,
+also, above stairs, there were long corridors looking out through
+lattices upon the court, and communicating with the almost countless
+dormitories; while, on the floor beneath, corresponding passages led to
+all the principal chambers, and terminated in the grand entrance hall,
+the roof of which being open and intersected by enormous rafters, and
+crooks of oak, like the ribs of some &quot;tall ammiral,&quot; was thought from
+this circumstance, as well as from its form, to resemble &quot;a ship turned
+upside down.&quot; The lower beams were elaborately carved and ornamented
+with gilded bosses and sculptured images, sustaining shields emblazoned
+with the armorial bearings of the Asshetons. As many as three hundred
+matchlocks, in good and serviceable condition, were ranged round the
+entrance-hall, besides corselets, Almayne rivets, steel caps, and other
+accoutrements; this stand of arms having been collected by Sir Richard's
+predecessor, during the military muster made in the country in 1574,
+when he had raised and equipped a troop of horse for Queen Elizabeth.
+Outside the mansion was a garden, charmingly laid out in parterres and
+walks, and not only carried to the edge of the moat, but continued
+beyond it till it reached a high knoll crowned with beech-trees. A crest
+of tall twisted chimneys, a high roof with quaintly carved gables,
+surmounted by many gilt vanes, may serve to complete the picture of
+Middleton Hall.</p>
+
+<p>On a lovely summer evening, two young persons of opposite sexes were
+seated on a bench placed at the foot of one of the largest and most
+umbrageous of the beech-trees crowning the pleasant eminence before
+mentioned; and though differing in aspect and character, the one being
+excessively fair, with tresses as light and fleecy as the clouds above
+them, and eyes as blue and tender as the skies&mdash;and the other
+distinguished by great manly beauty, though in a totally different
+style; still there was a sufficiently strong likeness between them, to
+proclaim them brother and sister. Profound melancholy pervaded the
+countenance of the young man, whose handsome brow was clouded by
+care&mdash;while the girl, though sad, seemed so only from sympathy.</p>
+
+<p>They were conversing together in deep and earnest tones, showing how
+greatly they were interested; and, as they proceeded, many an
+involuntary sigh was heaved by Richard Assheton, while a tear, more than
+once, dimmed the brightness of his sister's eyes, and her hand sought by
+its gentle pressure to re-assure him.</p>
+
+<p>They were talking of Alizon, of her peculiar and distressing situation,
+and of the young man's hopeless love for her. She was the general theme
+of their discourse, for Richard's sole comfort was in pouring forth his
+griefs into his sister's willing ear; but new causes of anxiety had been
+given them by Nicholas, who had arrived that afternoon, bringing
+intelligence of James Device's capture, and of his threats against
+Mistress Nutter. The squire had only just departed, having succeeded in
+the twofold object of his visit&mdash;which was, firstly, to borrow three
+hundred pounds from his cousin&mdash;and, secondly, to induce him to attend
+the meeting at Hoghton Tower. With the first request Richard willingly
+complied, and he assented, though with some reluctance, to the second,
+provided nothing of serious moment should occur in the interim. Nicholas
+tried to rally him on his despondency, endeavouring to convince him all
+would come right in time, and that his misgivings were causeless; but
+his arguments were ineffectual, and he was soon compelled to desist. The
+squire would fain also have seen Alizon, but, understanding she always
+remained secluded in her chamber till eventide, he did not press the
+point. Richard urged him to stay over the night, alleging the length of
+the ride, and the speedy approach of evening, as inducements to him to
+remain; but on this score the squire was resolute&mdash;and having carefully
+secured the large sum of money he had obtained beneath his doublet, he
+mounted his favourite steed, Robin, who seemed as fresh as if he had not
+achieved upwards of thirty miles that morning, and rode off.</p>
+
+<p>Richard watched him cross the drawbridge, and take the road towards
+Rochdale, and, after exchanging a farewell wave of the hand with him,
+returned to the hall and sought out his sister.</p>
+
+<p>Dorothy was easily persuaded to take a turn in the garden with her
+brother, and during their walk he confided to her all he had heard from
+Nicholas. Her alarm at Jem Device's threat was much greater than his
+own; and, though she entertained a strong and unconquerable aversion to
+Mistress Nutter, and could not be brought to believe in the sincerity of
+her penitence, still, for Alizon's sake, she dreaded lest any harm
+should befall her, and more particularly desired to avoid the disgrace
+which would be inflicted by a public execution. Alizon she was sure
+would not survive such a catastrophe, and therefore, at all risks, it
+must be averted.</p>
+
+<p>Richard did not share, to the same extent, in her apprehensions, because
+he had been assured by Nicholas that Mistress Nutter would be removed to
+a place of perfect security, and because he was disposed, with the
+squire, to regard the prisoner's threats as mere ravings of impotent
+malice. Still he could not help feeling great uneasiness. Vague fears,
+too, beset him, which he found it in vain to shake off, but he did not
+communicate them to his sister, as he knew the terrifying effect they
+would have upon her timid nature; and he, therefore, kept the mental
+anguish he endured to himself, hoping erelong it would diminish in
+intensity. But in this he was deceived, for, instead of abating, his
+gloom and depression momently increased.</p>
+
+<p>Almost unconsciously, Richard and his sister had quitted the garden,
+proceeding with slow and melancholy steps to the beech-crowned knoll.
+The seat they had chosen was a favourite one with Alizon, and she came
+thither on most evenings, either accompanied by Dorothy or alone. Here
+it was that Richard had more than once passionately besought her to
+become his bride, receiving on both occasions a same meek yet firm
+refusal. To Dorothy also, who pleaded her brother's cause with all the
+eloquence and fervour of which she was mistress, Alizon replied that her
+affections were fixed upon Richard; but that, while her mother lived,
+and needed her constant prayers, they must not be withheld; and that,
+looking upon any earthly passion as a criminal interference with this
+paramount duty, she did not dare to indulge it. Dorothy represented to
+her that the sacrifice was greater than she was called upon to make,
+that her health was visibly declining, and that she might fall a victim
+to her over-zeal; but Alizon was deaf to her remonstrances, as she had
+been to the entreaties of Richard.</p>
+
+<p>With hearts less burthened, the contemplation of the scene before them
+could not have failed to give delight to Richard and his sister, and,
+even amid the adverse circumstances under which it was viewed, its
+beauty and tranquillity produced a soothing influence.</p>
+
+<p>Evening was gradually stealing on, and all the exquisite tints marking
+that delightful hour, were spreading over the landscape. The sun was
+setting gorgeously, and a flood of radiance fell upon the old mansion
+beneath them, and upon the grey and venerable church, situated on a hill
+adjoining it. The sounds were all in unison with the hour, and the
+lowing of cattle, the voices of the husbandmen returning from their
+work, mingled with the cawing of the rooks newly alighted on the high
+trees near the church, told them that bird, man, and beast were seeking
+their home for the night. But though Richard's eye dwelt upon the fair
+garden beneath him, embracing all its terraces, green slopes, and trim
+pastures; though it fell upon the moat belting the hall like a
+glittering zone; though it rested upon the church tower; and, roaming
+over the park beyond it, finally settled upon the range of hills
+bounding the horizon, which have not inaptly been termed the English
+Apennines; though he saw all these things, he thought not of them,
+neither was he conscious of the sounds that met his ear, and which all
+spoke of rest from labour, and peace. Darker and deeper grew his
+melancholy. He began to persuade himself he was not long for this world;
+and, while gazing upon the beautiful prospect before him, was perhaps
+looking upon it for the last time.</p>
+
+<p>For some minutes Dorothy watched him anxiously, and at last receiving no
+answer to her questions, and alarmed by the expression of his
+countenance, she flung her arms round his neck, and burst into tears. It
+was now Richard's turn to console her, and he inquired with much anxiety
+as to the cause of this sudden outburst of grief.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You yourself are the cause of it, dear Richard,&quot; replied Dorothy,
+regarding him with brimming eyes; &quot;I cannot bear to see you so unhappy.
+If you suffer this melancholy to grow upon you, it will affect both mind
+and body. Just now your countenance wore an expression most distressing
+to look upon. Try to smile, dear Richard, if only to cheer me, or else I
+shall grow as sad as you. Ah, me! I have known the day, and not long
+since either, when on a pleasant summer evening like this you would
+propose a stroll into the park with me; and, when there, would trip
+along the glades as fleetly as a deer, and defy me to catch you. But you
+always took care I should, though&mdash;ha! ha! Come, there is a little
+attempt at a smile. That's something. You look more like yourself now.
+How happy we used to be in those days, to be sure!&mdash;and how merry! You
+would make the courts ring with your blithe laughter, and wellnigh kill
+me with your jests. If love is to make one mope like an owl, and sigh
+like the wind through a half-shut casement; if it is to cause one to
+lose one's rosy complexion and gay spirit, and forget how to dance and
+sing&mdash;take no pleasure in hawking and hunting, or any kind of
+sport&mdash;walk about with eyes fixed upon the ground, muttering, and with
+disordered attire&mdash;if it is to make one silent when one should be
+talkative, grave when one should be gay, heedless when one should
+listen&mdash;if it is to do all this, defend me from the tender passion! I
+hope I shall never fall in love.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I hope you never will, dear Dorothy,&quot; replied Richard, pressing her
+hand affectionately, &quot;if your love is to be attended with such unhappy
+results as mine. I know not how it is, but I feel unusually despondent
+this evening, and am haunted by a thousand dismal fancies. But I will do
+my best to dismiss them, and with your help no doubt I shall succeed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There!&mdash;there was a smile in earnest!&quot; cried Dorothy, brightening up.
+&quot;Oh, Richard! I am quite happy now. And after all I do not see why you
+should take such a gloomy view of things. I have no doubt there is a
+great deal, a very great deal, of happiness in store for you and
+Alizon&mdash;I must couple her name with yours, or you will not allow it to
+be happiness&mdash;if you can only be brought to think so. I am quite sure of
+it; and you shall see how nicely I can make the matter out. As thus.
+Mistress Nutter is certain to die soon&mdash;such a wicked woman cannot live
+long. Don't be angry with me for calling her wicked, Richard; but you
+know I never can forget her unhallowed proceedings in the convent church
+at Whalley, where I was so nearly becoming a witch myself. Well, as I
+was saying, she cannot live long, and when she goes&mdash;and Heaven grant it
+may be soon!&mdash;Alizon, no doubt, will mourn for her though I shall not,
+and after a decent interval&mdash;then, Richard, then she will no longer say
+you nay, but will make you happy as your wife. Nay, do not look so sad
+again, dear brother. I thought I should make you quite cheerful by the
+picture I was drawing.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is because I fear it will never be realized that I am sad, Dorothy,&quot;
+replied Richard. &quot;My own anticipations are the opposite of yours, and
+paint Alizon sinking into an early grave before her mother; while as to
+myself, if such be the case, I shall not long survive her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, now you will make me weep again,&quot; cried Dorothy, her tears flowing
+afresh. &quot;But I will not allow you to indulge such gloomy ideas, Richard.
+If I seriously thought Mistress Nutter likely to occasion all this fresh
+mischief, I would cause her to be delivered up to justice, and hanged
+out of the way. You may look cross at me, but I would. What is an old
+witch like her, compared with two young handsome persons, dying for love
+of each other, and yet not able to marry on her account?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Dorothy, Dorothy, you must put some restraint on your tongue,&quot; said
+Richard; &quot;you give it sadly too much licence. You forget it is the wish
+of the unhappy lady you refer to, to expiate her offences at the stake,
+and that it is only out of consideration to her daughter that she has
+been induced to remain in concealment. What will be the issue of it all,
+I dare scarcely conjecture. Wo to her, I fear! Wo to Alizon! Wo to me!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alas! Richard, that you should link yourself to her fate!&quot; exclaimed
+Dorothy, half mournfully, half reproachfully.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I cannot help it,&quot; he replied. &quot;It is my destiny&mdash;a deplorable destiny,
+if you will&mdash;but not to be avoided. That Mistress Nutter will escape the
+consequences of her crimes, I can scarcely believe. Her penitence is
+profound and sincere, and that is a great consolation; for I trust she
+will not perish, body and soul. I should wish her to have some spiritual
+assistance, but this Nicholas will not for the present permit, alleging
+that no churchman would consent to screen her from justice when he
+became aware, as he must by her confession, of the nature and magnitude
+of her offences. This may be true; but when the wretches who have been
+leagued with her in iniquity are disposed of, the reason will no longer
+exist, and I will see that she is cared for. But, apart from her mother,
+I have another source of anxiety respecting Alizon. It is this: orders
+have been this day given for the arrest of Elizabeth Device and her
+daughter, Jennet, and Alizon will be the chief witness against them.
+This will be a great trouble to her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Undoubtedly,&quot; rejoined Dorothy, with much concern. &quot;But can it not be
+avoided?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I fear not,&quot; said Richard, &quot;and I blamed Nicholas much for his
+precipitancy in giving the order; but he replied he had been held up
+latterly as a favourer of witches, and must endeavour to redeem his
+character by a display of severity. Were it not for Alizon, I should
+rejoice that the noxious brood should at last be utterly exterminated.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And so should I, in good sooth,&quot; responded Dorothy. &quot;As to Elizabeth
+Device, she is bad enough for any thing, and capable of almost any
+mischief: but she is nothing to Jennet, who, I am persuaded, would
+become a second Mother Demdike if her career were not cut short. You
+have seen the child, and know what an ill-favoured, deformed little
+creature she is, with round high shoulders, eyes set strangely in her
+face, and such a malicious expression&mdash;oh! I shudder to think of it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And she covered her face with her hands, as if to shut out some
+unpleasant object.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Poor, predestined child of sin, branded by nature from her birth, and
+charged with wicked passions, as the snake with venom, I cannot but pity
+her!&quot; exclaimed Richard. &quot;Compassion is entirely thrown away,&quot; he added,
+with a sudden change of manner, and as if trying to shake off a
+weakness. &quot;The poisonous fruit must, however, be nipped in the bud.
+Better she should perish now, even though comparatively guiltless, than
+hereafter with a soul stained with crime, like her mother.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As he concluded, he put his hand quickly to his side, for a sharp and
+sudden pang shot through his heart; and so acute was the pain, that,
+after struggling against it for a moment, he groaned deeply, and would
+have fallen, if his sister, greatly alarmed, and with difficulty
+repressing a scream, had not lent him support.</p>
+
+<p>Neither of them were aware of the presence of a little girl, who had
+approached the place where they were sitting, with footsteps so light
+that the grass scarcely seemed to bend beneath them, and who, ensconcing
+herself behind the tree, drank in their discourse with eager ears. She
+was attended by a large black cat, who, climbing the tree, placed
+himself on a bough above her.</p>
+
+<p>During the latter part of the conversation, and when it turned upon the
+arrest of Jennet and her mother, the expression of the child's
+countenance, malicious enough to begin with, became desperately
+malignant, and she was only restrained by certain signs from the cat,
+which appeared to be intelligible to her, from some act of mischief. At
+last even this failed, and before the animal could descend and check
+her, she crept round the bole of the tree, so as to bring herself close
+to Richard, and muttering a spell, made one or two passes behind his
+back, touched him with the point of her finger, but so lightly that he
+was unconscious of the pressure, and then hastily retreated with the
+cat, who glared furiously at her from his flaming orbs.</p>
+
+<p>It was at the moment she touched him that Richard felt as if an arrow
+were quivering in his heart.</p>
+
+<p>Poor Dorothy's alarm was so great that she could not even scream for
+assistance, and she feared, if she quitted her brother, he would expire
+before her return; but the agony, though great, was speedily over, and
+as the spasm ceased, he looked up, and, with a faint smile, strove to
+re-assure her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not be alarmed,&quot; he said; &quot;it is nothing&mdash;a momentary
+faintness&mdash;that is all.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But the damp upon his brow, and the deathly hue of his cheek,
+contradicted the assertion, and showed how much he had endured. &quot;It was
+more than momentary faintness, dear Richard,&quot; replied Dorothy. &quot;It was a
+frightful seizure&mdash;so frightful that I almost feared; but no matter&mdash;you
+know I am easily alarmed. Thank God! here is some colour coming into
+your cheeks. You are better now, I see. Lean upon me, and let us return
+to the house.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I can walk unassisted,&quot; said Richard, rising with an effort.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not despise my feeble aid,&quot; replied Dorothy, taking his arm under
+her own. &quot;You will be quite well soon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am quite well now,&quot; said Richard, halting after he had advanced a few
+paces, &quot;The attack is altogether passed. Do you not see Alizon coming
+towards us? Not a word of this sudden seizure to her. Do you mind,
+Dorothy?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Alizon was soon close behind them, and though, in obedience to Richard's
+injunctions, no allusion was made to his recent illness, she at once
+perceived he was suffering greatly, and with much solicitude inquired
+into the cause. Richard avoided giving a direct answer, and, immediately
+entering upon Nicholas's visit, tried to divert her attention from
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>So great a change had been wrought in Alizon's appearance and manner
+during the last few weeks, that she could scarcely be recognised. Still
+beautiful as ever, her beauty had lost its earthly character, and had
+become in the highest degree spiritualised and refined. Humility of
+deportment and resignation of look, blended with an expression of
+religious fervour, gave her the appearance of one of the early martyrs.
+Unremitting ardour in the pursuance of her devotional exercises by day,
+and long vigils at night, had worn down her frame, and robbed it of some
+of its grace and fulness of outline; but this attenuation had a charm of
+its own, and gave a touching interest to her figure, which was wanting
+before. If her check was thinner and paler, her eyes looked larger and
+brighter, and more akin to the stars in splendour; and if she appeared
+less childlike, less joyous, less free from care, the want of these
+qualities was more than counterbalanced by increased gentleness,
+resignation, and serenity.</p>
+
+<p>Deeply interested in all Richard told her of her mother, she was greatly
+concerned to hear of the intended arrest of Elizabeth and Jennet Device,
+especially the latter. For this unhappy and misguided child she had once
+entertained the affection of a sister, and it could not but be a source
+of grief to her to reflect upon her probable fate.</p>
+
+<p>Little more passed between them, for Richard, feeling his strength again
+fail him, was anxious to reach the house, and Dorothy was quite unequal
+to conversation. They parted at the door, and as Alizon, after taking
+leave of her friends, turned to continue her walk in the garden, Richard
+staggered into the entrance-hall, and sank upon a chair.</p>
+
+<p>Alizon desired to be alone, for she did not wish to have a witness to
+the grief that overpowered her, and which, when she had gained a retired
+part of the garden, where she supposed herself free from all
+observation, found relief in a flood of tears.</p>
+
+<p>For some minutes she was a prey to violent and irrepressible emotion,
+and had scarcely regained a show of composure, when she heard herself
+addressed, as she thought, in the voice of the very child whose unlucky
+fate she was deploring. Looking round in surprise, and seeing no one,
+she began to think fancy must have cheated her, when a low malicious
+laugh, arising from a shrubbery near her, convinced her that Jennet was
+hidden there. And the next moment the little girl stepped from out the
+trees.</p>
+
+<p>Alizon's first impulse was to catch the child in her arms, and press her
+to her bosom; but there was something in Jennet's look that deterred
+her, and so embarrassed her, that she was unable to bestow upon her the
+ordinary greeting of affection, or even approach her.</p>
+
+<p>Jennet seemed to enjoy her confusion, and laughed spitefully.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo dunna seem ower glad to see me, sister Alizon,&quot; said Jennet, at
+length.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;<i>Sister</i> Alizon!&quot; There was something in the term that now jarred upon
+the young girl's ears, but she strove to conquer the feeling, as
+unworthy of her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She was once my sister,&quot; she thought, &quot;and shall be so still. I will
+save her, if it be possible.&quot; &quot;Jennet,&quot; she added aloud, &quot;I know not
+what chance brings you here, and though I may not give you the welcome
+you expect, I am rejoiced to see you, because I may be the means of
+serving you. Do not be alarmed at what I am going to tell you. The
+danger I hope is passed, or at all events may be avoided. Your liberty
+is threatened, and at the very moment I see you here I was lamenting
+your supposed condition as a prisoner.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Jennet laughed louder and more spitefully than before, and looked so
+like a little fury that Alizon's blood ran cold at the sight of it.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey knoa it aw, sister Alizon,&quot; she cried, &quot;an that is why ey ha cum'd
+here. Brother Jem is a pris'ner i' Whalley Abbey. Mother is a pris'ner
+theere, too. An ey should ha kept em company, if Tib hadna brought me
+off. Now, listen to me, Alizon, fo' this is my bus'ness wi' yo. Yo mun
+get mother an Jem out to-neet&mdash;eigh, to-neet. Yo con do it, if yo win.
+An onless yo do&mdash;boh ey winna threaten till ey get yer answer.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How am I to set them free?&quot; asked Alizon, greatly alarmed.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo need only say the word to young Ruchot Assheton, an the job's done,&quot;
+replied Jennet.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I refuse&mdash;positively refuse to do so!&quot; rejoined Alizon, indignantly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Varry weel,&quot; cried Jennet, with a look of concentrated malice and fury;
+&quot;then tak the consequences. They win be ta'en to Lonkester Castle, an
+lose their lives theere. Bo ye shan go, too&mdash;ay, an be brunt os a
+witch&mdash;a witch&mdash;d'ye mark, wench? eh!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I defy your malice!&quot; cried Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Defy me!&quot; screamed Jennet. &quot;What, ho! Tib!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And at the call the huge black cat sprang from out the shrubbery.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Tear her flesh from her bones!&quot; cried the little girl, pointing to
+Alizon, and stamping furiously on the ground.</p>
+
+<p>Tib erected his back, and glared like a tiger, but he seemed unwilling
+or unable to obey the order.</p>
+
+<p>Alizon, who had completely recovered her courage, regarded him fixedly,
+and apparently without terror.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whoy dusna seize her, an tear her i' pieces?&quot; cried the infuriated
+child.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He dares not&mdash;he has no power over me,&quot; said Alizon. &quot;Oh, Jennet! cast
+him off. Your wicked agent appears to befriend you now, but he will lead
+you to certain destruction. Come with me, and I will save you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Off!&quot; cried Jennet, repelling her with furious gestures. &quot;Off! ey winna
+ge wi' ye. Ey winna be saved, os yo term it. Ey hate yo more than ever,
+an wad strike yo dead at my feet, if ey could. Boh as ey conna do it, ey
+win find some other means o' injurin' ye. Soh look to yersel, proud
+ledy&mdash;look to yersel? Ey ha already smitten you in a place where ye win
+feel it sore, an ey win repeat the blow. Ey now leave yo, boh we shan
+meet again. Come along, Tib!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>So saying, she sprang into the shrubbery, followed by the cat, leaving
+Alizon appalled by her frightful malignity.</p>
+
+<p class="figcenter"><a name="ILLUS_12" id="ILLUS_12" href="./images/illus12_lg.jpg"><img src="./images/illus12_sm.jpg"
+alt="Illustration: ALIZON DEFIES JENNET."
+title="ALIZON DEFIES JENNET." /></a></p>
+<p class="figcenter"><span class="smcap">Alizon Defies Jennet.</span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV_THE_GORGE_OF_CLIVIGER" id="CHAPTER_IV_THE_GORGE_OF_CLIVIGER" />CHAPTER IV.&mdash;THE GORGE OF CLIVIGER.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The sun had already set as Nicholas Assheton reached Todmorden, then a
+very small village indeed, and alighting at a little inn near the
+church, found the ale so good, and so many boon companions assembled to
+discuss it, that he would fain have tarried with them for an hour or so;
+but prudence, for once, getting the better of inclination, and
+suggesting that he had fifteen or sixteen miles still to ride, over a
+rough and lonely road, part of which lay through the gorge of Cliviger,
+a long and solitary pass among the English Apennines, and, moreover, had
+a large sum of money about him, he tore himself away by a great effort.</p>
+
+<p>On quitting the smiling valley of Todmorden, and drawing near the
+dangerous defile before mentioned, some misgivings crossed him, and he
+almost reproached himself with foolhardiness in venturing within it at
+such an hour, and wholly unattended. Several recent cases of robbery,
+some of them attended by murder, had occurred within the pass; and these
+now occurred so forcibly to the squire, that he was half inclined to
+ride back to Todmorden, and engage two or three of the topers he had
+left at the inn to serve him as an escort as far as Burnley, but he
+dismissed the idea almost as soon as formed, and, casting one look at
+the green and woody slopes around him, struck spurs into Robin, and
+dashed into the gorge.</p>
+
+<p>On the right towered a precipice, on the bare crest of which stood a
+heap of stones piled like a column&mdash;the remains, probably, of a cairn.
+On this commanding point Nicholas perceived a female figure, dilated to
+gigantic proportions against the sky, who, as far as he could
+distinguish, seemed watching him, and making signs to him, apparently to
+go back; but he paid little regard to them, and soon afterwards lost
+sight of her.</p>
+
+<p>Precipitous and almost inaccessible rocks, of every variety of form and
+hue; some springing perpendicularly up like the spire of a church,
+others running along in broken ridges, or presenting the appearance of
+high embattled walls; here riven into deep gullies, there opening into
+wild savage glens, fit spots for robber ambuscade; now presenting a fair
+smooth surface, now jagged, shattered, shelving, roughened with
+brushwood; sometimes bleached and hoary, as in the case of the pinnacled
+crag called the White Kirk; sometimes green with moss or grey with
+lichen; sometimes, though but rarely, shaded with timber, as in the
+approach to the cavern named the Earl's Bower; but generally bold and
+naked, and sombre in tint as the colours employed by the savage Rosa.
+Such were the distinguishing features of the gorge of Cliviger when
+Nicholas traversed it. Now the high embankments and mighty arches of a
+railway fill up its recesses and span its gullies; the roar of the
+engine is heard where the cry of the bird of prey alone resounded; and
+clouds of steam usurp the place of the mist-wreaths on its crags.</p>
+
+<p>Formerly, the high cliffs abounded with hawks; the rocks echoed with
+their yells and screeches, and the spots adjoining their nests
+resembled, in the words of the historian of the district, Whitaker,
+&quot;little charnel-houses for the bones of game.&quot; Formerly, also, on some
+inaccessible point built the rock-eagle, and reared its brood from year
+to year. The gaunt wolf had once ravaged the glens, and the sly fox and
+fierce cat-a-mountain still harboured within them. Nor were those the
+only objects of dread. The superstitious declared the gorge was haunted
+by a frightful, hirsute demon, yclept Hobthurst.</p>
+
+<p>The general savage character of the ravine was relieved by some spots of
+exquisite beauty, where the traveller might have lingered with delight,
+if apprehension of assault from robber, or visit from Hobthurst, had not
+urged him on. Numberless waterfalls, gushing from fissures in the hills,
+coursed down their seamy sides, looking like threads of silver as they
+sprang from point to point. One of the most beautiful of these cascades,
+issuing from a gully in the rocks near the cavern called the Earl's
+Bower, fell, in rainy seasons, in one unbroken sheet of a hundred and
+fifty feet. Through the midst of the gorge ran a swift and brawling
+stream, known by the appellation of the Calder; but it must not be
+confounded with the river flowing past Whalley Abbey. The course of this
+impetuous current was not always restrained within its rocky channel,
+and when swollen by heavy rains, it would frequently invade the narrow
+causeway running beside it, and, spreading over the whole width of the
+gorge, render the road almost impassable.</p>
+
+<p>Through this rocky and sombre defile, and by the side of the brawling
+Calder, which dashed swiftly past him, Nicholas took his way. The hawks
+were yelling overhead; the rooks were cawing on the topmost branches of
+some tall timber, on which they built; a raven was croaking lustily in
+the wood; and a pair of eagles were soaring in the still glowing sky.</p>
+
+<p>By-and-by, the glen contracted, and a wall of steep rocks on either side
+hemmed the shuddering traveller in. Instinctively, he struck spurs into
+his horse, and accelerated his pace.</p>
+
+<p>The narrow glen expands, the precipices fall further back, and the
+traveller breathes more freely. Still, he does not relax his speed, for
+his imagination has been at work in the gloom, peopling his path with
+lurking robbers or grinning boggarts. He begins to fear he shall lose
+his gold, and execrates his folly for incurring such heedless risk. But
+it is too late now to turn back.</p>
+
+<p>It grows rapidly dusk, and objects became less and less distinct,
+assuming fantastical and fearful forms. A blasted tree, clinging to a
+rock, and thrusting a bare branch across the road, looks to the squire
+like a bandit; and a white owl bursting from a bush, scares him as if it
+had been Hobthurst himself. However, in spite of these and other alarms,
+for which he is indebted to excited fancy, he hurries on, and is
+proceeding at a thundering pace, when all at once his horse comes to a
+stop, arrested by a tall female figure, resembling that seen near the
+mountain cairn at the entrance of the gorge.</p>
+
+<p>Nicholas's blood ran cold, for though in this case he could not
+apprehend plunder, he was fearful of personal injury, for he believed
+the woman to be a witch. Mustering up courage, however, he forced Robin
+to proceed.</p>
+
+<p>If his progress was meant to be barred, a better spot for the purpose
+could not have been selected. A narrow road, scarcely two feet in width,
+ran round the ledge of a tremendous crag, jutting so far into the glen
+that it almost met the steep barrier of rocks opposite it. Between these
+precipitous crags dashed the river in a foaming cascade, nearly twelve
+feet in height, and the steep narrow causeway winding beside it, as
+above described, was rendered excessively slippery and dangerous from
+the constant cloud of spray arising from the fall.</p>
+
+<p>At the highest and narrowest point of the ledge, and occupying nearly
+the whole of its space, with an overhanging rock on one side of her, and
+a roaring torrent on the other, stood the tall woman, determined
+apparently, from her attitude and deportment, to oppose the squire's
+further progress. As Nicholas advanced, he became convinced that it was
+the same person he had seen near the cairn; but, when her features grew
+distinguishable, he found to his surprise that it was Nance Redferne.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Halloa! Nance,&quot; he cried. &quot;What are you doing here, lass, eh?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Cum to warn ye, squoire,&quot; she replied; &quot;yo once did me a sarvice, an ey
+hanna forgetten it. That's why I watched ye fro' the cairn cliffs, an
+motioned ye to ge back. Boh ye didna onderstand my signs, or wouldna
+heed 'em, so ey be cum'd here to stay ye. Yo're i' dawnger, ey tell ye.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;In danger of what, my good woman?&quot; demanded the squire uneasily.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;O' bein' robbed, and plundered o' your gowd,&quot; replied Nance; &quot;there are
+five men waitin' to set upon ye a mile further on, at the Bowder
+Stoans.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Indeed!&quot; exclaimed Nicholas; &quot;they will get little for their pains. I
+have no money about me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Dunna think to deceive me, squoire,&quot; rejoined Nance; &quot;ey knoa yo ha
+borrowed three hundert punds i' gowd fro' yung Ruchot Assheton; an os
+surely os ye ha it aw under your jerkin, so surely win yo lose it, if yo
+dunna turn back, or ge on without me keepin' ye company.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have no objection on earth to your company, Nance,&quot; replied the
+squire; &quot;quite the contrary. But how the devil should these rascals
+expect me? And, above all, how should they conjecture I should come so
+well provided? For, sooth to say, such is not ordinarily the case with
+me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey knoa it weel, squoire,&quot; replied Nance, with a laugh; boh they ha
+received sartin information o' your movements.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There is only one person who could give them such information,&quot; cried
+Nicholas; &quot;but I cannot, will not suspect him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If yor're thinkin' o' Lawrence Fogg, yo're na far wide o' th' mark,
+squoire,&quot; replied Nance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What! Fogg leagued with robbers&mdash;impossible!&quot; exclaimed Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neaw, it's nah so unpossible os aw that,&quot; returned Nance; &quot;yo 'n stare
+when ey tell yo he has robbed yo mony a time without your being aware on
+it. Yo were onwise enough to send him round to your friends to borrow
+money for yo.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;True, so I was. But, luckily, no one would lend me any,&quot; said Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There yo're wrong, squoire&mdash;fo' unluckily they aw did,&quot; replied Nance,
+with a scarcely-suppressed laugh. &quot;Roger Nowell gied him one hundred;
+Tummus Whitaker of Holme, another; Ruchot Parker o' Browsholme, another.
+An more i' th' same way.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And the rascal pocketed it all, and never brought me back one
+farthing,&quot; cried Nicholas, in a transport of rage. &quot;I'll have him
+hanged&mdash;pshaw! hanging's too good for him. To deceive me, his friend,
+his benefactor, his patron, in such a manner; to dwell in my house, eat
+at my table, drink my wine, wear my habiliments, ride my horses, hunt
+with my hounds! Has the dog no conscience?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Varry little, ey'm afear'd,&quot; replied Nance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And the worst of it is,&quot; continued the squire&mdash;new lights breaking upon
+him, &quot;I shall be liable for all the sums he has received. He was my
+confidential agent, and the lenders will come upon me. It must be six or
+seven hundred pounds that he has obtained in this nefarious way. Zounds!
+I shall go mad.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo wur to blame fo' trustin him, squoire,&quot; rejoined Nance. &quot;Yo ought to
+ha' made proper inquiries about him at first, an then yo'd ha' found out
+what sort o' chap he wur. Boh now ey'n tell ye. Lawrence Fogg is chief
+o' a band o' robbers, an aw the black an villanous deeds done of late i'
+this place, ha' been parpetrated by his men. A poor gentleman wur
+murdert by 'em i' this varry spot th' week efore last, an his body cast
+into t' river. Fogg, of course, had no hont in the fow deed, boh he
+would na ha interfered to prevent it if he had bin here, fo' he never
+scrupled shedding blood. An if he had bin content wi' robbin' yo,
+squoire, ey wadna ha betrayed him; boh when he proposed to cut your
+throttle, bekose, os he said, dead men tell neaw teles, ey could howd
+out nah longer, an resolved to gi' yo warnin.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What a monstrous and unheard-of villain!&quot; cried the squire. &quot;But is he
+one of the ambuscade?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Nance replied in the affirmative.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then, by heaven! I will confront him&mdash;I will hew him down,&quot; pursued
+Nicholas, griping the hilt of his sword.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Neaw use, ey tell ye&mdash;yo'n be overpowert an kilt,&quot; said Nance. &quot;Tak me
+wi' yo, an ey'n carry yo safely through em aw; boh ge alone, or yo'n
+ne'er see Downham again. An now it's reet ey should tell ye who Lawrence
+Fogg really is.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What new wonder is in store for me?&quot; cried Nicholas. &quot;Who is he?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Maybe yo ha heerd tell that Mother Demdike had a son and a dowter,&quot;
+replied Nance; &quot;the dowter bein', of course, Elizabeth Device; and the
+son, Christopher Demdike, being supposed to be dead. Howsomever, this is
+not the case, for Lawrence Fogg is he.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I guessed as much when you began,&quot; cried Nicholas. &quot;He has a cursedly
+bad look about the eyes&mdash;a damned Demdike physiognomy. What an infernal
+villain the fellow must be! without a jot of natural feeling. Why, he
+has this very day assisted at his nephew's capture, and caused his own
+sister to be arrested. Oh, I have been properly duped! To lodge a son of
+that infernal hag in my house&mdash;feed him, clothe him, make him my
+friend&mdash;take him, the viper! to my bosom! I have been rightly served.
+But he shall hang!&mdash;he shall hang! That is some consolation, though
+slight. But how do you know all this, Nance?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Dunna ax me,&quot; she replied. &quot;Whatever ey ha' been to Christopher
+Demdike, ey bear him neaw love now; fo', as ey ha towd yo, he is a
+black-hearted murtherin' villain. Boh lemme get up behind yo, an ey'n
+bring yo through scatheless. An to-morrow yo may arrest the whole band
+at Malkin Tower.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Malkin Tower!&quot; exclaimed the squire, in fresh surprise. &quot;What, have
+these robbers taken up their quarters there? This accounts for all the
+strange sights said to have been seen there of late, and which I treated
+as mere fables. But, ah! a terrible thought crosses me. What have I
+done? Mistress Nutter will be there to-night. And I have sent her. Death
+and destruction! she will fall into their hands. I must go there at
+once. I cannot take any assistance with me. That would betray the poor
+lady.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If yo'n trust me, ey'n help yo through the difficulty,&quot; replied Nance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Get up then quickly, lass, since it must be so,&quot; rejoined Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>With this he moved forward, and giving her his hand, she was instantly
+seated behind him upon Robin, who seemed no way incommoded by his double
+burthen, but dashed down the further side of the causeway, in answer to
+a sharp application of the spur. Passing her arms round the squire's
+waist, Nance maintained her seat well; and in this way they rattled
+along, heedless of the increasing difficulties of the road, or the
+fast-gathering gloom.</p>
+
+<p>The mile was quickly passed, and Nance whispered in the squire's ear
+that they were approaching the Boulder Stones. Presently they came to a
+narrow glen, half-filled with huge rocky fragments, detached from the
+toppling precipices on either side, and forming an admirable place of
+ambuscade. One rock, larger than the rest, completely commanded the
+pass, and, as the squire advanced, a thundering voice from it called to
+him to stay; and the injunction being disregarded, the barrel of a gun
+was protruded from the bushes covering its brow, and a shot fired at
+him. Though well aimed, the ball struck the ground beneath his horse's
+feet, and Nicholas continued his way unmoved, while the faulty marksman
+jumped down the crag. At the same time four other men started from their
+places of concealment behind the stones, and, levelling their calivers
+at the fugitives, fired. The sharp discharges echoed along the gorge,
+and the shots rattled against the rocks, but none of them took effect,
+and Nicholas might have gone on without further hindrance; but, despite
+Nance's remonstrances, who urged him to go on, he pulled up to await the
+coming of the person who had first challenged him. Scarcely an instant
+elapsed before he was beside the squire, and presented a petronel at his
+head. Notwithstanding the gloom, Nicholas recognised him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah! is it thou, accursed traitor?&quot; cried Nicholas. &quot;I could scarcely
+believe in thy villainy, but now I am convinced.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The jade you have got behind you has told you who I am, I see,&quot; replied
+Fogg. &quot;I will settle with her anon. But this will save further
+explanations with you!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And he discharged the petronel full at the squire. But the ball
+rebounded, as if his doublet had been quilted. It was in fact lined with
+gold. On seeing the squire unhurt, the robber captain uttered an
+exclamation of rage and astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are mistaken, you see, perfidious villain,&quot; cried Nicholas. &quot;You
+have yet to render an account of all the wrongs you have done me, but
+meantime you shall not pass unpunished.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as he spoke, he snatched the petronel from Fogg, and with the
+but-end dealt him a tremendous blow on the head, felling him to the
+ground.</p>
+
+<p>By this time the other robbers had descended from the rocks, and, seeing
+the fall of their leader, rushed forward to avenge him, but Nicholas did
+not tarry for any further encounter; but, fully satisfied with what he
+had done, struck spurs into Robin, and galloped off. For a few minutes
+he could hear the shouts of the men, but they soon afterwards died away.</p>
+
+<p>Little more than half the ravine had been traversed when the rencounter
+above described took place; but, though the road was still difficult and
+dangerous, and rendered doubly so by the obscurity, no further hindrance
+occurred till just as Nicholas was quitting the gloomy intricacies of
+the gorge, and approaching the more open country beyond it. At this
+point Robin fell, throwing both him and Nance, and when the animal rose
+again he was found to be so much injured that it was impossible to mount
+him. There was no resource but to proceed to Burnley, which was still
+three or four miles distant, on foot.</p>
+
+<p>In this dilemma, Nance volunteered to provide the squire with another
+steed, but he resolutely refused the offer.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, no&mdash;none of your broomsticks for me,&quot; he cried; &quot;no devil's
+horses&mdash;I don't know where they may carry me. My own legs must serve me
+now. I'll just take poor Robin out of the road, and then trudge off for
+Burnley as fast as I can.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>With this, he led the horse to a small green mead skirting the stream,
+and taking off his saddle and bridle, and depositing them carefully
+under a tree, he patted the animal on the neck, promising to return for
+him on the morrow, and then set off at a brisk pace, with Nance walking
+beside him. They had not gone far, however, when the clattering of hoofs
+was heard behind them, and it was evident that several horsemen were
+rapidly approaching. Nance stopped, listened for a moment, and then
+declaring that it was Demdike and his band in pursuit, seized the
+squire's arm and drew him out of the road, and under the shelter of some
+bushes of hazel. The robber captain could only have been stunned, it
+appeared; and, as soon as he had recovered from the effects of the blow,
+had mounted his horse, which was concealed, with those of his men,
+behind the rocks, and started after the fugitives. Such was the
+construction put upon the matter by Nance, and the event proved it
+correct. A loud shout from the horsemen, and a sudden halt, proclaimed
+that poor Robin had been discovered; and this circumstance seemed to
+give great satisfaction to Demdike, who loudly declared that they were
+now sure of overtaking the runaways.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;They cannot be far off,&quot; he cried; &quot;but they will most likely attempt
+to hide themselves, so look well about you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>So saying, he rode on, and it was evident from the noise, that the men
+implicitly obeyed his injunctions. Nothing, however, was found, and ere
+many minutes Demdike came up, and glancing at the hazels, behind which
+the fugitives were hidden, he discharged a petronel into the largest
+tree, but as no movement followed the report, he said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I thought I saw something move here, but I suppose I was mistaken. No
+doubt they have got on further than we expected, or have retired into
+some of the cloughs, in which case it will be useless to search for
+them. However, we will make sure of them in this way. Two of you shall
+form an ambuscade near Holme and two further on within half a mile of
+Burnley, and shall remain on the watch till dawn, so that you will be
+sure to capture them, and when taken, make away with them without
+hesitation. Unless my skull had been of the strongest, that butcherly
+squire would have cracked it, so he shall have no grace from me; and as
+to that treacherous witch, Nance Redferne, she deserves death at our
+hands, and she shall have her deserts. I have long suspected her, and,
+indeed, was a fool to trust one of the vile Chattox brood, who are all
+my natural enemies&mdash;but no matter, I shall have my revenge.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The men having promised compliance with their captain's command, he went
+on&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;As to myself,&quot; he said, &quot;I shall go forthwith, and as fast as my horse
+can carry me, to Malkin Tower, and I will tell you why. It is not that I
+dislike the game we are upon, but I have better to play just now. Tom
+Shaw, the cock-master at Downham, who is in my pay, rode over to Whalley
+this afternoon, to bring me word that a certain lady, who has long been
+concealed in the Manor-house, will be taken to Malkin Tower to-night.
+The intelligence is certain, for he had obtained it from Old Crouch, the
+huntsman, who is to escort her. Thus, Mistress Nutter, for you all know
+whom I mean, will fall naturally into our hands, and we can wring any
+sums of money we like out of her; for though she has abandoned her
+property to her daughter, Alizon, she can no doubt have as much as she
+wants, and I will take care she asks for plenty, or I will try the
+effect of some of those instruments of torture which I was lucky enough
+to find in the dungeons of Malkin Tower, and which were used for a like
+purpose by my predecessor, Blackburn, the freebooter. Are you content,
+my lads?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, ay, Captain Demdike,&quot; they replied.</p>
+
+<p>Upon this the whole party set forward, and were speedily out of hearing.
+As soon as they thought it prudent to come forth, the squire and Nance
+emerged from their place of shelter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What is to be done?&quot; exclaimed the former, who was almost in a state of
+distraction. &quot;The villain has announced his intention of going to Malkin
+Tower, and Mistress Nutter will assuredly fall into his hands. Oh! that
+I could stop him, or get there before him!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo shan, if yo like to ride wi' me,&quot; said Nance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But how&mdash;in what way?&quot; asked Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Leave that to me,&quot; replied Nance, breaking off a long branch of hazel.
+&quot;Tak howld o' this,&quot; she cried.</p>
+
+<p>The squire obeyed, and was instantly carried off his legs, and whisked
+through the air at a prodigious rate.</p>
+
+<p>He felt giddy and confused, but did not dare to leave go, lest he should
+be dashed in pieces, while Nance's wild laughter rang in his ears.</p>
+
+<p>Over the bleached and perpendicular crag&mdash;startling the eagle from his
+eyry&mdash;over the yawning gully with the torrent roaring beneath him&mdash;over
+the sharp ridges of the hill&mdash;over Townley park&mdash;over Burnley
+steeple&mdash;over the wide valley beyond, he went&mdash;until at last,
+bewildered, out of breath, and like one in a dream, he alighted on a
+brown, bare, heathy expanse, and within a hundred yards of a tall,
+circular stone structure, which he knew to be Malkin Tower.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V_THE_END_OF_MALKIN_TOWER" id="CHAPTER_V_THE_END_OF_MALKIN_TOWER" />CHAPTER V.&mdash;THE END OF MALKIN TOWER.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The shades of night had fallen on Downham manor-house, and with an
+aching heart, and a strong presentiment of ill, Mistress Nutter prepared
+to quit the little chamber which had sheltered her for more than two
+months, and where she would willingly have breathed her latest sigh, if
+it had been so permitted her. Closing the Bible she had been reading,
+she placed the sacred volume under her arm, and taking up a small
+bundle, containing her slender preparations for travel, extinguished the
+taper, and then descending by a secret staircase, passed through a door,
+fashioned externally like a cupboard, and entered a summer-house, where
+she found old Crouch awaiting her.</p>
+
+<p>A few whispered words only passed between her and the huntsman, and
+informing her that the horses were in waiting at the back of the garden,
+he took the bundle from her, and would fain have relieved her also of
+the Bible, but she would not part with it, and pressing it more closely
+to her bosom, said she was quite ready to attend him.</p>
+
+<p>It was a beautiful, starlight night; the air soft and balmy, and laden
+with the perfume of the flowers. A nightingale was singing plaintively
+in an adjoining tree, and presently came a response equally tender from
+another part of the grove. Mistress Nutter could not choose but listen,
+and the melody so touched her that she was half suffocated by repressed
+emotion, for, alas! the relief of tears was denied her.</p>
+
+<p>Motioning her somewhat impatiently to come on, Crouch struck into a
+sombre alley, edged by clipped yew-trees, and terminating in a
+plantation, through which a winding path led to the foot of the hill
+whereon the mansion was situated. By daylight this was a beautiful walk,
+affording exquisite glimpses through the trees of the surrounding
+scenery, and commanding a noble view of Pendle Hill, the dominant point
+in the prospect. But even now to the poor lady, so long immured in her
+cell-like chamber, and deprived of many of nature's choicest blessings,
+it appeared delightful. The fresh air, redolent of new-mown hay, fanned
+her pale cheek and feverish brow, and allayed her agitation and
+excitement. The perfect stillness, broken only by the lowing of the
+cattle in the adjoining pastures, by the drowsy hum of the dor-fly, or
+the rippling of the beck in the valley, further calmed her; and the
+soothing influence was completed by a contemplation of the serene
+heavens, wherein were seen the starry host, with the thin bright
+crescent of the new moon in the midst of them, diffusing a pearly light
+around her. One blot alone appeared in the otherwise smiling sky, and
+this was a great, ugly, black cloud lowering over the summit of Pendle
+Hill.</p>
+
+<p>Mistress Nutter noticed the portentous cloud, and noticed also its
+shadow on the hill, which might have been cast by the Fiend himself, so
+like was it to a demoniacal shape with outstretched wings; but, though
+shuddering at the idea it suggested, she would not suffer it to obtain
+possession of her mind, but resolutely fixed her attention on other and
+more pleasing objects.</p>
+
+<p>By this time they had reached the foot of the hill, and a gate admitted
+them to a road running by the side of Downham beck. Here they found the
+horses in charge of a man in the dark red livery of Nicholas Assheton,
+and who was no other than Tom Shaw, the rascally cock-master. Delivering
+the bridles to Crouch, the knave hastily strode away, but he lingered at
+a little distance to see the lady mount; and then leaping the hedge,
+struck through the plantation towards the hall, chinking the money in
+his pockets as he went, and thinking how cleverly he had earned it. But
+he did not go unpunished; for it is a satisfaction to record that, in
+walking through the woods, he was caught in a gin placed there by
+Crouch, which held him fast in its iron teeth till morning, when he was
+discovered by one of the under-keepers while going his rounds, in a
+deplorable condition, and lamed for life.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, unconscious either of the manner in which she had been
+betrayed, or of the punishment awaiting her betrayer, Mistress Nutter
+followed her conductor in silence. For a while the road continued by the
+side of the brook, and then quitting it, commenced a long and tedious
+ascent, running between high banks fringed with trees. The overhanging
+boughs rendered it so dark that Mistress Nutter could scarcely
+distinguish the old huntsman, though he was not many yards in advance of
+her, but she heard the tramp of his horse, and that was enough.</p>
+
+<p>All at once, where the boughs were thickest, and the road darkest, she
+perceived a small fiery object on the bank, and in her alarm called out
+to the huntsman, who, looking back for a moment, laughed, and told her
+not to be uneasy, for it was only a glow-worm. Ashamed of her idle fears
+she rode on, but had not proceeded far, when, looking again at the bank,
+she saw it studded with the same lights. This time she did not call out
+or scream, but gazed steadily at the twinkling fires, hoping to get the
+better of her fears. Her alarm, however, rose to absolute terror, as she
+beheld the glow-worms&mdash;if glow-worms they were&mdash;twist together and form
+themselves into a flaming brand, such as she had seen in her vision,
+grasped by the angel who had driven her from the gates of Paradise.</p>
+
+<p>Averting her gaze, she would have hastened on, but a hand suddenly laid
+upon her bridle, held back her horse; and she then perceived a tall dark
+man, mounted on a sable steed, riding beside her. The supernatural
+character of the horseman was manifest, inasmuch as no sound was caused
+by the tread of his steed, nor did he appear to be visible to Crouch
+when the latter looked back. Mistress Nutter maintained her seat with
+difficulty. She well knew who was her companion.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Soh, Alice Nutter,&quot; said the horseman at length, in a low deep tone,
+&quot;you have chosen to shut yourself up in a narrow cell, like a recluse,
+for more than two months, denying yourself all sort of enjoyment,
+practising severest abstinence, and passing your whole time in useless
+prayer&mdash;ay, useless, for if you were to pray from now till
+doomsday&mdash;come when it will, a thousand years hence, or to-morrow&mdash;it
+will not save you. When you signed that bond to my master, sentence was
+recorded against you, and no power can recall it. Why, then, these
+unavailing lamentations? Why utter prayers which are rejected, and
+supplications which are scorned? Shake off this weakness, Alice, and be
+yourself again. Once you had pride enough, and a little of it would now
+be of service to you. You would then see the folly of this abject
+conduct&mdash;humbling yourself to the dust only to be spurned, and suing for
+mercy only to be derided. Pray as loud and as long as you will, the ears
+of Heaven will remain ever deaf to you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I hope otherwise,&quot; rejoined the lady, meekly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not deceive yourself,&quot; replied the horseman. &quot;The term granted you
+by your compact will not be abridged, but it is your own fault if it be
+not extended. Your daughter is destroying herself in the vain hope of
+saving you. Her prayers are unavailing as your own, and recoil from the
+Judgment Throne unheard. The youth upon whom her affections are fixed is
+stricken with a deadly ailment. It is in your power to save them both.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Mistress Nutter groaned deeply.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is in your power, I say, to save them,&quot; continued the horseman, &quot;by
+returning to your allegiance to your master. He will forgive your
+disobedience if you prove yourself zealous in his service; will restore
+you to your former worldly position; avenge you of your enemies; and
+accomplish all you may desire with respect to your daughter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He cannot do it,&quot; replied Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Cannot!&quot; echoed the horseman. &quot;Try him! For many years I have served
+you as familiar; and you have never set me the task I have failed to
+execute. I am ready to become your servant again, and to offer you a yet
+larger range of control. Put no limits to your desires or ambition. If
+you are tired of this narrow sphere, take a wider. Look abroad. But do
+not shut yourself up in a narrow cell, and persuade yourself you are
+accomplishing your ultimate deliverance, when you are only wasting
+precious time, which might be more advantageously and far more agreeably
+employed. While laughing at your folly, my master deplores it; and he
+has, therefore, sent me as to one for whom notwithstanding all
+derelictions from duty, he has still a regard, with an offer of full
+forgiveness, provided you return to him at once, and renew your
+covenant, proving your sincerity by casting from you the book you hold
+under your arm.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your snares are not laid subtle enough to catch me,&quot; replied Mistress
+Nutter. &quot;I will never part with this holy volume, which is my present
+safeguard, and on which I build my hopes of salvation&mdash;hopes which your
+very proposals have revived in my breast; for I am well assured your
+master would not make them if he felt confident of his power over me.
+No; I defy him and you, and I command you in Heaven's name to get hence,
+and to tempt me no longer.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As the words were uttered, with a howl of rage and mortification, like
+the roar of a wild beast, the dark horseman and his steed vanished.
+Alarmed by the sound, Crouch stopped, and questioned the lady as to its
+cause; but receiving no satisfactory explanation from her, he bade her
+ride quickly on, affirming it must be the boggart of the clough.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after this they again came upon Downham beck, and were about to
+cross it, when their purpose was arrested by a joyous barking, and the
+next moment Grip came up. The dog, it appeared, had been shut up in the
+stable, his company not being desired on the expedition; but contriving
+in some way or other to get out, he had scented his master's course, and
+in the end overtaken him. Crouch did not know whether to be angry or
+pleased, and at first gave utterance to an oath, and raised his whip to
+chastise him, but almost instantly the latter feeling predominated, and
+he welcomed the faithful animal with a few kind words.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey suppose theaw thowt ey couldna do without thee, Grip,&quot; he said, &quot;and
+mayhap theaw'rt reet.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>They are now across the beck, and speeding over the wide brown waste.
+The huntsman warily shapes his course so as to avoid any
+limestone-quarries or turf-pits. He points out a jack-o'-lantern dancing
+merrily on the surface of a dangerous morass, and tells a dismal tale of
+a traveller lured into it by the delusive light, and swallowed up.</p>
+
+<p>Mistress Nutter pays little heed to him, but ever and anon looks back,
+as if in dread of some one behind her. But no one is visible, and she
+only sees the great black cloud still hovering over Pendle Hill.</p>
+
+<p>On&mdash;on&mdash;they go; their horses' hoofs now splashing through the wet sod,
+now beating upon the firm but elastic turf. A merry ride it would be if
+their errand were different, and their hearts free from care. The air is
+fresh and reviving, and the rapid motion exhilarating. The stars shine
+out, and the crescent moon is still glittering in the heavens, but the
+black cloud hangs motionless on Pendle Hill.</p>
+
+<p>Now and then some bird of night flies past them, and they hear the
+whooping of the owl, and see him skimming like a ghost over the waste.
+Then more fen fires arise, showing that other treacherous quagmires are
+at hand; but Crouch skirts them safely. Now the bull-frog croaks in the
+marsh, and a deep booming tells of a bittern passing by. They see the
+mighty bird above them, with his wide heavy wings and long neck. Grip
+howls at him, but is instantly checked by his master, and they gallop
+on.</p>
+
+<p>They are now by the side of Pendle Water, and within sight of Rough Lee.
+What tumultuous thoughts agitate the lady's breast! The ground she
+tramples on was once her own; the woods by the river side were planted
+by her; the mansion before her once owned her as mistress, and now she
+dares not approach it. Nor does she desire to do so, for the sight of it
+brings back terrible recollections, and fills her again with despair.</p>
+
+<p>They are now close upon it, and it appears dark, silent, and deserted.
+How different from what it was of yore in her husband's days&mdash;the
+husband she had foully slain! Speed on, old huntsman!&mdash;lash your panting
+horse, or the remorseful lady will far outstrip you, for she rides as if
+the avenging furies were at her heels.</p>
+
+<p>She is rattling over the bridge, and Crouch, toiling after her, and with
+Grip toiling after him, shouts to her to moderate her pace. She looks
+back, and beholds the grim old house frowning full upon her, and hurries
+on. Huntsman and dog are left behind for awhile, but the steep ascent
+soon compels her to slacken speed, and they come up, Crouch swearing
+lustily, and Grip, with his tongue out of his mouth, limping as if
+foot-sore.</p>
+
+<p>The road now leads through a thicket. The horses stumble frequently, for
+the stones are loose, and the footing consequently uncertain. Crouch has
+a fall, and ere he can remount the lady is gone. It is useless to hurry
+after her, and he is proceeding slowly, when Grip, who is a little in
+advance, growls fiercely, and looks back at his master, as if to
+intimate that danger is at hand. The huntsman presses on, but he is too
+late, if, indeed, he could at any time have rendered effectual
+assistance. A clearing in the thicket shows him the lady dismounted, and
+surrounded by several wild-looking men armed with calivers. Part of the
+band bear her shrieking off, and the rest fire at him, but without
+effect, and then chase him as far as the steepest part of the hill,
+down which he dashes, followed by Grip. Arrived at the bottom, he pauses
+to listen if he is pursued, and hearing nothing further to alarm him,
+debates with himself what is best to be done; and, not liking to alarm
+the village, for that would be to betray Mistress Nutter, he gets off
+his horse, ties him to a tree, and with Grip close at his heels,
+commences the ascent of the hill by a different road from that he had
+previously taken.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Mistress Nutter's captors dragged her forcibly towards the
+tower. Their arms and appearance left her no doubt they were
+depredators, and she sought to convince them she had neither money nor
+valuables in her possession. They laughed at her assertions, but made no
+other reply. Her sole consolation was, that they did not seek to deprive
+her of her Bible.</p>
+
+<p>On reaching the tower, a signal was given by one of the foremost of the
+band, and the steps being lowered from the high doorway, she was
+compelled to ascend them, and being pushed along a short passage,
+obscured by a piece of thick tapestry, but which was drawn aside as she
+advanced, she found herself in a circular chamber, in the midst of which
+was a massive table covered with flasks and drinking-cups, and stained
+with wine. From the roof, which was crossed by great black beams of oak,
+was suspended a lamp with three burners, whose light showed that the
+walls were garnished with petronels, rapiers, poniards, and other
+murderous weapons; besides these there were hung from pegs long
+riding-cloaks, sombreros, vizards, and other robber accoutrements,
+including a variety of disguises, from the clown's frieze jerkin to the
+gentleman's velvet doublet, ready to be assumed on an emergency. Here
+and there was an open valise, or a pair of saddle-bags with their
+contents strewn about the floor, and on a bench were a dice-box and
+shuffle-board, showing, with the flasks and goblets on the table, how
+the occupants of the tower passed their time.</p>
+
+<p>A steep ladder-like flight of steps led to the upper chamber, and down
+these, at the very moment of Mistress Nutter's entrance, descended a
+stalwart personage, who eyed her fiercely as he leapt upon the floor.
+There was something in the man's truculent physiognomy, and strange and
+oblique vision, that reminded her of Mother Demdike.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Welcome to Malkin Tower, madam,&quot; said the robber with a grin, and
+doffing his cap with affected courtesy. &quot;We have met before, but it is
+many years ago, and I dare say you have forgotten me. You will guess who
+I am when I tell you my mother occupied this tower before me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Finding Mistress Nutter made no remark, he went on.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am Christopher Demdike, madam&mdash;Captain Demdike, I should say. The
+brave fellows who have brought you hither are part of my band, and till
+lately Northumberland and the borders of Scotland used to be our scene
+of action; but chancing to hear of my worthy old mother's death, I
+thought we could not do better than take possession of her stronghold,
+which devolved upon me by right of inheritance. Since our arrival here
+we have kept ourselves very quiet, and the country folk, taking us for
+spirits or demons, never approach our hiding-place; while, as all our
+depredations are confined to distant parts, our retreat has never been
+suspected.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This concerns me little,&quot; observed Mistress Nutter, coldly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Pardon me, madam, it concerns you much, as you will learn anon. But be
+seated, I pray you,&quot; he said, with mock civility. &quot;I am keeping you
+standing all this while.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But as the lady declined the attention, he went on.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I was fortunate enough, on first coming back to this part of the
+country, to pick up an acquaintance with your relative, Nicholas
+Assheton, who invited me to stay with him at Downham, and was so well
+pleased with my society that he could not endure to part with me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Indeed!&quot; exclaimed Mistress Nutter, &quot;are you the person he called
+Lawrence Fogg?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The same,&quot; replied Demdike; &quot;and no doubt you would hear a good report
+of me, madam. Well, it suited my purpose to stay; for I was very
+hospitably entertained by the squire, who, except being rather too much
+addicted to lectures and psalm-singing, is as pleasant a host as one
+could desire; besides which, he was obliging enough to employ me to
+borrow money for him, and what I got, I kept, you may be sure.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I would willingly be spared the details of your knavery,&quot; said Mistress
+Nutter, somewhat impatiently.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am coming to an end,&quot; rejoined Demdike, &quot;and then, perhaps, you may
+wish I had prolonged them. All the squire's secrets were committed to
+me, and I was fully aware of your concealment in the hall, but I could
+never ascertain precisely where you were lodged. I meant to carry you
+off, and only awaited the opportunity which has presented itself
+to-night.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If you think to obtain money from me, you will find yourself mistaken,&quot;
+said Mistress Nutter. &quot;I have parted with all my possessions.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But to whom, madam?&quot; cried Demdike, with a sinister smile&mdash;&quot;to your
+daughter. And I am sure she is too gentle, too tender-hearted, to allow
+you to suffer when she can relieve you. You must get us a good round sum
+from her or you will be detained here long. The dungeons are dark and
+unwholesome, and my band are apt to be harsh in their treatment of
+captives. They have found in the vaults some instruments of torture
+belonging to old Blackburn, the freebooter, the efficacy of which in an
+obstinate case I fear they might be inclined to try. You now begin to
+see the drift of my discourse, madam, and understand the sort of men
+you have to deal with&mdash;barbarous fellows, madam&mdash;inhuman dogs!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And he laughed coarsely at his own jocularity.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It may put an end to this discussion,&quot; said Mistress Nutter firmly, &quot;if
+I declare that no torture shall induce me to make any such demand from
+my daughter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You think, perhaps, I am jesting with you, madam,&quot; rejoined Demdike.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! no, I believe you capable of any atrocity,&quot; replied the lady. &quot;You
+do not, either in feature or deeds, belie your parentage.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah! say you so, madam?&quot; cried Demdike. &quot;You have a sharp tongue, I
+find. Courtesy is thrown away upon you. What, ho! lads&mdash;Kenyon and
+Lowton, take the lady down to the vaults, and there let her have an hour
+for solitary reflection. She may change her mind in that time.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not think it,&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, resolutely.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If you continue obstinate, we will find means to move you,&quot; rejoined
+Demdike, in a taunting tone. &quot;But what has she got beneath her arm? Give
+me the book. What's this?&mdash;a Bible! A witch with a Bible! It should be a
+grimoire. Ha! ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Give it me back, I implore of you,&quot; shrieked the lady. &quot;I shall be
+destroyed, soul and body, if I have it not with me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What! you are afraid the devil may carry you off without it&mdash;ho! ho!&quot;
+roared Demdike. &quot;Well, that would not suit my purpose at present. Here,
+take it&mdash;and now off with her, lads, without more ado!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as he spoke, a trapdoor was opened by one of the robbers, disclosing
+a flight of steps leading to the subterranean chambers, down which the
+miserable lady was dragged.</p>
+
+<p>Presently the two men re-appeared with a grim smile on their ruffianly
+countenances, and, as they closed the trapdoor, one of them observed to
+the captain that they had chained her to a pillar, by removing the band
+from the great skeleton, and passing it round her body.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have done well, lads,&quot; replied Demdike, approvingly; &quot;and now go
+all of you and scour the hill-top, and return in an hour, and we will
+decide upon what is to be done with this woman.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The two men then joined the rest of their comrades outside, and the
+whole troop descended the steps, which were afterwards drawn up by
+Demdike. This done, the robber captain returned to the circular chamber,
+and for some time paced to and fro, revolving his dark schemes. He then
+paused, and placing his ear near the trapdoor, listened, but as no sound
+reached him, he sat down at the table, and soon grew so much absorbed as
+to be unconscious that a dark figure was creeping stealthily down the
+narrow staircase behind him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I cannot get rid of Nicholas Assheton,&quot; he exclaimed at length. &quot;I
+somehow fancy we shall meet again; and yet all should be over with him
+by this time.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Look round!&quot; thundered a voice behind him. &quot;Nicholas Assheton is not to
+be got rid of so easily.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>At this unexpected summons, Demdike started to his feet, and recoiled
+aghast, as he saw what he took to be the ghost of the murdered squire
+standing before him. A second look, however, convinced him that it was
+no phantom he beheld, but a living man, armed for vengeance, and
+determined upon it.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Get a weapon, villain,&quot; cried Nicholas, in tones of concentrated fury.
+&quot;I do not wish to take unfair advantage, even of thee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Without a word of reply, Demdike snatched a sword from the wall, and the
+next moment was engaged in deadly strife with the squire. They were well
+matched, for both were powerful men, both expert in the use of their
+weapons, and the combat might have been protracted and of doubtful issue
+but for the irresistible fury of Nicholas, who assaulted his adversary
+with such vigour and determination that he speedily drove him against
+the wall, where the latter made an attempt to seize a petronel hanging
+beside him, but his purpose being divined, he received a thrust through
+the arm, and, dropping his blade, lay at the squire's mercy.</p>
+
+<p>Nicholas shortened his sword, but forbore to strike. Seizing his enemy
+by the throat, he hurled him to the ground, and, planting his knee on
+his chest, called out, &quot;What, ho, Nance!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nance!&quot; exclaimed Demdike,&mdash;&quot;then it was that mischievous jade who
+brought you here.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay,&quot; replied the squire, as the young woman came quickly down the
+steps,&mdash;&quot;and I refused her aid in the conflict because I felt certain of
+mastering thee, and because I would not take odds even against such a
+treacherous villain as thou art.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Better dispatch him, squire,&quot; said Nance; &quot;he may do yo a mischief
+yet.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No&mdash;no,&quot; replied Nicholas, &quot;he is unworthy of a gentleman's sword.
+Besides, I have sworn to hang him, and I will keep my word. Go down into
+the vaults and liberate Mistress Nutter, while I bind him, for we must
+take him with us. To-morrow, he shall lie in Lancaster Castle with his
+kinsfolk.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That remains to be seen,&quot; muttered Demdike.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Be on your guard, squire,&quot; cried Nance, as she lifted a small lamp, and
+raised the trapdoor.</p>
+
+<p>With this caution, she descended to the vaults, while Nicholas looked
+about for a thong, and perceiving a rope dangling down the wall near
+him, he seized it, drawing it with some force towards him.</p>
+
+<p>A sudden sound reached his ears&mdash;clang! clang! He had rung the
+alarm-bell violently.</p>
+
+<p>Clang! clang! clang! Would it never stop?</p>
+
+<p>Taking advantage of his surprise and consternation, Demdike got from
+under him, sprang to his feet, and rushing to the doorway, instantly let
+fall the steps, roaring out,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Treason! to the rescue, my men! to the rescue!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>His cries were immediately answered from without, and it was evident
+from the tumult that the whole of the band were hurrying to his
+assistance.</p>
+
+<p>Not a moment was to be lost by the squire. Plunging through the
+trapdoor, he closed it after him, and bolted it underneath at the very
+moment the robbers entered the chamber. Demdike's rage at finding him
+gone was increased, when all the combined efforts of his men failed in
+forcing open the trapdoor.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Take hatchets and hew it open!&quot; he cried; &quot;we must have them. I have
+heard there is a secret outlet below, and though I have never been able
+to discover it, it may be known to Nance. I will go outside, and watch.
+If you hear me whistle, come forth instantly.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And, rushing forth, he was making the circuit, of the tower, and
+examining some bushes at its base, when his throat was suddenly seized
+by a dog, and before he could even utter an exclamation, much less sound
+his whistle, or use his arms, he was grappled by the old huntsman, and
+dragged off to a considerable distance, the dog still clinging to his
+throat.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Nicholas had hurried down into the vaults, where he found
+Nance sustaining Mistress Nutter, who was half fainting, and hastily
+explaining what had occurred, she consigned the lady to him, and then
+led the way through the central range of pillars, and past the ebon
+image, until she approached the wall, when, holding up the lamp, she
+revealed a black marble slab between the statues of Blackburn and Isole.
+Pressing against it, the slab moved on one side, and disclosed a flight
+of steps.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Go up there,&quot; cried Nance to the squire, &quot;and when ye get to th' top,
+yo'n find another stoan, wi' a nob in it. Yo canna miss it. Go on.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But you!&quot; cried the squire. &quot;Will you not come with us?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'n come presently,&quot; replied Nance, with a strange smile. &quot;Ey ha
+summat to do first. That cunning fox Demdike has set a trap fo' himsel
+an aw his followers,&mdash;and it's fo' me to ketch 'em. Wait fo' me about a
+hundert yorts fro' th' tower. Nah nearer&mdash;yo onderstand?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Nicholas did not very clearly understand, but concluding Nance had some
+hidden meaning in what she said, he resolved unhesitatingly to obey her.
+Having got clear of the tower, as directed, with Mistress Nutter, he ran
+on with her to some distance, when what was his surprise to find Crouch
+and Grip keeping watch over the prostrate robber chief. A few words from
+the huntsman sufficed to explain how this had come about, but they were
+scarcely uttered when Nance rushed up in breathless haste, crying
+out&mdash;&quot;Off! further off! as yo value your lives!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Seeing from her manner that delay would be dangerous, Nicholas and
+Crouch laid hold of the prisoner and bore him away between them, while
+Nance assisted Mistress Nutter along.</p>
+
+<p>They had not gone far when a rumbling sound like that preceding an
+earthquake was heard.</p>
+
+<p>All looked back towards Malkin Tower. The structure was seen to
+rock&mdash;flames burst from the earth&mdash;and with a tremendous explosion heard
+for miles ground, and which shook the ground even where Nicholas and the
+others stood, the whole of the unhallowed fabric, from base to summit,
+was blown into the air, some of the stones being projected to an
+extraordinary distance.</p>
+
+<p>A mine charged with gunpowder, it appeared, had been laid beneath its
+vaults by Demdike, with a view to its destruction at some future period,
+and this circumstance being known to Nance, she had fired the train.</p>
+
+<p>Not one of the robbers within the tower escaped. The bodies of all were
+found next day, crushed, burned, or frightfully mutilated.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI_HOGHTON_TOWER" id="CHAPTER_VI_HOGHTON_TOWER" />CHAPTER VI.&mdash;HOGHTON TOWER</h2>
+
+
+<p>About a month after the occurrence last described, and early on a fine
+morning in August, Nicholas Assheton and Richard Sherborne rode forth
+together from the proud town of Preston. Both were gaily attired in
+doublets and hose of yellow velvet, slashed with white silk, with
+mantles to match, the latter being somewhat conspicuously embroidered on
+the shoulder with a wild bull worked in gold, and underneath it the
+motto, &quot;<i>Malgr&eacute; le Tort</i>.&quot; Followed at a respectful distance by four
+mounted attendants, the two gentlemen had crossed the bridge over the
+Ribble, and were wending their way along the banks of a tributary
+stream, the Darwen, within a short distance of the charming village of
+Walton-le-Dale, when they perceived a horseman advancing slowly towards
+them, whom they instantly hailed as Richard Assheton, and pushing
+forward, were soon beside him. Both were much shocked by the young man's
+haggard looks, and inquired anxiously as to his health, but Richard bade
+them, with a melancholy smile, not be uneasy, for all would be well with
+him erelong.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;All will be over with you, lad, if you don't mind; and that's, perhaps,
+what you mean,&quot; replied Nicholas; &quot;but as soon as the royal festivities
+at Hoghton are over, I'll set about your cure; and, what's more, I'll
+accomplish it&mdash;for I know where the seat of the disease lies better than
+Dr. Morphew, your family physician at Middleton. 'Tis near the heart,
+Dick&mdash;near the heart. Ha! I see I have touched you, lad. But, beshrew
+me, you are very strangely attired&mdash;in a suit of sable velvet, with a
+black Spanish hat and feather, for a festival! You look as if going to a
+funeral I am fearful his Majesty may take it amiss. Why not wear the
+livery of our house?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, if it comes to that,&quot; rejoined Richard, &quot;why do not you and
+Sherborne wear it, instead of flaunting like daws in borrowed plumage? I
+scarce know you in your strange garb, and certainly should not take you
+for an Assheton, or aught pertaining to our family, from your gaudy
+colours and the strange badge on your shoulder.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I don't wonder at it, Dick,&quot; said Nicholas; &quot;I scarce know myself; and
+though the clothes I wear are well made enough, they seem to sit
+awkwardly on me, and trouble me as much as the shirt of Nessus did
+Hercules of old. For the nonce I am Sir Richard Hoghton's retainer. I
+must own I was angry with myself when I saw Sir Ralph Assheton with his
+long train of gentlemen, all in murrey-coloured cloaks and doublets, at
+Myerscough Lodge, while I, his cousin, was habited like one of another
+house. And when I would have excused my apparent defection to Sir Ralph,
+he answered coldly, 'It was better as it was, for he could scarcely have
+found room for me among his friends.'&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do not fret yourself, Nicholas,&quot; rejoined Sherborne; &quot;Sir Ralph cannot
+reasonably take offence at a mere piece of good-nature on your part. But
+this does not explain why Richard affects a colour so sombre.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am the retainer of one whose livery is sombre,&quot; replied the young
+man, with a ghastly smile. &quot;But enough of this,&quot; he added, endeavouring
+to assume a livelier air; &quot;I suppose you are on the way to Hoghton
+Tower. I thought to reach Preston before you were up, but I might have
+recollected you are no lag-a-bed, Nicholas, not even after hard drinking
+overnight, as witness your feats at Whalley. To be frank with you, I
+feared being led into like excesses, and so preferred passing the night
+at the quiet little inn at Walton-le-Dale, to coming on to you at the
+Castle at Preston, which I knew would be full of noisy roysterers.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Full it was, even to overflowing,&quot; replied the squire; &quot;but you should
+have come, Dick, for, by my troth! we had a right merry night of it.
+Stephen Hamerton, of Hellyfield Peel, with his wife, and her sister,
+sweet Mistress Doll Lister, supped with us; and we had music, dancing,
+and singing, and abundance of good cheer. Nouns! Dick, Doll Lister is a
+delightful lass, and if you can only get Alizon out of your head, would
+be just the wife for you. She sings like an angel, has the most
+captivating sigh-and-die-away manner, and the prettiest rounded figure
+ever bodice kept in. Were I in your place I should know where to
+choose. But you will see her at Hoghton to-day, for she is to be at the
+banquet and masque.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your description does not tempt me,&quot; said Richard; &quot;I have no taste for
+sigh-and-die-away damsels. Dorothy Lister, however, is accounted fair
+enough; but, were she fascinating as Venus herself, in my present mood I
+should not regard her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I' faith, lad, I pity you, if such be the case,&quot; shrugging his
+shoulders, more in contempt than compassion.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Waste not your sympathy upon me,&quot; replied Richard; &quot;but, tell me, how
+went the show at Preston yesterday?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Excellently well, and much to his Majesty's satisfaction,&quot; answered the
+squire. &quot;Proud Preston never was so proud before, and never with such
+good reason; for if the people be poor, according to the proverb, they
+take good care to hide their poverty. Bombards were fired from the
+bridge, and the church bells rang loud enough to crack the steeple, and
+bring it down about the ears of the deafened lieges. The houses were
+hung with carpets and arras; the streets strewn ankle deep with sand and
+sawdust; the cross in the market-place was bedecked with garlands of
+flowers like a May-pole; and the conduit near it ran wine. At noon there
+was more firing; and, amidst flourishes of trumpets, rolling of drums,
+squeaking of fifes, and prodigious shouting, bonnie King Jamie came to
+the cross, where a speech was made him by Master Breares, the Recorder;
+after which the corporation presented his Majesty with a huge silver
+bowl, in token of their love and loyalty. The King seemed highly pleased
+with the gift, and observed to the Duke of Buckingham, loud enough to be
+heard by the bystanders, who reported his speech to me, 'God's santie!
+it's a braw bicker, Steenie, and might serve for a christening-cup, if
+we had need of siccan a vessel, which, Heaven be praised, we ha'e na!'
+After this there was a grand banquet in the town-hall; and when the heat
+of the day was over the King left with his train for Hoghton Tower,
+visiting the alum mines on the way thither. We are bidden to breakfast
+by Sir Richard, so we must push on, Dick, for his Majesty is an early
+riser, like myself. We are to have rare sport to-day. Hunting in the
+morning, a banquet, and, as I have already intimated, a masque at night,
+in which Sir George Goring and Sir John Finett will play, and in which I
+have been solicited to take the drolling part of Jem Tospot&mdash;nay, laugh
+not, Dick, Sherborne says I shall play it to the life&mdash;as well as to
+find some mirthful dame to enact the companion part of Doll Wango. I
+have spoken with two or three on the subject, and fancy one of them will
+oblige me. There is another matter on which I am engaged. I am to
+present a petition to his Majesty from a great number of the lower
+orders in this county, praying they may be allowed to take their
+diversions, as of old accustomed, after divine service on Sundays; and,
+though I am the last man to desire any violation of the Sabbath, being
+somewhat puritanically inclined as they now phrase it, yet I cannot
+think any harm can ensue from lawful recreation and honest exercise.
+Still, I would any one were chosen to present the petition rather than
+myself.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Have no misgivings on the subject,&quot; said Richard, &quot;but urge the matter
+strongly; and if you need support, I will give you all I can, for I feel
+we are best observing the divine mandate by making the Sabbath a day of
+rest, and observing it cheerfully. And this, I apprehend, is the
+substance of your petition?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The whole sum and substance,&quot; replied Nicholas; &quot;and I have reason to
+believe his Majesty's wishes are in accordance with it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;They are known to be so,&quot; said Sherborne.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am glad to hear it,&quot; cried Richard. &quot;God save King James, the friend
+of the people!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, God save King James!&quot; echoed Nicholas; &quot;and if he I grant this
+petition he will prove himself their friend, for he will I have all the
+clergy against him, and will be preached against from half the pulpits
+in the kingdom.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Little harm will ensue if it should be so,&quot; replied Richard; &quot;for he
+will be cheered and protected by the prayers of a grateful and happy
+people.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>They then rode on for a few minutes in silence, after which; Richard
+inquired&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You had brave doings at Myerscough Lodge, I suppose, Nicholas?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, marry had we,&quot; answered the squire, &quot;and the feasting must have
+cost Ned Tyldesley a pretty penny. Besides the King and his own
+particular attendants, there were some dozen noblemen and their
+followers, including the Duke of Buckingham, who moves about like a king
+himself, and I know not how many knights and gentlemen. Sherborne and I
+rode over from Dunnow, and reached the forest immediately after the King
+had entered it in his coach; so we took a short cut through the woods,
+and came up just in time to join Sir Richard Hoghton's train as he was
+riding up to his Majesty. Fancy a wide glade, down which a great gilded
+coach is slowly moving, drawn by eight horses, and followed by a host of
+noblemen and gentlemen in splendid apparel, their esquires and pages
+equally richly arrayed, and equally well mounted; and, after these,
+numerous falconers, huntsmen, prickers, foresters, and yeomen, with
+staghounds in leash, and hawk on fist, all ready for the sport. Fancy
+all this if you can, Dick, and then conceive what a brave sight it must
+have been. Well, as I said, we came up in the very nick of time, for
+presently the royal coach stopped, and Sir Richard Hoghton, calling all
+his gentlemen around him, and bidding us dismount, and we followed him,
+and drew up, bareheaded, before the King, while Sir Richard pointed out
+to his Majesty the boundaries of the royal forest, and told him he
+would find it as well stocked with deer as any in his kingdom. Before
+putting an end to the conference, the King complimented the worthy
+Knight on the gallant appearance of his train, and on learning we were
+all gentlemen, graciously signified his pleasure that some of us should
+be presented to him. Amongst others, I was brought forward by Sir
+Richard, and liking my looks, I suppose, the King was condescending
+enough to enter into conversation with me; and as his discourse chiefly
+turned on sporting matters, I was at home with him at once, and he
+presently grew so familiar with me, that I almost forgot the presence in
+which I stood. However, his Majesty seemed in no way offended by my
+freedom, but, on the contrary, clapped me on the shoulder, and said,
+'Maister Assheton, for a country gentleman, you're weel-mannered and
+weel-informed, and I shall be glad to see more of you while I stay in
+these parts.' After this, the good-natured monarch mounted his horse,
+and the hunting began, and a famous day's work we made of it, his
+Majesty killing no fewer than five fine bucks with his own hand.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are clearly on the road to preferment, Nicholas,&quot; observed Richard,
+with a smile. &quot;You will outstrip Buckingham himself, if you go on in
+this way.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;So I tell him,&quot; observed Sherborne, laughing; &quot;and, by my faith! young
+Sir Gilbert Hoghton, who, owing to his connexion by marriage with
+Buckingham, is a greater man than his father, Sir Richard, looked quite
+jealous; for the King more than once called out to Nicholas in the
+chase, and took the wood-knife from him when he broke up the last deer,
+which is accounted a mark of especial favour.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, gentlemen,&quot; said the squire, &quot;I shall not stand in my own light,
+depend upon it; and, if I should bask in court-sunshine, you shall
+partake of the rays. If I do become master of the household, in lieu of
+the Duke of Richmond, or master of the horse and cupbearer to his
+Majesty, in place of his Grace of Buckingham, I will not forget you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We are greatly indebted to you, my Lord Marquess of Downham and Duke of
+Pendle Hill, that is to be,&quot; rejoined Sherborne, taking off his cap with
+mock reverence; &quot;and perhaps, for the sake of your sweet sister and my
+spouse, Dorothy, you will make interest to have me appointed gentleman
+of the bedchamber?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Doubt it not&mdash;doubt it not,&quot; replied Nicholas, in a patronising tone.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My ambition soars higher than yours, Sherborne,&quot; said Richard; &quot;I must
+be lord-keeper of the privy seal, or nothing.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! what you will, gentlemen, what you will!&quot; cried Nicholas; &quot;you can
+ask me nothing I will not grant&mdash;always provided I have the means.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>A turn in the road now showed them Hoghton Tower, crowning the summit
+of an isolated and conical hill, about two miles off. Rising proudly in
+the midst of a fair and fertile plain, watered by the Ribble and the
+Darwen, the stately edifice seemed to command the whole country. And so
+King James thought, as, from the window of his chamber, he looked down
+upon the magnificent prospect around him, comprehending on the one hand
+the vast forests of Myerscough and Bowland, stretching as far as the
+fells near Lancaster; and, on the other, an open but still undulating
+country, beautifully diversified with wood and water, well-peopled and
+well-cultivated, green with luxuriant pastures, yellow with golden
+grain, or embowered with orchards, boasting many villages and small
+towns, as well as two lovely rivers, which, combining their currents at
+Walton-le-Dale, gradually expanded till they neared the sea, which could
+be seen gleaming through openings in the distant hills. As the King
+surveyed this fair scene, and thought how strong was the position of the
+mansion, situated as it was upon high cliffs springing abruptly from the
+Darwen, and how favourably circumstanced, with its forests and park, for
+the enjoyment of the chase, of which he was passionately fond, how
+capable of defence, and how well adapted for a hunting-seat, he sighed
+to think it did not belong to the crown. Nor was he wrong in his
+estimate of its strength, for in after years, during the civil wars, it
+held out stoutly against the parliamentary forces, and was only reduced
+at last by treachery, when part of its gate-tower was blown up,
+destroying an officer and two hundred men, &quot;in that blast most wofully.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Though the hour was so early, the road was already thronged, not only
+with horsemen and pedestrians of every degree from Preston, but with
+rude lumbering vehicles from the neighbouring villages of Plessington,
+Brockholes and Cuerden, driven by farmers, who, with their buxom dames
+and cherry-cheeked daughters, decked out in holiday finery, hoped to
+gain admittance to Hoghton Tower, or, at all events, obtain a peep of
+the King as he rode out to hunt. Most of these were saluted by Nicholas,
+who scrupled not to promise them admission to the outer court of the
+Tower, and even went so far as to offer some of the comelier damsels a
+presentation to the King. Occasionally, the road was enlivened by
+strains of music from a band of minstrels, by a song or a chorus from
+others, or by the gamesome tricks of a party of mummers. At one place, a
+couple of tumblers and a clown were performing their feats on a cloth
+stretched on the grass beneath a tree. Here the crowd collected for a
+few minutes, but presently gave way to loud shouts, attended by the
+cracking of whips, proceeding from two grooms in the yellow and white
+livery of Sir Richard Hoghton, who headed some half-dozen carts filled
+with provisions, carcases of sheep and oxen, turkeys and geese, pullets
+and capons, fish, bread, and vegetables, all bent for Hoghton Tower;
+for though Sir Richard had made vast preparations for his guests, he
+found his supplies, great as they were, wholly inadequate to their
+wants. Cracking their whips in answer to the shouts with which they were
+greeted, the purveyors galloped on, many a hungry wight looking
+wistfully after them.</p>
+
+<p>Nicholas and his companions were now at the entrance to Hoghton Park,
+through which the Darwen coursed, after washing the base of the rocky
+heights on which the mansion was situated. Here four yeomen of the
+guard, armed with halberts, and an officer, were stationed, and no one
+was admitted without an order from Sir Richard Hoghton. Possessing a
+pass, the squire and his companions with their attendants were, of
+course, allowed to enter; but the throng accompanying them were sent
+over the bridge, and along a devious road skirting the park, which,
+though it went more than a mile round, eventually brought them to their
+destination.</p>
+
+<p>Hoghton Park, though not very extensive, boasted a great deal of
+magnificent timber, and in some places was so thickly wooded, that,
+according to Dr. Kuerden, &quot;a man passing through it could scarcely have
+seen the sun shine at middle of day.&quot; Into one of these tenebrous groves
+the horsemen now plunged, and for some moments were buried in the gloom
+produced by matted and overhanging boughs. Issuing once more into the
+warm sunshine, they traversed a long and beautiful silvan glade, skirted
+by ancient oaks, with mighty arms and gnarled limbs&mdash;the patriarchs of
+the forest. In the open ground on the left were scattered a few
+ash-trees, and beneath them browsed a herd of fallow deer; while
+crossing the lower end of the glade was a large herd of red deer, for
+which the park was famous, the hinds tripping nimbly and timidly away,
+but the lordly stags, with their branching antlers, standing for a
+moment at gaze, and disdainfully regarding the intruders on their
+domain. Little did they think how soon and severely their courage would
+be tried, or how soon the <i>mort</i> would be sounded for their <i>pryse</i> by
+the huntsman. But if, happily for themselves, the poor leathern-coated
+fools could not foresee their doom, it was not equally hidden from
+Nicholas, who predicted what would ensue, and pointed out one noble hart
+which he thought worthy to die by the King's own hand. As if he
+understood him, the stately beast tossed his antlered head aloft, and
+plunged into the adjoining thicket; but the squire noted the spot where
+he had disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>The glade led them into the chase, a glorious hunting-ground of about
+two miles in circumference, surrounded by an amphitheatre of wood, and
+studded by noble forest trees. Variety and beauty were lent to it by an
+occasional knoll crowned with timber, or by numerous ferny dells and
+dingles. As the horsemen entered upon the chase, they observed at a
+short distance from them a herd of the beautiful, but fierce wild
+cattle, originally from Bowland Forest, and still preserved in the park.
+White and spangled in colour, with short sharp horns, fine eyes, and
+small shapely limbs, these animals were of untameable fierceness,
+possessed of great cunning, and ever ready to assault any one who
+approached them. They would often attack a solitary individual, gore
+him, and trample him to death. Consequently, they were far more dreaded
+than the wild-boars, with which, as with every other sort of game, the
+neighbouring woods were plentifully stocked. Well aware of the danger
+they ran, the party watched the herd narrowly and distrustfully, and
+would have galloped on; but this would only have provoked pursuit, and
+the wild cattle were swifter than any horses. Suddenly, a milkwhite bull
+trotted out from the rest of the herd, bellowing fiercely, lashing his
+sides with his tail, and lowering his head to the ground, as if
+meditating an attack. His example was speedily followed by the others,
+and the whole herd began to beat ground and roar loudly. Much alarmed by
+these hostile manifestations, the party were debating whether to stand
+the onset, or trust to the fleetness of their steeds for safety; when
+just as the whole herd, with tails erect and dilated nostrils, were
+galloping towards them, assistance appeared in the persons of some ten
+or a dozen mounted prickers, who, armed with long poles pointed with
+iron, issued with loud shouts from an avenue opening upon the chase. At
+sight of them, the whole herd wheeled round and fled, but were pursued
+by the prickers till they were driven into the depths of the furthest
+thicket. Six of the prickers remained watching over them during the day,
+in order that the royal hunting-party might not be disturbed, and the
+woods echoed with the bellowing of the angry brutes.</p>
+
+<p>While this was going forward, the squire and his companions,
+congratulating themselves on their narrow escape, galloped off, and
+entered the long avenue of sycamores, from which the prickers had
+emerged.</p>
+
+<p>At the head of a steep ascent, partly hewn out of the rock, and partly
+skirted by venerable and majestic trees, forming a continuation of the
+avenue, rose the embattled gate-tower of the proud edifice they were
+approaching, and which now held the monarch of the land, and the highest
+and noblest of his court as guests within its halls. From the top of the
+central tower of the gateway floated the royal banner, while at the very
+moment the party reached the foot of the hill, they were saluted by a
+loud peal of ordnance discharged from the side-towers, proclaiming that
+the King had arisen; and, as the smoke from the culverins wreathed round
+the standard, a flourish of trumpets was blown from the walls, and
+martial music resounded from the court.</p>
+
+<p>Roused by these stirring sounds, Nicholas spurred his horse up the rocky
+ascent; and followed closely by his companions, who were both nearly as
+much excited as himself, speedily gained the great gateway&mdash;a massive
+and majestic structure, occupying the centre of the western front of the
+mansion, and consisting of three towers of great strength and beauty,
+the mid-tower far overtopping the other two, as in the arms of Old
+Castile, and sustaining, as was its right, the royal standard. On the
+platform stood the trumpeters with their silk-fringed clarions, and the
+iron mouths of the culverins, which had been recently discharged,
+protruded through the battlements. The arms and motto of the Hoghtons,
+carved in stone, were placed upon the gateway, with the letters T.H.,
+the initials of the founder of the tower. Immediately above the arched
+entrance was the sculptured figure of a knight slaying a dragon.</p>
+
+<p>In front of the gateway a large crowd of persons were assembled,
+consisting of the inferior gentry of the neighbourhood, with their
+wives, daughters, and servants, clergymen, attorneys, chirurgeons,
+farmers, and tradesmen of all kind from the adjoining towns of
+Blackburn, Preston, Chorley, Haslingden, Garstang, and even Lancaster.
+Representatives in some sort or other of almost every town and village
+in the county might be found amongst the motley assemblage, which, early
+as it was, numbered several hundreds, many of those from the more
+distant places having quitted their homes soon after midnight.
+Admittance was naturally sought by all; but here the same rule was
+observed as at the park gate, and no one was allowed to enter, even the
+base court, without authority from the lord of the mansion. The great
+gates were closed, and two files of halberdiers were drawn up under the
+deep archway, to keep the passage clear, and quell disturbance in case
+any should occur; while a gigantic porter, stationed in front of the
+wicket, rigorously scrutinised the passes. These precautions naturally
+produced delay; and, though many of the better part of the crowd were
+entitled to admission, it was not without much pushing and squeezing,
+and considerable detriment to their gay apparel, that they were enabled
+to effect their object.</p>
+
+<p>The comfort of those outside the walls had not, however, been altogether
+neglected by Sir Richard Hoghton, for sheds were reared under the trees,
+where stout March beer, together with cheese and bread, or oaten cakes
+and butter, were freely distributed to all applicants; so that, if some
+were disappointed, few were discontented, especially when told that the
+gates would be thrown open at noon, when, during the time the King and
+the nobles feasted in the great banquet-hall, they might partake of a
+wild bull from the park, slaughtered expressly for the occasion, which
+was now being roasted whole within the base court. That the latter was
+no idle promise they had the assurance of thick smoke rising above the
+walls, laden with the scent of roast meat, and, moreover, they could see
+through the wicket a great fire blazing and crackling on the green,
+with a huge carcass on an immense spit before it, and a couple of
+turn-broaches basting it.</p>
+
+<p>As Nicholas and his companions forced their way through this crowd,
+which was momently receiving additions as fresh arrivals took place, the
+squire recognised many old acquaintances, and was nodding familiarly
+right and left, when he encountered a woman's eye fixed keenly upon him,
+and to his surprise beheld Nance Redferne. Nance, who had lost none of
+her good looks, was very gaily attired, with her fine chestnut hair
+knotted with ribbons, her stomacher similarly adorned, and her red
+petticoat looped up, so as to display an exceedingly trim ankle and
+small foot; and, under other circumstances, Nicholas might not have
+minded staying to chat with her, but just now it was out of the
+question, and he hastily turned his head another way. As ill luck,
+however, would have it, a stoppage occurred at the moment, during which
+Nance forced her way up to him, and, taking hold of his arm, said in a
+low tone&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo mun tae me in wi' ye, squoire.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Take you in with me&mdash;impossible!&quot; cried Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nah! it's neaw impossible,&quot; rejoined Nance, pertinaciously; &quot;yo con do
+it, an yo shan. Yo owe me a good turn, and mun repay it now.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But why the devil do you want to go in?&quot; cried Nicholas, impatiently.
+&quot;You know the King is the sworn enemy of all witches, and, amongst this
+concourse, some one is sure to recognise you and betray you. I cannot
+answer for your safety if I do take you in. In my opinion, you were
+extremely unwise to venture here at all.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ne'er heed my wisdom or my folly, boh do as ey bid yo, or yo'n repent
+it,&quot; said Nance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why, you can get in without my aid,&quot; observed the squire, trying to
+laugh it off. &quot;You can easily fly over the walls.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey ha' left my broomstick a-whoam,&quot; replied Nance&mdash;&quot;boh no more
+jesting. Win yo do it?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, well, I suppose I must,&quot; replied Nicholas, &quot;but I wash my hands
+of the consequences. If ill comes of it, I am not to blame. You must go
+in as Doll Wango&mdash;that is, as a character in the masque to be enacted
+to-night&mdash;d'ye mark?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Nance signified that she perfectly understood him.</p>
+
+<p>The whole of this hurried discourse, conducted in an under-tone, passed
+unheard and unnoticed by the bystanders. Just then, an opening took
+place amid the crowd, and the squire pushed through it, hoping to get
+rid of his companion, but he hoped in vain, for, clinging to his saddle,
+she went on along with him.</p>
+
+<p>They were soon under the deep groined and ribbed arch of the gate, and
+Nance would have been here turned back by the foremost halberdier, if
+Nicholas had not signified somewhat hastily that she belonged to his
+party. The man smiled, and offered no further opposition; and the
+gigantic porter next advancing, Nicholas exhibited his pass to him,
+which appearing sufficiently comprehensive to procure admission for
+Richard and Sherborne, they instantly availed themselves of the licence,
+while the squire fumbled in his doublet for a further order for Nance.
+At last he produced it, and after reading it, the gigantic warder
+exclaimed, with a smile illumining his broad features&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah! I see;&mdash;this is an order from his worship, Sir Richard, to admit a
+certain woman, who is to enact Doll Wango in the masque. This is she, I
+suppose?&quot; he added, looking at Nance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, ay!&quot; replied the squire.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A comely wench, by the mass!&quot; exclaimed the porter. &quot;Open the gate.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No&mdash;not yet&mdash;not yet, good porter, till my claim be adjusted,&quot; cried
+another woman, pushing forward, quite as young and comely as Nance, and
+equally gaily dressed. &quot;I am the real Doll Wango, though I be generally
+known as Dame Tetlow. The squire engaged me to play the part before the
+King, and now this saucy hussy has taken my place. But I'll have my
+rights, that I will.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Odd's heart! two Doll Wangos!&quot; exclaimed the porter, opening his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Two!&mdash;Nay, beleedy! boh there be three!&quot; exclaimed an immensely tall,
+stoutly proportioned woman, stepping up, to the increased confusion of
+the squire, and the infinite merriment of the bystanders, whose laughter
+had been already excited by the previous part of the scene. &quot;Didna yo
+tell me at Myerscough to come here, squire, an ey, Bess Baldwyn, should
+play Doll Wango to your Jem Tospot?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Play the devil! for that's what you all seem bent upon doing,&quot;
+exclaimed the squire, impatiently. &quot;Away with you! I can have nothing to
+say to you!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You gave me the same promise at the Castle at Preston last night,&quot; said
+Dame Tetlow.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I had been drinking, and knew not what I said,&quot; rejoined Nicholas,
+angrily.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Boh yo promised me a few minutes ago, an yo're sober enough now,&quot; cried
+Nance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey dunna knoa that,&quot; rejoined Dame Baldwyn, looking reproachfully at
+him. &quot;Boh what ey dun knoa is, that nother o' these squemous queans shan
+ge in efore me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And she looked menacingly at them, as if determined to oppose their
+ingress, much to the alarm of the timorous Dame Tetlow, though Nance
+returned her angry glances unmoved.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;For Heaven's sake, my good fellow, let them all three in!&quot; said
+Nicholas, in a low tone to the porter, at the same time slipping a gold
+piece into his hand, &quot;or there's no saying what may be the consequence,
+for they're three infernal viragos. I'll take the responsibility of
+their admittance upon myself with Sir Richard.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, as your worship says, I don't like to see quarrelling amongst
+women,&quot; returned the porter, in a bland tone, &quot;so all three shall go in;
+and as to who is to play Doll Wango, the master of the ceremonies will
+settle that, so you need give yourself no more concern about it; but if
+I were called on to decide,&quot; he added, with an amorous leer at Dame
+Baldwyn, whose proportions so well matched his own, &quot;I know where my
+choice would light. There, now!&quot; he shouted, &quot;Open wide the gate for
+Squire Nicholas Assheton of Downham, and the three Doll Wangos.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And, all obstacles being thus removed, Nicholas passed on with the three
+females amidst the renewed laughter of the bystanders. But he got rid of
+his plagues as soon as he could; for, dismounting and throwing his
+bridle to an attendant, he vouchsafed not a word to any of them, but
+stepped quickly after Richard and Sherborne, who had already reached the
+great fire with the bull roasting before it.</p>
+
+<p>Appropriated chiefly to stables and other offices, the base court of
+Hoghton Tower consisted of buildings of various dates, the greater part
+belonging to Elizabeth's time, though some might be assigned to an
+earlier period, while many alterations and additions had been recently
+made, in anticipation of the king's visit. Dating back as far as Henry
+II., the family had originally fixed their residence at the foot of the
+hill, on the banks of the Darwen; but in process of time, swayed by
+prouder notions, they mounted the craggy heights above, and built a
+tower upon their crest. It is melancholy to think that so glorious a
+pile, teeming with so many historical recollections, and so
+magnificently situated, should be abandoned, and suffered to go to
+decay;&mdash;the family having, many years ago, quitted it for Walton Hall,
+near Walton-le-Dale, and consigned it to the occupation of a few
+gamekeepers. Bereft of its venerable timber, its courts grass-grown, its
+fine oak staircase rotting and dilapidated, its domestic chapel
+neglected, its marble chamber broken and ruinous, its wainscotings and
+ceilings cracked and mouldering, its paintings mildewed and half
+effaced, Hoghton Tower presents only the wreck of its former grandeur.
+Desolate indeed are its halls, and their glory for ever departed!
+However, this history has to do with it in the season of its greatest
+splendour; when it glistened with silks and velvets, and resounded with
+loud laughter and blithe music; when stately nobles and lovely dames
+were seen in the gallery, and a royal banquet was served in the great
+hall; when its countless chambers were filled to overflowing, and its
+passages echoed with hasty feet; when the base court was full of
+huntsmen and falconers, and enlivened by the neighing of steeds and the
+baying of hounds; when there was daily hunting in the park, and nightly
+dancing and diversion in the hall,&mdash;it is with Hoghton Tower at this
+season that the present tale has to do, and not with it as it is
+now&mdash;silent, solitary, squalid, saddening, but still whispering of the
+glories of the past, still telling of the kingly pageant that once
+graced it.</p>
+
+<p>The base court was divided from the court of lodging by the great hall
+and domestic chapel. A narrow vaulted passage on either side led to the
+upper quadrangle, the facade of which was magnificent, and far superior
+in uniformity of design and style to the rest of the structure, the
+irregularity of which, however, was not unpleasing. The whole frontage
+of the upper court was richly moulded and filleted, with ranges of
+mullion and transom windows, capitals, and carved parapets crowned with
+stone balls. Marble pillars, in the Italian style, had been recently
+placed near the porch, with two rows of pilasters above them, supporting
+a heavy marble cornice, on which rested the carved escutcheon of the
+family. A flight of stone steps led up to the porch, and within was a
+wide oak staircase, so gentle of ascent that a man on horseback could
+easily mount it&mdash;a feat often practised in later days by one of the
+descendants of the house. In this part of the mansion all the principal
+apartments were situated, and here James was lodged. Here also was the
+green room, so called from its hangings, which he used for private
+conferences, and which was hung round with portraits of his unfortunate
+mother, Mary, Queen of Scots; of her implacable enemy, Queen Elizabeth;
+of his consort, Anne of Bohemia: and of Sir Thomas Hoghton, the founder
+of the tower. Adjoining it was the Star-Chamber, occupied by the Duke of
+Buckingham, with its napkin panelling, and ceiling &quot;fretted with golden
+fires;&quot; and in the same angle were rooms occupied by the Duke of
+Richmond, the Earls of Pembroke and Nottingham, and Lord Howard of
+Effingham. Below was the library, whither Doctor Thomas Moreton, Bishop
+of Chester, and his Majesty's chaplain, with the three puisn&eacute; judges of
+the King's Bench, Sir John Doddridge, Sir John Crooke, and Sir Robert
+Hoghton, all of whom were guests of Sir Richard, resorted; and in the
+adjoining wing was the great gallery, where the whole of the nobles and
+courtiers passed such of their time&mdash;and that was not much&mdash;as was not
+occupied in feasting or out-of-doors' amusements.</p>
+
+<p>Long corridors ran round the upper stories in this part of the mansion,
+and communicated with an endless series of rooms, which, numerous as
+they were, were all occupied, and, accommodation being found impossible
+for the whole of the guests, many were sent to the new erections in the
+base court, which had been planned to meet the emergency by the
+magnificent and provident host. The nobles and gentlemen were, however,
+far outnumbered by their servants, and the confusion occasioned by the
+running to and fro of the various grooms of the chambers, was
+indescribable. Doublets had to be brushed, ruffs plaited, hair curled,
+beards trimmed, and all with the greatest possible expedition; so that,
+as soon as day dawned upon Hoghton Tower, there was a prodigious racket
+from one end of it to the other. Many favoured servants slept in
+truckle-beds in their masters' rooms; but others, not so fortunate, and
+unable to find accommodation even in the garrets&mdash;for the smallest
+rooms, and those nearest the roof, were put in requisition&mdash;slept upon
+the benches in the hall, while several sat up all night carousing in the
+great kitchen, keeping company with the cooks and their assistants, who
+were busied all the time in preparations for the feasting of the morrow.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the state of things inside Hoghton Tower early on the eventful
+morning in question, and out of doors, especially in the base court
+which Nicholas was traversing, the noise, bustle, and confusion were
+equally great. Wide as was the area, it was filled with various
+personages, some newly arrived, and seeking information as to their
+quarters&mdash;not very easily obtained, for it seemed every body's business
+to ask questions, and no one's to answer them&mdash;some gathered in groups
+round the falconers and huntsmen, who had suddenly risen into great
+importance; others, and these were for the most part smart young pages,
+in brilliant liveries, chattering, and making love to every pretty
+damsel they encountered, putting them out of countenance by their
+licence and strange oaths, and rousing the anger of their parents, and
+the jealousy of their rustic admirers; others, of a graver sort, with
+dress of formal cut, and puritanical expression of countenance,
+shrugging their shoulders, and looking sourly on the whole
+proceedings&mdash;luckily they were in the minority, for the generality of
+the groups were composed of lively and light-hearted people, bent
+apparently upon amusement, and tolerably certain of finding it. Through
+these various groups numerous lackeys were passing swiftly and
+continuously to and fro, bearing a cap, a mantle, or a sword, and
+pushing aside all who interfered with their progress, with a &quot;by your
+leave, my masters&mdash;your pardon, fair mistress&quot;&mdash;or, &quot;out of my way,
+knave!&quot; and, as the stables occupied one entire angle of the court,
+there were grooms without end dressing the horses at the doors, watering
+them at the troughs, or leading them about amid the admiring or
+criticising bystanders. The King's horses were, of course, objects of
+special attraction, and such as could obtain a glimpse of them and of
+the royal coach thought themselves especially favoured. Besides what was
+going forward below, the windows looking into the court were all full of
+curious observers, and much loud conversation took place between those
+placed at them and their friends underneath. From all this some idea
+will be formed of the tremendous din that prevailed; but though with
+much confusion there was no positive disorder, still less brawling, for
+yeomen of the guard being stationed at various points, perfect order was
+maintained. Several minstrels, mummers, and merry-makers, in various
+fantastic habits, swelled the throng, enlivening it with their strains
+or feats; and amongst other privileged characters admitted was a Tom o'
+Bedlam, a half-crazed licensed beggar, in a singular and picturesque
+garb, with a plate of tin engraved with his name attached to his left
+arm, and a great ox's horn, which he was continually blowing, suspended
+by a leathern baldric from his neck.</p>
+
+<p>Scarcely had Nicholas joined his companions, than word was given that
+the king was about to attend morning prayers in the domestic chapel.
+Upon this, an immediate rush was made in that direction by the crowd;
+but the greater part were kept back by the guard, who crossed their
+halberts to prevent their ingress, and a few only were allowed to enter
+the antechamber leading to the chapel, amongst whom were the squire and
+his companions.</p>
+
+<p>Here they were detained within it till service was over, and, as prayers
+were read by the Bishop of Chester, and the whole Court was present,
+this was a great disappointment to them. At the end of half an hour two
+very courtly personages came forth, each bearing a white wand, and,
+announcing that the King was coming forth, the assemblage immediately
+divided into two lines to allow a passage for the monarch. Nicholas
+Assheton informed Richard in a whisper that the foremost and stateliest
+of the two gentlemen was Lord Stanhope of Harrington, the
+vice-chamberlain, and the other, a handsome young man of slight figure
+and somewhat libertine expression of countenance, was the renowned Sir
+John Finett, master of the ceremonies. Notwithstanding his
+licentiousness, however, which was the vice of the age and the stain of
+the court, Sir John was a man of wit and address, and perfectly
+conversant with the duties of his office, of which he has left
+satisfactory evidence in an amusing tractate, &quot;Finetti Philoxenis.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Some little time elapsed before the King made his appearance, during
+which the curiosity of such as had not seen him, as was the case with
+Richard, was greatly excited. The young man wondered whether the
+pedantic monarch, whose character perplexed the shrewdest, would answer
+his preconceived notions, and whether it would turn out that his
+portraits were like him. While these thoughts were passing through his
+mind, a shuffling noise was heard without, and King James appeared at
+the doorway. He paused there for a moment to place his plumed and
+jewelled cap upon his head, and to speak a word with Sir John Finett,
+and during this Richard had an opportunity of observing him. The
+portraits <i>were</i> like, but the artists had flattered him, though not
+much. There was great shrewdness of look, but there was also a vacant
+expression, which seemed to contradict the idea of profound wisdom
+generally ascribed to him. When in perfect repose, which they were not
+for more than a minute, the features were thoughtful, benevolent, and
+pleasing, and Richard began to think him quite handsome, when another
+change was wrought by some remark of Sir John Finett. As the Master of
+the Ceremonies told his tale, the King's fine dark eyes blazed with an
+unpleasant light, and he laughed so loudly and indecorously at the close
+of the narrative, with his great tongue hanging out of his mouth, and
+tears running down his cheeks, that the young man was quite sickened.
+The King's face was thin and long, the cheeks shaven, but the lips
+clothed with mustaches, and a scanty beard covered his chin. The hair
+was brushed away from the face, and the cap placed at the back of the
+head, so as to exhibit a high bald forehead, of which he was
+prodigiously vain. James was fully equipped for the chase, and wore a
+green silk doublet, quilted, as all his garments were, so as to be
+dagger-proof, enormous trunk-hose, likewise thickly stuffed, and buff
+boots, fitting closely to the leg, and turned slightly over at the knee,
+with the edges fringed with gold. This was almost the only appearance of
+finery about the dress, except a row of gold buttons down the jerkin.
+Attached to his girdle he wore a large pouch, with the mouth drawn
+together by silken cords, and a small silver bugle was suspended from
+his neck by a baldric of green silk. Stiffly-starched bands, edged with
+lace, and slightly turned down on either side of the face, completed his
+attire. There was nothing majestic, but the very reverse, in the King's
+deportment, and he seemed only kept upright by the exceeding stiffness
+of his cumbersome clothes. With the appearance of being corpulent, he
+was not so in reality, and his weak legs and bent knees were scarcely
+able to support his frame. He always used a stick, and generally sought
+the additional aid of a favourite's arm.</p>
+
+<p>In this instance the person selected was Sir Gilbert Hoghton, the eldest
+son of Sir Richard, and subsequent owner of Hoghton Tower. Indebted for
+the high court favour he enjoyed partly to his graceful person and
+accomplishments, and partly to his marriage, having espoused a daughter
+of Sir John Aston of Cranford, who, as sister of the Duchess of
+Buckingham, and a descendant of the blood royal of the Stuarts, was a
+great help to his rapid rise, the handsome young knight was skilled in
+all manly exercises, and cited as a model of grace in the dance.
+Constant in attendance upon the court, he frequently took part in the
+masques performed before it. Like the King, he was fully equipped for
+hunting; but greater contrast could not have been found than between his
+tall fine form and the King's ungainly figure. Sir Gilbert had remained
+behind with the rest of the courtiers in the chapel; but, calling him,
+James seized his arm, and set forward at his usual shambling pace. As he
+went on, nodding his head in return to the profound salutations of the
+assemblage, his eye rolled round them until it alighted on Richard
+Assheton, and, nudging Sir Gilbert, he asked&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Wha's that?&mdash;a bonnie lad, but waesome pale.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Sir Gilbert, however, was unable to answer the inquiry; but Nicholas,
+who stood beside the young man, was determined not to lose the
+opportunity of introducing him, and accordingly moved a step forward,
+and made a profound obeisance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This youth, may it please your Majesty,&quot; he said, &quot;is my cousin,
+Richard Assheton, son and heir of Sir Richard Assheton of Middleton, one
+of your Majesty's most loyal and devoted servants, and who, I trust,
+will have the honour of being presented to you in the course of the
+day.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We trust so, too, Maister Nicholas Assheton&mdash;for that, if we dinna
+forget, is your ain name,&quot; replied James; &quot;and if the sire resembles the
+son, whilk is not always the case, as our gude freend, Sir Gilbert, is
+evidence, being as unlike his worthy father as a man weel can be; if, as
+we say, Sir Richard resembles this callant, he must be a weel-faur'd
+gentleman. But, God's santie, lad! how cam you in sic sad and sombre
+abulyiements? Hae ye nae braw claes to put on to grace our coming? Black
+isna the fashion at our court, as Sir Gilbert will tell ye, and, though
+a suit o' sables may become you, it's no pleasing in our sight. Let us
+see you in gayer apparel at dinner.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Richard, who was considerably embarrassed by the royal address, merely
+bowed, and Nicholas again took upon himself to answer for him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your Majesty will be pleased to pardon him,&quot; he said; &quot;but he is
+unaccustomed to court fashions, having passed all his time in a wild and
+uncivilized district, where, except on rare and happy occasions like the
+present, the refined graces of life seldom reach us.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel, we wouldna be hard upon him,&quot; said the King, good-naturedly; &quot;and
+mayhap the family has sustained some recent loss, and he is in
+mourning.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I cannot offer that excuse for him, sire,&quot; replied Nicholas, who began
+to flatter himself he was making considerable progress in the monarch's
+good graces. &quot;It is simply an affair of the heart.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Puir chiel! we pity him,&quot; cried the King. &quot;And sae it is a hopeless
+suit, young sir?&quot; he added to Richard. &quot;Canna we throw in a good word
+for ye? Do we ken the lassie, and is she to be here to-day?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am quite at a loss how to answer your Majesty's questions,&quot; replied
+Richard, &quot;and my cousin Nicholas has very unfairly betrayed my secret.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hoot, toot! na, lad,&quot; exclaimed James; &quot;it wasna he wha betrayed your
+secret, but our ain discernment that revealed it to us. We kenned your
+ailment at a glance. Few things are hidden from the King's eye, and we
+could tell ye mair aboot yoursel', and the lassie you're deeing for, if
+we cared to speak it; but just now we have other fish to fry, and must
+awa' and break our fast, of the which, if truth maun be spoken, we stand
+greatly in need; for creature comforts maun be aye looked to as weel as
+spiritual wants, though the latter should be ever cared for first, as
+is our ain rule; and in so doing we offer an example to our subjects,
+which they will do weel to follow. Later in the day, we will talk
+further to you on the subject; but, meanwhile, gie us the name of your
+lassie loo.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! spare me, your Majesty,&quot; cried Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Her name is Alizon Nutter,&quot; interposed Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What! a daughter of Alice Nutter of Rough Lee?&quot; exclaimed James.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The same, sire,&quot; replied Nicholas, much surprised at the extent of
+information manifested by the King.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why, saul o' my body! man, she's a witch&mdash;a witch! d'ye ken that?&quot;
+cried the King, with a look of abhorrence; &quot;a mischievous and malignant
+vermin, with which this pairt of our realm is sair plagued, but which,
+with God's help, we will thoroughly extirpate. Sae the lass is a
+daughter of Alice Nutter, ha! That accounts for your grewsome looks,
+lad. Odd's life! I see it all now. I understand what is the matter with
+you. Look at him, Sir Gilbert&mdash;look at him, I say! Does naething strike
+you as strange about him?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nothing more than that he is naturally embarrassed by your Majesty's
+mode of speech,&quot; replied the knight.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You lack the penetration of the King, Sir Gilbert,&quot; cried James. &quot;I
+will tell you what ails him. He is bewitchit&mdash;forespoken.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Exclamations were uttered by all the bystanders, and every eye was fixed
+on Richard, who felt ready to sink to the ground.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I affirm he is bewitchit,&quot; continued the King; &quot;and wha sae likely to
+do it as the glamouring hizzie that has ensnared him? She has ill bluid
+in her veins, and can chant deevil's cantrips as weel as the mither, or
+ony gyre-carline o' them a'.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are mistaken, sire,&quot; cried Richard, earnestly. &quot;Alizon will be here
+to-day with my father and sister, and, if you deign to receive her, I am
+sure you will judge her differently.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We shall perpend the point of receiving her,&quot; replied the King,
+gravely. &quot;But we are rarely mista'en, young man, and seldom change our
+opinion except upon gude grounds, and those you arena like to offer us.
+Belike ye hae been lang ill?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! no, your Majesty, I was suddenly seized, about a month ago,&quot;
+replied Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Suddenly seized&mdash;eh!&quot; exclaimed James, winking cunningly at those near
+him; &quot;and ye swarfit awa' wi' the pain? I guessed it. And whaur was
+Alizon the while?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;At that time she was a guest at Middleton,&quot; replied Richard; &quot;but it is
+impossible my illness can in any way be attributed to her. I will answer
+with my life for her perfect innocence.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You may have to answer wi' your life for your misplaced faith in her,&quot;
+said the King; &quot;but I tell you naething&mdash;naething wicked, at all
+events&mdash;is impossible to witches, and the haill case, even by your own
+showin', is very suspicious. I have heard somewhat of the story of Alice
+Nutter, but not the haill truth&mdash;but there are folk here wha can
+enlighten us mair fully. Thus much I do ken&mdash;that she is a notorious
+witch, and a fugitive from justice; though siblins you, Maister Nicholas
+Assheton, could give an inkling of her hiding-place if you were so
+disposed. Nay, never look doited, man,&quot; he added, laughing, &quot;I bring nae
+charges against you. Ye arena on your trial noo. But this is a serious
+matter, and maun be seriously considered before we dismiss it. You say
+Alizon will be here to-day. Sae far weel. Canna you contrive to produce
+the mother, too, Maister Nicholas?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Sire!&quot; exclaimed Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, then, we maun gang our ain way to wark,&quot; continued James. &quot;We are
+tauld ye hae a petition to offer us, and our will and pleasure is that
+you present it afore we go forth to the chase, and after we have
+partaken of our matutinal refection, whilk we will nae langer delay;
+for, sooth to say, we are weel nigh famished. Look ye, sirs. Neither of
+you is to quit Hoghton Tower without our permission had and obtained. We
+do not place you under arrest, neither do we inhibit you from the chase,
+or from any other sports; but you are to remain here at our sovereign
+pleasure. Have we your word that you will not attempt to disobey the
+injunction?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have mine, undoubtedly, sire,&quot; replied Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And mine, too,&quot; added Nicholas. &quot;And I hope to justify myself before
+your Majesty.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We shall be weel pleased to hear ye do it, man,&quot; rejoined the King,
+laughing, and shuffling on. &quot;But we hae our doubts&mdash;we hae our doubts!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;His Majesty talks of going to breakfast, and says he is famished,&quot;
+observed Nicholas to Sherborne, as the King departed; &quot;but he has
+completely taken away my appetite.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No wonder,&quot; replied the other.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII_THE_ROYAL_DECLARATION_CONCERNING_LAWFUL_SPORTS_ON_THE_SUNDAY" id="CHAPTER_VII_THE_ROYAL_DECLARATION_CONCERNING_LAWFUL_SPORTS_ON_THE_SUNDAY" />CHAPTER VII.&mdash;THE ROYAL DECLARATION CONCERNING LAWFUL SPORTS ON THE SUNDAY.</h2>
+
+<p>Not many paces after the King marched the Duke of Buckingham, then in
+the zenith of his power, and in the full perfection of his unequalled
+beauty, eclipsing all the rest of the nobles in splendour of apparel, as
+he did in stateliness of deportment. Haughtily returning the salutations
+made him, which were scarcely less reverential than those addressed to
+the monarch himself, the prime favourite moved on, all eyes following
+his majestic figure to the door. Buckingham walked alone, as if he had
+been a prince of the blood; but after him came a throng of nobles,
+consisting of the Earl of Pembroke, high chamberlain; the Duke of
+Richmond, master of the household; the Earl of Nottingham, lord high
+admiral; Viscount Brackley, Lord Howard of Effingham, Lord Zouche,
+president of Wales; with the Lords Knollys, Mordaunt, Conipton, and Grey
+of Groby. One or two of the noblemen seemed inclined to question Richard
+as to what had passed between him and the King; but the young man's
+reserved and somewhat stern manner deterred them. Next came the three
+judges, Doddridge, Crooke, and Hoghton, whose countenances wore an
+enforced gravity; for if any faith could be placed in rubicund cheeks
+and portly persons, they were not indisposed to self-indulgence and
+conviviality. After the judges came the Bishop of Chester, the King's
+chaplain, who had officiated on the present occasion, and who was in his
+full pontifical robes. He was accompanied by the lord of the mansion,
+Sir Richard Hoghton, a hale handsome man between fifty and sixty, with
+silvery hair and beard, a robust but commanding person, a fresh
+complexion, and features, by no means warranting, from any marked
+dissimilarity to those of his son, the King's scandalous jest.</p>
+
+<p>A crowd of baronets and knights succeeded, including Sir Arthur Capel,
+Sir Thomas Brudenell, Sir Edward Montague, Sir Edmund Trafford, sheriff
+of the county, Sir Edward Mosley, and Sir Ralph Assheton. The latter
+looked grave and anxious, and, as he passed his relatives, said in a low
+tone to Richard&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am told Alizon is to be here to-day. Is it so?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She is,&quot; replied the young man; &quot;but why do you ask? Is she in danger?
+If so, let her be warned against coming.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;On no account,&quot; replied Sir Ralph; &quot;that would only increase the
+suspicion already attaching to her. No; she must face the danger, and I
+hope will be able to avert it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But what <i>is</i> the danger?&quot; asked Richard. &quot;In Heaven's name, speak more
+plainly.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I cannot do so now,&quot; replied Sir Ralph. &quot;We will take counsel together
+anon. Her enemies are at work; and, if you tarry here a few minutes
+longer, you will understand whom I mean.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And he passed on.</p>
+
+<p>A large crowd now poured indiscriminately out of the chapel and amongst
+it Nicholas perceived many of his friends and neighbours, Mr. Townley of
+Townley Park, Mr. Parker of Browsholme, Mr. Shuttleworth of Gawthorpe,
+Sir Thomas Metcalfe, and Roger Nowell. With the latter was Master Potts,
+and Richard was then at no loss to understand against whom Sir Ralph had
+warned him. A fierce light blazed in Roger Nowell's keen eyes as he
+first remarked the two Asshetons, and a smile of gratified vengeance
+played about his lips; but he quelled the fire in a moment, and,
+compressing his hard mouth more closely, bowed coldly and ceremoniously
+to them. Metcalfe did the same. Not so Master Potts. Halting for a
+moment, he said, with a spiteful look, &quot;Look to yourself, Master
+Nicholas; and you too, Master Richard. A day of reckoning is coming for
+both of you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And with this he sprang nimbly after his client.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What means the fellow?&quot; cried Nicholas. &quot;But that we are here, as it
+were, in the precincts of a palace, I would after him and cudgel him
+soundly for his insolence.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And wha's that ye'd be after dinging, man?&quot; cried a sharp voice behind
+him. &quot;No that puir feckless body that has jist skippit aff. If sae,
+ye'll tak the wrang soo by the lugg, and I counsel you to let him bide,
+for he's high i' favour wi' the King.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Turning at this address, Nicholas recognised the king's jester, Archie
+Armstrong, a merry little knave, with light blue eyes, long yellow hair
+hanging about his ears, and a sandy beard. There was a great deal of
+mother wit about Archie, and quite as much shrewdness as folly. He wore
+no distinctive dress as jester&mdash;the bauble and coxcomb having been long
+discontinued&mdash;but was simply clad in the royal livery.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And so Master Potts is in favour with his Majesty, eh, Archie?&quot; asked
+the squire, hoping to obtain some information from him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And sae war you the day efore yesterday, when you hunted at
+Myerscough,&quot; replied the jester.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But how have I forfeited the King's good opinion?&quot; asked Nicholas.
+&quot;Come, you are a good fellow, Archie, and will tell me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Dinna think to fleech me, man,&quot; replied the jester, cunningly.&mdash;&quot;I ken
+what I ken, and that's mair than you'll get frae me wi' a' your
+speering. The King's secrets are safe wi' Archie&mdash;and for a good reason,
+that he is never tauld them. You're a gude huntsman, and sae is his
+Majesty; but there's ae kind o' game he likes better than anither, and
+that's to be found maistly i' these pairts&mdash;I mean witches, and sic like
+fearfu' carlines. We maun hae the country rid o' them, and that's what
+his Majesty intends, and if you're a wise man you'll lend him a helping
+hand. But I maun in to disjune.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And with this the jester capered off, leaving Nicholas like one
+stupefied. He was roused, however, by a smart slap on the shoulder from
+Sir John Finett.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What! pondering over the masque, Master Nicholas, or thinking of the
+petition you have to present to his Majesty?&quot; cried the master of the
+ceremonies, &quot;Let neither trouble you. The one will be well played, I
+doubt not, and the other well received, I am sure, for I know the king's
+sentiments on the subject. But touching the dame, Master Nicholas&mdash;have
+you found one willing and able to take part in the masque?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have found several willing, Sir John,&quot; replied Nicholas; &quot;but as to
+their ability that is another question. However, one of them may do as a
+make-shift. They are all in the base court, and shall wait on you when
+you please, and then you can make your election.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;So far well,&quot; replied Finett; &quot;it may be that we shall have Ben Jonson
+here to-day&mdash;rare Ben, the prince of poets and masque-writers. Sir
+Richard Hoghton expects him. Ben is preparing a masque for Christmas, to
+be called 'The Vision of Delight,' in which his highness the prince is
+to be a principal actor, and some verses which have been recited to me
+are amongst the daintiest ever indited by the bard.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It will be a singular pleasure to me to see him,&quot; said Nicholas; &quot;for I
+hold Ben Jonson in the highest esteem as a poet&mdash;ay, above them all,
+unless it be Will Shakspeare.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, you do well to except Shakspeare,&quot; rejoined Sir John Finett. &quot;Great
+as Ben Jonson is, and for wit and learning no man surpasses him, he is
+not to be compared with Shakspeare, who for profound knowledge of
+nature, and of all the highest qualities of dramatic art, is
+unapproachable. But ours is a learned court, Master Nicholas, and
+therefore we have a learned poet; but a right good fellow is Ben Jonson,
+and a boon companion, though somewhat prone to sarcasm, as you will find
+if you drink with him. Over his cups he will rail at courts and
+courtiers in good set terms, I promise you, and I myself have come in
+for his gibes. However, I love him none the less for his quips, for I
+know it is his humour to utter them, and so overlook what in another and
+less deserving person I should assuredly resent. But is not that young
+man, who is now going forth, your cousin, Richard Assheton? I thought
+so. The King has had a strange tale whispered in his ear, that the youth
+has been bewitched by a maiden&mdash;Alizon Nutter, I think she is named&mdash;of
+whom he is enamoured. I know not what truth may be in the charge, but
+the youth himself seems to warrant it, for he looks ghastly ill. A
+letter was sent to his Majesty at Myerscough, communicating this and
+certain other particulars with which I am not acquainted; but I know
+they relate to some professors of the black art in your country, the
+soil of which seems favourable to the growth of such noxious weeds, and
+at first he was much disturbed by it, but in the end decided that both
+parties should be brought hither without being made aware of his design,
+that he might see and judge for himself in the matter. Accordingly a
+messenger was sent over to Middleton Hall as from Sir Richard Hoghton,
+inviting the whole family to the Tower, and giving Sir Richard Assheton
+to understand it was the King's pleasure he should bring with him a
+certain young damsel, named Alizon Nutter, of whom mention had been made
+to him. Sir Richard had no choice but to obey, and promised compliance
+with his Majesty's injunctions. An officer, however, was left on the
+watch, and this very morning reported to his Majesty that young Richard
+Assheton had already set out with the intention of going to Preston, but
+had passed the night at Walton-le-Dale, and that Sir Richard, his
+daughter Dorothy, and Alizon Nutter, would be here before noon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;His Majesty has laid his plans carefully,&quot; replied Nicholas, &quot;and I can
+easily conjecture from whom he received the information, which is as
+false as it is malicious. But are you aware, Sir John, upon what
+evidence the charge is supported&mdash;for mere suspicion is not enough?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;In cases of witchcraft suspicion <i>is</i> enough,&quot; replied the knight,
+gravely. &quot;Slender proofs are required. The girl is the daughter of a
+notorious witch&mdash;that is against her. The young man is ailing&mdash;that is
+against her, too. But a witness, I believe, will be produced, though who
+I cannot say.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Gracious Heaven! what wickedness there must be in the world when such a
+charge can be brought against one so good and so unoffending,&quot; cried
+Nicholas. &quot;A maiden more devout than Alizon never existed, nor one
+holding the crime she is charged with in greater abhorrence. She injure
+Richard! she would lay down her life for him&mdash;and would have been his
+wife, but for scruples the most delicate and disinterested on her part.
+But we will establish her innocence before his Majesty, and confound her
+enemies.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is with that hope that I have given you this information, sir, of
+which I am sure you will make no improper use,&quot; replied Sir John. &quot;I
+have heard a similar character to that you have given of Alizon, and am
+unwilling she should fall a victim to art or malice. Be upon your guard,
+too, Master Nicholas; for other investigations will take place at the
+same time, and some matters may come forth in which you are concerned.
+The King's arms are long, and reach and strike far&mdash;and his eyes see
+clearly when not hoodwinked&mdash;or when other people see for him. And now,
+good sir, you must want breakfast. Here Faryngton,&quot; he added to an
+attendant, &quot;show Master Nicholas Assheton to his lodging in the base
+court, and attend upon him as if he were your master. I will come for
+you, sir, when it is time to present the petition to the King.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>So saying, he bowed and walked forth, turning into the upper quadrangle,
+while Nicholas followed Faryngton into the lower court, where he found
+his friends waiting for him.</p>
+
+<p>Speedily ascertaining where their lodgings were situated, Faryngton led
+them to a building on the left, almost opposite to the great bonfire,
+and, ascending a flight of steps, ushered them into a commodious and
+well-furnished room, looking into the court. This done, he disappeared,
+but soon afterwards returned with two yeomen of the kitchen, one
+carrying a tray of provisions upon his head, and the other sustaining a
+basket of wine under his arm, and a snowy napkin being laid upon the
+table, trenchers viands, and flasks were soon arranged in very tempting
+order&mdash;so tempting, indeed, that the squire, notwithstanding his
+assertion, that his appetite had been taken away, fell to work with his
+customary vigour, and plied a flask of excellent Bordeaux so
+incessantly, that another had to be placed before him. Sherborne did
+equal justice to the good cheer, and Richard not only forced himself to
+eat, but to the squire's great surprise swallowed more than one deep
+draught of wine. Having thus administered to the wants of the guests,
+and seeing his presence was no longer either necessary or desired,
+Faryngton vanished, first promising to go and see that all was got ready
+for them in the sleeping apartments. Notwithstanding the man's civility,
+there was an over-officiousness about him that made Nicholas suspect he
+was placed over them by Sir John Finett to watch their movements, and he
+resolved to be upon his guard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am glad to see you drink, lad,&quot; he observed to Richard, as soon as
+they were alone; &quot;a cup of wine will do you good.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do you think so?&quot; replied Richard, filling his goblet anew. &quot;I want to
+get back my spirits and strength&mdash;to sustain myself no matter how&mdash;to
+look well&mdash;ha! ha! If I can only make this frail machine carry me
+stoutly through the King's visit, I care not how soon it falls to pieces
+afterwards.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I see your motive, Dick,&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;You hope to turn away
+suspicion from Alizon by this device; but you must not go to excess, or
+you will defeat your scheme.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will do something to convince the King he is mistaken in me&mdash;that I
+am not bewitched,&quot; cried Richard, rising and striding across the room.
+&quot;Bewitched! and by Alizon, too! I could laugh at the charge, but that it
+is too horrible. Had any other than the King breathed it, I would have
+slain him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;His Majesty has been abused by the malice of that knavish attorney,
+Potts, who has always manifested the greatest hostility towards Alizon,&quot;
+said Nicholas; &quot;but he will not prevail, for she has only to show
+herself to dispel all prejudice.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are right, Nicholas,&quot; cried Richard; &quot;and yet the King seems
+already to have prejudged her, and his obstinacy may lead to her
+destruction.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Speak not so loudly, Dick, in Heaven's name!&quot; said the squire, in
+alarm; &quot;these walls may have ears, and echoes may repeat every word you
+utter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then let them tell the King that Alizon is innocent,&quot; cried Richard,
+stopping, and replenishing his goblet, &quot;Here's to her health, and
+confusion to her enemies!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I'll drink that toast with pleasure, Dick,&quot; replied the squire; &quot;but I
+must forbid you more wine. You are not used to it, and the fumes will
+mount to your brain.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Come and sit down beside us, that we may talk,&quot; said Sherborne.</p>
+
+<p>Richard obeyed, and, leaning over the table, asked in a low deep tone,
+&quot;Where is Mistress Nutter, Nicholas?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The squire looked towards the door before he answered, and then said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will tell you. After the destruction of Malkin Tower and the band of
+robbers, she was taken to a solitary hut near Barley Booth, at the foot
+of Pendle Hill, and the next day was conveyed across Bowland Forest to
+Poulton in the Fyld, on the borders of Morecambe Bay, with the intention
+of getting her on board some vessel bound for the Isle of Man.
+Arrangements were made for this purpose; but when the time came, she
+refused to go, and was brought secretly back to the hut near Barley,
+where she has been ever since, though her place of concealment was
+hidden even from you and her daughter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The captain of the robbers, Fogg or Demdike, escaped&mdash;did he not?&quot; said
+Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, in the confusion occasioned by the blowing up of the Tower he
+managed to get away,&quot; replied Nicholas, &quot;and we were unable to follow
+him, as our attentions had to be bestowed upon Mistress Nutter. This was
+the more unlucky, as through his instrumentality Jem and his mother
+Elizabeth were liberated from the dungeon in which they were placed in
+Whalley Abbey, prior to their removal to Lancaster Castle, and none of
+them have been heard of since.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And I hope will never be heard of again,&quot; cried Richard. &quot;But is
+Mistress Nutter's retreat secure, think you?&mdash;May it not be discovered
+by some of Nowell's emissaries?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I trust not,&quot; replied Nicholas; &quot;but her voluntary surrender is more to
+be apprehended, for when I last saw her, on the night before starting
+for Myerscough, she told me she was determined to give herself up for
+trial; and her motives could scarce be combated, for she declares that,
+unless she submits herself to the justice of man, and expiates her
+offences, she cannot be saved. She now seems as resolute in good as she
+was heretofore resolute in evil.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If she perishes thus, her self-sacrifice, for thus it becomes, will be
+Alizon's death-blow,&quot; cried Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;So I told her,&quot; replied Nicholas&mdash;&quot;but she continued inflexible. 'I am
+born to be the cause of misery to others, and most to those I love
+most,' she said; 'but I cannot fly from justice. There is no escape for
+me.'&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She is right,&quot; cried Richard; &quot;there is no escape but the grave,
+whither we are all three hurrying. A terrible fatality attaches to us.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nay, say not so, Dick,&quot; rejoined Nicholas; &quot;you are young, and, though
+this shock may be severe, yet when it is passed, you will be
+recompensed, I hope, by many years of happiness.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am not to be deceived,&quot; said Richard. &quot;Look me in the face, and say
+honestly if you think me long-lived. You cannot do it. I have been
+smitten by a mortal illness, and am wasting gradually away. I am
+dying&mdash;I feel it&mdash;know it; but though it may abridge my brief term of
+life, I will purchase present health and spirits at any cost, and save
+Alizon. Ah!&quot; he exclaimed, putting his hand to his heart, with a fearful
+expression of anguish. &quot;What is the matter?&quot; cried the two gentlemen,
+greatly alarmed, and springing towards him.</p>
+
+<p>But the young man could not reply. Another and another agonising spasm
+shook his frame, and cold damps broke out upon his pallid brow, showing
+the intensity of his suffering. Nicholas and Sherborne regarded each
+other anxiously, as if doubtful how to act.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Shall I summon assistance?&quot; said the latter in a low tone. But, softly
+as the words were uttered, they reached the ears of Richard. Rousing
+himself by a great effort, he said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;On no account&mdash;the fit is over. I am glad it has seized me now, for I
+shall not be liable to a recurrence of it throughout the day. Lead me to
+the window. The air will presently revive me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>His friends complied with the request, and placed him at the open
+casement.</p>
+
+<p>Great bustle was observable below, and the cause was soon manifest, as
+the chief huntsman, clad in green, with buff boots drawn high up on the
+thigh, a horn about his neck, and mounted on a strong black curtal, rode
+forth from the stables. He was attended by a noble bloodhound, and on
+gaining the middle of the court, put his bugle to his lips, and blew a
+loud blithe call that made the walls ring again. The summons was
+immediately answered by a number of grooms and pages, leading a
+multitude of richly-caparisoned horses towards the upper end of the
+court, where a gallant troop of dames, nobles, and gentlemen, all
+attired for the chase, awaited them; and where, amidst much mirth, and
+bandying of lively jest and compliment, a general mounting took place,
+the ladies, of course, being placed first on their steeds. While this
+was going forward, the hounds were brought from the kennel in
+couples&mdash;relays having been sent down into the park more than an hour
+before&mdash;and the yard resounded with their joyous baying, and the
+neighing of the impatient steeds. By this time, also, the chief huntsman
+had collected his forces, consisting of a dozen prickers, six habited
+like himself in green, and six in russet, and all mounted on stout
+curtals. Those in green were intended to hunt the hart, and those in
+russet the wild-boar, the former being provided with hunting-poles, and
+the latter with spears. Their girdles were well lined with beef and
+pudding, and each of them, acting upon the advice of worthy Master
+George Turbervile, had a stone bottle of good wine at the pummel of his
+saddle. Besides these, there were a whole host of varlets of the chase
+on foot. The chief falconer, with a long-winged hawk in her hood and
+jesses upon his wrist, was stationed somewhat near the gateway, and
+close to him were his attendants, each having on his fist a falcon
+gentle, a Barbary falcon, a merlin, a goshawk, or a sparrowhawk. Thus
+all was in readiness, and hound, hawk, and man seemed equally impatient
+for the sport.</p>
+
+<p>At this juncture, the door was thrown open by Faryngton, who announced
+Sir John Finett.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is time, Master Nicholas Assheton,&quot; said the master of the
+ceremonies.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am ready to attend you, Sir John,&quot; replied Nicholas, taking a
+parchment from his doublet, and unfolding it, &quot;the petition is well
+signed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;So I see, sir,&quot; replied the knight, glancing at it. &quot;Will not your
+friends come with you?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Most assuredly,&quot; replied Richard, who had risen on the knight's
+appearance. And he followed the others down the staircase.</p>
+
+<p>By direction of the master of the ceremonies, nearly a hundred of the
+more important gentlemen of the county had been got together, and this
+train was subsequently swelled to thrice the amount, from the accessions
+it received from persons of inferior rank when its object became known.
+At the head of this large assemblage Nicholas was now placed, and,
+accompanied by Sir John Finett, who gave the word to the procession to
+follow them, he moved slowly up the court. Passing through the brilliant
+crowd of equestrians, the procession halted at a short distance from the
+doorway of the great hall, and James, who had been waiting for its
+approach within, now came forth, amid the cheers and plaudits of the
+spectators.</p>
+
+<p>Sir John Finett then led Nicholas forward, and the latter, dropping on
+one knee, said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;May it please your Majesty, I hold in my hand a petition, signed as, if
+you will deign to cast your eyes over it, you will perceive, by many
+hundreds of the lower orders of your loving subjects in this your county
+of Lancaster, representing that they are debarred from lawful
+recreations upon Sunday after afternoon service, and upon holidays, and
+praying that the restrictions imposed in 1579, by the Earls of Derby and
+Huntingdon, and by William, Bishop of Chester, commissioners to her late
+Highness, Elizabeth, of glorious memory, your Majesty's predecessor, may
+be withdrawn.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And with this he placed in the King's hands the petition, which Was very
+graciously received.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The complaint of our loving subjects in Lancashire shall not pass
+unnoticed, sir,&quot; said James. &quot;Sorry are we to say it, but this county
+of ours is sair infested wi' folk inclining to Puritanism and Papistry,
+baith of which sects are adverse to the cause of true religion. Honest
+mirth is not only tolerable but praiseworthy, and the prohibition of it
+is likely to breed discontent, and this our enemies ken fu' weel; for
+when,&quot; he continued, loudly and emphatically&mdash;&quot;when shall the common
+people have leave to exercise if not upon Sundays and holidays, seeing
+they must labour and win their living on all other days?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your Majesty speaks like King Solomon himself,&quot; observed Nicholas, amid
+the loud cheering.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Our will and pleasure then is,&quot; pursued James, &quot;that our good people be
+not deprived of any lawful recreation that shall not tend to a breach of
+the laws, or a violation of the Kirk; but that, after the end of divine
+service, they shall not be disturbed, letted, or discouraged from, any
+lawful recreation&mdash;as dancing and sic like, either of men or women,
+archery, leaping, vaulting, or ony ither harmless recreation; nor frae
+the having of May-games, Whitsun ales, or morris dancing; nor frae
+setting up of May-poles, and ither sports, therewith used, provided the
+same be had in due and convenient time, without impediment or neglect of
+divine service. And our will further is, that women shall have leave to
+carry rushes to the church, for the decoring of it, according to auld
+custom. But we prohibit all unlawful games on Sundays, as bear-baiting
+and bull-baiting, interludes, and, by the common folk&mdash;mark ye that,
+sir&mdash;playing at bowls.&quot;<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3" /><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p>
+
+<p>The royal declaration was received with loud and reiterated cheers,
+amidst which James mounted his steed, a large black docile-looking
+charger, and rode out of the court, followed by the whole cavalcade.</p>
+
+<p>Trumpets were sounded from the battlements as he passed through the
+gateway, and shouting crowds attended him all the way down the hill,
+until he entered the avenue leading to the park.</p>
+
+<p>At the conclusion of the royal address, the procession headed by
+Nicholas immediately dispersed, and such as meant to join the chase set
+off in quest of steeds. Foremost amongst these was the squire himself,
+and on approaching the stables, he was glad to find Richard and
+Sherborne already mounted, the former holding his horse by the bridle,
+so that he had nothing to do but vault upon his back. There was an
+impatience about Richard, very different from his ordinary manner, that
+surprised and startled him, and the expression of the young man's
+countenance long afterwards haunted him. The face was deathly pale,
+except that on either cheek burned a red feverish spot, and the eyes
+blazed with unnatural light. So much was the squire struck by his
+cousin's looks, that he would have dissuaded him from going forth; but
+he saw from his manner that the attempt would fail, while a significant
+gesture from his brother-in-law told him he was equally uneasy.</p>
+
+<p>Scarcely had the principal nobles passed through the gateway, than, in
+spite of all efforts to detain him, Richard struck spurs into his horse,
+and dashed amidst the cavalcade, creating great disorder, and rousing
+the ire of the Earl of Pembroke, to whom the marshalling of the train
+was entrusted. But Richard paid little heed to his wrath, and perhaps
+did not hear the angry expressions addressed to him; for no sooner was
+he outside the gate, than instead of pursuing the road down which the
+King was proceeding, and which has been described as hewn out of the
+rock, he struck into a thicket on the right, and, in defiance of all
+attempts to stop him, and at the imminent risk of breaking his neck,
+rode down the precipitous sides of the hill, and reaching the bottom in
+safety, long before the royal cavalcade had attained the same point,
+took the direction of the park.</p>
+
+<p>His friends watched him commence this perilous descent in dismay; but,
+though much alarmed, they were unable to follow him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Poor lad! I am fearful he has lost his senses,&quot; said Sherborne.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He is what the King would call 'fey,' and not long for this world,&quot;
+replied Nicholas, shaking his head.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII_HOW_KING_JAMES_HUNTED_THE_HART_AND_THE_WILD_BOAR_IN_HOUGHTON_PARK" id="CHAPTER_VIII_HOW_KING_JAMES_HUNTED_THE_HART_AND_THE_WILD_BOAR_IN_HOUGHTON_PARK" />CHAPTER VIII&mdash;HOW KING JAMES HUNTED THE HART AND THE WILD-BOAR IN HOGHTON PARK.</h2>
+
+<p>Galloping on fast and furiously, Richard tracked a narrow path of
+greensward, lying between the tall trees composing the right line of the
+avenue and the adjoining wood. Within it grew many fine old thorns,
+diverting him now and then from his course, but he still held on until
+he came within a short distance of the chase, when his attention was
+caught by a very singular figure. It was an old man, clad in a robe of
+coarse brown serge, with a cowl drawn partly over his head, a rope
+girdle like that used by a cordelier, sandal shoon, and a venerable
+white beard descending to his waist. The features of the hermit, for
+such he seemed, were majestic and benevolent. Seated on a bank overgrown
+with wild thyme, beneath the shade of a broad-armed elm, he appeared so
+intently engaged in the perusal of a large open volume laid on his
+knee, that he did not notice Richard's approach. Deeply interested,
+however, by his appearance, the young man determined to address him,
+and, reining in his horse, said respectfully, &quot;Save you, father!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Pass on, my son,&quot; replied the old man, without raising his eyes, &quot;and
+hinder not my studies.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But Richard would not be thus dismissed.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Perchance you are not aware, father,&quot; he said, &quot;that the King is about
+to hunt within the park this morning. The royal cavalcade has already
+left Hoghton Tower, and will be here ere many minutes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The king and his retinue will pass along the broad avenue, as you
+should have done, and not through this retired road,&quot; replied the
+hermit. &quot;They will not disturb me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I would fain know the subject of your studies, father?&quot; inquired
+Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You are inquisitive, young man,&quot; returned the hermit, looking up and
+fixing a pair of keen grey eyes upon him. &quot;But I will satisfy your
+curiosity, if by so doing I shall rid me of your presence. I am reading
+the Book of Fate.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Richard uttered an exclamation of astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And in it your destiny is written,&quot; pursued the old man; &quot;and a sad one
+it is. Consumed by a strange and incurable disease, which may at any
+moment prove fatal, you are scarcely likely to survive the next three
+days, in which case she you love better than existence will perish
+miserably, being adjudged to have destroyed you by witchcraft.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It must indeed be the Book of Fate that tells you this,&quot; cried Richard,
+springing from his horse, and approaching close to the old man. &quot;May I
+cast eyes upon it?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, my son,&quot; replied the old man, closing the volume. &quot;You would not
+comprehend the mystic characters&mdash;but no eye, except my own, must look
+upon them. What is written will be fulfilled. Again, I bid you pass on.
+I must speedily return to my hermit cell in the forest.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;May I attend you thither, father?&quot; asked Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;To what purpose?&quot; rejoined the old man. &quot;You have not many hours of
+life. Go, then, and pass them in the fierce excitement of the chase.
+Pull down the lordly stag&mdash;slaughter the savage boar; and, as you see
+the poor denizens of the forest perish, think that your own end is not
+far off. Hark! Do you hear that boding cry?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is the croak of a raven newly alighted in the tree above us,&quot;
+replied Richard. &quot;The sagacious bird will ever attend the huntsman in
+the chase, in the hope of obtaining a morsel when they break up deer.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Such is the custom of the bird I wot well,&quot; said the old man; &quot;but it
+is not in joyous expectation of the raven's-bone that he croaks now,
+but because his fell instinct informs him that the living-dead is
+beneath him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And, as if in answer to the remark, the raven croaked exultingly; and,
+rising from the tree, wheeled in a circle above them.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Is there no way of averting my terrible destiny, father?&quot; cried
+Richard, despairingly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, if you choose to adopt it,&quot; replied the old man. &quot;When I said your
+ailment was incurable, I meant by ordinary remedies, but it will yield
+to such as I alone can employ. The malignant and fatal influence under
+which you labour may be removed, and then your instant restoration to
+health and vigour will follow.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But how, father&mdash;how?&quot; cried Richard, eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have simply to sign your name in this book,&quot; rejoined the hermit,
+&quot;and what you desire shall be done. Here is a pen,&quot; he added, taking one
+from his girdle.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But the ink?&quot; cried Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Prick your arm with your dagger, and dip the pen in the blood,&quot; replied
+the old man. &quot;That will suffice.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And what follows if I sign?&quot; demanded Richard, staring at him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your instant cure. I will give you to drink of a wondrous elixir.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But to what do I bind myself?&quot; asked Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;To serve me,&quot; replied the hermit, smiling; &quot;but it is a light service,
+and only involves your appearance in this wood once a-year. Are you
+agreed?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I know not,&quot; replied the young man distractedly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You must make up your mind speedily,&quot; said the hermit; &quot;for I hear the
+approach of the royal cavalcade.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as he spoke, the mellow notes of a bugle, followed by the baying of
+hounds, the jingling of bridles, and the trampling of a large troop of
+horse, were heard at a short distance down the avenue.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Tell me who you are?&quot; cried Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am the hermit of the wood,&quot; replied the old man. &quot;Some people call me
+Hobthurst, and some by other names, but you will have no difficulty in
+finding me out. Look yonder!&quot; he added, pointing through the trees.</p>
+
+<p>And, glancing in the direction indicated, Richard beheld a small party
+on horseback advancing across the plain, consisting of his father, his
+sister, and Alizon, with their attendants.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;'Tis she!&mdash;'tis she!&quot; he cried.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Can you hesitate, when it is to save <i>her</i>?&quot; demanded the old man.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heaven help me, or I am lost!&quot; fervently ejaculated Richard, gazing on
+high while making the appeal.</p>
+
+<p>When he looked down again the old man was gone, and he saw only a large
+black snake gliding off among the bushes. Muttering a few words of
+thankfulness for his deliverance, he sprang upon his horse.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It may be the arch-tempter is right,&quot; he cried, &quot;and that but few hours
+of life remain to me; but if so, they shall be employed in endeavours to
+vindicate Alizon, and defeat the snares by which she is beset.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>With this resolve, he struck spurs into his horse, and set off in the
+direction of the little troop. Before, however, he could come up to
+them, their progress was arrested by a pursuivant, who, riding in
+advance of the royal cavalcade, motioned them to stay till it had
+passed, and the same person also perceiving Richard's purpose, called to
+him, authoritatively, to keep back. The young man might have disregarded
+the injunction, but at the same moment the King himself appeared at the
+head of the avenue, and remarking Richard, who was not more than fifty
+yards off on the right, instantly recognised him, and shouted out, &quot;Come
+hither, young man&mdash;come hither!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Thus, baffled in his design, Richard was forced to comply, and,
+uncovering his head, rode slowly towards the monarch. As he approached,
+James fixed on him a glance of sharpest scrutiny.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Odds life! ye hae been ganging a fine gait, young sir,&quot; he cried. &quot;Ye
+maun be demented to ride down a hill i' that fashion, and as if your
+craig war of nae account. It's weel ye hae come aff scaithless. Are ye
+tired o' life&mdash;or was it the muckle deil himsel' that drove ye on? Canna
+ye find an excuse, man? Nay, then, I'll gi'e ye ane. The loadstane will
+draw nails out of a door, and there be lassies wi' een strang as
+loadstanes, that drag men to their perdition. Stands the magnet yonder,
+eh?&quot; he added, glancing towards the little group before them. &quot;Gude
+faith! the lass maun be a potent witch to exercise sic influence, and we
+wad fain see the effect she has on you when near. Sir Richard Hoghton,&quot;
+he called out to the knight, who rode a few paces behind him, &quot;we pray
+you present Sir Richard Assheton and his daughter to us.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Had he dared so to do, Richard would have thrown himself at the King's
+feet, but all he could venture upon was to say in a low earnest tone,
+&quot;Do not prejudge Alizon, sire. On my soul she is innocent!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The King prejudges nae man,&quot; replied James, in a tone of rebuke; &quot;and
+like the wise prince of Israel, whom it is his wish to resemble, he sees
+with his ain een, and hears with his ain ears, afore he forms
+conclusions.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That is all I can desire, sire,&quot; replied Richard. &quot;Far be it from me to
+doubt your majesty's discrimination or love of justice.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ye shall hae proofs of baith, man, afore we hae done,&quot; said James. &quot;Ah!
+here comes our host, an the twa lassies wi' him. She wi' the lintwhite
+locks is your sister, we guess, and the ither is Alizon&mdash;and, by our
+troth, a weel-faur'd lass. But Satan is aye delusive. We maun resist his
+snares.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The party now came on, and were formally presented to the monarch by Sir
+Richard Hoghton. Sir Richard Assheton, a middle-aged gentleman, with
+handsome features, though somewhat haughty in expression, and stately
+deportment, was very graciously received, and James thought fit to pay a
+few compliments to Dorothy, covertly regarding Alizon the while, yet not
+neglecting Richard, being ready to intercept any signal that should pass
+between them. None, however, was attempted, for the young man felt he
+should only alarm and embarrass Alizon by any attempt to caution her,
+and he therefore endeavoured to assume an unconcerned aspect and
+demeanour.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We hae heard the beauty of the Lancashire lassies highly commended,&quot;
+said the King; &quot;but, faith! it passes expectation. Twa lovelier damsels
+than these we never beheld. Baith are rare specimens o' Nature's
+handiwark.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your Majesty is pleased to be complimentary,&quot; rejoined Sir Richard
+Assheton.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Na, Sir Richard,&quot; returned James. &quot;We arena gien to flichtering, though
+aften beflummed oursel'. Baith are bonnie lassies, we repeat. An sae
+this is Alizon Nutter&mdash;it wad be Ailsie in our ain Scottish tongue, to
+which your Lancashire vernacular closely approximates, Sir Richard.
+Aweel, fair Alizon,&quot; he added, eyeing her narrowly, &quot;ye hae lost your
+mither, we understand?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The young girl was not discomposed by this question, but answered in a
+firm, melancholy tone&mdash;&quot;Your Majesty, I fear, is too well acquainted
+with my unfortunate mother's history.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Aweel, we winna deny having heard somewhat to her disadvantage,&quot;
+replied the King&mdash;&quot;but your ain looks gang far to contradict the
+reports, fair maid.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Place no faith in them then, sire,&quot; replied Alizon, sadly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eh! what!&mdash;then you admit your mother's guilt?&quot; cried the King,
+sharply.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I neither admit it nor deny it, sire,&quot; she replied. &quot;It must be for
+your Majesty to judge her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel answered,&quot; muttered James,&mdash;&quot;but I mustna forget, that the deil
+himsel' can quote Scripture to serve his purpose. But you hold in
+abhorrence the crime laid to your mother's charge&mdash;eh?&quot; he added aloud.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;In utter abhorrence,&quot; replied Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Gude&mdash;vera gude,&quot; rejoined the King. &quot;But, entertaining this feeling,
+how conies it you screen so heinous an offender frae justice? Nae
+natural feeling should be allowed to weigh in sic a case.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nor should it, sire, with me,&quot; replied Alizon&mdash;&quot;because I believe my
+poor mother's eternal welfare would be best consulted if she underwent
+temporal punishment. Neither is she herself anxious to avoid it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then why does she keep out of the way&mdash;why does she not surrender
+herself?&quot; cried the King.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Because&mdash;&quot; and Alizon stopped.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Because what?&quot; demanded James.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Pardon me, sire, I must decline answering further questions on the
+subject,&quot; replied Alizon. &quot;Whatever concerns myself or my mother alone,
+I will state freely, but I cannot compromise others.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Aha! then there are others concerned in it?&quot; cried James. &quot;We thought
+as much. We will interrogate you further hereafter&mdash;but a word mair. We
+trust ye are devout, and constant in your religious exercises, damsel.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will answer for that, sire,&quot; interposed Sir Richard Assheton.
+&quot;Alizon's whole time is spent in prayer for her unfortunate mother. If
+there be a fault it is that she goes too far, and injures her health by
+her zeal.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A gude fault that, Sir Richard,&quot; observed the King, approvingly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It beseems me not to speak of myself, sire,&quot; said Alizon, &quot;and I am
+loth to do so&mdash;but I beseech your majesty to believe, that if my life
+might be offered as an atonement for my mother, I would freely yield
+it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I' gude faith she staggers me in my opinion,&quot; muttered James, &quot;and I
+maun look into the matter mair closely. The lass is far different frae
+what I imagined her. But the wiles o' Satan arena to be comprehended,
+and he will put on the semblance of righteousness when seeking to
+beguile the righteous. Aweel, damsel,&quot; he added aloud, &quot;ye speak
+feelingly and properly, and as a daughter should speak, and we respect
+your feelings&mdash;provided they be sic as ye represent them. And now
+dispose yourselves for the chase.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I must pray your Majesty to dismiss me,&quot; said Alizon. &quot;It is a sight in
+which at any time I take small pleasure, and now it is especially
+distasteful to me. With your permission, I will proceed to Hoghton
+Tower.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I also crave your Majesty's leave to go with her,&quot; said Dorothy.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will attend them,&quot; interposed Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Na, you maun stay wi' us, young sir,&quot; cried the King. &quot;Your gude father
+will gang wi' 'em. Sir John Finett,&quot; he added, calling to the master of
+the ceremonies, and speaking in his ear, &quot;see that they be followed, and
+that a special watch be kept over Alizon, and also over this
+youth,&mdash;d'ye mark me?&mdash;in fact, ower a' the Assheton clan. And now,&quot; he
+cried in a loud voice, &quot;let them blaw the strake.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The chief huntsman having placed the bugle to his lips, and blown a
+strike with two winds, a short consultation was held between him and
+James, who loved to display his knowledge as a woodsman; and while this
+was going forward, Nicholas and Sherborne having come up, the squire
+dismounted, and committing Robin to his brother-in-law, approached the
+monarch.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If I may be so bold as to put in a word, my liege,&quot; he said, &quot;I can
+show you where a hart of ten is assuredly harboured. I viewed him as I
+rode through the park this morning, and cannot, therefore, be mistaken.
+His head is high and well palmed, great beamed and in good proportion,
+well burred and well pearled. He is stately in height, long, and well
+fed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Did you mark the slot, sir?&quot; inquired James.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I did, my liege,&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;And a long slot it was; the toes
+great, with round short joint-bones, large shin-bones, and the dew-claws
+close together. I will uphold him for a great old hart as ever
+proffered, and one that shall shew your Majesty rare sport.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And we'll tak your word for the matter, sir,&quot; said James; &quot;for ye're as
+gude a woodman as any we hae in our dominions. Bring us to him, then.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Will it please your Majesty to ride towards yon glade?&quot; said Nicholas,
+&quot;and, before you reach it, the hart shall be roused.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>James, assenting to the arrangement, Nicholas sprang upon his steed,
+and, calling to the chief huntsman, they galloped off together,
+accompanied by the bloodhound, the royal cavalcade following somewhat
+more slowly in the same direction. A fair sight it was to see that
+splendid company careering over the plain, their feathered caps and gay
+mantles glittering in the sun, which shone brightly upon them. The
+morning was lovely, giving promise that the day, when further advanced,
+would be intensely hot, but at present it was fresh and delightful, and
+the whole company, exhilarated by the exercise, and by animated
+conversation, were in high spirits; and perhaps amongst the huge party,
+which numbered nearly three hundred persons, one alone was a prey to
+despair. But though Richard Assheton suffered thus internally, he bore
+his anguish with Spartan firmness, resolved, if possible, to let no
+trace of it be visible in his features or deportment; and he so far
+succeeded in conquering himself, that the King, who kept a watchful eye
+upon him, remarked to Sir John Finett as they rode along, that a
+singular improvement had taken place in the young man's appearance.</p>
+
+<p>The cavalcade was rapidly approaching the glade at the lower end of the
+chase, when the lively notes of a horn were heard from the adjoining
+wood, followed by the deep baying of a bloodhound.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Aha! they have roused him,&quot; cried the King, joyfully placing his own
+bugle to his lips, and sounding an answer. Upon this the whole company
+halted in anxious expectation, the hounds baying loudly. The next
+moment, a noble hart burst from the wood, whence he had been driven by
+the shouts of Nicholas and the chief huntsman, both of whom appeared
+immediately afterwards.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;By my faith! a great hart as ever was hunted,&quot; exclaimed the King.
+&quot;There boys, there! to him! to him!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Dashing after the flying hart, the hounds made the welkin ring with
+their cries. Many lovely damsels were there, but none thought of the
+cruelty of the sport&mdash;none sympathised with the noble animal they were
+running to death. The cries of the hounds&mdash;now loud and ringing&mdash;now
+deep and doling, accompanied by the whooping of the huntsmen, formed a
+stirring concert, which found a response in many a gentle bosom. The
+whole cavalcade was spread widely about, for none were allowed to ride
+near the King. Over the plain they scoured, fleet as the wind, and the
+hart seemed making for a fell, forming part of the hill near the
+mansion. But ere he reached it, the relays stationed within a covert
+burst forth, and, turning him aside, he once more dashed fleetly across
+the broad expanse, as if about to return to his old lair. Now he was
+seen plunging into some bosky dell; and, after being lost to view for a
+moment, bounding up the opposite bank, and stretching across a tract
+thickly covered with fern. Here he gained upon the hounds, who were lost
+in the green wilderness, and their cries were hushed for a brief
+space&mdash;but anon they burst forth anew, and the pack were soon again in
+full cry, and speeding over the open ground.</p>
+
+<p>At first the cavalcade had kept pretty well together, but on the return
+the case was very different; and many of the dames, being unable to keep
+up with the hounds, fell off, and, as a natural consequence, many of the
+gallants lingered behind, too. Thus only the keenest huntsmen held on.
+Amongst these, and about fifty yards behind the King, were Richard and
+Nicholas. The squire was right when he predicted that the hart would
+show them good sport. Plunging into the wood, the hard-pressed beast
+knocked up another stag, and took possession of his lair, but was
+speedily roused again by Nicholas and the chief huntsman. Once more he
+is crossing the wide plain, with hounds and huntsmen after him&mdash;once
+more he is turned by a new relay; but this time he shapes his course
+towards the woods skirting the Darwen. It is a piteous sight to see him
+now; his coat black and glistening with sweat, his mouth embossed with
+foam, his eyes dull, big tears coursing down his cheeks, and his noble
+head carried low. His end seems nigh&mdash;for the hounds, though weary too,
+redouble their energies, and the monarch cheers them on. Again the poor
+beast erects his head&mdash;if he can only reach yon coppice he is safe.
+Despair nerves him, and with gigantic bounds he clears the intervening
+space, and disappears beneath the branches. Quickly as the hounds come
+after him, they are at fault.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He has taken to the soil, sire,&quot; cried Nicholas coming up. &quot;To the
+river&mdash;to the river! You may see by the broken branches he has gone this
+way.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Forcing his way through the wood, James was soon on the banks of the
+Darwen, which here ran deep and slow. The hart was nowhere to be seen,
+nor was there any slot on the further side to denote that he had gone
+forth. It was evident, therefore, that he had swam down the stream. At
+this moment a shout was heard a hundred yards lower down, proceeding
+from Nicholas; and, riding in the direction of the sound, the King found
+the hart at bay on the further side of the stream, and nearly up to his
+haunches in the water. The King regarded him for a moment anxiously. The
+poor animal was now in his last extremity, but he seemed determined to
+sell his life dearly. He stood on a bank projecting into the stream,
+round which the water flowed deeply, and could not be approached without
+difficulty and danger. He had already gored several hounds, whose
+bleeding bodies were swept down the current; and, though the others
+bayed round him, they did not dare to approach him, and could not get
+behind him, as a high bank arose in his rear.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Have I your Majesty's permission to despatch him?&quot; asked Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, marry, if you can, sir,&quot; replied James. &quot;But 'ware the
+tynes!&mdash;'ware the tynes!&mdash;'If thou be hurt with hart it brings thee to
+thy bier,' as the auld ballad hath it, and the adage is true, as we
+oursel's have seen.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Nicholas, however, heeded not the caution, but, drawing his wood-knife,
+and disencumbering himself of his cloak, he plunged into the stream, and
+with one or two strokes reached the bank. The hart watched his approach,
+as if divining his purpose, with a look half menacing, half reproachful,
+and when he came near, dashed his antlered head at him. Nimbly eluding
+the blow, which, if it had taken effect, might have proved serious,
+Nicholas plunged his weapon into the poor brute's throat, who instantly
+fell with a heavy splash into the water.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel stricken! weel stricken!&quot; shouted James, who had witnessed the
+performance from the opposite bank. &quot;But how shall we get the carcase
+here?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That is easily done, sire,&quot; replied Nicholas. And taking hold of the
+horns, he guided the body to a low bank, a little below where the King
+stood.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as it was dragged ashore by the prickers, James put his bugle to
+his lips and blew a mort. A pryse was thrice sounded by Nicholas, and
+soon afterwards the whole company came flocking round the spot, whooping
+the death-note.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the hounds had gathered round the fallen hart, and were
+allowed to wreak their fury on him by tearing his throat, happily after
+sensibility was gone; while Nicholas, again baring his knife, cut off
+the right fore-foot, and presented it to the King. While this ceremony
+was performed, the varlets of the kennel having cut down a great heap of
+green branches, and strewn them on the ground, laid the hart upon them,
+on his back, and then bore him to an open space in the wood, where he
+was broken up by the King, who prided himself upon his skill in all
+matters of woodcraft. While this office was in course of execution a
+bowl of wine was poured out for the monarch, which he took, adverting,
+as he did so, to the common superstition, that if a huntsman should
+break up a deer without drinking, the venison would putrefy. Having
+drained the cup, he caused it to be filled again, and gave it to
+Nicholas, saying the liquor was needful to him after the drenching he
+had undergone. James then proceeded with his task, and just before he
+completed it, he was reminded, by a loud croak above him, that a raven
+was at hand, and accordingly taking a piece of gristle from the spoon of
+the brisket, he cast it on the ground, and the bird immediately pounced
+down upon it and carried it off in his huge beak.</p>
+
+<p>After a brief interval, the seek was again winded, another hart was
+roused, and after a short but swift chase, pulled down by the hounds,
+and dispatched with his own hand by James. Sir Richard Hoghton then
+besought the King to follow him, and led the way to a verdant hollow
+surrounded by trees, in which shady and delicious retreat preparations
+had been made for a slight silvan repast. Upon a mossy bank beneath a
+tree, a cushion was placed for the King, and before it on the sward was
+laid a cloth spread with many dainties, including</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Neats' tongues powder'd well, and jambons of the hog,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">With sausages and savoury knacks to set men's minds agog&quot;&mdash;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>cold capons, and pigeon pies. Close at hand was a clear cold spring, in
+which numerous flasks of wine were immersed. A few embers, too, had been
+lighted, on which carbonadoes of venison were prepared.</p>
+
+<p>No great form or ceremony was observed at the entertainment. Sir John
+Finett and Sir Thomas Hoghton were in close attendance upon the monarch,
+and ministered to his wants; but several of the nobles and gentlemen
+stretched themselves on the sward, and addressed themselves to the
+viands set before them by the pages. None of the dames dismounted, and
+few could be prevailed upon to take any refreshment. Besides the flasks
+of wine, there were two barrels of ale in a small cart, drawn by a mule,
+both of which were broached. The whole scene was picturesque and
+pleasing, and well calculated to gratify one so fond of silvan sports as
+the monarch for whom it was provided.</p>
+
+<p>In the midst of all this tranquillity and enjoyment an incident occurred
+which interrupted it as completely as if a thunder-storm had suddenly
+come on. Just when the mirth was at the highest, and when the flowing
+cup was at many a lip, a tremendous bellowing, followed by the crashing
+of branches, was heard in the adjoining thicket. All started to their
+feet at the appalling sound, and the King himself turned pale.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What in Heaven's name can it be, Sir Richard?&quot; he inquired. &quot;It must be
+a drove of wild cattle,&quot; replied the baronet, trembling.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Wild cattle!&quot; ejaculated James, in great alarm; &quot;and sae near us.
+Zounds! we shall be trampled and gored to death by these bulls of Basan.
+Sir Richard, ye are a fause traitor thus to endanger the safety o' your
+sovereign, and ye shall answer for it, if harm come o' it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am unable to account for it, sire,&quot; stammered the frightened baronet.
+&quot;I gave special directions to the prickers to drive the beasts away.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ye shouldna keep sic deevils i' your park, man,&quot; cried the monarch.
+&quot;Eh! what's that?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Amidst all this consternation and confusion the bellowing was redoubled,
+and the crashing of branches drew nearer and nearer, and Nicholas
+Assheton rushed forward with the King's horse, saying, &quot;Mount, sire;
+mount, and away!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But James was so much alarmed that his limbs refused to perform their
+office, and he was unable to put foot in the stirrup. Seeing his
+condition, Nicholas cried out, &quot;Pardon, my liege; but at a moment of
+peril like the present, one must not stand on ceremony.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>So saying, he took the King round the waist, and placed him on his
+steed.</p>
+
+<p>At this juncture, a loud cry was heard, and a man in extremity of terror
+issued from the wood, and dashed towards the hollow. Close on his heels
+came the drove of wild cattle, and, just as he gained the very verge of
+the descent, the foremost of the herd overtook him, and lowering his
+curled head, caught him on the points of his horns, and threw him
+forwards to such a distance that he alighted with a heavy crash almost
+at the King's feet. Satisfied, apparently, with their vengeance, or
+alarmed by the numerous assemblage, the drove instantly turned tail and
+were pursued into the depths of the forest by the prickers.</p>
+
+<p>Having recovered his composure, James bade some of the attendants raise
+the poor wretch, who was lying groaning upon the ground, evidently so
+much injured as to be unable to move without assistance. His garb was
+that of a forester, and his bulk&mdash;for he was stoutly and squarely
+built&mdash;had contributed, no doubt, to the severity of the fall. When he
+was lifted from the ground, Nicholas instantly recognised in his
+blackened and distorted features those of Christopher Demdike.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What?&quot; he exclaimed, rushing towards him. &quot;Is it thou, villain?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The sufferer only replied by a look of intense malignity.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eh! what&mdash;d'ye ken wha it is?&quot; demanded James. &quot;By my saul! I fear the
+puir fellow has maist of his banes broken.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No great matter if they be,&quot; replied Nicholas, &quot;and it may save the
+application of torture in case your Majesty desires to put any question
+to him. Chance has most strangely thrown into your hands one of the most
+heinous offenders in the kingdom, who has long escaped justice, but who
+will at length meet the punishment of his crimes. The villain is
+Christopher Demdike, son of the foul hag who perished in the flames on
+the summit of Pendle Hill, and captain of a band of robbers.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What! is the knave a warlock and a riever?&quot; demanded James, regarding
+Demdike with abhorrence, mingled with alarm.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Both, sire,&quot; replied Nicholas, &quot;and an assassin to boot. He is a
+diabolical villain.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Let him be taken to Hoghton Tower, and kept in some strong and secure
+place till we have leisure to examine him,&quot; said James,&mdash;&quot;and see that
+he be visited by some skilful chirurgeon, for we wadna hae him dee, and
+sae rob the woodie.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Demdike, who appeared to be in great agony, now forced himself to speak.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I can make important disclosures to your Majesty,&quot; he said, in hoarse
+and broken tones, &quot;if you will hear them. I am not the only offender who
+has escaped from justice,&quot; he added, glancing vindictively at
+Nicholas&mdash;&quot;there is another, a notorious witch and murderess, who is
+still screened from justice. I can reveal her hiding-place.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your Majesty will not give heed to such a villain's fabrications?&quot; said
+Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Are they fabrications, sir?&quot; rejoined James, somewhat sharply. &quot;We maun
+hear and judge. The snake, though scotched, will still bite, it seems.
+We hae hangit a Highland cateran without trial afore this, and we may be
+tempted to tak the law into our ain hands again. Bear the villain hence.
+See he be disposed of as already directed, and take good care he is
+strictly guarded. And now gie us a crossbow, Sir Richard Hoghton, and
+bid the prickers drive the deer afore us, for we wad try our skill as a
+marksman.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And while Demdike was placed on the litter of green boughs which had
+recently sustained a nobler burthen in the fallen hart, and in this sort
+was conveyed to Hoghton Tower, James rode with his retinue towards a
+long glade, where, receiving a crossbow from the huntsman, he took up a
+favourable position behind a large oak, and several herds of deer being
+driven before him, he selected his quarries, and deliberately took aim
+at them, contriving in the course of an hour to bring down four fat
+bucks, and to maim as many others, which were pulled down by the hounds.
+And with this slaughter he was content.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Richard Hoghton then informed his Majesty that a huge boar, which,
+in sporting phrase, had left the sounder five years, had broken into the
+park the night before, and had been routing amongst the fern. The age
+and size of the animal were known by the print of the feet, the toes
+being round and thick, the edge of the hoof worn and blunt, the heel
+large, and the guards, or dew-claws, great and open, from all which
+appearances it was adjudged by the baronet to be &quot;a great old boar, not
+to be refused.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>James at once agreed to hunt him, and the hounds being taken away, six
+couples of magnificent mastiffs, of the Lancashire breed, were brought
+forward, and the monarch, under the guidance of Sir Richard Hoghton and
+the chief huntsman, repaired to an adjoining thicket, in which the boar
+fed and couched.</p>
+
+<p>On arriving near his den, a boar-spear was given to the King, and the
+prickers advancing into the wood, presently afterwards reared the
+enormous brute. Sallying forth, and freaming furiously, he was instantly
+assailed by the mastiffs; but, notwithstanding the number of his
+assailants, he made light of them, shaking them from his bristly hide,
+crushing them beneath his horny feet, thrusting at them with his
+sharpened tusks, and committing terrible devastation among them.</p>
+
+<p>Repeated charges were made upon the savage animal by James, but it was
+next to impossible to get a blow at him for some time; and when at
+length the monarch made the attempt, he struck too low, and hit him on
+the snout, upon which the infuriated boar, finding himself wounded,
+sprang towards the horse, and ripped him open with his tusks.</p>
+
+<p>The noble charger instantly rolled over on his side, exposing the royal
+huntsman to the fury of his merciless assailant, whose tusks must have
+ploughed his flesh, if at this moment a young man had not ridden
+forward, and at the greatest personal risk approached the boar, and,
+striking straight downwards, cleft the heart of the fierce brute with
+his spear.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, the King, having been disengaged by the prickers from his
+wounded steed, which was instantly put out of its agony by the sword of
+the chief huntsman, looked for his deliverer, and, discovering him to be
+Richard Assheton, was loud in his expressions of gratitude.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Faith! ye maun claim a boon at our hands,&quot; said James. &quot;It maun never
+be said the King is ungrateful. What can we do for you, lad?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;For myself nothing, sire,&quot; replied Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But for another meikle&mdash;is that what ye wad hae us infer?&quot; cried the
+King, with a smile. &quot;Aweel, the lassie shall hae strict justice done
+her; but for your ain sake we maun inquire into the matter. Meantime,
+wear this,&quot; he added, taking a magnificent sapphire ring from his
+finger, &quot;and, if you should ever need our aid, send it to us as a
+token.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Richard took the gift, and knelt to kiss the hand so graciously
+extended to him.</p>
+
+<p>By this time another horse had been provided for the monarch, and the
+enormous boar, with his feet upwards and tied together, was suspended
+upon a pole, and borne on the shoulders of four stout varlets as the
+grand trophy of the chase.</p>
+
+<p>When the royal company issued from the wood a strike of nine was blown
+by the chief huntsman, and such of the cavalcade as still remained on
+the field being collected together, the party crossed the chase, and
+took the direction of Hoghton Tower.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX_THE_BANQUET" id="CHAPTER_IX_THE_BANQUET" />CHAPTER IX.&mdash;THE BANQUET.</h2>
+
+
+<p>On the King's return to Hoghton Tower, orders were given by Sir Richard
+for the immediate service of the banquet; it being the hospitable
+baronet's desire that festivities should succeed each other so rapidly
+as to allow of no tedium.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>coup-d'oeil</i> of the banquet hall on the monarch's entrance was
+magnificent. Panelled with black lustrous oak, and lighted by mullion
+windows, filled with stained glass and emblazoned with the armorial
+bearings of the family, the vast and lofty hall was hung with banners,
+and decorated with panoplies and trophies of the chase. Three long
+tables ran down it, each containing a hundred covers. At the lower end
+were stationed the heralds, the pursuivants, and a band of yeomen of the
+guard, with the royal badge, a demi-rose crowned, impaled with a
+demi-thistle, woven in gold on their doublets, and having fringed
+pole-axes over their shoulders. Behind them was a richly carved oak
+screen, concealing the passages leading to the buttery and kitchens, in
+which the clerk of the kitchen, the pantlers, and the yeomen of the
+cellar and ewery, were hurrying to and fro. Above the screen was a
+gallery, occupied by the trumpeters and minstrels; and over all was a
+noble rafter roof. The tables were profusely spread, and glittered with
+silver dishes of extraordinary size and splendour, as well as with
+flagons and goblets of the same material, and rare design. The guests,
+all of whom were assembled, were outnumbered by the prodigious array of
+serving-men, pages, and yeomen waiters in the yellow and red liveries of
+the Stuart.</p>
+
+<p>Flourishes of trumpets announced the coming of the monarch, who was
+preceded by Sir Richard Hoghton, bearing a white wand, and ushered with
+much ceremony to his place. At the upper end of the hall was a raised
+floor, and on either side of it an oriel window, glowing with painted
+glass. On this dais the King's table was placed, underneath a canopy of
+state, embroidered with the royal arms, and bearing James's kindly
+motto, &quot;<i>Beati Pacifici</i>.&quot; Seats were reserved at it for the Dukes of
+Buckingham and Richmond, the Earls of Pembroke and Nottingham, the
+Lords Howard of Effingham and Grey of Groby, Sir Gilbert Hoghton, and
+the Bishop of Chester. These constituted the favoured guests. Grace
+having been said by the bishop, the whole company took their seats, and
+the general stillness hitherto prevailing throughout the vast hall was
+broken instantaneously by the clatter of trenchers.</p>
+
+<p>A famous feast it was, and worthy of commemoration. Masters Morris and
+Miller, the two cooks who contrived it, as well as the labourers for the
+ranges, for the pastries, for the boiled meats, and for the pullets,
+performed their respective parts to admiration. The result was all that
+could be desired. The fare was solid and substantial, consisting of
+dishes which could be cut and come to again. Amongst the roast meats
+were chines of beef, haunches of venison, gigots of mutton, fatted
+geese, capons, turkeys, and sucking pigs; amongst the boiled, pullets,
+lamb, and veal; but baked meats chiefly abounded, and amongst them were
+to be found red-deer pasty, hare-pie, gammon-of-bacon pie, and baked
+wild-boar. With the salads, which were nothing more than what would,
+now-a-days be termed &quot;vegetables,&quot; were mixed all kinds of soused fish,
+arranged according to the sewer's directions&mdash;&quot;the salads spread about
+the tables, the fricassees mixed with them, the boiled meats among the
+fricassees, roast meats amongst the boiled, baked meats amongst the
+roast, and carbonadoes amongst the baked.&quot; This was the first course
+merely. In the second were all kinds of game and wild-fowl, roast herons
+three in a dish, bitterns, cranes, bustards, curlews, dotterels, and
+pewits. Besides these there were lumbar pies, marrow pies, quince pies,
+artichoke pies, florentines, and innumerable other good things. Some
+dishes were specially reserved for the King's table, as a baked swan, a
+roast peacock, and the jowl of a sturgeon soused. These and a piece of
+roast beef formed the principal dishes.</p>
+
+<p>The attendants at the royal table comprised such gentlemen as wore Sir
+Richard Hoghton's liveries, and amongst these, of course, were Nicholas
+Assheton and Sherborne. On seeing the former, the King immediately
+inquired about his deliverer, and on hearing he was at the lower tables,
+desired he might be sent for, and, as Richard soon afterwards appeared,
+having on his return from the chase changed his sombre apparel for gayer
+attire, James smiled graciously upon him, and more than once, as a mark
+of especial favour, took the wine-cup from his hands.</p>
+
+<p>The King did ample justice to the good things before him, and especially
+to the beef, which he found so excellent, that the carver had to help
+him for the second time. Sir Richard Hoghton ventured to express his
+gratification that his Majesty found the meat good&mdash;&quot;Indeed, it is
+generally admitted,&quot; he said, &quot;that our Lancashire beef is well fed, and
+well flavoured.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel flavoured!&quot; exclaimed James, as he swallowed the last juicy
+morsel; &quot;it is delicious! Finer beef nae man ever put teeth into, an I
+only wish a' my loving subjects had as gude a dinner as I hae this day
+eaten. What joint do ye ca' it, Sir Richard?&quot; he asked, with eyes
+evidently twinkling with a premeditated jest. &quot;This dish,&quot; replied the
+host, somewhat surprised &quot;this, sire, is a loin of beef.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A loin!&quot; exclaimed James, taking the carving-knife from the sewer, who
+stood by, &quot;by my faith that is not title honourable enough for joint sae
+worthy. It wants a dignity, and it shall hae it. Henceforth,&quot; he added,
+touching the meat with the flat of the long blade, as if placing the
+sword on the back of a knight expectant, &quot;henceforth, it shall be
+SIR-LOIN, an see ye ca' it sae. Give me a cup of wine, Master Richard
+Assheton.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>All the nobles at the table laughed loudly at the monarch's jest, and as
+it was soon past down to those at the lower table, the hall resounded
+with laughter, in which page and attendant of every degree joined, to
+the great satisfaction of the good-natured originator of the
+merriment.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4" /><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p>
+
+<p>&quot;My dear dad and gossip appears in unwonted good spirits to-day,&quot;
+observed the Duke of Buckingham.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;An wi' gude reason, Steenie,&quot; replied the King, &quot;for we dinna mind when
+we hae had better sport&mdash;always excepting the boar-hunt, when we should
+hae been rippit up by the cursed creature's tusks but for this braw
+laddie,&quot; he added, pointing to Richard. &quot;Ye maun see what can be done
+for him, Steenie. We maun hae him at court.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your Majesty's wishes have only to be expressed to be fulfilled,&quot;
+replied Buckingham, somewhat drily.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Were I the lad I wadna place ower meikle dependence on the Duke's
+promises,&quot; remarked Archie Armstrong, in a low tone, to Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Has your Majesty made any further inquiries about the girl suspected of
+witchcraft?&quot; inquired Buckingham, renewing the conversation.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whist, Steenie, whist!&quot; cried James. &quot;Didna ye see her yoursel' this
+morning?&quot; he added, in a low tone. &quot;Ah! I recollect ye werena at the
+chase. Aweel, I hae conferred wi' her, an am sair perplexed i' the
+matter. She is a well-faur'd lassie as ony i' the realm, and answers
+decorously and doucely. Sooth to say, her looks and manners are mightily
+in her favour.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then you mean to dismiss the matter without further investigation?&quot;
+observed Buckingham. &quot;I always thought your Majesty delighted to
+exercise your sagacity in detecting the illusions practised by Satan and
+his worshippers.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;An sae we do,&quot; replied James. &quot;But bend your bonnie head this way till
+we whisper in your ear. We hae a device for finding it a' out, which
+canna fail; and when you ken it you will applaud your dear dad's wisdom,
+and perfit maistery o' the haill science o' kingcraft.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I would your Majesty would make me acquainted with this notable
+scheme,&quot; replied Buckingham, with ill-concealed contempt. &quot;I might make
+it more certain of success.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Na&mdash;na&mdash;we shanna let the cat out of the bag just yet,&quot; returned the
+King. &quot;We mean it as a surprise to ye a'.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then, whatever be the result, it is certain to answer the effect
+intended,&quot; observed the Duke.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Gae wa'! ye are ever sceptical, Steenie&mdash;ever misdoubting your ain dear
+dad and gossip,&quot; rejoined James; &quot;but ye shall find we haena earned the
+title o' the British Solomon for naething.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Soon after this the King arose, and was ushered to his apartments by Sir
+Richard Hoghton with the same ceremony as had been observed on his
+entrance. He was followed by all the nobles; and Nicholas and the
+others, being released from their duties, repaired to the lower end of
+the hall to dine. The revel was now sufficiently boisterous; for, as the
+dames had departed at the same time as the monarch, all restraint was
+cast aside. The wine-cup flowed freely, and the rafters rang with
+laughter. Under ordinary circumstances Richard would have shrunk from
+such a scene; but he had now a part to play, and therefore essayed to
+laugh at each jest, and to appear as reckless as his neighbours. He was
+glad, however, when the signal for general dispersion was given; for
+though Sir Richard Hoghton was unwilling to stint his guests, he was
+fearful, if they sat too long over their wine, some disturbances might
+ensue; and indeed, when the revellers came forth and dispersed within
+the base court, their flushed cheeks, loud voices, and unsteady gait,
+showed that their potations had already been deep enough.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, quite as much mirth was taking place out of doors as had
+occurred within the banqueting-hall. As soon as the King sat down to
+dinner, according to promise the gates were thrown open, and the crowd
+outside admitted. The huge roast was then taken down, carved, and
+distributed among them; the only difficulty experienced being in regard
+to trenchers, and various and extraordinary were the contrivances
+resorted to to supply the deficiency. This circumstance, however, served
+to heighten the fun, and, as several casks of stout ale were broached at
+the same time, universal hilarity prevailed. Still, in the midst of so
+vast a concourse, many component parts of which had now began to
+experience the effects of the potent liquor, some little manifestation
+of disorder might naturally be expected; but all such was speedily
+quelled by the yeomen of the guard, and other officials appointed for
+the purpose, and, amidst the uproar and confusion, harmony generally
+prevailed.</p>
+
+<p>While elbowing his way through the crowd, Nicholas felt his sleeve
+plucked, and turning, perceived Nance Redferne, who signed him to follow
+her, and there was something in her manner that left him no alternative
+but compliance. Nance passed on rapidly, and entered the doorway of a
+building, where it might be supposed they would be free from
+interruption.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What do you want with me, Nance?&quot; asked the squire, somewhat
+impatiently. &quot;I must beg to observe that I cannot be troubled further on
+your account, and am greatly afraid aspersions may be thrown on my
+character, if I am seen talking with you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A few words wi' me winna injure your character, squire,&quot; rejoined
+Nance, &quot;an it's on your account an naw on my own that ey ha' brought you
+here. Ey ha' important information to gie ye. What win yo say when ey
+tell yo that Jem Device, Elizabeth Device, an' her dowter Jennet are
+here&mdash;aw breedin mischief agen yo, Ruchot Assheton, and Alizon?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The devil!&quot; ejaculated Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eigh, yo'n find it the devil, ey con promise ye, onless their plans be
+frustrated,&quot; said Nance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That can be easily done,&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;I'll cause them to be
+arrested at once.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nah, nah&mdash;that canna be,&quot; rejoined Nance&mdash;&quot;Yo mun bide your time.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;What! and allow such miscreants to go at large, and work any malice
+they please against me and my friends!&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;Show me where
+they are, Nance, or I must make you a prisoner.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nah! yo winna do that, squire,&quot; she replied in a tone of good-humoured
+defiance. &quot;Ye winna do it for two good reasons: first, becose yo'd be
+harming a freend who wants to sarve yo, and <i>win</i> do so, if yo'n let
+her; and secondly, becose if yo wur to raise a finger agen me, ey'd
+deprive yo of speech an motion. When the reet moment comes yo shan
+strike&mdash;boh it's nah come yet. The fruit is nah ripe eneugh to gather.
