CHAPTER XII.
"Food for powder; they'll fill a pit as well as better."_Falstaff_.
The three men who now entered the apartment appeared to be nothingdaunted by the presence into which they were ushered, though clad in thecoarse and weather-beaten vestments of seamen who had been exposedto recent and severe duty. They silently obeyed the direction of thesoldier's finger, and took their stations in a distant corner of theroom, like men who knew the deference due to rank, at the same timethat the habits of their lives had long accustomed them to encounter thevicissitudes of the world. With this slight preparation Colonel Howardbegan the business of examination.
"I trust ye are all good and loyal subjects," the veteran commenced,with a considerate respect for innocence, "but the times are suchthat even the most worthy characters become liable to suspicion; and,consequently, if our apprehensions should prove erroneous, you mustoverlook the mistake, and attribute it to the awful condition into whichrebellion has plunged this empire. We have much reason to fear that someproject is about to be undertaken on the coast by the enemy, who hasappeared, we know, with a frigate and schooner; and the audacity of therebels is only equaled by their shameless and wicked disrespect for therights of the sovereign."
While Colonel Howard was uttering his apologetic preamble, the prisonersfastened their eyes on him with much interest; but when he alludedto the apprehended attack, the gaze of two of them became more keenlyattentive, and, before he concluded, they exchanged furtive glances ofdeep meaning. No reply was made, however, and after a short pause, asif to allow time for his words to make a proper impression, the veterancontinued:
"We have no evidence, I understand, that you are in the smallest degreeconnected with the enemies of this country; but as you have been foundout of the king's highway, or, rather, on a by-path, which I mustconfess is frequently used by the people of the neighborhood, but whichis nevertheless nothing but a by-path, it becomes no more than whatself-preservation requires of us, to ask you a few such questions as Itrust will be satisfactorily answered. To use your own nautical phrases,'From whence came ye, pray?' and 'whither are ye bound?'"
A low, deep voice replied:
"From Sunderland, last, and bound, overland, to Whitehaven."
This simple and direct answer was hardly given, before the attention ofthe listeners was called to Alice Dunscombe, who uttered a faint shriek,and rose from her seat involuntarily, while her eyes seemed to rollfearfully, and perhaps a little wildly, round the room.
"Are you ill, Miss Alice?" said the sweet, soothing tones of CeciliaHoward; "you are, indeed you are: lean on me, that I may lead you toyour apartment."
"Did you hear it, or was it only fancy?" she answered, her cheekblanched to the whiteness of death, and her whole frame shuddering as ifin convulsions; "say, did you hear it, too?"
"I have heard nothing but the voice of my uncle, who is standing nearyou, anxious, as we all are, for your recovery from this dreadfulagitation."
Alice still gazed wildly from face to face. Her eye did not restsatisfied with dwelling on those who surrounded her, but surveyed, witha sort of frantic eagerness, the figures and appearance of the threemen, who stood in humble patience, the silent and unmoved witnesses ofthis extraordinary scene. At length she veiled her eyes with both herhands, as if to shut out some horrid vision, and then removing them, shesmiled languidly, as she signed for Cecilia to assist her from the room.To the polite and assiduous offers of the gentlemen, she returned noother thanks than those conveyed in her looks and gestures; but when thesentinels who paced the gallery were passed, and the ladies were alone,she breathed a long, shivering sigh, and found an utterance.
"'Twas like a voice from the silent grave!" she said, "but it could beno more than mockery. No, no, 'tis a just punishment for letting theimage of the creature fill the place that should be occupied only withthe Creator. Ah! Miss Howard, Miss Plowden, ye are both young--in thepride of your beauty and loveliness--but little do ye know, and less doye dread, the temptations and errors of a sinful world."
"Her thoughts wander!" whispered Katherine, with anxious tenderness,"some awful calamity has affected her intellect!"
"Yes, it must be; my sinful thoughts have wandered, and conjured soundsthat it would have been dreadful to hear in truth, and within thesewalls," said Alice, more composedly, smiling with a ghastly expression,as she gazed on the two beautiful, solicitous maidens who supported heryielding person. "But the moment of weakness is passed, and I am better;aid me to my room, and return, that you may not interrupt the revivingharmony between yourselves and Colonel Howard. I am now better--nay, Iam quite restored."
"Say not so, dear Miss Alice," returned Cecilia; "your face denies whatyour kindness to us induces you to utter; ill, very ill, you are, norshall even your own commands induce me to leave you."
