CHAPTER XXX.
So catchers And snatchers Do toil both night and day, Not needie, But greedie, Still prolling for their prey.
However a poor novelist may like to pursue the even tenor of his wayin peace and quietness, it is quite impossible for him to do so if hetake a true story for the basis of his tale. Circumstance is alwaysjumping about; and if he would follow nature, he must join in the gameof leap-frog too. Here is the palace of Fortune, with its glitter, andits splendour, and its show; and there the cottage of Want, with itscare, and its foulness, and its misery. In one house, new-born Life iscoming into the world, all joyous; in the next, stern Death leads manaway to eternity; weeping Sorrow and laughing Joy sit mocking eachother at every step; and smiles and tears are still running after eachother on the high road, though little formed to bear company together.Then, since the world is full of oppositions and of jumps, he thatcopies it must sit upon his hind legs and play the kangaroo also.
I found it necessary to put forth this excuse before proceeding withVonderbrugius, who, without offering any reason for so doing, suddenlyflies back to scenes that we have not long quitted, and brings thereader once more to London, where he shall be detained as short a timeas possible, on the word of a scribe.
All those who have read the history of that little, powerful nook ofisland-earth called Great Britain, must very well know that theimperious minister of Henry the Eighth was not one to receivecontradiction with patient resignation: what then was his rage onhearing that Lady Constance de Grey was not to be found at Richmond!True to what he threatened, Wolsey had not failed, immediately onarriving in London, to send a horse-litter down to Richmond for hisfair ward, notwithstanding the lateness of the hour and the cold hehad himself experienced on the water; and towards eleven the samenight his messengers returned, informing him that the lady was not tobe found in the palace; adding, also, that a man belonging to the gatehad been employed to carry some luggage for her down to a two-oaredboat, which had received her at the stairs, and rowed off towardsWestminster.
This was the sum of all the news they had obtained, but it wassufficient to guide Wolsey on the search which he instantly preparedto institute for the fugitive. Before going to rest, he took everyprecaution for preventing her leaving the kingdom; ordered messengersto set out early the next morning for every port where she was likelyto embark; and commanded an officer to post to Richmond that verynight, and, stationing himself at the palace-stairs, to await thearrival of the men who rowed the boat which had conveyed her away,giving him at the same time an order for their arrest.
In regard to the couriers to the various ports, we shall leave them totheir fate, not embarrassing ourselves with a search half over therealm, but shall pursue the movements of the other messenger, fromwhose operations very important results were obtained.
Though heartily wishing the cardinal and Lady Constance well scourged,the one as the proximate, the other as the remote cause of hisnight-ride, the officer got into his saddle, and accompanied by twofollowers, set out for Richmond, where they arrived towards twoo'clock in the morning.
Men of a curious and philosophic mind have remarked, that there isalways a pot-house near a waterman's stairs; and the same fact wasobservable in the present instance. Nearly opposite to the landing onthe left-hand side stood the hospitable mansion of a beer-retailer,who dealt out the British nectar to all those who had the means ofpaying for it; and in his window, even at the hour of two o'clock, wasshining a lamp, whereat the officer marvelled, as the neighbourhood ofthe palace enjoined order and sobriety amongst the multitude. Ridingup, however, he dismounted; and pushing open the door, perceived thatthe tap-room was occupied by a single individual of the watermanspecies, whose sleepy head, nodding backwards and forwards, oftenapproached so near the lamp upon the table as to threaten his red nosewith a conflagration. Without any regard for the rites of Morpheus,the officer shook the sleeper heartily by the shoulder, whereupon hestarted up, crying--
"Well, I'm ready; how long you've been! I've been a-waiting thishour."
"Waiting for whom?" demanded the officer; "not for me, I'm sure, orwith my will you'd waited long enough."
"Lord bless us, sir! I beg your worship's pardon!" said the man,rubbing his eyes; "I thought you were the two yeomen that hired myboat to take the young lady to Lunnun. Curious folks they were not tolet me row my own boat! They promised to be back by one, and so MasterTapster lets me sit up here for 'em. I thought you were them twoindeed."
