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diff --git a/old/65932-h/65932-h.htm b/old/65932-h/65932-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 1f483ad..0000000 --- a/old/65932-h/65932-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,14218 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd"> - -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en"> - -<head> - -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg" /> - -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> - -<title> -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Royal Regiment, by James Grant -</title> - -<style type="text/css"> -body { color: black; - background: white; - margin-right: 10%; - margin-left: 10%; - font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; - text-align: justify } - -p {text-indent: 4% } - -p.noindent {text-indent: 0% } - -p.t1 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 200%; - text-align: center } - -p.t2 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 150%; - text-align: center } - -p.t2b {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 150%; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center } - -p.t3 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 100%; - text-align: center } - -p.t3b {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 100%; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center } - -p.t4 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 80%; - text-align: center } - -p.t4b {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 80%; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center } - -p.t5 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 60%; - text-align: center } - -h1 { text-align: center } -h2 { text-align: center } -h3 { text-align: center } -h4 { text-align: center } -h5 { text-align: center } - -p.poem {text-indent: 0%; - font-size: 90% ; - margin-left: 10%; } - -p.thought {text-indent: 0% ; - letter-spacing: 4em ; - text-align: center } - -p.letter {text-indent: 0%; - font-size: 90% ; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -p.footnote {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 90%; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -.smcap { font-variant: small-caps } - -p.transnote {text-indent: 0% ; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -p.intro {font-size: 90% ; - text-indent: -5% ; - margin-left: 5% ; - margin-right: 0% } - -p.quote {text-indent: 4% ; - font-size: 90% ; - margin-left: 0% ; - margin-right: 0% } - -p.finis { font-size: larger ; - text-align: center ; - text-indent: 0% ; - margin-left: 0% ; - margin-right: 0% } - -</style> - -</head> - -<body> - -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Royal Regiment and Other Novelettes, by James Grant</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Royal Regiment and Other Novelettes</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: James Grant</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: July 27, 2021 [eBook #65932]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Al Haines</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROYAL REGIMENT AND OTHER NOVELETTES ***</div> - -<h1> -<br /><br /> - THE<br /> -<br /> - ROYAL REGIMENT<br /> -</h1> - -<p class="t3"> - AND<br /> -<br /> - OTHER NOVELETTES<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3b"> - BY<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t2"> - JAMES GRANT<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t4"> - AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "THE LORD HERMITAGE,"<br /> - "VERE OF OURS," ETC.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - LONDON<br /> - GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, LIMITED<br /> - BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL<br /> - GLASGOW, MANCHESTER, AND NEW YORK<br /> -<br /> - 1879<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t2"> - LONDON:<br /> - BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO. LIMD., PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3b"> - JAMES GRANT'S NOVELS.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t3"> - <i>Price 2s. each. Fancy Boards.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - THE ROMANCE OF WAR.<br /> - THE AIDE-DE-CAMP.<br /> - THE SCOTTISH CAVALIER.<br /> - BOTHWELL.<br /> - JANE SETON: OR, THE QUEEN'S ADVOCATE.<br /> - PHILIP ROLLO.<br /> - THE BLACK WATCH.<br /> - MARY OF LORRAINE.<br /> - OLIVER ELLIS; OR, THE FUSILEERS.<br /> - LUCY ARDEN: OR, HOLLYWOOD HALL.<br /> - FRANK HILTON: OR, THE QUEEN'S OWN.<br /> - THE YELLOW FRIGATE.<br /> - HARRY OGILVIE; OR, THE BLACK DRAGOONS.<br /> - ARTHUR BLANE.<br /> - LAURA EVERINGHAM; OR, THE HIGHLANDERS OF GLENORA.<br /> - THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD.<br /> - LETTY HYDE'S LOVERS.<br /> - CAVALIERS OF FORTUNE.<br /> - SECOND TO NONE.<br /> - THE CONSTABLE OF FRANCE.<br /> - THE PHANTOM REGIMENT.<br /> - THE KING'S OWN BORDERERS.<br /> - THE WHITE COCKADE.<br /> - FIRST LOVE AND LAST LOVE.<br /> - DICK ROONEY.<br /> - THE GIRL HE MARRIED.<br /> - LADY WEDDERBURN'S WISH.<br /> - JACK MANLY.<br /> - ONLY AN ENSIGN.<br /> - ADVENTURES OF ROB ROY.<br /> - UNDER THE RED DRAGON.<br /> - THE QUEEN'S CADET.<br /> - SHALL I WIN HER?<br /> - FAIRER THAN A FAIRY.<br /> - ONE OF THE SIX HUNDRED.<br /> - MORLEY ASHTON.<br /> - DID SHE LOVE HIM?<br /> - THE ROSS-SHIRE BUFFS.<br /> - SIX YEARS AGO.<br /> - VERE OF OURS.<br /> - THE LORD HERMITAGE.<br /> - THE ROYAL REGIMENT.<br /> - THE DUKE OF ALBANY'S OWN HIGHLANDERS.<br /> - THE CAMERONIANS.<br /> - THE DEAD TRYST.<br /> - THE SCOT'S BRIGADE.<br /> - VIOLET JERMYN.<br /> - JACK CHALONER.<br /> - MISS CHEYNE OF ESSILMONT.<br /> - THE ROYAL HIGHLANDERS.<br /> - COLVILLE OF THE GUARDS.<br /> - DULCIE CARLYON.<br /> - PLAYING WITH FIRE.<br /> - DERVAL HAMPTON.<br /> - LOVE'S LABOUR WON.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3b"> -CONTENTS. -</p> - -<p class="t3b"> -THE ROYAL REGIMENT. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> -CHAPTER I. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap0101"> -THE RUTHVENS OF ARDGOWRIE -</a> -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -CHAPTER II. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap0102"> -THE FATAL DAY OF THE RUTHVENS -</a> -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -CHAPTER III. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap0103"> -THE CABINET OF SCINDIA -</a> -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -CHAPTER IV. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap0104"> -"PONTIUS PILATE'S GUARDS" -</a> -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -CHAPTER V. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap0105"> -AURELIA DARNEL -</a> -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -CHAPTER VI. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap0106"> -COLONEL SMASH -</a> -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -CHAPTER VII. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap0107"> -"LOVE WAS YET THE LORD OF ALL" -</a> -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -CHAPTER VIII. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap0108"> -THE INSURRECTION -</a> -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -CHAPTER IX. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap0109"> -THE ABDUCTION OF AURELIA -</a> -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -CHAPTER X. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap0110"> -THE END GROWING NEAR -</a> -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -CHAPTER XI. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap0111"> -ST. EUSTACHE STORMED -</a> -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -CHAPTER XII. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap0112"> -CONCLUSION -</a> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap02"> -THE SECRET MARRIAGE -</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap03"> -THE STUDENT'S STORY -</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap04"> -CLARE THORNE'S TEMPTATION -</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap05"> -THE GREAT SEA SERPENT -</a> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3b"> -MILITARY "FOLK LORE." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> -CHAPTER I. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap0601"> -THE RED COAT; A FEW NOTES CONCERNING ITS ORIGIN AND HISTORY -</a> -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -CHAPTER II. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap0602"> -FURTHER NOTES ON ITS HISTORY AND ON REGIMENTALS -</a> -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -CHAPTER III. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap0603"> -FAMOUS AND ANCIENT BANNERS -</a> -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -CHAPTER IV. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap0604"> -FAMOUS AND ANCIENT CANNON -</a> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap07"> -STORY OF A MERCHANT CAPTAIN -</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap08"> -THE STORY OF RENÉE OF ANGERS -</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap09"> -ANNA SCHONLEBEN -</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -<a href="#chap10"> -LAURA WENLOCK'S CHRISTMAS EVE -</a> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0101"></a></p> - -<h2> -THE ROYAL REGIMENT. -</h2> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER I. -<br /><br /> -THE RUTHVENS OF ARDGOWRIE. -</h3> - -<p> -"Thank Heaven, then I am not too late!" -exclaimed Roland Ruthven, as he sprung on the horse -that awaited him at the door of the hotel where he had -arrived but an hour before; "there is no message for -me specially?" -</p> - -<p> -"None, sir," said the mounted groom, touching his -hat, and shortening his gathered reins. -</p> - -<p> -"My father——" -</p> - -<p> -"Is living still, Master Roland; but that is all, I -fear," replied the old man, with a sigh. -</p> - -<p> -"Come on then, Buckle, old fellow; I think the grey -nag knows my voice, though I have not been on his -back for four years." -</p> - -<p> -And spurring his horse, "Master Roland," as the -grey-haired groom still called him, though he was nearer -thirty than twenty years of age, and had held Her -Majesty's commission for ten of them, departed at a -rasping pace that soon left the stately streets, the spires -and shipping of Aberdeen far behind them. -</p> - -<p> -The royal residence at Balmoral had barely as yet -been thought of, and railways had not then penetrated -into the valley of the Dee; thus, all anxious as Roland -Ruthven was to learn details of the perilous illness of -the fine old soldier his father—the only kinsman he -had in the world—at whose summons he had crossed -two thousand miles and more of sea, he could only trust -now to the speed of his horse, and without further -questioning old Bob Buckle the groom, rode at a hard -and furious gallop along the old familiar ways that led -towards his home among the mountains, behind which -the bright sun of a glorious evening—one of the last in -June—was sinking. -</p> - -<p> -Closely rode the old groom behind him, marvelling to -find that the little golden-haired boy, whom he had first -trained to ride a shaggy Shetlander, had now become a -dark-whiskered, tall, and handsome man, well set up by -infantry drill, and with all that air and bearing which -our officers, beyond those of all other European armies, -alone acquire, developed in chest and muscle by every -manly sport; and he could recall, but with a sigh, how -like "Master Roland" was now, to what the old dying -Laird his father had been at the same age, when his -regiment, the Royal Scots, was adding to its honours in -the Peninsula—more years ago than he cared to -reckon now. -</p> - -<p> -And vividly in fancy too, did Roland Ruthven see -before him the figure and face of that handsome old -man, ere the latter became lined with care and thoughts -and even his voice seemed to come distinctly to his ear, -as the familiar objects of the well-remembered scenery -came to view in quick succession, and at last Ardgowrie, -the home of his family, rose before him in the distance, -its strong walls shining redly in the setting sun. -</p> - -<p> -Situated among luxuriant woods, in all their summer -greenery, Ardgowrie presents the elements common to -most of the northern mansions of the same age and -kind—a multitude of crow-stepped gables encrusted -with coats of arms, conical turrets, and angular dormer -windows, giving a general effect extremely rich and -picturesque, as their outlines cut the deep blue of the -sky. -</p> - -<p> -Notwithstanding its age, Ardgowrie is unconnected -with the usual memories of crime and violence which -form the general history of an old Scottish feudal -fortalice, and yet it stands in the glorious valley of the -Dee, between the central highlands and the fruitful -lowlands, where in former ages it has been said "that the -inhabitants of the two districts, thus joined by a common -highway, were as unlike each other in language, manners -and character as the French and the Germans, or the -Arabs and the Caffres." -</p> - -<p> -"At last!" exclaimed Roland, with a sigh of satisfaction, -as he spurred his horse down a long and rather -gloomy avenue of genuine old Scottish firs, dignified -and magnificent trees, with massive trunks of dusky -red, and foliage of bronze-like hue. "Ardgowrie at -last!" he added, as he reined up at the stately entrance -of his home, for to this moment had he looked forward -with intense anxiety during the long voyage from -America, while his affectionate heart had beat -responsive to every throb of the mighty engines of the -great Atlantic steamer. -</p> - -<p> -<i>Home!</i> How much does that word contain to the exile -or the wanderer! "What a feeling does that simple -word convey to his ears, who knows really the blessings -of a home," says an Irish writer, who found his grave -in a far and foreign land; "that shelter from the world, -its jealousies and its envies, its turmoils and -disappointments, where like some land-locked bay the still, -calm waters sleep in silence, while the storm and -hurricanes are roaring without." -</p> - -<p> -The sound of hoofs in the avenue brought a number -of domestics to welcome him home in the kindly old -Scottish way, and he had to shake hands with all, -especially with Gavin Runlet, the white-haired butler, Elspat -Gorm, the old Highland housekeeper, who had donned -her best black silk, with the whitest of "mutches," in -honour of the occasion: and then, too, came, though -last, certainly not the least in his own estimation, with -eyes keen as those of an eagle, and massive red beard, -a thick-set sturdy figure, and bare limbs brown and -hairy as those of a mountain deer, the family piper, -Aulay Macaulay, whose boast it was that he came of the -Macaulays of Ardencaple, and was a worthier scion of -the clan than the historian of the same name. -</p> - -<p> -Aulay had his pipes under his left arm, but no note of -triumph or salute could come from them, when the -Laird was in his dire extremity, and a great hush -seemed over all the household. He had been a piper -of the Royal Scots during the campaign in Burmah, and, -like Bob Buckle and several others of the grand old -regiment, had found a home with their loved Colonel -at Ardgowrie. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, Elspat, old friend," said Roland, as he leaped -from his foam-flecked horse and tossed the reins to Bob -Buckle, "how is my father to-night?" -</p> - -<p> -"The doctor will tell you better than I," replied the -old domestic, quietly, and with bated voice; "he has, -thank Heaven, fallen asleep after a restless day, and, as -sleep is like life to him——" -</p> - -<p> -"Let him not be disturbed. I shall see him when he -wakens," said Roland, as the servants fell back at his -approach, and the butler and housekeeper led the -way to the dining-room, where a repast awaited him, -and at which they attended upon him in all the fussiness -of affection and reverence as the future head of the -house. -</p> - -<p> -"Ewhow! but I am glad to see you here again, -Master Roland," exclaimed Elspat, with whom we need -not trouble the reader much. "Ewhow!" she continued, -stroking his thick dark brown hair, as she had -been wont to do in his boyhood, "we have had an eerie -time o't wi' the Laird in his illness, and last night I -thought the worst was close at hand." -</p> - -<p> -"Why, Elspat? why?" asked Roland, pausing over -the liver wing of a chicken, while Runlet filled his glass -with sparkling Moselle. -</p> - -<p> -"Because the dogs in the kennel howled fearfully." -</p> - -<p> -"Where was the keeper?" -</p> - -<p> -"A' the keepers in the world wouldna quiet them!" -she replied, shaking her old head. -</p> - -<p> -"Why?" -</p> - -<p> -"Dogs can see and ken when death enters a house." -</p> - -<p> -"Death!—is my father's case so bad?" asked Roland, -growing very pale, and setting down his glass. -</p> - -<p> -"Bad—it couldna weel be worse," said she, in a -broken voice, as she began to weep; "but the doctor—" -</p> - -<p> -"Is in the house, I understand. Tell him that I am -here. Oh, Elspat, have I crossed the broad Atlantic -only to face death and sorrow?" -</p> - -<p> -"Death and sorrow!" she added, shaking her head, -"and I dread the fifth of August—it has aye been a -fatal day to the Ruthvens. It was on that day your -lady mother died, and on that day your uncle Philip, -that should have been Laird, went forth and returned no -more!" -</p> - -<p> -Roland started impatiently to his feet, and something -of a disdainful smile crossed his handsome face. -</p> - -<p> -There is something grand and noble in the position -of such a young man as he was—the descendant and -representative of a long line of stainless ancestry, having -the sense of carrying out its destiny in the future, and -being the transmitter to other times and generations of -its lofty traits and distinction. -</p> - -<p> -No gamblers, "legs," or turf transactions ever -degraded the line of Ardgowrie (pigeons there may have -been, but never hawks), which, in a collateral branch, -represented the attainted Earls of Gowrie and Lords of -Ruthven, and if Roland had any weakness it was family -pride, which he inherited from his father, who had left -nothing undone to develop it; and with it grew the -idea and conviction, that death were better than for a -Ruthven to do aught that was dishonourable. -</p> - -<p> -The second article of Roland's faith, like that of his -father, was a profound veneration for the old Royal -Scots, in which so many of the Ruthvens had lived and -died, that they deemed it quite a family regiment, and -many knew of no home out of it, and many, too, in -battle or otherwise, had found their graves under its -colours in all parts of the world. -</p> - -<p> -As his father's son, Roland was a favourite with both -battalions of the Royal Regiment, and he was the life -and soul of the mess, and the most popular man in it. -</p> - -<p> -In friendly rivalry with his chief chum and -brother-sub, Hector Logan, of Loganbraes and that ilk (of -whom more anon), he was the "show man" of the -Royals. None occupied the box-seat of the regimental -drag, or tooled the team to race-meetings or elsewhere, -in a better style than Roland; in the cricket field, when -stumps were down, and the runs were growing few, his -batting and bowling were the last hope of the regimental -eleven; and at hurdle-racing or steeple-chasing he was -ever ready to ride any man's horse, however desperate -the leaps or wild the animal, if he had not entered one -for himself. Moreover, his good figure and social -qualities, his known wealth and high spirit, made him -a prime favourite with the other sex wherever the -regiment went, and none could see any man's wife or -daughter more adroitly or gracefully through a crush -at the Opera, or anywhere else, than Roland Ruthven of -the Royal Scots. -</p> - -<p> -In all this he was exactly what his proud old father -had been before him; but the latter indulged in -aspirations that never occurred to Roland. -</p> - -<p> -That even at this remote time Queen Victoria might -restore the earldom of Gowrie to his family after the -lapse of two hundred and forty years, had been the -dearest hope of the old Colonel's life, especially in his -latter years. It was a child's whim; yet other titles, -such as Mar, Perth, and Kellie, had been restored, he -was wont to say. -</p> - -<p> -With all his long service he had failed to win great -laurels as an officer, and now his hopes were centred -on his only son; but as yet the fields of the Crimea had -not been fought, and great wars seemed to have become -things of the past. -</p> - -<p> -Though ever kind, loving, and affectionate to Roland, -the latter found that in his latter years his father had -become somewhat of a stern, moody, and morose man, -almost repellant to his county neighbours, whom as -years went on he seemed to avoid more and more, and -of this peculiarity Roland was thinking as the doctor, a -spruce and dapper little personage, entered with his -professional smile, and warmly welcomed him home, -adding,— -</p> - -<p> -"I have but to deplore the occasion of it, my dear sir." -</p> - -<p> -"But what is his ailment, doctor?" -</p> - -<p> -"I can scarcely say—it seems to be a general break -up of the whole system." -</p> - -<p> -"At his years that can scarcely be." -</p> - -<p> -"He has been sorely changed since you were last at -Ardgowrie, my dear sir; and there seems—there -seems——" -</p> - -<p> -The doctor paused, and played nervously with his -watch-chain. -</p> - -<p> -"There seems what?" asked Roland, bluntly. -</p> - -<p> -"Something that I scarcely like to hint at." -</p> - -<p> -"How, sir?" -</p> - -<p> -"Well, if you will pardon my saying so, he seems to -suffer more from illness of the mind than of the body." -</p> - -<p> -"Of the mind?" asked Roland, haughtily. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; as if some secret preyed upon him. I have -watched him closely from time to time, for the last few -years, and such, my dear sir, is my firm conviction." -</p> - -<p> -"Your idea seems to me incomprehensible, doctor." -</p> - -<p> -"There is a skeleton in every house," said the other -with a simper. -</p> - -<p> -"Sir, you forget yourself," exclaimed Roland, with -haughty surprise. "What skeleton could be in ours?" -</p> - -<p> -"Pardon me—I used but a proverb. Your father is -awake now," he added, as a distant bell rang. And -Roland, considerably agitated and ruffled by what had -passed, repaired at once to the sick chamber. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0102"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER II. -<br /><br /> -THE FATAL DAY OF THE RUTHVENS. -</h3> - -<p> -The affectionate and filial heart of Roland was wrung -by the wan and haggard aspect of his father, who -looked as grim and pale as that other Patrick Ruthven, -whose ghastly visage in his helmet had so appalled the -luckless Mary on the night that Rizzio was slain; but -the old man's eyes brightened, his colour came back for -a time, and his strength even seemed to rally as his son -embraced him. -</p> - -<p> -"You have lost no time in attending my summons, -Roland," said he, retaining the latter's hand within his -own. -</p> - -<p> -"I left Montreal by the first steamer, my dear -father, but I got away with difficulty." -</p> - -<p> -"Why?" -</p> - -<p> -"A revolt among the colonists is daily expected; but -when I mentioned your illness, the Colonel at once -obtained leave for me from the General at Halifax." -</p> - -<p> -"Dear old Geordie Wetherall! I remember him a -sub in his first red coat, when we were ensigns together, -in the "rookery," as we called it, in Edinburgh -Castle. Ah, few of the Royals of that day are surviving -now. They have nearly all gone before me to the -Land o' the Leal! But in fancy I can see them all yet." -</p> - -<p> -Then, though ailing nigh unto death, true to his old -instincts, almost the first questions he asked of Roland -were about their old regiment, its strength and -appearance, of the officers and rank and file; and then he -sighed again, to think that none remembered him save -old Geordie Wetherall, a veteran of the conquest of -Java; and all these questions Roland had to answer, -ere he could lure his father to speak of himself, and -when the latter did so, his spirit fell, his colour faded, -and the momentary lustre died out of his eyes, though -the glassy glare of illness still remained. -</p> - -<p> -"I hope the alleged danger of this mysterious illness -is exaggerated," said Roland, tenderly and anxiously; -"and that ere I return to the regiment, I shall see you -well and strong—ay, perhaps taking your fences as of -old with Bob Buckle at your back." -</p> - -<p> -The old Laird of Ardgowrie smiled sadly, and turned -restlessly on his pillow—and a handsome man he was, -even in age, with a wonderful likeness to his son, -having the same straight nose and mouth clean cut and -chiselled, "the prerogative of the highly born," as -Lever has it—for Patrick Ruthven belonged to the -untitled noblesse of Scotland, the lineage of some of whom -stretches far back into the shadowy past. -</p> - -<p> -"I am lying in my last bed save one, Roland," said -the sufferer, in low concentrated voice; "we have not -all died in our beds, we Ruthvens of that ilk, but it -shall be said that all have died with honour except——" -</p> - -<p> -"Except <i>who</i>, father?" -</p> - -<p> -The old man trembled as if with ague, and closed his -eyes, as he said hoarsely— -</p> - -<p> -"I cannot tell you—in time you will know all!" -</p> - -<p> -"You have been a good soldier to the Queen, father." -</p> - -<p> -"But a bad servant to her Master." -</p> - -<p> -"Do not speak thus!" said Roland, imploringly. -</p> - -<p> -"The heart knoweth its own bitterness; and I have -been bad, evil, wicked—false!" -</p> - -<p> -"This is some fancy." -</p> - -<p> -"It is <i>not</i>!" said Patrick Ruthven, emphatically. -</p> - -<p> -"Then can I make amends?" -</p> - -<p> -"You may, if it is not too late, my poor Roland. -Oh, my God!" -</p> - -<p> -These mysterious words filled the listener with -genuine grief and alarm. Was it all some hallucination? -What did they import or refer to? For much -in his father's moody and wayward life, in his latter -years especially, seemed to corroborate them, and to -hint that there was "a skeleton in the house," as the -doctor had ventured to say. -</p> - -<p> -"I will have no clergyman about me," said the -sufferer, petulantly and almost passionately, in reply to -some remark of Roland's. -</p> - -<p> -"Why?" -</p> - -<p> -"I hope to make my peace with God alone. The -Reverend Ephraim Howie, to whom I gave the living -of Ardgowrie! What can he, or such as he, do for -me now?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, father!" -</p> - -<p> -"No one ever prospered who grew rich by fraud, it -has been said—yet have I, in a manner, prospered," -added the old man, as if communing with himself. -</p> - -<p> -"You, father?" exclaimed Roland, whose blood -seemed to grow very cold. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes—I." -</p> - -<p> -"How—how?" -</p> - -<p> -"I cannot—dare not tell you. Hush!" he added, -glancing stealthily about, as Mr. Runlet, the butler, -placed two shaded candles, in massive antique silver -holders, on the toilet table, and withdrew, and Roland -thought— -</p> - -<p> -"Poor old man—his mind wanders!" -</p> - -<p> -"My mind is <i>not</i> wandering." -</p> - -<p> -"I never said so, father." -</p> - -<p> -"But you seem to think so—I can read it in your -eyes. I have been successful in life, and leave at death -a handsome fortune to one who has <i>no</i> right to it—<i>you</i>, -my son—you whom I love better than my own soul!" -he exclaimed, in a broken voice that seemed full of -tears, and a great horror began to possess the heart of -the listener. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh heaven—heaven! he is mad!" -</p> - -<p> -"Would that I had died at the head of the Royals, -when I led them at Nagpore!" -</p> - -<p> -Intense perplexity mingled with the natural grief of -Roland, for the whole tenor of this interview was so -utterly beyond all that he could have anticipated. -</p> - -<p> -In a half fatuous manner, the patient was muttering -to himself, and in great agony of mind, Roland listened -intently. -</p> - -<p> -"Live it down, people say—I have lived it down—it -was never known indeed! Poor Philip—poor -Philip! One may live down a lie, but not the truth—it -is the truth that hurts—that never may be lived -down. I ever thought a day of retribution would come, -and it is coming—fast!" -</p> - -<p> -"Retribution for what?" asked Roland, in a low -but passionate voice. -</p> - -<p> -"Could I face the malevolence of the vulgar on one -hand, and the scorn of my equals on the other?—no—oh -no!" continued his father, speaking in a low voice, -and at long gasping intervals, as if to himself. "It -has been truly said, that 'manner and tone of voice -may be made to give stabs, only less sharp and cowardly -than vile and baseless calumny.... There is no -insolence like the insolence of the well-born and -well-bred; and the most vulgar and purse-proud wife of the -most purse-proud plutocrat is altogether inferior in her -capacity to inflict pain and give offence to the patrician -lady of title.' I have been spared all that—for I cast -the die in secret!" -</p> - -<p> -"What die?" asked Roland imploringly. -</p> - -<p> -The old man regarded him wildly, as if for a time he -had forgotten his presence. -</p> - -<p> -"When I am dead and gone—dead and gone, dear -Roland, you will know all." -</p> - -<p> -"Why not now?" -</p> - -<p> -"Because I—even hovering on the brink of eternity—blush -to tell you. Oh, what a thing it is for a father -to cower like a very craven before his only son, and yet, -Roland, you know how I have loved you. When I am -gone and buried, Roland, open the old Indian cabinet that -I found on the day when the Royals stormed Scindia's -fortress of Neembolah—read the sealed packet you will -find there—and—and pray for me." -</p> - -<p> -These were almost the last coherent words his father -spoke; and he uttered them with the veins in his -temples throbbing, and as if the most bitter of all -emotions, self scorn, wrung his heart, and then he seemed -to sink fast. But he lingered for some days after this, -and though his words, manner, and injunction, filled -Roland with grief and intense curiosity, he resolved to -obey him to the letter and not open the cabinet till -end came, and the doctor assured him it was near now. -</p> - -<p> -"Under what hallucination can the poor old man be -labouring?" thought Roland, as he sat alone in the -stately dining-room—a veritable hall—and thought -how proud he who was about to pass away to a dark -and narrow home, had been of Ardgowrie and all its -details and surroundings—its stately park where the -deer made their lair among the green ferns, its dark -blue loch full of pike, and the pine plantations where -the pheasant pea-fowl were thick as the cones that lay -around them. -</p> - -<p> -Daily by the sun, nightly by the moon, for many -centuries, had the same shadows of the quaint old -house been cast on the same places, and it was now an -epitome of a proud historic past. It had entertained -more than one king of Scotland, and everything in the -old mansion was on a grand scale, from the portraits -by Jamesone and Vandyck (who married a Ruthven of -Gowrie, by the way) to the massive cups won in many -a race that glittered on the sideboard. Above the -latter, a splendid full-length of the "bonnie Earl" who -was wont to flirt with Anne of Denmark in Falkland -Woods, and who on the 5th of August, 1600, perished -in the famous conspiracy, had its place of honour; and -among other portraits of later times, was one by Sir -Watson Gordon of the present proprietor, in his uniform -as a field officer of the Royal Scots. -</p> - -<p> -The massive mantelpiece of the early Stuart times -ascended to the ceiling. It was an exact copy of the -famous one in Gowrie House at Perth, and over it in -Gothic letters was the same remarkable and apposite -legend borne by the former:— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Truths long concealed at length emerge to light,<br /> - And controverted facts are rendered bright."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -But Roland now perceived with genuine wonder, that -the couplet had been chiselled completely away, and -the stone frieze was now smooth and bare. -</p> - -<p> -"By whose orders was this done, Runlet?" he asked -with angry surprise. -</p> - -<p> -"Those of the Laird, your father," replied the -butler. -</p> - -<p> -"When?" -</p> - -<p> -"Just before his last illness." -</p> - -<p> -"Why?" -</p> - -<p> -"I cannot say, Mr. Roland, but he has done some -queer things of late," he added with diffidence. -</p> - -<p> -On that mantelpiece were cut the Ruthven arms, -bars and lozenges, within a border flowered and -counter-flowered, crested with a goat's head, and above them -hung the tattered colours of Ruthven's battalion of the -1st Royal Scots—one of four—which had borne them -in triumph from the plains of Corunna to the gates of -Paris, covered with trophies, among which are still -the cross of St. Andrew and the crowned thistle of -James VI. -</p> - -<p> -Off the dining hall opened a long and lofty corridor -hung with moth-eaten tapestries of russet and green -hues and with trophies of arms, each having its -history; such as the helmet of Sir Walter Ruthven who -died by the side of King David at the battle of Durham; -the sword of Sir William who became hostage for -King James I.; the pennon of the Master of Ruthven -who fell at Flodden, and weapons of later wars, with -trophies of the chase, heads and skulls of lions shot in -Africa, tigers in Bengal, bears in Russia, of elephants -from the miasmatic Terrai of Nepaul—spoils wherever -his father had served; and of noble deer from the -forests of the adjacent hills. -</p> - -<p> -From all these objects and the drooping colours of -the grand old regiment, Roland's eyes would wander -again and again to settle on the cabinet of Scindia, and -he would marvel <i>what</i> it contained—if indeed it -contained any secret whatever! -</p> - -<p> -With a fond, proud and yet sad smile he looked at -the portrait of more than one fair ancestress, and -thought, -</p> - -<p> -"The girl I left behind me is fairer than them all!" -</p> - -<p> -For in Montreal he had left Aurelia Darnel de -St. Eustache, whom we shall meet in time. A kind of -half-flirtation—something even more tender and taking -had subsisted between them, and but for his sudden -summons home, it would have assumed greater -proportions and had a firmer basis; he would have -explained to her the nature and extent of his love for -her, and obtained some pledge or promise from her, -with the consent of her mother, for father she had none -now; and when Elspat Gorm spoke apprehensively of -the 5th of August, as being "the fatal day of the -Ruthvens," he would think, with a smile, -</p> - -<p> -"I hope not, as it was on the evening of that day, I -first met Aurelia at our ball in Montreal! Would that -I could tell the poor old man who is passing away, of -my love, and gain his permission to address her; for -she must know of my love for her and will await my -return; but I would that he could see her, even as I -in memory see her now!" -</p> - -<p> -And before him came a mental vision of a very -beautiful girl, whose dark hair and long black lashes -contrasted with the pale delicacy of her skin, her pencilled -eyebrows rather straight than arched, a calm loveliness -in her face when, in repose, but a brightness over it all, -when she was animated, when her soft eyes lighted up -and her lips became tremulous. -</p> - -<p> -"Aurelia!" he whispered to himself, and marvelled -if the time would ever come, when he would bring her -hither to be the queen of his life, and of beautiful -Ardgowrie. -</p> - -<p> -Day by day, his father was sinking, and all the -powers of medicine could do nothing for him; his -ailment was not old age but a passing away of the powers -of life. The old Highland housekeeper, Elspat, had -much contempt for the nostrums of the doctor, and -believing her master to be under the spell of a -gipsy-woman whom he had sent to prison for theft, -maintained that he would never be cured, until the parings -of his finger nails and a lock of his hair were buried in -the earth with a live cock, a remnant of ancient -Paganrie, which the reign of Victoria still finds -prevailing in some parts of the Highlands. -</p> - -<p> -So, as she fully expected, the morning of the 5th of -August, saw the old Laird expire peacefully, after -playing fatuously with the coverlet, and muttering that -he could "hear the drums of the Royal beating the old -Scots March," and the lamenting wail of Macaulay's -pipe was heard on the terrace without, as Roland -closed his father's eyes, and, crushed with natural -grief, knelt by the side of his bed, and Elspat placed a -plate containing a little salt on his breast. -</p> - -<p> -In due time, amid the lamentations of his tenantry, -and while the pipes woke the echoes of the glen, by the -March of Gilliechriost (or of the Follower of Christ), one -of the oldest airs in existence, he was laid in his last -home, in the Ruthven aisle of Ardgowrie kirk, and -Roland found himself alone in the world. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0103"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER III. -<br /><br /> -THE CABINET OF SCINDIA. -</h3> - -<p> -Yes, Roland felt himself, most terribly alone now—far -from the merry mess and the daily companionship -of his brother officers, in that great old mansion, -wherein for centuries generations of his ancestors were -born and had died, and which stood amid such wild and -desolate, yet beautiful scenery. -</p> - -<p> -Expected though his father's death had been, by -Roland, the shock of the event when it did occur, was -so great, that it was not until two days after the -funeral, and when his legal agents and advisers, -Messrs. Hook and Crook, writers to Her Majesty's -Signet, came to consult him on certain matters -concerning the estate, that he bethought him of the old -cabinet found by the Royals in Scindia's fortress, and he -sprang up with a start to execute the last commands of -his father the old Colonel. -</p> - -<p> -In the latter's desk he found the key—one of very -curious workmanship, and as he put it into the lock a -singular sense of some great and impending evil—a -sense which had never impressed itself upon him so -vividly before—came over him, and seemed to whisper -to him to be prepared! -</p> - -<p> -Prepared for what? -</p> - -<p> -He had seen the old cabinet years ago; it was about -four feet square, formed of ebony inlaid with the finest -ivory and mother-of-pearl with many elaborate ornaments, -and even some precious stones, and it had been -a gift from old Patrick Ruthven to his bride. -</p> - -<p> -With vivid painfulness too, there came before Roland, -the last expression of his father's face, and more than -all, his eyes with their restless feverish expression, and -strangely lustrous glare. -</p> - -<p> -The doors of the beautiful cabinet unfolded and -displayed two rows of drawers, the handles of which were -chased silver, and with nervous haste, Roland opened -these in quick succession. -</p> - -<p> -Therein he found old muster-rolls, reports and -memoranda connected with the First Royal Scots; -letters and orders from brother-officers who had found -their graves in every quarter of the globe; -complimentary addresses from generals and magistrates, and all -his father's medals and orders. There too were letters -from his mother in their lover-days, faded and brown; -letters of the lost uncle Philip, and letters from Roland -himself, even those he had written as a schoolboy, with -the now withered and dry locks of hair belonging to -those who had been loved and had long since departed. -</p> - -<p> -All the little relics and souvenirs that the poor old -man had treasured most in life were there; but what -could the secret be, that he had so strangely and with -such evident emotion and pain referred to, thought -Roland, as in nervous haste and sorrow he drew out -each tiny drawer in succession—sorrow, for the hands -that had touched and the eyes that had seen them last -were cold and still now in yonder dark old vault. -</p> - -<p> -At last he found a packet carefully sealed with his -father's crest, a goat's-head embossed; but directed to -no one. -</p> - -<p> -He tore it open, and found within the cover, a legal -document tied with red tape, and a page or two written -by the hand of his father, and bearing the latter's -signature. -</p> - -<p> -Both these papers Roland read quickly, but he had -to do so again and again ere his startled mind could -take in their contents. -</p> - -<p> -The first was the last will and testament of his -grandfather General Roland Ruthven, and the latter -was a confession written by his father concerning it. -</p> - -<p> -"My God—oh that this could ever be the case!" -exclaimed Roland in a broken and hollow voice, as he -read them. Philip, the elder brother, had in some -mysterious manner incurred the high displeasure of the -general, who bequeathed his entire estate and fortune -to Patrick, the younger; but, repenting, had executed -a second will superseding the first; and this will, -Roland's father had found and <i>suppressed</i>, while, with a -curse upon their father's name and memory, Philip -believing himself to be disinherited, went forth into the -world and was heard of no more! -</p> - -<p> -Philip who had never loved him, continued the old -man's tremulously written confession, was gone he -knew not where, beyond all trace, so that rumour even -said he was dead; and to denounce himself then as the -possessor of the second will, was to cut away the ground -from under his own feet, when on the very eve of -marriage with a girl, whose family would not permit -her to marry a penniless younger son—so he had -deemed himself thus not intentionally guilty, and that -no one's interests suffered by his silence. -</p> - -<p> -If he had followed the dictates of the highest -principles, he would at once have made the document -known; but where was Philip? As time went on -Patrick Ruthven became conscience-struck, and he now -charged Roland with the task of making some amends -if possible, by discovering the lost man or his heirs, if -lie had any. -</p> - -<p> -A bitter bequest indeed! -</p> - -<p> -With a painfully throbbing heart, and hands that -trembled, Roland laid the documents down and strove -to collect his thoughts. The first dull and stunning -emotion, of confusion and unreality past, he looked -dreamily around him to see if he was not undergoing a -species of nightmare; but no! There was the stately -old dining-hall, the spacious Scottish fireplace with its -silver fire-dogs, and here were the ebony cabinet of -Scindia, with the suppressed will, and the signed -confession of his father. -</p> - -<p> -It was a terrible shock to Roland Ruthven to find -that his father—his father of all men in the world!—whom -through all the years of his life he had looked -up to with love and reverence, and who seemed ever to -him and to all who knew him, the model of chivalrous -honour, should have acted thus, and he actually wept -over the event! -</p> - -<p> -Again and again he read the confession that on one -hand Philip had never loved him, had exasperated the -general; and on the other, there was the chance—nay, -the certainty—of a marriage being marred by the -production of the will which was now dated nearly forty -years back. -</p> - -<p> -"Justice must be done, at all risks and hazards—but -justice to whom?" thought Roland. -</p> - -<p> -Ardgowrie seemed no longer his; as if touched by -an enchanter's wand, it seemed already to have passed -away, wood, wold, and mountain, by this cruel -discovery. He felt homeless in a splendid home, his -worldly prospects ruined, and Aurelia Darnel, the only -girl he had ever loved, utterly lost to him! -</p> - -<p> -Why not destroy the will? -</p> - -<p> -But no—oh no! Roland felt his cheek crimson, as -something seemed to whisper of this in his ear, and -then he recalled his dead father's remorseful injunctions -to himself. -</p> - -<p> -He looked up at the portrait of the lost and disinherited -Philip—the outcast son of a patrician race, as -limned by the President of the Scottish Academy. -</p> - -<p> -It represented a handsome young man, in a red hunting -coat and cap, with regular but rather pale features, dark -blue eyes and well defined eyebrows, with a pleasant -smile that actually, to Roland's then distempered fancy, -seemed to light up, as he looked on the portrait. -</p> - -<p> -Roland wiped the beady perspiration from his brow, -and a moan as if of pain escaped him, but again and -again he muttered— -</p> - -<p> -"Justice shall be done—justice if it be not too -late—oh Heaven—too late!" -</p> - -<p> -He stepped to the sideboard, filled a silver hunting -cup with sherry, drained it at a draught, and taking up -the two fatal documents, locked the Indian cabinet, and -prepared to join Messrs. Hook and Crook, who were -busy with certain accounts and papers in the library. -</p> - -<p> -Of lawyers, Roland, as a soldier, had ever a wholesome -dread, and he shrank from the horror of disclosing -this trickery on the part of his father even to them, -whose lives were too probably but one long and tangled -yarn of trickery and deceit; but again, he muttered that -justice must be done. -</p> - -<p> -His assumed coolness deserted him, his face became -livid, and his eyes sparkled with a strange light, when -he spoke to them of the papers he had found, and laid -them before their legal eyes. -</p> - -<p> -Then his proud pale face flushed scarlet, his dark -eyebrows were knitted nearly into one, and his nether -lip quivered with suppressed emotion and intense -mortification, and in some degree the lawyers were also -excited, but amazement was what they chiefly felt. -</p> - -<p> -"What did Mr. Ruthven intend to do?" -</p> - -<p> -"Justice," said he hoarsely. -</p> - -<p> -"But to whom?" -</p> - -<p> -"That is precisely what I have been asking of myself." -</p> - -<p> -"This will revoking the former disposition, is fully -forty years old; but it has never been recorded," said -Mr. Hook. -</p> - -<p> -"And none know of its existence, save ourselves," -added Mr. Crook suggestively; "and it is a dreadful -thing to lose so fine an estate—so noble a heritage—by -one stroke of a pen!" -</p> - -<p> -"But I quite agree with the young Laird, that some -attempt should be made to do justice, and endeavour to -trace out Mr. Philip or his heirs," said Mr. Hook, -seeing in futurity a pyramid of three-and-fourpences and -six-and-eightpences. -</p> - -<p> -"To advertise for the lost one would degrade my -father's name!" exclaimed Roland passionately. -</p> - -<p> -"How else are we to go about it, my dear sir?" -asked Mr. Hook, pulling his nether lip reflectively; -"but enquiries might be made——" -</p> - -<p> -"Where?" -</p> - -<p> -"Well—a rumour did go about at one time that -your uncle had married in Jamaica, Mexico, or -somewhere." -</p> - -<p> -"I never heard of it." -</p> - -<p> -Neither had Mr. Hook, but he only threw out the -hint to suggest difficulty and complication, and in his -simplicity Roland rapidly adopted it. -</p> - -<p> -"Prosecute enquiries in both places," said he; -"spare no money—collect and pay in the rents as -usual—though not a penny of them shall come to me! -You understand me, gentlemen?" -</p> - -<p> -They could better have understood his quietly putting -alike the will and confession into the fire. -</p> - -<p> -Why had not his father done so, and spared Roland -this season of shame and humiliation, of disappointment -and sudden poverty? -</p> - -<p> -But his plans were adopted with decision and rapidity. -</p> - -<p> -"All the old servants will be retained as usual, -gentlemen," said he, after a painful pause, during -which a swelling seemed to have risen in his throat, -"but no new ones will be engaged, and the whole -revenue of the estate shall be paid into the bank for the -benefit of the real heir, or of his children, if they can -be found. I leave all in your hands." -</p> - -<p> -"But you must have some little income out of the -estate!" said the astounded lawyers simultaneously. -</p> - -<p> -"Not a penny until I am proved to be indubitably -the last and only Ruthven of Ardgowrie and that ilk!" -exclaimed Roland with emotion. -</p> - -<p> -"My dear sir, you can't live on your pay," suggested -Mr. Hook. -</p> - -<p> -"I will try." -</p> - -<p> -"No one does now-a-days. Nor will you be able -to marry." -</p> - -<p> -"I do not mean to marry," said Roland, whose -voice fairly broke as he thought of Aurelia Darnel; -"but perhaps you may help me with a few pounds till -I get exchanged into a regiment in India, for -meantime I must rejoin the Royals." -</p> - -<p> -By this discovery in the Indian cabinet, Roland now -learned bitterly why the old legend above the -mantel-piece had become obnoxious to his father's eye, and -been obliterated by his order! -</p> - -<p> -He looked at his family motto—the strongly apposite -and ancient motto of the Ruthvens—<i>Facta Probant</i>, and -muttered— -</p> - -<p> -"That of Argyle would suit me better now!" -</p> - -<p> -He felt that under pressure of the sudden change in -his circumstances, that to avoid surmises and explanations -which it would be impossible to make, his wisest -mode of action would be to effect an exchange into some -other regiment where he was unknown; but his own -honour at that time of expected peril required that he -should rejoin the Scots Royals, and he could not yet -bring his heart to quit them, for the corps had been the -home of his family for many generations, quite as much -as their ancestral abode of Ardgowrie. -</p> - -<p> -Moreover, he was well up the list of lieutenants now. -He could recall the emotions with which he first -joined them in all the freshness of boyhood, and felt, as -a writer says, how "the first burst of life is a glorious -thing; youth, health, hope and confidence, and all the -vigour they lose in after years: life is then like a -splendid river, and we are swimming with the stream—no -adverse waves to weary, no billows to buffet us, we -hold on our course rejoicing." -</p> - -<p> -But all pride of birth, of race, and name had gone -completely out of Roland Ruthven for the time. -</p> - -<p> -Cards of condolence poured in upon him from the -county people, but he returned none; neither did he -pay any visits; he felt himself a species of usurper. -</p> - -<p> -"A morose fellow he has become," some said; -"just like his father in his latter years—moping and -melancholy." -</p> - -<p> -A letter from his friend Hector Logan roused him a -little, and made him think of returning at once to the -regiment. It was full of the mess gossip and barrack -news generally, and about a ball "where <i>la belle</i> Aurelia -had appeared with a new and very remarkable admirer, -a Colonel Ithuriel Smash, of the United States army. -If the row with the colonists comes off," continued -Logan, "some of us may lose our chance of picking -up a handsome heiress—for heiresses here are to be -had for the asking, some think; I don't. But a girl -like Aurelia Darnel, with a stray forty thousand pounds, -and having also the frankness and good taste to accept -a nice fellow with whom to spend it, is just the kind of -girl for my complexion. Logan Braes and that ilk, -sound very well; but my pedigree is a powersight -longer than my rent-roll." -</p> - -<p> -The letter concluded by urging him to rejoin, as an -outbreak among the colonists was daily expected. -</p> - -<p> -Apart from Aurelia Darnel, concerning whom a -change had come over his future now, he felt in every -way the necessity for action, and for returning to -America, and he felt, too, as if he would go mad, if he -lingered longer in Ardgowrie. -</p> - -<p> -Aurelia! could he go back to the charm of her -society again, with that horrible secret in his mind—the -secret the cabinet had contained, and which made -him a penniless man! Yet, his thoughts would wander -again and again to the girl he had left beyond the broad -Atlantic, and doubts rather than hopes, fear rather -than joy, crowded upon him, all born of recent events. -</p> - -<p> -Perhaps absence might already have erased all -memory of him, and he was forgotten; and who was -this new dangler—"admirer," Logan called him, with -the atrociously grotesque name? He had left her, -without any declaration of his love, and dared he make one -now? Left her, at that period, when, as Lever says, -"love has as many stages as a fever; when the -feeling of devotion, growing every moment stronger, is -chequered by a doubt lest the object of your affections -should really be indifferent to you—thus suggesting all -the torturing agonies of jealousy to your distracted -mind. At such times as these a man can scarcely be -very agreeable to the girl he loves; but he is a -confounded bore to a chance acquaintance." -</p> - -<p> -Aurelia Darnel was one of the wealthiest girls in -Montreal. Could he speak to her of love <i>now</i>? No—no! -It was not to be thought of, and in going back, he -would avoid her, and devoutly hoped that the expected -"row" would come off, and the Royal Scots would have -to take the field. -</p> - -<p> -The two last days of his residence at Ardgowrie he -spent in solitude beside the Linn of Dee. There -was something soothing to his soul in the wild turmoil -of the rushing torrent, from whence, the body of -any living thing that finds its way into it, can <i>never</i> be -recovered. -</p> - -<p> -What a change had come over Roland Ruthven, since -last, in boyhood, and just before he joined the Royals, -he had gazed into those black and surgy depths which -fascinate the eye and render the brain giddy, where the -dead white of the foam contrasts so strongly with the -sombre tints of the turbulent cauldron, and the still -blacker uncertainties of the caverns beneath the rocks, -as the Dee, there terrible, yet beautiful thunders over -the Linn on its passage to the German Ocean. -</p> - -<p> -Roland felt keenly the change that had come over -him, since last he heard the familiar roar of his native -stream; a new life, with the regiment had been opened -to him; but a blight had fallen upon it now. Out of -many a passing flirtation, his love for Aurelia stood -prominently forth on one hand; on the other was his -father's sore temptation (he could scarcely give it a -harder name); yonder grand old house, with all its -turrets amid the stately woods, no longer his; his -future wasted, his love denied him, and his inheritance -lost! -</p> - -<p> -It was a conviction hard to adopt and bear, yet -Roland adopted and bore it bravely, and turning his -back, as he certainly believed, for ever on Ardgowrie, -departed to rejoin his regiment. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0104"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IV. -<br /><br /> -"PONTIUS PILATE'S GUARDS." -</h3> - -<p> -"Welcome back Ruthven!" cried Hector Logan. -</p> - -<p> -"Ruthven, my hearty, how goes it with you?" -</p> - -<p> -"Glad to see you with us again, though regret that -you have crape on your arm." -</p> - -<p> -Such were the greetings of Roland on his first -appearance at mess, when he rejoined, warmly welcomed -by all; even the usually stolid visages of the -mess-waiters brightened as he took his seat. -</p> - -<p> -"A fresh cooper of wine to drink the health of Roland -Ruthven," exclaimed the President, who, though a young -sub, had seen powder burned with the Royals in Burmah. -"Welcome back to the Guards of Pontius Pilate!" -</p> - -<p> -He had not been very long absent, but after all he -had undergone at Ardgowrie it was a relief to Roland to -hear the old "shop" talk again—the old regimental -jokes and news, who was for guard to-morrow, who was -on detachment; a moose-hunting party bound for the -shore of the St. Lawrence; how the last time "the -Darnel's phaeton was tooled by Logan, the horses "come -home with devil a thing but the splinter bar at their -heels; the expected "row" with the colonists; the ball or -race that was coming off; the buttons of this corps, the -facings or epaulettes of that corps, and so forth. -</p> - -<p> -His old chum, Hector Logan, a tall and very handsome -fellow, and some others, could see by the deepened -lines between Roland's dark eyebrows, that something -even more than his father's death affected him; and -also, that his old flow of brilliant conversation was gone. -They could detect that "something was wrong—a -screw loose somewhere," but could not conceive what -it was. -</p> - -<p> -Ere he rejoined he had commissioned Logan to sell -his horses—even to Royal Scot, with whom he was -wont to ride over the raspers everywhere; to withdraw -his name from several races and subscription lists; -and he had every way curtailed his expenses—shorn -down everything to the great surprise of more than one -heedless young fellow, and of the mess in general. -</p> - -<p> -"What the deuce does it all mean?" they asked of -one another. -</p> - -<p> -"What is up, Ruthven?" asked Logan seriously; -"is there anything wrong? Your father dies, leaving -you a fine old estate totally unencumbered—a deuced -deal more than we can say for many old estates—and -you sell off your horses, dogs, and so forth——" -</p> - -<p> -"How do you know it is unencumbered?" asked -Roland, with some sharpness of manner. "It is -loaded—heavily loaded, indeed!" he added, bitterly, -as he thought of the long-hidden <i>will</i>. -</p> - -<p> -"Are you going in for a new excitement—that of -being poor?