"Remain, then," said Miss Dunscombe, bestowing a look of gratefulaffection on her lovely supporter; "and while our Katherine returns tothe drawing-room, to give the gentlemen their coffee, you shall continuewith me, as my gentle nurse."
By this time they had gained the apartment, and Katherine, afterassisting her cousin to place Alice on her bed, returned to do thehonors of the drawing-room.
Colonel Howard ceased his examination of the prisoners, at her entrance,to inquire, with courtly solicitude, after the invalid; and, when hisquestions were answered, he again proceeded, as follows:
"This is what the lads would call plain sailing, Borroughcliffe:they are out of employment in Sunderland, and have acquaintances andrelatives in Whitehaven, to whom they are going for assistance andlabor. All very probable, and perfectly harmless."
"Nothing more so, my respectable host," returned the jocund soldier;"but it seemeth a grievous misfortune that a trio of such flesh andblood should need work wherewithal to exercise their thews and sinews,while so many of the vessels of his majesty's fleet navigate the oceanin quest of the enemies of old England."
"There is truth in that; much truth in your remark," cried the colonel."What say you, my lads, will you fight the Frenchmen and the Don----ay!and even my own rebellious and infatuated countrymen? Nay, by heaven,it is not a trifle that shall prevent his majesty from possessing theservices of three such heroes. Here are five guineas apiece for youthe moment that you put foot on board the Alacrity cutter; and that caneasily be done, as she lies at anchor this very night, only two shortleagues to the south of this, in a small port, where she is riding outthe gale as snugly as if she were in a corner of this room."
One of the men affected to gaze at the money with longing eyes, while heasked, as if weighing the terms of the engagement:
"Whether the Alacrity was called a good sea-boat, and was thought togive a comfortable berth to her crew?"
"Comfortable!" echoed Borroughcliffe; "for that matter, she is calledthe bravest cutter in the navy. You have seen much of the world, I daresay; did you ever see such a place as the marine arsenal at Carthagena,in old Spain?"
"Indeed I have, sir," returned the seaman, in a cool, collected tone.
"Ah! you have! well, did you ever meet with a house in Paris that theycall the Tuileries? because it's a dog-kennel to the Alacrity."
"I have even fallen in with the place you mention, sir," returned thesailor; "and must own the berth quite good enough for such as I am, ifit tallies with your description."
"The deuce take these blue-jackets," muttered Borroughcliffe, addressinghimself unconsciously to Miss Plowden, near whom he happened to be atthe time; "they run their tarry countenances into all the corners of theearth, and abridge a man most lamentably in his comparisons. Now, whothe devil would have thought that fellow had ever put his sea-green eyeson the palace of King Louis?"
Katherine heeded not his speech, but sat eying the prisoners with aconfused and wavering expression of countenance, while Colonel Howardrenewed the discourse, by exclaiming:
"Come, come, Borroughcliffe, let us give the lads no tales for arecruit, but good, plain, honest English--God bless
the language, andthe land for which it was first made, too! There is no necessity to tellthese men, if they are, what they seem to be, practical seamen, that acutter of ten guns contains all the room and accommodation of a palace."
"Do you allow nothing for English oak and English comfort, mine host?"said the immovable captain; "do you think, good sir, that I measurefitness and propriety by square and compass, as if I were planningSolomon's temple anew? All I mean to say is, that the Alacrity is avessel of singular compactness and magical arrangement of room. Like thetent of that handsome brother of the fairy, in the Arabian Nights, sheis big or she is little, as occasion needeth; and now, hang me, if Idon't think I have uttered more in her favor than her commander wouldsay to help me to a recruit, though no lad in the three kingdoms shouldappear willing to try how a scarlet coat would suit his boorish figure."
"That time has not yet arrived, and God forbid that it ever should,while the monarch needs a soldier in the field to protect his rights.But what say ye, my men? you have heard the recommendation thatCaptain Borroughcliffe has given of the Alacrity, which is altogethertrue--after making some allowances for language. Will ye serve? shall Iorder you a cheering glass a man, and lay by the gold, till I hearfrom the cutter that you are enrolled under the banners of the best ofkings?"
