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diff --git a/49859-0.txt b/49859-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..46d7f4d --- /dev/null +++ b/49859-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17072 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 49859 *** + +Transcriber's Notes: + 1. Page scan source: Web Archive: + https://archive.org/details/06793116.2602.emory.edu + 2. The diphthong oe is represented by [oe]. + 3. The source book had two chapters titled "Chapter XXIV". + The second one was changed to "Chapter XXV". + + + + + + + THE ROBBER, + + + A TALE. + + + + BY + + G. P. R. JAMES, + + AUTHOR OF "RICHELIEU," "GIPSY," ETC. + + + + "More should I question thee, and more I must---- + Enough more to know would not be more to trust---- + From whence thou cam'st, how tended on. But rest + Unquestioned, welcome; and undoubted, blest." + + + + _A NEW EDITION_. + + + + LONDON: + GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, + THE BROADWAY, LUDGATE. + NEW YORK: 416, BROOME STREET. + + + + + + + THE ROBBER. + + + + CHAPTER I. + + +It was in the olden time of _merry England_--not at that far removes +period when our native land first received its jocund name from the +bowmen of Sherwood, and when the yeoman or the franklin, who had +wandered after some knightly banner to the plains of the Holy Land, +looked back upon the little island of his birth with forgetfulness of +all but its cheerful hearths and happy days. Oh, no! it was in a far +later age, when, notwithstanding wars and civil contentions not long +past by, our country still deserved the name of merry England, and +received it constantly amongst a class peculiarly its own. That class +was the "good old country gentleman," an antediluvian animal swallowed +up and exterminated by the deluge of modern improvements, and whose +very bones are now being ground to dust by railroads and +steam-carriages. Nevertheless, in that being there was much to wonder +at as well as much to admire; and the inimitable song which +commemorates its existence does not more than justice to the extinct +race. It was in the days of Walton and Cotton, then or somewhere +thereabouts (for it is unnecessary in a tale purely domestic, to fix +the date to a year), that the events which we are about to narrate, +took place, and the scene is entirely in _merry England_. + +The court and the country were at that period--with the present we have +nothing to do--two completely distinct and separate climates; and while +the wits and the libertines, the fops and the soldiers, the poets and +the philosophers, of the reigns of Charles, James, William, and Anne, +formed a world in which debauchery, vice, strife, evil passion, rage, +jealousy, and hatred, seemed the only occupations of genius, and the +true sphere for talent; while Oxford and Cambridge had their +contentions, and vied with the capital in nourishing feuds and follies +of their own; there was a calm and quiet world apart, amidst the shady +brooks and sunny fields and dancing streams of merry England; a world +which knew but little of the existence of the other, except when the +vices, or follies, or crimes of the world of the court called upon the +world of the country to resist the encroachments of its neighbour, and +defend its own quiet prosperity. + +From the peasant who tilled the glebe, and whistled to outsing the lark +over his happy toil, up to the lord of the manor, the knight whose many +ancestors had all been knights before him, the countrymen of England +mingled hardly, if at all, with the world of the metropolis and of the +court; except, indeed, when some aspiring spirit, filled with good +viands and a fair conceit, raised his wishes to be knight of the shire, +and sit in parliament amongst the more courtly of the land; or else +when some borough sent its representative to the senate to bring down +strange tales of London life and fresh fashions for the wives and +daughters. + +There was, indeed, a connecting link between the two states of being we +have described, afforded by the old hereditary nobility of the land, +many members of which still lingered by the ancestral hall, as yet +unallured from the calm delights of rural life, and the dignified +satisfaction of _dwelling amongst their own people_, even by all the +amusements or luxuries of the capital. An annual visit to London, an +appearance in the court of the sovereign and the house of peers, at +certain times, varied the existence of this class of men; and neither +liking, comprehending, nor esteeming the wits and foplings of the +metropolis, they returned well pleased to hold their ancient state in +the country, bearing renewed importance amongst the country gentlemen +around, from this fresh visit to the fountain of all honours and +distinctions. + +Great, indeed, was their importance amongst their neighbours at +times--far greater than we in the present day can well picture to +ourselves; for independent of the consequence acquired by spending +large incomes within a limited sphere, the feeling of feudal influence +was not extinct, though the fact had become a nonentity; and the +tenantry on a great man's estate looked up to him in those days with +the greater veneration and devotion, because they were not compelled to +do so. Above the tenantry, again, the squire and the magistrate, who +not only owed a great part of their comfort in the county, their +consideration with their neighbours, and their estimation in their own +eyes, to the degree of favour in which they stood with the earl, the +marquis, or the duke, but who might at any time be rendered +uncomfortable and persecuted, if not oppressed, in case they forfeited +his good graces, failed not to show their reverence for him on every +legitimate occasion--and sometimes, perhaps, went a little further. + +Thus, of the little hierarchy of the county, there was generally some +nobleman as the chief, and from him it descended through baronets, +lords of the manor, knights, justices, squires, and many an _et +cetera_, down to the lowest class of all, who still looked up to that +chief, and would tell the passer-by, with much solemn truth, that "the +earl was quite a king in his own part of the world." + +Amongst such classes, in such scenes, and at such a period, took place +the events about to be described. + +At the door of a small, neat country inn stood gazing forth a +traveller, one clear bright morning in the end of the month of May. The +hour was early: the matutinal servants of the house were scarcely up; +and Molly, with mop and pail, was busily washing out the passage which +was soon to be thickly strewn with clean yellow sand. The scene before +the traveller's eyes was one on which it is pleasant to dwell; the +centre street of a small country town, many miles from a great city. +There were a few light clouds in the sky, but they did not interrupt +the rays of the great orb of light, who was yet low down in the heaven; +and the shadows of the manifold white houses, with their peaked gables +turned across the street, forming a fanciful pattern on the ground; the +yellow sunshine and the blue shade lying clear and distinct, except +where a little fountain burst forth half way down the town, and mingled +the two together. + +It was, as I have said, a cool and pleasant scene for the eye to rest +upon; and even the casements of the houses opposite, shaded by the +close-drawn white curtain, gave an idea of calm and happy repose. The +world within were all yet asleep: the toil, the anxiety, the care, the +strife of active life, had not yet began. + +The eye of the traveller rested upon the picture apparently well +pleaded. It gazed contemplatively up the street to where the road had +been made to take a turn, in order to avoid the brow of the gentle hill +on which the town was built, and which, crowned with houses of pleasant +irregularity, interrupted the further view in that direction; and then +that eye turned downward to the place where the highway opened out into +the country beyond, after passing over a small bright stream by a brick +bridge of ancient date. Over the bridge was slowly wending at the same +moment a long line of cattle, lowing as they went, forth to pasture, +with a herd following in tuneful mood, and neither hurrying himself nor +them. The stranger's eye rested on them for a single moment, but then +roved on to the landscape which was spread out beyond the bridge, and +on it he gazed as curiously as if he had been a painter. + +On it, too, we must pause, for it has matter for our consideration. The +centre of the picture presented a far view over a bright and smiling +country, with large masses of woodland, sloping up in blue lines to +some tall brown hills at the distance of ten or twelve miles. A +gleaming peep of the river was caught in the foreground, with a sandy +bank crowned with old trees; and above the trees again appeared the +high slated roofs of a mansion, whose strong walls, formed of large +flints cemented together, might also here and there be seen looking +forth, grey and heavy, through the green, light foliage. Three or four +casements, too, were apparent, but not enough of the house was visible +to afford any sure indication of its extent, though the massiveness of +the walls, the width of the spaces between the windows, the size of the +roofs, and the multitude of the chimneys, instantly made one mentally +call it the _Manor House_. + +This mansion seemed to be at the distance of about a mile from the +town; but upon a rising ground on the opposite side of the picture, +seen above bridge and trees, and the first slopes of the offscape, +appeared, at the distance of seven or eight miles, or more, a large +irregular mass of building, apparently constructed of grey stone, and +in some places covered with ivy--at least, if one might so interpret +the dark stains apparent even at that distance upon various parts of +its face. There was a deep wood behind it, from which it stood out +conspicuously, as the morning sun poured clear upon it; and in front +appeared what might either be a deer park filled with stunted hawthorn +and low chestnut trees, or a wide common. + +Such was the scene on which the traveller gazed, as, standing in front +of the deep double-seated porch of the little inn, he looked down the +road to the country beyond. There was no moving object before his eyes +but the herd passing over the bridge; there was no sound but the lowing +of the cattle, the whistling of their driver, and a bright lark singing +far up in the blue sky. + +It is time, however, to turn to the traveller himself, who may not be +unworthy of some slight attention. Certain it is, that the good girl +who was now sprinkling the passage and porch behind him with fine sand, +thought that, he was worthy of such; for though she had seen him +before, and knew his person well, yet ever and anon she raised her eyes +to gaze over his figure, and vowed, in her heart, that he was as +good-looking a youth as ever she had set eyes on. + +His age might be five or six and twenty, and his height, perhaps, five +feet eleven inches. He was both broad and deep-chested, that +combination which insures the greatest portion of strength, with length +and ease of breadth; and though his arms were not such as would have +called attention from their robustness, yet they were evidently +muscular and finely proportioned. Thin in the flanks, and with the +characteristic English hollow of the back, his lower limbs were +remarkably powerful, ending, however, in a small well-shaped foot and +ankle, set off to good advantage in a neat close-fitting shoe. + +His countenance was as handsome as his figure, and remarkably +prepossessing; the features, slightly aquiline; the colouring, a rich +brown, though the eyes were found to be decidedly blue, when fully seen +through the black lashes. His hair waving round his face, and curling +upon his neck, was of a deep glossy brown, and the fine shaped lips, +which, in their natural position were slightly open, showed beneath a +row of even teeth as white as snow. The brow was broad, straight, and +high, with the eye-brow, that most expressive of all the features, +forming a wavy line of beauty, strongly marked upon the clear skin, and +growing somewhat thicker and deeper above the inner canthus of the eye. +Between the eyebrows, however, appeared the only thing that the most +fastidious critic of beauty could have objected to. It was a deep scar, +evidently the mark of a severe cut; whether received by accident in the +jocund days of boyhood, or in the manly sports of the country, or in +the field of battle, might be doubtful; but there it rested for ever, a +clear, long scar, beginning halfway up the forehead, and growing deeper +as it descended, till it formed a sort of indentation between the +eyebrows, similar to that produced in some countenances by a heavy +frown. Thus to look at the brow, one would have said the face was +stern; to look at the eyes, one might have pronounced it thoughtful; +but the bland, good-humoured, cheerful smile upon the lips contradicted +both, and spoke of a heart which fain would have been at ease, whose +own qualities were all bright, and warm, and gay, if the cares and +strifes of the world would but let them have way. + +We shall not pause long upon the stranger's dress. It was principally +composed of what was then called brown kersey, a coarse sort of stuff +used by the common people; but the buttons were of polished jet, the +linen remarkably fine, the hat, with its single straight feather, set +on with an air of smartness; while the fishing-basket under the arm, +and the rod in the hand, and all the rest of an angler's paraphernalia +conspicuous upon the person, reconciled the homely dress with the +distinguished appearance. He was evidently bound for the banks of the +clear stream; and yet, though it was the hour of all others which a +fisherman should have cultivated, he lingered for some minutes at the +door of the little inn; gazing, as we have depicted him, alternately up +and down the street, with a slow, meditative look, as if enjoying the +beauty of the morning, and the fair scene around him. It is true, that +his eyes turned most frequently, and rested longest, upon the bridge +and stream and old Manor House, with the wide country beyond; but still +he occasionally looked to the other bend of the road, and once seemed +to listen for some sound. + +He had at length taken one step forward, as if to pursue his way, when +the voice of the host of the Talbot, good Gregory Myrtle, was heard +coming down the stairs, talking all the way for the benefit of any one +who might hear, with a fat, jovial, ale-burdened sound, which at other +times and seasons rejoiced the hearts of many a "gay companion of the +bowl." The first indication of his coming was a peal of laughter, a +loud "Haw, haw, haw!" at some conjugal joke uttered by his dame as he +left his chamber. + +"Well said, wife! well said!" he exclaimed; "it is good to be fat; for +when I can no longer walk, I shall easily be rolled--Haw, haw, haw! +Gads my life! I must have these stairs propped, or else choose me a +chamber on the ground-floor. Sand the floor well, Molly--sand the floor +well! Think were I to slip, what a squelch would be there. Ha, Master +Harry! ha!" he continued, seeing the stranger turn towards him, "how +was it I saw you not last night, when you arrived? You flinched the +flagon, I fear me, Master Harry! Nay, good faith, that was not right to +old Gregory Myrtle!" + +"I was tired, good Gregory!" replied the stranger: "I had ridden more +than fifty miles to be here to-day, and I wished to rise early, for the +sake of my speckled friends in the stream." + +"Ale keeps no man from rising," cried the host. "See how it has made me +rise, like a pat of dough in a baker's oven! haw, haw, haw!" and he +patted his own fat round paunch. "But whence come ye, Master Harry? +from the court, or the city, or the wars?" + +"From neither, Myrtle," replied the stranger; "I come from a far +distance, to take my tithe of the stream as usual. But how goes on the +country since I left it?" + +"Well! mighty well!" answered the landlord, "all just as it was, I +think. No! poor old Milson, the sexton, is dead: he had buried four +generations of us, and the fifth has buried him. He caught cold at the +justice room, giving evidence about that robbery, you remember, out +upon the moor; and took to his bed and died." + +"Which robbery do you mean?" demanded the other; "there were many going +on about that time upon the moor and over the hill. Have there been any +lately?" + +"Not one since you left the country, Master Harry," replied the +landlord. + +"I hope you do not mean to hint that I had any hand in them," rejoined +his companion, with a smile. + +"God forbid!" exclaimed good Gregory Myrtle--"Haw, haw, haw! That was a +funny slip of mine! No, no, Master Harry, we know you too well; you are +more likely to give away all your own than take a bit of other +people's, God bless you!" + +"I think, indeed, I am," answered the young man, with a sigh; "but if I +talk with you much longer, I shall be too late to rob the stream of its +trout. Don't forget, Myrtle, to send up to the Manor for leave for me, +as usual. I suppose his worship is awake by this time, or will be, by +the time my tackle is all ready;" and so saying, he sauntered on down +the street, took the pathway by the bridge, and turning along by the +bank of the river, was soon lost to the sight. + + + + + CHAPTER II. + + +Sometimes in bright sunny expanse over a broad shallow bed of +glittering stones and sand; sometimes in deep pools under high banks +bending with shrubs and trees; sometimes winding through a green +meadow; sometimes quick and fretful; sometimes slow and sullen; on +flowed the little river on its course, like a moody and capricious man +amidst all the various accidents of life. + +Beginning his preparations close to the bridge, upon a low grassy bank +which ran out from the buttress, and afforded a passage round beneath +the arches, the stranger, whom the landlord had called Master Harry, +had not yet completed all the arrangement of his fishing-tackle, when +one of those servants--who, in the great hall, were as famous for a +good-humoured idleness in that day, as their successors are for an +insolent idleness in the present times, and were known by the familiar +name of _blue-bottles_--made his appearance, carrying his goodly +personage with a quick step towards the fisherman. The infinite truth +generally to be found in old sayings was never more happily displayed +than in the proverb, "Like master like man!" and if so, a pleasant +augury of the master's disposition was to be derived from the demeanour +of his messenger. As he came near he raised his hand, touched his cap +respectfully, though the fisherman was dressed in kersey; and, with a +grave, complacent smile, wished him good morning. + +"Sir Walter gives you good day, sir," he said, "and has told me to let +you know that you are quite welcome to fish the stream from Abbot's +Mill to Harland, which, God help us, is the whole length of the manor. +He says he has heard of your being here these two years, and always +asking leave and behaving consistent; and he is but too happy to give +such a gentleman a day or two's pleasure. Let me help you with the rod, +sir--it is somewhat stiffish." + +The stranger expressed his thanks both to Sir Walter Herbert for his +permission, and to the servant for his assistance; and the +_blue-bottle_, who had also a well-exercised taste for angling, stood +and looked on and aided till all was ready. By this time the day had +somewhat advanced, and the steps passing to and fro over the bridge and +along the road had become more frequent; but they did not disturb the +fisherman in his avocations; and as he prepared to ascend the stream, +whipping it as he went with the light fly, the old servant turned to +depart with one more "Good morning, sir;" adding, however, as he looked +at the birding-piece which the stranger carried across his shoulder, +and then glanced his eye to some red coots which were floating about +upon the stream as familiarly as if they had been small farmers of the +water and held it under lease, "Perhaps, sir, you will be kind enough +not to shoot the coots and divers; Sir Walter likes to see them on the +river." + +"I would as soon think of shooting myself, my good friend," replied the +other; "I have heard that poor Lady Herbert was fond of them, and I +would not repay Sir Walter's permission so ill." + +The servant bowed and withdrew; and, as he passed on, took on his hat +reverentially to an old gentleman and a young lady who were leaning +over a low parapet-wall flanking a terrace in the gardens just opposite +the bridge. The last words of the servant and the angler had been +overheard, and the result we may soon have occasion to show. + +We will not write a chapter upon angling. It matters little to the +reader whether the stranger caught few or many fish, or whether the +fish were large or small. Suffice to say that he was an expert angler, +that the river was one of the best trout streams in England, that the +day was favourable; and if the stranger did not fill his basket with +the speckled tenants of the stream, it proceeded from an evil habit of +occasionally forgetting what he was about, and spending many minutes +gazing alternately at the lordly mansion to be seen in the distance, +and the old manor-house beyond the bridge. He came at length, however, +to a spot where both were shut out by the deep banks overhead, and +there he soon made up for lost time, though he still threw his line, in +thoughtful mood, and seemed all too careless whether the fish were +caught or not. + +It was their will, however, to be caught; but at the end of four or +five hours' fishing, he was interrupted again by the appearance of the +same old servant, who now approached, bearing on his arm a basket +evidently well laden. + +"Sir Walter desired me to compliment you, sir," he said, "and to wish +you good sport. He prays you, too, to honour him by supping with him, +for he will not interrupt your fishing by asking you to dine. He has +sent you, however, wherewithal to keep off hunger and thirst, and +trusts you will find the viands good. Shall I spread them out for you?" + +There is no sport in the world better calculated to promote the +purposes of that pleasant enemy, hunger, than throwing the long light +line over the clear brook; and the angler who, in the busy thoughts of +other things, had left chance to provide him with a dinner, willingly +availed himself of the good knight's hospitable supply, and did ample +justice to all that the basket contained. But there was something more +in his feelings on this occasion than the mere gratification of an +appetite, though the satisfaction of our hunger has proved a +magnificent theme in the hands of our greatest epic poets. + +There were other feelings in the breast of the angler, as he sat down +and partook of the viands provided for him, which rendered these viands +grateful to the mind as well as to the body; and though the beauty of +the scene around, the freshness and splendour of the bright spring day, +the wooing of the soft air by the bank of the river, the music of the +waters as they glided by him, and the carols of manifold birds in the +neighbouring woods, were all accessories which might well render a +meal, tasted in the midst of them, not only pleasant at the time, but +memorable in after days, yet there was something more than all this +which made the little basket of provisions thrice agreeable to him; +something that made him believe he had been understood, as it were +intuitively, by the only persons he would have stooped to seek in the +neighbourhood, if he could have stooped to seek any one; something, +perhaps, beyond that which may or may not be rendered clear hereafter, +as the reader's eye is obscure or penetrating into the secrets of the +human heart and character. He received, then, the gift with gladness, +and sat down to partake of it with something more than hunger. He +accepted willingly also the invitation to sup at the Manor House; and +bestowing a piece of money on the serving man, which amply repaid the +pains he had taken, he suffered him to depart, though not till he had +lured him down the stream to see several trout brought out of the +bright waters with as skilful a hand as ever held a rod. + +The fisherman was still going on after the old servant had left him, +when he was suddenly roused by a rustling in the high-wooded bank +above; and the moment after, he saw descending by a path, apparently +not frequently used, a personage upon whose appearance we must dwell +for a moment. + +The gentleman on whose person the fisherman's eyes were immediately +fixed, was somewhere within the ill-defined limits of that vague period +of human life called the middle age. None of his strength was gone, +perhaps none of his activity; but yet the traces of time's wearing hand +might be seen in the grey that was plentifully mingled with his black +hair, and in the furrows which lay along his broad, strongly marked +brow. He was well dressed, according to the fashion of that day; and +any one who has looked into the pictures of Sir Peter Lely must have +seen many such a dress as he then wore without our taking the trouble +of describing it. + +That was a period of heavy swords and many weapons; but the gentleman +who now approached bore nothing offensive upon his person but a light +blade, which looked better calculated for show than use, and a small +valuable cane hanging at his wrist. There was a certain degree of +foppery, indeed, about his whole appearance which accorded not very +well with either his form or his features. He was about the same height +as the angler whom we have before described, but much more broadly +made, with a chest like a mountain bull, and long sinewy arms and legs, +whose swelling muscles might be discerned, clear and defined, through +the white stocking that appeared above his riding boots. His face was +quite in harmony with his person, square cut, with good, but somewhat +stern features, large bright eyes flashing out from beneath a pair of +heavy overhanging eyebrows, a well shaped mouth, though somewhat too +wide, and a straight nose, rather short, but not remarkably so. + +The complexion was of a deep tanned brown; and there were many lines +and furrows over the face, which indicated that the countenance there +presented was a tablet on which passion often wrote with a fierce and +fiery hand, leaving deep, uneffacable traces behind. That countenance, +indeed, was one calculated to bear strong expressions; and which, +though changing rapidly under the influence of varied feelings, still +became worn and channelled by each--by the storm and the tempest, the +sunshine and the shower. + +On the present occasion the expression of his face was gay, smiling, +and good-humoured; and he approached the angler he exclaimed, with a +laugh, "You have dined well, Master Harry; and methinks, had you been +generous, you might have saved me a nook of the pie, or a draught out +of the bottle." + +"I did not know you were so near, Franklin," answered the angler, +somewhat gravely: "I thought you would have met me at the Talbot this +morning; and, not finding you, I fancied that you had forgotten your +promise." + +"I never forget a promise." replied the other, sharply, and with his +brow beginning to lower; "I never forget a promise, Master Harry, be it +for good or evil. Had I promised to blow your brains out, I would have +done it; and having promised to meet you here this morning, here I am." + +"Do not talk such nonsense to me, Franklin, about blowing men's brains +out," replied the angler, calmly; "such things will not do with me; I +know you better, my good friend. But what prevented you from coming?" + +"You do not know me better!" replied the other, sharply. "If I ever +said I would blow your brains out--the which God forbid--by the rood I +would do it! and as to what has kept me, I have been here since +yesterday morning, seeing what is to be done. I tell you, Master Harry, +that the time is come; and that if we lay our plans well, we may strike +our great stroke within the next three days. I had my reasons, too, for +not coming up to the Talbot; but you go back there and hang about the +country, as if you had no thought but of fishing or fowling. Have your +horses ready for action at a moment's notice, and I will find means to +give you timely warning. You know my boy Jocelyn? When you see him +about, be sure that there is something to be done; find means to give +him a private hearing instantly, and have your arms and horses, as I +have said, all prepared." + +While the other was speaking, the angler had laid down his rod on the +bank, and crossing his arms upon his chest, had fixed his fine +thoughtful eyes full, calmly, and steadfastly, upon his companion. +"Franklin," he said, at length, "I trust you to a certain point in the +conduct of this business, but no further! I trust you because I believe +you to be faithful, bold, active, and shrewd. But remember, there is a +point where we must stop. What is it you propose to do? I am not one to +be led blindfold even by you, Gray; and I remember but too well, that +when in other lands fortune cast our lots together, you were always +bent upon some wild and violent enterprise, where the risk of your own +life seemed to compensate in your eyes for the wrong you at times did +to others. Forgive me, Gray; but I must speak plainly. You have +promised--you have offered to do me a great service--the greatest, +perhaps, that man could render me; but you have not told me how it is +to be done, and there must be no violence." + +"Not unless we are obliged to use it in our own defence," replied the +other sharply. "As to the rest, Master Harry, the enterprise is mine as +well as yours: so do not make me angry, or you may chance to fail +altogether, and find Franklin Gray as bad an enemy as he can be a good +friend." + +"No threats, Franklin," replied the other: "you should know that +threats avail not with me. I thank you deeply for all your kindness, +Franklin; but neither gratitude nor menaces can lead me blindfold. +Years have passed since, in the same high and noble cause, and under +the same great good man, we fought together on the banks of the Rhine; +and you seem to have forgotten that even then, boy as I was, neither +threats nor persuasions would move me to do anything I judged--though, +perhaps, falsely--to be really wrong. A change has come over you, Gray; +but no change has come over me. I am the same, and will remain the +same." + +"Did you not promise to leave the conduct of this to me?" cried his +companion. "Did you not promise to submit to my guidance therein? But +never mind! I give you back your promise. Break it all off! Let us +part. Go, and be a beggar. Lose all your hopes, and leave me to follow +my own course. I care not! But I will not peril my neck for any dastard +scruples of yours." + +"Dastard!" exclaimed the other, taking a step towards him, and half +drawing his sword out of the sheath with the first impulse of +indignation, while his brow contracted, so as to cover entirely the +deep scar between his eyes. "Dastard! such a word to me!" + +"Ay, to you, or any one," replied Franklin Gray, laying his hand upon +the hilt of his sword also, as if about to draw it instantly, while his +dark eye flashed and his lip quivered under the effects of strong +passion. + +The next impulse, however, was to gaze for a moment in the countenance +of his young opponent; the expression of anger passed away; and +withdrawing his hand from the hilt, he threw his arms round the other, +exclaiming, "No, no, Harry! We must not quarrel! We must not part! at +least not till I have fulfilled all I promised. I have nursed you as a +baby on my knee; I have stood beside you when the bullets were flying +round our heads like hail; I have lain with you in the same prison; and +for your own sake, as well as for those that are gone, I will serve you +to the last; but you must not forget your promise either. Leave this +matter to me, and, on my soul. I will use no violence, I will shed no +blood, except in our own defence! Even then they shall drive me to the +last before I pull a trigger." + +"Well, well," replied the other, "I will trust you, Franklin, though I +have had many a doubt and hesitation lately." + +"Did you not promise your mother on her death-bed," demanded the other, +straining both his companion's hands in his--"did you not solemnly +swear to her to follow my suggestions, to put yourself under my +guidance till the enterprise was achieved?" + +"I did, I did:" replied the angler. "I did; but then you promised, +freely and frankly, to accomplish the object that was at that moment +dearest to her heart; and I had no doubt, I had no fear, as to the +means. I certainly did so promise my poor mother; but when she exacted +that promise, you and I were both differently situated; and I fear me, +Franklin, I fear me, that you are over fond of strife, that you are +following paths full of danger to yourself, and that you will not be +contented till you have brought evil on your own head." + +"Pshaw!" replied his companion, turning away. "That is my affair; I +will leave the more maudlin part of the business to you: let me have +the strife, if there should be any; but remember your promise, Harry; +and let this be the last time that we have such fruitless words." + +The other made no reply; and Franklin, after gazing on him moodily for +a moment, cast himself down upon the bank, and asked, "How do you +bestow yourself to-night?" + +"I am invited to sup at the Manor House with Sir Walter Herbert," +replied the angler; "and I shall go." + +"Go, to be sure!" exclaimed his companion: "It may serve us more than +anything. Have you ever seen Sir Walter?" + +"At a distance," replied the other; "but I never spoke to him. I know +him well, however, by repute. They tell me he has fallen into some +difficulties." + +"From which, perhaps, you may help him," said Franklin, thoughtfully. + +"Perhaps I may," answered the angler, in the same tone; "perhaps I may, +if I can discover how it may best be done; but at present I only know +that difficulties exist, without knowing why or how; for the estates +are princely. However, if within my reach, I will try to aid him, +whether fortune ever turns round and smiles upon me or not; for I hear +he is as noble a gentleman as ever lived." + +"Ay, and has a fair daughter," answered his companion, with a smile. +"You have seen her, I suppose?" + +"Never," replied the angler: "I saw her mother once, who was still very +lovely, though she was ill, and died ere the month was out." + +"Go! go!" cried his companion, after a moment's thought; "go +to-night, by all means; I feel as if good would come of it." + +"I do not know how that can be," said the other, musing, "but still I +will go; though you know that, in my situation, I think not of men's +fair daughters." + +"Why not?" asked Franklin Gray, quickly, "why not? What is the +situation in which woman and woman's love may not be the jewel of our +fate? What is the state or condition that she may not beautify, or +soften, or inspirit? Oh! Harry, if you did but know all, you would see +that my situation is, of all others, the one in which woman can have +the least share; and yet, what were I--what should I become, were it +not for the one--the single star that shines for me on earth? When the +fierce excitement of some rash enterprise is over, when the brow aches, +and the heart is sick and weary, you know not what it is to rest my +head upon her bosom, and to hear the pulse within that beats for me +alone. You know not what it is, in the hours of temporary idleness, to +sit by her side, and see her eyes turn thoughtfully from our child to +me, and from me to him, and seem busy with the strange mysterious link +that unites us three together. Why, I say, should you not think of +woman's love, when you, if not riches, have peace to offer--when, if +not splendour, you have an honest name? I tell you, Henry Langford, +that when she chose me I was an unknown stranger, in a foreign land; +that there were strange tales of how and why I sought those shores; +that I had nought to offer but poverty and a bold warm heart. She asked +no question--she sought no explanation--she demanded not what was my +trade, what were my prospects, whither I would lead her, what should be +her afterfate. She loved, and was beloved--for her, that was enough; +and she left friends and kindred, and her bright native land, comfort, +soft tendance, luxury, and splendour, to be the wife of a houseless +wanderer, with a doubtful name. He had but one thing to give her in +return--his whole heart, and it is hers." + +His companion gazed earnestly in his face, as he spoke, and then +suddenly grasped his hand. "Franklin," he said, "you make me sad; your +words scarcely leave me a doubt of what I have long suspected." + +"Ask me no questions!" exclaimed the other--"you have promised to ask +no questions." + +"Neither do I," rejoined his companion. "What you have said scarcely +renders a question needful. Franklin, when several years ago we served +with the French army on the Rhine, and when first you showed that +interest in me, which was strange, till my poor mother's sad history +explained it in some degree, you promised me solemnly that if ever you +should need money you would share my purse, which, however scanty, has +still been more than sufficient for my wants." + +"But I have never needed it!" interrupted the other. "The time has not +come! When it does, I will." + +"You trifle with me Franklin," rejoined his companion; "if you betake +yourself to rash acts and dangerous enterprises, as your words +admit----" + +"I may be moved," said Franklin Gray, again interrupting him, "by a +thousand other causes than the need of money; the love of activity, the +restlessness of my nature, habits of danger and enterprise--" + +"And is not the love of such a being as you have spoken of," demanded +his companion, "is it not sufficient to calm down such a nature, to +restrain you from all that may hurt or injure her? Think Franklin, +think, if you were to fail in some of these attempts--if--if--you are +moved!--think what would be her fate--think what would be her +feelings;--nay, listen to me--share what I have, Franklin. It is enough +for us both, if we be but humble in our thoughts and----" + +But the other broke away from him with a sudden start, and something +like a tear in his eye. "No, no!" he cried, "no, no!" but then again he +turned, ere he had reached the top of the bank, and said, in a low, but +distinct voice, "Harry, if I succeed in this enterprise for you, and in +your favour, you shall have your way." + +"But no violence!" replied the angler, "remember, I will have no +violence." + +"None," rejoined Franklin Gray, "none; for I will take means to overawe +resistance; and we will, as we well and justly may, enforce your rights +and laugh those to scorn who have so long opposed them: and all without +violence, if possible!" But the latter words were uttered in a low +tone, and were unheard by his companion. + + + + + CHAPTER III. + + +Perhaps the sweetest hour of a sweet season is that which precedes the +setting of the sun upon a May day. All the world is taking holiday, +from the lowing herd that winds slowly o'er the lea to the shard-born +beetle and the large white moth. The aspect of the sky and earth +too--clear, calm, and tranquil--are full of repose. The mistiness of +the mid-day sunshine is away; and the very absence of a portion of the +full daylight, and the thin, colourless transparency of the evening +air, afford that contemplative, but no way drowsy charm which well +precedes, by thought tending to adoration, the hour when, in darkness +and forgetfulness, we trust ourselves unconscious to the hands of God. +The heart of man is but as an instrument from which the great musician, +Nature, produces grand harmonies; and the most soothing anthem that +rises within the breast is surely elicited by the soft touch of that +evening hour. + +It had shone calmly over the world in those scenes we have lately +described, and the last moments of the sun's stay above the horizon, +were passing away, while, within one of the rooms of the old Manor +House of Moorhurst Park, the father and the daughter were sitting +tranquilly in the seat of a deep window, gazing over the beautiful view +before their eyes, and marking all the wonderful changes of colouring +which the gradual descent of the sun and the slow passing of a few +light evening clouds brought each moment over the scene. There is in +almost every heart some one deep memory, some one powerful feeling, +which has its harmonious connexion with a particular hour, and with a +particular scene; and as the father and the daughter gazed, and marked +the sun sinking slowly in the far west, one remembrance, one image, one +sensation, took possession of both their bosoms. The daughter thought +of the mother, the father of the wife, that was lost to them for ever. +Neither spoke--both tried to suppress the feeling, or rather to indulge +the feeling, while they suppressed its expression. But such efforts are +vain, at least with hearts untutored by the cold policies of a +superficial world. A tear glistened in the daughter's eye, and she +dared not wipe it away lest it should be remarked. The father's eye, +indeed, was tearless, but his brow was sad; and as he withdrew his gaze +from the scene before him, and turned his looks upon his daughter, it +was with a sigh. He marked, too, the bright drop that still hung +trembling on her eyelid, catching the last ray of the setting sun; and, +knowing the spring whence that drop arose, he cast his arms around her, +and pressed her in silence to his breast. + +At that very moment, however--for it is still at the time when the deep +shy feelings of the warmest hearts peep forth to enjoy some cool +secluded hour, that the world is sure to burst upon them like the cry +of the beagles upon the timid hare--at that very moment, one of the +servants opened the door of the chamber, and announced Captain Henry +Langford. Sir Walter Herbert withdrew his arms from his daughter, and +took a step forward; and Alice Herbert, though she felt prepossessed in +their visitor's favour, felt also almost vexed that he had come so soon +to interrupt the sweet but melancholy feelings which were rising in her +father's heart and in her own. She gazed with some interest towards the +door, however, and the next instant, the angler, whose course through +the day we have already traced, entered the apartment. Rod, and line, +and fishing-basket had been, by this time, thrown aside, and he stood +before them well, but not gaily, dressed; with scrupulous neatness +observable in the every part of his apparel, and with his wavy brown +hair arranged with some care and attention. + +His air was distinguished, and not to be mistaken--his person was, as +we have before said, eminently handsome; so that, although a stranger +to both the father and daughter, he bore with him a letter of +recommendation of a very prepossessing kind. + +As he entered, Sir Walter Herbert advanced to meet him, with the calm +dignity of one who, in former years, had mingled with courts and +camps--who felt within his breast the ease-giving consciousness of a +noble and an upright mind; and he was met by the stranger with the same +bearing. + +Sir Walter, though not usually familiar, offered him his hand, saying, +"Captain Langford, I am very glad to see you; and must explain how it +is that I took the liberty of sending you the invitation that has +procured me this pleasure. Without intending to act the part of +eavesdroppers, my daughter and myself overheard, this morning, the +conclusion of a conversation between you and one of my servants, +regarding some birds that float about upon the stream; and the few +words that fell from you on that occasion breathed a spirit which gave +me a temptation too strong to be resisted of seeking your acquaintance, +even at the risk of intruding upon the calm and tranquil solitude which +you, who are, doubtless, a denizen of cities and courts, seek, in all +probability, when you venture into the country." + +"It could be no intrusion, sir," replied his guest; "and let me assure +you that, in forbidding me to shoot the wild fowl on the stream, your +servant imposed upon me no hard condition. Those birds have been a sort +of companions to me, during my sport, for these two or three years +past, and I should never have thought of injuring them; but would still +less have wished to do so, when I knew that you took a pleasure and an +interest in them." + +"They are associated with past happiness," said Sir Walter; "and, +though I believe it is foolish to cling to things which only awaken +regret, yet I confess I do take a pleasure, a sad pleasure, perhaps, in +seeing them." + +"I cannot but think," replied his guest, "that there are some regrets +far sweeter than all our every-day enjoyments. The only real pleasures +that I myself now possess are in memories; because my only attachments +are with the past." + +"You are very young to say so, sir," answered Sir Walter; "you must at +an early age have broken many sweet ties." + +"But one," replied Langford; "for, through life, I have had but +one--that between mother and son; but of course it broke with the +greater pain from being the only one." + +"And your father?" demanded Sir Walter. + +"I never knew him," replied the stranger; and, seeing that the +conversation might grow painful, Sir Walter Herbert dropped it; and, +turning to his daughter, presented the stranger to her, which he had +neglected to do before. + +It might be that, as the old knight did so, the remembrance of what had +passed not long before, regarding the beautiful girl to whom he was now +introduced, called the colour rather more brightly into Langford's +face; and certainly it produced a slight degree of embarrassment in his +manner, which he had never felt on such an occasion before. She was, +certainly, very beautiful, and that beauty of a peculiar cast. It was +the bright and sunshiny, united with the deep and touching. Her skin +was clear, and exquisitely fair: her lips full, but beautifully formed, +the brow broad and white; and the eyes of that soft peculiar hazel, +which, when fringed with long black lashes, perhaps is more expressive +than any other colour. The hair, which was very full and luxuriant, was +of a brown--several shades lighter than Langford's own--soft and glossy +as silk, and catching a golden gleam in all the prominent lights. She +was not tall, but her form was perfectly well proportioned, and every +full and rounded limb was replete with grace and symmetry. + +Langford's slight embarrassment wore off in a moment; and the +conversation turned upon more general themes than those with which it +begun. Sir Walter and his daughter, from the few words they had heard +in the morning, undoubtedly expected to find in their guest high and +kindly feelings, and that grace, too, which such feelings always afford +to the demeanour and conversation of those who possess them. But they +found much more than they had expected--a rich and cultivated mind, +great powers of conversation, much sparkling variety of idea, an +inexhaustible fund of experience, and information regarding many things +whereof they themselves, if not ignorant, had but a slight knowledge, +which he had gained apparently by travelling far and long in foreign +countries, and by mingling with many classes and descriptions of men. +There were few subjects on which he could not speak; and, on whatever +he did speak, there was something more displayed than mere ordinary +judgment. The heart had its part as well as the understanding, and a +bright and playful imagination linked the two together. + +Had Sir Walter Herbert and his daughter felt inclined to be distant and +reserved towards the stranger, whom they had invited, they could not +have maintained such a demeanour long; for he was one of those who +applied for admittance to every door of the human heart, and was sure +to find some entrance; but when, on the contrary, they were predisposed +to like and esteem him, even the first slight chilliness of new +acquaintance was speedily done away; and ere he had been an hour in the +house the reciprocation of feeling and ideas had made them far more +intimate with him than with many persons whom they had known for long +and uninterrupted years. + +Music was talked of, and painting, and sculpture; and in each, +Langford, without affecting the tone of a connoisseur, displayed that +knowledge which is gained rather by a deep feeling for all that is fine +and beautiful than from an experimental acquaintance with the arts +themselves. He had heard Lulli--had been present when some of his most +celebrated compositions had been first performed; and, though he talked +not of the scientific accuracy of this piece of music or of that, he +spoke with enthusiasm of the effect which each produced upon the mind; +of what feelings they called up; whether they soothed, or inspired, or +touched, or saddened, or elevated. + +Then, again, when the conversation turned to the sculpture or the +painting of Florence or of Rome, he did not--perhaps he could not--use +the jargon of connoisseurs: he did not speak of breath, and juice, and +contour, but he told of how he had been affected by the sight, of what +were the sensations produced in his bosom, and in the bosoms of others +whom he had known, by the Venus, or the Apollo, or the Laocoon, or the +works of Raphael, or Guido, or Titian, or Michael Angelo. In short, he +dwelt upon that part of the subject which referred to the mind, the +imagination, or the heart; and in regard to which all those who heard +him could go along with him--feeling, comprehending, and enjoying all +he spoke of or described. + +Alice Herbert, though she was not learned in such things, yet had a +natural taste, which was not uncultivated. In the seclusion in which +she dwelt, the ordinary household duties of a young Englishwoman of +that period had not been enough for her; and her mind had been occurred +with much and various reading, with music, as it was then known and +taught, and with drawing; though in the latter art she had received no +instruction but from her mother, who had acquired it herself while in +exile at the court of France. Her father, also, had some taste in, and +much feeling for, the arts, and she joined eagerly in the conversation +between him and Langford, often leading it, with the sportive eagerness +of a young and enthusiastic mind, to a thousand collateral subjects, +which constantly elicited from their new companion remarks full of +freshness and of genius. + +She listened, well pleased--something more than well pleased, struck +and surprised: and from that night's interview she bore away matter for +deep thought and meditation--the most favourable effect that man can +produce when he wishes to make an impression on the heart of woman. + +Did Langford seek to produce such an effect? Perhaps not, or most +likely, he would not have succeeded so well, but he was pleased +himself: he, too, was struck and surprised: and, carried away by his +own feelings, he took, unconsciously, the best means of interesting +hers. + +But the interview ended not so soon; and they had scarcely sat down to +the evening meal when a fourth person was added to the party. He came +in unannounced, and seemed to be a familiar and a favoured guest. +Young, handsome, and prepossessing, with a frank and noble countenance, +an air full of ease and grace, and an expression, in some degree, +thoughtful, rather than sad; his coming, and the hour and manner in +which he came, seemed to Henry Langford a warning, that if there were a +day-dream dawning in his bosom, in regard to the sweet girl by whom he +sat, it would be better to extinguish it at once. But feelings such as +he had never experienced before came across his bosom; an eager and +irritable anxiety, an inclination to retire into himself, and to watch +the conduct of those around him; a tendency, whether he would or not, +to be ungracious, not alone towards the stranger, but towards all; such +were the strange and new sensations which he experienced. There is no +stronger indication of a new passion having begun to take a hold of our +heart, than a change in our ordinary sensations, in regard to things +apparently trifling. Langford was a great inquisitor of his own bosom, +and by that inquisition had, through life, saved himself from much +pain. The examination, in the present instance, was made in a minute; +and before the stranger had come round, and had been introduced to +himself, he had asked his own heart more than one keen question. He had +demanded, why he felt displeased at any addition to their party? why he +felt disposed to deny to the stranger those graces of person and manner +which he certainly possessed, and which were at once discernible? why +he watched so eagerly the manner in which Sir Walter received him? why +he gazed so intently upon Alice Herbert's cheek, to see if the +tell-tale blood would rise up in it, and betray any secret of the +heart? He asked himself all these questions in a moment, and suddenly +felt that he had been dreaming--ay, dreaming sweet dreams, without +knowing it. He banished them in a moment. + +Sir Walter received the stranger kindly and familiarly, though with a +slight degree of stateliness, which was from time to time observable in +his demeanour to all. It was a stateliness evidently not natural to +him, for his character was frank and kindly, and this, perhaps, was the +only little piece of affectation that shaded--for it did not stain--a +mind all gentleness, and warmth, and affection. He shook hands warmly +with the young man, called him Edward, and suffered him to go round to +shake hands with his daughter before he introduced him to their guest. +While he did speak with Alice Herbert we have said that Langford's eye +was fixed upon her cheek. It betrayed nothing, however--the colour +varied not by a shade; and, though the lips smiled and the eye sparkled +as she welcomed him, there was no agitation to be remarked. + +Langford was accustomed to read other hearts as well as his own, and +the translation he put upon the indications he beheld was--not that +there was no love between the stranger and Alice Herbert--but that the +period of emotion was past. He was not usually an unskilful reader of +hearts; but in interpreting that book it is necessary to take care that +no passion in our own breast puts a false gloss upon the text. Whether +such was the case in the present instance will be seen hereafter; but, +at all events, the knowledge Langford speedily obtained of what his own +feelings might become, taught him to regulate and restrain them. He +resolved that the coming of the stranger should produce no change in +his demeanour; that he would not forget the suavity of his manner, nor +let any one around remark an alteration which, to them, would be +unaccountable, and which he never could have an opportunity of +explaining. + +After having given his visitor an opportunity of speaking for a moment +to his daughter, Sir Walter Herbert introduced him to Captain Langford, +saying, "Captain Langford, Lord Harold, the son of our good neighbour +on the hill. Edward, Captain Langford, one whom I know you will +esteem." + +Langford gazed upon the new guest earnestly; but, whatever were his +first thoughts, his mind almost immediately reverted to Lord Harold's +situation in regard to Alice Herbert. The words in which the young +nobleman's introduction to himself was couched, even more than what he +had seen before, made him say in his own heart, "The matter is settled. +Idle dreams! idle dreams! I thought I had held imagination with a +stronger rein." + +Lord Harold unslung his sword, and, giving it to one of the servants to +hang it up behind the door, he sat down to supper with the party, and +the conversation was renewed. The new guest looked at Langford more +than once with a keen and scrutinising expression, though his +countenance was not of a cast with which that expression suited, the +natural one being of a frank and open character, with somewhat of +indecision about the mouth, but an air of sternness, perhaps of +fierceness, upon the brow. There was nothing in it, however, either +very shrewd or penetrating; but, nevertheless, such a look was not +uncalled for, as, the moment that Langford resumed his seat, after +bowing to Lord Harold on their introduction, he turned deadly pale, and +remained so for several minutes. + +It might be that there was a struggle going on within to overcome +himself, which none of those present knew or understood; but the +outward expression thereof was quite sufficient to call the attention +of the whole party; and it was, as we have said, some time before he +had sufficiently mastered himself to resume the conversation with spirit. +Even when he did so, there was a tone of sadness mingled with it, +which rendered it quite different from what it had been before. It was +no longer the gay, the sparkling, the playful; it was no longer the +mountain current, rushing over a clear and varied bed, now eddying +round every larger object in its course, now rippling brightly over the +pebbles, which it seemed to gild as it flowed amongst them; but it had +become a deep stream, strong, powerful, and, though still clear and +rapid, yet calm, shady, and dark, from its very depth. + +Lord Harold took his part in the conversation well and gracefully. A +high education, and an early acquaintance with the court, which had +polished but not spoilt him, acting upon a heart originally good, +feeling, and generous, had improved what powers of mind he possessed as +far as possible. His talents were, however, evidently inferior to those +of Langford; and though he himself, apparently, was as much struck with +the charm of the other's conversation as either Sir Walter or his +daughter had been, yet he felt he was far surpassed by the new guest at +the Manor House; and besides that sensation, which is in itself a heavy +burden to be borne by those who seek to please, there was an +indescribable something in Langford's presence which put a restraint +upon him, and even made him bend down his glance before that of the +stranger. It was late before any one prepared to depart, and the first +who did so was Langford. He took leave of Sir Walter with graceful +thanks for his hospitality and kindness, and the old knight expressed a +hope that they should see him several times again before he left the +country; adding, "Of course you do not mean to limit your angling to +one day?" + +"I really do not know," replied Langford, with a somewhat melancholy +smile; "I may be summoned to the capital at a moment's notice; but, at +all events, I shall not fail to pay my respects here before I go. I +will take your hint, Sir Walter, as a permission to continue my +depredations on the trout." + +"As often and as much as you please," rejoined the old knight. "The +stream, as far as my manor extends, shall always contribute to your +sport." + +"I hope," said Lord Harold, taking a step forward with graceful +courtesy, "that Captain Langford will not make Sir Walter's manor the +boundary. Our lands march, and the stream which flows on beyond, my +father will make as much at his service as that in Sir Walter's +property is already." + +Langford thanked him, though somewhat coldly; but after he had taken +leave of Miss Herbert, he turned to Lord Harold, and advanced as if to +shake hands with him, then suddenly seemed to recollect himself, and, +wishing him good night in a more distant manner, quitted the apartment. + +Lord Harold remained behind for nearly an hour; and the conversation +naturally rested on him who had just left them. The young nobleman +praised him with a sort of forced praise, which evidently sprang more +from candour and the determination to do justice, than from really +liking him. Sir Walter spoke of him warmly and enthusiastically, +declaring he had seldom met any one at all equal to him. Alice Herbert +said little, but what she did say was very nearly an echo of her +father's opinion. After his character his appearance, his manners, and +his talents had been discussed, his state of fortune and history became +the subjects of conjecture. Lord Harold was surprised when he heard +that the Knight of Moorhurst had invited an unknown angler to his +table, and had introduced him to his daughter; and, though he said +nothing, yet Sir Walter marked the expression of his countenance, and +was somewhat nettled that the young man, even in thought, should +comment on his conduct. + +Lord Harold, however, soon obliterated any evil impression from the +mind of the kind-hearted old knight; and turning the conversation to +other things, his spirits seemed to rise after Langford was gone, and +he found opportunity of whispering a word or two in Alice Herbert's +ear. Whatever words those were, they seemed to take her much by +surprise, for she started, turned pale, then coloured highly; and, +after a few minutes passed in what seemed uneasy silence, she rose and +retired to rest. Lord Harold gazed for a moment or two upon the ground, +then looked earnestly at Sir Walter, as if there had been something +that he would fain have spoken; but in the end, apparently irresolute, +he took down his sword, gave orders to a servant to have his horse +brought round; and, taking leave of the good knight, mounted and +galloped away, followed by two attendants. + +The moon had just gone down, but the night was clear, and the heavens +sparkling with a thousand stars. Lord Harold's way lay through some +thick woods for about two miles, and then descended suddenly to the +bank of the stream, where the trees fell away and left the bright +waters wandering on through a soft meadow. As the young nobleman issued +forth from among the plantations, he saw a tall dark figure standing by +the river, with the arms crossed upon the chest, and the eyes +apparently bent upon the waters. The sound of the horses' feet caused +the stranger to turn; and although the darkness of the night prevented +Lord Harold from distinguishing his features, the whole form and air at +once showed him that it was Langford. He wished him good evening, as he +passed, in a courteous tone, and was pulling up his horse to have added +some common observation; but Langford did not seem to recognise him, +and merely wishing him "Good night" in answer to his salutation, turned +away and walked down the stream. + + + + + CHAPTER IV. + + +There has scarcely been a poet or a prose writer, in any country, or in +any tongue, who has not first declared that there is nothing like love, +and then attempted to liken it to something. The truth is, that fine +essence is compounded of so many sweet things, that, though we may find +some resemblance to this or that peculiar quality, which forms a part, +we shall find nothing which can compare with the whole--nothing so +bright, nothing so sweet, nothing so entrancing, nothing so +ennobling--must we add, nothing so rare. Every fool and every villain +impudently fancies that he can love, without knowing that his very +nature renders it impossible to him. Every libertine and every +debauchee talks of love, without knowing that he has destroyed, in his +own bosom, the power of comprehending what love is--that he has shut +down and battened the pure fountain that can never be opened again. +Every one who can feel a part of love--and that, in general, the +coarser part--believes that he has the high privilege of loving, as +though a man were to drink the mere lees, and call it wine. Oh, no! How +infinite are the qualities requisite--each giving strength, and vigour, +and fire to the other! There must be a pure and noble heart, capable of +every generous and every ardent feeling; there must be a grand and +comprehensive mind, able to form and receive every elevated thought and +fine idea; there must be a warm and vivid imagination, to sport with, +and combine, and brighten every beautiful theme of fancy; there must be +a high and unearthly soul, giving the spirit's intensity to the earthly +passion. Even when all this is done, it is but a sweet melody: the +harmony is incomplete, till there be another being tuned alike, and +breathing, not similar, but responsive tones. Then, and not till then, +there may be love. Man, lay thy hand upon thy heart, and ask thyself, +"Is it not so with me?" If so, happy, thrice and fully happy, art thou. +If not, strive that it may be so; for, rightly felt, the most ennobling +of all earthly impulses is love. + +The night that we have seen commence passed over not tranquilly to any +of the party which had been assembled at the Manor House. Alice Herbert +laid her sweet limbs down on the couch which had so often brought her +calm soft slumbers, but it was long ere she closed her eyes; and before +she did so, there dropped from them some tears. Sir Walter lay upon his +bed and thought, and a single sentence will show the subject of his +meditation. "Poor boy," he said, in a low tone, after thinking long; +"he is doomed to disappointment." + +Lord Harold tossed in feverish anxiety; and for many an hour Langford +cooled his burning brow by the night air on the banks of the stream. +Day was fast dawning when he prepared to return to the inn; but ere he +had crossed the bridge, a boy of ten years of age, or thereabouts, with +fair curling hair, and a sunny countenance, crossed his path, saying +quickly, "My master waits to speak with you." + +"Where is he, Jocelyn?" demanded Langford. + +"In the thick wood in the manor park," replied the boy, "just above the +stream: but I will show you." + +"Go on!" said Langford; and they were both soon hidden by the trees. + +The park of the old manor-house, in its laying out and arrangement, +resembled the period of our tale--that is to say, it lay between two +epochs. There was still, in the neighbourhood of the house, the old +trim flower garden, with its rows of sombre yew trees; there who also +that more magnificent kind of billiard table in which our robust +ancestors used to take delight, the bowling-green; there were also +several long alleys of pine and beech, carried as far as the inequality +of the ground would permit; but then, beyond that again, came the park +scenery, in which we now delight--the deep wood, the dewy lawns, the +old unpruned trees, with every here and there a winding walk, cut +neatly amongst the old roots and stems, and taking advantage of all the +most beautiful points of view. But we will dwell on such matters no +longer; it is with pictures of the human heart that we have to do. + +The dew was still upon the turf in the bowling-green, and in the long +grassy walks of the flower garden, when Alice Herbert came forth to +take her morning ramble alone. She was fond of taking the fresh air of +the early day; and enjoyed, as much as ever poet or painter did, the +varied lights and shades cast by the rising sun over the world; lights +and shades like the fitful visions of our boyhood, when the rising sun +of life renders all the shadows longer and deeper, and the brightness +doubly bright. In these morning expeditions, when she went forth to +enrich one hour of her young life with treasures from the bosom of +nature--treasures which she stored up, hardly knowing that she did so, +to be employed long after they were gained, in decorating and +embellishing all her being--there was scarcely anything that met her +eye, or any sound that met her ear, that was not marked and thought of; +examined and commented upon; played with, embellished, and illustrated +by her rich and poetical imagination. The fluttering butterfly that +passed before her was not remarked for the beauty of its colouring +alone; fancy found in it an image of a thousand other things; the mind +moralised upon it, and the heart took the lesson home. Even the clouds, +the slow fanciful clouds, as, writhing themselves into strange shapes, +they floated over the spring sky, sweeping lightly with their blue +shadows the soft bosom of the earth, gave equal food for imagination, +and induced manifold trains of thought; and in the lark's clear melody, +the ear of Alice Herbert heard something more than merely sweet sounds; +her heart joined in his anthem, her thoughts took the musical tone of +his sweet song, and her spirit rose upon his wings towards the gates of +heaven. + +It often happened that, in these walks, her father bore her company, +and it was always a joy and satisfaction to her when he did so; for +between father and daughter there was that perfect reciprocity of +feeling that made it delightful to her to be able to pour forth in his +ear all the thoughts that sprang up from her heart; and to hear, as she +leant clinging to his arm, all the sweet and gentle, the simple, but +strong-minded and noble, ideas which the face of native suggested to +her father's fancy. To him she would listen well pleased, though many a +creature of the great world might have scoffed at the simplicity of the +words he uttered. To him she would tell all she herself felt; for +never, from her childhood upwards, had her father checked the +confidence of his child, even by a laugh at her young ignorance. + +Thus, when she came down in the morning to go out, she would pause for +a moment at her father's door, to hear if he were stirring. If there +were sounds within, she would knock gently for admission; if there were +no sounds, she would pass on her way. This morning her father was still +sleeping when she came forth, for he had passed a somewhat restless +night, and she went on alone, with, perhaps a more grave and thoughtful +air than usual. She lingered for some moments in the flower-garden; and +then, with a slow step, took her way up the gravel walk which led into +one of the park paths, running along through the woods that crowned the +bank above the stream. + +The path she followed was like a varied but a pleasant life, now +emerging into full sunshine as it approached the edge of the bank, now +dipping down into cool and contemplative shadow, as it wound in again +amongst the trees, now softly rising, now gently descending, but never +so rapidly as to hurry the breath or to hasten the footsteps. It was +broad, too, and even; airy and free. Along this path, then, she +wandered, casting off as she went the slight degree of melancholy that +at first shaded her, and turning her mind to its usual subjects of +contemplation. She thus proceeded for more than a mile, and had turned +to go back again to the house, when, as she approached a spot where +another path joined that which she was following, she suddenly heard +quick footsteps coming towards her. + +The mind has often, in such cases, rapid powers of combination, seeming +almost to reach intuition; and though Alice Herbert had no apparent +means of ascertaining who was the person that approached, yet she +instantly turned pale, and became, for a moment, a good deal agitated. +With woman's habitual mastery over her own emotions, however, she +recovered herself almost immediately, and was walking on as calmly as +before, when Lord Harold, as she had expected, joined her in her walk. + +"Good morning, Alice," he said; "I have just seen your father, and have +come out to meet you." + +"Good morning, Edward," was her answer. "You must have been early up to +have been over here so soon. But as my father has risen, let us go in +to breakfast." + +"Nay, stay with me a moment, Alice," said the young man; "it is but +seldom that I have a few minutes alone with you." + +Alice made no reply, but continued on the way towards the house, with +her eyes cast down and her cheek a little pale. Lord Harold at length +took her hand and detained her gently, saying, "Nay, Alice, you must +stay; I have your father's permission for keeping you a little longer, +though I fear, Alice, from what I see, that I shall keep you here in +vain. Alice," he added, after making an attempt to command his +feelings, "dear Alice, did you mark the few words I said to you last +night?" + +Alice Herbert paused for a moment, and one might have heard her heart +beating, so greatly was she agitated; but at length, evidently exerting +a strong effort of resolution, she looked up and replied, "I did mark +them, Edward, and they gave me very great pain, and I have been grieved +about them ever since." + +"Why--why?" demanded Lord Harold, eagerly, "why should they give you +pain, when it is in your own power to render them for me, at least, the +happiest words that ever were spoken; and to give me an opportunity of +devoting my whole life to make you happy in return?" + +"It is not in my own power, Edward," replied Alice, firmly but gently, +not attempting to withdraw the hand that Lord Harold still held, but +leaving it in his; cold, tranquil, ungiven though unresisting--"it is +not in my own power." + +"Then am I so very distasteful to you," he exclaimed, sorrowfully, +"that no attention, no pains, no affection, no time can make you regard +me with complaisance?" + +Alice was pained. "Indeed, indeed, Edward, you do me wrong," she said. +"You are not distasteful to me. I do regard you with complaisance. You +know that your society is anything but disagreeable to me; but yet, I +cannot love you as you ought to be loved, as you have a right to be +loved; nor can any attention, nor any kindness which you could show me, +nor any time, make a difference in this respect. We have known each +other from our childhood. You have shown me every degree of kindness, +every sort of attention that any one can show. You have gained my +esteem and my regard; I have always felt towards you almost as a +sister; and perhaps that very feeling may have prevented me from +feeling more." + +"Nay, but, Alice, still hear me!" replied Lord Harold, +earnestly-- +"hear me, hear me patiently; for remember, I am pleading for something +more than life--for the whole happiness of life! You say you have +regarded me as a brother, that you esteem me, that you do not dislike +my society; were I to become your husband, might not these feelings +grow warmer--stronger?" + +"They might, or they might not," answered Alice; "but, Edward, I must +not, I cannot, I will not put them to the test. There is but one thing +that will ever induce me to marry any man--loving him deeply, strongly, +and entirely: loving him with my whole heart." + +"And is there such a man?" demanded Lord Harold, suddenly, and at the +same time fixing his eyes keenly upon her. + +Alice lifted hers in return, full, but somewhat reproachfully to his +countenance. "Edward," she said, "that is a question you have no right +to put! However," she added, after a moment's pause, "because we have +been companions from our childhood, because I do really esteem you, I +will answer your question. There is no one who has such a hold of me; +and till I meet with such, I will never marry any one." + +"Then, dear Alice, there is yet hope!" he exclaimed. + +"You construe what I have said very wrongly," she replied. "Do not! Oh! +do not, Lord Harold, by taking words of kindness for words of +encouragement, force me to speak that harshly which I would soften as +much as may be." + +"Nay, Alice," answered Lord Harold, "your lesson comes rather late to +produce any benefit to me. I fear that I may have mistaken, before now, +words and acts of mere kindness for words and acts of encouragement. I +have--I acknowledge it--I have entertained hopes; I have thought that +Alice sometimes smiled upon me." + +"Now, Edward, for the first time since I have known you," replied +Alice, "you are ungenerous, you are unkind. Brought up together from +childhood, seeing each other constantly, looking upon you almost as a +brother, esteeming, as I acknowledge I esteem you. I could but act as I +have acted. Has there been any change in my conduct towards you from +what that conduct was five, six, or seven years ago? Ought there to +have been any change in my conduct towards you, till I knew that there +was a change in your feelings towards me? Would you not have been the +first to accuse me of caprice, of unkindness, of forgetfulness of old +regard and early friendship? Oh! Edward, why should anything thus come +to interrupt such friendship--to bring a coldness over such regard?" + +"Pardon me, pardon me, Alice," said Lord Harold, "I was wrong to refer +to my hopes; but I meant not to say that you had willingly given them +encouragement; I meant rather to excuse myself for entertaining them, +than otherwise. Blame you, I did not, I could not. All that you have +done has been gentle and right. Do not then, Alice, do not let anything +which has passed to-day interrupt our friendship, or bring, as you say, +a coldness over your regard for me. Let me still see you as heretofore; +let me still be to you as a friend, as a brother. There is no knowing +what change may take place in the human heart, what sudden accidents +may plant in it feelings which were not there before. Some good chance +may thus befriend me--some happy circumstance may awaken new feelings +in your heart." + +"I cannot suffer you to deceive yourself," she said. "Such will never +be the case. It would be cruel of me, it would be wrong both to myself +and you, could I suffer you to think I should change. Oh, no! This +cannot have taken so strong a hold of you as not to be governable by +your reason. I shall ever esteem you, Edward, I shall ever be your +friend, but I can be nothing more; and let me beseech you to use your +powers of mind, which are great, to overcome feelings that can only +make you unhappy, and grieve me to hear that you entertain them." + +She spoke in a manner, in a tone, that left no hope; but though he had +become deadly pale, he seemed now to have made up his mind to his fate. +"Fear not, Alice," he said, "fear not! Whatever I suffer, you shall +hear no more of it. Love you, Alice, I shall ever, to the last day of +my life; but trouble you with that love, will I no more. There is only +one thing I have to request; and that I do from no idle motive of +selfish vanity, from no tear of being pointed at and pitied by our +friends as Alice Herbert's rejected lover, but from motives of some +importance to all. Do not let it be known that such words have passed +between us as have been spoken this day." + +"You cannot suppose me capable of speaking of such a thing," cried +Alice, both mortified and surprised. + +"Oh, no!" he said; "but I mean to ask that it may remain a secret even +from my father." + +"With your own father," said Alice, "you must of course deal as you +please, but with mine----" + +"Yours knows my object in coming to-day already," interrupted Lord +Harold, "and must, of course, know the result. Mine has given his +fullest consent, upon my honour, to my seeking your hand. All I ask is, +that he may not know I have sought it and it has been refused. Let me +visit here as usual, let me--" + +"I had heard," said Alice, "that you are going up to London. Why not do +so at once?" + +"I will," he answered; "I will. But that will be only for a few days; +and, at my return, there must be no difference, Alice. Promise me that; +promise, if but for the sake of early friendship, for the sake of +childish companionship." + +"Well," she said, after a moment's pause; "well, but there must be no +mistaking, Edward." + +He looked pained. "Do not suppose, Alice," he replied, "that I have any +ungenerous object. When I ask this favour, I ask it for your sake as +well as my own. You must not ask me how or why, but trust me." + +"I will," she said; "I will! I have always found you honourable and +generous; but, indeed, let me say, without thinking me unkind, that for +your own sake, with such feelings as you possess towards me, it were +better to be here as little as may be till you have conquered them." + +"That will never be, Alice," he answered. "It is enough that you shall +never hear more of them. But here comes Silly John, as people call +him," he added, bitterly. "It is fit that a fool should break off a +conversation begun with such mad and silly hopes as mine! Let us so +back to the Manor, Alice; we shall never get rid of him." + +The person who thus interrupted the painful interview between Lord +Harold and Alice Herbert, was one of a class now much more rarely seen +than in those times. There were, it is true, even then, hospitals and +asylums for the insane, but they were few; and Silly John, as he was +called, was not one of those whom the men of that day would ever have +dreamed of putting in confinement. He was perfectly harmless, though +often very annoying; and the malady of the brain under which he +suffered was rather an aberration of intellect than the complete loss +of judgment. It went a deal further, indeed, than in the case of the +_half saved_, in that most beautiful of biographies, that quintessence +of rare learning and excellent thought, _The Doctor_. He was decidedly +insane upon many points; and upon all, the intellect, if not weak, was +wandering and unsettled. His real name was John Graves: he had been an +usher in a small school, and consequently was not without a portion of +learning, such as it was. But his great passion was for music and +poetry: the one would call him into a state of sad though tranquil +silence, the very name of the other would excite him to an alarming +pitch of loquacity. Withal, he was not without a certain degree of +shrewdness in some matters; and what was still more singular and +apparently anomalous, his memory of events and dates was peculiarly +strong, and his adherence to truth invariable. + +He now approached Alice and her companion with a quick step, dressed in +an old wide coat of philomot colour, with a steeple-crowned hat, which +had seen the wars of the great rebellion, rusty and battered, but still +whole, and decorated with two cock's feathers which he had torn himself +from the tail of some luckless chanticleer. His grey worsted hose were +darned with many a colour; and in his lean but muscular hand, he +carried a strong cudgel, which steadied his steps, being slightly lame +in the right leg. When he had come within a few feet of the lady and +her suitor, he stopped directly in the path, so that they could not +pass without going amongst the trees; and, for a moment or two, looked +intently in both their faces, with his small grey eyes peering into +theirs, and his large head leaning considerably to the side, so as to +bring the heavy ashy features quite out of the natural line. + +"Well, John, what do you want?" demanded Alice, who had been familiar +with the sight of the poor man from her childhood. "Is there anything I +can do for you?" + +"No, Mistress Alice; no, my pretty maid!" replied the man. "Only +take care of your sweet self, lady. I came up to be at the +conference--wherever there is a conference, there am I; and I heard you +and Harold talking when I was on the other side of the bushes; and now, +lo! the conference seems over." + +"It is so for to-day, at least, John," replied Lord Harold; "so now let +us pass, my good man." + +"Call me not good, Harold," he replied. + + "'There yet was good but One, + That trod this cold earth's breast. + And now to heaven he's gone + For our eternal rest.' + +"But you see I was right, Harold. They call me silly; but I am not silly +in matters of love. I told you how it would be this morning as you +crossed the bridge." + +"My good man, I heard you say something," replied the young nobleman; +"but what, I did not know." + +"You should have listened, then," replied the madman. "Always listen +when any one speaks to you. Did you not learn that at school? Always +listen, especially to the masters. Now, if you had listened, you would +have heard. I told you she would not have you." + +Lord Harold turned red, and Alice felt for him; but he replied, +good-humouredly, as they walked on with the madman following them--"I +rather imagine, John, you have been listening to some purpose." + +"No, I have not been listening, but I heard," replied the madman "and +two other pairs of ears did the same." + +"Indeed!" exclaimed Lord Harold; "and who might they be?" + +"Oh, the fox and the dog!" replied Silly John, in a rambling way; "The +fox and the dog, to be sure. The dog wanted to go away when you came, +but the fox would not let him, saying, that if they stirred they would +be heard and seen, and then folks would wonder what they came there for +so early of a morning--was not that a cunning fox? But I could have +told him what they both came there for, if I had liked, but that would +never do." + +"And pray what is the dog's name?" demanded Lord Harold, in a quiet +tone, well knowing that an appearance of curiosity would often set +their half-witted companion rambling to different subjects from that +which had before engaged him. + +"Oh, every dog has a name," replied the madman; "but they change their +names as well as men and women, Harold. This dog's name was once Lion, +and it is now Trusty, and to-morrow it may be Lord. I have known dogs +have twenty names in their lives. God help us! we are queer creatures! +And talking of dogs, I had a dog when I was second master at Uppington +School,"--and so he rambled on. + +There was no stopping him, or recalling him to the subject; and he +followed Alice and Lord Harold, keeping close to the side of the +latter, and talking incessantly, but now so deeply engaged in the wild +and disordered stream of his own thoughts, that taking no further +notice of the conversation which the young nobleman renewed with his +fair companion, and continued with a low voice till they reached the +house, he went on volubly, touching upon a thousand subjects, and +darting after every collateral idea that was suggested by a chance word +spoken even by himself. + + + + + CHAPTER V. + + +The day which we have begun in the last chapter, passed over without +any other event of importance. Lord Harold left Alice at the door of +the house, mounted his horse, and departed. Alice communicated to her +father all that had taken place, and found him more grieved than she +had expected, but not at all surprised. The angler was again seen +fishing in the stream as the first shadows of evening began to fall; +but his efforts were not so successful as before, and he retired early +to rest. + +The following morning was again a bright one--too bright, indeed, for +his sport; and in the course of the forenoon Langford made his +appearance at the Manor House and paid a lengthened visit. At first he +found only Sir Walter Herbert at home, but the visitor seemed to enjoy +his conversation much; and the good old knight suffered it to be +sufficiently evident that the society of his new acquaintance was +anything but disagreeable to him. In the course of half an hour, +however, Alice Herbert herself appeared; and not only did Langford's +eye light up with pleasure, but the conversation, which had before been +of somewhat a grave, if not of a sad cast, instantly, as if by magic, +became bright and sparkling, like the dark woods in the fairy tale, +which, by a stroke of the enchanter's wand, are changed to crystal +palaces and illuminated gardens. Alice, without knowing what had passed +before, felt that her presence had produced a change. She felt, too, +that her society had an influence upon Langford; that it called forth +and brought into activity the treasures and capabilities of his mind; +and, if truth must be spoken, it was not unpleasant to her to feel that +such was the case. + +We may go further still, and look a little deeper into her heart. Her +acquaintance with Langford, short as it had been, had proved most +disadvantageous to the hopes and wishes of Lord Harold; but in saying +this, we mean no more than we do say. She was not--hers was not a +nature to become in so short a time--in love with Henry Langford; nor, +indeed, so rapidly to become in love with any one on the face of the +earth. She was capable of deep, and intense, and ardent feeling; and +the depths of her heart were full of warm affections. But the waves of +profound waters are not easily stirred up by light winds; a ripple may +curl the surface, but the bosom of the deep is still. She was not in +love with Langford; but had she not known him, it is possible--barely +possible, that though she would not have accepted Lord Harold at once, +she might, as many a woman does, have suffered him to pursue his suit +till she felt herself bound in honour to give him her hand, without +feeling any ardent attachment towards him even at last, and trusting +for happiness to esteem and regard. Her acquaintance with Langford, +however, had given her feelings a more decided character, had taught +her that she could not marry any one whom she did not absolutely love. +It went no further; but as far as that, the sort of surprise and +pleasure which his conversation had given her certainly did go; and +now, on their second meeting, there might be a kind of thrilling +satisfaction at her heart in finding that her society had an influence +over him, that his eye sparkled with irrepressible light, that his +thoughts, and manner, and feelings seemed to take a deeper tone as soon +as she appeared. + +So went on the conversation for some time; both feeling, while it +proceeded, that though they might be talking of indifferent subjects, +they were thinking a good deal of each other; and thus they established +between themselves, all unwittingly, a secret sympathy, which but too +often throws wide the doors of the heart, to admit a strange guest, who +soon takes possession of the place. + +The course of the conversation speedily brought Sir Walter to remark, +"You must have visited many foreign countries, Captain Langford, and +apparently not as our young men usually do, in a hurried and rapid +expedition, to see without seeing, and to hear without understanding. I +must confess it was the case with myself, in my young days; but the +habit of travel was not then so much upon the nation as at present, and +it was something for a country gentleman to have been abroad at all." + +"I have been very differently situated, Sir Walter," replied his guest; +"though not born upon the continent, being, thank God! an Englishman, +yet the greater part of my early life was spent in other lands. My +mother was not of this country, and she loved it not--nor, indeed, had +occasion to love it. We resided much in France and much in Italy: some +short time, too, was passed in Spain; but those visits were in early +years; and I have since seen more of various countries while serving +with our troops under Turenne. I was very young, indeed, a mere boy, +when the British forces in which I served were recalled from the +service of France; but I was one of those who judged, perhaps wrongly, +that England had no right to leave her allies in the midst of a severe +war, and who therefore remained with the French forces till the peace +was concluded. I have since served for many years in several other +countries; and I have always been of opinion, that while there is no +life which affords more opportunity for idleness than a soldier's, if +his natural disposition so lead him, there is no life which gives so +much opportunity of improvement, if he be but inclined to improve." + +Alice had listened eagerly and attentively, for Langford had approached +a subject which had become of interest to her: his own fate and +history. Sir Walter listened, too, with excited expectation; but their +guest turned the conversation immediately to other things, and shortly +after took his leave. + +When he was gone, Sir Walter himself could not refrain from +saying--"That is certainly an extraordinary young man. Poor fellow! I +much fear, Alice, that he is one of those whom the faults of their +parents--the weakness of a mother, and the vices of a father--have sent +abroad upon the world without the legitimate ties of kindred." + +"Oh! no, indeed, my dear father!" cried Alice, "I cannot believe that. +He would never speak so boldly and so tenderly of his mother, if there +were any stain upon her name. He has twice mentioned her, and each time +I have seen a glow of mingled love and pride come up in his +countenance." + +"Well, I trust it is so," replied Sir Walter, "for otherwise no +situation can be more lamentable; with no legitimate relations of his +own, with no hope of uniting himself to any upright and ancient house; +for that bar sinister must always be an insuperable objection to every +family of pure and honourable blood." + +Perhaps Alice might not see why it should be so; but she knew her +father's prejudices upon that point well, and she dropped the subject. + +In the meanwhile, the person who had thus afforded them matter for +speculation, returned to the inn, sat, read, and wrote for some time in +his own chamber, and then sauntered forth with a book in his hand, and +his rod and line left behind, in order to meditate more at leisure by +the side of the stream, wherein, during the whole of the preceding +evening, he had lost his time in unsuccessful angling. He was not at +all inclined to renew his sport; and if truth were to be spoken, he +took his book more to cover his meditations than to prompt them. + +Let us draw back the curtain, however, for a moment, and look through +the window in his breast, in order to see what were the motives and +causes which rendered even that sport which has been called "The +contemplative man's recreation," too importunate an occupation for the +body, to suffer the agitated mind to deliberate with ease. We have seen +what had been the effect of Alice Herbert's society upon him, during +the first evening of their acquaintance: he could not but admire her +beauty, for it was not of that cold and abstracted kind which may be +seen and commented on by the mind, without producing any other emotion. +It was of what we may call the most taking sort of beauty; it was of +that sort which goes at once to the heart, and thence appeals to the +mind, which cannot but admit its excellence. But still, even had he +fallen in love that night, it might have been called love at first +sight, and yet have implied a very false position. During each of the +preceding years he had spent nearly six weeks in the small country town +we have described; and, in the neighbourhood of Alice Herbert, he had +heard from every lip but one account of her character. He had spoken of +her with many, and every one with whom he spoke loved her. + +He might therefore be well pleased to love her too, when he found that +to virtue and excellence were joined beauty, talents, and sweetness, +such as he had never beheld united before. We know also what was the +conclusion he had come to when he saw her in the society of Lord +Harold; and we may add, that he was more mortified, disappointed, and +angry with himself, than he was at all inclined to admit. When, +however, on the following day--placed in a situation from which he +could not retreat unperceived--he had been an unintentional, and even +an unwilling witness to a part of her conversation with Lord Harold, +and when from that part he learned undeniably that she rejected that +young nobleman's suit, he felt grateful to her for reconciling him with +himself, and for removing so speedily the mortification of the +preceding evening. That which had been at first but a mere spark upon +Hope's altar, and had dwindled away till it seemed extinct, blazed up +into a far brighter flame than before: and in their second interview he +felt as if an explanation had taken place between them, and that she +had told him, "I am to be won, if you can find the right way and use +sufficient diligence." + +But still there was much to be thought of, there was much to be +considered; there were peculiar points in his own situation, which +rendered the chance of gaining her father's consent to his suit almost +desperate. He felt--he knew, that if he lingered long near her, he +should love her with all the intensity of a strong and energetic mind, +of a generous and feeling heart; he felt, too, from indications which +he did not pause to examine, but which were sufficient for him, that +there was a chance of his winning her love in return. But then, if +giving his heart and gaining hers were to produce misery to both, ought +he--ought he to pause for a moment, ere he decided on flying for ever +from a scene of such temptation? But then came in again the voice of +hope, representing prospects the most improbable as the most likely, +changing the relative bearings of all the circumstances around him, and +whispering that, even for the bare chance of winning such happiness, he +might well stake the tranquillity of his whole life. Such were the +thoughts that agitated him, with many another, on which it is needless +here to touch. Such was the theme for meditation on which he pored +while wandering on beside the stream. + +The afternoon had gone by, and the brightness of the day had become +obscured, not only by the sinking of the sun, but by some large heavy +clouds which had rolled up, and seemed to portend a thunder-storm. +Langford had looked up twice to the sky, not with any purpose of +returning home, for the rain he feared not; and, in witnessing the +grand contention of the elements he had always felt an excitement and +elevation from his boyhood. There seemed to him something in the bright +light of the flame of heaven, and in the roaring voice of the thunder, +which raised high thoughts, and incited to noble efforts and great and +mighty aspirations, he looked up twice, however, to mark the progress +of the clouds, as writhing themselves into strange shapes, they took +possession of the sky, borne by the breath of a quiet sultry wind, +which seemed scarcely powerful enough to move their heavy masses +through the atmosphere. + +When he looked up a third time, Langford's eye was attracted to the +opposite bank by the form of the half-witted man, Silly John, making +eager signs to him without speaking, although, from the point at which +he stood upon this slope, Langford could have heard every word with +ease. + +As soon as he saw that he had caught the angler's eye, however, the +half-witted man called to him vehemently to come over, pointing with +his stick towards a path through the trees, and shouting, "You are +wanted there!" + +Langford paused, doubting whether he should cross or not; for though +the stream was shallow, and the trouble but little, still the man who +called him was, as he well knew, insane, and might be urged merely by +some idle fancy. + +While he hesitated, however, the other ran down the bank, exclaiming, +when he had come close to the margin--"Quick, quick, Master Harry, or +ill may happen to her you love best!" + +Langford stayed not to ask himself who that was, but crossed the stream +in a moment, demanding, "What do you mean, John?--what ill is likely to +happen to----" + +He was about to add the name of her who had so recently and busily +occupied his thoughts; but suddenly remembering himself, he stopped +short, and the half-witted man burst into a laugh, exclaiming, "What, +you won't say it, Master Harry? Well, come along with me; you will find +I am right. I settled it all for you long ago, when I was an usher at +Uppington School; and I said you should marry her, whether the old lord +liked it or not. But come on! come on quickly! There are two of the +foxes down there waiting by the dingle, just beyond the park gates. You +know what foxes are, Master Harry? Well, you never thought to go +fox-hunting this evening; but I call them foxes, because the law won't +let me call them by any other name; and she has gone down to the old +goody Hardy, the blind woman, to talk with her. Then she will have to +read a chapter in the Bible, I warrant; so that she will be just coming +back about this time, and then she will meet with the foxes; though, +after all, they are waiting for Master Nicholas, the collector's clerk, +I dare say; but they will never let her pass without inquiry." + +While he spoke these wild and rambling words, he walked on rapidly, +followed by Langford, who was now seriously alarmed; for, although what +his companion poured forth was vague and incoherent, yet there were +indications in it of something being really wrong, and of some danger +menacing Alice Herbert. He remarked, too, that the half-witted man, as +he walked along, frequently grasped the cudgel that he carried, and +lifted it up slightly, as if to strike: but it was in vain that +Langford tried to gain any clearer notion of what was amiss, for his +questions met with no direct reply, his companion answering them +constantly by some vague and irrelevant matter, and only hurrying his +pace. + +Thus they proceeded through the wood that topped the bank over the +stream, across a part of the manor-park, to a spot where a belt of +planting flanked the enclosed ground on the side furthest from the +house and the village. It was separated by a high paling from a lane +which ran along to some cottages at the foot of an upland common, and +the lane itself was every here and there broken by a little irregular +green, ornamented by high trees. + +The ground around, indeed, seemed to have been cut off from the park, +and probably had been so in former times. + +There was a small gate opened from the park into the lane, at the +distance of about a quarter of a mile from the spot at which Langford +and his companion approached the paling, and at that hour of the +evening they could discern the gate with the path leading up to it; for +though the sun was just down, it was yet clear twilight. Towards that +gate Silly John rapidly bent his steps; but they had not yet reached +it, when Langford suddenly heard a scream proceeding from the lane on +his right hand, and apparently close to them. The memory of the ear is +perhaps stronger and keener than that of the eye; and, though he had +never heard that voice in any other pitch than that of calm and +peaceful conversation, the distinctive tone was as discernible to the +quick sense in the scream now heard, as it would have been had Alice +Herbert simply called him by his name. He paused for no other +indication in a moment he was through the belt of planting; and +vaulting at a bound over the paling, he stood in one of the little +greens we have mentioned, an unexpected intruder upon a party engaged +in no very legitimate occupation. + +On the sandy path which marked the passage of the lane across the +green, stood Alice Herbert, with a tall powerful man grasping her +tightly by the right shoulder, and keeping the muzzle of a pistol to +her temple, in order, apparently, to prevent her from screaming, while +another was busily engaged in rifling her person of anything valuable +she bore about her. So prompt and rapid had been the approach of +Langford, that the two gentlemen of the road were quite taken unawares, +and the one who held her was in the very act of vowing that he would +blow her brains out if she uttered a word, when the muzzle of the +pistol he held to her head was suddenly knocked up in the air by a blow +from the unexpected intruder. The first impulse of the robber was to +pull the trigger, and the pistol went off, carrying the ball a foot or +a foot and a half above the head of Alice Herbert. + +Instantly letting go his grasp of the terrified girl, the man who had +held her threw down the pistol and drew his sword upon his assailant. +But Langford's blade was already in his hand; and his skill in the use +of his weapon was remarkable, so that in less than three passes which +took place with the speed of lightning, the robber's sword was wrenched +from his grasp and flying amongst the boughs of the trees, while he +himself, brought upon his knee, received a severe wound in his neck as +he fell. At that moment, however, another terrified scream from the +lips of Alice Herbert called her defender's attention, and turning +eagerly towards her, Langford at once perceived that it was for him and +not for herself that she was now alarmed. The robber whom he had seen +engaged in rifling her of any little trinkets she bare about her, had +instantly abandoned that occupation, on the sudden and unexpected +attack upon his comrade, and was now advancing towards Langford, better +prepared than the other had been, with his drawn sword in one hand and +a pistol in the other. The moment which Langford had lost in turning +towards Alice had been sufficient to enable the man whom he had +disarmed to start upon his feet again, and to run to the spot where his +sword had fallen, and the angler found that in another instant he +should be opposed single-handed, and with nothing but his sword, to two +strong and well-armed men. He did not easily, however, lose his +presence of mind; and seizing Alice Herbert's arm with his left hand, +he gently drew her behind him, saying, "Crouch down low that you may +not be hurt when they fire. I will defend you with my life." + +Scarcely had he spoken, when the second ruffian deliberately presented +the pistol at him, and fired. Langford felt that he was wounded in the +left shoulder, and the blow of the bullet made him stagger; but, in the +course of a soldier's life he had been wounded before, more than once, +and as far as he could judge, he was not now severely hurt. + +His two assailants, however, were rushing fiercely upon him, and the +odds seemed strong against him; but at that moment another arm, and a +strong one, came in aid of his own. His half-witted guide had by this +time scrambled over the paling, as well as his lameness would permit; +and, with the cunning of madness, had crept quietly behind the two +plunderers. As soon as he was within arm's length, which was but a +moment after the shot was fired that wounded Langford in the shoulder, +he waved his cudgel in the air, and struck the man who had discharged +the pistol a blow on the back of the head, which laid him prostrate and +stunned upon the ground. + +Langford's quick eye instantly perceived the advantage, and he rushed +forward, sword in hand, upon the other man. Finding, however, that the +day was against them, the ruffian fled amain, after making an +ineffectual effort to raise his companion; and, in a moment after, the +sound of a horse's feet, as it galloped rapidly away, was heard in the +road above. + +"It is right that every man should have his nag," said the half-witted +man, turning over the prostrate robber with his foot; "but thou wilt +ride no more, simpleton! I wonder if these clerks of Saint Nicholas, +have lightened the burden of Master Nicholas, the clerk?" he continued, +turning as if to speak to him whom he had guided thither; but by this +time Langford had returned to the spot where Alice Herbert stood; and, +holding both her hands in his, was congratulating her upon her escape, +with all those feelings sparkling forth from his eyes which might well +arise from the situation in which he was placed, combined with all the +thoughts and fancies that had lately been busy at his heart. + +Alice looked up in his face with an expression that could not be +mistaken. It was full of deep gratitude. Perhaps there might be +something more in it too; and without listening much to vanity, he +might have read it: "I would rather be thus protected by you than by +any one I ever knew." + +There are times and circumstances that draw two hearts together in a +moment, which might otherwise have been long in finding each other out; +and such were the times and circumstances in which they stood. She was +very pale, however; and Langford was somewhat apprehensive, also, that +the worthy personage who had galloped off might return with more of his +fraternity; so that, after a few words of congratulation and assurance +to Alice, he called to his half-witted companion--"Come, John, come! +Leave the scoundrel where he is: we have not time to make sure of him, +and we had better get into the park and towards the manor as fast as +possible." + +Thus saying, he drew Alice's arm within his own, and led her to the +gate, speaking eagerly to her of all that had occurred. The madman +followed more slowly; but they had scarcely gone a hundred yards within +the paling when Langford perceived that his fair companion was turning +more and more pale every moment. Her eyelids too drooped heavily, and +she said at length, in a low voice, "I am very faint." Scarcely had she +spoken the words when he felt that she was beginning to sink, and +placing her upon a bank beneath one of the old trees of the park, he +bade their crazy companion hasten as fast as possible to the house, and +bring some of the servants to assist in carrying their fair mistress +home. + +The man seemed to comprehend at once, and set off to obey; but Langford +did not wait for the return of his messenger ere he endeavoured to +recall Alice to herself. From a little brook which ran towards the +stream, he brought up some water in his hands, in order to sprinkle her +face therewith; but as he did so, something struck his eye which he had +not before perceived, and which made his heart sink with sensations +that he had never yet felt, even in scenes of carnage and horror such +as man seldom witnesses: the sleeve of Alice Herbert's white dress on +the right arm was dripping with blood, and Langford, in agony lest she +should have sustained some injury, after casting the water in her face, +tore her sleeve open to seek for the wound. No hurt was to be found, +however; no blood was flowing down that fair smooth skin; the stains +were less in the inside of her garment than on the out, and the blood +which he now saw trickling down his own arm--the arm on which she had +been leaning--so as to dabble the back of his hand, showed him whence +that had proceeded which had stained her dress. + +The cool air, the recumbent position, and the water he had thrown in +her face, had by this time begun to recall Alice to consciousness; and +the joy of seeing her recover, of finding that she was unhurt, and of +having successfully defended her, threw Henry Langford off his guard, +so far at least that he pressed a long kiss on the fair hand he held +fondly in his own. Alice's languid eyes met his as he raised his head; +but there was a slight smile upon her lip, and he saw that he had not +offended. + +Her first faint words, as soon as she had sufficiently recovered +herself to speak, were--"You are hurt! Oh, Captain Langford, I am sure +you are very much hurt; and my being weak enough to faint when I found +the blood trickling down my arm has delayed you but the longer in +getting assistance. For Heaven's sake leave me here, and seek some one +to attend to your wound as soon as you can. I shall be quite safe here. +I have no fear now, but am only afraid that I cannot walk very fast; +and, indeed, you should not be without help any longer." + +Langford assured her that his wound was a trifle, that it was a mere +nothing, that the blood he had lost could do him no injury. But Alice +would not be satisfied; and, finding that Langford would not go without +her, she insisted upon proceeding immediately. She trembled very much, +and could walk but slowly; but she persevered in her determination, and +had half crossed the park when they were met by Sir Walter himself and +four and five of the servants. The feelings of the father at that +moment may be conceived, but cannot be described; he threw his arms +round his daughter, exclaiming, "My child, my dear child! But are you +not hurt, my Alice? Yes, yes, you are! You are covered with blood!" and +his own cheek grew deadly pale. + +"It is his, my father," replied Alice, leaning upon Sir Walter's bosom, +and holding out her hand to Langford; "I am quite unhurt, but he is +wounded, and I am afraid seriously. He gave me his arm to help me home, +and, in a minute, my whole sleeve was wet with blood. I was foolish +enough to faint when I saw it, and that has made us longer; so pray +look to his wound immediately." + +All eyes were now turned upon Langford; and as Sir Walter hurried him +and his daughter on to the Manor House, he loaded him with both thanks +and inquiries. Langford assured him the wound that he had received was +a mere trifle, that the ball had lodged in the flesh, and that he could +move his arm nearly as well as ever; and then, to change the subject, +he recounted to Sir Walter and Alice as they went how he had been led +to the spot where he had found her, by the unfortunate half-witted man, +John Graves. + +"He shall wander about the world no more, if I can provide him with a +home," exclaimed Sir Walter, turning to look for the person of whom +they spoke; but he was no longer with the party, and they could hear +his voice in the woods at some distance singing one of the old melodies +of those times. + +When they reached that door of the Manor House which opened into the +park, Langford was about to take his leave, and proceed to the village +to seek for a surgeon. Alice cast down her eyes as he proposed to do +so; but Sir Walter grasped him by the hand, and led him gently in, +saying, "In no house but mine, Captain Langford! Do you think, after +having received such an injury in defending my daughter, that we would +trust you to the attendance of an inn?" + +Langford made but slight opposition. If there had been hesitation in +his mind, and doubt at his heart, when he had gone forth that afternoon +to wander by the side of the stream, both doubt and hesitation were by +this time over; and, after a few common-places about giving trouble, he +accepted Sir Walter's invitation, and became an inmate of one house +with Alice Herbert. + + + + + CHAPTER VI. + + +We must now return for a short space of time to the spot beneath the +park wall where we left one of the assailants of Alice Herbert stunned +by a blow from the cudgel of John Graves. He lay there for some minutes +perfectly motionless and perfectly alone. At length, however, the sound +of a horse's feet, cantering lightly along the road was heard, and a +goodly gentleman, dressed in a fair suit of black, and mounted on a dun +fat-backed mare, made his appearance in the lane, and approached +rapidly towards the spot where the discomfited wayfarer lay. + +The good round face of the new comer was turned up towards the sky, +calculating whether there was light enough left to admit of his +reaching Uppington in safety, or whether he had not better pause, and +sleep at the little neighbouring town; and the first thing that called +his attention to the object in his path was his dun mare, who had never +before shied at any object on earth, recoiling from the body of the +robber so violently as to throw forward the good round stomach of the +rider upon her neck and shoulders with a sonorous ejaculation of the +breath. + +"Ugh! Gad's my life! who have we here?" exclaimed Master Nicholas, the +clerk of the collector at Uppington, whose saddle-bags were in truth +the tempting object which had brought forth the gentlemen of the road, +when they had been unseasonably diverted from their purpose by the +appearance of Alice Herbert--"Gad's my life, who have we here?" and, +dismounting from his mare, with charitable intent, he bent down over +the stranger. + +There were two or three particulars in the sight that now presented +itself which made the heart of the collector's clerk beat rather more +rapidly than was ordinary. In the first place the stranger had in his +hand a drawn sword, in the next place a discharged pistol might be seen +lying within a foot of his nose, the sand was stained with blood hard +by, and in the countenance of the prostrate man, the collector's clerk, +who was a great physiognomist, discovered at once all the lines and +features of a robber. The good feelings of the Samaritan vanished from +his bosom as soon as he had made this discovery, and, stealthily +creeping away, as if afraid of waking a sleeping lion, the gentleman in +black regained his mare's back, made her take a circuit round the +little green, and, riding on as hard as he could to the country town we +have described in the commencement of this book, sent out a posse of +people to take charge of the body of the stunned or defunct robber. + +Before this detachment reached the spot, however, the personage it +sought was gone. Shortly after the clerk had passed, he had began to +recover, and speedily regained his legs, looking about him with some +degree of wonder and amazement at the situation in which he found +himself. Whilst busy in recalling all that had passed, the sound of +some one singing met his ear, and, in another minute the head and +shoulders of John Graves appeared above the park paling. The +half-witted man saw that the robber was upon his feet again, and +without any hesitation, he proceed to clamber over the fence, and +approach his former antagonist. + +"I have come to apprehend thee!" cried the madman, laying his hand +boldly upon the collar of the robber's vest. Strange to say, the +freebooter not only suffered him so to take hold of him, but very +probably might have even gone with him like a lamb to the slaughter, so +much was he overpowered by surprise, and so little did he imagine that +such an act would be performed without some power to support it, had +not two or three horsemen at that moment come galloping down the lane +as hard as they could ride. A single glance showed the captive of John +Graves that there was an infinite accession of strength on his side. He +accordingly twisted himself out of his mad antagonist's grasp in a +moment, and prepared to lay violent hands upon him in return. Silly +John, however, seemed by this time entirely to have forgotten his +purpose of arresting the robber; and looking round him as the others +came up, with an air of wonder, indeed, but not of alarm, he muttered, +"More foxes! more foxes!" + +The worthies by whom he was surrounded, in the meantime held a sharp +consultation, of which he seemed to be the object; but at length one of +them exclaimed, "Come along, come along! Bring him with you, and do +what you like with him afterwards. If you stay disputing here, you will +have the whole country upon you." + +After a moment's hesitation, the plan proposed was adopted, and two of +the robbers, seizing upon John Graves, dragged him along between them, +at a much quicker rate of progression than was at all agreeable to him. +After the first ten or twelve steps he resisted strenuously, and showed +a disposition to be vociferous, which instantly produced the +application of a pistol to his head, with a threat of death if he did +not keep silence. He was quite sufficiently sane to fear the fate that +menaced him; and the sight of the pistol had an immediate effect both +upon his tongue and his feet, which now moved rapidly onward. The paths +pursued by his captors were as tortuous as might well be, and the lane +which had been the scene of their exploits was quitted almost +immediately. For nearly an hour they hastened on as fast as they could +drag the half-witted man along; but at length, much to his relief, the +whole party stopped before a small lonely house on the edge of a wide +common. There was a tall pole, with a garland at the top, planted +before the door; and a bush hung above the lintel, giving notice to all +whom it may concern that entertainment for man, at least, was to be +found within. The sound of the strangers' arrival, in a moment drew out +the landlord of the place, who seemed not at all surprised to see the +company which visited his house at that late hour; and his own +pale-brown countenance bore, in its hawk-like features, an expression +very harmonious with the calling of his guests. + +"Quick! take the horses up to the pits," he said, speaking to the boy +of all work, who appeared round the corner; and shading the candle +which he carried in his hand from the wind. "Why, Master Hardie, who +have you got there? By my life, it is Silly John! What, in the devil's +name, did you bring him here for?" + +"Why, Master Guilford," replied one of the men, but not he to whom he +spoke, "here's Hardy and Wiley have got themselves into a pretty mess. +They would go out against the Captain's orders