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Hector, you don't know who it is you chaff! Are -the Darnels in Montreal?" he asked, after a pause. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes;" I saw la belle Aurelia yesterday in busy -Paul Street, close to the Hôtel-Dieu; I knew her at -once by the long glossy ringlet, the -<i>suivez-moi</i>—come-follow-me-lads—that hung down her back." -</p> - -<p> -"How your tongue runs on, Hector!" -</p> - -<p> -"Pardon me; I forgot that you were hit in that -quarter." -</p> - -<p> -"Positively, Hector, I'll punch your head." -</p> - -<p> -"A fellow always makes a fool of himself about some -girl or woman at some time, and it is your case now, -though I must admit that Aurelia Darnel is one of the -most attractive girls I have seen, and does credit to your -taste, Roland. Now that you are Laird of Ardgowrie -you'll make great running in that quarter." -</p> - -<p> -"Aurelia is too rich to care a straw even about -Ardgowrie." -</p> - -<p> -"I don't know that, Ruthven." -</p> - -<p> -But the latter was in no mood for jesting, especially -on such a subject, and abruptly spoke of something else; -for now, with all his intense longing to see Aurelia once -more, he actually dreaded the thought of meeting her. -</p> - -<p> -"Better that I should avoid her, but in doing so, -what will she think of me?" he pondered, while -manipulating a cigar (we had not yet fought in the Crimea, -thus cigarettes were as yet unknown among us). "To -see her again will be but torture. What course ought I -to follow—must I pursue, when, penniless as I know -myself to be <i>now</i>, her love is denied me! I must quit -even the dear old regiment in time, and begin a life of -exile in India." -</p> - -<p> -The latter conviction, which had come strongly home -to the heart of Roland Ruthven, filled him with sincere -regret, for he loved the Royals, and was proud of them. -A regiment, old in history, is, says some one (Kinglake, -we think), like the immortal gods, ever young and -ever glorious. -</p> - -<p> -And great, indeed, in fame, rich in glory, and old in -history, are the First Royal Scots—the most ancient -regiment in the world, for their traditions go back in an -unbroken line to the twenty-four Scottish Guards of -Charles III. of France; thence to the Scottish Garde du -Corps which saved the life of St. Louis in 1254 in -Palestine, and fought in all the wars of France, at -Agincourt, the conquest of Naples, and at Pavia, where -they were nearly cut to pieces; even Francis was taken -prisoner. -</p> - -<p> -In after years there were engrafted on them the -remains of those gallant Scottish bands which served in -Bohemia under Sir Andrew Gray, and under Sir John -Hepburn in all the wars of Gustavus Adolphus, and as -the regiment of the Lords Douglas and Dunbarton—Dunbarton -of "the druns"—they returned to Scotland -after the Restoration, and now at this day their standards -are so loaded by embroidered trophies, that the blue -silk—the national colour of Scotland—is nearly hidden, -while the <i>mere list</i> of the battles and sieges in which -they have been engaged—ever with glory and honour—occupy -ten closely printed pages of the War Office -Records. Even their rivals for three hundred years, the -famous Regiment de Picardie, could not equal this, -though in the French service they were wont to quiz -the Royals as having been "the Guards of Pontius -Pilate who slept upon their posts." -</p> - -<p> -In all the armies of Europe we can find no parallel -to their annals, for there is nothing like it in the -military history of any other country. -</p> - -<p> -Among all our noble British Infantry—that infantry -which, as Bonaparte said, "never knew when it was -beaten," and which, as Green tells us in his "History -of the English People" was first created when William -Wallace of Elderslie, drew up his Scottish spearmen, -in those solid squares before which the united chivalry -of England and Aquitaine went down: Amid all our -"unconquerable British Infantry," we say, none have -such a brilliant inheritance of glory as the old Royal -Regiment. -</p> - -<p> -Hence it was that Roland Ruthven, whose family had -served with it for three or four generations, looked -forward with extreme reluctance and regret to the coming -time when, by exchange or otherwise, he would be -compelled to serve in the ranks of another; and that the -time was not a distant one was rendered fully evident -by letters which he had received from his legal agents, -Messrs. Hook and Crook, W.S., Edinburgh. -</p> - -<p> -These assured him that they had obtained some certain -knowledge of the movements and marriage of his uncle -Philip, and of his having left heirs. They had traced -him to Jamaica, and would ere long send proofs of the -said marriage, and of there being an heir to Ardgowrie. -</p> - -<p> -"An heir to Ardgowrie!" muttered Roland, through -his clenched teeth. Half expected though the tidings -were, they sounded like a species of death-knell to him -now. -</p> - -<p> -"You look disturbed, old fellow," said Hector Logan, -as Roland crushed up and then tore the letter to -pieces. -</p> - -<p> -"I am disturbed!" said he. -</p> - -<p> -"What are these—lawyer's letters?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, Hector." -</p> - -<p> -"Hah—a lawyer I always look upon as a species of -rook with a devil of a long bill. You'll get over it, I -hope," he added, rolling the leaf of his cigar round his -finger. -</p> - -<p> -"I have got over it already," replied Roland; but -his looks belied his words; "but it is hard to have -one's first and dearest hopes blighted," he continued, -thinking of Aurelia Darnel; "disappointments, however, -I suppose we get used to, like the eels to the -skinning." -</p> - -<p> -"Can I help you, Ruthven? Logan Braes are not -exactly like the Bank of England; but if a few -hundreds——" -</p> - -<p> -"You cannot help me, old fellow—thanks." -</p> - -<p> -"Why?" -</p> - -<p> -"I cannot, and may not, tell you; it is a family -trouble—a secret, and a sore one." -</p> - -<p> -Some days elapsed before—under the alteration of -his circumstances—he could summon up courage to -visit the Darnels; but he felt the imperative necessity -of doing so, after all the hospitality he had received; -and then, he would gradually cease to go near them, -whatever view might be taken of his changed conduct; -but after all that had passed between himself and -Aurelia one visit was necessary, and then—what next? -</p> - -<p> -He shivered as he thought of it with sorrow and -shame. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0105"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER V. -<br /><br /> -AURELIA DARNEL. -</h3> - -<p> -At the usual hour for an afternoon visit Roland -Ruthven, in his blue undress uniform, with the -handsome gilt shoulder scales then worn (mufti was -forbidden), left his sword in the entrance hall, and was -duly ushered into the handsome and spacious drawing-room -of the Chateau de St. Eustache, as Mrs., or rather -Madame, Darnel's abode was named, for she was a -French Canadian, a widow and the heiress of one of -those seigneuries which are in so many instances in -possession of the families endowed with them by the -kings of France. -</p> - -<p> -Over these seigneuries they formerly exercised the -rights of <i>haute, moyenne, et basse justice</i>; but these have -become obsolete since Wolfe carried the British colours up -the heights of Abraham, and they are now reduced to -the right of building a mill, at which the vassal must -grind his corn at a fixed rate, and a fine if he desires to -sell the load which he holds from his overlord. -</p> - -<p> -Much of the reserve and pride of the old noblesse of -France still hover about these Canadian seigneurs, and -Madame Darnel possessed these characteristics in a very -high degree. -</p> - -<p> -Neither she nor Aurelia were in the room, so Roland -had a little time to collect his thoughts. -</p> - -<p> -How much had happened—how altered were all his -views and hopes of life—since last he had sat on that -particular sofa, and beheld the view from these windows! -</p> - -<p> -He had come hither from the barracks on foot, as he -had sold off all his horses now, and he thought sadly—could -it be otherwise—of the stable court at Ardgowrie, -with all its excellent stalls fitted with enamelled mangers -and encaustic tiles, and the artistic devices on the iron -heel posts, and for holding the pillar reins. -</p> - -<p> -This visit over, he thought he would go moose-hunting -with Logan and some others: activity out of doors -being the best cure for love according to certain writers. -"Men try wine and cards," says Yates, "both of which -are instantaneous but fleeting remedies, and leave them -in a state of reaction, when they are doubly vulnerable; -but shooting or hunting, properly pursued, are thoroughly -engrossing while they last, and when they are over -necessitate an immediate recourse to slumber from the -fatigue which they have induced." -</p> - -<p> -But while making these resolutions Roland, like one -in a dream, watched the view from Madame Darnel's -windows: Montreal, the largest of the three elevations -near the city so named—its base surrounded by country -houses, with orchards and gardens, and its summit -covered with foliage; the city itself, with its lofty -edifices of dark limestone or of painted wood, its -churches, monasteries, its glittering spire, its shipping, -and the St. Lawrence winding far away in the distance, -till he was roused by the rustle of a silk dress, and -Aurelia Darnel stood before him, and her hand was in -his. -</p> - -<p> -"Miss Darnel!" -</p> - -<p> -"Mr. Ruthven!" -</p> - -<p> -The latter was the less self-possessed of the two. -</p> - -<p> -"I knew, Mr. Ruthven, that you would come to -Montreal again," said Aurelia, with one of her brightest -smiles. -</p> - -<p> -"Were it but for a moment like this, I should have -come," said Roland, under the charm of her presence, -forgetting the <i>rôle</i> he intended to adopt; "and your -mamma?" -</p> - -<p> -"Is, unfortunately, from home; need I say how -sorry we were for the sad occasion which hurried you -away." -</p> - -<p> -Roland coloured with pain, vexation, and sorrow; -and before him seemed to stand that horrible "last -will and testament," which beggared him! Aurelia -Darnel, who had occupied his entire thoughts since he -left Montreal, was beside him now; but he had only -common places, the merest platidudes to offer her. His -innate pride, tenacity, and over-sensitiveness, now that -he was poor, and she was rich—he little knew how -rich—tied up his tongue, and the love, he trembled to -avow, remained unspoken. -</p> - -<p> -We have already partially described Aurelia Darnel -and the character of her beauty. She was a girl of -talent, with many accomplishments. Her French, of -course, was perfect, as she inherited it from her mother; -she played brilliantly, with a soft yet dashing touch; -she could sing little <i>chansons</i> in the most seductive way, -and was full of those pretty graces and mannerisms -which are peculiar to continental girls; she had, too, a -way of looking down, drooping her long dark eyelashes, -that was often the cause of more tenderness and -admiration in those she meant to dazzle, than when -she looked up, or straight forward. -</p> - -<p> -Offers she had had in plenty, and for two seasons -she had been the reigning belle of Montreal. By a -subtile perception, Roland had been distinctly conscious -that she preferred him to any other man of her -acquaintance, and that her eye brightened and her smile -sweetened at his approach. -</p> - -<p> -He had ever felt a strange joy in her society, and a -pride in being seen with her, for is it not something to -excite envy and jealousy by being the favoured partner -of the acknowledged belle of every ball! In -attractiveness her tone and manner were quite different to -all that Roland had met before, and yet he had moved -in the best society everywhere. -</p> - -<p> -Though but a few months had elapsed since he saw -Aurelia last, her figure seemed to have attained more -roundness than before, and her soft features a more -decided character; most winning and shy was her -smile, most graceful her carriage, and sweet was her -voice when she welcomed him to Montreal again. -</p> - -<p> -"It is eight whole months since I had the pleasure -of seeing you last, Miss Darnel," said he, after a rather -awkward pause. -</p> - -<p> -"Eight months—yes, true." -</p> - -<p> -"A gap in life—in my life at least." -</p> - -<p> -"Filled up by sadness?" -</p> - -<p> -"Exceeding sadness, and much mortification," -said he. -</p> - -<p> -"I was but a little girl when papa died, yet I can -remember what a wrench it was. In losing your -father—" -</p> - -<p> -"I lost more than him." -</p> - -<p> -"More!" -</p> - -<p> -She looked up at him inquiringly; could he tell her -all he had lost—his heritage—his grand old baronial -home, a princely estate—even honour itself, for thus, -in his over-sensitiveness, did Roland view the matter of -the long-hidden will! -</p> - -<p> -"If matters remain quiet here among the colonists, -Miss Darnell, I mean to leave the regiment." -</p> - -<p> -"Leave the Scots Royals—the Royal Regiment!" -she exclaimed with surprise; "I thought it was the -second home of your family; I have often heard you -say so." -</p> - -<p> -"It can no longer be mine." -</p> - -<p> -"Why?" -</p> - -<p> -"For reasons that I cannot tell—even to you." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, pardon me; but what do you mean to do?" -</p> - -<p> -"Soldier still—of course." -</p> - -<p> -"But where?" -</p> - -<p> -"In India." -</p> - -<p> -"In India!" she exclaimed, with a depth of interest -that made Roland's heart beat wildly; "oh, how far, -far away!" -</p> - -<p> -"Far away from you;—oh, Miss Darnel—Aurelia!" His -heart was rushing to his head. -</p> - -<p> -At that moment a visitor, Colonel Smash, of U.S. army, -was announced, and Roland withdrew, leaving -unsaid all that he ought to have said—that she -expected him to say, and what he would have said, but -for the secret of that accursed cabinet of Scindia. -</p> - -<p> -Could she have looked into his heart and read his -thoughts, through the window which Vulcan wished -had been placed in every human breast! -</p> - -<p> -Both Aurelia and Madame Darnel had a right to -expect something more to develop itself from the visit -of Roland; but he felt himself a very craven, and -retired, leaving her with the most absurd of her many -admirers, Colonel Ithurial Smash, a long-legged, -hard-featured, and most ungainly New Yorker, whose rivalry -was too contemptible for Roland's consideration, -though he did marvel whether one could "possibly -parade a fellow," for interrupting one's conversation -with his cousin—for in this degree of relationship the -"Colonel" somehow stood to Aurelia Darnel. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0106"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VI. -<br /><br /> -COLONEL SMASH. -</h3> - -<p> -After this, many days elapsed, and Roland, having -ever before him the last crushing communication of -Messrs. Hook and Crook, never went near the Chateau -de St. Eustache, much to the surprise of Logan, whose -mind was sorely exercised on that subject, and on some -new and unwonted peculiarities of temper and system -which he discovered in his old friend and once jolly -comrade. -</p> - -<p> -Aurelia, too, felt some surprise at his protracted -absence, and that she never saw him at the promenades -and public places where she had been wont to see him -before. -</p> - -<p> -She was thinking could he have fallen in love with -some one else—she always thought he loved <i>her</i>—some -one in Scotland where he had been? If so, what business -had he to come to her and talk, and act, and look, -too, as if he were free and fetterless? Could he have -been playing with her, making a fool of her all along? -How coldly and quietly he had talked about going to -India, too. -</p> - -<p> -Ah no! could she have seen Roland Ruthven at that -very time! He was kissing, looking at, smoothing -out, and caressing a tiny kid glove, which he had -begged from her at that very ball where they first met, -on the 5th of August—the fatal day of the Ruthvens, -as Elspat Gorm was wont to call it. -</p> - -<p> -"Roland, old fellow," said Logan, dropping into his -quarters one evening when he was dressing for mess, -"what is up—you look like the ace of spades? Never -saw a fellow so changed in all my life." -</p> - -<p> -"One day you may know all, Hector—meantime, -don't worry me," replied Roland, with the hair brushes -suspended in action above his thick head of dark -brown hair, while Logan smoked and talked. His -toilet table bespoke taste and that wealth which he no -longer possessed, with its ivory-handled brushes having -on them the Ruthven arms; his dressing-case of silver-gilt, -with gold-topped essence bottles in nests of blue -velvet; rings, jewelled studs, and sleeve-links, lay there -scattered about, with pipe heads of rare fashion and -costly material. -</p> - -<p> -"You are not using that girl well, Roland—you -know what I mean; before you went on leave you were -like her shadow, and now——" -</p> - -<p> -"I can't get over my scruples about—about——" -</p> - -<p> -"What, in the name of heaven?" -</p> - -<p> -"Well, about making up to a girl who has a fortune—a -very handsome income, at all events—when I am -so out at the elbows." -</p> - -<p> -"Out at the elbows—are you mad?" -</p> - -<p> -"The thing would look ill—yet I could make a little -running with her," said Roland, with a dreary attempt -to be lively. -</p> - -<p> -"I should think so. Ruthven of Ardgowrie out at -the elbows—why, man alive, what the devil has come -to you? You could marry Miss Darnel without -exciting anybody but her special admirers. There is no -'establishment' to break up; no fair denizen of such -a villa as is proverbial at St. John's Wood to tear her -dyed locks, and demand a monetary kind of 'loot'—so -I say again, what the deuce has come to you?" -asked Logan, with genuine surprise. -</p> - -<p> -"That which I cannot tell." -</p> - -<p> -"Even to me?" asked the other reproachfully. -</p> - -<p> -"Even to you, old fellow, just yet." -</p> - -<p> -"This passes my comprehension." -</p> - -<p> -"The misfortune that has befallen me passes mine." -</p> - -<p> -"She is a delightful girl, Roland," said Logan, after -a pause, during which he had been reflectively -preparing another cigar; "she never misses fire in the -way of a repartee or a brilliant rejoinder." -</p> - -<p> -"In that I agree with you," replied Roland, quietly. -</p> - -<p> -"How cold you are." -</p> - -<p> -"I am far from feeling so, any way," said Roland, -with a sigh. -</p> - -<p> -"Can't make you out, by Jove! In the Chateau de -St. Eustache, unless I am very much mistaken, you -have gone in for some very effective bits of flirtation, in -which the inconstant moon played no inconsiderable -part." -</p> - -<p> -"Flirtation, Logan? I never could flirt with Aurelia -Darnell." -</p> - -<p> -"Indeed!" said the other incredulously; "why?" -</p> - -<p> -"Because I love her too sincerely." -</p> - -<p> -"Yet you never go near that house where you have -often acted almost as host to the whole garrison, and -where that horrible Yankee Colonel has the field all to -himself." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh! he is a cousin of some sort—but what the -devil is he to me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Well—he is a good shot I hear." -</p> - -<p> -"A shot—d—n him!" said Ronald, with considerable -irritation of manner; "I would think very little -of parading him on the other side of the Canadian -frontier." -</p> - -<p> -"I don't doubt that, Ronald, old man; but he has -fought several duels, and successfully I hear." -</p> - -<p> -"With double-barrelled rifles, at two hundred yards' -distance, each man posted behind a tree, and dodging -every way to dodge the other's fire. Well, I would -meet him that way if he wished it. I have asked the -Colonel to mess." -</p> - -<p> -"To mess?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes." -</p> - -<p> -"That fellow! What will the Colonel and others -think? Your reason is, I suppose, to keep up a -connecting link with the Chateau?" -</p> - -<p> -"Perhaps so," said Roland, wearily; and, sooth to -say, that was his sole reason. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, if with the rental of Ardgowrie, you -can't——" -</p> - -<p> -"Please not to speak of Ardgowrie," said Roland -impatiently, as he thrust himself into his shell-jacket; -"there go the drums for mess." -</p> - -<p> -It was impossible that Aurelia could have any regard, -even, amenity, for this horrible American cousin, the -Colonel; yet if she had, Roland felt that the changed -circumstances of his own fortune tied up his tongue and -would render his attentions an interference; yet it was -scarcely possible for him to look on such a dangler or -admirer with total indifference. -</p> - -<p> -The Colonel, of whom we shall have more to relate -anon, came duly to mess, where his appearance and -bearing caused some speculation, and not a little secret -mirth among Roland's brother officers, who were all -men of a very good style and tone. -</p> - -<p> -Lean, wiry, and powerfully made, he was above the -middle height, had sharp aquiline features of an -exaggerated type, that might not have been bad but for a -chronic expression of vulgar suspicion and 'cuteness -that played about his eyes, giving him a rather hangdog -look; moreover, he had lost three front teeth in a -row in Arkansas. He was closely shaven all save a -long square goatee imperial that quivered when he spoke. -Then he had a nervous way of clutching his hat and -banging it against his thigh, with a curious but -unmeaning energy. His clothes were loosely made, and -he wore enormous cuffs, collar and studs. Every way, -he looked, as Logan said, "like a man you would rather -drink with than fight with, any day." -</p> - -<p> -The Colonel had of course the usual American ideas -about equality, and "the sovereign people," with -considerable contempt for the little island, from whence -"the Britishers came." -</p> - -<p> -Doubtless he had never seen such a dinner-table us -the mess of the Royals before, with all its massive and -magnificent silver trophies, epergnes, and goblets—even -the White House could not equal it; thus his utter -bewilderment excited as much amusement as his -<i>gaucherie</i>, for he picked his teeth with a silver fork, -rinsed his mouth with the contents of his finger-glass, -and so forth; but he made good use of his time in more -ways than one, as we shall show. -</p> - -<p> -"Strike me ugly, but this is a fine set of fixings! and -that one in particular," he added, tapping with his -knife a magnificent vase presented to the corps by its -colonel, the late Duke of Kent. -</p> - -<p> -As a friend of the Darnels, Roland was very attentive -to "the Colonel," who was very loquacious on the -subject of the local excitement among the Canadians of -the Lower Province, then agitated by factious men -who sought to dictate to the Government measures -which were not deemed conducive to the welfare of the -State, were actually preparing to rise in arms, and -counted on the sympathy and support of American -filibusters and all manner of desperate and broken -fellows from beyond the frontier. -</p> - -<p> -During the summer of that year, and while Roland -had been in Scotland, the House of Assembly had -refused to proceed in its deliberations until the demand -for a total alteration of the legislative powers was -complied with; and this was followed by the appearance of -many of the colonists in arms, and by serious violations -of the law. -</p> - -<p> -On these matters, and the prospects of a row with the -authorities, "the Colonel" was more loquacious than -became a guest at a regimental mess; but more than -once his phraseology excited the risibility of even the -waiters. When offered wine, he asked if he "couldn't -get some egg-nogg." He described the dry goods store -he had once kept at Baltimore, and of the two clubs -there, of which he was chairman, the "black snakes" -and the "plug uglies," and Roland's bewilderment -grew very great to think that such a man as this could -be even an acquaintance, far less some remote kinsman -of Aurelia Darnel. -</p> - -<p> -Like all Americans, he boasted a good deal and had -a sovereign contempt for every other constitution in the -world save that of the United States, draining all kinds -of wine in quick succession, and ever and anon announcing -that he "was dry as thunder," till Roland felt as -one in a fever for having such a guest, and saw the -commanding officer regarding him with a rather -mingled expression of face. -</p> - -<p> -In short, it proved in the end that Colonel Smash was -a spy of the intended insurgents, and contrived to glean -up a considerable amount of information as to the -positions and strength of the Queen's troops in Lower -Canada, all of which he duly committed to his notebook. -</p> - -<p> -He sat late, or early rather, and never left the mess -table till the sweet, low notes of the old Scottish -reveille were waking the echoes of the lonely -barrack-square when he went forth, as Logan said, "like an -inveterate soaker, without a hair of his coat being -turned." -</p> - -<p> -Assisted by Roland, through the medium of cigars -and brandy-and-water, Logan was going over the books -of his company, to wit, the ledger, day-book, and the -acquittance roll, which is rendered every month to the -commanding officer—an investigation to Hector of a -very solemn nature, whereat there was much occasional -anathematising, twisting of the moustache, appealing -glances cast to the ceiling, a secret totting off of sums -under the table, much rubbing of the chin, and many -references to a ready-reckoner—when they were -interrupted by the adjutant, who came clattering in with -sword and belt on, and his face full of importance. -</p> - -<p> -"What's the row?" asked Logan, looking up. -</p> - -<p> -"Row enough!" replied the adjutant, laughing; -"these colonial beggars are up in arms, and four -companies of ours have to take the field to-morrow in the -direction of Chambly, with some cavalry, a howitzer, -and two six-pounders!" -</p> - -<p> -"Bravo—anything is better than <i>this</i> sort of work!" -exclaimed Logan, tossing the books aside. "At what -hour do we fall-in?" -</p> - -<p> -"Immediately after the men have breakfasted." -</p> - -<p> -Roland looked at his watch; the November evening -was darkening fast; he borrowed the adjutant's horse, -gave a few instructions rapidly to his servant, and in a -few minutes more was spurring in the direction of the -Chateau de St. Eustache. -</p> - -<p> -Come what might of it, he had resolved to see once -more Aurelia Darnel, and bid her farewell. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0107"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VII. -<br /><br /> -"LOVE WAS YET THE LORD OF ALL." -</h3> - -<p> -Many mails had come to headquarters without any -fresh intelligence from Messrs. Hook and Crook -concerning the lost or rival heir to Ardgowrie, and Roland -Ruthven had gathered a little courage from that -circumstance, and with it even love strengthened in his heart -as he rode on. -</p> - -<p> -What a credit such a wife, such a girl, such a brilliant -young matron, as Aurelia would be, representing at -balls, dinners, and everything, the married ladies of the -regiment! She would be the veritable Queen of the -Scots Royals! But that could not—might not be, so -far as Roland was concerned if the heir of his uncle -were actually found; and in this mingled mood of mind -he spurred onward the adjutant's horse, in a mode that -must rather have surprised that quiet quadruped, to bid -Aurelia, it might be, a last farewell. -</p> - -<p> -With all the advantages of a highly cultivated mind, -trained in one of the best West End educational -establishments, she possessed all the attractive manners of a -French girl, with the honest fearlessness of an English -one, innocent of worldly trickery and the deceits of -society, and yet she was a girl well calculated to shine -amidst that charmed circle. -</p> - -<p> -Roland had shown her innumerable attentions, but, -as we have elsewhere said, till he could arrange with -his father as to his future he had spoken no word -distinctly of love to her yet; and now he dared not! -</p> - -<p> -The polite or politic coldness he had displayed of late, -was thus very different to the bearing towards her -which the girl, from his past conduct, had every right -to expect. She was piqued and rather prepared for a -flirtation with Logan or any one else; and thus at -balls or elsewhere a lot of men were always hovering -about her, among whom was too often the obnoxious -Colonel Smash, the low state of whose exchequer would -have made an alliance with the heiress of St. Eustache a -very pleasant speculation. -</p> - -<p> -Roland, with his pay only, or little more—the sum -he accorded to himself out of the rents of Ardgowrie, -and meant to refund—felt that he had no right to ask -her hand, or seek to lure her from amid objects and -associations endeared to her by taste and her earlier -years, and, more than all, from the luxuries by which -she was surrounded. -</p> - -<p> -And yet it was with him, as it is with some others, -barriers to his hopes and wishes only made these wishes -and hopes all the more keen; and thus whenever he -left her he would pause and commune with himself -from time to time, conning over her words and her -glances, as if to glean therefrom whether he was -indifferent to her or not. -</p> - -<p> -The doubts and fears that agitated Roland's heart -were painful and poignant; had he been as he ought to -have been, Laird of Ardgowrie, fortalice and manor, -wood and mountain, with what honest confidence would -he have told her of the love he dared not speak of -<i>now</i>! -</p> - -<p> -Yet it was so sweet to dream on; for the artless -simplicity of Aurelia's manner, and the freshness of her -untutored heart, had led him to know and feel that the -greatest personal attractions may be second to excelling -qualities in the girl one loves. -</p> - -<p> -When he entered the familiar drawing-room, with its -air of culture and wealth, pictures, statuettes, and -bronzes, and saw from the windows the familiar view -he might now be looking upon for the last time, -Aurelia did not hear him announced. She was alone, -seated at the piano, and singing one of those <i>Chansons -Canadiennes</i>, as they are named, which she had learned -from her mother, for among the French Canadians of -all ranks there linger yet the <i>chansons</i>, <i>refrains</i>, and -<i>barcarolles</i>, brought from Brittany and La Vendée by -their ancestors three hundred years ago; and when -Roland suddenly appeared by her side, she started, and -arose, surprise mingling with her smile of pleasure, as -the hour was an unusual one for a visit. -</p> - -<p> -"I do not ask you to resume your singing, Miss -Darnel," said Roland, in a voice that lacked all -firmness, "as I have but a few minutes to remain with you, -and these may, perhaps, be the last we shall ever spend -together." -</p> - -<p> -Her glance drooped, then she lifted her long, silky and -most killing lashes, and Roland gazed with unconcealed -tenderness into her eyes, which were of that deeply dark -blue, which at times and in some lights, especially by -night, seem almost black. -</p> - -<p> -"You are, then, going to India?" she asked, in a -breathless voice. -</p> - -<p> -"No, Miss Darnel; and yet I am come to say good-bye." -</p> - -<p> -"Good-bye?" -</p> - -<p> -"We take the field to-morrow." -</p> - -<p> -"Against whom?" she asked, growing very pale; -"the Insurgents?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes—the French malcontents and others, I am -sorry to say." -</p> - -<p> -"And to-morrow—oh, that is sudden indeed—mamma -is from home—and—and——" -</p> - -<p> -Roland could see how her bosom heaved; his heart -was rushing to his head, and he drew nearer to her. A -black velvet riband, that hung down her back from her -delicate white neck, was awry; he put it straight, and -then trembled. No one surpassed Roland Ruthven in -confidence with women, or at a little bout of <i>persiflage</i> -with a jolly flirting girl; but now he was very silent -and sad. -</p> - -<p> -The frill of lace that encircled her neck was ruffled in -one place, and by a delicate and almost caressing touch -he smoothed it as her own brother might have done; -then his hands stole softly downward and took each, of -hers, while his heart beat like lightning. -</p> - -<p> -"Miss Darnel." -</p> - -<p> -She was trembling now, and her sweet face quivered. -</p> - -<p> -"Aurelia." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, Mr. Ruthven." -</p> - -<p> -"I am about to leave, it may be for ever." -</p> - -<p> -"Do not say so!" she said, almost imploringly, while -her eyes filled with tears. -</p> - -<p> -"If anything in this world could make me feel like -the Roland Ruthven of a year ago, hopeful, trustful, -and happy, it is to see that I am not indifferent to you. -Aurelia—my love—my darling!" -</p> - -<p> -She looked at him wistfully for a moment, and ere -her white eyelids drooped, a long kiss came, and then a -silence, full of happiness most strangely blended with -an emotion of intense gratitude, while his arm went -round her, and her face was nestled in his neck, and he -began, at broken intervals, much that was soft -nonsense; but "it was the nonsense which every woman -loves to hear from one man (at least) during her life-time." -</p> - -<p> -Then suddenly, while still retaining her hands, and -looking at her with infinite tenderness, he told of his -great love for her, but how poverty had tied his -tongue—poverty brought upon him through a will executed -by his grandfather, which deprived him of all he -possessed in the world, save his sword, for now the lost -heir of Ardgowrie had been found, and no doubt by -this time knew of his good fortune. -</p> - -<p> -Roland had to repeat this more than once ere she -quite understood him, for Aurelia felt as one in a -dream—but a dream of happiness, for "is there any other -time," says some one, "like that, when the knowledge -comes upon you, that you are singled out, that you -are admired most, that one other person is happy -only when near you, that eyes are watching for your -eyes, that a hand is waiting to touch your hand, when -every speech has a new meaning, every word a bewildering -significance." -</p> - -<p> -"And you do love me?" she asked, in a low cooing -whisper that filled his heart with rapture; he could only -utter a deep sigh, and kiss her again. -</p> - -<p> -"And you are poor—Roland?" -</p> - -<p> -"As I have told you," he replied, his heart thrilling -again at her utterance of his Christian name for the -<i>first</i> time. -</p> - -<p> -"Well—I am rich—all <i>I</i> have is yours; I am my -own mistress, and mamma loves me too well, and you -also, to thwart our wishes." -</p> - -<p> -"Darling Aurelia—it is incredible—that—that——" -</p> - -<p> -Roland knew not what he was about to say, so solved -the difficulty with a long caress, from which Aurelia -suddenly started back, as she now perceived they had -a listener. -</p> - -<p> -Unseen by both, Colonel Ithuriel Smash had been -standing in the archway of the outer drawing-room, -with a curiously malignant expression on his very -marked visage, for he had evidently overheard and overseen -the whole interview. His presence occasionally at the -Château de St. Eustache was only tolerated by Madame -Darnel because he was penniless, his store in 75th -Avenue having been sold up; and now he was fostering, -on the strength of a very remote relationship, some -very bold views with regard to Aurelia. -</p> - -<p> -"Jerusalem, apple-sauce, and earthquakes, my young -Britisher, but you make yourself quite at home in the -house of my kinsman!" exclaimed the Colonel, who -had concocted an effervescing drink in a long tumbler, -and was leisurely stirring it with the jack-knife used -by him for cutting his pig-tail tobacco; "I wonder -blood has not been shed about you before this, Miss -Aurelia Darnel." -</p> - -<p> -"Blood!" exclaimed Roland, swelling with indignation. -</p> - -<p> -"Jerusalem! but it may be shed soon." -</p> - -<p> -"But, that I am under orders for Chambly to-morrow, -I might condescend to punish your insolence and your -daring intrusion!" -</p> - -<p> -Roland pressed the hand of Aurelia again, and in -doing so deftly slipped a ring upon her engaged finger; -he then kissed her deliberately and withdrew (just as -the servants came in with lights), exchanging with -Smash one of those unmistakable glances that is -expressive of—and rivets for life—a hate that dies not, -fired by the secret instinct of mutual enmity; yet -Roland despised himself for having a foe so ignoble. -</p> - -<p> -That night, without delaying an hour, Colonel -Ithuriel Smash took his departure in the direction of -<i>Chambly</i>! -</p> - -<p> -Of so little importance had his presence been, that -Aurelia never missed him as she sat alone, in a dream -of joy that was not unclouded with anxiety for the cause -of Roland's departure, and yet it was that event which -brought the joy to pass, by laying bare the secret heart -of each. -</p> - -<p> -So the girl smiled fondly to herself, as she gazed at -and kissed again and again her engagement-ring; and -it seemed as if her former life had passed away and a -new one of greater sunshine and brightness had begun; -and long she sat there looking dreamily at the lovely -moon (shining over the spires of Montreal), round as -the shield of Fingal, her sweet face wreathed with -smiles that no eyes could see, unless they were those -of the old man who dwelleth therein. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0108"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VIII. -<br /><br /> -THE INSURRECTION. -</h3> - -<p> -Roland's heart was brimming with happiness and -gratitude for the love and generosity of Aurelia Darnel, -and it seemed actually to dance in his breast joyously, -when, next morning, the four companies detailed for -service marched from Montreal, with the colours flying, -the bayonets fixed, and the band playing the old -regimental quick-step of the pre-Revolution days, varied by -the pipes,— -</p> - -<p class="t3"> - "Dumbarton's drums beat bonnie O,"<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -in memory of the Colonel, that loyal and gallant Earl, -who followed his royal master into exile and died at -St. Germains. -</p> - -<p> -A hundred times Roland asked himself, why had he -not tested the great love of Aurelia before? why had he -lost so much time and so much happiness? A little -time—the insurrection ended, and he would be by her -side again, as he had somewhat needlessly assured her -in a passionate little farewell note, dispatched that -morning. -</p> - -<p> -A little time? Alas, the first day of absence seemed -to consist of at least seventy-two hours! -</p> - -<p> -The force which now took the field by order of -Lieutenant General Sir John Colborne (afterwards Lord -Seaton), G.C.B., Colonel of the Cameronians, a -wounded veteran of the Peninsular war, consisted of -detachments of the 24th, 32nd, and 66th Regiments, -with one howitzer, under the Hon. Colonel Charles Gore, -son of the Earl of Arran, and afterwards Deputy -Quartermaster-General in Canada, who marched towards -St. Denis and St. Charles, with orders to arrest -certain armed traitors who were alleged to be in these -villages. -</p> - -<p> -At the same time, Colonel Wetherall, with his four -companies of the Royal Scots Regiment, Captain -David's troop of Montreal Cavalry, a detachment of -the 66th, and two six-pounders, was to move on the -last-named village to assist a magistrate in executing the -warrants. -</p> - -<p> -The month was November, the weather severe, and -the roads bad; the men were in heavy marching order, -with knapsacks, great coats and blankets, camp-kettles, -and with the arms and ammunition of the day, making -up a load of seventy-five pounds twelve ounces per -man; but all were in the highest spirits. Anything -seemed better than moping in barracks, and when the -music ceased as they marched "at ease," they made -the forests resound to their merry choruses. -</p> - -<p> -All parts of the country thereabout which have not -been cleared for cultivation are covered with timber, -and he alone, says a traveller, who has visited these -regions of interminable forest can form an adequate -idea of their dreariness, yet there the red oak, the -white pine, the beech, elm, cedar, and maple mingle -their branches <i>ad infinitum</i>. -</p> - -<p> -Here and there a lonely clearing was passed, where, -amid lofty trees devoid of lateral branches, their stems -or stumps scorched and blackened by fire, stood the log -hut of a settler, who, with his wild-looking brood, came -forth to gaze with wonder, perhaps hostility, at the -passing troops. -</p> - -<p> -In autumn these magnificent forests assume hues -of every shade—yellow, brown, and red—under sunsets -which present the most glorious assemblages of clouds. -But winter was the season now; the leaves had fallen; -the humming-birds and fire-flies had departed, and the -wild fowl had taken refuge on the lakes or the -St. Lawrence. -</p> - -<p> -The force under Colonel Wetherall crossed the -Richelieu River by the upper ferry at the village of -Chambly, where, in the days of the monarchy, the French -had a strong palisaded fort; but the nature of the roads -and the unfavourable weather seriously impeded his -march, while information having reached him that the -rebels in arms at St. Charles had been greatly increased -in numbers, and had with them a number of lawless -American or Yankee "sympathisers," under his late -guest, Colonel Smash, whom he remembered at the -mess, eating peas with his knife and wiping his mouth -with the back of his hand; so he made a halt at -St. Hilaire, until he could be joined by a fifth company -of the 1st Royal Scots under Hector Logan. -</p> - -<p> -On that night it was evident that the country was -alarmed. Instead of the stillness usual to the time, the -clanging of church bells was heard at intervals, with -the barking of dogs, the report of firearms occasionally, -the blowing of conches and horns, red alarm-fires blazed -up on the dark summits of the distant hills; and more -than once horsemen in hot haste dashed past the -advanced sentinels without responding to their challenge, -and as the troops, as yet, were only acting in support of -the civil power, they could not fire upon these strangers. -</p> - -<p> -This was the night of the 24th November, and to -Roland, like many others, it was a sleepless one, as he -commanded an out-picket and had to visit his sentinels -every hour. -</p> - -<p> -On one side of his post rolled the mighty river, -reflecting in its ripples the star-spangled sky; on the -other, stretched away into darkness and utter obscurity -the vast dingles of an American forest, planted and grown -by nature. -</p> - -<p> -His mind was full of that last evening with Aurelia -and all its sweet details. On his odious rival he scarcely -bestowed a thought, and he felt happier than an -emperor in his palace, as he lay there, with his cloak -around him, his sword and pistols at hand, his head -pillowed on a pine-log, and all oblivious of the -rattlesnakes, which there are six feet long. Near him was -Robert Bruce, one of his sentinels, treading softly to -and fro, with bayonet fixed, and singing to himself the -old Scottish barrackroom ditty:— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Poor Willie was landed at bonnie Dumbarton,<br /> - Where the stream from Loch Lomond runs into the sea,<br /> - While at home in sweet Ireland, he left Mary Martin,<br /> - With a babe at her breast and a child at her knee."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The night passed in quietude, apart from the -alarming sounds mentioned; on the 25th November the -march was resumed, and on coming within a mile of -St. Charles, puffs of white smoke spirted out of the -dark jungly brushwood on the opposite side of the -river, as the rebels daringly opened a straggling fire -upon Her Majesty's troops. A Royal Scot was struck -down by Roland's side, and several were wounded. -</p> - -<p> -Rifle shots were also fired from a barn in front. -</p> - -<p> -"Push on, Logan!" exclaimed Colonel Wetherall; -"push on and storm that place at the point of the -bayonet!" -</p> - -<p> -Logan advanced with his company at a rush; his -powerful arm burst in the door; the place was taken, all -in it bayoneted or put to flight, and then it was set in -flames, the whole affair occupying little more than the -time we take to narrate the episode. -</p> - -<p> -Near St. Charles were more than fifteen hundred -insurrectionists under Papineau and Colonel Smash, posted -in a strong and closely stockaded work from which they -opened a sharp and serious fire, the echoes of which the -adjacent forest repeated with a thousand reverberations, -while the whole place seemed enveloped in white smoke, -streaked with flashes of red fire. -</p> - -<p> -The Royals responded with several rounds well thrown -in; but they had stormed too many such, works in -Burmah, the land of stockades, to linger in attacking -this one. -</p> - -<p> -A breach was beaten in by axe and hammer, and -cannon shot together. In three minutes the place was -carried by storm and its occupants bayoneted, shot -down, or put to flight; but not before seventeen of -the Royals, and four of the 66th were killed, and a -great number wounded, while Colonel Wetherall and -Major Warde had their horses shot under them, and -Roland's cheek was grazed by a rifle shot. -</p> - -<p> -The mingled curses and imprecations, yells of agony -and rage, seemed to fill the air, when the roar of the -firing died away, and the prisoners were disarmed and -secured. "Every officer and man behaved nobly," says -the dispatch of Colonel Wetherall. "Major Warde -carried the right of the position in good style, and -Captain George Mark Glasgow's Artillery did good -execution; he is a most zealous officer; and Captain -David's troop of Montreal Cavalry rendered essential -service during the charge." -</p> - -<p> -The murder of stray soldiers from time to time, and -particularly that of George Weir, a young lieutenant of -the 32nd Cornish Light Infantry, who was bound to a -cart, and hacked to pieces with his own sword, by -certain miscreants (among whom Ithuriel Smash was -supposed to be one), now began to infuse in the minds -of the troops much of that rancour which adds to the -severity of a civil strife. -</p> - -<p> -After the stockade had been uprooted and destroyed, -the troops returned to St. Hilaire and remained in -cantonments for three days. There a dragoon of the -Montreal Cavalry arrived with the mail, which brought -from Aurelia Darnel the first letter she had ever -addressed him, and the sight of her hand-writing raised -Roland at once to the seventh heaven of delight. We -know not whether he kissed it, but think it extremely -probable that he did, if no one was near. -</p> - -<p> -As the contents of love-letters are of interest to the -recipients thereof alone, and the said contents, with all -their half-fatuous endearments and double diminutives, -are at times rather grotesque, the reader need not be -troubled with that of Aurelia, save in one part thereof. -</p> - -<p> -"I told dearest mamma of all that had passed between -us, shewed her our engagement ring, and added, -that as soon as leisure permitted, you would write to -her on that subject. She was agitated, the dear old -soul, and tearful at the fear of losing me; but kissed -me many times, and said she was certain we would be -happy together, and that she loved you with all her -heart. Oh, think of that, Roland! But we shall have -mamma to live with us, won't we dearest, when I am -your own—your very own? She will be a comfort to -us both, and not at all like the proverbial 'mother-in-law' -of the novel and play. But I must now conclude, -as we are both on the eve of starting for our Seigneury -of St. Eustache, where the French people are taking up -arms; but they love mamma so much, that she hopes -she may prevail upon them to refrain from breaking the -Queen's peace. So adieu till I write you from there, -dearest, dearest," &c., &c. -</p> - -<p> -And then, of course, there was a postscript, containing -"cartloads of kisses." -</p> - -<p> -Had she told Madame Darnel about the long-hidden -will and his changed circumstances? -</p> - -<p> -Roland rather supposed not; she was generous and -loving enough, in her love and joy to have forgotten all -about the matter! -</p> - -<p> -Roland found an entire day's occupation in reading -again and again the letter of Aurelia, nor was it fairly -consigned to that breast-pocket in his uniform which -contained her glove, till the warning drum beat on the -28th, when the troops marched to attack another body -of the rebels, who had taken post at Point Oliviere, and -had actually constructed there an abatis of felled trees -for the purpose of cutting off the retreat of Wetherall's -entire force! -</p> - -<p> -But when the Royals came in sight, with their -brass-drums beating and fixed bayonets gleaming bright and -keen in the cold winter sun, and deployed from the -line of march with coolness and confidence into -companies for attack, after exchanging a few shots, the -rebels lost all heart, and fled, with the loss of their -cannon, which Roland captured at the head of his -company, sword in hand, together with twenty-five prisoners, -and then rescued his captain, a brave fellow, who in -the first advance got entangled among the branches of -the abatis and ran thus the serious risk of being shot -down helpless; and for all this, Roland was elaborately -and honourably mentioned in Colonel Wetherall's dispatch -to Sir John Colborne. -</p> - -<p> -On the same day the Colonel's force returned to Chambly -with the captured guns and prisoners; but though elated -by their success every officer and man was suffering greatly -from the heavy and chill rain which turned into mud -the wretched roads that were already knee-deep in snow. -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile tidings reached them that the Queen's -forces, under Colonel Gore, had encountered such -formidable obstruction, and opposition, and, moreover, -endured so much from the severity of the Canadian -winter, which had set in with all its bitterness, that -they had been compelled to fall back from St. Denis, -and retire. -</p> - -<p> -Marching was now laborious work, for when frost -came, the troops had to wear <i>creepers</i>, or plates of -spikes strapped to their feet. -</p> - -<p> -The snow lay so deep that one might almost imagine -no power of the sun would ever melt it; and, at times, -when the leafless trees are coated on every branch and -twig with ice, whole forests seem to be turned into -crystal, when the rays of light produce ten thousand -prisms, and most wonderful is the effect if there is a -slight breeze to set them in motion. -</p> - -<p> -Wetherall had partially, by his great success, arrested -the rebellion in his own quarter; but it was in all its -strength elsewhere, and the troops had many severe and -harassing duties to perform amid the frost and snow -of a very severe winter. It has justly been said that -the British officer is essentially a dandy, that "the -neatly and closely cropped hair, the well-trimmed -mustache, the set up figure, the spotless gloves, -boots bright as a mirror, and the general air of -dandyism are the outward symbols of those qualities which -make men good soldiers." -</p> - -<p> -It no doubt is so. The set up figure remained, but -in Canada at that particular juncture, the dandyism -had nearly departed, as much as it did in the Crimea. -</p> - -<p> -Amid these duties, Roland could have no letters -from Aurelia; neither could he write, for the postal -arrangements were completely suspended, or could only -be carried on by parties of armed men. -</p> - -<p> -At last there came a day—one of horror—and Roland -never forgot it! -</p> - -<p> -"Look here, old fellow," said Logan, with a bright -expression on his handsome face, bringing him a copy -of the <i>Montreal Gazette</i> some weeks old; "as Byron -says, 'pleasant 'tis to see one's name in print—'" -</p> - -<p> -"Even in the 'Army List?'" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, and proud was I when first I saw my name -there," said Logan. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, whose name is in print now?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yours." -</p> - -<p> -"Mine!" A sickening thought occurred to Roland -of the story of the concealed will, Ardgowrie, and the -discovered heir or heirs, for though he had schooled -himself to face the idea, it was a bitter one; therefore, -it was only a relief to his mind to find, that the matter -referred to, was the fact that he was favourably -mentioned and thanked in General Orders by Sir John -Colborne, commanding Her Majesty's forces in Canada. -"for his gallantry displayed on the 28th of November -last, at the abatis of Point Oliviere." -</p> - -<p> -As he read it he thought of Aurelia, and the pleasure -such a notice would afford her; and was carelessly -running his eyes over the columns of the paper, when -they caught her name—<i>her name</i>—and mentioned in a -way that made his blood turn alternately cold as ice, -and hot as fire! -</p> - -<p> -When proceeding in her sledge, with her daughter -Aurelia, Madame Darnel had been stopped and -surrounded near her own seigneury "by a band of rebels -under the notorious Colonel Smash, for whose arrest -a reward is now offered." -</p> - -<p> -The old lady had been subjected to such violence, -that she had fainted and been borne to the house of -the curé insensible, while her beautiful daughter was -brutally carried off by the "Yankee Sympathiser," -and was now, if alive, a helpless prisoner in his hands -at St. Eustache. -</p> - -<p> -Roland was petrified with grief and dismay by -intelligence, so deplorable—so terrible! Logan, full -of just anger and great indignation, was speaking to -him, but Roland knew not what he said. -</p> - -<p> -The former was recalling the views "the Colonel" -had with regard to Aurelia; he recalled, too, his -eavesdropping, his rancorous hatred, threats, and jealousy; -he recalled, also, the whole character and bearing of -the man, and when he thought of the soft, gentle, and -beautiful Aurelia being helpless in his power, at such -a time, when the whole of Lower Canada was rent by -civil dissension, outrage, and bloodshed, and when the -Queen's troops were menaced everywhere, the heart of -Roland seemed to die within him! -</p> - -<p> -Again and again had Roland thought, while angry -pride mingled with love and gratitude, that in -marrying Aurelia, he would deprive her of no luxury to -which she had been accustomed,—horses and carriages -in summer, the sledge in winter, a dressing maid, or -the thousand and one little things which wealth can -procure, because <i>she</i> had that; but he had longed to -make her mistress of Ardgowrie! -</p> - -<p> -Now—now, when he had lost her, perhaps for ever, -how pitiful and minor seemed all such considerations. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0109"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IX. -<br /><br /> -THE ABDUCTION OF AURELIA. -</h3> - -<p> -In the main, the newspaper report was correct. -</p> - -<p> -Madame Darnel, with the amiable object in view -stated in the letter of Aurelia, had been proceeding -with her toward her own estate, which was near the -pleasant and well-built village of St. Eustache, in Lower -Canada. It consisted then of about a hundred houses, -a handsome church and parsonage, and is situated near -the mouth of the river Du Chine. -</p> - -<p> -Her sledge was a handsome and fashionable one; -the day was clear and bright, the snow, though deep, -was frozen hard, and the sledge glided along -delightfully. It was drawn by two fine horses, with showy -harness, set off by high hoops with silver bells on the -saddles, with rosettes of ribbon and streamers of -coloured horse-hair on the bridles; and Aurelia—her -charming face flushed and pinky with frosty air, a cosy -boa round her slender neck, her hand, through gloved, -inserted in a sable muff,—was enjoying to the utmost -the gay jingle of the bells, the nice crisp sound of the -runners of the sledge, when suddenly and involuntarily -a shrill scream broke from her, when at a turn of the -road near the river, where the cuttings in the -banked-up snow lay deep between two rows of picket-fencing, a -musket was fired, and their driver fell forward, a corpse, -shot through the head, and the vehicle was surrounded -by a mob of men. -</p> - -<p> -Infuriated or sullen, but all ruffianly in aspect, these -men nearly all wore fur caps, with large flaps down -their cheeks, enormous pea jackets or blanket coats -patched and tattered, with India-rubber shoes, or moose-skin -mocassins, or thick cloth boots with high leggings. -</p> - -<p> -All were armed with pikes, pitch-forks, swords, and -pistols; many had fowling pieces; many more had -muskets and bayonets, and wore cross-belts stolen from -Government armouries or stripped from the slain; and -some carried their ammunition in hunting pouches and -shot bags. -</p> - -<p> -One who seemed the leader wore a huge coat of -buffalo hide, and looked like some great wild animal, -for of the human face, nothing was visible, but a long -blue nose and a pair of red and blood-shot eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"Jerusalem and ginger nuts, but that was a shot -well put in!" exclaimed this personage, whose voice -there was no mistaking, and the two horrified and helpless -creatures found that they were in the hands of that -gang of the insurgents—the most dastardly and -lawless—led by Ithuriel Smash. -</p> - -<p> -Their first emotions on finding themselves in the -centre of such a savage throng, were undoubtedly those -of extreme terror and shrinking delicacy; but Madame -Darnel for a time forgot her naturally womanish -apprehensions, collected the powers of her mind, and -throwing up her veil, confronted the whole band, which -mustered more than a hundred men. -</p> - -<p> -Among that mob were many on whom Aurelia and -her mother had conferred countless acts of kindness and -charity in sickness and health; but, like low-born and -ungrateful cowards, they hung back now, when they -should have rushed to her defence. -</p> - -<p> -Certainly, to some of the French insurgents, the -appeal of Madame Darnel, a handsome woman about -forty years of age, with an intelligent and sweet expression -in her well-cut features, and every way a person of -refinement and delicacy, was not without a little effect; -but the announcement of Smash that her daughter was -his affianced wife who "intended to slope with one of -the 'tarnal Britishers," against whom they were in -arms, deprived poor Aurelia of all sympathy, and a roar -of menace escaped his hearers. -</p> - -<p> -"Is this conduct your return for my kindness and -charity to a creature so immensely beneath me?" asked -Madame Darnel. -</p> - -<p> -"As whom?" asked Smash. -</p> - -<p> -"You, fellow!" -</p> - -<p> -"D—n your cussed impudence! Now then, Aurelia, -come along, white face. You look as if you required a -box of our New York 'Never-say-die or Health-restoring -pills,'" said Smash; and a shriek burst from -the girl as his coarse fingers with their long spiky nails -grasped her tender arm, and she was literally torn away -from her horrified mother, who fainted, and was borne off -by some of the better disposed to the house of the curé. -</p> - -<p> -Followed by the armed rabble, the helpless Aurelia -incapable of all resistance, was dragged through the -village of St. Eustache, and taken a literal prisoner, or -victim, to her mother's house which adjoined, the -seigneury of the Darnels, wherein Colonel Smash had -established his headquarters. -</p> - -<p> -For a moment or two she thought to conciliate her -chief captor. -</p> - -<p> -Tears big and bright were welling in her dark blue -eyes; her bonnet and veil had been torn off, and her -dark hair all unconfined rolled over her back and -shoulders, as she stood with clasped hands and pleading -looks before the so-called Colonel. -</p> - -<p> -"Do shake hands with me," she condescended in her -first fear to say; "shake hands, Ithuriel—let us be -friends, and send me back to mamma, or bring her -here." -</p> - -<p> -"Friends—friends be darned!" roared Ithuriel, whose -plug of pigtail dropped out of his lantern jaws, after -which he proceeded to air it on the point of his jack -knife, while eyeing her with mingled malevolence and -admiration, and seated himself on a table. "You won't -give me a kiss, I suppose; but I can take as many as I -like, I reckon; and you look as if you scarcely -remembered me—Ithuriel Alcibiades Smash. Strike me ugly, -but that's a bad compliment. But," added the bantering -ruffian, "I calculate I'll survive it! Flirtation -and courtship are two very different things, Miss -Aurelia, and I ain't disposed to flirt with you, as you'll -find out before long." -</p> - -<p> -Smash did not yet molest her; but she knew not what -he might do if he imbibed much brandy, as he had a -bottle beside him, and was helping himself liberally -to the contents thereof, while he talked; and she eyed -him with fast-growing alarm. -</p> - -<p> -That he had shot the poor sledge-driver, an old and -faithful domestic whom she had known from childhood, -Aurelia never doubted; and that deed added to her -unfathomable loathing and horror of him. She shivered -in his presence, and shuddered whenever he drew near -her. She glanced wildly at the room door, but escape -was hopeless. He saw the glance and laughed aloud. -</p> - -<p> -Was she acting in a melo-drama with the ruffian, as -the heavy villain of the piece? Was it all a dream? -It almost seemed so, the whole situation with all its -contingent horrors and future uncertainties, appeared so -new, so unnatural and unreal! He seemed to read her -thoughts, for he said,— -</p> - -<p> -"Was it not to spite that tarnation Britisher, who -used to come into the room with an opera hat under his -arm, like a roasted fowl with its gizzard, I might give -you a little time to think of marrying me." -</p> - -<p> -"Marry <i>you</i>!" exclaimed Aurelia in a peculiar tone, -that filled him with rage and caused him to indulge in -much language that was "more pagan than parliamentary" -till he roused her scorn and anger. -</p> - -<p> -"Coarse fool, and worse than fool! how dare you -use language that is unfit for me to hear?" -</p> - -<p> -"'Guess your Britisher will never see his wretched -little island again—too many rifle bullets flying for -that," said he irrelevantly, as he saw how every -reference to Roland affected her. "You encouraged that -'ere Britisher," continued the Colonel, still airing his -quid on his jack knife. -</p> - -<p> -"Encouraged—how dare you say so?" -</p> - -<p> -"Dare—there is no daring in it, my dear. Who -commands here—you or I?" -</p> - -<p> -"Sir, you presume upon your relationship in some -way with mamma, to talk to me thus, surely." -</p> - -<p> -"I presume only on my own love for you, and would -keep you, a daughter of Canada, as I would a daughter -of America, from the contamination of that 'tarnal -red-coated British slave!" -</p> - -<p> -Still, as yet, save when dragging her to the house—her -own father's house—he had not laid hands on her. -With all his roughness and innate brutality, he felt -that there was an undefinable something in the grand -hauteur, the excessive delicacy, the tone of refinement, -in the general aspect and bearing of Aurelia, that -quelled, while it secretly "riled" him. -</p> - -<p> -He noticed the very expression of her nostrils, the -quiver of her proud lip and the flash of her dark blue -eye—the flash of scorn and loathing when she replied -to him, and he quailed under it—he, the utter -American rowdy! But this emotion began to die as he -drained another bumper of stiff brandy and water, and -he took to blustering and swearing again. -</p> - -<p> -"Do not use language such as this—and to me," -said Aurelia, putting her trembling hands to her ears; -"surely you do not know the nature of oaths." -</p> - -<p> -"Don't I? I calculate I've sworn enough to sink a -seventy-four-gun ship," said he, with a mocking laugh; -"but surely," he added, drawing nearer her, and adopting -a coaxing tone and bearing, "in time you'll forget -all about that fellow, and see the necessity of quietly -becoming Mrs. Ithuriel Smash, when you cannot make -a <i>better of it</i>." -</p> - -<p> -The girl's heart seemed to give a great bound, and -then to die within her, at these words, the look that -accompanied and the dreadful inference to be deduced -from them. -</p> - -<p> -"Anyhow, I calculate that I shan't forget the evening -I saw you and that yaw-haw beast of a Britisher -giving each other such nice tokens of your mutual -good-will—he giving you what he calls his heart—and -you making a free gift of the whole seigneury of -St. Eustache! If once he comes within the reach of my -rifle...!" -</p> - -<p> -The Colonel was unable to express what would -happen then. He clenched hands and set his great -yellow teeth with such force, that his quid slipped down -his throat and nearly choked him. -</p> - -<p> -Two or three days were passed by Aurelia in extreme -misery and captivity, and almost hourly she was warned -by Smash that his patience would soon be exhausted, -and he would "send for the parson." -</p> - -<p> -She secluded herself in her own room, and found for a -little time a temporary protector in Papineau, one of the -rebel leaders, a dapper little French colonist, who had -now come to concert measures for the defence of the -village, and urged that the young lady must not be -intruded upon. -</p> - -<p> -"Snakes alive! man, don't I tell you she is to be my -wife?" roared Smash. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Mon Dieu</i>, my dear Colonel, that may be so," -replied Papineau, taking a pinch in the old Parisian -fashion; "win the heiress, but woo her gently. A -lady can only receive in her own apartment a clergyman -or a doctor." -</p> - -<p> -"And a hairdresser," added the barber of the village -who was there, armed to the teeth. -</p> - -<p> -"By Jerusalem, then, I'll go as a hairdresser and -scalp her, if she gives me more trouble! I'll teach -her that I'm half-horse, half-alligator!" exclaimed -Smash, who by this time was intoxicated to a dangerous -extent. -</p> - -<p> -A violent illness—the fever of great fear—had -prostrated Madame Darnel. -</p> - -<p> -Separated from the latter, Aurelia was without the -little protection her presence might have afforded. She -was glad to keep beside the female domestics of the -seigneury, from among whom she was often haled -forth shrieking to endure the extraordinary -love-speeches of Smash; at last the women quitted the -house in terror, and she was left there alone—alone -with a man whom she now loathed with a fear -indescribable! -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0110"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER X. -<br /><br /> -THE END GROWING NEAR. -</h3> - -<p> -The sea was frozen now for miles upon miles along -the coast, there were no electric cables as yet, and -inland all postal communication was cut off by -concurrent events. No news came to Roland from -Messrs. Hook and Crook, and for all that he knew to the -contrary, the newly-found heirs might have eaten their -Christmas pudding and drunk the new year in, at -Ardgowrie! -</p> - -<p> -But Roland gave not a thought to such matters now! -He had become changed in appearance, too; he was -thinner, and two or three lines appeared about his eyes, -where none had been visible before; and times there -were when he thought himself going mad with the -bitter strain upon his thoughts. -</p> - -<p> -He had but a wild, clamorous craving and gnawing -at the heart—a fierce longing to quit Chambly and -set out for St. Eustache. But Roland Ruthven was a -soldier of the Queen, and was chained to his post. -His place was with the colours of the Royal Scots. -</p> - -<p> -The cold at this time was intense; in the village -market-place were masses of beef, sheep, and deer -frozen hard as they had been for months, having been -killed when the severe weather first set in. There, too, -were plucked fowls, fish of all kinds frozen hard, and -eels as stiff as walking-sticks. Even the milk was sold -by the pound, and the loaves of bread, frozen hard -the moment they left the oven, had to be literally sawn -into slices, and half-and-half grog froze. -</p> - -<p> -The snow was deeper than it had ever been seen by -that proverbial party who is to be found everywhere, -"the oldest inhabitant," and military operations were -out of the question. Guards, when relieving others, -frequently took over the arms of the old guard being -unable to carry their own; and once Roland found a -sentinel frozen dead, hard and stiff and pale as the -snow around him, in his sentry-box, with his glazed -eyes glaring horribly out of their sockets. He was -Robert Bruce, already mentioned, who, poor fellow, -would sing upon his post no more. -</p> - -<p> -But amid all this, the mess often thought and talked -of punkahs, of Bengal curries, green chillies, devilled -biscuits, and other "up-country" memories, as if the -very mention of such things would keep them warm! -And at that merry mess-table Roland always felt -himself to be now—how different from past times!—the -skeleton at the banquet. -</p> - -<p> -But there comes an end to all things, and relief -came ere long to the agonised mind of Roland. He -was seated in his billet—a miserable wood-cutter's hut -at Chambly,—when, one morning, Hector Logan burst -in upon him like a gale of wind, bringing a tempest of -snow with him. -</p> - -<p> -"News for you, Ruthven!" he cried, shaking himself -like a Newfoundland dog; "splendid news! We -are to march at once." -</p> - -<p> -"For where?" -</p> - -<p> -"St. Eustache, my boy." -</p> - -<p> -"St. Eustache!" exclaimed Roland, starting to his feet. -</p> - -<p> -"St. Eustache it is. I have just seen the Colonel -with the General's order in his hand." -</p> - -<p> -"Thank God!" exclaimed he, with great fervour; -"we shall soon gain tidings now—you know of -<i>whom</i>?" -</p> - -<p> -"True, old fellow!" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes—and vengeance too, perhaps!" added Roland, -but his heart sank at the thought of how unavailing -might be all human vengeance <i>now</i>! -</p> - -<p> -Never did soldier prepare to take the field with -greater alacrity than Roland Ruthven. The chances of -Fate or of war might have compelled him to remain -where he was, like Tantalus, in his pool, or to move in -some other direction than St. Eustache! -</p> - -<p> -It all came to pass thus. -</p> - -<p> -The severity of the weather had abated a little, and -even while it lasted rapine and outrage had reigned -supreme in the disaffected districts. Sir John Colborne, -on the 13th December, with all his disposable forces, -set out on his march from Montreal, and Wetherall's -little column was to join him on the way to St. Eustache -to seize that place and scour the country about the Lake -of the Two Mountains, where the insurgents under -Papineau, Smash, and others had barbarously driven -out all the loyal inhabitants, leaving many of them to -perish miserably among the snow; and a vast extent of -country was ravaged and pillaged. -</p> - -<p> -Sharing Roland's anxiety, Hector Logan was in the -highest spirits, when the troops moved off and turned -their backs on Chambly, as they devoutly hoped, for -ever. -</p> - -<p> -Evening was approaching when the march began, -without music, and the drummers had their drums slung -behind them. The soldiers had their buff belts above -their great coats. The musket-locks had been inspected -and fresh ammunition served to all, which, as the men -said to each other smilingly, "looked like business." -</p> - -<p> -"No 'beauty and the bowl' for us to night, Roland, -by Jove," said Logan, as he set his face to the fierce -northern blast, which came sweeping from the Pole -itself over half a world of snow, rasping the cheek like -the roughest file. -</p> - -<p> -Roland commanded the advanced guard, which consisted -of two sections, with detached files, and as they -were penetrating into disturbed districts, Colonel -Wetherall repeated to him the usual orders and cautions -to be observed when entering defiles or hollow-ways, -ascending hills, with flank objects, and so on, and never -did the young officer feel more sternly zealous in his life. -</p> - -<p> -After proceeding some miles, just as the moon rose -and the guard entered a hollow-way, where the cutting -in the drifted snow was deep, Roland heard his first -advanced file challenge some one and cock his musket. -Then a man on horseback appeared, who replied in -broken English. -</p> - -<p> -Roland drew his sword, and on hurrying to the front -found that his next advanced files had stopped the stranger, -who appeared to be a peasant—a French settler. He -wore an old-fashioned <i>capote</i> and mocassins of cow-hide; -and had a rifle slung across his back. -</p> - -<p> -"You are a Frenchman, I perceive?" said Roland. -</p> - -<p> -"Monsieur l'officier," replied the man, saluting him, -"je suis Canadien." -</p> - -<p> -"Why are you armed?" -</p> - -<p> -"For my own protection, monsieur." -</p> - -<p> -"That may or may not be. Where do you live?" -</p> - -<p> -"My farm is on the Rivière de Chine." -</p> - -<p> -"Has it been burned?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, monsieur." -</p> - -<p> -"That in itself looks suspicious," said Roland, while -the stranger glanced uneasily at the dark mass of the -grey-coated and cross-belted column, now descending -the slope in the moonlight. -</p> - -<p> -"From whence came you last?" asked Roland. -</p> - -<p> -"The village of St. Eustache, monsieur." -</p> - -<p> -Roland's heart leaped; it was with difficulty he -could ask the next question. -</p> - -<p> -Did he know aught of a young lady who was in the -hands of Mie insurgents? -</p> - -<p> -"Mademoiselle Darnel—yes, monsieur. She is still -in the house of the Seigneur with Colonel Smash, or -perhaps in the church which is fortified. She is married -to him, people say—or, rather, <i>he</i> has married <i>her</i>," -added the fellow, with a grin, which nearly tempted -Roland in his then mood of mind to run him through -the body. -</p> - -<p> -He felt sick, sick at heart; but in a little time he -would know all—the worst! -</p> - -<p> -"Corporal Burns," said he, with a voice strangely -broken, as the listening soldiers told, "take this -fellow, with a file of men, to the rear. The Colonel -may wish to question him. Forward, lads!" he added, -as the peasant was taken, in great tribulation of mind, -towards the column, and once more the march of the -advanced guard was resumed, and Roland Ruthven -tramped on, so full of agitating thoughts that he never -knew his cigar had been cold and out for half an hour -or more. -</p> - -<p> -The junction was duly effected with the column of Sir -John Colborne; the Royal Scots Regiment, the Montreal -Rifles, and Globinsky's Volunteers, were formed in one -brigade under Colonel Wetherall. The latter force was -dispatched through the forests that border the upper -road leading to the point to be attacked, with orders to -drive back and disperse all pickets and parties of the -insurgents, while the remainder of the brigade crossed -the Ottawa, or Grande Rivière, on the ice on the 14th -of December. -</p> - -<p> -There along the Ottawa, the then snow-covered -country is undulating, thickly covered with fine wood, -except on the western bank of the river, where for some -twelve miles have been laid out townships, chiefly -occupied by Irish, and American settlers. Below that -of Chatham the old French Seigneuries begin. -</p> - -<p> -The advance on the enemy's stronghold now began -from several points. -</p> - -<p> -In Roland's heart much of the ardour and fierce -excitement incident to the march had died away, or rather -taken the form of unspeakable anxiety and grief, -especially when on the 14th of December he saw before -him St. Eustache, with its wooden houses and orchards -of bare apple-trees, the cold winter sunlight tipping the -spire of the church, and the vanes of the large white -house, wherein Roland knew that she might be, though -the man taken over night informed Colonel Wetherall -that it was not improbable she might be in the church, -which the rebels considered the key of their position. -</p> - -<p> -"Patience—patience!" he muttered, "patience yet -awhile!" -</p> - -<p> -No magistrate being with the troops, Sir John -Colborne, while still at a little distance from the place, -resolved to send forward an officer with the printed -proclamation. For this service Roland at once -volunteered. Tying a white handkerchief to the blade of his -sword, in token of truce, he borrowed his friend the -adjutant's horse, and galloped forward to the first line -of stockades or outer defences, behind which the dark -forms of armed rebels were seen clustering thick as bees, -and at the windows of the seigneur's house. -</p> - -<p> -The whole troops watched with anxiety the brief -parley that seemed to ensue; then it was suddenly cut -short by a lamentable crime. A stream of smoke came -from the window of a house, the report of a musket -rang out on the clear frosty air, Roland's horse was -seen to rear, with its rider lying back on the crupper, -but his knees still in the stirrups, to all appearance a -corpse, as Nolan's was borne back from Balaclava! -</p> - -<p> -A shout of rage burst from the Royals; the artillery -opened, and all pressed forward to the attack, intent on -dire vengeance, at a well-ordered rush. -</p> - -<p> -By barricades, palisades, trenches, and loopholing -the houses, the church, and its presbytery, Papineau, -Smash, and their bands of rebels, had left nothing -undone to render St. Eustache a somewhat formidable post; -and they were encouraged by the knowledge that other -bodies of their compatriots had fortified themselves at -St. Benoit and elsewhere. -</p> - -<p> -These preparations had, luckily for poor Aurelia, -occupied much of her ungainly suitor's time, but he -found himself at full leisure on the eventful 14th of -December, and he began his system of annoyance -again. -</p> - -<p> -"The Colonel" had never sacrificed much to the -graces, and his late occupations in St. Eustache had -effectually prevented him from doing so at all; thus his -appearance was every way the reverse of prepossessing. -</p> - -<p> -In her own house, surrounded by familiar objects, -though havoc and wanton destruction were visible on -every hand, Aurelia had after a time gathered a fictitious -courage, for was she not at home! But what struck -her as curious was, that in this fellow's strange -love-making he had never spoken of <i>love</i>, for, sooth to say, -he knew not what, in its purer sense, the sweet emotion -meant; and by partial successes, particularly the failure -of Colonel Gore's column before St. Denis, he was now -so swelled and inflated with pride that he threatened to -explode like a Woolwich torpedo, and ever and anon he -would say to Aurelia,— -</p> - -<p> -"Snakes! I could scarcely expect you to marry me -right off the reel, slick at once; but I may grow weary -of giving you time, so listen to me!" (here he registered -one of his awful oaths) "rather than that blazing -Britisher should succeed, I'd job my bowie into you!" -</p> - -<p> -If St. Eustache were attacked, and the Queen's troops -defeated, then indeed did Aurelia know that one way or -other her fate would be sealed. Indeed, it might be -sealed either way! -</p> - -<p> -Cold though the season—it could not well be colder—so -hot was the constitution of the Colonel (or his -"coppers," as he phrased it), that he was always -compounding curious effervescing drinks in long tumblers -from the contents of Madame Darnel's cellars; but on -the morning in question he said— -</p> - -<p> -"Aurelia, my dear, I have a bumper of that old -mydeary, which belonged to your dad, old Darnel! -Snakes! but it <i>is</i> the stuff. Not the mixtour of hickory -and Jamaikey rum we get in New York," he added, -draining a tumbler of the late Mr. Darnel's most -cherished Madeira, much to the alarm of his shrinking -listener, as intoxication always added, if possible, to the -Colonel's vulgarity. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah—ah!" said little M. Papineau, regarding him -with a smile, snuff-box in hand, "the ancient Persians—if -we are to believe history—never undertook any great -matter, and never discoursed of aught that referred to -policy or public interest, till they were at least, as the -sailors say, three sheets in the wind, and you seem to be -of their opinion. And now I must go round our posts." -</p> - -<p> -And, bowing with mock courtesy to Aurelia, he took -his sword and pistols, and withdrew, stuffing them into -the belt that girt his buffalo coat. -</p> - -<p> -Afraid almost to close her eyes at night, the poor girl -had now an unslept, wild, and hunted look in them, -with black circles round them; her face was deadly -pale, and her once beautiful dark silky hair, never -dressed now, was twisted in one great uncombed mass -at the back of her head. Smash saw all this plainly -enough, but he was pitiless as a Canadian bear, and -only muttered,— -</p> - -<p> -"Darn, me, but I'll tame her yet, and break her -spirit or her heart!" -</p> - -<p> -A little cry escaped her—a cry of joy, but more she -dared not utter, for lo! from the windows of the room -she could see, advancing over the waste of far extending -snow through which the great Montreal road lay, the -dark masses of the approaching troops, dark because all -were in their grey overcoats; but the fixed bayonets -glittered like a grey steely forest; the bright colours, -crimson, blue, and gold, were waving in the sun, here -and there the rays of the latter were reflected from a -brass drum. -</p> - -<p> -The heads of the infantry columns halted, and a -distant flash or gleam seemed to pass along the ranks -as the arms were "ordered" and the men stood "at -ease;" the artillery were all well to the front, unlimbered -and wheeled round, the horses untraced and taken to the -rear, and while one solitary officer was seen galloping -towards St. Eustache, a ferocious interjection escaped -Ithuriel Smash, and a roar of voices burst over all the -place, when some thousand men grasped their -arms—weapons of every description. -</p> - -<p> -How wildly with hope beat the heart of Aurelia at -this moment! But she closed her ears to the cries she -heard around her, from the colonists and their American -sympathisers. -</p> - -<p> -"Sacré Anglais! Blood for blood!" -</p> - -<p> -"Down with the Red slaves of Queen Victoria!" -</p> - -<p> -"Death to the island savages!" -</p> - -<p> -"We'll whip the 'tarnal Britishers into the sea!" -</p> - -<p> -And so forth, the phrases only alike in their spirit of -ferocity. Meanwhile the solitary and adventurous -officer was coming galloping on. At last he drew near -that portion of the rudely-constructed works or fortifications -(that connected all the houses and gardens of -St. Eustache) which was immediately overlooked by the -windows of the room in which she was compelled to -remain with Ithuriel Smash, who, on the officer reining -in his horse and waving his flag of truce, threw up a -sash to hear what he had to say. -</p> - -<p> -"Listen, my good people," he cried, displaying a -paper, "to the proclamation of Lieutenant-General Sir -John Colborne, G.C.B. and G.C.H., Commander-in-Chief -of all Her Britannic Majesty's forces in Canada:— -</p> - -<p> -"Our Sovereign Lady the Queen chargeth and -commandeth all the persons here assembled in Eustache, -immediately to disperse themselves, and peaceably -depart to their habitations, or to their lawful business, -upon the pains contained in the Acts made in the -27th year of King George the Third, to prevent -tumultuous risings and assemblies." -</p> - -<p> -A yell of scorn and defiance responded to the reading -of this brief document. Meanwhile a moan escaped -Aurelia, and a fierce chuckle Colonel Smash; and so -occupied was the former in looking at her lover, that -she took no heed of the Colonel, who softly and silently -locked a musket, took aim, and fired. -</p> - -<p> -Then a piercing shriek escaped Aurelia, as Roland, -to all appearance dead or dying, prostrate backward on -the crupper of his horse, was borne by it to the -rear. -</p> - -<p> -"Jerusalem and earthquakes!" said the assassin, -laughing. "No need to waste a second bullet now!" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh Father in Heaven, but this is too much—too -much!" cried Aurelia, as she fell on her knees and -covered her face with her hands. -</p> - -<p> -"Is it?" said the ruffian, with another fiendish -laugh, while proceeding to reload. "Now I think the -game is in my own hands in more ways than one, -Aurelia Darnel. We've dug up the war-hatchet, and -ain't going to smoke the painted calumet of peace -now!" -</p> - -<p> -She fell prone on her face in a swoon, and thus -Ithuriel Smash had to leave her, to come round as best -she might, as other work was cut out for him now, as -the troops were closing up fast on every hand, and already -the guns of Glasgow's artillery had begun to knock -everything in the village to pieces. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0111"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XI. -<br /><br /> -ST. EUSTACHE STORMED. -</h3> - -<p> -We have no intention of keeping the reader in -suspense. -</p> - -<p> -The shot fired at Roland had missed him, and only -barked a tree; for though he was so close, recent -potations had rendered "the Colonel's" aim a very -unsteady one; but his intended victim, inspired by a -sudden idea born of his own coolness and decision of -purpose, gripped the horse with his knees, and, -feigning death to escape further firing, fell back on the -crupper of his saddle, and in this way was carried -safely to the rear, followed by the yells and derisive -laughter of the insurgents. -</p> - -<p> -Believing their favourite officer slain, a shout of -rage burst from the Royals, and every man made a -forward step in eager anticipation of the order to advance. -</p> - -<p> -"A flag of truce fired on!" exclaimed old Sir John -Colborne, starting in his stirrups with honest grief and -indignation. "Forward, Wetherall, to the attack and -lead your column up the central street!" -</p> - -<p> -"I have escaped, General, by a miracle and a ruse," -said Roland, reining in his horse and sitting erect in his -saddle, to the surprise of all who saw him; "and now -I shall rejoin my company." -</p> - -<p> -He resigned the steed to its owner, and the attack at -once began—indeed it had begun, for the artillery had -already opened fire, and stone and timber were alike -going crashing down beneath it. -</p> - -<p> -Covered by the Montreal Rifle Corps, the First Royals -advanced, steadily firing up the central street, and -seized all the most defensible houses. Logan was -then despatched by Colonel Wetherall, with orders to -bring up some of the artillery; but he was driven -back by the fire of the rebels from the lower windows -of the church of St. Eustache, till the officer -commanding the artillery had promptly conceived where -his services were wanted, and galloping into the village -by the rear, endeavoured to blow or burst open the -door of the sacred edifice, but completely failed to do -so, so dense and heavy was the barricade of earth -behind it; but some companies of the Royals and Rifles -from the neighbouring houses opened a terrible fire of -musketry upon the occupants of the church, whose -shrieks and yells came through the windows, which -were almost instantly divested of every vestige of glass. -</p> - -<p> -After an hour of heavy cross-firing, and the door still -defying every effort of our troops, the Scots Royals -attacked the presbytery, which was full of men, forced -an entrance, led by their officers, sword in hand, and now -ensued a terrible scene, for they bayoneted nearly every -man in the place, and then set it in flames, while scores -of desultory combats were going on in the streets -without. -</p> - -<p> -There, in many places, streams and pools of crimson -blood dyed the pure white snow; in others, by repeated -footsteps and struggles, it was trod to slush and snowy -mire, wherein the dead and dying lay weltering—the -breath of the latter, in many instances their last -respiration, curling away like steam upon the frosty air -of the keen Canadian winter day, while on all hands -were heard strange cries, oaths, and yells. -</p> - -<p> -"Vive la République Canadien! A bas les Anglais!" -cried the French Colonists. -</p> - -<p> -"A bas la Reine! A bas la Ligne!" -</p> - -<p> -"Vive Papineau!" -</p> - -<p> -"Down with British rule; death to old Colborne -and his red-coats!" -</p> - -<p> -Such were the shouts on one side; on the other, only -the din of the heavy file firing, and at times that ringing -united cheer, the import or instinct of which there is -no mistaking. -</p> - -<p> -By this time the smoke of the blazing presbytery had -enveloped the whole church, which, as a wooden edifice, -it was supposed would soon catch fire. Now Roland -remembered the supposition of the French peasant, that -Aurelia might be there, and we may imagine the -sensations with which he beheld the dark smoke-wreaths -eddying around its taper spire! -</p> - -<p> -"Carry the church by storm!" was now the order -of Sir John Colborne; and while a straggling fire was -poured upon the column, from the house of the -seigneur and others, Wetherall ordered his grenadiers—we -had such soldiers still—to lead the van, the post -of honour and peril being ever theirs by traditional -right. -</p> - -<p> -The blood of all the troops was fairly up, and as the -column went forward surging and storming, and firing -with the bayonets pointed upward at an angle, the soldiers -of the Royal Regiment raised the shout of "Scotland -for ever!"—a <i>cri de guerre</i> first used by the Greys at -Waterloo, and last by the Duke of Albany's Highlanders -at the storming of Kotah in 1858. -</p> - -<p> -Pouring in by the shattered windows, leaping over -every obstacle, and plunging like a torrent among the -armed crowd within the church, the Royals made a terrible -havoc, and among those who fought here was Roland, -as yet untouched, and amid all the carnage and mad -confusion around him, having but one thought in his -heart. -</p> - -<p> -At the same time, some other of the battalion -companies, led by Major Ward and Captain Bell (afterwards -Sir George and colonel of the regiment in 1868), -a Peninsular officer who in this war commanded the -fort and garrison of Coteau du Lac, an important post -on the frontier, and received the thanks of Sir John -Colborne for his exertions in recovering all the -24-pound guns and 4000 shot from the bottom of the -river, and getting them in position amid the winter -snows to face the rebels—led these and other officers -we say, the rest of the Royals gradually fought their -way into the church by the rear, and bayoneting all -who resisted, set it on fire, and the corpses were -consumed in the flames. -</p> - -<p> -One hundred and eighteen men taken prisoners. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Quartier! Quartier! Je me livre a vous!</i>" (I yield -myself up to you) was now the cry of the French -colonists. -</p> - -<p> -"Quarter for the love of God, and her Majesty the -Queen!" echoed the British rebels, on finding that all -was over. -</p> - -<p> -Papineau, if there, was nowhere to be found; and -Smash, though seen often, had disappeared. -</p> - -<p> -In the apartment where we left her, Aurelia Darnel -had heard all the dreadful uproar around her—the -myriad horrible sounds of a combat on which she -dared not look, and she lay in a corner, gathered, as it -were, in a heap, though on her knees, unable even to -form a prayer, stunned, crushed, and bewildered, with -but one thought—"Roland dead!" -</p> - -<p> -Steps, sounds rather, drew near the room; the door -was flung open and Ithuriel Smash, pale as death, -bleeding from more than one wound in his body, and -with a dreadful rattle-snake expression in his eyes—an -expression of agony, madness, and rage, staggered in; -then he fell on his hands, and came crawling slowly, -panting and groaning, towards her, leaving a track of -his own blood—"the trail of the serpent" behind him -on the floor. -</p> - -<p> -His long knife was clenched in his teeth; his -murderous intention was plain—to slay her would be his -last effort, and in the corner where she crouched, -Aurelia could not escape him! -</p> - -<p> -She uttered a low wail of despair, ending in an -involuntary shriek for help—help for the love of God! -And help came. -</p> - -<p> -Poetic and dramatic justice would require that the -obnoxious Colonel Smash should perish by the hand of -Roland; but responsive to her cry, there burst into -the room, Logan of Logan Braes and a few of the Royals, -by whom he was speedily bayoneted like a reptile or -mad dog, and he died, biting at the bayonets, like a -dog or a savage. -</p> - -<p> -Logan tenderly raised the half-dead girl from the -floor, and in a few minutes after, the caressing arms of -Roland, caressing and reassuring, were around her—and -she felt safe then—doubly safe with him and her mother. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0112"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XII. -<br /><br /> -CONCLUSION. -</h3> - -<p> -With the civil war in Canada, our story has little -more to do. -</p> - -<p> -Suffice it that for a brief time, Roland Ruthven, -after seeing Madame Darnel and her daughter safe in -their chateau of St. Eustache at Montreal, had again to -join the troops, who advanced to St. Benoit, where, so -great was the terror excited by the recent victorious -assault, that no opposition was offered, and the rebels -sent delegates to say humbly, that they would, without -conditions, lay their arms down, and they were conveyed -under escort to Montreal, to meet the meed of their -crimes. -</p> - -<p> -The good result of all these operations was the return -of the colonists to their homes, and the disappearance -of all armed parties of insurgents. About the same -season, however, in the following year, when the deep -snows of the Canadian winter began to fall, there was a -second rising in Lower Canada; but it was again -crushed by the energy and gallantry of Sir John -Colborne at Napierville, and for these and other -services, the Queen created the fine old soldier a peer of -Great Britain. -</p> - -<p> -Prior to these events some startling changes occurred -in the history of the two principal characters in our -little narrative. -</p> - -<p> -The Darnel estate at St. Eustache was utterly destroyed; -the mansion had been ruined or burned, the lands -ravaged, and the circumstances of the once wealthy -widow were sorely impaired; her horses, carriages, and -many other luxuries had to be dispensed with and -economy become the new order of the day; but now, -safe at her own home at Montreal, all the beauty and -gaiety of Aurelia returned, and after all she had -undergone, even poverty seemed, a slight matter to -face—as yet. -</p> - -<p> -"O Roland darling!" said she, with a little laugh, -as they stood together in a window of the château one -evening in the spring, looking towards Montreal -steeped in the sunset, and where the greenery of the -woods was deepening faster than it ever does in -Britain at the same season, vegetation maturing with -wondrous rapidity the moment the snow disappears; -"O, Roland—I am poor as yourself now, and yet you -still talk of marrying me and going to India; but -could I take my poor mamma there?" -</p> - -<p> -Roland's loving countenance fell. -</p> - -<p> -"You lost your noble estate by a will; I my -seigniory—or nearly all of it—by civil war; our fortune -is ruined." -</p> - -<p> -"Yet—we must not—cannot part, after all—after all!" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh no—no!" murmured the girl, fondly and -plaintively, with her sweet face pillowed on his breast. -</p> - -<p> -Next day Roland arrived with a face full of such -excitement, wonder, and so many varying expressions, -that Aurelia knew not what to make of him and his -incoherences for some time at least. -</p> - -<p> -That morning the regimental postman brought him a -letter, the first words of which, however much expected, -made a lump rise in his throat. -</p> - -<p> -It was from his legal agents, Messrs. Hook and -Crook, Writers to the Signet, and dated from -Edinburgh:— -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"DEAR SIR,"—(It used to be <i>my</i> dear sir once) "We -beg to acquaint you, with much regret, that we have -now traced out and learned authentically who are <i>the -heirs of the marriage of your deceased uncle</i>, the late -Mr. Philip Ruthven, eldest son of General Roland Ruthven, -who went to Jamaica." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Roland felt very sick as he read, and paused; then -summing up courage, he resumed the obnoxious epistle, -and read on. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"From the latter place that gentleman went to -Canada, where he married a lady of Montreal, by whom -he had several children, all of whom are dead save one, -Miss Aurelia Darnel de St. Eustache" ("Oh, my God!" -thought Roland, "what miracle is this?"), for he took -the name of Darnel to please the family of his wife, -who was the daughter of a wealthy French seigneur. -</p> - -<p> -"We regret to be the medium of such very bad -news, but of course are now taking the usual legal -measures to execute the will of the late General -Ruthven, according to your own instructions." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -So Aurelia was his cousin, the daughter of the lost -Philip, who had quitted Scotland in disgust, never to -return, and she was the heiress of Ardgowrie! -</p> - -<p> -And he—what was he? For weal or woe her -affianced husband. It was all like the plot of a drama; -and some time elapsed before Roland could realise the -whole situation; but there was the prosaic letter of the -lawyers, which, under <i>other</i> circumstances, might have -seemed to cut his very heart-strings. -</p> - -<p> -Now how innocuous it was! -</p> - -<p> -Another hour found him by the side of Aurelia, and -to attempt to record all the explanations and loving -incoherences, astonishment and joy of <i>that</i> particular -interview would be a difficult task indeed; but even -while speaking to her, and while her voice was in his -ear, Roland seemed to see before him the cabinet of -Scindia, with the now baffled secret it contained. -</p> - -<p> -If Roland had now, in a modified sense, to blush at, -and feel shame, for his father's duplicity in the matter -of the will—a duplicity born of the various emotions -we have already described, dislike between brothers, -temptation offered on one hand, the dread of losing the -ambitious girl he loved on the other—and then the total -disappearance of Philip, he had to blush before one -who had accepted him as a husband when their positions -were very different, when all the odds of wealth and -landed property were, as once again, in her favour, -and he was still the penniless soldier with his sword -alone. -</p> - -<p> -And Roland, as he looked on Aurelia again, recalled -the youthful portrait of his lost uncle Philip at -Ardgowrie, and saw, or thought he saw, how closely she -resembled it. -</p> - -<p> -We have little more to add. -</p> - -<p> -The Darnel estates, we have said, were ruined; but -Ardgowrie was yet in all its baronial glory; to Ardgowrie -they would go, and sell the former, so it was all -settled ere the Canadian summer came swiftly on; thus -the reader may be assured that they were married long -before the month of August, so old Elspat Gorm's -"fatal day" of the Ruthvens was fully evaded. Nor -need we add, though we do so, that jolly Hector Logan -was groomsman, and old General Colborne gave the -bride away. -</p> - -<p> -In winning Aurelia, Poland regained his inheritance, -but he never left the old Royal Regiment, or returned -finally to Ardgowrie, till he had, like his father before -him, been long a popular colonel of the corps. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap02"></a></p> - -<h2> -THE SECRET MARRIAGE. -</h2> - -<p> -In famous old Cornwall, known as "the Land of -Tin," in the days of Solomon—the land of Druid -Cromlechs and Celtic circles, of those mysterious -sarcophagi named Kistvaens, wherein lie the bones of a race -unknown—the land of many wondrous relics of a -vanished past, lies the scene of the following events. -</p> - -<p> -Not far from that part of the coast which is washed -by the British Channel stands Restormel Court, at the -time of our story—a few years ago—the seat of Sir -Launcelot Tredegarth Tresilian, Bart., a proud old -gentleman, whose chief, if not only failing was an inordinate -pride of family; and hence whose principal regret was, -that though he had heirs to succeed him in his estate, -there was none to follow him in his title, which had -been bestowed upon him by the late King William IV. for -certain political services. His two sons had been -killed in the service of the country. One had fallen in -Central India and the other in the Crimea, and as the -baronetcy was limited by diploma "to the heirs male of -his own body," he had to rest him content with the -knowledge that he was the first and last baronet of -Restormel Court. -</p> - -<p> -Occupying the site of a castle demolished by the -French when they landed in Cornwall during the reign -of Henry VI., the latter is an edifice much older than it -looks. -</p> - -<p> -The whole house was an epitome of the past; trophies -of war and the chase—coats of mail and stags' -horns—decorated the hall, and some of the rooms had remained -untouched since the days of the "Virgin Queen," hung -with tapestry, which was lifted to give entrance; hearths -intended for wood alone, and andirons—heraldic -griffins—to support the logs; and there were curious cabinets, -Cromwellian chairs, and carved <i>prie-Dieu</i> of all kinds. -</p> - -<p> -On one evening in autumn, the present lord of Restormel -Court was lingering over his wine—some choice -old Madeira, which had been carefully iced for him by -the butler—in company with his two nephews, the -eldest of whom was understood to be, and acknowledged -by himself and all, as his future heir. -</p> - -<p> -Sir Launcelot, verging then on his eightieth year, was -a pale, thin, and wasted-looking man. He was toying -with his wine-glass, and from time to time contemplating -his wasted white hands, on each of which a diamond -glittered; and then he looked at his nephews, who were -intently conversing near the fire. -</p> - -<p> -They were both men about thirty-eight and forty -years of age respectively. Arthur Tresilian, the eldest, -and ever the prime favourite, was remarkably handsome, -with fine, regular features. -</p> - -<p> -His brother, Basset Tresilian, who followed the legal -profession with success in London, was less athletic, but -quite as striking in figure. -</p> - -<p> -Somehow people, especially in Cornwall, did not like -Mr. Basset Tresilian; and his periodical visits to the -Court added no brightness to the circle usually to be -met there. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, boys" (for though men, the old baronet, by -force of habit, called them boys still), "fill your glasses, -and don't leave me to drink alone. Egad! in my time -fellows didn't shirk their wine as you do; but it is all -cigars and odious pipes now. Well, Basset, what does -he say? Is he inclined to follow the example you so -boldly set him some sixteen years ago, and take unto -himself a wife?" -</p> - -<p> -"I cannot say, sir. It is of a horse we were talking." -</p> - -<p> -"A horse—pshaw! You were wise to marry young, -Basset. <i>I</i> did so!" said Sir Launcelot. -</p> - -<p> -"I have had no reason to repent me thereof," replied -Basset, complacently. "My family are charming; -Mona is a fine girl in face and figure." -</p> - -<p> -"Quite a Tresilian—eh?" said the old man, proudly. -</p> - -<p> -"And your nephew, Lance, is as handsome a boy -as any in London. I have, indeed, prospered every -day since I placed the marriage hoop on Marion's -finger." -</p> - -<p> -"Egad! you sing your own praises well, nephew -Basset," said the baronet, after a pause. "But you, -Arthur—why have you not imitated this fine example? -I cannot last for ever, and I don't want my estates to go -begging for owners." -</p> - -<p> -Arthur coloured with too evident vexation. -</p> - -<p> -"They cannot beg far, dear uncle," he replied, -"while I have the good fortune to be your heir; and, -then, Basset——" -</p> - -<p> -"His sons, you would say?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," replied the other, with a faint voice; for -Basset was regarding him so keenly that he felt his -colour deepen. -</p> - -<p> -"What is the booby blushing for?" asked Sir -Launcelot, laughing. "Blushing at forty! By Jove! -I was cured of it at fourteen! Will you ride with—I -mean, drive over with me to Carn Mornal to-morrow? -My friend Trelawny has three fine daughters, and I -should like you to make their acquaintance. Tresilian -and Trelawny would quarter well on a shield; or would -it be <i>impaled</i>? Will you go, Arthur?" -</p> - -<p> -"I regret to say it is impossible, sir." -</p> - -<p> -"When—why?" -</p> - -<p> -"I have been a whole month at the Court, and am -now due at a friend's house near—near London." -</p> - -<p> -"London again? The last time you started for -London, Trelawny gave me some hints that you never -went in that direction so far as the borders of Devonshire. -I can't understand your total indifference to the -society of ladies, and this resolute celibacy at your time -of life. D—n it, sir, it don't look well! and I only -hope you hav'n't conceived some unworthy attachment—I -mean unworthy the name of Tresilian." -</p> - -<p> -"I have not, sir," replied the other, almost angrily -for he still felt the keen legal eye of Basset upon him. -"I shall never, I hope, do anything unworthy of the -name we bear in common." -</p> - -<p> -"Thank you, Arthur boy. Give me your hand." -</p> - -<p> -"And now, uncle—leaving you and Basset to the -Madeira—I'll smoke a cigar in the stable, and look at -that horse I mean to take away with me to-morrow." -</p> - -<p> -And anxious to close a conversation, the subject of -which pained him deeply, Arthur Tresilian left the -stately dining-room, and strolled over the beautiful -lawn towards the stable court. -</p> - -<p> -"Can Basset suspect me? Does he know anything? -No! no!—he cannot! My poor Diana!" he muttered, -"still this humiliating concealment, and no hope save -through the death of that poor old man. Accursed be -this silly pride of birth!" -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -* * * * * -</p> - -<p> -"How long papa has been away from us—a whole month!" -</p> - -<p> -"When will papa be home, mamma dear? The -cottage seems so dull without him!" -</p> - -<p> -Such were the questions two handsome boys—one -was now quite a lad of eighteen—asked of a lady on -each side of whom they stood caressingly, while she -hastily read a letter which had just come by post. -</p> - -<p> -"In four days, dearest boys, he returns to leave us -<i>no more</i>!" she exclaimed, with joy, as she fondly -kissed them both, and once more turned to her letter. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="noindent"> -"RESTORMEL COURT, Sept. 8. -</p> - -<p> -"MY DARLING DIANA,—My uncle, Sir Launcelot, is -gone, poor man! He was found dead abed by his valet -this morning. No cause is assigned but old age, yet -he was hearty as a brick last night over his Madeira, -rallying Basset and me. Well, he has gone, with all his -overstrained and old-fashioned ideas of birth, and all -that sort of thing. And now for our marriage, dearest—now -all justice can be done to you, my much enduring -one! I am the sole heir to Restormel, and your Arthur -after me. I have written to the curate of H——, -Jersey, for the attested copy of our marriage left with -him, and expect it by return of post. Kiss our boys for -me, and believe me, dearest Diana, your affectionate -husband, -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -"ARTHUR." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Yet she remarked that it was addressed, as usual. -"Mrs. Lydiard, Carn Spern Cottage," forgetting that -she was unknown by any other name. -</p> - -<p> -"It is well named Carn Spern—the Carn of Thorns—for -in some respects, with all our happiness, such has -it been to me; but now—now all that is at an -end! and blessed be God therefor! Yet it is through -death—the death of an old man, however—a very old man! -My boys—my innocent boys!—they are so young—they -must never know our secret! Yet—how to explain to -them the change of name from Lydiard to Tresilian? -I must be silent as yet, and consult dear Arthur about -this." -</p> - -<p> -And now to go back a little way in the private life of -Arthur Tresilian. The favourite nephew and acknowledged -heir of his paternal uncle, he had ever been -supplied by the latter with a handsome allowance. -When travelling or sojourning for a time in Jersey, he -had there made the acquaintance of Diana Lydiard, -then a girl barely done with her schooling. Her rare -beauty fascinated him; but, unfortunately, she was the -daughter of one who, at Restormel Court, would have -been deemed as a mere tradesman. Arthur knew that -he should mortify, offend, and disoblige irrevocably -the proud old Sir Launcelot if he made such a -<i>mésalliance</i> as to marry Diana Lydiard openly; for he -knew that his uncle's immense fortune was entirely -at his own disposal, and that he was quite capable of -cutting him off with the proverbial "shilling" and -leaving the whole to Basset—the careful, plodding, and -thrifty Basset. -</p> - -<p> -So they were married; but wherever they went they -passed as Mr. and Mrs. Lydiard, the maiden name of -Diana. The marriage was duly registered in his name -in the book of the little Jersey church, and an attested -copy of it was lodged with the incumbent who performed -the ceremony. -</p> - -<p> -Arthur Tresilian took his girl-wife to the Continent, -as he could then with a safe conscience write home -for remittances. -</p> - -<p> -Amid these wanderings two boys were born to -them—Arthur and Ralf, whom she so named after her -father, and each boy seemed a reproduction of either -parent: for the eldest had all the personal attributes of -the father—was bluff, bold, and manly; while the latter -had all the dark beauty and gentleness of his mother. -On the education of these boys Arthur Tresilian spared -nothing, and both were already highly accomplished. -Everywhere they had the best masters money could -procure; but no profession was decided on for Arthur, -the eldest, as the <i>false name</i> and the expected wealth -raised alike doubts and objections as to what should be -done. -</p> - -<p> -Diana Lydiard was the daughter of a tradesman—true; -but amid the love she bore her husband, and the -luxuries by which his wealth enabled him to surround -her, she had ever felt her position to be anomalous, -and with it the pride that struggled against shame—a -shame that at times became blended with vague fear -and sorrow for the future. -</p> - -<p> -And now for the last three years the secret family -of Arthur Tresilian had been settled in a little -sequestered spot named Carn Spern, near Trevose Head, a -rocky cape that juts into the sea westward of Padstow, -and some thirty miles or so distant from Restormel -Court. There he was known simply as Mr. Lydiard, -and by the frequency of his absence was supposed to -be a commercial traveller; but as the little family lived -quietly, made few acquaintances, and incurred no debts, -their lives glided by unnoticed and uncared for by all -save the poor, to whom the charity of Mrs. Lydiard -was a proverb, and something more solid too. -</p> - -<p> -Through some unseen agency a whisper of an -alleged improper connection formed by Arthur did -reach the ears of Basset Tresilian, and through him, -those of old Sir Launcelot, and in the fury and indignation -of the latter, his lofty and aristocratic scorn, he -had a foretaste of what awaited him, and the three -beings he loved most on earth, if the reality became -known. -</p> - -<p> -And now the proud old man was dead, and all necessity -for concealment was at an end. Arthur Tresilian -succeeded to Restormel Court, with thirty thousand -pounds a year; Basset to eight thousand pounds, the -baronet's gold repeater, and all the legal works in his -library. -</p> - -<p> -"It is well the boys have gone to fish, I have so -much to say to you, Diana darling," said Arthur, as -he flung his hat away, and clasped his little wife to his -breast. "And about the resumption of our name, -Diana, they must simply be told that I have succeeded -to an estate which requires a change in our designation." -</p> - -<p> -"Excellent, Arthur." -</p> - -<p> -"To-morrow I must start for St. ——." -</p> - -<p> -"For Jersey?