CHAPTER XVI
And let me the canakin clink, clink, And let me the canakin clink. A soldier's a man; A life's but a span; Why, then, let a soldier drink. --_Othello_.
The position held by the corps of dragoons, we have already said, was afavorite place of halting with their commander. A cluster of some halfdozen small and dilapidated buildings formed what, from the circumstanceof two roads intersecting each other at right angles, was called thevillage of the Four Corners. As usual, one of the most imposing of theseedifices had been termed, in the language of the day, "a house ofentertainment for man and beast." On a rough board suspended from thegallows-looking post that had supported the ancient sign, was, however,written in red chalk, "Elizabeth Flanagan, her hotel," an ebullition ofthe wit of some of the idle wags of the corps. The matron, whose namehad thus been exalted to an office of such unexpected dignity,ordinarily discharged the duties of a female sutler, washerwoman, and,to use the language of Katy Haynes, petticoat doctor to the troops. Shewas the widow of a soldier who had been killed in the service, and who,like herself, was a native of a distant island, and had early tried hisfortune in the colonies of North America. She constantly migrated withthe troops; and it was seldom that they became stationary for two daysat a time but the little cart of the bustling woman was seen drivinginto the encampment loaded with such articles as she conceived wouldmake her presence most welcome. With a celerity that seemed almostsupernatural, Betty took up her ground and commenced her occupation.Sometimes the cart itself was her shop; at others the soldiers made hera rude shelter of such materials as offered; but on the presentoccasion she had seized on a vacant building, and, by dint of stuffingthe dirty breeches and half-dried linen of the troopers into the brokenwindows, to exclude the cold, which had now become severe, she formedwhat she herself had pronounced to be "most illigant lodgings." The menwere quartered in the adjacent barns, and the officers collected in the"Hotel Flanagan," as they facetiously called headquarters. Betty waswell known to every trooper in the corps, could call each by hisChristian or nickname, as best suited her fancy; and, althoughabsolutely intolerable to all whom habit had not made familiar with hervirtues, was a general favorite with these partisan warriors. Her faultswere, a trifling love of liquor, excessive filthiness, and a totaldisregard of all the decencies of language; her virtues, an unboundedlove for her adopted country, perfect honesty when dealing on certainknown principles with the soldiery, and great good nature. Added tothese, Betty had the merit of being the inventor of that beverage whichis so well known, at the present hour, to all the patriots who make awinter's march between the commercial and political capitals of thisgreat state, and which is distinguished by the name of "cocktail."Elizabeth Flanagan was peculiarly well qualified, by education andcircumstances, to perfect this improvement in liquors, having beenliterally brought up on its principal ingredient, and having acquiredfrom her Virginian customers the use of mint, from its flavor in a julepto its height of renown in the article in question. Such, then, was themistress of the mansion, who, reckless of the cold northern blasts,showed her blooming face from the door of the building to welcome thearrival of her favorite, Captain Lawton, and his companion, her masterin matters of surgery.
"Ah! by my hopes of promotion, my gentle Elizabeth, but you arewelcome!" cried the trooper, as he threw himself from his saddle. "Thisvillainous fresh-water gas from the Canadas has been whistling among mybones till they ache with the cold, but the sight of your fierycountenance is as cheery as a Christmas fire."
"Now sure, Captain Jack, ye's always full of your complimentaries,"replied the sutler, taking the bridle of her customer. "But hurry in forthe life of you, darling; the fences hereabouts are not so strong as inthe Highlands, and there's that within will warm both sowl and body."
"So you have been laying the rails under contribution, I see. Well, thatmay do for the body," said the captain coolly; "but I have had a pull ata bottle of cut glass with a silver stand, and I doubt my relish foryour whisky for a month to come."
"If it's silver or goold that ye're thinking of, it's but little I have,though I've a trifling bit of the continental," said Betty, with a lookof humor; "but there's that within that's fit to be put in vissils ofdi'monds."
"What can she mean, Archibald?" asked Lawton. "The animal looks as if itmeant more than it says!"
"'Tis probably a wandering of the reasoning powers, created by thefrequency of intoxicating drafts," observed the surgeon, as hedeliberately threw his left leg over the pommel of the saddle, and sliddown on the right side of his horse.
