CHAPTER XVIII: HALLOWMAS EVE
"This more strangeThan such a murder is."
Macbeth.
"Bambino mio, bambino mio," wailed Mary Beatrice, as she pressed herchild to her bosom, and murmured to him in her native tongue. "Anddid they say he was not his mother's son, his poor mother, whosedearest treasure he is! Oime, crudeli, crudelissimi! Even hissisters hate him and will not own him, the little jewel of hismother's heart!"
Anne, waiting in the window, was grieved to have overheard the wordswhich the poor Queen had poured out, evidently thinking no one nearcould understand her.
That evening there were orders to prepare for a journey to Whitehallthe next morning.
"And," said Hester Bridgeman, "I can tell you why, in allconfidence, but I have it from a sure hand. The Prince of Orange iscollecting a fleet and army to come and inquire into certainmatters, especially into the birth of a certain young gentleman wewot of."
"How can he have the insolence?" cried Anne.
"'Tis no great wonder, considering the vipers in the Cockpit," saidHester.
"But what will they do to us?" asked Jane Humphreys in terror.
"Nothing to you, my dear, nor to Portia; you are good Protestants,"said Hester with a sneer.
"Mrs. Royer told me it was for the christening," said Jane, "andthen we shall all have new suits. I am glad we are going back totown. It cannot be so mortal dull as 'tis here, with all the leavesfalling--enough to give one the vapours."
There were auguries on either hand in the palace that if the Princecame it would be only another Monmouth affair, and this made Anneshrink, for she had partaken of the grief and indignation ofWinchester at the cruel execution of Lady Lisle, and had heardrumours enough of the progress of the Assize to make her start inhorror when called to watch the red-faced Lord Chancellor Jeffreysgetting out of his coach.
It really seemed for the time as if the royal household wereconfident in this impression, though as soon as they were againsettled in Whitehall there was a very close examination of thewitnesses of the Prince's birth, and a report printed of theirevidence, enough it might be thought to satisfy any one; but JaneHumphreys, who went to spend a day at the Golden Lamb, her father'swarehouse, reported that people only laughed at it.
Anne's spirit burned at the injustice, and warmed the more towardsthe Queen and little Prince, whose pretty responses to her caressescould not but win her love. Moreover, Pauline's example continuedto attract her, and Father Crump was a better controversialist, orperhaps a better judge of character, than Pere Giverlai, and tookher on sides where she was more vulnerable, so as to make her beginto feel unsettled, and wonder whether she were not making a vainsacrifice, and holding out after all against the better way.
The sense of the possible gain, and disgust at the shallowconversions of some around her, helped to keep her back. She couldnot help observing that while Pauline persuaded, Hester had ceasedto persuade, and seemed rather willing to hinder her. Just beforethe State christening or rather admission into the Church, LadyPowys, in the name of the King and Queen, offered her the post ofsub-governess, which really would mean for the present chiefplayfellow to the little Prince, and would place her on an entirelydifferent platform of society from the comparatively menial one sheoccupied, but of course on the condition of conformity to Rome.
To be above the familiarity of Jane and Hester was no smalltemptation, but still she hesitated.
"Madam, I thank you, I thank their Majesties," she said, "but Icannot do it thus."
"I see what you mean, Miss Woodford," said Lady Powys, who was atruly noble woman. "Your motives must be above suspicion even toyourself. I respect you, and would not have made you the offerexcept by express command, but I still trust that when yourdisinterestedness is above suspicion you will still join us."
It was sore mortification when Hester Bridgeman was preferred to theoffice, for which she was far less fitted, being no favourite withthe babe, and being essentially vulgar in tastes and habits, andknowing no language save her own, and that ungrammatically and withan accent which no one could wish the Prince to acquire. Yet thereshe was, promoted to the higher grade of the establishment and atthe christening, standing in the front ranks, while Miss Woodfordwas left far in the rear among the servants.
