Read A Gentleman-at-Arms: Being Passages in the Life of Sir Christopher Rudd, Knight Page 2

  *INTRODUCTORY*

  The Rudds, like many another ancient family, have come down in theworld, as the saying goes. They no longer live on the toil of others,but work for their own livelihood. They no longer own manors, or followtheir feudal lords to court in armour; but here and there about theworld, in business, at the Bar, in the Army or administrative offices,they worthily sustain the honour of their name.

  The present head of the family cherishes an heirloom, which hasdescended from father to son through three centuries. It has nocommercial value; it would not fetch a shilling in the auction room:indeed, the mere hint of selling it would shock a Rudd. It is a flatleather case, discoloured, frayed at the edges, almost worn out withage. But upon its side may still be seen faint traces of the initialsC.R., and within it lies a bundle of faded papers, with the followinginscription on the cover:

  _Certeyn Passages in the Life of Syr Christopher Rudde, knyghte, relatedby himselfe in the yeare of our Lorde 1641, and written down by hisgrandsonne Stephen._

  It is easy to understand why this old manuscript is treasured by theRudd family. The "certain passages" in their ancestor's life areinteresting in themselves, as narratives of romantic adventure invarious countries of the old world and the new. They give incidentalpictures of remarkable scenes and personages, and throw not a littlelight on the manners and conditions of bygone times. Above all, theyseem to me to portray an English gentleman of the great age ofElizabeth--a gentleman who had a proper pride in his country withoutscorning others, and was ever ready to draw his sword chivalrously inthe cause of freedom and justice.

  The grandson, Stephen Rudd, professes to have written these stories asthey were told him by his grandfather; but I cannot help suspecting thathe dealt with them somewhat as the parliamentary reporters of thepresent day are said to deal with the speeches delivered on the floor ofthe House--arranging, giving form and coherence. You can detect in thestyle echoes of the prose of Elizabeth's day, but it is on the wholeless coloured, less vigorous, more formal, in the manner of the Carolinewriters; and it has not the unconstraint of a man talking at ease in hisarmchair. The events related are separated by wide intervals of time,and Stephen has filled up the gaps with brief accounts of the course ofpublic affairs, as well as of the personal history of his grandfather.In printing these along with Sir Christopher's stories, I have thoughtit best, for the sake of uniformity, to modernise the spelling: therewould be no object in perplexing the reader with such antique forms, forinstance, as _beesyde_, _woordes_ and _tunge_.

  Sir Christopher's first story plunges at once into an adventure of hisseventeenth year, and it is perhaps advisable to preface it with a fewparticulars of his earlier life. He was born, it appears, on July 15,1571, the son of a country gentleman who owned a manor on the outskirtsof the New Forest. This was the year of the discovery of the Norfolkplot against the life of Queen Elizabeth, and the opening of a period ofgreat moment in the history of England and Europe. The boy was sixyears old when Drake set sail on his famous voyage to the Pacific; andduring the next few years he must have heard many stirring events talkedabout in his father's hall--Alva's persecutions in the Netherlands, theassassination of the Prince of Orange, the buccaneering exploits of theEnglish sea-dogs. At the age of twelve he entered William of Wykeham'sgreat school at Winchester, and we may imagine how eagerly he discussedwith his school fellows such items of exciting news as filtered throughfrom the greater world. It is not surprising that his imagination wasfired, that the lust of adventure gripped him, and that at last the callproved irresistible, bringing his schooldays to an abrupt end, andluring him forth to a career of activity and enterprise.

  HERBERT STRANG

  *THE FIRST PART*

  *CHRISTOPHER RUDD'S ADVENTURE IN HISPANIOLA, AND THE STRANGE STORY OF CAPTAIN Q.*