to try a bit of business +on a private account, and they have got more than they bargained for, I +take it. Here is Hardie with a cut in his neck, which has made him +bleed like an old sow pig; and Wiley was left for dead by a blow of +this same fellow's cudgel whom we have got here. Hardie came up for us +two upon the downs, or else it is likely Wiley would have been in the +pepper-pot at Uppington by this time; for we caught his horse half a +mile up the green lane." + +This conversation had taken place while the party was alighting; but no +sooner was that operation concluded than the landlord pressed them to +come in quickly, and Silly John was hurried by them into a large room +behind, with a long deal table, and several settles and benches, for +its sole furniture, if we except a polished sconce over the chimney, +from which a single candle shed its dim and flickering rays. Underneath +the light, with his two arms leaning on the table, and his head resting +again upon them, the curls of the fair hair falling over the sleeves of +his coat, and his face hidden entirely, sat the boy Jocelyn, whom we +have before mentioned; and the gang of plunderers had been in the room +several minutes before he was aware of their presence, so sound was the +slumber in which he was buried. + +"Hark ye, Master Doveton!" said the landlord, as soon as the door was +shut, and addressing the man who had given him an account of his +companions' adventure; "hark ye! I think it a very silly thing of you +to bring this fellow up here." + +"Why, we did not know what else to do with him, Guilford," answered the +other. "Wiley wanted to shoot him as soon as he heard that it was his +cudgel which had beaten about his head so foully." + +"You shall do no harm to him in my house, Master Doveton," replied the +other; "the man is a poor innocent, whom I have known this many a year, +and I won't have him hurt." + +"Thank you, Master Guilford, thank you!" exclaimed the poor fellow, as +he heard this interposition in his favour. "These foxes have almost +twisted my thumbs off. Do not let them hurt me, Master Guilford, and +I'll give you the crooked sixpence out of my tobacco-box." + +"You see, Guilford," replied Doveton, while one or two others crowded +round to hear the consultation, "the thing is we risk this fellow +betraying us. He has seen all our faces, and could, I dare say, swear +to us any where." + +"What signifies _his_ swearing?" demanded the landlord; "he is as mad +as a March hare; nobody will believe his swearing." + +"Ay, but he may give such information as will lead them to ferret us +out," replied another of the gang; "now we do not want to hurt the man, +but he must be got out of the way somehow." + +"He sha'n't be got out of the way by foul means, howsoever, Master +Doveton," replied the landlord, whose new character of protector was +pleasant to him. "Come: nonsense! make him sit down and drink with you, +and he'll forget all about it. He'll sing you as good a song as any man +in the country; and, if he promises not to tell anything he has seen, +you may be quite sure of him." + +"Truth--truth, Master Guilford," cried the object of their discourse. +"If my godfathers and godmothers at my baptism had known what they were +about they would have called me Truth. Why not Truth as well as Ruth? I +had a sister they called Ruth, though she never found out a Boaz, poor +girl! but died without being a widow--how could she, when she was never +married? If I had been married to Margaret Johnson myself, I should not +have gone mad, you know; but I always tell truth. Did anybody ever hear +me tell a lie in my life?" + +So he rambled on, while the friendly landlord busied himself in hastily +setting out the table in the midst for the coming entertainment of his +worthy guests; and, at the same time, lent a sharp ear to the +consultation which they held together concerning the madman. That +consultation was not of a nature to satisfy him entirely; for, though +it seemed that the party were willing to follow his counsel so far as +keeping poor Silly John to drink with them, a word or two was spoken of +its being easy to do what they liked with him when he was drunk, which +did not at all please Master Guilford. + +As he went round and round the table, however, setting down a cup here, +and a platter there, he gave the boy Jocelyn a sharp knock on the +elbow, which roused him from his sleep; and, the next time he passed, +the landlord whispered a word in his ear. The boy took no particular +notice at the moment, but rubbed his eyes, yawned, spoke for a moment +to Doveton and the rest, and then disappeared from the room. + +Large joints of roast meat soon graced the board; and the hall assumed +very much the appearance of the palace of Ulysses, in the days of the +suitors; except that, in all probability, it was a little more cleanly, +and that the beef was not killed at the end of the table. Silly John +was made to sit down between the two men, Hardcastle and Wiley, who +were certainly not his greatest friends; but they, nevertheless, loaded +his platter with food, which he devoured with a wonderful appetite, and +filled his cup with ale from a tankard called a black jack, which +circulated freely till supper was over. + +The gentlemen into whose society he was thrown, however, were not of a +class to rest satisfied with even the best old humming ale; and while +one body of them demanded the implements and materials for making +punch, another called for a pitcher of Burgundy, which, notwithstanding +the size, character, and appearance of the house, was produced as a +matter of course. John Graves had his ladleful from the bowl, and his +glassful from the pitcher; and Doveton, who was beginning to get merry, +and eke good-humoured in his cups, insisted upon having one of the +songs the landlord had so much vaunted. The madman required no +pressing; the very name of music was enough for him; and with a full +sonorous voice, and memory which failed not in the slightest +particular, he began an old song, one of the many in praise of punch. + +"Now I will sing you a song in return, Master John," cried the +rough-featured fellow called Hardcastle, who had been one of the +assailants of Alice Herbert. + +"Why, Hardie, thou canst never sing to-night," replied Doveton. "Thou +canst never sing to-night, with the slit in the weasand thou hast +gotten there. It will let all the wind out, and thy song will be like +the song of a broken bellows or bursten bagpipe." + +"Never you mind that, Doveton," replied the other; "my song shall be +sung, if the devil and you stood at the door together; a pretty pair of +you!" and he accordingly proceeded to pour forth, in a voice of goodly +power, but very inferior in melody to that of the madman, a song well +suited to the taste of his auditors:-- + + THE WATERY MOON. + + The wat'ry moon is in the sky, + Looking all dim and pale on high; + And the traveller gazes with anxious eye, + And thinks it will rain full soon: + And he draws his cloak around him tight, + But if I be not mistaken quite, + He will open that cloak again to-night + Beneath the wat'ry moon. + + The wat'ry moon is sinking low, + The traveller's beast is dull and slow, + And neither word, nor spur, nor blow + Will bring him sooner boon. + But the saddle-bags are heavy and full, + And all too much for a beast so dull, + Up this steep shady hill to pull, + Beneath the wat'ry moon. + + The wat'ry moon is gone to bed; + The traveller on his way has sped; + The horse seems lighter the road to tread, + And he'll be home very soon; + But with a young man he met on the hill, + Who lightened his load with right good will, + Hoping often to show the same kindness still, + Beneath the wat'ry moon. + + +Scarcely had Hardcastle done his song, amidst great applause on the +part of his companions, when a step was heard in the neighbouring +passage, which made the whole party start and look in each other's +faces. The next moment, however, the door was opened, and the personage +of whom we have already spoken more than once, under the title of +Franklin Gray, stood amongst them. It was very clear that he was an +unexpected and not a very welcome guest at that moment; but, at the +same time, the whole of the fraternity who occupied the hall, +immediately put on the most agreeable look in the world, and strove to +appear delighted with his coming. His brow was somewhat cloudy, indeed, +but his bearing was frank and straightforward; and sitting down in a +chair which had been placed for him with busy haste by the others, he +fixed his eyes sternly upon the man who had suffered from the cudgel of +Silly John, demanding, "What is all this I hear, Wiley?" + +The personage to whom he spoke hesitated to reply, bit his lip, tried +to frown, and to toss his head; and, before he had made up his mind +what to say upon the occasion, the one who had been called Doveton +answered for him. + +"I believe, Captain," he said, "the best way when one has been in the +wrong is to own it, and to tell the truth. Now, we have all, more or +less, been wrong, I believe. Wiley, there, heard that Master Nicholas, +the clerk of the collector at Uppington, was coming along the green +lane this evening with all the receipts, and he thought it would be a +good sweep for us all if we could get the bags. He asked us all to go, +but only Hardcastle would have a hand in it, though the rest of us +promised to exercise our horses upon the hill above, and come down if +they were likely to be caught. Well, they fell in with a young lady +first, and they thought they might as well have her purse too--" + +Franklin Gray set his teeth hard, but said nothing; and Doveton, who +saw the expression on the other's face, went on--"It was very wrong, I +know, Captain Gray--quite contrary to your orders, to do anything of +the kind; and more especially to attack a woman, which you spoke of the +other day. But, however, temptation, you know, Captain, temptation will +get the better of us all, at times. As I was saying, however, some one +came to help the lady, with this poor silly fellow; and Hardcastle got +a cut in his neck that won't be well these ten days, and Wiley a broken +head, which I hope will teach him better manners for the rest of his +life." + +The brow of Franklin Gray never relaxed its heavy frown, except at the +moment when Doveton announced the corporeal evils which had befallen +the two adventurers as a reward for their disobedience; and then a grim +smile for a moment curled his lip. It passed away, however, instantly, +and he demanded, looking at Wiley, "Do you know who it was that came to +the lady's help?" + +"Oh! I marked him well enough," replied Wiley; "I shall not forget him; +and, if ever the time comes----" The rest of the sentence was lost +between his teeth; but he went on in a louder tone immediately after, +adding, "He is one of your good friends, Captain Gray. I have seen you +walking with him twice; and I think he might have known better than +interrupt a gentleman in his occupations. We should not have hurt the +young woman. What business was it of his?" + +"The only pity is," said Franklin Gray, coolly, "that he did not send a +bullet through your head." + +"He has got one in his own shoulder," said Wiley, doggedly; "for I saw +the ball strike, and I hope it may do for him." + +"If he chance to die of it," said Gray, in the same calm, stern tone, +"I will blow your brains out! Remember what I say, Master Wiley: you +know me! Nay, a word more. When we joined together, and came down here, +it was for a particular purpose, and you all swore an oath to obey my +directions, and submit to my laws for the next three months. You and +Hardcastle have scarcely been a fortnight with me, but you break your +oaths; and when I especially told you not to enter into any petty +enterprise, because we had a greater in hand, which you would ruin if +you did, you go and disgrace yourselves by attacking a girl. Now it +seems that you have received some punishment in the very act, and +therefore I shall inflict no other; but be warned, both of you! I am +not a man to be trifled with; and if once more either of you disobey, +be sure that I will then be as severe as I am now lenient. Can any one +tell," he continued, "who the lady was that was attacked by them? I can +only suppose that it was old Sir Walter's daughter." + +"Just so! just so!" cried Silly John Graves, from the other end of the +table; "it was pretty Mistress Alice Herbert, and good Mrs. Alice +Herbert, too, which is better than pretty: and you too, seem to be +good, which is better than brave--very good, indeed, for a fox, and a +leader of foxes. I vow and protest you have read them a homily as fair +as any in the book; and now pray let me go, for I have sung them a song +such as they won't hear again in a hurry." + +"Why have you brought him hither?" continued Franklin Gray, in a sharp +tone, without making any reply to John Graves's observation. "Was it to +end folly by madness, and conclude your own disobedience by insuring +its own punishment?" + +It took some time to explain to the leader of the band the motives +which had induced them to bring the half-witted fellow thither, and how +he had been found busy in the laudable occupation of arresting Wiley +when the rest of the party came to the rescue. + +"And therefore," exclaimed Gray, interrupting the speaker, "because he +was likely to recognise Wiley, and bring him to the gallows, Master +Wiley persuaded you to drag him up here, that he may recognise us all, +and bring us to Tyburn along with him. It was worthy of you, Master +Wiley." + +"You are wrong for once, Captain," said Wiley; "if I had had my wits, I +would have taken care that he should recognise no one. Dead men tell no +tales, I said then; and I say so still." + +"They tell tales that are heard long years after!" replied Franklin +Gray, with melancholy sternness. "Ay! and often, when time has flown, +and the hot blood has become cool, and the black hair grey, and the +strong limbs feeble, and easy competence has soothed regret, and either +penitence or pleasure has stilled remorse; I tell ye, my masters, that +often then, in the hour of security, and tranquillity, and luxury, the +avenger of blood needlessly spilt--the avenger, who has slept so +long--will awaken, and the merest accident bring forth proof fit to +lead us to shame, and condemnation, and death. No, no! I will deal with +this man, but I must first go forth, and ascertain what are likely to +be the consequences of this act of folly. In the mean time, Harvey, I +leave him under your charge! See that no evil befal him, and keep as +quiet as may be. No roaring, no singing, mark me! and, if possible, +abstain from drink." + +Thus saying, he left them: but returned much sooner than they had +expected, and when he appeared was evidently much moved. His dark brow +was gathered into angry frowns, and his bright eye flashed in a manner +which made those who knew him best augur some sudden violence. He sat +down at the table, however, and remained for a moment in silence, with +his brow leaning upon his hand. + +"I am foolish enough," he said, at length, "to follow the weak custom +of the world, and be more angry at the bad consequences of an evil act +than I was at the act itself: but I will not yield to such folly. What +think ye, sirs? I find that the whole county is already in a stir +against us on this bad business. There have been large parties of men +from Uppington, scouring the lanes in every direction. Messengers have +been sent out from the Manor to call a general meeting of the +magistrates for to-morrow. There is foolish Thomas Waller and silly +Matthew Scrope, and all the men who are likely to be the most active +and violent against us, called to consult at the Talbot; and nothing is +to be done but for each one of us to take his own way out of the county +till the storm has blown over. Let us all meet this day week at Ashby. +That is seventy miles off; and we can there see how to pass the time +till we can return here, and pursue our great enterprise in safety. But +one word more. We are all men of honour; and, if any of us should +chance to fall into the hands of the enemy, we can die in silence: that +is enough." + +"But what is to be done with him?" demanded one or two of the +fraternity, pointing to the unhappy lunatic; while, at the same time, +some of the others came forward and whispered to their captain, +apparently on the same subject, with somewhat sinister looks. But Gray +replied, sternly, "No! I say, no! Leave him to me: I know him well, and +he may be trusted. I shall remain a day, or perhaps two, behind you. +Now to horse, and depart, but one by one." + +The tone in which he spoke courted no reply; and the band quitted the +room, every man according to his own peculiar manner of doing such +things; for there is as much art in quitting a room as in entering one, +though the first is much more important as an evolution. However, one +walked straight out, without saying a word to anybody; one spoke for a +few minutes with a companion, and then, suddenly turning, passed +through the door; one entered into a conspiracy with another to go out +conversing with each other; one stayed a moment to empty the remains of +the tankard into a large cup, and drink it off at a draught; and +another (Doveton) went up to Gray, shook him by the hand, wished him +well, and told him he was very sorry that he had even connived at +Wiley's scheme. The last was the only one who, in fact, suffered to +appear the feelings which affected all the others, and embarrassed them +in their exits. They all felt they had been wrong, with the exception +of him who emptied the tankard; they all felt that Gray had just cause +to be angry and indignant; but one feeling or another--pride, vanity, +shyness, and many others, keep nine hundred and ninety-nine men out of +a thousand from opening their lips under such circumstances. It is only +the thousandth who candidly and straightforwardly walks up to the +truth, and says, "I am sorry I have done wrong." + +At length the room was left untenanted by any but Franklin Gray and his +half-witted companion, who sat twirling his thumbs at the table, +apparently lost to the recollection of what was passing around him. He +was roused, however, by the voice of Gray pronouncing his name, and +found the keen dark eye of the Robber fixed intently upon him. + +"John Graves," said Gray, "do you know what those men pray me to do +with you? They say that if I let you go, you will betray what you have +seen this night, lead people to the places where we meet, or give +evidence against us if ever we are in trouble; and they say that the +only way to avoid this is, to silence your tongue for ever." + +"No, no, no!" cried the poor man, fully awakened to his situation by +such words; "pray don't! pray don't! I will never tell anything about +it, as I hope for God's mercy, and that he will restore my wits in +another world. Wits? I have not got wits enough to tell anything; +besides, I won't, indeed I won't." + +"If you will swear," said Gray, "by all you hold dear, never to tell +any one what you have seen to-night; never to point any one of us out, +by word, or look, or gesture, as men you have seen do this or that; +never to lead any one to this our place of meeting." + +"I will! I do!" cried the madman, solemnly; "I will betray you in no +respect--" + +"So far, so good," answered Gray; "but that is not all. I give you your +life, when every voice amongst us but my own was for taking it; and +with it you must promise, if ever I call upon you, to do me a piece of +service." + +The other gazed earnestly in his face, seeming, by a painful effort, to +gather together all his remaining fragments of mind, to cope with one, +who he feared was trying to lead him astray by the bribe of life. "What +is it," he demanded; "what is it I am to do? I will break none of the +commandments. I will neither rob nor murder, nor help to rob, or +murder. Ah, man! remember, though perhaps I am crazy, as people say, I +have a soul to be saved as well as others. If it must be, I will die +sooner than do these things." + +"I require no such things at your hands," replied Gray, moved a good +deal by his companion's earnestness. "I may only require you to guide +me on my way in a moment of difficulty; to lead me by the paths which, +I am told, no one knows so well as you do, and, perhaps, to guide me +into a house--" + +"Not to take other men's goods!" cried Graves. "No, never! Guide you I +will, in moments of difficulty; lead you I will, when you want it, but +not to commit a crime, for then I am a sharer." + +"What I shall ask you." said Gray, solemnly, "is to commit no crime. My +purpose shall be to take no man's goods, but rather to restore to him +who is deprived of it that which is his own." + +"Swear to that!" exclaimed the other, "and I will lead you anywhere." + +"I swear it now!" answered Gray; "and remember that, having sworn it, I +shall never ask you to do anything but that which you now agree to do, +and in consideration of which I give you your life. No questions, +therefore, hereafter, even were I to ask you to lead me into the heart +of Danemore Castle." + +The madman laughed loud. "There should be none!" he answered; "for I +know why you go." + +"Indeed!" said Gray, with a smile; "but it is enough that you are +willing. I trust to your word in everything, and doubt not that you +will keep it to the letter. Hast thou any money, poor fellow?" + +"Nothing but my crooked sixpence in my tobacco-box," replied the man, +looking ruefully in his interrogator's face. "Pray, do not take that +from me: it and I are old friends." + +"I would rather give than take from thee," replied his companion. +"There is a guinea to keep thee warm; and now thou art at liberty to +go, so fare thee well." + +As he said this, he turned away, and left the room, and poor Silly John +continued gazing upon the gold piece in his palm with evident delight, +though he held some curious consultations with himself regarding the +lawfulness of taking money from such hands as those which had bestowed +it. In those consultations much shrewd casuistry was mingled with much +simple folly; but, in the end, the counsel for the defence, as usual, +got the better, and he slipped the gold piece into his pouch, +chuckling. He then crept quietly out of the inn; and, although it may +seem strange to attach ourselves go particularly to a personage of the +class and character of Silly John, yet must we nevertheless follow him +a little further in his wanderings. + +By the time that all this had passed, it was near midnight; and, +instead of taking his way back to the little town of Moorhurst, the +half-witted man walked on, with his peculiar halting gait, towards the +high dim moors that might be seen rising dark and wild against the +moonlight sky, like the gloomy track of difficulties and dangers which +we too often find in life lying between us and the brighter region, +lighted up by hope, beyond. On the edge of the moor was a low shed and +a stack of fern, which the poor fellow must have remarked in some of +his previous peregrinations; for towards these he directed his steps at +once, pulled down a large quantity of the dry leaves, dragged them into +the shed, and, having piled them up in a corner, nestled down therein, +though not without having addressed a prayer and a thanksgiving towards +the God whom, in all his madness, he never forgot. We will not inquire +whether that act of adoration was couched in wild and wandering terms, +whether it was connected or broken, reasonable or distracted--it was +from the heart, and we are sure it was accepted. + +By daylight he was upon his way, and an hour's walk brought him into +the deep woods that backed the splendid dwelling of Lord Harold and his +father, which was known in the country by the name of "The Castle;" for +very few of the good folks round had ever seen any other building of +the kind, and it was therefore "their castle," _par excellence_, It was +by the back way that Silly John now approached the mansion, seeming +quite familiar with all the roads and paths about the place; but before +he reached the spot where the wood, cut away, afforded an open space, +in which were erected the principal offices, he was met by a person, at +the sight of whom he bent down his head, and glanced furtively up with +his eye, like a dog who does not very well know whether it will be +kicked or caressed. + +The figure that approached him in the long dim walk was that of a tall +thin woman, of perhaps fifty years of age, dressed in dark-coloured +garments, exceedingly full and ample, with a sort of shawl of fine +white lace pinned across her shoulders; while over a broad white coif, +which she wore upon her head, was a black veil drawn close, and +crossing under the chin. Her features were high and sharp, her eyes +fine, and fringed with long black eyelashes, her lips thin and pale, +her teeth very white, and her complexion, which must have been +originally dark and troubled, now sallow, without the slightest trace +of red in any part of the cheek. She did not frown, but there was a +cold calmness about her compressed lips and tight-set teeth, and a +piercing sharpness about her clear black eye, which rendered the whole +expression harsh and forbidding. Although past the usual period of +grace, yet she walked gracefully and with dignity, and bore every trace +of having been a very handsome woman, though it was impossible to +conceive that she had ever been a very pleasing one. + +From the moment she saw him, her eye remained fixed upon Silly John, +steadfastly, but not sternly: and he advanced towards her, crouching, +as we have said, and sidling with a degree of awe which he would not +have shown to the highest monarch on the earth from any reverence for +mere external rank. But the sharp and seemingly cold decision of her +character was exactly that which most strongly affects people in his +situation; and "Mistress Bertha, the housekeeper of Danemore Castle," +the servants used to declare, "could always bring Silly John Graves to +his senses when she pleased." Although no smile curled her lip, and her +countenance underwent no change, the tone of her voice, while she spoke +the first few words, at once showed the half-witted man that he was not +out of favour. + +"Why, how is it, John," she asked, speaking with a very slight foreign +accent, "how is it that you have not been up at the Castle for these +six weeks?" + +"Because I got my fill at the town and the Manor, Mistress Bertha," +replied the other. + +"Ay, that is it!" she exclaimed; "that is it! if every one would but +say it. Men go for what they can get; and when they can get their fill +at one place, they seek not another. The only difference between madmen +and the world is, that madmen tell the truth, and the world conceals +it." + +"I always tell the truth," cried the half-witted man, caught by the +sound of a word connected with one of his rooted ideas; "I always tell +the truth; do not I, Mistress Bertha?" + +"Yes; but you are only half mad," answered the housekeeper; "for you +can sometimes conceal it too. But go in John; go into the Castle; and, +if you go through the long back corridor below, you will find my little +maid in the room at the end. Bid her give you the cold meat that Lord +Harold left after his breakfast." + +"After his breakfast!" cried the half-witted man. "He has breakfasted +mighty early! But now--oh, I guess it; he has gone to London. I heard +her tell him to go." + +"Heard who tell him?" demanded Mistress Bertha, with an air of some +surprise. + +"Why, pretty Mistress Alice Herbert, to be sure," replied the other. +"Did not I hear all they said as they came down the walk and through +the woods?" + +"Nay, then," said the housekeeper, smiling, as far as she was ever +known to smile, "I suppose he's gone to buy the wedding ring, and have +the marriage settlements drawn up. Methinks he might have told me, +too." + +"Nay, Mistress Bertha," replied the other, "no wedding rings! no +marriage settlements! Mistress Alice is not for him!" + +A slight flush came over the pale cheek of her to whom he spoke. "Not +for him!" she exclaimed! "Does she refuse him, then!" + +"Yes, to be sure," replied John Graves; "every man is refused once in +his life. I was refused myself, for that matter; but I was wise, and +resolved that I would never be refused again." + +"Art thou lying, or art thou speaking truth?" demanded Mistress Bertha, +fixing her eyes sternly upon him. "Did she refuse him?" + +"Truth!" replied the man: "I always speak truth! She refused him, as +sure as I am alive: nothing he could say would move her. I knew it very +well, and I told him so before; but he would not believe me." + +Bertha stood and gazed upon the ground for several minutes "I do +believe," she said, speaking to herself, "I do believe that things +possessed without right have a doom upon them, which prevents them from +bringing happiness even to those who hold them, unconscious of holding +them wrongly. Now is this poor boy, notwithstanding all his great +wealth and high expectations, destined to be crossed in this +long-cherished love, which was to make both himself and his father so +happy! Poor youth! how long and deeply he has loved her! How his heart +must have ached when I talked about her this morning! and shall I help +to take from him anything he possesses?" + +"We ought always to do what is right, Mistress Bertha," exclaimed the +half-witted man, whose presence she had totally forgotten. "And both +you and I know that right has not always been done." + +"Out upon the fool!" exclaimed the housekeeper. "Hold thy mad tongue! +Now darest thou prate of right and wrong, not having wit to keep thee +from running thy head against a post! Get thee in before me! Thou shalt +give the Earl an account of this refusal!" + +John Graves slunk away before her flashing eye and angry words, like a +cowed dog, looking ever and anon to the right and left, as if for some +means to escape; but she kept him in view, following closely upon his +steps till they both entered the large mansion before them. + + + + + CHAPTER VII. + + +The injury which Henry Langford had received was more severe than he +had at first imagined. The extraction of the ball was very painful, and +so much inflammation succeeded that he was confined to his room for +several days. The delay and restraint, in truth, annoyed him as much as +the pain and restlessness which he suffered, for at that time there +were various important objects before him, which he was prevented from +pursuing with the calm but rapid energy of his character. He had one +great consolation, however: that the injury he had sustained was +received in defence of Alice Herbert; he had one great pleasure in the +midst of his sufferings: to feel sure that she was thinking of him, and +thinking of him with interest. Alice Herbert did not attend him as a +lady of romance; she neither dressed his wounds nor sung to lull him to +repose. She did not even show him that care and attention, visiting his +sick chamber often in the day, making cooling drinks with her own hand, +and pressing him to take care of himself, and to follow exactly the +surgeon's directions, which many a lady of that very age would have +done. Nay more, strange as it may seem, she did not display half so +much interest towards him as she might have done towards any person in +whom she was not so deeply interested. She took care, indeed, that +everything should be done for his comfort and convenience; but she did +so seeming to do it as little as possible. She did give up ever thought +to him, and to how he might be best brought back to health especially +during the three first days, while the surgeon shook his grave and not +very sapient head, and declared that the result was doubtful; but she +took great care that nobody should know that her thoughts were so +employed. + +When at length he was permitted to leave his room, she received him +with a degree of timidity that was not without its share of tenderness. +It seemed as if she felt that towards him she was placed in a different +relationship to that in which she stood towards any other human being, +and the feeling was strange and new to her, but it was not without its +pleasure. Langford's manner, too, soon dispelled everything that was in +the least embarrassing in such feelings, and left them all their +delight. + +With fever and loss of blood he had been greatly weakened, and there +was a degree of languor in his conversation during the first two or +three days which rendered it perhaps more interesting to Alice Herbert +even that it had been before. It was still bright and sparkling; it was +still rich and deep; but there was a softness and a gentleness in it +which were the more winning from the contrast between the power of the +thought and the mildness of the manner. The mind of Alice, too, had +undergone some change, from what reason she scarcely knew. She was +becoming fonder of grave thoughts; she was more pensive; and once or +twice, even when she was alone, she blushed deeply at finding herself +guilty of some little act of absence of mind--a thing she never had +accused herself of before. She blushed, because she was conscious that +on these occasions she was thinking of Henry Langford; her meditations, +indeed, were such as she needed not to have blushed for; they were all +pure, and upright, and good; but it was for their intensity that she +blushed, not for the matter of them. + +There was in Langford's manner towards her, however, a tenderness, a +gentleness, an appealingness, if we may use the term, which, without +words, very soon told her that if she thought deeply of him, he thought +no less deeply of her. Her father was about this time a good deal +absent from home; for the attack upon his daughter, at the very gates +of his own park, had raised his indignation to a high pitch; and he +declared that he would not rest, night nor day, till he had rooted out +of the country the band of villains who deprived it of its ancient +peace and security. Meetings of the justices in the neighbourhood were +accordingly held for the purpose of causing the apprehension of the +offenders; and at all these Sir Walter, who was himself an active +though kindly magistrate, was present, taking a prominent part; so +that, as we have said, he was much from home, and Alice Herbert was +left, not alone, but in company with Henry Langford. + +Such circumstances seldom lead but to one result, and must have done so +now, had not that result been long before reached by the heart of each. +Langford, however, was extremely careful; he could not, indeed, so far +govern his manner as to prevent it from betraying the growing +tenderness, the daily-increasing love that he felt for Alice Herbert; +but not a word ever escaped his lips to confirm what his manner told +unwittingly. They spoke of all the various matters, on all the +multitude of themes, which are to be found in the treasury of rich and +well-cultivated minds; there was not one fine subject in all the mighty +universe, there was not an object in all the tide of bright and +beautiful things which the God of nature has poured through every +channel of the immense creation, that might not become for them a topic +of discourse, for in all they could find sources for enjoyment and +admiration. + +And thus they went on conversing upon different things, deriving +amusement, and instruction, and employment for imagination from all. +Yes! conversing of indifferent things, but conversing as people who +were not indifferent to each other; speaking of matters which had no +reference to themselves, yet each learning as they spoke but the more +to admire, to esteem, to love the other. + +There were looks, too--unintentional looks--that betrayed the secrets +of the heart more than words. When Alice Herbert's eyes were turned +away, Langford would look at her with long and tender earnestness till +she turned towards him, and then he would immediately withdraw his +gaze. But still, more than once, she caught his eyes fixed upon her, +and felt sure that they had been so long. She, too, while working or +drawing, and conversing at the same time on any passing subject that +was before them, would occasionally, when his rich eloquence poured +forth in a current of more than ordinary brightness, raise her eyes to +his face with a look of deep eagerness which made her very heart +thrill. + +Thus it went on, as might be naturally expected, and before three weeks +were over, Alice Herbert found that there was but one happiness for her +on earth; and Henry Langford knew that his fate was decided, as far as +intense, and true, and ardent love decides, for weal or woe, the fate +of every man capable of feeling it. + +For the last two or three days, however, Alice had remarked that he was +more thoughtful, perhaps more grave, than usual. The magisterial +labours of her father were now nearly at an end. Though none of the +offenders had been taken, he had satisfied himself that their bad +neighbours had been driven from the vicinity; and two or three daring +robberies, which were committed about this time in the next county but +one, confirmed him in the belief. He was therefore much more at home +with Alice, and with him whom we may now call her lover, and the +delight which he took in Langford's society was every day more and more +apparent, and every day more sweet and reassuring to his daughter's +heart. The regard of the old man and the young man was evidently +reciprocal, for Langford was one of those who could feel and estimate +to the full the beautiful and natural simplicity, the straightforward +singlemindedness of the old Knight of Moorhurst. + +However, during the two or three days which we have just mentioned, as +having displayed an unusual degree of gravity in Langford's manner, his +eyes would often rest with a sort of doubtful and inquiring look upon +the face of Sir Walter; and Alice also fancied that her father was +pale, thoughtful, and uneasy. Langford, too, though scarcely fully +recovered, had been out several times alone, pleading urgent business; +and, in short it was clear that, in the bosoms of many of the party +tenanting the Manor-House, there were busy thoughts, which from some +reason they concealed from each other. + +Such was the state of things just three weeks after the affray with the +robbers; when one evening Alice had walked out alone, in order to think +over all that she felt, and all that she had remarked, without having +her thoughts interrupted even by the conversation of those who were the +objects of her meditation. She had now learned not to go very far from +the house when alone, and she sat down for a moment in a seat at the +end of the bowling-green, which was a small oblong piece of ground, +hollowed out between high banks on every side, which banks, like the +flat little lawn that they surrounded, were covered with smooth green +turf, and were surmounted on three sides by a range of fine yew trees, +cut with exact precision into the form of a high wall. Her father, +before she left the house, had seated himself in his arm-chair in the +library, to take the afternoon nap in which he sometimes indulged; and +Langford, whom she had not seen for nearly an hour, she believed to +have gone to the village. + +It was not so, however; and ere she remained long in that spot, +thinking over her situation, and somewhat schooling herself for +feelings which she could not suppress, she heard a rapid footfall +coming from the direction of the house, and the thrill that went +through her heart, the agitation that took possession of her whole +frame, showed the quick memory of love. Had she yielded to her first +impulse, though there was no one upon earth in whose society she felt +so happy as in that of the person who now sought her, she would have +risen and made her escape through the trees behind her. She restrained +herself, however, and sat still, with a beating heart, indeed, and with +her breath almost suppressed, while Langford with a quick step crossed +the bowling-green, and approached her. Although she strove to do so, +although she would have given worlds to appear unconcerned, she could +not raise her eyes to welcome the visitor with her usual smile, and she +suffered him to traverse the whole open space as if she had not seen +him, only looking up with a glance of consciousness, and a deep blush +when he came close to her. + +Langford was agitated too: but the agitation showed itself merely in a +great degree of paleness. His step was firm, his manner calm and +decided. + +"I have sought you," he said, as he came up; "I saw you go away from +the house, and thought you had gone to the flower garden." + +Alice strove hard to reply as usual, but all that she could say was, "I +thought it would be cooler here;" and there she stopped: she could go +no further. + +"We shall be less likely to be interrupted, too," replied Langford, +"and that, with me, is a great object at the present moment, for I wish +much to speak with you--to detain you for half an hour--nay, perhaps, +for a whole hour with me alone." + +Alice could now reply nothing indeed; but with eyes bent down, and the +tears ready to rise up in them, she suffered Langford to take her hand +and to proceed. + +He seldom did anything like other men, acting upon principles which we +may hereafter pause upon for a moment; and he did not now come at once +to the declaration which Alice felt was hanging upon his lips, but went +on to speak of things apparently of far less interest. "You will give +me this half hour, or this hour, I know, sweet lady; and afterwards you +shall give me more or not as you please. I had some idea of detaining +you before you went out; but I am glad I did not, because I think when +one has anything of great importance to say--anything, I mean, which +deeply interests and moves us, in which the whole feelings of our +hearts are engaged--I think that there is no place we can so well +choose as in the face of nature, under the free canopy of heaven. One's +spirit feels confined and crushed in chambers built by hands; one's +heart has not room to expand; one's soul has not space to breathe forth +at liberty." + +He saw that by this time Alice's emotion had a little subsided; she had +even ventured, at the last words, to look up in his face; and he now +went on, coming nearer to the matter of his thoughts. "Alice," he said, +"dear Alice, I would beseech you not to agitate yourself, and yet I +must speak to you on subjects which will create much emotion." + +Did Alice think, even for a moment, that he was too confident--that he +was too sure of possessing such great influence over her mind? She did +not; but even if such an idea had presented itself for a moment, it +would have vanished immediately, for he went on: "I know that I must +greatly agitate and move you; for if my brightest and dearest hopes are +true, that heart is too deep and too intense in all its feelings not to +be agitated by the words you must hear, and the words you must speak; +and if those hopes are not true, if, like so many other of life's +illusions, they have given me a moment of brightness but to plunge me +in the deeper night, that heart is too gentle and too kind to tell me +that the whole of the rest of my life is misery, without feeling wrung +and pained. Alice, I have sought you, not to tell you that I love you; +for that you must have known long----" + +"Oh no!" she cried, suddenly looking up through a flood of bright and +happy tears, "Oh no! I might think so, but I could not be sure of it!" + +Langford smiled, and pressed her hand to his lips. "Do not think me +presumptuous," he answered; "do not think me presumptuous when I say, +that those words and that look have already given a reply, and made me +most happy. Oh no! I am not presumptuous, for I know Alice Herbert too +well not to feel that such words, and such a look, may well spare my +agitating her further, on one subject at least. Yet tell me, Alice, am +I as happy as I dream myself to be?" + +For a moment she made him no answer, and he added, "Oh speak!" + +"What can I say, Langford?" she murmured, in a low voice; "you, who +know the human heart so well, must have read mine perhaps too deeply." + +He gave up a few moments to thanks and to expressions of his joy: but +after that, a graver shade came upon his countenance, and he said, +"There is much, much, my beloved, to be spoken of between us. With that +bright confidence which you shall never find misplaced, you have +yielded your heart and your happiness to one of whose rank and station, +fortune and family, you know nothing." + +"I know himself," replied Alice, gazing up in her lover's face, "and I +know that he is everything that is noble and good." + +"May I ever justify such feelings, Alice," replied Langford; "but +still, my beloved, it is necessary that you should know something of +me, especially as I may have to draw still more deeply upon your +confidence, to call for trust and reliance such as are seldom +justified. During the last three or four days, Alice, my mind has been +in a state of hesitation and doubt as to what course I should pursue. I +felt that under some points of view I ought, in propriety, to +communicate my feelings to your father, in the very first place; and +yet, Alice, as I was sure that you knew that I loved you, as I had +determined to bind you by no promise till your father's full consent +was obtained, and as I had to confide in you, to consult with you, to +ask your advice even upon a matter that must affect the whole course of +my life, my fortune, my station, and everything--a matter which, for +many reasons, I do not wish to communicate to your father at present, I +have judged it best, and determined, to open my whole heart to you at +once." + +Alice listened with a slight look of anxiety, for she had entertained +some hopes that Langford had communicated his purpose to her father +before he came to seek her; but still her apprehensions of opposition +from one who loved her so much, and esteemed him so highly, were not +great, and she only replied, "But, of course, you do not wish our +engagements to be concealed from my father?" + +"Not _our_ engagements, sweet Alice," replied Langford; "for while I +hold myself bound for ever to you. I ask you to make no engagement, I +suffer you to make none, till you have your father's full consent, and +my love for you shall be told to him immediately. But let me first +inform you how I am situated. The property which I actually possess is +but small; sufficient, indeed, to maintain me in comfort and +independence as a gentleman, but no more. My name and reputation, with +my companions in the field, and with those under whom I have served, +is, I have every cause to believe, fair--may I say it without +vanity?--high. This small fortune, and this good reputation, are all +that I absolutely have to offer; but, at the same time, I tell you that +a much larger fortune, one that would at once place me on a level, in +those respects, with yourself, is withheld from me unjustly, and +cannot, I fear, be recovered by law." + +"What matters it?" demanded Alice. "What matters it, Langford? My +father's consent once given, will not his house, his fortune, be our +own? What need of more?" + +"To you, perhaps not, Alice," replied her lover. "But to me it would be +painful--it would be the only painful part of my fate to know that a +great disparity existed between your fortune and mine--to have any one +insinuate that my Alice had married a mere adventurer. In regard, too, +to your father's fortune, Alice, I have much, hereafter to say to you; +I have something even to say to him. But of that we will not speak now. +Suffice it that I could bear no great disparity. But, besides," he +added, seeing her about to speak, "I have made a solemn promise, Alice, +to pursue, without pause or hesitation, the recovery of this property." + +"But you said," exclaimed Alice, "that it could not be recovered by +law." + +"It cannot," replied Langford, "for the papers by which it could be +recovered are withheld from me by one who is both powerful and daring, +and I cannot obtain them by any act which the law would justify." + +"Then, give it up altogether," exclaimed Alice. "Do not, do not, +Langford, attempt anything that is not justified by the law." + +"But sometimes," replied her lover, "the law is in itself unjust, or +else, as in the present instance, is impotent to work redress, and +would justify the act if it proved successful. The papers are withheld +from me by one, as I have said, who is both powerful and daring. What +mandate of the law can make him give them up? While I, by force, if I +chose to exert it, might take them for myself; and the possession of +them would at once justify the deed by which they were acquired." + +"Oh, no, no! do not attempt it, Langford," cried Alice. "Suppose you +were to fail in obtaining them, what terrible consequences might ensue! +He might resist force by force; blood might be spilt, and the man I +love become a murderer." + +Langford paused for a moment upon the words, "The man I love;" and, +casting his eyes towards the ground, he fell into a sweet but short +reverie. A moment after, however, he returned to the subject, saying, +"But my promise, Alice, my promise to the dead?" + +"Langford," said Alice gravely, and somewhat sadly, laying her right +hand at the same time upon his, in which he had continued to hold her +left, and gazing up in his face with a look of tenderness and regard: +"Langford, I am no great casuist in such matters; but I have always +heard that no promise to do what is unlawful can be binding upon any +man. God forbid that I should hold that it is right to do any evil, +even to the breaking of the slightest promise; but here, Langford, you +are between two evils: the breaking of a promise, and the committing of +an unlawful act. The breaking of that promise can do wrong to no one; +the keeping it may bring misery on yourself, on me, on all who know +you; may be followed by bloodshed, ay! and the loss of your good name." + +"You are eloquent, my Alice," replied Langford, "and I believe that you +are right; but still the temptation is so strong, the matter involved +is so great and so important, the means of obtaining those papers +without force so very doubtful----" + +"Oh, if there be means," exclaimed Alice, "if there be _any_ means +employ them. Speak with my father upon it: take counsel with him." + +"Alice," replied her lover, "it is impossible. I must not speak with +him, I ought not to speak with him, upon this subject. For his sake, +Alice, for yours, I ought not. Alice, forgive me if I am obliged to use +some mystery for the present. That mystery shall soon pass away, and +you shall know all." + +"I seek not to know it, Langford!" she replied, gazing up in his face; +"I am quite satisfied: I am quite sure! Now and for ever my trust is +entirely in you. Tell me what you like: conceal from me what you like. +I know that I shall never hear of your doing what is wrong; and as for +all the rest, I care not." + +Langford could not resist such words. He threw his arms round her, and +pressed her to his heart. His lips met hers in the first kiss of love, +and he set her heart at ease by promising to use none but lawful means +to obtain even his right. He still held her gently with one arm thrown +lightly round her, and her left hand locked in his, when the sound of a +footstep met his ear, and he looked up. Alice's eyes were raised too, +and her cheek turned very red and then very pale, for, at the aperture +at the other end of the bowling-green, appeared no other than Lord +Harold, advancing rapidly towards them. + +The reader may have remarked that whenever we are interrupted in those +seasons when the shy heart comes forth from the depths in which it lies +concealed, and suns itself for a moment in the open daylight, the +person who breaks in upon us is sure to be the one of all the world +before whom we should least like to display the inmost feelings of our +bosom. Had it been her father who now approached, Alice would have run +up to him, placed her hand in his, hid her face upon his bosom, and +told him all at once. But, both on her own account and on his, Alice +would rather have beheld any other person on the earth than Lord Harold +at that moment. He could not but have seen the half embrace in which +Langford had held her; he could not but know and divine the whole; and +Alice felt grieved that such knowledge must come upon him in so painful +a manner; while--though not ashamed--she felt abashed and confused that +any one should have been a witness to the first endearment of +acknowledged love. Langford's proud nostril expanded and his head rose +high; and drawing the arm of Alice through his own, he advanced with +her direct towards Lord Harold, as if about to return to the house. The +young nobleman's countenance was deadly pale, and he was evidently much +moved, but he behaved well and calmly. + +"Your father wishes to speak to you, Alice," he said; "I left him but +now, just awake." + +Langford saw that Alice could not reply, and he answered, "We are even +now about to seek Sir Walter, my lord." + +"I rather imagine that he has business which may require Mistress +Alice's private attention," replied Lord Harold, in the same cold tone +which both had used; "I have also to request a few moments' +conversation with Captain Langford. I will not detain him long." + +Alice suddenly raised her eyes, and looked from one to the other. +"Langford," she said, aloud, "before I leave you, I have one word more +to say." + +"I will rejoin you here in a moment, my lord," said Langford, calmly. +Lord Harold bowed; and Langford, with Alice's arm still resting in his, +walked on towards the house. Alice spoke to him, as they went, eagerly, +and in a low voice. His reply, as he left her at the door of the Manor +was, "On my honour!--Be quite at ease!--Nothing shall induce me." + +As soon as he had left her, he returned at once to Lord Harold, whom he +found standing, with his arms crossed upon his breast, in an attitude +of deep thought. + +"Your commands, sir?" said Langford, as soon as they met. + +"By your leave, Captain Langford," replied Lord Harold, "we will walk a +little further, where we are not likely to be interrupted." + +Langford signified his assent, and they proceeded in silence for some +way till they reached a small glade in the park, where Langford paused, +saying, "This is surely far enough, Lord Harold, to prevent our being +interrupted in anything you can have to say to me, or I to you." + +"Perhaps it may be," replied Lord Harold. "I have a question to ask +you, which may perhaps lead to other questions, and I beg you to give +me a sincere and open answer, as it may prevent unpleasant consequences +to us both." + +"If I think fit to give you any answer at all, Lord Harold," replied +Langford, "I will give you a sincere one; but I must first know what +your question is before I even consider whether I shall answer it or +not." + +"The question is simply this," rejoined Lord Harold, in a somewhat +bitter tone: "Who and what the gentleman is who visits this part of the +country, introduces himself into our families, and calls himself +Captain Langford?" + +Langford smiled: "Had I, my lord," he said, "either visited your +property, even as a sportsman, in answer to your lordship's own +invitation, or had I introduced myself into your family, I might have +thought myself bound to give some answer to your question; but, as I +have done neither the one nor the other, I will beg you to excuse me +from replying to it, and I will pardon you for putting it." + +"This is all very good, sir," said Lord Harold; "but you do not escape +me by an affectation of dignity. In the first place, sir, you cannot +suppose that I shall conceal from Sir Walter Herbert what I remarked +to-day between yourself and his daughter." + +Langford turned very red, but he still replied calmly: "In regard to +that, my lord, you may do as you please. To be a spy upon other +people's actions, or a tale-bearer, in regard to a matter accidentally +discovered, and not intended for his eye, is certainly a pleasant +employment for a gentleman. But all these things depend upon taste; and +if Lord Harold's taste lead him in such a way, Heaven forbid that I +should stop him!" + +Lord Harold bit his lip: "I shall not be put out of temper, sir," he +replied, "by your sarcasm; and were Captain Langford known to me as a +gentleman of honour and character, I should--whatever might be my own +personal feelings in this matter--I should be far from betraying a +secret which came accidentally to my knowledge; but when Captain +Langford is totally unknown in this part of the country, when I have +reason to believe that he is not always called by the same name, or +seen in the same character--when, in short, Captain Langford is a very +doubtful personage, and I find him introducing himself into the house +of my oldest and best friend, and, apparently unknown to that friend, +engaging the affections of his daughter--I feel myself bound in honour +to be no party to such a transaction, but to bring the whole matter to +light as soon as possible." + +Langford had remained standing while the other spoke, in an attitude of +attention, and with his eyes bent down upon the ground. The moment that +Lord Harold had done, he raised them, and, with a degree of +tranquillity which the young nobleman did not expect, replied, +"Perhaps, my lord, you are in the right. I rather believe, in your +situation. I should act in the same manner." + +Lord Harold looked both surprised and confused. "This is very +extraordinary," he said, "and I cannot but believe that there is some +design under it. I must insist, sir, upon having an explanation on the +spot, as to who and what you are; as to what is your title to be in the +society in which I find you, and what are your claims to the hand of +one of the first heiresses in this country." + +"Your pardon, my lord," replied Langford; "you are now going too far. I +shall give every explanation that I think fitting to the father of the +lady in question; to you I shall give none, till you show me some right +which you may have to interfere in the affairs of Mistress Alice +Herbert, which, I rather suspect, you cannot do." + +Lord Harold again bit his lip; but he replied, almost immediately: "The +right I have, sir, is twofold; that of one of her oldest friends, and +that of an applicant for her hand." + +For a moment Langford was about to demand, in reply, whether Lord +Harold meant an accepted or a rejected suitor; but he was generous, and +refrained. "In neither quality," he said, "can I recognise in you any +right to interfere; and you will pardon me if I say, that I will not +only give you no explanation whatever on the subject, but will not +condescend to hear you speak any further on a matter with which you +have no title to meddle." + +"Then, sir," replied Lord Harold, sharply, "nothing remains but to draw +your sword. I do you honour in taking it for granted that you are +worthy of mine;" and as he spoke he drew his weapon from the sheath, +and with the point dropped, stood as if in expectation that Langford +would follow his example. + +Langford remained, however, with his arms crossed upon his chest, and a +somewhat melancholy smile upon his countenance. "Once more," he said, +"you must pardon me, Lord Harold: neither in this matter can I gratify +you; not alone because it is a stupid and contemptible habit, only +worthy of cowards, or of boys who have no other way of showing their +courage, but--" + +"Well said, Master Harry," cried a voice close beside them: "Well said, +well said! I think, my little lordling, you had better put up your cold +iron, and go your way home to your father. To think of a man wishing to +bore a hole in his neighbour, like Smith, the house-carpenter, with his +long gimlet! Let us look at your skewer in a handle, my lord;" and as +he spoke. Silly John, the half-witted man of the village, whom we have +before described, advanced, extending his hand to take hold of the +blade of Lord Harold's sword. The young nobleman pushed him sharply +aside, however, bidding him begone, with an angry frown. + +"Well, I'll begone," replied the half-witted man; "but I'll be back +again in a minute, with more hands to help me;" and away he ran in the +direction of the stream and the village. + +"Now, sir! quick!" exclaimed Lord Harold. "If you would not have me +suppose you both a coward and an impostor, draw your sword, and give me +satisfaction at once." + +"Your lordship may suppose anything that you please," replied Langford; +"having done nothing that can reasonably dissatisfy you, I shall +certainly do nothing to give you any other sort of satisfaction." +"Then, sir, I shall treat you as you deserve," replied Lord Harold, +"and chastise you as a cowardly knave;" and putting up his sword, he +advanced to strike his opponent. + +But Langford caught his hand in his own powerful grasp, and stopped +him, saying, "Hold, Lord Harold, hold, I _will_ give you one word of +explanation! If, after having heard that, you choose to draw your sword +and seek my life, you shall do so; but remember, as you are a man of +honour, to none--no, not to the nearest and dearest, must you reveal +the import of these words;" and, drawing him closer to him, he +whispered what seemed to be a single word in the young nobleman's ear. +Langford then let go his hold; and, pale as ashes, with a quivering lip +and a straining eye, Lord Harold staggered back. His companion turned +upon his heel, and walked away; either not hearing, or not choosing to +attend to the young nobleman's entreaty to speak with him one word +more. + +Langford took his way direct to the Manor House; but upon entering the +door which stood open to the park, he perceived a good deal of bustle +and confusion amongst the servants; and on asking if Sir Herbert were +in the library, the reply was, "Yes," but it was added, that he and +Mistress Alice were both busy with a gentleman, on matters of deep +importance. "While he was speaking with the servant, Langford, through +a door which stood open at the end of a long passage, and afforded a +view into the court, perceived Lord Harold come in, with a quick step +and a somewhat disordered air, and mounting his horse, which was held +by one of Sir Walter's grooms, ride slowly away, without even +attempting to enter the house. + +"I am about to walk to the village," continued Langford, speaking to +the servant. "Will you tell Sir Walter so, when he is visible; for I +expect a messenger from London, and may not be back to supper, if I +find letters which require an answer." + +He then proceeded through the house, gained the road which led over the +bridge, and was proceeding towards the village, in the twilight, which +was now beginning to fall, when he thought he recognised a form that +was advancing towards him, though still at some distance. It proved to +be that of the same fair-haired boy, named Jocelyn, whom we have more +than once had occasion to mention, he spoke not a word when he came +near, but placed a letter in Langford's hands, which the other tore +open, and read, though with some difficulty, from the obscurity of the +light. + +"There is scarcely time," he said, after he had made out the contents +of the epistle, which was very short. "There is scarcely time. +Nevertheless, tell him I will be there: but say also, good Jocelyn, +that my resolution is the same as when we last met. I will not try it!" + +"I will tell him," was the boy's only reply; and leaving Langford, he +ran down the road by the stream, with a rapid pace. + + + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + +The moon had not risen; the sun had gone down; the sky, which for near +a month had been as calm and serene as a good mind, was covered over +with long lines of dark grey cloud, heavy, and near the earth; when a +solitary horseman took his station under a broad old tree upon the wide +waste, called Uppington Moor, and gazed forth as well as the growing +darkness would let him. It was a dim and sombre scene, unsatisfactory +to the eye, but exciting to the imagination. Everything was vague and +undefined in the shadows of that hour, and the long streaks of deeper +and fainter brown which varied the surface of the moor, spoke merely of +undulations in the ground, marking the great extent of the plain +towards the horizon. A tall solitary mournful tree might be seen here +and there, adding to the feeling of vastness and solitude; and about +the middle of the moor, as one looked towards the west, was a small +detached grove, or rather clump of large beeches, presenting a black +irregular mass, at the side of which the lingering gleam of the +north-western sky was reflected in some silvery lines upon what seemed +a considerable piece of water. That was the only light which the +landscape contained, and it would have cut harsh with the gloomy and +ominous view around, had not a thin mist, rising over the whole, +softened the features of the scene, and left them still more indistinct +and melancholy. + +It was an hour and a place fit for sad thoughts and dark forebodings, +and the horseman sat upon his tall powerful gelding in the attitude of +one full of meditation. He had suffered the bridle to drop, his head +was slightly bent forward, and his eye strained upon the scene before +him; while his mind seemed to drink in, from its solemn and cheerless +aspect, feelings as dark and dismal as itself. He sat there about a +quarter of an hour, and not a sound had been heard upon the moor but +the deep sort of sobbing creaking of a neighbouring marsh, or the +shrill cry of some bird of night, as it skimmed by with downy and +noiseless wings. There was not a breath of air stirring; no change took +place in the aspect of the sky or the earth; it was as if nature were +dead, and the feeling seemed to become oppressive, for the horseman at +length gently touched his beast with his heel, and made him move slowly +out from under the branches of the tree. + +Scarcely had he done so, however, when the distant sound of a horse's +feet was heard, as if coming at a very tardy and heavy pace from the +west. The sound, indeed, would not have been perceptible at that +distance, but for the excessive stillness of all around, and the +eagerness with which the traveller listened. His eye was now bent +anxiously, too, upon the western gleam in the water, and in a few +minutes the dark figure of another man on horseback was seen against +the brighter background thus afforded, riding slowly on, as the road he +followed wound round the mere. + +It was like a scene in a phantasmagoria, and in a moment after, two +more figures were added, and all three suddenly stopped. None of the +minute part of their proceedings were visible, and it was impossible, +at that distance, to discern how they were occupied; but a moment +after, there seemed a sudden degree of agitation in the group, then +came a bright flash, followed at a considerable interval by the report +of a pistol, and immediately after all three horsemen disappeared. + +"What may this mean?" said the stranger, aloud. "I fear there is +mischief." The sound of his voice seemed strange in the midst of this +solitude, but he had scarcely spoken when the stillness was again +broken by the noise of a horse's feet; but this time it came from +another direction, not exactly opposite, but much to the right hand of +the spot whence the former sounds had proceeded, and the beast was +evidently galloping as fast as he could, over turf. It came nearer and +nearer, and the watcher went back under the tree. + +At length, another powerful cavalier became visible, approaching at +full speed; and as he drew nigh he looked round more than once, and +pulled up his horse suddenly by the tree. "Are you there?" he asked, in +a low voice: and the next moment the other came forth and joined him. + +"Quick! quick! master Harry," continued the one who had joined him: +"Put your horse into a gallop, and come on with all speed." + +"But I told you, Franklin," replied the other, holding back, "I told +you that I would have nothing to do with it! What I saw a month ago +under the park wall was quite sufficient: and I would have no hand in +such a business, were it to put a crown upon my head." + +"Foolish boy! the business is done without you to a certain point," +replied his companion. "I have served you whether you would or not; and +I suppose, of course, you will be ungrateful. Come on with me, and you +shall have the key of the chest, which I have ventured my neck to get +for you. You have nothing to do but to walk in and take what is your +own. But come on quickly! You would not have me taken, I suppose; and I +have reason to think I am followed." + +Thus saying, he put his horse again into a gallop, and Langford +followed at the same pace. Two or three times, as they rode on, +Franklin Gray looked back over the moor; but no moving object of any +kind was to be seen, except one of those creeping phosphoric lights +which linger on the edges of an old marsh; no sound of any kind was to +be heard, but the measured beating of their horses' feet upon the +hollow-sounding turf. + +At length, when they had gone about two miles further, Franklin Gray +cheeked his horse's speed, saying, "There is no one following now--yet +they made the signal from the hill! Did you not hear a pistol shot just +before you came up?" + +"Yes," replied Langford; "I heard it distinctly, and saw the flash. Was +that a signal that some one was following you?" + +"It was," answered Gray. "But how you could see the flash I don't +understand, for they were down below the brow of the hill, where one +can see both roads to the castle." + +"Oh no!" said Langford. "The men who fired that shot were upon the moor +close by Upwater Mere; and I very much fear, Gray, that some of these +accursed evil companions of yours have been again committing an act +that you neither knew of nor desired." + +"If they have," exclaimed Gray, with a horrid imprecation, "I will +shoot the first of them, were he my own brother." + +"How many were there of them on the watch?" demanded Langford. "Two," +replied his companion. + +"Then I will tell you what I saw," answered Langford. "As I sat on my +horse and looked out over the mere, which just caught a gleam from the +sky, the figure of a horseman crossed the light, as if he were going to +the castle. Just at that minute two more came out upon him--from +amongst the beeches, it seemed to me; then came the pistol shot; and a +minute after they all disappeared." + +Gray gave utterance to another terrible oath; and then, after thinking +a few minutes, he added, "But it can't be any of my people! They dared +not, after the warning I gave them about that bad business under the +park fence." + +"At all events," cried Langford, reining up his horse entirely, "had we +not better go back and see? I fear very much, Franklin, that they have +shot the man, whoever he is." + +"No, no," replied Franklin; "if they have shot him, he is shot, and +there is no need of our meddling with the matter." + +"But he may be merely wounded," replied Langford; "we had better go +back." + +"No!" thundered Franklin Gray--"I tell you no! It is mere madness! We +are but half a mile from the house; when I have got there, we shall +learn who has done this, and I will send out and see if there is any +one hurt. Come on, come on!" + +Langford followed his bidding; and renewing their quick pace, they rode +on for about half a mile further, till, amid a clump of tall trees, at +the very edge of the moor, where some poor thin unproductive fields +connected it with the cultivated country, they perceived a light +shining from a small window in a tall building before them. + +At that period there still remained scattered over the face of England +a number of those edifices which, fortified to a certain degree, +combined the modern house with the ancient feudal hold, and had been +rendered very serviceable to both parties in the progress of the great +rebellion. These fortified houses were of every size, from that which +really well merited the name of castle, to that which was no more than +a mere tower; and many of them, either from being injured by the +chances of war, or from having lost a great part of their utility when +the scourge of civil contention was removed from the country, had gone +to decay, or had been applied to the calmer and more homely uses of the +barn, the grange, or the farm-house. + +Such was the house which Langford and his companion now approached; +and, as far as the darkness of the hour suffered its outline to appear, +it seemed to the former to be a tall heavy tower of stonework, with +four small windows on the side next to them. Beneath its protection, +and attached to it on one side, with the gable end turned towards the +road, was a lower building with a high peaked roof of slates; and close +by, another mass of masonry, apparently the ruins of a church or +chapel. The light that the horsemen had seen came from one of the upper +windows of the tower; but there were lights also in the less elevated +building by its side. A low wall stood before the whole, enclosing a +little neglected garden; and through a gate which stood open in this +wall, Franklin Gray led his companion in, and up to the door of the +tower. There, beside the door, stood the ancient steps which many a +burly cavalier in the Hudibrastic days, and in days long before that, +had employed to mount his horse's back; and there, too, on either side +of the entrance, was many a ring, staple, and hook, for the purpose of +fastening up the troopers' horses, while their masters rested or +caroused in the hall hard by. + +Having attached their bridles to two of these hooks, Franklin Gray and +his companion proceeded to seek admission into the tower. To gain this, +Gray first struck the door three or four times distinctly with his +heavy hand. The moment he had done so, a light step was heard running +along within, and after manifold bolts and bars had been withdrawn, the +boy Jocelyn threw open the door; and Langford followed his companion +into a low narrow entrance hall, on the right of which was another +door, and at the end a dim flight of stone steps leading apparently to +the upper apartments. + +Scarcely, however, had the foot of Franklin Gray fallen three times on +that stone passage, when a light came gleaming down the stairs, and the +next instant the flutter of a woman's garments was seen, as she +descended with a step of joy. She was as lovely a creature as the eye +of man ever rested upon, though the first years of youthful grace were +passed, and though the sun of a warmer land than this had dyed her skin +with a rich brown. Her eyes--her large full liquid eyes--were as black +as jet, and the long dark fringe that edged both the upper and the +under lid left but little of the white visible. The glossy black hair, +divided on the forehead, was tied in a large massy knot behind, without +any ornament whatsoever; but along the whole line might be traced a +strong undulation, which told that, if free, it would have fallen in +ringlets round her face; and even as it was, two or three thick curls +escaped from the knot behind, and hung in glossy masses on her neck. +Her age might be three or four and twenty, and her form had the fulness +of that age, but without having lost any of the symmetry of youth. + +She carried a lamp in her hand, and the light of it showed her dark +eyes sparkling with joy as they rested upon Franklin Gray. Setting down +the light upon the stairs, she darted forward at once, and cast herself +upon his bosom, exclaiming, with a strong foreign accent, "You have +come back! You have come back! Oh, I have been so uneasy about you!" + +"But why, my Mona?" demanded Franklin Gray, with his whole tone and +manner changed to one of the utmost gentleness, as soon as he addressed +her. "Why more to-night than at other times, when I am obliged to leave +you?" + +"Oh, I do not well know," she replied; "but you kissed me twice before +you went, and then you came back to kiss me once more, and bid me +remember you; and I felt sure you were going on some dangerous +expedition. I felt sad at heart myself, too, as if some evil would come +of this night." + +"Evil has come of it, I fear," replied Franklin Gray; but he then added +quickly, seeing her turn pale at his words, "Evil not upon me, or of my +doing, Mona. But go up again, beloved! and I will come to you directly. +You see I have some one with me." + +She turned her eyes upon Langford, whom she appeared not to have +noticed before; and then bowing her head gracefully and slowly, she +raised the lamp again, and disappeared up the steps. + +When she was gone, Franklin Gray turned round and gazed upon Langford +for a moment, with a proud yet melancholy smile. There was a world of +meaning in his look, and Langford could only reply to it by exclaiming, +with a glance still more sorrowful, "Oh, Gray, this is very sad!" + +"Come, come," cried his companion; "it shall be amended some day, +Harry. Come, Jocelyn," he continued, turning to the boy, "tell me, +master page, who are in the hall, and how many?" + +The boy's brow became grave at the question. "There are but three, +sir," he replied; "there is James of Coventry, and there is Doveton and +little Harvey." + +"Indeed!" said Gray, shutting his teeth close, as if to keep down angry +feelings that were rising fast--"indeed!" and with his right hand he +threw open the door which led into a small dark room. That again he +strode across, giving Langford a sign to follow, and then opened +another door, which admitted them into a much larger chamber, well +lighted, in the midst of which was a large table furnished with a +flagon and some drinking cups. At the further end sat two men playing +with dice, while a third, a short smart-looking personage, was standing +behind, observing their game. They ceased when Gray and his companion +appeared; and the merriment which they evidently had been enjoying, was +over in a moment. + +"But you three left!" said Gray, as he entered, "but you three left! +Where are Hardcastle and Wiley?" + +"They went out shortly after you, Captain Gray," replied one of the men +who were playing; "I can't tell where they are." + +"Doveton," replied Gray, in a calm grave tone, "you are a gentleman and +a soldier; so are you, James; and Master Harvey, too, though he did not +serve with us either in Germany or in the New World, has had the honour +of serving in Ireland, and is a man of honour. Now, I ask you all, +straightforwardly, where are these two men gone to? Marcham and Henry +of the Hill I took with me; all the others I know about also; but where +are Wiley and Hardcastle, and what are they about?" + +"Why, really, sir," replied the man called Doveton, "we can only tell +by guess; for since that business down in the green lane they have kept +very much by themselves, and don't seem to deal fairly with us, +especially Wiley." + +"I'll tell you what, captain," said the man who was standing behind, +and whom they called amongst themselves Little Harvey, "I wish Wiley +was out from amongst us; he will get us all into mischief some day. He +does not do things in a gentlemanlike way. I guess what he has gone +after, but he has not succeeded, I see." And as he spoke, he gave a +significant glance towards Langford, as if he were in some degree +connected with the matter in question. + +"Indeed!" said Gray; "I suspect your meaning, Harvey; but let us hear +more plainly what you think. Though I direct and guide, and am always +willing to take the greatest dangers on myself, still we are comrades, +and should treat each other as such. What is it you think, Harvey?" + +"I won't say what I think," replied the man; "but I'll say what I saw. +When you sent the boy Jocelyn down to the Manor, Wiley cross-questioned +him both before he went and when he came back; and when he heard him +give you a message about a gentleman meeting you on the moor, he +whispered a good dead to Hardcastle, who came up and asked me if I +would go along with them upon an enterprise which must be quite secret, +and which must be done without your knowing it. I refused; and told +him, I thought that after the business down in the lane, he had better +not let Wiley lead him; but to that he answered, that this was a matter +which could not fail as the other had done, and that it would be over +in five minutes. I said I would not go, however, and they went without +me." + +"Hark, they are coming!" said Gray, as the sound of horses' feet was +heard stopping opposite the house. "Let them in the back way, Jocelyn, +and bring in supper. Here! Come with me, Master Harry." And he led the +way back into the hall by which they had at first entered, and in which +there still remained the lamp that the boy Jocelyn had carried when he +gave them admittance. Gray carefully shut the doors behind him; and +when he stood alone in the passage with Langford, he unbuttoned his +vest, and took from an inner pocket a key of a very peculiar and +extraordinary form. + +"There is the key, Master Harry," he said, speaking quickly, and with, +strong passions of some kind evidently struggling in his breast. "Your +own fate is now in your power! Manage it as you will!" + +"But tell me how this has been obtained," said Langford. + +"I have no time for long stories," replied his companion sharply. +"There it is! that is sufficient. But I will tell you so far, I--I +alone--though directed by one who knew the house well, walked through +it this night, from one end to the other; and within six yards of the +old man himself, with nothing but a door between us, took this key from +the hiding place where he thought it so safe, and brought it away +undiscovered. Now, Harry, leave me! I am not in a humour to speak much. +I have matters before me that may well make me silent. Mount your +horse, and be gone with all speed. Why do you linger? Oh! I will send +out ere ten minutes be over, and if there be a possibility of undoing +what has been done amiss, it shall be undone, on my honour. Take the +back road," he added, as he opened the door for Langford; "and for +worlds go no more upon the moor to-night! I ask you for my own sake," +he added, seeing his companion hesitate; "not for yours, but for mine!" + +Langford made no reply, but mounting his horse, rode away with feelings +of a nature the most mingled and the most painful. + +Those of the man he left behind were of a different character, but +still terrible. With Langford there were feelings which he seldom +experienced, doubt and hesitation as to his own course of action, +mingling with vague apprehension of evil, and deep regret to see a man +possessed of many noble qualities, who had been his friend, his +companion, and even his protector in the early days of youth, now +plunged into a current, terrible in itself, and terrible in its +consequences--following a course which he had long suspected that Gray +did really follow, but without having conviction forced upon him till +that night. + +With Franklin Gray it was very different; his whole feelings, for the +time, were swallowed up in one stern and gloomy resolution. + +There was anger, indeed, at the bottom of that resolution; wrath of the +most bitter and deadly kind; but even that was almost lost in the +effort to exclude from his thoughts everything that might shake, even +in the least degree, the dark and terrible determination he had formed. + +As soon as Langford had quitted him he returned to the hall in which he +had left his comrades, and there, as he expected, he found the party +increased by the presence of the two men, Wiley and Hardcastle, whose +names we have mentioned more than once, and whom we have seen busy in +the attack upon Alice Herbert. + +It was evident that some conversation had passed between them and the +others regarding the indignation which they had excited in their +leader, and while, in the rough countenance of Hardcastle, might be +traced a great deal of shame and apprehension, in the more cunning face +of Wiley appeared a degree of hesitating uncertainty, mingling +strangely with dogged defiance, and making him look like an +ill-tempered hound about to receive the lash, but not very sure whether +to lie down and howl, or fly at the throat of the huntsman. The boy +Joselyn was busily bringing in some dishes, and setting them on the +table; but he glanced at Franklin Gray from time to time, seeming to +know better than any one present the character of the man with whom +they had to deal, and to divine what was likely to be the issue. + +Franklin Gray said not a word in regard to the matter which was in all +their thoughts; but sitting down at the head of the table he made some +observation upon the bread, which was not good; and then added, +speaking to the others--"Begin, begin! Marcham and Henry of the Hill +won't be long." + +"I heard them coming over the hill but now," said the boy Jocelyn. + +Gray made no reply, and the rest began their meal in silence; but he +ate nothing, looking curiously at the knife in his hand, as if there +was something very interesting in the blade. He made the boy give him a +silver cup, indeed, full of wine from the tankard; and as he was +drinking it, the two others, whom he had mentioned, came in laughing, +and seemed surprised to see the grave and stern manner in which the +supper was passing. + +The matter was soon explained, however; for no sooner had they sat down +in the places left for them, than Franklin Gray fixed his eyes upon +Wiley, and said, "Now, my masters Wiley and Hardcastle, we are all +present but two: be so good as to tell me where you have been +to-night?" + +The time which had elapsed, the indifference, and even carelessness, +which had hitherto appeared in Gray's manner, and a cup or two of wine +which he himself had drunk, had removed the degree of apprehension +which at first mingled with the sullen determination of Wiley; and he +replied at once, with a look of effrontery, "I don't think that at all +necessary, Captain! I rather believe that I have as much right to ride +my horse over any common in the kingdom as you have, without giving you +any account of it either." + +"You hear!" said Franklin Gray, looking round calmly to the rest, "you +hear!" + +"Come, come, Master Wiley," cried the man, called Doveton, "that won't +do, after what we all swore, when we came down here. Come, Hardcastle, +you are the best of the two; come, you tell Captain Gray at once what +you have been about. We must know, if it be but for our own safety." + +"Oh! I'll tell at once," said Hardcastle. "Devilish sorry am I that I +ever went; and I certainly would not have gone had I known how it would +turn out. I'll never go again with Wiley as long as I live: I told him +so, as we came over the common." + +Wiley muttered something not very laudatory of his companion; but it +was drowned in the stern voice of Franklin Gray, who exclaimed, "Go on, +Hardcastle!" + +"Why, we went out to the beeches by Upwater Mere," replied Hardcastle; +"and we had not been there long, when up came some one on horseback, +going along slowly towards the castle. It was not the person we were +looking for, however----" + +"Pray, who were you looking for?" interrupted Franklin Gray. + +"Why, I think that is scarcely fair, Captain," said Hardcastle. + +"It matters not," replied Gray; "I know without your telling me. Go +on!" + +"Well, as the young man came up," continued the other, "Wiley said we +might as well have what he had upon him. So we rode up, and asked him +to stop, quite civilly; but, instead of doing so, he drew his sword, +and spurred on his horse upon Wiley, and----" + +"Well," exclaimed Gray, impatiently; "what then? I heard the pistol +fired," he said, seeing the man hesitate; "so tell the truth." + +"Well," said Hardcastle, "well;" and as he spoke he turned somewhat +pale: "well, then Wiley fired, you know, and brought him down; and we +pulled him under the beeches, and took what we could get. We have not +divided it yet, but it seems a good sum." + +As his companion had been detailing the particulars of their crime, the +changes which had come over Wiley's countenance were strange and +fearful. He had watched with eager anxiety the countenance of Franklin +Gray, who sat nearly opposite to him at the other end of the table; +but, being able to gather nothing from those stern dark features, he +ran his eye rapidly round the faces of the rest, and after several +changes of expression, resumed, as well as he could, the look of +cunning and daring impudence which he had at first put on. The entrance +of the boy Jocelyn with some plates, just behind him, however, made him +give a sharp start and look round. Franklin Gray fixed his eyes upon +the boy, and waved his hand; and Jocelyn immediately went round to the +other side of the table. + +"Hardcastle," said their leader, "I shall find some means of punishing +you. As for you, Wiley----" + +"You shall not punish me, Captain Gray!" interrupted Wiley, knitting +his brows and speaking through his teeth; "for by----, if you don't +mind what you're about, I'll hang you all." + +Franklin Gray sat and heard him calmly, keeping his eyes fixed upon him +with stern unchanging gaze till he had done speaking. He then looked +round once more, saying, "You hear!" and, at the same moment, he drew a +pistol from under his coat. Every face around turned pale but his own; +and Wiley started up from the table. But before he could take a single +step, and while yet, with agony of approaching fate upon him, he gazed +irresolute in the face of his leader, the unerring hand of Franklin +Gray had levelled the pistol and fired. + +The ball went right through his head; the unhappy man bounded up two or +three feet from the ground, and then fell dead at the end of the table. +Franklin Gray sat perfectly still, gazing through the smoke for about a +minute; and through the whole hall reigned an awful silence. He then +laid the pistol calmly down on the table before him, and drew forth a +second. + +Hardcastle crossed his arms upon his breast, and looked him full in the +face, saying, "Well, Captain, I'm ready." + +"You mistake me," said Gray, laying down the pistol on the table, with +the muzzle towards himself. "My friends, if I have done wrong by the +shot I have fired, any of you that so pleases, has but to take up that +pistol and use it as boldly as I have done its fellow. What say you; am +I right or wrong?" + +"Right, right!" replied every voice. + +"Well, then," said Gray, putting up the weapons again, "some of you +take him down; and you, Doveton and Marcham, hark ye;" and he spoke a +few words to them apart. "Take Hardcastle with you," he added; "that +shall be his punishment!" so saying, he turned, took up a lamp that +stood near, and quitted the hall. + +Franklin Gray mounted the steps in the tower that we have mentioned, +slowly and sadly; paused halfway up, and fell into deep thought. His +reverie lasted but a minute: he then proceeded, and reached the room +where the fair being whom he called Mona was watching anxiously for his +coming. Her eyes questioned him; but he made no reply in words. He +threw his right arm round her, however and rested his face upon her +bosom for several minutes, with his eyes shut; then pressed her to his +heart, kissed her cheek, and said "Come my Mona, come and see our babe +sleeping." + + + + + CHAPTER IX. + + +For nearly three miles Langford rode rapidly on. His mind was in that +state of confusion and uncertainty which admitted not of any slow +movement of the body; but as he thought again and again of all that had +occurred, he the more deeply regretted that he had ever gone to the +rendezvous with Franklin Gray, although his purpose in there going was +to separate his own proceedings for ever from those of one whose +present pursuits could be no longer doubtful. When Langford had known +him in former years he was a wild and reckless soldier of fortune, +whose bold rash spirit had prevented rather than aided him in rising to +those high grades in the service which his talents might otherwise have +obtained. His heart had ever, as far as Langford had seen it, been +kind, noble, and generous; there were many circumstances which had +connected them closely in our hero's early life; and in himself and his +fate, Franklin Gray had ever taken a deep and affectionate interest. + +His hatred of inactivity, his love of enterprise, his daring courage, +his strong and determined resolution, his rapid powers of combination, +and that peculiar talent for command which is a gift rather than an +acquirement, had made him loved and admired by the soldiery under him, +and might have gone far to constitute one of the greatest generals of +the age. But by his fellow officers he had never been loved, and by +those above him he had constantly been used, but had never been trusted +nor liked. In truth, there was a fierce and overbearing spirit in his +bosom, a contempt for other men's opinions, and an abhorrence of the +ordinary littleness of human nature, which prevented him from seeking +or winning the regard of any one, towards whom some peculiar +circumstance, or some extraordinary powers, had not excited in his +bosom feelings either of tenderness or of respect; and for this reason +he had never been loved. Why he had never been trusted was another +matter. He had set out in life depending more upon feeling than upon +principle as his guide; and though, as he went on, he had framed for +his own bosom a sort of code of laws by which he was strictly bound, +those laws did not always very well accord with the ordinary code of +mankind, and if generally acted upon must have been disastrous to +society. Those who disliked him--very often for his superiority to +themselves--were glad to find in his failings a specious excuse for +undervaluing his better qualities, and thus he had been always thwarted +and bitterly disappointed in his progress through life. + +Brought up as a soldier from his earliest years, he had ever looked +upon strife as his profession, life as one great campaign, the world as +a battle-field, mankind as either enemies or fellow soldiers. The great +law that he had laid down for himself was, never to measure himself +against any but those who were equal to the strife; and he would just +as soon have thought of injuring the weak, the innocent, or the +defenceless, as he would of murdering the wounded in an hospital. The +proud, the haughty, and the strong he took a pleasure in humbling or +overthrowing, even when bound to the same cause with himself, and the +constant single combats in which he was engaged had raised him up a bad +name in the service. + +In other respects, though no one could ever accuse Gray of injuring +the peasant, or taking away a part of the honest earnings of the +farmer--though, even under the orders of his general, he would take no +part in raising contributions from the hard-working and industrious, +and it was in vain to send him upon such expeditions, yet there had +been many a tale current in the camp, of Gray and his troopers sacking +and burning the castles in the Palatinate, driving the cattle from +under the very guns of the enemy's fortresses, and sweeping the wealth +from the palace of the Prince or the Bishop. Thus he had established in +some degree the character of a daring, but somewhat marauding officer, +and any soldier of more than ordinary enterprise and rashness ever +sought to be enrolled in his troop. He had quitted the service of +France in disgust some time before Langford, and they had not met again +till Langford, called suddenly to the death-bed of a parent, found +Gray, who had known her and hers in happier days, tending her with the +care and kindness of a son. + +Of what had taken place in the interim Langford was ignorant. From time +to time Gray talked of other lands which he had visited, and more +burning climates which he had known; but he did so in a vague and +obscure manner, which excited curiosity without inviting inquiry. +Langford had made none; and though they had met frequently since, and +dark suspicions and apprehensions--springing from a comparison of +Gray's former poverty and his known prodigality with the wealth he +seemed now to have at command--had from time to time crossed his +friend's mind in regard to the pursuits to which he had dedicated +himself, it was only on the occasion of the present visit to Moorhurst +that Langford had obtained a positive certainty of the painful truth. +As soon as he had obtained that certainty, he determined to warn, to +exhort, to beseech his former friend to quit the dangerous pursuits in +which he was engaged; to offer once more to share with him all his +little wealth, in gratitude for many an act of kindness gone before, +and for a service that Gray was even then anxious to do him, at the +risk of life itself; but on no account to participate in any scheme +conducted by the other, however great and important the object to be +gained for himself. + +His own wound, and the temporary disappearance of Gray and his +companions from that part of the country, had prevented Langford from +notifying to him this intention fully, after the night of the attack +upon Alice Herbert, though he had done so in general terms twice +before, and he had gone to the rendezvous appointed by Gray, on the +night of which we have just been speaking, supposing that it was to +have preceded, not to have followed, the enterprise proposed. All that +he had seen had been terribly painful to him; and in what had occurred +upon the moor he had too good reason to believe that an act had been +committed which he should not be justified in concealing. Yet, how was +he to reveal it, without the basest breach of confidence, and the +grossest ingratitude towards a man who had been risking all to serve +him? How was he to denounce the crime that had been committed, and +bring to justice the perpetrators thereof, without involving Gray in +the same destruction? + +Such were the matters in his thoughts, as he rode rapidly on towards +the Manor House; but by the time he had gone about three miles his mind +had been naturally led to inquire, who was the unfortunate person that +had been attacked; and for the first time an apprehension crossed his +mind that it might be Lord Harold. + +"And yet," thought Langford, as he rode along, "he would never go over +the moor at that time of night, and alone. He must have been home long +before, too: nevertheless he set out very slowly; and he seemed to turn +to the right, as if he were going by the moor. He may have loitered by +the way, or visited some cottage, or called at some house. Good God! +this uncertainty is not to be borne. I must, and will go back to the +moor." + +As he thus thought, he turned his horse short round, and galloped back +as fast as possible, following the road which led to the piece of water +called Upwater Mere. By the time he reached it, the moon was just +rising, and spreading through the hazy sky, near the horizon, a red and +ominous glare. It served to cast some light upon the road, however; and +Langford, calculating with the keen accuracy of a soldier, had fixed +exactly upon the spot before he reached it, where he had seen the +unfortunate traveller encountered. + +When he did reach that spot, the deep gory stains in the sandy road but +too plainly showed him he was right; and he traced the course of the +murderers along by the thick drops of gore, till the track was lost in +the grass beneath the beech trees. The darkness which reigned under +their branches rendered all further search fruitless; and, after having +given up nearly half an hour to the painful, but unsuccessful task, he +once more mounted his horse, and, with feelings of deep gloom and +despondency, took his way back towards the Manor House. + +It was nearly eleven o'clock at night ere Langford reached the gates; +and the family generally retired to rest before that hour. + +Certain doubts and apprehensions, however, in regard to the affairs of +Sir Walter Herbert--doubts and apprehensions springing from a thousand +minute incidents, which he had noticed while staying as a visitor in +the house--had induced him to inquire farther, from sources whence he +might derive certain information; and the information he had thus +acquired made him now determine to return to the Manor that night, +rather than go to the inn, though the hour was somewhat unseasonable. + +He found all the servants up: and there was a look of anxiety and +apprehension in the countenances of all, which led him to believe that +his fears were not unfounded, and that the business in which Sir Walter +had been engaged during the evening was both painful in itself, and +such as could no longer be concealed from his household. + +In those days, when difficulties and embarrassments overtook a country +gentleman, the case was much more painful than it is at present. Habits +of luxury and dissipation, ostentatious rivalry with one another, and +many of the other vices which, in the present times, have rendered the +transfer of property from the old gentry of the land but too common, +and burthens upon that which does remain, very general, had then +scarcely reached the country; and though the dissipated inhabitants of +towns, the gay debauched peer, the fopling of the court, and the +speculating merchant, might know, from time to time, every reverse of +fortune, it seldom occurred in those days that the old proprietor of +lands in the country experienced any great and detrimental change, +unless tempted to quit the calm enjoyments of rural life for the more +dangerous pleasures of the town. + +Civil wars, indeed, and political strife had brought about, or laid the +foundation for, the ruin of a great number of the country gentry; and +such, in some degree, had been the case with Sir Walter Herbert. His +father had served king Charles both with sword and purse, and had never +received either payment or recompence. The matter had gone on slowly +since, drop by drop, till the cup was nearly full. + +Sir Walter had shut his eyes to the fact, and had carefully concealed +from the eyes of those around him difficulties, the whole extent of +which he did not himself know, and which he always hoped to remedy. It +could not be, however, but that reports of embarrassment should get +abroad, and it was well known in the country that, some five or six +years before, he had become security to the amount of ten thousand +pounds for a neighbouring gentleman, who failed to pay the debt, fled, +and left the country. But every one knew, also, that the bond was in +the hands of Lord Danemore, Sir Walter's acquaintance and neighbour: +and every one, when the subject was mentioned, smiled, and declared +that Lord Harold, the son of the peer, and Mistress Alice Herbert, +would find means of cancelling the debt. + +We have already had occasion to show that such expectations were vain: +and the reports of embarrassments which had reached Langford's ears, +from sources which he could not doubt, had rendered his suit to Alice +Herbert as disinterested as it could be, but had prepared his mind for +what he was about to hear. + +"I am afraid something is the matter, Haliday," he said, addressing the +servant who gave him admittance. "What has happened, do you know?" + +"I am afraid something has gone wrong too, Captain," replied the +servant, with a sorrowful expression of countenance; "but Mistress +Alice, I dare say, will tell you all about it. She is sitting up in the +library to see you; and begged you would come to her whenever you came +in." + +Langford waited for no one to usher him to her presence: but by two or +three rapid steps passed the servant, and opened the library door. + +Alice was sitting at a table with a book before her. It were vain to +say that she was reading; for though her eyes had more than once fixed +upon the pages, and had scanned several sentences, so as to make out +the words, of the meaning of those words her mind was very little +conscious. Her eyes were now tearless; but it was clear to Langford +that she had been weeping not long before. The noise of his foot made +her instantly rise, and the colour became a good deal deeper in her +cheek; betraying a part, but a very small part, of the varied emotions +that were going on within. + +The heart of her lover was throbbing at that moment with many an +anxiety, it is true; but, strange as it may seem, love and noble pride, +ay, and even joy, engrossed by far the greater part. He guessed--no, he +divined all that she felt, however; the pain, the care, the +apprehensiveness, that burdened her breast, as she rose after waiting +there alone to receive him in order to tell him the tale of her +father's embarrassments; a tale which he well knew she had never +herself heard before that night. + +Langford would not have paused a moment under such circumstances for +worlds; and, with a step as quick as lightning, he was by her side: he +took her hand in his; he made her sit down again, and drew a chair near +her; gazing upon her with a look so full of tenderness and affection, +that--though sweet, most sweet to all her feelings--it made the tears +again rise into her eyes. It matters not whether what we drop into a +full cup be earth or a jewel; in either case the cup overflows. +Langford was anxious to speak first himself, and was not sorry that any +emotion not painful in itself should prevent her from commencing the +conversation. + +"Alice," he said, "dear Alice, something painful has happened, I know, +and I guess the nature of it; but do not let it affect you too deeply. +If you did but know how common these events are in the gay world of the +metropolis, it would become lighter in your eyes than it is now, +breaking upon you suddenly, and ignorant as you are of all such +transactions." + +"Then you have heard?" said Alice, gazing mournfully in his face. + +"No, I have not," replied Langford; "but I have divined what is the +matter: I divined long ago." + +"Then you were indeed generous," she said, "to wish to link your fate +with mine; for it seems to me an evil one." + +"Not so, dearest," replied Langford; "not so! I would say, that all I +ask is to share it, if I had not the vain hope, my beloved, of doing +more, and rendering it a happy one." + +"Oh! but Langford, I fear you do not know all," replied Alice; "and +though I waited here on purpose to tell you, I do not know whether I +shall be able to do so distinctly; for I am unacquainted with even the +terms of these things. But I will tell you what happened when I came +home. I found my poor father sitting here, in a terrible state of +agitation, and Lord Danemore's lawyer with him, looking cold and stiff, +and taking snuff, and a very different man, indeed, from what I have +seen him in former days, bowing down to the ground, and scarcely +venturing to sit down in the same room with my father. He it was who +told me, for my father could not, that there was what he called a bond +and judgment for ten thousand pounds and interest, which my father owed +Lord Danemore; and that my father had offered to give him a mortgage on +his estate for it; but that Lord Danemore would not take one, both +because he wanted the money, and because he said that the estate was +mortgaged already up to its value." + +"That must be a mistake, I think," said Langford. "You will forgive me, +Alice, for having made some inquiries lately; and will not, I know, +attribute my having done so to any motive but the true one. I have, +however, made such inquiries; and I feel sure that this lawyer of Lord +Danemore's has greatly exaggerated, and has done so for the purpose of +embarrassing your father." + +"Oh! I cannot think he could be so cruel," exclaimed Alice, "when he +saw the dreadful state of agitation in which my father was. However, he +made it out, in short, that we had nothing on earth left but the +pictures and the plate, and my poor mother's jewels; and he said, that +all he wanted to know was, first, whether I would be willing to give up +the little fortune that was left me by my aunt, to pay one half of the +debt; and next, when my father would pay the remainder. He said, too, +he had no objection to give him a week to do so." + +"A week!" exclaimed Langford, "a week! The pitiful scoundrel! Is that +the way he treats his master's friend? However, Alice, he shall find +himself mistaken! Listen to me, my beloved," and clasping her hand in +his, he glided his arm round her waist, and gazed fondly and tenderly +in her face: "I have some means of knowing, Alice, what is taking place +in this neighbourhood, which it is needless to explain: and certain +circumstances induced me to believe that this claim would be made by +Lord Danemore on your father immediately. Alice," he added, with a +meaning look, "you know that there may be motives sufficient to induce +Lord Danemore to entertain some slight feelings of anger towards you +and your father at this moment." + +Alice blushed very deeply, and looked up with surprise, saying, "What +motives do you mean, Langford?" + +"I mean on account of his son," replied Langford. + +"I did not know," replied Alice, ingenuously, "that either you or +anybody else, but my father, knew aught of that business, till +to-night." + +"Several persons knew it," replied Langford; "and though I do not mean +to excuse Lord Danemore, yet we must allow something for anger--and I +think that such was his motive." + +"Oh, that it certainly was," replied Alice, "for the attorney did not +scruple to acknowledge it; but I did not think myself justified in +mentioning it even to you, Langford." + +"I do not mean to excuse Lord Danemore's conduct," said Langford. "It +was unjust and unkind; but, perhaps, it was consistent with human +nature, and certainly was consistent with all I know of his nature, +which is quick, vehement, and passionate, if we may believe one-half of +what is said. But, after all, very likely this lawyer has outdone his +instructions. However, Alice, as I said, he shall be disappointed. +Learning that something of the kind was in agitation, I wrote several +days ago to London, in order to be prepared to meet this matter. By +this time my messenger is at the village, and brings with him a +sufficient sum to discharge your father's obligation to Lord Danemore. +For the last two or three days, Alice, I will acknowledge to you that +my mind has been in a great state of doubt and agitation: the sum for +which I have sent is more than one-half of what I actually possess; but +it was no fear in regard to that which made me at all hesitate. I only +doubted whether I should tell you all I feel towards you before I +offered this little assistance to your father or not. I thought that if +hope had deceived me, and Alice rejected my love, her father would then +refuse to receive any aid from me, however needful it might be to him; +and, therefore, on the one hand, I fancied it might be better to +mention the subject of the money first. But then again, on the other +hand, I thought if I did so it might place my Alice in embarrassing +circumstances, should she find herself obliged to refuse a man who had +come to her father's assistance in a moment of difficulty. I judged it +would seem ungenerous of me even to ask her very soon after. In short, +Alice, I gave way to hope and impatience, trusting that my Alice, by +accepting me, would give me a right both to protect her and to assist +her father." + +"In short, Langford," replied Alice, placing her other hand upon his, +"in short, you thought of everything that was generous, and kind, and +noble, and acted accordingly." + +"Nay, nay, not so, Alice," replied Langford; "but, of course, you have +told your father what has passed between us." + +"Immediately that man was gone," replied Alice, "I felt myself bound to +do so, Langford; the more bound, from all the digressing and agitating +events which had occurred." + +"You did quite right, my beloved," he replied. "What did he say?" + +"He said everything that was kind and affectionate," replied Alice. "He +said everything that I should like to hear said of one I love; but he +said that he feared you would be disappointed when you heard all this +bad news, and that I was bound in honour to set you free from all +promises, as much as if no proposal had ever been made. On his own +part, he said that he should never raise any objections in regard to +fortune; that he would never have done so even in his most prosperous +days; but there was one question which he wished to ask regarding +birth." Alice blushed, and cast down her eyes as she spoke. Then +raising them suddenly and frankly to Landlord's face, she added, "It is +one of his prejudices, you know, Henry. But even if there should be any +difficulty, his love for me and his esteem for you will make it but the +matter of a moment." + +Langford gazed in her face for an instant with a melancholy smile, +which almost made her believe that her father's suspicions with regard +to his history were correct. The next instant, however--whether he +understood her meaning clearly or not--he answered, "Set your mind at +rest, clear Alice; my birth is as good as your own! Is your father gone +to bed?" + +"He went up stairs about half an hour before you came," said Alice; +"but he is not asleep yet, I am sure. I sat up both to tell you all +this and to put my mind at ease about you and Lord Harold. You were so +long absent that I was uneasy. If you had not given me your solemn +promise not to quarrel with him, and if my father's grief and agitation +had not occupied so much of my thoughts, I am afraid I should have been +very foolish, and both terrified and unhappy at your not returning." + +"I have been very busy about other things," replied Langford, the +chilly recollection of all that had passed in the interval, coming back +upon him like a sudden gust of cold wind; "but my conversation with +Lord Harold only lasted ten minutes. I do not mean to say that he would +not willingly have quarrelled with me, but I would not quarrel with +him; and I trust that my reputation for courage does not require to be +sustained by any such silly contests. However, dear Alice," he +continued, suddenly turning the conversation back again to its former +subject--"however, if your father be not asleep, it may put his mind +more at ease to hear that means are provided for meeting Lord +Danemore's claim upon him; and you may also tell him, my Alice, in +order to remove every shade of doubt, that although my fortune be but +scanty, as it at present stands, yet there is good hope of its being +greatly increased, and that my birth is certainly not inferior to that +of her whose hand is already too valuable a gift to need the +enhancement of superior station." + +As he spoke, he raised the hand he held, tenderly, but reverentially, +to his lips; for he felt that he was bound to double every outward +token of respect at a moment when Alice announced to him that her own +expectations of high fortune were disappointed, and that the rich +heiress, who had thought a few hours before she had great wealth and +broad lands to give, was now dowerless, except in her beauty, her +virtues, and her gentleness. + +So he felt, and so he acted; and Alice saw his feelings and appreciated +them to the full. + +She rose then to go, but hesitated a moment as she wished him +good-night, not knowing well how to express all the sensations that his +conduct had produced. "Langford," she said, at length, "how shall I +thank you? I will not attempt to do it now, the time is too short; but +I shall find time, if endeavouring through life to make you happy be +enough." + +Langford could not resist it, and for a moment he pressed her to his +bosom, adding--"Good-night, my Alice; good-night, my beloved. Hasten to +your father before he is asleep, and I will remain for a few minutes +here, to write a note to the landlord of the Talbot, bidding him send +up to-morrow morning early the packet, which must have arrived +to-night. I will tell him to address it to you; so that, before your +father is awake to-morrow, you will have in your own hands the means of +freeing him from all apprehension regarding this claim. I trust, too, +dear Alice, that the time will come, when he will so much regard me in +the light of a son, as to permit me to examine into the matter of these +mortgages, and I think I can show him, and others too, that his estates +are far from being as much involved as they have been represented to +be." + +They parted; and after Langford had written the note he spoke of, and +had given it to a servant to take to the little town early in the +morning, he retired to rest. He found in his chamber, busily engaged in +laying out his toilet for the night, the old servant Halliday, who, +during the whole time he had been confined in consequence of his wound, +had attended him with the utmost care and attention, springing from a +feeling that he was in some degree paying off a debt of his young +mistress, in whose service that wound had been received. There was now +in his countenance, though his nature was too respectful to suffer him +to put any questions, an anxious sort of inquiringness, which Langford +could not resist. "It is not so bad, Halliday," he said. "Your +excellent master has alarmed himself too much. All will go quite well, +depend upon it." + +The man made him a low bow with an air full of gratitude. "I am very +much obliged to you, Captain," he said. "I was frightened, I confess; +for the steward, you see, told me, at least three months ago. But, +however, we servants have no right to be talking about such matters; +and though it is all out of love and regard to Sir Walter and Mistress +Alice, perhaps we had better hold our tongues." + +"Perhaps so, Halliday," replied Langford. "And now, good-night; all +will go well, depend upon it." + +The man again bowed low and respectfully, and left the room, and +Langford proceeded calmly to undress himself; for--though his mind was +oppressed, and the moment his thoughts were turned from the immediate +subject of Sir Walter Herbert's affairs, they reverted naturally to the +more painful topics with which they had before been engaged---he was +not a man to suffer his feelings to overpower him, or to interrupt him +in his ordinary habits and occupations. He felt deeply and strongly; +but he was too much accustomed to such feelings to suffer the emotions +of his mind greatly to affect his corporeal demeanour. It is those who +feel by fits and starts alone that give full way to sudden emotions. +Langford could feel as poignantly as any one. He did feel so at that +moment; and yet he proceeded with his ordinary preparations for repose +as if nothing had occurred to affect his feelings or to shake his +heart. He ended by kneeling and commending himself and those he loved +to the care of the Great Protector, and then lay down to rest, but not +to sleep. That he could not command; and for many an hour he remained +with his right arm bent under his head, his eyes cast upwards through +the darkness, peopling vacancy with strange shapes, and suffering +imagination to suggest to him many a melancholy and many a painful +image, which, after all, were not so dark and gloomy as the reality +soon proved to be. The sky was beginning to turn grey with the morning +light, when he first closed his eyes. He started up again, however, in +another moment, and then lay awake till it was broad daylight. +Perceiving that such was the case, he was about to rise, but a degree +of drowsiness came over him; and yielding to it for a moment, it took +possession of him quite, and he fell into a deep sleep. + + + + + CHAPTER X. + + +Day had long dawned, as we have said, ere Langford woke; and even then +he woke not of himself, nor till the servant, Halliday, had twice +called him by name, standing close by his bedside, and looking upon him +with an expression of much interest, indeed, but with a face from which +all colour was banished, apparently by fear and agitation. + +"Master Langford!" he said; "Master Langford! No guilty man ever slept +so sound