CHAPTER XVII.
TAUNTON.
I never weary in thinking of the gaiety and happiness of those fourdays at Taunton among the rebels. There was no more doubt in any ofour hearts: we were all confident of victory--and that easy and,perhaps, bloodless. As was the rejoicing at Taunton, so it would bein every town of the country. One only had to look out of windowin order to feel assurance of that victory, so jolly, so happy, soconfident looked every face.
'Why,' said Miss Blake, 'in future ages even we women, who haveonly worked the flags, will be envied for our share in the gloriousdeliverance. Great writers will speak of us as they speak of theRoman women.' Then all our eyes sparkled, and the needles flewfaster and the flags grew nearer to completion.
If history should condescend to remember the poor Maids of Tauntonat all, it will be, at best, with pity for the afflictions whichafterwards fell upon them: none, certainly, will envy them; butwe shall be forgotten. Why should we be remembered? Women, it iscertain, have no business with affairs of State, and especially nonewith rebellions and civil wars. Our hearts and passions carry usaway. The leaders in the Cause which we have joined appear to us tobe more than human; we cannot restrain ourselves, we fall down andworship our leaders, especially in the cause of religion and liberty.
Now behold! On the very morning after we arrived at Taunton I wasabroad in the streets with Miss Blake, looking at the town, whichhath shops full of the most beautiful and precious things, andwondering at the great concourse of people (for the looms wereall deserted, and the workmen were in the streets filled with amartial spirit), when I saw riding into the town no other than Robinhimself. Oh! how my heart leapt up to see him! He was most gallantlydressed in a purple coat, with a crimson sash over his shouldersto carry his sword; he had pistols in his holsters, and woregreat riding-boots, and with him rode a company of a dozen youngmen, mounted on good strong nags: why, they were men of our ownvillage, and I knew them, every one. They were armed with musketsand pikes--I knew where those came from--and when they saw me thefellows all began to grin, and to square their shoulders so as tolook more martial. But Robin leapt from his horse.
''Tis Alice!' he cried. 'Dear heart! Thou art then safe, so far?Madam, your servant.' Here he took off his hat to Miss Blake. 'Lads,ride on to the White Hart and call for what you want, and take careof the nags. This is a joyful meeting, Sweetheart.' Here he kissedme. 'The Duke, they say, draws thousands daily. I thought to findhim in Taunton by this time. Why, we are as good as victoriousalready. Humphrey, I take it, is with his Grace. My dear, even hadthe Cause of Freedom failed to move me I had been dragged by thesilken ropes of Love. Truly, I could not choose but come. There wasthe thought of these brave fellows marching to battle, and I all thetime skulking at home, who had ever been so loud upon their side.And there was the thought of Humphrey, braving the dangers of thefield, tender though he be, and I, strong and lusty, sitting bythe fire, and sleeping on a feather bed; and always there was thethought of thee, my dear, among these rude soldiers--like Milton'slady among the rabble rout, because well I know that even Christianwarriors (so-called) are not lambs; and, again, there was mygrandfather, who could find no rest, but continually walked to andfro, with looks that at one time said, "Go, my son," and at others,"Nay, lest thou receive a hurt"; and the white face of my mother,which said as plain as eyes could speak: "He ought to go, he oughtto go; and yet he may be killed."'
'Oh, Robin! Pray God there prove to be no more fighting.'
'Well, my dear, if I am not tedious to Madam here'----
'Oh, Sir!' said Miss Blake, 'it is a joy to hear this talk.' Shetold me afterwards that it was also a joy to look upon so gallanta gentleman, and such a pair of lovers. She, poor creature, had nosweetheart.
'Then on Monday,' Robin continued, 'the day before yesterday, Icould refrain no longer, but laid the matter before my grandfather.Sweetheart! there is, I swear, no better man in all the world.'
'Of that I am well assured, Robin.'