+Ey am os anxious os you con be, that the whole o' the Demdike brood
+should be swept away&mdash;an it shan be, if yo'n leave it to me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Well, I commit the matter entirely to you,&quot; said Nicholas. &quot;Apparently,
+it cannot be in better hands. But are you aware that Christopher Demdike
+is a prisoner here in Hoghton Tower? He was taken this morning in the
+park.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey knoa it,&quot; replied Nance; &quot;an ey knoa also why he went there, an it
+wur my intention to ha' revealed his black design to yo. However, it has
+bin ordert differently. Boh in respect to t'others, wait till I gie yo
+the signal. They are disguised; boh even if ye see 'em, an recognise
+'em, dunna let it appear till ey gie the word, or yo'n spoil aw.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your injunctions shall be obeyed implicitly, Nance,&quot; rejoined,
+Nicholas. &quot;I have now perfect reliance upon you. But when shall I see
+you again?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That depends upon circumstances,&quot; she replied. &quot;To-neet, may be&mdash;may be
+to-morrow neet. My plans maun be guided by those of others. Boh when
+next yo see me you win ha' to act.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And, without waiting an answer, she rushed out of the doorway, and,
+mingling with the crowd, was instantly lost to view; while Nicholas,
+full of the intelligence he had received, betook himself slowly to his
+lodgings.</p>
+
+<p>Scarcely were they gone when a door, which had been standing ajar, near
+them, was opened wide, and disclosed the keen visage of Master Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Here's a pretty plot hatching&mdash;here's a nice discovery I have made!&quot;
+soliloquised the attorney. &quot;The whole Demdike family, with the exception
+of the old witch herself, whom I saw burnt on Pendle Hill, are at
+Hoghton Tower. This shall be made known to the King. I'll have Nicholas
+Assheton arrested at once, and the woman with him, whom I recognise as
+Nance Redferne. It will be a wonderful stroke, and will raise me highly
+in his Majesty's estimation. Yet stay! Will not this interfere with my
+other plans with Jennet? Let me reflect. I must go cautiously to work.
+Besides, if I cause Nicholas to be arrested, Nance will escape, and then
+I shall have no clue to the others. No&mdash;no; I must watch Nicholas
+closely, and take upon myself all the credit of the discovery. Perhaps
+through Jennet I may be able to detect their disguises. At all events, I
+will keep a sharp look-out. Affairs are now drawing to a close, and I
+have only, like a wary and experienced fowler, to lay my nets cleverly
+to catch the whole covey.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And with these ruminations, he likewise went forth into the base court.</p>
+
+<p>The rest of the day was one round of festivity and enjoyment, in which
+all classes participated. There were trials of skill and strength,
+running, wrestling, and cudgeling-matches, with an infinite variety of
+country games and shows.</p>
+
+<p>Towards five o'clock a rush-cart, decked with flowers and ribbons, and
+bestridden by men bearing garlands, was drawn up in front of the central
+building of the tower, in an open window of which sat James&mdash;a
+well-pleased spectator of the different pastimes going forward; and
+several lively dances were executed by a troop of male and female
+morris-dancers, accompanied by a tabor and pipe. But though this show
+was sufficiently attractive, it lacked the spirit of that performed at
+Whalley; while the character of Maid Marian, which then found so
+charming a representative in Alizon, was now personated by a man&mdash;and if
+Nicholas Assheton, who was amongst the bystanders, was not deceived,
+that man was Jem Device. Enraged by this discovery, the squire was
+about to seize the ruffian; but, calling to mind Nance's counsel, he
+refrained, and Jem (if it indeed were he) retired with a largess,
+bestowed by the royal hand as a reward for his uncouth gambols.</p>
+
+<p>The rush-cart and morris-dancers having disappeared, another drollery
+was exhibited, called the &quot;Fool and his Five Sons,&quot; the names of the
+hopeful offspring of the sapient sire being Pickle Herring, Blue Hose,
+Pepper Hose, Ginger Hose, and Jack Allspice. The humour of this piece,
+though not particularly refined, seemed to be appreciated by the
+audience generally, as well as by the monarch, who laughed heartily at
+its coarse buffoonery.</p>
+
+<p>Next followed &quot;The Plough and Sword Dance;&quot; the principal actors being a
+number of grotesque figures armed with swords, some of whom were yoked
+to a plough, on which sat a piper, playing lustily while dragged along.
+The plough was guided by a man clothed in a bear-skin, with a fur cap on
+his head, and a long tail, like that of a lion, dangling behind him. In
+this hirsute personage, who was intended to represent the wood-demon,
+Hobthurst, Nicholas again detected Jem Device, and again was strongly
+tempted to disobey Nance's injunctions, and denounce him&mdash;the rather
+that he recognised in an attendant female, in a fantastic dress, the
+ruffian's mother, Elizabeth; but he once more desisted.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the mummers arrived in front of the King, the dance began.
+With their swords held upright, the party took hands and wheeled rapidly
+round the plough, keeping time to a merry measure played by the piper,
+who still maintained his seat. Suddenly the ring was enlarged to double
+its former size, each man extending his sword to his neighbour, who took
+hold of the point; after which an hexagonal figure was formed, all the
+blades being brought together. The swords were then quickly withdrawn,
+flashing like sunbeams, and a four square figure was presented, the
+dancers vaulting actively over each other's heads. Other variations
+succeeded, not necessary to be specified&mdash;and the sport concluded by a
+general clashing of swords, intended to represent a melee.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Nicholas had been joined by Richard Assheton, and the latter
+was not long in detecting the two Devices through their disguises. On
+making this discovery he mentioned it to the squire, and was surprised
+to find him already aware of the circumstance, and not less astonished
+when he was advised to let them alone; the squire adding he was unable
+at that time to give his reasons for such counsel, but, being good and
+conclusive, Richard would be satisfied of their propriety hereafter. The
+young man, however, thought otherwise, and, notwithstanding his
+relative's attempts to dissuade him, announced his intention of causing
+the parties to be arrested at once; and with this design he went in
+search of an officer of the guard, that the capture might be effected
+without disturbance. But the throng was so close round the dancers that
+he could not pierce it, and being compelled to return and take another
+course, he got nearer to the mazy ring, and was unceremoniously pushed
+aside by the mummers. At this moment both his arms were forcibly
+grasped, and a deep voice on the right whispered in his ear&mdash;&quot;Meddle not
+with us, and we will not meddle with you,&quot; while similar counsel was
+given him in other equally menacing tones, though in a different key, on
+the left. Richard would have shaken off his assailants, and seized them
+in his turn, but power to do so was wanting to him. For the moment he
+was deprived of speech and motion; but while thus situated he felt that
+the sapphire ring given him by the King was snatched from his finger by
+the first speaker, whom he knew to be Jem Device, while a fearful spell
+was muttered over him by Elizabeth.</p>
+
+<p>As this occurred at the time when the rattling of the swords engaged the
+whole attention of the spectators, no one noticed what was going forward
+except Nicholas, and, before he could get up to the young man, the two
+miscreants were gone, nor could any one tell what had become of them.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Have the wretches done you a mischief?&quot; asked the squire, in a low
+tone, of Richard.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;They have stolen the King's ring, which I meant to use in Alizon's
+behalf,&quot; replied the young man, who by this time had recovered his
+speech.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That is unlucky, indeed,&quot; said Nicholas. &quot;But we can defeat any ill
+design they may intend, by acquainting Sir John Finett with the
+circumstance.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Let them be,&quot; said a voice in his ear. &quot;The time is not yet come.&quot; The
+squire did not look round, for he well knew that the caution proceeded
+from Nance Redferne.</p>
+
+<p>And, accordingly, he observed to Richard&mdash;&quot;Tarry awhile, and you will be
+amply avenged.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And with this assurance the young man was fain to be content.</p>
+
+<p>Just then a trumpet was sounded, and a herald stationed on the summit of
+the broad flight of steps leading to the great hall, proclaimed in a
+loud voice that a tilting-match was about to take place between Archie
+Armstrong, jester to his most gracious Majesty, and Davy Droman, who
+filled the same honourable office to his Grace the Duke of Buckingham,
+and that a pair of gilt-heel'd chopines would be the reward of the
+successful combatant. This announcement was received with cheers, and
+preparations were instantly made for the mock tourney. A large circle
+being formed by the yeomen of the guard, with an alley leading to it on
+either side, the two combatants, mounted on gaudy-caparisoned
+hobby-horses, rode into the ring. Both were armed to the teeth, each
+having a dish-cover braced around him in lieu of a breastplate, a
+newly-scoured brass porringer on his head, a large pewter platter
+instead of a buckler, and a spit with a bung at the point, to prevent
+mischief, in place of a lance. The Duke's jester was an obese little
+fellow, and his appearance in this warlike gear was so eminently
+ridiculous, that it provoked roars of laughter, while Archie was
+scarcely less ridiculous. After curveting round the arena in imitation
+of knights of chivalry, and performing &quot;their careers, their prankers,
+their false trots, their smooth ambles, and Canterbury paces,&quot; the two
+champions took up a position opposite each other, with difficulty, as it
+seemed, reining in their pawing chargers, and awaiting the signal of
+attack to be given by Sir John Finett, the judge of the tournament. This
+was not long delayed, and the &quot;laissez aller&quot; being pronounced, the
+preux chevaliers started forward with so much fury, and so little
+discretion, that meeting half-way with a tremendous shock, and butting
+against each other like two rams, both were thrown violently backwards,
+exhibiting, amid the shouts of the spectators, their heels, no longer
+hidden by the trappings of their steeds, kicking in the air. Encumbered
+as they were, some little time elapsed before they could regain their
+feet, and their lances having been removed in the mean time, by order of
+Sir John Finett, as being weapons of too dangerous a description for
+such truculent combatants, they attacked each other with their broad
+lathen daggers, dealing sounding blows upon helm, habergeon, and shield,
+but doing little personal mischief. The strife raged furiously for some
+time, and, as the champions appeared pretty well matched, it was not
+easy to say how it would terminate, when chance seemed to decide in
+favour of Davy Droman; for, in dealing a heavier blow than usual,
+Archie's dagger snapped in twain, leaving him at the mercy of his
+opponent. On this the doughty Davy, crowing lustily like chanticleer,
+called upon him to yield; but Archie was so wroth at his misadventure,
+that, instead of complying, he sprang forward, and with the hilt of his
+broken weapon dealt his elated opponent a severe blow on the side of the
+head, not only knocking off the porringer, but stretching him on the
+ground beside it. The punishment he had received was enough for poor
+Davy. He made no attempt to rise, and Archie, crowing in his turn,
+trampling upon the body of his prostrate foe, and then capering joyously
+round it, was declared the victor, and received the gilt chopines from
+the judge, amidst the laughter and acclamations of the beholders.</p>
+
+<p>With this the public sports concluded; and, as evening was drawing on
+apace, such of the guests as were not invited to pass the night within
+the Tower, took their departure; while shortly afterwards, supper being
+served in the banqueting-hall on a scale of profusion and magnificence
+quite equal to the earlier repast, the King and the whole of his train
+sat down to it.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X_EVENING_ENTERTAINMENTS" id="CHAPTER_X_EVENING_ENTERTAINMENTS" />CHAPTER X.&mdash;EVENING ENTERTAINMENTS.</h2>
+
+<p>Other amusements were reserved for the evening. While revelry was again
+held in the great hall; while the tables groaned, for the third time
+since morning, with good cheer, and the ruby wine, which seemed to gush
+from inexhaustible fountains, mantled in the silver flagons; while
+seneschal, sewer, and pantler, with the yeomen of the buttery and
+kitchen, were again actively engaged in their vocations; while of the
+three hundred guests more than half, as if insatiate, again vied with
+each other in prowess with the trencher and the goblet; while in the
+words of old Taylor, the water poet, but who was no water-drinker&mdash;and
+who thus sang of the hospitality of the men of Manchester, in the early
+part of the seventeenth century&mdash;they had</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Roast, boil'd, bak'd, too, too much, white, claret, sack.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Nothing they thought too heavy or too hot,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Can follow'd can, and pot succeeded pot.&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>&mdash;during this time preparations were making for fresh entertainments out
+of doors.</p>
+
+<p>The gardens at Hoghton Tower, though necessarily confined in space,
+owing to their situation on the brow of a hill, were beautifully laid
+out, and commanded from their balustred terraces magnificent views of
+the surrounding country. Below them lay the well-wooded park, skirted by
+the silvery Darwen, with the fair village of Walton-le-Dale immediately
+beyond it, the proud town of Preston further on, and the single-coned
+Nese Point rising majestically in the distance. The principal garden
+constituted a square, and was divided with mathematical precision,
+according to the formal taste of the time, into smaller squares, with a
+broad well-kept gravel walk at each angle. These plots were arranged in
+various figures and devices&mdash;such as the cinq-foil, the flower-de-luce,
+the trefoil, the lozenge, the fret, the diamond, the crossbow, and the
+oval&mdash;all very elaborate and intricate in design. Besides these knots,
+as they were termed, there were labyrinths, and clipped yew-tree walks,
+and that indispensable requisite to a garden at the period, a maze. In
+the centre was a grassy eminence, surmounted by a pavilion, in front of
+which spread a grass-plot of smoothest turf, ordinarily used as a
+bowling-green. At the lower end of this a temporary stage was erected,
+for the masque about to be represented before the King. Torches were
+kindled, and numerous lamps burned in the branches of the adjoining
+trees; but they were scarcely needed, for the moon being at the full,
+the glorious effulgence shed by her upon the scene rendered all other
+light pale and ineffectual.</p>
+
+<p>After supper, at which the drinking was deeper than at dinner, the whole
+of the revellers repaired to the garden, full of frolic and merriment,
+and well-disposed for any diversion in store for them. The King was
+conducted to the bowling-green by his host, preceded by a crowd of
+attendants bearing odoriferous torches; but the royal gait being
+somewhat unsteady, the aid of Sir Gilbert Hoghton's arm was required to
+keep the monarch from stumbling. The rest of the bacchanalians followed,
+and, elated as they were, it will not be wondered that they put very
+little restraint upon themselves, but shouted, sang, danced, and
+indulged in all kinds of licence.</p>
+
+<p>Opposite the stage prepared for the masquers a platform had been reared,
+in front of which was a chair for the King, with seats for the nobles
+and principal guests behind it. The sides were hung with curtains of
+crimson velvet fringed with gold; the roof decorated like a canopy; so
+that it had a very magnificent effect. James lolled back in his chair,
+and jested loudly and rather indecorously with the various personages as
+they took their places around him. In less than five minutes the whole
+of the green was filled with revellers, and great was the pushing and
+jostling, the laughing and screaming, that ensued among them. Silence
+was then enjoined by Sir John Finett, who had stationed himself on the
+steps of the stage, and at this command the assemblage became
+comparatively quiet, though now and then a half-suppressed titter or a
+smothered scream would break out. Amid this silence the King's voice
+could be distinctly heard, and his coarse jests reached the ears of all
+the astonished audience, provoking many a severe comment from the
+elders, and much secret laughter from the juniors.</p>
+
+<p>The masque began. Two tutelar deities appeared on the stage. They were
+followed by a band of foresters clad in Lincoln green, with bows at
+their backs. The first deity wore a white linen tunic, with
+flesh-coloured hose and red buskins, and had a purple taffeta mantle
+over his shoulders. In his hand he held a palm branch, and a garland of
+the same leaves was woven round his brow. The second household god was a
+big brawny varlet, wild and shaggy in appearance, being clothed in the
+skins of beasts, with sandals of untanned cowhide. On his head was a
+garland of oak leaves; and from his neck hung a horn. He was armed with
+a hunting-spear and wood-knife, and attended by a large Lancashire
+mastiff. Advancing to the front of the stage, the foremost personage
+thus addressed the Monarch&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;This day&mdash;great King for government admired!</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Which these thy subjects have so much desired&mdash;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Shall be kept holy in their heart's best treasure,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And vow'd to JAMES as is this month to C&aelig;sar.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And now the landlord of this ancient Tower,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Thrice fortunate to see this happy hour,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Whose trembling heart thy presence sets on fire,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Unto this house&mdash;the heart of all our shire&mdash;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Does bid thee cordial welcome, and would speak it</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In higher notes, but extreme joy doth break it.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He makes his guests most welcome, in his eyes</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Love tears do sit, not he that shouts and cries.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And we the antique guardians of this place,&mdash;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">I of this house&mdash;he of the fruitful chase,&mdash;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Since the bold Hoghtons from this hill took name,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Who with the stiff, unbridled Saxons came,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And so have flourish'd in this fairer clime</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Successively from that to this our time,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Still offering up to our immortal powers</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Sweet incense, wine, and odoriferous flowers;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">While sacred Vesta, in her virgin tire,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">With vows and wishes tends the hallow'd fire.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Now seeing that thy Majesty is thus</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Greater than household deities like us,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">We render up to thy more powerful guard,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">This Tower. This knight is thine&mdash;he is thy ward,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">For by thy helping and auspicious hand,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He and his home shall ever, ever stand</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And flourish, in despite of envious fate;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And then live, like Augustus, fortunate.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And long, long mayst thou live!&mdash;To which both men</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And guardian angels cry&mdash;&quot;Amen! amen!&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+<p>James, who had demeaned himself critically during the delivery of the
+address, observed at its close to Sir Richard Hoghton, who was standing
+immediately behind his chair, &quot;We cannot say meikle for the rhymes,
+which are but indifferently strung together, but the sentiments are leal
+and gude, and that is a' we care for.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>On this the second tutelar divinity advanced, and throwing himself into
+an attitude, as if bewildered by the august presence in which he stood,
+exclaimed&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Thou greatest of mortals!&quot;&mdash;</span><br />
+</p>
+<p>And then stopped, as if utterly confounded.</p>
+
+<p>The King looked at him for a moment, and then roared out&mdash;&quot;Weel,
+gudeman, your commencement is pertinent and true enough; and though we
+be 'the greatest of mortals,' as ye style us, dinna fash yoursel' about
+our grandeur, but go on, as if we were nae better nor wiser than your
+ain simple sel'.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But, instead of encouraging the dumbfounded deity, this speech
+completely upset him. He hastily retreated; and, in trying to screen
+himself behind the huntsman, fell back from the stage, and his hound
+leapt after him. The incident, whether premeditated or not, amused the
+spectators much more than any speech he could have delivered, and the
+King joined heartily in the merriment.</p>
+
+<p>Silence being again restored, the first divinity came forward once more,
+and spoke thus:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Dread lord! thy Majesty hath stricken dumb</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">His weaker god-head; if to himself he come,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Unto thy service straight he will commend</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">These foresters, and charge them to attend</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Thy pleasure in this park, and show such sport;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To the chief huntsman and thy princely court,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">As the small circle of this round affords,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And be more ready than he was in words.&quot;<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5" /><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel spoken, and to the purpose, gude fallow,&quot; cried James. &quot;And we
+take this opportunity of assuring our worthy host, in the presence of
+his other guests, that we have never had better sport in park or forest
+than we have this day enjoyed&mdash;have never eaten better cheer, nor
+quaffed better wine than at his board&mdash;and, altogether, have never been
+more hospitably welcomed.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Sir Richard was overwhelmed by his Majesty's commendation.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have done nothing, my gracious liege,&quot; he said, &quot;to merit such
+acknowledgment on your part, and the delight I experience is only
+tempered by my utter unworthiness.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hoot-toot! man,&quot; replied James, jocularly, &quot;ye merit a vast deal mair
+than we hae said to you. But gude folk dinna always get their deserts.
+Ye ken that, Sir Richard. And now, hae ye not some ither drolleries in
+store for us?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The baronet replied in the affirmative, and soon afterwards the stage
+was occupied by a new class of performers, and a drollery commenced
+which kept the audience in one continual roar of laughter so long as it
+lasted. And yet none of the parts had been studied, the actors entirely
+trusting to their own powers of comedy to carry it out. The principal
+character was the Cap Justice, enacted by Sir John Finett, who took
+occasion in the course of the performance to lampoon and satirise most
+of the eminent legal characters of the day, mimicking the voices and
+manner of the three justices&mdash;Crooke, Hoghton, and Doddridge&mdash;so
+admirably, that his hearers were wellnigh convulsed; and the three
+learned gentlemen, who sat near the King, though fully conscious of the
+ridicule applied to them, were obliged to laugh with the rest. But the
+unsparing satirist was not content with this, but went on, with most of
+the other attendants upon the King, and being intimately versed in court
+scandal, he directed his lash with telling effect. As a contrast to the
+malicious pleasantry of the Cap Justice, were the gambols and jests of
+Robin Goodfellow&mdash;a merry imp, who, if he led people into mischief, was
+always ready to get them out of it. Then there was a dance by Bill
+Huckler, old Crambo, and Tom o' Bedlam, the half-crazed individual
+already mentioned as being among the crowd in the base court. This was
+applauded to the echo, and consequently repeated. But the most diverting
+scene of all was that in which Jem Tospot and the three Doll Wangos
+appeared. Though given in the broadest vernacular of the county, and
+scarcely intelligible to the whole of the company, the dialogue of this
+part of the piece was so lifelike and natural, that every one recognised
+its truth; while the situations, arranged with the slightest effort, and
+on the spur of the moment, were extremely ludicrous. The scene was
+supposed to take place in a small Lancashire alehouse, where a jovial
+pedlar was carousing, and where, being visited by his three
+sweethearts&mdash;each of whom he privately declared to be the favourite&mdash;he
+had to reconcile their differences, and keep them all in good-humour.
+Familiar with the character in all its aspects, Nicholas played it to
+the life; and, to do them justice, Dames Baldwyn, Tetlow, and Nance
+Redferne, were but little if at all inferior to him. There was a reality
+in their jealous quarrelling that gave infinite zest to the performance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Saul o' my body!&quot; exclaimed James, admiringly, &quot;those are three braw
+women. Ane of them maun be sax feet if she is an inch, and weel made and
+weel favourt too. Zounds! Sir Richard, there's nae standing the spells
+o' your Lancashire Witches. High-born and low-born, they are a' alike. I
+wad their only witchcraft lay in their een. I should then hae the less
+fear of 'em. But have you aught mair? for it is growing late, and ye ken
+we hae something to do in that pavilion.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Only a merry dance, my liege, in which a man will appear in a
+dendrological foliage of fronds,&quot; replied the baronet.</p>
+
+<p>James laughed at the description, and soon afterwards a party of
+mummers, male and female, clad in various grotesque garbs, appeared on
+the stage. In the midst of them was the &quot;dendrological man,&quot; enclosed in
+a framework of green boughs, like that borne by a modern
+Jack-in-the-green. A ring was formed by the mummers, and the round
+commenced to lively music.</p>
+
+<p>While the mazy measure was proceeding, Nance Redferne, who had quitted
+the stage with Nicholas, and now stood close to him among the
+spectators, said in a low tone, &quot;Look there!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The squire glanced in the direction indicated, and to his surprise and
+terror, distinguished, among the crowd at a little distance, the figure
+of a Cistertian monk.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He is invisible to every eye except our own,&quot; whispered Nance, &quot;and is
+come to tell me it is time.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Time for what?&quot; demanded Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Time for you to seize those two accursed Devices, Jem and his mother,&quot;
+replied Nance. &quot;They are both on yon boards. Jem is the man in the tree,
+and Elizabeth is the owd crone in the red kirtle and high-crowned hat.
+Yo win knoa her feaw feace when yo pluck off her mask.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The monk is gone,&quot; cried Nicholas; &quot;I have kept my eyes steadily fixed
+on him, and he has melted into air. What has he to do with the Devices?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He is their fate,&quot; returned Nance, &quot;an ey ha' acted under his orders.
+Boh mount, an seize them. Ey win ge wi' ye.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Forcing his way through the crowd, Nicholas ran up the steps, and,
+followed by Nance, sprang upon the stage. His appearance occasioned
+considerable surprise; but as he was recognised by the spectators as the
+jolly Jem Tospot, who had so recently diverted them, and his companion
+as one of the three Doll Wangos, in anticipation of some more fun they
+received him with a round of applause. But without stopping to
+acknowledge it, or being for a moment diverted from his purpose,
+Nicholas seized the old crone, and, consigning her to Nance, caught
+hold of the leafy frame in which the man was encased, and pulled him
+from under it. But he began to think he had unkennelled the wrong fox,
+for the man, though a tall fellow, bore no resemblance to Jem Device;
+while, when the crone's mask was plucked off, she was found to be a
+comely young woman. Meanwhile, all around was in an uproar, and amidst a
+hurricane of hisses, yells, and other indications of displeasure from
+the spectators, several of the mummers demanded the meaning of such a
+strange and unwarrantable proceeding.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;They are a couple of witches,&quot; cried Nicholas; &quot;this is Jem Device and
+his mother Elizabeth.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My name is nother Jem nor Device,&quot; cried the man.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nor mine Elizabeth,&quot; screamed the woman.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We know the Devices,&quot; cried two or three voices, &quot;and these are none of
+'em.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Nicholas was perplexed. The storm increased; threats accompanied the
+hisses; when luckily he espied a ring on the man's finger. He instantly
+seized his hand, and held it up to the general gaze.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A proof!&mdash;a proof!&quot; he cried. &quot;This sapphire ring was given by the King
+to my cousin, Richard Assheton, this morning, and stolen from him by Jem
+Device.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Examine their features again,&quot; said Nance Redferne, waving her hands
+over them. &quot;Yo win aw knoa them now.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The woman's face instantly altered. Many years being added to it in a
+breath. The man changed equally. The utmost astonishment was evinced by
+all at the transformation, and the bystanders who had spoken before, now
+cried out loudly&mdash;&quot;We know them perfectly now. They are the two
+Devices.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>By this time an officer, attended by a party of halberdiers, had mounted
+the boards, and the two prisoners were delivered to their custody by
+Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Howd!&quot; cried the man; &quot;Ey win no longer deny my name. Ey am Jem Device,
+an this is my mother, Elizabeth. Boh a warse offender than either on us
+stonds afore yo. This woman is Nance Redferne, grandowter of the owd
+hag, Mother Chattox. Ey charge her wi' makin' wax images, an' stickin'
+pins in 'em, wi' intent to kill folk. Hoo wad ha' kilt me mysel', wi'
+her devilry, if ey hadna bin too strong for her&mdash;an' that's why hoo
+bears me malice, an' has betrayed me to Squoire Nicholas Assheton. Seize
+her, an' ca' me as a witness agen her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as Nance was secured, he laughed malignantly.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey care not,&quot; replied Nance. &quot;Ey am now revenged on you both.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>While this impromptu performance took place, as much to the surprise of
+James as of any one else, and while he was desiring Sir Richard Hoghton
+to ascertain what it all meant&mdash;at the very moment that the two Devices
+and Nance removed from the stage, an usher approached the monarch, and
+said that Master Potts entreated a moment's audience of his majesty.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Potts!&quot; exclaimed James, somewhat confused. &quot;Wha is he?&mdash;ah, yes! I
+recollect&mdash;a witch-finder. Weel, let him approach.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly, the next moment the little attorney, whose face was
+evidently charged with some tremendous intelligence, was ushered into
+the king's presence.</p>
+
+<p>After a profound reverence, he said, &quot;May it please your Majesty, I have
+something for your private ear.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Aweel, then,&quot; replied James, &quot;approach us mair closely. What hae ye got
+to say, sir? Aught mair anent these witches?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A great deal, sire,&quot; said Potts, in an impressive tone. &quot;Something
+dreadful has happened&mdash;something terrible.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Eh! what?&quot; exclaimed James, looking alarmed. &quot;What is it, man? Speak!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Murder? sire,&mdash;murder has been done,&quot; said Potts, in low thrilling
+accents.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Murder!&quot; exclaimed James, horror-stricken. &quot;Tell us a' about it, and
+without more ado.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>But Potts was still circumspect. With an air of deepest mystery, he
+approached his head as near as he dared to that of the monarch, and
+whispered in his ear.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Can this be true?&quot; cried James. &quot;If sae&mdash;it's very shocking&mdash;very
+sad.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is too true, as your Majesty will find on investigation,&quot; replied
+Potts. &quot;The little girl I told you of, Jennet Device, saw it done.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel, weel, there is nae accounting for human frailty and wickedness,&quot;
+said James. &quot;Let a' necessary steps be taken at once. We will consider
+what to do. But&mdash;d'ye hear, sir?&mdash;dinna let the bairn Jennet go. Haud
+her fast. D'ye mind that? Now go, and cause the guilty party to be put
+under arrest.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And on receiving this command Master Potts departed.</p>
+
+<p>Scarcely was he gone than Nicholas Assheton came up to the railing of
+the platform, and, imploring his Majesty's forgiveness for the
+disturbance he had occasioned, explained that it had been owing to the
+seizure of the two Devices, who, for some wicked but unexplained
+purpose, had contrived to introduce themselves, under various disguises,
+into the Tower.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ye did right to arrest the miscreants, sir,&quot; said James. &quot;But hae ye
+heard what has happened?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, my liege,&quot; replied Nicholas, alarmed by the King's manner; &quot;what is
+it?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Come nearer, and ye shall learn,&quot; replied James; &quot;for we wadna hae it
+bruited abroad, though if true, as we canna doubt, it will be known soon
+enough.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as the squire bent forward, he imparted some intelligence to him,
+which instantly changed the expression of the latter to one of mingled
+horror and rage.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is false, sire!&quot; he cried. &quot;I will answer for her innocence with my
+life. She could not do it. Your Majesty's patience is abused. It is
+Jennet who has done it&mdash;not she. But I will unravel the terrible
+mystery. You have the other two wretches prisoners, and can enforce the
+truth from them.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We will essay to do so,&quot; replied James; &quot;but we have also another
+prisoner.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Christopher Demdike?&quot; said Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, Christopher Demdike,&quot; rejoined James. &quot;But another besides
+him&mdash;Mistress Nutter. You stare, sir; but it is true. She is in yonder
+pavilion. We ken fu' weel wha assisted her flight, and wha concealed
+her. Maister Potts has told us a'. It is weel for you that your puir
+kinsman, Richard Assheton, did us sic gude service at the boar-hunt
+to-day. We shall not now be unmindful of it, even though he cannot send
+us the ring we gave him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is here, sire,&quot; replied Nicholas. &quot;It was stolen from him by the
+villain, Jem Device. The poor youth meant to use it for Alizon. I now
+deliver it to your Majesty as coming from him in her behalf.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And we sae receive it,&quot; replied the monarch, brushing away the moisture
+that gathered thickly in his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment a tall personage, wrapped in a cloak, who appeared to be
+an officer of the guard, approached the railing.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am come to inform your Majesty that Christopher Demdike has just died
+of his wounds,&quot; said this personage.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And sae he has had a strae death, after a'!&quot; rejoined James. &quot;Weel, we
+are sorry for it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;His portion will be eternal bale,&quot; observed the officer.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;How know you that, sir?&quot; demanded the King, sharply. &quot;You are not his
+judge.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I witnessed his end, sire,&quot; replied the officer; &quot;and no man who died
+as he died can be saved. The Fiend was beside him at the death-throes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Save us!&quot; exclaimed James. &quot;Ye dinna say so? God's santie! man, but
+this is grewsome, and gars the flesh creep on one's banes. Let his foul
+carcase be taen awa', and hangit on a gibbet on the hill where Malkin
+Tower aince stood, as a warning to a' sic heinous offenders.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As the King ceased speaking, Master Potts appeared out of breath, and
+greatly excited.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She has escaped, sire!&quot; he cried.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Wha! Jennet!&quot; exclaimed James. &quot;If sae, we will tang you in her stead.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, sire&mdash;Alizon,&quot; replied Potts. &quot;I can nowhere find her; nor&mdash;&quot; and
+he hesitated.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel&mdash;weel&mdash;it is nae great matter,&quot; replied James, as if relieved,
+and with a glance of satisfaction at Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I know where Alizon is, sire,&quot; said the officer.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Indeed!&quot; exclaimed James. &quot;This fellow is strangely officious,&quot; he
+muttered to himself. &quot;And where may she be, sir?&quot; he added, aloud.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will produce her within a quarter of an hour in yonder pavilion,&quot;
+replied the officer, &quot;and all that Master Potts has been unable to
+find.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your Majesty may trust him,&quot; observed Nicholas, who had attentively
+regarded the officer. &quot;Depend upon it he will make good his words.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You think so?&quot; cried the King. &quot;Then we will put him to the test. You
+will engage to confront Alizon with her mother?&quot; he added, to the
+officer.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will, sire,&quot; replied the other. &quot;But I shall require the assistance
+of a dozen men.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Tak twenty, if you will,&quot; replied the King,&mdash;&quot;I am impatient to see
+what you can do.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;In a quarter of a minute all shall be ready within the pavilion, sire,&quot;
+replied the officer. &quot;You have seen one masque to-night;&mdash;but you shall
+now behold a different one&mdash;the masque of death.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And he disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>Nicholas felt sure he would accomplish his task, for he had recognised
+in him the Cistertian monk.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Where is Sir Richard Assheton of Middleton?&quot; inquired the King.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;He left the Tower with his daughter Dorothy, immediately after the
+banquet,&quot; replied Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am glad of it&mdash;right glad,&quot; replied the monarch; &quot;the terrible
+intelligence can be the better broken to them. If it had come upon them
+suddenly, it might have been fatal&mdash;especially to the puir lassie. Let
+Sir Ralph Assheton of Whalley come to me&mdash;and Master Roger Nowell of
+Read.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your Majesty shall be obeyed,&quot; replied Sir Richard Hoghton.</p>
+
+<p>The King then gave some instructions respecting the prisoners, and bade
+Master Potts have Jennet in readiness.</p>
+
+<p>And now to see what terrible thing had happened.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI_FATALITY" id="CHAPTER_XI_FATALITY" />CHAPTER XI.&mdash;FATALITY.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Along the eastern terrace a youth and maiden were pacing slowly. They
+had stolen forth unperceived from the revel, and, passing through a door
+standing invitingly open, had entered the garden. Though overjoyed in
+each other's presence, the solemn beauty of the night, so powerful in
+its contrast to the riotous scene they had just quitted, profoundly
+impressed them. Above, were the deep serene heavens, lighted up by the
+starry host and their radiant queen&mdash;below, the immemorial woods,
+steeped in silvery mists arising from the stream flowing past them. All
+nature was hushed in holy rest. In opposition to the flood of soft light
+emanating from the lovely planet overhead, and which turned all it fell
+on, whether tree, or tower, or stream, to beauty, was the artificial
+glare caused by the torches near the pavilion; while the discordant
+sounds occasioned by the minstrels tuning their instruments, disturbed
+the repose. As they went on, however, these sounds were lost in the
+distance, and the glare of the torches was excluded by intervening
+trees. Then the moon looked down lovingly upon them, and the only music
+that reached their ears arose from the nightingales. After a pause, they
+walked on again, hand-in-hand, gazing at each other, at the glorious
+heavens, and drinking in the thrilling melody of the songsters of the
+grove.</p>
+
+<p>At the angle of the terrace was a small arbour placed in the midst of a
+bosquet, and they sat down within it. Then, and not till then, did their
+thoughts find vent in words. Forgetting the sorrows they had endured,
+and the perils by which they were environed, they found in their deep
+mutual love a shield against the sharpest arrows of fate. In low gentle
+accents they breathed their passion, solemnly plighting their faith
+before all-seeing Heaven.</p>
+
+<p>Poor souls! they were happy then&mdash;intensely happy. Alas! that their
+happiness should be so short; for those few moments of bliss, stolen
+from a waste of tears, were all that were allowed them. Inexorable fate
+still dogged their footsteps.</p>
+
+<p>Amidst the bosquet stood a listener to their converse&mdash;a little girl
+with high shoulders and sharp features, on which diabolical malice was
+stamped. Two yellow eyes glistened through the leaves beside her,
+marking the presence of a cat. As the lovers breathed their vows, and
+indulged in hopes never to be realised, the wicked child grinned,
+clenched her hands, and, grudging them their short-lived happiness,
+seemed inclined to interrupt it. Some stronger motive, however, kept her
+quiet.</p>
+
+<p>What are the pair talking of now?&mdash;She hears her own name mentioned by
+the maiden, who speaks of her with pity, almost with affection&mdash;pardons
+her for the mischief she has done her, and hopes Heaven will pardon her
+likewise. But she knows not the full extent of the girl's malignity, or
+even her gentle heart must have been roused to resentment.</p>
+
+<p>The little girl, however, feels no compunction. Infernal malice has
+taken possession of her heart, and crushed every kindly feeling within
+it. She hates all those that compassionate her, and returns evil for
+good.</p>
+
+<p>What are the lovers talking of now? Of their first meeting at Whalley
+Abbey, when one was May Queen, and by her beauty and simplicity won the
+other's heart, losing her own at the same time. A bright unclouded
+career seemed to lie before them then. Wofully had it darkened since.
+Alas! Alas!</p>
+
+<p>The little girl smiles. She hopes they will go on. She likes to hear
+them talk thus. Past happiness is ever remembered with a pang by the
+wretched, and they <i>were</i> happy then. Go on&mdash;go on!</p>
+
+<p>But they are silent for awhile, for they wish to dwell on that hopeful,
+that blissful season. And a nightingale, alighting on a bough above
+them, pours forth its sweet plaint, as if in response to their tender
+emotions. They praise the bird's song, and it suddenly ceases.</p>
+
+<p>For the little girl, full of malevolence, stretches forth her hand, and
+it drops to the ground, as if stricken by a dart.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Is thy heart broken, poor bird?&quot; exclaimed the young man, taking up the
+hapless songster, yet warm and palpitating. &quot;To die in the midst of thy
+song&mdash;'tis hard.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Very hard!&quot; replied the maiden, tearfully. &quot;Its fate seems a type of
+our own.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The little girl laughed, but in a low tone, and to herself.</p>
+
+<p>The pair then grew sad. This slight incident had touched them deeply,
+and their conversation took a melancholy turn. They spoke of the blights
+that had nipped their love in the bud&mdash;of the canker that had eaten into
+its heart&mdash;of the destiny that so relentlessly pursued them, threatening
+to separate them for ever.</p>
+
+<p>The little girl laughed merrily.</p>
+
+<p>Then they spoke of the grave&mdash;and of hope beyond the grave; and they
+spoke cheerfully.</p>
+
+<p>The little girl could laugh no longer, for with her all beyond the grave
+was despair.</p>
+
+<p>After that they spoke of the terrible power that Satan had lately
+obtained in that unhappy district, of the arts he had employed, and of
+the votaries he had won. Both prayed fervently that his snares might be
+circumvented, and his rule destroyed.</p>
+
+<p>During this part of the discourse the cat swelled to the size of a
+tiger, and his eyes glowed like fiery coals. He made a motion as if he
+would spring forward, but the voice of prayer arrested him, and he
+shrank back to his former size.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Poor Jennet is ensnared by the Fiend,&quot; murmured the maiden, &quot;and will
+perish eternally. Would I could save her!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It cannot be,&quot; replied the young man. &quot;She is beyond redemption.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The little girl gnashed her teeth with rage.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But my mother&mdash;I do not now despair of her,&quot; said Alizon. &quot;She has
+broken the bondage by which she was enchained, and, if she resists
+temptation to the last, I am assured will be saved.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heaven aid her!&quot; exclaimed Richard.</p>
+
+<p>Scarcely were the words uttered, than the cat disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why, Tib!&mdash;where are yo, Tib? Ey want yo!&quot; cried the little girl in a
+low tone.</p>
+
+<p>But the familiar did not respond to the call.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Where con he ha' gone?&quot; cried Jennet; &quot;Tib! Tib!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Still the cat came not.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then ey mun do the wark without him,&quot; pursued the little girl; &quot;an ey
+win no longer delay it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And with this she crept stealthily round the arbour, and, approaching
+the side where Richard sat, watched an opportunity of touching him
+unperceived.</p>
+
+<p>As her finger came in contact with his frame, a pang like death shot
+through his heart, and he fell upon Alizon's shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Are you ill?&quot; she exclaimed, gazing at his pallid features, rendered
+ghastly white by the moonlight.</p>
+
+<p>Richard could make no reply, and Alizon, becoming dreadfully alarmed,
+was about to fly for assistance, but the young man, by a great effort,
+detained her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey mun now run an tell Mester Potts, so that hoo may be found wi' him,&quot;
+muttered Jennet, creeping away.</p>
+
+<p>Just then Richard recovered his speech, but his words were faintly
+uttered, and with difficulty.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alizon,&quot; he said, &quot;I will not attempt to disguise my condition from
+you. I am dying. And my death will be attributed to you&mdash;for evil-minded
+persons have persuaded the King that you have bewitched me, and he will
+believe the charge now. Oh! if you would ease the pangs of death for
+me&mdash;if you would console my latest moments&mdash;leave me, and quit this
+place, before it be too late.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! Richard,&quot; she cried distractedly; &quot;you ask more than I can perform.
+If you are indeed in such imminent danger, I will stay with you&mdash;will
+die with you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No! live for me&mdash;live&mdash;save yourself, Alizon,&quot; implored the young man.
+&quot;Your danger is greater than mine. A dreadful death awaits you at the
+stake! Oh! mercy, mercy, heaven! Spare her&mdash;in pity spare her!&mdash;Have we
+not suffered enough? I can no more. Farewell for ever, Alizon&mdash;one
+kiss&mdash;the last.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And as their lips met, his strength utterly forsook him, and he fell
+backwards.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;One grave!&quot; he murmured; &quot;one grave, Alizon!&quot;&mdash;And so, without a groan,
+he expired.</p>
+
+<p>Alizon neither screamed nor swooned, but remained in a state of
+stupefaction, gazing at the body. As the moon fell upon the placid
+features, they looked as if locked in slumber.</p>
+
+<p>There he lay&mdash;the young, the brave, the beautiful, the loving, the
+beloved. Fate had triumphed. Death had done his work; but he had only
+performed half his task.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;One grave&mdash;one grave&mdash;it was his last wish&mdash;it shall be so!&quot; she cried,
+in frenzied tones, &quot;I shall thus escape my enemies, and avoid the
+horrible and shameful death to which they would doom me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And she snatched the dagger from the ill-fated youth's side.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Now, fate, I defy thee!&quot; she cried, with a fearful laugh.</p>
+
+<p>One last look at that calm beautiful face&mdash;one kiss of the cold lips,
+which can no more return the endearment&mdash;and the dagger is pointed at
+her breast.</p>
+
+<p>But she is withheld by an arm of iron, and the weapon falls from her
+grasp. She looks up. A tall figure, clothed in the mouldering
+habiliments of a Cistertian monk, stands beside her. She knows the
+vestments at once, for she has seen them before, hanging up in the
+closet adjoining her mother's chamber at Whalley Abbey&mdash;and the features
+of the ghostly monk seem familiar to her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Raise not thy hand against thyself,&quot; said the phantom, in a tone of
+awful reproof. &quot;It is the Fiend prompts thee to do it. He would take
+advantage of thy misery to destroy thee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I took thee for the Fiend,&quot; replied Alizon, gazing at him with wonder
+rather than with terror. &quot;Who art thou?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The enemy of thy enemies, and therefore thy friend,&quot; replied the monk.
+&quot;I would have saved thy lover if I could, but his destiny was not to be
+averted. But, rest content, I will avenge him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I do not want vengeance&mdash;I want to be with him,&quot; she replied,
+frantically embracing the body.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou wilt soon be with him,&quot; said the phantom, in tones of deep
+significance. &quot;Arise, and come with me. Thy mother needs thy
+assistance.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My mother!&quot; exclaimed Alizon, clearing the blinding tresses from her
+brow. &quot;Where is she?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Follow me, and I will bring thee to her,&quot; said the monk.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And leave him? I cannot!&quot; cried Alizon, gazing wildly at the body.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You must. A soul is at stake, and will perish if you come not,&quot; said
+the monk. &quot;He is at rest, and you will speedily rejoin him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;With that assurance I will go,&quot; replied Alizon, with a last look at the
+object of her love. &quot;One grave&mdash;lay us in one grave!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It shall be done according to your wish,&quot; said the monk.</p>
+
+<p>And he glided on with noiseless footsteps.</p>
+
+<p>Alizon followed him along the terrace.</p>
+
+<p>Presently they came to a dark yew-tree walk, leading to a labyrinth, and
+tracking it swiftly, as well as the overarched and intricate path to
+which it conducted, they entered a grotto, whence a flight of steps
+descended to a subterranean passage, hewn out of the rock. Along this
+passage, which was of some extent, the monk proceeded, and Alizon
+followed him.</p>
+
+<p>At last they came to another flight of steps, and here the monk stopped.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We are now beneath the pavilion, where you will find your mother,&quot; he
+said. &quot;Mount! the way is clear before you. I have other work to do.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Alizon obeyed; and, as she advanced, was surprised to find the monk
+gone. He had neither passed her nor ascended the steps, and must,
+therefore, have sunk into the earth.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII_THE_LAST_HOUR" id="CHAPTER_XII_THE_LAST_HOUR" />CHAPTER XII.&mdash;THE LAST HOUR.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Within the pavilion sat Alice Nutter. She was clad in deep mourning, but
+her dress seemed disordered as if by hasty travel. Her looks were full
+of anguish and terror; her blanched tresses, once so dark and beautiful,
+hung dishevelled over her shoulders; and her thin hands were clasped in
+supplication. Her cheeks were ashy pale, but on her brow was a bright
+red mark, as if traced by a finger dipped in blood.</p>
+
+<p>A lamp was burning on the table beside her. Near it was a skull, and
+near this emblem of mortality an hourglass, running fast.</p>
+
+<p>The windows and doors of the building were closed, and it would seem the
+unhappy lady was a prisoner.</p>
+
+<p>She had been brought there secretly that night, with what intent she
+knew not; but she felt sure it was with no friendly design towards
+herself. Early in the day three horsemen had arrived at her retreat in
+Pendle Forest, and without making any charge against her, or explaining
+whither they meant to take her, or indeed answering any inquiry, had
+brought her off with them, and, proceeding across the country, had
+arrived at a forester's hut on the outskirts of Hoghton Park. Here they
+tarried till evening, placing her in a room by herself, and keeping
+strict watch over her; and when the shadows of night fell, they conveyed
+her through the woods, and by a private entrance to the gardens of the
+Tower, and with equal secresy to the pavilion, where, setting a lamp
+before her, they left her to her meditations. All refused to answer her
+inquiries, but one of them, with a sinister smile, placed the hourglass
+and skull beside her.</p>
+
+<p>Left alone, the wretched lady vainly sought some solution of the
+enigma&mdash;why she had been brought thither. She could not solve it; but
+she determined, if her capture had been made by any lawful authorities,
+to confess her guilt and submit to condign punishment.</p>
+
+<p>Though the windows and doors were closed as before mentioned, sounds
+from without reached her, and she heard confused and tumultuous noises
+as if from a large assemblage. For what purpose were they met? Could it
+be for her execution? No&mdash;there were strains of music, and bursts of
+laughter. And yet she had heard that the burning of a witch was a
+spectacle in which the populace delighted&mdash;that they looked upon it as a
+show, like any other; and why should they not laugh, and have music at
+it? But could she be executed without trial, without judgment? She knew
+not. All she knew was she was guilty, and deserved to die. But when this
+idea took possession of her, the laughter sounded in her ears like the
+yells of demons, and the strains like the fearful harmonies she had
+heard at weird sabbaths.</p>
+
+<p>All at once she recollected with indescribable terror, that on this very
+night the compact she had entered into with the Fiend expired. That at
+midnight, unless by her penitence and prayers she had worked out her
+salvation, he could claim her. She recollected also, and with increased
+uneasiness, that the man who had set the hourglass on the table, and who
+had regarded her with a sinister smile as he did so, had said it was
+eleven o'clock! Her last hour then had arrived&mdash;nay, was partly spent,
+and the moments were passing swiftly by.</p>
+
+<p>The agony she endured at this thought was intense. She felt as if reason
+were forsaking her, and, but for her determined efforts to resist it,
+such a crisis might have occurred. But she knew that her eternal welfare
+depended upon the preservation of her mental balance, and she strove to
+maintain it, and in the end succeeded.</p>
+
+<p>Her gaze was fixed intently on the hourglass. She saw the sand trickling
+silently but swiftly down, like a current of life-blood, which, when it
+ceased, life would cease with it. She saw the shining grains above
+insensibly diminishing in quantity, and, as if she could arrest her
+destiny by the act, she seized the glass, and would have turned it, but
+the folly of the proceeding arrested her, and she set it down again.</p>
+
+<p>Then horrible thoughts came upon her, crushing her and overwhelming her,
+and she felt by anticipation all the torments she would speedily have to
+endure. Oceans of fire, in which miserable souls were for ever tossing,
+rolled before her. Yells, such as no human anguish can produce, smote
+her ears. Monsters of frightful form yawned to devour her. Fiends, armed
+with terrible implements of torture, such as the wildest imagination
+cannot paint, menaced her. All hell, and its horrors, was there, its
+dreadful gulf, its roaring furnaces, its rivers of molten metal, ever
+burning, yet never consuming its victims. A hot sulphureous atmosphere
+oppressed her, and a film of blood dimmed her sight.</p>
+
+<p>She endeavoured to pray, but her tongue clove to the roof of her mouth.
+She looked about for her Bible, but it had been left behind when she was
+taken from her retreat. She had no safeguard&mdash;none.</p>
+
+<p>Still the sand ran on.</p>
+
+<p>New agonies assailed her. Hell was before her again, but in a new form,
+and with new torments. She closed her eyes. She shut her ears. But she
+saw it still, and heard its terrific yells.</p>
+
+<p>Again she consults the hourglass. The sand is running on&mdash;ever
+diminishing.</p>
+
+<p>New torments assail her. She thinks of all she loves most on earth&mdash;of
+her daughter! Oh! if Alizon were near her, she might pray for her&mdash;might
+scare away these frightful visions&mdash;might save her. She calls to
+her&mdash;but she answers not. No, she is utterly abandoned of God and man,
+and must perish eternally.</p>
+
+<p>Again she consults the hourglass. One quarter of an hour is all that
+remains to her. Oh! that she could employ it in prayer! Oh! that she
+could kneel&mdash;or even weep!</p>
+
+<p>A large mirror hangs against the wall, and she is drawn towards it by an
+irresistible impulse. She sees a figure within it&mdash;but she does not know
+herself. Can that cadaverous object, with the white hair, that seems
+newly-arisen from the grave, be she? It must be a phantom. No&mdash;she
+touches her cheek, and finds it is real. But, ah! what is this red brand
+upon her brow? It must be the seal of the demon. She tries to efface
+it&mdash;but it will not come out. On the contrary, it becomes redder and
+deeper.</p>
+
+<p>Again she consults the glass. The sand is still running on. How many
+minutes remain to her?</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ten!&quot; cried a voice, replying to her mental inquiry.&mdash;&quot;Ten!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And, turning, she perceived her familiar standing beside her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thy time is wellnigh out, Alice Nutter,&quot; he said. &quot;In ten minutes my
+lord will claim thee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My compact with thy master is broken,&quot; she replied, summoning up all
+her resolution. &quot;I have long ceased to use the power bestowed upon me;
+but, even if I had wished it, thou hast refused to serve me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I have refused to serve you, madam, because you have disobeyed the
+express injunctions of my master,&quot; replied the familiar; &quot;but your
+apostasy does not free you from bondage. You have merely lost advantages
+which you might have enjoyed. If you chose to dismiss me I could not
+help it. Neither I nor my lord have been to blame. We have performed our
+part of the contract.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Why am I brought hither?&quot; demanded Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will tell you,&quot; replied the familiar. &quot;You were brought here by order
+of the King. Your retreat was revealed to him by Master Potts, who
+learnt it from Jennet Device. The sapient sovereign intended to confront
+you with your daughter Alizon, who, like yourself, is accused of
+witchcraft; but he will be disappointed&mdash;for when he comes for you, you
+will be out of his reach&mdash;ha! ha!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And he rubbed his hands at the jest.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alizon accused of witchcraft&mdash;say'st thou?&quot; cried Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay,&quot; replied the familiar. &quot;She is suspected of bewitching Richard
+Assheton, who has been done to death by Jennet Device. For one so young,
+the little girl has certainly a rare turn for mischief. But no one will
+know the real author of the crime, and Alizon will suffer for it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heaven will not suffer such iniquity,&quot; said the lady.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;As you have nothing to do with heaven, madam, it is needless to refer
+to it,&quot; said the familiar. &quot;But it certainly is rather hard that one so
+young as Alizon should perish.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Can you save her?&quot; asked Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! yes, I <i>could</i> save her, but she will not let me,&quot; replied the
+familiar, with a grin.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No&mdash;no&mdash;it is impossible,&quot; cried the wretched woman. &quot;And I cannot help
+her.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Perhaps you might,&quot; observed the tempter. &quot;My master, whom you accuse
+of harshness, is ever willing to oblige you. You have a few minutes
+left&mdash;do you wish him to aid her? Command me, and I will obey you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;This is some snare,&quot; thought Mistress Nutter; &quot;I will resist it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You cannot be worse off than you are,&quot; remarked the familiar.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I know not that,&quot; replied the lady. &quot;What would'st thou do?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Whatever you command me, madam. I can, do nothing of my own accord.
+Shall I bring your daughter here? Say so, and it shall be done.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No&mdash;thou would'st ensnare me,&quot; she replied. &quot;I well know thou hast no
+power over her. Thou would'st place some phantasm before me. I would see
+her, but not through thy agency.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She is here,&quot; cried Alizon, opening the door of a closet, and rushing
+towards her mother, who instantly locked her in her arms.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Pray for me, my child,&quot; cried Mistress Nutter, mastering her emotion,
+&quot;or I shall be snatched from you for ever. My moments are numbered.
+Pray&mdash;pray!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Alizon fell on her knees, and prayed fervently.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You waste your breath,&quot; cried the familiar, in a mocking tone. &quot;Never
+till the brand shall disappear from her brow, and the writing, traced in
+her blood, shall vanish from this parchment, can she be saved. She is
+mine.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Pray, Alizon, pray!&quot; shrieked Mistress Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will tear her in pieces if she does not cease,&quot; cried the familiar,
+assuming a terrible shape, and menacing her with claws like those of a
+wild beast.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Pray thou, mother!&quot; cried Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I cannot,&quot; replied the lady.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will kill her if she but makes the attempt,&quot; howled the demon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;But try, mother, try!&quot; cried Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>The poor lady dropped on her knees, and raised her hands in humble
+supplication&mdash;&quot;Heaven forgive me!&quot; she exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>The demon seized the hourglass.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The sand is out&mdash;her term has expired&mdash;she is mine!&quot; he cried.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Clasp thy arms tightly round me, my child. He cannot take me from
+thee,&quot; shrieked the agonised woman.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Release her, Alizon, or I will slay thee likewise,&quot; roared the demon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Never,&quot; she replied; &quot;thou canst not overcome me. Ha!&quot; she added
+joyfully, &quot;the brand has disappeared from her brow.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And the writing from the parchment,&quot; howled the demon; &quot;but I will have
+her notwithstanding.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And he plunged his claws into Alice Nutter's flesh. But her daughter
+held her fast.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Oh! hold me, my child&mdash;hold me, or I am lost!&quot; shrieked the lady.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Be warned, and let her go, or thy life shall pay for her's,&quot; cried the
+demon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My life for her's, willingly,&quot; replied Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then take thy fate,&quot; rejoined the evil spirit.</p>
+
+<p>And placing his hand upon her heart, it instantly ceased to beat.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Mother, thou art saved&mdash;saved!&quot; exclaimed Alizon, throwing out her
+arms.</p>
+
+<p>And gazing at her for an instant with a seraphic look, she fell
+backwards, and expired.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou art mine,&quot; roared the demon, seizing Mistress Nutter by the hair,
+and dragging her from her daughter's body, to which she clung
+desperately.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Help!&mdash;help!&quot; she cried.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou mayst call, but thy cries will be unheeded,&quot; rejoined the familiar
+with mocking laughter.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou liest, false fiend!&quot; said Mistress Nutter. &quot;Heaven will help me
+now.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And, as she spoke, the Cistertian monk stood before them.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hence!&quot; he cried with an imperious gesture to the demon. &quot;She is no
+longer in thy power. Hence!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And with a howl of rage and disappointment the familiar vanished.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alice Nutter,&quot; continued the monk, &quot;thy safety has been purchased at
+the price of thy daughter's life. But it is of little moment, for she
+could not live long. Her gentle heart was broken, and, when the demon
+stopped it for ever, he performed unintentionally a merciful act. She
+must rest in the same grave with him she loved so well during life. This
+tell to those who will come to thee anon. Thou art delivered from the
+yoke of Satan. Full expiation has been made. But earthly justice must be
+satisfied. Thou must pay the penalty for crimes committed in the flesh,
+but what thou sufferest here shall avail thee hereafter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am content,&quot; she replied.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Pass the rest of thy life in penitence and prayer,&quot; pursued the monk,
+&quot;and let nothing divert thee from it; for, though free now, thou wilt be
+subject to evil influence and temptations to the last. Remember this.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will&mdash;I will,&quot; she rejoined.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And now,&quot; he said, &quot;kneel beside thy daughter's body and pray. I will
+return to thee ere many minutes be passed. One task more, and then my
+mission is ended.&quot;</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII_THE_MASQUE_OF_DEATH" id="CHAPTER_XIII_THE_MASQUE_OF_DEATH" />CHAPTER XIII.&mdash;THE MASQUE OF DEATH.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Short time as he had to await, James was unable to control his
+impatience. At last he arose, and, completely sobered by the recent
+strange events, descended the steps of the platform, and walked on
+without assistance.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Let the yeomen of the guard keep back the crowd,&quot; he said to an
+officer, &quot;and let none follow me but Sir Ralph Assheton, Master Nicholas
+Assheton, and Master Roger Nowell. When I call, let the prisoners be
+brought forward.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your Majesty shall be obeyed,&quot; replied the baronet, giving the
+necessary directions.</p>
+
+<p>James then moved slowly forward in the direction of the pavilion; and,
+as he went, called Nicholas Assheton to him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Wha was that officer?&quot; he asked.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Your pardon, my liege, but I cannot answer the question,&quot; replied
+Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And why not, sir?&quot; demanded the monarch, sharply.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;For reasons I will hereafter render to your Majesty, and which I am
+persuaded you will find satisfactory,&quot; rejoined the squire.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel, weel, I dare say you are right,&quot; said the King. &quot;But do you think
+he will keep his word?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am sure of it,&quot; returned Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The time is come, then!&quot; exclaimed James impatiently, and looking up at
+the pavilion.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The time is come!&quot; echoed a sepulchral voice.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Did you speak?&quot; inquired the monarch.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No, sire,&quot; replied Nicholas; &quot;but some one seemed to give you
+intimation that all is ready. Will it please you to go on?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Enter!&quot; cried the voice.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Wha speaks?&quot; demanded the King. And, as no answer was returned, he
+continued&mdash;&quot;I will not set foot in the structure. It may be a snare of
+Satan.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>At this moment, the shutters of the windows flew open, showing that the
+pavilion was lighted up by many tapers within, while solemn strains of
+music issued from it.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Enter!&quot; repeated the voice.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Have no fear, sire,&quot; said Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That canna be the wark o' the deil,&quot; cried James. &quot;He does not delight
+in holy hymns and sweet music.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;That is a solemn dirge for the dead,&quot; observed Nicholas, as melodious
+voices mingled with the music.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Weel, weel, I will go on at a' hazards,&quot; said James.</p>
+
+<p>The doors flew open as the King and his attendants approached, and, as
+soon as they had passed through them, the valves swung back to their
+places.</p>
+
+<p>A strange sad spectacle met their gaze. In the midst of the chamber
+stood a bier, covered with a velvet pall, and on it the bodies of a
+youth and maiden were deposited. Pale and beautiful were they as
+sculptured marble, and a smile sat upon their features. Side by side
+they were lying, with their arms enfolded, as if they had died in each
+other's embrace. A wreath of yew and cypress was placed above their
+heads, and flowers were scattered round them.</p>
+
+<p>They were Richard and Alizon.</p>
+
+<p>It was a deeply touching sight, and for some time none spake. The solemn
+dirge continued, interrupted only by the stifled sobs of the listeners.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Both gone!&quot; exclaimed Nicholas, in accents broken by emotion; &quot;and so
+young&mdash;so good&mdash;so beautiful! Alas! alas!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;She could not have bewitched him,&quot; said the King.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alizon was all purity and goodness,&quot; cried Nicholas, &quot;and is now
+numbered with the angels.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;The guilty one is in thy hands, O King!&quot; said the voice. &quot;It is for
+thee to punish.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And I will not hold my hand,&quot; said James. &quot;The Devices shall assuredly
+perish. When I go from this chamber, I will have them conveyed under a
+strong escort to Lancaster Castle. They shall die by the hands of the
+common executioner.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;My mission, then, is complete,&quot; replied the voice. &quot;I can rest in
+peace.&quot;.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who art thou?&quot; demanded the King.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;One who sinned deeply, but is now pardoned,&quot; replied the voice.</p>
+
+<p>The King was for a moment lost in reflection, and then turned to depart.
+At this moment a kneeling figure, whom no one had hitherto noticed,
+arose from behind the bier. It was a lady, robed in mourning. So ghastly
+pale were her features, and so skeleton-like her attenuated frame, that
+James thought he beheld a spectre, and recoiled in terror. The figure
+advanced slowly towards him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Who, and what art thou, in Heaven's name?&quot; he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am Alice Nutter, sire,&quot; replied the lady, prostrating herself before
+him.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alice Nutter, the witch!&quot; cried the King. &quot;Why&mdash;ay, I recollect thou
+wert here. I sent for thee, but recent terrible events had put thee
+clean out of my head. But expect no grace from me, evil woman. I will
+show thee none.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I ask none, sire,&quot; replied the penitent. &quot;I came to place myself in
+your hands, that justice may be done upon me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ah!&quot; exclaimed James. &quot;Dost thou, indeed, repent thee of thy
+iniquities? Dost thou abjure the devil and all his works?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I do,&quot; replied the lady, fervently. &quot;My compact with the Evil One has
+been broken by the prayers of my devoted daughter, who sacrificed
+herself for me, and thereby saved my soul alive. But human justice
+requires an expiation, and I am anxious to make it.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Arise, ill-fated woman,&quot; said the king, much moved. &quot;You must go to
+Lancaster, but, in consideration of your penitence, no indignity shall
+be shown you. You must be strictly guarded, but you shall not be taken
+with the other prisoners.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I humbly thank your Majesty,&quot; replied the lady. &quot;May I take a last
+farewell of my child?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Do so,&quot; replied James.</p>
+
+<p>Alice Nutter then approached the bier, and, after gazing for a moment
+with deepest fondness upon the features of her daughter, imprinted a
+kiss upon her marble brow. In doing this her tears fell fast.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You can weep, I see,&quot; observed the King. &quot;You are a witch no longer.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ay, Heaven be praised! I can weep,&quot; she replied; &quot;and so ease my
+over-burthened heart. Oh! sire, none but those who have experienced it
+can tell the agony of being denied this relief of nature. Farewell for
+ever, my blessed child!&quot; she exclaimed, kissing her brow again; &quot;and
+you, too, her beloved. Nicholas Assheton&mdash;it was her wish to be buried
+in the same grave with Richard. You will see it done, Nicholas?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I will&mdash;I will!&quot; replied the squire, in a voice of deepest emotion.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And I likewise promise it,&quot; said Sir Ralph Assheton. &quot;They shall rest
+together in Whalley churchyard. It is well that Sir Richard and Dorothy
+are gone,&quot; he observed to Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;It is indeed,&quot; said the squire, &quot;or we should have had another funeral
+to perform. Pray Heaven it be not so now!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Have you any other request to prefer?&quot; demanded the King.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;None whatever, sire,&quot; replied the lady, &quot;except that I wish to make
+full restitution of all the land I have robbed him of, to Master Roger
+Nowell; and, as some compensation, I would fain add certain lands
+adjoining, which have been conveyed over to Sir Ralph and Nicholas
+Assheton, only annexing the condition that a small sum annually be given
+in dole to the poor of the parish, that I may be remembered in their
+prayers.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;We will see it done,&quot; said Sir Ralph and Nicholas.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And I will see my part fulfilled,&quot; said Nowell. &quot;For any wrong you have
+done me I now freely and fully forgive you, and may Heaven in its
+infinite mercy forgive you likewise!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Amen!&quot; ejaculated the monarch. And all the others joined in the
+ejaculation.</p>
+
+<p>The King then moved to the door, which was opened for him by the two
+Asshetons. At the foot of the steps stood Master Potts, attended by an
+officer of the guard and a party of halberdiers. In the midst of them,
+with their hands tied behind their backs, were Jem Device, his mother,
+Jennet, and poor Nance Redferne. Jem looked dogged and sullen, Elizabeth
+downcast, but Jennet retained her accustomed malignant expression. Poor
+Nance was the only one who excited any sympathy. Jennet's malice seemed
+now directed against Master Potts, whom she charged with having betrayed
+and deceived her.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;If Tib had na deserted me he should tear thee i' pieces, thou
+ill-favourt little monster,&quot; she cried.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Monster in your own face, you hideous little wretch,&quot; exclaimed the
+indignant attorney. &quot;If you use such opprobrious epithets I will have
+you gagged. You will be taken to Lancaster Castle, and hanged.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Yo are os bad as ey am, and warse,&quot; replied Jennet, &quot;and deserve
+hanging os weel, and the King shan knoa of your tricks,&quot; she
+vociferated, as James appeared at the door of the pavilion. &quot;Yo wished
+to ensnare Alizon. Yo wished me to kill her. Ey was only your
+instrument.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Stop her mouth&mdash;gag her!&quot; cried Potts.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Nah, nah!&mdash;they shanna stap my mouth&mdash;they shanna gag me,&quot; cried
+Jennet. &quot;Ey win speak out. The King shan hear me. You are as bad os me.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;All malice, your Majesty&mdash;all malice,&quot; cried the attorney.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Malice, nae doubt, in great pairt,&quot; replied James; &quot;but some truth as
+weel, I fear, sir. And in any case it will prevent my doing any thing
+for you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There, you have ruined my hopes, you little wretch!&quot; cried Potts,
+furiously.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Ey'm reet glad on't,&quot; said Jennet. &quot;Yo may tay me to Lonkester Castle,
+boh yo conna hong me. Ey knoa that fu' weel. Ey shan get out, and then
+look to yersel, lad; for, os sure os ey'm Mother Demdike's grandowter,
+ey'n plague the life out o' ye.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Take the prisoners away, and let them be conveyed under a strict escort
+to Lancaster Castle,&quot; said James.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And, as the assizes commence next week, quick work will be made with
+them, your Majesty,&quot; observed Potts. &quot;Their guilt can be incontestably
+proved, so they are sure to be found guilty, sure to be hanged, sire.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As the prisoners were removed, Nance Redferne looked round her, and,
+catching the eye of Nicholas, made a slight motion with her head, as if
+bidding him farewell.</p>
+
+<p>The squire returned the mute valediction.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Poor Nance!&quot; he exclaimed, compassionately, &quot;I sincerely pity her.
+Would there was any means of saving her!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;There is none,&quot; observed Sir Ralph Assheton. &quot;And you may be thankful
+you are not brought in as her accomplice.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>As Jennet was taken away, she continued to hurl threats and imprecations
+against Potts.</p>
+
+<p>Another officer of the guard was then summoned, and when he came, James
+said, &quot;One other prisoner remains within the pavilion. She likewise must
+be conveyed to Lancaster Castle but in a litter, and not with the other
+prisoners.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>Attended by Sir Richard Hoghton, the monarch then proceeded to his
+lodgings in the Tower.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV_ONE_GRAVE" id="CHAPTER_XIV_ONE_GRAVE" />CHAPTER XIV.&mdash;&quot;ONE GRAVE.&quot;</h2>
+
+
+<p>Notwithstanding the sad occurrences above detailed, James remained for
+two more days the guest of Sir Richard Hoghton, enjoying his princely
+hospitality, hunting in the park, carousing in the great hall, and
+witnessing all kinds of sports.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing, indeed, was left to remind him of the sad events that had
+occurred. The prisoners were taken that night to Lancaster Castle, and
+Master Potts accompanied the escort, to be ready for the assizes. The
+three judges proceeded thither at the end of the week. The attendance of
+Roger Nowell, Nicholas, and Sir Ralph Assheton, was also required as
+witnesses at the trial of the witches.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Richard Assheton and Dorothy had returned, as already stated, to
+Middleton; and, though the intelligence of the death of Richard and
+Alizon was communicated to them with infinite caution, the shock to both
+was very great, especially to Dorothy, who was long&mdash;very long&mdash;in
+recovering from it.</p>
+
+<p>Nicholas's vivacity of temperament made him feel the loss of his cousin
+at first very keenly, but it soon wore off. He vowed amendment and
+reformation on the model of John Bruen, whose life offered so striking a
+contrast to his own, that it has very properly been placed in opposition
+by a reverend moralist; but I regret to say that he did not carry out
+his praiseworthy intentions. He was apt to make a joke of John Bruen,
+instead of imitating his example. He professed to devote himself to his
+excellent wife&mdash;but his old habits would break out; and, I am sorry to
+say, he was often to be found in the alehouse, and was just as fond of
+horse-racing, cock-fighting, hunting, fishing, and all other sports, as
+ever. Occasionally he occupied a leisure or a rainy day with a
+Journal,<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6" /><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> parts of which have been preserved; but he set down in it
+few of the terrible events here related, probably because they were of
+too painful a nature to be recorded. He died in 1625&mdash;at the early age
+of thirty-five.</p>
+
+<p>But to go back. A few days after the tragical events at Hoghton Tower,
+the whole village of Whalley was astir. But it was no festive
+occasion&mdash;no merry-making&mdash;that called forth the inhabitants, for grief
+sat upon every countenance. The day, too, was gloomy. The feathered
+summits of Whalley Nab were wreathed in mist, and a fine rain descended
+in the valley. The Calder looked dull and discoloured as it flowed past
+the walls of the ancient Abbey. The church bell tolled mournfully, and a
+large concourse was gathered in the churchyard. Not far from one of the
+three crosses of Paulinus, which stood nearest the church porch, a grave
+had been digged, and almost every one looked into it. The grave, it was
+said, was intended to hold two coffins. Soon after this, a train of
+mourners issued from the ancient Abbey gateway, and sure enough there
+were two coffins on the shoulders of the bearers; They were met at the
+gate by Doctor Ormerod, who was so deeply affected as scarcely to be
+able to perform the needful offices for the dead. The principal mourners
+were Sir Richard Assheton of Middleton, Sir Ralph Assheton, and
+Nicholas. Amid the tears and sobs of all the bystanders, the bodies of
+Richard and Alizon were committed to the earth&mdash;laid together in one
+grave.</p>
+
+<p>Thus was their latest wish fulfilled. Flowers grew upon the turf that
+covered them, and there was the earliest primrose seen, and the latest
+violet. Many a fond youth and trusting maiden have visited their lowly
+tomb, and many a tear, fresh from the heart, has dropped upon the sod
+covering the ill-fated lovers.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV_LANCASTER_CASTLE" id="CHAPTER_XV_LANCASTER_CASTLE" />CHAPTER XV.&mdash;LANCASTER CASTLE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Behold the grim and giant fabric, rebuilt and strengthened by</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">&quot;Old John of Gaunt, time-honour'd Lancaster!&quot;</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>Within one of its turrets called John of Gaunt's Chair, and at eventide,
+stands a lady under the care of a jailer. It is the last sunset she will
+ever see&mdash;the last time she will look upon the beauties of earth; for
+she is a prisoner, condemned to die an ignominious and terrible death,
+and her execution will take place on the morrow. Leaving her alone
+within the turret, the jailer locks the door and stands outside it. The
+lady casts a long, lingering look around. All nature seems so
+beautiful&mdash;so attractive. The sunset upon the broad watery sands of
+Morecambe Bay is exquisite in varied tints. The fells of Furness look
+black and bold, and the windings of the Lune are clearly traced out. But
+she casts a wistful glance towards the mountainous ridges of Lancashire,
+and fancies she can detect amongst the heights the rounded summit of
+Pendle Hill. Then her gaze settles upon the grey old town beneath her,
+and, as her glance wanders over it, certain terrible objects arrest it.
+In the area before the Castle she sees a ring of tall stakes. She knows
+well their purpose, and counts them. They are thirteen in number.
+Thirteen wretched beings are to be burned on the morrow. Not far from
+the stakes are an enormous pile of fagots. All is prepared. Fascinated
+by the sight, she remains gazing at the place of execution for some
+time, and when she turns, she beholds a tall dark man standing beside
+her. At first she thinks it is the jailer, and is about to tell the man
+she is ready to descend to her cell, when she recognises him, and
+recoils in terror.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Thou here&mdash;again!&quot; she cried.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I can save thee from the stake, if thou wilt, Alice Nutter,&quot; he said.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Hence!&quot; she exclaimed. &quot;Thou temptest me in vain. Hence!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>And with a howl of rage the demon disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>Conveyed back to her cell, situated within the dread Dungeon Tower,
+Alice Nutter passed the whole of that night in prayer. Towards four
+o'clock, wearied out, she dropped into a slumber; and when the
+clergyman, from whom she had received spiritual consolation, came to her
+cell, he found her still sleeping, but with a sweet smile upon her
+lips&mdash;the first he had ever beheld there.</p>
+
+<p>Unwilling to disturb her, he knelt down and prayed by her side. At
+length the jailer came, and the executioner's aids. The divine then laid
+his hand upon her shoulder, and she instantly arose.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am ready,&quot; she said, cheerfully.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;You have had a happy dream, daughter,&quot; he observed.</p>
+
+<p>&quot;A blessed dream, reverend sir,&quot; she replied. &quot;I thought I saw my
+children, Richard and Alizon, in a fair garden&mdash;oh! how angelic they
+looked&mdash;and they told me I should be with them soon.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;And I doubt not the vision will be realised,&quot; replied the clergyman.
+&quot;Your redemption is fully worked out, and your salvation, I trust,
+secured. And now you must prepare for your last trial.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;I am fully prepared,&quot; she replied; &quot;but will you not go to the others?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Alas! my dear daughter,&quot; he replied, &quot;they all, excepting Nance
+Redferne, refuse my services, and will perish in their iniquities.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Then go to her, sir, I entreat of you,&quot; she said; &quot;she may yet be
+saved. But what of Jennet? Is she, too, to die?&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;No,&quot; replied the divine; &quot;being evidence against her relatives, her
+life is spared.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Heaven grant she do no more mischief!&quot; exclaimed Alice Nutter.</p>
+
+<p>She then submitted herself to the executioner's assistants, and was led
+forth. On issuing into the open air a change came over her, and such an
+exceeding faintness that she had to be supported. She was led towards
+the stake in this state; but she grew fainter and fainter, and at last
+fell back in the arms of the men that supported her. Still they carried
+her on. When the executioner put out his hand to receive her from his
+aids, she was found to be quite dead. Nevertheless, he tied her to the
+stake, and her body was consumed. Hundreds of spectators beheld those
+terrible fires, and exulted in the torments of the miserable sufferers.
+Their shrieks and blasphemies were terrific, and the place resembled a
+hell upon earth.</p>
+
+<p>Jennet escaped, to the dismay of Master Potts, who feared she would
+wreak her threatened vengeance upon him. And, indeed, he did suffer from
+aches and cramps, which he attributed to her; but which were more
+reasonably supposed to be owing to rheum caught in the marshes of Pendle
+Forest. He had, however, the pleasure of assisting at her execution,
+when some years afterwards retributive justice overtook her.</p>
+
+<p>Jennet was the last of the Lancashire Witches. Ever since then
+witchcraft has taken a new form with the ladies of the county&mdash;though
+their fascination and spells are as potent as ever. Few can now escape
+them,&mdash;few desire to do so. But to all who are afraid of a bright eye
+and a blooming cheek, and who desire to adhere to a bachelor's
+condition&mdash;to such I should say, &quot;BEWARE OF THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES!&quot;</p>
+<p><br /></p>
+<h3>THE END.</h3>
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>M'CORQUODALE AND CO., PRINTERS, LONDON&mdash;WORKS, NEWTON.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="FOOTNOTES" id="FOOTNOTES" />FOOTNOTES</h2>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1" /><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> A similar eruption occurred at Pendle Hill in August, 1669,
+and has been described by Mr. Charles Townley, in a letter cited by Dr.
+Whitaker in his excellent &quot;History of Whalley.&quot; Other and more
+formidable eruptions had taken place previously, occasioning much damage
+to the country. The cause of the phenomenon is thus explained by Mr.
+Townley: &quot;The colour of the water, its coming down to the place where it
+breaks forth between the rock and the earth, with that other particular
+of its bringing nothing along but stones and earth, are evident signs
+that it hath not its origin from the very bowels of the mountain; but
+that it is only rain water coloured first in the moss-pits, of which the
+top of the hill, being a great and considerable plain, is full, shrunk
+down into some receptacle fit to contain it, until at last by its
+weight, or some other cause, it finds a passage to the sides of the
+hill, and then away between the rock and swarth, until it break the
+latter and violently rush out.&quot;</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2" /><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Locus Benedictus de Whalley.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3" /><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> This speech is in substance the monarch's actual
+Declaration concerning Lawful Sports, promulgated in 1618, in a little
+Tractate, generally known as the &quot;Book of Sports;&quot; by which he would
+have conferred a great boon on the lower orders, if his kindly purpose
+had not been misapprehended by some, and ultimately defeated by bigots
+and fanatics. King James deserves to be remembered with gratitude, if
+only for this manifestation of sympathy with the enjoyments of the
+people. He had himself discovered that the restrictions imposed upon
+them had &quot;setup filthy tipplings and drunkenness, and bred a number of
+idle and discontented speeches in the alehouses.&quot;</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4" /><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> &quot;There is a laughable tradition,&quot; says Nichols, &quot;still
+generally current in Lancashire, that our knight-making monarch knighted
+at the banquet in Hoghton Tower a loin of beef; the part ever since
+called the sir-loin.&quot; And it is added by the same authority, &quot;If the
+King did not give the sir-loin its name, he might, notwithstanding, have
+indulged in a pun on the already coined word, the etymology of which was
+then, as now, as little regarded as the thing signified is well
+approved.&quot;&mdash;<i>Nichols's Progresses of James I.</i>, vol. iii.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5" /><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> These speeches, given by <i>Nichols</i> as derived from the
+family records of Sir Henry Philip Hoghton, Bart., were actually
+delivered at a masque represented on occasion of King James's visit to
+Hoghton Tower.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6" /><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Published by the Chetham Society, and admirably edited,
+with notes, exhibiting an extraordinary amount of research and
+information, by the Rev. F.R. Raines, M.A., F.S.A., of Milnrow
+Parsonage, near Rochdale.</p></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
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+Project Gutenberg's The Lancashire Witches, by William Harrison Ainsworth
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Lancashire Witches
+       A Romance of Pendle Forest
+
+Author: William Harrison Ainsworth
+
+Release Date: March 29, 2005 [EBook #15493]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Clare Boothby, Jon King and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: NICHOLAS ASSHETON AND THE THREE DOLL WANGOS LEAVING
+HOGHTON HALL.]
+
+
+
+
+THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES.
+A Romance of Pendle Forest.
+
+
+By
+William Harrison Ainsworth, Esq.
+
+
+    _Sir Jeffery_.--Is there a justice in Lancashire has so much
+    skill in witches as I have? Nay, I'll speak a proud word; you
+    shall turn me loose against any Witch-finder in Europe. I'd
+    make an ass of Hopkins if he were alive.--SHADWELL.
+
+
+Third Edition.
+
+
+Illustrated by John Gilbert.
+
+
+London:
+George Routledge & Co., Farringdon Street.
+1854.
+
+
+To
+James Crossley, Esq.,
+(of Manchester,)
+
+President of the Chetham Society,
+And the Learned Editor Of
+"The Discoverie of Witches in the County of Lancaster,"--
+
+The groundwork of the following pages,--
+This Romance,
+undertaken at his suggestion,
+is inscribed
+by his old, and sincerely attached friend,
+The Author.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+The Last Abbot of Whalley.
+
+   I.    THE BEACON ON PENDLE HILL
+  II.    THE ERUPTION
+ III.    WHALLEY ABBEY
+  IV.    THE MALEDICTION
+   V.    THE MIDNIGHT MASS
+  VI.    TETER ET FORTIS CARCER
+ VII.    THE ABBEY MILL
+VIII.    THE EXECUTIONER
+  IX.    WISWALL HALL
+   X.    THE HOLEHOUSES
+
+
+
+BOOK THE FIRST.
+
+Alizon Device.
+
+   I.    THE MAY QUEEN
+  II.    THE BLACK CAT AND THE WHITE DOVE
+ III.    THE ASSHETONS
+  IV.    ALICE NUTTER
+   V.    MOTHER CHATTOX
+  VI.    THE ORDEAL BY SWIMMING
+ VII.    THE RUINED CONVENTUAL CHURCH
+VIII.    THE REVELATION
+  IX.    THE TWO PORTRAITS IN THE BANQUETING-HALL
+   X.    THE NOCTURNAL MEETING
+
+
+
+BOOK THE SECOND.
+
+Pendle Forest.
+
+   I.    FLINT
+  II.    READ HALL
+ III.    THE BOGGART'S GLEN
+  IV.    THE REEVE OF THE FOREST
+   V.    BESS'S O' TH' BOOTH
+  VI.    THE TEMPTATION
+ VII.    THE PERAMBULATION OF THE BOUNDARIES
+VIII.    ROUGH LEE
+  IX.    HOW ROUGH LEE WAS DEFENDED BY NICHOLAS
+   X.    ROGER NOWELL AND HIS DOUBLE
+  XI.    MOTHER DEMDIKE
+ XII.    THE MYSTERIES OF MALKIN TOWER
+XIII.    THE TWO FAMILIARS
+ XIV.    HOW ROUGH LEE WAS AGAIN BESIEGED
+  XV.    THE PHANTOM MONK
+ XVI.    ONE O'CLOCK!
+XVII.    HOW THE BEACON FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED
+
+
+BOOK THE THIRD.
+
+Hoghton Tower.
+
+   I.    DOWNHAM MANOR-HOUSE
+  II.    THE PENITENT'S RETREAT
+ III.    MIDDLETON HALL
+  IV.    THE GORGE OF CLIVIGER
+   V.    THE END OF MALKIN TOWER
+  VI.    HOGHTON TOWER
+ VII.    THE ROYAL DECLARATION CONCERNING LAWFUL SPORTS ON THE SUNDAY
+VIII.    HOW KING JAMES HUNTED THE HART AND THE WILD-BOAR IN HOGHTON
+            PARK
+  IX.    THE BANQUET
+   X.    EVENING ENTERTAINMENTS
+  XI.    FATALITY
+ XII.    THE LAST HOUR
+XIII.    THE MASQUE OF DEATH
+ XIV.    "ONE GRAVE"
+  XV.    LANCASTER CASTLE
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+The Last Abbot of Whalley.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.--THE BEACON ON PENDLE HILL.
+
+
+There were eight watchers by the beacon on Pendle Hill in Lancashire.
+Two were stationed on either side of the north-eastern extremity of the
+mountain. One looked over the castled heights of Clithero; the woody
+eminences of Bowland; the bleak ridges of Thornley; the broad moors of
+Bleasdale; the Trough of Bolland, and Wolf Crag; and even brought within
+his ken the black fells overhanging Lancaster. The other tracked the
+stream called Pendle Water, almost from its source amid the neighbouring
+hills, and followed its windings through the leafless forest, until it
+united its waters to those of the Calder, and swept on in swifter and
+clearer current, to wash the base of Whalley Abbey. But the watcher's
+survey did not stop here. Noting the sharp spire of Burnley Church,
+relieved against the rounded masses of timber constituting Townley Park;
+as well as the entrance of the gloomy mountain gorge, known as the
+Grange of Cliviger; his far-reaching gaze passed over Todmorden, and
+settled upon the distant summits of Blackstone Edge.
+
+Dreary was the prospect on all sides. Black moor, bleak fell, straggling
+forest, intersected with sullen streams as black as ink, with here and
+there a small tarn, or moss-pool, with waters of the same hue--these
+constituted the chief features of the scene. The whole district was
+barren and thinly-populated. Of towns, only Clithero, Colne, and
+Burnley--the latter little more than a village--were in view. In the
+valleys there were a few hamlets and scattered cottages, and on the
+uplands an occasional "booth," as the hut of the herdsman was termed;
+but of more important mansions there were only six, as Merley,
+Twistleton, Alcancoats, Saxfeld, Ightenhill, and Gawthorpe. The
+"vaccaries" for the cattle, of which the herdsmen had the care, and the
+"lawnds," or parks within the forest, appertaining to some of the halls
+before mentioned, offered the only evidences of cultivation. All else
+was heathy waste, morass, and wood.
+
+Still, in the eye of the sportsman--and the Lancashire gentlemen of the
+sixteenth century were keen lovers of sport--the country had a strong
+interest. Pendle forest abounded with game. Grouse, plover, and bittern
+were found upon its moors; woodcock and snipe on its marshes; mallard,
+teal, and widgeon upon its pools. In its chases ranged herds of deer,
+protected by the terrible forest-laws, then in full force: and the
+hardier huntsman might follow the wolf to his lair in the mountains;
+might spear the boar in the oaken glades, or the otter on the river's
+brink; might unearth the badger or the fox, or smite the fierce
+cat-a-mountain with a quarrel from his bow. A nobler victim sometimes,
+also, awaited him in the shape of a wild mountain bull, a denizen of the
+forest, and a remnant of the herds that had once browsed upon the hills,
+but which had almost all been captured, and removed to stock the park of
+the Abbot of Whalley. The streams and pools were full of fish: the
+stately heron frequented the meres; and on the craggy heights built the
+kite, the falcon, and the kingly eagle.
+
+There were eight watchers by the beacon. Two stood apart from the
+others, looking to the right and the left of the hill. Both were armed
+with swords and arquebuses, and wore steel caps and coats of buff. Their
+sleeves were embroidered with the five wounds of Christ, encircling the
+name of Jesus--the badge of the Pilgrimage of Grace. Between them, on
+the verge of the mountain, was planted a great banner, displaying a
+silver cross, the chalice, and the Host, together with an ecclesiastical
+figure, but wearing a helmet instead of a mitre, and holding a sword in
+place of a crosier, with the unoccupied hand pointing to the two towers
+of a monastic structure, as if to intimate that he was armed for its
+defence. This figure, as the device beneath it showed, represented John
+Paslew, Abbot of Whalley, or, as he styled himself in his military
+capacity, Earl of Poverty.
+
+There were eight watchers by the beacon. Two have been described. Of the
+other six, two were stout herdsmen carrying crooks, and holding a couple
+of mules, and a richly-caparisoned war-horse by the bridle. Near them
+stood a broad-shouldered, athletic young man, with the fresh complexion,
+curling brown hair, light eyes, and open Saxon countenance, best seen in
+his native county of Lancaster. He wore a Lincoln-green tunic, with a
+bugle suspended from the shoulder by a silken cord; and a silver plate
+engraved with the three luces, the ensign of the Abbot of Whalley, hung
+by a chain from his neck. A hunting knife was in his girdle, and an
+eagle's plume in his cap, and he leaned upon the but-end of a crossbow,
+regarding three persons who stood together by a peat fire, on the
+sheltered side of the beacon. Two of these were elderly men, in the
+white gowns and scapularies of Cistertian monks, doubtless from Whalley,
+as the abbey belonged to that order. The third and last, and evidently
+their superior, was a tall man in a riding dress, wrapped in a long
+mantle of black velvet, trimmed with minever, and displaying the same
+badges as those upon the sleeves of the sentinels, only wrought in
+richer material. His features were strongly marked and stern, and bore
+traces of age; but his eye was bright, and his carriage erect and
+dignified.
+
+The beacon, near which the watchers stood, consisted of a vast pile of
+logs of timber, heaped upon a circular range of stones, with openings to
+admit air, and having the centre filled with fagots, and other quickly
+combustible materials. Torches were placed near at hand, so that the
+pile could be lighted on the instant.
+
+The watch was held one afternoon at the latter end of November, 1536. In
+that year had arisen a formidable rebellion in the northern counties of
+England, the members of which, while engaging to respect the person of
+the king, Henry VIII., and his issue, bound themselves by solemn oath to
+accomplish the restoration of Papal supremacy throughout the realm, and
+the restitution of religious establishments and lands to their late
+ejected possessors. They bound themselves, also, to punish the enemies
+of the Romish church, and suppress heresy. From its religious character
+the insurrection assumed the name of the Pilgrimage of Grace, and
+numbered among its adherents all who had not embraced the new doctrines
+in Yorkshire and Lancashire. That such an outbreak should occur on the
+suppression of the monasteries, was not marvellous. The desecration and
+spoliation of so many sacred structures--the destruction of shrines and
+images long regarded with veneration--the ejection of so many
+ecclesiastics, renowned for hospitality and revered for piety and
+learning--the violence and rapacity of the commissioners appointed by
+the Vicar-General Cromwell to carry out these severe measures--all these
+outrages were regarded by the people with abhorrence, and disposed them
+to aid the sufferers in resistance. As yet the wealthier monasteries in
+the north had been spared, and it was to preserve them from the greedy
+hands of the visiters, Doctors Lee and Layton, that the insurrection had
+been undertaken. A simultaneous rising took place in Lincolnshire,
+headed by Makarel, Abbot of Barlings, but it was speedily quelled by the
+vigour and skill of the Duke of Suffolk, and its leader executed. But
+the northern outbreak was better organized, and of greater force, for it
+now numbered thirty thousand men, under the command of a skilful and
+resolute leader named Robert Aske.
+
+As may be supposed, the priesthood were main movers in a revolt having
+their especial benefit for its aim; and many of them, following the
+example of the Abbot of Barlings, clothed themselves in steel instead of
+woollen garments, and girded on the sword and the breastplate for the
+redress of their grievances and the maintenance of their rights. Amongst
+these were the Abbots of Jervaux, Furness, Fountains, Rivaulx, and
+Salley, and, lastly, the Abbot of Whalley, before mentioned; a fiery and
+energetic prelate, who had ever been constant and determined in his
+opposition to the aggressive measures of the king. Such was the
+Pilgrimage of Grace, such its design, and such its supporters.
+
+Several large towns had already fallen into the hands of the insurgents.
+York, Hull, and Pontefract had yielded; Skipton Castle was besieged, and
+defended by the Earl of Cumberland; and battle was offered to the Duke
+of Norfolk and the Earl of Shrewsbury, who headed the king's forces at
+Doncaster. But the object of the Royalist leaders was to temporise, and
+an armistice was offered to the rebels and accepted. Terms were next
+proposed and debated.
+
+During the continuance of this armistice all hostilities ceased; but
+beacons were reared upon the mountains, and their fires were to be taken
+as a new summons to arms. This signal the eight watchers expected.
+
+Though late in November, the day had been unusually fine, and, in
+consequence, the whole hilly ranges around were clearly discernible, but
+now the shades of evening were fast drawing on.
+
+"Night is approaching," cried the tall man in the velvet mantle,
+impatiently; "and still the signal comes not. Wherefore this delay? Can
+Norfolk have accepted our conditions? Impossible. The last messenger
+from our camp at Scawsby Lees brought word that the duke's sole terms
+would be the king's pardon to the whole insurgent army, provided they at
+once dispersed--except ten persons, six named and four unnamed."
+
+"And were you amongst those named, lord abbot?" demanded one of the
+monks.
+
+"John Paslew, Abbot of Whalley, it was said, headed the list," replied
+the other, with a bitter smile. "Next came William Trafford, Abbot of
+Salley. Next Adam Sudbury, Abbot of Jervaux. Then our leader, Robert
+Aske. Then John Eastgate, Monk of Whalley--"
+
+"How, lord abbot!" exclaimed the monk. "Was my name mentioned?"
+
+"It was," rejoined the abbot. "And that of William Haydocke, also Monk
+of Whalley, closed the list."
+
+"The unrelenting tyrant!" muttered the other monk. "But these terms
+could not be accepted?"
+
+"Assuredly not," replied Paslew; "they were rejected with scorn. But the
+negotiations were continued by Sir Ralph Ellerker and Sir Robert Bowas,
+who were to claim on our part a free pardon for all; the establishment
+of a Parliament and courts of justice at York; the restoration of the
+Princess Mary to the succession; the Pope to his jurisdiction; and our
+brethren to their houses. But such conditions will never be granted.
+With my consent no armistice should have been agreed to. We are sure to
+lose by the delay. But I was overruled by the Archbishop of York and the
+Lord Darcy. Their voices prevailed against the Abbot of Whalley--or, if
+it please you, the Earl of Poverty."
+
+"It is the assumption of that derisive title which has drawn upon you
+the full force of the king's resentment, lord abbot," observed Father
+Eastgate.
+
+"It may be," replied the abbot. "I took it in mockery of Cromwell and
+the ecclesiastical commissioners, and I rejoice that they have felt the
+sting. The Abbot of Barlings called himself Captain Cobbler, because, as
+he affirmed, the state wanted mending like old shoon. And is not my
+title equally well chosen? Is not the Church smitten with poverty? Have
+not ten thousand of our brethren been driven from their homes to beg or
+to starve? Have not the houseless poor, whom we fed at our gates, and
+lodged within our wards, gone away hungry and without rest? Have not the
+sick, whom we would have relieved, died untended by the hedge-side? I am
+the head of the poor in Lancashire, the redresser of their grievances,
+and therefore I style myself Earl of Poverty. Have I not done well?"
+
+"You have, lord abbot," replied Father Eastgate.
+
+"Poverty will not alone be the fate of the Church, but of the whole
+realm, if the rapacious designs of the monarch and his heretical
+counsellors are carried forth," pursued the abbot. "Cromwell, Audeley,
+and Rich, have wisely ordained that no infant shall be baptised without
+tribute to the king; that no man who owns not above twenty pounds a year
+shall consume wheaten bread, or eat the flesh of fowl or swine without
+tribute; and that all ploughed land shall pay tribute likewise. Thus the
+Church is to be beggared, the poor plundered, and all men burthened, to
+fatten the king, and fill his exchequer."
+
+"This must be a jest," observed Father Haydocke.
+
+"It is a jest no man laughs at," rejoined the abbot, sternly; "any more
+than the king's counsellors will laugh at the Earl of Poverty, whose
+title they themselves have created. But wherefore comes not the signal?
+Can aught have gone wrong? I will not think it. The whole country, from
+the Tweed to the Humber, and from the Lune to the Mersey, is ours; and,
+if we but hold together, our cause must prevail."
+
+"Yet we have many and powerful enemies," observed Father Eastgate; "and
+the king, it is said, hath sworn never to make terms with us. Tidings
+were brought to the abbey this morning, that the Earl of Derby is
+assembling forces at Preston, to march upon us."
+
+"We will give him a warm reception if he comes," replied Paslew,
+fiercely. "He will find that our walls have not been kernelled and
+embattled by licence of good King Edward the Third for nothing; and that
+our brethren can fight as well as their predecessors fought in the time
+of Abbot Holden, when they took tithe by force from Sir Christopher
+Parsons of Slaydburn. The abbey is strong, and right well defended, and
+we need not fear a surprise. But it grows dark fast, and yet no signal
+comes."
+
+"Perchance the waters of the Don have again risen, so as to prevent the
+army from fording the stream," observed Father Haydocke; "or it may be
+that some disaster hath befallen our leader."
+
+"Nay, I will not believe the latter," said the abbot; "Robert Aske is
+chosen by Heaven to be our deliverer. It has been prophesied that a
+'worm with one eye' shall work the redemption of the fallen faith, and
+you know that Robert Aske hath been deprived of his left orb by an
+arrow."
+
+"Therefore it is," observed Father Eastgate, "that the Pilgrims of Grace
+chant the following ditty:--
+
+          "'Forth shall come an Aske with one eye,
+          He shall be chief of the company--
+          Chief of the northern chivalry.'"
+
+"What more?" demanded the abbot, seeing that the monk appeared to
+hesitate.
+
+"Nay, I know not whether the rest of the rhymes may please you, lord
+abbot," replied Father Eastgate.
+
+"Let me hear them, and I will judge," said Paslew. Thus urged, the monk
+went on:--
+
+          "'One shall sit at a solemn feast,
+          Half warrior, half priest,
+          The greatest there shall be the least.'"
+
+"The last verse," observed the monk, "has been added to the ditty by
+Nicholas Demdike. I heard him sing it the other day at the abbey gate."
+
+"What, Nicholas Demdike of Worston?" cried the abbot; "he whose wife is
+a witch?"
+
+"The same," replied Eastgate.
+
+"Hoo be so ceawnted, sure eno," remarked the forester, who had been
+listening attentively to their discourse, and who now stepped forward;
+"boh dunna yo think it. Beleemy, lort abbut, Bess Demdike's too yunk an
+too protty for a witch."
+
+"Thou art bewitched by her thyself, Cuthbert," said the abbot, angrily.
+"I shall impose a penance upon thee, to free thee from the evil
+influence. Thou must recite twenty paternosters daily, fasting, for one
+month; and afterwards perform a pilgrimage to the shrine of our Lady of
+Gilsland. Bess Demdike is an approved and notorious witch, and hath been
+seen by credible witnesses attending a devil's sabbath on this very
+hill--Heaven shield us! It is therefore that I have placed her and her
+husband under the ban of the Church; pronounced sentence of
+excommunication against them; and commanded all my clergy to refuse
+baptism to their infant daughter, newly born."
+
+"Wea's me! ey knoas 't reet weel, lort abbut," replied Ashbead, "and
+Bess taks t' sentence sore ta 'ert!"
+
+"Then let her amend her ways, or heavier punishment will befall her,"
+cried Paslew, severely. "'_Sortilegam non patieris vivere_' saith the
+Levitical law. If she be convicted she shall die the death. That she is
+comely I admit; but it is the comeliness of a child of sin. Dost thou
+know the man with whom she is wedded--or supposed to be wedded--for I
+have seen no proof of the marriage? He is a stranger here."
+
+"Ey knoas neawt abowt him, lort abbut, 'cept that he cum to Pendle a
+twalmont agoa," replied Ashbead; "boh ey knoas fu' weel that
+t'eawtcumbling felly robt me ot prettiest lass i' aw Lonkyshiar--aigh,
+or i' aw Englondshiar, fo' t' matter o' that."
+
+"What manner of man is he?" inquired the abbot.
+
+"Oh, he's a feaw teyke--a varra feaw teyke," replied Ashbead; "wi' a
+feace as black as a boggart, sooty shiny hewr loike a mowdywarp, an' een
+loike a stanniel. Boh for running, rostling, an' throwing t' stoan, he'n
+no match i' this keawntry. Ey'n triet him at aw three gams, so ey con
+speak. For't most part he'n a big, black bandyhewit wi' him, and, by th'
+Mess, ey canna help thinkin he meys free sumtoimes wi' yor lortship's
+bucks."
+
+"Ha! this must be looked to," cried the abbot. "You say you know not
+whence he comes? 'Tis strange."
+
+"T' missmannert carl'll boide naw questionin', odd rottle him!" replied
+Ashbead. "He awnsurs wi' a gibe, or a thwack o' his staff. Whon ey last
+seet him, he threatened t' raddle me booans weel, boh ey sooan lowert
+him a peg."
+
+"We will find a way of making him speak," said the abbot.
+
+"He can speak, and right well if he pleases," remarked Father Eastgate;
+"for though ordinarily silent and sullen enough, yet when he doth talk
+it is not like one of the hinds with whom he consorts, but in good set
+phrase; and his bearing is as bold as that of one who hath seen service
+in the field."
+
+"My curiosity is aroused," said the abbot. "I must see him."
+
+"Noa sooner said than done," cried Ashbead, "for, be t' Lort Harry, ey
+see him stonding be yon moss poo' o' top t' hill, though how he'n getten
+theer t' Dule owny knoas."
+
+And he pointed out a tall dark figure standing near a little pool on the
+summit of the mountain, about a hundred yards from them.
+
+"Talk of ill, and ill cometh," observed Father Haydocke. "And see, the
+wizard hath a black hound with him! It may be his wife, in that
+likeness."
+
+"Naw, ey knoas t' hount reet weel, Feyther Haydocke," replied the
+forester; "it's a Saint Hubert, an' a rareun fo' fox or badgert. Odds
+loife, feyther, whoy that's t' black bandyhewit I war speaking on."
+
+"I like not the appearance of the knave at this juncture," said the
+abbot; "yet I wish to confront him, and charge him with his
+midemeanours."
+
+"Hark; he sings," cried Father Haydocke. And as he spoke a voice was
+heard chanting,--
+
+          "One shall sit at a solemn feast,
+          Half warrior, half priest,
+          The greatest there shall be the least."
+
+"The very ditty I heard," cried Father Eastgate; "but list, he has more
+of it." And the voice resumed,--
+
+          "He shall be rich, yet poor as me,
+          Abbot, and Earl of Poverty.
+          Monk and soldier, rich and poor,
+          He shall be hang'd at his own door."
+
+Loud derisive laughter followed the song.
+
+"By our Lady of Whalley, the knave is mocking us," cried the abbot;
+"send a bolt to silence him, Cuthbert."
+
+The forester instantly bent his bow, and a quarrel whistled off in the
+direction of the singer; but whether his aim were not truly taken, or he
+meant not to hit the mark, it is certain that Demdike remained
+untouched. The reputed wizard laughed aloud, took off his felt cap in
+acknowledgment, and marched deliberately down the side of the hill.
+
+"Thou art not wont to miss thy aim, Cuthbert," cried the abbot, with a
+look of displeasure. "Take good heed thou producest this scurril knave
+before me, when these troublous times are over. But what is this?--he
+stops--ha! he is practising his devilries on the mountain's side."
+
+It would seem that the abbot had good warrant for what he said, as
+Demdike, having paused at a broad green patch on the hill-side, was now
+busied in tracing a circle round it with his staff. He then spoke aloud
+some words, which the superstitious beholders construed into an
+incantation, and after tracing the circle once again, and casting some
+tufts of dry heather, which he plucked from an adjoining hillock, on
+three particular spots, he ran quickly downwards, followed by his hound,
+and leaping a stone wall, surrounding a little orchard at the foot of
+the hill, disappeared from view.
+
+"Go and see what he hath done," cried the abbot to the forester, "for I
+like it not."
+
+Ashbead instantly obeyed, and on reaching the green spot in question,
+shouted out that he could discern nothing; but presently added, as he
+moved about, that the turf heaved like a sway-bed beneath his feet, and
+he thought--to use his own phraseology--would "brast." The abbot then
+commanded him to go down to the orchard below, and if he could find
+Demdike to bring him to him instantly. The forester did as he was
+bidden, ran down the hill, and, leaping the orchard wall as the other
+had done, was lost to sight.
+
+Ere long, it became quite dark, and as Ashbead did not reappear, the
+abbot gave vent to his impatience and uneasiness, and was proposing to
+send one of the herdsmen in search of him, when his attention was
+suddenly diverted by a loud shout from one of the sentinels, and a fire
+was seen on a distant hill on the right.
+
+"The signal! the signal!" cried Paslew, joyfully. "Kindle a
+torch!--quick, quick!"
+
+And as he spoke, he seized a brand and plunged it into the peat fire,
+while his example was followed by the two monks.
+
+"It is the beacon on Blackstone Edge," cried the abbot; "and look! a
+second blazes over the Grange of Cliviger--another on Ightenhill--
+another on Boulsworth Hill--and the last on the neighbouring
+heights of Padiham. Our own comes next. May it light the enemies of our
+holy Church to perdition!"
+
+With this, he applied the burning brand to the combustible matter of the
+beacon. The monks did the same; and in an instant a tall, pointed flame,
+rose up from a thick cloud of smoke. Ere another minute had elapsed,
+similar fires shot up to the right and the left, on the high lands of
+Trawden Forest, on the jagged points of Foulridge, on the summit of
+Cowling Hill, and so on to Skipton. Other fires again blazed on the
+towers of Clithero, on Longridge and Ribchester, on the woody eminences
+of Bowland, on Wolf Crag, and on fell and scar all the way to Lancaster.
+It seemed the work of enchantment, so suddenly and so strangely did the
+fires shoot forth. As the beacon flame increased, it lighted up the
+whole of the extensive table-land on the summit of Pendle Hill; and a
+long lurid streak fell on the darkling moss-pool near which the wizard
+had stood. But when it attained its utmost height, it revealed the
+depths of the forest below, and a red reflection, here and there, marked
+the course of Pendle Water. The excitement of the abbot and his
+companions momently increased, and the sentinels shouted as each new
+beacon was lighted. At last, almost every hill had its watch-fire, and
+so extraordinary was the spectacle, that it seemed as if weird beings
+were abroad, and holding their revels on the heights.
+
+Then it was that the abbot, mounting his steed, called out to the
+monks--"Holy fathers, you will follow to the abbey as you may. I shall
+ride fleetly on, and despatch two hundred archers to Huddersfield and
+Wakefield. The abbots of Salley and Jervaux, with the Prior of
+Burlington, will be with me at midnight, and at daybreak we shall march
+our forces to join the main army. Heaven be with you!"
+
+"Stay!" cried a harsh, imperious voice. "Stay!"
+
+And, to his surprise, the abbot beheld Nicholas Demdike standing before
+him. The aspect of the wizard was dark and forbidding, and, seen by the
+beacon light, his savage features, blazing eyes, tall gaunt frame, and
+fantastic garb, made him look like something unearthly. Flinging his
+staff over his shoulder, he slowly approached, with his black hound
+following close by at his heels.
+
+"I have a caution to give you, lord abbot," he said; "hear me speak
+before you set out for the abbey, or ill will befall you."
+
+"Ill _will_ befall me if I listen to thee, thou wicked churl," cried the
+abbot. "What hast thou done with Cuthbert Ashbead?"
+
+"I have seen nothing of him since he sent a bolt after me at your
+bidding, lord abbot," replied Demdike.
+
+"Beware lest any harm come to him, or thou wilt rue it," cried Paslew.
+"But I have no time to waste on thee. Farewell, fathers. High mass will
+be said in the convent church before we set out on the expedition
+to-morrow morning. You will both attend it."
+
+"You will never set out upon the expedition, lord abbot," cried Demdike,
+planting his staff so suddenly into the ground before the horse's head
+that the animal reared and nearly threw his rider.
+
+"How now, fellow, what mean you?" cried the abbot, furiously.
+
+"To warn you," replied Demdike.
+
+"Stand aside," cried the abbot, spurring his steed, "or I will trample
+you beneath my horse's feet."
+
+"I might let you ride to your own doom," rejoined Demdike, with a
+scornful laugh, as he seized the abbot's bridle. "But you shall hear me.
+I tell you, you will never go forth on this expedition. I tell you that,
+ere to-morrow, Whalley Abbey will have passed for ever from your
+possession; and that, if you go thither again, your life will be
+forfeited. Now will you listen to me?"
+
+"I am wrong in doing so," cried the abbot, who could not, however,
+repress some feelings of misgiving at this alarming address. "Speak,
+what would you say?"
+
+"Come out of earshot of the others, and I will tell you," replied
+Demdike. And he led the abbot's horse to some distance further on the
+hill.
+
+"Your cause will fail, lord abbot," he then said. "Nay, it is lost
+already."
+
+"Lost!" cried the abbot, out of all patience. "Lost! Look around. Twenty
+fires are in sight--ay, thirty, and every fire thou seest will summon a
+hundred men, at the least, to arms. Before an hour, five hundred men
+will be gathered before the gates of Whalley Abbey."
+
+"True," replied Demdike; "but they will not own the Earl of Poverty for
+their leader."
+
+"What leader will they own, then?" demanded the abbot, scornfully.
+
+"The Earl of Derby," replied Demdike. "He is on his way thither with
+Lord Mounteagle from Preston."
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Paslew, "let me go meet them, then. But thou triflest
+with me, fellow. Thou canst know nothing of this. Whence gott'st thou
+thine information?"
+
+"Heed it not," replied the other; "thou wilt find it correct. I tell
+thee, proud abbot, that this grand scheme of thine and of thy fellows,
+for the restitution of the Catholic Church, has failed--utterly failed."
+
+"I tell thee thou liest, false knave!" cried the abbot, striking him on
+the hand with his scourge. "Quit thy hold, and let me go."
+
+"Not till I have done," replied Demdike, maintaining his grasp. "Well
+hast thou styled thyself Earl of Poverty, for thou art poor and
+miserable enough. Abbot of Whalley thou art no longer. Thy possessions
+will be taken from thee, and if thou returnest thy life also will be
+taken. If thou fleest, a price will be set upon thy head. I alone can
+save thee, and I will do so on one condition."
+
+"Condition! make conditions with thee, bond-slave of Satan!" cried the
+abbot, gnashing his teeth. "I reproach myself that I have listened to
+thee so long. Stand aside, or I will strike thee dead."
+
+"You are wholly in my power," cried Demdike with a disdainful laugh. And
+as he spoke he pressed the large sharp bit against the charger's mouth,
+and backed him quickly to the very edge of the hill, the sides of which
+here sloped precipitously down. The abbot would have uttered a cry, but
+surprise and terror kept him silent.
+
+"Were it my desire to injure you, I could cast you down the
+mountain-side to certain death," pursued Demdike. "But I have no such
+wish. On the contrary, I will serve you, as I have said, on one
+condition."
+
+"Thy condition would imperil my soul," said the abbot, full of wrath and
+alarm. "Thou seekest in vain to terrify me into compliance. _Vade retro,
+Sathanas_. I defy thee and all thy works."
+
+Demdike laughed scornfully.
+
+"The thunders of the Church do not frighten me," he cried. "But, look,"
+he added, "you doubted my word when I told you the rising was at an end.
+The beacon fires on Boulsworth Hill and on the Grange of Cliviger are
+extinguished; that on Padiham Heights is expiring--nay, it is out; and
+ere many minutes all these mountain watch-fires will have disappeared
+like lamps at the close of a feast."
+
+"By our Lady, it is so," cried the abbot, in increasing terror. "What
+new jugglery is this?"
+
+"It is no jugglery, I tell you," replied the other.
+
+"The waters of the Don have again arisen; the insurgents have accepted
+the king's pardon, have deserted their leaders, and dispersed. There
+will be no rising to-night or on the morrow. The abbots of Jervaux and
+Salley will strive to capitulate, but in vain. The Pilgrimage of Grace
+is ended. The stake for which thou playedst is lost. Thirty years hast
+thou governed here, but thy rule is over. Seventeen abbots have there
+been of Whalley--the last thou!--but there shall be none more."
+
+"It must be the Demon in person that speaks thus to me," cried the
+abbot, his hair bristling on his head, and a cold perspiration bursting
+from his pores.
+
+"No matter who I am," replied the other; "I have said I will aid thee on
+one condition. It is not much. Remove thy ban from my wife, and baptise
+her infant daughter, and I am content. I would not ask thee for this
+service, slight though it be, but the poor soul hath set her mind upon
+it. Wilt thou do it?"
+
+"No," replied the abbot, shuddering; "I will not baptise a daughter of
+Satan. I will not sell my soul to the powers of darkness. I adjure thee
+to depart from me, and tempt me no longer."
+
+"Vainly thou seekest to cast me off," rejoined Demdike. "What if I
+deliver thine adversaries into thine hands, and revenge thee upon them?
+Even now there are a party of armed men waiting at the foot of the hill
+to seize thee and thy brethren. Shall I show thee how to destroy them?"
+
+"Who are they?" demanded the abbot, surprised.
+
+"Their leaders are John Braddyll and Richard Assheton, who shall divide
+Whalley Abbey between them, if thou stayest them not," replied Demdike.
+
+"Hell consume them!" cried the abbot.
+
+"Thy speech shows consent," rejoined Demdike. "Come this way."
+
+And, without awaiting the abbot's reply, he dragged his horse towards
+the but-end of the mountain. As they went on, the two monks, who had
+been filled with surprise at the interview, though they did not dare to
+interrupt it, advanced towards their superior, and looked earnestly and
+inquiringly at him, but he remained silent; while to the men-at-arms and
+the herdsmen, who demanded whether their own beacon-fire should be
+extinguished as the others had been, he answered moodily in the
+negative.
+
+"Where are the foes you spoke of?" he asked with some uneasiness, as
+Demdike led his horse slowly and carefully down the hill-side.
+
+"You shall see anon," replied the other.
+
+"You are taking me to the spot where you traced the magic circle," cried
+Paslew in alarm. "I know it from its unnaturally green hue. I will not
+go thither."
+
+"I do not mean you should, lord abbot," replied Demdike, halting.
+"Remain on this firm ground. Nay, be not alarmed; you are in no danger.
+Now bid your men advance, and prepare their weapons."
+
+The abbot would have demanded wherefore, but at a glance from Demdike he
+complied, and the two men-at-arms, and the herdsmen, arranged
+themselves beside him, while Fathers Eastgate and Haydocke, who had
+gotten upon their mules, took up a position behind.
+
+Scarcely were they thus placed, when a loud shout was raised below, and
+a band of armed men, to the number of thirty or forty, leapt the stone
+wall, and began to scale the hill with great rapidity. They came up a
+deep dry channel, apparently worn in the hill-side by some former
+torrent, and which led directly to the spot where Demdike and the abbot
+stood. The beacon-fire still blazed brightly, and illuminated the whole
+proceeding, showing that these men, from their accoutrements, were
+royalist soldiers.
+
+"Stir not, as you value your life," said the wizard to Paslew; "but
+observe what shall follow."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.--THE ERUPTION.
+
+
+Demdike went a little further down the hill, stopping when he came to
+the green patch. He then plunged his staff into the sod at the first
+point where he had cast a tuft of heather, and with such force that it
+sank more than three feet. The next moment he plucked it forth, as if
+with a great effort, and a jet of black water spouted into the air; but,
+heedless of this, he went to the next marked spot, and again plunged the
+sharp point of the implement into the ground. Again it sank to the same
+depth, and, on being drawn out, a second black jet sprung forth.
+
+Meanwhile the hostile party continued to advance up the dry channel
+before mentioned, and shouted on beholding these strange preparations,
+but they did not relax their speed. Once more the staff sank into the
+ground, and a third black fountain followed its extraction. By this
+time, the royalist soldiers were close at hand, and the features of
+their two leaders, John Braddyll and Richard Assheton, could be plainly
+distinguished, and their voices heard.
+
+"'Tis he! 'tis the rebel abbot!" vociferated Braddyll, pressing forward.
+"We were not misinformed. He has been watching by the beacon. The devil
+has delivered him into our hands."
+
+"Ho! ho!" laughed Demdike.
+
+"Abbot no longer--'tis the Earl of Poverty you mean," responded
+Assheton. "The villain shall be gibbeted on the spot where he has fired
+the beacon, as a warning to all traitors."
+
+"Ha, heretics!--ha, blasphemers!--I can at least avenge myself upon
+you," cried Paslew, striking spurs into his charger. But ere he could
+execute his purpose, Demdike had sprung backward, and, catching the
+bridle, restrained the animal by a powerful effort.
+
+"Hold!" he cried, in a voice of thunder, "or you will share their fate."
+
+As the words were uttered, a dull, booming, subterranean sound was
+heard, and instantly afterwards, with a crash like thunder, the whole of
+the green circle beneath slipped off, and from a yawning rent under it
+burst forth with irresistible fury, a thick inky-coloured torrent,
+which, rising almost breast high, fell upon the devoted royalist
+soldiers, who were advancing right in its course. Unable to avoid the
+watery eruption, or to resist its fury when it came upon them, they were
+instantly swept from their feet, and carried down the channel.
+
+A sight of horror was it to behold the sudden rise of that swarthy
+stream, whose waters, tinged by the ruddy glare of the beacon-fire,
+looked like waves of blood. Nor less fearful was it to hear the first
+wild despairing cry raised by the victims, or the quickly stifled
+shrieks and groans that followed, mixed with the deafening roar of the
+stream, and the crashing fall of the stones, which accompanied its
+course. Down, down went the poor wretches, now utterly overwhelmed by
+the torrent, now regaining their feet only to utter a scream, and then
+be swept off. Here a miserable struggler, whirled onward, would clutch
+at the banks and try to scramble forth, but the soft turf giving way
+beneath him, he was hurried off to eternity.
+
+At another point where the stream encountered some trifling opposition,
+some two or three managed to gain a footing, but they were unable to
+extricate themselves. The vast quantity of boggy soil brought down by
+the current, and which rapidly collected here, embedded them and held
+them fast, so that the momently deepening water, already up to their
+chins, threatened speedy immersion. Others were stricken down by great
+masses of turf, or huge rocky fragments, which, bounding from point to
+point with the torrent, bruised or crushed all they encountered, or,
+lodging in some difficult place, slightly diverted the course of the
+torrent, and rendered it yet more dangerous.
+
+On one of these stones, larger than the rest, which had been stopped in
+its course, a man contrived to creep, and with difficulty kept his post
+amid the raging flood. Vainly did he extend his hand to such of his
+fellows as were swept shrieking past him. He could not lend them aid,
+while his own position was so desperately hazardous that he did not dare
+to quit it. To leap on either bank was impossible, and to breast the
+headlong stream certain death.
+
+On goes the current, madly, furiously, as if rejoicing in the work of
+destruction, while the white foam of its eddies presents a fearful
+contrast to the prevailing blackness of the surface. Over the last
+declivity it leaps, hissing, foaming, crashing like an avalanche. The
+stone wall for a moment opposes its force, but falls the next, with a
+mighty splash, carrying the spray far and wide, while its own fragments
+roll onwards with the stream. The trees of the orchard are uprooted in
+an instant, and an old elm falls prostrate. The outbuildings of a
+cottage are invaded, and the porkers and cattle, divining their danger,
+squeal and bellow in affright. But they are quickly silenced. The
+resistless foe has broken down wall and door, and buried the poor
+creatures in mud and rubbish.
+
+The stream next invades the cottage, breaks in through door and window,
+and filling all the lower part of the tenement, in a few minutes
+converts it into a heap of ruin. On goes the destroyer, tearing up more
+trees, levelling more houses, and filling up a small pool, till the
+latter bursts its banks, and, with an accession to its force, pours
+itself into a mill-dam. Here its waters are stayed until they find a
+vent underneath, and the action of the stream, as it rushes downwards
+through this exit, forms a great eddy above, in which swim some living
+things, cattle and sheep from the fold not yet drowned, mixed with
+furniture from the cottages, and amidst them the bodies of some of the
+unfortunate men-at-arms which have been washed hither.
+
+But, ha! another thundering crash. The dam has burst. The torrent roars
+and rushes on furiously as before, joins its forces with Pendle Water,
+swells up the river, and devastates the country far and wide.[1]
+
+The abbot and his companions beheld this work of destruction with
+amazement and dread. Blanched terror sat in their cheeks, and the blood
+was frozen in Paslew's veins; for he thought it the work of the powers
+of darkness, and that he was leagued with them. He tried to mutter a
+prayer, but his lips refused their office. He would have moved, but his
+limbs were stiffened and paralysed, and he could only gaze aghast at the
+terrible spectacle.
+
+Amidst it all he heard a wild burst of unearthly laughter, proceeding,
+he thought, from Demdike, and it filled him with new dread. But he could
+not check the sound, neither could he stop his ears, though he would
+fain have done so. Like him, his companions were petrified and
+speechless with fear.
+
+After this had endured for some time, though still the black torrent
+rushed on impetuously as ever, Demdike turned to the abbot and said,--
+
+"Your vengeance has been fully gratified. You will now baptise my
+child?"
+
+"Never, never, accursed being!" shrieked the abbot. "Thou mayst
+sacrifice her at thine own impious rites. But see, there is one poor
+wretch yet struggling with the foaming torrent. I may save him."
+
+"That is John Braddyll, thy worst enemy," replied Demdike. "If he lives
+he shall possess half Whalley Abbey. Thou hadst best also save Richard
+Assheton, who yet clings to the great stone below, as if he escapes he
+shall have the other half. Mark him, and make haste, for in five minutes
+both shall be gone."
+
+"I will save them if I can, be the consequence to myself what it may,"
+replied the abbot.
+
+And, regardless of the derisive laughter of the other, who yelled in his
+ears as he went, "Bess shall see thee hanged at thy own door!" he dashed
+down the hill to the spot where a small object, distinguishable above
+the stream, showed that some one still kept his head above water, his
+tall stature having preserved him.
+
+"Is it you, John Braddyll?" cried the abbot, as he rode up.
+
+"Ay," replied the head. "Forgive me for the wrong I intended you, and
+deliver me from this great peril."
+
+"I am come for that purpose," replied the abbot, dismounting, and
+disencumbering himself of his heavy cloak.
+
+By this time the two herdsmen had come up, and the abbot, taking a crook
+from one of them, clutched hold of the fellow, and, plunging fearlessly
+into the stream, extended it towards the drowning man, who instantly
+lifted up his hand to grasp it. In doing so Braddyll lost his balance,
+but, as he did not quit his hold, he was plucked forth from the
+tenacious mud by the combined efforts of the abbot and his assistant,
+and with some difficulty dragged ashore.
+
+"Now for the other," cried Paslew, as he placed Braddyll in safety.
+
+"One-half the abbey is gone from thee," shouted a voice in his ears as
+he rushed on.
+
+Presently he reached the rocky fragment on which Ralph Assheton rested.
+The latter was in great danger from the surging torrent, and the stone
+on which he had taken refuge tottered at its base, and threatened to
+roll over.
+
+"In Heaven's name, help me, lord abbot, as thou thyself shall be holpen
+at thy need!" shrieked Assheton.
+
+"Be not afraid, Richard Assheton," replied Paslew. "I will deliver thee
+as I have delivered John Braddyll."
+
+But the task was not of easy accomplishment. The abbot made his
+preparations as before; grasped the hand of the herdsman and held out
+the crook to Assheton; but when the latter caught it, the stream swung
+him round with such force that the abbot must either abandon him or
+advance further into the water. Bent on Assheton's preservation, he
+adopted the latter expedient, and instantly lost his feet; while the
+herdsman, unable longer to hold him, let go the crook, and the abbot and
+Assheton were swept down the stream together.
+
+Down--down they went, destruction apparently awaiting them; but the
+abbot, though sometimes quite under the water, and bruised by the rough
+stones and gravel with which he came in contact, still retained his
+self-possession, and encouraged his companion to hope for succour. In
+this way they were borne down to the foot of the hill, the monks, the
+herdsmen, and the men-at-arms having given them up as lost. But they yet
+lived--yet floated--though greatly injured, and almost senseless, when
+they were cast into a pool formed by the eddying waters at the foot of
+the hill. Here, wholly unable to assist himself, Assheton was seized by
+a black hound belonging to a tall man who stood on the bank, and who
+shouted to Paslew, as he helped the animal to bring the drowning man
+ashore, "The other half of the abbey is gone from thee. Wilt thou
+baptise my child if I send my dog to save thee?"
+
+"Never!" replied the other, sinking as he spoke.
+
+Flashes of fire glanced in the abbot's eyes, and stunning sounds seemed
+to burst his ears. A few more struggles, and he became senseless.
+
+But he was not destined to die thus. What happened afterwards he knew
+not; but when he recovered full consciousness, he found himself
+stretched, with aching limbs and throbbing head, upon a couch in a
+monastic room, with a richly-painted and gilded ceiling, with shields at
+the corners emblazoned with the three luces of Whalley, and with panels
+hung with tapestry from the looms of Flanders, representing divers
+Scriptural subjects.
+
+"Have I been dreaming?" he murmured.
+
+"No," replied a tall man standing by his bedside; "thou hast been saved
+from one death to suffer another more ignominious."
+
+"Ha!" cried the abbot, starting up and pressing his hand to his temples;
+"thou here?"
+
+"Ay, I am appointed to watch thee," replied Demdike. "Thou art a
+prisoner in thine own chamber at Whalley. All has befallen as I told
+thee. The Earl of Derby is master of the abbey; thy adherents are
+dispersed; and thy brethren are driven forth. Thy two partners in
+rebellion, the abbots of Jervaux and Salley, have been conveyed to
+Lancaster Castle, whither thou wilt go as soon as thou canst be moved."
+
+"I will surrender all--silver and gold, land and possessions--to the
+king, if I may die in peace," groaned the abbot.
+
+"It is not needed," rejoined the other. "Attainted of felony, thy lands
+and abbey will be forfeited to the crown, and they shall be sold, as I
+have told thee, to John Braddyll and Richard Assheton, who will be
+rulers here in thy stead."
+
+"Would I had perished in the flood!" groaned the abbot.
+
+"Well mayst thou wish so," returned his tormentor; "but thou wert not
+destined to die by water. As I have said, thou shalt be hanged at thy
+own door, and my wife shall witness thy end."
+
+"Who art thou? I have heard thy voice before," cried the abbot. "It is
+like the voice of one whom I knew years ago, and thy features are like
+his--though changed--greatly changed. Who art thou?"
+
+"Thou shalt know before thou diest," replied the other, with a look of
+gratified vengeance. "Farewell, and reflect upon thy fate."
+
+So saying, he strode towards the door, while the miserable abbot arose,
+and marching with uncertain steps to a little oratory adjoining, which
+he himself had built, knelt down before the altar, and strove to pray.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.--WHALLEY ABBEY.
+
+
+A sad, sad change hath come over the fair Abbey of Whalley. It knoweth
+its old masters no longer. For upwards of two centuries and a half hath
+the "Blessed Place"[2] grown in beauty and riches. Seventeen abbots have
+exercised unbounded hospitality within it, but now they are all gone,
+save one!--and he is attainted of felony and treason. The grave monk
+walketh no more in the cloisters, nor seeketh his pallet in the
+dormitory. Vesper or matin-song resound not as of old within the fine
+conventual church. Stripped are the altars of their silver crosses, and
+the shrines of their votive offerings and saintly relics. Pyx and
+chalice, thuribule and vial, golden-headed pastoral staff, and mitre
+embossed with pearls, candlestick and Christmas ship of silver; salver,
+basin, and ewer--all are gone--the splendid sacristy hath been
+despoiled.
+
+A sad, sad change hath come over Whalley Abbey. The libraries, well
+stored with reverend tomes, have been pillaged, and their contents cast
+to the flames; and thus long laboured manuscript, the fruit of years of
+patient industry, with gloriously illuminated missal, are irrecoverably
+lost. The large infirmary no longer receiveth the sick; in the locutory
+sitteth no more the guest. No longer in the mighty kitchens are prepared
+the prodigious supply of meats destined for the support of the poor or
+the entertainment of the traveller. No kindly porter stands at the gate,
+to bid the stranger enter and partake of the munificent abbot's
+hospitality, but a churlish guard bids him hie away, and menaces him if
+he tarries with his halbert. Closed are the buttery-hatches and the
+pantries; and the daily dole of bread hath ceased. Closed, also, to the
+brethren is the refectory. The cellarer's office is ended. The strong
+ale which he brewed in October, is tapped in March by roystering
+troopers. The rich muscadel and malmsey, and the wines of Gascoigne and
+the Rhine, are no longer quaffed by the abbot and his more honoured
+guests, but drunk to his destruction by his foes. The great gallery, a
+hundred and fifty feet in length, the pride of the abbot's lodging, and
+a model of architecture, is filled not with white-robed ecclesiastics,
+but with an armed earl and his retainers. Neglected is the little
+oratory dedicated to Our Lady of Whalley, where night and morn the abbot
+used to pray. All the old religious and hospitable uses of the abbey are
+foregone. The reverend stillness of the cloisters, scarce broken by the
+quiet tread of the monks, is now disturbed by armed heel and clank of
+sword; while in its saintly courts are heard the ribald song, the
+profane jest, and the angry brawl. Of the brethren, only those tenanting
+the cemetery are left. All else are gone, driven forth, as vagabonds,
+with stripes and curses, to seek refuge where they may.
+
+A sad, sad change has come over Whalley Abbey. In the plenitude of its
+pride and power has it been cast down, desecrated, despoiled. Its
+treasures are carried off, its ornaments sold, its granaries emptied,
+its possessions wasted, its storehouses sacked, its cattle slaughtered
+and sold. But, though stripped of its wealth and splendour; though
+deprived of all the religious graces that, like rich incense, lent an
+odour to the fane, its external beauty is yet unimpaired, and its vast
+proportions undiminished.
+
+A stately pile was Whalley--one of the loveliest as well as the largest
+in the realm. Carefully had it been preserved by its reverend rulers,
+and where reparations or additions were needed they were judiciously
+made. Thus age had lent it beauty, by mellowing its freshness and toning
+its hues, while no decay was perceptible. Without a struggle had it
+yielded to the captor, so that no part of its wide belt of walls or
+towers, though so strongly constructed as to have offered effectual
+resistance, were injured.
+
+Never had Whalley Abbey looked more beautiful than on a bright clear
+morning in March, when this sad change had been wrought, and when, from
+a peaceful monastic establishment, it had been converted into a menacing
+fortress. The sunlight sparkled upon its grey walls, and filled its
+three great quadrangular courts with light and life, piercing the
+exquisite carving of its cloisters, and revealing all the intricate
+beauty and combinations of the arches. Stains of painted glass fell upon
+the floor of the magnificent conventual church, and dyed with rainbow
+hues the marble tombs of the Lacies, the founders of the establishment,
+brought thither when the monastery was removed from Stanlaw in Cheshire,
+and upon the brass-covered gravestones of the abbots in the presbytery.
+There lay Gregory de Northbury, eighth abbot of Stanlaw and first of
+Whalley, and William Rede, the last abbot; but there was never to lie
+John Paslew. The slumber of the ancient prelates was soon to be
+disturbed, and the sacred structure within which they had so often
+worshipped, up-reared by sacrilegious hands. But all was bright and
+beauteous now, and if no solemn strains were heard in the holy pile, its
+stillness was scarcely less reverential and awe-inspiring. The old abbey
+wreathed itself in all its attractions, as if to welcome back its former
+ruler, whereas it was only to receive him as a captive doomed to a
+felon's death.
+
+But this was outward show. Within all was terrible preparation. Such
+was the discontented state of the country, that fearing some new revolt,
+the Earl of Derby had taken measures for the defence of the abbey, and
+along the wide-circling walls of the close were placed ordnance and men,
+and within the grange stores of ammunition. A strong guard was set at
+each of the gates, and the courts were filled with troops. The bray of
+the trumpet echoed within the close, where rounds were set for the
+archers, and martial music resounded within the area of the cloisters.
+Over the great north-eastern gateway, which formed the chief entrance to
+the abbot's lodging, floated the royal banner. Despite these warlike
+proceedings the fair abbey smiled beneath the sun, in all, or more than
+all, its pristine beauty, its green hills sloping gently down towards
+it, and the clear and sparkling Calder dashing merrily over the stones
+at its base.
+
+But upon the bridge, and by the river side, and within the little
+village, many persons were assembled, conversing gravely and anxiously
+together, and looking out towards the hills, where other groups were
+gathered, as if in expectation of some afflicting event. Most of these
+were herdsmen and farming men, but some among them were poor monks in
+the white habits of the Cistertian brotherhood, but which were now
+stained and threadbare, while their countenances bore traces of severest
+privation and suffering. All the herdsmen and farmers had been retainers
+of the abbot. The poor monks looked wistfully at their former
+habitation, but replied not except by a gentle bowing of the head to the
+cruel scoffs and taunts with which they were greeted by the passing
+soldiers; but the sturdy rustics did not bear these outrages so tamely,
+and more than one brawl ensued, in which blood flowed, while a ruffianly
+arquebussier would have been drowned in the Calder but for the exertions
+to save him of a monk whom he had attacked.
+
+This took place on the eleventh of March, 1537--more than three months
+after the date of the watching by the beacon before recorded--and the
+event anticipated by the concourse without the abbey, as well as by
+those within its walls, was the arrival of Abbot Paslew and Fathers
+Eastgate and Haydocke, who were to be brought on that day from
+Lancaster, and executed on the following morning before the abbey,
+according to sentence passed upon them.
+
+The gloomiest object in the picture remains to be described, but yet it
+is necessary to its completion. This was a gallows of unusual form and
+height, erected on the summit of a gentle hill, rising immediately in
+front of the abbot's lodgings, called the Holehouses, whose rounded,
+bosomy beauty it completely destroyed. This terrible apparatus of
+condign punishment was regarded with abhorrence by the rustics, and it
+required a strong guard to be kept constantly round it to preserve it
+from demolition.
+
+Amongst a group of rustics collected on the road leading to the
+north-east gateway, was Cuthbert Ashbead, who having been deprived of
+his forester's office, was now habited in a frieze doublet and hose with
+a short camlet cloak on his shoulder, and a fox-skin cap, embellished
+with the grinning jaws of the beast on his head.
+
+"Eigh, Ruchot o' Roaph's," he observed to a bystander, "that's a fearfo
+sect that gallas. Yoan been up to t' Holehouses to tey a look at it,
+beloike?"
+
+"Naw, naw, ey dunna loike such sects," replied Ruchot o' Roaph's;
+"besoide there wor a great rabblement at t' geate, an one o' them lunjus
+archer chaps knockt meh o' t' nob wi' his poike, an towd me he'd hong me
+wi' t' abbut, if ey didna keep owt ot wey."
+
+"An sarve te reet too, theaw craddinly carl!" cried Ashbead, doubling
+his horny fists. "Odds flesh! whey didna yo ha' a tussle wi' him? Mey
+honts are itchen for a bowt wi' t' heretic robbers. Walladey! walladey!
+that we should live to see t' oly feythers driven loike hummobees owt o'
+t' owd neest. Whey they sayn ot King Harry hon decreet ot we're to ha'
+naw more monks or friars i' aw Englondshiar. Ony think o' that. An dunna
+yo knoa that t' Abbuts o' Jervaux an Salley wor hongt o' Tizeday at
+Loncaster Castle?"
+
+"Good lorjus bless us!" exclaimed a sturdy hind, "we'n a protty king.
+Furst he chops off his woife's heaod, an then hongs aw t' priests.
+Whot'll t' warlt cum 'to?
+
+"Eigh by t' mess, whot _win_ it cum to?" cried Ruchot o' Roaph's. "But
+we darrna oppen owr mows fo' fear o' a gog."
+
+"Naw, beleady! boh eyst oppen moine woide enuff," cried Ashbead; "an' if
+a dozen o' yo chaps win join me, eyn try to set t' poor abbut free whon
+they brinks him here."
+
+"Ey'd as leef boide till to-morrow," said Ruchot o'Roaph's, uneasily.
+
+"Eigh, thou'rt a timmersome teyke, os ey towd te efore," replied
+Ashbead. "But whot dust theaw say, Hal o' Nabs?" he added, to the sturdy
+hind who had recently spoken.
+
+"Ey'n spill t' last drop o' meh blood i' t' owd abbut's keawse," replied
+Hal o' Nabs. "We winna stond by, an see him hongt loike a dog. Abbut
+Paslew to t' reskew, lads!"
+
+"Eigh, Abbut Paslew to t' reskew!" responded all the others, except
+Ruchot o' Roaph's.
+
+"This must be prevented," muttered a voice near them. And immediately
+afterwards a tall man quitted the group.
+
+"Whoa wor it spoake?" cried Hal o' Nabs. "Oh, ey seen, that he-witch,
+Nick Demdike."
+
+"Nick Demdike here!" cried Ashbead, looking round in alarm. "Has he
+owerheert us?"
+
+"Loike enow," replied Hal o' Nabs. "But ey didna moind him efore."
+
+"Naw ey noather," cried Ruchot o' Roaph's, crossing himself, and
+spitting on the ground. "Owr Leady o' Whalley shielt us fro' t'
+warlock!"
+
+"Tawkin o' Nick Demdike," cried Hal o' Nabs, "yo'd a strawnge odventer
+wi' him t' neet o' t' great brast o' Pendle Hill, hadna yo, Cuthbert?"
+
+"Yeigh, t' firrups tak' him, ey hadn," replied Ashbead. "Theawst hear aw
+abowt it if t' will. Ey wur sent be t' abbut down t' hill to Owen o'
+Gab's, o' Perkin's, o' Dannel's, o' Noll's, o' Oamfrey's orchert i'
+Warston lone, to luk efter him. Weel, whon ey gets ower t' stoan wa',
+whot dun yo think ey sees! twanty or throtty poikemen stonding behint
+it, an they deshes at meh os thick os leet, an efore ey con roor oot,
+they blintfowlt meh, an clap an iron gog i' meh mouth. Weel, I con
+noather speak nor see, boh ey con use meh feet, soh ey punses at 'em
+reet an' laft; an be mah troath, lads, yood'n a leawght t' hear how they
+roart, an ey should a roart too, if I couldn, whon they began to thwack
+me wi' their raddling pows, and ding'd meh so abowt t' heoad, that ey
+fell i' a swownd. Whon ey cum to, ey wur loyin o' meh back i' Rimington
+Moor. Every booan i' meh hoide wratcht, an meh hewr war clottert wi'
+gore, boh t' eebond an t' gog wur gone, soh ey gets o' meh feet, and
+daddles along os weel os ey con, whon aw ot wunce ey spies a leet
+glenting efore meh, an dawncing abowt loike an awf or a wull-o'-whisp.
+Thinks ey, that's Friar Rush an' his lantern, an he'll lead me into a
+quagmire, soh ey stops a bit, to consider where ey'd getten, for ey
+didna knoa t' reet road exactly; boh whon ey stood still, t' leet stood
+still too, on then ey meyd owt that it cum fro an owd ruint tower, an
+whot ey'd fancied wur one lantern proved twanty, fo' whon ey reacht t'
+tower an peept in thro' a brok'n winda, ey beheld a seet ey'st neer
+forgit--apack o' witches--eigh, witches!--sittin' in a ring, wi' their
+broomsticks an lanterns abowt em!"
+
+"Good lorjus deys!" cried Hal o' Nabs. "An whot else didsta see, mon?"
+
+"Whoy," replied Ashbead, "t'owd hags had a little figure i' t' midst on
+'em, mowded i' cley, representing t' abbut o' Whalley,--ey knoad it be't
+moitre and crosier,--an efter each o' t' varment had stickt a pin i' its
+'eart, a tall black mon stepped for'ard, an teed a cord rownd its
+throttle, an hongt it up."
+
+"An' t' black mon," cried Hal o' Nabs, breathlessly,--"t' black mon wur
+Nick Demdike?"
+
+"Yoan guest it," replied Ashbead, "'t wur he! Ey wur so glopp'nt, ey
+couldna speak, an' meh blud fruz i' meh veins, when ey heerd a fearfo
+voice ask Nick wheere his woife an' chilt were. 'The infant is
+unbaptised,' roart t' voice, 'at the next meeting it must be sacrificed.
+See that thou bring it.' Demdike then bowed to Summat I couldna see; an
+axt when t' next meeting wur to be held. 'On the night of Abbot
+Paslew's execution,' awnsert t' voice. On hearing this, ey could bear
+nah lunger, boh shouted out, 'Witches! devils! Lort deliver us fro' ye!'
+An' os ey spoke, ey tried t' barst thro' t' winda. In a trice, aw t'
+leets went out; thar wur a great rash to t' dooer; a whirrin sound i'
+th' air loike a covey o' partriches fleeing off; and then ey heerd nowt
+more; for a great stoan fell o' meh scoance, an' knockt me down
+senseless. When I cum' to, I wur i' Nick Demdike's cottage, wi' his
+woife watching ower me, and th' unbapteesed chilt i' her arms."
+
+All exclamations of wonder on the part of the rustics, and inquiries as
+to the issue of the adventure, were checked by the approach of a monk,
+who, joining the assemblage, called their attention to a priestly train
+slowly advancing along the road.
+
+"It is headed," he said, "by Fathers Chatburne and Chester, late bursers
+of the abbey. Alack! alack! they now need the charity themselves which
+they once so lavishly bestowed on others."
+
+"Waes me!" ejaculated Ashbead. "Monry a broad merk han ey getten fro
+'em."
+
+"They'n been koind to us aw," added the others.
+
+"Next come Father Burnley, granger, and Father Haworth, cellarer,"
+pursued the monk; "and after them Father Dinkley, sacristan, and Father
+Moore, porter."
+
+"Yo remember Feyther Moore, lads," cried Ashbead.
+
+"Yeigh, to be sure we done," replied the others; "a good mon, a reet
+good mon! He never sent away t' poor--naw he!"
+
+"After Father Moore," said the monk, pleased with their warmth, "comes
+Father Forrest, the procurator, with Fathers Rede, Clough, and Bancroft,
+and the procession is closed by Father Smith, the late prior."
+
+"Down o' yer whirlybooans, lads, as t' oly feythers pass," cried
+Ashbead, "and crave their blessing."
+
+And as the priestly train slowly approached, with heads bowed down, and
+looks fixed sadly upon the ground, the rustic assemblage fell upon their
+knees, and implored their benediction. The foremost in the procession
+passed on in silence, but the prior stopped, and extending his hands
+over the kneeling group, cried in a solemn voice,
+
+"Heaven bless ye, my children! Ye are about to witness a sad spectacle.
+You will see him who hath clothed you, fed you, and taught you the way
+to heaven, brought hither a prisoner, to suffer a shameful death."
+
+"Boh we'st set him free, oly prior," cried Ashbead. "We'n meayed up our
+moinds to 't. Yo just wait till he cums."
+
+"Nay, I command you to desist from the attempt, if any such you
+meditate," rejoined the prior; "it will avail nothing, and you will
+only sacrifice your own lives. Our enemies are too strong. The abbot
+himself would give you like counsel."
+
+Scarcely were the words uttered than from the great gate of the abbey
+there issued a dozen arquebussiers with an officer at their head, who
+marched directly towards the kneeling hinds, evidently with the
+intention of dispersing them. Behind them strode Nicholas Demdike. In an
+instant the alarmed rustics were on their feet, and Ruchot o' Roaph's,
+and some few among them, took to their heels, but Ashbead, Hal o' Nabs,
+with half a dozen others, stood their ground manfully. The monks
+remained in the hope of preventing any violence. Presently the
+halberdiers came up.
+
+"That is the ringleader," cried the officer, who proved to be Richard
+Assheton, pointing out Ashbead; "seize him!"
+
+"Naw mon shall lay honts o' meh," cried Cuthbert.
+
+And as the guard pushed past the monks to execute their leader's order,
+he sprang forward, and, wresting a halbert from the foremost of them,
+stood upon his defence.
+
+"Seize him, I say!" shouted Assheton, irritated at the resistance
+offered.
+
+"Keep off," cried Ashbead; "yo'd best. Loike a stag at bey ey'm
+dawngerous. Waar horns! waar horns! ey sey."
+
+The arquebussiers looked irresolute. It was evident Ashbead would only
+be taken with life, and they were not sure that it was their leader's
+purpose to destroy him.
+
+"Put down thy weapon, Cuthbert," interposed the prior; "it will avail
+thee nothing against odds like these."
+
+"Mey be, 'oly prior," rejoined Ashbead, flourishing the pike: "boh ey'st
+ony yield wi' loife."
+
+"I will disarm him," cried Demdike, stepping forward.
+
+"Theaw!" retorted Ashbead, with a scornful laugh, "Cum on, then. Hadsta
+aw t' fiends i' hell at te back, ey shouldna fear thee."
+
+"Yield!" cried Demdike in a voice of thunder, and fixing a terrible
+glance upon him.
+
+"Cum on, wizard," rejoined Ashbead undauntedly. But, observing that his
+opponent was wholly unarmed, he gave the pike to Hal o' Nabs, who was
+close beside him, observing, "It shall never be said that Cuthbert
+Ashbead feawt t' dule himsel unfairly. Nah, touch me if theaw dar'st."
+
+Demdike required no further provocation. With almost supernatural force
+and quickness he sprung upon the forester, and seized him by the throat.
+But the active young man freed himself from the gripe, and closed with
+his assailant. But though of Herculean build, it soon became evident
+that Ashbead would have the worst of it; when Hal o' Nabs, who had
+watched the struggle with intense interest, could not help coming to his
+friend's assistance, and made a push at Demdike with the halbert.
+
+Could it be that the wrestlers shifted their position, or that the
+wizard was indeed aided by the powers of darkness? None could tell, but
+so it was that the pike pierced the side of Ashbead, who instantly fell
+to the ground, with his adversary upon him. The next instant his hold
+relaxed, and the wizard sprang to his feet unharmed, but deluged in
+blood. Hal o' Nabs uttered a cry of keenest anguish, and, flinging
+himself upon the body of the forester, tried to staunch the wound; but
+he was quickly seized by the arquebussiers, and his hands tied behind
+his back with a thong, while Ashbead was lifted up and borne towards the
+abbey, the monks and rustics following slowly after; but the latter were
+not permitted to enter the gate.
+
+As the unfortunate keeper, who by this time had become insensible from
+loss of blood, was carried along the walled enclosure leading to the
+abbot's lodging, a female with a child in her arms was seen advancing
+from the opposite side. She was tall, finely formed, with features of
+remarkable beauty, though of a masculine and somewhat savage character,
+and with magnificent but fierce black eyes. Her skin was dark, and her
+hair raven black, contrasting strongly with the red band wound around
+it. Her kirtle was of murrey-coloured serge; simply, but becomingly
+fashioned. A glance sufficed to show her how matters stood with poor
+Ashbead, and, uttering a sharp angry cry, she rushed towards him.
+
+"What have you done?" she cried, fixing a keen reproachful look on
+Demdike, who walked beside the wounded man.
+
+"Nothing," replied Demdike with a bitter laugh; "the fool has been hurt
+with a pike. Stand out of the way, Bess, and let the men pass. They are
+about to carry him to the cell under the chapter-house."
+
+"You shall not take him there," cried Bess Demdike, fiercely. "He may
+recover if his wound be dressed. Let him go to the infirmary--ha, I
+forgot--there is no one there now."
+
+"Father Bancroft is at the gate," observed one of the arquebussiers; "he
+used to act as chirurgeon in the abbey."
+
+"No monk must enter the gate except the prisoners when they arrive,"
+observed Assheton; "such are the positive orders of the Earl of Derby."
+
+"It is not needed," observed Demdike, "no human aid can save the man."
+
+"But can other aid save him?" said Bess, breathing the words in her
+husband's ears.
+
+"Go to!" cried Demdike, pushing her roughly aside; "wouldst have me save
+thy lover?"
+
+"Take heed," said Bess, in a deep whisper; "if thou save him not, by the
+devil thou servest! thou shalt lose me and thy child."
+
+Demdike did not think proper to contest the point, but, approaching
+Assheton, requested that the wounded man might be conveyed to an arched
+recess, which he pointed out. Assent being given, Ashbead was taken
+there, and placed upon the ground, after which the arquebussiers and
+their leader marched off; while Bess, kneeling down, supported the head
+of the wounded man upon her knee, and Demdike, taking a small phial from
+his doublet, poured some of its contents clown his throat. The wizard
+then took a fold of linen, with which he was likewise provided, and,
+dipping it in the elixir, applied it to the wound.
+
+In a few moments Ashbead opened his eyes, and looking round wildly,
+fixed his gaze upon Bess, who placed her finger upon her lips to enjoin
+silence, but he could not, or would not, understand the sign.
+
+"Aw's o'er wi' meh, Bess," he groaned; "but ey'd reyther dee thus, wi'
+thee besoide meh, than i' ony other wey."
+
+"Hush!" exclaimed Bess, "Nicholas is here."
+
+"Oh! ey see," replied the wounded man, looking round; "but whot matters
+it? Ey'st be gone soon. Ah, Bess, dear lass, if theawdst promise to
+break thy compact wi' Satan--to repent and save thy precious sowl--ey
+should dee content."
+
+"Oh, do not talk thus!" cried Bess. "You will soon be well again."
+
+"Listen to me," continued Ashbead, earnestly; "dust na knoa that if thy
+babe be na bapteesed efore to-morrow neet, it'll be sacrificed to t'
+Prince o' Darkness. Go to some o' t' oly feythers--confess thy sins an'
+implore heaven's forgiveness--an' mayhap they'll save thee an' thy
+infant."
+
+"And be burned as a witch," rejoined Bess, fiercely. "It is useless,
+Cuthbert; I have tried them all. I have knelt to them, implored them,
+but their hearts are hard as flints. They will not heed me. They will
+not disobey the abbot's cruel injunctions, though he be their superior
+no longer. But I shall be avenged upon him--terribly avenged."
+
+"Leave meh, theaw wicked woman." cried Ashbead; "ey dunna wish to ha'
+thee near meh. Let meh dee i' peace."
+
+"Thou wilt not die, I tell thee, Cuthbert," cried Bess; "Nicholas hath
+staunched thy wound."
+
+"He stawncht it, seyst to?" cried Ashbead, raising. "Ey'st never owe meh
+loife to him."
+
+And before he could be prevented he tore off the bandage, and the blood
+burst forth anew.
+
+"It is not my fault if he perishes now," observed Demdike, moodily.
+
+"Help him--help him!" implored Bess.
+
+"He shanna touch meh," cried Ashbead, struggling and increasing the
+effusion. "Keep him off, ey adjure thee. Farewell, Bess," he added,
+sinking back utterly exhausted by the effort.
+
+"Cuthbert!" screamed Bess, terrified by his looks, "Cuthbert! art thou
+really dying? Look at me, speak to me! Ha!" she cried, as if seized by a
+sudden idea, "they say the blessing of a dying man will avail. Bless my
+child, Cuthbert, bless it!"
+
+"Give it me!" groaned the forester.
+
+Bess held the infant towards him; but before he could place his hands
+upon it all power forsook him, and he fell back and expired.
+
+"Lost! lost! for ever lost!" cried Bess, with a wild shriek.
+
+At this moment a loud blast was blown from the gate-tower, and a
+trumpeter called out,
+
+"The abbot and the two other prisoners are coming."
+
+"To thy feet, wench!" cried Demdike, imperiously, and seizing the
+bewildered woman by the arm; "to thy feet, and come with me to meet
+him!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.--THE MALEDICTION.
+
+
+The captive ecclesiastics, together with the strong escort by which they
+were attended, under the command of John Braddyll, the high sheriff of
+the county, had passed the previous night at Whitewell, in Bowland
+Forest; and the abbot, before setting out on his final journey, was
+permitted to spend an hour in prayer in a little chapel on an adjoining
+hill, overlooking a most picturesque portion of the forest, the beauties
+of which were enhanced by the windings of the Hodder, one of the
+loveliest streams in Lancashire. His devotions performed, Paslew,
+attended by a guard, slowly descended the hill, and gazed his last on
+scenes familiar to him almost from infancy. Noble trees, which now
+looked like old friends, to whom he was bidding an eternal adieu, stood
+around him. Beneath them, at the end of a glade, couched a herd of deer,
+which started off at sight of the intruders, and made him envy their
+freedom and fleetness as he followed them in thought to their solitudes.
+At the foot of a steep rock ran the Hodder, making the pleasant music of
+other days as it dashed over its pebbly bed, and recalling times, when,
+free from all care, he had strayed by its wood-fringed banks, to listen
+to the pleasant sound of running waters, and watch the shining pebbles
+beneath them, and the swift trout and dainty umber glancing past.
+
+A bitter pang was it to part with scenes so fair, and the abbot spoke no
+word, nor even looked up, until, passing Little Mitton, he came in sight
+of Whalley Abbey. Then, collecting all his energies, he prepared for the
+shock he was about to endure. But nerved as he was, his firmness was
+sorely tried when he beheld the stately pile, once his own, now gone
+from him and his for ever. He gave one fond glance towards it, and then
+painfully averting his gaze, recited, in a low voice, this
+supplication:--
+
+    "_Miserere mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam. Et
+    secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum, dele iniquitatem
+    meam. Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea, et a peccato meo
+    munda me._"
+
+But other thoughts and other emotions crowded upon him, when he beheld
+the groups of his old retainers advancing to meet him: men, women, and
+children pouring forth loud lamentations, prostrating themselves at his
+feet, and deploring his doom. The abbot's fortitude had a severe trial
+here, and the tears sprung to his eyes. The devotion of these poor
+people touched him more sharply than the severity of his adversaries.
+
+"Bless ye! bless ye! my children," he cried; "repine not for me, for I
+bear my cross with resignation. It is for me to bewail your lot, much
+fearing that the flock I have so long and so zealously tended will fall
+into the hands of other and less heedful pastors, or, still worse, of
+devouring wolves. Bless ye, my children, and be comforted. Think of the
+end of Abbot Paslew, and for what he suffered."
+
+"Think that he was a traitor to the king, and took up arms in rebellion
+against him," cried the sheriff, riding up, and speaking in a loud
+voice; "and that for his heinous offences he was justly condemned to
+death."
+
+Murmurs arose at this speech, but they were instantly checked by the
+escort.
+
+"Think charitably of me, my children," said the abbot; "and the blessed
+Virgin keep you steadfast in your faith. Benedicite!"
+
+"Be silent, traitor, I command thee," cried the sheriff, striking him
+with his gauntlet in the face.
+
+The abbot's pale check burnt crimson, and his eye flashed fire, but he
+controlled himself, and answered meekly,--
+
+"Thou didst not speak in such wise, John Braddyll, when I saved thee
+from the flood."
+
+"Which flood thou thyself caused to burst forth by devilish arts,"
+rejoined the sheriff. "I owe thee little for the service. If for naught
+else, thou deservest death for thy evil doings on that night."
+
+The abbot made no reply, for Braddyll's allusion conjured up a sombre
+train of thought within his breast, awakening apprehensions which he
+could neither account for, nor shake off. Meanwhile, the cavalcade
+slowly approached the north-east gateway of the abbey--passing through
+crowds of kneeling and sorrowing bystanders;--but so deeply was the
+abbot engrossed by the one dread idea that possessed him, that he saw
+them not, and scarce heard their woful lamentations. All at once the
+cavalcade stopped, and the sheriff rode on to the gate, in the opening
+of which some ceremony was observed. Then it was that Paslew raised his
+eyes, and beheld standing before him a tall man, with a woman beside him
+bearing an infant in her arms. The eyes of the pair were fixed upon him
+with vindictive exultation. He would have averted his gaze, but an
+irresistible fascination withheld him.
+
+"Thou seest all is prepared," said Demdike, coming close up the mule on
+which Paslew was mounted, and pointing to the gigantic gallows, looming
+above the abbey walls; "wilt them now accede to my request?" And then he
+added, significantly--"on the same terms as before."
+
+The abbot understood his meaning well. Life and freedom were offered him
+by a being, whose power to accomplish his promise he did not doubt. The
+struggle was hard; but he resisted the temptation, and answered
+firmly,--
+
+"No."
+
+"Then die the felon death thou meritest," cried Bess, fiercely; "and I
+will glut mine eyes with the spectacle."
+
+Incensed beyond endurance, the abbot looked sternly at her, and raised
+his hand in denunciation. The action and the look were so appalling,
+that the affrighted woman would have fled if her husband had not
+restrained her.
+
+"By the holy patriarchs and prophets; by the prelates and confessors; by
+the doctors of the church; by the holy abbots, monks, and eremites, who
+dwelt in solitudes, in mountains, and in caverns; by the holy saints and
+martyrs, who suffered torture and death for their faith, I curse thee,
+witch!" cried Paslew. "May the malediction of Heaven and all its hosts
+alight on the head of thy infant--"
+
+"Oh! holy abbot," shrieked Bess, breaking from her husband, and flinging
+herself at Paslew's feet, "curse me, if thou wilt, but spare my innocent
+child. Save it, and we will save thee."
+
+"Avoid thee, wretched and impious woman," rejoined the abbot; "I have
+pronounced the dread anathema, and it cannot be recalled. Look at the
+dripping garments of thy child. In blood has it been baptised, and
+through blood-stained paths shall its course be taken."
+
+"Ha!" shrieked Bess, noticing for the first time the ensanguined
+condition of the infant's attire. "Cuthbert's blood--oh!"
+
+"Listen to me, wicked woman," pursued the abbot, as if filled with a
+prophetic spirit. "Thy child's life shall be long--beyond the ordinary
+term of woman--but it shall be a life of woe and ill."
+
+"Oh! stay him--stay him; or I shall die!" cried Bess.
+
+But the wizard could not speak. A greater power than his own apparently
+overmastered him.
+
+"Children shall she have," continued the abbot, "and children's
+children, but they shall be a race doomed and accursed--a brood of
+adders, that the world shall flee from and crush. A thing accursed, and
+shunned by her fellows, shall thy daughter be--evil reputed and evil
+doing. No hand to help her--no lip to bless her--life a burden; and
+death--long, long in coming--finding her in a dismal dungeon. Now,
+depart from me, and trouble me no more."
+
+Bess made a motion as if she would go, and then turning, partly round,
+dropped heavily on the ground. Demdike caught the child ere she fell.
+
+"Thou hast killed her!" he cried to the abbot.
+
+"A stronger voice than mine hath spoken, if it be so," rejoined Paslew.
+"_Fuge miserrime, fuge malefice, quia judex adest iratus_."
+
+At this moment the trumpet again sounded, and the cavalcade being put in
+motion, the abbot and his fellow-captives passed through the gate.
+
+Dismounting from their mules within the court, before the chapter-house,
+the captive ecclesiastics, preceded by the sheriff were led to the
+principal chamber of the structure, where the Earl of Derby awaited
+them, seated in the Gothic carved oak chair, formerly occupied by the
+Abbots of Whalley on the occasions of conferences or elections. The earl
+was surrounded by his officers, and the chamber was filled with armed
+men. The abbot slowly advanced towards the earl. His deportment was
+dignified and firm, even majestic. The exaltation of spirit, occasioned
+by the interview with Demdike and his wife, had passed away, and was
+succeeded by a profound calm. The hue of his cheek was livid, but
+otherwise he seemed wholly unmoved.
+
+The ceremony of delivering up the bodies of the prisoners to the earl
+was gone through by the sheriff, and their sentences were then read
+aloud by a clerk. After this the earl, who had hitherto remained
+covered, took off his cap, and in a solemn voice spoke:--
+
+"John Paslew, somewhile Abbot of Whalley, but now an attainted and
+condemned felon, and John Eastgate and William Haydocke, formerly
+brethren of the same monastery, and confederates with him in crime, ye
+have heard your doom. To-morrow you shall die the ignominious death of
+traitors; but the king in his mercy, having regard not so much to the
+heinous nature of your offences towards his sovereign majesty as to the
+sacred offices you once held, and of which you have been shamefully
+deprived, is graciously pleased to remit that part of your sentence,
+whereby ye are condemned to be quartered alive, willing that the hearts
+which conceived so much malice and violence against him should cease to
+beat within your own bosoms, and that the arms which were raised in
+rebellion against him should be interred in one common grave with the
+trunks to which they belong."
+
+"God save the high and puissant king, Henry the Eighth, and free him
+from all traitors!" cried the clerk.
+
+"We humbly thank his majesty for his clemency," said the abbot, amid the
+profound silence that ensued; "and I pray you, my good lord, when you
+shall write to the king concerning us, to say to his majesty that we
+died penitent of many and grave offences, amongst the which is chiefly
+that of having taken up arms unlawfully against him, but that we did so
+solely with the view of freeing his highness from evil counsellors, and
+of re-establishing our holy church, for the which we would willingly
+die, if our death might in anywise profit it."
+
+"Amen!" exclaimed Father Eastgate, who stood with his hands crossed upon
+his breast, close behind Paslew. "The abbot hath uttered my sentiments."
+
+"He hath not uttered mine," cried Father Haydocke. "I ask no grace from
+the bloody Herodias, and will accept none. What I have done I would do
+again, were the past to return--nay, I would do more--I would find a way
+to reach the tyrant's heart, and thus free our church from its worst
+enemy, and the land from a ruthless oppressor."
+
+"Remove him," said the earl; "the vile traitor shall be dealt with as he
+merits. For you," he added, as the order was obeyed, and addressing the
+other prisoners, "and especially you, John Paslew, who have shown some
+compunction for your crimes, and to prove to you that the king is not
+the ruthless tyrant he hath been just represented, I hereby in his name
+promise you any boon, which you may ask consistently with your
+situation. What favour would you have shown you?"
+
+The abbot reflected for a moment.
+
+"Speak thou, John Eastgate," said the Earl of Derby, seeing that the
+abbot was occupied in thought.
+
+"If I may proffer a request, my lord," replied the monk, "it is that our
+poor distraught brother, William Haydocke, be spared the quartering
+block. He meant not what he said."
+
+"Well, be it as thou wilt," replied the earl, bending his brows, "though
+he ill deserves such grace. Now, John Paslew, what wouldst thou?"
+
+Thus addressed, the abbot looked up.
+
+"I would have made the same request as my brother, John Eastgate, if he
+had not anticipated me, my lord," said Paslew; "but since his petition
+is granted, I would, on my own part, entreat that mass be said for us in
+the convent church. Many of the brethren are without the abbey, and, if
+permitted, will assist at its performance."
+
+"I know not if I shall not incur the king's displeasure in assenting,"
+replied the Earl of Derby, after a little reflection; "but I will hazard
+it. Mass for the dead shall be said in the church at midnight, and all
+the brethren who choose to come thither shall be permitted to assist at
+it. They will attend, I doubt not, for it will be the last time the
+rites of the Romish Church will be performed in those Walls. They shall
+have all required for the ceremonial."
+
+"Heaven's blessings on you, my lord," said the abbot.
+
+"But first pledge me your sacred word," said the earl, "by the holy
+office you once held, and by the saints in whom you trust, that this
+concession shall not be made the means of any attempt at flight."
+
+"I swear it," replied the abbot, earnestly.
+
+"And I also swear it," added Father Eastgate.
+
+"Enough," said the earl. "I will give the requisite orders. Notice of
+the celebration of mass at midnight shall be proclaimed without the
+abbey. Now remove the prisoners."
+
+Upon this the captive ecclesiastics were led forth. Father Eastgate was
+taken to a strong room in the lower part of the chapter-house, where all
+acts of discipline had been performed by the monks, and where the
+knotted lash, the spiked girdle, and the hair shirt had once hung; while
+the abbot was conveyed to his old chamber, which had been prepared for
+his reception, and there left alone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.--THE MIDNIGHT MASS.
+
+
+Dolefully sounds the All Souls' bell from the tower of the convent
+church. The bell is one of five, and has obtained the name because it is
+tolled only for those about to pass away from life. Now it rings the
+knell of three souls to depart on the morrow. Brightly illumined is the
+fane, within which no taper hath gleamed since the old worship ceased,
+showing that preparations are made for the last service. The organ, dumb
+so long, breathes a low prelude. Sad is it to hear that knell--sad to
+view those gloriously-dyed panes--and to think why the one rings and the
+other is lighted up.
+
+Word having gone forth of the midnight mass, all the ejected brethren
+flock to the abbey. Some have toiled through miry and scarce passable
+roads. Others have come down from the hills, and forded deep streams at
+the hazard of life, rather than go round by the far-off bridge, and
+arrive too late. Others, who conceive themselves in peril from the share
+they have taken in the late insurrection, quit their secure retreats,
+and expose themselves to capture. It may be a snare laid for them, but
+they run the risk. Others, coming from a yet greater distance, beholding
+the illuminated church from afar, and catching the sound of the bell
+tolling at intervals, hurry on, and reach the gate breathless and
+wellnigh exhausted. But no questions are asked. All who present
+themselves in ecclesiastical habits are permitted to enter, and take
+part in the procession forming in the cloister, or proceed at once to
+the church, if they prefer it.
+
+Dolefully sounds the bell. Barefooted brethren meet together,
+sorrowfully salute each other, and form in a long line in the great area
+of the cloisters. At their head are six monks bearing tall lighted
+candles. After them come the quiristers, and then one carrying the Host,
+between the incense-bearers. Next comes a youth holding the bell. Next
+are placed the dignitaries of the church, the prior ranking first, and
+the others standing two and two according to their degrees. Near the
+entrance of the refectory, which occupies the whole south side of the
+quadrangle, stand a band of halberdiers, whose torches cast a ruddy
+glare on the opposite tower and buttresses of the convent church,
+revealing the statues not yet plucked from their niches, the crosses on
+the pinnacles, and the gilt image of Saint Gregory de Northbury, still
+holding its place over the porch. Another band are stationed near the
+mouth of the vaulted passage, under the chapter-house and vestry, whose
+grey, irregular walls, pierced by numberless richly ornamented windows,
+and surmounted by small turrets, form a beautiful boundary on the right;
+while a third party are planted on the left, in the open space, beneath
+the dormitory, the torchlight flashing ruddily upon the hoary pillars
+and groined arches sustaining the vast structure above them.
+
+Dolefully sounds the bell. And the ghostly procession thrice tracks the
+four ambulatories of the cloisters, solemnly chanting a requiem for the
+dead.
+
+Dolefully sounds the bell. And at its summons all the old retainers of
+the abbot press to the gate, and sue for admittance, but in vain. They,
+therefore, mount the neighbouring hill commanding the abbey, and as the
+solemn sounds float faintly by, and glimpses are caught of the
+white-robed brethren gliding along the cloisters, and rendered
+phantom-like by the torchlight, the beholders half imagine it must be a
+company of sprites, and that the departed monks have been permitted for
+an hour to assume their old forms, and revisit their old haunts.
+
+Dolefully sounds the bell. And two biers, covered with palls, are borne
+slowly towards the church, followed by a tall monk.
+
+The clock was on the stroke of twelve. The procession having drawn up
+within the court in front of the abbot's lodging, the prisoners were
+brought forth, and at sight of the abbot the whole of the monks fell on
+their knees. A touching sight was it to see those reverend men prostrate
+before their ancient superior,--he condemned to die, and they deprived
+of their monastic home,--and the officer had not the heart to interfere.
+Deeply affected, Paslew advanced to the prior, and raising him,
+affectionately embraced him. After this, he addressed some words of
+comfort to the others, who arose as he enjoined them, and at a signal
+from the officer, the procession set out for the church, singing the
+"_Placebo_." The abbot and his fellow captives brought up the rear, with
+a guard on either side of them. All Souls' bell tolled dolefully the
+while.
+
+Meanwhile an officer entered the great hall, where the Earl of Derby was
+feasting with his retainers, and informed him that the hour appointed
+for the ceremonial was close at hand. The earl arose and went to the
+church attended by Braddyll and Assheton. He entered by the western
+porch, and, proceeding to the choir, seated himself in the
+magnificently-carved stall formerly used by Paslew, and placed where it
+stood, a hundred years before, by John Eccles, ninth abbot.
+
+Midnight struck. The great door of the church swung open, and the organ
+pealed forth the "_De profundis_." The aisles were filled with armed
+men, but a clear space was left for the procession, which presently
+entered in the same order as before, and moved slowly along the
+transept. Those who came first thought it a dream, so strange was it to
+find themselves once again in the old accustomed church. The good prior
+melted into tears.
+
+At length the abbot came. To him the whole scene appeared like a vision.
+The lights streaming from the altar--the incense loading the air--the
+deep diapasons rolling overhead--the well-known faces of the
+brethren--the familiar aspect of the sacred edifice--all these filled
+him with emotions too painful almost for endurance. It was the last time
+he should visit this holy place--the last time he should hear those
+solemn sounds--the last time he should behold those familiar
+objects--ay, the last! Death could have no pang like this! And with
+heart wellnigh bursting, and limbs scarcely serving their office, he
+tottered on.
+
+Another trial awaited him, and one for which he was wholly unprepared.
+As he drew near the chancel, he looked down an opening on the right,
+which seemed purposely preserved by the guard. Why were those tapers
+burning in the side chapel? What was within it? He looked again, and
+beheld two uncovered biers. On one lay the body of a woman. He started.
+In the beautiful, but fierce features of the dead, he beheld the witch,
+Bess Demdike. She was gone to her account before him. The malediction he
+had pronounced upon her child had killed her.
+
+Appalled, he turned to the other bier, and recognised Cuthbert Ashbead.
+He shuddered, but comforted himself that he was at least guiltless of
+his death; though he had a strange feeling that the poor forester had in
+some way perished for him.
+
+But his attention was diverted towards a tall monk in the Cistertian
+habit, standing between the bodies, with the cowl drawn over his face.
+As Paslew gazed at him, the monk slowly raised his hood, and partially
+disclosed features that smote the abbot as if he had beheld a spectre.
+Could it be? Could fancy cheat him thus? He looked again. The monk was
+still standing there, but the cowl had dropped over his face. Striving
+to shake off the horror that possessed him, the abbot staggered forward,
+and reaching the presbytery, sank upon his knees.
+
+The ceremonial then commenced. The solemn requiem was sung by the choir;
+and three yet living heard the hymn for the repose of their souls.
+Always deeply impressive, the service was unusually so on this sad
+occasion, and the melodious voices of the singers never sounded so
+mournfully sweet as then--the demeanour of the prior never seemed so
+dignified, nor his accents so touching and solemn. The sternest hearts
+were softened.
+
+But the abbot found it impossible to fix his attention on the service.
+The lights at the altar burnt dimly in his eyes--the loud antiphon and
+the supplicatory prayer fell upon a listless ear. His whole life was
+passing in review before him. He saw himself as he was when he first
+professed his faith, and felt the zeal and holy aspirations that filled
+him then. Years flew by at a glance, and he found himself sub-deacon;
+the sub-deacon became deacon; and the deacon, sub-prior, and the end of
+his ambition seemed plain before him. But he had a rival; his fears told
+him a superior in zeal and learning: one who, though many years younger
+than he, had risen so rapidly in favour with the ecclesiastical
+authorities, that he threatened to outstrip him, even now, when the goal
+was full in view. The darkest passage of his life approached: a crime
+which should cast a deep shadow over the whole of his brilliant
+after-career. He would have shunned its contemplation, if he could. In
+vain. It stood out more palpably than all the rest. His rival was no
+longer in his path. How he was removed the abbot did not dare to think.
+But he was gone for ever, unless the tall monk were he!
+
+Unable to endure this terrible retrospect, Paslew strove to bend his
+thoughts on other things. The choir was singing the "_Dies Irae_," and
+their voices thundered forth:--
+
+          Rex tremendae majestatis,
+          Qui salvandos salvas gratis,
+          Salva me, fons pietatis!
+
+Fain would the abbot have closed his ears, and, hoping to stifle the
+remorseful pangs that seized upon his very vitals with the sharpness of
+serpents' teeth, he strove to dwell upon the frequent and severe acts of
+penance he had performed. But he now found that his penitence had never
+been sincere and efficacious. This one damning sin obscured all his good
+actions; and he felt if he died unconfessed, and with the weight of
+guilt upon his soul, he should perish everlastingly. Again he fled from
+the torment of retrospection, and again heard the choir thundering
+forth--
+
+          Lacrymosa dies illa,
+          Qua resurget ex favilla
+          Judicandus homo reus.
+          Huic ergo parce, Deus!
+          Pie Jesu Domine!
+          Dona eis requiem.
+
+"Amen!" exclaimed the abbot. And bowing his head to the ground, he
+earnestly repeated--
+
+          "Pie Jesu Domine!
+          Dona eis requiem."
+
+Then he looked up, and resolved to ask for a confessor, and unburthen
+his soul without delay.
+
+The offertory and post-communion were over; the "_requiescant in
+pace_"--awful words addressed to living ears--were pronounced; and the
+mass was ended.
+
+All prepared to depart. The prior descended from the altar to embrace
+and take leave of the abbot; and at the same time the Earl of Derby came
+from the stall.
+
+"Has all been done to your satisfaction, John Paslew?" demanded the
+earl, as he drew near.
+
+"All, my good lord," replied the abbot, lowly inclining his head; "and I
+pray you think me not importunate, if I prefer one other request. I
+would fain have a confessor visit me, that I may lay bare my inmost
+heart to him, and receive absolution."
+
+"I have already anticipated the request," replied the earl, "and have
+provided a priest for you. He shall attend you, within an hour, in your
+own chamber. You will have ample time between this and daybreak, to
+settle your accounts with Heaven, should they be ever so weighty."
+
+"I trust so, my lord," replied Paslew; "but a whole life is scarcely
+long enough for repentance, much less a few short hours. But in regard
+to the confessor," he continued, filled with misgiving by the earl's
+manner, "I should be glad to be shriven by Father Christopher Smith,
+late prior of the abbey."
+
+"It may not be," replied the earl, sternly and decidedly. "You will find
+all you can require in him I shall send."
+
+The abbot sighed, seeing that remonstrance was useless.
+
+"One further question I would address to you, my lord," he said, "and
+that refers to the place of my interment. Beneath our feet lie buried
+all my predecessors--Abbots of Whalley. Here lies John Eccles, for whom
+was carved the stall in which your lordship hath sat, and from which I
+have been dethroned. Here rests the learned John Lyndelay, fifth abbot;
+and beside him his immediate predecessor, Robert de Topcliffe, who, two
+hundred and thirty years ago, on the festival of Saint Gregory, our
+canonised abbot, commenced the erection of the sacred edifice above us.
+At that epoch were here enshrined the remains of the saintly Gregory,
+and here were also brought the bodies of Helias de Workesley and John de
+Belfield, both prelates of piety and wisdom. You may read the names
+where you stand, my lord. You may count the graves of all the abbots.
+They are sixteen in number. There is one grave yet unoccupied--one stone
+yet unfurnished with an effigy in brass."
+
+"Well!" said the Earl of Derby.
+
+"When I sat in that stall, my lord," pursued Paslew, pointing to the
+abbot's chair; "when I was head of this church, it was my thought to
+rest here among my brother abbots."
+
+"You have forfeited the right," replied the earl, sternly. "All the
+abbots, whose dust is crumbling beneath us, died in the odour of
+sanctity; loyal to their sovereigns, and true to their country, whereas
+you will die an attainted felon and rebel. You can have no place amongst
+them. Concern not yourself further in the matter. I will find a fitting
+grave for you,--perchance at the foot of the gallows."
+
+And, turning abruptly away, he gave the signal for general departure.
+
+Ere the clock in the church tower had tolled one, the lights were
+extinguished, and of the priestly train who had recently thronged the
+fane, all were gone, like a troop of ghosts evoked at midnight by
+necromantic skill, and then suddenly dismissed. Deep silence again
+brooded in the aisles; hushed was the organ; mute the melodious choir.
+The only light penetrating the convent church proceeded from the moon,
+whose rays, shining through the painted windows, fell upon the graves of
+the old abbots in the presbytery, and on the two biers within the
+adjoining chapel, whose stark burthens they quickened into fearful
+semblance of life.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.--TETER ET FORTIS CARCER.
+
+
+Left alone, and unable to pray, the abbot strove to dissipate his
+agitation of spirit by walking to and fro within his chamber; and while
+thus occupied, he was interrupted by a guard, who told him that the
+priest sent by the Earl of Derby was without, and immediately afterwards
+the confessor was ushered in. It was the tall monk, who had been
+standing between the biers, and his features were still shrouded by his
+cowl. At sight of him, Paslew sank upon a seat and buried his face in
+his hands. The monk offered him no consolation, but waited in silence
+till he should again look up. At last Paslew took courage and spoke.
+
+"Who, and what are you?" he demanded.
+
+"A brother of the same order as yourself," replied the monk, in deep and
+thrilling accents, but without raising his hood; "and I am come to hear
+your confession by command of the Earl of Derby."
+
+"Are you of this abbey?" asked Paslew, tremblingly.
+
+"I was," replied the monk, in a stern tone; "but the monastery is
+dissolved, and all the brethren ejected."
+
+"Your name?" cried Paslew.
+
+"I am not come here to answer questions, but to hear a confession,"
+rejoined the monk. "Bethink you of the awful situation in which you are
+placed, and that before many hours you must answer for the sins you have
+committed. You have yet time for repentance, if you delay it not."
+
+"You are right, father," replied the abbot. "Be seated, I pray you, and
+listen to me, for I have much to tell. Thirty and one years ago I was
+prior of this abbey. Up to that period my life had been blameless, or,
+if not wholly free from fault, I had little wherewith to reproach
+myself--little to fear from a merciful judge--unless it were that I
+indulged too strongly the desire of ruling absolutely in the house in
+which I was then only second. But Satan had laid a snare for me, into
+which I blindly fell. Among the brethren was one named Borlace Alvetham,
+a young man of rare attainment, and singular skill in the occult
+sciences. He had risen in favour, and at the time I speak of was elected
+sub-prior."
+
+"Go on," said the monk.
+
+"It began to be whispered about within the abbey," pursued Paslew, "that
+on the death of William Rede, then abbot, Borlace Alvetham would succeed
+him, and then it was that bitter feelings of animosity were awakened in
+my breast against the sub-prior, and, after many struggles, I resolved
+upon his destruction."
+
+"A wicked resolution," cried the monk; "but proceed."
+
+"I pondered over the means of accomplishing my purpose," resumed Paslew,
+"and at last decided upon accusing Alvetham of sorcery and magical
+practices. The accusation was easy, for the occult studies in which he
+indulged laid him open to the charge. He occupied a chamber overlooking
+the Calder, and used to break the monastic rules by wandering forth at
+night upon the hills. When he was absent thus one night, accompanied by
+others of the brethren, I visited his chamber, and examined his papers,
+some of which were covered with mystical figures and cabalistic
+characters. These papers I seized, and a watch was set to make prisoner
+of Alvetham on his return. Before dawn he appeared, and was instantly
+secured, and placed in close confinement. On the next day he was brought
+before the assembled conclave in the chapter-house, and examined. His
+defence was unavailing. I charged him with the terrible crime of
+witchcraft, and he was found guilty."
+
+A hollow groan broke from the monk, but he offered no other
+interruption.
+
+"He was condemned to die a fearful and lingering death," pursued the
+abbot; "and it devolved upon me to see the sentence carried out."
+
+"And no pity for the innocent moved you?" cried the monk. "You had no
+compunction?"
+
+"None," replied the abbot; "I rather rejoiced in the successful
+accomplishment of my scheme. The prey was fairly in my toils, and I
+would give him no chance of escape. Not to bring scandal upon the
+abbey, it was decided that Alvetham's punishment should be secret."
+
+"A wise resolve," observed the monk.
+
+"Within the thickness of the dormitory walls is contrived a small
+singularly-formed dungeon," continued the abbot. "It consists of an
+arched cell, just large enough to hold the body of a captive, and permit
+him to stretch himself upon a straw pallet. A narrow staircase mounts
+upwards to a grated aperture in one of the buttresses to admit air and
+light. Other opening is there none. '_Teter et fortis carcer_' is this
+dungeon styled in our monastic rolls, and it is well described, for it
+is black and strong enough. Food is admitted to the miserable inmate of
+the cell by means of a revolving stone, but no interchange of speech can
+be held with those without. A large stone is removed from the wall to
+admit the prisoner, and once immured, the masonry is mortised, and made
+solid as before. The wretched captive does not long survive his doom, or
+it may be he lives too long, for death must be a release from such
+protracted misery. In this dark cell one of the evil-minded brethren,
+who essayed to stab the Abbot of Kirkstall in the chapter-house, was
+thrust, and ere a year was over, the provisions were untouched--and the
+man being known to be dead, they were stayed. His skeleton was found
+within the cell when it was opened to admit Borlace Alvetham."
+
+"Poor captive!" groaned the monk.
+
+"Ay, poor captive!" echoed Paslew. "Mine eyes have often striven to
+pierce those stone walls, and see him lying there in that narrow
+chamber, or forcing his way upwards, to catch a glimpse of the blue sky
+above him. When I have seen the swallows settle on the old buttress, or
+the thin grass growing between the stones waving there, I have thought
+of him."
+
+"Go on," said the monk.
+
+"I scarce can proceed," rejoined Paslew. "Little time was allowed
+Alvetham for preparation. That very night the fearful sentence was
+carried out. The stone was removed, and a new pallet placed in the cell.
+At midnight the prisoner was brought to the dormitory, the brethren
+chanting a doleful hymn. There he stood amidst them, his tall form
+towering above the rest, and his features pale as death. He protested
+his innocence, but he exhibited no fear, even when he saw the terrible
+preparations. When all was ready he was led to the breach. At that awful
+moment, his eye met mine, and I shall never forget the look. I might
+have saved him if I had spoken, but I would not speak. I turned away,
+and he was thrust into the breach. A fearful cry then rang in my ears,
+but it was instantly drowned by the mallets of the masons employed to
+fasten up the stone."
+
+There was a pause for a few moments, broken only by the sobs of the
+abbot. At length, the monk spoke.
+
+"And the prisoner perished in the cell?" he demanded in a hollow voice.
+
+"I thought so till to-night," replied the abbot. "But if he escaped it,
+it must have been by miracle; or by aid of those powers with whom he was
+charged with holding commerce."
+
+"He did escape!" thundered the monk, throwing back his hood. "Look up,
+John Paslew. Look up, false abbot, and recognise thy victim."
+
+"Borlace Alvetham!" cried the abbot. "Is it, indeed, you?"
+
+"You see, and can you doubt?" replied the other. "But you shall now hear
+how I avoided the terrible death to which you procured my condemnation.
+You shall now learn how I am here to repay the wrong you did me. We have
+changed places, John Paslew, since the night when I was thrust into the
+cell, never, as you hoped, to come forth. You are now the criminal, and
+I the witness of the punishment."
+
+"Forgive me! oh, forgive me! Borlace Alvetham, since you are, indeed,
+he!" cried the abbot, falling on his knees.
+
+"Arise, John Paslew!" cried the other, sternly. "Arise, and listen to
+me. For the damning offences into which I have been led, I hold you
+responsible. But for you I might have died free from sin. It is fit you
+should know the amount of my iniquity. Give ear to me, I say. When first
+shut within that dungeon, I yielded to the promptings of despair.
+Cursing you, I threw myself upon the pallet, resolved to taste no food,
+and hoping death would soon release me. But love of life prevailed. On
+the second day I took the bread and water allotted me, and ate and
+drank; after which I scaled the narrow staircase, and gazed through the
+thin barred loophole at the bright blue sky above, sometimes catching
+the shadow of a bird as it flew past. Oh, how I yearned for freedom
+then! Oh, how I wished to break through the stone walls that held me
+fast! Oh, what a weight of despair crushed my heart as I crept back to
+my narrow bed! The cell seemed like a grave, and indeed it was little
+better. Horrible thoughts possessed me. What if I should be wilfully
+forgotten? What if no food should be given me, and I should be left to
+perish by the slow pangs of hunger? At this idea I shrieked aloud, but
+the walls alone returned a dull echo to my cries. I beat my hands
+against the stones, till the blood flowed from them, but no answer was
+returned; and at last I desisted from sheer exhaustion. Day after day,
+and night after night, passed in this way. My food regularly came. But I
+became maddened by solitude; and with terrible imprecations invoked aid
+from the powers of darkness to set me free. One night, while thus
+employed, I was startled by a mocking voice which said,
+
+"'All this fury is needless. Thou hast only to wish for me, and I come.'
+
+[Illustration: ALVETHAM AND JOHN PASLEW.]
+
+"It was profoundly dark. I could see nothing but a pair of red orbs,
+glowing like flaming carbuncles.
+
+"'Thou wouldst be free,' continued the voice. 'Thou shalt be so. Arise,
+and follow me.'
+
+"At this I felt myself grasped by an iron arm, against which all
+resistance would have been unavailing, even if I had dared to offer it,
+and in an instant I was dragged up the narrow steps. The stone wall
+opened before my unseen conductor, and in another moment we were upon
+the roof of the dormitory. By the bright starbeams shooting down from
+above, I discerned a tall shadowy figure standing by my side.
+
+"'Thou art mine,' he cried, in accents graven for ever on my memory;
+'but I am a generous master, and will give thee a long term of freedom.
+Thou shalt be avenged upon thine enemy--deeply avenged.'
+
+"'Grant this, and I am thine,' I replied, a spirit of infernal vengeance
+possessing me. And I knelt before the fiend.
+
+"'But thou must tarry for awhile,' he answered, 'for thine enemy's time
+will be long in coming; but it _will_ come. I cannot work him immediate
+harm; but I will lead him to a height from which he will assuredly fall
+headlong. Thou must depart from this place; for it is perilous to thee,
+and if thou stayest here, ill will befall thee. I will send a rat to thy
+dungeon, which shall daily devour the provisions, so that the monks
+shall not know thou hast fled. In thirty and one years shall the abbot's
+doom be accomplished. Two years before that time thou mayst return. Then
+come alone to Pendle Hill on a Friday night, and beat the water of the
+moss pool on the summit, and I will appear to thee and tell thee more.
+Nine and twenty years, remember!'
+
+"With these words the shadowy figure melted away, and I found myself
+standing alone on the mossy roof of the dormitory. The cold stars were
+shining down upon me, and I heard the howl of the watch-dogs near the
+gate. The fair abbey slept in beauty around me, and I gnashed my teeth
+with rage to think that you had made me an outcast from it, and robbed
+me of a dignity which might have been mine. I was wroth also that my
+vengeance should be so long delayed. But I could not remain where I was,
+so I clambered down the buttress, and fled away."
+
+"Can this be?" cried the abbot, who had listened in rapt wonderment to
+the narration. "Two years after your immurement in the cell, the food
+having been for some time untouched, the wall was opened, and upon the
+pallet was found a decayed carcase in mouldering, monkish vestments."
+
+"It was a body taken from the charnel, and placed there by the demon,"
+replied the monk. "Of my long wanderings in other lands and beneath
+brighter skies I need not tell you; but neither absence nor lapse of
+years cooled my desire of vengeance, and when the appointed time drew
+nigh I returned to my own country, and came hither in a lowly garb,
+under the name of Nicholas Demdike."
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed the abbot.
+
+"I went to Pendle Hill, as directed," pursued the monk, "and saw the
+Dark Shape there as I beheld it on the dormitory roof. All things were
+then told me, and I learnt how the late rebellion should rise, and how
+it should be crushed. I learnt also how my vengeance should be
+satisfied."
+
+Paslew groaned aloud. A brief pause ensued, and deep emotion marked the
+accents of the wizard as he proceeded.
+
+"When I came back, all this part of Lancashire resounded with praises of
+the beauty of Bess Blackburn, a rustic lass who dwelt in Barrowford. She
+was called the Flower of Pendle, and inflamed all the youths with love,
+and all the maidens with jealousy. But she favoured none except Cuthbert
+Ashbead, forester to the Abbot of Whalley. Her mother would fain have
+given her to the forester in marriage, but Bess would not be disposed of
+so easily. I saw her, and became at once enamoured. I thought my heart
+was seared; but it was not so. The savage beauty of Bess pleased me more
+than the most refined charms could have done, and her fierce character
+harmonised with my own. How I won her matters not, but she cast off all
+thoughts of Ashbead, and clung to me. My wild life suited her; and she
+roamed the wastes with me, scaled the hills in my company, and shrank
+not from the weird meetings I attended. Ill repute quickly attended her,
+and she became branded as a witch. Her aged mother closed her doors upon
+her, and those who would have gone miles to meet her, now avoided her.
