CHAPTER XVII.
About nine o’clock on the following morning, Hildebrand, coveredwith dust, and mounted on a jaded and travel-worn horse,having ridden all night, drew up at the gate of the palace ofWestminster. Announcing himself as a messenger from the LordAdmiral, he was forthwith conducted to Sir Ferdinand Georges; andby that personage, who officiated as Lord Chamberlain, marshalledto the presence of the Queen.
“An officer from my Lord Admiral, your Highness!” said SirFerdinand, on their entry.
The Queen started to her feet.
“What news, friend?” she cried to Hildebrand.
“God save your Highness!” replied Hildebrand, dropping on oneknee at her feet. “The Spanish armada is overcome!”
There was a pause for a moment, when a half-suppressed buzz, inwhich the Queen herself joined, broke from every one present.
“Now, God be thanked!” the Queen then cried, in a fervent tone.“Where is my Lord Admiral’s report?”
“His Lordship was so eager to advertise your Highness of thevictory,” answered Hildebrand, “that he deferred writing thereon,and sends his report by word of mouth. Sixteen ships of the enemyhave been captured, eight blown into the air, and five, aftera hard struggle, dismasted and sunk. The remainder have beendispersed.”
“’Tis a victory without parallel!” said the Queen. “What is thyname?”
“Hildebrand Clifford, my liege.”
“Ah!” cried the Queen. “We have had a good report of thee afore,and owe thee a meed. Give us thy sword, Sir!”
Hildebrand, still kneeling, drew forth his sword, and, with alow bow, placed it in the Queen’s hand. As she caught its hilt,the Queen raised it in the air, and slapped it lustily on hisshoulder.
“In the name of God, rise up, Sir Hildebrand Clifford, knight!”she exclaimed.
Hildebrand, though without being elated--for he had now no savourof earthly distinctions--received back his sword, and sprang tohis feet.
“I thank your Highness?” he said.
“Let us see thee here often,” replied the Queen, with a smile,“and before long, too. But, for the present, get thee hence, andbetake thee to rest; for we must straight pen a proclamation ofthy news to our loving subjects.”
With these words, she extended him her small hand; and, againbending his knee, he raised it to his lips. Then, with a low bow,he rose to his feet, and made his egress.
His flattering reception at court, so much beyond what he couldhave expected, had affected his spirits but very slightly,and, though he was far from looking dejected, his countenancepresented no trace of that fine, healthful buoyancy, whichhad once been its characteristic. The complexion of his mindwas no less grave and rigid. The oppressive sense of remorse,indeed, which had arisen out of his connexion with Inez, hadnow subsided, but it had left behind it a deep and settledimpression, very painful to endure. He looked at the issue of hissuit with Evaline, on which he had built his every hope, with asort of passionless sorrow--fixed and rooted, although free fromdespair! He was not sunk in despair! His fine sense of enjoyment,his elasticity of spirit, and his lightness of heart, it cannotbe denied, were lost; but his mind retained its vigour, and neverthought of bending before its bitter affliction.
On mounting his horse, he determined, as he knew no placenearer, to repair to the inn he had formerly lodged at, atAldgate; and there take some repose. He rode along slowly, andwas not ignorant that, as he progressed, he became an object ofcuriosity to the various passers-by, probably from his grave andtravel-worn aspect. But, however he might look in their eyes, theseveral wayfarers, certainly, looked no way cheerful in his; forevery individual face seemed full of anxiety and concern.
Though the hour was now advanced, the princely city, usually solively and bustling, was hardly astir, and, in the terror ofthe expected invasion, all business was at a standstill. Theunnatural repose became perfectly distressing as Hildebrandentered the Strand. Anxious to escape the view of it, he wasabout to spur on quicker, when, to his surprise, some one in hisrear called to him by name, and brought him to a stand. It wasBernard Gray.
A thrill of pleasure, such as he had not felt for some time, shotthrough Hildebrand’s bosom, as he discerned his well-approvedfriend; and, quickly alighting, he caught him eagerly by the hand.
“What news from the fleet?” cried Bernard, before he couldaddress him.
“The armada is overcome!” answered Hildebrand.
“Go to! Blessed be the Lord!” ejaculated Bernard. “But whylookest thou so mournful, Hildebrand?”
Hildebrand averted his head.
“Ah! is it even so?” cried Bernard. “Well, be of good heart!Shedlock and his wife are dead; I have approved thy mother’smarriage; and thy birthright, which thou fear’dst was lost, isrestored to thee. Thou art now the possessor of Clifford Place.”
“Ah, my good Bernard! what avail is it now?” answered Hildebrand.“These toys can please me no more.”
“Be of better heart!” rejoined Bernard. “The Spaniard, Don Felix,who was here of late, hath betook him to Spain, being advised byme that I would otherwise attach him as a spy.”
Hildebrand made no reply.
“Further,” resumed Bernard, “I have read the letter thou didstwrite me to Sir Edgar de Neville, and, I promise thee, hisworship’s bearing thereat was exceeding kind.”
“But what said Evaline?” asked Hildebrand.
“I saw not her,” answered Bernard, “but only the knight. As Iread thy letter to him, he would seize me, now and anon, eagerlyby the hand, and cry me--‘My poor boy! my brave Hildebrand!’and, in conclusion, he said, ‘’t was well done--excellent welldone;’ and he would unfold it to his fair daughter, so he would.”