"Faith, my dear jewel of a doctor, but it was this side I was expictingyou; the whole corps come down on this side but yeerself," said Betty,winking at the trooper; "but I've been feeding the wounded, in yeerabsence, with the fat of the land."
"Barbarous stupidity!" cried the panic-stricken physician, "to feed menlaboring under the excitement of fever with powerful nutriment. Woman,woman, you are enough to defeat the skill of Hippocrates!"
"Pooh!" said Betty, with infinite composure, "what a botheration ye makeabout a little whisky; there was but a gallon betwixt a good dozen ofthem, and I gave it to the boys to make them sleep asy; sure, jist asslumbering drops."
Lawton and his companion now entered the building, and the firstobjects which met their eyes explained the hidden meaning of Betty'scomfortable declaration. A long table, made of boards torn from the sideof an outbuilding, was stretched through the middle of the largestapartment, or the barroom, and on it was a very scanty display ofcrockery ware. The steams of cookery arose from an adjoining kitchen,but the principal attraction was in a demijohn of fair proportions,which had been ostentatiously placed on high by Betty as the object mostworthy of notice. Lawton soon learned that it was teeming with the realamber-colored juice of the grape, and had been sent from the Locusts, asan offering to Major Dunwoodie, from his friend Captain Wharton of theroyal army.
"And a royal gift it is," said the grinning subaltern, who made theexplanation. "The major gives us an entertainment in honor of ourvictory, and you see the principal expense is borne as it should be, bythe enemy. Zounds! I am thinking that after we have primed with suchstuff, we could charge through Sir Henry's headquarters, and carry offthe knight himself."
The captain of dragoons was in no manner displeased at the prospect ofterminating so pleasantly a day that had been so agreeably commenced. Hewas soon surrounded by his comrades, who made many eager inquiriesconcerning his adventures, while the surgeon proceeded, with certainquakings of the heart, to examine into the state of his wounded.Enormous fires were snapping in the chimneys of the house, supersedingthe necessity of candles, by the bright light which was thrown from theblazing piles. The group within were all young men and tried soldiers;in number they were rather more than a dozen, and their manners andconversation were a strange mixture of the bluntness of the partisanwith the manners of gentlemen. Their dresses were neat, though plain;and a never-failing topic amongst them was the performance and qualityof their horses. Some were endeavoring to sleep on the benches whichlined the walls, some were walking the apartments, and others wereseated in earnest discussion on subjects connected with the business oftheir lives. Occasionally, as the door of the kitchen opened, thehissing sounds of the frying pans and the inviting savor of the foodcreated a stagnation in all other employments; even the sleepers, atsuch moments, would open their eyes, and raise their heads, toreconnoiter the state of the preparations. All this time Dunwoodie satby himself, gazing at the fire, and lost in reflections which none ofhis officers presumed to disturb. He had made earnest inquiries ofSitgreaves after the condition of Singleton, during which a profound andrespectful silence was maintained in the room; but as soon as he hadended, and resumed his seat, the usual ease and freedom prevailed.
The arrangement of the table was a matter of but little concern to Mrs.Flanagan; and Caesar would have been sadly scandalized at witnessing theinformality with
which various dishes, each bearing a wonderfulresemblance to the others, were placed before so many gentlemen ofconsideration. In taking their places at the board, the strictestattention was paid to precedency; for, notwithstanding the freedom ofmanners which prevailed in the corps, the points of military etiquettewere at all times observed, with something approaching to religiousveneration. Most of the guests had been fasting too long to be in anydegree fastidious in their appetites; but the case was different withCaptain Lawton; he felt an unaccountable loathing at the exhibition ofBetty's food, and could not refrain from making a few passing commentson the condition of the knives, and the clouded aspect of the plates.The good nature and the personal affection of Betty for the offender,restrained her, for some time, from answering his innuendoes, untilLawton, having ventured to admit a piece of the black meat into hismouth, inquired, with the affectation of a spoiled child,--
"What kind of animal might this have been when living, Mrs. Flanagan?"
"Sure, captain, and wasn't it the ould cow?" replied the sutler, with awarmth that proceeded partly from dissatisfaction at the complaints ofher favorite, and partly from grief at the loss of the deceased.