+Bess heeded this little. She was of a nature to repay the world's
+contumely with like scorn, but when her child was born the case became
+different. She wished to save it. Then it was," pursued Demdike,
+vehemently, and regarding the abbot with flashing eyes--"then it was
+that I was again mortally injured by you. Then your ruthless decree to
+the clergy went forth. My child was denied baptism, and became subject
+to the fiend."
+
+"Alas! alas!" exclaimed Paslew.
+
+"And as if this were not injury enough," thundered Demdike, "you have
+called down a withering and lasting curse upon its innocent head, and
+through it transfixed its mother's heart. If you had complied with that
+poor girl's request, I would have forgiven you your wrong to me, and
+have saved you."
+
+There was a long, fearful silence. At last Demdike advanced to the
+abbot, and, seizing his arm, fixed his eyes upon him, as if to search
+into his soul.
+
+"Answer me, John Paslew!" he cried; "answer me, as you shall speedily
+answer your Maker. Can that malediction be recalled? Dare not to trifle
+with me, or I will tear forth your black heart, and cast it in your
+face. Can that curse be recalled? Speak!"
+
+"It cannot," replied the abbot, half dead with terror.
+
+"Away, then!" thundered Demdike, casting him from him. "To the
+gallows!--to the gallows!" And he rushed out of the room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.--THE ABBEY MILL.
+
+
+For a while the abbot remained shattered and stupefied by this terrible
+interview. At length he arose, and made his way, he scarce knew how, to
+the oratory. But it was long before the tumult of his thoughts could be
+at all allayed, and he had only just regained something like composure
+when he was disturbed by hearing a slight sound in the adjoining
+chamber. A mortal chill came over him, for he thought it might be
+Demdike returned. Presently, he distinguished a footstep stealthily
+approaching him, and almost hoped that the wizard would consummate his
+vengeance by taking his life. But he was quickly undeceived, for a hand
+was placed on his shoulder, and a friendly voice whispered in his ears,
+"Cum along wi' meh, lort abbut. Get up, quick--quick!"
+
+Thus addressed, the abbot raised his eyes, and beheld a rustic figure
+standing beside him, divested of his clouted shoes, and armed with a
+long bare wood-knife.
+
+"Dunna yo knoa me, lort abbut?" cried the person. "Ey'm a freent--Hal o'
+Nabs, o' Wiswall. Yo'n moind Wiswall, yeawr own birthplace, abbut? Dunna
+be feert, ey sey. Ey'n getten a steigh clapt to yon windaw, an' you con
+be down it i' a trice--an' along t' covert way be t' river soide to t'
+mill."
+
+But the abbot stirred not.
+
+"Quick! quick!" implored Hal o' Nabs, venturing to pluck the abbot's
+sleeve. "Every minute's precious. Dunna be feert. Ebil Croft, t' miller,
+is below. Poor Cuthbert Ashbead would ha' been here i'stead o' meh if he
+couldn; boh that accursed wizard, Nick Demdike, turned my hont agen him,
+an' drove t' poike head intended for himself into poor Cuthbert's side.
+They clapt meh i' a dungeon, boh Ebil monaged to get me out, an' ey then
+swore to do whot poor Cuthbert would ha' done, if he'd been livin'--so
+here ey am, lort abbut, cum to set yo free. An' neaw yo knoan aw abowt
+it, yo con ha nah more hesitation. Cum, time presses, an ey'm feert o'
+t' guard owerhearing us."
+
+"I thank you, my good friend, from the bottom of my heart," replied the
+abbot, rising; "but, however strong may be the temptation of life and
+liberty which you hold out to me, I cannot yield to it. I have pledged
+my word to the Earl of Derby to make no attempt to escape. Were the
+doors thrown open, and the guard removed, I should remain where I am."
+
+"Whot!" exclaimed Hal o' Nabs, in a tone of bitter disappointment; "yo
+winnaw go, neaw aw's prepared. By th' Mess, boh yo shan. Ey'st nah go
+back to Ebil empty-handed. If yo'n sworn to stay here, ey'n sworn to set
+yo free, and ey'st keep meh oath. Willy nilly, yo shan go wi' meh, lort
+abbut!"
+
+"Forbear to urge me further, my good Hal," rejoined Paslew. "I fully
+appreciate your devotion; and I only regret that you and Abel Croft have
+exposed yourselves to so much peril on my account. Poor Cuthbert
+Ashbead! when I beheld his body on the bier, I had a sad feeling that he
+had died in my behalf."
+
+"Cuthbert meant to rescue yo, lort abbut," replied Hal, "and deed
+resisting Nick Demdike's attempt to arrest him. Boh, be aw t' devils!"
+he added, brandishing his knife fiercely, "t' warlock shall ha' three
+inches o' cowd steel betwixt his ribs, t' furst time ey cum across him."
+
+"Peace, my son," rejoined the abbot, "and forego your bloody design.
+Leave the wretched man to the chastisement of Heaven. And now, farewell!
+All your kindly efforts to induce me to fly are vain."
+
+"Yo winnaw go?" cried Hal o'Nabs, scratching his head.
+
+"I cannot," replied the abbot.
+
+"Cum wi' meh to t' windaw, then," pursued Hal, "and tell Ebil so. He'll
+think ey'n failed else."
+
+"Willingly," replied the abbot.
+
+And with noiseless footsteps he followed the other across the chamber.
+The window was open, and outside it was reared a ladder.
+
+"Yo mun go down a few steps," said Hal o' Nabs, "or else he'll nah hear
+yo."
+
+The abbot complied, and partly descended the ladder.
+
+"I see no one," he said.
+
+"T' neet's dark," replied Hal o' Nabs, who was close behind him. "Ebil
+canna be far off. Hist! ey hear him--go on."
+
+The abbot was now obliged to comply, though he did so with, reluctance.
+Presently he found himself upon the roof of a building, which he knew to
+be connected with the mill by a covered passage running along the south
+bank of the Calder. Scarcely had he set foot there, than Hal o' Nabs
+jumped after him, and, seizing the ladder, cast it into the stream, thus
+rendering Paslew's return impossible.
+
+"Neaw, lort abbut," he cried, with a low, exulting laugh, "yo hanna
+brok'n yor word, an ey'n kept moine. Yo're free agen your will."
+
+"You have destroyed me by your mistaken zeal," cried the abbot,
+reproachfully.
+
+"Nowt o't sort," replied Hal; "ey'n saved yo' fro' destruction. This
+way, lort abbut--this way."
+
+And taking Paslew's arm he led him to a low parapet, overlooking the
+covered passage before described. Half an hour before it had been bright
+moonlight, but, as if to favour the fugitive, the heavens had become
+overcast, and a thick mist had arisen from the river.
+
+"Ebil! Ebil!" cried Hal o' Nabs, leaning over the parapet.
+
+"Here," replied a voice below. "Is aw reet? Is he wi' yo?"
+
+"Yeigh," replied Hal.
+
+"Whot han yo dun wi' t' steigh?" cried Ebil.
+
+"Never yo moind," returned Hal, "boh help t' abbut down."
+
+Paslew thought it vain to resist further, and with the help of Hal o'
+Nabs and the miller, and further aided by some irregularities in the
+wall, he was soon safely landed near the entrance of the passage. Abel
+fell on his knees, and pressed the abbot's hand to his lips.
+
+"Owr Blessed Leady be praised, yo are free," he cried.
+
+"Dunna stond tawking here, Ebil," interposed Hal o' Nabs, who by this
+time had reached the ground, and who was fearful of some new
+remonstrance on the abbot's part. "Ey'm feerd o' pursuit."
+
+"Yo' needna be afeerd o' that, Hal," replied the miller. "T' guard are
+safe enough. One o' owr chaps has just tuk em up a big black jack fu' o'
+stout ele; an ey warrant me they winnaw stir yet awhoile. Win it please
+yo to cum wi' me, lort abbut?"
+
+With this, he marched along the passage, followed by the others, and
+presently arrived at a door, against which he tapped. A bolt being
+withdrawn, it was instantly opened to admit the party, after which it
+was as quickly shut, and secured. In answer to a call from the miller, a
+light appeared at the top of a steep, ladder-like flight of wooden
+steps, and up these Paslew, at the entreaty of Abel, mounted, and found
+himself in a large, low chamber, the roof of which was crossed by great
+beams, covered thickly with cobwebs, whitened by flour, while the floor
+was strewn with empty sacks and sieves.
+
+The person who held the light proved to be the miller's daughter,
+Dorothy, a blooming lass of eighteen, and at the other end of the
+chamber, seated on a bench before a turf fire, with an infant on her
+knees, was the miller's wife. The latter instantly arose on beholding
+the abbot, and, placing the child on a corn bin, advanced towards him,
+and dropped on her knees, while her daughter imitated her example. The
+abbot extended his hands over them, and pronounced a solemn benediction.
+
+"Bring your child also to me, that I may bless it," he said, when he
+concluded.
+
+"It's nah my child, lort abbut," replied the miller's wife, taking up
+the infant and bringing it to him; "it wur brought to me this varry neet
+by Ebil. Ey wish it wur far enough, ey'm sure, for it's a deformed
+little urchon. One o' its een is lower set than t' other; an t' reet
+looks up, while t' laft looks down."
+
+And as she spoke she pointed to the infant's face, which was disfigured
+as she had stated, by a strange and unnatural disposition of the eyes,
+one of which was set much lower in the head than the other. Awakened
+from sleep, the child uttered a feeble cry, and stretched out its tiny
+arms to Dorothy.
+
+"You ought to pity it for its deformity, poor little creature, rather
+than reproach it, mother," observed the young damsel.
+
+"Marry kem eawt!" cried her mother, sharply, "yo'n getten fine feelings
+wi' your larning fro t' good feythers, Dolly. Os ey said efore, ey wish
+t' brat wur far enough."
+
+"You forget it has no mother," suggested Dorothy, kindly.
+
+"An naw great matter, if it hasn't," returned the miller's wife. "Bess
+Demdike's neaw great loss."
+
+"Is this Bess Demdike's child?" cried Paslew, recoiling.
+
+"Yeigh," exclaimed the miller's wife. And mistaking the cause of
+Paslew's emotion, she added, triumphantly, to her daughter, "Ey towd te,
+wench, ot t' lort abbut would be of my way o' thinking. T' chilt has got
+the witch's mark plain upon her. Look, lort abbut, look!"
+
+But Paslew heeded her not, but murmured to himself:--
+
+"Ever in my path, go where I will. It is vain to struggle with my fate.
+I will go back and surrender myself to the Earl of Derby."
+
+"Nah,--nah!--yo shanna do that," replied Hal o' Nabs, who, with the
+miller, was close beside him. "Sit down o' that stoo' be t' fire, and
+take a cup o' wine t' cheer yo, and then we'n set out to Pendle Forest,
+where ey'st find yo a safe hiding-place. An t' ony reward ey'n ever ask
+for t' sarvice shan be, that yo'n perform a marriage sarvice fo' me and
+Dolly one of these days." And he nudged the damsel's elbow, who turned
+away, covered with blushes.
+
+The abbot moved mechanically to the fire, and sat down, while the
+miller's wife, surrendering the child with a shrug of the shoulders and
+a grimace to her daughter, went in search of some viands and a flask of
+wine, which she set before Paslew. The miller then filled a
+drinking-horn, and presented it to his guest, who was about to raise it
+to his lips, when a loud knocking was heard at the door below.
+
+The knocking continued with increased violence, and voices were heard
+calling upon the miller to open the door, or it would be broken down. On
+the first alarm Abel had flown to a small window whence he could
+reconnoitre those below, and he now returned with a face white with
+terror, to say that a party of arquebussiers, with the sheriff at their
+head, were without, and that some of the men were provided with torches.
+
+"They have discovered my evasion, and are come in search of me,"
+observed the abbot rising, but without betraying any anxiety. "Do not
+concern yourselves further for me, my good friends, but open the door,
+and deliver me to them."
+
+"Nah, nah, that we winnaw," cried Hal o' Nabs, "yo're neaw taen yet,
+feyther abbut, an' ey knoa a way to baffle 'em. If y'on let him down
+into t' river, Ebil, ey'n manage to get him off."
+
+"Weel thowt on, Nab," cried the miller, "theawst nah been mey mon seven
+year fo nowt. Theaw knoas t' ways o' t' pleck."
+
+"Os weel os onny rotten abowt it," replied Hal o' Nabs. "Go down to t'
+grindin'-room, an ey'n follow i' a troice."
+
+And as Abel snatched up the light, and hastily descended the steps with
+Paslew, Hal whispered in Dorothy's ears--
+
+"Tak care neaw one fonds that chilt, Dolly, if they break in. Hide it
+safely; an whon they're gone, tak it to't church, and place it near t'
+altar, where no ill con cum to it or thee. Mey life may hong upon it."
+
+And as the poor girl, who, as well as her mother, was almost frightened
+out of her wits, promised compliance, he hurried down the steps after
+the others, muttering, as the clamour without was redoubled--
+
+"Eigh, roar on till yo're hoarse. Yo winnaw get in yet awhile, ey'n
+promise ye."
+
+Meantime, the abbot had been led to the chief room of the mill, where
+all the corn formerly consumed within the monastery had been prepared,
+and which the size of the chamber itself, together with the vastness of
+the stones used in the operation of grinding, and connected with the
+huge water-wheel outside, proved to be by no means inconsiderable.
+Strong shafts of timber supported the flooring above, and were crossed
+by other boards placed horizontally, from which various implements in
+use at the mill depended, giving the chamber, imperfectly lighted as it
+now was by the lamp borne by Abel, a strange and almost mysterious
+appearance. Three or four of the miller's men, armed with pikes, had
+followed their master, and, though much alarmed, they vowed to die
+rather than give up the abbot.
+
+By this time Hal o' Nabs had joined the group, and proceeding towards a
+raised part of the chamber where the grinding-stones were set, he knelt
+down, and laying hold of a small ring, raised up a trapdoor. The fresh
+air which blew up through the aperture, combined with the rushing sound
+of water, showed that the Calder flowed immediately beneath; and, having
+made some slight preparation, Hal let himself down into the stream.
+
+At this moment a loud crash was heard, and one of the miller's men cried
+out that the arquebussiers had burst open the door.
+
+"Be hondy, then, lads, and let him down!" cried Hal o' Nabs, who had
+some difficulty in maintaining his footing on the rough, stony bottom of
+the swift stream.
+
+Passively yielding, the abbot suffered the miller and one of the
+stoutest of his men to assist him through the trapdoor, while a third
+held down the lamp, and showed Hal o' Nabs, up to his middle in the
+darkling current, and stretching out his arms to receive the burden. The
+light fell upon the huge black circle of the watershed now stopped, and
+upon the dripping arches supporting the mill. In another moment the
+abbot plunged into the water, the trapdoor was replaced, and bolted
+underneath by Hal, who, while guiding his companion along, and bidding
+him catch hold of the wood-work of the wheel, heard a heavy trampling of
+many feet on the boards above, showing that the pursuers had obtained
+admittance.
+
+Encumbered by his heavy vestments, the abbot could with difficulty
+contend against the strong current, and he momently expected to be swept
+away; but he had a stout and active assistant by his side, who soon
+placed him under shelter of the wheel. The trampling overhead continued
+for a few minutes, after which all was quiet, and Hal judged that,
+finding their search within ineffectual, the enemy would speedily come
+forth. Nor was he deceived. Shouts were soon heard at the door of the
+mill, and the glare of torches was cast on the stream. Then it was that
+Hal dragged his companion into a deep hole, formed by some decay in the
+masonry, behind the wheel, where the water rose nearly to their chins,
+and where they were completely concealed. Scarcely were they thus
+ensconced, than two or three armed men, holding torches aloft, were seen
+wading under the archway; but after looking carefully around, and even
+approaching close to the water-wheel, these persons could detect
+nothing, and withdrew, muttering curses of rage and disappointment.
+By-and-by the lights almost wholly disappeared, and the shouts becoming
+fainter and more distant, it was evident that the men had gone lower
+down the river. Upon this, Hal thought they might venture to quit their
+retreat, and accordingly, grasping the abbot's arm, he proceeded to wade
+up the stream.
+
+Benumbed with cold, and half dead with terror, Paslew needed all his
+companion's support, for he could do little to help himself, added to
+which, they occasionally encountered some large stone, or stepped into a
+deep hole, so that it required Hal's utmost exertion and strength to
+force a way on. At last they were out of the arch, and though both banks
+seemed unguarded, yet, for fear of surprise, Hal deemed it prudent still
+to keep to the river. Their course was completely sheltered from
+observation by the mist that enveloped them; and after proceeding in
+this way for some distance, Hal stopped to listen, and while debating
+with himself whether he should now quit the river, he fancied he beheld
+a black object swimming towards him. Taking it for an otter, with which
+voracious animal the Calder, a stream swarming with trout, abounded, and
+knowing the creature would not meddle with them unless first attacked,
+he paid little attention to it; but he was soon made sensible of his
+error. His arm was suddenly seized by a large black hound, whose sharp
+fangs met in his flesh. Unable to repress a cry of pain, Hal strove to
+disengage himself from his assailant, and, finding it impossible, flung
+himself into the water in the hope of drowning him, but, as the hound
+still maintained his hold, he searched for his knife to slay him. But he
+could not find it, and in his distress applied to Paslew.
+
+"Ha yo onny weepun abowt yo, lort abbut," he cried, "wi' which ey con
+free mysel fro' this accussed hound?"
+
+"Alas! no, my son," replied Paslew, "and I fear no weapon will prevail
+against it, for I recognise in the animal the hound of the wizard,
+Demdike."
+
+"Ey thowt t' dule wur in it," rejoined Hal; "boh leave me to fight it
+owt, and do you gain t' bonk, an mey t' best o' your way to t' Wiswall.
+Ey'n join ye os soon os ey con scrush this varment's heaod agen a stoan.
+Ha!" he added, joyfully, "Ey'n found t' thwittle. Go--go. Ey'n soon be
+efter ye."
+
+Feeling he should sink if he remained where he was, and wholly unable to
+offer any effectual assistance to his companion, the abbot turned to the
+left, where a large oak overhung the stream, and he was climbing the
+bank, aided by the roots of the tree, when a man suddenly came from
+behind it, seized his hand, and dragged him up forcibly. At the same
+moment his captor placed a bugle to his lips, and winding a few notes,
+he was instantly answered by shouts, and soon afterwards half a dozen
+armed men ran up, bearing torches. Not a word passed between the
+fugitive and his captor; but when the men came up, and the torchlight
+fell upon the features of the latter, the abbot's worst fears were
+realised. It was Demdike.
+
+"False to your king!--false to your oath!--false to all men!" cried the
+wizard. "You seek to escape in vain!"
+
+"I merit all your reproaches," replied the abbot; "but it may he some
+satisfaction, to you to learn, that I have endured far greater suffering
+than if I had patiently awaited my doom."
+
+"I am glad of it," rejoined Demdike, with a savage laugh; "but you have
+destroyed others beside yourself. Where is the fellow in the water?
+What, ho, Uriel!"
+
+But as no sound reached him, he snatched a torch from one of the
+arquebussiers and held it to the river's brink. But he could see neither
+hound nor man.
+
+"Strange!" he cried. "He cannot have escaped. Uriel is more than a match
+for any man. Secure the prisoner while I examine the stream."
+
+With this, he ran along the bank with great quickness, holding his torch
+far over the water, so as to reveal any thing floating within it, but
+nothing met his view until he came within a short distance of the mill,
+when he beheld a black object struggling in the current, and soon found
+that it was his dog making feeble efforts to gain the bank.
+
+"Ah recreant! thou hast let him go," cried Demdike, furiously.
+
+Seeing his master the animal redoubled its efforts, crept ashore, and
+fell at his feet, with a last effort to lick his hands.
+
+Demdike held down the torch, and then perceived that the hound was
+quite dead. There was a deep gash in its side, and another in the
+throat, showing how it had perished.
+
+"Poor Uriel!" he exclaimed; "the only true friend I had. And thou art
+gone! The villain has killed thee, but he shall pay for it with his
+life."
+
+And hurrying back he dispatched four of the men in quest of the
+fugitive, while accompanied by the two others he conveyed Paslew back to
+the abbey, where he was placed in a strong cell, from which there was no
+possibility of escape, and a guard set over him.
+
+Half an hour after this, two of the arquebussiers returned with Hal o'
+Nabs, whom they had succeeded in capturing after a desperate resistance,
+about a mile from the abbey, on the road to Wiswall. He was taken to the
+guard-room, which had been appointed in one of the lower chambers of the
+chapter-house, and Demdike was immediately apprised of his arrival.
+Satisfied by an inspection of the prisoner, whose demeanour was sullen
+and resolved, Demdike proceeded to the great hall, where the Earl of
+Derby, who had returned thither after the midnight mass, was still
+sitting with his retainers. An audience was readily obtained by the
+wizard, and, apparently well pleased with the result, he returned to the
+guard-room. The prisoner was seated by himself in one corner of the
+chamber, with his hands tied behind his back with a leathern thong, and
+Demdike approaching him, told him that, for having aided the escape of a
+condemned rebel and traitor, and violently assaulting the king's lieges
+in the execution of their duty, he would be hanged on the morrow, the
+Earl of Derby, who had power of life or death in such cases, having so
+decreed it. And he exhibited the warrant.
+
+"Soh, yo mean to hong me, eh, wizard?" cried Hal o' Nabs, kicking his
+heels with great apparent indifference.
+
+"I do," replied Demdike; "if for nothing else, for slaying my hound."
+
+"Ey dunna think it," replied Hal. "Yo'n alter your moind. Do, mon. Ey'm
+nah prepared to dee just yet."
+
+"Then perish in your sins," cried Demdike, "I will not give you an
+hour's respite."
+
+"Yo'n be sorry when it's too late," said Hal.
+
+"Tush!" cried Demdike, "my only regret will be that Uriel's slaughter is
+paid for by such a worthless life as thine."
+
+"Then whoy tak it?" demanded Hal. "'Specially whon yo'n lose your chilt
+by doing so."
+
+"My child!" exclaimed Demdike, surprised. "How mean you, sirrah?"
+
+"Ey mean this," replied Hal, coolly; "that if ey dee to-morrow mornin'
+your chilt dees too. Whon ey ondertook this job ey calkilated mey
+chances, an' tuk precautions eforehond. Your chilt's a hostage fo mey
+safety."
+
+"Curses on thee and thy cunning," cried Demdike; "but I will not be
+outwitted by a hind like thee. I will have the child, and yet not be
+baulked of my revenge."
+
+"Yo'n never ha' it, except os a breathless corpse, 'bowt mey consent,"
+rejoined Hal.
+
+"We shall see," cried Demdike, rushing forth, and bidding the guards
+look well to the prisoner.
+
+But ere long he returned with a gloomy and disappointed expression of
+countenance, and again approaching the prisoner said, "Thou hast spoken
+the truth. The infant is in the hands of some innocent being over whom I
+have no power."
+
+"Ey towdee so, wizard," replied Hal, laughing. "Hoind os ey be, ey'm a
+match fo' thee,--ha! ha! Neaw, mey life agen t' chilt's. Win yo set me
+free?"
+
+Demdike deliberated.
+
+"Harkee, wizard," cried Hal, "if yo're hatching treason ey'n dun. T'
+sartunty o' revenge win sweeten mey last moments."
+
+"Will you swear to deliver the child to me unharmed, if I set you free?"
+asked Demdike.
+
+"It's a bargain, wizard," rejoined Hal o' Nabs; "ey swear. Boh yo mun
+set me free furst, fo' ey winnaw tak your word."
+
+Demdike turned away disdainfully, and addressing the arquebussiers,
+said, "You behold this warrant, guard. The prisoner is committed to my
+custody. I will produce him on the morrow, or account for his absence to
+the Earl of Derby."
+
+One of the arquebussiers examined the order, and vouching for its
+correctness, the others signified their assent to the arrangement, upon
+which Demdike motioned the prisoner to follow him, and quitted the
+chamber. No interruption was offered to Hal's egress, but he stopped
+within the court-yard, where Demdike awaited him, and unfastened the
+leathern thong that bound together his hands.
+
+"Now go and bring the child to me," said the wizard.
+
+"Nah, ey'st neaw bring it ye myself," rejoined Hal. "Ey knoas better nor
+that. Be at t' church porch i' half an hour, an t' bantlin shan be
+delivered to ye safe an sound."
+
+And without waiting for a reply, he ran off with great swiftness.
+
+At the appointed time Demdike sought the church, and as he drew near it
+there issued from the porch a female, who hastily placing the child,
+wrapped in a mantle, in his arms, tarried for no speech from him, but
+instantly disappeared. Demdike, however, recognised in her the miller's
+daughter, Dorothy Croft.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.--THE EXECUTIONER.
+
+
+Dawn came at last, after a long and weary night to many within and
+without the abbey. Every thing betokened a dismal day. The atmosphere
+was damp, and oppressive to the spirits, while the raw cold sensibly
+affected the frame. All astir were filled with gloom and despondency,
+and secretly breathed a wish that, the tragical business of the day were
+ended. The vast range of Pendle was obscured by clouds, and ere long the
+vapours descended into the valleys, and rain began to fall; at first
+slightly, but afterwards in heavy continuous showers. Melancholy was the
+aspect of the abbey, and it required no stretch of imagination to fancy
+that the old structure was deploring the fate of its former ruler. To
+those impressed with the idea--and many there were who were so--the very
+stones of the convent church seemed dissolving into tears. The statues
+of the saints appeared to weep, and the great statue of Saint Gregory de
+Northbury over the porch seemed bowed down with grief. The grotesquely
+carved heads on the spouts grinned horribly at the abbot's destroyers,
+and spouted forth cascades of water, as if with the intent of drowning
+them. So deluging and incessant were the showers, that it seemed,
+indeed, as if the abbey would be flooded. All the inequalities of ground
+within the great quadrangle of the cloisters looked like ponds, and the
+various water-spouts from the dormitory, the refectory, and the
+chapter-house, continuing to jet forth streams into the court below, the
+ambulatories were soon filled ankle-deep, and even the lower apartments,
+on which they opened, invaded.
+
+Surcharged with moisture, the royal banner on the gate drooped and clung
+to the staff, as if it too shared in the general depression, or as if
+the sovereign authority it represented had given way. The countenances
+and deportment of the men harmonized with the weather; they moved about
+gloomily and despondently, their bright accoutrements sullied with the
+wet, and their buskins clogged with mire. A forlorn sight it was to
+watch the shivering sentinels on the walls; and yet more forlorn to see
+the groups of the abbot's old retainers gathering without, wrapped in
+their blue woollen cloaks, patiently enduring the drenching showers, and
+awaiting the last awful scene. But the saddest sight of all was on the
+hill, already described, called the Holehouses. Here two other lesser
+gibbets had been erected during the night, one on either hand of the
+loftier instrument of justice, and the carpenters were yet employed in
+finishing their work, having been delayed by the badness of the weather.
+Half drowned by the torrents that fell upon them, the poor fellows were
+protected from interference with their disagreeable occupation by half a
+dozen well-mounted and well-armed troopers, and by as many halberdiers;
+and this company, completely exposed to the weather, suffered severely
+from wet and cold. The rain beat against the gallows, ran down its tall
+naked posts, and collected in pools at its feet. Attracted by some
+strange instinct, which seemed to give them a knowledge of the object of
+these terrible preparations, two ravens wheeled screaming round the
+fatal tree, and at length one of them settled on the cross-beam, and
+could with difficulty be dislodged by the shouts of the men, when it
+flew away, croaking hoarsely. Up this gentle hill, ordinarily so soft
+and beautiful, but now abhorrent as a Golgotha, in the eyes of the
+beholders, groups of rustics and monks had climbed over ground rendered
+slippery with moisture, and had gathered round the paling encircling the
+terrible apparatus, looking the images of despair and woe.
+
+Even those within the abbey, and sheltered from the storm, shared the
+all-pervading despondency. The refectory looked dull and comfortless,
+and the logs on the hearth hissed and sputtered, and would not burn.
+Green wood had been brought instead of dry fuel by the drowsy henchman.
+The viands on the board provoked not the appetite, and the men emptied
+their cups of ale, yawned and stretched their arms, as if they would
+fain sleep an hour or two longer. The sense of discomfort, was
+heightened by the entrance of those whose term of watch had been
+relieved, and who cast their dripping cloaks on the floor, while two or
+three savage dogs, steaming with moisture, stretched their huge lengths
+before the sullen fire, and disputed all approach to it.
+
+Within the great hall were already gathered the retainers of the Earl of
+Derby, but the nobleman himself had not appeared. Having passed the
+greater part of the night in conference with one person or another, and
+the abbot's flight having caused him much disquietude, though he did not
+hear of it till the fugitive was recovered; the earl would not seek his
+couch until within an hour of daybreak, and his attendants, considering
+the state of the weather, and that it yet wanted full two hours to the
+time appointed for the execution, did not think it needful to disturb
+him. Braddyll and Assheton, however, were up and ready; but, despite
+their firmness of nerve, they yielded like the rest to the depressing
+influence of the weather, and began to have some misgivings as to their
+own share in the tragedy about to be enacted. The various gentlemen in
+attendance paced to and fro within the hall, holding but slight converse
+together, anxiously counting the minutes, for the time appeared to pass
+on with unwonted slowness, and ever and anon glancing through the
+diamond panes of the window at the rain pouring down steadily without,
+and coming back again hopeless of amendment in the weather.
+
+If such were the disheartening influence of the day on those who had
+nothing to apprehend, what must its effect have been on the poor
+captives! Woful indeed. The two monks suffered a complete prostration of
+spirit. All the resolution which Father Haydocke had displayed in his
+interview with the Earl of Derby, failed him now, and he yielded to the
+agonies of despair. Father Eastgate was in little better condition, and
+gave vent to unavailing lamentations, instead of paying heed to the
+consolatory discourse of the monk who had been permitted to visit him.
+
+The abbot was better sustained. Though greatly enfeebled by the
+occurrences of the night, yet in proportion as his bodily strength
+decreased, his mental energies rallied. Since the confession of his
+secret offence, and the conviction he had obtained that his supposed
+victim still lived, a weight seemed taken from his breast, and he had no
+longer any dread of death. Rather he looked to the speedy termination of
+existence with hopeful pleasure. He prepared himself as decently as the
+means afforded him permitted for his last appearance before the world,
+but refused all refreshment except a cup of water, and being left to
+himself was praying fervently, when a man was admitted into his cell.
+Thinking it might be the executioner come to summon him, he arose, and
+to his surprise beheld Hal o' Nabs. The countenance of the rustic was
+pale, but his bearing was determined.
+
+"You here, my son," cried Paslew. "I hoped you had escaped."
+
+"Ey'm i' nah dawnger, feyther abbut," replied Hal. "Ey'n getten leef to
+visit ye fo a minute only, so ey mun be brief. Mey yourself easy, ye
+shanna dee be't hongmon's honds."
+
+"How, my son!" cried Paslew. "I understand you not."
+
+"Yo'n onderstond me weel enough by-and-by," replied Hal. "Dunnah be
+feart whon ye see me next; an comfort yoursel that whotever cums and
+goes, your death shall be avenged o' your warst foe."
+
+Paslew would have sought some further explanation, but Hal stepped
+quickly backwards, and striking his foot against the door, it was
+instantly opened by the guard, and he went forth.
+
+Not long after this, the Earl of Derby entered the great hall, and his
+first inquiry was as to the safety of the prisoners. When satisfied of
+this, he looked forth, and shuddered at the dismal state of the weather.
+While he was addressing some remarks on this subject, and on its
+interference with the tragical exhibition about to take place, an
+officer entered the hall, followed by several persons of inferior
+condition, amongst whom was Hal o' Nabs, and marched up to the earl,
+while the others remained standing at a respectful distance.
+
+"What news do you bring me, sir?" cried the earl, noticing the officer's
+evident uneasiness of manner. "Nothing hath happened to the prisoners?
+God's death! if it hath, you shall all answer for it with your bodies."
+
+"Nothing hath happened to them, my lord," said the officer,--"but--"
+
+"But what?" interrupted the earl. "Out with it quickly."
+
+"The executioner from Lancaster and his two aids have fled," replied the
+officer.
+
+"Fled!" exclaimed the earl, stamping his foot with rage; "now as I live,
+this is a device to delay the execution till some new attempt at rescue
+can be made. But it shall fail, if I string up the abbot myself. Death!
+can no other hangmen be found? ha!"
+
+"Of a surety, my lord; but all have an aversion to the office, and hold
+it opprobrious, especially to put churchmen to death," replied the
+officer.
+
+"Opprobrious or not, it must be done," replied the earl. "See that
+fitting persons are provided."
+
+At this moment Hal o' Nabs stepped forward.
+
+"Ey'm willing t' ondertake t' job, my lord, an' t' hong t' abbut,
+without fee or rewort," he said.
+
+"Thou bears't him a grudge, I suppose, good fellow," replied the earl,
+laughing at the rustic's uncouth appearance; "but thou seem'st a stout
+fellow, and one not likely to flinch, and may discharge the office as
+well as another. If no better man can be found, let him do it," he added
+to the officer.
+
+"Ey humbly thonk your lortship," replied Hal, inwardly rejoicing at the
+success of his scheme. But his countenance fell when he perceived
+Demdike advance from behind the others.
+
+"This man is not to be trusted, my lord," said Demdike, coming forward;
+"he has some mischievous design in making the request. So far from
+bearing enmity to the abbot, it was he who assisted him in his attempt
+to escape last night."
+
+"What!" exclaimed the earl, "is this a new trick? Bring the fellow
+forward, that I may examine him."
+
+But Hal was gone. Instantly divining Demdike's purpose, and seeing his
+chance lost, he mingled with the lookers-on, who covered his retreat.
+Nor could he be found when sought for by the guard.
+
+"See you provide a substitute quickly, sir," cried the earl, angrily, to
+the officer.
+
+"It is needless to take further trouble, my lord," replied Demdike "I am
+come to offer myself as executioner."
+
+"Thou!" exclaimed the earl.
+
+"Ay," replied the other. "When I heard that the men from Lancaster were
+fled, I instantly knew that some scheme to frustrate the ends of justice
+was on foot, and I at once resolved to undertake the office myself
+rather than delay or risk should occur. What this man's aim was, who
+hath just offered himself, I partly guess, but it hath failed; and if
+your lordship will intrust the matter to me, I will answer that no
+further impediment shall arise, but that the sentence shall be fully
+carried out, and the law satisfied. Your lordship can trust me."
+
+"I know it," replied the earl. "Be it as you will. It is now on the
+stroke of nine. At ten, let all be in readiness to set out for Wiswall
+Hall. The rain may have ceased by that time, but no weather must stay
+you. Go forth with the new executioner, sir," he added to the officer,
+"and see all necessary preparations made."
+
+And as Demdike bowed, and departed with the officer, the earl sat down
+with his retainers to break his fast.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.--WISWALL HALL.
+
+
+Shortly before ten o'clock a numerous cortege, consisting of a troop of
+horse in their full equipments, a band of archers with their bows over
+their shoulders, and a long train of barefoot monks, who had been
+permitted to attend, set out from the abbey. Behind them came a varlet
+with a paper mitre on his head, and a lathen crosier in his hand,
+covered with a surcoat, on which was emblazoned, but torn and reversed,
+the arms of Paslew; argent, a fess between three mullets, sable, pierced
+of the field, a crescent for difference. After him came another varlet
+bearing a banner, on which was painted a grotesque figure in a
+half-military, half-monastic garb, representing the "Earl of Poverty,"
+with this distich beneath it:--
+
+          Priest and warrior--rich and poor,
+          He shall be hanged at his own door.
+
+Next followed a tumbrel, drawn by two horses, in which sat the abbot
+alone, the two other prisoners being kept back for the present. Then
+came Demdike, in a leathern jerkin and blood-red hose, fitting closely
+to his sinewy limbs, and wrapped in a houppeland of the same colour as
+the hose, with a coil of rope round his neck. He walked between two
+ill-favoured personages habited in black, whom he had chosen as
+assistants. A band of halberdiers brought up the rear. The procession
+moved slowly along,--the passing-bell tolling each minute, and a muffled
+drum sounding hollowly at intervals.
+
+Shortly before the procession started the rain ceased, but the air felt
+damp and chill, and the roads were inundated. Passing out at the
+north-eastern gateway, the gloomy train skirted the south side of the
+convent church, and went on in the direction of the village of Whalley.
+When near the east end of the holy edifice, the abbot beheld two coffins
+borne along, and, on inquiry, learnt that they contained the bodies of
+Bess Demdike and Cuthbert Ashbead, who were about to be interred in the
+cemetery. At this moment his eye for the first time encountered that of
+his implacable foe, and he then discovered that he was to serve as his
+executioner.
+
+At first Paslew felt much trouble at this thought, but the feeling
+quickly passed away. On reaching Whalley, every door was found closed,
+and every window shut; so that the spectacle was lost upon the
+inhabitants; and after a brief halt, the cavalcade get out for Wiswall
+Hall.
+
+Sprung from an ancient family residing in the neighbourhood Of Whalley,
+Abbot Paslew was the second son of Francis Paslew Of Wiswall Hall, a
+great gloomy stone mansion, situated at the foot of the south-western
+side of Pendle Hill, where his brother Francis still resided. Of a cold
+and cautious character, Francis Paslew, second of the name, held aloof
+from the insurrection, and when his brother was arrested he wholly
+abandoned him. Still the owner of Wiswall had not altogether escaped
+suspicion, and it was probably as much with the view of degrading him as
+of adding to the abbot's punishment, that the latter was taken to the
+hall on the morning of his execution. Be this as it may, the cortege
+toiled thither through roads bad in the best of seasons, but now, since
+the heavy rain, scarcely passable; and it arrived there in about half an
+hour, and drew up on the broad green lawn. Window and door of the hall
+were closed; no smoke issued from the heavy pile of chimneys; and to all
+outward seeming the place was utterly deserted. In answer to inquiries,
+it appeared that Francis Paslew had departed for Northumberland on the
+previous day, taking all his household with him.
+
+In earlier years, a quarrel having occurred between the haughty abbot
+and the churlish Francis, the brothers rarely met, whence it chanced
+that John Paslew had seldom visited the place of his birth of late,
+though lying so near to the abbey, and, indeed, forming part of its
+ancient dependencies. It was sad to view it now; and yet the house,
+gloomy as it was, recalled seasons with which, though they might awaken
+regret, no guilty associations were connected. Dark was the hall, and
+desolate, but on the fine old trees around it the rooks were settling,
+and their loud cawings pleased him, and excited gentle emotions. For a
+few moments he grew young again, and forgot why he was there. Fondly
+surveying the house, the terraced garden, in which, as a boy, he had so
+often strayed, and the park beyond it, where he had chased the deer; his
+gaze rose to the cloudy heights of Pendle, springing immediately behind
+the mansion, and up which he had frequently climbed. The flood-gates of
+memory were opened at once, and a whole tide of long-buried feelings
+rushed upon his heart.
+
+From this half-painful, half-pleasurable retrospect he was aroused by
+the loud blast of a trumpet, thrice blown. A recapitulation of his
+offences, together with his sentence, was read by a herald, after which
+the reversed blazonry was fastened upon the door of the hall, just below
+a stone escutcheon on which was carved the arms of the family; while the
+paper mitre was torn and trampled under foot, the lathen crosier broken
+in twain, and the scurril banner hacked in pieces.
+
+While this degrading act was performed, a man in a miller's white garb,
+with the hood drawn over his face, forced his way towards the tumbrel,
+and while the attention of the guard was otherwise engaged, whispered in
+Paslew's ear,
+
+"Ey han failed i' mey scheme, feyther abbut, boh rest assured ey'n
+avenge you. Demdike shan ha' mey Sheffield thwittle i' his heart 'efore
+he's a day older."
+
+"The wizard has a charm against steel, my son, and indeed is proof
+against all weapons forged by men," replied Paslew, who recognised the
+voice of Hal o' Nabs, and hoped by this assertion to divert him from his
+purpose.
+
+"Ha! say yo so, feythur abbut?" cried Hal. "Then ey'n reach him wi'
+summot sacred." And he disappeared.
+
+At this moment, word was given to return, and in half an hour the
+cavalcade arrived at the abbey in the same order it had left it.
+
+Though the rain had ceased, heavy clouds still hung overhead,
+threatening another deluge, and the aspect of the abbey remained gloomy
+as ever. The bell continued to toll; drums were beaten; and trumpets
+sounded from the outer and inner gateway, and from the three
+quadrangles. The cavalcade drew up in front of the great northern
+entrance; and its return being announced within, the two other captives
+were brought forth, each fastened upon a hurdle, harnessed to a stout
+horse. They looked dead already, so ghastly was the hue of their cheeks.
+
+The abbot's turn came next. Another hurdle was brought forward, and
+Demdike advanced to the tumbrel. But Paslew recoiled from his touch, and
+sprang to the ground unaided. He was then laid on his back upon the
+hurdle, and his hands and feet were bound fast with ropes to the twisted
+timbers. While this painful task was roughly performed by the wizard's
+two ill-favoured assistants, the crowd of rustics who looked on,
+murmured and exhibited such strong tokens of displeasure, that the guard
+thought it prudent to keep them off with their halberts. But when all
+was done, Demdike motioned to a man standing behind him to advance, and
+the person who was wrapped in a russet cloak complied, drew forth an
+infant, and held it in such way that the abbot could see it. Paslew
+understood what was meant, but he uttered not a word. Demdike then knelt
+down beside him, as if ascertaining the security of the cords, and
+whispered in his ear:--
+
+"Recall thy malediction, and my dagger shall save thee from the last
+indignity."
+
+"Never," replied Paslew; "the curse is irrevocable. But I would not
+recall it if I could. As I have said, thy child shall be a witch, and
+the mother of witches--but all shall be swept off--all!"
+
+"Hell's torments seize thee!" cried the wizard, furiously.
+
+"Nay, thou hast done thy worst to me," rejoined Paslew, meekly, "thou
+canst not harm me beyond the grave. Look to thyself, for even as thou
+speakest, thy child is taken from thee."
+
+And so it was. While Demdike knelt beside Paslew, a hand was put forth,
+and, before the man who had custody of the infant could prevent it, his
+little charge was snatched from him. Thus the abbot saw, though the
+wizard perceived it not. The latter instantly sprang to his feet.
+
+"Where is the child?" he demanded of the fellow in the russet cloak.
+
+"It was taken from me by yon tall man who is disappearing through the
+gateway," replied the other, in great trepidation.
+
+"Ha! _he_ here!" exclaimed Demdike, regarding the dark figure with a
+look of despair. "It is gone from me for ever!"
+
+"Ay, for ever!" echoed the abbot, solemnly.
+
+"But revenge is still left me--revenge!" cried Demdike, with an
+infuriated gesture.
+
+"Then glut thyself with it speedily," replied the abbot; "for thy time
+here is short."
+
+"I care not if it be," replied Demdike; "I shall live long enough if I
+survive thee."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.--THE HOLEHOUSES.
+
+
+At this moment the blast of a trumpet resounded from the gateway, and
+the Earl of Derby, with the sheriff on his right hand, and Assheton on
+the left, and mounted on a richly caparisoned charger, rode forth. He
+was preceded by four javelin-men, and followed by two heralds in their
+tabards.
+
+To doleful tolling of bells--to solemn music--to plaintive hymn chanted
+by monks--to roll of muffled drum at intervals--the sad cortege set
+forth. Loud cries from the bystanders marked its departure, and some of
+them followed it, but many turned away, unable to endure the sight of
+horror about to ensue. Amongst those who went on was Hal o' Nabs, but he
+took care to keep out of the way of the guard, though he was little
+likely to be recognised, owing to his disguise.
+
+Despite the miserable state of the weather, a great multitude was
+assembled at the place of execution, and they watched the approaching
+cavalcade with moody curiosity. To prevent disturbance, arquebussiers
+were stationed in parties here and there, and a clear course for the
+cortege was preserved by two lines of halberdiers with crossed pikes.
+But notwithstanding this, much difficulty was experienced in mounting
+the hill. Rendered slippery by the wet, and yet more so by the trampling
+of the crowd, the road was so bad in places that the horses could
+scarcely drag the hurdles up it, and more than one delay occurred. The
+stoppages were always denounced by groans, yells, and hootings from the
+mob, and these neither the menaces of the Earl of Derby, nor the active
+measures of the guard, could repress.
+
+At length, however, the cavalcade reached its destination. Then the
+crowd struggled forward, and settled into a dense compact ring, round
+the circular railing enclosing the place of execution, within which were
+drawn up the Earl of Derby, the sheriff, Assheton, and the principal
+gentlemen, together with Demdike and his assistants; the guard forming a
+circle three deep round them.
+
+Paslew was first unloosed, and when he stood up, he found Father Smith,
+the late prior, beside him, and tenderly embraced him.
+
+"Be of good courage, Father Abbot," said the prior; "a few moments, and
+you will be numbered with the just."
+
+"My hope is in the infinite mercy of Heaven, father," replied Paslew,
+sighing deeply. "Pray for me at the last."
+
+"Doubt it not," returned the prior, fervently. "I will pray for you now
+and ever."
+
+Meanwhile, the bonds of the two other captives were unfastened, but they
+were found wholly unable to stand without support. A lofty ladder had
+been placed against the central scaffold, and up this Demdike, having
+cast off his houppeland, mounted and adjusted the rope. His tall gaunt
+figure, fully displayed in his tight-fitting red garb, made him look
+like a hideous scarecrow. His appearance was greeted by the mob with a
+perfect hurricane of indignant outcries and yells. But he heeded them
+not, but calmly pursued his task. Above him wheeled the two ravens, who
+had never quitted the place since daybreak, uttering their discordant
+cries. When all was done, he descended a few steps, and, taking a black
+hood from his girdle to place over the head of his victim, called out in
+a voice which had little human in its tone, "I wait for you, John
+Paslew."
+
+"Are you ready, Paslew?" demanded the Earl of Derby.
+
+"I am, my lord," replied the abbot. And embracing the prior for the last
+time, he added, "_Vale, carissime frater, in aeternum vale! et Dominus
+tecum sit in ultionem inimicorum nostrorum_!"
+
+"It is the king's pleasure that you say not a word in your justification
+to the mob, Paslew," observed the earl.
+
+"I had no such intention, my lord," replied the abbot.
+
+"Then tarry no longer," said the earl; "if you need aid you shall have
+it."
+
+"I require none," replied Paslew, resolutely.
+
+With this he mounted the ladder, with as much firmness and dignity as if
+ascending the steps of a tribune.
+
+Hitherto nothing but yells and angry outcries had stunned the ears of
+the lookers-on, and several missiles had been hurled at Demdike, some of
+which took effect, though without occasioning discomfiture; but when
+the abbot appeared above the heads of the guard, the tumult instantly
+subsided, and profound silence ensued. Not a breath was drawn by the
+spectators. The ravens alone continued their ominous croaking.
+
+Hal o' Nabs, who stood on the outskirts of the ring, saw thus far but he
+could bear it no longer, and rushed down the hill. Just as he reached
+the level ground, a culverin was fired from the gateway, and the next
+moment a loud wailing cry bursting from the mob told that the abbot was
+launched into eternity.
+
+Hal would not look back, but went slowly on, and presently afterwards
+other horrid sounds dinned in his ears, telling that all was over with
+the two other sufferers. Sickened and faint, he leaned against a wall
+for support. How long he continued thus, he knew not, but he heard the
+cavalcade coming down the hill, and saw the Earl of Derby and his
+attendants ride past. Glancing toward the place of execution, Hal then
+perceived that the abbot had been cut down, and, rousing himself, he
+joined the crowd now rushing towards the gate, and ascertained that the
+body of Paslew was to be taken to the convent church, and deposited
+there till orders were to be given respecting its interment. He learnt,
+also, that the removal of the corpse was intrusted to Demdike. Fired by
+this intelligence, and suddenly conceiving a wild project of vengeance,
+founded upon what he had heard from the abbot of the wizard being proof
+against weapons forged by men, he hurried to the church, entered it, the
+door being thrown open, and rushing up to the gallery, contrived to get
+out through a window upon the top of the porch, where he secreted
+himself behind the great stone statue of Saint Gregory.
+
+The information he had obtained proved correct. Ere long a mournful
+train approached the church, and a bier was set down before the porch. A
+black hood covered the face of the dead, but the vestments showed that
+it was the body of Paslew.
+
+At the head of the bearers was Demdike, and when the body was set down
+he advanced towards it, and, removing the hood, gazed at the livid and
+distorted features.
+
+"At length I am fully avenged," he said.
+
+"And Abbot Paslew, also," cried a voice above him.
+
+Demdike looked up, but the look was his last, for the ponderous statue
+of Saint Gregory de Northbury, launched from its pedestal, fell upon his
+head, and crushed him to the ground. A mangled and breathless mass was
+taken from beneath the image, and the hands and visage of Paslew were
+found spotted with blood dashed from the gory carcass. The author of the
+wizard's destruction was suspected, but never found, nor was it
+positively known who had done the deed till years after, when Hal o'
+Nabs, who meanwhile had married pretty Dorothy Croft, and had been
+blessed by numerous offspring in the union, made his last confession,
+and then he exhibited no remarkable or becoming penitence for the act,
+neither was he refused absolution.
+
+Thus it came to pass that the abbot and his enemy perished together. The
+mutilated remains of the wizard were placed in a shell, and huddled into
+the grave where his wife had that morning been laid. But no prayer was
+said over him. And the superstitious believed that the body was carried
+off that very night by the Fiend, and taken to a witch's sabbath in the
+ruined tower on Rimington Moor. Certain it was, that the unhallowed
+grave was disturbed. The body of Paslew was decently interred in the
+north aisle of the parish church of Whalley, beneath a stone with a
+Gothic cross sculptured upon it, and bearing the piteous
+inscription:--"_Miserere mei_."
+
+But in the belief of the vulgar the abbot did not rest tranquilly. For
+many years afterwards a white-robed monastic figure was seen to flit
+along the cloisters, pass out at the gate, and disappear with a wailing
+cry over the Holehouses. And the same ghostly figure was often seen to
+glide through the corridor in the abbot's lodging, and vanish at the
+door of the chamber leading to the little oratory. Thus Whalley Abbey
+was supposed to be haunted, and few liked to wander through its deserted
+cloisters, or ruined church, after dark. The abbot's tragical end was
+thus recorded:--
+
+
+          Johannes Paslew: Capitali Effectus Supplicio.
+          12º Mensis Martii, 1537.
+
+As to the infant, upon whom the abbot's malediction fell, it was
+reserved for the dark destinies shadowed forth in the dread anathema he
+had uttered: to the development of which the tragic drama about to
+follow is devoted, and to which the fate of Abbot Paslew forms a
+necessary and fitting prologue. Thus far the veil of the Future may be
+drawn aside. That infant and her progeny became the LANCASHIRE WITCHES.
+
+
+END OF THE INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+
+
+THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES.
+
+BOOK THE FIRST.
+
+Alizon Device.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.--THE MAY QUEEN.
+
+
+On a May-day in the early part of the seventeenth century, and a most
+lovely May-day, too, admirably adapted to usher in the merriest month of
+the year, and seemingly made expressly for the occasion, a wake was held
+at Whalley, to which all the neighbouring country folk resorted, and
+indeed many of the gentry as well, for in the good old times, when
+England was still merry England, a wake had attractions for all classes
+alike, and especially in Lancashire; for, with pride I speak it, there
+were no lads who, in running, vaulting, wrestling, dancing, or in any
+other manly exercise, could compare with the Lancashire lads. In
+archery, above all, none could match them; for were not their ancestors
+the stout bowmen and billmen whose cloth-yard shafts, and trenchant
+weapons, won the day at Flodden? And were they not true sons of their
+fathers? And then, I speak it with yet greater pride, there were few, if
+any, lasses who could compare in comeliness with the rosy-cheeked,
+dark-haired, bright-eyed lasses of Lancashire.
+
+Assemblages of this kind, therefore, where the best specimens of either
+sex were to be met with, were sure to be well attended, and in spite of
+an enactment passed in the preceding reign of Elizabeth, prohibiting
+"piping, playing, bear-baiting, and bull-baiting on the Sabbath-days, or
+on any other days, and also superstitious ringing of bells, wakes, and
+common feasts," they were not only not interfered with, but rather
+encouraged by the higher orders. Indeed, it was well known that the
+reigning monarch, James the First, inclined the other way, and, desirous
+of checking the growing spirit of Puritanism throughout the kingdom, had
+openly expressed himself in favour of honest recreation after evening
+prayers and upon holidays; and, furthermore, had declared that he liked
+well the spirit of his good subjects in Lancashire, and would not see
+them punished for indulging in lawful exercises, but that ere long he
+would pay them a visit in one of his progresses, and judge for himself,
+and if he found all things as they had been represented to him, he would
+grant them still further licence. Meanwhile, this expression of the
+royal opinion removed every restriction, and old sports and pastimes,
+May-games, Whitsun-ales, and morris-dances, with rush-bearings,
+bell-ringings, wakes, and feasts, were as much practised as before the
+passing of the obnoxious enactment of Elizabeth. The Puritans and
+Precisians discountenanced them, it is true, as much as ever, and would
+have put them down, if they could, as savouring of papistry and
+idolatry, and some rigid divines thundered against them from the pulpit;
+but with the king and the authorities in their favour, the people little
+heeded these denunciations against them, and abstained not from any
+"honest recreation" whenever a holiday occurred.
+
+If Lancashire was famous for wakes, the wakes of Whalley were famous
+even in Lancashire. The men of the district were in general a hardy,
+handsome race, of the genuine Saxon breed, and passionately fond of all
+kinds of pastime, and the women had their full share of the beauty
+indigenous to the soil. Besides, it was a secluded spot, in the heart of
+a wild mountainous region, and though occasionally visited by travellers
+journeying northward, or by others coming from the opposite direction,
+retained a primitive simplicity of manners, and a great partiality for
+old customs and habits.
+
+The natural beauties of the place, contrasted with the dreary region
+around it, and heightened by the picturesque ruins of the ancient abbey,
+part of which, namely, the old abbot's lodgings, had been converted into
+a residence by the Asshetons, and was now occupied by Sir Ralph
+Assheton, while the other was left to the ravages of time, made it
+always an object of attraction to those residing near it; but when on
+the May-day in question, there was not only to be a wake, but a May-pole
+set on the green, and a rush-bearing with morris-dancers besides,
+together with Whitsun-ale at the abbey, crowds flocked to Whalley from
+Wiswall, Cold Coates, and Clithero, from Ribchester and Blackburn, from
+Padiham and Pendle, and even from places more remote. Not only was John
+Lawe's of the Dragon full, but the Chequers, and the Swan also, and the
+roadside alehouse to boot. Sir Ralph Assheton had several guests at the
+abbey, and others were expected in the course of the day, while Doctor
+Ormerod had friends staying with him at the vicarage.
+
+Soon after midnight, on the morning of the festival, many young persons
+of the village, of both sexes, had arisen, and, to the sound of horn,
+had repaired to the neighbouring woods, and there gathered a vast stock
+of green boughs and flowering branches of the sweetly-perfumed hawthorn,
+wild roses, and honeysuckle, with baskets of violets, cowslips,
+primroses, blue-bells, and other wild flowers, and returning in the same
+order they went forth, fashioned the branches into green bowers within
+the churchyard, or round about the May-pole set up on the green, and
+decorated them afterwards with garlands and crowns of flowers. This
+morning ceremonial ought to have been performed without wetting the
+feet: but though some pains were taken in the matter, few could achieve
+the difficult task, except those carried over the dewy grass by their
+lusty swains. On the day before the rushes had been gathered, and the
+rush cart piled, shaped, trimmed, and adorned by those experienced in
+the task, (and it was one requiring both taste and skill, as will be
+seen when the cart itself shall come forth,) while others had borrowed
+for its adornment, from the abbey and elsewhere, silver tankards,
+drinking-cups, spoons, ladles, brooches, watches, chains, and bracelets,
+so as to make an imposing show.
+
+Day was ushered in by a merry peal of bells from the tower of the old
+parish church, and the ringers practised all kinds of joyous changes
+during the morning, and fired many a clanging volley. The whole village
+was early astir; and as these were times when good hours were kept; and
+as early rising is a famous sharpener of the appetite, especially when
+attended with exercise, so an hour before noon the rustics one and all
+sat down to dinner, the strangers being entertained by their friends,
+and if they had no friends, throwing themselves upon the general
+hospitality. The alehouses were reserved for tippling at a later hour,
+for it was then customary for both gentleman and commoner, male as well
+as female, as will be more fully shown hereafter, to take their meals at
+home, and repair afterwards to houses of public entertainment for wine
+or other liquors. Private chambers were, of course, reserved for the
+gentry; but not unfrequently the squire and his friends would take their
+bottle with the other guests. Such was the invariable practice in the
+northern counties in the reign of James the First.
+
+Soon after mid-day, and when the bells began to peal merrily again (for
+even ringers must recruit themselves), at a small cottage in the
+outskirts of the village, and close to the Calder, whose waters swept
+past the trimly kept garden attached to it, two young girls were
+employed in attiring a third, who was to represent Maid Marian, or Queen
+of May, in the pageant then about to ensue. And, certainly, by sovereign
+and prescriptive right of beauty, no one better deserved the high title
+and distinction conferred upon her than this fair girl. Lovelier maiden
+in the whole county, and however high her degree, than this rustic
+damsel, it was impossible to find; and though the becoming and fanciful
+costume in which she was decked could not heighten her natural charms,
+it certainly displayed them to advantage. Upon her smooth and beautiful
+brow sat a gilt crown, while her dark and luxuriant hair, covered behind
+with a scarlet coif, embroidered with gold; and tied with yellow, white,
+and crimson ribands, but otherwise wholly unconfirmed, swept down
+almost to the ground. Slight and fragile, her figure was of such just
+proportion that every movement and gesture had an indescribable charm.
+The most courtly dame might have envied her fine and taper fingers, and
+fancied she could improve them by protecting them against the sun, or by
+rendering them snowy white with paste or cosmetic, but this was
+questionable; nothing certainly could improve the small foot and
+finely-turned ankle, so well displayed in the red hose and smart little
+yellow buskin, fringed with gold. A stomacher of scarlet cloth, braided
+with yellow lace in cross bars, confined her slender waist. Her robe was
+of carnation-coloured silk, with wide sleeves, and the gold-fringed
+skirt descended only a little below the knee, like the dress of a modern
+Swiss peasant, so as to reveal the exquisite symmetry of her limbs. Over
+all she wore a surcoat of azure silk, lined with white, and edged with
+gold. In her left hand she held a red pink as an emblem of the season.
+So enchanting was her appearance altogether, so fresh the character of
+her beauty, so bright the bloom that dyed her lovely checks, that she
+might have been taken for a personification of May herself. She was
+indeed in the very May of life--the mingling of spring and summer in
+womanhood; and the tender blue eyes, bright and clear as diamonds of
+purest water, the soft regular features, and the merry mouth, whose
+ruddy parted lips ever and anon displayed two rows of pearls, completed
+the similitude to the attributes of the jocund month.
+
+Her handmaidens, both of whom were simple girls, and though not
+destitute of some pretensions to beauty themselves, in nowise to be
+compared with her, were at the moment employed in knotting the ribands
+in her hair, and adjusting the azure surcoat.
+
+Attentively watching these proceedings sat on a stool, placed in a
+corner, a little girl, some nine or ten years old, with a basket of
+flowers on her knee. The child was very diminutive, even for her age,
+and her smallness was increased by personal deformity, occasioned by
+contraction of the chest, and spinal curvature, which raised her back
+above her shoulders; but her features were sharp and cunning, indeed
+almost malignant, and there was a singular and unpleasant look about the
+eyes, which were not placed evenly in the head. Altogether she had a
+strange old-fashioned look, and from her habitual bitterness of speech,
+as well as from her vindictive character, which, young as she was, had
+been displayed, with some effect, on more than one occasion, she was no
+great favourite with any one. It was curious now to watch the eager and
+envious interest she took in the progress of her sister's adornment--for
+such was the degree of relationship in which she stood to the May
+Queen--and when the surcoat was finally adjusted, and the last riband
+tied, she broke forth, having hitherto preserved a sullen silence.
+
+[Illustration: THE MAY QUEEN.]
+
+"Weel, sister Alizon, ye may a farrently May Queen, ey mun say" she
+observed, spitefully, "but to my mind other Suky Worseley, or Nancy
+Holt, here, would ha' looked prottier."
+
+"Nah, nah, that we shouldna," rejoined one of the damsels referred to;
+"there is na a lass i' Lonkyshiar to hold a condle near Alizon Device."
+
+"Fie upon ye, for an ill-favort minx, Jennet," cried Nancy Holt; "yo're
+jealous o' your protty sister."
+
+"Ey jealous," cried Jennet, reddening, "an whoy the firrups should ey be
+jealous, ey, thou saucy jade! Whon ey grow older ey'st may a prottier
+May Queen than onny on you, an so the lads aw tell me."
+
+"And so you will, Jennet," said Alizon Device, checking, by a gentle
+look, the jeering laugh in which Nancy seemed disposed to indulge--"so
+you will, my pretty little sister," she added, kissing her; "and I will
+'tire you as well and as carefully as Susan and Nancy have just 'tired
+me."
+
+"Mayhap ey shanna live till then," rejoined Jennet, peevishly, "and when
+ey'm dead an' gone, an' laid i' t' cowld churchyard, yo an they win be
+sorry fo having werreted me so."
+
+"I have never intentionally vexed you, Jennet, love," said Alizon, "and
+I am sure these two girls love you dearly."
+
+"Eigh, we may allowance fo her feaw tempers," observed Susan Worseley;
+"fo we knoa that ailments an deformities are sure to may folk fretful."
+
+"Eigh, there it is," cried Jennet, sharply. "My high shoulthers an sma
+size are always thrown i' my feace. Boh ey'st grow tall i' time, an get
+straight--eigh straighter than yo, Suky, wi' your broad back an short
+neck--boh if ey dunna, whot matters it? Ey shall be feared at onny
+rate--ay, feared, wenches, by ye both."
+
+"Nah doubt on't, theaw little good-fo'-nothin piece o' mischief,"
+muttered Susan.
+
+"Whot's that yo sayn, Suky?" cried Jennet, whose quick ears had caught
+the words, "Tak care whot ye do to offend me, lass," she added, shaking
+her thin fingers, armed with talon-like claws, threateningly at her, "or
+ey'll ask my granddame, Mother Demdike, to quieten ye."
+
+At the mention of this name a sudden shade came over Susan's
+countenance. Changing colour, and slightly trembling, she turned away
+from the child, who, noticing the effect of her threat, could not
+repress her triumph. But again Alizon interposed.
+
+"Do not be alarmed, Susan," she said, "my grandmother will never harm
+you, I am sure; indeed, she will never harm any one; and do not heed
+what little Jennet says, for she is not aware of the effect of her own
+words, or of the injury they might do our grandmother, if repeated."
+
+"Ey dunna wish to repeat them, or to think of em," sobbed Susan.
+
+"That's good, that's kind of you, Susan," replied Alizon, taking her
+hand. "Do not be cross any more, Jennet. You see you have made her
+weep."
+
+"Ey'm glad on it," rejoined the little girl, laughing; "let her cry on.
+It'll do her good, an teach her to mend her manners, and nah offend me
+again."
+
+"Ey didna mean to offend ye, Jennet," sobbed Susan, "boh yo're so
+wrythen an marr'd, a body canna speak to please ye."
+
+"Weel, if ye confess your fault, ey'm satisfied," replied the little
+girl; "boh let it be a lesson to ye, Suky, to keep guard o' your tongue
+i' future."
+
+"It shall, ey promise ye," replied Susan, drying her eyes.
+
+At this moment a door opened, and a woman entered from an inner room,
+having a high-crowned, conical-shaped hat on her head, and broad white
+pinners over her cheeks. Her dress was of dark red camlet, with
+high-heeled shoes. She stooped slightly, and being rather lame,
+supported herself on a crutch-handled stick. In age she might be between
+forty and fifty, but she looked much older, and her features were not at
+all prepossessing from a hooked nose and chin, while their sinister
+effect was increased by a formation of the eyes similar to that in
+Jennet, only more strongly noticeable in her case. This woman was
+Elizabeth Device, widow of John Device, about whose death there was a
+mystery to be inquired into hereafter, and mother of Alizon and Jennet,
+though how she came to have a daughter so unlike herself in all respects
+as the former, no one could conceive; but so it was.
+
+"Soh, ye ha donned your finery at last, Alizon," said Elizabeth. "Your
+brother Jem has just run up to say that t' rush-cart has set out, and
+that Robin Hood and his merry men are comin' for their Queen."
+
+"And their Queen is quite ready for them," replied Alizon, moving
+towards the door.
+
+"Neigh, let's ha' a look at ye fust, wench," cried Elizabeth, staying
+her; "fine fitthers may fine brids--ey warrant me now yo'n getten these
+May gewgaws on, yo fancy yourself a queen in arnest."
+
+"A queen of a day, mother; a queen of a little village festival; nothing
+more," replied Alizon. "Oh, if I were a queen in right earnest, or even
+a great lady--"
+
+"Whot would yo do?" demanded Elizabeth Device, sourly.
+
+"I'd make you rich, mother, and build you a grand house to live in,"
+replied Alizon; "much grander than Browsholme, or Downham, or
+Middleton."
+
+"Pity yo're nah a queen then, Alizon," replied Elizabeth, relaxing her
+harsh features into a wintry smile.
+
+"Whot would ye do fo me, Alizon, if ye were a queen?" asked little
+Jennet, looking up at her.
+
+"Why, let me see," was the reply; "I'd indulge every one of your whims
+and wishes. You should only need ask to have."
+
+"Poh--poh--yo'd never content her," observed Elizabeth, testily.
+
+"It's nah your way to try an content me, mother, even whon ye might,"
+rejoined Jennet, who, if she loved few people, loved her mother least of
+all, and never lost an opportunity of testifying her dislike to her.
+
+"Awt o'pontee, little wasp," cried her mother; "theaw desarves nowt boh
+whot theaw dustna get often enough--a good whipping."
+
+"Yo hanna towd us whot yo'd do fo yurself if yo war a great lady,
+Alizon?" interposed Susan.
+
+"Oh, I haven't thought about myself," replied the other, laughing.
+
+"Ey con tell ye what she'd do, Suky," replied little Jennet, knowingly;
+"she'd marry Master Richard Assheton, o' Middleton."
+
+"Jennet!" exclaimed Alizon, blushing crimson.
+
+"It's true," replied the little girl; "ye knoa ye would, Alizon, Look at
+her feace," she added, with a screaming laugh.
+
+"Howd te tongue, little plague," cried Elizabeth, rapping her knuckles
+with her stick, "and behave thyself, or theaw shanna go out to t' wake."
+
+Jennet dealt her mother a bitterly vindictive look, but she neither
+uttered cry, nor made remark.
+
+In the momentary silence that ensued the blithe jingling of bells was
+heard, accompanied by the merry sound of tabor and pipe.
+
+"Ah! here come the rush-cart and the morris-dancers," cried Alizon,
+rushing joyously to the window, which, being left partly open, admitted
+the scent of the woodbine and eglantine by which it was overgrown, as
+well as the humming sound of the bees by which the flowers were invaded.
+
+Almost immediately afterwards a frolic troop, like a band of masquers,
+approached the cottage, and drew up before it, while the jingling of
+bells ceasing at the same moment, told that the rush-cart had stopped
+likewise. Chief amongst the party was Robin Hood clad in a suit of
+Lincoln green, with a sheaf of arrows at his back, a bugle dangling from
+his baldric, a bow in his hand, and a broad-leaved green hat on his
+head, looped up on one side, and decorated with a heron's feather. The
+hero of Sherwood was personated by a tall, well-limbed fellow, to whom,
+being really a forester of Bowland, the character was natural. Beside
+him stood a very different figure, a jovial friar, with shaven crown,
+rubicund cheeks, bull throat, and mighty paunch, covered by a russet
+habit, and girded in by a red cord, decorated with golden twist and
+tassel. He wore red hose and sandal shoon, and carried in his girdle a
+Wallet, to contain a roast capon, a neat's tongue, or any other dainty
+given him. Friar Tuck, for such he was, found his representative in Ned
+Huddlestone, porter at the abbey, who, as the largest and stoutest man
+in the village, was chosen on that account to the part. Next to him came
+a character of no little importance, and upon whom much of the mirth of
+the pageant depended, and this devolved upon the village cobbler, Jack
+Roby, a dapper little fellow, who fitted the part of the Fool to a
+nicety. With bauble in hand, and blue coxcomb hood adorned with long
+white asses' ears on head, with jerkin of green, striped with yellow;
+hose of different colours, the left leg being yellow, with a red
+pantoufle, and the right blue, terminated with a yellow shoe; with bells
+hung upon various parts of his motley attire, so that he could not move
+without producing a jingling sound, Jack Roby looked wonderful indeed;
+and was constantly dancing about, and dealing a blow with his bauble.
+Next came Will Scarlet, Stukely, and Little John, all proper men and
+tall, attired in Lincoln green, like Robin Hood, and similarly equipped.
+Like him, too, they were all foresters of Bowland, owning service to the
+bow-bearer, Mr. Parker of Browsholme hall; and the representative of
+Little John, who was six feet and a half high, and stout in proportion,
+was Lawrence Blackrod, Mr. Parker's head keeper. After the foresters
+came Tom the Piper, a wandering minstrel, habited for the occasion in a
+blue doublet, with sleeves of the same colour, turned up with yellow,
+red hose, and brown buskins, red bonnet, and green surcoat lined with
+yellow. Beside the piper was another minstrel, similarly attired, and
+provided with a tabor. Lastly came one of the main features of the
+pageant, and which, together with the Fool, contributed most materially
+to the amusement of the spectators. This was the Hobby-horse. The hue of
+this, spirited charger was a pinkish white, and his housings were of
+crimson cloth hanging to the ground, so as to conceal the rider's real
+legs, though a pair of sham ones dangled at the side. His bit was of
+gold, and his bridle red morocco leather, while his rider was very
+sumptuously arrayed in a purple mantle, bordered with gold, with a rich
+cap of the same regal hue on his head, encircled with gold, and having a
+red feather stuck in it. The hobby-horse had a plume of nodding feathers
+on his head, and careered from side to side, now rearing in front, now
+kicking behind, now prancing, now gently ambling, and in short indulging
+in playful fancies and vagaries, such as horse never indulged in before,
+to the imminent danger, it seemed, of his rider, and to the huge delight
+of the beholders. Nor must it be omitted, as it was matter of great
+wonderment to the lookers-on, that by some legerdemain contrivance the
+rider of the hobby-horse had a couple of daggers stuck in his cheeks,
+while from his steed's bridle hung a silver ladle, which he held now and
+then to the crowd, and in which, when he did so, a few coins were sure
+to rattle. After the hobby-horse came the May-pole, not the tall pole so
+called and which was already planted in the green, but a stout staff
+elevated some six feet above the head of the bearer, with a coronal of
+flowers atop, and four long garlands hanging down, each held by a
+morris-dancer. Then came the May Queen's gentleman usher, a fantastic
+personage in habiliments of blue guarded with white, and holding a long
+willow wand in his hand. After the usher came the main troop of
+morris-dancers--the men attired in a graceful costume, which set off
+their light active figures to advantage, consisting of a slashed-jerkin
+of black and white velvet, with cut sleeves left open so as to reveal
+the snowy shirt beneath, white hose, and shoes of black Spanish leather
+with large roses. Ribands were every where in their dresses--ribands and
+tinsel adorned their caps, ribands crossed their hose, and ribands were
+tied round their arms. In either hand they held a long white
+handkerchief knotted with ribands. The female morris-dancers were
+habited in white, decorated like the dresses of the men; they had
+ribands and wreaths of flowers round their heads, bows in their hair,
+and in their hands long white knotted kerchiefs.
+
+In the rear of the performers in the pageant came the rush-cart drawn by
+a team of eight stout horses, with their manes and tails tied with
+ribands, their collars fringed with red and yellow worsted, and hung
+with bells, which jingled blithely at every movement, and their heads
+decked with flowers. The cart itself consisted of an enormous pile of
+rushes, banded and twisted together, rising to a considerable height,
+and terminated in a sharp ridge, like the point of a Gothic window. The
+sides and top were decorated with flowers and ribands, and there were
+eaves in front and at the back, and on the space within them, which was
+covered with white paper, were strings of gaudy flowers, embedded in
+moss, amongst which were suspended all the ornaments and finery that
+could be collected for the occasion: to wit, flagons of silver, spoons,
+ladles, chains, watches, and bracelets, so as to make a brave and
+resplendent show. The wonder was how articles of so much value would be
+trusted forth on such an occasion; but nothing was ever lost. On the top
+of the rush-cart, and bestriding its sharp ridges, sat half a dozen men,
+habited somewhat like the morris-dancers, in garments bedecked with
+tinsel and ribands, holding garlands formed by hoops, decorated with
+flowers, and attached to poles ornamented with silver paper, cut into
+various figures and devices, and diminishing gradually in size as they
+rose to a point, where they were crowned with wreaths of daffodils.
+
+A large crowd of rustics, of all ages, accompanied the morris-dancers
+and rush-cart.
+
+This gay troop having come to a halt, as described, before the cottage,
+the gentleman-usher entered it, and, tapping against the inner door with
+his wand, took off his cap as soon as it was opened, and bowing
+deferentially to the ground, said he was come to invite the Queen of May
+to join the pageant, and that it only awaited her presence to proceed to
+the green. Having delivered this speech in as good set phrase as he
+could command, and being the parish clerk and schoolmaster to boot,
+Sampson Harrop by name, he was somewhat more polished than the rest of
+the hinds; and having, moreover, received a gracious response from the
+May Queen, who condescendingly replied that she was quite ready to
+accompany him, he took her hand, and led her ceremoniously to the door,
+whither they were followed by the others.
+
+Loud was the shout that greeted Alizon's appearance, and tremendous was
+the pushing to obtain a sight of her; and so much was she abashed by the
+enthusiastic greeting, which was wholly unexpected on her part, that she
+would have drawn back again, if it had been possible; but the usher led
+her forward, and Robin Hood and the foresters having bent the knee
+before her, the hobby-horse began to curvet anew among the spectators,
+and tread on their toes, the fool to rap their knuckles with his bauble,
+the piper to play, the taborer to beat his tambourine, and the
+morris-dancers to toss their kerchiefs over their heads. Thus the
+pageant being put in motion, the rush-cart began to roll on, its horses'
+bells jingling merrily, and the spectators cheering lustily.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.--THE BLACK CAT AND THE WHITE DOVE.
+
+
+Little Jennet watched her sister's triumphant departure with a look in
+which there was far more of envy than sympathy, and, when her mother
+took her hand to lead her forth, she would not go, but saying she did
+not care for any such idle sights, went back sullenly to the inner room.
+When there, however, she could not help peeping through the window, and
+saw Susan and Nancy join the revel rout, with feelings of increased
+bitterness.
+
+"Ey wish it would rain an spile their finery," she said, sitting down on
+her stool, and plucking the flowers from her basket in pieces. "An yet,
+why canna ey enjoy such seets like other folk? Truth is, ey've nah heart
+for it."
+
+"Folks say," she continued, after a pause, "that grandmother Demdike is
+a witch, an con do os she pleases. Ey wonder if she made Alizon so
+protty. Nah, that canna be, fo' Alizon's na favourite o' hern. If she
+loves onny one it's me. Why dunna she make me good-looking, then? They
+say it's sinfu' to be a witch--if so, how comes grandmother Demdike to
+be one? Boh ey'n observed that those folks os caws her witch are afeard
+on her, so it may be pure spite o' their pert."
+
+As she thus mused, a great black cat belonging to her mother, which had
+followed her into the room, rubbed himself against her, putting up his
+back, and purring loudly.
+
+"Ah, Tib," said the little girl, "how are ye, Tib? Ey didna knoa ye were
+here. Lemme ask ye some questions, Tib?"
+
+The cat mewed, looked up, and fixed his great yellow eyes upon her.
+
+"One 'ud think ye onderstud whot wos said to ye, Tib," pursued little
+Jennet. "We'n see whot ye say to this! Shan ey ever be Queen o' May,
+like sister Alizon?"
+
+The cat mewed in a manner that the little girl found no difficulty in
+interpreting the reply into "No."
+
+"How's that, Tib?" cried Jennet, sharply. "If ey thought ye meant it,
+ey'd beat ye, sirrah. Answer me another question, ye saucy knave. Who
+will be luckiest, Alizon or me?"
+
+This time the cat darted away from her, and made two or three skirmishes
+round the room, as if gone suddenly mad.
+
+"Ey con may nowt o' that," observed Jennet, laughing.
+
+All at once the cat bounded upon the chimney board, over which was
+placed a sampler, worked with the name "ALIZON."
+
+"Why Tib really seems to onderstond me, ey declare," observed Jennet,
+uneasily. "Ey should like to ask him a few more questions, if ey durst,"
+she added, regarding with some distrust the animal, who now returned,
+and began rubbing against her as before. "Tib--Tib!"
+
+The cat looked up, and mewed.
+
+"Protty Tib--sweet Tib," continued the little girl, coaxingly. "Whot mun
+one do to be a witch like grandmother Demdike?"
+
+The cat again dashed twice or thrice madly round the room, and then
+stopping suddenly at the hearth, sprang up the chimney.
+
+"Ey'n frightened ye away ot onny rate," observed Jennet, laughing. "And
+yet it may mean summot," she added, reflecting a little, "fo ey'n heerd
+say os how witches fly up chimleys o' broomsticks to attend their
+sabbaths. Ey should like to fly i' that manner, an change myself into
+another shape--onny shape boh my own. Oh that ey could be os protty os
+Alizon! Ey dunna knoa whot ey'd nah do to be like her!"
+
+Again the great black cat was beside her, rubbing against her, and
+purring. The child was a good deal startled, for she had not seen him
+return, and the door was shut, though he might have come in through the
+open window, only she had been looking that way all the time, and had
+never noticed him. Strange!
+
+"Tib," said the child, patting him, "thou hasna answered my last
+question--how is one to become a witch?"
+
+As she made this inquiry the cat suddenly scratched her in the arm, so
+that the blood came. The little girl was a good deal frightened, as well
+as hurt, and, withdrawing her arm quickly, made a motion of striking the
+animal. But starting backwards, erecting his tail, and spitting, the cat
+assumed such a formidable appearance, that she did not dare to touch
+him, and she then perceived that some drops of blood stained her white
+sleeve, giving the spots a certain resemblance to the letters J. and D.,
+her own initials.
+
+At this moment, when she was about to scream for help, though she knew
+no one was in the house, all having gone away with the May-day
+revellers, a small white dove flew in at the open window, and skimming
+round the room, alighted near her. No sooner had the cat caught sight of
+this beautiful bird, than instead of preparing to pounce upon it, as
+might have been expected, he instantly abandoned his fierce attitude,
+and, uttering a sort of howl, sprang up the chimney as before. But the
+child scarcely observed this, her attention being directed towards the
+bird, whose extreme beauty delighted her. It seemed quite tame too, and
+allowed itself to be touched, and even drawn towards her, without an
+effort to escape. Never, surely, was seen so beautiful a bird--with such
+milkwhite feathers, such red legs, and such pretty yellow eyes, with
+crimson circles round them! So thought the little girl, as she gazed at
+it, and pressed it to her bosom. In doing this, gentle and good thoughts
+came upon her, and she reflected what a nice present this pretty bird
+would make to her sister Alizon on her return from the merry-making, and
+how pleased she should feel to give it to her. And then she thought of
+Alizon's constant kindness to her, and half reproached herself with the
+poor return she made for it, wondering she could entertain any feelings
+of envy towards one so good and amiable. All this while the dove nestled
+in her bosom.
+
+While thus pondering, the little girl felt an unaccountable drowsiness
+steal over her, and presently afterwards dropped asleep, when she had a
+very strange dream. It seemed to her that there was a contest going on
+between two spirits, a good one and a bad,--the bad one being
+represented by the great black cat, and the good spirit by the white
+dove. What they were striving about she could not exactly tell, but she
+felt that the conflict had some relation to herself. The dove at first
+appeared to have but a poor chance against the claws of its sable
+adversary, but the sharp talons of the latter made no impression upon
+the white plumage of the bird, which now shone like silver armour, and
+in the end the cat fled, yelling as it darted off--"Thou art victorious
+now, but her soul shall yet be mine."
+
+Something awakened the little sleeper at the same moment, and she felt
+very much terrified at her dream, as she could not help thinking her own
+soul might be the one in jeopardy, and her first impulse was to see
+whether the white dove was safe. Yes, there it was still nestling in her
+bosom, with its head under its wing.
+
+Just then she was startled at hearing her own name pronounced by a
+hoarse voice, and, looking up, she beheld a tall young man standing at
+the window. He had a somewhat gipsy look, having a dark olive
+complexion, and fine black eyes, though set strangely in his head, like
+those of Jennet and her mother, coal black hair, and very prominent
+features, of a sullen and almost savage cast. His figure was gaunt but
+very muscular, his arms being extremely long and his hands unusually
+large and bony--personal advantages which made him a formidable
+antagonist in any rustic encounter, and in such he was frequently
+engaged, being of a very irascible temper, and turbulent disposition. He
+was clad in a holiday suit of dark-green serge, which fitted him well,
+and carried a nosegay in one hand, and a stout blackthorn cudgel in the
+other. This young man was James Device, son of Elizabeth, and some four
+or five years older than Alizon. He did not live with his mother in
+Whalley, but in Pendle Forest, near his old relative, Mother Demdike,
+and had come over that morning to attend the wake.
+
+"Whot are ye abowt, Jennet?" inquired James Device, in tones naturally
+hoarse and deep, and which he took as little pains to soften, as he did
+to polish his manners, which were more than ordinarily rude and
+churlish.
+
+"Whot are ye abowt, ey sey, wench?" he repeated, "Why dunna ye go to t'
+green to see the morris-dancers foot it round t' May-pow? Cum along wi'
+me."
+
+"Ey dunna want to go, Jem," replied the little girl.
+
+"Boh yo shan go, ey tell ey," rejoined her brother; "ye shan see your
+sister dawnce. Ye con sit a whoam onny day; boh May-day cums ony wonst a
+year, an Alizon winna be Queen twice i' her life. Soh cum along wi' me,
+dereckly, or ey'n may ye."
+
+"Ey should like to see Alizon dance, an so ey win go wi' ye, Jem,"
+replied Jennet, getting up, "otherwise your orders shouldna may me stir,
+ey con tell ye."
+
+As she came out, she found her brother whistling the blithe air of
+"Green Sleeves," cutting strange capers, in imitation of the
+morris-dancers, and whirling his cudgel over his head instead of a
+kerchief. The gaiety of the day seemed infectious, and to have seized
+even him. People stared to see Black Jem, or Surly Jem, as he was
+indifferently called, so joyous, and wondered what it could mean. He
+then fell to singing a snatch of a local ballad at that time in vogue in
+the neighbourhood:--
+
+
+          "If thou wi' nah my secret tell,
+              Ne bruit abroad i' Whalley parish,
+          And swear to keep my counsel well,
+              Ey win declare my day of marriage."
+
+"Cum along, lass," he cried stopping suddenly in his song, and snatching
+his sister's hand. "What han ye getten there, lapped up i' your kirtle,
+eh?"
+
+"A white dove," replied Jennet, determined not to tell him any thing
+about her strange dream.
+
+"A white dove!" echoed Jem. "Gi' it me, an ey'n wring its neck, an get
+it roasted for supper."
+
+"Ye shan do nah such thing, Jem," replied Jennet. "Ey mean to gi' it to
+Alizon."
+
+"Weel, weel, that's reet," rejoined Jem, blandly, "it'll may a protty
+offering. Let's look at it."
+
+"Nah, nah," said Jennet, pressing the bird gently to her bosom, "neaw
+one shan see it efore Alizon."
+
+"Cum along then," cried Jem, rather testily, and mending his pace, "or
+we'st be too late fo' t' round. Whoy yo'n scratted yourself," he added,
+noticing the red spots on her sleeve.
+
+"Han ey?" she rejoined, evasively. "Oh now ey rekilect, it wos Tib did
+it."
+
+"Tib!" echoed Jem, gravely, and glancing uneasily at the marks.
+
+Meanwhile, on quitting the cottage, the May-day revellers had proceeded
+slowly towards the green, increasing the number of their followers at
+each little tenement they passed, and being welcomed every where with
+shouts and cheers. The hobby-horse curveted and capered; the Fool
+fleered at the girls, and flouted the men, jesting with every one, and
+when failing in a point rapping the knuckles of his auditors; Friar Tuck
+chucked the pretty girls under the chin, in defiance of their
+sweethearts, and stole a kiss from every buxom dame that stood in his
+way, and then snapped his fingers, or made a broad grimace at the
+husband; the piper played, and the taborer rattled his tambourine; the
+morris-dancers tossed their kerchiefs aloft; and the bells of the
+rush-cart jingled merrily; the men on the top being on a level with the
+roofs of the cottages, and the summits of the haystacks they passed, but
+in spite of their exalted position jesting with the crowd below. But in
+spite of these multiplied attractions, and in spite of the gambols of
+Fool and Horse, though the latter elicited prodigious laughter, the main
+attention was fixed on the May Queen, who tripped lightly along by the
+side of her faithful squire, Robin Hood, followed by the three bold
+foresters of Sherwood, and her usher.
+
+In this way they reached the green, where already a large crowd was
+collected to see them, and where in the midst of it, and above the heads
+of the assemblage, rose the lofty May-pole, with all its flowery
+garlands glittering in the sunshine, and its ribands fluttering in the
+breeze. Pleasant was it to see those cheerful groups, composed of happy
+rustics, youths in their holiday attire, and maidens neatly habited too,
+and fresh and bright as the day itself. Summer sunshine sparkled in
+their eyes, and weather and circumstance as well as genial natures
+disposed them to enjoyment. Every lass above eighteen had her
+sweetheart, and old couples nodded and smiled at each other when any
+tender speech, broadly conveyed but tenderly conceived, reached their
+ears, and said it recalled the days of their youth. Pleasant was it to
+hear such honest laughter, and such good homely jests.
+
+Laugh on, my merry lads, you are made of good old English stuff, loyal
+to church and king, and while you, and such as you, last, our land will
+be in no danger from foreign foe! Laugh on, and praise your sweethearts
+how you will. Laugh on, and blessings on your honest hearts!
+
+The frolic train had just reached the precincts of the green, when the
+usher waving his wand aloft, called a momentary halt, announcing that
+Sir Ralph Assheton and the gentry were coming forth from the Abbey gate
+to meet them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.--THE ASSHETONS.
+
+
+Between Sir Ralph Assheton of the Abbey and the inhabitants of Whalley,
+many of whom were his tenants, he being joint lord of the manor with
+John Braddyll of Portfield, the best possible feeling subsisted; for
+though somewhat austere in manner, and tinctured with Puritanism, the
+worthy knight was sufficiently shrewd, or, more correctly speaking,
+sufficiently liberal-minded, to be tolerant of the opinions of others,
+and being moreover sincere in his own religious views, no man could call
+him in question for them; besides which, he was very hospitable to his
+friends, very bountiful to the poor, a good landlord, and a humane man.
+His very austerity of manner, tempered by stately courtesy, added to the
+respect he inspired, especially as he could now and then relax into
+gaiety, and, when he did so, his smile was accounted singularly sweet.
+But in general he was grave and formal; stiff in attire, and stiff in
+gait; cold and punctilious in manner, precise in speech, and exacting in
+due respect from both high and low, which was seldom, if ever, refused
+him. Amongst Sir Ralph's other good qualities, for such it was esteemed
+by his friends and retainers, and they were, of course, the best judges,
+was a strong love of the chase, and perhaps he indulged a little too
+freely in the sports of the field, for a gentleman of a character so
+staid and decorous; but his popularity was far from being diminished by
+the circumstance; neither did he suffer the rude and boisterous
+companionship into which he was brought by indulgence in this his
+favourite pursuit in any way to affect him. Though still young, Sir
+Ralph was prematurely grey, and this, combined with the sad severity of
+his aspect, gave him the air of one considerably past the middle term of
+life, though this appearance was contradicted again by the youthful fire
+of his eagle eye. His features were handsome and strongly marked, and he
+wore a pointed beard and mustaches, with a shaved cheek. Sir Ralph
+Assheton had married twice, his first wife being a daughter of Sir James
+Bellingham of Levens, in Northumberland, by whom he had two children;
+while his second choice fell upon Eleanor Shuttleworth, the lovely and
+well-endowed heiress of Gawthorpe, to whom he had been recently united.
+In his attire, even when habited for the chase or a merry-making, like
+the present, the Knight of Whalley affected a sombre colour, and
+ordinarily wore a quilted doublet of black silk, immense trunk hose of
+the same material, stiffened with whalebone, puffed out well-wadded
+sleeves, falling bands, for he eschewed the ruff as savouring of vanity,
+boots of black flexible leather, ascending to the hose, and armed with
+spurs with gigantic rowels, a round-crowned small-brimmed black hat,
+with an ostrich feather placed in the side and hanging over the top, a
+long rapier on his hip, and a dagger in his girdle. This buckram attire,
+it will be easily conceived, contributed no little to the natural
+stiffness of his thin tall figure.
+
+Sir Ralph Assheton was great grandson of Richard Assheton, who
+flourished in the time of Abbot Paslew, and who, in conjunction with
+John Braddyll, fourteen years after the unfortunate prelate's attainder
+and the dissolution of the monastery, had purchased the abbey and
+domains of Whalley from the Crown, subsequently to which, a division of
+the property so granted took place between them, the abbey and part of
+the manor falling to the share of Richard Assheton, whose descendants
+had now for three generations made it their residence. Thus the whole of
+Whalley belonged to the families of Assheton and Braddyll, which had
+intermarried; the latter, as has been stated, dwelling at Portfield, a
+fine old seat in the neighbourhood.
+
+A very different person from Sir Ralph was his cousin, Nicholas Assheton
+of Downham, who, except as regards his Puritanism, might be considered a
+type of the Lancashire squire of the day. A precisian in religious
+notions, and constant in attendance at church and lecture, he put no
+sort of restraint upon himself, but mixed up fox-hunting, otter-hunting,
+shooting at the mark, and perhaps shooting with the long-bow,
+foot-racing, horse-racing, and, in fact, every other kind of country
+diversion, not forgetting tippling, cards, and dicing, with daily
+devotion, discourses, and psalm-singing in the oddest way imaginable. A
+thorough sportsman was Squire Nicholas Assheton, well versed in all the
+arts and mysteries of hawking and hunting. Not a man in the county could
+ride harder, hunt deer, unkennel fox, unearth badger, or spear otter,
+better than he. And then, as to tippling, he would sit you a whole
+afternoon at the alehouse, and be the merriest man there, and drink a
+bout with every farmer present. And if the parson chanced to be out of
+hearing, he would never make a mouth at a round oath, nor choose a
+second expression when the first would serve his turn. Then, who so
+constant at church or lecture as Squire Nicholas--though he did snore
+sometimes during the long sermons of his cousin, the Rector of
+Middleton? A great man was he at all weddings, christenings, churchings,
+and funerals, and never neglected his bottle at these ceremonies, nor
+any sport in doors or out of doors, meanwhile. In short, such a
+roystering Puritan was never known. A good-looking young man was the
+Squire of Downham, possessed of a very athletic frame, and a most
+vigorous constitution, which helped him, together with the prodigious
+exercise he took, through any excess. He had a sanguine complexion, with
+a broad, good-natured visage, which he could lengthen at will in a
+surprising manner. His hair was cropped close to his head, and the razor
+did daily duty over his cheek and chin, giving him the roundhead look,
+some years later, characteristic of the Puritanical party. Nicholas had
+taken to wife Dorothy, daughter of Richard Greenacres of Worston, and
+was most fortunate in his choice, which is more than can be said for his
+lady, for I cannot uphold the squire as a model of conjugal fidelity.
+Report affirmed that he loved more than one pretty girl under the rose.
+Squire Nicholas was not particular as to the quality or make of his
+clothes, provided they wore well and protected him against the weather,
+and was generally to be seen in doublet and hose of stout fustian, which
+had seen some service, with a broad-leaved hat, originally green, but of
+late bleached to a much lighter colour; but he was clad on this
+particular occasion in ash-coloured habiliments fresh from the tailor's
+hands, with buff boots drawn up to the knee, and a new round hat from
+York with a green feather in it. His legs were slightly embowed, and he
+bore himself like a man rarely out of the saddle.
+
+Downham, the residence of the squire, was a fine old house, very
+charmingly situated to the north of Pendle Hill, of which it commanded a
+magnificent view, and a few miles from Clithero. The grounds about it
+were well-wooded and beautifully broken and diversified, watered by the
+Ribble, and opening upon the lovely and extensive valley deriving its
+name from that stream. The house was in good order and well maintained,
+and the stables plentifully furnished with horses, while the hall was
+adorned with various trophies and implements of the chase; but as I
+propose paying its owner a visit, I shall defer any further description
+of the place till an opportunity arrives for examining it in detail.
+
+A third cousin of Sir Ralph's, though in the second degree, likewise
+present on the May-day in question, was the Reverend Abdias Assheton,
+Rector of Middleton, a very worthy man, who, though differing from his
+kinsmen upon some religious points, and not altogether approving of the
+conduct of one of them, was on good terms with both. The Rector of
+Middleton was portly and middle-aged, fond of ease and reading, and by
+no means indifferent to the good things of life. He was unmarried, and
+passed much of his time at Middleton Hall, the seat of his near relative
+Sir Richard Assheton, to whose family he was greatly attached, and whose
+residence closely adjoined the rectory.
+
+A fourth cousin, also present, was young Richard Assheton of Middleton,
+eldest son and heir of the owner of that estate. Possessed of all the
+good qualities largely distributed among his kinsmen, with none of their
+drawbacks, this young man was as tolerant and bountiful as Sir Ralph,
+without his austerity and sectarianism; as keen a sportsman and as bold
+a rider as Nicholas, without his propensities to excess; as studious, at
+times, and as well read as Abdias, without his laziness and
+self-indulgence; and as courtly and well-bred as his father, Sir
+Richard, who was esteemed one of the most perfect gentlemen in the
+county, without his haughtiness. Then he was the handsomest of his race,
+though the Asshetons were accounted the handsomest family in Lancashire,
+and no one minded yielding the palm to young Richard, even if it could
+be contested, he was so modest and unassuming. At this time, Richard
+Assheton was about two-and-twenty, tall, gracefully and slightly formed,
+but possessed of such remarkable vigour, that even his cousin Nicholas
+could scarcely compete with him in athletic exercises. His features were
+fine and regular, with an almost Phrygian precision of outline; his hair
+was of a dark brown, and fell in clustering curls over his brow and
+neck; and his complexion was fresh and blooming, and set off by a slight
+beard and mustache, carefully trimmed and pointed. His dress consisted
+of a dark-green doublet, with wide velvet hose, embroidered and fringed,
+descending nearly to the knee, where they were tied with points and
+ribands, met by dark stockings, and terminated by red velvet shoes with
+roses in them. A white feather adorned his black broad-leaved hat, and
+he had a rapier by his side.
+
+Amongst Sir Ralph Assheton's guests were Richard Greenacres, of Worston,
+Nicholas Assheton's father-in-law; Richard Sherborne of Dunnow, near
+Sladeburne, who had married Dorothy, Nicholas's sister; Mistress
+Robinson of Raydale House, aunt to the knight and the squire, and two of
+her sons, both stout youths, with John Braddyll and his wife, of
+Portfield. Besides these there was Master Roger Nowell, a justice of the
+peace in the county, and a very active and busy one too, who had been
+invited for an especial purpose, to be explained hereafter. Head of an
+ancient Lancashire family, residing at Read, a fine old hall, some
+little distance from Whalley, Roger Nowell, though a worthy,
+well-meaning man, dealt hard measure from the bench, and seldom tempered
+justice with mercy. He was sharp-featured, dry, and sarcastic, and being
+adverse to country sports, his presence on the occasion was the only
+thing likely to impose restraint on the revellers. Other guests there
+were, but none of particular note.
+
+The ladies of the party consisted of Lady Assheton, Mistress Nicholas
+Assheton of Downham, Dorothy Assheton of Middleton, sister to Richard, a
+lovely girl of eighteen, with light fleecy hair, summer blue eyes, and a
+complexion of exquisite purity, Mistress Sherborne of Dunnow, Mistress
+Robinson of Raydale, and Mistress Braddyll of Portfield, before
+mentioned, together with the wives and daughters of some others of the
+neighbouring gentry; most noticeable amongst whom was Mistress Alice
+Nutter of Rough Lee, in Pendle Forest, a widow lady and a relative of
+the Assheton family.
+
+Mistress Nutter might be a year or two turned of forty, but she still
+retained a very fine figure, and much beauty of feature, though of a
+cold and disagreeable cast. She was dressed in mourning, though her
+husband had been dead several years, and her rich dark habiliments well
+became her pale complexion and raven hair. A proud poor gentleman was
+Richard Nutter, her late husband, and his scanty means not enabling him
+to keep up as large an establishment as he desired, or to be as
+hospitable as his nature prompted, his temper became soured, and he
+visited his ill humours upon his wife, who, devotedly attached to him,
+to all outward appearance at least, never resented his ill treatment.
+All at once, and without any previous symptoms of ailment, or apparent
+cause, unless it might be over-fatigue in hunting the day before,
+Richard Nutter was seized with a strange and violent illness, which,
+after three or four days of acute suffering, brought him to the grave.
+During his illness he was constantly and zealously tended by his wife,
+but he displayed great aversion to her, declaring himself bewitched, and
+that an old woman was ever in the corner of his room mumbling wicked
+enchantments against him. But as no such old woman could be seen, these
+assertions were treated as delirious ravings. They were not, however,
+forgotten after his death, and some people said that he had certainly
+been bewitched, and that a waxen image made in his likeness, and stuck
+full of pins, had been picked up in his chamber by Mistress Alice and
+cast into the fire, and as soon as it melted he had expired. Such tales
+only obtained credence with the common folk; but as Pendle Forest was a
+sort of weird region, many reputed witches dwelling in it, they were the
+more readily believed, even by those who acquitted Mistress Nutter of
+all share in the dark transaction.
+
+Mistress Nutter gave the best proof that she respected her husband's
+memory by not marrying again, and she continued to lead a very secluded
+life at Rough Lee, a lonesome house in the heart of the forest. She
+lived quite by herself, for she had no children, her only daughter
+having perished somewhat strangely when quite an infant. Though a
+relative of the Asshetons, she kept up little intimacy with them, and it
+was a matter of surprise to all that she had been drawn from her
+seclusion to attend the present revel. Her motive, however, in visiting
+the Abbey, was to obtain the assistance of Sir Ralph Assheton, in
+settling a dispute between her and Roger Nowell, relative to the
+boundary line of part of their properties which came together; and this
+was the reason why the magistrate had been invited to Whalley. After
+hearing both sides of the question, and examining plans of the estates,
+which he knew to be accurate, Sir Ralph, who had been appointed umpire,
+pronounced a decision in favour of Roger Nowell, but Mistress Nutter
+refusing to abide by it, the settlement of the matter was postponed till
+the day but one following, between which time the landmarks were to be
+investigated by a certain little lawyer named Potts, who attended on
+behalf of Roger Nowell; together with Nicholas and Richard Assheton, on
+behalf of Mistress Nutter. Upon their evidence it was agreed by both
+parties that Sir Ralph should pronounce a final decision, to be accepted
+by them, and to that effect they signed an agreement. The three persons
+appointed to the investigation settled to start for Rough Lee early on
+the following morning.
+
+A word as to Master Thomas Potts. This worthy was an attorney from
+London, who had officiated as clerk of the court at the assizes at
+Lancaster, where his quickness had so much pleased Roger Nowell, that he
+sent for him to Read to manage this particular business. A sharp-witted
+fellow was Potts, and versed in all the quirks and tricks of a very
+subtle profession--not over-scrupulous, provided a client would pay
+well; prepared to resort to any expedient to gain his object, and quite
+conversant enough with both practice and precedent to keep himself
+straight. A bustling, consequential little personage was he, moreover;
+very fond of delivering an opinion, even when unasked, and of a
+meddling, make-mischief turn, constantly setting men by the ears. A suit
+of rusty black, a parchment-coloured skin, small wizen features, a
+turn-up nose, scant eyebrows, and a great yellow forehead, constituted
+his external man. He partook of the hospitality at the Abbey, but had
+his quarters at the Dragon. He it was who counselled Roger Nowell to
+abide by the decision of Sir Ralph, confidently assuring him that he
+must carry his point.
+
+This dispute was not, however, the only one the knight had to adjust, or
+in which Master Potts was concerned. A claim had recently been made by a
+certain Sir Thomas Metcalfe of Nappay, in Wensleydale, near Bainbridge,
+to the house and manor of Raydale, belonging to his neighbour, John
+Robinson, whose lady, as has been shown, was a relative of the
+Asshetons. Robinson himself had gone to London to obtain advice on the
+subject, while Sir Thomas Metcalfe, who was a man of violent
+disposition, had threatened to take forcible possession of Raydale, if
+it were not delivered to him without delay, and to eject the Robinson
+family. Having consulted Potts, however, on the subject, whom he had met
+at Read, the latter strongly dissuaded him from the course, and
+recommended him to call to his aid the strong arm of the law: but this
+he rejected, though he ultimately agreed to refer the matter to Sir
+Ralph Assheton, and for this purpose he had come over to Whalley, and
+was at present a guest at the vicarage. Thus it will be seen that Sir
+Ralph Assheton had his hands full, while the little London lawyer,
+Master Potts, was tolerably well occupied. Besides Sir Thomas Metcalfe,
+Sir Richard Molyneux, and Mr. Parker of Browsholme, were guests of Dr.
+Ormerod at the vicarage.
+
+Such was the large company assembled to witness the May-day revels at
+Whalley, and if harmonious feelings did not exist amongst all of them,
+little outward manifestation was made of enmity. The dresses and
+appointments of the pageant having been provided by Sir Ralph Assheton,
+who, Puritan as he was, encouraged all harmless country pastimes, it was
+deemed necessary to pay him every respect, even if no other feeling
+would have prompted the attention, and therefore the troop had stopped
+on seeing him and his guests issue from the Abbey gate. At pretty nearly
+the same time Doctor Ormerod and his party came from the vicarage
+towards the green.
+
+No order of march was observed, but Sir Ralph and his lady, with two of
+his children by the former marriage, walked first. Then came some of the
+other ladies, with the Rector of Middleton, John Braddyll, and the two
+sons of Mistress Robinson. Next came Mistress Nutter, Roger Nowell and
+Potts walking after her, eyeing her maliciously, as her proud figure
+swept on before them. Even if she saw their looks or overheard their
+jeers, she did not deign to notice them. Lastly came young Richard
+Assheton, of Middleton, and Squire Nicholas, both in high spirits, and
+laughing and chatting together.
+
+"A brave day for the morris-dancers, cousin Dick," observed Nicholas
+Assheton, as they approached the green, "and plenty of folk to witness
+the sport. Half my lads from Downham are here, and I see a good many of
+your Middleton chaps among them. How are you, Farmer Tetlow?" he added
+to a stout, hale-looking man, with a blooming country woman by his
+side--"brought your pretty young wife to the rush-bearing, I see."
+
+"Yeigh, squoire," rejoined the farmer, "an mightily pleased hoo be wi'
+it, too."
+
+"Happy to hear if, Master Tetlow," replied Nicholas, "she'll be better
+pleased before the day's over, I'll warrant her. I'll dance a round with
+her myself in the hall at night."
+
+"Theere now, Meg, whoy dunna ye may t' squoire a curtsy, wench, an thonk
+him," said Tetlow, nudging his pretty wife, who had turned away, rather
+embarrassed by the free gaze of the squire. Nicholas, however, did not
+wait for the curtsy, but went away, laughing, to overtake Richard
+Assheton, who had walked on.
+
+"Ah, here's Frank Garside," he continued, espying another rustic
+acquaintance. "Halloa, Frank, I'll come over one day next week, and try
+for a fox in Easington Woods. We missed the last, you know. Tom
+Brockholes, are you here? Just ridden over from Sladeburne, eh? When is
+that shooting match at the bodkin to come off, eh? Mind, it is to be at
+twenty-two roods' distance. Ride over to Downham on Thursday next, Tom.
+We're to have a foot-race, and I'll show you good sport, and at night
+we'll have a lusty drinking bout at the alehouse. On Friday, we'll take
+out the great nets, and try for salmon in the Ribble. I took some fine
+fish on Monday--one salmon of ten pounds' weight, the largest I've got
+the whole season.--I brought it with me to-day to the Abbey. There's an
+otter in the river, and I won't hunt him till you come, Tom. I shall see
+you on Thursday, eh?"
+
+Receiving an answer in the affirmative, squire Nicholas walked on,
+nodding right and left, jesting with the farmers, and ogling their
+pretty wives and daughters.
+
+"I tell you what, cousin Dick," he said, calling after Richard Assheton,
+who had got in advance of him, "I'll match my dun nag against your grey
+gelding for twenty pieces, that I reach the boundary line of the Rough
+Lee lands before you to-morrow. What, you won't have it? You know I
+shall beat you--ha! ha! Well, we'll try the speed of the two tits the
+first day we hunt the stag in Bowland Forest. Odds my life!" he cried,
+suddenly altering his deportment and lengthening his visage, "if there
+isn't our parson here. Stay with me, cousin Dick, stay with me. Give you
+good-day, worthy Mr. Dewhurst," he added, taking off his hat to the
+divine, who respectfully returned his salutation, "I did not look to see
+your reverence here, taking part in these vanities and idle sports. I
+propose to call on you on Saturday, and pass an hour in serious
+discourse. I would call to-morrow, but I have to ride over to Pendle on
+business. Tarry a moment for me, I pray you, good cousin Richard. I
+fear, reverend sir, that you will see much here that will scandalise
+you; much lightness and indecorum. Pleasanter far would it be to me to
+see a large congregation of the elders flocking together to a godly
+meeting, than crowds assembled for such a profane purpose. Another
+moment, Richard. My cousin is a young man, Mr. Dewhurst, and wishes to
+join the revel. But we must make allowances, worthy and reverend sir,
+until the world shall improve. An excellent discourse you gave us, good
+sir, on Sunday: viii. Rom. 12 and 13 verses: it is graven upon my
+memory, but I have made a note of it in my diary. I come to you, cousin,
+I come. I pray you walk on to the Abbey, good Mr. Dewhurst, where you
+will be right welcome, and call for any refreshment you may desire--a
+glass of good sack, and a slice of venison pasty, on which we have just
+dined--and there is some famous old ale, which I would commend to you,
+but that I know you care not, any more than myself, for creature
+comforts. Farewell, reverend sir. I will join you ere long, for these
+scenes have little attraction for me. But I must take care that my young
+cousin falleth not into harm."
+
+And as the divine took his way to the Abbey, he added, laughingly, to
+Richard,--"A good riddance, Dick. I would not have the old fellow play
+the spy upon us.--Ah, Giles Mercer," he added, stopping again,--"and
+Jeff Rushton--well met, lads! what, are you come to the wake? I shall be
+at John Lawe's in the evening, and we'll have a glass together--John
+brews sack rarely, and spareth not the eggs."
+
+"Boh yo'n be at th' dawncing at th' Abbey, squoire," said one of the
+farmers.
+
+"Curse the dancing!" cried Nicholas--"I hope the parson didn't hear me,"
+he added, turning round quickly. "Well, well, I'll come down when the
+dancing's over, and we'll make a night of it." And he ran on to overtake
+Richard Assheton.
+
+By this time the respective parties from the Abbey and the Vicarage
+having united, they walked on together, Sir Ralph Assheton, after
+courteously exchanging salutations with Dr. Ormerod's guests, still
+keeping a little in advance of the company. Sir Thomas Metcalfe
+comported himself with more than his wonted haughtiness, and bowed so
+superciliously to Mistress Robinson, that her two sons glanced angrily
+at each other, as if in doubt whether they should not instantly resent
+the affront. Observing this, as well as what had previously taken place,
+Nicholas Assheton stepped quickly up to them, and said--
+
+"Keep quiet, lads. Leave this dunghill cock to me, and I'll lower his
+crest."
+
+With this he pushed forward, and elbowing Sir Thomas rudely out of the
+way, turned round, and, instead of apologising, eyed him coolly and
+contemptuously from head to foot.
+
+"Are you drunk, sir, that you forget your manners?" asked Sir Thomas,
+laying his hand upon his sword.
+
+"Not so drunk but that I know how to conduct myself like a gentleman,
+Sir Thomas," rejoined Nicholas, "which is more than can be said for a
+certain person of my acquaintance, who, for aught I know, has only taken
+his morning pint."
+
+"You wish to pick a quarrel with me, Master Nicholas Assheton, I
+perceive," said Sir Thomas, stepping close up to him, "and I will not
+disappoint you. You shall render me good reason for this affront before
+I leave Whalley."
+
+"When and where you please, Sir Thomas," rejoined Nicholas, laughing.
+"At any hour, and at any weapon, I am your man."
+
+At this moment, Master Potts, who had scented a quarrel afar, and who
+would have liked it well enough if its prosecution had not run counter
+to his own interests, quitted Roger Nowell, and ran back to Metcalfe,
+and plucking him by the sleeve, said, in a low voice--
+
+"This is not the way to obtain quiet possession of Raydale House, Sir
+Thomas. Master Nicholas Assheton," he added, turning to him, "I must
+entreat you, my good sir, to be moderate. Gentlemen, both, I caution you
+that I have my eye upon you. You well know there is a magistrate here,
+my singular good friend and honoured client, Master Roger Nowell, and if
+you pursue this quarrel further, I shall hold it my duty to have you
+bound over by that worthy gentleman in sufficient securities to keep the
+peace towards our sovereign lord the king and all his lieges, and
+particularly towards each other. You understand me, gentlemen?"
+
+"Perfectly," replied Nicholas. "I drink at John Lawe's to-night, Sir
+Thomas."
+
+So saying, he walked away. Metcalfe would have followed him, but was
+withheld by Potts.
+
+"Let him go, Sir Thomas," said the little man of law; "let him go. Once
+master of Raydale, you can do as you please. Leave the settlement of the
+matter to me. I'll just whisper a word in Sir Ralph Assheton's ear, and
+you'll hear no more of it."
+
+"Fire and fury!" growled Sir Thomas. "I like not this mode of settling a
+quarrel; and unless this hot-headed psalm-singing puritan apologises, I
+shall assuredly cut his throat."
+
+"Or he yours, good Sir Thomas," rejoined Potts. "Better sit in Raydale
+Hall, than lie in the Abbey vaults."
+
+"Well, we'll talk over the matter, Master Potts," replied the knight.
+
+"A nice morning's work I've made of it," mused Nicholas, as he walked
+along; "here I have a dance with a farmer's pretty wife, a discourse
+with a parson, a drinking-bout with a couple of clowns, and a duello
+with a blustering knight on my hands. Quite enough, o' my conscience!
+but I must get through it the best way I can. And now, hey for the
+May-pole and the morris-dancers!"
+
+Nicholas just got up in time to witness the presentation of the May
+Queen to Sir Ralph Assheton and his lady, and like every one else he was
+greatly struck by her extreme beauty and natural grace.
+
+The little ceremony was thus conducted. When the company from the Abbey
+drew near the troop of revellers, the usher taking Alizon's hand in the
+tips of his fingers as before, strutted forward with her to Sir Ralph
+and his lady, and falling upon one knee before them, said,--"Most
+worshipful and honoured knight, and you his lovely dame, and you the
+tender and cherished olive branches growing round about their tables, I
+hereby crave your gracious permission to present unto your honours our
+chosen Queen of May."
+
+Somewhat fluttered by the presentation, Alizon yet maintained sufficient
+composure to bend gracefully before Lady Assheton, and say in a very
+sweet voice, "I fear your ladyship will think the choice of the village
+hath fallen ill in alighting upon me; and, indeed, I feel myself
+altogether unworthy the distinction; nevertheless I will endeavour to
+discharge my office fittingly, and therefore pray you, fair lady, and
+the worshipful knight, your husband, together with your beauteous
+children, and the gentles all by whom you are surrounded, to grace our
+little festival with your presence, hoping you may find as much pleasure
+in the sight as we shall do in offering it to you."
+
+"A fair maid, and modest as she is fair," observed Sir Ralph, with a
+condescending smile.
+
+"In sooth is she," replied Lady Assheton, raising her kindly, and
+saying, as she did so--
+
+"Nay, you must not kneel to us, sweet maid. You are queen of May, and it
+is for us to show respect to you during your day of sovereignty. Your
+wishes are commands; and, in behalf of my husband, my children, and our
+guests, I answer, that we will gladly attend your revels on the green."
+
+"Well said, dear Nell," observed Sir Ralph. "We should be churlish,
+indeed, were we to refuse the bidding of so lovely a queen."
+
+"Nay, you have called the roses in earnest to her cheek, now, Sir
+Ralph," observed Lady Assheton, smiling. "Lead on, fair queen," she
+continued, "and tell your companions to begin their sports when they
+please.--Only remember this, that we shall hope to see all your gay
+troop this evening at the Abbey, to a merry dance."
+
+"Where I will strive to find her majesty a suitable partner," added Sir
+Ralph. "Stay, she shall make her choice now, as a royal personage
+should; for you know, Nell, a queen ever chooseth her partner, whether
+it be for the throne or for the brawl. How gay you, fair one? Shall it
+be either of our young cousins, Joe or Will Robinson of Raydale; or our
+cousin who still thinketh himself young, Squire Nicholas of Downham."
+
+"Ay, let it be me, I implore of you, fair queen," interposed Nicholas.
+
+"He is engaged already," observed Richard Assheton, coming forward. "I
+heard him ask pretty Mistress Tetlow, the farmer's wife, to dance with
+him this evening at the Abbey."
+
+A loud laugh from those around followed this piece of information, but
+Nicholas was in no wise disconcerted.
+
+"Dick would have her choose him, and that is why he interferes with me,"
+he observed. "How say you, fair queen! Shall it be our hopeful cousin? I
+will answer for him that he danceth the coranto and lavolta
+indifferently well."
+
+On hearing Richard Assheton's voice, all the colour had forsaken
+Alizon's cheeks; but at this direct appeal to her by Nicholas, it
+returned with additional force, and the change did not escape the quick
+eye of Lady Assheton.
+
+"You perplex her, cousin Nicholas," she said.
+
+"Not a whit, Eleanor," answered the squire; "but if she like not Dick
+Assheton, there is another Dick, Dick Sherburne of Sladeburn; or our
+cousin, Jack Braddyll; or, if she prefer an older and discreeter man,
+there is Father Greenacres of Worston, or Master Roger Nowell of
+Read--plenty of choice."
+
+"Nay, if I must choose a partner, it shall be a young one," said Alizon.
+
+"Right, fair queen, right," cried Nicholas, laughing. "Ever choose a
+young man if you can. Who shall it be?"
+
+"You have named him yourself, sir," replied Alizon, in a voice which she
+endeavoured to keep firm, but which, in spite of all her efforts,
+sounded tremulously--"Master Richard Assheton."
+
+"Next to choosing me, you could not have chosen better," observed
+Nicholas, approvingly. "Dick, lad, I congratulate thee."
+
+"I congratulate myself," replied the young man. "Fair queen," he added,
+advancing, "highly flattered am I by your choice, and shall so demean
+myself, I trust, as to prove myself worthy of it. Before I go, I would
+beg a boon from you--that flower."
+
+"This pink," cried Alizon. "It is yours, fair sir."
+
+Young Assheton took the flower and took the hand that offered it at the
+same time, and pressed the latter to his lips; while Lady Assheton, who
+had been made a little uneasy by Alizon's apparent emotion, and who with
+true feminine tact immediately detected its cause, called out: "Now,
+forward--forward to the May-pole! We have interrupted the revel too
+long."
+
+Upon this the May Queen stepped blushingly back with the usher, who,
+with his white wand in hand, had stood bolt upright behind her,
+immensely delighted with the scene in which his pupil--for Alizon had
+been tutored by him for the occasion--had taken part. Sir Ralph then
+clapped his hands loudly, and at this signal the tabor and pipe struck
+up; the Fool and the Hobby-horse, who, though idle all the time, had
+indulged in a little quiet fun with the rustics, recommenced their
+gambols; the Morris-dancers their lively dance; and the whole train
+moved towards the May-pole, followed by the rush-cart, with all its
+bells jingling, and all its garlands waving.
+
+As to Alizon, her brain was in a whirl, and her bosom heaved so quickly,
+that she thought she should faint. To think that the choice of a partner
+in the dance at the Abbey had been offered her, and that she should
+venture to choose Master Richard Assheton! She could scarcely credit her
+own temerity. And then to think that she should give him a flower, and,
+more than all, that he should kiss her hand in return for it! She felt
+the tingling pressure of his lips upon her finger still, and her little
+heart palpitated strangely.
+
+As she approached the May-pole, and the troop again halted for a few
+minutes, she saw her brother James holding little Jennet by the hand,
+standing in the front line to look at her.
+
+"Oh, how I'm glad to see you here, Jennet!" she cried.
+
+"An ey'm glad to see yo, Alizon," replied the little girl. "Jem has towd
+me whot a grand partner you're to ha' this e'en." And, she added, with
+playful malice, "Who was wrong whon she said the queen could choose
+Master Richard--"
+
+"Hush, Jennet, not a word more," interrupted Alizon, blushing.
+
+"Oh! ey dunna mean to vex ye, ey'm sure," replied Jennet. "Ey've got a
+present for ye."
+
+"A present for me, Jennet," cried Alizon; "what is it?"
+
+"A beautiful white dove," replied the little girl.
+
+"A white dove! Where did you get it? Let me see it," cried Alizon, in a
+breath.
+
+"Here it is," replied Jennet, opening her kirtle.
+
+"A beautiful bird, indeed," cried Alizon. "Take care of it for me till I
+come home."
+
+"Which winna be till late, ey fancy," rejoined Jennet, roguishly. "Ah!"
+she added, uttering a cry.
+
+The latter exclamation was occasioned by the sudden flight of the dove,
+which, escaping from her hold, soared aloft. Jennet followed the course
+of its silver wings, as they cleaved the blue sky, and then all at once
+saw a large hawk, which apparently had been hovering about, swoop down
+upon it, and bear it off. Some white feathers fell down near the little
+girl, and she picked up one of them and put it in her breast.
+
+"Poor bird!" exclaimed the May Queen.
+
+"Eigh, poor bird!" echoed Jennet, tearfully. "Ah, ye dunna knoa aw,
+Alizon."
+
+"Weel, there's neaw use whimpering abowt a duv," observed Jem, gruffly.
+"Ey'n bring ye another t' furst time ey go to Cown."
+
+"There's nah another bird like that," sobbed the little girl. "Shoot
+that cruel hawk fo' me, Jem, win ye."
+
+"How conney wench, whon its flown away?" he replied. "Boh ey'n rob a
+hawk's neest fo ye, if that'll do os weel."
+
+"Yo dunna understand me, Jem," replied the child, sadly.
+
+At this moment, the music, which had ceased while some arrangements were
+made, commenced a very lively tune, known as "Round about the May-pole,"
+and Robin Hood, taking the May Queen's hand, led her towards the pole,
+and placing her near it, the whole of her attendants took hands, while a
+second circle was formed by the morris-dancers, and both began to wheel
+rapidly round her, the music momently increasing in spirit and
+quickness. An irresistible desire to join in the measure seized some of
+the lads and lasses around, and they likewise took hands, and presently
+a third and still wider circle was formed, wheeling gaily round the
+other two. Other dances were formed here and there, and presently the
+whole green was in movement.
+
+"If you come off heart-whole to-night, Dick, I shall be surprised,"
+observed Nicholas, who with his young relative had approached as near
+the May-pole as the three rounds of dancers would allow them.
+
+Richard Assheton made no reply, but glanced at the pink which he had
+placed in his doublet.
+
+"Who is the May Queen?" inquired Sir Thomas Metcalfe, who had likewise
+drawn near, of a tall man holding a little girl by the hand.
+
+"Alizon, dowter of Elizabeth Device, an mey sister," replied James
+Device, gruffly.
+
+"Humph!" muttered Sir Thomas, "she is a well-looking lass. And she
+dwells here--in Whalley, fellow?" he added.
+
+"Hoo dwells i' Whalley," responded Jem, sullenly.
+
+"I can easily find her abode," muttered the knight, walking away.
+
+"What was it Sir Thomas said to you, Jem?" inquired Nicholas, who had
+watched the knight's gestures, coming up.
+
+Jem related what had passed between them.
+
+"What the devil does he want with her?" cried Nicholas. "No good, I'm
+sure. But I'll spoil his sport."
+
+"Say boh t' word, squoire, an ey'n break every boan i' his body,"
+remarked Jem.
+
+"No, no, Jem," replied Nicholas. "Take care of your pretty sister, and
+I'll take care of him."
+
+At this juncture, Sir Thomas, who, in spite of the efforts of the
+pacific Master Potts to tranquillise him, had been burning with wrath at
+the affront he had received from Nicholas, came up to Richard Assheton,
+and, noticing the pink in his bosom, snatched it away suddenly.
+
+"I want a flower," he said, smelling at it.
+
+"Instantly restore it, Sir Thomas!" cried Richard Assheton, pale with
+rage, "or--"
+
+"What will you do, young sir?" rejoined the knight tauntingly, and
+plucking the flower in pieces. "You can get another from the fair nymph
+who gave you this."
+
+Further speech was not allowed the knight, for he received a violent
+blow on the chest from the hand of Richard Assheton, which sent him
+reeling backwards, and would have felled him to the ground if he had not
+been caught by some of the bystanders. The moment he recovered, Sir
+Thomas drew his sword, and furiously assaulted young Assheton, who stood
+ready for him, and after the exchange of a few passes, for none of the
+bystanders dared to interfere, sent his sword whirling over their heads
+through the air.
+
+"Bravo, Dick," cried Nicholas, stepping up, and clapping his cousin on
+the back, "you have read him a good lesson, and taught him that he
+cannot always insult folks with impunity, ha! ha!" And he laughed loudly
+at the discomfited knight.
+
+"He is an insolent coward," said Richard Assheton. "Give him his sword
+and let him come on again."
+
+"No, no," said Nicholas, "he has had enough this time. And if he has
+not, he must settle an account with me. Put up your blade, lad."
+
+"I'll be revenged upon you both," said Sir Thomas, taking his sword,
+which had been brought him by a bystander, and stalking away.
+
+"You leave us in mortal dread, doughty knight," cried Nicholas, shouting
+after him, derisively--"ha! ha! ha!"
+
+Richard Assheton's attention was, however, turned in a different
+direction, for the music suddenly ceasing, and the dancers stopping, he
+learnt that the May Queen had fainted, and presently afterwards the
+crowd opened to give passage to Robin Hood, who bore her inanimate form
+in his arms.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.--ALICE NUTTER.
+
+
+The quarrel between Nicholas Assheton and Sir Thomas Metcalfe had
+already been made known to Sir Ralph by the officious Master Potts, and
+though it occasioned the knight much displeasure; as interfering with
+the amicable arrangement he hoped to effect with Sir Thomas for his
+relatives the Robinsons, still he felt sure that he had sufficient
+influence with his hot-headed cousin, the squire, to prevent the dispute
+from being carried further, and he only waited the conclusion of the
+sports on the green, to take him to task. What was the knight's surprise
+and annoyance, therefore, to find that a new brawl had sprung up, and,
+ignorant of its precise cause, he laid it entirely at the door of the
+turbulent Nicholas. Indeed, on the commencement of the fray he imagined
+that the squire was personally concerned in it, and full of wroth, flew
+to the scene of action; but before he got there, the affair, which, as
+has been seen, was of short duration, was fully settled, and he only
+heard the jeers addressed to the retreating combatant by Nicholas. It
+was not Sir Ralph's way to vent his choler in words, but the squire knew
+in an instant, from the expression of his countenance, that he was
+greatly incensed, and therefore hastened to explain.
+
+"What means this unseemly disturbance, Nicholas?" cried Sir Ralph, not
+allowing the other to speak. "You are ever brawling like an Alsatian
+squire. Independently of the ill example set to these good folk, who
+have met here for tranquil amusement, you have counteracted all my plans
+for the adjustment of the differences between Sir Thomas Metcalfe and
+our aunt of Raydale. If you forget what is due to yourself, sir, do not
+forget what is due to me, and to the name you bear."
+
+"No one but yourself should say as much to me, Sir Ralph," rejoined
+Nicholas somewhat haughtily; "but you are under a misapprehension. It is
+not I who have been fighting, though I should have acted in precisely
+the same manner as our cousin Dick, if I had received the same affront,
+and so I make bold to say would you. Our name shall suffer no discredit
+from me; and as a gentleman, I assert, that Sir Thomas Metcalfe has
+only received due chastisement, as you yourself will admit, cousin, when
+you know all."
+
+"I know him to be overbearing," observed Sir Ralph.
+
+"Overbearing is not the word, cousin," interrupted Nicholas; "he is as
+proud as a peacock, and would trample upon us all, and gore us too, like
+one of the wild bulls of Bowland, if we would let him have his way. But
+I would treat him as I would the bull aforesaid, a wild boar, or any
+other savage and intractable beast, hunt him down, and poll his horns,
+or pluck out his tusks."
+
+"Come, come, Nicholas, this is no very gentle language," remarked Sir
+Ralph.
+
+"Why, to speak truth, cousin, I do not feel in any very gentle frame of
+mind," rejoined the squire; "my ire has been roused by this insolent
+braggart, my blood is up, and I long to be doing."
+
+"Unchristian feelings, Nicholas," said Sir Ralph, severely, "and should
+be overcome. Turn the other cheek to the smiter. I trust you bear no
+malice to Sir Thomas."
+
+"I bear him no malice, for I hope malice is not in my nature, cousin,"
+replied Nicholas, "but I owe him a grudge, and when a fitting
+opportunity occurs--"
+
+"No more of this, unless you would really incur my displeasure,"
+rejoined Sir Ralph; "the matter has gone far enough, too far, perhaps
+for amendment, and if you know it not, I can tell you that Sir Thomas's
+claims to Raydale will be difficult to dispute, and so our uncle
+Robinson has found since he hath taken counsel on the case."
+
+"Have a care, Sir Ralph," said Nicholas, noticing that Master Potts was
+approaching them, with his ears evidently wide open, "there is that
+little London lawyer hovering about. But I'll give the cunning fox a
+double. I'm glad to hear you say so, Sir Ralph," he added, in a tone
+calculated to reach Potts, "and since our uncle Robinson is so sure of
+his cause, it may be better to let this blustering knight be. Perchance,
+it is the certainty of failure that makes him so insensate."
+
+"This is meant to blind me, but it shall not serve your turn, cautelous
+squire," muttered Potts; "I caught enough of what fell just now from Sir
+Ralph to satisfy me that he hath strong misgivings. But it is best not
+to appear too secure.--Ah, Sir Ralph," he added, coming forward, "I was
+right, you see, in my caution. I am a man of peace, and strive to
+prevent quarrels and bloodshed. Quarrel if you please--and unfortunately
+men are prone to anger--but always settle your disputes in a court of
+law; always in a court of law, Sir Ralph. That is the only arena where a
+sensible man should ever fight. Take good advice, fee your counsel well,
+and the chances are ten to one in your favour. That is what I say to my
+worthy and singular good client, Sir Thomas; but he is somewhat
+headstrong and vehement, and will not listen to me. He is for settling
+matters by the sword, for making forcible entries and detainers, and
+ousting the tenants in possession, whereby he would render himself
+liable to arrest, fine, ransom, and forfeiture; instead of proceeding
+cautiously and decorously as the law directs, and as I advise, Sir
+Ralph, by writ of _ejectione firmae_ or action of trespass, the which
+would assuredly establish his title, and restore him the house and
+lands. Or he may proceed by writ of right, which perhaps, in his case,
+considering the long absence of possession, and the doubts supposed to
+perplex the title--though I myself have no doubts about it--would be the
+most efficacious. These are your only true weapons, Sir Ralph--your
+writs of entry, assise, and right--your pleas of novel disseisin,
+post-disseisin, and re-disseisin--your remitters, your praecipes, your
+pones, and your recordari faciases. These are the sword, shield, and
+armour of proof of a wise man."
+
+"Zounds! you take away one's breath with this hail-storm of writs and
+pleas, master lawyer!" cried Nicholas. "But in one respect I am of your
+'worthy and singular good' client's, opinion, and would rather trust to
+my own hand for the defence of my property than to the law to keep it
+for me."
+
+"Then you would do wrong, good Master Nicholas," rejoined Potts, with a
+smile of supreme contempt; "for the law is the better guardian and the
+stronger adversary of the two, and so Sir Thomas will find if he takes
+my advice, and obtains, as he can and will do, a perfect title _juris et
+seisinae conjunctionem_."
+
+"Sir Thomas is still willing to refer the case to my arbitrament, I
+believe, sir?" demanded Sir Ralph, uneasily.
+
+"He was so, Sir Ralph," rejoined Potts, "unless the assaults and
+batteries, with intent to do him grievous corporeal hurt, which he hath
+sustained from your relatives, have induced a change of mind in him. But
+as I premised, Sir Ralph, I am a man of peace, and willing to
+intermediate."
+
+"Provided you get your fee, master lawyer," observed Nicholas,
+sarcastically.
+
+"Certainly, I object not to the _quiddam honorarium_, Master Nicholas,"
+rejoined Potts; "and if my client hath the _quid pro quo_, and gaineth
+his point, he cannot complain.--But what is this? Some fresh
+disturbance!"
+
+"Something hath happened to the May Queen," cried Nicholas.
+
+"I trust not," said Sir Ralph, with real concern. "Ha! she has fainted.
+They are bringing her this way. Poor maid! what can have occasioned this
+sudden seizure?"
+
+"I think I could give a guess," muttered Nicholas. "Better remove her to
+the Abbey," he added aloud to the knight.
+
+"You are right," said Sir Ralph. "Our cousin Dick is near her, I
+observe. He shall see her conveyed there at once."
+
+At this moment Lady Assheton and Mrs. Nutter, with some of the other
+ladies, came up.
+
+"Just in time, Nell," cried the knight. "Have you your smelling-bottle
+about you? The May Queen has fainted."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Lady Assheton, springing towards Alizon, who was now
+sustained by young Richard Assheton; the forester having surrendered her
+to him. "How has this happened?" she inquired, giving her to breathe at
+a small phial.
+
+"That I cannot tell you, cousin," replied Richard Assheton, "unless from
+some sudden fright."
+
+"That was it, Master Richard," cried Robin Hood; "she cried out on
+hearing the clashing of swords just now, and, I think, pronounced your
+name, on finding you engaged with Sir Thomas, and immediately after
+turned pale, and would have fallen if I had not caught her."
+
+"Ah, indeed!" exclaimed Lady Assheton, glancing at Richard, whose eyes
+fell before her inquiring gaze. "But see, she revives," pursued the
+lady. "Let me support her head."
+
+As she spoke Alizon opened her eyes, and perceiving Richard Assheton,
+who had relinquished her to his relative, standing beside her, she
+exclaimed, "Oh! you are safe! I feared"--And then she stopped, greatly
+embarrassed.
+
+"You feared he might be in danger from his fierce adversary," supplied
+Lady Assheton; "but no. The conflict is happily over, and he is unhurt."
+
+"I am glad of it," said Alizon, earnestly.
+
+"She had better be taken to the Abbey," remarked Sir Ralph, coming up.
+
+"Nay, she will be more at ease at home," observed Lady Assheton with a
+significant look, which, however, failed in reaching her husband.
+
+"Yes, truly shall I, gracious lady," replied Alizon, "far more so. I
+have given you trouble enough already."
+
+"No trouble at all," said Sir Ralph, kindly; "her ladyship is too happy
+to be of service in a case like this. Are you not, Nell? The faintness
+will pass off presently. But let her go to the Abbey at once, and remain
+there till the evening's festivities, in which she takes part, commence.
+Give her your arm, Dick."
+
+Sir Ralph's word was law, and therefore Lady Assheton made no
+remonstrance. But she said quickly, "I will take care of her myself."
+
+"I require no assistance, madam," replied Alizon, "since Sir Ralph will
+have me go. Nay, you are too kind, too condescending," she added,
+reluctantly taking Lady Assheton's proffered arm.
+
+And in this way they proceeded slowly towards the Abbey, escorted by
+Richard Assheton, and attended by Mistress Braddyll and some others of
+the ladies.
+
+Amongst those who had watched the progress of the May Queen's
+restoration with most interest was Mistress Nutter, though she had not
+interfered; and as Alizon departed with Lady Assheton, she observed to
+Nicholas, who was standing near,
+
+"Can this be the daughter of Elizabeth Device, and grand-daughter of--"
+
+"Your old Pendle witch, Mother Demdike," supplied Nicholas; "the very
+same, I assure you, Mistress Nutter."
+
+"She is wholly unlike the family," observed the lady, "and her features
+resemble some I have seen before."
+
+"She does not resemble her mother, undoubtedly," replied Nicholas,
+"though what her grand-dame may have been some sixty years ago, when she
+was Alizon's age, it would be difficult to say.--She is no beauty now."
+
+"Those finely modelled features, that graceful figure, and those
+delicate hands, cannot surely belong to one lowly born and bred?" said
+Mistress Nutter.
+
+"They differ from the ordinary peasant mould, truly," replied Nicholas.
+"If you ask me for the lineage of a steed, I can give a guess at it on
+sight of the animal, but as regards our own race I'm at fault, Mistress
+Nutter."
+
+"I must question Elizabeth Device about her," observed Alice. "Strange,
+I should never have seen her before, though I know the family so well."
+
+"I wish you did not know Mother Demdike quite so well, Mistress Nutter,"
+remarked Nicholas--"a mischievous and malignant old witch, who deserves
+the tar barrel. The only marvel is, that she has not been burned long
+ago. I am of opinion, with many others, that it was she who bewitched
+your poor husband, Richard Nutter."
+
+"I do not think it," replied Mistress Nutter, with a mournful shake of
+the head. "Alas, poor man! he died from hard riding, after hard
+drinking. That was the only witchcraft in his case. Be warned by his
+fate yourself, Nicholas."
+
+"Hard riding after drinking was more likely to sober him than to kill
+him," rejoined the squire. "But, as I said just now, I like not this
+Mother Demdike, nor her rival in iniquity, old Mother Chattox. The devil
+only knows which of the two is worst. But if the former hag did not
+bewitch your husband to death, as I shrewdly suspect, it is certain that
+the latter mumbling old miscreant killed my elder brother, Richard, by
+her sorceries."
+
+"Mother Chattox did you a good turn then, Nicholas," observed Mistress
+Nutter, "in making you master of the fair estates of Downham."
+
+"So far, perhaps, she might," rejoined Nicholas, "but I do not like the
+manner of it, and would gladly see her burned; nay, I would fire the
+fagots myself."
+
+"You are superstitious as the rest, Nicholas," said Mistress Nutter.
+"For my part I do not believe in the existence of witches."
+
+"Not believe in witches, with these two living proofs to the contrary!"
+cried Nicholas, in amazement. "Why, Pendle Forest swarms with witches.
+They burrow in the hill-side like rabbits in a warren. They are the
+terror of the whole country. No man's cattle, goods, nor even life, are
+safe from them; and the only reason why these two old hags, who hold
+sovereign sway over the others, have 'scaped justice so long, is because
+every one is afraid to go near them. Their solitary habitations are more
+strongly guarded than fortresses. Not believe in witches! Why I should
+as soon misdoubt the Holy Scriptures."
+
+"It may be because I reside near them that I have so little
+apprehension, or rather no apprehension at all," replied Mistress
+Nutter; "but to me Mother Demdike and Mother Chattox appear two harmless
+old women."
+
+"They're a couple of dangerous and damnable old hags, and deserve the
+stake," cried Nicholas, emphatically.
+
+All this discourse had been swallowed with greedy ears by the
+ever-vigilant Master Potts, who had approached the speakers unperceived;
+and he now threw in a word.
+
+"So there are suspected witches in Pendle Forest, I find," he said. "I
+shall make it my business to institute inquiries concerning them, when I
+visit the place to-morrow. Even if merely ill-reputed, they must be
+examined, and if found innocent cleared; if not, punished according to
+the statute. Our sovereign lord the king holdeth witches in especial
+abhorrence, and would gladly see all such noxious vermin extirpated from
+the land, and it will rejoice me to promote his laudable designs. I must
+pray you to afford me all the assistance you can in the discovery of
+these dreadful delinquents, good Master Nicholas, and I will care that
+your services are duly represented in the proper quarter. As I have just
+said, the king taketh singular interest in witchcraft, as you may judge
+if the learned tractate he hath put forth, in form of a dialogue,
+intituled "_Daemonologie_" hath ever met your eye; and he is never so
+well pleased as when the truth of his tenets are proved by such secret
+offenders being brought to light, and duly punished."
+
+"The king's known superstitious dread of witches makes men seek them out
+to win his favour," observed Mistress Nutter. "They have wonderfully
+increased since the publication of that baneful book!"
+
+"Not so, madam," replied Potts. "Our sovereign lord the king hath a
+wholesome and just hatred of such evil-doers and traitors to himself and
+heaven, and it may be dread of them, as indeed all good men must have;
+but he would protect his subjects from them, and therefore, in the first
+year of his reign, which I trust will be long and prosperous, he hath
+passed a statute, whereby it is enacted 'that all persons invoking any
+evil spirit, or consulting, covenanting with, entertaining, employing,
+feeding, or rewarding any evil spirit; or taking up dead bodies from
+their graves to be used in any witchcraft, sorcery, charm, or
+enchantment; or killing or otherwise hurting any person by such infernal
+arts, shall be guilty of felony without benefit of clergy, and suffer
+death.' This statute, madam, was intended to check the crimes of
+necromancy, sorcery, and witchcraft, and not to increase them. And I
+maintain that it has checked them, and will continue to check them."
+
+"It is a wicked and bloody statute," observed Mrs. Nutter, in a deep
+tone, "and many an innocent life will be sacrificed thereby."
+
+"How, madam!" cried Master Potts, staring aghast. "Do you mean to impugn
+the sagacity and justice of our high and mighty king, the head of the
+law, and defender of the faith?"
+
+"I affirm that this is a sanguinary enactment," replied Mistress Nutter,
+"and will put power into hands that will abuse it, and destroy many
+guiltless persons. It will make more witches than it will find."
+
+"Some are ready made, methinks," muttered Potts, "and we need not go far
+to find them. You are a zealous advocate for witches, I must say,
+madam," he added aloud, "and I shall not forget your arguments in their
+favour."
+
+"To my prejudice, I doubt not," she rejoined, bitterly.
+
+"No, to the credit of your humanity," he answered, bowing, with
+pretended conviction.
+
+"Well, I will aid you in your search for witches, Master Potts,"
+observed Nicholas; "for I would gladly see the country rid of these
+pests. But I warn you the quest will be attended with risk, and you will
+get few to accompany you, for all the folk hereabouts are mortally
+afraid of these terrible old hags."
+
+"I fear nothing in the discharge of my duty," replied Master Potts,
+courageously, "for as our high and mighty sovereign hath well and
+learnedly observed--'if witches be but apprehended and detained by any
+private person, upon other private respects, their power, no doubt,
+either in escaping, or in doing hurt, is no less than ever it was
+before. But if, on the other part, their apprehending and detention be
+by the lawful magistrate upon the just respect of their guiltiness in
+that craft, their power is then no greater than before that ever they
+meddled with their master. For where God begins justly to strike by his
+lawful lieutenants, it is not in the devil's power to defraud or bereave
+him of the office or effect of his powerful and revenging sceptre.' Thus
+I am safe; and I shall take care to go armed with a proper warrant,
+which I shall obtain from a magistrate, my honoured friend and singular
+good client, Master Roger Newell. This will obtain me such assistance as
+I may require, and for due observance of my authority. I shall likewise
+take with me a peace-officer, or constable."
+
+"You will do well, Master Potts," said Nicholas; "still you must not
+put faith in all the idle tales told you, for the common folk hereabouts
+are blindly and foolishly superstitious, and fancy they discern
+witchcraft in every mischance, however slight, that befalls them. If ale
+turn sour after a thunder-storm, the witch hath done it; and if the
+butter cometh not quickly, she hindereth it. If the meat roast ill the
+witch hath turned the spit; and if the lumber pie taste ill she hath had
+a finger in it. If your sheep have the foot-rot--your horses the
+staggers or string-halt--your swine the measles--your hounds a
+surfeit--or your cow slippeth her calf--the witch is at the bottom of it
+all. If your maid hath a fit of the sullens, or doeth her work amiss, or
+your man breaketh a dish, the witch is in fault, and her shoulders can
+bear the blame. On this very day of the year--namely, May Day,--the
+foolish folk hold any aged crone who fetcheth fire to be a witch, and if
+they catch a hedge-hog among their cattle, they will instantly beat it
+to death with sticks, concluding it to be an old hag in that form come
+to dry up the milk of their kine."
+
+"These are what Master Potts's royal authority would style 'mere old
+wives' trattles about the fire,'" observed Mistress Nutter, scornfully.
+
+"Better be over-credulous than over-sceptical," replied Potts. "Even at
+my lodging in Chancery Lane I have a horseshoe nailed against the door.
+One cannot be too cautious when one has to fight against the devil, or
+those in league with him. Your witch should be put to every ordeal. She
+should be scratched with pins to draw blood from her; weighed against
+the church bible, though this is not always proof; forced to weep, for a
+witch can only shed three tears, and those only from the left eye; or,
+as our sovereign lord the king truly observeth--no offence to you,
+Mistress Nutter--'Not so much as their eyes are able to shed tears,
+albeit the womenkind especially be able otherwise to shed tears at every
+light occasion when they will, yea, although it were dissemblingly like
+the crocodile;' and set on a stool for twenty-four hours, with her legs
+tied across, and suffered neither to eat, drink, nor sleep during the
+time. This is the surest Way to make her confess her guilt next to
+swimming. If it fails, then cast her with her thumbs and toes tied
+across into a pond, and if she sink not then is she certainly a witch.
+Other trials there are, as that by scalding water--sticking knives
+across--heating of the horseshoe--tying of knots--the sieve and the
+shears; but the only ordeals safely to be relied on, are the swimming
+and the stool before mentioned, and from these your witch shall rarely
+escape. Above all, be sure and search carefully for the witch-mark. I
+doubt not we shall find it fairly and legibly writ in the devil's
+characters on Mother Demdike and Mother Chattox. They shall undergo the
+stool and the pool, and other trials, if required. These old hags shall
+no longer vex you, good Master Nicholas. Leave them to me, and doubt
+not I will bring them to condign punishment."
+
+"You will do us good service then, Master Potts," replied Nicholas. "But
+since you are so learned in the matter of witchcraft, resolve me, I pray
+you, how it is, that women are so much more addicted to the practice of
+the black art than our own sex."
+
+"The answer to the inquiry hath been given by our British Solomon,"
+replied Potts, "and I will deliver it to you in his own words. 'The
+reason is easy,' he saith; 'for as that sex is frailer than man is, so
+it is easier to be entrapped in those gross snares of the devil, as was
+overwell proved to be true, by the serpent's deceiving of Eva at the
+beginning, which makes him the homelier with that sex sensine.'"
+
+"A good and sufficient reason, Master Potts," said Nicholas, laughing;
+"is it not so, Mistress Nutter?"
+
+"Ay, marry, if it satisfies you," she answered, drily. "It is of a piece
+with the rest of the reasoning of the royal pedant, whom Master Potts
+styles the British Solomon."
+
+"I only give the learned monarch the title by which he is recognised
+throughout Christendom," rejoined Potts, sharply.
+
+"Well, there is comfort in the thought, that I shall never be taken for
+a wizard," said the squire.
+
+"Be not too sure of that, good Master Nicholas," returned Potts. "Our
+present prince seems to have had you in his eye when he penned his
+description of a wizard, for, he saith, 'A great number of them that
+ever have been convict or confessors of witchcraft, as may be presently
+seen by many that have at this time confessed, are some of them rich and
+worldly-wise; some of them fat or corpulent in their bodies; and most
+part of them altogether given over to the pleasures of the flesh,
+continual haunting of company, and all kinds of merriness, lawful and
+unlawful.' This hitteth you exactly, Master Nicholas."
+
+"Zounds!" exclaimed the squire, "if this be exact, it toucheth me too
+nearly to be altogether agreeable."
+
+"The passage is truly quoted, Nicholas," observed Mistress Nutter, with
+a cold smile. "I perfectly remember it. Master Potts seems to have the
+'Daemonologie' at his fingers' ends."
+
+"I have made it my study, madam," replied the lawyer, somewhat mollified
+by the remark, "as I have the statute on witchcraft, and indeed most
+other statutes."
+
+"We have wasted time enough in this unprofitable talk," said Mistress
+Nutter, abruptly quitting them without bestowing the slightest
+salutation on Potts.
+
+"I was but jesting in what I said just now, good Master Nicholas,"
+observed the little lawyer, nowise disconcerted at the slight "though
+they were the king's exact words I quoted. No one would suspect you of
+being a wizard--ha!--ha! But I am resolved to prosecute the search, and
+I calculate upon your aid, and that of Master Richard Assheton, who goes
+with us."
+
+"You shall have mine, at all events, Master Potts," replied Nicholas;
+"and I doubt not, my cousin Dick's, too."
+
+"Our May Queen, Alizon Device, is Mother Demdike's grand-daughter, is
+she not?" asked Potts, after a moment's reflection.
+
+"Ay, why do you ask?" demanded Nicholas.
+
+"For a good and sufficing reason," replied Potts. "She might be an
+important witness; for, as King James saith, 'bairns or wives may, of
+our law, serve for sufficient witnesses and proofs.' And he goeth on to
+say, 'For who but witches can be proofs, and so witnesses of the doings
+of witches?'"
+
+"You do not mean to aver that Alizon Device is a witch, sir?" cried
+Nicholas, sharply.
+
+"I aver nothing," replied Potts; "but, as a relative of a suspected
+witch, she will be the best witness against her."
+
+"If you design to meddle with Alizon Device, expect no assistance from
+me, Master Potts," said Nicholas, sternly, "but rather the contrary."
+
+"Nay, I but threw out the hint, good Master Nicholas," replied Potts.
+"Another witness will do equally well. There are other children, no
+doubt. I rely on you, sir--I rely on you. I shall now go in search of
+Master Nowell, and obtain the warrant and the constable."
+
+"And I shall go keep my appointment with Parson Dewhurst, at the Abbey,"
+said Nicholas, bowing slightly to the attorney, and taking his
+departure.
+
+"It will not do to alarm him at present," said Potts, looking after him,
+"but I'll have that girl as a witness, and I know how to terrify her
+into compliance. A singular woman, that Mistress Alice Nutter. I must
+inquire into her history. Odd, how obstinately she set her face against
+witchcraft. And yet she lives at Rough Lee, in the very heart of a witch
+district, for such Master Nicholas Assheton calls this Pendle Forest. I
+shouldn't wonder if she has dealings with the old hags she
+defends--Mother Demdike and Mother Chattox. Chattox! Lord bless us, what
+a name!--There's caldron and broomstick in the very sound! And Demdike
+is little better. Both seem of diabolical invention. If I can unearth a
+pack of witches, I shall gain much credit from my honourable good lords
+the judges of assize in these northern parts, besides pleasing the King
+himself, who is sure to hear of it, and reward my praiseworthy zeal.
+Look to yourself, Mistress Nutter, and take care you are not caught
+tripping. And now, for Master Roger Nowell."
+
+With this, he peered about among the crowd in search of the magistrate,
+but though he thrust his little turned-up nose in every direction, he
+could not find him, and therefore set out for the Abbey, concluding he
+had gone thither.
+
+As Mistress Nutter walked along, she perceived James Device among the
+crowd, holding Jennet by the hand, and motioned him to come to her. Jem
+instantly understood the sign, and quitting his little sister, drew
+near.
+
+"Tell thy mother," said Mistress Nutter, in a tone calculated only for
+his hearing, "to come to me, at the Abbey, quickly and secretly. I shall
+be in the ruins of the old convent church. I have somewhat to say to
+her, that concerns herself as well as me. Thou wilt have to go to Rough
+Lee and Malkin Tower to-night."
+
+Jem nodded, to show his perfect apprehension of what was said and his
+assent to it, and while Mistress Nutter moved on with a slow and
+dignified step, he returned to Jennet, and told her she must go home
+directly, a piece of intelligence which was not received very graciously
+by the little maiden; but nothing heeding her unwillingness, Jem walked
+her off quickly in the direction of the cottage; but while on the way to
+it, they accidentally encountered their mother, Elizabeth Device, and
+therefore stopped.
+
+"Yo mun go up to th' Abbey directly, mother," said Jem, with a wink,
+"Mistress Nutter wishes to see ye. Yo'n find her i' t' ruins o' t' owd
+convent church. Tak kere yo're neaw seen. Yo onderstond."
+
+"Yeigh," replied Elizabeth, nodding her head significantly, "ey'n go at
+wonst, an see efter Alizon ot t' same time. Fo ey'm towd hoo has
+fainted, an been ta'en to th' Abbey by Lady Assheton."
+
+"Never heed Alizon," replied Jem, gruffly. "Hoo's i' good hands. Ye
+munna be seen, ey tell ye. Ey'm going to Malkin Tower to-neet, if yo'n
+owt to send."
+
+"To-neet, Jem," echoed little Jennet.
+
+"Eigh," rejoined Jem, sharply. "Howd te tongue, wench. Dunna lose time,
+mother."
+
+And as he and his little sister pursued their way to the cottage,
+Elizabeth hobbled off towards the Abbey, muttering, as she went, "I hope
+Alizon an Mistress Nutter winna meet. Nah that it matters, boh still
+it's better not. Strange, the wench should ha' fainted. Boh she's always
+foolish an timmersome, an ey half fear has lost her heart to young
+Richard Assheton. Ey'n watch her narrowly, an if it turn out to be so,
+she mun be cured, or be secured--ha! ha!"
+
+And muttering in this way, she passed through the Abbey gateway, the
+wicket being left open, and proceeded towards the ruinous convent
+church, taking care as much as possible to avoid observation.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.--MOTHER CHATTOX.
+
+
+Not far from the green where the May-day revels were held, stood the
+ancient parish church of Whalley, its square tower surmounted with a
+flag-staff and banner, and shaking with the joyous peals of the ringers.
+A picturesque and beautiful structure it was, though full of
+architectural incongruities; and its grey walls and hoary buttresses,
+with the lancet-shaped windows of the choir, and the ramified tracery of
+the fine eastern window, could not fail to please any taste not quite so
+critical as to require absolute harmony and perfection in a building.
+Parts of the venerable fabric were older than the Abbey itself, dating
+back as far as the eleventh century, when a chapel occupied the site;
+and though many alterations had been made in the subsequent structure at
+various times, and many beauties destroyed, especially during the period
+of the Reformation, enough of its pristine character remained to render
+it a very good specimen of an old country church. Internally, the
+cylindrical columns of the north aisle, the construction of the choir,
+and the three stone seats supported on rounded columns near the altar,
+proclaimed its high antiquity. Within the choir were preserved the
+eighteen richly-carved stalls once occupying a similar position in the
+desecrated conventual church: and though exquisite in themselves, they
+seemed here sadly out of place, not being proportionate to the
+structure. Their elaborately-carved seats projected far into the body of
+the church, and their crocketed pinnacles shot up almost to the ceiling.
+But it was well they had not shared the destruction in which almost all
+the other ornaments of the magnificent fane they once decorated were
+involved. Carefully preserved, the black varnished oak well displayed
+the quaint and grotesque designs with which many of them--the Prior's
+stall in especial--were embellished. Chief among them was the abbot's
+stall, festooned with sculptured vine wreaths and clustering grapes, and
+bearing the auspicious inscription:
+
+          Semper gaudentes sint ista sede sedentes:
+
+singularly inapplicable, however, to the last prelate who filled it.
+Some fine old monuments, and warlike trophies of neighbouring wealthy
+families, adorned the walls, and within the nave was a magnificent pew,
+with a canopy and pillars of elaborately-carved oak, and lattice-work at
+the sides, allotted to the manor of Read, and recently erected by Roger
+Nowell; while in the north and south aisles were two small chapels,
+converted since the reformed faith had obtained, into pews--the one
+called Saint Mary's Cage, belonging to the Assheton family; and the
+other appertaining to the Catterals of Little Mitton, and designated
+Saint Nicholas's Cage. Under the last-named chapel were interred some
+of the Paslews of Wiswall, and here lay the last unfortunate Abbot of
+Whalley, between whoso grave, and the Assheton and Braddyll families, a
+fatal relation was supposed to subsist. Another large pew, allotted to
+the Towneleys, and designated Saint Anthony's Cage, was rendered
+remarkable, by a characteristic speech of Sir John Towneley, which gave
+much offence to the neighbouring dames. Called upon to decide as to the
+position of the sittings in the church, the discourteous knight made
+choice of Saint Anthony's Cage, already mentioned, declaring, "My man,
+Shuttleworth of Hacking, made this form, and here will I sit when I
+come; and my cousin Nowell may make a seat behind me if he please, and
+my son Sherburne shall make one on the other side, and Master Catteral
+another behind him, and for the residue the use shall be, first come
+first speed, and that will make the proud wives of Whalley rise betimes
+to come to church." One can fancy the rough knight's chuckle, as he
+addressed these words to the old clerk, certain of their being quickly
+repeated to the "proud wives" in question.
+
+Within the churchyard grew two fine old yew-trees, now long since
+decayed and gone, but then spreading their dark-green arms over the
+little turf-covered graves. Reared against the buttresses of the church
+was an old stone coffin, together with a fragment of a curious
+monumental effigy, likewise of stone; but the most striking objects in
+the place, and deservedly ranked amongst the wonders of Whalley, were
+three remarkable obelisk-shaped crosses, set in a line upon pedestals,
+covered with singular devices in fretwork, and all three differing in
+size and design. Evidently of remotest antiquity, these crosses were
+traditionally assigned to Paullinus, who, according to the Venerable
+Bede, first preached the Gospel in these parts, in the early part of the
+seventh century; but other legends were attached to them by the vulgar,
+and dim mystery brooded over them.
+
+Vestiges of another people and another faith were likewise here
+discernible, for where the Saxon forefathers of the village prayed and
+slumbered in death, the Roman invaders of the isle had trodden, and
+perchance performed their religious rites; some traces of an encampment
+being found in the churchyard by the historian of the spot, while the
+north boundary of the hallowed precincts was formed by a deep foss, once
+encompassing the nigh-obliterated fortification. Besides these records
+of an elder people, there was another memento of bygone days and creeds,
+in a little hermitage and chapel adjoining it, founded in the reign of
+Edward III., by Henry, Duke of Lancaster, for the support of two
+recluses and a priest to say masses daily for him and his descendants;
+but this pious bequest being grievously abused in the subsequent reign
+of Henry VI., by Isole de Heton, a fair widow, who in the first
+transports of grief, vowing herself to heaven, took up her abode in the
+hermitage, and led a very disorderly life therein, to the great scandal
+of the Abbey, and the great prejudice of the morals of its brethren, and
+at last, tired even of the slight restraint imposed upon her, fled away
+"contrary to her oath and profession, not willing, nor intending to be
+restored again;" the hermitage was dissolved by the pious monarch, and
+masses ordered to be said daily in the parish church for the repose of
+the soul of the founder. Such was the legend attached to the little
+cell, and tradition went on to say that the anchoress broke her leg in
+crossing Whalley Nab, and limped ever afterwards; a just judgment on
+such a heinous offender. Both these little structures were picturesque
+objects, being overgrown with ivy and woodbine. The chapel was
+completely in ruins, while the cell, profaned by the misdoings of the
+dissolute votaress Isole, had been converted into a cage for vagrants
+and offenders, and made secure by a grated window, and a strong door
+studded with broad-headed nails.
+
+The view from the churchyard, embracing the vicarage-house, a
+comfortable residence, surrounded by a large walled-in garden, well
+stocked with fruit-trees, and sheltered by a fine grove of rook-haunted
+timber, extended on the one hand over the village, and on the other over
+the Abbey, and was bounded by the towering and well-wooded heights of
+Whalley Nab. On the side of the Abbey, the most conspicuous objects were
+the great north-eastern gateway, with the ruined conventual church. Ever
+beautiful, the view was especially so on the present occasion, from the
+animated scene combined with it; and the pleasant prospect was enjoyed
+by a large assemblage, who had adjourned thither to witness the
+concluding part of the festival.
+
+Within the green and flower-decked bowers which, as has before been
+mentioned, were erected in the churchyard, were seated Doctor Ormerod
+and Sir Ralph Assheton, with such of their respective guests as had not
+already retired, including Richard and Nicholas Assheton, both of whom
+had returned from the abbey; the former having been dismissed by Lady
+Assheton from further attendance upon Alizon, and the latter having
+concluded his discourse with Parson Dewhurst, who, indeed, accompanied
+him to the church, and was now placed between the Vicar and the Rector
+of Middleton. From this gentle elevation the gay company on the green
+could be fully discerned, the tall May-pole, with its garlands and
+ribands, forming a pivot, about which the throng ever revolved, while
+stationary amidst the moving masses, the rush-cart reared on high its
+broad green back, as if to resist the living waves constantly dashed
+against it. By-and-by a new kind of movement was perceptible, and it
+soon became evident that a procession was being formed. Immediately
+afterwards, the rush-cart was put in motion, and winded slowly along the
+narrow street leading to the church, preceded by the morris-dancers and
+the other May-day revellers, and followed by a great concourse of
+people, shouting, dancing, and singing.
+
+On came the crowd. The jingling of bells, and the sound of music grew
+louder and louder, and the procession, lost for awhile behind some
+intervening habitations, though the men bestriding the rush-cart could
+be discerned over their summits, burst suddenly into view; and the
+revellers entering the churchyard, drew up on either side of the little
+path leading to the porch, while the rush-cart coming up the next
+moment, stopped at the gate. Then four young maidens dressed in white,
+and having baskets in their hands, advanced and scattered flowers along
+the path; after which ladders were reared against the sides of the
+rush-cart, and the men, descending from their exalted position, bore the
+garlands to the church, preceded by the vicar and the two other divines,
+and followed by Robin Hood and his band, the morris-dancers, and a troop
+of little children singing a hymn. The next step was to unfasten the
+bundles of rushes, of which the cart was composed, and this was very
+quickly and skilfully performed, the utmost care being taken of the
+trinkets and valuables with which it was ornamented. These were gathered
+together in baskets and conveyed to the vestry, and there locked up.
+This done, the bundles of rushes were taken up by several old women, who
+strewed the aisles with them, and placed such as had been tied up as
+mats in the pews. At the same time, two casks of ale set near the gate,
+and given for the occasion by the vicar, were broached, and their
+foaming contents freely distributed among the dancers and the thirsty
+crowd. Very merry were they, as may be supposed, in consequence, but
+their mirth was happily kept within due limits of decorum.
+
+When the rush-cart was wellnigh unladen Richard Assheton entered the
+church, and greatly pleased with the effect of the flowery garlands with
+which the various pews were decorated, said as much to the vicar, who
+smilingly replied, that he was glad to find he approved of the practice,
+"even though it might savour of superstition;" and as the good doctor
+walked away, being called forth, the young man almost unconsciously
+turned into the chapel on the north aisle. Here he stood for a few
+moments gazing round the church, wrapt in pleasing meditation, in which
+many objects, somewhat foreign to the place and time, passed through his
+mind, when, chancing to look down, he saw a small funeral wreath, of
+mingled yew and cypress, lying at his feet, and a slight tremor passed
+over his frame, as he found he was standing on the ill-omened grave of
+Abbot Paslew. Before he could ask himself by whom this sad garland had
+been so deposited, Nicholas Assheton came up to him, and with a look of
+great uneasiness cried, "Come away instantly, Dick. Do you know where
+you are standing?"
+
+"On the grave of the last Abbot of Whalley," replied Richard, smiling.
+
+"Have you forgotten the common saying," cried Nicholas--"that the
+Assheton who stands on that unlucky grave shall die within the year?
+Come away at once."
+
+"It is too late," replied Richard, "I have incurred the fate, if such a
+fate be attached to the tomb; and as my moving away will not preserve
+me, so my tarrying here cannot injure me further. But I have no fear."
+
+"You have more courage than I possess," rejoined Nicholas. "I would not
+set foot on that accursed stone for half the county. Its malign
+influence on our house has been approved too often. The first to
+experience the fatal destiny were Richard Assheton and John Braddyll,
+the purchasers of the Abbey. Both met here together on the anniversary
+of the abbot's execution--some forty years after its occurrence, it is
+true, and when they were both pretty well stricken in years--and within
+that year, namely 1578, both died, and were buried in the vault on the
+opposite side of the church, not many paces from their old enemy. The
+last instance was my poor brother Richard, who, being incredulous as you
+are, was resolved to brave the destiny, and stationed himself upon the
+tomb during divine service, but he too died within the appointed time."
+
+"He was bewitched to death--so, at least, it is affirmed," said Richard
+Assheton, with a smile. "But I believe in one evil influence just as
+much as in the other."
+
+"It matters not how the destiny be accomplished, so it come to pass,"
+rejoined the squire, turning away. "Heaven shield you from it!"
+
+"Stay!" said Richard, picking up the wreath. "Who, think you, can have
+placed this funeral garland on the abbot's grave?"
+
+"I cannot guess!" cried Nicholas, staring at it in amazement--"an enemy
+of ours, most likely. It is neither customary nor lawful in our
+Protestant country so to ornament graves. Put it down, Dick."
+
+"I shall not displace it, certainly," replied Richard, laying it down
+again; "but I as little think it has been placed here by a hostile hand,
+as I do that harm will ensue to me from standing here. To relieve your
+anxiety, however, I will come forth," he added, stepping into the aisle.
+"Why should an enemy deposit a garland on the abbot's tomb, since it was
+by mere chance that it hath met my eyes?"
+
+"Mere chance!" cried Nicholas; "every thing is mere chance with you
+philosophers. There is more than chance in it. My mind misgives me
+strangely. That terrible old Abbot Paslew is as troublesome to us in
+death, as he was during life to our predecessor, Richard Assheton. Not
+content with making his tombstone a weapon of destruction to us, he
+pays the Abbey itself an occasional visit, and his appearance always
+betides some disaster to the family. I have never seen him myself, and
+trust I never shall; but other people have, and have been nigh scared
+out of their senses by the apparition."
+
+"Idle tales, the invention of overheated brains," rejoined Richard.
+"Trust me, the abbot's rest will not be broken till the day when all
+shall rise from their tombs; though if ever the dead (supposing such a
+thing possible) could be justified in injuring and affrighting the
+living, it might be in his case, since he mainly owed his destruction to
+our ancestor. On the same principle it has been held that church-lands
+are unlucky to their lay possessors; but see how this superstitious
+notion has been disproved in our own family, to whom Whalley Abbey and
+its domains have brought wealth, power, and worldly happiness."
+
+"There is something in the notion, nevertheless," replied Nicholas; "and
+though our case may, I hope, continue an exception to the rule, most
+grantees of ecclesiastical houses have found them a curse, and the time
+may come when the Abbey may prove so to our descendants. But, without
+discussing the point, there is one instance in which the malignant
+influence of the vindictive abbot has undoubtedly extended long after
+his death. You have heard, I suppose, that he pronounced a dreadful
+anathema upon the child of a man who had the reputation of being a
+wizard, and who afterwards acted as his executioner. I know not the
+whole particulars of the dark story, but I know that Paslew fixed a
+curse upon the child, declaring it should become a witch, and the mother
+of witches. And the prediction has been verified. Nigh eighty years have
+flown by since then, and the infant still lives--a fearful and
+mischievous witch--and all her family are similarly fated--all are
+witches."
+
+"I never heard the story before," said Richard, somewhat thoughtfully;
+"but I guess to whom you allude--Mother Demdike of Pendle Forest, and
+her family."
+
+"Precisely," rejoined Nicholas; "they are a brood of witches."
+
+"In that case Alizon Device must be a witch," cried Richard; "and I
+think you will hardly venture upon such an assertion after what you have
+seen of her to-day. If she be a witch, I would there were many such--as
+fair and gentle. And see you not how easily the matter is explained?
+'Give a dog an ill name and hang him'--a proverb with which you are
+familiar enough. So with Mother Demdike. Whether really uttered or not,
+the abbot's curse upon her and her issue has been bruited abroad, and
+hence she is made a witch, and her children are supposed to inherit the
+infamous taint. So it is with yon tomb. It is said to be dangerous to
+our family, and dangerous no doubt it is to those who believe in the
+saying, which, luckily, I do not. The prophecy works its own fulfilment.
+The absurdity and injustice of yielding to the opinion are manifest. No
+wrong can have been done the abbot by Mother Demdike, any more than by
+her children, and yet they are to be punished for the misdeeds of their
+predecessor."
+
+"Ay, just as you and I, who are of the third and fourth generation, may
+be punished for the sins of our fathers," rejoined Nicholas. "You have
+Scripture against you, Dick. The only thing I see in favour of your
+argument is, the instance you allege of Alizon. She does not look like a
+witch, certainly; but there is no saying. She may be only the more
+dangerous for her rare beauty, and apparent innocence!"
+
+"I would answer for her truth with my life," cried Richard, quickly. "It
+is impossible to look at her countenance, in which candour and purity
+shine forth, and doubt her goodness."
+
+"She hath cast her spells over you, Dick, that is certain," rejoined
+Nicholas, laughing; "but to be serious. Alizon, I admit, is an exception
+to the rest of the family, but that only strengthens the general rule.
+Did you ever remark the strange look they all--save the fair maid in
+question--have about the eyes?"
+
+Richard answered in the negative.
+
+"It is very singular, and I wonder you have not noticed it," pursued
+Nicholas; "but the question of reputed witchcraft in Mother Demdike has
+some chance of being speedily settled; for Master Potts, the little
+London lawyer, who goes with us to Pendle Forest to-morrow, is about to
+have her arrested and examined before a magistrate."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Richard, "this must be prevented."
+
+"Why so?" exclaimed Nicholas, in surprise.
+
+"Because the prejudice existing against her is sure to convict and
+destroy her," replied Richard. "Her great age, infirmities, and poverty,
+will be proofs against her. How can she, or any old enfeebled creature
+like her, whose decrepitude and misery should move compassion rather
+than excite fear--how can such a person defend herself against charges
+easily made, and impossible to refute? I do not deny the possibility of
+witchcraft, even in our own days, though I think it of very unlikely
+occurrence; but I would determinately resist giving credit to any tales
+told by the superstitious vulgar, who, naturally prone to cruelty, have
+so many motives for revenging imaginary wrongs. It is placing a dreadful
+weapon in their hands, of which they have cunning enough to know the
+use, but neither mercy nor justice enough to restrain them from using
+it. Better let one guilty person escape, than many innocent perish. So
+many undefined charges have been brought against Mother Demdike, that at
+last they have fixed a stigma on her name, and made her an object of
+dread and suspicion. She is endowed with mysterious power, which would
+have no effect if not believed in; and now must be burned because she is
+called a witch, and is doting and vain enough to accept the title."
+
+"There is something in a witch difficult, nay, almost impossible to
+describe," said Nicholas, "but you cannot be mistaken about her. By her
+general ill course of life, by repeated acts of mischief, and by
+threats, followed by the consequences menaced, she becomes known. There
+is much mystery in the matter, not permitted human knowledge entirely to
+penetrate; but, as we know from the Scriptures that the sin of
+witchcraft did exist, and as we have no evidence that it has ceased, so
+it is fair to conclude, that there may be practisers of the dark offence
+in our own days, and such I hold to be Mother Demdike and Mother
+Chattox. Rival potentates in evil, they contend which shall do most
+mischief, but it must be admitted the former bears away the bell."
+
+"If all the ill attributed to her were really caused by her
+machinations, this might be correct," replied Richard, "but it only
+shows her to be more calumniated than the other. In a word, cousin
+Nicholas, I look upon them as two poor old creatures, who, persuaded
+they really possess the supernatural power accorded to them by the
+vulgar, strive to act up to their parts, and are mainly assisted in
+doing so by the credulity and fears of their audience."
+
+"Admitting the blind credulity of the multitude," said Nicholas, "and
+their proneness to discern the hand of the witch in the most trifling
+accidents; admitting also, their readiness to accuse any old crone
+unlucky enough to offend them of sorcery; I still believe that there are
+actual practisers of the black art, who, for a brief term of power, have
+entered into a league with Satan, worship him and attend his sabbaths,
+and have a familiar, in the shape of a cat, dog, toad, or mole, to obey
+their behests, transform themselves into various shapes--as a hound,
+horse, or hare,--raise storms of wind or hail, maim cattle, bewitch and
+slay human beings, and ride whither they will on broomsticks. But,
+holding the contrary opinion, you will not, I apprehend, aid Master
+Potts in his quest of witches."
+
+"I will not," rejoined Richard. "On the contrary, I will oppose him. But
+enough of this. Let us go forth."
+
+And they quitted the church together.
+
+As they issued into the churchyard, they found the principal arbours
+occupied by the morris-dancers, Robin Hood and his troop, Doctor Ormerod
+and Sir Ralph having retired to the vicarage-house.
+
+Many merry groups were scattered about, talking, laughing, and singing;
+but two persons, seemingly objects of suspicion and alarm, and shunned
+by every one who crossed their path, were advancing slowly towards the
+three crosses of Paullinus, which stood in a line, not far from the
+church-porch. They were females, one about five-and-twenty, very comely,
+and habited in smart holiday attire, put on with considerable rustic
+coquetry, so as to display a very neat foot and ankle, and with plenty
+of ribands in her fine chestnut hair. The other was a very different
+person, far advanced in years, bent almost double, palsy-stricken, her
+arms and limbs shaking, her head nodding, her chin wagging, her snowy
+locks hanging about her wrinkled visage, her brows and upper lip frore,
+and her eyes almost sightless, the pupils being cased with a thin white
+film. Her dress, of antiquated make and faded stuff, had been once deep
+red in colour, and her old black hat was high-crowned and broad-brimmed.
+She partly aided herself in walking with a crutch-handled stick, and
+partly leaned upon her younger companion for support.
+
+"Why, there is one of the old women we have just been speaking
+of--Mother Chattox," said Richard, pointing them out, "and with her, her
+grand-daughter, pretty Nan Redferne."
+
+"So it is," cried Nicholas, "what makes the old hag here, I marvel! I
+will go question her."
+
+So saying, he strode quickly towards her.
+
+"How now, Mother Chattox!" he cried. "What mischief is afoot? What makes
+the darkness-loving owl abroad in the glare of day? What brings the
+grisly she-wolf from her forest lair? Back to thy den, old witch! Ar't
+crazed, as well as blind and palsied, that thou knowest not that this is
+a merry-making, and not a devil's sabbath? Back to thy hut, I say! These
+sacred precincts are no place for thee."
+
+"Who is it speaks to me?" demanded the old hag, halting, and fixing her
+glazed eyes upon him.
+
+"One thou hast much injured," replied Nicholas. "One into whose house
+thou hast brought quick-wasting sickness and death by thy infernal arts.
+One thou hast good reason to fear; for learn, to thy confusion, thou
+damned and murtherous witch, it is Nicholas, brother to thy victim,
+Richard Assheton of Downham, who speaks to thee."
+
+"I know none I have reason to fear," replied Mother Chattox; "especially
+thee, Nicholas Assheton. Thy brother was no victim of mine. Thou wert
+the gainer by his death, not I. Why should I slay him?"
+
+"I will tell thee why, old hag," cried Nicholas; "he was inflamed by the
+beauty of thy grand-daughter Nancy here, and it was to please Tom
+Redferne, her sweetheart then, but her spouse since, that thou
+bewitchedst him to death."
+
+"That reason will not avail thee, Nicholas," rejoined Mother Chattox,
+with a derisive laugh. "If I had any hand in his death, it was to serve
+and pleasure thee, and that all men shall know, if I am questioned on
+the subject--ha! ha! Take me to the crosses, Nance."
+
+"Thou shalt not 'scape thus, thou murtherous hag," cried Nicholas,
+furiously.
+
+"Nay, let her go her way," said Richard, who had drawn near during the
+colloquy. "No good will come of meddling with her."
+
+"Who's that?" asked Mother Chattox, quickly.
+
+[Illustration: NAN REDFERNE AND MOTHER CHATTOX.]
+
+"Master Richard Assheton, o' Middleton," whispered Nan Redferne.
+
+"Another of these accursed Asshetons," cried Mother Chattox. "A plague
+seize them!"
+
+"Boh he's weel-favourt an kindly," remarked her grand-daughter.
+
+"Well-favoured or not, kindly or cruel, I hate them all," cried Mother
+Chattox. "To the crosses, I say!"
+
+But Nicholas placed himself in their path.
+
+"Is it to pray to Beelzebub, thy master, that thou wouldst go to the
+crosses?" he asked.
+
+"Out of my way, pestilent fool!" cried the hag.
+
+"Thou shalt not stir till I have had an answer," rejoined Nicholas.
+"They say those are Runic obelisks, and not Christian crosses, and that
+the carvings upon them have a magical signification. The first, it is
+averred, is written o'er with deadly curses, and the forms in which they
+are traced, as serpentine, triangular, or round, indicate and rule their
+swift or slow effect. The second bears charms against diseases, storms,
+and lightning. And on the third is inscribed a verse which will render
+him who can read it rightly, invisible to mortal view. Thou shouldst be
+learned in such lore, old Pythoness. Is it so?"
+
+The hag's chin wagged fearfully, and her frame trembled with passion,
+but she spoke not.
+
+"Have you been in the church, old woman?" interposed Richard.
+
+"Ay, wherefore?" she rejoined.
+
+"Some one has placed a cypress wreath on Abbot Paslew's grave. Was it
+you?" he asked.
+
+"What! hast thou found it?" cried the hag. "It shall bring thee rare
+luck, lad--rare luck. Now let me pass."
+
+"Not yet," cried Nicholas, forcibly grasping her withered arm.
+
+The hag uttered a scream of rage.
+
+"Let me go, Nicholas Assheton," she shrieked, "or thou shalt rue it.
+Cramps and aches shall wring and rack thy flesh and bones; fever shall
+consume thee; ague shake thee--shake thee--ha!"
+
+And Nicholas recoiled, appalled by her fearful gestures.
+
+"You carry your malignity too far, old woman," said Richard severely.
+
+"And thou darest tell me so," cried the hag. "Set me before him, Nance,
+that I may curse him," she added, raising her palsied arm.
+
+"Nah, nah--yo'n cursed ower much already, grandmother," cried Nan
+Redferne, endeavouring to drag her away. But the old woman resisted.
+
+"I will teach him to cross my path," she vociferated, in accents shrill
+and jarring as the cry of the goat-sucker.
+
+"Handsome he is, it may be, now, but he shall not be so long. The bloom
+shall fade from his cheek, the fire be extinguished in his eyes, the
+strength depart from his limbs. Sorrow shall be her portion who loves
+him--sorrow and shame!"
+
+"Horrible!" exclaimed Richard, endeavouring to exclude the voice of the
+crone, which pierced his ears like some sharp instrument.
+
+"Ha! ha! you fear me now," she cried. "By this, and this, the spell
+shall work," she added, describing a circle in the air with her stick,
+then crossing it twice, and finally scattering over him a handful of
+grave dust, snatched from an adjoining hillock.
+
+"Now lead me quickly to the smaller cross, Nance," she added, in a low
+tone.
+
+Her grand-daughter complied, with a glance of deep commiseration at
+Richard, who remained stupefied at the ominous proceeding.
+
+"Ah! this must indeed be a witch!" he cried, recovering from the
+momentary shock.
+
+"So you are convinced at last," rejoined Nicholas. "I can take breath
+now the old hell-cat is gone. But she shall not escape us. Keep an eye
+upon her, while I see if Simon Sparshot, the beadle, be within the
+churchyard, and if so he shall take her into custody, and lock her in
+the cage."
+
+With this, he ran towards the throng, shouting lustily for the beadle.
+Presently a big, burly fellow, in a scarlet doublet, laced with gold, a
+black velvet cap trimmed with red ribands, yellow hose, and shoes with
+great roses in them, and bearing a long silver-headed staff, answered
+the summons, and upon being told why his services were required,
+immediately roared out at the top of a stentorian voice, "A witch,
+lads!--a witch!"
+
+All was astir in an instant. Robin Hood and his merry men, with the
+morris-dancers, rushed out of their bowers, and the whole churchyard was
+in agitation. Above the din was heard the loud voice of Simon Sparshot,
+still shouting, "A witch!--witch!--Mother Chattox!"
+
+"Where--where?" demanded several voices.
+
+"Yonder," replied Nicholas, pointing to the further cross.
+
+A general movement took place in that direction, the crowd being headed
+by the squire and the beadle, but when they came up, they found only Nan
+Redferne standing behind the obelisk.
+
+"Where the devil is the old witch gone, Dick?" cried Nicholas, in
+dismay.
+
+"I thought I saw her standing there with her grand-daughter," replied
+Richard; "but in truth I did not watch very closely."
+
+"Search for her--search for her," cried Nicholas.
+
+But neither behind the crosses, nor behind any monument, nor in any hole
+or corner, nor on the other side of the churchyard wall, nor at the
+back of the little hermitage or chapel, though all were quickly
+examined, could the old hag be found.
+
+On being questioned, Nan Redferne refused to say aught concerning her
+grandmother's flight or place of concealment.
+
+"I begin to think there is some truth in that strange legend of the
+cross," said Nicholas. "Notwithstanding her blindness, the old hag must
+have managed to read the magic verse upon it, and so have rendered
+herself invisible. But we have got the young witch safe."
+
+"Yeigh, squoire!" responded Sparshot, who had seized hold of Nance--"hoo
+be safe enough."
+
+"Nan Redferne is no witch," said Richard Assheton, authoritatively.
+
+"Neaw witch, Mester Ruchot!" cried the beadle in amazement.
+
+"No more than any of these lasses around us," said Richard. "Release
+her, Sparshot."
+
+"I forbid him to do so, till she has been examined," cried a sharp
+voice. And the next moment Master Potts was seen pushing his way through
+the crowd. "So you have found a witch, my masters. I heard your shouts,
+and hurried on as fast as I could. Just in time, Master Nicholas--just
+in time," he added, rubbing his hands gleefully.
+
+"Lemme go, Simon," besought Nance.
+
+"Neaw, neaw, lass, that munnot be," rejoined Sparshot.
+
+"Help--save me, Master Richard!" cried the young woman.
+
+By this time the crowd had gathered round her, yelling, hooting, and
+shaking their hands at her, as if about to tear her in pieces; but
+Richard Assheton planted himself resolutely before her, and pushed back
+the foremost of them.
+
+"Remove her instantly to the Abbey, Sparshot," he cried, "and let her be
+kept in safe custody till Sir Ralph has time to examine her. Will that
+content you, masters?"
+
+"Neaw--neaw," responded several rough voices; "swim her!--swim her!"
+
+"Quite right, my worthy friends, quite right," said Potts. "_Primo_, let
+us make sure she is a witch--_secundo_, let us take her to the Abbey."
+
+"There can be no doubt as to her being a witch, Master Potts," rejoined
+Nicholas; "her old grand-dame, Mother Chattox, has just vanished from
+our sight."
+
+"Has Mother Chattox been here?" cried Potts, opening his round eyes to
+their widest extent.
+
+"Not many minutes since," replied Nicholas. "In fact, she may be here
+still for aught I know."
+
+"Here!--where?" cried Potts, looking round.
+
+"You won't discover her for all your quickness," replied Nicholas. "She
+has rendered herself invisible, by reciting the magical verses inscribed
+on that cross."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed the attorney, closely examining the mysterious
+inscriptions. "What strange, uncouth characters! I can make neither head
+nor tail, unless it be the devil's tail, of them."
+
+At this moment a whoop was raised by Jem Device, who, having taken his
+little sister home, had returned to the sports on the green, and now
+formed part of the assemblage in the churchyard. Between the rival witch
+potentates, Mothers Demdike and Chattox, it has already been said a
+deadly enmity existed, and the feud was carried on with equal animosity
+by their descendants; and though Jem himself came under the same
+suspicion as Nan Redferne, that circumstance created no tie of interest
+between them, but the contrary, and he was the most active of her
+assailants. He had set up the above-mentioned cry from observing a large
+rat running along the side of the wall.
+
+"Theere hoo goes," whooped Jem, "t'owd witch, i' th' shape ov a
+rotten!--loo-loo-loo!"
+
+Half the crowd started in pursuit of the animal, and twenty sticks were
+thrown at it, but a stone cast by Jem stayed its progress, and it was
+instantly despatched. It did not change, however, as was expected by the
+credulous hinds, into an old woman, and they gave vent to their
+disappointment and rage in renewed threats against Nan Redferne. The
+dead rat was hurled at her by Jem, but missing its mark, it hit Master
+Potts on the head, and nearly knocked him off the cross, upon which he
+had mounted to obtain a better view of the proceedings. Irritated by
+this circumstance, as well as by the failure of the experiment, the
+little attorney jumped down and fell to kicking the unfortunate rat,
+after which, his fury being somewhat appeased, he turned to Nance, who
+had sunk for support against the pedestal, and said to her--"If you will
+tell us what has become of the old witch your grandmother, and undertake
+to bear witness against her, you shall be set free."
+
+"Ey'n tell ye nowt, mon," replied Nance, doggedly. "Put me to onny trial
+ye like, ye shanna get a word fro me."
+
+"That remains to be seen," retorted Potts, "but I apprehend we shall
+make you speak, and pretty plainly too, before we've done with you.--You
+hear what this perverse and wrong-headed young witch declares, masters,"
+he shouted, again clambering upon the cross. "I have offered her
+liberty, on condition of disclosing to us the manner of her diabolical
+old relative's evasion, and she rejects it."
+
+An angry roar followed, mixed with cries from Jem Device, of "swim
+her!--swim her!"
+
+"You had better tell them what you know, Nance," said Richard, in a low
+tone, "or I shall have difficulty in preserving you from their fury."
+
+"Ey darena, Master Richard," she replied, shaking her head; and then she
+added firmly, "Ey winna."
+
+Finding it useless to reason with her, and fearing also that the
+infuriated crowd might attempt to put their threats into execution,
+Richard turned to his cousin Nicholas, and said: "We must get her away,
+or violence will be done."
+
+"She does not deserve your compassion, Dick," replied Nicholas; "she is
+only a few degrees better than the old hag who has escaped. Sparshot
+here tells me she is noted for her skill in modelling clay figures."
+
+"Yeigh, that hoo be," replied the broad-faced beadle; "hoo's
+unaccountable cliver ot that sort o' wark. A clay figger os big os a six
+months' barn, fashiont i' th' likeness o' Farmer Grimble o' Briercliffe
+lawnd, os died last month, war seen i' her cottage, an monny others
+besoide. Amongst 'em a moddle o' your lamented brother, Squoire Ruchot
+Assheton o' Downham, wi' t' yeod pood off, and th' 'eart pieret thro'
+an' thro' wi' pins and needles."
+
+"Ye lien i' your teeth, Simon Sparshot!" cried Nance; regarding him
+furiously.
+
+"If the head were off, Simon, I don't see how the likeness to my poor
+brother could well be recognised," said Nicholas, with a half smile.
+"But let her be put to some mild trial--weighed against the church
+Bible."
+
+"Be it so," replied Potts, jumping down; "but if that fail, we must have
+recourse to stronger measures. Take notice that, with all her fright,
+she has not been able to shed a tear, not a single tear--a clear
+witch--a clear witch!"
+
+"Ey'd scorn to weep fo t' like o' yo!" cried Nance, disdainfully, having
+now completely recovered her natural audacity.
+
+"We'll soon break your spirit, young woman, I can promise you," rejoined
+Potts.
+
+As soon as it was known what was about to occur, the whole crowd moved
+towards the church porch, Nan Redferne walking between Richard Assheton
+and the beadle, who kept hold of her arm to prevent any attempt at
+escape; and by the time they reached the appointed place, Ben Baggiley,
+the baker, who had been despatched for the purpose, appeared with an
+enormous pair of wooden scales, while Sampson Harrop, the clerk, having
+visited the pulpit, came forth with the church Bible, an immense volume,
+bound in black, with great silver clasps.
+
+"Come, that's a good big Bible at all events," cried Potts, eyeing it
+with satisfaction. "It looks like my honourable and singular good Lord
+Chief-Justice Sir Edward Coke's learned 'Institutes of the Laws of
+England,' only that that great legal tome is generally bound in
+calf--law calf, as we say."
+
+"Large as the book is, it will scarce prove heavy enough to weigh down
+the witch, I opine," observed Nicholas, with a smile.
+
+"We shall see, sir," replied Potts. "We shall see."
+
+By this time, the scales having been affixed to a hook in the porch by
+Baggiley, the sacred volume was placed on one side, and Nance set down
+by the beadle on the other. The result of the experiment was precisely
+what might have been anticipated--the moment the young woman took her
+place in the balance, it sank down to the ground, while the other kicked
+the beam.
+
+"I hope you are satisfied now, Master Potts," cried Richard Assheton.
+"By your own trial her innocence is approved."
+
+"Your pardon, Master Richard, this is Squire Nicholas's trial, not
+mine," replied Potts. "I am for the ordeal of swimming. How say you,
+masters! Shall we be content with this doubtful experiment?"
+
+"Neaw--neaw," responded Jem Device, who acted as spokesman to the crowd,
+"swim her--swim her!"
+
+"I knew you would have it so," said Potts, approvingly. "Where is a
+fitting place for the trial?"
+
+"Th' Abbey pool is nah fur off," replied Jem, "or ye con tay her to th'
+Calder."
