CHAPTER II.
HARRY'S ANNOUNCEMENT.
Gilbert Clayton, Harry's friend, was a stranger to the rest of thefamily; but Master Drury no sooner heard of his arrival than he invitedhim to stay as long as he pleased, or as long as his business wouldpermit; and this was so warmly seconded by Harry, that young Claytoncould not but remain. He was the more willing to do this, as he had beenordered by the doctors to leave London and reside in the country beforejoining the army again, for he had received a dangerous wound theprevious summer in the battle of Chalgrove, where his kinsman, the braveand pious John Hampden, was mortally wounded. It was by talking of JohnHampden that Harry first became acquainted with Gilbert Clayton, and nowhe wanted to hear more of him and the gentle Sir Bevil Granville, whohad so bravely led on his pikemen at the battle of Lansdowne.
The talks about these heroes generally took place in the most quiet partof the garden; for Gilbert Clayton, knowing his host's politicalopinions differed from his own, was too courteous to bring forward thesubject before him and his family. Master Drury himself rarely talked ofpublic matters with any one, and loved his books and the quiet of hisstudy too well to take any active part in such affairs; and he said hecould help the King's cause more by his prayers than anything else; sothe two young men were left to amuse themselves as they pleased, and bya sort of tacit understanding, these conversations were never carried onin the presence of Mary or Maud.
Master Drury's household was managed by his sister, an elderly lady, wholooked after children and servants with the greatest watchfulness, lesta moment of their time should be wasted. It was the rule of thehousehold that as soon as breakfast was over Mistress Mabel should takeher place in the high-backed chair at the head of the table in the"keeping room," or general sitting-room, and with Bessie and Bertram oneach side of her, at their lessons, a huge basket of work was brought toher side by one of the maids, and Mary and Maud were each set to work,making or mending garments for the family. Fancy-work was never heard ofin those days, and Mistress Mabel would not have allowed any to bebrought forward in her presence, if it had been. Sometimes, as a raretreat, when the lessons were well learned, a book was fetched from thelibrary, not a story-book--that would have been a waste of time,according to this lady's rule--but a learned treatise on some abstrusescience, which generally set Bessie and Bertram yawning, so that thereading was not much of a treat to them. Talking was not allowed fromany one until the children's lessons were learned, and not greatlyindulged in then. Later in the day, after the dairy had been visited andthe kitchen inspected, the spinning-wheels were brought out, and themaids, who had finished their household and dairy work, were set down tospin.
Harry had escaped from his aunt's dominion now, but his idle life was agreat eyesore to her, so that she took care no one else should share it.Under these circumstances it is easy to understand that, without at allintending it, a sort of suppression of what was really going on betweenthe two young men took place when they were with the rest of the family.That Gilbert Clayton was as staunch a Cavalier as themselves was takenfor granted; while he thought they fully understood his principles andthe cause he was engaged in, and believed it was from refinement offeeling that the matter was never referred to in his presence.
That he was helping his friend to see that the cause of the Parliamentwas a just, honest cause, and one that must be espoused if civil andreligious liberty were ever to be secured for England, he knew fullwell; but in doing this he believed he was only doing his duty, sinceHarry had come to him first to talk about these matters.
So the days and weeks went quietly on at Hayslope Grange, and the purecountry air had so invigorated Gilbert Clayton that he began to talk ofreturning to London, to make preparations for joining Lord Kimbolton'sarmy. Maud had heard that he was a soldier, and fully expected Harrywould speak to his father, and go to London with his friend.
She felt rather jealous of young Clayton, if the truth must be told, forhe quite monopolised Harry's society, so there had been no opportunityof resuming the conversation that his arrival had interrupted, or shemight have discovered the mistake she had made. Hearing nothing of this,and the day for Clayton's departure being fixed, she determined to seeksome opportunity of speaking to Harry. She was a noble, unselfish girl,and though she knew his going would cost her the bitterest pang she hadever felt, and be followed probably by weeks and months of anxioussuspense and dread, she would not hold him back--nay, she would urge himto go at the call of duty, though all the sunshine of her life woulddepart when he went; for months might pass before she heard of himagain, and he might be wounded, dying, or dead, and the tidings neverreach Hayslope Grange.
News travelled slowly in those days, and in the unsettled state ofaffairs could not always be relied upon; but tidings reached Hayslopejust now that the Parliament had seized the Archbishop of Canterbury,and his trial was now going on, the charges against him being that hehad tried to subvert civil and religious liberty in England, had beenthe author of illegal and tyrannical proceedings in the court of StarChamber, and had suppressed godly ministers and godly preaching.
But to the family at Hayslope Grange these charges were as nothingcompared to the guilt the Parliament had incurred in seizing an anointedprelate.
Master Drury lifted up his hands in silent horror when he heard it, andMistress Mabel burst into tears. The sight of their stern aunt cryingseemed to make more impression upon Bessie and Bertram than the fate ofthe archbishop.
"Was he very wicked?" asked Bessie.