"What!" roared the trooper, stopping short as he was about to swallowhis morsel, "ancient Jenny!"
"The devil!" cried another, dropping his knife and fork, "she who madethe campaign of the Jerseys with us?"
"The very same," replied the mistress of the hotel, with a piteousaspect of woe; "a gentle baste, and one that could and did live on lessthan air, at need. Sure, gentlemen, 'tis awful to have to eat sitch anould friend."
"And has she sunk to this?" said Lawton, pointing with his knife, to theremnants on the table.
"Nay, captain," said Betty, with spirit, "I sould two of her quarters tosome of your troop; but divil the word did I tell the boys what an ouldfrind it was they had bought, for fear it might damage their appetites."
"Fury!" cried the trooper, with affected anger, "I shall have my fellowsas limber as supple-jacks on such fare; afraid of an Englishman as aVirginian negro is of his driver."
"Well," said Lieutenant Mason, dropping his knife and fork in a kind ofdespair, "my jaws have more sympathy than many men's hearts. Theyabsolutely decline making any impression on the relics of their oldacquaintance."
"Try a drop of the gift," said Betty, soothingly, pouring a largeallowance of the wine into a bowl, and drinking it off as taster to thecorps. "Faith, 'tis but a wishy-washy sort of stuff after all!"
The ice once broken, however, a clear glass of wine was handed toDunwoodie, who, bowing to his companions, drank the liquor in the midstof a profound silence. For a few glasses there was much formalityobserved, and sundry patriotic toasts and sentiments were duly noticedby the company. The liquor, however, performed its wonted office; andbefore the second sentinel at the door had been relieved, allrecollection of the dinner and their cares was lost in the presentfestivity. Dr. Sitgreaves did not return in season to partake of Jenny,but he was in time to receive his fair proportion of CaptainWharton's present.
"A song, a song from Captain Lawton!" cried two or three of the party ina breath, on observing the failure of some of the points ofgood-fellowship in the trooper. "Silence, for the song ofCaptain Lawton."
"Gentlemen," returned Lawton, his dark eyes swimming with the bumpers hehad finished, though his head was as impenetrable as a post; "I am notmuch of a nightingale, but, under the favor of your good wishes, Iconsent to comply with the demand."
"Now, Jack," said Sitgreaves, nodding on his seat, "remember the air Itaught you, and--stop, I have a copy of the words in my pocket."
"Forbear, forbear, good doctor," said the trooper, filling his glasswith great deliberation; "I never could wheel round those hard names.Gentlemen, I will give you a humble attempt of my own."
"Silence, for Captain Lawton's song!" roared five or six at once; whenthe trooper proceeded, in a fine, full tone, to sing the following wordsto a well-known bacchanalian air, several of his comrades helping himthrough the chorus with a fervor that shook the crazy edifice theywere in:--
Now push the mug, my jolly boys, And live, while live we can; To-morrow's sun may end your joys, For brief's the hour of man. And he who bravely meets the foe His lease of life can never know. Old mother Flanagan Come and fill the can again! For you can fill, and we can swill, Good Betty Flanagan.
If love of life pervades your breast, Or love of ease your frame, Quit honor's path for peaceful rest, And bear a coward's name; For soon and late, we danger know, And fearless on the saddle go. Old mother, etc.
When foreign foes invade the land, And wives and sweethearts call, In freedom's cause we'll bravely stand Or will as bravely fall; In this fair home the fates have given We'll live as lords, or live in heaven. Old mother, etc.
At each appeal made to herself, by the united voices of the choir, Bettyinvariably advanced and complied literally with the request contained inthe chorus, to the infinite delight of the singers, and with no smallparticipation in the satisfaction on her account. The hostess wasprovided with a beverage more suited to the high seasoning to which shehad accustomed her palate, than the tasteless present of CaptainWharton; by which means Betty had managed, with tolerable facility, tokeep even pace with the exhilaraton of her guests. The applause receivedby Captain Lawton was general, with the exception of the surgeon, whorose from the bench during the first chorus, and paced the floor, in aflow of classical indignation. The bravos and bravissimos drowned allother noises for a short time; but as they gradually ceased, the doctorturned to the musician, and exclaimed with heat,--
"Captain Lawton, I marvel that a gentleman, and a gallant officer, canfind no other subject for his muse, in these times of trial, than insuch beastly invocations to that notorious follower of the camp, thefilthy Elizabeth Flanagan. Methinks the goddess of Liberty could furnisha more noble inspiration, and the sufferings of your country a morebefitting theme."