“And did he?” asked Hildebrand, anxiously.
“That know I not,” replied Bernard. “But let us forward! I havesome business in the Temple here, with one Master Gilbert, alawyer; and, afterwards, thou shalt command me. Let us thithertogether!”
Hildebrand offered no objection to his proposal; and, remountinghis horse, they set forward, and proceeded towards the Temple.They shortly arrived thither; and Hildebrand, by Bernard’sdirection, then gave his horse in care of one of the porters, andalighted.
The lodgings of Master Gilbert, Bernard’s lawyer, were justwithin the Temple-gate, on an upper floor, looking out onTemple-bar. They soon gained access to the lower floor, the doorof which was open. Within, on their entry, they found threeindividuals--one of whom was Master Gilbert’s scrivener, orclerk; and the remaining two, who were no other than Abigail andZedekiah, have already appeared on the stage of our history.
The two servants, who had been sitting down just before, startedup on the appearance of Bernard, and advanced to accost him.
“Who are these?” inquired Hildebrand.
“The servants of the Lord,” answered Abigail.
Bernard smiled. “They are poor, honest clowns,” he said toHildebrand, “whom I would, with thy leave, provide for in thyhousehold.”
“Have it so!” returned Hildebrand. “But where didst thou pickthem up?”
“They were the servants of Shedlock,” replied Bernard.
“’Twas a goodly sight--a night-burying!” remarked Zedekiah.
“Ay, ay, but be of good cheer!” said Bernard. “You hear, you haveboth a provision! Now, Master Hildebrand, let us on!”
Without more words, he led the way up a contiguous staircase,followed by Hildebrand. On reaching the summit, he paused beforea neighbouring door, leading to Master Gilbert’s chamber, which,without tarrying to solicit admittance, he immediately threw open.
As the door was thus thrown back, Hildebrand’s glance fell, noton the hard countenance of the lawyer, but on the faces of SirEdgar and Evaline. It required but that one glance, brief asit was, to assure him that he was forgiven--that the height ofearthly fruition was still his; and, with a heart overflowingwith joy, he darted into the chamber, and caught Evaline in hisarms.
“Mine!--my own true love
!” he exclaimed, as he pressed theblushing girl to his bosom.
“And with my free consent,” smiled Sir Edgar, in broken accents.
Hildebrand could not speak for a moment.
“When?” he said, at length.
“To-morrow, an’ it so like thee,” answered Sir Edgar.
Hildebrand, still holding Evaline to his bosom, bent down to herear.
“Shall it be so, sweet Evaline?” he whispered.
The fair girl, whether overcome with her emotion, or restrainedby those delicate scruples of her sex, which constitute the charmof modesty, rendered him no oral reply, but gently pressed histrembling hand. As she did so, a loud flourish of trumpets, thatmade the ear ring again, was heard without.
“What have we here?” cried Bernard.
Thus speaking, he rushed forwards to the chamber-casement, andthrew it open.
A concourse of citizens were assembled below; and at Temple-bar,under the archway of the gate, were a troop of mounted heralds,sounding trumpets. As Bernard appeared at the window, the musicceased, and one of the heralds, holding a written paper in hishand, spurred to the front, and, amidst a profound silence,delivered the following
=_Proclamation._=
“Elizabeth, by the Grace of God, of England, France, and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith, to our loyal citizens of London, and all others, our loving lieges, greeting:--
“Whereas it is not unknown to us, that our right trusty and singular good subjects, throughout this our realm, look with exceeding alarm for the event and issue of that armada, which, as they are well advised, hath been directed against the peace of God’s Church, and the honour and security of our crown, by Philip, King of Spain, and others,--
“And whereas, it hath ever been our royal care, since we espoused this crown and people, to deliver them, our aforesaid subjects, from all concern and tribulation, and make them and their hearts our happy and only husband,--
“Be it known unto all men, by these presents, that we have this morning received an advertisement from our Admiral, my Lord Howard of Effingham, setting forth that he hath, with great slaughter of the enemy, entirely overcome, and utterly put to the rout, the said Armada, for which we humbly give God our hearty thanks.
“Given under our hand and seal, at our court of Westminster, this 30th day of July, in the year of our Lord God 1588, and the thirtieth year of our reign. “ELIZABETH, R.”
As the herald ceased speaking, the roar of the Tower guns, firinga _feu de joie_, burst on the ear; and the voices of the populacerose in one heart-thrilling shout of
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!
THE END.
London: HENRY RICHARDS, Brydges street, Covent-garden.
Transcriber’s Notes:
Period spelling and hyphenation were retained. Missingpunctuation added; extraneous punctuation (quotation marks)removed. However, the following apparent printing errors weredetected and corrected (where possible).
“accurary” changed to “accuracy” on page 5. (with surprisingaccuracy)
“no” changed to “not” on page 24. (and a not very encouragingfeature)
“crted” on page 58 is probably a printing error, but the originalword could not be determined (the chill of horror that crted overhis brain)
“thoughs” changed to “thoughts” on page 68. (struggle with herthoughts unaided)
“familar” changed to “familiar” on page 79. (familiar to me asMaster Clifford’s)
“exhilirate” changed to “exhilarate” on page 177, to match otheroccurrences of the word. (to exhilarate her father)
“molestatation” changed to “molestation” on page 251. (sheencountered no molestation)
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