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, Diana, I am anxious personally to get the -attested copy of our marriage certificate by the curate -who married us, or a new one from the records. I shall -fill up the time of absence by writing my will in your -favour and the boys, to make all sure, for one never -knows what may happen. When you see me again, Di, -both documents shall be snug in this old pocket-book -my father gave me." -</p> - -<p> -And laughingly he tapped the heirloom, a handsome -scarlet and gilt morocco book, on the boards of which -were the Tresilian arms, surmounted by a griffin, stamped -in gold. -</p> - -<p> -"A strange little episode, almost a romantic one, has -occurred during your absence, dear," said Mrs. Tresilian, -for so we must now call her; "Arthur has -quite fallen in love with a young lady, whom he has -met riding her pony among the green lanes near Padstow." -</p> - -<p> -"Arthur—that mere boy. It won't last long, Di." -</p> - -<p> -"I hope not, and so will you, perhaps, when I tell -who she is, and the risk we have run: Mona Tresilian!" -</p> - -<p> -"What, my brother Basset's daughter?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, Arthur." -</p> - -<p> -"But the girl has gone to London with him, and -that will end the affair. And now to-morrow, darling, -I must leave you by the train for Falmouth, whence I -shall take the steamer to Jersey. When I return the -carriage shall be sent on here for you and our two dear -little fellows, as I wish you to enter Restormel Court -in the state that befits you, though my uncle's -hatchment still hangs above its <i>porte cochère</i>." -</p> - -<p> -Next day she was alone once more, and he had sailed -hopefully on his errand. -</p> - -<p> -The hour she had pined for during eighteen years—never -so much as after the birth of her boy Arthur—when -she should sink the dubious name of Lydiard and -be acknowledged as the wife of Arthur Tresilian, had -come at last, and a thrill of the purest joy filled her -heart. In her anxiety for her children's future she felt -small sorrow for the death of the octogenarian. How -should she feel more? -</p> - -<p> -His absurd pride had kept her under a species of -cloud for eighteen years, as a person unknown to the -world, and as one even now to be recognised with -wonder—yea, perchance with doubt. -</p> - -<p> -The period of her life so longed for, not for its -wealth, but when she and her children should take -their place in the world as Tresilians, had come at last. -There are times when an hour seems long. Oh, then, -how long must days, and weeks, and months, appear, -when they roll into years? All time passes inexorably, -however. While she sat reflecting thus her eldest son -was engaged elsewhere, but not, as she thought, with -his fishing-rod. -</p> - -<p> -"And you are going to London with your papa?" -said he to a fair-haired and blue-eyed girl, who was -clad in deep mourning, and who had pulled up her pony -in one of the grassy and shady lanes near the -unsavoury old fishing town of Padstow. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, and we leave by the train to-night." -</p> - -<p> -"And I shall see you——" -</p> - -<p> -"Perhaps never again, Arthur," replied the girl, -with her face full of smiles and tears, for she was less -affected than her lover. "I shall never forget you, -Mr. Lydiard, or all the pleasant walks and meetings we -have had, by these green lanes, by the Bray-hill above -the sea, and ever so many places more." -</p> - -<p> -"And you call me Mr. Lydiard? Oh, Mona, can -you leave me so coldly?" he asked, sadly; "may I not -write to you in London?" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, good heavens, no!" she exclaimed, with all a -school-girl's terror. "What would mamma say? And -then there is papa!" -</p> - -<p> -It was delightful to have a lover; but not delightful -that the fact should come to the ears of such a papa as -Mr. Basset Tresilian. -</p> - -<p> -"Then I have no hope?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, you have," said she, playfully tickling his face -with her riding switch. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, name it, Mona!" -</p> - -<p> -"I have an uncle named Tresilian down here in this country." -</p> - -<p> -"He who succeeded to Restormel Court, or some such place?" -</p> - -<p> -"Exactly, Arthur—the same." -</p> - -<p> -"Well?" asked Arthur, little thinking that she -referred to his own and well-loved father. -</p> - -<p> -"Papa thinks we shall spend our Christmas holidays -with him.—he is so jolly!—and, somehow, it will go -hard with me if I don't get an invitation for Mr. Arthur -Lydiard." -</p> - -<p> -An expression of thanks and quietude spread over -the young man's face, mingled with great sadness, for -she added,— -</p> - -<p> -"I must go now—must leave you, Arthur." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Mona! Mona! it seems so hard to lose you -now!" -</p> - -<p> -"My darling Arthur!" exclaimed the girl, giving -way to a shower of tears, as his arms encircled her -slender waist, and she permitted her soft, bright face -to fall upon his shoulder. But at that moment they -were rudely interrupted. -</p> - -<p> -Arthur felt himself seized by the arm and thrust -violently aside by a grave and stern-looking man about -forty years of age. This person was in mourning, and -instinct told the lover that he must be Mona's father. -He seized her pony by the bridle, and—after darting a -furious glance at Arthur, a glance not unmingled with -surprise, as he saw in his face a likeness to some one, -he knew not whom—led the young lady away through -a wicket in a thick beech-hedge and shut it. Ere he -did so, however, he turned and said to Arthur,— -</p> - -<p> -"Whoever you are, young fellow, let such tomfoolery -cease. This young lady leaves to-night for -London. Attempt to write to, or follow her, at your -peril; and I may add that we shall dispense with the -pleasure of your distinguished society at Restormel -Court in the Christmas week." -</p> - -<p> -Arthur's spirit was proud and fiery. He made a -spring towards the little gate, but checked himself; he -felt that he dared not confront, in wrath, the father of -the girl he loved, and so he turned sadly and hopelessly -away, like a good, simple-hearted lad as he was, to tell -his mother all about it, for he concealed nothing from -her; but, somewhat to his surprise and chagrin, instead -of sympathising with his disappointment, or betraying -indignation at the "flinty-hearted father," she laughed -merrily, smiled, and kissed him, thrusting at the same -time into her bosom a letter she had just received from -her husband. -</p> - -<p> -"But I shall never see her more, mamma," urged -Arthur, piteously. -</p> - -<p> -"You shall, Arthur—you shall! be assured of that. -Did your own mamma ever deceive you?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, no, never!" replied Arthur, hopefully. -</p> - -<p> -"And she is to be at Restormel—is that the name of -the place?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, mamma; Restormel Court—a grand place, -they say." -</p> - -<p> -"At Christmas? Well, Arthur, and you shall be -there too, or your mamma is no true prophetess." -</p> - -<p> -Diana's husband had reached Jersey in safety, and -gone to the little secluded church of St. ——, where -they had offered their mutual vows to heaven on that -eventful morning, so well remembered still, when their -only witnesses were the parish clerk and sexton. -</p> - -<p> -"The poor old curate"—so ran his letter—"you -remember his thin, spare figure, with a long black, rusty -coat, diagonal shovel hat, gaiters, and white choker—has -gone to his last home under the old yew-tree that -for centuries has guarded the burial-ground. By a -destructive fire in the vestry the whole of the marriage -registers, and some of the baptismal ditto, have perished -before the copies thereof were transmitted to -headquarters—wherever that may be; but I have, most -fortunately, oh, my Diana! by the special providence -of heaven, secured <i>the attested copy</i> of our marriage -lines, which the old curate made at my request from -the now defunct register. It was found among his -papers by his successor, and is now in my possession—in -the old scarlet pocket-book, together with my will, -which I have carefully drawn up in favour of you and -our boys, and signed before witnesses. I mean to -spend two days here with an old friend, and shall -return by the steamer <i>Queen Guinevère</i>, which leaves -Jersey for Falmouth on Friday, and which, by-the-bye, -has on board a large sum in specie coming from France -to England." -</p> - -<p> -"Friday? On Saturday I shall see him!" thought -the wife in her heart, with a sigh of relief, and a -prayer of thanks to heaven. "The register of their -marriage had perished! <i>What if the attested copy had -been lost?</i> Oh, what then would have been the fate, -the future, of their idolized sons—her tall and handsome -Arthur, her merry little dark-eyed Ralf?" -</p> - -<p> -Thursday passed; Friday, too; then came Saturday, -but no Arthur Tresilian, or Lydiard, as she had to call -him still at Carn Spern. There came tidings, however, -that the <i>Queen Guinevère</i> had left Jersey duly, but had -never reached Falmouth. Great was the anxiety, grief, -and terror of the little family at Carn Spern; for there -had been a severe storm in the Channel, and many ships -had been driven ashore about the Lizard and Land's -End; but none of these were steamers, and a whisper -began to spread abroad that the <i>Queen Guinevère</i> must -have foundered and gone down at sea, or some trace of -her would have been found upon the coast. But all -doubts were speedily resolved, when, on the third day -after she was due at Falmouth, Derrick Polkinghorne, -coxswain of the Padstow life-boat, discovered her -shattered hull sunk and wedged in a chasm of the rocks -near the lighthouse on Trevose Head. How she had -come to be stranded there on the other side of Cornwall -was a mystery to all, unless she had been blown by -the late tempest completely round the Land's End, and -been forced to run for shelter by St. Ives and Ligger -Bay. Much wreckage and many bodies were cast on -the beach; but, though none of them proved to be that -of Arthur Tresilian—or Mr. Lydiard, as he was called—no -doubt remained in the anguished mind of Diana that -he had perished, and she at once wrote to his brother -Basset, announcing the event, her existence, and the -legal claims of herself and her children. -</p> - -<p> -All this complication proved very startling to Basset. -He knew nothing of his brother's Jersey journey, -though he always suspected his secret ties; but, -ignoring the latter, he at once put his household in -super-mourning, and took possession of Restormel Court as -his own, leaving, however, no means untried to prove -the death by drowning of Arthur Tresilian, though -the name of Lydiard was borne on the list of -passengers. -</p> - -<p> -The following day saw Diana and her sons, attired -in deepest mourning, at the Court, requesting an -audience with Mr. Basset Tresilian—her close cap and -concealed hair, her long crape weepers, and face deadly -with pallor, announcing her recent widowhood, which -Basset viewed with a sneer, as with a haggard eye she -looked at the stiff ancestral portraits, the cedar carvings -of the stately library, the blazing fire, the gleaming -tiles, and picturesque furniture of white and gold and -crimson velvet. -</p> - -<p> -She announced with quiet dignity, yet not without -doubt and much perturbation, that she came as the -widow of the late Mr. Tresilian, to claim her place, and -the places of his children, at Restormel Court. He -replied, calmly— -</p> - -<p> -"You have proofs, I presume, of all this, Mrs.—Mrs. Lydiard?" -</p> - -<p> -"Mrs. Tresilian, sir!" said she, while her Arthur, in -silence and bewilderment, recognised an uncle in the -father of his Mona. -</p> - -<p> -Alas! Diana had neither the certificate nor the will; -both had gone down into the deep, with her hapless -husband. She had, however, the letter referring to -those documents: but Basset, after a furtive glance -at the fire, tossed it hack to her contemptuously, -saying— -</p> - -<p> -"I have heard of you before, madam—years ago, too. -My brother is drowned, and you are now poor. I dislike -death and poverty, and all that sort of thing; but -I'll do what I can in the way of Christian charity, and -have your hulking boys bound to trades. But you must -leave this place at once; the ladies of my family must -not come in contact with—such as you." -</p> - -<p> -She rose, and left the stately house mechanically, -with one hand on Arthur's arm and the other on the -neck of Ralf; and she looked at them in agony—the -latter her little pet, the other the stately king of the -playing fields, and captain of the school eleven, to be -tradesmen! -</p> - -<p> -Deep in the hearts of both boys sank their mother's -grief; but deepest in the heart of Arthur, who felt -himself called upon to do something—he knew not -what. -</p> - -<p> -He spent hours and days upon the solitary rock above -where the wreck lay, looking at the spot with haggard -eyes. Oh, if that shattered hull had a voice—had the -dead that came ashore the power of utterance, the -secret of his father's fate might be revealed; but three -months had passed, and who could doubt it now? One -morning early, as he came to the accustomed spot, -under the grim shadow of Trevose Head, he found the -puffins scared away, and the solitude invaded by -others—one of whom he knew well, Derrick Polkinghorne, a -bold and hardy native of the Scilly Isles, where people -spend so much of their time on the boisterous ocean -that for one who dies abed nine are drowned; and, by -order of Lloyd's agent, he was preparing a diving bell -to examine the wreck, as much specie was known to be -on board of her. -</p> - -<p> -"Mornin', Muster Lydiard," said he, for he and -Arthur had frequently boated together; "that's a smart -yacht outside the Lines. Sir Launcelot Tresilian's she -was—Master Basset's now." -</p> - -<p> -"What is her name?" -</p> - -<p> -"<i>The Bashful Maid</i>." -</p> - -<p> -"She sails like a duck!" -</p> - -<p> -"She does. Ah, there's ne'er a craft out o' Cowes -like that 'ere <i>Bashful Maid</i>!—'specially when she's got -a dandy rigged astarn; then she hugs the wind beautiful! -Just goin' down to 'ave a squint at this here -wreck." -</p> - -<p> -"Take me with you, Derrick; for heaven's sake do!" -implored the lad. -</p> - -<p> -"What on earth do you want down there?" -</p> - -<p> -"Only a scrap of paper, perhaps, Derrick." -</p> - -<p> -"Then you ain't like to find it, you ain't." -</p> - -<p> -"I should like to see the deck my father stood on -last." -</p> - -<p> -"I understand that, I does. Come, then. I wonders -as he went to sea in that craft, for last time she left -Falmouth the rats rushed out of her in thousands; and -they never does that for nothin'. But as for finding -paper here, you'll be like them as mistook the mild reflex -of the lunar horb for a remarkably fine Stilton. But -here we goes; and now take care on yourself." -</p> - -<p> -With a thrill of awe and horror, oddly not -unmingled with delight and a sense of novelty, Arthur -took his place beside Derrick on the seat that was placed -across the bell, which at once began to descend. Light -was admitted by convex lenses, through which were seen -the long trailing weeds, the creeping things of ocean, -and now and then the sea-green faces of the blackening -dead! -</p> - -<p> -They passed downward into the water, which surged -against the sides of the bell, and rippled over the lenses -till they were close to the bulged wreck. Her starboard -bow was completely smashed upon the rocks; the cargo -had been washed out, and was still oozing forth by -degrees. Already barnacles and weeds were growing on -it, and dreary, dreary and desolate looked that shattered -hull at the bottom of the sea; and Arthur surveyed it -with tears of the keenest grief. -</p> - -<p> -"Suppose a shark stuck its nose into the bell?" said -Polkinghorne. -</p> - -<p> -"I don't care if one did," said Arthur. -</p> - -<p> -"A dead body? and, by Jove, here's one coming in -grim earnest. On his face, it's a man. Women allus -floats on their backs; how's that, Muster Lydiard?" -</p> - -<p> -"My name is——" but he checked himself, for now -a corpse, which Derrick had roused with his pole, came -slowly athwart the stage at the bottom of the bell, and -remained there. -</p> - -<p> -Suddenly a cry escaped Arthur! The grey great coat -upon it, all sodden and studded with weeds and limpets, -he recognised as one usually worn by his lost father, -and, longing to know more, he implored Derrick to -examine it; for himself, he dared not move, or breathe, -or think! Oh, could it be, that those poor remains, -half devoured by fish, and floating face downward in -the sea, were all that remained of his handsome and -beloved father? -</p> - -<p> -"Hold on, lad, shut your eyes; and I'll soon see," -cried the resolute diver, as he lowered himself to the -loathsome task of examining the remains. -</p> - -<p> -Arthur dared not look; but ere long a cold metal -watch was placed in his hand. -</p> - -<p> -"It is not papa's," said he, with a sigh of relief, that -ended in a cry of horror, for as those in charge of the -bell began to raise it, the water surged within it and -dashed about the corpse, which came against him again -and again, till Derrick, who was investigating its -pockets, thrust it with his pole out of the bell, which in -another minute was suspended over the sunny surface of -the sea. -</p> - -<p> -"See, Muster Lydiard, I've found a pocket-book into -that ere poor fellow's overcoat," said Derrick. -</p> - -<p> -"It is my papa's!" shrieked the lad; "his old scarlet -book, with his arms and crest upon it." -</p> - -<p> -And in that book, safe and dry, were the lost will and -certificate of marriage. -</p> - -<p> -"But, oh," moaned the lad, when he had told his -mother this startling occurrence, as he sank half sick -upon her breast, "if that was poor papa I saw, he came -from his grave in the sea, mamma, with those papers -for you!" -</p> - -<p> -But the body was soon known to be that of a channel -pilot. -</p> - -<p> -Ere the end of that week Basset Tresilian had to -change his tone, and Diana and her sons took legal -steps to make her the mistress and them the masters of -Restormel Court. So autumn drew towards winter; -but ere the sad widow quitted Carn Spern, one night a -carriage drew up, a man alighted, full of bustle and -excitement; a well-known voice was heard, and Arthur -Tresilian, the elder, was clasped in the arms of his -half-fainting wife. -</p> - -<p> -Washed overboard from the steamer, he had been -picked up by a vessel bound for Cuba; his coat had -been donned by the pilot, so there was an end of all the -sorrow and mystery. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap03"></a></p> - -<h2> -THE STUDENT'S STORY. -</h2> - -<p> -It is a ghastly tale I have to tell, in some respects; -but so far as regards its close, I have some reason to -congratulate myself, and to feel, that "All is well that -ends well." -</p> - -<p> -It is almost an old story now, though I was an actor -in it; but the world is ever reproducing itself in some -form or fashion. Was there not an instance, in the -August of 1870, of a resurrection taking place at -Harrington, when all that quiet locality was startled -from its propriety by the discovery of a body cast in -its shroud beside its grave, which had been violated to -procure the jewellery with which the deceased had been -interred? My adventure, however, refers to the regular -old "body-snatching" times, before unclaimed subjects -were supplied to the anatomical theatres from our public -hospitals, and when houseless ruffians of the lowest and -vilest type made a livelihood by their loathsome and -almost nameless trade. -</p> - -<p> -I had graduated at the great medical school of -Edinburgh, after a hard tussle with Hunter and Fyfe's -Anatomies, Bell on the Bones, the cell theories of -Schwan, and even grappling with some of the abstruse -and now exploded speculations of Gall and Spurzheim. -I had mastered all; I had been solemnly "capped" in -the old Academia Jacobi VI. Regis Scotorum, by the -Reverend Principal L—— (now in his grave); I had -undergone all the jollity of the graduation dinner, and -with <i>Frederick Mortimer, M.D.</i>, duly figuring on my -portmanteau, found myself, with my college chum, Bob -Asher (who, by the way, had <i>not</i> passed), sailing from -the harbour of Leith for London, in the Royal Adelaide, -one of the only two steamers which then plied between -these ports. -</p> - -<p> -Though "plucked" for the third time, poor Bob was -in no way cast down. With him, study at Edinburgh -had been all a sham. He had duly "matriculated," -and sent the ticket as a proof thereof to his father, who -duly paid for classes he never attended, and expensive -books he never read. But Bob had always plenty of -money then, at least, while I had barely wherewith to -pay my class fees and lodgings in Clerk-street, a quiet -place near the University. -</p> - -<p> -At last I had the letters "M.D." appended to my -name—those magical letters which open the secrets of -households, the chambers of the fairest, the purest, and -most modest and refined to the perhaps hitherto wild, -and it may be "rake-hell" student, who is thereby -transformed suddenly into a member of the learned -profession, and a grave and responsible member of society. -</p> - -<p> -A comfortable home, board, and washing, with forty -pounds per annum whereon to enjoy the luxuries of -this life, were the inducements which drew me back to -London, where I became duly inducted as assistant to -Dr. Crammer, in Bedford-street, Strand, one of those -old-fashioned practitioners who always had a lighted -crimson bottle flaming over the door by night, and had -a dingy little room off the entrance hall, with a skull or -two on a side table, snakes in "good spirits" on the -mantleshelf, and which by its appurtenances seemed -laboratory, surgery, and library in one. -</p> - -<p> -The doctor's practice was more fashionable, however, -than one might have expected from his locality, and -many a patient of his I visited in the statelier regions -of Piccadilly and those pretty villas that face -Buckingham Palace and the Green Park. Dr. Crammer -was a fussy and pompous little man, with a bald head, -an ample paunch, and a general exterior like that of -the well-known Mr. Pickwick. He was vain of his -aristocratic practice, and more vain of none than of the -family of Sir Percival Chalcot, whose eldest daughter -was said to be one of the handsomest girls in London, -and whose son was in the Household Brigade. -</p> - -<p> -I flattered myself then that I had rather a taking -manner and gentlemanly exterior; and that old Crammer -was a little vain of me as an assistant, especially -after I passed at Apothecaries' Hall—an absurdity -necessary then for graduates of the Scotch Universities, -who otherwise, in London, were liable to imprisonment. -</p> - -<p> -I soon remarked, however, that he never sent me to -the baronet's. Every visit there he made in person, -and by himself; every dose of medicine, however -infinitesimal, was conveyed there by his own hand; for -he liked to have it to say to a friend <i>en passant</i>, "I am -just going to," or, "have come from Sir Percival -Chalcot. Lady Chalcot is unwell;" or, "Miss Gertrude -over-danced herself at the Palace last night." So -that great house, near where now the stately arch is -overtopped by that hideous statue of Wellington, was to -me as a sealed book. I soon ceased to think about it, and -gave all my attention and skill to the smaller fry in the -neighbourhood of the Strand; and between St. Clement's -and St. Martin's there is scope enough, heaven knows! -</p> - -<p> -One day a professional visit had taken me farther -westward than usual, and I was sitting wearily on a -seat in Hyde Park, near the statue of Achilles, watching -the occasional carriages rolling past—I say occasional, -for it was an hour or two before the fashionable -time—when a cry roused me, and I saw a spirited -horse coming along the drive at a terrific pace. Its head -was down, and it had evidently the bit between its -teeth; while the reins, which had escaped the hand of -the rider, a lady, were dangling between, the forelegs. -She seemed a skilful horsewoman, and kept her saddle -well. I saw her floating skirt, her streaming veil, her -pale face, and wild, imploring glance as she came on. -</p> - -<p> -One or two men attempted to catch the bridle, but -were instantly knocked over. -</p> - -<p> -I leaped the iron railing, and by the greatest good -fortune contrived to snatch the reins, to gather them -together at the same instant, to twist the curb behind the -horse's jaw, thus arresting his progress; and then, with -a strength I did not think myself possessed of, to bear -it furiously back upon its haunches. At the same -moment that I thus mastered it, I was conscious of -hearing something snap; a dreadful pain shot through -my left arm, which hung powerless by my side; but -the lady who was both young and beautiful, with a -charmingly minute face, and large dark hazel eyes -gave me a glance expressive of intense relief and -gratitude. -</p> - -<p> -"Thank you, sir—thank you. Oh, how shall I ever -sufficiently thank you?" she muttered hurriedly with -pallid lips. -</p> - -<p> -"It was well done, miss—splendidly done of the -gentleman," said her old gray-haired groom, who -came up at a rasping pace. "Another instant and the -blind brute would have dashed you ag'in yonder gate." -</p> - -<p> -"My papa shall thank you for this, sir; at present I -am unable to speak," she added. -</p> - -<p> -So also was I; but she knew not the extent of the -injury I had suffered, as she bowed and rode away, her -horse being now led by the groom, who had taken its -bridle; while I was left there with my broken limb, -and without any clue as to who she was, save her -handkerchief, which I had picked up on the walk, and -in a corner of which was the single letter "G." -</p> - -<p> -For a time I felt very faint; but at that juncture -Bob Asher drove past in his phaeton, and took me -home. Old Crammer set the bone, which progressed -favourably, and after a few days I was able to go -abroad a little, with my arm in a leather case and black -sling. -</p> - -<p> -The face of the girl I had saved—a haunting face, -indeed—dwelt in my memory; and now that danger -was past, I thought of the episode with pleasure, for I -had scarcely a female friend in London; and I -wondered in my heart if she ever thought of the -humble pedestrian to whom she owed so much, and who -had so suffered in her cause. I could scarcely flatter -myself that she did so, for she was evidently by her air -and bearing, and by the mettle of the horses ridden by -herself and her groom, one of the "upper ten thousand;" -one in wealth, if not in rank and position, far above an -assistant to a sawbones in the Strand. She might be -married, too; yet she had nothing of the matron in her -appearance. -</p> - -<p> -But often, when I had the opportunity, I went back -to the place where I had checked that furious horse, and -looked, but in vain, for it and its bright-eyed rider; so -I kept the little lace-edged handkerchief as a <i>souvenir</i> -of the occurrence. -</p> - -<p> -About a fortnight after this, Crammer was summoned -to attend the deathbed of an aunt at Gravesend—one -from whom he had some monetary expectations -that were not to be neglected. The whole <i>onus</i> of our -practice thus for a time fell on me, and I was worked -very hard. Among many other visits to pay, was one -at the house of Sir Percival Chalcot, from whom a -message came for Crammer, urging his attendance without -delay. Ordering the little "pill-box," as we called his -brougham, I drove off in state to explain about his -absence, and offer <i>my</i> professional services. -</p> - -<p> -A tall servant, in showy livery, with the invariable -whiskers and calves of his fraternity in London, ushered -me along the marble vestibule up a stately staircase, -adorned by pictures and statuary, into a beautiful little -library, where Sir Percival, a tall, thin, and -aristocratic-looking old gentleman, received me politely, but -somewhat pompously, and with an air of puzzle and surprise. -</p> - -<p> -"It was Doctor Crammer I most particularly wished -to see," said he; "and he may be absent some days, -you say? Very awkward—especially as he, and he -alone, knows the general constitution of my family. I -dislike to consult a young man on the nervous disorder -of a young lady, but I may mention to you that my -eldest daughter has been engaged for a year past to a -friend; the settlements are all drawn out most satisfactorily, -I assure you; everything has been adjusted for -the marriage, even to the line of their continental tour; -but for the last three months she has sunk into exceedingly -low spirits. She suffers from nervous depression, -and at times is quite listless. Now, I think that -something bracing—some system of tonics—you understand?" -</p> - -<p> -"Sir Percival, could I see Miss Chalcot?" -</p> - -<p> -"Well—yes, certainly; that, of course, will be -necessary first." -</p> - -<p> -"What is her age, may I ask?" -</p> - -<p> -"Twenty. Please to follow me." -</p> - -<p> -He led me into a magnificent drawing-room, through -the festooned curtains of which I saw another beyond with -the buhl and marqueterie tables, easy chairs, couches, -mirrors, and glass shades, peculiar to such apartments. -There was a pleasant odour of flowers and perfume; -and there, seated on a low folding-chair, was a young -lady, in a maize-coloured silk dress, the tint of which -well became her rich dark beauty. On the soft carpet -we approached unheard, or, if noticed, she never deigned -to move, and I could observe the superb development -of her figure, which looked more like the maturity of -twenty-eight than twenty. -</p> - -<p> -Her attitude was expressive of perfect listlessness; -a book lay on her knee, but her eyes were bent on -vacancy. The purity of her profile was most pleasing; -her eyelashes were long and black, and curled at the -tips. The masses of her dark chestnut-coloured hair -were looped up on her head in such a manner as to -show the delicacy and contour of her throat and cheek, -the complexion of which was pale and clear. Her nose -was straight, with nostrils deeply curved; and the lips -were full, as if with a fixed pout. -</p> - -<p> -"It is the doctor, my dear girl," said Sir Percival. -</p> - -<p> -But she only raised her shoulders and eyebrows a -little, and became again, still and quiet. -</p> - -<p> -"Gertrude, dearest, 'tis the doctor. I told you that -I should send for him." -</p> - -<p> -"He is welcome," replied the girl, as she raised her -large, dark, and at that time sullen-looking eyes to -mine; and then added, "But this is not Dr. Crammer, -papa." -</p> - -<p> -"It is his assistant, Dr.—Dr.—Colliner." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, papa!" she exclaimed, suddenly starting to -her feet, as the whole expression of her face changed; -"it is the gentleman who saved me in the Park, when -that horrid animal——and your arm, sir—was it -injured on that occasion? Oh, I hope not!" -</p> - -<p> -"It was broken——" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, good heavens!—and for me!" -</p> - -<p> -"In such a cause I should have risked the arms of -Briareus, had I possessed them!" said I, with enthusiasm. -</p> - -<p> -"Permit me to thank you, sir," said the baronet, -stiffly and grandly. "I always thought that the -gentleman who had rendered my family a service so -important would have done us the honour to have left his -card, at least." -</p> - -<p> -"But I knew not whom I had aided, sir, or where to -call." -</p> - -<p> -"Most true," said Miss Chalcot; "I left you in such -rude haste; but, then, I was so alarmed!" -</p> - -<p> -"And now, Miss Chalcot, permit me to feel your pulse." -</p> - -<p> -I put my fingers on the delicate wrist. Her pulse -was going like lightning for a time; then it became -intermittent; then feeble, as the old listless expression of -inquietude stole over her fine face again, as her mind, -probably by the object of my visit, reverted to its old -train of thought, whatever it was. -</p> - -<p> -Sir Percival regarded us dubiously over the point of -his high, thin, aristocratic nose. I was evidently too -young, perhaps too goad-looking, or had too great an -air of <i>empressement</i> about me, to suit his ideas of a -medical adviser for his daughter, so he said, coldly and -loftily— -</p> - -<p> -"Without disparagement to you, sir, I think I should -rather have Crammer's opinion, Dr.—-Dr. Lorimer." -</p> - -<p> -"Mortimer," I suggested, mildly. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, yes! If he don't come soon to town, I'll have -Clarke or Cooper to see her." -</p> - -<p> -"Then I shall bid you good morning," said I, assuming -my hat; but turning again to the daughter, while -he was ringing the bell for the servant—he of the calves -and whiskers—to order the "pill-box," I said, "I have -often gone to the scene of your accident, at <i>the same hour</i>, -to look for you. Pardon me saying this; but your face -so dwelt in my memory." -</p> - -<p> -"At the same hour—it was about <i>two</i> in the -afternoon," said she, with a bright smile. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes—good evening, Dr. Short," blundered the baronet. -</p> - -<p> -My name was evidently not worth his committal to -memory. -</p> - -<p> -And I drove away, feeling happy in the consciousness -that I had seen her again, and that, though <i>engaged</i>, -as I had been told, I should see her again where -we first met, for her bright glance of intelligence told -me <i>that</i>. -</p> - -<p> -Her father had shown pretty pointedly—with all his -punctilio, almost rudely—that he had no further use for -my professional services; but I felt deeply smitten by -the beauty of the girl. I strove in vain to thrust her -image from my thoughts, and recalled again and again -the galling information that she was the betrothed bride -of some beast—I rated him "a beast"—unknown; but -strove in vain; and found myself going to sleep that -night in my den above the surgery in Bedford Street, -with her laced handkerchief under my pillow, like a -lover of romance, with all the roar of the prosaic Strand -in my ears. -</p> - -<p> -Next afternoon—Crammer was dutifully at his rich -aunt's funeral—saw me in the park, and occupying the -same seat from whence I started to arrest the runaway -horse. Every fair <i>equestrienne</i> I saw in the distance -made my heart beat quicker; but how joyous were its -emotions—how high its pulses—when, exactly at the -hour of two, I saw her come trotting slowly along the -walk, accompanied by the same old groom, and draw -up, with her little gauntletted glove tight on the bridle -rein, just before me. I came forward, and, after -raising my hat, presented my hand, which I felt to be -trembling. -</p> - -<p> -"Somehow, I thought you would be here," said she, -with charming frankness, "and how is your arm? -Better still, I trust." -</p> - -<p> -"I shall have the splints off to-morrow, Miss Chalcot." -</p> - -<p> -"That is good—I'm so thankful! Do you know -that though this is only the third time we have met, -Dr. Mortimer, I feel quite as if we were old friends? -You must have thought my reception of you rather -ungracious yesterday." -</p> - -<p> -"Nay; but for what does your papa think you -require medical advice? You seem perfectly well." -</p> - -<p> -Her face fell—her features, or the expression of -them, changed as I spoke. -</p> - -<p> -"That is my secret. No doctor can cure me, or -'minister to a mind diseased;' not that mine is precisely -so," she added, with a merry, ringing laugh. "Neither -papa nor mamma can understand me. I lack decision -and firmness, I fear. Dark women are imagined to be -fiery, and all that sort of thing; but it is the fair little -women of this world who possess the firmest will and -greatest strength of character." -</p> - -<p> -"But you are subject to low spirits, your papa -hinted." -</p> - -<p> -"Not naturally; but for a year past my heart has -begun to fail me in hopes of the future, why, or how, -I cannot tell you; and now, dear Dr. Mortimer, good -morning," and away she trotted, with a pleasant smile -and a graceful bow, leaving me rooted to the spot -with admiration of her beauty, the craving to see her -again strong in my heart, and conflicting with the -fear that she was fickle, and wearied of her engagement, -or had conceived a fancy for some one else, a year -ago. -</p> - -<p> -From that period she had begun to date her emotions -of sadness. -</p> - -<p> -A year ago, I had been a hard student in my little -den in Clerk Street, Edinburgh, a dim shadow in the -distance now. -</p> - -<p> -"Go it, old boy," said Bob Asher, who came suddenly -upon me a-foot—the phaeton was gone now—"that's -not one of old Crammer's patients surely. You -are getting on, Fred, and if you wish to continue doing -so always talk most to the women, and middle-aged -ones; flatter the young girls, but on the sly only; and -make a most fatherly fuss with the babies, however -ugly or squally, at all times." -</p> - -<p> -Rashly heedless of what the old groom might think -or report on the subject, I had an interview there -almost daily, for a few brief minutes; at times it was -but a bow and a smile, if she was accompanied by -friends, or more especially by her brother; and it went -hard with me but I made my professional visits and -old Crammer's practice suit my plans—if plans I -had—for I had given myself up to the intoxication -of—yes, of loving Gertrude Chalcot, though she seemed -placed above me by Fate as far as the planets are above -the earth; but with the conviction came reflections that -were not in my mind when the charm of her presence -absorbed every other thought and feeling. -</p> - -<p> -When I was alone came calmer thoughts. She was -engaged, though to whom I knew not, and she might -just be amusing herself with me for the time, while I -was laying at her feet the purest love of an honest -and affectionate heart. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - Why did I love her? Curious fool, be still!<br /> - Is human love the fruit of human will?<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Engaged to another—whose ring was doubtless on -her finger—another, who had the privilege of kissing -and caressing her, while I had but a formal interview, -a park rail between, and the eyes of an observant old -groom upon us. I felt as jealous as a Turk or Spaniard -at the idea. One day I briefly implored her to meet me -a-foot in another part of the park. She agreed to do so, -and we had the opportunity of an explanation. I shall -never forget how charming my dark-eyed and dark-haired -beauty looked in a yellow crape bonnet—that -tint ever so suitable to a brunette—with violet flowers -between it and her pure complexion. -</p> - -<p> -In language that was broken, but which the emotions -of my heart inspired, I told her of the enchantment her -society was to me; of the love that was becoming a -part of my nature, the love that had been so almost -ever since I had seen her, and led me to treasure her -handkerchief (which I then drew from my breast); but, -I added, that as she was plighted to another—more than -all, as she was so rich and I so poor, I had come to the -bitter resolution of seeing her no more, and quitting -England for some distant colony. -</p> - -<p> -"You love me then?" she asked, calmly, and with -downcast eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"Love you! Oh, words cannot tell you how fondly, -Gertrude." -</p> - -<p> -"Then I, too, am the victim of circumstances. By -the manoeuvres of mamma, who is a great matchmaker, -in the very year of my <i>début</i> in London she contrived, -I scarcely know how, to have me engaged to a man for -whom I cared nothing then, and, oh, how much less -now! A young girl of eighteen, his presence dazzled, -his attentions flattered me, and that was the whole -matter. I tolerated him. I have done all I can to -delay the marriage for many months by feigning -illness; but papa and mamma say that to make a regular -break off will prove such an <i>esclandre</i> in society. Yet -is my life, all my future, to be sacrificed for the myth -we call society? I foresee too clearly what my fate will -be, to pass through existence unloving and unloved; -but it is heaven's will, or rather mamma's pleasure." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, that I were rich, Gertrude, or that men could -not stigmatise me as an adventurer and fortune-hunter, -as they will be sure to do, if I—I——" -</p> - -<p> -"Did what?" -</p> - -<p> -"Proposed the alternative." -</p> - -<p> -"Fear nothing, Fred, but speak. I need advice." -</p> - -<p> -The sound of my name on her lips, the intense sweetness -of her eyes and sorrow of her air, rendered me -blind to all but her beauty, her love, and the passion -that was in my own heart, and oblivious of those who -might be passing near—and afterwards we had soon -cruel reason to believe that we were not only seen, but -watched, as it was quite unusual for her to be out a-foot -and alone—I told her that if she would rely upon my -affection and honour, on the love with which she had -already inspired me, it would be the duty of my life to -render hers happy; that I would save her from the -delusive snare called "society," and the thraldom of her -proud old father and calculating mother. Of course, I -didn't call them so to her. I spoke with boldness, -decision, and facility, for love and passion lent me -power. I looked into her eyes and saw an answering -light; but she answered, pale and trembling the while— -</p> - -<p> -"You are poor, you say, my dear Fred. Now papa -is rich, and ambitious of being richer. Alas! you -must be satisfied with——" -</p> - -<p> -"What?—your friendship? Oh, Gertrude, can you -speak so coldly, and to me?" -</p> - -<p> -Her tears fell fast. -</p> - -<p> -"You overrate my powers of endurance. To be your -friend, and even that only in secret,—to see you, after -your avowal to me, the wife of another perhaps, rendering -all my existence hereafter a blank." -</p> - -<p> -"I do not mean that, Fred. Alas! I know not what -I do mean," she added, weeping so bitterly that my -heart was pained. -</p> - -<p> -"Mean—say that you will be mine, and not the wife -of this mysterious other." -</p> - -<p> -"To-morrow I shall be here again—to-morrow shall -end all!" -</p> - -<p> -She held up her sweet face; no one seemed near. -With the speed of thought I pressed my lips to hers—for -the first and the last time on this side of the -grave, as it proved—and we separated in a tumult -of joy. -</p> - -<p> -Next day I kept my appointment without fail, but -not without difficulty, as I had a long and troublesome -operation to perform in a totally different direction, near -Wimpole Street. I waited till I could linger no -longer, and quitted the park slowly, filled by doubts -and dread, and by the hope that visitors—something -unavoidable—anything but illness, caprice, or change of -mind—had prevented my bright Gertrude from meeting me. -</p> - -<p> -If her beauty, humility, and sweetness dazzled and -won me on one hand, her father's insolent hauteur—for, -like her brother, the Guardsman, he always "cut me -dead" in the street—piqued me on the other. I was -a gentleman by birth and education as well as either, -and what was more, I was the graduate of an ancient -university; yet I disdained to risk being stigmatised as -a fortune-hunter, which would surely be said of me, as -Gertrude had some eight thousand pounds yearly of her -own. But the girl loved me, and the conviction of that -rendered me blind to everything. -</p> - -<p> -The morning of the second day brought me a note -from her, dated from St. George's Place. -</p> - -<p> -A note! -</p> - -<p> -We had met again and again by arrangement, but -never had I got a note from her, and I read and kissed -it a score of times, and committed many other absurdities -while studying the bad writing, which somehow -seemed totally unlike that of a lady; but then poor -Gertrude had never ventured to write to me before. -</p> - -<p> -It contained but three lines, saying that she was -unable to meet me as usual, for reasons I should learn -if I would call, and see her after luncheon time, as papa -and mamma had left town, and she should be quite -alone. -</p> - -<p> -The boldness of this proceeding was so altogether -unlike her, and so strange, that my mind became filled -with vague fears of some impending calamity, and I -counted every moment till, with a heart, the pulses of -which certainly beat fast, I rang the sonorous bell at -the door of the lofty house in St. George's Place, <i>then</i> a -more fashionable locality than now, for the house itself. -is changed into a public building. I had never before -entered it but once, though many a promenade I had -made before its stately plate-glass windows, in hopes of -obtaining a glimpse, however brief, of her I loved so -dearly. -</p> - -<p> -"Jeames"—he of the calves and whiskers—opened -the door rather wider, I thought, than before, and his -usually stolid and stupefied visage wore a strange -expression. That might all have been fancy, for <i>he</i> could -not know the secrets of his mistress. I warily did not -ask for her; but on giving my card, inquired for "Sir -Percival Chalcot, or either of the ladies," certain that -she I wanted alone was "at home." -</p> - -<p> -The tall loafer in livery bowed, and ushered me up -the great staircase once again; but instead of opening -the door of the glittering drawing-room, where I -expected to be met by the beaming face, the tender eyes, -and radiant figure of her I loved, I was shown into the -library, and found myself face to face with the baronet -himself. -</p> - -<p> -He looked as high-nosed and aristocratic as ever, -and, moreover, as grim and pale and stern as death. -He barely acknowledged my somewhat bewildered bow—I -felt conscious that I had not been sent for -professionally—and instead of asking me to be seated, he -took a chair himself, and left me standing opposite. -Folding one leg over the other, and putting the tips of -his fingers together, as he lay back, and mostly looked -up to the ceiling— -</p> - -<p> -"Sir," said he, "my son has, doubtless, informed -you in his note of this morning that I wished to see -you?" -</p> - -<p> -"Your son, Sir Percival—I received no note from -him!" I replied, in utter bewilderment. "If Miss -Chalcot is indisposed——" -</p> - -<p> -"Do not dare to name Miss Chalcot, fellow! She is -by this time in France." -</p> - -<p> -"In France?" I repeated faintly, and with a sinking -heart. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; and beyond the reach of beggarly adventurers -and <i>chevaliers d'industrie</i>." -</p> - -<p> -(So the letter had been a forgery by the brother—a -lure for me.) -</p> - -<p> -"Listen to me, sir, and attend," said the old man, -gravely and calmly, "for it is the last time I shall -ever degrade myself by addressing so contemptible a -trickster!" -</p> - -<p> -"Trickster, Sir Percival!" I exclaimed. "Your -injurious language——" -</p> - -<p> -"I said trickster," he continued, with a mock bow. -"All has now been discovered; the secret meetings in -the Park, the artful plans you have laid to worm yourself -into the affections of a silly and <i>wealthy</i> young girl, -luring her heart from the man—the gentleman, I mean—she -is to marry; causing the delay of that marriage; -making scandal and gossip even among the menials of -my own household. Miss Chalcot, sir, has been sent to -the Continent, and I hereby inform you that if you -venture to follow, to trace, to speak with, or to write to -her, THIS is but a small instalment of what is in store -for you!" -</p> - -<p> -And ere I could think or act, the savagely-proud -old man had snatched up a heavy riding-whip that lay -at hand, and dealt me two severe cuts fairly across -the face, almost laying it open, as if with a sword -blade. -</p> - -<p> -"Madman!" I exclaimed; "dare you strike me?" -</p> - -<p> -"I <i>have</i> struck you twice, sir," said he, with a -disdainful smile, as he reseated himself. -</p> - -<p> -"You are old, and your white hairs protect you; -but you have a son, and I'll have him out at Chalk -Farm"—it was really Chalk Farm <i>then</i>—"and—and—but, -oh heaven!—he is the brother of Gertrude!" -</p> - -<p> -"Bah! I thought so, you presumptuous beggar! -Go—go! or I shall chastise you again. Go, I -say! and remember well my words and my warning!" -</p> - -<p> -I was trying to say something—I know not what—when -the door opened and his son appeared with -several servants, and before I could speak, I was thrust, -dragged, beaten by many clenched hands, and forcibly -expelled—yea, literally spurned—into the public -street—I, Frederick Mortimer, M.D., &c., &c. -</p> - -<p> -Right well did they know—old Chalcot and his son—that -the very magnitude and depth of the insult to -which they subjected me would protect them, and that, -for her sake, they might have torn me limb from limb -without revenge on my part. Yet every nerve and fibre -tingled with shame and passion as I crossed the street, -and while endeavouring to conceal my discoloured and -lacerated face by my handkerchief, sought the seclusion -of the park opposite, going to the very place where I -was wont to meet my lost Gertrude, and where the -charm of her presence seemed to hover still. -</p> - -<p> -But where was she? -</p> - -<p> -There I remained for some hours, in a state difficult -to conceive. The insults to which I had been subjected -drove me to the verge of insanity. My situation was -unique, and I cannot now analyse or describe all the -emotions that surged through my brain—memory -furnishes nothing that will connect them. But there were -rage and shame, grief, hatred, and love, and sorrow. -It was here but yesterday she had said, prophetically, -"To-morrow should end all!" -</p> - -<p> -And all was <i>ended, indeed</i>! -</p> - -<p> -France!—she was in France; there would I follow -her, and yet be revenged upon them all. I started up -to seek old Crammer, and resign my situation as his -assistant. -</p> - -<p> -The afternoon was far advanced, and many a patient -must have been sorely neglected by that time. But -what cared I if the world had burst like a bomb-shell -beneath my feet? I sought the house in Bedford -Street, with the red bottle in the fanlight, to find that -its crimson glow paled beside the hue of Crammer's -face. He was literally boiling and choking with -indignation at me. -</p> - -<p> -He had received due intimation of my "insolence -and presumption" from Sir Percival; was desired to -send in his account, and appear at the house no more. -Thus his most aristocratic patients were lost to him for -ever. -</p> - -<p> -Ere I could speak, he took the initiative, and -dismissed me, and that night found me in a humble -residence, near the Temple, with, a few pounds in my purse, -my worldly goods a portmanteau and a few medical -books ("Bell on the Bones,") seeking to soothe my -thoughts by the aid of an execrable cigar and a little -weak brandy and water. -</p> - -<p> -The bright bubble had burst! I had lost Gertrude, -and she, being facile, or having little will of her own, -on finding that she had lost me, would too probably -make peace with her own family by fulfilling the -engagement that was so odious to her. -</p> - -<p> -As this conviction forced itself upon me, I could have -wept; then I would start up, and mutter of going to -France ere it might be too late; but I had no money, -and travelling in those pre-railway times was not the -cheap luxury it is now. Moreover, I knew not how or -where to seek her; and while doubts grew thus, and -time went on, I might lose her for ever. -</p> - -<p> -The result of all this was that the next day saw me -in a raging fever, and months elapsed ere I was -convalescent. For some time after sense returned I knew not -where I was, or what had happened to me. Close by a -table sat a familiar figure in his shirt-sleeves, smoking, -and occasionally taking a pull at a pint of stout. These -pleasures he varied by reading aloud from a medical -work, on pharmacy apparently, and breaking into a -scrap from a song, thus:— -</p> - -<p> -"'<i>Plumbi subacet</i>: an aqueous solution of the salt -produced with the acetate and oxide of lead. A dense, -clear liquid. Colourless, odourless, and slightly -alkaline in taste. Produces a white coating on -glass.' <i>Plumbi subacet</i>—that's the ticket! -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "'He was a jolly old cock, and he cared not a d—n<br /> - For the laws or the new police,<br /> - And he thought mighty little of taking a lamb,<br /> - If he only fancied the fleece.'<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"'<i>Sodæ chloratæ</i>: a solution of carbonate of soda, -after the absorption of chlorine gas. A clear liquid, -and colourless. Odour——'" -</p> - -<p> -"Bob—Bob Asher!" said I, in a faint voice, and he -started at once to my bedside; and from him I got a -history of how ill I had been, and how he had been my -chief attendant; how sore trials had come upon himself, -and that, by his father's failure, he was at the lowest -ebb now for funds, but had betaken himself to study, -and meant to pass now. -</p> - -<p> -"But who the deuce is this Gertrude of whom you -have been raving for weeks past? Not she 'of -Wyoming'—eh, Fred?" -</p> - -<p> -I told him my story, and he was excessively indignant. -</p> - -<p> -"Why, death alive!" said he, "Chalcot is only a -baronet, and in the civil line of precedence—that is -pretty like a full corporal in the army—the second round -of the long ladder of rank. I'd have chucked the old -beggar over his own window!" -</p> - -<p> -"Not if you loved his daughter, Bob," said I mournfully. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, no, perhaps." -</p> - -<p> -"And you are reading up?" -</p> - -<p> -"Hard, Fred. I am doing the 'Modified Examination' -in pharmacy, and think I shall pass now." -</p> - -<p> -I had been three months ill. Three months! Bob -told me that the Chalcots' town house was still shut up, -and no one knew in what part of the Continent they -were travelling. Our separation seemed confirmed -now. The dread of never again beholding that sweet -face, with the bright eyes and the pretty crape bonnet, -grew strong within me, and the idea that she might -already have become the wife of another added to my -torture of mind. -</p> - -<p> -But lack of funds compelled me bestir myself anon, -and through Bob's kind offices, and my own known skill -while attending in the hospitals, I was fortunate enough -to obtain temporary employment with Professor -Sir —— ——, then the most celebrated anatomical -lecturer in England, as an under demonstrator, my -duties, as I may inform the uninitiated, consisting to a -great extent in the preparation of the various subjects -for minute dissection prior to his lectures; and during -the hot weather in London, I know of no task more -nauseous, repulsive, or typhoid in its chances and -nature. However, such work is as necessary for the -progress of science and the conservation of life and -health in others as the terrible task of procuring the -necessary subjects was then—when the tables of -anatomical theatres and dissecting-rooms depended mostly, -if not solely, on the results of felony—often of -murder—and the abduction of the tenants of the tear-bedewed -grave—an abduction in many instances, happily, never -known to relatives. -</p> - -<p> -The duties assigned to me at the rooms of Sir —— —— -brought me in contact, under cloud of night, with wretches -whose character was revolting, and caused me to shudder. -Scores of bodies were brought me—valued at from five -to twenty guineas each. -</p> - -<p> -Use and wont is everything, and by me at that time -they were viewed as coolly and callously as we may the -fish that lie on marble slabs in the curer's window. -</p> - -<p> -Weary with a long day's work at the dissecting-room, -I had retired to my little lodgings, and thinking -sadly over the bright past that could come no more, I -felt disposed to ask heaven, upbraidingly, why I had -ever been cast under the spell of Gertrude, when I was -startled by the unusual sound of carriage-wheels -stopping before my humble place. There were steps on -the rickety stairs, and to my astonishment the professor -entered, and shutting the door, said he wished to speak -to me alone, as he had suddenly "an expedition" to -suggest to me—one that would require decision and -care to carry out, as so many morbid and vulgar -rumours of violated graves were abroad, and the -suspected, if caught, had but small chance of mercy from -the mob. -</p> - -<p> -"But, Sir —— ——, surely you don't expect me to -go on such an errand?" I asked, with an incredulous -smile. -</p> - -<p> -"By Jove, but I do!" said he, laughing. "I have -frequently done so, when a student here, in many a fetid -London burying ground, now closed up or built over; -but this is a most particular case—a subject we must -positively have for demonstration, and, if possible to -skeletonize afterwards." -</p> - -<p> -"Is it peculiar, then?" -</p> - -<p> -"Most peculiar!" -</p> - -<p> -My curiosity was excited. -</p> - -<p> -"Where is the burying-ground?" I asked. -</p> - -<p> -"At R——, eight miles from town. No 'outrage,' -as they call it, has occurred there. The place is -unwatched and open. Would go with you myself—but -two, you see—should be just in the way. Yesterday an -old woman was buried there. Cholera, they say, caused -her death; but anything is called cholera now. She -was fifty-eight years old, and known well in the -neighbourhood for a singular malformation of the spinal -column, and I must have that portion of her for my -museum; but as the old dame will not be very heavy -you may as well bring the whole of her. Young Phosfat, -so long my assistant, who has the practice there, has -written me all about it. Take a trap and Bob Asher -with you—he's game for anything—to-morrow afternoon, -and, if you can, manage the matter without fuss. We'll -call her an old Dutch woman in the class, say she came -pickled in a cask from Holland." -</p> - -<p> -The whole affair was a little exciting, so the high -spirits of Bob Asher, who had frequently been engaged -in such affairs in the churchyards of Edinburgh, -decided me at once. We hired a dog-cart, took large -overcoats with us, as the nights were chilly, a cloak, a -coil of rope, heavy sticks, and even a brace of pistols for -an extreme emergency, which I prayed devoutly might -not occur, and we soon left London behind us. -</p> - -<p> -Tom Phosfat was duly prepared by a letter from the -professor for our arrival. He was a bachelor, and made -us thoroughly welcome, so we had supper and a glass of -grog with him: I should rather say several glasses of -grog—too many for the work we had to do. However, -we set out at midnight for the churchyard, which stood -apart from the village, on the borders of a wide waste -common, dark, secluded among trees, and lonely. -</p> - -<p> -The night was gloomy and starless, and not a sound -was heard—not even a withered leaf whirled by the -passing wind—as we left the horse and trap under the -shadow of a high hedge and vaulted over the low churchyard -wall. My heart beat quickly, all the more so that -Tom's brandy had been pretty potent. -</p> - -<p> -The mouldering tombstones, half sunk in the long -reedy grass, and tossing nettles, studded all the -mournful place. God's acre seemed very solemn that night. -The lonely old church, old as the days of the third -Edward, half hidden by ivy, and spotted by lichens, -raised its square Norman tower against the vapour-laden -sky, and quaint heads and demon faces were peeping out -of the mouldings and gargoyles upon us. -</p> - -<p> -"You know the grave, Phosfat?" said I. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes—hush—this must be it. There is no other -new one in the ground," stuttered Tom, who had -imbibed too much. -</p> - -<p> -"This seems the burial place of wealthy people," -said Bob Asher. "The old dame must have had money -and to spare." -</p> - -<p> -"By Jove, it is open!" said I, in a low whisper. -</p> - -<p> -"It has not been quite filled up—boards are over -it; only some branches and soil thrown in. How is -this?" -</p> - -<p> -"The bricking of the vault has been postponed till -to-morrow," said Bob Asher, shovelling out the <i>débris</i>. -"We have no time to lose, Fred. Shall we break open, -the top of the coffin, and use the rope to pull up the -subject by the neck? That was the way with Knox's -fellows in Edinburgh." -</p> - -<p> -"Nay," said I, "by such a process the spinal column -may be disturbed; and that won't suit the professor's -purpose." -</p> - -<p> -"Look round, and listen well; here goes then," and -half turning the coffin on its side, Bob and Tom, by -inserting their shovels under the lid, burst it up with a -hideous jarring sound, and then the ghostly tenant was -seen, enveloped in a shroud of white from head to foot; -and even to us, prepared as we were for it, that figure -had something horrible in its angular rigidity. Muffling -<i>it</i> in the dark cloak, I cast it over my shoulder, and -deposited it in a sitting position—the <i>rigor mortis</i> had -passed away apparently—between the seat and splash-board -of the trap. My companions meanwhile rearranged -the grave and coffin as we had found them. -Voices and lights now scared us. Phosfat was so tipsy -that I had to leave Bob Asher to take care of him; and -casting our shovels and rope into a clover field, I drove -at a break-neck pace towards London, intensely anxious -to reach the professor's house before day should dawn, -lest the police or a passer-by might detect something -weird in the person who was my companion. -</p> - -<p> -It seemed to me that we had not proceeded a mile -townward, between hedgerows, when the waning moon, -hitherto invisible, began to glimmer over Hampstead -Heath, shedding a ghostly farewell ray upon the silent -country, where not a dog barked. -</p> - -<p> -A strange sound, like the murmur of a voice, came -to my ears at times. Was it a pursuit? I looked -anxiously back, and even pulled up for an instant. -Behind all was silent—but, oh, almighty heaven! what -was this? -</p> - -<p> -The old woman was moving—-her feeble hands -essayed to lift the cloth that covered her face! A wild -spasm of terror contracted my heart; and any one but -a medical man, I am assured, would have abandoned -the trap and an adventure so terrible; but the idea of a -recovery from trance immediately flashed upon my mind, -and my first thought was, the professor would not get -the prized vertebræ after all. I lifted the almost -inanimate woman beside me, and felt that she was warm, -fleshy too, and had a returning pulse, which the motion -of the trap accelerated. I uncovered her face that -she might respire, and a wild cry escaped me—a cry -that rang far over the heath. -</p> - -<p> -Heavens! Was I going mad outright? She was -Gertrude!—Gertrude Chalcot!—pale as death could -make her, yet living still, her hazel eyes lurid and -sunken, her dark hair falling about her face. -</p> - -<p> -All that followed was like a swift nightmare: the -drive to town, muffled in my overcoat and cloak; the -abandonment of the trap in the street; her conveyance -in secret to my lodgings, and placing her cosily in my -own bed till I could get her other quarters and attendance. -Luckily, Bob Asher, and the professor too, came -about mid-day, or I should soon have been fit for -Hanwell. -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -* * * * -</p> - -<p> -How all this came to pass was very simple. Unwedded -still, she had returned with her family to England in -wretched health; her illness took a more serious form, -and would seem to have culminated in a species of -trance, with the medical technicalities of which it might -be wearisome to trouble the reader. Suffice it, that the -alarm of cholera was abroad, and the local terror at -R—— induced her interment, as, perhaps, in too many -other cases, hastily and prematurely; hence the vault -being left unfinished, permitted her to respire, and our -adventure—a mistake by the way—ended in her rescue, -though a great horror of what her fate might have been -filled my heart, and for a long period we were compelled -to conceal from her the awful place in which she was -found. -</p> - -<p> -Under our united care she recovered fast. But my -space is short. -</p> - -<p> -Sweet is the union of lovers after a separation; but, -with all its charm, much that was sad, startling, and -even terrible, mingled with ours. She was mine now. -Not even that proud and cruel father, who had so fiercely -spurned me, could dispute the claim, I thought. Mine—oh, -how strangely and how terribly mine! -</p> - -<p> -The close of the year saw us married, Bob Asher -acting as groomsman with great <i>éclat</i>. Sir —— —— -took me as a partner, and for a month I went with my -bride to Baden. There, one day, at the <i>table d'hôte</i>, she -found herself face to face with her own parents. The -alarm, the consternation, the scene, proved frightful; -but all ended in a complete reconciliation, and Christmas-day -saw us all happy at Chalcot Park, and I felt, on -seeing my blooming Gertrude, in all the splendour of -her beauty, opening the yearly ball, that I could with a -whole heart forgive even her father for his pride and -fury on the day that saw us separated. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap04"></a></p> - -<h2> -CLARE THORNE'S TEMPTATION. -</h2> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER I. -</h3> - -<p> -"After all that has been, and is no more—after all -that has passed between us, but never can pass again, -why are we fated to meet—and <i>here</i>?" wailed the -girl, Clare Thorne, in her heart (for though a wedded -wife, she was but a girl yet, being barely in her -twentieth year), as she suddenly saw, with strangely-mingled -emotions of joy, fear, and sorrow, the face of -Fred Wilmot. -</p> - -<p> -It was on a Sunday morning early, ere the East -Indian sun was quite up, and in the cantonment church -of Mirzapatam, a few miles from the Jumna, that this -unexpected recognition took place. -</p> - -<p> -The girl heard not the voice of the preacher, her -husband Cecil Thorne, the chaplain of the station; she -forgot for a time where she was, and her thoughts -fled—fled away from that strange-looking cantonment church, -with its long punkahs pulled by nut-brown coolies (who -watched with amazement "the white man's poojah") -moving alike over the head of the preacher and his -congregation, when even at that early hour the air was -breathless, and when the ring-necked paraquets, green -pigeons, and other birds twittered in and out at the -open jalousies—fled home, while her heart seemed to stand -still—home to a quaint old English church in beautiful -Kent, with its low broad Norman arches, its stained -glass windows, its sculptured effigies, above which old -iron helmets hung, and spiders spun their dusty webs -undisturbed—for there it had been that she had last -seen the face she now looked on, breathlessly, the face of -her first love and <i>then</i> betrothed, Fred Wilmot, ere -misfortune separated them, and a cruel fate sent her to -Central India, to become the wife of the Reverend -Cecil Thorne. -</p> - -<p> -On the preceding day a new regiment had marched -in, but she knew not till that moment at the morning -sermon, that among its officers was Lieutenant Frederick -Wilmot, till she saw him with his men, in his braided -white kalkee uniform, carrying under one arm his pith -helmet, encircled by a blue veil, and looking with his -lithe form, embrowned face, dark grey eyes and heavy -moustache, handsomer than ever, and so unlike her -husband, Cecil Thorne, in his flowing white Indian -cassock. -</p> - -<p> -Square in figure, grave, massive, and commanding in -form, the latter was a man, who, though all kindness -and gentleness, seldom smiled and never laughed, and -was one all unsuited to the volatile Clare; yet she had -married him for a home; though knowing that every -thought and impulse of her mind were at variance with -his, and had given herself to him because she was -heart-sick with the struggle for daily bread as a governess, -and feared her hopeless future when left alone in -India. A few years before—for he was much her -senior—Cecil Thorne had been a hard-working curate -on £80 per annum in one of the most squalid parts of -the English metropolis, and was thankful to accept from -the Bishop of Calcutta the post he held at the remote -and sun-baked station of Mirzapatam. He was a good -man, truly a soldier of Heaven, and among the sick and -the dying, did many a task of mercy, from which even -the doctors, and all, save the sisters of charity, shrank, -especially in the times of famine and cholera. -</p> - -<p> -Intent on his sermon, he saw not the glance of -mutual recognition between Clare and Wilmot, the -grave bow exchanged, and the paleness that came over -the two young eager faces, whose troubled gaze sought -each other from time to time, as their thoughts went -back to their past— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "The love that took an early root,<br /> - And had an early doom."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"Why are we fated to meet again, and <i>here</i>?" was -the ever-recurring thought of Clare, as she strove to fix -her eyes on the grave face of her husband and listen to -his eloquence, but she heard it not. -</p> - -<p> -Her face was not a beautiful one, but it was sweet, -earnest, and most winning in all its varying expressions. -</p> - -<p> -India had paled it already, but the light of her dark -hazel eyes, the warm tint of her rosebud lips, and her -rich brown hair, almost black in hue, were all -unchanged as when Wilmot had covered them with kisses -and caresses, in the sad hour of their severance that -seemed so long ago. -</p> - -<p> -In due time the service was over, the congregation -dispersing and departing on horseback or in buggies, -while the new regiment, to the clangour of its band, -was marching into its lines, and Fred Wilmot, she -knew, was with it. Fearful that he might address her -ere the column was formed, she remained nervously in -her seat, striving to pray for strength of purpose, or for -her past dull content, and then, when she deemed herself -safe, drove home alone, for her husband, though hot -the coming noon, had sick and other visits to pay. -</p> - -<p> -Clare feared that Wilmot might call at their bungalow -on the following day, as every one calls on every -one else on arriving at a new station in India; so she -resolved to take her horse and be out of his way in the -cool of the evening, and also early on the following -morning, but to evade him always in the narrow European -circle at Mirzapatam she knew would be impossible. -</p> - -<p> -That day her husband was long absent on his parochial -duties, and Clare was not sorry; she wanted time -for thought—but thought only took the line of -refining, and a comparison of what was now the -inevitable, with what might have <i>been</i>. -</p> - -<p> -Clare was formed by nature for excitement, society, -music, and gaiety, she did not like to be left to mope as -a parson's wife "in the station to which the Lord had -called her," as her husband constantly phrased it; and -she had been wont to writhe under his advice as to how -she was to comport herself, what she was to wear and -not to wear, and to avoid the groups of young officers -about the "Band Stand," and all risk of <i>gup</i> or gossip. -His intense goodness, his awful sense of propriety, even -his fervid piety, had bored and wearied the young wife -ere their dull honeymoon was well over; for though a -good girl in every way, Clare was not pious, as -Mr. Thorne understood piety. She went, per order, to -church twice on Sunday, but flatly refused to teach -"little niggers" in the mission schools, and he groaned -in spirit over her contumacy. The excitement she -wished, was not to be found in visiting old Hindoo -women and teaching naked little boys that the precepts -of Menou, the lawgiver, were idolatry. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh dear, for what did you marry me, Cecil?" she -asked one evening impatiently, when she heard the -strains of military music coming from the forbidden -band-stand, and knew that all the little gaiety of the -place was centred there. -</p> - -<p> -"To be a helpmate to me, Clare," he replied -gravely, "and to share with me, so far as becomes my -wife, my labours in the vineyard of our Divine Master. -In our little Bengali church are regular Sabbath -services and weekly prayer-meetings; there are four -<i>patshalas</i> or elementary schools; but to not one of these -have you gone; there are much evangelistic work and -colportage work to be done, yet you assist in them not, -and will not even sing the hymns I have translated from -the <i>Tembavani</i>." -</p> - -<p> -"If I did, Cecil—dear Cecil, would you let me go -even once a week to the military promenade—I do so -love the band?" she asked, with her eyes full of tears. -</p> - -<p> -"No; such frivolity becomes not my wife," was the -firm reply. -</p> - -<p> -Repiningly she obeyed his dictum in every respect, -and when other ladies ventured to remonstrate with her, -Clare, to do her justice, ever upheld her husband, and -treated him with respect and honour. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0402"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER II. -</h3> - -<p> -Next day, ere the sun had risen, Clare Thorne, -attended by Chuttur Sing, her native groom, went forth -for her morning ride while the air was yet cool and -delicious, and in every European she saw dreading to meet -Wilmot, left the station behind her at a canter. She -was clad in a light brown holland habit, trimmed with -red braid; she wore a broad hat and long feather, and -looked strikingly handsome. -</p> - -<p> -Once or twice she looked back to the cantonment, and -murmured to herself how strange it was to think that -he should be there—he, after all! The civilians' -bungalows were built on the little hills, where a puff of -wind might be caught; but the barracks and sepoy lines -occupied the centre of an arid and unsheltered plain, -where never came a breath of wind to fan the withered -cheek, or to drive away the fever and sickness for ever -lingering there. As usual, the <i>site</i> of the cantonments -was a blunder, and there our soldiers were doomed to -languish, swelter, and perish by cholera or sunstroke, for -the barracks had been built, and being so, had to be -occupied. -</p> - -<p> -"Poor Brown is down with cholera this morning." "Poor -Brown! another told off to die. There -are four doctors with him; but all in Europe couldn't -give him another day in this world." Such were -usually the first morning greetings in Mirzapatam when -the bugles blew "the assembly." "And Smith of the -1st Bengal died about gun fire." "But that trump, -Thorne, the chaplain, never left him till, with his own -hands, he had closed his eyes." "When is the -funeral?" "In orders, for sunset—the cool of the -evening; <i>cool</i> at Mirzapatam!" -</p> - -<p> -"Would Wilmot escape, or be going forth soon on a -gun-carriage, as so many went, from that horrible -barrack!" thought Clare, as she rode on towards the -Jumna, where she knew the country grew beautiful; -and she shivered as she thought of the life she led -now. -</p> - -<p> -Though her husband was chaplain to a military -station, officers seldom or never, except when on duty, -entered his bungalow; so the male visitors there -consisted only of eurasian and native catechists, -colporteurs, and teachers. To Clare it was an intolerable -existence, and as she saw, when fever abated, the gay -and happy lives led by the other ladies of the garrison, -she repined sorely, and thinking of all these things, she -rode slowly toward the Jumna. -</p> - -<p> -Down from the Ghaut of Etawah the river was rolling -in its beauty amid the most wondrous greenery in the -world. There were oleanders (the pride of the jungles) -sending forth their delicious perfumes from clusters of -pink and white blossoms; the baubool, with its bells of -gold, the sensation plant, and thousand others all growing -together, while the <i>byahs</i>, or crested sparrows, looked -like clouds of gold as they floated in flocks over these -and the waters of the river. Yet, lovely though the -scene, the English girl, as she reined up her horse, -thought she would rather have looked upon the Weald -of her native Kent! -</p> - -<p> -The same idea was in the heart of another, who was -slowly approaching her, an officer in undress, with -pith-helmet and loose white patrol jacket. He urged his -horse close to Clare, and a little exclamation escaped -her. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, fatality!" she murmured, on finding herself -face to face with Fred Wilmot; and fatality it seemed -indeed, that they should by chance have chosen the -same hour and the same pathway, amid the many that -diverged from the breathless cantonments. He sprang -from his horse, and grasping the bridle with one hand, -presented the other to her. -</p> - -<p> -"Mrs. Thorne—Clare!" said he, in a broken voice, -and as he uttered her name there came into his face a -light, an almost divine tenderness, such as she had -never seen in it, even in their sweet past time—the -light of love, the joy of a great passion. -</p> - -<p> -"I <i>am</i> Mrs. Thorne, and we must remember that now, -Fred," said she; but without drawing back her hand. -None was near but Chuttur Sing, who certainly thought -he would not have liked to have seen <i>his</i> wife <i>tête-à-tête</i> -with the <i>sahib-logue</i>, in that solitary place, for to the -Bengalees the ease of European society is an enigma -they fail to understand. -</p> - -<p> -"Till I saw you yesterday, I knew not in what part -of India you were," said Wilmot, with his gaze fixed -eagerly upon her now pallid face, "and now they tell -me that you are the wife of that man—our chaplain, a -morose and gloomy fellow——" -</p> - -<p> -"My husband, Mr. Wilmot," said Clare, now withdrawing -her hand, and shortening her gathered reins. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Mr.</i> Wilmot!" he exclaimed, almost reproachfully. -</p> - -<p> -"My husband!" she repeated, with sorrowful emphasis. -</p> - -<p> -"I beg your pardon, Clare. I am not likely to -forget the fact," said he, with deep dejection; "but -changed though the relations—broken the tie—between -us, may I not be still your friend? I—I," he continued, -in a voice so pathetic that her soul was moved, "I who -was once so much dearer than any friend could be?" -</p> - -<p> -"We must forget all that—friends? No, it is impossible! -Better not—better not—oh, what fatality sent -you here!" she added, restraining with difficulty her -tears, and aware that the black-beady eyes of Chuttur -Sing were upon her—Chuttur Sing of the spindle legs -and huge red turban. -</p> - -<p> -"You have not forgotten the past, then, Clare?" -</p> - -<p> -"No—but I have sought to love my husband as a -wife should." -</p> - -<p> -"Sought?" he asked, inquiringly. -</p> - -<p> -"Well—I have striven." -</p> - -<p> -"But oh, Clare, we can neither love nor forget at -will," said he. "May I come to visit you?" -</p> - -<p> -"No—decidedly no!" -</p> - -<p> -"Why, Clare?" -</p> - -<p> -"My husband!" she replied, firmly enough. -</p> - -<p> -"He knows nothing of our past—he never heard of -me. Think how dear we were to each other, -Clare—how much we have to remember." -</p> - -<p> -"All the more reason to study the art of forgetting," -replied Clare, whose hot tears were falling fast now, -"and to show the necessity for your not coming near -our bungalow." -</p> - -<p> -"But if all our fellows, from the colonel down to the -youngest sub, leave their cards for you and Mr. Thorne, -save me, what will he think?" -</p> - -<p> -"I cannot say," sighed Clare, wearily. -</p> - -<p> -"I must come, then, to avoid remark. May I?" -</p> - -<p> -"If you must, you may." -</p> - -<p> -"Thanks, Clare—thanks; may I escort you home?" -</p> - -<p> -"No—oh no—let us return separate," said she, -nervously, and they parted, she urging her horse at a -hand-gallop back to the arid plain, where the lines of -Mirzapatam were now quivering, and to all appearance -vibrating, in the hot rays of the uprisen sun. -</p> - -<p> -So when Fred Wilmot called that evening at the -Rev. Mr. Thorne's bungalow, he was cordially received -by that gentleman, and by his wife politely, as -a—stranger! Clad in a thin dress, through which her -delicate arms and the contour of her bosom were -apparent, she was reclining in a long-armed Indian cane -chair, with all her dark-brown hair cast loose over her -back and shoulders, just as her ayah had left it for -coolness; and very charming and girlish she looked, -especially when her colour heightened. The fragrant -odour of the recently wetted <i>tatties</i>, or window-screens, -pervaded a large uncarpeted drawing-room. An hour -and more was passed in pleasant conversation. No -reference whatever <i>could</i> be made to the past, so from -that hour each of those <i>two</i> felt that the game of -duplicity was beginning. The piano—which had its -feet immersed in saucers of water to save it from -creeping insects—was more than once resorted to; and -Mr. Thorne was surprised to find how many airs and -duets his wife and the new comer knew in common. He -could little dream how often they had practised them -<i>together</i>, in that sweet Kentish village so long ago, it -seemed now. That night Fred Wilmot slept little. He -had more than the mosquitos to keep him awake, while -in the verandah without the <i>wallah</i> pulled drowsily at -the cord of the punkah. -</p> - -<p> -"Innocent, pure and artless as ever—poor Clare—poor -darling!" thought he; "oh, what avail my money -and position now—now that she is that sombre fellow's -wife—yet all men speak well of him here. What are -her dark eyes, her rich hair, her sweet English beauty -to me now!" -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0403"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER III. -</h3> - -<p> -Clare Thorne's life had been so dull, that one can -scarcely wonder if she found the advent of Wilmot -at the cantonment, and his visits, most welcome, -though they filled her with a vague alarm—an -undefined fear of violating trust and propriety. We have -said that the Thornes had few visitors; this arose from -the distaste the chaplain had of society and the general -gravity of his demeanour; but Fred Wilmot cared little -for all that; it was not him he came to see. -</p> - -<p> -No thought of evil was in the innocent heart of -Clare; nor was there in the heart of Wilmot, to do him -justice, though he abandoned himself to the perilous -charm of seeking the society of the girl who once loved -him so well—from whom he had been separated, and -who felt with him in common "that <i>death</i> in life, the -days that are no more." A little time the regiment -would be moving further up country, and all would then -be at an end. Meanwhile both were playing with edged -tools! -</p> - -<p> -Clare and her husband could not understand each -other. His nature, which with all his apparent gloom -was a passionate one, had no outlet save his great love -for her, and his greater for religion. For him the dull -routine of his daily life was enough; but Clare longed, -like the girl she was, for amusement, excitement, -display, society, and yet in gay British India she was -condemned by this good and amiable, but fervid ascetic, -to lead a life which, to one of her temperament, was one -of unspeakable martyrdom. -</p> - -<p> -She might, perhaps, under better auspices, have -forgotten her first love in time, and learned to like, as -much as she respected, her husband, had he only made -some allowance for her weakness and foibles, and not -judged her so hardly and set before her a standard of -excellence which she was unable to attain. -</p> - -<p> -But the crisis of her life was coming fast to Clare -Thorne. -</p> - -<p> -Her husband began to dislike the frequent visits and -the somewhat brotherly familiarity of Wilmot with his -wife; there was something in it undefinable. It was -the reverse of flirtation, for his demeanour was grave, -respectful and sympathetic, and in these elements the -danger seemed to lie. Clare's bearing and tone were -irreproachable; yet a suspicion, at which he blushed, -was roused in the honest heart of Cecil Thorne. -</p> - -<p> -"If it should be!" he muttered, with his firm white -teeth clenched. Then he would watch and dissemble; -but even that seemed a stain on his own rectitude. -Thus one day he said, abruptly: -</p> - -<p> -"Clare, that officer—Mr. Wilmot, has been here -again. I see his music strewed all over the piano." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, Cecil?" -</p> - -<p> -"I forbid his visits—that is all!" -</p> - -<p> -"Forbid his visits!" repeated Clare, startled, crushed, -and blushing crimson; "then you must tell him so -yourself." -</p> - -<p> -"Why, madam?" -</p> - -<p> -"He is an old friend of my family, and—and——" -</p> - -<p> -"You, and he too, never said a word of this before!" -</p> - -<p> -"I thought you knew it," faltered Clare, who found -that she had made a sad mistake. -</p> - -<p> -"Old friend—he is about five-and-twenty only. What -brought him here to-day?" -</p> - -<p> -"To give us these tickets for the garrison ball." -</p> - -<p> -"Ball—you know I never go to balls." -</p> - -<p> -"But may I?" -</p> - -<p> -"No—you may <i>not</i>!" -</p> - -<p> -Poor Clare repined bitterly and wept profusely, but not -for the first time in her life, and her husband, who knew -that all Mirzapatam was on tip-toe about the forbidden -ball, eyed her with a lowering expression. But he knew -that he must exert his authority, or scandals might -ensue, and he felt that Wilmot must cross his threshold -no more. Indeed, the ball-tickets were returned to -him, and when next he visited the abode of Mr. Thorne, -that gentleman, who never did things by halves, and -who deemed he had a duty to perform to religion, to -himself, and society, gave the young officer a pretty -distinct hint that his visits could be dispensed with, and -Fred retired, his heart swollen with rage, mortification, -and sorrow. -</p> - -<p> -Shame and anger mingled with the sorrow of Clare. -How tiresome of him to go on this way to her in their -present abode, of all places in the world! Scandal—the -thing he dreaded—would be sure to come of it. A -great gloom now fell upon Clare, and the ball—girl-like—the -forbidden ball rankled in her heart; Thorne -supposed this gloom was caused by the banishment of -Wilmot only; but that had merely something to do -with it. -</p> - -<p> -Was she, that he loved and trusted, wronging him -cruelly in her heart? Was he nursing a traitress in -his bosom? Sooth to say, the hitherto placid and -plodding Cecil Thorne began to think, and sometimes -say, all manner of desperate things to his scared and -shrinking little wife, whose changed manner he -attributed to Wilmot's influence, and he cursed the hour -that ever the new regiment marched into Mirzapatam. -</p> - -<p> -Loving his wife as he did, he would rather have seen -her lying in her grave and himself reading the burial -service over her, than living as a disgraced woman. -Then, if there was great sorrow, there would be no -shame, and she would be gone where never more -dishonour could menace, or shame assail her. -</p> - -<p> -"Clare, child," said he, "my little wife is my all to -me. The soul that sinneth shall pay the wages of -sin." -</p> - -<p> -"But I have not sinned!" she exclaimed, passionately. -</p> - -<p> -"As yet," said he, pointedly and coldly; "thank -Heaven, my eyes were opened in time! Think of what -would be my misery and our conjoint dishonour—I, a -priest of the Church! Think of how our once happy -home might have been desecrated and the bitterness of -a love that is slighted!" -</p> - -<p> -"You make too much or too little of all this!" -</p> - -<p> -"I do not!" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Cecil—Cecil—my dear husband—I have no -forgiveness to ask of you; I only seek your pity." -</p> - -<p> -"I <i>do</i> pity you," he replied, grimly, and thought the -while, -</p> - -<p> -"She can speak to me thus—with that fellow's kisses -fresh upon her lips!" For he had undefined suspicions -that Wilmot saw her yet, from time to time. -</p> - -<p> -"How tiresome—how absurd is this jealousy!" -thought Clare; yet her own conscience told her it was -neither absurd nor mistaken <i>now</i>; and all this passed -on the night of the forbidden ball! -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0404"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IV. -</h3> - -<p> -Mr. Thorne's suspicions were right; they <i>had</i> been -meeting, without design at first; ample though the -cantonment, how could it be otherwise? -</p> - -<p> -"Dear, good Fred," she said, one day, as they met -among the baubool trees near an old ruined tomb—the -tomb of Abu Mirza—"I want you to help me—you -alone can do so." -</p> - -<p> -"In what way?" he asked, looking at her in his old -tender manner. -</p> - -<p> -"To be good and proper—to keep in the straight -path of propriety, and avoid all chance of scandal." -</p> - -<p> -"You are quoting some sermon of Thorne's now." -</p> - -<p> -"I am not—I mean it; we must speak no more; -<i>will</i> you help me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," said he, in a choking voice; "yes—if I -can," and his mode of beginning was pressing her to -his heart, and covering her face with kisses. -</p> - -<p> -From this it may be inferred that the threads of the -old, old story had become strong as cables again! She -had been rent from Wilmot by Fate, and revenge at -Fate made him selfish to her and pitiless to all, -especially to her husband, who had, by forbidding his visits, -at once given their intimacy a colouring it did not then -possess. Now things were said that they had never -said before, and wild schemes of plainly running away -together—where, it mattered not—were more than -openly hinted at by Wilmot. Be it sinful or not, she -felt that she loved him better than her own life; his -was the only mind that could hold dominion over hers; -yet it was one infinitely inferior to that of Cecil Thorne; -and his was the only hand whose touch thrilled the -smallest fibres of her frame. She worshipped Wilmot, -who, as he gazed into her eyes, could read there the -struggle that was passing between conscience and -passion, and how the latter was certain to triumph. -</p> - -<p> -"Trust me—trust me," he whispered in her ear. -</p> - -<p> -"I will trust you—I will, Freddy!" she replied, -choked in tears. -</p> - -<p> -"My own darling—to be my own at last—-and after -<i>all</i>!" -</p> - -<p> -Clare knew what scandal and gossip were in England; -but "gup" in India was fiercer, deeper, more -trumpet-tongued, and already in fancy she saw every -public print teeming with the story of her elopement -and her husband's shame. -</p> - -<p> -"He thinks too much of the other world to care -much for this, or me!" she thought; but in that she -wronged Thorne, who loved her dearly and devotedly, -though in a cold and undemonstrative way, while -Wilmot was all passion and energy. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, the scandal—the scandal we shall give!" said -she, wringing her hands. -</p> - -<p> -"Scandals die!" said he; "the world goes too fast -now-a-days for anything—even for a wonder—-to live -long; and we shall seek a land where none shall know -our names or the miserable story of our past." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Fred!" wailed the girl, "I was brought up -by my mother, in the careful avoidance of all evil, all -that was sinful and unholy; and now I am sinking into -an ocean of unholiness in loving you, better than I love -my own soul!" -</p> - -<p> -"Do not thus upbraid yourself, my innocent darling," -said he, in a quiet but passionate tone. -</p> - -<p> -"Innocent? Oh, my God! who will call me innocent, -good, or pure to-morrow? Yet, the life I bear -maddens me." -</p> - -<p> -"That life will soon be a thing of the past. I am -wealthy now, my darling; the bar that poverty put -between us is removed. I can give you a home like a -palace, in any part of Europe, far, far away from this -breathless India; and once my wife——" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh—Wilmot!" -</p> - -<p> -"My darling—-I will give you all the love a human -heart can render you—the dearest of love and a new -life." -</p> - -<p> -"But not with that which makes life alone worth -having." -</p> - -<p> -He regarded her passionately, anxiously, and entreatingly. -</p> - -<p> -She felt that if she hesitated—deliberated—she -would be lost, and must become, in any land, even -though unknown, a social outlaw, a virtual outcast. -All this rushed upon her mind, though she said it not, -and with all its minor details of mortification and -bitterness, as she lay with her face hidden on the breast -of Wilmot. -</p> - -<p> -He smiled fondly, yet sadly, down upon her bent -head, and clasped her trembling fingers in his stronger -hands, and turning up her white and desperate little -face, he dared, in the excess and blindness of his -passion, to call on heaven to hear that she would never -have cause to regret the step she was about to take. -</p> - -<p> -And so they separated with reluctance, though in -haste, aware that when they met again it would be to -part no more! -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0405"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER V. -</h3> - -<p> -Fred Wilmot had obtained a year's leave from the -general commanding at Mirzapatam, and had taken all -his measures for their mutual flight. -</p> - -<p> -He was to meet her at evening gun-fire, near the old -ruined tomb in the baubool grove, when Aloodeen, his -native valet, would bring his buggy. In this they -would proceed to the branch line that joined the greater -line at Allahabad, from whence they could take the -great Peninsular Railway to Calcutta, long before -reaching which all traces of them would be lost! -</p> - -<p> -It was early morning when the scheme was planned; -a whole day was to elapse ere it could be put in operation; -yet it seemed to pass with frightful rapidity to -Clare, who felt like one in a dream, or as if it was some -other person, and not herself, who was to meet Wilmot -at the tomb of Abu Mirza. -</p> - -<p> -Her silence, her pre-occupation, her nervousness, -more than all, the whiteness of her little face, could not -fail to attract the attention of her husband who, with -unwonted tenderness, bent over her, and, taking her -cheeks between his hands, said,— -</p> - -<p> -"Look up, little woman—why, what is the matter -with you?" -</p> - -<p> -She closed her eyes, which dared not meet his earnest, -honest, and searching gaze. -</p> - -<p> -He then took her little hands caressingly in his, and -felt, with alarm, that though the atmosphere without -was stifling, they were icy cold and trembling. -</p> - -<p> -"Is there anything wrong, Clare? What is the -matter with you, my darling little wife?" -</p> - -<p> -Still she was silent, for her tongue clove to the roof -of her mouth, and she could only sigh in her heart -secretly. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, heaven—what am I to do? Avoid the temptation—flee -the sin—yea, even confess all—ere it be too late!" -</p> - -<p> -Then she thought of her husband's frigidity of -manner, his intense sense of morality, religion, purity, -and rectitude, and her timid heart died within her. -</p> - -<p> -"God help us, child," said Cecil Thorne, "I hope -that no illness has seized you." -</p> - -<p> -He thought wildly over the several fever and cholera -beds he had been beside of late, and the strong man -felt his soul die within him with fear, as he saw -alternately the wistfulness and wild excitement in his -wife's eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"A doctor must be summoned," he exclaimed; "qui -hi—hollo, there, Chuttur Sing!" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, no, Cecil, dearest," said she, with something -between a sob and a hysterical laugh; "it is only the -heat that affects me—and the thunder," she added, as -a peal went hustling through the sultry air overhead. -</p> - -<p> -A storm came on; the rain fell in torrents, and Clare, -while in the act of selecting the garments and necessaries -she would have to take with her, and while carefully -selecting and putting aside, for some <i>other</i> and -worthier wife, it might be, the few jewels her husband's -moderate means had enabled him to give her (Delhi -bracelets of champac-work, and so forth), actually began -to hope that, if the tempest of falling rain continued, -the very flight for which she was preparing might be -arrested, ere it was too late, and thus that her sore -temptation might pass away! -</p> - -<p> -The innocent words, the tender anxiety and trusting -goodness of the man she was about to abandon and -deceive, and the knowledge, that in time to come, there -would be an amount of grief, shame, and sorrow for -her, that would be known in its degree but to God and -himself, wrung her heart, and filled her eyes with hot and -blinding tears. -</p> - -<p> -But the storm passed; the thunder died away beyond -the hills that look down on the Jumna; the rain cooled -the atmosphere, and the arid soil around the sun-baked -cantonment soon absorbed it, to the last huge, warm -drop that had fallen; and Clare knew that her lover -would be truly, tenderly, and inexorably awaiting her -at the old tomb, when the time of their fatal tryst -came. -</p> - -<p> -The cantonment ghuries—little gongs that hung near -the guard-house doors—clanged the hours in succession, -and in one more Clare knew that the sun would set. -She was alone, for her husband was away, attending -some sick beds; when he returned, she knew that her -place would be vacant, and that she could never look -upon his grave, earnest, and handsome face again. She -sunk on her knees beside her bed, buried her face in -her cold hands, and while she shivered in the agony of -her conflicting thoughts, she prayed for strength to avoid -her temptation, or that she might die in her mingled -remorse and yearning love. -</p> - -<p> -But her prayer was unheard: the hour came, and -saw her, with a little travelling bag in her hand, -stealing like a culprit from her husband's home, and -taking the most unfrequented path to the tomb of Abu -Mirza, the tiny white marble dome of which was glistening -in the last rays of the sun above the golden bloom -of the baubool trees. The brain of Clare seemed to -reel; her temples felt on fire; all within her soul and -around her seemed a mass of chaos, she could arrange, -disentangle nothing; and almost in despair gave up the -attempt to do so; but not the fatal design of meeting -her former lover; for the die was cast! -</p> - -<p> -In the distance she could hear the soldiers' children -and some of the Christianised natives singing in the -Mission School; their united voices came through the -open windows on the calm pure air of the Indian night, -and she could hear her husband accompanying them on -an indifferent harmonium, so earnestly and humbly in -the service of his Master, in the hymn he had translated -from the <i>Tembavani</i>:— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Whilst Thee, with tongues of splendour,<br /> - The orbs of heaven praise,<br /> - Whilst groves to Thee their voices,<br /> - With tongues of brilliance raise:<br /> - Whilst Thee, with tongues of joyance<br /> - All gay wood-warblers sing;<br /> - Whilst praise to Thee, wood-flowerets,<br /> - From tongues of fragrance fling:<br /> - And whilst with tongues of clearness,<br /> - The water-floods applaud Thee,<br /> - With the tongue that Thou hast given,<br /> - Shall I not daily laud Thee?"<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"Poor Cecil—how unworthy I am of you!" thought -she, and tears started to her eyes afresh as she thought -of him and the <i>morrow</i>! -</p> - -<p> -Her heart gave a convulsive leap and she stood still -for a moment as the evening gun boomed over the -cantonments when the sun set, and then the darkness -fell instantly, as it always does in India where there is -no twilight, and she saw Fred Wilmot instantly -approach her, but from what point she scarcely knew. -He was attired in plain clothes, for travelling evidently, -but he was bareheaded, and she could see that his face -looked most startlingly pale, that also pain and -bewilderment were in it, and that he scarcely seemed to see -her. Something in his looks and manner rooted Clare -to the spot. -</p> - -<p> -"Fred—Fred—Wilmot!" she cried, in a low voice, -but, without stopping, he gave her one sad glance -expressive of pity and love, sorrow and pain, and passing -on towards the tomb, left her alone—alone and -bewildered, while a new sense of great fear that she could -not analyse, caused her to rush towards the house she -had so lately quitted. -</p> - -<p> -At the door she met her husband, full of excitement -and agitation. -</p> - -<p> -"You abroad, Clare," he exclaimed, with grave -surprise; "have you then heard what has happened—ah, -your white face tells me that you have?" -</p> - -<p> -"What has happened, Cecil?" she asked, in a low, -breathless voice. -</p> - -<p> -"Poor Wilmot—God forgive me if I have wronged -him!—has just been murdered and robbed by his native -servant, a Patan scoundrel named Aloodeen." -</p> - -<p> -"Murdered?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes—-just as the sunset gun was fired." -</p> - -<p> -In a swoon Clare fell at his feet like one who was -dead. -</p> - -<p> -He had been stabbed to the heart! Who, or what -was it in his likeness that Clare had seen at the place -they were to meet? She was saved from her great -temptation—saved to remain a sorrowing and innocent -wife. She never again saw the face of Wilmot, even in -a dream, though often in the years to come she decked -his lonely grave with flowers. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap05"></a></p> - -<h2> -THE GREAT SEA SERPENT. -</h2> - -<p> -From all we have read and heard of a singular sea-monster -that has been seen from time to time in various -parts of the ocean, it is difficult to doubt that some such -creature, or creatures rather, may exist; though the -reiterated allegations of "old salts," that they <i>do</i> exist, -may be but a relic of that dark superstition known as -serpent-worship, which once prevailed over a great part -of the world, and which still lingers in India, particularly -among the Nagas, and of which snake-charming is -a remnant. -</p> - -<p> -How long this singular worship lingered in Western -Europe we may gather from the "Atlas Geographus," -published in 1711, which says, "there are <i>still</i> remains -of this idolatory" in Lithuania, where the Boors keep -adders in their houses, and pay them profound respect -while professing Christianity; and also, that few -families in Samogitia, are without serpents as -household gods. -</p> - -<p> -Some years before this time, Sigismund, Baron of -Herbestein, tells us, in his commentaries on Muscovy, -that at Troki, eight miles from Wilna, his host -acquainted him, that he had chanced to buy a hive of -bees from one of the serpent-worshippers, whom he -persuaded, with much reluctance, to worship the true -God and kill his serpent. A short time after, in -passing that way, he found the poor fellow miserably -tortured and deformed, his face wrinkled and twisted -away; and inquiring the cause, he answered, "That -this judgment had come upon him for killing his god, -and that he would have to endure greater torments if -he did not return to his former worship." -</p> - -<p> -In the sacred writings, but more particularly in the -8th chapter of Jeremiah and the 58th Psalm, are -allusions to the taming or keeping of serpents; and -Dr. Thomas Shaw found the same superstition prevailing in -Barbary in 1757 (Travels). -</p> - -<p> -Indian serpent-charming to this day, as we have -said, is no doubt a remnant of that form of worship -which spread all over the world, it may be from some -dim tradition of the serpents of Eden and of Aaron's -rod, that we have the Scandinavian <i>jormagundr</i>, among -the fictions of the Edda, and to which Scott refers -as— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "That sea-snake, tremendous curled,<br /> - Whose monstrous circle guards the world."