Katherine Plowden, who hardly seemed to breathe, so close and intent wasthe interest with which she regarded the seamen, fancied she observedlurking smiles on their faces; but if her conjectures were true, theirdisposition to be merry went no further, and the one who had spokenhitherto replied, in the same calm manner as before:
"You will excuse us if we decline shipping in the cutter, sir; we areused to distant voyages and large vessels, whereas the Alacrity is keptat coast duty, and is not of a size to lay herself alongside of a Don ora Frenchman with a double row of teeth."
"If you prefer that sort of sport, you must to the right about forYarmouth; there you will find ships that will meet anything that swims,"said the colonel.
"Perhaps the gentlemen would prefer abandoning the cares and dangers ofthe ocean for a life of ease and gayety," said the captain. "The handthat has long dallied with a marlinspike may be easily made to feela trigger, as gracefully as a lady touches the keys of her piano. Inshort, there is and there is not a great resemblance between the lifeof a sailor and that of a soldier. There are no gales of wind, nor shortallowances, nor reefing topsails, nor shipwrecks, among soldiers; and,at the same time, there is just as much, or even more, grog-drinking,jollifying, care-killing fun around a canteen and an open knapsack,than there is on the end of a mess-chest, with a full can and aSaturday-night's breeze. I have crossed the ocean several times, and Imust own that a ship, in good weather, is very much the same as a campor comfortable barracks; mind, I say only in very good weather."
"We have no doubt that all you say is true, sir," observed the spokesmanof the three; "but what to you may seem a hardship, to us is pleasure.We have faced too many a gale to mind a capful of wind, and should thinkourselves always in the calm latitudes in one of your barracks, wherethere is nothing to do but to eat our grub and to march a little foreand aft a small piece of green earth. We hardly know one end of a musketfrom the other."
"No!" said Borroughcliffe, musing; and then advancing with a quick steptoward them, he cried, in a spirited manner: "Attention! right! dress!"
The speaker, and the seaman next him, gazed at the captain in silentwonder; but the third individual of the party, who had drawn himself alittle aside, as if willing to be unnoticed, or perhaps pondering on hiscondition, involuntarily started at this unexpected order, and erectinghimself, threw his head to the right as promptly as if he had been on aparade-ground.
"Oho! ye are apt scholars, gentlemen, and ye can learn, I see,"continued Borroughcliffe. "I feel it to be proper that I detain thesemen till to-morrow morning, Colonel Howard; and yet I would give thembetter quarters than the hard benches of the guard-room."
"Act your pleasure. Captain Borroughcliffe," returned the host, "so youdo but your duty to our royal master. They shall not want for cheer, andthey can have a room over the servants' offices in the south side of theabbey."
"Three rooms, my colonel, three rooms must be provided, though I give upmy own."
"There are several-small empty apartments there, where blankets mightbe taken, and the men placed for safe-keeping, if you deem it necessary;though, to me, they seem like good, loyal tars, whose greatest glory itwould be to serve their prince, and whose chief pleasure would consistin getting alongside of a Don or a Monsieur."
"We shall discuss these matters anon," said Borroughcliffe, dryly. "Isee Miss Plowden begins to look grave at our abusing her patienceso long, and I know that cold coffee is, like withered love, but atasteless sort of a beverage. Come, gentlemen, _en avant!_ you haveseen the Tuileries, and must have heard a little French. Mr. ChristopherDillon, know you where these three small apartments are 'situate, lying,and being,' as your parchments read?"
"I do, sir," said the complying lawyer, "and shall take much pleasurein guiding you to them. I think your decision that of a prudent andsagacious officer, and much doubt whether Durham Castle, or some otherfortress, will be thought too big to hold them, ere long."
As this speech was uttered while the men were passing from the room, itseffect on them was unnoticed; but Katherine Plowden, who was left fora few moments by herself, sat and pondered over what she had seen andheard, with a thoughtfulness of manner that was not usual to her gayand buoyant spirits. The sounds of the retiring footsteps, however,gradually grew fainter, and the return of her guardian alone recalledthe recollection of the young lady to the duties of her situation.
While engaged in the little offices of the tea-table, Katherine threwmany furtive glances at the veteran; but, although he seemed to bemusing, there was nothing austere or suspicious in his frank, opencountenance, "There is much useless trouble taken with these wanderingseamen, sir," said Katherine, at length; "it seems to be the particularprovince of Mr. Christopher Dillon to make all that come in contact withhim excessively uncomfortable."
"And what has Kit to do with the detention of the men?"