'First, he said that if anything befell me he should go down insorrow to his grave; yet that, as to his own end, an old man so nearthe grave should not be concerned about the manner of his end, solong as he should keep to honour and duty. Next, that in his ownyouth he had himself gone forth willingly to fight in the cause ofLiberty, without counting the risk. Thirdly, that if my consciencedid truly urge me to follow the Duke, I ought to obey that voice inthe name of God. And this with tears in his eyes, and yet a livelyand visible satisfaction that, as he himself had chosen, so hisgrandson would choose. "Sir," I said, "that voice of consciencespeaks out very loudly and clearly. I cannot stifle it. Therefore,by your good leave, I will go." Then he bade me take the best horsein the stable, and gave me a purse of gold, and so I made ready.'
Miss Blake, at this point, said that she was reminded of David. Itwas, I suppose, because Robin was so goodly a lad to look upon;otherwise, David, though an exile, did never endeavour to pull KingSaul from his throne.
'Then,' Robin continued, 'I went to my mother. She wept, because warhath many dangers and chances; but she would not say me "Nay." Andin the evening when the men came home I went into the village andasked who would go with me. A dozen stout fellows--you know themall, Sweetheart--stepped forth at once; another dozen would havecome, but their wives prevented them. And so, mounting them on goodcart-horses, I bade farewell and rode away.'
'Sir,' said Miss Blake, 'you have chosen the better part. You willbe rewarded by so splendid a victory that it will surprise all theworld; and for the rest of your life--yes, and for generationsafterwards--you will be ranked among the deliverers of your country.It is a great privilege, Sir, to take part in the noblest passage ofEnglish history. Oh!' she clasped her hands, 'I am sorry that I amnot a man, only because I would strike a blow in this sacred Cause.But we are women, and we can but pray--and make flags. We cannot diefor the Cause.'
The event proved that women can sometimes die for the Cause, becauseshe herself, if any woman ever did, died for her Cause.
Then Robin left us in order to take steps about his men and himself.Captain Hucker received them in the name of the Duke. They joinedthe cavalry, and Robin was told that he should be made a Captain.This done, he rode out with the rest to meet the Duke.
Now, when his approach was known, everybody who had a horse rodeforth to meet him, so that there followed him, when he entered thetown, not counting his army, so great a company that they almostmade another army.
As soon as it was reported that the Duke was within a mile (they hadthat day marched sixteen miles, from Ilminster) the church bellswere set a-ringing; children came out with baskets of flowers inreadiness to strew them at his feet as he should pass--there wereroses and lilies and all kinds of summer flowers, so that his horsehad a most delicate carpet to walk upon; the common people crowdedthe sides of the streets; the windows were filled with ladies, whowaved their handkerchiefs and called aloud on Heaven to bless thegood Duke, the brave Duke, the sweet and lovely Duke. If there wereany malcontents in the town they kept snug; it would have cost themdear even to have been seen in the streets that day. The Duke showedon this occasion a face full of hope and happiness; indeed, if hehad not shown a cheerful countenance on such a day, he would havebeen something less, or something greater, than human. I mean thathe would have been either insensible and blockish not to be moved bysuch a welcome, or else he would have been a prophet, as foreseeingwhat would follow. He rode bareheaded, carrying his hat in his hand;he was dressed in a shining corslet with a blue silk scarf and apurple coat; his long brown hair hung in curls upon his shoulders;his sweet lips were parted with a gracious smile; his beautifulbrown eyes--never had any Prince more lovely eyes--looked pleasedand benignant; truly there was never made any man more comely thanthe Duke of Monmouth. The face of his father, and that of his uncle,King James, were dark and gloomy, but the Duke's face was naturallybright and cheerful; King Charles's long nose in him was softenedand reduced to the proportions of manly beauty; in short, therewas no featu
re that in his father was harsh and unpleasing but wasin him sweet and beautiful. If I had thought him comely and like aKing's son when four years before he made his Progress, I thoughthim now ten times as gracious and as beautiful. He was thinner inthe face, which gave his appearance the greater dignity; he hadever the most gracious smile and the most charming eyes; and atsuch a moment as this who could believe the things which they saidabout his wife and Lady Wentworth? No--they were inventions of hisenemies; they must be base lies--so noble a Presence could notconceal a guilty heart; he must be as good and virtuous as he wasbrave and lovely. Thus we talked, sitting in the window, and thus wecheered our souls. Even now, to think how great and good he lookedon that day, it is difficult to believe that he was in some mattersso vile. I am not of those who expect one kind of moral conduct fromone man and a different kind from another; there is but one set ofcommandments for rich and poor, for prince and peasant. But the pityof it--oh! the pity of it, with such a prince!