"Heyday!" shouted the hostess, advancing towards him in a threateningattitude; "and who is it that calls me filthy? Master Squirt!Master Popgun--"
"Peace!" said Dunwoodie, in a voice that was exerted but a little morethan common, but which was succeeded by the stillness of death. "Woman,leave the room. Dr. Sitgreaves, I call you to your seat, to wait theorder of the revels."
"Proceed, proceed," said the surgeon, drawing himself up in an attitudeof dignified composure. "I trust, Major Dunwoodie, I am not unacquaintedwith the rules of decorum, nor ignorant of the by-laws ofgood-fellowship." Betty made a hasty but somewhat devious retreat to herown dominions, being unaccustomed to dispute the orders of thecommanding officer.
"Major Dunwoodie will honor us with a sentimental song," said Lawton,bowing to his leader, with the collected manner he so well knew howto assume.
The major hesitated a moment, and then sang, with fine execution, thefollowing words:--
Some love the heats of southern suns, Where's life's warm current maddening runs, In one quick circling stream; But dearer far's the mellow light Which trembling shines, reflected bright In Luna's milder beam.
Some love the tulip's gaudier dyes, Where deepening blue with yellow vies, And gorgeous beauty glows; But happier he, whose bridal wreath, By love entwined, is found to breathe The sweetness of the rose.
The voice of Dunwoodie never lost its authority with his inferiors; andthe applause which followed his song, though by no means so riotous asthat which succeeded the effort of the captain, was much moreflattering.
"If, sir," said the doctor, after joining in the plaudits of hiscompanions, "you would but learn to unite classical allusions with yourdelicate imagination you would become a pretty amateur poet."
"He who criticizes ought to be able to perform," said Dunwoodie with asmile. "I call on Dr. Sitgreaves for a specimen of the stylehe admires."
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"Dr. Sitgreaves' song! Dr. Sitgreaves' song!" echoed all at the tablewith delight; "a classical ode from Dr. Sitgreaves!"
The surgeon made a complacent bow, took the remnant of his glass, andgave a few preliminary hems, that served hugely to delight three or fouryoung cornets at the foot of the table. He then commenced singing, in acracked voice, and to anything but a tune, the following ditty:--
Hast thou ever felt love's dart, dearest, Or breathed his trembling sigh-- Thought him, afar, was ever nearest, Before that sparkling eye? Then hast thou known what 'tis to feel The pain that Galen could not heal.
"Hurrah!" shouted Lawton. "Archibald eclipses the Muses themselves; hiswords flow like the sylvan stream by moonlight, and his melody is acrossbreed of the nightingale and the owl."
"Captain Lawton," cried the exasperated operator, "it is one thing todespise the lights of classical learning, and another to be despised foryour own ignorance!"
A loud summons at the door of the building created a dead halt in theuproar, and the dragoons instinctively caught up their arms, to beprepared for the worst. The door was opened, and the Skinners entered,dragging in the peddler, bending beneath the load of his pack.
"Which is Captain Lawton?" said the leader of the gang, gazing aroundhim in some little astonishment.
"He waits your pleasure," said the trooper dryly.
"Then here I deliver to your hands a condemned traitor. This is HarveyBirch, the peddler spy."
Lawton started as he looked his old acquaintance in the face, and,turning to the Skinner with a lowering look, he asked,--
"And who are you, sir, that speak so freely of your neighbors? But,"bowing to Dunwoodie, "your pardon, sir; here is the commanding officer;to him you will please address yourself."
"No," said the man, sullenly, "it is to you I deliver the peddler, andfrom you I claim my reward."
"Are you Harvey Birch?" said Dunwoodie, advancing with an air ofauthority that instantly drove the Skinner to a corner of the room.
"I am," said Birch, proudly.
"And a traitor to your country," continued the major, with sternness."Do you know that I should be justified in ordering your executionthis night?"