A report of the Dutch fleet having been destroyed by a storm hadrestored the spirits of the Court; and in the nursery very littlewas known of the feelings of the kingdom at large. Dr. Woodford didnot venture on writing freely to his niece, lest he shouldcompromise her, and she only vaguely detected that he was uneasy.
So came All Saints' Day Eve, when there was to be a special servicelate in the evening at the Romanised Chapel Royal at St. James's,with a sermon by a distinguished Dominican, to which all the elderand graver members of the household were eager to go. And there wasanother very different attraction at the Cockpit, where good-naturedPrincess Anne had given permission for a supper, to be followed byburning of nuts and all the divinations proper to Hallowmas Eve, towhich were invited all the subordinates of the Whitehallestablishment who could be spared.
Pauline Dunord was as eager for the sermon as Jane Humphreys was forthe supper, and Hester Bridgeman was in an odd mood of uncertainty,evidently longing after the sports, but not daring to show that shedid so, and trying to show great desire to hear the holy man preach,together with a polite profession of self-denial in giving up herplace in case there should not be room for all. However, as itappeared that even the two chief nurses meant to combine sermon andthe latter end of the supper, she was at ease. The foster-motherand one of the Protestant rockers were supposed to be enough towatch over the Prince, but the former, who had been much petted andspoilt since she had been at the palace, and was a young creature,untrained and wilful, cried so much at the idea of missing themerrymaking, that as it was reckoned important to keep her in goodhumour and good spirits, Mrs. Labadie decided on winking at herabsence from the nursery, since Miss Woodford was quite competent tothe charge for the short time that both the church-goers and thesupper-goers would all be absent together.
"But are you not afraid to stay alone?" asked Mrs. Labadie, with alittle compunction.
"What is there to be afraid of?" asked Anne. "There are thesentinels at the foot of the stairs, and what should reach us here?"
"I would not be alone here," said more than one voice. "Nor I!"--"Nor I!"
"And on this night of all others!" said Hester.
"But why?"
"They say he walks!" whispered Jane in a voice of awe.
"Who walks?"
"The old King?" asked Hester.
"No; the last King," said Jane.
"No, no: it was Oliver Cromwell--old Noll himself!" put in anothervoice.
"I tell you, no such thing," said Jane. "It was the last King. Iheard it from them that saw it, at least the lady's cousin. 'Twasin the long gallery, in a suit of plain black velvet, with whitemuslin ruffles and cravat quilled very neat. Why do you laugh, MissWoodford?"
This was too much for Anne, who managed to say, "Who was hislaundress?"
"I tell you I heard it from them that told no lies. The gentlemancould swear to it. He took a candle to him, and there was noughtbut the wainscot behind. Think of that."
"And that we should be living here!" said another voice. "I neverventure about the big draughty place alone at night," said thelaundress.
"No! nor I would not for twenty princes," added the sempstress.
"Nay, I have heard steps," said Mrs. Royer, "and wailing--wailing.No wonder after all that has happened here. Oh yes, steps as of theguard being turned out!"
"That is like our Squire's manor-house, where--"
Every one contributed a story, and only the announcement of HerMajesty's approach put an end to these reminiscences.
Anne held to her purpose. She had looked forward to this time ofsolitude, for she wanted leisure to consider the situation, andfairly to revolve the pleas by which Father Crump had
shaken her,more in feeling than in her reason, and made her question whetherher allegiance to her mother and uncle, and her disgust atinterested conversions, were not making her turn aside from whatmight be the only true Church, the Mother of Saints, and therewithperversely give up earthly advancement. But, oh! how to write toher uncle.