"No. I'm a single man, and never was two in my life," answered theofficer. "But about these two yeomen? At one o'clock you say they wereto come? Pray, how came you to let them your boat?"
"Lord! because they asked me, sure," replied the waterman; "that'show."
"But how do you know they will ever bring it back again?" demanded theofficer.
"Because they left me ten marks as a pledge," answered the other. "No,no; I wasn't to be outwitted. I saw they wanted the boat very bad, soI let them have it for a mark by the day; but I made them leave me tenothers; so, if the boat be lost or hurt, I've got double its worth inmy own pocket."
"And what did they say they were going to do with it?" demanded theofficer.
"Oh! I didn't ask," said the waterman; "but walking about I saw themlie there at the stairs for near an hour, till presently comes down ayoung lady, and an old priest, and a waiting-woman, as I judged, andin they get, and away rows the boat toward Lunnun. They were lustyrowers, I warrant you, and good at the trade. But your worship seemsmighty curious about them."
"Ay, and so curious," answered the officer, "that they shall both comewith me to London if they come hither to-night; and you, too, MasterWaterman; so hold yourself ready. Ho, Thomas! come in and stay withthis worthy. See that he does not budge. You, Will, put up the horses,and then come down to me at the stairs."
The excellent tipstaff now, after cutting short the remonstrance ofthe boatman, proceeded to the water-side, and crossing his arms,waited, with his eyes fixed upon the bright river, as it flowed on,rippling like waves of silver in the moonshine. In a few minutes hewas joined by his follower, and before long a black spot appearedmoving up the midst of the stream, while the plashing of distant oarsbegan to make itself heard. As the boat came nearer, two men wereplainly to be seen rowing it towards the landing-place, one of whom,raising his head when they were within a few yards' distance,exclaimed--
"Is that you, Master Perkins?"
"Ay, ay!" answered the officer, imitating, as well as he could, thegruff halloo of a waterman, and walking about with his hands in hisbreeches pockets, as if to keep himself warm.
Without more ado, the boat pulled to the shore, and one of the menjumped out, whereupon the officer instantly caught him by the collar,exclaiming--
"In the king's name I charge you go with me!"
"Pull off! pull off!" cried the man to his companion; "by the Lord, hehas grabbed me! Pull off, boy!"
The other rower without scruple pushed from the shore before thetipstaff's man could secure the bow of the boat, and seeing hiscompanion caught beyond the power of extrication, he snatched up theother oar, and pulled away down the river as hard as he could.
"And now, what the devil do you want with me'" cried the man,sturdily, turning to the officer. "Come, off with your hands! Don't befingering my collar so hard, or I'll crack your nutshell for you." Andat the same time he struggled to shake off the other's grasp; but theofficer, who seemed accustomed to deal with persons that did notparticularly relish his ministry, very soon settled the question withhis prisoner, by striking him a blow over the head with a staff hecarried, in such sort as to level him with the ground. It is wonderfulhow soothing to the prisoner's feelings this mild treatment seemed tobe; for without any further effort he suffered himself to be led awayto the alehouse, from whence he was safely removed the next morning toWestminster, the original owner of the boat being carried along withhim as a witness. And here let me beg all constables, Bow Streetofficers,
scarlet runners, street-keepers, constables of the night,and watchmen, who may read this excellent and instructive history, totake example by the prudence of this officer, who, having acquired allthe information he could from other sources, wisely abstained fromasking his prisoner any questions whatsoever, leaving his examinationto be taken by competent persons.
Carrying his game directly to York House, the worthy and exemplarytipstaff, whose name I should not fail to record, had notVonderbrugius unfeelingly omitted it; this prince of tipstaves, I say,placed his charge in a place of security, and, on the cardinal'sreturn from Westminster Hall, informed him of all that he had done tofulfil the mission with which he had honoured him. The cardinalpraised the tipstaff's zeal, and beginning to suspect that there wassome mystery in the business, more than the mere course whichConstance had taken, he ordered the prisoner and the evidence to bebrought instantly before him; and proceeded himself to investigate thematter, and to see whether his fingers would be neat enough to pickthe needle out of the bottle of hay: a delicate operation, for whichthere is but one method, which may be called the Alexandrine: namely,burn the hay, and you are sure to get the needle.