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The serpent and the circle were alike the emblem of -eternity, and Odin was supposed to have at times the -power of taking the aspect of the former; and a remnant -of the same superstition is still to be found in Scotland -in the knot-work upon Celtic crosses and Highland -dirk-hilts. -</p> - -<p> -In June, 1721 (as we are told in the "Historical -Register" for the following year, sold by T. Norris, at -the <i>Looking-Glass</i> on London Bridge), there appeared a -terrible snake off the coast of Naples, not far from the -Ponte-della-Maddalena, under which the river Sebeto -flows into the sea, and it devoured a fisherman in -presence of many of his friends, who had barely time to -effect their escape. -</p> - -<p> -The latter, fearing that the presence of this monster -might destroy their fishery, and anxious to avenge their -companion, made several weapons (harpoons?) of iron, -and large hooks, and, putting to sea on the 6th of June -in strong boats, discovered the great fish, and baited -their lines with large pieces of horse-flesh, and ran a -strong rope with a slip from the stem to the stern of a -ship. -</p> - -<p> -Rushing furiously at the boat, the snake was caught -into the slip-knot, and ultimately drawn on shore, when, -on being measured, it was found to be "twenty -Neapolitan palms long. His mouth was excessively wide, -having three rows of teeth in the form of a saw in the -upper jaw, and but one row in the under. He weighed -sixteen <i>coutares</i>, or about four hundred-weight. In the -stomach were found the skull of a man, two legs, part -of the backbone and ribs." -</p> - -<p> -These were supposed to have been portions of the -unfortunate fisherman, whom he had devoured some days -before. By order of the Council of Health it was -burned, lest it might infect the air. -</p> - -<p> -The writer adds, that Johnson (to whom we shall refer -presently) mentions similar fish—one that weighed -eight hundred-weight; another that weighed four -thousand pounds, and in the stomach of which was -found a man, in a complete suit of armour! -</p> - -<p> -It is a curious fact that recent scientific research has -revealed the existence in the sea, at the greatest depths, -of most minute and wonderfully formed organisms, the -beauty and rarity of which necessarily secure our -admiration; but instances of animals of enormous size being -met with beyond those already known, are few and far -between. This fact may be accounted for by the -circumstance, that while it is easy to construct instruments -for capturing the smaller creatures living in the deep, it -is a very different matter to entrap and secure an -unseen monster, whose very size must endow him with -enormous strength. The whale, so far as we know, is -the largest denizen of the deep. Whether it is possible -that it can be equalled by giants of some other order or -race, is the point which public curiosity is very keen to -have settled. -</p> - -<p> -The appearance of great snakes at sea is recorded by -more than one old voyager; but it would seem to have -been only of late years that the idea of their existence -has been generally confined to one, familiar to us all as -the "Great sea-serpent." -</p> - -<p> -In <i>Opuscula Omnia Botanic Thomæ Johnsoni</i>, 1629, -we have an account of a great serpent captured off -Sandwich by two men, who found it stranded among the -shoal water by the sea-shore. It is described as being -fifty feet long, and of a fiery colour. We are also told -that they conveyed the carcase home, and after <i>eating</i> it, -stuffed the skin with hay, to preserve it "as a perpetual -remembrance of the fact." -</p> - -<p> -In David Crantz's "History of Greenland," published -in 1766, we have an extract (illustrated by a drawing) -concerning the <i>kraken</i>, from the narrative of a Captain -Paul Egede, supposed to be the brother of a famous -Danish missionary of the same name. The kraken, it -is however necessary to remark, is the northern name -for a giant cuttle-fish, the existence of such a monster -being now a matter of scientific fact. -</p> - -<p> -"On the 6th of July, 1734," says this old seaman, -"as I was proceeding on my second voyage to -Greenland, in the latitude of the Cape of Good Hope, a -hideous monster was seen to raise its body so high -above the water that its head overtopped our main-sail. -It had a pointed nose, and spouted out water like a -whale; instead of fins it had great broad flaps like -wings; its body seemed to be grown over with -shell-work, and its skin was very rugged and uneven; when -it dived into the water again, it threw up its tail, which -was like that of a serpent, and was at least a whole -ship's length above the water; we judged the body to -be equal in bulk to our ship, and to be three or four -times as long." -</p> - -<p> -Eric Pontoppidan, Bishop of Bergen, celebrated in -his days as a naturalist, though he never actually saw it -or met any one who <i>had</i> seen it, believed implicitly in -the great sea-serpent existing somewhere; and in his -writings has a good deal to tell us about its ways and -habits; and it is upon record that Sir Lawrence de -Ferry, commander of the old castle of Bergen, not only -saw the monster, but shot at it on the high seas, -wounded it, was pursued by it, in its pain and fury, so -closely that he narrowly escaped with his life. -</p> - -<p> -In 1801 there was cast ashore on the coast of -Dorsetshire a snake twenty-eight feet in length and twenty -feet in circumference; but this has since been alleged to -have been a Basking-shark; and the same has been said -of a great snake-like carcaso that was beaten to pieces -by a tempest, and cast ashore on one of the Orkney Isles -in the autumn of 1809, and some fragments of which, -the <i>Scots Magazine</i> for that year states, were lodged in -the Museum of the Edinburgh University. -</p> - -<p> -A very distinct description of the sea-serpent occurs -in Dr. Hooker's <i>Testimony</i> respecting it, and communicated -to Dr. Brewster's <i>Journal of Science</i>. About half-past -six o'clock on a cloudless evening at sea, the doctor -heard suddenly a rushing noise ahead of the ship, which -at first he supposed to be a whale spouting, but soon -found to be a colossal serpent, of which he made a -sketch as it passed the vessel at fifty yards' distance, -slowly, neither turning to the right nor left. "As soon -as his head had reached the stern, he gradually laid it -down in a horizontal position with his body, and floated -along like the mast of a vessel. That there was -upwards of sixty feet visible, is shown by the circumstance -that the length of the ship was a hundred and twenty -feet, and that at the time his head was off the stern, the -other end had not passed the main-mast.... His -motion in the water was meandering, like that of an -eel; and the wake he left behind him, was like that -occasioned by a small craft passing through the water.... -The humps on his back resembled in size and -shape those of a dromedary." -</p> - -<p> -Dr. Hooker states further, that the description -precisely accorded with that of a serpent seen five years -before by Captain Bennett of Boston. At a later period, -three officers in Her Majesty's service—namely, Captain -Sullivan, Lieutenant Maclachlan, and Ensign Malcolm -of the Rifle Brigade—beheld a similar creature gambolling -in the sea near Halifax; but they asserted that it -was at least one hundred and eighty feet in length, and -thicker than the trunk of a moderately sized tree. Nor -must we forget the official account which was -transmitted in 1848 to the Lords of the Admiralty, by -Captain Peter M'Quhae of Her Majesty's ship <i>Dædalus</i>, -past which, he and his crew saw the great sea-serpent -swimming merrily—a document which produced, or -provoked, a learned paper in the <i>Westminster Review</i>; while -Professor Owen asserted that what was seen from the -deck of the <i>Dædalus</i>, would be nothing more than a -large seal borne rapidly southward on a floe or iceberg. -</p> - -<p> -Recently, the appearances of the serpent have been -amusingly frequent and clearly detailed. He has been -seen in the north seas and the south seas, and in many -places nearer home; in the Frith of Forth, off Filey -Bay and the North Foreland, off Hastings and the Isle -of Arran, the Menai Strait and Prawle Point; and in -1875, a battle between it and a whale was viewed from -the deck of the good ship <i>Pauline</i> of London, Captain -Drevar, when proceeding with a cargo of coals from -Shields to Zanzibar, destined for Her Majesty's ship -<i>London</i>. When the <i>Pauline</i> reached the region of the -trade-winds and equatorial currents, she was carried out -of her course, and after a severe storm, found herself -off Cape Roque, where several sperm-whales were seen -playing about her. While the crew were watching them, -they suddenly beheld a sight that filled every man on -board with terror. Starting straight from the bosom of -the deep, a gigantic serpent rose and wound itself twice -in two mighty coils round the largest of the whales, -which it proceeded to crush in genuine boa-constrictor -fashion. In vain did the hapless whale struggle, lash -the water into foam, and even bellow, for all its efforts -were as nothing against the supernatural powers of its -dreadful adversary, whose strength "may be further -imagined," says a leader in the <i>Daily Telegraph</i>, "from -the fact that the ribs of the ill-fated fish were distinctly -heard cracking one after the other with a report like -that of a small cannon. Soon the struggles of the -wretched whale grew fainter and fainter; its bellowings -ceased, and the great serpent sank with its prey beneath -the surface of the ocean." -</p> - -<p> -Its total length was estimated at fifty yards, and its -aspect was allowed to be simply "terrific." Twice -again it reared its crest sixty feet out of the water, as if -meditating an attack upon the <i>Pauline</i>, which bore away -with all her canvas spread. Her crew told their terrible -story. But critics there were who averred that what -they had seen was no serpent at all, but only a -bottle-nosed whale attacked by grampuses! -</p> - -<p> -In a letter to the London prints concerning this affair, -we have another description of our old friend the -serpent, as he appeared off St. David's Head, to John Abes, -mate of a merchantman, in 1863. "I was the first -who saw the monster, and shouted out. A terrible-looking -thing it was! Seen at a little distance in the -moonlight, his two eyes appeared about the size of <i>plates</i>, -and were very bright and sparkling." All on board -thought his length about ninety feet; but as he curled -and twirled rapidly, it was a difficult matter to -determine. Captain Taylor ordered him to be noosed -lasso-fashion with a rope, which John Abes tells us he got on -the bowsprit to throw, but in the attempt threw himself -overboard. "The horror of my feelings at the moment -I must leave you to imagine," continues this remarkable -epistle (which is dated from Totterdown, Bristol, -September 19, 1875). "The brute was then within a -few yards of me, with its monstrous head and wavy -body, looking ten times more terrible than it did on -board the brig. I shiver even now when I think of it. -Whether the noise made by throwing the ropes over to -save me scared him, I cannot say; but he went down -suddenly, though not more so than I came up. After a -few minutes he appeared some distance from us, and -then we lost him." -</p> - -<p> -When next we hear of the sea-serpent after his -adventure off Cape Roque, he was beheld by the crew of -no less a ship than Her Majesty's yacht the <i>Osborne</i>, the -captain and officers of which, in June, 1877, forwarded -an official report to the Admiralty, containing an -account of the monster's appearance off the coast of -Sicily on the 2nd of that month. "The time was five -o'clock in the afternoon. The sea was exceptionally -smooth, and the officers were provided with good -telescopes. The monster had a smooth skin, devoid of -scales, a bullet-shaped head, and a face like an alligator. -It was of immense length, and along the back was a -ridge of fins about <i>fifteen</i> feet in length and <i>six</i> feet -apart. It moved slowly, and was seen by all the ship's -officers." -</p> - -<p> -This account was further supplemented by a sketch in -a well-known illustrated paper, from the pencil of -Lieutenant W. P. Hynes of the <i>Osborne</i>, who, to the above -description, adds, that the fins were of irregular height, -and about forty feet in extent, and "as we were passing -through the water at ten and a-half knots, I could only -get a view of it 'end on.'" "It was about fifteen or -twenty feet broad at the shoulders, with flappers or fins -that seemed to have a semi-revolving motion. From -the top of the head to the part of the back where it -became immersed, I should consider about fifty feet, and -that seemed about a third of the whole length. All -this part was smooth, resembling a seal." -</p> - -<p> -In the following month, the Scottish prints reported, -that when the Earl of Glasgow's steam-yacht <i>Valetta</i> -was cruising off Garroch Head, on the coast of Bute, -with a party of ladies and gentlemen on board, an -enormous fish or serpent, forty feet in length and about -fifteen in diameter, suddenly rose from the sea. Under -sail and steam the <i>Valetta</i> gave chase. A gentleman on -board speared it with a salmon "leister;" on which -the serpent dived, and after a time reappeared with the -iron part of the weapon sticking in its back. The -monster scudded along for some minutes, again dived, -and was not seen afterwards. There is little doubt, -however, that the animal which figured in this instance -was a very large basking-shark (<i>Selache maxima</i>). -</p> - -<p> -An animal of exactly similar shape and dimensions -was reported as being seen in the subsequent August by -twelve persons in Massachusetts Bay; and soon after on -three different occasions in the same quarter by the crew -of a coasting vessel. -</p> - -<p> -In May, 1877, the "sea-serpent" would seem to -have shifted his quarters to the Indian Ocean, which it -must be remarked is the habitat of the true sea-snakes. -On the 21st of that month, in latitude 2° north and -longitude 90° 53' east, the monster was alleged to have -been seen by the crew of the barque <i>Georgina</i>, bound -from Rangoon to Falmouth. It seemed to be about -fifty feet long, "grey and yellow in colour, and ten or -eleven inches thick. It was on view for about twenty -minutes, during which time it crossed the bow, and -ultimately disappeared under the port quarter." A -second account of this affair stated, that "for some days -previously the crew had seen several smaller serpents, of -from six to ten feet in length, playing about the vessel." -</p> - -<p> -Strange as all these stories seem, it is difficult to -suppose they are all quite untrue, for, nautical -superstition apart, we have the ready testimony of various -men of education and veracity. That there is only one -serpentine monster in the ocean, is an idea which the -great disparity in the various descriptions would seem -to contradict; and certainly the most astounding aspect -presented by this supposed and most ubiquitous animal, -was his form and size when seen by the officers of the -Queen's yacht off the coast of Sicily; though it is -somewhat singular that these gentlemen made no attempt to -kill or capture the mighty fish, or whatever it was they -saw. -</p> - -<p> -By way of conclusion to these remarks we may briefly -summarise the chief facts presented by "sea-serpent -tales" as they appear under the light of scientific -criticism. There is, it must firstly be remarked, nothing in -the slightest degree improbable in the idea that an -ordinary species of sea-snake, belonging to a well-known -group of reptiles, may undergo a gigantic development -and appear as a monster serpent of the deep. The -experience of comparative anatomists is decidedly in -agreement with such an opinion. Largely developed -individuals of almost every species of animals and plants -occasionally occur. Within the past few years new -species of cuttle-fishes—of dimensions compared with -which the largest of hitherto known forms are mere -pigmies—have been brought to light. And if huge -cuttle-fishes may thus be developed, why, it may be -asked, may not sea-snakes of ordinary size be elevated, -through extraordinary development, to become veritable -"leviathans" of the deep? That there is a strong -reason for belief in the veracity of sea-serpent tales, is -supported by the consideration of the utter want of any -motive for prevarication, and by the very different and -varied accounts given of the monsters seen. That the -appearances cannot always be explained on the supposition -that lifeless objects, such as trees, sea-weed, &c., -have been seen, is equally evident from the detailed -nature of many of the accounts of the animals, which -have been inspected from a near distance. And it may -also be remarked that in some cases, in which largely -developed sea-snakes themselves may not have appeared, -certain fishes may have represented the reptilian -inhabitants of the ocean. As Dr. Andrew Wilson has -insisted, a giant tape-fish viewed from a distance would -personate a "sea-serpent" in a very successful manner; -and there can be no doubt that tape-fishes have -occasionally been described as "sea-serpents." -</p> - -<p> -On the whole, if we admit the probability of -giant-developments of ordinary species of sea-snakes, or the -existence (and why not?) of enormous species of sea-snakes -and certain fishes <i>as yet unknown to science</i>, the -solution of the sea-serpent problem is not likely to be -any longer a matter of difficulty.* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Since writing the above, the <i>Daily News</i>, of September, 1878, -reported the appearance of the serpent, "twenty metres long and -two-thirds of a metre in diameter," -off Aalesund, on the coast of Norway. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0601"></a></p> - -<h2> -MILITARY "FOLK LORE." -</h2> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER I. -<br /><br /> - THE RED COAT; A FEW NOTES CONCERNING ITS<br /> - ORIGIN AND HISTORY.<br /> -</h3> - -<p> -"<i>Red</i>, of the colour of blood, one of the primitive -colours," we are told by Walker; "red-coat, a name of -contempt for a soldier," he adds unpleasantly below; -but Colonel James in his Military Dictionary renders -it more probably, as "the familiar term for a British -soldier." -</p> - -<p> -Colonel Mackinnon (in his "History of the Coldstream -Guards") and other writers have attributed the -introduction or adoption of the British uniform to -William III.; but there are sufficient proofs of its having -been common alike to England and to Scotland long -before the revolution in 1688. -</p> - -<p> -That red was originally deemed a warlike colour, -though now worn only by the British and, till the Holstein -war, by the Danish troops, there is abundant evidence.* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* The red of the Danish army was darker than ours. In 1702, their -cavalry, line, and militia, wore iron-grey, with green stockings; but -there were some exceptions. The first named force had buff coats, -and in warm weather rode with hats, their helmets hanging at their -saddle bows. Lobat's dragoons were clad in red, lined with white; -the regiment of Jutland wore white, lined with red, red breeches and -black cravats; and the Queen's own Guards wore fine -scarlet.—<i>Travels in the Retinue of the English Envoy, in</i> 1702. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Bellona, the sister of Mars, is depicted by ancient -painters and described by the poets as being clad in -garments stained with blood, and the planet which -bears the name of the warlike god is known by its -ruddy appearance. This hue arises simply from the -atmosphere, and hence the bards of classical antiquity -named the planet after the god of battles. To show -that in savage lands some of those old ideas still prevail, -Colonel James Grant in his "Walk Across Africa," with -the gallant and lamented Speke, mentions that his -valet Uledi told him, "that in his native country of -Uhiao, the people imagined that all foreigners eat -human flesh, and that cloth was dyed <i>scarlet</i> with -human blood." -</p> - -<p> -In heraldry, <i>gules</i> is the vermilion colour in the arms -of commoners; but without elaboration, our present -object is to trace the origin and the gradual adoption of -our national uniform, "the old red rag (as our soldiers -call it) that tells of England's glory." -</p> - -<p> -The colour was deemed eminently martial and -war-like by the Romans, among whom the <i>paludamentum</i>, -the military robe or cloak of a general, was scarlet, -bordered with purple. Juvenal (vol. vi.) mentions officers -clad in a scarlet dress, and according to Livy, such was -also the attire of the lictors who attended the consul in -war. -</p> - -<p> -Scarlet is mentioned among the colours used by the -Britons for dyeing their skins in the time of Julius -Cæsar; but their favourite herb was glastum, or woad, -called <i>glas</i> by the Celts, <i>i.e.</i>, blue, that they might look -dreadful in battle. -</p> - -<p> -The <i>red</i> uniform of the British Army was adopted -simply from the circumstance, that it was the royal -colour of the kingdoms of England and Scotland, centuries -before the union of the crowns or of the countries; -red and blue being the royal livery of England, red and -yellow the royal livery of Scotland. In the latter -country, red has ever been the judicial colour, worn by -the Lords of Council and Session, the magistrates of -Edinburgh and other cities, as well as by the students -of some of the universities. -</p> - -<p> -The Royal Crowns of England and Scotland were -always lined with scarlet, though James IV. for a time -adopted imperial purple. The surcoat of the Knights of -the Garter is crimson; and in the apparel of those of -the Bath we find the surcoat, breeches and stockings all -red, as directed at the revival of the Order by George -I. in 1725. -</p> - -<p> -Scarlet faced with blue was the uniform of the City -Guard of Edinburgh, a corps which existed from the -days of Flodden until those of Waterloo. -</p> - -<p> -In England, scarlet and blue had long been the two -chief colours of the cloth directed for the array of the -king's troops; in the time of the Crusades the English -wore white crosses; but Henry VIII. had troops in -white with a red cross. From the commencement of -the fourteenth century the Scots wore blue surcoats with -white St. Andrew's crosses thereon. Scotch and English -soldiers were wont in those days to taunt each other as -<i>Blue-coat</i> and <i>White-coat</i>. -</p> - -<p> -The Memoirs of Kirkaldy of Grange record an instance -of this kind in a sham fight. -</p> - -<p> -In the afternoon of the 2nd March, 1571, a party of -Sir William Kirkaldy's soldiers were marched from -Edinburgh Castle, which they approached again at -8 p.m., with white English surcoats over their armour. -On drawing near they were challenged thus: -</p> - -<p> -"Who are ye that trouble the Captain in the silence -of night?" -</p> - -<p> -"The army of the Queen of England," replied the -mock assailants with a discharge of arquebusses. Blank -volleys promptly responded from the walls, during which -they freely bestowed upon each other the taunts and -scurrility which the Scots and their Southern -neighbours used in battle as liberally as hard blows. -</p> - -<p> -"Begone, ye lubbards! Away, <i>Blue-coats</i>! -</p> - -<p> -"I defy thee, <i>White-coat!</i> dyrt upon your teeth! -Hence, knaves, to your mistress—her soldiers shall not -come here," &c. The cannon were then discharged, -upon which the mock Englishmen took to flight, after -an hour's skirmish in the dark, which filled the -peaceable portion of the citizens with dismay, and drew forth -some prophetic remarks from John Knox, who heard the -clamour from his house in the Netherbow. -</p> - -<p> -The favourite colours of the House of Tudor were -green and white. At the battle of St. Aubyn, Sir -Edward Wydeville was slain, at the head of a vast -body of Bretons, whom, to deceive the enemy, he had -clad in <i>white</i> English doublets with red St. George's -crosses thereon. -</p> - -<p> -White and red were the colours worn by Richard II. as -his livery, and during his reign they were favourites -with his courtiers and the citizens of London, a large -company of whom, headed by the mayor, all wearing -these, the king's colours, met him and the queen on -Blackheath, and conducted them in state to the Palace -of Westminster. At the coronation of Henry IV. we -find the English peers wearing a long scarlet tunic, -called a <i>houppelande</i>, with a cape above it; the knights -and esquires present wore the same kind of tunic, but -without the cape. -</p> - -<p> -In 1432, when Henry IV. returned from France, he -was met at Eltham by the Lord Mayor of London, who -was arrayed in crimson velvet with a baldrick of gold, -attended by three henchmen dressed in suits of red -spangled with silver, and by the aldermen wearing -gowns of scarlet with purple hoods. Then in 1535 we -find Henry VIII. donning a crimson velvet jerkin with -purple satin sleeves, and among the items of his -voluminous wardrobe are enumerated, "a cloke of -skarlette with a brodegarde of right crymson velvette; a -dublette of carnacion coloured sattin embrowdered with -damaske gold; a jacquette of the same," and several -other "dubieties" and "clokes" of similar sanguinary -hues; and during his reign we find the first decided -approach to the uniform of the future British Army. -</p> - -<p> -"Henry VIII. passed to Bulloigne with an army -divided into three battalions," says a curious work, -printed at London in 1630.* "In the vantguard were -12,000 footmen and 500 light-horsemen, cloathed in -blew jackets, with red guards. The middleward (where -the King was), consisted of 20,000 footmen, clothed -with red jackets and yellow guards. In the rereward -was the Duke of Norfolk, and with him an army like -in number and apparell to the first, saving that therein -served 1000 Irishmen, <i>all naked</i>, save their mantles -and their thicke-gathered skirts." This indicates a -costume like that of the Highlanders. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* "Relations of the most famovs kingdoms, throwout the world." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -On this occasion, in 1544, Henry was attended by -his Body-Guard of Pensioners, each of whom "was -accompanied by three mounted men-at-arms, dressed in -suits of <i>red and yellow damask</i>, the plumes of themselves -and steeds being of a like colour." ("Account of the -Gentlemen-at-arms.") In battle they wore complete -armour, their horses being "barded from counter to -tail," <i>i.e.</i>, with a spiked frontlet for the head, criniere -to guard the mane, a poitrinal or breast-plate, and a -croupiere or buttock-piece. -</p> - -<p> -Contemporaneously we find his nephew, James V. of -Scotland, having a body-guard established in 1532, -consisting of 300 men of Edinburgh, clad in scarlet -doublets faced with blue, with blue bonnets, gilt -partizans and daggers. -</p> - -<p> -Henry's "Bulleners," as they were named, were -conspicuous in their scarlet dress at the battle of Pinkie, in -1547, where they were commanded by the Lord Gray, -and where they were driven back in confusion, leaving -the staff of the royal standard in the hands of the Scots. -In Patten's quaint account of this battle, he mentions, -incidentally, that "Sir Miles Patrick being nigh, espied -one in a <i>red doublet</i>, whom he took thereby to be an -Englishman." -</p> - -<p> -In a letter of Sir John Harrington's, we find the pay -and clothing of Queen Elizabeth's troops in Ireland -detailed at some length, but the colours are not stated. -For an officer in winter, "a cassock of broad cloth, -with bays, and trimmed with silk lace, 27<i>s.</i> 6<i>d</i>. A -doublet of canvas, with silk buttons, and lined with -white linen, costing 14<i>s.</i> 5<i>d</i>. Two shirts, three pairs -of kersey stockings, three pairs of shoes of neat's leather, -at 2<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> per pair, and one pair of Venetians, of broad -Kentish cloth with silver lace, at 15<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i>" -</p> - -<p> -On the 23rd July, 1601, 1500 of her men arrived -from England, clad in <i>red cassocks</i>, to share in the siege -of Ostend.—(History of the Siege.) Of these, says -Stowe, 1000 were Londoners, and they are now represented -by Her Majesty's 3rd Foot, or Kentish Buffs. -</p> - -<p> -We find no trace of the national colours at the -coronation of Charles I. as King of Scotland, in 1633, at -Edinburgh, where he was escorted by the Gentlemen -Pensioners, under the Earl of Suffolk, and the Yeomen -of the Guard, under the Earl of Holland. We are told -by Spalding that he was accompanied by "his ordinary -English Guards, clad in his livery, having <i>brown velvet</i> -coats, side (<i>i.e.</i>, close) to their hough, and beneath with -boards of black velvet, and His Majesty's armes wrought -in raised and embossed work of silver and gold upon -the back and breast of ilk coat. This was the ordinary -weed of His Majesty's Foot Guards." Those furnished -by Edinburgh were clad in "white satin doublets, black -velvet breeches, silk stockings, hats, feathers, and scarfs. -These gallants had dainty muskets, pikes, and gilded -partizans." On this auspicious occasion, all the -Scottish peerage wore their usual robes of crimson velvet. -In this King's reign, David Ramsay, who was an officer -of Gustavus Adolphus, when appearing to fight a duel -with Lord Reay, wore a coat of scarlet (according to -Sanderson's "History of England"), so thickly laced -with silver that the ground of the cloth was scarcely -visible. -</p> - -<p> -Singularly enough, scarlet was early adopted among -the grim Scottish Covenanters. At the battle of -Kilsythe, where Montrose routed their troops with great -slaughter, we find that "the red-coat musketeers" -were cut to pieces by Viscount Aboyne and his Gordons. -It may be worth mentioning here that the chequer on -the bonnets of our Highland regiments was first adopted -by the clans under Montrose, as significant of the -<i>fess-cheque</i> of the House of Stuart. The great Marquis -wore scarlet at his barbarous execution in Edinburgh, -in 1650; and in the course of that year we find Sir -James Balfour recording, in his "Memorialls of Church -and Staite," that an English ship was made a prize by -the Scots, who found in her "eleven hundred elles of -broad clothe, seven hundred suites of made clothes, and -als many <i>read cottes</i>, 250 carabines, 500 muskets, with -powder and matches," being supplies for the troops of -Cromwell, several of whose regiments appear, however, -to have been clad in blue. -</p> - -<p> -Balfour, at this period, mentions on several occasions -the "four-tailled" coats of the Scottish infantry -and artillery, which must have been something like -the old Highland doublet now worn by our Highland -corps. -</p> - -<p> -At the Restoration, when forces were established in -England and Scotland, each country having its separate -guards, line, and artillery, scarlet was the colour almost -uniformly adopted, save in one instance, when the King -clothed in blue, faced with red, the Royal Regiment of -English Horse Guards, which was embodied on the 26th -August, 1661, under Aubrey, Earl of Oxford. These -colours it still retains; but a corps of marines raised -about the same time, oddly enough, wore yellow -coats—the old Dutch uniform.* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* William III. had a regiment of Dutch Horse in London, styled the -Blue Horse Guards; they returned to Holland on the 20th March, -1689, after which the present Oxford Blues got that appellation -permanently. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -On the 2nd April in the same year, 1661, the -Scottish Life Guards rode through the city of -Edinburgh "in gallant order," says Nicol the Diarist, -"their carbines upon their saddles, and swords drawn -in their hands. It pleased His Majesty to clothe their -trumpeters and the master of the kettle-drum in very -rich apparel." Colours were presented, and soon after -the King gave to each gentleman a buff coat. -</p> - -<p> -In February, 1683, General Sir Thomas Dalzell -obtained from the Privy Council at Edinburgh a licence -permitting the manufacturers at Newmills "to import -2536 ells of <i>stone-grey</i> cloth from England," for his -dragoon regiment, the <i>Scots Greys</i>, which had been -raised two years before—hence their costume, as well -as their grey horses, may have led to their present -well-known appellation. This grey cloth cost five shillings -an ell. -</p> - -<p> -In May of the same year, Colonel John Grahame of -Claverhouse imported from England 150 ells of red -cloth, 40 ells of white, and 550 dozen of buttons, for -the use of the Life Guards, and the Council ordained -that the uniform of the Scottish infantry should be "of -such a dye as shall be thought fit to distinguish sojours -from other skulking and vagrant persons, who have -hitherto imitated the uniform of the King," and red was -the dye so universally adopted that in 1685 we find -300 ells of it ordered by Captain Patrick Grahame for -the City Guard of Edinburgh. -</p> - -<p> -The Cavalier trooper, Captain Crichton, writes of the -Scottish cavalry in <i>red</i> in 1676; and in 1684 we find -that the dress of the Coldstream Guards was a red coat -lined with green, red stockings, red breeches, and white -sashes.* "The colonel and other officers, when on duty, -to wear their gorgets." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Royal Orders, &c. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -In Sir Patrick Hume's account of Argyle's descent -upon Scotland (printed in Rose's Observations upon the -historical works of Mr. Fox), among the Scottish forces -led by the Earl of Dumbarton, he says, "wee saw in -view a regiment of red-coat foot, too strong for us to -attacque." This was the Scots Royals, or 1st Regiment -of the Line. Before the victorious charge at Killiecrankie, -Viscount Dundee is said to have substituted a -green for a scarlet uniform over his buff coat; and the -former colour is yet considered ominous to those of his -name who wear it.* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Browne's "History of the Highlands." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Some years before the Revolution, Grenadier -companies had been added to the English and Scottish -establishments. -</p> - -<p> -Charles II. having resolved to introduce hand-grenades, -on the 13th April, 1678, issued a warrant -for a company of one hundred men to be added to the -Holland regiment, under the command of Captain John -Bristoe, to be armed with those explosives, and to be -styled Grenadiers. A similar company was soon added -to every other corps in both countries. These soldiers -carried fusils with bayonets, hatchets, and swords. -Their uniform was different from that of the musketeer -and pikeman; the two latter had round hats with broad -brims turned up on one side, the former a fur cap with -a lofty crown; they also wore cravats "of fox tailes." -</p> - -<p> -"In 1678," says Evelyn in his Diary, "were brought -into the service a new sort of soldiers called Grenadiers, -who were dextrous at flinging hand-grenades, every one -having a pouch full; they wore furred caps with coped -crowns like Janizaries, which made them look very -fierce, and some had hoods hanging down behind. -Their clothing being pybald, yellow, and red." Such -was the origin of our "British Grenadiers" of immortal -memory! -</p> - -<p> -According to Fosbroke, after throwing the grenade, -on receiving the words "Fall on," they rushed on the -enemy with hatchets, which they wore in addition to -muskets, slings, swords, and daggers. -</p> - -<p> -The Scottish Government, in 1702, raised a corps of -Horse Grenadier Guards, afterwards incorporated with -the United forces, and now represented by the Life -Guards. -</p> - -<p> -Towards the close of the 17th century, the clothing of -the British troops varied; hence, we find, that in the -year 1685, when the North Lincolnshire (now 10th) -Regiment of Foot was raised by John, Earl of Bath, it -wore blue coats, which were lined with red, and the -men had waistcoats, breeches, and stockings all of red, -and round Cavalier hats with broad brims, which were -turned up on one side, and ornamented with red -ribbons. The companies of pikemen* alone wore red -worsted sashes. Shortly after the Revolution in 1688, -the 10th Foot were clothed in scarlet, like the rest of -the British Infantry. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* The <i>last</i> pike perhaps used in the British Service we saw carried -by a sergeant of Captain Wyatt's Company of the Royal Artillery in -1835, when marching for embarkation for Britain, out of Signal Hill -Barracks in Newfoundland. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -In 1687, the "old Tangier Regiment," or, Queen's -Own Foot (now the 2nd Regiment), which was raised -in 1661, for the defence of that portion of Africa which -was ceded to Britain as the dowry of the Infanta of -Portugal, wore a red frock coat with skirts turned back, -loose green knickerbockers, white stockings, black -broad-brimmed hats, looped up on one side, and shoes -with rosettes. In the buff belts were long rapiers and -fixing daggers, while a collar of bandoliers was worn -across the chest. -</p> - -<p> -William III. ordained in 1698, "that no person -whatsoever should presume to wear scarlet or red cloth -for livery, except such as are in His Majesty's service, -or the Guards," yet, for all that, scarlet was, and is -still, the livery of more than one noble family in Scotland. -</p> - -<p> -The 3rd, or Kentish Buffs, were so called from the -circumstance of their being the first corps whose -accoutremeuts were made of leather prepared from the -hide of the buffalo. Their waistcoats, breeches, and -facings were, however, all of the same buff colour in -1665, according to Captain Grose. For nearly the same -reason, the 31st, or Huntingdonshire Foot, raised in -1702, call themselves the "Young Buffs." In the -Army List, the 78th Highlanders are styled the -Ross-shire Buffs; and in some old lists, the 56th, or -West Essex Regiment, raised in 1755, figured by their -pet name of <i>Pompadours</i>, their facings being then, as -now, purple, the favourite colour of Madame's gown and -fontange. While on the subject of uniform and -equipment, we may mention that in the Memoirs of Sergeant -Donald Macleod, "who having returned wounded, with -the corpse of General Wolfe, was admitted an out-pensioner -of Chelsea in 1759, and is now* in his 103rd -year," we have an absurd statement to the effect, that -when he enlisted in the 1st Royal Scots, "as a boy in -the Scottish service under King William III.," they -were accoutred with steel caps, bows and arrows (?). -He might as well have added scalp locks and war paint. -Singular to say, this nonsense has been reproduced by -Miss Strickland in her Life of Queen Anne. Long prior -to the time given, the regiment wore its orthodox red -coat, faced and lined with blue, and was armed with -good match-lock muskets, the "cocked lunts" of which -revealed their whereabouts, in the dark, to Monmouth's -cavalry on the night before the battle of Sedgemoor. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* 1791. Published by Sewell, Cornhill. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Of old, the London militia, though all dressed in -scarlet, were known by their facings, and not by -numbers. -</p> - -<p> -In the list of officers, commissioned for the City, on -the 24th December, 1698, we have those of the orange, -yellow, white, red, green, and blue regiments; and -concerning these corps the following interesting -proclamation was posted up throughout London, when the -Highlanders under Prince Charles were advancing on -Derby. -</p> - -<p> -"Notice is hereby given, that every officer and -soldier in the six regiments of militia, without waiting -for beat of drum, or any other notice, do, immediately -on hearing the said signals, repair with their arms and -the usual quantity of powder and ball, to their respective -rendezvous; the red regiment upon Tower-hill, the -<i>green</i> regiment in Guildhall-yard, the <i>yellow</i> in -St. Paul's Churchyard, the <i>white</i> at the Royal Exchange, -the <i>blue</i> in Old Fish-street, and the <i>orange</i> in West -Smithfield."* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* In 1759 this corps was ordered by its Colonel to adopt blue -clothing. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -It is hence that in Foote's humorous farce, "The -Mayor of Garratt," Major Sturgeon is made to say -that he had served under Jeffery Dunstable, knight, -Lord Mayor of London, and Colonel of the <i>yellow</i>. -</p> - -<p> -Prince Charles Edward was partial to the national -uniform, and frequently wore it. He is represented in -red, in the miniature which he gave to his secretary, -Murray of Broughton, one of nine painted on copper, as -gifts to his principal adherents. His Life Guards, -under Lord Elcho, wore blue faced with red; but, in -his small and gallant army, the Duke of Perth's -regiment, wore scarlet uniforms. (Vide Spalding Club -Miscell., vol. i.) -</p> - -<p> -A scarlet uniform worn by Cardinal York, before he -took holy orders, and probably when he commanded a -body of French and Irish troops at Dunkirk, in 1745, -is now preserved at Inzievar House, Fifeshire, having -been preserved by Edgar of Keithwick, who was long -attached to the last of the Stuarts, in the capacity of -secretary. -</p> - -<p> -Like the light cavalry, most of the militia corps -would seem to have been originally dressed in blue. -According to an old ballad, the Lothian regiment were -so clad at the Battle of Bothwell-bridge in 1679. -</p> - -<p> -The uniform of the first-named force has frequently -varied. In 1784, the clothing of the 17th, and similar -corps, was changed from scarlet to blue. They wore -blue in the Peninsula, and in 1830 were clad in scarlet -again, when the moustache, which they and other corps -had adopted, was ordered to be shaved off. (Records of -the 17th Lancers.) -</p> - -<p> -The old Scottish Guard of the French kings wore -hoquetons of white, "in token of their unspotted -fidelity," but the other Scottish troops in the French -service, the Gendarmes Écossais, who took precedence -of all the household troops, and the Infanterie Écossais, -which took rank after the 12th regiment of the old -French line, wore blue, while scarlet was the dress of -the Irish brigades of the Louis' in later years. -</p> - -<p> -Our Chasseurs Brittaniques, a foreign corps, consisting -in some instances, of deserters from every army in -Europe, wore the national uniform, and thus, when on -duty, frequently caused confusion and mistakes by their -ignorance of the English language. -</p> - -<p> -In 1742, the coats and breeches of the line were -tightened, and the hats were looped up on three sides, -and in that year, the 7th, or South British Fusiliers, -and the 21st, or North British Fusiliers, figured in the -high conical cap which came into vogue with the -Prussian tactics. Their coats had no collars, the skirts -were buttoned back and faced with blue. Numbers -were first put on the coat buttons in 1767. -</p> - -<p> -Red and yellow being, as we have stated, the royal -livery of Scotland, the facings of Scottish regiments -have generally been of the latter colour, and many that -now wear blue, had yellow when first embodied. -</p> - -<p> -The whole infantry of the East India Company wore -the national colour, and it is greatly to be regretted that, -on the commencement of our Volunteer movement, the -Government did not enforce the adoption of scarlet, -instead of permitting the endless varieties of silly -colours and costumes now worn by many corps throughout -the United Kingdom. -</p> - -<p> -The statistics of European wars show us that the -French, who are clad in <i>blue</i>, suffered a greater loss in -proportion than the British, who wear <i>red</i>, when under -fire. An old Peninsula officer, whose letter is before us, -mentions, "When our Light Company, and the company -of the 60th Rifles (green), attached to our brigade, -were skirmishing on the same ground (against the -enemy), the latter lost more than we did, although -composed chiefly of Germans, who are proverbially cautious -skirmishers. This is an important subject. I saw, at -the Battle of Vittoria, the wonderful effect of the -imposing appearance of the British line on the enemy. -After they had been driven from their position and -completely scattered, many glorious attempts were made -by their officers to rally them on some heights behind -the ridge on which our line was advancing. It -became an object with the officer commanding the Light -Companies, which were scattered in pursuit, to get -them arrayed for the attack of a column which formed -on one of those heights at some distance in our front, -and thus became a rallying point to the thousands who -were flying from the ridge in helpless confusion. -</p> - -<p> -"Before we had a sufficient number of the pursuers -collected to attack this formidable column, it broke and -bolted, its soldiers disappearing among the racing mobs -who threw away their arms and fled towards the -Pyrenees. While wondering what had caused so sudden -a panic among men who, but a moment before, seemed -ready to adhere until death to their officers, we—the -skirmishers—looked back to the ridge, and saw a sight -which I shall never forget. The whole British line -crowned the mountains, from wing to wing, looking -like a wall of fire, their bayonets glittering in the sun, -as they moved steadily, silently, and presenting a -glorious picture of power and order. This sight it was -which struck the enemy to the heart, and made him fly -from his new position in sudden panic. No army, -although double the number, if clad in sombre uniform, -could ever make such an appearance, or produce such -an effect as this."* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* At the commencement of the Volunteer movement, this letter was -addressed to the author of this paper, who was then actively engaged -in the formation of a corps now wearing grey. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Our uniforms have frequently varied according to the -climate in which corps have been stationed. The kilt -has generally proved too warm for Indian service, and -white trousers are substituted. In the Caffre war the -74th Highlanders wore short dark blouses, tartan -tunics, and hummal bonnets, <i>i.e.</i>, without feathers. In -Canada the King's Dragoon Guards lately wore busbies -of fur, blue pea-jackets, and long boots lined with sheepskin -in winter. The Ashanti uniform is still remembered. -</p> - -<p> -Save the Blues, all our cavalry wore scarlet, until -the middle of George III.'s reign, when blue was -adopted for the Light corps; but silver-grey, with red -facings, was worn by all dragoons, while serving in -India, until 1820. Eleven years after, scarlet was -resumed for all corps except the Horse Guards and -Hussars; but blue was ordered again for all Lancers -and Light Dragoons in 1840. -</p> - -<p> -Blue has always been worn by the Royal Regiment -of Artillery, which was first embodied in England in the -year 1750, by Colonel William Belford, who commanded -that arm of the service at the battle of Culloden, four -years before. The facings, vests, and breeches were all -scarlet. -</p> - -<p> -Hussars were first introduced in our service in 1793, -and Lancers after the battle of Waterloo; but so early -as 1794 we had a corps of Lancers, named the British -Uhlans, formed out of the remains of the French -Royalist army, and which, with the Hussars of Choiseul, -Salm, and Rohan, perished in the fatal expedition to -Quiberon in 1796. -</p> - -<p> -Uniform has ever been considered a badge alike of -honour and service; thus, in the <i>Gazette</i> for June, 1867, -we find that Her Majesty was graciously pleased to -permit a retired Captain of the Edinburgh, or Queen's -Own Regiment of Militia, "to retain his rank and <i>wear -his uniform</i> in consideration of his long service in that -corps." -</p> - -<p> -We have had the pleasure of knowing more than one -brave veteran officer, who treasured affectionately "the -old red rag," in which he had followed Picton, Grahame, -or the Iron Duke, and in which he had been wounded -on the glorious fields of Spain or in the crowning victory -of Waterloo; and in every age there has been some -eccentric enthusiast who stuck manfully to fashions that -had departed. -</p> - -<p> -In 1808, many an old officer would as soon have cut -off his head as his pigtail when the Horse Guards -ordered the army to be shorn of that remarkable -appendage. Old Sir Thomas Dalyell, of Binns (first -Colonel of the Scots Greys), who rode yearly to London -to kiss the hand of King Charles II., adhered to the -close-sleeved doublet of the days of James VI. This, -with his portentous vow-beard (which he had sworn -never to cut after the execution of Charles I), "when he -was in London never failed to draw after him a great -crowd of boys, who constantly attended him at his -lodgings, and followed him with huzzas as he went to -Court and returned from it. As he was a man of -humour, he would always thank them for their civilities -when he left them at the door to go to the King, and -would let them know exactly at what hour he intended -to come out again and return to his lodgings." (Memoirs -of Captain Crichton, the Cavalier Trooper.) -</p> - -<p> -General Preston, who commanded the same regiment -in the Seven Years' War, and who died colonel of it, at -Bath in 1785, was the last British officer who wore a -buff coat. An officer who served with him records that -at the capture of Zerenberg, Preston received more than -a dozen of sword-cuts, which fell harmlessly on his -"buff-jerkin." -</p> - -<p> -Old Colonel Charles Donellan, who commanded the -48th, and was wounded at Talavera (mortally, we -believe), was the last officer who adhered to the antique -three-cornered Nivernois hat; and there was a General -Cameron, in the same campaign, who adhered to the -Highland bonnet, and never would adopt the cocked hat. -</p> - -<p> -At Dettingen, George II. appeared in the same red -coat which he had worn when serving under -Marlborough. Thackeray says, "On public occasions he -always displayed the hat and coat he wore on the -famous day of Oudenarde, and the people laughed, but -kindly, at the odd old garment, for bravery never -goes out of fashion." At Minden, in 1759, we find the -luckless Lord George Sackville leading the cavalry in -the same red coat which he had worn as a youth at -Fontenoy; and the same sentiment has prevailed in the -humbler ranks of the service. -</p> - -<p> -An aged soldier, named Robert Ferguson, who died -at Paisley in 1811, in his ninety-seventh year, preserved -to the last, as a precious relic, the old red coat of the -22nd Foot (Handysides, wherein Sterne's father was a -captain), in which he had been wounded at the battles -of Dettingen and Fontenoy, just as future years may see -some veteran preserving the faded and perhaps -blood-stained tunic which he wore with Raglan at Sebastopol, -or with Havelock at Lucknow. -</p> - -<p> -We have thus attempted to trace the history of that -scarlet uniform, which is so inseparably connected with the -past, the present, and the future glory of the British -Isles. It is the garb which first fires the enthusiasm -and ambition of our youth, and is ever kindly and -affectionately remembered by our white-haired veterans -in old age, for there is something almost filial in the -emotion with which an old soldier recalls the uniform, -the facings, and badges of his regiment, whatever its -number might have been, from the 1st Royal Scots to -the Rifle Brigade. There is not a battle-field, -honourable to Britain, or a portion of the globe where our -drums have beaten, but where it has formed the shroud -of many a noble and gallant heart—so all honour, say -we, to "the old Red Coat, that tells the tale of England's -glory!" -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0602"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER II. -<br /><br /> -FURTHER NOTES ON ITS HISTORY AND ON REGIMENTALS. -</h3> - -<p> -In the preceding chapter, the origin of the British -uniform was plainly deduced from the fact of scarlet being -the Royal livery alike of England and of Scotland, and -hence its adoption as a general national colour. To -these notes we purpose to add a few more on the -gradual progress of badges and distinctions in the -service. -</p> - -<p> -The red cross of St. George was the general badge of -England from the Crusades, till the time of Edward IV., -and by an act of the Scottish Parliament passed in -1385, during the reign of Robert III., every soldier was -ordained "to wear a white St. Andrew's Cross on his -back and breast, which, if his surcoat was white, was -to be broidered on a circle or square of black cloth." -</p> - -<p> -In the time of Henry VIII., a red St. George's cross -on a white surcoat was adopted as the distinguishing -badge of English troops; and in an order to raise men -for the service of Mary I., in the northern counties, she -directs, that "they be clothed in whyt, with -redde-crosses on ye arme, in ye olde maner." -</p> - -<p> -These red crosses were destined to figure soon after, -at the battle of Ancrum in 1544, when, as the ballad -has it, the stream -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Ran red with English blood,<br /> - For the Douglas true and the bold Buccleugh,<br /> - 'Gainst keen Lord Evers stood."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -When the English were routed, 700 Scottish outlaws -of broken border clans, who had joined them, threw -aside their red crosses, and joining their countrymen, -made a merciless slaughter of the fugitives with axe -and spear, shouting to each other the while, -"Remember Broomhouse!" -</p> - -<p> -Love of the sanguinary colour seems to have spread -rapidly, and so, as some one has it, "no true Englishman -can either fight, or hunt, to his satisfaction, save -in a red coat," but badges were speedily added thereto. -</p> - -<p> -Stowe records in his Survey of London, that "Robert -Neville, Earl of Warwick, with 600 men all in red -jackets, embroidered with <i>ragged staves</i> before and -behind, was lodged in Warwicke Lane; in whose house -there was oftentimes six oxen eaten at a breakfast, and -every tavern was full of his meat, for he that had any -acquaintance in that house, might have as much of -sodden or roasted meat as he could prick and carry -away on a long dagger." -</p> - -<p> -The proposal that the medical officers of all -European armies should wear one great distinguishing -badge, by which their profession might be known, is -not a new one, for we find Ralph Smith, in the time of -Elizabeth, after telling us that military "surgeons -should be men of sobrietie, of good conscience, and -skillfull in that science, able to heal all scars and -wounds, especially to take out a pellet, &c., must wear -their Baldricke, whereby they may be known in time of -slaughter, as it is their charter in the field." -</p> - -<p> -In this reign the Cavalry wore scarlet cloaks; but in -the stirring times of Cromwell, with red and blue, a -reddish-brown was much used by both horse and foot; -hence he says in one of his letters, "I had rather have -a plain russet-coated captain, that knoweth what he -fights for, and loves what he knowes, than that which -you call 'a gentleman,' and is nothing else." -</p> - -<p> -Of all the colours for uniforms, the most absurd were -some of those adopted by our Rifle Volunteers, in their -too wary desire to be unseen. A battalion of the -Italian Legion, raised during the Crimean war, was -clad in silver grey; and it was admitted by all -competent judges to be the colour best adapted for riflemen, -and, moreover, when handsomely laced and trimmed, it -was very becoming. This was the favourite colour of -the Indian Light Cavalry. -</p> - -<p> -When contrasted with the tight tunics, tiny shackos, -and plain trousers of the present day, the equipment of -a corps of the last, or the preceding century, in its -amplitude and variety, must have presented a very -different and very picturesque aspect. On the 8th, or -King's Own Regiment, being raised for King James, by -Richard, Lord Ferrars, the captains were armed with -pikes, the lieutenants with partisans, the ensigns with -half-pikes, the sergeants with halberds; thirty rank -and file of each company were pikemen, seventy-three -were musketeers, and all carried swords. The -waistcoats and breeches were yellow; the uniform, scarlet -lined with yellow; the stockings and cravats white; -the hats were <i>à la</i> cavalier, turned up on one side, and -ornamented with flowing yellow ribbands. (Records -8th Foot.) -</p> - -<p> -Ten years before this time, each company consisted of -thirty pikes, sixty muskets, and ten men armed with -light fusils, and "the tallest men were always culled -out as pikemen." (<i>Bruce on Military Law</i>, 1717.) -</p> - -<p> -The following description of a deserter, from the -22nd Foot, in those days, is rather amusing, as to -costume:— -</p> - -<p> -"Run away, out of Captain Soames' Company, in his -Grace the Duke of Norfolk's regiment of Infantry, -quartered at Newport, in Shropshire; Roger Curtis, a -barber surgeon, a little man with short black hair, a -little curled; round visage, fresh-coloured, in a light -coloured coat, with gold and silver buttons, red plush -breeches and white hat; he lived formerly at Downham -Market, in Norfolk. Whoever will give notice to -Francis Baker, agent to the said regiment, in Hatton -Garden, so that he may be secured, shall have two -guineas reward."* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* "London Gazette," 1689. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -A spectator of the Camp of the Household Brigade, -on Putney Heath, in October, 1694, describes the three -regiments of Guards as wearing scarlet, of course; the -1st, faced with blue; the 2nd, or "Cole-stream," with -green; the 3rd Scots, with white; the officers being -distinguished by white scarves worn over the left -shoulder, and fringed with the colour of the regimental -facings. The Holland Regiment (Buffs), are described -as wearing red, faced with flesh-colour; the Queen's -or Tangier Regiment, red, faced with sea-green; the -Lord Admiral's Regiment of Marines, raised in 1664 -(and afterwards incorporated by William III., with -the 2nd Foot Guards), in doublets and breeches of -yellow. -</p> - -<p> -Until the reign of Her present Majesty, red was worn -by all the drummers and buglers of the regiment of -Artillery; but although, from the earliest period, it was -deemed the great national colour of our forces, it is -somewhat remarkable that it was not adopted by the -English or Irish Militia, until the year 1759, and a -song of that period begins:— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Ye mounseers, give ear, we have nothing to fear,<br /> - For the Militia are now clothed in RED, Sirs!<br /> - They have hearts that are stout and will never give out,<br /> - With Rockingham bold at their head, sirs!<br /> - You may brag and may boast, upon your own coast,<br /> - And parade it from Dunkirk to Calais;<br /> - But have a care now, how you venture too far,<br /> - In your flat-bottomed boats to make sallies."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Long denied a militia force, in dread of Jacobite -influences, Scotland had none from 1746 till the close of -the last century, when, ten years after the death of her -"Bonnie Prince Charlie," ten battalions were raised, -and their colours and insignia (most of which are now -deposited in the Castle of Edinburgh) were designed by -the Court of the Lyon King of Arms, then Robert, Earl -of Kinnoull, with whom the applications for such were -lodged. -</p> - -<p> -In our former chapter, the uniforms of the Irish and -Scottish regiments which belonged to the French Line, -during the last century, were referred to. These corps -(according to the "Liste Historique des Troupes de -France," 1758,) were numbered as the 92nd, 93rd, -94th, 98th (Gardes de Jacques II.), 99th, and 109th, -all Irish; the 107th Royal Écossais under the Duke of -Perth, and the 113th Écossais under Lieutenant-General -Lord Ogilvie, who died in Scotland in 1803. -</p> - -<p> -The two Scottish regiments wore coats and vests of -blue, and their hats were bound with gold. All their -Irish brother exiles wore scarlet, with white vests -generally, and carried on their colours black or yellow -crosses, with the "Couronne d'Angleterre," which had -no braver or more bitter enemies, as the terrible day of -Fontenoy attested; and where they seem to have acted -true to the spirit of the Fenian song: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Oh, if the colour we must wear.<br /> - Is England's cruel red,<br /> - Let it remind us of the blood<br /> - That Ireland has shed!"