as that. Poo, nonsense! Captain Langford, I say!" + +Langford woke, and looked up, demanding what was the matter. + +"Why, sir," replied the servant, "here is good old Gregory Myrtle, the +landlord of the Talbot, wants to speak with you immediately. I met him +as I was going up to the village, coming down here as fast as he could +roll." + +"Then you have not got the packet I sent for?" said Langford, coolly. + +"He has got it, sir, safe," replied Halliday; "but he would not give it +up, for he was coming on to you himself." + +"He should have given it, as he was directed," said Langford. "Tell him +to wait; I will see him when I am dressed." + +"But he says, sir, that he must see you directly; that his business is +of the greatest importance; that there is not a moment to lose." + +"Oh, then, send him up," said Langford, "if the matter be so pressing +as that." + +Halliday instantly disappeared, as if he thought that too much time had +been wasted already; and while Langford proceeded to rise, good Gregory +Myrtle was heard creaking and panting up the stairs, as fast as his +vast rotundity would let him. His face, too, was pale, if pale it ever +could be called; and he was evidently in a great state of agitation, +though the jolly habitual laugh still remained, and was heard before he +was well within the door of Langford's room. + +"Haw, haw, haw!" he cried, as he laid down the expected packet before +Langford. "Lord a' mercy, Master Harry, this is a terrible business," +he continued. "Well, I never did think--however, it's all nonsense, I +know," and he again burst into a loud laugh, ending abruptly in the +midst, and staring in Langford's face, as if for a reply. + +"Well, good Gregory," replied Langford, who, in the meantime, had +broken open the seals of the packet, and seen that various bills of +exchange which it contained, together with other equivalents for money, +were all right--"well, good Master Myrtle, what is it that is very +terrible? What is it you did never think? What is it that is all +nonsense? I am in the dark, Master Myrtle." + +"Gad's my life, sir, they won't let you be in the dark long," cried the +landlord of the Talbot; "and I came down to enlighten you first, that +you might not be taken by surprise." + +"As to what?" said Langford, somewhat impatiently. + +"Lord, sir! I thought that Halliday must have told you something, at +least," replied Gregory Myrtle, "or that his face must if not his +tongue, for it's all black and white, like the broadside of the 'Hue +and Cry.' But the matter is this," he added, after pausing a moment to +laugh at his own joke: "it seems that poor Lord Harold, who was a good +youth in his way, though he was somewhat sharp upon poachers and +deer-stealers, and the like, was murdered last night upon the moor." + +"Good God!" cried Langford, clasping his hands. "Good God!" + +"It's but too true, sir," continued Myrtle, throwing as much solemnity +as he could into his jocund countenance, "it's but too true; and +there's poor Lord Danemore, his father, distracted. And for the matter +of that, I think Sir Thomas Waller and Sir Matthew Scrope are as much +distracted too; for after having been with my lord since five o'clock +this morning, they come down to my house, and begin examining witnesses +and taking evidence, and sending here and there, and the end of it +all is--for I heard them consulting over it through a chink in the +door--they judge that you are the person who murdered him, only because +that mad fellow, silly John Graves, came running down to the village +last night for help, swearing he had seen you and Lord Harold with your +swords drawn upon each other. So, while they were busy swearing in +constables, and all that, I thought it but friendly-like to come down +here and tell you, in case you might think it right to get upon your +horse's back, and gallop away till the business is over." + +"Swearing in constables!" said Langford, without seeming to take notice +of the worthy host's suggestion. "Why, they don't suppose my name is +'Legion,' do they? One constable, I should suppose, would be quite as +useful as twenty." + +"Ay, Master Harry," replied Gregory Myrtle; "but they vow that you are +connected with the gentlemen of the road, who have been sporting round +here lately, and they are afraid of a rescue." + +"Indeed!" said Langford; "the sapient men! However, Master Myrtle, ring +that little bell at the top of the stairs." + +The silver hand-bell to which he pointed was immediately rung, and +Halliday, who had remained halfway down the stairs, was in the room in +a moment. No sooner did he appear, than Gregory Myrtle, who put his own +construction upon Langford's coolness, exclaimed, "Quick, Master +Halliday, quick! Saddle the Captain's horse for him!" + +"No, no, Halliday," said Langford. "You are making a mistake, my good +Master Myrtle. Take this packet, Halliday, and give it into Mistress +Alice's own hands as soon as ever you can. I am going out with Master +Myrtle here upon this business, which I see you have heard of. What may +be the result of these foolish people's silly suspicions, I cannot +tell; but do what you can, Halliday, to keep the matter from the ears +of Sir Walter and Mistress Alice as long as you can. Warn the other +servants too; for there is no use of adding fresh vexation to that +which your master and mistress are already suffering. You must all know +very well that I have nothing to do with this business, and can make +that clear very soon. Say, therefore, that I have gone out for a few +hours, but left that packet for Mistress Alice, with my best wishes. +Now, good Gregory Myrtle, go back to your inn, and tell Sir Thomas +Waller and Sir Matthew Scrope that I will be with them in five minutes, +as soon as I have dressed myself." + +Our host of the Talbot pursued the direction he had received, rolled +down the stairs, and laboured along the road towards the village, with +his surprise and admiration both excited by the extraordinary coolness +and self-possession displayed by Langford under such circumstances. By +the time he had reached the middle of the bridge, he perceived a great +number of people issuing from the door of his own house; and, ere he +was halfway up the street of the little town, he encountered ten or +twelve constables and special constables, headed by the two magistrates +in person. No sooner did he approach than the stentorian voice of Sir +Thomas Waller--all unlike the dulcet notes of Sacharissa's lover--was +heard to exclaim, "Take him into custody, Jonathan Brown!" + +"Where hast thou been, Gregory Myrtle, Gregory Myrtle?" exclaimed, in +softer tones, almost in the same moment, the voice of Sir Matthew +Scrope. + +"You have been aiding and abetting felony!" cried Sir Thomas. + +"You have been warning the guilty to escape!" said Sir Matthew. + +"You have been helping the lion to fly from his pursuers!" said Sir +Thomas. + +"You have been proditoriously giving information of our secret +councils!" said Sir Matthew. + +"It is being an accessary after the fact!" said his companion. + +"It is misprision of treason!" said the other. + +"It is levying war against the king!" shouted Sir Thomas. + +"It is a gaol delivery!" cried the head constable, determined not to be +outdone by his betters. + +"Haw, haw, haw.'" exclaimed Gregory Myrtle, laying his two hands upon +his fat stomach, "What is the matter with your worships?"' + +"Hast thou not gone down on purpose," said Sir Matthew Scrope, "to warn +Harry Langford, alias Captain Langford, alias Master Harry, to evade +and escape the pursuit of justice, by flying out of the back door while +we are approaching the front? Hast thou not done this, Gregory Myrtle? +and woe be unto thee if he have so escaped! Take him into custody, I +say!" + +"Well, your worships," said Myrtle, beginning to look a little rueful +under the hands of the constables. "I have been down to Master Harry, I +own it; but I went upon other business that I had to do with him. Does +not everybody know that I had a packet down for him by a special +messenger yesterday night, with orders to deliver it into his own +hands? and if I did talk with him this morning of what was going on, +did he not send his compliments to your worships, and bid me say that +he would be up with you in five minutes, as soon as he had got his +clothes on!" + +"Poo, nonsense, man!" exclaimed Sir Thomas Waller, growing red in the +face. "Do you think we are fools, to be taken in with such a story as +that? Are you fool enough yourself to think that he will come." + +"I say, as sure as I am a living man, he will come!" said Gregory +Myrtle. "Ay, more, my masters," he continued, after giving a glance +towards the Manor House, "I say, there he is coming." + +All eyes were instantly turned in the direction in which his own had +been bent the moment before, and the figure of a man, which seemed to +have just issued out of the gates of the park, was seen walking with a +slow calm step along the road towards the village. The magistrates, the +constables, and the multitudinous crowd which followed them, all stood +in silence and what we may call _thunderstruckness_, so little credence +had they given to the assurances of Gregory Myrtle; for let it be +remembered, that the first effect produced by an accusation against any +one, upon vulgar minds, is to lead them at once to condemn him. I am +afraid there is something in the human heart that loves the act of +condemnation--an act which either gratifies malignity or vanity. + +However that may be, the party assembled in the streets of the little +town could not believe their eyes, and, indeed, would not believe their +eyes long after the form of Henry Langford, a form with which many of +them were perfectly acquainted, had become distinctly visible, +approaching with slow calm steps towards the spot where they were +gathered together. The matter, however, could no longer be doubted; and +the magistrates stood still, not knowing very well how to act in such +unusual circumstances. + +Henry Langford, in the mean time, approached without the slightest +appearance of hesitation or dismay at the sight of the formidable +phalanx which they presented. Walking up to the magistrates with the +calm and graceful dignity which characterised all his actions, he bowed +slightly, saying, "I am told, gentlemen, that a most distressing +occurence has taken place, and that you imagine there is some cause for +supposing that I am implicated in this matter. Now, with your leave, +gentlemen, we will go to the inn, as this is no place for discussing +such subjects, and we will there investigate the matter accurately. +Doubtless, you have had good reason for attributing to me the +commission of a crime; but some person or another must have gone out of +the way, to insinuate or to urge such a charge against me; and who it +is that has been kind enough and liberal enough to do so, I shall make +it my business to discover, in order to punish him as he deserves." + +Langford concluded somewhat sternly; and the magistrates, entirely +taken by surprise, looked rather foolish, and began to imagine that +they might have been too hasty in their conclusions. There was a tone +and an air, too, in the person whom they had suspected, which forbade +all high words or violent measures. He spoke to them as certainly their +equal, if not their superior, and there was so much of the +consciousness of innocence in his whole demeanour that it was very +difficult to conceive their suspicions were justified. + +Not knowing well what to reply, they followed his suggestion in +silence, the one walking on one side of him, and the other on the +other. By the time they reached the Talbot, however, they began to +recover from the effect of his presence, and Sir Thomas Waller, with +what he conceived to be wise foresight and presence of mind, gave the +chief constable a hint in a whisper to guard the doors well, and to +take care that the prisoner did not escape. They did not, however, +venture to treat him as a prisoner in any other respect; and walking up +into the room where they had held their investigation, he sat down with +them at the table, and begged in a grave but not sarcastic tone, that +they would have the goodness to let him know on what grounds they for a +moment conceived that he had had any share in the unfortunate death of +Lord Harold. + +The magistrates looked to their clerk, who had remained behind, putting +the evidence in order while they had proceeded with the constables for +the purpose of arresting Langford. The clerk who, upon the whole, +seemed a sensible little man, proceeded, as it was very common in those +days, to take the whole business into his hands, and recapitulated +coolly, but civilly, to Langford the heads of all the evidence that had +been taken. + +Langford now discovered that the charge against him was much more +serious than he had at first imagined. He found that, in the first +place, several persons had deposed that silly John Graves, whose +adherence to truth was well known, had come down to the town in great +agitation, begging for help to stop Lord Harold and Master Harry +Langford from killing each other. It was proved, also, by the horse +boys from the Manor House, that Lord Harold, after having been in the +park with Master Langford, had returned for his horse about the same +time that the other had returned; that the young nobleman had ridden +away very slowly, and that Langford, after proceeding part of the way +towards the village, had suddenly come back, mounted his horse, and +ridden away very rapidly; that he had been absent till between ten and +eleven o'clock at night, and that big horse was evidently fatigued, and +had been hard ridden. Several people, too, had seen him pass at +different times, and on several parts of the road leading to the moor; +and, in short, there was quite sufficient evidence to prove that a +quarrel had taken place between Lord Harold and himself; that they had +both gone towards the same spot at the same time, and that he had been +absent a sufficient number of hours to commit the deed with which he +was charged, and to return. + +As the evidence was recapitulated, the worthy magistrates gained +greater and greater confidence every moment; and at length Sir Matthew +Scope exclaimed, "If this is not sufficient to justify us in committing +the prisoner, I do not know what is." + +"Not, perhaps, in committing him, your worship," said the clerk, whose +philology was choice without being very accurate; "but certainly in +remanding him." + +"Why, I did not exactly mean to say committing," rejoined the +subservient magistrate; "remanding was the word I meant to use; but +where can we remand him to? If we remand him to the county jail, +Justice Holdhim will take the matter out of our hands, and we shall +lose all credit with the good Earl for arresting the murderer of his +son." + +"Would it not be as well," said the clerk, "to take him up at once to +the castle? It is not improbable that the noble Earl might like to +examine him himself; and you can keep him confined there till you have +obtained further evidence to justify his committal." + +"A very good thought, a very good thought!" cried Sir Thomas Waller, +rubbing his hands. "He shall be placed in my carriage with a constable +on each side, and we will follow in yours, Sir Matthew, with the other +constables on horseback." + +Langford had listened in silence to the conversation between the +magistrates and their clerk, and though he evidently began to perceive +that the affair would be more serious and disagreeable than he had +anticipated, he could not refrain from smiling at the arrangement of +the stately procession that was to carry him to Danemore Castle. He +resolved, however, to make one effort to prevent the execution of a +purpose which would, of course, on many accounts, be disagreeable to +him; and he therefore interposed, as the clerk was about to leave the +room, saying, "You are rather too hasty, gentlemen, in your +conclusions, and I think you had better be warned, before you commit an +act which you may be made to repent of----" + +"Do you mean to threaten us, sir?" exclaimed Sir Thomas Waller. "Take +those words down, clerk! Take those words down!" + +"I mean to threaten you with nothing," replied Langford, "but the legal +punishment to which bad or ignorant magistrates may be subjected for +the use, or rather misuse, of their authority. You will remark--and I +beg that the clerk may take these words down--that one half of the +matter urged against me rests upon the reported words of a madman, who +has not been brought forward even himself." + +"You would not have us take the deposition of an innocent, a born +natural!" demanded Sir Matthew Scope. + +"His evidence is either worth something or worth nothing," replied +Langford. "You rest mainly upon his testimony reported by others, which +is, of course, worth nothing; and yet you will not take his testimony +from his own mouth, when I inform you, that if it were so taken, he +would prove that, though Lord Harold chose to quarrel with me, which I +do not deny, that I positively refused to draw my sword upon him, even +when he drew his upon me." + +"That might be," said the clerk, "to take more sure vengeance in a +private way. Their worships have on the contrary to remark, that you +have not in any way attempted to account for the space of time you were +absent from the Manor House last night. Neither have you stated where +you were, or what was your occupation; and, without meaning to say +anything uncivil, sir, let me say, that there have been a great many +nights, while you remained at the inn, which might require accounting +for also. Their worships have not judged harshly of you, nor even given +attention to suspicious circumstances, till they found that the whole +of your conduct was suspicious." This was spoken while standing beside +the chair of Sir Matthew Scrope; and, after whispering a few words in +his ear, the clerk left the room. + +Langford remained, with his eyes gloomily bent upon the table, without +speaking to either of his companions, busy with varied thoughts and +feelings, which began to come upon him, thick and many--to weigh him +down, and to oppress him. During the early part of the disagreeable +business in which he had been engaged, he had thought solely of his own +innocence, and of the absurdity, as it seemed to him, of the charge +against him; but as the matter went on, other considerations forced +themselves upon his attention. He was conscious he could give no +account of where he had been on the preceding night, when the murder +was committed; and yet he felt that he was called upon strongly to do +so, not for the purpose of freeing himself from suspicion, but with a +view to bring the real murderer to justice. Yet how could he reveal any +part of what he knew, without bringing down destruction on the head of +Franklin Gray, who had no share in the deed; who, at the very time it +was committed, was engaged in serving him, even at the risk of life; to +whom he was bound by so many ties of gratitude, and whose good +qualities, though they did certainly not serve to counterbalance his +crimes, yet rendered him a very different object in the eyes of +Langford from such men as Wiley and Hardcastle? At all events, he felt +that it was not for him to bring a man to the scaffold who had saved +his life on more than one occasion, and who had shown himself always +willing to peril his own in order to procure a comparatively trifling +benefit to him. + +Mingled with all these feelings, was deep and bitter sorrow for Lord +Harold; and thus many conflicting emotions, all more or less painful, +together with the most painful of all, the knowledge that he could not +do his duty with that straightforward candour and decision which in all +other situations of life he had been accustomed to show, kept him in +stern and somewhat gloomy silence. + +The magistrates, in the meanwhile, conversed apart in a low voice, Sir +Thomas Waller delighted with the plan they were about to pursue, and +anticipating great credit with Lord Danemore for the arrest of his +son's murderer; while Sir Matthew Scrope, who seemed to stand in +considerable awe of the old nobleman, declared, that he never half +liked to come across the Earl, who was so fierce, and fiery, and +imperious. In about a quarter of an hour the clerk returned, and +announced that all was ready, and Langford, surrounded by a complete +mob of constables, was placed in the rumbling carriage of Sir Thomas +Waller, and borne away towards Danemore Castle. + +The two magistrates followed in the carriage of Sir Matthew, and the +train of constables, mounted on all sorts of beasts, came after +swelling the procession; while good Gregory Myrtle stood at his door +declaring, that he never saw such a piece of folly in his life: and the +poor chambermaid, dissolved in tears, wiped her eyes and vowed it was +impossible so handsome a young man could murder any body. + + + + + CHAPTER XI. + + +After a slow progress of between two or three hours, along roads, which +in those days frequently tossed the heavy carriage wheels high in air +over some large unbroken stone, and still more frequently suffered them +to repose in deep beds of sand or mud, till the efforts of four strong +Flanders horses had dragged them forth--the vehicle which contained +Henry Langford gained the brow of Danemore Hill, and came within sight +of the building, which in that part of the country was known under the +name of the Castle. + +This view was obtained from the side of the park which lay in front, +and which was separated from the road merely by a low park paling +crowned with open palisading at the top. A part of the park itself lay +between the mansion and the road, which were at the distance of about +three quarters of a mile from each other, the ground sloping with a +thousand fanciful undulations, and covered with short turf of a rich +bright green in all the dells and hollows, though becoming slightly +brown upon the tops of the knolls, where the fierce summer sun, like +the withering glare of the great world, had already taken off the +freshness of the vegetation. + +Scattered here and there were groups of old hawthorns, contorted into +many a strange and rugged form; while on either hand appeared clumps of +fine old trees, the chestnut, the beech, and the oak. The latter were +seen gradually deepening and clustering together to the right and left +of the house till they joined a thick wood, through which every here +and there stood forth, dark and defined amidst the tender green of the +other plants, the sombre masses of the pine and fir; like some of those +stern memories of sorrow, of sin, or of privation, which are to be +found in almost every human heart, and which still make themselves +known in gloomy distinctness, amidst the freshest scenes and brightest +occupations of life. + +In the midst, backed by that thick wood, stood the house, or Castle, as +it was called, and the name was not ill deserved. It was an irregular +pile of building, erected in different ages by its different lords, and +showing the taste of the various individuals who had possessed it, as +well as of the various ages in which it had been constructed. On the +left was an old unornamented tower, in the simplest style of the old +Norman architecture. It was like one of the plain towers of some of the +Kentish churches, with square cut windows, or rather loop-holes, under +a semicircular arch, which denoted the original form. It was crowned by +a plain parapet with a high conical roof. + +Then came a long range of buildings in a much later style of +architecture, with oriel windows, and a good deal of rich stone carving +and ornamental work; then two massive towers, projecting considerably +before the rest of the façade, and joined to it by two corridors, +through each of which was pierced a gateway, under a pointed arch; and +then again, as the building sunk into the wood, upon the right, were +more towers and masses of heavy masonry, united in general by long +lines of building of a lighter and more graceful character. On the +older parts the ivy had been suffered to grow, though not very +luxuriantly. The space in front, too, was kept clear of trees; and even +as the carriage passed along, at the distance of nearly a mile, the +wide esplanade on which the Castle stood, with a part of the barbican, +which had been suffered to remain, was distinctly visible. + +The constables who sat with Langford in the carriage of Sir Thomas +Waller, gazed up, with feelings of awe and reverence, towards an +edifice, which the people of the country but seldom approached. The +eyes of Langford, too, were fixed upon it, but with sensations which +they little understood. All that they remarked was, that he kept his +eyes fixed upon the Castle steadfastly during the whole time that it +was visible as they passed along in front; that he looked at it calmly, +though gravely; and that, when he had done, he raised his head as if +waking from a reverie, and then suddenly turned and gazed from the +other window, where a wide and beautiful view was seen, spread out +below, reaching to the old Manor House, and the wooded banks and hills +beyond. + +The carriage then rolled on, and, winding round under the park, entered +by a castellated lodge, and drove slowly up to the mansion, the +vehicles passing under the arches of the two large towers, which +projected from the centre of the building. A loud-tongued bell gave +notice of their coming, and three or four servants, fat, pampered, and +saucy, made their appearance to answer its noisy summons. + +Sir Thomas Waller was the first to speak, and, with an air of +importance, he demanded immediately to see the Earl. One servant looked +at another, and he, who seemed to be the chief porter, replied shortly +that that was impossible, for the Earl had gone out. + +"Gone out!" cried Sir Thomas, in surprise. "How? where?" + +"He is gone out on horseback," replied the man, "that is how, sir; and +as to where, I fancy he is gone to the moor, where my young lord was +killed." + +"But we must, at least we ought, to see my lord the Earl," said Sir +Matthew Scrope, "for we have brought up a prisoner for him to examine." + +"I can't say anything about that," replied the man, with a sort of +sullen incivility; "my lord is out, but I will go and ask Mistress +Bertha, if you like." + +"I do not know what Mistress Bertha can do in the matter," said Sir +Thomas Waller. + +"Oh! she can do anything she likes," replied the man with a sneer, to +which he did not dare to give full expression. + +"Well, ask her--ask her, then," said Sir Matthew; "you know who I am; +you know I was with the Earl three or four hours this morning. You know +I am a justice of the peace, and one of the quorum." + +Sir Matthew did not seem by this announcement to raise his dignity +greatly in the eyes of the servant, who walked away, with slow and +measured steps, to make the proposed application. He returned in about +five minutes, saying, that Mistress Bertha's reply was, that, as it +might be a long time before the Earl returned, the magistrates had +better leave the prisoner locked up there, and come back in the evening +about the hour of his lordship's supper. + +Sir Matthew Scrope and Sir Thomas Waller looked at each other. There +were some points in this suggestion which they did not much like; but +then, again, the magical words, "His lordship's supper," which were +coupled in their imagination with fine and exquisite wines from foreign +lands, fat haunches, rich sauces, and many another delicacy and luxury, +which rumour declared to be prevalent in Danemore Castle, rapidly +removed all objections from their minds; and after a few minutes' +consultation they determined to obey to the letter. + +The next object of consideration was, how to secure their prisoner, and +in what room to place him; but their conference on that point was soon +cut short by the porter, who interrupted them by saying, "You had +better leave all that to Mistress Bertha; for, depend upon it she will +put him where she likes herself, and most likely has settled it +already. The best way will be to bring him in, and go to her. She is in +the long gallery." + +Although the two magistrates did not at all approve of the whole +business being taken out of their hands by a woman, they nevertheless +yielded with some symptoms of displeasure; and Langford, being made to +descend from the carriage, was escorted by the two constables through a +long dim entrance passage, which led into a handsome vestibule beyond. +He offered no resistance to their will; he made no observation; he +asked no question; but with a calm and thoughtful dignity, which had +its effect even upon the pampered servants of the castle, he walked on, +looking casually at the different objects he passed, as if almost +indifferent to the part he was himself acting in the scene. + +From the vestibule a handsome flight of stone stairs, lighted by a tall +painted window, led up to a gallery extending on either side for about +seventy yards; and up these stairs Langford was led, following the two +magistrates, who went on with slow steps, preparing to give Mistress +Bertha, the housekeeper, a just notion of their dignity and importance. +At the top of the stairs they were met by that personage herself, +dressed as we have before described her, except that her broad white +coif was no longer surmounted by the black veil with which she covered +her head when she went abroad. Her thin aquiline features might have +gained an additional degree of sharpness; her sallow skin was, if +anything, more sallow; and the cold severe expression, which always +reigned in her countenance, was now increased to a degree of stern +bitterness which somewhat humbled the tone of the two magistrates. + +They approached her, however, with a very tolerable degree of +pomposity; and Sir Thomas Waller introduced himself and then presented +Sir Matthew Scrope, announcing to her that they were magistrates of the +county, and two of the quorum. As he spoke, the attention of the +housekeeper wandered beyond the two worshipful gentlemen altogether, +and was attracted to the prisoner, who followed them. There was +something in his good looks, his calm and dignified demeanour, his +apparel, or his expression of countenance, which made the thin eyelids +of Mistress Bertha's eyes expand from the bright dark orbs they covered +at the first moment they lighted on him, and she demanded, "Is that the +prisoner?" + +Sir Thomas Waller replied that it was; and then recapitulated what he +had been saying in regard to the dignity of himself and Sir Matthew +Scrope. + +"Yes, yes," replied Mistress Bertha, with her slight foreign accent, "I +know who you are, both of you; and now you have nothing to do but to +leave the prisoner here till the Earl comes home. You can return at his +supper hour. I do not know that he will eat with you himself, but if he +do not, meat shall be provided for you." + +"There can be no reason, madam," said Sir Matthew Scrope, "why the Earl +should not sup with us; we have supped with men of as high rank, I +trow." + +"When a man has lost his only son," said the housekeeper, sharply, "is +that no reason why he should not sup with two fat country knights, to +whom his sorrow and his presence would only bring gloom and stiffness? +Better sup by yourselves, and eat, and drink, and make merry, as you +are accustomed to do." + +"Gadzooks!" said Sir Thomas Waller, in a low voice to his companion, "I +think the old lady is right; but madam," he added in a louder tone, "we +must be made sure of the safety of our prisoner." + +"Leave that to me, leave that to me," replied the housekeeper, shortly. +"Follow me, Williams and Hanbury, to guard the prisoner; and you, John +Porter, come on too. Come with me, young gentleman," she added, +speaking to Langford in a more benign tone. "You do not look as if you +would commit a murder; but, God knows, looks are deceitful things. Come +with me." + +"But, madam, we have no authority," interrupted Sir Matthew Scrope. + +"Authority!" exclaimed the housekeeper, fiercely raising up her tall +thin person to its utmost height, "who talks of authority in this +house? You may well say you have no authority, for you lost it all the +moment you crossed that threshold. No one has authority here but the +Earl; and, when he is absent, myself--now that that poor boy is gone," +she added, while a bright drop rose into her eyes, sparkled upon the +black lashes that fringed them, and then fell upon the sallow skin +beneath. "I trust in God you did not kill him, young gentleman; for if +you did, you committed a great crime." + +"Indeed I did not, madam," replied Langford; "I should sooner have +thought of killing myself." + +"I believe you, I believe you," replied the housekeeper; "but yet I +must have you as safely guarded as if you had. If you want to see where +I put him," she continued, speaking to the magistrates in a somewhat +gentler tone than she had hitherto used, "you may come with me: there +is a room which no one even enters but my lord and myself: it is +high up in the oldest tower; and even if he could get through the +windows--which he cannot--there is a fall of sixty feet below, clear +down. But come and see it if you will, and you shall have some +refreshment after." + +Carrying a large key which she had held in her hand from the beginning +of the conversation, she led the way to the end of the gallery in which +they stood. Then, passing through another handsome corridor, she +ascended a staircase in the older part of the building, which brought +them to an ante-room, opening into a large bed-chamber, with windows on +each side; whilst through the western window, and close to it, might be +seen projecting the heavy mass of the large square tower that we have +mentioned in describing the building. A small low door was exactly +opposite to them as they entered, and to the lock of this Mistress +Bertha applied the key. It turned heavily, and with difficulty, as if +not often used; and the door moving back, gave entrance into a lofty +and cheerful chamber, lighted by four small windows. + +The strength of the door and the height of the windows showed at once +that escape from that chamber was impossible; and the magistrates, +holding in remembrance the refreshments which their somewhat ungracious +companion had promised them, expressed themselves perfectly satisfied +with the security of their prisoner. Langford was accordingly desired +to enter the place of his confinement, and did so at once, merely +turning to address the housekeeper as he passed. "Madam," he said, "I +am sure you will be good enough to give my compliments to Lord Danemore +whenever he returns, and to inform him, first that I assert my perfect +innocence of the charge which these two worthy persons have somewhat +too hastily brought against me; and, secondly, that I beg he will take +the most prompt and immediate means for investigating the whole affair, +as it will be unpleasant for me to submit to this treatment long; and +there are plenty of persons in the neighbourhood who will see that +justice is done me." + +The housekeeper made no other reply than bowing her head; but when +Langford had entered, and she had shut and locked the door, she turned +sharply and contemptuously upon the magistrates, saying, "He did not do +it! he never did it! you will make yourselves a laughing-stock in the +country." + +Sir Thomas Waller was about to reply, but she silenced him at once by +ordering one of the servants who followed her to have the cold meats +laid out in the little hall, and find the butler for a stoup of +Burgundy. A proposal made by Sir Matthew Scrope to leave two of the +constables behind in the ante-room, she cut short, less pleasantly, +telling him that she would have no constables in her master's house +except such as were intended to be thrown out of the window. + +By this time both magistrates began to find out that it was to no +purpose to contest matters in Danemore Castle with this imperious dame; +and they accordingly followed her in silence back to the head of the +great stairs. There she made them over to the care of one of the men +servants, who in turn led them to the lesser hall, where a collation +was set before them, which well repaid them for all their patient +endurance. + +In the meanwhile, Langford had remained in the solitary chamber which +had been assigned to him. As soon as the door was closed, he took nine +or ten turns up and down the room, in a state of much agitation, then +gazed out for a moment from each of the windows by which it was +lighted, and then sat down at the table, and placed his hands for +several minutes before his eyes. It is not needful to enter into any +detailed account of his feelings; his situation was particularly +painful in every respect; and though he was not one of those who give +way to each transient emotion, something might well be allowed for +discomfort, anxiety, and indignation. When he had thus paused for a few +minutes, thinking over his fate? he lifted his eyes and gazed round the +chamber which served as his place of confinement, seeming to take +accurate note of all it contained. + +The room itself was a cheerful and a pleasant room, with a vaulted +ceiling richly ornamented; while the thick walls of the tower were +lined with oak, very deep in hue, and finely carved with Gothic +tracery. The form of the chamber was perfectly square, and its extent +might be four-and-twenty feet each way. The furniture, too, was good +though ancient, and of the same carved oak as the panelling. It +consisted of a large table, and a smaller one, eight or nine large +high-backed chairs, and several curious carved cabinets. But the +objects which most attracted the attention of Langford were two small +panels, distinct from the rest of the wainscotting, and ornamented in +such a way as to show that they were not all intended to be concealed, +with a small pointed ogee canopy above each, similar to that which +surmounted the door by which he had entered, but only smaller in size. +In each of these panels was a key-hole surrounded by an intricate steel +guard; and it was evident that each covered the entrance of one of +those cupboards in the wall, in which our remote ancestors took so much +delight. + +Besides the door by which he had entered, there was a smaller one on +the opposite side of the room, leading, as Langford conceived, to a +staircase in one of the large buttresses; and as he had been a prisoner +before, and had found it useful to know all the outlets of his +temporary abode, his first action, after gazing round the room, was to +approach that second door and try whether it was or was not locked. It +was firmly closed, however; and he took his way back towards his seat, +pausing by the way to examine the two small closets, and murmuring to +himself, as he did so, "This is very strange!" + +As he spoke, he drew forth from his breast the key which had been given +him on the preceding night by Franklin Gray, and put it in the lock, +but did not turn it, though it fitted exactly. He withdrew it again +almost instantly, and replaced it in his bosom, then folded his arms +upon his chest, and took one or two turns up and down the room, pausing +at every second step, and gazing thoughtfully upon the floor. + +By the time he had been half-an-hour in this state of confinement, he +heard a key placed in the lock of the door by which he had entered. In +another moment it opened, and the tall, stately figure of Mistress +Bertha appeared. In one hand she carried several books, and in the +other some writing paper, with a small inkhorn suspended on her finger. +She shut the door after her, but did not attempt to lock it; and then +laying down the books and implements for writing on the table, she +turned round and gazed fixedly in Langford's face. + +"Have we ever met before?" she said at length, "Your face is familiar +to me. It comes back like something seen in a dream. Have we ever met +before?" + +"If we have," replied Langford, "it must have been many years ago, when +the face of the child was very different from the face of the man." + +She still gazed at him, and after a considerable pause said, "I have +brought you some books that you may read, and wherewithal to write if +you like it. In return for this write me down your name." + +Langford smiled, and, taking up the pen, wrote down his name in a bold +free hand. The woman gazed at him as he did so, then carried her eye +rapidly to the writing. A bright and intelligent smile shone for a +moment upon her thin pale lip; and she said, "Enough! enough! that is +quite enough. You have been taught to believe that I have wronged you +more than I really have; and although I have given you much good +counsel and much true information, you have doubted and have not fully +trusted me. I tell you now, and I tell you truly, that I have not +wronged you, at least as far as my knowledge of right and wrong goes, +and therefore I am still willing to do all that I can to serve you. The +history of the past I may tell you at some future time, and I will show +you that I wronged others less than they thought I did. But there is +one whom I will not name, who has wronged you and yours deeply; and I +know his nature--I know human nature too well not to be sure that +implacable hatred and constant persecution is the offspring of such +acts, rather than sorrow, remorse, and atonement. It was on that +account that I bade you never come here. It was on that account that I +bade you fly his presence. Fate, however, has brought you here at a +moment when the mortal agony at losing the only creature he really +loved may yet tame his fierce heart and bend his iron will. I can do +but little for you, for I am bound by an oath--an oath which has bound +me for many years; but fate, which has brought you here, and has +wrought an extraordinary thing in your behalf, may yet do much. I will +leave it to its course. But with regard to your own conduct, beware! I +warn you to beware. Choose well your moment, and of all things be not +hasty. But hark, what is that I hear below? There are his horses' feet, +and I must leave you. Thank God, those idiot justices are gone." + +"Yet one moment," said Langford, as she turned to depart: "I may have +thought that you wronged me and mine, but I have not doubted--I have +not suspected you, as you suppose. On the contrary, in many things, as +you may have seen, I have followed your advice--in others, that of one +whom I was more strictly bound to confide in." + +"Ay, and it was she who taught you to believe--it was she who was weak +enough to believe herself, that I had been guilty of that which I would +scorn." + +"No!" exclaimed Langford--"No! You mistake: she never did believe you +guilty. She owned, that once, in a moment of anger, she implied so; but +she did you justice in that respect through the whole of her life. She +told me more than once, too, that she had herself seen you, and assured +you, that she did not doubt you, as you imagined--that anger, having +passed away, justice and right judgment had returned." + +"But all her words were cold," said Bertha, "and all her letters had +something of restraint in them." + +"Consider her situation," said Langford in return; "and remember that +she had some cause to blame, as yourself acknowledged; though, in +regard to other things, she might have done you injustice." + +"She did bitter injustice to herself," replied the woman, "and drove me +to attach myself to others, though I would fain have attached myself to +her; and, having done so, would have served her with my heart's +blood;--but I must not linger; I will see you again, ere +long--farewell!" and thus saying, she left him, locking the door +behind her. + + + + + CHAPTER XII. + + +Langford had not been left five minutes alone ere the sound of voices +of persons rapidly approaching caught his ear. At first he imagined +that they proceeded from the side by which he himself had entered; but +the moment after he became convinced that they came from the direction +of the other door, which, as he justly supposed, communicated with a +staircase in one of the large buttresses. At first, of course, the +sounds were indistinct, but, a moment after, a key was placed in the +lock, and a loud, deep voice was heard exclaiming, "I will stop for +nothing till I have seen him face to face! Where is this murderer of my +son?" + +The door was thrown violently open before these words were fully +spoken, and the Earl of Danemore himself stood before the prisoner. + +He was a tall, handsome, powerful man, wide-chested, broad-shouldered, +and still very muscular, without being at all corpulent. He might be +sixty-three or sixty-four years of age, and his hair was snowy white. +His eyebrows, however, and his eyelashes, both of which were long and +full, were as black as night. There was many a long, deep furrow on his +brow, and a sort of scornful, but habitual wrinkle between the nostril +of the strong aquiline nose and the corner of his mouth. On his right +cheek appeared a deep scar, round, and of about the size of a +pistol-ball; and on the chin, was a longer scar, cutting nearly from +the lip down into the throat and neck. He was dressed in a suit of +plain black velvet, with the large riding boots and heavy sword, which +were common about fifteen or sixteen years before the period of which +we now speak, but which were beginning by this time to go out of +fashion. + +On entering the room, his teeth were hard set together, his brow +contracted till the large thick eyebrows almost met, and his whole air +fierce and agitated. His quick eyes darted round the room in a moment, +and alighted upon Langford, who turned and faced him at once. + +The moment, however, that their looks met, a strange and sudden change +came over the whole appearance of Lord Danemore. He paused abruptly, +and stood still in the middle of the room, gazing in Langford's face, +while the frown departed from his brow, and he raised his hand towards +his head, passing it twice before his eyes, as if he fancied that some +delusion had affected his sight. His lips opened as if he would have +spoken, but for a moment or two no sounds issued forth; and the calm, +quiet, steady gaze with which Langford regarded him seemed to trouble +and agitate him. + +"What is your name? what is your name?" he exclaimed rapidly, when he +could speak. "Who brought you here?" + +"My name is Henry Langford," replied the prisoner--"an officer, in the +service of his majesty; and if you seriously ask, my lord--for I +suppose, I have the honour of speaking to the Earl of Danemore--if you +seriously ask who brought me hither, I have only to reply two very +silly persons calling themselves magistrates, who have entertained or +rather manufactured, amongst themselves a charge against me for which +there is not the slightest foundation." + +"Henry Langford! Henry Langford!" repeated the Earl, casting his eyes +on the ground, and then raising them again to Langford's face, every +line and feature of which he seemed to scan with anxious care. "Pray of +what family are you?" + +"My father," replied Langford, "was a gentleman of some property in +England, of which property, however, I have been unjustly deprived;" +and as he spoke, he fixed his eyes steadfastly upon the Earl; but that +nobleman's countenance underwent no change, and he proceeded--"My +mother was also a lady of some property----" + +"Where were you born?" demanded the Earl, quickly. + +"Though your questions are rather unceremonious, my lord, for a perfect +stranger," Langford replied, "I will not scruple to answer them. I was +born in a small town in this country." + +"Not in France?" demanded the Earl, quickly. "I do not ask without a +motive--not in France? Are you certain it was not in France?" + +"Perfectly certain," replied Langford. "My mother's family, however, +were French--related to the illustrious family of Beaulieu." + +"So," said the Earl, "so! How nearly are you related to that +family?--are you sure not in France?" + +"Quite certain," replied Langford. "I have lived much in France, which +may have given me some slight foreign accent; and as to my relationship +to the Beaulieus, I can really hardly tell how near. I have only heard +my mother say that she was nearly related to them." + +"It cannot be! It cannot be!" said the Earl, drooping his head, and +looking down upon the ground. "Is your mother living?" + +A cloud came over Langford's brow: "She is not," he said. + +The Earl again seemed interested. "How long has she been dead?" he +asked. + +"About two years," Langford replied, and thereupon the Earl once more +shook his head, saying, "It cannot be. You are very like the late +Marquis of Beaulieu," he added--"extremely like; and though +circumstances have compelled me to discontinue my acquaintance with +that family, I knew the Marquis once, and loved him well. I could have +almost fancied that you were his son, and for his sake I cannot regard +you with any other eyes than those of kindness. But yet what do I say?" +he continued, while his brow again grew dark. "They tell me you have +murdered my son, my only son. How strange, if the son of the man who +had so nearly killed the father, should, five-and-twenty years after, +have slain the son!" + +"You forget, my lord, and you mistake altogether," replied Langford. +"In the first place, I am not the son of the Marquis of Beaulieu; and, +in the next place, I assure you most solemnly by all I hold dear--I +pledge you my honour as a gentleman and a soldier, and my oath as a +Christian and a man--that I have had no more share in this unfortunate +event than you have." + +"I would willingly believe you," answered the Earl, "most willingly, +for yours is a countenance from which I have been accustomed to expect +nothing but truth and honour. Yet why do these men accuse you? Why, if +there be not proof as strong as truth itself why do they dare to bring +an accusation against one of your high house? Oh, young man! young man! +if you have slain him by fraud or villany, I will take vengeance of you +by making you the public spectacle, and giving you up to the rope and +scaffold: chains shall hang about you even in your death, and your +bones shall whiten in the wind. But, if you have slain him foot to foot +and hand to hand, you shall meet a father's vengeance in another way. +Ay! old as I am, I will take your heart's blood, and you shall find +that this arm has lost nothing of its skill and but little of its +strength. You shall learn what a father's arm can do when heavy with +the sword of the avenger!" + +"Once more, my lord," replied Langford, calmly, "I assure you that I am +perfectly innocent. I assure you that, neither fairly and openly, nor +covertly and treacherously, have I had aught to do with your son's +death. The sole ground for suspicion against me has been what I will +not conceal from you, my lord, that, upon a slight quarrel between us, +he drew his sword upon me, in the park of Sir Walter Herbert." + +"Ay, Sir Walter Herbert!" exclaimed the peer, with a bitter sneer; "the +pitiful old fool! He and his fair dainty daughter, Mistress Alice, they +would none of my son, would they not? He shall pay for it in prison, +and she shall see him rot before her eyes. Ay, now I guess how it all +is. She has found a lover in fair Master Henry Langford, has she? and +he has murdered a rival who might have proved troublesome. They shall +answer for it, they shall answer for it! Ho! below there!" he +continued, approaching the door. "Bring me up the papers which those +two knights left!" + +Langford suffered him to proceed with the wild and rapid starts to +which the vehemence of his passions led him; but when he paused, the +prisoner took up the conversation, saying, "I was about to tell you, my +lord, that your son did seek a quarrel with me; did draw his sword upon +me; did try to induce me to follow his example, but in vain." + +"What!" interrupted the peer, "did you refuse to fight him? How was +that? a soldier, and a man of your race?" + +"I did refuse to fight him, my lord," replied Langford, "for particular +reasons of my own. I have had many opportunities of showing that fear +forms no part of my nature, and I am not at all apprehensive of ever +being mistaken for a coward." + +He spoke with a calm and easy dignity, slightly throwing back his head, +while the fine formed nostril expanded with a sense of honourable +pride. The Earl gazed upon him attentively, the angry fire that had +been in his eyes gradually subsiding as he did so, and he repeated more +than once, in a low voice, "So like! So strangely like!" + +At that moment, with the rapidity of one accustomed to obey the orders +of a quick and imperious master, a servant appeared bringing in the +bundle of papers which contained the evidence collected against +Langford at Moorhurst. The Earl cast himself into a chair, spread the +papers out upon the table, and ran his eye rapidly over them, one after +another. Langford had also seated himself, and watched the proceedings +of the Earl attentively, though neither of them spoke for some minutes. + +When the Earl had done, he looked up in the prisoner's face, and, after +pausing with a thoughtful air for several moments, he said, "This is a +case of suspicion against you, but nothing more. I, myself, the person +most interested, cannot make more of it; and from what I see of you, +from your face and from your family, I will add that I do not believe +you guilty." + +"My lord, you do me justice," replied Langford, "and it makes me right +glad to see you so inclined. There was an old custom which was not +without its value, for human nature cannot be wholly mastered even by +the most consummate art; and I am now willing to recur to that old +custom, to give you further proof that you judge rightly of me. Let me +be taken to the room where your poor son lies. I will place my hand +upon his heart, and swear to my innocence. I do not suppose, my lord, +that the blood would flow again, if I were culpable; but I do believe, +that no man conscious of such a crime as murder, could perform that act +without betraying by his countenance the guilty secret within him. I am +ready to perform it before any persons that you choose to appoint." + +"Are you not aware," demanded the Earl, sternly, "that the body has not +been found?" + +"Good God:" exclaimed Langford, his whole face brightening in a moment, +"then, perhaps he is living yet. This is the most extraordinary tale +that ever yet was told--a man arrested--accused--well nigh condemned +for the murder of another who is probably alive. A thousand to one he +is still alive! Oh, my lord be comforted, be comforted!" + +"You deceive yourself, young man," replied the Earl, with a melancholy +shake of the head, "you deceive yourself. His death is but too clearly +proved. His white horse returned last night alone, with his own neck +and the saddle stained with blood. The road by Upwater Mere was found +drenched with gore--with my child's gore! and his cloak was found +amongst the beeches hard by, pierced on the left side with a pistol +shot, which must have been fired close to his bosom, for the wadding +had burnt the silk. It, too, was stiff with blood. There were traces of +several horses' feet about, but no trace of where the body had been +carried, though I myself--I, his father--have spent several hours in +seeking the slightest vestige that might direct me. Doubtless it is +thrown into the mere," and as he spoke he covered his eyes with his +hands, and remained for several minutes evidently overpowered with deep +emotion, against which he struggled strongly but in vain. + +Langford, too, was moved, and after having waited in silence for +several minutes, in the hope that the agitation which his companion +suffered would pass away, he ventured to address some words of comfort +to Lord Danemore; saying "I am deeply grieved, my lord, that you have +such cause for apprehension, but still I cannot help hoping that all +these causes for believing the worst may prove fallacious, and that +your son may yet be restored to you." + +"No, no, sir, no!" replied the Earl, "I will not deceive myself, nor do +I wish to be deceived. Such evidence is too clear. I am not a child or +a woman, that I cannot bear any lot assigned to me. I can look my fate +in the face, however dark and frowning its brow may be, and say to it, +'Thou has but power to a certain degree, over my mind thou canst not +triumph, and even whilst thou wringest my heart and leavest my old age +desolate, I can defy thee still!'" + +Langford bent down his eyes upon the ground, and did not reply for +several minutes. He did not approve the spirit in which those words +were spoken, but yet it was not his task to rebuke or to admonish, and +when he did reply, he again sought to instil hope. + +"Your lordship says," he observed at length, "that the evidence is too +clear. It is certainly clear enough to justify great and serious +apprehensions, but not to take away hope, or to impede exertion. I +remember having heard of an instance which occurred in far distant +climates, where the causes for supposing a person dead were much more +conclusive than in the present instance. A sailor had left the ship to +which he belonged, and wandered on shore in a place infested with +pirates. He did not return. Boats were sent after him, and in tracing +the course of one of the rivers up which he was supposed to have taken +his way, his clothes were found bloody, torn, and cut with the blows of +a sword: a leathern purse, which he was known to have carried full of +money, was found further on, devoid of its contents; and further still, +a mangled and mutilated body, in which almost all his comrades declared +they recognised his corpse; and yet, three years after that, he +rejoined the ship to which he belonged, having made his escape from the +party of robbers by whom he had been taken. The body which had been +found was that of another man, though the clothes and the purse +undoubtedly were his own." + +While he spoke, the Earl turned deadly pale, gazed upon him for a +moment or two with a straining eye, then suddenly started up, and +without a word of reply quitted the room. + +Langford at first seemed surprised, but smiled slightly as he saw him +go: then calmly sat down at the table, took up the papers which the +Earl had left behind him, read over the evidence against himself, and +wrote in the margin a number of observations, wherever any strained or +unjust conclusion seemed to have been drawn by the magistrates. He had +been occupied in this manner about an hour, when the Earl again made +his appearance. His manner was very different from what it had been on +the previous occasion. There was a want of that fierce energy which had +before characterised it; there was a doubtfulness, a hesitation, and a +vagueness, quite opposed to the keen, sharp decision of his former +demeanour. He treated Langford more as an acquaintance, more even as a +friend, than as a prisoner. Two or three times he spoke of the chances +of his son being still alive, and referred vaguely to the story which +Langford had told him, but then darted off suddenly to something else. + +At length, however, he took up the papers on which the other had +commented, and, without noticing the observations that he had written, +said it was unjust, upon a case where there was nothing made out +against him but suspicion, that he should be detained as a close +prisoner. "If, therefore," he said, "you will give me your word not to +attempt to make your escape, the doors shall be thrown open to you; +this chamber and the next shall be your abode for the time, though they +should have put you somewhere else, for this room is appropriated to +me. Here," he continued, in a thoughtful and abstracted tone, "when I +wish to think over all the crowded acts of a long, eventful, and +constantly changing life, I come and sit, where no sound interrupts me +but the twittering of the swallow, as it skims past my windows. Here I +can people the air with the things, and beings, and deeds of the past, +without the empty crowd of the insignificant living breaking in upon my +solitude, and sweeping away the thinner but more thrilling creations +called up by memory. I know not how it is, young gentleman, that there +is scarcely any one but you whom I could have borne patiently to see in +this chamber; but your countenance seems connected with those days to +which this room is dedicated. There is a resemblance, a strong and +touching resemblance, to several persons long dead; and that likeness +calls up again to my mind many a vision of my youthful days--days, +between which and the dark present, lies a gulf of fiery passions, +sorrows, and regrets. I know not wherefore they put you here, or who +dared to do it, but it is strange that, being here, you seem to my eyes +the only fit tenant of this chamber except myself. Here I sit and read +the letters of dead friends--here I sit and ponder over the affections +and the hatreds, the hopes, the fears, the wrath, the enjoyment, the +sorrow, the remorse of the past; here often do I sit and gaze upon the +pictures of those I loved in former times--of the dead, and the +changed, and the alienated; of persons who, when those pictures were +painted, never thought that there could come a change upon them, or +upon me, either in the bodily or the mental frame; never dreamed of the +mattock, and the grave, and the coffin, and the slow curling worm that +has long since revelled in their hearts; no, nor of fierce and fiery +contention, envy, jealousy, rivalry, hatred, the death of bright +affection, and the burial of every warm and once living hope. Here am I +still wont to gaze upon their pictures, and I know not how it is, but +it seems to me as if your face were amongst them." + +"I fear me, my lord," said Langford, "that those endowed with strong +feelings and strong passions are most frequently like children with a +box of jewels, squandering precious things without knowing their value, +and gaining in exchange but gauds and baubles, the paint and tinsel of +which is soon brushed off, leaving us nothing but regret. There is no +time of life, however, I believe, at which we may not recover some of +the jewels which we have cast away, if we but seek for them rightly; +and I know no means likely to be more successful than that which you +take in tracing back your steps through the past." + +"It is a painful contemplation," said Lord Danemore, "and I fear that +in the dim twilight of age, let me trace back my steps as closely as I +will, I am not likely to find again many of the jewels that I scattered +from me in the full daylight of youth." + +"Perhaps, my lord," replied Langford, "you might, if you were to take a +light. However," he added, seeing a look of impatience coming upon the +Earl, "I am much obliged to you for your offer of a partial kind of +freedom. I never loved to have a door locked between me and the rest of +the world; and I willingly promise you to make no attempt to escape +during the whole of this day, for of course my promise must have a +limit. In the course of that day, you will most likely be able to +procure further information in regard to this sad affair; and I do +trust and hope that it may be such as may relieve your bosom from the +apprehensions which now oppress you." + +"I must exact your promise for two days," said the Earl; "for I have +sent to tell those two foolish men who brought you here, that I cannot +deal with them to-day, and have bidden them, in consequence of what you +have said, though with but little hope, to cause search of every kind +to be made through the country round. There are one or two questions, +also, which I would fain ask you, but I will not do it now; yet I know +not why I should not; but no, not now! Have I your promise?" + +"You have," replied Langford. + +And the Earl, after pausing and hesitating a moment or two longer, +quitted him by the chief entrance, leaving the doors open behind him. +"There is but one thing I ask of you," added the Earl, as he turned to +depart; "should you leave these two rooms, lock the door of the one in +which you now are till you return, for I do not suffer the feet of +ordinary servants to profane it." + +When Langford was alone, he paused for a moment or two to think over +his situation; and then, with a natural desire to use the freedom that +had been given him, opened the door of the chamber in which he had been +placed, and proceeded through the bed-room beyond, to the head of the +staircase. Remembering the Earl's request to lock the door, he turned +back to do so, and when he again approached the stairs, the voice of +some one singing below rose to his ear. The tone in which the singer +poured forth his ditty was low, but after listening for a moment, +Langford recognised the voice of the poor half-witted man, John Graves, +and a sudden hope of finding means of clearing himself by the aid of +that very person struck him. He descended the stairs slowly, and at the +bottom of the first flight found the wanderer sitting on the lower +step, with his head hanging down in an attitude of dejection; laying +his hand upon his shoulder, Langford caused him to start up suddenly +and turn round. + +"Ah, Master Harry!" cried the man, in one of his saner moods, "is that +you? It is you I came to see. I heard they had taken you up, and locked +you up here, and I came to see if I could help you, for you have always +been kind and generous to me; and then, if I could not help you, I +could sing you a song, and that would do you good, you know; I always +said you ought to have your rights, you know; but I must not say so +here, or they will scold me, as they did before." + +"Come up hither with me, John," said Langford; "I believe that you can +help me, if you will. But how came you here? Do they suffer you +knowingly to wander about the house in this manner?" + +"Not as far as this," replied the man, laughing; "not as far as this. +They would soon drive me down if they saw me above the grand stairs. +But about the passages below they never mind me. Only I sometimes creep +up, and find my way about all the rooms, and if I hear a step, hide +behind a window-curtain. It is no later than last night that I and +another--but I must not speak of that. Never you mind, Master Harry, +you will have your rights still." + +"Perhaps so, John," answered Langford, "though I do not think you well +know what my rights are. However, now follow me up here." Thus saying, +he led the way to the apartments which had been assigned to him, +followed quickly by the madman, whose step was as noiseless and +stealthy as if he had been going to murder the sleeping. When he saw +Langford approach the door of the inner room, he cast an anxious and +furtive glance towards the top of the stairs, and listened, and as soon +as the lock was turned and the entrance free, he ran in and closed it +after him, looking straight towards one of the small cupboards in the +wall, saying, "There! there! Be quick, for fear some one should come!" + +Langford gazed on him with some surprise, and then replied, "You know +more of these matters than I thought you did. However, you mistake. I +want you merely to bear a letter and a message for me." + +"But the papers! the papers!" exclaimed the other. "Are you not going +to take the papers?" + +"No!" exclaimed Langford. "Certainly not by stealth, John." + +"Then it is you that are mad," replied his companion; "and they have +mistaken me for you. I will go and make affidavit of it." + +"I should not hold myself justified in taking them stealthily," replied +Langford. "Perhaps ere I quit this house I may claim them boldly; and +some time or another I must make you tell me how you know so much of +matters I thought secret; but time is wanting now, and we may be +interrupted. I have some reason to think that, if you will, you can +find out for me a person called Franklin Gray." + +"Can I find him out?" said the madman. "Ay, that I can; in two hours I +can be with him." + +"Will you bear a message from me to him?" demanded Langford, "without +forgetting a word of it, and without telling a word to any one else?" + +"That I will joyfully," replied the other; "I never forget--I wish I +could--it is that turns me mad--I remember too well; and I will tell +nothing though they should put me to the torture. I always tell truth +if I tell anything; but I can hold my tongue." + +"Well then," said Langford, "tell Franklin Gray for me, that I am kept +a prisoner here on a charge of shooting poor Lord Harold. If he be +shot, I entertain but few doubts in regard to who it was that did it: +and I ask Franklin Gray, in honour and in memory of our old +companionship, to give me the means of clearing and delivering myself." + +"Franklin Gray shot him not," replied the madman; "that I know full +well. Franklin and I are friends; don't you know that, Master Harry? +For a fox, he is the best of foxes! But I'll do as you tell me, +however." + +"I know he did not shoot him," answered Langford: "I am as sure of that +as you are. Nevertheless, carry him my message. But hold," he said, +seeing the man turning abruptly to depart, "I will write a few lines to +good Sir Walter Herbert, which I shall be glad if you will give into +his hands, or into the hands of his daughter." + +The half-witted man signified his willingness to do anything that +Langford told him; and sitting down at the table, that gentleman wrote +a few lines to Sir Walter Herbert, briefly explaining to him his +situation, and begging him, in case of his being detained beyond the +close of the subsequent day, to take measures to ensure that justice +was done him. This epistle he had no means of sealing, and merely +folding it up in the form of a letter, he put it into the hands of his +hair-brained messenger, and suffered him to depart. + + + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + +The man who, as we have said, received in that part of the country the +name of Silly John, stole quietly down the stairs, and finding nobody +to impede his proceedings, had no sooner entered the corridor below +than he was seized with a determination of descending the great +staircase, thinking, as he expressed it in his commune with himself, +that it would make him feel like a lord for once in his life. + +We all see and know that every step which we take in our onward path +through existence, whether directed by reason or prompted by caprice, +whether apparently of the most trifling nature or seemingly of the +utmost consequence, not only affects ourselves and the course of our +own fate, but more or less influences the state, the fortunes, and the +future of others, even to the most remote bounds of that vast space in +which cause and effect are constantly weaving the widespread web of +events. So philosophers teach us; and such was certainly the case in +the present instance; for the whim which led Silly John down the grand +staircase of Danemore Castle, was by no means without its effect upon +Henry Langford; and might, under many circumstances, have produced +consequences of very great importance. The whole house was silent, for +the servants of all classes and denominations were busy at their +afternoon meal; and the half-witted man, after looking round to see +that no one was near, put on an air of mock dignity, stuck the cock's +feather more smartly in his hat, threw out one leg and then the other +with a wide stride, and saying to himself in a low tone, "Now I'm a +lord!" began to descend the staircase. At that moment his eye fell upon +a sword, with its belt and sword-knot, hanging up in the corridor, and +in order to make his figure complete, he turned back and decorated his +person therewith. + +When he had got to the bottom of the stairs, however, he looked at the +sword with a somewhat wistful eye, as if he would fain have retained it +to ornament his person; but then muttering to himself, "No, no, I must +not steal! Remember the eighth commandment, John Graves!" he unslung +the sword, and looked it all over. When he had done, he burst into a +laugh, exclaiming, "It is Master Harry's sword; the very sword with +which he slit that fox's neck when they attacked Mistress Alice. They +have taken it away from him, but I'll take it back again;" and so saying +he ran hastily up to the door of the chamber in which he had left +Langford, and after tapping loudly with his knuckles, laid the weapon +down upon the threshold, and tripped rapidly away. + +While Langford opened the door, and with some surprise took up his own +sword, of which he had been deprived by the magistrates when he had +been brought to the Castle, Silly John made the best of his way down +the stairs, out of the front gates, across the esplanade, and into the +park. The feat that he had performed seemed to have given him a sort of +impetus which he could not resist; and he ran on across the park as +fast as his lameness would let him, scrambled over the park paling, and +never stopped till he had arrived at that point of the road where it +branched into two divisions. There, however, he paused, and entered +into one of those consultations with himself which were not unfrequent +with him, and which formed a peculiar feature in his madness. + +He suddenly remembered that he had two commissions to perform, and that +he had no directions as to which was to be first executed. On all such +occasions of difficulty, Silly John argued with himself on both sides +of the question with the nicety of a special pleader, weighing every +motive on either part, starting difficulties and solving them, seeing +differences and shades of difference where none existed; and, in fact, +acting the part of Hudibras and Ralpho both in one. + +On the present occasion he stood discussing the question of whether he +should first deliver the letter to Sir Walter Herbert, or the message +to Franklin Gray, for nearly an hour; and was seen by many persons who +passed, laying down to himself the reasons, _pro_ and _con_, with the +forefinger of his right hand tapping the forefinger of his left, at +every new argument on either side. As he found it utterly impossible to +settle the matter by dint of reasoning, he fell at length upon an +expedient which decided it as rationally as any other means he could +have brought to bear upon it. Fixing himself firmly upon the heel of +his uninjured foot, he extended the other leg and arm, and whirled +himself round as if on a pivot, determining to follow that road to +which his face was turned when he stopped. + +It happened that the direction in which he at length found his face was +towards the Manor House; and he accordingly bent his steps thither with +all speed. The quantity of time which he had lost in his consultation +with himself, however, and that occupied in going, rendered it very +late in the day before he arrived; so that, although the servant to +whom he delivered the note asked him in a kindly tone to come in and +take some beer, he looked wistfully at the sky, from which the sun had +just gone down; and shaking his head, walked away, turning his steps +towards the moor. The distance, as we have before shown, was +considerable; and as he went, the long twilight of a summer's evening +grew dimmer and more dim, faded away entirely, and night succeeded. +Still, however, the poor fellow toiled on up the hill, followed the +road that led across the moor, and passed the very spot where Langford +had seen the pistol fired on the preceding night. + +As he went by the beeches, he thought he heard a rustling sound beneath +them; and though accustomed to go at all hours through the wildest and +least frequented paths, either fatigue and want of food, or some other +cause, had unnerved him, and the sound made him start. He ran on upon +the road as fast as he could, and then turned to look behind him. There +was no moon--the night was sultry and dark, and it was difficult to +distinguish any object distinctly; but he saw, or believed he saw, two +men come out from the beeches as if to follow him, and he again ran on +with all speed, taking his way across the moor. After he had gone about +half a mile, he cast himself flat down amongst some fern and heath, and +lay there for ten minutes or a quarter of an hour; after which he arose +again, and hurried on towards the dwelling of Franklin Gray. Twice he +thought he heard steps behind him; and his heart rejoiced when he saw +the gate in the wall that surrounded the court. The gate was locked, +however; the whole house looked dark and untenanted; not a window in +the tower, or in the large building by the side, showed the slightest +ray of light; and as he stood and shook the gate, he distinctly heard +quick steps coming on the very path he had pursued. + +A degree of terror which he had seldom before felt now took possession +of him; and he ran round the wall as fast as he could, seeking for some +entrance at the back. The first gate that he met with resisted like the +other; but a second, fifty or sixty yards further on, opened at once, +and he hurried on towards the part of the building before him. He still +seemed to hear the steps behind him: and with fear that amounted almost +to agony, he felt along the wall for a bell or some other means of +making himself heard. As he did so, his hand came against a door, which +gave way beneath his touch, and he had almost fallen headlong down some +steps. He caught, however, by the lintel in time, and glad of any +entrance, went down slowly, feeling his way with his foot and hands +till he reached a level pavement. The air was cooler than it had been +above; and a small square aperture at a considerable distance before +him, while it gave admission to the wind, also showed the sort of faint +dim light which yet lingered in the sky. Towards it he took his way, +after having listened for a moment with a beating heart, to ascertain +whether he was pursued, and made himself sure that he was not. + +For a few paces, nothing interrupted his progress; but the next moment, +he stumbled over some object on the ground; and as he attempted to +raise himself, his hand came in contact with something that felt like +cloth. He instantly drew it back, but, after pausing a moment and +hesitating, he stretched it out slowly again, and it lighted upon the +cold clammy features of a dead man's face. Starting back, he again fell +over the object which had thrown him down before, and which he now +found to be a coffin. + +Although all these circumstances were in themselves horrible, they +served in some degree to relieve the mind of poor John Graves, who now +remembered the ruins of the old church, which stood near, and naturally +concluded that he had got into the vaults. The confusion of his brain +prevented him from remembering that the place had been long unused for +its original and legitimate purposes, and he was not one of those who +feel any horror at the mere presence of the dead. On the contrary, the +sight of the clay after the spirit had departed, seemed to offer to his +madness a curious matter of speculation, and he was fond of visiting +the chamber of death amongst all the cottages in the neighbourhood. + +After he had a little recovered himself, then, he muttered, "It's a +corpse! I wonder if it's a man or a woman;" and he put out his hand +again towards the face, and ran it over the jaw and lips, to feel for +the beard. + +"It must be a gentleman, to be put in the vault," he continued; "his +hand will tell that! Poor men's hands are hard; and the rich keep their +palms soft. I wonder if it is gold makes men's palms soft? Yes, it is a +gentleman," he continued, as he slid his hand down the arm to the cold +palm of the dead man. + +But at that moment a light began to stream through the door by which he +had entered, and his terror was once more renewed. "If they catch me +here," he muttered, "they will think I am come to steal the coffin +plates;" and as the increasing light showed him some of the objects +around, he perceived a broken part of the wall which separated that +vault from the next, and which lay in ruin amidst the remains of former +generations, with many a coffin, stripped of all its idle finery by the +hand of time, piled up against it, together with dust and rubbish, and +the crumbling vestiges of mortality. + +Behind the screen thus formed the half-witted man crept, and lay +trembling with a vague dread of he did not well know what; while the +light, which by this time had approached close to the door, remained +stationary for a moment; and two or three voices were heard speaking in +a low tone. The next moment three men descended into the vault, one of +whom bore a flambeau in his hand; but for the first two or three +minutes after they entered, Silly John could only hear without seeing, +as his terror prevented him from making the slightest movement. + +"You may as well wipe the blood from off his face before you put him +into the box," said one, as he and his companions seemed to stand by +the corpse and gaze upon it with curious and speculating eyes. + +"That was a deadly shot," said the other. "Poor devil! he never spoke a +word after." + +"He well deserved it," said a third voice, "that's my opinion; and when +that's the case, the deadlier the shot the better. But let us make +haste, Master Hardie; though I do not see why he should be buried with +that smart belt on. Come, let us toss up for it. Here is a crown-piece. +You toss, Hardie." + +While this conversation had been going on, the poor half-witted man had +remained ensconced behind the coffins and broken wall, trembling in +every limb. This tremor assuredly proceeded from fear, and not from +cold, for the air, which had been sultry all day, had now grown +oppressively hot; and the heavy clouds, which had been rolling up +during the evening, like a vast curtain between earth and the free +breath of heaven, had by this time covered the whole sky; while a few +large drops of rain, pattering amongst the ruins of the church and the +broken stones and long grass without, formed no unmusical prelude to +the storm that was about soon to descend. + +Scarcely had Doveton spoken (for he it was who took the lead upon the +present occasion) when a faint blue gleam suddenly lighted up the +inside of the vault, proceeding from the small square window, and +flashing round upon all the grim and sombre features of the place, +coffins, and sculls, and bones, and broken and disjointed stones, and +high piles of mouldy earth, consisting chiefly of the dust of the dead. +It came like the clear and searching glance of eternal truth, making +dark secrets bright, and bringing forth from their obscurity all the +dim hidden things of earth. That gleam flashed upon the countenances of +the three robbers, as they stood around the corpse, unmoved, unshaken +by the solemn aspect of death, by the awful picture of their own +mortality. The sudden glance of the lightning, however, made them each +start involuntarily. He who held the crown-piece in his hand let it +drop. No thunder followed the first flash, but another far more bright +and vivid succeeded, playing round the buckles and clasps of the very +sword-belt that one of them was in the act of removing from the corpse. +A crash, which could not have been louder had the fragments of a +mountain been poured upon their heads, came instantly after, shaking +the whole building as if it would have cast down the last stone of the +ruin. + +"By ----," cried one of the robbers, uttering a horrid imprecation, +"what a peal!" + +"Ay, and what a flash!" said another, "but come, take off the belt, for +fear he gets up off the trestles and stops us!" + +"Ay, if we let him," said Doveton; "but may I never speak again, if I +did not think I saw his lips move! There! there!" he continued, as +another flash of lightning shone again upon the features of the dead +man, reversing all the lights which the flambeau had cast upon it, and +making the whole features, without any real change, assume an +expression entirely different. "There! there! I told you so! Look, he +is grinning at us!" + +"Pooh, nonsense!" cried another; "the man's dead! he'll never grin +again. Yet, by my life, there is the blood running!" And so far he +spoke truth; for the jerk which had been given to the body in order to +detach the sword-belt, had caused a stream of dark gore to well slowly +down and drop upon the ground. + +"Let the belt be! let the belt be!" cried Hardcastle. "Hold the torch +to his face and see if he does move! No, no; he is still enough! But, +after all, one does not like dragging him out in such a night as this, +to bury him upon the cold moor. It would not matter if he were alive; +but let us stay here till the storm is over, and you, Harvey, run and +get us some drink. It's neither a nice night, nor a nice place, nor a +nice business; so we may as well have something to cheer us." + +"I have no objection to the flagon," said Doveton, as Harvey left them +to obtain the peculiar sort of liquid cheerfulness to which men engaged +in not the most legitimate callings generally have recourse; "I have no +objection to the flagon; but you know we must have done the job before +morning, Hardie, and the grave is not dug yet." + +"Oh, we'll soon dig the grave," replied Hardcastle; "the ground is soft +upon the moor, and it need not be very deep. Do you think, Doveton, +that when folks are dead they can see us? I have often thought that +very likely they can see and hear just as well as ever, but can't move +or speak." + +"I hope not! I hope not!" cried his companion; and at that moment came +another flash of lightning, gleaming round and round the vault, +followed by the tremendous roar of the thunder, and the rushing and the +pattering of the big rain. + +The whole scene was so awful; the corpse, the robbers, the vault, the +thunder-storm, their speculations upon the dead, the mixture of +superstition and impious daring which they displayed, the revel that +they were preparing to hold by the side of a murdered body, and the +images of the flagon and the grave, formed altogether a whole so +terrible and so extraordinary, that the poor man who lay concealed and +witnessed the strange and dreadful proceeding, could endure it no +longer; but starting up in a fit of desperation, he darted forward, +overthrowing the pile of coffins before him, and rushing with the +countenance of a risen corpse towards the stone steps which led into +the vault. Surprised and terrified, the two robbers started back, the +flambeau fell and nearly extinguished itself upon the ground; the body +of the dead man was overthrown at their feet; and rushing on without +pause, John Graves had gained the stairs and effected his exit, before +they knew who or what it was that had so suddenly broken in upon their +conference. + +Running as if a whole legion of fiends had been behind him, heeding not +the deluge of rain that was now falling from the sky, but staggering +and putting his hand to his eyes when the bright gleam of the lightning +flashed across his path, the half-witted man hurried back again with +all speed towards the moor, nor ceased for a moment the rapid steps +which carried him forward, till he had reached the beeches by +Upwater-mere. There sitting down and clasping his hands over his knees, +he remained with his whole thoughts cast into a state of greater +confusion than ever, watching the liquid fire as it glanced over the +water, and talking to himself whenever the thunder would let him hear +his own voice. + +It seemed, however, as if the same ghastly objects were destined to +pursue him through that night; for the storm had scarcely in a slight +degree abated, and a faint grey streak just made its appearance through +the clouds, marking where the dim moon lay veiled behind them, when he +heard coming steps; and, as his only resource, he clambered into one of +the beech-trees, and sat watching what took place below. The only +objects that he could distinguish were the forms of three men carrying +a burthen between them. They laid it down under the trees; and for the +space of about half an hour there was the busy sound of the pickaxe and +the spade, the shovelfuls of earth cast forth, and the slow delving +noise when the heavy foot pressed the edge into the ground. At the end +of that time the burden was lifted up, deposited in the pit, and the +earth piled in again. It was done with haste, for the grey dawn was +beginning to appear; and John Graves could clearly distinguish the +forms of Doveton, Hardcastle, and Harvey, as, each taking up a part of +the tools they had employed, they hurried away to escape the clear eye +of day. + +When they were gone, the half-witted man came down from the tree, and +stood gazing upon the spot where the fresh grey earth of the moor, +mingling with the thin green grass under the beech-trees, showed the +place where they had concealed the body. + +"And liest thou there, Harold?" he said, speaking aloud, though there +was nobody to hear, as was very much his custom; "and liest thou there, +poor boy? with nothing around thee but the cold damp earth, and the +grey morning of a storm shining upon thy last bed? And did they nurse +thee so tenderly for this? Did thy father spend wealth, and care, and +thought--did he wrong others, and endanger his chance of Heaven, and +squander hope and fear, and passion and cunning, all for this? that +thou shouldest lie here, without his knowing where thou restest--that +thou shouldest lie here, like the daisy which his proud horse's feet +cut off as he galloped along, without his knowing that it was broken? +Alack and a-well-a-day! Alack and a-well-a-day! Poor boy, though thou +hadst something of thy father's fire, and something of thy mother's +weakness, thou wert good and generous, and tender and compassionate. I +know not how it is, Harold, but I am more sorry for thee than for +people that I have loved better, and I cannot bear to think that thou +shouldest lie here, on this gloomy moor. Nor shalt thou, if I should +dig thee out with my own hands! But then they'll say I killed thee," he +added, after a moment's thought, "as they have said already of one who +would as soon have killed himself. So I'll go and tell thy father, my +poor boy; but no, I forgot, I must first go back to that man, for I +promised, and I always keep my promise. It could not be Gray that +killed thee. No, no, I do not think that; he's not fond of blood. He +spared my life, so why should he take thine? I do not half like to go +to him; yet I must, because I promised." + +Poor Silly John lingered for some time beside the grave after he had +finished this soliloquy, and then turned his steps back again with some +degree of confidence gained from the open daylight, towards the abode +of Franklin Gray. He still hesitated, however, and apprehensions of +some kind made him wander at a distance from the house for several +hours before he could make up his mind to approach it. He even went to +a small alehouse, and strengthened his resolution with beer, and bread +and cheese; but what, perhaps, afforded him more courage than anything, +was the act of paying for his morning's meal with part of the money +which Franklin Gray himself had given him. + +As we have before seen, the conclusions at which the poor man arrived +were very often just, and his madness consisted rather in a kind of +wandering, an occasional want of the power of seizing and holding +anything firmly, than in folly. In the present instance, then, he +inferred from the sight of the money given him by Franklin Gray, that a +person who had treated him so kindly would not ill-use him or suffer +him to be ill-used; and, accordingly, he gained courage from the +contemplation, and set out for the tower. Although he had been twice +there before, since Franklin Gray had been the tenant thereof, yet, on +both those occasions his visits had been after dark; but, as he +approached at present the scenes of all the horrors of the preceding +night, he could scarcely believe his eyes, so different was the whole +when displayed in the broad sunshine from that which it appeared under +the shadow. In this instance, however, the face that it wore in the +open day was the deceptive one, and is but too common through the +world, and in life; and in the human heart. The tower, and the large +building by its side, and the court within its walls, were converted +into a farm-house, with its barns and its yard full of straw, and +ploughshares, and farming implements, while carts stood around bearing +the name of "Franklin Gray, Farmer," though the name of the place which +followed was that of a distant part of the country, where probably he +had exercised the same kind of farming which he now carried on. There +were two or three stout men in farming habiliments about the yard too, +whose faces were not unfamiliar to the eye of John Graves, and an +honest watch-dog stood chained near the stable-door, as if the good +farmer was in fear of nightly depredators. A flaxen-headed plough-boy +whistled gaily in the court; and at the moment that Silly John +approached, a very lovely creature, habited in plain white garments, +and carrying a beautiful child of little more than a year old in her +arms, was crossing on tiptoe the dirty yard, wet and muddy with the +storm of the preceding night. + +"A dainty farmer's dame, indeed!" said the half-witted man to himself; +"but I'll speak to her rather than to any of the foxes. Women are +always kindest." + +His singular appearance had already attracted the attention of the +person who was the subject of his contemplation, and she seemed at once +to comprehend his character, and the nature of the affliction under +which he laboured. + +"He is one of the happy," she said, speaking low, and to herself. "What +would you, poor man?" she added, with her sweet-toned voice and foreign +accent. "Do you seek money or food?" + +The half-witted man did not reply directly to her question, but, caught +by her appearance and by her accent, his mind seemed to wander far away +to other things, and he answered, "Ay, pretty lady, there have been +others such as you. Many a one quits her own land and marries a +stranger, and is soon taught to repent, as women always will repent, +when they have trusted those they knew not, and forgotten their own +friends, and cast their country behind them." + +She whom he addressed answered first by a smile, and then said, "Not +always! My husband will never make me repent: he never has made me +repent, though long ago I did all you said, trusted a stranger, forgot +my own friends, and cast my country behind me. But what would you, poor +man? Can I help you?" + +"Only tell Franklin Gray," replied the other, "that Henry Langford has +been taken up on the charge of killing Lord Harold, and that they keep +him a prisoner in Danemore Castle; so that now's the time to help him. +I want nothing more, lady, but God's blessing upon your beautiful +face;" and so saying, he hurried away and left her, while a slight +degree of colour came up into the cheek of Mona Gray, as much at the +earnestness of the look which he gave her, as at the allusion to her +beauty. + + + + + CHAPTER XIV. + + +The world we live in is full of beautiful sights and sweet sounds; it +is a treasure-house of loveliness and of melody. Whether the eye ranges +over the face of nature at large, and marks all the varied, the +magnificent, the sweet, the bright, the gentle, in wood, and mountain, +and valley, and stream; or rests, wondering and admiring, on the bright +delicate fabric of a flower, the rich hues of the butterfly, or the +lustrous plumage of the birds, beauty and brightness are everywhere. +The air we breathe, too, is full of sweet sounds; whether in the +singing of the birds, the murmuring music of the stream, or the hum of +all the insect world upon the wing, everything is replete with harmony. +But of all the lovely sights, and of all the touching sounds whereof +nature is full, there is nothing so beautiful, there is nothing so +sweet, as the sight and the words of natural affection. + +Alice Herbert--for to her we must now turn--sat by the bedside of her +father on the morning of that day, the eventful passing of which we +have already commemorated in the chapter just concluded, as far as it +affects the greater part of the characters connected with this tale. +Joy and brightness were upon her countenance; and in the small and +beautiful hand that rested on her lap she held open the packet of +papers which had been left her by Langford. She gazed in the +countenance of her father with a look of eager and gratified affection, +which gave to her features a look of additional loveliness, and added +the crowning beauty to the whole. Her voice, too, sweet and melodious +as it always was, seemed, at least to her father's ears, to have a more +musical tone than ever, as she told him, with a heart thrilling with +joy and satisfaction at having such news to tell, that she held in her +hand the means of freeing him from the painful situation into which he +had been plunged by the events of the night before; and that those +means had been furnished to her by him whom she so deeply loved. + +The feelings of Sir Walter himself were also very sweet; they were +sweet to receive such assistance from a daughter's hand; they were +sweet from perceiving the happiness which to give that assistance +afforded her; they were sweet from the very act of appreciating all her +sensations; from the power of understanding and estimating the ideas +and feelings of her whom he loved best on earth. They were sweet, but +not wholly sweet. There was a sensation mingled with them, as there +must almost always be with every enjoyment and delight of our mortal +being, which tempered, if it did not sadden--which took some little +part off the brightness of the joy. It may be, that such slight +deteriorations, that such partial alloys thrown into the gold of +happiness, do, like the real alloys which render the precious metals +more fitted for the hand of the workman, render our pleasures more +adapted to our state of being. At all events, the slight shade of +something less than happiness which mingled with Sir Walter Herbert's +feelings, was not sufficient to do more than give them a deeper +interest. It was the thrill of a fine mind on receiving a benefit. +Pride had nothing to do with it; and, yet, when Alice Herbert showed +him the various notes and bills of exchange which she held in her hand, +a slight flush appeared upon his cheek, a momentary feeling of +embarrassment came over him. He would not, however, have let Alice +perceive for the world that he felt the least embarrassment; he +struggled against it, and conquered it in a moment. + +"This is indeed generous and noble of Langford." he said. "This is like +what I always supposed him; this is what I could desire and hope in him +who is to possess my Alice. But I must rise, Alice, my beloved. I must +rise and see him; and thank him myself. I long to tell him how I +appreciate his good and noble character, and to show him that I do so +by seeking his advice, assistance, and counsel in a situation to which +some carelessness and some want of wisdom, perhaps, have brought my +affairs; though I feel assured and am confident Alice, as you tell me +he himself said last night, that matters are by no means so bad as that +lawyer would unkindly have us believe. Go down, my love, and have the +breakfast prepared; I will join you speedily." + +Alice did as he bade her, leaving the papers with him; but although her +heart was very happy, she could have much wished that Langford himself +had not been absent. She knew that a thousand causes, of the simplest +and most natural kind, might have taken him out at that early hour of +the morning; but yet there was a feeling of apprehensiveness in her +bosom that she did not attempt to account for, but which in reality +proceeded from the events of the preceding evening; agitation which had +taken from her heart that feeling of security in its own happiness +which seldom if ever returns when once scared away. The first great +misfortune is the breaking of a spell, the dissolving of that bright +and beautiful illusion in which our youth is enshrined, the confidence +of happiness; and there is no magic power in after-life sufficient to +give us back the charm. It may come in another world, but there it +shall be a reality, and not a dream. + +Alice Herbert, then, felt apprehensive she knew not of what; but in the +silence of the old servants, and the solemn gloom that seemed to hang +over them as they laid out the morning meal, there was something which +increased her uneasiness. She asked herself, why Wilson walked so +slowly, why Halliday no longer bustled about as usual, forgetting for a +moment his reverence for the ears of his master, in directing and +scolding the other servants if they went wrong: and though she +ultimately concluded that they had all heard some report of the +difficulties into which, her father had fallen, and that such a report +had rendered their affectionate hearts sad, yet the conclusion did not +altogether satisfy her; and she longed both for Langford's return, and +for her father's appearance at the breakfast-table. + +Sir Walter did at length appear, but his first question was for +Langford, to which the servant Halliday answered as he had been +directed. The good knight seemed perfectly satisfied, and, sitting down +to table, commenced his breakfast, talking to his daughter with an air +that showed that the slight embarrassment under which he at first +laboured was gone; that the despondency which had been produced by the +imperfect insight into his affairs, given by the events of the +preceding night, was passing away, and that hope and expectation were +beginning to brighten up and smile upon him once more. + +Ere breakfast was over, however, the servant Halliday entered the room, +and approaching the end of the table where his master sat, informed him +that Gregory Myrtle, the landlord of the Talbot, desired instantly to +speak with him. + +"What does he want, Halliday?" demanded the knight; "will not the good +man's business wait?" + +"I believe not, your worship," replied Halliday; "he says it is a. +matter of much importance." + +"Well then, send him in," said Sir Walter; "he is a good man and a +merry one, and I will discuss the matter with him while I finish my +breakfast." + +Halliday looked at Alice, but he did not venture to say anything, and +retiring from the room, he soon after re-appeared, ushering in the +portly form of Gregory Myrtle. + +The worthy host of the Talbot, however, for once in his life, had lost +that radiant jocundity of expression which his countenance usually +bore; and the first question of Sir Walter was, "Why, how now, Master +Gregory Myrtle, what is the matter with thee, mine host? Thou lookest +as solemn and as much surprised as if thou hadst seen a ghost on thy +way hither. I hope nothing has gone wrong with thee, good Gregory?" + +"I have seen a sight your worship," replied the landlord, laying his +hand upon the white apron which covered his stomach, "I have seen a +sight which I never thought to see, and which has made me as sad as +anything can make Gregory Myrtle. I have seen Master Harry Langford +taken away from mine house by two magistrates on charge of murder!" + +Sir Walter gazed on him for a single instant with astonishment, but +then immediately turned towards his daughter, forgetting all his own +feelings in hers. Alice, as pale as death, had sunk back in her chair, +and was covering her eyes with her hands, while she seemed to gasp for +breath under the agitation of the moment. Sir Walter started up, and +approached her tenderly, while Halliday ran from the other side of the +room with water. She put it away with her hand, however, saying, "I +shall be better in a moment! It was but the shock! Go on, Master +Myrtle!" + +Sir Walter gazed tenderly on his child, but the colour soon came back +into Alice's cheek, and she begged her father not to attend to her, but +to go on with the sad business which had been so suddenly brought +before him. Sir Walter again sat down to the table, and as his mind +turned from his daughter to the charge against one whom she loved and +whom he esteemed, surprise and indignation superseded all other +feelings, and the blood mounted up into his check, while he demanded, +"Of whose murder, pray, have they had the folly to accuse him?" + +"Folly, indeed, your worship," replied Gregory Myrtle; "but they accuse +him of having murdered Lord Harold last night upon the moor." + +The blood again rushed rapidly through every vein back to Alice +Herbert's heart, and her fair hand clasped almost convulsively the arm +of the chair in which she sat. Her father's heart had instantly +directed his eye towards her, and, rising from his seat, he went gently +up to her, and took her by the hand, saying, "Let me help you to your +own room, dear child. I must make inquiries into this matter; but it is +not a subject for your ears, my Alice." + +"Yes, indeed," she replied, making an effort for calmness. "I have now +heard the worst, my dear father, and shall be anxious to know all the +rest. If I were away, I should be still more uneasy than I am here; +pray go on." + +"The charge is perfectly absurd!" replied Sir Walter, returning to his +chair. "No one that knows Langford can for a moment suspect him of +committing any crime. I will investigate the affair to the bottom, and +of course take care that he is not subject to the annoyance of +confinement any longer, my Alice. But go on, Master Myrtle!" + +Alice listened eagerly to all the details which Gregory Myrtle now +gave, for her mind was not at all at ease in regard to the real state +of the case. Not that she ever suspected Langford of having murdered +the unhappy Lord Harold: of course such an idea never entered her mind; +but she remembered that Langford had been absent the greater part of +the preceding evening, and even a portion of the night. She knew that +he had left her for the purpose of returning to Lord Harold, whose +feelings, she doubted not, were irritated and excited by what he had +seen take place between her and his rival; and she did fear that +Langford, notwithstanding the promise he had given her, might have been +driven or tempted to draw his sword under some strong provocation. She +knew that he had great powers of commanding himself; and she believed +that, even had such an occurrence taken place, he would have been +perfectly capable of conversing with her over her father's affairs, as +he had done. At the same time she recollected that, although absorbed +by the situation of her father, and occupied by her own feelings and +sensations, she had remarked that Langford was pale, thoughtful, and +seemingly agitated by emotions different from those which might be +naturally called forth by the subjects on which they spoke. + +On the other hand, he had assured her that no encounter had taken place +between him and Lord Harold, and she did not think that, even to spare +her feelings, Langford would say anything that was not true; but yet +she thought that their meeting might have taken place even after +Langford had left her. She accounted for his previous absence by +supposing that he had gone to seek some friend to act as his second +upon the occasion, and, in short, imagination found many a way of +justifying the apprehensions that love was prompt to force. Under any +ordinary circumstances, though she might bitterly have regretted +that one whom she loved had stained his hand with the blood of a +fellow-creature, yet she would have entertained no apprehensions for +his safety in a mere affair of honour. But Alice had known from her +infancy the Earl of Danemore, and had formed, almost without knowing it +herself, an estimate of his character, which was but too near the +reality. There was in it a remorselessness, a vehemence, a +determination, an unscrupulous pursuit of his own purposes, which had +been apparent to her, even as a child. She knew well, she felt +perfectly convinced, that he would halt at no step, that he would +hesitate at no means, in order to obtain vengeance upon any one who had +lifted a hand against his son; and she was well aware, too, that Lord +Danemore united to his unscrupulous determination of character, talents +and skill which gave him but too often the means of accomplishing his +purpose, however unjust. + +Such knowledge and such feelings added deep apprehensions for +Langford's safety to the pain that she would at any time have felt at +the idea of one she loved taking the life of another human being; and +the whole was mingled with sincere grief to think that one who had been +her playmate in childhood, and had loved her truly in her more mature +years--one whom she esteemed and felt for deeply, though she could not +return his love, had been cut off in the spring of life, before many +blossoming virtues had yet borne fruit. + +She listened eagerly, therefore, and anxiously to the words of the good +landlord of the Talbot, while he detailed all those facts connected +with the arrest of Langford which we have already dwelt upon. Her +father, indeed, felt and showed much more indignation and surprise that +the charge should be brought at all, than apprehension lest it should +prove just; and when, from some part of the conduct of the magistrates, +as detailed by the worthy landlord, it appeared that they accused +Langford of having slain Lord Harold in an unfair and secret manner, +Alice shared in the indignant feelings of her father, and raised high +her head at the very thought of her noble, her generous her gallant +lover, being suspected of an unworthy act for a moment. + +By the showing of Gregory Myrtle, it very speedily appeared to Sir +Walter and his daughter, that the magistrates had not dealt quite +impartially in taking or seeking for evidence; and that they had shown +a strong inclination to find out that Langford was really guilty. From +what Sir Walter knew of the character of one, if not of both of those +worthy gentlemen, he easily conceived it to be possible that they +should be somewhat desirous of recommending themselves to Lord Danemore +by an overstrained and excessive zeal in discovering the murderer of +his son. But when he heard that the body of Lord Harold had not even +been found, his indignation grew still greater, and he sent back +Gregory Myrtle to the village, with directions to collect together +every one who could give any information on the subject, promising to +come over to the Talbot as soon as his horses could be saddled, and +investigate the matter to the bottom. + +"As soon as this is done, Alice," he said, "I will ride over to the +castle, notwithstanding the painful event that has occurred, discharge +this long-standing debt to my good Lord Danemore, who has thought fit +to make so unhandsome a use of it; and then insist upon even justice +being shown towards our noble friend Langford, who, I doubt not, can +prove his innocence in five minutes." + +The worthy Knight hastened all his proceedings; for when the cause of a +friend was in his hands, none of that easy and somewhat apathetic +indifference displayed itself with which he was but too apt to regard +his own affairs. His riding boots were drawn on with speed, and he +twice asked for his horses before the grooms could have had time to +saddle them; nor had he for many years before been known to ride so +fast as he did in going from the gates of his own park to the door of +the Talbot. Almost the whole population of the little town was gathered +about the inn, enjoying the satisfaction of a legitimate subject of +marvel and gossip: and the glad and reverential smiles, the bows of +unfeigned respect, and the homely but affectionate greeting with which +they received the good knight as he rode up, showed pleasingly how much +beloved the virtues and good qualities of all its members had rendered +the family of the Manor. + +Sir Walter, however, was detained at Moorhurst much longer than he +expected, for everybody was anxious to give testimony before him, and +many more crowded forward than could afford any satisfactory +information, or throw the most trifling light upon the case; and yet, +as each and all of them had something to say in favour of Langford, Sir +Walter could not find it in his heart to refuse to listen to any. The +clerk of the parish was called upon to take down their depositions: and +certainly, if the fact of having established a good character in a +country town could have assisted any man in a similar predicament, it +might have done so with Langford in the present instance. + +Sir Walter Herbert, however, did not lose sight of the great object, +though he suffered himself to be deluged by much irrelevant matter; and +he soon found that the only legitimate cause for supposing Langford at +all connected with the death or disappearance of Lord Harold was the +fact of the half-witted man, John Graves, having run down, during the +preceding evening, and besought several persons to come up and prevent +Langford and the young nobleman from killing each other. As he was +known to adhere invariably to the truth, two or three of the +town's-people had gone up with him into the park in order to keep the +peace, but on finding all quiet, and nobody there, had returned without +further search. + +Sir Walter discovered also that the two magistrates who had preceded +him in the investigation had not even demanded to see John Graves +himself, though his testimony, taken second-hand, was that in fact on +which the whole case rested. This he determined immediately to remedy; +but the half-witted man was by that time nowhere to be found, and +though Sir Walter waited for many hours while persons were despatched +to seek for him in all directions, the good knight was at length +obliged to give the matter up for the day, and return to the Manor +House. + +During his absence, Alice was left for several hours with no companion +but her own painful thoughts. She felt, as she might well feel, quite +sure that Langford was innocent of any base, or cowardly, or +treacherous action; she felt sure of his honour, his integrity, his +uprightness. But that certainty, that confidence, though it gave her +support, could not deliver her from apprehension. All her thoughts were +gloomy. The bright joy which Langford's acknowledgment of his love on +the preceding evening had afforded her, had been like one of those +sweet warm summer-like days in the unconfirmed infancy of the year, +which are succeeded immediately by storms and tempests. Her mind had +rested for a moment in a vision of perfect happiness; but now, +whichever way she turned her waking eyes, there was something painful +in the prospect. Although she was very willing to believe that her +father's pecuniary affairs were not in near so bad a state as Lord +Danemore's lawyer had made them appear, yet there could be no doubt +that they were greatly embarrassed, and that his income and resources +were so much smaller than those of his ancestors, that it would be a +duty to curtail his expenses, to diminish his establishment, and, in an +age when luxury and splendour were daily increasing, to forego many of +the conveniences and comforts which he had hitherto enjoyed, and all +that dignified but unostentatious state which his family had kept up +for many generations. + +She knew, too, that to do so would be a bitter pang, well nigh to the +breaking of the heart that felt it; and although, for her own part, +there was scarcely a pretty cottage in the neighbourhood in which she +could not have made her home with cheerfulness and happiness, she +looked forward with painful apprehension to the time when her father +might have to quit the Manor House, and discharge the old servants who +had served him so long, and be no more what he had been amongst the +many who looked up to and reverenced him. + +Such was one dark subject of contemplation; the death of Lord Harold +was another. She thought of him as she had seen him the evening before, +full of youth, and health, and energy; she thought of him as she had +seen him in other days, full of joy and gaiety, and that bright +exuberant life which it is difficult to imagine can ever be +extinguished, when we gaze upon it in all its activity and brightness; +and yet a single moment had ended it for ever. + +Her mind then turned to the father of him who was gone; and she +pictured him sitting in his lonely halls, childless, solitary, +desolate, left without hope and without consolation to pass through the +chill winter of his age, till he reached the dark and cheerless +resting-place of the tomb. She pitied him from her very heart; she +could have wept for him; but then her thoughts turned to Langford, and +she asked herself, if it were possible that a man who had just suffered +so severely as Lord Danemore himself, could seek to bring misery and +sorrow upon others? Abstractedly, she would have thought such a thing +impossible; but when she reflected upon the character of the man, she +felt but too deeply convinced that his own misery would but make him +seek to render others as miserable; that his despair would be bitter +and turbulent, not calm and mild; and that to see the hearths of others +desolate, the hearts of others broken, would in all probability be the +consolation he would choose. + +She was pondering sadly upon these gloomy subjects of contemplation, as +well upon that chief and still more absorbing one, the situation of him +whom she so dearly loved, when the servant Halliday appeared to +announce to her that Master Kinsight, Lord Danemore's attorney, was at +the gate, and would not go away. He had told him, the servant said, +that his worship was out, and that she herself was busy, and not to be +disturbed; "but he still hangs there, Mistress Alice," continued the +man, "and he is no way civil; so much so, indeed, that if I did not +know his worship is averse to having anybody cudgelled, I would drub +him for his pains." + +"Do no such thing, Halliday," replied Alice, "but bring him in here; I +will speak to him myself." + +In a few minutes the lawyer entered the room, and threw himself down +into a chair with very little ceremony. "So, Mistress Alice," he said, +in a tone, the natural insolence of which was increased by the +unconcealed hatred of Sir Walter's servants, "I find your father's out; +gone out, I suppose to avoid me, for he knew I was coming about this +time for his answer and yours, as to what we were speaking of last +night." + +"My father has gone out, Master Kinsight," replied Alice, calmly, "upon +business of importance; but I can give you the answer that you require, +as well as if he were present. He is going over to Danemore Castle as +soon as possible, to pay the money and interest which you came to +claim, having found the means of doing so, without any further delay." + +"Ay, indeed, madam!" exclaimed the lawyer, with evident surprise; +"indeed! Pray how?" + +"That, I should conceive, sir," replied Alice, in the same tone in +which she had before spoken, "is no business of yours." + +"Your pardon, madam, your pardon," cried the lawyer, "it is business of +mine. Your father must have borrowed the money, and to have borrowed +the money he must have given security, and we hold mortgages over his +whole property to its full value, and therefore--" + +As he paused and hesitated, Alice replied, "I do not yet see, sir, how +that would make it any business of yours. However, to satisfy you, the +money was lent by my father's friend, Captain Langford, without any +security whatever." + +"Do you mean to say that the money was lent," he exclaimed, rudely, +"actually lent, paid down? Come, come; I shall not go out of the house +till I hear more of the matter, for I do not want to be trifled with, +or to tell my lord that the money is ready when it is not." + +"Sir," said Alice Herbert, raising her head with a look of indignation, +"you are insolent. The money is, as I have told you, now in the house, +ready to be paid to your master--as I suppose I must call Lord +Danemore--whenever my father is at leisure to do so. I expect him ere +long; and if