+
+"The river, by all means--nothing like a running stream," said Potts.
+"Let cords be procured to bind her."
+
+"Run fo 'em quickly, Ben," said Jem to Baggiley, who was very zealous in
+the cause.
+
+"Oh!" groaned Nance, again losing courage, and glancing piteously at
+Richard.
+
+"No outrage like this shall be perpetrated," cried the young man,
+firmly; "I call upon you, cousin Nicholas, to help me. Go into the
+church," he added, thrusting Nance backward, and presenting his sword at
+the breast of Jem Device, who attempted to follow her, and who retired
+muttering threats and curses; "I will run the first man through the body
+who attempts to pass."
+
+As Nan Redferne made good her retreat, and shut the church-door after
+her, Master Potts, pale with rage, cried out to Richard, "You have aided
+the escape of a desperate and notorious offender--actually in custody,
+sir, and have rendered yourself liable to indictment for it, sir, with
+consequences of fine and imprisonment, sir:--heavy fine and long
+imprisonment, sir. Do you mark me, Master Richard?"
+
+"I will answer the consequences of my act to those empowered to question
+it, sir," replied Richard, sternly.
+
+"Well, sir, I have given you notice," rejoined Potts, "due notice. We
+shall hear what Sir Ralph will say to the matter, and Master Roger
+Nowell, and--"
+
+"You forget me, good Master Potts," interrupted Nicholas, laughingly; "I
+entirely disapprove of it. It is a most flagrant breach of duty.
+Nevertheless, I am glad the poor wench has got off."
+
+"She is safe within the church," said Potts, "and I command Master
+Richard, in the king's name, to let us pass. Beadle! Sharpshot,
+Sparshot, or whatever be your confounded name do your duty, sirrah.
+Enter the church, and bring forth the witch."
+
+"Ey darna, mester," replied Simon; "young mester Ruchot ud slit mey
+weasand os soon os look ot meh."
+
+Richard put an end to further altercation, by stepping back quickly,
+locking the door, and then taking out the key, and putting it into his
+pocket.
+
+"She is quite safe now," he cried, with a smile at the discomfited
+lawyer.
+
+"Is there no other door?" inquired Potts of the beadle, in a low tone.
+
+"Yeigh, theere be one ot t'other soide," replied Sparshot, "boh it be
+locked, ey reckon, an maybe hoo'n getten out that way."
+
+"Quick, quick, and let's see," cried Potts; "justice must not be
+thwarted in this shameful manner."
+
+While the greater part of the crowd set off after Potts and the beadle,
+Richard Assheton, anxious to know what had become of the fugitive, and
+determined not to abandon her while any danger existed, unlocked the
+church-door, and entered the holy structure, followed by Nicholas. On
+looking around, Nance was nowhere to be seen, neither did she answer to
+his repeated calls, and Richard concluded she must have escaped, when
+all at once a loud exulting shout was heard without, leaving no doubt
+that the poor young woman had again fallen into the hands of her
+captors. The next moment a sharp, piercing scream in a female key
+confirmed the supposition. On hearing this cry, Richard instantly flew
+to the opposite door, through which Nance must have passed, but on
+trying it he found it fastened outside; and filled with sudden
+misgiving, for he now recollected leaving the key in the other door, he
+called to Nicholas to come with him, and hurried back to it. His
+apprehensions were verified; the door was locked. At first Nicholas was
+inclined to laugh at the trick played them; but a single look from
+Richard checked his tendency to merriment, and he followed his young
+relative, who had sprung to a window looking upon that part of the
+churchyard whence the shouts came, and flung it open. Richard's egress,
+however, was prevented by an iron bar, and he called out loudly and
+fiercely to the beadle, whom he saw standing in the midst of the crowd,
+to unlock the door.
+
+"Have a little patience, good Master Richard," replied Potts, turning up
+his provoking little visage, now charged with triumphant malice. "You
+shall come out presently. We are busy just now--engaged in binding the
+witch, as you see. Both keys are safely in my pocket, and I will send
+you one of them when we start for the river, good Master Richard. We
+lawyers are not to be overreached you see--ha! ha!"
+
+"You shall repent this conduct when I do get out," cried Richard,
+furiously. "Sparshot, I command you to bring the key instantly."
+
+But, encouraged by the attorney, the beadle affected not to hear
+Richard's angry vociferations, and the others were unable to aid the
+young man, if they had been so disposed, and all were too much
+interested in what was going forward to run off to the vicarage, and
+acquaint Sir Ralph with the circumstances in which his relatives were
+placed, even though enjoined to do so.
+
+On being set free by Richard, Nance had flown quickly through the
+church, and passed out at the side door, and was making good her retreat
+at the back of the edifice, when her flying figure was descried by Jem
+Device, who, failing in his first attempt, had run round that way,
+fancying he should catch her.
+
+He instantly dashed after her with all the fury of a bloodhound, and,
+being possessed of remarkable activity, speedily overtook her, and,
+heedless of her threats and entreaties, secured her.
+
+"Lemme go, Jem," she cried, "an ey win do thee a good turn one o' these
+days, when theaw may chonce to be i' th' same strait os me." But seeing
+him inexorable, she added, "My granddame shan rack thy boans sorely,
+lad, for this."
+
+Jem replied by a coarse laugh of defiance, and, dragging her along,
+delivered her to Master Potts and the beadle, who were then hurrying to
+the other door of the church. To prevent interruption, the cunning
+attorney, having ascertained that the two Asshetons were inside,
+instantly gave orders to have both doors locked, and the injunctions
+being promptly obeyed, he took possession of the keys himself, chuckling
+at the success of the stratagem. "A fair reprisal," he muttered; "this
+young milksop shall find he is no match for a skilful lawyer like me.
+Now, the cords--the cords!"
+
+It was at the sight of the bonds, which were quickly brought by
+Baggiley, that Nance uttered the piercing cry that had roused Richard's
+indignation. Feeling secure of his prisoner, and now no longer
+apprehensive of interruption, Master Potts was in no hurry to conclude
+the arrangements, but rather prolonged them to exasperate Richard.
+Little consideration was shown the unfortunate captive. The new shoes
+and stockings of which she had been so vain a short time before, were
+torn from her feet and limbs by the rude hands of the remorseless Jem
+and the beadle, and bent down by the main force of these two strong men,
+her thumbs and great toes were tightly bound together, crosswise, by the
+cords. The churchyard rang with her shrieks, and, with his blood boiling
+with indignation at the sight, Richard redoubled his exertions to burst
+through the window and fly to her assistance. But though Nicholas now
+lent his powerful aid to the task, their combined efforts to obtain
+liberation were unavailing; and with rage almost amounting to frenzy,
+Richard beheld the poor young woman borne shrieking away by her captors.
+Nor was Nicholas much less incensed, and he swore a deep oath when he
+did get at liberty that Master Potts should pay dearly for his rascally
+conduct.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.--THE ORDEAL BY SWIMMING.
+
+
+Bound hand and foot in the painful posture before described, roughly and
+insolently handled on all sides, in peril of her life from the frightful
+ordeal to which she was about to be subjected, the miserable captive was
+borne along on the shoulders of Jem Device and Sparshot, her long, fine
+chestnut hair trailing upon the ground, her white shoulders exposed to
+the insolent gaze of the crowd, and her trim holiday attire torn to rags
+by the rough treatment she had experienced. Nance Redferne, it has been
+said, was a very comely young woman; but neither her beauty, her youth,
+nor her sex, had any effect upon the ferocious crowd, who were too much
+accustomed to such brutal and debasing exhibitions, to feel any thing
+but savage delight in the spectacle of a fellow-creature so scandalously
+treated and tormented, and the only excuse to be offered for their
+barbarity, is the firm belief they entertained that they were dealing
+with a witch. And when even in our own day so many revolting scenes are
+enacted to gratify the brutal passions of the mob, while prize-fights
+are tolerated, and wretched animals goaded on to tear each other in
+pieces, it is not to be wondered at that, in times of less enlightenment
+and refinement, greater cruelties should be practised. Indeed, it may be
+well to consider how far we have really advanced in civilisation since
+then; for until cruelty, whether to man or beast, be wholly banished
+from our sports, we cannot justly reproach our ancestors, or
+congratulate ourselves on our improvement.
+
+Nance's cries of distress were only answered by jeers, and renewed
+insults, and wearied out at length, the poor creature ceased struggling
+and shrieking, the dogged resolution she had before exhibited again
+coming to her aid.
+
+But her fortitude was to be yet more severely tested. Revealed by the
+disorder of her habiliments, and contrasting strongly with the extreme
+whiteness of her skin, a dun-coloured mole was discovered upon her
+breast. It was pointed out to Potts by Jem Device, who declared it to be
+a witch-mark, and the spot where her familiar drained her blood.
+
+"This is one of the 'good helps' to the discovery of a witch, pointed
+out by our sovereign lord the king," said the attorney, narrowly
+examining the spot. "'The one,' saith our wise prince, 'is the finding
+of their mark, and the trying the insensibleness thereof. The other is
+their fleeting on the water.' The water-ordeal will come presently, but
+the insensibility of the mark might be at once attested."
+
+"Yeigh, that con soon be tried," cried Jem, with a savage laugh.
+
+And taking a pin from his sleeve, the ruffian plunged it deeply into the
+poor creature's flesh. Nance winced, but she set her teeth hardly, and
+repressed the cry that must otherwise have been wrung from her.
+
+"A clear witch!" cried Jem, drawing forth the pin; "not a drop o' blood
+flows, an hoo feels nowt!"
+
+"Feel nowt?" rejoined Nance, between her ground teeth. "May ye ha a pang
+os sharp i' your cancart eart, ye villain."
+
+After this barbarous test, the crowd, confirmed by it in their notions
+of Nan's guiltiness, hurried on, their numbers increasing as they
+proceeded along the main street of the village leading towards the
+river; all the villagers left at home rushing forth on hearing a witch
+was about to be swum, and when they came within a bow-shot of the
+stream, Sparshot called to Baggiley to lay hold of Nance, while he
+himself, accompanied by several of the crowd, ran over the bridge, the
+part he had to enact requiring him to be on the other side of the water.
+
+Meantime, the main party turned down a little footpath protected by a
+gate on the left, which led between garden hedges to the grassy banks of
+the Calder, and in taking this course they passed by the cottage of
+Elizabeth Device. Hearing the shouts of the rabble, little Jennet, who
+had been in no very happy frame of mind since she had been brought home,
+came forth, and seeing her brother, called out to him, in her usual
+sharp tones, "What's the matter, Jem? Who han ye gotten there?"
+
+"A witch," replied Jem, gruffly. "Nance Redferne, Mother Chattox's
+grand-daughter. Come an see her swum i' th' Calder."
+
+Jennet readily complied, for her curiosity was aroused, and she shared
+in the family feelings of dislike to Mother Chattox and her descendants.
+
+"Is this Nance Redferne?" she cried, keeping close to her brother, "Ey'm
+glad yo'n caught her at last. How dun ye find yersel, Nance?"
+
+"Ill at ease, Jennet," replied Nance, with a bitter look; "boh it ill
+becomes ye to jeer me, lass, seein' yo're a born witch yoursel."
+
+"Aha!" cried Potts, looking at the little girl, "So this is a born
+witch--eh, Nance?"
+
+"A born an' bred witch," rejoined Nance; "jist as her brother Jem here
+is a wizard. They're the gran-childer o' Mother Demdike o' Pendle, the
+greatest witch i' these parts, an childer o' Bess Device, who's nah much
+better. Ask me to witness agen 'em, that's aw."
+
+"Howd thy tongue, woman, or ey'n drown thee," muttered Jem, in a tone of
+deep menace.
+
+"Ye canna, mon, if ey'm the witch ye ca' me," rejoined Nance. "Jennet's
+turn'll come os weel os mine, one o' these days. Mark my words."
+
+"Efore that ey shan see ye burned, ye faggot," cried Jennet, almost
+fiercely.
+
+"Ye'n gotten the fiend's mark o' your sleeve," cried Nance. "Ey see it
+written i' letters ov blood."
+
+"That's where our cat scratted me," replied Jennet, hiding her arm
+quickly.
+
+"Good!--very good!" observed Potts, rubbing his hands. "'Who but witches
+can be proof against witches?' saith our sagacious sovereign. I shall
+make something of this girl. She seems a remarkably quick
+child--remarkably quick--ha, ha!"
+
+By this time, the party having gained the broad flat mead through which
+the Calder flowed, took their way quickly towards its banks, the spot
+selected for the ordeal lying about fifty yards above the weir, where
+the current, ordinarily rapid, was checked by the dam, offering a smooth
+surface, with considerable depth of water. If soft natural beauties
+could have subdued the hearts of those engaged in this cruel and wicked
+experiment, never was scene better calculated for the purpose than that
+under contemplation. Through a lovely green valley meandered the Calder,
+now winding round some verdant knoll, now washing the base of lofty
+heights feathered with timber to their very summits, now lost amid thick
+woods, and only discernible at intervals by a glimmer amongst the trees.
+Immediately in front of the assemblage rose Whalley Nab, its steep sides
+and brow partially covered with timber, with green patches in the
+uplands where sheep and cattle fed. Just below the spot where the crowd
+were collected, the stream, here of some width, passed over the weir,
+and swept in a foaming cascade over the huge stones supporting the dam,
+giving the rushing current the semblance and almost the beauty of a
+natural waterfall. Below this the stream ran brawling on in a wider, but
+shallower channel, making pleasant music as it went, and leaving many
+dry beds of sand and gravel in the midst; while a hundred yards lower
+down, it was crossed by the arches of the bridge. Further still, a row
+of tall cypresses lined the bank of the river, and screened that part of
+the Abbey, converted into a residence by the Asshetons; and after this
+came the ruins of the refectory, the cloisters, the dormitory, the
+conventual church, and other parts of the venerable structure,
+overshadowed by noble lime-trees and elms. Lovelier or more peaceful
+scene could not be imagined. The green meads, the bright clear stream,
+with its white foaming weir, the woody heights reflected in the glassy
+waters, the picturesque old bridge, and the dark grey ruins beyond it,
+all might have engaged the attention and melted the heart. Then the
+hour, when evening was coming on, and when each beautiful object,
+deriving new beauty from the medium through which it was viewed,
+exercised a softening influence, and awakened kindly emotions. To most
+the scene was familiar, and therefore could have no charm of novelty. To
+Potts, however, it was altogether new; but he was susceptible of few
+gentle impressions, and neither the tender beauty of the evening, nor
+the wooing loveliness of the spot, awakened any responsive emotion in
+his breast. He was dead to every thing except the ruthless experiment
+about to be made.
+
+Almost at the same time that Jem Device and his party reached the near
+bank of the stream, the beadle and the others appeared on the opposite
+side. Little was said, but instant preparations were made for the
+ordeal. Two long coils of rope having been brought by Baggiley, one of
+them was made fast to the right arm of the victim, and the other to the
+left; and this done, Jem Device, shouting to Sparshot to look out, flung
+one coil of rope across the river, where it was caught with much
+dexterity by the beadle. The assemblage then spread out on the bank,
+while Jem, taking the poor young woman in his arms, who neither spoke
+nor struggled, but held her breath tightly, approached the river.
+
+"Dunna drown her, Jem," said Jennet, who had turned very pale.
+
+"Be quiet, wench," rejoined Jem, gruffly.
+
+And without bestowing further attention upon her, he let down his burden
+carefully into the water; and this achieved, he called out to the
+beadle, who drew her slowly towards him, while Jem guided her with the
+other rope.
+
+The crowd watched the experiment for a few moments in profound silence,
+but as the poor young woman, who had now reached the centre of the
+stream, still floated, being supported either by the tension of the
+cords, or by her woollen apparel, a loud shout was raised that she could
+not sink, and was, therefore, an undeniable witch.
+
+"Steady, lads--steady a moment," cried Potts, enchanted with the success
+of the experiment; "leave her where she is, that her buoyancy may be
+fully attested. You know, masters," he cried, with a loud voice, "the
+meaning of this water ordeal. Our sovereign lord and master the king, in
+his wisdom, hath graciously vouchsafed to explain the matter thus:
+'Water,' he saith, 'shall refuse to receive them (meaning witches, of
+course) in her bosom, that have shaken off their sacred water of
+baptism, and wilfully refused the benefit thereof.' It is manifest, you
+see, that this diabolical young woman hath renounced her baptism, for
+the water rejecteth her. _Non potest mergi_, as Pliny saith. She floats
+like a cork, or as if the clear water of the Calder had suddenly become
+like the slab, salt waves of the Dead Sea, in which, nothing can sink.
+You behold the marvel with your own eyes, my masters."
+
+"Ay, ay!" rejoined Baggiley and several others.
+
+"Hoo be a witch fo sartin," cried Jem Device. But as he spoke, chancing
+slightly to slacken the rope, the tension of which maintained the
+equilibrium of the body, the poor woman instantly sank.
+
+A groan, as much of disappointment as sympathy, broke from the
+spectators, but none attempted to aid her; and on seeing her sink, Jem
+abandoned the rope altogether.
+
+But assistance was at hand. Two persons rushed quickly and furiously to
+the spot. They were Richard and Nicholas Assheton. The iron bar had at
+length yielded to their efforts, and the first use they made of their
+freedom was to hurry to the river. A glance showed them what had
+occurred, and the younger Assheton, unhesitatingly plunging into the
+water, seized the rope dropped by Jem, and calling to the beadle to let
+go his hold, dragged forth the poor half-drowned young woman, and placed
+her on the bank, hewing asunder the cords that bound her hands and feet
+with his sword. But though still sensible, Nance was so much exhausted
+by the shock she had undergone, and her muscles were so severely
+strained by the painful and unnatural posture to which she had been
+compelled, that she was wholly unable to move. Her thumbs were blackened
+and swollen, and the cords had cut into the flesh, while blood trickled
+down from the puncture in her breast. Fixing a look of inexpressible
+gratitude upon her preserver, she made an effort to speak, but the
+exertion was too great; violent hysterical sobbing came on, and her
+senses soon after forsook her. Richard called loudly for assistance, and
+the sentiments of the most humane part of the crowd having undergone a
+change since the failure of the ordeal, some females came forward, and
+took steps for her restoration. Sensibility having returned, a cloak was
+wrapped around her, and she was conveyed to a neighbouring cottage and
+put to bed, where her stiffened limbs were chafed and warm drinks
+administered, and it began to be hoped that no serious consequences
+would ensue.
+
+Meanwhile, a catastrophe had wellnigh occurred in another quarter. With
+eyes flashing with fury, Nicholas Assheton pushed aside the crowd, and
+made his way to the bank whereon Master Potts stood. Not liking his
+looks, the little attorney would have taken to his heels, but finding
+escape impossible, he called upon Baggiley to protect him. But he was
+instantly in the forcible gripe of the squire, who shouted, "I'll teach
+you, mongrel hound, to play tricks with gentlemen."
+
+"Master Nicholas," cried the terrified and half-strangled attorney, "my
+very good sir, I entreat you to let me alone. This is a breach of the
+king's peace, sir. Assault and battery, under aggravated circumstances,
+and punishable with ignominious corporal penalties, besides fine and
+imprisonment, sir. I take you to witness the assault, Master Baggiley. I
+shall bring my ac--ac--ah--o--o--oh!"
+
+"Then you shall have something to bring your ac--ac--action for,
+rascal," cried Nicholas. And, seizing the attorney by the nape of the
+neck with one hand, and the hind wings of his doublet with the other, he
+cast him to a considerable distance into the river, where he fell with a
+tremendous splash.
+
+"He is no wizard, at all events," laughed Nicholas, as Potts went down
+like a lump of lead.
+
+But the attorney was not born to be drowned; at least, at this period of
+his career. On rising to the surface, a few seconds after his immersion,
+he roared lustily for help, but would infallibly have been carried over
+the weir, if Jem Device had not flung him the rope now disengaged from
+Nance Redferne, and which he succeeded in catching. In this way he was
+dragged out; and as he crept up the bank, with the wet pouring from his
+apparel, which now clung tightly to his lathy limbs, he was greeted by
+the jeers of Nicholas.
+
+"How like you the water-ordeal--eh, Master Attorney? No occasion for a
+second trial, I think. If Jem Device had known his own interest, he
+would have left you to fatten the Calder eels; but he will find it out
+in time."
+
+"You will find it out too, Master Nicholas," rejoined Potts, clapping on
+his wet cap. "Take me to the Dragon quickly, good fellow," he added, to
+Jem Device, "and I will recompense thee for thy pains, as well as for
+the service thou hast just rendered me. I shall have rheumatism in my
+joints, pains in my loins, and rheum in my head, oh dear--oh dear!"
+
+"In which case you will not be able to pay Mother Demdike your purposed
+visit to-morrow," jeered Nicholas. "You forgot you were to arrest her,
+and bring her before a magistrate."
+
+"Thy arm, good fellow, thy arm!" said Potts, to Jem Device.
+
+"To the fiend wi' thee," cried Jem, shaking him off roughly. "The
+squoire is reet. Wouldee had let thee drown."
+
+"What, have you changed your mind already, Jem?" cried Nicholas, in a
+taunting tone. "You'll have your grandmother's thanks for the service
+you've rendered her, lad--ha! ha!"
+
+"Fo' t' matter o' two pins ey'd pitch him again," growled Jem, eyeing
+the attorney askance.
+
+"No, no, Jem," observed Nicholas, "things must take their course. What's
+done is done. But if Master Potts be wise, he'll take himself out of
+court without delay."
+
+"You'll be glad to get me out of court one of these days, squire,"
+muttered Potts, "and so will you too, Master James Device.--A day of
+reckoning will come for both--heavy reckoning. Ugh! ugh!" he added,
+shivering, "how my teeth chatter!"
+
+"Make what haste you can to the Dragon," cried the good-natured squire;
+"get your clothes dried, and bid John Lawe brew you a pottle of strong
+sack, swallow it scalding hot, and you'll never look behind you."
+
+"Nor before me either," retorted Potts, "Scalding sack! This
+bloodthirsty squire has a new design upon my life!"
+
+"Ey'n go wi' ye to th' Dragon, mester," said Baggiley; "lean o' me."
+
+"Thanke'e friend," replied Potts, taking his arm. "A word at parting,
+Master Nicholas. This is not the only discovery of witchcraft I've made.
+I've another case, somewhat nearer home. Ha! ha!"
+
+With this, he hobbled off in the direction of the alehouse, his steps
+being traceable along the dusty road like the course of a watering-cart.
+
+"Ey'n go efter him," growled Jem.
+
+"No you won't, lad," rejoined Nicholas, "and if you'll take my advice,
+you'll get out of Whalley as fast as you can. You will be safer on the
+heath of Pendle than here, when Sir Ralph and Master Roger Nowell come
+to know what has taken place. And mind this, sirrah--the hounds will be
+out in the forest to-morrow. D'ye heed?"
+
+Jem growled something in reply, and, seizing his little sister's hand,
+strode off with her towards his mother's dwelling, uttering not a word
+by the way.
+
+Having seen Nance Redferne conveyed to the cottage, as before mentioned,
+Richard Assheton, regardless of the wet state of his own apparel, now
+joined his cousin, the squire, and they walked to the Abbey together,
+conversing on what had taken place, while the crowd dispersed, some
+returning to the bowers in the churchyard, and others to the green,
+their merriment in nowise damped by the recent occurrences, which they
+looked upon as part of the day's sport. As some of them passed by,
+laughing, singing, and dancing, Richard Assheton remarked, "I can
+scarcely believe these to be the same people I so lately saw in the
+churchyard. They then seemed totally devoid of humanity."
+
+"Pshaw! they are humane enough," rejoined Nicholas; "but you cannot
+expect them to show mercy to a witch, any more than to a wolf, or other
+savage and devouring beast."
+
+"But the means taken to prove her guilt were as absurd as iniquitous,"
+said Richard, "and savour of the barbarous ages. If she had perished,
+all concerned in the trial would have been guilty of murder."
+
+"But no judge would condemn them," returned Nicholas; "and they have the
+highest authority in the realm to uphold them. As to leniency to
+witches, in a general way, I would show none. Traitors alike to God and
+man, and bond slaves of Satan, they are out of the pale of Christian
+charity."
+
+"No criminal, however great, is out of the pale of Christian charity,"
+replied Richard; "but such scenes as we have just witnessed are a
+disgrace to humanity, and a mockery of justice. In seeking to discover
+and punish one offence, a greater is committed. Suppose this poor young
+woman really guilty--what then? Our laws are made for protection, as
+well as punishment of wrong. She should he arraigned, convicted, and
+condemned before punishment."
+
+"Our laws admit of torture, Richard," observed Nicholas.
+
+"True," said the young man, with a shudder, "and it is another relic of
+a ruthless age. But torture is only allowed under the eye of the law,
+and can be inflicted by none but its sworn servants. But, supposing this
+poor young woman innocent of the crime imputed to her, which I really
+believe her to be, how, then, will you excuse the atrocities to which
+she has been subjected?"
+
+"I do not believe her innocent," rejoined Nicholas; "her relationship to
+a notorious witch, and her fabrication of clay images, make her justly
+suspected."
+
+"Then let her be examined by a magistrate," said Richard; "but, even
+then, woe betide her! When I think that Alizon Device is liable to the
+same atrocious treatment, in consequence of her relationship to Mother
+Demdike, I can scarce contain my indignation."
+
+"It is unlucky for her, indeed," rejoined Nicholas; "but of all Nance's
+assailants the most infuriated was Alizon's brother, Jem Device."
+
+"I saw it," cried Richard--an uneasy expression passing over his
+countenance. "Would she could be removed from that family!"
+
+"To what purpose?" demanded Nicholas, quickly. "Her family are more
+likely to be removed from her if Master Potts stay in the
+neighbourhood."
+
+"Poor girl!" exclaimed Richard.
+
+And he fell into a reverie which was not broken till they reached the
+Abbey.
+
+To return to Jem Device. On reaching the cottage, the ruffian flung
+himself into a chair, and for a time seemed lost in reflection. At last
+he looked up, and said gruffly to Jennet, who stood watching him, "See
+if mother be come whoam?"
+
+"Eigh, eigh, ey'm here, Jem," said Elizabeth Device, opening the inner
+door and coming forth. "So, ye ha been swimmin' Nance Redferne, lad, eh!
+Ey'm glad on it--ha! ha!"
+
+Jem gave her a significant look, upon which she motioned Jennet to
+withdraw, and the injunction being complied with, though with evident
+reluctance, by the little girl, she closed the door upon her.
+
+"Now, Jem, what hast got to say to me, lad, eh?" demanded Elizabeth,
+stepping up to him.
+
+"Neaw great deal, mother," he replied; "boh ey keawnsel ye to look weel
+efter yersel. We're aw i' dawnger."
+
+
+"Ey knoas it, lad, ey knoas it," replied Elizabeth; "boh fo my own pert
+ey'm nah afeerd. They darna touch me; an' if they dun, ey con defend
+mysel reet weel. Here's a letter to thy gran-mother," she added, giving
+him a sealed packet. "Take care on it."
+
+"Fro Mistress Nutter, ey suppose?" asked Jem.
+
+"Eigh, who else should it be from?" rejoined Elizabeth. "Your
+gran-mother win' ha' enough to do to neet, an so win yo, too, Jem,
+lettin alone the walk fro here to Malkin Tower."
+
+"Weel, gi' me mey supper, an ey'n set out," rejoined Jem. "So ye ha'
+seen Mistress Nutter?"
+
+"Ey found her i' th' Abbey garden," replied Elizabeth, "an we had some
+tawk together, abowt th' boundary line o' th' Rough Lee estates, and
+other matters."
+
+And, as she spoke, she set a cold pasty, with oat cakes, cheese, and
+butter, before her son, and next proceeded to draw him a jug of ale.
+
+"What other matters dun you mean, mother?" inquired Jem, attacking the
+pasty. "War it owt relatin' to that little Lunnon lawyer, Mester Potts?"
+
+"Theawst hit it, Jem," replied Elizabeth, seating herself near him.
+"That Potts means to visit thy gran-mother to morrow."
+
+"Weel!" said Jem, grimly.
+
+"An arrest her," pursued Elizabeth.
+
+"Easily said," laughed Jem, scornfully, "boh neaw quite so easily done."
+
+"Nah quite, Jem," responded Elizabeth, joining in the laugh. "'Specially
+when th' owd dame's prepared, as she win be now."
+
+"Potts may set out 'o that journey, boh he winna come back again,"
+remarked Jem, in a sombre tone.
+
+"Wait till yo'n seen your gran-mother efore ye do owt, lad," said
+Elizabeth.
+
+"Ay, wait," added a voice.
+
+"What's that?" demanded Jem, laving down his knife and fork.
+
+Elizabeth did not answer in words, but her significant looks were quite
+response enough for her son.
+
+"Os ye win, mother," he said in an altered tone. After a pause, employed
+in eating, he added, "Did Mistress Nutter put onny questions to ye about
+Alizon?"
+
+"More nor enough, lad," replied Elizabeth; "fo what had ey to tell her?
+She praised her beauty, an said how unlike she wur to Jennet an thee,
+lad--ha! ha!--An wondert how ey cum to ha such a dowter, an monny other
+things besoide. An what could ey say to it aw, except--"
+
+"Except what, mother?" interrupted Jem.
+
+"Except that she wur my child just os much os Jennet an thee!"
+
+"Humph!" exclaimed Jem.
+
+"Humph!" echoed the voice that had previously spoken.
+
+Jem looked at his mother, and took a long pull at the ale-jug.
+
+"Any more messages to Malkin Tower?" he asked, getting up.
+
+"Neaw--mother will onderstond," replied Elizabeth. "Bid her be on her
+guard, fo' the enemy is abroad."
+
+"Meanin' Potts?" said Jem.
+
+"Meaning Potts," answered the voice.
+
+"There are strange echoes here," said Jem, looking round suspiciously.
+
+At this moment, Tib came from under a piece of furniture, where he had
+apparently been lying, and rubbed himself familiarly against his legs.
+
+"Ey needna be afeerd o' owt happenin to ye, mother," said Jem, patting
+the cat's back. "Tib win tay care on yo."
+
+"Eigh, eigh," replied Elizabeth, bending down to pat him, "he's a trusty
+cat." But the ill-tempered animal would not be propitiated, but erected
+his back, and menaced her with his claws.
+
+"Yo han offended him, mother," said Jem. "One word efore ey start. Are
+ye quite sure Potts didna owerhear your conversation wi' Mistress
+Nutter?"
+
+"Why d'ye ask, Jem?" she replied.
+
+"Fro' summat the knave threw out to Squoire Nicholas just now," rejoined
+Jem. "He said he'd another case o' witchcraft nearer whoam. Whot could
+he mean?"
+
+"Whot, indeed?" cried Elizabeth, quickly.
+
+"Look at Tib," exclaimed her son.
+
+As he spoke, the cat sprang towards the inner door, and scratched
+violently against it.
+
+Elizabeth immediately raised the latch, and found Jennet behind it, with
+a face like scarlet.
+
+"Yo'n been listenin, ye young eavesdropper," cried Elizabeth, boxing her
+ears soundly; "take that fo' your pains--an that."
+
+"Touch me again, an Mester Potts shan knoa aw ey'n heer'd," said the
+little girl, repressing her tears.
+
+Elizabeth regarded her angrily; but the looks of the child were so
+spiteful, that she did not dare to strike her. She glanced too at Tib;
+but the uncertain cat was now rubbing himself in the most friendly
+manner against Jennet.
+
+"Yo shan pay for this, lass, presently," said Elizabeth.
+
+"Best nah provoke me, mother," rejoined Jennet in a determined tone; "if
+ye dun, aw secrets shan out. Ey knoa why Jem's goin' to Malkin-Tower
+to-neet--an why yo're afeerd o' Mester Potts."
+
+"Howd thy tongue or ey'n choke thee, little pest," cried her mother,
+fiercely.
+
+Jennet replied with a mocking laugh, while Tib rubbed against her more
+fondly than ever.
+
+"Let her alone," interposed Jem. "An now ey mun be off. So, fare ye
+weel, mother,--an yo, too, Jennet." And with this, he put on his cap,
+seized his cudgel, and quitted the cottage.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.--THE RUINED CONVENTUAL CHURCH.
+
+
+Beneath a wild cherry-tree, planted by chance in the Abbey gardens, and
+of such remarkable size that it almost rivalled the elms and lime trees
+surrounding it, and when in bloom resembled an enormous garland, stood
+two young maidens, both of rare beauty, though in totally different
+styles;--the one being fair-haired and blue-eyed, with a snowy skin
+tinged with delicate bloom, like that of roses seen through milk, to
+borrow a simile from old Anacreon; while the other far eclipsed her in
+the brilliancy of her complexion, the dark splendour of her eyes, and
+the luxuriance of her jetty tresses, which, unbound and knotted with
+ribands, flowed down almost to the ground. In age, there was little
+disparity between them, though perhaps the dark-haired girl might be a
+year nearer twenty than the other, and somewhat more of seriousness,
+though not much, sat upon her lovely countenance than on the other's
+laughing features. Different were they too, in degree, and here social
+position was infinitely in favour of the fairer girl, but no one would
+have judged it so if not previously acquainted with their history.
+Indeed, it was rather the one having least title to be proud (if any one
+has such title) who now seemed to look up to her companion with mingled
+admiration and regard; the latter being enthralled at the moment by the
+rich notes of a thrush poured from a neighbouring lime-tree.
+
+Pleasant was the garden where the two girls stood, shaded by great
+trees, laid out in exquisite parterres, with knots and figures, quaint
+flower-beds, shorn trees and hedges, covered alleys and arbours,
+terraces and mounds, in the taste of the time, and above all an
+admirably kept bowling-green. It was bounded on the one hand by the
+ruined chapter-house and vestry of the old monastic structure, and on
+the other by the stately pile of buildings formerly making part of the
+Abbot's lodging, in which the long gallery was situated, some of its
+windows looking upon the bowling-green, and then kept in excellent
+condition, but now roofless and desolate. Behind them, on the right,
+half hidden by trees, lay the desecrated and despoiled conventual
+church. Reared at such cost, and with so much magnificence, by thirteen
+abbots--the great work having been commenced, as heretofore stated, by
+Robert de Topcliffe, in 1330, and only completed in all its details by
+John Paslew; this splendid structure, surpassing, according to Whitaker,
+"many cathedrals in extent," was now abandoned to the slow ravages of
+decay. Would it had never encountered worse enemy! But some half
+century later, the hand of man was called in to accelerate its
+destruction, and it was then almost entirely rased to the ground. At the
+period in question though partially unroofed, and with some of the walls
+destroyed, it was still beautiful and picturesque--more picturesque,
+indeed than in the days of its pride and splendour. The tower with its
+lofty crocketed spire was still standing, though the latter was cracked
+and tottering, and the jackdaws roosted within its windows and belfry.
+Two ranges of broken columns told of the bygone glories of the aisles;
+and the beautiful side chapels having escaped injury better than other
+parts of the fabric, remained in tolerable preservation. But the choir
+and high altar were stripped of all their rich carving and ornaments,
+and the rain descended through the open rood-loft upon the now
+grass-grown graves of the abbots in the presbytery. Here and there the
+ramified mullions still retained their wealth of painted glass, and the
+grand eastern window shone gorgeously as of yore. All else was neglect
+and ruin. Briers and turf usurped the place of the marble pavement; many
+of the pillars were festooned with ivy; and, in some places, the
+shattered walls were covered with creepers, and trees had taken root in
+the crevices of the masonry. Beautiful at all times were these
+magnificent ruins; but never so beautiful as when seen by the witching
+light of the moon--the hour, according to the best authority, when all
+ruins should be viewed--when the long lines of broken pillars, the
+mouldering arches, and the still glowing panes over the altar, had a
+magical effect.
+
+In front of the maidens stood a square tower, part of the defences of
+the religious establishment, erected by Abbot Lyndelay, in the reign of
+Edward III., but disused and decaying. It was sustained by high and
+richly groined arches, crossing the swift mill-race, and faced the
+river. A path led through the ruined chapter-house to the spacious
+cloister quadrangle, once used as a cemetery for the monks, but now
+converted into a kitchen garden, its broad area being planted out, and
+fruit-trees trained against the hoary walls. Little of the old refectory
+was left, except the dilapidated stairs once conducting to the gallery
+where the brethren were wont to take their meals, but the inner wall
+still served to enclose the garden on that side. Of the dormitory,
+formerly constituting the eastern angle of the cloisters, the shell was
+still left, and it was used partly as a grange, partly as a shed for
+cattle, the farm-yard and tenements lying on this side.
+
+Thus it will be seen that the garden and grounds, filling up the ruins
+of Whalley Abbey, offered abundant points of picturesque attraction, all
+of which--with the exception of the ruined conventual church--had been
+visited by the two girls. They had tracked the labyrinths of passages,
+scaled the broken staircases, crept into the roofless and neglected
+chambers, peered timorously into the black and yawning vaults, and now,
+having finished their investigations, had paused for awhile, previous to
+extending their ramble to the church, beneath the wild cherry-tree to
+listen to the warbling of the birds.
+
+"You should hear the nightingales at Middleton, Alizon," observed
+Dorothy Assheton, breaking silence; "they sing even more exquisitely
+than yon thrush. You must come and see me. I should like to show you the
+old house and gardens, though they are very different from these, and we
+have no ancient monastic ruins to ornament them. Still, they are very
+beautiful; and, as I find you are fond of flowers, I will show you some
+I have reared myself, for I am something of a gardener, Alizon. Promise
+you will come."
+
+"I wish I dared promise it," replied Alizon.
+
+"And why not, then?" cried Dorothy. "What should prevent you? Do you
+know, Alizon, what I should like better than all? You are so amiable,
+and so good, and so--so very pretty; nay, don't blush--there is no one
+by to hear me--you are so charming altogether, that I should like you to
+come and live with me. You shall be my handmaiden if you will."
+
+"I should desire nothing better, sweet young lady," replied Alizon;
+"but--"
+
+"But what?" cried Dorothy. "You have only your own consent to obtain."
+
+"Alas! I have," replied Alizon.
+
+"How can that be!" cried Dorothy, with a disappointed look. "It is not
+likely your mother will stand in the way of your advancement, and you
+have not, I suppose, any other tie? Nay, forgive me if I appear too
+inquisitive. My curiosity only proceeds from the interest I take in
+you."
+
+"I know it--I feel it, dear, kind young lady," replied Alizon, with the
+colour again mounting her cheeks. "I have no tie in the world except my
+family. But I am persuaded my mother will never allow me to quit her,
+however great the advantage might be to me."
+
+"Well, though sorry, I am scarcely surprised at it," said Dorothy. "She
+must love you too dearly to part with you."
+
+"I wish I could think so," sighed Alizon. "Proud of me in some sort,
+though with little reason, she may be, but love me, most assuredly, she
+does not. Nay more, I am persuaded she would be glad to be freed from my
+presence, which is an evident restraint and annoyance to her, were it
+not for some motive stronger than natural affection that binds her to
+me."
+
+"Now, in good sooth, you amaze me, Alizon!" cried Dorothy. "What
+possible motive can it be, if not of affection?"
+
+"Of interest, I think," replied Alizon. "I speak to you without reserve,
+dear young lady, for the sympathy you have shown me deserves and
+demands confidence on my part, and there are none with whom I can freely
+converse, so that every emotion has been locked up in my own bosom. My
+mother fancies I shall one day be of use to her, and therefore keeps me
+with her. Hints to this effect she has thrown out, when indulging in the
+uncontrollable fits of passion to which she is liable. And yet I have no
+just reason to complain; for though she has shown me little maternal
+tenderness, and repelled all exhibition of affection on my part, she has
+treated me very differently from her other children, and with much
+greater consideration. I can make slight boast of education, but the
+best the village could afford has been given me; and I have derived much
+religious culture from good Doctor Ormerod. The kind ladies of the
+vicarage proposed, as you have done, that I should live with them, but
+my mother forbade it; enjoining me, on the peril of incurring her
+displeasure, not to leave her, and reminding me of all the benefits I
+have received from her, and of the necessity of making an adequate
+return. And, ungrateful indeed I should be, if I did not comply; for,
+though her manner is harsh and cold to me, she has never ill-used me, as
+she has done her favourite child, my little sister Jennet, but has
+always allowed me a separate chamber, where I can retire when I please,
+to read, or meditate, or pray. For, alas! dear young lady, I dare not
+pray before my mother. Be not shocked at what I tell you, but I cannot
+hide it. My poor mother denies herself the consolation of
+religion--never addresses herself to Heaven in prayer--never opens the
+book of Life and Truth--never enters church. In her own mistaken way she
+has brought up poor little Jennet, who has been taught to make a scoff
+at religious truths and ordinances, and has never been suffered to keep
+holy the Sabbath-day. Happy and thankful am I, that no such evil lessons
+have been taught me, but rather, that I have profited by the sad
+example. In my own secret chamber I have prayed, daily and nightly, for
+both--prayed that their hearts might be turned. Often have I besought my
+mother to let me take Jennet to church, but she never would consent. And
+in that poor misguided child, dear young lady, there is a strange
+mixture of good and ill. Afflicted with personal deformity, and delicate
+in health, the mind perhaps sympathising with the body, she is wayward
+and uncertain in temper, but sensitive and keenly alive to kindness, and
+with a shrewdness beyond her years. At the risk of offending my mother,
+for I felt confident I was acting rightly, I have endeavoured to instil
+religious principles into her heart, and to inspire her with a love of
+truth. Sometimes she has listened to me; and I have observed strange
+struggles in her nature, as if the good were obtaining mastery of the
+evil principle, and I have striven the more to convince her, and win her
+over, but never with entire success, for my efforts have been overcome
+by pernicious counsels, and sceptical sneers. Oh, dear young lady, what
+would I not do to be the instrument of her salvation!"
+
+"You pain me much by this relation, Alizon," said Dorothy Assheton, who
+had listened with profound attention, "and I now wish more ardently than
+ever to take you from such a family."
+
+"I cannot leave them, dear young lady," replied Alizon; "for I feel I
+may be of infinite service--especially to Jennet--by staying with them.
+Where there is a soul to be saved, especially the soul of one dear as a
+sister, no sacrifice can be too great to make--no price too heavy to
+pay. By the blessing of Heaven I hope to save her! And that is the great
+tie that binds me to a home, only so in name."
+
+"I will not oppose your virtuous intentions, dear Alizon," replied
+Dorothy; "but I must now mention a circumstance in connexion with your
+mother, of which you are perhaps in ignorance, but which it is right you
+should know, and therefore no false delicacy on my part shall restrain
+me from mentioning it. Your grandmother, Old Demdike, is in very ill
+depute in Pendle, and is stigmatised by the common folk, and even by
+others, as a witch. Your mother, too, shares in the opprobrium attaching
+to her."
+
+"I dreaded this," replied Alizon, turning deadly pale, and trembling
+violently, "I feared you had heard the terrible report. But oh, believe
+it not! My poor mother is erring enough, but she is not so bad as that.
+Oh, believe it not!"
+
+"I will not believe it," said Dorothy, "since she is blessed with such a
+daughter as you. But what I fear is that you--you so kind, so good, so
+beautiful--may come under the same ban."
+
+"I must run this risk also, in the good work I have appointed myself,"
+replied Alizon. "If I am ill thought of by men, I shall have the
+approval of my own conscience to uphold me. Whatever betide, and
+whatever be said, do not you think ill of me, dear young lady."
+
+"Fear it not," returned Dorothy, earnestly.
+
+While thus conversing, they gradually strayed away from the cherry-tree,
+and taking a winding path leading in that direction, entered the
+conventual church, about the middle of the south aisle. After gazing
+with wonder and delight at the still majestic pillars, that, like ghosts
+of the departed brethren, seemed to protest against the desolation
+around them, they took their way along the nave, through broken arches,
+and over prostrate fragments of stone, to the eastern extremity of the
+fane, and having admired the light shafts and clerestory windows of the
+choir, as well as the magnificent painted glass over the altar, they
+stopped before an arched doorway on the right, with two Gothic niches,
+in one of which was a small stone statue of Saint Agnes with her lamb,
+and in the other a similar representation of Saint Margaret, crowned,
+and piercing the dragon with a cross. Both were sculptures of much
+merit, and it was wonderful they had escaped destruction. The door was
+closed, but it easily opened when tried by Dorothy, and they found
+themselves in a small but beautiful chapel. What struck them chiefly in
+it was a magnificent monument of white marble, enriched with numerous
+small shields, painted and gilt, supporting two recumbent figures,
+representing Henry de Lacy, one of the founders of the Abbey, and his
+consort. The knight was cased in plate armour, covered with a surcoat,
+emblazoned with his arms, and his feet resting upon a hound. This superb
+monument was wholly uninjured, the painting and gilding being still
+fresh and bright. Behind it a flag had been removed, discovering a
+flight of steep stone steps, leading to a vault, or other subterranean
+chamber.
+
+After looking round this chapel, Dorothy remarked, "There is something
+else that has just occurred to me. When a child, a strange dark tale was
+told me, to the effect that the last ill-fated Abbot of Whalley laid his
+dying curse upon your grandmother, then an infant, predicting that she
+should be a witch, and the mother of witches."
+
+"I have heard the dread tradition, too," rejoined Alizon; "but I cannot,
+will not, believe it. An all-benign Power will never sanction such
+terrible imprecations."
+
+"Far be it from me to affirm the contrary," replied Dorothy; "but it is
+undoubted that some families have been, and are, under the influence of
+an inevitable fatality. In one respect, connected also with the same
+unfortunate prelate, I might instance our own family. Abbot Paslew is
+said to be unlucky to us even in his grave. If such a curse, as I have
+described, hangs over the head of your family, all your efforts to
+remove it will be ineffectual."
+
+"I trust not," said Alizon. "Oh! dear young lady, you have now
+penetrated the secret of my heart. The mystery of my life is laid open
+to you. Disguise it as I may, I cannot but believe my mother to be under
+some baneful influence. Her unholy life, her strange actions, all
+impress me with the idea. And there is the same tendency in Jennet."
+
+"You have a brother, have you not?" inquired Dorothy.
+
+"I have," returned Alizon, slightly colouring; "but I see little of him,
+for he lives near my grandmother, in Pendle Forest, and always avoids me
+in his rare visits here. You will think it strange when I tell you I
+have never beheld my grandmother Demdike."
+
+"I am glad to hear it," exclaimed Dorothy.
+
+"I have never even been to Pendle," pursued Alizon, "though Jennet and
+my mother go there frequently. At one time I much wished to see my aged
+relative, and pressed my mother to take me with her; but she refused,
+and now I have no desire to go."
+
+"Strange!" exclaimed Dorothy. "Every thing you tell me strengthens the
+idea I conceived, the moment I saw you, and which my brother also
+entertained, that you are not the daughter of Elizabeth Device."
+
+"Did your brother think this?" cried Alizon, eagerly. But she
+immediately cast down her eyes.
+
+"He did," replied Dorothy, not noticing her confusion. "'It is
+impossible,' he said, 'that that lovely girl can be sprung from'--but I
+will not wound you by adding the rest."
+
+"I cannot disown my kindred," said Alizon. "Still, I must confess that
+some notions of the sort have crossed me, arising, probably, from my
+mother's extraordinary treatment, and from many other circumstances,
+which, though trifling in themselves, were not without weight in leading
+me to the conclusion. Hitherto I have treated it only as a passing
+fancy, but if you and Master Richard Assheton"--and her voice slightly
+faltered as she pronounced the name--"think so, it may warrant me in
+more seriously considering the matter."
+
+"Do consider it most seriously, dear Alizon," cried Dorothy. "I have
+made up my mind, and Richard has made up his mind, too, that you are not
+Mother Demdike's grand-daughter, nor Elizabeth Device's daughter, nor
+Jennet's sister--nor any relation of theirs. We are sure of it, and we
+will have you of our mind."
+
+The fair and animated speaker could not help noticing the blushes that
+mantled Alizon's cheeks as she spoke, but she attributed them to other
+than the true cause. Nor did she mend the matter as she proceeded.
+
+"I am sure you are well born, Alizon," she said, "and so it will be
+found in the end. And Richard thinks so, too, for he said so to me; and
+Richard is my oracle, Alizon."
+
+In spite of herself Alizon's eyes sparkled with pleasure; but she
+speedily checked the emotion.
+
+"I must not indulge the dream," she said, with a sigh.
+
+"Why not?" cried Dorothy. "I will have strict inquiries made as to your
+history."
+
+"I cannot consent to it," replied Alizon. "I cannot leave one who, if
+she be not my parent, has stood to me in that relation. Neither can I
+have her brought into trouble on my account. What will she think of me,
+if she learns I have indulged such a notion? She will say, and with
+truth, that I am the most ungrateful of human beings, as well as the
+most unnatural of children. No, dear young lady, it must not be. These
+fancies are brilliant, but fallacious, and, like bubbles, burst as soon
+as formed."
+
+"I admire your sentiments, though I do not admit the justice of your
+reasoning," rejoined Dorothy. "It is not on your own account merely,
+though that is much, that the secret of your birth--if there be
+one--ought to be cleared up; but, for the sake of those with whom you
+may be connected. There may be a mother, like mine, weeping for you as
+lost--a brother, like Richard, mourning you as dead. Think of the sad
+hearts your restoration will make joyful. As to Elizabeth Device, no
+consideration should be shown her. If she has stolen you from your
+parents, as I suspect, she deserves no pity."
+
+"All this is mere surmise, dear young lady," replied Alizon.
+
+At this juncture they were startled, by seeing an old woman come from
+behind the monument and plant herself before them. Both uttered a cry,
+and would have fled, but a gesture from the crone detained them. Very
+old was she, and of strange and sinister aspect, almost blind, bent
+double, with frosted brows and chin, and shaking with palsy.
+
+"Stay where you are," cried the hag, in an imperious tone. "I want to
+speak to you. Come nearer to me, my pretty wheans; nearer--nearer."
+
+And as they complied, drawn towards her by an impulse they could not
+resist, the old woman caught hold of Alizon's arm, and said with a
+chuckle. "So you are the wench they call Alizon Device, eh!"
+
+"Ay," replied Alizon, trembling like a dove in the talons of a hawk.
+
+"Do you know who I am?" cried the hag, grasping her yet more tightly.
+"Do you know who I am, I say? If not, I will tell you. I am Mother
+Chattox of Pendle Forest, the rival of Mother Demdike, and the enemy of
+all her accursed brood. Now, do you know me, wench? Men call me witch.
+Whether I am so or not, I have some power, as they and you shall find.
+Mother Demdike has often defied me--often injured me, but I will have my
+revenge upon her--ha! ha!"
+
+"Let me go," cried Alizon, greatly terrified.
+
+"I will run and bring assistance," cried Dorothy. And she flew to the
+door, but it resisted her attempts to open it.
+
+"Come back," screamed the hag. "You strive in vain. The door is fast
+shut--fast shut. Come back, I say. Who are you?" she added, as the maid
+drew near, ready to sink with terror. "Your voice is an Assheton's
+voice. I know you now. You are Dorothy Assheton--whey-skinned, blue-eyed
+Dorothy. Listen to me, Dorothy. I owe your family a grudge, and, if you
+provoke me, I will pay it off in part on you. Stir not, as you value
+your life."
+
+The poor girl did not dare to move, and Alizon remained as if fascinated
+by the terrible old woman.
+
+"I will tell you what has happened, Dorothy," pursued Mother Chattox. "I
+came hither to Whalley on business of my own; meddling with no one;
+harming no one. Tread upon the adder and it will bite; and, when
+molested, I bite like the adder. Your cousin, Nick Assheton, came in my
+way, called me 'witch,' and menaced me. I cursed him--ha! ha! And then
+your brother, Richard--"
+
+[Illustration: MOTHER CHATTOX, ALIZON, AND DOROTHY.]
+
+"What of him, in Heaven's name?" almost shrieked Alizon.
+
+"How's this?" exclaimed Mother Chattox, placing her hand on the beating
+heart of the girl.
+
+"What of Richard Assheton?" repeated Alizon.
+
+"You love him, I feel you do, wench," cried the old crone with fierce
+exultation.
+
+"Release me, wicked woman," cried Alizon.
+
+"Wicked, am I? ha! ha!" rejoined Mother Chattox, chuckling maliciously,
+"because, forsooth, I read thy heart, and betray its secrets. Wicked,
+eh! I tell thee wench again, Richard Assheton is lord and master here.
+Every pulse in thy bosom beats for him--for him alone. But beware of his
+love. Beware of it, I say. It shall bring thee ruin and despair."
+
+"For pity's sake, release me," implored Alizon.
+
+"Not yet," replied the inexorable old woman, "not yet. My tale is not
+half told. My curse fell on Richard's head, as it did on Nicholas's. And
+then the hell-hounds thought to catch me; but they were at fault. I
+tricked them nicely--ha! ha! However, they took my Nance--my pretty
+Nance--they seized her, bound her, bore her to the Calder--and there
+swam her. Curses light on them all!--all!--but chief on him who did it!"
+
+"Who was he?" inquired Alizon, tremblingly.
+
+"Jem Device," replied the old woman--"it was he who bound her--he who
+plunged her in the river, he who swam her. But I will pinch and plague
+him for it, I will strew his couch with nettles, and all wholesome food
+shall be poison to him. His blood shall be as water, and his flesh
+shrink from his bones. He shall waste away slowly--slowly--slowly--till
+he drops like a skeleton into the grave ready digged for him. All
+connected with him shall feel my fury. I would kill thee now, if thou
+wert aught of his."
+
+"Aught of his! What mean you, old woman?" demanded Alizon.
+
+"Why, this," rejoined Mother Chattox, "and let the knowledge work in
+thee, to the confusion of Bess Device. Thou art not her daughter."
+
+"It is as I thought," cried Dorothy Assheton, roused by the intelligence
+from her terror.
+
+"I tell thee not this secret to pleasure thee," continued Mother
+Chattox, "but to confound Elizabeth Device. I have no other motive. She
+hath provoked my vengeance, and she shall feel it. Thou art not her
+child, I say. The secret of thy birth is known to me, but the time is
+not yet come for its disclosure. It shall out, one day, to the confusion
+of those who offend me. When thou goest home tell thy reputed mother
+what I have said, and mark how she takes the information. Ha! who comes
+here?"
+
+The hag's last exclamation was occasioned by the sudden appearance of
+Mistress Nutter, who opened the door of the chapel, and, staring in
+astonishment at the group, came quickly forward.
+
+"What makes you here, Mother Chattox?" she cried.
+
+"I came here to avoid pursuit," replied the old hag, with a cowed
+manner, and in accents sounding strangely submissive after her late
+infuriated tone.
+
+"What have you been saying to these girls?" demanded Mistress Nutter,
+authoritatively.
+
+"Ask them," the hag replied.
+
+"She declares that Alizon is not the daughter of Elizabeth Device,"
+cried Dorothy Assheton.
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Mistress Nutter quickly, and as if a spring of
+extraordinary interest had been suddenly touched. "What reason hast thou
+for this assertion?"
+
+"No good reason," replied the old woman evasively, yet with evident
+apprehension of her questioner.
+
+"Good reason or bad, I will have it," cried Mistress Nutter.
+
+"What you, too, take an interest in the wench, like the rest!" returned
+Mother Chattox. "Is she so very winning?"
+
+"That is no answer to my question," said the lady. "Whose child is she?"
+
+"Ask Bess Device, or Mother Demdike," replied Mother Chattox; "they know
+more about the matter than me."
+
+"I will have thee speak, and to the purpose," cried the lady, angrily.
+
+"Many an one has lost a child who would gladly have it back again," said
+the old hag, mysteriously.
+
+"Who has lost one?" asked Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Nay, it passeth me to tell," replied the old woman with affected
+ignorance. "Question those who stole her. I have set you on the track.
+If you fail in pursuing it, come to me. You know where to find me."
+
+"You shall not go thus," said Mistress Nutter. "I will have a direct
+answer now."
+
+And as she spoke she waved her hands twice or thrice over the old woman.
+In doing this her figure seemed to dilate, and her countenance underwent
+a marked and fearful change. All her beauty vanished, her eyes blazed,
+and terror sat on her wrinkled brow. The hag, on the contrary, crouched
+lower down, and seemed to dwindle less than her ordinary size. Writhing
+as from heavy blows, and with a mixture of malice and fear in her
+countenance, she cried, "Were I to speak, you would not thank me. Let me
+go."
+
+"Answer," vociferated Mistress Nutter, disregarding the caution, and
+speaking in a sharp piercing voice, strangely contrasting with her
+ordinary utterance. "Answer, I say, or I will beat thee to the dust."
+
+And she continued her gestures, while the sufferings of the old hag
+evidently increased, and she crouched nearer and nearer to the ground,
+moaning out the words, "Do not force me to speak. You will repent
+it!--you will repent it!"
+
+"Do not torment her thus, madam," cried Alizon, who with Dorothy looked
+at the strange scene with mingled apprehension and wonderment. "Much as
+I desire to know the secret of my birth, I would not obtain it thus."
+
+As she uttered these words, the old woman contrived to shuffle off, and
+disappeared behind the tomb.
+
+"Why did you interpose, Alizon," cried Mistress Nutter, somewhat
+angrily, and dropping her hands. "You broke the power I had over her. I
+would have compelled her to speak."
+
+"I thank you, gracious lady, for your consideration," replied Alizon,
+gratefully; "but the sight was too painful."
+
+"What has become of her--where is she gone?" cried Dorothy, peeping
+behind the tomb. "She has crept into this vault, I suppose."
+
+"Do not trouble yourelf about her more, Dorothy," said Mistress Nutter,
+resuming her wonted voice and wonted looks. "Let us return to the house.
+Thus much is ascertained, Alizon, that you are no child of your supposed
+parent. Wait a little, and the rest shall be found out for you. And,
+meantime, be assured that I take strong interest in you."
+
+"That we all do," added Dorothy.
+
+"Thank you! thank you!" exclaimed Alizon, almost overpowered.
+
+With this they went forth, and, traversing the shafted aisle, quitted
+the conventual church, and took their way along the alley leading to the
+garden.
+
+"Say not a word at present to Elizabeth Device of the information you
+have obtained, Alizon," observed Mistress Nutter. "I have reasons for
+this counsel, which I will afterwards explain to you. And do you keep
+silence on the subject, Dorothy."
+
+"May I not tell Richard?" said the young lady.
+
+"Not Richard--not any one," returned Mistress Nutter, "or you may
+seriously affect Alizon's prospects."
+
+"You have cautioned me in time," cried Dorothy, "for here comes my
+brother with our cousin Nicholas."
+
+And as she spoke a turn in the alley showed Richard and Nicholas
+Assheton advancing towards them.
+
+A strange revolution had been produced in Alizon's feelings by the
+events of the last half hour. The opinions expressed by Dorothy
+Assheton, as to her birth, had been singularly confirmed by Mother
+Chattox; but could reliance be placed on the old woman's assertions?
+Might they not have been made with mischievous intent? And was it not
+possible, nay, probable, that, in her place of concealment behind the
+tomb, the vindictive hag had overheard the previous conversation with
+Dorothy, and based her own declaration upon it? All these suggestions
+occurred to Alizon, but the previous idea having once gained admission
+to her breast, soon established itself firmly there, in spite of doubts
+and misgivings, and began to mix itself up with new thoughts and
+wishes, with which other persons were connected; for she could not help
+fancying she might be well-born, and if so the vast distance heretofore
+existing between her and Richard Assheton might be greatly diminished,
+if not altogether removed. So rapid is the progress of thought, that
+only a few minutes were required for this long train of reflections to
+pass through her mind, and it was merely put to flight by the approach
+of the main object of her thoughts.
+
+On joining the party, Richard Assheton saw plainly that something had
+happened; but as both his sister and Alizon laboured under evident
+embarrassment, he abstained from making inquiries as to its cause for
+the present, hoping a better opportunity of doing so would occur, and
+the conversation was kept up by Nicholas Assheton, who described, in his
+wonted lively manner, the encounter with Mother Chattox and Nance
+Redferne, the swimming of the latter, and the trickery and punishment of
+Potts. During the recital Mistress Nutter often glanced uneasily at the
+two girls, but neither of them offered any interruption until Nicholas
+had finished, when Dorothy, taking her brother's hand, said, with a look
+of affectionate admiration, "You acted like yourself, dear Richard."
+
+Alizon did not venture to give utterance to the same sentiment, but her
+looks plainly expressed it.
+
+"I only wish you had punished that cruel James Device, as well as saved
+poor Nance," added Dorothy.
+
+"Hush!" exclaimed Richard, glancing at Alizon.
+
+"You need not be afraid of hurting her feelings," cried the young lady.
+"She does not mind him now."
+
+"What do you mean, Dorothy?" cried Richard, in surprise.
+
+"Oh, nothing--nothing," she replied, hastily.
+
+"Perhaps you will explain," said Richard to Alizon.
+
+"Indeed I cannot," she answered in confusion.
+
+"You would have laughed to see Potts creep out of the river," said
+Nicholas, turning to Dorothy; "he looked just like a drowned
+rat--ha!--ha!"
+
+"You have made a bitter enemy of him, Nicholas," observed Mistress
+Nutter; "so look well to yourself."
+
+"I heed him not," rejoined the squire; "he knows me now too well to
+meddle with me again, and I shall take good care how I put myself in his
+power. One thing I may mention, to show the impotent malice of the
+knave. Just as he was setting off, he said, 'This is not the only
+discovery of witchcraft I have made to-day. I have another case nearer
+home.' What could he mean?"
+
+"I know not," replied Mistress Nutter, a shade of disquietude passing
+over her countenance. "But he is quite capable of bringing the charge
+against you or any of us."
+
+"He is so," said Nicholas. "After what has occurred, I wonder whether
+he will go over to Rough Lee to-morrow?"
+
+"Very likely not," replied Mistress Nutter, "and in that case Master
+Roger Nowell must provide some other person competent to examine the
+boundary-line of the properties on his behalf."
+
+"Then you are confident of the adjudication being in your favour?" said
+Nicholas.
+
+"Quite so," replied Mistress Nutter, with a self-satisfied smile.
+
+"The result, I hope, may justify your expectation," said Nicholas; "but
+it is right to tell you, that Sir Ralph, in consenting to postpone his
+decision, has only done so out of consideration to you. If the division
+of the properties be as represented by him, Master Nowell will
+unquestionably obtain an award in his favour."
+
+"Under such circumstances he may," said Mistress Nutter; "but you will
+find the contrary turn out to be the fact. I will show you a plan I have
+had lately prepared, and you can then judge for yourself."
+
+While thus conversing, the party passed through a door in the high stone
+wall dividing the garden from the court, and proceeded towards the
+principal entrance of the mansion. Built out of the ruins of the Abbey,
+which had served as a very convenient quarry for the construction of
+this edifice, as well as for Portfield, the house was large and
+irregular, planned chiefly with the view of embodying part of the old
+abbot's lodging, and consisting of a wide front, with two wings, one of
+which looked into the court, and the other, comprehending the long
+gallery, into the garden. The old north-east gate of the Abbey, with its
+lofty archway and embattled walls, served as an entrance to the great
+court-yard, and at its wicket ordinarily stood Ned Huddlestone, the
+porter, though he was absent on the present occasion, being occupied
+with the May-day festivities. Immediately opposite the gateway sprang a
+flight of stone steps, with a double landing-place and a broad
+balustrade of the same material, on the lowest pillar of which was
+placed a large escutcheon sculptured with the arms of the
+family--argent, a mullet sable--with a rebus on the name--an ash on a
+tun. The great door to which these steps conducted stood wide open, and
+before it, on the upper landing-place, were collected Lady Assheton,
+Mistress Braddyll, Mistress Nicholas Assheton, and some other dames,
+laughing and conversing together. Some long-eared spaniels, favourites
+of the lady of the house, were chasing each other up and down the steps,
+disturbing the slumbers of a couple of fine blood-hounds in the
+court-yard; or persecuting the proud peafowl that strutted about to
+display their gorgeous plumage to the spectators.
+
+On seeing the party approach, Lady Assheton came down to meet them.
+
+"You have been long absent," she said to Dorothy; "but I suppose you
+have been exploring the ruins?"
+
+"Yes, we have not left a hole or corner unvisited," was the reply.
+
+"That is right," said Lady Assheton. "I knew you would make a good
+guide, Dorothy. Of course you have often seen the old conventual church
+before, Alizon?"
+
+"I am ashamed to say I have not, your ladyship," she replied.
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Lady Assheton; "and yet you have lived all your life
+in the village?"
+
+"Quite true, your ladyship," answered Alizon; "but these ruins have been
+prohibited to me."
+
+"Not by us," said Lady Assheton; "they are open to every one."
+
+"I was forbidden to visit them by my mother," said Alizon. And for the
+first time the word "mother" seemed strange to her.
+
+Lady Assheton looked surprised, but made no remark, and mounting the
+steps, led the way to a spacious though not very lofty chamber, with
+huge uncovered rafters, and a floor of polished oak. Over a great
+fireplace at one side, furnished with immense andirons, hung a noble
+pair of antlers, and similar trophies of the chase were affixed to other
+parts of the walls. Here and there were likewise hung rusty skull-caps,
+breastplates, two-handed and single-handed swords, maces, halberts, and
+arquebusses, with chain-shirts, buff-jerkins, matchlocks, and other
+warlike implements, amongst which were several shields painted with the
+arms of the Asshetons and their alliances. High-backed chairs of gilt
+leather were ranged against the walls, and ebony cabinets inlaid with
+ivory were set between them at intervals, supporting rare specimens of
+glass and earthenware. Opposite the fireplace, stood a large clock,
+curiously painted and decorated with emblematical devices, with the
+signs of the zodiac, and provided with movable figures to strike the
+hours on a bell; while from the centre of the roof hung a great
+chandelier of stag's horn.
+
+Lady Assheton did not tarry long within the entrance hall, for such it
+was, but conducted her guests through an arched doorway on the right
+into the long gallery. One hundred and fifty feet in length, and
+proportionately wide and lofty, this vast chamber had undergone little
+change since its original construction by the old owners of the Abbey.
+Panelled and floored with lustrous oak, and hung in some parts with
+antique tapestry, representing scriptural subjects, one side was pierced
+with lofty pointed windows, looking out upon the garden, while the
+southern extremity boasted a magnificent window, with heavy stone
+mullions, though of more recent workmanship than the framework,
+commanding Whalley Nab and the river. The furniture of the apartment was
+grand but gloomy, and consisted of antique chairs and tables belonging
+to the Abbey. Some curious ecclesiastical sculptures, wood carvings, and
+saintly images, were placed at intervals near the walls, and on the
+upper panels were hung a row of family portraits.
+
+Quitting the rest of the company, and proceeding to the southern
+window, Dorothy invited Alizon and her brother to place themselves
+beside her on the cushioned seats of the deep embrasure. Little
+conversation, however, ensued; Alizon's heart being too full for
+utterance, and recent occurrences engrossing Dorothy's thoughts, to the
+exclusion of every thing else. Having made one or two unsuccessful
+efforts to engage them in talk, Richard likewise lapsed into silence,
+and gazed out on the lovely scenery before him. The evening has been
+described as beautiful; and the swift Calder, as it hurried by, was
+tinged with rays of the declining sun, whilst the woody heights of
+Whalley Nab were steeped in the same rosy light. But the view failed to
+interest Richard in his present mood, and after a brief survey, he stole
+a look at Alizon, and was surprised to find her in tears.
+
+"What saddening thoughts cross you, fair girl?" he inquired, with deep
+interest.
+
+"I can hardly account for my sudden despondency," she replied; "but I
+have heard that great happiness is the precursor of dejection, and the
+saying I suppose must be true, for I have been happier to-day than I
+ever was before in my life. But the feeling of sadness is now past," she
+added, smiling.
+
+"I am glad of it," said Richard. "May I not know what has occurred to
+you?"
+
+"Not at present," interposed Dorothy; "but I am sure you will be pleased
+when you are made acquainted with the circumstance. I would tell you now
+if I might."
+
+"May I guess?" said Richard.
+
+"I don't know," rejoined Dorothy, who was dying to tell him. "May he?"
+
+"Oh no, no!" cried Alizon.
+
+"You are very perverse," said Richard, with a look of disappointment.
+"There can be no harm in guessing; and you can please yourself as to
+giving an answer. I fancy, then, that Alizon has made some discovery."
+
+Dorothy nodded.
+
+"Relative to her parentage?" pursued Richard.
+
+Another nod.
+
+"She has found out she is not Elizabeth Device's daughter?" said
+Richard.
+
+"Some witch must have told you this," exclaimed Dorothy.
+
+"Have I indeed guessed rightly?" cried Richard, with an eagerness that
+startled his sister. "Do not keep me in suspense. Speak plainly."
+
+"How am I to answer him, Alizon?" said Dorothy.
+
+"Nay, do not appeal to me, dear young lady," she answered, blushing.
+
+"I have gone too far to retreat," rejoined Dorothy, "and therefore,
+despite Mistress Nutter's interdiction, the truth shall out. You have
+guessed shrewdly, Richard. A discovery _has_ been made--a very great
+discovery. Alizon is not the daughter of Elizabeth Device."
+
+"The intelligence delights me, though it scarcely surprises me," cried
+Richard, gazing with heartfelt pleasure at the blushing girl; "for I was
+sure of the fact from the first. Nothing so good and charming as Alizon
+could spring from so foul a source. How and by what means you have
+derived this information, as well as whose daughter you are, I shall
+wait patiently to learn. Enough for me you are not the sister of James
+Device--enough you are not the grandchild of Mother Demdike."
+
+"You know all I know, in knowing thus much," replied Alizon, timidly.
+"And secrecy has been enjoined by Mistress Nutter, in order that the
+rest may be found out. But oh! should the hopes I have--perhaps too
+hastily--indulged, prove fallacious--"
+
+"They cannot be fallacious, Alizon," interrupted Richard, eagerly. "On
+that score rest easy. Your connexion with that wretched family is for
+ever broken. But I can see the necessity of caution, and shall observe
+it. And so Mistress Nutter takes an interest in you?"
+
+"The strongest," replied Dorothy; "but see! she comes this way."
+
+But we must now go back for a short space.
+
+While Mistress Nutter and Nicholas were seated at a table examining a
+plan of the Rough Lee estates, the latter was greatly astonished to see
+the door open and give admittance to Master Potts, who he fancied snugly
+lying between a couple of blankets, at the Dragon. The attorney was clad
+in a riding-dress, which he had exchanged for his wet habiliments, and
+was accompanied by Sir Ralph Assheton and Master Roger Nowell. On seeing
+Nicholas, he instantly stepped up to him.
+
+"Aha! squire," he cried, "you did not expect to see me again so soon,
+eh! A pottle of hot sack put my blood into circulation, and having,
+luckily, a change of raiment in my valise, I am all right again. Not so
+easily got rid of, you see!"
+
+"So it appears," replied Nicholas, laughing.
+
+"We have a trifling account to settle together, sir," said the attorney,
+putting on a serious look.
+
+"Whenever you please, sir," replied Nicholas, good-humouredly, tapping
+the hilt of his sword.
+
+"Not in that way," cried Potts, darting quickly back. "I never fight
+with those weapons--never. Our dispute must be settled in a court of
+law, sir--in a court of law. You understand, Master Nicholas?"
+
+"There is a shrewd maxim, Master Potts, that he who is his own lawyer
+has a fool for his client," observed Nicholas, drily. "Would it not be
+better to stick to the defence of others, rather than practise in your
+own behalf?"
+
+"You have expressed my opinion, Master Nicholas," observed Roger
+Nowell; "and I hope Master Potts will not commence any action on his own
+account till he has finished my business."
+
+"Assuredly not, sir, since you desire it," replied the attorney,
+obsequiously. "But my motives must not be mistaken. I have a clear case
+of assault and battery against Master Nicholas Assheton, or I may
+proceed against him criminally for an attempt on my life."
+
+"Have you given him no provocation, sir?" demanded Sir Ralph, sternly.
+
+"No provocation can justify the treatment I have experienced, Sir
+Ralph," replied Potts. "However, to show I am a man of peace, and
+harbour no resentment, however just grounds I may have for such a
+feeling, I am willing to make up the matter with Master Nicholas,
+provided--"
+
+"He offers you a handsome consideration, eh?" said the squire.
+
+"Provided he offers me a handsome apology--such as a gentleman may
+accept," rejoined Potts, consequentially.
+
+"And which he will not refuse, I am sure," said Sir Ralph, glancing at
+his cousin.
+
+"I should certainly be sorry to have drowned you," said the
+squire--"very sorry."
+
+"Enough--enough--I am content," cried Potts, holding out his hand, which
+Nicholas grasped with an energy that brought tears into the little man's
+eyes.
+
+"I am glad the matter is amicably adjusted," observed Roger Nowell, "for
+I suspect both parties have been to blame. And I must now request you,
+Master Potts, to forego your search, and inquiries after witches, till
+such time as you have settled this question of the boundary line for me.
+One matter at a time, my good sir."
+
+"But, Master Nowell," cried Potts, "my much esteemed and singular good
+client--"
+
+"I will have no nay," interrupted Nowell, peremptorily.
+
+"Hum!" muttered Potts; "I shall lose the best chance of distinction ever
+thrown in my way."
+
+"I care not," said Nowell.
+
+"Just as you came up, Master Nowell," observed Nicholas, "I was
+examining a plan of the disputed estates in Pendle Forest. It differs
+from yours, and, if correct, certainly substantiates Mistress Nutter's
+claim."
+
+"I have mine with me," replied Nowell, producing a plan, and opening it.
+"We can compare the two, if you please. The line runs thus:--From the
+foot of Pendle Hill, beginning with Barley Booth, the boundary is marked
+by a stone wall, as far as certain fields in the occupation of John
+Ogden. Is it not so?"
+
+"It is," replied Nicholas, comparing the statement with the other plan.
+
+"It then runs on in a northerly direction," pursued Nowell, "towards
+Burst Clough, and here the landmarks are certain stones placed in the
+moor, one hundred yards apart, and giving me twenty acres of this land,
+and Mistress Nutter ten."
+
+"On the contrary," replied Nicholas. "This plan gives Mistress Nutter
+twenty acres, and you ten."
+
+"Then the plan is wrong," cried Nowell, sharply.
+
+"It has been carefully prepared," said Mistress Nutter, who had
+approached the table.
+
+"No matter; it is wrong, I say," cried Nowell, angrily.
+
+"You see where the landmarks are placed, Master Nowell," said Nicholas,
+pointing to the measurement. "I merely go by them."
+
+"The landmarks are improperly placed in that plan," cried Nowell.
+
+"I will examine them myself to-morrow," said Potts, taking out a large
+memorandum-hook; "there cannot be an error of ten acres--ten perches--or
+ten feet, possibly, but acres--pshaw!"
+
+"Laugh as you please; but go on," said Mrs. Nutter.
+
+"Well, then," pursued Nicholas, "the line approaches the bank of a
+rivulet, called Moss Brook--a rare place for woodcocks and snipes that
+Moss Brook, I may remark--the land on the left consisting of five acres
+of waste land, marked by a sheepfold, and two posts set up in a line
+with it, belonging to Mistress Nutter."
+
+"To Mistress Nutter!" exclaimed Nowell, indignantly. "To me, you mean."
+
+"It is here set down to Mistress Nutter," said Nicholas.
+
+"Then it is set down wrongfully," cried Nowell. "That plan is altogether
+incorrect."
+
+"On which side of the field does the rivulet flow?" inquired Potts.
+
+"On the right," replied Nicholas.
+
+"On the left," cried Nowell.
+
+"There must be some extraordinary mistake," said Potts. "I shall make a
+note of that, and examine it to-morrow.--N.B. Waste land--sheepfold--
+rivulet called Moss Brook, flowing on the left."
+
+"On the right," cried Mistress Nutter.
+
+"That remains to be seen," rejoined Potts, "I have made the entry as on
+the left."
+
+"Go on, Master Nicholas," said Nowell, "I should like to see how many
+other errors that plan contains."
+
+"Passing the rivulet," pursued the squire, "we come to a footpath
+leading to the limestone quarry, about which there can be no mistake.
+Then by Cat Gallows Wood and Swallow Hole; and then by another path to
+Worston Moor, skirting a hut in the occupation of James Device--ha! ha!
+Master Jem, are you here? I thought you dwelt with your grandmother at
+Malkin Tower--excuse me, Master Nowell, but one must relieve the dulness
+of this plan by an exclamation or so--and here being waste land again,
+the landmarks are certain stones set at intervals towards Hook Cliff,
+and giving Mistress Nutter two-thirds of the whole moor, and Master
+Roger Nowell one-third."
+
+"False again," cried Nowell, furiously. "The two-thirds are mine, the
+one-third Mistress Nutter's."
+
+"Somebody must be very wrong," cried Nicholas.
+
+"Very wrong indeed," added Potts; "and I suspect that that somebody
+is--"
+
+"Master Nowell," said Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Mistress Nutter," cried Master Nowell.
+
+"Both are wrong and both right, according to your own showing," said
+Nicholas, laughing.
+
+"To-morrow will decide the question," said Potts.
+
+"Better wait till then," interposed Sir Ralph. "Take both plans with
+you, and you will then ascertain which is correct."
+
+"Agreed," cried Nowell. "Here is mine."
+
+"And here is mine," said Mistress Nutter. "I will abide by the
+investigation."
+
+"And Master Potts and I will verify the statements," said Nicholas.
+
+"We will, sir," replied the attorney, putting his memorandum book in his
+pocket. "We will."
+
+The plans were then delivered to the custody of Sir Ralph, who promised
+to hand them over to Potts and Nicholas on the morrow.
+
+The party then separated; Mistress Nutter shaping her course towards the
+window where Alizon and the two other young people were seated, while
+Potts, plucking the squire's sleeve, said, with a very mysterious look,
+that he desired a word with him in private. Wondering what could be the
+nature of the communication the attorney desired to make, Nicholas
+withdrew with him into a corner, and Nowell, who saw them retire, and
+could not help watching them with some curiosity, remarked that the
+squire's hilarious countenance fell as he listened to the attorney,
+while, on the contrary, the features of the latter gleamed with
+malicious satisfaction.
+
+Meanwhile, Mistress Nutter approached Alizon, and beckoning her towards
+her, they quitted the room together. As the young girl went forth, she
+cast a wistful look at Dorothy and her brother.
+
+"You think with me, that that lovely girl is well born?" said Dorothy,
+as Alizon disappeared.
+
+"It were heresy to doubt it," answered Richard.
+
+"Shall I tell you another secret?" she continued, regarding him
+fixedly--"if, indeed, it be a secret, for you must be sadly wanting in
+discernment if you have not found it out ere this. She loves you."
+
+"Dorothy!" exclaimed Richard.
+
+"I am sure of it," she rejoined. "But I would not tell you this, if I
+were not quite equally sure that you love her in return."
+
+"On my faith, Dorothy, you give yourself credit for wonderful
+penetration," cried Richard.
+
+"Not a whit more than I am entitled to," she answered. "Nay, it will not
+do to attempt concealment with me. If I had not been certain of the
+matter before, your manner now would convince me. I am very glad of it.
+She will make a charming sister, and I shall he very fond of her."
+
+"How you do run on, madcap!" cried her brother, trying to look
+displeased, but totally failing in assuming the expression.
+
+"Stranger things have come to pass," said Dorothy; "and one reads in
+story-hooks of young nobles marrying village maidens in spite of
+parental opposition. I dare say you will get nobody's consent to the
+marriage but mine, Richard."
+
+"I dare say not," he replied, rather blankly.
+
+"That is, if she should not turn out to be somebody's daughter," pursued
+Dorothy; "somebody, I mean, quite as great as the heir of Middleton,
+which I make no doubt she will."
+
+"I hope she may," replied Richard.
+
+"Why, you don't mean to say you wouldn't marry her if she didn't!" cried
+Dorothy. "I'm ashamed of you, Richard."
+
+"It would remove all opposition, at all events," said her brother.
+
+"So it would," said Dorothy; "and now I'll tell you another notion of
+mine, Richard. Somehow or other, it has come into my head that Alizon is
+the daughter of--whom do you think?"
+
+"Whom!" he cried.
+
+"Guess," she rejoined.
+
+"I can't," he exclaimed, impatiently.
+
+"Well, then, I'll tell you without more ado," she answered. "Mind, it's
+only my notion, and I've no precise grounds for it. But, in my opinion,
+she's the daughter of the lady who has just left the room."
+
+"Of Mistress Nutter!" ejaculated Richard, starting. "What makes you
+think so?"
+
+"The extraordinary and otherwise unaccountable interest she takes in
+her," replied Dorothy. "And, if you recollect, Mistress Nutter had an
+infant daughter who was lost in a strange manner."
+
+"I thought the child died," replied Richard; "but it may be as you say.
+I hope it is so."
+
+"Time will show," said Dorothy; "but I have made up my mind about the
+matter."
+
+At this moment Nicholas Assheton came up to them, looking grave and
+uneasy.
+
+"What has happened?" asked Richard, anxiously.
+
+"I have just received some very unpleasant intelligence," replied
+Nicholas. "I told you of a menace uttered by that confounded Potts, on
+quitting me after his ducking. He has now spoken out plainly, and
+declares he overheard part of a conversation between Mistress Nutter and
+Elizabeth Device, which took place in the ruins of the convent church
+this morning, and he is satisfied that--"
+
+"Well!" cried Richard, breathlessly.
+
+"That Mistress Nutter is a witch, and in league with witches," continued
+Nicholas.
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Richard, turning deathly pale.
+
+"I suspect the rascal has invented the charge," said Nicholas; "but he
+is quite unscrupulous enough to make it; and, if made, it will be fatal
+to our relative's reputation, if not to her life."
+
+"It is false, I am sure of it," cried Richard, torn by conflicting
+emotions.
+
+"Would I could think so!" cried Dorothy, suddenly recollecting Mistress
+Nutter's strange demeanour in the little chapel, and the unaccountable
+influence she seemed to exercise over the old crone. "But something has
+occurred to-day that leads me to a contrary conviction."
+
+"What is it? Speak!" cried Richard.
+
+"Not now--not now," replied Dorothy.
+
+"Whatever suspicions you may entertain, keep silence, or you will
+destroy Mistress Nutter," said Nicholas.
+
+"Fear me not," rejoined Dorothy. "Oh, Alizon!" she murmured, "that this
+unhappy question should arise at such a moment."
+
+"Do you indeed believe the charge, Dorothy?" asked Richard, in a low
+voice.
+
+"I do," she answered in the same tone. "If Alizon be her daughter, she
+can never be your wife."
+
+"How?" cried Richard.
+
+"Never--never!" repeated Dorothy, emphatically. "The daughter of a
+witch, be that witch named Elizabeth Device or Alice Nutter, is no mate
+for you."
+
+"You prejudge Mistress Nutter, Dorothy," he cried.
+
+"Alas! Richard. I have too good reason for what I say," she answered,
+sadly.
+
+Richard uttered an exclamation of despair. And on the instant the lively
+sounds of tabor and pipe, mixed with the jingling of bells, arose from
+the court-yard, and presently afterwards an attendant entered to
+announce that the May-day revellers were without, and directions were
+given by Sir Ralph that they should be shown into the great
+banqueting-hall below the gallery, which had been prepared for their
+reception.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.--THE REVELATION.
+
+
+On quitting the long gallery, Mistress Nutter and Alizon ascended a wide
+staircase, and, traversing a corridor, came to an antique, tapestried
+chamber, richly but cumbrously furnished, having a carved oak bedstead
+with sombre hangings, a few high-backed chairs of the same material, and
+a massive wardrobe, with shrine-work atop, and two finely sculptured
+figures, of the size of life, in the habits of Cistertian monks, placed
+as supporters at either extremity. At one side of the bed the tapestry
+was drawn aside, showing the entrance to a closet or inner room, and
+opposite it there was a great yawning fireplace, with a lofty
+mantelpiece and chimney projecting beyond the walls. The windows were
+narrow, and darkened by heavy transom bars and small diamond panes while
+the view without, looking upon Whalley Nab, was obstructed by the
+contiguity of a tall cypress, whose funereal branches added to the
+general gloom. The room was one of those formerly allotted to their
+guests by the hospitable abbots, and had undergone little change since
+their time, except in regard to furniture; and even that appeared old
+and faded now. What with the gloomy arras, the shrouded bedstead, and
+the Gothic wardrobe with its mysterious figures, the chamber had a grim,
+ghostly air, and so the young girl thought on entering it.
+
+"I have brought you hither, Alizon," said Mistress Nutter, motioning her
+to a seat, "that we may converse without chance of interruption, for I
+have much to say. On first seeing you to-day, your appearance, so
+superior to the rest of the May-day mummers, struck me forcibly, and I
+resolved to question Elizabeth Device about you. Accordingly I bade her
+join me in the Abbey gardens. She did so, and had not long left me when
+I accidentally met you and the others in the Lacy Chapel. When
+questioned, Elizabeth affected great surprise, and denied positively
+that there was any foundation for the idea that you were other than her
+child; but, notwithstanding her asseverations, I could see from her
+confused manner that there was more in the notion than she chose to
+admit, and I determined to have recourse to other means of arriving at
+the truth, little expecting my suspicions would be so soon confirmed by
+Mother Chattox. To my interrogation of that old woman, you were yourself
+a party, and I am now rejoiced that you interfered to prevent me from
+prosecuting my inquiries to the utmost. There was one present from whom
+the secret of your birth must be strictly kept--at least, for
+awhile--and my impatience carried me too far."
+
+"I only obeyed a natural impulse, madam," said Alizon; "but I am at a
+loss to conceive what claim I can possibly have to the consideration you
+show me."
+
+"Listen to me, and you shall learn," replied Mistress Nutter. "It is a
+sad tale, and its recital will tear open old wounds, but it must not be
+withheld on that account. I do not ask you to bury the secrets I am
+about to impart in the recesses of your bosom. You will do so when you
+learn them, without my telling you. When little more than your age I was
+wedded; but not to him I would have chosen if choice had been permitted
+me. The union I need scarcely say was unhappy--most unhappy--though my
+discomforts were scrupulously concealed, and I was looked upon as a
+devoted wife, and my husband as a model of conjugal affection. But this
+was merely the surface--internally all was strife and misery. Erelong my
+dislike of my husband increased to absolute hate, while on his part,
+though he still regarded me with as much passion as heretofore, he
+became frantically jealous--and above all of Edward Braddyll of
+Portfield, who, as his bosom friend, and my distant relative, was a
+frequent visiter at the house. To relate the numerous exhibitions of
+jealousy that occurred would answer little purpose, and it will be
+enough to say that not a word or look passed between Edward and myself
+but was misconstrued. I took care never to be alone with our guest--nor
+to give any just ground for suspicion--but my caution availed nothing.
+An easy remedy would have been to forbid Edward the house, but this my
+husband's pride rejected. He preferred to endure the jealous torment
+occasioned by the presence of his wife's fancied lover, and inflict
+needless anguish on her, rather than brook the jeers of a few
+indifferent acquaintances. The same feeling made him desire to keep up
+an apparent good understanding with me; and so far I seconded his views,
+for I shared in his pride, if in nothing else. Our quarrels were all in
+private, when no eye could see us--no ear listen."
+
+"Yours is a melancholy history, madam," remarked Alizon, in a tone of
+profound interest.
+
+"You will think so ere I have done," returned the lady, sadly. "The only
+person in my confidence, and aware of my secret sorrows, was Elizabeth
+Device, who with her husband, John Device, then lived at Rough Lee.
+Serving me in the quality of tire-woman and personal attendant, she
+could not be kept in ignorance of what took place, and the poor soul
+offered me all the sympathy in her power. Much was it needed, for I had
+no other sympathy. After awhile, I know not from what cause, unless from
+some imprudence on the part of Edward Braddyll, who was wild and
+reckless, my husband conceived worse suspicions than ever of me, and
+began to treat me with such harshness and cruelty, that, unable longer
+to endure his violence, I appealed to my father. But he was of a stern
+and arbitrary nature, and, having forced me into the match, would not
+listen to my complaints, but bade me submit. 'It was my duty to do so,'
+he said, and he added some cutting expressions to the effect that I
+deserved the treatment I experienced, and dismissed me. Driven to
+desperation, I sought counsel and assistance from one I should most have
+avoided--from Edward Braddyll--and he proposed flight from my husband's
+roof--flight with him."
+
+"But you were saved, madam?" cried Alizon, greatly shocked by the
+narration. "You were saved?"
+
+"Hear me out," rejoined Mistress Nutter. "Outraged as my feelings were,
+and loathsome as my husband was to me, I spurned the base proposal, and
+instantly quitted my false friend. Nor would I have seen him more, if
+permitted; but that secret interview with him was my first and
+last;--for it had been witnessed by my husband."
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Alizon.
+
+"Concealed behind the arras, Richard Nutter heard enough to confirm his
+worst suspicions," pursued the lady; "but he did not hear my
+justification. He saw Edward Braddyll at my feet--he heard him urge me
+to fly--but he did not wait to learn if I consented, and, looking upon
+me as guilty, left his hiding-place to take measures for frustrating the
+plan, he supposed concerted between us. That night I was made prisoner
+in my room, and endured treatment the most inhuman. But a proposal was
+made by my husband, that promised some alleviation of my suffering.
+Henceforth we were to meet only in public, when a semblance of affection
+was to be maintained on both sides. This was done, he said, to save my
+character, and preserve his own name unspotted in the eyes of others,
+however tarnished it might be in his own. I willingly consented to the
+arrangement; and thus for a brief space I became tranquil, if not happy.
+But another and severer trial awaited me."
+
+"Alas, madam!" exclaimed Alizon, sympathisingly.
+
+"My cup of sorrow, I thought, was full," pursued Mistress Nutter; "but
+the drop was wanting to make it overflow. It came soon enough. Amidst my
+griefs I expected to be a mother, and with that thought how many fond
+and cheering anticipations mingled! In my child I hoped to find a balm
+for my woes: in its smiles and innocent endearments a compensation for
+the harshness and injustice I had experienced. How little did I foresee
+that it was to be a new instrument of torture to me; and that I should
+be cruelly robbed of the only blessing ever vouchsafed me!"
+
+"Did the child die, madam?" asked Alizon.
+
+"You shall hear," replied Mistress Nutter. "A daughter was born to me. I
+was made happy by its birth. A new existence, bright and unclouded,
+seemed dawning upon me; but it was like a sunburst on a stormy day. Some
+two months before this event Elizabeth Device had given birth to a
+daughter, and she now took my child under her fostering care; for
+weakness prevented me from affording it the support it is a mother's
+blessed privilege to bestow. She seemed as fond of it as myself; and
+never was babe more calculated to win love than my little Millicent. Oh!
+how shall I go on? The retrospect I am compelled to take is frightful,
+but I cannot shun it. The foul and false suspicions entertained by my
+husband began to settle on the child. He would not believe it to be his
+own. With violent oaths and threats he first announced his odious
+suspicions to Elizabeth Device, and she, full of terror, communicated
+them to me. The tidings filled me with inexpressible alarm; for I knew,
+if the dread idea had once taken possession of him, it would never be
+removed, while what he threatened would be executed. I would have fled
+at once with my poor babe if I had known where to go; but I had no place
+of shelter. It would be in vain to seek refuge with my father; and I had
+no other relative or friend whom I could trust. Where then should I fly?
+At last I bethought me of a retreat, and arranged a plan of escape with
+Elizabeth Device. Vain were my precautions. On that very night, I was
+startled from slumber by a sudden cry from the nurse, who was seated by
+the fire, with the child on her knees. It was long past midnight, and
+all the household were at rest. Two persons had entered the room. One
+was my ruthless husband, Richard Nutter; the other was John Device, a
+powerful ruffianly fellow, who planted himself near the door.
+
+"Marching quickly towards Elizabeth, who had arisen on seeing him, my
+husband snatched the child from her before I could seize it, and with a
+violent blow on the chest felled me to the ground, where I lay helpless,
+speechless. With reeling senses I heard Elizabeth cry out that it was
+her own child, and call upon her husband to save it. Richard Nutter
+paused, but re-assured by a laugh of disbelief from his ruffianly
+follower, he told Elizabeth the pitiful excuse would not avail to save
+the brat. And then I saw a weapon gleam--there was a feeble piteous
+cry--a cry that might have moved a demon--but it did not move _him_.
+With wicked words and blood-imbrued hands he cast the body on the fire.
+The horrid sight was too much for me, and I became senseless."
+
+"A dreadful tale, indeed, madam!" cried Alizon, frozen with horror.
+
+"The crime was hidden--hidden from the eyes of men, but mark the
+retribution that followed," said Mistress Nutter; her eyes sparkling
+with vindictive joy. "Of the two murderers both perished miserably. John
+Device was drowned in a moss-pool. Richard Nutter's end was terrible,
+sharpened by the pangs of remorse, and marked by frightful suffering.
+But another dark event preceded his death, which may have laid a crime
+the more on his already heavily-burdened soul. Edward Braddyll, the
+object of his jealousy and hate, suddenly sickened of a malady so
+strange and fearful, that all who saw him affirmed it the result of
+witchcraft. None thought of my husband's agency in the dark affair
+except myself; but knowing he had held many secret conferences about the
+time with Mother Chattox, I more than suspected him. The sick man died;
+and from that hour Richard Nutter knew no rest. Ever on horseback, or
+fiercely carousing, he sought in vain to stifle remorse. Visions scared
+him by night, and vague fears pursued him by day. He would start at
+shadows, and talk wildly. To me his whole demeanour was altered; and he
+strove by every means in his power to win my love. But he could not give
+me back the treasure he had taken. He could not bring to life my
+murdered babe. Like his victim, he fell ill on a sudden, and of a
+strange and terrible sickness. I saw he could not recover, and therefore
+tended him carefully. He died; and I shed no tear."
+
+"Alas!" exclaimed Alizon, "though guilty, I cannot but compassionate
+him."
+
+"You are right to do so, Alizon," said Mistress Nutter, rising, while
+the young girl rose too; "for he was your father."
+
+"My father!" she exclaimed, in amazement. "Then you are my mother?"
+
+"I am--I am," replied Mistress Nutter, straining her to her bosom. "Oh,
+my child!--my dear child!" she cried. "The voice of nature from the
+first pleaded eloquently in your behalf, and I should have been deaf to
+all impulses of affection if I had not listened to the call. I now trace
+in every feature the lineaments of the babe I thought lost for ever. All
+is clear to me. The exclamation of Elizabeth Device, which, like my
+ruthless husband, I looked upon as an artifice to save the infant's
+life, I now find to be the truth. Her child perished instead of mine.
+How or why she exchanged the infants on that night remains to be
+explained, but that she did so is certain; while that she should
+afterwards conceal the circumstance is easily comprehended, from a
+natural dread of her own husband as well as of mine. It is possible that
+from some cause she may still deny the truth, but I can make it her
+interest to speak plainly. The main difficulty will lie in my public
+acknowledgment of you. But, at whatever cost, it shall be made."
+
+"Oh! consider it well;" said Alizon, "I will be your daughter in
+love--in duty--in all but name. But sully not my poor father's honour,
+which even at the peril of his soul he sought to maintain! How can I be
+owned as your daughter without involving the discovery of this tragic
+history?"
+
+"You are right, Alizon," rejoined Mistress Nutter, thoughtfully. "It
+will bring the dark deed to light. But you shall never return to
+Elizabeth Device. You shall go with me to Rough Lee, and take up your
+abode in the house where I was once so wretched--but where I shall now
+be full of happiness with you. You shall see the dark spots on the
+hearth, which I took to be your blood."
+
+"If not mine, it was blood spilt by my father," said Alizon, with a
+shudder.
+
+Was it fancy, or did a low groan break upon her ear? It must be
+imaginary, for Mistress Nutter seemed unconscious of the dismal sound.
+It was now growing rapidly dark, and the more distant objects in the
+room were wrapped in obscurity; but Alizon's gaze rested on the two
+monkish figures supporting the wardrobe.
+
+"Look there, mother," she said to Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Where?" cried the lady, turning round quickly, "Ah! I see. You alarm
+yourself needlessly, my child. Those are only carved figures of two
+brethren of the Abbey. They are said, I know not with what truth--to be
+statues of John Paslew and Borlace Alvetham."
+
+"I thought they stirred," said Alizon.
+
+"It was mere fancy," replied Mistress Nutter. "Calm yourself, sweet
+child. Let us think of other things--of our newly discovered
+relationship. Henceforth, to me you are Millicent Nutter; though to
+others you must still be Alizon Device. My sweet Millicent," she cried,
+embracing her again and again. "Ah, little--little did I think to see
+you more!"
+
+Alizon's fears were speedily chased away.
+
+"Forgive me, dear mother," she cried, "if I have failed to express the
+full delight I experience in my restitution to you. The shock of your
+sad tale at first deadened my joy, while the suddenness of the
+information respecting myself so overwhelmed me, that like one chancing
+upon a hidden treasure, and gazing at it confounded, I was unable to
+credit my own good fortune. Even now I am quite bewildered; and no
+wonder, for many thoughts, each of different import, throng upon me.
+Independently of the pleasure and natural pride I must feel in being
+acknowledged by you as a daughter, it is a source of the deepest
+satisfaction to me to know that I am not, in any way, connected with
+Elizabeth Device--not from her humble station--for poverty weighs little
+with me in comparison with virtue and goodness--but from her sinfulness.
+You know the dark offence laid to her charge?"
+
+"I do," replied Mistress Nutter, in a low deep tone, "but I do not
+believe it."
+
+"Nor I," returned Alizon. "Still, she acts as if she were the wicked
+thing she is called; avoids all religious offices; shuns all places of
+worship; and derides the Holy Scriptures. Oh, mother! you will
+comprehend the frequent conflict of feelings I must have endured. You
+will understand my horror when I have sometimes thought myself the
+daughter of a witch."
+
+"Why did you not leave her if you thought so?" said Mistress Nutter,
+frowning.
+
+"I could not leave her," replied Alizon, "for I then thought her my
+mother."
+
+Mistress Nutter fell upon her daughter's neck, and wept aloud. "You have
+an excellent heart, my child," she said at length, checking her emotion.
+
+"I have nothing to complain of in Elizabeth Device, dear mother," she
+replied. "What she denied herself, she did not refuse me; and though I
+have necessarily many and great deficiencies, you will find in me, I
+trust, no evil principles. And, oh! shall we not strive to rescue that
+poor benighted creature from the pit? We may yet save her."
+
+"It is too late," replied Mistress Nutter in a sombre tone.
+
+"It cannot be too late," said Alizon, confidently. "She cannot be beyond
+redemption. But even if she should prove intractable, poor little Jennet
+may be preserved. She is yet a child, with some good--though, alas! much
+evil, also--in her nature. Let our united efforts be exerted in this
+good work, and we must succeed. The weeds extirpated, the flowers will
+spring up freely, and bloom in beauty."
+
+"I can have nothing to do with her," said Mistress Nutter, in a freezing
+tone--"nor must you."
+
+"Oh! say not so, mother," cried Alizon. "You rob me of half the
+happiness I feel in being restored to you. When I was Jennets sister, I
+devoted myself to the task of reclaiming her. I hoped to be her guardian
+angel--to step between her and the assaults of evil--and I cannot, will
+not, now abandon her. If no longer my sister, she is still dear to me.
+And recollect that I owe a deep debt of gratitude to her mother--a debt
+I can never pay."
+
+"How so?" cried Mistress Nutter. "You owe her nothing--but the
+contrary."
+
+"I owe her a life," said Alizon. "Was not her infant's blood poured out
+for mine! And shall I not save the child left her, if I can?"
+
+"I shall not oppose your inclinations," replied Mistress Nutter, with
+reluctant assent; "but Elizabeth, I suspect, will thank you little for
+your interference."
+
+"Not now, perhaps," returned Alizon; "but a time will come when she will
+do so."
+
+While this conversation took place, it had been rapidly growing dark,
+and the gloom at length increased so much, that the speakers could
+scarcely see each other's faces. The sudden and portentous darkness was
+accounted for by a vivid flash of lightning, followed by a low growl of
+thunder rumbling over Whalley Nab. The mother and daughter drew close
+together, and Mistress Nutter passed her arm round Alizon's neck.
+
+The storm came quickly on, with forked and dangerous lightning, and
+loud claps of thunder threatening mischief. Presently, all its fury
+seemed collected over the Abbey. The red flashes hissed, and the peals
+of thunder rolled overhead. But other terrors were added to Alizon's
+natural dread of the elemental warfare. Again she fancied the two
+monkish figures, which had before excited her alarm, moved, and even
+shook their arms menacingly at her. At first she attributed this wild
+idea to her overwrought imagination, and strove to convince herself of
+its fallacy by keeping her eyes steadily fixed upon them. But each
+succeeding flash only served to confirm her superstitious apprehensions.
+
+Another circumstance contributed to heighten her alarm. Scared most
+probably by the storm, a large white owl fluttered down the chimney, and
+after wheeling twice or thrice round the chamber, settled upon the bed,
+hooting, puffing, ruffling its feathers, and glaring at her with eyes
+that glowed like fiery coals.
+
+Mistress Nutter seemed little moved by the storm, though she kept a
+profound silence, but when Alizon gazed in her face, she was frightened
+by its expression, which reminded her of the terrible aspect she had
+worn at the interview with Mother Chattox.
+
+All at once Mistress Nutter arose, and, rapid as the lightning playing
+around her and revealing her movements, made several passes, with
+extended hands, over her daughter; and on this the latter instantly fell
+back, as if fainting, though still retaining her consciousness; and,
+what was stranger still, though her eyes were closed, her power of sight
+remained.
+
+In this condition she fancied invisible forms were moving about her.
+Strange sounds seemed to salute her ears, like the gibbering of ghosts,
+and she thought she felt the flapping of unseen wings around her.
+
+All at once her attention was drawn--she knew not why--towards the
+closet, and from out it she fancied she saw issue the tall dark figure
+of a man. She was sure she saw him; for her imagination could not body
+forth features charged with such a fiendish expression, or eyes of such
+unearthly lustre. He was clothed in black, but the fashion of his
+raiments was unlike aught she had ever seen. His stature was gigantic,
+and a pale phosphoric light enshrouded him. As he advanced, forked
+lightnings shot into the room, and the thunder split overhead. The owl
+hooted fearfully, quitted its perch, and flew off by the way it had
+entered the chamber.
+
+The Dark Shape came on. It stood beside Mistress Nutter, and she
+prostrated herself before it. The gestures of the figure were angry and
+imperious--those of Mistress Nutter supplicating. Their converse was
+drowned by the rattling of the storm. At last the figure pointed to
+Alizon, and the word "midnight" broke in tones louder than the thunder
+from its lips. All consciousness then forsook her.
+
+How long she continued in this state she knew not, but the touch of a
+finger applied to her brow seemed to recall her suddenly to animation.
+She heaved a deep sigh, and looked around. A wondrous change had
+occurred. The storm had passed off, and the moon was shining brightly
+over the top of the cypress-tree, flooding the chamber with its gentle
+radiance, while her mother was bending over her with looks of tenderest
+affection.
+
+"You are better now, sweet child," said Mistress Nutter. "You were
+overcome by the storm. It was sudden and terrible."
+
+"Terrible, indeed!" replied Alizon, imperfectly recalling what had
+passed. "But it was not alone the storm that frightened me. This chamber
+has been invaded by evil beings. Methought I beheld a dark figure come
+from out yon closet, and stand before you."
+
+"You have been thrown into a state of stupor by the influence of the
+electric fluid," replied Mistress Nutter, "and while in that condition
+visions have passed through your brain. That is all, my child."
+
+"Oh! I hope so," said Alizon.
+
+"Such ecstasies are of frequent occurrence," replied Mistress Nutter.
+"But, since you are quite recovered, we will descend to Lady Assheton,
+who may wonder at our absence. You will share this room with me
+to-night, my child; for, as I have already said, you cannot return to
+Elizabeth Device. I will make all needful explanations to Lady Assheton,
+and will see Elizabeth in the morning--perhaps to-night. Reassure
+yourself, sweet child. There is nothing to fear."
+
+"I trust not, mother," replied Alizon. "But it would ease my mind to
+look into that closet."
+
+"Do so, then, by all means," replied Mistress Nutter with a forced
+smile.
+
+Alizon peeped timorously into the little room, which was lighted up by
+the moon's rays. There was a faded white habit, like the robe of a
+Cistertian monk, hanging in one corner, and beneath it an old chest.
+Alizon would fain have opened the chest, but Mistress Nutter called out
+to her impatiently, "You will discover nothing, I am sure. Come, let us
+go down-stairs."
+
+And they quitted the room together.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.--THE TWO PORTRAITS IN THE BANQUETING-HALL.
+
+
+The banqueting-hall lay immediately under the long gallery,
+corresponding with it in all but height; and though in this respect it
+fell somewhat short of the magnificent upper room, it was quite lofty
+enough to admit of a gallery of its own for spectators and minstrels.
+Great pains had been taken in decorating the hall for the occasion.
+Between the forest of stags' horns that branched from the gallery rails
+were hung rich carpets, intermixed with garlands of flowers, and banners
+painted with the arms of the Assheton family, were suspended from the
+corners. Over the fireplace, where, despite the advanced season, a pile
+of turf and wood was burning, were hung two panoplies of arms, and above
+them, on a bracket, was set a complete suit of mail, once belonging to
+Richard Assheton, the first possessor of the mansion. On the opposite
+wall hung two remarkable portraits--the one representing a religious
+votaress in a loose robe of black, with wide sleeves, holding a rosary
+and missal in her hand, and having her brow and neck entirely concealed
+by the wimple, in which her head and shoulders were enveloped. Such of
+her features as could be seen were of extraordinary loveliness, though
+of a voluptuous character, the eyes being dark and languishing, and
+shaded by long lashes, and the lips carnation-hued and full. This was
+the fair votaress, Isole de Heton, who brought such scandal on the Abbey
+in the reign of Henry VI. The other portrait was that of an abbot, in
+the white gown and scapulary of the Cistertian order. The countenance
+was proud and stern, but tinctured with melancholy. In a small shield at
+one corner the arms were blazoned--argent, a fess between three mullets,
+sable, pierced of the field, a crescent for difference--proving it to be
+the portrait of John Paslew. Both pictures had been found in the abbot's
+lodgings, when taken possession of by Richard Assheton, but they owed
+their present position to his descendant, Sir Ralph, who discovering
+them in an out-of-the-way closet, where they had been cast aside, and
+struck with their extraordinary merit, hung them up as above stated.
+
+The long oaken table, usually standing in the middle of the hall, had
+been removed to one side, to allow free scope for dancing and other
+pastimes, but it was still devoted to hospitable uses, being covered
+with trenchers and drinking-cups, and spread for a substantial repast.
+Near it stood two carvers, with aprons round their waists, brandishing
+long knives, while other yeomen of the kitchen and cellar were at hand
+to keep the trenchers well supplied, and the cups filled with strong
+ale, or bragget, as might suit the taste of the guests. Nor were these
+the only festive preparations. The upper part of the hall was reserved
+for Sir Ralph's immediate friends, and here, on a slightly raised
+elevation, stood a cross table, spread for a goodly supper, the snowy
+napery being ornamented with wreaths and ropes of flowers, and shining
+with costly vessels. At the lower end of the room, beneath the gallery,
+which it served to support, was a Gothic screen, embellishing an open
+armoury, which made a grand display of silver plates and flagons.
+Through one of the doorways contrived in this screen, the May-day
+revellers were ushered into the hall by old Adam Whitworth, the
+white-headed steward.
+
+"I pray you be seated, good masters, and you, too, comely dames," said
+Adam, leading them to the table, and assigning each a place with his
+wand. "Fall to, and spare not, for it is my honoured master's desire you
+should sup well. You will find that venison pasty worth a trial, and the
+baked red deer in the centre of the table is a noble dish. The fellow to
+it was served at Sir Ralph's own table at dinner, and was pronounced
+excellent. I pray you try it, masters.--Here, Ned Scargill, mind your
+office, good fellow, and break me that deer. And you, Paul Pimlot,
+exercise your craft on the venison pasty."
+
+And as trencher after trencher was rapidly filled by the two carvers,
+who demeaned themselves in their task like men acquainted with the
+powers of rustic appetite, the old steward addressed himself to the
+dames.
+
+"What can I do for you, fair mistresses?" he said. "Here be sack
+possets, junkets and cream, for such as like them--French puffs and
+Italian puddings, right good, I warrant you, and especially admired by
+my honourable good lady. Indeed, I am not sure she hath not lent a hand
+herself in their preparation. Then here be fritters in the court
+fashion, made with curds of sack posset, eggs and ale, and seasoned with
+nutmeg and pepper. You will taste them, I am sure, for they are
+favourites with our sovereign lady, the queen. Here, Gregory,
+Dickon--bestir yourselves, knaves, and pour forth a cup of sack for each
+of these dames. As you drink, mistresses, neglect not the health of our
+honourable good master Sir Ralph, and his lady. It is well--it is well.
+I will convey to them both your dutiful good wishes. But I must see all
+your wants supplied. Good Dame Openshaw, you have nought before you. Be
+prevailed upon to taste these dropt raisins or a fond pudding. And you,
+too, sweet Dame Tetlow. Squire Nicholas gave me special caution to take
+care of you, but the injunction was unneeded, as I should have done so
+without it.--Another cup of canary to Dame Tetlow, Gregory. Fill to the
+brim, knave--to the very brim. To the health of Squire Nicholas," he
+added in a low tone, as he handed the brimming goblet to the blushing
+dame; "and be sure and tell him, if he questions you, that I obeyed his
+behests to the best of my ability. I pray you taste this pippin jelly,
+dame. It is as red as rubies, but not so red as your lips, or some leach
+of almonds, which, lily-white though it be, is not to be compared with
+the teeth that shall touch it."
+
+"Odd's heart! mester steward, yo mun ha' larnt that protty speech fro'
+th' squoire himself," replied Dame Tetlow, laughing.
+
+"It may be the recollection of something said to me by him, brought to
+mind by your presence," replied Adam Whitworth, gallantly. "If I can
+serve you in aught else, sign to me, dame.--Now, knaves, fill the
+cups--ale or bragget, at your pleasure, masters. Drink and stint not,
+and you will the better please your liberal entertainer and my honoured
+master."
+
+Thus exhorted, the guests set seriously to work to fulfil the
+hospitable intentions of the provider of the feast. Cups flowed fast and
+freely, and erelong little was left of the venison pasty but the outer
+crust, and nothing more than a few fragments of the baked red deer. The
+lighter articles then came in for a share of attention, and salmon from
+the Ribble, jack, trout, and eels from the Hodder and Calder, boiled,
+broiled, stewed, and pickled, and of delicious flavour, were discussed
+with infinite relish. Puddings and pastry were left to more delicate
+stomachs--the solids only being in request with the men. Hitherto, the
+demolition of the viands had given sufficient employment, but now the
+edge of appetite beginning to be dulled, tongues were unloosed, and much
+merriment prevailed. More than eighty in number, the guests were
+dispersed without any regard to order, and thus the chief actors in the
+revel were scattered promiscuously about the table, diversifying it with
+their gay costumes. Robin Hood sat between two pretty female
+morris-dancers, whose partners had got to the other end of the table;
+while Ned Huddlestone, the representative of Friar Tuck, was equally
+fortunate, having a buxom dame on either side of him, towards whom he
+distributed his favours with singular impartiality. As porter to the
+Abbey, Ned made himself at home; and, next to Adam Whitworth, was
+perhaps the most important personage present, continually roaring for
+ale, and pledging the damsels around him. From the way he went on, it
+seemed highly probable he would be under the table before supper was
+over; but Ned Huddlestone, like the burly priest whose gown he wore, had
+a stout bullet head, proof against all assaults of liquor; and the
+copious draughts he swallowed, instead of subduing him, only tended to
+make him more uproarious. Blessed also with lusty lungs, his shouts of
+laughter made the roof ring again. But if the strong liquor failed to
+make due impression upon him, the like cannot be said of Jack Roby, who,
+it will be remembered, took the part of the Fool, and who, having drunk
+overmuch, mistook the hobby-horse for a real steed, and in an effort to
+bestride it, fell head-foremost on the floor, and, being found incapable
+of rising, was carried out to an adjoining room, and laid on a bench.
+This, however, was the only case of excess; for though the Sherwood
+foresters emptied their cups often enough to heighten their mirth, none
+of them seemed the worse for what they drank. Lawrence Blackrod, Mr.
+Parker's keeper, had fortunately got next to his old flame, Sukey
+Worseley; while Phil Rawson, the forester, who enacted Will Scarlet, and
+Nancy Holt, between whom an equally tender feeling subsisted, had
+likewise got together. A little beyond them sat the gentleman usher and
+parish clerk, Sampson Harrop, who, piquing himself on his good manners,
+drank very sparingly, and was content to sup on sweetmeats and a bowl of
+fleetings, as curds separated from whey are termed in this district. Tom
+the piper, and his companion the taborer, ate for the next week, but
+were somewhat more sparing in the matter of drink, their services as
+minstrels being required later on. Thus the various guests enjoyed
+themselves according to their bent, and universal hilarity prevailed. It
+would be strange indeed if it had been otherwise; for what with the good
+cheer, and the bright eyes around them, the rustics had attained a point
+of felicity not likely to be surpassed. Of the numerous assemblage more
+than half were of the fairer sex; and of these the greater portion were
+young and good-looking, while in the case of the morris-dancers, their
+natural charms were heightened by their fanciful attire.
+
+Before supper was half over, it became so dark that it was found
+necessary to illuminate the great lamp suspended from the centre of the
+roof, while other lights were set on the board, and two flaming torches
+placed in sockets on either side of the chimney-piece. Scarcely was this
+accomplished when the storm came on, much to the surprise of the
+weatherwise, who had not calculated upon such an occurrence, not having
+seen any indications whatever of it in the heavens. But all were too
+comfortably sheltered, and too well employed, to pay much attention to
+what was going on without; and, unless when a flash of lightning more
+than usually vivid dazzled the gaze, or a peal of thunder more appalling
+than the rest broke overhead, no alarm was expressed, even by the women.
+To be sure, a little pretty trepidation was now and then evinced by the
+younger damsels; but even this was only done with the view of exacting
+attention on the part of their swains, and never failed in effect. The
+thunder-storm, therefore, instead of putting a stop to the general
+enjoyment, only tended to increase it. However the last peal was loud
+enough to silence the most uproarious. The women turned pale, and the
+men looked at each other anxiously, listening to hear if any damage had
+been done. But, as nothing transpired, their spirits revived. A few
+minutes afterwards word was brought that the Conventual Church had been
+struck by a thunderbolt, but this was not regarded as a very serious
+disaster. The bearer of the intelligence was little Jennet, who said she
+had been caught in the ruins by the storm, and after being dreadfully
+frightened by the lightning, had seen a bolt strike the steeple, and
+heard some stones rattle down, after which she ran away. No one thought
+of inquiring what she had been doing there at the time, but room was
+made for her at the supper-table next to Sampson Harrop, while the good
+steward, patting her on the head, filled her a cup of canary with his
+own hand, and gave her some cates to eat.
+
+"Ey dunna see Alizon" observed the little girl, looking round the table,
+after she had drunk the wine.
+
+"Your sister is not here, Jennet," replied Adam Whitworth, with a smile.
+"She is too great a lady for us now. Since she came up with her ladyship
+from the green she has been treated quite like one of the guests, and
+has been walking about the garden and ruins all the afternoon with young
+Mistress Dorothy, who has taken quite a fancy to her. Indeed, for the
+matter of that, all the ladies seem to have taken a fancy to her, and
+she is now closeted with Mistress Nutter in her own room."
+
+This was gall and wormwood to Jennet.
+
+"She'll be hard to please when she goes home again, after playing the
+fine dame here," pursued the steward.
+
+"Then ey hope she'll never come home again," rejoined Jennet;
+spitefully, "fo' we dunna want fine dames i' our poor cottage."
+
+"For my part I do not wonder Alizon pleases the gentle folks," observed
+Sampson Harrop, "since such pains have been taken with her manners and
+education; and I must say she does great credit to her instructor, who,
+for reasons unnecessary to mention, shall be nameless. I wish I could
+say the same for you, Jennet; but though you're not deficient in
+ability, you've no perseverance or pleasure in study."
+
+"Ey knoa os much os ey care to knoa," replied Jennet, "an more than yo
+con teach me, Mester Harrop. Why is Alizon always to be thrown i' my
+teeth?"
+
+"Because she's the best model you can have," rejoined Sampson. "Ah! if
+I'd my own way wi' ye, lass, I'd mend your temper and manners. But you
+come of an ill stock, ye saucy hussy."
+
+"Ey come fro' th' same stock as Alizon, onny how," said Jennet.
+
+"Unluckily that cannot be denied," replied Sampson; "but you're as
+different from her as light from darkness."
+
+Jennet eyed him bitterly, and then rose from the table.
+
+"Ey'n go," she said.
+
+"No--no; sit down," interposed the good-natured steward. "The dancing
+and pastimes will begin presently, and you will see your sister. She
+will come down with the ladies."
+
+"That's the very reason she wishes to go," said Sampson Harrop. "The
+spiteful little creature cannot bear to see her sister better treated
+than herself. Go your ways, then. It is the best thing you can do.
+Alizon would blush to see you here."
+
+"Then ey'n een stay an vex her," replied Jennet, sharply; "boh ey winna
+sit near yo onny longer, Mester Sampson Harrop, who ca' yersel gentleman
+usher, boh who are nah gentleman at aw, nor owt like it, boh merely
+parish clerk an schoolmester, an a poor schoolmester to boot. Eyn go an
+sit by Sukey Worseley an Nancy Holt, whom ey see yonder."
+
+"You've found your match, Master Harrop," said the steward, laughing, as
+the little girl walked away.
+
+"I should account it a disgrace to bandy words with the like of her,
+Adam," rejoined the clerk, angrily; "but I'm greatly out in my
+reckoning, if she does not make a second Mother Demdike, and worse could
+not well befall her."
+
+Jennet's society could have been very well dispensed with by her two
+friends, but she would not be shaken off. On the contrary, finding
+herself in the way, she only determined the more pertinaciously to
+remain, and began to exercise all her powers of teasing, which have been
+described as considerable, and which on this occasion proved eminently
+successful. And the worst of it was, there was no crushing the plaguy
+little insect; any effort made to catch her only resulting in an escape
+on her part, and a new charge on some undefended quarter, with sharper
+stinging and more intolerable buzzing than ever.
+
+Out of all patience, Sukey Worseley at length exclaimed, "Ey should
+loike to see ye swum, crosswise, i' th' Calder, Jennet, as Nance
+Redferne war this efternoon."
+
+"May be ye would, Sukey," replied the little girl, "boh eym nah so
+likely to be tried that way as yourself, lass; an if ey war swum ey
+should sink, while yo, wi' your broad back and shouthers, would be sure
+to float, an then yo'd be counted a witch."
+
+"Heed her not, Sukey," said Blackrod, unable to resist a laugh, though
+the poor girl was greatly discomfited by this personal allusion; "ye may
+ha' a broad back o' our own, an the broader the better to my mind, boh
+mey word on't ye'll never be ta'en fo a witch. Yo're far too comely."
+
+This assurance was a balm to poor Sukey's wounded spirit, and she
+replied with a well-pleased smile, "Ey hope ey dunna look like one,
+Lorry."
+
+"Not a bit, lass," said Blackrod, lifting a huge ale-cup to his lips.
+"Your health, sweetheart."
+
+"What think ye then o' Nance Redferne?" observed Jennet. "Is she neaw
+comely?--ay, comelier far than fat, fubsy Sukey here--or than Nancy
+Holt, wi' her yallo hure an frecklet feace--an yet ye ca' her a witch."
+
+"Ey ca' thee one, theaw feaw little whean--an the dowter--an grandowter
+o' one--an that's more," cried Nancy. "Freckles i' your own feace, ye
+mismannert minx."
+
+"Ne'er heed her, Nance," said Phil Rawson, putting his arm round the
+angry damsel's waist, and drawing her gently down. "Every one to his
+taste, an freckles an yellow hure are so to mine. So dunna fret about
+it, an spoil your protty lips wi' pouting. Better ha' freckles o' your
+feace than spots o' your heart, loike that ill-favort little hussy."
+
+"Dunna offend her, Phil," said Nancy Holt, noticing with alarm the
+malignant look fixed upon her lover by Jennet. "She's dawngerous."
+
+"Firrups tak her!" replied Phil Eawson. "Boh who the dole's that? Ey
+didna notice him efore, an he's neaw one o' our party."
+
+The latter observation was occasioned by the entrance of a tall
+personage, in the garb of a Cistertian monk, who issued from one of the
+doorways in the screen, and glided towards the upper table, attracting
+general attention and misgiving as he proceeded. His countenance was
+cadaverous, his lips livid, and his eyes black and deep sunken in their
+sockets, with a bistre-coloured circle around them. His frame was meagre
+and bony. What remained of hair on his head was raven black, but either
+he was bald on the crown, or carried his attention to costume so far as
+to adopt the priestly tonsure. His forehead was lofty and sallow, and
+seemed stamped, like his features, with profound gloom. His garments
+were faded and mouldering, and materially contributed to his ghostly
+appearance.
+
+"Who is it?" cried Sukey and Nance together.
+
+But no one could answer the question.
+
+"He dusna look loike a bein' o' this warld," observed Blackrod, gaping
+with alarm, for the stout keeper was easily assailable on the side of
+superstition; "an there is a mowdy air about him, that gies one the
+shivers to see. Ey've often heer'd say the Abbey is haanted; an that
+pale-feaced chap looks like one o' th' owd monks risen fro' his grave to
+join our revel."
+
+"An see, he looks this way," cried Phil Rawson.
+
+"What flaming een! they mey the very flesh crawl o' one's booans."
+
+"Is it a ghost, Lorry?" said Sukey, drawing nearer to the stalwart
+keeper.
+
+"By th' maskins, lass, ey conna tell," replied Blackrod; "boh whotever
+it be, ey'll protect ye."
+
+"Tak care o' me, Phil," ejaculated Nancy Holt, pressing close to her
+lover's side.
+
+"Eigh, that I win," rejoined the forester.
+
+"Ey dunna care for ghosts so long as yo are near me, Phil," said Nancy,
+tenderly.
+
+"Then ey'n never leave ye, Nance," replied Phil.
+
+"Ghost or not," said Jennet, who had been occupied in regarding the
+new-comer attentively, "ey'n go an speak to it. Ey'm nah afeerd, if yo
+are."
+
+"Eigh do, Jennet, that's a brave little lass," said Blackrod, glad to be
+rid of her in any way.
+
+"Stay!" cried Adam Whitworth, coming up at the moment, and overhearing
+what was said--"you must not go near the gentleman. I will not have him
+molested, or even spoken with, till Sir Ralph appears."
+
+Meanwhile, the stranger, without returning the glances fixed upon him,
+or deigning to notice any of the company, pursued his way, and sat down
+in a chair at the upper table.
+
+But his entrance had been witnessed by others besides the rustic guests
+and servitors. Nicholas and Richard Assheton chanced to be in the
+gallery at the time, and, greatly struck by the singularity of his
+appearance, immediately descended to make inquiries respecting him. As
+they appeared below, the old steward advanced to meet them.
+
+"Who the devil have you got there, Adam?" asked the squire.
+
+"It passeth me almost to tell you, Master Nicholas," replied the
+steward; "and, not knowing whether the gentleman be invited or not, I am
+fain to wait Sir Ralph's pleasure in regard to him."
+
+"Have you no notion who he is?" inquired Richard.
+
+"All I know about him may be soon told, Master Richard," replied Adam.
+"He is a stranger in these parts, and hath very recently taken up his
+abode in Wiswall Hall, which has been abandoned of late years, as you
+know, and suffered to go to decay. Some few months ago an aged couple
+from Colne, named Hewit, took possession of part of the hall, and were
+suffered to remain there, though old Katty Hewit, or Mould-heels, as she
+is familiarly termed by the common folk, is in no very good repute
+hereabouts, and was driven, it is said from Colne, owing to her
+practices as a witch. Be that as it may, soon after these Hewits were
+settled at Wiswall, comes this stranger, and fixes himself in another
+part of the hall. How he lives no one can tell, but it is said he
+rambles all night long, like a troubled spirit, about the deserted
+rooms, attended by Mother Mould-heels; while in the daytime he is never
+seen."
+
+"Can he be of sound mind?" asked Richard.
+
+"Hardly so, I should think, Master Richard," replied the steward. "As to
+who he may be there are many opinions; and some aver he is Francis
+Paslew, grandson of Francis, brother to the abbot, and being a Jesuit
+priest, for you know the Paslews have all strictly adhered to the old
+faith--and that is why they have fled the country and abandoned their
+residence--he is obliged to keep himself concealed."
+
+"If such be the case, he must be crazed indeed to venture here,"
+observed Nicholas; "and yet I am half inclined to credit the report.
+Look at him, Dick. He is the very image of the old abbot."
+
+"Yon portrait might have been painted for him," said Richard, gazing at
+the picture on the wall, and from it to the monk as he spoke; "the very
+same garb, too."
+
+"There is an old monastic robe up-stairs, in the closet adjoining the
+room occupied by Mistress Nutter," observed the steward, "said to be the
+garment in which Abbot Paslew suffered death. Some stains are upon it,
+supposed to be the blood of the wizard Demdike, who perished in an
+extraordinary manner on the same day."
+
+"I have seen it," cried Nicholas, "and the monk's habit looks precisely
+like it, and, if my eyes deceive me not, is stained in the same manner."
+
+"I see the spots plainly on the breast," cried Richard. "How can he have
+procured the robe?"
+
+"Heaven only knows," replied the old steward. "It is a very strange
+occurrence."
+
+"I will go question him," said Richard.
+
+So saying, he proceeded to the upper table, accompanied by Nicholas. As
+they drew near, the stranger arose, and fixed a grim look upon Richard,
+who was a little in advance.
+
+"It is the abbot's ghost!" cried Nicholas, stopping, and detaining his
+cousin. "You shall not address it."
+
+During the contention that ensued, the monk glided towards a side-door
+at the upper end of the hall, and passed through it. So general was the
+consternation, that no one attempted to stay him, nor would any one
+follow to see whither he went. Released, at length, from the strong
+grasp of the squire, Richard rushed forth, and not returning, Nicholas,
+after the lapse of a few minutes, went in search of him, but came back
+presently, and told the old steward he could neither find him nor the
+monk.
+
+"Master Richard will be back anon, I dare say, Adam," he remarked; "if
+not, I will make further search for him; but you had better not mention
+this mysterious occurrence to Sir Ralph, at all events not until the
+festivities are over, and the ladies have retired. It might disturb
+them. I fear the appearance of this monk bodes no good to our family;
+and what makes it worse is, it is not the first ill omen that has
+befallen us to-day, Master Richard was unlucky enough to stand on Abbot
+Paslew's grave!"
+
+"Mercy on us! that was unlucky indeed!" cried Adam, in great
+trepidation. "Poor dear young gentleman! Bid him take especial care of
+himself, good Master Nicholas. I noticed just now, that yon fearsome
+monk regarded him more attentively than you. Bid him be careful, I
+conjure you, sir. But here comes my honoured master and his guests.
+Here, Gregory, Dickon, bestir yourselves, knaves; and serve supper at
+the upper table in a trice."
+
+Any apprehensions Nicholas might entertain for Richard were at this
+moment relieved, for as Sir Ralph and his guests came in at one door,
+the young man entered by another. He looked deathly pale. Nicholas put
+his finger to his lips in token of silence--a gesture which the other
+signified that he understood.
+
+Sir Ralph and his guests having taken their places at the table, an
+excellent and plentiful repast was speedily set before them, and if they
+did not do quite such ample justice to it as the hungry rustics at the
+lower board had done to the good things provided for them, the cook
+could not reasonably complain. No allusion whatever being made to the
+recent strange occurrence, the cheerfulness of the company was
+uninterrupted; but the noise in the lower part of the hall had in a
+great measure subsided, partly out of respect to the host, and partly in
+consequence of the alarm occasioned by the supposed supernatural
+visitation. Richard continued silent and preoccupied, and neither ate
+nor drank; but Nicholas appearing to think his courage would be best
+sustained by an extra allowance of clary and sack, applied himself
+frequently to the goblet with that view, and erelong his spirits
+improved so wonderfully, and his natural boldness was so much increased,
+that he was ready to confront Abbot Paslew, or any other abbot of them
+all, wherever they might chance to cross him. In this enterprising frame
+of mind he drew Richard aside, and questioned him as to what had taken
+place in his pursuit of the mysterious monk.
+
+"You overtook him, Dick, of course?" he said, "and put it to him roundly
+why he came hither, where neither ghosts nor Jesuit priests, whichever
+he may be, are wanted. What answered he, eh? Would I had been there to
+interrogate him! He should have declared how he became possessed of that
+old moth-eaten, blood-stained, monkish gown, or I would have unfrocked
+him, even if he had proved to be a skeleton. But I interrupt you. You
+have not told me what occurred at the interview?"
+
+"There was no interview," replied Richard, gravely.
+
+"No interview!" echoed Nicholas. "S'blood, man!--but I must be careful,
+for Doctor Ormerod and Parson Dewhurst are within hearing, and may
+lecture me on the wantonness and profanity of swearing. By Saint Gregory
+de Northbury!--no, that's an oath too, and, what is worse, a Popish
+oath. By--I have several tremendous imprecations at my tongue's end, but
+they shall not out. It is a sinful propensity, and must be controlled.
+In a word, then, you let him escape, Dick?"
+
+"If you were so anxious to stay him, I wonder you came not with me,"
+replied Richard; "but you now hold very different language from what you
+used when I quitted the hall."
+
+"Ah, true--right--Dick," replied Nicholas; "my sentiments have undergone
+a wonderful change since then. I now regret having stopped you. By my
+troth! if I meet that confounded monk again, he shall give a good
+account of himself, I promise him. But what said he to you, Dick? Make
+an end of your story."
+
+"I have not begun it yet," replied Richard. "But pay attention, and you
+shall hear what occurred. When I rushed forth, the monk had already
+gained the entrance-hall. No one was within it at the time, all the
+serving-men being busied here with the feasting. I summoned him to stay,
+but he answered not, and, still grimly regarding me, glided towards the
+outer door, which (I know not by what chance) stood open, and passing
+through it, closed it upon me. This delayed me a moment; and when I got
+out, he had already descended the steps, and was moving towards the
+garden. It was bright moonlight, so I could see him distinctly. And mark
+this, Nicholas--the two great blood-hounds were running about at large
+in the court-yard, but they slunk off, as if alarmed at his appearance.
+The monk had now gained the garden, and was shaping his course swiftly
+towards the ruined Conventual Church. Determined to overtake him, I
+quickened my pace; but he gained the old fane before me, and threaded
+the broken aisles with noiseless celerity. In the choir he paused and
+confronted me. When within a few yards of him, I paused, arrested by his
+fixed and terrible gaze. Nicholas, his look froze my blood. I would have
+spoken, but I could not. My tongue clove to the roof of my mouth for
+very fear. Before I could shake off this apprehension the figure raised
+its hand menacingly thrice, and passed into the Lacy Chapel. As soon as
+he was gone my courage returned, and I followed. The little chapel was
+brilliantly illuminated by the moon; but it was empty. I could only see
+the white monument of Sir Henry de Lacy glistening in the pale
+radiance."
+
+"I must take a cup of wine after this horrific relation," said Nicholas,
+replenishing his goblet. "It has chilled my blood, as the monk's icy
+gaze froze yours. Body o' me! but this is strange indeed. Another oath.
+Lord help me!--I shall never get rid of the infernal--I mean, the evil
+habit. Will you not pledge me, Dick?"
+
+The young man shook his head.
+
+"You are wrong," pursued Nicholas,--"decidedly wrong. Wine gladdeneth
+the heart of man, and restoreth courage. A short while ago I was
+downcast as you, melancholy as an owl, and timorous as a kid, but now I
+am resolute as an eagle, stout of heart, and cheerful of spirit; and all
+owing to a cup of wine. Try the remedy, Dick, and get rid of your gloom.
+You look like a death's-head at a festival. What if you have stumbled on
+an ill-omened grave! What if you have been banned by a witch! What if
+you have stood face to face with the devil--or a ghost! Heed them not!
+Drink, and set care at defiance. And, not to gainsay my own counsel, I
+shall fill my cup again. For, in good sooth, this is rare clary, Dick;
+and, talking of wine, you should taste some of the wonderful Rhenish
+found in the abbot's cellar by our ancestor, Richard Assheton--a century
+old if it be a day, and yet cordial and corroborative as ever. Those
+monks were lusty tipplers, Dick. I sometimes wish I had been an abbot
+myself. I should have made a rare father confessor--especially to a
+pretty penitent. Here, Gregory, hie thee to the master cellarer, and bid
+him fill me a goblet of the old Rhenish--the wine from the abbot's
+cellar. Thou understandest--or, stay, better bring the flask. I have a
+profound respect for the venerable bottle, and would pay my devoirs to
+it. Hie away, good fellow!"
+
+"You will drink too much if you go on thus," remarked Richard.
+
+"Not a drop," rejoined Nicholas. "I am blithe as a lark, and would keep
+so. That is why I drink. But to return to our ghosts. Since this place
+must be haunted, I would it were visited by spirits of a livelier kind
+than old Paslew. There is Isole de Heton, for instance. The fair
+votaress would be the sort of ghost for me. I would not turn my back on
+her, but face her manfully. Look at her picture, Dick. Was ever
+countenance sweeter than hers--lips more tempting, or eyes more melting!
+Is she not adorable? Zounds!" he exclaimed, suddenly pausing, and
+staring at the portrait--"Would you believe it, Dick? The fair Isole
+winked at me--I'll swear she did. I mean--I will venture to affirm upon
+oath, if required, that she winked."
+
+"Pshaw!" exclaimed Richard. "The fumes of the wine have mounted to your
+brain, and disordered it."
+
+"No such thing," cried Nicholas, regarding the picture as steadily as he
+could--"she's leering at me now. By the Queen of Paphos! another wink.
+Nay, if you doubt me, watch her well yourself. A pleasant adventure
+this--ha!--ha!"
+
+"A truce to this drunken foolery," cried Richard, moving away.
+
+"Drunken! s'death! recall that epithet, Dick," cried Nicholas, angrily.
+"I am no more drunk than yourself, you dog. I can walk as steadily, and
+see as plainly, as you; and I will maintain it at the point of the
+sword, that the eyes of that picture have lovingly regarded me; nay,
+that they follow me now."
+
+"A common delusion with a portrait," said Richard; "they appear to
+follow _me_."
+
+"But they do not wink at you as they do at me," said Nicholas, "neither
+do the lips break into smiles, and display the pearly teeth beneath
+them, as occurs in my case. Grim old abbots frown on you, but fair,
+though frail, votaresses smile on me. I am the favoured mortal, Dick."
+
+"Were it as you represent, Nicholas," replied Richard, gravely, "I
+should say, indeed, that some evil principle was at work to lure you
+through your passions to perdition. But I know they are all fancies
+engendered by your heated brain, which in your calmer moments you will
+discard, as I discard them now. If I have any weight with you, I counsel
+you to drink no more, or you will commit some mad foolery, of which you
+will be ashamed hereafter. The discreeter course would be to retire
+altogether; and for this you have ample excuse, as you will have to
+arise betimes to-morrow, to set out for Pendle Forest with Master
+Potts."
+
+"Retire!" exclaimed Nicholas, bursting into a loud, contemptuous laugh.
+"I like thy counsel, lad. Yes, I will retire when I have finished the
+old monastic Rhenish which Gregory is bringing me. I will retire when I
+have danced the Morisco with the May Queen--the Cushion Dance with Dame
+Tetlow--and the Brawl with the lovely Isole de Heton. Another wink,
+Dick. By our Lady! she assents to my proposition. When I have done all
+this, and somewhat more, it will be time to think of retiring. But I
+have the night before me, Dick--not to be spent in drowsy
+unconsciousness, as thou recommendest, but in active, pleasurable
+enjoyment. No man requires less sleep than I do. Ordinarily, I 'retire,'
+as thou termest it, at ten, and rise with the sun. In summer I am abroad
+soon after three, and mend that if thou canst, Dick. To-night I shall
+seek my couch about midnight, and yet I'll warrant me I shall be the
+first stirring in the Abbey; and, in any case, I shall be in the saddle
+before thee."
+
+"It may be," replied Richard; "but it was to preserve you from
+extravagance to-night that I volunteered advice, which, from my
+knowledge of your character, I might as well have withheld. But let me
+caution you on another point. Dance with Dame Tetlow, or any other dame
+you please--dance with the fair Isole de Heton, if you can prevail upon
+her to descend from her frame and give you her hand; but I object--most
+decidedly object--to your dancing with Alizon Device."
+
+"Why so?" cried Nicholas; "why should I not dance with whom I please?
+And what right hast thou to forbid me Alizon? Troth, lad, art thou so
+ignorant of human nature as not to know that forbidden fruit is the
+sweetest. It hath ever been so since the fall. I am now only the more
+bent upon dancing with the prohibited damsel. But I would fain know the
+principle on which thou erectest thyself into her guardian. Is it
+because she fainted when thy sword was crossed with that hot-headed
+fool, Sir Thomas Metcalfe, that thou flatterest thyself she is in love
+with thee? Be not too sure of it, Dick. Many a timid wench has swooned
+at the sight of a naked weapon, without being enamoured of the
+swordsman. The fainting proves nothing. But grant she loves thee--what
+then! An end must speedily come of it; so better finish at once, before
+she be entangled in a mesh from which she cannot be extricated without
+danger. For hark thee, Dick, whatever thou mayst think, I am not so far
+gone that I know not what I say, neither is my vision so much obscured
+that I see not some matters plainly enough, and I understand thee and
+Alizon well, and see through you both. This matter must go no further.
+It has gone too far already. After to-night you must see her no more. I
+am serious in this--serious _inter pocula_, if such a thing can be. It
+is necessary to observe caution, for reasons that will at once occur to
+thee. Thou canst not wed this girl--then why trifle with her till her
+heart be broken."
+
+"Broken it shall never be by me!" cried Richard.
+
+"But I tell you it will be broken, if you do not desist at once,"
+rejoined Nicholas. "I was but jesting when I said I would rob you of her
+in the Morisco, though it would be charity to both, and spare you many a
+pang hereafter, were I to put my threat into execution. However, I have
+a soft heart where aught of love is concerned, and, having pointed out
+the risk you will incur, I shall leave you to follow your own devices.
+But, for Alizon's sake, stop in time."
+
+"You now speak soberly and sensibly enough, Nicholas," replied Richard,
+"and I thank you heartily for your counsel; and if I do not follow it by
+withdrawing at once from a pursuit which may appear to you hopeless, if
+not dangerous, you will, I hope, give me credit for being actuated by
+worthy motives. I will at once, and frankly admit, that I love Alizon;
+and loving her, you may rest assured I would sacrifice my life a
+thousand times rather than endanger her happiness. But there is a point
+in her history, with which if you were acquainted, it might alter your
+view of the case; but this is not the season for its disclosure,
+neither, I am bound to say, does the circumstance so materially alter
+the apparent posture of affairs as to remove all difficulty. On the
+contrary, it leaves an insurmountable obstacle behind it."
+
+"Are you wise, then, in going on?" asked Nicholas.
+
+"I know not," answered Richard, "but I feel as if I were the sport of
+fate. Uncertain whither to turn for the best, I leave the disposition of
+my course to chance. But, alas!" he added, sadly, "all seems to point
+out that this meeting with Alizon will be my last."
+
+"Well, cheer up, lad," said Nicholas. "These afflictions are hard to
+bear, it is true; but somehow they are got over. Just as if your horse
+should fling you in the midst of a hedge when you are making a flying
+leap, you get scratched and bruised, but you scramble out, and in a day
+or two are on your legs again. Love breaks no bones, that's one comfort.
+When at your age, I was desperately in love, not with Mistress Nicholas
+Assheton--Heaven help the fond soul! but with--never mind with whom; but
+it was not a very prudent match, and so, in my worldly wisdom, I was
+obliged to cry off. A sad business it was. I thought I should have died
+of it, and I made quite sure that the devoted girl would die first, in
+which case we were to occupy the same grave. But I was not driven to
+such a dire extremity, for before I had kept house a week, Jack Walker,
+the keeper of Downham, made his appearance in my room, and after telling
+me of the mischief done by a pair of otters in the Ribble, finding me in
+a very desponding state, ventured to inquire if I had heard the news.
+Expecting to hear of the death of the girl, I prepared myself for an
+outburst of grief, and resolved to give immediate directions for a
+double funeral, when he informed me--what do you think, Dick?--that she
+was going to be married to himself. I recovered at once, and immediately
+went out to hunt the otters, and rare sport we had. But here comes
+Gregory with the famous old Rhenish. Better take a cup, Dick; this is
+the best cure for the heartache, and for all other aches and grievances.
+Ah! glorious stuff--miraculous wine!" he added, smacking his lips with
+extraordinary satisfaction after a deep draught; "those worthy fathers
+were excellent judges. I have a great reverence for them. But where can
+Alizon be all this while? Supper is wellnigh over, and the dancing and
+pastimes will commence anon, and yet she comes not."
+
+"She is here," cried Richard.
+
+And as he spoke Mistress Nutter and Alizon entered the hall.
+
+Richard endeavoured to read in the young girl's countenance some
+intimation of what had passed between her and Mistress Nutter, but he
+only remarked that she was paler than before, and had traces of anxiety
+about her. Mistress Nutter also looked gloomy and thoughtful, and there
+was nothing in the manner or deportment of either to lead to the
+conclusion, that a discovery of relationship between them had taken
+place. As Alizon moved on, her eyes met those of Richard--but the look
+was intercepted by Mistress Nutter, who instantly called off her
+daughter's attention to herself; and, while the young man hesitated to
+join them, his sister came quickly up to him, and drew him away in
+another direction. Left to himself, Nicholas tossed off another cup of
+the miraculous Rhenish, which improved in flavour as he discussed it,
+and then, placing a chair opposite the portrait of Isole de Heton,
+filled a bumper, and, uttering the name of the fair votaress, drained it
+to her. This time he was quite certain he received a significant glance
+in return, and no one being near to contradict him, he went on indulging
+the idea of an amorous understanding between himself and the picture,
+till he had finished the bottle, and obtained as many ogles as he
+swallowed draughts of wine, upon which he arose and staggered off in
+search of Dame Tetlow.
+
+Meanwhile, Mistress Nutter having made her excuses to Lady Assheton for
+not attending the supper, walked down the hall with her daughter, until
+such time as the dancing and pastimes should commence. As will be
+readily supposed under the circumstances, this part of the entertainment
+was distasteful to both of them; but it could not be avoided without
+entering into explanations, which Mistress Nutter was unwilling to make,
+and she, therefore, counselled her daughter to act in all respects as if
+she were still Alizon Device, and in no way connected with her.
+
+"I shall take an early opportunity of announcing my intention to adopt
+you," she said, "and then you can act differently. Meantime, keep near
+me as much as you can. Say little to Dorothy or Richard Assheton, and
+prepare to retire early; for this noisy and riotous assemblage is not
+much to my taste, and I care not how soon I quit it."
+
+Alizon assented to what was said, and stole a timid glance towards
+Richard and Dorothy; but the latter, who alone perceived it, instantly
+averted her head, in such way as to make it evident she wished to shun
+her regards. Slight as it was, this circumstance occasioned Alizon much
+pain, for she could not conceive how she had offended her new-made
+friend, and it was some relief to encounter a party of acquaintances who
+had risen from the lower table at her approach, though they did not
+presume to address her while she was with Mistress Nutter, but waited
+respectfully at a little distance. Alizon, however, flew towards them.
+
+"Ah, Susan!--ah, Nancy!" she cried taking the hand of each--"how glad I
+am to see you here; and you too, Lawrence Blackrod--and you, Phil
+Rawson--and you, also, good Master Harrop. How happy you all look!"
+
+"An wi' good reason, sweet Alizon," replied Blackrod. "Boh we began to
+be afeerd we'd lost ye, an that wad ha' bin a sore mishap--to lose our
+May Queen--an th' prettiest May Queen os ever dawnced i' this ha', or i'
+onny other ha' i' Lonkyshiar."
+
+"We ha drunk your health, sweet Alizon," added Phil--"an wishin' ye may
+be os happy os ye desarve, wi' the mon o' your heart, if onny sich lucky
+chap there be."
+
+"Thank you--thank you both," replied Alizon, blushing; "and in return I
+cannot wish you better fortune, Philip, than to be united to the good
+girl near you, for I know her kindly disposition so well, that I am sure
+she will make you happy."
+
+"Ey'm satisfied on't myself," replied Rawson; "an ey hope ere long
+she'll be missus o' a little cot i' Bowland Forest, an that yo'll pay us
+a visit, Alizon, an see an judge fo' yourself how happy we be. Nance win
+make a rare forester's wife."
+
+"Not a bit better than my Sukey," cried Lawrence Blackrod. "Ye shanna
+get th' start o' me, Phil, fo' by th' mess! the very same day os sees yo
+wedded to Nancy Holt shan find me united to Sukey Worseley. An so Alizon
+win ha' two cottages i' Bowland Forest to visit i'stead o' one."
+
+"And well pleased I shall be to visit them both," she rejoined. At this
+moment Mistress Nutter came up.
+
+"My good friends," she said, "as you appear to take so much interest in
+Alizon, you may be glad to learn that it is my intention to adopt her as
+a daughter, having no child of my own; and, though her position
+henceforth will be very different from what it has been, I am sure she
+will never forget her old friends."
+
+"Never, indeed, never!" cried Alizon, earnestly.
+
+"This is good news, indeed," cried Sampson Harrop, joyfully, while the
+others joined in his exclamation. "We all rejoice in Alizon's good
+fortune, and think she richly deserves it. For my own part, I was always
+sure she would have rare luck, but I did not expect such luck as this."
+
+"What's to become o' me?" cried Jennet, coming from behind a chair,
+where she had hitherto concealed herself.
+
+"I will always take care of you," replied Alizon, stooping, and kissing
+her.
+
+"Do not promise more than you may be able to perform, Alizon," observed
+Mistress Nutter, coldly, and regarding the little girl with a look of
+disgust; "an ill-favour'd little creature, with the Demdike eyes."
+
+"And as ill-tempered as she is ill-favoured," rejoined Sampson Harrop;
+"and, though she cannot help being ugly, she might help being
+malicious."
+
+Jennet gave him a bitter look.
+
+"You do her injustice, Master Harrop," said Alizon. "Poor little Jennet
+is quick-tempered, but not malevolent."
+
+"Ey con hate weel if ey conna love," replied Jennet, "an con recollect
+injuries if ey forget kindnesses.--Boh dunna trouble yourself about me,
+sister. Ey dunna envy ye your luck. Ey dunna want to be adopted by a
+grand-dame. Ey'm content os ey am. Boh are na ye gettin' on rayther too
+fast, lass? Mother's consent has to be axed, ey suppose, efore ye leave
+her."
+
+"There is little fear of her refusal," observed Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Ey dunna knoa that," rejoined Jennet. "If she were to refuse, it wadna
+surprise me."
+
+"Nothing spiteful she could do would surprise me," remarked Harrop. "But
+how are you likely to know what your mother will think and do, you
+forward little hussy?"
+
+"Ey judge fro circumstances," replied the little girl. "Mother has often
+said she conna weel spare Alizon. An mayhap Mistress Nutter may knoa,
+that she con be very obstinate when she tays a whim into her head."
+
+"I _do_ know it," replied Mistress Nutter; "and, from my experience of
+her temper in former days, I should be loath to have you near me, who
+seem to inherit her obstinacy."
+
+"Wi' sich misgivings ey wonder ye wish to tak Alizon, madam," said
+Jennet; "fo she's os much o' her mother about her os me, onny she dunna
+choose to show it."
+
+"Peace, thou mischievous urchin," cried Mistress Nutter, losing all
+patience.
+
+"Shall I take her away?" said Harrop--seizing her hand.
+
+"Ay, do," said Mistress Nutter.
+
+"No, no, let her stay!" cried Alizon, quickly; "I shall be miserable if
+she goes."
+
+"Oh, ey'm quite ready to go," said Jennet, "fo ey care little fo sich
+seets os this--boh efore ey leave ey wad fain say a few words to Mester
+Potts, whom ey see yonder."
+
+"What can you want with him, Jennet," cried Alizon, in surprise.
+
+"Onny to tell him what brother Jem is gone to Pendle fo to-neet,"
+replied the little girl, with a significant and malicious look at
+Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Ha!" muttered the lady. "There is more malice in this little wasp than
+I thought. But I must rob it of its sting."
+
+And while thus communing with herself, she fixed a searching look on
+Jennet, and then raising her hand quickly, waved it in her face.
+
+"Oh!" cried the little girl, falling suddenly backwards.
+
+"What's the matter?" demanded Alizon, flying to her.
+
+"Ey dunna reetly knoa," replied Jennet.
+
+"She's seized with a sudden faintness," said Harrop. "Better she should
+go home then at once. I'll find somebody to take her."
+
+"Neaw, neaw, ey'n sit down here," said Jennet; "ey shan be better soon."
+
+"Come along, Alizon," said Mistress Nutter, apparently unconcerned at
+the circumstance.
+
+Having confided the little girl, who was now recovered from the shock,
+to the care of Nancy Holt, Alizon followed her mother.
+
+At this moment Sir Ralph, who had quitted the supper-table, clapped his
+hands loudly, thus giving the signal to the minstrels, who, having
+repaired to the gallery, now struck up a merry tune, and instantly the
+whole hall was in motion. Snatching up his wand Sampson Harrop hurried
+after Alizon, beseeching her to return with him, and join a procession
+about to be formed by the revellers, and of course, as May Queen, and
+the most important personage in it, she could not refuse. Very short
+space sufficed the morris-dancers to find their partners; Robin Hood and
+the foresters got into their places; the hobby-horse curveted and
+capered; Friar Tuck resumed his drolleries; and even Jack Roby was so
+far recovered as to be able to get on his legs, though he could not walk
+very steadily. Marshalled by the gentleman-usher, and headed by Robin
+Hood and the May Queen, the procession marched round the hall, the
+minstrels playing merrily the while, and then drew up before the upper
+table, where a brief oration was pronounced by Sir Ralph. A shout that
+made the rafters ring again followed the address, after which a couranto
+was called for by the host, who, taking Mistress Nicholas Assheton by
+the hand, led her into the body of the hall, whither he was speedily
+followed by the other guests, who had found partners in like manner.
+
+Before relating how the ball was opened a word must be bestowed upon
+Mistress Nicholas Assheton, whom I have neglected nearly as much as she
+was neglected by her unworthy spouse, and I therefore hasten to repair
+the injustice by declaring that she was a very amiable and very charming
+woman, and danced delightfully. And recollect, ladies, these were
+dancing days--I mean days when knowledge of figures as well as skill was
+required, more than twenty forgotten dances being in vogue, the very
+names of which may surprise you as I recapitulate them. There was the
+Passamezzo, a great favourite with Queen Elizabeth, who used to foot it
+merrily, when, as you are told by Gray--
+
+          "The great Lord-keeper led the brawls,
+          And seals and maces danced before him!"
+
+the grave Pavane, likewise a favourite with the Virgin Queen, and which
+I should like to see supersede the eternal polka at Almack's and
+elsewhere, and in which--
+
+          "Five was the number of the music's feet
+          Which still the dance did with live paces meet;"
+
+the Couranto, with its "current traverses," "sliding passages," and
+solemn tune, wherein, according to Sir John Davies--
+
+          --"that dancer greatest praise hath won
+          Who with best order can all order shun;"
+
+the Lavolta, also delineated by the same knowing hand--
+
+          "Where arm in arm two dancers are entwined,
+          And whirl themselves with strict embracements bound,
+          their feet an anapest do sound."
+
+Is not this very much like a waltz? Yes, ladies, you have been dancing
+the lavolta of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries without being
+aware of it. But there was another waltz still older, called the
+Sauteuse, which I suspect answered to your favourite polka. Then there
+were brawls, galliards, paspys, sarabands, country-dances of various
+figures, cushion dances (another dance I long to see revived), kissing
+dances, and rounds, any of which are better than the objectionable
+polka. Thus you will see that there was infinite variety at least at the
+period under consideration, and that you have rather retrograded than
+advanced in the saltatory art. But to return to the ball.
+
+Mistress Nicholas Assheton, I have said, excelled in the graceful
+accomplishment of dancing, and that was probably the reason why she had
+been selected for the couranto by Sir Ralph, who knew the value of a
+good partner. By many persons she was accounted the handsomest woman in
+the room, and in dignity of carriage she was certainly unrivalled. This
+was precisely what Sir Ralph required, and having executed a few
+"current traverses and sliding passages" with her, with a gravity and
+stateliness worthy of Sir Christopher Hatton himself, when graced by the
+hand of his sovereign mistress, he conducted her, amid the hushed
+admiration of the beholders, to a seat. Still the dance continued with
+unabated spirit; all those engaged in it running up and down, or
+"turning and winding with unlooked-for change." Alizon's hand had been
+claimed by Richard Assheton, and next to the stately host and his
+dignified partner, they came in for the largest share of admiration and
+attention; and if the untutored girl fell short of the accomplished dame
+in precision and skill, she made up for the want of them in natural
+grace and freedom of movement, for the display of which the couranto,
+with its frequent and impromptu changes, afforded ample opportunity.
+Even Sir Ralph was struck with her extreme gracefulness, and pointed her
+out to Mistress Nicholas, who, unenvying and amiable, joined heartily in
+his praises. Overhearing what was said, Mrs. Nutter thought it a fitting
+opportunity to announce her intention of adopting the young girl; and
+though Sir Ralph seemed a good deal surprised at the suddenness of the
+declaration, he raised no objection to the plan; but, on the contrary,
+applauded it. But another person, by no means disposed to regard it in
+an equally favourable light became acquainted with the intelligence at
+the same time. This was Master Potts, who instantly set his wits at work
+to discover its import. Ever on the alert, his little eyes, sharp as
+needles, had detected Jennet amongst the rustic company, and he now made
+his way towards her, resolved, by dint of cross-questioning and
+otherwise, to extract all the information he possibly could from her.
+
+The dance over, Richard and his partner wandered towards a more retired
+part of the hall.
+
+"Why does your sister shun me?" inquired Alizon, with a look of great
+distress. "What can I have done to offend her? Whenever I regard her she
+averts her head, and as I approached her just now, she moved away,
+making it evident she designed to avoid me. If I could think myself in
+any way different from what I was this morning, when she treated me with
+such unbounded confidence and kindness, or accuse myself of any offence
+towards her, even in thought, I could understand it; but as it is, her
+present coldness appears inexplicable and unreasonable, and gives me
+great pain. I would not forfeit her regard for worlds, and therefore
+beseech you to tell me what I have done amiss, that I may endeavour to
+repair it."
+
+"You have done nothing--nothing whatever, sweet girl," replied Richard.
+"It is only caprice on Dorothy's part, and except that it distresses
+you, her conduct, which you justly call 'unreasonable,' does not deserve
+a moment's serious consideration."
+
+"Oh no! you cannot deceive me thus," cried Alizon. "She is too kind--too
+well-judging, to be capricious. Something must have occurred to make her
+change her opinion of me, though what it is I cannot conjecture. I have
+gained much to-day--more than I had any right to expect; but if I have
+forfeited the good opinion of your sister, the loss of her friendship
+will counterbalance all the rest."
+
+"But you have not lost it, Alizon," replied Richard, earnestly. "Dorothy
+has got some strange notions into her head, which only require to be
+combated. She does not like Mistress Nutter, and is piqued and
+displeased by the extraordinary interest which that lady displays
+towards you. That is all."
+
+"But why should she not like Mistress Nutter?" inquired Alizon.
+
+"Nay, there is no accounting for fancies," returned Richard, with a
+faint smile. "I do not attempt to defend her, but simply offer the only
+excuse in my power for her conduct."
+
+"I am concerned to hear it," said Alizon, sadly, "because henceforth I
+shall be so intimately connected with Mistress Nutter, that this
+estrangement, which I hoped arose only from some trivial cause, and
+merely required a little explanation to be set aside, may become widened
+and lasting. Owing every thing to Mistress Nutter, I must espouse her
+cause; and if your sister likes her not, she likes me not in
+consequence, and therefore we must continue divided. But surely her
+dislike is of very recent date, and cannot have any strong hold upon
+her; for when she and Mistress Nutter met this morning, a very different
+feeling seemed to animate her."
+
+"So, indeed, it did," replied Richard, visibly embarrassed and
+distressed. "And since you have made me acquainted with the new tie and
+interests you have formed, I can only regret alluding to the
+circumstance."
+
+"That you may not misunderstand me," said Alizon, "I will explain the
+extent of my obligations to Mistress Nutter, and then you will perceive
+how much I am bounden to her. Childless herself, greatly interested in
+me, and feeling for my unfortunate situation, with infinite goodness of
+heart she has declared her intention of removing me from all chance of
+baneful influence, from the family with whom I have been heretofore
+connected, by adopting me as her daughter."
+
+"I should indeed rejoice at this," said Richard, "were it not that--"
+
+And he stopped, gazing anxiously at her.
+
+"Were not what?" cried Alizon, alarmed by his looks. "What do you mean?"
+
+"Do not press me further," he rejoined; "I cannot answer you. Indeed I
+have said too much already."
+
+"You have said too much or too little," cried Alizon. "Speak, I implore
+you. What mean these dark hints which you throw out, and which like
+shadows elude all attempts to grasp them! Do not keep me in this state
+of suspense and agitation. Your looks speak more than your words. Oh,
+give your thoughts utterance!"
+
+"I cannot," replied Richard. "I do not believe what I have heard, and
+therefore will not repeat it. It would only increase the mischief. But
+oh! tell me this! Was it, indeed, to remove you from the baneful
+influence of Elizabeth Device that Mistress Nutter adopted you?"
+
+"Other motives may have swayed her, and I have said they did so,"
+replied Alizon; "but that wish, no doubt, had great weight with her.
+Nay, notwithstanding her abhorrence of the family, she has kindly
+consented to use her best endeavours to preserve little Jennet from
+further ill, as well as to reclaim poor misguided Elizabeth herself."
+
+"Oh! what a weight you have taken from my heart," cried Richard,
+joyfully. "I will tell Dorothy what you say, and it will at once remove
+all her doubts and suspicions. She will now be the same to you as ever,
+and to Mistress Nutter."
+
+"I will not ask you what those doubts and suspicions were, since you so
+confidently promise me this, which is all I desire," replied Alizon,
+smiling; "but any unfavourable opinions entertained of Mistress Nutter
+are wholly undeserved. Poor lady! she has endured many severe trials and
+sufferings, and whenever you learn the whole of her history, she will, I
+am sure, have your sincere sympathy."
+
+"You have certainly produced a complete revolution in my feelings
+towards her," said Richard, "and I shall not be easy till I have made a
+like convert of Dorothy."
+
+At this moment a loud clapping of hands was heard, and Nicholas was seen
+marching towards the centre of the hall, preceded by the minstrels, who
+had descended for the purpose from the gallery, and bearing in his arms
+a large red velvet cushion. As soon as the dancers had formed a wide
+circle round him, a very lively tune called "Joan Sanderson," from which
+the dance about to be executed sometimes received its name, was struck
+up, and the squire, after a few preliminary flourishes, set down the
+cushion, and gave chase to Dame Tetlow, who, threading her way rapidly
+through the ring, contrived to elude him. This chase, accompanied by
+music, excited shouts of laughter on all hands, and no one knew which
+most to admire, the eagerness of the squire, or the dexterity of the
+lissom dame in avoiding him.
+
+Exhausted at length, and baffled in his quest, Nicholas came to a halt
+before Tom the Piper, and, taking up the cushion, thus preferred his
+complaint:--"This dance it can no further go--no further go."
+
+Whereupon the piper chanted in reply,--"I pray you, good sir, why say
+you so--why say you so?"
+
+Amidst general laughter, the squire tenderly and touchingly
+responded--"Because Dame Tetlow will not come to--will not come to."
+
+Whereupon Tom the Piper, waxing furious, blew a shrill whistle,
+accompanied by an encouraging rattle of the tambarine, and enforcing the
+mandate by two or three energetic stamps on the floor, delivered himself
+in this fashion:--"She _must_ come to, and she SHALL come to. And she
+must come, whether she will or no."
+
+Upon this two of the prettiest female morris-dancers, taking each a hand
+of the blushing and overheated Dame Tetlow, for she had found the chase
+rather warm work, led her forward; while the squire advancing very
+gallantly placed the cushion upon the ground before her, and as she
+knelt down upon it, bestowed a smacking kiss upon her lips. This
+ceremony being performed amidst much tittering and flustering,
+accompanied by many knowing looks and some expressed wishes among the
+swains, who hoped that their turn might come next, Dame Tetlow arose,
+and the squire seizing her hand, they began to whisk round in a sort of
+jig, singing merrily as they danced--
+
+          "Prinkum prankum is a fine dance,
+          And we shall go dance it once again!
+                                   Once again,
+          And we shall go dance it once again!"
+
+And they made good the words too; for on coming to a stop, Dame Tetlow
+snatched up the cushion, and ran in search of the squire, who retreating
+among the surrounding damsels, made sad havoc among them, scarcely
+leaving a pretty pair of lips unvisited. Oh Nicholas! Nicholas! I am
+thoroughly ashamed of you, and regret becoming your historian. You get
+me into an infinitude of scrapes. But there is a rod in pickle for you,
+sir, which shall be used with good effect presently. Tired of such an
+unprofitable quest, Dame Tetlow came to a sudden halt, addressed the
+piper as Nicholas had addressed him, and receiving a like answer,
+summoned the delinquent to come forward; but as he knelt down on the
+cushion, instead of receiving the anticipated salute, he got a sound box
+on the ears, the dame, actuated probably by some feeling of jealousy,
+taking advantage of the favourable opportunity afforded her of avenging
+herself. No one could refrain from laughing at this unexpected turn in
+affairs, and Nicholas, to do him justice, took it in excellent part, and
+laughed louder than the rest. Springing to his feet, he snatched the
+kiss denied him by the spirited dame, and led her to obtain some
+refreshment at the lower table, of which they both stood in need, while
+the cushion being appropriated by other couples, other boxes on the ear
+and kisses were interchanged, leading to an infinitude of merriment.
+
+Long before this Master Potts had found his way to Jennet, and as he
+drew near, affecting to notice her for the first time, he made some
+remarks upon her not looking very well.
+
+"'Deed, an ey'm nah varry weel," replied the little girl, "boh ey knoa
+who ey han to thonk fo' my ailment."
+
+"Your sister, most probably," suggested the attorney. "It must be very
+vexatious to see her so much noticed, and be yourself so much
+neglected--very vexatious, indeed--I quite feel for you."
+
+"By dunna want your feelin'," replied Jennet, nettled by the remark;
+"boh it wasna my sister os made me ill."
+
+"Who was it then, my little dear," said Potts.
+
+"Dunna 'dear' me," retorted Jennet; "yo're too ceevil by half, os the
+lamb said to the wolf. Boh sin ye mun knoa, it wur Mistress Nutter."
+
+"Aha! very good--I mean--very bad," cried Potts. "What did Mistress
+Nutter do to you, my little dear? Don't be afraid of telling me. If I
+can do any thing for you I shall be very happy. Speak out--and don't be
+afraid."
+
+"Nay fo' shure, ey'm nah afeerd," returned Jennet. "Boh whot mays ye so
+inqueesitive? Ye want to get summat out'n me, ey con see that plain
+enough, an os ye stand there glenting at me wi' your sly little een, ye
+look loike an owd fox ready to snap up a chicken o' th' furst
+opportunity."
+
+"Your comparison is not very flattering, Jennet," replied Potts; "but I
+pass it by for the sake of its cleverness. You are a sharp child,
+Jennet--a very sharp child. I remarked that from the first moment I saw
+you. But in regard to Mistress Nutter, she seems a very nice lady--and
+must be a very kind lady, since she has made up her mind to adopt your
+sister. Not that I am surprised at her determination, for really Alizon
+is so superior--so unlike--"
+
+"Me, ye wad say," interrupted Jennet. "Dunna be efeerd to speak out,
+sir."
+
+"No, no," replied Potts, "on the contrary, there's a very great likeness
+between you. I saw you were sisters at once. I don't know which is the
+cleverest or prettiest--but perhaps you are the sharpest. Yes, you are
+the sharpest, undoubtedly, Jennet. If I wished to adopt any one, which
+unfortunately I'm not in a condition to do, having only bachelor's
+chambers in Chancery Lane, it should be you. But I can put you in a way
+of making your fortune, Jennet, and that's the next best thing to
+adopting you. Indeed, it's much better in my case."
+
+"May my fortune!" cried the little girl, pricking up her ears, "ey
+should loike to knoa how ye wad contrive that."
+
+"I'll show you how directly, Jennet," returned Potts. "Pay particular
+attention to what I say, and think it over carefully, when you are by
+yourself. You are quite aware that there is a great talk about witches
+in these parts; and, I may speak it without offence to you, your own
+family come under the charge. There is your grandmother Demdike, for
+instance, a notorious witch--your mother, Dame Device, suspected--your
+brother James suspected."
+
+"Weel, sir," cried Jennet, eyeing him sharply, "what does all this
+suspicion tend to?"
+
+"You shall hear, my little dear," returned Potts. "It would not surprise
+me, if every one of your family, including yourself, should be arrested,
+shut up in Lancaster Castle, and burnt for witches!"
+
+"Alack a day! an this ye ca' makin my fortin," cried Jennet, derisively.
+"Much obleeged to ye, sir, boh ey'd leefer be without the luck."
+
+"Listen to me," pursued Potts, chuckling, "and I will point out to you a
+way of escaping the general fate of your family--not merely of escaping
+it--but of acquiring a large reward. And that is by giving evidence
+against them--by telling all you know--you understand--eh!"
+
+"Yeigh, ey think ey _do_ onderstond," replied Jennet, sullenly. "An so
+this is your grand scheme, eh, sir?"
+
+"This is my scheme, Jennet," said Potts, "and a notable scheme it is,
+my little lass. Think it over. You're an admissible and indeed a
+desirable witness; for our sagacious sovereign has expressly observed
+that 'bairns,' (I believe you call children 'bairns' in Lancashire,
+Jennet; your uncouth dialect very much resembles the Scottish language,
+in which our learned monarch writes as well as speaks)--'bairns,' says
+he, 'or wives, or never so defamed persons, may of our law serve for
+sufficient witnesses and proofs; for who but witches can be proofs, and
+so witnesses of the doings of witches.'"
+
+"Boh, ey am neaw witch, ey tell ye, mon," cried Jennet, angrily.
+
+"But you're a witch's bairn, my little lassy," replied Potts, "and
+that's just as bad, and you'll grow up to be a witch in due time--that
+is, if your career be not cut short. I'm sure you must have witnessed
+some strange things when you visited your grandmother at Malkin
+Tower--that, if I mistake not, is the name of her abode?--and a fearful
+and witch-like name it is;--you must have heard frequent mutterings and
+curses, spells, charms, and diabolical incantations--beheld strange and
+monstrous visions--listened to threats uttered against people who have
+afterwards perished unaccountably."
+
+"Ey've heerd an seen nowt o't sort," replied Jennet; "boh ey' han heerd
+my mother threaten yo."
+
+"Ah, indeed," cried Potts, forcing a laugh, but looking rather blank
+afterwards; "and how did she threaten me, Jennet, eh?--But no matter.
+Let that pass for the moment. As I was saying, you must have seen
+mysterious proceedings both at Malkin Tower and your own house. A black
+gentleman with a club foot must visit you occasionally, and your mother
+must, now and then--say once a week--take a fancy to riding on a
+broomstick. Are you quite sure you have never ridden on one yourself,
+Jennet, and got whisked up the chimney without being aware of it? It's
+the common witch conveyance, and said to be very expeditious and
+agreeable--but I can't vouch for it myself--ha! ha! Possibly--though you
+are rather young--but possibly, I say, you may have attended a witch's
+Sabbath, and seen a huge He-Goat, with four horns on his head, and a
+large tail, seated in the midst of a large circle of devoted admirers.
+If you have seen this, and can recollect the names and faces of the
+assembly, it would be highly important."
+
+"When ey see it, ey shanna forget it," replied Jennet. "Boh ey am nah
+quite so familiar wi' Owd Scrat os yo seem to suppose."
+
+"Has it ever occurred to you that Alizon might be addicted to these
+practices?" pursued Potts, "and that she obtained her extraordinary and
+otherwise unaccountable beauty by some magical process--some charm--some
+diabolical unguent prepared, as the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seals, the
+singularly learned Lord Bacon, declares, from fat of unbaptised babes,
+compounded with henbane, hemlock, mandrake, moonshade, and other
+terrible ingredients. She could not be so beautiful without some such
+aid."
+
+"That shows how little yo knoaw about it," replied Jennet. "Alizon is os
+good as she's protty, and dunna yo think to wheedle me into sayin' out
+agen her, fo' yo winna do it. Ey'd dee rayther than harm a hure o' her
+heaod."
+
+"Very praiseworthy, indeed, my little dear," replied Potts, ironically.
+"I honour you for your sisterly affection; but, notwithstanding all
+this, I cannot help thinking she has bewitched Mistress Nutter."
+
+"Licker, Mistress Nutter has bewitched her," replied Jennet.
+
+"Then you think Mistress Nutter is a witch, eh?" cried Potts, eagerly.
+
+"Ey'st neaw tell ye what ey think, mon," rejoined Jennet, doggedly.
+
+"But hear me," cried Potts, "I have my own suspicions, also, nay, more
+than suspicions."
+
+"If ye're shure, yo dunna want me," said Jennet.
+
+"But I want a witness," pursued Potts, "and if you'll serve as one--"
+
+"Whot'll ye gi' me?" said Jennet.
+
+"Whatever you like," rejoined Potts. "Only name the sum. So you can
+prove the practice of witchcraft against Mistress Nutter--eh?"
+
+Jennet nodded. "Wad ye loike to knoa why brother Jem is gone to Pendle
+to-neet?" she said.
+
+"Very much, indeed," replied Potts, drawing still nearer to her. "Very
+much, indeed."
+
+The little girl was about to speak, but on a sudden a sharp convulsion
+agitated her frame; her utterance totally failed her; and she fell back
+in the seat insensible.
+
+Very much startled, Potts flew in search of some restorative, and on
+doing so, he perceived Mistress Nutter moving away from this part of the
+hall.
+
+"She has done it," he cried. "A piece of witchcraft before my very eyes.
+Has she killed the child? No; she breathes, and her pulse beats, though
+faintly. She is only in a swoon, but a deep and deathlike one. It would
+be useless to attempt to revive her; she must come to in her own way, or
+at the pleasure of the wicked woman who has thrown her into this
+condition. I have now an assured witness in this girl. But I must keep
+watch upon Mistress Nutter's further movements."
+
+And he walked cautiously after her.
+
+As Richard had anticipated, his explanation was perfectly satisfactory
+to Dorothy; and the young lady, who had suffered greatly from the
+restraint she had imposed upon herself, flew to Alizon, and poured
+forth excuses, which were as readily accepted as they were freely made.
+They were instantly as great friends as before, and their brief
+estrangement only seemed to make them dearer to each other. Dorothy
+could not forgive herself, and Alizon assured her there was nothing to
+be forgiven, and so they took hands upon it, and promised to forget all
+that had passed. Richard stood by, delighted with the change, and
+wrapped in the contemplation of the object of his love, who, thus
+engaged, seemed to him more beautiful than he had ever beheld her.
+
+Towards the close of the evening, while all three were still together.
+Nicholas came up and took Richard aside. The squire looked flushed; and
+there was an undefined expression of alarm in his countenance.
+
+"What is the matter?" inquired Richard, dreading to hear of some new
+calamity.
+
+"Have you not noticed it, Dick?" said Nicholas, in a hollow tone. "The
+portrait is gone."
+
+"What portrait?" exclaimed Richard, forgetting the previous
+circumstances.
+
+"The portrait of Isole de Heton," returned Nicholas, becoming more
+sepulchral in his accents as he proceeded; "it has vanished from the
+wall. See and believe."
+
+"Who has taken it down?" cried Richard, remarking that the picture had
+certainly disappeared.
+
+"No mortal hand," replied Nicholas. "It has come down of itself. I knew
+what would happen, Dick. I told you the fair votaress gave me the _clin
+d'oeil_--the wink. You would not believe me then--and now you see your
+mistake."
+
+"I see nothing but the bare wall," said Richard.
+
+"But you will see something anon, Dick," rejoined Nicholas, with a
+hollow laugh, and in a dismally deep tone. "You will see Isole herself.
+I was foolhardy enough to invite her to dance the brawl with me. She
+smiled her assent, and winked at me thus--very significantly, I protest
+to you--and she will be as good as her word."
+
+"Absurd!" exclaimed Richard.
+
+"Absurd, sayest thou--thou art an infidel, and believest nothing, Dick,"
+cried Nicholas. "Dost thou not see that the picture is gone? She will be
+here presently. Ha! the brawl is called for--the very dance I invited
+her to. She must be in the room now. I will go in search of her. Look
+out, Dick. Thou wilt behold a sight presently shall make thine hair
+stand on end."
+
+And he moved away with a rapid but uncertain step.
+
+"The potent wine has confused his brain," said Richard. "I must see that
+no mischance befalls him."
+
+And, waving his hand to his sister, he followed the squire, who moved
+on, staring inquisitively into the countenance of every pretty damsel he
+encountered.
+
+Time had flown fleetly with Dorothy and Alizon, who, occupied with each
+other, had taken little note of its progress, and were surprised to find
+how quickly the hours had gone by. Meanwhile several dances had been
+performed; a Morisco, in which all the May-day revellers took part, with
+the exception of the queen herself, who, notwithstanding the united
+entreaties of Robin Hood and her gentleman-usher, could not be prevailed
+upon to join it: a trenchmore, a sort of long country-dance, extending
+from top to bottom of the hall, and in which the whole of the rustics
+stood up: a galliard, confined to the more important guests, and in
+which both Alizon and Dorothy were included, the former dancing, of
+course, with Richard, and the latter with one of her cousins, young
+Joseph Robinson: and a jig, quite promiscuous and unexclusive, and not
+the less merry on that account. In this way, what with the dances, which
+were of some duration--the trenchmore alone occupying more than an
+hour--and the necessary breathing-time between them, it was on the
+stroke of ten without any body being aware of it. Now this, though a
+very early hour for a modern party, being about the time when the first
+guest would arrive, was a very late one even in fashionable assemblages
+at the period in question, and the guests began to think of retiring,
+when the brawl, intended to wind up the entertainment, was called. The
+highest animation still prevailed throughout the company, for the
+generous host had taken care that the intervals between the dances
+should be well filled up with refreshments, and large bowls of spiced
+wines, with burnt oranges and crabs floating in them, were placed on the
+side-table, and liberally dispensed to all applicants. Thus all seemed
+destined to be brought to a happy conclusion.
+
+Throughout the evening Alizon had been closely watched by Mistress
+Nutter, who remarked, with feelings akin to jealousy and distrust, the
+marked predilection exhibited by her for Richard and Dorothy Assheton,
+as well as her inattention to her own expressed injunctions in remaining
+constantly near them. Though secretly displeased by this, she put a calm
+face upon it, and neither remonstrated by word or look. Thus Alizon,
+feeling encouraged in the course she had adopted, and prompted by her
+inclinations, soon forgot the interdiction she had received. Mistress
+Nutter even went so far in her duplicity as to promise Dorothy, that
+Alizon should pay her an early visit at Middleton--though inwardly
+resolving no such visit should ever take place. However, she now
+received the proposal very graciously, and made Alizon quite happy in
+acceding to it.
+
+"I would fain have her go back with me to Middleton when I return," said
+Dorothy, "but I fear you would not like to part with your newly-adopted
+daughter so soon; neither would it be quite fair to rob you of her. But
+I shall hold you to your promise of an early visit."
+
+Mistress Nutter replied by a bland smile, and then observed to Alizon
+that it was time for them to retire, and that she had stayed on her
+account far later than she intended--a mark of consideration duly
+appreciated by Alizon. Farewells for the night were then exchanged
+between the two girls, and Alizon looked round to bid adieu to Richard,
+but unfortunately, at this very juncture, he was engaged in pursuit of
+Nicholas. Before quitting the hall she made inquiries after Jennet, and
+receiving for answer that she was still in the hall, but had fallen
+asleep in a chair at one corner of the side-table, and could not be
+wakened, she instantly flew thither and tried to rouse her, but in vain;
+when Mistress Nutter, coming up the next moment, merely touched her
+brow, and the little girl opened her eyes and gazed about her with a
+bewildered look.
+
+"She is unused to these late hours, poor child," said Alizon. "Some one
+must be found to take her home."
+
+"You need not go far in search of a convoy," said Potts, who had been
+hovering about, and now stepped up; "I am going to the Dragon myself,
+and shall be happy to take charge of her."
+
+"You are over-officious, sir," rejoined Mistress Nutter, coldly; "when
+we need your assistance we will ask it. My own servant, Simon
+Blackadder, will see her safely home."
+
+And at a sign from her, a tall fellow with a dark, scowling countenance,
+came from among the other serving-men, and, receiving his instructions
+from his mistress, seized Jennet's hand, and strode off with her. During
+all this time, Mistress Nutter kept her eyes steadily fixed on the
+little girl, who spoke not a word, nor replied even by a gesture to
+Alizon's affectionate good-night, retaining her dazed look to the moment
+of quitting the hall.
+
+"I never saw her thus before," said Alizon. "What can be the matter with
+her?"
+
+"I think I could tell you," rejoined Potts, glancing maliciously and
+significantly at Mistress Nutter.
+
+The lady darted an ireful and piercing look at him, which seemed to
+produce much the same consequences as those experienced by Jennet, for
+his visage instantly elongated, and he sank back in a chair.
+
+"Oh dear!" he cried, putting his hand to his head; "I'm struck all of a
+heap. I feel a sudden qualm--a giddiness--a sort of don't-know-
+howishness. Ho, there! some aquavitae--or imperial water--or
+cinnamon water--or whatever reviving cordial may be at hand. I feel very
+ill--very ill, indeed--oh dear!"
+
+While his requirements were attended to, Mistress Nutter moved away with
+her daughter; but they had not proceeded far when they encountered
+Richard, who, having fortunately descried them, came up to say
+good-night.
+
+The brawl, meanwhile, had commenced, and the dancers were whirling
+round giddily in every direction, somewhat like the couples in a grand
+polka, danced after a very boisterous, romping, and extravagant fashion.
+
+"Who is Nicholas dancing with?" asked Mistress Nutter suddenly.
+
+"Is he dancing with any one?" rejoined Richard, looking amidst the
+crowd.
+
+"Do you not see her?" said Mistress Nutter; "a very beautiful woman with
+flashing eyes: they move so quickly, that I can scarce discern her
+features; but she is habited like a nun."
+
+"Like a nun!" cried Richard, his blood growing chill in his veins. "'Tis
+she indeed, then! Where is he?"
+
+"Yonder, yonder, whirling madly round," replied Mistress Nutter.
+
+"I see him now," said Richard, "but he is alone. He has lost his wits to
+dance in that strange manner by himself. How wild, too, is his gaze!"
+
+"I tell you he is dancing with a very beautiful woman in the habit of a
+nun," said Mistress Nutter. "Strange I should never have remarked her
+before. No one in the room is to be compared with her in loveliness--not
+even Alizon. Her eyes seem to flash fire, and she bounds like the wild
+roe."
+
+"Does she resemble the portrait of Isole de Heton?" asked Richard,
+shuddering.
+
+"She does--she does," replied Mistress Nutter. "See! she whirls past us
+now."
+
+"I can see no one but Nicholas," cried Richard.
+
+"Nor I," added Alizon, who shared in the young man's alarm.
+
+"Are you sure you behold that figure?" said Richard, drawing Mistress
+Nutter aside, and breathing the words in her ear. "If so, it is a
+phantom--or he is in the power of the fiend. He was rash enough to
+invite that wicked votaress, Isole de Heton, condemned, it is said, to
+penal fires for her earthly enormities, to dance with him, and she has
+come."
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Mistress Nutter.
+
+"She will whirl him round till he expires," cried Richard; "I must free
+him at all hazards."
+
+"Stay," said Mistress Nutter; "it is I who have been deceived. Now I
+look again, I see that Nicholas is alone."
+
+"But the nun's dress--the wondrous beauty--the flashing eyes!" cried
+Richard. "You described Isole exactly."
+
+"It was mere fancy," said Mistress Nutter. "I had just been looking at
+her portrait, and it dwelt on my mind, and created the image."
+
+"The portrait is gone," cried Richard, pointing to the empty wall.
+
+Mistress Nutter looked confounded.
+
+And without a word more, she took Alizon, who was full of alarm and
+astonishment, by the arm, and hurried her out of the hall.
+
+As they disappeared, the young man flew towards Nicholas, whose
+extraordinary proceedings had excited general amazement. The other
+dancers had moved out of the way, so that free space was left for his
+mad gyrations. Greatly scandalised by the exhibition, which he looked
+upon as the effect of intoxication, Sir Ralph called loudly to him to
+stop, but he paid no attention to the summons, but whirled on with
+momently-increasing velocity, oversetting old Adam Whitworth, Gregory,
+and Dickon, who severally ventured to place themselves in his path, to
+enforce their master's injunctions, until at last, just as Richard
+reached him, he uttered a loud cry, and fell to the ground insensible.
+By Sir Ralph's command he was instantly lifted up and transported to his
+own chamber.
+
+This unexpected and extraordinary incident put an end to the ball, and
+the whole of the guests, after taking a respectful and grateful leave of
+the host, departed--not in "most admired" disorder, but full of wonder.
+By most persons the squire's "fantastical vagaries," as they were
+termed, were traced to the vast quantity of wine he had drunk, but a few
+others shook their heads, and said he was evidently bewitched, and that
+Mother Chattox and Nance Redferne were at the bottom of it. As to the
+portrait of Isole de Heton, it was found under the table, and it was
+said that Nicholas himself had pulled it down; but this he obstinately
+denied, when afterwards taken to task for his indecorous behaviour; and
+to his dying day he asserted, and believed, that he had danced the brawl
+with Isole de Heton. "And never," he would say, "had mortal man such a
+partner."
+
+From that night the two portraits in the banqueting-hall were regarded
+with great awe by the inmates of the Abbey.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.--THE NOCTURNAL MEETING.
+
+
+On gaining the head of the staircase leading to the corridor, Mistress
+Nutter, whose movements had hitherto been extremely rapid, paused with
+her daughter to listen to the sounds arising from below. Suddenly was
+heard a loud cry, and the music, which had waxed fast and furious in
+order to keep pace with the frenzied boundings of the squire, ceased at
+once, showing some interruption had occurred, while from the confused
+noise that ensued, it was evident the sudden stoppage had been the
+result of accident. With blanched cheek Alizon listened, scarcely daring
+to look at her mother, whose expression of countenance, revealed by the
+lamp she held in her hand, almost frightened her; and it was a great
+relief to hear the voices and laughter of the serving-men as they came
+forth with Nicholas, and bore him towards another part of the mansion;
+and though much shocked, she was glad when one of them, who appeared to
+be Nicholas's own servant, assured the others "that it was only a
+drunken fit and that the squire would wake up next morning as if nothing
+had happened."
+
+Apparently satisfied with this explanation, Mistress Nutter moved on;
+but a new feeling of uneasiness came over Alizon as she followed her
+down the long dusky corridor, in the direction of the mysterious
+chamber, where they were to pass the night. The fitful flame of the lamp
+fell upon many a grim painting depicting the sufferings of the early
+martyrs; and these ghastly representations did not serve to re-assure
+her. The grotesque carvings on the panels and ribs of the vaulted roof,
+likewise impressed her with vague terror, and there was one large piece
+of sculpture--Saint Theodora subjected to diabolical temptation, as
+described in the Golden Legend--that absolutely scared her. Their
+footsteps echoed hollowly overhead, and more than once, deceived by the
+sound, Alizon turned to see if any one was behind them. At the end of
+the corridor lay the room once occupied by the superior of the religious
+establishment, and still known from that circumstance as the "Abbot's
+Chamber." Connected with this apartment was the beautiful oratory built
+by Paslew, wherein he had kept his last vigils; and though now no longer
+applied to purposes of worship, still wearing from the character of its
+architecture, its sculptured ornaments, and the painted glass in its
+casements, a dim religious air. The abbot's room was allotted to Dorothy
+Assheton; and from its sombre magnificence, as well as the ghostly tales
+connected with it, had impressed her with so much superstitious
+misgiving, that she besought Alizon to share her couch with her, but the
+young girl did not dare to assent. Just, however, as Mistress Nutter was
+about to enter her own room, Dorothy appeared on the corridor, and,
+calling to Alizon to stay a moment, flew quickly towards her, and
+renewed the proposition. Alizon looked at her mother, but the latter
+decidedly, and somewhat sternly, negatived it.
+
+The young girls then said good-night, kissing each other affectionately,
+after which Alizon entered the room with Mistress Nutter, and the door
+was closed. Two tapers were burning on the dressing-table, and their
+light fell upon the carved figures of the wardrobe, which still
+exercised the same weird influence over her. Mistress Nutter neither
+seemed disposed to retire to rest immediately, nor willing to talk, but
+sat down, and was soon lost in thought. After awhile, an impulse of
+curiosity which she could not resist, prompted Alizon to peep into the
+closet, and pushing aside the tapestry, partly drawn over the entrance,
+she held the lamp forward so as to throw its light into the little
+chamber. A mere glance was all she was allowed, but it sufficed to show
+her the large oak chest, though the monkish robe lately suspended above
+it, and which had particularly attracted her attention, was gone.
+Mistress Nutter had noticed the movement, and instantly and somewhat
+sharply recalled her.