Something similar was the proceeding which the cardinal proposed toadopt; for no sooner was the prisoner brought before him, rather palewith fright, and somewhat nervous with his night's entertainment, thanhe pronounced a most eloquent oration upon the necessity of meetingdeath with firmness, warning the unhappy man, at the same time, thathe had nothing to hope in this world, and bidding him to prepare forthe next. Through the whole, however, he suffered to appear, implied,though not expressed, the possibility that a free confession of allthe culprit knew concerning Lady Constance de Grey and her evasionmight take the sting out of his offence, and disencumber his windpipeof the pressing familiarity with which it was threatened by a hempencord.
In those times rights were but little defined, and the extent of thegreat civil and political powers hardly ascertained even to the mindsof the cultivated and reflecting, much less to people in the rank ofthe person who now stood before the prelate, surrounded by all thoseimpressive insignia which then, indeed, implied vast though borrowedpower. Without going into the metaphysics of the business, it will besufficient for my purpose to say, that the poor fellow was desperatelyfrightened, especially as he had upon his conscience more than onehearty crime, which he well knew might at any time prove a sufficientexcuse for sending him part of the way to heaven, whether he ever madethe whole journey out or not. Therefore, having no great interest inconcealing anything he knew, and every interest in the world intelling it, he fell down upon his knees, declaring that he wouldreveal all, if the cardinal would make a solemn promise that he shouldhave the king's free pardon and the church's for every sin, crime, andmisdemeanour he had committed up to that day.
It cost him nothing but a bit of parchment and a little yellow wax,and so the cardinal promised; whereupon the culprit, still upon hisknees, began as follows:--
"My master, Sir Payan Wileton----"
"Sir Payan Wileton is your master, then?" cried Wolsey "So, so! Goon."
"My master, Sir Payan Wileton, my gracious lord," continued the man,"after he had been with your grace yesterday morning, returned homefull speed to his house by the water's edge, near Tothill, andsuddenly dispatched one of our yeomen down to Richmond with a poorfoolish priest, saving your grace's presence, who had been with himsome days. After that, he wrote a note, and giving it to me, bade metake with me Black John, and gallop down to the court like mad.Whenever we got there, I was to speak with Hatchel Sivard, whom he hadset to spy all that passed at the palace, and who would help me tohire a boat for the day. After that was done, I was to seek the Ladyde Grey, and give her the note; and then, leaving our horses at thebaiting-house, I and my fellow were to wait in the boat till the ladycame, and to row her whithersoever she directed; but, above all, toseem like common watermen, and to take whatever payment she gave us.And if by chance she didn't come, we were to give up the boat andreturn."
As may be supposed, Wolsey was not a little surprised at the intriguewhich this opened to his view. "So!" said he. "So! Hatchel Sivard, thepage of the queen's ante-chamber, is a pensioned spy of Sir PayanWileton. Good! very good! Of course you carried the lady to herrelation's house, ha?"
"Not so, may it please your lordship's grace," replied the man. "Atfirst, she made as if she would have stopped at Tothill, but then shebade us row on to Westminster, where she landed."
"But you saw whither she went?" cried Wolsey, his brow darkening."Mind, your life depends upon your speaking truth! Let me but see ashade of falsehood, and you are lost!"
"As I hope for mercy, my lord, I tell you the whole truth," repliedthe servant. "When she was landed, I got out and followed; but, afterturning through several streets, I saw that they marked me watching,so I was obliged to run down a narrow lane, hoping to catch them bygoing round; but they had taken some other way, and I found them notagain."
Wolsey let his hand drop heavily upon the table, disappointed in hisexpectations. "You say _them_, fellow! Whom do you mean?" he demanded."Who was with her?"
"Her waiting-woman, your grace," answered the man, "and an old priest,who Sivard says is her chaplain."