you choose to remain till he returns, you may wait in the +servants' hall. At present I myself am busy, and wish to be alone." + +The lawyer looked somewhat disconcerted; but he paused thoughtfully for +a moment, biting his lip, twirling his hat, and laying his finger on +his brow, as if uncertain what to do. At length, he exclaimed, "No, no, +I'll not wait; I'll go over to the Earl directly, and take +instructions." + +So saying, he bade Alice a short and saucy adieu, and quitted her +presence and the house, not finding a servant who would even show him +the attention of holding his horse while he mounted. + + + + + CHAPTER XV. + + +For several weeks Henry Langford had enjoyed a degree of happiness +which he had never before known. From the night in which he was wounded +in defence of Alice Herbert, till the evening preceding the day on +which we last left him, had been a period full of sweet hopes and new +sensations, ending with the crowning joy of all, the knowledge of +loving and being beloved. That period of bright light, however, had now +been suddenly contrasted with as deep a shadow as had ever fallen on +any part of his existence, and yet in the course of that existence he +had known some sorrows and some cares. None, however, had touched him +so deeply as this; for now he was imprisoned, not in consequence of +having fallen into the power of a foreign enemy, taken in battle, and +esteemed even while restrained--but accused of a base and cowardly +crime, separated from those he loved best, placed in a situation from +which it might be difficult to extricate himself, and feeling more +deeply and painfully for the unhappy youth of whose murder he was +accused than any one knew. + +Sitting in solitude and in silence, the remainder of Henry Langford's +day, after the half-witted man had left him, passed over in gloom and +anxious thought. It was not that he yielded to despondency; it was not +that he suffered hope to extinguish her torch, or even to shade its +light for a moment. Knowing himself innocent of the crime with which he +was charged, knowing that he possessed the love of Alice Herbert, and +feeling sure that that love would never after, there was always a balm +for grief and anxiety. But still, even when he thought of Alice Herbert +herself, when he remembered the situation of her father, and knew that +any false steps might plunge the worthy knight into irretrievable ruin, +he could not be without anxiety on that score either; and, whichever +way he turned his eyes, there were clouds upon the horizon that +threatened to gather into a storm. + +The treatment which he received from the Earl of Danemore, indeed, was +in all respects consolatory. That nobleman, it was clear, hardly +entertained any suspicion of his having had a share in the murder of +his son. Several times in the course of the evening, servants were sent +to ascertain if he wanted anything. The ordinary meals of the day were +regularly set before him; and when night fell, lights were brought, and +various kinds of fine wine were left in the room, sufficient to satisfy +him if by chance he had addicted himself to the evil habit of deep +drinking, but too common in those days. + +Some short time after the lights had been brought, he heard a step +approaching his room by the smaller staircase, and the Earl again +appeared. The expression of his countenance was agitated and anxious; +but he apologised courteously for intruding, and then added, "I thought +you might be pleased to learn that the whole of Upwater Mere has been +dragged with the greatest care, without anything having been found to +confirm my apprehensions in regard to its having been made the +receptacle of my poor son's body. It is very foolish, under such +circumstances, and with such proofs of his death as we have, to give +way to hope; but yet I cannot help yielding a little to your reasoning +of this morning." + +"I hope and trust, my lord," replied Langford, "that reasoning may not +prove fallacious. Far be it from me to wish to instil false hopes, but +I would certainly, were I you, not give myself up to despair till the +truth of the calamity is better ascertained." + +"I know," replied the Earl, "that coincidences very often happen, +giving much unnecessary alarm. Indeed, the story which you told this +morning is an extraordinary proof of the fact. I remember having heard +it before," he added, in a careless tone, "though I forget where it +was. Pray, where did the incident happen?" + +Langford mused for a single moment, and then looked up with something +of a meaning smile. "It occurred, my lord," he replied, "in the Gulf of +Florida, many years ago. I therefore do not know it from my own +personal knowledge; but I have heard it from one who was present, and +who told me the whole particulars of that and many another adventure in +those seas." + +It was now Lord Danemore's turn to muse, and he did so with a cloudy +brow, gnawing his nether lip, as if struggling with some powerful +emotions. "Pray, do you know the name of the captain of the ship?" he +asked, at length, affecting the same careless tone with which he had +before spoken. + +"Yes, my lord," replied Langford; "I know his name and his whole +history from that time to the present hour." + +Lord Danemore turned very pale, and then mused for several minutes in +silence. Nor was it unworthy of remark that he did not demand the name +of the captain of the vessel, though the moment before he had seemed so +much interested in the subject. He remained gloomy and silent, however, +as we have said, knitting his brow thoughtfully, and his first words +were--though in so low a tone that Langford did not hear them--"People +may know too much." + +Perceiving his lips move, and seeing that he was evidently much +affected by what had passed, Langford, who had spoken with some degree +of emphasis, added, with apparent indifference, "Yes, oh yes; I know +his whole history well. He was an English gentleman of a brave, daring, +and enterprising disposition, who, having been driven from his own +country, and deprived for the time of his own possessions, pursued a +wild and fitful course of life; now serving with gallant distinction in +the armies of foreign countries, now becoming a rover on the high seas, +and acquiring for himself a fearful and redoubtable fame, till the +restoration of the king suddenly recalled him to fortunes and honours +in his own land." + +Lord Danemore made no direct reply; but putting his hand to his head, +he said, "It is very hot; I have seldom known a more oppressive night." + +As he spoke, the storm, which had been long coming up, burst forth with +a bright flash, which blazed with a blue and ghastly light round the +dark wainscotted chamber in which they sat, lighting up every cornice +and ornament in the carved oak, and seeming absolutely to play amidst +the papers on the table. At that very instant both Lord Danemore and +Langford raised their eyes each to the countenance of his companion, +and gazed upon each other with a firm and questioning glance. + +"That was a bright flash," said the Earl, with a lip that +curled slightly as he spoke; "I do not know that I ever saw a +brighter--except in the Gulf of Florida!" + +He added nothing more, nor waited for any reply, but rose as he spoke, +and abruptly quitted the room. He trod the stairs down to his own +private apartments with a heavy but irregular step, and paused at the +bottom for several moments ere he opened the door which gave entrance +to his own dressing-room, thinking, with a gloomy brow and eyes bent +steadfast, sightless, upon the ground. At length, he entered and cast +himself into a chair, clasping his strong bony hands firmly over each +other; and oh! what a wild chaos of mingled feelings, and strong +passions, and memories, and regrets, and dreads, and expectations, did +his bosom at that moment contain. + +All those passions were now called up in his bosom: and the struggle +between them was the more tremendous, inasmuch as they were, in many +points, arrayed nearly equally against each other. Henry Langford had +in a few words laid before him the picture of his life, and had shown a +deep and intimate knowledge of that darker part of his history which he +had believed to be buried in profound oblivion. For more than twenty +years he had heard no allusion to those days of wild and roving +adventure, when, driven forth, as he fancied, for ever from his native +land, stripped of his rank and his possessions, he had given way to the +impulses of a rash, daring, and fierce spirit, had piled upon his own +head many a heavy remorse, and seared his own heart with many a deed of +evil. He had believed that all the companions of those days were either +gone or scattered far from the high and lordly path in which he now +trod; he had imagined that he had removed every trace of that bond of +fate which united the proud, cold, wealthy Earl of Danemore, the +domineering spirit of the country round, to the wild rover of the +western seas, whose deeds of daring and of blood were still remembered +with awe and fear in a land fertile of strong passions and great +crimes. + +There were many who remembered him in exile, indeed, but in that part +of his exile when his daring courage and great powers had been employed +in noble warfare and in an honourable cause; but he thought that the +very fact of being so remembered would be an additional safeguard +against all suspicion in regard to another period. There was, indeed, a +lapse of several years in which his history was unknown to all such +companions of his brighter days; and he had more than once been asked +where he was when some great event had happened on which the +conversation at the moment turned. But Lord Danemore was not a man to +be interrogated closely by any one; and, as we have said, he firmly +believed that all those who could have answered such questions by +pointing to the dark and evil events which had been crowded into a few +short years of his life, were far removed, plunged beneath the rolling +waves of the ocean, buried upon the sandy beach of distant lands, or +with their bones whitening--a public spectacle--in the sun. + +Now, however, suddenly, after a long and sunshiny lapse of peaceful +years, the memories of former acts were recalled when he least expected +them--recalled by one who seemed to have a perfect knowledge of every +fact he could have desired to hide; and the dark train of images +conjured up from the past: the regret, the remorse, the shame, which he +had banished long and carefully, were now linked hand in hand with +apprehensions for the future, with the fear of exposure, if not the +dread of punishment. His mind, however, was in no unfit state for +receiving gloomy impressions, his heart was already excited for the +entertainment of fierce and angry passions. Through the whole of that +day, from a very early hour in the morning, he had been torn with grief +and anger, now mourning over the loss of his son with the deep anguish +of wounded affection, now vowing vengeance against that son's murderer, +while his heart felt scorched and seared by the burning thirst for +revenge. + +Disappointment, too, deep and bitter disappointment, had had its +share--the disappointment of a proud and ambitious heart. On the son +now lost he had fixed all his hopes and all his aspirations, in him had +he trusted to see his life prolonged, through him had he expected that +future generations would carry on his name with increasing wealth and +greatness. Now all was over; the son on whom he had relied was gone; he +was childless, lonely, cut off from hope and expectations, to live in +darkness and solitude through the chill autumnal twilight of his age, +and then to die, leaving all the vast possessions which he had obtained +to a distant kinsman, whom he hated and despised. + +Such had been, in some degree, the state of his feelings, so shaken, so +agitated, when he suddenly found that shame was likely to be added to +the other burdens cast upon him, and that the vice and crimes of other +years were rising up in judgment against him even at the latest hour. +The drop thus cast in was sufficient to make the cup overflow. Never +through life had he been accustomed to put any restraint upon the +fierce passions of his heart, and now what was there that could act as +any check upon them? what was there to prevent him from seeking their +gratification? what was there to oppose the desire which instantly +sprang up within his heart, of silencing for ever the voice which might +tell the dark secrets of other years? + +Nevertheless, there was a check, there was something that opposed him +in the fiery course he might otherwise have pursued: ay, and opposed +him strongly, though it was but a feeling connected with other years, +though it was but one of those strange associations between the present +and the past which often have a firmer hold upon us than more immediate +interests or affections. There was something in Langford's face, there +was something in his manner and whole appearance, there was something +in the very tone of his voice, rich, and musical, and harmonious, which +called up as forcibly to his mind a period of sweet, and early, and +happy days, as the tale he had told brought over the glass of memory +the dark and awful features of another epoch. + +At the sound of that voice, at the glance of that eye, the forms of +many bright, and dear, and beloved, many who had been known and +esteemed in times of innocence and of happiness, rose up as clearly +before him, as if some magic wand had waved over the dark past, and +brought out of the dim masses of things irrecoverably gone the images +of the dead clothed in all the semblance of life and reality. The +associations thus raised were all sweet; and in regard to him who +called them up, there was a strange feeling of tenderness, of +affection, and of interest, which at the very first sight had made him +feel confident that he could never have been the murderer of his son, +that he who seemed connected with the brightest portion of his early +life could never be one to render the latter part of his existence all +dark and desolate. + +Then again, when he remembered that the same man held in his possession +the great, the terrible secret of his former deeds, all his feelings +and his thoughts were changed, and sensations almost approaching to +despair came over him--a stern, dark, eager resolution, akin to those +fierce determinations and sensations which had filled up that portion +of his being to which his thoughts were so suddenly directed. + +He sat, then, and gazed upon the ground, with his hands clasped over +each other; and twice he murmured to himself, "People may know too +much." He pondered upon every word that had been spoken, and for nearly +half an hour his thoughts wandered, with a vague uncertain rambling, +over the various epochs of the past, connecting them with the present, +and then turning again and again towards the past, while anguish and +pleasure were still strangely mingled in the retrospect. Still, +however, when he remembered the words of Langford, and felt himself to +a certain degree in his power, the same dark but ill-defined purpose +returned of removing for ever from his path one who held so dangerous a +tie upon him. He felt, indeed, a reluctance, a hesitation, a doubt, +which he somewhat scorned himself for feeling; and he nerved his mind +more and more every moment to execute his determination calmly and +deliberately. "I will never live in the fear of any mortal man," he +thought. "Were he ten times as like, he should not bear my fate about +with him! How! shall he be my only consideration? Surely I am not +become either a child or a woman, to waver in such a case as this!" + +As he thus thought, he rose from his seat, and strode up and down the +room with his arms folded on his chest. Over the large and massy +mantelpiece of many-coloured marbles, hung a number of weapons of +different kinds; pistols, and swords, and firelocks, and daggers, some +of foreign, and some of British, manufacture. There appeared the long +Toledo blade, the broad Turkish dagger, the Italian stiletto, the no +longer used matchlock, and many another weapon, arranged in fanciful +devices; and each time, as the Earl turned up and down the room, he +paused and gazed upon them, then bit his lips, and recommenced his +course across the chamber. When this had proceeded for about a quarter +of an hour, some one knocked at the door, and he started sharply, as if +caught in some evil act. The next moment, however, he called to the +person without to come in, speaking in an angry tone; and a servant, +who, from his dress and appearance, seemed to be his own particular +valet, appeared, announcing that Mr. Kinsight, the lawyer, had just +arrived on important business. + +"I am glad of it," said the Earl; "take him to the library: I will come +directly." And as soon as the servant was gone, he added, "This man may +be of some use." + +He then carefully locked the door which led from his dressing-room to +the room which had been assigned to Langford, and descended to the +library, to confer with an agent worthy of his purposes. + + + + + CHAPTER XVI. + + +The prisoner, in the meantime, was not left in solitude; for scarcely +had Lord Danemore quitted his chamber, bearing with him a world of dark +thoughts and excited passions, when Langford was visited by the person +who, more than any one in that house or neighbourhood, seemed to know +his history and understand his situation. Mistress Bertha, as she was +called, came, ostensibly in her character of housekeeper, to ask if +there were anything to be done for the promotion of his comfort: +saying, that she had been so commanded in the morning by the Earl. She +lingered, however, after she had received his answer, though for some +minutes she scarcely spoke; and when she did, she merely uttered a +comment on the storm that was raging without. Langford seemed to +understand her character well, and he too kept silence, leaving her to +say anything that she might desire to say, in her own manner and at her +own time. + +"It is an awful night," she said; "an awful night, indeed. It is such a +night as the spirits of bad men should depart in. I never pass such a +night without thinking that there is a likeness between it and the dark +stormy heart of the wicked. But it matters not," she added, after a +long thoughtful pause. "I have linked myself to his fate, and I must +not sever the bond. He is my master, and has been good to me, though he +may have wronged others. I will remain by his side." + +She paused again, and Langford merely replied, "It were too late now to +think of it." + +"I understand your meaning," she said, "and it is too late. You would +say that in former times I ought to have adhered to the wronged and the +oppressed, and so I would, but I was driven from them. It is needless +now, however," she continued--"it is needless to say one word more on +that score; let us talk of other things. Has he been with you again?" + +"He has scarcely left me a moment," replied Langford; "and I fear with +less friendly feelings towards me than when we met before. I showed him +that I knew much of his former life; for, in truth, good Bertha, the +blow must be struck now or never." + +"It must, it must!" she replied; "but not too rapidly. Be cautious, be +careful. After he left you this morning, I was with him long, and his +feelings were all such as you could have hoped for. What had passed +between you I know not; but there was a softness, a tenderness had come +over him: a light as from other days seemed to shine into his heart, +and to flash upon affections and feelings long buried in darkness. He +spoke to me of things he has not spoken of for many a year; he used +words and he named names that I never thought to hear him utter again. +The sight of you seemed to form an eddy in the current of time which +carried him back to a happier and brighter part of its course. Be +careful, however. Be careful how you deal with him. If you act well and +wisely, ere the drops are dried up which are now falling from the +clouds, you may tell him all; you may ask him all. But I know him well; +and one rash word, one hasty act, may undo your fortunes at the very +moment they are well nigh built up." + +"I will be careful," replied Langford; "I will be careful, because I am +bound by every tie to use all gentle means, rather than harsh ones. But +still it is hard completely to restrain one's self, and to seek with +softness and concession that which is wrongly withheld, and which I +have every right to demand with the loud voice of justice." + +"To demand, and not obtain," replied Bertha; "for there is no means by +which you can gain your purpose except by gentleness." + +Langford smiled. "Be not quite sure of that," he said. "I have at this +moment my fate in my own power." + +"Indeed!" she exclaimed; "indeed! how so?" + +"It matters not," Langford replied; "be assured I have; but, as I have +said, I am bound by every consideration to use gentle means. If I find +that they will succeed, I will employ none other; but should they fail, +I will boldly and openly assert my own rights, and both claim and take +that which is my own." + +Bertha's eye, while he spoke, fixed upon one of those small doors in +the wainscotting, which we have more than once mentioned, and she shook +her head, with an incredulous smile. "Because," she said, answering his +thoughts more than his words, "because I have placed you here, and +because there is between you and what you desire but one small +partition. That partition is of iron, which, had you a thousandfold the +strength you possess, you could never break through." + +"I know it," replied Langford, "I know it well; but yet I tell you, +that in those respects my fate is in my own power. However, I will use +all gentle means, though no subtlety; but in the end I will do myself +right." + +"Be it as you say," she answered; "but of one thing beware. It seems +that you have rekindled in his bosom a hope of his son Harold being +still living. Avoid that; the boy is dead, beyond all doubt: struck +down, poor fellow! in his pride of life--broken off in his dearest +dream of happiness and love. But let it be so; it is well it should. He +would have lived but to deeper grief; he would have remained but for +greater anguish. Give the father no hope! For your own sake, give him +no hope that the boy is still alive!" + +"But I entertained hope myself," replied Langford; "and it was not in +my nature, Bertha, to see a father grieving for the death of his son. +and not try to afford him what consolation I could." + +She shook her head mournfully, adding--"He is dead. I feel that his +fate is accomplished. He could not live. He had no right to live. The +date is out. He is taken away. But I must stay with you no longer; yet +in leaving you, remember my words: use none but gentle means. Urge him +alone by the kinder feelings of his nature, for if ever there was a man +in whom there dwelt at once two strong spirits, powerful for good and +powerful for evil, it is he." + +"I will remember your advice," replied Langford, "and thank you for it. +I will use gentle means; but by one means or another right shall be +done." + +She lingered for another moment or two, as if desirous of saying more, +but then turned and left him; and proceeding down the staircase into +the hall, she encountered the lawyer, just alighted from his horse. + +The man of law bowed low and reverentially to one whom he knew to +possess great influence over his patron; and, more for something to say +than on any other account, added to the usual salutation of good +evening, "It is a terrible night, Mistress Bertha; a good soaked posset +now were not amiss to warm one." + +She looked upon him, however, with cold and motionless features, merely +replying in an under voice, as he passed on, "The time will come, I +rather think, when you will be glad of something to cool instead of to +warm you." + +The lawyer must have caught the meaning of what she said, as well as +the servant who was conducting him; for a well satisfied smile came +upon the face of the latter, while the attorney shrugged his shoulders, +and said aloud, "She is a rare virago." + +He was conducted by the servant into the library of the castle, where, +against the wide and lofty walls, and round the massive pillars that +supported the roof, were ranged in due order a vast number of dusty +volumes, containing the wisdom and the learning, and the folly and the +dulness, of many preceding ages. Lights were placed upon the table; and +after waiting for a few minutes, gazing upon the ponderous tomes around +him, without, however, venturing to disturb any of them by taking them +from their places of long repose, he was joined by the Earl, on whose +strongly-marked countenance the keen and practised eye of the lawyer +recognised at once the traces of strong emotion. + +Deep and reverential was the bow with which the Earl was greeted by the +same man who had so lately treated Alice Herbert and her father with +contempt and indignity. He remained standing though the Earl had seated +himself, and even then did not sit down till he had been twice told to +do so. The Earl at the same time would gladly have had the lawyer abate +so much of his respect as to commence the conversation himself, for the +nobleman's mind was full of dark purposes and stormy passions, and he +wished them to be led forth by degrees, lest the fierce crowd, in +rushing out too hastily, should throw open the innermost secrets of his +heart to a stranger. The lawyer, however, did not venture to do so, +being rather overawed than otherwise by the state of agitation in which +he beheld his noble client; and the Earl, putting a restraint upon his +words, to prevent himself from hurrying forward to the subject of his +thoughts at once, began the conversation by saying, "This is a stormy +night, sir. What business, may I ask, has brought you hither at such an +hour and in this weather?" + +The lawyer, though he had gained no small knowledge of the world by +long dealings with every different class of men, and by seeing them +under every different circumstance and affection, was, nevertheless, +embarrassed in regard to his demeanour towards Lord Danemore, situated +as he knew him to be at that moment. He had expected to find him, as he +did find him, deeply agitated; but the agitation which he had imagined +he should behold was bitter grief for the death of his son. Now there +was something in the aspect of the peer which made him see at once that +many other feelings were mingled with his sorrow, and as he did not +know what those feelings were, and desired solely so to shape his whole +conduct as to make it agreeable to his patron, he was excessively +anxious to discover, by some means, what was going on in the Earl's +breast, in order to direct his course accordingly. + +Finding, however, that he was not able to make such discoveries, +he judged it the best plan to throw before the Earl the subject +furthest removed from the death of his son; and to counterbalance +grief by exciting anger. He replied, therefore, after a moment's +thought--"Nothing but important business, my lord, would have induced +me to intrude upon you at such a moment. Your lordship, however, will +recollect that you gave me your commands how to proceed in regard to +the old Knight at Moorhurst, in which, I am sorry to say, I have been +frustrated by a most unexpected incident." + +"Frustrated, sir!" exclaimed the Earl, the whole of whose passions were +in too excited a state not to take fire at every new obstacle cast in +his way. "Frustrated. By all the powers of Heaven, I will not be +frustrated! What? do you mean to tell me there is any flaw in the bond, +any error in the transaction, which will debar me of my right? If so, +look to yourself, sir, for you drew up the whole. Or would you have me +believe that he has money to discharge the debt? I tell you, sir, he is +a beggar; he is ruined--undone--as you well know. What is the meaning +of all this? Frustrated! Shall he frustrate me?" and he ended with a +scoff of angry derision. + +"It is for the purpose of preventing it, my lord," replied the lawyer, +meekly, "that I came hither to-night. I wish to lay the case before +you, and take your lordship's commands." + +"Well, sir, well," rejoined the Earl, recovering from the first burst +of passion, "tell me the facts, that I may judge." + +From not knowing the new matter which had been cast into the fiery +furnace of the Earl's bosom, the lawyer was more and more puzzled at +his demeanour every moment. He saw that there was an undercurrent of +feelings running more rapidly than the natural course of those excited +by the matter on which they spoke. And in order to fathom his mind, and +ascertain of what feelings that undercurrent was really composed, he +resolved to throw in, even unnecessarily, the name of Lord Harold, and +he answered--"The facts are these, my lord. After seeing you yesterday, +and taking precise instructions from you as to the course I was to +pursue, I went over to Moorhurst, where I found your lordship's +lamented son." + +As he spoke a dark cloud came over the countenance of the Earl, but it +was of a different kind and character from that which had hung upon his +brow before; and the lawyer, at once perceiving that he had not found +the right road, instantly turned to the straightforward path, finding +that he must take his chance of going right or wrong in a country where +there was no finger-post to direct him. "I was apprehensive," he +continued, "lest his generosity might step in to interfere with your +lordship's just views and purposes." + +"Speak not of my son, sir," said the Earl, sternly; "speak not of my +son; for although now that the first anguish is past, I have conquered +the quivering of my wounded heart, and the flesh is still, yet I love +not that any one should lay his finger on the spot, unless it be a +surgeon to heal the injury. Go on with the matter in hand. What said +Sir Walter Herbert?" + +"Why, he said, my lord, that he could not pay the money," replied the +lawyer; "and he fell into a great state of agitation, and would not +believe that his affairs were so bad, till I showed him that they could +hardly be worse; and then Mistress Alice was sent for, and I must say, +never were such airs as the young woman gave herself." + +"The young lady, sir!" said the Earl, sternly; "you forget yourself. +The person whom I considered meet to be the bride of my son, may well +merit her proper name from a low person like yourself." + +The attorney was not without the natural feelings of humanity, and he +did not fail to experience all those sensations which, under different +circumstances induce one man to knock another down. But the effect of +our feelings when they are prevented from operating in their natural +direction, is often, by their recoil, to drive us in a way directly +contrary. Though the lawyer then would have given a great deal to have +repelled the insulting language of Lord Danemore, yet he would not have +given for that purpose the hundredth part of the advantage which he +derived from his patronage and employment; and this being the case, it +always happened that the more rude and overbearing the peer showed +himself in his demeanour towards the lawyer, the more servile and +humble became the lawyer towards the peer. + +In the present instance, he begged his lordship's pardon a thousand +times, but excused himself on the plea that the conduct of Mistress +Alice--her expressions regarding his lordship himself--had been so bold +and haughty, that his indignation got the better of his manners. + +"However, my lord," he continued, "she agreed at once to give up the +pittance that she possesses, for the relief of her father; but still +the plate and the jewels, and all the rest, would have to be sold to +make up the sum required. I doubt if even that would do, and he would +certainly be obliged to go out of the house, and be reduced nearly to a +state of beggary." + +There was a degree of satisfaction apparent in the countenance of the +Earl which made the lawyer stop to let it work, and he watched every +shade of expression that passed over the face of Lord Danemore, as he +gazed with a curling lip upon the ground. With a sudden start, however, +the peer raised his eyes to the countenance of the lawyer, and beheld +there--reading it in a moment as a familiar book--all that was passing +within his agent's mind. + +"You are right, sir," he said, going boldly and at once to the subject +of the lawyer's thoughts; "I do hate that man, and if you think that +you have made a discovery, you deceive yourself, for there is nothing +to conceal. Other men hate their neighbours as well as I, and I see not +wherefore I should not have my own private enmities, and gratify them +like others. He is one of those good honest people whom the world +delights to praise, and the vulgar love and honour. He sets himself up +for modest simplicity, and yet affects a state and station which he has +not the means to maintain. He is one of your positive lovers of right, +too, yielding but formal respect to his superiors, but denying them all +authority in matters of importance. In times long gone, when first I +returned after the Restoration, I met with more difficulty and +opposition in establishing my just rights and influence over +the tenantry and people in the neighbourhood, from that mild +justice-fancying, learning-loving Sir Walter Herbert, than from all the +other petty squires and magistrates in the county. If it had not been +for the love my poor boy entertained for him and for his daughter, I +would have swept him from my path long ago; but go on, go on with your +tale. What obstacle has since arisen?" + +"Why, last night, my lord," replied the lawyer, "I left all matters in +as fair a train as well might be. The old man had become as pale as +ashes, and the young lady, notwithstanding all her pride, had more than +once wept bitterly. I gave them till this morning to make up their +minds as to how they would act; but when I went thither about two or +three hours ago, I found the old knight from home, and my young +mistress with, her pride and haughtiness all in fresh bloom again. The +end of the matter is, my lord, that it seems a friend has been found +foolish enough to advance the money without any security whatsoever--a +Captain Langford, whom I never before heard of." + +"Who? who?" demanded the Earl. + +The lawyer repeated the name; and his noble companion, starting up, +struck the table a blow with his clenched hand which made the lights +dance and flicker as they stood. "This is too much!" he said; "This is +too much! I know now where I must aim." + +The lawyer had risen at the same time as the peer, and Lord Danemore, +striding across towards him, grasped him firmly by the arm, saying, in +a low voice. "That very man--that very Langford, is now in this house, +having been brought hither by those two foolish justices, Sir Thomas +Waller and Sir Matthew Scrope, on charge of being the murderer of my +son." + +The lawyer, forgetting one half of the awful circumstances of the +moment, rubbed his hands with a look of satisfaction. "That will just +do, my lord! That will just do!" he exclaimed. "If we can get any proof +whatsoever that the money is furnished by this Langford, we will, when +it is tendered, which will doubtless be the case to-morrow, seize upon +it as the property of a felon, and then proceed against Sir Walter as +if he had never had it. Long ere this Langford comes to be tried, by +one means or another we can lay the old man by the heels in gaol, and +then, by one process or another, mount up such an expense at law as +will leave him scarcely a coat to his back." + +The Earl smiled, partly with satisfaction at the ready means of +gratification which had been found for him in one instance, and partly +with contemptuous insight into the workings of the lawyer's mind, +feeling that degree of pleasant scorn with which the more powerful but +not less evil minds regard the minor operations of the tools they work +with in the accomplishment of wicked purposes. The lawyer remarked the +expression, and fancied that it was well-pleased admiration of his +skill and readiness; and again he rubbed his hands, and chuckled with +conceit and pleasure. + +The Earl, however, waved his hand somewhat sternly. "Cease, cease," he +said: "I can have no laughter here! This house is a house of mourning +and of vengeance. We will have no laughter! Your idea is a good one, +and you shall be rewarded if the execution answers to the conception. +But there is more to be done; there are still greater things to be +accomplished--things that are painful to me, but which yet I must do; +things I shall remember and regret but which yet I will not shrink +from." + +As he spoke there came over the strong stern features of the old man's +face a dark and awful expression which made even the lawyer shrink and +draw back, accustomed as he was to see human passions in all their +direst forms. It was the expression, the irrepressible expression of a +powerful mind deliberately summoning all its energies to the commission +of a crime known, appreciated, and abhorred. The evident effect +produced upon the lawyer seemed in some degree to affect his patron, +who, ere he spoke further, took two or three gloomy turns up and down +the room, and then again drawing near him, said, "But this Langford; +what is to be done with Langford? He remains to be dealt with." + +The lawyer gazed in the Earl's countenance, doubting in his own mind +what he meant; and imagining that the very fact of having aided Sir +Walter Herbert was so great a crime in the eyes of the Earl as to call +down his vengeance as remorselessly upon the one as upon the other. It +was a pitch of vindictiveness at which even his mind was staggered, and +he said with some embarrassment, "But, my lord, from what your lordship +said just now of those two justices, I fancied you thought the +gentleman not guilty." + +The Earl gazed upon him steadfastly for so long that the lawyer shrunk +beneath his eyes. He then answered deliberately, "I do not think him +guilty, but yet I would prove him so." + +"But, my lord," stammered the lawyer, "my lord, if the man be innocent! +I dare say he did not know he would offend your lordship by helping Sir +Walter, otherwise----" + +"Hush!" exclaimed the Earl. "It is no such pitiful motive as that which +moves me. I have other reasons for my actions, other causes for my +determination. Whether the man murdered my son or not is of little +import in this question. Hearken to me, my good friend; he must be +swept from my path. I have strong and sufficient causes for wishing him +hence. He must be removed. He and I cannot live long in the same world +together!" + +"Good God! my lord," replied the lawyer, this is very terrible. "I +really know not how to act, or what to think." + +"Think," said the peer, "that if by your means I succeed in this +business--if, by your zeal for myself and my family you convict this +man of the murder of my son, wealth and distinction shall be yours for +the rest of your life, but if you do not----" + +"But, my lord," said the lawyer, presuming upon the situation in which +they were placed so far as to interrupt the Earl, "these are great and +terrible things; and if I undertake to accomplish that which your +lordship wishes, I must have my reward made sure to me. We do not do +such things without reward, nor with any uncertainty." + +Lord Danemore now felt, by the bold tone assumed by his subservient +tool, a part of the bitterness of wrong action; but he was prepared for +that also, and he replied at once, "You are bold, sir, to speak to me +in such a manner; but I understand your meaning, and I have a hold upon +you yet. We are here alone, with no one to witness our conversation; +you therefore judge that I may promise and not perform. But that same +exclusion of all witnesses is my security, if not yours; and I now tell +you, that if you do not accomplish that which I command, I will +withdraw from your hands all those sources of emolument you now enjoy +from me; and I will keep this promise in the one case, as surely as I +will keep the other in the other case. Make me no reply now: I give you +half an hour to determine, and will return to you at the end of that +time." + +The Earl turned, and walked towards the door; but before he had reached +it, the lawyer raised his voice, saying, "My lord, my lord! Do not go! +I have determined! What you wish shall be done at all risks, and I will +trust to your lordship's promise fully. Only name what is to be my +reward!" + +The Earl smiled with a dark and bitter smile while he replied, +deliberately, "The sum which shall be tendered me to-morrow by Sir +Walter Herbert." + +"Enough, enough, my lord," said the lawyer; "it shall be done." + +The Earl turned and came back to the table. "You understand," he said, +"the money shall be yours--when he is dead." + +The lawyer was very pale, as well as his patron, but he answered, +distinctly. "I do understand, my lord!" + +As he spoke, a sudden flash of the lightning glared upon the +countenance of each. That of the peer was stern, calm, and determined; +that of the lawyer was quivering under a fearful degree of emotion: but +what is singular, though the storm had been proceeding during the whole +time they were together, so fierce had been the struggle in the bosom +of each that neither had noticed the strife of the elements without. +The moment, however, that the fearful words had passed, that the dark +determination was taken, both remarked the flash and heard the peal of +thunder that followed. They were neither of them men to shrink at +portents; and though the thunder made the lawyer start, it seemed to +both but a confirmation of their compact. + +"It is a tremendous night," said the Earl; "you must sleep here, my +good friend." + +The lawyer muttered forth some few words of thanks, and withdrew; but +sleep visited not that night the soft pillow on which he laid his head. + + + + + CHAPTER XVII. + + +The storm of the preceding night had ceased, and left the earth all +glittering with golden drops, when the sun rose up and poured the full +tide of his glorious light upon that world where, during his absence, +so many dark and fearful scenes had been enacted. About nine o'clock, +and along a tortuous and unscientific road, which seemed to have been +cut solely with a view of mingling the bright sunshine and the cool +green shades amidst the pleasant woods through which it wandered, rode +along Alice Herbert and her father. Their thoughts were full of matter +of deep moment: cares, fears, anxieties, were busy in their bosoms; but +yet it were false to say that the sweet scenes through which their way +was laid, the cheerful aspect of the summer world, the voice of the +blackbird and the lark, the soft calm air of the bright morning, did +not soften and soothe all their feelings. It is not alone that in the +breast of almost every one there goes on a sort of silent superstition, +drawing auguries almost unknown to ourselves from every varying feature +of the scenes through which we are led, finding the frowning look of +boding fate upon the sky, when the dark clouds roll over it, or the +bright smile of hope when it spreads out clear and bright above us; but +it is that there are mysterious links of harmony between all our +feelings and the universal creations of our God; and that the fine +electric chain along which so many strange and thrilling vibrations +run, is carried from the heart of man to the uttermost verge of heaven. + +The brightness of the morning sunk into Alice's soul, and soothed the +painful memories within her; the easy motion, too, of her light jennet, +as he cantered untiringly forward through the fresh early air, had +something in it inspiring and gladsome. He went along with her as if +there were no such things as obstacles or barriers in all life's road, +as if all things were smooth and easy as his own soft pace. Sir Walter, +too, felt the same; he was peculiarly susceptible to the impressions of +external nature, and readily yielded his whole heart to the bright +influence of everything fine and beautiful throughout the range of +creation. Though in early life he had mingled in many scenes of active +strife and endeavour, his heart was all unused and fresh, and retained +all the capabilities of enjoyment which bless our early years. He too, +therefore, felt his heart lighter, and the fountain of hope welling up +anew within him from the gladsome aspect of the morning; and as he rode +on with his daughter, followed by two or three servants on horseback, +he conversed cheerfully and happily over coming events, and spoke of +Langford being immediately set free, of his own affairs restored to +order and abundance, and of the happiness of all parties being secured, +as if he had held in his hands the keys of fate, and could open the +storehouse of fortune, to bring forth what pleasure he pleased for +after years. + +He spoke, too, without any animosity, of the Earl of Danemore and of +his proceedings towards him; and Alice, on her part, was enchanted to +hear him do so; for she had feared, from the tone of her father's +feelings on the day before, that, either in regard to his own affairs +or to those of Henry Langford, some sharp collision would take place +between him and the Earl on the first occasion of their meeting. It was +partly on that account, when Sir Walter had announced his intention of +going over in person to the Castle, both to discharge the debt to Lord +Danemore, to lay before him the evidence which he had procured +concerning Langford, and to request him to set the latter at liberty, +that she had besought him, in terms which her father could not resist, +to take her with him. + +"The proceeding will seem strange," she said; "but I do not think Lord +Danemore is a man who will think it so. He has shown me much kindness, +and I should wish to see him, and condole with him under his present +grief, both because I do sincerely feel for him, and because I wish him +to know that any grief or disappointment I may have occasioned his poor +son was not mingled with any unkindness of feeling on my part, any +lightness of conduct, or any wish to inflict a wound. He has no one +near him to console him or to comfort him; we are the only people he +has at all associated with, and I used to think that he was fond of my +society, and would hear things from me which he would listen to from no +one else." + +His daughter's arguments were almost always good to the mind of Sir +Walter Herbert; and even if he did understand that she was afraid he +might become somewhat over-vehement with the proud and passionate man +he was about to see, his was one of those kindly natures free from that +irritable vanity which is jealous of all interference; and he suffered +his daughter to have her way, because he knew that her motive was good, +and felt that he as well as another might fall into error. + +Thus they rode on: and, as they went, Sir Walter himself found a +thousand excuses for the conduct of the Earl; showed Alice how, in that +nobleman's seeming want of liberality towards himself, fatherly pride, +wounded by the rejection of his son, might have the greatest share; and +how, in the detention of Langford, the magistrates who had arrested him +were most to blame; while it was natural that a father's heart, torn +and wrung as his must be, should make him regard mere suspicion as +direct proof, and suffer his eager desire for vengeance to blind his +eyes to the real object. + +Judging from such expressions, Alice now felt little doubt that her +father's first interview with the Earl would pass over tranquilly; and +having no longer the strong motive which had, at first, induced her to +cast off a certain feeling of timid shyness which she experienced in +regard to seeing Lord Danemore for the first time after all that had +taken place between herself and his son, she proposed to remain for a +time with Mistress Bertha, the housekeeper, and not to see the Earl +till after the business on which Sir Walter went was concluded. + +"Perhaps it may be better, my love," replied Sir Walter; "although I +never liked that woman, who is as stern and harsh a being, I think, as +ever was created. Yet she was always fond of you, Alice: and in regard +to my conversation with the Earl, put your mind at rest; I feel too +much sorrow for him, at the present moment, to let any degree of anger +rest in my bosom, or to suffer anything that he can say, knowing as I +do the violence of his nature, to make me forget for one moment that he +is a father, mourning for the unexpected loss of his only son." + +Their plans being thus arranged, Sir Walter announced to the porter of +Danemore Castle that his daughter would remain with Mistress Bertha, +while he craved audience with the Earl, on important business. + +There was something in the demeanour of Sir Walter Herbert which even +the insolent servants of Lord Danemore could not resist; there was the +mingling of courtesy and dignity, the conscious right to command, but +that right waved for kindness' sake, which is sure to win respect even +from those the most unwilling to pay it. The worthy Knight and his +daughter, then, were shown, with some degree of ceremony, into one of +the large, cold, stately saloons of the Castle, while the servant +proceeded to announce their coming to his master. He returned in a few +minutes, saying, that the Earl would join Sir Walter there ere long, +and that, in the meantime, he would conduct the young lady to Mistress +Bertha's room. + +She had not been long gone when Sir Walter was joined by the Earl, who +was followed into the room by the lawyer, hanging his head and bending +his back, like a sulky dog trudging at its master's heels. Lord +Danemore received Sir Walter with stately coldness, begged him to be +seated, and, as if totally unconscious of anything that had passed +before, requested to know what was the cause of his being honoured with +Sir Walter Herbert's presence. + +"I should not have intruded upon you, my lord, especially at such a +moment," said Sir Walter, "but that I am desirous both of offering you +any assistance and co-operation in my power in the very painful +inquiries which must fall to your lot to make; of laying before you a +considerable mass of information which I have already obtained, and at +the same time of discharging an obligation which I only deeply regret +that it has not been in my power to liquidate long ago." + +"Thanking you for your offers of assistance, sir," said the Earl, "we +will, if you please, turn to the latter point you have mentioned, +first. Although I ordered my views upon the subject to be notified to +you before the loss I have sustained, yet I shall not suffer that loss +to interfere with the progress of a business which it must be as +agreeable to Sir Walter Herbert as to myself to bring to a conclusion." + +The Earl spoke in a cold and cutting tone, which brought the warm blood +into Sir Walter's cheek. He replied, calmly, however, saying, "Of +course, my lord, it is as agreeable to me as to you to conclude a +business of this nature, which has produced, I am sorry to say, +feelings between us which I hoped would never have existed." + +"It seems to me, sir," said the Earl, "that we are entering upon +irrelevant matter. I can accuse myself of having done nothing that I +was not justified in doing; nor do I perceive that any persons have a +right to accuse me of being wanting in feelings of friendship, when +they were themselves the first to reject advances by which, considering +all things, I believe they might think themselves both honoured and +favoured." + +"We might view that fact in a different light, my lord," replied Sir +Walter, who was becoming somewhat irritated; "however, not to touch any +further upon subjects of an unpleasant nature, I am here to tender you +payment of the bond which you hold of mine, although, as you are well +aware, my lord, the debt was in reality none of mine, but incurred +through the villany of another." + +"With that, sir, I have nothing to do," said the Earl; "but what are +these papers that you offer me?" + +"They are, my lord," replied Sir Walter, "as you may see, bills of +exchange from houses of undoubted respectability in the capital; of +course it is hardly possible to carry in safety such a sum in gold. +Should your lordship, however, as by your countenance I am led to +suppose, object to receive the amount in this manner, I will, of +course, cause the bills to be immediately turned into money." + +"I am far from objecting to receive the amount in this manner," replied +the Earl; "indeed, it might be, in many respects, more convenient; but +there is something peculiar here; more than one of these bills is +endorsed with the name of Henry Langford." + +"Such is the case, my lord." replied Sir Walter. "Of that gentleman I +shall have to speak to you in a few moments; but it was your lordship's +wish that we should adhere in the first instance to this business, and, +such being the case, we will conclude it, if you please. Are you +willing to receive those bills in payment? or shall I cause them to be +turned into money, as may be done immediately?" + +A dark and fiend-like smile of satisfaction had been gradually coming +over the countenance of the Earl; and there was a struggle in his mind +between the natural quickness and impatience of his disposition, and +the desire which he felt to protract the actual execution of his +purpose, in order to enjoy every step he took therein. Impatience, +however, at length predominated; and he replied, taking the whole +packet of bills of exchange from the table-- + +"There will be no occasion, I am afraid, to cause these bills to be +turned into money, for some time at least; although, Sir Walter +Herbert, I cannot receive them as payment of your debt. They are, as I +am informed--and the name upon the back of some of them bears out that +information--they are the property of a person now under charge of +felony; and I therefore find myself called upon, in my capacity of +magistrate, to take possession of them, till the accusation against him +is proved or disproved." + +Sir Walter, for a moment, sat before him thunderstruck, without making +any reply, while the Earl continued to fix upon him the full gaze of +his stern dark eyes, enjoying the surprise and pain he had occasioned. +The instant after, however, Sir Walter recovered himself, and replying +to the look of the Earl with one as stern and resolute, he said, "I +conclude that your lordship is jesting, though the moment for so doing +is strangely chosen; but I cannot believe that the Earl of Danemore +wishes to prove himself a villain more detestable than the needy +sharper who fleeces a confiding dupe. Concluding that there was +something in noble blood which implied honour and integrity; trusting +that a long line of generous ancestors afforded some tie to honesty and +upright conduct, if nothing more--believing the person who calls +himself the Earl of Danemore not to be the bastard of a noble house, +but one who had some cause to hold its honour high--thus thinking and +believing, I placed in his hands those papers, which he is bound either +to receive as payment of his debt, or to restore to me in the same +manner as he received them." + +The Earl was too well satisfied to yield to anger; and he replied, with +the same cold and bitter calmness which he had displayed throughout, +"You are right, sir, in all your conclusions, except the last. Noble +birth should be coupled with integrity: high ancestors are a tie to +honour; the Earl of Danemore has every reason to believe himself the +legitimate son of his father; but, nevertheless, he may take a +different view of his duty from Sir Walter Herbert, in a matter where +Sir Walter Herbert is an interested party--too much so, indeed, to +judge with his usual clearness. These papers, which it is now my +purpose to seal up and deliver into the hands of my worthy friend here +present, Master Kinsight, are evidently the property of this same Henry +Langford, who stands accused of the murder of my son." + +"My lord, my lord," interrupted Sir Walter, "if you have taken any +pains to investigate this matter, you must be well aware that the case +made out against that upright and honourable man, Captain Langford, is +not even a case of suspicion, far less one which justifies his +detention for a moment. It is not even proved that your son is dead; +and I pray to God that it may not be so." + +"Prove that, sir, prove that," exclaimed the Earl, "and none will be +more glad than I shall be; but even then, I very much fear these papers +would remain to be dealt with according to law, as there can be no +doubt whatever that this same Henry Langford, if not a principal, is an +accessary to all those acts of pillage and robbery which have lately +disgraced this neighbourhood. You are not aware, Sir Walter, of all the +facts; you are not aware of all that has been discovered this very +morning, Master Kinsight here having, with all his own shrewdness, +obtained proof, almost incontestable, that this same Henry Langford is +one of a band of plunderers who have established themselves in this +county, and whose acts speak for themselves." + +Again Sir Walter Herbert was struck dumb. "My lord," he said, at +length, after a considerable pause, "I am a magistrate of the county, +and, consequently, may be permitted to demand the nature of the +evidence against Captain Langford, especially as I have both taken a +very active part in putting down the system of violence and outrage +which has, as you observed, disgraced this neighbourhood, and have +investigated the matter thoroughly since the attack upon my daughter, +of which you most probably have heard, and from which she was delivered +by the courage of Captain Langford alone. I, therefore, must beg to see +the evidence against him, as I have with me the depositions of various +witnesses which clear him of all suspicion in regard to the +disappearance of your son." + +"I do not feel myself called upon," replied the Earl, "nor, indeed, do +I think it would be right and just, to make any one acquainted with the +discoveries we have already made, before the whole train of evidence is +mature. There are two learned, wise, and most respectable magistrates, +Sir Thomas Waller and Sir Matthew Scrope, who are even now engaged in +collecting information on the subject, and it would be not only an +insult to them, but an effectual means of frustrating the ends of +justice, were any other person permitted to interfere, especially when +that person is avowedly a supporter of the culprit." + +"All this is very specious, my lord," replied Sir Walter; "but it may +be doubted--and I am one of those who do doubt--whether personal +motives on your lordship's part may not mingle with the view you take +of the case, and whether your known power and influence in this +neighbourhood may not have more to do with the decision of the +magistrates you mention than the considerations of right and justice." + +"Your language, Sir Walter Herbert, is growing insulting," replied the +Earl, "and, indeed, so has been your whole conduct. I have passed it +over as yet, out of consideration for the foolish fondness which my +poor son entertained towards a member of your family. It must go no +further, however, or you shall find that I am not to be insulted with +impunity. The imputations, too, which you cast upon two respectable men +are altogether unworthy; and I beg to say that I shall hear no more +upon this or any other subject from you. My lawyer shall have my +directions to deal with you, in regard to your debt to me, with +moderate determination; and any evidence that you may have collected in +reference to the prisoner had better be communicated to the two +magistrates who have the case before them. I must beg now to be excused +any further conversation on the subject." + +"Then I am to understand, my lord," said Sir Walter, "that you +positively and distinctly refuse to return to me the bills of exchange +which I have, with foolish confidence, placed in your hands." + +The Earl bowed his head in token of assent, and Sir Walter proceeded, +"You will permit me, if you please," he said, "to call in one of my own +servants to witness my demand, and your refusal." + +"That is unnecessary, sir," replied the Earl; "I will give you an +acknowledgment under my own hand, that I have taken possession of +certain bills of exchange belonging to Henry Langford, accused of +felony. Draw it up, sir," he continued, turning to the lawyer. + +The lawyer did as he was directed, employing all the most cautious +expressions, and the Earl, after having read the paper over, signed it, +and delivered it to Sir Walter Herbert. + +"Your lordship's conduct is certainly most extraordinary," replied Sir +Walter; "but this business shall soon be cleared up, for I have +determined that I will not rest one moment till the best legal +assistance has been procured for the noble gentleman you seem disposed +to persecute, and who has been deprived of his liberty upon the +accusation of having murdered a person who is by no means proved to be +really dead." + +He was turning to quit the apartment, and the Earl was in the act of +directing his lawyer in a low voice to have him arrested at once for +the debt, when two or three hard blows upon the door, as if struck with +a heavy stick, called the attention of the whole party, and caused the +good Knight to stop, expecting to see the door open, and some one +enter. The door, indeed, did open, but it was only pushed forward a +small space, just giving room sufficient to admit the head of the +half-witted man John Graves. + +As soon as he beheld him, Sir Walter exclaimed, "Here is one who +probably can tell us more of the matter than any one else; for, if I am +rightly informed, it was upon his testimony, received second-hand, that +these magistrates acted." + +"That I can, indeed." said the half-witted man, still standing in the +doorway; "I can tell you more about it than any one else, for I saw him +buried last night with my own eyes under the beech trees." + +"Who? who?" demanded several voices at once; while the Earl, with the +feelings of a father breaking forth, and overpowering all others, +strode forward and gazed in the man's face. + +"Why, the boy," replied the other; "the boy Harold; and I came to tell +you where he lies." + +The Earl covered his eyes with his hands, and for a few minutes an +awful silence spread through the room. Sir Walter Herbert could not +have found in his heart to break in upon the first moment of parental +grief for any consideration; and he suffered the bitter agony to have +its way without attempting by one word of consolation to soothe that +deep wound which he himself believed to be incurable, and only likely +to be aggravated by any earthly appliance. The lawyer, though feeling +very differently, was yet afraid to speak; and Silly John, as he was +called, stood gazing upon them, infected by the feelings expressed in +the countenance of the Earl and Sir Walter, when he announced the sad +confirmation of their worst fears. + +It was the Earl himself who first broke silence. "Sir," he said, +turning abruptly to Sir Walter, "I desire to be alone. This is no time +for any other business than that either of mourning for my son, or +punishing his murderers; with regard to other matters, you shall hear +from me hereafter. Your fair scornful daughter, I understand, +accompanied you hither, and now waits for you. Pray tell her that, +though bound by courtesy to receive the visits of a lady at all +seasons, yet at present the heart of the father is not very well +attuned to hear consolatory speeches on the death of his only son, from +the lips of one who first encouraged and then rejected that son's +addresses, and who, it would appear, by such conduct brought about his +death." + +"My lord," replied Sir Walter, mildly, "so deeply am I sorry for you, +that I will concede to your sorrow even the privilege of being unjust, +and will not defend my child, though she be altogether innocent of that +with which you charge her. She is now in Mistress Bertha's room, +waiting my coming; and, taking leave of you with deep sympathy for your +loss, I will seek her there and return with her to my own dwelling." + +"Seek where you may find, Sir Walter," said Silly John, turning with a +lacklustre smile upon the Knight; "seek where you may find: for you +will not find Mistress Alice nor Mistress Bertha either where you think +they are; for I saw them stepping quietly up stairs towards the old +north tower; and the lady and her lover are by this time looking into +each other's eyes." + +"This is somewhat too much!" exclaimed the Earl, with an angry frown; +"I did not know that the young lady was so great a proficient in +policy: but by your leave, Sir Walter, I must interrupt their +conference;" and striding towards the door with flashing eyes, he threw +it, open and advanced towards the great staircase. + +Sir Walter followed quickly, and at the foot of the stairs touched the +Earl's arm slightly, with a meaning look, saying at the same time, "I +trust, my lord, that in your present excited state you will not forget +who Alice Herbert is, and that her father is present." + +The Earl turned, and gazed at him from head to foot. "I shall not +forget myself, sir," he replied; "the Earl of Danemore is not +accustomed to injure or insult a woman!" and thus saying, he strode up +the stairs with the same quick pace. + + + + + CHAPTER XVIII. + + +There was a thrill in the heart of Alice Herbert as she followed the +servant through the long passages of Danemore Castle, which sprang +neither from old associations nor from the solemn silence which reigned +through the whole building. Since she had last trod those long +corridors new feelings had taken possession of her bosom; new thoughts, +new hopes, new happiness, had arisen in her heart; and every pulse that +throbbed in that heart had some reference to the earnest affection +which now dwelt within her. As she passed along, then, following the +servant, who with slow and solemn steps led the way, she could not but +remember that she was probably in the same house with Henry Langford, +and a vague fancy that by some means she might see him, if it were but +for a moment, made her heart beat and her whole frame tremble. + +The room to which she was led was vacant, and she sat down to meditate +over the past and the future, both of which had a world of absorbing +thoughts and feelings to engage her attention. But yet her eyes +wandered round the small chamber, which she had not visited for many +years, and she remarked that to the crucifix and missal which usually +lay upon a table near the window, marking the faith of the occupier of +that apartment, were now added the grinning skull and mouldy bones, +which may well serve as mementos of our mortality. + +She had not been there long, however, when the slow stately step of +Mistress Bertha was heard near the door, and the next moment she +entered the room, gazing upon Alice with a calm, but somewhat sad, +expression of countenance, as she answered her salutation. + +"Good morrow, Mistress Bertha," said the young lady; "I hope you have +been well since we last met, which is now a long time ago." + +"Well, quite well, lady," replied Mistress Bertha; "it is a long time +ago; and many things have happened in the space between, which should +not have happened. Fate, however, has had its way. We must all fulfil +our destiny; and you and I, as well as others, are but working out what +is to come to pass." + +"If you mean, Mistress Bertha," said Alice, "that I have not been here +of late so frequently as I used to be, I think, when you remember all +that has happened, you will not judge that I acted wrongly in making my +visits scarce at Danemore, where my father's reception has long been +cold." + +"I blame you not, Mistress Alice: I blame you not," replied the +housekeeper. "What right have I to blame you? You liked him not; you +loved him not. That was not your fault, nor the poor boy's either. You +were fated for another, and that other fated to snatch from _him_ that +which he held dearest. We cannot control our liking and dislikings; +they are the work of destiny. There have been those who loved me that I +could never love, those who have treated me well and kindly, who +through long years befriended me, and with tenderness and affection did +all to win regard; and yet when they had done all, they failed; and, +seizing gladly on some rash word, some hasty burst of passion, I have +cast their benefits behind me, and left them, because I could not love +them. What right, then, should I have to blame others for feeling as I +have felt, and doing even less than I have done?" + +"I am sure, Mistress Bertha," replied Alice, gently, "I am quite sure, +from what I know of you, that, though you might act sharply, you would +never act unjustly, and never be guilty of any degree of ingratitude, +though you almost accuse yourself of being so." + +"You do not know, you do not know," replied the other; "I have been +guilty of ingratitude. I know, and acknowledge, and feel, that to her +who was kind to me from her youth, whose fathers had protected my +fathers, and whose generosity had raised me from low estate, I know and +feel that I was ungrateful; that I could not, that I did not, return +her love for love, and that I quitted her at the first rash and +thoughtless word. So far I did wrong, and felt evil: but I did no more; +my heart was not made, as many another is made, to hate because I knew +that I had wronged. I went upon my way and she upon hers, but I sought +for no opportunity of doing her ill. On the contrary, I would willingly +have atoned for what I had done by serving her in those matters where +she felt most deeply. I did serve her as far as I could; but there are +things which I must not do--no, not even now." + +"I know not to what your words allude," replied Alice, speaking to her +gently and kindly, wishing to soothe rather than in any degree to +irritate one towards whom she had always experienced feelings of great +kindness, and even respect; for although Mistress Bertha, on many +occasions, had given way in her presence to the sharp and unruly temper +which evidently existed within her heart, yet the occasions on which it +had been exercised, Alice had always remarked, were those where there +was either an open and apparent, or a concealed but no less certain +cause, for the contempt or anger to which she yielded such unbridled +sway. "I know not to what your words allude, but I doubt not that you +judge of yourself harshly--too harshly. Mistress Bertha, as I have +often seen you do in regard to yourself before." + +Bertha gave a melancholy smile, and shook her head, as she replied, +"Young lady, clear your mind of that great error; the greatest, the +most pernicious of the poisonous dainties with which human vanity feeds +itself in all this world of vain things! We never judge of ourselves +too harshly. The brightest and the best, the noblest and the most +generous, if they could but look into their own bosoms with eyes as +clear and righteous as those that gaze upon them from the sky, would +find therein a thousand dark forms and hideous errors, of which their +hearts accuse them now but little. Ay; and if in the whole course of +human actions we could see the current of our various motives separated +from each other, how much that is vile and impure should we find +mingling with all that we fancy bright and clear! No, no! man never +judges himself too harshly, let him judge as harshly as he will. God +sees and judges, not harshly, we hope, but in mercy; and yet, what sins +does not his eye discover, what punishments will he not have to +inflict!" + +Alice was silent; but after a momentary pause Bertha resumed the +conversation nearly where she had first begun it. "I blame not you," +she said, "young lady, for not loving one who loved you. It was not +destined so to be, though there may have been a feeling of pride, too, +in your dealings with him. The poor boy who is gone had not the eagle +eye and ruling look of this one--an eagle eye and ruling look gained +from a noble race in other lands; and well do I know how, with young +happy things like you, the eyes lead captive the imagination; ay, and +fix chains of iron upon the heart. Yet you judged well and nobly, too, +if I see aright. That face and form are but an image of a mind as +bright, and he has every right to have such a mind now that all that +was dark, and fierce, and harsh in the proud streams that mingle in his +veins has been purified, and tempered, and softened by long adversity." + +"Of Of whom do you speak, Mistress Bertha?" demanded Alice, with a +conscious blush mantling in her cheek as she asked the question. + +"Of whom do I speak!" echoed Bertha, gazing on her; "would you have me +think that you do not know of whom I speak?" + +"No," answered Alice, blushing still more deeply; "no, Mistress Bertha, +I do not wish to deceive you. I know, at least I guess, you speak of +Captain Langford; but--but--" + +Bertha gazed thoughtfully down upon the ground for a few moments; "I +had forgot," she said at length, "yet he did wisely--he always does +wisely! But I had not believed that there was a man who, in the +unchained moments of the heart's openness, would act so wisely and so +well! I understand you, sweet lady. You were not aware that I knew +rightly the story of your heart; and I knew it only by having divined +it. Yet to show you how well I have divined it, I will tell you the +motive that brought you hither with your father. You came with the view +of seeing him you love!" + +The ingenuous colour once more rose warm in Alice's cheek; but she +replied, with that sparkling of truth and sincerity in her pure eyes +that there was no doubting one single word, "No, Mistress Bertha," she +said, "you are wrong. I come hither with no such motive, with no such +view. My father had business with the Earl, so painful, so irritating, +that I sought to accompany him, solely with the wish to soothe and calm +both; but I found as we rode along that Sir Walter's mind was already +prepared to treat all things gently and kindly, in consideration of +Lord Danemore's sad loss; and, therefore, I thought it better to come +to this room than to intrude upon the Earl's grief till I was quite +sure he would be well pleased to see me. But, on my word, the thought +of seeing Captain Langford never entered my mind till I was crossing +the hall to come hither. Then, indeed, remembering that he had been +brought hither, and having learned that he had been most wrongly +detained--at least all yesterday--I thought he might still be here, and +that, perhaps, I might see him. Nor will I deny, Mistress Bertha," she +added, "that I much wish to do so, if it be possible." + +"I believe your whole tale, Alice Herbert," replied Bertha "I believe +it all and every word; for I have seen and watched you from your +childhood, and I know that you are truth itself. You shall see your +lover, Alice. You shall taste those few bright moments of stolen +happiness which are dear, all too dear, to every young heart like +thine." + +"Nay, nay, Bertha," said Alice, in reply, "though I will not deny that +his society is happiness to me, I have a greater object in view; I have +to learn how I--I, his promised wife, may aid him at the present +painful moment. Nor, Bertha," she added, while at the very repetition +of the words her cheeks again grew red, "nor do I wish that the moments +spent with him should be stolen moments. I ask you openly, if it be +possible to let me see him and speak with him. I wish no concealment. I +seek not to hide either my regard for him, nor my interview with him. +Sure I am that my father would approve it, and I have none but him to +consider, in framing my actions." + +Bertha gazed upon her glowing countenance and sparkling eyes, as she +raised them, full of timid eagerness, to her face, with a look of +pleasure not unmixed with surprise. "You are, indeed, a noble creature +and a lovely one," she said; "yours may well be called generous blood. +But it shall be as you wish; and yet be under no fear for your lover. +They cannot injure him! It is not his destiny. He is born for a very +different fate, and the fools who took him were only tools in Fortune's +hands, to cut a pathway for him to the point where he is now arrived. +Fear not. Alice, but come with me, and you shall see and speak with +him; alone, if you will." + +"No, not alone!" said Alice, again colouring; "not alone! That were +needless--useless." + +"Come with me, then." said Bertha, "come with me, then; though it is +little needful that you should see him, to take council with him for +his liberation. Ere to-morrow morning he will be free. They cannot hold +him there long. To think of holding him there at all is idle and empty; +and there is one of them, at least, that feels it to be so, though he +knows not well why." + +As she spoke, she led the way out of the room in which they were, and +along the corridor towards the great hall. Alice made no reply, for her +heart beat so fast, and her limbs trembled so much, that she was glad +to take refuge in silence in order to hide her agitation. She knew that +she was going to do nothing but what was right. She felt that every +sensation of her heart, every purpose of her mind, was pure, and noble, +and good; and yet--why or wherefore she could not tell--there was +something in the act of thus going privately to see her lover in the +house of another, which made her tremble like a guilty creature, though +conscious of innocence in thought and deed. She looked anxiously at +each door as she passed, lest it should be opened, and some one issue +forth to interrupt her. She hurried her pace up the great staircase, +gazing round with feelings of apprehension she could not comprehend; +and when at length they reach the extremity of the building, and stood +before the last door upon that side, she was obliged to lay her hand on +Bertha's arm, and beg her to stop for a moment, in order to recover +breath, and gain some degree of command over herself. + +At length she said, "Now, now I am ready," and Bertha opened the door +of the outer chamber. It was tenanted by a single servant, apparently +busy in the ordinary occupations of the day, putting this article of +furniture in one place, and that article in another, with that sort of +tardy diligence remarkable in houses where there are many servants and +but little to do. + +He started, however, and turned round when he heard the door open; and +then advancing towards Bertha, he said, "My lord ordered me, Mistress +Bertha, not to give any one admission here;" he then added, in a low +sort of confidential tone, "The orders came early this morning for me +to hang about here, and when I had done with the rooms, to remain upon +the staircase, so as to make sure that the prisoner does not escape, +without locking the doors, however--though I don't see why my lord +should take such a round-about way, when by doing nothing but just +turning the key he could keep the young man in as long as he liked." + +"The Earl has his reasons for all that he does," replied Bertha, +walking on. "You will do very right to stop every one; but of course +your lord's orders do not apply to me. Come with me, young lady; you +may be admitted, as I told you." + +The man looked surprised and bewildered; for Mistress Bertha, as he +well knew, was not a person to be contradicted with impunity, and yet +he feared that he would be doing wrong in letting the two visitors +pass. + +Half the advantages, however, which are gained in this world, either +over our adversaries or rivals, are obtained by taking advantage of +their astonishment; and before the man had time to make up his mind as +to what he ought rightly to do, Mistress Bertha and Alice had passed +him, and the door of the inner chamber was open. + +Langford was sitting at the table, writing, and the sound of the +opening door made him raise his eyes. For a moment it seemed as if he +could scarcely believe that what he saw was real; but then a look of +joy and satisfaction, which would have repaid Alice well, had she had +to encounter a thousand dangers and difficulties in making her way to +visit him, spread over his countenance, and, rising up, he advanced to +meet her. + +Without doubt or hesitation, he cast his arm around her, and pressed +his lip upon her cheek. "Thank you, dearest Alice, thank you," he said, +"this is, indeed, most kind and most good; how can I ever show myself +grateful enough for such a token of affection?" + +Alice burst into tears. To see him sitting there--him whom she loved, +and honoured, and esteemed--a prisoner, and accused of dark crimes, had +wrung her heart almost to agony; but his words and his look, and the +tone of his voice, and the touch of his hand, and the pressure of his +lips, seemed to sever the bonds which held the varied emotions +struggling together in her breast, and they all burst forth together in +that profuse flood of tears. + +"It is _we_ that must be grateful to you." she said, as soon as she +could speak; "it is we that must be grateful to you. I cannot help +suspecting, nay believing, that you are suffering in some degree on our +account; but for fear we should not have time to speak fully, let me +tell you, Langford, the principal object of my coming here. I was +afraid that you might not have means allowed you of communicating with +any of your friends, and, therefore, I was anxious to see you, to ask +what can be done for you, what lawyer can be sent for to you, or what +means can be taken to prove your innocence?" + +"My Alice has never doubted my innocence, then?" said Langford, gazing +tenderly upon her. "I knew, I felt sure, she would not." + +"Of anything like crime, Langford," she said, "I knew you were +innocent, perfectly innocent! I might imagine, indeed--for we women can +hardly judge or tell to what lengths you men may think the point of +honour should carry them--I might imagine, indeed, that you had taken +this unhappy young man's life in honourable quarrel: but even that I +did not believe." + +"Oh, no!" replied Langford; "I should never have dreamt of such a +thing. Nothing could have provoked me to do so. Besides, Alice, did I +not give you my word? and believe me, dear Alice, believe me, now and +ever, that I look upon my word given to a woman as binding as my word +given to a man. Nay, if it were possible, I should say more binding. +because she has fewer means of enforcing its execution. No, no! dear +Alice, I parted with him in the park, within ten minutes after I left +you. It is true, he did try to provoke me to a quarrel, but I was not +to be provoked." + +"I am ashamed of having doubted you, even in that, and for a moment," +replied Alice; "but that doubt sprang solely from a belief that men +often think it a point of honour to conceal their intentions from women +in such matters as these, and believe themselves justified in using any +means to do so. But now, Langford, tell me quickly, what can be done to +prove you innocent? What is there that my father or myself can do to +free you from a situation so painful?" + +"I know little," replied Langford, "that can be done under present +circumstances. It is their task to prove that I am guilty, more than +mine to show that I am innocent: but I hear steps upon the stairs. Who +have we here, I wonder?" + +As he spoke, he opened the door into the other room, which Bertha had +closed behind her; and nearly at the same moment, as the reader may +have anticipated, the outer door at the top of the stairs was thrown +open, and the Earl of Danemore, with a countenance on which hung the +thunder-cloud of deep but suppressed wrath, strode in, followed closely +by Sir Walter Herbert. + +The colour came and went rapidly in Alice's cheek, and her heart beat +very quick. The servant in the outer room looked tremblingly towards +Mistress Bertha; but Bertha herself remained totally unmoved, with her +long sinewy hands, clad in their white mittens, resting calmly upon +each other, and her dark eyes raised full upon the Earl, while not a +quiver of the lip nor a movement of the eyelids betrayed that she was +affected by any emotion whatsoever. Langford drew a little closer to +the side of Alice, while the Earl turned his first wrath upon the +servant. + +His words were few and low, but they were fully indicative of what was +passing in his heart. "I commanded," he said, "that no one should be +admitted here! You have disobeyed my commands. Answer me not a word. +You have disobeyed my commands, and you shall have cause to remember it +to the last day of your life. Silence, I say! Get you gone, and send +hither Wilton and the other groom of the chambers. Madam." he +continued, advancing towards Alice, with a bitter and sarcastic sneer +curling his lip, "Madam, long as I have had the honour of your +acquaintance, I did not know that you were so skilful a tactician till +to-day. To engage me with your serviceable and convenient father, while +you came hither to lay your plans with a personage accused of the +murder of my son, is a stroke, indeed, worthy of a great +politician----" + +Alice had turned pale when he first approached her; but at the words, +"your serviceable and convenient father," the blood rushed up into her +cheek; and though, while turning to look at Sir Walter, whose eyes were +beginning to flash with indignation, she suffered the Earl to finish +his sentence, she stopped him at the word "politician," by raising her +hand suddenly, and then replied at once, with her sweet musical voice +sounding strangely melodious after the harsh tone in which Lord +Danemore had been speaking-- + +"Forbear, my lord," she said, "forbear! Let me prevent you from using +any more words that you will be ashamed of and grieve for hereafter. My +motive in coming to this house to-day was anything but that which you +imply. I came, my lord, because I feared that my father, justly +irritated at some unworthy treatment, might act towards Lord Danemore +as Lord Danemore is now acting towards me: that is to say, might speak +angry words which he would soon be sorry for. I found, however, my +lord, that the kind gentleness of that father's heart was already +sufficient to make him forget the injuries which Lord Danemore sought +to inflict, in the sorrow which Lord Danemore now experiences; and, +though there was a time, my lord, when I believed that the voice of +Alice Herbert had some power to soothe, to tranquillize, and to console +you, I did not flatter myself that such was the case now, and I +remained in consequence without." + +The Earl seemed somewhat moved. He had listened in silence, and drew +himself up to his full height, with an air of attention and thought. +When she paused, however, he demanded, but in a softer tone, "And your +coming here, madam--here, into this room--was, doubtless, perfectly +accidental; a singular coincidence brought you into the apartments of +this worthy gentleman." + +"No, my lord," replied Alice, with a degree of calm dignity that set +his sneers at defiance, "quite on the contrary; as soon as I found that +Captain Langford was still here, I asked Mistress Bertha to conduct me +to see him, which, your lordship will perceive, was very natural," she +added, with the colour becoming deeper and deeper in her cheek, "if you +consider, first, that he was severely injured in my defence; next, that +I have promised him my hand; and, lastly, that I knew him to be both +unjustly charged with a great crime, and in the power of one who +sometimes suffers a nature, originally most noble, to be influenced too +much by strong passions; and a judgment, originally clear and right, to +be darkened and obscured by his own desires and prejudices. My lord," +she added, "the tone which you are pleased to assume towards me obliges +me to speak candidly; I thought it very possible that, circumstanced as +he is, and in your power, this gentleman might meet with obstacles in +establishing his innocence, and in communicating with those who would +defend and advise him. Under these circumstances, I acted as I have +acted, in order to bear any communication from him, either to my +father, or to any other person with whom he might think fit to take +counsel." + +"Madam," replied the Earl, with far less acerbity of manner than +before, "I find that you can judge severely, too. This gentleman shall +have every opportunity of proving his innocence." + +"That, my lord, I will take care of," interrupted Sir Walter Herbert; +"for I certainly will not trust, in the case of my friend, to the +justice of those who, without a shadow of reason, first charged him +with a crime of which he is innocent, and then acted towards him as if +they had nearly proved him guilty." + +"He shall have every opportunity of proving his innocence," reiterated +the Earl, sternly; "but Sir Walter Herbert is the man who judges too +hastily. But yesterday, I said to this same gentleman, this Captain +Langford, as he is pleased to call himself, that his bare word not to +quit these apartments was sufficient. To-day, I say that those bolts +and bars, strong as they are, are not too strong to guard him withal: +for I have not only received, as you well know, the confirmation of my +poor son's death, but I have it proved, beyond all doubt, by the +testimony of those who saw him, that the man who stands before us, +after separating from that son in the park, was seen by four different +people galloping up towards the very moor and at the very time at which +the unhappy boy was murdered. He shall have the full opportunity of +explaining or disproving this hereafter; at present he is a close +prisoner here, till he can be removed to-morrow to the county gaol." + +Alice's cheek grew very pale as the Earl spoke; not that she for a +moment suffered her confidence in Langford's innocence to be shaken; +not that one doubt or one suspicion ever crossed her mind; but that the +words used by the Earl were such as to call up before the eye of +imagination every dark and painful object which could by any chance +connect itself with her lover's situation. The image of Langford, in +the county gaol, immured in a close, noisome cell, as a common felon, +together with all that she knew and all that she had heard of the +prisons of England--then a disgrace to the land--presented itself to +her mind, and made her heart sink within her. + +The eyes of her lover, however, were upon her. He saw the colour fade +away in her cheek; he saw the anxious quivering of that beautiful lip +which had so lately spoken boldly in his defence; but Langford knew and +understood the heart whose treasured affection he had obtained, and +taking her hand in his, he pressed it to his lips, saying, "Fear not, +dear Alice! Let them do their worst. So confident am I in my own +innocence, and in the just laws of a free land, that not the slightest +apprehension crosses my mind, though I may see a disposition to deny me +justice. Strange, too, as it may seem to you, I am well contented to +remain in this house for some time longer; and perhaps," he added, "I +could, even by a single word, change entirely the feelings and views of +its noble owner." + +"I may understand you better than you think, sir," replied the Earl, +gazing upon him with the same knitted brow; "I may know you better than +you believe; but you would find it difficult to change my views and +purposes. At present I have but to say that I cannot suffer Mistress +Alice Herbert to remain here any longer. Bertha," he continued, turning +to the housekeeper, you have done bitterly wrong in bringing her +hither. "I am willing to believe that you knew not how wrong; but I will +deal with you hereafter upon this matter." + +"Earl of Danemore, I did right!" replied the woman, "and I tell you +that it is you who know not what you are doing; but the time will come +when you will repent." + +The Earl's brow grew very dark, but he evidently made a great effort to +command his passions, and he only replied, "You have served me too +faithfully and too long for my anger to have way. But provoke me no +further, I am not in a mood to bear with your bold temper. Now, madam," +he continued, turning to Alice, "we wait your pleasure." + +Langford pressed her hand in his, and grasped that which Sir Walter +extended towards him; "Farewell," he said, "farewell, for the present. +It is useless to stay longer now. All that you can do for me is to +engage some person learned in the law to watch the proceedings against +me, in case I should not be liberated before to-morrow evening. I fear +nothing in the straightforward course of justice; but there are +circumstances in my situation and in my fate," and as he spoke he fixed +his eyes upon the Earl, "which may bring persecution upon me, though +they ought to have the most opposite effect." + +The Earl returned his look stedfastly and sternly, then turned upon his +heel, and waving his hand ceremoniously towards the door, followed Sir +Walter and Alice out of the room. He found the servants that he had +sent for at the head of the stairs, and gave them charge to guard the +prisoner better than he had been previously guarded, to keep the door +constantly locked, and to remain, the one at watch on the outside of +the door, while the other kept guard at the foot of the stairs. He then +walked slowly down into the vestibule, and, in cold silence on all +parts, saw Sir Walter and his daughter mount their horses and depart. + + + + + CHAPTER XIX. + + +Could we but have the heart of the wicked laid open before us; could we +but see how it is torn and wrung by the evil passions that harbour +within it; could we but mark how, even in the strongest and most +determined breast, when bent upon evil purposes, or engaged in wicked +acts, fear and apprehension go hand in hand with every deed of evil, +while repentance, remorse, and punishment follow more slowly, though +not less surely, in the distance; what an instructive, what an awful +lesson it would be, and how fearfully we should shrink back from the +commission of the first crime, as from the brink of a precipice which, +once overleapt, dashes us down over a thousand pointed rocks, even into +the gulf of hell itself! + +When Sir Walter and Alice Herbert had left him, the Earl of Danemore +pressed his hand upon his burning brow for a few moments, while wild +and thrilling thoughts, all painful, all angry, all evil, crossed and +re-crossed each other through his brain. He then turned with a rapid +step, and entered the room where the lawyer had lingered, fearing to +follow to a scene where the violent passions which he knew existed in +his patron's breast were likely to be excited into fury. The Earl +closed the door, and casting himself down into a chair, covered his +eyes with his hands. + +He was roused, however, in a moment, by a voice saying, "Do not grieve +so, Danemore; do not grieve so. It's a sad thing, truly, to have one's +fine boy killed, and never see him again; but we must all die once, and +you'll die too, and very likely not long first, for you are an old man +now. Then we shall be all comfortable again, when we get on the other +side of the mole's habitation. Let me speak to him, Master Kinsight; +why should I not comfort him? We should all comfort each other." + +"I have been trying, my lord," said the lawyer, in an apologetic tone, +as the Earl raised his eyes towards the half-witted man, "I have been +trying to get out of this foolish fellow who were the people that he +saw bury your lordship's noble son. He admits that he knows them all. +but declares that he will never mention the names of any of them." + +The Earl passed his hand once or twice before his eyes, as if to clear +away other images from before his mental vision, ere he returned to the +subject which was again suddenly presented to him. + +"He shall be made to tell," he said, at length, in a stern tone, +knitting his dark brows as he spoke; "he shall be made to tell, after +he has pointed out the spot where the poor boy lies." + +"Why, my lord," answered the lawyer, "we do not need his help for that, +as he himself says that it was under the beech trees by the Mere; but I +am sure I do not know how your lordship will make him speak, for I have +been trying for this half hour, threatening him with your lordship's +displeasure, and to have him put in the cage, and everything I could +think of, but without effect." + +"There are ways would make the dumb speak," replied the Earl. "I have +seen,"--he continued; but then, suddenly breaking off, he changed his +form of speech, and added, "I have heard, I mean to say, of old +Spaniards in the new world, who loved their gold better than their +life, and would have died sooner than reveal the spot where their +treasures were hidden; and yet there have been found ways to make them +speak; there have been found means to make them scream forth the name +of every treasure-cave they had." + +"But, my lord," replied the lawyer, with a somewhat apprehensive look, +"but, my lord, you know in this country we dare not make use of any +such means." + +The Earl gazed at him sternly, and yet somewhat contemptuously. "We +will do everything lawfully, Master Lawyer," he said; "we will do +everything lawfully. First, we are justified, I think, in keeping this +good man in strict confinement till he has declared the names of the +murderers or their accomplices. Next, I believe there is no law which +can compel us, till he is fully committed, to give him either meat or +drink; neither are we told that light must be admitted to the place +where he is held. Dost thou hear, Sir Fool? If thou tellest not +immediately the names of all those who were engaged in this hellish +act, thou shalt be shut up without a crust of bread, or a drop of +water, or a ray of light; and hunger, and thirst, and darkness, shall +be your companions till you do tell." + +The unhappy man gazed in his face for a moment with a wandering and +haggard look, as if he scarcely understood or believed the menaces held +out to him. He replied, at length, however, in a low sad tone, "I have +vowed a vow, and it can't be broken. They call me mad, but I never +broke a promise nor told a falsehood. Let the wise ones say as much if +they can. No! you may quench the light of these eyes for ever; you may +deny me food, or make me perish of thirst; but you shall never make me +tell one word more than I have told." + +"We shall see." replied the Earl, "we shall see;" and he added a few +indistinct words to the lawyer, who withdrew, and almost immediately +returned, accompanied by two or three of the lower grade of serving +men, who instantly laid hands upon the object of the Earl's +indignation, and dragged him out of the room to fulfil the orders which +they had previously received by the mouth of the attorney. + +After they were gone, Lord Danemore paused for a moment thoughtfully, +and the shadows of dark passions might be seen traversing his high and +haughty brow. Ere he spoke he recovered his calmness, and there was +even a degree of melancholy in his tone as he said, "Men drive me to +things that I would not willingly do. It is not the fault of the lion +that he is a beast of prey, nor would he, except when pressed by need, +destroy or devour any being, if the hunters did not torment him by +pursuit. There is a weakness in my heart towards this youth which must +be conquered. I cannot view him as the murderer of my son, although the +tidings we have this day received would in some degree prove this to be +the case. Nevertheless, I will conquer such feelings. I will overcome +such folly, for these very papers prove that it is necessary he should +be removed from my path." + +As he spoke, he laid his hand on the packet of bills of exchange, which +had been sealed up, and remained upon the table. + +The lawyer gazed in his face with a look of some wonder and inquiry; +but the Earl proceeded without explanation. + +"You will act as we before determined," he said; "the evidence that we +have got is now strong, you will take means still further to strengthen +it. There wants but one link in the chain. Amongst all those that you +know in the country round, cannot some one be found, think you, to +supply that link? Some poacher, some deer-stealer, who may have seen +the shot fired or the blow struck, while lurking about on his unlawful +avocations? Some one who might merit forgiveness for his other offences +by bearing testimony in this matter?" + +The lawyer looked down, and hesitated. Although his nature was no ways +scrupulous, yet the bold, straightforward, uncompromising decision of +his patron alarmed rather than encouraged him. + +"I will do my best, my lord," he said, in a low tone; "nothing shall be +wanting that I can do; but at the same time if we can let the matter +prove itself, it would be much better than risking anything by +manufacturing testimony." + +"See that he escape me not," said the Earl, sternly; "see that he +escape me not. Woe be unto you should he do so. Trifle not with petty +means, sir. Timidity in such matters is ruin. Boldly, fearlessly, but +skilfully and carefully, pursue your plan. You have already the +strongest of all foundations to build upon. See that you build well, or +you shall answer to me for it. And now to other matters, though +connected, as you will see, with that of which we have spoken. This Sir +Walter Herbert must be dealt with immediately. If we do not at once +engage him so deeply in his own affairs that he shall have neither +time, nor wish, nor opportunity to meddle with others, he will find +means to mar our schemes, and disappoint all our expectations. Besides, +you know my feelings on the subject; with him the matter must be +brought to a speedy conclusion." + +"That may well be done, my lord," replied the lawyer; "now that he has +tendered you, in payment of his debt, that which you cannot accept, it +is very natural that you should immediately take measures against him. +I myself am not much skilled in such matters, and might make some +mistake; but I saw yesterday at the town-house a person who is now down +here upon some special business, whom I can well trust, and who will, I +know, so manage the matter, that, once having fixed his hands upon this +knight, no turn, no shift, no evasion, scarcely even the power of the +law itself, will make him let go his hold." + +"Indeed!" said the Earl; "indeed! Pray, who is this tenacious +personage?" + +"His name, my lord, is Bolland," replied the lawyer; "he is a man who, +in the good city of London, has made himself a reputation little +inferior to that of a great general. His origin, indeed, was somewhat +low, having been a butcher in the city, a bankrupt, with some suspicion +of fraud in his transactions, and for a certain period, we are told, a +gambler, in a small way of trade." + +"A goodly commencement for a future lawyer!" said the Earl, with a +bitter sneer curling his lip. "Of course he has prospered in the +world?" + +"Your lordship's pardon," replied the other, somewhat sharply, "he is +no lawyer, nor has aught to do with the law but in following its +mandates. He is now a sheriff's officer of the county of Middlesex, but +he is not one to scruple at where he exercises his calling. I have +heard that he is amassing great wealth by the skill with which he deals +with his poor victims; sometimes suffering them to go at large on +payment of a weekly sum, sometimes even furnishing them with money +when, by putting them in this or that calling, he can ensure to himself +cent. per cent. repayment; but never does he suffer any one to slip +through his fingers; and if your lordship will permit me, I will mount +my horse directly, seek out Master Bolland, and charge him to execute a +writ against this Sir Walter." + +"Do, do," said the Earl; "but yet," he continued, "I fear that all we +can do will hardly be in time to prevent this meddling old man--fool I +will not call him, for fool he is not--from taking such steps as may +embarrass our proceedings." + +"I do not know, my lord," replied the lawyer; "I do not know; but one +thing I can answer for, that if you but trust the matter to me and +Bolland, and pay him well for his trouble, Sir Walter Herbert shall be +in the county gaol ere the sun goes down to-night." + +"Indeed!" exclaimed the Earl, "that were quick, indeed. Promise him +this night a hundred pounds if he contrive to execute the writ as you +mention. Now go; no time must be lost." + +But as he saw the lawyer rise to obey his directions, a look of doubt +and hesitation came over his countenance for a moment. "My poor boy +loved the girl," he said, "and therein there is a tie between those +Herberts and myself which I feel to be a weakness; and yet it comes +upon me even now when I think I am destroying the father of one for +whom he felt so tenderly. Stay, Master Attorney, stay. My poor boy +loved the girl!" + +Accursed be all those, doubly accursed, who, when better feelings are +coming over our hearts--when the well of sweet waters is gushing up, +which is found somewhere in almost every desert--when a touch of human +affection is softening the harsh asperity of anger, blunting the sting +of hatred, or relaxing the iron grasp of revenge!--accursed be all +those, I say, who at such moments come in, and rouse up again within us +the evil passions that have been lulled to sleep, and might, perchance, +be strangled in their slumber, if some fiendish voice from without did +not waken them into fresh activity! + +The lawyer saw, with pain, the shade of unwonted gentleness that passed +over his patron's countenance, for his own mind was made up altogether +of the considerations of petty interest, and he foresaw loss in any +relaxation of the other's harsh determinations. + +With the skill of a demon, he instantly perceived how he might turn the +rare drop of honey into gall and bitterness; and he replied, "Yes, my +lord, he did love her dearly, but she did not love him as he deserved +to be loved; and the last most painful feelings of all his life were +brought about by her conduct to him." + +"It is true!" said the Earl, frowning; "it is true! Go, and lose no +time. I have a sad task before me in the meantime, and I would fain +have intrusted you with it, Master Kinsight; but it cannot be. You +would not have time and opportunity to accomplish both." + +"Pray what may it be, my lord?" demanded the lawyer, eagerly, fearful +of losing some other lucrative occupation. "My business with Bolland +will be over in a minute. I give him but directions, and trust the rest +to him. Pray what may it be?" + +"Can you not divine, man?" demanded the Earl, fixing his large stern +eyes upon him; "can you not divine, that it is to seek and bring home +the dead body of my unhappy son from the spot where this idiot says +they have laid him." + +"Oh, my lord!" exclaimed the lawyer, with some touch of human feeling +breaking even through his sordid nature, like a misty ray of sunshine +streaming through a dark cloud; "Oh, my lord! such is no task for you. +It would wring your heart sadly to be present yourself. Besides, the +magistrates ought to be there. Now, after I have spoken with Bolland, +and left the business in his hands, I shall have plenty of time to see +Sir Matthew Scrope and Sir Thomas Waller, and go with them to the spot. +Leave it to me, my lord, leave it to me; and if I bring those two +worthy justices over here with me, we may, perhaps, find some means of +making this half-witted man give us further information regarding the +murderers." + +"Bring them not! bring them not!" replied the Earl, vehemently. "Mark +me, my good friend! In this matter I am moved by many very opposite +feelings. You know--you must feel, for you are a father yourself, how I +thirst to discover, and to drink the heart's blood of my son's +murderer! and yet I doubt that this fool, if forced to speak to any +other ear but my own, might reveal matter which might tend to exculpate +him whom we have there shut up above, and who must be swept from my +path, if I would have any peace during my remaining years. I am not a +man to live in doubt or hesitation; and as soon as any man gives me +cause to fear him, the matter between us must be brought to an issue at +once, and he or I must fall! No," he added, "no! bring not those men +hither! I am sick of them. We must use them as tools, but not let them +use us. Take them, then, with you to search under the beech trees, but +bring them not hither. When all is done, return yourself, and let me +know. I shall have occupation enough in the meantime to busy my +thoughts with things less sad, though not less painful, perhaps, than +the task which I make over to you--and now go quickly." + +"Shall I take these papers with me?" demanded the lawyer, laying his +hand upon the packet of bills of exchange which had been sealed up +before Sir Walter Herbert. + +"No!" answered the Earl, sternly; "leave them where they are." + +"I thought they were to be deposited with me?" rejoined the agent, with +a lingering affection for the money which he could not restrain, even +though he feared to offend his patron. + +"I say, sir, leave them where they are, and go upon your errand," +rejoined the Earl, in a tone not to be misunderstood; and without +uttering another word, he pointed towards the door, and drove the +lawyer out of the room by the fierce sternness of his gaze. + +As soon as he was gone and the door closed, the Earl took up the packet +and deliberately broke the seals; then examined each of the papers +minutely, muttering as he did it, "I thought so--I thought so. They +have watched all that I have done; they have tracked me from land to +land, and they have gained that knowledge of my past deeds which they +think will give them power over me, and force me to do that which they +know I would never do without. But they shall find themselves mistaken. +Yet when I think upon all the past, the memory of friendship and of +love is stronger even than hatred and apprehension; and I find that the +lines graven on the soft heart of youth in early days may be crossed +and traversed by many others in after life, but can never wholly be +erased. Would to God that they had not driven me to it; would to God +that they did not thrust themselves in the path of one who is forced to +go forward on his way; who cannot, who must not, go back; who must +trample on all that oppose him! But I am weak again; I am weak, to +think of such things. He has sought his fate, and he must find it. Yet +I will see him once more; I will make myself sure of myself and of him +before I do that which can never be recalled; but not now--not in the +broad day. He is too like the dead; and the dark glimmer of the lamp, +or the blue gleam of the lightning, gives the only light by which we +should meet. I doubt that woman Bertha, too--I doubt her much, but yet +I love not to question her about such things; for she will come harshly +upon the bitter subject of the past, and will turn once more those +memories, which time is softening and rendering more gentle, into all +that is dark, and bitter, and fearful." + +Such were some of the words that broke from the bosom of a man torn by +contending passions. They were spoken also; they were words as well as +thoughts; for he was one with whom the struggles of the impatient +spirit within, especially in his solitary moments, often mastered the +guard set habitually upon the lips, and gave voice to thoughts and +feelings, when alone, which he most anxiously concealed when the +watchful and oppressive world was around him. + +Again and again he looked over these papers, and again and again some +new comment sprang to his lips; but his thoughts evidently became more +and more painful as his mind was drawn forcibly back to dwell upon the +past; and at length, covering his eyes with his hands, he gave way to +many a bitter and mingled feeling, and groaned aloud in agony of heart, +as he recollected the deeds he had done--the flowers he had trampled +on--the treasures he had scattered from his path, never to be found +again. + + + + + CHAPTER XX. + + +About four hours after the period at which we closed the last chapter, +a number of persons were to be seen collected between the grove of +beech trees on the moor and the long sheet of shallow water called +Upwater Mere. They were of a varied and a motley character; for there +might be seen the worshipful and the honourable of the county on +horseback; and thence downward, going in progression through the +ownership of many a four-footed beast, appeared all classes of the +community, till you came to the poorest of poor labourers, who had not +even a cur to follow him. + +At the head of the group, and leading its operations with pompous +dignity, appeared the portly persons of Sir Matthew Scrope and Sir +Thomas Waller; and behind them again, prompting their motions, though +appearing to submit to their will, were four other personages on +horseback; that is to say, their own joint clerk as justices of the +peace; Master Nicolas, clerk of the receiver of the county, whose +narrow escape from the hands of the Philistines we have recorded in +another place; Master Kinsight, attorney-at-law, agent and lawyer to +the Earl of Danemore; and a certain black-bearded, round-faced, +keen-eyed gentleman, strong, though not long, in limb, mounted upon a +spirited blood nag, with a certain knowing look both about master and +beast which betokened in each great acquaintance with the ways of the +world. + +The lawyer Kinsight called him Master Bolland, and often commented to +him in a whisper upon the proceedings of the party they accompanied. +Bolland rarely made any verbal reply, but he looked volumes; and the +wink of his black eye was made, by its different characters, to express +almost as many things as Lord Burleigh's shake of the head. + +The greater part of the body had come thither in procession from the +neighbouring county town. Some had joined it on the way, and some had +been found already waiting on the heath; but as soon as the whole party +was assembled by the side of the beech trees, a perquisition was +commenced in order to discover any ground which might seem to have been +recently moved; and, ere any very long search had been made, a part of +the thin green turf showed, amidst the rank blades of grass which +covered the ground beneath the trees, a quantity of scattered mould, +clearly indicating the spot they sought. + +As soon as this discovery was made, a new difficulty presented itself. +It was found that, with a degree of foresight common to county +magistrates in those days, the worthy and worshipful knights who came +to exhume the body reported to be interred there, had forgotten to +order any spades, shovels, or pickaxes to be brought with them; and +there they were, in the midst of a wide moor, where no implement of the +kind was to be found within a mile or two. On the first mention of this +want, one of the more active of the lads who had accompanied the party, +set off as hard as his legs could carry him in the direction of the +little town of Moorhurst; but as that town was at several miles +distance, some of the other person present suggested that it would be +better to send up to the farm which had lately been taken by Farmer +Gray, just upon the edge of the moor; and while this suggestion was +actually being followed, a discussion naturally arose in regard to +Farmer Gray, his character, habits, appearance, station, fortune, and +farm. + +"Ay, he has got a bad bargain of it," said a sturdy farmer in a white +smock frock, which concealed the greater part of a strong short-backed +pony that he bestrode; "ay, he has got a bad bargain of it; and if he +do not mind what he's about, he'll do for himself. I might have had the +farm for an old song if I had liked, but I'd have nothing to do with +such poor swampy stuff. Why, the place has been out of lease for two +years!" + +"He'll do very well," grunted another of the same class. "I'm sorry I +did not take the place myself. He'll do very well; he comes from +Lincolnshire, and knows that sort of land. At least, I saw 'Franklin +Gray, Squash-lane, Lincolnshire,' upon one of his carts. He'll do very +well. He has the finest horses in the country, too." + +"I wonder you call those fine horses, Master Brown," said a respectable +labourer, who overheard the conversation; "they are no more fitted for +hard work than my sick wife Jane; and as for the matter of that, Farmer +Gray will never be much liked hereabouts, for he's brought all his own +labourers with him, and that's a hard case upon the people of the +place. They say he has been a soldier, too; and I'm sure he don't look +like a farmer, or anything half as honest. Why, he goes about in a +laced jacket, like a gentleman; and I never saw him at market, not I." + +"I'll tell you what," cried a sturdy drover who had joined the group, +"he's as good a judge of cattle, for all that, as any man in this +country. He knows a beast when he sees it, doesn't he! Why, he bought +half a score of me the other day, and paid me down, drink-money and +all, without a word." + +Such were the comments that took place upon Franklin Gray, in one of +the groups into which the party had divided itself. Something similar, +with a very slight variation from the different class and character of +the speakers, was taking place amongst the rest; and all the little +investigating spirit which is excited by the arrival of a stranger in a +country place, especially if that stranger be somewhat reserved in his +habits, was exercising itself in regard to Franklin Gray, amongst the +whole of the assembly on the moor. + +Lawyer Kinsight ventured to hint that he suspected Farmer Gray had been +a bankrupt in Lincolnshire before he came into their county; but this +was instantly contradicted by several others who had had dealings with +him, and who represented him as possessing all those excellent +qualities which gold invariably bestows upon its owner. Two or three of +the young men talked of Farmer Gray's beautiful wife, but declared she +was as coy and backward as if she had been old and ugly. Some had only +caught a sight of her; some had heard her speak; and some had never +even seen her, but were in raptures with her beauty on the mere report +of others. What between the rumours of the wife's beauty, the husband's +wealth, and the report of his wearing a laced jacket like a gentleman, +Sir Matthew Scrope and Sir Thomas Waller found the two organs of +curiosity and reverence in their respective brains considerably excited +regarding Franklin Gray, and they entered into slow and solemn +discussion as to whether, under existing circumstances, they should or +should not pay him a formal visit. + +At the end of about half an hour, however, some one was seen coming +slowly across the moor on horseback, accompanied by two or three +others; and in due time appeared the person who had been sent for the +spades and shovels, accompanied by Franklin Gray himself, with two or +three men furnished with implements for digging. Gray was mounted on a +fine powerful horse, full of fire and activity, which he sat in a very +different manner from that in which the personages around him bestrode +their beasts; and there was something in his whole appearance and +demeanour which made the greater part of the men assembled take off +their hats as he rode up. + +There was only one person present, with the exception of the drover, +who showed the slightest sign of recognition, and that was Master +Bolland, who gave a sudden start, and then turned pale, as the stern +fierce eye of Franklin Gray fixed, for a moment, full upon him, with a +meaning, perhaps a menacing, look. He ventured upon no other token of +acquaintanceship, however; and Gray, riding up at once to the +magistrates, bowed to them somewhat haughtily, and said, "I am happy to +hear, from this good man, that your worships have discovered the place +where the poor young nobleman's body has been concealed; indeed, I +expected no less from your known wisdom, as soon as I heard that you +had taken the matter in hand. I have now come down at once to offer you +every assistance in my power, and to say that I hope some means will be +immediately taken for putting a stop to all these terrible things that +are daily occurring in the county. Indeed, no one is so much interested +as I am; for, having taken this lone farm here, I am obliged to cross +the moor constantly, often with large sums about me, and it is but fit +that we should have protection under such circumstances." + +"That it is, indeed, Master Gray," said Master Nicolas, the clerk, "I +am just in the same condition as yourself; and I hope at the very next +meeting of the magistrates something will be done." + +"Depend upon it, depend upon it!" said Sir Matthew Scrope, "something +shall be done, Master Nicolas; something shall be done, Master Franklin +Gray! I should be very glad to confer with you on the subject, sir," he +added, addressing the latter, for whom his reverence was getting very +high; "and we will taste together my last year's cider, which is now +just in its prime. But now let us fall to work;" and he and the rest +accordingly dismounted from their horses, and directed the labourers to +dig up that part of the ground which bore marks of having been lately +moved. + +Shovelful after shovelful of earth was thrown out, and the work had +proceeded some way, when, cantering quickly along the road, appeared +two or three persons, who proved to be Sir Walter Herbert and his +servants. The countenances of Sir Matthew Scrope and Sir Thomas Waller +immediately fell; and the first impulse of the former was to bid the +workmen suspend their proceedings; after which he turned to his +comrade, beckoned up the clerk and the Earl of Danemore's lawyer, and +held with them a quick whispering conference apart. + +In the meanwhile, Sir Walter came up and dismounted from his horse, +while every head was uncovered around, and every face beamed with a +smile of pleasure and satisfaction to see him there. + +"I have come," he said, "gentlemen, to be a witness of the execution of +that painful task which you have undertaken, and to see, perhaps for +the last time, the body of my poor young friend, Lord Harold, whose +death has unfortunately been made the pretext for accusing another +friend, not less noble and excellent, of a foul and horrible crime." + +"Pretext, sir, pretext!" exclaimed Sir Thomas Waller; "I do not know +what you mean by pretext. Do you mean to charge me, sir? Do you mean to +insinuate, sir?