The very intention made her imagination and memory too powerful forthe consideration of controversy. She went back first to a merryHallowmas Eve long ago, among the Archfield party and otherWinchester friends, and how the nuts had bounced in a manner whichmade the young ones shout in ecstasy of glee, but seemed todisplease some of the elders, and had afterwards been the occasionof her being told that it was all folly, and therewith informed ofCharles Archfield's contract to poor little Alice Fitzhubert. Thencame other scenes. All the various ghostly tales she had heard, andas she sat with her knitting in the shaded room with no sound butthe soft breathing of her little charge in his cradle, no light savefrom a shaded lamp and the fire on the hearth, strange thoughts anddreams floated over her; she started at mysterious cracks in thewainscotting from time to time, and beheld in the dark corners ofthe great room forms that seemed grotesque and phantom-like till shewent up to them and resolved them into familiar bits of furniture orgowns and caps of Mrs. Labadie. She repeated half aloud numerousPsalms and bits of poetry, but in the midst would come somedisturbing noise, a step or a shout from the street, though thechamber being at the back of the house looking into the Park few ofsuch sounds penetrated thither. She began to think of KingCharles's last walk from St. James's to Whitehall, and of the fatalwindow of the Banqueting-hall which had been pointed out to her, andthen her thoughts flew back again to that vault in the castle yard,and she saw only too vividly in memory that open vault, veiledpartly by nettles and mulleins, which was the unblest, unknown graveof the old playfellow who had so loved her mother and herself.Perhaps she had hitherto more dwelt on and pitied the living thanthe dead, as one whom fears and prayers still concerned, but now asshe thought of the lively sprite-like being who had professed suchaffection for her, and for whom her mother had felt so much, andrecollected him so soon and suddenly cut down and consigned to thatdreary darkness, the strange yearning spirit dismissed to theunknown world, instead of her old terror and repulsion, a greattenderness and compunction came over her, and she longed to jointhose who would in two days more be keeping All Souls' Day inintercessions for their departed, so as to atone for her pastdislike; and there was that sort of feeling about her which can onlybe described by the word 'eerie.' To relieve it Anne walked to thewindow and undid a small wicket in the shutter, so as to look outinto the quiet moonlight park where the trees cast their longshadows on the silvery grass, and there was a great calm that seemedto reach her heart and spirits.
Suddenly, across the sward towards the palace there came the slight,impish, almost one-sided figure, with the peculiar walk, swiftthough suggestive of a limp, the elfish set of the plume, theforeign adjustment of short cloak. Anne gazed with wide-stretchedeyes and beating heart, trying to rally her senses and believe itfancy, when the figure crossed into a broad streak of light cast bythe lamp over the door, the face was upturned for a moment. It wasdeadly pale, and the features were beyond all doubt PeregrineOakshott's.
She sprang back from the window, dropped on her knees, with her facehidden in her hands, and was hardly conscious till sounds of theothers returning made her rally her powers so as to prevent allinquiries or surmises. It was Mrs. Labadie and Pauline Dunord, theformer to see that all was well with the Prince before repairing tothe Cockpit.
"How pale you are!" she exclaimed. "Have you seen anything?"
"I--It may be nothing. He is dead!" stammered Anne.
"Oh then, 'tis naught but a maid's fancies," said the nurse good-humouredly. "Miss Dunord is in no mind for the sports, so she willstay with His Highness, and you had best come with me and drive thecobwebs out of your brain."
"Indeed, I thank you, ma'am, but I could not," said Anne.
"You had best, I tell you, shake these megrims out of your brain,"said Mrs. Labadie; but she was in too great haste not to lose hershare of the amusements to argue the point, and the two young womenwere left together. Pauline was in a somewhat exalted state, fullof the sermon on the connection of the Church with the invisibleworld.
"You have seen one of your poor dead," she said. "Oh, may it not bethat he came to implore you to have pity, and join the Church, whereyou could intercede and offer the Holy Sacrifice for him?"
Anne started. This seemed to chime in with proclivities of poorPeregrine's own, and when she thought of his corpse in thatunhallowed vault, it seemed to her as if he must be calling on herto take measures for his rest, both of body and of spirit. Yetsomething seemed to seal her tongue. She could not open her lips onwhat she had seen, and while Pauline talked on, repeating the sermonwhich had so deeply touched her feelings, Anne heard withoutlistening to aught besides her own perturbations, mentally debatingwhether she could endure to reveal the story to Father Crump, if sheconfessed to him, or whether she should write to her uncle; and sheeven began to compose the letter in her own mind, with the terriblerevelation that must commence it, but every moment the idea becamemore formidable. How transfer her own heavy burthen to her uncle,who might feel bound to take steps that would cut young Archfieldoff from parents, sister, child, and home. Or supposing Dr.Woodford disbelieved the apparition of to-night, the whole would bediscredited in his eyes, and he might suppose the summer morning'sduel as much a delusion of her fancy as the autumn evening'sphantom, and what evidence had she to adduce save Charles's despair,Peregrine's absence, and what there might be in the vault?