This was enough to drive back Mistress Mabel's tears. "Wicked!" sherepeated, in anger. "Never let me hear you ask such a question about oneof the Lord's anointed, Bessie, unless you would share in the sin ofthose who have laid violent hands upon him."
"It is sacrilege," uttered Master Drury, slowly and solemnly.
Mistress Mabel, who did not often talk, found her tongue now, and usedit too, denouncing in the strongest terms the doings of the Parliament."What is to be the end of this evil generation, that worketh suchwickedness?" she said at last; and then, as if answering the query, wenton, "The land shall be desolate, and all the people perish." Bessie andBertram looked frightened. "What does that mean?" whispered the littlegirl; "won't the people in the village have anything to eat, becausethey are cruel to the archbishop?"
It was almost the first time any one at the Grange had thought of theirpoor neighbours, and the burden they were silently bearing under thesegreat changes. Taxes were high, food was scarce, and many of the men hadjoined the King's army; but none of the Drurys had thought of thesethings except Harry, and it was the little scraps of news he heard inthe village that first led him to doubt whether the royal cause were thejust one.
He and Gilbert Clayton were absent when the news concerning thearchbishop first reached Hayslope; but when they returned in the eveningHarry knew that something had happened, by the look of anxious troubleon his father's face, and the querulous restlessness of his aunt.
"What is the matter, Mary?" he asked, in an anxious whisper.
But Mary only held up her finger warningly. "The servants are comingin," she murmured; and at the same moment Mistress Mabel placed theBible in front of the high-backed chair at the head of the table, andMaster Drury slowly took his seat.
Prayers for the King, Gilbert and Harry could both join in; for theyhoped God would change his heart, and teach him that it was mostunkingly to break his promises again and again, as he had done. Butto-night it seemed that Master Drury could think of nothing but of theevil-doing of the Parliament in bringing the archbishop to trial; and heprayed that all their plans might be frustrated, the King brought backto his throne, and the archbishop restored to his charge; while thosewho had troubled them might be visited with dire calamities andafflictions.
His prayer was not concluded when Harry started from his knees and said,in a hoarse voice, "Stop, my father, I pray you; you know not for whatyou are asking."
All turned to look at him in silent, speechless wonder
--all but GilbertClayton, who rose from his knees and laid his hand upon Harry'sshoulder. "Come away," he whispered.
But Harry would not stir. "My father must not pray thus," he said, loudenough for any one to hear.
Master Drury and the rest slowly rose from their knees.
"Harry, my boy, you are ill," said the gentleman, in a tone ofcompassion.
"Prithee, now tell me where you have been racing all the day, to getyour head so disordered," said Mistress Mabel; and she despatched Maryto her store closet for some herb tea for Harry to take at once.
"I don't want the herb tea, aunt," said Harry, in a clear, calm voice."I am quite well; the sun has not affected my head, and I know quitewell what I am about."
Aunt Mabel looked incredulous; but his father, losing the fear ofillness, sat down in his chair, a dim feeling of a sorer trouble thanthis coming over him as he looked at Harry. "Sit down," he said, in atone of command to the rest, who stood just as they had risen from theirknees--"sit down and listen to the reason my son has to give forinterrupting our godly exercise this evening." And he looked towardsHarry as if waiting for his answer.
The young man instinctively drew a step nearer to Maud, as if mutelyasking her sympathy and support; but she was looking down upon the oakenfloor, utterly unable to comprehend what Harry could mean by thisstrange proceeding.
Harry seemed to feel that he had acted unwisely in yielding to hisimpulse; and he said, slowly, "Prithee, father, let me tell it toyourself alone."
"By my faith, that cannot be now, Harry," said Master Drury,energetically. "We have all been hindered in our devotions by yourfroward speech, and each has an equal right to hear your reason for it."
The men and maid-servants gathered at the end of the room pitied poorHarry in his confusion, and would have retreated, trusting to have theircuriosity gratified afterwards by the tell-tale tongue of Bessie orBertram; but Mistress Mabel's eye was upon them, and they knew theydared not go away.
Harry's face changed from an ashy whiteness to crimson as his fatherspoke, and then he went pale again as he said, "My father, do not forceme to speak out now; let me go to your study, and I will tell you allthat has been passing in my mind of late."
But Master Drury was inexorable when once he had made up his mind. "Myson, we are waiting," was all he said in reply to Harry's entreaty.
Harry drew himself up, and casting a hasty glance at Maud's bowedfigure, he said, "Father, I have resolved to cast in my lot with thepatriots who are striving to rescue this country from the grasp oftyrants; they are not the evil-doers you think them. It is the King andarchbishop and their advisers who are traitors, not the Parliament, orthe brave, true men who are fighting for it."
He might have been hurried into saying much more, but at this momentMaud fell to the ground with a piercing shriek; and at the same instantGilbert Clayton seized Harry's arm and dragged him from the room.
HARRY'S ANNOUNCEMENT.]