Never, in short, did one see such a tumult of joy; it is impossibleto speak otherwise: the people had lost their wits with excess ofjoy. Nor did they show their welcome in shouting only, for all doorswere thrown wide open, and supplies and necessaries of all kindswere sent to the soldiers in the camp outside the town, so that thecountry lads declared they had never fared more sumptuously. Therenow rode after the Duke several Nonconformist ministers, beside myfather. Thus there was the pious Mr. Larke, of Lyme: he was an agedBaptist preacher, who thought it no shame to his profession to girdon a sword and to command a troop of Horse; and others there were,whose names I forget, who had come forth to join the deliverer.
Lord Grey rode on one side of him, and Colonel Speke on the other;Dr. Hooke, the Chaplain, and my father rode behind. My heart swelledwith joy to hear how the people, when they had shouted themselveshoarse, cried out for my father, because his presence showed thatthey would have once more that liberty of worship for want of whichthey had so long languished. The Duke's own Chaplain, Mr. Ferguson,had got a naked sword in his hand, and was marching on foot, cryingout, in a most vainglorious manner, 'I am Ferguson, the famousFerguson, that Ferguson for whose head so many hundred pounds wereoffered. I am that man! I am that man!' He wore a great gown anda silken cassock, which consorted ill with the sword in his hand,and in the evening he preached in the great church, while my fatherpreached in the old meeting-house to a much larger congregation,and, I venture to think, with a much more edifying discourse.
The army marched through the town in much the same order as it hadmarched out of Lyme, and it seemed not much bigger, but the menmarched more orderly, and there was less laughing and shouting. Butthe streets were so thronged that the men could hardly make theirway.
In the market-place the Duke halted, while his Declaration was readaloud. One thing I could not approve. They dragged forth threeof the Justices--High Churchmen and standing stoutly for KingJames--and forced them to listen, bareheaded, to the Declaration:a thing which came near afterwards to their destruction. Yet theylooked sour and unwilling, as anyone would have testified. TheDeclaration was a long document, and the reading of it took half anhour at least; but the people cheered all the time.
After this, they read a Proclamation, warning the soldiers againsttaking aught without payment. But Robin laughed, saying that thiswas the way with armies, where the General was always on the sideof virtue, yet the soldiers were always yielding to temptation inthe matter of sheep and poultry; that human nature must not be toomuch tempted, and that camp rations are sometimes scanty. But it wasa noble Proclamation, and I cannot but believe that the robberiesafterwards complained of were committed by the tattered crew whofollowed the camp, rather than by the brave fellows themselves.
The Duke lay at Captain Hucker's house, over against the Three CupsInn. This was a great honour for Mr. Hucker, a plain serge-maker,and there were many who were envious, thinking that the Dukeshould not have gone to the house of so humble a person. It wasalso said that for his services Mr. Hucker boasted that he shouldexpect nothing less than a coronet and the title of Peer, once thebusiness was safely dispatched. A Peer to be made out of a MasterSerge-maker! But we must charitably refuse to believe all that isreported, and, indeed (I say it with sorrow of that most unfortunatelady, Miss Blake), much idle tattle concerning neighbours wascarried on in her house, and I was told that it was the same inevery house of Taunton, so that the women spent all their time intalking of their neighbours' affairs, and what might be going on inthe houses of their friends. This is a kind of talk which my fatherwould never permit, as testifying to idle curiosity and leading toundue importance concerning things which are fleeting and trivial.
However, the Duke was bestowed in Captain Hucker's best bed--of thatthere was no doubt; and the bells rang and bonfires blazed, and thepeople sang and shouted in the streets.