"What! why, has he not undertaken to stand godfather to theirprisons?--by a woman's patience, I think, Colonel Howard, this businesswill gain a pretty addition to the names of St. Ruth. It is alreadycalled a house, an abbey, a place, and by some a castle; let Mr. Dillonhave his way for a month, and it will add jail to the number."
"Kit is not so happy as to possess the favor of Miss Plowden; but stillKit is a worthy fellow, and a good fellow, and a sensible fellow; ay!and what is of more value than all these put together, Miss Katherine,Mr. Christopher Dillon is a faithful and loyal subject to his prince.His mother was my cousin-german, madam, and I cannot say how soon Imay call him my nephew. The Dillons are of good Irish extraction, andI believe that even Miss Plowden will admit that the Howards have somepretensions to a name."
"Ah! it is those very things called names that I most allude to," saidKatherine, quickly, "But an hour since you were indignant, my dearguardian, because you suspected that I insinuated you ought to writejailer behind the name of Howard, and even now you submit to have theoffice palmed upon you."
"You forget, Miss Katherine Plowden, that it is the pleasure of one ofhis majesty's officers to detain these men."
"But I thought that the glorious British constitution, which you sooften mention," interrupted the young lady, spiritedly, "gives libertyto all who touch these blessed shores; you know, sir, that out of twentyblacks that you brought with you, how few remain; the rest having fledon the wings of the spirit of British liberty!"
This was touching a festering sore in the colonel's feelings, and hisprovoking ward well knew the effects her observation was likely toproduce. Her guardian did not break forth in a violent burst of rage, orfurnish those manifestations of his ire that he was wont to do on lessimportant subjects; but he arose, with all his dignity concentred in alook, and, after making a violent eff
ort to restrain his feelings withinthe bounds necessary to preserve the decorum of his exit, he ventured areply:
"That the British constitution is glorious, madam, is most true. Thatthis island is the sole refuge where liberty has been able to find ahome, is also true. The tyranny and oppression of the Congress, whichare grinding down the colonies to the powder of desolation and poverty,are not worthy the sacred name. Rebellion pollutes all that it touches,madam. Although it often commences under the sanction of holy liberty,it ever terminates in despotism. The annals of the world, from the timeof the Greeks and Romans down to the present day, abundantly prove it.There was that Julius Caesar--he was one of your people's men, and heended a tyrant. Oliver Cromwell was another--a rebel, a demagogue, anda tyrant. The gradations, madam, are as inevitable as from childhoodto youth, and from youth to age. As for the little affair that you havebeen pleased to mention, of the--of the--of my private concerns, I canonly say that the affairs of nations are not to be judged of by domesticincidents, any more than domestic occurrences are to be judged of bynational politics." The colonel, like many a better logician, mistookhis antithesis for argument, and paused a moment to admire his owneloquence; but the current of his thoughts, which always flowedin torrents on this subject, swept him along in its course, and hecontinued: "Yes, madam, here, and here alone, is true liberty to befound. With this solemn asseveration, which is not lightly made, butwhich is the result of sixty years' experience, I leave you. MissPlowden; let it be a subject of deep reflection with you, for I too wellunderstand your treacherous feelings not to know that your politicalerrors encourage your personal foibles; reflect, for your own sake,if you love not only your own happiness, but your respectability andstanding in the world. As for the black hounds that you spoke of, theyare a set of rebellious, mutinous, ungrateful rascals; and if ever Imeet one of the damned----"
The colonel had so far controlled his feelings, as to leave the presenceof the lady before he broke out into the bitter invectives we haverecorded, and Katherine stood a minute, pressing her forefinger on herlips, listening to his voice as it grumbled along the gallery, untilthe sounds were finally excluded by the closing of a distant door. Thewillful girl then shook her dark locks, and a smile of arch mischiefblended with an expression of regret in her countenance, as she spoke toherself, while with hurried hands she threw her tea equipage aside in aconfused pile:
"It was perhaps a cruel experiment, but it has succeeded. Thoughprisoners ourselves, we are at least left free for the remainder of thisnight. These mysterious sailors must be examined more closely. If theproud eye of Edward Griffith was not glaring under the black wig ofone of them, I am no judge of features; and where has Master Barnstableconcealed his charming visage? for neither of the others could be he.But now for Cecilia."
Her light form glided from the room, while she was yet speaking; andflitting along the dimly lighted passages, it disappeared in one ofthose turnings that led to the more secret apartments of the abbey.