<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -And when our troops landed at Cancalle Bay in 1758, -they were surprised to find themselves stoutly opposed -by entire battalions in scarlet; and no wonder was it -that they were so, for it was the Irish Brigade, whose -ranks were manned and officered by the sons and -grandsons of the adherents of King James, the same gallant -Irish Brigade which was welcomed to the British -Establishment in 1794, and, unfortunately, was soon after -reduced. -</p> - -<p> -In our service, the White Horse of Hanover is borne -on the colours of the 3rd Dragoons, the 7th, 14th, -23rd, and 27th Foot, &c. This badge is as old in -history as the Welsh Dragon of the 10th Hussars and -12th Lancers, having been the ancient cognisance of -Saxony or Westphalia,—a White Horse, on a field -<i>gules</i>—borne for centuries by the House of Brunswick. -Henry the Proud, Duke of Bavaria, in consequence of -his marriage in 1123, with Gertrude, the lineal -descendant of Wittekind, last of the Saxon Kings, assumed -the armorial bearing of that Sovereign, if a barbarian -so weak and savage deserve the title. The banner of -Wittekind originally bore a black horse, which, on his -compulsory conversion to Christianity, under the sword -of Charlemagne, was changed to white, as emblematic -of his new and purer faith. Hence our White Horse of -Hanover and its motto <i>Nec Aspera Terrent</i>, which -appears on the colours of the regiments above mentioned. -It made its appearance in our service about the -same time as the hideous black leather cockade, so long -retained in loyal opposition to the White Rose of the -Stuarts, and which is seen now only on the hats of footmen. -</p> - -<p> -But the badge borne for the longest period in -succession by the same unbroken body of men, is -undoubtedly the St. Andrew's Cross of the 1st Royals, who -represent alike the Scottish Guard of St. Louis (the -comrades of "Quentin Durward" under Louis XI.), and the -Green Brigade of Scots, who served Gustavus Adolphus, -a corps whose almost fabulous antiquity was long a jest -in the French service, as well as our own, being twitted -in both as the Guards of Pontius Pilate, who slept on -their post. -</p> - -<p> -A very remarkable instance of love of the "Old Red -Coat" occurred when the Scots Greys marched from -Carlisle in April, 1766. A troop-quartermaster named -Robert Mackenzie, then in his eighty-eighth year, was -left behind, totally prostrated by age and infirmity. He -was born in Scotland in 1688, had joined the Greys in -1705, when Lord John Hay was colonel, and was -proverbially known as "the oldest soldier in the service." -</p> - -<p> -The sound of the trumpets had scarcely died away -homeward on the north road, when the hand of death -came on the old enthusiast, and feeling that the hour of -his dissolution was come, he insisted on being clad in -his full uniform, his boots were drawn on, his sword -girt about him, and thus accoutred, he expired, of sheer -"disappointment at his inability to proceed. He was -carried to his grave by six invalids; the pall being -supported by six sergeants of recruiting parties in the -town, and the Cumberland Militia fired six platoons at -his interment." -</p> - -<p> -An old enthusiast of a similar kind, though of higher -rank, was the amiable General Charles O'Hara, the -comrade of Granby and Ligonier, Lieutenant-Colonel of -the 22nd, somewhere before 1788, and who, in the first -year of the present century, died Governor of Gibraltar. -He was the last British officer who adhered to the -uniform of the Minden days, and to that remarkable style -of cocked hat introduced by the great Austrian Marshal, -with its tall straight feather and large black rosette on -the dexter side; hence O'Hara was known in the -service as "the last of the Kevenhullers." -</p> - -<p> -At Gibraltar "he was buried with all the honours -due to his rank," wrote an officer of the 29th, who was -present. "I had never before seen the funeral of a -general officer. There was his horse—the well-known -charger oh which we had so often seen him mounted—bearing -the boots and spurs of his departed master; on -the coffin lay other mournful insignia, the sword, the -sash, and not the least prominent memorial, the Kevenhuller -hat, with its tall, unbending feather, and I gazed -on it for the last time." -</p> - -<p> -He was succeeded in his command by the father of -her present Majesty. -</p> - -<p> -But in the quaint adherence to the costume of a past -age, there are few cases like one recorded by O'Keefe, -the player, whose recollections were published in 1826, -and who mentions that in his day, there was an aged -captain, John Desbrissay, who walked about the streets -of Dublin, "unremarked," in the Cavalier dress of the -reign of Charles II. This, however, was before the -time of the notorious Wilkes. This eccentric veteran -lived in Corkhill, Dublin, and his name appears in the -Army Lists for 1747, as agent for the 5th Horse, 5th -Royal Irish Dragoons, 12th Foot, and several other -corps stationed in Dublin. -</p> - -<p> -County designations were not given until 1786, but -numbers had been introduced, and badges, pretty -generally adopted for all corps of Horse and Foot, on -their colours, buttons, or belt-plates, prior to the first -year of George the Third's reign. -</p> - -<p> -In 1759, when Colonel John Hale (who came to -London with the news of Wolfe's fall, and the conquest -of Canada) raised the 17th Light Dragoons (now Lancers), -it was ordered that "on the front of the men's -caps, and on the left breast of their uniform, there was -to be a death's head and cross-bones over it, and under -the motto, 'or glory;'" and this grim device (the -badge of the famous Black Brunswickers in later times) -they still retain, like the old Pomeranian Horse, -who, since the days of Gustavus Adolphus, have worn -skulls and cross-bones on their high fur caps, and in -Sweden are now known as the King's Own Hussars. -</p> - -<p> -It was not until 1764 that the swords of the Grenadiers -were abolished, and the arms of the foot soldier -were confined to the musket and bayonet; and it was -in that year when the officers and men of our cavalry -first wore the epaulette (in lieu of the old aiguilette) -on the left shoulder; at the same time, the jack-boots -were abolished, and the horses were ordered to have -long tails. The 8th Light Dragoons, however, had -long the peculiar favour of wearing cross-belts for the -pouch and sword. Having annihilated a corps of -Spanish Horse at Almenara in 1710, and equipped -themselves with the Spanish belts as trophies, they wore -them in memory of that event until January, 1776, -when they were abolished, and, at the same time the -helmets were substituted for the cocked hats.*—("Records, -4th and 8th Hussars.") -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* It was in 1794 that the Blues resumed for a time the cuirasses, -which the Corps had not worn since their march to Salisbury in -1688. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Singularly enough, the 90th Light Infantry (still -affectionately remembered in Scotland as Sir Thomas -Graham's Perthshire Greybreeks), when serving under -Abercrombie, in Egypt, wore helmets of brass, and -being taken for dismounted Dragoons, were vigorously -charged by the French cavalry at the battle of Alexandria. -In the <i>mêlée</i>, their Lieutenant-Colonel, old Lord -Hill of gallant memory, received a ball on his helmet, -which brought him to the ground, though it failed to -penetrate the brass metal, of which it was composed. -</p> - -<p> -In these brief memoranda on uniforms and equipment, -to enter elaborately on the dress of our Highland -regiments, or its antiquity and advantages, would take -up too much space. -</p> - -<p> -Apart from written history, song, or tradition, there -are in Scotland many records of vast age carved in -stone, such as the Cross at Dupplin and the tomb at -Nigg—both works prior to the eighth century,—which -represent the Caledonian Warriors kilted to the knee, -exactly like our Highland regiments now; and on the -last-named memorial, the figure has a purse or sporran. -</p> - -<p> -The first regiments of Highlanders embodied were -two battalions raised, among other Scottish levies, by -the government of Mary Queen of Scots, in 1552, to -aid Henry II. of France in his wars. Each man would -seem to have provided his own kilt or tartans, as the -Scottish Privy Council ordain that they shall be -"substantiouslie accompturit, with jack and plait, steilbonett, -sword and buckler, new hose and new doublett of canvouse, -at the least, and sleeves of plait or splints, with -one speir of sax ell long or thereby." These men were -chiefly drawn from the same glens, and by the same -noble family, which in later years enrolled the 92nd -Gordon Highlanders of Egyptian and Peninsular fame. -</p> - -<p> -The early Highland corps were remarkably jealous -of any alteration or innovation in their costume, real -or fancied, and hence a dangerous mutiny broke out -among the West Fencibles, in Edinburgh Castle, in -1778, in consequence of some changes that were -proposed, particularly in the adoption of a cartridge-box, -which they oddly alleged "no Highland regiment had -ever worn before." A portion of the battalion was -ultimately surrounded on Leith Links (where they had -flung their pouches mutinously at the feet of the -General), and compelled, by the 10th Light Dragoons, -to adopt them at the point of the sword; but the -remainder in the Castle broke out into open revolt, raised -the drawbridge, and threatened to turn the guns on -the city; nor did the matter end, until one Fencible -was sentenced to be shot, and another to receive a -thousand lashes, punishments which were, however, -commuted. -</p> - -<p> -In the following year occurred the dangerous mutiny -at Leith, when seventy recruits for the 42nd and 71st, -on a rumour being mischievously spread that they had -been betrayed into a Lowland corps, which wore trousers, -fought with the South Fencibles, till forty-five of -them were shot down and bayonetted. -</p> - -<p> -In 1811 we had two Greek regiments raised in the -Ionian Isles, the 1st and 2nd Light Infantry, which -were kilted, and wore the full Albanian costume. -</p> - -<p> -All these various distinctions in uniform, badges, and -insignia which we have briefly noted, and others, such -as the Sphinx of Egypt, the Tiger of India, the Lion -of Nassau, the Dragon of China, the Eagle of France, -the Elephant of Assaye,* the Castle and Key of Gibraltar -(<i>Montis insignia Calpe</i>), and all the other noble -emblems borne on the colours of our various regiments, -are the historical HERALDRY of the service, and are -worthy of the highest consideration. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* The 74th and 78th Highland Regiments are entitled to carry a -third colour for Assaye. The antelope was bestowed on the 6th Foot, -in the war of the Spanish Succession, with the motto <i>vi et armis</i>, -which they seem to have relinquished till 1878, though it used to be -painted on the knapsacks, as on an old one possessed by the Corps in -1825, remained to testify. The Scots Greys, who forgot their old motto -"SECOND TO NONE," resumed it in 1871. The origin of it seems scarcely -known; but Colonel Darby Griffith, who so gallantly led the Greys at -the battles of Balaclava, Inkermann, and the Tchernaya, in a letter to -the author on the subject, says, "It is well authenticated that the -Greys were raised in Scotland before the 1st Dragoons were raised in -England, as also were the Coldstream before the Grenadier Guards. -The English Regiments were accorded the No. 1, as taking precedence; -but as a kind of atonement, both the Coldstream and the Scots Grey -have the motto 'SECOND TO NONE.' Aldershot, 15th May, 1865." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -They are eminently calculated to produce the <i>esprit de -corps</i>, a just pride and honourable rivalry; and, by the -past glories they represent, to inspire in our army that -heroic virtue of which the elder Pitt spoke so eloquently -in Parliament, when he said of our troops, in the debate -upon pay:— -</p> - -<p> -"To the virtue of the British Army we have hitherto -trusted; to that virtue, small as the army is, we must -still trust; and without that virtue, the Lords, the -Commons, and the people of England may intrench -themselves behind parchment up to the teeth; but -the sword will find a passage to the vitals of the -constitution!" -</p> - -<p> -Hence it is, that even the lace, the buttons, and other -insignia of a corps are so carefully shorn from the -uniform of the unhappy soldier who is disgraced, and -rendered incapable of bearing arms again; and when -writing of those things, perhaps we cannot do better -than close this article by an anecdote which records one -of the most startling instances of wholesale disgrace -that ever occurred in a European army. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3b"> -THE DEGRADATION OF THE REGIMENT OF ABO. -</p> - -<p> -In all armies corps have frequently been punished <i>en -masse</i>, by being sent on foreign service or hazardous -duty out of their turn, for the crimes of individuals, for -general discontent, or for mutiny. Some have been -exterminated, like the Janizzaries and the Mamelukes; -decimated, like the Chapelgorris, or Red Caps, a -battalion, of 800 Guipuzcoan Volunteers, famous in the -army of the Queen of Spain; or, like that Carlist -Regiment, which, for sundry acts of sacrilege, was formed -in line, and had every tenth file, with his coverer, taken -out and shot. -</p> - -<p> -In the "Art of War, 1720," we are told that during -the campaign in Holland, a captain, and his entire -company, belonging to an Italian regiment, were -hanged in line for desertion at Emerich, in the Duchy -of Cleves; and in later times, in our own service, the -6th Royal Irish Dragoons, a fine old corps, consisting -originally of nine troops, embodied under Colonel -James Wynne, in the winter of 1688, with the Harp -and Garter on their colours,—a corps that was -brigaded with the Greys on the extreme right in the -campaigns of Marlborough, and which, after serving -with characteristic bravery in all our wars till those -of the French Revolution, was disbanded in 1798 (for -alleged sympathy with the Irish Insurgents), when -General Lord Rossmore was their colonel; and since -when, as a mark of the royal displeasure, their place -and number remained vacant in the Army List for sixty -years, until the present 5th Royal Irish Lancers were -embodied in 1858; but in no instance was there ever -a wholesale disgrace inflicted on a corps such as that to -which the King of Sweden, Gustavus III., subjected -the unfortunate Regiment of Abo. -</p> - -<p> -When in the year 1788 he suddenly attacked Russia, -victory remained undecided in a naval engagement -between his fleet under the Duke of Sudermania and that -of the Empress under the Scoto-Russian Admiral Greig, -and his nobles who served in the Marine refused to act -further in a war, which seemed to have no cause but -the will of the King. Gustavus was inflamed by this -opposition; he wished an object on which to vent his -wrath and pride, and soon found one in the Regiment -of Abo. -</p> - -<p> -A brief armistice had ensued, during which he -summoned a diet at Stockholm, where, on the 22nd -February, 1789, by a preponderance of three inferior -states, a declaration placed in his hands unlimited -power, and he still resolved to prosecute the hopeless -war against Russia. -</p> - -<p> -In the army, at the head of which he placed himself, -was this Regiment of Finlanders from Abo, a province -which comprehends a part of Eastern Bothnia and the -Aland Isles, whose inhabitants are a hardy and -industrious race. The regiment fought with all the -hereditary bravery of the old Finns, and served at the capture -of several small towns; but the arms of Gustavus were -unsuccessful by land, where his measures were -disconcerted by an event which he could not have foreseen. -</p> - -<p> -After making all his preparations to storm the strong -fort and town of Fredericksham, which had been -ceded to the Empress Elizabeth in 1743, and the -repossession of which would have opened to him the -gates of the Russian capital, his officers, and chiefly -those of the Finnish Regiment of Abo, flatly refused -to pass the frontier, alleging as a reason, "that the -constitution of the Swedish kingdom would not permit -them to be accessory to foreign war which the nation -had not sanctioned." -</p> - -<p> -This put an end to what was named the Finland -Expedition; it gave the enemy time to put themselves -in a perfect state of defence, and filled Gustavus with -fresh fury; but despite the attempts of the Russians -to intercept him, he reached Borgo, an old seaport in -the district of Nyeland, where he established his -headquarters, and where his first act was to assemble the -whole Swedish Army, under arms, on the 8th of June, -1789, in front of the town, and along the margin of -the river, which there flows into the Gulf of Finland. -</p> - -<p> -A hollow square of contiguous close columns of -Horse, Dragoons and Infantry was then formed; the -whole were ordered to prime and load with -ball-cartridge. The Artillery were unlimbered and loaded -with round and cannister shot, in case of resistance, -though none, save a very few, knew precisely what was -about to ensue. -</p> - -<p> -Then the fated Regiment of Abo, which had taken -so marked a part in the defection before Fredericksham, -was marched in a solid close column of companies -into the centre of this vast hollow square, with -its colours flying; and a hum of expectation and -surprise, not unmixed with dismay, pervaded the whole -assembled masses. -</p> - -<p> -By Gustavus, a king whose ruling passions were -heroism and selfishness, vanity and ambition, they -were ordered to "ground their arms," which were at -once taken away, with all their swords, bayonets, and -accoutrements. -</p> - -<p> -They were then ordered to strip off their regimental -coats, and appear in their shirts and breeches. The -officers were deprived of their epaulettes and -commissions, and were cashiered on the spot. -</p> - -<p> -Their colours were then rent from the poles and torn -to pieces, the poles being broken under foot, while the -drums were defaced by persons appointed to do so. -</p> - -<p> -The whole battalion then passed from the right of -companies out of the hollow square by single files, -while a general hiss was maintained by the whole -army until the last man had quitted it; and the -united sound of this unpleasant expression of contempt -rising into the still air, by the sea-shore, is said to -have had a very singular and remarkable effect on -those who heard it. -</p> - -<p> -Though thus broken up and disbanded, the Corps -was not set adrift; for the whole of the privates were -drafted into the different battalions of the Artillery, -and long after the fiery Gustavus had perished by the -hand of the regicide Ankerström, it was a bitter taunt -in the Swedish army to have belonged to "the -degraded Regiment of Abo." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0603"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER III. -<br /><br /> -FAMOUS AND ANCIENT BANNERS. -</h3> - -<p> -In all ages and in all armies, the greatest veneration -has ever been manifested by soldiers for their ensigns -and standards, as being the veritable representation -and embodiment of the national glory and honour, or -it might be of a righteous cause. In the ages of -classical antiquity, the religious care taken of these -emblems was extraordinary. The soldiers worshipped -them, and swore by them, as some European troops still -do. The Roman Legionaries incurred certain death if -they lost them in battle; and Livy tells us, that to -animate them, the standards were sometimes thrown among -the enemy, that they might be recaptured at all hazards. -</p> - -<p> -In all armies at the present day, regimental -standards are consecrated by a religious ceremony, -have the highest military honours paid to them, and -when too old for use, are solemnly deposited in a -church, or sometimes burned, or buried with all the -honours of war; and by the Queen's Regulations -(Section VII.) are finally marched from their last -parade, to the air of "Auld lang Syne." -</p> - -<p> -Among the most famous banners of antiquity, may -be enumerated the Labaram of Constantine, the -Oriflamme of France, those of Otho IV., of Philip -Augustus, of Bayard, Joan of Arc, and Mahomet. -</p> - -<p> -Like most ancient banners, the origin of the Labaram -was alleged to be miraculous, and surrounded by fables, -though the reign of Constantine was so glorious, that it -required not the meretricious aid of prodigy. When -on his march against Maxentius, he is said to have -seen in the heavens a cross of flame like the Greek -letter X inverted in the form of a square cross, and in -Greek around it, the words <i>Conquer by this</i>. Eusebius -further relates, that next night, the Saviour appeared -to him, and ordered him to make a military standard, -in the form of the cross he had seen, which he did, and -was always successful in war. Its name has not -unfrequently been written Laborum, to signify that the -cross should put an end to the <i>labours</i> and persecutions -of the Christians; and it was supposed the guards to -whom this miraculous banner was intrusted, were -always invulnerable in battle. -</p> - -<p> -At the battle of Bouvines, the imperial standard of -Otho IV., like that of the English—the banner of -St. John of Beverley on the field of Northallerton—was -hoisted from a frame, raised on four wheels. Upon it -was painted a dragon, above which was a gilded eagle. -On that day the royal standard of France was a gilded -staff, with a white silk colour, powdered with -fleurs-de-lis, which had become the national arms. "The old -crowns of the kings of Lombardy," says Voltaire, "of -which there are very exact prints in Muratori, are -mounted with this ornament, which is nothing more -than the head of a spear, tied with two other pieces of -crooked iron." -</p> - -<p> -The banner used by the Chevalier Bayard, when he -gallantly took command of Mézieres, and defended it -against 40,000 Spaniards under Charles V., is still -preserved in the Hôtel de Ville of that place. -</p> - -<p> -Joan of Arc, bore with her in all her battles and -sieges a consecrated banner, which was believed to be -miraculous, and was revered as holy. It was white -silk, and bore a figure representing the Supreme Being, -grasping the world, and surrounded by fleurs-de-lis. -Clad in white armour, with this standard in her hands, -she entered Orleans on the 29th of April, 1429, in the -face of a vastly superior English force, and lodged it -with herself, in the house of Jacques Bouchier. She -had previously declared, at the moment when Dunois, -repulsed, was sounding the retreat, that when her -standard touched the city wall, the assailants should -enter. "It was touched. The assailants burst in. -On the next day the siege was abandoned and the -force which had conducted it withdrew in good order -to the north." Joan bore this standard, also, at the -capture of Jargeau, when Suffolk was taken prisoner -and his garrison put to the sword, and it was in her -hand, at her crowning glory, the coronation of Charles -VII. at Rheims. She stood with it before the high -altar, says Lord Mahon. "It had shared the danger," -she observed, "and it had a right to share the -honour."—(Monstrelet, &c.) -</p> - -<p> -When tried as a witch and heretic by the Bishop of -Beauvais and other tools of the English, they asked her -"why she put trust in her standard, which had been -consecrated by magical incantation?" But she replied -that she put trust alone in the Supreme Being, whose -image was impressed upon it. Then they demanded -why she carried in her hand that standard at the -anointment and coronation of Charles at Rheims; and again -she answered, that the person who shared the danger -was entitled to share the glory. -</p> - -<p> -But the most famous banner in Europe or Asia -at one time was undoubtedly that of the Knights of the -Temple. It was formed of cloth, striped black and -white, called in old French <i>Bauseant</i>, a word which -became the battle cry of the Templars. It bore on it the -red cross of the order, with the humble and pious -inscription, <i>Non nobis, Domine, sed nomini tuo, da gloriam</i> -(Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Thy name -give the glory!) -</p> - -<p> -<i>Bauseant</i> was in old French the name for a piebald -horse, or a horse marked black and white (Roquefort-Ducange, -&c.); and the word is still preserved and used -in its original sense in Scotland as <i>bawsent</i>, as any reader -of Burns's poems may remember. At the commencement -of a battle the Marshal took the standard of the -order from the sub-marshal, and unfurled it in the -name of God. He then named from five to ten of the -brotherhood to surround and guard it; one of these he -made a knight-preceptor, who was to keep close by him -with another banner furled on a spear, to be instantly -displayed if any mishap befell the <i>Bauseant</i>. In the -event of the Christians being defeated, the Templar, -under penalty of expulsion from the order, was not to -quit the field so long as the banner of the order was -flying; should no other red-cross flag be seen, he was -at liberty to join that of the Hospitallers, and was only -to retire, as well as he could, when the <i>Bauseant</i> and -every other Christian banner should have disappeared. -</p> - -<p> -In "Ivanhoe" Scott spells the name of the banner -<i>Beauseant</i>. -</p> - -<p> -In referring to the banner of the Templars, it is -impossible to forget that one so often displayed against the -Christians, the standard of the Prophet Mahomet, the -unfurling of which was so frequently threatened at the -commencement of the Russo-Turkish war, a ceremony -which only takes place on gravest emergencies or -occasions of state. -</p> - -<p> -The origin of this standard is remarkable. When -the Prophet lay on his death-bed at Medina, while his -mind was full of his projected conquest of Syria, he -summoned the chiefs of his host around him to hear his -last orders and wishes. While listening to his dying -utterances in silence and awe, Ayesha, the most beautiful -and best beloved of his wives, rushed into the room, -and, tearing down a green curtain which screened one -end thereof, threw it before the chiefs, and desired them -to display it as the holy banner of Islam, and this was -actually done in many subsequent wars against the -Christians and others. By some it was said to have been the -curtain that hung before the apartments of Ayesha; -and it has been permanently lodged in the Seraglio at -Constantinople, and is generally brought forth on the -occasion of a new sultan being girt with the sword of -Osman, or Othman; but it may shrewdly be doubted -whether this banner—the present <i>Tanjak-Sherif</i>—is the -same that was unfurled at Bedr, and which was upheld by -nine hundred and fifty of Mahomet's disciples against the -whole power of Mecca, at Ohod, a mountain northward -of Medina, when Hamza, the uncle of the Prophet, fell. -</p> - -<p> -Though unvarying faith and tradition carry it back to -the days of Mahomet, there can be little doubt that it is -the identical banner which, in 1683, Kara Mustapha, -nephew of the great Cuprogli, hoisted on the walls of -Vienna, though that city was not completely conquered. -Its display is always attended with much pomp and -ceremony. When unfurled it is always handed to the -Scheik-ul-Islam, or Grand Mufti, who combines in his -own person the supreme power of the law with the -highest office of religion, who mounted on a caparisoned -steed, and, attended by the Sultan, bearing a drawn -scimitar, rides in procession through the streets of -Constantinople, escorted by the <i>Ulemas</i>, whose duty it is to -proclaim that war has been declared against the unbelievers. -The scheik then assigns it to the Commander-in-chief, -whose duty it is to see that it is always borne -in front in battle. -</p> - -<p> -It is a veritable banner of blood, denying mercy to -man, woman, and child, on the display of which, as the -Koran has it, "the earth will shake, the mountains -sink into dust, the seas blaze with fire, and the hair of -children grow white with anguish;" but for more than -three generations it has never been brought forth in -hostility—at least, not since the Empress Catharine -sought to reinstate the Christian Empire at Constantinople. -Upon it is the dubious motto, "All who draw -the sword in the cause of Faith shall be rewarded with -temporal advantages." -</p> - -<p> -The Turks and Tartars were wont to make use of -horses' tails for their ensigns, and the number of these -denoted the rank of their commanders—the Sultan -having seven, and the grand vizier only three, &c. -</p> - -<p> -The alleged origin of the holy banner of Persia is -curious. It is said that during a battle which lasted -three days between Saade and Rustam, the usurper—the -same who assassinated the reforming Sophi in -1499—the standard of the monarchy was captured, a -circumstance that caused excess of grief on one side and -of joy on the other—one party feeling that their <i>prestige</i> -had departed, and the other—that of the usurper—deeming -it a sure presage of future victory. This war-like -relic was simply the leathern apron of a blacksmith, -who in some remote time had been the William Wallace -of Persia, for the mastery of which the Saracens so long -contended with the Turks; but the badge of heroic -poverty was disguised, and almost concealed, by the -profusion of gems which covered it. -</p> - -<p> -Undoubtedly, the banner which had the most distinct -and glorious history was the Oriflamme of France, first -adopted in person by Louis VI. in 1110, and which -continued to be borne by the French sovereigns, in -addition to the Royal Standard, down to the time of -Charles VII., and the accounts of which have been -entirely overlooked by British historians and antiquaries. -Before the time of Louis VI., the Comtes de Vexin were -bound by the charter of their lands, which they held of -the Abbey of St. Denis, to protect the domains of the -latter, and accordingly, on the approach of any danger -or invasion, they assembled their vassals and appeared -before the Abbey, where they received its banner, or -gonfanon, which was borne before them in battle in -defence of the lands of the church. At a later period -the county of Vexin having been annexed to the crown, -the kings of France followed the pious example of the -ancient counts, to whom they had succeeded, and thus, -in time, the oriflamme, as a royal standard of France, -supplanted that which had been hitherto borne, the -alleged cloak of St. Martin, of Tours—or rather the -half thereof, as, according to the Bollandists, he gave -the other portion to a shivering beggar at the gate of -Amiens. -</p> - -<p> -He to whom the care of the banner was confided -at the head of the army, had the title of -<i>Porte-Oriflamme</i>, and had the command of its chosen guard, -noble chevaliers and men-at-arms. He was ever a man -of prudence and approved valour, and his post led to -higher honours. We find in history, under Charles -V. of France, a gentleman styled Marshal of France, who -was its bearer. It was an office for life, and for death -too, as his oath obliged him to perish, rather than -abandon the <i>Oriflamme</i>. -</p> - -<p> -Louis IX. lost it on his expedition to Egypt, as it fell, -for a time, into the hands of the infidels; and "the -Oriflamme has not been in use in our armies," -says the <i>Dictionnaire Militaire</i>, 1758, "since the English -were absolute masters of Paris, after the death of -Charles VI." -</p> - -<p> -The Oriflamme was of flame-coloured silk—hence -its name—uncharged, and divided at the lower -extremity into three portions ending in green tassels. -It was hung from a cross-yard, with two cords of silk -and gold to keep it from swinging in the wind, on the -march, or when in battle. -</p> - -<p> -The first <i>named</i> in history as its bearer is Anscieu -Seigneur de Chevreuse, in 1294, under Philip le Bel. -He had predecessors in the time of Louis le Gros; but -René Moreau is the last who, in 1450, was commissioned -with the real dignity of <i>Porte-Oriflamme</i>. Though -usually, till the first Revolution, lodged at St. Denis, it -was occasionally left for a time in the custody of its -bearers; hence the families of D'Harcourt and Beavron -long affirmed that they were in possession of the real -Oriflamme, as successors of Pierre de Villiers de Lisle -Adam, who had been its bearer, and whose daughter -married the brave Jean Garencière. -</p> - -<p> -Louis VII. took it with him in his voyage to the -Bosphorus and his march through Hungary and -Thrace. Philip Augustus had it displayed in 1183, in -the war against Philip of Alsace, Count of Flanders; -Galois, Seigneur de Montigne, bore it at the battle of -Bouvines, and Louis VIII. unfurled it in the war against -the Albigeois in 1226. -</p> - -<p> -Louis IX. had it with him in the war against -Henry III. of England in 1262, and, as stated, in his -crusade against the infidels in Egypt; De Chevreuse -bore it under Philip in 1304; and the bearers were -successively, Raoul, surnamed <i>Herpin</i>, Seigneur d'Erquery -in 1315; Miles de Noyers de Vilbertin in 1328; Geoffry -Lord of Charny in 1355; Arnoul d'Andrehon in 1388; -the Seigneur de L'Isle Adam in 1372; Sire de la -Trimoille and Guillaume de Bordes in 1383; Pierre -d'Aumont, surnamed <i>Hutin</i>, in 1397; and Guillaume -Martel de Bocqueville in 1414. -</p> - -<p> -Louis XI. received the banner from the hands of -Cardinal d'Alby in 1465, in the ancient church of -St. Catharine <i>du Val des Écoliers</i> at Paris, prior to the -war against the Burgundians, and after that, we hear -no more of the famous Oriflamme, which must have -perished at the sack of St. Denis in 1793; but a -modern red-flag supplies its place behind the altar there, -at the present day. -</p> - -<p> -The so-called Raven-banner of Hubba the Dane, -which was captured near Northam in Devonshire, when -he was slain in battle by the Saxons, in 869, and where -his tomb is still shown, was simply a stuffed black bird, -probably of the raven species, which remained quiet -when defeat was at hand, but clapped its wings -vigorously before a victory. -</p> - -<p> -The royal ensign of the West Saxons was a golden -dragon; and thus we hear often of the Dragon of -Wessex in the fierce old fights during the time of the -Heptarchy. -</p> - -<p> -It was not until after the Synod of Oxford, in 1220, -that the Red Cross of St. George supplanted the -martlets of St. Edward, up to that date the patron of -England. The Scottish Cross of St. Andrew has a -fabulous history exactly similar to that of the <i>Labaram</i> -of Constantine, and dating back to the ninth century; -but in neither England nor Scotland has a banner of -any antiquity been preserved, unless we may enumerate -as such the banner given to the citizens of Edinburgh -by Margaret of Oldenburg, Queen of James III., in -1482, and still preserved there, under the local name -of the Blue Blanket, or Banner of the Holy Ghost, on -the displaying of which, not only the craftsmen of -Edinburgh, but those of all Scotland, were bound to -appear in arms, under the Convener of the Trades. The -fragment of it that remains, shows that its colour was -blue, crossed by the white saltire of St. Andrew. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap0604"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IV. -<br /><br /> -FAMOUS AND ANCIENT CANNON. -</h3> - -<p> -History shows us that in past ages there has ever -and anon been in most countries a fancy for forging -or casting ponderous cannon, even as there has been -often in a spirit of rivalry, a fancy for building great -ships; and the result has very generally been that, in -both instances, there has been a mistake; for the great -ships have been almost invariably cast away, and the -great guns have proved useless, even for battery -purpose; and it is not improbable that such may be the -result eventually with our "Woolwich Infants" and -our eighty-one ton guns. -</p> - -<p> -Though cannon are mentioned as having been used -in a sea fight between a Moorish King of Seville and -a King of Tunis in the 13th century, they first marked -the inauguration of a new era in war when Edward III. of -England brought with him to the field of Cressi in -1346, five small pieces, made by whom is quite -unknown; but there can be little doubt that they were -constructed in the mode of all early cannon, of iron bars -fitted together, hooped with rings and charged with -stone shot—not iron balls. -</p> - -<p> -Prior to Cressi, however, cannon had undoubtedly -been used in sieges. In 1338 there was one used at -Cambrai from which cross-bows were discharged, and -several small guns of the same kind were used in the -following year at the investment of Quesnoy; again at -the siege of the then Moorish town of Algesiras, near -Gibraltar, in 1342; and old annals tell us of the -overwhelming terror their explosion excited among the -enemy. -</p> - -<p> -Iron balls were first cast in the reign of Louis XI. in -1461; but stone were in common use for a hundred -years later. -</p> - -<p> -As time went on, cannon, though primitively formed -as described, increased in size that prodigious balls -might be expelled from them against walled places, in -imitation of the ancient machine which they had -superseded; thus they soon became of enormous bore, until -they attained the dignity of bombardes, like Mons Meg in -Edinburgh Castle; but the difficulty of managing these -pieces, and the growing knowledge that iron shot of -much less weight could be impelled further by the use -of better powder, gradually introduced the cast metal -cannon used at the present day. -</p> - -<p> -The five little cannon used at Cressi, to the wonder -of the French who had <i>none</i>, were doubtless the same -that Edward used at the siege of Calais in the following -year. -</p> - -<p> -In 1366 the Venetians, when besieging a town now -named Chioggia in Lombardy, had with them two -small pieces of artillery having leaden balls, worked by -Germans, according to Le Blond's "Elements of War," -dedicated to Louis of Lorraine; and battering guns were -used by the Turks against the Christians at Constantinople -in 1394; but the great bombardes were at their -zenith when, in 1451, Mahomet II. began his march -against the same city, with fourteen gigantic guns, -which threw stone shot seventy-eight inches in -circumference, weighing 800 lbs. In the siege, traces of -which remain to this day, the Christians are supposed -to have been without cannon, as they omitted to -demolish the great bridge of boats which was constructed -by the Turks and conduced so much to the reduction of -the city. -</p> - -<p> -For more than four centuries the guns of Mahomet -II. protected the Dardanelles—the gate of the Eastern -Empire; and, as an old traveller relates, that as they -were shotted when fired on holidays, land was usually -to be had very cheap on the opposite side of the straits. -</p> - -<p> -Though practically these great pieces of artillery have -given place to Krupp and other guns, they still remain -on their old sites; but cannon of this description can -only be discharged with effect when the object passes -their line of fire, as they are not mounted on carriages -but built into a wall. Some of those at the Dardanelles -carry balls 26½ inches in diameter, and lie flat on a -paved terrace near the level of the water, where they -opened on our fleet in 1808, when Admiral Sir John -Duckworth forced the passage of the Straits. -</p> - -<p> -By a granite shot from one of these, when the fleet -returned, <i>H.M.S. Royal George</i> had her whole cutwater -carried away; by another, the mainmast of the Windsor -Castle was cut in two like a fishing-rod; another carried -away the wheel of the <i>Repulse</i>, at the same moment -killing and wounding twenty-four men, and rendering -the ship so unmanageable, that but for the noble -seamanship of her crew, she must have gone on shore. -</p> - -<p> -A granite ball burst through the bows of the <i>Active</i>, -and rolling aft destroyed all in its career, till it was -brought up abreast of the main hatchway; a second -tore away the whole barricade of her forecastle and fell -into the sea to starboard; a third lodged in the bends -abreast of the main-chains, and then tumbled overboard. -("Duckworth's Dispatches," &c.) -</p> - -<p> -Baron de Tott tells us that he had seen one of these -guns, which had been cast in the reign of Amurath, -fired. Its ball weighed eleven hundredweight, and -required a charge of powder amounting to 330 pounds. -At the distance of 800 fathoms he saw this enormous -globe divide into three pieces, which crossed the strait -and rebounded from the rocks opposite. -</p> - -<p> -One of these guns was sent to Woolwich, in exchange -for an Armstrong breech-loader, and bears the -inscription— -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -"<i>Help o Allah! Mahomet Khan, the son of Murad!</i>" -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Louis XII. of France had a bombarde cast which is -said to have thrown a ball of 500 lbs. from the Bastile -to Charenton; but the guns of these times were destitute -of trunnions, dolphin-rings, or breech-buttons. -</p> - -<p> -Another enormous cannon of Mahomet II. is still to -be seen, at Negroponte, used at its capture by him from -the Venetians in 1470. It defends the south side of -Kastro, and is the most remarkable monument there. -</p> - -<p> -There is now preserved in the Castle of San Juliao da -Barra, ten miles from Lisbon, a gun that was captured -at the siege of Diu, on the southern coast of Gujirat, in -1546, by a gallant Portugese cavalier, Dom John de -Castro, which is destitute of the appliances named, and is -of some remarkable metal. It bears upon it a Hindoo -inscription, to the effect that it was cast in 1400. It is -20 feet 7 inches long; its external diameter at the -centre is 6 feet 3 inches, and it discharges a ball one -hundredweight. -</p> - -<p> -In ancient times there was a fondness for bestowing -upon these great guns some peculiar and dignified name. -Twelve brass cannon cast in 1503 for Louis XII., being -all of remarkable size, he named after the greatest peers -of France. The Spaniards and Portuguese named them -after certain saints; thus, when the Emperor Charles -V. departed to attack Tunis, his bombardes were named -after the Twelve Apostles. -</p> - -<p> -In the Malaga there is still an 80-pounder of great -antiquity named the "Terrible." Two very curious -60-pounders in the arsenal at Bremen are each named -"The Messenger of Bad News;" an 80-pounder at Berlin, -now in the Royal Arsenal, is named "The Thunderer;" -at Milan there is a 70-pounder called the "Pimontelle" -(or the little spicer); and another at Bois le Duc is styled -<i>Le Diable</i>. A third in the Castle of St. Angelo at Rome, -made of the nails which fastened the copper-plates -composing the roof of the ancient Pantheon, bears upon it -this inscription— -</p> - -<p class="t3"> - "<i>Ex clavis trabalibus porticus Agrippæ.</i>"<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Many of the cannon of the sixteenth and seventeenth -centuries were remarkable for their beautiful and ornate -character. A decorated Spanish cannon now preserved -in the Paris Museum, is a fine example of these florid -pieces, which were always cast of brass or mixed -metal. -</p> - -<p> -Diego Ufano, in his treatise on Artillery, published in -1614, shows us the metallic mixtures of copper, tin, -and brass, and the proportions of these, then used for -cast pieces of cannon. -</p> - -<p> -The Russian arsenals are very rich in great and -ancient cannon and others of historical interest. -</p> - -<p> -In front of the first arsenal at the Kremlin, are ranged -a wonderful memorial of Napoleon's terrible retreat -from Moscow, in the shape of no less than 875 pieces -of captured ordnance; of these 365 are French, 189 -are Austrian, 123 are Prussian, and the remainder bear -the royal insignia of Italy, Naples, Bavaria, Saxony, -Westphalia, Hanover, Spain, Würtemberg, Holland, and -Poland. Many of these (says Sutherland Edwards) are -inscribed with pretentious names that contrast strongly -with their present humble position, such as the -"Invincible," the "Conqueror," the "Eagle," and so forth. -In front of the second arsenal is a wonderful collection -of colossal cannon, ranged in a long line, with the -shortest in the centre; thus their muzzles present a -complete arc. The largest of these is a 4800-pounder, -weighing, however, only forty tons! It has never -been fired, and is only remarkable as a piece of -casting. -</p> - -<p> -An inscription on it tells that it was cast by the -Russian master-founder named Chokoff, in 1586, by -order of the Czar Feodor, who in that year conquered -Siberia (the way to which was discovered by the -Cossack warrior Jermack), and of whom a clever -representation, on horseback, with crown and sceptre, appears -close to the muzzle. Beside it are six other large pieces, -the smallest of which weighs nearly four tons.—("The -Russians at Home.") -</p> - -<p> -About the end of the fifteenth century the following -guns were in universal use:— -</p> - -<pre style="margin-left: 10%"> - The Cannon-Royal . . . . . 48 pounder. - " Bastard-Cannon . . . . 36 " - " Half-Carthoun . . . . 24 " - " Culverin . . . . . . . 18 " - " Demi-Culverin . . . . 9 " - " Falcon . . . . . . . . 6 " - " Saker . . . . . . 6, 5, 8 " - " Basilisk (also). . . . 48 " - " Serpentine . . . . . . 4 " - " Aspik . . . . . . . . 2 " - " Dragon . . . . . . . . 6 " - " Syren . . . . . . . . 60 " - " Falconet . . . . . 3, 2, 1 " - " Moyenne . . . . . . . 12 ounces -</pre> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -By the middle of the seventeenth century, the largest -cannon generally used in the field were 24-pounders, -or others like the culverins of Nancy (18-pounders), so -called from being first cast in that city; while the -smallest were 6 and 3-pounders. -</p> - -<p> -Mortars were first used to expel red-hot balls and -large stones, long ere shells were known. They are -believed to have been of German origin, and were used -at the siege of Naples by Charles VIII. in 1435; but -shells were first thrown out of them at the siege of -Wachtendonk in Gueldres, by the Count of Mansfield. -Shells were first invented by a citizen of Venloo, who, at a -festival in honour of the Duke of Cleves, contrived, -unfortunately, by the explosion of them, to reduce nearly the -whole city to ashes. Maltus, an English engineer, first -taught the French how to use them at the siege of -La Motte in 1634. (Le Blond.) -</p> - -<p> -The howitzer differs from the mortar, being mounted -on a field carriage, like a gun; the chief difference -being that the trunnions of the first are at the end, and -of the other in the middle. The invention of the -howitzer is subsequent to that of the mortar, as from -the latter it originated. -</p> - -<p> -The first man who invented the spiking of artillery -was Gaspar Vimercalus of Bremen, who thus nailed up -the artillery of Sigismund Malatesta. -</p> - -<p> -Rifled cannon are by no means a modern invention, -and can be traced far back into antiquity, as the -<i>arquebuse-rayée</i> of the French. -</p> - -<p> -No kind of gun has been more universally known -and used all over Europe and America than the -carronade, or "smasher," as it was called. Cast at the -Carron Works in Scotland (hence their name), they were -the invention of General Robert Melville, an officer who -served under Lord Rollo of Duncrub, at the capture of -Dominica in the West Indies. Peculiarly constructed, -and having a chamber for powder like a mortar, they -were shorter and lighter than ordinary cannon. -</p> - -<p> -Cast in mighty numbers for more than seventy years -at Carron, they were employed by the fighting and -mercantile marine of all Europe and America, till the -time of the Crimean War. The first of them was -presented by the Carron Company to the family of General -Melville, with an inscription on the carriage, which -records that the guns were cast "for solid, ship, shell -or carcase shot, and were first used against the French -fleet in 1799." -</p> - -<p> -Mr. Smiles, in his "Industrial Biography," tells us -that when cannon came to be employed in war, the -vicinity of Sussex to the Cinque Ports gave it an -advantage over the iron districts of the north and west -of England, and for a long time the iron works of that -county had a monopoly in the manufacture of guns. -The stone balls were hewn from quarries at Maidstone -Heath. An old mortar, which lay on Bridge Green, -near Frant, is said to have been the <i>first</i> used in -England. The chamber was cast, but the tube -consisted of hooped bars. -</p> - -<p> -In the Tower are some old hooped guns of the date -of Henry VI. The first cast-iron cannon of English -make were made at Buxtead in Sussex, in 1543, by -Ralph Hogge, master founder, whose principal assistant -was Pierre Baude, a Frenchman. About the same -time, Hogge employed Peter Van Collet, a Flemish -gunsmith, who, according to Stowe, "caused to be made -certain mortar pieces, being at the mouth from eleven to -nine inches wide, for the use whereof the said Peter -caused to be made certain hollow shot of cast iron, -stuffed with fyrwork, whereof the bigger sort has screws -of iron to receive a match to carry fire, to break in -small pieces the said <i>hollow shot</i>, whereof the smallest -piece hitting a man would kill or spoil him." -</p> - -<p> -This is undoubtedly the parent of the explosive shell -which has been brought to such terrible perfection in -the present day. Many of Baude's brass and iron guns -are still preserved in the Tower; and perhaps from his -foundry came that very beautiful gun which bears the -name of Henry VIII., 1541, and is preserved now at -Southampton. -</p> - -<p> -Two old English guns are at present in the ducal -castle of Blair, whither they had been brought by the -Athole family when Lords of the Isle of Man. -</p> - -<p> -One is inscribed thus:— -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="quote"> -"Henricus Octavus; Thomas Scymoure Knighte, Receyvour of the -Peel, was Master of the King's Ordynans, when John and Robert -Owyn made this pese. Anno dni., 1544." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The other has the legend:— -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="quote"> -"Henry, Earle of Derbye, Lord of this Isle of Man, being here in -May, 1577; named <i>Dorothe</i>. Henry Halsall, Receyvour of the Peele, -bought this pese, 1574." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -This was the fourth Earl of Derby, a K.G., and he -had named the gun from his mother Dorothy, who was -daughter of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk. -</p> - -<p> -The old brass gun, popularly known as Queen Anne's -Pocket Pistol, was once called Queen Elizabeth's, -according to Colonel James. It was cast at Utrecht in 1544, -and is a 12-pounder, twenty feet long, finely -ornamented with figures in bas-relief. -</p> - -<p> -Scotland, which is rich in military and historical -antiquities of all kinds, can also boast of several ancient -cannon, extant or in her annals. -</p> - -<p> -In 1430, James I. had cast for him in Flanders a -cannon of brass, called the Lion of Scotland, bearing -this inscription:— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Illustri Jacobo Scottorum principe digno,<br /> - Regni magnified, dum fulmine castra reduco<br /> - Factus sum sub eo, nuncupar ego Leo."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"This," says Balfour in his <i>Annales</i>, "was the first -canon or bombard of any strength or bignes, that ever -was in Scotland." Among several ancient guns in the -armory of the Grants of Grant in Strathspey, is one of -singular beauty, covered with figures of men on -horseback, and animals of the chase. It is four feet two -inches long, and seems to have been a Moyenne or -wall piece, and is inscribed:— -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"Dominus . Johannes . Grant . Miles . Vicecomes de Invernes . Me -fecit . in Germania, 1434." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The most ancient gun made in Britain is undoubtedly -that bombarde known as Mons Meg in Edinburgh -Castle. An inscription on the <i>new</i> stock, cast at -Woolwich in 1835, states that the gun "is <i>believed</i> to have -been forged at <i>Mons</i>, in 1486." But this is proved -now to have been a gross mistake, an assertion which -is utterly without warrant, as an elaborate "History of -Galloway" shows from proofs indisputable that it was -made by a smith of that county, in 1455, for the service -of James II. (then besieging the Castle of Threave), -at a place still named Knockcannon. It weighs six -tons and a half, is composed of malleable iron bars -hooped together, and its balls, which are all of -Galloway granite, are twenty-one inches in diameter. -</p> - -<p> -Two of these shots fired from it compelled the castle -to surrender in the summer of 1455, and <i>both</i> were -found in 1841 amid the ruins—one in the wall, the -other in the draw-well; and both lay in a <i>direct line</i> -from Knockcannon to the breach in the huge donjon -tower. For his work, M'Kim received the forfeited -lands of Mollance, pronounced in Scottish parlance, -<i>Mowance</i>, and hence the tradition of "Meg" being -forged at <i>Mons</i>. In 1497, it accompanied the Scottish -army into England in the cause of Perkin Warbeck; to -the siege of Dumbarton in 1489, and many other scenes -of strife. In 1681, the gun burst, when firing a royal -salute for James Duke of Albany, as two of the -fractured hoops still show. On these occasions, like the -old bombardes of the Dardanelles, it was generally -<i>shotted</i>, as the Royal Treasurer's Accounts contain many -entries of payments, for "finding and carrying <i>her</i> -bullet from Wardie Mure to the Castell." -</p> - -<p> -In 1509—thirty-four years before Ralph Hogge -began to cast guns in Sussex—James IV. employed -Robert Borthwick, his master gunner, to <i>cast</i> a set of -brass ordnance for Edinburgh Castle. Seven of these -were named by the king the <i>sisters</i> of Borthwick—being -all alike in size and beauty. They were -inscribed—- -</p> - -<p class="t3"> - "<i>Machina sum, Stoto Borthweick Fabricata Roberto.</i>"<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noident"> -With ten other brass field-pieces, these guns were all -taken by the English at the battle of Flodden, where -Borthwick was killed, and the Earl of Surrey, who saw -them, asserted that there were none finer in the arsenals -of King Henry. Several of these guns were retaken -by the Scots from the Earl of Hereford's army in 1544, -and were long preserved in the Castle of Edinburgh, on -the walls of which, in the siege of 1573, were a number -of guns that bore the crowned salamander, the badge of -Francis I., and had perhaps been brought from France -by the Regent Duke of Chatelherault. -</p> - -<p> -An old cannon named <i>Dundee</i>, which had been used -in war by the Viscount of that name, was long -preserved in the Castle of Kilchurn; but has now -disappeared. -</p> - -<p> -In the heart of British India there was, singular to -say, found an antique Scottish cannon, which is now -shown in Edinburgh, and the story of which is -remarkable. At the siege of Bhurtpore in 1826, among the -guns on the ramparts was one of great calibre and -destructive power, popularly known among our soldiers -by the absurd name of "Sweet-lips," which was taken -at the point of the bayonet by H.M. 14th Foot. -</p> - -<p> -Beside it was found a Scottish brass cannon, an -18-pounder, inscribed:— -</p> - -<p class="t3"> - "<i>Jacobus Menteith me fecit, Edinburgh, Anno Dom.,</i> 1642."<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -It at once attracted the attention of Captain (afterwards -Colonel) Lewis Carmichael, an old Peninsular officer, -then aide-de-camp to Sir Jasper Nicolls. On the day -before the storm, with six grenadiers of the 59th and four -Ghoorkas, he had made a gallant dash into one of the -breaches, to reconnoitre it for the desperate work that -was to come, and he asked for the old Scottish cannon -as a reward. It was at once given, by order of the -Governor-General, and he brought it with him to -Edinburgh, where it is preserved in the Museum of -Antiquities, with several other ancient guns, some of -which belonged to Sir Andrew Wood of Largo, Admiral -of James III., and captain of <i>the Yellow Frigate</i>; but -how it came to be so far up country in India, among -the Jauts, it is difficult to conjecture, unless it had -belonged to one of the ships of the old and ill-fated -Scottish East India Company, which was ruined by the -enmity and treachery of William of Orange. -</p> - -<p> -British India has produced many pieces of ordnance, -great in calibre and remarkable in history; among -them may be enumerated the great gun of Hyder and -Tippo, and the enormous cannon found at Agra, when -that place was captured by Lord Lake in 1803. It -had trunnions, and was furnished with four rings, two -at the breech and two at the muzzle. It was of brass, -says Thorne, "and for magnitude and beauty stands -unrivalled. Its length was 14 feet 2 inches; its -calibre 23 inches; the weight of its ball, when of cast -iron, 1500 lbs.; and its whole weight 86,600 lbs., or a -little above 38 tons." -</p> - -<p> -Though called brass, it was, according to common -report, composed of a mixture of precious metals. The -<i>Shroffs</i>, or native bankers, were of that opinion, as they -offered £12,000 for it, merely to melt down. Lord Lake -preferred to send it as a trophy to Britain, and proceeded -to have it transported to Calcutta on a raft. It proved -too heavy for the latter, and capsizing sunk in the waters -of the Ganges. -</p> - -<p> -Another curious piece of ordnance, locally known as -<i>Jubbar Jung</i>, fell into our hands at Ghuzuee in 1842. -It was of brass and beautifully ornamented; it carried -64-pound shot, and these being of hammered iron -whizzed as they passed through the air. It made some -havoc among the tents of our 40th Regiment, and the -Huzarehs, followers of Ali, who joined General Nott at -the siege, implored him to destroy "Jubbar Jung," for -which they appeared to entertain a deep religious -horror. -</p> - -<p> -There are at this hour cannon at Bejapore, beside -which our "Woolwich Infants" and Armstrong 100-ton -guns sink into insignificance. One of these, called -the <i>Mulk-e-Meidan</i>, or "Sovereign of the Plains," cast -by Roomi Khan, "the Turk of Roumelia," or first -Monarch of Bejapore, an Ottoman of Constantinople, -weighs forty tons; and, to crown all, Major Rennell -mentions an old iron cannon at Dacca, which threw a -shot 465 pounds in weight! -</p> - -<p> -The last great gun actually used was King Theodore's -huge bombarde at Magdala in 1868, for which -he had an enormous number of stone balls made, and -which he believed to be the Palladium of Abyssinia. -It was shattered to pieces among his troops, on their -first attempt to use it. -</p> - -<p> -The last and most remarkable invention in artillery -is a much needed fire-arm, which may supersede our -boasted steel mountain ordnance, "the jointed gun" -of Sir William Armstrong, which can be unscrewed -into three separate pieces, each of which is light enough -for conveyance on the back of a horse, and when put -together form a powerful and long-range cannon, -similar to the present field-piece. -</p> - -<p> -Such a gun would have been invaluable in Ashantee, -or among the mountains of Abyssinia; and the want of -some such fire-arm was sorely felt at times during the -Indian mutiny, especially about its close, when our -moveable columns pursued the rebels in the deserts of -Bekaneer, where the gun carriages of even the flying -artillery at times sunk axle deep in the dry heavy -sand, rendering them almost useless for service. -</p> - -<p> -In Europe, this is peculiarly the age of enormous -cannon. "Armour of two feet in thickness," says a -recent writer, "and guns of one hundred tons in -weight being now accomplished facts, and ships -already bigger than the <i>Inflexible</i> being already in -hand, we may well ask ourselves, <i>What will be the next -step?