--should such imputations as these go on, I shall +certainly order the work to be suspended, for we are not going to +proceed with this matter to be insulted." + +"Sir Thomas," replied the other, "I have no intention of insulting you; +and the only effect of your ordering the work to be suspended will be, +that I shall order it to go on. You forget, sir, that I am not only a +magistrate, as well as yourself, but Lord of the Manor on which you +stand. Go on my good fellows, and make good speed!" + +The men required no other authority, but with redoubled activity plied +their work, and in a few moments a long deal case was discovered, +rudely put together. The labourers tried to take the top off at once, +but they could not accomplish it, and after digging round it on all +sides, they lifted the heavy burden carefully out and laid it upon the +edge of the pit. The whole crowd gathered round, pressing somewhat +roughly upon the principal personages, who occupied the front stations +about the grave. Sir Matthew Scrope put on his spectacles, and rubbed +his hands, as if arriving near some long-desired consummation. Sir +Walter Herbert stood near the foot of the coffin, if it could be so +called, and gazed upon it with a brow of sorrow and something bright +glistening in his eye. Franklin Gray looked on sternly, with his arms +crossed upon his broad bull-like chest, and his brow gathered into a +heavy frown. + +There was some difficulty in wrenching up the top. But at length one of +the labourers, forcing the spade between it and the sides, tore it +open, and exposed to view the ghastly spectacle of death within. + +Those who were without saw nothing but the form of a dead man; but +amongst those who immediately surrounded the chest, there were +exclamations of surprise, which made the rest press forward to get a +nearer view, and it was then perceived by all who had known Lord Harold +that the body was that of a stranger. In the centre of the forehead was +a small round wound, spreading from which on every side was a dark +discoloured bruise, and a considerable quantity of blood had run down +and disfigured the face, on which it had been suffered to remain. Still +the features were sufficiently distinct to show every one that this was +not the corpse that they expected to find; and though each countenance +around was pale with agitation and awe, yet on the lip of Sir Walter +Herbert and of many others there appeared a smile of hope renewed. + +That smile was almost immediately done away, however, when they could +look further, for across the breast of the dead man lay a paper, on +which was written, in a large bold hand "The punishment of him who shot +Edward Lord Harold." + +The first who read the paper was the magistrate's clerk, and the words +were circulated in a low murmur from one to another around. But at the +same time Master Nicolas, the clerk to the receiver of the county, +pressed forward, as if moved by some sudden impulse, and getting as +near the head of the corpse as he could, he gazed eagerly in its face, +exclaiming, "It is! yes, I declare it is! It is the very same man whom +I saw lying on the road that night when the robbers laid hold of +Mistress Alice Herbert, and he was one of them, too, beyond all doubt." + +"Doubtless it must be the same," said Franklin Gray, gravely. "I think +I never saw a more rascally countenance in my life, or one that seemed +more likely to deserve the fate that he has met with." + +"His clothes are very good, however," said Sir Matthew Scrope; "they +don't look like those of a robber. Why, I declare there is as much lace +as would cost two or three marks any day." + +"It's the same man, however," reiterated Master Nicolas; "that I will +swear to; and that he was a robber, there can be little doubt, from +what happened to Mistress Alice Herbert. Is it not so, Sir Walter?" + +"Undoubtedly," replied Sir Walter. "There is no doubt--there can be no +doubt that robbery was their purpose. Nor is it improbable that this is +one of them. One man was wounded and disarmed by my excellent friend, +Captain Langford. The other was beaten down and stunned by the poor +innocent John Graves, and he it was, Master Nicolas, whom you saw upon +the road. Let all these matters be taken down," he continued, looking +round him for some one who was capable of the task. + +"Where is the coroner?" Sir Walter demanded, abruptly, when he could +not discover that officer amidst those around. "He should have been +here. Why was he not summoned? When a body supposed to be murdered is +discovered buried in a lonely common like this, it is natural to ask, +where is the coroner? and to deprecate excessively his not being on the +spot. May I ask, Sir Matthew, whether, in all the informal and somewhat +extraordinary steps which you have thought fit to take, you have +remembered the simple one of calling to your aid the coroner of the +county?" + +"Why, sir," replied Sir Matthew Scrope, in some confusion, "we were so +hurried to decide, we were so pressed onward for time, that I do not +know how it was, the coroner was forgotten." + +"In short, sir," replied Sir Walter Herbert, "you forgot all except +that which might serve your own purpose: you forgot all except that +which might condemn an innocent man; and the regular course of justice +in the land was in no degree attended to! This must be remedied. I, as +a magistrate, must demand that the coroner be instantly sent for. He +should have witnessed the exhumation. He should have been present at +every step through all this business; and you, my good friends, the +yeomen of this county, will witness that in taking cognizance of all +these transactions, the proper officer of the crown has not been upon +the spot--has not received any summons to attend, and that, from the +very beginning to the close, two magistrates alone have conducted the +whole investigation, showing a great disinclination to any open inquiry +into their conduct or purposes." + +"That we will!--that we will!" cried several voices; and one or two +persons from the little town of Moorhurst gave point to Sir Walter's +charge, by mentioning the name of Langford, and declaring that he had +won the love of all around him, instead of injuring anybody. + +At the same time, however, the attorney was seen whispering eagerly to +Master Bolland, who on his part seemed to show some slight degree of +hesitation, listening silently to the promptings of the lawyer, eyeing +from time to time Sir Walter Herbert, and then scanning the crowd +around. + +Sir Matthew Scrope by this time was at the end of his eloquence, and +though he swelled and coloured like an offended turkey-cock, he made no +reply to Sir Walter Herbert. The other magistrate, however, bristled up +in his own defence, vowed that what they had done in regard to Langford +was perfectly justifiable, and ended by striking his clenched fist upon +his thigh, and swearing, with not a very worshipful oath, that the +prisoner should be fully committed to the county gaol the very next +day, in spite of all the Walter Herberts in the land. + +The old knight was about to reply, and probably in the heat of the +moment might have said things that he would afterwards have regretted; +but, during Sir Thomas Waller's angry declaration, Master Holland had +walked round; and now, with a thin slip of parchment in his hand, he +laid his finger on Sir Walter Herbert's shoulder, saying, "Sir Walter +Herbert, knight, I arrest you in the name of the sheriff of the county +of ----, at the suit of the Earl of Danemore." + +The old man turned very pale, and put his hand to his head, saying, +"This is most strange, and most unhandsome!" + +The people who stood around were all taken by surprise, and all felt +more or less a sensation of grief, compassion, and indignation, so that +there came a profound silence for the space of about a minute over the +whole multitude. Even Sir Matthew Scrope and Sir Thomas Waller gazed as +well as the rest with painful emotions in the pale but noble +countenance of the old Knight of Moorhurst, as, standing by the side of +the dead body which they had so lately disinterred, he felt a momentary +regret that he himself was not cold, and silent, and feelingless, like +it. + +The silence lasted for about a minute, but then it was suddenly broken +by an unexpected event. One of the young farmers, who had been standing +by Bolland and the lawyer while they conversed, glanced from the +honoured countenance of Sir Walter Herbert to the shrewd, mean face of +Master Kinsight. He seemed to struggle during that temporary silence +with strong emotions; but then, giving way to a burst of unconquerable +indignation, he struck the lawyer a violent blow in the face, with his +clenched fist, exclaiming, "D--n thee! it is thou hast done all this +mischief!" + +The lawyer was stretched by that one blow at his feet, with the blood +starting from his mouth and nostrils. A general commotion took place +amongst the people; violent hands were laid instantly upon Bolland. +They declared that "Sir Walter, good Sir Walter, should not be taken +from among them." The magistrates in vain endeavoured to interpose; and +the peasantry, trampling the lawyer under their feet, dragged the +sheriff's officer forward to the side of the Mere, declaring they would +half drown him for his pains, and do the same to Sir Matthew Scrope and +Sir Thomas Waller, if they did not get upon their horses and ride away +with all speed. + +The warning was not lost upon them; but each, scrambling upon his +beast, and followed by their clerk and Master Nicolas, got out of the +affray as fast as they could, and made the best of their way back to +the county town, where they arrived as the evening was just closing in. + +In the meanwhile, Bolland was saved from the fate prepared for him by +the voice of Sir Walter Herbert, who with much difficulty made himself +heard, and induced the peasantry to release the bailiff. + +"Master officer," he added, as soon as he saw that the people had taken +their unwilling hands off Bolland, who, with his under-jaw stuck out +and his hat knocked off his head, remained standing with an air of +dogged determination by the side of the water, "Master officer, having +been appointed to see the law executed, I am not one to resist it, and +am ready to submit to your arrest this moment!" + +"Hang me if thou shalt!" cried one of the farmers. "If that man put a +finger on thee again, I'll beat the soul out of him; so look to it, +bailiff! and with your leave, Sir Walter, we'll see you safe down to +your own house; for go with him you shan't, whether you like it or +not!" + +Sir Walter looked with some degree of hesitation in the face of the +officer, who nodded as if to signify that he understood him, and then +replied aloud, "It's no use, sir, it's no use! The writ's gone to the +devil amidst these mad people, so you had better do what they would +have you." + +"So be it then," replied Sir Walter Herbert; "and I doubt not ere +to-morrow to be able to raise funds to discharge this claim of Lord +Danemore's. But now let us look after that unworthy but unfortunate +man, Kinsight, whom I saw knocked down and trampled upon. My good +friends, you have been violent, much too violent, in this business. No +one has a right to interrupt the course of the law; far less to injure +those who, however ungenerously they may demean themselves, are not +overstepping its authority." + +While Bolland slunk away, and, joining a group of people from the +county town who had held aloof from the affray, mounted his horse, and +made his way across the moor, Sir Walter returned to the spot where the +attorney had been knocked down, and beheld, with feelings of great pain +and anxiety, that though he still breathed, he was quite insensible, +and had evidently received various severe injuries. It was in vain that +he endeavoured to impress upon the peasantry about him that a great +wrong and a great crime had been committed. + +The only answer he could obtain was, "It serves him right!" and with +difficulty he prevailed upon some of the labourers to place the hurt +man upon the cover of the large wooden case they had dug up, and to +carry him down to the small town of Moorhurst, in order to obtain +medical assistance. The body of the dead man which they had +disinterred, and which has been already recognised by the reader as +that of the robber, Wiley, was also carried down to Moorhurst; and, +before he even returned to the Manor House, Sir Walter despatched a +messenger to the coroner, briefly narrating the events that had +occurred. + +While the rescue of Sir Walter Herbert was taking place, Franklin Gray +had remained looking on, with his arms folded on his chest, and an +expression of no slight satisfaction curling his lip. As soon as +Bolland, however, was set free and rode away, Gray threw himself upon +his horse again, and galloped after him over the moor. He overtook him +at the distance of about four miles from the county town, and called to +him by his name. It was evident from the countenance of Bolland, as he +turned round to see who it was that followed him, that he had no great +taste for Franklin Gray's society. The other, however, pushed on his +horse till he came upon a line with him; and then, just touching him +with the cane he carried in his hand, he said, "Stop a moment, Master +Bolland; I want a word with you." + +"Do you mean really to say _stop?_" demanded Bolland, with a grim +smile. "How am I to take you, Captain?" + +"Why, not in the sense you're afraid of," answered Gray. "I only want +to ask you a question. Are you fully aware, Master Bolland, that I +could hang you to-morrow, if I liked it?" + +Bolland hesitated, but then replied, "Why, perhaps I could do the same +good turn for you, Captain." + +"That would be difficult," answered Gray. "I know my own fate, Master +Bolland: and though there is no fear of my ever dying in my bed, like a +consumptive school-girl, there is as little chance of my dying on a +scaffold. As to you, you are as sure of being hanged as if the rope +were now round your neck;[1] but I, for my part, have no wish to put it +there, and I want a plain answer to my simple question. Are you fully +aware that I could hang you to-morrow, if I liked it?" + + +--------------- + +[Footnote 1: He was, indeed, tried some years afterwards for forgery +and made a very brilliant defence on his trial, which however availed +him nothing. He was hanged for the offence, which was one of the least +crimes he had committed, and at his death were disclosed a thousand +acts of infamy which had been perpetrated by him under the mantle of +our dreadful law of imprisonment for debt.] + +--------------- + + +"To be candid with you. Master Gray," replied Bolland, "I believe you +might, if you have still got a certain awkward piece of paper in your +hands; but I think it would be a dangerous matter for you to undertake, +for I might give the beaks a clue----" + +"That has nothing to do with the question," rejoined Gray; "all I +wanted to be sure of was that you knew how we stood towards each other. +I like to have some hold upon gentlemen of your cloth, who think fit to +look as if they had seen me before." + +"Oh, I am a man of honour, Captain," replied Bolland; "you know I would +not do an unhandsome thing by a gentleman for the world." + +"I am now quite sure that you would not do so by me," replied Gray; "so +good night, Master Bolland." And thus speaking, he turned his horse and +galloped off over the moor, upon which the shades of night were now +rapidly descending. + + + + + CHAPTER XXI. + + +With a sad heart, Sir Walter Herbert turned towards his own dwelling, +after having taken all the proper steps to secure medical assistance +for the lawyer of the Earl of Danemore, and to have a proper +investigation instituted regarding the death of the man whose body had +been found buried in the moor. Every circumstance combined to sadden +and pain him; the imprisonment of Langford and the uncertainty of his +fate, the strange and somewhat fearful event attending the finding of +the dead body, the scene of violence and outrage which had occurred on +the attempt to arrest him, the dangerous condition of the lawyer, and +the severe punishment likely to be inflicted, if he should die, upon +the warm-hearted people who had taken part in the affray, might well +have rendered the good knight melancholy and desponding, even if care +had not pressed heavily upon him in regard to his own affairs. + +He went home, however, under the full impression that the writ against +him would be renewed on the morrow, and that twelve or fourteen hours +was the whole space of time which would be allowed him to prepare for +the payment of the debt. He had to tell his sweet daughter all these +painful facts; he had to require of her to give up for the sake of his +liberty the small fortune which she called her own; he had himself to +take means as rapidly as possible to sell the old family plate, which +he had seen standing on his sideboard for fifty years; and bitterer +than all, he had to sell those jewels which had been worn by the wife +he had always truly loved; many a sweet token of early affection; the +gems that she had received on her wedding morning, and many a trinket +and ornament which marked in the calendar of past time some bright +days, some happy hours, that could return no more. + +Even then, perhaps, all would not be sufficient, and he thought of what +more could be sacrificed to satisfy the claim against him. His horses, +his carriages, they could indeed be sold, but this would not go far; +his library, if disposed of in haste, would not bring half its value; +his pictures, though chosen with much knowledge and fine taste, would +be thrown away in that remote part of the country; and he pondered, and +calculated, and doubted till he reached his own doorway. + +"Halliday," he said to the servant whom he met, "I wish you would mount +Whitefoot as soon as possible, and ride over to the county town. There +tell honest Master Antony Evelyn, attorney-at-law, to come over here +without a moment's delay, bringing his clerk with him; and also if you +can find Brooks the jeweller, make him come too." + +The man bowed without reply, and Sir Walter went into the room where +his daughter sat expecting him. Her arms were round his neck in a +moment; and the expression of her countenance, which had become very +pale under the grief and agitation of the last few days, told him, +without her speaking, how anxiously she had watched for him, and how +apprehensive she had been of some new evil. + +"I have been detained very long from you, my sweet Alice," he said, +trying to look as cheerful as he could; "but several extraordinary +things have occurred to detain me. Nay, look not alarmed, dear Alice; +some of those things are to a certain extent satisfactory. The body of +poor Lord Harold has not been found, but in the place where it was +supposed to be laid, was discovered another body, that of a man who had +evidently met with a violent death; and on the breast was placed a +paper, intimating that it was the corpse of him who had murdered Lord +Harold, or something to that effect. This must tend, my dear girl," he +continued, taking his child's hand between both of his, as he saw that +the very mention of such circumstances affected her very much--"this +must tend greatly to hasten our dear friend Langford's exculpation, as +he could have no hand in the burial of this unknown person, having been +at that very time in confinement on this false charge, when poor Silly +John Graves saw the corpse interred. It must, therefore, I say, greatly +tend to hasten his exculpation." + +"Thank God for that, my dear father!--thank God for that!" replied +Alice; not with the usual levity with which such an exclamation is +often uttered, but with true thankfulness, deep and sincere. "If +Langford were but free, I think--at least I hope--that you and he, by +consulting together, might soon find means of removing all the other +terrible things that now seem to be hanging over us." + +"His liberation would at once remove one great difficulty," replied Sir +Walter; "for the Earl would no longer have a pretext for detaining the +money which I tendered him, as he most unhandsomely and ungenerously +did this morning; but I see that it is the Earl's object to pain and +injure me." + +"But tell me what more has happened, my dear father," said Alice, +seating herself beside him; "I see by your face that the rest of your +tidings are not so agreeable as the first part. Indeed, I know that you +always tell me the pleasant news first, and then would fain not let me +hear the rest at all. But, indeed, dear father, I am prepared--I am +fully prepared; and wherefore am I your child, if not to share and +lighten your cares and anxieties?" + +"Thou dost lighten them, my Alice," answered her father; "thou dost +lighten them by thy very looks; but still, my dear child, I have much +that is painful to tell, and if it were possible, would fain keep it to +my own breast. But it must be told, Alice, for your father must at +length come to his child for aid." + +"Oh that his child's powers to grant it were as great as her will, my +father. Do you know, I do not look upon a little adversity, my dear +father, with so evil an eye as you do. I could almost wish for it, if +it did not go too far, and make you unhappy; to show you how easily I +could bear it, and to have the means of paying you back all the +kindness, and tenderness, and care you have shown me." + +She spoke with a smile, but there was nothing harsh to the feelings of +Sir Walter in her playfulness even at that moment, for it was mixed +with sadness, like the gleam of the blue sky through a stormy cloud. He +pressed her to his bosom, and he told her all that had occurred; and +she felt more bitterly than even he had, the insult and the degradation +which had been offered to him. She thought of her father's years and of +his character; she thought of him, not only as her own parent, but as +the benevolent master, the kind friend, the liberal landlord, the +benefactor of all that came near him; and when she heard that an +attempt had been made, unannounced, to arrest him for debt, in the +midst of the tenantry that reverenced him, in the face of the country +where he had lived and done good through a long life, indignation was +strong in her heart; and, as she would not give it words, it broke +through the silken lashes of her eyes in tears. + +"There are many painful points in this business, dear Alice," continued +her father; "should this lawyer die, which seems to me but too likely, +from his state, poor young Rapson, who struck him the first blow, is +likely to fall under severe punishment." + +"Oh, heaven forbid that he should die!" exclaimed Alice, eagerly; +"though he is a bad man, and an unkind one, I trust that so severe a +fate may not overtake him, especially under such circumstances as +these." + +"I trust not, also, my sweet Alice," replied her father; "the man +doubtless acted but as he was told to act; and, indeed, the whole +demeanour of Lord Danemore this morning shows that these ungenerous +actions are his, not those of the mere tools that he employs. But I am +grieved for the dangerous situation in which this rash young man has +placed himself; for though the first blow is all that is to be +attributed to him, and the more severe injuries the man has received +proceeded from his being trodden under foot by the people----" + +Alice covered her eyes with her hands, and gave a slight shudder at the +image thus presented to her sight; and her father seeing the effect his +words had produced, turned to the more immediate matter of which he had +to speak. In fact he had but dwelt upon the collateral part of the +business, from an unwillingness to approach things that he thought +would be more personally painful to his daughter. Feeling that it must +be done, however, he now went on. + +"Well, well, Alice," he continued, "I will not speak of these horrible +things any more, though what I have to say may be equally painful. I am +afraid, my dear child, that in the course of to-morrow we shall have a +new visit from this sheriff's officer. He knows, from all that has +passed, that I will not resist the law, and that my doors will never be +shut in order to avoid its execution. Under these circumstances he is +sure to pursue his object, and consequently I must in some way be +prepared to meet him. The sacrifice of the small fortune you possess +independent of me, which that rascally lawyer proposed to you some +nights ago, your father must now propose himself, however painful it +may be to him." + +"Thank you, thank you, my dear father," exclaimed Alice, throwing her +arms around his neck, "you cannot think how happy you make me." + +"But, alas, my dear child," continued Sir Walter, "this is not all. +What you can supply will be but a part; I must instantly be prepared +with a much larger sum; the house must be stripped of its paintings, +all our old favourite horses must know other masters, the plate must be +sold; even the carriages and the furniture, except merely that of those +rooms which we inhabit, must fetch what they may. The shelves of my +library must be emptied; ay, Alice, and even more, for even this will +not be enough. Your mother's jewels, my sweet girl, those jewels which +were always destined for yourself, which are, indeed, yours by right, +they too must go to adorn strangers." + +Alice's heart was very full, and the tears would fain have rushed up +into her eyes; but the resolute determination of a woman's mind, when +roused by noble motives to a great effort, will triumph over mental as +well as over bodily pangs, and bear them as if they existed not. By a +sharp struggle, Alice repressed the fountain of her tears, for she knew +that the slightest sign of reluctance would add to the anguish of her +father's heart: that to give way to her own sorrow would more than +double his. Not a tear then stained her cheek, and she only replied, +"What better use could they be put to, my father, than to avert such a +painful event as that which you expect. As jewels, of course, I care +not for them, and only think of them as my mother's; but I know how +willingly that dear mother would have sacrificed them to buy one +moment's comfort, and I will only ask for one ring as a remembrance, if +it makes no difference--the ring which she always wore." + +She spoke calmly, though not cheerfully; but Sir Walter knew all that +was passing in his daughter's heart, as well as if he could have seen +its movements, and the gentle restraint she put upon herself affected +him, perhaps, more than her tears would have done. He pressed her hands +in his, and then turned to the window to conceal his emotion. + +The sun had just set, and the sky was still full of light, though, +halfway between the horizon--where the deep blue distance cut upon the +bright golden expanse of the heavens--and the zenith--where the orange +hues melted into rich purple--there hung a dark heavy cloud. + +Alice had followed her father to the window, and both, as they gazed +upon the expanse before them, suffered imagination to find an image in +the scene. Sir Walter thought that the warm golden space below +resembled the past years of his existence, that the dark cloud looked +like his present fate, and that the purple sky above was that far land +beyond the grave to which his footsteps were rapidly hastening. His +daughter's was a more hopeful vision, and with her, fancy reversed the +objects. The calm purple sky over their heads was the sweet tranquil +past; the dark cloud was, indeed, the present; but in the golden light +beyond, she saw a future of warm happy days. There was an indistinct +feeling, however, that her father read the sight less cheerfully, and +she told him how she read the heavens before her. + +Sir Walter sighed, but he would not check her by giving the more +melancholy picture; and even as she spoke, the wind moved the heavy +cloud slightly to the east, and in the midst of the bright and intense +light below burst forth a clear brilliant star, outshining all the +splendour that surrounded it. + +"There, there!" cried Alice, with all the enthusiasm of a young and +ardent heart, finding in that sight fresh auguries of hope. "There, +there!" + +Her father turned and pressed her to his heart, only replying, "May it +be so, beloved; may it be so." + +The rest of the evening passed, till about ten o'clock at night, in +making various painful arrangements for effecting what Sir Walter had +proposed. He had calculated that between ten and eleven o'clock his +servant Halliday would return with the lawyer and the jeweller whom he +had sent for, and when about half-past ten the bell at the great gates +was rung, he doubted not that it gave notice of their arrival. One of +the other servants, however, appeared a few minutes afterwards, and +with a grave face, and a manner that seemed to court interrogation, he +announced that two strange men demanded to see Sir Walter. + +"I suppose Master Evelyn has not been able to come himself," said the +knight, "and has sent some of his clerks. Show them in." + +The man proceeded to obey, but when the door opened, with grief and +astonishment Sir Walter beheld the face of John Bolland, who was +followed by another person of the same stamp. + +"How is this, sir," exclaimed the Knight, "how is this? you know very +well that it is not legal to execute an arrest for debt after sunset, +and I am even now making preparations for paying this sum to-morrow +morning." + +"Ay, you see, Sir Walter," replied Bolland, with an air of cool +insolence, "that may suit your purpose very well, but it won't suit +mine; for I'm to have a hundred guineas, you see, if I arrest you +before twelve o'clock to-night." + +Alice clung to her father with a pale cheek, and a heart through which +the blood seemed to force itself with pain; but Sir Walter pressed her +hand, saying, "Do not be alarmed, Alice; this act is illegal, and I +shall certainly resist it. You are, sir," he continued, turning to +Bolland with a frowning brow, "you are engaged at this moment, as you +very well know, in an illegal attempt, and you may consider it as more +owing to my respect for myself than to your situation, that I do not +order the servants to throw you out of the window." + +"Not quite so illegal as you may think, Sir Walter," replied Bolland, +"the caption was made this morning, be so good as to recollect. I then +had my right hand upon your shoulder and the writ in my left. That was +at a legal hour, I take it, Sir Walter; and your being rescued by a mob +has nothing to do with the matter. I am responsible for you to the +sheriff; I came here not to arrest you, but to claim my prisoner, and +if you resist, it is at your peril." + +Sir Walter pressed his daughter to his bosom, and bent down his head. +"I am afraid, my child," he said, "that what this man alleges is but +too true." + +Alice replied nothing for a moment or two; but then, gently disengaging +herself from her father's arms, she took two or three steps towards the +officer; and, gazing earnestly in his face, she demanded, "You are not +surely going to take my father out of his own house at this time of +night?" + +"Why, I must do my duty, young mistress," replied the man; "and as I +shan't get paid unless I have him in quod to-night, I'm afraid he must +budge." + +"Oh! my dear father, my dear father!" exclaimed Alice, turning to Sir +Walter, "all this man wants is money. What is a hundred pounds to your +comfort? We have more than that in the house, a good deal more, I know. +Give him the hundred pounds he wants, and he will come back to-morrow +for the rest, when you have settled everything and are ready to pay +it." + +"No, Alice, never," replied Sir Walter; "I will never so countenance +extortion and villany. I should be unworthy of the respect and esteem +of any one were I to do it; as unworthy as he who has already offered +him that sum for worse purposes. No, my child, no; I will go, however +bitter it may be. I will not sink myself in my own esteem. All I ask, +sir, is time to write a letter to my lawyer, in case he does not arrive +to-night before I go, and to put some papers of importance in order." + +"Well," answered Bolland, "I've no objection to that. I suppose you'd +like to travel in your own coach; so while the horses are putting to, +you can give me and my friend here a bit of supper, and do what you +like, provided you give us your word of honour that you'll come back +here within the hour. I always like to deal gentlemanly with a +gentleman, and am not so hard as many would make me out." + +Sir Walter pledged himself as was required, and taking his daughter by +the hand he left the room, up and down which Bolland continued to walk, +whistling the air of an indecent song, and commenting with some taste +upon the pictures, till two or three servants brought in the supper he +had demanded, eyeing him while they laid it out as if they would much +rather have beaten him to a mummy than provided him with food. He sat +down, however, with perfect carelessness, helped himself liberally to +beef and ale, and encouraged his companion to partake. Shortly after, +the sound of a horse's feet was heard passing by, and Halliday ere long +thrust his head into the room, gazing upon the two officers with a very +menacing countenance. He said nothing, however, but retired and shut +the door. + +When about three quarters of an hour had passed, and Bolland was +beginning to get somewhat impatient, the door again opened, and Alice +glided in, clad in a travelling dress. "You have of course no +objection, sir," she said, approaching the officer, "to my accompanying +my father?" + +"Why, I never object to anything in reason, my young mistress," replied +the man. "You see, for all such things we have a regulation, which is, +that when civility is shown, civility money should be given." + +"Only tell me what you demand," she said; "and if it be in my power you +shall have it." + +The man gazed in her face for a moment, as if calculating how much he +should ask, and then replied, "Why, five guineas is about the fee; but +I should think a young lady like you would find a prison a poor place +to be in." + +"So will my father find it," replied Alice, sadly; "and I should find a +palace a poor place if I were away from him at such a moment of care +and anxiety; but I intend to take a woman servant with me, of course." + +"Oh, that will be a guinea more, then," answered the hard-hearted man, +with a shrewd wink to his follower; "if you will do it like +gentlefolks, you must pay for it." + +Alice made no reply, for she well knew that she was imposed upon, but +was yet determined to submit to the imposition; and, drawing forth her +purse, she paid the money demanded at once, to have it over before her +father entered the room. + +It was scarcely done when he appeared, but she had already obtained his +unwilling consent to her going, and he only said, "I wish you could be +dissuaded, my Alice; you do not know what you undertake." + +Several of the servants had followed him into the room, as well as the +maid who was to accompany her mistress; and Sir Walter placed a letter +in the hand of Halliday, saying calmly, "Let that go to Master Evelyn +by day-break to-morrow. He might perhaps have saved me much pain if he +had come over to-night. My good friends," he added, addressing the +servants with that calm fatherly suavity of manner which, though it had +deserted him two or three days before, when the principal facts of his +pecuniary situation were first brought to his notice, was now +completely restored. "My good friends, keep all together in your +master's absence, for I trust I shall soon return to you again. I think +I need not bid you, who have been such good and faithful servants to me +for many years, keep an orderly and economical household till I return. +I believe there is not one of you who would feel at any time disposed +to riot or intemperance, but certainly not during your master's +absence, under such circumstances as those in which you now see me." + +One or two of them murmured something in a low voice, but there were +tears in the eyes of all, and, amidst kind but ineffectual wishes, Sir +Walter and his daughter descended to the court-yard, and entered the +carriage, which was already prepared. There was something in the old +knight's demeanour which did not suffer the impudence even of a +Bolland to go too far; and when Sir Walter and his daughter, and the +maid-servant had entered the coach, the officer approached the side, +saying, "I'll tell you what, Sir Walter, it's customary with us to go +in the carriage with our prisoners, if they have a carriage; but as I +dare say you'd like better to go by yourselves, we'll mount our horses +and return as we came." + +Sir Walter bowed his head without reply. The door was shut, and with +slow and solemn pace, as if unwilling to perform their task, the four +strong horses which had been harnessed to the ponderous vehicle dragged +it forth from the court-yard, and taking the lower road through the +park, bent their way towards the county town. When they had gone about +half a mile, the clock of Moorhurst church, which they were leaving +behind them, was heard clear and distinctly, striking twelve. + +"Bear witness, John!" cried Bolland to the man who followed with him on +horseback behind the carriage--"bear witness that I had him out of his +own house before twelve o'clock: so that I've fairly won the money. +Take care, master coachman, how you drive," he shouted, "for the night +is as dark as pitch." + +"I drove this road before your father was hanged," growled the +coachman, "and I trust to drive it after you're hanged a foot higher +than he was." + +In the meanwhile, of all the party in the carriage, perhaps Sir Walter +was the least sad. His spirits had rallied wonderfully now that the +worst was over, and, sitting with his daughter's hand in his, he talked +even cheerfully of the means of extricating himself from his present +difficulties. All the little legal knowledge that he possessed was +called up, and he said that he doubted not to be able easily to obtain +good bail at the county town, which would give him plenty of time to +effect the sale that he proposed without the great loss attendant upon +more hurried proceedings, even if Langford should not be set at liberty +before that time, and the money which the Earl had detained restored. + +Of Langford's situation, too, he spoke cheerfully, in order to cheer +his daughter; and as her hand lay in his, she also made a great effort +to appear tranquil, though more than once, under cover of the darkness, +she suffered the silent tears to stream down her cheeks, and found +therein substantial relief. + +Their journey was necessarily very slow, and though the distance from +Moorhurst to the town was not more than fourteen miles, and a full hour +had elapsed since their departure, they had not proceeded one-third of +the way when a red light began to spread over the sky above them, +increasing every moment in intensity till every part of the sandy lane +through which they were dragged slowly along became plainly visible to +the eyes. + +In vain they wasted conjectures as to what this could mean; they had no +means of discovering; and the strong light still continued for nearly +an hour. It was beginning slightly to abate when they traversed the +further end of the moor, about two miles beyond the spot where the +affray had taken place in the morning. They then entered a road between +high banks, where the blaze, though dimmed, suffered them to see their +way very plainly, when suddenly the horses' heads were seized, and a +loud voice cried, "Stop!" + +Sir Walter smiled as he heard it, saying to two men who had presented +themselves, pistol in hand, at the side of the vehicle, "You will get +little here, my good friends, for I am now, alas! a prisoner for debt." + +"We know that," replied one of the men, much to the Knight's surprise, +"and we don't want your money, but we want the carriage. You must get +out as fast as possible. Quick, master coachman, down from your box! If +you don't get the horses off faster, we shall cut the traces! Take +those two fellows behind," added the same voice, "and tie them where I +told you." + +According to the peremptory orders they had received, Sir Walter, his +daughter, and the maid, issued forth, and found themselves surrounded +by a number of men who were all well armed, while some horses stood +near, in a field on the top of the bank, with a group of other persons +beside them. The gentry who had stopped the carriage seemed to take +very little heed of those it had contained, and to be in urgent haste. +The only further words that were addressed to the group from Moorhurst +were by the man who had first spoken, and who, like the rest, had +something drawn over his face so as completely to conceal his features. + +"Move further off," he said. "Take up your position under that bank, +and do not stir from it till we are gone." + +The same personage immediately aided with his own hands in unharnessing +the horses which had brought them; this done, he turned the beasts +loose, much to the dismay of the coachman. Four others were immediately +attached to the carriage with the speed of lightning, and the same +voice then exclaimed, "Now, come down." + +Two women, one of whom bore a child in her arms, instantly descended by +a path down the bank, and, without speaking, entered the carriage. +"Now, two of you," said the voice again, "carry him down. Put your +hands under his arms, to prevent hurting him." + +No sooner were these words spoken, than another part of the group at +the top of the bank began to move slowly down; but no sooner had it +reached the bottom of the bank, than a new voice said, in a weak but +somewhat haughty tone, "I can walk very well now; take away your hands; +I can walk quite well." With a sudden movement, Alice took two steps +forward, and saw a man advancing to the carriage between two others, +who seemed to wish to give him assistance and support against his will. +Without uttering a word, she grasped the arm of the maid, and drew her +a step forward, pointing with her finger. + +"Good God!" exclaimed the woman. But a quick gesture from her mistress +stopped her from saying more. Two or three other persons got into the +carriage. All the rest mounted their horses, except one, who sprang +upon the box. The vehicle drove rapidly off, and Sir Walter, his +daughter, and the two servants, were left alone in the road, for on +looking round for Bolland and his follower, they could see them +nowhere. + + + + + CHAPTER XXII. + + +It was night again, nearly approaching to midnight, and the Earl of +Danemore sat alone in the small dark wainscotted room immediately +beneath the chamber which had been assigned to the prisoner. More than +once he had called his attendants to ask impatiently if the lawyer had +returned, and as the clock in the great hall struck eleven without his +appearance, he ordered several of the servants to go out in different +directions to seek him, forbidding them to return without bringing word +of where he was, and what had been the result of his proceedings during +the day. + +Solitude, a quick imagination, violent passions, and dangerous designs, +all combined to produce a state of anxiety and impatience bordering +upon phrensy. Now he sat with his head leaning on his hand, gazing +expectantly at the door; now he strode up and down with his arms +crossed upon his chest, and his bosom full of deep but rapid thoughts; +now he paused and listened either to the footsteps of the prisoner +above, as with a calmer and less irregular stride, Langford paced up +and down in the room above, or to the sighing of the strong wind as it +whistled round and round the high tower in which both chambers were +situated. + +At length, after having listened to the steps for some time, and then +gazed intently on the ground in deep meditation, he seemed to be seized +by a sudden resolution, and advanced at once to the door which opened +on the stairs leading to the apartments above. + +"I will go up to him!" he said: "I will confront him boldly! I will +speak over the whole theme! I will dare every painful subject! He shall +not say that I feared to encounter anything, or to grapple with any +enemy, amongst the living or the dead. He shall never say that I was a +coward in thought, or word, or deed, or that I feared boldly to meet +aught that could be urged against me. I will go, and brow to brow, tell +him what he has brought upon his head." + +His first steps up the stairs were rapid and vehement; those that +followed were more slow; and at the door of Langford's room he paused +once more and thought. As he did so pause, he could distinctly hear the +prisoner cast himself somewhat heavily into a chair, hum a few words of +an old ballad, and, as it were, seduced by the music, go on with the +song in a louder tone, and with a clear, mellow, and not uncultivated +voice. He sang one of the sweet and simple airs of Lulli, which had a +touch of melancholy, mingling, one scarcely knew how or where, with the +general cheerfulness of the strain; but the English words which were +adapted to it were even more gay than the music. + +Strange to say, however, Langford thought not at all of the words that +he was singing; nay, nor of the music itself. While he did sing his +thoughts were busy, deeply busy, upon other things; and the music was +but a mechanical application of the animal part of his nature to the +sweetest of all arts, in order to obtain some soothing and +tranquillizing power to calm his spirit ere he lay down to rest. + + + SONG. + + The dew is on each leaf and flower, + The sky is full of light; + Beauty and brightness mark the hour + That parts the day and night. + Wake up! wake up! my own sweet love! + Raise up those beaming eyes, + To find an answering look above-- + An image in the skies. + + The lark! the lark! thine own sweet lark. + Pours forth his thrilling lay; + And all that's cold, and all that's dark, + Fly from the porch of day. + Wake up! wake up! my own sweet love; + Raise up those beaming eyes, + To find an answering look above-- + An image in the skies. + + There's music ready for thine ear, + There's perfume on the breeze; + Wake up and add to all that's dear, + What's dearer than all these. + Wake up! wake up! my own sweet love! + Raise up those beaming eyes, + To find an answering look above-- + An image in the skies. + + +According to the differences of our natures, there is for each man's +heart a key, as it were, to be found in some one of the senses. With +one man it is the grosser sense of the palate, and the things that he +has tasted--the cup that he has drunk in particular lands and scenes, +will, when again met with, carry back the mind to earlier days, and the +feelings thereof, the affections, the hopes, the fears, will crowd upon +him like phantoms from the grave, conjured up by objects that seem to +have no apparent connexion with them. + +To some, again, certain sweet odours, the perfume of a flower, or the +mingled sweetness of the morning's breath, will have the same effect. +While to a few, the sight of some peculiar effect of light and shade, +and to others a strain of music, a tone of voice, the carol of a bird, +or the living hum of morning, will call up scenes long past, reawaken +memories and affections that have slumbered for years, and give us back +the gentleness of our youth. But when the chord of association is +thus struck, let the sensations produced be joyful or melancholy, +there is something in the first bursting forth of the past upon the +present--there is something in the rapid drawing back of the dim +curtain of years from between our actual feelings and the feelings long +lost, too thrilling to be experienced without deep emotion; and our +natural impulse is to melt in tears. + +The Earl stood and listened while Langford sang; and the deep mellow +tone of his voice, the well-remembered air of Lulli--the words which, +though he heard them not distinctly, he knew by heart--all served to +unchain the long-fettered feelings of his better days; the stern heart +was bent, the proud, impetuous, revengeful spirit was softened for the +moment, and the old man's eyes glistened with unwonted dew. It lasted +but for a moment. Habit and circumstance re-assumed their sway; and, +with a slight stamp of the foot, he drew up his head, which had been +bent down under the influence of manifold emotions, and entered the +room in which the prisoner sat. + +Langford turned in some surprise to discover who it was that came to +visit him at so late an hour, and his astonishment was not diminished +on perceiving the Earl, who advanced into the room with a brow +contracted even more than usual, by the angry effort he had made to +conquer what he believed to be the weakness of his own heart. He paused +for a moment on the side of the table opposite to Langford, gazing at +him sternly but silently, as if scarcely prepared to begin the +explanation he had sought. + +Langford returned his glance calmly and gently, flinching not the least +beneath his eye, but gazing in return with a look expressive rather of +inquiry than of any other feeling. At length, as the Earl still +continued silent, he spoke, saying, "Your lordship, I conclude, has +something to communicate to me, and I fear from your countenance that +it is not of a pleasant nature. I am very glad, however, that you have +come, as there is one subject on which it is necessary that I should +speak to you, and I am led to believe that the moments in which I can +do so are drawing to a close." + +"You do well to believe so, sir," replied the Earl; "the moments in +which any communication can take place between us are, as you say, +drawing to a close; they are few and short. You are right also in +supposing that I have something to tell you, otherwise I should not +have sought you. What I have to tell, however, requires but few words; +it is, _that I know you_." + +"I am glad to hear it, my lord," replied Langford, with perfect +calmness, "as, if you really do know me, you will know, as I believe +you do know, that the charge brought against me is false, if not +absurd. But in the first instance it will be better to show me that you +really do know me." + +The Earl gazed upon him with his keen large eyes full of meaning, and +then demanded, "Before you ever entered these gates, have you not twice +written to me?" + +"I have," replied Langford. + +"Twice," continued the Earl, "you have demanded that to which you have +no right; and now the object of your coming hither is not less clearly +known to me than all your former proceedings. But in a word, I ask you, +is not your name of Langford a false one? Are you not he whom men call +the Chevalier of Beaulieu?" + +"I am," replied Langford; "but as your lordship has accused me of +demanding that to which I have no right, let me reply at once that I +have a right, the strongest and the greatest! Has not every member of a +noble family a right, to demand that any unjust stain cast thereon +should be removed? Have not I, especially, charged as I was by the +dying breath of my noble relation, the Marquis of Beaulieu, never to +cease my exertions to recover the means of taking a stain from our +honour--have not I, especially, a right, I say, to demand those papers +at your hands, which afford the only possible method of doing so?" + +"I say no!" replied the Earl, sternly: "I say, no! Even if the papers +whereof you speak existed, I say--" + +But Langford interrupted him more vehemently than he had ever before +spoken, "My lord," he said, "those papers do exist, or you have not +only broken your most solemn vow, but your plighted word of honour as a +gentleman. Your vow, my lord, you perhaps might break, for in one +instance at least you did break it, and a noble heart along with it; +but I would not believe you to be the being who would forfeit your +plighted honour--no, not to gain a kingdom! Unsay those words which +cast so foul a doubt, if not an imputation upon you! and let me know, +that though in the current of your fiery passions you may not have +scrupled to wring the hearts and destroy the hopes of others, do not +leave me to believe that you have deliberately pledged your word and +then have broken it. No, no! my lord, I know that those papers are not +destroyed!" + +The traces of contending passions came over the countenance of Lord +Danemore like the shadows of dark clouds carried over the landscape by +a rapid wind; and while Langford spoke, it seemed sometimes as if he +felt inclined to strike him to the earth--sometimes as if a strange and +unwilling admiration took possession of him, and restrained his anger. +"You are a bold and daring man," he said, in reply; "but you have +spoken the truth. The papers are not destroyed, though I do not admit +their contents to be such as you may imagine." + +"Thank you, my lord; thank you," replied Langford, earnestly; "thank +you for clearing yourself from the painful doubt in which you involved +your character. Though you may have bitterly wronged my family, still I +take a deeper interest than you know in seeing your honour pure, in +this respect at least. In regard to the papers," he continued, with a +slight change of tone, "if they were not such as I believe, you could +have no reasonable objection to give them to me. If they are such as I +believe, they are necessary to the honour of my family; and, deputed as +I am by every member of that family to claim them at your hands, I +demand them--not as a concession, but as a right. But, at the same +time, I offer now, as I offered before, to pledge myself, in order to +remove all evil and dangerous consequences to yourself, that those +papers shall never be made public in England--shall only be so far +recorded in France as to clear the honour of our race, and then utterly +destroyed." + +A scornful and bitter smile came upon the lip of the Earl, as he whom +we shall still call Langford, uttered these words. "You are mistaken," +he replied, sternly; "you are altogether mistaken. I trust myself in +the power of no one; and even the very words that you uttered yesterday +have put between you and me a barrier which can never be passed." + +"I know not to what words your lordship alludes," replied Langford. +"Nothing that I have said, nothing that I have done, ought to put any +such barrier between us. Most careful have I been, in no respect, +either in conversation with yourself or others, to cast an imputation +upon you." + +"It may be so," replied the Earl; "it may be so; but nevertheless, +clearly and distinctly, I refuse you those papers. Now, sir," he +continued, with the same bitter smile; "now, sir, use your threats. +Now, sir, let me know what tale you will tell if I do not accede to +your demands. Now, sir, let me know whether you and yours will travel +to Florida to seek for matter against me!" + +"Your lordship is altogether wrong," replied Langford. "That I know +your history well in every particular and in every point is true, but +that I will divulge any part of it that might do you injury, except +that part which it is necessary to the honour of our race should be +divulged, is not only far from my intention, but never should take +place, even if your lordship should continue your refusal to give up +those papers, and to do the act of justice that is demanded at your +hands." + +"Indeed!" exclaimed the Earl, pondering; "indeed! then why did you +refer to matters which should be buried in the deep silence of +long-gone years?" + +"Accident had some share in my so doing," replied Langford, "and a wish +to lead your mind back to the past had also a part therein. But at once +to show you, my lord, that I am inclined to take no advantage, and to +pursue my course as uprightly and honourably as possible, let me now +tell you that I not only know of the existence of those papers, but +know also well where they are preserved, and could while here have made +myself master of them at once, had I been inclined to take that by +private means which I demand openly!" + +As he spoke he pointed to the small carved door in the oak panelling, +and the Earl's eyes followed the direction of his hand, but with no +expression of surprise. + +His lip, at the same time, curled with a bitter sneer, and he replied +at once: "I am not inclined to believe in the communication of +miraculous knowledge to any of us poor mortals now-a-days, and +therefore doubt not that your information has been derived from some +source less than supernatural. There is in this house, sir, a woman +called Bertha, brought up by the family of Beaulieu from her youth, and +retaining for them still a deep veneration and regard, although a +quarrel with one of that race induced her to quit them and enter into +my service. The attachment that she showed to myself and my family +through many years have taught me to trust her deeply; but when I found +that she placed, on the idle pretext of greater security, a stranger +accused of dark crimes in a chamber reserved entirely for myself, I +began to doubt her;--when, added to that, I found that she held +frequent private conferences with him, my doubts increased: and when I +found that she brought others to communicate with him contrary to my +expressed will, my doubts grew into certainties." + +"Under such circumstances," replied Langford, fixing his eyes +inquiringly upon the Earl's countenance--"under such circumstances you +have of course discharged that woman from your service?" + +"Not so, sir," replied the Earl; "not so. It may be my purpose to +punish as well as to dismiss; but ere I do either, I shall take care to +learn in what degree she has betrayed me. But to turn, sir, from your +idle affectation of insight into my secrets to your equally empty boast +of power, let me tell you, that though you may have been placed in a +room reserved for years to myself, and though in that room all my most +private papers may be preserved, you are as impotent to get possession +of them as a blind man to tell the hour by the sun-dial." + +"My lord, you are mistaken," replied Langford, calmly; "I am not so +powerless in that respect as you imagine. I have had them now for two +days at my will and pleasure to take or to leave. I have them now at my +disposal; but I had determined to use all gentle and reasonable means +first, to urge you by every persuasion to do justice, and only in the +end to do myself right in your presence, and before your face. You have +come now most opportunely, and I will not suffer the occasion to pass; +but in the first instance let me once more entreat you to do a tardy +act of justice, ere you force me to things most unpleasant to me." + +The Earl had gazed upon him as he spoke with an expression of some +surprise and doubt; so tranquilly confident was the tone and manner of +one whom he had believed to be entirely in his power. At the last +words, however, his brow gathered again into a frown; and he replied, +"I am not to be menaced sir; I tell you, you shall never have them; and +such menace puts them further from your reach than ever." + +"My lord, I use no menaces," replied Langford; "my wish, my only wish, +is to persuade. Oh, consider, sir! Here you now stand at the verge of +age, touching upon that cold season when the only consolation for +declining years, the wintry sunshine of our being's close, is a clear +conscience and the memory of good deeds. If, alas! you are deprived of +the power of looking back upon many such actions--nay, hear me out. If +there be in the past much that is painful, much that you would fain +forget, much that can never be repaired, remember, oh remember! that +what cannot be repaired may often be atoned. Thus, in one instance at +least, the means of atonement are in your own power, and to seize upon +them in every instance is the only way to bring back even a portion of +that calm serenity of heart which once you knew in days of innocence, +but which I feel too sure has long departed from your bosom." + +"Sir, I never knew it," burst forth the Earl; "my life has been made up +of passions and regrets; and as it began, so shall it close." + +"Oh no, my lord! oh no!" cried Langford; "let it not be so! I must +wring your heart, but I trust it may be in some degree to heal it. You +lately had a son whom you loved deeply; for his sake, I believe you +have persisted for years in a course of injustice which the nobler part +of your nature, I am sure, disavowed. My lord, he has been taken from +you. The inducement to remain in wrong has been removed by the will of +God, who therein has at once punished and opened the way to atonement. +Let me beseech you, let me entreat of you, not to suffer this +opportunity to pass by unnoticed. Do tardy justice, and instead of +hardening yourself to crush and to injure one who could love you well, +and against whom you can never succeed, think of what a satisfaction it +will be to you, when from your own death-bed you look back and see that +you have done all to repair a great wrong that you committed." + +"And do you make the assassination of my son," demanded the Earl, "a +plea for my gratifying one who is accused of murdering him?" + +"My lord, I have taken it for granted throughout," replied Langford, +"that you know me to be perfectly innocent of that deed. What I demand +of you also, I have a right to demand. I ask you not to gratify me, but +to do an act of justice; I ask of you to do honour to yourself, by +taking away a stain from an honourable house that you have wronged." + +"Right!" exclaimed the Earl, with one of his dark sneers, as if the +recollection of something he had before intended to say came suddenly +back upon him; "in what consists your right? and how have you any +connexion with the honour of the family of Beaulieu? Do you suppose +that I am blind or stupid? Answer me! If you are so near and honourably +akin to the dead Marquis of Beaulieu, how are you not the heir of his +title and estates? What right has his bastard to prate of the honour of +his family?" + +The blood rushed rapidly into Langford's cheek; his eye flashed, and +his brow contracted; but it was only for a moment. With what was +evidently a great effort, he mastered his own passions immediately, and +replied, "The coarse term you have used is inapplicable to me, Lord +Danemore. Your other question, as to why I have not succeeded, I could +answer by a single word if I so pleased; and, did I feel as much +assured of your son's death as you do, I would so answer it." + +"Doubtless, doubtless!" exclaimed the Earl, impatiently; "everything +can doubtless be explained if certain _ifs_ and _buts_ be removed. But +I tell you, sir, till they are removed, I shall listen to you no +further, nor shall I detain you long, for I came to tell you what may +be told in but few words. Mark me, young man! There are certain +memories called up by your looks and by your voice which might have +moved me to the weakness of sparing you, had you not been foolish +enough to show me, that, like a winged insect which we are forced to +crush, you can sting as well as buzz. You have yet to learn that I live +in the fear of no man, and that when once any one has shown me that he +may be dangerous to me, the struggle commences between us, which ends +but with the life of the one or the other. There is already sufficient +proof against you to bring you to the gibbet; more will not be wanting, +or I am mistaken; but I would have you know that your fate is of your +own seeking, and that when you and yours spied out and investigated the +actions of my early life, you raised up the scaffold for yourself. +To-morrow you will be taken hence; a gaol will then receive you. A +public trial and public execution will be the end which you have +obtained by measuring yourself against one who never yet failed in the +accomplishment of that for which he strove." + +As the Earl spoke he turned, as if to quit the apartment, but Langford, +who had listened calmly and attentively, exclaimed, ere he laid his +hand upon the door, "Stay yet one moment, my lord; our conference is +not finished yet. With regard to your urging against me an accusation +which you know to be false, either from motives of hatred, revenge, or +fear, you will reconcile that to your own conscience as you can. You +will fail in your attempt: but if you did succeed, you would pile upon +your head coals of fire which would consume your very heart to ashes! +The matter on which I now detain you is _these papers!_ I am not +accustomed to say I will do what I cannot do; therefore when I told you +that if you did not do justice I would with my own hand right myself +and my family, I made no vain boast." + +The Earl turned and gazed upon him, both in surprise and anger, but his +rage and his astonishment were doubled when the prisoner took from His +pocket the key, the easily-recognised key, which had been given to him +by Franklin Gray upon the moor. Prompt, however, and decided in all his +determinations, the Earl instantly raised his voice, and shouted in a +tone of thunder to the servants whom he had that morning ordered to +remain without. + +"My lord," said Langford, "you raise your voice in vain. I have every +reason to believe that the persons you placed there have been gone for +more than an hour; and even if they were there still, those bolts and +that lock would prevent them from entering. Of that I have taken care." + +Even while he spoke, the Earl had strode across the room towards the +outer door, muttering, "They will soon return;" but the key of the door +between the two rooms, which had been left in the inside, was now gone, +and after gazing upon lock and bolt with impotent rage for a moment, he +turned fiercely towards the other door which led by the stairs in the +turret down to his apartments below. Langford, however, had seized the +moment, and casting himself in the way, was in the act of locking that +door also, when the Earl turned towards it. + +Lord Danemore instantly drew his sword; but Langford was not unarmed, +as he had supposed. His own blade, which had been restored to him by +the half-witted man, John Graves, was in his hand in a moment; but it +was only to show himself prepared that he used it, for, waving the Earl +back with his hand, he exclaimed, "My lord, do nothing rashly! +Remember, you have to deal with a younger, stronger, more active man +than yourself, and with one long accustomed to perils and dangers. +Stand back, and answer me. Will you or will you not give up those +papers by fair means, or must I take them myself?" + +"I will never give them," replied the Earl; "I will never give them; +though that vile and treacherous woman has not only betrayed my trust, +but stolen from my private cabinet the key that you now hold; I will +never give them; and if you take them, you shall take my blood first, +and die for spilling it." + +As he spoke, he placed himself, with his drawn sword still in his hand, +between Langford and the small door in the wainscot. + +Langford advanced upon him, but with the same degree of calm +determination which, except during one brief moment, he had displayed +throughout their whole conference. "My lord," he said, "you do the +woman, Bertha, wrong. This key was not obtained from her. I beseech you +to give way, for I am determined to use it." + +"Not while you and I both live'" replied the Earl; and as he spoke, he +made a sharp quick lunge at Langford's bosom. The other was prepared, +however; his sword met that of the Earl in a moment, and parrying the +lunge, he grappled with his adversary, and at the same moment wrenched +the weapon from his grasp, and by an exertion of his great strength +removed him from between himself and the door. + +He had cast the sword he had mastered to the other side of the room, +and the Earl seemed to hesitate for an instant as to whether he should +spring forward to recover his weapon, or struggle with the prisoner to +prevent him from obtaining the papers. He felt while he hesitated that +the very hesitation was undignified. He felt too, perhaps, that either +attempt would be vain; that he was in the presence of one superior to +himself in bodily power, in activity, in energy; one equal to himself +in courage, determination, promptitude; one who was what he had been +when a youth, but with the grand superiority of mental dignity and +conscious rectitude. He felt himself reproved and degraded but not +humbled; and the natural movement proceeding from such sensations was +to cross his arms on his broad chest, and stand with a look of dark +defiance gleaming from beneath his long grey eyebrows; while Langford, +taking the key in his right hand, and changing the sword into his left, +stood, about to open the door which covered all those mysterious points +of his history which he had so long concealed. + +But, even then, his young companion paused. "Oh! my lord," he said, "I +would fain have these papers with your own will and consent. Again, +again, I ask you, now that you see I have the power to take them, will +you give them to me? will you grant me that which is my right to +demand? Oh! Lord Danemore, if you ever loved the race from which I +spring--if ever human affection and natural tenderness affected your +bosom--if ever you had sympathy with others--if ever the strongest +passion of our nature touched your heart--I adjure you now, by the +memory of the past, by the dark and awful circumstances of the present, +by the frowning future, by the inevitable, interminable hereafter of +weal or woe, to do that which you know to be right!--at this last, this +fatal moment between you and me, to render justice to those whom you +have wronged; to cast from your soul the burden of old guilt, and to +make atonement for one out of the many dark deeds of the past!" + +He gazed upon him sternly, fixedly, earnestly; and strong passion +called up in the face of each a strange likeness of expression; but the +whirlwind of their emotions was too strong for either to mark the +clouds and shadows, the light, or the lightning, that passed over the +countenance of the other. Urged into fury, thwarted, disappointed, +foiled, the Earl had no longer any command over himself, and the only +dignity that he could assume was that of disappointed scorn. + +"Never, bastard!" he replied; "never! Take that which you can; secure +that which is in your power! Fly, if you can fly! Use your advantage to +the utmost, if it can be used; but I swear by Heaven and by Hell, by +all that is sacred and by all that is accursed, to follow you +henceforth and for ever, unto the gates of death; to devote life, and +soul, and being, mind, and thought, and energy, corporeal power and +worldly wealth and temporal influence, to your destruction; and never, +never to cease, till the dark, dread, interminable gulf have swallowed +up one or both." + +Langford gazed at him with deep and intense earnestness; and while he +did so, a thousand varied emotions, each painful but each different, +flitted in expression across his countenance, and caused wavering +irresolution to take the place of high and strong determination. As the +Earl ended, however, the other looked at him for a moment fixedly, +while the peer stood with his arms still crossed upon his chest, and a +look of resolute, unchangeable purpose marked in every line of that +dark but splendid countenance. + +Emotions strong, but new and strange, overpowered his youthful +adversary; and casting from him the sword which had successfully +opposed him, and the key of all the treasured secrets of his opponent's +eventful life, he sprang forward, as if with a sudden impulse which he +could not resist, cast himself at the Earl's feet, and, looking up in +his face, embraced his knees. The stern determination of the old man +was shaken. Feelings equally new and strange took possession of his +bosom also, and he strained his eyes upon the noble form of him who +knelt before him, with sensations different from any that he had ever +known in life. + +At that moment, however, strange and unusual sounds made themselves +heard from without. There were cries and screams, and the noise of many +feet. Still kneeling, Langford gazed upon the Earl, and the Earl upon +him; but ere one could ask the other what this meant, there was a +violent rush against the outer door, as if by people propelled by +terror. The bolts, the bars, the fastenings gave way, and half torn +from the hinges, it burst into the room. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIII. + + +We must go back for a few hours. The sky was without a star, and a dull +heavy darkness brooded over the face of the earth, as a strong party of +horsemen--whose numbers and appearance might well banish all fears, and +laugh to scorn all the tales of highwaymen and footpads with which the +county of ---- then rang, took its way down the road which first led +from the county town towards Danemore Castle, and thence passing under +the walls of the park, proceeded to the little borough of Moorhurst. + +The part of the road on which they were at the moment when we must +first speak of them, passed between two high banks of sand rock, +overtopped with trees and shrubs, so that if there had been any light +in the sky it would have been shut out from that spot; and the person +who rode at their head, and seemed to act as their leader, chose the +gloomiest point for the purpose of causing the line to halt, and +speaking a few words in a low tone to each of his companions. They +answered in a whisper, as if the deep darkness and silence around had +its usual effect in producing awe; and when each had listened and +replied, their leader once more advanced to the front, and they +recommenced their journey two and two. Descending slowly from the +moors, they emerged into a more open country; and any one who had been +by the side of the road might have counted their number as eleven, +notwithstanding the darkness of the night, and might also have observed +that, generally speaking, they were tall and powerful men, and sat +their horses with a degree of ease and composure only to be acquired by +long acquaintance with the saddle. + +We have remarked before, that the country in that district is famous +for little greens of an acre or two in extent, generally shaded by some +tall elms, and often adorned by a bright gleaming pond. To one of these +the party that we speak of had advanced; and though there was a cottage +at the further side of the green, all was silent and still, when the +word to halt was suddenly given, and the voice of the leader was heard +in a low tone, saying, "Spread out to the right and left, under the +trees. I hear a horse's feet!" + +The evolution that he commanded was executed in a moment, with the most +profound silence, each horseman separating from his neighbour and +taking ground some yards to the right and left, without any of that +pawing and prancing which give pomp and circumstance to many a military +man[oe]uvre. The proceedings of the leader himself, however, were even +more remarkable; for, advancing perhaps twenty yards before the rest, +he also quitted the road for the green turf, and then his dim figure +was seen to dismount. The next moment, horse and man seemed to sink +slowly down into the earth, and nothing but what appeared to be a small +rise in the ground was seen through the darkness, marking the spot +where they had stood. + +While all this was taking place, the sound of a horse's feet beating +the road with a quick trot was heard advancing from that side towards +which the party had been going, and after a pause of about two minutes, +a white horse, bearing his rider at a rapid rate, could be discerned +entering upon the green. The horseman advanced some way, unconscious of +the neighbourhood of so many others, but apparently not quite +insensible to fear, as from time to time his head was turned to either +side; and at length it would seem that he caught a glance of something +unusual beneath the elm trees, for he suddenly pulled up his horse, and +gazed anxiously into the gloom before him. + +His eyes were keen, having been for some time habituated to the +darkness; and becoming convinced that there was a considerable party +assembled on either side, he was turning his bridle to gallop off on +the same road by which he came, when suddenly what he had passed as a +mere mound of earth and bushes started up into life, and his retreat +was cut off by a man springing upon a horse which rose as if magically +from the ground, and darting into the road before him. + +"Stop!" cried a stern voice, while the gleam of something like a pistol +in the hand of his opponent made the rider of the white horse recoil. +He looked round, however, to see if there were no means of evading +obedience to the command he had received; but by this time he found +that he was surrounded, and that the way even to the low cottage by the +side of the common was cut off. At the same time the command was +repeated, "Stop, and give an account of yourself!" + +The additional injunction, however, of "Give an account of yourself!" +was rather satisfactory to the rider, who perceived therein a sort of +police tone, rather than that generally employed by the worthies whom +he most apprehended, and who to the word "stop!" usually added, +"deliver!" + +He replied, then, with a greater degree of confidence, saying, "I am a +servant of the noble Earl of Danemore, and I am riding to the town +of ----, by his orders, on particular business." + +"Show me the badge upon your arm!" said the person who had first +spoken; but the servant was obliged to acknowledge that he had come +away in haste, and had not his livery coat on. + +"You have some cords," said the same voice, addressing one of the other +horsemen. "Tie him, and bring him along." + +In a moment the unfortunate groom found himself seized, and his arms +pinioned behind his back, while a still more disagreeable operation, +that of tying his feet and legs tight to the stirrups, was performed by +another of his captors, who dismounted for the purpose. + +Not a word was spoken by any one but the leader of the party, and when +he saw that the commands he had given were obeyed, he added, "Bring him +up abreast with me?" and then riding on at the same glow pace in which +they had been proceeding previous to the little episode which had taken +place, he asked several questions of his captive in a low voice. + +"We shall soon see," said he, "whether your account of yourself is true +or not, for we are going to the Castle. Now tell me, how long do you +say you have left it?" + +"About half an hour, sir," replied the man, resuming a certain degree +of courage on finding that he was not injured; "about half an hour, +sir; and I can tell you that my lord will be mighty angry when he finds +you have stopped me, and brought me back. He will make the house too +hot to hold you, and the county too, that I'll warrant. You don't know +whom you have got to deal with. He suffers no one to do anything but +what he likes." + +"Is the Earl of Danemore still up?" demanded the stranger, calmly, +taking not the slightest heed of the other's intimation. + +"Yes, that he is, and will not be in bed for these two hours, as you +will find to your cost, perhaps, when he hears you have stopped me," +answered the groom, firmly believing that what was awful to him must be +equally so to every one else. + +"Does he not usually go to rest sooner?" asked the stranger again. "I +understood that the whole household were required to be in bed by +eleven, and I was afraid that we might have to rouse the porter to give +us admittance." + +"Ay, he generally does go to bed at eleven," answered the groom, "but +he has not done so to-night. You will have to rouse the porter, +however, and most of the other servants too; for old John came out, +growling and swearing at me, in his shirt, when I made him open the +gates." + +"He must not swear at us, though," replied the other quietly, but in a +tone which moved the groom's astonishment even more than anything which +had passed before, so little reverence did his captors show either for +the awful name of the Earl of Danemore or any of his dependants. As the +other ceased, however, and did not resume the conversation, he had no +choice but to accompany him in silence; and, followed by the rest of +the party, they proceeded slowly on the road, which was evidently well +known to the leader, now winding in and out amongst the high banks and +woods, now crossing scattered pieces of the heath and moor-land, till +at length they arrived at that spot under the walls of the park where, +as we have mentioned in describing the forced journey of Langford, +Danemore Castle, with its wide extent of park and woods, became first +visible to the eye of any one travelling on the road from Moorhurst to +the county town. + +There the leader of the party halted, and suffering his hands to drop +thoughtfully upon the saddle-bow, he gazed up towards the spot where +the Castle stood. At that dark hour, however, nothing was to be +perceived but the masses of tall trees with which the building itself +was confounded in undistinguished shade, except, indeed where a single +spot of light was seen gleaming like a beacon, marking that there was +the habitation of some human beings amongst the dark and awful-looking +blackness which the scene otherwise presented. + +After thus gazing for a few minutes, the leader of the party turned +towards the groom, and while he reined back his horse to the other side +of the road, said, with something of a sneer, "We will save old John +the porter the trouble of opening the gate for us." At the same moment, +the well-trained horse which he rode, feeling a touch of the spur, +started forward towards the wall, cleared it with ease, and horse and +rider stood within the boundaries of the park. + +"I can't leap with my hands and legs tied!" cried the groom, whose +first feelings were those of an equestrian; "that's impossible; I shall +break my own neck and the horse's knees." + +"You shan't be required to leap," was the reply of the leader, from the +other side of the wall; and then, turning towards one of his +companions, he added, "You must manage to pull it down, Harvey." + +"I will leap it first, however!" replied his companion, and away went a +second horse and man over the wall. No sooner was this done than +several of the other horsemen dismounted, and with short bars of iron, +which each of them appeared to have slung at their saddle-bow, they set +to work upon the wall of the park, and in less than a quarter of an +hour the space of three yards was laid level between the road and the +park. + +The whole of the troop then passed in, taking the groom along with +them; and, riding slowly up to a clump of old chestnuts at the distance +of about three hundred yards from the terrace on which the mansion +stood, they gathered themselves together in a group under the boughs, +and their leader, advancing a few steps, again gazed steadfastly upon +the Castle, whose towers and pinnacles were now to be more clearly +distinguished rising here and there above the trees, and marking, with +the straight lines of the older architecture, or the light tracery of +the more modern and ornamental parts, the sky beyond, over which a pale +gleam cast by the rising moon was just beginning to spread itself. + +Gradually, as he sat there on horseback, the beautiful orb of night +rose up from behind the trees, and with her peculiar power of +dispersing the clouds and shadows that obstruct her way, she was seen +struggling with and overcoming the vapours of the night; sometimes, +like a veiled but still lovely countenance, beaming through a thin film +of white mist which grew radiant with her radiance; sometimes hidden +for a single instant behind a dark mass which swept over her with +gilded edges; sometimes bursting forth from a dark cloud, with pure +effulgence, like sudden joy succeeding despair. + +As he sat there, with the varying light of the moon falling upon him, +now casting his long shadow upon the soft green turf of the park, now +leaving him distinct, and as it were magnified by the dim misty light, +the powerful form of that horseman was scanned eagerly and +apprehensively by the groom, on whose mind but little doubt remained in +regard to the character and propensities of the party whose unwilling +companion he had become, he thought he had never seen a more powerful +frame, and in so thinking he was right; but the imagination of terror +had had a great deal to do with the business, when he called him in his +heart "the most ruffian-like fellow that his eyes had ever rested on." + +After about ten minutes' contemplation, during which not a word was +spoken by any one, and not a sound was heard but the low sighing of the +wind through the neighbouring trees, and the scream of the screech owls +which nested themselves in the old ivy of the Castle, the leader +returned to his party, saying, "I would fain have that light put out +first; but, however, we cannot stay wasting all our time here. Now, my +good fellow," he continued, turning to the groom, "I want one or two +pieces of information from you; but before you answer, you had better +take into consideration that you are speaking to a person not willing +to be trifled with; that if you do not answer straightforwardly and at +once, your life is not worth five minutes' purchase; and that if you +give me false information you will be as surely a dead man within two +hours as you are now a living one. In the first place, then, inform me, +in what part of the house do the servants sleep?" + +"Why, up at the top, to the westward," replied the man; "that is where +the serving men sleep; but there are others, such as the sewers, and +the grooms of the chambers, who sleep at the top of Hubert's Tower. +Then there's my lord's own man sleeps in his ante-room; but to-night +there are two or three who were ordered to stay in the outer room where +the prisoner is, in the old tower; that is to say, in what they used to +call the haunted rooms, for they were always shut up, and nobody went +in but my lord and Mistress Bertha, so that folks said that the ghost +of the Countess used to walk there." + +"So there are three men appointed to sleep there, are there?" demanded +the other; "you are sure of the fact?" + +"Why, no," replied the groom; "if you mean whether I am sure they were +ordered to sleep there, I'm sure enough of that; but I am quite as sure +that not one of them will do it; for I heard Will Hudson say that the +Earl might skin him alive first. No, no; they'll none of them stay +there after twelve o'clock at night, I'll answer for it." + +"That is sufficient on that score," said the interrogator; "now tell me +further, now many men in all may there be in the Castle?" + +The groom paused for a moment, as if in thought, but then answered, +"Some fifteen or sixteen that sleep within doors; but then there are +all the grooms and horse-boys, and my lord's three coachmen, and the +running footmen, who sleep at the stables, which you know lie out +by----" + +"I know, I know," interrupted the other. "Not more than fifteen or +sixteen; fifteen or sixteen lackeys!" he continued, turning with a sort +of contemptuous laugh to his companions; "it is scarcely worth while +priming our pistols. Are there none of them sleep below?" + +"Why, no; not by rights," replied the man, "except the porter and his +boy, but to-night there will be Willy Hudson and the rest, who, I dare +say, will come down into the corridor and sleep in the armchairs; and +then, too, there is Fat Frank, who has got Silly John in charge, shut +up in the dark room at the bottom of Hubert's Tower." + +"Silly John!" exclaimed the other; "what does he do there?" + +"Why, he would not tell, I hear," answered the groom, "who were the +people whom he had seen bury my young lord under the beech trees by +Upwater Mere, so my lord ordered him to be shut up in the dark room, +without either meat or drink, till he did; and if he don't tell, hang +me if he don't starve to death, for my lord's not one to go back from +what he has once said." + +As the man spoke, the person who had been thus questioning him moved +his hand with a rapid and impatient gesture to the holster at his +saddle-bow, plunged it in, and pulling out a pistol, thrust it into his +belt. He muttered also a few words in a hurried tone, which could only +be heard by himself; but then again, appearing to recover from some +impatient feelings, he continued, "One word more, my good fellow. Is +not the small wicket door, at the back of the western wing, very often, +if not always, left open all night?" + +The man hesitated, and showed evident signs of a disinclination to +reply. + +"It is, sometimes," he said at length, "but not always." + +"I ask you," continued the other, "did you ever know it shut?" + +"Yes, I think so. I don't know. I can't tell," replied the groom, with +manifest hesitation, at what he felt to be betraying the way into his +lord's mansion. + +"He prevaricates," said one of the men behind; "he prevaricates; shall +I blow his brains out, Captain?" + +"Not yet," replied their leader, calmly. "Do you intend to answer, or +not? Did you ever in your life know that door shut?" + +"No. I didn't; no, I didn't," answered the groom. "It's always open; +that's the truth." + +"Very well, then," continued the other. "If I remember right, when one +goes straight forward from that door, and then turns along the first +passage to the left, it leads to the little hall, out of which a +passage takes to the foot of the great stairs. Now, there are two other +doors, one of which leads to the private staircase going to the Earl's +apartments. Which of those two doors is it; the right or the left; for +I forget? Your life is at stake," he added, in a warning tone. + +There was a sound like the clicking of a pistol-lock behind him, and +the man replied without the loss of a single moment, "It is the door to +the left. I tell you true, upon my word." + +"I dare say you do," replied the other; "if you don't, so much the +worse for you. You will remain here till I come back; and you know what +will happen to you if you have made any mistake in this business. +Harvey, learn from him exactly the way to the room where the poor silly +man has been put. You and Hardcastle must undertake to set him free; +then join me with all speed at the point you know. You, Williams and +Erith, stay with this man and the horses; and if you should have such +reason to believe that he has told me a falsehood as to induce you to +leave the spot, give him a couple of ounces of lead in his head before +you go. You understand me. I know a word is sufficient with you." + +"But, Captain," exclaimed the man whom he called Erith, "why should I +not go with you? Curse me if I like to be left here, holding the horses +like a groom. Why must not I go?" + +"Because I appoint you to a post of trust and danger," answered his +leader; "there is more to be apprehended from without than from within; +judgment of what intelligence it may be necessary to give me, too, is +wanted, and, therefore, I choose you. But to end all in one word, +Erith," he added, seeing the other about to reply, "you must stay here, +because I direct you to do so; I, who never yet found you unwilling to +obey at once, in moments of action and peril!" + +"That's the way you always come over me, Captain," replied his +companion; "however, I suppose I must do as you bid me, having stood by +your side in many a moment of life and death work." + +"And always acted like a lion, where it was needful," answered his +leader, holding out to him his hand, which the other grasped eagerly. +"God bless you, Erith!" he added; "there is something tells me we shall +not be long together. If we part for the last time to-night, remember +that I love you, and that I think even now of the watch-fire of +Kaiser-lautern, when, wounded yourself, you brought cup after cup of +cold water to your wounded Captain's lips." + +Thus saying he dismounted from his horse, and eight of his comrades +followed his example. The well-trained beasts were then ranged in a +line, and a single rope run through the bridles seemed all that was +necessary to keep them together till their riders' return. One end of +the rope was tied to a tree, the other to the last horse's bit; and +after gazing for one moment more at the light in the window of the +tower, across which a dark figure was seen to pass twice, the leader +gave a signal with his hand. The whole party then began silently to +descend the hill, with the exception of the two who had been appointed +to remain with the horses and the unhappy groom, whose terror had now +grown to such a pitch, that, had it not been for the lashings with +which he was attached to his horse, he could not have sat the animal, +although it remained as quiet and passive as if it had never known any +other stable than that of a farmer's mule. + +With eager eyes and a beating heart the man marked the party descend +the hill, emerge from the shadow of the trees, cross the dewy grass, +which glistened like frost-work in the full beams of the moon, ascend +the opposite rise, and then take their way amongst the trees behind, +towards the back of the building where they proposed to effect their +entrance. It was certain that the property of his lordly master was at +stake at that moment, and perhaps also the lives of several of his +comrades; but yet the worthy domestic felt little or no agitation upon +that score. All that affected him, all he thought of, as would too +naturally be the case with most of the human worms which crawl about in +this state of being, was his own situation, his own danger. He knew, he +felt, that any misunderstanding of the directions he had given, or that +anything going wrong in the arrangements of those who had compelled him +to afford them intelligence, might be attributed to intentional +falsehood or mis-statement on his part, and that a life which he valued +just in proportion to its worthlessness, its inactivity, and its want +of fine perceptions, might be taken from him on the slightest notice. + +He regarded the party of nine, then, as they descended the hill, with +feelings most strangely mingled and apparently contradictory; there was +a hope for their success, which he trusted would free him from the +painful situation in which they had placed him; there were sensations +of dislike and enmity towards those who had stopped and made him a +prisoner; there were feelings of anger in regard to the degradation of +the Earl of Danemore, who had so long ruled paramount throughout the +country round; and there was that longing desire which brutes as well +as man feel, to witness everything of importance that is passing around +them, especially when they are prevented by any cause from so doing. + +His feelings, I say, were so mingled, that his whole capability of +wishing was concentrated in one earnest desire to know the result, and +to have, if we may use such a colloquial expression, "the matter out at +once." There are times and seasons, indeed, when ten minutes of the +past, ten minutes of anything that is absolutely certain, are worth +whole ages of doubt, even though that doubt may not be mingled with any +degree of apprehension; but in the present instance, personal terror +added immensely to all that the unhappy man felt; and his thoughts of +every dear relation of life which might be sacrificed, had ample room +to torture his heart, while, silent and inactive, he remained upon the +hill, watching the progress of those on whom depended his whole +afterfate. + +When they approached the side of the wood that swept round the +esplanade, the straining eye of the captive could no longer distinguish +them; and he waited eagerly, with his eyes fixed upon the building, as +if he could gather all that was passing within those walls from the +dull unmeaning face of the stone. For some time, however, neither sight +nor sound gave him the slightest indications of what he longed to +learn. It was like the cold outside, which we too frequently see in the +world, covering a heart all agitation, anxiety, bitterness, and pain. + +At length his feelings became insurmountable. There are degrees of +terror which give courage: he felt that it would be a thousand times +preferable to be amongst his comrades at the Castle, sharing their fate +and mingling in their danger, than sitting there in perfect inactivity, +waiting a result which he had no power to change; and he writhed with +the bonds that confined him. As he did so, he felt that the knot upon +the cords which tied his arms gave way in a slight degree--that he +could loosen it still further by a great but silent exertion of his +strength; and as he made that exertion, it slipped down to his wrists, +over which it was easily passed. + +The two men who guarded him were gazing as eagerly upon the Castle as +he had been; and their minds were too full of the progress of their +comrades to allow them to take any note of the slight movement he had +made, so that, before they were at all aware of what he was doing, his +arms were free. As silently as he could, he slipped one hand into his +pocket for a knife to cut the cords which tied his legs, and he had +almost accomplished that purpose also, while they still continued +gazing at the Castle, along the windows of which more than one light +was now gleaming. He felt that he could do no more without calling +attention; but he perceived that what remained to do would be speedily +done, if he could get away, and would not impede his progress as he +went; and he gazed round upon the two who remained beside him, with a +beating heart, longing to gallop down to the Castle as fast as he +could, yet terrified at the idea of making the attempt. His hesitation +was soon brought to an end, however, for, giving way to the impulse of +habit, he put forward his hand, without thinking of what he was doing, +and patted his horse's neck. The gesture instantly drew the attention +of those beside him. + +"What are you about there?" cried Erith. "He has got his hands free!" + +The groom stayed to hear no more, but snatching up the bridle, he +struck his horse hard and galloped down the hill. The report of a +pistol rang in his ear the next moment, and at the same time a feeling +as if some one had run a hot iron along his right cheek, followed by +the trickling of blood, showed him that the robber's aim had not been +far amiss. The slight wound only added wings to his flight, however, +and the sound of a horse's feet following, urged him on still faster. +It was--and he knew it--a ride for life or death; but fortunately for +him his beast felt that it was speeding to its longed-for stable, and +though the hoofs of the pursuer sounded close behind, the groom rather +gained than lost ground in that headlong race. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIV. + + +Franklin Gray uttered scarcely a word as he led his men down the hill, +through the deep plantations to the left of the castle, and to the +small door which he was aware stood generally unlocked throughout the +whole night. Not a human being seemed to be stirring in the mansion or +its proximity; darkness, silence, and solitude, reigned in all the +offices and courts; and the Robber laid his hand upon the heavy iron +latch which was to give him admission into the interior of the +building, without his approach having been perceived by any one. + +He paused there for a moment, however, and spoke in a low tone to his +band, saying, "Remember! to free this young gentleman is the first +object. After that, take what may fall in the way, money and jewels; +nothing heavy; nothing cumbersome. All the rest that is light in weight +and valuable in quality, sweep off at once. What right has he to such +wealth more than we have?" he added, in the tone of one who sought to +justify, to himself and others, acts the justice of which he doubted. +"He took many a thing from others with a strong hand, and he shall now +feel the strong hand in turn. Your weapons, I know, are never unready; +but use them not, unless we are compelled. As little bloodshed as +possible! Remember, Harvey, the silly man, poor fellow!--then by the +Earl's dressing-room up to the old tower! You may clear the +dressing-room as you come, if you like. There are many jewels there." + +Those he addressed heard his directions without reply, though swords +were loosened in their sheaths, and the priming of some of the pistols +examined or increased. Harvey, and one or two others, indeed, of the +more experienced, seemed too sure of their preparations to need any +investigation thereof, and, without touching their weapons, prepared to +accompany their leader, with as much easy nonchalance as if he had been +leading them to a ball-room. + +Franklin Gray himself neither touched sword nor pistol, but there was +no affected carelessness in his air. It was grave and stern, and full +of thought, as it well might be when bent upon an errand in the course +of which human blood might be spilt like water, without any of the +exciting and animating spirit of martial enterprise which, under other +circumstances, might have led him to tread gaily the path to tenfold +dangers. He looked round at his companions, however, while the short +and fluttered preparation was made; then laid his hand upon the latch, +and the door opened easily to his hand. + +All was dark within, and the hollow echo of Franklin Gray's foot, as he +crossed the threshold, and strode on into the vaulted passage, was the +only sound to be heard in the mansion. One by one the others followed, +and leading them on through the dark corridors, without either +hesitation or mistake, the Robber proceeded straight towards what was +called the Little Hall, and pushed open a swinging door which lay +between it and the passages communicating with the offices. As he did +so, a bright light burst upon him, and dazzled his eyes, so long +habituated to the darkness. He strode on, however, into the midst of +the hall with a pistol in his hand; but the place was tenantless; and +he found that the light proceeded from a large sconce over the chimney, +and from a lamp standing on the table. + +"This will light us on our way," he said, taking up the lamp. "That is +the door, Harvey, which leads to the Earl's rooms above; when you have +set the poor man free, come that way at once. In the end room of the +suite you will find a door leading to a staircase between that room and +the top rooms of the tower above. Follow the stairs and join me; but, +remember, do not hurt the old man. Tie him, if he resists, but do not +take his life, unless he tries to take yours." + +Thus saying, he turned, and took his way through the passage that led +towards the foot of the great stairs, which he found dark and solitary. +There Harvey and his companion left him; and with the rest of his +followers, now reduced to six in number, Franklin Gray ascended the +steps, and entered the long corridor. + +"Hark!" he whispered, after pausing for a moment; "hark! There are +voices speaking beyond, and I think I see a light through the door. +That chamber lies close at the foot of the stairs which we have to go +up, and we must see what it contains, ere we proceed further. Follow +me," he continued; and, advancing with a noiseless step, he pushed open +the door, which was only ajar, and strode into the room. + +There, seated round a table furnished with a large black jack full of +strong ale, were, not only the three men who had been ordered to keep +guard over Langford, but two or three of the women servants of the +house, whom their male companions had prevailed upon to come and cheer +the solitary hours of night with their presence, and to banish all +fears of the ghost by numbers and merriment. + +The sudden apparition of Franklin Gray and his followers, however, at +once put an end to all glee. The men sat for a moment as if turned into +marble with terror and astonishment, but the women, without waiting to +see whether the object of their apprehensions was corporeal or +incorporeal, fled with loud and piercing screams by the opposite door; +and, as their retreat towards the great staircase was cut off, they had +no resource but to rush up towards the chambers inhabited by Langford. +No sooner was the example of flight set them, than the men hastened to +follow it, with loud and terrified vociferations; and though Franklin +Gray, irritated by the noise, vowed he would fire upon them if they +were not silent, they continued their outcry as they rushed on before +him up the stairs and through the outer chamber. + +Without calculation or concert, it struck each of the terrified +servants that they might make their way through the prisoner's room +down into Lord Danemore's apartments, where they hoped to find new +courage, or at least protection, from one to whom they had been. +accustomed to see all things yield in his vicinity. Each, then, rushed +towards the door, and, when they found it locked, pushed against it +with frantic vehemence. It shook--it yielded--the steps of the pursuers +were heard at the top of the stairs--another great effort was made; and +so sudden and violent was the rush, that the door gave way at once, and +darting in, the terrified servants found themselves in the presence not +only of Langford, but of the Earl himself. + +"What is the meaning of all this?" exclaimed the Earl. But scarcely had +the words issued from his lips, and before he could receive any reply, +when the figures of several strange men, armed, and for the most part +disguised, appeared at the doorway and gave him some intimation of the +truth. No sooner did he behold this sight, than he sprang towards the +door which led to his apartments below, unlocked it, and calling to his +servants, "Follow me!" he darted down the stairs, leaving Langford to +act as he thought fit. + +Franklin Gray paused but for a single instant for the purpose of +speaking a few hurried words to the prisoner, or rather spoke them as +he passed; "Quick!" he cried; "take possession of the papers if you +have not got them, and fly across the park down to Moorhurst, and +thence to London, where use your advantage, and hire the most knavish, +which means the best, of that great herd of knaves, called lawyers. I +must after yonder old man, or he will get to the alarum bell, and have +the whole county upon us." + +"Stop, Gray, stop!" exclaimed Langford; "remember ----" + +"I cannot stop! I cannot remember!" shouted Gray, sharply, in return, +and, darting towards the door, he rushed after the Earl, followed by +his band. + +Langford, left alone, paused for a moment, as if to consider, and then +took the same path that the rest had done. The stairs were all in +darkness, but the lights from the rooms below, the noise of many +voices, of trampling feet, and of evident contention, guided him; and, +rushing on through the dressing-room, he came to the Earl's bed-room, +where the old man, having snatched up what weapons he could find, with +the terrified women clinging to his knees, and the three men armed in +haste around him, now stood like an ancient lion brought to bay. With +his white hair floating back from his face, and the fire of +unquenchable courage flashing from his eyes, with a pistol presented +towards Gray in one hand, and a drawn sword in the other, he leaned +forward ready and eager for the unequal strife; while the Robber, with +his band behind him, and his arms crossed upon his his broad chest, +stood gazing upon the old peer with a look, stern indeed, but not +devoid of admiration. + +At the same time, in a detached group to the right, were Harvey and +Hardcastle, the first of whom had his foot planted firmly on the chest +of the Earl's Italian valet, who lay prostrate before him, while with +his right hand the Robber pointed a pistol at the servant's head. +Hardcastle from behind, with a short carbine raised to his shoulder, +took aim at the Earl, exclaiming, as he looked towards Franklin Gray, +"Shall I fire?" + +Like lightning Langford sprang forward, grappled with Hardcastle, and +threw up the muzzle of the carbine, which instantly going off, struck +the fine gilded ceiling, and brought down a considerable part upon +their heads. + +"Hold! hold!" shouted Gray. "If any one stirs he shall die!" + +"I know you, mutinous traitor! I know you," exclaimed the Earl, gazing +fiercely upon the Robber; "I have not forgotten you!" + +"Nor I you, buccaneer!" replied the Robber. "But this is no time to +call such memories to mind. Make no resistance, and you are safe." + +But, even as he spoke, there came the rushing sound of many feet from +the direction of the little hall below. The door to the left of the +Earl was thrown open, and in poured a crowd of men, grooms, horse-boys, +running footmen, all armed in haste with whatever weapons they could +snatch up, and led on by the very groom who had been left upon the +hill. + +Many of them were pale with terror, but the determination and courage +of a few amongst them served to inspire the whole, and they poured on +into the room to the number of twelve or thirteen men, jostling each +other through the door, and gazing wildly round a chamber in which few, +if any of them, had ever been before, and which now presented so +strange and fearful a scene. + +The eyes of Franklin Gray flashed as he beheld them, and Hardcastle, +suddenly bursting from the grasp of Langford---for all this had passed +in a single moment--sprang to the side of his leader, while Harvey, +coolly firing the pistol at the Italian's head, followed his companion, +and ranged himself with the rest. The unhappy valet started partly up +from the ground, but ere he could gain his feet, fell back again, and +writhed for an instant in convulsive agony, while the spirit quitted +its frail tenement. Then all was still. + +But matters of deeper interest to Henry Langford were going on at the +other side of the room. Fury had evidently taken place of calmness in +the breast of Franklin Gray, and the Earl's eyes were blazing with +triumph and wrath as he found himself unexpectedly supported by so +large a body of men. + +"Now, villain! will you surrender and meet your fate?" the old man +exclaimed. "Now surrender, or die where you stand, like a man! Out of +the way, woman! why cling you there?" he continued, spurning one of the +women servants with his foot, and striding over her, to approach nearer +to the Robber. But at that moment Franklin Gray's arms were unfolded +from his breast, the pistol in his right hand was raised in an +instant--there was a flash--a report, and the Earl fell back. +Consternation for a moment seized upon his attendants, and Langford's +voice was heard aloud exclaiming, "If you have killed him, you shall +answer for it with your life!" + +But the Earl sprang up again instantly, crying, "'Tis nothing--'tis +nothing but a slight hurt! Take that, villain!" and, in the very act of +rising, he fired the pistol, which he had never let fall, into the +midst of the group of robbers. He probably intended the shot for +Franklin Gray, and there had been a time when no aim of his would have +failed in reaching its object; but he was wounded and old, and the ball +hit the man Hardcastle a few inches below the collar bone, and brought +him to the ground with a loud unnatural scream. + +All was now confusion; a number of shots were fired on both sides, till +the pistols and carbines which had been loaded were discharged, and, +betaking themselves to other weapons, the two parties mingled, and +bloodshed, slaughter, and determined strife spread throughout the whole +apartments. Some were driven back into the rooms beyond, and prolonged +the struggle there; some died where they stood; and some were seen to +steal away wounded, or to fly as fast as they could with terror. Skill, +however, and discipline were on the part of the robbers; and though +they were inferior in number, the advantage was evidently on their +side. Franklin Gray, with all the worst parts of his nature roused and +fierce within him, commanded, directed, and fought, as if he had been +in the field. His eye was on every part of the chamber in turn, and his +voice was heard shouting orders to his different men, which, promptly +obeyed, almost always brought success along with them. Two of the +Earl's grooms, who thrust themselves between him and their master, fell +by his hand, either killed or wounded, even while he was directing +others. But while he still strode on towards the old peer, who +struggled fiercely forward to meet him, he was encountered by one at +least equal to himself. + +With difficulty Langford had forced himself forward through the scene +of strife and confusion that was going on. He spoke to no one, he +assailed no one, though he parried more than one blow aimed at random +at his head, for, though the lamp above their heads gave abundant +light, the struggle and the obscurity caused by the smoke had got to +that pitch that men scarcely knew who were adversaries or who were +friends; but, with his drawn sword in his hand, he hurried on to the +part of the room where he had seen the Earl, and now seemed to devote +himself to his defence. + +At the very moment when Franklin Gray was within another stride of the +old peer, Langford thrust himself between them. But the Robber's blood +was all on fire. "Out of my way!" he cried; "out of my way, or take the +consequences!" + +"Stand back!" cried Langford, in return, while his eyes too flashed +with living lightning; "Stand back, or I forget all, and you die!" + +"Out of my way!" again repeated Franklin Gray, and their swords +crossed. + +At that moment, however, the loud long peal of the alarum bell made +itself heard throughout the whole Castle--rung with such violence and +determination as speedily to rouse all the villages and hamlets in the +neighbourhood. Franklin Gray heard the sound; and never in the moment +of the strongest passion forgetting the judgment and the skill which +had distinguished him in the army, even in the most unjustifiable +enterprises, he glared for a moment upon Langford, unwilling to yield +his victim, or to give up the strife; but then, as the knell sounded +louder and more loud upon his ear, he turned to his nearest companion, +saying, in a low voice, "Wilson, we must make our retreat. Tell Harvey +to get the men together. We go by the same way that we came. Get hold +of yonder casket, and see what is in that cabinet, while I and these +good fellows screen you; and be quick, for we shall have the whole +peasantry upon us! There is a tremendous smell of fire! Be quick--be +quick!" + +He spoke rapidly but calmly, glancing with his eye from time to time +towards his antagonist. Although he felt very sure that Langford would +not attempt to injure him, unless he pressed him, still he kept his +blade playing round that of his opponent; and when he had done, he made +a lunge or two to fill up the time, but evidently without any intention +of wounding his adversary. Langford parried them with ease, and as +rapid in his conclusions as Franklin Gray, he perceived at once that +the ringing of the alarum bell, which struck his ear also, had rendered +the robbers apprehensive of their retreat being cut off, and now made +them prepare to retire. + +The Earl, however, fierce and implacable, rushed forward the more +eagerly from the sounds he heard, and from the hope of taking or +destroying those who had dared to assail him. With word and gesture he +cheered on the men who still stood around him, and pressed forward upon +the robbers, who were now ranging themselves in regular line, and +slowly retreating to the doorway behind them. His men, however, were in +general of the opinion that it is wise to make a bridge for a flying +enemy, and they seconded his efforts but feebly, notwithstanding his +reiterated commands and the fearful execrations which he poured forth +upon their cowardice. Two or three, indeed, rushed forward with him, +but they were driven back in a moment by the line of their adversaries, +bearing with them some severe wounds to teach them more caution for the +future. + +They dragged back in their flight their more impetuous lord, and under +cover of the smoke, which was now so dense as to render every object in +the room indistinct, the Robber and his men reached the door by which +they had entered, and began to pass it two at a time. As they did so, +the eye of Franklin Gray ran over their numbers, and he suddenly +exclaimed, "Halt! Hardcastle is down and dead; but where are Harvey and +Doveton?" + +"I am here," cried a faint voice, which proceeded from a man who was +seen staggering towards them through the clouds of smoke. "Go on, +Captain; never mind me. I will come after." + +"We must leave none in the hands of the enemy." cried the Robber, +starting forward, and taking the wounded man by the arm. At that +moment, however, one of the grooms darted upon Doveton, and seized him +by the collar, but as instantly fell back on the floor cleft nearly to +the jaws by the heavy blade of Franklin Gray, who, while he was thus +remorselessly sending the spirit of an adversary to its eternal +account, was shouting out with anxious care for his companions--"Where +is Harvey? I don't see Harvey!" + +Such is human nature. + +"I am here; I am here, Captain," cried Harvey, bursting into the room +from the opposite door, and throwing down a man who stood in his way. + +"Come quickly, then; come quickly!" cried his leader; "we shall scarce +have time to retreat!" + +"No, by ----, we shall not!" replied Harvey, rushing up to Franklin +Gray, and speaking in a low tone. "We shall not for the house is on +fire in every part. I ran through there to see if we could get out by +that staircase and the little hall, but the fire seems to have begun +there; some of the men must have knocked over the sconce. Our only way +will be up these stairs, down the others from the tower, and through +the great gallery. But we must be quick, for the fire is running that +way rapidly." He spoke quickly, but by this time there was no chance of +his being interrupted, for the same tidings had just been communicated +to the Earl and those who surrounded him, but not with the same +clearness; and, horrified at the thought of the new kind of death +presented to their eyes, the whole body of grooms and attendants had +made a rush towards the ante-chamber and vestibule, hoping to escape by +the same way that Harvey had attempted, but found impracticable. + +The Earl followed them more slowly, and he might be seen once or twice +to raise his hand toward his head, as if either faint from loss of +blood, or giddy with the smoke and the fatigue. + +Langford gazed after him eagerly, and when he saw him reach the door, +and take hold of the lintel as if for support, he darted forward to aid +him; but he was suddenly detained by a strong and powerful hand which +grasped his arm, and turning, he beheld Franklin Gray and two of his +men by his side. + +"This way! this way!" cried the Robber, eagerly; "this way, if you +would save your life and regain your liberty! This way, if you would +recover the papers you have so long eagerly sought! The house is on +fire, and everything will quickly be consumed!" + +Langford hesitated; but when he turned again towards the Earl, the old +peer had passed through the door, and was no longer visible. + +"Quick--quick!" cried Franklin Gray. "Come you must and shall! Drag him +along whether he will or not;" and, seized by both arms, he was hurried +to the foot of the staircase leading to the tower. Some sudden emotion, +however, seemed there to take possession of him, and make him throw +aside all hesitation at once. + +"My duty first," he cried, "and God's will for the rest;" and shaking +off the hold of those who were hurrying him forward, he exclaimed, "Go +on, Gray, and if I perish, forget that we have drawn our swords upon +each other;--go on." As he spoke he turned with a rapid step, and +retrod his way into the Earl's bed-room. + +Gray gazed after him for a moment, with a look of stern sorrow and then +said, "On, my men! He must perish if he will." + +A number of voices assailed Langford as he entered the Earl's bed-room, +exclaiming, "Not that way--not that way! the vestibule is all on fire! +the stairs are down!" and men and women, rushing rapidly towards the +other staircase by which the robbers had fled, passed him as he +advanced, while the heat was becoming more and more intense, and the +smoke almost suffocating. + +"Where is the Earl?" he demanded of one of the grooms as he darted by +him. + +"I don't know," replied the man, with all the bitter selfishness of +terror. "Gone to the devil, I dare say," and on he rushed. + +But Langford, undismayed, strode forward--passed through the bed-room, +and entered the ante-room beyond. It was now clear of all the crowd of +attendants who had supported the Earl in his struggle with the robbers, +but had fled in different directions from the still more appalling fate +that now menaced every one within those walls. The fire was running +round the cornices; the smoke was tremendously thick--the heat and +smell of burning wood intolerable, and the rushing and roaring of the +flames, as they seemed to revel with demoniac triumph in the passages +beyond, was almost deafening to the ear. + +Immediately under the lamp that hung from the ceiling, however, and +leaning on a table of splendid mosaic work, which was soon destined to +crumble into nothing under the jaws of the devouring elements, stood +the Earl of Danemore, with the blood dropping rapidly from a wound in +the shoulder and from another in the arm. Them was a sort of fixed, +stern, cold determination in his countenance, which had something awful +in it, as, in that scene of terror and coming destruction, he stood +without making one effort to save himself. + +"Fly, my lord, fly!" exclaimed Langford, hurrying towards him; "this +way is still clear." + +"Sir," replied the Earl, calmly and coldly, "I cannot fly; I am old, +and weak, and wounded, and I cannot fly. I have exerted myself somewhat +too much in this little affray; my strength is expended, and I cannot +fly. I may as well die here, as in the next room or the room beyond." + +"God forbid that it should be so!" replied Langford, eagerly. "My lord, +I can bear you forth; I am young and strong, unhurt and unfatigued. Let +me--let me save you!" + +"Touch me not, sir!" exclaimed the Earl; "touch me not! You have +brought this thing upon my head. From the sight of that man's face, I +know where you gained your information of my former life. He came to +set you free. Touch me not! but go to join your fellows while you may. +Here, with death hanging over me, and perhaps over you, I tell you I +hate and abhor you, and will not have your support, even to save my +life!" + +"Say not so, my lord; say not so," replied Langford, casting himself on +his knee before him; "let me entreat you--let me adjure you to accept +my aid! Did you not see my sword drawn against him in your defence? +Hate me, my lord, you may; injure me, you have; but you know not yet +that I love you with a love that may change your hate into affection; +and to show you what I feel, I swear that if you come not to safety +with me, I will remain and die with you!" + +The old man was moved. "This is strange--this is very strange!" he +said; "but no!" he added, "save yourself, Monsieur de Beaulieu, save +yourself; and, in gratitude for what you say, let us mutually forgive +one another. For me, my hour is come; I know it--I feel it. My plans +are frustrated and thwarted; the secrets of my early life displayed; +the mansion of my fathers burnt to the ground! my son, my only son, +dead by the hand of a murderer!