+
+As Alizon obeyed, a slight tap was heard at the door. The young girl
+turned pale, for in her present frame of mind any little matter affected
+her. Nor were her apprehensions materially allayed by the entrance of
+Dorothy, who, looking white as a sheet, said she did not dare to remain
+in her own room, having been terribly frightened, by seeing a monkish
+figure in mouldering white garments, exactly resembling one of the
+carved images on the wardrobe, issue from behind the hangings on the
+wall, and glide into the oratory, and she entreated Mistress Nutter to
+let Alizon go back with her. The request was peremptorily refused, and
+the lady, ridiculing Dorothy for her fears, bade her return; but she
+still lingered. This relation filled Alizon with inexpressible alarm,
+for though she did not dare to allude to the disappearance of the
+monkish gown, she could not help connecting the circumstance with the
+ghostly figure seen by Dorothy.
+
+Unable otherwise to get rid of the terrified intruder, whose presence
+was an evident restraint to her, Mistress Nutter, at length, consented
+to accompany her to her room, and convince her of the folly of her
+fears, by an examination of the oratory. Alizon went with them, her
+mother not choosing to leave her behind, and indeed she herself was most
+anxious to go.
+
+The abbot's chamber was large and gloomy, nearly twice the size of the
+room occupied by Mistress Nutter, but resembling it in many respects, as
+well as in the No interdusky hue of its hangings and furniture, most of
+which had been undisturbed since the days of Paslew. The very bed, of
+carved oak, was that in which he had slept, and his arms were still
+displayed upon it, and on the painted glass of the windows. As Alizon
+entered she looked round with apprehension, but nothing occurred to
+justify her uneasiness. Having raised the arras, from behind which
+Dorothy averred the figure had issued, and discovering nothing but a
+panel of oak; with a smile of incredulity, Mistress Nutter walked boldly
+towards the oratory, the two girls, hand in hand, following tremblingly
+after her; but no fearful object met their view. A dressing-table, with
+a large mirror upon it, occupied the spot where the altar had formerly
+stood; but, in spite of this, and of other furniture, the little place
+of prayer, as has previously been observed, retained much of its
+original character, and seemed more calculated to inspire sentiments of
+devotional awe than any other.
+
+After remaining for a short time in the oratory, during which she
+pointed out the impossibility of any one being concealed there, Mistress
+Nutter assured Dorothy she might rest quite easy that nothing further
+would occur to alarm her, and recommending her to lose the sense of her
+fears as speedily as she could in sleep, took her departure with Alizon.
+
+But the recommendation was of little avail. The poor girl's heart died
+within her, and all her former terrors returned, and with additional
+force. Sitting down, she looked fixedly at the hangings till her eyes
+ached, and then covering her face with her hands, and scarcely daring to
+breathe, she listened intently for the slightest sound. A rustle would
+have made her scream--but all was still as death, so profoundly quiet,
+that the very hush and silence became a new cause of disquietude, and
+longing for some cheerful sound to break it, she would have spoken aloud
+but from a fear of hearing her own voice. A book lay before her, and she
+essayed to read it, but in vain. She was ever glancing fearfully
+round--ever listening intently. This state could not endure for ever,
+and feeling a drowsiness steal over her she yielded to it, and at length
+dropped asleep in her chair. Her dreams, however, were influenced by her
+mental condition, and slumber was no refuge, as promised by Mistress
+Nutter, from the hauntings of terror.
+
+At last a jarring sound aroused her, and she found she had been awakened
+by the clock striking twelve. Her lamp required trimming and burnt
+dimly, but by its imperfect light she saw the arras move. This could be
+no fancy, for the next moment the hangings were raised, and a figure
+looked from behind them; and this time it was not the monk, but a female
+robed in white. A glimpse of the figure was all Dorothy caught, for it
+instantly retreated, and the tapestry fell back to its place against the
+wall. Scared by this apparition, Dorothy rushed out of the room so
+hurriedly that she forgot to take her lamp, and made her way, she
+scarcely knew how, to the adjoining chamber. She did not tap at the
+door, but trying it, and finding it unfastened, opened it softly, and
+closed it after her, resolved if the occupants of the room were asleep
+not to disturb them, but to pass the night in a chair, the presence of
+some living beings beside her sufficing, in some degree, to dispel her
+terrors. The room was buried in darkness, the tapers being extinguished.
+
+Advancing on tiptoe she soon discovered a seat, when what was her
+surprise to find Alizon asleep within it. She was sure it was
+Alizon--for she had touched her hair and face, and she felt surprised
+that the contact had not awakened her. Still more surprised did she feel
+that the young girl had not retired to rest. Again she stepped forward
+in search of another chair, when a gleam of light suddenly shot from one
+side of the bed, and the tapestry, masking the entrance to the closet,
+was slowly drawn aside. From behind it, the next moment, appeared the
+same female figure, robed in white, that she had previously beheld in
+the abbot's chamber. The figure held a lamp in one hand, and a small
+box in the other, and, to her unspeakable horror, disclosed the livid
+and contorted countenance of Mistress Nutter.
+
+[Illustration: ALIZON ALARMED AT THE APPEARANCE OF MRS. NUTTER.]
+
+Dreadful though undefined suspicions crossed her mind, and she feared,
+if discovered, she should be sacrificed to the fury of this strange and
+terrible woman. Luckily, where she stood, though Mistress Nutter was
+revealed to her, she herself was screened from view by the hangings of
+the bed, and looking around for a hiding-place, she observed that the
+mysterious wardrobe, close behind her, was open, and without a moment's
+hesitation, she slipped into the covert and drew the door to,
+noiselessly. But her curiosity overmastered her fear, and, firmly
+believing some magical rite was about to be performed, she sought for
+means of beholding it; nor was she long in discovering a small
+eyelet-hole in the carving which commanded the room.
+
+Unconscious of any other presence than that of Alizon, whose stupor
+appeared to occasion her no uneasiness, Mistress Nutter, placed the lamp
+upon the table, made fast the door, and, muttering some unintelligible
+words, unlocked the box. It contained two singularly-shaped glass
+vessels, the one filled with a bright sparkling liquid, and the other
+with a greenish-coloured unguent. Pouring forth a few drops of the
+liquid into a glass near her, Mistress Nutter swallowed them, and then
+taking some of the unguent upon her hands, proceeded to anoint her face
+and neck with it, exclaiming as she did so, "Emen hetan! Emen
+hetan!"--words that fixed themselves upon the listener's memory.
+
+Wondering what would follow, Dorothy gazed on, when she suddenly lost
+sight of Mistress Nutter, and after looking for her as far as her range
+of vision, limited by the aperture, would extend, she became convinced
+that she had left the room. All remaining quiet, she ventured, after
+awhile, to quit her hiding-place, and flying to Alizon, tried to waken
+her, but in vain. The poor girl retained the same moveless attitude, and
+appeared plunged in a deathly stupor.
+
+Much frightened, Dorothy resolved to alarm the house, but some fears of
+Mistress Nutter restrained her, and she crept towards the closet to see
+whether that dread lady could be there. All was perfectly still; and
+somewhat emboldened, she returned to the table, where the box, which was
+left open and its contents unguarded, attracted her attention.
+
+What was the liquid in the phial? What could it do? These were questions
+she asked herself, and longing to try the effect, she ventured at last
+to pour forth a few drops and taste it. It was like a potent
+distillation, and she became instantly sensible of a strange bewildering
+excitement. Presently her brain reeled, and she laughed wildly. Never
+before had she felt so light and buoyant, and wings seemed scarcely
+wanting to enable her to fly. An idea occurred to her. The wondrous
+liquid might arouse Alizon. The experiment should be tried at once, and,
+dipping her finger in the phial, she touched the lips of the sleeper,
+who sighed deeply and opened her eyes. Another drop, and Alizon was on
+her feet, gazing at her in astonishment, and laughing wildly as herself.
+
+Poor girls! how wild and strange they looked--and how unlike themselves!
+
+"Whither are you going?" cried Alizon.
+
+"To the moon! to the stars!--any where!" rejoined Dorothy, with a laugh
+of frantic glee.
+
+"I will go with you," cried Alizon, echoing the laugh.
+
+"Here and there!--here and there!" exclaimed Dorothy, taking her hand.
+"Emen hetan! Emen hetan!"
+
+As the mystic words were uttered they started away. It seemed as if no
+impediments could stop them; how they crossed the closet, passed through
+a sliding panel into the abbot's room, entered the oratory, and from it
+descended, by a secret staircase, to the garden, they knew not--but
+there they were, gliding swiftly along in the moonlight, like winged
+spirits. What took them towards the conventual church they could not
+say. But they were drawn thither, as the ship was irresistibly dragged
+towards the loadstone rock described in the Eastern legend. Nothing
+surprised them then, or they might have been struck by the dense vapour,
+enveloping the monastic ruins, and shrouding them from view; nor was it
+until they entered the desecrated fabric, that any consciousness of what
+was passing around returned to them.
+
+Their ears were then assailed by a wild hubbub of discordant sounds,
+hootings and croakings as of owls and ravens, shrieks and jarring cries
+as of night-birds, bellowings as of cattle, groans and dismal sounds,
+mixed with unearthly laughter. Undefined and extraordinary shapes,
+whether men or women, beings of this world or of another they could not
+tell, though they judged them the latter, flew past with wild whoops and
+piercing cries, flapping the air as if with great leathern bat-like
+wings, or bestriding black, monstrous, misshapen steeds. Fantastical and
+grotesque were these objects, yet hideous and appalling. Now and then a
+red and fiery star would whiz crackling through the air, and then
+exploding break into numerous pale phosphoric lights, that danced awhile
+overhead, and then flitted away among the ruins. The ground seemed to
+heave and tremble beneath the footsteps, as if the graves were opening
+to give forth their dead, while toads and hissing reptiles crept forth.
+
+Appalled, yet partly restored to herself by this confused and horrible
+din, Alizon stood still and kept fast hold of Dorothy, who, seemingly
+under a stronger influence than herself, was drawn towards the eastern
+end of the fane, where a fire appeared to be blazing, a strong ruddy
+glare being cast upon the broken roof of the choir, and the mouldering
+arches around it. The noises around them suddenly ceased, and all the
+uproar seemed concentrated near the spot where the fire was burning.
+Dorothy besought her friend so earnestly to let her see what was going
+forward, that Alizon reluctantly and tremblingly assented, and they
+moved slowly towards the transept, taking care to keep under the shelter
+of the columns.
+
+On reaching the last pillar, behind which they remained, an
+extraordinary and fearful spectacle burst upon them. As they had
+supposed, a large fire was burning in the midst of the choir, the smoke
+of which, ascending in eddying wreaths, formed a dark canopy overhead,
+where it was mixed with the steam issuing from a large black bubbling
+caldron set on the blazing embers. Around the fire were ranged, in a
+wide circle, an assemblage of men and women, but chiefly the latter, and
+of these almost all old, hideous, and of malignant aspect, their grim
+and sinister features looking ghastly in the lurid light. Above them,
+amid the smoke and steam, wheeled bat and flitter-mouse, horned owl and
+screech-owl, in mazy circles. The weird assemblage chattered together in
+some wild jargon, mumbling and muttering spells and incantations,
+chanting fearfully with hoarse, cracked voices a wild chorus, and anon
+breaking into a loud and long-continued peal of laughter. Then there was
+more mumbling, chattering, and singing, and one of the troop producing a
+wallet, hobbled forward.
+
+She was a fearful old crone; hunchbacked, toothless, blear-eyed,
+bearded, halt, with huge gouty feet swathed in flannel. As she cast in
+the ingredients one by one, she chanted thus:--
+
+
+          "Head of monkey, brain of cat,
+           Eye of weasel, tail of rat,
+           Juice of mugwort, mastic, myrrh--
+           All within the pot I stir."
+
+"Well sung, Mother Mould-heels," cried a little old man, whose doublet
+and hose were of rusty black, with a short cloak, of the same hue, over
+his shoulders. "Well sung, Mother Mould-heels," he cried, advancing as
+the old witch retired, amidst a roar of laughter from the others, and
+chanting as he filled the caldron:
+
+          "Here is foam from a mad dog's lips,
+           Gather'd beneath the moon's eclipse,
+           Ashes of a shroud consumed,
+           And with deadly vapour fumed.
+           These within the mess I cast--
+           Stir the caldron--stir it fast!"
+
+A red-haired witch then took his place, singing,
+
+          "Here are snakes from out the river,
+           Bones of toad and sea-calf's liver;
+           Swine's flesh fatten'd on her brood,
+           Wolf's tooth, hare's foot, weasel's blood.
+           Skull of ape and fierce baboon,
+           And panther spotted like the moon;
+           Feathers of the horned owl,
+           Daw, pie, and other fatal fowl.
+           Fruit from fig-tree never sown,
+           Seed from cypress never grown.
+           All within the mess I cast,
+           Stir the caldron--stir it fast!"
+
+Nance Redferne then advanced, and, taking from her wallet a small clay
+image, tricked out in attire intended to resemble that of James Device,
+plunged several pins deeply into its breast, singing as she did so,
+thus,--
+
+          "In his likeness it is moulded,
+           In his vestments 'tis enfolded.
+           Ye may know it, as I show it!
+           In its breast sharp pins I stick,
+           And I drive them to the quick.
+           They are in--they are in--
+           And the wretch's pangs begin.
+           Now his heart,
+           Feels the smart;
+           Through his marrow,
+           Sharp as arrow,
+           Torments quiver
+           He shall shiver,
+           He shall burn,
+           He shall toss, and he shall turn.
+           Unavailingly.
+           Aches shall rack him,
+           Cramps attack him,
+           He shall wail,
+           Strength shall fail,
+           Till he die
+           Miserably!"
+
+As Nance retired, another witch advanced, and sung thus:
+
+          "Over mountain, over valley, over woodland, over waste,
+           On our gallant broomsticks riding we have come with
+               frantic haste,
+           And the reason of our coming, as ye wot well, is to see
+           Who this night, as new-made witch, to our ranks shall
+               added be."
+
+A wild burst of laughter followed this address, and another wizard
+succeeded, chanting thus:
+
+          "Beat the water, Demdike's daughter!
+               Till the tempest gather o'er us;
+           Till the thunder strike with wonder
+               And the lightnings flash before us!
+           Beat the water, Demdike's daughter!
+           Ruin seize our foes and slaughter!"
+
+As the words were uttered, a woman stepped from out the circle, and
+throwing back the grey-hooded cloak in which she was enveloped,
+disclosed the features of Elizabeth Device. Her presence in that fearful
+assemblage occasioned no surprise to Alizon, though it increased her
+horror. A pail of water was next set before the witch, and a broom being
+placed in her hand, she struck the lymph with it, sprinkling it aloft,
+and uttering this spell:
+
+          "Mount, water, to the skies!
+           Bid the sudden storm arise.
+           Bid the pitchy clouds advance,
+           Bid the forked lightnings glance,
+           Bid the angry thunder growl,
+           Bid the wild wind fiercely howl!
+           Bid the tempest come amain,
+           Thunder, lightning, wind, and rain!"
+
+[Illustration: THE INCANTATION.]
+
+As she concluded, clouds gathered thickly overhead, obscuring the
+stars that had hitherto shone down from the heavens. The wind suddenly
+arose, but in lieu of dispersing the vapours it seemed only to condense
+them. A flash of forked lightning cut through the air, and a loud peal
+of thunder rolled overhead.
+
+Then the whole troop sang together--
+
+          "Beat the water, Demdike's daughter!
+               See the tempests gathers o'er us,
+           Lightning flashes--thunder crashes,
+               Wild winds sing in lusty chorus!"
+
+For a brief space the storm raged fearfully, and recalled the terror of
+that previously witnessed by Alizon, which she now began to think might
+have originated in a similar manner. The wind raved around the ruined
+pile, but its breath was not felt within it, and the rain was heard
+descending in deluging showers without, though no drop came through the
+open roof. The thunder shook the walls and pillars of the old fabric,
+and threatened to topple them down from their foundations, but they
+resisted the shocks. The lightning played around the tall spire
+springing from this part of the fane, and ran down from its shattered
+summit to its base, without doing any damage. The red bolts struck the
+ground innocuously, though they fell at the very feet of the weird
+assemblage, who laughed wildly at the awful tumult.
+
+Whilst the storm was at its worst, while the lightning was flashing
+fiercely, and the thunder rattling loudly, Mother Chattox, with a
+chafing-dish in her hand, advanced towards the fire, and placing the pan
+upon it, threw certain herbs and roots into it, chanting thus:--
+
+
+          "Here is juice of poppy bruised,
+           With black hellebore infused;
+           Here is mandrake's bleeding root,
+           Mixed with moonshade's deadly fruit;
+           Viper's bag with venom fill'd,
+           Taken ere the beast was kill'd;
+           Adder's skin and raven's feather,
+           With shell of beetle blent together;
+           Dragonwort and barbatus,
+           Hemlock black and poisonous;
+           Horn of hart, and storax red,
+           Lapwing's blood, at midnight shed.
+           In the heated pan they burn,
+           And to pungent vapours turn.
+           By this strong suffumigation,
+           By this potent invocation,
+           Spirits! I compel you here!
+           All who list may call appear!"
+
+After a moment's pause, she resumed as follows:--
+
+          "White-robed brethren, who of old,
+           Nightly paced yon cloisters cold,
+           Sleeping now beneath the mould!
+                              I bid ye rise.
+
+          "Abbots! by the weakling fear'd,
+           By the credulous revered,
+           Who this mighty fabric rear'd!
+                              I bid ye rise!
+
+          "And thou last and guilty one!
+           By thy lust of power undone,
+           Whom in death thy fellows shun!
+                              I bid thee come!
+
+          "And thou fair one, who disdain'd
+           To keep the vows thy lips had feign'd;
+           And thy snowy garments stain'd!
+                              I bid thee come!"
+
+During this invocation, the glee of the assemblage ceased, and they
+looked around in hushed expectation of the result. Slowly then did a
+long procession of monkish forms, robed in white, glide along the
+aisles, and gather round the altar. The brass-covered stones within the
+presbytery were lifted up, as if they moved on hinges, and from the
+yawning graves beneath them arose solemn shapes, sixteen in number, each
+with mitre on head and crosier in hand, which likewise proceeded to the
+altar. Then a loud cry was heard, and from a side chapel burst the
+monkish form, in mouldering garments, which Dorothy had seen enter the
+oratory, and which would have mingled with its brethren at the altar,
+but they waved it off menacingly. Another piercing shriek followed, and
+a female shape, habited like a nun, and of surpassing loveliness, issued
+from the opposite chapel, and hovered near the fire. Content with this
+proof of her power, Mother Chattox waved her hand, and the long shadowy
+train glided off as they came. The ghostly abbots returned to their
+tombs, and the stones closed over them. But the shades of Paslew and
+Isole de Heton still lingered.
+
+The storm had wellnigh ceased, the thunder rolled hollowly at intervals,
+and a flash of lightning now and then licked the walls. The weird crew
+had resumed their rites, when the door of the Lacy chapel flew open, and
+a tall female figure came forward.
+
+Alizon doubted if she beheld aright. Could that terrific woman in the
+strangely-fashioned robe of white, girt by a brazen zone graven with
+mystic characters, with a long glittering blade in her hand, infernal
+fury in her wildly-rolling orbs, the livid hue of death on her cheeks,
+and the red brand upon her brow--could that fearful woman, with the
+black dishevelled tresses floating over her bare shoulders, and whose
+gestures were so imperious, be Mistress Nutter? Mother no longer, if it
+indeed were she! How came she there amid that weird assemblage? Why did
+they so humbly salute her, and fall prostrate before her, kissing the
+hem of her garment? Why did she stand proudly in the midst of them, and
+extend her hand, armed with the knife, over them? Was she their
+sovereign mistress, that they bent so lowly at her coming, and rose so
+reverentially at her bidding? Was this terrible woman, now seated oh a
+dilapidated tomb, and regarding the dark conclave with the eye of a
+queen who held their lives in her hands--was she her mother? Oh,
+no!--no!--it could not be! It must be some fiend that usurped her
+likeness.
+
+Still, though Alizon thus strove to discredit the evidence of her
+senses, and to hold all she saw to be delusion, and the work of
+darkness, she could not entirely convince herself, but imperfectly
+recalling the fearful vision she had witnessed during her former stupor,
+began to connect it with the scene now passing before her. The storm had
+wholly ceased, and the stars again twinkled down through the shattered
+roof. Deep silence prevailed, broken only by the hissing and bubbling of
+the caldron.
+
+Alizon's gaze was riveted upon her mother, whose slightest gestures she
+watched. After numbering the assemblage thrice, Mistress Nutter
+majestically arose, and motioning Mother Chattox towards her, the old
+witch tremblingly advanced, and some words passed between them, the
+import of which did not reach the listener's ear. In conclusion,
+however, Mistress Nutter exclaimed aloud, in accents of command--"Go,
+bring it at once, the sacrifice must be made."--And on this, Mother
+Chattox hobbled off to one of the side chapels.
+
+A mortal terror seized Alizon, and she could scarcely draw breath. Dark
+tales had been told her that unbaptised infants were sometimes
+sacrificed by witches, and their flesh boiled and devoured at their
+impious banquets, and dreading lest some such atrocity was now about to
+be practised, she mustered all her resolution, determined, at any risk,
+to interfere, and, if possible, prevent its accomplishment.
+
+In another moment, Mother Chattox returned bearing some living thing,
+wrapped in a white cloth, which struggled feebly for liberation,
+apparently confirming Alizon's suspicions, and she was about to rush
+forward, when Mistress Nutter, snatching the bundle from the old witch,
+opened it, and disclosed a beautiful bird, with plumage white as driven
+snow, whose legs were tied together, so that it could not escape.
+Conjecturing what was to follow, Alizon averted her eyes, and when she
+looked round again the bird had been slain, while Mother Chattox was in
+the act of throwing its body into the caldron, muttering a charm as she
+did so. Mistress Nutter held the ensanguined knife aloft, and casting
+some ruddy drops upon the glowing embers, pronounced, as they hissed and
+smoked, the following adjuration:--
+
+          "Thy aid I seek, infernal Power!
+           Be thy word sent to Malkin Tower,
+           That the beldame old may know
+           Where I will, thou'dst have her go--
+           What I will, thou'dst have her do!"
+
+An immediate response was made by an awful voice issuing apparently from
+the bowels of the earth.
+
+          "Thou who seek'st the Demon's aid,
+           Know'st the price that must be paid."
+
+The queen witch rejoined--
+
+          "I do. But grant the aid I crave,
+           And that thou wishest thou shalt have.
+           Another worshipper is won,
+           Thine to be, when all is done."
+
+Again the deep voice spake, with something of mockery in its accents:--
+
+           "Enough proud witch, I am content.
+           To Malkin Tower the word is sent,
+           Forth to her task the beldame goes,
+           And where she points the streamlet flows;
+           Its customary bed forsaking,
+           Another distant channel making.
+           Round about like elfets tripping,
+           Stock and stone, and tree are skipping;
+           Halting where she plants her staff,
+           With a wild exulting laugh.
+               Ho! ho! 'tis a merry sight,
+               Thou hast given the hag to-night.
+
+           Lo! the sheepfold, and the herd,
+           To another site are stirr'd!
+           And the rugged limestone quarry,
+           Where 'twas digg'd may no more tarry;
+           While the goblin haunted dingle,
+           With another dell must mingle.
+           Pendle Moor is in commotion,
+           Like the billows of the ocean,
+           When the winds are o'er it ranging,
+           Heaving, falling, bursting, changing.
+               Ho! ho! 'tis a merry sight
+               Thou hast given the hag to-night.
+
+           Lo! the moss-pool sudden flies,
+           In another spot to rise;
+           And the scanty-grown plantation,
+           Finds another situation,
+           And a more congenial soil,
+           Without needing woodman's toil.
+           Now the warren moves--and see!
+           How the burrowing rabbits flee,
+           Hither, thither till they find it,
+           With another brake behind it.
+               Ho! ho! 'tis a merry sight
+               Thou hast given the hag to-night.
+
+           Lo! new lines the witch is tracing,
+           Every well-known mark effacing,
+           Elsewhere, other bounds erecting,
+           So the old there's no detecting.
+               Ho! ho! 'tis a pastime quite,
+               Thou hast given the hag to-night!
+
+           The hind at eve, who wander'd o'er
+           The dreary waste of Pendle Moor,
+           Shall wake at dawn, and in surprise,
+           Doubt the strange sight that meets his eyes.
+           The pathway leading to his hut
+           Winds differently,--the gate is shut.
+           The ruin on the right that stood.
+           Lies on the left, and nigh the wood;
+           The paddock fenced with wall of stone,
+           Wcll-stock'd with kine, a mile hath flown,
+           The sheepfold and the herd are gone.
+           Through channels new the brooklet rushes,
+           Its ancient course conceal'd by bushes.
+           Where the hollow was, a mound
+           Rises from the upheaved ground.
+           Doubting, shouting with surprise,
+           How the fool stares, and rubs his eyes!
+           All's so changed, the simple elf
+           Fancies he is changed himself!
+           Ho! ho! 'tis a merry sight
+           The hag shall have when dawns the light.
+           But see! she halts and waves her hand.
+           All is done as thou hast plann'd."
+
+After a moment's pause the voice added,
+
+          "I have done as thou hast will'd--
+           Now be thy path straight fulfill'd."
+
+"It shall be," replied Mistress Nutter, whose features gleamed with
+fierce exultation. "Bring forth the proselyte!" she shouted.
+
+And at the words, her swarthy serving-man, Blackadder, came forth from
+the Lacy chapel, leading Jennet by the hand. They were followed by Tib,
+who, dilated to twice his former size, walked with tail erect, and eyes
+glowing like carbuncles.
+
+At sight of her daughter a loud cry of rage and astonishment burst from
+Elizabeth Device, and, rushing forward, she would have seized her, if
+Tib had not kept her off by a formidable display of teeth and talons.
+Jennet made no effort to join her mother, but regarded her with a
+malicious and triumphant grin.
+
+"This is my chilt," screamed Elizabeth. "She canna be baptised without
+my consent, an ey refuse it. Ey dunna want her to be a witch--at least
+not yet awhile. What mays yo here, yo little plague?"
+
+"Ey wur brought here, mother," replied Jennet, with affected simplicity.
+
+"Then get whoam at once, and keep there," rejoined Elizabeth, furiously.
+
+"Nay, eyst nah go just yet," replied Jennet. "Ey'd fain be a witch as
+weel as yo."
+
+"Ho! ho! ho!" laughed the voice from below.
+
+"Nah, nah--ey forbid it," shrieked Elizabeth, "ye shanna be bapteesed.
+Whoy ha ye brought her here, madam?" she added to Mistress Nutter. "Yo
+ha' stolen her fro' me. Boh ey protest agen it."
+
+"Your consent is not required," replied Mistress Nutter, waving her off.
+"Your daughter is anxious to become a witch. That is enough."
+
+"She is not owd enough to act for herself," said Elizabeth.
+
+"Age matters not," replied Mistress Nutter.
+
+"What mun ey do to become a witch?" asked Jennet.
+
+"You must renounce all hopes of heaven," replied Mistress Nutter, "and
+devote yourself to Satan. You will then be baptised in his name, and
+become one of his worshippers. You will have power to afflict all
+persons with bodily ailments--to destroy cattle--blight corn--burn
+dwellings--and, if you be so minded, kill those you hate, or who molest
+you. Do you desire to do all this?"
+
+"Eigh, that ey do," replied Jennet. "Ey ha' more pleasure in evil than
+in good, an wad rayther see folk weep than laugh; an if ey had the
+power, ey wad so punish them os jeer at me, that they should rue it to
+their deein' day."
+
+"All this you shall do, and more," rejoined Mistress Nutter. "You
+renounce all hopes of salvation, then, and devote yourself, soul and
+body, to the Powers of Darkness."
+
+Elizabeth, who was still kept at bay by Tib, shaking her arms, and
+gnashing her teeth, in impotent rage, now groaned aloud; but ere Jennet
+could answer, a piercing cry was heard, which thrilled through Mistress
+Nutter's bosom, and Alizon, rushing from her place of concealment,
+passed through the weird circle, and stood beside the group in the midst
+of it.
+
+"Forbear, Jennet," she cried; "forbear! Pronounce not those impious
+words, or you are lost for ever. Come with me, and I will save you."
+
+"Sister Alizon," cried Jennet, staring at her in surprise, "what makes
+you here?"
+
+"Do not ask--but come," cried Alizon, trying to take her hand.
+
+"Oh! what is this?" cried Mistress Nutter, now partly recovered from the
+consternation and astonishment into which she had been thrown by
+Alizon's unexpected appearance. "Why are you here? How have you broken
+the chains of slumber in which I bound you? Fly--fly--at once, this girl
+is past your help. You cannot save her. She is already devoted. Fly. I
+am powerless to protect you here."
+
+"Ho! ho! ho!" laughed the voice.
+
+"Do you not hear that laughter?" cried Mistress Nutter, with a haggard
+look. "Go!"
+
+"Never, without Jennet," replied Alizon, firmly.
+
+"My child--my child--on my knees I implore you to depart," cried
+Mistress Nutter, throwing herself before her--"You know not your
+danger--oh, fly--fly!"
+
+But Alizon continued inflexible.
+
+"Yo are caught i' your own snare, madam," cried Elizabeth Device, with a
+taunting laugh. "Sin Jennet mun be a witch, Alizon con be bapteesed os
+weel. Your consent is not required--and age matters not--ha! ha!"
+
+"Curses upon thy malice," cried Mistress Nutter, rising. "What can be
+done in this extremity?"
+
+"Nothing," replied the voice. "Jennet is mine already. If not brought
+hither by thee, or by her mother, she would have come of her own accord.
+I have watched her, and marked her for my own. Besides, she is fated.
+The curse of Paslew clings to her."
+
+As the words were uttered, the shade of the abbot glided forwards, and,
+touching the shuddering child upon the brow with its finger, vanished
+with a lamentable cry.
+
+"Kneel, Jennet," cried Alizon; "kneel, and pray!"
+
+"To me," rejoined the voice; "she can bend to no other power. Alice
+Nutter, thou hast sought to deceive me, but in vain. I bade thee bring
+thy daughter here, and in place of her thou offerest me the child of
+another, who is mine already. I am not to be thus trifled with. Thou
+knowest my will. Sprinkle water over her head, and devote her to me."
+
+Alizon would fain have thrown herself on her knees, but extremity of
+horror, or some overmastering influence, held her fast; and she remained
+with her gaze fixed upon her mother, who seemed torn by conflicting
+emotions.
+
+"Is there no way to avoid this?" cried Mistress Nutter.
+
+"No way but one," replied the voice. "I have been offered a new devotee,
+and I claim fulfilment of the promise. Thy daughter or another, it
+matters not--but not Jennet."
+
+"I embrace the alternative," cried Mistress Nutter.
+
+"It must be done upon the instant," said the voice.
+
+"It shall be," replied Mistress Nutter. And, stretching her arm in the
+direction of the mansion, she called in a loud imperious voice, "Dorothy
+Assheton, come hither!"
+
+A minute elapsed, but no one appeared, and, with a look of
+disappointment, Mistress Nutter repeated the gesture and the words.
+
+Still no one came.
+
+"Baffled!" she exclaimed, "what can it mean?"
+
+"There is a maiden within the south transept, who is not one of my
+servants," cried the voice. "Call her."
+
+"'Tis she!" cried Mistress Nutter, stretching her arm towards the
+transept. "This time I am answered," she added, as with a wild laugh
+Dorothy obeyed the summons.
+
+"I have anointed myself with the unguent, and drank of the potion, ha!
+ha! ha!" cried Dorothy, with a wild gesture, and wilder laughter.
+
+"Ha! this accounts for her presence here," muttered Mistress Nutter.
+"But it could not be better. She is in no mood to offer resistance.
+Dorothy, thou shalt be a witch."
+
+"A witch!" exclaimed the bewildered maiden. "Is Alizon a witch?"
+
+"We are all witches here," replied Mistress Nutter.
+
+Alizon had no power to contradict her.
+
+"A merry company!" exclaimed Dorothy, laughing loudly.
+
+"You will say so anon," replied Mistress Nutter, waving her hand over
+her, and muttering a spell; "but you see them not in their true forms,
+Dorothy. Look again--what do you behold now?"
+
+"In place of a troop of old wrinkled crones in wretched habiliments,"
+replied Dorothy, "I behold a band of lovely nymphs in light gauzy
+attire, wreathed with flowers, and holding myrtle and olive branches in
+their hands. See they rise, and prepare for the dance. Strains of
+ravishing music salute the ear. I never heard sounds so sweet and
+stirring. The round is formed. The dance begins. How gracefully--how
+lightly they move--ha! ha!"
+
+Alizon could not check her--could not undeceive her--for power of speech
+as of movement was denied her, but she comprehended the strange delusion
+under which the poor girl laboured. The figures Dorothy described as
+young and lovely, were still to her the same loathsome and abhorrent
+witches; the ravishing music jarred discordantly on her ear, as if
+produced by a shrill cornemuse; and the lightsome dance was a fantastic
+round, performed with shouts and laughter by the whole unhallowed crew.
+
+Jennet laughed immoderately, and seemed delighted by the antics of the
+troop.
+
+"Ey never wished to dance efore," she cried, "boh ey should like to try
+now."
+
+"Join them, then," said Mistress Nutter.
+
+And to the little girl's infinite delight a place was made for her in
+the round, and, taking hands with Mother Mould-heels and the red-haired
+witch, she footed it as merrily as the rest.
+
+"Who is she in the nunlike habit?" inquired Dorothy, pointing to the
+shade of Isole de Heton, which still hovered near the weird assemblage.
+"She seems more beautiful than all the others. Will she not dance with
+me?"
+
+"Heed her not," said Mistress Nutter.
+
+Dorothy, however, would not be gainsaid, but, spite of the caution,
+beckoned the figure towards her. It came at once, and in another instant
+its arms were enlaced around her. The same frenzy that had seized
+Nicholas now took possession of Dorothy, and her dance with Isole might
+have come to a similar conclusion, if it had not been abruptly checked
+by Mistress Nutter, who, waving her hand, and pronouncing a spell, the
+figure instantly quitted Dorothy, and, with a wild shriek, fled.
+
+"How like you these diversions?" said Mistress Nutter to the panting and
+almost breathless maiden.
+
+"Marvellously," replied Dorothy; "but why have you scared my partner
+away?"
+
+"Because she would have done you a mischief," rejoined Mistress Nutter.
+"But now let me put a question to you. Are you willing to renounce your
+baptism, and enter into a covenant with the Prince of Darkness?"
+
+Dorothy did not seem in the least to comprehend what was said to her;
+but she nevertheless replied, "I am."
+
+"Bring water and salt," said Mistress Nutter to Mother Chattox. "By
+these drops I baptise you," she added, dipping her fingers in the
+liquid, and preparing to sprinkle it over the brow of the proselyte.
+
+Then it was that Alizon, by an almost superhuman effort, burst the
+spell that bound her, and clasped Dorothy in her arms.
+
+"You know not what you do, dear Dorothy," she cried. "I answer for you.
+You will not yield to the snares and temptations of Satan, however
+subtly devised. You defy him and all his works. You will make no
+covenant with him. Though surrounded by his bond-slaves, you fear him
+not. Is it not so? Speak!"
+
+But Dorothy could only answer with an insane laugh--"I will be a witch."
+
+"It is too late," interposed Mistress Nutter. "You cannot save her. And,
+remember! she stands in your place. Or you or she must be devoted."
+
+"I will never desert her," cried Alizon, twining her arms round her.
+"Dorothy--dear Dorothy--address yourself to Heaven."
+
+An angry growl of thunder was heard.
+
+"Beware!" cried Mistress Nutter.
+
+"I am not to be discouraged," rejoined Alizon, firmly. "You cannot gain
+a victory over a soul in this condition, and I shall effect her
+deliverance. Heaven will aid us, Dorothy."
+
+A louder roll of thunder was heard, followed by a forked flash of
+lightning.
+
+"Provoke not the vengeance of the Prince of Darkness," said Mistress
+Nutter.
+
+"I have no fear," replied Alizon. "Cling to me, Dorothy. No harm shall
+befall you."
+
+"Be speedy!" cried the voice.
+
+"Let her go," cried Mistress Nutter to Alizon, "or you will rue this
+disobedience. Why should you interfere with my projects, and bring ruin
+on yourself! I would save you. What, still obstinate? Nay, then, I will
+no longer show forbearance. Help me, sisters. Force the new witch from
+her. But beware how you harm my child."
+
+At these words the troop gathered round the two girls. But Alizon only
+clasped her hands more tightly round Dorothy; while the latter, on whose
+brain the maddening potion still worked, laughed frantically at them. It
+was at this moment that Elizabeth Device, who had conceived a project of
+revenge, put it into execution. While near Dorothy, she stamped, spat on
+the ground, and then cast a little mould over her, breathing in her ear,
+"Thou art bewitched--bewitched by Alizon Device."
+
+Dorothy instantly struggled to free herself from Alizon.
+
+"Oh! do not you strive against me, dear Dorothy," cried Alizon. "Remain
+with me, or you are lost."
+
+"Hence! off! set me free!" shrieked Dorothy; "you have bewitched me. I
+heard it this moment."
+
+"Do not believe the false suggestion," cried Alizon.
+
+"It is true," exclaimed all the other witches together. "Alizon has
+bewitched you, and will kill you. Shake her off--shake her off!"
+
+"Away!" cried Dorothy, mustering all her force. "Away!"
+
+But Alizon was still too strong for her, and, in spite of her efforts at
+liberation, detained her.
+
+"My patience is wellnigh exhausted," exclaimed the voice.
+
+"Alizon!" cried Mistress Nutter, imploringly.
+
+And again the witches gathered furiously round the two girls.
+
+"Kneel, Dorothy, kneel!" whispered Alizon. And forcing her down, she
+fell on her knees beside her, exclaiming, with uplifted hands, "Gracious
+heaven! deliver us."
+
+As the words were uttered, a fearful cry was heard, and the weird troop
+fled away screaming, like ill-omened birds. The caldron sank into the
+ground; the dense mist arose like a curtain; and the moon and stars
+shone brightly down upon the ruined pile.
+
+Alizon prayed long and fervently, with clasped hands and closed eyes,
+for deliverance from evil. When she looked round again, all was so calm,
+so beautiful, so holy in its rest, that she could scarcely believe in
+the recent fearful occurrences. Her hair and garments were damp with the
+dews of night; and at her feet lay Dorothy, insensible.
+
+She tried to raise her--to revive her, but in vain; when at this moment
+footsteps were heard approaching, and the next moment Mistress Nutter,
+accompanied by Adam Whitworth and some other serving-men, entered the
+choir.
+
+"I see them--they are here!" cried the lady, rushing forward.
+
+"Heaven be praised you have found them, madam!" exclaimed the old
+steward, coming quickly after her.
+
+"Oh! what an alarm you have given me, Alizon," said Mistress Nutter.
+"What could induce you to go forth secretly at night in this way with
+Dorothy! I dreamed you were here, and missing you when I awoke, roused
+the house and came in search of you. What is the matter with Dorothy?
+She has been frightened, I suppose. I will give her to breathe at this
+phial. It will revive her. See, she opens her eyes."
+
+Dorothy looked round wildly for a moment, and then pointing her finger
+at Alizon, said--
+
+"She has bewitched me."
+
+"Poor thing! she rambles," observed Mistress Nutter to Adam Whitworth,
+who, with the other serving-men, stared aghast at the accusation; "she
+has been scared out of her senses by some fearful sight. Let her be
+conveyed quickly to my chamber, and I will see her cared for."
+
+The orders were obeyed. Dorothy was raised gently by the serving-men,
+but she still kept pointing to Alizon, and repeatedly exclaimed--
+
+"She has bewitched me!"
+
+The serving-men shook their heads, and looked significantly at each
+other, while Mistress Nutter lingered to speak to her daughter.
+
+"You look greatly disturbed, Alizon, as if you had been visited by a
+nightmare in your sleep, and were still under its influence."
+
+Alizon made no reply.
+
+"A few hours' tranquil sleep will restore you," pursued Mistress Nutter,
+"and you will forget your fears. You must not indulge in these nocturnal
+rambles again, or they may be attended with dangerous consequences. I
+may not have a second warning dream. Come to the house."
+
+And, as Alizon followed her along the garden path, she could not help
+asking herself, though with little hope in the question, if all she had
+witnessed was indeed nothing more than a troubled dream.
+
+
+END OF THE FIRST BOOK.
+
+
+
+
+THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES.
+
+BOOK THE SECOND.
+
+Pendle Forest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.--FLINT.
+
+
+A lovely morning succeeded the strange and terrible night. Brightly
+shone the sun upon the fair Calder as it winded along the green meads
+above the bridge, as it rushed rejoicingly over the weir, and pursued
+its rapid course through the broad plain below the Abbey. A few white
+vapours hung upon the summit of Whalley Nab, but the warm rays tinging
+them with gold, and tipping with fire the tree-tops that pierced through
+them, augured their speedy dispersion. So beautiful, so tranquil, looked
+the old monastic fane, that none would have deemed its midnight rest had
+been broken by the impious rites of a foul troop. The choir, where the
+unearthly scream and the demon laughter had resounded, was now vocal
+with the melodies of the blackbird, the thrush, and other songsters of
+the grove. Bells of dew glittered upon the bushes rooted in the walls,
+and upon the ivy-grown pillars; and gemming the countless spiders' webs
+stretched from bough to bough, showed they were all unbroken. No traces
+were visible on the sod where the unhallowed crew had danced their
+round; nor were any ashes left where the fire had burnt and the caldron
+had bubbled. The brass-covered tombs of the abbots in the presbytery
+looked as if a century had passed over them without disturbance; while
+the graves in the cloister cemetery, obliterated, and only to be
+detected when a broken coffin or a mouldering bone was turned up by the
+tiller of the ground, preserved their wonted appearance. The face of
+nature had received neither impress nor injury from the fantastic freaks
+and necromantic exhibitions of the witches. Every thing looked as it was
+left overnight; and the only footprints to be detected were those of the
+two girls, and of the party who came in quest of them. All else had
+passed by like a vision or a dream. The rooks cawed loudly in the
+neighbouring trees, as if discussing the question of breakfast, and the
+jackdaws wheeled merrily round the tall spire, which sprang from the
+eastern end of the fane.
+
+Brightly shone the sun upon the noble timber embowering the mansion of
+the Asshetons; upon the ancient gateway, in the upper chamber of which
+Ned Huddlestone, the porter, and the burly representative of Friar Tuck,
+was rubbing his sleepy eyes, preparatory to habiting himself in his
+ordinary attire; and upon the wide court-yard, across which Nicholas was
+walking in the direction of the stables. Notwithstanding his excesses
+overnight, the squire was astir, as he had declared he should be, before
+daybreak; and a plunge into the Calder had cooled his feverish limbs and
+cured his racking headache, while a draught of ale set his stomach
+right. Still, in modern parlance, he looked rather "seedy," and his
+recollection of the events of the previous night was somewhat confused.
+Aware he had committed many fooleries, he did not desire to investigate
+matters too closely, and only hoped he should not be reminded of them by
+Sir Ralph, or worse still, by Parson Dewhurst. As to his poor, dear,
+uncomplaining wife, he never once troubled his head about her, feeling
+quite sure she would not upbraid him. On his appearance in the
+court-yard, the two noble blood-hounds and several lesser dogs came
+forward to greet him, and, attended by this noisy pack, he marched up to
+a groom, who was rubbing down his horse at the stable-door.
+
+"Poor Robin," he cried to the steed, who neighed at his approach. "Poor
+Robin," he said, patting his neck affectionately, "there is not thy
+match for speed or endurance, for fence or ditch, for beck or stone
+wall, in the country. Half an hour on thy back will make all right with
+me; but I would rather take thee to Bowland Forest, and hunt the stag
+there, than go and perambulate the boundaries of the Rough Lee estates
+with a rascally attorney. I wonder how the fellow will be mounted."
+
+"If yo be speering about Mester Potts, squoire," observed the groom, "ey
+con tell ye. He's to ha' little Flint, the Welsh pony."
+
+"Why, zounds, you don't say, Peter!" exclaimed Nicholas, laughing;
+"he'll never be able to manage him. Flint's the wickedest and most
+wilful little brute I ever knew. We shall have Master Potts run away
+with, or thrown into a moss-pit. Better give him something quieter."
+
+"It's Sir Roaph's orders," replied Peter, "an ey darna disobey 'em. Boh
+Flint's far steadier than when yo seed him last, squoire. Ey dar say
+he'll carry Mester Potts weel enough, if he dusna mislest him."
+
+"You think nothing of the sort, Peter," said Nicholas. "You expect to
+see the little gentleman fly over the pony's head, and perhaps break his
+own at starting. But if Sir Ralph has ordered it, he must abide by the
+consequences. I sha'n't interfere further. How goes on the young colt
+you were breaking in? You should take care to show him the saddle in the
+manger, let him smell it, and jingle the stirrups in his ears, before
+you put it on his back. Better ground for his first lessons could not be
+desired than the field below the grange, near the Calder. Sir Ralph was
+saying yesterday, that the roan mare had pricked her foot. You must wash
+the sore well with white wine and salt, rub it with the ointment the
+farriers call aegyptiacum, and then put upon it a hot plaster compounded
+of flax hards, turpentine, oil and wax, bathing the top of the hoof with
+bole armeniac and vinegar. This is the best and quickest remedy. And
+recollect, Peter, that for a new strain, vinegar, bole armeniac, whites
+of eggs, and bean-flour, make the best salve. How goes on Sir Ralph's
+black charger, Dragon? A brave horse that, Peter, and the only one in
+your master's whole stud to compare with my Robin! But Dragon, though of
+high courage and great swiftness, has not the strength and endurance of
+Robin--neither can he leap so well. Why, Robin would almost clear the
+Calder, Peter, and makes nothing of Smithies Brook, near Downham, and
+you know how wide that stream is. I once tried him at the Ribble, at a
+narrow point, and if horse could have done it, he would--but it was too
+much to expect."
+
+"A great deal, ey should say, squoire," replied the groom, opening his
+eyes to their widest extent. "Whoy, th' Ribble, where yo speak on, mun
+be twenty yards across, if it be an inch; and no nag os ever wur bred
+could clear that, onless a witch wur on his back."
+
+"Don't allude to witches, Peter," said Nicholas. "I've had enough of
+them. But to come back to our steeds. Colour is matter of taste, and a
+man must please his own eye with bay or grey, chestnut, sorrel, or
+black; but dun is my fancy. A good horse, Peter, should be clean-limbed,
+short-jointed, strong-hoofed, out-ribbed, broad-chested, deep-necked,
+loose-throttled, thin-crested, lean-headed, full-eyed, with wide
+nostrils. A horse with half these points would not be wrong, and Robin
+has them all."
+
+"So he has, sure enough, squoire," replied Peter, regarding the animal
+with an approving eye, as Nicholas enumerated his merits. "Boh, if ey
+might choose betwixt him an yunk Mester Ruchot Assheton's grey gelding,
+Merlin, ey knoas which ey'd tak."
+
+"Robin, of course," said Nicholas.
+
+"Nah, squoire, it should be t'other," replied the groom.
+
+"You're no judge of a horse, Peter," rejoined Nicholas, shrugging his
+shoulders.
+
+"May be not," said the groom, "boh ey'm bound to speak truth. An see!
+Tum Lomax is bringin' out Merlin. We con put th' two nags soide by
+soide, if yo choose."
+
+"They shall be put side by side in the field, Peter--that's the way to
+test their respective merit," returned Nicholas, "and they won't remain
+long together, I'll warrant you. I offered to make a match for twenty
+pieces with Master Richard, but he declined the offer. Harkee, Peter,
+break an egg in Robin's mouth before you put on his bridle. It
+strengthens the wind, and adds to a horse's power of endurance. You
+understand?"
+
+"Parfitly, squoire," replied the groom. "By th' mess! that's a secret
+worth knoain'. Onny more orders?"
+
+"No," replied Nicholas. "We shall set out in an hour--or it may be
+sooner."
+
+"Aw shan be ready," said Peter. And he added to himself, as Nicholas
+moved away, "Ey'st tak care Tum Lomax gies an egg to Merlin, an that'll
+may aw fair, if they chance to try their osses' mettle."
+
+As Nicholas returned to the house, he perceived to his dismay Sir Ralph
+and Parson Dewhurst standing upon the steps; and convinced, from their
+grave looks, that they were prepared to lecture him, he endeavoured to
+nerve himself for the infliction.
+
+"Two to one are awkward odds," said the squire to himself, "especially
+when they have the 'vantage ground. But I must face them, and make the
+best fight circumstances will allow. I shall never be able to explain
+that mad dance with Isole de Heton. No one but Dick will believe me, and
+the chances are he will not support my story. But I must put on an air
+of penitence, and sooth to say, in my present state, it is not very
+difficult to assume."
+
+Thus pondering, with slow step, affectedly humble demeanour, and
+surprisingly-lengthened visage, he approached the pair who were waiting
+for him, and regarding him with severe looks.
+
+Thinking it the best plan to open the fire himself, Nicholas saluted
+them, and said--
+
+"Give you good-day, Sir Ralph, and you too, worthy Master Dewhurst. I
+scarcely expected to see you so early astir, good sirs; but the morning
+is too beautiful to allow us to be sluggards. For my own part I have
+been awake for hours, and have passed the time wholly in self-reproaches
+for my folly and sinfulness last night, as well as in forming
+resolutions for self-amendment, and better governance in future."
+
+"I hope you will adhere to those resolutions, then, Nicholas," rejoined
+Sir Ralph, sternly; "for change of conduct is absolutely necessary, if
+you would maintain your character as a gentleman. I can make allowance
+for high animal spirits, and can excuse some licence, though I do not
+approve of it; But I will not permit decorum to be outraged in my house,
+and suffer so ill an example to be set to my tenantry."
+
+"Fortunately I was not present at the exhibition," said Dewhurst; "but I
+am told you conducted yourself like one possessed, and committed such
+freaks as are rarely, if ever, acted by a rational being."
+
+"I can offer no defence, worthy sir, and you my respected relative,"
+returned Nicholas, with a contrite air; "neither can you reprove me
+more strongly than I deserve, nor than I upbraid myself. I allowed
+myself to be overcome by wine, and in that condition was undoubtedly
+guilty of follies I must ever regret."
+
+"Amongst others, I believe you stood upon your head," remarked Dewhurst.
+
+"I am not aware of the circumstance, reverend sir," replied Nicholas,
+with difficulty repressing a smile; "but as I certainly lost my head, I
+may have stood upon it unconsciously. But I do recollect enough to make
+me heartily ashamed of myself, and determine to avoid all such excesses
+in future."
+
+"In that case, sir," rejoined Dewhurst, "the occurrences of last night,
+though sufficiently discreditable to you, will not be without profit;
+for I have observed to my infinite regret, that you are apt to indulge
+in immoderate potations, and when under their influence to lose due
+command of yourself, and commit follies which your sober reason must
+condemn. At such times I scarcely recognise you. You speak with
+unbecoming levity, and even allow oaths to escape your lips."
+
+"It is too true, reverend sir," said Nicholas; "but, zounds!--a plague
+upon my tongue--it is an unruly member. Forgive me, good sir, but my
+brain is a little confused."
+
+"I do not wonder, from the grievous assaults made upon it last night,
+Nicholas," observed Sir Ralph. "Perhaps you are not aware that your
+crowning act was whisking wildly round the room by yourself, like a
+frantic dervish."
+
+"I was dancing with Isole de Heton," said Nicholas.
+
+"With whom?" inquired Dewhurst, in surprise.
+
+"With a wicked votaress, who has been dead nearly a couple of
+centuries," interposed Sir Ralph; "and who, by her sinful life, merited
+the punishment she is said to have incurred. This delusion shows how
+dreadfully intoxicated you were, Nicholas. For the time you had quite
+lost your reason."
+
+"I am sober enough now, at all events," rejoined Nicholas; "and I am
+convinced that Isole did dance with me, nor will any arguments reason me
+out of that belief."
+
+"I am sorry to hear you say so, Nicholas," returned Sir Ralph. "That you
+were under the impression at the time I can easily understand; but that
+you should persist in such a senseless and wicked notion is more than I
+can comprehend."
+
+"I saw her with my own eyes as plainly as I see you, Sir Ralph," replied
+Nicholas, warmly; "that I declare upon my honour and conscience, and I
+also felt the pressure of her arms. Whether it may not have been the
+Fiend in her likeness I will not take upon me to declare--and indeed I
+have some misgivings on the subject; but that a beautiful creature,
+exactly resembling the votaress, danced with me, I will ever maintain."
+
+"If so, she was invisible to others, for I beheld her not," said Sir
+Ralph; "and, though I cannot yield credence to your explanation, yet,
+granting it to be correct, I do not see how it mends your case."
+
+"On the contrary, it only proves that Master Nicholas yielded to the
+snares of Satan," said Dewhurst, shaking his head. "I would recommend
+you long fasting and frequent prayer, my good sir, and I shall prepare a
+lecture for your special edification, which I will propound to you on
+your return to Downham, and, if it fails in effect, I will persevere
+with other godly discourses."
+
+"With your aid, I trust to be set free, reverend sir," returned
+Nicholas; "but, as I have already passed two or three hours in prayer, I
+hope they may stand me in lieu of any present fasting, and induce you to
+omit the article of penance, or postpone it to some future occasion,
+when I may be better able to perform it; for I am just now particularly
+hungry, and am always better able to resist temptation with a full
+stomach than an empty one. As I find it displeasing to Sir Ralph, I will
+not insist upon my visionary partner in the dance, at least until I am
+better able to substantiate the fact; and I shall listen to your
+lectures, worthy sir, with great delight, and, I doubt not, with equal
+benefit; but in the meantime, as carnal wants must be supplied, and
+mundane matters attended to, I propose, with our excellent host's
+permission, that we proceed to breakfast."
+
+Sir Ralph made no answer, but ascended the steps, and was followed by
+Dewhurst, heaving a deep sigh, and turning up the whites of his eyes,
+and by Nicholas, who felt his bosom eased of half its load, and secretly
+congratulated himself upon getting out of the scrape so easily.
+
+In the hall they found Richard Assheton habited in a riding-dress,
+booted, spurred, and in all respects prepared for the expedition. There
+were such evident traces of anxiety and suffering about him, that Sir
+Ralph questioned him as to the cause, and Richard replied that he had
+passed a most restless night. He did not add, that he had been made
+acquainted by Adam Whitworth with the midnight visit of the two girls to
+the conventual church, because he was well aware Sir Ralph would be
+greatly displeased by the circumstance, and because Mistress Nutter had
+expressed a wish that it should be kept secret. Sir Ralph, however, saw
+there was more upon his young relative's mind than he chose to confess,
+but he did not urge any further admission into his confidence.
+
+Meantime, the party had been increased by the arrival of Master Potts,
+who was likewise equipped for the ride. The hour was too early, it might
+be, for him, or he had not rested well like Richard, or had been
+troubled with bad dreams, but certainly he did not look very well, or in
+very good-humour. He had slept at the Abbey, having been accommodated
+with a bed after the sudden seizure which he attributed to the
+instrumentality of Mistress Nutter. The little attorney bowed
+obsequiously to Sir Ralph, who returned his salutation very stiffly,
+nor was he much better received by the rest of the company.
+
+At a sign from Sir Ralph, his guests then knelt down, and a prayer was
+uttered by the divine--or rather a discourse, for it partook more of the
+latter character than the former. In the course of it he took occasion
+to paint in strong colours the terrible consequences of intemperance,
+and Nicholas was obliged to endure a well-merited lecture of half an
+hour's duration. But even Parson Dewhurst could not hold out for ever,
+and, to the relief of all his hearers, he at length brought this
+discourse to a close.
+
+Breakfast at this period was a much more substantial affair than a
+modern morning repast, and differed little from dinner or supper, except
+in respect to quantity. On the present occasion, there were carbonadoes
+of fish and fowl, a cold chine, a huge pasty, a capon, neat's tongues,
+sausages, botargos, and other matters as provocative of thirst as
+sufficing to the appetite. Nicholas set to work bravely. Broiled trout,
+steaks, and a huge slice of venison pasty, disappeared quickly before
+him, and he was not quite so sparing of the ale as seemed consistent
+with his previously-expressed resolutions of temperance. In vain Parson
+Dewhurst filled a goblet with water, and looked significantly at him. He
+would not take the hint, and turned a deaf ear to the admonitory cough
+of Sir Ralph. He had little help from the others, for Richard ate
+sparingly, and Master Potts made a very poor figure beside him. At
+length, having cleared his plate, emptied his cup, and wiped his lips,
+the squire arose, and said he must bid adieu to his wife, and should
+then be ready to attend them.
+
+While he quitted the hall for this purpose, Mistress Nutter entered it.
+She looked paler than ever, and her eyes seemed larger, darker, and
+brighter. Nicholas shuddered slightly as she approached, and even Potts
+felt a thrill of apprehension pass through his frame. He scarcely,
+indeed, ventured a look at her, for he dreaded her mysterious power, and
+feared she could fathom the designs he secretly entertained against her.
+But she took no notice whatever of him. Acknowledging Sir Ralph's
+salutation, she motioned Richard to follow her to the further end of the
+room.
+
+"Your sister is very ill, Richard," she said, as the young man attended
+her, "feverish, and almost light-headed. Adam Whitworth has told you, I
+know, that she was imprudent enough, in company with Alizon, to visit
+the ruins of the conventual church late last night, and she there
+sustained some fright, which has produced a great shock upon her system.
+When found, she was fainting, and though I have taken every care of her,
+she still continues much excited, and rambles strangely. You will be
+surprised as well as grieved when I tell you, that she charges Alizon
+with having bewitched her."
+
+"How, madam!" cried Richard. "Alizon bewitch her! It is impossible."
+
+"You are right, Richard," replied Mistress Nutter; "the thing is
+impossible; but the accusation will find easy credence among the
+superstitious household here, and may be highly prejudicial, if not
+fatal to poor Alizon. It is most unlucky she should have gone out in
+this way, for the circumstance cannot be explained, and in itself serves
+to throw suspicion upon her."
+
+"I must see Dorothy before I go," said Richard; "perhaps I may be able
+to soothe her."
+
+"It was for that end I came hither," replied Mistress Nutter; "but I
+thought it well you should be prepared. Now come with me."
+
+Upon this they left the hall together, and proceeded to the abbot's
+chamber, where Dorothy was lodged. Richard was greatly shocked at the
+sight of his sister, so utterly changed was she from the blithe being of
+yesterday--then so full of health and happiness. Her cheeks burnt with
+fever, her eyes were unnaturally bright, and her fair hair hung about
+her face in disorder. She kept fast hold of Alizon, who stood beside
+her.
+
+"Ah, Richard!" she cried on seeing him, "I am glad you are come. You
+will persuade this girl to restore me to reason--to free me from the
+terrors that beset me. She can do so if she will."
+
+"Calm yourself, dear sister," said Richard, gently endeavouring to free
+Alizon from her grasp.
+
+"No, do not take her from me," said Dorothy, wildly; "I am better when
+she is near me--much better. My brow does not throb so violently, and my
+limbs are not twisted so painfully. Do you know what ails me, Richard?"
+
+"You have caught cold from wandering out indiscreetly last night," said
+Richard.
+
+"I am bewitched!" rejoined Dorothy, in tones that pierced her brother's
+brain--"bewitched by Alizon Device--by your love--ha! ha! She wishes to
+kill me, Richard, because she thinks I am in her way. But you will not
+let her do it."
+
+"You are mistaken, dear Dorothy. She means you no harm," said Richard.
+
+"Heaven knows how much I grieve for her, and how fondly I love her!"
+exclaimed Alizon, tearfully.
+
+"It is false!" cried Dorothy. "She will tell a different tale when you
+are gone. She is a witch, and you shall never marry her,
+Richard--never!--never!"
+
+Mistress Nutter, who stood at a little distance, anxiously observing
+what was passing, waved her hand several times towards the sufferer, but
+without effect.
+
+"I have no influence over her," she muttered. "She is really bewitched.
+I must find other means to quieten her."
+
+Though both greatly distressed, Alizon and Richard redoubled their
+attentions to the poor sufferer. For a few moments she remained quiet,
+but with her eyes constantly fixed on Alizon, and then said, quickly
+and fiercely, "I have been told, if you scratch one who has bewitched
+you till you draw blood, you will be cured. I will plunge my nails in
+her flesh."
+
+"I will not oppose you," replied Alizon, gently; "tear my flesh if you
+will. You should have my life's blood if it would cure you; but if the
+success of the experiment depends on my having bewitched you, it will
+assuredly fail."
+
+"This is dreadful," interposed Richard. "Leave her, Alizon, I entreat of
+you. She will do you an injury."
+
+"I care not," replied the young maid. "I will stay by her till she
+voluntarily releases me."
+
+The almost tigress fury with which Dorothy had seized upon the
+unresisting girl here suddenly deserted her, and, sobbing hysterically,
+she fell upon her neck. Oh, with what delight Alizon pressed her to her
+bosom!
+
+"Dorothy, dear Dorothy!" she cried.
+
+"Alizon, dear Alizon!" responded Dorothy. "Oh! how could I suspect you
+of any ill design against me!"
+
+"She is no witch, dear sister, be assured of that!" said Richard.
+
+"Oh, no--no--no! I am quite sure she is not," cried Dorothy, kissing her
+affectionately.
+
+This change had been wrought by the low-breathed spells of Mistress
+Nutter.
+
+"The access is over," she mentally ejaculated; "but I must get him away
+before the fit returns." "You had better go now, Richard," she added
+aloud, and touching his arm, "I will answer for your sister's
+restoration. An opiate will produce sleep, and if possible, she shall
+return to Middleton to-day."
+
+"If I go, Alizon must go with me," said Dorothy. "Well, well, I will not
+thwart your desires," rejoined Mistress Nutter. And she made a sign to
+Richard to depart.
+
+The young man pressed his sister's hand, bade a tender farewell to
+Alizon, and, infinitely relieved by the improvement which had taken
+place in the former, and which he firmly believed would speedily lead to
+her entire restoration, descended to the entrance-hall, where he found
+Sir Ralph and Parson Dewhurst, who told him that Nicholas and Potts were
+in the court-yard, and impatient to set out.
+
+Shouts of laughter saluted the ears of the trio as they descended the
+steps. The cause of the merriment was speedily explained when they
+looked towards the stables, and beheld Potts struggling for mastery with
+a stout Welsh pony, who showed every disposition, by plunging, kicking,
+and rearing, to remove him from his seat, though without success, for
+the attorney was not quite such a contemptible horseman as might be
+imagined. A wicked-looking little fellow was Flint, with a rough,
+rusty-black coat, a thick tail that swept the ground, a mane to match,
+and an eye of mixed fire and cunning. When brought forth he had allowed
+Potts to mount him quietly enough; but no sooner was the attorney
+comfortably in possession, than he was served with a notice of
+ejectment. Down went Flint's head and up went his heels; while on the
+next instant he was rearing aloft, with his fore-feet beating the air,
+so nearly perpendicular, that the chances seemed in favour of his coming
+down on his back. Then he whirled suddenly round, shook himself
+violently, threatened to roll over, and performed antics of the most
+extraordinary kind, to the dismay of his rider, but to the infinite
+amusement of the spectators, who were ready to split their sides with
+laughter--indeed, tears fairly streamed down the squire's cheeks.
+However, when Sir Ralph appeared, it was thought desirable to put an end
+to the fun; and Peter, the groom, advanced to seize the restive little
+animal's bridle, but, eluding the grasp, Flint started off at full
+gallop, and, accompanied by the two blood-hounds, careered round the
+court-yard, as if running in a ring. Vainly did poor Potts tug at the
+bridle. Flint, having the bit firmly between his teeth, defied his
+utmost efforts. Away he went with the hounds at his heels, as if, said
+Nicholas, "the devil were behind him." Though annoyed and angry, Sir
+Ralph could not help laughing at the ridiculous scene, and even a smile
+crossed Parson Dewhurst's grave countenance as Flint and his rider
+scampered madly past them. Sir Ralph called to the grooms, and attempts
+were instantly made to check the furious pony's career; but he baffled
+them all, swerving suddenly round when an endeavour was made to
+intercept him, leaping over any trifling obstacle, and occasionally
+charging any one who stood in his path. What with the grooms running
+hither and thither, vociferating and swearing, the barking and springing
+of the hounds, the yelping of lesser dogs, and the screaming of poultry,
+the whole yard was in a state of uproar and confusion.
+
+"Flint mun be possessed," cried Peter. "Ey never seed him go on i' this
+way efore. Ey noticed Elizabeth Device near th' stables last neet, an ey
+shouldna wonder if hoo ha' bewitched him."
+
+"Neaw doubt on't," replied another groom. "Howsomever we mun contrive to
+ketch him, or Sir Roaph win send us aw abowt our business.
+
+"Ey wish yo'd contrive to do it, then, Tum Lomax," replied Peter, "fo'
+ey'm fairly blowd. Dang me, if ey ever seed sich hey-go-mad wark i' my
+born days. What's to be done, squoire?" he added to Nicholas.
+
+"The devil only knows," replied the latter; "but it seems we must wait
+till the little rascal chooses to stop."
+
+This occurred sooner than was expected. Thinking, possibly, that he had
+done enough to induce Master Potts to give up all idea of riding him,
+Flint suddenly slackened his pace, and trotted, as if nothing had
+happened, to the stable-door; but if he had formed any such notion as
+the above, he was deceived, for the attorney, who was quite as obstinate
+and wilful as himself, and who through all his perils had managed to
+maintain his seat, was resolved not to abandon it, and positively
+refused to dismount when urged to do so by Nicholas and the grooms.
+
+"He will go quietly enough now, I dare say," observed Potts, "and if
+not, and you will lend me a hunting-whip, I will undertake to cure him
+of his tricks."
+
+Flint seemed to understand what was said, for he laid back his ears as
+if meditating more mischief; but being surrounded by the grooms, he
+deemed it advisable to postpone the attempt to a more convenient
+opportunity. In compliance with his request, a heavy hunting-whip was
+handed to Potts, and, armed with this formidable weapon, the little
+attorney quite longed for an opportunity of effacing his disgrace.
+Meanwhile, Sir Ralph had come up and ordered a steady horse out for him;
+but Master Potts adhered to his resolution, and Flint remaining
+perfectly quiet, the baronet let him have his own way.
+
+Soon after this, Nicholas and Richard having mounted their steeds, the
+party set forth. As they were passing through the gateway, which had
+been thrown wide open by Ned Huddlestone, they were joined by Simon
+Sparshot, who had been engaged by Potts to attend him on the expedition
+in his capacity of constable. Simon was mounted on a mule, and brought
+word that Master Roger Nowell begged they would ride round by Read Hall,
+where he would be ready to accompany them, as he wished to be present at
+the perambulation of the boundaries. Assenting to the arrangement, the
+party set forth in that direction, Richard and Nicholas riding a little
+in advance of the others.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.--READ HALL.
+
+
+The road taken by the party on quitting Whalley led up the side of a
+hill, which, broken into picturesque inequalities, and partially clothed
+with trees, sloped down to the very brink of the Calder. Winding round
+the broad green plain, heretofore described, with the lovely knoll in
+the midst of it, and which formed, with the woody hills encircling it, a
+perfect amphitheatre, the river was ever an object of beauty--sometimes
+lost beneath over-hanging boughs or high banks, anon bursting forth
+where least expected, now rushing swiftly over its shallow and rocky
+bed, now subsiding into a smooth full current. The Abbey and the village
+were screened from view by the lower part of the hill which the horsemen
+were scaling; but the old bridge and a few cottages at the foot of
+Whalley Nab, with their thin blue smoke mounting into the pure morning
+air, gave life and interest to the picture. Hence, from base to summit,
+Whalley Nab stood revealed, and the verdant lawns opening out amidst the
+woods feathering its heights, were fully discernible. Placed by Nature
+as the guardian of this fair valley, the lofty eminence well became the
+post assigned to it. None of the belt of hills connected with it were so
+well wooded as their leader, nor so beautiful in form; while some of
+them were overtopped by the bleak fells of Longridge, rising at a
+distance behind them.
+
+Nor were those exquisite contrasts wanting, which are only to be seen in
+full perfection when the day is freshest and the dew is still heavy on
+the grass. The near side of the hill was plunged in deep shade; thin,
+gauzy vapour hung on the stream beneath, while on the opposite heights,
+and where the great boulder stones were visible in the bed of the river,
+all was sparkling with sunshine. So enchanting was the prospect, that
+though perfectly familiar with it, the two foremost horsemen drew in the
+rein to contemplate it. High above them, on a sandbank, through which
+their giant roots protruded, shot up two tall silver-stemm'd
+beech-trees, forming with their newly opened foliage a canopy of
+tenderest green. Further on appeared a grove of oaks scarcely in leaf;
+and below were several fine sycamores, already green and umbrageous,
+intermingled with elms, ashes, and horse-chestnuts, and overshadowing
+brakes, covered with maples, alders, and hazels. The other spaces among
+the trees were enlivened by patches of yellow flowering and odorous
+gorse. Mixed with the warblings of innumerable feathered songsters were
+heard the cheering notes of the cuckoo; and the newly-arrived swallows
+were seen chasing the flies along the plain, or skimming over the
+surface of the river. Already had Richard's depression yielded to the
+exhilarating freshness of the morning, and the same kindly influence
+produced a more salutary effect on Nicholas than Parson Dewhurst's
+lecture had been able to accomplish. The worthy squire was a true lover
+of Nature; admiring her in all her forms, whether arrayed in pomp of
+wood and verdure, as in the lovely landscape before him, or dreary and
+desolate, as in the heathy forest wastes they were about to traverse.
+While breathing the fresh morning air, inhaling the fragrance of the
+wild-flowers, and listening to the warbling of the birds, he took a
+well-pleased survey of the scene, commencing with the bridge, passing
+over Whalley Nab and the mountainous circle conjoined with it, till his
+gaze settled on Morton Hall, a noble mansion finely situated on a
+shoulder of the hill beyond him, and commanding the entire valley.
+
+"Were I not owner of Downham," he observed to Richard, "I should wish to
+be master of Morton." And then, pointing to the green area below, he
+added, "What a capital spot for a race! There we might try the speed of
+our nags for the twenty pieces I talked of yesterday; and the judges of
+the match and those who chose to look on might station themselves on
+yon knoll, which seems made for the express purpose. Three years ago I
+remember a fair was held upon that plain, and the foot-races, the
+wrestling matches, and the various sports and pastimes of the rustics,
+viewed from the knoll, formed the prettiest sight ever looked upon. But,
+pleasant as the prospect is, we must not tarry here all day."
+
+Before setting forward, he cast a glance towards Pendle Hill, which
+formed the most prominent object of view on the left, and lay like a
+leviathan basking in the sunshine. The vast mass rose up gradually until
+at its further extremity it attained an altitude of more than 1800 feet
+above the sea. At the present moment it was without a cloud, and the
+whole of its broad outline was distinctly visible.
+
+"I love Pendle Hill," cried Nicholas, enthusiastically; "and from
+whatever side I view it--whether from this place, where I see it from
+end to end, from its lowest point to its highest; from Padiham, where it
+frowns upon me; from Clithero, where it smiles; or from Downham, where
+it rises in full majesty before me--from all points and under all
+aspects, whether robed in mist or radiant with sunshine, I delight in
+it. Born beneath its giant shadow, I look upon it with filial regard.
+Some folks say Pendle Hill wants grandeur and sublimity, but they
+themselves must be wanting in taste. Its broad, round, smooth mass is
+better than the roughest, craggiest, shaggiest, most sharply splintered
+mountain of them all. And then what a view it commands!--Lancaster with
+its grey old castle on one hand; York with its reverend minster on the
+other--the Irish Sea and its wild coast--fell, forest, moor, and valley,
+watered by the Ribble, the Hodder, the Calder, and the Lime--rivers not
+to be matched for beauty. You recollect the old distich--
+
+          'Ingleborough, Pendle Hill, and Pennygent,
+           Are the highest hills between Scotland and Trent.'
+
+This vouches for its height, but there are two other doggerel lines
+still more to the purpose--
+
+          'Pendle Hill, Pennygent, and Ingleborough,
+           Are three such hills as you'll not find by seeking England
+               thorough.'
+
+With this opinion I quite agree. There is no hill in England like Pendle
+Hill."
+
+"Every man to his taste, squire," observed Potts; "but to my mind,
+Pendle Hill has no other recommendation than its size. I think it a
+great, brown, ugly, lumpy mass, without beauty of form or any striking
+character. I hate your bleak Lancashire hills, with heathy ranges on the
+top, fit only for the sustenance of a few poor half-starved sheep; and
+as to the view from them, it is little else than a continuous range of
+moors and dwarfed forests. Highgate Hill is quite mountain enough for
+me, and Hampstead Heath wild enough for any civilised purpose."
+
+"A veritable son of Cockayne!" muttered Nicholas, contemptuously.
+
+Riding on, and entering the grove of oaks, he lost sight of his
+favourite hill, though glimpses were occasionally caught through the
+trees of the lovely valley below. Soon afterwards the party turned off
+on the left, and presently arrived at a gate which admitted them to Read
+Park. Five minutes' canter over the springy turf then brought them to
+the house.
+
+The manor of Reved or Read came into the possession of the Nowell family
+in the time of Edward III., and extended on one side, within a mile of
+Whalley, from which township it was divided by a deep woody ravine,
+taking its name from the little village of Sabden, and on the other
+stretched far into Pendle Forest. The hall was situated on an eminence
+forming part of the heights of Padiham, and faced a wide valley, watered
+by the Calder, and consisting chiefly of barren tracts of moor and
+forest land, bounded by the high hills near Accrington and Rossendale.
+On the left, some half-dozen miles off, lay Burnley, and the greater
+part of the land in this direction, being uninclosed and thinly peopled,
+had a dark dreary look, that served to enhance the green beauty of the
+well-cultivated district on the right. Behind the mansion, thick woods
+extended to the very confines of Pendle Forest, of which, indeed, they
+originally formed part, and here, if the course of the stream, flowing
+through the gully of Sabden, were followed, every variety of brake,
+glen, and dingle, might be found. Read Hall was a large and commodious
+mansion, forming, with a centre and two advancing wings, three sides of
+a square, between which was a grass-plot ornamented with a dial. The
+gardens were laid out in the taste of the time, with trim alleys and
+parterres, terraces and steps, stone statues, and clipped yews.
+
+The house was kept up well and consistently by its owner, who lived like
+a country gentleman with a good estate, entertained his friends
+hospitably, but without any parade, and was never needlessly lavish in
+his expenditure, unless, perhaps, in the instance of the large
+ostentatious pew erected by him in the parish church of Whalley; and
+which, considering he had a private chapel at home, and maintained a
+domestic chaplain to do duty in it, seemed little required, and drew
+upon him the censure of the neighbouring gossips, who said there was
+more of pride than religion in his pew. With the chapel at the hall a
+curious history was afterwards connected. Converted into a dining-room
+by a descendant of Roger Nowell, the apartment was incautiously occupied
+by the planner of the alterations before the plaster was thoroughly
+dried; in consequence of which he caught a severe cold, and died in the
+desecrated chamber, his fate being looked upon as a judgment.
+
+With many good qualities Roger Nowell was little liked. His austere and
+sarcastic manner repelled his equals, and his harshness made him an
+object of dislike and dread among his inferiors. Besides being the
+terror of all evil-doers, he was a hard man in his dealings, though he
+endeavoured to be just, and persuaded himself he was so. A year or two
+before, having been appointed sheriff of the county, he had discharged
+the important office with so much zeal and ability, as well as
+liberality, that he rose considerably in public estimation. It was
+during this period that Master Potts came under his notice at Lancaster,
+and the little attorney's shrewdness gained him an excellent client in
+the owner of Read. Roger Newell was a widower; but his son, who resided
+with him, was married, and had a family, so that the hall was fully
+occupied.
+
+Roger Nowell was turned sixty, but he was still in the full vigour of
+mind and body, his temperate and active habits keeping him healthy; he
+was of a spare muscular frame, somewhat bent in the shoulders, and had
+very sharp features, keen grey eyes, a close mouth, and prominent chin.
+His hair was white as silver, but his eyebrows were still black and
+bushy.
+
+Seeing the party approach, the lord of the mansion came forth to meet
+them, and begged them to dismount for a moment and refresh themselves.
+Richard excused himself, but Nicholas sprang from his saddle, and Potts,
+though somewhat more slowly, imitated his example. An open door admitted
+them to the entrance hall, where a repast was spread, of which the host
+pressed his guests to partake; but Nicholas declined on the score of
+having just breakfasted, notwithstanding which he was easily prevailed
+upon to take a cup of ale. Leaving him to discuss it, Nowell led the
+attorney to a well-furnished library, where he usually transacted his
+magisterial business, and held a few minutes' private conference with
+him, after which they returned to Nicholas, and by this time the
+magistrate's own horse being brought round, the party mounted once more.
+The attorney regretted abandoning his seat; for Flint indulged him with
+another exhibition somewhat similar to the first, though of less
+duration, for a vigorous application of the hunting-whip brought the
+wrong-headed little animal to reason.
+
+Elated by the victory he had obtained over Flint, and anticipating a
+successful issue to the expedition, Master Potts was in excellent
+spirits, and found a great deal to admire in the domain of his honoured
+and singular good client. Though not very genuine, his admiration was
+deservedly bestowed. The portion of the park they were now traversing
+was extremely diversified and beautiful, with long sweeping lawns
+studded with fine trees, among which were many ancient thorns, now in
+full bloom, and richly scenting the gale. Herds of deer were nipping the
+short grass, browsing the lower spray of the ashes, or couching amid the
+ferny hollows.
+
+It was now that Nicholas, who had been all along anxious to try the
+speed of his horse, proposed to Richard a gallop towards a clump of
+trees about a mile off, and the young man assenting, away they started.
+Master Potts started too, for Flint did not like to be left behind, but
+the mettlesome pony was soon distanced. For some time the two horses
+kept so closely together, that it was difficult to say which would
+arrive at the goal first; but, by-and-by, Robin got a-head. Though at
+first indifferent to the issue of the race, the spirit of emulation soon
+seized upon Richard, and spurring Merlin, the noble animal sprang
+forward, and was once again by the side of his opponent.
+
+For a quarter of a mile the ground had been tolerably level, and the sod
+firm; but they now approached a swamp, and, in his eagerness, Nicholas
+did not take sufficient precaution, and got involved in it before he was
+aware. Richard was more fortunate, having kept on the right, where the
+ground was hard. Seeing Nicholas struggling out of the marshy soil, he
+would have stayed for him; but the latter bade him go on, saying he
+would soon be up with him, and he made good his words. Shortly after
+this their course was intercepted by a brook, and both horses having
+cleared it excellently, they kept well together again for a short time,
+when they neared a deep dyke which lay between them and the clump of
+trees. On descrying it, Richard pointed out a course to the left, but
+Nicholas held on, unheeding the caution. Fully expecting to see him
+break his neck, for the dyke was of formidable width, Richard watched
+him with apprehension, but the squire gave him a re-assuring nod, and
+went on. Neither horse nor man faltered, though failure would have been
+certain destruction to both. The wide trench now yawned before
+them--they were upon its edge, and without trusting himself to measure
+it with his eye, Nicholas clapped spurs into Robin's sides. The brave
+horse sprang forward and landed him safely on the opposite bank.
+Hallooing cheerily, as soon as he could check his courser the squire
+wheeled round, and rode back to look at the dyke he had crossed. Its
+width was terrific, and fairly astounded him. Robin snorted loudly, as
+if proud of his achievement, and showed some disposition to return, but
+the squire was quite content with what he had done. The exploit
+afterwards became a theme of wonder throughout the country, and the spot
+was long afterwards pointed out as "Squire Nicholas's Leap"; but there
+was not another horseman found daring enough to repeat the experiment.
+
+Richard had to make a considerable circuit to join his cousin, and,
+while he was going round, Nicholas looked out for the others. In the
+distance, he could see Roger Nowell riding leisurely on, followed by
+Sparshot and a couple of grooms, who had come with their master from the
+hall; while midway, to his surprise, he perceived Flint galloping
+without a rider. A closer examination showed the squire what had
+happened. Like himself, Master Potts had incautiously approached the
+swamp, and, getting entangled in it, was thrown, head foremost, into the
+slough; out of which he was now floundering, covered from head to foot
+with inky-coloured slime. As soon as they were aware of the accident,
+the two grooms pushed forward, and one of them galloped after Flint,
+whom he succeeded at last in catching; while the other, with difficulty
+preserving his countenance at the woful plight of the attorney, who
+looked as black as a negro, pointed out a cottage in the hollow which
+belonged to one of the keepers, and offered to conduct him thither.
+Potts gladly assented, and soon gained the little tenement, where he was
+being washed and rubbed down by a couple of stout wenches when the rest
+of the party came up. It was impossible to help laughing at him, but
+Potts took the merriment in good part; and, to show he was not
+disheartened by the misadventure, as soon as circumstances would permit
+he mounted the unlucky pony, and the cavalcade set forward again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.--THE BOGGART'S GLEN.
+
+
+The manor of Read, it has been said, was skirted by a deep woody ravine
+of three or four miles in length, extending from the little village of
+Sabden, in Pendle Forest, to within a short distance of Whalley; and
+through this gully flowed a stream which, taking its rise near Barley,
+at the foot of Pendle Hill, added its waters to those of the Calder at a
+place called Cock Bridge. In summer, or in dry seasons, this stream
+proceeded quietly enough, and left the greater part of its stony bed
+unoccupied; but in winter, or after continuous rains, it assumed all the
+character of a mountain torrent, and swept every thing before it. A
+narrow bridle road led through the ravine to Sabden, and along it, after
+quitting the park, the cavalcade proceeded, headed by Nicholas.
+
+The little river danced merrily past them, singing as it went, the
+sunshine sparkling on its bright clear waters, and glittering on the
+pebbles beneath them. Now the stream would chafe and foam against some
+larger impediment to its course; now it would dash down some rocky
+height, and form a beautiful cascade; then it would hurry on for some
+time with little interruption, till stayed by a projecting bank it would
+form a small deep basin, where, beneath the far-cast shadow of an
+overhanging oak, or under its huge twisted and denuded roots, the angler
+might be sure of finding the speckled trout, the dainty greyling, or
+their mutual enemy, the voracious jack. The ravine was well wooded
+throughout, and in many parts singularly beautiful, from the disposition
+of the timber on its banks, as well as from the varied form and
+character of the trees. Here might be seen an acclivity covered with
+waving birch, or a top crowned with a mountain ash--there, on a smooth
+expanse of greensward, stood a range of noble elms, whose mighty arms
+stretched completely across the ravine. Further on, there were chestnut
+and walnut trees; willows, with hoary stems and silver leaves, almost
+encroaching upon the stream; larches upon the heights; and here and
+there, upon some sandy eminence, a spreading beech-tree. For the most
+part the bottom of the glen was overgrown with brushwood, and, where its
+sides were too abrupt to admit the growth of larger trees, they were
+matted with woodbine and brambles. Out of these would sometimes start a
+sharp pinnacle, or fantastically-formed crag, adding greatly to the
+picturesque beauty of the scene. On such points were not unfrequently
+found perched a hawk, a falcon, or some large bird of prey; for the
+gully, with its brakes and thickets, was a favourite haunt of the
+feathered tribe. The hollies, of which there were plenty, with their
+green prickly leaves and scarlet berries, afforded shelter and support
+to the blackbird; the thorns were frequented by the thrush; and
+numberless lesser songsters filled every other tree. In the covert there
+were pheasants and partridges in abundance, and snipe and wild-fowl
+resorted to the river in winter. Thither also, at all seasons, repaired
+the stately heron, to devour the finny race; and thither came, on like
+errand, the splendidly-plumed kingfisher. The magpie chattered, the jay
+screamed and flew deeper into the woods as the horsemen approached, and
+the shy bittern hid herself amid the rushes. Occasionally, too, was
+heard the deep ominous croaking of a raven.
+
+[Illustration: POTTS AFTER BEING THROWN FROM HIS HORSE.]
+
+Hitherto, the glen had been remarkable for its softness and beauty, but
+it now began to assume a savage and sombre character. The banks drew
+closer together, and became rugged and precipitous; while the trees met
+overhead, and, intermingling their branches, formed a canopy impervious
+to the sun's rays. The stream was likewise contracted in its bed, and
+its current, which, owing to the gloom, looked black as ink, flowed
+swiftly on, as if anxious to escape to livelier scenes. A large raven,
+which had attended the horsemen all the way, now alighted near them, and
+croaked ominously.
+
+This part of the glen was in very ill repute, and was never traversed,
+even at noonday, without apprehension. Its wild and savage aspect, its
+horrent precipices, its shaggy woods, its strangely-shaped rocks and
+tenebrous depths, where every imperfectly-seen object appeared doubly
+frightful--all combined to invest it with mystery and terror. No one
+willingly lingered here, but hurried on, afraid of the sound of his own
+footsteps. No one dared to gaze at the rocks, lest he should see some
+hideous hobgoblin peering out of their fissures. No one glanced at the
+water, for fear some terrible kelpy, with twining snakes for hair and
+scaly hide, should issue from it and drag him down to devour him with
+his shark-like teeth. Among the common folk, this part of the ravine was
+known as "the boggart's glen", and was supposed to be haunted by
+mischievous beings, who made the unfortunate wanderer their sport.
+
+For the last half-mile the road had been so narrow and intricate in its
+windings, that the party were obliged to proceed singly; but this did
+not prevent conversation; and Nicholas, throwing the bridle over Robin's
+neck, left the surefooted animal to pursue his course unguided, while he
+himself, leaning back, chatted with Roger Nowell. At the entrance of the
+gloomy gorge above described, Robin came to a stand, and refusing to
+move at a jerk from his master, the latter raised himself, and looked
+forward to see what could be the cause of the stoppage. No impediment
+was visible, but the animal obstinately refused to go on, though urged
+both by word and spur. This stoppage necessarily delayed the rest of the
+cavalcade.
+
+Well aware of the ill reputation of the place, when Simon Sparshot and
+the grooms found that Robin would not go on, they declared he must see
+the boggart, and urged the squire to turn back, or some mischief would
+befall him. But Nicholas, though not without misgivings, did not like to
+yield thus, especially when urged on by Roger Nowell. Indeed, the party
+could not get out of the ravine without going back nearly a mile, while
+Sabden was only half that distance from them. What was to be done? Robin
+still continued obstinate, and for the first time paid no attention to
+his master's commands. The poor animal was evidently a prey to violent
+terror, and snorted and reared, while his limbs were bathed in cold
+sweat.
+
+Dismounting, and leaving him in charge of Roger Nowell, Nicholas walked
+on by himself to see if he could discover any cause for the horse's
+alarm; and he had not advanced far, when his eye rested upon a blasted
+oak forming a conspicuous object on a crag before him, on a scathed
+branch of which sat the raven.
+
+Croak! croak! croak!
+
+"Accursed bird, it is thou who hast frightened my horse," cried
+Nicholas. "Would I had a crossbow or an arquebuss to stop thy croaking."
+
+And as he picked up a stone to cast at the raven, a crashing noise was
+heard among the bushes high up on the rock, and the next moment a huge
+fragment dislodged from the cliff rolled down and would have crushed
+him, if he had not nimbly avoided it.
+
+Croak! croak! croak!
+
+Nicholas almost fancied hoarse laughter was mingled with the cries of
+the bird.
+
+The raven nodded its head and expanded its wings, and the squire, whose
+recent experience had prepared him for any wonder, fully expected to
+hear it speak, but it only croaked loudly and exultingly, or if it
+laughed, the sound was like the creaking of rusty hinges.
+
+Nicholas did not like it at all, and he resolved to go back; but ere he
+could do so, he was startled by a buffet on the ear, and turning angrily
+round to see who had dealt it, he could distinguish no one, but at the
+same moment received a second buffet on the other ear.
+
+The raven croaked merrily.
+
+"Would I could wring thy neck, accursed bird!" cried the enraged squire.
+
+Scarcely was the vindictive wish uttered than a shower of blows fell
+upon him, and kicks from unseen feet were applied to his person.
+
+All the while the raven croaked merrily, and flapped his big black
+wings.
+
+Infuriated by the attack, the squire hit right and left manfully, and
+dashed out his feet in every direction; but his blows and kicks only met
+the empty air, while those of his unseen antagonist told upon his own
+person with increased effect.
+
+The spectacle seemed to afford infinite amusement to the raven. The
+mischievous bird almost crowed with glee.
+
+There was no standing it any longer. So, amid a perfect hurricane of
+blows and kicks, and with the infernal voice of the raven ringing in his
+ears, the squire took to his heels. On reaching his companions he found
+they had not fared much better than himself. The two grooms were
+belabouring each other lustily; and Master Potts was exercising his
+hunting-whip on the broad shoulders of Sparshot, who in return was
+making him acquainted with the taste of a stout ash-plant. Assailed in
+the same manner as the squire, and naturally attributing the attack to
+their nearest neighbours, they waited for no explanation, but fell upon
+each other. Richard Assheton and Roger Nowell endeavoured to interfere
+and separate the combatants, and in doing so received some hard knocks
+for their pains; but all their pacific efforts were fruitless, until the
+squire appeared, and telling them they were merely the sport of
+hobgoblins, they desisted, but still the blows fell heavily on them as
+before, proving the truth of Nicholas's assertion.
+
+Meanwhile the squire had mounted Robin, and, finding the horse no longer
+exhibit the same reluctance to proceed, he dashed at full speed through
+the haunted glen; but even above the clatter, of hoofs, and the noise of
+the party galloping after him, he could hear the hoarse exulting
+croaking of the raven.
+
+As the gully expanded, and the sun once more found its way through the
+trees, and shone upon the river, Nicholas began to breathe more freely;
+but it was not until fairly out of the wood that he relaxed his speed.
+Not caring to enter into any explanation of the occurrence, he rode a
+little apart to avoid conversation; as the others, who were still
+smarting from the blows they had received, were in no very good-humour,
+a sullen silence prevailed throughout the party, as they mounted the
+bare hill-side in the direction of the few scattered huts constituting
+the village of Sabden.
+
+A blight seemed to have fallen upon the place. Roger Nowell, who had
+visited it a few months ago, could scarcely believe his eyes, so changed
+was its appearance. His inquiries as to the cause of its altered
+condition were every where met by the same answer--the poor people were
+all bewitched. Here a child was ill of a strange sickness, tossed and
+tumbled in its bed, and contorted its limbs so violently, that its
+parents could scarcely hold it down. Another family was afflicted in a
+different manner, two of its number pining away and losing strength
+daily, as if a prey to some consuming disease. In a third, another child
+was sick, and vomited pins, nails, and other extraordinary substances. A
+fourth household was tormented by an imp in the form of a monkey, who
+came at night and pinched them all black and blue, spilt the milk, broke
+the dishes and platters, got under the bed, and, raising it to the roof,
+let it fall with a terrible crash; putting them all in mental terror. In
+the next cottage there was no end to calamities, though they took a more
+absurd form. Sometimes the fire would not burn, or when it did it
+emitted no heat, so that the pot would not boil, nor the meat roast.
+Then the oatcakes would stick to the bake-stone, and no force could get
+them away from it till they were burnt and spoiled; the milk turned
+sour, the cheese became so hard that not even rats' teeth could gnaw it,
+the stools and settles broke down if sat upon, and the list of petty
+grievances was completed by a whole side of bacon being devoured in a
+single night. Roger Nowell and Nicholas listened patiently to a detail
+of all these grievances, and expressed strong sympathy for the
+sufferers, promising assistance and redress if possible. All the
+complainants taxed either Mother Demdike or Mother Chattox with
+afflicting them, and said they had incurred the anger of the two
+malevolent old witches by refusing to supply them with poultry, eggs,
+milk, butter, or other articles, which they had demanded. Master Potts
+made ample notes of the strange relations, and took down the name of
+every cottager.
+
+At length, they arrived at the last cottage, and here a man, with a very
+doleful countenance, besought them to stop and listen to his tale.
+
+"What is the matter, friend?" demanded Roger Nowell, halting with the
+others. "Are you bewitched, like your neighbours?"
+
+"Troth am ey, your warship," replied the man, "an ey hope yo may be able
+to deliver me. Yo mun knoa, that somehow ey wor unlucky enough last Yule
+to offend Mother Chattox, an ever sin then aw's gone wrang wi' me. Th'
+good-wife con never may butter come without stickin' a redhot poker into
+t' churn; and last week, when our brindlt sow farrowed, and had fifteen
+to t' litter, an' fine uns os ever yo seed, seign on um deed. Sad wark!
+sad wark, mesters. The week efore that t' keaw deed; an th' week efore
+her th' owd mare, so that aw my stock be gone. Waes me! waes me! Nowt
+prospers wi' me. My poor dame is besoide hersel, an' th' chilter seems
+possessed. Ey ha' tried every remedy, boh without success. Ey ha'
+followed th' owd witch whoam, plucked a hontle o' thatch fro' her roof,
+sprinklet it wi' sawt an weter, burnt it an' buried th' ess at th'
+change o' t' moon. No use, mesters. Then again, ey ha' getten a
+horseshoe, heated it redhot, quenched it i' brine, an' nailed it to t'
+threshold wi' three nails, heel uppard. No more use nor t'other. Then ey
+ha' taen sawt weter, and put it in a bottle wi' three rusty nails,
+needles, and pins, boh ey hanna found that th' witch ha' suffered
+thereby. An, lastly, ey ha' let myself blood, when the moon wur at full,
+an in opposition to th' owd hag's planet, an minglin' it wi' sawt, ha'
+burnt it i' a trivet, in hopes of afflictin' her; boh without avail, fo'
+ey seed her two days ago, an she flouted me an scoffed at me. What mun
+ey do, good mesters? What mun ey do?"
+
+"Have you offended any one besides Mother Chattox, my poor fellow?" said
+Nowell.
+
+"Mother Demdike, may be, your warship," replied the man.
+
+"You suspect Mother Demdike and Mother Chattox of bewitching you," said
+Potts, taking out his memorandum-book, and making a note in it. "Your
+name, good fellow?"
+
+"Oamfrey o' Will's o' Ben's o' Tummas' o' Sabden," replied the man.
+
+"Is that all?" asked Potts.
+
+"What more would you have?" said Richard. "The description is
+sufficiently particular."
+
+"Scarcely precise enough," returned Potts. "However, it may do. We will
+help you in the matter, good Humphrey Etcetera. You shall not be
+troubled with these pestilent witches much longer. The neighbourhood
+shall be cleared of them."
+
+"Ey'm reet glad to hear, mester," replied the man.
+
+"You promise much, Master Potts," observed Richard.
+
+"Not a jot more than I am able to perform," replied the attorney.
+
+"That remains to be seen," said Richard. "If these old women are as
+powerful as represented, they will not be so readily defeated."
+
+"There you are in error, Master Richard," replied Potts. "The devil,
+whose vassals they are, will deliver them into our hands."
+
+"Granting what you say to be correct, the devil must have little regard
+for his servants if he abandons them so easily," observed Richard,
+drily.
+
+"What else can you expect from him?" cried Potts. "It is his custom to
+ensnare his victims, and then leave them to their fate."
+
+"You are rather describing the course pursued by certain members of
+your own profession, Master Potts," said Richard. "The devil behaves
+with greater fairness to his clients."
+
+"You are not going to defend him, I hope, sir?" said the attorney.
+
+"No; I only desire to give him his due," returned Richard.
+
+"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Nicholas. "You had better have done, Master Potts;
+you will never get the better in the argument. But we must be moving, or
+we shall not get our business done before nightfall. As to you, Numps,"
+he added, to the poor man, "we will not forget you. If any thing can be
+done for your relief, rely upon it, it shall not be neglected."
+
+"Ay, ay," said Nowell, "the matter shall be looked into--and speedily."
+
+"And the witches brought to justice," said Potts; "comfort yourself with
+that, good Humphrey Etcetera."
+
+"Ay, comfort yourself with that," observed Nicholas.
+
+Soon after this they entered a wide dreary waste forming the bottom of
+the valley, lying between the heights of Padiham and Pendle Hill, and
+while wending their way across it, they heard a shout from the
+hill-side, and presently afterwards perceived a man, mounted on a
+powerful black horse, galloping swiftly towards them. The party awaited
+his approach, and the stranger speedily came up. He was a small man
+habited in a suit of rusty black, and bore a most extraordinary and
+marked resemblance to Master Potts. He had the same perky features, the
+same parchment complexion, the same yellow forehead, as the little
+attorney. So surprising was the likeness, that Nicholas unconsciously
+looked round for Potts, and beheld him staring at the new-comer in angry
+wonder.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.--THE REEVE OF THE FOREST.
+
+
+The surprise of the party was by no means diminished when the stranger
+spoke. His voice exactly resembled the sharp cracked tones of the
+attorney.
+
+"I crave pardon for the freedom I have taken in stopping you, good
+masters," he said, doffing his cap, and saluting them respectfully;
+"but, being aware of your errand, I am come to attend you on it."
+
+"And who are you, fellow, who thus volunteer your services?" demanded
+Roger Nowell, sharply.
+
+"I am one of the reeves of the forest of Blackburnshire, worshipful
+sir," replied the stranger, "and as such my presence, at the intended
+perambulation of the boundaries of her property, has been deemed
+necessary by Mrs. Nutter, as I shall have to make a representation of
+the matter at the next court of swainmote."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Nowell, "but how knew you we were coming?"
+
+"Mistress Nutter sent me word last night," replied the reeve, "that
+Master Nicholas Assheton and certain other gentlemen, would come to
+Rough Lee for the purpose of ascertaining the marks, meres, and
+boundaries of her property, early this morning, and desired my
+attendance on the occasion. Accordingly I stationed myself on yon high
+ground to look out for you, and have been on the watch for more than an
+hour."
+
+"Humph!" exclaimed Roger Nowell, "and you live in the forest?"
+
+"I live at Barrowford, worshipful sir," replied the reeve, "but I have
+only lately come there, having succeeded Maurice Mottisfont, the other
+reeve, who has been removed by the master forester to Rossendale, where
+I formerly dwelt."
+
+"That may account for my not having seen you before," rejoined Nowell.
+"You are well mounted, sirrah. I did not know the master forester
+allowed his men such horses as the one you ride."
+
+"This horse does not belong to me, sir," replied the reeve; "it has been
+lent me by Mistress Nutter."
+
+"Aha! I see how it is now," cried Nowell; "you are suborned to give
+false testimony, knave. I object to his attendance, Master Nicholas."
+
+"Nay, I think you do the man injustice," said the squire. "He speaks
+frankly and fairly enough, and seems to know his business. The worst
+that can be said against him is, that he resembles somewhat too closely
+our little legal friend there. That, however, ought to be no objection
+to you, Master Nowell, but rather the contrary."
+
+"Well, take the responsibility of the matter upon your own shoulders,"
+said Nowell; "if any ill comes of it I shall blame you."
+
+"Be it so," replied the squire; "my shoulders are broad enough to bear
+the burthen. You may ride with us, master reeve."
+
+"May I inquire your name, friend?" said Potts, as the stranger fell back
+to the rear of the party.
+
+"Thomas Potts, at your service, sir," replied the reeve.
+
+"What!--Thomas Potts!" exclaimed the astonished attorney.
+
+"That is my name, sir," replied the reeve, quietly.
+
+"Why, zounds!" exclaimed Nicholas, who overheard the reply, "you do not
+mean to say your name is Thomas Potts? This is more wonderful still. You
+must be this gentleman's twin brother."
+
+"The gentleman certainly seems to resemble me very strongly," replied
+the reeve, apparently surprised in his turn. "Is he of these parts?"
+
+"No, I am not," returned Potts, angrily, "I am from London, where I
+reside in Chancery-lane, and practise the law, though I likewise attend
+as clerk of the court at the assizes at Lancaster, where I may
+possibly, one of these days, have the pleasure of seeing you, my
+pretended namesake."
+
+"Possibly, sir," said the reeve, with provoking calmness. "I myself am
+from Chester, and like yourself was brought up to the law, but I
+abandoned my profession, or rather it abandoned me, for I had few
+clients; so I took to an honester calling, and became a forester, as you
+see. My father was a draper in the city I have mentioned, and dwelt in
+Watergate-street--his name was Peter Potts."
+
+"Peter Potts your father!" exclaimed the attorney, in the last state of
+astonishment--"Why, he was mine! But I am his only son."
+
+"Up to this moment I conceived myself an only son," said the reeve; "but
+it seems I was mistaken, since I find I have an elder brother."
+
+"Elder brother!" exclaimed Potts, wrathfully. "You are older than I am
+by twenty years. But it is all a fabrication. I deny the relationship
+entirely."
+
+"You cannot make me other than the son of my father," said the reeve,
+with a smile.
+
+"Well, Master Potts," interposed Nicholas, laughing, "I see no reason
+why you should be ashamed of your brother. There is a strong family
+likeness between you. So old Peter Potts, the draper of Chester, was
+your father, eh? I was not aware of the circumstance before--ha, ha!"
+
+"And, but for this intrusive fellow, you would never have become aware
+of it," muttered the attorney. "Give ear to me, squire," he said, urging
+Flint close up to the other's side, and speaking in a low tone, "I do
+not like the fellow's looks at all."
+
+"I am surprised at that," rejoined the squire, "for he exactly resembles
+you."
+
+"That is why I do not like him," said Potts; "I believe him to be a
+wizard."
+
+"You are no wizard to think so," rejoined the squire. And he rode on to
+join Roger Nowell, who was a little in advance.
+
+"I will try him on the subject of witchcraft," thought Potts. "As you
+dwell in the forest," he said to the reeve, "you have no doubt seen
+those two terrible beings, Mothers Demdike and Chattox."
+
+"Frequently," replied the reeve, "but I would rather not talk about them
+in their own territories. You may judge of their power by the appearance
+of the village you have just quitted. The inhabitants of that unlucky
+place refused them their customary tributes, and have therefore incurred
+their resentment. You will meet other instances of the like kind before
+you have gone far."
+
+"I am glad of it, for I want to collect as many cases as I can of
+witchcraft," observed Potts.
+
+"They will be of little use to you," observed the reeve.
+
+"How so?" inquired Potts.
+
+"Because if the witches discover what you are about, as they will not
+fail to do, you will never leave the forest alive," returned the other.
+
+"You think not?" cried Potts.
+
+"I am sure of it," replied the reeve.
+
+"I will not be deterred from the performance of my duty," said Potts. "I
+defy the devil and all his works."
+
+"You may have reason to repent your temerity," replied the reeve.
+
+And anxious, apparently, to avoid further conversation on the subject,
+he drew in the rein for a moment, and allowed the attorney to pass on.
+
+Notwithstanding his boasting, Master Potts was not without much secret
+misgiving; but his constitutional obstinacy made him determine to
+prosecute his plans at any risk, and he comforted himself by recalling
+the opinion of his sovereign authority on such matters.
+
+"Let me ponder over the exact words of our British Solomon," he thought.
+"I have his learned treatise by heart, and it is fortunate my memory
+serves me so well, for the sagacious prince's dictum will fortify me in
+my resolution, which has been somewhat shaken by this fellow, whom I
+believe to be no better than he should be, for all he calls himself my
+father's son, and hath assumed my likeness, doubtless for some
+mischievous purpose. 'If the magistrate,' saith the King, 'be slothful
+towards witches, God is very able to make them instruments to waken and
+punish his sloth.' No one can accuse me of slothfulness and want of
+zeal. My best exertions have been used against the accursed creatures.
+And now for the rest. 'But if, on the contrary, he be diligent in
+examining and punishing them, God will not permit their master to
+trouble or hinder so good a work!' Exactly what I have done. I am quite
+easy now, and shall go on fearlessly as before. I am one of the 'lawful
+lieutenants' described by the King, and cannot be 'defrauded or
+deprived' of my office."
+
+As these thoughts passed through the attorney's mind a low derisive
+laugh sounded in his ears, and, connecting it with the reeve, he looked
+back and found the object of his suspicions gazing at him, and chuckling
+maliciously. So fiendishly malignant, indeed, was the gaze fixed upon
+him, that Potts was glad to turn his head away to avoid it.
+
+"I am confirmed in my suspicions," he thought; "he is evidently a
+wizard, if he be not--"
+
+Again the mocking laugh sounded in his ears, but he did not venture to
+look round this time, being fearful of once more encountering the
+terrible gaze.
+
+Meanwhile the party had traversed the valley, and to avoid a dangerous
+morass stretching across its lower extremity, and shorten the
+distance--for the ordinary road would have led them too much to the
+right--they began to climb one of the ridges of Pendle Hill, which lay
+between them and the vale they wished to gain. On obtaining the top of
+this eminence, an extensive view on either side opened upon them. Behind
+was the sterile valley they had just crossed, its black soil, hoary
+grass, and heathy wastes, only enlivened at one end by patches of bright
+sulphur-coloured moss, which masked a treacherous quagmire lurking
+beneath it. Some of the cottages in Sabden were visible, and, from the
+sad circumstances connected with them, and which oppressed the thoughts
+of the beholders, added to the dreary character of the prospect. The
+day, too, had lost its previous splendour, and there were clouds
+overhead which cast deep shadows on the ground. But on the crest of
+Pendle Hill, which rose above them, a sun-burst fell, and attracted
+attention from its brilliant contrast to the prevailing gloom. Before
+them lay a deep gully, the sinuosities of which could be traced from the
+elevated position where they stood, though its termination was hidden by
+other projecting ridges. Further on, the sides of the mountain were bare
+and rugged, and covered with shelving stone. Beyond the defile before
+mentioned, and over the last mountain ridge, lay a wide valley, bounded
+on the further side by the hills overlooking Colne, and the mountain
+defile, now laid open to the travellers, exhibiting in the midst of the
+dark heathy ranges, which were its distinguishing features, some marks
+of cultivation. In parts it was inclosed and divided into paddocks by
+stone walls, and here and there a few cottages were collected together,
+dignified, as in the case of Sabden, by the name of a village. Amongst
+these were the Hey-houses, an assemblage of small stone tenements, the
+earliest that arose in the forest; Goldshaw Booth, now a populous place,
+and even then the largest hamlet in the district; and in the distance
+Ogden and Barley, the two latter scarcely comprising a dozen
+habitations, and those little better than huts. In some sheltered nook
+on the hill-side might be discerned the solitary cottage of a cowherd,
+and not far from it the certain accompaniment of a sheepfold. Throughout
+this weird region, thinly peopled it is true, but still of great extent,
+and apparently abandoned to the powers of darkness, only one edifice
+could be found where its inhabitants could meet to pray, and this was an
+ancient chapel at Goldshaw Booth, originally erected in the reign of
+Henry III., though subsequently in part rebuilt in 1544, and which, with
+its low grey tower peeping from out the trees, was just discernible. Two
+halls were in view; one of which, Sabden, was of considerable antiquity,
+and gave its name to the village; and the other was Hoarstones, a much
+more recently erected mansion, strikingly situated on an acclivity of
+Pendle Hill. In general, the upper parts of this mountain monarch of the
+waste were bare and heathy, while the heights overhanging Ogden and
+Barley were rocky, shelving, and precipitous; but the lower ridges were
+well covered with wood, and a thicket, once forming part of the ancieut
+forest, ran far out into the plain near Goldshaw Booth. Numerous springs
+burst from the mountain side, and these collecting their forces, formed
+a considerable stream, which, under the name of Pendle Water, flowed
+through the valley above described, and, after many picturesque
+windings, entered the rugged glen in which Rough Lee was situated, and
+swept past the foot of Mistress Nutter's residence.
+
+Descending the hill, and passing through the thicket, the party came
+within a short distance of Goldshaw Booth, when they were met by a
+cowherd, who, with looks of great alarm, told them that John Law, the
+pedlar, had fallen down in a fit in the clough, and would perish if they
+did not stay to help him. As the poor man in question was well known
+both to Nicholas and Roger Nowell, they immediately agreed to go to his
+assistance, and accompanied the cowherd along a by-road which led
+through the clough to the village. They had not gone far when they heard
+loud groans, and presently afterwards found the unfortunate pedlar lying
+on his back, and writhing in agony. He was a large, powerfully-built
+man, of middle age, and had been in the full enjoyment of health and
+vigour, so that his sudden prostration was the more terrible. His face
+was greatly disfigured, the mouth and neck drawn awry, the left eye
+pulled down, and the whole power of the same side gone.
+
+"Why, John, this is a bad business," cried Nicholas. "You have had a
+paralytic stroke, I fear."
+
+"Nah--nah--squoire," replied the sufferer, speaking with difficulty,
+"it's neaw nat'ral ailment--it's witchcraft."
+
+"Witchcraft!" exclaimed Potts, who had come up, and producing his
+memorandum book. "Another case. Your name and description, friend?"
+
+"John Law o' Cown, pedlar," replied the man.
+
+"John Law of Colne, I suppose, petty chapman," said Potts, making an
+entry. "Now, John, my good man, be pleased to tell us by whom you have
+been bewitched?"
+
+"By Mother Demdike," groaned the man.
+
+"Mother Demdike, ah?" exclaimed Potts, "good! very good. Now, John, as
+to the cause of your quarrel with the old hag?"
+
+"Ey con scarcely rekillect it, my head be so confused, mester," replied
+the pedlar.
+
+"Make an effort, John," persisted Potts; "it is most desirable such a
+dreadful offender should not escape justice."
+
+"Weel, weel, ey'n try an tell it then," replied the pedlar. "Yo mun knoa
+ey wur crossing the hill fro' Cown to Rough Lee, wi' my pack upon my
+shouthers, when who should ey meet boh Mother Demdike, an hoo axt me to
+gi' her some scithers an pins, boh, os ill luck wad ha' it, ey refused.
+'Yo had better do it, John,' hoo said, 'or yo'll rue it efore to-morrow
+neet.' Ey laughed at her, an trudged on, boh when I looked back, an seed
+her shakin' her skinny hond at me, ey repented and thowt ey would go
+back, an gi' her the choice o' my wares. Boh my pride wur too strong, an
+ey walked on to Barley an Ogden, an slept at Bess's o th' Booth, an woke
+this mornin' stout and strong, fully persuaded th' owd witch's threat
+would come to nowt. Alack-a-day! ey wur out i' my reckonin', fo'
+scarcely had ey reached this kloof, o' my way to Sabden, than ey wur
+seized wi' a sudden shock, os if a thunder-bowt had hit me, an ey lost
+the use o' my lower limbs, an t' laft soide, an should ha' deed most
+likely, if it hadna bin fo' Ebil o' Jem's o' Dan's who spied me out, an
+brought me help."
+
+"Yours is a deplorable case indeed, John," said Richard--"especially if
+it be the result of witchcraft."
+
+"You do not surely doubt that it is so, Master Richard?" cried Potts.
+
+"I offer no opinion," replied the young man; "but a paralytic stroke
+would produce the same effect. But, instead of discussing the matter,
+the best thing we can do will be to transport the poor man to Bess's o'
+th' Booth, where he can be attended to."
+
+"Tom and I can carry him there, if Abel will take charge of his pack,"
+said one of the grooms.
+
+"That I win," replied the cowherd, unstrapping the box, upon which the
+sufferer's head rested, and placing it on his own shoulders.
+
+Meanwhile, a gate having been taken from its hinges by Sparshot and the
+reeve, the poor pedlar, who groaned deeply during the operation, was
+placed upon it by the men, and borne towards the village, followed by
+the others, leading their horses.
+
+Great consternation was occasioned in Goldshaw Booth by the entrance of
+the cavalcade, and still more, when it became known that John Law, the
+pedlar, who was a favourite with all, had had a frightful seizure. Old
+and young flocked forth to see him, and the former shook their heads,
+while the latter were appalled at the hideous sight. Master Potts took
+care to tell them that the poor fellow was bewitched by Mother Demdike;
+but the information failed to produce the effect he anticipated, and
+served rather to repress than heighten their sympathy for the sufferer.
+The attorney concluded, and justly, that they were afraid of incurring
+the displeasure of the vindictive old hag by an open expression of
+interest in his fate. So strongly did this feeling operate, that after
+bestowing a glance of commiseration at the pedlar, most of them
+returned, without a word, to their dwellings.
+
+On their way to the little hostel, whither they were conveying the poor
+pedlar, the party passed the church, and the sexton, who was digging a
+grave in the yard, came forward to look at them; but on seeing John Law
+he seemed to understand what had happened, and resumed his employment. A
+wide-spreading yew-tree grew in this part of the churchyard, and near it
+stood a small cross rudely carved in granite, marking the spot where, in
+the reign of Henry VI., Ralph Cliderhow, tenth abbot of Whalley, held a
+meeting of the tenantry, to check encroachments. Not far from this
+ancient cross the sexton, a hale old man, with a fresh complexion and
+silvery hair, was at work, and while the others went on, Master Potts
+paused to say a word to him.
+
+"You have a funeral here to-day, I suppose, Master Sexton?" he said.
+
+"Yeigh," replied the man, gruffly.
+
+"One of the villagers?" inquired the attorney.
+
+"Neaw; hoo were na o' Goldshey," replied the sexton.
+
+"Where then--who was it?" persevered Potts.
+
+The sexton seemed disinclined to answer; but at length said, "Meary
+Baldwyn, the miller's dowter o' Rough Lee, os protty a lass os ever yo
+see, mester. Hoo wur the apple o' her feyther's ee, an he hasna had a
+dry ee sin hoo deed. Wall-a-dey! we mun aw go, owd an young--owd an
+young--an protty Meary Baldwyn went young enough. Poor lass! poor lass!"
+and he brushed the dew from his eyes with his brawny hand.
+
+"Was her death sudden?" asked Potts.
+
+"Neaw, not so sudden, mester," replied the sexton. "Ruchot Baldwyn had
+fair warnin'. Six months ago Meary wur ta'en ill, an fro' t' furst he
+knoad how it wad eend."
+
+"How so, friend?" asked Potts, whose curiosity began to be aroused.
+
+"Becose--" replied the sexton, and he stopped suddenly short.
+
+"She was bewitched?" suggested Potts.
+
+The sexton nodded his head, and began to ply his mattock vigorously.
+
+"By Mother Demdike?" inquired Potts, taking out his memorandum book.
+
+The sexton again nodded his head, but spake no word, and, meeting some
+obstruction in the ground, took up his pick to remove it.
+
+"Another case!" muttered Potts, making an entry. "Mary Baldwyn, daughter
+of Richard Baldwyn of Rough Lee, aged--How old was she, sexton?"
+
+"Throtteen," replied the man; "boh dunna ax me ony more questions,
+mester. Th' berrin takes place i' an hour, an ey hanna half digg'd th'
+grave."
+
+"Your own name, Master Sexton, and I have done?" said Potts.
+
+"Zachariah Worms," answered the man.
+
+"Worms--ha! an excellent name for a sexton," cried Potts. "You provide
+food for your family, eh, Zachariah?"
+
+"Tut--tut," rejoined the sexton, testily, "go an' moind yer own
+bus'ness, mon, an' leave me to moind mine."
+
+"Very well, Zachariah," replied Potts. And having obtained all he
+required, he proceeded to the little hostel, where, finding the rest of
+the party had dismounted, he consigned Flint to a cowherd, and entered
+the house.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.--BESS'S O' TH' BOOTH.
+
+
+Bess's o' th' Booth--for so the little hostel at Goldshaw was called,
+after its mistress Bess Whitaker--was far more comfortable and
+commodious than its unpretending exterior seemed to warrant. Stouter and
+brighter ale was not to be drunk in Lancashire than Bess brewed; nor was
+better sherris or clary to be found, go where you would, than in her
+cellars. The traveller crossing those dreary wastes, and riding from
+Burnley to Clithero, or from Colne to Whalley, as the case might be,
+might well halt at Bess's, and be sure of a roast fowl for dinner, with
+the addition, perhaps, of some trout from Pendle Water, or, if the
+season permitted, a heath-cock or a pheasant; or, if he tarried there
+for the night, he was equally sure of a good supper and fair linen. It
+has already been mentioned, that at this period it was the custom of all
+classes in the northern counties, men and women, to resort to the
+alehouses to drink, and the hostel at Goldshaw was the general
+rendezvous of the neighbourhood. For those who could afford it Bess
+would brew incomparable sack; but if a guest called for wine, and she
+liked not his looks, she would flatly tell him her ale was good enough
+for him, and if it pleased him not he should have nothing. Submission
+always followed in such cases, for there was no disputing with Bess.
+Neither would she permit the frequenters of the hostel to sit later than
+she chose, and would clear the house in a way equally characteristic and
+effectual. At a certain hour, and that by no means a late one, she would
+take down a large horsewhip, which hung on a convenient peg in the
+principal room, and after bluntly ordering her guests to go home, if any
+resistance were offered, she would lay the whip across their shoulders,
+and forcibly eject them from the premises; but, as her determined
+character was well known, this violence was seldom necessary. In
+strength Bess was a match for any man, and assistance from her
+cowherds--for she was a farmer as well as hostess--was at hand if
+required. As will be surmised from the above, Bess was large and
+masculine-looking, but well-proportioned nevertheless, and possessed a
+certain coarse kind of beauty, which in earlier years had inflamed
+Richard Baldwyn, the miller of Rough Lee, who made overtures of marriage
+to her. These were favourably entertained, but a slight quarrel
+occurring between them, the lover, in her own phrase, got "his jacket
+soundly dusted" by her, and declared off, taking to wife a more docile
+and light-handed maiden. As to Bess, though she had given this
+unmistakable proof of her ability to manage a husband, she did not
+receive a second offer, nor, as she had now attained the mature age of
+forty, did it seem likely she would ever receive one.
+
+Bess's o' th' Booth was an extremely clean and comfortable house. The
+floor, it is true, was of hard clay, and the windows little more than
+narrow slits, with heavy stone frames, further darkened by minute
+diamond panes; but the benches were scrupulously clean, and so was the
+long oak table in the centre of the principal and only large room in the
+house. A roundabout fireplace occupied one end of the chamber, sheltered
+from the draught of the door by a dark oak screen, with a bench on the
+warm side of it; and here, or in the deep ingle-nooks, on winter nights,
+the neighbours would sit and chat by the blazing hearth, discussing pots
+of "nappy ale, good and stale," as the old ballad hath it; and as
+persons of both sexes came thither, young as well as old, many a match
+was struck up by Bess's cheery fireside. From the blackened rafters hung
+a goodly supply of hams, sides of bacon, and dried tongues, with a
+profusion of oatcakes in a bread-flake; while, in case this store should
+be exhausted, means of replenishment were at hand in the huge,
+full-crammed meal-chest standing in one corner. Altogether, there was a
+look of abundance as well as of comfort about the place.
+
+Great was Bess's consternation when the poor pedlar, who had quitted her
+house little more than an hour ago, full of health and spirits, was
+brought back to it in such a deplorable condition; and when she saw him
+deposited at her door, notwithstanding her masculine character, she had
+some difficulty in repressing a scream. She did not, however, yield to
+the weakness, but seeing at once what was best to be done, caused him to
+be transported by the grooms to the chamber he had occupied over-night,
+and laid upon the bed. Medical assistance was fortunately at hand; for
+it chanced that Master Sudall, the chirurgeon of Colne, was in the house
+at the time, having been brought to Goldshaw by the great sickness that
+prevailed at Sabden and elsewhere in the neighbourhood. Sudall was
+immediately in attendance upon the sufferer, and bled him copiously,
+after which the poor man seemed much easier; and Richard Assheton,
+taking the chirurgeon aside, asked his opinion of the case, and was told
+by Sudall that he did not think the pedlar's life in danger, but he
+doubted whether he would ever recover the use of his limbs.
+
+"You do not attribute the attack to witchcraft, I suppose, Master
+Sudall?" said Richard.
+
+"I do not like to deliver an opinion, sir," replied the chirurgeon. "It
+is impossible to decide, when all the appearances are precisely like
+those of an ordinary attack of paralysis. But a sad case has recently
+come under my observation, as to which I can have no doubt--I mean as to
+its being the result of witchcraft--but I will tell you more about it
+presently, for I must now return to my patient."
+
+It being agreed among the party to rest for an hour at the little
+hostel, and partake of some refreshment, Nicholas went to look after the
+horses, while Roger Nowell and Richard remained in the room with the
+pedlar. Bess Whitaker owned an extensive farm-yard, provided with
+cow-houses, stables, and a large barn; and it was to the latter place
+that the two grooms proposed to repair with Sparshot and play a game at
+loggats on the clay floor. No one knew what had become of the reeve;
+for, on depositing the poor pedlar at the door of the hostel, he had
+mounted his horse and ridden away. Having ordered some fried eggs and
+bacon, Nicholas wended his way to the stable, while Bess, assisted by a
+stout kitchen wench, busied herself in preparing the eatables, and it
+was at this juncture that Master Potts entered the house.
+
+Bess eyed him narrowly, and was by no means prepossessed by his looks,
+while the muddy condition of his habiliments did not tend to exalt him
+in her opinion.
+
+"Yo mey yersel a' whoam, mon, ey mun say," she observed, as the attorney
+seated himself on the bench beside her.
+
+"To be sure," rejoined Potts; "where should a man make himself at home,
+if not at an inn? Those eggs and bacon look very tempting. I'll try some
+presently; and, as soon as you've done with the frying-pan, I'll have a
+pottle of sack."
+
+"Neaw, yo winna," replied Bess. "Yo'n get nother eggs nor bacon nor sack
+here, ey can promise ye. Ele an whoat-kekes mun sarve your turn. Go to
+t' barn wi' t' other grooms, and play at kittle-pins or nine-holes wi'
+hin, an ey'n send ye some ele."
+
+"I'm quite comfortable where I am, thank you, hostess," replied Potts,
+"and have no desire to play at kittle-pins or nine-holes. But what does
+this bottle contain?"
+
+"Sherris," replied Bess.
+
+"Sherris!" echoed Potts, "and yet you say I can have no sack. Get me
+some sugar and eggs, and I'll show you how to brew the drink. I was
+taught the art by my friend, Ben Jonson--rare Ben--ha, ha!"
+
+"Set the bottle down," cried Bess, angrily.
+
+"What do you mean, woman!" said Potts, staring at her in surprise. "I
+told you to fetch sugar and eggs, and I now repeat the order--sugar, and
+half-a-dozen eggs at least."
+
+"An ey repeat my order to yo," cried Bess, "to set the bottle down, or
+ey'st may ye."
+
+"Make me! ha, ha! I like that," cried Potts. "Let me tell you, woman, I
+am not accustomed to be ordered in this way. I shall do no such thing.
+If you will not bring the eggs I shall drink the wine, neat and
+unsophisticate." And he filled a flagon near him.
+
+"If yo dun, yo shan pay dearly for it," said Bess, putting aside the
+frying-pan and taking down the horsewhip.
+
+"I daresay I shall," replied Potts merrily; "you hostesses generally do
+make one pay dearly. Very good sherris this, i' faith!--the true nutty
+flavour. Now do go and fetch me some eggs, my good woman. You must have
+plenty, with all the poultry I saw in the farm-yard; and then I'll teach
+you the whole art and mystery of brewing sack."
+
+"Ey'n teach yo to dispute my orders," cried Bess. And, catching the
+attorney by the collar, she began to belabour him soundly with the whip.
+
+"Holloa! ho! what's the meaning of this?" cried Potts, struggling to get
+free. "Assault and battery; ho!"
+
+"Ey'n sawt an batter yo, ay, an baste yo too!" replied Bess, continuing
+to lay on the whip.
+
+"Why, zounds! this passes a joke," cried the attorney. "How desperately
+strong she is! I shall be murdered! Help! help! The woman must be a
+witch."
+
+"A witch! Ey'n teach yo' to ca' me feaw names," cried the enraged
+hostess, laying on with greater fury.
+
+"Help! help!" roared Potts.
+
+At this moment Nicholas returned from the stables, and, seeing how
+matters stood, flew to the attorney's assistance.
+
+"Come, come, Bess," he cried, laying hold of her arm, "you've given him
+enough. What has Master Potts been about? Not insulting you, I hope?"
+
+"Neaw, ey'd tak keare he didna do that, squoire," replied the hostess.
+"Ey towd him he'd get nowt boh ele here, an' he made free wi't wine
+bottle, so ey brought down t' whip jist to teach him manners."
+
+"You teach me! you ignorant and insolent hussy," cried Potts, furiously;
+"do you think I'm to be taught manners by an overgrown Lancashire witch
+like you? I'll teach you what it is to assault a gentleman. I'll prefer
+an instant complaint against you to my singular good friend and client,
+Master Roger, who is in your house, and you'll soon find whom you've got
+to deal with--"
+
+"Marry--kem--eawt!" exclaimed Bess; "who con it be? Ey took yo fo' one
+o't grooms, mon."
+
+"Fire and fury!" exclaimed Potts; "this is intolerable. Master Nowell
+shall let you know who I am, woman."
+
+"Nay, I'll tell you, Bess," interposed Nicholas, laughing. "This little
+gentleman is a London lawyer, who is going to Rough Lee on business with
+Master Roger Nowell. Unluckily, he got pitched into a quagmire in Read
+Park, and that is the reason why his countenance and habiliments have
+got begrimed."
+
+"Eigh! ey thowt he wur i' a strawnge fettle," replied Bess; "an so he be
+a lawyer fro' Lunnon, eh? Weel," she added, laughing, and displaying two
+ranges of very white teeth, "he'll remember Bess Whitaker, t' next time
+he comes to Pendle Forest."
+
+"And she'll remember me," rejoined Potts.
+
+"Neaw more sawce, mon," cried Bess, "or ey'n raddle thy boans again."
+
+"No you won't, woman," cried Potts, snatching up his horsewhip, which he
+had dropped in the previous scuffle, and brandishing it fiercely. "I
+dare you to touch me."
+
+Nicholas was obliged once more to interfere, and as he passed his arms
+round the hostess's waist, he thought a kiss might tend to bring matters
+to a peaceable issue, so he took one.
+
+"Ha' done wi' ye, squoire," cried Bess, who, however, did not look very
+seriously offended by the liberty.
+
+"By my faith, your lips are so sweet that I must have another," cried
+Nicholas. "I tell you what, Bess, you're the finest woman in Lancashire,
+and you owe it to the county to get married."
+
+"Whoy so?" said Bess.
+
+"Because it would be a pity to lose the breed," replied Nicholas. "What
+say you to Master Potts there? Will he suit you?"
+
+"He--pooh! Do you think ey'd put up wi' sich powsement os he! Neaw; when
+Bess Whitaker, the lonleydey o' Goldshey, weds, it shan be to a mon, and
+nah to a ninny-hommer."
+
+"Bravely resolved, Bess," cried Nicholas. "You deserve another kiss for
+your spirit."
+
+"Ha' done, ey say," cried Bess, dealing him a gentle tap that sounded
+very much like a buffet. "See how yon jobberknow is grinning at ye."
+
+"Jobberknow and ninny-hammer," cried Potts, furiously; "really, woman, I
+cannot permit such names to be applied to me."
+
+"Os yo please, boh ey'st gi' ye nah better," rejoined the hostess.
+
+"Come, Bess, a truce to this," observed Nicholas; "the eggs and bacon
+are spoiling, and I'm dying with hunger. There--there," he added,
+clapping her on the shoulder, "set the dish before us, that's a good
+soul--a couple of plates, some oatcakes and butter, and we shall do."
+
+And while Bess attended to these requirements, he observed, "This sudden
+seizure of poor John Law is a bad business."
+
+"'Deed on it is, squoire," replied Bess, "ey wur quite glopp'nt at seet
+on him. Lorjus o' me! whoy, it's scarcely an hour sin he left here,
+looking os strong an os 'earty os yersel. Boh it's a kazzardly onsartin
+loife we lead. Here to-day an gone the morrow, as Parson Houlden says.
+Wall-a-day!"
+
+"True, true, Bess," replied the squire, "and the best plan therefore is,
+to make the most of the passing moment. So brew us each a lusty pottle
+of sack, and fry us some more eggs and bacon."
+
+And while the hostess proceeded to prepare the sack, Potts remarked to
+Nicholas, "I have got another case of witchcraft, squire. Mary Baldwyn,
+the miller's daughter, of Rough Lee."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Nicholas. "What, is the poor girl bewitched?"
+
+"Bewitched to death--that's all," said Potts.
+
+"Eigh--poor Meary! hoo's to be berried here this mornin," observed Bess,
+emptying the bottle of sherris into a pot, and placing the latter on the
+fire.
+
+"And you think she was forespoken?" said Nicholas, addressing her.
+
+"Folk sayn so," replied Bess; "boh I'd leyther howd my tung about it."
+
+"Then I suppose you pay tribute to Mother Chattox, hostess?" cried
+Potts,--"butter, eggs, and milk from the farm, ale and wine from the
+cellar, with a flitch of bacon now and then, ey?"
+
+"Nay, by th' maskins! ey gi' her nowt," cried Bess.
+
+"Then you bribe Mother Demdike, and that comes to the same thing," said
+Potts.
+
+"Weel, yo're neaw so fur fro' t' mark this time," replied Bess, adding
+eggs, sugar, and spice to the now boiling wine, and stirring up the
+compound.
+
+"I wonder where your brother, the reeve of the forest, can be, Master
+Potts!" observed Nicholas. "I did not see either him or his horse at the
+stables."
+
+"Perhaps the arch impostor has taken himself off altogether," said
+Potts; "and if so, I shall be sorry, for I have not done with him."
+
+The sack was now set before them, and pronounced excellent, and while
+they were engaged in discussing it, together with a fresh supply of eggs
+and bacon, fried by the kitchen wench, Roger Nowell came out of the
+inner room, accompanied by Richard and the chirurgeon.
+
+"Well, Master Sudall, how goes on your patient?" inquired Nicholas of
+the latter.
+
+"Much more favourably than I expected, squire," replied the chirurgeon.
+"He will be better left alone for awhile, and, as I shall not quit the
+village till evening, I shall be able to look well after him."
+
+"You think the attack occasioned by witchcraft of course, sir?" said
+Potts.
+
+"The poor fellow affirms it to be so, but I can give no opinion,"
+replied Sudall, evasively.
+
+"You must make up your mind as to the matter, for I think it right to
+tell you your evidence will be required," said Potts. "Perhaps, you may
+have seen poor Mary Baldwyn, the miller's daughter of Rough Lee, and can
+speak more positively as to her case."
+
+"I can, sir," replied the chirurgeon, seating himself beside Potts,
+while Roger Nowell and Richard placed themselves on the opposite side of
+the table. "This is the case I referred to a short time ago, when
+answering your inquiries on the same subject, Master Richard, and a most
+afflicting one it is. But you shall have the particulars. Six months
+ago, Mary Baldwyn was as lovely and blooming a lass as could be seen,
+the joy of her widowed father's heart. A hot-headed, obstinate man is
+Richard Baldwyn, and he was unwise enough to incur the displeasure of
+Mother Demdike, by favouring her rival, old Chattox, to whom he gave
+flour and meal, while he refused the same tribute to the other. The
+first time Mother Demdike was dismissed without the customary dole, one
+of his millstones broke, and, instead of taking this as a warning, he
+became more obstinate. She came a second time, and he sent her away with
+curses. Then all his flour grew damp and musty, and no one would buy it.
+Still he remained obstinate, and, when she appeared again, he would have
+laid hands upon her. But she raised her staff, and the blows fell short.
+'I have given thee two warnings, Richard,' she said, 'and thou hast paid
+no heed to them. Now I will make thee smart, lad, in right earnest. That
+which thou lovest best thou shalt lose.' Upon this, bethinking him that
+the dearest thing he had in the world was his daughter Mary, and afraid
+of harm happening to her, Richard would fain have made up his quarrel
+with the old witch; but it had now gone too far, and she would not
+listen to him, but uttering some words, with which the name of the girl
+was mingled, shook her staff at the house and departed. The next day
+poor Mary was taken ill, and her father, in despair, applied to old
+Chattox, who promised him help, and did her best, I make no doubt--for
+she would have willingly thwarted her rival, and robbed her of her prey;
+but the latter was too strong for her, and the hapless victim got daily
+worse and worse. Her blooming cheek grew white and hollow, her dark eyes
+glistened with unnatural lustre, and she was seen no more on the banks
+of Pendle water. Before this my aid had been called in by the afflicted
+father--and I did all I could--but I knew she would die--and I told him
+so. The information I feared had killed him, for he fell down like a
+stone--and I repented having spoken. However he recovered, and made a
+last appeal to Mother Demdike; but the unrelenting hag derided him and
+cursed him, telling him if he brought her all his mill contained, and
+added to that all his substance, she would not spare his child. He
+returned heart-broken, and never quitted the poor girl's bedside till
+she breathed her last."
+
+"Poor Ruchot! Robb'd o' his ownly dowter--an neaw woife to cheer him! Ey
+pity him fro' t' bottom o' my heart," said Bess, whose tears had flowed
+freely during the narration.
+
+"He is wellnigh crazed with grief," said the chirurgeon. "I hope he will
+commit no rash act."
+
+Expressions of deep commiseration for the untimely death of the miller's
+daughter had been uttered by all the party, and they were talking over
+the strange circumstances attending it, when they were roused by the
+trampling of horses' feet at the door, and the moment after, a
+middle-aged man, clad in deep mourning, but put on in a manner that
+betrayed the disorder of his mind, entered the house. His looks were
+wild and frenzied, his cheeks haggard, and he rushed into the room so
+abruptly that he did not at first observe the company assembled.
+
+"Why, Richard Baldwyn, is that you?" cried the chirurgeon.
+
+"What! is this the father?" exclaimed Potts, taking out his
+memorandum-book; "I must prepare to interrogate him."
+
+"Sit thee down, Ruchot,--sit thee down, mon," said Bess, taking his hand
+kindly, and leading him to a bench. "Con ey get thee onny thing?"
+
+"Neaw--neaw, Bess," replied the miller; "ey ha lost aw ey vallied i'
+this warlt, an ey care na how soon ey quit it mysel."
+
+"Neigh, dunna talk on thus, Ruchot," said Bess, in accents of sincere
+sympathy. "Theaw win live to see happier an brighter days."
+
+"Ey win live to be revenged, Bess," cried the miller, rising suddenly,
+and stamping his foot on the ground,--"that accursed witch has robbed me
+o' my' eart's chief treasure--hoo has crushed a poor innocent os never
+injured her i' thowt or deed--an has struck the heaviest blow that could
+be dealt me; but by the heaven above us ey win requite her! A feyther's
+deep an lasting curse leet on her guilty heoad, an on those of aw her
+accursed race. Nah rest, neet nor day, win ey know, till ey ha brought
+em to the stake."
+
+"Right--right--my good friend--an excellent resolution--bring them to
+the stake!" cried Potts.
+
+But his enthusiasm was suddenly checked by observing the reeve of the
+forest peeping from behind the wainscot, and earnestly regarding the
+miller, and he called the attention of the latter to him.
+
+Richard Baldwyn mechanically followed the expressive gestures of the
+attorney,--but he saw no one, for the reeve had disappeared.
+
+The incident passed unnoticed by the others, who had been, too deeply
+moved by poor Baldwyn's outburst of grief to pay attention to it.
+
+After a little while Bess Whitaker succeeded in prevailing upon the
+miller to sit down, and when he became more composed he told her that
+the funeral procession, consisting of some of his neighbours who had
+undertaken to attend his ill-fated daughter to her last home, was coming
+from Rough Lee to Goldshaw, but that, unable to bear them company, he
+had ridden on by himself. It appeared also, from his muttered threats,
+that he had meditated some wild project of vengeance against Mother
+Demdike, which he intended to put into execution, before the day was
+over; but Master Potts endeavoured to dissuade him from this course,
+assuring him that the most certain and efficacious mode of revenge he
+could adopt would be through the medium of the law, and that he would
+give him his best advice and assistance in the matter. While they were
+talking thus, the bell began to toll, and every stroke seemed to vibrate
+through the heart of the afflicted father, who was at last so
+overpowered by grief, that the hostess deemed it expedient to lead him
+into an inner room, where he might indulge his sorrow unobserved.
+
+Without awaiting the issue of this painful scene, Richard, who was much
+affected by it, went forth, and taking his horse from the stable, with
+the intention of riding on slowly before the others, led the animal
+towards the churchyard. When within a short distance of the grey old
+fabric he paused. The bell continued to toll mournfully, and deepened
+the melancholy hue of his thoughts. The sad tale he had heard held
+possession of his mind, and while he pitied poor Mary Baldwyn, he began
+to entertain apprehensions that Alizon might meet a similar fate. So
+many strange circumstances had taken place during the morning's ride; he
+had listened to so many dismal relations, that, coupled with the dark
+and mysterious events of the previous night, he was quite bewildered,
+and felt oppressed as if by a hideous nightmare, which it was impossible
+to shake off. He thought of Mothers Demdike and Chattox. Could these
+dread beings be permitted to exercise such baneful influence over
+mankind? With all the apparent proofs of their power he had received, he
+still strove to doubt, and to persuade himself that the various cases of
+witchcraft described to him were only held to be such by the timid and
+the credulous.
+
+Full of these meditations, he tied his horse to a tree and entered the
+churchyard, and while pursuing a path shaded by a row of young
+lime-trees leading to the porch, he perceived at a little distance from
+him, near the cross erected by Abbot Cliderhow, two persons who
+attracted his attention. One was the sexton, who was now deep in the
+grave; and the other an old woman, with her back towards him. Neither
+had remarked his approach, and, influenced by an unaccountable feeling
+of curiosity, he stood still to watch their proceedings. Presently, the
+sexton, who was shovelling out the mould, paused in his task; and the
+old woman, in a hoarse voice, which seemed familiar to the listener,
+said, "What hast found, Zachariah?"
+
+[Illustration: RICHARD OVERHEARS THE MOTHER CHATTOX AND THE SEXTON.]
+
+"That which yo lack, mother," replied the sexton, "a mazzard wi' aw th'
+teeth in't."
+
+"Pluck out eight, and give them me," replied the hag.
+
+And, as the sexton complied with her injunction, she added, "Now I must
+have three scalps."
+
+"Here they be, mother," replied Zachariah, uncovering a heap of mould
+with his spade. "Two brain-pans bleached loike snow, an the third wi'
+more hewr on it than ey ha' o' my own sconce. Fro' its size an shape ey
+should tak it to be a female. Ey ha' laid these three skulls aside fo'
+ye. Whot dun yo mean to do wi' 'em?"
+
+"Question me not, Zachariah," said the hag, sternly; "now give me some
+pieces of the mouldering coffin, and fill this box with the dust of the
+corpse it contained."
+
+The sexton complied with her request.
+
+"Now yo ha' getten aw yo seek, mother," he said, "ey wad pray you to tay
+your departure, fo' the berrin folk win be here presently."
+
+"I'm going," replied the hag, "but first I must have my funeral rites
+performed--ha! ha! Bury this for me, Zachariah," she said, giving him a
+small clay figure. "Bury it deep, and as it moulders away, may she it
+represents pine and wither, till she come to the grave likewise!"
+
+"An whoam doth it represent, mother?" asked the sexton, regarding the
+image with curiosity. "Ey dunna knoa the feace?"
+
+"How should you know it, fool, since you have never seen her in whose
+likeness it is made?" replied the hag. "She is connected with the race I
+hate."
+
+"Wi' the Demdikes?" inquired the sexton.
+
+"Ay," replied the hag, "with the Demdikes. She passes for one of
+them--but she is not of them. Nevertheless, I hate her as though she
+were."
+
+"Yo dunna mean Alizon Device?" said the sexton. "Ey ha' heerd say hoo be
+varry comely an kind-hearted, an ey should be sorry onny harm befell
+her."
+
+"Mary Baldwyn, who will soon lie there, was quite as comely and
+kind-hearted as Alizon," cried the hag, "and yet Mother Demdike had no
+pity on her."
+
+"An that's true," replied the sexton. "Weel, weel; ey'n do your
+bidding."
+
+"Hold!" exclaimed Richard, stepping forward. "I will not suffer this
+abomination to be practised."
+
+"Who is it speaks to me?" cried the hag, turning round, and disclosing
+the hideous countenance of Mother Chattox. "The voice is that of Richard
+Assheton."
+
+"It is Richard Assheton who speaks," cried the young man, "and I command
+you to desist from this wickedness. Give me that clay image," he cried,
+snatching it from the sexton, and trampling it to dust beneath his feet.
+"Thus I destroy thy impious handiwork, and defeat thy evil intentions."
+
+"Ah! think'st thou so, lad," rejoined Mother Chattox. "Thou wilt find
+thyself mistaken. My curse has already alighted upon thee, and it shall
+work. Thou lov'st Alizon.--I know it. But she shall never be thine. Now,
+go thy ways."
+
+"I will go," replied Richard--"but you shall come with me, old woman."
+
+"Dare you lay hands on me?" screamed the hag.
+
+"Nay, let her be, mester," interposed the sexton, "yo had better."
+
+"You are as bad as she is," said Richard, "and deserve equal punishment.
+You escaped yesterday at Whalley, old woman, but you shall not escape me
+now."
+
+"Be not too sure of that," cried the hag, disabling him for the moment,
+by a severe blow on the arm from her staff. And shuffling off with an
+agility which could scarcely have been expected from her, she passed
+through a gate near her, and disappeared behind a high wall.
+
+Richard would have followed, but he was detained by the sexton, who
+besought him, as he valued his life, not to interfere, and when at last
+he broke away from the old man, he could see nothing of her, and only
+heard the sound of horses' feet in the distance. Either his eyes
+deceived him, or at a turn in the woody lane skirting the church he
+descried the reeve of the forest galloping off with the old woman behind
+him. This lane led towards Rough Lee, and, without a moment's
+hesitation, Richard flew to the spot where he had left his horse, and,
+mounting him, rode swiftly along it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.--THE TEMPTATION.
+
+
+Shortly after Richard's departure, a round, rosy-faced personage, whose
+rusty black cassock, hastily huddled over a dark riding-dress,
+proclaimed him a churchman, entered the hostel. This was the rector of
+Goldshaw, Parson Holden, a very worthy little man, though rather,
+perhaps, too fond of the sports of the field and the bottle. To Roger
+Nowell and Nicholas Assheton he was of course well known, and was much
+esteemed by the latter, often riding over to hunt and fish, or carouse,
+at Downham. Parson Holden had been sent for by Bess to administer
+spiritual consolation to poor Richard Baldwyn, who she thought stood in
+need of it, and having respectfully saluted the magistrate, of whom he
+stood somewhat in awe, and shaken hands cordially with Nicholas, who was
+delighted to see him, he repaired to the inner room, promising to come
+back speedily. And he kept his word; for in less than five minutes he
+reappeared with the satisfactory intelligence that the afflicted miller
+was considerably calmer, and had listened to his counsels with much
+edification.
+
+"Take him a glass of aquavitae, Bess," he said to the hostess. "He is
+evidently a cup too low, and will be the better for it. Strong water is
+a specific I always recommend under such circumstances, Master Sudall,
+and indeed adopt myself, and I am sure you will approve of it.--Harkee,
+Bess, when you have ministered to poor Baldwyn's wants, I must crave
+your attention to my own, and beg you to fill me a tankard with your
+oldest ale, and toast me an oatcake to eat with it.--I must keep up my
+spirits, worthy sir," he added to Roger Nowell, "for I have a painful
+duty to perform. I do not know when I have been more shocked than by the
+death of poor Mary Baldwyn. A fair flower, and early nipped."
+
+"Nipped, indeed, if all we have heard be correct," rejoined Newell. "The
+forest is in a sad state, reverend sir. It would seem as if the enemy of
+mankind, by means of his abominable agents, were permitted to exercise
+uncontrolled dominion over it. I must needs say, the forlorn condition
+of the people reflects little credit on those who have them in charge.
+The powers of darkness could never have prevailed to such an extent if
+duly resisted."
+
+"I lament to hear you say so, good Master Nowell," replied the rector.
+"I have done my best, I assure you, to keep my small and
+widely-scattered flock together, and to save them from the ravening
+wolves and cunning foxes that infest the country; and if now and then
+some sheep have gone astray, or a poor lamb, as in the instance of Mary
+Baldwyn, hath fallen a victim, I am scarcely to blame for the mischance.
+Rather let me say, sir, that you, as an active and zealous magistrate,
+should take the matter in hand, and by severe dealing with the
+offenders, arrest the progress of the evil. No defence, spiritual or
+otherwise, as yet set up against them, has proved effectual."
+
+"Justly remarked, reverend sir," observed Potts, looking up from the
+memorandum book in which he was writing, "and I am sure your advice will
+not be lost upon Master Roger Nowell. As regards the persons who may be
+afflicted by witchcraft, hath not our sagacious monarch observed, that
+'There are three kind of folks who may be tempted or troubled: the
+wicked for their horrible sins, to punish them in the like measure; the
+godly that are sleeping in any great sins or infirmities, and weakness
+in faith, to waken them up the faster by such an uncouth form; and even
+some of the best, that their patience may be tried before the world as
+Job's was tried. For why may not God use any kind of extraordinary
+punishment, when it pleases Him, as well as the ordinary rods of
+sickness, or other adversities?'"
+
+"Very true, sir," replied Holden. "And we are undergoing this severe
+trial now. Fortunate are they who profit by it!"
+
+"Hear what is said further, sir, by the king," pursued Potts. "'No
+man,' declares that wise prince, 'ought to presume so far as to promise
+any impunity to himself.' But further on he gives us courage, for he
+adds, 'and yet we ought not to be afraid for that, of any thing that the
+devil and his wicked instruments can do against us, for we daily fight
+against him in a hundred other ways, and therefore as a valiant captain
+affrays no more being at the combat, nor stays from his purpose for the
+rummishing shot of a cannon, nor the small clack of a pistolet; not
+being certain what may light on him; even so ought we boldly to go
+forward in fighting against the devil without any greater terror, for
+these his rarest weapons, than the ordinary, whereof we have daily the
+proof.'"
+
+"His majesty is quite right," observed Holden, "and I am glad to hear
+his convincing words so judiciously cited. I myself have no fear of
+these wicked instruments of Satan."
+
+"In what manner, may I ask, have you proved your courage, sir?" inquired
+Roger Nowell. "Have you preached against them, and denounced their
+wickedness, menacing them with the thunders of the Church?"
+
+"I cannot say I have," replied Holden, rather abashed, "but I shall
+henceforth adopt a very different course.--Ah! here comes the ale!" he
+added, taking the foaming tankard from Bess; "this is the best cordial
+wherewith to sustain one's courage in these trying times."
+
+"Some remedy must be found for this intolerable grievance," observed
+Roger Nowell, after a few moments' reflection. "Till this morning I was
+not aware of the extent of the evil, but supposed that the two malignant
+hags, who seem to reign supreme here, confined their operations to
+blighting corn, maiming cattle, turning milk sour; and even these
+reports I fancied were greatly exaggerated; but I now find, from what I
+have seen at Sabden and elsewhere, that they fall very far short of the
+reality."
+
+"It would be difficult to increase the darkness of the picture," said
+the chirurgeon; "but what remedy will you apply?"
+
+"The cautery, sir," replied Potts,--"the actual cautery--we will burn
+out this plague-spot. The two old hags and their noxious brood shall be
+brought to the stake. That will effect a radical cure."
+
+"It may when it is accomplished, but I fear it will be long ere that
+happens," replied the chirurgeon, shaking his head doubtfully. "Are you
+acquainted with Mother Demdike's history, sir?" he added to Potts.
+
+"In part," replied the attorney; "but I shall be glad to hear any thing
+you may have to bring forward on the subject."
+
+"The peculiarity in her case," observed Sudall, "and the circumstance
+distinguishing her dark and dread career from that of all other witches
+is, that it has been shaped out by destiny. When an infant, a
+malediction was pronounced upon her head by the unfortunate Abbot
+Paslew. She is also the offspring of a man reputed to have bartered his
+soul to the Enemy of Mankind, while her mother was a witch. Both parents
+perished lamentably, about the time of Paslew's execution at Whalley."
+
+"It is a pity their miserable infant did not perish with them," observed
+Holden. "How much crime and misery would have been spared!"
+
+"It was otherwise ordained," replied Sudall. "Bereft of her parents in
+this way, the infant was taken charge of and reared by Dame Croft, the
+miller's wife of Whalley; but even in those early days she exhibited
+such a malicious and vindictive disposition, and became so unmanageable,
+that the good dame was glad to get rid of her, and sent her into the
+forest, where she found a home at Rough Lee, then occupied by Miles
+Nutter, the grandfather of the late Richard Nutter."
+
+"Aha!" exclaimed Potts, "was Mother Demdike so early connected with that
+family? I must make a note of that circumstance."
+
+"She remained at Rough Lee for some years," returned Sudall, "and though
+accounted of an ill disposition, there was nothing to be alleged against
+her at the time; though afterwards, it was said, that some mishaps that
+befell the neighbours were owing to her agency, and that she was always
+attended by a familiar in the form of a rat or a mole. Whether this were
+so or not, I cannot say; but it is certain that she helped Miles Nutter
+to get rid of his wife, and procured him a second spouse, in return for
+which services he bestowed upon her an old ruined tower on his domains."
+
+"You mean Malkin Tower?" said Nicholas.
+
+"Ay, Malkin Tower," replied the chirurgeon. "There is a legend connected
+with that structure, which I will relate to you anon, if you desire it.
+But to proceed. Scarcely had Bess Demdike taken up her abode in this
+lone tower, than it began to be rumoured that she was a witch, and
+attended sabbaths on the summit of Pendle Hill, and on Rimington Moor.
+Few would consort with her, and ill-luck invariably attended those with
+whom she quarrelled. Though of hideous and forbidding aspect, and with
+one eye lower set than the other, she had subtlety enough to induce a
+young man named Sothernes to marry her, and two children, a son and a
+daughter, were the fruit of the union."
+
+"The daughter I have seen at Whalley," observed Potts; "but I have never
+encountered the son."
+
+"Christopher Demdike still lives, I believe," replied the chirurgeon,
+"though what has become of him I know not, for he has quitted these
+parts. He is as ill-reputed as his mother, and has the same strange and
+fearful look about the eyes."
+
+"I shall recognise him if I see him," observed Potts.
+
+"You are scarcely likely to meet him," returned Sudall, "for, as I have
+said, he has left the forest. But to return to my story. The marriage
+state was little suitable to Bess Demdike, and in five years she
+contrived to free herself from her husband's restraint, and ruled alone
+in the tower. Her malignant influence now began to be felt throughout
+the whole district, and by dint of menaces and positive acts of
+mischief, she extorted all she required. Whosoever refused her requests
+speedily experienced her resentment. When she was in the fulness of her
+power, a rival sprang up in the person of Anne Whittle, since known by
+the name of Chattox, which she obtained in marriage, and this woman
+disputed Bess Demdike's supremacy. Each strove to injure the adherents
+of her rival--and terrible was the mischief they wrought. In the end,
+however, Mother Demdike got the upper hand. Years have flown over the
+old hag's head, and her guilty career has been hitherto attended with
+impunity. Plans have been formed to bring her to justice, but they have
+ever failed. And so in the case of old Chattox. Her career has been as
+baneful and as successful as that of Mother Demdike."
+
+"But their course is wellnigh run," said Potts, "and the time is come
+for the extirpation of the old serpents."
+
+"Ah! who is that at the window?" cried Sudall; "but that you are sitting
+near me, I should declare you were looking in at us."
+
+"It must be Master Potts's brother, the reeve of the forest," observed
+Nicholas, with a laugh.
+
+"Heed him not," cried the attorney, angrily, "but let us have the
+promised legend of Malkin Tower."
+
+"Willingly!" replied the chirurgeon. "But before I begin I must recruit
+myself with a can of ale."
+
+The flagon being set before him, Sudall commenced his story:
+
+    The Legend of Malkin Tower.
+
+    "On the brow of a high hill forming part of the range of
+    Pendle, and commanding an extensive view over the forest, and
+    the wild and mountainous region around it, stands a stern
+    solitary tower. Old as the Anglo-Saxons, and built as a
+    stronghold by Wulstan, a Northumbrian thane, in the time of
+    Edmund or Edred, it is circular in form and very lofty, and
+    serves as a landmark to the country round. Placed high up in
+    the building the door was formerly reached by a steep flight
+    of stone steps, but these were removed some fifty or sixty
+    years ago by Mother Demdike, and a ladder capable of being
+    raised or let down at pleasure substituted for them,
+    affording the only apparent means of entrance. The tower is
+    otherwise inaccessible, the walls being of immense thickness,
+    with no window lower than five-and-twenty feet from the
+    ground, though it is thought there must be a secret outlet;
+    for the old witch, when she wants to come forth, does not
+    wait for the ladder to be let down. But this may be otherwise
+    explained. Internally there are three floors, the lowest
+    being placed on a level with the door, and this is the
+    apartment chiefly occupied by the hag. In the centre of this
+    room is a trapdoor opening upon a deep vault, which forms the
+    basement story of the structure, and which was once used as a
+    dungeon, but is now tenanted, it is said, by a fiend, who can
+    be summoned by the witch on stamping her foot. Round the room
+    runs a gallery contrived in the thickness of the walls, while
+    the upper chambers are gained by a secret staircase, and
+    closed by movable stones, the machinery of which is only
+    known to the inmate of the tower. All the rooms are lighted
+    by narrow loopholes. Thus you will see that the fortress is
+    still capable of sustaining a siege, and old Demdike has been
+    heard to declare that she would hold it for a month against a
+    hundred men. Hitherto it has proved impregnable.
+
+    "On the Norman invasion, Malkin Tower was held by Ughtred, a
+    descendant of Wulstan, who kept possession of Pendle Forest
+    and the hills around it, and successfully resisted the
+    aggressions of the conquerors. His enemies affirmed he was
+    assisted by a demon, whom he had propitiated by some fearful
+    sacrifice made in the tower, and the notion seemed borne out
+    by the success uniformly attending his conflicts. Ughtred's
+    prowess was stained by cruelty and rapine. Merciless in the
+    treatment of his captives, putting them to death by horrible
+    tortures, or immuring them in the dark and noisome dungeon of
+    his tower, he would hold his revels over their heads, and
+    deride their groans. Heaps of treasure, obtained by pillage,
+    were secured by him in the tower. From his frequent acts of
+    treachery, and the many foul murders he perpetrated, Ughtred
+    was styled the 'Scourge of the Normans.' For a long period he
+    enjoyed complete immunity from punishment; but after the
+    siege of York, and the defeat of the insurgents, his
+    destruction was vowed by Ilbert de Lacy, lord of
+    Blackburnshire, and this fierce chieftain set fire to part of
+    the forest in which the Saxon thane and his followers were
+    concealed; drove them to Malkin Tower; took it after an
+    obstinate and prolonged defence, and considerable loss to
+    himself, and put them all to the sword, except the leader,
+    whom he hanged from the top of his own fortress. In the
+    dungeon were found many carcasses, and the greater part of
+    Ughtred's treasure served to enrich the victor.
+
+    "Once again, in the reign of Henry VI., Malkin Tower became a
+    robber's stronghold, and gave protection to a freebooter
+    named Blackburn, who, with a band of daring and desperate
+    marauders, took advantage of the troubled state of the
+    country, ravaged it far and wide, and committed unheard of
+    atrocities, even levying contributions upon the Abbeys of
+    Whalley and Salley, and the heads of these religious
+    establishments were glad to make terms with him to save their
+    herds and stores, the rather that all attempts to dislodge
+    him from his mountain fastness, and destroy his band, had
+    failed. Blackburn seemed to enjoy the same kind of protection
+    as Ughtred, and practised the same atrocities, torturing and
+    imprisoning his captives unless they were heavily ransomed.
+    He also led a life of wildest licence, and, when not engaged
+    in some predatory exploit, spent his time in carousing with
+    his followers.
+
+    "Upon one occasion it chanced that he made a visit in
+    disguise to Whalley Abbey, and, passing the little hermitage
+    near the church, beheld the votaress who tenanted it. This
+    was Isole de Heton. Ravished by her wondrous beauty,
+    Blackburn soon found an opportunity of making his passion
+    known to her, and his handsome though fierce lineaments
+    pleasing her, he did not long sigh in vain. He frequently
+    visited her in the garb of a Cistertian monk, and, being
+    taken for one of the brethren, his conduct brought great
+    scandal upon the Abbey. The abandoned votaress bore him a
+    daughter, and the infant was conveyed away by the lover, and
+    placed under the care of a peasant's wife, at Barrowford.
+    From that child sprung Bess Blackburn, the mother of old
+    Demdike; so that the witch is a direct descendant of Isole de
+    Heton.
+
+    "Notwithstanding all precautions, Isole's dark offence became
+    known, and she would have paid the penalty of it at the
+    stake, if she had not fled. In scaling Whalley Nab, in the
+    woody heights of which she was to remain concealed till her
+    lover could come to her, she fell from a rock, shattering her
+    limbs, and disfiguring her features. Some say she was lamed
+    for life, and became as hideous as she had heretofore been
+    lovely; but this is erroneous, for apprehensive of such a
+    result, attended by the loss of her lover, she invoked the
+    powers of darkness, and proffered her soul in return for five
+    years of unimpaired beauty.
+
+    "The compact was made, and when Blackburn came he found her
+    more beautiful than ever. Enraptured, he conveyed her to
+    Malkin Tower, and lived with her there in security, laughing
+    to scorn the menaces of Abbot Eccles, by whom he was
+    excommunicated.
+
+    "Time went on, and as Isole's charms underwent no change, her
+    lover's ardour continued unabated. Five years passed in
+    guilty pleasures, and the last day of the allotted term
+    arrived. No change was manifest in Isole's demeanour; neither
+    remorse nor fear were exhibited by her. Never had she
+    appeared more lovely, never in higher or more exuberant
+    spirits. She besought her lover, who was still madly
+    intoxicated by her infernal charms, to give a banquet that
+    night to ten of his trustiest followers. He willingly
+    assented, and bade them to the feast. They ate and drank
+    merrily, and the gayest of the company was the lovely Isole.
+    Her spirits seemed somewhat too wild even to Blackburn, but
+    he did not check her, though surprised at the excessive
+    liveliness and freedom of her sallies. Her eyes flashed like
+    fire, and there was not a man present but was madly in love
+    with her, and ready to dispute for her smiles with his
+    captain.
+
+    "The wine flowed freely, and song and jest went on till
+    midnight. When the hour struck, Isole filled a cup to the
+    brim, and called upon them to pledge her. All arose, and
+    drained their goblets enthusiastically. 'It was a farewell
+    cup,' she said; 'I am going away with one of you.' 'How!'
+    exclaimed Blackburn, in angry surprise. 'Let any one but
+    touch your hand, and I will strike him dead at my feet.' The
+    rest of the company regarded each other with surprise, and it
+    was then discovered that a stranger was amongst them; a tall
+    dark man, whose looks were so terrible and demoniacal that no
+    one dared lay hands upon him. 'I am come,' he said, with
+    fearful significance, to Isole. 'And I am ready,' she
+    answered boldly. 'I will go with you were it to the
+    bottomless pit,' cried Blackburn catching hold of her. 'It is
+    thither I am going,' she answered with a scream of laughter.
+    'I shall be glad of a companion.'
+
+    "When the paroxysm of laughter was over, she fell down on the
+    floor. Her lover would have raised her, when what was his
+    horror to find that he held in his arms an old woman, with
+    frightfully disfigured features, and evidently in the agonies
+    of death. She fixed one look upon him and expired.
+
+    "Terrified by the occurrence the guests hurried away, and
+    when they returned next day, they found Blackburn stretched
+    on the floor, and quite dead. They cast his body, together
+    with that of the wretched Isole, into the vault beneath the
+    room where they were lying, and then, taking possession of
+    his treasure, removed to some other retreat.
+
+    "Thenceforth, Malkin Tower became haunted. Though wholly
+    deserted, lights were constantly seen shining from it at
+    night, and sounds of wild revelry, succeeded by shrieks and
+    groans, issued from it. The figure of Isole was often seen to
+    come forth, and flit across the wastes in the direction of
+    Whalley Abbey. On stormy nights a huge black cat, with
+    flaming eyes, was frequently descried on the summit of the
+    structure, whence it obtained its name of Grimalkin, or
+    Malkin Tower. The ill-omened pile ultimately came into the
+    possession of the Nutter family, but it was never tenanted,
+    until assigned, as I have already mentioned, to Mother
+    Demdike."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The chirurgeon's marvellous story was listened to with great attention
+by his auditors. Most of them were familiar with different versions of
+it; but to Master Potts it was altogether new, and he made rapid notes
+of it, questioning the narrator as to one or two points which appeared
+to him to require explanation. Nicholas, as may be supposed, was
+particularly interested in that part of the legend which referred to
+Isole de Heton. He now for the first time heard of her unhallowed
+intercourse with the freebooter Blackburn, of her compact on Whalley Nab
+with the fiend, of her mysterious connection with Malkin Tower, and of
+her being the ancestress of Mother Demdike. The consideration of all
+these points, coupled with a vivid recollection of his own strange
+adventure with the impious votaress at the Abbey on the previous night,
+plunged him into a deep train of thought, and he began seriously to
+consider whether he might not have committed some heinous sin, and,
+indeed, jeopardised his soul's welfare by dancing with her. "What if I
+should share the same fate as the robber Blackburn," he ruminated, "and
+be dragged to perdition by her? It is a very awful reflection. But
+though my fate might operate as a warning to others, I am by no means
+anxious to be held up as a moral scarecrow. Rather let me take warning
+myself, amend my life, abandon intemperance, which leads to all manner
+of wickedness, and suffer myself no more to be ensnared by the wiles and
+delusions of the tempter in the form of a fair woman. No--no--I will
+alter and amend my life."
+
+I regret, however, to say that these praiseworthy resolutions were but
+transient, and that the squire, quite forgetting that the work of
+reform, if intended to be really accomplished, ought to commence at
+once, and by no means be postponed till the morrow, yielded to the
+seductions of a fresh pottle of sack, which was presented to him at the
+moment by Bess, and in taking it could not help squeezing the hand of
+the bouncing hostess, and gazing at her more tenderly than became a
+married man. Oh! Nicholas--Nicholas--the work of reform, I am afraid,
+proceeds very slowly and imperfectly with you. Your friend, Parson.
+Dewhurst, would have told you that it is much easier to form good
+resolutions than to keep them.
+
+Leaving the squire, however, to his cogitations and his sack, the
+attorney to his memorandum-book, in which he was still engaged in
+writing, and the others to their talk, we shall proceed to the chamber
+whither the poor miller had been led by Bess. When visited by the
+rector, he had been apparently soothed by the worthy man's consolatory
+advice, but when left alone he speedily relapsed into his former dark
+and gloomy state of mind. He did not notice Bess, who, according to
+Holden's directions, placed the aquavitae bottle before him, but, as long
+as she stayed, remained with his face buried in his hands. As soon as
+she was gone he arose, and began to pace the room to and fro. The window
+was open, and he could hear the funeral bell tolling mournfully at
+intervals. Each recurrence of the dismal sound added sharpness and
+intensity to his grief. His sufferings became almost intolerable, and
+drove him to the very verge of despair and madness. If a weapon had
+been at hand, he might have seized it, and put a sudden period to his
+existence. His breast was a chaos of fierce and troubled thoughts, in
+which one black and terrible idea arose and overpowered all the rest. It
+was the desire of vengeance, deep and complete, upon her whom he looked
+upon as the murderess of his child. He cared not how it were
+accomplished so it were done; but such was the opinion he entertained of
+the old hag's power, that he doubted his ability to the task. Still, as
+the bell tolled on, the furies at his heart lashed and goaded him on,
+and yelled in his ear revenge--revenge! Now, indeed, he was crazed with
+grief and rage; he tore off handfuls of hair, plunged his nails deeply
+into his breast, and while committing these and other wild excesses,
+with frantic imprecations he called down Heaven's judgments on his own
+head. He was in that lost and helpless state when the enemy of mankind
+has power over man. Nor was the opportunity neglected; for when the
+wretched Baldwyn, who, exhausted by the violence of his motions, had
+leaned for a moment against the wall, he perceived to his surprise that
+there was a man in the room--a small personage attired in rusty black,
+whom he thought had been one of the party in the adjoining chamber.
+
+There was an expression of mockery about this person's countenance which
+did not please the miller, and he asked him, sternly, what he wanted.
+
+"Leave off grinnin, mon," he said, fiercely, "or ey may be tempted to
+tay yo be t' throttle, an may yo laugh o't wrong side o' your mouth."
+
+"No, no, you will not, Richard Baldwyn, when you know my errand,"
+replied the man. "You are thirsting for vengeance upon Mother Demdike.
+You shall have it."
+
+"Eigh, eigh, you promised me vengeance efore," cried the
+miller--"vengeance by the law. Boh ey mun wait lung for it. Ey wad ha'
+it swift and sure--deep and deadly. Ey wad blast her wi' curses, os hoo
+blasted my poor Meary. Ey wad strike her deeod at my feet. That's my
+vengeance, mon."
+
+"You shall have it," replied the other.
+
+"Yo talk differently fro' what yo did just now, mon," said the miller,
+regarding him narrowly and distrustfully. "An yo look differently too.
+There's a queer glimmer abowt your een that ey didna notice efore, and
+that ey mislike."
+
+The man laughed bitterly.
+
+"Leave off grinnin' or begone," cried Baldwyn, furiously. And he raised
+his hand to strike the man, but he instantly dropped it, appalled by a
+look which the other threw at him. "Who the dule are yo?"
+
+"The dule must answer you, since you appeal to him," replied the other,
+with the same mocking smile; "but you are mistaken in supposing that you
+have spoken to me before. He with whom you conversed in the other room,
+resembles me in more respects than one, but he does not possess power
+equal to mine. The law will not aid you against Mother Demdike. She will
+escape all the snares laid for her. But she will not escape _me_."
+
+"Who are ye?" cried the miller, his hair erecting on his head, and cold
+damps breaking out upon his brow. "Yo are nah mortal, an nah good, to
+tawk i' this fashion."
+
+"Heed not who and what I am," replied the other; "I am known here as a
+reeve of the forest--that is enough. Would you have vengeance on the
+murtheress of your child?"
+
+"Yeigh," rejoined Baldwyn.
+
+"And you are willing to pay for it at the price of your soul?" demanded
+the other, advancing towards him.
+
+Baldwyn reeled. He saw at once the fearful peril in which he was placed,
+and averted his gaze from the scorching glance of the reeve.
+
+At this moment the door was tried without, and the voice of Bess was
+heard, saying, "Who ha' yo got wi' yo, Ruchot; and whoy ha' yo fastened
+t' door?"
+
+"Your answer?" demanded the reeve.
+
+"Ey canna gi' it now," replied the miller. "Come in, Bess; come in."
+
+"Ey conna," she replied. "Open t' door, mon."
+
+"Your answer, I say?" said the reeve.
+
+"Gi' me an hour to think on't," said the miller.
+
+"Agreed," replied the other. "I will be with you after the funeral."
+
+And he sprang through the window, and disappeared before Baldwyn could
+open the door and admit Bess.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.--THE PERAMBULATION OF THE BOUNDARIES.
+
+
+The lane along which Richard Assheton galloped in pursuit of Mother
+Chattox, made so many turns, and was, moreover, so completely hemmed in
+by high banks and hedges, that he could sec nothing on either side of
+him, and very little in advance; but, guided by the clatter of hoofs, he
+urged Merlin to his utmost speed, fancying he should soon come up with
+the fugitives. In this, however, he was deceived. The sound that had led
+him on became fainter and fainter, till at last it died away altogether;
+and on quitting the lane and gaining the moor, where the view was wholly
+uninterrupted, no traces either of witch or reeve could be discerned.
+
+With a feeling of angry disappointment, Richard was about to turn back,
+when a large black greyhound came from out an adjoining clough, and
+made towards him. The singularity of the circumstance induced him to
+halt and regard the dog with attention. On nearing him, the animal
+looked wistfully in his face, and seemed to invite him to follow; and
+the young man was so struck by the dog's manner, that he complied, and
+had not gone far when a hare of unusual size and grey with age bounded
+from beneath a gorse-bush and speeded away, the greyhound starting in
+pursuit.
+
+Aware of the prevailing notion, that a witch most commonly assumed such
+a form when desirous of escaping, or performing some act of mischief,
+such as drying the milk of kine, Richard at once came to the conclusion
+that the hare could be no other than Mother Chattox; and without pausing
+to inquire what the hound could be, or why it should appear at such a
+singular and apparently fortunate juncture, he at once joined the run,
+and cheered on the dog with whoop and holloa.
+
+Old as it was, apparently, the hare ran with extraordinary swiftness,
+clearing every stone wall and other impediment in the way, and more than
+once cunningly doubling upon its pursuers. But every feint and stratagem
+were defeated by the fleet and sagacious hound, and the hunted animal at
+length took to the open waste, where the run became so rapid, that
+Richard had enough to do to keep up with it, though Merlin, almost as
+furiously excited as his master, strained every sinew to the task.
+
+In this way the chasers and the chased scoured the dark and heathy
+plain, skirting moss-pool and clearing dyke, till they almost reached
+the but-end of Pendle Hill, which rose like an impassable barrier before
+them. Hitherto the chances had seemed in favour of the hare; but they
+now began to turn, and as it seemed certain she must fall into the
+hound's jaws, Richard expected every moment to find her resume her
+natural form. The run having brought him within, a quarter of a mile of
+Barley, the rude hovels composing which little booth were clearly
+discernible, the young man began to think the hag's dwelling must he
+among them, and that she was hurrying thither as to a place of refuge.
+But before this could be accomplished, he hoped to effect her capture,
+and once more cheered on the hound, and plunged his spurs into Merlin's
+sides. An obstacle, however, occurred which he had not counted on.
+Directly in the course taken by the hare lay a deep, disused limestone
+quarry, completely screened from view by a fringe of brushwood. When
+within a few yards of this pit, the hound made a dash at the flying
+hare, but eluding him, the latter sprang forward, and both went over the
+edge of the quarry together. Richard had wellnigh followed, and in that
+case would have been inevitably dashed in pieces; but, discovering the
+danger ere it was too late, by a powerful effort, which threw Merlin
+upon his haunches, he pulled him back on the very brink of the pit.
+
+The young man shuddered as he gazed into the depths of the quarry, and
+saw the jagged points and heaps of broken stone that would have received
+him; but he looked in vain for the old witch, whose mangled body,
+together with that of the hound, he expected to behold; and he then
+asked himself whether the chase might not have been a snare set for him
+by the hag and her familiar, with the intent of luring him to
+destruction. If so, he had been providentially preserved.
+
+Quitting the pit, his first idea was to proceed to Barley, which was now
+only a few hundred yards off, to make inquiries respecting Mother
+Chattox, and ascertain whether she really dwelt there; but, on further
+consideration, he judged it best to return without further delay to
+Goldshaw, lest his friends, ignorant as to what had befallen him, might
+become alarmed on his account; but he resolved, as soon as he had
+disposed of the business in hand, to prosecute his search after the hag.
+Riding rapidly, he soon cleared the ground between the quarry and
+Goldshaw Lane, and was about to enter the latter, when the sound of
+voices singing a funeral hymn caught his ear, and, pausing to listen to
+it, he beheld a little procession, the meaning of which he readily
+comprehended, wending its slow and melancholy way in the same direction
+as himself. It was headed by four men in deep mourning, bearing upon
+their shoulders a small coffin, covered with a pall, and having a
+garland of white flowers in front of it. Behind them followed about a
+dozen young men and maidens, likewise in mourning, walking two and two,
+with gait and aspect of unfeigned affliction. Many of the women, though
+merely rustics, seemed to possess considerable personal attraction; but
+their features were in a great measure concealed by their large white
+kerchiefs, disposed in the form of hoods. All carried sprigs of rosemary
+and bunches of flowers in their hands. Plaintive was the hymn they sang,
+and their voices, though untaught, were sweet and touching, and went to
+the heart of the listener.
+
+Much moved, Richard suffered the funeral procession to precede him along
+the deep and devious lane, and as it winded beneath the hedges, the
+sight was inexpressibly affecting. Fastening his horse to a tree at the
+end of the lane, Richard followed on foot. Notice of the approach of the
+train having been given in the village, all the inhabitants flocked
+forth to meet it, and there was scarcely a dry eye among them. Arrived
+within a short distance of the church, the coffin was met by the
+minister, attended by the clerk, behind whom came Roger Nowell,
+Nicholas, and the rest of the company from the hostel. With great
+difficulty poor Baldwyn could be brought to take his place as chief
+mourner. These arrangements completed, the body of the ill-fated girl
+was borne into the churchyard, the minister reading the solemn texts
+appointed for the occasion, and leading the way to the grave, beside
+which stood the sexton, together with the beadle of Goldshaw and
+Sparshot. The coffin was then laid on trestles, and amidst profound
+silence, broken only by the sobs of the mourners, the service was read,
+and preparations made for lowering the body into the grave.
+
+Then it was that poor Baldwyn, with a wild, heart-piercing cry, flung
+himself upon the shell containing all that remained of his lost
+treasure, and could with difficulty be removed from it by Bess and
+Sudall, both of whom were in attendance. The bunches of flowers and
+sprigs of rosemary having been laid upon the coffin by the maidens,
+amidst loud sobbing and audibly expressed lamentations from the
+bystanders, it was let down into the grave, and earth thrown over it.
+
+Earth to earth; ashes to ashes; dust to dust.
+
+The ceremony was over, the mourners betook themselves to the little
+hostel, and the spectators slowly dispersed; but the bereaved father
+still lingered, unable to tear himself away. Leaning for support against
+the yew-tree, he fiercely bade Bess, who would have led him home with
+her, begone. The kind-hearted hostess complied in appearance, but
+remained nigh at hand though concealed from view.
+
+Once more the dark cloud overshadowed the spirit of the wretched
+man--once more the same infernal desire of vengeance possessed him--once
+more he subjected himself to temptation. Striding to the foot of the
+grave he raised his hand, and with terrible imprecations vowed to lay
+the murtheress of his child as low as she herself was now laid. At that
+moment he felt an eye like a burning-glass fixed upon him, and, looking
+up, beheld the reeve of the forest standing on the further side of the
+grave.
+
+"Kneel down, and swear to be mine, and your wish shall be gratified,"
+said the reeve.
+
+Beside himself with grief and rage, Baldwyn would have complied, but he
+was arrested by a powerful grasp. Fearing he was about to commit some
+rash act, Bess rushed forward and caught hold of his doublet.
+
+"Bethink thee whot theaw has just heerd fro' t' minister, Ruchot," she
+cried in a voice of solemn warning. "'Blessed are the dead that dee i'
+the Lord, for they rest fro their labours.' An again, 'Suffer us not at
+our last hour, for onny pains o' death, to fa' fro thee.' Oh Ruchot,
+dear! fo' the love theaw hadst fo' thy poor chilt, who is now delivert
+fro' the burthen o' th' flesh, an' dwellin' i' joy an felicity wi' God
+an his angels, dunna endanger thy precious sowl. Pray that theaw may'st
+depart hence i' th' Lord, wi' whom are the sowls of the faithful, an
+Meary's, ey trust, among the number. Pray that thy eend may be like
+hers."
+
+"Ey conna pray, Bess," replied the miller, striking his breast. "The
+Lord has turned his feace fro' me."
+
+"Becose thy heart is hardened, Ruchot," she replied. "Theaw 'rt
+nourishin' nowt boh black an wicked thowts. Cast em off ye, I adjure
+thee, an come whoam wi me."
+
+Meanwhile, the reeve had sprung across the grave.
+
+"Thy answer at once," he said, grasping the miller's arm, and breathing
+the words in his ears. "Vengeance is in thy power. A word, and it is
+thine."
+
+The miller groaned bitterly. He was sorely tempted.
+
+"What is that mon sayin' to thee, Ruchot?" inquired Bess.
+
+"Dunna ax, boh tak me away," he answered. "Ey am lost else."
+
+"Let him lay a finger on yo if he dare," said Bess, sturdily.
+
+"Leave him alone--yo dunna knoa who he is," whispered the miller.
+
+"Ey con partly guess," she rejoined; "boh ey care nother fo' mon nor
+dule when ey'm acting reetly. Come along wi' me, Ruchot."
+
+"Fool!" cried the reeve, in the same low tone as before; "you will lose
+your revenge, but you will not escape me."
+
+And he turned away, while Bess almost carried the trembling and
+enfeebled miller towards the hostel.
+
+Roger Nowell and his friends had only waited the conclusion of the
+funeral to set forth, and their horses being in readiness, they mounted
+them on leaving the churchyard, and rode slowly along the lane leading
+towards Rough Lee. The melancholy scene they had witnessed, and the
+afflicting circumstances connected with it, had painfully affected the
+party, and little conversation occurred until they were overtaken by
+Parson Holden, who, having been made acquainted with their errand by
+Nicholas, was desirous of accompanying them. Soon after this, also, the
+reeve of the forest joined them, and on seeing him, Richard sternly
+demanded why he had aided Mother Chattox in her night from the
+churchyard, and what had become of her.
+
+"You are entirely mistaken, sir," replied the reeve, with affected
+astonishment. "I have seen nothing whatever of the old hag, and would
+rather lend a hand to her capture than abet her flight. I hold all
+witches in abhorrence, and Mother Chattox especially so."
+
+"Your horse looks fresh enough, certainly," said Richard, somewhat
+shaken in his suspicions. "Where have you been during our stay at
+Goldshaw? You did not put up at the hostel?"
+
+"I went to Farmer Johnson's," replied the reeve, "and you will find upon
+inquiry that my horse has not been out of his stables for the last hour.
+I myself have been loitering about Bess's grange and farmyard, as your
+grooms will testify, for they have seen me."
+
+"Humph!" exclaimed Richard, "I suppose I must credit assertions made
+with such confidence, but I could have sworn I saw you ride off with the
+hag behind you."
+
+"I hope I shall never be caught in such bad company, sir," replied the
+reeve, with a laugh. "If I ride off with any one, it shall not be with
+an old witch, depend upon it."
+
+Though by no means satisfied with the explanation, Richard was forced to
+be content with it; but he thought he would address a few more questions
+to the reeve.
+
+"Have you any knowledge," he said, "when the boundaries of Pendle Forest
+were first settled and appointed?"
+
+"The first perambulation was made by Henry de Lacy, about the middle of
+the twelfth century," replied the reeve. "Pendle Forest, you may be
+aware, sir, is one of the four divisions of the great forest of
+Blackburnshire, of which the Lacys were lords, the three other divisions
+being Accrington, Trawden, and Rossendale, and it comprehends an extent
+of about twenty-five miles, part of which you have traversed to-day. At
+a later period, namely in 1311, after the death of another Henry de
+Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, the last of his line, and one of the bravest of
+Edward the First's barons, an inquisition was held in the forest, and it
+was subdivided into eleven vaccaries, one of which is the place to which
+you are bound, Rough Lee."
+
+"The learned Sir Edward Coke defines a vaccary to signify a dairy,"
+observed Potts.
+
+"Here it means the farm and land as well," replied the reeve; "and the
+word 'booth,' which is in general use in this district, signifies the
+mansion erected upon such vaccary: Mistress Nutter's residence, for
+instance, being nothing more than the booth of Rough Lee: while a
+'lawnd,' another local term, is a park inclosed within the forest for
+the preservation of the deer, and the convenience of the chase, and of
+such inclosures we have two, namely, the Old and New Lawnd. By a
+commission in the reign of Henry VII., these vaccaries, originally
+granted only to tenants at will, were converted into copyholds of
+inheritance, but--and here is a legal point for your consideration,
+Master Potts--as it seems very questionable whether titles obtained
+under letters-patent are secure, not unreasonable fears are entertained
+by the holders of the lands lest they should be seized, and appropriated
+by the crown."
+
+"Ah! ah! an excellent idea, Master Reeve," exclaimed Potts, his little
+eyes twinkling with pleasure. "Our gracious and sagacious monarch would
+grasp at the suggestion, ay, and grasp at the lands too--ha! ha! Many
+thanks for the hint, good reeve. I will not fail to profit by it. If
+their titles are uncertain, the landholders would be glad to compromise
+the matter with the crown, even to the value of half their estates
+rather than lose the whole."
+
+"Most assuredly they would," replied the reeve; "and furthermore, they
+would pay the lawyer well who could manage the matter adroitly for them.
+This would answer your purpose better than hunting up witches, Master
+Potts."
+
+"One pursuit does not interfere with the other in the slightest degree,
+worthy reeve," observed Potts. "I cannot consent to give up my quest of
+the witches. My honour is concerned in their extermination. But to turn
+to Pendle Forest--the greater part of it has been disafforested, I
+presume?"
+
+"It has," replied the other--"and we are now in one of the purlieus."
+
+"Pourallee is the better word, most excellent reeve," said Potts. "I
+tell you thus much, because you appear to be a man of learning. Manwood,
+our great authority in such matters, declares a pourallee to be 'a
+certain territory of ground adjoining unto the forest, mered and bounded
+with immovable marks, meres, and boundaries, known by matter of record
+only.' And as it applies to the perambulation we are about to make, I
+may as well repeat what the same learned writer further saith touching
+marks, meres, and boundaries, and how they may be known. 'For although,'
+he saith, 'a forest doth lie open, and not inclosed with hedge, ditch,
+pale, or stone-wall, which some other inclosures have; yet in the eye
+and consideration of the law, the same hath as strong an inclosure by
+those marks, meres, and boundaries, as if there were a brick wall to
+encircle the same.' Marks, learned reeve, are deemed unremovable--
+_primo, quia omnes metae forestae sunt integrae domino regi_--and those
+who take them away are punishable for the trespass at the assizes of
+the forest. _Secundo_, because the marks are things that cannot be
+stirred, as rivers, highways, hills, and the like. Now, such
+unremoveable marks, meres, and boundaries we have between the estate of
+my excellent client, Master Roger Nowell, and that of Mistress Nutter,
+so that the matter at issue will be easily decided."
+
+A singular smile crossed the reeve's countenance, but he made no
+observation.
+
+"Unless the lady can turn aside streams, remove hills, and pluck up huge
+trees, we shall win," pursued Potts, with a chuckle.
+
+Again the reeve smiled, but he forebore to speak.
+
+"You talk of marks, meres, and boundaries, Master Potts," remarked
+Richard. "Are not the words synonymous?"
+
+"Not precisely so, sir," replied the attorney; "there is a slight
+difference in their signification, which I will explain to you. The
+words of the statute are '_metas, meras, et bundas_,'--now _meta_, or
+mark, is an object rising from the ground, as a church, a wall, or a
+tree; _mera_, or mere, is the space or interval between the forest and
+the land adjoining, whereupon the mark may chance to stand; and _bunda_
+is the boundary, lying on a level with the forest, as a river, a
+highway, a pool, or a bog."
+
+"I comprehend the distinction," replied Richard. "And now, as we are on
+this subject," he added to the reeve, "I would gladly know the precise
+nature of your office?"
+
+"My duty," replied the other, "is to range daily throughout all the
+purlieus, or pourallees, as Master Potts more properly terms them, and
+disafforested lands, and inquire into all trespasses and offences
+against vert or venison, and present them at the king's next court of
+attachment or swainmote. It is also my business to drive into the forest
+such wild beasts as have strayed from it; to attend to the lawing and
+expeditation of mastiffs; and to raise hue and cry against any
+malefactors or trespassers within the forest."
+
+"I will give you the exact words of the statute," said Potts--'_Si quis
+viderit malefactores infra metas forestae, debet illos capere secundum
+posse suum, et si non possit; debet levare hutesium et clamorem_.' And
+the penalty for refusing to follow hue and cry is heavy fine."
+
+"I would that that part of your duty relating to the hock-sinewing, and
+lawing of mastiffs, could be discontinued," said Richard. "I grieve to
+see a noble animal so mutilated."
+
+"In Bowland Forest, as you are probably aware, sir," rejoined the reeve,
+"only the larger mastiffs are lamed, a small stirrup or gauge being kept
+by the master forester, Squire Robert Parker of Browsholme, and the dog
+whose foot will pass through it escapes mutilation."
+
+"The practice is a cruel one, and I would it were abolished with some of
+our other barbarous forest laws," observed Richard.
+
+While this conversation had been going on, the party had proceeded well
+on their way. For some time the road, which consisted of little more
+than tracts of wheels along the turf, led along a plain, thrown up into
+heathy hillocks, and then passing through a thicket, evidently part of
+the old forest, it brought them to the foot of a hill, which they
+mounted, and descended into another valley. Here they came upon Pendle
+Water, and while skirting its banks, could see at a great depth below,
+the river rushing over its rocky bed like an Alpine torrent. The scenery
+had now begun to assume a savage and sombre character. The deep rift
+through which the river ran was evidently the result of some terrible
+convulsion of the earth, and the rocky strata were strangely and
+fantastically displayed. On the further side the banks rose up
+precipitously, consisting for the most part of bare cliffs, though now
+and then a tree would root itself in some crevice. Below this the stream
+sank over a wide shelf of rock, in a broad full cascade, and boiled and
+foamed in the stony basin that received it, after which, grown less
+impetuous, it ran tranquilly on for a couple of hundred yards, and was
+then artificially restrained by a dam, which, diverting it in part from
+its course, caused it to turn the wheels of a mill. Here was the abode
+of the unfortunate Richard Baldwyn, and here had blossomed forth the
+fair flower so untimely gathered. An air of gloom hung over this once
+cheerful spot: its very beauty contributing to this saddening effect.
+The mill-race flowed swiftly and brightly on; but the wheel was
+stopped, windows and doors were closed, and death kept his grim holiday
+undisturbed. No one was to be seen about the premises, nor was any sound
+heard except the bark of the lonely watch-dog. Many a sorrowing glance
+was cast at this forlorn habitation as the party rode past it, and many
+a sigh was heaved for the poor girl who had so lately been its pride and
+ornament; but if any one had noticed the bitter sneer curling the
+reeve's lip, or caught the malignant fire gleaming in his eye, it would
+scarcely have been thought that he shared in the general regret.
+
+After the cavalcade had passed the mill, one or two other cottages
+appeared on the near side of the river, while the opposite banks began
+to be clothed with timber. The glen became more and more contracted, and
+a stone bridge crossed the stream, near which, and on the same side of
+the river as the party, stood a cluster of cottages constituting the
+little village of Rough Lee.