</i>" -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap07"></a></p> - -<h2> -STORY OF A MERCHANT CAPTAIN. -</h2> - -<p> -About the time of the accession of George III. to -the throne, few domestic events made a greater sensation -in the papers and periodicals of the day than the -adventures and fate of a sea-captain named George Glass, -especially in connection with a mutiny on board the -brig <i>Earl of Sandwich</i>. This remarkable man, who was -one of the fifteen children of John Glass, noted as the -originator of the Scottish sect known as the Glassites, -was born at Dundee in 1725. After graduating in the -medical profession, he made several voyages, as surgeon -of a merchant-ship (belonging to London), to the Brazils -and the coast of Guinea; and in 1764, he published, by -Dodsley, an interesting work in one volume quarto, -entitled <i>The History of the Discovery and Conquest of the -Canary Islands, translated from a Spanish manuscript</i>. -</p> - -<p> -He obtained command of a Guinea trader, and made -several successful voyages, till the war with Spain broke -out in January, 1762. Having saved a good round -sum, he equipped a privateer, and took command of -her as captain, to cruise against the French and -Spaniards; but he had not been three days at sea, -when his crew mutinied, and sent him that which is -called in sea-phraseology a round-robin (a corruption -of an old French military term, the <i>ruban rond</i>, or -round ribbon), in which they wrote their names in a -circle; hence none could know who was the leader. -</p> - -<p> -Arming himself with his cutlass and pistols, Glass -came on deck, and offered to fight, hand to hand, -any man who conceived himself to be wronged in any -way. But the crew, knowing his personal strength, his -skill and resolution, declined the challenge. He -succeeded in pacifying them by fair words; and the capture -of a valuable French merchantman a few days after -put them all in excellent humour. This gleam of good -fortune was soon after clouded by an encounter with an -enemy's frigate, which, though twice the size of his -privateer, Glass resolved to engage; and for two hours -they fought broadside to broadside, till another French -vessel bore down on him, and he was compelled to strike -his colours, after half his crew had been killed and he -had received a musket-shot in the shoulder. -</p> - -<p> -He remained for some time a French prisoner of war -in the Antilles, where he was treated with excessive -severity; but upon being exchanged, he resolved to -embark the remainder of his fortune in another privateer -and "have it out," as he said, with the French and -Dons. But he was again taken in action, and lost -everything he had in the world. -</p> - -<p> -On being released a second time, he was employed by -London merchants in several voyages to the West Indies, -in command of ships that fought their way without -convoy; and according to a statement in the <i>Annual -Register</i>, he was captured no less than <i>seven</i> times. But -after various fluctuations of fortune, when the general -peace took place in 1763, he found himself possessed of -two thousand guineas prize-money, and the reputation -of being one of the best merchant captains in the Port -of London. -</p> - -<p> -About that time a Company there resolved to make -an attempt to form a settlement on the west coast of -Africa, by founding a harbour and town midway -between the Cape de Verd and the river Senegal. In -the London and other papers of the day we find many -statements urging the advantage of opening up the -Guinea-trade; among others, a strange letter from a -merchant, who tells us he was taken prisoner in a battle -on that coast, and that when escaping he "crossed a -forest within view of the sea, where there lay elephants' -teeth in quantities sufficient to load one hundred ships." -</p> - -<p> -In the interests of this new Company Glass sailed in -a ship of his own to the coast of Guinea, and selected -and surveyed a harbour at a place which he was certain -might become the centre of a great trade in teak and -cam woods, spices, palm oil and ivory, wax and gold. -Elated with his success, he returned to England, and -laid his scheme before the ministry, among whom were -John Earl of Sandwich, Secretary of State, and the Earl -of Hillsborough, Commissioner of Trade and Plantations. -</p> - -<p> -With truly national patience and perseverance he -underwent all the procrastinations and delays of office, -but ultimately obtained an exclusive right of trading to -his own harbour for twenty years. Assisted by two -merchants—the Company would seem to have failed—he -fitted out his ship anew, and sailed for the intended -harbour; and sent on shore a man who knew the -country well, to make propositions of trade with the -natives, who put him to death the moment they saw -him. -</p> - -<p> -Undiscouraged by this event, Captain Glass found -means to open up a communication with the king of the -country, to lay before him the wrong that had been -done, and the advantages that were certain to accrue -from mutual trade and barter. The sable potentate -affected to be pleased with the proposal, but only to the -end that he might get Glass completely into his power; -but the Scotsman was on his guard, and foiled him. -</p> - -<p> -The king then attempted to poison the whole crew by -provisions which he sent on board impregnated by some -deadly drug. Glass, by his previous medical knowledge, -perhaps, discovered this in time; but so scarce had food -become in his vessel, that he was compelled to go with -a few hands in an open boat to the Canaries, where he -hoped to purchase what he wanted from the Spaniards. -</p> - -<p> -In his absence the savages were encouraged to attack -the ship in their war-canoes; but were repulsed by a -sharp musketry-fire opened upon them by the remainder -of the crew, who, losing heart by the protracted absence -of the captain, quitted his fatal harbour, and sailed for -the Thames, which they reached in safety. -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile the unfortunate captain, after landing on -one of the Canaries, presented a petition to the Spanish -governor to the effect that he might be permitted to -purchase food; but that officer, inflamed by national -animosity, cruelly threw him into a dark and damp -dungeon, and kept him there without pen, ink, or paper, -on the accusation that he was a spy. Being thus utterly -without means of making his case known, he contrived -another way of communicating with the external world. -One account has it that he concealed a pencilled note in -a loaf of bread which fell into the hands of the British -consul; another states that he wrote with a piece of -charcoal on a ship-biscuit and sent it to the captain of -a British man-of-war that was lying off the island, and -who with much difficulty, and after being imprisoned -himself, effected the release of Glass. The latter, on -being joined by his wife and daughter, who had come in -search of him, set sail for England in 1765, on board -the merchant brig <i>Earl of Sandwich</i>, Captain Cochrane. -</p> - -<p> -Glass doubtless supposed his troubles were now over; -but the knowledge that much of his property and a great -amount of specie, one hundred thousand pounds, belonging -to others, was on board, induced four of the crew to -form a conspiracy to murder every one else and seize -the ship. These mutineers were respectively George -Gidly, the cook, a native of the west of England; Peter -M'Kulie, an Irishman; Andrew Zekerman, a Hollander; -and Richard H. Quintin, a Londoner. On three -different nights they are stated to have made the attempt, -but were baffled by the vigilance of Captain Glass, -rather than that of his country man, Captain Cochrane; but -at eleven o'clock at night on the 30th of September, 1765, -it chanced, as shown at their trial, that these four -miscreants had together the watch on deck, when the -<i>Sandwich</i> was already in sight of the coast of Ireland; and -when Captain Cochrane, after taking a survey aloft, was -about to return to the cabin, Peter M'Kulie brained him -with "an iron bar" (probably a marline-spike), and -threw him overboard. -</p> - -<p> -A cry that had escaped Cochrane alarmed the rest of -the crew, who were all dispatched in the same manner -as they rushed on deck in succession. This slaughter -and the din it occasioned, roused Captain Glass, who -was below in bed; but he soon discovered what was -occurring, and, after giving one glance on deck, hurried -away to get his sword. M'Kulie, imagining the cause -of his going back, went down the steps leading to the -cabin, and stood in the dark, expecting Glass's return, -and suddenly seized his arms from behind; but the -captain, being a man of great strength, wrenched his -sword-arm free, and on being assailed by the three other -assassins, plunged his weapon into the arm of Zekerman, -when the blade became wedged or entangled. It was -at length wrenched forth, and Glass was slain by -repeated stabs of his own weapon, while his dying cries -were heard by his wife and daughter—two unhappy -beings who were ruthlessly thrown overboard and -drowned. -</p> - -<p> -Besides these four victims, James Pincent, the mate, -and three others, lost their lives. The mutineers now -loaded one of the boats with the money, chests, and so -forth, and then scuttled the <i>Sandwich</i>, and landed at -Ross on the coast of Ireland. But suspicion speedily -attached to them; they were apprehended, and, -confessing the crimes of which they had been guilty, were -tried before the Court of King's Bench, Dublin, and -sentenced to death. They were accordingly executed -in St. Stephen's Green, on the 10th of October, 1765. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap08"></a></p> - -<h2> -THE STORY OF RENÉE OF ANGERS. -</h2> - -<p> -Though it occurred so long ago as the time of -Henry IV. of France, the story we are about to relate -formed one of the most remarkable <i>causes célèbres</i> before -the Parliament of Paris, when Renée Corbeau, a young -demoiselle of Angers, in Normandy, by her eloquence -in a court of justice, and by her singular self-sacrifice, -saved the life of a false and dastardly lover, to whom -she was devotedly attached. -</p> - -<p> -In the year 1594, when Henry IV., justly surnamed -the Great (though his passions betrayed him into errors -and involved him in difficulties), was on the throne of -France, a young man named M. Pousset, a native of -Tees, an old episcopal city of Normandy, was studying -the Civil and Canon Law at the University of Angers, -in those days a famous seat of learning. While thus -engaged, M. Pousset was introduced to Mademoiselle -Renée Corbeau, the daughter of a citizen. She is -described as having been a girl of great beauty of -person and with great modesty of manner, though witty -and lively in spirit, <i>folatré et caressante</i>, and full of -nameless graces. Everyone loved and admired Renée, -and when but a youth Pousset sighed for her. He soon -learned to love her passionately, and we are told "that -he no longer lived but to see and converse with her." -</p> - -<p> -She in turn became deeply attached to Pousset, who -proposed marriage, and gave her, in writing, a -document to that effect, though her parents were in -circumstances so limited that he dared not consult his own -(who were people of wealth, rank, and ambition) on -this important subject. So the lovers dreamed on, and -on the faith of the written promise, Renée, it would -appear, yielded too far, and fell, as her mother Eve fell -before her; and then repentance came when too late. -</p> - -<p> -The unfortunate Renée had, in time, to make a -confidante of her mother, who in her grief and anger -revealed all to M. Corbeau. He heaped the most bitter -reproaches on their daughter, but agreed that some -plan should be adopted to bring Pousset, who was now -studiously absenting himself, to reason and a sense of -justice. It was arranged that he and Madame Corbeau -should feign a journey to a little country mansion they -possessed not far from Angers, and that Renée should -press Pousset to visit her, when they should take -advantage of the occasion to surprise him; a project -which was executed with complete success. -</p> - -<p> -Thrown completely off his guard by this unexpected -stratagem, the lover said with much apparent candour: -</p> - -<p> -"Monsieur Corbeau, be not alarmed for the error -which our love for each other has led us into; but -pardon us, I beseech you. My intentions are still most -honourable, and I shall be but too happy to espouse -your daughter." -</p> - -<p> -The incensed Corbeau was somewhat comforted by -this prompt promise of reparation, and sent immediately -for a notary, his friend, who lived close by. The latter -drew up a formal contract of marriage in legal form, -and to this, with Renée, M. Pousset appended his -signature and seal, after which he took a tender farewell -of the weeping girl, and retired with the view of, -reluctantly, breaking the matter to his family; but so -true is it that "affection is the root of love in woman, -and passion is the root of love in man," that from the -hour in which he signed the—to him—fatal contract, -all his regard for Renée evaporated. -</p> - -<p> -Her beauty and her sorrow alike failed to impress -him now, and the faithless Pousset repented him so -bitterly of what he angrily deemed a legal entanglement, -that he hastened to Tees and unfolded the whole of the -affair to his father in a story artfully coloured and -fashioned to suit himself. -</p> - -<p> -M. Pousset the senior, who possessed a magnificent -estate, never doubted but that his amiable and facile -<i>son</i> had been entrapped by an artful girl and her -parents, and sternly told him that he could never -approve of his marriage with one whose portion was -so small, and desired him to commit her, the contract, -and the whole affair, to oblivion. While the document, -signed and sealed existed, this, however, proved -impossible; so young Pousset, either by his father's -advice or his own inclination, took refuge in the bosom -of the Church, and was somewhat too speedily ordained -sub-deacon, and then deacon, thinking thereby to -vitiate the power of the contract, and to create for life -an invincible barrier between himself and Renée. -</p> - -<p> -With all the grief and horror a tender and affectionate -heart could feel when love is so repaid by black -perfidy, she heard these tidings, and her soul seemed to -die within her; but her old father, who was filled with -just indignation, and whose sword the ordination of -Pousset kept in its scabbard, raised a civil action against -him before the principal court at Angers for having -deluded, and then declined, to marry his daughter in -the face of the notary's contract. -</p> - -<p> -The recreant was compelled to appear; but he -appealed against the order, and denied the jurisdiction -of the court; hence the cause was brought before the -Parliament of Paris. Before this tribunal, then, were -brought the wrongs of Renée Corbeau, and the whole -affair seemed so cruel and odious to the judges—especially -the fact of Pousset having taken holy orders (and -thereby degraded them) to evade the contract of -marriage—that they condemned him to espouse Renée -or lose his head by the sword of the executioner. -</p> - -<p> -He urged that the sanctity of holy orders utterly -precluded the former reparation. On this the court -unanimously declared that he must undergo the latter. -He was accordingly replaced in the Bastile; the priest -who was to attend in his last moments came to prepare -him for death, and as all sentences were summarily -executed in those days, already the headsman awaited -him. -</p> - -<p> -The heart of the poor girl, who loved him still, was -now wrung with new anguish and pity, and she accused -herself of being the cause of his approaching doom. -Crushed by that dreadful conviction, in her anxiety to -save him, or at least have his sentence mitigated in -some manner, she conceived the idea of taking all the -guilt of his position upon <i>herself</i>. -</p> - -<p> -Hastening to the old Palais de Justice, she entered -the great hall, the centre of which was then occupied -by the famous marble table which Victor Hugo describes -as being of a single piece, so long, and so broad -and thick, that it was doubtful if in the world there -was such another block of marble. Imploring the -astonished judges to hear her, she knelt before them, -and while scarcely daring to raise her eyes from the -floor, she told them in trembling accents that in -condemning her lover-husband, for such she deemed him, -they had forgotten that she too was culpable; that by -his death she would be sunk into sorrow and covered -with ignominy; and that while seeking to avenge her, -or repair her honour, they would bring upon her the -opprobrium of all France! -</p> - -<p> -The judges listened in bewildered silence, while in a -low and still more tremulous voice, Renée continued -thus: -</p> - -<p> -"Messieurs—I will no longer conceal my crime. -Remorse of conscience now forces me to declare that, -thinking you might compel M. Pousset to marry me, I -concealed the fact that I snared him into loving -me—that I loved him first, and was thus the source of all -my own sorrow! You deem it a crime that he took -refuge in holy orders to avoid the fulfilment of his -contract; yet, messieurs, that was not <i>his</i> doing, but -resulted from the will of a proud and avaricious father, -who is, in that matter, the real criminal. Spare him -then, I implore you—spare him to the world, if not to -me! He has declared that his orders preclude his -marrying me; and for that declaration you ordain that -he must die. Oh, what matters his asserting that he -would formally espouse me if he could; and because he -cannot, you condemn him to die, after giving him <i>a -choice</i>. Who here can doubt that he would marry me -in spite of his deacon's orders? Though I am but a -weak and foolish girl, I know that we may yet be -wedded, could we but obtain the dispensation of his -Holiness Clement VIII. Daily we expect in Paris his -Legate, who possesses sovereign powers. At his feet I -will solicit that dispensation; and oh, be assured, -messieurs, that my love and my prayers will obtain it. -Suspend your terrible sentence, then, till he arrives." -</p> - -<p> -After a pause, during which she was overcome with -agitation, she spoke again: -</p> - -<p> -"Think of all he has endured since his sentence has -been delivered, and of all that I am enduring now! -Should I have among you but a few voices for me, -ought these not to win me some favour of humanity -over the rest, though they be more in number! but -alas! should all be inflexible, permit me, in mercy -at least, to die with him I love, and by the same -weapon." -</p> - -<p> -It is recorded that the unhappy Renée's prayer met -with a very favourable reception, and that the remarkable -tone of her self-accusation, of having "ensnared" -M. Pousset, gave a new colour to his alleged crime. -"The judges," we are told, "lost not a word of her -oration, which was pronounced with a clear sweet -voice, and her words found a ready echo in their hearts, -while the wonderful charms of her person, her tears -and her eloquence, were too powerful not to melt, if -they failed to persuade, men of humanity." -</p> - -<p> -She was requested to withdraw while they consulted, -and the First President, M. Villeroy, after collecting -their votes, found himself enabled to grant a <i>respite</i> for -six months, that a dispensation might be obtained if -possible; and on this being announced, the plaudits -of assembled thousands made the roof of the Palais -de Justice ring in honour of Pousset's best advocate, -Renée Corbeau. -</p> - -<p> -Ere long the Roman Legate (Cardinal de Pellevé) -came to Paris; but, on hearing the ugly story of -Pousset, he conceived such indignation against him, -for the whole tenor of his conduct, that he constantly -turned a deaf ear to every application in his -favour. Soon the last month of the respite drew to -a close, and the fatal day was near when Pousset must -be brought forth to die! -</p> - -<p> -The unexpected hostility of the Legate cast Renée -once more into despair, an emotion all the more -terrible that the announcement of M. Villeroy had -given her brilliant, perhaps happy, hopes. These, -however, did not die. She obtained an audience of -Henry IV. soon after he had stormed the town of -Dreux and made his public entry into Paris, and, as -he was cognisant of her miserable story, on her knees -at his feet she once more sought an intercession for her -doomed lover, if he could be termed so still. -</p> - -<p> -Henry had too often felt the passion of love not to be -moved by the singular beauty of the suppliant, by her -sorrow, and the eloquence with which affection endowed -her. He raised her from the floor and besought her to -take courage, as he would now be her friend and -advocate. -</p> - -<p> -The Cardinal de Pellevé could not decline the prayer -of such an intercessor as Henry the Great, and, as the -luckless Pousset had not received the higher orders of -the priesthood, his Eminence granted a dispensation in -the name of Clement VIII. The marriage ceremony -was duly performed, in fulfilment of the contract signed -at Angers, and Renée Corbeau and the lover she had -rescued "lived ever after in the most perfect union; -the husband ever regarding his wife as his guardian -angel, who had saved his life and honour." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap09"></a></p> - -<h2> -ANNA SCHONLEBEN. -</h2> - -<p class="t3"> -THE BAVARIAN POISONER. -</p> - -<p> -This singular wretch, a woman of a nature so -fiendish, and with whom the destruction of human life -by secret poisoning became a veritable passion, was -beheaded in the ancient city of Nuremberg, in Bavaria, -in April, 1810, after a protracted trial, that brought to -light the long catalogue of her iniquities. -</p> - -<p> -It would appear that she was born in Nuremberg in -1760, during the reign of Maximilian Joseph—the -same who concluded the famous treaty with Maria -Theresa—and was left an orphan by the death of both -her parents in 1765; but, as she was the heiress to -some property, she remained under guardianship, and -was carefully educated till her nineteenth year, when she -was married—against her inclination, it is asserted—to -a notary named Zwanziger. -</p> - -<p> -Young, pretty, and accustomed to much gaiety in the -house of her wealthy guardian, the lonely life she felt -herself condemned to pass in the house of her husband -formed an unpleasant contrast, all the more so, as -Zwanziger, when not absent on business, devoted his -whole time to the bottle and became a confirmed -bibber. -</p> - -<p> -Anna meanwhile strove to forget her gloom and her -griefs by novel reading, her favourite works being the -"Sorrows of Werter" and those of Pamela; but the -dissipation of Zwanziger, his neglect of his profession, -on one hand, and his lavish extravagance on the other, -soon brought them to wretchedness and ruin; and she, -having considerable personal attractions, though she -appeared hideous and repulsive at the time of her -arraignment, "now attempted to prop the falling -establishment by making the best use of them;" and amid -this miserable state of affairs, Zwanziger died suddenly, -leaving her to continue her life, which was now one of -deception and licentiousness, alone. -</p> - -<p> -Her fortune wasted, her prospects blasted, she became -filled with a hatred of mankind, and with rage and -bitterness at her fate. All the better sympathies which -her nature may have possessed in girlhood faded out, -and their place was taken by a stern and grim resolution -to better her now destitute condition at all risks -and hazards. -</p> - -<p> -It does not seem to be clearly known when the idea -of systematic poisoning occurred to her, but it was -eventually suspected that she had disposed of her -husband by this means, and before she was received as -housekeeper into the family of Herr Justiz-Amptman -Glaser. She had then spent many years as a wanderer, -was fifty years of age, and without a trace of her former -charms. -</p> - -<p> -This was in 1808, when Glaser was residing at Pegnitz -in Upper Franconia, but was living apart from his wife. -Anna Schonleben (for she seldom seems to have taken -her husband's name), having her own ends in view, -adopting the rôle of friendship, effected a reconciliation -between Glaser and his wife, who returned to his home, -and within a month after was seized by a sudden and -mysterious illness, of which she died in the greatest -agony. -</p> - -<p> -As there was no appearance of Glaser wishing her -to take the place of the deceased, Anna quitted his -service for that of the Herr Justiz-Amptmann Grohmann, -who was unmarried and only in his thirty-eighth year. -He was in delicate health; thus she had every opportunity -for studying to please him, by care, attention, -and an affectionate regard for his comforts; but age was -against her; her apparently unremitting attention won -her no favour from Herr Grohmann, who received all his -medicines from her own hands, and among them some -dose, suggested by revenge, as he died on the 8th of -May, 1809, "his disease being accompanied by violent -internal pains of the stomach, dryness of the skin, -<i>erbrechen</i>," &c. -</p> - -<p> -She acted her part so well, she appeared so inconsolable -for his loss, and won among his friends a character -so high and valuable as a careful and gentle sick-nurse, -that she was almost immediately received into the -household of the Kammer-Amptmann Gebhard, in that -capacity. On the 13th of May, only five days after the -death of Grohmann, Madame Gebhard was delivered of -a baby. Both mother and child were doing well till -the 16th, when the former was seized with precisely -the same symptoms before named, and after seven days -of agony—during which she frequently asserted that -she had been poisoned—she expired. -</p> - -<p> -The funeral over, the widower found himself unable -to manage his household and family, and not unnaturally -thought he could not do better than retain in his -service, for that purpose, Anna Schonleben, who had -nursed his wife, as she had done his deceased friend, in -their last hours; so she remained in his house invested -with all the authority of <i>haushalterin</i>, though some of -his friends hinted at the inexpediency of having as an -inmate one whom some fatality seemed to attend. -</p> - -<p> -Gebhard laughed at this as superstitious; but there -was one friend, in particular, who recurred to this -matter again and again so pertinaciously—though upon -what grounds he never precisely explained—that he -came to the resolution of acting upon his advice, and to -Anna he broke the subject of her impending dismissal, -but as gently as possible, for she had acquired a certain -ascendancy over him. -</p> - -<p> -She merely expressed her surprise and regret, and -the subsequent day was fixed for her departure to Bayreuth; -but prior to that event she resolved on a terrible -revenge. She arranged all the rooms as usual, and -filled the <i>salzfasten</i> in the kitchen, saying the while, -that "it was always the custom for those who left to fill -it with salt for those who came in their place;" and -when the droski for her conveyance came to the door, -she took in her arms the infant child of Gebhard—the -infant whose mother she had poisoned, and which was -now five months old—and while feigning to caress it, -she placed between "its boneless gums" a soft biscuit -soaked in milk. -</p> - -<p> -Then she drove away, but she had not been gone an -hour, when the child and every servant in the house -became seized with spasms, pains, and violent sickness. -In this instance none, however, died; but Gebhard, -recalling the advice of his friend, now became full of -alarm and suspicion. The <i>salzfasten</i>, which Anna -Schonleben had been seen so fussily to fill, was -examined, and a great quantity of arsenic was found -to be mixed with the salt. The barrel from which the -latter was taken was also submitted to chemical analysis, -and arsenic was found therein. -</p> - -<p> -It now came suddenly to the knowledge or memory -of the simple and confiding Kammer-Amptmann, that -on one occasion, in the August of 1809, two gentlemen -who had dined with him, were seized by the same -symptoms as his servants ere the cloth was well off -the table; that one of the servants, named Barbara -Waldmann, with whom she had frequent quarrels, was -seized in the same fashion after taking a cup of coffee -from her hands; that she had once offered a lad named -Johann Kraus a glass of brandy in the cellar, which he -declined on seeing something white permeating through -it; that on another occasion, the deliverer of a message -to whom she had given a glass of white Rosenhourr, -was sick and ill for days after, barely escaping death; -and, though last not least, Herr Gebhard remembered -that on the occasion of a dinner party, given on the 1st -of September, after partaking of the wine which <i>she</i> -brought from the cellar, he and all his guests, five -in number, were seized by the usual spasms and -sickness. -</p> - -<p> -Gebhard and others were astonished now, that the -series of sudden deaths and violent illnesses occurring to -all who took anything from the hand of the woman -Schonleben, had not excited their suspicions before. -The bodies of those who had died were quietly -exhumed; the contents of the stomach of each were -subjected to chemical analysis, and the conclusion come -to was that two of them at least had been poisoned by -arsenic; and reports were drawn up and depositions -made, while the culprit, all unaware of the Nemesis -that was about to overtake her, was living at Bayreuth, -from whence she had the hardihood to write to the -Kammer-Amptmann more than one letter, in which she -bitterly reproached him for his base ingratitude in -dismissing from his service one who had been as a mother -to his motherless child. -</p> - -<p> -It is supposed that the object of these epistles was -to procure her reinstatement in his household, but on -the 19th of October, to her consternation, she was -suddenly arrested, and on being searched, three packets -of poison—two being arsenic—were found upon her -person. After being brought to trial, she protested -her innocence, and acted with singular obstinacy and -ingenuity combined, till the 16th of April, 1810, when -she fairly broke down, and admitted having murdered -Madame Glaser by two doses of poison; but the -moment the confession left her lips, according to -Feuerbach, she fell as if struck by a thunderbolt, and in -strong convulsions was removed to her dungeon, under -sentence of death. -</p> - -<p> -It is stated, that she had committed and attempted so -many murders, that they had lost all character of -horror to her; that she merely viewed them as petty -indiscretions, or the punishing of those who offended her -or who stood in her way, till at last, to poison became -almost a pastime or a passion; hence, when the poison -taken from her at Bayreuth was shown to her some -weeks afterwards, in the old castle of Plassenburg at -Culmbach, her eyes sparkled and her whole frame -seemed to vibrate with delight, as if she saw again, in -that deadly white drug, an old and valued friend -or servant; but she admitted, that fly-powder was -what she chiefly used to revenge herself upon her -fellow-servants by mixing it with their beer; and that -prior to quitting the house of Gebhard she had -frequently poisoned the coffee, wine, and beer of such -guests as she chose to dislike. She declared openly, -that her death was a fortunate thing for many people, -as she felt certain she could not have left off poisoning -as long as she lived. -</p> - -<p> -She steadily ascended the scaffold, bowed to the -people, with a smile on her old, wrinkled, and, then, -hideous face, laid her head on the block, and without -shrinking or moving a muscle, had it struck off by the -axe of the public <i>scharfrichter</i>, or executioner; and so -ended this German <i>cause célèbre</i>. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap10"></a></p> - -<h2> -LAURA WENLOCK'S CHRISTMAS EVE. -</h2> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER I. -</h3> - -<p> -"It cannot be that you are about to be married!" -exclaimed Jack Westbrook passionately as he held the -girl's hands half forcibly and gazed into her shrinking -eyes; "I will not believe it—even from your own -lips." -</p> - -<p> -But the girl, silent and sad, hesitated to reply. -</p> - -<p> -The glory of an April sunset lay over all the sweet -Kentish landscape; a little tarn between two white -chalk cliffs shone like molten gold, with black coots -swimming, and the pearly clouds reflected on its -surface; the emerald green buds were bursting in their -beauty in the coppice and hedgerows, where the linnet -and the speckled thrush were preparing their nests; -the unclosing crocus and the drooping daffodil were -making the cottage gardens gay; and every where, -there were coming "fresh flowers and leaves to deck -the dead season's bier." -</p> - -<p> -It was a period of the opened year when unconsciously -the human heart feels hopeful and happy, even the -hearts of the old and the ailing; but the souls of those -two who lingered, near the old Saxon lichgate, roofed -with ancient thatch and velvet moss, and by the old -worn stile that led to the village church of Craybourne, -were sad indeed; they were on the eve of parting, -and—for ever! -</p> - -<p> -"It cannot be, Laura, that you are about to be -married, after all," repeated Jack Westbrook, a -soldier-like young fellow, not much over five and twenty, -dark, handsome and clad in that kind of grey tweed -suit, which looks so gentlemanly when worn by one of -good bearing and style, and such Jack certainly was. -</p> - -<p> -"It is but too true—too true, Jack," replied Laura, -while her tears fell fast, and she strove to release her -trembling hands from her lover's passionate clasp. -</p> - -<p> -Laura Wenlock was more than merely handsome; -in her soft face there was a singular and piquante -charm, a loveliness that was more penetrating and of -a higher order than mere regularity of feature, as its -expression varied so much—a charm that would have -delighted an artist, while it would have baffled his -powers to reproduce it. Her eyes were violet blue; her -hair was auburn, shot with gold, and ruddy golden it -seemed ever in the sunshine. -</p> - -<p> -"You don't mean to say that you are about to marry -<i>for</i> money?" said Westbrook impetuously. -</p> - -<p> -"Far from it, Jack—oh! don't think so meanly—so -basely of me," urged Laura piteously. -</p> - -<p> -"What then?" -</p> - -<p> -"<i>With</i> money—sounds different, doesn't it, Jack, -dear?" said the girl with a sob and a sickly smile. -</p> - -<p> -Westbrook gnawed his thick brown moustache, and -eyed her gloomily, then almost malevolently and, anon; -pleadingly, for his fate was in her hands. -</p> - -<p> -"From all I have heard," said he, "I feared it would -come to this; but oh, no, no, surely it cannot be—that -I am now to lose you!" -</p> - -<p> -"It must be; the fatal papers have already been -prepared." -</p> - -<p> -"The settlements!" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; debts beyond what we could ever have anticipated, -have overtaken my father, and you know that -his vicarage here at Craybourne is a poor one, Jack, a -very poor one, and his poverty would be the ruin of -my two brothers. My marriage will be the saving of -them all—the Colonel is so rich." -</p> - -<p> -"Philip Daubeny, of Craybourne Hall?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," replied Laura, with averted eyes -</p> - -<p> -"I saw him struck down by the sun on the march -between Jehanumbad and Shetanpore; and I would, -with all my heart, he were there still!" -</p> - -<p> -"Don't say so, Jack," urged the girl; "Colonel -Daubeny is good, and brave, and generous—oh, most -generous! God knows, Jack, if you would take me as -I am, without a shilling, I would become your wedded -wife to-night," added Laura, blinded with tears; "but -you want me to wait for you, Jack, and I cannot wait, -for the fate of those over there—at home—is in my -power," continued Laura, turning towards the old -thatched vicarage, the lozenged casements of which -were glittering in the sunshine between the stems of -the trees. -</p> - -<p> -"To wait, of course," said he, huskily, and relinquishing -her hands in a species of sullen despair; "I -have but little to live on just yet, since I had to sell -out of the Hussars after that infernal loss on the Oaks, -and, of course, I cannot supply you with equipages and -luxuries as Daubeny can do. But do have patience -with me, Laura." -</p> - -<p> -"I cannot—I cannot!" wailed the girl; "the -dreadful <i>why</i> I have told you a thousand times." -</p> - -<p> -"You never loved me truly." -</p> - -<p> -"You wrong me; no one has ever been more dear to -me than you, Jack." -</p> - -<p> -He laughed bitterly. -</p> - -<p> -"Yet you will marry Philip Daubeny? Have you -thought how shameful is a mercenary marriage?" -</p> - -<p> -"I have, indeed, God knows how deeply, how bitterly -and prayerfully, in the silent night, when none could -see my tears, save Him! Take back your ring, dear -Jack, and let us part friends;" and drawing the -emblem from her tiny finger, she touched it with her -trembling lips, and restored it to him. -</p> - -<p> -"Friends!" he exclaimed, bitterly and scornfully, -while in his fine dark eyes there shone a flash of light, -where evil seemed to rival love and sorrow, as he flung -the golden hoop, with its pearl cluster, into the tarn, -and left her without another word or glance! He -strode away down the sequestered path that led to the -churchyard stile, crushing, as if vengefully, under his -feet the wayside flowers, the tender blossoms and -sprays of spring; and the girl watched him till his -retreating figure disappeared in the shady vista of the -lane. -</p> - -<p> -Then she interlaced her slender fingers over her -auburn hair and cast her eyes upwards, full of sorrow -and intense compunction for the pain she had been -compelled to inflict; but there was no despair in her -expression, nor was there in her heart, we hope. -</p> - -<p> -"God bless you, dear—dear Jack; you will forget -me in time. All is over now!" she murmured. -</p> - -<p> -But the memory of Westbrook's harassed face, and -the winning sound of his voice haunted her in the -hours of the night as she lay feverish, restless, in a -passion of bitter weeping; and full of sad and terrible -thoughts, tossing from side to side, sleepless on her -pillow. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap1002"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER II. -</h3> - -<p> -The marriage day came, and the chimes were ringing -merrily in the old square tower of the little vicarage -church, scaring the swallows from their nests amid the -leaves and the clustering ivy, and, aware of the event, -numbers of the parishioners and of Colonel Daubeny's -tenantry, in their holiday attire, were toiling up the -steep and picturesque pathway that led through shady -dingles to the quaint edifice which overlooked the Cray. -The humble old-fashioned organ gave forth its most -joyous notes; and what was wanting in splendour or -decoration in a church so old and rural, was amply -made up by the masses of flowers, many of them the -rarest exotics from the conservatories of Colonel -Daubeny, and these garlanded the round chancel arch and the -short dumpy Saxon pillars, while the altar in its deep -recess was gay with them; when Laura, leaning on the -arm of her father, the old thin-faced and silver-haired -Vicar, and followed by her six bridesmaids, all lovely -little girls, relatives of both families, dressed alike, and -attended closely, too, by her two brothers, the thoughtless -lads, whom she had sacrificed herself to serve and -advance in life, was led slowly up the church, the -cynosure and admiration of every eye, for all the people -knew and loved her. -</p> - -<p> -The gift of the bridegroom—a handsome, grave, and -manly-looking fellow, whose hair, though only in his -fortieth year, Indian service had slightly streaked with -grey, and whose best man was his old chum and -comrade, Charlie Fane—her bridal dress, priceless with -satin and lace, shone in the successive rays of -sunlight as she passed the painted windows, her bridal -veil floated gracefully and gloriously around her, by -its folds hiding the ashy pallor of her charming face, -and her eyes that were aflame with unshed tears, and -trembled to look up, lest they should encounter those -of Jack Westbrook, full of upbraiding and bitterness; -but Jack was at that moment miles away occupying -his mind with very different matters, though he well -knew what was then being enacted at Craybourne -Church. -</p> - -<p> -She stood and knelt as one in a dream side by side -with Philip Daubeny at the altar rail before her father, -and it certainly <i>did</i> strike the former with something of -alarm rather than surprise, that when she was ungloved -by a fussy and blushing little bridesmaid, and when she -placed her hand steadily and without a tremor in his, -it was icy and cold, as that of Lucy Ashton on her -ill-omened bridal morn. -</p> - -<p> -She uttered all the words of the service in a low and -distinct voice, yet never once were her dark blue eyes -raised to those of the earnest and generous Philip -Daubeny, whose glances, moderated of course by the -knowledge that they were so closely observed, were -full of love and tenderness; and, in truth, even at that -solemn moment, Laura felt that though he had her -highest respect and her genuine esteem, she did not love -him, and could only pray to Heaven, in her silent heart, -that the time might come when she should do so as a -wedded wife. -</p> - -<p> -Laura bore up nobly. If she clung to her husband's -arm, and thus sent a thrill to his heart as they quitted -the gloomy fane, with its earthy odour, for the -sunshine of the churchyard, where the cheers of assembled -hundreds greeted them, it was only because she felt -weak, and wondered when the time would come that -would see her laid in yonder vault, where all the -Daubenys of past ages lay—the vault, with its ponderous -door, mildewed and rusty, and half-hidden by huge -fern leaves and churchyard nettles—and on reaching -the Vicarage she nearly fainted, greatly to the terror of -Daubeny and the anxiety of all. -</p> - -<p> -Avoiding the former, she clung to her father. -</p> - -<p> -"Kiss me, papa," she said again and again. "Kiss -me, papa; are you pleased with me—pleased with your -poor Laura now?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, my darling, yes," replied the old Vicar, folding -her in his arms. He had heard much of Jack Westbrook: -but thought that, so far as himself and his -family were concerned, "matters were now, indeed, -ordered for the best" in her marriage with the Squire of -Craybourne. -</p> - -<p> -A man of the world—one who had seen twenty years -of dangerous military service in the East—Phil Daubeny -was one of whom any woman might be proud, handsome, -wealthy, and well-born, and all thought that -Laura was as happy in her choice as in her heart; -but the image of Jack Westbrook, of whom he knew -<i>nothing</i>, stood—and was for a time fated to stand—as a -barrier between her and the man she had vowed to -"love, honour, and obey;" and most earnestly in her -soul did she pray, as the carriage bore her from her -beloved home for ever, that never more in this world -might Westbrook's path cross hers; but not that she -feared evil would come of it, for Laura was too wifely, -too pure, and too good for such an idea to occur to her. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap1003"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER III. -</h3> - -<p> -Amid the congratulations of friends, under the -radiant smiles of her husband, even when her head -nestled on his shoulder and his strong arm went -lovingly round her; amid all the innumerable gaieties -of Paris, of Brussels—a new world to her—this ghost -seemed morbidly to haunt her; yet the honeymoon -glided away, and the second month found them, amid -all the charms of midsummer, located in their luxurious -home at Craybourne Hall, from the upper oriels of -which she could see the smoke, from the old clustered -chimneys of the Vicarage, curling about the leafy -coppice. -</p> - -<p> -Daubeny had missed something responsive, he knew -not what, in his wife, whose general listlessness, with -a certain far-seeing expression of eye, began to pain and -bewilder him. He kept his thoughts to himself; yet -his brave and loving nature craved ever for some secret -sympathy which Laura failed to accord him, and so -there gradually began to yawn between them a chasm -which neither could define, and the existence of which -they would stoutly have denied. To Daubeny it became -a source of keen and growing misery. But one night -the scales fell from his eyes. -</p> - -<p> -Finding himself alone and idle in London, he turned -into the back stalls of the opera. The piece had not -commenced; the orchestra were at the overture; the -gas was somewhat low; and by some heedless fellows -who were sitting in front of him he heard <i>his own name</i> -mentioned once or twice in conversation, and was -compelled to listen, thereto. -</p> - -<p> -"Jack Westbrook has got over it all now," one said. -"Of course the <i>sting</i> of wounded self-esteem, at being -thrown over for rich old Phil Daubeny, rankled for a -time. The fair Laura was his first love—never saw -such a pair of spoons in all my life, don't you -know—privately engaged, and all that sort of thing." -</p> - -<p> -"And now I have no doubt she will flirt with any -man who will flirt with her. Of course, it is always the -way—and she don't care for Daubeny, poor devil!" -</p> - -<p> -"I don't think she <i>will</i> flirt," said the first speaker. -</p> - -<p> -"Bah! every woman has some weak point, if you can -only find it out." -</p> - -<p> -"Most men, too, I suspect; but the fair Laura is clad -in the armour of virtue." -</p> - -<p> -"Jack Westbrook might find some weak points in -that armour, too; and he won't drop out of the hunt, -perhaps." -</p> - -<p> -Then followed a reckless laugh that stung the soul of -Daubeny to madness. The Opera stalls were no place -for that which is so abhorrent in "society"—a scene; -so instead of dashing their heads together, as he felt -inclined to do, he softly left the place just as the -overture ceased and the act-drop rose; and he went forth in -a tempest of that kind of rage which always becomes -the more bitter for having no immediate object to -expend itself on; and even the speed of the night -express seemed a thousand degrees too slow as it bore -him homeward to Craybourne Hall. She had been -engaged, had a lover—her first lover, too—and all -unknown to him! -</p> - -<p> -He had both seen and heard of Westbrook; but not -in this character. Her first love—her only love! How -many uncounted kisses had, of course, been exchanged, -of which he knew naught (and had no business with -then)? How much of the bloom had been worn off the -peach ere it became his? He was full of black wrath, -and saw much now that he saw not before, and could -quite account for all her coldness. Yet, although he -knew it not, the girl who had always esteemed was now -learning to <i>love</i> him as she had never even loved Jack -Westbrook! -</p> - -<p> -Late though the hour—the first of morning—he -proceeded at once to his wife's dressing-room, where she -was awaiting his return in a charming blue robe that -made her fair beauty look more charming still, for there -were colour and brightness in her face and a love-light -in her eyes at his approach, till the abruptness of his -entrance and the set sternness of his white visage -startled her. -</p> - -<p> -"Philip!" -</p> - -<p> -"Can it be true what I have heard to-night, Laura, -that you loved Westbrook, of the Hussars," he -demanded, "and, while loving him, married me for my -money, and what I might do for the old Vicar and his -sons? Is it truth that, when he gave you to me at the -altar of yonder church, your marriage vow was a black -lie and your false heart teemed with love for another? -Speak!" he thundered out; but she could only lift her -timid eyes to him imploringly, and spread her little -white hands in deprecation of the coming malediction. -Her voice was gone. "Your silence affirms all I have -heard," he continued, in accents that trembled with -jealousy and sorrow. "Oh, God, what a fool and dupe -I have been!" -</p> - -<p> -"I know not what you have heard, Philip; but, as -He hears me, I have been a true and faithful wife to -you." -</p> - -<p> -"In playing a part you did not feel," he cried -scornfully, "but I will aid your play no more. From this -hour we meet never again on earth. Here, in this -house, for which you sold yourself, I shall leave you, -with all its luxuries, till such time as a more regular -separation can be brought about; and the sole sorrow -of my heart is now, that I cannot leave you free to wed -this fellow Westbrook, the cause of all your -incompatibility and coldness to me." -</p> - -<p> -He flung away, and left her in a gust of fury. -</p> - -<p> -"Philip, Philip!" she exclaimed, but she heard the -hall door close; and then, as his steps died away in the -distance, she fell on the floor, overcome by her sudden -and terrible emotions—startled, shocked, and -conscience-stricken. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap1004"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IV. -</h3> - -<p> -Days passed on—days of sorrow, anxiety, and futile -watching for a footfall that came no more. Whither -he had gone she knew not, nor could she discover, and -she was left to her tears and unavailing grief, amid the -splendour of Craybourne Hall. She saw now how -erring she had been; that, while nursing a mere -fancy, she had lost the true love of a good and generous -man, whose last words had been the first harsh ones he -had ever addressed to her. -</p> - -<p> -Gone! gone! She felt how much she really loved -him now, and all the more that a secret tie was coming, -and must come ere Christmas, to bind them stronger -together. She must let him know of this dear hope; -but how? <i>Where</i> had he gone? To death, perhaps, -and she might have a child in her bosom that Philip -could never, never see! -</p> - -<p> -The weeks became months, and the heart of the -strangely-widowed wife grew sick and heavy as lead -with hopeless waiting, watching, and agonising -yearning—dead even to the speculations of those around her, -to whom the absence of her husband seemed, of course, -most unaccountable, if not unkind and cruel. -</p> - -<p> -But for the sake of her child she wished that she -might die when it saw the light. Surely, then, Philip -would forgive her when he saw its little face, and she was -laid within the vault, the mildewed and rusted door of -which she had regarded with a shudder on her marriage -morning—the vault where all the dead Daubenys lay. -</p> - -<p> -So in the fulness of time her baby was born—a little -fairy boy—and her father named it Philip, for him who -was still so strangely absent, and hot and burning were -the tears with which Laura bedewed its tiny face as it -nestled in her bosom; and amid the new emotions -awakened by maternity she prayed God to forgive her -for having longed to die; for no baby in the world -could be like hers, that lay so round and soft and -warm in her white bosom, and was fast growing so -like papa! -</p> - -<p> -But where was he wandering? Why was he not -with her? Surely he would return <i>now</i>? Yet the days -still rolled monotonously on, and winter drew nigh. -The trees in Craybourne Chase were leafless; the fern, -amid which the deer made their lair, was turning red, -and the uplands became powdered with snow. -</p> - -<p> -"To what a dreary and dreadful Christmas do I look -forward, papa!" she exclaimed to the sorrowing old -Vicar, "and I do so love him! Philip, Philip, come -back to me, and do not leave me thus to die!" she -would wail, ever and anon, in her helplessness. -</p> - -<p> -And now there came a day which she was fated never, -never to forget! Her husband's firm friend and old -comrade, who had been his groomsman, the -stout-hearted and gallant Charlie Fane, arrived at -Craybourne with a face as white as the snow in the Weald -of Kent—the bearer of terrible tidings, which he had -heard that morning at the club, and these he had to -break—he knew not <i>how</i>—to Laura, though they had -been broken abruptly enough to himself. -</p> - -<p> -Jack Westbrook had raised his head from the -morning paper just as Fane entered the room, -</p> - -<p> -"By Jove! look here, Charlie!" exclaimed Westbrook -in an excited tone, "there has been a dreadful accident -to the train between Paris and Calais, and among the -killed—mangled out of all shape—the report says, is -Colonel Philip Daubeny, a British officer. His -card-case was found in his pocket." -</p> - -<p> -"My God! Poor Laura, poor Phil!" exclaimed Fane, -as he took the paper in his trembling hands, and in ten -minutes after was <i>en route</i> for Craybourne Hall. -</p> - -<p> -"Poor devil!" thought Westbrook, as he lit a cigar; -"who knows but I may get the reversion of the widow, -with her tin, after all?" -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap1005"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER V. -</h3> - -<p> -It was Christmas Eve at Craybourne Hall, as elsewhere -all over the Christian world; but the stillness -as of death reigned there, and Laura, a widow now in -heart indeed, lay tossing restlessly on her laced pillow, -fighting, as it were, with the grim King, and forgetful -even of her infant. Never had that old hall, ever since -the Tudor days, seen a more sorrowful Christmas Eve. -All the landscape around it wore a shroud of ghastly -white. The Cray was frozen in its bed, and all the -shrubs and trees seemed turned to crystal, that -sparkled with diamond lustre in the light of the moon -and stars. Over the snowy waste the Christmas bells -in the old Vicarage church rang out "Peace on -Earth—Peace on Earth, and goodwill towards men;" but -there was no peace—peace of the heart, at least—in the -stately hall; yet such a winter had not been seen for -years, and great things, the old Kentish folks said, -were sure to occur, for never had the holly been so -covered with scarlet berries. What a Christmas for -Laura! -</p> - -<p> -In her chamber, dimly-lit and closely watched, she -lay helpless and stunned by the depth of her woe, and -honest Charlie Fane, who had seen much of human -suffering in his time, watched her like a brother; and, -in that chamber, there was no sound heard but the -sighs of the sufferer and the chimes of the distant bells. -</p> - -<p> -Suddenly there was a noise of feet and voices in the -corridor without. A figure entered—was it the phantom -of Philip Daubeny? -</p> - -<p> -No! the strong grasp that tightened on the hand of -Fane forbade that idea; and, in a moment more, the -husband, looking pale and rather worn, was bending -over the wife who had fainted in his arms. In Philip's -face there was no sternness now, but passionate love, -pity, and tears, and agony, too, till Laura revived. -</p> - -<p> -"Not killed—not even injured, Philip?" exclaimed Fane. -</p> - -<p> -"No, thank Heaven! but a poor fellow was to whom -I lent my Ulster when hurrying homeward. Do you -forgive me, darling Laura—forgive my cruel -desertion?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, yes, my love—my own Philip—all—all! And -is the little fellow not a darling too—and so like you, -Philip?" said the broken, half-hushed voice. -</p> - -<p> -And as Philip, with a bursting heart, hung over his -wife and child, he could hear more merrily than ever -the joyous bells that told of the promise given 1800 -years ago to the Chaldean shepherds as they watched -their flocks by night in Judæa. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t4"> -BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO. 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