Yet if all that Father Crump and Pauline said was true, that dearuncle might be under a fatal delusion, and it might be the best hopefor herself--nay, even for that poor restless spirit--to separateherself from them. Here was Pauline talking of the blessedness ofbeing able to offer prayers on 'All Souls' Day' for all those ofwhose ultimate salvation there were fears, or who might be in astate of suffering. It even startled her as she thought of hermother, whom she always gave thanks for as one departed in faith andfear. Would Father Crump speak of her as one in a state ofinevitable ignorance to be expiated in the invisible world? Itshocked the daughter as almost profane. Yet if it were true, andprayers and masses could aid her?
Altogether Anne was in a mood on which the voices broke strangelyreturning from the supper full of news. Jane Humphreys was volubleon her various experiments. The nuts had burnt quietly together,and that was propitious to the Life-guardsman, Mr. Shaw, who hadshared hers; but on the other hand, the apple-paring thrown over hershoulder had formed a P, and he whom she had seen in the vista oflooking-glasses had a gold chain but neither a uniform nor a P inhis name, and Mrs. Buss declared that it meant that she should bethree times married, and the last would be an Alderman, if not LordMayor; and Mrs. Royer was joking Miss Bridgeman on the I of herapple-paring, which could stand for nothing but a certain Incleamong 'the Cockpit folk,' who was her special detestation.
Princess Anne and her husband had come down to see the nuts flying,and had laughed enough to split their sides, till Lord Cornbury camein and whispered something to Prince George, who said, "Est ilpossible?" and spoke to the Princess, and they all went awaytogether. Yes, and the Bishop of Bath and Wells, who had beenlaughing before looked very grave, and went with them.
"Oh!" exclaimed Anne, "is the Bishop of Bath and Wells here?"
"Yes, in spite of his disgrace. I hear he is to preach in yourProtestant chapel to-morrow."
Anne had brought a letter of introduction from her uncle in case sheshould have any opportunity of seeing his old fellow canon, who hadoften been kind to her when she was a little girl at Winchester.She was in many minds of hope and fear as to the meeting him orspeaking to him, under the consciousness of the possible defectionfrom his Church, and the doubt and dread whether to confide hersecret and consult him. However, the extreme improbability of her
being able to do so made the yearning for the sight of a Winchesterface predominate, and her vigil of the night past made the nurseryauthorities concede that she had fairly earned her turn to go tochurch in the forenoon, since she was obstinate enough to want torun after an old heretic so-called Bishop who had so pragmaticallywithstood His Majesty. Jane Humphreys went too, for though she wasnot fond of week-day services, any escape from the nursery waswelcome, and there was a chance of seeing Lady Churchill's newmantle.
In this she was disappointed, for none of the grandees were present,indeed it was whispered as the two girls made their way to thechapel, that there was great excitement over the Declaration of thePrince of Orange, which had arrived last night, that he had beeninvited by the lords spiritual and temporal to take up the cause ofthe liberties of England, and inquire into the evidence of the birthof the Prince of Wales.
People shrugged their shoulders, but looked volumes, though it wasno time nor place for saying more; and when in the chapel, thatcountenance of Bishop Ken, so beautiful in outward form, soexpressive of strength, sweetness, and devotion, brought back such aflood of old associations to Anne, that it was enough to change thewhole current of her thoughts and make her her own mother's childagain, even before he opened his mouth. She caught his sweet voicein the Psalms, and closing her eyes seemed to be in the Cathedralonce more among those mighty columns and arches; and when he beganhis sermon, on the text, 'Let the Saints be joyful with glory, letthem rejoice in their beds,' she found the Communion of Saints inParadise and on earth knit together in one fellowship as truly andpreciously brought home to her as ever it had been to Pauline, andmoreover when she thought of her mother, 'the lurid mist' wasdispelled which had so haunted her the night before.