--I am old, houseless--hopeless; why +should I linger? I am companionless, childless; why should I live?" + +"Not childless, my lord," replied Langford; "not companionless, if you +will have it so. Your son, Lord Danemore, is dead, but not your only +son. Your son is lost--but your eldest son is at your feet!" + +"God of heaven!" exclaimed the Earl; "what do you mean? You are so +like; yes, you are so like--" + +"Yes, my lord--yes!" exclaimed Langford, "I know I am. I am like +Eugenie de Beaulieu, your first, your only wife. I am her son! I am +your child! But now let me save my father;" and he threw his vigorous +arms around him. + +The old man bent down his head upon his shoulder, and wept; but he +resisted him no longer; and Langford, with a great effort, raising that +still powerful form in his arms, bore him strongly onward through the +bed-room, and the dressing-room behind it, to the stairs. It is true he +felt that he carried a great and unusual weight; but there were those +feelings within his bosom which made every muscle as strong as a band +of iron, and he bore the old peer up the stairs into the chamber where +he had been so long confined. + +Until that moment, the Earl uttered not a word, and the tears rained +heavy from his eyes; but then he raised his head, exclaiming, "Stop! +stop: The papers, my boy! The papers!" + +"Not for a world:" exclaimed Langford; "if we have time, it is all that +we shall have;" and on he hurried through the ante-chamber and down the +stairs to the long gallery. + +There was an awful sight before him. The rich carved oak wainscotting +was all in flames. The invaluable pictures which covered the walls +shrivelling and crackling with the fire. The armour and weapons, either +of the chase or war, which had been piled up in the form of trophies +between the panels, fallen from brackets that supported them, cumbered +the floor in many places. The ceiling from above was dropping down with +the heat, and in two places the flame might be seen forcing its way +through the flooring from below, and curling up the wooden pillars +which supported the roof. It was evident that the whole of the +corridors underneath were on fire; and as Henry, bearing his heavy +burden, strode on along the gallery, he knew not but that each step +might precipitate both himself and his father into the gulf of death. +His heart, however, was proud of its doing, and fearless; and if there +was one feeling in his breast which was painful, it arose there only +when the thought of Alice Herbert crossed his mind--when deep love and +the memory of her affection came tender and unnerving upon him. For a +single instant all the painful particulars of her situation, if he were +lost to her, flashed across his mind, but he banished them in a moment, +and summoned high resolution to his aid, knowing that he was acting as +she would have him act--knowing that she would be proud and satisfied +if she could see him at that moment. + +Onward he went, rapidly but carefully. Twice he felt the flooring +giving way beneath him, and twice by a longer stride he reached a spot +where the beams were firm and unconsumed. The vast size of the gallery +enabled him to breathe with greater freedom, but still he could not see +clearly to the top of the great staircase, not only on account of the +smoke, but on account of a shower of sparks which came down from a spot +where the ceiling had fallen in. + +The dust and mortar, even when he reached that place, prevented him +from discovering what was the state of the flooring below; only two +steps, however, lay between him and the head of the great staircase. If +he reached it, he knew that he was safe, for it was of stone, and he +strode on. The flooring gave way, however, at the first step, but he +perceived it yielding before it was too late, and with a violent +exertion sprang across the chasm. The effort was so great as nearly to +have cast him headlong down the steps, but he caught the iron +balustrade, and with a beating heart felt that he and his father both +were saved. + +"Thank God!" he exclaimed. + +"Thank God!" rejoined the Earl; "I can walk now! I can walk well!" + +But Langford still bore him on till they had reached the doorway, and +passed out under the arch which projected beyond the building. There, +relaxing his hold, he suffered the Earl to regain his feet; but, still +supporting him by the arm, led him onward, after giving a moment to +recover breath, towards a spot on the terrace where all those who had +escaped from the fire, were assembled, and, as too usual on such +occasions, were standing with inactive wonder and selfish thankfulness +for their own deliverance. + +Further on, indeed, there were two or three people engaged in raising +with difficulty a long ladder towards the high tower where Langford had +been confined. But a cry of "The Earl! the Earl!" which burst from the +nearest group as the two approached, caused them to pause, and the +woman Bertha, who had been directing their movements, ran up in haste. +The Earl, leaning on the arm of him who had saved him, gazed up for an +instant upon the splendid mansion of his ancestors, while in some parts +wide black vacuities, fringed with fire, and in others a mass of flame +and a blaze of light, crowned by a pyramid of red sparks and smoke, +showed him the state of that building from the midst of which he had +been borne. + +The sight thus presented to his eyes, the memory of all that night's +events, the sudden wakening up of old, and dear, but painful, +associations, the renewal of feelings that had been extinct, and the +struggle of wonder and uncertainty with joy and conviction, were +overpowering to a frame weakened as his had been. He turned from the +burning mansion to his recovered son; he gazed for a moment, earnestly, +intensely, on his countenance, and then, casting his arms around his +neck, he exclaimed, "It is--it is--my son! my child! my deliverer! But +my eyes grow dizzy; my heart feels sick." And as he spoke, he fainted +with the loss of blood and the manifold emotions which thronged into +his heart. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIV. + + +"He acknowledges him! he acknowledges him as his own child!" exclaimed +the voice of Bertha, who had run up in haste from the other group. +"Bear witness all! bear witness every one! you Henry, you Jones, you +Moreton; he acknowledges him as his son even at the moment of his +death!" + +"Hush! hush! he is not dead!" exclaimed the deep full voice of +Langford; "he is but fainting from loss of blood. Some one seek a +surgeon speedily. Give me something to bind up his wounds. Cannot some +one fetch a cup of water?" + +"He acknowledged him!" repeated the woman Bertha, whose whole mind +seemed taken up with one idea; "he has acknowledged him; let every one +bear witness. I knew it would be so; I knew it must be so. I knew that +fate and inscrutable justice would work out their own way, though it +were in darkness and in shadow. I knew that it wanted no mortal skill +to direct, no mortal hand to help. Oh, thou," she continued, turning +towards Langford, "thou who hast undergone the severe trial in thine +infancy of evil fortune and adversity, thou who hast drunk the bitter +cup in youth, now--now that the sweeter cup is presented to +thee--forget not the lessons thou hast learnt, and show that thy heart +has been softened, not hardened, by struggles early endured, and +sorrows tasted in the brightest days of life; now show that thy bosom +is as free, even when loaded with riches, as when lowliest fortune +oppressed thee." + +"I trust it may be so," replied Langford, quickly; "I trust it may be +so; but nevertheless you mark not the Earl's condition. Quick, Mistress +Bertha, quick! Surely some simples can be found to recall him from this +state of insensibility. Seek them, I beseech you; seek them quickly, +for it is terrible to think of losing a parent when one has so lately +regained one." + +"Fear not! fear not!" answered the woman, gazing upon the Earl; "he +only faints. There is many a year's life yet within those old limbs. He +was not saved from destruction to die at the moment when his dearest +tie to the world was restored to him. But look not impatient, Master +Henry; I will speed quickly to the rooms which are not yet on fire, +although my keys have been stolen from me, and I know not where to find +anything that I seek. Nevertheless, so be it; I go but to obey." + +She turned as if to quit them; but Henry, and one or two of those who +stood near, exclaimed, "Hold! hold! he is better; he opens his eyes. +Bring us some water; that will restore him fully." + +As they spoke the Earl did indeed open his eyes, and looked around him +feebly. A few long strips of linen were procured, and made into +bandages for his wounds. Langford, as we shall still call him, applied +them skilfully and well; and some water was obtained, of which the Earl +drank eagerly, for he was parched and thirsty with exertion and loss of +blood. The deep draught seemed to refresh him much, and he raised +himself up on his arm from the turf whereon they had laid him, making a +sign for Langford and others to help him to rise entirely. + +"You are better now," said Langford, eagerly; "you are better now. Let +us bear you to some cottage in the neighbourhood, where the aid of a +surgeon may be procured." + +"I am better," replied the Earl, in a voice wonderfully firm; "I am +better, my son; but there is much yet to be done. Raise me up. Stay; +give me your hand, I can raise myself. How goes the fire? is the +building all down?" + +"Oh, mind not the building, my lord," replied his son; "mind not the +building. Let us attend to your safety first. There will not be wanting +means to raise Danemore Castle from its ashes again. No, my lord, no," +he continued, seeing the Earl make an impatient sign with his hand; +"the building is not all down; the whole of the right wing is free, and +the people are bringing out everything valuable that it contains." + +"But the tower, the tower," exclaimed the Earl. "Those papers, my boy, +they must be preserved at all risks, otherwise your destiny will still +be clouded. Lift me up, lift me up, I say." + +With very little assistance he raised himself from the ground and gazed +over the building, fixing his eyes eagerly on the old tower in which +Langford had been confined. The fire, running along the corridors, had +reached the first and second stories, and round the frameworks of the +lower windows might be seen the long lambent flames curling like fiery +serpents. But up above appeared the windows of the two chambers which +contained matter of such interest to both the Earl and his son, through +which shone forth nothing but the calm steady light of the lamps that +had been left burning there--pouring forth a mild and tranquil lustre, +high above all the fierce and eager flames below, like a gentle and +virtuous spirit shining on in peaceful brightness amidst the fire, and +flame, and smoke of the angry passions, and consuming strifes, and foul +ambitions of the world. + +"There is yet time," exclaimed the Earl; "there is yet time! Raise up +that ladder," he continued, turning to those who had been, placing it +against the tower as a means for his own escape, but had now let it +sink back again to the ground; "raise up that ladder. Why have you let +it drop? There! Be quick! Place it against the furthest window to the +east. Why do you not aid them?" he continued, turning to some of the +servants who stood inactive. "By Heaven, I will have your ears slit, if +you stand idly there!" + +The men, reminded by the tone, of the fiery rule under which they had +so long lived, sprang to obey; but notwithstanding all the eager haste +with which he urged then on, to raise that tall ladder was a work +requiring some labour and time, and, while they did it, the anxious eye +of the Earl marked with apprehension the flames appearing, one after +another, at the small loop-hole windows which lighted the staircase +that led from the great gallery to the chambers above. + +"Now, now," he said, in the loudest voice he could command, as soon as +the ladder was fixed, "a thousand guineas to the man who will mount +into that room, and with a pickaxe break open the cabinet door in the +wall on the left hand, and bring me down safely the small iron case +that is contained therein. A thousand guineas to that man, I say!" + +"I will do it, my lord," cried a stout peasant, starting forth; "I'd go +through fire, or water either, for a thousand guineas, for then I could +marry Jenny Barker, and take old Hudson's farm. There's no pickaxe +here, but here's a crowbar, which will do as well." + +"Up, up then," cried the Earl; "a thousand guineas if you bring it +down!" + +The young man sprang up the ladder at once; but ere he had reached the +top, the flames were seen bursting through the windows of the adjoining +room, and every eye below watched his ascent with fearful interest. He +went on boldly, however, and, reaching the top, contrived to open the +window. He was seen kneeling for a moment upon the sill, and then +sprang into the room. + +A moment of anxious suspense followed, but then the small flickering +point of the flame was seen curling round the wood-work of the casement +through which he had just passed, and in another instant it burst forth +in a volume. As it did so, a wild scream burst from the crowd behind +the Earl, and a pretty country girl ran forward, wringing her hands. +But at that moment the form of him she loved was seen emerging from the +very midst of the fire. He planted his foot firmly on the ladder, and +descended rapidly, holding a small case in his arms. + +"He has got them!" cried the Earl; "he has got them!" and he turned +towards Langford with a smile full of joy. + +"He is safe!" murmured the girl; "he is safe!" and she burst into +tears. + +With haste so great as almost to be dangerous, the young man descended +the ladder; but it soon became apparent why he did so, for the flames +were seen curling about the upper rounds thereof, and just as he +reached the bottom, the upper part, consumed by the intense heat, gave +way, and the ladder fell, first against another point of the tower, and +then with a crash to the ground. The young man, however, was safe; and, +giving one pressure of the hand to the girl, who ran forward to meet +him as he passed, he advanced directly to the Earl, and placed the +small iron case that he carried in his hands. + +It opened with a spring lock, and the Earl pressed it back eagerly. + +Langford gazed, not without much agitation, for there before him, he +thought, lay all that he had so long desired and striven to possess, +the proofs of his mother's honour and purity, his title to great +wealth, a noble name, and high rank, (not only in his own country, but +in that which had in some degree adopted him,) and the means of +showing, of proving, to Alice Herbert, that he had loved her, and +sought her, with the high, pure, disinterested love of which she was +worthy. He gazed anxiously, then, while the Earl pressed back the lock; +but the old man's hands were still feeble, and it was with difficulty +that he accomplished that object. He did so at length; the lock gave +way, and the top flew open; but, to the surprise and consternation of +both, the casket was void. Not a paper, not a trace of anything of the +kind did it contain. + +The Earl let it drop from his hands, and turned a glance of fierce +inquiry upon the young peasant, exclaiming, "Have you opened it?" + +"As I hope for salvation, my lord," exclaimed the young man, "I neither +tried nor knew how to open it, but brought it to you just as I found +it." + +His anxious and terrified look, the sudden rush of blood to his +countenance, his frank and ingenuous bearing, all confirmed his words, +and left no doubt that he spoke the truth. The Earl then turned to his +son, and gazed in his face with a look of deep and painful interest. +Langford's brow was grave, but calm, and taking both the Earl's hands +in his, he said, "Never mind, my lord; it cannot be helped; let us be +satisfied with the good which has befallen us. This day I have gained a +father, and you a son! It is enough! Let us not mind the rest." + +The Earl cast himself upon his bosom. "You are my son, you are my son!" +he said; "I know and feel it, though there is much that I do not +comprehend, there is much still to be explained. You are like your +mother! Oh! too like your mother! Hating myself for having wronged her, +I hated her because she was wronged; and yet, though it seem madness +and folly to say it, I loved her still. But I knew not that she had had +a son, or I would never have acted as I did act; I would never have +wronged her as I did wrong her. A vague suspicion of the truth, a wild +whirling phantom of the imagination, did cross my mind once in years +long gone; and once, too, within these few days, when first I saw you +in that tower. But why, why did she conceal it?" + +"Because, my lord," replied Langford, "you had left her; you had taken +from her the proofs of your marriage with her; you were upon the eve of +marriage with another, a proud and princely dame of another land; and +because her brother, my uncle, once your friend and companion, though +he doubted not the tale that his sister told of her private marriage +with yourself, and of your having obtained from her all the proofs of +that marriage, upon the most solemn vow never to destroy them; though +he doubted it not, I say, no, not a word of the whole tale, yet he +insisted upon her concealing her situation and the birth of her child, +for the sake of the honour of his family, at least till he could obtain +from you the proofs of his sister's virtue. Nay more; when he found +that, notwithstanding all his precautions, scandal had got abroad and +was busy with her name, he forced her to quit her own land, to dwell in +other countries, to assume another name, and to countenance the report +of her own death. In every matter of fortune he treated her with noble +and princely generosity; and in all points he was kind, except in one, +where he was stern and inflexible. But I agitate you. You are not able +to hear this tale now." + +"Go on! go on!" exclaimed the Earl; "let me hear it all at once. Keep +me not a moment in suspense." + +"Well," continued Langford, "he educated me as if I had been his own +child; but, as I was born in England--born within but a few miles of +this spot--he caused me to be placed in the English regiments serving +at that time with the troops of France. When of an age to judge for +myself, he told me, with her consent, the sad story of my mother, which +she had never told me----" + +"What! then she lived!" exclaimed the Earl; "she did not die when I was +told she died!" + +"Oh no, my lord," replied Langford; "she bore deep grief for many a +long and bitter year. Hers was a heart of much endurance, and though +the disappointment of her first affection, the destruction of all +confidence in----" + +"Hush! hush!" exclaimed the Earl, covering his eyes with his hands. +"Hush, hush; I did her bitter wrong!" + +There was a silent pause of several minutes, and then the old man asked +again, "How long has she been dead?" + +"Scarcely two years, my lord," replied his son; "and let me say, that +even to the last, there was within her heart a lingering spark of +affection toward him whom she had loved in early youth--whom she had +loved alone." + +"Bless her!" exclaimed the Earl; "bless her! Oh, could she but know +that I weep for her even now!" and he did weep. + +"But that, too," he added sadly, "is amongst the dark things of the +irrevocable past. Oh! could but man remember that, though each act that +he performs, each fiery passion gratified, each rash word spoken, each +selfish wrong committed, may be blotted from his memory the next hour, +like words written by the finger of a child upon the sea-shore sand; +that, though his remembrance thereof may be but as a waxen tablet, on +which each new impression effaces the last; could he but remember, I +say, that there is a stern and adamantine record kept by fate, on which +the lightest line, once traced, can never be effaced, which whole +oceans of tears can never clear of one spot, nor the fiery longings of +the repentant heart ever purify of one dark act done, human things +would surely never give themselves cause to feel what I feel now, +longing to pour out my blood like water, so that it could but recall +the past." + +There was another pause, and then the Earl continued, "Tell me more, my +son; tell me more. You spoke of your uncle. He was a noble man, and +generous. Though there have been harsh words and fierce acts pass +between us, I loved him well: I love him even now." + +"I was about to say, my lord," continued Langford, "that when I was of +an age to hear and judge, he told me my mother's history, and my own +condition. He told me that you had wedded another, and had a son on +whom you doted fondly; and he showed me that there was no chance of +your ever doing myself or my mother justice, if by so doing you were to +wring your earldom and your rich estates from him, the child of your +affection. He then proposed to me to make a sacrifice, and once more to +apply to you for the proofs of my mother's marriage, entering into a +solemn compact with you never to produce those proofs in England. +Possessing them in France would not only have at once restored the +honour of my mother, but would have rendered me heir to the Marquisate +of Beaulieu, and to all the estates thereunto attached. But there arose +a question as to whether my birth should be made known to you. My +mother longed for it eagerly; for with a mother's fond affection she +thought that there was something in your breast which would prevent you +from utterly wronging your child." + +The Earl stretched forth his hand and turned away his head, exclaiming, +"She did me more than justice. My heart might have been torn with agony +and shame, but I should have found no means to escape but in fresh +crime, and might not have had the courage even to do partial right." + +"So my uncle judged," replied Langford, "and he refused his consent to +your being made acquainted either with my birth, or with my mother's +existence. He offered you his solemn pledge, however, never to use the +proofs, if you once yielded them, for any other purpose than to +establish the fact of his sister's marriage, in France." + +"And I refused him," said the Earl; "I refused him what he had every +right to claim. But it is vain regretting; and he, too, is dead, +bearing with him to the cold tomb a load of injuries, from him whom he +once called his friend--from him whom he succoured in adversity, nursed +in sickness. He, too, is dead, and with him likewise the past is beyond +recall. But with thee, my boy, with thee it is not too late; and yet," +he added, sadly, "those papers are lost which I promised never to +destroy--which I guarded so carefully--the only proofs of that +marriage--they are lost at the very moment that I find my son. Does it +not seem as if fate were resolved to punish all my past deeds by +stamping them with its irrevocable signet at the moment I first longed +to recall them? What shall we do? How shall we act to prove the facts? +Bertha you were present; you are the only one now left." + +"Is it not enough that you acknowledge him?" demanded the woman; "are +your laws in this land so hard that a man cannot do tardy justice when +he longs to do it?" + +"What is justice to one, might be injustice to another," replied +Langford; "and if I am rightly informed, the title and estates must +pass away to some far relative." + +"A man I hate!" exclaimed the Earl, with a touch of his old fierceness. + +But Langford interposed. "Oh, hate no one now!" he said; "but let us +talk no more of these things; at least not now. You are faint, my lord, +and I fear, much hurt; lean on my arm, and take this good youth's too, +who, though he brought us but the empty casket, with the treasure gone, +must not be unrewarded." + +"The stables are not touched, my lord," said one of the grooms, +advancing, and bowing low; "we can bring a carriage in a moment." + +"Do so! do so, speedily!" replied Langford, and he endeavoured to lead +the peer to some place of repose. But the old man seemed still inclined +to linger and to inquire into the past, in the presence of the awful +scene which was yet proceeding before his eyes. All that had been said, +both by father and son, had been witnessed by a crowd of persons; but +at first, the overpowering feelings of their hearts had withdrawn all +attention from external objects, and neither had remarked nor +remembered that there was any living soul present but themselves. Henry +had awakened to their situation first, and he now strove to prevent the +Earl entering further into the history of his past life, grieved and +angry with himself for not having stopped him ere any ears had heard +him charge himself with so many dark offences. + +"We are surrounded by listeners, my lord," he said, in a low tone, +seeing that the Earl was proceeding with the theme then paramount in +his thoughts; "we had better pause till we are in private. There is +many a keen ear around us." + +"I mind them not!" replied the Earl, aloud, drawing himself up to his +full height, but still leaning upon his son's arm; "I mind them not! I +would have them know it! Who can say that I shall ever see to-morrow's +sun? Hear every one, and bear witness, that I acknowledge this +gentleman as my son; that I was fully and lawfully married to his +mother, before his birth, in the church of Uppington; that by my hand +the leaf was torn from the register which recorded that marriage; that +the certificate thereof was taken by me from his mother; and that it, +with the torn leaf and other papers, was kept by me, from that time to +this, in the case which now lies empty there. Some one has stolen them +in the horrors of this night; but for their recovery, I will double the +reward I offered for the casket itself. Let every one remember the +words that I have spoken. This is my legitimate son!" + +The people around answered by a shout; but the heavy pressure of the +Earl's hand upon his son's arm showed Henry that the exertion of +speaking in so loud a tone had been too much for his exhausted powers; +and he eagerly led him away towards a spot where he could sit down till +the vehicle came to carry him to the neighbouring village. The old man +seemed satisfied, however, with what he had accomplished, and gazing in +his son's face with a smile, he said, "I have done my best towards one +act of reparation. Oh, my boy, would that I could repair all!" + +Langford said little in reply, but what he did say was kind and tender; +and as soon as the carriage appeared; the Earl was placed in it, and +conveyed to the house of the clergyman of the village, who gladly +received his noble patron. Messengers were instantly sent off for +surgeons, but ere they arrived, Langford, who sat by his father's +bedside, saw with pain a bright red spot deepening every moment in the +Earl's cheek, announcing, as well as his burning thirst, that strong +fever was taking possession of him. + + + + + CHAPTER XXVI. + + +It is an awful thing to sit by the bed of sickness at any time; to see +that strange and inexplicable thing, animal life, oppressed and beaten +down like a crushed butterfly, waving its faint wings with the energy +of suffering, but not the freedom of health; to mark the quick +breathing, to gaze upon the anxious eye, to see the cheek, once florid, +grown pale and ashy, the lip parched and dry, the thin nostril +expanding for the insufficient breath, the hand suddenly blanched and +grown meagre, the uneasy frame tossing with the dire combination of +lassitude and restlessness; and to know that all these are signs of a +spirit approaching that dread portal, which, if once passed, can never +be passed again till the gates of life are thrown open for eternity! + +It is an awful thing at any time! but when the being whom we see so +situated is dear to our heart by the ties of kindred or of love, it is +still more awful; and awful, trebly awful, is the scene, when the +creature that lies weighed down by sickness before our eyes is both +closely linked to our deepest feelings and tenderest natural +affections, and yet loaded, even more than by the weight of malady, +with faults and errors, and sins and crimes, which may render the dark +passing of that fearful porch of death, the eternal separation from all +who loved him on the earth. + +The fire in Danemore Castle had burnt itself out. Part of the building +had been saved, and remained uninjured. The servants had taken +possession of it, and were using all means to prevent the fire from +breaking out again. The greater part of the peasantry had returned to +their homes, and few persons were seen in the park or on the terraces, +but here and there a straggling group of idlers gathered together from +the neighbouring country to gaze upon the scene of ruin and +destruction. + +He whom we have called throughout this book Henry Langford, had twice +gone forth, at his father's desire, to see what was taking place +without, and he now sat, in the cool grey of the dawn, beside the couch +of the Earl, as he lay obtaining snatches of brief and troubled +slumber. As Langford so sat, and gazed upon him, the natural feelings +of a son's heart towards a father would have way. The blood of kindred +stirred within him, and he felt that he was his son. But still as he +gazed, the image of his dead mother rose up before his sight, and all +the bitter wrongs that she had suffered made his heart sad, and brought +the tears into his eyes. + +He thought of her as he had known her in his youth, still exquisitely +lovely, though touched by the withering hand of sorrow. He thought of +her as he had known her in later days, fading rapidly away, like a +flower broken and trampled under foot by some heedless passer-by. He +thought of her as he had seen her on the bed of death, with every +worldly hope at an end, and with no thought nor care but of the heaven +to which her steps were bent, and of his own future fate and happiness +on earth. Her words, almost the last which she ever spoke, still rang +in his ears; the promise she had exacted from him, never to give up the +endeavour to establish her honour and purity, and the injunction which +she had likewise laid upon him, if his father ever did him injustice, +to forgive and love him for her sake. + +Henry felt that he did forgive him; but he felt, too, that there was +another and a greater Judge whose forgiveness was needed; a judge not +less merciful, indeed, but one not moved by human passions and +affections; and as he thought of all that had been done by him to whom +he owed his being--of all the dark deeds of other years--the fierce +unruly passions which had remained unextinguished even to that very +night, the scene of his father's suffering, the prospect of big death +became awful, trebly awful to the eyes of his son. + +The surgeon from the county town had been with Lord Danemore, had +examined his wounds, and had pronounced that there was no immediate +danger; but he had not in any degree assured the Earl's son that there +was a prospect of his illness terminating favourably. He spoke as men +are too apt to speak, with cautious consideration of his own +reputation, more than with any regard for the feelings and anxieties of +him to whom he spoke. Langford had gathered, however, that he judged +unfavourably of his father's state. He dwelt upon the facts of the Earl +being an old man--of his constitution, though strong, having been +apparently severely tried in former years--of the event of all such +wounds being uncertain--and of a great deal of fever having rapidly +come on. He said nothing to mitigate these unfavourable circumstances, +and Langford judged the worst. His feelings, then, when after the +surgeon had left the Earl for a short time, and he sat beside him +watching his fitful slumbers, were most painful; but they were destined +to be more so ere long. + +Scarcely had the sky grown yellow with the bright coming on of morning, +when the trampling of many horses' feet below, and then the sound of +persons ascending the stairs, called his attention. It had been the +surgeon's express injunction that the Earl should be kept perfectly +quiet; and as the sounds approached the chamber in which he lay, +Langford started up and moved towards the door, in order to caution the +new comers to make less noise. Before he reached it, however, that door +opened, and five or six persons unceremoniously entered the chamber. +The noise at once awoke the Earl, and, starting up on his arm, he +exclaimed, "Who is there?" + +"It is I, my lord; your lordship's very humble servant, Sir Thomas +Waller," replied the first person who entered. "No sooner did I hear +that your lordship's house had been attacked and set on fire, than I +got on horseback with as many constables as I could gather together to +come to your aid; and as my learned and worshipful friend and cousin, +Justice Whistler, from London, the chief magistrate of police, happened +to be lodging in my poor house at the time, I besought him to come over +with me too." + +"Whether in regard to the fire or in regard to the robbery," replied +the Earl, cynically, "your coming is somewhat late; and as I am both +wounded and in pain, and have the express orders of my surgeon to +remain in perfect quiet, you will perhaps favour me by leaving me to +repose; and another time, before you bring strangers into my room, do +me the honour to inquire whether it is my pleasure to receive you;" so +saying, he laid himself down again, and turned his back upon his +unwished-for guests. + +"This is a very extraordinary reception, indeed," said a portly, +keen-faced personage, who had followed Sir Thomas into the room; "but, +at all events, Sir Thomas, we must do our duty. My lord, I am sorry to +trouble your repose." + +"You must trouble it no longer, sir," said Langford, advancing towards +him, "but have the goodness at once to quit the room." + +The worshipful Justice Whistler--for he it was who had been speaking, +calmly took a pair of spectacles out of his pocket, placed them on his +nose, and gazed at Langford from head to foot. + +"This is the young man, I take it, Sir Thomas," he said, turning to his +companion; and, on a significant nod from Sir Thomas Waller, he +proceeded, "You are the personage calling yourself Henry Langford, and +stand charged, I find, with the wilful murder of Edward Lord Harold. On +consulting with my good friend here on the subject last night, aided by +the wisdom of Sir Matthew Scrope, I gave it as my decided opinion that +you should be immediately committed to the county gaol, having been +left too long already in circumstances which rendered it probable that +the ends of justice might be defeated." + +"What is this? what is this?" exclaimed the Earl, starting up. + +"Nothing, my lord," replied the magistrate, "but that this young man +stands committed upon a due warrant to that effect, placed in the hands +of these officers behind me for execution." + +"Do you know, sir," demanded the Earl, sternly--"do you know that he is +my son?" + +"We have heard something to that effect this night," rejoined the +justice, in a sharp dry tone--he evidently having taken offence at the +Earl's first salutation, and not having that reverence for his wealth +and power which was felt by his neighbours in the country--"we have +heard something to that effect this night; but as I observed to my good +friend here, that only renders the matter more probable. That your +lordship's illegitimate son----" + +"He is not my illegitimate son, sir," replied the Earl; "he is my +legitimate child, by my first wife." + +"It is very awkward, certainly," answered the imperturbable Justice +Whistler; "but, nevertheless, my lord, we cannot help it. The law must +have its course; and, as I said before, the charge is but rendered the +more probable by the fact of his being your unacknowledged son. To get +an obtrusive heir out of the way is no slight inducement; but besides +all that, there is quite proof sufficient to justify his committal long +ago. Here they are seen to draw their swords upon each other. The one +rides away slowly up to the moor; the other gets his horse and follows +him at full speed, just as night is closing in. The one is killed upon +the moor, and his horse returns all bloody. The other does not get back +till late that night, and then is in an evident state of agitation. A +pistol shot is heard in that direction at the very time he is there, +and at the very spot to which he is seen riding. My lord, the matter is +quite conclusive; and though doubtless unpleasant, the young gentleman +must to prison!" + +The Earl gazed wildly but earnestly in the face of his son, with +feelings which those who have read the steps he had taken to bring +about the very result that now fell upon him like a thunderbolt may +well conceive. + +"I have done this!" he exclaimed; "I have done this! Oh, my son, I am +your murderer!" and he turned away his head with an aguish shudder +passing all over his frame. + +Langford, however, hastened to console him. "Oh, no!" he said, grasping +the old man's hand--"Oh, no! While you thought me guilty, you justly +used all means to punish the supposed murderer of your son, but----" + +"You do not know," replied the Earl, with that withering expression of +heartfelt anguish that nothing but remorse can give; "You do not know. +I have pursued you like a fiend! Your blood will be Upon my head--my +own child's blood!" + +"Not so, my lord; not so." replied Langford, again. "The worst will be +but a few days' imprisonment. You know my innocence; I know it too, and +know that it can be proved with ease. That which gives me the greatest +pain at this moment, is to be deprived of the opportunity of watching +by and attending you till you shall have recovered from your wounds. It +grieves me--it is dreadful to me--to leave you to the hands of menials. +My lord, there will be one comfort to me--one consolation in prison, +which, as the first favour I have ever asked you, you must grant me. +There is a lady in this vicinity, kind, and gentle, and tender; your +son's promised bride: Mistress Alice Herbert, I mean. Will you let me +sit down and write her a few lines, beseeching her, during my enforced +absence from my father's sick bed, to attend him as if she were his +daughter? I know that it will be an office which she will love to +fulfil, not more for my sake than for yours. Pray let me do so." + +The Earl's eyes had been cast down, and the thick eyebrows had gathered +heavily over them; but he did not speak, for the knowledge of all he +had done lay weighty on his heart, and took away all utterance. Sir +Thomas Waller, however, took upon himself to reply. "Your writing, +young gentleman, would be useless," he said; "for I am sorry to tell +you that Sir Walter--who, though a hasty and passionate man, and +sometimes very disrespectful to persons fully equal to himself, is a +very good man, and much liked in the country--was arrested yesterday +evening at the suit of the noble Earl here. Indeed, he would have been +arrested in the earlier part of the day, but the country people rose +and rescued him." + +"This, too!" exclaimed the Earl, setting his teeth; "I have done this! +I have done this!" + +"Your worthy lawyer, my lord," continued Sir Thomas, whose mind was one +of those shallow ones that cannot comprehend any deep and powerful +emotion, even when they see its workings before their eyes; "your +worthy lawyer, my lord, Master Kinsight, was very roughly handled by +the people, and is likely to die." + +"Curse him!" said the Earl, in a low, deep voice; "curse him! He is one +of the vile instruments, the ready tools of wrong." + +"May I ask you, sir," interposed Langford, with no slight anxiety now +thrilling in his bosom--"may I ask you, who seem to know the +particulars of the whole affair, what has become of Mistress Alice +Herbert, under these distressing circumstances?" + +"She chose to go with her father, I was informed," replied the Knight; +"I dare say Master Bolland made her pay dear for permission to do so. +He is not a man to grant anything without a consideration." + +"And has worthy, kind-hearted, noble Sir Walter Herbert," exclaimed +Langford, with the anguish of his heart making itself apparent in every +feature--"has he fallen into the hands of that well-known, that +infamous knave and peculator, whose very existence as an officer of the +law, even though in the lowest grade of degraded offices, is a disgrace +to this free country, whose acts make the capital of England notorious +for monstrous injustice, and for the daily infraction of every social +law, of every moral feeling, and of every sacred right? Has he--has +he--simple, unguarded, plain, and true! fallen into the hands of one +whose whole soul is fraud, corruption, perjury, and baseness? Yet how +can this be?" he continued, after a moment's pause; "I myself furnished +the money to pay this debt. I do not comprehend it." + +"I have done this, too. I have done this, too," replied the Earl, in a +tone of profound despondency. "I refused to receive the money! I seized +upon it as the property of a felon. Bitterly, bitterly do these things +fall upon my head; bitterly, oh, how bitterly, is the punishment of all +coming upon me!" + +There was a deep silence, for Langford's heart was wrung, and he could +give him no consolation. After a moment or two, however, the Earl +started up in bed, exclaiming, "This--this at least can be amended. +This--this at least can be repaired. Give me the pen and ink; quick!" + +He was obeyed immediately, and with a trembling hand he wrote a full +acquittal of all debt from Sir Walter Herbert to himself, principal and +interest--costs and charges; nothing was omitted. + +"There," he said, putting it in Langford's hands--"there is the first +act of atonement which I have been able to accomplish. Take it, my son; +take it. The writing those lines has given me the first happy moment I +have known for years. Oh, misery of violent passions indulged! thou +fiery curse that makest even gratification a torment! Had I but +known--had I but known what it is to refrain! Stay," he continued, as +Langford was taking the paper, "stay. These wounds and this weakness +have made my hand shake, and such men as now stand by us, cunning +lawyers and wise justices as they are, may hereafter swear that the +writing is not mine. Here, Sir Thomas Waller; here, worthy Justice +Whistler, favour me by placing to this act the testimony of your +hands." + +"But, my lord--" exclaimed Mr. Justice Whistler. + +"But me no buts, sir," replied the Earl, fixing his keen feverish eyes +upon him; "I know what you would say; I know what your lawyer-like +seeking for a flaw would suggest: that no consideration has been given, +and that therefore the deed will not be legal. But I tell you, sir, +that a consideration has been given; that the money in full was paid +into my hand this morning, and will be found in my library, if that +library has escaped the flames. Sign, sir, sign! that is all you have +to do. Witness that this is my act and deed!" + +The two justices put their hands to the paper; and, to render Sir +Thomas Waller but simple justice, he did so freely and willingly +enough; not so exactly, worthy Mr. Justice Whistler, who showed no +slight disinclination and hesitation in even witnessing an act which +might take a fellow creature from out of the clutches of the law. +Twice, when he had got his hand to the paper, he withdrew it, and +paused for a moment in thought, longing apparently to find some excuse +or some motive for refusal. At length, however, he signed it; and the +Earl gave it to Langford, saying, "There, my son; take it, and use it +for your friend's deliverance." + +"I beg your pardon, my lord," said the justice, again interposing; "but +this gentleman will have no opportunity of acting in the matter. You +had better trust it to me." + +"Wonderful impudence!" cried the Earl. "What! give meat to the harpies! +Out upon it, man! do you think I would trust you with any feasible +means of hurting your fellow creatures?" + +"My lord," answered the justice, sharply, "if I am to judge by your own +words lately used, your sarcasm is as much applicable to your lordship +as myself." + +"You say true, man; you say true," replied the Earl. "But though I be a +wolf, I will not trust a wolf; I know you all too well. My son," he +continued, turning to Langford, "are they really going to take thee +from me at this painful hour?" + +"I fear, my lord, that such is really their purpose," replied Langford. +"I will not insult these gentlemen by saying that they know me to be +innocent, though I must say that they seem very willingly blind to +innocence. But they are resolved to carry the matter through to the +last, and, therefore, it may be well to bring this scene, painful and +terrible as it must be to you, to an end as soon as possible." + +"Stay yet awhile--stay yet awhile," cried the Earl, grasping the hand +that he held out to him; "I feel that it is terrible to see you go, +for, perhaps, my son, we may never meet again. We may never meet in +this world. We may never meet in the world to come, that dark and awful +world towards which I am speeding quickly--quickly!" + +"Oh, say not so," replied Langford; "I trust--nay, I hope--I am +sure--that my innocence will so speedily be made manifest by one means +or another, that in a very few days, perhaps a few hours, I shall again +sit beside you, and I trust then to find you better." + +The Earl shook his head. "Too late found," he said; "too early lost. I +now feel how I could love you. I see your mother's spirit shining out +of your eyes. I see that spirit, which pardoned and gave way but too +much, looking mildly upon me, who wronged both her and you so deeply; +but it is all in vain." And as he spoke, he pressed his hands over his +eyes; and Langford, willing to spare him any further agitation, took +that moment to make a sign to Justice Whistler, signifying that he was +ready, and turned towards the door. + +The Earl heard his step, however, and exclaimed, "Oh, not yet--not +yet!" but Langford opened the door, and called Bertha with a loud +voice. + +The Frenchwoman came immediately, for she was sitting watching in the +neighbouring chamber. + +"Look to my father," said Langford; "you who were a witness of my +mother's marriage--you, who owe my race so much--you----" + +"You," she interrupted, "you would say, you who have repaid their +kindness so ill----" + +"No," answered Langford, "such was not my thought. You, who have had a +share in all the turns of my wayward fate, look to my father, now on +his couch of illness; look to him, tend him well, and if you feel that +you have injured me or mine, make up for it now by keeping his mind as +free from all anxiety as may be, by shutting out all that can agitate +or alarm him, by speaking cheerfully and hopefully of my fate, and by +teaching him that there is much yet to be done on earth, much yet to be +gained from heaven. Take this paper also. You will see its value at +once. Find somebody--if there be such a being on earth--in whom you can +place implicit trust. Send him to seek out Sir Walter Herbert, who is +in the hands of the notorious, infamous John Bolland. Let him give the +paper to Sir Walter himself, requesting him, from me, to send for some +lawyer of high repute in London, and not to act himself in the matter. +Tell him--tell Alice--not to fear for me, for, being innocent, my +innocence must appear. They may aid me if they find means; but, at all +events, I am safe in my integrity. But above all things, be careful to +whom you trust the paper." + +"I will," she answered, "I will; but you will soon be able to follow +out these things yourself. I know it; I feel sure of it." + +"So do I," replied Langford; "but Alice and Sir Walter must not +languish till then. Now, gentlemen, there but remains to crave a +father's blessing, and then I am ready. I mean to use no threat towards +you, Mr. Justice Whistler, but the time may come when the share you +have had in this matter will be fully inquired into, and the legality +of your proceedings investigated and ascertained." + +"I will look to that, sir," replied the justice, with a calm and +sneering nod; "I have taken care of myself in more difficult +circumstances than these, and, doubtless, shall be able to do so +still." + +Langford made no reply, but re-entered the room where the Earl sat +gazing upon the door, and listening to the sound of his voice. + +The young gentleman advanced direct towards him, and knelt by the side +of his bed. "My father," he said, "give me your blessing!" + +The Earl turned away his head. "What, oh! what is my blessing worth?" +he said; "but be it so. My blessing, the blessing of a father's fondest +affection, be upon you. I have none now but you!" + +"If you would render that blessing of effect," replied Langford, +"remember that on your life and health my fate may greatly depend. Be +careful, then; cast away from you every thought and every feeling that +may injure or agitate you, and strive for life and health, if not for +your own sake, for your son's. Now, gentlemen, I am ready." + +The two justices and the constables accompanied him out of the room. +"What think you of it?" asked Sir Thomas Waller, addressing his +companion in a whisper as they went. + +The London magistrate replied by a peculiar contortion of countenance, +and then added, "We must make as good a case of it as we can, if it be +but to bear ourselves harmless." + + + + + CHAPTER XXVII. + + +We must now leave that part of the country to which we have so +constantly adhered during the preceding portion of this true history, +and lead the gentle reader with us along a road which, perhaps, he may +never have travelled before, but which, if he ever have, he will +doubtless remember at once, from the description we are about to give. + +Setting off in a line lying north-west from the little village of +Moorhurst, and proceeding over the wild heath to which we have so often +turned our steps, one road leads, after various turnings and +meanderings, of which our ancestors were undoubtedly more fond than +ourselves, as the reader already knows, to the county town. But in one +of these turnings the road effects an object very different from the +usual one, of merely going out of its way, and branches off into a +country road, taking the direction of various small and remote towns. + +Now, from the want of care and neatness with which this branch road was +kept at that time, it would in all probability have presented a very +much larger proportion of ruts and sand than the larger road from which +it was derived, and would have required double the time to travel each +individual mile along its course which was required upon its parent +road, had it not been for one circumstance. That circumstance was an +extraordinary development of a stratum of very-hard stone in that part +of the country, which, taking the place of the sand, just a quarter of +a mile from the spot where the two roads separated, afforded--or, +rather, might have afforded--equal pleasure and admiration to Mr. +M'Adam, the geologists, and all the members of the stonoclastic race, +if the period we speak of had not been before geologists were +discovered, and when Mr. M'Adam was yet unborn. + +On it, if horses had been in the habit of going as fast as they do now, +a carriage might have been drawn at any given rate of velocity, till +after the road had passed through two or three small villages and +towns, and a space of about twenty miles, when it again got into the +sand, and then plunged like an eel--which it very much resembled in +some other respects--into a deep mud. + +This state, however, lasted not long; but, issuing like a bittern from +the morass, the road took its flight over the hills, which were low +wooded and well cultivated for about twenty miles further, and then +began to assume a wilder and more barren aspect, till at length, when +their summits were crossed, and at the distance of about sixty miles +from Moorhurst, they presented on their northern side a wide range of +rough, chill, rocky country, covered only by short brown turf from +which the sheep had much ado to nibble a scanty subsistence, and +decorated alone by fine hawthorns and hanging birches, except where, in +the deeper dells, the oak and elm had sought and found a friendly +shelter. + +Forges and foundries, and manufactories of various kinds, have since +blackened and enlivened that part of the country; but at the period +which I speak of, the great demon of civilization had not gone forth, +with a smoky chimney in one hand, and a steaming kettle in the other, +equalizing and vulgarizing the whole earth; and a tract of about forty +miles in length, and from ten to fifteen in breadth, was left upon the +side of those hills, if not without any sign of man's habitation, at +least without any sign of his arts, except, indeed, the patriarchal one +of sheep-feeding. Here and there, in the nooks and dells, indeed, an +old farm-house, which perhaps might boast a few acres of corn land +around it, showed the dwelling-place of the great sheep farmer, who, +riding over the hills adjacent, might generally say, "I am monarch of +all I survey." But these had never been many; and the loneliness of the +situation, an increasing taste for towns and luxuries, and various +changes in the state of society, on which it is not worth while to +dwell, had diminished the amount of inhabitants to even a smaller +number than it had once contained. Two farms had often been joined in +one; some of them were untenanted, and encroached upon by their +neighbours; some of the few-houses that did exist were vacant, and some +were tumbling down. + +It is to a house in this district, about five miles from the spot where +the road we have mentioned crossed it, that we must now bring the +reader, begging him diligently to mark the outside of it, in the first +place, seated as it is in a deep gap in the hills, sheltered on three +sides by a grove of fine old elms, in the topmost branches of which +innumerable rooks make the air musical with their sweet country-sounds: +the house itself placed upon a high bank, its small windows overlooking +a little stream below; and the other side turning towards its +farm-yard, with a cart-road, indeed, leading up to it, but requiring +both very strong horses and very strong carts to undertake the rough +and perilous ascent. + +This house was not one amongst the uninhabited ones which we have +mentioned, for at the period whereof we speak--namely, but a few days +after the events had taken place which we recorded in our last +chapter--the farm-yard might be heard ringing with several voices, and +more than one horse stamped in the stables. Leaving the house, however, +let us speak of one of its inhabitants. About mid-day a solitary +personage issued forth from the gates, took his way into the deepest +part of the grove, and with his arms crossed upon his broad chest, +walked slowly up and down, bending the bitter brow, and gnawing the +dissatisfied lip, while his eyes were bent on the dry leaves of the +past year, in which his feet left deep marks as he strode along. After +thus wandering in the shade for some time, as if the gloomy shadow was +congenial to his feelings, he raised his brow, and looked up, seeming +to seek higher associations in the sky above. Whether the feelings +within his breast did become more free and clear or not, he then turned +his steps to the hill-side, and climbed high up, gazing over the wild, +waste prospect below, and pausing every two or three minutes, as if +endeavouring to fix more distinctly some particular spot. Yet his +thoughts were neither of the scene on which his eyes rested, nor of the +cultivated country beyond, nor of the towns and villages, the haunts +and resting-places of busy man, but, on the contrary, they were fixed +upon the deep, dark recesses of an erring human heart--on the troubled +world of his own bosom--where, as in the world covered by the deluge, +the dove of peace found no resting-place, so overwhelmed was the whole +by the waves of sin and sorrow and remorse. Upon that turbulent ocean, +too, floated the wrecks of many bright things past--high feelings, +noble aspirations, manly generosity, steady friendship, warm +affections--and over it spread dark clouds of doubt and suspicion, and +morose discontent, springing from self-dissatisfaction and +disappointment, and internal reproach. + +Such was the state of mind of Franklin Gray as he strode along the +hill-side, pondering the events of the last few weeks, and finding in +all, matter of bitterness and regret. His feelings suffered some +alteration, and turned to more material objects when he gained the +summit of the hill. They did not exactly make themselves audible, but +nevertheless to his own mind they clothed themselves in words, and the +tenor of those words was somewhat to the following effect:-- + +"This is wild enough, and solitary enough, but nevertheless they will +doubtless try to hunt me out here. So great an enterprise as this +cannot, in this pitiful and servile land, pass without stirring up all +the great tyrants of the soil to put down him who has dared to strip +them of their ill-gotten wealth. Doubtless they will hunt me out even +here; and by heaven I have a thousand minds to stay and dare them, and +defend my mountains to the last. But then these fellows," he added, +after some thought, "though brave and true in the moment of danger, now +that we have divided the money, are all anxious to leave me, and hasten +up to the great city, to spend it in rioting and luxury. Well, I must +not blame them! I felt so once myself. But this land then must be no +more for me; I must quit it, and take myself back again to those more +ardent and free countries where I can roam at large, and where, with a +strong hand and a stout heart, I can make the miser, and the +extortioner, and the slave-master pay for his pitiful life at the price +of gold. Yet this, indeed," he continued, "has been a glorious booty; +what between gold and jewels, we have swept off a mighty sum, and my +own share might well content me for the rest of my days. Why should I +not cross the seas, and in some of those sweet valleys by the higher +Rhine, pass through the calm close of a busy life in bright +tranquillity." + +And, as he thus thought, a vision of sweet and peaceful things, such as +his heart had sometimes longed for but had never known, rose up before +his eyes; and he pictured to himself sweet wanderings through fair +scenes, with his beautiful Mona by his side, and his lovely boy growing +up into proud manhood under his eye. But as he thought of Mona a sudden +shadow came across him; it was a mood he struggled with, and would fain +have conquered, but it was one unconquerable, for it was a part of his +dark fierce nature; and after pausing gloomily for several minutes, +and, casting his eyes down upon the ground, with his whole feelings +changed in a moment by one gloomy thought, he burst forth aloud, "I +love it not! She would not wrong me--I know she would not wrong me; but +still she is too tender of him. If she give her heart's affections to +another, if she even take from me the smallest portion of those +feelings that once were mine alone, she leaves a gap, a vacancy, a +break in that deep intense love which is enough, but not too much for +love like mine. Shall I speak to her thereon? shall I tell her what I +feel? Ay, and make her think me jealous," he answered, with a bitter +sneer even at himself. "I jealous! jealous too of such a weak, pitiful, +effeminate thing as that! No; she shall go on in her own way. She must +have seen that I loved it not; she must have felt that it displeased +me; and see it and feel it she shall still, but speak of it I will +never. Doubtless she is there now, soothing him, tending his wounds, +speaking to him sweet kindly words, and listening to his soft +gratitude. I will go back and mar the sunshine;" and as he spoke, with +a cloudy, moody air, he strode back again towards the house, passed +through the farm-yard, and entered the door, which stood open. + +Proceeding up a tall narrow stone staircase, he passed one of his men +seated on one of the landing-places, at the last story but one, so as +to prevent any one from ascending or descending without being seen. +Franklin Gray was not one, even when the dark and debasing passions of +jealousy and suspicion were roused within him, to commit a mean or a +pitiful act; and he spoke loud to the man upon the stairs, and trod +heavily up, so that his voice and his footsteps might give notice of +his coming to those above. + +When he reached the upper story, he opened a door before him, and +entered a room, poorly and scantily furnished, where were two persons +with whom the reader is already acquainted. The first--who sat near the +door, with her small beautiful foot resting upon a rude stool, and her +knee supporting an instrument of music, in shape much resembling a +guitar--was that lovely being whom we have twice before had occasion to +mention under the name of Mona, the wife of Franklin Gray. She was +finishing a song when he entered--a sweet plaintive song, in the tongue +of some distant land; and as he came into the room, her dark lustrous +eyes grew still brighter, and were raised to his with a smiling and a +happy look, as if she thought she was doing what would please him best, +and that the well-known music would awaken some sweet thoughts in her +husband's bosom. The stern unmoved gloom of his countenance pained but +did not surprise her, for she was accustomed to his moody temper; and +loving him at all times and in all states, attributed his ill-humour to +things which had gone wrong in matters with which she had no concern. + +The other person who tenanted that room was one whom we have lost sight +of for some time. It was Edward, called Lord Harold, who now, very +pale, and evidently but just recovering from severe sickness, leaned +back upon his chair with his head resting on his arm, and the right +side of the loose vest which he wore cut open and tied, so as to give +greater ease and space to some wounded part beneath. So intently had he +been listening to the music, that he scarcely heard the entrance of +Franklin Gray, and a faint but expressive smile hung upon his pale lip, +while the vacant gazing of his eye told that the melody had borne +imagination on its wings afar, and that he was enjoying sweet fancies +removed from all that surrounded him. + +"I see," said Franklin Gray, looking earnestly at Mona, "that you have +become his musician as well as nurse." + +Mona started, and gazed inquiringly in her husband's face. "Did you not +wish me to do so?" she said, with her sweet-toned voice and foreign +accent; "did you not tell me to do everything I could to soothe him and +restore him to health?" + +"I did so," replied her husband; "and I see you do it willingly." + +Mona gazed in his face with a bewildered look, as if she did not +comprehend his meaning; for though his words were not ungentle, they +were spoken in that tone which showed the feelings that prompted them +to be bitterer than the expression. There succeeded a pause for one or +two minutes; and Franklin Gray, moving across the room, cast himself +into a chair near the window, and gazed out gloomily over the wide +prospect that stretched afar beneath his eyes, diversified only by the +slopes of the hills, without town or village, or hedgerow to mark +man's habitation or his cultivating hand. As he sat there, he spoke not +to any one, and the silence grew painful, till at length it was broken +by Lord Harold, as we shall continue to call him. + +"I am glad of an opportunity of speaking with you," he said, "for I +want to know more precisely how I am situated. I have to thank you, I +find--" + +"For nothing, sir!" replied Franklin Gray; "I have done what I have +done for my own pleasure and convenience, and you have to thank me for +nothing." + +"Such is perhaps the case, sir," replied Lord Harold, coolly; "at all +events, you saved my life when I should otherwise undoubtedly have bled +to death upon the moor. You have since treated me kindly and skilfully, +have nearly cured a wound which might have proved fatal, and have +tended me with much attention. At the same time, from various events +which have occurred, from my being brought forth across the downs and +placed in a coach which carried me hither, as well as from having seen +at all times an ill-looking fellow with a pistol in his hand sitting at +the foot of the next flight of steps, when I crossed from one room to +the other, I am inclined to believe that you view me in some sort as a +prisoner." + +"Doubtless the ill-looking fellow, as you call him," replied Franklin +Gray, with a bitter smile, "may find many of the fair and the gay, in +his own rank of life, who would think him fully as good-looking as +Edward, Lord Harold. However, sir, I gather from your discourse, that +you wish to learn whether you are to consider yourself as a prisoner or +not. Now, as you acknowledge that you owe me your life, I do not think +you can consider it a hard case, even should I, for my own convenience, +keep you a prisoner for a certain time." + +"Yes, I have, sir," replied Lord Harold; "for I suppose there is +scarcely any Englishman who does not feel that liberty is preferable to +life." + +"Then perhaps the best way of settling it," answered Franklin Gray, +sternly, "would be to shoot you through the head, and thus leave the +account between you and me as it stood before." + +But as he spoke, Mona had advanced gently to his side, and laid her +hand upon his arm. "Oh, set him free!" she said; "set him free as soon +as he is able to depart." + +"What is it to you, Mona?" demanded Franklin Gray, turning sharply upon +her; "Why should you wish him to depart?" + +"It is much to me, Franklin," she answered; "very much to me; and I do +wish him to depart, for you have twice looked cold upon me since he has +been here, which you never in your life did before, and anything which +causes such a change I wish instantly away; for you know, Franklin, +that your kind looks to me are like the sunshine of my own happy +land--sunshine that I have left far behind." + +Franklin Gray was somewhat moved, and seeing that he was so, she went +on, saying, "Oh, set him free, my husband! and if it be needful, make +him swear that he will never betray your abode. I will be answerable +for it, he will keep his word." + +Franklin Gray had been moved for a moment, and he had also thought of +setting Lord Harold free, or of only detaining him till all was +prepared for executing his own purpose of crossing the sea and seeking +other lands; but the last few words which his wife uttered hardened his +heart in a moment. + +"You will be answerable!" he exclaimed. "What have you to do with being +answerable for him? No; I will not set him free? If you choose to +betray your husband, woman, and open the doors to him whom it is +needful to detain, you can do it when you like. I shall neither watch +nor stop you; but the consequence be upon your own head." + +Thus saying, he turned upon his heel with a frowning brow, and hastily +quitted the room, after which his steps might be heard slowly +descending the stairs. Mona sunk down into the chair beside her, +clasping her hands together, and fixing her eyes upon the ground with a +look of despair; for they were the first harsh words, the first unkind +and ungenerous expressions, which had ever dropped from the lips of him +she loved, from the day on which she had sacrificed kindred, and home, +and fortune, and her native land, to follow his uncertain footsteps +through the world. As she sat there, with that look of deep +despondency, Lord Harold could not but feel admiration of her exquisite +beauty mingling even with the compassion which he felt; and there was +something of that admiration apparent in his look and manner, as he +slowly rose from his chair and crossing the room, took her hand in his, +saying, "He treats you harshly, lady." + +But Mona, suddenly recalled to recollection by that action and those +words, started up, and drew her hand quickly from him, gazing upon him +with a look of anger and indignation. "Treats me harshly:" she said; +"It is false! He is kindness itself; and he is right too! What had I to +do meddling with his purposes or his will? I have been sorry for you, +young gentleman, and compassion has led me to do a foolish thing, but I +will take care so to offend no more;" and thus speaking, she left him, +and hurriedly sought her husband below. + +She found him in a lower room, gazing forth as he had done above, but +the expression of his countenance was more sad and less fierce than +before. Mona advanced towards him, but he heeded her not; she laid her +hand upon his arm, but he did not turn his head. She was a creature of +noble impulses, however, and where her heart prompted she would not be +repelled. The tears, indeed, sprang to her eyes and ran over her +cheeks, but still she cast herself on her husband's bosom, saying, "I +have done wrong, Franklin; I should not have interfered where you +thought fit to act. I was sorry for the young man, and I thought that +he might have friends and relations, and perhaps a wife, that loved him +as I love you, and I wished you to send him back to his happy home on +that account. But I was wrong to speak of it at all, and still more +wrong to speak of it before him. Forgive me, Franklin; I will not +offend again." + +Franklin Gray pressed her to his heart, and kissed the tears off her +cheek; and--although the seed of suspicion and doubt, once sown in a +soil so congenial to it as his mind, can never, perhaps, be wholly +eradicated, take what pains we will--yet he was anxious to feel as he +had felt, somewhat ashamed of having given way to such bitterness +towards her who was associated with all the better spirits of his +heart's dark tabernacle, and grieved to see the grief of one who had +brought the only real sweet sunshine on his path that he had known +through life. He pressed her then to his bosom, he treated her gently +and kindly, and once more, to her powerful gentleness, the fierce and +lion-like spirit of her husband was softened and bowed down. + +She had not said one word of the dark shade of jealousy which had shown +itself in Franklin Gray's first words to her. She was far too wise to +comment on it, or to attempt to do it away by any eloquence but those +of acts. She saw it plainly, however; she felt that what in her breast +was but pity, had been misunderstood by her husband; and from a certain +vague expression on Lord Harold's face when last he spoke to her, she +feared that, with him, man's vanity had once more misjudged woman's +best feelings. She blamed herself, however, more than either: "I should +have known," she thought, "that man cannot see into the heart;" and +from that hour she went near the prisoner no more. She gave no cause +for so abstaining, and she took care that the woman who accompanied her +should provide for his comfort as far as might be. It is the meed of +such conduct, however, almost always to pass unremarked; the +recompense, the success is in our own hearts. Franklin Gray saw that +she was less with the prisoner than before, but he did not see that she +was never with him at all. + + + + + CHAPTER XXVIII. + + +Having now exposed to view the state of mind of Franklin Gray, we must +turn once more to Lord Harold, and display, in some degree at least, +the feelings by which he was affected. His heart was one naturally +kind; his impulses were in general noble and generous; but he had +derived from his mother a strong degree of that quality which, more +than any other of the human heart, lays our hearts open to evil +passions, unless it be very early enlisted on the side of the good +ones; I mean pride. + +From his father, too, had descended to him various faults and +peculiarities, which, if everything had gone smooth with him though +life, might perhaps have remained dormant, or, under particular +circumstances, might have assumed the aspect of virtues, when in fact +they were much more nearly allied to vices. There was, when roused by +anger or stimulated by hatred, a degree of remorseless determination +about his character, very much resembling that of Lord Danemore. This +had shown itself in a degree in his conduct towards Langford; but since +that period all the bad points in his nature, which had been originally +brought forth by his disappointment in regard to Alice, had been called +into still greater activity by the wounds he had received, by the +irritation of sickness, and by pondering in solitude and in a state of +confinement, not only over the disappointment of his first and early +love, but over the mortification which his vanity had received, and +over the annoyance of having to remain at a distance from the scene of +action, where he knew, from the few words which Langford had spoken to +him, that great and important events were likely to be transacted. + +Under these circumstances, a degree of angry irritation had taken +possession of his mind; and even on the day when he was removed from +the neighbourhood of Moorhurst he would have resisted, had his strength +been sufficient to render opposition at all effectual. Besides his own +weakness, however, there was about Franklin Gray a tone of command and +authority, a decision, a breaking forth of powerful intellect, which +had the effect of producing, as the first impulse, an inclination to +obey in all that surrounded him; and Lord Harold felt that power, and +was angry with himself for feeling it. + +He had determined, then, even before the period of the interview which +we have just described, to seek his liberty by any means; and had the +Robber at once granted him what he sought, had he either soothed or +reasoned with him, the whole current of the young nobleman's feelings +might have been changed, and he might have learned to admire those very +qualities which now, arrayed as they were in opposition to his wishes +and obnoxious to his pride, not only excited hatred, but created a +stern and bitter determination both of taking vengeance, which he +called "inflicting punishment," and of triumphing over the pride of one +whose mental powers overawed him, which he called again "doing +justice." + +As he sat and listened to the brief discussion between Franklin Gray +and the beautiful creature that pleaded for his liberty, his +determination became more strong, his purpose more decided; and though, +to do him but justice, vanity did not speak, and he entertained no +definite thought of striving to raise into warmer feelings the +compassion which he had excited in Mona's breast, and of thus striking +the Robber in the most vulnerable point, he could not, as we have +before said, help feeling a sensation of admiration mingling with his +gratitude, and sentiments rising up in his bosom which might easily +have become dangerous and evil. + +The degree of scorn also which mingled in Franklin Gray's tone in +speaking of and to himself had neither escaped his attention nor passed +without producing its natural effect; nor did the sudden coldness which +came over Mona diminish at all the strength of his determination to +seek for vengeance in the shape of justice. + +His first purpose, then, was to obtain his liberty as soon as possible. +The wound he had received was not otherwise dangerous than from the +great loss of blood it had occasioned; and he felt that he was every +day and every hour recovering strength, which would soon enable him to +use any means he thought fit for regaining his freedom. In order to do +so, however, it would be necessary, he saw, to engage the co-operation +of some one; and as the compassion of Mona Gray was already enlisted on +his side, he determined, in the first place, to induce her, if +possible, to aid him in escaping. Nor did the consideration that by so +doing, he would render her a party to the execution of his second +purpose, at all deter him, though that second purpose was, instantly to +take measures for apprehending her husband and bringing him to the +scaffold, having seen enough during his confinement to remove all +doubts from his mind as to the real occupation and pursuits of him into +whose hands he had fallen. + +During the whole of that day and the next, the absence of Mona Gray +rendered his design abortive. He looked for her coming in vain, though +he often heard the sounds of her voice speaking to her husband, or +singing to her child. She never approached the rooms to which he was +confined; and though the woman who attended on her, came frequently to +see that everything was done which could ensure his comfort, Lord +Harold feared to trust a menial, and consequently still remained in +expectation of the other at length appearing. When, towards the close +of the second day, however, he found that his anticipations were not +fulfilled, he ventured to ask of the woman, "Why does not your mistress +ever come to see me now? Will her husband not let her?" + +"Oh no," replied the servant; "for he is out the greater part of the +day; but she is going out with him just now herself, and will be out +all night, I hear." + +Lord Harold took two or three turns up and down the room with a +sufficient degree of agitation to attract the attention of the woman, +who asked in a peculiar tone, if she could do anything to serve him? + +"If you could go down," said Lord Harold, "and ask your mistress to +speak with me for a few moments before she goes, you would very greatly +serve me. Do it privately!" he added. + +The woman nodded her head, and left him. She returned in a few minutes, +however, alone, seeming to have met with a different reception from her +mistress to that which she expected. "She says she cannot come," +replied she, to Lord Harold's eager questions. "If you want anything, +she bade me tell you to speak with Captain Gray himself, who will do +anything you may desire that is reasonable." + +"Pray go down to her again," said Lord Harold; "tell her it is with her +I must speak. That I beg, that I entreat of her, by all the kindness +that she has shown me, to come and speak to me, if it be but for one +minute." + +"I don't like to go any more," replied the woman; "she answered me +quite crossly, and the Captain himself is there, sitting at the further +end of the room reading, with his brow as dark as that great black +hill, which looks as if it never saw the sun." + +Lord Harold pulled a ring from his finger, which was the only thing of +value on his person that had escaped the hands of Wiley and Hardcastle. +and held it out towards the woman. "Will you do what I ask you," he +said, "and have this for your reward?" She was not proof against the +temptation; and murmuring, "He cannot eat me, if I do whisper again to +his wife," she left the room and descended the staircase. + +In a shorter time than before, she returned, however, and with a still +less satisfied countenance, saying, "She says she will not come. She +bids me tell you she will not come; and I'm to bring her no more such +messages, which I'm sure I would not do for twenty rings; for there he +sat while I whispered to her, and though he was so far off that he +could not hear a word, he looked up from his book and stared at me as +if his eyes had been swords to run me through." + +Lord Harold turned away, mortified. "It may be the worse for all of +us," he said to himself; "it may be the worse for all of us. There, +woman, there is the ring I promised you; take it." + +With a brightening countenance she received the gift, which was perhaps +more than she expected, as she had failed in her errand; and then, +descending the stairs, Lord Harold heard her stop a moment, and +apparently speak with the man who kept watch below. + +"That must be my next resource," he said to himself; "that must be my +next resource. Perhaps I shall succeed better there." + +He then gazed for some time from the window, laying out his plans in +his own mind, and feeling that, though still somewhat weaker than he +had hoped and expected to have been, he must take advantage of the +temporary absence of Franklin Gray, lest such another opportunity +should not occur again speedily. The windows of the room in which he +was, looked out over the high bank which we have mentioned in +describing the house, so that, in addition to the three stories below +him in the building itself, there was at least a perpendicular descent +of forty feet between him and the road. To let himself down from the +windows, therefore, was utterly hopeless; and nothing remained but to +bribe the man who guarded him, if such a thing were possible. How that +object was to be effected, was the great difficulty, for he had been +stripped of everything upon him when he was stopped upon the moor, +except the ring which he had given to the woman; and a man of the class +to which he who kept watch below pertained, was not likely to take +promises for payment. + +While he still gazed and revolved all these matters in his mind, he saw +Franklin Gray and his wife habited, like two of the higher class of +peasantry, and mounted on two strong horses, ride slowly down the road, +and take their way across a track which lay between the upper hills and +the flatter country below. He watched them for some time as they rode +along, and shortly after, he saw two other persons issue forth and take +a different direction. During a few moments their departure was +succeeded by some loud talking and laughing in the house itself, which +soon ceased, however; and shortly after, the voice of the man at the +foot of the stairs was heard calling aloud, as if to the female +servant, "Come up here, Harriet; come up here, and chat to us a bit. +Curse me if I'm not lonely. Bring the child with you, if you don't like +to leave it." + +"Now is my time," thought Lord Harold; "doubtless they are all out but +these two, and I may deal with them without interruption." He +accordingly advanced to the door, and, opening it, walked out to the +head of the stairs. The sound of his step, however, instantly attracted +the attention of the man below, and he started up with the pistol in +his hand, exclaiming, "What do you want?" + +"I want to speak with you, my good sir," replied Lord Harold. + +"Well, what is it?" rejoined the man, in a surly tone; "speak! I can +hear!" + +"That will scarcely do," said the young man; "if you like to come up +here, I can speak to you at my ease, for I have a good deal to say, and +much that may be to your advantage." + +The man hesitated, but then replied, "I can't come now, for I've called +to Harriet to come and talk to me, but I will come by-and-by." + +"Come now," replied Lord Harold, "and bring the woman with you." + +"Oh, oh! is that it?" said the man; "well, go in; I will come." + +Lord Harold felt that he was treated with scanty ceremony; that he, the +eldest son of a proud and haughty peer, in the midst of a free land, +without any imputed guilt, or any liability in the eye of the law, was +held as a prisoner, and treated with degrading familiarity by a low and +probably guilty being. Nevertheless, he had an important object before +him, and a moment's reflection taught him to master all feelings of +irritation, and, according to the somewhat sordid view of our great +philosopher, submit to indignities that he might rise above them. + +He strode up and down the room once or twice, and then listened for the +steps that he hoped to hear coming. For some time, however, nothing +struck his ear but the low murmur of voices from the story below, in +which he could distinguish the treble tones of the woman and the deeper +ones of the man, and he judged, and judged rightly, that they were in +earnest consultation in regard to himself. Nearly a quarter of an hour +elapsed before the discussion ended, and they then entered together; +the woman with a bolder and freer air, as one who had already taken two +or three steps in the course which they both saw was about to be laid +before them; the man with a look half sullen, half shy, as if he still +doubted and hesitated at a leap which he felt morally convinced he +should ultimately take. + +Lord Harold paused, and gazed upon them both for a moment, calculating +what should be the tone and manner which he ought to employ towards the +persons before him; and after a moment's consideration he determined to +act that part which was most congenial to his own nature, not alone +because he felt that he should act it better than any other, but also +because he gathered from the man's countenance in an instant that he +was one of those low and grovelling animals who would take advantage of +the least condescension--who might be overawed, who might be bribed, by +those he felt to be above himself, but who would harden himself in +opposition or raise the price of his services extravagantly to any one +who descended to his own level, or who seemed to need his assistance so +much as to court it at the expense of degradation. + +Lord Harold accordingly threw himself into a chair, and gazed full in +the man's countenance with that look of haughty consciousness which was +in some degree natural to him; and when he saw that he had beaten down +his gaze, he demanded, in a very different tone from that which he had +used before, "I suppose, sir, you know who I am?" + +"Why, yes," replied the man; "I have heard that you are the son of that +old Lord ----" + +"That is enough!" interrupted Lord Harold; "knowing then who I am, you +must at once see that being kept here in this state is disagreeable to +me. Besides which, important business requires my presence at home." + +"Ay, that it does, if you knew all," muttered the man between his +teeth. + +Lord Harold continued, without taking any notice of what he said: "You +must very well know, also, that anything which I promise, I will +execute fully." + +"Ay, that's what I don't know," replied the man; "that's just what I +was talking to Harriet here about; for I know nothing of you; and it's +just as likely as not, that if I were to let you out this very night, +instead of doing anything that you said you would, you might take and +hang me for my pains. No, no; a bird in the hand is worth two in the +bush." + +Lord Harold again felt angry and indignant; but he would not give way +to feelings which might in any way interfere with his plans; and, +though his nostrils expanded and his lips quivered, he mastered himself +in a moment, replying, "So you and Harriet have been settling the whole +business for me, and have doubtless saved me a world of trouble, for +you have most likely made up your minds as to whether you will do what +I require or not." + +"Why, I think not," replied the man, somewhat staggered by the cool and +decided tone in which the prisoner treated the question; "I think not; +but that depends upon circumstances." + +"On what circumstances?" demanded Lord Harold, shortly. + +"Why, you see the matter is this," answered the man; "as far as I can +judge, we shall all separate in ten days or a fortnight, for every one +is wanting to go his own way. Now, you see, if the Captain--that is +Captain Gray--were going to remain in England, I would as soon try to +let you go as I would to jump out of that window, being as sure of +getting an ounce of lead in my brains before the month was out if I did +the one thing, as I should be of breaking my neck if I did the other. +But then, I've a pretty rare inkling that the Captain and his lady are +going across the seas; so that if you can make it worth my while in +ready money to hide myself away for a fortnight till they are off, we +may very likely come to terms." + +"Ready money I have none," replied Lord Harold. + +"Ay, that's what I was saying," interrupted the man; "I knew very well +that Hardy and Wiley left no more money in your purse than there is in +a dog's side-pocket. So I don't see----" + +"But I do," replied Lord Harold. "As far as I can judge, from the +direction which the carriage took that brought me hither, from the time +occupied in the journey, and from the aspect of the scenery round, we +are now somewhere in the Chalden hills, and the town of ---- cannot be +far distant." + +"Some fifteen miles," replied the man; "at least, so Harvey told me the +other day; I have not been there myself." + +"It cannot be much more," said Lord Harold; "for I have hunted over all +these wastes many a time, and I know the town well; for therein, +as it is a seaport, lives a rich merchant and banker of the name +of Drury, whom I have often employed in buying fine objects of the +arts--pictures, and statues, and such things, from Italy. He has even +now in his hand a sum of near three hundred pounds belonging to me, +sent him to make such purchases; and, if you will engage this night to +set me free, I, putting full confidence in your word, will write an +order upon him for the money. You can send it by a messenger on +horseback, who may easily be back before nightfall; and then, dividing +the amount between you and your friend here, you can open the doors for +my escape." + +"It's a pretty sum," replied the man; "but let us have a little talk +together, Harriet," and, drawing her to the further corner of the room, +he consulted with the woman in a low voice for several minutes. + +Lord Harold watched them eagerly, and, as they conversed, he could see +the deep colours and shadows of strange and bad passions rise in the +countenance of each, but especially of the female servant. At length, +however, they grew calmer; their course seemed determined, and they +returned, the man taking upon him to speak, as before. + +"What you offer, my lord," he said, "does not exactly suit us. We could +not send to the town, as you mention, without being discovered; for it +is a small place, and Captain Gray has gone there himself to-day, to +see about a ship, I fancy. His wife too, pretty Mistress Mona, would go +with him; and altogether he is in a fine humour, and when that is the +case, he has more eyes and hands than other people. However, as you +showed you would trust us, we will trust you. Of course, you have got +some banker in London, and if you have a mind to double the sum +mentioned, and give us an order upon London, Harriet and I will be off +together, and let you out, too, this very night. But you must swear to +us that the money shall be paid, and that when we go to get it, we +shall not be dogged, and that you will not appear against us in any +way, and that if ever we are in trouble, you'll lend us a helping hand, +bearing witness that we let you out." + +"I pledge you my honour," replied Lord Harold, "most solemnly and most +distinctly, not only never to injure you in any way, but to bear +witness, should need be, that you both served me faithfully in my need. +The sum you demand you shall have; and now nothing remains but to get +me pen, ink, and paper, that I may write my order upon the banker in +London." + +"That will soon be done," replied the man: "for there is nobody in the +house but ourselves, and we can do what we like. Come along, Harriet; I +hear the child crying. I will be back again in a minute." + +"Now," thought Lord Harold, when they had both left the room, "this man +will betray the master who trusted him, disobey his commands, and, by +letting me out of his hands, put his life at my disposal, without even +binding me by any promise not to bring him to justice; and this woman, +trusted by a kind and gentle mistress with the care of her sweet child, +will leave that child helpless, while she schemes things that may +destroy the happiness of father, mother, and child for ever. Such is +fidelity in this world! Whom shall we trust?" + +As he thus thought, he might feel a momentary touch of shame at using +such tools and yet so critically examining their actions; but he felt +no shame in owing his life to Franklin Gray, and then, because the +Robber detained him for a few days longer than it suited his pleasure, +deliberately resolving to bring him to the scaffold, veiling the darker +features of such an act under the shining guise of justice. So human +passions contrive ever to conceal their real nature from the eyes of +those who entertain them. + +In a few minutes the man returned with pen and ink, and paper; but +before Lord Harold's hand could draw the order, the woman followed into +the room, carrying the child in her arms, and saying, "Be pleased to +make it half for him and half for me, for though he promises to marry +me, I like to have something in my own hands." + +The woman was young and pretty, and the man only laughed, replying, +"You're right, Harriet, you are right. If every woman was as careful as +you, there would be fewer faithless lovers in the world." The matter +was arranged as she proposed; and as soon as it was concluded, Lord +Harold demanded, "What is to prevent us executing our scheme now? Why +should we not set off at once?" + +"Only because we should be caught and brought back again in five +minutes," replied the man; "and while you might risk a bullet or two, I +should certainly get my brains blown out. Why, there is Harvey and +little Bill, and all the rest of them, gone out with their carbines +turned into birding pieces, for the purpose of seeing what game they +can get upon the hills. They are scattered about all over the place, +and we could not go half a mile without the risk of meeting some of +them. Besides, there's that young devil, Jocelyn, lurking about in some +of the dells, trapping wheatears and such things, and we must take care +to blind him, for he's all eyes and ears together. No, no; one of them +has promised to come back to take my place in a couple of hours; then +I'll go out as if to sport, and mark out our way across the country. I +shall come on again to watch about ten o'clock at night, and then, +depend upon it, they'll all be drinking as hard as they can drink, till +they go to bed. Most of them will be drunk; and, when they are all fast +asleep, we can do what we will, for Franklin Gray won't be back till +noon to-morrow, so you and I, and Harriet here, can take horses and be +off." + +"And what will you do with the infant?" demanded Lord Harold, looking +to the woman. + +"Oh, it sleeps all night," she replied, "when once it's put off; +they'll find it in the morning, and feed it till its mother comes +back." + +Lord Harold shut his teeth tight, but there was no remedy for it, and +he made no comment. He could not help doubting, however, whether the +order he had given upon a London banker would be very safe in the hands +of this faithful couple, who might or might not make use of the paper, +and yet leave him as much a prisoner as before. As he had given them +the drafts, however, he felt that it would be impolitic to demand them +back again, and consequently, after arranging all the minor particulars +of their plan, he suffered them to depart, carrying with them the +unconscious child whom they had brought to witness the betrayal of its +parents' trust. + +The rest of the day passed over to Lord Harold with no slight +impatience and anxiety. In somewhat more than the two hours, which the +man had mentioned, several of the gang were heard to return and relieve +the guard, who was found sitting at his post below. The voice of the +woman, too, could be distinguished, caroling at her work, as gaily and +lightly as if there had been neither vice, nor guilt, nor folly at her +heart; and from time to time, the young nobleman could hear her talking +to the child as tenderly as if she had been its mother. "Strange and +contradictory human nature," he thought, "which can reconcile all these +most opposite things;" and, as do most people who comment upon the +actions of others, he forgot to look into the contradictions of his own +bosom. + +Seldom had Lord Harold seen the sun go down, with such anxious feelings +as he then experienced. The voice of the boy Jocelyn was heard below, +but the few sounds to be distinguished in the house showed that the +greater part of the gang were still absent. Speedily, however, others +were heard, and then came several more, laughing, talking, and singing; +and the woman, when she brought him in lights, said, "They are all come +back, and are soon going to supper." + +The noise, after a short interval, increased rapidly, and it was +evident that wine began to do its work. The rattling of dice was heard; +then many a merry song--some appropriate enough to the calling of those +who poured them forth, some as opposite as it was possible to imagine. +Hour after hour passed by, and Lord Harold fancied that the revel would +never end; but gradually the sounds became fewer as one after another +of the party fell asleep under the influence of wine, or retired to +rest, from weariness. At length, after one more general burst of +merriment, the whole of the band seemed to betake themselves to repose. +Steps were heard in different directions, a voice here and there +speaking to a companion, the dull end of some drowsy ditty hummed +amidst hiccups, as the half drunken reveller stripped off his clothing. +and then all was silent throughout the mansion. + +"Now," thought Lord Harold, "I shall soon see whether they will keep +their word with me;" for he could not shake off from his mind an +impression that they would prove as faithless to him as they had done +to Franklin Gray; and, as nearly an hour elapsed after all was quiet, +without his seeing anything of any one, he became more and more +convinced that it was as he had suspected. He was mistaken, however; +for at length the door of his room slowly opened, and the man, putting +in his head, beckoned to him to come out. + +Lord Harold had been long prepared, and he instantly followed the +footsteps of his guide, who led him silently down the stairs to a wide, +deep, porch doorway, where the woman Harriet was in waiting. Not a word +was spoken by any of the party, and the man then took his way across +the court-yard towards a long range of stabling and outhouses, which in +former times had sheltered many an honest and modest farmer's gelding, +but which now contained not a few of those animals which have +established for themselves an impudent reputation under the title of "a +highwayman's horse." The man raised the latch, and pushed the door, but +it resisted his efforts, and, with a voice full of dismay and +bewilderment, he exclaimed, "Hang me if Harvey hasn't locked the +stables!" + +Lord Harold made no reply, but waited to see what expedient he would +propose, and very soon found that it was one to which he was not at all +inclined to submit, namely, that of returning to the house and taking +their chance of another day. + +"No," he said, in a low tone; "no, my good friend! I have determined to +make my escape to-night, or not at all. I am out here with you and this +good lady, and nothing shall make me go in again. If there are no +horses to be found, we must go on foot." + +"But suppose I say you shall go in again," replied the man; "what +then?" + +"Why then," replied Lord Harold, "I shall take care to make my refusal +in so loud a tone that some of the good people who are asleep there +shall hear it, and come down to find you and this fair lady so far upon +your way, with an order upon my banker in your pockets." + +The man stood and glared at him for a moment, as if he would have shot +him where he stood; but at length he said, with a slight stamp upon the +ground, "Well, it's no use; I suppose we had best take our way off on +our own feet, if we cannot get four legs to carry us. One must risk +something in this world; and perhaps, after all, the clatter of those +horses' feet might have roused some of the fellows above. Come, +Harriet, my lass; you must try what you can do for a forced march." + +Thus saying, he led the way out of the court-yard, and bent his steps +straight against the side of the hill. He seemed to bear no malice +towards Lord Harold for having forced him to the decided step he had +taken; and when they were at a sufficient distance from the house to +permit of his speaking aloud without risking anything, he said, "I +found out this morning, while I was exploring, that if we take this way +over the hill, between those two high knolls, we shall get into a +little lane on the other side which leads down to a village some ten +miles off. Now, we shall get there, I dare say, before daylight, though +it is tough work walking up this hill, and there, I don't doubt, we may +get horses to take us on. If so, we part there, my young lord; for it +won't suit me to travel with lordship any longer. I and Harriet will go +on to London as fast as we can, and I dare say you will be able to make +your way without us." + +"That I shall, easily," replied Lord Harold, "even if I go as far as +that with you; but most likely I shall stop before that." + +The truth was, that Lord Harold began now to feel that he was much +feebler than he had supposed; and although they had not gone at this +time above half a mile since they first set out, it was with difficulty +that he kept up with his two companions. They showed him some degree of +kindness and consideration, however, slackening their pace for his +convenience, when they found, on looking back towards the house they +had left, that no light nor any other sign whatever announced that +their flight had been discovered. A strong effort of his determined +nature enabled the young nobleman to do more than many persons would +have effected in his situation, and he succeeded in crossing the summit +of the hill, and descending so far on the other side as to arrive at +the end of the wooded lane of which his guide had spoken. There, +however, he was obliged to declare that he could go no further; and the +reply of the man was, "Well, then, we must leave you; for of course we +can't stop here; for, to say the truth, I would rather meet the devil +himself than Franklin Gray after what has happened." + +"Go on; go on!" replied Lord Harold; "go on, and take care of +yourselves. I will rest here for an hour or two by these trees, and +then doubtless shall be able to go forward very well by myself." + +"Mayhap you would like a pistol, however," said the man, putting one +into Lord Harold's hand; "I always find them convenient;" and, without +further adieu, he left the young nobleman, who seated himself under one +of the trees, with the darkness of the night around him. The other two +went on; and in a moment after the woman's voice was heard in a loud +laugh, which Lord Harold doubted not was in some way at his expense. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIX. + + +"Let us do everything formally," said Sir Matthew Scrope to Sir Thomas +Waller, when the latter returned from the expedition which we have +already recorded to Danemore Castle, at about eleven o'clock in the +day. "Pray, let us do everything formally, or we may get into a scrape. +Indeed, what you tell me about this young man being the Earl's son +makes me afraid we have got into a scrape already. Ha! Mister Justice +Whistler; is it not so? ha!" + +"What is life, my dear sir," said Justice Whistler, who was somewhat of +a wag, and generally displayed his talent for raillery upon any one he +saw in mortal terror or great anguish of mind--such as young prisoners +brought before him for capital offences, and their friends or +relations; "what is life, my dear sir, but a succession of scrapes? We +get into a terrible scrape when we enter it, surely, and an awful +scrape in going out of it. Then, between, there is love and matrimony, +two other sad scrapes; beside all the others, such as the present, +which we fall into between infancy and dotage. The great art of life is +to get out of our scrapes cleverly. Now, let us see how you will manage +to get out of this; ha! ha! ha!" and he laughed most uncomfortably +close to the ear of his two fellow justices. + +Sir Matthew Scrope was evidently in great anxiety respecting the +result, and bitterly regretted that a rooted disinclination to rise by +candlelight had prevented him from going over to Danemore with his +colleague Sir Thomas Waller, whom he looked upon as a rash young man, +though he was at least fifty-eight years of age. He had been in very +great apprehension before, lest it should ultimately prove that the +personage whom he at first determined to be undoubtedly guilty, should +prove entirely innocent; and the extraordinary consequences of hearing +that the Earl acknowledged him, not only as his son, but as his +legitimate son, were, that he speedily not only began to doubt whether +the prisoner was guilty or not, but whether he, Sir Matthew Scrope, had +ever thought him guilty; and he might very soon have worked himself up +into the belief that he had always maintained his innocence, but had +been overruled by Sir Thomas Waller. + +The latter worthy knight was a man of courage of a certain kind, that +is to say a sort of chameleon courage, which took its colour from +whatever was next to it. As long as he had remained by Mr. Justice +Whistler, the cool, self-possessed resolution of the London justice, +who knew better than any man living how to carry through what is called +an unpleasant piece of business, had kept him up, and bold measures +were all that he thought of; but the timid apprehensions of Sir Matthew +Scrope damped his fire most amazingly, and when he found the London +justice admit calmly that they were in a scrape, the fire went out +altogether. + +Both the country justices, being men of vivid imaginations, instantly +set to work to picture to themselves all the evil consequences which +might ensue from the _faux pas_ they had committed; and a sort of +nervous twitching came over Sir Matthew Scrope's whole person, which +afforded Mr. Justice Whistler much internal satisfaction. + +"Nay, nay, my good friend," exclaimed Sir Matthew; "these are no joking +matters; and the only thing that it seems needful to do now is, to see +how we may best retreat from this business quietly." + +"Retreat from it!" exclaimed the London magistrate; "nonsense. Face it +out boldly. The man is just as innocent of the murder as you or I; but +what matters that? Do your best to prove that he is guilty; then there +will be always so fair a case against him that you will be justified in +all you have done; and the more vigorously you act against the Earl's +own son, the more credit you will get for the impartial administration +of justice." + +But such bold counsels were not for Sir Matthew Scrope; and Sir Thomas +Waller, whose courage was just now lukewarm, was more inclined to +timidity than anything else. "Let us discharge him at once," he +exclaimed, "and be civil to him." + +"Nonsense, I say again," replied Mr. Justice Whistler. "What! discharge +him without cause, after having dragged him away from his dying +father's bedside this very morning. Would you make fools of us all!" + +"No, no; that will never do," said Sir Matthew Scrope; "but, +nevertheless, let us do things formally. Let us have the young +gentleman up for examination; let us be civil to him, as Sir Thomas +says. Perhaps something may come out in his re-examination which may +show his innocence." + +"If it do not come out, you will squeeze it out, that is clear," +rejoined Justice Whistler; "but the man stands committed, the warrant +is made out, and there is nothing to be done but to send him to the +gaol. I am sorry I did not send the constables on with him at once." + +"I am very glad you did not," said Sir Matthew. "As to the warrant, it +is but a bit of parchment, which will shrivel up in my kitchen fire in +a minute; and so we will have him up into the justice-room to +re-examine him before we send him--" + +"Back to his father," said Justice Whistler, supplying the words, and +shrugging his shoulders. "Well if you will act in such a way, I suppose +I must help you to do it gracefully. Let us go to the justice-room. +Call the clerk. Leave the whole business to me, and do not be afraid. +Whatever you may hear or see, I will get you out of the business--and +in your own way," he added, seeing his fellow justices hesitate. + +"Well, well," replied Sir Matthew Scrope; "if in our own way that will +do; but let me beg of you, Mr. Justice Whistler, not to plunge us +further in the mire than we are at present." + +"A capital simile," muttered the London justice between his teeth, as +he led the way to the justice-room, which communicated by a long +passage with the mansion of Sir Matthew Scrope. + +The clerk was then called, the magistrates took their stations in +formal array, the table was diligently strewed with papers, and an +order was given to bring in the prisoner. + +"Ahem!" cried Sir Matthew Scrope, as Langford appeared between two +constables. "Ahem! ahem!" said his fellow justices; and Sir Thomas +Waller, who now--like a tennis ball, which, having been struck in one +way by the hand of a strong player, is met by his opponent's racket, +and is driven further back in the opposite direction--was inclined to +go further than any of his colleagues, according to the new impulse +which he had received, added, with a simpering smile, "Pray, be seated, +sir. Ahem! You rascal, why don't you give the gentleman a chair?" and +he bent his brows as frowningly on the constable as if he had committed +petty larceny at least. + +Langford was pale, and his features somewhat worn and haggard, with all +the anxiety, agitation, and distress of mind which he had gone through, +within the last week; neither was his heart well at ease when he +regarded either his father's situation or his own at that moment, and +felt that his recovered parent might remain in sickness and in anguish, +and even pass the gates of death, without the consolation of his son's +presence; while he, perhaps, manacled and treated like a common felon, +was detained in the solitary wretchedness of a prison upon the charge +of murdering his own brother. Nevertheless, a faint smile came over his +lip at the somewhat burlesque exhibition of Sir Matthew Waller, and it +instantly flashed across his mind that something must have occasioned a +change in the worthy justice's feelings towards him, both from the +sudden alteration and great embarrassment of his manner. He threw +himself into the chair, however, that was placed for him, and leaning +his elbow on the table, gazed upon the magistrates, thinking, "What +next?" + +"You stand before us, sir," said Mr. Justice Whistler, in a pompous +tone, "accused of the murder of Edward Lord Harold. Ahem!" + +There was something in the man's whole manner that roused Langford's +indignation and contempt at the same time; and he replied, with his lip +curling and his nostril expanding, "I _sit_ before you, sir, committed +on that charge; at least, if I believe what you told me not above three +hours ago." + +"Circumstances may have occurred since, sir," said the justice, with a +mysterious look, "to make us take a more favourable view of the case, +and we have consequently determined to re-examine you." + +"Sir, I am tired of re-examinations," replied Langford. "You informed +me that I was committed: under such circumstances, I am not disposed to +answer any further questions, or to be re-examined at all." + +Mr. Justice Whistler looked at his two companions, and both the knights +looked at Mr. Justice Whistler, for Langford's renitency threatened to +keep them exactly in the disagreeable position in which they had placed +themselves; but after a moment's pause he added a few words, which, +like the sound of parley, gave hope of entering into some capitulation. +"Pray, sir," said the prisoner, "what are the circumstances which +induce you to take a more favourable view of the case?" + +"Nay, young gentleman," said Mr. Justice Whistler, with a benign and +yet dignified look, "you cannot expect us to give you such information. +That would be defeating the ends of justice; but if you think fit to +answer the interrogatories which shall be addressed to you, and if your +replies coincide with the information which we have received, the +result may be very much in your favour." + +Langford paused for a moment ere he replied. He was naturally extremely +anxious to free himself as soon as possible, but yet he felt a degree +of indignation at the conduct that was pursued towards him which +overcame every other feeling; and at the same time he began to perceive +that the worthy justices were very doubtful as to their own +proceedings, so that he was not without some expectation of their +setting him free at once if he avoided any further reference to that +journey to the moor, which he could neither explain nor account for, +without inconvenience and danger to himself and others; he, therefore, +once more refused to submit to any interrogation. + +"All I shall say," he continued, "is, that I am, as you well know, +perfectly innocent; that I never saw the unfortunate young gentleman of +whose death I am accused, after I parted with him in the Manor park at +Moorhurst; and that there is not the slightest evidence to show, that +though he drew his sword upon me, I ever drew mine upon him. I shall +reply to nothing more." + +Mr. Justice Whistler whispered eagerly to Sir Matthew Scrope. "There is +nothing for it, I tell you," he said, "but to send him to prison, and +make out the best case against him you can. You see he will give us no +opportunity of letting him go. Your risk will be much greater in the +one case than in the other." + +Sir Matthew Scrope turned very pale, for the alternative was certainly +somewhat disagreeable; and his eyes wandered with an anxious vacancy +from the countenance of the London justice to that of the prisoner, and +then again stole round to the face of Sir Thomas Waller, without +finding any resource in the expression of either of the three. Sir +Thomas Waller, on his part, being of a more irritable and less +lamblike disposition than his worthy colleague, was getting somewhat +excited, or rather into a state of irritable despair, which inclined +him to side with Mr. Justice Whistler, and take the leap before him, +even at the risk of breaking his neck. + +At that moment, however, while the justices were in this state of +anxiety and embarrassment, a constable made his appearance at the +doorway, closed the door gently behind him, and, walking slowly up the +room, communicated something to Sir Matthew Scrope, which was instantly +transmitted to the other two magistrates, in the same low tone in which +he had received it. + +"Oh, send him away; send him away," said Mr. Justice Whistler. "Bid him +come another time." + +"He's a most respectable man," said Sir Thomas Waller; "perhaps he +might help us in this business." + +"Why, your worship," said the constable, in a low tone, "I understood +him to say that it was something about this very business he wanted to +tell you." + +"Show him in, then; show him in!" said the large round voice of Mr. +Justice Whistler; and in a few minutes a small neat dapper man was +ushered into the presence of the three magistrates, dressed in a plain +suit of black silk, who was greeted by the two country magistrates as +Master Evelyn. + +With a quick, short step he advanced to Sir Matthew Scrope, took him by +the button, led him into the recess of a window at some distance behind +the other magistrates, and spoke to him for a few moments with rapid +utterance, but in a low voice. Most men have seen the sun come from +behind a cloud; but the glorious visage even of the great orb of day, +when it bursts forth from that vapoury veil, is scarcely more radiant +than became the countenance of Sir Matthew Scrope while listening to +the words of Mr. Evelyn, the attorney. + +"Hist! hist:--Sir Thomas!" he exclaimed; "Your worship. Master +Whistler!" and with dignified grace he beckoned them up to the place of +conference. Mr. Justice Whistler, as he listened, laid his finger +solemnly upon the side of his nose, and then, making a sign to his +colleagues to be silent, returned to his seat, and said in a full round +voice, "Mr. Evelyn, be so good as to introduce the witnesses." + +"What is coming now?" thought Langford, as he heard the direction +given, and he turned to look towards the door, while the London +justice, with an air of perfect self-composure, took up some of the +papers from the table, and seemed to study them attentively, as if +perfectly indifferent to the next act of the drama. + +Langford still kept his eyes upon the door, however, not a little +anxious to see who were to be the witnesses for or against him; and +certainly his surprise was not slight when he saw Sir Walter Herbert +enter the room, with Alice, pale and evidently much agitated, leaning +on his arm; and a woman servant, whom he had often seen at the Manor +House, following close behind. + +He started up with an impulse that he could not resist, and sprang +forward to meet her. Had he kept his seat. Alice might have gone +through the scene very well, for, though agitated in a very great +degree, she had taken much pains to nerve her mind, in order calmly to +perform the part assigned to her; but the sudden start, the joyful +smile, the radiant look of happiness with which Langford sprang forward +to meet her, quite overthrew her equanimity, carried her away +altogether, and she suffered herself to sink forward in the arms he +held out to her, bursting into a violent flood of tears. + +Sir Matthew Scrope, who was naturally not without a feeling heart, was +affected at what he saw, and Mr. Justice Whistler amused. "No private +communications between the witness and the prisoner," said the latter, +with a broad grin; and though Langford turned round towards him with a +heavy frown gathering on his high forehead, he went on in the same +strain. "Pray, separate them, Mr. Evelyn. Pray, separate them, Sir +Walter Herbert, else we shall have evident collusion, and be obliged to +refuse the evidence!" + +Langford removed the arms which he had at first clasped warmly round +the beautiful form of his promised bride; and Alice, while she wiped +away the tears with one hand, placed the other in that of her father, +and advanced towards the table. + +"Well, madam," continued the justice, "what is it that you have to say +upon this subject? I understand it is something of great importance." + +"I trust it may prove so," replied Alice; "and indeed I should think it +would prove of the greatest importance. What I have to say is this, +that in the course of last night I myself distinctly saw Edward Lord +Harold alive." + +"And are you ready to swear to this, madam?" asked the justice. + +"Quite ready," replied Alice. + +"Then be so good, madam," he said, "as to detail all the +circumstances." + +Alice immediately complied; and with distinctness and precision, which +called a compliment from the lips even of Mr. Justice Whistler, she +narrated every event of the preceding night which related to the matter +in question. She told, glancing timidly at the cause of their journey +at that late hour, how the carriage which contained herself and her +father had been stopped, they themselves obliged to alight, their own +horses turned loose, and others put to; and she went on to say, that +when the party which had dispossessed them took possession of the +carriage, she had distinctly seen Lord Harold, whom she had known from +her childhood, assisted to the carriage by two men, and placed therein, +together with other persons. She further said, that she had called her +maid to witness what was going on, and she had consequently seen the +whole, of which she would give her own account. The maid was then +called forward, and corroborated in every respect her mistress's +statement. She knew Lord Harold perfectly well by sight; had known him +from the time he was a boy, and could not be mistaken. She had seen him +distinctly by the bright light which was then in the sky, and which she +had since heard proceeded from the burning of Danemore Castle. She had +heard his voice, and recognised it, as well as his person, so that +there remained do earthly doubt upon her mind that he was still alive. + +"Well, then," exclaimed Mr. Justice Whistler, "such being the case, of +course, where nobody has been killed, nobody can be the murderer. We +have therefore nothing further to do but to discharge the warrant +against this gentleman, and set him at liberty. We have heard in +romances, and such trash, of gentlemen being liberated by fair ladies, +but I must confess I never saw it before till this day. However, we +must, as I said, discharge the warrant; though, if I am rightly +informed," he added, with what he intended to be a pleasant and meaning +smile to Langford--"though, if I am rightly informed, almost as many +aliases should have been put into the description of this honourable +gentleman as into that of any person brought to the Old Bailey." + +Langford looked grave, for his feelings were very much mingled. He was +rejoiced, undoubtedly, at his liberation; he was rejoiced to hear that +the man of whose safety he had himself given up all hope, was still +living; he was rejoiced that Alice Herbert should have been the means +of restoring him to freedom; but still he saw many a difficulty and +many a pang before him; and with a generous heart and mind, he grieved +for the sake of his younger brother, as well as for himself, that he +had not known of Edward's safety before, when he might have taken means +to soften everything that was now likely to be harsh and painful both +to the Earl and to himself, as well as to him who had so long looked +forward with a feeling of perfect certainty to the enjoyment of high +rank, commanding station, and one of the most splendid fortunes in the +country. + +He could now do nothing; the Earl had so loudly proclaimed the secret +of his birth, had acknowledged him before so many persons, that no +means of breaking or softening the matter to him who had hitherto been +called Lord Harold now remained; and even with regard to the Earl +himself, all that Langford could hope for was, to have the opportunity +of communicating the facts to him in the first instance, and of +concerting some means with him for taking the sting out of his offence. +Such were the feelings which were busily crossing his bosom while the +magistrate spoke, and for the moment, they produced a look of serious +thought, almost of sadness, which surprised even Alice Herbert. The +next moment, however, his countenance was all clear; and taking her +hand in his, he thanked her a thousand times, feeling, with true love's +sweet deception, as if his liberation were entirely owing to her +exertions. + +"Oh, dear Langford!" she said, "indeed, you owe me nothing. I wish it +had been in my power to do anything to free you sooner, not only from +imprisonment, but from a horrid accusation, which was even worse. But +this has been all accident; and though it has made me very happy, I +have had no merit therein." + +Langford thanked her still, however, and thanked her eagerly; and then +turning to good Sir Walter Herbert, he shook him warmly by the hand, +thanking him too, and asking him if he had yet received the paper which +the Earl of Danemore had sent that very morning. He found, however, +that such was not the case; and that Sir Walter Herbert was then +waiting with Alice to tender bail for his appearance; Bolland and his +follower never yet having reached the county town to which the good +knight and his daughter had bent their steps after having been left +without their carriage. + +The tale of their adventures instantly roused the peculiar genius of +Mr. Justice Whistler, who had that very morning, on his way back with +Langford, investigated accurately the whole history of the attack upon +Danemore Castle, and who now, furnished with a clue by the account of +Sir Walter Herbert, resolved to remain in the county, and to pursue the +robbers till he had brought them to justice, though he vowed that his +presence was daily needed in London. On this sage determination he +proceeded to act, and as soon as Bolland appeared--which he did in +somewhat rueful plight about the middle of the day, having remained +tied to a tree during the whole night--Mr. Justice Whistler sought to +engage him in the scheme, well knowing that never ferret traced the +windings of a warren with more supple ingenuity than the sheriff's +officer would trace the track of a fugitive. + +It was with difficulty, however, that Bolland was persuaded to +undertake the task, for the warning voice of Franklin Gray rang in his +ears; and though he longed to be revenged for the cold night he had +passed upon the moor, yet he had a great reverence for the Robber's +threats, having remarked that they seldom went unexecuted. He was at +length, however, persuaded; and as soon as Sir Walter and his daughter, +accompanied by Langford, now at liberty, had taken their way back, with +hearts greatly relieved, towards the scenes where first they appeared +before the reader's eyes, the London magistrate and his new ally, with +the two country justices, as slow hounds behind them, proceeded to hunt +out tidings of Franklin Gray and his party. They were soon at fault, +however; for though the marks of wheels and horses' hoofs could be +traced from the spot where the carriage had been taken from Sir Walter +Herbert as far as the road continued sandy, the nature of the soil soon +changed; hard rock succeeded, and all such marks were lost. At the same +time, it was found in vain to question the cottagers and townspeople, +for all declared that if such a party had passed at all they had passed +in the night, when heavy sleep had closed each ear and shut up every +eye. + + + + + CHAPTER XXX. + + +It is probable that very few persons in the world, were the choice left +to them, would prefer that any mixture whatsoever of pain should +chequer the happiness which they covet. But yet have we not all felt, +have we not all at some time owned, that the mingling of a slight drop +of acid in the sweet cup of enjoyment gave it a zest which prevented it +from palling on the taste. + +Seated beside Alice Herbert, in a vehicle which had been hired at the +county town to convey them back to their own dwelling, a vehicle the +external appearance of which none of those it contained even saw, +Langford gave way to joy, not unmixed, indeed, but only so far touched +with care and anxiety as to bring out the brighter points in the more +striking relief. As far as he could, he cast from his mind every memory +of evil: he thought of that which was pleasant and gladdening in his +fate alone, and suffered the memory of past discomforts and pangs, or +the apprehension of difficulties and dangers in the future, to come +across his mind but as vague shadows, like distant clouds upon the edge +of the horizon, which the wind might or might not bear away, but which +at all events did not serve to obscure the sun that shone in the +zenith. + +He had, indeed, infinite cause for satisfaction. He had a thousand +motives for joy, and even for triumph. That which had been for many +years the first, the great object of his existence, was now +accomplished, and accomplished, though not without pain, and +difficulty, and danger, still without one action which he could look +back upon with sorrow or with regret. He felt that, though he had been +tempted to do things which he would afterwards have repented, he had +resisted the temptation, and had struggled nobly as well against +himself as against the injustice of others. + +Whatever might result from the circumstances in which he was placed, he +had succeeded in that great object of clearing his mother's memory from +a stain. The Earl, in the presence of many witnesses, had more than +once acknowledged the marriage which for eight-and-twenty years he had +concealed and denied; and Langford doubted not that the same good +providence which had led him so far through such tortuous paths to +success, would accomplish the rest in good time, nor leave unfinished +the work begun. It was a blessing, too, when he gazed on Alice Herbert, +the beautiful and the beloved! to feel that the only stigma upon his +name, which even the eye of prejudice could have seen, was removed, and +that her father's views of illegitimate birth would not in his case +mingle any degree of pain with that approbation which in other respects +he had given so joyfully. + +He sat beside her, then, giving way to the extreme of happiness; and, +strange to say, the love which in their last meeting had been new and +timid in the hearts of both, had now, by the events of deep interest, +by the dangers, by the sorrows, by the anxieties which they had passed +through together--by all the various circumstances, thoughts, and +feelings in which the fate of each had been associated with that of the +other, been taught to feel like old and tried affection, had lost much +of the shyness of novelty; and Alice allowed the hand which he had +taken, to rest in his, while on their onward journey he told as much of +the strange tale of his past life as he could do without embarrassing +the story with the names of others whose fate was yet uncertain, but +might be affected by the very share they had taken in all that had +passed regarding him. + +He mentioned not the name of Franklin Gray, but he took his own history +far back, and told her and her father that long ago, in the days of the +civil wars, many an Englishman, driven forth from his native land, had +sought refuge in France; that many of them, broken in fortunes, and +bankrupt even of hope, had become mere adventurers, and had established +for their countrymen the reputation of bad and reckless men. + +He went on to tell her that one of these exiles from their native land +had been kindly received and nobly entertained by a family which had +long been more or less connected with England and English people. He +was of a daring and adventurous nature, and had sought his fortune, +before he came to France, in still more distant countries; but there +was something in his whole demeanour, in the high education which he +displayed, in the noble feelings which often burst from him, even in +the very faults and untamed wildness of a nature spoilt by indulgence, +which confirmed his account of his own high rank, and the large +possessions of his dead father in the island of his birth. + +That man, he said, was now the Earl of Danemore; and then, in the +graces of youth, he found no great difficulty in winning the heart of +Eugenie de Beaulieu, whose feelings in his favour were first excited by +compassion, and ended in admiration and in love. They parted, but it +was soon to meet again. Her brother had been forced to join the army +then warring in the Low Countries. Her uncle had been sent to England +on one of the brief embassies which from time to time marked the broken +intercourse between the great usurper Cromwell and the legitimate +monarch of France. The aunt of Eugenie de Beaulieu, having accompanied +her husband, had sent over people in whom she could confide, to bring +her niece, who had been left almost unprotected in France during her +brother's absence, to the British capital; but the death of Cromwell, +and the uncertain policy of his weak successor, had thrown the whole +country into confusion ere she arrived. Eugenie was followed by her +lover, and never reached the dwelling of her uncle in London. Ere she +arrived at that city she had consented to become a wife; and her +husband, having been discovered as an adherent of the house of Stuart, +was soon after obliged to fly and leave her. What he meditated, what he +purposed by such an act, his son now touched upon but slightly; but he +was obliged to tell how, by threats as well as by entreaties, the Earl +had forced her, who had been his bride but a few weeks, to give into +his hands all the proofs of their private marriage, promising by +everything he held sacred never to destroy them. + +The next part of the story was a painful one, and was also passed over +lightly: how his mother returned to France, and did not find her +husband where she expected to meet him; how she was forced to +communicate her situation to her brother; how her brother doubted and +feared, but at length believed her tale; how he cast all thoughts aside +but that of doing justice to his sister; how he traced out her husband, +and eagerly, perhaps fiercely, demanded that he should do her right. +How, in short, two high tempers went on to words which could not be +forgiven; how they fought, and how both had nearly died where they +stood. So went the tale. + +The husband, carried from the field, was not heard of more for nearly +two years, when he suddenly re-appeared in England, claimed and +received his honours, titles, and estates, and wedded into a rich and +noble house. His first and deserted wife, forced by her brother to +countenance a report of her own death, brought forth a son in secret; +and the rest of the tale, as it was told to Alice Herbert, the reader +must have already gathered. There was a part of it, however, which was +not told then, and which will be noticed, perhaps, hereafter; but it +was a part which involved the whole history of those steps which had +been taken for several years to regain from the Earl the proofs of his +first marriage; and it touched upon so much that was painful, and so +much which might be imprudent to speak, that Langford was not sorry +when he found that the many questions of Alice and Sir Walter, their +many exclamations of pity for his mother's sorrows, and interest in her +fate, the long explanations and minute details which he had to give, +and the various episodes and collateral anecdotes which were required +in such a history, told to such listeners, had occupied the time till +they had nearly reached the spot where he had left his father, and he +was compelled to leave his tale for the time incomplete. + +Anxious in every respect to return to the side of his sick parent, +Langford gazed up at the windows of the house where he lay, as the +carriage rolled heavily into the court before the old parsonage. All +was still, however; and a careless horse-boy whistled in the yard while +he thrust the straw on one side. Langford questioned him regarding his +father's health; but the lad knew nothing on the subject, but that +"there had been a rare coming and going, and seeking for the doctor, +who had gone to see Betty Hinton, who had been scorched while seeking +to pilfer something from the fire at the Castle." + +Sir Walter Herbert and the Earl's son, however, both felt that the +boy's account gave a bad augury; and the Knight and his daughter +remained in a vacant room below, while Langford ascended the stairs. He +found some of the Earl's attendants in the outer room, and from them he +learned a confirmation of his fears. His lordship, they said, was much +worse, and had become so about an hour before. The doctor, they added, +was then with him, as well as Mistress Bertha and the rector; but they +could say nothing further as to his condition. + +Langford hurried on, with a sweet hope that his presence might soothe +and cheer, he opened the door cautiously; but the face of the old peer +was towards it, and the bright, fevered eye was fixed upon him +instantly. With much pain, however, Langford saw that his appearance +seemed to agitate rather than to calm; the lip quivered, the brow knit, +and tossing round upon his other side, he turned his face to the wall. +His son, however, divined at once the cause of this change, and shaped +his course accordingly. Moving gently forward, he advanced to the +bedside of his hurt father, and sat down, while Bertha gave place, and +the rector bowed low to his patron's son. + +"How fare you now, sir?" demanded the young gentleman, "I hope better, +for I bring you good news." + +The Earl, however, occupied with his own thoughts, did not seem to +attend to his words; "No!" he cried, casting himself round again in the +bed, and grasping Langford's hands; "No, I will not disown thee--my +gallant, my noble boy! No; I will not recall my words, be the +consequences what they may! Your voice sounds in my ear like your poor +mother's, when first I heard it in youth and generous-hearted +innocence; it sounds soothing, and not reproachful; and I say it again, +you are my son! She was my wife! Let them do what they will--let them +say what they will--so it is, and shall be denied no longer; and yet, +poor Edward!--think of poor Edward! He is living, you have heard? he is +living! The joy of those sudden tidings had well nigh killed me; but +the pangs that came after have gone further still. Think of poor +Edward!" + +"I have thought of him, my dear sir; I have thought of him much and +deeply," replied Langford; "but indeed there is no cause for your +present agitation--" + +"No cause!" exclaimed the Earl, with his old vehemence breaking forth +even then; "no cause, do you say! Why, do I not, by the very act of +acknowledging you, bastardize the boy that has lain in my bosom, that +has dwelt with me through years which would otherwise have been +solitary? Do I not take the wrong from your mother to put it upon his? +Do I not deprive him, by a word, of station, rank, and noble name? Do I +not proclaim myself false--a breaker of all vows? Oh! young man, young +man, you know not how this proud hard heart is wrung and torn at this +moment! Say not a word; say not a word! I know that it is by my own +follies; my own crimes, if you will. I know what you can say; I know +all that you can say; that your mother, as noble and as virtuous as +his, bore her sorrows through a long life, raised no loud murmur +against him who had injured her, and died forgiving him who had +embittered her existence; that hers is the just right; that hers was +the first claim; that the real wife lived in sorrow and under reproach, +and died in misery and despair; that the false wife lived in honour and +in high esteem, and died in the arms of her son, and of him she thought +her husband; that it is time now, even now, to make the atonement! I +know it all, and the atonement shall be made; but neither tell me that +there is no cause for agitation, nor utter one reproach in the voice of +her who never reproached me." + +"Far from it, my lord," replied Langford, as soon as the Earl would let +him speak; "far from it! I seek not in the slightest degree to utter a +word that comes near a reproach; and though I know you must be pained +and grieved by much that has occurred, there is still, I trust, cause +for nothing but joy in the tidings we have heard of my poor brother's +safety. In the first place, my lord, the papers which are necessary to +establish my claim as heir to your estates and title in England have +not yet been found, and may never be so; nor do I at all seek to +deprive my brother of that to which he has through life looked forward. +Were they found to-morrow, as long as he lived I should conceive myself +bound by the engagement which I and my uncle both entered into +formerly, never to make use of those papers in England, but to employ +them solely for the establishment of my legitimacy in France. No one in +this country, but myself, knows, or should ever obtain proof from me, +of the period of my mother's death; and consequently, as that event +might have taken place before your marriage with another, that second +marriage will remain valid in England, to all intents and purposes. I +say, that such shall be the case, even should the papers be found. +Should they not be found, your own solemn declaration, upon oath, +together with the testimony of Bertha here, a born subject of France, +will be sufficient fully to establish my legitimacy in that country, +and to restore to me my uncle's title and estates, which have passed +away to others. Such being the case, I say again, there is no cause for +anything but joy in the tidings of my brother's safety. If you desire +it should be so, he even need never know that you were united to his +mother while mine was still living. I pledge myself, upon my honour, +never to tell him, and in no respect to seek to wrest from him the +estates or honours he would have derived from you. Shall it be so?" + +The Earl gazed at him for several moments, with a countenance over +which the shades of many passions came flitting like figures across a +glass. He hesitated; he doubted; he admired. But his was not a nature +to remain long in uncertainty. Keen, eager, fiery in all his +determinations, he strode at once to his object, and when his +resolution was once taken, he could trample upon his own heart when it +lay in the way, as well as upon the hearts of others. + +"No!" he exclaimed, at length, in answer to Langford's question; "no; +it shall not be so! I will do justice, even at the last hour. I +will do justice, let it cost me what it may. No! noble, and generous, +kind-hearted, and true as you have shown yourself, worthy child of her +that I wronged, true descendant of a noble race, upon whose fame and +honour I brought the first imputation, I will not take advantage of +your too generous kindness; I will not screen myself from the +consequences of what I have done, by withholding from him who saved his +father's life, at the very moment that father was doing him the +grossest injustice, the rank that he will honour nobly, the wealth that +he will rightly employ. No; though I break my own heart by what I +inflict upon his, Edward, when he returns, shall know all; shall know +how well and nobly you have acted; how ill I have acted towards both; +and then if, while you forgive and soothe, he in the bitterness of his +heart should curse the father that has wronged him, let him do it; I +say, let him do it." + +Langford was about to reply, but the surgeon interposed, saying, +"Indeed, sir, though it may be very necessary that such important +matters as those on which you have been speaking should be settled in +some manner, it is absolutely necessary to make all discussion upon the +subject as short as possible; for, if prolonged, the consequences must +necessarily be of the worst and most serious nature." + +"Far be it from me to prolong them," replied Langford; "let the matter +rest as it is, my dear father. Let us take no steps whatsoever, nor +discuss the matter in any shape, till your health is returned, and +then--" + +"Do not deceive yourself," said the Earl; "do not deceive yourself, my +son. From this bed I shall never rise again! The day is past, the night +is coming. The fire is burnt out, and there lingers but a spark behind. +The oil in the lamp is exhausted, and though the flame may flicker up +yet once or twice, it soon must sink and be extinguished. Henry, I feel +that I am dying! It is not these wounds that have killed me, but the +long intense struggles of a fiery and uncontrollable spirit have at +length beaten down the bars of the fleshly prison that once strongly +confined it, and it is now ready to take wing and fly to other lands. +We will discuss the matter, as you say, no more; but my hours are +numbered, and ere I die I must act. Where is that man Kinsight, the +lawyer? Why did he not return to me last night? Let him be sent for +instantly, for I must take those measures, both to place your birth +beyond all doubt, as far as yet lies in my power, and to provide amply +and nobly for the son I have wronged. But alas, alas! have I not +wronged you both? you first, and him last, both deeply, terribly, +equally! Where, I wonder is that lawyer? I wonder why he came not last +night?" + +"I fear, my lord," replied the surgeon, "that he will not be able to +attend you, for I find that he was very severely handled by the people +yesterday evening, in an attempt to execute a writ upon Sir Walter +Herbert, so that he has been in a state of insensibility since +yesterday about five o'clock, till this morning, and is not likely, it +would seem, to recover." + +"Retribution!" said the Earl; "retribution! Though it sometimes comes +slowly, it is sure to come at last, and then comes altogether. This was +my doing too, though by his prompting. However, be it as it may, +retribution has fallen upon us both. But somebody told me that Sir +Walter was arrested last night nevertheless, and I sent a release, that +he might be set free." + +"I have found no one," said Bertha, who had remained standing +behind--"I have found no one to whom I would trust so important a +document. You told me," she continued, turning to Langford, "to give it +to nobody but one on whom I could implicitly rely, and I have thought +over all the persons I know--over all the persons I have ever known, +and cannot remember one who deserves such a name." + +"You are bitter," said Langford, "but not just, Bertha. However, set +your mind at ease, my dear father; Sir Walter Herbert is at liberty, +and in this house, waiting anxiously to hear tidings of your health. +His daughter is with him, too; and she thinks that, if you would permit +her, she could, by that care, and kindness, and tenderness, which are +parts of her nature, greatly soothe and comfort you." + +The Earl shook his head; and a smile, faint indeed, but still the first +that had crossed his countenance for a long time, hung upon his lip +during a single instant. "You are a lover," he said; "but nothing can +soothe or comfort me more in life, Henry. Yet I would fain see Sir +Walter Herbert. I am in the course of atonement, and I must atone to +him, too, in words as well as deeds." + +"Indeed, my lord," said the surgeon, "the fewer that you see--" + +"Sir, I will have it so!" exclaimed the Earl, turning upon him with a +frowning brow. "Let me not be tormented by opposition even at my last +hour!" And with a firm and imperious voice he directed Bertha to invite +Sir Walter and his daughter to his chamber. + +They came speedily, and no trace of any feeling but that of kind and +generous compassion was to be seen upon the countenance of Sir Walter +Herbert, when he entered the presence of the man who had inflicted so +much pain and anxiety upon him. + +The Earl gazed for a moment in his face, as if to see what expression +it bore, in order to form his own demeanour by it; and then held out +his hand to him frankly. "Sir Walter," he said, as the old knight +advanced and took it, "I have done you wrong; I have acted ungenerously +towards you, as well as towards many others. Do you forgive me?" + +"From my heart," replied Sir Walter Herbert; "but let us not think of +anything that is painful, my good lord. I trust that you have not been +seriously injured in the course of this sad business, the details of +which I know but imperfectly." + +The Earl shook his head at the expression of such a hope, but he made +no reply; and merely demanded, turning to Bertha, "Where is the paper?" +When it was put into his hand, he continued, "I intended this to have +reached you early in the morning, Sir Walter. Take it now. It is but an +act of justice; and anything that might be considered wanting by your +lawyer to put it into due form, had better be mentioned to me soon; for +I am going a long journey, Sir Walter, and would fain leave nothing +incomplete that I can set to rights. Mistress Alice," he continued, +turning to the fair creature who stood timidly a step behind, in a +scene so painful and so unusual--"Mistress Alice, sweet lady, come +hither, and speak to an old man ere he dies." + +Alice approached quickly to his bedside, and taking her hand, he gazed +up in her face, saying, "Lady, to you I have acted doubly ill, for in +my demeanour towards you lately I not only forgot what was just and +right, but what was courteous also; and yet I am going to ask a great +and extraordinary favour of you. When you are the wife of this my +son--which God grant you may be, and soon--try, if it be possible, by +kindness and affection during the whole of the rest of his life, to +make up to him for the want of a father's love, and a father's care, +during the adverse period of his youth." + +Alice blushed deeply, but she replied, "Indeed, my lord, I will; and I +also have a favour to ask of you. I see that you are ill. I know that +you must be suffering. My father, thank God, needs not my care nor +help. Let me stay with you, I beseech you, and be to you as a daughter +until you are better, which I hope and trust will be sooner than you +expect." + +"Hope nothing, young lady," replied the old nobleman; "I do not deceive +myself. Nevertheless, you shall stay, if you so will, because I know +that it may be a satisfaction to you hereafter, and to him, my son, +even now. Yet it is cruel to inflict upon you, so young, so tender, and +so well assorted to sights of hope, and joy, and life, and expectation, +scenes of sickness, and suffering, and of death. Yet if you will, it +shall be so." + +Alice turned a little pale, but still she firmly pressed her request; +while her father and her promised husband gazed upon her with looks of +love, and tenderness, and approbation. "Mistress Bertha," she said, +after again repeating her wish to remain, "you will let me share your +cares, and with a little instruction from you I doubt not to prove +skilful in my new employment." + +"More skilful than I am, lady," replied Bertha; "for I was never made +for soothing or for tenderness. I seek it not myself when sickness or +when pain seizes on me, and I am not fitted to give it to others. +Nevertheless," she added, in a lower voice, "you may perhaps find a +moment to teach that dying man to prepare for the world to which he is +speeding. I have lived long enough in this land, which I once thought +given over to perdition, to believe that salvation may be found by even +those who do not believe all that the Church of Rome would have them. +Seek a moment to speak to him, young lady; seek a moment to point out +to him that all the earthly compensation he can now make is nothing +when compared with the faults he has committed. Tell him he must find +an atonement, that he must seek for an intercessor; and show him that +that intercessor cannot be gained but by full faith and trust in Him." + +"I will," replied Alice. "Indeed, I will lose no opportunity;" and she +kept her word. At the reiterated request of the surgeon, the chamber +was soon after cleared, while a lawyer was sent for from the county +town to supply the place of the Earl's own attorney. No person was left +in it but one; and the task of sitting by the sick man's side was +fulfilled by Alice at her own choice. + +Sir Walter went on to the Manor House, promising to return ere night; +and Langford sat in a chamber below, consulting with the rector and +others concerning the best means of tracing out his lost brother. But +in the meanwhile Alice, watching by the Earl, while he strove +ineffectually to gain even a brief interval of sleep, pondered in her +own mind how she might accomplish the great object she had promised to +attempt; how she might even touch upon a subject from which, but a few +moments before, when mentioned by the rector, she had seen the sick man +start away with impetuous vehemence, apparently judging that all appeal +to Heaven's mercy was too late, and determined not only to brave +fearlessly once more death which he had so often tempted, but to +encounter unshrinkingly the "something after death" which he believed +his own acts to have loaded with all the wrath of Omnipotence. + +After tossing for a long time, with great restlessness and apparent +pain, sleep fell for a few minutes upon the Earl's eyes; and, when it +was over, though it had lasted so short a time, he turned to Alice with +a smile, saying, "Oh, how blessed a thing is sleep! Could heaven itself +be sweeter than slumber after restlessness and agony?" + +"Oh, yes," replied Alice, "I think so; for here, rest requires labour, +or fatigue, or pain, to make it sweet: there, the enjoyment must be +pure and self-existing, requiring no contrast. However, we know little +of such subjects. God grant that we may all know such a state +hereafter." + +The Earl gazed thoughtfully in her face for a few minutes, and then +said, "Alice, do you think that those who meet in the same place +hereafter, will each know the other?" + +"Oh, doubt it not!" cried Alice, eagerly; "doubt it not! It were sin to +doubt it. Heaven could not be heaven without those we love." + +"Then, Alice," cried the Earl, with his brow darkening and his eye +straining upon her--"then, Alice, what would it be to meet, with all +one's crimes laid bare, a long, long train of those we have injured or +oppressed--the slighted, the broken-hearted, the wronged, the insulted, +the slain! Could hell itself be worse than that?" + +"But," said Alice, eagerly--"but to those whom God has pardoned, who +shall impute wrong?" + +The Earl started up, and leaning on his elbow, grasped her hand. "Is +there, Alice," he cried--"is there pardon for such as me?" + +"There is pardon," she replied, "for every sinner that repents and puts +his trust in Him who alone can save. Such were His own words; and, oh! +let me beseech you," she cried, and she cast herself upon her knees +beside his bed--"let me entreat you to hear them. I am young, +unlearned, inexperienced, but yet His words need no learning to +expound; His doctrine is clear; His promises are addressed to the +spirits of every one. Oh, hear them, my lord: hear them, for my sake, +for Henry's sake, hear them." + +"I will," answered the Earl, sinking back upon the pillows. "From your +lips, Alice, I will; but not from his who gives them forth by rote. +Speak, Alice; speak, my child, and I will listen. There is one thing +that I now know, and to know that much, I feel, is something already +done. It is, that never man yet lived who had greater need of +intercession than myself. Speak to me, then; read to me; and though I +promise nothing further, though I say not that I will have faith, +though I say not that I will hope, yet I will listen to every word." He +did listen to her when he would have listened to no one else, while +she, with a beating heart and timid earnestness, went on in her new +task. How she fulfilled it we need not dwell upon. What was the effect +cannot be told, for the Earl made neither comment nor reply; but when +the door opened, and they announced that the lawyer Evelyn had arrived, +he pressed Alice's hand affectionately in his own, and said, "I thank +you, Alice; from my heart and soul, I thank you." + + + + + CHAPTER XXXI. + + +"Good news, Master Justice; good news!" said John Bolland, entering the +room of the small inn, where Mr. Justice Whistler sat sipping a bowl of +fragrant punch with his two brother magistrates, about two days after +we last left him; "I have found out our man, and nothing is wanting but +good courage and plenty of people to take him and the greater part of +his gang." + +"Sit down, Master Bolland; sit down, and take a ladleful," replied +Justice Whistler. "By your leave, Sir Matthew; by your leave. Now, +Master Bolland, now tell us all the facts. To speak truth, I am in no +condition to move far to-night, though I have courage enough to take +the great prince of thieves himself, were it needful; but there is a +certain feeling about my knees which speaks a too great pliancy. This +punch is potent, Sir Matthew; very potent; but the upper story is quite +clear. So pray, Master Bolland, sip, and recite." + +"Why, I have but little to say, Worshipful," said Bolland, who saw that +the punch evidently had produced a not infrequent effect upon all +three. "The only matter is, I have found out where this worthy Captain +Gray and his band have housed themselves; that is all." + +"And where may that be?" demanded Mr. Whistler. "Pray, where may that +be, my dear Bolland?" + +"Why, over the hills, beyond Badeley," replied the officer; "but the +further particulars I will keep till to-morrow, as you cannot set out +to-night; though, to say the truth, every moment lost is likely to lose +us our man. He'll not stay there long, depend on it. They'll be just +like a covey of partridges at sunset, flitting about from place to +place before any one can come near them." + +"But tell me all the particulars," cried Justice Whistler; "for if need +be, I will go this minute." + +"And so will I," shouted Sir Matthew Scrope, who in his cups grew +mighty valiant. "And so will I, I swear!" + +Sir Thomas Waller had proceeded a step beyond the other two, and he +could only stare. But even the proposal of Sir Matthew was more than +suited the purposes of John Bolland and his friend Mister Justice +Whistler, who had agreed long before to share the profits of the +matter, which were likely to be considerable, between them. Each hoped, +also, to gain a certain share of honour and credit by the joint +management of the affair, which honour and credit were somewhat +necessary to both to lacker over certain flaws in their reputation that +were becoming rather too apparent. + +It may seem a strange paradox, perhaps, to say that Mr. Justice +Whistler was as sober when he was tipsy as when he was not, but such +was the case with all the upper man; the drunkenness began at the knees +with him, and went downwards, leaving the brain quite as clear and +shrewd as usual, with the only difference that his manner was a little +more jocular--his pomposity somewhat higher flavoured. On the present +occasion, one glance from the eye of Bolland towards Sir Matthew Scrope +reminded the London justice of their arrangements, and he instantly +changed his tone. + +"No, no, Sir Matthew; we cannot go to-night," he said. "We will hear +what Bolland has to say; we will ponder on it on our pillows, and act +to-morrow. Let me help you, Sir Matthew. Generous punch never yet +harmed any man but a flincher. Sir Thomas, your glass is empty. Master +Bolland, join us. You see I do not spare myself;" and he filled himself +out a ladleful, nodding to Sir Matthew Scrope, and drinking to the +health of his fair niece. + +The additional burden thus poured upon the mental faculties of Sir +Thomas Waller was quite sufficient to send him quietly under the table; +and Sir Matthew Scrope, who likewise did justice to his glass, was +reduced to that state at which eloquence, however unruly, finds +utterance difficult. Mr. Justice Whistler, perceiving the effect which +the last cup had produced, nodded to Bolland, and said in a hall +whisper, "Now for his nightcap! Perhaps, Sir Matthew," he added looking +at the knight with a compassionating air, "perhaps we had better not +drink any more, though the bowl is not yet empty. I am not at all drunk +myself, though I fear for your head to-morrow, Sir Matthew. I thought +you had been stronger men in these parts. Why, with the help of Master +Bolland, we have not finished the--" + +"Sir, sir," hiccupped Sir Matthew Scrope, "I am no more drunk than you +are. I can take another glass very well. Ay, two. We will never leave +the bowl unfinished." + +Mr. Justice Whistler might, perhaps, upon another occasion, have found +some degree of pleasure in prolonging the yearnings of Sir Matthew +Scrope for the liquor of his heart, for all the minor sorts of +tormenting were generally sweet pastime to him, but at present he was +too deeply interested, to pursue anything but the straightforward +course; and when he saw that opposition had sufficiently roused the +drunken energies of his fellow magistrate, he suffered him to drink his +punch in peace, and fall back into his chair in the soft embraces of +the son of Lethe. No sooner was this accomplished than he looked upon +Bolland with a triumphant smile. He had himself, indeed, in no +degree, flinched from the potations he had inflicted upon his two +fellow-magistrates, but he was very well aware of his own calibre, +foresaw the result, and knew the remedy. A slight additional weakness +of the knees was all that he had to anticipate; and though he felt +morally certain that, if he rose from the table and attempted to make +his exit by the door, it would cost him five or six efforts before he +could shoot the arch, he knew at the same time that there were +restorative means to give back vigour to the sinews of his lower man, +and to enable his whole body to recover that just equilibrium of which +the potent punch had deprived it. + +"Bolland," he said; "Bolland, I'm in no condition for riding just yet, +but half an hour will set the whole matter to rights. Have these two +clods carried home, and make pretty Sally, the black-eyed barmaid, +bring me a large basin and a ewer of water. Then quietly steal into the +kitchen, and tell the cook to do me a good rump-steak, and bring it up +piping hot, with some sliced onions. I dar'n't move from the table; for +unless I were cautious, cautious--cautious, Master Bolland, I should be +at my full length on the floor in a minute." + +Bolland did as he was bid; and as, in those days, there were +attached, as indispensable appendages to the inn of every county +town--especially, if a club of magistrates held its meetings +thereat--certain sturdy fellows, both ready and willing to carry away +the bodies of such as fell in their contest with good liquor, three or +four personages were soon found to bear off Sir Matthew Scrope and Sir +Thomas Waller to their respective homes. Betty also soon appeared with +the basin and ewer, as the magistrate had directed, and Mr. Justice +Whistler, taking off his wig, caused a deluge of the pure cold element +to be poured over his naked head, which bent humbly before the hand of +the practised barmaid. + +When his face was well dried, and the wig replaced, he looked up in the +face of Bolland, who had just returned from his errand, with a smile of +satisfaction, saying, "I think I could do it now, Bolland; I think I +could do it now. But I won't try till I have put the beefsteak upon the +top of the punch. In the meantime, give me the whole particulars of +this grand discovery you have made. Where is this man to be found, and +how have you found him out? for we must be sure of what we are about, +before we stir an inch." + +"Oh, for that matter, I am quite sure," answered Bolland; "for I had it +this very morning from a sheep-drover whom I met just under the hills +on this side, and who gave me a long account of this strange gentleman +coming with half a dozen or more men, and taking the sheep-farm that he +described, without inquiring into anything, as another man would have +done. I asked him if he had seen this strange gentleman. He said, 'Oh, +dear, yes; twice, walking about the hills in a melancholy kind of way, +with his arms crossed upon his chest.' And then the fellow went on, and +painted him like a picture. I got the whole account of the place +exactly, too, so that when we get to the little town of Badeley, I can +lead you at once to the spot." + +"How far is it, Bolland?" demanded Mr. Justice Whistler. + +"Some fifty-five miles, I hear," replied the officer; and, thereupon, +the justice shook his head, exclaiming, "Too far for one night's ride. +Too far; too far. It would make my old bones ache." + +"I did not know your worship had any bones," was the quaint reply. +"However, it is too far for me, also, for I have ridden nearly forty +miles this morning, and I am neither a post, nor a post-boy." + +While they were yet discussing the matter, a savoury odour was smelt +even through the double doors of the club-room, and Mr. Justice +Whistler interrupted Bolland's eloquence by exclaiming, "Ha! here comes +the rump-steak. It will set all things to rights presently; and in the +meanwhile you go and get two strong horses ready. Find out what +constables you can rely upon for a long journey, and have everything +prepared for our departure." + +To the few questions which Bolland now asked, he gave the clearest and +most precise answers; and when the worthy officer returned, after +fulfilling his mission, he found the dish which had contained the +beef-steaks void of its contents, and Mr. Justice Whistler walking up +and down the room as steadily as ever. + +"I have only got two constables," he said, "who were willing to go; all +the rest were either drunk, or in bed, or did not like the job, and +would have run away and left us at the bounds of the county." + +"Two are quite enough," replied Mr. Justice Whistler. "We can get +plenty more at the nearest town. These people here are all in a fit of +fright at the strange doings that have been taking place near them. +Better have some folks that are ignorant of the whole business. Now I'm +your man, Master Bolland. Are the horses ready?" + +Bolland answered in the affirmative; but, before he followed the +justice into the court-yard of the inn, he swallowed what remained of +the bowl of punch, thinking that such encouragement was well adapted to +a long cold ride and a dangerous enterprise. + +Mr. Justice Whistler now consulted gravely with Bolland in regard to +the road; and, taking one of the constables for their guide, they +determined to proceed about thirty miles that night, and accomplish the +rest upon the following day. They were, however, deceived in regard to +the distance. At the end of thirty miles, they found no town, nor place +of repose of any kind, and they were, consequently, obliged to ride on +till they got on the first soft slopes of those wild hills which we +have elsewhere described. + +Mr. Justice Whistler began to grumble seriously at the length of way; +Bolland declared that he was nearly knocked up; and one of the +constables avowed that he saw the grey streaks of the morning resting +on the tops of the hills, which would serve at least to show them their +way, for they were at this time immured in the darkness of high hedges +and narrow wooded lanes. At that moment, however, a loud voice before +them called, "Stop!" and Bolland, at once recognizing the voice of +Franklin Gray, turned his horse's head, and galloped off as hard as he +could go. + +The rest would most likely have followed his example, had not the same +voice vociferated, "Stop them there, Harvey! Do not let them go!" and +four or five men, leaping their horses over the hedge, cut off the +retreat of Mr. Justice Whistler and the constables, while one of them +fired a pistol down the lane after the retreating figure of Bolland, +which was followed by a sharp, sudden cry. But the horse's steps were +still heard galloping onward. The flash of the pistol had afforded +sufficient light, however, to show Mr. Justice Whistler that resistance +was vain, though he was a courageous and determined man, and would have +made it gallantly if there had been even a hope of success. Such not +being the case, however, he determined rapidly what to do, but +determined, unfortunately for himself, upon wrong grounds. + +Remembering nothing but the awe with which his name and presence +inspired the petty plunderers of the metropolis, he resolved to +announce himself and all his terrors in good set form, and to endeavour +to frighten from their purpose those who stopped him. In the meanwhile, +however, the leader of the party threw back the shade of a dark +lantern, and poured the light thereof full upon the justice and his +followers, and he demanded, "What are you doing here at this hour? What +is your name, and what is your errand?" + +"Let me pass, in the King's name, I command you," said the justice. "My +name is Whistler, and I am one of his Majesty's justices of the peace +for ----." + +"Oh, you are Mr. Justice Whistler, are you?" replied the other. "Worthy +Mr. Justice, who are those two men behind you? They seem not of your +own condition." + +"We are only two poor constables from the town of ----," replied the +men, choosing to speak for themselves, and in a humbler tone than that +which the justice had thought fit to use. "We are two hard-working men, +with small families, and are forced to do our duty." + +"These are not any of those we sought," said Franklin Gray to one of +his followers. "Let these two poor fellows go; but strip me this +justice here to his skin. Take every sous he has in his pocket, and +then tie him to a tree and give him a hundred lashes with the stirrup +leather, as hard as you can lay it on. I will not take his life, though +I should like to give him one lash for every false and villanous act he +has committed, for every innocent man he has sent to prison, to the +stocks, the pillory, or the parish beadle. One lash for each, however, +would cut him to pieces; so give him a hundred, and let him go." + +The commands thus issued were punctually obeyed; and while the justice +shouted loudly under the infliction, which was administered in the +neighbouring field, Franklin Gray went on addressing the man Harvey, +sometimes commenting upon what was going on near, sometimes speaking of +other subjects. + +"They know we are on the look-out," he said; "and they will not stir so +long as that is the case. How the beast roars! Yet you say they must be +in this neighbourhood, for you traced their footsteps clearly. Those +fellows love flaying a justice in their hearts; I can hear the lashes +they give him even here. But we had better ride home now, and change +our quarters soon. There, there, that will do. There, my men, stop. You +will kill him, if you don't mind. Put his vest upon his fat back, turn +his face to the horse's tail, and send him cantering down the lane." + +Every tittle of Franklin Gray's commands was executed to the letter; +and Mr. Justice Whistler, still writhing with the pain of the stripes +he had received, was partly clothed once more, and set upon his beast +again. His face, however, was turned in the contrary direction to that +which it usually assumed in relation to the animal that bore him, and +his feet being thrust through the stirrups, a few smart blows were +added to send the charger off. Happily for the preservation of the +justice's equilibrium, the horse was weary, and, even in its most +frisky moods, was a quiet, good sort of beast; so that, after having +jolted him in a hard trot for about three hundred yards, it began to +slacken its pace, gradually dropped into a walk, and finally stopped to +crop a scanty breakfast from the herbage by the side of the road. + +Mr. Justice Whistler did not neglect to seize such an opportunity, and +carefully descending, for in his bruised condition every step was +painful, he remounted according to the usual mode, and, with a somewhat +splenetic jerk of the bridle, made his beast abandon its poor meal, and +proceed on the road before it. That road, indeed, was as unpromising to +a man in his condition as any road could be; for his first necessity +was now repose and food, and as it was the very way by which he had +come, no one could be more certain than himself that there was no +house, village, or anything in its course for at least ten miles. When +he had gone about one, however, a small country road was seen leading +to the left, away over a low hill; and Mr. Justice Whistler paused, and +gazed, and pondered. + +The darkness of the night had now fled, the dull streaks over the +eastern hills had changed into gold and crimson, and the clear, cool +fresh light of morning was spreading over the whole prospect. The hills +rose up and shone in the coming beams; but a faint grey mist lay over +the lower grounds, marking out each wooded slope, each wave in the +fields, and each hedgerow, in long-defined lines across the view. The +hill over which the country road that now attracted the errant +justice's attention ran, was, as he sagely judged, fully high enough to +conceal a farm, a village, a town--nay, a city itself, should need +be--on the other side; and along the sandy road itself were to be +traced various marks of cart wheels of no very remote date, and the +prints of horses' hoofs more recent still. + +Such a sight was wonderfully cheering to the justice, who instantly +turned his horse's head up the lane, and pursued it perseveringly, +though the high and manifold trees in which it embowered itself, soon +cut off all further prospect. A quarter of an hour's riding had not yet +brought him to anything like a house; but the joyful sound of some one +whistling broken snatches of a favourite village song set his heart at +rest. The crack of a whip, too, and the rattle and clatter of harness, +were soon heard; when lo! the road suddenly turned to the left round a +steep bank; and a little village green, with its pond affording much +matutinal enjoyment to a party of ducks, and its clump of tall elms, +ready to give shade when the sun rose high, presented itself to the +eyes of Mr. Justice Whistler as one of the pleasantest sights he had +ever seen. + +To the right was a small farm-house, from which probably proceeded +those sounds of early labour which had given the scourged magistrate +encouragement on his way; but exactly before him, on the other side of +the green, appeared the grey village church, with its yews and its +little enclosure, where rested the dead of many a gone year; and, what +was more to the purpose of the justice, a neat and rather large white +house, in a pretty garden enclosed by low walls, which were chequered +with flints, and guarded by broken bottles from the predatory feet of +apple-loving boys. The justice at first thought it was too good a house +for the parsonage; but seeing no other abode of the kind near the +church, and looking at the air of comfort and wealth about the village +itself, he judged that it must indeed be the dwelling of some rector +well to do, and therefore straightway rode up to the gate to make his +piteous case known. Those were hospitable days, and such circumstances +as his, he well knew, would find instant compassion and relief; but, as +the occasion was urgent, it was no slight satisfaction to him to see +the gates into a stable-yard already open, horses in the court bearing +signs of having come from far, and one regular domestic, with one +personage, half groom half plough-boy, busily engaged in the duties of +the stable. + +"Why, here's another, Bill!" cried the rustic as the justice +approached. "I think it rains strays just now." + +To the inquiries of Mr. Justice Whistler, the servant replied that the +house was the rectory of the Reverend Mr. Sandon--that the rector was +up, and talking in the parlour with two gentlemen just arrived. A +second glance at the horses confirmed Mr. Justice Whistler in the +opinion which he had at first entertained, that they had been his +companions on the road during the greater part of the night; and on +being ushered into the presence of the owner of the house, he found him +listening to the two constables' tale of woe. + +The rector was a quick, sharp-nosed, reddish-faced gentleman, extremely +well to do in the world, yet active, vigilant, shrewd, inquiring: the +good things of life having had no effect in producing sloth or +indulgence. He was a worthy man in the main, more charitable both in +thought and deed than he suffered himself to appear, and not by many +degrees so avaricious as some of his refractory parishioners wished to +prove. He was up early, to bed late; took great care of his farm and of +his flock; spared no one's vices or follies in the pulpit, and required +that his dues should be paid, if not rigorously, at least exactly, +dispensing that money for the benefit of one deserving part of his +flock which he derived from another. + +On seeing the apparition of Mr. Justice Whistler clad simply in his +vest, and that not very well buttoned over his protuberant stomach, the +rector stared for a single instant in silence; but the next moment, +though he could not repress a slight smile which came upon his lip at +such a strange apparition, he resumed his courtesy, and, advancing +towards the stranger, said, "I presume I have the honour of seeing +Justice Whistler; at least, so the account of these good men leads me +to imagine; and most happy am I to see him alive and well, for, knowing +the desperate character of the men into whose hands he had fallen, I +was apprehensive of the result." + +"Alive, sir, alive," said the magistrate, impatiently, "but not well, +by no means well: half-flayed, scarified, basted with stirrup leathers +till there is not an inch of the skin on my back without a wound, nor a +bone in my body that does not ache. I have come, sir, to claim your +hospitality--to seek a few hours' repose--to obtain some refreshment, +and to get some soft appliances to my back; after which, God willing. I +will raise the hue and cry through the country, and tuck that fellow up +as high as Haman, or my name's not Whistler." + +"You shall have all that my poor house affords, to make you +comfortable," replied the rector; "and after you are refreshed, perhaps +I may be able and ready, more so than you expect, to aid in your very +laudable design of ridding the country of the band of ruffians who have +lately taken up their quarters upon the verge of these two counties." + +"I am pleased to hear it; I am pleased to hear it!" exclaimed Mr. +Justice Whistler; "but just now my back aches so portentously, I am so +wearied and so hungry, that I can think of little but a flagon of +mulled ale and a toast, a soft bed, and four or five hand-breadths of +old linen to my back." + +"All that you shall have, sir," replied the rector; and, though there +was just that degree of pain in the countenance and the whole movements +of the justice which excites one almost as much to merriment as to +compassion, the worthy clergyman kept his countenance very well, and +with kindness and alacrity ordered everything that was necessary for +making the suffering man more comfortable. The mulled ale and the toast +were brought, and a small cup of metheglin was superadded to give the +whole consistency, as the magistrate observed. After that, the broad +magisterial back was dressed by a staid but not unskilful housekeeper; +and, tucked up in a comfortable bed, Mr. Justice Whistler soon forgot +in the arms of slumber the woes and the adventures of the preceding +night. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXII. + + +While Mr. Justice Whistler and his colleagues had been proceeding in +their examinations, and the events we have just narrated had been +taking place in a distant part of the country, the days and nights in +the little village of Danemore had been spent in the slow and wearing +anxieties of watching the progress of sickness towards death. Alice +Herbert remained almost constantly with the Earl, at his own earnest +wish, and Sir Walter Herbert coming over from the Manor House early +every day, spent the greater part of his time with Langford, in all +those various occupations of which the circumstances in which they both +stood furnished an abundance to fill up the time. + +The Earl of Danemore lay upon his bed of sickness, and hour by hour +showed as it went by, that it would be the bed of death also. It was +not, indeed, that his wounds were mortal, for no vital part in all his +frame had been touched; but he received those wounds, not only as an +old man in whom the loss even of a portion of that strange red current +that flows within our veins, dispensing life and vigour, is not easily +restored; he received them also as one on whom strong and ungovernable +passions had already wrought most powerfully, and on whom also the same +intensity of feeling was still destined to work, though excited by +better causes, and a better purpose. Weakened by great loss of blood, +exhausted by fatigue and excitement, but little was wanting to bring +fever in the train of corporeal injury; and the energetic eagerness +with which he applied his mind to everything connected with Henry +Langford, only served to increase his irritability, rather than to lead +his mind to calmer and more tranquillizing subjects. He felt that his +days on earth were numbered: and that feeling begat in him an anxiety +to make up for the evils he had inflicted, which tended to shorten +those few hours that remained to him. + +The difficult and painful situation in which he was placed also; the +necessity of sacrificing one child to another; the struggle to do +justice to one for whom he felt deep gratitude and esteem, when opposed +by the claims of old affection and long-nourished tenderness; the +knowledge that disgrace would fall upon his name, and, like the yellow +lichen on a tombstone, would live and flourish, and render indistinct +every record of his life, when all below had mouldered away into dust; +all joined together to make him feel most poignantly and bitterly that +the last dark hour of life, when the bright sun that has lighted us +through the morning of our youth and the mid-day of our manhood, and +even shone warmly on the evening of our decline, has gone down behind +the horizon, leaving but a few faint rays in the sky behind, is not the +time to seek our way back into the light path which we have abandoned +in the splendid noon of our existence; and that even if we do regain it +at last, it must be by plunging into the thorns and briars of grief, +regret, and remorse, without hesitation, though with difficulty and +agony itself. + +It was not that even in those last hours of his life the Earl of +Danemore looked upon death with any feeling of terror. Such sensations +were not within the grasp of his nature; he knew not what fear meant. +He might see and know that there was danger in this thing or in that; +he might fix his eyes even upon death itself, and the retributive +future after death; but still while gazing on the frowning brow of +fate, and comprehending all which that dark inevitable countenance +menaced, he strode on undaunted, and said, even to Omnipotence, +"Strike!" + +No! it was not that anything like fear affected him; but weakened in +body and wearied in mind with a long struggle against many internal +adversaries, he listened to the voice of conscience and of equity, +making itself heard through the medium of a judgment naturally strong +and acute--making itself heard not the less distinctly in the silence +of exhausted passions, because in former times the small still voice +had been drowned amidst their contending fury. + +He felt what it was right to do, and he strove now to do it, however +difficult, however painful his own acts might have rendered the +task--however fatal to his corporeal frame might be the efforts that he +made, and the anxieties he suffered. For the greater part of one whole +night he remained eagerly dictating his will to the lawyer Evelyn; +providing for his younger son, but endeavouring to strengthen in every +way the claim of the elder to his title and estates. He made a solemn +declaration of his marriage too; named the day, the spot, the clergyman +who had performed it, with scrupulous accuracy, pointed to the woman +Bertha as the only surviving witness, and related how the leaf on which +the marriage had been inscribed had been cut from the register and how +he had forced his young and unhappy wife to give up to him the +certificates she had received of their union. He spared himself, in +short, in nothing; and again and again he asked eagerly if that +declaration and the woman Bertha's testimony would not be sufficient. + +The lawyer shook his head doubtingly. The marriage, he said, had been +denied for so many years; the woman, too, was an alien and a Roman +Catholic, against whom prejudices then ran high. The question involved +an ancient peerage and immense property; and, in short, there was every +reason to doubt whether the young gentleman's title could be sustained, +unless the papers were recovered. If the register itself were not in +existence, and the marriage had never been denied, the case might +easily have been made good; but, with no trace of such an act in the +existing register, and no absolute publication of the marriage, he had +many doubts. + +"But there is a trace!" exclaimed the Earl vehemently; "there is a +trace; there is the leaf cut out. Send for the register! Let it be +brought here immediately!" + +"We can do that to-morrow, my lord," replied the lawyer. + +But the Earl would not be satisfied till a servant was despatched for +the record on which so much depended. It was brought to him by the +clerk of the parish of Uppington, during the grey daylight of the next +morning, for the very vehemence of his nature had taught every one +through the country round to yield instant, and now habitual deference +to his wishes. On examining the book, however, he found nothing but +disappointment. When by large bribes he had induced the low-minded but +cunning priest, who then held the living, to cut out the leaf, he had +enjoined him strictly to leave no trace whatever of the transaction; +and so nicely had the removal been accomplished, that no eye could +detect the place where the vacancy existed. + +Again his own acts fell upon his own head; and the Earl felt as if it +were ordained by retributive justice that he should go down to the +grave leaving the fate of both his children still entirely in doubt. +The idea took possession of him, and it weighed him down. Often he +asked if any news had been heard of his son Edward; and when the reply +was made that none had been received, he exclaimed, "Of course--of +course! Nothing will be known of him till I am dead." + +As the third and fourth days went by, his mind began to wander, and +that most painful of all states to see, delirium, came rapidly upon +him. He raved of his first wife, his Eugenie, the only one whom he had +ever loved, and yet the one whom he had most deeply wronged. He called +upon her to return to him, to bring her boy to his father's arms; and +then again he went over some bitter quarrels, where it was evident that +her firm sweetness had but served to aggravate his fiery wrath. It was +a scene most painful to behold, and yet Alice Herbert, tending him as +if she had been his own child, beheld it all, and with sweet and +thoughtful tenderness did much to soften and tranquillize the mind of +him who suffered, as well as the feelings of him who stood by with a +wrung heart, witnessing a father's agony and a father's remorse. + +To the eyes of Langford never did Alice Herbert, in all the bright +flush of health and happiness, as he had at first beheld her, look so +lovely; never did she seem to his heart--even when she acknowledged the +love that made him happy--so dear as now; while somewhat pale with +cares and anxieties lately suffered, and fatigues daily undergone, she +stood, by the pale light of the shaded lamp, with calm sorrow and +apprehension in every line of that fair face, watching the death-bed of +his father, and soothing the last hours of him who had caused her so +much pain. He felt from his heart that a common exaggeration of +affection was, to her at least, well applied, though he would not +himself apply it; and he listened well pleased, when Bertha, after +watching Alice long, with the usual dark and stern expression, at +length exclaimed, "Thou art certainly an angel!" + +Towards the evening of the fifth day there seemed a slight improvement +in the condition of the Earl. He slept for an hour or two in the course +of the evening. His mind was more collected: he recognised his son, and +Alice Herbert, and her father, at all times; and although his words +occasionally wandered and his eyes looked wild, yet there were evident +promises of returning judgment and returning strength; and both Alice +and Langford hoped--and in a degree trusted because they hoped--that +the Earl might yet regain his corporeal health, and that his mind, like +the air when purified by a thunder-storm, might rise freed from all the +vehement passions which had worked up the tempest that had hung around +the last few days. + +Nevertheless, the vital powers were evidently diminished in a terrible +degree; and the eye of the surgeon at once perceived that the sleep he +enjoyed was the sleep of exhaustion; that feebleness, and not returning +health, brought repose; and that, although that repose might perhaps +produce the only favourable change which his situation admitted, there +were a thousand chances to one against its restoring him to health. + +It was on that very night that a messenger arrived from a village at a +considerable distance, eagerly asking to speak with the Earl of +Danemore, and on being questioned by Langford, he at once informed him +that he came to bear the Earl tidings of his son Lord Harold's safety, +as well as a note under the young nobleman's own hand, with which he +had been entrusted. Some discussions ensued between the rector, Sir +Walter, and Langford, as to whether it would be expedient, in the +Earl's state at that moment, to communicate the intelligence which had +just been received. + +Sir Walter, who had seen less of the world than his young friend, and +had examined much less deeply that which he had seen, eagerly entreated +Langford to communicate the tidings to the Earl directly, declaring +that the news of his son's safety must necessarily act as the best +remedy which could be applied to his case. The good knight spoke from +the impulse of a fine and generous mind, practically unacquainted with +evil, and with all the complicated and even opposite impulses which the +existence of evil in the human mind must necessarily produce. The +rector urged the same course through mere ignorance, for he was a man +of no strong sensations himself, and those which he did possess were +merely the animal ones. To hear of a son's welfare, he felt in himself, +must--separate from all other things--be a joyful event; and he was +incapable of weighing or judging, or even comprehending the various +circumstances which might render that which was in itself joyful, most +painful and agitating. + +Langford, however, knew better. He had discovered before this time, +many of the deep, peculiar points in the Earl's character, and he knew +all the particular details of his situation which might make the +certainty of his brother's life and speedy return a matter of +apprehension, care, and emotion. Both his companions, however, so +strongly urged him to communicate at once the tidings to his father, +that he felt he could not and he ought not to withhold them. + +He cared not, it is true, what others would think of his conduct; but +it might, perhaps, be a weakness in Langford, that--knowing well, by +early experience of the world and all the world's baseness, the many +turns, the subtle disguises, the strange masquerading tricks which +selfishness will take to deceive, not only the natural and habitual +egotist, but the kindest and the most liberal of men, where any dear +interest, or prejudice, or affection is at stake--he was as much upon +his guard against himself as if he had known himself to be ungenerous; +and was always more willing to take the opinions of others in a matter +where his own interest might be risked, than on subjects where self was +totally out of the question. + +In the present instance, it was clear that the life or death of his +brother might make the greatest difference in the Earl's views and +feelings; and although he knew himself too well not to be sure that the +consideration of such a difference would not influence him in the +slightest degree in withholding or communicating the news he had +received, yet he yielded to the opinion of others against his own +judgment, when he would not have done so had his own interests been in +no degree implicated. He only demanded that Sir Walter himself should +communicate the tidings; and he warned him, when he agreed to do so, +that the effect might be more powerful than he expected. + +Sir Walter, though he totally misunderstood the view that Langford +took, and the fears which he entertained, acted, from natural goodness +of heart and sensibility of feeling, exactly as his young friend could +have desired, only apprehending that the joy would be so great as to +perform the part of grief itself. + +Although he had resolved at first not to do so--lest his very presence +might excite in the mind of his dying father those painful combinations +on which his thoughts had evidently been wandering during his +delirium--Langford followed Sir Walter into the room, and stood at a +little distance behind, listening, with a heart whose accelerated +beatings told even to himself how deeply he was interested by the words +in which the worthy knight clothed his communication. + +"I have got what I trust may be pleasant news for you, my good lord," +said Sir Walter, as he seated himself deliberately in the chair by the +Earl's bedside, affecting the greatest possible degree of composure +and tranquillity as he did so, and banishing every appearance of haste +or excitement from his manner. + +"What is it?" demanded the Earl, turning round towards him as quickly +as he could; for he no longer started up with that vehemence which he +had displayed but a few days before. "What is it? Are the papers found? +For ever since Eugenie--but I wander--I wander. I feel that I wander; +that I have been wandering for many days. But go on, go on. I am more +collected now. What of the papers? It was about them you were talking, +was it not?" + +"No, my lord," replied Sir Walter; "we are not talking about the +papers, but of something which, if I judge rightly, may prove of as +great interest as even their recovery--I mean that of your son. We have +heard some tidings of him, my lord." + +"What are they?" demanded the Earl. "Speak! What are they?" + +"They are all as favourable as you could desire," replied Sir Walter, +in the same calm manner. "We have heard that he is rapidly recovering, +and has escaped from the hands of the people who detained him." And +seeing that the Earl listened without reply, he added, "We may, I +trust, soon expect him here." + +Lord Danemore pressed his thin white hand--through the blanched and +shrivelled skin of which might be seen protruding the large bones and +joints which had once marked his extraordinary strength--upon his eyes, +and remained for several minutes in deep thought. He then withdrew his +hand, and turning to Sir Walter Herbert, he said in a low voice, "It is +a terrible thing, Sir Walter; it is a terrible thing not to be able to +thank God for the recovery of a son that we love--not to know whether +we desire to see him before we die, or not." + +"It is, indeed, a terrible thing, my lord," replied Sir Walter; "but I +trust that such is not your case, and that your son's coming will give +you unmixed pleasure." + +"Far from it," replied the Earl, gloomily. "He will have to hear sad +truths; to undergo mortifications the most bitter to a proud nature +like his. He will have to hear of his father's faults and crimes, he +will have to learn that, instead of vast wealth, a noble name, and a +high rank, he has no inheritance but that of an illegitimate son; that +he has no name; that he has no station; that he has no rank; and all +this the consequence of his father's faults. I know him, Sir Walter +Herbert; I know him: and there is too much of my own blood in his veins +for me to expect that he should do anything, in the bitter +disappointment of a proud spirit, but curse him who, for his own +gratification, and in the indulgence of mad and headlong passions, +brought shame and sorrow and disgrace upon him. My own blood, I say, +will cry out against me in his heart. He will curse me, as I would have +cursed my father had he so acted. He will look down upon me as I lie +here like a writhing worm, and he will think that it is only because my +corporeal vigour is at an end, and my strong heart weakened by abasing +sickness, that I do those acts of justice which I had determined on +long ere I knew these wounds to be fatal: which I had determined on as +soon as I found that he whom I had wronged, that he who had borne with +me so patiently, that he who had defended me, and rescued me from +death, was my own child, the son of her I early loved. He will +misconceive, he will misunderstand it all. I know his heart, from my +own; and I know that in my meeting with him under these circumstances +all will be dark, and stormy, and terrible. I feel not even sure that +it will be better for him to live rather than to die, as we supposed he +had. I feel not sure that death would not be preferable to the feelings +he will have to endure. He will not bear the crossing of his high +fortune meekly. He will strive against it; he will strive to prove the +words false that take from him his high station, even though they are +spoken by his father. He will contend for the rank and fortune and +place which he has so long expected, even with his brother. Through +life he will go on in bitterness and disappointment. His heart will +henceforth be full of gall, and his lip breathing curses. It would have +been so with me, and why should it not be so with him? He is my own +child, the inheritor of my nature, if not of my name." + +It was evident that he was exciting himself to a dangerous degree by +the exaggerated picture which his imagination drew; and Langford could +not restrain from advancing, and trying to soothe him. + +"My dear father," he said, "if such be really Edward's +character--though I think you judge of him and of yourself too +harshly--how much better it will be to take the middle course that I +have proposed; to conceal from him the period of my mother's death; and +never to let him know that the marriage to which he owes his birth was +an unlawful one. Willingly I offered, and willingly I repeat the offer +to do more, and abandon to him altogether the rank and station which he +has held in England, the estates which are attached to the title of our +ancestors, and content myself with justifying my mother's fair fame to +her kindred in another land, and with claiming there the fortune to +which I have a right through my noble uncle." + +"You are all your mother!" exclaimed the Earl, gazing upon him. But +then other feelings seemed to rush across his mind; the expression of +his countenance changed, and he exclaimed, "What! would you have me +afraid of my own son? Would you have me dastardly conceal the truth +from him, for fear of his anger? No, no; he must hear it. It may be +bitter, but he must hear it. Bitter things are good for us sometimes. +But from whose lips shall he hear it?" he added after a moment's pause. +"Not from mine, Henry; not from mine, for I feel that the hour is +drawing nigh! I shall never see him more in life. I feel that there is +a chill hand upon me: surely it must be the hand of death!" + +It was so, for from that moment the Earl rapidly sunk. His senses did +not leave him again, however, and from time to time he spoke to those +around him. He expressed neither hope nor fear in regard to the future. +The only words, in fact, which he uttered at all, referring to the +awful consideration of a future life, were spoken about an hour after +the conversation had taken place which we have just detailed. He then +beckoned Alice to draw nearer, took her hand affectionately in his, and +as she bent down to listen, he said, "I owe you much, sweet lady--much +for all that you have done for me; but more than all for the endeavour +to give me such hopes and expectations as may best soothe and cheer +this last dark hour. Whether such hopes are to be realised I soon shall +see, and as far as bitterly repenting everything I have done amiss, I +have followed the injunction to the letter. But alas! Alice, if it be +necessary to the repentance you speak of, to bow down in terror as well +as remorse, that--struggle for it as I may--I cannot accomplish. I can +repent, but I cannot fear. I am ready to meet my doom, whatever it may +be, and to endure it to the utmost. Nevertheless, to you I owe deep +thanks, and you have them. Now leave me, sweet lady. Farewell, for the +last time! I would not have you see me die." + +His words had turned Alice deadly pale, and Langford, taking her hand, +led her from the room. She found relief, however, in tears. She then +strove to read, but she could not; and she sat waiting in the rector's +parlour, with a heavy heart, till she heard footsteps moving down the +stairs. Her father and Langford then entered the room. The latter was +pale and grave, but calm and firm; and sitting down by Alice's side, he +laid his hand upon hers, saying, "Thank you, my beloved Alice, for all +that you have done to soothe the death-bed of my father." + +It was enough, and Alice again burst into tears; but the next moment a +servant entered the room, asking the two gentlemen if they knew where +he could find the rector. + +"He is up stairs, in the chamber of death," said Sir Walter; "but you +had better not disturb him at present." + +"Why, sir, I must disturb him," said the man; "for there is a gentleman +waiting, who came down two or three days ago, in a coach with only two +horses, and who has been hanging about here and up at the Castle ever +since, though nobody knows who he is. He desires to speak with my +master immediately. He has inquired every day if the Earl were still +living, but would not give his name nor tell his business. So I must +disturb my master." + +"Do so, then," replied Sir Walter; and the man quitted the room. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXIII. + + +The words which the servant had spoken, in announcing to Sir Walter +Herbert the arrival of a stranger, had made but little impression +either upon the worthy knight or on the son of the deceased nobleman; +and, after a broken conversation, in which pauses of deep and solemn +thought constantly interrupted their discourse, Langford was begging +Sir Walter to convey his daughter from that melancholy house to her own +happy home, when the rector entered the room, bringing with him a +person unknown to any one present. + +"I am forced to intrude upon you, sir," said the clergyman, addressing +Langford, "as this gentleman who has just presented himself has come on +business in which you are deeply interested." + +"It is an unpleasant moment, sir," replied Langford, "for me to enter +upon any business at all. I am occupied with very gloomy thoughts and +very painful feelings, and I could wish that the business, whatever it +is, might be postponed till to-morrow." + +"I am very sorry, sir, both for your sake and my own, that cannot be," +replied the stranger, advancing. + +He was a man about the middle age, tall and well made, though meagre, +courtly in his personal appearance, and bearing in his whole demeanour +the stamp of gentleman. Nevertheless, there was something repulsive in +his aspect--something cold, and cynical, and dry, which was smoothed +down, indeed, by courtesy of manner and personal grace, but which, +nevertheless, tended to make Langford the less inclined to enter into +any conversation with him at that moment. The stranger, however, went +on, and the next few words he uttered were sufficient to show him to +whom they were addressed that he must meet the subject at once. + +"It will, perhaps, sir," the stranger said, "be satisfactory to you to +know, in the first instance, who it is that is forced to intrude upon +you, which our worthy and reverend friend here has forgotten to +mention. My name is Sir Henry Heywood; I have the honour of being +second cousin to the late Earl of Danemore, and in default of his son +Lord Harold, who, there is good reason to believe, I find, is dead, am +heir to the title and estates of the late peer." + +There was something in the manner of his announcing himself--the tone, +the demeanour, the look--that galled Langford not a little, and made Mm +assume a cold dryness of manner which was not natural to him. To the +stranger's announcement, then, he only replied by drawing up his head +and demanding, "Well, sir, what then?" + +The shortness of this reply seemed to puzzle Sir Henry Heywood a good +deal, for he paused a moment or two before he answered, and then begun +with some degree of hesitation: "Why, sir, under these circumstances," +he said at length, "during the absence and probable death of Lord +Harold, I am the only fit person to take possession of the late Earl's +papers and effects." + +"I do not feel quite sure of that," replied Langford, in the same tone. + +"Pray, then, sir," demanded Sir Henry; "if you consider yourself a +fitter person than I am, and the question be not an impertinent one. +will you inform me who it is I have the honour of addressing, for this +excellent divine has given me but vague information upon the subject?" + +The question somewhat embarrassed Langford, for he had determined to +wait for his brother's return ere he took any step whatsoever in regard +to asserting his rights as the eldest son of the late Earl, and to be +guided entirely by the frame of mind in which he found that brother at +the time. He determined, therefore, to evade it as far as possible for +the moment, and consequently replied, "The character in which, sir, I +should oppose your taking possession of the papers of the late Earl, is +that of one of his lordship's executors; and in order to satisfy +yourself that I am justified in assuming that character, as well as my +friend here, Sir Walter Herbert, and the worthy rector himself, who are +the only persons named, you have nothing to do but consult with Mr. +Evelyn, the lawyer, who drew up the Earl's will four or five days ago, +and will inform you that such is the case. He is now, I think, in the +next room, writing. Let him be called in." + +"That is unnecessary; that is unnecessary," said Sir Henry Heywood. "Of +his lordship's will, at the present moment we are supposed to know +nothing; and I must contend that I, as the next heir, in default of +Edward Lord Harold, am entitled to take possession of the papers, +especially as there is every reason to believe that I am at this moment +Earl of Danemore." + +"There is every reason to believe the contrary," replied Langford, +growing provoked; "and great reason to believe also, that you never +will be so. If you are at all acquainted with the handwriting of the +gentleman you call Lord Harold, you will recognise it in that note, +which was received from him not three hours ago, informing his father +that he was not only alive but at liberty, and rapidly recovering from +the injuries he had received." + +Thus saying, he threw down the note on the table before him, and after +eyeing it with a cursory glance, the countenance of Sir Henry Heywood +fell amazingly; nevertheless, he replied in the same bold tone, "I am +extremely happy, sir, to hear that such is the case, but this does not +in the least prevent me from insisting on my right till Lord Harold +appears." + +Langford was about to reply, perhaps angrily, but Sir Walter Herbert +interposed, saying, "It seems to me, sir, that you are pressing forward +a very painful discussion at a very painful moment, and I really do not +understand what is your object in so doing." + +"Why, I will explain my object in a few words, sir," replied the other. +"There is a gentleman, I understand, who has of late set up some +chimerical claim as eldest son of the late Earl of Danemore, in which +it seems that he has persuaded the Earl to concur--" + +Langford's check grew very red, and his lip quivered; but Alice, who +was sitting by him, laid her hand upon his arm, and looked imploringly +up in his face. + +Langford bowed his head with a smile, saying, in a low tone, "Do not be +afraid, sweetest; these matters are not decided by the sword." + +In the meanwhile Sir Henry went on, saying, "Under these circumstances, +sir, I think it absolutely necessary that the papers of the Earl should +be placed in safe keeping, for we have seen too much lately, in the +various plots and contrivances of the last reign but one, of how papers +may be manufactured or altered to suit certain purposes." + +It was Sir Walter Herbert's cheek that now turned red, and he replied +somewhat sharply, "Sir, your imputations are of a character--But it +matters not," he added, interrupting himself. "I will not be provoked +to forget my age or my station. The late Earl of Danemore has appointed +three respectable persons, of whom I perhaps am the least worthy, to +act as his executors, and take possession of all his papers after his +death. The testimony of Mr. Evelyn to that effect will be sufficient, +till we have an opportunity of reading the will, which was given by the +late Earl into that gentleman's keeping.--Do not interrupt me, sir! But +in order to satisfy you completely till the will is read, I am +perfectly willing, and doubtless the two other executors are so also, +to permit of your putting your seal in conjunction with ours upon all +the effects of the late Earl. Does this satisfy you?" + +"Why, I suppose it must," replied Sir Henry; "although," he added, +giving a bitter and angry glance towards Langford, "I am sorry that I +cannot get this gentleman to put forth his claims and acknowledge his +purposes boldly and straightforwardly." + +"My not doing so, sir," replied Langford, "proceeds, I beg to inform +you, from sources and considerations which have no reference to you +whatsoever. If there were not such a worshipful person as Sir Henry +Heywood in existence I should behave exactly as I do now. The matter +remains to be settled, not between me and you, but between myself and +another." + +"It may do so," replied Sir Henry Heywood, "or it may not." + +"But I say, sir, it _does_," replied Langford, frowning. + +"You misunderstand me, sir," replied the other, with the same dry +courtesy. "I do not mean to impugn your word in the least. I have no +doubt that you are perfectly a man of honour and integrity. All I meant +to say was, that, after all, Lord Harold may never appear. However, I +am bound to take care of my own rights, and from those rights neither +frowns nor high words will move me. In the meantime, I accept the terms +proposed. We will both put our seals upon all cabinets and private +receptacles of the Earl's papers, either till his son Edward appears, +or till the will is opened, and persons lawfully in power take +possession thereof. I seek nothing but what is straightforward and +right, but I am firm in pursuing that which I do seek." + +"After all, the man is right," thought Langford to himself, for he was +one of those marvels that can acknowledge an adversary right; "he does +it in a disagreeable and harsh way, it is true, when a few sweet words +would have honeyed the thing over, and made it palatable instead of +bitter. Nevertheless, he is right, and we must not quarrel with the +manner." + +"Well, sir," he continued, aloud, "I am ready to proceed with you in +the matter you propose. We will, if you please, take the lawyer with +us, and my worthy and reverend co-executor will probably do me the +favour to accompany us. Sir Walter, I think, will trust to my accuracy; +for, if I am right, he ordered his coach to convey himself and his +daughter home, and we need not detain him." + +"Alice will go home with her maid," said Sir Walter; "I have much to +speak to you about to-night, Henry, and many things to settle here; +therefore, if the good doctor will give me lodging for one night more, +I will remain." + +The rector expressed his satisfaction; but Langford looked out of the +window upon the sky to mark how far the sun had declined, for, after +all that had happened during the last few weeks, he could not part with +the only being that he loved deeply upon earth, even upon a short but +unprotected journey like that before Alice Herbert, without feeling +something like the apprehensiveness of strong affection steal over his +heart. The plan proposed by Sir Walter, however, was followed. Alice +took her departure, and, to save the reader any unnecessary doubt, we +may say she arrived in safety. + +The four gentlemen then called in Mr. Evelyn, the attorney, to whom Sir +Henry Heywood thought fit to be very condescending; but he found Mr. +Evelyn as short and dry as even he himself could have desired, in one +of his own shortest and dryest moods. The lawyer said, when he was +informed of their object, that there was not the slightest necessity +for any one to seal up the papers, except the executors, as he had the +will in his pocket, and their names were endorsed upon it, so that the +persons appointed could be ascertained at once, without the indecency +of opening the paper within an hour of the testator's death. Langford, +however, to save any further discussion, informed him that it had been +so arranged; and, in the first place, notwithstanding all the many +painful feelings that were busy at his heart, he accompanied the others +with a firm step into the room where his father's body lay. + +Sir Walter Herbert cast down his eyes, and would not look upon him as +he entered. The rector, on the contrary, took a quick glance to see how +he bore it; but all was firm and calm--sad, but self-possessed; and +while the others proceeded to their task of sealing up several cabinets +which had been brought from Danemore Castle after the fire, Langford +advanced to the side of the bed of death, by which, as was then +customary, stood a light on either side, and gazed in upon the +countenance of him who had just departed. + +All was calm and still on that face where so many fierce and violent +passions had displayed themselves through life. All was peaceful, +tranquil--even happy in the expression. The muscles which had +habitually contracted the brow were now relaxed, and the deep wrinkle +between the thick eyebrows was obliterated. The closed eyelids veiled +the quick, keen, flashing eyes which had now lost not only the blaze of +passion but the lustre of life; and the lip which had quivered with a +thousand emotions in a moment--which had now curled with bitter +scorn--now been raised with hasty indignation--now been shut with +suppressed passion--and now been drawn down with stern determination, +was motionless, meaningless. The only expression that it bore, if it +bore any, was that of gentle and quiet repose--an expression which is +so consonant to the features of a child, that in infants we trace it +alike in sleeping, in waking, and in death; but which is seldom, if +ever, seen in sleep upon the countenance of the aged; though it is +sometimes assumed by them in waking life, when a natural placidity of +disposition overcomes cares, infirmities, anxieties, regrets, and all +the heavy burden of years; and is often, very often seen when the hand +of the eternal tranquillizer, death, has stilled the fiery passions +into his deep, unbroken repose. + +Langford gazed long and wistfully; and, at length, the finger of Sir +Walter Herbert, laid gently on his sleeve, made him start; and, turning +round, he left the apartment, with a deep sigh that thus should have +ended a life full of mighty energies and noble capabilities, which +might have been devoted to the accomplishment of a thousand great and +magnificent things. The whole party thence proceeded to Danemore +Castle, and went through the same process of sealing up all the private +cabinets and chests which could be found. Few, indeed, were there still +in existence, for the greater portion had been kept in that part of the +building which was burnt; and, though Sir Henry Heywood showed an +inclination at first to make himself sure that all had been consumed +beyond the line marked out as that of the fire, he was very soon +satisfied by nearly breaking his neck down a flight of stairs that +seemed tolerably steadfast till he set his unlucky foot upon them. + +This being done, and Sir Henry quite assured that the other parts of +the Castle were not practicable for human feet, a low and formal bow +separated the two parties, and the expectant heir of the earldom +retired to the small village public-house, where he had put up on his +arrival, and immediately sent off for shrewd lawyers to advise with him +in the circumstances in which he stood. + +As the others returned on foot towards the Rectory, Sir Walter took the +arm of Langford in one hand, while he gently grasped that of the +lawyer, Master Evelyn, with the other, saying, in a low and kindly +tone, "We must lose no time!" + +"Certainly not, Sir Walter," said the lawyer; "we must lose no time, +indeed; for opponents, you see, are in the field quickly." + +"But," said Langford, "perhaps--" + +"There is no 'perhaps,' my lord," replied Master Evelyn, interrupting +him, but with a civil and courteous tone, and a deprecatory bow; "I +know quite well what you would say: that perhaps your mind is not made +up how to act; but all which I mean to urge is, that it is necessary to +be fully prepared to act in any way that you may think fit at a +moment's notice. Here is your father's declaration in regard to his +marriage, drawn up and sworn to. It is now expedient to take the +declaration of Mistress Bertha, and swear her thereunto before the +magistrates, as well as to employ every means of obtaining further +proof and information. You may act afterwards as you think fit." + +Langford readily agreed that the lawyer was in the right, although he +felt a repugnance at that moment to follow, with even apparent +eagerness, his claim to the heritage of him who was just dead. He +returned, however, to the Rectory, where Bertha had still remained, and +she soon appeared in answer to his summons. + +There were traces of tears upon her cheeks; and when Langford, speaking +some soothing and consoling words, explained to her his object in +sending for her, she replied, "You have done well, sir. You have done +well; for I feel that I shall not live long; and what I have to say had +better be rightly taken down. I feel that I shall not live long, I say, +because, for the first time for thirty years, I have shed tears. It is +a weakness that I did not expect to fall upon me again; but now that +the last of those who have been connected with my fate is gone into the +tomb, I feel that the time is come for me to take my departure also; +and these tears, I suppose, are a few drops of rain ere the dark night +sets in." + +"I trust not. Bertha," said Langford, kindly. "I trust not, indeed. The +last being connected with your fate has not departed; for surely my +fate has been strongly and strangely connected with yours, and I have +so much to thank you for, that I would fain show my gratitude, and make +the last days of your life pass happily away." + +"You have, perhaps, something to thank me for," replied Bertha, "but +more to blame and hate me for. But you know I am not a person of many +words; and if I am to tell all that I know of you and yours, let me do +it now, and as shortly as may be." + +"In the first place," said Mr. Evelyn, "we had better send for another +magistrate; the lady can make her declaration in the meanwhile and +swear to it afterwards." + +"Do not call me the lady, Master Lawyer," said Bertha, with her usual +cold sharpness; "I am no lady. I am Bertha, the housekeeper. But send +for what magistrate you like. I will say nothing that I will not swear +to." + +A messenger was accordingly sent off for Sir Matthew Scrope, and in the +meanwhile Bertha went on with her tale. + +"I was born on the beautiful coast of Brittany;" she said; "my father +was a small holder under the Lords of Beaulieu, his mother's +ancestors," and she pointed to Langford. "The chateau stood upon a high +rock, crowned with thick woods above the sea; for in those sweet shores +the green leaves dip themselves in the green waters. At fifteen years +of age, I went to attend upon the Lady Eugenie--his mother--who was +some two years older than myself. The Lords of Beaulieu were fathers to +all beneath them, and she was as a sister to me. She found out that +even at that early age I loved, and that there was little hope of him I +loved ever being able to win my father's consent, for my father was +wealthy for a peasant. She told her father and her brother, and prayed +their help; they gave it; and so well did they do for my happiness, +that ere two summers were over, Henri Kerouet was the prosperous owner +of a small trading ship. My father's consent was given, the day was +appointed, and two days before, I saw from the windows of the castle my +father, my two brothers, and my lover, put out to sea in a fine boat, +to buy things at Quimperle for the wedding. I watched them from the +windows of my young mistress's room with the eyes of love, and saw them +skim for half a mile over the waters, as if it had been a thing of +their own; but then, I know not how or why, the sail flapped upon the +water, the boat upset, and all that were in it disappeared. One of them +rose again for a moment, and clung to the side of the boat. I think it +was Henri; but ere my screams called attention, and other boats could +put off, his hold had given way, and he too was beneath the waters. + +"There is in every woman's breast a history; and this is mine. I had +but one brother left; every other relation was gone, and he I loved +also. My heart was shut up from that hour, never to open again. My +young mistress was all kindness, and tenderness, and benevolence; she +kept me with her, she strove to soothe and to console; but she had soon +need of consolation and soothing herself, for her father died suddenly +as he sat at breakfast beside her, and she remained an orphan in the +castle of her ancestors for several weeks, till her brother, who was +with the army, could obtain permission to return to his estates. When +he did come, he brought with him one whom I remember well, as he then +crossed the threshold, in all the graces, the powers, and the fiery +passions of youth; one whom you have all seen bent and worn by age and +care, and by the punishment of those passions indulged; one who lies +within a few steps of us even now, in the cold and marble stiffness of +death, with all the stormy impulses of his nature passed away. He was +then like a fiery war-horse, full of beauty, and strength, and danger, +for there was nothing on earth that he dared not do; there were but too +few things, also, which, with such a mind and such a body, he could not +accomplish. He loved my mistress, and my mistress loved him, ere many +weeks of his sojourn with us passed away. + +"He brought with him a boy of some twelve or fourteen years old; a gay, +wild, fearless creature like himself; the son, as I understood, of a +poor but noble gentleman, who had placed him as a page, to learn from +infancy the art of war, with the young lord. This boy would often sit +and tell me of wild scenes which had taken place in the civil strifes +of England, and sometimes would glance at stranger and still more +terrible things in western lands, where they both had sojourned long. +This Franklin Gray it was who first called my notice to the love that +was growing up between the two; and I saw how strong it was, though +there was nothing avowed as yet between them. + +"The time came for the young Marquis to return to the wars. The English +Lord was to return with him, and still nothing was spoken of their +love, at least so far as I could learn; but on the day when they were +about to depart, the young foreigner turned to my mistress, in her +brother's presence, and said, 'Lady, I have a parting present to make +you. You have applauded and admired my gay young page. In the present +beggary of my fortunes, I can do but little for him; I pray you to take +him to your service, and when he is old enough, let your noble brother +do what he can to promote him in the career of arms. Till then, as he +is of gentle blood, he may well serve a gentle lady.' He spoke gaily, +and as it seemed freely; but I could observe a peculiar expression on +his face which gave the words more meaning; and there came at the same +time the blood, like a rising rebel, into my mistress's cheek, telling +that she comprehended him well. + +"It had been arranged that while the Marquis was absent, she should +proceed to England, to join her uncle, then on a political mission in +London, rather than remain in solitude in France. A vessel was engaged, +and in a few days, after she had parted with her brother and her lover, +she embarked, with myself, the boy Franklin Gray as a servant, and the +priest. We met with foul weather, and the ship with difficulty reached +a port upon the coast of Cornwall, where we landed; but there, upon the +pretext of fatigue and illness, she determined to remain some days; and +on the first night of our arrival she despatched the boy Franklin Gray +to London, both to announce her safety to her uncle, and, as it proved, +to communicate with one who in disguise had returned to his native +land, at the risk of life, for the purpose of meeting her. + +"As soon as the boy was gone, she told me all; how they loved, and how +their love had been told, and of the impossibility of his asking her +hand at that time, while in exile and in poverty, having nothing but +his sword to depend upon. When the boy returned, she seemed a good deal +agitated; and, as when once she had given her confidence it was +extreme, she told me that she had received messages from the Earl +begging her to follow a particular course in her journey, in order that +he might see her, if but for a moment, by the way. She shaped her +course accordingly, and passed through the very scenes where now we +are; and at the little town of Uppington, not ten miles hence, she was +met by the Earl. He had obtained--Heaven know how! for I do not--a +considerable sum of money, which raised high his hopes and +expectations. He pressed her to be united to him immediately in +private. Love was strong and eloquent in her breast, and she consented. +She exacted, however, that their marriage should be solemnized +according to the rites of his faith and the laws of his country, as +well as according to her own. + +"The good weak priest who accompanied her was easily induced to perform +the ceremony of our church, and the Earl had now wealth sufficient +fully to bribe the priest of that village; but as it was determined +that in a very few days she should go on to join her uncle, and double +the quickness of her journey to make up for the lost time, I only, and +one of the servants, were admitted to be present as witnesses to a +marriage which was to be held strictly secret. I saw them married by +the rites of both churches; and my mistress, for her honour's sake, +demanded and received from both priests, certificates of the marriage. +The day before that on which she was to have set out, news arrived of +the death of Cromwell, and the rumour that all was in confusion through +the country across which we had to pass. The tidings did not make them +very sad, for they were in their first happiness; but the boy Franklin +Gray was again sent to London, in company with our good weak priest, to +see her uncle, and ask whether she should come on. At the end of a +week, the boy returned alone. Her uncle had quitted London in haste, +and the poor priest had been involved in a tumult in the streets, had +been recognised as belonging to the Catholic Church, and had been +murdered by the brutal populace. For him she grieved sincerely; but it +seemed to me that she was not very sorry that a fair excuse was given +her for remaining with her husband, and sharing his fate, whatever that +fate might be. + +"She soon experienced, however, the sad lot of those who cast +themselves upon the mercy of man. He was violent--rash--hasty. There +were matters grieved him deeply. The sum that he possessed was drawing +near to a close, and he wished much it was evident, ere two months were +over--I do not say to annul his marriage, for I believe, nay, I am +sure, he loved her still--but to have it concealed for the time. He +urged her then to return to her brother, showing her that he could with +difficulty support her, even if he were not himself by chance +discovered by lingering in England; and he framed for her a plausible +story to account for the period of her absence, which in times of such +danger and confusion might easily be done. + +"She refused, however, firmly, though mildly. She said, that though, so +long as it merely referred to concealing her marriage, she was willing +to do all he wished; nevertheless, when it could no longer be concealed +but by a falsehood, she would yield no further; and nothing should ever +induce her to tell her noble brother a lie. Anger and fury on his part +succeeded. I and the boy Franklin were in the room; and the Earl, when +he found that passion could effect nothing, turned to me, thinking that +I might persuade my mistress to consent. She had that morning given me +some offence; for I had ever been idle and vain, and my terrible fate +had not cured my follies, though it had embittered my heart. I did not +try to persuade her, but I said maliciously and falsely--for I knew +better--that I thought she was very wrong not to do as her husband told +her. + +"She gazed upon me with surprise and indignation; but the boy Franklin +burst forth, exclaiming, 'She does very right not to tell a lie for any +one:' and the Earl in his passion struck him to the ground. + +"The boy instantly drew his dagger and sprang upon the Earl, but he +wrenched it from his hand in a moment, and putting him forth from the +door, returned laughing, moved to merriment, even in the midst of his +anger, by the youth's daring. With him the storm for a time passed +away; but from that moment my mistress seemed to look upon me with +contempt. I felt that I merited it, and hated her the more. All her +good deeds, all her kindness towards me, were forgotten; and a few +hasty words which she spoke the next morning, in her indignation at my +conduct, became like poison, and rankled in my heart. Thus passed two +or three more days; and I laid a scheme which succeeded but too well. I +looked at the Earl often as I passed him, seeking to draw his +attention, and make him speak to me upon the matter of his dispute with +my lady. At length, one day he did so, and I hurriedly and basely +advised him to obtain from her by any means the proofs of her marriage, +and then let her refuse to go back to her brother for a time if she +dared. My mistress came in as we were speaking, and looked surprised, +but said nothing; and the Earl followed my advice. He tried many +methods to arrive at his purpose; but it was in a moment of love and +affection that he induced her to give him up the certificates, the +attestations of myself and the other servant, and all the proofs of her +marriage, upon the pretence that he would keep them more securely. A +doubt, however, seemed to cross her mind, even when she was placing +them in his hands, for she asked him to swear most solemnly that he +would never destroy them; and I remember particularly, that when he +said he would swear by everything he held sacred, she insisted upon his +adding that he swore upon his honour as an English gentleman. + +"When he had got the papers, however, and he knew that he could compel +her to do whatsoever he liked, his love and his tenderness seemed to +return in full force, and the idea of parting with her at all was +evidently hateful to him. At length, however, necessity compelled +him to propose it again; and once more, high words and angry +discussion ensued; and then it was that all the smothered feelings +which she had been long nourishing towards myself burst forth. +She accused me of alienating her husband's affection. She called me +base--ungrateful--criminal. She told me to quit her presence, and never +re-appear in it again; and I did quit her, determined to return to +France, and obey her to the letter. + +"How the matter would have ended between herself and her husband, I +know not, had not other circumstances intervened; for, with +all his violent passions, he certainly loved her still, +deeply--tenderly--devotedly. But news was suddenly brought him that +his real name and character, which he had concealed, had been +discovered, and that warrants were out for his apprehension, as what +they called a Malignant. He returned to the house for a few minutes +after receiving these tidings, informed his wife what had taken place, +took a tender and affectionate leave of her, and besought her to hasten +to France with all speed, where he would join her ere ten days were +over. The spot was named, the time fixed, and I saw him press her +warmly to his heart as they parted. + +"He then spoke to me for a moment, and, bidding me forget all that had +passed, enjoined me to remain with and console my mistress. I refused +at once, sternly and bitterly, to do so; and as he had no time to lose, +and found my determination fixed, he only further asked me to let him +know without fail where I established my abode, that he might show his +gratitude for my services in brighter days, and do away the evil +feelings between my mistress and myself. I told him that he would +always hear of me at the house of my brother, and he departed. He was +scarcely gone when I too left the house, and found my way back to +France alone, but took care not to revisit the place of my birth, +believing that a bad name had gone there before me. What happened to my +mistress then I do not know; but I heard that, keeping only the boy +Franklin Gray to attend upon her, she had sold all her jewels--" + +"We had better not admit anything into the declaration," said Mr. +Evelyn, "except what you personally saw or knew, my good lady. Indeed, +as it is, only parts of the declaration can be used." + +"I am neither good nor a lady, Master Lawyer," replied Bertha. "But to +go on with what I personally know--about a year and a half after, or +perhaps two years, a letter reached me by a circuitous route from the +Earl of Danemore, telling me that the restoration of the Stuart family +to the throne of England had restored him to his native land and all +his honours, and that if I chose to come to England, and occupy that +post in his household which I lately filled, I should spend the rest of +my days in comfort and peace and honour. I agreed to do so, for where I +then was, I was very miserable; and I set out for England. When I came +into his presence, however, he scarcely knew me; for when he had last +seen me I had been a blooming--perhaps a handsome girl; and in that +short space, grief, anxiety, and self-reproach had made me, with very +little difference, what I now am. To my surprise, however, I found that +his house was occupied by a noble and beautiful bride; and when he told +me, I gazed in his face with wonder and apprehension. He understood my +looks, and with that stern, determined air which was so natural to his +countenance, he told me, in a few short words, that when he had +returned to France, being hopeless and nearly destitute, he had not +sought out his wife as he had promised, trusting that she would go back +to her brother and conceal her marriage, as he from the first had +wished. The Marquis de Beaulieu had sought him out, however, and +covered him with reproaches: they had fought, and both had been +severely wounded. 