+
+On reaching the bridge, Mistress Nutter's habitation came in view, and
+it was pointed out by Nicholas to Potts, who contemplated it with much
+curiosity. In his eyes it seemed exactly adapted to its owner, and
+formed to hide dark and guilty deeds. It was a stern, sombre-looking
+mansion, built of a dark grey stone, with tall square chimneys, and
+windows with heavy mullions. High stone walls, hoary and moss-grown, ran
+round the gardens and courts, except on the side of the river, where
+there was a terrace overlooking the stream, and forming a pleasant
+summer's walk. At the back of the house were a few ancient oaks and
+sycamores, and in the gardens were some old clipped yews.
+
+Part of this ancient mansion is still standing, and retains much of its
+original character, though subdivided and tenanted by several humble
+families. The garden is cut up into paddocks, and the approach environed
+by a labyrinth of low stone walls, while miserable sheds and other
+buildings are appended to it; the terrace is wholly obliterated; and the
+grange and offices are pulled down, but sufficient is still left of the
+place to give an idea of its pristine appearance and character. Its
+situation is striking and peculiar. In front rises a high hill, forming
+the last link of the chain of Pendle, and looking upon Barrowford and
+Colne, on the further side of which, and therefore not discernible from
+the mansion, stood Malkin Tower. At the period in question the lower
+part of this hill was well wooded, and washed by the Pendle Water, which
+swept past it through banks picturesque and beautiful, though not so
+bold and rocky as those in the neighbourhood of the mill. In the rear of
+the house the ground gradually rose for more than a quarter of a mile,
+when it obtained a considerable elevation, following the course of the
+stream, and looking down the gorge, another hill appeared, so that the
+house was completely shut in by mountainous acclivities. In winter,
+when the snow lay on the heights, or when the mists hung upon them for
+weeks together, or descended in continuous rain, Rough Lee was
+sufficiently desolate, and seemed cut off from all communication with
+the outer world; but at the season when the party beheld it, though the
+approaches were rugged and difficult, and almost inaccessible except to
+the horseman or pedestrian, bidding defiance to any vehicle except of
+the strongest construction, still the place was not without a certain
+charm, mainly, however, derived from its seclusion. The scenery was
+stern and sombre, the hills were dark and dreary; but the very wildness
+of the place was attractive, and the old house, with its grey walls, its
+lofty chimneys, its gardens with their clipped yews, and its
+rook-haunted trees, harmonised well with all around it.
+
+As the party drew near the house, the gates were thrown open by an old
+porter with two other servants, who besought them to stay and partake of
+some refreshment; but Roger Nowell haughtily and peremptorily declined
+the invitation, and rode on, and the others, though some of them would
+fain have complied, followed him.
+
+Scarcely were they gone, than James Device, who had been in the garden,
+issued from the gate and speeded after them.
+
+Passing through a close at the back of the mansion, and tracking a short
+narrow lane, edged by stone walls, the party, which had received some
+accessions from the cottages of Rough Lee, as well as from the huts on
+the hill-side, again approached the river, and proceeded along its
+banks.
+
+The new-comers, being all of them tenants of Mrs. Nutter, and acting
+apparently under the directions of James Device, who had now joined the
+troop, stoutly and loudly maintained that the lady would be found right
+in the inquiry, with the exception of one old man named Henry Mitton;
+and he shook his head gravely when appealed to by Jem, and could by no
+efforts be induced to join him in the clamour.
+
+Notwithstanding this demonstration, Roger Nowell and his legal adviser
+were both very sanguine as to the result of the survey being in their
+favour, and Master Potts turned to ascertain from Sparshot that the two
+plans, which had been rolled up and consigned to his custody, were quite
+safe.
+
+Meanwhile, the party having followed the course of Pendle Water through
+the glen for about half a mile, during which they kept close to the
+brawling current, entered a little thicket, and then striking off on the
+left, passed over the foot of a hill, and came to the edge of a wide
+moor, where a halt was called by Nowell.
+
+It being now announced that they were on the confines of the disputed
+property, preparations were immediately made for the survey; the plans
+were taken out of a quiver, in which they had been carefully deposited
+by Sparshot, and handed to Potts, who, giving one to Roger Nowell and
+the other to Nicholas, and opening his memorandum-book, declared that
+all was ready, and the two leaders rode slowly forward, while the rest
+of the troop followed, their curiosity being stimulated to the highest
+pitch.
+
+Presently Roger Nowell again stopped, and pointed to a woody brake.
+
+"We are now come," he said, "to a wood forming part of my property, and
+which from an eruption, caused by a spring, that took place in it many
+years ago, is called Burst Clough."
+
+"Exactly, sir--exactly," cried Potts; "Burst Clough--I have it
+here--landmarks, five grey stones, lying apart at a distance of one
+hundred yards or thereabouts, and giving you, sir, twenty acres of moor
+land. Is it not so, Master Nicholas? The marks are such as I have
+described, eh?"
+
+"They are, sir," replied the squire; "with this slight difference in the
+allotment of the land--namely, that Mistress Nutter claims the twenty
+acres, while she assigns you only ten."
+
+"Ten devils!" cried Roger Nowell, furiously. "Twenty acres are mine, and
+I will have them."
+
+"To the proof, then," rejoined Nicholas. "The first of the grey stones
+is here."
+
+"And the second on the left, in that hollow," said Roger Nowell. "Come
+on, my masters, come on."
+
+"Ay, come on!" cried Nicholas; "this perambulation will be rare sport.
+Who wins, for a piece of gold, cousin Richard?"
+
+"Nay, I will place no wager on the event," replied the young man.
+
+"Well, as you please," cried the squire; "but I would lay five to one
+that Mistress Nutter beats the magistrate."
+
+Meanwhile, the whole troop having set forward, they soon arrived at the
+second stone. Grey and moss-grown, it was deeply imbedded in the soil,
+and to all appearance had rested undisturbed for many a year.
+
+"You measure from the clough, I presume, sir?" remarked Potts to Nowell.
+
+"To be sure," replied the magistrate; "but how is this?--This stone
+seems to me much nearer the clough than it used to be."
+
+"Yeigh, so it dun, mester," observed old Mitton.
+
+"It does not appear to have been disturbed, at all events," said
+Nicholas, dismounting and examining it.
+
+"It would seem not," said Nowell--"and yet it certainly is not in its
+old place."
+
+"Yo are mistaen, mester," observed Jem Device; "ey knoa th' lond weel,
+an this stoan has stood where it does fo' t' last twenty year. Ha'n't
+it, neeburs?"
+
+"Yeigh--yeigh," responded several voices.
+
+"Well, let us go on to the next stone," said Potts, looking rather
+blank.
+
+Accordingly they went forward, the hinds exchanging significant looks,
+and Roger Nowell and Nicholas carefully examining their respective maps.
+
+"These landmarks exactly tally with my plan," said the squire, as they
+arrived at the third stone.
+
+"But not with mine," said Nowell; "this stone ought to be two hundred
+yards to the right. Some trickery has been practised."
+
+"Impossible!" exclaimed the squire; "these ponderous masses could never
+have been moved. Besides, there are several persons here who know every
+inch of the ground, and will give you their unbiassed testimony. What
+say you, my men? Are these the old boundary stones?"
+
+All answered in the affirmative except old Mitton, who still raised a
+dissenting voice.
+
+"They be th' owd boundary marks, sure enough," he said; "boh they are
+neaw i' their owd places."
+
+"It is quite clear that the twenty acres belong to Mistress Nutter,"
+observed Nicholas, "and that you must content yourself with ten, Master
+Nowell. Make an entry to that effect, Master Potts, unless you will have
+the ground measured."
+
+"No, it is needless," replied the magistrate, sharply; "let us go on."
+
+During this survey, some of the features of the country appeared changed
+to the rustics, but how or in what way they could not precisely tell,
+and they were easily induced by James Device to give their testimony in
+Mistress Nutter's favour.
+
+A small rivulet was now reached, and another halt being called upon its
+sedgy banks, the plans were again consulted.
+
+"What have we here, Master Potts--marks or boundaries?" inquired
+Richard, with a smile.
+
+"Both," replied Potts, angrily. "This rivulet, which I take to be Moss
+Brook, is a boundary, and that sheepfold and the two posts standing in a
+line with it are marks. But hold! how is this?" he cried, regarding the
+plan in dismay; "the five acres of waste land should be on the left of
+the brook."
+
+"It would doubtless suit Master Nowell better if it were so," said
+Nicholas; "but as they chance to be on the right, they belong to
+Mistress Nutter. I merely speak from the plan."
+
+"Your plan is naught, sir," cried Nowell, furiously, "By what foul
+practice these changes have been wrought I pretend not to say, though I
+can give a good guess; but the audacious witch who has thus deluded me
+shall bitterly rue it."
+
+"Hold, hold, Master Nowell!" rejoined Nicholas; "I can make great
+allowance for your anger, which is natural considering your
+disappointment, but I will not permit such unwarrantable insinuations to
+be thrown out against Mistress Nutter. You agreed to abide by Sir Ralph
+Assheton's award, and you must not complain if it be made against you.
+Do you imagine that this stream can have changed its course in a single
+night; or that yon sheepfold has been removed to the further side of
+it?"
+
+"I do," replied Nowell.
+
+"And so do I," cried Potts; "it has been accomplished by the aid of--"
+
+But feeling himself checked by a glance from the reeve, he stammered
+out, "of--of Mother Demdike."
+
+"You declared just now that marks, meres, and boundaries, were
+unremovable, Master Potts," said the reeve, with a sneer; "you have
+altered your opinion."
+
+The crestfallen attorney was dumb.
+
+"Master Roger Nowell must find some better plea than the imputation of
+witchcraft to set aside Mistress Nutter's claim," observed Richard.
+
+"Yeigh, that he mun," cried James Device, and the hinds who supported
+him.
+
+The magistrate bit his lips with vexation.
+
+"There is witchcraft in it, I repeat," he said.
+
+"Yeigh, that there be," responded old Mitton.
+
+But the words were scarcely uttered, when he was felled to the ground by
+the bludgeon of James Device.
+
+"Ey'd sarve thee i' t' same way, fo' two pins," said Jem, regarding
+Potts with a savage look.
+
+"No violence, Jem," cried Nicholas, authoritatively--"you do harm to the
+cause you would serve by your outrageous conduct."
+
+"Beg pardon, squoire," replied Jem, "boh ey winna hear lies towd abowt
+Mistress Nutter."
+
+"No one shan speak ill on her here," cried the hinds.
+
+"Well, Master Nowell," said Nicholas, "are you willing to concede the
+matter at once, or will you pursue the investigation further?"
+
+"I will ascertain the extent of the mischief done to me before I stop,"
+rejoined the magistrate, angrily.
+
+"Forward, then," cried Nicholas. "Our course now lies along this
+footpath, with a croft on the left, and an old barn on the right. Here
+the plans correspond, I believe, Master Potts?"
+
+The attorney yielded a reluctant assent.
+
+"There is next a small spring and trough on the right, and we then come
+to a limestone quarry--then by a plantation called Cat Gallows Wood--so
+named, because some troublesome mouser has been hanged there, I suppose,
+and next by a deep moss-pit, called Swallow Hole. All right, eh, Master
+Potts? We shall now enter upon Worston Moor, and come to the hut
+occupied by Jem Device, who can, it is presumed, speak positively as to
+its situation."
+
+"Very true," cried Potts, as if struck by an idea. "Let the rascal step
+forward. I wish to put a few questions to him respecting his tenement.
+I think I shall catch him now," he added in a low tone to Nowell.
+
+"Here ey be," cried Jem, stepping up with an insolent and defying look.
+"Whot d'ye want wi' me?"
+
+"First of all I would caution you to speak the truth," commenced Potts,
+impressively, "as I shall take down your answers in my memorandum book,
+and they will be produced against you hereafter."
+
+"If he utters a falsehood I will commit him," said Roger Nowell,
+sharply.
+
+"Speak ceevily, an ey win gi' yo a ceevil answer," rejoined Jem, in a
+surly tone; "boh ey'm nah to be browbeaten."
+
+"First, then, is your hut in sight?" asked Potts.
+
+"Neaw," replied Jem.
+
+"But you can point out its situation, I suppose?" pursued the attorney.
+
+"Sartinly ey con," replied Jem, without heeding a significant glance
+cast at him by the reeve. "It stonds behind yon kloof, ot soide o' t'
+moor, wi' a rindle in front."
+
+"Now mind what you say, sirrah," cried Potts. "You are quite sure the
+hut is behind the clough; and the rindle, which, being interpreted from
+your base vernacular, I believe means a gutter, in front of it?"
+
+The reeve coughed slightly, but failed to attract Jem's attention, who
+replied quickly, that he was quite sure of the circumstances.
+
+"Very well," said Potts--"you have all heard the answer. He is quite
+sure as to what he states. Now, then, I suppose you can tell whether the
+hut looks to the north or the south; whether the door opens to the moor
+or to the clough; and whether there is a path leading from it to a spot
+called Hook Cliff?"
+
+At this moment Jem caught the eye of the reeve, and the look given him
+by the latter completely puzzled him.
+
+"Ey dunna reetly recollect which way it looks," he answered.
+
+"What! you prevaricating rascal, do you pretend to say that you do not
+know which way your own dwelling stands," thundered Roger Nowell. "Speak
+out, sirrah, or Sparshot shall take you into custody at once."
+
+"Ey'm ready, your worship," replied the beadle.
+
+"Weel, then," said Jem, imperfectly comprehending the signs made to him
+by the reeve, "the hut looks nather to t' south naw to t' north, but to
+t' west; it feaces t' moor; an there is a path fro' it to Hook Cliff."
+
+As he finished speaking, he saw from the reeve's angry gestures that he
+had made a mistake, but it was now too late to recall his words.
+However, he determined to make an effort.
+
+"Now ey bethink me, ey'm naw sure that ey'm reet," he said.
+
+"You must be sure, sirrah," said Roger Nowell, bending his awful brows
+upon him. "You cannot be mistaken as to your own dwelling. Take down his
+description, Master Potts, and proceed with your interrogatories if you
+have any more to put to him."
+
+"I wish to ask him whether he has been at home to-day," said Potts.
+
+"Answer, fellow," thundered the magistrate.
+
+Before replying, Jem would fain have consulted the reeve, but the latter
+had turned away in displeasure. Not knowing whether a lie would serve
+his turn, and fearing he might be contradicted by some of the
+bystanders, he said he had not been at home for two days, but had
+returned the night before at a late hour from Whalley, and had slept at
+Rough Lee.
+
+"Then you cannot tell what changes may have taken place in your dwelling
+during your absence?" said Potts.
+
+"Of course not," replied Jem, "boh ey dunna see how ony chawnges con ha'
+happent i' so short a time."
+
+"But I do, if you do not, sirrah," said Potts. "Be pleased to give me
+your plan, Master Newell. I have a further question to ask him," he
+added, after consulting it for a moment.
+
+"Ey win awnser nowt more," replied Jem, gruffly.
+
+"You will answer whatever questions Master Potts may put to you, or you
+are taken into custody," said the magistrate, sternly.
+
+Jem would have willingly beaten a retreat; but being surrounded by the
+two grooms and Sparshot, who only waited a sign from Nowell to secure
+him, or knock him down if he attempted to fly, he gave a surly
+intimation that he was ready to speak.
+
+"You are aware that a dyke intersects the heath before us, namely,
+Worston Moor?" said Potts.
+
+Jem nodded his head.
+
+"I must request particular attention to your plan as I proceed, Master
+Nicholas," pursued the attorney. "I now wish to be informed by you,
+James Device, whether that dyke cuts through the middle of the moor, or
+traverses the side; and if so, which side? I desire also to be informed
+where it commences, and where, it ends?"
+
+Jem scratched his head, and reflected a moment.
+
+"The matter does not require consideration, sirrah," cried Nowell. "I
+must have an instant answer."
+
+"So yo shan," replied Jem; "weel, then, th' dyke begins near a little
+mound ca'd Turn Heaod, about a hundert yards fro' my dwellin', an runs
+across th' easterly soide o't moor till it reaches Knowl Bottom."
+
+"You will swear this?" cried Potts, scarcely able to conceal his
+satisfaction.
+
+"Swere it! eigh," replied Jem.
+
+"Eigh, we'n aw swere it," chorused the hinds.
+
+"I'm delighted to hear it," cried Potts, radiant with delight, "for
+your description corresponds exactly with Master Nowell's plan, and
+differs materially from that of Mistress Nutter, as Squire Nicholas
+Assheton will tell you."
+
+"I cannot deny it," replied Nicholas, in some confusion.
+
+"Ey should ha' said 'westerly' i' stead o' 'yeasterly,'" cried Jem, "boh
+yo puzzle a mon so wi' your lawyerly questins, that he dusna knoa his
+reet hond fro' his laft."
+
+"Yeigh, yeigh, we aw meant to say 'yeasterly,'" added the hinds.
+
+"You have sworn the contrary," cried Nowell. "Secure him," he added to
+the grooms and Sparshot, "and do not let him go till we have completed
+the survey. We will now see how far the reality corresponds with the
+description, and what further devilish tricks have been played with the
+property."
+
+Upon this the troop was again put in motion, James Device walking
+between the two grooms, with Sparshot behind him.
+
+So wonderfully elated was Master Potts by the successful hit he had just
+made, and which, in his opinion, quite counterbalanced his previous
+failure, that he could not help communicating his satisfaction to Flint,
+and this in such manner, that the fiery little animal, who had been for
+some time exceedingly tractable and good-natured, took umbrage at it,
+and threatened to dislodge him if he did not desist from his
+vagaries--delivering the hint so clearly and unmistakeably that it was
+not lost upon his rider, who endeavoured to calm him down. In proportion
+as the attorney's spirits rose, those of James Device and his followers
+sank, for they felt they were caught in a snare, from which they could
+not easily escape.
+
+By this time they had reached the borders of Worston Moor, which had
+been hitherto concealed by a piece of rising ground, covered with gorse
+and brushwood, and Jem's hut, together with the clough, the rindle, and
+the dyke, came distinctly into view. The plans were again produced, and,
+on comparing them, it appeared that the various landmarks were precisely
+situated as laid down by Mistress Nutter, while their disposition was
+entirely at variance with James Device's statement.
+
+Master Potts then rose in his stirrups, and calling for silence,
+addressed the assemblage.
+
+"There stands the hut," he said, "and instead of being behind the
+clough, it is on one side of it, while the door certainly does _not_
+face the moor, neither is the rindle in front of the dwelling or near
+it; while the dyke, which is the main and important boundary line
+between the properties, runs above two hundred yards further west than
+formerly. Now, observe the original position of these marks, meres, and
+boundaries--that is, of this hut, this clough, this rindle, and this
+dyke--exactly corresponds with the description given of them by the man
+Device, who dwells in the place, and who is, therefore, a person most
+likely to be accurately acquainted with the country; and yet, though he
+has only been absent two days, changes the most surprising have taken
+place--changes so surprising, indeed, that he scarcely knows the way to
+his own house, and certainly never could find the path which he has
+described as leading to Hook Cliff, since it is entirely obliterated.
+Observe, further, all these extraordinary and incomprehensible changes
+in the appearance of the country, and in the situation of the marks,
+meres, and boundaries, are favourable to Mistress Nutter, and give her
+the advantage she seeks over my honoured and honourable client. They are
+set down in Mistress Nutter's plan, it is true; but when, let me ask,
+was that plan prepared? In my opinion it was prepared first, and the
+changes in the land made after it by diabolical fraud and contrivance. I
+am sorry to have to declare this to you, Master Nicholas, and to you,
+Master Richard, but such is my firm conviction."
+
+"And mine, also," added Nowell; "and I here charge Mistress Nutter with
+sorcery and witchcraft, and on my return I will immediately issue a
+warrant for her arrest. Sparshot, I command you to attach the person of
+James Device, for aiding and abetting her in her foul practices."
+
+"I will help you to take charge of him," said the reeve, riding forward.
+
+Probably this was done to give Jem a chance of escape, and if so, it was
+successful, for as the reeve pushed among his captors, and thrust
+Sparshot aside, the ruffian broke from them; and running with great
+swiftness across the moor, plunged into the clough, and disappeared.
+
+Nicholas and Richard instantly gave chase, as did Master Potts, but the
+fugitive led them over the treacherous bog in such a manner as to baffle
+all pursuit. A second disaster here overtook the unlucky attorney, and
+damped him in his hour of triumph. Flint, who had apparently not
+forgotten or forgiven the joyous kicks he had recently received from the
+attorney's heels, came to a sudden halt by the side of the quagmire,
+and, putting down his head, and flinging up his legs, cast him into it.
+While Potts was scrambling out, the animal galloped off in the direction
+of the clough, and had just reached it when he was seized upon by James
+Device, who suddenly started from the covert, and vaulted upon his back.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.--ROUGH LEE.
+
+
+On returning from their unsuccessful pursuit of James Device, the two
+Asshetons found Roger Nowell haranguing the hinds, who, on the flight of
+their leader, would have taken to their heels likewise, if they had not
+been detained, partly by the energetic efforts of Sparshot and the
+grooms, and partly by the exhortations and menaces of the magistrate and
+Holden. As it was, two or three contrived to get away, and fled across
+the moor, whither the reeve pretended to pursue them; while those left
+behind were taken sharply to task by Roger Nowell.
+
+"Listen to me," he cried, "and take good heed to what I say, for it
+concerns you nearly. Strange and dreadful things have come under my
+observation on my way hither. I have seen a whole village stricken as by
+a plague--a poor pedlar deprived of the use of his limbs and put in
+peril of his life--and a young maiden, once the pride and ornament of
+your own village, snatched from a fond father's care, and borne to an
+untimely grave. These things I have seen with my own eyes; and I am
+resolved that the perpetrators of these enormities, Mothers Demdike and
+Chattox, shall be brought to justice. As to you, the deluded victims of
+the impious hags, I can easily understand why you shut your eyes to
+their evil doings. Terrified by their threats you submit to their
+exactions, and so become their slaves--slaves of the bond-slaves of
+Satan. What miserable servitude is this! By so doing you not only
+endanger the welfare of your souls, by leaguing with the enemies of
+Heaven, and render yourselves unworthy to be classed with a religious
+and Christian people, but you place your lives in jeopardy by becoming
+accessories to the crimes of those great offenders, and render
+yourselves liable to like punishment with them. Seeing, then, the
+imminency of the peril in which you stand, you will do well to avoid it
+while there is yet time. Nor is this your only risk. Your servitude to
+Mistress Nutter is equally perilous. What if she be owner of the land
+you till, and the flocks you tend! You owe her no fealty. She has
+forfeited all title to your service--and, so far from aiding her, you
+ought to regard her as a great criminal, whom you are bound to bring to
+justice. I have now incontestable proofs of her dealing in the black
+art, and can show that by witchcraft she has altered the face of this
+country, with the intent to rob me of my land."
+
+Holden now took up the theme. "The finger of Heaven is pointed against
+such robbery," he cried. "'Cursed is he,' saith the scripture, 'that
+removeth his neighbour's landmark.' And again, it is written, 'Cursed is
+he that smiteth his neighbour secretly.' Both these things hath Mistress
+Nutter done, and for both shall she incur divine vengeance."
+
+"Neither shall she escape that of man," added Nowell, severely; "for our
+sovereign lord hath enacted that all persons employing or rewarding any
+evil spirit, shall be held guilty of felony, and shall suffer death. And
+death will be her portion, for such demoniacal agency most assuredly
+hath she employed."
+
+The magistrate here paused for a moment to regard his audience, and
+reading in their terrified looks that his address had produced the
+desired impression, he continued with increased severity--
+
+"These wicked women shall trouble the land no longer. They shall be
+arrested and brought to judgment; and if you do not heartily bestir
+yourselves in their capture, and undertake to appear in evidence against
+them, you shall be held and dealt with as accessories in their crimes."
+
+Upon this, the hinds, who were greatly alarmed, declared with one accord
+their willingness to act as the magistrate should direct.
+
+"You do wisely," cried Potts, who by this time had made his way back to
+the assemblage, covered from head to foot with ooze, as on his former
+misadventure. "Mistress Nutter and the two old hags who hold you in
+thrall would lead you to destruction. For understand it is the firm
+determination of my respected client, Master Roger Nowell, as well as of
+myself, not to relax in our exertions till the whole of these pestilent
+witches who trouble the country be swept away, and to spare none who
+assist and uphold them."
+
+The hinds stared aghast, for so grim was the appearance of the attorney,
+that they almost thought Hobthurst, the lubber-fiend, was addressing
+them.
+
+At this moment old Henry Mitton came up. He had partially recovered from
+the stunning effects of the blow dealt him by James Device, but his head
+was cut open, and his white locks were dabbled in blood. Pushing his way
+through the assemblage, he stood before the magistrate.
+
+"If yo want a witness agen that foul murtheress and witch, Alice Nutter,
+ca' me, Master Roger Nowell," he said. "Ey con tay my Bible oath that
+the whole feace o' this keawntry has been chaunged sin yester neet, by
+her hondywark. Ca' me also to speak to her former life--to her intimacy
+wi' Mother Demdike an owd Chattox. Ca' me to prove her constant
+attendance at devils' sabbaths on Pendle Hill, and elsewhere, wi' other
+black and damning offences--an among 'em the murder, by witchcraft, o'
+her husband, Ruchot Nutter."
+
+A thrill of horror pervaded the assemblage at this denunciation; and
+Master Potts, who was being cleansed from his sable stains by one of the
+grooms, cried out--
+
+"This is the very man for us, my excellent client. Your name and abode,
+friend?"
+
+"Harry Mitton o' Rough Lee," replied the old man. "Ey ha' dwelt there
+seventy year an uppards, an ha' known the feyther and granfeyther o'
+Ruchot Nutter, an also Alice Nutter, when hoo war Alice Assheton. Ca'
+me, sir, an aw' ye want to knoa ye shan larn."
+
+"We will call you, my good friend," said Potts; "and, if you have
+sustained any private wrongs from Mistress Nutter, they shall be amply
+redressed."
+
+"Ey ha' endured much ot her honts," rejoined Mitton; "boh ey dunna speak
+o' mysel'. It be high time that Owd Scrat should ha' his claws clipt, an
+honest folk be allowed to live in peace."
+
+"Very true, my worthy friend--very true," assented Potts.
+
+An immediate return to Whalley was now proposed by Nowell; but Master
+Potts was of opinion that, as they were in the neighbourhood of Malkin
+Tower, they should proceed thither at once, and effect the arrest of
+Mother Demdike, after which Mother Chattox could be sought out and
+secured. The presence of these two witches would be most important, he
+declared, in the examination of Mistress Nutter. Hue and cry for the
+fugitive, James Device, ought also to be made throughout the forest.
+
+Confounded by what they heard, Richard and Nicholas had hitherto taken
+no part in the proceedings, but they now seconded Master Potts's
+proposition, hoping that the time occupied by the visit to Malkin Tower
+would prove serviceable to Mistress Nutter; for they did not doubt that
+intelligence would be conveyed to her by some of her agents, of Nowell's
+intention to arrest her.
+
+Additional encouragement was given to the plan by the arrival of Richard
+Baldwyn, who, at this juncture, rode furiously up to the party.
+
+"Weel, han yo settled your business here, Mester Nowell?" he asked, in
+breathless anxiety.
+
+"We have so far settled it, that we have established proofs of
+witchcraft against Mistress Nutter," replied Nowell. "Can you speak to
+her character, Baldwyn?"
+
+"Yeigh, that ey con," rejoined the miller, "an nowt good. Ey wish to see
+aw these mischeevous witches burnt; an that's why ey ha' ridden efter
+yo, Mester Nowell. Ey want your help os a magistrate agen Mother
+Demdike. Yo ha a constable wi' ye, and so can arrest her at wonst."
+
+"You have come most opportunely, Baldwyn," observed Potts. "We were just
+considering whether we should go to Malkin Tower."
+
+"Then decide upon 't," rejoined the miller, "or th' owd hag win escape
+ye. Tak her unaweares."
+
+"I don't know that we shall take her unawares, Baldwyn," said Potts;
+"but I am decidedly of opinion that we should go thither without delay.
+Is Malkin Tower far off?"
+
+"About a mile fro' Rough Lee," replied the miller. "Go back wi' me to t'
+mill, where yo con refresh yourselves, an ey'n get together some dozen
+o' my friends, an then we'n aw go up to t' Tower together."
+
+"A very good suggestion," said Potts; "and no doubt Master Nowell will
+accede to it."
+
+"We have force enough already, it appears to me," observed Nowell.
+
+"I should think so," replied Richard. "Some dozen men, armed, against a
+poor defenceless old woman, are surely enough."
+
+"Owd, boh neaw defenceless, Mester Ruchot," rejoined Baldwyn. "Yo canna
+go i' too great force on an expedition like this. Malkin Tower is a
+varry strong place, os yo'n find."
+
+"Well," said Nowell, "since we are here, I agree with Master Potts, that
+it would be better to secure these two offenders, and convey them to
+Whalley, where their examination can be taken at the same time with that
+of Mistress Nutter. We therefore accept your offer of refreshment,
+Baldwyn, as some of our party may stand in need of it, and will at once
+proceed to the mill."
+
+"Well resolved, sir," said Potts.
+
+"We'n tae th' owd witch, dead or alive," cried Baldwyn.
+
+"Alive--we must have her alive, good Baldwyn," said Potts. "You must see
+her perish at the stake."
+
+"Reet, mon," cried the miller, his eyes blazing with fury; "that's true
+vengeance. Ey'n ride whoam an get aw ready fo ye. Yo knoa t' road."
+
+So saying, he struck spurs into his horse and galloped off. Scarcely was
+he gone than the reeve, who had kept out of his sight, came forward.
+
+"Since you have resolved upon going to Malkin Tower," he said to Nowell,
+"and have a sufficiently numerous party for the purpose, my further
+attendance can be dispensed with. I will ride in search of James
+Device."
+
+"Do so," replied the magistrate, "and let hue and cry be made after
+him."
+
+"It shall be," replied the reeve, "and, if taken, he shall be conveyed
+to Whalley."
+
+And he made towards the clough, as if with the intention of putting his
+words into execution.
+
+Word was now given to set forward, and Master Potts having been
+accommodated with a horse by one of the grooms, who proceeded on foot,
+the party began to retrace their course to the mill.
+
+They were soon again by the side of Pendle Water, and erelong reached
+Rough Lee. As they rode through the close at the back of the mansion,
+Roger Nowell halted for a moment, and observed with a grim smile to
+Richard--
+
+"Never more shall Mistress Nutter enter that house. Within a week she
+shall be lodged in Lancaster Castle, as a felon of the darkest dye, and
+she shall meet a felon's fate. And not only shall she be sent thither,
+but all her partners in guilt--Mother Demdike and her accursed brood,
+the Devices; old Chattox and her grand-daughter, Nance Redferne: not one
+shall escape."
+
+"You do not include Alizon Device in your list?" cried Richard.
+
+"I include all--I will spare none," rejoined Nowell, sternly.
+
+"Then I will move no further with you," said Richard.
+
+"How!" cried Newell, "are you an upholder of these witches? Beware what
+you do, young man. Beware how you take part with them. You will bring
+suspicion upon yourself, and get entangled in a net from which you will
+not easily escape."
+
+"I care not what may happen to me," rejoined Richard; "I will never lend
+myself to gross injustice--such as you are about to practise. Since you
+announce your intention of including the innocent with the guilty, of
+exterminating a whole family for the crimes of one or two of its
+members, I have done. You have made dark accusations against Mistress
+Nutter, but you have proved nothing. You assert that, by witchcraft, she
+has changed the features of your land, but in what way can you make good
+the charge? Old Mitton has, indeed, volunteered himself as a witness
+against her, and has accused her of most heinous offences; but he has at
+the same time shown that he is her enemy, and his testimony will be
+regarded with doubt. I will not believe her guilty on mere suspicion,
+and I deny that you have aught more to proceed upon."
+
+"I shall not argue the point with you now, sir," replied Nowell;
+angrily. "Mistress Nutter will be fairly tried, and if I fail in my
+proofs against her, she will be acquitted. But I have little fear of
+such a result," he added, with a sinister smile.
+
+"You are confident, sir, because you know there would be every
+disposition to find her guilty," replied Richard. "She will not be
+fairly tried. All the prejudices of ignorance and superstition,
+heightened by the published opinions of the King, will be arrayed
+against her. Were she as free from crime, or thought of crime, as the
+new-born babe, once charged with the horrible and inexplicable offence
+of witchcraft, she would scarce escape. You go determined to destroy
+her."
+
+"I will not deny it," said Roger Newell, "and I am satisfied that I
+shall render good service to society by freeing it from so vile a
+member. So abhorrent is the crime of witchcraft, that were my own son
+suspected, I would be the first to deliver him to justice. Like a
+noxious and poisonous plant, the offence has taken deep root in this
+country, and is spreading its baneful influence around, so that, if it
+be not extirpated, it may spring up anew, and cause incalculable
+mischief. But it shall now be effectually checked. Of the families I
+have mentioned, not one shall escape; and if Mistress Nutter herself had
+a daughter, she should be brought to judgment. In such cases, children
+must suffer for the sins of the parents."
+
+"You have no regard, then, for their innocence?" said Richard, who felt
+as if a weight of calamity was crushing him down.
+
+"Their innocence must be proved at the proper tribunal," rejoined
+Nowell. "It is not for me to judge them."
+
+"But you do judge them," cried Richard, sharply. "In making the charge,
+you know that you pronounce the sentence of condemnation as well. This
+is why the humane man--why the just--would hesitate to bring an
+accusation even where he suspected guilt--but where suspicion could not
+possibly attach, he would never suffer himself, however urged on by
+feelings of animosity, to injure the innocent."
+
+"You ascribe most unworthy motives to me, young sir," rejoined Nowell,
+sternly. "I am influenced only by a desire to see justice administered,
+and I shall not swerve from my duty, because my humanity may be called
+in question by a love-sick boy. I understand why you plead thus warmly
+for these infamous persons. You are enthralled by the beauty of the
+young witch, Alizon Device. I noted how you were struck by her
+yesterday--and I heard what Sir Thomas Metcalfe said on the subject. But
+take heed what you do. You may jeopardise both soul and body in the
+indulgence of this fatal passion. Witchcraft is exercised in many ways.
+Its professors have not only power to maim and to kill, and to do other
+active mischief, but to ensnare the affections and endanger the souls of
+their victims, by enticing them to unhallowed love. Alizon Device is
+comely to view, no doubt, but who shall say whence her beauty is
+derived? Hell may have arrayed her in its fatal charms. Sin is
+beautiful, but all-destructive. And the time will come when you may
+thank me for delivering you from the snares of this seductive siren."
+Richard uttered an angry exclamation.
+
+"Not now--I do not expect it--you are too much besotted by her," pursued
+Nowell; "but I conjure you to cast off this wicked and senseless
+passion, which, unless checked, will lead you to perdition. You have
+heard what abominable rites are practised at those unholy meetings
+called Devil's Sabbaths, and how can you say that some demon may not be
+your rival in Alizon's love?"
+
+"You pass all licence, sir," cried Richard, infuriated past endurance;
+"and, if you do not instantly retract the infamous accusation you have
+made, neither your age nor your office shall protect you."
+
+"I can fortunately protect myself, young man," replied Nowell, coldly;
+"and if aught were wanting to confirm my suspicions that you were under
+some evil influence, it would be supplied by your present conduct. You
+are bewitched by this girl."
+
+"It is false!" cried Richard.
+
+And he raised his hand against the magistrate, when Nicholas quickly
+interposed.
+
+"Nay, cousin Dick," cried the squire, "this must not be. You must take
+other means of defending the poor girl, whose innocence I will maintain
+as stoutly as yourself. But, since Master Roger Nowell is resolved to
+proceed to extremities, I shall likewise take leave to retire."
+
+"Your pardon, sir," rejoined Nowell; "you will not withdraw till I think
+fit. Master Richard Assheton, forgetful alike of the respect due to age
+and constituted authority, has ventured to raise his hand against me,
+for which, if I chose, I could place him in immediate arrest. But I
+have no such intention. On the contrary, I am willing to overlook the
+insult, attributing it to the frenzy by which he is possessed. But both
+he and you, Master Nicholas, are mistaken if you suppose I will permit
+you to retire. As a magistrate in the exercise of my office, I call upon
+you both to aid me in the capture of the two notorious witches, Mothers
+Demdike and Chattox, and not to desist or depart from me till such
+capture be effected. You know the penalty of refusal."
+
+"Heavy fine or imprisonment, at the option of the magistrate," remarked
+Potts.
+
+"My cousin Nicholas will do as he pleases," observed Richard; "but, for
+my part, I will not stir a step further."
+
+"Nor will I," added Nicholas, "unless I have Master Nowell's solemn
+pledge that he will take no proceedings against Alizon Device."
+
+"You can give no such assurance, sir," whispered Potts, seeing that the
+magistrate wavered in his resolution.
+
+"You must go, then," said Nowell, "and take the consequences of your
+refusal to act with me. Your relationship to Mistress Nutter will not
+tell in your favour."
+
+"I understand the implied threat," said Nicholas, "and laugh at it.
+Richard, lad, I am with you. Let him catch the witches himself, if he
+can. I will not budge an inch further with him."
+
+"Farewell, then, gentlemen," replied Roger Nowell; "I am sorry to part
+company with you thus, but when next we meet--" and he paused.
+
+"We meet as enemies, I presume" supplied Nicholas.
+
+"We meet no longer as friends," rejoined the magistrate, coldly.
+
+With this he moved forward with the rest of the troop, while the two
+Asshetons, after a moment's consultation, passed through a gate and made
+their way to the back of the mansion, where they found one or two men on
+the look-out, from whom they received intelligence, which induced them
+immediately to spring from their horses and hurry into the house.
+
+Arrived at the principal entrance of the mansion, which was formed by
+large gates of open iron-work, admitting a view of the garden and front
+of the house, Roger Nowell again called a halt, and Master Potts, at his
+request, addressed the porter and two other serving-men who were
+standing in the garden, in this fashion--
+
+"Pay attention to what I say to you, my men," he cried in a loud and
+authoritative voice--"a warrant will this day be issued for the arrest
+of Alice Nutter of Rough Lee, in whose service you have hitherto dwelt,
+and who is charged with the dreadful crime of witchcraft, and with
+invoking, consulting, and covenanting with, entertaining, employing,
+feeding, and rewarding evil spirits, contrary to the laws of God and
+man, and in express violation of his Majesty's statute. Now take
+notice, that if the said Alice Nutter shall at any time hereafter return
+to this her former abode, or take refuge within it, you are hereby bound
+to deliver her up forthwith to the nearest constable, to be by him
+brought before the worshipful Master Roger Nowell of Read, in this
+county, so that she may be examined by him on these charges. You hear
+what I have said?"
+
+The men exchanged significant glances, but made no reply.
+
+Potts was about to address them, but to his surprise he saw the central
+door of the house thrown open, and Mistress Nutter issue from it. She
+marched slowly and majestically down the broad gravel walk towards the
+gate. The attorney could scarcely believe his eyes, and he exclaimed to
+the magistrate with a chuckle--
+
+"Who would have thought of this! We have her safe enough now. Ha! ha!"
+
+But no corresponding smile played upon Nowell's hard lips. His gaze was
+fixed inquiringly upon the lady.
+
+Another surprise. From the same door issued Alizon Device, escorted by
+Nicholas and Richard Assheton, who walked on either side of her, and the
+three followed Mistress Nutter slowly down the broad walk. Such a
+display seemed to argue no want of confidence. Alizon did not look
+towards the group outside the gates, but seemed listening eagerly to
+what Richard was saying to her.
+
+"So, Master Nowell," cried Mistress Nutter, boldly, "since you find
+yourself defeated in the claims you have made against my property, you
+are seeking to revenge yourself, I understand, by bringing charges
+against me as false as they are calumnious. But I defy your malice, and
+can defend myself against your violence."
+
+"If I could be astonished at any thing in you, madam, I should be at
+your audacity," rejoined Nowell, "but I am glad that you have presented
+yourself before me; for it was my fixed intention, on my return to
+Whalley, to cause your arrest, and your unexpected appearance here
+enables me to put my design into execution somewhat sooner than I
+anticipated."
+
+Mistress Nutter laughed scornfully.
+
+"Sparshot," vociferated Nowell, "enter those gates, and arrest the lady
+in the King's name."
+
+The beadle looked irresolute. He did not like the task.
+
+"The gates are fastened," cried Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Force them open, then," roared Nowell, dismounting and shaking them
+furiously. "Bring me a heavy stone. By heaven I I will not be baulked of
+my prey."
+
+"My servants are armed," cried Mistress Nutter, "and the first man who
+enters shall pay the penalty of has rashness with life. Bring me a
+petronel, Blackadder."
+
+The order was promptly obeyed by the ill-favoured attendant, who was
+stationed near the gate.
+
+"I am in earnest," said Mistress Nutter, aiming the petronel, "and
+seldom miss my mark."
+
+"Give attention to me, my men," cried Roger Nowell. "I charge you in the
+King's name to throw open the gate."
+
+"And I charge you in mine to keep it fast," rejoined Mistress Nutter.
+"We shall see who will be obeyed."
+
+One of the grooms now advanced with a large stone taken from an
+adjoining wall, which he threw with great force against the gates, but
+though it shook them violently the fastenings continued firm. Blackadder
+and the two other serving-men, all of whom were armed with halberts, now
+advanced to the gates, and, thrusting the points of their weapons
+through the bars, drove back those who were near them.
+
+A short consultation now took place between Nowell and Potts, after
+which the latter, taking care to keep out of the reach of the halberts,
+thus delivered himself in a loud voice:--
+
+"Alice Nutter, in order to avoid the serious consequences which might
+ensue were the necessary measures taken to effect a forcible entrance
+into your habitation, the worshipful Master Nowell has thought fit to
+grant you an hour's respite for reflection; at the expiration of which
+time he trusts that you, seeing the futility of resisting the law, will
+quietly yield yourself a prisoner. Otherwise, no further leniency will
+be shown you and those who may uphold you in your contumacy."
+
+Mistress Nutter laughed loudly and contemptuously.
+
+"At the same time," pursued Potts, on a suggestion from the magistrate,
+"Master Roger Nowell demands that Alizon Device, daughter of Elizabeth
+Device, whom he beholds in your company, and who is likewise suspected
+of witchcraft, be likewised delivered up to him."
+
+"Aught more?" inquired Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Only this," replied Potts, in a taunting tone, "the worshipful
+magistrate would offer a friendly counsel to Master Nicholas Assheton,
+and Master Richard Assheton, whom, to his infinite surprise, he
+perceives in a hostile position before him, that they in nowise
+interfere with his injunctions, but, on the contrary, lend their aid in
+furtherance of them, otherwise he may be compelled to adopt measures
+towards them, which must be a source of regret to him. I have
+furthermore to state, on the part of his worship, that strict watch will
+be kept at all the approaches of your house, and that no one, on any
+pretence whatever, during the appointed time of respite, will be
+suffered to enter it, or depart from it. In an hour his worship will
+return."
+
+"And in an hour he shall have my answer," replied Mistress Nutter,
+turning away.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.--HOW ROUGH LEE WAS DEFENDED BY NICHOLAS.
+
+
+When skies are darkest, and storms are gathering thickest overhead, the
+star of love will oft shine out with greatest brilliancy; and so, while
+Mistress Nutter was hurling defiance against her foes at the gate, and
+laughing their menaces to scorn--while those very foes were threatening
+Alizon's liberty and life--she had become wholly insensible to the peril
+environing her, and almost unconscious of any other presence save that
+of Richard, now her avowed lover; for, impelled by the irresistible
+violence of his feelings, the young man had chosen that moment,
+apparently so unpropitious, and so fraught with danger and alarm, for
+the declaration of his passion, and the offer of his life in her
+service. A few low-murmured words were all Alizon could utter in reply,
+but they were enough. They told Richard his passion was requited, and
+his devotion fully appreciated. Sweet were those moments to both--sweet,
+though sad. Like Alizon, her lover had become insensible to all around
+him. Engrossed by one thought and one object, he was lost to aught else,
+and was only at last aroused to what was passing by the squire, who,
+having good-naturedly removed to a little distance from the pair, now
+gave utterance to a low whistle, to let them know that Mistress Nutter
+was coming towards them. The lady, however, did not stop, but motioning
+them to follow, entered the house.
+
+"You have heard what has passed," she said. "In an hour Master Nowell
+threatens to return and arrest me and Alizon."
+
+"That shall never be," cried Richard, with a passionate look at the
+young girl. "We will defend you with our lives."
+
+"Much may be done in an hour," observed Nicholas to Mistress Nutter,
+"and my advice to you is to use the time allowed you in making good your
+retreat, so that, when the hawks come back, they may find the doves
+flown."
+
+"I have no intention of quitting my dovecot," replied Mistress Nutter,
+with a bitter smile.
+
+"Unless you are forcibly taken from it, I suppose," said the squire; "a
+contingency not impossible if you await Roger Nowell's return. This
+time, be assured, he will not go away empty-handed."
+
+"He may not go away at all," rejoined Mistress Nutter, sternly.
+
+"Then you mean to make a determined resistance?" said Nicholas.
+"Recollect that you are resisting the law. I wish I could induce you to
+resort to the safer expedient of flight. This affair is already dark and
+perplexed enough, and does not require further complication. Find any
+place of concealment, no matter where, till some arrangement can be made
+with Roger Nowell."
+
+"I should rather urge you to fly, Nicholas," rejoined the lady; "for it
+is evident you have strong misgivings as to the justice of my cause,
+and would not willingly compromise yourself. I will not surrender to
+this magistrate, because, by so doing, my life would assuredly be
+forfeited, for my innocence could never be established before the
+iniquitous and bloody tribunal to which I should be brought. Neither,
+for the same reason, will I surrender Alizon, who, with a refinement of
+malignity, has been similarly accused. I shall now proceed to make
+preparations for my defence. Go, if you think fitting--or stay--but if
+you _do_ stay, I shall calculate upon your active services."
+
+"You may," replied the squire. "Whatever I may think, I admire your
+spirit, and will stand by you. But time is passing, and the foe will
+return and find us engaged in deliberation when we ought to be prepared.
+You have a dozen men on the premises on whom you can rely. Half of these
+must be placed at the back of the house to prevent any entrance from
+being effected in that quarter. The rest can remain within the entrance
+hall, and be ready to rush forth when summoned by us; but we will not so
+summon them unless we are hardly put to it, and their aid is
+indispensable. All should be well armed, but I trust they will not have
+to use their weapons. Are you agreed to this, madam?"
+
+"I am," replied Mistress Nutter, "and I will give instant directions
+that your wishes are complied with. All approaches to the back of the
+house shall be strictly guarded as you direct, and my trusty man,
+Blackadder, on whose fidelity and courage I can entirely rely, shall
+take the command of the party in the hall, and act under your orders.
+Your prowess will not be unobserved, for Alizon and I shall be in the
+upper room commanding the garden, whence we can see all that takes
+place."
+
+A slight smile was exchanged between the lovers; but it was evident,
+from her anxious looks, that Alizon did not share in Richard's
+confidence. An opportunity, however, was presently afforded him of again
+endeavouring to reassure her, for Mistress Nutter went forth to give
+Blackadder his orders, and Nicholas betook himself to the back of the
+house to ascertain, from personal inspection, its chance of security.
+
+"You are still uneasy, dear Alizon," said Richard, taking her hand; "but
+do not be cast down. No harm shall befall you."
+
+"It is not for myself I am apprehensive," she replied, "but for you, who
+are about to expose yourself to needless risk in this encounter; and, if
+any thing should happen to you, I shall be for ever wretched. I would
+far rather you left me to my fate."
+
+"And can you think I would allow you to be borne away a captive to
+ignominy and certain destruction?" cried Richard. "No, I will shed my
+heart's best blood before such a calamity shall occur."
+
+"Alas!" said Alizon, "I have no means of requiting your devotion. All I
+can offer you in return is my love, and that, I fear, will prove fatal
+to you."
+
+"Oh! do not say so," cried Richard. "Why should this sad presentiment
+still haunt you? I strove to chase it away just now, and hoped I had
+succeeded. You are dearer to me than life. Why, therefore, should I not
+risk it in your defence? And why should your love prove fatal to me?"
+
+"I know not," replied Alizon, in a tone of deepest anguish, "but I feel
+as if my destiny were evil; and that, against my will, I shall drag
+those I most love on earth into the same dark gulf with myself. I have
+the greatest affection for your sister Dorothy, and yet I have been the
+unconscious instrument of injury to her. And you too, Richard, who are
+yet dearer to me, are now put in peril on my account. I fear, too, when
+you know my whole history, you will think of me as a thing of evil, and
+shun me."
+
+"What mean you, Alizon?" he cried.
+
+"Richard, I can have no secrets from you," she replied; "and though I
+was forbidden to tell you what I am now about to disclose, I will not
+withhold it. I was born in this house, and am the daughter of its
+mistress."
+
+"You tell me only what I guessed, Alizon," rejoined the young man; "but
+I see nothing in this why I should shun you."
+
+Alizon hid her face for a moment in her hands; and then looking up, said
+wildly and hurriedly, "Would I had never known the secret of my birth;
+or, knowing it, had never seen what I beheld last night!"
+
+"What did you behold?" asked Richard, greatly agitated.
+
+"Enough to convince me, that in gaining a mother I was lost myself,"
+replied Alizon; "for oh! how can I survive the shock of telling you I am
+bound, by ties that can never be dissevered, to one abandoned alike of
+God and man--who has devoted herself to the Fiend! Pity me,
+Richard--pity me, and shun me!"
+
+There was a moment's dreadful pause, which the young man was unable to
+break.
+
+"Was I not right in saying my love would be fatal to you?" continued
+Alizon. "Fly from me while you can, Richard. Fly from this house, or you
+are lost for ever!"
+
+"Never, never! I will not stir without you," cried Richard. "Come with
+me, and escape all the dangers by which you are menaced, and leave your
+sinning parent to the doom she so richly merits."
+
+"No, no; sinful though she be, she is still my mother. I cannot leave
+her," cried Alizon.
+
+"If you stay, I stay, be the consequences what they may," replied the
+young man; "but you have rendered my arm powerless by what you have told
+me. How can I defend one whom I know to be guilty?"
+
+"Therefore I urge you to fly," she rejoined.
+
+"I can reconcile myself to it thus," said Richard--"in defending you,
+whom I know to be innocent, I cannot avoid defending her. The plea is
+not a good one, but it will suffice to allay my scruples of conscience."
+
+At this moment Mistress Nutter entered the hall, followed by Blackadder
+and three other men, armed with calivers.
+
+"All is ready, Richard," she said, "and it wants but a few minutes of
+the appointed time. Perhaps you shrink from the task you have
+undertaken?" she added, regarding him sharply; "if so, say so at once,
+and I will adopt my own line of defence."
+
+"Nay, I shall be ready to go forth in a moment," rejoined the young man,
+glancing at Alizon. "Where is Nicholas?"
+
+"Here," replied the squire, clapping him on the shoulder. "All is secure
+at the back of the house, and the horses are coming round. We must mount
+at once."
+
+Richard arose without a word.
+
+"Blackadder will attend to your orders," said Mistress Nutter; "he only
+waits a sign from you to issue forth with his three companions, or to
+fire through the windows upon the aggressors, if you see occasion for
+it."
+
+"I trust it will not come to such a pass," rejoined the squire; "a few
+blows from these weapons will convince them we are in earnest, and will,
+I hope, save further trouble."
+
+And as he spoke he took down a couple of stout staves, and gave one of
+them to Richard.
+
+"Farewell, then, _preux chevaliers_" cried Mistress Nutter, with
+affected gaiety; "demean yourselves valiantly, and remember that bright
+eyes will be upon you. Now, Alizon, to our chamber."
+
+Richard did not hazard a look at the young girl as she quitted the hall
+with her mother, but followed the squire mechanically into the garden,
+where they found the horses. Scarcely were they mounted than a loud
+hubbub, arising from the little village, proclaimed that their opponents
+had arrived, and presently after a large company of horse and foot
+appeared at the gate.
+
+At sight of the large force brought against them, the countenance of the
+squire lost its confident and jovial expression. Pie counted nearly
+forty men, each of whom was armed in some way or other, and began to
+fear the affair would terminate awkwardly, and entail unpleasant
+consequences upon himself and his cousin. He was, therefore, by no means
+at his ease. As to Richard, he did not dare to ask himself how things
+would end, neither did he know how to act. His mind was in utter
+confusion, and his breast oppressed as if by a nightmare. He cast one
+look towards the upper window, and beheld at it the white face of
+Mistress Nutter, intently gazing at what was going forward, but Alizon
+was not to be seen.
+
+Within the last half hour the sky had darkened, and a heavy cloud hung
+over the house, threatening a storm. Richard hoped it would come on
+fiercely and fast.
+
+Meanwhile, Roger Newell had dismounted and advanced to the gate.
+
+"Gentlemen," he cried, addressing the two Asshetons, "I expected to find
+free access given to me and my followers; but as these gates are still
+barred against me, I call upon you, as loyal subjects of the King, not
+to resist or impede the course of law, but to throw them instantly
+open."
+
+"You must unbar them yourself, Master Nowell," replied Nicholas. "We
+shall give you no help."
+
+"Nor offer any opposition, I hope, sir?" said the magistrate, sternly.
+
+"You are twenty to one, or thereabout," returned the squire, with a
+laugh; "we shall stand a poor chance with you."
+
+"But other defensive and offensive preparations have been made, I doubt
+not," said Nowell; "nay, I descry some armed men through the windows of
+the hall. Before coming to extremities, I will make a last appeal to you
+and your kinsman. I have granted Mistress Nutter and the girl with her
+an hour's delay, in the hope that, seeing the futility of resistance,
+they would quietly surrender. But I find my clemency thrown away, and
+undue advantage taken of the time allowed for respite; therefore, I
+shall show them no further consideration. But to you, my friends, I
+would offer a last warning. Forget not that you are acting in direct
+opposition to the law; that we are here armed with full authority and
+power to carry out our intentions; and that all opposition on your part
+will be fruitless, and will be visited upon you hereafter with severe
+pains and penalties. Forget not, also, that your characters will be
+irrecoverably damaged from your connexion with parties charged with the
+heinous offence of witchcraft. Meddle not, therefore, in the matter, but
+go your ways, or, if you would act as best becomes you, aid me in the
+arrest of the offenders."
+
+"Master Roger Nowell," replied Nicholas, walking his horse slowly
+towards the gate, "as you have given me a caution, I will give you one
+in return; and that is, to put a bridle on your tongue when you address
+gentlemen, or, by my fay, you are likely to get answers little to your
+taste. You have said that our characters are likely to suffer in this
+transaction, but, in my humble opinion, they will not suffer so much as
+your own. The magistrate who uses the arm of the law for purposes of
+private vengeance, and who brings a false and foul charge against his
+enemy, knowing that it cannot be repelled, is not entitled to any
+particular respect or honour. Thus have you acted towards Mistress
+Nutter. Defeated by her in the boundary question, without leaving its
+decision to those to whom you had referred it, you instantly accuse her
+of witchcraft, and seek to destroy her, as well as an innocent and
+unoffending girl, by whom she is attended. Is such conduct worthy of
+you, or likely to redound to your credit? I think not. But this is not
+all. Aided by your crafty and unscrupulous ally, Master Potts, you get
+together a number of Mistress Nutter's tenants, and, by threats and
+misrepresentations, induce them to become instruments of your vengeance.
+But when these misguided men come to know the truth of the case--when
+they learn that you have no proofs whatever against Mistress Nutter, and
+that you are influenced solely by animosity to her, they are quite as
+likely to desert you as to stand by you. At all events, we are
+determined to resist this unjust arrest, and, at the hazard of our
+lives, to oppose your entrance into the house."
+
+Nowell and Potts were greatly exasperated by this speech, but they were
+little prepared for its consequences. Many of those who had been induced
+to accompany them, as has been shown, wavered in their resolution of
+acting against Mistress Nutter, but they now began to declare in her
+favour. In vain Potts repeated all his former arguments. They were no
+longer of any avail. Of the troop assembled at the gate more than half
+marched off, and shaped their course towards the rear of the house--with
+what intention it was easy to surmise--while of those who remained it
+was very doubtful whether the whole of them would act.
+
+The result of his oration was quite as surprising to Nicholas as to his
+opponents, and, enchanted by the effect of his eloquence, he could not
+help glancing up at the window, where he perceived Mistress Nutter,
+whose smiles showed that she was equally well pleased.
+
+Seeing that, if any further desertions took place, his chances would be
+at an end, with a menacing gesture at the squire, Roger Nowell ordered
+the attack to commence immediately.
+
+While some of his men, amongst whom were Baldwyn and old Mitton,
+battered against the gate with stones, another party, headed by Potts,
+scaled the walls, which, though of considerable height, presented no
+very serious obstacles in the way of active assailants. Elevated on the
+shoulders of Sparshot, Potts was soon on the summit of the wall, and was
+about to drop into the garden, when he heard a sound that caused him to
+suspend his intention.
+
+"What are you about to do, cousin Nicholas?" inquired Richard, as the
+word of assault was given by the magistrate.
+
+"Let loose Mistress Nutter's stag-hounds upon them," replied the squire.
+"They are kept in leash by a varlet stationed behind yon yew-tree hedge,
+who only awaits my signal to let them slip; and by my faith it is time
+he had it."
+
+As he spoke, he applied a dog-whistle to his lips, and, blowing a loud
+call, it was immediately answered by a savage barking, and half a dozen
+hounds, rough-haired, of prodigious size and power, resembling in make,
+colour, and ferocity, the Irish wolf-hound bounded towards him.
+
+"Aha!" exclaimed Nicholas, clapping his hands to encourage them: "we
+could have dispersed the whole rout with these assistants. Hyke,
+Tristam!--hyke, Hubert! Upon them!--upon them!"
+
+It was the savage barking of the hounds that had caught the ears of the
+alarmed attorney, and made him desirous to scramble back again. But this
+was no such easy matter. Sparshot's broad shoulders were wanting to
+place his feet upon, and while he was bruising his knees against the
+roughened sides of the wall in vain attempts to raise himself to the top
+of it unaided, Hubert's sharp teeth met in the calf of his leg, while
+those of Tristam were fixed in the skirts of his doublet, and penetrated
+deeply into the flesh that filled it. A terrific yell proclaimed the
+attorney's anguish and alarm, and he redoubled his efforts to escape.
+But, if before it was difficult to get up, the feat was now impossible.
+All he could do was to cling with desperate tenacity to the coping of
+the wall, for he made no doubt, if dragged down, he should be torn in
+pieces. Roaring lustily for help, he besought Nicholas to have
+compassion upon him; but the squire appeared little moved by his
+distress, and laughed heartily at his yells and vociferations.
+
+"You will not come again on a like errand, in a hurry, I fancy Master
+Potts," he said.
+
+"I will not, good Master Nicholas," rejoined Potts; "for pity's sake
+call off these infernal hounds. They will rend me asunder as they would
+a fox."
+
+"You were a cunning fox, in good sooth, to come hither," rejoined
+Nicholas, in a taunting tone; "but will you go hence if I liberate you?"
+
+"I will--indeed I will!" replied Potts.
+
+"And will no more molest Mistress Nutter?" thundered Nicholas.
+
+"Take heed what you promise," roared Nowell from the other side of the
+wall.
+
+"If you do _not_ promise it, the hounds shall pull you down, and make a
+meal of you!" cried Nicholas.
+
+"I do--I swear--whatever you desire!" cried the terrified attorney.
+
+The hounds were then called off by the squire, and, nerved by fright,
+Potts sprang upon the wall, and tumbled over it upon the other side,
+alighting upon the head of his respected and singular good client, whom
+he brought to the ground.
+
+Meanwhile, all those unlucky persons who had succeeded in scaling the
+wall were attacked by the hounds, and, unable to stand against them,
+were chased round the garden, to the infinite amusement of the squire.
+Frightened to death, and unable otherwise to escape, for the gate
+allowed them no means of exit, the poor wretches fled towards the
+terrace overlooking Pendle Water, and, leaping into the stream, gained
+the opposite bank. There they were safe, for the hounds were not allowed
+to follow them further. In this way the garden was completely cleared of
+the enemy, and Nicholas and Richard were left masters of the field.
+
+Leaning out of the window, Mistress Nutter laughingly congratulated them
+on their success, and, as no further disposition was manifested on the
+part of Nowell and such of his troop that remained to renew the attack,
+the contest, for the present at least, was supposed to be at an end.
+
+By this time, also, intimation had been conveyed by the deserters from
+Nowell's troop, who, it will be remembered, had made their way to the
+back of the premises, that they were anxious to offer their services to
+Mistress Nutter; and, as soon as this was told her, she ordered them to
+be admitted, and descended to give them welcome. Thus things wore a
+promising aspect for the besieged, while the assailing party were
+proportionately disheartened.
+
+Long ere this, Baldwyn and old Mitton had desisted from their attempts
+to break open the gate, and, indeed, rejoiced that such a barrier was
+interposed between them and the hounds, whose furious onslaughts they
+witnessed. A bolt was launched against these four-footed guardians of
+the premises by the bearer of the crossbow, but the man proved but an
+indifferent marksman, for, instead of hitting the hound, he disabled one
+of his companions who was battling with him. Finding things in this
+state, and that neither Nowell nor Potts returned to their charge, while
+their followers were withdrawn from before the gate, Nicholas thought he
+might fairly infer that a victory had been obtained. But, like a prudent
+leader, he did not choose to expose himself till the enemy had
+absolutely yielded, and he therefore signed to Blackadder and his men to
+come forth from the hall. The order was obeyed, not only by them, but by
+the seceders from the hostile troop, and some thirty men issued from the
+principal door, and, ranging themselves upon the lawn, set up a
+deafening and triumphant shout, very different from that raised by the
+same individuals when under the command of Nowell. At the same moment
+Mistress Nutter and Alizon appeared at the door, and at the sight of
+them the shouting was renewed.
+
+The unexpected turn in affairs had not been without its effect upon
+Richard and Alizon, and tended to revive the spirits of both. The
+immediate danger by which they were threatened had vanished, and time
+was given for the consideration of new plans. Richard had been firmly
+resolved to take no further part in the affray than should be required
+for the protection of Alizon, and, consequently, it was no little
+satisfaction to him to reflect that the victory had been accomplished
+without him, and by means which could not afterwards be questioned.
+
+Meanwhile, Mistress Nutter had joined Nicholas, and the gates being
+unbarred by Blackadder, they passed through them. At a little distance
+stood Roger Nowell, now altogether abandoned, except by his own
+immediate followers, with Baldwyn and old Mitton. Poor Potts was lying
+on the ground, piteously bemoaning the lacerations his skin had
+undergone.
+
+"Well, you have got the worst of it, Master Nowell," said Nicholas, as
+he and Mistress Nutter approached the discomfited magistrate, "and must
+own yourself fairly defeated."
+
+"Defeated as I am, I would rather be in my place than in yours, sir,"
+retorted Nowell, sourly.
+
+"You have had a wholesome lesson read you, Master Nowell," said Mistress
+Nutter; "but I do not come hither to taunt you. I am quite satisfied
+with the victory I have obtained, and am anxious to put an end to the
+misunderstanding between us."
+
+"I have no misunderstanding with you, madam," replied Nowell; "I do not
+quarrel with persons like you. But be assured, though you may escape
+now, a day of reckoning will come."
+
+"Your chief cause of grievance against me, I am aware," replied Mistress
+Nutter, calmly, "is, that I have beaten you in the matter of the land.
+Now, I have a proposal to make to you respecting it."
+
+"I cannot listen to it," rejoined Nowell, sternly; "I can have no
+dealings with a witch."
+
+At this moment his cloak was plucked behind by Potts, who looked at him
+as much as to say, "Do not exasperate her. Hear what she has got to
+offer."
+
+"I shall be happy to act as mediator between you, if possible," observed
+Nicholas; "but in that case I must request you, Master Nowell, to
+abstain from any offensive language."
+
+"What is it you have to propose to me, then, madam!" demanded the
+magistrate, gruffly.
+
+"Come with me into the house, and you shall hear," replied Mistress
+Nutter.
+
+Nowell was about to refuse peremptorily, when his cloak was again
+plucked by Potts, who whispered him to go.
+
+"This is not a snare laid to entrap me, madam?" he said, regarding the
+lady suspiciously.
+
+"I will answer for her good faith," interposed Nicholas.
+
+Nowell still hesitated, but the counsel of his legal adviser was
+enforced by a heavy shower of rain, which just then began to descend
+upon them.
+
+"You can take shelter beneath my roof," said Mistress Nutter; "and
+before the shower is over we can settle the matter."
+
+"And my wounds can be dressed at the same time," said Potts, with a
+groan, "for they pain me sorely."
+
+"Blackadder has a sovereign balsam, which, with a patch or two of
+diachylon, will make all right," replied Nicholas, unable to repress a
+laugh. "Here, lift him up between you," he added to the grooms, "and
+convey him into the house."
+
+The orders were obeyed, and Mistress Nutter led the way through the now
+wide-opened gates; her slow and majestic march by no means accelerated
+by the drenching shower. What Roger Nowell's sensations were at
+following her in such a way, after his previous threats and boastings,
+may be easily conceived.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.--ROGER NOWELL AND HIS DOUBLE.
+
+
+The magistrate was ushered by the lady into a small chamber, opening out
+of the entrance-hall, which, in consequence of having only one small
+narrow window, with a clipped yew-tree before it, was extremely dark and
+gloomy. The walls were covered with sombre tapestry, and on entering,
+Mistress Nutter not only carefully closed the door, but drew the arras
+before it, so as to prevent the possibility of their conversation being
+heard outside. These precautions taken, she motioned the magistrate to a
+chair, and seated herself opposite him.
+
+"We can now deal unreservedly with each other, Master Nowell," she said,
+fixing her eyes steadily upon him; "and, as our discourse cannot be
+overheard and repeated, may use perfect freedom of speech."
+
+"I am glad of it," replied Nowell, "because it will save circumlocution,
+which I dislike; and therefore, before proceeding further, I must tell
+you, directly and distinctly, that if there be aught of witchcraft in
+what you are about to propose to me, I will have nought to do with it,
+and our conference may as well never begin."
+
+"Then you really believe me to be a witch?" said the lady.
+
+"I do," replied Nowell, unflinchingly.
+
+"Since you believe this, you must also believe that I have absolute
+power over you," rejoined Mistress Nutter, "and might strike you with
+sickness, cripple you, or kill you if I thought fit."
+
+"I know not that," returned Nowell. "There are limits even to the power
+of evil beings; and your charms and enchantments, however strong and
+baneful, may be wholly inoperative against a magistrate in the discharge
+of his duty. If it were not so, you would scarcely think it worth while
+to treat with me."
+
+"Humph!" exclaimed the lady. "Now, tell me frankly, what you will do
+when you depart hence?"
+
+"Ride off with the utmost speed to Whalley," replied Nowell, "and,
+acquainting Sir Ralph with all that has occurred, claim his assistance;
+and then, with all the force we can jointly muster, return hither, and
+finish the work I have left undone."
+
+"You will forego this intention," said Mistress Nutter, with a bitter
+smile.
+
+The magistrate shook his head.
+
+"I am not easily turned from my purpose," he remarked.
+
+"But you have not yet quitted Rough Lee," said the lady, "and after such
+an announcement I shall scarce think of parting with you."
+
+"You dare not detain me," replied Nowell. "I have Nicholas Assheton's
+word for my security, and I know he will not break it. Besides, you will
+gain nothing by my detention. My absence will soon be discovered, and if
+living I shall be set free; if dead, avenged."
+
+"That may, or may not be," replied Mistress Nutter; "and in any case I
+can, if I choose, wreak my vengeance upon you. I am glad to have
+ascertained your intentions, for I now know how to treat with you. You
+shall not go hence, except on certain conditions. You have said you will
+proclaim me a witch, and will come back with sufficient force to
+accomplish my arrest. Instead of doing this, I advise you to return to
+Sir Ralph Assheton, and admit to him that you find yourself in error in
+respect to the boundaries of the land--"
+
+"Never," interrupted Nowell.
+
+"I advise you to do this," pursued the lady, calmly, "and I advise you,
+also, on quitting this room, to retract all you have uttered to my
+prejudice, in the presence of Nicholas Assheton and other credible
+witnesses; in which case I will not only lay aside all feelings of
+animosity towards you, but will make over to you the whole of the land
+under dispute, and that without purchase money on your part."
+
+Roger Nowell was of an avaricious nature, and caught at the bait.
+
+"How, madam!" he cried, "the whole of the land mine without payment?"
+
+"The whole," she replied.
+
+"If she should be arraigned and convicted it will be forfeited to the
+crown," thought Nowell; "the offer is tempting."
+
+"Your attorney is here, and can prepare the conveyance at once," pursued
+Mistress Nutter; "a sum can be stated to lend a colour to the
+proceeding, and I will give you a private memorandum that I will not
+claim it. All I require is, that you clear me completely from the dark
+aspersions cast upon my character, and you abandon your projects against
+my adopted daughter, Alizon, as well as against those two poor old
+women, Mothers Demdike and Chattox."
+
+"How can I be sure that I shall not be deluded in the matter?" asked
+Nowell; "the writing may disappear from the parchment you give me, or
+the parchment itself may turn to ashes. Such things have occurred in
+transactions with witches. Or it be that, by consenting to the compact,
+I may imperil my own soul."
+
+"Tush!" exclaimed Mistress Nutter; "these are idle fears. But it is no
+idle threat on my part, when I tell you you shall not go forth unless
+you consent."
+
+"You cannot hinder me, woman," cried Nowell, rising.
+
+"You shall see," rejoined the lady, making two or three rapid passes
+before him, which instantly stiffened his limbs, and deprived him of the
+power of motion. "Now, stir if you can," she added with a laugh.
+
+Nowell essayed to cry out, but his tongue refused its office. Hearing
+and sight, however, were left him, and he saw Mistress Nutter take a
+large volume, bound in black, from the shelf, and open it at a page
+covered with cabalistic characters, after which she pronounced some
+words that sounded like an invocation.
+
+As she concluded, the tapestry against the wall was raised, and from
+behind it appeared a figure in all respects resembling the magistrate:
+it had the same sharp features, the same keen eyes and bushy eyebrows,
+the same stoop in the shoulders, the same habiliments. It was, in short,
+his double.
+
+Mistress Nutter regarded him with a look of triumph.
+
+"Since you refuse, with my injunctions," she said, "your double will
+prove more tractable. He will go forth and do all I would have you do,
+while I have but to stamp upon the floor and a dungeon will yawn beneath
+your feet, where you will lie immured till doomsday. The same fate will
+attend your crafty associate, Master Potts--so that neither of you will
+be missed--ha! ha!"
+
+The unfortunate magistrate fully comprehended his danger, but he could
+now neither offer remonstrance nor entreaty. What was passing in his
+breast seemed known to Mistress Nutter; for she motioned the double to
+stay, and, touching the brow of Nowell with the point of her forefinger,
+instantly restored his power of speech.
+
+"I will give you a last chance," she said. "Will you obey me now?"
+
+"I must, perforce," replied Nowell: "the contest is too unequal."
+
+"You may retire, then," she cried to the double. And stepping backwards,
+the figure lifted up the tapestry, and disappeared behind it.
+
+"I can breathe, now that infernal being is gone," cried Nowell, sinking
+into the chair. "Oh! madam, you have indeed terrible power."
+
+"You will do well not to brave it again," she rejoined. "Shall I summon
+Master Potts to prepare the conveyance?"
+
+"Oh! no--no!" cried Nowell. "I do not desire the land. I will not have
+it. I shall pay too dearly for it. Only let me get out of this horrible
+place?"
+
+"Not so quickly, sir," rejoined Mistress Nutter. "Before you go hence,
+I must bind you to the performance of my injunctions. Pronounce these
+words after me,--'May I become subject to the Fiend if I fail in my
+promise.'"
+
+"I will never utter them!" cried Nowell, shuddering.
+
+"Then I shall recall your double," said the lady.
+
+"Hold, hold!" exclaimed Nowell. "Let me know what you require of me."
+
+"I require absolute silence on your part, as to all you have seen and
+heard here, and cessation of hostility towards me and the persons I have
+already named," replied Mistress Nutter; "and I require a declaration
+from you, in the presence of the two Asshetons, that you are fully
+satisfied of the justice of my claims in respect to the land; and that,
+mortified by your defeat, you have brought a false charge against me,
+which you now sincerely regret. This I require from you; and you must
+ratify the promise by the abjuration I have proposed. 'May I become
+subject to the Fiend if I fail in my promise.'"
+
+The magistrate repeated the words after her. As he finished, mocking
+laughter, apparently resounding from below, smote his ears.
+
+"Enough!" cried Mistress Nutter, triumphantly; "and now take good heed
+that you swerve not in the slightest degree from your word, or you are
+for ever lost."
+
+Again the mocking laughter was heard, and Nowell would have rushed
+forth, if Mistress Nutter had not withheld him.
+
+"Stay!" she cried, "I have not done with you yet! My witnesses must hear
+your declaration. Remember!"
+
+And placing her finger upon her lips, in token of silence, she stepped
+backwards, drew aside the tapestry, and, opening the door, called to the
+two Asshetons, both of whom instantly came to her, and were not a little
+surprised to learn that all differences had been adjusted, and that
+Roger Nowell acknowledged himself entirely in error, retracting all the
+charges he had brought against her; while, on her part, she was fully
+satisfied with his explanations and apologies, and promised not to
+entertain any feelings of resentment towards him.
+
+"You have made up the matter, indeed," cried Nicholas, "and, as Master
+Roger Nowell is a widower, perhaps a match may come of it. Such an
+arrangement"--
+
+"This is no occasion for jesting, Nicholas," interrupted the lady,
+sharply.
+
+"Nay, I but threw out a hint," rejoined the squire. "It would set the
+question of the land for ever at rest."
+
+"It is set at rest--for ever!" replied the lady, with a side look at the
+magistrate.
+
+"'May I become subject to the Fiend if I fail in my promise,'" repeated
+Nowell to himself. "Those words bind me like a chain of iron. I must get
+out of this accursed house as fast as I can."
+
+As if his thoughts had been divined by Mistress Nutter, she here
+observed to him, "To make our reconciliation complete, Master Nowell, I
+must entreat you to pass the day with me. I will give you the best
+entertainment my house affords--nay, I will take no denial; and you too,
+Nicholas, and you, Richard, you will stay and keep the worthy magistrate
+company."
+
+The two Asshetons willingly assented, but Roger Nowell would fain have
+been excused. A look, however, from his hostess enforced compliance.
+
+"The proposal will be highly agreeable, I am sure, to Master Potts,"
+remarked Nicholas, with a laugh; "for though much better, in consequence
+of the balsam applied by Blackadder, he is scarcely in condition for the
+saddle."
+
+"I will warrant him well to-morrow morning," said Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Where is he?" inquired Nowell.
+
+"In the library with Parson Holden," replied Nicholas; "making himself
+as comfortable as circumstances will permit, with a flask of Rhenish
+before him."
+
+"I will go to him, then," said Nowell.
+
+"Take care what you say to him," observed Mistress Nutter, in a low
+tone, and raising her finger to her lips.
+
+Heaving a deep sigh, the magistrate then repaired to the library, a
+small room panelled with black oak, and furnished with a few cases of
+ancient tomes. The attorney and the divine were seated at a table, with
+a big square-built bottle and long-stemmed glasses before them, and
+Master Potts, with a wry grimace, excused himself from rising on his
+respected and singular good client's approach.
+
+"Do not disturb yourself," said Nowell, gruffly; "we shall not leave
+Rough Lee to-day."
+
+"I am glad to hear it," replied Potts, moving the cushions on his chair
+and eyeing the square-built bottle affectionately.
+
+"Nor to-morrow, it may be--nor the day after--nor at all, possibly,"
+said Nowell.
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Potts, starting, and wincing with pain. "What is the
+meaning of all this, worthy sir?"
+
+"'May I become the subject of the Fiend if I fail in my promise,'"
+rejoined Nowell, with a groan.
+
+"What promise, worshipful sir?" cried Potts, staring with surprise.
+
+The magistrate got out the words, "My promise to--" and then he stopped
+suddenly.
+
+"To Mistress Nutter?" suggested Potts.
+
+"Don't ask me," exclaimed Nowell, fiercely. "Don't draw any erroneous
+conclusions, man. I mean nothing--I say nothing!"
+
+"He is certainly bewitched," observed Parson Holden in an under-tone to
+the attorney.
+
+"It was by your advice I entered this house," thundered Nowell, "and
+may all the ill arising from it alight upon your head!"
+
+"My respected client!" implored Potts.
+
+"I am no longer your client!" shrieked the infuriated magistrate. "I
+dismiss you. I will have nought to do with you more. I wish I had never
+seen your ugly little face!"
+
+"You were quite right, reverend sir," observed Potts aside to the
+divine; "he is certainly bewitched, or he never would behave in this way
+to his best friend. My excellent sir," he added to Nowell, "I beseech
+you to calm yourself, and listen to me. My motive for wishing you to
+comply with Mistress Nutter's request was this: We were in a dilemma
+from which there was no escape, my wounded condition preventing me from
+flight, and all your followers being dispersed. Knowing your discretion,
+I apprehended that, finding the tables turned against you, you would not
+desire to play a losing game, and I therefore counselled apparent
+submission as the best means of disarming your antagonist. Whatever
+arrangement you have made with Mistress Nutter is neither morally nor
+legally binding upon you."
+
+"You think not!" cried Nowell. "'May I become subject to the Fiend if I
+violate my promise!'"
+
+"What promise have you made, sir?" inquired Potts and Holden together.
+
+"Do not question me," cried Nowell; "it is sufficient that I am tied and
+bound by it."
+
+The attorney reflected a little, and then observed to Holden, "It is
+evident some unfair practices have been resorted to with our respected
+friend, to extort a promise from him which he cannot violate. It is also
+possible, from what he let fall at first, that an attempt may be made to
+detain us prisoners within this house, and, for aught I know, Master
+Nowell may have given his word not to go forth without Mistress Nutter's
+permission. Under these circumstances, I would beg of you, reverend sir,
+as an especial favour to us both, to ride over to Whalley, and acquaint
+Sir Ralph Assheton with our situation."
+
+As this suggestion was made, Nowell's countenance brightened up. The
+expression was not lost upon the attorney, who perceived he was on the
+right tack.
+
+"Tell the worthy baronet," continued Potts, "that his old and esteemed
+friend, Master Roger Nowell, is in great jeopardy--am I not right, sir?"
+
+The magistrate nodded.
+
+"Tell him he is forcibly detained a prisoner, and requires sufficient
+force to effect his immediate liberation. Tell him, also, that Master
+Nowell charges Mistress Nutter with robbing him of his land by
+witchcraft."
+
+"No, no!" interrupted Nowell; "do not tell him that. I no longer charge
+her with it."
+
+"Then, tell him that I do," cried Potts; "and that Master Nowell has
+strangely, very strangely, altered his mind."
+
+"'May I become subject to the Fiend if I violate my promise!'" said the
+magistrate.
+
+"Ay, tell him that," cried the attorney--"tell him the worthy gentleman
+is constantly repeating that sentence. It will explain all. And now,
+reverend sir, let me entreat you to set out without delay, or your
+departure may be prevented."
+
+"I will go at once," said Holden.
+
+As he was about to quit the apartment, Mistress Nutter appeared at the
+door. Confusion was painted on the countenances of all three.
+
+"Whither go you, sir?" demanded the lady, sharply.
+
+"On a mission which cannot be delayed, madam," replied Holden.
+
+"You cannot quit my house at present," she rejoined, peremptorily.
+"These gentlemen stay to dine with me, and I cannot dispense with your
+company."
+
+"My duty calls me hence," returned the divine. "With all thanks for your
+proffered hospitality, I must perforce decline it."
+
+"Not when I command you to stay," she rejoined, raising her hand; "I am
+absolute mistress here."
+
+"Not over the servants of heaven, madam," replied the divine, taking a
+Bible from his pocket, and placing it before him. "By this sacred volume
+I shield myself against your spells, and command you to let me pass."
+
+And as he went forth, Mistress Nutter, unable to oppose him, shrank
+back.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.--MOTHER DEMDIKE.
+
+
+The heavy rain, which began to fall as Roger Nowell entered Rough Lee,
+had now ceased, and the sun shone forth again brilliantly, making the
+garden look so fresh and beautiful that Richard proposed a stroll within
+it to Alizon. The young girl seemed doubtful at first whether to comply
+with the invitation; but she finally assented, and they went forth
+together alone, for Nicholas, fancying they could dispense with his
+company, only attended them as far as the door, where he remained
+looking after them, laughing to himself, and wondering how matters would
+end. "No good will come of it, I fear," mused the worthy squire, shaking
+his head, "and I am scarcely doing right in allowing Dick to entangle
+himself in this fashion. But where is the use of giving advice to a
+young man who is over head and ears in love? He will never listen to it,
+and will only resent interference. Dick must take his chance. I have
+already pointed out the danger to him, and if he chooses to run
+headlong into the pit, why, I cannot hinder him. After all, I am not
+much surprised. Alizon's beauty is quite irresistible, and, were all
+smooth and straightforward in her history, there could be no reason
+why--pshaw! I am as foolish as the lad himself. Sir Richard Assheton,
+the proudest man in the shire, would disown his son if he married
+against his inclinations. No, my pretty youthful pair, since nothing but
+misery awaits you, I advise you to make the most of your brief season of
+happiness. I should certainly do so were the case my own."
+
+Meanwhile, the objects of these ruminations had reached the terrace
+overlooking Pendle Water, and were pacing slowly backwards and forwards
+along it.
+
+"One might be very happy in this sequestered spot, Alizon," observed
+Richard. "To some persons it might appear dull, but to me, if blessed
+with you, it would be little short of Paradise."
+
+"Alas! Richard," she replied, forcing a smile, "why conjure up visions
+of happiness which never can be realised? But even with you I do not
+think I could be happy here. There is something about the house which,
+when I first beheld it, filled me with unaccountable terror. Never since
+I was a mere infant have I been within it till to-day, and yet it was
+quite familiar to me--horribly familiar. I knew the hall in which we
+stood together, with its huge arched fireplace, and the armorial
+bearings upon it, and could point out the stone on which were carved my
+father's initials 'R.N.,' with the date '1572.' I knew the tapestry on
+the walls, and the painted glass in the long range windows. I knew the
+old oak staircase, and the gallery beyond it, and the room to which my
+mother led me. I knew the portraits painted on the panels, and at once
+recognised my father. I knew the great carved oak bedstead in this room,
+and the high chimney-piece, and the raised hearthstone, and shuddered as
+I gazed at it. You will ask me how these things could be familiar to me?
+I will tell you. I had seen them repeatedly in my dreams. They have
+haunted me for years, but I only to-day knew they had an actual
+existence, or were in any way connected with my own history. The sight
+of that house inspired me with a horror I have not been able to
+overcome; and I have a presentiment that some ill will befall me within
+it. I would never willingly dwell there."
+
+"The warning voice within you, which should never be despised, prompts
+you to quit it," cried Richard; "and I also urge you in like manner."
+
+"In vain," sighed Alizon. "This terrace is beautiful," she added, as
+they resumed their walk, "and I shall often come hither, if I am
+permitted. At sunset, this river, and the woody heights above it, must
+be enchanting; and I do not dislike the savage character of the
+surrounding scenery. It enhances, by contrast, the beauty of this
+solitude. I only wish the spot commanded a view of Pendle Hill."
+
+"You are like my cousin Nicholas, who thinks no prospect complete
+unless that hill forms part of it," said Richard; "but since I find that
+you will often come hither at sunset, I shall not despair of seeing and
+conversing with you again, even if I am forbidden the house by Mistress
+Nutter. That thicket is an excellent hiding-place, and this stream is
+easily crossed."
+
+"We can have no secret interviews, Richard," replied Alizon; "I shall
+come hither to think of you, but not to meet you. You must never return
+to Rough Lee again--that is, not unless some change takes place, which I
+dare not anticipate--but, hist! I am called. I must go back to the
+house."
+
+"The voice came from the other side of the river," said Richard--"and,
+hark! it calls again. Who can it be?"
+
+"It is Jennet," replied Alizon; "I see her now."
+
+And she pointed out the little girl standing beside an alder on the
+opposite bank.
+
+"Yo didna notice me efore, Alizon," cried Jennet in her sharp tone, and
+with her customary provoking laugh, "boh ey seed yo plain enuff, an
+heer'd yo too; and ey heer'd Mester Ruchot say he wad hide i' this
+thicket, an cross the river to meet ye at sunset. Little pigs, they say,
+ha' lang ears, an mine werena gi'en me fo' nowt."
+
+"They have somewhat misinformed you in this instance," replied Alizon;
+"but how, in the name of wonder, did you come here?"
+
+"Varry easily," replied Jennet, "boh ey hanna time to tell ye now.
+Granny Demdike has sent me hither wi' a message to ye and Mistress
+Nutter. Boh may be ye winna loike Mester Ruchot to hear what ey ha'
+getten to tell ye."
+
+"I will leave you," said Richard, about to depart.
+
+"Oh! no, no!" cried Alizon, "she can have nothing to say which you may
+not hear."
+
+"Shan ey go back to Granny Demdike, an tell her yo're too proud to
+receive her message?" asked the child.
+
+"On no account," whispered Richard. "Do not let her anger the old hag."
+
+"Speak, Jennet," said Alizon, in a tone of kind persuasion.
+
+"Ey shanna speak onless ye cum ower t' wetur to me," replied the little
+girl; "an whot ey ha to tell consarns ye mitch."
+
+"I can easily cross," observed Alizon to Richard. "Those stones seem
+placed on purpose."
+
+Upon this, descending from the terrace to the river's brink, and
+springing lightly upon the first stone which reared its head above the
+foaming tide, she bounded to another, and so in an instant was across
+the stream. Richard saw her ascend the opposite bank, and approach
+Jennet, who withdrew behind the alder; and then he fancied he perceived
+an old beldame, partly concealed by the intervening branches of the
+tree, advance and seize hold of her. Then there was a scream; and the
+sound had scarcely reached the young man's ears before he was down the
+bank and across the river, but when he reached the alder, neither
+Alizon, nor Jennet, nor the old beldame were to be seen.
+
+The terrible conviction that she had been carried off by Mother Demdike
+then smote him, and though he continued his search for her among the
+adjoining bushes, it was with fearful misgivings. No answer was returned
+to his shouts, nor could he discover any trace of the means by which
+Alizon had been spirited away.
+
+After some time spent in ineffectual search, uncertain what course to
+pursue, and with a heart full of despair, Richard crossed the river, and
+proceeded towards the house, in front of which he found Mistress Nutter
+and Nicholas, both of whom seemed surprised when they perceived he was
+unaccompanied by Alizon. The lady immediately, and somewhat sharply,
+questioned him as to what had become of her adopted daughter, and
+appeared at first to doubt his answer; but at length, unable to question
+his sincerity, she became violently agitated.
+
+"The poor girl has been conveyed away by Mother Demdike," she cried,
+"though for what purpose I am at a loss to conceive. The old hag could
+not cross the running water, and therefore resorted to that stratagem."
+
+"Alizon must not be left in her hands, madam," said Richard.
+
+"She must not," replied the lady. "If Blackadder, whom I have sent after
+Parson Holden, were here, I would despatch him instantly to Malkin
+Tower."
+
+"I will go instead," said Richard.
+
+"You had better accept his offer," interposed Nicholas; "he will serve
+you as well as Blackadder."
+
+"Go I shall, madam," cried Richard; "if not on your account, on my own."
+
+"Come, then, with me," said the lady, entering the house, "and I will
+furnish you with that which shall be your safeguard in the enterprise."
+
+With this, she proceeded to the closet where her interview with Roger
+Nowell had been held; and, unlocking an ebony cabinet, took from a
+drawer within it a small flat piece of gold, graven with mystic
+characters, and having a slender chain of the same metal attached to it.
+Throwing the chain over Richard's neck, she said, "Place this talisman,
+which is of sovereign virtue, near your heart, and no witchcraft shall
+have power over you. But be careful that you are not by any artifice
+deprived of it, for the old hag will soon discover that you possess some
+charm to protect you against her spells. You are impatient to be gone,
+but I have not yet done," she continued, taking down a small silver
+bugle from a hook, and giving it him. "On reaching Malkin Tower, wind
+this horn thrice, and the old witch will appear at the upper window.
+Demand admittance in my name, and she will not dare to refuse you; or,
+if she does, tell her you know the secret entrance to her stronghold,
+and will have recourse to it. And in case this should be needful, I will
+now disclose it to you, but you must not use it till other means fail.
+When opposite the door, which you will find is high up in the building,
+take ten paces to the left, and if you examine the masonry at the foot
+of the tower, you will perceive one stone somewhat darker than the rest.
+At the bottom of this stone, and concealed by a patch of heath, you will
+discover a knob of iron. Touch it, and it will give you an opening to a
+vaulted chamber, whence you can mount to the upper room. Even then you
+may experience some difficulty, but with resolution you will surmount
+all obstacles."
+
+"I have no fear of success, madam," replied Richard, confidently.
+
+And quitting her, he proceeded to the stables, and calling for his
+horse, vaulted into the saddle, and galloped off towards the bridge.
+
+Fast as Richard rode up the steep hill-side, still faster did the black
+clouds gather over his head. No natural cause could have produced so
+instantaneous a change in the aspect of the sky, and the young man
+viewed it with uneasiness, and wished to get out of the thicket in which
+he was now involved, before the threatened thunder-storm commenced. But
+the hill was steep and the road bad, being full of loose stones, and
+crossed in many places by bare roots of trees. Though ordinarily
+surefooted, Merlin stumbled frequently, and Richard was obliged to
+slacken his pace. It grew darker and darker, and the storm seemed ready
+to burst upon him. The smaller birds ceased singing, and screened
+themselves under the thickest foliage; the pie chattered incessantly;
+the jay screamed; the bittern flew past, booming heavily in the air; the
+raven croaked; the heron arose from the river, and speeded off with his
+long neck stretched out; and the falcon, who had been hovering over him,
+sweeped sidelong down and sought shelter beneath an impending rock; the
+rabbit scudded off to his burrow in the brake; and the hare, erecting
+himself for a moment, as if to listen to the note of danger, crept
+timorously off into the long dry grass.
+
+It grew so dark at last that the road was difficult to discern, and the
+dense rows of trees on either side assumed a fantastic appearance in the
+deep gloom. Richard was now more than half-way up the hill, and the
+thicket had become more tangled and intricate, and the road narrower and
+more rugged. All at once Merlin stopped, quivering in every limb, as if
+in extremity of terror.
+
+Before the rider, and right in his path, glared a pair of red fiery
+orbs, with something dusky and obscure linked to them; but whether of
+man or beast he could not distinguish.
+
+Richard called to it. No answer. He struck spurs into the reeking flanks
+of his horse. The animal refused to stir. Just then there was a moaning
+sound in the wood, as of some one in pain. He turned in the direction,
+shouted, but received no answer. When he looked back the red eyes were
+gone.
+
+Then Merlin moved forward of his own accord, but ere he had gone far,
+the eyes were visible again, glaring at the rider from the wood. This
+time they approached, dilating, and increasing in glowing intensity,
+till they scorched him like burning-glasses. Bethinking him of the
+talisman, Richard drew it forth. The light was instantly extinguished,
+and the indistinct figure accompanying it melted into darkness.
+
+Once more Merlin resumed his toilsome way, and Richard was marvelling
+that the storm so long suspended its fury, when the sky was riven by a
+sudden blaze, and a crackling bolt shot down and struck the earth at his
+feet. The affrighted steed reared aloft, and was with difficulty
+prevented from falling backwards upon his rider. Almost before he could
+be brought to his feet, an awful peal of thunder burst overhead, and it
+required Richard's utmost efforts to prevent him from rushing madly down
+the hill.
+
+The storm had now fairly commenced. Flash followed flash, and peal
+succeeded peal, without intermission. The rain descended hissing and
+spouting, and presently ran down the hill in a torrent, adding to the
+horseman's other difficulties and dangers. To heighten the terror of the
+scene, strange shapes, revealed by the lightning, were seen flitting
+among the trees, and strange sounds were heard, though overpowered by
+the dreadful rolling of the thunder.
+
+But Richard's resolution continued unshaken, and he forced Merlin on. He
+had not proceeded far, however, when the animal uttered a cry of fright,
+and began beating the air with his fore hoofs. The lightning enabled
+Richard to discern the cause of this new distress. Coiled round the poor
+beast's legs, all whose efforts to disengage himself from the terrible
+assailant were ineffectual, was a large black snake, seemingly about to
+plunge its poisonous fangs into the flesh. Again having recourse to the
+talisman, and bending down, Richard stretched it towards the snake, upon
+which the reptile instantly darted its arrow-shaped head against him,
+but instead of wounding him, its forked teeth encountered the piece of
+gold, and, as if stricken a violent blow, it swiftly untwined itself,
+and fled, hissing, into the thicket.
+
+Richard was now obliged to dismount and lead his horse. In this way he
+toiled slowly up the hill. The storm continued with unabated fury: the
+red lightning played around him, the brattling thunder stunned him, and
+the pelting rain poured down upon his head. But he was no more
+molested. Save for the vivid flashes, it had become dark as night, but
+they served to guide him on his way.
+
+At length he got out of the thicket, and trod upon the turf, but it was
+rendered so slippery by moisture, that he could scarcely keep his feet,
+while the lightning no longer aided him. Fearing he had taken a wrong
+course, he stood still, and while debating with himself a blaze of light
+illumined the wide heath, and showed him the object of his search,
+Malkin Tower, standing alone, like a beacon, at about a quarter of a
+mile's distance, on the further side of the hill. Was it disturbed
+fancy, or did he really behold on the summit of the structure a grisly
+shape resembling--if it resembled any thing human--a gigantic black cat,
+with roughened staring skin, and flaming eyeballs?
+
+Nerved by the sight of the tower, Richard was on his steed's back in an
+instant, and the animal, having in some degree recovered his spirits,
+galloped off with him, and kept his feet in spite of the slippery state
+of the road. Erelong, another flash showed the young man that he was
+drawing rapidly near the tower, and dismounting, he tied Merlin to a
+tree, and hurried towards the unhallowed pile. When within twenty paces
+of it, mindful of Mistress Nutter's injunctions, he placed the bugle to
+his lips, and winded it thrice. The summons, though clear and loud,
+sounded strangely in the portentous silence.
+
+Scarcely had the last notes died away, when a light shone through the
+dark red curtains hanging before a casement in the upper part of the
+tower. The next moment these were drawn aside, and a face appeared, so
+frightful, so charged with infernal wickedness and malice, that
+Richard's blood grew chill at the sight. Was it man or woman? The white
+beard, and the large, broad, masculine character of the countenance,
+seemed to denote the, former, but the garb was that of a female. The
+face was at once hideous and fantastic--the eyes set across--the mouth
+awry--the right cheek marked by a mole shining with black hair, and
+horrible from its contrast to the rest of the visage, and the brow
+branded as if by a streak of blood. A black thrum cap constituted the
+old witch's head-gear, and from beneath it her hoary hair escaped in
+long elf-locks. The lower part of her person was hidden from view, but
+she appeared to be as broad-shouldered as a man, and her bulky person
+was wrapped in a tawny-coloured robe. Throwing open the window, she
+looked forth, and demanded in harsh imperious tones--
+
+"Who dares to summon Mother Demdike?"
+
+"A messenger from Mistress Nutter," replied Richard. "I am come in her
+name to demand the restitution of Alizon Device, whom thou hast forcibly
+and wrongfully taken from her."
+
+"Alizon Device is my grand-daughter, and, as such, belongs to me, and
+not to Mistress Nutter," rejoined Mother Demdike.
+
+"Thou knowest thou speakest false, foul hag!" cried Richard. "Alizon is
+no blood of thine. Open the door and cast down the ladder, or I will
+find other means of entrance."
+
+"Try them, then," rejoined Mother Demdike. And she closed the casement
+sharply, and drew the curtains over it.
+
+After reconnoitring the building for a moment, Richard moved quickly to
+the left, and counting ten paces, as directed by Mistress Nutter, began
+to search among the thick grass growing near the base of the tower for
+the concealed entrance. It was too dark to distinguish any difference in
+the colour of the masonry, but he was sure he could not be far wrong,
+and presently his hand came in contact with a knob of iron. He pressed
+it, but it did not yield to the touch. Again more forcibly, but with
+like ill success. Could he be mistaken? He tried the next stone, and
+discovered another knob upon it, but this was as immovable as the first.
+He went on, and then found that each stone was alike, and that if
+amongst the number he had chanced upon the one worked by the secret
+spring, it had refused to act. On examining the structure so far as he
+was able to do in the gloom, he found he had described the whole circle
+of the tower, and was about to commence the search anew, when a creaking
+sound was heard above, and a light streamed suddenly down upon him. The
+door had been opened by the old witch, and she stood there with a lamp
+in her hand, its yellow flame illumining her hideous visage, and short,
+square, powerfully built frame. Her throat was like that of a bull; her
+hands of extraordinary size; and her arms, which were bare to the
+shoulder, brawny and muscular.
+
+"What, still outside?" she cried in a jeering tone, and with a wild
+discordant laugh. "Methought thou affirmedst thou couldst find a way
+into my dwelling."
+
+"I do not yet despair of finding it," replied Richard.
+
+"Fool!" screamed the hag. "I tell thee it is in vain to attempt it
+without my consent. With a word, I could make these walls one solid
+mass, without window or outlet from base to summit. With a word, I could
+shower stones upon thy head, and crush thee to dust. With a word, I
+could make the earth swallow thee up. With a word, I could whisk thee
+hence to the top of Pendle Hill. Ha! ha! Dost fear me now?"
+
+"No," replied Richard, undauntedly. "And the word thou menacest me with
+shall never be uttered."
+
+"Why not?" asked Mother Demdike, derisively.
+
+"Because thou wouldst not brave the resentment of one whose power is
+equal to thine own--if not greater," replied the young man.
+
+"Greater it is not--neither equal," rejoined the old hag, haughtily;
+"but I do not desire a quarrel with Alice Nutter. Only let her not
+meddle with me."
+
+"Once more, art thou willing to admit me?" demanded Richard.
+
+"Ay, upon one condition," replied Mother Demdike. "Thou shalt learn it
+anon. Stand aside while I let down the ladder."
+
+Richard obeyed, and a pair of narrow wooden steps dropped to the ground.
+
+"Now mount, if thou hast the courage," cried the hag.
+
+The young man was instantly beside her, but she stood in the doorway,
+and barred his further progress with her extended staff. Now that he was
+face to face with her, he wondered at his own temerity. There was
+nothing human in her countenance, and infernal light gleamed in her
+strangely-set eyes. Her personal strength, evidently unimpaired by age,
+or preserved by magical art, seemed equal to her malice; and she
+appeared as capable of executing any atrocity, as of conceiving it. She
+saw the effect produced upon him, and chuckled with malicious
+satisfaction.
+
+"Saw'st thou ever face like mine?" she cried. "No, I wot not. But I
+would rather inspire aversion and terror than love. Love!--foh! I would
+rather see men shrink from me, and shudder at my approach, than smile
+upon me and court me. I would rather freeze the blood in their veins,
+than set it boiling with passion. Ho! ho!"
+
+"Thou art a fearful being, indeed!" exclaimed Richard, appalled.
+
+"Fearful, am I?" ejaculated the old witch, with renewed laughter. "At
+last thou own'st it. Why, ay, I _am_ fearful. It is my wish to be so. I
+live to plague mankind--to blight and blast them--to scare them with my
+looks--to work them mischief. Ho! ho! And now, let us look at thee," she
+continued, holding the lamp over him. "Why, soh?--a comely youth! And
+the young maids doat upon thee, I doubt not, and praise thy blooming
+cheeks, thy bright eyes, thy flowing locks, and thy fine limbs. I hate
+thy beauty, boy, and would mar it!--would canker thy wholesome flesh,
+dim thy lustrous eyes, and strike thy vigorous limbs with palsy, till
+they should shake like mine! I am half-minded to do it," she added,
+raising her staff, and glaring at him with inconceivable malignity.
+
+"Hold!" exclaimed Richard, taking the talisman from his breast, and
+displaying it to her. "I am armed against thy malice!"
+
+Mother Demdike's staff fell from her grasp.
+
+"I knew thou wert in some way protected," she cried furiously. "And so
+it is a piece of gold--with magic characters upon it, eh?" she added,
+suddenly changing her tone; "Let me look at it."
+
+"Thou seest it plain enough," rejoined Richard. "Now, stand aside and
+let me pass, for thou perceivest I have power to force an entrance."
+
+"I see it--I see it," replied Mother Demdike, with affected humility. "I
+see it is in vain to struggle with thee, or rather with the potent lady
+who sent thee. Tarry where thou art, and i will bring Alizon to thee."
+
+"I almost mistrust thee," said Richard--"but be speedy."
+
+"I will be scarce a moment," said the witch; "but I must warn thee that
+she is--"
+
+"What--what hast thou done to her, thou wicked hag?" cried Richard, in
+alarm.
+
+"She is distraught," said Mother Demdike.
+
+"Distraught!" echoed Richard.
+
+"But thou canst easily cure her," said the old hag, significantly.
+
+"Ay, so I can," cried Richard with sudden joy--"the talisman! Bring her
+to me at once."
+
+Mother Demdike departed, leaving him in a state of indescribable
+agitation. The walls of the tower were of immense thickness, and the
+entrance to the chamber towards which the arched doorway led was covered
+by a curtain of old arras, behind which the hag had disappeared.
+Scarcely had she entered the room when a scream was heard, and Richard
+heard his own name pronounced by a voice which, in spite of its agonised
+tones, he at once recognised. The cries were repeated, and he then heard
+Mother Demdike call out, "Come hither! come hither!"
+
+Instantly rushing forward and dashing aside the tapestry, he found
+himself in a mysterious-looking circular chamber, with a massive oak
+table in the midst of it. There were many strange objects in the room,
+but he saw only Alizon, who was struggling with the old witch, and
+clinging desperately to the table. He called to her by name as he
+advanced, but her bewildered looks proved that she did not know him.
+
+"Alizon--dear Alizon! I am come to free you," he exclaimed.
+
+But in place of answering him she uttered a piercing scream.
+
+"The talisman, the talisman?" cried the hag. "I cannot undo my own work.
+Place the chain round her neck, and the gold near her heart, that she
+may experience its full virtue."
+
+Richard unsuspectingly complied with the suggestion of the temptress;
+but the moment he had parted with the piece of gold the figure of Alizon
+vanished, the chamber was buried in gloom, and, amidst a hubbub of wild
+laughter, he was dragged by the powerful arm of the witch through the
+arched doorway, and flung from it to the ground, the shock of the fall
+producing immediate insensibility.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.--THE MYSTERIES OF MALKIN TOWER.
+
+
+It was a subterranean chamber; gloomy, and of vast extent; the roof low,
+and supported by nine ponderous stone columns, to which rings and rusty
+chains were attached, still retaining the mouldering bones of those they
+had held captive in life. Amongst others was a gigantic skeleton, quite
+entire, with an iron girdle round the middle. Fragments of mortality
+were elsewhere scattered about, showing the numbers who had perished in
+the place. On either side were cells closed by massive doors, secured by
+bolts and locks. At one end were three immense coffers made of oak,
+hooped with iron, and fastened by large padlocks. Near them stood a
+large armoury, likewise of oak, and sculptured with the ensigns of
+Whalley Abbey, proving it had once belonged to that establishment.
+Probably it had been carried off by some robber band. At the opposite
+end of the vault were two niches, each occupied by a rough-hewn
+statue--the one representing a warlike figure, with a visage of
+extraordinary ferocity, and the other an anchoress, in her hood and
+wimple, with a rosary in her hand. On the ground beneath lay a plain
+flag, covering the mortal remains of the wicked pair, and proclaiming
+them to be Isole de Heton and Blackburn, the freebooter. The pillars
+were ranged in three lines, so as to form, with the arches above them, a
+series of short passages, in the midst of which stood an altar, and near
+it a large caldron. In front, elevated on a block of granite, was a
+marvellous piece of sculpture, wrought in jet, and representing a demon
+seated on a throne. The visage was human, but the beard that of a goat,
+while the feet and lower limbs were like those of the same animal. Two
+curled horns grew behind the ears, and a third, shaped like a conch,
+sprang from the centre of the forehead, from which burst a blue flame,
+throwing a ghastly light on the objects surrounding it.
+
+The only discernible approach to the vault was a steep narrow stone
+staircase, closed at the top by a heavy trapdoor. Other outlet
+apparently there was none. Some little air was admitted to this foul
+abode through flues contrived in the walls, the entrances to which were
+grated, but the light of day never came there. The flame, however,
+issuing from the brow of the demon image, like the lamps in the
+sepulchres of the disciples of the Rosy Cross, was ever-burning. Behind
+the sable statue was a deep well, with water as black as ink, wherein
+swarmed snakes, and toads, and other noxious reptiles; and as the lurid
+light fell upon its surface it glittered like a dusky mirror, unless
+when broken by the horrible things that lurked beneath, or crawled about
+upon its slimy brim. But snakes and toads were not the only tenants of
+the vault. At the head of the steps squatted a monstrous and misshapen
+animal, bearing some resemblance to a cat, but as big as a tiger. Its
+skin was black and shaggy; its eyes glowed like those of the hyaena; and
+its cry was like that of the same treacherous beast. Among the gloomy
+colonnades other swart and bestial shapes could be indistinctly seen
+moving to and fro.
+
+In this abode of horror were two human beings--one, a young maiden of
+exquisite beauty; and the other, almost a child, and strangely deformed.
+The elder, overpowered by terror, was clinging to a pillar for support,
+while the younger, who might naturally be expected to exhibit the
+greatest alarm, appeared wholly unconcerned, and derided her companion's
+fears.
+
+"Oh, Jennet!" exclaimed the elder of the two, "is there no means of
+escape?"
+
+"None whatever," replied the other. "Yo mun stay here till Granny
+Demdike cums fo ye."
+
+"Oh! that the earth would open and snatch me from these horrors," cried
+Alizon. "My reason is forsaking me. Would I could kneel and pray for
+deliverance! But something prevents me."
+
+"Reet!" replied Jennet. "It's os mitch os yer loife's worth to kneel an
+pray here, onless yo choose to ge an throw yersel at th' feet o' yon
+black image."
+
+"Kneel to that idol--never!" exclaimed Alizon. And while striving to
+call upon heaven for aid, a sharp convulsion seized her, and deprived
+her of the power of utterance.
+
+"Ey towd yo how it wad be," remarked Jennet, who watched her narrowly.
+"Yo 're neaw i' a church here, an if yo want to warship, it mun be at
+yon altar. Dunna yo hear how angry the cats are--how they growl an spit?
+An see how their een gliss'n! They'll tare yo i' pieces, loike so many
+tigers, if yo offend em."
+
+"Tell me why I am brought here, Jennet?" inquired Alizon, after a brief
+pause.
+
+"Granny Demdike will tell yo that," replied the little girl; "boh to my
+belief," she added, with a mocking laugh, "hoo means to may a witch o'
+ye, loike aw the rest on us."
+
+"She cannot do that without my consent," cried Alizon, "and I would die
+a thousand deaths rather than yield it."
+
+"That remains to be seen," replied Jennet, tauntingly. "Yo 're obstinate
+enuff, nah doubt. Boh Granny Demdike is used to deal wi' sich folk."
+
+"Oh! why was I born?" cried Alizon, bitterly.
+
+"Yo may weel ask that," responded Jennet, with a loud unfeeling laugh;
+"fo ey see neaw great use yo're on, wi' yer protty feace an bright een,
+onless it be to may one hate ye."
+
+"Is it possible you can say this to me, Jennet?" cried Alizon. "What
+have I done to incur your hatred? I have ever loved you, and striven to
+please and serve you. I have always taken your part against others, even
+when you were in the wrong. Oh! Jennet, you cannot hate me."
+
+"Boh ey do," replied the little girl, spitefully. "Ey hate yo now warser
+than onny wan else. Ey hate yo because yo are neaw lunger my
+sister--becose yo 're a grand ledy's dowter, an a grand ledy yersel. Ey
+hate yo becose yung Ruchot Assheton loves yo--an becose yo ha better
+luck i' aw things than ey have, or con expect to have. That's why I hate
+yo, Alizon. When yo are a witch ey shan love yo, for then we shan be
+equals once more."
+
+"That will never be, Jennet," said Alizon, sadly, but firmly. "Your
+grandmother may immure me in this dungeon, and scare away my senses; but
+she will never rob me of my hopes of salvation."
+
+As the words were uttered, a clang like that produced by a stricken gong
+shook the vault; the beasts roared fiercely; the black waters of the
+fountain bubbled up, and were lashed into foam by the angry reptiles;
+and a larger jet of flame than before burst from the brow of the demon
+statue.
+
+"Ey ha' warned ye, Alizon," said Jennet, alarmed by these
+demonstrations; "boh since ye pay no heed to owt ey say, ey'st leave yo
+to yer fate."
+
+"Oh! stay with me, stay with me, Jennet!" shrieked Alizon, "By our past
+sisterly affection I implore you to remain! You are some protection to
+me from these dreadful beings."
+
+"Ey dunna want to protect yo onless yo do os yo're bidd'n," replied
+Jennet! "Whoy should yo be better than me?"
+
+"Ah! why, indeed?" cried Alizon. "Would I had the power to turn your
+heart--to open your eyes to evil--to save you, Jennet."
+
+These words were followed by another clang, louder and more brattling
+than the first. The solid walls of the dungeon were shaken, and the
+heavy columns rocked; while, to Alizon's affrighted gaze, it seemed as
+if the sable statue arose upon its ebon throne, and stretched out its
+arm menacingly towards her. The poor girl was saved from further terror
+by insensibility.
+
+How long she remained in this condition she could not tell, nor did it
+appear that any efforts were made to restore her; but when she
+recovered, she found herself stretched upon a rude pallet within an
+arched recess, the entrance to which was screened by a piece of
+tapestry. On lifting it aside she perceived she was no longer in the
+vault, but in an upper chamber, as she judged, and not incorrectly, of
+the tower. The room was lofty and circular, and the walls of enormous
+thickness, as shown by the deep embrasures of the windows; in one of
+which, the outlet having been built up, the pallet was placed. A massive
+oak table, two or three chairs of antique shape, and a wooden stool,
+constituted the furniture of the room. The stool was set near the
+fireplace, and beside it stood a strangely-fashioned spinning-wheel,
+which had apparently been recently used; but neither the old hag nor her
+grand-daughter were visible. Alizon could not tell whether it was night
+or day; but a lamp was burning upon the table, its feeble light only
+imperfectly illumining the chamber, and scarcely revealing several
+strange objects dangling from the huge beams that supported the roof.
+Faded arras were hung against the walls, representing in one compartment
+the last banquet of Isole de Heton and her lover, Blackburn; in another,
+the Saxon Ughtred hanging from the summit of Malkin Tower; and in a
+third, the execution of Abbot Paslew. The subjects were as large as
+life, admirably depicted, and evidently worked at wondrous looms. As
+they swayed to and fro in the gusts, that found entrance into the
+chamber through some unprotected loopholes, the figures had a grim and
+ghostly air.
+
+Weak, trembling, bewildered, Alizon stepped forth, and staggering
+towards the table sank upon a chair beside it. A fearful storm was
+raging without--thunder, lightning, deluging rain. Stunned and blinded,
+she covered her eyes, and remained thus till the fury of the tempest had
+in some degree abated. She was roused at length by a creaking sound not
+far from her, and found it proceeded from a trapdoor rising slowly on
+its hinges.
+
+A thrum cap first appeared above the level of the floor; then a broad,
+bloated face, the mouth and chin fringed with a white beard like the
+whiskers of a cat; then a thick, bull throat; then a pair of brawny
+shoulders; then a square, thick-set frame; and Mother Demdike stood
+before her. A malignant smile played upon her hideous countenance, and
+gleamed from her eyes--those eyes so strangely placed by nature, as if
+to intimate her doom, and that of her fated race, to whom the horrible
+blemish was transmitted. As the old witch leaped heavily upon the
+ground, the trapdoor closed behind her.
+
+"Soh, you are better, Alizon, and have quitted your couch, I find," she
+cried, striking her staff upon the floor. "But you look faint and feeble
+still. I will give you something to revive you. I have a wondrous
+cordial in yon closet--a rare restorative--ha! ha! It will make you well
+the moment it has passed your lips. I will fetch it at once."
+
+"I will have none of it," replied Alizon; "I would rather die."
+
+"Rather die!" echoed Mother Demdike, sarcastically, "because, forsooth,
+you are crossed in love. But you shall have the man of your heart yet,
+if you will only follow my counsel, and do as I bid you. Richard
+Assheton shall be yours, and with your mother's consent, provided--"
+
+"I understand the condition you annex to the promise," interrupted
+Alizon, "and the terms upon which you would fulfil it: but you seek in
+vain to tempt me, old woman. I now comprehend why I am brought hither."
+
+"Ay, indeed!" exclaimed the old witch. "And why is it, then, since you
+are so quick-witted?"
+
+"You desire to make an offering to the evil being you serve," cried
+Alizon, with sudden energy. "You have entered into some dark compact,
+which compels you to deliver up a victim in each year to the Fiend, or
+your own soul becomes forfeit. Thus you have hitherto lengthened out
+your wretched life, and you hope to extend the term yet farther through
+me. I have heard this tale before, but I would not believe it. Now I
+do. This is why you have stolen me from my mother--have braved her
+anger--and brought me to this impious tower."
+
+The old hag laughed hoarsely.
+
+"The tale thou hast heard respecting me is true," she said. "I _have_ a
+compact which requires me to make a proselyte to the power I serve
+within each year, and if I fail in doing so, I must pay the penalty thou
+hast mentioned. A like compact exists between Mistress Nutter and the
+Fiend."
+
+She paused for a moment, to watch the effect of her words on Alizon, and
+then resumed.
+
+"Thy mother would have sacrificed thee if thou hadst been left with her;
+but I have carried thee off, because I conceive I am best entitled to
+thee. Thou wert brought up as my grand-daughter, and therefore I claim
+thee as my own."
+
+"And you think to deal with me as if I were a puppet in your hands?"
+cried Alizon.
+
+"Ay, marry, do I," rejoined Mother Demdike, with a scream of laughter,
+"Thou art nothing more than a puppet--a puppet--ho! ho."
+
+"And you deem you can dispose of my soul without my consent?" said
+Alizon.
+
+"Thy full consent will be obtained," rejoined the old hag.
+
+"Think it not! think it not!" exclaimed Alizon. "Oh! I shall yet be
+delivered from this infernal bondage."
+
+At this moment the notes of a bugle were heard.
+
+"Saved! saved!" cried the poor girl, starting. "It is Richard come to my
+rescue!"
+
+"How know'st thou that?" cried Mother Demdike, with a spiteful look.
+
+"By an instinct that never deceives," replied Alizon, as the blast was
+again heard.
+
+"This must be stopped," said the hag, waving her staff over the maiden,
+and transfixing her where she sat; after which she took up the lamp, and
+strode towards the window.
+
+The few words that passed between her and Richard have been already
+recounted. Having closed the casement and drawn the curtain before it,
+Mother Demdike traced a circle on the floor, muttered a spell, and then,
+waving her staff over Alizon, restored her power of speech and motion.
+
+"'Twas he!" exclaimed the young girl, as soon as she could find
+utterance. "I heard his voice."
+
+"Why, ay, 'twas he, sure enough," rejoined the beldame. "He has come on
+a fool's errand, but he shall never return from it. Does Mistress Nutter
+think I will give up my prize the moment I have obtained it, for the
+mere asking? Does she imagine she can frighten me as she frightens
+others? Does she know whom she has to deal with? If not, I will tell
+her. I am the oldest, the boldest, and the strongest of the witches. No
+mystery of the black art but is known to me. I can do what mischief I
+will, and my desolating hand has been felt throughout this district. You
+may trace it like a pestilence. No one has offended me but I have
+terribly repaid him. I rule over the land like a queen. I exact
+tributes, and, if they are not rendered, I smite with a sharper edge
+than the sword. My worship is paid to the Prince of Darkness. This tower
+is his temple, and yon subterranean chamber the place where the mystical
+rites, which thou wouldst call impious and damnable, are performed.
+Countless sabbaths have I attended within it; or upon Rumbles Moor, or
+on the summit of Pendle Hill, or within the ruins of Whalley Abbey. Many
+proselytes have I made; many unbaptised babes offered up in sacrifice. I
+am high-priestess to the Demon, and thy mother would usurp mine office."
+
+"Oh! spare me this horrible recital!" exclaimed Alizon, vainly trying to
+shut out the hag's piercing voice.
+
+"I will spare thee nothing," pursued Mother Demdike. "Thy mother, I say,
+would be high-priestess in my stead. There are degrees among witches, as
+among other sects, and mine is the first. Mistress Nutter would deprive
+me of mine office; but not till her hair is as white as mine, her
+knowledge equal to mine, and her hatred of mankind as intense as
+mine--not till then shall she have it."
+
+"No more of this, in pity!" cried Alizon.
+
+"Often have I aided thy mother in her dark schemes," pursued the
+implacable hag; "nay, no later than last night I obliterated the old
+boundaries of her land, and erected new marks to serve her. It was a
+strong exercise of power; but the command came to me, and I obeyed it.
+No other witch could have achieved so much, not even the accursed
+Chattox, and she is next to myself. And how does thy mother purpose to
+requite me? By thrusting me aside, and stepping into my throne."
+
+"You must be in error," cried Alizon, scarcely knowing what to say.
+
+"My information never fails me," replied the hag, with a disdainful
+laugh. "Her plans are made known to me as soon as formed. I have those
+about her who keep strict watch upon her actions, and report them
+faithfully. I know why she brought thee so suddenly to Rough Lee, though
+thou know'st it not."
+
+"She brought me there for safety," remarked the young girl, hoping to
+allay the beldame's fury, "and because she herself desired to know how
+the survey of the boundaries would end."
+
+"She brought thee there to sacrifice thee to the Fiend!" cried the hag,
+infernal rage and malice blazing in her eyes. "She failed in
+propitiating him at the meeting in the ruined church of Whalley last
+night, when thou thyself wert present, and deliveredst Dorothy Assheton
+from the snare in which she was taken. And since then all has gone wrong
+with her. Having demanded from her familiar the cause why all things ran
+counter, she was told she had failed in the fulfilment of her
+promise--that a proselyte was required--and that thou alone wouldst be
+accepted."
+
+"I!" exclaimed Alizon, horror-stricken.
+
+"Ay, thou!" cried the hag. "No choice was allowed her, and the offering
+must be made to-night. After a long and painful struggle, thy mother
+consented."
+
+"Oh! no--impossible! you deceive me," cried the wretched girl.
+
+"I tell thee she consented," rejoined Mother Demdike, coldly; "and on
+this she made instant arrangements to return home, and in spite--as thou
+know'st--of Sir Ralph and Lady Assheton's efforts to detain her, set
+forth with thee."
+
+"All this I know," observed Alizon, sadly--"and intelligence of our
+departure from the Abbey was conveyed to you, I conclude, by Jennet, to
+whom I bade adieu."
+
+"Thou art right--it was," returned the hag; "but I have yet more to tell
+thee, for I will lay the secrets of thy mother's dark breast fully
+before thee. Her time is wellnigh run. Thou wert made the price of its
+extension. If she fails in offering thee up to-night, and thou art here
+in my keeping, the Fiend, her master, will abandon her, and she will be
+delivered up to the justice of man."
+
+Alizon covered her face with horror.
+
+After awhile she looked up, and exclaimed, with unutterable anguish--
+
+"And I cannot help her!"
+
+The unpitying hag laughed derisively.
+
+"She cannot be utterly lost," continued the young girl. "Were I near
+her, I would show her that heaven is merciful to the greatest sinner who
+repents; and teach her how to regain the lost path to salvation."
+
+"Peace!" thundered the witch, shaking her huge hand at her, and stamping
+her heavy foot upon the ground. "Such words must not be uttered here.
+They are an offence to me. Thy mother has renounced all hopes of heaven.
+She has been baptised in the baptism of hell, and branded on the brow by
+the red finger of its ruler, and cannot be wrested from him. It is too
+late."
+
+"No, no--it never can be too late!" cried Alizon. "It is not even too
+late for you."
+
+"Thou know'st not what thou talk'st about, foolish wench," rejoined the
+hag. "Our master would tear us instantly in pieces if but a thought of
+penitence, as thou callest it, crossed our minds. We are both doomed to
+an eternity of torture. But thy mother will go first--ay, first. If she
+had yielded thee up to-night, another term would have been allowed her;
+but as I hold thee instead, the benefit of the sacrifice will be mine.
+But, hist! what was that? The youth again! Alice Nutter must have given
+him some potent counter-charm."
+
+"He comes to deliver me," cried Alizon. "Richard!"
+
+And she arose, and would have flown to the window, but Mother Demdike
+waved her staff over her, and rooted her to the ground.
+
+"Stay there till I require thee," chuckled the hag, moving, with
+ponderous footsteps, to the door.
+
+After parleying with Richard, as already related, Mother Demdike
+suddenly returned to Alizon, and, restoring her to sensibility, placed
+her hideous face close to her, breathing upon her, and uttering these
+words, "Be thine eyes blinded and thy brain confused, so that thou mayst
+not know him when thou seest him, but think him another."
+
+The spell took instant effect. Alizon staggered towards the table,
+Richard was summoned, and on his appearance the scene took place which
+has already been detailed, and which ended in his losing the talisman,
+and being ejected from the tower.
+
+Alizon had been rendered invisible by the old witch, and was afterwards
+dragged into the arched recess by her, where, snatching the piece of
+gold from the young girl's neck, she exclaimed triumphantly--
+
+"Now I defy thee, Alice Nutter. Thou canst never recover thy child. The
+offering shall be made to-night, and another year be added to my long
+term."
+
+Alizon groaned deeply, but, at a gesture from the hag, she became
+motionless and speechless.
+
+A dusky indistinctly-seen figure hovered near the entrance of the
+embrasure. Mother Demdike beckoned it to her.
+
+"Convey this girl to the vault, and watch over her," she said. "I will
+descend anon."
+
+Upon this the shadowy arms enveloped Alizon, the trapdoor flew open, and
+the figure disappeared with its inanimate burthen.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.--THE TWO FAMILIARS.
+
+
+After seeing Richard depart on his perilous mission to Malkin Tower,
+Mistress Nutter retired to her own chamber, and held long and anxious
+self-communion. The course of her thoughts may be gathered from the
+terrible revelations made by Mother Demdike to Alizon. A prey to the
+most agonising emotions, it may be questioned if she could have endured
+greater torment if her heart had been consumed by living fire, as in the
+punishment assigned to the damned in the fabled halls of Eblis. For the
+first time remorse assailed her, and she felt compunction for the evil
+she had committed. The whole of her dark career passed in review before
+her. The long catalogue of her crimes unfolded itself like a scroll of
+flame, and at its foot were written in blazing characters the awful
+words, JUDGMENT AND CONDEMNATION! There was no escape--none! Hell, with
+its unquenchable fires and unimaginable horrors, yawned to receive her;
+and she felt, with anguish and self-reproach not to be described, how
+wretched a bargain she had made, and how dearly the brief gratification
+of her evil passions had been purchased at the cost of an eternity of
+woe and torture.
+
+This change of feeling had been produced by her newly-awakened affection
+for her daughter, long supposed dead, and now restored to her, only to
+be snatched away again in a manner which added to the sharpness of the
+loss. She saw herself the sport of a juggling fiend, whose aim was to
+win over her daughter's soul through her instrumentality, and she
+resolved, if possible, to defeat his purposes. This, she was aware,
+could only be accomplished by her own destruction, but even this dread
+alternative she was prepared to embrace. Alizon's sinless nature and
+devotion to herself had so wrought upon her, that, though she had at
+first resisted the better impulses kindled within her bosom, in the end
+they completely overmastered her.
+
+Was it, she asked herself, too late to repent? Was there no way of
+breaking her compact? She remembered to have read of a young man who had
+signed away his own soul, being restored to heaven by the intercession
+of the great reformer of the church, Martin Luther. But, on the other
+hand, she had heard of many others, who, on the slightest manifestation
+of penitence, had been rent in pieces by the Fiend. Still the idea
+recurred to her. Might not her daughter, armed with perfect purity and
+holiness, with a soul free from stain as an unspotted mirror; might not
+she, who had avouched herself ready to risk all for her--for she had
+overheard her declaration to Richard;--might not she be able to work out
+her salvation? Would confession of her sins and voluntary submission to
+earthly justice save her? Alas!--no. She was without hope. She had an
+inexorable master to deal with, who would grant her no grace, except
+upon conditions she would not assent to.
+
+She would have thrown herself on her knees, but they refused to bend.
+She would have prayed, but the words turned to blasphemies. She would
+have wept, but the fountains of tears were dry. The witch could never
+weep.
+
+Then came despair and frenzy, and, like furies, lashed her with whips of
+scorpions, goading her with the memory of her abominations and
+idolatries, and her infinite and varied iniquities. They showed her, as
+in a swiftly-fleeting vision, all who had suffered wrong by her, or whom
+her malice had afflicted in body or estate. They mocked her with a
+glimpse of the paradise she had forfeited. She saw her daughter in a
+beatified state about to enter its golden portals, and would have clung
+to her robes in the hope of being carried in with her, but she was
+driven away by an angel with a flaming sword, who cried out, "Thou hast
+abjured heaven, and heaven rejects thee. Satan's brand is upon thy brow
+and, unless it be effaced, thou canst never enter here. Down to Tophet,
+thou witch!" Then she implored her daughter to touch her brow with the
+tip of her finger; and, as the latter was about to comply, a dark
+demoniacal shape suddenly rose, and, seizing her by the hair, plunged
+with her down--down--millions of miles--till she beheld a world of fire
+appear beneath her, consisting of a multitude of volcanoes, roaring and
+raging like furnaces, boiling over with redhot lava, and casting forth
+huge burning stones. In each of these beds of fire thousands upon
+thousands of sufferers were writhing, and their groans and lamentations
+arose in one frightful, incessant wail, too terrible for human hearing.
+
+Over this place of torment the demon held her suspended. She shrieked
+aloud in her agony, and, shaking off the oppression, rejoiced to find
+the vision had been caused by her own distempered imagination.
+
+Meanwhile, the storm, which had obstructed Richard as he climbed the
+hill, had come on, though Mistress Nutter had not noticed it; but now a
+loud peal of thunder shook the room, and rousing herself she walked to
+the window. The sight she beheld increased her alarm. Heavy
+thunder-clouds rested upon the hill-side, and seemed ready to discharge
+their artillery upon the course which she knew must be taken by the
+young man.
+
+The chamber in which she stood, it has been said, was large and gloomy,
+with a wainscoting of dark oak. On one of the panels was painted a
+picture of herself in her days of youth, innocence, and beauty; and on
+another, a portrait of her unfortunate husband, who appeared a handsome
+young man, with a stern countenance, attired in a black velvet doublet
+and cloak, of the fashion of Elizabeth's day. Between these paintings
+stood a carved oak bedstead, with a high tester and dark heavy drapery,
+opposite which was a wide window, occupying almost the whole length of
+the room, but darkened by thick bars and glass, crowded with armorial
+bearings, or otherwise deeply dyed. The high mantelpiece and its
+carvings have been previously described, as well as the bloody
+hearthstone, where the tragical incident occurred connected with
+Alizon's early history.
+
+As Mistress Nutter returned to the fireplace, a plaintive cry arose from
+it, and starting--for the sound revived terrible memories within her
+breast--she beheld the ineffaceable stains upon the flag traced out by
+blue phosphoric fire, while above them hovered the shape of a bleeding
+infant. Horror-stricken, she averted her gaze, but it encountered
+another object, equally appalling--her husband's portrait; or rather,
+it would seem, a phantom in its place; for the eyes, lighted up by
+infernal fire, glared at her from beneath the frowning and contracted
+brows, while the hand significantly pointed to the hearthstone, on which
+the sanguinary stains had now formed themselves into the fatal word
+"VENGEANCE!"
+
+In a few minutes the fiery characters died away, and the portrait
+resumed its wonted expression; but ere Mistress Nutter had recovered
+from her terror the back of the fireplace opened, and a tall swarthy man
+stepped out from it. As he appeared, a flash of lightning illumined the
+chamber, and revealed his fiendish countenance. On seeing him, the lady
+immediately regained her courage, and addressed him in a haughty and
+commanding tone--
+
+"Why this intrusion? I did not summon thee, and do not require thee."
+
+"You are mistaken, madam," he replied; "you had never more occasion for
+me than at this moment; and, so far from intruding upon you, I have
+avoided coming near you, even though enjoined to do so by my lord. He is
+perfectly aware of the change which has just taken place in your
+opinions, and the anxiety you now feel to break the contract you have
+entered into with him, and which he has scrupulously fulfilled on his
+part; but he wishes you distinctly to understand, that he has no
+intention of abandoning his claims upon you, but will most assuredly
+enforce them at the proper time. I need not remind you that your term
+draws to a close, and ere many months must expire; but means of
+extending it have been offered you, if you choose to avail yourself of
+them."
+
+"I have no such intention," replied Mistress Nutter, in a decided tone.
+
+"So be it, madam," replied the other; "but you will not preserve your
+daughter, who is in the hands of a tried and faithful servant of my
+lord, and what you hesitate to do that servant will perform, and so reap
+the benefit of the sacrifice."
+
+"Not so," rejoined Mistress Nutter.
+
+"I say yea," retorted the familiar.
+
+"Thou art my slave, I command thee to bring Alizon hither at once."
+
+The familiar shook his head.
+
+"Thou refusest!" cried Mistress Nutter, menacingly.
+
+"Knows't thou not I have the means of chastising thee?"
+
+"You had, madam," replied the other; "but the moment a thought of
+penitence crossed your breast, the power you were invested with
+departed. My lord, however, is willing to give you an hour of grace,
+when, if you voluntarily renew your oaths to him, he will accept them,
+and place me at your disposal once more; but if you still continue
+obstinate--"
+
+"He will abandon me," interrupted Mistress Nutter; "I knew it. Fool
+that I was to trust one who, from the beginning, has been a deceiver."
+
+"You have a short memory, and but little gratitude, madam and seem
+entirely to forget the important favour conferred upon you last night.
+At your solicitation, the boundaries of your property were changed, and
+large slips of land filched from another, to be given to you. But if you
+fail in your duty, you cannot expect this to continue. The boundary
+marks will be set up in their old places, and the land restored to its
+rightful owner."
+
+"I expected as much," observed Mistress Nutter, disdainfully.
+
+"Thus all our pains will be thrown away," pursued the familiar; "and
+though you may make light of the labour, it is no easy task to change
+the face of a whole country--to turn streams from their course, move
+bogs, transplant trees, and shift houses, all of which has been done,
+and will now have to be undone, because of your inconstancy. I, myself,
+have been obliged to act as many parts as a poor player to please you,
+and now you dismiss me at a moment's notice, as if I had played them
+indifferently, whereas the most fastidious audience would have been
+ravished with my performance. This morning I was the reeve of the
+forest, and as such obliged to assume the shape of a rascally attorney.
+I felt it a degradation, I assure you. Nor was I better pleased when you
+compelled me to put on the likeness of old Roger Nowell; for, whatever
+you may think, I am not so entirely destitute of personal vanity as to
+prefer either of their figures to my own. However, I showed no
+disinclination to oblige you. You are strangely unreasonable to-day. Is
+it my lord's fault if your desire of vengeance expires in its
+fruition--if, when you have accomplished an object, you no longer care
+for it? You ask for revenge--for power. You have them, and cast them
+aside like childish baubles!"
+
+"Thy lord is an arch deceiver," rejoined Mistress Nutter; "and cannot
+perform his promises. They are empty delusions--profitless,
+unsubstantial as shadows. His power prevails not against any thing holy,
+as I myself have just now experienced. His money turns to withered
+leaves; his treasures are dust and ashes. Strong only is he in power of
+mischief, and even his mischief, like curses, recoils on those who use
+it. His vengeance is no true vengeance, for it troubles the conscience,
+and engenders remorse; whereas the servant of heaven heaps coals of fire
+on the head of his adversary by kindness, and satisfies his own heart."
+
+"You should have thought of all this before you vowed yourself to him,"
+said the familiar; "it is too late to reflect now."
+
+"Perchance not," rejoined Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Beware!" thundered the demon, with a terrible gesture; "any overt act
+of disobedience, and your limbs shall be scattered over this chamber."
+
+"If I do not dare thee to it, it is not because I fear thee," replied
+Mistress Nutter, in no way dismayed by the threat. "Thou canst not
+control my tongue. Thou speakest of the services rendered by thy lord,
+and I repeat they are like his promises, naught. Show me the witch he
+has enriched. Of what profit is her worship of the false deity--of what
+avail the sacrifices she makes at his foul altars? It is ever the same
+spilling of blood, ever the same working of mischief. The wheels Of
+crime roll on like the car of the Indian idol, crushing all before them.
+Doth thy master ever help his servants in their need? Doth he not ever
+abandon them when they are no longer useful, and can win him no more
+proselytes? Miserable servants--miserable master! Look at the murtherous
+Demdike and the malignant Chattox, and examine the means whereby they
+have prolonged their baleful career. Enormities of all kinds committed,
+and all their families devoted to the Fiend--all wizards or witches!
+Look at them, I say. What profit to them is their long service? Are they
+rich? Are they in possession of unfading youth and beauty? Are they
+splendidly lodged? Have they all they desire? No!--the one dwells in a
+solitary turret, and the other in a wretched hovel; and both are
+miserable creatures, living only on the dole wrung by threats from
+terrified peasants, and capable of no gratification but such as results
+from practices of malice."
+
+"Is that nothing?" asked the familiar. "To them it is every thing. They
+care neither for splendid mansions, nor wealth, nor youth, nor beauty.
+If they did, they could have them all. They care only for the dread and
+mysterious power they possess, to be able to fascinate with a glance, to
+transfix by a gesture, to inflict strange ailments by a word, and to
+kill by a curse. This is the privilege they seek, and this privilege
+they enjoy."
+
+"And what is the end of it all?" demanded Mistress Nutter, sternly.
+"Erelong, they will be unable to furnish victims to their insatiate
+master, who will then abandon them. Their bodies will go to the hangman,
+and their souls to endless bale!"
+
+The familiar laughed as if a good joke had been repeated to him, and
+rubbed his hands gleefully.
+
+"Very true," he said; "very true. You have stated the case exactly,
+madam. Such will certainly be the course of events. But what of that?
+The old hags will have enjoyed a long term--much longer than might have
+been anticipated. Mother Demdike, however, as I have intimated, will
+extend hers, and it is fortunate for her she is enabled to do so, as it
+would otherwise expire an hour after midnight, and could not be
+renewed."
+
+"Thou liest!" cried Mistress Nutter--"liest like thy lord, who is the
+father of lies. My innocent child can never be offered up at his impious
+shrine. I have no fear for her. Neither he, nor Mother Demdike, nor any
+of the accursed sisterhood, can harm her. Her goodness will cover her
+like armour, which no evil can penetrate. Let him wreak his vengeance,
+if he will, on me. Let him treat me as a slave who has cast off his
+yoke. Let him abridge the scanty time allotted me, and bear me hence to
+his burning kingdom; but injure my child, he cannot--shall not!"
+
+"Go to Malkin Tower at midnight, and thou wilt see," replied the
+familiar, with a mocking laugh.
+
+"I will go there, but it shall be to deliver her," rejoined Mistress
+Nutter. "And now get thee gone! I need thee no more."
+
+"Be not deceived, proud woman," said the familiar. "Once dismissed, I
+may not be recalled, while thou wilt be wholly unable to defend thyself
+against thy enemies."
+
+"I care not," she rejoined; "begone!"
+
+The familiar stepped back, and, stamping upon the hearthstone, it sank
+like a trapdoor, and he disappeared beneath it, a flash of lightning
+playing round his dusky figure.
+
+Notwithstanding her vaunted resolution, and the boldness with which she
+had comported herself before the familiar, Mistress Nutter now
+completely gave way, and for awhile abandoned herself to despair.
+Aroused at length by the absolute necessity of action, she again walked
+to the window and looked forth. The storm still raged furiously
+without--so furiously, indeed, that it would be madness to brave it, now
+that she was deprived of her power, and reduced to the ordinary level of
+humanity. Its very violence, however, assured her it must soon cease,
+and she would then set out for Malkin Tower. But what chance had she now
+in a struggle with the old hag, with all the energies of hell at her
+command?--what hope was there of her being able to effect her daughter's
+liberation? No matter, however desperate, the attempt should be made.
+Meanwhile, it would be necessary so see what was going on below, and
+ascertain whether Blackadder had returned with Parson Holden. With this
+view, she descended to the hall, where she found Nicholas Assheton fast
+asleep in a great arm-chair, and rocked rather than disturbed by the
+loud concussions of thunder. The squire was, no doubt, overcome by the
+fatigues of the day, or it might be by the potency of the wine he had
+swallowed, for an empty flask stood on the table beside him. Mistress
+Nutter did not awaken him, but proceeded to the chamber where she had
+left Nowell and Potts prisoners, both of whom rose on her entrance.
+
+"Be seated, gentlemen, I pray you," she said, courteously. "I am come to
+see if you need any thing; for when this fearful storm abates, I am
+going forth for a short time."
+
+"Indeed, madam," replied Potts. "For myself I require nothing further;
+but perhaps another bottle of wine might be agreeable to my honoured and
+singular good client."
+
+"Speak for yourself, sir," cried Roger Nowell, sharply.
+
+"You shall have it," interposed Mistress Nutter. "I shall be glad of a
+word with you before I go, Master Nowell. I am sorry this dispute has
+arisen between us."
+
+"Humph!" exclaimed the magistrate.
+
+"Very sorry," pursued Mistress Nutter; "and I wish to make every
+reparation in my power."
+
+"Reparation, madam!" cried Nowell. "Give back the land you have stolen
+from me--restore the boundary lines--sign the deed in Sir Ralph's
+possession--that is the only reparation you can make."
+
+"I will," replied Mistress Nutter.
+
+"You will!" exclaimed Nowell. "Then the fellow did not deceive us,
+Master Potts."
+
+"Has any one been with you?" asked the lady, uneasily.
+
+"Ay, the reeve of the forest," replied Nowell. "He told us you would be
+with us presently, and would make fair offers to us."
+
+"And he told us also _why_ you would make them, madam," added Potts, in
+an insolent and menacing tone; "he told us you would make a merit of
+doing what you could not help--that your power had gone from you--that
+your works of darkness would be destroyed--and that, in a word, you were
+abandoned by the devil, your master."
+
+"He deceived you," replied Mistress Nutter. "I have made you the offer
+out of pure good-will, and you can reject it or not, as you please. All
+I stipulate, if you do accept it, is, that you pledge me your word not
+to bring any charge of witchcraft against me."
+
+"Do not give the pledge," whispered a voice in the ear of the
+magistrate.
+
+"Did you speak?" he said, turning to Potts.
+
+"No, sir," replied the attorney, in a low tone; "but I thought you
+cautioned me against--"
+
+"Hush!" interrupted Nowell; "it must be the reeve. We cannot comply with
+your request, madam," he added, aloud.
+
+"Certainly not," said Potts. "We can make no bargain with an avowed
+witch. We should gain nothing by it; on the contrary, we should be
+losers, for we have the positive assurance of a gentleman whom we
+believe to be upon terms of intimacy with a certain black gentleman of
+your acquaintance, madam, that the latter has given you up entirely, and
+that law and justice may, therefore, take their course. We protest
+against our unlawful detention; but we give ourselves small concern
+about it, as Sir Ralph Assheton, who will be advised of our situation by
+Parson Holden, will speedily come to our liberation."
+
+"Yes, we are now quite easy on that score, madam," added Nowell; "and
+to-morrow we shall have the pleasure of escorting you to Lancaster
+Castle."
+
+"And your trial will come on at the next assizes, about the middle of
+August," said Potts, "You have only four months to run."
+
+"That is indeed my term," muttered the lady. "I shall not tarry to
+listen to your taunts," she added, aloud. "You may possibly regret
+rejecting my proposal."
+
+So saying, she quitted the room.
+
+As she returned to the hall, Nicholas awoke.
+
+"What a devil of a storm!" he exclaimed, stretching himself and rubbing
+his eyes. "Zounds! that flash of lightning was enough to blind me, and
+the thunder wellnigh splits one's ears."
+
+"Yet you have slept through louder peals, Nicholas," said Mistress
+Nutter, coming up to him. "Richard has not returned from his mission,
+and I must go myself to Malkin Tower. In my absence, I must entrust you
+with the defence of my house."
+
+"I am willing to undertake it," replied Nicholas, "provided no
+witchcraft be used."
+
+"Nay, you need not fear that," said the lady, with a forced smile.
+
+"Well, then, leave it to me," said the squire; "but you will not set out
+till the storm is over?"
+
+"I must," replied Mistress Nutter; "there seems no likelihood of its
+cessation, and each moment is fraught with peril to Alizon. If aught
+happens to me, Nicholas--if I should--whatever mischance may befall
+me--promise me you will stand by her."
+
+The squire gave the required promise.
+
+"Enough, I hold you to your word," said Mistress Nutter. "Take this
+parchment. It is a deed of gift, assigning this mansion and all my
+estates to her. Under certain circumstances you will produce it."
+
+"What circumstances? I am at a loss to understand you, madam," said the
+squire.
+
+"Do not question me further, but take especial care of the deed, and
+produce it, as I have said, at the fitting moment. You will know when
+that arrives. Ha! I am wanted."
+
+The latter exclamation had been occasioned by the appearance of an old
+woman at the further end of the hall, beckoning to her. On seeing her,
+Mistress Nutter immediately quitted the squire, and followed her into a
+small chamber opening from this part of the hall, and into which she
+retreated.
+
+"What brings you here, Mother Chattox?" exclaimed the lady, closing the
+door.
+
+"Can you not guess?" replied the hag. "I am come to help you, not for
+any love I bear you, but to avenge myself on old Demdike. Do not
+interrupt me. My familiar, Fancy, has told me all. I know how you are
+circumstanced. I know Alizon is in old Demdike's clutches, and you are
+unable to extricate her. But I can, and will; because if the hateful old
+hag fails in offering up her sacrifice before the first hour of day, her
+term will be out, and I shall be rid of her, and reign in her stead.
+To-morrow she will be on her way to Lancaster Castle. Ha! ha! The
+dungeon is prepared for her--the stake driven into the ground--the
+fagots heaped around it. The torch has only to be lighted. Ho! Ho!"
+
+[Illustration: THE RIDE THROUGH THE MURKY AIR.]
+
+"Shall we go to Malkin Tower?" asked Mistress Nutter, shuddering.
+
+"No; to the summit of Pendle Hill," rejoined Mother Chattox; "for there
+the girl will be taken, and there only can we secure her. But first we
+must proceed to my hut, and make some preparations. I have three scalps
+and eight teeth, taken from a grave in Goldshaw churchyard this very
+day. We can make a charm with them."
+
+"You must prepare it alone," said Mistress Nutter; "I can have nought to
+do with it."
+
+"True--true--I had forgotten," cried the hag, with a chuckling
+laugh--"you are no longer one of us. Well, then, I will do it alone. But
+come with me. You will not object to mount upon my broomstick. It is the
+only safe conveyance in this storm of the devil's raising. Come--away!"
+
+And she threw open the window and sprang forth, followed by Mistress
+Nutter.
+
+Through the murky air, and borne as if on the wings of the wind, two
+dark forms are flying swiftly. Over the tops of the tempest-shaken trees
+they go, and as they gain the skirts of the thicket an oak beneath is
+shivered by a thunderbolt. They hear the fearful crash, and see the
+splinters fly far and wide; and the foremost of the two, who, with her
+skinny arm extended, seems to direct their course, utters a wild scream
+of laughter, while a raven, speeding on broad black wing before them,
+croaks hoarsely. Now the torrent rages below, and they see its white
+waters tumbling over a ledge of rock; now they pass over the brow of a
+hill; now skim over a dreary waste and dangerous morass. Fearful it is
+to behold those two flying figures, as the lightning shows them,
+bestriding their fantastical steed; the one an old hag with hideous
+lineaments and distorted person, and the other a proud dame, still
+beautiful, though no longer young, pale as death, and her loose jetty
+hair streaming like a meteor in the breeze.
+
+The ride is over, and they alight near the door of a solitary hovel. The
+raven has preceded them, and, perched on the chimney top, flies down it
+as they enter, and greets them with hoarse croaking. The inside of the
+hut corresponds with its miserable exterior, consisting only of two
+rooms, in one of which is a wretched pallet; in the other are a couple
+of large chests, a crazy table, a bench, a three-legged stool, and a
+spinning-wheel. A caldron is suspended above a peat fire, smouldering on
+the hearth. There is only one window, and a thick curtain is drawn
+across it, to secure the inmate of the hut from prying eyes.
+
+Mother Chattox closes and bars the door, and, motioning Mistress Nutter
+to seat herself upon the stool, kneels down near the hearth, and blows
+the turf into a flame, the raven helping her, by flapping his big black
+wings, and uttering a variety of strange sounds, as the sparks fly
+about. Heaping on more turf, and shifting the caldron, so that it may
+receive the full influence of the flame, the hag proceeds to one of the
+chests, and takes out sundry small matters, which she places one by one
+with great care on the table. The raven has now fixed his great talons
+on her shoulder, and chuckles and croaks in her ear as she pursues her
+occupation. Suddenly a piece of bone attracts his attention, and darting
+out his beak, he seizes it, and hops away.
+
+"Give me that scalp, thou mischievous imp!" cries the hag, "I need it
+for the charm I am about to prepare. Give it me, I say!"
+
+But the raven still held it fast, and hopped here and there so nimbly
+that she was unable to catch him. At length, when he had exhausted her
+patience, he alighted on Mistress Nutter's shoulder, and dropped it into
+her lap. Engrossed by her own painful thoughts, the lady had paid no
+attention to what was passing, and she shuddered as she took up the
+fragment of mortality, and placed it upon the table. A few tufts of
+hair, the texture of which showed they had belonged to a female, still
+adhered to the scalp. Mistress Nutter regarded it fixedly, and with an
+interest for which she could not account.
+
+After sharply chiding the raven, Mother Chattox put forth her hand to
+grasp the prize she had been robbed of, when Mistress Nutter checked her
+by observing, "You said you got this scalp from Goldshaw churchyard.
+Know you ought concerning it?"
+
+"Ay, a good deal," replied the old woman, chuckling. "It comes from a
+grave near the yew-tree, and not far from Abbot Cliderhow's cross. Old
+Zachariah Worms, the sexton, digged it up for me. That yellow skull had
+once a fair face attached to it, and those few dull tufts were once
+bright flowing tresses. She who owned them died young; but, young as she
+was, she survived all her beauty. Hollow cheeks and hollow eyes, wasted
+flesh, and cruel cough, were hers--and she pined and pined away. Folks
+said she was forespoken, and that I had done it. I, forsooth! She had
+never done me harm. You know whether I was rightly accused, madam."
+
+"Take it away," cried Mistress Nutter, hurriedly, and as if struggling
+against some overmastering feeling. "I cannot bear to look at it. I
+wanted not this horrible reminder of my crimes."
+
+"This was the reason, then, why Ralph stole the scalp from me," muttered
+the hag, as she threw it, together with some other matters, into the
+caldron. "He wanted to show you his sagacity. I might have guessed as
+much."
+
+"I will go into the other room while you make your preparations," said
+Mistress Nutter, rising; "the sight of them disturbs me. You can summon
+me when you are ready."
+
+"I will, madam," replied the old hag, "and you must control your
+impatience, for the spell requires time for its confection."
+
+Mistress Nutter made no reply, but, walking into the inner room, closed
+the door, and threw herself upon the pallet. Here, despite her anxiety,
+sleep stole upon her, and though her dreams were troubled, she did not
+awake till Mother Chattox stood beside her.
+
+"Have I slept long?" she inquired.
+
+"More than three hours," replied the hag.
+
+"Three hours!" exclaimed Mistress Nutter. "Why did you not wake me
+before? You would have saved me from terrible dreams. We are not too
+late?"
+
+"No, no," replied Mother Chattox; "there is plenty of time. Come into
+the other room. All is ready."
+
+As Mistress Nutter followed the old hag into the adjoining room, a
+strong odour, arising from a chafing-dish, in which herbs, roots, and
+other ingredients were burning, assailed her, and, versed in all weird
+ceremonials, she knew that a powerful suffumigation had been made,
+though with what intent she had yet to learn. The scanty furniture had
+been cleared away, and a circle was described on the clay floor by
+skulls and bones, alternated by dried toads, adders, and other reptiles.
+In the midst of this magical circle, the caldron, which had been brought
+from the chimney, was placed, and, the lid being removed, a thick vapour
+arose from it. Mistress Nutter looked around for the raven, but the bird
+was nowhere to be seen, nor did any other living thing appear to be
+present beside themselves.
+
+Taking the lady's hand, Mother Chattox drew her into the circle, and
+began to mutter a spell; after which, still maintaining her hold of her
+companion, she bade her look into the caldron, and declare what she saw.
+
+"I see nothing," replied the lady, after she had gazed upon the bubbling
+waters for a few moments. "Ah! yes--I discern certain figures, but they
+are confused by the steam, and broken by the agitation of the water."
+
+"Caldron--cease boiling! and smoke--disperse!" cried Mother Chattox,
+stamping her foot. "Now, can you see more plainly?"
+
+"I can," replied Mistress Nutter; "I behold the subterranean chamber
+beneath Malkin Tower, with its nine ponderous columns, its altar in the
+midst of them, its demon image, and the well with waters black as Lethe
+beside it."
+
+"The water within the caldron came from that well," said Mother Chattox,
+with a chuckling laugh; "my familiar risked his liberty to bring it, but
+he succeeded. Ha! ha! My precious Fancy, thou art the best of servants,
+and shalt have my best blood to reward thee to-morrow--thou shalt, my
+sweetheart, my chuck, my dandyprat. But hie thee back to Malkin Tower,
+and contrive that this lady may hear, as well as see, all that passes.
+Away!"
+
+Mistress Nutter concluded that the injunction would be obeyed; but, as
+the familiar was invisible to her, she could not detect his departure.
+
+"Do you see no one within the dungeon?" inquired Mother Chattox.
+
+"Ah! yes," exclaimed the lady; "I have at last discovered Alizon. She
+was behind one of the pillars. A little girl is with her. It is Jennet
+Device, and, from the spiteful looks of the latter, I judge she is
+mocking her. Oh! what malice lurks in the breast of that hateful child!
+She is a true descendant of Mother Demdike. But Alizon--sweet, patient
+Alizon--she seems to bear all her taunts with a meekness and resignation
+enough to move the hardest heart. I would weep for her if I could. And
+now Jennet shakes her hand at her, and leaves her. She is alone. What
+will she do now? Has she no thoughts of escape? Oh, yes! She looks about
+her distractedly--runs round the vault--tries the door of every cell:
+they are all bolted and barred--there is no outlet--none!"
+
+"What next?" inquired the hag.
+
+"She shrieks aloud," rejoined Mistress Nutter, "and the cry thrills
+through every fibre in my frame. She calls upon me for aid--upon me, her
+mother, and little thinks I hear her, and am unable to help her. Oh! it
+is horrible. Take me to her, good Chattox--take me to her, I implore
+you!"
+
+"Impossible!" replied the hag: "you must await the fitting time. If you
+cannot control yourself, I shall remove the caldron."
+
+"Oh! no, no," cried the distracted lady. "I will be calm. Ah! what is
+this I see?" she added, belying her former words by sudden vehemence,
+while rage and astonishment were depicted upon her countenance. "What
+infernal delusion is practised upon my child! This is monstrous--
+intolerable. Oh! that I could undeceive her--could warn her
+of the snare!"
+
+"What is the nature of the delusion?" asked Mother Chattox, with some
+curiosity. "I am so blind I cannot see the figures on the water."
+
+"It is an evil spirit in my likeness," replied Mistress Nutter.
+
+"In your likeness!" exclaimed the hag. "A cunning device--and worthy of
+old Demdike--ho! ho!"
+
+"I can scarce bear to look on," cried Mistress Nutter; "but I must,
+though it tears my heart in pieces to witness such cruelty. The poor
+girl has rushed to her false parent--has thrown her arms around her, and
+is weeping on her shoulder. Oh! it is a maddening sight. But it is
+nothing to what follows. The temptress, with the subtlety of the old
+serpent, is pouring lies into her ear, telling her they both are
+captives, and both will perish unless she consents to purchase their
+deliverance at the price of her soul, and she offers her a bond to
+sign--such a bond as, alas! thou and I, Chattox, have signed. But Alizon
+rejects it with horror, and gazes at her false mother as if she
+suspected the delusion. But the temptress is not to be beaten thus. She
+renews her entreaties, casts herself on the ground, and clasps my
+child's knees in humblest supplication. Oh! that Alizon would place her
+foot upon her neck and crush her. But it is not so the good act. She
+raises her, and tells her she will willingly die for her; but her soul
+was given to her by her Creator, and must be returned to him. Oh! that I
+had thought of this."
+
+"And what answer makes the spirit?" asked the witch.
+
+"It laughs derisively," replied Mistress Nutter; "and proceeds to use
+all those sophistical arguments, which we have so often heard, to
+pervert her mind, and overthrow her principles. But Alizon is proof
+against them all. Religion and virtue support her, and make her more
+than a match for her opponent. Equally vain are the spirit's attempts to
+seduce her by the offer of a life of sinful enjoyment. She rejects it
+with angry scorn. Failing in argument and entreaty, the spirit now
+endeavours to work upon her fears, and paints, in appalling colours, the
+tortures she will have to endure, contrasting them with the delight she
+is voluntarily abandoning, with the lover she might espouse, with the
+high worldly position she might fill. 'What are worldly joys and honours
+compared with those of heaven!' exclaims Alizon; 'I would not exchange
+them.' The spirit then, in a vision, shows her her lover, Richard, and
+asks her if she can resist his entreaties. The trial is very sore, as
+she gazes on that beloved form, seeming, by its passionate gestures, to
+implore her to assent, but she is firm, and the vision disappears. The
+ordeal is now over. Alizon has triumphed over all their arts. The spirit
+in my likeness resumes its fiendish shape, and, with a dreadful menace
+against the poor girl, vanishes from her sight."
+
+"Mother Demdike has not done with her yet," observed Chattox.
+
+"You are right," replied Mistress Nutter. "The old hag descends the
+staircase leading to the vault, and approaches the miserable captive.
+With her there are no supplications--no arguments; but commands and
+terrible threats. She is as unsuccessful as her envoy. Alizon has gained
+courage and defies her."
+
+"Ha! does she so?" exclaimed Mother Chattox. "I am glad of it."
+
+"The solid floor resounds with the stamping of the enraged witch,"
+pursued Mistress Nutter. "She tells Alizon she will take her to Pendle
+Hill at midnight, and there offer her up as a sacrifice to the Fiend. My
+child replies that she trusts for her deliverance to Heaven--that her
+body may be destroyed--that her soul cannot be harmed. Scarcely are the
+words uttered than a terrible clangour is heard. The walls of the
+dungeon seem breaking down, and the ponderous columns reel. The demon
+statue rises on its throne, and a stream of flame issues from its brow.
+The doors of the cells burst open, and with the clanking of chains, and
+other dismal noises, skeleton shapes stalk forth, from them, each with a
+pale blue light above its head. Monstrous beasts, like tiger-cats, with
+rough black skins and flaming eyes, are moving about, and looking as if
+they would spring upon the captive. Two gravestones are now pushed
+aside, and from the cold earth arise the forms of Blackburn, the robber,
+and his paramour, the dissolute Isole de Heton. She joins the grisly
+throng now approaching the distracted girl, who falls insensible to the
+ground."
+
+"Can you see aught more?" asked the hag, as Mistress Nutter still bent
+eagerly over the caldron.
+
+"No; the whole chamber is buried in darkness," replied the lady; "I can
+see nothing of my poor child. What will become of her?"
+
+"I will question Fancy," replied the hag, throwing some fresh
+ingredients into the chafing-dish; and, as the smoke arose, she
+vociferated, "Come hither, Fancy; I want thee, my fondling, my sweet.
+Come quickly! ha! thou art here."
+
+The familiar was still invisible to Mistress Nutter, but a slight sound
+made her aware of his presence.
+
+"And now, my sweet Fancy," pursued the hag, "tell us, if thou canst,
+what will be done with Alizon, and what course we must pursue to free
+her from old Demdike?"
+
+"At present she is in a state of insensibility," replied a harsh voice,
+"and she will be kept in that condition till she is conveyed to the
+summit of Pendle Hill. I have already told you it is useless to attempt
+to take her from Malkin Tower. It is too well guarded. Your only chance
+will be to interrupt the sacrifice."
+
+"But how, my sweet Fancy? how, my little darling?" inquired the hag.
+
+"It is a perplexing question," replied the voice; "for, by showing you
+how to obtain possession of the girl, I disobey my lord."
+
+"Ay, but you serve me--you please me, my pretty Fancy," cried the hag.
+"You shall quaff your fill of blood on the morrow, if you do this for
+me. I want to get rid of my old enemy--to catch her in her own toils--to
+send her to a dungeon--to burn her--ha! ha! You must help me, my little
+sweetheart."
+
+"I will do all I can," replied the voice; "but Mother Demdike is cunning
+and powerful, and high in favour with my lord. You must have mortal aid
+as well as mine. The officers of justice must be there to seize her at
+the moment when the victim is snatched from her, or she will baffle all
+your schemes."
+
+"And how shall we accomplish this?" asked Mother Chattox.
+
+"I will tell you," said Mistress Nutter to the hag. "Let him put on the
+form of Richard Assheton, and in that guise hasten to Rough Lee, where
+he will find the young man's cousin, Nicholas, to whom he must make
+known the dreadful deed about to be enacted on Pendle Hill. Nicholas
+will at once engage to interrupt it. He can arm himself with the weapons
+of justice by taking with him Roger Nowell, the magistrate, and his
+myrmidon, Potts, the attorney, both of whom are detained prisoners in
+the house by my orders."
+
+"The scheme promises well, and shall be adopted," replied the hag; "but
+suppose Richard himself should appear first on the scene. Dost know
+where he is, my sweet Fancy?"
+
+"When I last saw him," replied the voice, "he was lying senseless on the
+ground, at the foot of Malkin Tower, having been precipitated from the
+doorway by Mother Demdike. You need apprehend no interference from him."
+
+"It is well," replied Mother Chattox. "Then take his form, my pet,
+though it is not half as handsome as thy own."
+
+"A black skin and goat-like limbs are to thy taste, I know," replied the
+familiar, with a laugh.
+
+"Let me look upon him before he goes, that I may be sure the likeness is
+exact," said Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Thou hearest, Fancy! Become visible to her," cried the hag.
+
+And as she spoke, a figure in all respects resembling Richard stood
+before them.
+
+"What think you of him? Will he do?" said Mother Chattox.
+
+"Ay," replied the lady; "and now send him off at once. There is no time
+to lose."
+
+"I shall be there in the twinkling of an eye," said the familiar; "but I
+own I like not the task."
+
+"There is no help for it, my sweet Fancy," cried the hag. "I cannot
+forego my triumph over old Demdike. Now, away with thee, and when thou
+hast executed thy mission, return and tell us how thou hast sped in the
+matter."
+
+The familiar promised obedience to her commands, and disappeared.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.--HOW ROUGH LEE WAS AGAIN BESIEGED.
+
+
+Parson Holden, it will be remembered, left Rough Lee, charged by Potts
+with a message to Sir Ralph Assheton, informing him of his detention and
+that of Roger Nowell, by Mistress Nutter, and imploring him to come to
+their assistance without delay. Congratulating himself on his escape,
+but apprehensive of pursuit, the worthy rector, who, as a keen
+huntsman, was extremely well mounted, made the best of his way, and had
+already passed the gloomy gorge through which Pendle Water swept, had
+climbed the hill beyond it, and was crossing the moor now alone lying
+between him and Goldshaw, when he heard a shout behind him, and, turning
+at the sound, beheld Blackadder and another mounted serving-man issuing
+from a thicket, and spurring furiously after him. Relying upon the speed
+of his horse, he disregarded their cries, and accelerated his pace; but,
+in spite of this, his pursuers gained upon him rapidly.
+
+While debating the question of resistance or surrender, the rector
+descried Bess Whitaker coming towards him from the opposite direction--a
+circumstance that greatly rejoiced him; for, aware of her strength and
+courage, he felt sure he could place as much dependence upon her in this
+emergency as on any man in the county. Bess was riding a stout,
+rough-looking nag, apparently well able to sustain her weight, and
+carried the redoubtable horsewhip with her.
+
+On the other hand, Holden had been recognised by Bess, who came up just
+as he was overtaken and seized by his assailants, one of whom caught
+hold of his cassock, and tore it from his back, while the other, seizing
+hold of his bridle, endeavoured, in spite of his efforts to the
+contrary, to turn his horse round. Many oaths, threats, and blows were
+exchanged during the scuffle, which no doubt would have terminated in
+the rector's defeat, and his compulsory return to Rough Lee, had it not
+been for the opportune arrival of Bess, who, swearing as lustily as the
+serving-men, and brandishing the horsewhip, dashed into the scene of
+action, and, with a few well-applied cuts, liberated the divine. Enraged
+at her interference, and smarting from the application of the whip,
+Blackadder drew a petronel from his girdle, and levelled it at her head;
+but, ere he could discharge it, the weapon was stricken from his grasp,
+and a second blow on the head from the but-end of the whip felled him
+from his horse. Seeing the fate of his companion, the other serving-man
+fled, leaving Bess mistress of the field.
+
+The rector thanked her heartily for the service she had rendered him,
+and complimented her on her prowess.
+
+"Ey'n neaw dun mitch to boast on i' leatherin' them two seawr-feaced
+rapscallions," said Bess, with becoming modesty. "Simon Blackadder an ey
+ha' had mony a tussle together efore this, fo he's a feaw tempert felly,
+an canna drink abowt fightin', boh he has awlus found me more nor his
+match. Boh save us, your reverence, what were the ill-favort gullions
+ridin' after ye for? Firrups tak 'em! they didna mean to rob ye,
+surely?"
+
+"Their object was to make me prisoner, and carry me back to Rough Lee,
+Bess," replied Holden. "They wished to prevent my going to Whalley,
+whither I am bound, to procure help from Sir Ralph Assheton to liberate
+Master Roger Nowell and his attorney, who are forcibly detained by
+Mistress Nutter."
+
+"Yo may spare yer horse an yersel the jorney, then, reverend sir,"
+replied Bess; "for yo'n foind Sir Tummus Metcawfe, wi' some twanty or
+throtty followers, armed wi' bills, hawberts, petronels, and calivers,
+at Goldshaw, an they win go wi' ye at wanst, ey'm sartin. Ey heerd sum
+o' t' chaps say os ow Sir Tummus is goin' to tak' possession o' Mistress
+Robinson's house, Raydale Ha', i' Wensley Dale, boh nah doubt he'n go
+furst wi' yer rev'rence, 'specially as he bears Mistress Nutter a
+grudge."
+
+"At all events, I will ask him," said Holden. "Are he and his followers
+lodged at your house, Bess?"
+
+"Yeigh," replied the hostess, "some on 'en are i' th' house, some i' th'
+barn, an some i' th' stables. The place is awtogether owerrun wi' 'em.
+Ey wur so moydert an wurrotit wi' their ca'in an bawlin fo' ele an
+drink, that ey swore they shouldna ha' another drawp wi' my consent; an,
+to be os good os my word, ey clapt key o' t' cellar i' my pocket, an
+leavin' our Margit to answer 'em, ey set out os yo see, intendin' to go
+os far as t' mill, an comfort poor deeavely Ruchot Baldwyn in his
+trouble."
+
+"A most praiseworthy resolution, Bess," said the rector; "but what is to
+be done with this fellow?" he added, pointing to Blackadder, who, though
+badly hurt, was trying to creep towards the petronel, which was lying at
+a little distance from him on the ground.
+
+Perceiving his intention, Bess quickly dismounted, and possessing
+herself of the weapon, stepped aside, and slipping off one of the bands
+that confined the hose on her well-shaped leg, grasped the wounded man
+by the shoulders, and with great expedition tied his hands behind his
+back. She then lifted him up with as much ease as if he had been an
+infant, and set him upon his horse, with his face towards the tail. This
+done, she gave the bridle to the rector, and handing him the petronel at
+the same time, told him to take care of his prisoner, for she must
+pursue her journey. And with this, in spite of his renewed entreaties
+that she would go back with him, she sprang on her horse and rode off.
+
+On arriving at Goldshaw with his prisoner, the rector at once proceeded
+to the hostel, in front of which he found several of the villagers
+assembled, attracted by the numerous company within doors, whose shouts
+and laughter could be heard at a considerable distance. Holden's
+appearance with Blackadder occasioned considerable surprise, and all
+eagerly gathered round him to learn what had occurred; but, without
+satisfying their curiosity, beyond telling them he had been attacked by
+the prisoner, he left him in their custody and entered the house, where
+he found all the benches in the principal room occupied by a crew of
+half-drunken roysterers, with flagons of ale before them; for, after
+Bess's departure with the key, they had broken into the cellar, and,
+broaching a cask, helped themselves to its contents. Various weapons
+were scattered about the tables or reared against the walls, and the
+whole scene looked like a carouse by a band of marauders. Little respect
+was shown the rector, and he was saluted by many a ribald jest as he
+pushed his way towards the inner room.
+
+Sir Thomas was drinking with a couple of desperadoes, whose long rapiers
+and tarnished military equipments seemed to announce that they had, at
+some time or other, belonged to the army, though their ruffianly looks
+and braggadocio air and discourse, strongly seasoned with oaths and
+slang, made it evident that they were now little better than Alsatian
+bullies. They had, in fact, been hired by Sir Thomas for the expedition
+on which he was bent, as he could find no one in the country upon whom
+he could so well count as on them. Eyeing the rector fiercely, as he
+intruded upon their privacy, they glanced at their leader to ask whether
+they should turn him out; but, receiving no encouragement for such
+rudeness, they contented themselves with scowling at him from beneath
+their bent brows, twisting up their shaggy mustaches, and trifling with
+the hilts of their rapiers. Holden opened his business at once; and as
+soon as Sir Thomas heard it, he sprang to his feet, and, swearing a
+great oath, declared he would storm Rough Lee, and burn it to the
+ground, if Mistress Nutter did not set the two captives free.
+
+"As to the audacious witch herself, I will carry her off, in spite of
+the devil, her master!" he cried. "How say you, Captain Gauntlet--and
+you too, Captain Storks, is not this an expedition to your tastes--ha?"
+
+The two worthies appealed to responded joyously, that it was so; and it
+was then agreed that Blackadder should be brought in and interrogated,
+as some important information might be obtained from him. Upon this,
+Captain Gauntlet left the room to fetch him, and presently afterwards
+returned dragging in the prisoner, who looked dogged and angry, by the
+shoulders.
+
+"Harkye, fellow," said Sir Thomas, sternly, "if you do not answer the
+questions I shall put to you, truly and satisfactorily, I will have you
+taken out into the yard, and shot like a dog. Thus much premised, I
+shall proceed with my examination. Master Roger Nowell and Master Thomas
+Potts, you are aware, are unlawfully detained prisoners by Mistress
+Alice Nutter. Now I have been called upon by the reverend gentleman here
+to undertake their liberation, but, before doing so, I desire to know
+from you what defensive and offensive preparations your mistress has
+made, and whether you judge it likely she will attempt to hold out her
+house against us?"
+
+"Most assuredly she will," replied Blackadder, "and against twice your
+force. Rough Lee is as strong as a castle; and as those within it are
+well-armed, vigilant, and of good courage, there is little fear of its
+capture. If your worship should propose terms to my mistress for the
+release of her prisoners, she may possibly assent to them; but if you
+approach her in hostile fashion, and demand their liberation, I am well
+assured she will resist you, and well assured, also, she will resist you
+effectually."
+
+"I shall approach her in no other sort than that of an enemy," rejoined
+Sir Thomas; "but thou art over confident, knave. Unless thy mistress
+have a legion of devils at her back, and they hold us in check, we will
+force a way into her dwelling. Fire and fury! dost presume to laugh at
+me, fellow? Take him hence, and let him be soundly cudgeled for his
+insolence, Gauntlet."
+
+"Pardon me, your worship," cried Blackadder, "I only smiled at the
+strange notions you entertain of my mistress."
+
+"Why, dost mean to deny that she is a witch?" demanded Metcalfe.
+
+"Nay, if your worship will have it so, it is not for me to contradict
+you," replied Blackadder.
+
+"But I ask thee is she not a servant of Satan?--dost thou not know
+it?--canst thou not prove it?" cried the knight. "Shall we put him to
+the torture to make him confess?"
+
+"Ay, tie his thumbs together till the blood burst forth, Sir Thomas,"
+said Gauntlet.
+
+"Or hang him up to yon beam by the heels," suggested Captain Storks.
+
+"On no account," interposed Holden. "I did not bring him hither to be
+dealt with in this way, and I will not permit it. If torture is to be
+administered it must be by the hands of justice, into which I require
+him to be delivered; and then, if he can testify aught against his
+mistress, he will be made to do it."
+
+"Torture shall never wring a word from me, whether wrongfully or
+rightfully applied," said Blackadder, doggedly; "though I could tell
+much if I chose. Now give heed to me, Sir Thomas. You will never take
+Rough Lee, still less its mistress, without my help."
+
+"What are thy terms, knave?" exclaimed the knight, pondering upon the
+offer. "And take heed thou triflest not with me, or I will have thee
+flogged within an inch of thy life, in spite of parson or justice. What
+are thy terms, I repeat?"
+
+"They are for your worship's ear alone," replied Blackadder.
+
+"Beware what you do, Sir Thomas," interposed Holden. "I hold it my duty
+to tell you, you are compromising justice in listening to the base
+proposals of this man, who, while offering to betray his mistress, will
+assuredly deceive you. You will equally deceive him in feigning to agree
+to terms which you cannot fulfil."
+
+"Cannot fulfil!" ejaculated the knight, highly offended; "I would have
+you to know, sir, that Sir Thomas Metcalfe's word is his bond, and that
+whatsoever he promises he _will_ fulfil in spite of the devil! Body o'
+me! but for the respect I owe your cloth, I would give you a very
+different answer, reverend sir. But since you have chosen to thrust
+yourself unasked into the affair, I take leave to say that I _will_ hear
+this knave's proposals, and judge for myself of the expediency of
+acceding to them. I must pray you therefore, to withdraw. Nay, if you
+will not go hence peaceably, you shall perforce. Take him away,
+gentlemen."
+
+Thus enjoined, the Alsatian captains took each an arm of the rector, and
+forced him out of the room, leaving Sir Thomas alone with the prisoner.
+Greatly incensed at the treatment he had experienced, Holden instantly
+quitted the house, hastened to the rectory, which adjoined the church,
+and having given some messages to his household, rode off to Whalley,
+with the intention of acquainting Sir Ralph Assheton with all that had
+occurred.
+
+Sir Thomas Metcalfe remained closeted with the prisoner for a few
+minutes, and then coming forth, issued orders that all should get ready
+to start for Rough Lee without delay; whereupon each man emptied his
+flagon, pocketed the dice he had been cogging, pushed aside the
+shuffle-board, left the loggats on the clay floor of the barn, and,
+grasping his weapon--halbert or caliver, as it might be--prepared to
+attend his leader. Sir Thomas did not relate, even to the Alsatian
+captains, what had passed between him and Blackadder; but it did not
+appear that he placed entire confidence in the latter; for though he
+caused his hands to be unbound, and allowed him in consideration of his
+wounded state to ride, he secretly directed Gauntlet and Storks to keep
+near him, and shoot him through the head if he attempted to escape. Both
+these personages were provided with horses as well as their leader, but
+all the rest of the party were on foot. Metcalfe made some inquiries
+after the rector, but finding he was gone, he did not concern himself
+further about him. Before starting, the knight, who, with all his
+recklessness, had a certain sense of honesty, called the girl who had
+been left in charge of the hostel by Bess, and gave her a sum amply
+sufficient to cover all the excesses of his men, adding a handsome
+gratuity to herself.
+
+The first part of the journey was accomplished without mischance, and
+the party bade fair to arrive at the end of it in safety; but as they
+entered the gorge, at the extremity of which Rough Lee was situated, a
+terrific storm burst upon them, compelling them to seek shelter in the
+mill, from which they were luckily not far distant at the time. The
+house was completely deserted, but they were well able to shift for
+themselves, and not over scrupulous in the manner of doing so; and as
+the remains of the funeral feast were not removed from the table, some
+of the company sat down to them, while others found their way to the
+cellar.
+
+The storm was of long continuance, much longer than was agreeable to Sir
+Thomas, and he paced the room to and fro impatiently, ever and anon
+walking to the window or door, to see whether it had in any degree
+abated, and was constantly doomed to disappointment. Instead of
+diminishing, it increased in violence, and it was now impossible to quit
+the house with safety. The lightning blazed, the thunder rattled among
+the overhanging rocks, and the swollen stream of Pendle Water roared at
+their feet. Blackadder was left under the care of the two Alsatians, but
+while they had shielded their eyes from the glare of the lightning, he
+threw open the window, and, springing through it, made good his retreat.
+In such a storm it was in vain to follow him, even if they had dared to
+attempt it.
+
+In vain Sir Thomas Metcalfe fumed and fretted--in vain he heaped curses
+upon the bullies for their negligence--in vain he hurled menaces after
+the fugitive: the former paid little heed to his imprecations, and the
+latter was beyond his reach. The notion began to gain ground amongst the
+rest of the troop that the storm was the work of witchcraft, and
+occasioned general consternation. Even the knight's anger yielded to
+superstitious fear, and as a terrific explosion shook the rafters
+overhead, and threatened to bring them down upon him, he fell on his
+knees, and essayed, with unaccustomed lips, to murmur a prayer. But he
+was interrupted; for amid the deep silence succeeding the awful crash, a
+mocking laugh was heard, and the villainous countenance of Blackadder,
+rendered doubly hideous by the white lightning, was seen at the
+casement. The sight restored Sir Thomas at once. Drawing his sword he
+flew to the window, but before he could reach it Blackadder was gone.
+The next flash showed what had befallen him. In stepping backwards, he
+tumbled into the mill-race; and the current, increased in depth and
+force by the deluging rain, instantly swept him away.
+
+Half an hour after this, the violence of the storm had perceptibly
+diminished, and Sir Thomas and his companions began to hope that their
+speedy release was at hand. Latterly the knight had abandoned all idea
+of attacking Rough Lee, but with the prospect of fair weather his
+courage returned, and he once more resolved to attempt it. He was moving
+about among his followers, striving to dispel their fears, and persuade
+them that the tempest was only the result of natural causes, when the
+door was suddenly thrown open, giving entrance to Bess Whitaker, who
+bore the miller in her arms. She stared on seeing the party assembled,
+and knit her brows, but said nothing till she had deposited Baldwyn in a
+seat, when she observed to Sir Thomas, that he seemed to have little
+scruple in taking possession of a house in its owner's absence. The
+knight excused himself for the intrusion by saying, he had been
+compelled by the storm to take refuge there with his followers--a plea
+readily admitted by Baldwyn, who was now able to speak for himself; and
+the miller next explained that he had been to Rough Lee, and after many
+perilous adventures, into the particulars of which he did not enter,
+had been brought away by Bess, who had carried him home. That home he
+now felt would be a lonely and insecure one unless she would consent to
+occupy it with him; and Bess, on being thus appealed to, affirmed that
+the only motive that would induce her to consent to such an arrangement
+would be her desire to protect him from his mischievous neighbours.
+While they were thus discoursing, Old Mitton, who it appeared had
+followed them, arrived wellnigh exhausted, and Baldwyn went in search of
+some refreshment for him.
+
+By this time the storm had sufficiently cleared off to allow the others
+to take their departure; and though the miller and Bess would fain have
+dissuaded the knight from the enterprise, he was not to be turned aside,
+but, bidding his men attend him, set forth. The rain had ceased, but it
+was still very dark. Under cover of the gloom, however, they thought
+they could approach the house unobserved, and obtain an entrance before
+Mistress Nutter could be aware of their arrival. In this expectation
+they pursued their way in silence, and soon stood before the gates.
+These were fastened, but as no one appeared to be on the watch, Sir
+Thomas, in a low tone, ordered some of his men to scale the walls, with
+the intention of following himself; but scarcely had a head risen above
+the level of the brickwork than the flash of an arquebuss was seen, and
+the man jumped backwards, luckily just in time to avoid the bullet that
+whistled over him. An alarm was then instantly given, voices were heard
+in the garden, mingled with the furious barking of hounds. A bell was
+rung from the upper part of the house, and lights appeared at the
+windows.
+
+Meanwhile, some of the men, less alarmed than their comrade, contrived
+to scramble over the wall, and were soon engaged hand to hand with those
+on the opposite side. But not alone had they to contend with adversaries
+like themselves. The stag-hounds, which had done so much execution
+during the first attack upon the house by Roger Nowell, raged amongst
+them like so many lions, rending their limbs, and seizing their throats.
+To free themselves from these formidable antagonists was their first
+business, and by dint of thrust from pike, cut from sword, and ball from
+caliver, they succeeded in slaughtering two of them, and driving the
+others, badly wounded, and savagely howling, away. In doing this,
+however, they themselves had sustained considerable injury. Three of
+their number were lying on the ground, in no condition, from their
+broken heads, or shattered limbs, for renewing the combat.
+
+Thus, so far as the siege had gone, success seemed to declare itself
+rather for the defenders than the assailants, when a new impulse was
+given to the latter, by the bursting open of the gates, and the sudden
+influx of Sir Thomas Metcalfe and the rest of his troop. The knight was
+closely followed by the Alsatian captains, who, with tremendous oaths in
+their mouths, and slashing blades in their hands, declared they would
+make minced meat of any one opposing their progress. Sir Thomas was
+equally truculent in expression and ferocious in tone, and as the whole
+party laid about them right and left, they speedily routed the defenders
+of the garden, and drove them towards the house. Flushed by their
+success, the besiegers shouted loudly, and Sir Thomas roared out, that
+ere many minutes Nowell and Potts should be set free, and Alice Nutter
+captured. But before he could reach the main door, Nicholas Assheton,
+well armed, and attended by some dozen men, presented himself at it.
+These were instantly joined by the retreating party, and the whole
+offered a formidable array of opponents, quite sufficient to check the
+progress of the besiegers. Two or three of the men near Nicholas carried
+torches, and their light revealed the numbers on both sides.
+
+"What! is it you, Sir Thomas Metcalfe?" cried the squire. "Do you commit
+such outrages as this--do you break into habitations like a robber,
+rifle them, and murder their inmates? Explain yourself, sir, or I will
+treat you as I would a common plunderer; shoot you through the head, or
+hang you to the first tree if I take you."
+
+"Zounds and fury!" rejoined Metcalfe. "Do you dare to liken me to a
+common robber and murderer? Take care you do not experience the same
+fate as that with which you threaten me, with this difference only, that
+the hangman--the common hangman of Lancaster--shall serve your turn. I
+am come hither to arrest a notorious witch, and to release two gentlemen
+who are unlawfully detained prisoners by her; and if you do not
+instantly deliver her up to me, and produce the two individuals in
+question, Master Roger Nowell and Master Potts, I will force my way into
+the house, and all injury done to those who oppose me will rest on your
+head."
+
+"The two gentlemen you have named are perfectly safe and contented in
+their quarters," replied Nicholas; "and as to the foul and false
+aspersions you have thrown out against Mistress Nutter, I cast them back
+in your teeth. Your purpose in coming hither is to redress some private
+wrong. How is it you have such a rout with you? How is it I behold two
+notorious bravos by your side--men who have stood in the pillory, and
+undergone other ignominious punishment for their offences? You cannot
+answer, and their oaths and threats go for nothing. I now tell you, Sir
+Thomas, if you do not instantly withdraw your men, and quit these
+premises, grievous consequences will ensue to you and them."
+
+"I will hear no more," cried Sir Thomas, infuriated to the last degree.
+"Follow me into the house, and spare none who oppose you."
+
+"You are not in yet," cried Nicholas.
+
+And as he spoke a row of pikes bristled around him, holding the knight
+at bay, while a hook was fixed in the doublet of each of the Alsatian
+captains, and they were plucked forward and dragged into the house. This
+done, Nicholas and his men quickly retreated, and the door was closed
+and barred upon the enraged and discomfited knight.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.--THE PHANTOM MONK.
+
+
+Many hours had passed by, and night had come on--a night profoundly
+dark. Richard was still lying where he had fallen at the foot of Malkin
+Tower; for though he had regained his sensibility, he was so bruised and
+shaken as to be wholly unable to move. His limbs, stiffened and
+powerless, refused their office, and, after each unsuccessful effort, he
+sank back with a groan.
+
+His sole hope was that Mistress Nutter, alarmed by his prolonged
+absence, might come to her daughter's assistance, and so discover his
+forlorn situation; but as time flew by, and nothing occurred, he gave
+himself up for lost.
+
+On a sudden the gloom was dispersed, and a silvery light shed over the
+scene. The moon had broken through a rack of clouds, and illumined the
+tall mysterious tower, and the dreary waste around it. With the light a
+ghostly figure near him became visible to Richard, which under other
+circumstances would have excited terror in his breast, but which now
+only filled him with wonder. It was that of a Cistertian monk; the
+vestments were old and faded, the visage white and corpse-like. Richard
+at once recognised the phantom he had seen in the banquet-hall at the
+Abbey, and had afterwards so rashly followed to the conventual church.
+It touched him with its icy fingers, and a dullness like death shot
+through his heart.
+
+"Why dost thou trouble me thus, unhappy spirit?" said the young man.
+"Leave me, I adjure thee, and let me die in peace!"
+
+"Thou wilt not die yet, Richard Assheton," returned the phantom; "and my
+intention is not to trouble thee, but to serve thee. Without my aid thou
+wouldst perish where thou liest, but I will raise thee up, and set thee
+on thy way."
+
+"Wilt thou help me to liberate Alizon?" demanded Richard.
+
+"Do not concern thyself further about her," replied the phantom; "she
+must pass through an ordeal with which nothing human may interfere. If
+she escape it you will meet again. If not, it were better thou shouldst
+be in thy grave than see her. Take this phial. Drink thou the liquid it
+contains, and thy strength will return to thee."
+
+"How do I know thou art not sent hither by Mother Demdike to tempt
+me?" demanded Richard, doubtfully. "I have already fallen into her
+snares," he added, with a groan.
+
+[Illustration: THE PHANTOM MONK.]
+
+"I am Mother Demdike's enemy, and the appointed instrument of her
+punishment," replied the monk, in a tone that did not admit of question.
+"Drink, and fear nothing."
+
+Richard obeyed, and the next moment sprang to his feet.
+
+"Thou hast indeed restored me!" he cried. "I would fain reach the secret
+entrance to the tower."
+
+"Attempt it not, I charge thee!" cried the phantom; "but depart
+instantly for Pendle Hill."
+
+"Wherefore should I go thither?" demanded Richard.
+
+"Thou wilt learn anon," returned the monk. "I cannot tell thee more now.
+Dismount at the foot of the hill, and proceed to the beacon. Thou
+know'st it?"
+
+"I do," replied Richard. "There a fire was lighted which was meant to
+set all England in a blaze."
+
+"And which led many good men to destruction," said the monk, in a tone
+of indescribable sadness. "Alas! for him who kindled it. The offence is
+not yet worked out. But depart without more delay; and look not back."
+
+As Richard hastened towards the spot where he had left Merlin, he
+fancied he was followed by the phantom; but, obedient to the injunction
+he received, he did not turn his head. As he mounted the horse, who
+neighed cheerily as he drew near, he found he was right in supposing the
+monk to be behind him, for he heard his voice calling out, "Linger not
+by the way. To the beacon!--to the beacon!"
+
+Thus exhorted, the young man dashed off, and, to his great surprise,
+found Merlin as fresh as if he had undergone no fatigue during the day.
+It would almost seem, from his spirit, that he had partaken of the same
+wondrous elixir which had revived his master. Down the hill he plunged,
+regardless of the steep descent, and soon entered the thicket where the
+storm had fallen upon them, and where so many acts of witchcraft were
+performed. Now, neither accident nor obstacle occurred to check the
+headlong pace of the animal, though the stones rattled after him as he
+struck them with his flying hoof. The moonlight quivered on the branches
+of the trees, and on the tender spray, and all looked as tranquil and
+beautiful as it had so lately been gloomy and disturbed. The wood was
+passed, and the last and steepest descent cleared. The little bridge was
+at hand, and beneath was Pendle Water, rushing over its rocky bed, and
+glittering like silver in the moon's rays. But here Richard had wellnigh
+received a check. A party of armed men, it proved, occupied the road
+leading to Rough Lee, about a bow-shot from the bridge, and as soon as
+they perceived he was taking the opposite course, with the apparent
+intention of avoiding them, they shouted to him to stay. This shout made
+Richard aware of their presence, for he had not before observed them,
+as they were concealed by the intervention of some small trees; but
+though surprised at the circumstance, and not without apprehension that
+they might be there with a hostile design to Mistress Nutter, he did not
+slacken his pace. A horseman, who appeared to be their leader, rode
+after him for a short distance, but finding pursuit futile, he desisted,
+pouring forth a volley of oaths and threats, in a voice that proclaimed
+him as Sir Thomas Metcalfe. This discovery confirmed Richard in his
+supposition that mischief was intended Mistress Nutter; but even this
+conviction, strengthened by his antipathy to Metcalfe, was not
+sufficiently strong to induce him to stop. Promising himself to return
+on the morrow, and settle accounts with the insolent knight, he speeded
+on, and, passing the mill, tracked the rocky gorge above it, and began
+to mount another hill. Despite the ascent, Merlin never slackened his
+pace, but, though his master would have restrained him, held on as
+before. But the brow of the hill attained, Richard compelled him to a
+brief halt.