The longing to speak to him awoke; and as he was quitting the chapelin full procession his kindly eye lit upon her with a look ofrecognition; and before she had moved from her place, one of theattendant clergy came back by his desire to conduct her to him.
He held out his hand as she courtesied low.
"Mistress Woodford," he said, "my old friend's niece! He wrote tome of you, but I have had no opportunity of seeing you before."
"Oh, my Lord! I was so much longing to see and speak with you."
"I am lodging at Lambeth," said the Bishop, "and it is too far totake you with me thither, but perhaps my good brother here," turningto the chaplain, "can help us to a room where we can be private."
This was done; the chaplain's parlour at the Cockpit was placed attheir disposal, and there a few kind words from Bishop Ken led tothe unburthening of her heavy heart. Of Ken's replies to thecontroversial difficulties there is no need to tell. Indeed,ambition was far more her temptation than any real difficulties asto doctrine. Her dissatisfaction at being unable to answer thequestions raised by Father Crump was exaggerated as the excuse andcover to herself of her craving for escape from her presentsubordinate post; and this the Bishop soon saw, and tenderly butfirmly drew her to own both this and to confess the ambitious spiritwhich had led her into this scene of temptation. "It was trueindeed," he said, "that trial by our own error is hardest toencounter, but you have repented, and by God's grace, my child, Itrust you will be enabled to steer your course aright through thetrials of loyalty to our God and to our King that are coming upon usall. Ever remember God and the plain duty first, His anointed next.Is there more that you would like to tell me? for you still bear atroubled look, and I have full time."
Then Anne told him all the strange adventure of Portchester Castle,and even of the apparition of the night before. That gentleness andsympathy seemed to draw out all that was in her heart, and to hersurprise, he did not treat the story of that figure as necessarily adelusion. He had known and heard too much of spiritualmanifestations to the outward senses to declare that such thingscould not be.
What she had seen might be explained by one of four hypotheses. Itwas either a phantom of her brain, and her being fully awake,although recently dwelling on the recollection, rendered that idealess probable, or the young man had not been killed and she had seenhim in propria persona.
She had Charles Archfield's word that the death was certain. He hadnever been heard of again, and if alive, the walk before Whitehallwas the last place where he would be. As to mistaking any one elsefor him, the Bishop remembered enough of the queer changeling elf toagree with her that it was not a very probable contingency. And ifit were indeed a spirit, why should it visit her? There had beenone good effect certainly in the revival of home thoughts andturning her mind from the allurements of favour, but that did notseem to account for the spirit seeking her out.
Was it, Anne faltered, a sign that she ought to confess all, for thesake of procuring Christian burial for him. Yet how should she,when she had promised silence to young Archfield? True, it was forhis wife's sake, and she was dead; but there were the rest of hisfamily and himself to be considered. What should she do?
The Bishop thought a little while, then said that he did not believethat she ought to speak without Mr. Archfield's consent, unless shesaw any one else brought into danger by her silence. If it everbecame possible, he thought, that she should ascertain whether thebody were in the vault, and if so, it might be possible to procureburial for it, perhaps without identification, or at any ratewithout making known what could only cause hostility and distressbetween the two families, unless the young man himself on his returnshould make the confession. This the Bishop evidently consideredthe sounder, though the harder course, but he held that Anne had noright to take the initiative. She could only wait, and bear herload alone; but the extreme kindness and compassion with which hetalked to her soothed and comforted her so much that she feltinfinitely relieved and strengthened when he dismissed her with hisblessing, and far happier and more at peace than she had been sincethat terrible summer morning, though greatly humbled, and taught torepent of her aspirations after earthly greatness, and to accept herpresent condition as a just retribution, and a trial of constancy.