'I then,' he added, 'went into other lands; but +suddenly found that the king had been restored. I returned to my native +country, but speedily perceived, that though I had sacrificed +everything for my sovereign, I could regain my honours, but could not +regain one half of my estates without using the influence of another +peer, all-powerful with the king. To him I applied, and he proposed to +me a marriage with his daughter. I might have resisted the temptation +if I had never seen her; but she is young, beautiful, fascinating. I +married her, and regained all.' + +"'And the Lady Eugenie,' I cried; 'the Lady Eugenie?' + +"'She is dead,' replied the Earl; 'I have now obtained certain +information that she is dead; but I cannot say,' he added; and he +grasped my arm tightly while he spoke--'I cannot say I am sure that she +was dead before this second marriage was contracted; and now, Bertha,' +he continued, 'now, swear to me, by everything you hold sacred, never, +till I permit you, to reveal to any one the fact of my former marriage; +and if you do swear, you bind me to you for ever!' I did swear, for we +both thought that she was dead; and I kept that promise inviolably. But +I asked him, before I took any vow, if he had kept his, and preserved +the proofs of his first marriage; for, at first, I thought he wished to +entangle me by an oath, when his real wife was still living; and I had +repented enough already what I had done against her. He told me that he +had, and showed them to me in the chamber where they were preserved: +and again he swore never to destroy them, though her death, he said, +might well free him from that promise. But I saw then, and I have seen +through his life, that he felt, as well as I did--that there was a fate +attached to those papers which would one day change everything. + +"He then brought me to the presence of his lady, to whom he had +announced my coming. When the door opened for me to enter, and she knew +who it was, she turned towards me, as I thought, coldly and somewhat +sullenly; but the moment after, she looked surprised. She had expected +to see a young and handsome girl; but she saw a lean and sallow woman, +and all doubts of me and of her husband, if she had entertained such, +vanished. She became as kind to me as the first day of spring, though +she was often haughty and cold to others. She trusted me in everything, +and I learned to love her well. I loved her better, far better, than +the mistress I had at first served; but there was still something +wanting in the latter attachment. I believe it was the freshness of +early feelings; the freshness that never comes again. However, after I +had been in England for some ten years, and one son of the Earl and his +Countess had been born and died, and the second supplied his place, +being then but a sickly child himself, I remained behind for a short +time in London after they had quitted the court to come down into the +country. In about ten days I followed, and travelling slowly, stopped +one night at a little inn in the town of Stockbridge. + +"It was night; and, after having supped, I went along the passage +towards my bed-room, when, as I passed a door that was open, I heard a +voice that almost made me sink into the earth. It was that of the Lady +Eugenie; and, as I passed by the door, I looked in without wishing to +look, and I saw her there, sitting speaking to a servant, pale and +worn, but scarcely less beautiful than ever. I was fool enough to +faint; and when I revived, I found myself in her chamber, with herself +and her woman bending over me. At first I thought she did not know me, +so terribly was I changed, and so little did she seem moved by the +sight of one who had injured her; but when I was quite well, and +thanked her in the English tongue, and was about to leave her, she +said. 'No; stay a moment. Leave us, Marguerite;' and I trembled so that +I could not move. The girl went away: and then she said, 'You are +terribly altered, Bertha; but I have kept you to say, that if sorrow +for anything you ever did against me be the cause of that sad change, +console yourself. I have long ago forgiven you. Nay, more; I have often +thought I did you some injustice.'" + +"Then you positively saw the same lady with your own eyes," said Mr. +Evelyn, "whom you had seen united to the late Earl before the death of +Cromwell, ten years after he had married another person?" + +"I did," replied Bertha. "But it is useless now to detail all that +passed between us. I found that her brother had compelled her to assume +another name, and to spread a report of her own death. That after her +return to France she had borne a son; this gentleman present, the true +Earl of Danemore--" + +"You mistake," said Langford; "I was born in England, in the very town +where my father's marriage was celebrated with my mother; for she was +resolved, she has often told me, that I should lose none of the +privileges of an Englishman by being born in a foreign country, and she +crossed the seas to England a month before my birth, in order that her +child might first see light in the native land of his father. I have +the certificate of my birth duly attested." + +"All that, she told me," answered Bertha; "and I meant but to say that +the child was born some months after her husband had left her. The boy +was with her then, and I saw him; and I am ready to swear, though +changed now from a youth to a man, that this is the same person. She +strove eagerly to persuade me to give her an attestation of her +marriage, under my hand; but I would not do it, for I had vowed not. +She asked anxiously after the papers, too, and if I knew whether they +had been destroyed; but I assured her that her husband had kept his +word. I told her even where they were placed; and I assured her that if +ever fate so willed it that the obstacles which then existed to the +open establishment of her marriage should be removed--and I felt that +they would be--I assured her, I say, that I would then aid her to the +very best of my power in obtaining the result she wished. I promised +her even then to do all that I could, without breaking my oath, to +console and comfort her; and I told her, without, however, telling her +the whole truth, that her husband fully believed her to be dead. + +"We women derive comfort from strange sources often; and that thought +that her husband believed her to be dead, and had acted as he had acted +under that belief, seemed to console her more than anything that I had +said. She wept bitterly; but the tears were evidently sweet ones; and +when we parted, she made me promise to write to her frequently, and +give her news of him whom she still dearly loved. I did write to her +frequently, and she to me; and I told her everything that passed, which +could give her any pleasure to hear. After her death her son wrote to +me; and though for some time past he has not told me his movements, yet +when I heard from accidental report that for two or three summers a +gentleman had been wandering about the neighbourhood, attracting the +attention of many by his gracious manners and his kindly heart, I felt +sure that it was the son of Eugenie de Beaulieu, led on by the hand of +fate towards the destiny that awaited him." + +Thus Bertha ended her history, which had occupied some time in the +narration; and when it was done, both Langford and Sir Walter pondered +for several minutes over the tale just told. The first who broke +silence was Mr. Evelyn, who though but a country attorney of those +days, was superior both in knowledge and in mind to the generality of +his class. + +"Though, undoubtedly," he said, "there is sufficient matter to bear us +out in making a vigorous struggle to recover your rights, my lord, yet +I very much fear that, without the documents which afford the only real +legal evidence of the marriage, we should be defeated. The leaf has +been taken so nicely out of the register that we can draw no conclusive +inference from that fact. And yet," he continued, as if a sudden +thought struck him--"and yet there may be means of proving that a leaf +is really wanting. Of that, however, more hereafter, for we cannot be +at all secure without the papers." + +"Should I make up my mind," said Langford, "to enter into the struggle +at all, I think that I shall be able ultimately to obtain them; but in +the meantime--" + +He was interrupted, however, by the entrance of the rector's servant, +who announced that a gentleman had just arrived, demanding to speak +with the Earl of Danemore, and on being told that he was dead, had +appeared in what the man called a great taking. + +"Is he gone?" demanded the rector. + +"No, sir," replied the servant. "When I told him the Earl was dead, but +that a number of gentlemen were in the parlour talking the matter over, +he said that he should like to speak with them, as he had news of great +importance to communicate from Lord Harold." + +"Pray let us see him," said Langford; and the rector, bowing his head, +told the servant to give the stranger admittance. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXIV. + + +Before we follow any further the proceedings, however important they +might be, which were taking place at the village of Danemore, we must +return to several of the personages concerned in this history, whom we +have now quitted for somewhat too long a period. In the first place, we +must give due consideration to Mr. Justice Whistler, whom we last left +fast asleep. Whether he dreamed at all or not is difficult to say, but +if he did, it is certain that his dreams must have been of prisons and +the gallows, for such were the very first thoughts that presented +themselves to his mind when he awoke after a nap of between five and +six hours. + +It is probable, indeed, that he would not have roused himself near so +soon, but for an extraordinary trampling of horses and the sound of +manifold voices, which, ascending from the court-yard below, caused +Morpheus to flap away upon his soft wings, and leave the worthy +magistrate with his eyes and ears wide open, wondering what could be +the matter. He started from his bed instantly, and advanced to the +window, the curtains of which had been drawn to keep out the sun; and +putting forth his head above the court-yard, he perceived a number of +persons collected together, habited principally like sturdy yeomen and +farmers. Each had his horse with him, and all seemed to be well armed; +while the two constables who had followed the worthy magistrate in his +nocturnal expedition were seen in the midst of the crowd, bustling +about with a look of importance. Now Justice Whistler was a man of +rapid combinations, and he instantly divined what was the occasion of +the meeting; but he was a cautious man too, and he loved to have his +own conclusions confirmed by the testimony of others. He consequently +protruded his head still further from the window, and, catching the +attention of one of the constables, demanded, in somewhat of an +impatient tone, "What is all this about, sirrah? What are you going to +do?" + +"We are going to catch the thief, your worship," replied the constable; +"and all these good gentlemen are going to help us." + +"On no account! on no account!" exclaimed the justice from the window. +"What! without me? I tell you if that fellow were hanged without my +help, I would hang myself." + +"Why, we thought as how," replied the man, "that your worship had been +so well basted already, that you might likely not wish for any more of +it." + +"Out upon you, fellow!" said the justice, "I'll baste you, if you do +not mind. Go, and beg Mr. Rector directly, to stop but for ten minutes; +and I'll be ready to go with him. If any man were to lay a hand upon +that fellow Gray before me, I should hold myself but half a man and no +gentleman. Go, and tell him so, sirrah!" + +While the man proceeded to obey the commands he had received, Mr. +Justice Whistler hurried on his garments, wincing desperately, every +now and then, as a sudden turn made him aware of the deficiency of skin +on some part or another of his back. At length, however, his toilet was +accomplished as far as it could be; that is to say, his vest was put +on, for neither coat nor cloak had been left to him; and with a rueful +face he was obliged to descend with his sturdy arms only decorated by +the wide white sleeves of his shirt. + +Guided by the sound of voices he found his way to the rector's parlour, +and, opening the door, presented himself to the eyes of the more select +party therein assembled. It consisted of three or four of the principal +farmers or small landed proprietors in the neighbourhood, together with +the rector himself, and a young gentleman, who instantly, by the entire +difference of his mien and demeanour from those of the persons by whom +he was surrounded, attracted the attention of the worthy magistrate. He +was tall and well proportioned, though somewhat slightly made; but he +was extremely pale, so much so, indeed, as to have the appearance of +ill-health. He was only armed with an ordinary sword, which might +perhaps have befitted a country gentleman in those days, but did not +harmonize with the striking and distinguished appearance of the +personage who bore it. But while there was something about the corners +of the mouth which implied a certain degree of indecision of character, +there was a quick dash in the eye, and lines and furrows upon the brow, +that seemed to contradict the other expression, and gave a look of +stern determination even approaching to fierceness. The appearance of +the justice in his shirt sleeves, joined with the account which had +been previously given of his adventures of the night before, for a +moment relaxed the countenance of the young gentleman we have +mentioned, and, sitting by a table on which various refreshments were +laid out, he gazed upon Justice Whistler with a smile. + +"My dear sir," exclaimed the magistrate, addressing his host--"My dear +sir, how could you think of going against this scoundrel without me? I +would not have had it done for a thousand pounds." + +"Why," replied the rector, "we judged that your worship was so tired +and injured that it would have been cruel to disturb your repose; and +as I had yesterday morning gone round the country, and appointed all +these worthy people to meet here, for the purpose of taking as many as +we can of this gang of villains, I could not very well delay." + +"What! then you had determined to go against them before I came?" cried +the justice, hewing himself off a large slice from a cold sirloin that +graced the table. "How was that? How was that? I understood they had +only been in this country some few days, and they cannot have committed +many depredations." + +"Yes; but my noble young guest here, the Lord Harold," replied the +rector, "only escaped from their hands the night before, and arrived at +my house yesterday morning. We consulted together what was to be done, +and determined on the steps we have taken." + +"My Lord Harold!" cried the justice; "my Lord Harold, I give your +lordship good morning, and very happy I am to see you alive, for we +have had many doubts on the subject; and I have had more to do with +your concerns of late than perhaps you are aware of." + +"I am afraid my father must have suffered much anxiety on my account," +said Lord Harold, with a somewhat cold and stately air; "but I sent off +a letter yesterday morning, the very first moment that I had the means +of doing so, to inform him of my safety. Had the messenger not arrived +when you left that part of the country?" + +"Not that I heard of, not that I heard of, my lord," replied the +justice. "My good lord, your father, indeed, had much anxiety; and, for +the matter of that, other people too; for there was a certain young +gentleman taken up, and accused of having murdered you. He remained for +several days in confinement, which seemed to chafe his proud spirit +very much." + +"Pray who was that, sir?" demanded Lord Harold. "Why, he calls himself +Captain Henry Langford," replied the justice; "but you may doubtless +know more of him by some other name." + +Lord Harold's brow grew as dark as night, and bright red spots came +into his cheek as he replied, "I have heard of him, and seen him, and +have also been informed that he takes the name of the Chevalier de +Beaulieu. But perhaps you have had an opportunity of investigating more +fully who he really is?" + +The justice, however, saw that Lord Harold was utterly unacquainted +with all that had taken place during his absence; and, as there was a +great deal that he himself could not explain clearly, while everything +that he could explain was anything but agreeable, he determined to +leave the task to others, and was meditating how to evade giving any +reply, when the rector came unexpectedly to his aid, by saying, "I beg +pardon for interrupting you, gentlemen; but allow me to remind you that +time wears. It is now near one o'clock. We have fully fifteen miles or +more to go, and it may be necessary not to fatigue our horses before we +arrive at the point of our destination. By your leave, therefore, I +think we had better postpone all explanations." + +"One more cup of this excellent ale," exclaimed the justice, "and then +I am ready. I hope the rascals have got my horse saddled. Pray, your +reverence, make inquiry." + +"But, my dear sir," said the rector, "how can you manage to go without +a coat? I am afraid, too, that none of mine would fit you--not even one +of my loose riding coats, for I am a spare man, and you are----" + +"Fat! you would say," added the justice. "Yes, I am fat, sir; that is +to say, fattish; and how to do without a coat I know not; but go I +will. Is there not a fat person in the neighbourhood that would lend me +a jerkin?" + +"Why, your reverence," said one of the farmers, who had hitherto stood +aloof, but who now advanced towards the rector, "there's Farmer Balls, +down at the Pond Gate; his coat would just do. He weighs full one and +twenty stone. His coat would surely just fit his worship." + +"I could get into it, at least," said the magistrate, "for I only weigh +nineteen, so there are two stone to spare, which makes more difference +in a coat than in a load of hay. So run, my good sir, or send some one, +and beg Farmer Balls to lend Justice Whistler a coat for a few hours. +Hark ye! hark ye! not his Sunday's best, for we have dirty work to do, +and there is no need to spoil it." + +The coat was soon procured; and Mr. Justice Whistler, having mounted +with the rest, set out at the head of the procession, which consisted +of nearly thirty persons, having Lord Harold on one side of him, and +the reverend rector on the other. The justice took the place of leader +as a sort of right, which was tacitly conceded to him by all the rest, +more out of respect for his portly person than from anything that they +knew of his character or abilities. + +Lord Harold, however, soon began to appreciate his ready shrewdness, +for as they moved onward at a slow trot, he put several questions to +him with regard to their future proceedings, resolved, if he found any +occasion to be dissatisfied with the other's arrangements, to take the +matter into his own hands; for the stern and harsh determination which +he had formed in regard to Franklin Gray had not at all given way since +the period of his escape. + +The plans which the justice proposed however, the shrewdness with which +he put all his questions regarding the exact situation of the house, +and the rapidity with which he received and comprehended every +explanation given, soon convinced his young companion that they could +not be in better hands. It was accordingly determined that, as soon as +they reached the top of the hills at the point where they could first +see the house, the party should divide, and one body, under the +direction of the rector, should sweep round through a hollow in the +hills, while the other pursued the road by which Lord Harold had made +his escape, so as to approach the abode of Franklin Gray on both sides +at once. By this means no one could quit the house without being seen +by one or other of the parties, and the possibility of the robbers +effecting their escape by one side of the building while the assailants +forced their way on the other was guarded against. In making these +arrangements, and in giving directions to all the various personages of +which the troop was composed, the time was passed, till they emerged +from the woods, lanes, and cultivated grounds on the first slopes of +the upland, and began to take their way over the soft short turf, which +was only varied by the innumerable scattered stones that covered the +higher ground on that side. + +Lord Harold--though it must be acknowledged that he thought, and with +bitter pleasure, more of the capture of Franklin Gray than of any other +thing on earth--had determined to pass the rest of their march, after +every arrangement had been fully made, in learning from Mr. Justice +Whistler all that had taken place during his absence from Danemore +Castle, some vague reports of extraordinary events having reached him +even there, though the news which now travels by a steam carriage then +went by the waggon. + +On putting his very first question, however, he perceived that the +keen, hawk-like eye of the justice was fixed upon a particular spot on +the hills, over whose soft green bosoms the sunshine and the shade were +chasing each other quickly, as the wind blew the light clouds over the +sky. The effect was beautiful but dazzling; yet still the justice kept +his eye fixed on that particular spot at the distance of about two +miles before them, and made no reply whatsoever to the young lord's +interrogation. + +Lord Harold, who was in no very placable frame of mind, repeated his +question in a sharper tone; but the magistrate instantly exclaimed, +without taking any notice of him, "Yes, yes; I see it move! Do not you, +parson? Look ye there, up in that hollow which the shadow is just +leaving. I have been for this ten minutes trying to determine whether +that is a man on horseback or a hawthorn tree. It is a man, I'm sure! I +saw it move this minute, a bit to the left, so as to get a better sight +of us." + +"There is a hawthorn tree there," said the rector; "I know it of old. +But you are right, you are right! There is something moving from behind +it. It is a horseman indeed, evidently watching us. See, he is +cantering up the hill. I am afraid this bodes disappointment." + +"There is another on the top of the highest mound," cried Justice +Whistler; "they have a terrible start of us; but never mind. We must +not fear breaking our horses' wind. We must gallop as hard as we can +go; and now there must be no thought of going round by the hollow as we +proposed. The only plan is to make for the house as fast as possible. +Don't you say so, my lord?" + +"Most assuredly," replied Lord Harold; "there are women and children +also to be moved, which must take them some time. It cost them nearly +an hour and a half to get ready when they came hither, for I was with +them, and saw all their proceedings." + +"Set spurs to your horses, then, gentlemen!" cried the magistrate, +aloud. "Master Constable, ask some of these good yeomen to lend me a +pistol. They can muster a brace for me amongst them, I dare say. Some +of them seem to have three or four." + +But leaving the constable to bring him the weapons afterwards, he +himself spurred on without any delay, while Lord Harold and the rector +accompanied him at full speed, and the officers and farmers followed +quickly, gaining, by the rapidity of motion and the excitement of the +sort of race they ran with each other, a good deal more courage and +enthusiasm than they had probably set out with. At this eager pace they +reached the top of the hill, but were obliged to ride some little way +to the right before they could get a sight of the house. When they did +so, however, though nothing was seen of it but the chimneys towering up +above the tall trees, every one instinctively pulled in his bridle +rein, with somewhat of an awful feeling at his heart. + +The house lay at the distance of about two miles and a half, but the +air was clear and pure, and every curl of the thin blue smoke, as it +rose peacefully over the trees, might be traced by the eye till it +mingled with the atmosphere around. After a moment's silence, the +constable rode up, and put the pistols into Justice Whistler's hands; +but at that very instant a body of horsemen was seen passing over the +slope beyond the house, and then giving rein to their horses, and +galloping away as hard as ever they could, over the open downs beyond. + +Man is undoubtedly a beast of prey; and, in the present instance, no +sooner did the posse who followed the justice, the rector, and the +young nobleman, see a body in flight before them, than those who had +been most timid and fearful of leading the way, were all setting off at +full gallop in pursuit of fugitives whom there was little or no chance +of overtaking. It was with the utmost difficulty that the fat but +powerful voice of Mr. Justice Whistler, the shriller tones of the +rector, and the deeper but feebler sounds of Lord Harold's voice, each +exerted with the utmost force, could induce these hot pursuers to halt +and receive orders ere they departed. + +When they were at length brought to pull up their horses, however, a +few words between their three leaders seemed to settle their +arrangements, and Mr. Justice Whistler raised his voice, exclaiming, +"Constable Jones!" + +But no one came forward, he having pronounced the name at random, and +there being no Constable Jones amongst them, "The youngest constable," +he cried again; but thereat his own two followers, with three or four +others, spurred forward from the crowd; and fixing upon the one who +appeared the most intelligent of those who had come with him, he said, +"Take that man, and that man, and that man, and that, and gallop after +those fellows as hard as ever you can go. Remember, your business is +not to come up with them till you have got a sufficient force, but to +raise the whole country as you go along by the hue and cry, commanding +all men, in the king's name, to follow and assist you. Keep them in +sight as far as possible, but at all events keep above them on the +hills, and drive them into the populous country. There you may follow +them by the tongue as well as here by the eye. Now off with ye, quick! +We will come soon after, when we have run through the house." + +The men obeyed, though their worthy leader twice showed an inclination +to doubt whether this person or that was the man whom the judge had +appointed to follow him. But Mr. Justice Whistler cut him short +sharply, and having seen him depart, turned to Lord Harold, saying, +"Now, my lord, I think with you that we had a great deal better go down +to the house, and examine what it contains, before we pursue these men, +having set our hounds upon the track. But as this reverend gentleman +says nothing, and seems to think otherwise, pray satisfy him in regard +to your reasons, to which I will add mine." + +"Why," added Lord Harold, hesitating, "why, I think--that is to say, I +saw nothing but men in the party that went away. Now there is a woman +and a child, and if you take them, depend upon it, the chief bird of +the mew will hover near, and be caught at last." + +As he spoke there was a deep and burning spot came up into his cheek, +which showed that there were feelings of shame and remorse, glowing +like coals of fire at his heart, even at the moment that the baser +spirit triumphed, and bowed his words and actions to its will. + +Mr. Justice Whistler, however, did all that he could to make the matter +smooth to him. "Spoken like a true falconer," he cried; "my lord, you +take my trade out of my hands. We are fully justified in bringing our +bird back to the lure. However, there is no time to spare. Let us ride +on as fast as possible;" and so saying, he put his horse into a quick +pace, and, followed by the others, dashed down the hill at a rate which +scared many of the younger and more active of the party. + +We must now, however, leave all the busy actors we have brought upon +the scene, and, quitting hounds and huntsmen, and the gay and merry +chase, turn to the dark and solitary lair where the quarry lay, fully +conscious of pursuit, in order to explain the motives of that sudden +flight which had been observed by the pursuers from the hills above. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXV. + + +The escape of Lord Harold, and the flight of one of their companions +with the woman-servant, had thrown the little band of Franklin Gray +into consternation and terror when it was discovered on the following +morning. Harvey, however, who assumed the command during the absence of +their leader, instantly took measures for tracking the fugitives, and, +by no other guide than the footmarks upon the sandy parts of the road, +traced the course of all three exactly to the spot where Lord Harold +had been left sitting under a tree by his two companions. From that +point all traces of those two were lost; but a shepherd, who had seen +the young nobleman, weary and exhausted, in the morning, and had +conducted him to a small village, hidden amongst the beeches to the +left of the spot, gave still further information; and leaving men to +keep a strict watch upon the place to which the fugitive had been +brought by the peasant, Harvey returned, with very unpleasant +sensations, to meet Franklin Gray, and gave him an account of the +evasion of the prisoner. He doubted not, indeed, that having thus +tracked him to his place of repose, they might be able to lay hands on +him again, for he never calculated upon the young nobleman doing what +in fact he already had done--taking a single hour's repose, and then +speeding on as fast as possible to the house of the nearest magistrate, +which was that of the gentleman with whom he was found by Justice +Whistler. + +As Harvey returned, he perceived Franklin Gray and Mona riding +leisurely up the hill towards the house, and spurring forward at once, +he told the whole of his disagreeable tidings without any concealment. +The robber instantly turned his eyes upon his wife, and bit his lip +hard; while she, innocent of all share in what had occurred, but +feeling herself an object of suspicion and jealousy, turned very red, +and then very pale, and trembled violently. + +"So, I am betrayed!" said Franklin Gray, "betrayed by those I trusted! +Harvey, I think you are faithful to me!" + +"Indeed I am, Captain," replied the other; "and so are all the rest, +except that fellow who is gone, and whom I always thought was a low +scoundrel, unfit for the company of gentlemen. They are all faithful to +you, Captain, depend upon it." + +"On what can we depend in life?" asked Franklin Gray, bitterly +"Friendship turns to hate; love betrays us always; gratitude was never +anything but a name; and honour is now a shadow! On what can we depend? +Let us come in, however, and consult what may be done. Action has been +through life the principle of my being; and I will not yield to +circumstances even now." + +So saying, he led the way to the house; but he said not one word to his +wife, either as they went or when they arrived. The boy Jocelyn, +however, was in the court-yard, holding the infant in his arms, who +seemed well pleased with his new nurse. But Mona, the moment she had +set her foot to the ground, sprang forward and caught the baby to her +heart, exclaiming, "and did she leave you, my sweet babe? Cruel, cruel +woman! She never had one, or she could not have left you;" and dewing +its smiling face with tears, she ran away with it into the house to +hide the emotions she could not restrain. + +Had Franklin Gray witnessed that meeting between mother and child, the +dark suspicions that had fully taken possession of his mind might have +been banished at once; but he was talking with Harvey at the moment, +and remembered nothing but the many whispered messages which he had +seen brought by the maid from the prisoner above on the preceding day; +and keen and bitter were the feelings at his heart. He went on speaking +with Harvey, however, as if occupied with ordinary business. + +"If he have not quitted the village before this time," he said, "he +will most likely not quit it till night, knowing that we shall be +waiting for him. But at all events the horses must have some rest and +food. I rather think that, as far as insuring our own safety goes, +Harvey, we might as well let him journey on his way, for depend upon it +by this time he has given full information of everything concerning us +to the people where he has stopped. However, I am determined, if +possible, to have him in my hands again. In the first place, to punish +him for what he has done; in the next place, to find out the truth of +some matters in regard to which I am not at ease." + +He spoke calmly; there was no heat, nor haste, nor agitation in his +tone. On the contrary, it was unusually slow and distinct; but there +was a knitting of the dark heavy brow, a setting together of the white +teeth between every two or three words, which made Harvey, bold man and +daring as he was, shrink, as it were, within himself, at signs of deep +and terrible passions, the effects of which he knew too well. + +"Perhaps," continued Franklin Gray, in an easier tone, "the possession +of this young lord's person might be made, too, a sort of surety for +the safety of the band. There is a ship, I find, sails for the port of +St. Malo in four days; and I have made such arrangements that I can +have what space in her I like. I should wish our brave fellows to keep +around me till that time; when those who like to go with me can; those +who love this cold land can remain. But if we get hold of this pitiful +boy, I shall deal with him as a hostage, and make his life the price of +no step whatsoever being taken against me and mine." + +With such objects in view, and believing that Lord Harold still +remained at the village to which Harvey had traced him, the +arrangements of Franklin Gray were soon made for proceeding in a few +hours to the spot in person. In the meanwhile he entered the house, and +held his infant child for several minutes in his arms, gazing on its +face in silence. He gazed, too, for an instant upon his beautiful wife, +with a cold meditative look, and without proffering a word; then gave +her back the child, and walked out across the hill, marking with a +soldier's eye every peculiarity of the country, when he did look upon +it, but in general bending his eyes down upon the ground, and communing +with his own sad heart, and muttering to himself as he strode along. + +When the appointed hour was come, he was in the court-yard and his foot +in the stirrup; but his after proceedings on that night require no long +detail. Some information which he gathered, both from the men whom +Harvey had left to observe all the movements in the village, and from +some persons who passed, led him not only to believe that Lord Harold +was undoubtedly there, but that the young nobleman had gained tidings +of the close watch that was kept upon the place. The night was spent in +watching, and in vague councils held with Harvey and others, in the +course of which Franklin Gray did not display that firm decision which +had ever previously characterized his actions. He now thought of taking +the rashest and the boldest steps, of attacking the village itself, and +carrying off Lord Harold by force; then, again, he seemed inclined +still to watch, though the night had so far waned that it was +improbable any movement would take place; and again he was for giving +up the pursuit altogether. + +In such infirm purposes passed the night, till the sound of horses' +feet revived expectation; and the appearance and flagellation of Mr. +Justice Whistler afforded a pleasant episode for the robbers to break +the tedium of their dull night's work. As soon as that was over, +Franklin Gray turned his steps homeward again; but feeling a conviction +that the peasantry of the neighbouring districts would soon be moved +against him, he took the precaution of placing two of his band, whose +horses were in the freshest condition, on two points, where they could +communicate by signs with each other, and see over the whole country +below. + +He then returned straight to his dwelling; but there had come a +recklessness over him, a sort of moody and splenetic demeanour, which +was remarked by Harvey and all his companions. He who usually laughed +so seldom, now recalled the affair of Justice Whistler more than once +with somewhat wild and fitful merriment; but then the moment after he +would fall into deep stern thought, answer any question that was put to +him in an absent if not in an incoherent manner, and would frequently +break forth at once upon topics totally distinct from those which might +naturally have occupied his mind. + +When he arrived at home--at least that temporary kind of home which was +all that his wandering life ever allowed him to know--he was met at the +door by his fair wife Mona, who gazed timidly up in his face, to see +whether his feelings were softer or happier than they had been. It was +an agreeable surprise to her to find that he took her by the hand, and +gazed on her with a look of admiration and love. The only words he +spoke, however, were, "You are fair, my Mona; fairer, I think, than +ever, to look upon. Where is the babe?" + +She led him to see the child sleeping; and as Franklin Gray bent over +it, and gazed upon the calm and placid face of infant slumber, a bright +drop fell from his eyes on the cheek of the child, and woke it from its +rest. It held out its little arms to him at once, however; and taking +it up, and pressing it to his bosom, he carried it to the window, and +gazed forth upon the wide world beyond. Mona had seen the drops which +fell from her husband's eyes, and she saw, too, his action towards the +child, but she would not interrupt the course of such feelings for the +world, and only saying in her heart, "He is softened," she hastened to +seek some apparent occupation, while her soul was busy with the joy of +renewed hopes. + +That joy was soon clouded, for again over Franklin Gray came that same +fitful mood, which tenderness for his child had for a moment +interrupted. He said nothing harsh, indeed; he showed no sign of +unkindness; and no word announced that the dark suspicions and +jealousies which he had before entertained still remained as tenants of +his bosom. Often, indeed, he fell into deep stern fits of thought, and +would rest for more than half an hour in the same position, with his +head bent forward, and his eyes fixed on one particular spot of the +ground. Then, again, he would start up, and, especially if he found +Mona's eye resting upon him, would break forth in gaiety and merriment, +tell some wild tale of laughable adventure, or sing a broken part of +some cheerful song. + +Mona, however, was not to be deceived by such signs; and they were all +painful to her. That he whom she had never known to be merry, even in +his brightest days, should so suddenly, after deep gloom, break forth +into gaiety, was quite enough to show her that all was not well within; +and watching him with the anxious eyes of deep affection, she strove to +do and say all that could soothe and calm, and console and cheer him. +Sometimes her efforts would seem successful, sometimes not. Sometimes +he would gaze upon her with looks of deep and earnest love; sometimes +would start away when her hand touched his, as if it had been a +serpent. All and everything she saw was matter of deep pain and anxious +thought to Mona Gray. + +When the hour of dinner came, she strove to tempt him to his food, but +he would scarce taste anything except wine, and of that drank more than +usual. It seemed not to excite, however, but rather to calm him. His +manner grew more consistent; sadder, but more tranquil; and leaving his +companions still at the table, he led his wife away to the chambers +they usually inhabited, and sat down and spoke with her rationally on +many things. There was an occasional abruptness, indeed, in his speech, +and a rapid transition from one thing to another, which still alarmed +her, but she consoled herself with the hope that the fit was passing +away, and that all would be better soon. + +At length he said, "Come, Mona, come! While I take the child upon my +knee, you sing me a song. Who knows if I shall ever hear another?" + +Though her heart was sad, she made no reply, but hastened to obey; and +she chose such words and such an air as she thought most likely to +soothe him. Both were sad, but through both there ran the bright +glimmering of hope; a cheerful note every now and then mingled with the +more melancholy ones, and promises of future happiness blended with the +sadder words of the lay. + +The music still trembled in the air, when Harvey suddenly entered the +room, and approaching his captain, whispered a word or two in his ear. +Franklin Gray instantly started up, with the dark cloud upon his brow +which usually gathered there in moments of determined action. + +"The time is come!" he exclaimed. "Harvey, I will speak with you and +the rest. Mona, take the child. I will be back in a few minutes." + +He then followed Harvey out of the room; and from that moment his whole +demeanour was calm, collected, and firm. "Have all the horses saddled +quickly," he said; "each man collect everything valuable that he has. +Each man, too, have his arms all ready for action at a moment's notice! +Did you say, Harvey, that they had both come over the hill?" + +"No; only one," replied Harvey; "but he came at such speed that there +can be no doubt the other will soon follow. We shall doubtless have to +stand to our arms soon, Captain, I suppose?" And as he spoke his cheek +was a little paler than ordinary; but there is such a thing as the +emotion of strong resolution, and it may blanch the cheek, though in a +slighter degree than fear. + +"Perhaps so, Harvey," answered Franklin Gray; "but we shall hear;" and +as he spoke he advanced to the window, and having satisfied himself by +one glance, he turned back to Harvey, saying, "The other is coming too. +We shall know more anon." + +The first of his watchers, who had been left on the other side of the +hills, had by this time nearly reached the house, and in a minute or +two after he entered the room where Franklin Gray and Harvey, with the +rest of the band who were not occupied in preparations, waited his +report. "Well," said the Captain, "what news, Miles?" + +"Why, I am afraid they are coming up in great force, Captain," he +answered. "I could only see them draw out from the end of the lane upon +the hill side, but there seemed a good many of them. I did not move a +step, however, till I saw Doveton begin to canter away, then I thought +it right to come on and give you the first tidings. He will be here +soon, and render you a clearer account." + +"You did quite right," replied his leader. "If we had all to deal with +such as you, my man, we should do very well." The man looked gratified; +but Franklin Gray went on; "Come, Harvey; we will go out into the +court. We shall be nearer the scene of action," and he walked +deliberately out into the court-yard, where the horses were now all +brought out and ranged in line. + +"Mount, my men!" he cried; "mount! We shall soon have Doveton here. +Miles, that pistol will fall out of your holster. Don't you see the +lock has caught on the leather? You hold my horse, Jocelyn! Harvey," he +continued, speaking to the man apart, and pointing to the boy; "do you +think if we were obliged to make the best of our way off, and this +youth were left behind--this mere child, as you see he is--they would +injure him?" + +"Oh, no," replied Harvey, "certainly not. They might take him away, but +we could soon find means to get him out of their hands again." + +"So," replied Franklin Gray, "so. But I hear Doveton's horse's feet +clattering down the road as hard as he can come;" and in a minute or +two the man he spoke of rode into the court-yard, with his horse +foaming from the speed at which he had come. + +"I am glad to see you are ready, Captain," he exclaimed; "for depend +upon it we shall have sharp work of it. There must be at the lowest +count forty of them coming up the hill, and all seemingly well mounted +and armed, for I looked at them through the spy-glass you gave me, and +I could see them all as plainly as if they were at the other end of the +table." + +Franklin Gray mused for a moment, and then demanded, "Could you see who +it was that led them on?" + +"Why, there were three rode abreast," said the man, "and I could see +them all plainly enough. The one on the left was a man in a black +cassock; but I don't think I ever saw him before. The middle one was a +fat heavy man, who, I rather think is the justice whom we flogged last +night--only in the darkness then I didn't well remark his face. But the +third one, on the right hand, is certainly that lord you had up here +for so long: that Lord Harold." + +The cloud grew doubly dark upon Franklin Gray's brow, and putting his +hand to his throat, he loosened the laced collar of his shirt. "Fully +forty men, you say?" he demanded, thoughtfully. But then added, without +waiting for reply, "Harvey, you are not mounted! Quick, quick, into the +saddle! Miles and Doveton, put yourselves upon the left. Now, Harvey, +mark well what I have to tell you! Lead those men out, and take at full +gallop across the hill to the right. If you keep Elsland Peak always a +little to the left, you will come to a hollow; and if you ride up it as +fast as you can go, long before any one can overtake you, for their +horses are not used to this work like ours, you will have reached a +spot where the slope divides the hollow into four, and all four lead +away to the beech wood, where you may disperse, and set chase at +defiance. Arrange your plans amongst yourselves as you go; and now lose +not a moment, for they must be over the hills by this time." + +"But yourself, Captain," asked Harvey, anxiously; "yourself, and the +lady, and the little child? I will never leave you here alone." + +"Do not be afraid Harvey," replied Franklin Gray, with a stern smile; +"I will take care of them and myself, depend upon it!" + +"But I do not like this plan at all," cried the man. "What! to run away +and leave my captain behind me, at the mercy of these fellows that are +coming up! I do not like it at all, Captain Gray. This will never do." + +"You surely would not disobey me in a moment of danger and difficulty +like this!" said Franklin Gray. "No, no, Harvey, you are too good a +soldier for that! But to satisfy you, you shall see that I provide in +some degree for my own safety. Jocelyn, take my horse down into the +narrow part between those two sheds, and hold him there, whatever you +see or hear, till I come to you. In the first place, open those two +other gates at the bottom of the court, and when you are holding the +horse, keep as far back as possible, that nobody may see you! Now, +Harvey," he added, "you see and are satisfied. Lead the men out as I +have commanded. I trust their safety to you!" + +Harvey looked down and bit his lip, hesitating evidently for a moment +as to whether he should obey or not. At length he looked steadfastly in +Franklin Gray's face, and held out his hand to him, with a melancholy +shake of the head. + +"God bless you, Captain Gray," he said; "I obey you even in this; but I +am very much afraid that you are not quite right in your plans. I am +afraid, I say, that you are acting under a wrong view; and I wish to +God you would think of it before it is too late. Well, well; I will +go--God bless you, I say. Come, my men, let us march;" and so saying he +led them all out of the court-yard. + +Franklin Gray saw them depart with stern, unmoved composure; then +advanced to the gate himself, and while their horses were heard at the +full gallop proceeding in the direction which he had pointed out, he +himself gazed up towards the other part of the hills, and saw a strong +party of horsemen crowning some of the summits. He then spoke another +word or two to the boy Jocelyn, returned into the room where he had +conferred with Harvey, and paused with his arms folded on his chest, +pondering gloomily for about a minute. + +His next act was to cast himself into a chair, and cover his eyes with +his hands, while his lip might be seen quivering with agonizing +emotion. It lasted scarcely a minute more, however, and rising up, he +struck his hand upon the table, saying, "Yes, yes; it shall be so!" + +He then took a brace of pistols from the shelf, loaded them carefully, +and placed them in his belt; after which he proceeded to a closet +wherein were deposited several other weapons of the same kind; chose +out two with much deliberation, looked at them closely with a bitter +and ghastly smile; and having loaded them also, he locked the door of +the house, and returned to the room where he had left his wife. + +The same dark smile was upon his countenance still, but he said as he +entered, "I have been away from you long, fair lady, but it was +business of importance called me. Now we will have another song, but it +shall be a gayer one than the last." + +Mona sang, but it was still a sad strain that she chose; and Franklin +Gray, with his head bent down, and his ear inclined towards her, +listened attentively to every note. When it was done, he caught her to +his breast, and kissed her repeatedly, saying, "They are very sweet. Is +there no poison in them, Mona?" + +"None! None! Franklin," she replied. "If any poison has reached your +heart, it has not been from Mona's lips." + +Franklin Gray turned away, and muttered something to himself but Mona +did not hear that the words were, "Would it were so!" + +"Play upon the lute," he continued sharply; "let us have the sound of +that too;" and again she did as he bade her, though by this time there +was a sound of heavy blows, as if given by a hammer below; together +with the trampling of horses' feet, and voices speaking. + +"Those men are making so much noise I can scarcely play," at length, +she said, "and the poor baby is frightened by it. See, he is going to +cry!" + +"Play, play!" said Franklin Gray, soothing the child with his hand, as +it sat close to his feet; and Mona again, though with a trembling hand +and anxious heart, struck the chords of the instrument. At that moment, +however, there was the rush of many feet along the passage; and the +next, the door of the chamber flew open, and seven or eight persons +rushed in. + +Though Mona had not remarked it. Franklin had drawn some of the benches +and tables across the room when he first entered, in such a manner as +to form a sort of barricade; and the moment the door burst open he +started upon his feet, and levelled a pistol towards it, exclaiming, +"Stand!" in a voice that shook the room. + +The first face that presented itself was that of Lord Harold, and +though his nerves were not easily shaken, yet the tone and gesture of +Franklin Gray caused him to pause for an instant, of which the Robber +at once took advantage. + +"Lord Harold," he exclaimed, "you have come to see your handy-work, and +to receive its punishment. I saved your life. You taught my wife to +betray me!" + +"Never, never!" shrieked Mona, falling on her knees before him. +"Never?" exclaimed Franklin Gray. "False woman! did you think I could +not see? Lo! pitiful boy, here is your handy work, and here your +punishment!" and turning the pistol at once towards her, he discharged +the contents into her bosom. She fell back with a loud shriek, and Lord +Harold in an instant sprang across the barrier; but ere he could take a +step beyond it, a second pistol was aimed at his head, and fired by +that unerring hand which seemed only to gain additional steadiness in +moments of agitation or of agony. Bounding up like a deer from the +ground, the young nobleman was cast back by the force of the shot at +once upon the table over which he had leaped; he never moved again: +there was an aguish quivering of the limbs, and a convulsive +contraction of the hand; but, as in the case of Wiley, the shot had +gone straight into the brain, and consciousness, and thought, and +sensation, were instantly at an end for ever. + +The rest of the Robber's assailants shrunk back with terror; and +Franklin Gray, with a fierce triumphant smile, gazed at them for an +instant, while, casting the weapons he had used to such fatal purpose +on the ground, he drew a third from his belt, and exclaimed aloud, "Who +will be the next?" + +Borne back by the fears and pressure of his companions, with great +difficulty Justice Whistler struggled through the doorway into the room +again, but he did so with a bold and undismayed countenance, and, +pistol in hand, advanced towards the Robber. But an object had +attracted the attention of Franklin Gray, and he was bending down +towards the floor. + +The infant--the poor infant--had crawled towards its mother, and the +fair small hands were dabbled in her blood. The Robber snatched the +child up to his bosom, and giving one fierce glance towards the only +one who remained to assail him, he exclaimed, "Fool! you are not worth +the shot;" and thrusting the pistol into his belt again, he sprang +towards the window, which was wide open. + +Though embarrassed with the child, he had passed through in a moment, +but not before Justice Whistler, shouting loudly, "He will escape! he +will escape!" had pulled the trigger of his pistol at him with a steady +aim. Loaded, however, by hands unused to such occupations, it merely +flashed in the pan; and though he instantly drew forth the second, and +fired, it was too late; Franklin Gray had passed, and was dropping down +to the ground below. + +"Stop him! Stop him:" exclaimed the justice, springing to the window, +and overturning chairs and tables in his way. "He will escape! He will +escape! Stop him below there! Run down, you cowardly rascals! Run down, +and pursue him in every direction! By ----! the fellow will escape +after all!" And after gazing for a single instant from the window he +rushed out of the room. + +On the side where Franklin Gray sprang to the ground there was not one +of the party who had come to take him, all, except those who had +entered the house and learned the contrary, believing that he had fled +with the rest whom they had seen traversing the hills, and all being +busy in examining the Robber's abode, the courts, the stabling, the +harness that had been left behind, with open-mouthed curiosity. + +The voice of the justice, indeed, called one stout farmer round, and he +instantly attempted to seize the stranger whom he saw hurrying forwards +towards some sheds at the other end of the building, but, though a +burly and a powerful yeoman, one quick blow from the Robber's hand laid +him prostrate on the earth, and springing past him, Franklin Gray +reached the spot where his horse was held. + +The boy Jocelyn had managed skilfully, constantly avoiding the side +from which a sound of voices came. But now the quick and well-known +step called him forth in a moment; the fiery horse was held tight with +one hand, the stirrup with the other; and by the time Justice Whistler, +with the troop that followed him, came rushing forth from the door, +Franklin Gray was in the saddle; and still bearing the child in his +arms, he struck his spurs into the horse's sides, and galloped through +the gates. + +Two of the farmers who had remained on horseback without, had seen him +mount, but not knowing who he was, had not attempted to interrupt him. +The appearance of their companions in pursuit, however, instantly +undeceived them, and they spurred after at full speed. On went the +gallant charger of Franklin Gray, however, faster than they could +follow; and when they had kept up the race, at about twenty yards +behind him, for nearly a quarter of a mile, the one nearest exclaimed +aloud, "I will shoot his horse." + +The words must have reached the Robber's ear; for instantly his charger +slackened its pace, and the pursuer gained upon him a little; but then +Franklin Gray turned in the saddle, and with the bridle in his teeth +stretched out his right hand towards him. Next came a flash, a report, +and the farmer tumbled headlong from the saddle severely wounded, while +Franklin Gray pursued his course with redoubled speed. + +Almost all the rest of the party who had come to take him were now +mounted and in full pursuit; but his greatest danger was not from them. +A little above him, on the hill, and nearly at the same distance from +the house where he had dwelt, were seen, when he had gone about a mile, +several of the party who had been sent to follow his band. The sight of +a horseman in full flight, and many others pursuing, as well as the +gestures and shouts of those below, made them instantly turn and +endeavour to cut him off. On that side, as he was obliged to turn to +avoid both the parties, the pursuers gained upon him, and, as if by +mutual consent, they now strained every nerve to hem him in. + +There was, about half a mile further on, a chasm caused by a deep +narrow lane, between banks of twenty or thirty feet deep, descending +from the top of the hills; and those above him on the slope, having +already passed it once that morning, strove to drive him towards it, +their only fear being lest those below should not act on the same plan. +Franklin Gray, himself, however, took exactly the course they wished, +and as, bearing down from above, they came nearer and nearer to him, +they laughed to see him approach at full speed a barrier which must +inevitably stop him. They urged their horses rapidly on, lest he should +find some path down the bank into the lane; and nearer and nearer they +came to him as he bore up towards them. They were within fifty yards of +him when he reached the bank, and so furious was his speed that all +expected to see him go over headlong. + +But no! The bridle was thrown loose, the spur touched the horse's +flank, and with one eager bound the gallant beast cleared the space +between; and though his hind feet, in reaching the other side, broke +down the top of the bank, and cast the sand and gravel furiously into +the lane below, he stumbled not, he paused not, but bounded on, while +the rashest horseman of the party pulled in his rein, and gazed with +fear at the awful leap that had just been taken. A part is still +pointed out on those hills where the top of the bank above the lane +exhibits a large gap; and the spot is still called the Robber's Leap to +the present day. + +Every one, as we have said, drew in their horses, and some rode to and +fro, seeking for a passage down into the lane; but, in the meanwhile, +Franklin Gray was every moment getting further and further out of reach +of pursuit. + +When Justice Whistler, who came up as fast as his horse would bear him, +arrived upon the spot, he saw at once it was too late to pursue the +fugitive any further, and he exclaimed, "Give it up my masters; give it +up; he has escaped us for the present, but we shall get hold of him +by-and-bye. A man who gets into a scrape like this never gets out of it +without a rope round his neck. Let us return to the house and conclude +our examinations there; though a terrible day's work it has been, for, +if my eyes served me right in the hurry, there is that poor young +gentleman as dead as a stone, and the woman, who seemed a beautiful +creature, too, no better." + +Thus saying, he turned round, and rode back towards the house, while +those who followed, and who had not been present at the events which +had taken place within the building, eagerly questioned such as had +witnessed the fearful scene. While they listened to the details, +magnified as they might be, perhaps, by fear and the love of the +marvellous, a gloomy feeling of awe fell over the whole party; and they +gazed up towards the house as they approached it with sensations which +made the blood creep slowly through their hearts. + +Such feelings were not diminished by the sight of their wounded +companion, who had received Franklin Gray's fire in the pursuit, and +who was still lying on the ground, supported by one of his friends who +had remained behind, and bleeding profusely from the right breast. +Several alighted, and aided to carry him towards the house, while +Justice Whistler and one or two others rode on, and proceeded at once +to the room where they had first found the Robber. + +There were sounds of many voices within, for six or seven of the party +had remained behind, together with the good village rector, Dr. Sandon; +and when the justice entered the room he found it occupied by three +groups, the nearest of which consisted of two or three farmers, +gathered round the head of the table, and gazing curiously at the +object which it supported. A little further on was one of the +constables, holding firmly by the collar the fair curly-headed boy +called Jocelyn; while still further on was the rector, kneeling on the +ground, and surrounded by the rest of the farmers and yeoman. + +The magistrate advanced direct to the table, and saw that the object of +the farmers' contemplation was the dead body of the unhappy Lord +Harold, which was now stretched out, with the limbs composed, and +stiffening into the rigidity of death. Too much accustomed to such +sights to be strongly affected by them, the justice passed on, shaking +his finger at the boy Jocelyn, and saying, "Ah, you little varlet, I +shall deal with you by-and-bye." + +"He's a funny little rascal, your worship," said the constable. "He ran +up the hill so fast that nobody could catch him, till he got to a place +where he could see the whole chase, and there he stood, and let himself +be taken as quietly as a lamb, though I told him he would be hanged to +a certainty." + +The justice looked in the boy's face, and saw the tears streaming down +from his eyes. One of the redeeming qualities of Mr. Justice Whistler +was his love for children; and the boy's affliction touched him. "Poh! +Poh! you foolish lad," he cried; "they'll not hang such a child as you. +Whip the devil out of you, perhaps; but don't cry for that." + +"I'm crying for my poor mistress," said the boy; and the justice then +advanced in the direction towards which Jocelyn's eyes were turned, +pushing two of the farmers out of his way who obstructed his view of +what was taking place. He found that Mr. Sandon was kneeling by the +side of Mona Gray, and supporting her lovely head upon his arm. Her +face was deadly pale, her lips blanched, her eyes closed, and the long +black lashes resting upon that fair cheek: while the dark hair, broken +from the bands that had confined it, hung in glossy confusion to the +ground. The blood which had been flowing from a wound in her bosom was +now stanched; and the clergyman, sprinkling cold water in her face, was +at that moment endeavouring to bring her back to life; but the +countenance was so like that of a corpse, that the magistrate +immediately demanded--"Is she not dead?" + +"No, no," said the clergyman, in a low voice. "Don't you see she +breathes: she has twice opened her eyes." + +In a moment or two after she unclosed them again; but those bright and +lustrous eyes were dimmed with the grey shadows of approaching +dissolution. She feebly lifted her hand, and putting it to her bosom, +drew forth a small crucifix of gold, which she pressed earnestly to her +lips. New strength seemed to be acquired by the very effort; and gazing +wildly round her on the strange faces that filled the room, she made an +effort to speak. At first no sound was heard; but the next moment she +distinctly uttered the words--"Is he safe? Has he escaped?" + +The boy Jocelyn caught the sounds--burst away from the constable who +held him--broke through those that stood around, and cast himself down +on his knees beside her. "Yes, Mona, yes!" he cried; "he is safe! He +has escaped! I saw him leap the gap myself, and none was brave enough +to follow him. He is safe, and the baby too!" + +Mona Gray raised her eyes, as if seeking the heaven to pour out her +thankfulness; but the next moment, by another great effort, she said, +"Jocelyn, if ever you see him again, tell him that Mona did not +betray him in deed, or word, or thought. Tell him it was her last +asseveration." + +As she spoke, she pressed the crucifix again to her lips, and then +murmured forth some sounds in a language that was not understood by any +one present. She then closed her eyes, but still from time to time +uttered a few words in the same tongue and in a low tone. + +At length they ceased. The hand that held the crucifix to her lips sunk +a little lower on her bosom--the other dropped motionless by her +side--there was a slight gasp, and a shudder, but neither groan nor +cry, and the breath stopped for ever. + +Several moments elapsed before any voice broke the deep silence which +that sight had produced; and the first words that were spoken were by +the clergyman, who said, "God have mercy upon her." + +She was then carried into the room beyond, and laid upon her own bed; +and Justice Whistler returning, despatched messengers to the next town +to summon the coroner with all speed. + +His design, however, of apprehending Franklin Gray was by no means +abandoned; and he endeavoured, skilfully enough, to make use of the +simplicity of the boy Jocelyn for that purpose. After talking with him +for some time in rather a kindly tone, yet asking him a great many +questions in regard to his connection with the robbers, and attempting +apparently to ascertain whether the boy had taken any share in their +exploits, he said at length, "Well, my good boy, since such is the +case, and you had nothing to do with them, but merely minding your +master's horse, and the commands of the lady, you are pretty clear of +the business; and, indeed, I do not know what to do with you, so you +had better go home to your friends, if you've got any." + +"I would rather go with you, sir," said the boy, "if you would take me +with you. You seem good-natured, and I should like to serve such a +gentleman as you; and if you did not choose to keep me on, I could +serve you along the road." + +The suspicions of the justice were excited, and he asked, "Why, which +way do you suppose I am going, my man?" And then added, keeping his +eyes fixed upon the boy's face, "I am not going back over the hills; I +am going on to the town of ----, to seek out this master of yours." + +The boy's countenance appeared to fall; and Mr. Justice Whistler +convinced by what he saw, that Franklin Gray had most likely taken his +way back over the hills, and that the boy knew it, left him in the +hands of the farmers, and took the constable aside. + +"Keep an eye upon that youth," he said. "Don't seem to restrain him at +all; and if he says he will go back to his friends, let him go, but +watch every step that he takes. If he says, however, that he will go +with me, look to him well every step of the way; for I judge by his +manner that he knows his master has gone over the hills, and wishes to +be carried back with us for the purpose of rejoining him." + +The man promised to obey punctually; and the justice, returning to the +boy, spoke to him once more, as if in passing, saying, "Well, my good +boy, you shall do just as you like. Upon second thoughts, I am going +back to Moorhurst and Uppington; and you can either go away by +yourself, and find out your friends, or you can come with me, and I'll +feed you well by the way. Think about it, and let Master Constable +know." + +The boy's face brightened in a moment, and he said at once, "Oh, I will +go with you." + +There was much to be done, however, before the justice could set out, +and it was nearly dark ere, leaving the scene of so many sad and +horrible events in the hands of the officers of the county, he took his +way back over the hills with the reverend gentleman, who once more +invited him kindly to his house. + +All the farmers accompanied them. No one choosing to separate from the +rest at that hour, with the knowledge that Franklin Gray and his band +were free, and in the vicinity. The boy Jocelyn, mounted behind the +constable, was carefully watched, but he showed not the slightest +inclination to escape, and when he arrived at the parsonage, ate a +hearty supper in the kitchen, and fell asleep by the fire-side. + +He was roused about eleven o'clock to accompany the constable to a +garret chamber which had been prepared for them, and in five minutes he +was asleep again; but when his companion woke an hour or two after +daylight on the following morning, no Jocelyn was to be found, though +the door was still locked, and the room was in the third story. There +were found, indeed, the window partly open, the traces of small feet +along a leaden gutter, the branch of a tall elm, which rested against +one corner of the house, cracked through, but not completely broken, +and the fragments of glass at the top of the wall neatly and carefully +pounded into powder with a large stone. + +These were the only traces of the boy's flight that could be +discovered; but these were quite sufficient for Mr. Justice Whistler; +and after chiding the constable severely for sleeping so soundly, he +turned to the clergyman, saying, "It is very evident that this man is +still in the neighbourhood, and is on this side of the hills. Let me +beg you, my good sir, to keep a good watch in every direction till I +come back, which will be to-morrow evening. I think it better, now, to +go on myself, in order to see old Lord Danemore, who lies dangerously +ill, and to break to him the news of his son's death, which, if I judge +rightly, may, at the present moment, be a matter of the greatest +importance to him and many others." + +The justice breakfasted, and then proceeded on his journey. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXVI. + + +We must now return to the conversation which was going on at the +Rectory of Danemore between Mr. Evelyn, Sir Walter Herbert, and him +whom we shall still call Henry Langford--in the fear that he should +never establish his claim to any higher title; and the reader need +scarcely be told that the interruption which took place therein was +occasioned by the arrival of Mr. Justice Whistler, bearing with him the +sad account of all that had occurred in consequence of the expedition +which he himself led against Franklin Gray. + +Putting down his hat upon the table, the feather band of which was +dripping with some rain which had now begun to fall, he declared that +he believed such events had never happened before in any civilized +country; and he related with no inconsiderable degree of real feeling +the death of poor Mona Gray. For a time, sensations of awe, and grief, +and astonishment, suspended every other feeling in the bosoms of his +hearers; but he himself, who had cast off the first impression under +the influence of a good night's rest and a long heavy ride, recalled +the rest of the party to other thoughts, by making Langford a low bow, +and saying, "Under existing circumstances, I suppose I may congratulate +you, Sir, upon your undisputed succession to the title of the Earl of +Danemore." + +Langford replied that he certainly intended at once to assume that +title, though, he believed, it would not be undisputed; and Mr. Evelyn, +who had a great inclination for doing business under all circumstances, +immediately proceeded to take into consideration the change which the +news that they had just received might produce in Langford's position. +Judging that it might be as well to engage the acuteness of Mr. Justice +Whistler in their service, at least as far as seeking for the lost +papers was concerned, he opened the matter to that respectable +magistrate, and held out to him such cogent inducements for exerting +himself to the utmost in the business in hand, that the justice, though +he represented the importance and necessity of his presence in London, +agreed to leave all business there to his colleagues, and devote +himself to the object in view. + +Langford heard this arrangement without saying anything, and without +giving any encouragement to Mr. Justice Whistler to remain; for, in +truth, he had his own views upon the subject, and had already +determined what course to pursue, feeling perfectly sure that the lost +papers were in the possession of Franklin Gray, and that any efforts of +Mr. Justice Whistler for the recovery of those papers would retard if +not utterly prevent the attainment of their object. + +He took care, therefore, to give no hint, either of his own purposes, +or his suspicions as to the hands into which the papers had fallen, but +at once turned to another part of the subject, saying, "In the first +place, Mr. Evelyn, as it is my full intention to deal openly and +straightforwardly in this business altogether, I think it may be +necessary immediately to send a note to Sir Henry Heywood, informing +him of the terrible fate which has befallen my unhappy brother, and +begging to meet him here, to confer more fully on the subject to-morrow +morning." + +The note was accordingly written, and sent; and Sir Henry, who fancied +himself considerably nearer to his object in consequence of the death +of Lord Harold, returned a gracious answer, and appointed ten o'clock +on the following day for the conference. Sir Walter Herbert then +proceeded to Moorhurst; but although Langford felt a longing desire to +pass one more evening of tranquillity with her he loved best, in the +library of the calm old Manor House, he would not quit the sad dwelling +where the body of his father lay, but remained there during the night. + +By ten o'clock the next morning Sir Walter had returned, and the +arrival of Sir Henry Heywood soon followed. He was now, however, +accompanied by a lawyer, and on his entering the room, Langford +immediately, in plain and courteous language, and few words, announced +to him the situation in which he stood, as son of the late Earl of +Danemore, by his private marriage with Eugenie de Beaulieu. + +Sir Henry Heywood had not lost his time since his arrival in the +neighbourhood of Danemore Castle, and by one means or another had +collected a very accurate knowledge of Langford's situation, and the +points in which his claim was strong or defective. + +"Sir," he said, in reply, "what you have just asserted may be, and, +indeed, very probably is correct. You are a likely young gentleman; +bear a strong resemblance to the late Earl, and so forth. I have +nothing to say against the fact of the Earl being your father, or of +your mother being a very virtuous lady; but all I have to say is, that +such assertions are good for nothing in law without proofs of the fact. +If you will do me the honour to show me the registry of your father's +and mother's marriage, a certificate to that effect from the hands of +the clergyman who married them, the attestation of the proper +witnesses, or, in short, satisfactory legal proofs, I shall make you a +very low bow, and congratulate you on your accession to the title of +Earl of Danemore. Till then, however, by your leave, I shall assume +that title myself, and acting as heir to the late peer, take possession +of everything to which the law gives me a claim." + +"In regard to taking possession of anything, sir," replied Langford, +"be my claim what it will, I think you will find yourself barred by my +father's will." + +"Then let it be produced, sir--let it be produced," said Sir Henry +Heywood, with some degree of irritable sharpness. "We have heard a +great deal about this will: let it be produced." + +"Certainly, sir," replied Mr. Evelyn; "here it is. But before it is +opened, we will call in, if you please, the witnesses who heard every +word of it read over to the Earl, and who saw him sign it. I think that +his chief servants should be present." + +What he suggested was agreed to. The small room of the Rectory was +nearly filled; and while Langford, with feelings of deep grief, perhaps +we might even say despondency, sat at the table shading his eyes with +his hand, and Sir Henry Heywood, seated on the other side, shut his +lips close, and looked full in Mr. Evelyn's face, the lawyer, after all +due formalities, proceeded to read the will aloud. + +In the first place, it ordained as private and speedy a burial of his +body as possible. In the next, it provided liberally for all the +servants. It then went on to leave to his son Edward, heretofore +erroneously called Lord Harold, a large independent fortune, which was +to revert, in case of his death without issue, to the person whom next +he named; that person was his eldest son, Henry, by his first wife, +Eugenie de Beaulieu, whom he had married privately the year before the +Restoration. + +Under the skilful management of Mr. Evelyn, nothing had been left +undone to show that Langford was the person to whom he alluded, and to +render the wording of the Earl's will the most solemn acknowledgment of +his marriage and declaration of his son's legitimacy. With all these +precautions, the Earl went on to leave to him every part of his vast +fortune not otherwise disposed of; noticing the estates attached to the +title of Earl of Danemore only as coming to him of necessity. The three +executors were then appointed, as had been before announced, and the +will terminated with the signature. + +The reading of this document called forth a burst of angry vehemence +from Sir Henry Heywood, which might have proceeded further had it not +been repressed instantly by a murmur of indignation which ran through +all present. + +Langford, however, himself, was the coolest of the party, and as soon +as the reading of the will was concluded, he said, "Sir Henry Heywood, +in the present state of feeling experienced by all parties, the less +discussion that takes place, of course the better. You are now +satisfied as to who are the executors; but I think it will be better, +till after the funeral is over, to remove none of the seals which have +been placed; and I doubt not that this reverend gentleman, and Sir +Walter Herbert, will agree with me in that view. You will, of course, +be present at the funeral; and I doubt not that on that sad occasion we +shall all meet more calmly. For the present, I wish you good morning;" +and so saying, he bowed and quitted the room. + +Sir Henry Heywood remained, and would fain have entered into the +discussion of many points, both with Sir Walter and Mr. Evelyn, but +neither were at all inclined to gratify him in that respect; and he +retired, declaring that he would certainly attend the funeral; but that +before that time he would have such legal authority from London as +would enable him to maintain his just rights against any conspiracy +which might be formed to oppose them. Sir Walter Herbert coloured, and +raised his head at the word conspiracy, with signs of ill-repressed +indignation; but Mr. Evelyn laid his hand upon his arm, saying, "He is +a disappointed man, Sir Walter, and has privilege of angry words." + +On the measures that were taken by Sir Henry Heywood we will not dwell; +nor will we pause, even for a moment, on the melancholy ceremony of +committing to dust the bodies of the Earl of Danemore and his younger +son. Langford, although between him and the dead there existed none of +those endearing ties which gather round the heart in the tender +intercourse of early years, though his affection towards them was not, +like the rich shells which we find embedded in the coral rock, joined +to the things it clung to by the accumulated love and associations of +years, still could not help feeling deeply and painfully as he laid the +father and the brother in the grave, and took the dark farewell of his +last earthly kindred. + +Sir Henry Heywood had by this time learned so far to restrain himself +that nothing disagreeable occurred; and from the vault the whole party +turned their steps, not to the Rectory, but to one of the large saloons +which had remained unconsumed in Danemore Castle. The two noted lawyers +were found waiting for the baronet, who immediately addressed himself +to Langford, demanding if he distinctly understood him to lay claim to +the earldom of Danemore. + +"Distinctly, sir," replied Langford. + +"Very well, sir. Then--" interrupted Sir Henry. + +But the other waved his hand, and went on, "I do most distinctly lay +claim to that earldom, sir; but as I wish to do nothing whatsoever that +can be considered unfair towards you, and shall in a few days be able +to produce the only papers which seem necessary to convince you of my +right--having at this moment a certain knowledge of the person who has +taken them--I shall leave the executorial duties under my father's will +entirely to my excellent friends, who, well advised, will deal with you +in all justice and kindness, I am sure. I myself am bound upon +important business, and therefore you will excuse my presence any +further. I trust in two honourable men, all whose actions I know will +bear the closest inspection; and I shall feel satisfied with and ratify +everything that they shall do." + +A word whispered in the ear of Sir Henry Heywood by one of his lawyers, +made him start a step forward ere Langford departed, and say, +"Doubtless, sir, we are to expect on your return the production of the +papers; and of course you will be willing to submit them, as you do the +conduct of your friends, to the closest inspection?" + +"Quite," replied Langford, with a calm smile, so slightly coloured by +contempt that none but an eager and well-qualified appetite could have +detected the admixture. "Whether I bring back the papers or not, Sir +Henry, depends upon fortune; or, rather, I should say, upon God's will. +You judge rightly when you think I go to seek them; and that I go to +seek them where they are to be found, I am quite certain. My chance may +be to find them, or not. I give you good-day." + +Leaving Sir Henry Heywood to follow what course he thought fit, and Sir +Walter Herbert with the rector, guided by Mr. Evelyn, and an old, calm, +thoughtful, experienced, little-speaking lawyer from London, to deal +with him as they judged advisable, we shall trace the course of Henry +Langford, who now, followed by two servants, one attached to Sir Walter +Herbert, and the other an old and faithful domestic of his father, the +late earl, took his way abruptly from Danemore Castle, but not in the +direction which the reader may imagine. He rode at once across the +country to the little village of Moorhurst; and passing over the +bridge--because the shortest way, though the park, under lately +existing circumstances, had been closed--he approached the Manor House; +and leaving his horse, with orders not to unsaddle him, in the +court-yard, he hurried through the house in search of Alice Herbert. + +He found her without much difficulty; and sweet and tender were her +feelings on that first meeting, alone, and altogether to each other, +after a long period of distress and anxiety, and the obtrusiveness of a +thousand anxious and busy cares. He told her that he could not go away +upon a journey of some distance and of much importance without seeing +her--without bidding her farewell for the time. He told her again and +again how deeply and how passionately he loved her. He pressed her +again and again to his heart, in gratitude for past kindness, in the +ardour of present affection, in the longing apprehension of parting. He +took, and she granted, all that a noble heart could wish or a pure +heart could yield; and then, springing upon his horse, he once more +pursued his way towards the spot which the tale of Justice Whistler had +pointed out as that where Franklin Gray was likely to be met with. + +He left the village, with the Rectory of Mr. Sandon, far to the left, +about an hour before sunset; and then inquiring his way to the nearest +farm-house--for there were neither railroads over deserts, nor hotels +upon mountains in those days--he prepared to repose for the night ere +he pursued his inquiries on the following morning. The people of the +farm were kind and civil: and, though it put them somewhat out of their +way to receive a guest with two servants and three horses, when they +expected no such thing, the matter was readily arranged, and Langford +soon found himself sitting at a pleasant country table, whereat ten or +twelve people were enjoying themselves after the fatigues of the day. + +Langford made himself friends wherever he came, by the urbanity of his +manners: generally ruling as much as he wished in all circumstances, by +appearing, like the ancient Greek, to yield and to respect. In the +present instance he was received with great gladness, and was enabled +to gain information of everything that was passing throughout the +country round, by the very fact of his making himself at once at home +amongst the people, as we have said he did, and by seeming to share +their feelings, which soon proved the means of sharing their thoughts. +The whole tittle-tattle of the neighbourhood was now detailed to him, +and he heard every particular of the death of his brother. The stopping +of Mr. Justice Whistler, and his scourging with the saddle-girths and +stirrup-leathers, were also told him, with many other interesting +details, which seemed to have made a deep impression upon the +laughter-loving hearts of the honest villagers. + +Langford himself was, in comparison with his ordinary moods, sad and +gloomy, as he well might be, not so much from anticipation of the +future as in reflecting upon the past, and upon all the deeds, wrongs, +and sorrows whereon that inevitable past had set its seal for ever; and +as he approached the spot where his brother had fallen, the despondency +that he felt was of course not diminished. Without asking any direct +questions concerning Franklin Gray, Langford obtained tidings which +made him hesitate in regard to his further conduct; for in answer to +his inquiries as to whether any of the robbers had been captured, the +honest farmer--who had been one of those that went out against them, +and therefore took a personal interest in the whole affair--informed +him that the band had certainly dispersed, each man, it was supposed, +taking his separate way back to London. Such was the opinion pronounced +by Mr. Justice Whistler, the farmer said; and Langford now learned, for +the first time, that the worthy justice had returned to the scene of +his former adventures, and was eagerly aiding the local magistrate in +the pursuit of the robbers. + +He feared, then, that Franklin Gray might thus have been driven from +the neighbourhood; but after some reflection, an impression took hold +of his mind--probably springing from traits of the Robber's character +which he had seen and marked in better days--that Gray would linger, +for a time at least, round the spot where his unhappy wife was +interred; and Langford consequently proceeded at once to the little +solitary burial ground in which she lay. To it was attached a small +church, situated at a great distance from any other building, high upon +the side of the hill, and offering once in the week some means of +religious instruction to the inhabitants of that wild tract. He easily +found the grave of poor Mona Gray, for no one had been buried there for +many months but herself, and every other grave was green. + +The sight of that grave, however, confirmed him in the hope of soon +finding Franklin Gray, for at the head were strewed, here and there, +some wild flowers, evidently lately gathered. Justice Whistler, with a +heart hardened by intercourse with evil things, did not comprehend the +character of the Robber as Langford did, and never dreamed that he +would linger near the spot where the wife whom he had himself slain +with such determined premeditation, slept her last sleep. + +Leaving his two servants to watch in the churchyard, Henry Langford +rode up to the top of the hills, and continued his course along the +ridge towards the sea; but ere he had gone half a mile, he saw +something move in one of the deep, shadowy indentations of the ground, +and riding quickly down, he pursued the object as it fled before him, +taking advantage of everything which could conceal it in its flight, +doubling round every tree and bush, and plunging into each deep dell. +But Langford caught sight of it sufficiently often to feel sure that it +was a human being, and he gained upon it also as it led him back in its +flight towards the churchyard. + +There, however, he lost sight of it again; but the moment after, a +faint cry met his ear, and a shout; and riding on fast, he found the +boy Jocelyn in the hands of his two servants. The boy was evidently in +great terror; and the sound of another voice behind him, when Langford +spoke as he came up, made him start almost out of the hands of the men +who held him. The sight of Langford's well-known face, however, +instantly made his countenance brighten; and when that gentleman spoke +kindly to him, and bade the men let him go, the boy came up towards +him, bending his head, and looking gladly in his face, as a favourite +dog that has been lost for several days, runs up, fawning, but yet half +frightened, towards its master, when it returns. + +"Well, Jocelyn," said Langford, gazing at him, and marking his soiled +clothes and pale and haggard appearance, "you seem not to have fared +very richly, my poor boy, since you got away from Justice Whistler. Did +you find out your master?" + +The boy looked timidly at the two men who stood near, then hung down +his head, and made no reply. Langford bent over him, and said in a low +voice, "Do not be frightened, Jocelyn. I am seeking no ill, either to +yourself or your master. Come with me on the hill side, and tell me +more. We will leave the men here." + +"You must leave your horse behind, then, also," said the boy, in the +same low tone, "if you want to see the Captain as you used to do; for +he will never let us find him if he sees any one coming on horseback." + +"That I will do willingly," replied Langford; and throwing the bridle +to one of the men, he bade them remain there till he returned. + +Holding the boy Jocelyn by the hand, he then went out upon the hill +side, questioning him as they walked along, with regard to Franklin +Gray; but before he would answer anything, the boy made him again and +again promise that he would not betray his master. When he was +satisfied on that point, he gazed up in Langford's face, with a look of +deep and anxious sadness, saying, "Oh, you don't know all, Captain +Langford! You don't know all!" + +"Yes, my good boy, I do," replied Langford; "I have heard all the sad +story of the people going to attack your master in his house, and his +fancying that his wife had betrayed him, and shooting the person he +loved best on earth." + +"Ay, poor thing, she is happy!" said the boy; "I am sure she is in +heaven, for every day since they laid her in the churchyard, I have +strewed what flowers I could get, upon her grave, and they do not +wither there half so soon as they do anywhere else. But I am sure it is +better for her to be there than to see her husband in such a state as +he is now." + +"What do you mean, Jocelyn?" demanded Langford. "Grief and remorse for +what he has done must, I dare say, have had a terrible effect upon your +master; but you seem to imply something more. What is it that you +mean?" + +"Alas," replied the boy, "he is mad; quite mad. That is what made +Harvey and the rest leave him, for they found him out after he got away +and joined him again; but, both for his sake and their own, they were +obliged to separate, when they found what state he was in. But I am +sure he had been mad some time before, for the day after that wicked +man made his escape, who brought all the people upon us, I saw him on +the hill fire one of his pistols in the air, as if he had been shooting +at something, though there was nothing to be seen: and when he had done +he looked at the pistol and said, 'You are not so dangerous now.' But +now he is quite wild, and you must take care how you go near him, for +it is a thousand to one that he fires at you, and you know he never +misses his mark." + +"Whereabouts is he?" demanded Langford. "I wonder he has not been +discovered." + +"Oh, he is two or three miles off, at least," replied the boy; "in the +rocky part of the hills near the sea. He comes here about night, when +he goes to the grave in the churchyard, and moans over it; but then +before daylight he is away again." + +Langford and the boy walked on, but the two or three miles he spoke of +proved to be fully five, and during the last mile the scenery became +wild and rugged in the extreme. The turf, which had covered the hills +further inland with a smooth though undulating surface, was here +constantly broken by immense masses of rock, sometimes taking the form +of high banks and promontories, with the tops still soft and grassy; +sometimes starting abruptly up in fantastic groups out of the ground, +like the rugged and misshapen columns of some druidical temple. Here +and there a few scattered birch trees varied the scene, and near a spot +where a spring of clear water broke from the ground, and wandered down +in a stream into the valley, some fine oaks had planted themselves, +sheltered by a higher ridge of the hill from the sharp winds of the +sea. + +As they came near this spot, the boy Jocelyn gave a long low whistle, +more like the cry of some wild bird than any sound from human lips, +saying, after he had done so, "He is often about here at this hour." + +No answer was returned, however, and they went on for nearly another +mile, which brought them to the high rocks that encircled a bay of the +sea. "I should not wonder if he were here," said the boy; "for I +sometimes catch fish for him there, and there are more berries upon the +shrubs that grow half way down than anywhere else." + +"Good God! Is that the only food that he obtains?" demanded Langford. + +"He has had nothing else," said the boy, sadly, "since Harvey and the +rest went away. Look! There he is!--just below us. Hush! Do not let us +go quick!" + +Langford laid his hand upon the boy's arm, and detained him, while he +gazed down for two or three moments on the unhappy man who had once +been his companion and friend in the stirring days of military +adventure. + +It was a terrible sight! The sun was shining brightly, though over the +deep blue sky some large detached masses of cloud were borne by a soft +and equable but rapid wind, throwing upon the green bosom of the water +below, and the rocks and hills round about, deep clear shadows, which, +as they floated on, left the objects that they touched brighter than +ever in the sunshine, like the shadows which doubt or suspicion, or +gloom, or the waywardness of the human heart, will cast upon things in +themselves beautiful, and which, when the mood is gone or the doubt +removed, resume at once all their splendour. Part of the steep close by +Franklin Gray was covered with bushes, mingled with some taller trees, +and over these the shadow of a cloud was flying, while he himself sat +in the full light upon a small projecting piece of the rock. + +Tenderly folded to his bosom, he held his infant with both his arms; +and, swaying backwards and forwards, while his eyes wandered wildly +over the waters, he seemed endeavouring to rock it to sleep. A little +further up, his horse, his beautiful grey, of which he had been so +fond, cropped the scanty herbage, with the bridle cast upon his neck; +and hearing the approach of strangers even before his master, he raised +high his proud head, and gazed eagerly around. + +"How does he feed the child?" demanded Langford, in a whisper. + +"With berries, and anything he can get," replied the boy; "he never +lets it be out of his arms but to crawl round him for a few moments on +the turf." + +"This is very terrible, indeed," said Langford; "but he sits there on +such a fearful point of the rock that you had better go forward +yourself, in the first instance, and tell him that I am here. The least +thing might make him plunge over." + +"It would not surprise me at all," replied the boy, "for where he goes +I am sure I would not go, and yet I can climb as well as any one." + +Langford then withdrew for a few yards, and the boy again uttered his +low whistle, which was immediately answered. After pausing for a moment +or two to give him time to reach his master, Langford again advanced, +and saw the boy in eager conversation with Franklin Gray, whose eyes +were now bent upon the spot where he stood. Satisfied that he was +prepared for his coming, Langford descended with difficulty the +precipitous path which led to the shelf of rock on which he stood; and +Franklin Gray himself took a step or two back from the edge, and came +forward to meet him. Holding the child still to his bosom with one arm, +he at first held out the other to his old companion; but the next +moment, as they came near, he drew it suddenly back, gazing upon him +with his bright flashing eyes, and exclaiming, "No, no! This hand +killed your father and your brother, and you must pursue me to the +death!" + +"No, Franklin," replied Langford, in a calm and quiet tone; "I pursue +you not with any evil intent towards you. What you say is true; that +hand did slay my brother, and aided, perhaps, in taking my father's +life; but that hand too aided and supported my mother; and my father, +not many days before his death, made me promise that I would not seek +for vengeance upon you. He said that he had wronged you in early years, +and that it was fitting your own hand should punish him." + +"He did--he did wrong me!" cried Franklin Gray. "To him I owe all that +is evil in my nature. He had me kidnapped when I was a boy, and would +have fain followed the sweet lady he had deserted. He had me kidnapped, +and carried me away into the south, and made me familiar with blood; +and when I fled from him, he pursued me as if I had been his slave; but +I escaped. And now, Henry, tell me what you seek with me! If you come +not for vengeance, what is it you come for?" + +"I came," replied Langford, "from a personal motive; but I did not +expect, Franklin, to find you in this state, and the thoughts of myself +are swallowed up in pain to find you thus." + +"What! you mean I am mad!" burst forth Franklin Gray. "It is true, I am +mad, madder than any that we used to see nursed by the Brothers of +Charity at Charenton. But what matters that? Every one else is as mad +as myself. Was not she mad to let me think that she had betrayed me? +Was she not madder still to send me word when she was dying that she +had not betrayed me, and to pile coals of fire upon my head? Was she +not mad to die at all, and leave me with this infant?" and sitting upon +the ground, he looked earnestly upon the face of the child, which his +vehemence had awakened up from its sleep. + +After pausing for a few minutes, and pressing his hand tightly upon his +brow, he turned to Langford more collectedly, saying, "You told me you +came here from a personal motive. What was it? Speak quickly, while my +mind will go straight, for my brain is like a horse that has just gone +blind, and wavers from one side of the road to the other." And he +laughed wildly at his own simile. + +"The motive that brought me, Franklin," replied Langford, "was to +obtain from you the papers which you know I have been so long seeking +to possess. My mother's marriage, it seems, cannot be proved without +them." + +Franklin Gray started upon his feet, and gazed with wild surprise in +Langford's face. "I have them not," he exclaimed; "I never touched +them. Did you not take them? It was your own fault, then; and they were +burnt with the house. We rushed out as fast as we could go. I know +nothing further." + +That he spoke truth was so evident, that Langford instantly determined +to say nothing more on the subject, though the disappointment caused +him a bitter pang. But it was useless to enter into any explanations +with the unhappy man before him; and with the usual calm decision of +his character he determined at once to apply himself, as far as +possible, to see what might be done to relieve and comfort him. If he +remained in England, his life would inevitably be sacrificed to the +law, notwithstanding his manifest insanity. He himself, under such +circumstances, could not even intercede in his favour, and the only +hope of saving him from public execution was to induce him to fly to +France, and by giving notice of his condition to some persons of +influence there, to obtain admission for him into the institution which +he himself had mentioned--namely, that of the Brothers of Charity at +Charenton, who devoted themselves to the care of persons in his unhappy +situation. All this passed through his mind in a moment, and he replied +to Franklin Gray at once, "Well, if it be so, it cannot be helped; but +now, Gray, to speak of yourself. You must be aware that you are here in +a very dangerous situation, surrounded by people who are pursuing you +for the express purpose of bringing you to the scaffold. Would it not +be much better for you to fly to France?" + +Franklin Gray gazed in his face for a moment or two, then looked up to +the sky with a sort of half smile. "It would be better," he answered, +at length; "it would be better, and my passage is even taken in a ship +which is to sail, I think, in two days. But what am I to do with the +child?" + +"Oh, I will provide means for its joining you," replied Langford: "it +shall be well taken care of." + +"I have got a little boat, too, down there," said Gray, in a rambling +manner, "which would carry me to the ship in no time." + +Langford looked at the boy Jocelyn with an inquiring glance; but the +youth shook his head, murmuring, in a scarcely audible tone, "There is +no boat." + +Franklin Gray was evidently occupied with other thoughts. He put his +hand again to his head, and then, turning to Henry Langford, he said, +"Henry, we are old companions, and I will take you at your word. +Promise me, as a man and a soldier, that this babe shall be well taken +care of till he joins me. It is a sweet creature, and seldom, if ever, +cries. You will use it as your own, Henry, in every respect as your +own?" + +"I will, indeed," replied Langford; "I will, indeed; but let us think +now how you can best be got off to the vessel." + +But Franklin Gray went on thus:--"And poor Jocelyn, too," he said, +laying his hand upon the boy's head; "you will be kind to him, and +breed him as a soldier?" + +"He had better go with you, Franklin," replied Langford. + +"No," answered Franklin Gray, "No; I shall be better alone;" and at the +same time the boy whispered to Langford, "Humour him; humour him. I +will find means to follow him closely." + +"Will you promise that, too?" demanded Franklin Gray, but instantly +went on without waiting a reply--"Then the baby, too, Henry; you will +be very kind to it, and tender, and love it very much? See, it smiles +at you. Take it in your arms." + +Langford took the child as he held it out to him. Franklin Gray bent +down his head and kissed it; then laid his two muscular hands upon +Langford's shoulders, and gazed gravely and solemnly into his eyes. + +"Henry," he said, "your vow is registered in heaven!" and before +Langford could answer him, he shouted exultingly, "Now I am free! Now I +am free!" + +With a sudden spring forward he reached the ledge on which he had +lately stood, and without pause, or thought, or hesitation, plunged at +once over into empty air. + +The depth below might be near two hundred feet, and the water of the +sea washed the base of the rock. It was in vain that Langford himself +sought, and, with the aid of his servants and some people that they +brought to his assistance, spent the whole of that evening in +endeavouring to find the body of Franklin Gray. It was not till nearly +ten days after that some fishermen found a corpse, with marks of much +violence about it, showing that it must have struck upon the rocks at +the bottom of the water, lying on a sandy spit that ran out from one of +the points of the bay. The clothes proved it to be that of Franklin +Gray; but nobody took any pains to identify it as such. A verdict of +found drowned was returned by the coroner's jury; and it was buried, at +Langford's expense, close to the side of Mona Gray, in the churchyard +on the hills. + +The road which Langford pursued, on his way back, was that which passed +over the moor, as we have before mentioned, near the spot called +Upwater Meer, and thence descending the hill, separated into two +branches, at a point where, on the one hand, the remains of Danemore +Castle, with its wide park and deep woods, were to be seen at the +distance of about four miles, and on the other appeared the graceful +little spire of Moorhurst Church, with the manifold roofs and chimneys +of the Manor House, peeping out of the trees some way in advance. + +When Langford reached that spot, which was at the period of the evening +when the shadows begin to grow long, but before the sun had lost any of +its power, he paused and gazed for several minutes upon the mansion of +his ancestors; saying to it in his own heart, "Farewell for ever. The +things which were to have given you back to me, with all the honours +and pride of high birth and long ancestry, are lost beyond recall. But +never mind. It may be better as it is. I shall escape the temptations +of high estate. Alice will not love me less; and though it may cost Sir +Walter's heart a pang that the legitimacy of my birth is not clear to +the eyes of all men, he himself will not doubt it. It may cause mine a +pang, too, that even a shade should rest upon my mother's name; but I +have done all that could be done." + +Such were his thoughts, though not, perhaps, his words, as, after +gazing for some time upon the castle, he turned, and directed his +horse's head towards Moorhurst. On arriving at the old Manor House, he +looked up with pleasure to see the smoke curling above the trees, the +lattice windows wide open to give admission to the sweet fresh air, and +all bearing that air of comfort and cheerfulness which it used to do. + +There were several persons, not servants, lingering about in the +court-yard, however. There was a look of some vexation in honest +Halliday's face as he gave Langford admission, and some strangers were +in the hall. The events of the last few weeks had brought an +apprehensiveness upon Langford's heart which sorrow can do even to +those who are steeled against danger; and he asked at once if anything +were the matter. + +"Oh, no. His worship and Mistress Alice are both quite well, sir," +replied Halliday, divining Langford's feelings at once. "It is only +that they have brought a poor fellow up before Sir Walter, charged with +stealing, who I am sure never stole; and that Sir Henry Heywood, or +Lord Danemore, as he calls himself--I hope he'll have to uncall himself +soon--is pressing to have him sent to prison at once. Mistress Alice +is up in the village. I am glad she is away, poor thing." + +Langford went on into the library, and, passing without much notice a +group of persons around the prisoner at the end of the long table, he +advanced to Sir Walter, who was sitting with Sir Henry Heywood at some +distance, with a table before them, and some books. The Knight and the +Baronet both rose on seeing Langford; the one to grasp his hand: the +other to make him a more cordial bow than hitherto. + +"Pray, sir, may I ask," he said, immediately, with a certain anxious +quivering of the lip, but with perfect civility, "if you have been +successful in your search?" + +"I have not, sir," replied Langford, honestly; "I have not found what I +sought." + +"Then I presume, sir, that you are not disposed to pursue further your +claims in this matter?" rejoined the other, in a hesitating manner. + +"You are wrong, sir," replied Langford; "I shall pursue it upon such +proofs as are in my possession. If it were but for the purpose of +clearing my mother's fame, I would do so, even if there existed no +chance of my recovering my right." + +"It is a noble feeling, sir," said Sir Henry, with an urbane smile; +"but perhaps there may be a method of compromising this affair. Allow +me one word with you," and so saying, he drew Langford aside into the +recess of one of the windows. "For my own part," he continued, "I am +not ambitious. I am a widower, and shall certainly never marry again. I +have but two daughters--you are a single man--" + +"But one engaged to be married very shortly," replied his auditor, +making him a low bow; and Sir Henry went back to Sir Walter Herbert, +saying, in a fierce and impatient tone, "Let us proceed with the +business before us at once, Sir Waller. I say the man must be +committed, and I call upon you as a magistrate to do so." + +"I do not see the case as you do," answered the good Knight of +Moorhurst; and as he spoke, Langford approached the table also, and, +raising his eyes to the prisoner, at once recognised the poor +half-witted man, Silly John Graves. Though surprised and grieved, he +said nothing, having learned in a hard and difficult school to govern +his first emotions. Standing beside Sir Walter Herbert, however, and +feeling that internal conviction of the man's honesty and truth which +is gained, not alone from great and significant notions, but from small +signs and casual traits, which betray rather than display the heart, he +determined to interpose in the poor man's defence, and not to suffer +the overbearing vehemence of Sir Henry Heywood to crush the calm +simplicity of truth, as overbearing vehemence so generally does in this +world. + +"Why, Sir Waller Herbert," exclaimed Sir Henry Heywood, in the same +sharp tone, "has not the man been found carrying out of Danemore Castle +a valuable cup and silver cover? Has he not been taken in the very +act?" + +"I took nothing but what was my own," said Silly John, gazing upon Sir +Henry Heywood with a shy look, which mingled in strange harmony terror, +and contempt, and hatred; "I took nothing but what was my own, or what +ought never to have been there, or what no one there had a right to." + +"What, then," exclaimed Sir Henry Heywood, "you took more beside the +cup?" + +"Ay, that I did," replied Silly John; "I took the cup because Mistress +Bertha brought it to me full of wine on the night I was shut up there, +in the dark hole under the tower; and she gave me the cup and all, and +said I might keep it; and then the fire came, and I lost the cup; and +so, whenever I was well enough of the burns and the bruises, I went +back again to seek it, and to take my own." + +"Send for Mistress Bertha," said Sir Waller, speaking to one of the +attendants at the lower side of the room; "She is now in the house, +which is fortunate." + +Sir Henry Heywood gnawed his lip, but, as if to fill up the time, he +asked the prisoner, looking keenly at him, "You acknowledge you took +other things out of the Castle before you were caught. What were they, +and what right had you to them? You will see, Sir Walter," he +continued, "that whether Danemore Castle belongs to me, or to this +other gentleman who claims it, it is absolutely necessary that we who +dispute the property, and you who are executor to the will, should +investigate accurately, and prosecute vigorously, every one who +abstracts anything from that building. I ask you again," he added, +addressing the half-witted man, "what it was you admit taking, and what +claim you had thereunto." + +"More claim than you can show," answered Silly John; "for I had some +right, and you have none. And worse than a fox you are, for a fox only +seeks a young bird out of the nest; you seek nest and all. Every one +knows I never told a lie in my life!" + +"Ay, that we do!" cried some voices at the end of the library; but at +that instant Sir Henry Heywood exclaimed, "Silence there! how dare you +disturb the court?" + +"By your leave, Sir Henry," said Sir Walter Herbert. + +But at that moment the woman Bertha entered the room, with the same +cold, calm, and dignified air which had become second nature with her, +and gazing round with a look of inquiry, she demanded, "What is wanted +with me? Who sent for me?" + +The next moment, however, her eves fell upon the half-witted man, as he +stood at the bottom of the table, and clasping her hands together with +emotion, such as no one present had ever beheld her display on any +previous occasion, she exclaimed, "Good God! is it possible? Art thou +living? or art thou risen from the dead? I thought thou hadst been +burnt to ashes in Hubert's tower, which fell amongst the first that +went down. I dared not even mention thy name, for thy confinement +there, and the dreadful fate that I thought had befallen thee, were too +terrible, were too awful for thought even, to rest upon! But now thou +art come to life again to bear witness of the truth and yet," she added +sorrowfully, "they will not hear his testimony, for they will say he is +mad--that he has been mad for years!" + +"Never you fear that, Mistress Bertha," said the half-witted man. "The +foxes let me out before they set fire to the house; and I never forget +anything; so, while they were fighting and tearing each other to +pieces, I went and fingered what do you think?" + +"The papers! the papers!" exclaimed Bertha, almost screaming with joy. + +"Ay, even so," said the half-witted man, thrusting his hand into his +breast. "I found the key upon the door of the room, and I opened the +hole in the wall, and took them out." + +"What right had you with them!" thundered Sir Henry Heywood, who had +sat by, no unconcerned spectator of the scene. "What right had you with +anything in that place! You confess robbery!" + +"What right had I with them?" exclaimed Silly John, with a wild laugh. +"Why, you are as foolish as if you had been born before Noah's flood! +Wasn't there the leaf of the register which they cut out of my own +register-book just about the time I first went mad, when I was usher of +Uppington Grammar School, and clerk of the parish! and did not that +make me madder than before? Who had any right to the leaf but I? and +there it is!" and he spread out upon the table an old yellow leaf of +paper, written over both sides with pale ink, and bearing the traces of +many foldings. + +"If is a falsehood! a forgery!" exclaimed Sir Henry Heywood. "It is got +up for the occasion! It is a conspiracy! Let me see the sheet!" and he +started forward to snatch it up from the table; but at that moment Mr. +Evelyn, the lawyer, stepped in before him, and laid his hand firmly +upon it. + +"By your leave, sir," he said, "this valuable document is fingered by +nobody. Do not, bend your brows on me, sir. I am firm! Clerk, take up +the document, and be you responsible for it. If Sir Henry chooses to +bring this business into court, he may; but if he will take my advice +he will listen to a few quiet words. While thinking that my noble +client and patron, the young Earl of Danemore, here present," and he +pointed to Langford, "would certainly obtain this same document from +another source, I busied myself eagerly to obtain every collateral +testimony which could prove the identity of the leaf that had been so +nicely extracted from the register; and I have here, under my hand, the +certificates of five marriages which took place in that same year in +the parish of Uppington, which are not now to be found in the volume of +the register, but which will be found, I will answer for it, in the +leaf that is now produced. This will be confirmation, beyond all doubt, +if it be so. Clerk, compare the papers!" + +"Oh, but that is all nonsense, Master Turney," cried Silly John; +"there's no need of comparing anything. Was not I clerk of the parish +myself, and witness of the marriage? And besides, here's the +certificate of the marriage in the Rev. Jonathan Whattle's own hand. +Anybody in the place will swear to the drunken parson's handwriting. +The only difference was, that it was more crooked and shaky when he was +sober than when he was drunk; and here's my own handwriting to it, as I +used to write in those days. God help me! I've nearly forgotten how to +write now. And then there's Mistress Bertha's there; her hand is to it +too, and a Frenchman's hand that was with them at the time. I remember +very well. And here's another paper besides, written in a tongue I +don't understand, which is all the more likely to prove a matter of +moment. God help us all! we're as blind as kittens of time days old, +and can tell nothing of what will happen at the end of the nine." + +"Sir," said the clerk, who had been busily looking over the papers, "I +find all these extracts placed at intervals in the leaf of the register +before me. There are nine or ten others, too, which could doubtless +easily be traced. Shall I send for the register of Uppington to compare +the book and the leaf?" + +"It is unnecessary, sir; it is unnecessary," said Sir Henry Heywood, +making a virtue of necessity. "My Lord the Earl of Danemore, I +congratulate you on your unexpected accession to such honours and so +much wealth. That you have cast me out from them I forgive you. +Disappointed I must feel; but that disappointment, believe me, proceeds +more from affection for my two poor girls, whose inheritance will be +but their father's sword, useless in their hands, and their mother's +virtues, which God grant may adorn them always, than from the loss of +rank and wealth to myself. Sir, I give you good morning, and leave +you." + +"Stop a moment, Sir Henry Heywood," said Langford; "a word in your ear +before you go." That word was spoken in a moment, but Sir Henry +Heywood's face was in that moment lighted up with joy, and grasping +Langford's hand in both his own, he exclaimed, "Indeed! indeed, my +Lord, you are too generous!" + +"Not so, Sir Henry," replied Langford; "for the present, adieu. We will +meet to-morrow at Danemore Castle, and all shall be settled entirely. +Sir Walter," he added, in a lower tone, "there is some one whom I would +fain see, in this moment of joy and agitation, before I say a word more +to any one." + +"She must have returned by this time," said Sir Walter. "Let us go!" + +They went out, and proceeded to the ladies' withdrawing-room, where +they found Alice, with her beautiful eyes raised anxiously towards the +door. As soon as she saw Langford, she sprang up to meet him, with the +whole pure unrestrained joy of her heart beaming forth upon that lovely +face. + +"Alice," said Sir Walter, with a touch of his kindly stateliness, "this +is the Earl of Danemore!" + +"Your own Henry, ever dearest Alice," said Langford, casting his arms +round her; and then, while he held her to his bosom with one hand, he +extended the other to Sir Walter. "Most excellent and generous friend, +I have never yet asked your consent with my own lips. Do you give her +to me? Will you part with this great--this inestimable treasure?" + +"I will give her to you, Henry," replied Sir Walter, "with all my heart +and soul. I will give her to you, but I will not part with her. I must +have a garret in the Castle, my dear boy! There, there; I give her to +you. She is yours. God's blessing and her father's be upon your heads!" + +So saying, he clasped their hands in each other's, and they were happy. + + + + THE END. + + + + ------------------------------ + Woodfall and Kinder, Printers, Milford Lane, Strand, London, W.C. + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Robber, A Tale., by +G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 49859 *** |