+
+By this time the sky was comparatively clear, but small clouds were
+sailing across the heavens, and at one moment the moon would be obscured
+by them, and the next, burst forth with sudden effulgence. These
+alternations produced corresponding effects on the broad, brown, heathy
+plain extending below, and fantastic shadows were cast upon it, which it
+needed not Richard's heated imagination to liken to evil beings flying
+past. The wind, too, lay in the direction of the north end of Pendle
+Hill, whither Richard was about to shape his course, and the shadows
+consequently trooped off towards that quarter. The vast mass of Pendle
+rose in gloomy majesty before him, being thrown into shade, except at
+its crown, where a flood of radiance rested.
+
+Like an eagle swooping upon his prey, Richard descended into the valley,
+and like a stag pursued by the huntsman he speeded across it. Neither
+dyke, morass, nor stone wall checked him, or made him turn aside; and
+almost as fast as the clouds hurrying above him, and their shadows
+travelling at his feet, did he reach the base of Pendle Hill.
+
+Making up to a shed, which, though empty, luckily contained a wisp or
+two of hay, he turned Merlin into it, and commenced the ascent of the
+hill on foot. After attaining a considerable elevation, he looked down
+from the giddy heights upon the valley he had just traversed. A few
+huts, forming the little village of Barley, lay sleeping in the
+moonlight beneath him, while further off could be just discerned
+Goldshaw, with its embowered church. A line of thin vapour marked the
+course of Pendle Water, and thicker mists hovered over the mosses. The
+shadows were still passing over the plain.
+
+Pressing on, Richard soon came among the rocks protruding from the
+higher part of the hill, and as the path was here not more than a foot
+wide, rarely taken except by the sheep and their guardians, it was
+necessary to proceed with the utmost caution, as a single false step
+would have been fatal. After some toil, and not without considerable
+risk, he reached the summit of the hill.
+
+As he bounded over the springy turf, and inhaled the pure air of that
+exalted region, his spirits revived, and new elasticity was communicated
+to his limbs. He shaped his course near the edge of the hill, so that
+the extensive view it commanded was fully displayed. But his eye rested
+on the mountainous range on the opposite side of the valley, where
+Malkin Tower was situated. Even in broad day the accursed structure
+would have been invisible, as it stood on the further side of the hill,
+overlooking Barrowford and Colne; but Richard knew its position well,
+and while his gaze was fixed upon the point, he saw a star shoot down
+from the heavens and apparently alight near the spot. The circumstance
+alarmed him, for he could not help thinking it ominous of ill to Alizon.
+
+Nothing, however, followed to increase his misgivings, and erelong he
+came in sight of the beacon. The ground had been gradually rising, and
+if he had proceeded a few hundred yards further, a vast panorama would
+have opened upon him, comprising a large part of Lancashire on the one
+hand, and on the other an equally extensive portion of Yorkshire. Forest
+and fell, black moor and bright stream, old castle and stately hall,
+would have then been laid before him as in a map. But other thoughts
+engrossed him, and he went straight on. As far as he could discern he
+was alone on the hill top; and the silence and solitude, coupled with
+the ill report of the place, which at this hour was said to be often
+visited by foul hags, for the performance of their unhallowed rites,
+awakened superstitious fears in his breast.
+
+He was soon by the side of the beacon. The stones were still standing as
+they had been reared by Paslew, and on looking at them he was astonished
+to find the hollow within them filled with dry furze, brushwood, and
+fagots, as if in readiness for another signal. In passing round the
+circle, his surprise was still further increased by discovering a torch,
+and not far from it, in one of the interstices of the stones, a dark
+lantern, in which, on removing the shade, he found a candle burning. It
+was now clear the beacon was to be kindled that night, though for what
+end he could not conjecture, and equally clear that he was brought
+thither to fire it. He put back the lantern into its place, took up the
+torch, and held himself in readiness.
+
+Half an hour elapsed, and nothing occurred. During this interval it had
+become dark. A curtain of clouds was drawn over the moon and stars.
+
+Suddenly, a hurtling noise was heard in the air, and it seemed to the
+watcher as if a troop of witches were alighting at a distance from him.
+
+A loud hubbub of voices ensued--then there was a trampling of feet,
+accompanied by discordant strains of music--after which a momentary
+silence ensued, and a harsh voice asked--
+
+"Why are we brought hither?"
+
+"It is not for a sabbath," shouted another voice, "for there is neither
+fire nor caldron."
+
+"Mother Demdike would not summon us without good reason," cried a third.
+"We shall learn presently what we have to do."
+
+"The more mischief the better," rejoined another voice.
+
+"Ay, mischief! mischief! mischief!" echoed the rest of the crew.
+
+"You shall have enough of it to content you," rejoined Mother Demdike.
+"I have called you hither to be present at a sacrifice."
+
+Hideous screams of laughter followed this announcement, and the voice
+that had spoken first asked--
+
+"A sacrifice of whom?"
+
+"An unbaptised babe, stolen from its sleeping mother's breast," rejoined
+another. "Mother Demdike has often played that trick before--ho! ho!"
+
+"Peace!" thundered the hag--"It is no babe I am about to kill, but a
+full-grown maid--ay, and one of rarest beauty, too. What think ye of
+Alizon Device?"
+
+"Thy grand-daughter!" cried several voices, in surprise.
+
+"Alice Nutter's daughter--for such she is," rejoined the hag. "I have
+held her captive in Malkin Tower, and have subjected her to every trial
+and temptation I could devise, but I have failed in shaking her courage,
+or in winning her over to our master. All the horrors of the vault have
+been tried upon her in vain. Even the last terrible ordeal, which no one
+has hitherto sustained, proved ineffectual. She went through it
+unmoved."
+
+"Heaven be praised!" murmured Richard.
+
+"It seems I have no power over her soul" pursued the hag; "but I have
+over her body, and she shall die here, and by my hand. But mind me, not
+a drop of blood must fall to the ground."
+
+"Have no fear," cried several voices, "we will catch it in our palms and
+quaff it."
+
+"Hast thou thy knife, Mould-heels?" asked Mother Demdike.
+
+"Ay," replied the other, "it is long and sharp, and will do thy business
+well. Thy grandson, Jem Device, notched it by killing swine, and my
+goodman ground it only yesterday. Take it."
+
+"I will plunge it to her heart!" cried Mother Demdike, with an infernal
+laugh. "And now I will tell you why we have neither fire nor caldron. On
+questioning the ebon image in the vault as to the place where the
+sacrifice should be made, I received for answer that it must be here,
+and in darkness. No human eye but our own must behold it. We are safe on
+this score, for no one is likely to come hither at this hour. No fire
+must be kindled, or the sacrifice will result in destruction to us all.
+Ye have heard, and understand?"
+
+"We do," replied several husky voices.
+
+"And so do I," said Richard, taking hold of the dark lantern.
+
+"And now for the girl," cried Mother Demdike.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.--ONE O'CLOCK!
+
+
+Mistress Nutter and Mother Chattox were still at the hut, impatiently
+awaiting the return of Fancy. But nearly an hour elapsed before he
+appeared.
+
+"What has detained thee so long?" demanded the hag, sharply, as he stood
+before them.
+
+"You shall hear, mistress," replied Fancy: "I have had a busy time of
+it, I assure you, and thought I should never accomplish my errand. On
+arriving at Rough Lee, I found the place invested by Sir Thomas Metcalfe
+and a host of armed men, who had been sent thither by Parson Holden, for
+the joint purpose of arresting you, madam," addressing Mistress Nutter,
+"and liberating Nowell and Potts. The knight was in a great fume; for,
+in spite of the force brought against it, the house had been stoutly
+defended by Nicholas Assheton, who had worsted the besieging party, and
+captured two Alsatian captains, hangers on of Sir Thomas. Appearing in
+the character of an enemy, I was immediately surrounded by Metcalfe and
+his men, who swore they would cut my throat unless I undertook to
+procure the liberation of the two bravos in question, as well as that of
+Nowell and Potts. I told them I was come for the express purpose of
+setting free the two last-named gentlemen; but, with respect to the
+former, I had no instructions, and they must arrange the matter with
+Master Nicholas himself. Upon this Sir Thomas became exceedingly wroth
+and insolent, and proceeded to such lengths that I resolved to chastise
+him, and in so doing performed a feat which will tend greatly to exalt
+Richard's character for courage and strength."
+
+"Let us hear it, my doughty champion," cried Mother Chattox.
+
+"While Metcalfe was pouring forth his rage, and menacing me with
+uplifted hand," pursued the familiar, "I seized him by the throat,
+dragged him from his horse, and in spite of the efforts of his men,
+whose blows fell upon me thick as hail, and quite as harmlessly, I bore
+him through the garden to the back of the house, where my shouts soon
+brought Nicholas and others to my assistance, and after delivering my
+captive to them, I dismounted. The squire, you will imagine, was
+astonished to see me, and greatly applauded my prowess. I replied, with
+the modesty becoming my assumed character, that I had done nothing, and,
+in reality, the feat was nothing to me; but I told him I had something
+of the utmost importance to communicate, and which could not be delayed
+a moment; whereupon he led me to a small room adjoining the hall, while
+the crestfallen knight was left to vent his rage and mortification on
+the grooms to whose custody he was committed."
+
+"You acted your part to perfection," said Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Ay, trust my sweet Fancy for that," said the hag--"there is no familiar
+like him--none whatever."
+
+"Your praises make me blush," rejoined Fancy. "But to proceed. I
+fulfilled your instructions to the letter, and excited Nicholas's horror
+and indignation by the tale I told him. I laughed in my sleeve all the
+while, but I maintained a very different countenance with him. He
+thought me full of anguish and despair. He questioned me as to my
+proceedings at Malkin Tower, and I amazed him with the description of a
+fearful storm I had encountered--of my interview with old Demdike, and
+her atrocious treatment of Alizon--to all of which he listened with
+profound interest. Richard himself could not have moved him
+more--perhaps not so much. As soon as I had finished, he vowed he would
+rescue Alizon from the murtherous hag, and prevent the latter from
+committing further mischief; and bidding me come with him, we repaired
+to the room in which Nowell and Potts were confined. We found them both
+fast asleep in their chairs; but Nicholas quickly awakened them, and
+some explanations ensued, which did not at first appear very clear and
+satisfactory to either magistrate or attorney, but in the end they
+agreed to accompany us on the expedition, Master Potts declaring it
+would compensate him for all his mischances if he could arrest Mother
+Demdike."
+
+"I hope he may have his wish," said Mother Chattox.
+
+"Ay, but he declared that his next step should be to arrest you,
+mistress," observed Fancy, with a laugh.
+
+"Arrest me!" cried the hag. "Marry, let him touch me, if he dares. My
+term is not out yet, and, with thee to defend me, my brave Fancy, I have
+no fear."
+
+"Right!" replied the familiar; "but to go on with my story. Sir Thomas
+Metcalfe was next brought forward; and after some warm altercation,
+peace was at length established between him and the squire, and hands
+were shaken all round. Wine was then called for by Nicholas, who, at the
+same time, directed that the two Alsatian captains should be brought up
+from the cellar, where they had been placed for safety. The first part
+of the order was obeyed, but the second was found impracticable,
+inasmuch as the two heroes had found their way to the inner cellar, and
+had emptied so many flasks that they were utterly incapable of moving.
+While the wine was being discussed, an unexpected arrival took place."
+
+"An arrival!--of whom?" inquired Mistress Nutter, eagerly.
+
+"Sir Ralph Assheton and a large party," replied Fancy. "Parson Holden,
+it seems, not content with sending Sir Thomas and his rout to the aid of
+his friends, had proceeded for the same purpose to Whalley, and the
+result was the appearance of the new party. A brief explanation from
+Nicholas and myself served to put Sir Ralph in possession of all that
+had occurred, and he declared his readiness to accompany the expedition
+to Pendle Hill, and to take all his followers with him. Sir Thomas
+Metcalfe expressed an equally strong desire to go with him, and of
+course it was acceded to. I am bound to tell you, madam," added Fancy to
+Mistress Nutter, "that your conduct is viewed in a most suspicious light
+by every one of these persons, except Nicholas, who made an effort to
+defend you."
+
+"I care not what happens to me, if I succeed in rescuing my child," said
+the lady. "But have they set out on the expedition?"
+
+"By this time, no doubt they have," replied Fancy. "I got off by saying
+I would ride on to Pendle Hill, and, stationing myself on its summit,
+give them a signal when they should advance upon their prey. And now,
+good mistress, I pray you dismiss me. I want to cast off this shape,
+which I find an incumbrance, and resume my own. I will return when it is
+time for you to set out."
+
+The hag waved her hand, and the familiar was gone.
+
+Half an hour elapsed, and he returned not. Mistress Nutter became
+fearfully impatient. Three-quarters, and even the old hag was uneasy. An
+hour, and he stood before them--dwarfish, fiendish, monstrous.
+
+"It is time," he said, in a harsh voice; but the tones were music in the
+wretched mother's ears.
+
+"Come, then," she cried, rushing wildly forth.
+
+"Ay, ay, I come," replied the hag, following her. "Not so fast. You
+cannot go without me."
+
+"Nor either of you without me," added Fancy. "Here, good mistress, is
+your broomstick."
+
+"Away for Pendle Hill!" screamed the hag.
+
+"Ay, for Pendle Hill!" echoed Fancy.
+
+And there was a whirling of dark figures through the air as before.
+
+Presently they alighted on the summit of Pendle Hill, which seemed to be
+wrapped in a dense cloud, for Mistress Nutter could scarcely see a yard
+before her. Fancy's eyes, however, were powerful enough to penetrate the
+gloom, for stepping back a few yards, he said--
+
+"The expedition is at the foot of the hill, where they have made a
+halt. We must wait a few moments, till I can ascertain what they mean to
+do. Ah! I see. They are dividing into three parties. One detachment,
+headed by Nicholas Assheton, with whom are Potts and Nowell, is about to
+make the ascent from the spot where they now stand; another, commanded
+by Sir Ralph Assheton, is moving towards the but-end of the hill; and
+the third, headed by Sir Thomas Metcalfe, is proceeding to the right.
+These are goodly preparations--ha! ha! But, what do I behold? The first
+detachment have a prisoner with them. It is Jem Device, whom they have
+captured on the way, I suppose. I can tell from the rascal's looks that
+he is planning an escape. Patience, madam, I must see how he executes
+his design. There is no hurry. They are all scrambling up the
+hill-sides. Some one slips, and rolls down, and bruises himself severely
+against the loose stones. Ho! ho! it is Master Potts. He is picked up by
+James Device, who takes him on his shoulders. What means the knave by
+such attention? We shall see anon. They continue to fight their way
+upward, and have now reached the narrow path among the rocks. Take heed,
+or your necks will be broken. Ho! ho! Well done, Jem,--bravo! lad. Thy
+scheme is out now--ho! ho!"
+
+"What has he done?" asked Mother Chattox.
+
+"Run off with the attorney--with Master Potts," replied Fancy;
+"disappeared in the gloom, so that it is impossible Nicholas can follow
+him--ho! ho!"
+
+"But my child!--where is my child?" cried Mistress Nutter, in agitated
+impatience.
+
+"Come with me, and I will lead you to her," replied Fancy, taking her
+hand; "and do you keep close to us, mistress," he added to Mother
+Chattox.
+
+Moving quickly along the heathy plain, they soon reached a small dry
+hollow, about a hundred paces from the beacon, in the midst of which, as
+in a grave, was deposited the inanimate form of Alizon. When the spot
+was indicated to her by Fancy, the miserable mother flew to it, and,
+with indescribable delight, clasped her child to her breast. But the
+next moment, a new fear seized her, for the limbs were stiff and cold,
+and the heart had apparently ceased to beat.
+
+"She is dead!" exclaimed Mistress Nutter, frantically.
+
+"No; she is only in a magical trance," said Fancy; "my mistress can
+instantly revive her."
+
+"Prithee do so, then, good Chattox," implored the lady.
+
+"Better defer it till we have taken her hence," rejoined the hag.
+
+"Oh! no, now--now! Let me be assured she lives!" cried Mistress Nutter.
+
+Mother Chattox reluctantly assented, and, touching Alizon with her
+skinny finger, first upon the heart and then upon the brow, the poor
+girl began to show symptoms of life.
+
+"My child--my child!" cried Mistress Nutter, straining her to her
+breast; "I am come to save thee!"
+
+"You will scarce succeed, if you tarry here longer," said Fancy. "Away!"
+
+"Ay, come away!" shrieked the hag, seizing Alizon's arm.
+
+"Where are you about to take her?" asked Mistress Nutter.
+
+"To my hut," replied Mother Chattox.
+
+"No, no--she shall not go there," returned the lady.
+
+"And wherefore not?" screamed the hag. "She is mine now, and I say she
+_shall_ go."
+
+"Right, mistress," said Fancy; "and leave the lady here if she objects
+to accompany her. But be quick."
+
+"You shall not take her from me!" shrieked Mistress Nutter, holding her
+daughter fast. "I see through your diabolical purpose. You have the same
+dark design as Mother Demdike, and would sacrifice her; but she shall
+not go with you, neither will I."
+
+"Tut!" exclaimed the hag, "you have lost your senses on a sudden. I do
+not want your daughter. But come away, or Mother Demdike will surprise
+us."
+
+"Do not trifle with her longer," whispered Fancy to the hag; "drag the
+girl away, or you will lose her. A few moments, and it will be too
+late."
+
+Mother Chattox made an attempt to obey him, but Mistress Nutter resisted
+her.
+
+"Curses on her!" she muttered, "she is too strong for me. Do thou help
+me," she added, appealing to Fancy.
+
+"I cannot," he replied; "I have done all I dare to help you. You must
+accomplish the rest yourself."
+
+"But, my sweet imp, recollect--"
+
+"I recollect I have a master," interrupted the familiar.
+
+"And a mistress, too," cried the hag; "and she will chastise thee if
+thou art disobedient. I command thee to carry off this girl."
+
+"I have already told you I dare not, and I now say I will not," replied
+Fancy.
+
+"Will not!" shrieked the hag. "Thou shalt smart for this. I will bury
+thee in the heart of this mountain, and make thee labour within it like
+a gnome. I will set thee to count the sands on the river's bed, and the
+leaves on the forest trees. Thou shalt know neither rest nor respite."
+
+"Ho! ho! ho!" laughed Fancy, mockingly.
+
+"Dost deride me?" cried the hag. "I will do it, thou saucy jackanapes.
+For the last time, wilt obey me?"
+
+"No," replied Fancy, "and for this reason--your term is out. It expired
+at midnight."
+
+"It is false!" shrieked the hag, in accents of mixed terror and rage. "I
+have months to run, and will renew it."
+
+"Before midnight, you might have done so; but it is now too late--your
+reign is over," rejoined Fancy. "Farewell, sweet mistress. We shall meet
+once again, though scarcely under such pleasant circumstances as
+heretofore."
+
+"It cannot be, my darling Fancy; thou art jesting with me," whimpered
+the hag; "thou wouldst not delude thy doating mistress thus."
+
+"I have done with thee, foul hag," rejoined the familiar, "and am right
+glad my service is ended. I could have saved thee, but would not, and
+delayed my return for that very purpose. Thy soul was forfeited when I
+came back to thy hut."
+
+"Then curses on thee for thy treachery," cried the hag, "and on thy
+master, who deceived me in the bond he placed before me."
+
+The familiar laughed hoarsely.
+
+"But what of Mother Demdike?" pursued the hag. "Hast thou no comfort for
+me? Tell me her hour is likewise come, and I will forgive thee. But do
+not let her triumph over me."
+
+The familiar made no answer, but, laughing derisively, stamped upon the
+ground, and it opened to receive him.
+
+"Alizon!" cried Mistress Nutter, who in the mean time had vainly
+endeavoured to rouse her daughter to full consciousness, "fly with me,
+my child. The enemy is at hand."
+
+"What enemy?" asked Alizon, faintly. "I have so many, that I know not
+whom you mean."
+
+"But this is the worst of all--this is Mother Demdike," cried Mistress
+Nutter. "She would take your life. If we can but conceal ourselves for a
+short while, we are safe."
+
+"I am too weak to move," said Alizon; "besides, I dare not trust you. I
+have been deceived already. You may be an evil spirit in the likeness of
+my mother."
+
+"Oh! no, I am indeed your own--own mother," rejoined Mistress Nutter.
+"Ask this old woman if it is not so."
+
+"She is a witch herself," replied Alizon. "I will not trust either of
+you. You are both in league with Mother Demdike."
+
+"We are in league to save thee from her, foolish wench!" cried Mother
+Chattox, "but thy perverseness will defeat all our schemes."
+
+"Since you will not fly, my child," cried Mistress Nutter, "kneel down,
+and pray earnestly for deliverance. Pray, while there is yet time."
+
+As she spoke, a growl like thunder was heard in the air, and the earth
+trembled beneath their feet.
+
+"Nay, now I am sure you are my mother!" cried Alizon, flinging herself
+into Mistress Nutter's arms; "and I will go with you."
+
+But before they could move, several dusky figures were seen rushing
+towards them.
+
+"Be on your guard!" cried Mother Chattox; "here comes old Demdike with
+her troop. I will aid you all I can."
+
+"Down on your knees!" exclaimed Mistress Nutter.
+
+Alizon obeyed, but ere a word could pass her lips, the infuriated hag,
+attended by her beldame band, stood beside them.
+
+"Ha! who is here?" she cried. "Let me see who dares interrupt my mystic
+rites."
+
+And raising her hand, the black cloud hanging over the hill was rent
+asunder, and the moon shone down upon them, revealing the old witch,
+armed with the sacrificial knife, her limbs shaking with fury, and her
+eyes flashing with preternatural light. It revealed, also, her weird
+attendants, as well as the group before her, consisting of the kneeling
+figure of Alizon, protected by the outstretched arms of her mother, and
+further defended by Mother Chattox, who planted herself in front of
+them.
+
+Mother Demdike eyed the group for a moment as if she would, annihilate
+them.
+
+"Out of my way, Chattox!" she vociferated--"out of my way, or I will
+drive my knife to thy heart." And as her old antagonist maintained her
+ground, she unhesitatingly advanced upon her, smote her with the weapon,
+and, as she fell to the ground, stepped over her bleeding body.
+
+"Now what dost thou here, Alice Nutter?" she cried, menacing her with
+the reeking blade.
+
+"I am come for my child, whom thou hast stolen from me," replied the
+lady.
+
+"Thou art come to witness her slaughter," replied the witch, fiercely.
+"Begone, or I will serve thee as I have just served old Chattox."
+
+"I am not sped yet," cried the wounded hag; "I shall live to see thee
+bound hand and foot by the officers of justice, and, certain thou wilt
+perish miserably, I shall die content."
+
+"Spit out thy last drops of venom, black viper," rejoined Mother
+Demdike; "when I have done with the others, I will return and finish
+thee. Alice Nutter, thou knowest it is vain to struggle with me. Give me
+up the girl."
+
+"Wilt thou accept my life for hers?" said Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Of what account would thy life be to me?" rejoined Mother Demdike,
+disdainfully. "If it would profit me to take it, I would do so without
+thy consent, but I am about to make an oblation to our master, and thou
+art his already. Snatch her child from her--we waste time," she added,
+to her attendants.
+
+And immediately the weird crew rushed forward, and in spite of the
+miserable mother's efforts tore Alizon from her.
+
+"I told you it was in vain to contend with me," said Mother Demdike.
+
+"Oh, that I could call down heaven's vengeance upon thy accursed head!"
+cried Mistress Nutter; "but I am forsaken alike of God and man, and
+shall die despairing."
+
+"Rave on, thou wilt have ample leisure," replied the hag. "And now
+bring the girl this way," she added to the beldames; "the sacrifice must
+be made near the beacon."
+
+And as Alizon was borne away, Mistress Nutter uttered a cry of anguish.
+
+"Do not stay here," said Mother Chattox, raising herself with
+difficulty. "Go after her; you may yet save your daughter."
+
+"But how?" cried Mistress Nutter, distractedly. "I have no power now."
+
+As she spoke a dusky form rose up beside her. It was her familiar.
+
+"Will you return to your duty if I help you in this extremity?" he said.
+
+"Ay, do, do!" cried Mother Chattox. "Anything to avenge yourself upon
+that murtherous hag."
+
+"Peace!" cried the familiar, spurning her with his cloven foot.
+
+"I do not want vengeance," said Mistress Nutter; "I only want to save my
+child."
+
+"Then you consent on that condition?" said the familiar.
+
+"No!" replied Mistress Nutter, firmly. "I now perceive I am not utterly
+lost, since you try to regain me. I have renounced thy master, and will
+make no new bargain with him. Get hence, tempter!"
+
+"Think not to escape us," cried the familiar; "no penitence--no
+absolution can save thee. Thy name is written on the judgment scroll,
+and cannot be effaced. I would have aided thee, but, since my offer is
+rejected, I leave thee."
+
+"You will not let him go!" screamed Mother Chattox. "Oh that the chance
+were mine!"
+
+"Be silent, or I will beat thy brains out!" said the familiar. "Once
+more, am I dismissed?"
+
+"Ay, for ever!" replied Mistress Nutter.
+
+And as the familiar disappeared, she flew to the spot where her child
+had been taken.
+
+About twenty paces from the beacon, a circle had again been formed by
+the unhallowed crew, in the midst of which stood Mother Demdike, with
+the gory knife in her hand, muttering spells and incantations, and
+performing mystical ceremonials.
+
+Every now and then her companions joined in these rites, and chanted a
+song couched in a wild, unintelligible jargon. Beside the witch knelt
+Alizon, with her hands tied behind her back, so that she could not raise
+them in supplication; her hair unbound, and cast loosely over her
+person, and a thick bandage fastened over her eyes and mouth.
+
+The initiatory ceremonies over, the old hag approached her victim, when
+Mistress Nutter forced herself through the circle, and cast herself at
+her feet.
+
+"Spare her!" she cried, clinging to her knees; "it shall be well for
+thee if thou dost so."
+
+"Again interrupted!" cried the witch, furiously. "This time I will show
+thee no mercy. Take thy fate, meddlesome woman!"
+
+And she raised the knife, but ere the weapon could descend, it was
+seized by Mistress Nutter, and wrested from her grasp. In another
+instant, Alizon's arms were liberated, and the bandage removed from her
+eyes.
+
+"Now it is my turn to threaten. I have thee in my power, infernal hag!"
+cried Mistress Nutter, holding the knife to the witch's throat, and
+clasping her daughter with the other arm. "Wilt let us go?"
+
+"No!" replied Mother Demdike, springing nimbly backwards. "You shall
+both die. I will soon disarm thee."
+
+And making one or two passes with her hands, Mistress Nutter dropped the
+weapon, and instantly became fixed and motionless, with her daughter,
+equally rigid, in her arms. They looked as if suddenly turned to marble.
+
+"Now to complete the ceremonial," cried Mother Demdike, picking up the
+knife.
+
+And then she began to mutter an impious address preparatory to the
+sacrifice, when a loud clangour was heard like the stroke of a hammer
+upon a bell.
+
+"What was that?" exclaimed the witch, in alarm.
+
+"Were there a clock here, I should say it had struck one," replied
+Mould-heels.
+
+"It must be our master's timepiece," said another witch.
+
+"One o'clock!" exclaimed Mother Demdike, who appeared stupefied with
+fear, "and the sacrifice not made--then I am lost!"
+
+A derisive laugh reached her ears. It proceeded from Mother Chattox, who
+had contrived to raise herself to her feet, and, tottering forward, now
+passed through the appalled circle.
+
+"Ay, thy term is out--thy soul is forfeited like mine--ha! ha!" And she
+fell to the ground.
+
+"Perhaps it may not be too late," cried Mother Demdike, grasping the
+knife, and rushing towards Alizon.
+
+But at this moment a bright flame shot up from the beacon.
+
+Astonishment and terror seized the hag, and she uttered a loud cry,
+which was echoed by the rest of the crew.
+
+The flame mounted higher and higher, and burnt each moment more
+brightly, illumining the whole summit of the hill. By its light could be
+seen a band of men, some of whom were on horseback, speeding towards the
+place of meeting.
+
+Scared by the sight, the witches fled, but were turned by another band
+advancing from the opposite quarter. They then made towards the spot
+where their broomsticks were deposited, but ere they could reach it, a
+third party gained the summit of the hill at this precise point, and
+immediately started in pursuit of them.
+
+Meanwhile, a young man issuing from behind the beacon, flew towards
+Mistress Nutter and her daughter. The moment the flame burst forth, the
+spell cast over them by Mother Demdike was broken, and motion and speech
+restored.
+
+"Alizon!" exclaimed the young man, as he came up, "your trials are over.
+You are safe."
+
+"Oh, Richard!" she replied, falling into his arms, "have we been
+preserved by you?"
+
+"I am a mere instrument in the hands of Heaven," he replied.
+
+Mother Demdike made no attempt at flight with the rest of the witches,
+but remained for a few moments absorbed in contemplation of the flaming
+beacon. Her hand still grasped the murderous weapon she had raised
+against Alizon, but it had dropped to her side when the fire burst
+forth. At length she turned fiercely to Richard, and demanded--
+
+"Was it thou who kindled the beacon?"
+
+"It was!" replied the young man.
+
+"And who bade thee do it--who brought thee hither?" pursued the witch.
+
+"An enemy of thine, old woman!" replied Richard, "His vengeance has been
+slow in coming, but it has arrived at last."
+
+"But who is he? I see him not!" rejoined Mother Demdike.
+
+"You will see him before yon flame expires," said Richard. "I should
+have come to your assistance sooner, Alizon," he continued, turning to
+her, "but I was forbidden. And I knew I should best ensure your safety
+by compliance with the injunctions I had received."
+
+"Some guardian spirit must have interposed to preserve us," replied
+Alizon; "for such only could have successfully combated with the evil
+beings from whom we have been delivered."
+
+"Thy spirit is unable to preserve thee now!" cried Mother Demdike,
+aiming a deadly blow at her with the knife. But, fortunately, the
+attempt was foreseen by Richard, who caught her arm, and wrested the
+weapon from her.
+
+"Curses on thee, Richard Assheton!" cried the infuriated hag,--"and on
+thee too, Alizon Device, I cannot work ye the immediate ill I wish. I
+cannot make ye loathsome in one another's eyes. I cannot maim your
+limbs, or blight your beauty. I cannot deliver you over to devilish
+possession. But I can bequeath you a legacy of hate. What I say will
+come to pass. Thou, Alizon, wilt never wed Richard Assheton--never!
+Vainly shall ye struggle with your destiny--vainly indulge hopes of
+happiness. Misery and despair, and an early grave, are in store for both
+of you. He shall be to you your worst enemy, and you shall be to him
+destruction. Think of the witch's prediction and tremble, and may her
+deadliest curse rest upon your heads."
+
+"Oh, Richard!" exclaimed Alizon, who would have sunk to the ground if he
+had not sustained her. "Why did you not prevent this terrible
+malediction?"
+
+"He could not," replied Mother Demdike, with a laugh of exultation; "it
+shall work, and thy doom shall be accomplished. And now to make an end
+of old Chattox, and then they may take me where they please."
+
+And she was approaching her old enemy with the intention of putting her
+threat into execution, when James Device, who appeared to start from the
+ground, rushed swiftly towards her.
+
+"What art thou doing here, Jem?" cried the hag, regarding him with angry
+surprise. "Dost thou not see we are surrounded by enemies. I cannot
+escape them--but thou art young and active. Away with thee!"
+
+"Not without yo, granny," replied Jem. "Ey ha' run os fast os ey could
+to help yo. Stick fast howld on me," he added, snatching her up in his
+arms, "an ey'n bring yo clear off yet."
+
+And he set off at a rapid pace with his burthen, Richard being too much
+occupied with Alizon to oppose him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.--HOW THE BEACON FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED.
+
+
+Soon after this, Nicholas Assheton, attended by two or three men, came
+up, and asked whither the old witch had flown.
+
+Mistress Nutter pointed out the course taken by the fugitive, who had
+run towards the northern extremity of the hill, down the sides of which
+he had already plunged.
+
+"She has been carried off by her grandson, Jem Device," said Mistress
+Nutter; "be quick, or you will lose her."
+
+"Ay, be quick--be quick!" added Mother Chattox. "Yonder they went, to
+the back of the beacon."
+
+Casting a look at the wretched speaker, and finding she was too
+grievously wounded to be able to move, Nicholas bestowed no further
+thought upon her, but set off with his companions in the direction
+pointed out. He speedily arrived at the edge of the hill, and, looking
+down it, sought in vain for any appearance of the fugitives. The sides
+were here steep and shelving, and some hundred yards lower down were
+broken into ridges, behind one of which it was possible the old witch
+and her grandson might be concealed; so, without a moment's hesitation,
+the squire descended, and began to search about in the hollows,
+scrambling over the loose stones, or sliding down for some paces with
+the uncertain boggy soil, when he fancied he heard a plaintive cry. He
+looked around, but could see no one. The whole side of the mountain was
+lighted up by the fire from the beacon, which, instead of diminishing,
+burnt with increased ardour, so that every object was as easily to be
+discerned as in the day-time; but, notwithstanding this, he could not
+detect whence the sound proceeded. It was repeated, but more faintly
+than before, and Nicholas almost persuaded himself it was the voice of
+Potts calling for help. Motioning to his followers, who were engaged in
+the search like himself, to keep still, the squire listened intently,
+and again caught the sound, being this time convinced it arose from the
+ground. Was it possible the unfortunate attorney had been buried alive?
+Or had he been thrust into some hole, and a stone placed over it, which
+he found it impossible to remove? The latter idea seemed the more
+probable, and Nicholas was guided by a feeble repetition of the noise
+towards a large fragment of rock, which, on examination, had evidently
+been rolled from a point immediately over the mouth of a hollow. The
+squire instantly set himself to work to dislodge the ponderous stone,
+and, aided by two of his men, who lent their broad shoulders to the
+task, quickly accomplished his object, disclosing what appeared to be
+the mouth of a cavernous recess. From out of this, as soon as the stone
+was removed, popped the head of Master Potts, and Nicholas, bidding him
+be of good cheer, laid hold of him to draw him forth, as he seemed to
+have some difficulty in extricating himself, when the attorney cried
+out--
+
+"Do not pull so hard, squire! That accursed Jem Device has got hold of
+my legs. Not so hard, sir, I entreat."
+
+"Bid him let go," said Nicholas, unable to refrain from laughing, "or we
+will unearth him from his badger's hole."
+
+"He pays no heed to what I say to him," cried Potts. "Oh, dear! oh,
+dear! he is dragging me down again!"
+
+And, as he spoke, the attorney, notwithstanding all Nicholas's efforts
+to restrain him, was pulled down into the hole. The squire was at a loss
+what to do, and was considering whether he should resort to the tedious
+process of digging him out, when a scrambling noise was heard, and the
+captive's head once more appeared above ground.
+
+"Are you coming out now?" asked Nicholas.
+
+"Alas, no!" replied the attorney, "unless you will make terms with the
+rascal. He declares he will strangle me, if you do not promise to set
+him and his grandmother free."
+
+"Is Mother Demdike with him?" asked Nicholas.
+
+"To be sure," replied Potts; "and we are as badly off for room as three
+foxes in a hole."
+
+"And there is no other outlet said the squire?"
+
+"I conclude not," replied the attorney. "I groped about like a mole when
+I was first thrust into the cavern by Jem Device, but I could find no
+means of exit. The entrance was blocked up by the great stone which you
+had some difficulty in moving, but which Jem could shift at will; for he
+pushed it aside in a moment, and brought it back to its place, when he
+returned just now with the old hag; but probably that was effected by
+witchcraft."
+
+"Most likely," said Nicholas, "But for your being in it, we would stop
+up this hole, and bury the two wretches alive."
+
+"Get me out first, good Master Nicholas, I implore of you, and then do
+what you please," cried Potts. "Jem is tugging at my legs as if he would
+pull them off."
+
+"We will try who is strongest," said Nicholas, again seizing hold of
+Potts by the shoulders.
+
+"Oh, dear! oh, dear! I can't bear it--let go!" shrieked the attorney. "I
+shall be stretched to twice my natural length. My joints are starting
+from their sockets, my legs are coming off--oh! oh!"
+
+"Lend a hand here, one of you," cried Nicholas to the men; "we'll have
+him out, whatever be the consequence."
+
+"But I won't come!" roared Potts. "You have no right to use me thus.
+Torture! oh! oh! my loins are ruptured--my back is breaking--I am a dead
+man.--The hag has got hold of my right leg, while Jem is tugging with
+all his force at the left."
+
+"Pull away!" cried Nicholas; "he is coming."
+
+"My legs are off," yelled Potts, as he was plucked suddenly forth, with
+a jerk that threw the squire and his assistants on their backs. "I shall
+never be able to walk more. No, Heaven be praised!" he added, looking
+down on his lower limbs, "I have only lost my boots."
+
+"Never mind it, then," cried Nicholas; "but thank your stars you are
+above ground once more. Hark'ee, Jem!" he continued, shouting down the
+hole; "If you don't come forth at once, and bring Mother Demdike with
+you, we'll close up the mouth of this hole in such a way that you
+sha'n't require another grave. D'ye hear?"
+
+"Yeigh," replied Jem, his voice coming hoarsely and hollowly up like the
+accents of a ghost. "Am ey to go free if ey comply?"
+
+"Certainly not," replied the squire. "You have a choice between this
+hole and the hangman's cord at Lancaster, that is all. In either case
+you will die by suffocation. But be quick--we have wasted time enough
+already with you."
+
+"Then if that's aw yo'll do fo' me, squire, eyn e'en stay wheere ey am,"
+rejoined Jem.
+
+"Very well," replied Nicholas. "Here, my man, stop up this hole with
+earth and stones. Master Potts, you will lend a hand to the task."
+
+"Readily, sir," replied the attorney, "though I shall lose the pleasure
+I had anticipated of seeing that old carrion crow roasted alive."
+
+"Stay a bit, squoire," roared Jem, as preparations were actively made
+for carrying Nicholas's orders into execution. "Stay a bit, an ey'n cum
+owt, an bring t' owd woman wi' me."
+
+"I thought you'd change your mind," replied Nicholas, laughing. "Be
+upon your guard," he added, in a low tone to the others, "and seize him
+the moment he appears."
+
+But Jem evidently found it no easy matter to perform his promise, for
+stifled shrieks and other noises proclaimed that a desperate struggle
+was going on between him and his grandmother.
+
+"Aha!" exclaimed Nicholas, placing his ear to the hole. "The old hag is
+unwilling to come forth, and spits and scratches like a cat-a-mountain,
+while Jem gripes her like a terrier. It is a hard tussle between them,
+but he is getting the better of it, and is pushing her forth. Now look
+out."
+
+And as he spoke, Mother Demdike's terrible head protruded from the
+ground, and, despite of the execrations she poured forth upon her
+enemies, she was instantly seized by them, drawn out of the cavern, and
+secured. While the men were thus engaged, and while Nicholas's attention
+was for an instant diverted, Jem bounded forth as suddenly as a wolf
+from his lair, and, dashing aside all opposition, plunged down the hill.
+
+"It is useless to pursue him," said Nicholas. "He will not escape. The
+whole country will be roused by the beacon fire, and hue and cry shall
+be made after him."
+
+"Right!" exclaimed Potts; "and now let some one creep into that cavern,
+and bring out my boots, and then I shall be in a better condition to
+attend you."
+
+The request being complied with, and the attorney being once more
+equipped for walking, the party climbed the hill-side, and, bringing
+Mother Demdike with them, shaped their course towards the beacon.
+
+And now to see what had taken place in the interim.
+
+Scarcely had the squire quitted Mistress Nutter than Sir Ralph Assheton
+rode up to her.
+
+"Why do you loiter here, madam?" he said, in a stern tone, somewhat
+tempered by sorrow. "I have held back to give you an opportunity of
+escape. The hill is invested by your enemies. On that side Roger Nowell
+is advancing, and on this Sir Thomas Metcalfe and his followers. You may
+possibly effect a retreat in the opposite direction, but not a moment
+must be lost."
+
+"I will go with you," said Alizon.
+
+"No, no," interposed Richard. "You have not strength for the effort, and
+will only retard her."
+
+"I thank you for your devotion, my child," said Mistress Nutter, with a
+look of grateful tenderness; "but it is unneeded. I have no intention of
+flying. I shall surrender myself into the hands of justice."
+
+"Do not mistake the matter, madam," said Sir Ralph, "and delude yourself
+with the notion that either your rank or wealth will screen you from
+punishment. Your guilt is too clearly established to allow you a chance
+of escape, and, though I myself am acting wrongfully in counselling
+flight to you, I am led to do so from the friendship once subsisting
+between us, and the relationship which, unfortunately, I cannot
+destroy."
+
+"It is you who are mistaken, not I, Sir Ralph," replied Mistress Nutter.
+"I have no thought of turning aside the sword of justice, but shall
+court its sharpest edge, hoping by a full avowal of my offences, in some
+degree to atone for them. My only regret is, that I shall leave my child
+unprotected, and that my fate will bring dishonour upon her."
+
+"Oh, think not of me, dear mother!" cried Alizon, "but persist
+unhesitatingly in the course you have laid down. Far rather would I see
+you act thus--far rather hear the sentiments you have uttered, even
+though they may be attended by the saddest, consequences, than behold
+you in your former proud position, and impenitent. Think not of me,
+then. Or, rather, think only how I rejoice that your eyes are at length
+opened, and that you have cast off the bonds of iniquity. I can now pray
+for you with the full hope that my intercessions will prevail, and in
+parting with you in this world shall be sustained by the conviction that
+we shall meet in eternal happiness hereafter."
+
+Mistress Nutter threw her arms about her daughter's neck, and they
+mingled their tears together, Sir Ralph Assheton was much moved.
+
+"It is a pity she should fall into their hands," he observed to Richard.
+
+"I know not how to advise," replied the latter, greatly troubled.
+
+"Ah! it is too late," exclaimed the knight; "here come Nowell and
+Metcalfe. The poor lady's firmness will be severely tested."
+
+The next moment the magistrate and the knight came up, with such of
+their attendants as were not engaged in pursuing the witches, several of
+whom had already been captured. On seeing Mistress Nutter, Sir Thomas
+Metcalfe sprang from his horse, and would have seized her, but Sir Ralph
+interposed, saying "She has surrendered herself to me. I will be
+answerable for her safe custody."
+
+"Your pardon, Sir Ralph," observed Nowell; "the arrest must be formally
+made, and by a constable. Sparshot, execute your warrant."
+
+Upon this, the official, leaping from his horse, displayed his staff and
+a piece of parchment to Mistress Nutter, telling her she was his
+prisoner.
+
+The lady bowed her head.
+
+"Shan ey tee her hands, yer warship?" demanded the constable of the
+magistrate.
+
+"On no account, fellow," interposed Sir Ralph. "I will have no indignity
+offered her. I have already said I will be responsible for her."
+
+"You will recollect she is arrested for witchcraft, Sir Ralph," observed
+Nowell.
+
+"She shall answer to the charges brought against her. I pledge myself
+to that," replied Sir Ralph.
+
+"And by a full confession," said Mistress Nutter. "You may pledge
+yourself to that also, Sir Ralph."
+
+"She avows her guilt," cried Nowell. "I take you all to witness it."
+
+"I shall not forget it," said Sir Thomas Metcalfe.
+
+"Nor I--nor I!" cried Sparshot, and two or three others of the
+attendants.
+
+"This girl is my prisoner," said Sir Thomas Metcalfe, dismounting, and
+advancing towards Alizon, "She is a witch, as well as the rest."
+
+"It is false," cried Richard! "and if you attempt to lay hands upon her
+I will strike you to the earth."
+
+"'Sdeath!" exclaimed Metcalfe, drawing his sword, "I will not let this
+insolence pass unpunished. I have other affronts to chastise. Stand
+aside, or I will cut your throat."
+
+"Hold, Sir Thomas," cried Sir Ralph Assheton, authoritatively. "Settle
+your quarrels hereafter, if you have any to adjust; but I will have no
+fighting now. Alizon is no witch. You are well aware that she was about
+to be impiously and cruelly sacrificed by Mother Demdike, and her rescue
+was the main object of our coming hither."
+
+"Still suspicion attaches to her," said Metcalfe; "whether she be the
+daughter of Elizabeth Device or Alice Nutter, she comes of a bad stock,
+and I protest against her being allowed to go free. However, if you are
+resolved upon it, I have nothing more to say. I shall find other time
+and place to adjust my differences with Master Richard Assheton."
+
+"When you please, sir," replied the young man, sternly.
+
+"And I will answer for the propriety of the course I have pursued," said
+Sir Ralph; "but here comes Nicholas with Mother Demdike."
+
+"Demdike taken! I am glad of it," cried Mother Chattox, slightly raising
+herself as she spoke. "Kill her, or she will 'scape you."
+
+When Nicholas came up with the old hag, both Sir Ralph Assheton and
+Roger Nowell put several questions to her, but she refused to answer
+their interrogations; and, horrified by her blasphemies and
+imprecations, they caused her to be removed to a short distance, while a
+consultation was held as to the course to be pursued.
+
+"We have made half a dozen of these miscreants prisoners," said Roger
+Nowell, "and the whole of them had better be taken to Whalley, where
+they can be safely confined in the old dungeons of the Abbey, and after
+their examination on the morrow can be removed to Lancaster Castle."
+
+"Be it so," replied Sir Ralph; "but must yon unfortunate lady," he
+added, pointing to Mistress Nutter, "be taken with them?"
+
+"Assuredly," replied Nowell. "We can make no distinction among such
+offenders; or, if there are any degrees in guilt, hers is of the highest
+class."
+
+"You had better take leave of your daughter," said Sir Ralph to Mistress
+Nutter.
+
+"I thank you for the hint," replied the lady. "Farewell, dear Alizon,"
+she added, straining her to her bosom. "We must part for some time. Once
+more before I quit this world, in which I have played so wicked a part,
+I would fain look upon you--fain bless you, if I have the power--but
+this must be at the last, when my trials are wellnigh over, and when all
+is about to close upon me!"
+
+"Oh! must it be thus?" exclaimed Alizon, in a voice half suffocated by
+emotion.
+
+"It must," replied her mother. "Do not attempt to shake my resolution,
+my sweet child--do not weep for me. Amidst all the terrors that surround
+me, I am happier now than I have been for years. I shall strive to work
+out my redemption by prayers."
+
+"And you will succeed!" cried Alizon.
+
+"Not so!" shrieked Mother Demdike; "the Fiend will have his own. She is
+bound to him by a compact which nought can annul."
+
+"I should like to see the instrument," said Potts. "I might give a legal
+opinion upon it. Perhaps it might be avoided; and in any case its
+production in court would have an admirable effect. I think I see the
+counsel examining it, and hear the judges calling for it to be placed
+before them. His infernal Majesty's signature must be a curiosity in its
+way. Our gracious and sagacious monarch would delight in it."
+
+"Peace!" exclaimed Nicholas; "and take care," he cried, "that no further
+interruptions are offered by that infernal hag. Have you done, madam?"
+he added to Mistress Nutter, who still remained with her daughter folded
+in her arms.
+
+"Not yet," replied the lady. "Oh! what happiness I have thrown away!
+What anguish--what remorse brought upon myself by the evil life I have
+led! As I gaze on this fair face, and think it might long, long have
+brightened my dark and desolate life with its sunshine--as I think upon
+all this, my fortitude wellnigh deserts me, and I have need of support
+from on high to carry me through my trial. But I fear it will be denied
+me. Nicholas Assheton, you have the deed of the gift of Rough Lee in
+your possession. Henceforth Alizon is mistress of the mansion and
+domains."
+
+"Provided always they are not forfeited to the crown, which I apprehend
+will be the case," suggested Potts.
+
+"I will take care she is put in possession of them," said Nicholas.
+
+"As to you, Richard," continued Mistress Nutter, "the time may come
+when your devotion to my daughter may be rewarded and I could not bestow
+a greater boon upon you than by giving you her hand. It may be well I
+should give my consent now, and, if no other obstacle should arise to
+the union, may she be yours, and happiness I am sure will attend you!"
+
+Overpowered by conflicting emotions, Alizon hid her face in her mother's
+bosom, and Richard, who was almost equally overcome, was about to reply,
+when Mother Demdike broke upon them.
+
+"They will never be united!" she screamed. "Never! I have said it, and
+my words will come true. Think'st thou a witch like thee can bless an
+union, Alice Nutter? Thy blessings are curses, thy wishes
+disappointments and despair. Thriftless love shall be Alizon's, and the
+grave shall be her bridal bed. The witch's daughter shall share the
+witch's fate."
+
+These boding words produced a terrible effect upon the hearers.
+
+"Heed her not, my sweet child--she speaks falsely," said Mistress
+Nutter, endeavouring to re-assure her daughter; but the tone in which
+the words were uttered showed that she herself was greatly alarmed.
+
+"I have cursed them both, and I will curse them again," yelled Mother
+Demdike.
+
+"Away with the old screech-owl," cried Nicholas. "Take her to the
+beacon, and, if she continues troublesome, hurl her into the flame."
+
+And, notwithstanding the hag's struggles and imprecations, she was
+removed.
+
+"Whatever may betide, Alizon," cried Richard, "my life shall be devoted
+to you; and, if you should not be mine, I will have no other bride. With
+your permission, madam," he added, to Mistress Nutter, "I will take your
+daughter to Middleton, where she will find companionship and solace, I
+trust, in the attentions of my sister, who has the strongest affection
+for her."
+
+"I could wish nothing better," replied the lady, "and now to put an end
+to this harrowing scene. Farewell, my child. Take her, Richard, take
+her!" she cried, as she disengaged herself from the relaxing embrace of
+her daughter. "Now, Master Nowell, I am ready."
+
+"It is well, madam," he replied. "You will join the other prisoners, and
+we will set forth."
+
+But at this juncture a terrific shriek was heard, which drew all eyes
+towards the beacon.
+
+When Mother Demdike had been removed, in accordance with the squire's
+directions, her conduct became more violent and outrageous than ever,
+and those who had charge of her threatened, if she did not desist, to
+carry out the full instructions they had received, and cast her into the
+flames. The old hag defied and incensed them to such a degree by her
+violence and blasphemies, that they carried her to the very edge of the
+fire.
+
+At this moment the figure of a monk, in mouldering white habiliments,
+came from behind the beacon, and stood beside the old hag. He slowly
+raised his hood, and disclosed features that looked like those of the
+dead.
+
+"Thy hour is come, accursed woman!" cried the phantom, in thrilling
+accents. "Thy term on earth is ended, and thou shalt be delivered to
+unquenchable fire. The curse of Paslew is fulfilled upon thee, and will
+be fulfilled upon all thy viperous brood."
+
+"Art thou the abbot's shade?" demanded the hag.
+
+"I am thy implacable enemy," replied the phantom. "Thy judgment and thy
+punishment are committed to me. To the flames with her!"
+
+Such was the awe inspired by the monk, and such the authority of his
+tones and gesture, that the command was unhesitatingly obeyed, and the
+witch was cast, shrieking, into the fire.
+
+She was instantly swallowed up as in a gulf of flame, which raged, and
+roared, and shot up in a hundred lambent points, as if exulting in its
+prey.
+
+The wretched creature was seen for a moment to rise up in it in
+extremity of anguish, with arms extended, and uttering a dreadful yell,
+but the flames wreathed round her, and she sank for ever.
+
+When those who had assisted at this fearful execution looked around for
+the mysterious being who had commanded it, they could nowhere behold
+him.
+
+Then was heard a laugh of gratified hate--such a laugh as only a demon,
+or one bound to a demon, can utter--and the appalled listeners looked
+around, and beheld Mother Chattox standing behind them.
+
+"My rival is gone!" cried the hag. "I have seen the last of her. She is
+burnt--ah! ah!"
+
+Further triumph was not allowed her. With one accord, and as if prompted
+by an irresistible impulse, the men rushed upon her, seized her, and
+cast her into the fire.
+
+Her wild laughter was heard for a moment above the roaring of the
+flames, and then ceased altogether.
+
+Again the flame shot high in air, again roared and raged, again broke
+into a multitude of lambent points, after which it suddenly expired.
+
+All was darkness on the summit of Pendle Hill.
+
+And in silence and in gloom scarcely more profound than that Weighing in
+every breast, the melancholy troop pursued its way to Whalley.
+
+
+END OF THE SECOND BOOK.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK THE THIRD.
+
+Hoghton tower
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.--DOWNHAM MANOR-HOUSE.
+
+
+On a lovely morning, about the middle of July, in the same year as the
+events previously narrated, Nicholas Assheton, always astir with the
+lark, issued from his own dwelling, and sauntered across the smooth lawn
+in front of it. The green eminence on which he stood was sheltered on
+the right by a grove of sycamores, forming the boundary of the park, and
+sloped down into a valley threaded by a small clear stream, whose
+murmuring, as it danced over its pebbly bed, distinctly reached his ear
+in the stillness of early day. On the left, partly in the valley, and
+partly on the side of the acclivity on which the hall was situated,
+nestled the little village whose inhabitants owned Nicholas as lord;
+and, to judge from their habitations, they had reason to rejoice in
+their master; for certainly there was a cheerful air about Downham which
+the neighbouring hamlets, especially those in Pendle Forest, sadly
+wanted.
+
+On the left of the mansion, and only separated from it by the garden
+walls, stood the church, a venerable structure, dating back to a period
+more remote even than Whalley Abbey. From the churchyard a view, almost
+similar to that enjoyed by the squire, was obtained, though partially
+interrupted by the thick rounded foliage of a large tree growing beneath
+it; and many a traveller who came that way lingered within the hallowed
+precincts to contemplate the prospect. At the foot of the hill was a
+small stone bridge crossing the stream.
+
+Across the road, and scarce thirty paces from the church-gate, stood a
+little alehouse, whose comfortable fireside nook and good liquors were
+not disdained by the squire. In fact, to his shame be it spoken, he was
+quite as often to be found there of an evening as at the hall. This had
+more particularly been the case since the house was tenanted by Richard
+Baldwyn, who having given up the mill at Rough Lee, and taken to wife
+Bess Whitaker of Goldshaw Booth, had removed with her to Downham, where
+he now flourished under the special protection of the squire. Bess had
+lost none of her old habits of command, and it must be confessed that
+poor Richard played a very secondary part in the establishment.
+Nicholas, as may be supposed, was permitted considerable licence by her,
+but even he had limits, which she took good care he should not exceed.
+
+The Downham domains were well cultivated; the line of demarcation
+between them and the heathy wastes adjoining, being clearly traced out,
+and you had only to follow the course of the brook to see at a glance
+where the purlieus of the forest ended, and where Nicholas Assheton's
+property commenced: the one being a dreary moor, with here and there a
+thicket upon it, but more frequently a dangerous morass, covered with
+sulphur-coloured moss; and the other consisting of green meadows,
+bordered in most instances by magnificent timber. The contrast, however,
+was not without its charm; and while the sterile wastes set off the fair
+and fertile fields around them, and enhanced their beauty, they offered
+a wide, uninterrupted expanse, over which the eye could range at will.
+
+On the further side of the valley, and immediately opposite the lawn
+whereon Nicholas stood, the ground gradually arose, until it reached the
+foot of Pendle Hill, which here assuming its most majestic aspect,
+constituted the grand and peculiar feature of the scene. Nowhere could
+the lordly eminence be seen to the same advantage as from this point,
+and Nicholas contemplated it with feelings of rapture, which no
+familiarity could diminish. The sun shone brightly upon its rounded
+summit, and upon its seamy sides, revealing all its rifts and ridges;
+adding depth of tint to its dusky soil, laid bare in places by the
+winter torrents; lending new beauty to its purple heath, and making its
+grey sod glow as with fire. So exhilarating was the prospect, that
+Nicholas felt half tempted to cross the valley and scale the hill before
+breaking his fast; but other feelings checked him, and he turned towards
+the right. Here, beyond a paddock and some outbuildings, lay the park,
+small in extent, but beautifully diversified, well stocked with deer,
+and boasting much noble timber. In the midst was an exquisite knoll,
+which, besides commanding a fine view of Pendle Hill, Downham, and all
+the adjacent country, brought within its scope, on the one hand, the
+ancient castle of Clithero and the heights overlooking Whalley; and, on
+the other, the lovely and extensive vale through which the Ribble
+wandered. This, also, was a favourite point of view with the squire, and
+he had some idea of walking towards it, when he was arrested by a person
+who came from the house, and who shouted to him, hoarsely but blithely,
+to stay.
+
+The new-comer was a man of middle age, with a skin almost as tawny as a
+gipsy's, a hooked nose, black beetling brows, and eyes so strangely set
+in his head, that they communicated a sinister expression to his
+countenance. He possessed a burly frame, square, and somewhat heavy,
+though not so much so as to impede his activity. In deportment and
+stature, though not in feature, he resembled the squire himself; and the
+likeness was heightened by his habiliments being part of Nicholas's old
+wardrobe, the doublet and hose, and even the green hat and boots, being
+those in which Nicholas made his first appearance in this history. The
+personage who thus condescended to be fed and clothed at the squire's
+expense, and who filled a situation something between guest and menial,
+without receiving the precise attention of the one or the wages of the
+other, but who made himself so useful to Nicholas that he could not
+dispense with him--neither, perhaps would he have been shaken off, even
+if it had been desired--was named Lawrence Fogg, an entire stranger to
+the country, whom Nicholas had picked up at Colne, and whom he had
+invited to Downham for a few weeks' hunting, and had never been able to
+get rid of him since.
+
+Lawrence Fogg liked his quarters immensely, and determined to remain in
+them; and as a means to so desirable an end, he studied all the squire's
+weak points and peculiarities, and these not being very difficult to be
+understood, he soon mastered them, and mastered the squire into the
+bargain, but without allowing his success to become manifest. Nicholas
+was delighted to find one with tastes so congenial to his own, who was
+so willing to hunt or fish with him--who could train a hawk as well as
+Phil Royle, the falconer--diet a fighting-cock as well as Tom Shaw, the
+cock-master--enter a hound better than Charlie Crouch, the old
+huntsman--shoot with the long-bow further than any one except himself,
+and was willing to toss off a pot with him, or sing a merry stave
+whenever he felt inclined. Such a companion was invaluable, and Nicholas
+congratulated himself upon the discovery, especially when he found
+Lawrence Fogg not unwilling to undertake some delicate commissions for
+him, which he could not well execute himself, and which he was unwilling
+should reach Mistress Assheton's ears. These were managed with equal
+adroitness and caution. About the same time, too, Nicholas finding money
+scarce, and, not liking to borrow it in person, delegated Fogg, and sent
+him round to his friends to ask for a loan; but, in this instance, the
+mission was attended with very indifferent success, for not one of them
+would lend him so small a sum as thirty pounds, all averring they stood
+in need of it quite as much as himself. Though somewhat inconvenienced
+by their refusal, Nicholas bore the disappointment with his customary
+equanimity, and made merry with his friend as if nothing had happened.
+Fogg showed an equal accommodating spirit in all religious observances,
+and, though much against his inclination, attended morning discourses
+and lectures with his patron, and even made an attempt at psalm-singing;
+but on one occasion, missing the tune and coming in with a bacchanalian
+chorus, he was severely rebuked by the minister, and enjoined to keep
+silence in future. Such was the friendly relation subsisting between
+the parties when they met together on the lawn on the morning in
+question.
+
+"Well, Fogg," cried Nicholas, after exchanging salutations with his
+friend, "what say you to hunting the otter in the Ribble after
+breakfast? 'Tis a rare day for the sport, and the hounds are in
+excellent order. There is an old dam and her litter whom we must kill,
+for she has been playing the very devil with the fish for a space of
+more than two miles; and if we let her off for another week, we shall
+have neither salmon, trout, nor umber, as all will have passed down the
+maws of her voracious brood."
+
+"And that would be a pity, in good sooth, squire," replied Fogg; "for
+there are no fish like those of the Ribble. Nothing I should prefer to
+the sport you promise; but I thought you had other business for me
+to-day? Another attempt to borrow money--eh?"
+
+"Ay, from my cousin, Dick Assheton," rejoined Nicholas; "he will lend me
+the thirty pounds, I am quite sure. But you had better defer the visit
+till to-morrow, when his father, Sir Richard, will be at Whalley, and
+when you can have him to yourself. Dick will not say you nay, depend
+on't; he is too good a fellow for that. A murrain on those close-fisted
+curmudgeons, Roger Nowell, Nicholas Townley, and Tom Whitaker. They
+ought to be delighted to oblige me."
+
+"But they declare they have no money," said Fogg.
+
+"No money!--pshaw!" exclaimed Nicholas; "an idle excuse. They have
+chests full. Would I had all Roger Nowell's gold, I should not require
+another supply for years. But, 'sdeath! I will not trouble myself for a
+paltry thirty pounds."
+
+"If I might venture to suggest, squire, while you are about it, I would
+ask for a hundred pounds, or even two or three hundred," said Fogg.
+"Your friends will think all the better of you, and feel more satisfied
+you intend to repay them."
+
+"Do you think so!" cried Nicholas. "Then, by Plutus, it shall be three
+hundred pounds--three hundred at interest. Dick will have to borrow the
+amount to lend it to me; but, no matter, he will easily obtain it.
+Harkye, Fogg, while you are at Middleton, endeavour to ascertain whether
+any thing has been arranged about the marriage of a certain young lady
+to a certain young gentleman. I am curious to know the precise state of
+affairs in that quarter."
+
+"I will arrive at the truth, if possible, squire," replied Fogg; "but I
+should scarcely think Sir Richard would assent to his son's union with
+the daughter of a notorious witch."
+
+"Sir Richard's son is scarcely likely to ask Sir Richard's consent,"
+said Nicholas; "and as to Mistress Nutter, though heavy charges have
+been brought against her, nothing has been proved, for you know she
+escaped, or rather was rescued, on her way to Lancaster Castle."
+
+"I am fully aware of it, squire," replied Fogg; "and I more than
+suspect a worthy friend of mine had a hand in her deliverance and could
+tell where to find her if needful. But that is neither here nor there.
+The lady is quite innocent, I dare say. Indeed, I am quite sure of it,
+since you espouse her cause so warmly. But the world is malicious, and
+strange things are reported of her."
+
+"Heed not the world, Fogg," rejoined Nicholas. "The world speaks well of
+no man, be his deserts what they may. The world says that I waste my
+estate in wine, women, and horseflesh--that I spend time in pleasures
+which might be profitably employed--that I neglect my wife, forget my
+religious observances, am on horseback when I should be afoot, at the
+alehouse when I should be at home, at a marriage when I should be at a
+funeral, shooting when I should be keeping my books--in short, it has
+not a good word to say for me. And as for thee, Fogg, it says thou art
+an idle, good-for-nothing fellow; or, if thou art good for aught, it is
+only for something that leads to evil. It says thou drinkest
+prodigiously, liest confoundedly, and swearest most profanely; that thou
+art ever more ready to go to the alehouse than to church, and that none
+of the girls can 'scape thee. Nay, the slanderers even go so far as to
+assert thou wouldst not hesitate to say, 'Stand and deliver!' to a true
+man on the highway. That is what the world says of thee. But, hang it!
+never look chapfallen, man. Let us go to the stables, and then we will
+in to breakfast; after which we will proceed to the Ribble, and spear
+the old otter."
+
+A fine old manorial residence was Downham, and beautifully situated, as
+has been shown, on a woody eminence to the north of Pendle Hill. It was
+of great antiquity, and first came into the possession of the Assheton
+family in 1558. Considerable additions had been made to it by its
+present owner, Nicholas, and the outlay necessarily required, combined
+with his lavish expenditure, had contributed to embarrass him. The
+stables were large, and full of horses; the kennels on the same scale,
+and equally well supplied with hounds; and there was a princely retinue
+of servants in the yard--grooms, keepers, falconers, huntsmen, and their
+assistants--to say nothing of their fellows within doors. In short, if
+it had been your fortune to accompany the squire and his friend round
+the premises--if you had walked through the stables and counted the
+horses--if you had viewed the kennels and examined the various
+hounds--the great Lancashire dogs, tall, shaggy, and heavy, a race now
+extinct; the Worcestershire hounds, then also in much repute; the
+greyhounds, the harriers, the beagles, the lurchers, and, lastly, the
+verminers, or, as we should call them, the terriers,--if you had seen
+all these, you would not have wondered that money was scarce with him.
+Still further would your surprise at such a consequence have diminished
+if you had gone on to the falconry, and seen on the perches the goshawk
+and her tercel, the sparrowhawk and her musket, under the care of the
+ostringer; and further on the falcon-gentle, the gerfalcon, the lanner,
+the merlin, and the hobby, all of which were attended to by the head
+falconer. It would have done you good to hear Nicholas inquiring from
+his men if they had "set out their birds that morning, and weathered
+them;" if they had mummy powder in readiness, then esteemed a sovereign
+remedy; if the lures, hoods, jesses, buets, and all other needful
+furniture, were in good order; and if the meat were sweet and wholesome.
+You might next have followed him to the pens where the fighting cocks
+were kept, and where you would have found another source of expense in
+the cock-master, Tom Shaw--a knave who not only got high wages from his
+master, but understood so well the dieting of his birds that he could
+make them win or lose a battle as he thought proper. Here, again,
+Nicholas had much to say, and was in raptures with one cock, which he
+told Fogg he would back to any amount, utterly unconscious of a
+significant look that passed between his friend and the cock-master.
+
+"Look at him," cried the squire; "how proud and erect he stands! His
+head is as small as that of a sparrowhawk, his eye large and quick, his
+body thick, his leg strong in the beam, and his spurs long, rough, and
+sharp. That is the bird for me. I will take him over to the cockpit at
+Prescot next week, and match him against any bird Sir John Talbot, or my
+cousin Braddyll, can bring."
+
+"And yo'n win, squoire," replied the cock-master; "ey ha' been feedin'
+him these five weeks, so he'll be i' rare condition then, and winna fail
+yo. Yo may lay what yo loike upon him," he added, with a sly wink at
+Fogg.
+
+"You may win the thirty pounds you want," observed the latter, in a low
+tone to the squire.
+
+"Or, mayhap, lose it," replied Nicholas. "I shall not risk so much,
+unless I get the three hundred from Dick Assheton. I have been unlucky
+of late. You beat me constantly at tables now, Fogg, and when I first
+knew you this was not wont to be the case. Nay, never make any excuses,
+man; you cannot help it. Let us in to breakfast."
+
+With this, he proceeded towards the house, followed by Fogg and a couple
+of large Lancashire hounds, and, entering at the back of the premises,
+made his way through the scullery into the kitchen. Here there were
+plentiful evidences of the hospitality, not to say profusion, reigning
+throughout the mansion. An open door showed a larder stocked with all
+kinds of provisions, and before the fire joints of meat and poultry were
+roasting. Pies were baking in the oven; and over the flames, in the
+chimney, was suspended a black pot large enough for a witch's caldron.
+The cook was busied in preparing for the gridiron some freshly-caught
+trout, intended for the squire's own breakfast; and a kitchen-maid was
+toasting oatcakes, of which there was a large supply in the bread-flake
+depending from the ceiling.
+
+Casting a look around, and exchanging a few words with the cook,
+Nicholas moved on, still followed by Fogg and the hounds, and, tracking
+a long stone passage, entered the great hall. Here the same disorder and
+irregularity prevailed as in his own character and conduct. All was
+litter and confusion. Around the walls were hung breastplates and
+buff-coats, morions, shields, and two-handed swords; but they were half
+hidden by fishing-nets, fowling-nets, dogs' collars, saddles and
+bridles, housings, cross-bows, long-bows, quivers, baldricks, horns,
+spears, guns, and every other implement then used in the sports of the
+river or the field. The floor was in an equal state of disorder. The
+rushes were filled with half-gnawed bones, brought thither by the
+hounds; and in one corner, on a mat, was a favourite spaniel and her
+whelps. The squire however was, happily, insensible to the condition of
+the chamber, and looked around it with an air of satisfaction, as if he
+thought it the perfection of comfort.
+
+A table was spread for breakfast, near a window looking out upon the
+lawn, and two covers only were laid, for Mistress Nicholas Assheton did
+not make her appearance at this early hour. And now was exhibited one of
+those strange contradictions of which the squire's character was
+composed. Kneeling down by the side of the table, and without noticing
+the mocking expression of Fogg's countenance as he followed his example,
+Nicholas prayed loudly and fervently for upwards of ten minutes, after
+which he arose and gave a shout which proved that his lungs were
+unimpaired, and not only roused the whole house, but set all the dogs
+barking.
+
+Presently a couple of serving-men answered this lusty summons, and the
+table was covered with good and substantial dishes, which he and his
+companion attacked with a vigour such as only the most valiant
+trencherman can display. Already has it been remarked that a breakfast
+at the period in question resembled a modern dinner; and better proof
+could not have been afforded of the correctness of the description than
+the meal under discussion, which comprised fish, flesh, and fowl,
+boiled, broiled, and roast, together with strong ale and sack. After an
+hour thus agreeably employed, and while they were still seated, though
+breakfast had pretty nearly come to an end, a serving-man entered,
+announcing Master Richard Sherborne of Dunnow. The squire instantly
+sprang to his feet, and hastened to welcome his brother-in-law.
+
+"Ah! good-day to you, Dick," he cried, shaking him heartily by the hand;
+"what happy chance brings you here so early? But first sit down and
+eat--eat, and talk afterwards. Here, Roger, Harry, bring another platter
+and napkin, and let us have more broiled trout and a cold capon, a
+pasty, or whatever you can find in the larder. Try some of this gammon
+meanwhile, Dick. It will help down a can of ale. And now what brings
+thee hither, lad? Pressing business, no doubt. Thou mayest speak before
+Fogg. I have no secrets from him. He is my second self."
+
+"I have no secrets to divulge, Nicholas," replied Sherborne, "and I will
+tell you at once what I am come about. Have you heard that the King is
+about to visit Hoghton Tower in August?"
+
+"No; this is news to me," replied Nicholas; "does your business relate
+to his visit?"
+
+"It does," replied Sherborne. "Last night a messenger came to me from
+Sir Richard Hoghton, entreating me to move you to do him the favour and
+courtesy to attend him at the King's coming, and wear his livery."
+
+"I wear his livery!" exclaimed Nicholas, indignantly. "'Sdeath! what do
+you take me for, cousin Dick?"
+
+"For a right good fellow, who I am sure will comply with his friend's
+request, especially when he finds there is no sort of degradation in
+it," replied Sherborne. "Why, I shall wear Sir Richard's cloth, and so
+will several others of our friends. There will be rare doings at
+Hoghton--masquings, mummings, and all sorts of revels, besides hunting,
+shooting, racing, wrestling, and the devil knows what. You may feast and
+carouse to your heart's content. The Dukes of Buckingham and Richmond
+will be there, and the Earls of Nottingham and Pembroke, and Sir Gilbert
+Hoghton, the King's great favourite, who married the Duchess of
+Buckingham's sister. Besides these, you will have all the beauty of
+Lancashire. I would not miss the sight for thirty pounds."
+
+"Thirty pounds!" echoed Nicholas, as if struck with a sudden thought.
+"Do you think Sir Thomas Hoghton would lend me that sum if I consent to
+wear his cloth, and attend him?"
+
+"I have no doubt of it," replied Sherborne; "and if he won't, I will."
+
+"Then I will put my pride in my pocket, and go," said Nicholas. "And
+now, Dick, dispatch your breakfast as quickly as you can, and then I
+will take you to the Ribble, and show you some sport with an otter."
+
+Sherborne was not long in concluding his repast, and having received an
+otter spear from the squire, who had already provided himself and Fogg
+with like weapons, all three adjourned to the kennels, where they found
+the old huntsman, Charlie Crouch, awaiting them, attended by four stout
+varlets, armed with forked staves, meant for the double purpose of
+beating the river's banks, and striking the poor beast they were about
+to hunt, and each man having a couple of hounds, well entered for the
+chase, in leash. Old Crouch was a thin, grey-bearded fellow, but
+possessed of a tough, muscular frame, which served him quite as well in
+the long run as the younger, and apparently more vigorous, limbs of his
+assistants. His cheek was hale, and his eye still bright and quick, and
+a certain fierceness was imparted to his countenance by a large
+aquiline nose. He was attired in a greasy leathern jerkin, tight hose of
+the same material, and had a bugle suspended from his neck, and a sharp
+hunting-knife thrust into his girdle. In his hand he bore a spear like
+his master, and was followed by a grey old lurcher, who, though wanting
+an ear and an eye, and disfigured by sundry scars on throat and back,
+was hardy, untiring, and sagacious. This ancient dog was called Grip,
+from his tenacity in holding any thing he set his teeth upon, and he and
+Crouch were inseparable.
+
+Great was the clamour occasioned by the squire's appearance in the yard.
+The coupled hounds gave tongue at once, and sang out most melodiously,
+and all the other dogs within the kennels, or roaming at will about the
+yard, joined the concert. After much swearing, cracking of whips, and
+yelping consequent upon the cracking, silence was in some degree
+restored, and a consultation was then held between Nicholas and Crouch
+as to where their steps should first be bent. The old huntsman was for
+drawing the river near a place called Bean Hill Wood, as the trees
+thereabouts, growing close to the water's edge, it was pretty certain
+the otter would have her couch amid the roots of some of them. This was
+objected to by one of the varlets, who declared that the beast lodged in
+a hollow tree, standing on a bank nearly a mile higher up the stream,
+and close by the point of junction between Swanside Beck and the Ribble.
+He was certain of the fact, he avouched, because he had noticed her
+marks on the moist grass near the tree.
+
+"Hoo goes theere to fish, mon?" cried Crouch, "for it is the natur o'
+the wary varmint to feed at a distance fro' her lodgin; boh ey'm sure we
+shan leet on her among the roots o' them big trees o'erhanging th' river
+near Bean Hill Wood, an if the squire 'll tay my advice, he'n go theere
+first."
+
+"I put myself entirely under your guidance, Crouch," said Nicholas.
+
+"An yo'n be aw reet, sir," replied the huntsman; "we'n beat the bonks
+weel, an two o' these chaps shan go up the stream, an two down, one o'
+one side, and one o' t'other; an i' that manner hoo canna escape us, fo'
+Grip can swim an dive os weel as onny otter i' aw Englondshiar, an he'n
+be efter her an her litter the moment they tak to t' wotur. Some folk,
+os maybe yo ha' seen, squoire, tak howd on a cord by both eends, an
+droppin it into t' river, draw it slowly along, so that they can tell by
+th' jerk when th' otter touches it; boh this is an onsartin method, an
+is nowt like Grip's plan, for wherever yo see him swimmin, t'other beast
+yo may be sure is nah far ahead."
+
+"A brave dog, but confoundedly ugly!" exclaimed the squire, regarding
+the old one-eared, one-eyed lurcher with mingled admiration and disgust;
+"and now, that all is arranged, let us be off."
+
+Accordingly they quitted the court-yard, and, shaping their course in
+the direction indicated by the huntsman, entered the park, and proceeded
+along a glade, checkered by the early sunbeams. Here the noise they made
+in their progress speedily disturbed a herd of deer browsing beneath the
+trees, and, as the dappled foresters darted off to a thicker covert,
+great difficulty was experienced by the varlets in restraining the
+hounds, who struggled eagerly to follow them, and made the welkin
+resound with their baying.
+
+"Yonder is a tall fellow," cried Nicholas, pointing out a noble buck to
+Crouch; "I must kill him next week, for I want to send a haunch of
+venison to Middleton, and another to Whalley Abbey for Sir Ralph."
+
+"Better hunt him, squoire," said Crouch; "he will gi' ye good sport."
+
+Soon after this they attained an eminence, where a charming sweep of
+country opened upon them, including the finest part of Ribblesdale, with
+its richly-wooded plains, and the swift and beautiful river from which
+it derived its name. The view was enchanting, and the squire and his
+companions paused for a moment to contemplate it, and then, stepping
+gleefully forward, made their way over the elastic turf towards a small
+thicket skirting the park. All were in high spirits, for the freshness
+and beauty of the morning had not been without effect, and the squire's
+tongue kept pace with his legs as he strode briskly along; but as they
+entered the thicket in question, and caught sight of the river through
+the trees, the old huntsman enjoined silence, and he was obliged to put
+a check upon his loquacity.
+
+When within a bowshot from the water, the party came to a halt, and two
+of the men were directed by Crouch to cross the stream at different
+points, and then commence beating the banks, while the other two were
+ordered to pursue a like course, but to keep on the near side of the
+river. The hounds were next uncoupled, and the men set off to execute
+the orders they had received, and soon afterwards the crashing of
+branches, and the splashing of water, accompanied by the deep baying of
+the hounds, told they were at work.
+
+Meanwhile, Nicholas and the others had not remained idle. As the varlets
+struck off in different directions, they went straight on, and forcing
+their way through the brushwood, came to a high bank overlooking the
+Ribble, on the top of which grew three or four large trees, whose roots,
+laid bare on the further side by the swollen currents of winter, formed
+a convenient resting-place for the fish-loving creature they hoped to
+surprise. Receiving a hint from Crouch to make for the central tree,
+Nicholas grasped his spear, and sprang forward; but, quick as he was, he
+was too late, though he saw enough to convince him that the crafty old
+huntsman had been correct in his judgment; for a dark, slimy object
+dropped from out the roots of the tree beneath him, and glided into the
+water as swiftly and as noiselessly as if its skin had been oiled. A few
+bubbles rose to the surface of the water, but these were all the
+indications marking the course of the wondrous diver.
+
+But other eyes, sharper than those of Nicholas, were on the watch, and
+the old huntsman shouted out, "There hoo goes, Grip--efter her, lad,
+efter her!" The words were scarcely uttered when the dog sprang from the
+top of the bank and sank under the water. For some seconds no trace
+could be observed of either animal, and then the shaggy nose of the
+lurcher was seen nearly fifty yards higher up the river, and after
+sniffing around for a moment, and fixing his single eye on his master,
+who was standing on the bank, and encouraging him with his voice and
+gesture, he dived again.
+
+"Station yourselves on the bank, fifty paces apart," cried Crouch; "run,
+run, or yo'n be too late, an' strike os quick os leet if yo've a chance.
+Stay wheere you are, squoire," he added, to Nicholas. "Yo canna be
+better placed."
+
+All was now animation and excitement. Perceiving from the noise that the
+otter had been found, the four varlets hastened towards the scene of
+action, and, by their shouts and the clatter of their staves,
+contributed greatly to its spirit. Two were on one side of the stream,
+and two on the other, and up to this moment the hounds were similarly
+separated; but now most of them had taken to the water, some swimming
+about, others standing up to the middle in the shallower part of the
+current, watching with keen gaze for the appearance of their anticipated
+victim.
+
+Having descended the bank, Nicholas had so placed himself among the huge
+twisted roots of the tree, that if the otter, alarmed by the presence of
+so many foes, and unable to escape either up or down the river, should
+return to her couch, he made certain of striking her. At first there
+seemed little chance of such an occurrence, for Fogg, who had gone a
+hundred yards higher up, suddenly dashed into the stream, and, plunging
+his spear into the mud, cried out that he had hit the beast; but the
+next moment, when he drew the weapon forth, and exhibited a large rat
+which he had transfixed, his mistake excited much merriment.
+
+Old Crouch, meantime, did not suffer his attention to be drawn from his
+dog. Every now and then he saw him come to the surface to breathe, but
+as he kept within a short distance, though rising at different points,
+the old huntsman felt certain the otter had not got away, and, having
+the utmost reliance upon Grip's perseverance and sagacity, he felt
+confident he would bring the quarry to him if the thing were possible.
+The varlets kept up an incessant clatter, beating the water with their
+staves, and casting large stones into it, while the hounds bayed
+furiously, so that the poor fugitive was turned on whichever side she
+attempted a retreat.
+
+While this was going on, Nicholas was cautioned by the huntsman to look
+out, and scarcely had the admonition reached him than the sleek shining
+body of the otter emerged from the water, and wreathed itself among the
+roots. The squire instantly dealt a blow which he expected to prove
+fatal, but his mortification was excessive when he found he had driven
+the spear-head so deeply into the tree that he could scarcely disengage
+it, while an almost noiseless plunge told that his prey had escaped.
+Almost at the same moment that the poor hunted beast had sought its old
+lodging, the untiring lurcher had appeared at the edge of the bank, and,
+as the former again went down, he dived likewise.
+
+Secretly laughing at the squire's failure, the old huntsman prepared to
+take advantage of a similar opportunity if it should present itself, and
+with this view ensconced himself behind a pollard willow, which stood
+close beside the stream, and whence he could watch closely all that
+passed, without being exposed to view. The prudence of the step was soon
+manifest. After the lapse of a few seconds, during which neither dog nor
+otter had risen to breathe, a slight, very slight, undulation was
+perceptible on the surface of the water. Crouch's grasp tightened upon
+his staff--he waited another moment--then dashed forward, struck down
+his spear, and raised it aloft, with the poor otter transfixed and
+writhing upon its point.
+
+Loudly and exultingly did the old man shout at his triumph, and loudly
+were his vociferations answered by the others. All flew to the spot
+where he was standing, and the hounds, gathering round him, yelled
+furiously at the otter, and showed every disposition to tear her in
+pieces, if they could get at her. Kicking the noisiest and fiercest of
+them out of the way, Crouch approached the river's brink, and lowered
+the spear-head till it came within reach of his favourite Grip, who had
+not yet come out of the water, but stood within his depth, with his one
+red eye fixed on the enemy he had so hotly pursued, and fully expecting
+his reward. It now came; his sharp teeth instantly met in the otter's
+throat, and when Crouch swung them both in the air, he still maintained
+his hold, showing how well he deserved his name, nor could he be
+disengaged until long after the sufferings of the tortured animal had
+ceased.
+
+To say that Nicholas was neither chagrined at his ill success, nor
+jealous of the old huntsman's superior skill, would be to affirm an
+untruth; but he put the best face he could upon the matter, and praised
+Grip very highly, alleging that the whole merit of the hunt rested with
+him. Old Crouch let him go on, and when he had done, quietly observed
+that the otter they had destroyed was not the one they came in search
+of, as they had seen nothing of her litter; and that, most likely, the
+beast that had done so much mischief had her lodging in the hollow tree
+near the Swanside Beck, as described by the varlet, and he wished to
+know whether the squire would like to go and hunt her. Nicholas replied
+that he was quite willing to do so, and hoped he should have better luck
+on the second occasion; and with this they set forward again, taking
+their way along the side of the stream, beating the banks as they went,
+but without rousing any thing beyond an occasional water-rat, which was
+killed almost as soon as found by Grip.
+
+Somehow or other, without any one being aware what led to it the
+conversation fell upon the two old witches, Mothers Demdike and Chattox,
+and the strange manner in which their career had terminated on the
+summit of Pendle Hill--if, indeed it could be said to have terminated,
+when their spirits were reported to haunt the spot, and might be seen,
+it was asserted, at midnight, flitting round the beacon, and shrieking
+dismally. The restless shades were pursued, it was added, by the figure
+of a monk in white mouldering robes, supposed to be the ghost of Paslew.
+It was difficult to understand how these apparitions could be witnessed,
+since no one, even for a reward, could be prevailed upon to ascend
+Pendle Hill after nightfall; but the shepherds affirmed they had seen
+them from below, and that was testimony sufficient to shake the most
+sceptical. One singular circumstance was mentioned, which must not be
+passed by without notice; and this was, that when the cinders of the
+extinct beacon-fire came to be examined, no remains whatever of the two
+hags could be discovered, though the ashes were carefully sifted, and it
+was quite certain that the flames had expired long before their bodies
+could be consumed. The explanation attempted for this marvel was, that
+Satan had carried them off while yet living, to finish their combustion
+in a still more fiery region.
+
+Mention of Mother Demdike naturally led to her grandson, Jem Device,
+who, having escaped in a remarkable manner on the night in question,
+notwithstanding the hue and cry made after him, had not, as yet, been
+captured, though he had been occasionally seen at night, and under
+peculiar circumstances, by various individuals, and amongst others by
+old Crouch, who, however, declared he had been unable to lay hands upon
+him.
+
+Allusion was then made to Mistress Nutter, whereupon it was observed
+that the squire changed the conversation quickly; while sundry sly winks
+and shrugs were exchanged among the varlets of the kennel, seeming to
+intimate that they knew more about the matter than they cared to admit.
+Nothing more, however, was elicited than that the escort conducting her
+to Lancaster Castle, together with the other witches, after their
+examination before the magistrates at Whalley, and committal, had been
+attacked, while it was passing through a woody defile in Bowland Forest,
+by a party of men in the garb of foresters, and the lady set free. Nor
+had she been heard of since. What made this rescue the more
+extraordinary was, that none of the other witches were liberated at the
+same time, but some of them who seemed disposed to take advantage of the
+favourable interposition, and endeavoured to get away, were brought back
+by the foresters to the officers of justice; thus clearly proving that
+the attempt was solely made on Mistress Nutter's account, and must have
+been undertaken by her friends. Nothing, it was asserted, could equal
+the rage and mortification of Roger Nowell and Potts, on learning that
+their chief prey had thus escaped them; and by their directions, for
+more than a week, the strictest search was made for the fugitive
+throughout the neighbourhood, but without effect--no clue could be
+discovered to her retreat. Suspicion naturally fell upon the two
+Asshetons, Nicholas and Richard, and Roger Nowell roundly taxed them
+with contriving and executing the enterprise in person; while Potts told
+them they were guilty of misprision of felony, and threatened them with
+imprisonment for life, forfeiture of goods and of rents, for the
+offence; but as the charge could not be proved against them,
+notwithstanding all the efforts of the magistrate and attorney, it fell
+to the ground; and Master Potts, full of chagrin at this unexpected and
+vexatious termination of the affair, returned to London, and settled
+himself in his chambers in Chancery Lane. His duties, however, as clerk
+of the court, would necessarily call him to Lancaster in August, when
+the assizes commenced, and when he would assist at the trials of such of
+the witches as were still in durance.
+
+From Mother Demdike it was natural that the conversation should turn to
+her weird retreat, Malkin Tower; and Richard Sherborne expressed his
+surprise that the unhallowed structure should be suffered to remain
+standing after her removal. Nicholas said he was equally anxious with
+his brother-in-law for its demolition, but it was not so easily to be
+accomplished as it might appear; for the deserted structure was in such
+ill repute with the common folk, as well as every one else, that no one
+dared approach it, even in the daytime. A boggart, it was said, had
+taken possession of its vaults, and scared away all who ventured near
+it; sometimes showing himself in one frightful shape, and sometimes in
+another; now as a monstrous goat, now as an equally monstrous cat,
+uttering fearful cries, glaring with fiery eyes from out of the windows,
+or appearing in all his terror on the summit of the tower. Moreover, the
+haunted structure was frequently lighted up at dead of night, strains of
+unearthly music were heard resounding from it, and wild figures were
+seen flitting past the windows, as if engaged in dancing and revelry; so
+that it appeared that no alteration for the better had taken place
+there, and that things were still quite as improperly conducted now, as
+they had been in the time of Mother Demdike, or in those of her
+predecessors, Isole de Heton and Blackburn, the robber. The common
+opinion was, that Satan and all his imps had taken up their abode in the
+tower, and, as they liked their quarters, led a jolly life there,
+dancing and drinking all night long, it would be useless at present to
+give them notice to quit, still less to attempt to pull down the house
+about their ears. Richard Sherborne heard this wondrous relation in
+silence, but with a look of incredulity; and when it was done he winked
+slily at his brother-in-law. A strange expression, half comical, half
+suspicious, might also have been observed on Fogg's countenance; and he
+narrowly watched the squire as the latter spoke.
+
+"But with the disappearance of the malignant old hags who had so long
+infested the neighbourhood, had all mischief and calamity ceased, or
+were people as much afflicted as heretofore? Were there, in short, so
+many cases of witchcraft, real or supposed?" This was the question next
+addressed by Sherborne to Nicholas. The squire answered decidedly there
+were not. Since the burning of the two old beldames, and the
+imprisonment of the others, the whole district of Pendle had improved.
+All those who had been smitten with strange illnesses had recovered; and
+the inhabitants of the little village of Sabden, who had experienced the
+fullest effects of their malignity, were entirely free from sickness.
+And not only had they and their families suddenly regained health and
+strength, but all belonging to them had undergone a similar beneficial
+change. The kine that had lost their milk now yielded it abundantly; the
+lame horse halted no longer; the murrain ceased among the sheep; the
+pigs that had grown lean amidst abundance fattened rapidly; and though
+the farrows that had perished during the evil ascendency of the witches
+could not be brought back again, their place promised speedily to be
+supplied by others. The corn blighted early in the year had sprung forth
+anew, and the trees nipped in the bud were laden with fruit. In short,
+all was as fair and as flourishing as it had recently been the reverse.
+Amongst others, John Law, the pedlar, who had been deprived of the use
+of his limbs by the damnable arts of Mother Demdike, had marvellously
+recovered on the very night of her destruction, and was now as strong
+and as active as ever. "Such happy results having followed the removal
+of the witches, it was to be hoped," Sherborne said, "that the riddance
+would be complete, and that none of the obnoxious brood would be left to
+inflict future miseries on their fellows. This could not be the case so
+long as James Device was allowed to go at large; nor while his mother,
+Elizabeth Device, a notorious witch, was suffered to escape with
+impunity. There was also Jennet, Elizabeth's daughter, a mischievous and
+ill-favoured little creature, who inherited all the ill qualities of her
+parents. These were the spawn of the old snake, and, until they were
+entirely exterminated, there could be no security against a recurrence
+of the evil. Again, there was Nance Redferne, old Chattox's
+grand-daughter, a comely woman enough, but a reputed witch, and an
+undoubted fabricator of clay images. She was still at liberty, though
+she ought to be with the rest in the dungeons of Lancaster Castle. It
+was useless to allege that with the destruction of the old hags all
+danger had ceased. Common prudence would keep the others quiet now; but
+the moment the storm passed over, they would resume their atrocious
+practices, and all would be as bad as ever. No, no! the tree must be
+utterly uprooted, or it would inevitably burst forth anew."
+
+With these opinions Nicholas generally concurred; but he expressed some
+sympathy for Nance Redferne, whom he thought far too good-looking to be
+as wicked and malicious as represented. But however that might be, and
+however much he might desire to get rid of the family of the Devices, he
+feared such a step might be attended with danger to Alizon, and that she
+might in some way or other be implicated with them. This last remark he
+addressed in an under-tone to his brother-in-law. Sherborne did not at
+first feel any apprehension on that score, but, on reflection, he
+admitted that Nicholas was perhaps right; and though Alizon was now the
+recognised daughter of Mistress Nutter, yet her long and intimate
+connection with the Device family might operate to her prejudice, while
+her near relationship to an avowed witch would not tend to remove the
+unfavourable impression. Sherborne then went on to speak in the most
+rapturous terms of the beauty and goodness of the young girl who formed
+the subject of their conversation, and declared he was not in the least
+surprised that Richard Assheton was so much in love with her. And yet,
+he added, a most extraordinary change had taken place in her since the
+dreadful night on Pendle Hill, when her mother's guilt had been
+proclaimed, and when her arrest had taken place as an offender of the
+darkest dye. Alizon, he said, had lost none of her beauty, but her light
+and joyous expression of countenance had been supplanted by a look of
+profound sadness, which nothing could remove. Gentle and meek in her
+deportment, she seemed to look upon herself as under a ban, and as if
+she were unfit to associate with the rest of the world. In vain Richard
+Assheton and his sister endeavoured to remove this impression by the
+tenderest assiduities; in vain they sought to induce her to enter into
+amusements consistent with her years; she declined all society but their
+own, and passed the greater part of her time in prayer. Sherborne had
+seen her so engaged, and the expression of her countenance, he declared,
+was seraphic.
+
+On the extreme verge of a high bank situated at the point of junction
+between Swanside Beck and the Ribble, stood an old, decayed oak. Little
+of the once mighty tree beyond the gnarled trunk was left, and this was
+completely hollow; while there was a great rift near the bottom through
+which a man might easily creep, and, when once in, stand erect without
+inconvenience. Beneath the bank the river was deep and still, forming a
+pool, where the largest and fattest fish were to be met with. In
+addition to this, the spot was extremely secluded, being rarely visited
+by the angler on account of the thick copse by which it was surrounded
+and which extended along the back, from the point of confluence between
+the lesser and the larger stream, to Downham mill, nearly half a mile
+distant.
+
+The sides of the Ribble were here, as elsewhere, beautifully wooded, and
+as the clear stream winded along through banks of every diversity of
+shape and character, and covered by forest trees of every description,
+and of the most luxuriant growth, the effect was enchanting; the more
+so, that the sun, having now risen high in the heavens, poured down a
+flood of summer heat and radiance, that rendered these cool shades
+inexpressibly delightful. Pleasant was it, as the huntsmen leaped from
+stone to stone, to listen to the sound of the waters rushing past them.
+Pleasant as they sprang upon some green holm or fairy islet, standing in
+the midst of the stream, and dividing its lucid waters, to suffer the
+eye to follow the course of the rapid current, and to see it here
+sparkling in the bright sunshine, there plunged in shade by the
+overhanging trees--now fringed with osiers and rushes, now embanked with
+smoothest sward of emerald green; anon defended by steep rocks,
+sometimes bold and bare, but more frequently clothed with timber; then
+sinking down by one of those sudden but exquisite transitions, which
+nature alone dares display, from this savage and sombre character into
+the softest and gentlest expression; every where varied, yet every where
+beautiful.
+
+Through such scenes of silvan loveliness had the huntsmen passed on
+their way to the hollow oak, and they had ample leisure to enjoy them,
+because the squire and his brother-in-law being engaged in conversation,
+as before related, made frequent pauses, and, during these, the others
+halted likewise; and even the hounds, glad of a respite, stood still, or
+amused themselves by splashing about amid the shallows without any
+definite object unless of cooling themselves. Then, as the leaders once
+more moved forward, arose the cheering shout, the loud deep bay, the
+clattering of staves, the crashing of branches, and all the other
+inspiriting noises accompanying the progress of the hunt. But for some
+minutes these had again ceased, and as Nicholas and Sherborne lingered
+beneath the shade of a wide-spread beech-tree growing on a sandy hillock
+near the stream, and seemed deeply interested in their talk--as well
+they might, for it related to Alizon--the whole troop, including Fogg,
+held respectfully aloof, and awaited their pleasure to go on.
+
+The signal to move was, at length, given by the squire, who saw they
+were now not more than a hundred yards from the bank on which stood the
+hollow tree they were anxious to reach. As the river here made a turn,
+and swept round the point in question, forming, owing to this
+detention, the deep pool previously mentioned, the bank almost faced
+them, and, as nothing intervened, they could almost look into the rift
+near the base of the tree, forming, they supposed, the entrance to the
+otter's couch. But, though this was easily distinguished, no traces of
+the predatory animal could be seen; and though many sharp eyes were
+fixed upon the spot during the prolonged discourse of the two gentlemen,
+nothing had occurred to attract their attention, and to prove that the
+object of their quest was really there.
+
+After some little consultation between the squire and Crouch, it was
+agreed that the former should alone force his way to the tree, while the
+others were to station themselves with the hounds at various points of
+the stream, above and below the bank, so that, if the otter and her
+litter escaped their first assailant, they should infallibly perish by
+the hands of some of the others. This being agreed upon, the plan was
+instantly put into execution--two of the varlets remaining where they
+were--two going higher up; while Sherborne and Fogg stationed themselves
+on great stones in the middle of the stream, whence they could command
+all around them, and Crouch, wading on with Grip, planted himself at the
+entrance of Swanside Beck into the Ribble.
+
+Meanwhile, the squire having scaled the bank, entered the thick covert
+encircling it, and, not without some damage to his face and hands from
+the numerous thorns and brambles growing amongst it, forced his way
+upwards until he reached the bare space surrounding the hollow tree; and
+this attained, his first business was to ascertain that all was in
+readiness below before commencing the attack. A glance showed him on one
+side old Crouch standing up to his middle in the beck, grasping his long
+otter spear, and with Grip beating the water in front of him in anxious
+expectation of employment; and in front Fogg, Sherborne, and two of the
+varlets, with their hounds so disposed that they could immediately
+advance upon the otter if it plunged into the river, while its passage
+up or down would be stopped by their comrades. All this he discerned at
+a glance; and comprehending from a sign made him by the old huntsman
+that he should not delay, he advanced towards the tree, and was about to
+plunge his spear into the hole, hoping to transfix one at least of its
+occupants, when he was startled by hearing a deep voice apparently issue
+from the hollows of the timber, bidding him "Beware!"
+
+Nicholas recoiled aghast, for he thought it might be Hobthurst, or the
+demon of the wood, who thus bespoke him.
+
+"What accursed thing addresses me?" he said, standing on his guard.
+"What is it? Speak!"
+
+"Get hence, Nicholas Assheton," replied the voice; "an' meddle not wi'
+them os meddles not wi' thee."
+
+"Aha!" exclaimed the squire, recovering courage, for he thought this
+did not sound like the language of a demon. "I am known am I? Why should
+I go hence, and at whose bidding?"
+
+"Ask neaw questions, mon, boh ge," replied the voice, "or it shan be
+warse fo' thee. Ey am the boggart o' th' clough, an' if theaw bringst me
+out, ey'n tear thee i' pieces wi' my claws, an' cast thee into t'
+Ribble, so that thine own hounts shan eat thee up."
+
+"Ha! say'st thou so, master boggart," cried Nicholas. "For a spirit,
+thou usest the vernacular of the county fairly enough. But before trying
+whether thy hide be proof against mortal weapons I command thee to come
+forth and declare thyself, that I may judge what manner of thing thou
+art."
+
+"Thoud'st best lem me be, ey tell thee," replied the boggart gruffly.
+
+"Ah! methinks I should know those accents," exclaimed the squire; "they
+marvellously resemble the voice of an offender who has too long evaded
+justice, and whom I have now fairly entrapped. Jem Device, thou art
+known, lad, and if thou dost not surrender at discretion, I will strike
+my spear through this rotten tree, and spit thee as I would the beast I
+came in quest of."
+
+"An' which yo wad more easily than me," retorted Jem. And suddenly
+springing from the hole at the foot of the tree, he passed between the
+squire's legs with great promptitude, and flinging him face foremost
+upon the ground, crawled to the edge of the bank, and thence dropped
+into the deep pool below.
+
+The plunge roused all the spectators, who, though they had heard what
+had passed, and had seen the squire upset in the manner described, had
+been so much astounded that they could render no assistance; but they
+now, one and all, bestirred themselves actively to seize the diver when
+he should rise to the surface. But though every eye was on the look-out,
+and every arm raised; though the hounds were as eager as their masters,
+and yelling fiercely, swam round the pool, ready to pounce upon the
+swimmer as upon a duck, all were disappointed; for, even after a longer
+interval than their patience could brook, he did not appear.
+
+By this time, Nicholas had regained his legs, and, infuriated by his
+discomfiture, approached the edge of the bank, and peering down below,
+hoped to detect the fugitive immediately beneath him, resolved to show
+him no mercy when he caught him. But he was equally at fault with the
+others, and after more than five minutes spent in ineffectual search, he
+ordered Crouch to send Grip into the pool.
+
+The old keeper replied that the dog was not used to this kind of chase,
+and might not display his usual skill in it; but as the squire would
+take no nay, he was obliged to consent, and the other hounds were called
+off lest they should puzzle him. Twice did the shrewd lurcher swim round
+the pool, sniffing the air, after which he approached the shore, and
+scented close to the bank; still it was evident he could detect
+nothing, and Nicholas began to despair, when the dog suddenly dived.
+Expectation was then raised to the utmost, and all were on the watch
+again, Nicholas leaning over the edge of the bank with his spear in
+hand, prepared to strike; but the dog was so long in reappearing, that
+all had given him up for lost, and his master was giving utterance to
+ejaculations of grief and rage, and vowing vengeance against the
+warlock, when Grip's grisly head was once more seen above the surface of
+the water, and this time he had a piece of blue serge in his jaws,
+proving that he had had hold of the raiments of the fugitive, and that
+therefore the latter could not be far off, but had most probably got
+into some hole beneath the bank.
+
+No sooner was this notion suggested than it was acted on by the old
+huntsman and Fogg, and, wading forward, they pricked the bank with their
+spears at various points below the level of the water. All at once Fogg
+fell forward. His spear had entered a hole, and had penetrated so deeply
+that he had lost his balance. But though, soused over head and ears, he
+had made a successful hit, for the next moment Jem Device appeared above
+the water, and ere he could dive again his throat was seized by Grip,
+and while struggling to free himself from the fangs of the tenacious
+animal, he was laid hold of by Crouch, and the varlets rushing forward
+to the latter's assistance, the ruffian was captured.
+
+Some difficulty was experienced in rescuing the captive from the jaws of
+the hounds, who, infuriated by his struggles, and perhaps mistaking him
+for some strange beast of chase, made their sharp teeth meet in various
+parts of his person, rending his garments from his limbs, and would no
+doubt have rent the flesh also, if they had been permitted. At length,
+after much fighting and struggling, mingled with yells and
+vociferations, Jem was borne ashore, and flung on the ground, where he
+presented a wretched spectacle; bleeding, half-drowned, and covered with
+slime acquired during his occupation of the hole in the bank. But though
+unable to offer further resistance, his spirit was not quelled, and his
+eye glared terribly at his captors. Fearing they might have further
+trouble with him when he recovered from his present exhausted condition,
+Crouch had his hands bound tightly together with one of the dog leashes,
+and then would fain have questioned him as to how he managed to breathe
+in a hole below the level of the water; but Jem refused to satisfy his
+curiosity, and returned only a sullen rejoinder to any questions
+addressed to him, until the squire, who had crossed the river at some
+stepping-stones lower down, came up, and the ruffian then inquired, in a
+half-menacing tone, what he meant to do with him?
+
+"What do I mean to do with you?" cried Nicholas. "I will tell you, lad.
+I shall send you at once to Whalley to be examined before the
+magistrates; and, as the proofs are pretty clear against you, you will
+be forwarded without any material delay to Lancaster Castle."
+
+"An yo winna rescue me by the way, os yo ha dun a sartin notorious witch
+an murtheress!" replied Jem, fiercely. "Tak heed whot yo dun, squoire.
+If ey speak at aw, ey shan speak out, and to some purpose, ey'n warrant
+ye. If ey ge to Lonkester Castle, ey winna ge alone. Wan o' yer friends
+shan ge wi' me."
+
+"Cursed villain! I guess thy meaning," replied Nicholas; "but thy
+vindictive purposes will be frustrated. No credence will be attached to
+thy false charges; while, as to the lady thou aimest at, she is luckily
+beyond reach of thy malice."
+
+"Dunna be too sure o' that, squoire," replied Jem. "Ey con put t'
+officers o' jestis os surely on her track os owd Crouch could set these
+hounds on an otter. Lay yer account on it, ey winna dee unavenged."
+
+"Heed him not," interposed Sherborne, seeing that the squire was shaken
+by his threat, and taking him apart; "it will not do to let such a
+villain escape. He can do you no injury, and as to Mistress Nutter, if
+you know where she is, it will be easy to give her a hint to get out of
+the way."
+
+"I don't know that," replied Nicholas, thoughtfully.
+
+"If ey might be so bowd os offer my advice, squoire," said old Crouch,
+advancing towards his master, "ey'd tee a heavy stoan round the felly's
+throttle, an chuck him into t' poo', an' he'n tell no teles fo' all his
+bragging."
+
+"That would silence him effectually, no doubt, Crouch," replied
+Nicholas, laughing; "but a dog's death is too good for him, and besides
+I am pretty sure his destiny is not drowning. No, no--at all risks he
+shall go to Whalley. Harkee, Fogg," he added, beckoning that worthy to
+him, "I commit the conduct and custody of the prisoner to you. Clap him
+on a horse, get on another yourself, take these four varlets with you,
+and deliver him into the hands of Sir Ralph Assheton, who will relieve
+you of all further trouble and responsibility. But you may add this to
+the baronet from me," he continued, in an under-tone. "I recommend him
+to place under immediate arrest Elizabeth Device, the prisoner's mother,
+and her daughter Jennet. You understand, Fogg--eh?"
+
+"Perfectly," returned the other, with a somewhat singular look; "and
+your instructions shall be fulfilled to the letter. Have you any thing
+more to commit to me?"
+
+"Only this," said Nicholas; "you may tell Sir Ralph that I propose to
+sleep at the Abbey to-night. I shall ride over to Middleton in the
+course of the day, to confer with Dick Assheton upon what has just
+occurred, and get the money from him--the three hundred pounds, you
+understand--and when my errand is done, I will turn bridle towards
+Whalley. I shall return by Todmorden, and through the gorge of
+Cliviger. You may as well tarry for me at the Abbey, for Sir Ralph will
+be glad of thy company, and we can return together to Downham
+to-morrow."
+
+As the squire thus spoke, he noticed a singular sparkle in Fogg's
+ill-set eyes; but he thought nothing of it at the time, though it
+subsequently occurred to his recollection.
+
+Meanwhile, the prisoner, finding no grace likely to be shown him,
+shouted out to the squire, that if he were set free, he would make
+certain important disclosures to him respecting Fogg, who was not what
+he represented himself; but Nicholas treated the offer with disdain; and
+the individual mainly interested in the matter, who appeared highly
+incensed by Jem's malignity, cut a short peg by way of gag, and,
+thrusting it into the ruffian's mouth, effectually checked any more
+revelations on his part.
+
+Fogg then ordered the varlets to bring on the prisoner; but as Jem
+obstinately refused to move, they were under the necessity of taking him
+on their shoulders, and transporting him in this manner to the stables,
+where he was placed on a horse, as directed by the squire.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.--THE PENITENT'S RETREAT.
+
+
+Nicholas and Sherborne returned by a different road from that taken by
+the others, and loitered so much by the way that they did not arrive at
+the manor-house until the prisoner and his escort had set out. Probably
+this was designed, as Nicholas seemed relieved when he learnt they were
+gone. Having entered the house with his brother-in-law, and conducted
+him to an apartment opening out of the hall, usually occupied by
+Mistress Assheton, and where, in fact, they found that amiable lady
+employed at her embroidery, he left Sherborne with her, and, making some
+excuse for his own hasty retreat, betook himself to another part of the
+house.
+
+Mounting the principal staircase, which was of dark oak, with
+richly-carved railing, he turned into a gallery communicating with the
+sleeping apartments, and, after proceeding more than half-way down it,
+halted before a door, which he unlocked, and entered a spacious but
+evidently disused chamber, hung round with faded tapestry, and
+containing a large gloomy-looking bedstead. Securing the door carefully
+after him, Nicholas raised the hangings in one corner of the room, and
+pressing against a spring, a sliding panel flew open. A screen was
+placed within, so as to hide from view the inmate of the secret chamber,
+and Nicholas, having coughed slightly, to announce his presence, and
+received an answer in a low, melancholy female voice, stepped through
+the aperture, and stood within a small closet.
+
+It was tenanted by a lady, whose features and figure bore the strongest
+marks of affliction. Her person was so attenuated that she looked little
+more than a skeleton--her fingers were long and thin--her cheeks hollow
+and deathly pale--her eyes lustreless and deep sunken in their
+sockets--and her hair, once jetty as the raven's wing, prematurely
+blanched. Such was the profound gloom stamped upon her countenance, that
+it was impossible to look upon her without compassion; while, in spite
+of her wo-begone looks, there was a noble character about her that
+elevated the feeling into deep interest, blended with respect. She was
+kneeling beside a small desk, with an open Bible laid upon it, which she
+was intently studying when the squire appeared.
+
+"Here is a terrible text for you, Nicholas," she said, regarding him,
+mournfully. "Listen to it, and judge of its effect on me. Thus it is
+written in Deuteronomy:--'There shall not be found among you any one
+that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that
+useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.'
+A witch, Nicholas--do you mark the word? And yet more particular is the
+next verse, wherein it is said;--'Or a charmer, or a consulter with
+familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.' And then cometh the
+denunciation of divine anger against such offenders in these awful
+words:--'For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord:
+and because of these abominations, the Lord thy God doth drive them out
+from before thee.' Again, it is said in Leviticus, that 'the Lord
+setteth his face against such, to cut them off.' And in Exodus, the law
+is expressly laid down thus--'THOU SHALT NOT SUFFER A WITCH TO LIVE.'
+There is no escape for her, you see. By the divine command she must
+perish, and human justice must; carry out the decree. Nicholas, I am one
+of the offenders thus denounced, thus condemned. I have practised
+witchcraft, consulted with familiar spirits, and done other abominations
+in the sight of Heaven; and I ought to pay the full penalty of my
+offences."
+
+"Do not, I beseech you, madam," replied the squire, "continue to take
+this view of your case. However you have sinned, you have made amends by
+the depth and sincerity of your repentance. Your days and nights--for
+you allow yourself only such rest as nature forces on you, and take even
+that most unwillingly--are passed in constant prayer. Your abstinence is
+severer than any anchoress ever practised, for I am sure for the last
+month you have not taken as much food altogether as I consume in a day;
+while, not content with this, you perform acts of penance that afflict
+me beyond measure to think upon, and which I have striven in vain to
+induce you to forego. There will be no occasion to deliver yourself up
+to justice, madam; for, if you go on thus, and do not deal with
+yourself a little more mildly, your accounts with this world will be
+speedily settled."
+
+"And I should rejoice to think so, Nicholas," replied Mistress Nutter,
+"if I had any hope in the world to come. But, alas! I have none. I
+cannot, by any act of penitence and contrition, expiate my offences. My
+soul is darkened by despair. I know I ought to give myself up--that
+Heaven and man alike require my life, and I cannot reconcile myself to
+avoiding my just doom."
+
+"It is the Evil One who puts these thoughts into your head," replied
+Nicholas, "and who fills your heart with promptings of despair, that he
+may again obtain the mastery over it. But take a calmer and more
+consolatory view of your condition. Human justice may require a public
+sacrifice as an example, but Heaven, will be satisfied with contrition
+in secret."
+
+"I trust so," replied the lady, vainly striving to draw comfort from his
+words. "Oh, Nicholas! you do not know the temptations I am exposed to in
+this chamber--the difficulty I experience in keeping my thoughts fixed
+on one object--the distractions I undergo--the mental obscurations--the
+faintings of spirit--the bodily prostration--the terrors, the
+inconceivable terrors, that assail me. Sometimes I wish my spirit would
+flee away, and be at rest. Rest! there is none for me--none in the
+grave--none beyond the grave--and therefore I am afraid of death, and
+still more of the judgment after death! Man might inflict all the
+tortures he could devise upon this poor frame. I would bear them all
+with patience, with delight, if I thought they would purchase me
+immunity hereafter! But with the dread conviction, the almost certainty,
+that it will be otherwise, I can only look to the final consummation
+with despair!"
+
+"Again I tell you these suggestions are evil," said Nicholas. "The Son
+of God, who sacrificed himself for man, and by whose atonement all
+mankind hope for salvation, has assured us that the greatest sinner who
+repents shall be forgiven, and, indeed, is more acceptable in the eyes
+of Heaven than him who has never erred. Far be it from me to attempt to
+exculpate you in your own eyes, or extenuate your former criminality.
+You have sinned deeply, so deeply that you may well shrink aghast from
+the contemplation of your past life--may well recoil in abhorrence from
+yourself--and may fitly devote yourself to constant prayer and acts of
+penitence. But having cast off your iniquity, and sincerely repented, I
+bid you hope--I bid you place a confident reliance in the clemency of an
+all-merciful power."
+
+"You give me much comfort, Nicholas," said the lady, "and if tears of
+blood can wash away my sin they shall be shed; but much as you know of
+my wickedness, even you cannot conceive its extent. In my madness, for
+it was nothing else, I cast off all hopes of heaven, renounced my
+Redeemer, was baptised by the demon, and entered into a compact by
+which--I shudder to speak it--my soul was surrendered to him."
+
+"You placed yourself in fearful jeopardy, no doubt," rejoined Nicholas;
+"but you have broken the contract in time, and an all righteous judge
+will not permit the penalty of the bond to be exacted. Seeing your
+penitence, Satan has relinquished all claim to your soul."
+
+"I do not think it," replied the lady. "He will contest the point to the
+last, and it is only at the last that it will be decided."
+
+As she spoke, a sound like mocking laughter reached the ears of
+Nicholas.
+
+"Did you hear that?" demanded Mistress Nutter, in accents of wildest
+terror. "He is ever on the watch. I knew it--I knew it."
+
+Clasping her hands together, and fixing her looks on high she then
+addressed the most fervent supplications to Heaven for deliverance from
+evil, and erelong her troubled countenance began to resume its former
+serenity, proving that the surest balm for a "mind diseased" is prayer.
+Her example had been followed by Nicholas, who, greatly alarmed, had
+dropped upon his knees likewise, and now arose with somewhat more
+composure in his demeanour and aspect.
+
+"I am sorry I do not bring you good news, madam," he said; "but Jem
+Device has been arrested this morning, and as the fellow is greatly
+exasperated against me, he threatens to betray your retreat to the
+officers; and though he is, probably, unacquainted with it
+notwithstanding his boasting, still he may cause search to be made, and,
+therefore, I think you had better be removed to some other
+hiding-place."
+
+"Deliver me up without more ado, I pray you, Nicholas," said the lady.
+
+"You know my resolution on that point, madam," he replied, "and,
+therefore, it is idle to attempt to shake it. For your daughter's sake,
+if not for your own, I will save you, in spite of yourself. You would
+not fix a brand for ever on Alizon's name; you would not destroy her?"
+
+"I would not," replied the wretched lady. "But have you heard from
+her--have you seen her? Tell me, is she well and happy?"
+
+"She is well, and would be happy, were it not for her anxiety about
+you," replied Nicholas, evasively. "But for her sake--mine--your own--I
+must urge you to seek some other place of refuge to night, for if you
+are discovered here you will bring ruin on us all."
+
+"I will no longer debate the point," replied Mistress Nutter. "Where
+shall I go?"
+
+"There is one place of absolute security, but I do not like to mention
+it," replied Nicholas. "Yet still, as it will only be necessary to
+remain for a day or two, till the search is over, when you can return
+here, it cannot much matter."
+
+"Where is it?" asked Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Malkin Tower," answered the squire, with some hesitation.
+
+"I will never go to that accursed place," cried the lady. "Send me hence
+when you will--now, or at midnight--and let me seek shelter on the bleak
+fells or on the desolate moors, but bid me not go there!"
+
+"And yet it is the best and safest place for you," returned Nicholas,
+somewhat testily; "and for this reason, that, being reputed to be
+haunted, no one will venture to molest you. As to Mother Demdike, I
+suppose you are not afraid of her ghost; and if the evil beings you
+apprehend were able or inclined to do you mischief, they would not wait
+till you got there to execute their purpose."
+
+"True," said Mistress Nutter, "I was wrong to hesitate. I will go."
+
+"You will be as safe there as here--ay, and safer," rejoined Nicholas,
+"or I would not urge the retreat upon you. I am about to ride over to
+Middleton this morning to see your daughter and Richard Assheton, and
+shall sleep at Whalley, so that I shall not be able to accompany you to
+the tower to-night; but old Crouch the huntsman shall be in waiting for
+you, as soon as it grows dusk, in the summer-house, with which, as you
+know, the secret staircase connected with this room communicates, and he
+shall have a horse in readiness to take you, together with such matters
+as you may require, to the place of refuge. Heaven guard you, madam!"
+
+"Amen!" responded the lady.
+
+"And now farewell!" said Nicholas. "I shall hope to see you back again
+ere many days be gone, when your quietude will not again be disturbed."
+
+So saying, he stepped back, and, passing through the panel, closed it
+after him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.--MIDDLETON HALL.
+
+
+Middleton Hall, the residence of Sir Richard Assheton, was a large
+quadrangular structure, built entirely of timber, and painted externally
+in black and white checker-work, fanciful and varied in design, in the
+style peculiar to the better class of Tudor houses in South Lancashire
+and Cheshire. Surrounded by a deep moat, supplied by a neighbouring
+stream, and crossed by four drawbridges, each faced by a gateway, this
+vast pile of building was divided into two spacious courts, one of which
+contained the stables, barns, and offices, while the other was reserved
+for the family and the guests by whom the hospitable mansion was almost
+constantly crowded. In the last-mentioned part of the house was a great
+gallery, with deeply embayed windows filled with painted glass, a floor
+of polished oak, walls of the same dark lustrous material, hung with
+portraits of stiff beauties, some in ruff and farthingale, and some in a
+costume of an earlier period among whom was Margaret Barton, who brought
+the manor of Middleton into the family; frowning warriors, beginning
+with Sir Ralph Assheton, knight-marshal of England in the reign of
+Edward IV., and surnamed "the black of Assheton-under-line," the founder
+of the house, and husband of Margaret Barton before mentioned, and
+ending with Sir Richard Assheton, grandfather of the present owner of
+the mansion, and one of the heroes of Flodden; grave lawyers, or graver
+divines--a likeness running through all, and showing they belonged to
+one line--a huge carved mantelpiece, massive tables of walnut or oak,
+and black and shining as ebony, set round with high-backed chairs. Here,
+also, above stairs, there were long corridors looking out through
+lattices upon the court, and communicating with the almost countless
+dormitories; while, on the floor beneath, corresponding passages led to
+all the principal chambers, and terminated in the grand entrance hall,
+the roof of which being open and intersected by enormous rafters, and
+crooks of oak, like the ribs of some "tall ammiral," was thought from
+this circumstance, as well as from its form, to resemble "a ship turned
+upside down." The lower beams were elaborately carved and ornamented
+with gilded bosses and sculptured images, sustaining shields emblazoned
+with the armorial bearings of the Asshetons. As many as three hundred
+matchlocks, in good and serviceable condition, were ranged round the
+entrance-hall, besides corselets, Almayne rivets, steel caps, and other
+accoutrements; this stand of arms having been collected by Sir Richard's
+predecessor, during the military muster made in the country in 1574,
+when he had raised and equipped a troop of horse for Queen Elizabeth.
+Outside the mansion was a garden, charmingly laid out in parterres and
+walks, and not only carried to the edge of the moat, but continued
+beyond it till it reached a high knoll crowned with beech-trees. A crest
+of tall twisted chimneys, a high roof with quaintly carved gables,
+surmounted by many gilt vanes, may serve to complete the picture of
+Middleton Hall.
+
+On a lovely summer evening, two young persons of opposite sexes were
+seated on a bench placed at the foot of one of the largest and most
+umbrageous of the beech-trees crowning the pleasant eminence before
+mentioned; and though differing in aspect and character, the one being
+excessively fair, with tresses as light and fleecy as the clouds above
+them, and eyes as blue and tender as the skies--and the other
+distinguished by great manly beauty, though in a totally different
+style; still there was a sufficiently strong likeness between them, to
+proclaim them brother and sister. Profound melancholy pervaded the
+countenance of the young man, whose handsome brow was clouded by
+care--while the girl, though sad, seemed so only from sympathy.
+
+They were conversing together in deep and earnest tones, showing how
+greatly they were interested; and, as they proceeded, many an
+involuntary sigh was heaved by Richard Assheton, while a tear, more than
+once, dimmed the brightness of his sister's eyes, and her hand sought by
+its gentle pressure to re-assure him.
+
+They were talking of Alizon, of her peculiar and distressing situation,
+and of the young man's hopeless love for her. She was the general theme
+of their discourse, for Richard's sole comfort was in pouring forth his
+griefs into his sister's willing ear; but new causes of anxiety had been
+given them by Nicholas, who had arrived that afternoon, bringing
+intelligence of James Device's capture, and of his threats against
+Mistress Nutter. The squire had only just departed, having succeeded in
+the twofold object of his visit--which was, firstly, to borrow three
+hundred pounds from his cousin--and, secondly, to induce him to attend
+the meeting at Hoghton Tower. With the first request Richard willingly
+complied, and he assented, though with some reluctance, to the second,
+provided nothing of serious moment should occur in the interim. Nicholas
+tried to rally him on his despondency, endeavouring to convince him all
+would come right in time, and that his misgivings were causeless; but
+his arguments were ineffectual, and he was soon compelled to desist. The
+squire would fain also have seen Alizon, but, understanding she always
+remained secluded in her chamber till eventide, he did not press the
+point. Richard urged him to stay over the night, alleging the length of
+the ride, and the speedy approach of evening, as inducements to him to
+remain; but on this score the squire was resolute--and having carefully
+secured the large sum of money he had obtained beneath his doublet, he
+mounted his favourite steed, Robin, who seemed as fresh as if he had not
+achieved upwards of thirty miles that morning, and rode off.
+
+Richard watched him cross the drawbridge, and take the road towards
+Rochdale, and, after exchanging a farewell wave of the hand with him,
+returned to the hall and sought out his sister.
+
+Dorothy was easily persuaded to take a turn in the garden with her
+brother, and during their walk he confided to her all he had heard from
+Nicholas. Her alarm at Jem Device's threat was much greater than his
+own; and, though she entertained a strong and unconquerable aversion to
+Mistress Nutter, and could not be brought to believe in the sincerity of
+her penitence, still, for Alizon's sake, she dreaded lest any harm
+should befall her, and more particularly desired to avoid the disgrace
+which would be inflicted by a public execution. Alizon she was sure
+would not survive such a catastrophe, and therefore, at all risks, it
+must be averted.
+
+Richard did not share, to the same extent, in her apprehensions, because
+he had been assured by Nicholas that Mistress Nutter would be removed to
+a place of perfect security, and because he was disposed, with the
+squire, to regard the prisoner's threats as mere ravings of impotent
+malice. Still he could not help feeling great uneasiness. Vague fears,
+too, beset him, which he found it in vain to shake off, but he did not
+communicate them to his sister, as he knew the terrifying effect they
+would have upon her timid nature; and he, therefore, kept the mental
+anguish he endured to himself, hoping erelong it would diminish in
+intensity. But in this he was deceived, for, instead of abating, his
+gloom and depression momently increased.
+
+Almost unconsciously, Richard and his sister had quitted the garden,
+proceeding with slow and melancholy steps to the beech-crowned knoll.
+The seat they had chosen was a favourite one with Alizon, and she came
+thither on most evenings, either accompanied by Dorothy or alone. Here
+it was that Richard had more than once passionately besought her to
+become his bride, receiving on both occasions a same meek yet firm
+refusal. To Dorothy also, who pleaded her brother's cause with all the
+eloquence and fervour of which she was mistress, Alizon replied that her
+affections were fixed upon Richard; but that, while her mother lived,
+and needed her constant prayers, they must not be withheld; and that,
+looking upon any earthly passion as a criminal interference with this
+paramount duty, she did not dare to indulge it. Dorothy represented to
+her that the sacrifice was greater than she was called upon to make,
+that her health was visibly declining, and that she might fall a victim
+to her over-zeal; but Alizon was deaf to her remonstrances, as she had
+been to the entreaties of Richard.
+
+With hearts less burthened, the contemplation of the scene before them
+could not have failed to give delight to Richard and his sister, and,
+even amid the adverse circumstances under which it was viewed, its
+beauty and tranquillity produced a soothing influence.
+
+Evening was gradually stealing on, and all the exquisite tints marking
+that delightful hour, were spreading over the landscape. The sun was
+setting gorgeously, and a flood of radiance fell upon the old mansion
+beneath them, and upon the grey and venerable church, situated on a hill
+adjoining it. The sounds were all in unison with the hour, and the
+lowing of cattle, the voices of the husbandmen returning from their
+work, mingled with the cawing of the rooks newly alighted on the high
+trees near the church, told them that bird, man, and beast were seeking
+their home for the night. But though Richard's eye dwelt upon the fair
+garden beneath him, embracing all its terraces, green slopes, and trim
+pastures; though it fell upon the moat belting the hall like a
+glittering zone; though it rested upon the church tower; and, roaming
+over the park beyond it, finally settled upon the range of hills
+bounding the horizon, which have not inaptly been termed the English
+Apennines; though he saw all these things, he thought not of them,
+neither was he conscious of the sounds that met his ear, and which all
+spoke of rest from labour, and peace. Darker and deeper grew his
+melancholy. He began to persuade himself he was not long for this world;
+and, while gazing upon the beautiful prospect before him, was perhaps
+looking upon it for the last time.
+
+For some minutes Dorothy watched him anxiously, and at last receiving no
+answer to her questions, and alarmed by the expression of his
+countenance, she flung her arms round his neck, and burst into tears. It
+was now Richard's turn to console her, and he inquired with much anxiety
+as to the cause of this sudden outburst of grief.
+
+"You yourself are the cause of it, dear Richard," replied Dorothy,
+regarding him with brimming eyes; "I cannot bear to see you so unhappy.
+If you suffer this melancholy to grow upon you, it will affect both mind
+and body. Just now your countenance wore an expression most distressing
+to look upon. Try to smile, dear Richard, if only to cheer me, or else I
+shall grow as sad as you. Ah, me! I have known the day, and not long
+since either, when on a pleasant summer evening like this you would
+propose a stroll into the park with me; and, when there, would trip
+along the glades as fleetly as a deer, and defy me to catch you. But you
+always took care I should, though--ha! ha! Come, there is a little
+attempt at a smile. That's something. You look more like yourself now.
+How happy we used to be in those days, to be sure!--and how merry! You
+would make the courts ring with your blithe laughter, and wellnigh kill
+me with your jests. If love is to make one mope like an owl, and sigh
+like the wind through a half-shut casement; if it is to cause one to
+lose one's rosy complexion and gay spirit, and forget how to dance and
+sing--take no pleasure in hawking and hunting, or any kind of
+sport--walk about with eyes fixed upon the ground, muttering, and with
+disordered attire--if it is to make one silent when one should be
+talkative, grave when one should be gay, heedless when one should
+listen--if it is to do all this, defend me from the tender passion! I
+hope I shall never fall in love."
+
+"I hope you never will, dear Dorothy," replied Richard, pressing her
+hand affectionately, "if your love is to be attended with such unhappy
+results as mine. I know not how it is, but I feel unusually despondent
+this evening, and am haunted by a thousand dismal fancies. But I will do
+my best to dismiss them, and with your help no doubt I shall succeed."
+
+"There!--there was a smile in earnest!" cried Dorothy, brightening up.
+"Oh, Richard! I am quite happy now. And after all I do not see why you
+should take such a gloomy view of things. I have no doubt there is a
+great deal, a very great deal, of happiness in store for you and
+Alizon--I must couple her name with yours, or you will not allow it to
+be happiness--if you can only be brought to think so. I am quite sure of
+it; and you shall see how nicely I can make the matter out. As thus.
+Mistress Nutter is certain to die soon--such a wicked woman cannot live
+long. Don't be angry with me for calling her wicked, Richard; but you
+know I never can forget her unhallowed proceedings in the convent church
+at Whalley, where I was so nearly becoming a witch myself. Well, as I
+was saying, she cannot live long, and when she goes--and Heaven grant it
+may be soon!--Alizon, no doubt, will mourn for her though I shall not,
+and after a decent interval--then, Richard, then she will no longer say
+you nay, but will make you happy as your wife. Nay, do not look so sad
+again, dear brother. I thought I should make you quite cheerful by the
+picture I was drawing."
+
+"It is because I fear it will never be realized that I am sad, Dorothy,"
+replied Richard. "My own anticipations are the opposite of yours, and
+paint Alizon sinking into an early grave before her mother; while as to
+myself, if such be the case, I shall not long survive her."
+
+"Nay, now you will make me weep again," cried Dorothy, her tears flowing
+afresh. "But I will not allow you to indulge such gloomy ideas, Richard.
+If I seriously thought Mistress Nutter likely to occasion all this fresh
+mischief, I would cause her to be delivered up to justice, and hanged
+out of the way. You may look cross at me, but I would. What is an old
+witch like her, compared with two young handsome persons, dying for love
+of each other, and yet not able to marry on her account?"
+
+"Dorothy, Dorothy, you must put some restraint on your tongue," said
+Richard; "you give it sadly too much licence. You forget it is the wish
+of the unhappy lady you refer to, to expiate her offences at the stake,
+and that it is only out of consideration to her daughter that she has
+been induced to remain in concealment. What will be the issue of it all,
+I dare scarcely conjecture. Wo to her, I fear! Wo to Alizon! Wo to me!"
+
+"Alas! Richard, that you should link yourself to her fate!" exclaimed
+Dorothy, half mournfully, half reproachfully.
+
+"I cannot help it," he replied. "It is my destiny--a deplorable destiny,
+if you will--but not to be avoided. That Mistress Nutter will escape the
+consequences of her crimes, I can scarcely believe. Her penitence is
+profound and sincere, and that is a great consolation; for I trust she
+will not perish, body and soul. I should wish her to have some spiritual
+assistance, but this Nicholas will not for the present permit, alleging
+that no churchman would consent to screen her from justice when he
+became aware, as he must by her confession, of the nature and magnitude
+of her offences. This may be true; but when the wretches who have been
+leagued with her in iniquity are disposed of, the reason will no longer
+exist, and I will see that she is cared for. But, apart from her mother,
+I have another source of anxiety respecting Alizon. It is this: orders
+have been this day given for the arrest of Elizabeth Device and her
+daughter, Jennet, and Alizon will be the chief witness against them.
+This will be a great trouble to her."
+
+"Undoubtedly," rejoined Dorothy, with much concern. "But can it not be
+avoided?"
+
+"I fear not," said Richard, "and I blamed Nicholas much for his
+precipitancy in giving the order; but he replied he had been held up
+latterly as a favourer of witches, and must endeavour to redeem his
+character by a display of severity. Were it not for Alizon, I should
+rejoice that the noxious brood should at last be utterly exterminated."
+
+"And so should I, in good sooth," responded Dorothy. "As to Elizabeth
+Device, she is bad enough for any thing, and capable of almost any
+mischief: but she is nothing to Jennet, who, I am persuaded, would
+become a second Mother Demdike if her career were not cut short. You
+have seen the child, and know what an ill-favoured, deformed little
+creature she is, with round high shoulders, eyes set strangely in her
+face, and such a malicious expression--oh! I shudder to think of it."
+
+And she covered her face with her hands, as if to shut out some
+unpleasant object.
+
+"Poor, predestined child of sin, branded by nature from her birth, and
+charged with wicked passions, as the snake with venom, I cannot but pity
+her!" exclaimed Richard. "Compassion is entirely thrown away," he added,
+with a sudden change of manner, and as if trying to shake off a
+weakness. "The poisonous fruit must, however, be nipped in the bud.
+Better she should perish now, even though comparatively guiltless, than
+hereafter with a soul stained with crime, like her mother."
+
+As he concluded, he put his hand quickly to his side, for a sharp and
+sudden pang shot through his heart; and so acute was the pain, that,
+after struggling against it for a moment, he groaned deeply, and would
+have fallen, if his sister, greatly alarmed, and with difficulty
+repressing a scream, had not lent him support.
+
+Neither of them were aware of the presence of a little girl, who had
+approached the place where they were sitting, with footsteps so light
+that the grass scarcely seemed to bend beneath them, and who, ensconcing
+herself behind the tree, drank in their discourse with eager ears. She
+was attended by a large black cat, who, climbing the tree, placed
+himself on a bough above her.
+
+During the latter part of the conversation, and when it turned upon the
+arrest of Jennet and her mother, the expression of the child's
+countenance, malicious enough to begin with, became desperately
+malignant, and she was only restrained by certain signs from the cat,
+which appeared to be intelligible to her, from some act of mischief. At
+last even this failed, and before the animal could descend and check
+her, she crept round the bole of the tree, so as to bring herself close
+to Richard, and muttering a spell, made one or two passes behind his
+back, touched him with the point of her finger, but so lightly that he
+was unconscious of the pressure, and then hastily retreated with the
+cat, who glared furiously at her from his flaming orbs.
+
+It was at the moment she touched him that Richard felt as if an arrow
+were quivering in his heart.
+
+Poor Dorothy's alarm was so great that she could not even scream for
+assistance, and she feared, if she quitted her brother, he would expire
+before her return; but the agony, though great, was speedily over, and
+as the spasm ceased, he looked up, and, with a faint smile, strove to
+re-assure her.
+
+"Do not be alarmed," he said; "it is nothing--a momentary
+faintness--that is all."
+
+But the damp upon his brow, and the deathly hue of his cheek,
+contradicted the assertion, and showed how much he had endured. "It was
+more than momentary faintness, dear Richard," replied Dorothy. "It was a
+frightful seizure--so frightful that I almost feared; but no matter--you
+know I am easily alarmed. Thank God! here is some colour coming into
+your cheeks. You are better now, I see. Lean upon me, and let us return
+to the house."
+
+"I can walk unassisted," said Richard, rising with an effort.
+
+"Do not despise my feeble aid," replied Dorothy, taking his arm under
+her own. "You will be quite well soon."
+
+"I am quite well now," said Richard, halting after he had advanced a few
+paces, "The attack is altogether passed. Do you not see Alizon coming
+towards us? Not a word of this sudden seizure to her. Do you mind,
+Dorothy?"
+
+Alizon was soon close behind them, and though, in obedience to Richard's
+injunctions, no allusion was made to his recent illness, she at once
+perceived he was suffering greatly, and with much solicitude inquired
+into the cause. Richard avoided giving a direct answer, and, immediately
+entering upon Nicholas's visit, tried to divert her attention from
+himself.
+
+So great a change had been wrought in Alizon's appearance and manner
+during the last few weeks, that she could scarcely be recognised. Still
+beautiful as ever, her beauty had lost its earthly character, and had
+become in the highest degree spiritualised and refined. Humility of
+deportment and resignation of look, blended with an expression of
+religious fervour, gave her the appearance of one of the early martyrs.
+Unremitting ardour in the pursuance of her devotional exercises by day,
+and long vigils at night, had worn down her frame, and robbed it of some
+of its grace and fulness of outline; but this attenuation had a charm of
+its own, and gave a touching interest to her figure, which was wanting
+before. If her check was thinner and paler, her eyes looked larger and
+brighter, and more akin to the stars in splendour; and if she appeared
+less childlike, less joyous, less free from care, the want of these
+qualities was more than counterbalanced by increased gentleness,
+resignation, and serenity.
+
+Deeply interested in all Richard told her of her mother, she was greatly
+concerned to hear of the intended arrest of Elizabeth and Jennet Device,
+especially the latter. For this unhappy and misguided child she had once
+entertained the affection of a sister, and it could not but be a source
+of grief to her to reflect upon her probable fate.
+
+Little more passed between them, for Richard, feeling his strength again
+fail him, was anxious to reach the house, and Dorothy was quite unequal
+to conversation. They parted at the door, and as Alizon, after taking
+leave of her friends, turned to continue her walk in the garden, Richard
+staggered into the entrance-hall, and sank upon a chair.
+
+Alizon desired to be alone, for she did not wish to have a witness to
+the grief that overpowered her, and which, when she had gained a retired
+part of the garden, where she supposed herself free from all
+observation, found relief in a flood of tears.
+
+For some minutes she was a prey to violent and irrepressible emotion,
+and had scarcely regained a show of composure, when she heard herself
+addressed, as she thought, in the voice of the very child whose unlucky
+fate she was deploring. Looking round in surprise, and seeing no one,
+she began to think fancy must have cheated her, when a low malicious
+laugh, arising from a shrubbery near her, convinced her that Jennet was
+hidden there. And the next moment the little girl stepped from out the
+trees.
+
+Alizon's first impulse was to catch the child in her arms, and press her
+to her bosom; but there was something in Jennet's look that deterred
+her, and so embarrassed her, that she was unable to bestow upon her the
+ordinary greeting of affection, or even approach her.
+
+Jennet seemed to enjoy her confusion, and laughed spitefully.
+
+"Yo dunna seem ower glad to see me, sister Alizon," said Jennet, at
+length.
+
+"_Sister_ Alizon!" There was something in the term that now jarred upon
+the young girl's ears, but she strove to conquer the feeling, as
+unworthy of her.
+
+"She was once my sister," she thought, "and shall be so still. I will
+save her, if it be possible." "Jennet," she added aloud, "I know not
+what chance brings you here, and though I may not give you the welcome
+you expect, I am rejoiced to see you, because I may be the means of
+serving you. Do not be alarmed at what I am going to tell you. The
+danger I hope is passed, or at all events may be avoided. Your liberty
+is threatened, and at the very moment I see you here I was lamenting
+your supposed condition as a prisoner."
+
+Jennet laughed louder and more spitefully than before, and looked so
+like a little fury that Alizon's blood ran cold at the sight of it.
+
+"Ey knoa it aw, sister Alizon," she cried, "an that is why ey ha cum'd
+here. Brother Jem is a pris'ner i' Whalley Abbey. Mother is a pris'ner
+theere, too. An ey should ha kept em company, if Tib hadna brought me
+off. Now, listen to me, Alizon, fo' this is my bus'ness wi' yo. Yo mun
+get mother an Jem out to-neet--eigh, to-neet. Yo con do it, if yo win.
+An onless yo do--boh ey winna threaten till ey get yer answer."
+
+"How am I to set them free?" asked Alizon, greatly alarmed.
+
+"Yo need only say the word to young Ruchot Assheton, an the job's done,"
+replied Jennet.
+
+"I refuse--positively refuse to do so!" rejoined Alizon, indignantly.
+
+"Varry weel," cried Jennet, with a look of concentrated malice and fury;
+"then tak the consequences. They win be ta'en to Lonkester Castle, an
+lose their lives theere. Bo ye shan go, too--ay, an be brunt os a
+witch--a witch--d'ye mark, wench? eh!"
+
+"I defy your malice!" cried Alizon.
+
+"Defy me!" screamed Jennet. "What, ho! Tib!"
+
+And at the call the huge black cat sprang from out the shrubbery.
+
+"Tear her flesh from her bones!" cried the little girl, pointing to
+Alizon, and stamping furiously on the ground.
+
+Tib erected his back, and glared like a tiger, but he seemed unwilling
+or unable to obey the order.
+
+Alizon, who had completely recovered her courage, regarded him fixedly,
+and apparently without terror.
+
+"Whoy dusna seize her, an tear her i' pieces?" cried the infuriated
+child.
+
+"He dares not--he has no power over me," said Alizon. "Oh, Jennet! cast
+him off. Your wicked agent appears to befriend you now, but he will lead
+you to certain destruction. Come with me, and I will save you."
+
+"Off!" cried Jennet, repelling her with furious gestures. "Off! ey winna
+ge wi' ye. Ey winna be saved, os yo term it. Ey hate yo more than ever,
+an wad strike yo dead at my feet, if ey could. Boh as ey conna do it, ey
+win find some other means o' injurin' ye. Soh look to yersel, proud
+ledy--look to yersel? Ey ha already smitten you in a place where ye win
+feel it sore, an ey win repeat the blow. Ey now leave yo, boh we shan
+meet again. Come along, Tib!"
+
+So saying, she sprang into the shrubbery, followed by the cat, leaving
+Alizon appalled by her frightful malignity.
+
+[Illustration: ALIZON DEFIES JENNET.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.--THE GORGE OF CLIVIGER.
+
+
+The sun had already set as Nicholas Assheton reached Todmorden, then a
+very small village indeed, and alighting at a little inn near the
+church, found the ale so good, and so many boon companions assembled to
+discuss it, that he would fain have tarried with them for an hour or so;
+but prudence, for once, getting the better of inclination, and
+suggesting that he had fifteen or sixteen miles still to ride, over a
+rough and lonely road, part of which lay through the gorge of Cliviger,
+a long and solitary pass among the English Apennines, and, moreover, had
+a large sum of money about him, he tore himself away by a great effort.
+
+On quitting the smiling valley of Todmorden, and drawing near the
+dangerous defile before mentioned, some misgivings crossed him, and he
+almost reproached himself with foolhardiness in venturing within it at
+such an hour, and wholly unattended. Several recent cases of robbery,
+some of them attended by murder, had occurred within the pass; and these
+now occurred so forcibly to the squire, that he was half inclined to
+ride back to Todmorden, and engage two or three of the topers he had
+left at the inn to serve him as an escort as far as Burnley, but he
+dismissed the idea almost as soon as formed, and, casting one look at
+the green and woody slopes around him, struck spurs into Robin, and
+dashed into the gorge.
+
+On the right towered a precipice, on the bare crest of which stood a
+heap of stones piled like a column--the remains, probably, of a cairn.
+On this commanding point Nicholas perceived a female figure, dilated to
+gigantic proportions against the sky, who, as far as he could
+distinguish, seemed watching him, and making signs to him, apparently to
+go back; but he paid little regard to them, and soon afterwards lost
+sight of her.
+
+Precipitous and almost inaccessible rocks, of every variety of form and
+hue; some springing perpendicularly up like the spire of a church,
+others running along in broken ridges, or presenting the appearance of
+high embattled walls; here riven into deep gullies, there opening into
+wild savage glens, fit spots for robber ambuscade; now presenting a fair
+smooth surface, now jagged, shattered, shelving, roughened with
+brushwood; sometimes bleached and hoary, as in the case of the pinnacled
+crag called the White Kirk; sometimes green with moss or grey with
+lichen; sometimes, though but rarely, shaded with timber, as in the
+approach to the cavern named the Earl's Bower; but generally bold and
+naked, and sombre in tint as the colours employed by the savage Rosa.
+Such were the distinguishing features of the gorge of Cliviger when
+Nicholas traversed it. Now the high embankments and mighty arches of a
+railway fill up its recesses and span its gullies; the roar of the
+engine is heard where the cry of the bird of prey alone resounded; and
+clouds of steam usurp the place of the mist-wreaths on its crags.
+
+Formerly, the high cliffs abounded with hawks; the rocks echoed with
+their yells and screeches, and the spots adjoining their nests
+resembled, in the words of the historian of the district, Whitaker,
+"little charnel-houses for the bones of game." Formerly, also, on some
+inaccessible point built the rock-eagle, and reared its brood from year
+to year. The gaunt wolf had once ravaged the glens, and the sly fox and
+fierce cat-a-mountain still harboured within them. Nor were those the
+only objects of dread. The superstitious declared the gorge was haunted
+by a frightful, hirsute demon, yclept Hobthurst.
+
+The general savage character of the ravine was relieved by some spots of
+exquisite beauty, where the traveller might have lingered with delight,
+if apprehension of assault from robber, or visit from Hobthurst, had not
+urged him on. Numberless waterfalls, gushing from fissures in the hills,
+coursed down their seamy sides, looking like threads of silver as they
+sprang from point to point. One of the most beautiful of these cascades,
+issuing from a gully in the rocks near the cavern called the Earl's
+Bower, fell, in rainy seasons, in one unbroken sheet of a hundred and
+fifty feet. Through the midst of the gorge ran a swift and brawling
+stream, known by the appellation of the Calder; but it must not be
+confounded with the river flowing past Whalley Abbey. The course of this
+impetuous current was not always restrained within its rocky channel,
+and when swollen by heavy rains, it would frequently invade the narrow
+causeway running beside it, and, spreading over the whole width of the
+gorge, render the road almost impassable.
+
+Through this rocky and sombre defile, and by the side of the brawling
+Calder, which dashed swiftly past him, Nicholas took his way. The hawks
+were yelling overhead; the rooks were cawing on the topmost branches of
+some tall timber, on which they built; a raven was croaking lustily in
+the wood; and a pair of eagles were soaring in the still glowing sky.
+
+By-and-by, the glen contracted, and a wall of steep rocks on either side
+hemmed the shuddering traveller in. Instinctively, he struck spurs into
+his horse, and accelerated his pace.
+
+The narrow glen expands, the precipices fall further back, and the
+traveller breathes more freely. Still, he does not relax his speed, for
+his imagination has been at work in the gloom, peopling his path with
+lurking robbers or grinning boggarts. He begins to fear he shall lose
+his gold, and execrates his folly for incurring such heedless risk. But
+it is too late now to turn back.
+
+It grows rapidly dusk, and objects became less and less distinct,
+assuming fantastical and fearful forms. A blasted tree, clinging to a
+rock, and thrusting a bare branch across the road, looks to the squire
+like a bandit; and a white owl bursting from a bush, scares him as if it
+had been Hobthurst himself. However, in spite of these and other alarms,
+for which he is indebted to excited fancy, he hurries on, and is
+proceeding at a thundering pace, when all at once his horse comes to a
+stop, arrested by a tall female figure, resembling that seen near the
+mountain cairn at the entrance of the gorge.
+
+Nicholas's blood ran cold, for though in this case he could not
+apprehend plunder, he was fearful of personal injury, for he believed
+the woman to be a witch. Mustering up courage, however, he forced Robin
+to proceed.
+
+If his progress was meant to be barred, a better spot for the purpose
+could not have been selected. A narrow road, scarcely two feet in width,
+ran round the ledge of a tremendous crag, jutting so far into the glen
+that it almost met the steep barrier of rocks opposite it. Between these
+precipitous crags dashed the river in a foaming cascade, nearly twelve
+feet in height, and the steep narrow causeway winding beside it, as
+above described, was rendered excessively slippery and dangerous from
+the constant cloud of spray arising from the fall.
+
+At the highest and narrowest point of the ledge, and occupying nearly
+the whole of its space, with an overhanging rock on one side of her, and
+a roaring torrent on the other, stood the tall woman, determined
+apparently, from her attitude and deportment, to oppose the squire's
+further progress. As Nicholas advanced, he became convinced that it was
+the same person he had seen near the cairn; but, when her features grew
+distinguishable, he found to his surprise that it was Nance Redferne.
+
+"Halloa! Nance," he cried. "What are you doing here, lass, eh?"
+
+"Cum to warn ye, squoire," she replied; "yo once did me a sarvice, an ey
+hanna forgetten it. That's why I watched ye fro' the cairn cliffs, an
+motioned ye to ge back. Boh ye didna onderstand my signs, or wouldna
+heed 'em, so ey be cum'd here to stay ye. Yo're i' dawnger, ey tell ye."
+
+"In danger of what, my good woman?" demanded the squire uneasily.
+
+"O' bein' robbed, and plundered o' your gowd," replied Nance; "there are
+five men waitin' to set upon ye a mile further on, at the Bowder
+Stoans."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Nicholas; "they will get little for their pains. I
+have no money about me."
+
+"Dunna think to deceive me, squoire," rejoined Nance; "ey knoa yo ha
+borrowed three hundert punds i' gowd fro' yung Ruchot Assheton; an os
+surely os ye ha it aw under your jerkin, so surely win yo lose it, if yo
+dunna turn back, or ge on without me keepin' ye company."
+
+"I have no objection on earth to your company, Nance," replied the
+squire; "quite the contrary. But how the devil should these rascals
+expect me? And, above all, how should they conjecture I should come so
+well provided? For, sooth to say, such is not ordinarily the case with
+me."
+
+"Ey knoa it weel, squoire," replied Nance, with a laugh; boh they ha
+received sartin information o' your movements."
+
+"There is only one person who could give them such information," cried
+Nicholas; "but I cannot, will not suspect him."
+
+"If yor're thinkin' o' Lawrence Fogg, yo're na far wide o' th' mark,
+squoire," replied Nance.
+
+"What! Fogg leagued with robbers--impossible!" exclaimed Nicholas.
+
+"Neaw, it's nah so unpossible os aw that," returned Nance; "yo 'n stare
+when ey tell yo he has robbed yo mony a time without your being aware on
+it. Yo were onwise enough to send him round to your friends to borrow
+money for yo."
+
+"True, so I was. But, luckily, no one would lend me any," said Nicholas.
+
+"There yo're wrong, squoire--fo' unluckily they aw did," replied Nance,
+with a scarcely-suppressed laugh. "Roger Nowell gied him one hundred;
+Tummus Whitaker of Holme, another; Ruchot Parker o' Browsholme, another.
+An more i' th' same way."
+
+"And the rascal pocketed it all, and never brought me back one
+farthing," cried Nicholas, in a transport of rage. "I'll have him
+hanged--pshaw! hanging's too good for him. To deceive me, his friend,
+his benefactor, his patron, in such a manner; to dwell in my house, eat
+at my table, drink my wine, wear my habiliments, ride my horses, hunt
+with my hounds! Has the dog no conscience?"
+
+"Varry little, ey'm afear'd," replied Nance.
+
+"And the worst of it is," continued the squire--new lights breaking upon
+him, "I shall be liable for all the sums he has received. He was my
+confidential agent, and the lenders will come upon me. It must be six or
+seven hundred pounds that he has obtained in this nefarious way. Zounds!
+I shall go mad."
+
+"Yo wur to blame fo' trustin him, squoire," rejoined Nance. "Yo ought to
+ha' made proper inquiries about him at first, an then yo'd ha' found out
+what sort o' chap he wur. Boh now ey'n tell ye. Lawrence Fogg is chief
+o' a band o' robbers, an aw the black an villanous deeds done of late i'
+this place, ha' been parpetrated by his men. A poor gentleman wur
+murdert by 'em i' this varry spot th' week efore last, an his body cast
+into t' river. Fogg, of course, had no hont in the fow deed, boh he
+would na ha interfered to prevent it if he had bin here, fo' he never
+scrupled shedding blood. An if he had bin content wi' robbin' yo,
+squoire, ey wadna ha betrayed him; boh when he proposed to cut your
+throttle, bekose, os he said, dead men tell neaw teles, ey could howd
+out nah longer, an resolved to gi' yo warnin."
+
+"What a monstrous and unheard-of villain!" cried the squire. "But is he
+one of the ambuscade?"
+
+Nance replied in the affirmative.
+
+"Then, by heaven! I will confront him--I will hew him down," pursued
+Nicholas, griping the hilt of his sword.
+
+"Neaw use, ey tell ye--yo'n be overpowert an kilt," said Nance. "Tak me
+wi' yo, an ey'n carry yo safely through em aw; boh ge alone, or yo'n
+ne'er see Downham again. An now it's reet ey should tell ye who Lawrence
+Fogg really is."
+
+"What new wonder is in store for me?" cried Nicholas. "Who is he?"
+
+"Maybe yo ha heerd tell that Mother Demdike had a son and a dowter,"
+replied Nance; "the dowter bein', of course, Elizabeth Device; and the
+son, Christopher Demdike, being supposed to be dead. Howsomever, this is
+not the case, for Lawrence Fogg is he."
+
+"I guessed as much when you began," cried Nicholas. "He has a cursedly
+bad look about the eyes--a damned Demdike physiognomy. What an infernal
+villain the fellow must be! without a jot of natural feeling. Why, he
+has this very day assisted at his nephew's capture, and caused his own
+sister to be arrested. Oh, I have been properly duped! To lodge a son of
+that infernal hag in my house--feed him, clothe him, make him my
+friend--take him, the viper! to my bosom! I have been rightly served.
+But he shall hang!--he shall hang! That is some consolation, though
+slight. But how do you know all this, Nance?"
+
+"Dunna ax me," she replied. "Whatever ey ha' been to Christopher
+Demdike, ey bear him neaw love now; fo', as ey ha towd yo, he is a
+black-hearted murtherin' villain. Boh lemme get up behind yo, an ey'n
+bring yo through scatheless. An to-morrow yo may arrest the whole band
+at Malkin Tower."
+
+"Malkin Tower!" exclaimed the squire, in fresh surprise. "What, have
+these robbers taken up their quarters there? This accounts for all the
+strange sights said to have been seen there of late, and which I treated
+as mere fables. But, ah! a terrible thought crosses me. What have I
+done? Mistress Nutter will be there to-night. And I have sent her. Death
+and destruction! she will fall into their hands. I must go there at
+once. I cannot take any assistance with me. That would betray the poor
+lady."
+
+"If yo'n trust me, ey'n help yo through the difficulty," replied Nance.
+
+"Get up then quickly, lass, since it must be so," rejoined Nicholas.
+
+With this he moved forward, and giving her his hand, she was instantly
+seated behind him upon Robin, who seemed no way incommoded by his double
+burthen, but dashed down the further side of the causeway, in answer to
+a sharp application of the spur. Passing her arms round the squire's
+waist, Nance maintained her seat well; and in this way they rattled
+along, heedless of the increasing difficulties of the road, or the
+fast-gathering gloom.
+
+The mile was quickly passed, and Nance whispered in the squire's ear
+that they were approaching the Boulder Stones. Presently they came to a
+narrow glen, half-filled with huge rocky fragments, detached from the
+toppling precipices on either side, and forming an admirable place of
+ambuscade. One rock, larger than the rest, completely commanded the
+pass, and, as the squire advanced, a thundering voice from it called to
+him to stay; and the injunction being disregarded, the barrel of a gun
+was protruded from the bushes covering its brow, and a shot fired at
+him. Though well aimed, the ball struck the ground beneath his horse's
+feet, and Nicholas continued his way unmoved, while the faulty marksman
+jumped down the crag. At the same time four other men started from their
+places of concealment behind the stones, and, levelling their calivers
+at the fugitives, fired. The sharp discharges echoed along the gorge,
+and the shots rattled against the rocks, but none of them took effect,
+and Nicholas might have gone on without further hindrance; but, despite
+Nance's remonstrances, who urged him to go on, he pulled up to await the
+coming of the person who had first challenged him. Scarcely an instant
+elapsed before he was beside the squire, and presented a petronel at his
+head. Notwithstanding the gloom, Nicholas recognised him.
+
+"Ah! is it thou, accursed traitor?" cried Nicholas. "I could scarcely
+believe in thy villainy, but now I am convinced."
+
+"The jade you have got behind you has told you who I am, I see," replied
+Fogg. "I will settle with her anon. But this will save further
+explanations with you!"
+
+And he discharged the petronel full at the squire. But the ball
+rebounded, as if his doublet had been quilted. It was in fact lined with
+gold. On seeing the squire unhurt, the robber captain uttered an
+exclamation of rage and astonishment.
+
+"You are mistaken, you see, perfidious villain," cried Nicholas. "You
+have yet to render an account of all the wrongs you have done me, but
+meantime you shall not pass unpunished."
+
+And as he spoke, he snatched the petronel from Fogg, and with the
+but-end dealt him a tremendous blow on the head, felling him to the
+ground.
+
+By this time the other robbers had descended from the rocks, and, seeing
+the fall of their leader, rushed forward to avenge him, but Nicholas did
+not tarry for any further encounter; but, fully satisfied with what he
+had done, struck spurs into Robin, and galloped off. For a few minutes
+he could hear the shouts of the men, but they soon afterwards died away.
+
+Little more than half the ravine had been traversed when the rencounter
+above described took place; but, though the road was still difficult and
+dangerous, and rendered doubly so by the obscurity, no further hindrance
+occurred till just as Nicholas was quitting the gloomy intricacies of
+the gorge, and approaching the more open country beyond it. At this
+point Robin fell, throwing both him and Nance, and when the animal rose
+again he was found to be so much injured that it was impossible to mount
+him. There was no resource but to proceed to Burnley, which was still
+three or four miles distant, on foot.
+
+In this dilemma, Nance volunteered to provide the squire with another
+steed, but he resolutely refused the offer.
+
+"No, no--none of your broomsticks for me," he cried; "no devil's
+horses--I don't know where they may carry me. My own legs must serve me
+now. I'll just take poor Robin out of the road, and then trudge off for
+Burnley as fast as I can."
+
+With this, he led the horse to a small green mead skirting the stream,
+and taking off his saddle and bridle, and depositing them carefully
+under a tree, he patted the animal on the neck, promising to return for
+him on the morrow, and then set off at a brisk pace, with Nance walking
+beside him. They had not gone far, however, when the clattering of hoofs
+was heard behind them, and it was evident that several horsemen were
+rapidly approaching. Nance stopped, listened for a moment, and then
+declaring that it was Demdike and his band in pursuit, seized the
+squire's arm and drew him out of the road, and under the shelter of some
+bushes of hazel. The robber captain could only have been stunned, it
+appeared; and, as soon as he had recovered from the effects of the blow,
+had mounted his horse, which was concealed, with those of his men,
+behind the rocks, and started after the fugitives. Such was the
+construction put upon the matter by Nance, and the event proved it
+correct. A loud shout from the horsemen, and a sudden halt, proclaimed
+that poor Robin had been discovered; and this circumstance seemed to
+give great satisfaction to Demdike, who loudly declared that they were
+now sure of overtaking the runaways.
+
+"They cannot be far off," he cried; "but they will most likely attempt
+to hide themselves, so look well about you."
+
+So saying, he rode on, and it was evident from the noise, that the men
+implicitly obeyed his injunctions. Nothing, however, was found, and ere
+many minutes Demdike came up, and glancing at the hazels, behind which
+the fugitives were hidden, he discharged a petronel into the largest
+tree, but as no movement followed the report, he said--
+
+"I thought I saw something move here, but I suppose I was mistaken. No
+doubt they have got on further than we expected, or have retired into
+some of the cloughs, in which case it will be useless to search for
+them. However, we will make sure of them in this way. Two of you shall
+form an ambuscade near Holme and two further on within half a mile of
+Burnley, and shall remain on the watch till dawn, so that you will be
+sure to capture them, and when taken, make away with them without
+hesitation. Unless my skull had been of the strongest, that butcherly
+squire would have cracked it, so he shall have no grace from me; and as
+to that treacherous witch, Nance Redferne, she deserves death at our
+hands, and she shall have her deserts. I have long suspected her, and,
+indeed, was a fool to trust one of the vile Chattox brood, who are all
+my natural enemies--but no matter, I shall have my revenge."
+
+The men having promised compliance with their captain's command, he went
+on--
+
+"As to myself," he said, "I shall go forthwith, and as fast as my horse
+can carry me, to Malkin Tower, and I will tell you why. It is not that I
+dislike the game we are upon, but I have better to play just now. Tom
+Shaw, the cock-master at Downham, who is in my pay, rode over to Whalley
+this afternoon, to bring me word that a certain lady, who has long been
+concealed in the Manor-house, will be taken to Malkin Tower to-night.
+The intelligence is certain, for he had obtained it from Old Crouch, the
+huntsman, who is to escort her. Thus, Mistress Nutter, for you all know
+whom I mean, will fall naturally into our hands, and we can wring any
+sums of money we like out of her; for though she has abandoned her
+property to her daughter, Alizon, she can no doubt have as much as she
+wants, and I will take care she asks for plenty, or I will try the
+effect of some of those instruments of torture which I was lucky enough
+to find in the dungeons of Malkin Tower, and which were used for a like
+purpose by my predecessor, Blackburn, the freebooter. Are you content,
+my lads?"
+
+"Ay, ay, Captain Demdike," they replied.
+
+Upon this the whole party set forward, and were speedily out of hearing.
+As soon as they thought it prudent to come forth, the squire and Nance
+emerged from their place of shelter.
+
+"What is to be done?" exclaimed the former, who was almost in a state of
+distraction. "The villain has announced his intention of going to Malkin
+Tower, and Mistress Nutter will assuredly fall into his hands. Oh! that
+I could stop him, or get there before him!"
+
+"Yo shan, if yo like to ride wi' me," said Nance.
+
+"But how--in what way?" asked Nicholas.
+
+"Leave that to me," replied Nance, breaking off a long branch of hazel.
+"Tak howld o' this," she cried.
+
+The squire obeyed, and was instantly carried off his legs, and whisked
+through the air at a prodigious rate.
+
+He felt giddy and confused, but did not dare to leave go, lest he should
+be dashed in pieces, while Nance's wild laughter rang in his ears.
+
+Over the bleached and perpendicular crag--startling the eagle from his
+eyry--over the yawning gully with the torrent roaring beneath him--over
+the sharp ridges of the hill--over Townley park--over Burnley
+steeple--over the wide valley beyond, he went--until at last,
+bewildered, out of breath, and like one in a dream, he alighted on a
+brown, bare, heathy expanse, and within a hundred yards of a tall,
+circular stone structure, which he knew to be Malkin Tower.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.--THE END OF MALKIN TOWER.
+
+
+The shades of night had fallen on Downham manor-house, and with an
+aching heart, and a strong presentiment of ill, Mistress Nutter prepared
+to quit the little chamber which had sheltered her for more than two
+months, and where she would willingly have breathed her latest sigh, if
+it had been so permitted her. Closing the Bible she had been reading,
+she placed the sacred volume under her arm, and taking up a small
+bundle, containing her slender preparations for travel, extinguished the
+taper, and then descending by a secret staircase, passed through a door,
+fashioned externally like a cupboard, and entered a summer-house, where
+she found old Crouch awaiting her.
+
+A few whispered words only passed between her and the huntsman, and
+informing her that the horses were in waiting at the back of the garden,
+he took the bundle from her, and would fain have relieved her also of
+the Bible, but she would not part with it, and pressing it more closely
+to her bosom, said she was quite ready to attend him.
+
+It was a beautiful, starlight night; the air soft and balmy, and laden
+with the perfume of the flowers. A nightingale was singing plaintively
+in an adjoining tree, and presently came a response equally tender from
+another part of the grove. Mistress Nutter could not choose but listen,
+and the melody so touched her that she was half suffocated by repressed
+emotion, for, alas! the relief of tears was denied her.
+
+Motioning her somewhat impatiently to come on, Crouch struck into a
+sombre alley, edged by clipped yew-trees, and terminating in a
+plantation, through which a winding path led to the foot of the hill
+whereon the mansion was situated. By daylight this was a beautiful walk,
+affording exquisite glimpses through the trees of the surrounding
+scenery, and commanding a noble view of Pendle Hill, the dominant point
+in the prospect. But even now to the poor lady, so long immured in her
+cell-like chamber, and deprived of many of nature's choicest blessings,
+it appeared delightful. The fresh air, redolent of new-mown hay, fanned
+her pale cheek and feverish brow, and allayed her agitation and
+excitement. The perfect stillness, broken only by the lowing of the
+cattle in the adjoining pastures, by the drowsy hum of the dor-fly, or
+the rippling of the beck in the valley, further calmed her; and the
+soothing influence was completed by a contemplation of the serene
+heavens, wherein were seen the starry host, with the thin bright
+crescent of the new moon in the midst of them, diffusing a pearly light
+around her. One blot alone appeared in the otherwise smiling sky, and
+this was a great, ugly, black cloud lowering over the summit of Pendle
+Hill.
+
+Mistress Nutter noticed the portentous cloud, and noticed also its
+shadow on the hill, which might have been cast by the Fiend himself, so
+like was it to a demoniacal shape with outstretched wings; but, though
+shuddering at the idea it suggested, she would not suffer it to obtain
+possession of her mind, but resolutely fixed her attention on other and
+more pleasing objects.
+
+By this time they had reached the foot of the hill, and a gate admitted
+them to a road running by the side of Downham beck. Here they found the
+horses in charge of a man in the dark red livery of Nicholas Assheton,
+and who was no other than Tom Shaw, the rascally cock-master. Delivering
+the bridles to Crouch, the knave hastily strode away, but he lingered at
+a little distance to see the lady mount; and then leaping the hedge,
+struck through the plantation towards the hall, chinking the money in
+his pockets as he went, and thinking how cleverly he had earned it. But
+he did not go unpunished; for it is a satisfaction to record that, in
+walking through the woods, he was caught in a gin placed there by
+Crouch, which held him fast in its iron teeth till morning, when he was
+discovered by one of the under-keepers while going his rounds, in a
+deplorable condition, and lamed for life.
+
+Meanwhile, unconscious either of the manner in which she had been
+betrayed, or of the punishment awaiting her betrayer, Mistress Nutter
+followed her conductor in silence. For a while the road continued by the
+side of the brook, and then quitting it, commenced a long and tedious
+ascent, running between high banks fringed with trees. The overhanging
+boughs rendered it so dark that Mistress Nutter could scarcely
+distinguish the old huntsman, though he was not many yards in advance of
+her, but she heard the tramp of his horse, and that was enough.
+
+All at once, where the boughs were thickest, and the road darkest, she
+perceived a small fiery object on the bank, and in her alarm called out
+to the huntsman, who, looking back for a moment, laughed, and told her
+not to be uneasy, for it was only a glow-worm. Ashamed of her idle fears
+she rode on, but had not proceeded far, when, looking again at the bank,
+she saw it studded with the same lights. This time she did not call out
+or scream, but gazed steadily at the twinkling fires, hoping to get the
+better of her fears. Her alarm, however, rose to absolute terror, as she
+beheld the glow-worms--if glow-worms they were--twist together and form
+themselves into a flaming brand, such as she had seen in her vision,
+grasped by the angel who had driven her from the gates of Paradise.
+
+Averting her gaze, she would have hastened on, but a hand suddenly laid
+upon her bridle, held back her horse; and she then perceived a tall dark
+man, mounted on a sable steed, riding beside her. The supernatural
+character of the horseman was manifest, inasmuch as no sound was caused
+by the tread of his steed, nor did he appear to be visible to Crouch
+when the latter looked back. Mistress Nutter maintained her seat with
+difficulty. She well knew who was her companion.
+
+"Soh, Alice Nutter," said the horseman at length, in a low deep tone,
+"you have chosen to shut yourself up in a narrow cell, like a recluse,
+for more than two months, denying yourself all sort of enjoyment,
+practising severest abstinence, and passing your whole time in useless
+prayer--ay, useless, for if you were to pray from now till
+doomsday--come when it will, a thousand years hence, or to-morrow--it
+will not save you. When you signed that bond to my master, sentence was
+recorded against you, and no power can recall it. Why, then, these
+unavailing lamentations? Why utter prayers which are rejected, and
+supplications which are scorned? Shake off this weakness, Alice, and be
+yourself again. Once you had pride enough, and a little of it would now
+be of service to you. You would then see the folly of this abject
+conduct--humbling yourself to the dust only to be spurned, and suing for
+mercy only to be derided. Pray as loud and as long as you will, the ears
+of Heaven will remain ever deaf to you."
+
+"I hope otherwise," rejoined the lady, meekly.
+
+"Do not deceive yourself," replied the horseman. "The term granted you
+by your compact will not be abridged, but it is your own fault if it be
+not extended. Your daughter is destroying herself in the vain hope of
+saving you. Her prayers are unavailing as your own, and recoil from the
+Judgment Throne unheard. The youth upon whom her affections are fixed is
+stricken with a deadly ailment. It is in your power to save them both."
+
+Mistress Nutter groaned deeply.
+
+"It is in your power, I say, to save them," continued the horseman, "by
+returning to your allegiance to your master. He will forgive your
+disobedience if you prove yourself zealous in his service; will restore
+you to your former worldly position; avenge you of your enemies; and
+accomplish all you may desire with respect to your daughter."
+
+"He cannot do it," replied Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Cannot!" echoed the horseman. "Try him! For many years I have served
+you as familiar; and you have never set me the task I have failed to
+execute. I am ready to become your servant again, and to offer you a yet
+larger range of control. Put no limits to your desires or ambition. If
+you are tired of this narrow sphere, take a wider. Look abroad. But do
+not shut yourself up in a narrow cell, and persuade yourself you are
+accomplishing your ultimate deliverance, when you are only wasting
+precious time, which might be more advantageously and far more agreeably
+employed. While laughing at your folly, my master deplores it; and he
+has, therefore, sent me as to one for whom notwithstanding all
+derelictions from duty, he has still a regard, with an offer of full
+forgiveness, provided you return to him at once, and renew your
+covenant, proving your sincerity by casting from you the book you hold
+under your arm."
+
+"Your snares are not laid subtle enough to catch me," replied Mistress
+Nutter. "I will never part with this holy volume, which is my present
+safeguard, and on which I build my hopes of salvation--hopes which your
+very proposals have revived in my breast; for I am well assured your
+master would not make them if he felt confident of his power over me.
+No; I defy him and you, and I command you in Heaven's name to get hence,
+and to tempt me no longer."
+
+As the words were uttered, with a howl of rage and mortification, like
+the roar of a wild beast, the dark horseman and his steed vanished.
+Alarmed by the sound, Crouch stopped, and questioned the lady as to its
+cause; but receiving no satisfactory explanation from her, he bade her
+ride quickly on, affirming it must be the boggart of the clough.
+
+Soon after this they again came upon Downham beck, and were about to
+cross it, when their purpose was arrested by a joyous barking, and the
+next moment Grip came up. The dog, it appeared, had been shut up in the
+stable, his company not being desired on the expedition; but contriving
+in some way or other to get out, he had scented his master's course, and
+in the end overtaken him. Crouch did not know whether to be angry or
+pleased, and at first gave utterance to an oath, and raised his whip to
+chastise him, but almost instantly the latter feeling predominated, and
+he welcomed the faithful animal with a few kind words.
+
+"Ey suppose theaw thowt ey couldna do without thee, Grip," he said, "and
+mayhap theaw'rt reet."
+
+They are now across the beck, and speeding over the wide brown waste.
+The huntsman warily shapes his course so as to avoid any
+limestone-quarries or turf-pits. He points out a jack-o'-lantern dancing
+merrily on the surface of a dangerous morass, and tells a dismal tale of
+a traveller lured into it by the delusive light, and swallowed up.
+
+Mistress Nutter pays little heed to him, but ever and anon looks back,
+as if in dread of some one behind her. But no one is visible, and she
+only sees the great black cloud still hovering over Pendle Hill.
+
+On--on--they go; their horses' hoofs now splashing through the wet sod,
+now beating upon the firm but elastic turf. A merry ride it would be if
+their errand were different, and their hearts free from care. The air is
+fresh and reviving, and the rapid motion exhilarating. The stars shine
+out, and the crescent moon is still glittering in the heavens, but the
+black cloud hangs motionless on Pendle Hill.
+
+Now and then some bird of night flies past them, and they hear the
+whooping of the owl, and see him skimming like a ghost over the waste.
+Then more fen fires arise, showing that other treacherous quagmires are
+at hand; but Crouch skirts them safely. Now the bull-frog croaks in the
+marsh, and a deep booming tells of a bittern passing by. They see the
+mighty bird above them, with his wide heavy wings and long neck. Grip
+howls at him, but is instantly checked by his master, and they gallop
+on.
+
+They are now by the side of Pendle Water, and within sight of Rough Lee.
+What tumultuous thoughts agitate the lady's breast! The ground she
+tramples on was once her own; the woods by the river side were planted
+by her; the mansion before her once owned her as mistress, and now she
+dares not approach it. Nor does she desire to do so, for the sight of it
+brings back terrible recollections, and fills her again with despair.
+
+They are now close upon it, and it appears dark, silent, and deserted.
+How different from what it was of yore in her husband's days--the
+husband she had foully slain! Speed on, old huntsman!--lash your panting
+horse, or the remorseful lady will far outstrip you, for she rides as if
+the avenging furies were at her heels.
+
+She is rattling over the bridge, and Crouch, toiling after her, and with
+Grip toiling after him, shouts to her to moderate her pace. She looks
+back, and beholds the grim old house frowning full upon her, and hurries
+on. Huntsman and dog are left behind for awhile, but the steep ascent
+soon compels her to slacken speed, and they come up, Crouch swearing
+lustily, and Grip, with his tongue out of his mouth, limping as if
+foot-sore.
+
+The road now leads through a thicket. The horses stumble frequently, for
+the stones are loose, and the footing consequently uncertain. Crouch has
+a fall, and ere he can remount the lady is gone. It is useless to hurry
+after her, and he is proceeding slowly, when Grip, who is a little in
+advance, growls fiercely, and looks back at his master, as if to
+intimate that danger is at hand. The huntsman presses on, but he is too
+late, if, indeed, he could at any time have rendered effectual
+assistance. A clearing in the thicket shows him the lady dismounted, and
+surrounded by several wild-looking men armed with calivers. Part of the
+band bear her shrieking off, and the rest fire at him, but without
+effect, and then chase him as far as the steepest part of the hill,
+down which he dashes, followed by Grip. Arrived at the bottom, he pauses
+to listen if he is pursued, and hearing nothing further to alarm him,
+debates with himself what is best to be done; and, not liking to alarm
+the village, for that would be to betray Mistress Nutter, he gets off
+his horse, ties him to a tree, and with Grip close at his heels,
+commences the ascent of the hill by a different road from that he had
+previously taken.
+
+Meanwhile, Mistress Nutter's captors dragged her forcibly towards the
+tower. Their arms and appearance left her no doubt they were
+depredators, and she sought to convince them she had neither money nor
+valuables in her possession. They laughed at her assertions, but made no
+other reply. Her sole consolation was, that they did not seek to deprive
+her of her Bible.
+
+On reaching the tower, a signal was given by one of the foremost of the
+band, and the steps being lowered from the high doorway, she was
+compelled to ascend them, and being pushed along a short passage,
+obscured by a piece of thick tapestry, but which was drawn aside as she
+advanced, she found herself in a circular chamber, in the midst of which
+was a massive table covered with flasks and drinking-cups, and stained
+with wine. From the roof, which was crossed by great black beams of oak,
+was suspended a lamp with three burners, whose light showed that the
+walls were garnished with petronels, rapiers, poniards, and other
+murderous weapons; besides these there were hung from pegs long
+riding-cloaks, sombreros, vizards, and other robber accoutrements,
+including a variety of disguises, from the clown's frieze jerkin to the
+gentleman's velvet doublet, ready to be assumed on an emergency. Here
+and there was an open valise, or a pair of saddle-bags with their
+contents strewn about the floor, and on a bench were a dice-box and
+shuffle-board, showing, with the flasks and goblets on the table, how
+the occupants of the tower passed their time.
+
+A steep ladder-like flight of steps led to the upper chamber, and down
+these, at the very moment of Mistress Nutter's entrance, descended a
+stalwart personage, who eyed her fiercely as he leapt upon the floor.
+There was something in the man's truculent physiognomy, and strange and
+oblique vision, that reminded her of Mother Demdike.
+
+"Welcome to Malkin Tower, madam," said the robber with a grin, and
+doffing his cap with affected courtesy. "We have met before, but it is
+many years ago, and I dare say you have forgotten me. You will guess who
+I am when I tell you my mother occupied this tower before me."
+
+Finding Mistress Nutter made no remark, he went on.
+
+"I am Christopher Demdike, madam--Captain Demdike, I should say. The
+brave fellows who have brought you hither are part of my band, and till
+lately Northumberland and the borders of Scotland used to be our scene
+of action; but chancing to hear of my worthy old mother's death, I
+thought we could not do better than take possession of her stronghold,
+which devolved upon me by right of inheritance. Since our arrival here
+we have kept ourselves very quiet, and the country folk, taking us for
+spirits or demons, never approach our hiding-place; while, as all our
+depredations are confined to distant parts, our retreat has never been
+suspected."
+
+"This concerns me little," observed Mistress Nutter, coldly.
+
+"Pardon me, madam, it concerns you much, as you will learn anon. But be
+seated, I pray you," he said, with mock civility. "I am keeping you
+standing all this while."
+
+But as the lady declined the attention, he went on.
+
+"I was fortunate enough, on first coming back to this part of the
+country, to pick up an acquaintance with your relative, Nicholas
+Assheton, who invited me to stay with him at Downham, and was so well
+pleased with my society that he could not endure to part with me."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Mistress Nutter, "are you the person he called
+Lawrence Fogg?"
+
+"The same," replied Demdike; "and no doubt you would hear a good report
+of me, madam. Well, it suited my purpose to stay; for I was very
+hospitably entertained by the squire, who, except being rather too much
+addicted to lectures and psalm-singing, is as pleasant a host as one
+could desire; besides which, he was obliging enough to employ me to
+borrow money for him, and what I got, I kept, you may be sure."
+
+"I would willingly be spared the details of your knavery," said Mistress
+Nutter, somewhat impatiently.
+
+"I am coming to an end," rejoined Demdike, "and then, perhaps, you may
+wish I had prolonged them. All the squire's secrets were committed to
+me, and I was fully aware of your concealment in the hall, but I could
+never ascertain precisely where you were lodged. I meant to carry you
+off, and only awaited the opportunity which has presented itself
+to-night."
+
+"If you think to obtain money from me, you will find yourself mistaken,"
+said Mistress Nutter. "I have parted with all my possessions."
+
+"But to whom, madam?" cried Demdike, with a sinister smile--"to your
+daughter. And I am sure she is too gentle, too tender-hearted, to allow
+you to suffer when she can relieve you. You must get us a good round sum
+from her or you will be detained here long. The dungeons are dark and
+unwholesome, and my band are apt to be harsh in their treatment of
+captives. They have found in the vaults some instruments of torture
+belonging to old Blackburn, the freebooter, the efficacy of which in an
+obstinate case I fear they might be inclined to try. You now begin to
+see the drift of my discourse, madam, and understand the sort of men
+you have to deal with--barbarous fellows, madam--inhuman dogs!"
+
+And he laughed coarsely at his own jocularity.
+
+"It may put an end to this discussion," said Mistress Nutter firmly, "if
+I declare that no torture shall induce me to make any such demand from
+my daughter."
+
+"You think, perhaps, I am jesting with you, madam," rejoined Demdike.
+
+"Oh! no, I believe you capable of any atrocity," replied the lady. "You
+do not, either in feature or deeds, belie your parentage."
+
+"Ah! say you so, madam?" cried Demdike. "You have a sharp tongue, I
+find. Courtesy is thrown away upon you. What, ho! lads--Kenyon and
+Lowton, take the lady down to the vaults, and there let her have an hour
+for solitary reflection. She may change her mind in that time."
+
+"Do not think it," cried Mistress Nutter, resolutely.
+
+"If you continue obstinate, we will find means to move you," rejoined
+Demdike, in a taunting tone. "But what has she got beneath her arm? Give
+me the book. What's this?--a Bible! A witch with a Bible! It should be a
+grimoire. Ha! ha!"
+
+"Give it me back, I implore of you," shrieked the lady. "I shall be
+destroyed, soul and body, if I have it not with me."
+
+"What! you are afraid the devil may carry you off without it--ho! ho!"
+roared Demdike. "Well, that would not suit my purpose at present. Here,
+take it--and now off with her, lads, without more ado!"
+
+And as he spoke, a trapdoor was opened by one of the robbers, disclosing
+a flight of steps leading to the subterranean chambers, down which the
+miserable lady was dragged.
+
+Presently the two men re-appeared with a grim smile on their ruffianly
+countenances, and, as they closed the trapdoor, one of them observed to
+the captain that they had chained her to a pillar, by removing the band
+from the great skeleton, and passing it round her body.
+
+"You have done well, lads," replied Demdike, approvingly; "and now go
+all of you and scour the hill-top, and return in an hour, and we will
+decide upon what is to be done with this woman."
+
+The two men then joined the rest of their comrades outside, and the
+whole troop descended the steps, which were afterwards drawn up by
+Demdike. This done, the robber captain returned to the circular chamber,
+and for some time paced to and fro, revolving his dark schemes. He then
+paused, and placing his ear near the trapdoor, listened, but as no sound
+reached him, he sat down at the table, and soon grew so much absorbed as
+to be unconscious that a dark figure was creeping stealthily down the
+narrow staircase behind him.
+
+"I cannot get rid of Nicholas Assheton," he exclaimed at length. "I
+somehow fancy we shall meet again; and yet all should be over with him
+by this time."
+
+"Look round!" thundered a voice behind him. "Nicholas Assheton is not to
+be got rid of so easily."
+
+At this unexpected summons, Demdike started to his feet, and recoiled
+aghast, as he saw what he took to be the ghost of the murdered squire
+standing before him. A second look, however, convinced him that it was
+no phantom he beheld, but a living man, armed for vengeance, and
+determined upon it.
+
+"Get a weapon, villain," cried Nicholas, in tones of concentrated fury.
+"I do not wish to take unfair advantage, even of thee."
+
+Without a word of reply, Demdike snatched a sword from the wall, and the
+next moment was engaged in deadly strife with the squire. They were well
+matched, for both were powerful men, both expert in the use of their
+weapons, and the combat might have been protracted and of doubtful issue
+but for the irresistible fury of Nicholas, who assaulted his adversary
+with such vigour and determination that he speedily drove him against
+the wall, where the latter made an attempt to seize a petronel hanging
+beside him, but his purpose being divined, he received a thrust through
+the arm, and, dropping his blade, lay at the squire's mercy.
+
+Nicholas shortened his sword, but forbore to strike. Seizing his enemy
+by the throat, he hurled him to the ground, and, planting his knee on
+his chest, called out, "What, ho, Nance!"
+
+"Nance!" exclaimed Demdike,--"then it was that mischievous jade who
+brought you here."
+
+"Ay," replied the squire, as the young woman came quickly down the
+steps,--"and I refused her aid in the conflict because I felt certain of
+mastering thee, and because I would not take odds even against such a
+treacherous villain as thou art."
+
+"Better dispatch him, squire," said Nance; "he may do yo a mischief
+yet."
+
+"No--no," replied Nicholas, "he is unworthy of a gentleman's sword.
+Besides, I have sworn to hang him, and I will keep my word. Go down into
+the vaults and liberate Mistress Nutter, while I bind him, for we must
+take him with us. To-morrow, he shall lie in Lancaster Castle with his
+kinsfolk."
+
+"That remains to be seen," muttered Demdike.
+
+"Be on your guard, squire," cried Nance, as she lifted a small lamp, and
+raised the trapdoor.
+
+With this caution, she descended to the vaults, while Nicholas looked
+about for a thong, and perceiving a rope dangling down the wall near
+him, he seized it, drawing it with some force towards him.
+
+A sudden sound reached his ears--clang! clang! He had rung the
+alarm-bell violently.
+
+Clang! clang! clang! Would it never stop?
+
+Taking advantage of his surprise and consternation, Demdike got from
+under him, sprang to his feet, and rushing to the doorway, instantly let
+fall the steps, roaring out,--
+
+"Treason! to the rescue, my men! to the rescue!"
+
+His cries were immediately answered from without, and it was evident
+from the tumult that the whole of the band were hurrying to his
+assistance.
+
+Not a moment was to be lost by the squire. Plunging through the
+trapdoor, he closed it after him, and bolted it underneath at the very
+moment the robbers entered the chamber. Demdike's rage at finding him
+gone was increased, when all the combined efforts of his men failed in
+forcing open the trapdoor.
+
+"Take hatchets and hew it open!" he cried; "we must have them. I have
+heard there is a secret outlet below, and though I have never been able
+to discover it, it may be known to Nance. I will go outside, and watch.
+If you hear me whistle, come forth instantly."
+
+And, rushing forth, he was making the circuit, of the tower, and
+examining some bushes at its base, when his throat was suddenly seized
+by a dog, and before he could even utter an exclamation, much less sound
+his whistle, or use his arms, he was grappled by the old huntsman, and
+dragged off to a considerable distance, the dog still clinging to his
+throat.
+
+Meanwhile, Nicholas had hurried down into the vaults, where he found
+Nance sustaining Mistress Nutter, who was half fainting, and hastily
+explaining what had occurred, she consigned the lady to him, and then
+led the way through the central range of pillars, and past the ebon
+image, until she approached the wall, when, holding up the lamp, she
+revealed a black marble slab between the statues of Blackburn and Isole.
+Pressing against it, the slab moved on one side, and disclosed a flight
+of steps.
+
+"Go up there," cried Nance to the squire, "and when ye get to th' top,
+yo'n find another stoan, wi' a nob in it. Yo canna miss it. Go on."
+
+"But you!" cried the squire. "Will you not come with us?"
+
+"Ey'n come presently," replied Nance, with a strange smile. "Ey ha
+summat to do first. That cunning fox Demdike has set a trap fo' himsel
+an aw his followers,--and it's fo' me to ketch 'em. Wait fo' me about a
+hundert yorts fro' th' tower. Nah nearer--yo onderstand?"
+
+Nicholas did not very clearly understand, but concluding Nance had some
+hidden meaning in what she said, he resolved unhesitatingly to obey her.
+Having got clear of the tower, as directed, with Mistress Nutter, he ran
+on with her to some distance, when what was his surprise to find Crouch
+and Grip keeping watch over the prostrate robber chief. A few words from
+the huntsman sufficed to explain how this had come about, but they were
+scarcely uttered when Nance rushed up in breathless haste, crying
+out--"Off! further off! as yo value your lives!"
+
+Seeing from her manner that delay would be dangerous, Nicholas and
+Crouch laid hold of the prisoner and bore him away between them, while
+Nance assisted Mistress Nutter along.
+
+They had not gone far when a rumbling sound like that preceding an
+earthquake was heard.
+
+All looked back towards Malkin Tower. The structure was seen to
+rock--flames burst from the earth--and with a tremendous explosion heard
+for miles ground, and which shook the ground even where Nicholas and the
+others stood, the whole of the unhallowed fabric, from base to summit,
+was blown into the air, some of the stones being projected to an
+extraordinary distance.
+
+A mine charged with gunpowder, it appeared, had been laid beneath its
+vaults by Demdike, with a view to its destruction at some future period,
+and this circumstance being known to Nance, she had fired the train.
+
+Not one of the robbers within the tower escaped. The bodies of all were
+found next day, crushed, burned, or frightfully mutilated.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.--HOGHTON TOWER.
+
+
+About a month after the occurrence last described, and early on a fine
+morning in August, Nicholas Assheton and Richard Sherborne rode forth
+together from the proud town of Preston. Both were gaily attired in
+doublets and hose of yellow velvet, slashed with white silk, with
+mantles to match, the latter being somewhat conspicuously embroidered on
+the shoulder with a wild bull worked in gold, and underneath it the
+motto, "_Malgre le Tort_." Followed at a respectful distance by four
+mounted attendants, the two gentlemen had crossed the bridge over the
+Ribble, and were wending their way along the banks of a tributary
+stream, the Darwen, within a short distance of the charming village of
+Walton-le-Dale, when they perceived a horseman advancing slowly towards
+them, whom they instantly hailed as Richard Assheton, and pushing
+forward, were soon beside him. Both were much shocked by the young man's
+haggard looks, and inquired anxiously as to his health, but Richard bade
+them, with a melancholy smile, not be uneasy, for all would be well with
+him erelong.