"'Tis not the will of God to call a soul so hastily to His presence,"said the peddler with solemnity.
"You speak truth," said Dunwoodie; "and a few brief hours shall be addedto your life. But as your offense is most odious to a soldier, so itwill be sure to meet with the soldier's vengeance. You die to-morrow."
"'Tis as God wills."
"I have spent many a good hour to entrap the villain," said the Skinner,advancing a little from his corner, "and I hope you will give me acertificate that will entitle us to the reward; 'twas promised to bepaid in gold."
"Major Dunwoodie," said the officer of the day, entering the room, "thepatrols report a house to be burned near yesterday's battle ground."
"'Twas the hut of the peddler," muttered the leader of the gang. "Wehave not left him a shingle for shelter; I should have burned it monthsago, but I wanted his shed for a trap to catch the sly fox in."
"You seem a most ingenious patriot," said Lawton. "Major Dunwoodie, Isecond the request of this worthy gentleman, and crave the office ofbestowing the reward on him and his fellows."
"Take it; and you, miserable man, prepare for that fate which willsurely befall you before the setting of to-morrow's sun."
"Life offers but little to tempt me with," said Harvey, slowly raisinghis eyes, and gazing wildly at the strange faces in the apartment.
"Come, worthy children of America!" said Lawton, "follow, and receiveyour reward."
The gang eagerly accepted the invitation, and followed the captaintowards the quarters assigned to his troop. Dunwoodie paused a moment,from reluctance to triumph over a fallen foe, before he proceeded.
"You have already been tried, Harvey Birch; and the truth has proved youto be an enemy too dangerous to the liberties of America to besuffered to live."
"The truth!" echoed the peddler, starting, and raising himself in amanner that disregarded the weight of his pack.
"Aye! the truth; you are charged with loitering near the continentalarmy, to gain intelligence of its movements, and, by communicating themto the enemy, to enable him to frustrate the intentions of Washington."
"Will Washington say so, think you?"
"Doubtless he would; even the justice of Washington condemns you."
"No, no, no," cried the peddler, in a voice and with a manner thatstartled Dunwoodie. "Washington can see beyond the hollow views ofpretended patriots. Has he not risked his all on the cast of a die? If agallows is ready for me, was there not one for him also? No, no, no,no--Washington would never say, 'Lead him to a gallows.'"
"Have you anything, wretched man, to urge to the commander in chief whyyou should not die?" said the major, recovering from the surprisecreated by the manner of the other.
Birch trembled, for violent emotions were contending in his bosom. Hisface assumed the ghastly paleness of death, and his hand drew a box oftin from the folds of his shirt; he opened it, showing by the act thatit contained a small piece of paper. On this document his eye was for aninstant fixed--he had already held it towards Dunwoodie, when suddenlywithdrawing his hand he exclaimed,--
"No--it dies with me. I know the conditions of my service, and will notpurchase life with their forfeiture--it dies with me."
"Deliver that paper, and you may possibly find favor," cried Dunwoodie,expecting a discovery of importance to the cause.
"It dies with me," repeated Birch, a flush passing over his pallidfeatures, and lighting them with extraordinary brilliancy.
"Seize the traitor!" cried the major, "and wrest the secret from hishands."
The order was immediately obeyed; but the movements of the peddler weretoo quick; in an instant he swallowed the paper. The officers paused inastonishment; but the surgeon cried eagerly,--
"Hold him, while I administer an emetic."
"Forbear!" said Dunwoodie, beckoning him back with his hand. "If hiscrime is great, so will his punishment be heavy."
"Lead on," cried the peddler, dropping his pack from his shoulders, andadvancing towards the door with a manner of incomprehensible dignity.
"Whither?" asked Dunwoodie, in amazement.
"To the gallows."
"No," said the major, recoiling in horror at his own justice. "My dutyrequires that I order you to be executed, but surely not so hastily;take until nine to-morrow to prepare for the awful change."
Dunwoodie whispered his orders in the ear of a subaltern, and motionedto the peddler to withdraw. The interruption caused by this sceneprevented further enjoyment around the table, and the officers dispersedto their several places of rest. In a short time the only noise to beheard was the heavy tread of the sentinel, as he paced the frozen groundin front of the Hotel Flanagan.