"Ah!" said Wolsey thoughtfully; "Dr. Wilbraham! This is very strange!A staid good man, obedient to my will, coinciding in the expediency ofthe marriage I proposed. There must be some deeper plot here of thisSir Payan Wileton. The poor girl must be deceived, and perhaps not somuch obstinate as misled. I see it; I see it all. The wily traitorseeks her estates, and would fain both stop her marriage and bring herwithin my displeasure. A politic scheme, upon my honour! but it shallnot succeed. Secretary, bid an usher speed to Sir Payan Wileton, and,greeting him sweetly, request his presence for a moment here."
It was the latter part of the above speech only that met the ears ofthose around, the rest being muttered to himself in a low and almostinaudible tone. "Pray, pray your lordship's grace!" cried the man,clasping his hands in terror as soon as he heard Wolsey's command; "donot let Sir Payan have me. I shall not be alive this time two days, ifyou do. Indeed I shan't. Your grace does not know him. There isnothing stops him in his will; and I shall be found dead in my bed, ordrowned in a pond, or tumbled out of window, or something like; andthen Sir Payan will pretend to make an investigation, and have thecrowner, and it will be found all accident. If it is the same to yourlordship's grace, I would rather be hanged at once, and know what I'mabout, than be given up to Sir Payan, to die no one can tell how."
"Fear not, fool!" said Wolsey; "but tell the whole truth, and youshall be safe; ay, and rewarded. Conceal anything, and you shall behanged. Take him away, secretary, and examine him carefully. Make himgive an exact account of everything he has seen in the house of SirPayan Wileton, and after putting it in writing, swear him to it; andthen, hark you"--and he whispered something to the secretary--adding,"let him be there well used."
The man was now removed from the cardinal's presence; and waiting tillthe messenger returned from Sir Payan's, Wolsey remained in deepthought, revolving in his keen and scrutinising mind all the parts ofthe shrewd plot he had just heard developed, and thinking over thebest means of punishing Sir Payan Wileton in such a manner as to makehis fall most bitter. While thus engaged, one of his secretariesentered, and bowing low stood silent, as if waiting for permission tospeak.
"What is it?" said Wolsey; "is it matter of consequence?" Thesecretary bowed low again, and replied, "It is the herald's opinion,my lord, upon the succession of the old Lord Orham of Barneton, themiser, who left the two chests of gold, as well----"
"I know, I know!" said Wolsey. "How do they give it? I trust not tothat base churl, William Orham, who struck my officer one day."
"Oh, no! your grace," replied the secretary; "there are two nearerthan he is. But they say the succession is quite clear. Charles LordOrham, the great-grandfather of the last, had three sons, from one ofwhom descends William Orham; but the eldest son, succeeding, had twoso
ns and a daughter, all of whom married, and had issue; the eldestson, Thomas Lord Orham, him succeeded, who had only issue the lastlord. The daughter had five sons, and the second son, Hugh Orham, hadone only daughter, who married Arthur Bulmer, Earl of Wilmington, whodied, leaving issue one only daughter, Mistress Katrine Bulmer, bycourtesy the Lady Katrine Bulmer, whom your grace may remember thequeen took very young, when it was found that Lord Wilmington'sestates went in male descent. She is the undoubted heiress."
"Ha!" said Wolsey, "that changes much. Well, well! go see that it beclearly made out. Now, what says Sir Payan Wileton?" he continued,turning to the messenger, who had just returned.
"The house is empty, so please your grace," replied the usher, "allbut one old porter, who says that Sir Payan and his train set out forChilham yesterday morning, after visiting your reverend lordship. Heaffirms, moreover, that the knight never got off his horse, but onlygave orders that the priest should be sent down to Richmond with allspeed, and then rode away himself for Kent."
"So!" said the cardinal, his lip curling into a scornful sneer, "hefinds his miscreant is caught, and thinks to deceive me with a talethat would not cloud the eyesight of an old woman. But let him stay;he shall lull himself into a fool's paradise, and then find himselffallen to nothing. That will do." The usher fell back, and for amoment Wolsey, as was often his wont, continued muttering to himself,"The Lady Katrine: she was Darby's fool passion. If it lasts he shallhave her: 'tis better than the other. Besides, the other girl is away,and he must have gold to bear out his charges at this meeting atArdres; so shall it be. Well, well! Send in whoever waits without," headded, speaking in a louder voice, and then applied himself to otherbusiness.