+
+"All will be over with you, lad, if you don't mind; and that's, perhaps,
+what you mean," replied Nicholas; "but as soon as the royal festivities
+at Hoghton are over, I'll set about your cure; and, what's more, I'll
+accomplish it--for I know where the seat of the disease lies better than
+Dr. Morphew, your family physician at Middleton. 'Tis near the heart,
+Dick--near the heart. Ha! I see I have touched you, lad. But, beshrew
+me, you are very strangely attired--in a suit of sable velvet, with a
+black Spanish hat and feather, for a festival! You look as if going to a
+funeral I am fearful his Majesty may take it amiss. Why not wear the
+livery of our house?"
+
+"Nay, if it comes to that," rejoined Richard, "why do not you and
+Sherborne wear it, instead of flaunting like daws in borrowed plumage? I
+scarce know you in your strange garb, and certainly should not take you
+for an Assheton, or aught pertaining to our family, from your gaudy
+colours and the strange badge on your shoulder."
+
+"I don't wonder at it, Dick," said Nicholas; "I scarce know myself; and
+though the clothes I wear are well made enough, they seem to sit
+awkwardly on me, and trouble me as much as the shirt of Nessus did
+Hercules of old. For the nonce I am Sir Richard Hoghton's retainer. I
+must own I was angry with myself when I saw Sir Ralph Assheton with his
+long train of gentlemen, all in murrey-coloured cloaks and doublets, at
+Myerscough Lodge, while I, his cousin, was habited like one of another
+house. And when I would have excused my apparent defection to Sir Ralph,
+he answered coldly, 'It was better as it was, for he could scarcely have
+found room for me among his friends.'"
+
+"Do not fret yourself, Nicholas," rejoined Sherborne; "Sir Ralph cannot
+reasonably take offence at a mere piece of good-nature on your part. But
+this does not explain why Richard affects a colour so sombre."
+
+"I am the retainer of one whose livery is sombre," replied the young
+man, with a ghastly smile. "But enough of this," he added, endeavouring
+to assume a livelier air; "I suppose you are on the way to Hoghton
+Tower. I thought to reach Preston before you were up, but I might have
+recollected you are no lag-a-bed, Nicholas, not even after hard drinking
+overnight, as witness your feats at Whalley. To be frank with you, I
+feared being led into like excesses, and so preferred passing the night
+at the quiet little inn at Walton-le-Dale, to coming on to you at the
+Castle at Preston, which I knew would be full of noisy roysterers."
+
+"Full it was, even to overflowing," replied the squire; "but you should
+have come, Dick, for, by my troth! we had a right merry night of it.
+Stephen Hamerton, of Hellyfield Peel, with his wife, and her sister,
+sweet Mistress Doll Lister, supped with us; and we had music, dancing,
+and singing, and abundance of good cheer. Nouns! Dick, Doll Lister is a
+delightful lass, and if you can only get Alizon out of your head, would
+be just the wife for you. She sings like an angel, has the most
+captivating sigh-and-die-away manner, and the prettiest rounded figure
+ever bodice kept in. Were I in your place I should know where to
+choose. But you will see her at Hoghton to-day, for she is to be at the
+banquet and masque."
+
+"Your description does not tempt me," said Richard; "I have no taste for
+sigh-and-die-away damsels. Dorothy Lister, however, is accounted fair
+enough; but, were she fascinating as Venus herself, in my present mood I
+should not regard her."
+
+"I' faith, lad, I pity you, if such be the case," shrugging his
+shoulders, more in contempt than compassion.
+
+"Waste not your sympathy upon me," replied Richard; "but, tell me, how
+went the show at Preston yesterday?"
+
+"Excellently well, and much to his Majesty's satisfaction," answered the
+squire. "Proud Preston never was so proud before, and never with such
+good reason; for if the people be poor, according to the proverb, they
+take good care to hide their poverty. Bombards were fired from the
+bridge, and the church bells rang loud enough to crack the steeple, and
+bring it down about the ears of the deafened lieges. The houses were
+hung with carpets and arras; the streets strewn ankle deep with sand and
+sawdust; the cross in the market-place was bedecked with garlands of
+flowers like a May-pole; and the conduit near it ran wine. At noon there
+was more firing; and, amidst flourishes of trumpets, rolling of drums,
+squeaking of fifes, and prodigious shouting, bonnie King Jamie came to
+the cross, where a speech was made him by Master Breares, the Recorder;
+after which the corporation presented his Majesty with a huge silver
+bowl, in token of their love and loyalty. The King seemed highly pleased
+with the gift, and observed to the Duke of Buckingham, loud enough to be
+heard by the bystanders, who reported his speech to me, 'God's santie!
+it's a braw bicker, Steenie, and might serve for a christening-cup, if
+we had need of siccan a vessel, which, Heaven be praised, we ha'e na!'
+After this there was a grand banquet in the town-hall; and when the heat
+of the day was over the King left with his train for Hoghton Tower,
+visiting the alum mines on the way thither. We are bidden to breakfast
+by Sir Richard, so we must push on, Dick, for his Majesty is an early
+riser, like myself. We are to have rare sport to-day. Hunting in the
+morning, a banquet, and, as I have already intimated, a masque at night,
+in which Sir George Goring and Sir John Finett will play, and in which I
+have been solicited to take the drolling part of Jem Tospot--nay, laugh
+not, Dick, Sherborne says I shall play it to the life--as well as to
+find some mirthful dame to enact the companion part of Doll Wango. I
+have spoken with two or three on the subject, and fancy one of them will
+oblige me. There is another matter on which I am engaged. I am to
+present a petition to his Majesty from a great number of the lower
+orders in this county, praying they may be allowed to take their
+diversions, as of old accustomed, after divine service on Sundays; and,
+though I am the last man to desire any violation of the Sabbath, being
+somewhat puritanically inclined as they now phrase it, yet I cannot
+think any harm can ensue from lawful recreation and honest exercise.
+Still, I would any one were chosen to present the petition rather than
+myself."
+
+"Have no misgivings on the subject," said Richard, "but urge the matter
+strongly; and if you need support, I will give you all I can, for I feel
+we are best observing the divine mandate by making the Sabbath a day of
+rest, and observing it cheerfully. And this, I apprehend, is the
+substance of your petition?"
+
+"The whole sum and substance," replied Nicholas; "and I have reason to
+believe his Majesty's wishes are in accordance with it."
+
+"They are known to be so," said Sherborne.
+
+"I am glad to hear it," cried Richard. "God save King James, the friend
+of the people!"
+
+"Ay, God save King James!" echoed Nicholas; "and if he I grant this
+petition he will prove himself their friend, for he will I have all the
+clergy against him, and will be preached against from half the pulpits
+in the kingdom."
+
+"Little harm will ensue if it should be so," replied Richard; "for he
+will be cheered and protected by the prayers of a grateful and happy
+people."
+
+They then rode on for a few minutes in silence, after which; Richard
+inquired--
+
+"You had brave doings at Myerscough Lodge, I suppose, Nicholas?"
+
+"Ay, marry had we," answered the squire, "and the feasting must have
+cost Ned Tyldesley a pretty penny. Besides the King and his own
+particular attendants, there were some dozen noblemen and their
+followers, including the Duke of Buckingham, who moves about like a king
+himself, and I know not how many knights and gentlemen. Sherborne and I
+rode over from Dunnow, and reached the forest immediately after the King
+had entered it in his coach; so we took a short cut through the woods,
+and came up just in time to join Sir Richard Hoghton's train as he was
+riding up to his Majesty. Fancy a wide glade, down which a great gilded
+coach is slowly moving, drawn by eight horses, and followed by a host of
+noblemen and gentlemen in splendid apparel, their esquires and pages
+equally richly arrayed, and equally well mounted; and, after these,
+numerous falconers, huntsmen, prickers, foresters, and yeomen, with
+staghounds in leash, and hawk on fist, all ready for the sport. Fancy
+all this if you can, Dick, and then conceive what a brave sight it must
+have been. Well, as I said, we came up in the very nick of time, for
+presently the royal coach stopped, and Sir Richard Hoghton, calling all
+his gentlemen around him, and bidding us dismount, and we followed him,
+and drew up, bareheaded, before the King, while Sir Richard pointed out
+to his Majesty the boundaries of the royal forest, and told him he
+would find it as well stocked with deer as any in his kingdom. Before
+putting an end to the conference, the King complimented the worthy
+Knight on the gallant appearance of his train, and on learning we were
+all gentlemen, graciously signified his pleasure that some of us should
+be presented to him. Amongst others, I was brought forward by Sir
+Richard, and liking my looks, I suppose, the King was condescending
+enough to enter into conversation with me; and as his discourse chiefly
+turned on sporting matters, I was at home with him at once, and he
+presently grew so familiar with me, that I almost forgot the presence in
+which I stood. However, his Majesty seemed in no way offended by my
+freedom, but, on the contrary, clapped me on the shoulder, and said,
+'Maister Assheton, for a country gentleman, you're weel-mannered and
+weel-informed, and I shall be glad to see more of you while I stay in
+these parts.' After this, the good-natured monarch mounted his horse,
+and the hunting began, and a famous day's work we made of it, his
+Majesty killing no fewer than five fine bucks with his own hand."
+
+"You are clearly on the road to preferment, Nicholas," observed Richard,
+with a smile. "You will outstrip Buckingham himself, if you go on in
+this way."
+
+"So I tell him," observed Sherborne, laughing; "and, by my faith! young
+Sir Gilbert Hoghton, who, owing to his connexion by marriage with
+Buckingham, is a greater man than his father, Sir Richard, looked quite
+jealous; for the King more than once called out to Nicholas in the
+chase, and took the wood-knife from him when he broke up the last deer,
+which is accounted a mark of especial favour."
+
+"Well, gentlemen," said the squire, "I shall not stand in my own light,
+depend upon it; and, if I should bask in court-sunshine, you shall
+partake of the rays. If I do become master of the household, in lieu of
+the Duke of Richmond, or master of the horse and cupbearer to his
+Majesty, in place of his Grace of Buckingham, I will not forget you."
+
+"We are greatly indebted to you, my Lord Marquess of Downham and Duke of
+Pendle Hill, that is to be," rejoined Sherborne, taking off his cap with
+mock reverence; "and perhaps, for the sake of your sweet sister and my
+spouse, Dorothy, you will make interest to have me appointed gentleman
+of the bedchamber?"
+
+"Doubt it not--doubt it not," replied Nicholas, in a patronising tone.
+
+"My ambition soars higher than yours, Sherborne," said Richard; "I must
+be lord-keeper of the privy seal, or nothing."
+
+"Oh! what you will, gentlemen, what you will!" cried Nicholas; "you can
+ask me nothing I will not grant--always provided I have the means."
+
+A turn in the road now showed them Hoghton Tower, crowning the summit
+of an isolated and conical hill, about two miles off. Rising proudly in
+the midst of a fair and fertile plain, watered by the Ribble and the
+Darwen, the stately edifice seemed to command the whole country. And so
+King James thought, as, from the window of his chamber, he looked down
+upon the magnificent prospect around him, comprehending on the one hand
+the vast forests of Myerscough and Bowland, stretching as far as the
+fells near Lancaster; and, on the other, an open but still undulating
+country, beautifully diversified with wood and water, well-peopled and
+well-cultivated, green with luxuriant pastures, yellow with golden
+grain, or embowered with orchards, boasting many villages and small
+towns, as well as two lovely rivers, which, combining their currents at
+Walton-le-Dale, gradually expanded till they neared the sea, which could
+be seen gleaming through openings in the distant hills. As the King
+surveyed this fair scene, and thought how strong was the position of the
+mansion, situated as it was upon high cliffs springing abruptly from the
+Darwen, and how favourably circumstanced, with its forests and park, for
+the enjoyment of the chase, of which he was passionately fond, how
+capable of defence, and how well adapted for a hunting-seat, he sighed
+to think it did not belong to the crown. Nor was he wrong in his
+estimate of its strength, for in after years, during the civil wars, it
+held out stoutly against the parliamentary forces, and was only reduced
+at last by treachery, when part of its gate-tower was blown up,
+destroying an officer and two hundred men, "in that blast most wofully."
+
+Though the hour was so early, the road was already thronged, not only
+with horsemen and pedestrians of every degree from Preston, but with
+rude lumbering vehicles from the neighbouring villages of Plessington,
+Brockholes and Cuerden, driven by farmers, who, with their buxom dames
+and cherry-cheeked daughters, decked out in holiday finery, hoped to
+gain admittance to Hoghton Tower, or, at all events, obtain a peep of
+the King as he rode out to hunt. Most of these were saluted by Nicholas,
+who scrupled not to promise them admission to the outer court of the
+Tower, and even went so far as to offer some of the comelier damsels a
+presentation to the King. Occasionally, the road was enlivened by
+strains of music from a band of minstrels, by a song or a chorus from
+others, or by the gamesome tricks of a party of mummers. At one place, a
+couple of tumblers and a clown were performing their feats on a cloth
+stretched on the grass beneath a tree. Here the crowd collected for a
+few minutes, but presently gave way to loud shouts, attended by the
+cracking of whips, proceeding from two grooms in the yellow and white
+livery of Sir Richard Hoghton, who headed some half-dozen carts filled
+with provisions, carcases of sheep and oxen, turkeys and geese, pullets
+and capons, fish, bread, and vegetables, all bent for Hoghton Tower;
+for though Sir Richard had made vast preparations for his guests, he
+found his supplies, great as they were, wholly inadequate to their
+wants. Cracking their whips in answer to the shouts with which they were
+greeted, the purveyors galloped on, many a hungry wight looking
+wistfully after them.
+
+Nicholas and his companions were now at the entrance to Hoghton Park,
+through which the Darwen coursed, after washing the base of the rocky
+heights on which the mansion was situated. Here four yeomen of the
+guard, armed with halberts, and an officer, were stationed, and no one
+was admitted without an order from Sir Richard Hoghton. Possessing a
+pass, the squire and his companions with their attendants were, of
+course, allowed to enter; but the throng accompanying them were sent
+over the bridge, and along a devious road skirting the park, which,
+though it went more than a mile round, eventually brought them to their
+destination.
+
+Hoghton Park, though not very extensive, boasted a great deal of
+magnificent timber, and in some places was so thickly wooded, that,
+according to Dr. Kuerden, "a man passing through it could scarcely have
+seen the sun shine at middle of day." Into one of these tenebrous groves
+the horsemen now plunged, and for some moments were buried in the gloom
+produced by matted and overhanging boughs. Issuing once more into the
+warm sunshine, they traversed a long and beautiful silvan glade, skirted
+by ancient oaks, with mighty arms and gnarled limbs--the patriarchs of
+the forest. In the open ground on the left were scattered a few
+ash-trees, and beneath them browsed a herd of fallow deer; while
+crossing the lower end of the glade was a large herd of red deer, for
+which the park was famous, the hinds tripping nimbly and timidly away,
+but the lordly stags, with their branching antlers, standing for a
+moment at gaze, and disdainfully regarding the intruders on their
+domain. Little did they think how soon and severely their courage would
+be tried, or how soon the _mort_ would be sounded for their _pryse_ by
+the huntsman. But if, happily for themselves, the poor leathern-coated
+fools could not foresee their doom, it was not equally hidden from
+Nicholas, who predicted what would ensue, and pointed out one noble hart
+which he thought worthy to die by the King's own hand. As if he
+understood him, the stately beast tossed his antlered head aloft, and
+plunged into the adjoining thicket; but the squire noted the spot where
+he had disappeared.
+
+The glade led them into the chase, a glorious hunting-ground of about
+two miles in circumference, surrounded by an amphitheatre of wood, and
+studded by noble forest trees. Variety and beauty were lent to it by an
+occasional knoll crowned with timber, or by numerous ferny dells and
+dingles. As the horsemen entered upon the chase, they observed at a
+short distance from them a herd of the beautiful, but fierce wild
+cattle, originally from Bowland Forest, and still preserved in the park.
+White and spangled in colour, with short sharp horns, fine eyes, and
+small shapely limbs, these animals were of untameable fierceness,
+possessed of great cunning, and ever ready to assault any one who
+approached them. They would often attack a solitary individual, gore
+him, and trample him to death. Consequently, they were far more dreaded
+than the wild-boars, with which, as with every other sort of game, the
+neighbouring woods were plentifully stocked. Well aware of the danger
+they ran, the party watched the herd narrowly and distrustfully, and
+would have galloped on; but this would only have provoked pursuit, and
+the wild cattle were swifter than any horses. Suddenly, a milkwhite bull
+trotted out from the rest of the herd, bellowing fiercely, lashing his
+sides with his tail, and lowering his head to the ground, as if
+meditating an attack. His example was speedily followed by the others,
+and the whole herd began to beat ground and roar loudly. Much alarmed by
+these hostile manifestations, the party were debating whether to stand
+the onset, or trust to the fleetness of their steeds for safety; when
+just as the whole herd, with tails erect and dilated nostrils, were
+galloping towards them, assistance appeared in the persons of some ten
+or a dozen mounted prickers, who, armed with long poles pointed with
+iron, issued with loud shouts from an avenue opening upon the chase. At
+sight of them, the whole herd wheeled round and fled, but were pursued
+by the prickers till they were driven into the depths of the furthest
+thicket. Six of the prickers remained watching over them during the day,
+in order that the royal hunting-party might not be disturbed, and the
+woods echoed with the bellowing of the angry brutes.
+
+While this was going forward, the squire and his companions,
+congratulating themselves on their narrow escape, galloped off, and
+entered the long avenue of sycamores, from which the prickers had
+emerged.
+
+At the head of a steep ascent, partly hewn out of the rock, and partly
+skirted by venerable and majestic trees, forming a continuation of the
+avenue, rose the embattled gate-tower of the proud edifice they were
+approaching, and which now held the monarch of the land, and the highest
+and noblest of his court as guests within its halls. From the top of the
+central tower of the gateway floated the royal banner, while at the very
+moment the party reached the foot of the hill, they were saluted by a
+loud peal of ordnance discharged from the side-towers, proclaiming that
+the King had arisen; and, as the smoke from the culverins wreathed round
+the standard, a flourish of trumpets was blown from the walls, and
+martial music resounded from the court.
+
+Roused by these stirring sounds, Nicholas spurred his horse up the rocky
+ascent; and followed closely by his companions, who were both nearly as
+much excited as himself, speedily gained the great gateway--a massive
+and majestic structure, occupying the centre of the western front of the
+mansion, and consisting of three towers of great strength and beauty,
+the mid-tower far overtopping the other two, as in the arms of Old
+Castile, and sustaining, as was its right, the royal standard. On the
+platform stood the trumpeters with their silk-fringed clarions, and the
+iron mouths of the culverins, which had been recently discharged,
+protruded through the battlements. The arms and motto of the Hoghtons,
+carved in stone, were placed upon the gateway, with the letters T.H.,
+the initials of the founder of the tower. Immediately above the arched
+entrance was the sculptured figure of a knight slaying a dragon.
+
+In front of the gateway a large crowd of persons were assembled,
+consisting of the inferior gentry of the neighbourhood, with their
+wives, daughters, and servants, clergymen, attorneys, chirurgeons,
+farmers, and tradesmen of all kind from the adjoining towns of
+Blackburn, Preston, Chorley, Haslingden, Garstang, and even Lancaster.
+Representatives in some sort or other of almost every town and village
+in the county might be found amongst the motley assemblage, which, early
+as it was, numbered several hundreds, many of those from the more
+distant places having quitted their homes soon after midnight.
+Admittance was naturally sought by all; but here the same rule was
+observed as at the park gate, and no one was allowed to enter, even the
+base court, without authority from the lord of the mansion. The great
+gates were closed, and two files of halberdiers were drawn up under the
+deep archway, to keep the passage clear, and quell disturbance in case
+any should occur; while a gigantic porter, stationed in front of the
+wicket, rigorously scrutinised the passes. These precautions naturally
+produced delay; and, though many of the better part of the crowd were
+entitled to admission, it was not without much pushing and squeezing,
+and considerable detriment to their gay apparel, that they were enabled
+to effect their object.
+
+The comfort of those outside the walls had not, however, been altogether
+neglected by Sir Richard Hoghton, for sheds were reared under the trees,
+where stout March beer, together with cheese and bread, or oaten cakes
+and butter, were freely distributed to all applicants; so that, if some
+were disappointed, few were discontented, especially when told that the
+gates would be thrown open at noon, when, during the time the King and
+the nobles feasted in the great banquet-hall, they might partake of a
+wild bull from the park, slaughtered expressly for the occasion, which
+was now being roasted whole within the base court. That the latter was
+no idle promise they had the assurance of thick smoke rising above the
+walls, laden with the scent of roast meat, and, moreover, they could see
+through the wicket a great fire blazing and crackling on the green,
+with a huge carcass on an immense spit before it, and a couple of
+turn-broaches basting it.
+
+As Nicholas and his companions forced their way through this crowd,
+which was momently receiving additions as fresh arrivals took place, the
+squire recognised many old acquaintances, and was nodding familiarly
+right and left, when he encountered a woman's eye fixed keenly upon him,
+and to his surprise beheld Nance Redferne. Nance, who had lost none of
+her good looks, was very gaily attired, with her fine chestnut hair
+knotted with ribbons, her stomacher similarly adorned, and her red
+petticoat looped up, so as to display an exceedingly trim ankle and
+small foot; and, under other circumstances, Nicholas might not have
+minded staying to chat with her, but just now it was out of the
+question, and he hastily turned his head another way. As ill luck,
+however, would have it, a stoppage occurred at the moment, during which
+Nance forced her way up to him, and, taking hold of his arm, said in a
+low tone--
+
+"Yo mun tae me in wi' ye, squoire."
+
+"Take you in with me--impossible!" cried Nicholas.
+
+"Nah! it's neaw impossible," rejoined Nance, pertinaciously; "yo con do
+it, an yo shan. Yo owe me a good turn, and mun repay it now."
+
+"But why the devil do you want to go in?" cried Nicholas, impatiently.
+"You know the King is the sworn enemy of all witches, and, amongst this
+concourse, some one is sure to recognise you and betray you. I cannot
+answer for your safety if I do take you in. In my opinion, you were
+extremely unwise to venture here at all."
+
+"Ne'er heed my wisdom or my folly, boh do as ey bid yo, or yo'n repent
+it," said Nance.
+
+"Why, you can get in without my aid," observed the squire, trying to
+laugh it off. "You can easily fly over the walls."
+
+"Ey ha' left my broomstick a-whoam," replied Nance--"boh no more
+jesting. Win yo do it?"
+
+"Well, well, I suppose I must," replied Nicholas, "but I wash my hands
+of the consequences. If ill comes of it, I am not to blame. You must go
+in as Doll Wango--that is, as a character in the masque to be enacted
+to-night--d'ye mark?"
+
+Nance signified that she perfectly understood him.
+
+The whole of this hurried discourse, conducted in an under-tone, passed
+unheard and unnoticed by the bystanders. Just then, an opening took
+place amid the crowd, and the squire pushed through it, hoping to get
+rid of his companion, but he hoped in vain, for, clinging to his saddle,
+she went on along with him.
+
+They were soon under the deep groined and ribbed arch of the gate, and
+Nance would have been here turned back by the foremost halberdier, if
+Nicholas had not signified somewhat hastily that she belonged to his
+party. The man smiled, and offered no further opposition; and the
+gigantic porter next advancing, Nicholas exhibited his pass to him,
+which appearing sufficiently comprehensive to procure admission for
+Richard and Sherborne, they instantly availed themselves of the licence,
+while the squire fumbled in his doublet for a further order for Nance.
+At last he produced it, and after reading it, the gigantic warder
+exclaimed, with a smile illumining his broad features--
+
+"Ah! I see;--this is an order from his worship, Sir Richard, to admit a
+certain woman, who is to enact Doll Wango in the masque. This is she, I
+suppose?" he added, looking at Nance.
+
+"Ay, ay!" replied the squire.
+
+"A comely wench, by the mass!" exclaimed the porter. "Open the gate."
+
+"No--not yet--not yet, good porter, till my claim be adjusted," cried
+another woman, pushing forward, quite as young and comely as Nance, and
+equally gaily dressed. "I am the real Doll Wango, though I be generally
+known as Dame Tetlow. The squire engaged me to play the part before the
+King, and now this saucy hussy has taken my place. But I'll have my
+rights, that I will."
+
+"Odd's heart! two Doll Wangos!" exclaimed the porter, opening his eyes.
+
+"Two!--Nay, beleedy! boh there be three!" exclaimed an immensely tall,
+stoutly proportioned woman, stepping up, to the increased confusion of
+the squire, and the infinite merriment of the bystanders, whose laughter
+had been already excited by the previous part of the scene. "Didna yo
+tell me at Myerscough to come here, squire, an ey, Bess Baldwyn, should
+play Doll Wango to your Jem Tospot?"
+
+"Play the devil! for that's what you all seem bent upon doing,"
+exclaimed the squire, impatiently. "Away with you! I can have nothing to
+say to you!"
+
+"You gave me the same promise at the Castle at Preston last night," said
+Dame Tetlow.
+
+"I had been drinking, and knew not what I said," rejoined Nicholas,
+angrily.
+
+"Boh yo promised me a few minutes ago, an yo're sober enough now," cried
+Nance.
+
+"Ey dunna knoa that," rejoined Dame Baldwyn, looking reproachfully at
+him. "Boh what ey dun knoa is, that nother o' these squemous queans shan
+ge in efore me."
+
+And she looked menacingly at them, as if determined to oppose their
+ingress, much to the alarm of the timorous Dame Tetlow, though Nance
+returned her angry glances unmoved.
+
+"For Heaven's sake, my good fellow, let them all three in!" said
+Nicholas, in a low tone to the porter, at the same time slipping a gold
+piece into his hand, "or there's no saying what may be the consequence,
+for they're three infernal viragos. I'll take the responsibility of
+their admittance upon myself with Sir Richard."
+
+"Well, as your worship says, I don't like to see quarrelling amongst
+women," returned the porter, in a bland tone, "so all three shall go in;
+and as to who is to play Doll Wango, the master of the ceremonies will
+settle that, so you need give yourself no more concern about it; but if
+I were called on to decide," he added, with an amorous leer at Dame
+Baldwyn, whose proportions so well matched his own, "I know where my
+choice would light. There, now!" he shouted, "Open wide the gate for
+Squire Nicholas Assheton of Downham, and the three Doll Wangos."
+
+And, all obstacles being thus removed, Nicholas passed on with the three
+females amidst the renewed laughter of the bystanders. But he got rid of
+his plagues as soon as he could; for, dismounting and throwing his
+bridle to an attendant, he vouchsafed not a word to any of them, but
+stepped quickly after Richard and Sherborne, who had already reached the
+great fire with the bull roasting before it.
+
+Appropriated chiefly to stables and other offices, the base court of
+Hoghton Tower consisted of buildings of various dates, the greater part
+belonging to Elizabeth's time, though some might be assigned to an
+earlier period, while many alterations and additions had been recently
+made, in anticipation of the king's visit. Dating back as far as Henry
+II., the family had originally fixed their residence at the foot of the
+hill, on the banks of the Darwen; but in process of time, swayed by
+prouder notions, they mounted the craggy heights above, and built a
+tower upon their crest. It is melancholy to think that so glorious a
+pile, teeming with so many historical recollections, and so
+magnificently situated, should be abandoned, and suffered to go to
+decay;--the family having, many years ago, quitted it for Walton Hall,
+near Walton-le-Dale, and consigned it to the occupation of a few
+gamekeepers. Bereft of its venerable timber, its courts grass-grown, its
+fine oak staircase rotting and dilapidated, its domestic chapel
+neglected, its marble chamber broken and ruinous, its wainscotings and
+ceilings cracked and mouldering, its paintings mildewed and half
+effaced, Hoghton Tower presents only the wreck of its former grandeur.
+Desolate indeed are its halls, and their glory for ever departed!
+However, this history has to do with it in the season of its greatest
+splendour; when it glistened with silks and velvets, and resounded with
+loud laughter and blithe music; when stately nobles and lovely dames
+were seen in the gallery, and a royal banquet was served in the great
+hall; when its countless chambers were filled to overflowing, and its
+passages echoed with hasty feet; when the base court was full of
+huntsmen and falconers, and enlivened by the neighing of steeds and the
+baying of hounds; when there was daily hunting in the park, and nightly
+dancing and diversion in the hall,--it is with Hoghton Tower at this
+season that the present tale has to do, and not with it as it is
+now--silent, solitary, squalid, saddening, but still whispering of the
+glories of the past, still telling of the kingly pageant that once
+graced it.
+
+The base court was divided from the court of lodging by the great hall
+and domestic chapel. A narrow vaulted passage on either side led to the
+upper quadrangle, the facade of which was magnificent, and far superior
+in uniformity of design and style to the rest of the structure, the
+irregularity of which, however, was not unpleasing. The whole frontage
+of the upper court was richly moulded and filleted, with ranges of
+mullion and transom windows, capitals, and carved parapets crowned with
+stone balls. Marble pillars, in the Italian style, had been recently
+placed near the porch, with two rows of pilasters above them, supporting
+a heavy marble cornice, on which rested the carved escutcheon of the
+family. A flight of stone steps led up to the porch, and within was a
+wide oak staircase, so gentle of ascent that a man on horseback could
+easily mount it--a feat often practised in later days by one of the
+descendants of the house. In this part of the mansion all the principal
+apartments were situated, and here James was lodged. Here also was the
+green room, so called from its hangings, which he used for private
+conferences, and which was hung round with portraits of his unfortunate
+mother, Mary, Queen of Scots; of her implacable enemy, Queen Elizabeth;
+of his consort, Anne of Bohemia: and of Sir Thomas Hoghton, the founder
+of the tower. Adjoining it was the Star-Chamber, occupied by the Duke of
+Buckingham, with its napkin panelling, and ceiling "fretted with golden
+fires;" and in the same angle were rooms occupied by the Duke of
+Richmond, the Earls of Pembroke and Nottingham, and Lord Howard of
+Effingham. Below was the library, whither Doctor Thomas Moreton, Bishop
+of Chester, and his Majesty's chaplain, with the three puisne judges of
+the King's Bench, Sir John Doddridge, Sir John Crooke, and Sir Robert
+Hoghton, all of whom were guests of Sir Richard, resorted; and in the
+adjoining wing was the great gallery, where the whole of the nobles and
+courtiers passed such of their time--and that was not much--as was not
+occupied in feasting or out-of-doors' amusements.
+
+Long corridors ran round the upper stories in this part of the mansion,
+and communicated with an endless series of rooms, which, numerous as
+they were, were all occupied, and, accommodation being found impossible
+for the whole of the guests, many were sent to the new erections in the
+base court, which had been planned to meet the emergency by the
+magnificent and provident host. The nobles and gentlemen were, however,
+far outnumbered by their servants, and the confusion occasioned by the
+running to and fro of the various grooms of the chambers, was
+indescribable. Doublets had to be brushed, ruffs plaited, hair curled,
+beards trimmed, and all with the greatest possible expedition; so that,
+as soon as day dawned upon Hoghton Tower, there was a prodigious racket
+from one end of it to the other. Many favoured servants slept in
+truckle-beds in their masters' rooms; but others, not so fortunate, and
+unable to find accommodation even in the garrets--for the smallest
+rooms, and those nearest the roof, were put in requisition--slept upon
+the benches in the hall, while several sat up all night carousing in the
+great kitchen, keeping company with the cooks and their assistants, who
+were busied all the time in preparations for the feasting of the morrow.
+
+Such was the state of things inside Hoghton Tower early on the eventful
+morning in question, and out of doors, especially in the base court
+which Nicholas was traversing, the noise, bustle, and confusion were
+equally great. Wide as was the area, it was filled with various
+personages, some newly arrived, and seeking information as to their
+quarters--not very easily obtained, for it seemed every body's business
+to ask questions, and no one's to answer them--some gathered in groups
+round the falconers and huntsmen, who had suddenly risen into great
+importance; others, and these were for the most part smart young pages,
+in brilliant liveries, chattering, and making love to every pretty
+damsel they encountered, putting them out of countenance by their
+licence and strange oaths, and rousing the anger of their parents, and
+the jealousy of their rustic admirers; others, of a graver sort, with
+dress of formal cut, and puritanical expression of countenance,
+shrugging their shoulders, and looking sourly on the whole
+proceedings--luckily they were in the minority, for the generality of
+the groups were composed of lively and light-hearted people, bent
+apparently upon amusement, and tolerably certain of finding it. Through
+these various groups numerous lackeys were passing swiftly and
+continuously to and fro, bearing a cap, a mantle, or a sword, and
+pushing aside all who interfered with their progress, with a "by your
+leave, my masters--your pardon, fair mistress"--or, "out of my way,
+knave!" and, as the stables occupied one entire angle of the court,
+there were grooms without end dressing the horses at the doors, watering
+them at the troughs, or leading them about amid the admiring or
+criticising bystanders. The King's horses were, of course, objects of
+special attraction, and such as could obtain a glimpse of them and of
+the royal coach thought themselves especially favoured. Besides what was
+going forward below, the windows looking into the court were all full of
+curious observers, and much loud conversation took place between those
+placed at them and their friends underneath. From all this some idea
+will be formed of the tremendous din that prevailed; but though with
+much confusion there was no positive disorder, still less brawling, for
+yeomen of the guard being stationed at various points, perfect order was
+maintained. Several minstrels, mummers, and merry-makers, in various
+fantastic habits, swelled the throng, enlivening it with their strains
+or feats; and amongst other privileged characters admitted was a Tom o'
+Bedlam, a half-crazed licensed beggar, in a singular and picturesque
+garb, with a plate of tin engraved with his name attached to his left
+arm, and a great ox's horn, which he was continually blowing, suspended
+by a leathern baldric from his neck.
+
+Scarcely had Nicholas joined his companions, than word was given that
+the king was about to attend morning prayers in the domestic chapel.
+Upon this, an immediate rush was made in that direction by the crowd;
+but the greater part were kept back by the guard, who crossed their
+halberts to prevent their ingress, and a few only were allowed to enter
+the antechamber leading to the chapel, amongst whom were the squire and
+his companions.
+
+Here they were detained within it till service was over, and, as prayers
+were read by the Bishop of Chester, and the whole Court was present,
+this was a great disappointment to them. At the end of half an hour two
+very courtly personages came forth, each bearing a white wand, and,
+announcing that the King was coming forth, the assemblage immediately
+divided into two lines to allow a passage for the monarch. Nicholas
+Assheton informed Richard in a whisper that the foremost and stateliest
+of the two gentlemen was Lord Stanhope of Harrington, the
+vice-chamberlain, and the other, a handsome young man of slight figure
+and somewhat libertine expression of countenance, was the renowned Sir
+John Finett, master of the ceremonies. Notwithstanding his
+licentiousness, however, which was the vice of the age and the stain of
+the court, Sir John was a man of wit and address, and perfectly
+conversant with the duties of his office, of which he has left
+satisfactory evidence in an amusing tractate, "Finetti Philoxenis."
+
+Some little time elapsed before the King made his appearance, during
+which the curiosity of such as had not seen him, as was the case with
+Richard, was greatly excited. The young man wondered whether the
+pedantic monarch, whose character perplexed the shrewdest, would answer
+his preconceived notions, and whether it would turn out that his
+portraits were like him. While these thoughts were passing through his
+mind, a shuffling noise was heard without, and King James appeared at
+the doorway. He paused there for a moment to place his plumed and
+jewelled cap upon his head, and to speak a word with Sir John Finett,
+and during this Richard had an opportunity of observing him. The
+portraits _were_ like, but the artists had flattered him, though not
+much. There was great shrewdness of look, but there was also a vacant
+expression, which seemed to contradict the idea of profound wisdom
+generally ascribed to him. When in perfect repose, which they were not
+for more than a minute, the features were thoughtful, benevolent, and
+pleasing, and Richard began to think him quite handsome, when another
+change was wrought by some remark of Sir John Finett. As the Master of
+the Ceremonies told his tale, the King's fine dark eyes blazed with an
+unpleasant light, and he laughed so loudly and indecorously at the close
+of the narrative, with his great tongue hanging out of his mouth, and
+tears running down his cheeks, that the young man was quite sickened.
+The King's face was thin and long, the cheeks shaven, but the lips
+clothed with mustaches, and a scanty beard covered his chin. The hair
+was brushed away from the face, and the cap placed at the back of the
+head, so as to exhibit a high bald forehead, of which he was
+prodigiously vain. James was fully equipped for the chase, and wore a
+green silk doublet, quilted, as all his garments were, so as to be
+dagger-proof, enormous trunk-hose, likewise thickly stuffed, and buff
+boots, fitting closely to the leg, and turned slightly over at the knee,
+with the edges fringed with gold. This was almost the only appearance of
+finery about the dress, except a row of gold buttons down the jerkin.
+Attached to his girdle he wore a large pouch, with the mouth drawn
+together by silken cords, and a small silver bugle was suspended from
+his neck by a baldric of green silk. Stiffly-starched bands, edged with
+lace, and slightly turned down on either side of the face, completed his
+attire. There was nothing majestic, but the very reverse, in the King's
+deportment, and he seemed only kept upright by the exceeding stiffness
+of his cumbersome clothes. With the appearance of being corpulent, he
+was not so in reality, and his weak legs and bent knees were scarcely
+able to support his frame. He always used a stick, and generally sought
+the additional aid of a favourite's arm.
+
+In this instance the person selected was Sir Gilbert Hoghton, the eldest
+son of Sir Richard, and subsequent owner of Hoghton Tower. Indebted for
+the high court favour he enjoyed partly to his graceful person and
+accomplishments, and partly to his marriage, having espoused a daughter
+of Sir John Aston of Cranford, who, as sister of the Duchess of
+Buckingham, and a descendant of the blood royal of the Stuarts, was a
+great help to his rapid rise, the handsome young knight was skilled in
+all manly exercises, and cited as a model of grace in the dance.
+Constant in attendance upon the court, he frequently took part in the
+masques performed before it. Like the King, he was fully equipped for
+hunting; but greater contrast could not have been found than between his
+tall fine form and the King's ungainly figure. Sir Gilbert had remained
+behind with the rest of the courtiers in the chapel; but, calling him,
+James seized his arm, and set forward at his usual shambling pace. As he
+went on, nodding his head in return to the profound salutations of the
+assemblage, his eye rolled round them until it alighted on Richard
+Assheton, and, nudging Sir Gilbert, he asked--
+
+"Wha's that?--a bonnie lad, but waesome pale."
+
+Sir Gilbert, however, was unable to answer the inquiry; but Nicholas,
+who stood beside the young man, was determined not to lose the
+opportunity of introducing him, and accordingly moved a step forward,
+and made a profound obeisance.
+
+"This youth, may it please your Majesty," he said, "is my cousin,
+Richard Assheton, son and heir of Sir Richard Assheton of Middleton, one
+of your Majesty's most loyal and devoted servants, and who, I trust,
+will have the honour of being presented to you in the course of the
+day."
+
+"We trust so, too, Maister Nicholas Assheton--for that, if we dinna
+forget, is your ain name," replied James; "and if the sire resembles the
+son, whilk is not always the case, as our gude freend, Sir Gilbert, is
+evidence, being as unlike his worthy father as a man weel can be; if, as
+we say, Sir Richard resembles this callant, he must be a weel-faur'd
+gentleman. But, God's santie, lad! how cam you in sic sad and sombre
+abulyiements? Hae ye nae braw claes to put on to grace our coming? Black
+isna the fashion at our court, as Sir Gilbert will tell ye, and, though
+a suit o' sables may become you, it's no pleasing in our sight. Let us
+see you in gayer apparel at dinner."
+
+Richard, who was considerably embarrassed by the royal address, merely
+bowed, and Nicholas again took upon himself to answer for him.
+
+"Your Majesty will be pleased to pardon him," he said; "but he is
+unaccustomed to court fashions, having passed all his time in a wild and
+uncivilized district, where, except on rare and happy occasions like the
+present, the refined graces of life seldom reach us."
+
+"Weel, we wouldna be hard upon him," said the King, good-naturedly; "and
+mayhap the family has sustained some recent loss, and he is in
+mourning."
+
+"I cannot offer that excuse for him, sire," replied Nicholas, who began
+to flatter himself he was making considerable progress in the monarch's
+good graces. "It is simply an affair of the heart."
+
+"Puir chiel! we pity him," cried the King. "And sae it is a hopeless
+suit, young sir?" he added to Richard. "Canna we throw in a good word
+for ye? Do we ken the lassie, and is she to be here to-day?"
+
+"I am quite at a loss how to answer your Majesty's questions," replied
+Richard, "and my cousin Nicholas has very unfairly betrayed my secret."
+
+"Hoot, toot! na, lad," exclaimed James; "it wasna he wha betrayed your
+secret, but our ain discernment that revealed it to us. We kenned your
+ailment at a glance. Few things are hidden from the King's eye, and we
+could tell ye mair aboot yoursel', and the lassie you're deeing for, if
+we cared to speak it; but just now we have other fish to fry, and must
+awa' and break our fast, of the which, if truth maun be spoken, we stand
+greatly in need; for creature comforts maun be aye looked to as weel as
+spiritual wants, though the latter should be ever cared for first, as
+is our ain rule; and in so doing we offer an example to our subjects,
+which they will do weel to follow. Later in the day, we will talk
+further to you on the subject; but, meanwhile, gie us the name of your
+lassie loo."
+
+"Oh! spare me, your Majesty," cried Richard.
+
+"Her name is Alizon Nutter," interposed Nicholas.
+
+"What! a daughter of Alice Nutter of Rough Lee?" exclaimed James.
+
+"The same, sire," replied Nicholas, much surprised at the extent of
+information manifested by the King.
+
+"Why, saul o' my body! man, she's a witch--a witch! d'ye ken that?"
+cried the King, with a look of abhorrence; "a mischievous and malignant
+vermin, with which this pairt of our realm is sair plagued, but which,
+with God's help, we will thoroughly extirpate. Sae the lass is a
+daughter of Alice Nutter, ha! That accounts for your grewsome looks,
+lad. Odd's life! I see it all now. I understand what is the matter with
+you. Look at him, Sir Gilbert--look at him, I say! Does naething strike
+you as strange about him?"
+
+"Nothing more than that he is naturally embarrassed by your Majesty's
+mode of speech," replied the knight.
+
+"You lack the penetration of the King, Sir Gilbert," cried James. "I
+will tell you what ails him. He is bewitchit--forespoken."
+
+Exclamations were uttered by all the bystanders, and every eye was fixed
+on Richard, who felt ready to sink to the ground.
+
+"I affirm he is bewitchit," continued the King; "and wha sae likely to
+do it as the glamouring hizzie that has ensnared him? She has ill bluid
+in her veins, and can chant deevil's cantrips as weel as the mither, or
+ony gyre-carline o' them a'."
+
+"You are mistaken, sire," cried Richard, earnestly. "Alizon will be here
+to-day with my father and sister, and, if you deign to receive her, I am
+sure you will judge her differently."
+
+"We shall perpend the point of receiving her," replied the King,
+gravely. "But we are rarely mista'en, young man, and seldom change our
+opinion except upon gude grounds, and those you arena like to offer us.
+Belike ye hae been lang ill?"
+
+"Oh! no, your Majesty, I was suddenly seized, about a month ago,"
+replied Richard.
+
+"Suddenly seized--eh!" exclaimed James, winking cunningly at those near
+him; "and ye swarfit awa' wi' the pain? I guessed it. And whaur was
+Alizon the while?"
+
+"At that time she was a guest at Middleton," replied Richard; "but it is
+impossible my illness can in any way be attributed to her. I will answer
+with my life for her perfect innocence."
+
+"You may have to answer wi' your life for your misplaced faith in her,"
+said the King; "but I tell you naething--naething wicked, at all
+events--is impossible to witches, and the haill case, even by your own
+showin', is very suspicious. I have heard somewhat of the story of Alice
+Nutter, but not the haill truth--but there are folk here wha can
+enlighten us mair fully. Thus much I do ken--that she is a notorious
+witch, and a fugitive from justice; though siblins you, Maister Nicholas
+Assheton, could give an inkling of her hiding-place if you were so
+disposed. Nay, never look doited, man," he added, laughing, "I bring nae
+charges against you. Ye arena on your trial noo. But this is a serious
+matter, and maun be seriously considered before we dismiss it. You say
+Alizon will be here to-day. Sae far weel. Canna you contrive to produce
+the mother, too, Maister Nicholas?"
+
+"Sire!" exclaimed Nicholas.
+
+"Nay, then, we maun gang our ain way to wark," continued James. "We are
+tauld ye hae a petition to offer us, and our will and pleasure is that
+you present it afore we go forth to the chase, and after we have
+partaken of our matutinal refection, whilk we will nae langer delay;
+for, sooth to say, we are weel nigh famished. Look ye, sirs. Neither of
+you is to quit Hoghton Tower without our permission had and obtained. We
+do not place you under arrest, neither do we inhibit you from the chase,
+or from any other sports; but you are to remain here at our sovereign
+pleasure. Have we your word that you will not attempt to disobey the
+injunction?"
+
+"You have mine, undoubtedly, sire," replied Richard.
+
+"And mine, too," added Nicholas. "And I hope to justify myself before
+your Majesty."
+
+"We shall be weel pleased to hear ye do it, man," rejoined the King,
+laughing, and shuffling on. "But we hae our doubts--we hae our doubts!"
+
+"His Majesty talks of going to breakfast, and says he is famished,"
+observed Nicholas to Sherborne, as the King departed; "but he has
+completely taken away my appetite."
+
+"No wonder," replied the other.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.--THE ROYAL DECLARATION CONCERNING LAWFUL SPORTS ON THE
+SUNDAY.
+
+
+Not many paces after the King marched the Duke of Buckingham, then in
+the zenith of his power, and in the full perfection of his unequalled
+beauty, eclipsing all the rest of the nobles in splendour of apparel, as
+he did in stateliness of deportment. Haughtily returning the salutations
+made him, which were scarcely less reverential than those addressed to
+the monarch himself, the prime favourite moved on, all eyes following
+his majestic figure to the door. Buckingham walked alone, as if he had
+been a prince of the blood; but after him came a throng of nobles,
+consisting of the Earl of Pembroke, high chamberlain; the Duke of
+Richmond, master of the household; the Earl of Nottingham, lord high
+admiral; Viscount Brackley, Lord Howard of Effingham, Lord Zouche,
+president of Wales; with the Lords Knollys, Mordaunt, Conipton, and Grey
+of Groby. One or two of the noblemen seemed inclined to question Richard
+as to what had passed between him and the King; but the young man's
+reserved and somewhat stern manner deterred them. Next came the three
+judges, Doddridge, Crooke, and Hoghton, whose countenances wore an
+enforced gravity; for if any faith could be placed in rubicund cheeks
+and portly persons, they were not indisposed to self-indulgence and
+conviviality. After the judges came the Bishop of Chester, the King's
+chaplain, who had officiated on the present occasion, and who was in his
+full pontifical robes. He was accompanied by the lord of the mansion,
+Sir Richard Hoghton, a hale handsome man between fifty and sixty, with
+silvery hair and beard, a robust but commanding person, a fresh
+complexion, and features, by no means warranting, from any marked
+dissimilarity to those of his son, the King's scandalous jest.
+
+A crowd of baronets and knights succeeded, including Sir Arthur Capel,
+Sir Thomas Brudenell, Sir Edward Montague, Sir Edmund Trafford, sheriff
+of the county, Sir Edward Mosley, and Sir Ralph Assheton. The latter
+looked grave and anxious, and, as he passed his relatives, said in a low
+tone to Richard--
+
+"I am told Alizon is to be here to-day. Is it so?"
+
+"She is," replied the young man; "but why do you ask? Is she in danger?
+If so, let her be warned against coming."
+
+"On no account," replied Sir Ralph; "that would only increase the
+suspicion already attaching to her. No; she must face the danger, and I
+hope will be able to avert it."
+
+"But what _is_ the danger?" asked Richard. "In Heaven's name, speak more
+plainly."
+
+"I cannot do so now," replied Sir Ralph. "We will take counsel together
+anon. Her enemies are at work; and, if you tarry here a few minutes
+longer, you will understand whom I mean."
+
+And he passed on.
+
+A large crowd now poured indiscriminately out of the chapel and amongst
+it Nicholas perceived many of his friends and neighbours, Mr. Townley of
+Townley Park, Mr. Parker of Browsholme, Mr. Shuttleworth of Gawthorpe,
+Sir Thomas Metcalfe, and Roger Nowell. With the latter was Master Potts,
+and Richard was then at no loss to understand against whom Sir Ralph had
+warned him. A fierce light blazed in Roger Nowell's keen eyes as he
+first remarked the two Asshetons, and a smile of gratified vengeance
+played about his lips; but he quelled the fire in a moment, and,
+compressing his hard mouth more closely, bowed coldly and ceremoniously
+to them. Metcalfe did the same. Not so Master Potts. Halting for a
+moment, he said, with a spiteful look, "Look to yourself, Master
+Nicholas; and you too, Master Richard. A day of reckoning is coming for
+both of you."
+
+And with this he sprang nimbly after his client.
+
+"What means the fellow?" cried Nicholas. "But that we are here, as it
+were, in the precincts of a palace, I would after him and cudgel him
+soundly for his insolence."
+
+"And wha's that ye'd be after dinging, man?" cried a sharp voice behind
+him. "No that puir feckless body that has jist skippit aff. If sae,
+ye'll tak the wrang soo by the lugg, and I counsel you to let him bide,
+for he's high i' favour wi' the King."
+
+Turning at this address, Nicholas recognised the king's jester, Archie
+Armstrong, a merry little knave, with light blue eyes, long yellow hair
+hanging about his ears, and a sandy beard. There was a great deal of
+mother wit about Archie, and quite as much shrewdness as folly. He wore
+no distinctive dress as jester--the bauble and coxcomb having been long
+discontinued--but was simply clad in the royal livery.
+
+"And so Master Potts is in favour with his Majesty, eh, Archie?" asked
+the squire, hoping to obtain some information from him.
+
+"And sae war you the day efore yesterday, when you hunted at
+Myerscough," replied the jester.
+
+"But how have I forfeited the King's good opinion?" asked Nicholas.
+"Come, you are a good fellow, Archie, and will tell me."
+
+"Dinna think to fleech me, man," replied the jester, cunningly.--"I ken
+what I ken, and that's mair than you'll get frae me wi' a' your
+speering. The King's secrets are safe wi' Archie--and for a good reason,
+that he is never tauld them. You're a gude huntsman, and sae is his
+Majesty; but there's ae kind o' game he likes better than anither, and
+that's to be found maistly i' these pairts--I mean witches, and sic like
+fearfu' carlines. We maun hae the country rid o' them, and that's what
+his Majesty intends, and if you're a wise man you'll lend him a helping
+hand. But I maun in to disjune."
+
+And with this the jester capered off, leaving Nicholas like one
+stupefied. He was roused, however, by a smart slap on the shoulder from
+Sir John Finett.
+
+"What! pondering over the masque, Master Nicholas, or thinking of the
+petition you have to present to his Majesty?" cried the master of the
+ceremonies, "Let neither trouble you. The one will be well played, I
+doubt not, and the other well received, I am sure, for I know the king's
+sentiments on the subject. But touching the dame, Master Nicholas--have
+you found one willing and able to take part in the masque?"
+
+"I have found several willing, Sir John," replied Nicholas; "but as to
+their ability that is another question. However, one of them may do as a
+make-shift. They are all in the base court, and shall wait on you when
+you please, and then you can make your election."
+
+"So far well," replied Finett; "it may be that we shall have Ben Jonson
+here to-day--rare Ben, the prince of poets and masque-writers. Sir
+Richard Hoghton expects him. Ben is preparing a masque for Christmas, to
+be called 'The Vision of Delight,' in which his highness the prince is
+to be a principal actor, and some verses which have been recited to me
+are amongst the daintiest ever indited by the bard."
+
+"It will be a singular pleasure to me to see him," said Nicholas; "for I
+hold Ben Jonson in the highest esteem as a poet--ay, above them all,
+unless it be Will Shakspeare."
+
+"Ay, you do well to except Shakspeare," rejoined Sir John Finett. "Great
+as Ben Jonson is, and for wit and learning no man surpasses him, he is
+not to be compared with Shakspeare, who for profound knowledge of
+nature, and of all the highest qualities of dramatic art, is
+unapproachable. But ours is a learned court, Master Nicholas, and
+therefore we have a learned poet; but a right good fellow is Ben Jonson,
+and a boon companion, though somewhat prone to sarcasm, as you will find
+if you drink with him. Over his cups he will rail at courts and
+courtiers in good set terms, I promise you, and I myself have come in
+for his gibes. However, I love him none the less for his quips, for I
+know it is his humour to utter them, and so overlook what in another and
+less deserving person I should assuredly resent. But is not that young
+man, who is now going forth, your cousin, Richard Assheton? I thought
+so. The King has had a strange tale whispered in his ear, that the youth
+has been bewitched by a maiden--Alizon Nutter, I think she is named--of
+whom he is enamoured. I know not what truth may be in the charge, but
+the youth himself seems to warrant it, for he looks ghastly ill. A
+letter was sent to his Majesty at Myerscough, communicating this and
+certain other particulars with which I am not acquainted; but I know
+they relate to some professors of the black art in your country, the
+soil of which seems favourable to the growth of such noxious weeds, and
+at first he was much disturbed by it, but in the end decided that both
+parties should be brought hither without being made aware of his design,
+that he might see and judge for himself in the matter. Accordingly a
+messenger was sent over to Middleton Hall as from Sir Richard Hoghton,
+inviting the whole family to the Tower, and giving Sir Richard Assheton
+to understand it was the King's pleasure he should bring with him a
+certain young damsel, named Alizon Nutter, of whom mention had been made
+to him. Sir Richard had no choice but to obey, and promised compliance
+with his Majesty's injunctions. An officer, however, was left on the
+watch, and this very morning reported to his Majesty that young Richard
+Assheton had already set out with the intention of going to Preston, but
+had passed the night at Walton-le-Dale, and that Sir Richard, his
+daughter Dorothy, and Alizon Nutter, would be here before noon."
+
+"His Majesty has laid his plans carefully," replied Nicholas, "and I can
+easily conjecture from whom he received the information, which is as
+false as it is malicious. But are you aware, Sir John, upon what
+evidence the charge is supported--for mere suspicion is not enough?"
+
+"In cases of witchcraft suspicion _is_ enough," replied the knight,
+gravely. "Slender proofs are required. The girl is the daughter of a
+notorious witch--that is against her. The young man is ailing--that is
+against her, too. But a witness, I believe, will be produced, though who
+I cannot say."
+
+"Gracious Heaven! what wickedness there must be in the world when such a
+charge can be brought against one so good and so unoffending," cried
+Nicholas. "A maiden more devout than Alizon never existed, nor one
+holding the crime she is charged with in greater abhorrence. She injure
+Richard! she would lay down her life for him--and would have been his
+wife, but for scruples the most delicate and disinterested on her part.
+But we will establish her innocence before his Majesty, and confound her
+enemies."
+
+"It is with that hope that I have given you this information, sir, of
+which I am sure you will make no improper use," replied Sir John. "I
+have heard a similar character to that you have given of Alizon, and am
+unwilling she should fall a victim to art or malice. Be upon your guard,
+too, Master Nicholas; for other investigations will take place at the
+same time, and some matters may come forth in which you are concerned.
+The King's arms are long, and reach and strike far--and his eyes see
+clearly when not hoodwinked--or when other people see for him. And now,
+good sir, you must want breakfast. Here Faryngton," he added to an
+attendant, "show Master Nicholas Assheton to his lodging in the base
+court, and attend upon him as if he were your master. I will come for
+you, sir, when it is time to present the petition to the King."
+
+So saying, he bowed and walked forth, turning into the upper quadrangle,
+while Nicholas followed Faryngton into the lower court, where he found
+his friends waiting for him.
+
+Speedily ascertaining where their lodgings were situated, Faryngton led
+them to a building on the left, almost opposite to the great bonfire,
+and, ascending a flight of steps, ushered them into a commodious and
+well-furnished room, looking into the court. This done, he disappeared,
+but soon afterwards returned with two yeomen of the kitchen, one
+carrying a tray of provisions upon his head, and the other sustaining a
+basket of wine under his arm, and a snowy napkin being laid upon the
+table, trenchers viands, and flasks were soon arranged in very tempting
+order--so tempting, indeed, that the squire, notwithstanding his
+assertion, that his appetite had been taken away, fell to work with his
+customary vigour, and plied a flask of excellent Bordeaux so
+incessantly, that another had to be placed before him. Sherborne did
+equal justice to the good cheer, and Richard not only forced himself to
+eat, but to the squire's great surprise swallowed more than one deep
+draught of wine. Having thus administered to the wants of the guests,
+and seeing his presence was no longer either necessary or desired,
+Faryngton vanished, first promising to go and see that all was got ready
+for them in the sleeping apartments. Notwithstanding the man's civility,
+there was an over-officiousness about him that made Nicholas suspect he
+was placed over them by Sir John Finett to watch their movements, and he
+resolved to be upon his guard.
+
+"I am glad to see you drink, lad," he observed to Richard, as soon as
+they were alone; "a cup of wine will do you good."
+
+"Do you think so?" replied Richard, filling his goblet anew. "I want to
+get back my spirits and strength--to sustain myself no matter how--to
+look well--ha! ha! If I can only make this frail machine carry me
+stoutly through the King's visit, I care not how soon it falls to pieces
+afterwards."
+
+"I see your motive, Dick," replied Nicholas. "You hope to turn away
+suspicion from Alizon by this device; but you must not go to excess, or
+you will defeat your scheme."
+
+"I will do something to convince the King he is mistaken in me--that I
+am not bewitched," cried Richard, rising and striding across the room.
+"Bewitched! and by Alizon, too! I could laugh at the charge, but that it
+is too horrible. Had any other than the King breathed it, I would have
+slain him."
+
+"His Majesty has been abused by the malice of that knavish attorney,
+Potts, who has always manifested the greatest hostility towards Alizon,"
+said Nicholas; "but he will not prevail, for she has only to show
+herself to dispel all prejudice."
+
+"You are right, Nicholas," cried Richard; "and yet the King seems
+already to have prejudged her, and his obstinacy may lead to her
+destruction."
+
+"Speak not so loudly, Dick, in Heaven's name!" said the squire, in
+alarm; "these walls may have ears, and echoes may repeat every word you
+utter."
+
+"Then let them tell the King that Alizon is innocent," cried Richard,
+stopping, and replenishing his goblet, "Here's to her health, and
+confusion to her enemies!"
+
+"I'll drink that toast with pleasure, Dick," replied the squire; "but I
+must forbid you more wine. You are not used to it, and the fumes will
+mount to your brain."
+
+"Come and sit down beside us, that we may talk," said Sherborne.
+
+Richard obeyed, and, leaning over the table, asked in a low deep tone,
+"Where is Mistress Nutter, Nicholas?"
+
+The squire looked towards the door before he answered, and then said--
+
+"I will tell you. After the destruction of Malkin Tower and the band of
+robbers, she was taken to a solitary hut near Barley Booth, at the foot
+of Pendle Hill, and the next day was conveyed across Bowland Forest to
+Poulton in the Fyld, on the borders of Morecambe Bay, with the intention
+of getting her on board some vessel bound for the Isle of Man.
+Arrangements were made for this purpose; but when the time came, she
+refused to go, and was brought secretly back to the hut near Barley,
+where she has been ever since, though her place of concealment was
+hidden even from you and her daughter."
+
+"The captain of the robbers, Fogg or Demdike, escaped--did he not?" said
+Richard.
+
+"Ay, in the confusion occasioned by the blowing up of the Tower he
+managed to get away," replied Nicholas, "and we were unable to follow
+him, as our attentions had to be bestowed upon Mistress Nutter. This was
+the more unlucky, as through his instrumentality Jem and his mother
+Elizabeth were liberated from the dungeon in which they were placed in
+Whalley Abbey, prior to their removal to Lancaster Castle, and none of
+them have been heard of since."
+
+"And I hope will never be heard of again," cried Richard. "But is
+Mistress Nutter's retreat secure, think you?--May it not be discovered
+by some of Nowell's emissaries?"
+
+"I trust not," replied Nicholas; "but her voluntary surrender is more to
+be apprehended, for when I last saw her, on the night before starting
+for Myerscough, she told me she was determined to give herself up for
+trial; and her motives could scarce be combated, for she declares that,
+unless she submits herself to the justice of man, and expiates her
+offences, she cannot be saved. She now seems as resolute in good as she
+was heretofore resolute in evil."
+
+"If she perishes thus, her self-sacrifice, for thus it becomes, will be
+Alizon's death-blow," cried Richard.
+
+"So I told her," replied Nicholas--"but she continued inflexible. 'I am
+born to be the cause of misery to others, and most to those I love
+most,' she said; 'but I cannot fly from justice. There is no escape for
+me.'"
+
+"She is right," cried Richard; "there is no escape but the grave,
+whither we are all three hurrying. A terrible fatality attaches to us."
+
+"Nay, say not so, Dick," rejoined Nicholas; "you are young, and, though
+this shock may be severe, yet when it is passed, you will be
+recompensed, I hope, by many years of happiness."
+
+"I am not to be deceived," said Richard. "Look me in the face, and say
+honestly if you think me long-lived. You cannot do it. I have been
+smitten by a mortal illness, and am wasting gradually away. I am
+dying--I feel it--know it; but though it may abridge my brief term of
+life, I will purchase present health and spirits at any cost, and save
+Alizon. Ah!" he exclaimed, putting his hand to his heart, with a fearful
+expression of anguish. "What is the matter?" cried the two gentlemen,
+greatly alarmed, and springing towards him.
+
+But the young man could not reply. Another and another agonising spasm
+shook his frame, and cold damps broke out upon his pallid brow, showing
+the intensity of his suffering. Nicholas and Sherborne regarded each
+other anxiously, as if doubtful how to act.
+
+"Shall I summon assistance?" said the latter in a low tone. But, softly
+as the words were uttered, they reached the ears of Richard. Rousing
+himself by a great effort, he said--
+
+"On no account--the fit is over. I am glad it has seized me now, for I
+shall not be liable to a recurrence of it throughout the day. Lead me to
+the window. The air will presently revive me."
+
+His friends complied with the request, and placed him at the open
+casement.
+
+Great bustle was observable below, and the cause was soon manifest, as
+the chief huntsman, clad in green, with buff boots drawn high up on the
+thigh, a horn about his neck, and mounted on a strong black curtal, rode
+forth from the stables. He was attended by a noble bloodhound, and on
+gaining the middle of the court, put his bugle to his lips, and blew a
+loud blithe call that made the walls ring again. The summons was
+immediately answered by a number of grooms and pages, leading a
+multitude of richly-caparisoned horses towards the upper end of the
+court, where a gallant troop of dames, nobles, and gentlemen, all
+attired for the chase, awaited them; and where, amidst much mirth, and
+bandying of lively jest and compliment, a general mounting took place,
+the ladies, of course, being placed first on their steeds. While this
+was going forward, the hounds were brought from the kennel in
+couples--relays having been sent down into the park more than an hour
+before--and the yard resounded with their joyous baying, and the
+neighing of the impatient steeds. By this time, also, the chief huntsman
+had collected his forces, consisting of a dozen prickers, six habited
+like himself in green, and six in russet, and all mounted on stout
+curtals. Those in green were intended to hunt the hart, and those in
+russet the wild-boar, the former being provided with hunting-poles, and
+the latter with spears. Their girdles were well lined with beef and
+pudding, and each of them, acting upon the advice of worthy Master
+George Turbervile, had a stone bottle of good wine at the pummel of his
+saddle. Besides these, there were a whole host of varlets of the chase
+on foot. The chief falconer, with a long-winged hawk in her hood and
+jesses upon his wrist, was stationed somewhat near the gateway, and
+close to him were his attendants, each having on his fist a falcon
+gentle, a Barbary falcon, a merlin, a goshawk, or a sparrowhawk. Thus
+all was in readiness, and hound, hawk, and man seemed equally impatient
+for the sport.
+
+At this juncture, the door was thrown open by Faryngton, who announced
+Sir John Finett.
+
+"It is time, Master Nicholas Assheton," said the master of the
+ceremonies.
+
+"I am ready to attend you, Sir John," replied Nicholas, taking a
+parchment from his doublet, and unfolding it, "the petition is well
+signed."
+
+"So I see, sir," replied the knight, glancing at it. "Will not your
+friends come with you?"
+
+"Most assuredly," replied Richard, who had risen on the knight's
+appearance. And he followed the others down the staircase.
+
+By direction of the master of the ceremonies, nearly a hundred of the
+more important gentlemen of the county had been got together, and this
+train was subsequently swelled to thrice the amount, from the accessions
+it received from persons of inferior rank when its object became known.
+At the head of this large assemblage Nicholas was now placed, and,
+accompanied by Sir John Finett, who gave the word to the procession to
+follow them, he moved slowly up the court. Passing through the brilliant
+crowd of equestrians, the procession halted at a short distance from the
+doorway of the great hall, and James, who had been waiting for its
+approach within, now came forth, amid the cheers and plaudits of the
+spectators.
+
+Sir John Finett then led Nicholas forward, and the latter, dropping on
+one knee, said--
+
+"May it please your Majesty, I hold in my hand a petition, signed as, if
+you will deign to cast your eyes over it, you will perceive, by many
+hundreds of the lower orders of your loving subjects in this your county
+of Lancaster, representing that they are debarred from lawful
+recreations upon Sunday after afternoon service, and upon holidays, and
+praying that the restrictions imposed in 1579, by the Earls of Derby and
+Huntingdon, and by William, Bishop of Chester, commissioners to her late
+Highness, Elizabeth, of glorious memory, your Majesty's predecessor, may
+be withdrawn."
+
+And with this he placed in the King's hands the petition, which Was very
+graciously received.
+
+"The complaint of our loving subjects in Lancashire shall not pass
+unnoticed, sir," said James. "Sorry are we to say it, but this county
+of ours is sair infested wi' folk inclining to Puritanism and Papistry,
+baith of which sects are adverse to the cause of true religion. Honest
+mirth is not only tolerable but praiseworthy, and the prohibition of it
+is likely to breed discontent, and this our enemies ken fu' weel; for
+when," he continued, loudly and emphatically--"when shall the common
+people have leave to exercise if not upon Sundays and holidays, seeing
+they must labour and win their living on all other days?"
+
+"Your Majesty speaks like King Solomon himself," observed Nicholas, amid
+the loud cheering.
+
+"Our will and pleasure then is," pursued James, "that our good people be
+not deprived of any lawful recreation that shall not tend to a breach of
+the laws, or a violation of the Kirk; but that, after the end of divine
+service, they shall not be disturbed, letted, or discouraged from, any
+lawful recreation--as dancing and sic like, either of men or women,
+archery, leaping, vaulting, or ony ither harmless recreation; nor frae
+the having of May-games, Whitsun ales, or morris dancing; nor frae
+setting up of May-poles, and ither sports, therewith used, provided the
+same be had in due and convenient time, without impediment or neglect of
+divine service. And our will further is, that women shall have leave to
+carry rushes to the church, for the decoring of it, according to auld
+custom. But we prohibit all unlawful games on Sundays, as bear-baiting
+and bull-baiting, interludes, and, by the common folk--mark ye that,
+sir--playing at bowls."[3]
+
+The royal declaration was received with loud and reiterated cheers,
+amidst which James mounted his steed, a large black docile-looking
+charger, and rode out of the court, followed by the whole cavalcade.
+
+Trumpets were sounded from the battlements as he passed through the
+gateway, and shouting crowds attended him all the way down the hill,
+until he entered the avenue leading to the park.
+
+At the conclusion of the royal address, the procession headed by
+Nicholas immediately dispersed, and such as meant to join the chase set
+off in quest of steeds. Foremost amongst these was the squire himself,
+and on approaching the stables, he was glad to find Richard and
+Sherborne already mounted, the former holding his horse by the bridle,
+so that he had nothing to do but vault upon his back. There was an
+impatience about Richard, very different from his ordinary manner, that
+surprised and startled him, and the expression of the young man's
+countenance long afterwards haunted him. The face was deathly pale,
+except that on either cheek burned a red feverish spot, and the eyes
+blazed with unnatural light. So much was the squire struck by his
+cousin's looks, that he would have dissuaded him from going forth; but
+he saw from his manner that the attempt would fail, while a significant
+gesture from his brother-in-law told him he was equally uneasy.
+
+Scarcely had the principal nobles passed through the gateway, than, in
+spite of all efforts to detain him, Richard struck spurs into his horse,
+and dashed amidst the cavalcade, creating great disorder, and rousing
+the ire of the Earl of Pembroke, to whom the marshalling of the train
+was entrusted. But Richard paid little heed to his wrath, and perhaps
+did not hear the angry expressions addressed to him; for no sooner was
+he outside the gate, than instead of pursuing the road down which the
+King was proceeding, and which has been described as hewn out of the
+rock, he struck into a thicket on the right, and, in defiance of all
+attempts to stop him, and at the imminent risk of breaking his neck,
+rode down the precipitous sides of the hill, and reaching the bottom in
+safety, long before the royal cavalcade had attained the same point,
+took the direction of the park.
+
+His friends watched him commence this perilous descent in dismay; but,
+though much alarmed, they were unable to follow him.
+
+"Poor lad! I am fearful he has lost his senses," said Sherborne.
+
+"He is what the King would call 'fey,' and not long for this world,"
+replied Nicholas, shaking his head.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.--HOW KING JAMES HUNTED THE HART AND THE WILD-BOAR IN
+HOGHTON PARK.
+
+
+Galloping on fast and furiously, Richard tracked a narrow path of
+greensward, lying between the tall trees composing the right line of the
+avenue and the adjoining wood. Within it grew many fine old thorns,
+diverting him now and then from his course, but he still held on until
+he came within a short distance of the chase, when his attention was
+caught by a very singular figure. It was an old man, clad in a robe of
+coarse brown serge, with a cowl drawn partly over his head, a rope
+girdle like that used by a cordelier, sandal shoon, and a venerable
+white beard descending to his waist. The features of the hermit, for
+such he seemed, were majestic and benevolent. Seated on a bank overgrown
+with wild thyme, beneath the shade of a broad-armed elm, he appeared so
+intently engaged in the perusal of a large open volume laid on his
+knee, that he did not notice Richard's approach. Deeply interested,
+however, by his appearance, the young man determined to address him,
+and, reining in his horse, said respectfully, "Save you, father!"
+
+"Pass on, my son," replied the old man, without raising his eyes, "and
+hinder not my studies."
+
+But Richard would not be thus dismissed.
+
+"Perchance you are not aware, father," he said, "that the King is about
+to hunt within the park this morning. The royal cavalcade has already
+left Hoghton Tower, and will be here ere many minutes."
+
+"The king and his retinue will pass along the broad avenue, as you
+should have done, and not through this retired road," replied the
+hermit. "They will not disturb me."
+
+"I would fain know the subject of your studies, father?" inquired
+Richard.
+
+"You are inquisitive, young man," returned the hermit, looking up and
+fixing a pair of keen grey eyes upon him. "But I will satisfy your
+curiosity, if by so doing I shall rid me of your presence. I am reading
+the Book of Fate."
+
+Richard uttered an exclamation of astonishment.
+
+"And in it your destiny is written," pursued the old man; "and a sad one
+it is. Consumed by a strange and incurable disease, which may at any
+moment prove fatal, you are scarcely likely to survive the next three
+days, in which case she you love better than existence will perish
+miserably, being adjudged to have destroyed you by witchcraft."
+
+"It must indeed be the Book of Fate that tells you this," cried Richard,
+springing from his horse, and approaching close to the old man. "May I
+cast eyes upon it?"
+
+"No, my son," replied the old man, closing the volume. "You would not
+comprehend the mystic characters--but no eye, except my own, must look
+upon them. What is written will be fulfilled. Again, I bid you pass on.
+I must speedily return to my hermit cell in the forest."
+
+"May I attend you thither, father?" asked Richard.
+
+"To what purpose?" rejoined the old man. "You have not many hours of
+life. Go, then, and pass them in the fierce excitement of the chase.
+Pull down the lordly stag--slaughter the savage boar; and, as you see
+the poor denizens of the forest perish, think that your own end is not
+far off. Hark! Do you hear that boding cry?"
+
+"It is the croak of a raven newly alighted in the tree above us,"
+replied Richard. "The sagacious bird will ever attend the huntsman in
+the chase, in the hope of obtaining a morsel when they break up deer."
+
+"Such is the custom of the bird I wot well," said the old man; "but it
+is not in joyous expectation of the raven's-bone that he croaks now,
+but because his fell instinct informs him that the living-dead is
+beneath him."
+
+And, as if in answer to the remark, the raven croaked exultingly; and,
+rising from the tree, wheeled in a circle above them.
+
+"Is there no way of averting my terrible destiny, father?" cried
+Richard, despairingly.
+
+"Ay, if you choose to adopt it," replied the old man. "When I said your
+ailment was incurable, I meant by ordinary remedies, but it will yield
+to such as I alone can employ. The malignant and fatal influence under
+which you labour may be removed, and then your instant restoration to
+health and vigour will follow."
+
+"But how, father--how?" cried Richard, eagerly.
+
+"You have simply to sign your name in this book," rejoined the hermit,
+"and what you desire shall be done. Here is a pen," he added, taking one
+from his girdle.
+
+"But the ink?" cried Richard.
+
+"Prick your arm with your dagger, and dip the pen in the blood," replied
+the old man. "That will suffice."
+
+"And what follows if I sign?" demanded Richard, staring at him.
+
+"Your instant cure. I will give you to drink of a wondrous elixir."
+
+"But to what do I bind myself?" asked Richard.
+
+"To serve me," replied the hermit, smiling; "but it is a light service,
+and only involves your appearance in this wood once a-year. Are you
+agreed?"
+
+"I know not," replied the young man distractedly.
+
+"You must make up your mind speedily," said the hermit; "for I hear the
+approach of the royal cavalcade."
+
+And as he spoke, the mellow notes of a bugle, followed by the baying of
+hounds, the jingling of bridles, and the trampling of a large troop of
+horse, were heard at a short distance down the avenue.
+
+"Tell me who you are?" cried Richard.
+
+"I am the hermit of the wood," replied the old man. "Some people call me
+Hobthurst, and some by other names, but you will have no difficulty in
+finding me out. Look yonder!" he added, pointing through the trees.
+
+And, glancing in the direction indicated, Richard beheld a small party
+on horseback advancing across the plain, consisting of his father, his
+sister, and Alizon, with their attendants.
+
+"'Tis she!--'tis she!" he cried.
+
+"Can you hesitate, when it is to save _her_?" demanded the old man.
+
+"Heaven help me, or I am lost!" fervently ejaculated Richard, gazing on
+high while making the appeal.
+
+When he looked down again the old man was gone, and he saw only a large
+black snake gliding off among the bushes. Muttering a few words of
+thankfulness for his deliverance, he sprang upon his horse.
+
+"It may be the arch-tempter is right," he cried, "and that but few hours
+of life remain to me; but if so, they shall be employed in endeavours to
+vindicate Alizon, and defeat the snares by which she is beset."
+
+With this resolve, he struck spurs into his horse, and set off in the
+direction of the little troop. Before, however, he could come up to
+them, their progress was arrested by a pursuivant, who, riding in
+advance of the royal cavalcade, motioned them to stay till it had
+passed, and the same person also perceiving Richard's purpose, called to
+him, authoritatively, to keep back. The young man might have disregarded
+the injunction, but at the same moment the King himself appeared at the
+head of the avenue, and remarking Richard, who was not more than fifty
+yards off on the right, instantly recognised him, and shouted out, "Come
+hither, young man--come hither!"
+
+Thus, baffled in his design, Richard was forced to comply, and,
+uncovering his head, rode slowly towards the monarch. As he approached,
+James fixed on him a glance of sharpest scrutiny.
+
+"Odds life! ye hae been ganging a fine gait, young sir," he cried. "Ye
+maun be demented to ride down a hill i' that fashion, and as if your
+craig war of nae account. It's weel ye hae come aff scaithless. Are ye
+tired o' life--or was it the muckle deil himsel' that drove ye on? Canna
+ye find an excuse, man? Nay, then, I'll gi'e ye ane. The loadstane will
+draw nails out of a door, and there be lassies wi' een strang as
+loadstanes, that drag men to their perdition. Stands the magnet yonder,
+eh?" he added, glancing towards the little group before them. "Gude
+faith! the lass maun be a potent witch to exercise sic influence, and we
+wad fain see the effect she has on you when near. Sir Richard Hoghton,"
+he called out to the knight, who rode a few paces behind him, "we pray
+you present Sir Richard Assheton and his daughter to us."
+
+Had he dared so to do, Richard would have thrown himself at the King's
+feet, but all he could venture upon was to say in a low earnest tone,
+"Do not prejudge Alizon, sire. On my soul she is innocent!"
+
+"The King prejudges nae man," replied James, in a tone of rebuke; "and
+like the wise prince of Israel, whom it is his wish to resemble, he sees
+with his ain een, and hears with his ain ears, afore he forms
+conclusions."
+
+"That is all I can desire, sire," replied Richard. "Far be it from me to
+doubt your majesty's discrimination or love of justice."
+
+"Ye shall hae proofs of baith, man, afore we hae done," said James. "Ah!
+here comes our host, an the twa lassies wi' him. She wi' the lintwhite
+locks is your sister, we guess, and the ither is Alizon--and, by our
+troth, a weel-faur'd lass. But Satan is aye delusive. We maun resist his
+snares."
+
+The party now came on, and were formally presented to the monarch by Sir
+Richard Hoghton. Sir Richard Assheton, a middle-aged gentleman, with
+handsome features, though somewhat haughty in expression, and stately
+deportment, was very graciously received, and James thought fit to pay a
+few compliments to Dorothy, covertly regarding Alizon the while, yet not
+neglecting Richard, being ready to intercept any signal that should pass
+between them. None, however, was attempted, for the young man felt he
+should only alarm and embarrass Alizon by any attempt to caution her,
+and he therefore endeavoured to assume an unconcerned aspect and
+demeanour.
+
+"We hae heard the beauty of the Lancashire lassies highly commended,"
+said the King; "but, faith! it passes expectation. Twa lovelier damsels
+than these we never beheld. Baith are rare specimens o' Nature's
+handiwark."
+
+"Your Majesty is pleased to be complimentary," rejoined Sir Richard
+Assheton.
+
+"Na, Sir Richard," returned James. "We arena gien to flichtering, though
+aften beflummed oursel'. Baith are bonnie lassies, we repeat. An sae
+this is Alizon Nutter--it wad be Ailsie in our ain Scottish tongue, to
+which your Lancashire vernacular closely approximates, Sir Richard.
+Aweel, fair Alizon," he added, eyeing her narrowly, "ye hae lost your
+mither, we understand?"
+
+The young girl was not discomposed by this question, but answered in a
+firm, melancholy tone--"Your Majesty, I fear, is too well acquainted
+with my unfortunate mother's history."
+
+"Aweel, we winna deny having heard somewhat to her disadvantage,"
+replied the King--"but your ain looks gang far to contradict the
+reports, fair maid."
+
+"Place no faith in them then, sire," replied Alizon, sadly.
+
+"Eh! what!--then you admit your mother's guilt?" cried the King,
+sharply.
+
+"I neither admit it nor deny it, sire," she replied. "It must be for
+your Majesty to judge her."
+
+"Weel answered," muttered James,--"but I mustna forget, that the deil
+himsel' can quote Scripture to serve his purpose. But you hold in
+abhorrence the crime laid to your mother's charge--eh?" he added aloud.
+
+"In utter abhorrence," replied Alizon.
+
+"Gude--vera gude," rejoined the King. "But, entertaining this feeling,
+how conies it you screen so heinous an offender frae justice? Nae
+natural feeling should be allowed to weigh in sic a case."
+
+"Nor should it, sire, with me," replied Alizon--"because I believe my
+poor mother's eternal welfare would be best consulted if she underwent
+temporal punishment. Neither is she herself anxious to avoid it."
+
+"Then why does she keep out of the way--why does she not surrender
+herself?" cried the King.
+
+"Because--" and Alizon stopped.
+
+"Because what?" demanded James.
+
+"Pardon me, sire, I must decline answering further questions on the
+subject," replied Alizon. "Whatever concerns myself or my mother alone,
+I will state freely, but I cannot compromise others."
+
+"Aha! then there are others concerned in it?" cried James. "We thought
+as much. We will interrogate you further hereafter--but a word mair. We
+trust ye are devout, and constant in your religious exercises, damsel."
+
+"I will answer for that, sire," interposed Sir Richard Assheton.
+"Alizon's whole time is spent in prayer for her unfortunate mother. If
+there be a fault it is that she goes too far, and injures her health by
+her zeal."
+
+"A gude fault that, Sir Richard," observed the King, approvingly.
+
+"It beseems me not to speak of myself, sire," said Alizon, "and I am
+loth to do so--but I beseech your majesty to believe, that if my life
+might be offered as an atonement for my mother, I would freely yield
+it."
+
+"I' gude faith she staggers me in my opinion," muttered James, "and I
+maun look into the matter mair closely. The lass is far different frae
+what I imagined her. But the wiles o' Satan arena to be comprehended,
+and he will put on the semblance of righteousness when seeking to
+beguile the righteous. Aweel, damsel," he added aloud, "ye speak
+feelingly and properly, and as a daughter should speak, and we respect
+your feelings--provided they be sic as ye represent them. And now
+dispose yourselves for the chase."
+
+"I must pray your Majesty to dismiss me," said Alizon. "It is a sight in
+which at any time I take small pleasure, and now it is especially
+distasteful to me. With your permission, I will proceed to Hoghton
+Tower."
+
+"I also crave your Majesty's leave to go with her," said Dorothy.
+
+"I will attend them," interposed Richard.
+
+"Na, you maun stay wi' us, young sir," cried the King. "Your gude father
+will gang wi' 'em. Sir John Finett," he added, calling to the master of
+the ceremonies, and speaking in his ear, "see that they be followed, and
+that a special watch be kept over Alizon, and also over this
+youth,--d'ye mark me?--in fact, ower a' the Assheton clan. And now," he
+cried in a loud voice, "let them blaw the strake."
+
+The chief huntsman having placed the bugle to his lips, and blown a
+strike with two winds, a short consultation was held between him and
+James, who loved to display his knowledge as a woodsman; and while this
+was going forward, Nicholas and Sherborne having come up, the squire
+dismounted, and committing Robin to his brother-in-law, approached the
+monarch.
+
+"If I may be so bold as to put in a word, my liege," he said, "I can
+show you where a hart of ten is assuredly harboured. I viewed him as I
+rode through the park this morning, and cannot, therefore, be mistaken.
+His head is high and well palmed, great beamed and in good proportion,
+well burred and well pearled. He is stately in height, long, and well
+fed."
+
+"Did you mark the slot, sir?" inquired James.
+
+"I did, my liege," replied Nicholas. "And a long slot it was; the toes
+great, with round short joint-bones, large shin-bones, and the dew-claws
+close together. I will uphold him for a great old hart as ever
+proffered, and one that shall shew your Majesty rare sport."
+
+"And we'll tak your word for the matter, sir," said James; "for ye're as
+gude a woodman as any we hae in our dominions. Bring us to him, then."
+
+"Will it please your Majesty to ride towards yon glade?" said Nicholas,
+"and, before you reach it, the hart shall be roused."
+
+James, assenting to the arrangement, Nicholas sprang upon his steed,
+and, calling to the chief huntsman, they galloped off together,
+accompanied by the bloodhound, the royal cavalcade following somewhat
+more slowly in the same direction. A fair sight it was to see that
+splendid company careering over the plain, their feathered caps and gay
+mantles glittering in the sun, which shone brightly upon them. The
+morning was lovely, giving promise that the day, when further advanced,
+would be intensely hot, but at present it was fresh and delightful, and
+the whole company, exhilarated by the exercise, and by animated
+conversation, were in high spirits; and perhaps amongst the huge party,
+which numbered nearly three hundred persons, one alone was a prey to
+despair. But though Richard Assheton suffered thus internally, he bore
+his anguish with Spartan firmness, resolved, if possible, to let no
+trace of it be visible in his features or deportment; and he so far
+succeeded in conquering himself, that the King, who kept a watchful eye
+upon him, remarked to Sir John Finett as they rode along, that a
+singular improvement had taken place in the young man's appearance.
+
+The cavalcade was rapidly approaching the glade at the lower end of the
+chase, when the lively notes of a horn were heard from the adjoining
+wood, followed by the deep baying of a bloodhound.
+
+"Aha! they have roused him," cried the King, joyfully placing his own
+bugle to his lips, and sounding an answer. Upon this the whole company
+halted in anxious expectation, the hounds baying loudly. The next
+moment, a noble hart burst from the wood, whence he had been driven by
+the shouts of Nicholas and the chief huntsman, both of whom appeared
+immediately afterwards.
+
+"By my faith! a great hart as ever was hunted," exclaimed the King.
+"There boys, there! to him! to him!"
+
+Dashing after the flying hart, the hounds made the welkin ring with
+their cries. Many lovely damsels were there, but none thought of the
+cruelty of the sport--none sympathised with the noble animal they were
+running to death. The cries of the hounds--now loud and ringing--now
+deep and doling, accompanied by the whooping of the huntsmen, formed a
+stirring concert, which found a response in many a gentle bosom. The
+whole cavalcade was spread widely about, for none were allowed to ride
+near the King. Over the plain they scoured, fleet as the wind, and the
+hart seemed making for a fell, forming part of the hill near the
+mansion. But ere he reached it, the relays stationed within a covert
+burst forth, and, turning him aside, he once more dashed fleetly across
+the broad expanse, as if about to return to his old lair. Now he was
+seen plunging into some bosky dell; and, after being lost to view for a
+moment, bounding up the opposite bank, and stretching across a tract
+thickly covered with fern. Here he gained upon the hounds, who were lost
+in the green wilderness, and their cries were hushed for a brief
+space--but anon they burst forth anew, and the pack were soon again in
+full cry, and speeding over the open ground.
+
+At first the cavalcade had kept pretty well together, but on the return
+the case was very different; and many of the dames, being unable to keep
+up with the hounds, fell off, and, as a natural consequence, many of the
+gallants lingered behind, too. Thus only the keenest huntsmen held on.
+Amongst these, and about fifty yards behind the King, were Richard and
+Nicholas. The squire was right when he predicted that the hart would
+show them good sport. Plunging into the wood, the hard-pressed beast
+knocked up another stag, and took possession of his lair, but was
+speedily roused again by Nicholas and the chief huntsman. Once more he
+is crossing the wide plain, with hounds and huntsmen after him--once
+more he is turned by a new relay; but this time he shapes his course
+towards the woods skirting the Darwen. It is a piteous sight to see him
+now; his coat black and glistening with sweat, his mouth embossed with
+foam, his eyes dull, big tears coursing down his cheeks, and his noble
+head carried low. His end seems nigh--for the hounds, though weary too,
+redouble their energies, and the monarch cheers them on. Again the poor
+beast erects his head--if he can only reach yon coppice he is safe.
+Despair nerves him, and with gigantic bounds he clears the intervening
+space, and disappears beneath the branches. Quickly as the hounds come
+after him, they are at fault.
+
+"He has taken to the soil, sire," cried Nicholas coming up. "To the
+river--to the river! You may see by the broken branches he has gone this
+way."
+
+Forcing his way through the wood, James was soon on the banks of the
+Darwen, which here ran deep and slow. The hart was nowhere to be seen,
+nor was there any slot on the further side to denote that he had gone
+forth. It was evident, therefore, that he had swam down the stream. At
+this moment a shout was heard a hundred yards lower down, proceeding
+from Nicholas; and, riding in the direction of the sound, the King found
+the hart at bay on the further side of the stream, and nearly up to his
+haunches in the water. The King regarded him for a moment anxiously. The
+poor animal was now in his last extremity, but he seemed determined to
+sell his life dearly. He stood on a bank projecting into the stream,
+round which the water flowed deeply, and could not be approached without
+difficulty and danger. He had already gored several hounds, whose
+bleeding bodies were swept down the current; and, though the others
+bayed round him, they did not dare to approach him, and could not get
+behind him, as a high bank arose in his rear.
+
+"Have I your Majesty's permission to despatch him?" asked Nicholas.
+
+"Ay, marry, if you can, sir," replied James. "But 'ware the
+tynes!--'ware the tynes!--'If thou be hurt with hart it brings thee to
+thy bier,' as the auld ballad hath it, and the adage is true, as we
+oursel's have seen."
+
+Nicholas, however, heeded not the caution, but, drawing his wood-knife,
+and disencumbering himself of his cloak, he plunged into the stream, and
+with one or two strokes reached the bank. The hart watched his approach,
+as if divining his purpose, with a look half menacing, half reproachful,
+and when he came near, dashed his antlered head at him. Nimbly eluding
+the blow, which, if it had taken effect, might have proved serious,
+Nicholas plunged his weapon into the poor brute's throat, who instantly
+fell with a heavy splash into the water.
+
+"Weel stricken! weel stricken!" shouted James, who had witnessed the
+performance from the opposite bank. "But how shall we get the carcase
+here?"
+
+"That is easily done, sire," replied Nicholas. And taking hold of the
+horns, he guided the body to a low bank, a little below where the King
+stood.
+
+As soon as it was dragged ashore by the prickers, James put his bugle to
+his lips and blew a mort. A pryse was thrice sounded by Nicholas, and
+soon afterwards the whole company came flocking round the spot, whooping
+the death-note.
+
+Meanwhile, the hounds had gathered round the fallen hart, and were
+allowed to wreak their fury on him by tearing his throat, happily after
+sensibility was gone; while Nicholas, again baring his knife, cut off
+the right fore-foot, and presented it to the King. While this ceremony
+was performed, the varlets of the kennel having cut down a great heap of
+green branches, and strewn them on the ground, laid the hart upon them,
+on his back, and then bore him to an open space in the wood, where he
+was broken up by the King, who prided himself upon his skill in all
+matters of woodcraft. While this office was in course of execution a
+bowl of wine was poured out for the monarch, which he took, adverting,
+as he did so, to the common superstition, that if a huntsman should
+break up a deer without drinking, the venison would putrefy. Having
+drained the cup, he caused it to be filled again, and gave it to
+Nicholas, saying the liquor was needful to him after the drenching he
+had undergone. James then proceeded with his task, and just before he
+completed it, he was reminded, by a loud croak above him, that a raven
+was at hand, and accordingly taking a piece of gristle from the spoon of
+the brisket, he cast it on the ground, and the bird immediately pounced
+down upon it and carried it off in his huge beak.
+
+After a brief interval, the seek was again winded, another hart was
+roused, and after a short but swift chase, pulled down by the hounds,
+and dispatched with his own hand by James. Sir Richard Hoghton then
+besought the King to follow him, and led the way to a verdant hollow
+surrounded by trees, in which shady and delicious retreat preparations
+had been made for a slight silvan repast. Upon a mossy bank beneath a
+tree, a cushion was placed for the King, and before it on the sward was
+laid a cloth spread with many dainties, including
+
+          "Neats' tongues powder'd well, and jambons of the hog,
+           With sausages and savoury knacks to set men's minds agog"--
+
+cold capons, and pigeon pies. Close at hand was a clear cold spring, in
+which numerous flasks of wine were immersed. A few embers, too, had been
+lighted, on which carbonadoes of venison were prepared.
+
+No great form or ceremony was observed at the entertainment. Sir John
+Finett and Sir Thomas Hoghton were in close attendance upon the monarch,
+and ministered to his wants; but several of the nobles and gentlemen
+stretched themselves on the sward, and addressed themselves to the
+viands set before them by the pages. None of the dames dismounted, and
+few could be prevailed upon to take any refreshment. Besides the flasks
+of wine, there were two barrels of ale in a small cart, drawn by a mule,
+both of which were broached. The whole scene was picturesque and
+pleasing, and well calculated to gratify one so fond of silvan sports as
+the monarch for whom it was provided.
+
+In the midst of all this tranquillity and enjoyment an incident occurred
+which interrupted it as completely as if a thunder-storm had suddenly
+come on. Just when the mirth was at the highest, and when the flowing
+cup was at many a lip, a tremendous bellowing, followed by the crashing
+of branches, was heard in the adjoining thicket. All started to their
+feet at the appalling sound, and the King himself turned pale.
+
+"What in Heaven's name can it be, Sir Richard?" he inquired. "It must be
+a drove of wild cattle," replied the baronet, trembling.
+
+"Wild cattle!" ejaculated James, in great alarm; "and sae near us.
+Zounds! we shall be trampled and gored to death by these bulls of Basan.
+Sir Richard, ye are a fause traitor thus to endanger the safety o' your
+sovereign, and ye shall answer for it, if harm come o' it."
+
+"I am unable to account for it, sire," stammered the frightened baronet.
+"I gave special directions to the prickers to drive the beasts away."
+
+"Ye shouldna keep sic deevils i' your park, man," cried the monarch.
+"Eh! what's that?"
+
+Amidst all this consternation and confusion the bellowing was redoubled,
+and the crashing of branches drew nearer and nearer, and Nicholas
+Assheton rushed forward with the King's horse, saying, "Mount, sire;
+mount, and away!"
+
+But James was so much alarmed that his limbs refused to perform their
+office, and he was unable to put foot in the stirrup. Seeing his
+condition, Nicholas cried out, "Pardon, my liege; but at a moment of
+peril like the present, one must not stand on ceremony."
+
+So saying, he took the King round the waist, and placed him on his
+steed.
+
+At this juncture, a loud cry was heard, and a man in extremity of terror
+issued from the wood, and dashed towards the hollow. Close on his heels
+came the drove of wild cattle, and, just as he gained the very verge of
+the descent, the foremost of the herd overtook him, and lowering his
+curled head, caught him on the points of his horns, and threw him
+forwards to such a distance that he alighted with a heavy crash almost
+at the King's feet. Satisfied, apparently, with their vengeance, or
+alarmed by the numerous assemblage, the drove instantly turned tail and
+were pursued into the depths of the forest by the prickers.
+
+Having recovered his composure, James bade some of the attendants raise
+the poor wretch, who was lying groaning upon the ground, evidently so
+much injured as to be unable to move without assistance. His garb was
+that of a forester, and his bulk--for he was stoutly and squarely
+built--had contributed, no doubt, to the severity of the fall. When he
+was lifted from the ground, Nicholas instantly recognised in his
+blackened and distorted features those of Christopher Demdike.
+
+"What?" he exclaimed, rushing towards him. "Is it thou, villain?"
+
+The sufferer only replied by a look of intense malignity.
+
+"Eh! what--d'ye ken wha it is?" demanded James. "By my saul! I fear the
+puir fellow has maist of his banes broken."
+
+"No great matter if they be," replied Nicholas, "and it may save the
+application of torture in case your Majesty desires to put any question
+to him. Chance has most strangely thrown into your hands one of the most
+heinous offenders in the kingdom, who has long escaped justice, but who
+will at length meet the punishment of his crimes. The villain is
+Christopher Demdike, son of the foul hag who perished in the flames on
+the summit of Pendle Hill, and captain of a band of robbers."
+
+"What! is the knave a warlock and a riever?" demanded James, regarding
+Demdike with abhorrence, mingled with alarm.
+
+"Both, sire," replied Nicholas, "and an assassin to boot. He is a
+diabolical villain."
+
+"Let him be taken to Hoghton Tower, and kept in some strong and secure
+place till we have leisure to examine him," said James,--"and see that
+he be visited by some skilful chirurgeon, for we wadna hae him dee, and
+sae rob the woodie."
+
+Demdike, who appeared to be in great agony, now forced himself to speak.
+
+"I can make important disclosures to your Majesty," he said, in hoarse
+and broken tones, "if you will hear them. I am not the only offender who
+has escaped from justice," he added, glancing vindictively at
+Nicholas--"there is another, a notorious witch and murderess, who is
+still screened from justice. I can reveal her hiding-place."
+
+"Your Majesty will not give heed to such a villain's fabrications?" said
+Nicholas.
+
+"Are they fabrications, sir?" rejoined James, somewhat sharply. "We maun
+hear and judge. The snake, though scotched, will still bite, it seems.
+We hae hangit a Highland cateran without trial afore this, and we may be
+tempted to tak the law into our ain hands again. Bear the villain hence.
+See he be disposed of as already directed, and take good care he is
+strictly guarded. And now gie us a crossbow, Sir Richard Hoghton, and
+bid the prickers drive the deer afore us, for we wad try our skill as a
+marksman."
+
+And while Demdike was placed on the litter of green boughs which had
+recently sustained a nobler burthen in the fallen hart, and in this sort
+was conveyed to Hoghton Tower, James rode with his retinue towards a
+long glade, where, receiving a crossbow from the huntsman, he took up a
+favourable position behind a large oak, and several herds of deer being
+driven before him, he selected his quarries, and deliberately took aim
+at them, contriving in the course of an hour to bring down four fat
+bucks, and to maim as many others, which were pulled down by the hounds.
+And with this slaughter he was content.
+
+Sir Richard Hoghton then informed his Majesty that a huge boar, which,
+in sporting phrase, had left the sounder five years, had broken into the
+park the night before, and had been routing amongst the fern. The age
+and size of the animal were known by the print of the feet, the toes
+being round and thick, the edge of the hoof worn and blunt, the heel
+large, and the guards, or dew-claws, great and open, from all which
+appearances it was adjudged by the baronet to be "a great old boar, not
+to be refused."
+
+James at once agreed to hunt him, and the hounds being taken away, six
+couples of magnificent mastiffs, of the Lancashire breed, were brought
+forward, and the monarch, under the guidance of Sir Richard Hoghton and
+the chief huntsman, repaired to an adjoining thicket, in which the boar
+fed and couched.
+
+On arriving near his den, a boar-spear was given to the King, and the
+prickers advancing into the wood, presently afterwards reared the
+enormous brute. Sallying forth, and freaming furiously, he was instantly
+assailed by the mastiffs; but, notwithstanding the number of his
+assailants, he made light of them, shaking them from his bristly hide,
+crushing them beneath his horny feet, thrusting at them with his
+sharpened tusks, and committing terrible devastation among them.
+
+Repeated charges were made upon the savage animal by James, but it was
+next to impossible to get a blow at him for some time; and when at
+length the monarch made the attempt, he struck too low, and hit him on
+the snout, upon which the infuriated boar, finding himself wounded,
+sprang towards the horse, and ripped him open with his tusks.
+
+The noble charger instantly rolled over on his side, exposing the royal
+huntsman to the fury of his merciless assailant, whose tusks must have
+ploughed his flesh, if at this moment a young man had not ridden
+forward, and at the greatest personal risk approached the boar, and,
+striking straight downwards, cleft the heart of the fierce brute with
+his spear.
+
+Meanwhile, the King, having been disengaged by the prickers from his
+wounded steed, which was instantly put out of its agony by the sword of
+the chief huntsman, looked for his deliverer, and, discovering him to be
+Richard Assheton, was loud in his expressions of gratitude.
+
+"Faith! ye maun claim a boon at our hands," said James. "It maun never
+be said the King is ungrateful. What can we do for you, lad?"
+
+"For myself nothing, sire," replied Richard.
+
+"But for another meikle--is that what ye wad hae us infer?" cried the
+King, with a smile. "Aweel, the lassie shall hae strict justice done
+her; but for your ain sake we maun inquire into the matter. Meantime,
+wear this," he added, taking a magnificent sapphire ring from his
+finger, "and, if you should ever need our aid, send it to us as a
+token."
+
+Richard took the gift, and knelt to kiss the hand so graciously
+extended to him.
+
+By this time another horse had been provided for the monarch, and the
+enormous boar, with his feet upwards and tied together, was suspended
+upon a pole, and borne on the shoulders of four stout varlets as the
+grand trophy of the chase.
+
+When the royal company issued from the wood a strike of nine was blown
+by the chief huntsman, and such of the cavalcade as still remained on
+the field being collected together, the party crossed the chase, and
+took the direction of Hoghton Tower.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.--THE BANQUET.
+
+
+On the King's return to Hoghton Tower, orders were given by Sir Richard
+for the immediate service of the banquet; it being the hospitable
+baronet's desire that festivities should succeed each other so rapidly
+as to allow of no tedium.
+
+The _coup-d'oeil_ of the banquet hall on the monarch's entrance was
+magnificent. Panelled with black lustrous oak, and lighted by mullion
+windows, filled with stained glass and emblazoned with the armorial
+bearings of the family, the vast and lofty hall was hung with banners,
+and decorated with panoplies and trophies of the chase. Three long
+tables ran down it, each containing a hundred covers. At the lower end
+were stationed the heralds, the pursuivants, and a band of yeomen of the
+guard, with the royal badge, a demi-rose crowned, impaled with a
+demi-thistle, woven in gold on their doublets, and having fringed
+pole-axes over their shoulders. Behind them was a richly carved oak
+screen, concealing the passages leading to the buttery and kitchens, in
+which the clerk of the kitchen, the pantlers, and the yeomen of the
+cellar and ewery, were hurrying to and fro. Above the screen was a
+gallery, occupied by the trumpeters and minstrels; and over all was a
+noble rafter roof. The tables were profusely spread, and glittered with
+silver dishes of extraordinary size and splendour, as well as with
+flagons and goblets of the same material, and rare design. The guests,
+all of whom were assembled, were outnumbered by the prodigious array of
+serving-men, pages, and yeomen waiters in the yellow and red liveries of
+the Stuart.
+
+Flourishes of trumpets announced the coming of the monarch, who was
+preceded by Sir Richard Hoghton, bearing a white wand, and ushered with
+much ceremony to his place. At the upper end of the hall was a raised
+floor, and on either side of it an oriel window, glowing with painted
+glass. On this dais the King's table was placed, underneath a canopy of
+state, embroidered with the royal arms, and bearing James's kindly
+motto, "_Beati Pacifici_." Seats were reserved at it for the Dukes of
+Buckingham and Richmond, the Earls of Pembroke and Nottingham, the
+Lords Howard of Effingham and Grey of Groby, Sir Gilbert Hoghton, and
+the Bishop of Chester. These constituted the favoured guests. Grace
+having been said by the bishop, the whole company took their seats, and
+the general stillness hitherto prevailing throughout the vast hall was
+broken instantaneously by the clatter of trenchers.
+
+A famous feast it was, and worthy of commemoration. Masters Morris and
+Miller, the two cooks who contrived it, as well as the labourers for the
+ranges, for the pastries, for the boiled meats, and for the pullets,
+performed their respective parts to admiration. The result was all that
+could be desired. The fare was solid and substantial, consisting of
+dishes which could be cut and come to again. Amongst the roast meats
+were chines of beef, haunches of venison, gigots of mutton, fatted
+geese, capons, turkeys, and sucking pigs; amongst the boiled, pullets,
+lamb, and veal; but baked meats chiefly abounded, and amongst them were
+to be found red-deer pasty, hare-pie, gammon-of-bacon pie, and baked
+wild-boar. With the salads, which were nothing more than what would,
+now-a-days be termed "vegetables," were mixed all kinds of soused fish,
+arranged according to the sewer's directions--"the salads spread about
+the tables, the fricassees mixed with them, the boiled meats among the
+fricassees, roast meats amongst the boiled, baked meats amongst the
+roast, and carbonadoes amongst the baked." This was the first course
+merely. In the second were all kinds of game and wild-fowl, roast herons
+three in a dish, bitterns, cranes, bustards, curlews, dotterels, and
+pewits. Besides these there were lumbar pies, marrow pies, quince pies,
+artichoke pies, florentines, and innumerable other good things. Some
+dishes were specially reserved for the King's table, as a baked swan, a
+roast peacock, and the jowl of a sturgeon soused. These and a piece of
+roast beef formed the principal dishes.
+
+The attendants at the royal table comprised such gentlemen as wore Sir
+Richard Hoghton's liveries, and amongst these, of course, were Nicholas
+Assheton and Sherborne. On seeing the former, the King immediately
+inquired about his deliverer, and on hearing he was at the lower tables,
+desired he might be sent for, and, as Richard soon afterwards appeared,
+having on his return from the chase changed his sombre apparel for gayer
+attire, James smiled graciously upon him, and more than once, as a mark
+of especial favour, took the wine-cup from his hands.
+
+The King did ample justice to the good things before him, and especially
+to the beef, which he found so excellent, that the carver had to help
+him for the second time. Sir Richard Hoghton ventured to express his
+gratification that his Majesty found the meat good--"Indeed, it is
+generally admitted," he said, "that our Lancashire beef is well fed, and
+well flavoured."
+
+"Weel flavoured!" exclaimed James, as he swallowed the last juicy
+morsel; "it is delicious! Finer beef nae man ever put teeth into, an I
+only wish a' my loving subjects had as gude a dinner as I hae this day
+eaten. What joint do ye ca' it, Sir Richard?" he asked, with eyes
+evidently twinkling with a premeditated jest. "This dish," replied the
+host, somewhat surprised "this, sire, is a loin of beef."
+
+"A loin!" exclaimed James, taking the carving-knife from the sewer, who
+stood by, "by my faith that is not title honourable enough for joint sae
+worthy. It wants a dignity, and it shall hae it. Henceforth," he added,
+touching the meat with the flat of the long blade, as if placing the
+sword on the back of a knight expectant, "henceforth, it shall be
+SIR-LOIN, an see ye ca' it sae. Give me a cup of wine, Master Richard
+Assheton."
+
+All the nobles at the table laughed loudly at the monarch's jest, and as
+it was soon past down to those at the lower table, the hall resounded
+with laughter, in which page and attendant of every degree joined, to
+the great satisfaction of the good-natured originator of the
+merriment.[4]
+
+"My dear dad and gossip appears in unwonted good spirits to-day,"
+observed the Duke of Buckingham.
+
+"An wi' gude reason, Steenie," replied the King, "for we dinna mind when
+we hae had better sport--always excepting the boar-hunt, when we should
+hae been rippit up by the cursed creature's tusks but for this braw
+laddie," he added, pointing to Richard. "Ye maun see what can be done
+for him, Steenie. We maun hae him at court."
+
+"Your Majesty's wishes have only to be expressed to be fulfilled,"
+replied Buckingham, somewhat drily.
+
+"Were I the lad I wadna place ower meikle dependence on the Duke's
+promises," remarked Archie Armstrong, in a low tone, to Nicholas.
+
+"Has your Majesty made any further inquiries about the girl suspected of
+witchcraft?" inquired Buckingham, renewing the conversation.
+
+"Whist, Steenie, whist!" cried James. "Didna ye see her yoursel' this
+morning?" he added, in a low tone. "Ah! I recollect ye werena at the
+chase. Aweel, I hae conferred wi' her, an am sair perplexed i' the
+matter. She is a well-faur'd lassie as ony i' the realm, and answers
+decorously and doucely. Sooth to say, her looks and manners are mightily
+in her favour."
+
+"Then you mean to dismiss the matter without further investigation?"
+observed Buckingham. "I always thought your Majesty delighted to
+exercise your sagacity in detecting the illusions practised by Satan and
+his worshippers."
+
+"An sae we do," replied James. "But bend your bonnie head this way till
+we whisper in your ear. We hae a device for finding it a' out, which
+canna fail; and when you ken it you will applaud your dear dad's wisdom,
+and perfit maistery o' the haill science o' kingcraft."
+
+"I would your Majesty would make me acquainted with this notable
+scheme," replied Buckingham, with ill-concealed contempt. "I might make
+it more certain of success."
+
+"Na--na--we shanna let the cat out of the bag just yet," returned the
+King. "We mean it as a surprise to ye a'."
+
+"Then, whatever be the result, it is certain to answer the effect
+intended," observed the Duke.
+
+"Gae wa'! ye are ever sceptical, Steenie--ever misdoubting your ain dear
+dad and gossip," rejoined James; "but ye shall find we haena earned the
+title o' the British Solomon for naething."
+
+Soon after this the King arose, and was ushered to his apartments by Sir
+Richard Hoghton with the same ceremony as had been observed on his
+entrance. He was followed by all the nobles; and Nicholas and the
+others, being released from their duties, repaired to the lower end of
+the hall to dine. The revel was now sufficiently boisterous; for, as the
+dames had departed at the same time as the monarch, all restraint was
+cast aside. The wine-cup flowed freely, and the rafters rang with
+laughter. Under ordinary circumstances Richard would have shrunk from
+such a scene; but he had now a part to play, and therefore essayed to
+laugh at each jest, and to appear as reckless as his neighbours. He was
+glad, however, when the signal for general dispersion was given; for
+though Sir Richard Hoghton was unwilling to stint his guests, he was
+fearful, if they sat too long over their wine, some disturbances might
+ensue; and indeed, when the revellers came forth and dispersed within
+the base court, their flushed cheeks, loud voices, and unsteady gait,
+showed that their potations had already been deep enough.
+
+Meanwhile, quite as much mirth was taking place out of doors as had
+occurred within the banqueting-hall. As soon as the King sat down to
+dinner, according to promise the gates were thrown open, and the crowd
+outside admitted. The huge roast was then taken down, carved, and
+distributed among them; the only difficulty experienced being in regard
+to trenchers, and various and extraordinary were the contrivances
+resorted to to supply the deficiency. This circumstance, however, served
+to heighten the fun, and, as several casks of stout ale were broached at
+the same time, universal hilarity prevailed. Still, in the midst of so
+vast a concourse, many component parts of which had now began to
+experience the effects of the potent liquor, some little manifestation
+of disorder might naturally be expected; but all such was speedily
+quelled by the yeomen of the guard, and other officials appointed for
+the purpose, and, amidst the uproar and confusion, harmony generally
+prevailed.
+
+While elbowing his way through the crowd, Nicholas felt his sleeve
+plucked, and turning, perceived Nance Redferne, who signed him to follow
+her, and there was something in her manner that left him no alternative
+but compliance. Nance passed on rapidly, and entered the doorway of a
+building, where it might be supposed they would be free from
+interruption.
+
+"What do you want with me, Nance?" asked the squire, somewhat
+impatiently. "I must beg to observe that I cannot be troubled further on
+your account, and am greatly afraid aspersions may be thrown on my
+character, if I am seen talking with you."
+
+"A few words wi' me winna injure your character, squire," rejoined
+Nance, "an it's on your account an naw on my own that ey ha' brought you
+here. Ey ha' important information to gie ye. What win yo say when ey
+tell yo that Jem Device, Elizabeth Device, an' her dowter Jennet are
+here--aw breedin mischief agen yo, Ruchot Assheton, and Alizon?"
+
+"The devil!" ejaculated Nicholas.
+
+"Eigh, yo'n find it the devil, ey con promise ye, onless their plans be
+frustrated," said Nance.
+
+"That can be easily done," replied Nicholas. "I'll cause them to be
+arrested at once."
+
+"Nah, nah--that canna be," rejoined Nance--"Yo mun bide your time."
+
+"What! and allow such miscreants to go at large, and work any malice
+they please against me and my friends!" replied Nicholas. "Show me where
+they are, Nance, or I must make you a prisoner."
+
+"Nah! yo winna do that, squire," she replied in a tone of good-humoured
+defiance. "Ye winna do it for two good reasons: first, becose yo'd be
+harming a freend who wants to sarve yo, and _win_ do so, if yo'n let
+her; and secondly, becose if yo wur to raise a finger agen me, ey'd
+deprive yo of speech an motion. When the reet moment comes yo shan
+strike--boh it's nah come yet. The fruit is nah ripe eneugh to gather.
+Ey am os anxious os you con be, that the whole o' the Demdike brood
+should be swept away--an it shan be, if yo'n leave it to me."
+
+"Well, I commit the matter entirely to you," said Nicholas. "Apparently,
+it cannot be in better hands. But are you aware that Christopher Demdike
+is a prisoner here in Hoghton Tower? He was taken this morning in the
+park."
+
+"Ey knoa it," replied Nance; "an ey knoa also why he went there, an it
+wur my intention to ha' revealed his black design to yo. However, it has
+bin ordert differently. Boh in respect to t'others, wait till I gie yo
+the signal. They are disguised; boh even if ye see 'em, an recognise
+'em, dunna let it appear till ey gie the word, or yo'n spoil aw."
+
+"Your injunctions shall be obeyed implicitly, Nance," rejoined,
+Nicholas. "I have now perfect reliance upon you. But when shall I see
+you again?"
+
+"That depends upon circumstances," she replied. "To-neet, may be--may be
+to-morrow neet. My plans maun be guided by those of others. Boh when
+next yo see me you win ha' to act."
+
+And, without waiting an answer, she rushed out of the doorway, and,
+mingling with the crowd, was instantly lost to view; while Nicholas,
+full of the intelligence he had received, betook himself slowly to his
+lodgings.
+
+Scarcely were they gone when a door, which had been standing ajar, near
+them, was opened wide, and disclosed the keen visage of Master Potts.
+
+"Here's a pretty plot hatching--here's a nice discovery I have made!"
+soliloquised the attorney. "The whole Demdike family, with the exception
+of the old witch herself, whom I saw burnt on Pendle Hill, are at
+Hoghton Tower. This shall be made known to the King. I'll have Nicholas
+Assheton arrested at once, and the woman with him, whom I recognise as
+Nance Redferne. It will be a wonderful stroke, and will raise me highly
+in his Majesty's estimation. Yet stay! Will not this interfere with my
+other plans with Jennet? Let me reflect. I must go cautiously to work.
+Besides, if I cause Nicholas to be arrested, Nance will escape, and then
+I shall have no clue to the others. No--no; I must watch Nicholas
+closely, and take upon myself all the credit of the discovery. Perhaps
+through Jennet I may be able to detect their disguises. At all events, I
+will keep a sharp look-out. Affairs are now drawing to a close, and I
+have only, like a wary and experienced fowler, to lay my nets cleverly
+to catch the whole covey."
+
+And with these ruminations, he likewise went forth into the base court.
+
+The rest of the day was one round of festivity and enjoyment, in which
+all classes participated. There were trials of skill and strength,
+running, wrestling, and cudgeling-matches, with an infinite variety of
+country games and shows.
+
+Towards five o'clock a rush-cart, decked with flowers and ribbons, and
+bestridden by men bearing garlands, was drawn up in front of the central
+building of the tower, in an open window of which sat James--a
+well-pleased spectator of the different pastimes going forward; and
+several lively dances were executed by a troop of male and female
+morris-dancers, accompanied by a tabor and pipe. But though this show
+was sufficiently attractive, it lacked the spirit of that performed at
+Whalley; while the character of Maid Marian, which then found so
+charming a representative in Alizon, was now personated by a man--and if
+Nicholas Assheton, who was amongst the bystanders, was not deceived,
+that man was Jem Device. Enraged by this discovery, the squire was
+about to seize the ruffian; but, calling to mind Nance's counsel, he
+refrained, and Jem (if it indeed were he) retired with a largess,
+bestowed by the royal hand as a reward for his uncouth gambols.
+
+The rush-cart and morris-dancers having disappeared, another drollery
+was exhibited, called the "Fool and his Five Sons," the names of the
+hopeful offspring of the sapient sire being Pickle Herring, Blue Hose,
+Pepper Hose, Ginger Hose, and Jack Allspice. The humour of this piece,
+though not particularly refined, seemed to be appreciated by the
+audience generally, as well as by the monarch, who laughed heartily at
+its coarse buffoonery.
+
+Next followed "The Plough and Sword Dance;" the principal actors being a
+number of grotesque figures armed with swords, some of whom were yoked
+to a plough, on which sat a piper, playing lustily while dragged along.
+The plough was guided by a man clothed in a bear-skin, with a fur cap on
+his head, and a long tail, like that of a lion, dangling behind him. In
+this hirsute personage, who was intended to represent the wood-demon,
+Hobthurst, Nicholas again detected Jem Device, and again was strongly
+tempted to disobey Nance's injunctions, and denounce him--the rather
+that he recognised in an attendant female, in a fantastic dress, the
+ruffian's mother, Elizabeth; but he once more desisted.
+
+As soon as the mummers arrived in front of the King, the dance began.
+With their swords held upright, the party took hands and wheeled rapidly
+round the plough, keeping time to a merry measure played by the piper,
+who still maintained his seat. Suddenly the ring was enlarged to double
+its former size, each man extending his sword to his neighbour, who took
+hold of the point; after which an hexagonal figure was formed, all the
+blades being brought together. The swords were then quickly withdrawn,
+flashing like sunbeams, and a four square figure was presented, the
+dancers vaulting actively over each other's heads. Other variations
+succeeded, not necessary to be specified--and the sport concluded by a
+general clashing of swords, intended to represent a melee.
+
+Meanwhile, Nicholas had been joined by Richard Assheton, and the latter
+was not long in detecting the two Devices through their disguises. On
+making this discovery he mentioned it to the squire, and was surprised
+to find him already aware of the circumstance, and not less astonished
+when he was advised to let them alone; the squire adding he was unable
+at that time to give his reasons for such counsel, but, being good and
+conclusive, Richard would be satisfied of their propriety hereafter. The
+young man, however, thought otherwise, and, notwithstanding his
+relative's attempts to dissuade him, announced his intention of causing
+the parties to be arrested at once; and with this design he went in
+search of an officer of the guard, that the capture might be effected
+without disturbance. But the throng was so close round the dancers that
+he could not pierce it, and being compelled to return and take another
+course, he got nearer to the mazy ring, and was unceremoniously pushed
+aside by the mummers. At this moment both his arms were forcibly
+grasped, and a deep voice on the right whispered in his ear--"Meddle not
+with us, and we will not meddle with you," while similar counsel was
+given him in other equally menacing tones, though in a different key, on
+the left. Richard would have shaken off his assailants, and seized them
+in his turn, but power to do so was wanting to him. For the moment he
+was deprived of speech and motion; but while thus situated he felt that
+the sapphire ring given him by the King was snatched from his finger by
+the first speaker, whom he knew to be Jem Device, while a fearful spell
+was muttered over him by Elizabeth.
+
+As this occurred at the time when the rattling of the swords engaged the
+whole attention of the spectators, no one noticed what was going forward
+except Nicholas, and, before he could get up to the young man, the two
+miscreants were gone, nor could any one tell what had become of them.
+
+"Have the wretches done you a mischief?" asked the squire, in a low
+tone, of Richard.
+
+"They have stolen the King's ring, which I meant to use in Alizon's
+behalf," replied the young man, who by this time had recovered his
+speech.
+
+"That is unlucky, indeed," said Nicholas. "But we can defeat any ill
+design they may intend, by acquainting Sir John Finett with the
+circumstance."
+
+"Let them be," said a voice in his ear. "The time is not yet come." The
+squire did not look round, for he well knew that the caution proceeded
+from Nance Redferne.
+
+And, accordingly, he observed to Richard--"Tarry awhile, and you will be
+amply avenged."
+
+And with this assurance the young man was fain to be content.
+
+Just then a trumpet was sounded, and a herald stationed on the summit of
+the broad flight of steps leading to the great hall, proclaimed in a
+loud voice that a tilting-match was about to take place between Archie
+Armstrong, jester to his most gracious Majesty, and Davy Droman, who
+filled the same honourable office to his Grace the Duke of Buckingham,
+and that a pair of gilt-heel'd chopines would be the reward of the
+successful combatant. This announcement was received with cheers, and
+preparations were instantly made for the mock tourney. A large circle
+being formed by the yeomen of the guard, with an alley leading to it on
+either side, the two combatants, mounted on gaudy-caparisoned
+hobby-horses, rode into the ring. Both were armed to the teeth, each
+having a dish-cover braced around him in lieu of a breastplate, a
+newly-scoured brass porringer on his head, a large pewter platter
+instead of a buckler, and a spit with a bung at the point, to prevent
+mischief, in place of a lance. The Duke's jester was an obese little
+fellow, and his appearance in this warlike gear was so eminently
+ridiculous, that it provoked roars of laughter, while Archie was
+scarcely less ridiculous. After curveting round the arena in imitation
+of knights of chivalry, and performing "their careers, their prankers,
+their false trots, their smooth ambles, and Canterbury paces," the two
+champions took up a position opposite each other, with difficulty, as it
+seemed, reining in their pawing chargers, and awaiting the signal of
+attack to be given by Sir John Finett, the judge of the tournament. This
+was not long delayed, and the "laissez aller" being pronounced, the
+preux chevaliers started forward with so much fury, and so little
+discretion, that meeting half-way with a tremendous shock, and butting
+against each other like two rams, both were thrown violently backwards,
+exhibiting, amid the shouts of the spectators, their heels, no longer
+hidden by the trappings of their steeds, kicking in the air. Encumbered
+as they were, some little time elapsed before they could regain their
+feet, and their lances having been removed in the mean time, by order of
+Sir John Finett, as being weapons of too dangerous a description for
+such truculent combatants, they attacked each other with their broad
+lathen daggers, dealing sounding blows upon helm, habergeon, and shield,
+but doing little personal mischief. The strife raged furiously for some
+time, and, as the champions appeared pretty well matched, it was not
+easy to say how it would terminate, when chance seemed to decide in
+favour of Davy Droman; for, in dealing a heavier blow than usual,
+Archie's dagger snapped in twain, leaving him at the mercy of his
+opponent. On this the doughty Davy, crowing lustily like chanticleer,
+called upon him to yield; but Archie was so wroth at his misadventure,
+that, instead of complying, he sprang forward, and with the hilt of his
+broken weapon dealt his elated opponent a severe blow on the side of the
+head, not only knocking off the porringer, but stretching him on the
+ground beside it. The punishment he had received was enough for poor
+Davy. He made no attempt to rise, and Archie, crowing in his turn,
+trampling upon the body of his prostrate foe, and then capering joyously
+round it, was declared the victor, and received the gilt chopines from
+the judge, amidst the laughter and acclamations of the beholders.
+
+With this the public sports concluded; and, as evening was drawing on
+apace, such of the guests as were not invited to pass the night within
+the Tower, took their departure; while shortly afterwards, supper being
+served in the banqueting-hall on a scale of profusion and magnificence
+quite equal to the earlier repast, the King and the whole of his train
+sat down to it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.--EVENING ENTERTAINMENTS.
+
+
+Other amusements were reserved for the evening. While revelry was again
+held in the great hall; while the tables groaned, for the third time
+since morning, with good cheer, and the ruby wine, which seemed to gush
+from inexhaustible fountains, mantled in the silver flagons; while
+seneschal, sewer, and pantler, with the yeomen of the buttery and
+kitchen, were again actively engaged in their vocations; while of the
+three hundred guests more than half, as if insatiate, again vied with
+each other in prowess with the trencher and the goblet; while in the
+words of old Taylor, the water poet, but who was no water-drinker--and
+who thus sang of the hospitality of the men of Manchester, in the early
+part of the seventeenth century--they had
+
+          "Roast, boil'd, bak'd, too, too much, white, claret, sack.
+           Nothing they thought too heavy or too hot,
+           Can follow'd can, and pot succeeded pot."
+
+--during this time preparations were making for fresh entertainments out
+of doors.
+
+The gardens at Hoghton Tower, though necessarily confined in space,
+owing to their situation on the brow of a hill, were beautifully laid
+out, and commanded from their balustred terraces magnificent views of
+the surrounding country. Below them lay the well-wooded park, skirted by
+the silvery Darwen, with the fair village of Walton-le-Dale immediately
+beyond it, the proud town of Preston further on, and the single-coned
+Nese Point rising majestically in the distance. The principal garden
+constituted a square, and was divided with mathematical precision,
+according to the formal taste of the time, into smaller squares, with a
+broad well-kept gravel walk at each angle. These plots were arranged in
+various figures and devices--such as the cinq-foil, the flower-de-luce,
+the trefoil, the lozenge, the fret, the diamond, the crossbow, and the
+oval--all very elaborate and intricate in design. Besides these knots,
+as they were termed, there were labyrinths, and clipped yew-tree walks,
+and that indispensable requisite to a garden at the period, a maze. In
+the centre was a grassy eminence, surmounted by a pavilion, in front of
+which spread a grass-plot of smoothest turf, ordinarily used as a
+bowling-green. At the lower end of this a temporary stage was erected,
+for the masque about to be represented before the King. Torches were
+kindled, and numerous lamps burned in the branches of the adjoining
+trees; but they were scarcely needed, for the moon being at the full,
+the glorious effulgence shed by her upon the scene rendered all other
+light pale and ineffectual.
+
+After supper, at which the drinking was deeper than at dinner, the whole
+of the revellers repaired to the garden, full of frolic and merriment,
+and well-disposed for any diversion in store for them. The King was
+conducted to the bowling-green by his host, preceded by a crowd of
+attendants bearing odoriferous torches; but the royal gait being
+somewhat unsteady, the aid of Sir Gilbert Hoghton's arm was required to
+keep the monarch from stumbling. The rest of the bacchanalians followed,
+and, elated as they were, it will not be wondered that they put very
+little restraint upon themselves, but shouted, sang, danced, and
+indulged in all kinds of licence.
+
+Opposite the stage prepared for the masquers a platform had been reared,
+in front of which was a chair for the King, with seats for the nobles
+and principal guests behind it. The sides were hung with curtains of
+crimson velvet fringed with gold; the roof decorated like a canopy; so
+that it had a very magnificent effect. James lolled back in his chair,
+and jested loudly and rather indecorously with the various personages as
+they took their places around him. In less than five minutes the whole
+of the green was filled with revellers, and great was the pushing and
+jostling, the laughing and screaming, that ensued among them. Silence
+was then enjoined by Sir John Finett, who had stationed himself on the
+steps of the stage, and at this command the assemblage became
+comparatively quiet, though now and then a half-suppressed titter or a
+smothered scream would break out. Amid this silence the King's voice
+could be distinctly heard, and his coarse jests reached the ears of all
+the astonished audience, provoking many a severe comment from the
+elders, and much secret laughter from the juniors.
+
+The masque began. Two tutelar deities appeared on the stage. They were
+followed by a band of foresters clad in Lincoln green, with bows at
+their backs. The first deity wore a white linen tunic, with
+flesh-coloured hose and red buskins, and had a purple taffeta mantle
+over his shoulders. In his hand he held a palm branch, and a garland of
+the same leaves was woven round his brow. The second household god was a
+big brawny varlet, wild and shaggy in appearance, being clothed in the
+skins of beasts, with sandals of untanned cowhide. On his head was a
+garland of oak leaves; and from his neck hung a horn. He was armed with
+a hunting-spear and wood-knife, and attended by a large Lancashire
+mastiff. Advancing to the front of the stage, the foremost personage
+thus addressed the Monarch--
+
+          "This day--great King for government admired!
+           Which these thy subjects have so much desired--
+           Shall be kept holy in their heart's best treasure,
+           And vow'd to JAMES as is this month to Caesar.
+           And now the landlord of this ancient Tower,
+           Thrice fortunate to see this happy hour,
+           Whose trembling heart thy presence sets on fire,
+           Unto this house--the heart of all our shire--
+           Does bid thee cordial welcome, and would speak it
+           In higher notes, but extreme joy doth break it.
+           He makes his guests most welcome, in his eyes
+           Love tears do sit, not he that shouts and cries.
+           And we the antique guardians of this place,--
+           I of this house--he of the fruitful chase,--
+           Since the bold Hoghtons from this hill took name,
+           Who with the stiff, unbridled Saxons came,
+           And so have flourish'd in this fairer clime
+           Successively from that to this our time,
+           Still offering up to our immortal powers
+           Sweet incense, wine, and odoriferous flowers;
+           While sacred Vesta, in her virgin tire,
+           With vows and wishes tends the hallow'd fire.
+           Now seeing that thy Majesty is thus
+           Greater than household deities like us,
+           We render up to thy more powerful guard,
+           This Tower. This knight is thine--he is thy ward,
+           For by thy helping and auspicious hand,
+           He and his home shall ever, ever stand
+           And flourish, in despite of envious fate;
+           And then live, like Augustus, fortunate.
+           And long, long mayst thou live!--To which both men
+           And guardian angels cry--"Amen! amen!"
+
+James, who had demeaned himself critically during the delivery of the
+address, observed at its close to Sir Richard Hoghton, who was standing
+immediately behind his chair, "We cannot say meikle for the rhymes,
+which are but indifferently strung together, but the sentiments are leal
+and gude, and that is a' we care for."
+
+On this the second tutelar divinity advanced, and throwing himself into
+an attitude, as if bewildered by the august presence in which he stood,
+exclaimed--
+
+          "Thou greatest of mortals!"--
+
+And then stopped, as if utterly confounded.
+
+The King looked at him for a moment, and then roared out--"Weel,
+gudeman, your commencement is pertinent and true enough; and though we
+be 'the greatest of mortals,' as ye style us, dinna fash yoursel' about
+our grandeur, but go on, as if we were nae better nor wiser than your
+ain simple sel'."
+
+But, instead of encouraging the dumbfounded deity, this speech
+completely upset him. He hastily retreated; and, in trying to screen
+himself behind the huntsman, fell back from the stage, and his hound
+leapt after him. The incident, whether premeditated or not, amused the
+spectators much more than any speech he could have delivered, and the
+King joined heartily in the merriment.
+
+Silence being again restored, the first divinity came forward once more,
+and spoke thus:--
+
+          'Dread lord! thy Majesty hath stricken dumb
+           His weaker god-head; if to himself he come,
+           Unto thy service straight he will commend
+           These foresters, and charge them to attend
+           Thy pleasure in this park, and show such sport;
+           To the chief huntsman and thy princely court,
+           As the small circle of this round affords,
+           And be more ready than he was in words."[5]
+
+"Weel spoken, and to the purpose, gude fallow," cried James. "And we
+take this opportunity of assuring our worthy host, in the presence of
+his other guests, that we have never had better sport in park or forest
+than we have this day enjoyed--have never eaten better cheer, nor
+quaffed better wine than at his board--and, altogether, have never been
+more hospitably welcomed."
+
+Sir Richard was overwhelmed by his Majesty's commendation.
+
+"I have done nothing, my gracious liege," he said, "to merit such
+acknowledgment on your part, and the delight I experience is only
+tempered by my utter unworthiness."
+
+"Hoot-toot! man," replied James, jocularly, "ye merit a vast deal mair
+than we hae said to you. But gude folk dinna always get their deserts.
+Ye ken that, Sir Richard. And now, hae ye not some ither drolleries in
+store for us?"
+
+The baronet replied in the affirmative, and soon afterwards the stage
+was occupied by a new class of performers, and a drollery commenced
+which kept the audience in one continual roar of laughter so long as it
+lasted. And yet none of the parts had been studied, the actors entirely
+trusting to their own powers of comedy to carry it out. The principal
+character was the Cap Justice, enacted by Sir John Finett, who took
+occasion in the course of the performance to lampoon and satirise most
+of the eminent legal characters of the day, mimicking the voices and
+manner of the three justices--Crooke, Hoghton, and Doddridge--so
+admirably, that his hearers were wellnigh convulsed; and the three
+learned gentlemen, who sat near the King, though fully conscious of the
+ridicule applied to them, were obliged to laugh with the rest. But the
+unsparing satirist was not content with this, but went on, with most of
+the other attendants upon the King, and being intimately versed in court
+scandal, he directed his lash with telling effect. As a contrast to the
+malicious pleasantry of the Cap Justice, were the gambols and jests of
+Robin Goodfellow--a merry imp, who, if he led people into mischief, was
+always ready to get them out of it. Then there was a dance by Bill
+Huckler, old Crambo, and Tom o' Bedlam, the half-crazed individual
+already mentioned as being among the crowd in the base court. This was
+applauded to the echo, and consequently repeated. But the most diverting
+scene of all was that in which Jem Tospot and the three Doll Wangos
+appeared. Though given in the broadest vernacular of the county, and
+scarcely intelligible to the whole of the company, the dialogue of this
+part of the piece was so lifelike and natural, that every one recognised
+its truth; while the situations, arranged with the slightest effort, and
+on the spur of the moment, were extremely ludicrous. The scene was
+supposed to take place in a small Lancashire alehouse, where a jovial
+pedlar was carousing, and where, being visited by his three
+sweethearts--each of whom he privately declared to be the favourite--he
+had to reconcile their differences, and keep them all in good-humour.
+Familiar with the character in all its aspects, Nicholas played it to
+the life; and, to do them justice, Dames Baldwyn, Tetlow, and Nance
+Redferne, were but little if at all inferior to him. There was a reality
+in their jealous quarrelling that gave infinite zest to the performance.
+
+"Saul o' my body!" exclaimed James, admiringly, "those are three braw
+women. Ane of them maun be sax feet if she is an inch, and weel made and
+weel favourt too. Zounds! Sir Richard, there's nae standing the spells
+o' your Lancashire Witches. High-born and low-born, they are a' alike. I
+wad their only witchcraft lay in their een. I should then hae the less
+fear of 'em. But have you aught mair? for it is growing late, and ye ken
+we hae something to do in that pavilion."
+
+"Only a merry dance, my liege, in which a man will appear in a
+dendrological foliage of fronds," replied the baronet.
+
+James laughed at the description, and soon afterwards a party of
+mummers, male and female, clad in various grotesque garbs, appeared on
+the stage. In the midst of them was the "dendrological man," enclosed in
+a framework of green boughs, like that borne by a modern
+Jack-in-the-green. A ring was formed by the mummers, and the round
+commenced to lively music.
+
+While the mazy measure was proceeding, Nance Redferne, who had quitted
+the stage with Nicholas, and now stood close to him among the
+spectators, said in a low tone, "Look there!"
+
+The squire glanced in the direction indicated, and to his surprise and
+terror, distinguished, among the crowd at a little distance, the figure
+of a Cistertian monk.
+
+"He is invisible to every eye except our own," whispered Nance, "and is
+come to tell me it is time."
+
+"Time for what?" demanded Nicholas.
+
+"Time for you to seize those two accursed Devices, Jem and his mother,"
+replied Nance. "They are both on yon boards. Jem is the man in the tree,
+and Elizabeth is the owd crone in the red kirtle and high-crowned hat.
+Yo win knoa her feaw feace when yo pluck off her mask."
+
+"The monk is gone," cried Nicholas; "I have kept my eyes steadily fixed
+on him, and he has melted into air. What has he to do with the Devices?"
+
+"He is their fate," returned Nance, "an ey ha' acted under his orders.
+Boh mount, an seize them. Ey win ge wi' ye."
+
+Forcing his way through the crowd, Nicholas ran up the steps, and,
+followed by Nance, sprang upon the stage. His appearance occasioned
+considerable surprise; but as he was recognised by the spectators as the
+jolly Jem Tospot, who had so recently diverted them, and his companion
+as one of the three Doll Wangos, in anticipation of some more fun they
+received him with a round of applause. But without stopping to
+acknowledge it, or being for a moment diverted from his purpose,
+Nicholas seized the old crone, and, consigning her to Nance, caught
+hold of the leafy frame in which the man was encased, and pulled him
+from under it. But he began to think he had unkennelled the wrong fox,
+for the man, though a tall fellow, bore no resemblance to Jem Device;
+while, when the crone's mask was plucked off, she was found to be a
+comely young woman. Meanwhile, all around was in an uproar, and amidst a
+hurricane of hisses, yells, and other indications of displeasure from
+the spectators, several of the mummers demanded the meaning of such a
+strange and unwarrantable proceeding.
+
+"They are a couple of witches," cried Nicholas; "this is Jem Device and
+his mother Elizabeth."
+
+"My name is nother Jem nor Device," cried the man.
+
+"Nor mine Elizabeth," screamed the woman.
+
+"We know the Devices," cried two or three voices, "and these are none of
+'em."
+
+Nicholas was perplexed. The storm increased; threats accompanied the
+hisses; when luckily he espied a ring on the man's finger. He instantly
+seized his hand, and held it up to the general gaze.
+
+"A proof!--a proof!" he cried. "This sapphire ring was given by the King
+to my cousin, Richard Assheton, this morning, and stolen from him by Jem
+Device."
+
+"Examine their features again," said Nance Redferne, waving her hands
+over them. "Yo win aw knoa them now."
+
+The woman's face instantly altered. Many years being added to it in a
+breath. The man changed equally. The utmost astonishment was evinced by
+all at the transformation, and the bystanders who had spoken before, now
+cried out loudly--"We know them perfectly now. They are the two
+Devices."
+
+By this time an officer, attended by a party of halberdiers, had mounted
+the boards, and the two prisoners were delivered to their custody by
+Nicholas.
+
+"Howd!" cried the man; "Ey win no longer deny my name. Ey am Jem Device,
+an this is my mother, Elizabeth. Boh a warse offender than either on us
+stonds afore yo. This woman is Nance Redferne, grandowter of the owd
+hag, Mother Chattox. Ey charge her wi' makin' wax images, an' stickin'
+pins in 'em, wi' intent to kill folk. Hoo wad ha' kilt me mysel', wi'
+her devilry, if ey hadna bin too strong for her--an' that's why hoo
+bears me malice, an' has betrayed me to Squoire Nicholas Assheton. Seize
+her, an' ca' me as a witness agen her."
+
+And as Nance was secured, he laughed malignantly.
+
+"Ey care not," replied Nance. "Ey am now revenged on you both."
+
+While this impromptu performance took place, as much to the surprise of
+James as of any one else, and while he was desiring Sir Richard Hoghton
+to ascertain what it all meant--at the very moment that the two Devices
+and Nance removed from the stage, an usher approached the monarch, and
+said that Master Potts entreated a moment's audience of his majesty.
+
+"Potts!" exclaimed James, somewhat confused. "Wha is he?--ah, yes! I
+recollect--a witch-finder. Weel, let him approach."
+
+Accordingly, the next moment the little attorney, whose face was
+evidently charged with some tremendous intelligence, was ushered into
+the king's presence.
+
+After a profound reverence, he said, "May it please your Majesty, I have
+something for your private ear."
+
+"Aweel, then," replied James, "approach us mair closely. What hae ye got
+to say, sir? Aught mair anent these witches?"
+
+"A great deal, sire," said Potts, in an impressive tone. "Something
+dreadful has happened--something terrible."
+
+"Eh! what?" exclaimed James, looking alarmed. "What is it, man? Speak!"
+
+"Murder? sire,--murder has been done," said Potts, in low thrilling
+accents.
+
+"Murder!" exclaimed James, horror-stricken. "Tell us a' about it, and
+without more ado."
+
+But Potts was still circumspect. With an air of deepest mystery, he
+approached his head as near as he dared to that of the monarch, and
+whispered in his ear.
+
+"Can this be true?" cried James. "If sae--it's very shocking--very
+sad."
+
+"It is too true, as your Majesty will find on investigation," replied
+Potts. "The little girl I told you of, Jennet Device, saw it done."
+
+"Weel, weel, there is nae accounting for human frailty and wickedness,"
+said James. "Let a' necessary steps be taken at once. We will consider
+what to do. But--d'ye hear, sir?--dinna let the bairn Jennet go. Haud
+her fast. D'ye mind that? Now go, and cause the guilty party to be put
+under arrest."
+
+And on receiving this command Master Potts departed.
+
+Scarcely was he gone than Nicholas Assheton came up to the railing of
+the platform, and, imploring his Majesty's forgiveness for the
+disturbance he had occasioned, explained that it had been owing to the
+seizure of the two Devices, who, for some wicked but unexplained
+purpose, had contrived to introduce themselves, under various disguises,
+into the Tower.
+
+"Ye did right to arrest the miscreants, sir," said James. "But hae ye
+heard what has happened?"
+
+"No, my liege," replied Nicholas, alarmed by the King's manner; "what is
+it?"
+
+"Come nearer, and ye shall learn," replied James; "for we wadna hae it
+bruited abroad, though if true, as we canna doubt, it will be known soon
+enough."
+
+And as the squire bent forward, he imparted some intelligence to him,
+which instantly changed the expression of the latter to one of mingled
+horror and rage.
+
+"It is false, sire!" he cried. "I will answer for her innocence with my
+life. She could not do it. Your Majesty's patience is abused. It is
+Jennet who has done it--not she. But I will unravel the terrible
+mystery. You have the other two wretches prisoners, and can enforce the
+truth from them."
+
+"We will essay to do so," replied James; "but we have also another
+prisoner."
+
+"Christopher Demdike?" said Nicholas.
+
+"Ay, Christopher Demdike," rejoined James. "But another besides
+him--Mistress Nutter. You stare, sir; but it is true. She is in yonder
+pavilion. We ken fu' weel wha assisted her flight, and wha concealed
+her. Maister Potts has told us a'. It is weel for you that your puir
+kinsman, Richard Assheton, did us sic gude service at the boar-hunt
+to-day. We shall not now be unmindful of it, even though he cannot send
+us the ring we gave him."
+
+"It is here, sire," replied Nicholas. "It was stolen from him by the
+villain, Jem Device. The poor youth meant to use it for Alizon. I now
+deliver it to your Majesty as coming from him in her behalf."
+
+"And we sae receive it," replied the monarch, brushing away the moisture
+that gathered thickly in his eyes.
+
+At this moment a tall personage, wrapped in a cloak, who appeared to be
+an officer of the guard, approached the railing.
+
+"I am come to inform your Majesty that Christopher Demdike has just died
+of his wounds," said this personage.
+
+"And sae he has had a strae death, after a'!" rejoined James. "Weel, we
+are sorry for it."
+
+"His portion will be eternal bale," observed the officer.
+
+"How know you that, sir?" demanded the King, sharply. "You are not his
+judge."
+
+"I witnessed his end, sire," replied the officer; "and no man who died
+as he died can be saved. The Fiend was beside him at the death-throes."
+
+"Save us!" exclaimed James. "Ye dinna say so? God's santie! man, but
+this is grewsome, and gars the flesh creep on one's banes. Let his foul
+carcase be taen awa', and hangit on a gibbet on the hill where Malkin
+Tower aince stood, as a warning to a' sic heinous offenders."
+
+As the King ceased speaking, Master Potts appeared out of breath, and
+greatly excited.
+
+"She has escaped, sire!" he cried.
+
+"Wha! Jennet!" exclaimed James. "If sae, we will tang you in her stead."
+
+"No, sire--Alizon," replied Potts. "I can nowhere find her; nor--" and
+he hesitated.
+
+"Weel--weel--it is nae great matter," replied James, as if relieved,
+and with a glance of satisfaction at Nicholas.
+
+"I know where Alizon is, sire," said the officer.
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed James. "This fellow is strangely officious," he
+muttered to himself. "And where may she be, sir?" he added, aloud.
+
+"I will produce her within a quarter of an hour in yonder pavilion,"
+replied the officer, "and all that Master Potts has been unable to
+find."
+
+"Your Majesty may trust him," observed Nicholas, who had attentively
+regarded the officer. "Depend upon it he will make good his words."
+
+"You think so?" cried the King. "Then we will put him to the test. You
+will engage to confront Alizon with her mother?" he added, to the
+officer.
+
+"I will, sire," replied the other. "But I shall require the assistance
+of a dozen men."
+
+"Tak twenty, if you will," replied the King,--"I am impatient to see
+what you can do."
+
+"In a quarter of a minute all shall be ready within the pavilion, sire,"
+replied the officer. "You have seen one masque to-night;--but you shall
+now behold a different one--the masque of death."
+
+And he disappeared.
+
+Nicholas felt sure he would accomplish his task, for he had recognised
+in him the Cistertian monk.
+
+"Where is Sir Richard Assheton of Middleton?" inquired the King.
+
+"He left the Tower with his daughter Dorothy, immediately after the
+banquet," replied Nicholas.
+
+"I am glad of it--right glad," replied the monarch; "the terrible
+intelligence can be the better broken to them. If it had come upon them
+suddenly, it might have been fatal--especially to the puir lassie. Let
+Sir Ralph Assheton of Whalley come to me--and Master Roger Nowell of
+Read."
+
+"Your Majesty shall be obeyed," replied Sir Richard Hoghton.
+
+The King then gave some instructions respecting the prisoners, and bade
+Master Potts have Jennet in readiness.
+
+And now to see what terrible thing had happened.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.--FATALITY.
+
+
+Along the eastern terrace a youth and maiden were pacing slowly. They
+had stolen forth unperceived from the revel, and, passing through a door
+standing invitingly open, had entered the garden. Though overjoyed in
+each other's presence, the solemn beauty of the night, so powerful in
+its contrast to the riotous scene they had just quitted, profoundly
+impressed them. Above, were the deep serene heavens, lighted up by the
+starry host and their radiant queen--below, the immemorial woods,
+steeped in silvery mists arising from the stream flowing past them. All
+nature was hushed in holy rest. In opposition to the flood of soft light
+emanating from the lovely planet overhead, and which turned all it fell
+on, whether tree, or tower, or stream, to beauty, was the artificial
+glare caused by the torches near the pavilion; while the discordant
+sounds occasioned by the minstrels tuning their instruments, disturbed
+the repose. As they went on, however, these sounds were lost in the
+distance, and the glare of the torches was excluded by intervening
+trees. Then the moon looked down lovingly upon them, and the only music
+that reached their ears arose from the nightingales. After a pause, they
+walked on again, hand-in-hand, gazing at each other, at the glorious
+heavens, and drinking in the thrilling melody of the songsters of the
+grove.
+
+At the angle of the terrace was a small arbour placed in the midst of a
+bosquet, and they sat down within it. Then, and not till then, did their
+thoughts find vent in words. Forgetting the sorrows they had endured,
+and the perils by which they were environed, they found in their deep
+mutual love a shield against the sharpest arrows of fate. In low gentle
+accents they breathed their passion, solemnly plighting their faith
+before all-seeing Heaven.
+
+Poor souls! they were happy then--intensely happy. Alas! that their
+happiness should be so short; for those few moments of bliss, stolen
+from a waste of tears, were all that were allowed them. Inexorable fate
+still dogged their footsteps.
+
+Amidst the bosquet stood a listener to their converse--a little girl
+with high shoulders and sharp features, on which diabolical malice was
+stamped. Two yellow eyes glistened through the leaves beside her,
+marking the presence of a cat. As the lovers breathed their vows, and
+indulged in hopes never to be realised, the wicked child grinned,
+clenched her hands, and, grudging them their short-lived happiness,
+seemed inclined to interrupt it. Some stronger motive, however, kept her
+quiet.
+
+What are the pair talking of now?--She hears her own name mentioned by
+the maiden, who speaks of her with pity, almost with affection--pardons
+her for the mischief she has done her, and hopes Heaven will pardon her
+likewise. But she knows not the full extent of the girl's malignity, or
+even her gentle heart must have been roused to resentment.
+
+The little girl, however, feels no compunction. Infernal malice has
+taken possession of her heart, and crushed every kindly feeling within
+it. She hates all those that compassionate her, and returns evil for
+good.
+
+What are the lovers talking of now? Of their first meeting at Whalley
+Abbey, when one was May Queen, and by her beauty and simplicity won the
+other's heart, losing her own at the same time. A bright unclouded
+career seemed to lie before them then. Wofully had it darkened since.
+Alas! Alas!
+
+The little girl smiles. She hopes they will go on. She likes to hear
+them talk thus. Past happiness is ever remembered with a pang by the
+wretched, and they _were_ happy then. Go on--go on!
+
+But they are silent for awhile, for they wish to dwell on that hopeful,
+that blissful season. And a nightingale, alighting on a bough above
+them, pours forth its sweet plaint, as if in response to their tender
+emotions. They praise the bird's song, and it suddenly ceases.
+
+For the little girl, full of malevolence, stretches forth her hand, and
+it drops to the ground, as if stricken by a dart.
+
+"Is thy heart broken, poor bird?" exclaimed the young man, taking up the
+hapless songster, yet warm and palpitating. "To die in the midst of thy
+song--'tis hard."
+
+"Very hard!" replied the maiden, tearfully. "Its fate seems a type of
+our own."
+
+The little girl laughed, but in a low tone, and to herself.
+
+The pair then grew sad. This slight incident had touched them deeply,
+and their conversation took a melancholy turn. They spoke of the blights
+that had nipped their love in the bud--of the canker that had eaten into
+its heart--of the destiny that so relentlessly pursued them, threatening
+to separate them for ever.
+
+The little girl laughed merrily.
+
+Then they spoke of the grave--and of hope beyond the grave; and they
+spoke cheerfully.
+
+The little girl could laugh no longer, for with her all beyond the grave
+was despair.
+
+After that they spoke of the terrible power that Satan had lately
+obtained in that unhappy district, of the arts he had employed, and of
+the votaries he had won. Both prayed fervently that his snares might be
+circumvented, and his rule destroyed.
+
+During this part of the discourse the cat swelled to the size of a
+tiger, and his eyes glowed like fiery coals. He made a motion as if he
+would spring forward, but the voice of prayer arrested him, and he
+shrank back to his former size.
+
+"Poor Jennet is ensnared by the Fiend," murmured the maiden, "and will
+perish eternally. Would I could save her!"
+
+"It cannot be," replied the young man. "She is beyond redemption."
+
+The little girl gnashed her teeth with rage.
+
+"But my mother--I do not now despair of her," said Alizon. "She has
+broken the bondage by which she was enchained, and, if she resists
+temptation to the last, I am assured will be saved."
+
+"Heaven aid her!" exclaimed Richard.
+
+Scarcely were the words uttered, than the cat disappeared.
+
+"Why, Tib!--where are yo, Tib? Ey want yo!" cried the little girl in a
+low tone.
+
+But the familiar did not respond to the call.
+
+"Where con he ha' gone?" cried Jennet; "Tib! Tib!"
+
+Still the cat came not.
+
+"Then ey mun do the wark without him," pursued the little girl; "an ey
+win no longer delay it."
+
+And with this she crept stealthily round the arbour, and, approaching
+the side where Richard sat, watched an opportunity of touching him
+unperceived.
+
+As her finger came in contact with his frame, a pang like death shot
+through his heart, and he fell upon Alizon's shoulder.
+
+"Are you ill?" she exclaimed, gazing at his pallid features, rendered
+ghastly white by the moonlight.
+
+Richard could make no reply, and Alizon, becoming dreadfully alarmed,
+was about to fly for assistance, but the young man, by a great effort,
+detained her.
+
+"Ey mun now run an tell Mester Potts, so that hoo may be found wi' him,"
+muttered Jennet, creeping away.
+
+Just then Richard recovered his speech, but his words were faintly
+uttered, and with difficulty.
+
+"Alizon," he said, "I will not attempt to disguise my condition from
+you. I am dying. And my death will be attributed to you--for evil-minded
+persons have persuaded the King that you have bewitched me, and he will
+believe the charge now. Oh! if you would ease the pangs of death for
+me--if you would console my latest moments--leave me, and quit this
+place, before it be too late."
+
+"Oh! Richard," she cried distractedly; "you ask more than I can perform.
+If you are indeed in such imminent danger, I will stay with you--will
+die with you."
+
+"No! live for me--live--save yourself, Alizon," implored the young man.
+"Your danger is greater than mine. A dreadful death awaits you at the
+stake! Oh! mercy, mercy, heaven! Spare her--in pity spare her!--Have we
+not suffered enough? I can no more. Farewell for ever, Alizon--one
+kiss--the last."
+
+And as their lips met, his strength utterly forsook him, and he fell
+backwards.
+
+"One grave!" he murmured; "one grave, Alizon!"--And so, without a groan,
+he expired.
+
+Alizon neither screamed nor swooned, but remained in a state of
+stupefaction, gazing at the body. As the moon fell upon the placid
+features, they looked as if locked in slumber.
+
+There he lay--the young, the brave, the beautiful, the loving, the
+beloved. Fate had triumphed. Death had done his work; but he had only
+performed half his task.
+
+"One grave--one grave--it was his last wish--it shall be so!" she cried,
+in frenzied tones, "I shall thus escape my enemies, and avoid the
+horrible and shameful death to which they would doom me."
+
+And she snatched the dagger from the ill-fated youth's side.
+
+"Now, fate, I defy thee!" she cried, with a fearful laugh.
+
+One last look at that calm beautiful face--one kiss of the cold lips,
+which can no more return the endearment--and the dagger is pointed at
+her breast.
+
+But she is withheld by an arm of iron, and the weapon falls from her
+grasp. She looks up. A tall figure, clothed in the mouldering
+habiliments of a Cistertian monk, stands beside her. She knows the
+vestments at once, for she has seen them before, hanging up in the
+closet adjoining her mother's chamber at Whalley Abbey--and the features
+of the ghostly monk seem familiar to her.
+
+"Raise not thy hand against thyself," said the phantom, in a tone of
+awful reproof. "It is the Fiend prompts thee to do it. He would take
+advantage of thy misery to destroy thee."
+
+"I took thee for the Fiend," replied Alizon, gazing at him with wonder
+rather than with terror. "Who art thou?"
+
+"The enemy of thy enemies, and therefore thy friend," replied the monk.
+"I would have saved thy lover if I could, but his destiny was not to be
+averted. But, rest content, I will avenge him."
+
+"I do not want vengeance--I want to be with him," she replied,
+frantically embracing the body.
+
+"Thou wilt soon be with him," said the phantom, in tones of deep
+significance. "Arise, and come with me. Thy mother needs thy
+assistance."
+
+"My mother!" exclaimed Alizon, clearing the blinding tresses from her
+brow. "Where is she?"
+
+"Follow me, and I will bring thee to her," said the monk.
+
+"And leave him? I cannot!" cried Alizon, gazing wildly at the body.
+
+"You must. A soul is at stake, and will perish if you come not," said
+the monk. "He is at rest, and you will speedily rejoin him."
+
+"With that assurance I will go," replied Alizon, with a last look at the
+object of her love. "One grave--lay us in one grave!"
+
+"It shall be done according to your wish," said the monk.
+
+And he glided on with noiseless footsteps.
+
+Alizon followed him along the terrace.
+
+Presently they came to a dark yew-tree walk, leading to a labyrinth, and
+tracking it swiftly, as well as the overarched and intricate path to
+which it conducted, they entered a grotto, whence a flight of steps
+descended to a subterranean passage, hewn out of the rock. Along this
+passage, which was of some extent, the monk proceeded, and Alizon
+followed him.
+
+At last they came to another flight of steps, and here the monk stopped.
+
+"We are now beneath the pavilion, where you will find your mother," he
+said. "Mount! the way is clear before you. I have other work to do."
+
+Alizon obeyed; and, as she advanced, was surprised to find the monk
+gone. He had neither passed her nor ascended the steps, and must,
+therefore, have sunk into the earth.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.--THE LAST HOUR.
+
+
+Within the pavilion sat Alice Nutter. She was clad in deep mourning, but
+her dress seemed disordered as if by hasty travel. Her looks were full
+of anguish and terror; her blanched tresses, once so dark and beautiful,
+hung dishevelled over her shoulders; and her thin hands were clasped in
+supplication. Her cheeks were ashy pale, but on her brow was a bright
+red mark, as if traced by a finger dipped in blood.
+
+A lamp was burning on the table beside her. Near it was a skull, and
+near this emblem of mortality an hourglass, running fast.
+
+The windows and doors of the building were closed, and it would seem the
+unhappy lady was a prisoner.
+
+She had been brought there secretly that night, with what intent she
+knew not; but she felt sure it was with no friendly design towards
+herself. Early in the day three horsemen had arrived at her retreat in
+Pendle Forest, and without making any charge against her, or explaining
+whither they meant to take her, or indeed answering any inquiry, had
+brought her off with them, and, proceeding across the country, had
+arrived at a forester's hut on the outskirts of Hoghton Park. Here they
+tarried till evening, placing her in a room by herself, and keeping
+strict watch over her; and when the shadows of night fell, they conveyed
+her through the woods, and by a private entrance to the gardens of the
+Tower, and with equal secresy to the pavilion, where, setting a lamp
+before her, they left her to her meditations. All refused to answer her
+inquiries, but one of them, with a sinister smile, placed the hourglass
+and skull beside her.
+
+Left alone, the wretched lady vainly sought some solution of the
+enigma--why she had been brought thither. She could not solve it; but
+she determined, if her capture had been made by any lawful authorities,
+to confess her guilt and submit to condign punishment.
+
+Though the windows and doors were closed as before mentioned, sounds
+from without reached her, and she heard confused and tumultuous noises
+as if from a large assemblage. For what purpose were they met? Could it
+be for her execution? No--there were strains of music, and bursts of
+laughter. And yet she had heard that the burning of a witch was a
+spectacle in which the populace delighted--that they looked upon it as a
+show, like any other; and why should they not laugh, and have music at
+it? But could she be executed without trial, without judgment? She knew
+not. All she knew was she was guilty, and deserved to die. But when this
+idea took possession of her, the laughter sounded in her ears like the
+yells of demons, and the strains like the fearful harmonies she had
+heard at weird sabbaths.
+
+All at once she recollected with indescribable terror, that on this very
+night the compact she had entered into with the Fiend expired. That at
+midnight, unless by her penitence and prayers she had worked out her
+salvation, he could claim her. She recollected also, and with increased
+uneasiness, that the man who had set the hourglass on the table, and who
+had regarded her with a sinister smile as he did so, had said it was
+eleven o'clock! Her last hour then had arrived--nay, was partly spent,
+and the moments were passing swiftly by.
+
+The agony she endured at this thought was intense. She felt as if reason
+were forsaking her, and, but for her determined efforts to resist it,
+such a crisis might have occurred. But she knew that her eternal welfare
+depended upon the preservation of her mental balance, and she strove to
+maintain it, and in the end succeeded.
+
+Her gaze was fixed intently on the hourglass. She saw the sand trickling
+silently but swiftly down, like a current of life-blood, which, when it
+ceased, life would cease with it. She saw the shining grains above
+insensibly diminishing in quantity, and, as if she could arrest her
+destiny by the act, she seized the glass, and would have turned it, but
+the folly of the proceeding arrested her, and she set it down again.
+
+Then horrible thoughts came upon her, crushing her and overwhelming her,
+and she felt by anticipation all the torments she would speedily have to
+endure. Oceans of fire, in which miserable souls were for ever tossing,
+rolled before her. Yells, such as no human anguish can produce, smote
+her ears. Monsters of frightful form yawned to devour her. Fiends, armed
+with terrible implements of torture, such as the wildest imagination
+cannot paint, menaced her. All hell, and its horrors, was there, its
+dreadful gulf, its roaring furnaces, its rivers of molten metal, ever
+burning, yet never consuming its victims. A hot sulphureous atmosphere
+oppressed her, and a film of blood dimmed her sight.
+
+She endeavoured to pray, but her tongue clove to the roof of her mouth.
+She looked about for her Bible, but it had been left behind when she was
+taken from her retreat. She had no safeguard--none.
+
+Still the sand ran on.
+
+New agonies assailed her. Hell was before her again, but in a new form,
+and with new torments. She closed her eyes. She shut her ears. But she
+saw it still, and heard its terrific yells.
+
+Again she consults the hourglass. The sand is running on--ever
+diminishing.
+
+New torments assail her. She thinks of all she loves most on earth--of
+her daughter! Oh! if Alizon were near her, she might pray for her--might
+scare away these frightful visions--might save her. She calls to
+her--but she answers not. No, she is utterly abandoned of God and man,
+and must perish eternally.
+
+Again she consults the hourglass. One quarter of an hour is all that
+remains to her. Oh! that she could employ it in prayer! Oh! that she
+could kneel--or even weep!
+
+A large mirror hangs against the wall, and she is drawn towards it by an
+irresistible impulse. She sees a figure within it--but she does not know
+herself. Can that cadaverous object, with the white hair, that seems
+newly-arisen from the grave, be she? It must be a phantom. No--she
+touches her cheek, and finds it is real. But, ah! what is this red brand
+upon her brow? It must be the seal of the demon. She tries to efface
+it--but it will not come out. On the contrary, it becomes redder and
+deeper.
+
+Again she consults the glass. The sand is still running on. How many
+minutes remain to her?
+
+"Ten!" cried a voice, replying to her mental inquiry.--"Ten!"
+
+And, turning, she perceived her familiar standing beside her.
+
+"Thy time is wellnigh out, Alice Nutter," he said. "In ten minutes my
+lord will claim thee."
+
+"My compact with thy master is broken," she replied, summoning up all
+her resolution. "I have long ceased to use the power bestowed upon me;
+but, even if I had wished it, thou hast refused to serve me."
+
+"I have refused to serve you, madam, because you have disobeyed the
+express injunctions of my master," replied the familiar; "but your
+apostasy does not free you from bondage. You have merely lost advantages
+which you might have enjoyed. If you chose to dismiss me I could not
+help it. Neither I nor my lord have been to blame. We have performed our
+part of the contract."
+
+"Why am I brought hither?" demanded Mistress Nutter.
+
+"I will tell you," replied the familiar. "You were brought here by order
+of the King. Your retreat was revealed to him by Master Potts, who
+learnt it from Jennet Device. The sapient sovereign intended to confront
+you with your daughter Alizon, who, like yourself, is accused of
+witchcraft; but he will be disappointed--for when he comes for you, you
+will be out of his reach--ha! ha!"
+
+And he rubbed his hands at the jest.
+
+"Alizon accused of witchcraft--say'st thou?" cried Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Ay," replied the familiar. "She is suspected of bewitching Richard
+Assheton, who has been done to death by Jennet Device. For one so young,
+the little girl has certainly a rare turn for mischief. But no one will
+know the real author of the crime, and Alizon will suffer for it."
+
+"Heaven will not suffer such iniquity," said the lady.
+
+"As you have nothing to do with heaven, madam, it is needless to refer
+to it," said the familiar. "But it certainly is rather hard that one so
+young as Alizon should perish."
+
+"Can you save her?" asked Mistress Nutter.
+
+"Oh! yes, I _could_ save her, but she will not let me," replied the
+familiar, with a grin.
+
+"No--no--it is impossible," cried the wretched woman. "And I cannot help
+her."
+
+"Perhaps you might," observed the tempter. "My master, whom you accuse
+of harshness, is ever willing to oblige you. You have a few minutes
+left--do you wish him to aid her? Command me, and I will obey you."
+
+"This is some snare," thought Mistress Nutter; "I will resist it."
+
+"You cannot be worse off than you are," remarked the familiar.
+
+"I know not that," replied the lady. "What would'st thou do?"
+
+"Whatever you command me, madam. I can, do nothing of my own accord.
+Shall I bring your daughter here? Say so, and it shall be done."
+
+"No--thou would'st ensnare me," she replied. "I well know thou hast no
+power over her. Thou would'st place some phantasm before me. I would see
+her, but not through thy agency."
+
+"She is here," cried Alizon, opening the door of a closet, and rushing
+towards her mother, who instantly locked her in her arms.
+
+"Pray for me, my child," cried Mistress Nutter, mastering her emotion,
+"or I shall be snatched from you for ever. My moments are numbered.
+Pray--pray!"
+
+Alizon fell on her knees, and prayed fervently.
+
+"You waste your breath," cried the familiar, in a mocking tone. "Never
+till the brand shall disappear from her brow, and the writing, traced in
+her blood, shall vanish from this parchment, can she be saved. She is
+mine."
+
+"Pray, Alizon, pray!" shrieked Mistress Nutter.
+
+"I will tear her in pieces if she does not cease," cried the familiar,
+assuming a terrible shape, and menacing her with claws like those of a
+wild beast.
+
+"Pray thou, mother!" cried Alizon.
+
+"I cannot," replied the lady.
+
+"I will kill her if she but makes the attempt," howled the demon.
+
+"But try, mother, try!" cried Alizon.
+
+The poor lady dropped on her knees, and raised her hands in humble
+supplication--"Heaven forgive me!" she exclaimed.
+
+The demon seized the hourglass.
+
+"The sand is out--her term has expired--she is mine!" he cried.
+
+"Clasp thy arms tightly round me, my child. He cannot take me from
+thee," shrieked the agonised woman.
+
+"Release her, Alizon, or I will slay thee likewise," roared the demon.
+
+"Never," she replied; "thou canst not overcome me. Ha!" she added
+joyfully, "the brand has disappeared from her brow."
+
+"And the writing from the parchment," howled the demon; "but I will have
+her notwithstanding."
+
+And he plunged his claws into Alice Nutter's flesh. But her daughter
+held her fast.
+
+"Oh! hold me, my child--hold me, or I am lost!" shrieked the lady.
+
+"Be warned, and let her go, or thy life shall pay for her's," cried the
+demon.
+
+"My life for her's, willingly," replied Alizon.
+
+"Then take thy fate," rejoined the evil spirit.
+
+And placing his hand upon her heart, it instantly ceased to beat.
+
+"Mother, thou art saved--saved!" exclaimed Alizon, throwing out her
+arms.
+
+And gazing at her for an instant with a seraphic look, she fell
+backwards, and expired.
+
+"Thou art mine," roared the demon, seizing Mistress Nutter by the hair,
+and dragging her from her daughter's body, to which she clung
+desperately.
+
+"Help!--help!" she cried.
+
+"Thou mayst call, but thy cries will be unheeded," rejoined the familiar
+with mocking laughter.
+
+"Thou liest, false fiend!" said Mistress Nutter. "Heaven will help me
+now."
+
+And, as she spoke, the Cistertian monk stood before them.
+
+"Hence!" he cried with an imperious gesture to the demon. "She is no
+longer in thy power. Hence!"
+
+And with a howl of rage and disappointment the familiar vanished.
+
+"Alice Nutter," continued the monk, "thy safety has been purchased at
+the price of thy daughter's life. But it is of little moment, for she
+could not live long. Her gentle heart was broken, and, when the demon
+stopped it for ever, he performed unintentionally a merciful act. She
+must rest in the same grave with him she loved so well during life. This
+tell to those who will come to thee anon. Thou art delivered from the
+yoke of Satan. Full expiation has been made. But earthly justice must be
+satisfied. Thou must pay the penalty for crimes committed in the flesh,
+but what thou sufferest here shall avail thee hereafter."
+
+"I am content," she replied.
+
+"Pass the rest of thy life in penitence and prayer," pursued the monk,
+"and let nothing divert thee from it; for, though free now, thou wilt be
+subject to evil influence and temptations to the last. Remember this."
+
+"I will--I will," she rejoined.
+
+"And now," he said, "kneel beside thy daughter's body and pray. I will
+return to thee ere many minutes be passed. One task more, and then my
+mission is ended."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.--THE MASQUE OF DEATH.
+
+
+Short time as he had to await, James was unable to control his
+impatience. At last he arose, and, completely sobered by the recent
+strange events, descended the steps of the platform, and walked on
+without assistance.
+
+"Let the yeomen of the guard keep back the crowd," he said to an
+officer, "and let none follow me but Sir Ralph Assheton, Master Nicholas
+Assheton, and Master Roger Nowell. When I call, let the prisoners be
+brought forward."
+
+"Your Majesty shall be obeyed," replied the baronet, giving the
+necessary directions.
+
+James then moved slowly forward in the direction of the pavilion; and,
+as he went, called Nicholas Assheton to him.
+
+"Wha was that officer?" he asked.
+
+"Your pardon, my liege, but I cannot answer the question," replied
+Nicholas.
+
+"And why not, sir?" demanded the monarch, sharply.
+
+"For reasons I will hereafter render to your Majesty, and which I am
+persuaded you will find satisfactory," rejoined the squire.
+
+"Weel, weel, I dare say you are right," said the King. "But do you think
+he will keep his word?"
+
+"I am sure of it," returned Nicholas.
+
+"The time is come, then!" exclaimed James impatiently, and looking up at
+the pavilion.
+
+"The time is come!" echoed a sepulchral voice.
+
+"Did you speak?" inquired the monarch.
+
+"No, sire," replied Nicholas; "but some one seemed to give you
+intimation that all is ready. Will it please you to go on?"
+
+"Enter!" cried the voice.
+
+"Wha speaks?" demanded the King. And, as no answer was returned, he
+continued--"I will not set foot in the structure. It may be a snare of
+Satan."
+
+At this moment, the shutters of the windows flew open, showing that the
+pavilion was lighted up by many tapers within, while solemn strains of
+music issued from it.
+
+"Enter!" repeated the voice.
+
+"Have no fear, sire," said Nicholas.
+
+"That canna be the wark o' the deil," cried James. "He does not delight
+in holy hymns and sweet music."
+
+"That is a solemn dirge for the dead," observed Nicholas, as melodious
+voices mingled with the music.
+
+"Weel, weel, I will go on at a' hazards," said James.
+
+The doors flew open as the King and his attendants approached, and, as
+soon as they had passed through them, the valves swung back to their
+places.
+
+A strange sad spectacle met their gaze. In the midst of the chamber
+stood a bier, covered with a velvet pall, and on it the bodies of a
+youth and maiden were deposited. Pale and beautiful were they as
+sculptured marble, and a smile sat upon their features. Side by side
+they were lying, with their arms enfolded, as if they had died in each
+other's embrace. A wreath of yew and cypress was placed above their
+heads, and flowers were scattered round them.
+
+They were Richard and Alizon.
+
+It was a deeply touching sight, and for some time none spake. The solemn
+dirge continued, interrupted only by the stifled sobs of the listeners.
+
+"Both gone!" exclaimed Nicholas, in accents broken by emotion; "and so
+young--so good--so beautiful! Alas! alas!"
+
+"She could not have bewitched him," said the King.
+
+"Alizon was all purity and goodness," cried Nicholas, "and is now
+numbered with the angels."
+
+"The guilty one is in thy hands, O King!" said the voice. "It is for
+thee to punish."
+
+"And I will not hold my hand," said James. "The Devices shall assuredly
+perish. When I go from this chamber, I will have them conveyed under a
+strong escort to Lancaster Castle. They shall die by the hands of the
+common executioner."
+
+"My mission, then, is complete," replied the voice. "I can rest in
+peace.".
+
+"Who art thou?" demanded the King.
+
+"One who sinned deeply, but is now pardoned," replied the voice.
+
+The King was for a moment lost in reflection, and then turned to depart.
+At this moment a kneeling figure, whom no one had hitherto noticed,
+arose from behind the bier. It was a lady, robed in mourning. So ghastly
+pale were her features, and so skeleton-like her attenuated frame, that
+James thought he beheld a spectre, and recoiled in terror. The figure
+advanced slowly towards him.
+
+"Who, and what art thou, in Heaven's name?" he exclaimed.
+
+"I am Alice Nutter, sire," replied the lady, prostrating herself before
+him.
+
+"Alice Nutter, the witch!" cried the King. "Why--ay, I recollect thou
+wert here. I sent for thee, but recent terrible events had put thee
+clean out of my head. But expect no grace from me, evil woman. I will
+show thee none."
+
+"I ask none, sire," replied the penitent. "I came to place myself in
+your hands, that justice may be done upon me."
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed James. "Dost thou, indeed, repent thee of thy
+iniquities? Dost thou abjure the devil and all his works?"
+
+"I do," replied the lady, fervently. "My compact with the Evil One has
+been broken by the prayers of my devoted daughter, who sacrificed
+herself for me, and thereby saved my soul alive. But human justice
+requires an expiation, and I am anxious to make it."
+
+"Arise, ill-fated woman," said the king, much moved. "You must go to
+Lancaster, but, in consideration of your penitence, no indignity shall
+be shown you. You must be strictly guarded, but you shall not be taken
+with the other prisoners."
+
+"I humbly thank your Majesty," replied the lady. "May I take a last
+farewell of my child?"
+
+"Do so," replied James.
+
+Alice Nutter then approached the bier, and, after gazing for a moment
+with deepest fondness upon the features of her daughter, imprinted a
+kiss upon her marble brow. In doing this her tears fell fast.
+
+"You can weep, I see," observed the King. "You are a witch no longer."
+
+"Ay, Heaven be praised! I can weep," she replied; "and so ease my
+over-burthened heart. Oh! sire, none but those who have experienced it
+can tell the agony of being denied this relief of nature. Farewell for
+ever, my blessed child!" she exclaimed, kissing her brow again; "and
+you, too, her beloved. Nicholas Assheton--it was her wish to be buried
+in the same grave with Richard. You will see it done, Nicholas?"
+
+"I will--I will!" replied the squire, in a voice of deepest emotion.
+
+"And I likewise promise it," said Sir Ralph Assheton. "They shall rest
+together in Whalley churchyard. It is well that Sir Richard and Dorothy
+are gone," he observed to Nicholas.
+
+"It is indeed," said the squire, "or we should have had another funeral
+to perform. Pray Heaven it be not so now!"
+
+"Have you any other request to prefer?" demanded the King.
+
+"None whatever, sire," replied the lady, "except that I wish to make
+full restitution of all the land I have robbed him of, to Master Roger
+Nowell; and, as some compensation, I would fain add certain lands
+adjoining, which have been conveyed over to Sir Ralph and Nicholas
+Assheton, only annexing the condition that a small sum annually be given
+in dole to the poor of the parish, that I may be remembered in their
+prayers."
+
+"We will see it done," said Sir Ralph and Nicholas.
+
+"And I will see my part fulfilled," said Nowell. "For any wrong you have
+done me I now freely and fully forgive you, and may Heaven in its
+infinite mercy forgive you likewise!"
+
+"Amen!" ejaculated the monarch. And all the others joined in the
+ejaculation.
+
+The King then moved to the door, which was opened for him by the two
+Asshetons. At the foot of the steps stood Master Potts, attended by an
+officer of the guard and a party of halberdiers. In the midst of them,
+with their hands tied behind their backs, were Jem Device, his mother,
+Jennet, and poor Nance Redferne. Jem looked dogged and sullen, Elizabeth
+downcast, but Jennet retained her accustomed malignant expression. Poor
+Nance was the only one who excited any sympathy. Jennet's malice seemed
+now directed against Master Potts, whom she charged with having betrayed
+and deceived her.
+
+"If Tib had na deserted me he should tear thee i' pieces, thou
+ill-favourt little monster," she cried.
+
+"Monster in your own face, you hideous little wretch," exclaimed the
+indignant attorney. "If you use such opprobrious epithets I will have
+you gagged. You will be taken to Lancaster Castle, and hanged."
+
+"Yo are os bad as ey am, and warse," replied Jennet, "and deserve
+hanging os weel, and the King shan knoa of your tricks," she
+vociferated, as James appeared at the door of the pavilion. "Yo wished
+to ensnare Alizon. Yo wished me to kill her. Ey was only your
+instrument."
+
+"Stop her mouth--gag her!" cried Potts.
+
+"Nah, nah!--they shanna stap my mouth--they shanna gag me," cried
+Jennet. "Ey win speak out. The King shan hear me. You are as bad os me."
+
+"All malice, your Majesty--all malice," cried the attorney.
+
+"Malice, nae doubt, in great pairt," replied James; "but some truth as
+weel, I fear, sir. And in any case it will prevent my doing any thing
+for you."
+
+"There, you have ruined my hopes, you little wretch!" cried Potts,
+furiously.
+
+"Ey'm reet glad on't," said Jennet. "Yo may tay me to Lonkester Castle,
+boh yo conna hong me. Ey knoa that fu' weel. Ey shan get out, and then
+look to yersel, lad; for, os sure os ey'm Mother Demdike's grandowter,
+ey'n plague the life out o' ye."
+
+"Take the prisoners away, and let them be conveyed under a strict escort
+to Lancaster Castle," said James.
+
+"And, as the assizes commence next week, quick work will be made with
+them, your Majesty," observed Potts. "Their guilt can be incontestably
+proved, so they are sure to be found guilty, sure to be hanged, sire."
+
+As the prisoners were removed, Nance Redferne looked round her, and,
+catching the eye of Nicholas, made a slight motion with her head, as if
+bidding him farewell.
+
+The squire returned the mute valediction.
+
+"Poor Nance!" he exclaimed, compassionately, "I sincerely pity her.
+Would there was any means of saving her!"
+
+"There is none," observed Sir Ralph Assheton. "And you may be thankful
+you are not brought in as her accomplice."
+
+As Jennet was taken away, she continued to hurl threats and imprecations
+against Potts.
+
+Another officer of the guard was then summoned, and when he came, James
+said, "One other prisoner remains within the pavilion. She likewise must
+be conveyed to Lancaster Castle but in a litter, and not with the other
+prisoners."
+
+Attended by Sir Richard Hoghton, the monarch then proceeded to his
+lodgings in the Tower.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.--"ONE GRAVE."
+
+
+Notwithstanding the sad occurrences above detailed, James remained for
+two more days the guest of Sir Richard Hoghton, enjoying his princely
+hospitality, hunting in the park, carousing in the great hall, and
+witnessing all kinds of sports.
+
+Nothing, indeed, was left to remind him of the sad events that had
+occurred. The prisoners were taken that night to Lancaster Castle, and
+Master Potts accompanied the escort, to be ready for the assizes. The
+three judges proceeded thither at the end of the week. The attendance of
+Roger Nowell, Nicholas, and Sir Ralph Assheton, was also required as
+witnesses at the trial of the witches.
+
+Sir Richard Assheton and Dorothy had returned, as already stated, to
+Middleton; and, though the intelligence of the death of Richard and
+Alizon was communicated to them with infinite caution, the shock to both
+was very great, especially to Dorothy, who was long--very long--in
+recovering from it.
+
+Nicholas's vivacity of temperament made him feel the loss of his cousin
+at first very keenly, but it soon wore off. He vowed amendment and
+reformation on the model of John Bruen, whose life offered so striking a
+contrast to his own, that it has very properly been placed in opposition
+by a reverend moralist; but I regret to say that he did not carry out
+his praiseworthy intentions. He was apt to make a joke of John Bruen,
+instead of imitating his example. He professed to devote himself to his
+excellent wife--but his old habits would break out; and, I am sorry to
+say, he was often to be found in the alehouse, and was just as fond of
+horse-racing, cock-fighting, hunting, fishing, and all other sports, as
+ever. Occasionally he occupied a leisure or a rainy day with a
+Journal,[6] parts of which have been preserved; but he set down in it
+few of the terrible events here related, probably because they were of
+too painful a nature to be recorded. He died in 1625--at the early age
+of thirty-five.
+
+But to go back. A few days after the tragical events at Hoghton Tower,
+the whole village of Whalley was astir. But it was no festive
+occasion--no merry-making--that called forth the inhabitants, for grief
+sat upon every countenance. The day, too, was gloomy. The feathered
+summits of Whalley Nab were wreathed in mist, and a fine rain descended
+in the valley. The Calder looked dull and discoloured as it flowed past
+the walls of the ancient Abbey. The church bell tolled mournfully, and a
+large concourse was gathered in the churchyard. Not far from one of the
+three crosses of Paulinus, which stood nearest the church porch, a grave
+had been digged, and almost every one looked into it. The grave, it was
+said, was intended to hold two coffins. Soon after this, a train of
+mourners issued from the ancient Abbey gateway, and sure enough there
+were two coffins on the shoulders of the bearers; They were met at the
+gate by Doctor Ormerod, who was so deeply affected as scarcely to be
+able to perform the needful offices for the dead. The principal mourners
+were Sir Richard Assheton of Middleton, Sir Ralph Assheton, and
+Nicholas. Amid the tears and sobs of all the bystanders, the bodies of
+Richard and Alizon were committed to the earth--laid together in one
+grave.
+
+Thus was their latest wish fulfilled. Flowers grew upon the turf that
+covered them, and there was the earliest primrose seen, and the latest
+violet. Many a fond youth and trusting maiden have visited their lowly
+tomb, and many a tear, fresh from the heart, has dropped upon the sod
+covering the ill-fated lovers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.--LANCASTER CASTLE.
+
+
+Behold the grim and giant fabric, rebuilt and strengthened by
+
+          "Old John of Gaunt, time-honour'd Lancaster!"
+
+Within one of its turrets called John of Gaunt's Chair, and at eventide,
+stands a lady under the care of a jailer. It is the last sunset she will
+ever see--the last time she will look upon the beauties of earth; for
+she is a prisoner, condemned to die an ignominious and terrible death,
+and her execution will take place on the morrow. Leaving her alone
+within the turret, the jailer locks the door and stands outside it. The
+lady casts a long, lingering look around. All nature seems so
+beautiful--so attractive. The sunset upon the broad watery sands of
+Morecambe Bay is exquisite in varied tints. The fells of Furness look
+black and bold, and the windings of the Lune are clearly traced out. But
+she casts a wistful glance towards the mountainous ridges of Lancashire,
+and fancies she can detect amongst the heights the rounded summit of
+Pendle Hill. Then her gaze settles upon the grey old town beneath her,
+and, as her glance wanders over it, certain terrible objects arrest it.
+In the area before the Castle she sees a ring of tall stakes. She knows
+well their purpose, and counts them. They are thirteen in number.
+Thirteen wretched beings are to be burned on the morrow. Not far from
+the stakes are an enormous pile of fagots. All is prepared. Fascinated
+by the sight, she remains gazing at the place of execution for some
+time, and when she turns, she beholds a tall dark man standing beside
+her. At first she thinks it is the jailer, and is about to tell the man
+she is ready to descend to her cell, when she recognises him, and
+recoils in terror.
+
+"Thou here--again!" she cried.
+
+"I can save thee from the stake, if thou wilt, Alice Nutter," he said.
+
+"Hence!" she exclaimed. "Thou temptest me in vain. Hence!"
+
+And with a howl of rage the demon disappeared.
+
+Conveyed back to her cell, situated within the dread Dungeon Tower,
+Alice Nutter passed the whole of that night in prayer. Towards four
+o'clock, wearied out, she dropped into a slumber; and when the
+clergyman, from whom she had received spiritual consolation, came to her
+cell, he found her still sleeping, but with a sweet smile upon her
+lips--the first he had ever beheld there.
+
+Unwilling to disturb her, he knelt down and prayed by her side. At
+length the jailer came, and the executioner's aids. The divine then laid
+his hand upon her shoulder, and she instantly arose.
+
+"I am ready," she said, cheerfully.
+
+"You have had a happy dream, daughter," he observed.
+
+"A blessed dream, reverend sir," she replied. "I thought I saw my
+children, Richard and Alizon, in a fair garden--oh! how angelic they
+looked--and they told me I should be with them soon."
+
+"And I doubt not the vision will be realised," replied the clergyman.
+"Your redemption is fully worked out, and your salvation, I trust,
+secured. And now you must prepare for your last trial."
+
+"I am fully prepared," she replied; "but will you not go to the others?"
+
+"Alas! my dear daughter," he replied, "they all, excepting Nance
+Redferne, refuse my services, and will perish in their iniquities."
+
+"Then go to her, sir, I entreat of you," she said; "she may yet be
+saved. But what of Jennet? Is she, too, to die?"
+
+"No," replied the divine; "being evidence against her relatives, her
+life is spared."
+
+"Heaven grant she do no more mischief!" exclaimed Alice Nutter.
+
+She then submitted herself to the executioner's assistants, and was led
+forth. On issuing into the open air a change came over her, and such an
+exceeding faintness that she had to be supported. She was led towards
+the stake in this state; but she grew fainter and fainter, and at last
+fell back in the arms of the men that supported her. Still they carried
+her on. When the executioner put out his hand to receive her from his
+aids, she was found to be quite dead. Nevertheless, he tied her to the
+stake, and her body was consumed. Hundreds of spectators beheld those
+terrible fires, and exulted in the torments of the miserable sufferers.
+Their shrieks and blasphemies were terrific, and the place resembled a
+hell upon earth.
+
+Jennet escaped, to the dismay of Master Potts, who feared she would
+wreak her threatened vengeance upon him. And, indeed, he did suffer from
+aches and cramps, which he attributed to her; but which were more
+reasonably supposed to be owing to rheum caught in the marshes of Pendle
+Forest. He had, however, the pleasure of assisting at her execution,
+when some years afterwards retributive justice overtook her.
+
+Jennet was the last of the Lancashire Witches. Ever since then
+witchcraft has taken a new form with the ladies of the county--though
+their fascination and spells are as potent as ever. Few can now escape
+them,--few desire to do so. But to all who are afraid of a bright eye
+and a blooming cheek, and who desire to adhere to a bachelor's
+condition--to such I should say, "BEWARE OF THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES!"
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+M'CORQUODALE AND CO., PRINTERS, LONDON--WORKS, NEWTON.
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 1: A similar eruption occurred at Pendle Hill in August, 1669,
+and has been described by Mr. Charles Townley, in a letter cited by Dr.
+Whitaker in his excellent "History of Whalley." Other and more
+formidable eruptions had taken place previously, occasioning much damage
+to the country. The cause of the phenomenon is thus explained by Mr.
+Townley: "The colour of the water, its coming down to the place where it
+breaks forth between the rock and the earth, with that other particular
+of its bringing nothing along but stones and earth, are evident signs
+that it hath not its origin from the very bowels of the mountain; but
+that it is only rain water coloured first in the moss-pits, of which the
+top of the hill, being a great and considerable plain, is full, shrunk
+down into some receptacle fit to contain it, until at last by its
+weight, or some other cause, it finds a passage to the sides of the
+hill, and then away between the rock and swarth, until it break the
+latter and violently rush out."]
+
+[Footnote 2: Locus Benedictus de Whalley.]
+
+[Footnote 3: This speech is in substance the monarch's actual
+Declaration concerning Lawful Sports, promulgated in 1618, in a little
+Tractate, generally known as the "Book of Sports;" by which he would
+have conferred a great boon on the lower orders, if his kindly purpose
+had not been misapprehended by some, and ultimately defeated by bigots
+and fanatics. King James deserves to be remembered with gratitude, if
+only for this manifestation of sympathy with the enjoyments of the
+people. He had himself discovered that the restrictions imposed upon
+them had "setup filthy tipplings and drunkenness, and bred a number of
+idle and discontented speeches in the alehouses."]
+
+[Footnote 4: "There is a laughable tradition," says Nichols, "still
+generally current in Lancashire, that our knight-making monarch knighted
+at the banquet in Hoghton Tower a loin of beef; the part ever since
+called the sir-loin." And it is added by the same authority, "If the
+King did not give the sir-loin its name, he might, notwithstanding, have
+indulged in a pun on the already coined word, the etymology of which was
+then, as now, as little regarded as the thing signified is well
+approved."--_Nichols's Progresses of James I._, vol. iii.]
+
+[Footnote 5: These speeches, given by _Nichols_ as derived from the
+family records of Sir Henry Philip Hoghton, Bart., were actually
+delivered at a masque represented on occasion of King James's visit to
+Hoghton Tower.]
+
+[Footnote 6: Published by the Chetham Society, and admirably edited,
+with notes, exhibiting an extraordinary amount of research and
+information, by the Rev. F.R. Raines, M.A., F.S.A., of Milnrow
+Parsonage, near Rochdale.]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Lancashire Witches
+by William Harrison Ainsworth
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